Magical Girl? There's No Going Back!

Not long after the doorbell rang, a very young-looking girl came out to greet them with composure. She was even a little shorter than Black Cat, yet she wore an elegant gown and high heels like a noblewoman. Her bearing was poised and dignified, making her seem nothing like a child.

"Could you be Ms. Lilika, the one in charge of receiving us?" Since they were so close, Felia had to lower her head as much as she could to meet her gaze.

"That's right. Then you must be the Witch Band?" Lilika gave a slight bow. After receiving word that Alulu had returned home, she had voluntarily taken on the task of hosting the Witch Band in Clear Lotus City. First, it gave her a legitimate reason to go home and spend time with her daughter. Second, it allowed her to provide Li Xuan with firsthand intelligence. That man she both loved and hated refused to flee no matter what, which truly gave her a headache.

"That's right. You really do look young," Felia praised.

"You flatter me. I prepared some tea and refreshments. Please, come inside and have a seat."

Lilika had long heard that every member of the Witch Band had a strange temperament, and she had prepared herself for the worst. Yet the visitors were far more polite than she had imagined. It seemed that reputation was no substitute for meeting in person; perhaps the world's impression of the Witch Band was simply a misunderstanding.

"Quit dawdling and let us in already." Saroye frowned and spat onto the open ground by the entrance.

"Quite right. Please come in." The smile on Lilika's face stiffened as she took back her earlier thoughts.

After the four of them sat down, Lilika brought over tea and refreshments and said with a warm smile, "This villa is Church property, and all the attendants assigned here are trustworthy. You may stay without concern. There's also a swimming pool in the courtyard for you to cool off."

"Father above, thank you for the Church's assistance. Allow me to introduce myself. I am a nun of the Orthodoxy. Everyone calls me 'Felia of Peace.' I'm the drummer and composer of the King's Edict band. You should introduce yourselves too. Show at least a little courtesy." As Felia spoke, she made the sign of the cross over her chest.

"Saroye the Undying, bassist and lead vocalist. Where's the air conditioner remote?" Saroye, clad in leather pants, propped her feet on the coffee table and drained a cup of iced tea in one gulp.

"Yao the Puppet, the greatest guitarist in the world. This place is really fancy. It's great to be rich." Yao set down her twin blades and surveyed the exquisite furnishings around the room.

Lilika handed the remote to Saroye, smiling and nodding politely after each introduction. Once Yao had finished, she looked toward the only pajama-clad little girl who had not introduced herself. However, the latter appeared shy around strangers and hid beneath the sofa.

Felia gave an embarrassed smile. "This is Black Cat the Lost, our keyboardist. She's rather shy, so I'll introduce her on her behalf. But only we're allowed to call her Black Cat. You should address her by her surname, Bai Rijian."

Bai Rijian Black Cat? What a strange name. Every single one of these people was a complete oddball.

Lilika thought to herself.

"Next, in order to find the true culprit behind the magical girl disappearances, please allow me to make a request." Felia rested both hands on the coffee table so she could look Lilika straight in the eye.

"Please, go ahead. The Church will fully support your needs," Lilika said politely.

At this distance, she could also see Felia's face clearly. In contrast to her sturdy physique, her features were soft and gentle. Her smile was exceptionally approachable, giving her a certain resemblance to the compassionate Madonna in religious paintings.

"I would like all attendants, as well as you personally, to leave here immediately," Felia said with an amiable smile.

"This..." Lilika froze for a moment. She had not expected the nun, who looked the easiest to communicate with, to make such a request.

"We didn't come here for a vacation. We can take care of ourselves. More importantly, we don't want to remain under the Church's surveillance. You know, there are some restless sorts among us. If a conflict breaks out, then even if you are innocent, I'm afraid you won't be able to explain yourself." Felia's tone was extremely gentle, but it carried an unmistakable sense that there was no arguing with her.

"Very well. I respect your choice. This is my number. If you need anything, you may still contact me at any time." Lilika wrote down her number on a napkin, handed it to Felia along with the keys, then sent a message in the group chat telling all the attendants to leave as well.

"I'm deeply grateful. Please believe that I bear no personal ill will," Felia said, standing and giving her a slight bow.

"You're a straightforward person. As long as you do your work well, the Church won't nitpick." Lilika returned the slight bow, then left the room with a smile.

"Damn it, who does she think I am? She just throws me out like that—how unbelievably rude! A pack of uncivilized beasts! People like that deserve to be magical girls? There's no justice in the world! If you're heartless, don't blame me for being cruel. I'll take the air conditioner remote with me and let you freaks roast to death!" Once she was far from the villa, Lilika stomped her feet furiously and vented her resentment at the top of her voice, viciously throwing the remote she had swiped before leaving into a trash can.

"Achoo! Did someone turn the air conditioner up too high? Saroye, give me the remote." Feeling vaguely that someone was cursing her, Felia sneezed and hurriedly held out her hand toward Saroye.

