Anger (5k)

After these words were spoken, Wang Tengfei indeed imagined many possibilities.

Was the person named "Lin Yun" a disguised magical girl named Cornflower from the very beginning? Or was Lin Yun also a person with extraordinary powers who commissioned Cornflower to impersonate him? Or perhaps...

He knew that Lin Yun had been widowed two years ago. In fact, the hottest gossip in the company at that time was whether the female subordinate in the after-sales department who had always had feelings for Lin Yun could take the opportunity to climb the corporate ladder.

The truth is, until that female subordinate climbed the social ladder and was transferred to headquarters, her relationship with Lin Yun made no progress whatsoever.

In the past, everyone thought it was because Lin Yun was depressed and unable to get over the grief of losing her husband. But now, when Wang Tengfei thinks about it, he tastes a different flavor.

In addition, during company team-building events, Lin Yun always preferred to work quietly alone, and when faced with entertainment and social engagements, she always adhered to her principles and never got involved with other women in service establishments...

The combination of more than a decade of working together made Wang Tengfei feel that he had figured out the truth.

"You transformed into Old Lin's appearance... is this also magic?" So he asked.

His guess was that "Lin Yun" was just a false identity that Cornflower used in the Material Realm world.

Although this speculation is quite bizarre, many past clues seem to point in this direction, and it's understandable that things related to magic are a bit strange.

"Almost."

The Larkspur had no intention of explaining further, leaving behind an ambiguous answer before taking two steps back and preparing to turn and leave.

She has now resigned from the company and is no longer a familiar stranger to Wang Tengfei; there's no need for her to say anything more to him. For her now, the most important thing is to rush to the location where Moko was last seen to see if her daughter and her group have truly encountered a crisis.

As for the leak of his identity, once the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau is notified, someone will handle it. After accepting the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau's psychological suggestion, Wang Tengfei will subconsciously treat today's experience as a bizarre dream and gradually forget it over time.

The intense headache had not subsided, but Larkspur knew she had no time to waste. She withdrew the last strand of magic threads, opened her palm, and the wand reappeared in her hand.

--"Cornflower!"

Just then, Wang Tengfei's voice came from behind her again. "Did you resign and leave because some dangerous enemy has appeared in Fangting City again?"

The Larkspur did not turn back, but instead stirred up its magical power, preparing to take flight once more.

"You don't have to resign! If you don't have time, I can give you a sinecure!" Wang Tengfei hurriedly added.

Larkspur has yet to respond to this.

Seeing the figure he had always longed for but could never reach in his youth about to leave, Wang Tengfei was at a loss for words, because he truly didn't know what else he could say.

He was very successful, but his success remained limited to ordinary people.

He was very rich, but money was utterly useless before the power of magic.

He felt that every word he uttered was an insult to his once passionate and pure self, and every time he tried to measure this beautiful memory in terms of self-interest, a voice would tell him: Stop talking, shut up.

Perhaps I really should shut up; silence is the best option.

When Lin Yun resigned from the company, and when Cornflower reappeared in the city, he should have understood that some things were over.

Regardless of why the other person disappeared in the first place, or why they remained an ordinary person in this ordinary branch company for so long, when they revealed their true identity to me, everything in the past had already come to an end.

Perhaps, watching her leave is the most rational choice.

He still longs to speak out, not for the present, but for his past self. If that's the case, how should he express himself now?

As he watched the figure gradually rise into the sky, he seemed to understand in a daze.

He suddenly knew what he should say.

"Cornflower! Keep it up!"

He suddenly opened his mouth and shouted, his hoarse voice now as loud as a young man's. "Those who supported you before are still living in this city. Although no one will deliberately mention it, we all still remember you!"

"Although we don't know why you disappeared, and now you've come out to fight again to protect something, you must be an enemy we can't understand!"

"But if you need any help, we will all stand up to help you, because you were our hero!"

"So, well, cough cough, so..."

Watching the figure grow ever more distant, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Don't disappear again!"

