Epilogue

(Bai Ziye)

Wake up.

It's the ceiling of a patient's room in a treatment facility.

Although we weren't familiar with each other, we recognized each other at a glance.

How embarrassing.

Real.

He Past again during the battle.

However, this series of events has come to a temporary end.

When I woke up this time, no one was beside me. I thought I would see Ceruno's pink-haired head lying next to the bed again.

Despite my muscle soreness, I struggled to sit up, my right leg bandaged, and pulled out the IV tube I didn't recognize from my hand.

Outside the window, it was already completely dark.

It's too late.

I have to go back, I have to go back before Ceruno goes home...

But I'm wearing a hospital gown, and my Battle Dress isn't inside the Star Crystal. Could it be that Metal took it and modified it again?

"Well."

As he limped out of the ward, the nurse at the nurses' station rushed over.

"Ah! Miss Miluno! You're not in the right condition to get out of bed!"

"I'm mostly fine now, I was just too tired before..."

"That won't do! It's not like you can just decide for yourself whether there's any serious injury!"

The nurse frowned, put her hands on her hips, and blocked my way. Seeing that I couldn't persuade her otherwise, I had no choice but to return to the ward.

"Then, please contact Yin Wei for me and get me a pair of crutches."

There's really no need to use a cane.

I didn't break any bones, just some minor cuts and bruises.

"Okay, I'll take care of it right away. Please lie down in bed for a bit."

The nurse left.

About ten minutes passed.

Holding a pair of crutches, Yin Wei walked into the ward with a calm expression.

"The branch is incredibly busy right now, why would they call me over at a time like this? The patient should just lie down and rest."

"I can't stay in the hospital."

"Sigh, now that things have come to this, are you still going to keep it from that child?"

She shook her head as she spoke, then tossed her a soft-packaged tube.

"Barbara's new potion, quickly restores stamina, enhances metabolism... it's apple-flavored, your minor injuries will heal quickly."

Barbara?

Oh, the support-type magical girl that Yin Wei mentioned before, responsible for producing these potions.

The image in my mind is that of an evil witch from traditional movies and TV shows, stirring up a large vat and putting unknown objects into it.

"How suspicious."

"Let me be frank, this is indeed an experimental product. It may have side effects, but it works very quickly. You don't want to explain your foot injury to Ceruno after you turn back, do you?"

Why is it always Yin Wei who brings this potion?

Could she be Barbara?

Although I had my doubts, the potion worked quite well last time, so I decided to drink it this time anyway.

It's like jelly, and quite sweet.

I drank it all in one go and threw the packaging in the trash can.

"Before I'm discharged from the hospital, I still need to get my Battle Dress back."

"Metal is repairing it for you; she won't allow the equipment she made to be damaged in battle."

"That's not her fault. It was because I exceeded my limits. If I hadn't done that, I wouldn't have been able to defeat the Gun Witch... who is Chairman Sun."

The pain of my shattered leg and knee bones is still fresh in my memory.

It's left a bad impression; I doubt I'll dare to do it again next time.

"By the way, about this incident..."

As soon as Yin Wei opened his mouth, I knew what he was going to say.

"Don't make a fuss, okay?"

"Yes, the existence of the witch needs to remain a secret. Sirius will temporarily take over as the Association's chairman. The third-party organizations cooperating with Sun Ji have been thoroughly investigated by the entire Prosecutorate, and their technology will be controlled... but negative public opinion won't be so easy to eliminate."

"As long as intelligence control is done well, irrational voices will soon Past."

"I'm afraid it won't be that easy. This situation is much more serious than what happened with Sun Yao."

Leaning on her crutches, Yin Wei led me out of the ward; this time, no nurses stopped us.

I stepped into the elevator; there was no one else there.

I asked, "Grandma Ceruno and Secretary General Anjie... what does the Association plan to do with them?"

"In fact, we don't have a way to extract the Crystal from their bodies for the time being, so we can only restrict their movements."

Huh? Aunt Yuehan has been locked up too!

"Wasn't a box left behind?"

"Objects created by the 'Armory' disappear after a period of time. Although SpiCa sent drones to take them back for research immediately, they disappeared en route. For now, we can only look for answers in the data from those organizations."

Betelgeuse's magic is really environmentally friendly.

"Ceruno's mother helped us a lot along the way."

"I know what you're trying to say, but we can't release her yet. Let's wait patiently for the interrogation results. If you don't trust the Association, shouldn't you trust your parents?"

"... I see."

The elevator doors opened.

This area is near the top floor, so the condition of the Research Level is rather appalling.

Yin Wei explained, "The high temperature emitted by the Gun Witch caused the fire. Although the automatic fire suppression system was very comprehensive, a lot of research data was still destroyed."

"It's a wonder the elevator is still running normally."

"Oh, right, there's another troublesome thing: the Shark Princess Witch has escaped."

"Ha?!"

Even I found it difficult to remain calm.

Is this something to be taken lightly?

When Fenghua went downstairs to call the Twins for help, the Shark Princess Witch was supposedly overheated in her cell. Was she just left downstairs unattended?

That's true, ordinary people can't control witches...

"It's not that no one was taking care of her. At the time, the magical girl Bai Ze was in charge of watching over the Shark Princess Witch, but after the fire sprinkler was triggered, she came back to life as soon as she got wet."

"It's really inappropriate to have the wounded guard the witch... Is Miss Bai Ze alright?"

"The Shark Princess Witch simply ran away; we didn't fight her."

"So what do we do now?"

"The last eyewitness saw her dive into the Chonghui River."

"Chonghui River? That stretches north to a reservoir. Once that happens, no one will be able to control her. The Association can't just drain the reservoir dry."

That is the main river that runs through the entire Skyreach City; once she enters the water, her whereabouts will become unpredictable.

Moreover, in places with water, the Shark Princess Witch is no less threatening than the Legendary Witch, and it would be even more troublesome if she were dragged into the water.

"But all we can do right now is search."

"With so many messes to clean up, the Association is really in for a rough time..."

Yin Wei pushed open the door to a research room.

"Hey, Miluno, how are you feeling?"

A spirited magical girl with short, brown hair waved at me, a cigarette dangling from her lips, exuding the aura of a middle-aged factory worker.

"You've come at the perfect time! Come and try out the powerful new Battle Dress I developed for you!"

"What... are these?"

Iron gloves;

A shirt made of iron;

Iron jacket;

A short skirt made of iron;

Iron boots.

I always felt that wearing it would create some kind of matching set effect, but who wants to wear such stiff and uncomfortable clothes?

"The immense pressure you endured during acceleration would have severely damaged your ordinary Battle Dress, so I've layered it with a heat-resistant, wear-resistant, lightweight alloy steel..."

I interrupted Metal's earnest yet slightly pretentious introduction by pressing my temples.

"Change it back."

"Huh? Hmm?"

"Immediately."

(End of Volume 3)