The Puzzle

(Bai Ziye)

"Miss Knight, how is the princess doing?"

When Liu asked that, I scrolled through the news reports on my phone again.

"It's mostly over now. Ceruno is fine and did a great job... But this accident resulted in the immediate deaths of twenty-seven passengers and serious injuries to thirty-four others. Not a single person on the train was standing, and some may not survive... This is even more serious than the accident this morning."

The shocking death toll is not just a cold, hard number; vibrant lives were taken by that Monster's high-voltage electricity.

Two Monster attacks in one day, resulting in the deaths of nearly fifty citizens, have served as a stark reminder to people accustomed to peaceful lives.

War has never gone away; its shadow still looms over the world.

"Look at this, witch. This is how you do things. In our world, even when two countries are at war, the side that attacks civilians will be despised by everyone..."

However, the Shark Princess Witch showed no reaction on her face.

Expecting her to feel guilty about something like this is definitely overthinking things.

Witches are Monster too; how could Monster have compassion?

Fortunately, most citizens had already experienced that difficult period, and the pervasive panic did not last long. Apart from reminding humanity of the numerous crimes committed on the Other Side, it did not cause any unacceptable consequences...

Liu then asked, "Has this Monster been caught?"

"Hmm... he was killed."

Liu asked in surprise, "Kill them? Not capture them alive?"

That's what they say. I'm not sure about the actual situation.

"The media reports that he was killed by the magical girls who surrounded him, but we'll have to ask SpiCa for the specifics later."

I rubbed my temples and put my phone back in my pocket.

"But how well did you check the surveillance footage?"

"Uh, hasn't the Monster you're looking for already escaped?"

"Then I'd also like to know who it originally belonged to."

"Wait for me a moment..."

Liu spent a considerable amount of time reviewing surveillance footage from the past few days and finally identified a suspect.

"It must be this woman. She's been walking along this road more frequently than the patrolling security guards, and I've never seen her go into any shops to buy anything. She clearly has some kind of intention..."

A suit with a large lapel, bell-bottoms, and a single-sided fringe.

Wait, isn't that Jolina?! I just met her, there's no way I wouldn't recognize her...

Her reason for "wandering" in the shopping mall was mostly to discover new talents who were more suitable to be idols.

"Are you sure?"

I confirmed with Liu.

"Confirmed, apart from her, no one else was walking around the mall during this time."

She seemed normal in the morning; although she was in despair, she didn't seem to be turning into Monster.

Wait, despair?

The man this morning was dumped by his ex-girlfriend, which led to his desire for revenge and violent tendencies.

I have a guess.

The black energy sent from the Empty Wormhole will choose to parasitize people with negative emotions, devouring and amplifying the darkness in their hearts. When it reaches the critical moment, it will hatch Monster from their bodies... just like the Alien!

After all, Monster only appear after a period of time.

"Send me the suspect's record. You two go back to the villa first. I'll go find Sirius to collect the reward..."

Of course, I also need to take a detour to confirm some things.

"Is it really that simple? Can we really help without you?"

"That's all for now, but there will definitely be other uses for your nose later."

Liu glanced at the Shark Princess Witch.

The latter nodded, which meant he agreed to my arrangement.

"Then we'll head back now. Please be careful, Miss Knight."

"Um."

After parting ways with them, I rushed to the Kuluoluo Idol Agency.

If she hasn't awakened into Monster yet, I'll join the agency and represent Kuluoluo in the competition. If I can bring her even a glimmer of hope, perhaps I can delay the time it takes for her to become Monster...

Broken.

I couldn't get through to either his cell phone or the firm's phone, which deepened my ominous premonition.

Jolina usually lives in the firm. At this moment, the lights in the two-story apartment were off, and the surrounding area consisted of old, empty houses that no one lived in, giving off a sense of desolation.

This place is perfect for filming horror movies at night...

"Miss Jolina!"

I called out at the door but no one answered, so I went straight to her office.

It seems we arrived a step too late.

An ominous Black Crystal had appeared, and was being held in Jolina's palm... or rather, partially integrated into her palm.

"No! You can't touch that!"

I summoned the hourglass to try and reverse this state, but an invisible force knocked me down... I couldn't even get close? My invincible transformation time?

She also asked, "Sikong Cai? What are you doing here again?"

The Crystal had completely disappeared into her palm, but surprisingly, she remained conscious.

"That's something from 'the Other Side'! Using it will turn you into Monster!"

"Nonsense, this is clearly the Star Crystal... I won't give it to you... It's mine... Get out of my way!"

Jolina's figure began to change.

Her body began to shrink, small pointed horns sprouted from her forehead, large bat-like wings with membranous flaps grew from her back, and even a slippery tail with a pointed tip emerged from behind her...

In layman's terms, it's a succubus.

Because she has become younger, she is a young succubus.

"Miss Jolina...?"

I've never met a purely eccentric female Monster before, not a witch...

She stood in front of the full-length mirror in her office, admiring her new look, flapping her wings and flicking her slender tail.

"Is this how I am as a magical girl?"

"No, she doesn't seem like a magical girl at all."

Her eyes shone with a captivating pinkish-purple light, yet held a distinct smile, and she helped me up from the ground.

"Ha, you'd better keep my identity a secret... What's that law called again? The Magical Girl Secrecy Act?"

So you're clearly not a magical girl!

And her thinking is perfectly normal, even though she's clearly become Monster...

She asked, "So, what do you want to do back here?"

"... I want to be an idol."

Hearing me say that, she laughed even harder.

"Regret it? Too bad, you won't have the chance now."

She spread her wings, extended her arms, and her tail swayed merrily behind her.

Although it's not fluffy at all, this tail somehow reminds me of the Golden...

"I will personally participate in the Supernova Idol Festival... You were right before, in this era, you can't become an idol unless you're a magical girl! I was just desperate and that's why I came to you, but ordinary people would only become a laughing stock if they went on stage, and I'm afraid they wouldn't even pass the auditions, right?"

Oh no, she seems absolutely convinced that she is a magical girl.

However, there has been no precedent for a female Monster so far. Although her appearance is peculiar, she still resembles a human being, so perhaps she can Past fool people...

But there's one person she's destined not to fool.

Sirius could see right through the fact that she didn't have a real Star Crystal inside her.

"Actually, some magical girls can't become idols either."

Now that things have come to this, there's no need to hide it anymore.

I took off my baseball cap and stopped pretending.

"As I said before, Sikong Cai is just an alias. My real name... to be precise, my name as a magical girl... is Miluno."

"Miluno? Oh!"

She stared with her captivating eyes.

Judging from their reaction, they must have heard of me...

"Are you the 'Bubble Witch' who just debuted recently?!"