Magical Girl Larkspur

When Lin Xiaolu and the fairy beside her reached the brink of despair, the expected carnage did not materialize.

At the very last second, the Aberrant Beast's claw, which had been on the verge of piercing the girl's tender white neck, stopped cold.

Because in a flash of lightning, a deep-blue magic wand appeared from nowhere, intercepting the claw and blocking that fatal strike for the magical girl.

Lin Xiaolu stood behind the wand, completely unable to process the situation or even fully grasp that she had just escaped death, when a hand shoved her hard, sending her stumbling backward.

Step back.

The newcomer said so.

It was also at this moment that Lin Xiaolu saw who had rescued her:

Deep-blue magic, tangible and burning like fire, emitted a scattering of swaying light motes from within.

And standing amidst it all was a petite girl with a cold expression.

She wore a navy-base, Lolita-style long dress adorned with intricate, ornate ribbons, her long blue hair neatly tied into princess braids at the back of her head, and a large bonnet capping her head.

"You, if you truly wish to become a magical girl worthy of protecting a city..."

She spoke calmly, her robin-like voice carrying the understated majesty of a superior: "Then watch closely. My battle."

As her voice trailed off, the fire-like magic surrounding her dissipated entirely.

"Magical Girl, Flower Card authentication number 41076, Larkspur. Elimination mission, commence."

"G-grr-aaaaah--!"

Having previously been beaten back by the wand held single-handedly by the mysterious girl, and finally realizing that her enemy had changed, the double-headed Aberrant Beast emitted an enraged, violent roar from the ground.

It displayed near-human intelligence regarding the fact that its rightful prey had been snatched away, fully manifesting feelings of vexation.

I'll kill you too.

If it could speak, those were likely the lines it would voice. Then, the Aberrant Beast exerted force through its entire body once more, the pipe structures coating its surface pulsing constantly to emit a ghostly green fluorescent light, which it then channeled toward its legs.

In a single instant, it repeated its old trick and vanished from the spot once again.

The mysterious girl wore a blank expression, raised her wand, and gently blocked the side-rear of her body.

Clang!

The extended claws of the Aberrant Beast, which suddenly materialized in midair, and its all-out attack were effortlessly neutralized.

After taking the blow, a trace of puzzlement appeared on the girl's face: "This speed, is it a looper... Why would a looper exist in Fangting City now?"

Yet, no one present answered her question.

"Roar-aah-aah--!"

The Aberrant Beast's intelligence did not support having a coherent conversation with the magical girl before it; it only unleashed an even angrier roar after its attack was blocked. The sound waves generated by the roar alone were nearly enough to knock Lin Xiaolu and Moko, who were watching from the sidelines, head over heels.

Then, the Aberrant Beast's offensive began anew.

The ghostly green claws flashed in the dark night, descending upon the mysterious girl from all directions like an inescapable net. Its massive size did not hinder its high speed; in fact, even with it moving at such a colossal scale, Lin Xiaolu was completely unable to capture its trajectory.

Yet this speed seemed to pose no threat whatsoever to the petite, deep-blue magical girl.

With a simple sway of her body, she quietly appeared in a vacant spot a few steps away, easily dodging the Aberrant Beast's dense and swift assaults.

This was not the end.

Realizing that her target had dodged, the Aberrant Beast missed its mark, but quickly locked onto its target again, lunging forward to continue the attack.

"Screeech--"

A teeth-setting screech of metal scraping erupted between the two.

The mysterious girl paced and shifted, leaping as lightly as a dance in the tight space, occasionally drawing her wand to parry attacks with overly tricky angles, entirely unharmed beneath the Aberrant Beast's tempestuous scratching.

"Roar-aah-aah!"

After a period of evenly matched trading, the Aberrant Beast clearly grew impatient. It let out a furious howl, the ghostly green hoses all over its body flashing brilliantly before it suddenly launched into a short-range dash. Just moments before striking, it vanished once more, launching an attack from the mysterious girl's back almost simultaneously.

The heart-stopping offensive lasted merely a single breath; any slackening in reaction time would result in a brutal death. Yet the girl still blocked this attack with supremely precise movements, showing no signs of strain.

Even so, this was still not the end.

The two giant heads of the Aberrant Beast opened their sharp jaws almost simultaneously, revealing ivory-white teeth and dripping saliva. Seizing the brief interval as her staff collided with its claws, it viciously bit down toward her neck.

At this moment, Lin Xiaolu, watching from the side, finally grasped the battle situation, feeling as though her heartbeat had nearly stopped.

Yet this time, the girl about to be bitten simply watched with open eyes, showing no intent to block.

The giant maw descended.

Yet it failed to close.

Time seemed to freeze at that moment; although the Aberrant Beast's head had bitten right in front of the mysterious girl, it could not move forward even a fraction of an inch.

Looking closer, one would notice that the Aberrant Beast was still moving, yet it was as if something was blocking it, allowing only slight wobblings.

"--Kinetic defense combat, I shall demonstrate this much first."

Beneath the shadow of the Aberrant Beast, the petite girl suddenly spoke thus.

This caused Lin Xiaolu to freeze for a moment before realizing the other was speaking to her, and she nodded somewhat dazed: "Ah, right... thanks?"

The mysterious girl glanced at her, shifted her gaze back to the Aberrant Beast—which was unable to move for reasons unknown—and continued: "Now then, it is time to end this."

From beginning to end, she did not seem to regard this Aberrant Beast as anything worthy of notice.

She simply reached out, lightly touching the void as if strumming a harp, gently curling her fingers and slowly lifting them. Straight-line indentations abruptly appeared on her tender white fingertips.

Then, deep-blue magic slowly manifested from the surroundings.

One, two, three strands, emitting a clear luminescence.

Four, five, six strands, weaving into a dense net.

Presented to Lin Xiaolu's eyes was a net shining with blue light, woven entirely from threads of magic.

A massive volume of magical threads appeared without warning in the previously dim woods, illuminating the surrounding darkness, dispelling the chill brought by the Aberrant Beast, and locking the colossal monster firmly in the center like an inanimate doll unable to budge.

Lin Xiaolu only then noticed that at some point, the mysterious girl's wand had vanished.

Replacing it in her grip was a rather delicate pair of tailor's scissors engraved with intricate patterns.

"Magic Construct, precipitate."

She said so.

Next, the magical threads entangling the Aberrant Beast surged as if endowed with life.

The deep-blue magical threads stirred and intertwined with themselves. Individual thread ends met, crossed, and stretched, ultimately constructing a hollow short sword that looked as though it were carved in openwork out of wire.

The mysterious girl grasped it in her hand, holding it like an exquisite toy devoid of any lethality.

She raised it, aiming expressionlessly at the glabella of the Aberrant Beast.

Though tightly suppressed by the magical threads and fully aware that it faced death, the Aberrant Beast's violent gaze still lacked any trace of fear; it held only the urge to kill and destroy carved into its instincts.

Even at this stage, it was still trying to break free from its restraints and launch an attack against the magical girl before it.

Thus the girl waited no longer, lifting her hand slightly and waving it decisively.

The deep-blue magic burst forth with blinding light in the midnight woods, illuminating the surrounding night sky.