"It's not with me?" Saroye felt around beside herself but found nothing.

"Quit pretending. We aren't blind. We all watched that woman give it to you. You always blame others for your own mistakes. No wonder the world cursed you," Yao said, perched on the armrest of the sofa.

"It really isn't with me. She gave it to me, but I don't know where it went." Saroye rummaged everywhere. When she bent down to look beneath the sofa, Black Cat, who had been hiding there the entire time, suddenly crawled out.

"Ah! You scared me to death... Why are you like a ghost?" Startled by Black Cat, Saroye dropped onto the floor.

"Felia, why did you drive them away anyway? Wouldn't it be nice to have people waiting on us? Being pampered like a big shot would be awesome." Yao stroked the solid wooden cabinet beside the sofa, her eyes full of envy.

"The Church doesn't trust us, and we don't trust the Church. So it's best not to have too much contact. Taking the money and doing the job is what matters." Halfway through, Felia noticed Yao looked ready to argue and simply changed the subject. "Speaking of which, it's about time we checked out the rehearsal room. It's still early, so why don't we practice the new song?"

"Yay! I haven't touched an instrument for fourteen hours and thirty-nine minutes!" Black Cat, who rarely spoke in complete sentences, raised both hands in a French military salute.

Yao had originally wanted to argue a few more points, but Felia's suggestion was impossible to criticize. Her own hands were itching to slash someone as well, so she swallowed the words on the tip of her tongue and followed the others in search of the rehearsal room.

The villa was not particularly large, and they quickly found the rehearsal room. It had every facility they could need. Not only was there a drum set and a grand piano, both were obviously top-of-the-line.

"Subarashii! This is some good stuff. The Church really is rich." Saroye plucked at the multiscale bass for a while, then tried the electric guitar, as though she would lose out if she did not test every instrument.

"Enough already! Once the equipment is adjusted, we'll begin training. At the next performance, I'll show you that the guitar is the soul of a band!" Yao loudly pulled her guitar from its case, strummed it a few times, and found that the tone was wrong. Only then did she realize she had grabbed Saroye's bass by mistake.

"Hey! Don't touch my bass!" Saroye charged over with a frown, shoved Yao aside, and carefully shielded the bass in her arms.

"Cheapskate. So what if I touched it? Your singing is average at best, yet you insist on clinging to the lead vocalist position. Don't you know that the guitarist is the naturally rightful lead vocalist?" Having been shoved, Yao flared up and took the chance to pour out all her dissatisfaction with Saroye.

The two traded barbs, their voices rising higher and higher. Felia tried to step in and mediate, but they ignored her completely. Their volume had nearly reached the point of shattering glass when Felia finally lost patience. From beneath the long skirt of her nun's habit, she pulled out a heavy machine gun that normally had to be mounted on the ground to operate and sprayed the ceiling with rat-tat-tat-tat!

The whistling bullets and the patter of falling debris finally silenced their argument. But Black Cat, who had been cowering behind the piano, suddenly screamed and smashed through the window as she fled outside.

"Stop fucking arguing! Black Cat is sensitive to noise, and you scared her away! A band can't function without a keyboardist!" Felia punched the wall hard enough to crack the thick surface.

"Your machine gun was obviously what scared her. What does that have to do with us?" Yao said disdainfully.

"I don't care who scared her off. Drop whatever you're doing and go bring Black Cat back! She bears the Curse of Eternal Wandering. If she gets lost, we may never find her again!" Felia spun the gun around and pointed it furiously at the two of them.

"The situation is like this. You understand, right? Those four have already moved into the villa prepared by the Church. They won't stop until they find you! They're mercenaries—assassination and reconnaissance are everyday work for them. They have plenty of ways to force you out! And now they have the Oracle Machine's help. You can't stay hidden forever!"

Lilika shut the door and spoke anxiously.

Ever since Li Xuan had hidden in the Delusive Badlands, his phone had constantly said he was outside the service area. When she finally managed to reach him, she immediately invited him to her home, hoping to explain the dangers to his face and persuade him that fleeing was the best option.

"Don't be so nervous. If they find me, I'll be the one who dies. It's not like anything will happen to you." Seeing how anxious she was, Li Xuan could not help teasing her.

"But I'll worry about you!" Lilika blurted out. She immediately realized that was inappropriate and hurried to change her wording, only to find herself unable to think of another way to put it. Her face turned bright red, and she viciously kicked Li Xuan with her small foot clad in black pantyhose.

Li Xuan did not resist. Instead, he let her kick him, then seized the tiny foot and played with it in his hand.

With one foot caught, Lilika was forced to stand on one leg. Worse still, because of the difference in height between her and Li Xuan, the angle between her legs stretched far beyond ninety degrees. Her white panties, faintly visible beneath the black pantyhose, were immediately exposed in full view.

"Let go! Show some respect!" Lilika knew perfectly well what an alluring sight Li Xuan could see from that angle. For more than ten years, others had either treated her as an immature little girl or, after learning the truth, as a wealthy young widow.