After shouting these words, he felt a sharp pain in his throat, followed by a bout of coughing. His weakened constitution, eroded by tobacco and alcohol, and his waning strength with age, made it impossible for him to shout and yell with ease.

But no matter how painful it was to shout, he felt as if his past self, the one who loved magical girls, had surfaced from the bottom of a lake of memories, and his blurred figure became clear once again.

He couldn't recapture the impulsiveness of his youth, but he seemed to have found himself again.

Then, he saw the figure that was already level with the sun, making a gesture to himself from afar.

She was waving.

As if promising "no problem," the girl waved her wrist, paused briefly in the air for a few seconds, and then unleashed her magic again, flying towards the other side of the sky.

Wang Tengfei was left watching the shadow grow smaller and smaller. Although he felt a little lost, for some reason, a relieved smile suddenly appeared on his face.

Let's have the afternoon off early today.

Above the azure sky, a solitary blue magical trail stretched across the heavens. Though it did not travel alongside the other three colors as before, the blue stood straight and clear, upright and resolute.

That's the blue that many people remember.

It is also the blue of Fangting City.

"--Roaring!"

The enormous beast claw slammed down from mid-air, tearing apart the concrete road and sending up a cloud of dust and rocks.

In the Fangting City No. 1 Welfare Institute in Dawnstar District, the battle continues.

After withdrawing from the position attacked by the Aberrant Beast, Lin Xiaolu gripped her wand tightly, turned around, and fiercely fired several more Mana Beam at the Aberrant Beast's head. However, the light blue Mana Beam could only leave shallow wounds when they touched the Aberrant Beast.

"Aww!"

The attack, which failed to seriously Aberrant Beast, only enraged it further. The Aberrant Beast, resembling a tiger or leopard, stood upright with its robust and massive body, and in just two steps, it reached Lin Xiaolu, before slamming down on her again.

"Damn it!"

Waving her wand and channeling her magic to teleport again, Lin Xiaolu cried out in frustration, "Why is it so hard! This thing!"

"Xiao Lu, don't be impulsive, conserve your magic!"

Xia Liang, standing nearby, earnestly reminded him, as the Diversion Mirror beside him flickered and split into several parts, dissipating the dark magic energy that the Aberrant Beast occasionally spat out. "This guy's skin defense is abnormally strong, much harder than that of an ordinary caterpillar!"

If the Aberrant Beast before them, or rather the black-robed man from before, still possessed complete reason and could speak, they would surely have uttered a mocking remark.

Because of the three magical girls present, not to mention Bai Jingxuan, who was a complete newcomer, the other two were unable to break through its defenses.

Close-range attacks could only leave slight dents, and ranged magic shots could only scratch the surface of the flesh. Even if it did not dodge the two attacks at all, it did not suffer any real damage.

If we classify his transformed appearance according to the evolutionary characteristics of Aberrant Beast, it would probably be at the Looper Tier.

Compared to the Egg Rank, it possesses stronger magical power, and its special organs have further mutated, covering most of its body. Judging from its extremely disproportionate claws, the Aberrant Beast that the man transformed into should be considered an evolved form of the Eroding Claw Type.

Xia Liang and Lin Xiaolu were not unfamiliar with the remnants of the Looper Tier Aberrant Beast. Although they had been repeatedly asked by Larkspur to stay away from battles above the Looper Tier, they knew roughly what range their strength was in.

At the very least, Xia Liang, a genuine Bud Rank magical girl, shouldn't be completely helpless against it.

Even if her Magic Armament couldn't actually enhance her attack power, and because she had only acquired it a few days ago and hadn't fully developed it, it shouldn't be like this now, only able to cause some superficial damage to the man who had become Aberrant Beast.

Even if they couldn't actually harm the man, the fight had to continue because behind them was the orphanage, where countless innocent elderly and children lived. If they lost here, the consequences would be unimaginable.

The magic of light blue and Hibiscus Purple surrounded the behemoth, constantly maneuvering and dodging, repeatedly striking and shooting.

On the other side, Bai Jingxuan helped Tian Sheng sit down and, under his guidance, dismantled the Magic Barrier surrounding the orphanage step by step.

"Hurry up, Xiao Xuan!"

While observing the battle in the distance, Moko urged anxiously, "I feel the situation over there is getting increasingly tense!"

Since they first arrived to provide assistance and began fighting the man, Lin Xiaolu and her companion's momentum has been steadily weakening.

At first, it could suppress the frequency of attacks with its momentum, but as the Aberrant Beast realized that its attacks were not very effective, this momentum gradually declined as the pace of the battle continued.

At this point, there is almost no chance of a comeback.

Therefore, Moko and the others could only hope that the Aberrant Beast would hold them off so that they could quickly remove the barrier and call for Larkspur's help.

Time passed by, second by second, and the barrier continued to dissolve until, at a certain moment, the barrier, which had been hidden all along, began to shimmer with unsettling ripples.

"There's hope! Cough cough..."

Sitting by the roadside, Tian Sheng shouted excitedly, then, weakened by the aggravation of his injuries, sat back down weakly. "Only a few structural points left!"

Bai Jingxuan didn't say much, obediently nodded, and continued to remove the barrier.

However, unlike the steady progress on this side, the battle on Lin Xiaolu's side, after lasting for a long time, finally began to encounter problems.

First, Lin Xiaolu herself made a mistake. She failed to choose a good position when dodging the Aberrant Beast's close-range attack, so she landed right on the trajectory of the magic bullet while in mid-air.

Each of the purplish-black spheres, the size of a basketball, spat out from the enemy's mouth shot straight toward Lin Xiaolu in mid-air, and was about to hit her.

Just then, a mirror suddenly appeared in front of him, blocking the magic projectiles.

That was Xia Liang's Magic Armament, capable of deflecting enemy magical attacks. However, in this situation, she could only deflect or weaken the enemy's attacks; she didn't even have time to set up another mirror for teleportation.

Her hasty response led to even greater risks, as the Aberrant Beast reacted even faster. Almost at the same moment she chose to use her Magic Armament to protect Lin Xiaolu, it lunged forward and struck Xia Liang with a claw.

As a Bud Rank magical girl, Xia Liang had not mastered the Spell Formula, so she was unable to set up a barrier when attacked at close range, and thus took the full force of the attack.

"Xia Liang!"

Lin Xiaolu shouted in alarm and anger.

Her cries were useless and could not stop the Aberrant Beast's advance. She could only watch as Xia Liang, struck by the attack, flew out like a thrown sandbag and crashed heavily into the wall.

The Aberrant Beast looked at Lin Xiaolu.

Having eliminated the greatest threat among the two, even with its intelligence diminished to almost nothing compared to its human form, it knew it was time to end the battle.

The green pipes wrapped around his body suddenly began to pulsate, and streams of purplish-black magic were pumped out from his heart and transported to all parts of his body, causing his already exaggerated body to bulge with hideous blood vessels.

Then, facing the last remaining magical girl, it kicked its legs.

Suddenly, Lin Xiaolu, who was in the distance, felt her vision freeze, and in a flash, the enemy had vanished from her sight.

The strong sense of déjà vu made her instinctively stop breathing.

It's happening again.

She couldn't help but think.

Just like that night in the Wetland Park, she fell into a pre-prepared trap and encountered an Aberrant Beast within the barrier.

At that time, she had no power to resist and was defeated by the caterpillar in just a few moves, almost having her head chopped off. If it weren't for the Larkspur suddenly appearing and blocking the attack for her, she would be dead by now.

It is likely that from that moment on, she developed a deep longing and respect for the Larkspur.

But this time, even Larkspur herself was attacked by the enemy, and she could no longer expect to be saved by others.

Will I die here? Like my mother, sacrificed in battle?

She suddenly remembered the question she had asked Larkspur a few days ago.

The Larkspur told her that if she couldn't figure it out, she shouldn't overthink it. She was still just a child, and she would protect her and give herself plenty of time to make a decision.

It feels so good to be protected; it's reassuring, warm, and makes me happy. She even wishes she could stay a child forever, hiding in that gentle haven.

But things are different now.

Although she was in danger, she felt no urge to back down. What was she feeling? Fear? Regret? Or resentment?

Perhaps both were true, but more importantly, she felt anger.

Anger towards the enemy before him.

It wasn't just that they attacked places like orphanages, nor was it just that they nearly killed Fangting City's new magical girl, nor was it just that he had just severely injured his friend.

Furthermore, because that man's words insulted and trampled on the term "magical girl."

They pride themselves on being noble and righteous, yet they ambush and murder innocent young girls. Their very existence is an insult to the dream of magical girls.

From the magical girls she saw in TV anime when she was a child, to her friends, her seniors, and perhaps now another junior, the faces of these magical girls all floated in her mind.

She still believes that magical girls should be radiant and beautiful.

Therefore, she felt intense anger at the man's actions of "hunting" and "besieging" magical girls.

The beautiful vision she cherished most was easily trampled by the man before her. She couldn't even imagine the despair and helplessness in the hearts of those girls who had just become magical girls, whose hearts were still pure and full of hope for the future, and who were killed.

The more unimaginable it was, the hotter and more intense the anger became, until it threatened to burst through his chest.

At the same time, this anger was also directed at himself, at that deep sense of powerlessness.

Because, even in such anger, there was nothing she could do.

She was merely a low-level magical girl; she couldn't even harm her enemies, as if she were being toyed with, and might even die here.

That's so embarrassing.

She scoffed inwardly.

He thinks more than anyone else, but when it really matters, he's more useless than anyone else. Larkspur is fighting the enemy; Xia Liang is protecting herself; even the newcomers are working hard to remove the barrier and release the hostages; only he, despite being on the battlefield, is like a bystander.

Even with her eyes closed, she could almost see the Larkspur looking at her with disappointed eyes.

"Yes," she thought. "If I were to die here, it would only disappoint Larkspur greatly."

But for some reason, she still couldn't help but think back to the night before.

She would remember what the Larkspur had said to her by the river that day, she would remember the Larkspur holding her hand, she would remember the Larkspur saying "I'm here."

In a daze, she felt as if someone was indeed holding her hand, as if it were really Larkspur there, and as if she were truly enveloped in her hands again, a cool yet reassuring touch.

Believe in your own potential.

Then, the Larkspur's voice rang in her ears.

These words made Lin Xiaolu suddenly open her eyes.

She began to feel something was different: the touch on her hand gradually became real, intense, and impossible for her to ignore.

Her gaze shifted to her hands, and all she saw was a silvery white expanse.

It was magic, but not the familiar light blue; it was silvery-white magic.

She saw the white magic in her hand burning and flickering like flames, followed by a surge of power that filled her entire body.

In the eyes of the Aberrant Beast, the magical girl who had been standing there dumbfounded, seemingly waiting to die, suddenly unleashed incredibly powerful magic.

Like a tidal wave, the white magic began to spread outwards, illuminating everything about the girl—her eyes, the Heart Gem on her chest, her hair, and even the nails between her fingers—all shimmering with intense white light.

The intense white light, like a dazzling sun, made the Aberrant Beast in the shadows feel its magic power receding into its body, as if it were about to be dissipated, losing its inherent strength.

Raising her head from the burning White Magic Power, the girl's eyes widened, turning a fiery white, and like a hawk's, she suddenly locked onto the rapidly moving Aberrant Beast.

A Mana Beam, like a flame, was unleashed from the tip of her wand, striking the Aberrant Beast directly at its point of impact. The dangerous aura emanating from it forced the beast to halt and evade the attack.

It was this pause that once again exposed its form to Lin Xiaolu's view.

"This is truly disgusting; it's about time to stop."

Looking at the Aberrant Beast that had appeared, Lin Xiaolu frowned, raised her chin high, and opened her mouth. Her surrounding magic surged violently.

"Right now, I'm absolutely furious!"