It seemed that the word "woman" had become nothing more than a symbol when applied to her, rather than a label of sexual attraction.

Now that Li Xuan was looking at her again with the eyes of a man looking at a woman, Lilika's heart could not help but stir.

But no, this was absolutely not allowed!

Lilika tried hard to recall the face of her late husband—though it had become increasingly blurry, it was still the only mental weapon she had to resist Li Xuan at this moment.

"Ms. Lilika, I respect you very much." As Li Xuan spoke, his other hand traveled from Lilika's ankle up to her thigh, then swept across the crotch marked by the white seam. Amid Lilika's cry, he lifted her other leg off the ground as well, forcing her into a split across his palms.

"What are you doing? If this counts as respect, then wouldn't Magic Maple be a saint?" Lilika was both embarrassed and angry. She tried to grab Li Xuan, but her arms were too short to reach him.

"This is how I show respect. The greatest affirmation of a woman's charm is wanting to pass on one's genes through her, and taking whatever necessary steps are required to do so."

As Li Xuan spoke, he spread the hands supporting Lilika's body farther apart. As the points supporting her shifted, the angle of her legs widened further and further, far beyond one hundred and eighty degrees, reaching a breathtaking extreme.

Perhaps because she had not fully grown up, Lilika's body was unusually flexible. Yet this excessive stretch still made her ligaments ache faintly. At the same time, it pulled at the forbidden place where her legs met, causing a warm current to seep quietly from deep in her lower abdomen.

"Sorry for hurting you, but I still have to clarify one thing: Maple Commander was a saint to begin with." Noticing the subtle changes in Lilika's expression, Li Xuan maintained her split and gently placed her on the sofa.

"Twisting words! That was nothing but an anime that encouraged crime, corrupted children, and harmed countless people!" Lilika retorted.

"I'm curious, Ms. Lilika. How did you know all that? Could it be that you were interested, so you watched the entire series carefully through a critical lens, perhaps more than once?" Li Xuan asked with amusement, holding Lilika by the waist and slowly turning her to face him, gradually rotating her from a vertical split into a horizontal one.

"How could that be? Alulu once insisted on watching magical girl shows, so I searched for a recently released anime with high ratings and put it on for her. After that, she went crazy, buying a little whip and whipping things everywhere. She even bought a cosplay outfit and made me dress up as Magical Girl Azure so she could spank me. I realized something was wrong, so I secretly watched that anime. Only after I finished it did I understand that it was the thing that had poisoned Alulu!" Lilika said indignantly.

"Do you still have that outfit?" Li Xuan asked curiously.

"No, because... the chest was too big. I couldn't fit into it, so she gave it to a classmate." Lilika blushed.

"Ms. Lilika's aren't small at all. I've seen people who were completely flat, without the slightest curve. Seriously, even building some chest muscles would be better than that." Maintaining the horizontal split, Li Xuan laid Lilika down and pinned her ankles with both hands. Her ordinary horizontal split thus became an outrageously shameful wide-legged pose.

"What are you trying to do? My daughter is still inside doing homework!" Realizing Li Xuan's intentions, Lilika hurriedly lowered her voice to remind him.

"Nothing. She already finished her homework at my place. She's probably playing games right now. She broke my limited-edition handheld console, and I generously bought her another one. So as her mother, shouldn't you compensate me a little?" Li Xuan smiled.

"What could I possibly compensate you with? You don't want money. You're just coveting the few charms this old widow still has." Lilika lay exposed beneath him. After being stared at for so long, she had already lost the strength to resist, though she still tried to preserve a shred of dignity with her words.

"How could that be? I think Ms. Lilika still has plenty of mature charm. Besides, you're already a widow. How could I let you remain a living widow?" Following the seam of her pantyhose by touch, Li Xuan crossed his hands and, with a ripping sound, tore them apart down the middle.

With that line of defense breached, Lilika knew that if she did not do something now, it would all be over.

This time, I truly cannot make another mistake. Last time, he deceived me. Now I have seen through his true face, and my daughter has returned safely. As long as I want to, one call will bring the band's monsters here, and they can leave not even his bones behind in a second. Under these circumstances, there is absolutely no way I can let him succeed again.

Lilika calmly assessed her situation and concluded that she held an absolute advantage. There was no possibility of this happening twice.

"If you dare touch me again, I'll call the band immediately and have them kill you." After saying that, Lilika lifted her skirt and held it between her teeth. She then threaded both hands beneath herself, grasped the backs of her thighs, and actively maintained the split to free Li Xuan's hands.

Oh God! What am I doing? Lilika felt as if her brain were about to explode. What she was doing was completely opposite to what she thought. Had her calm analysis just been an excuse to escape reality, while her body's actions revealed her true feelings?

No matter what, Lilika's only wish now was to bite down on her skirt and make as little sound as possible, so her daughter would not realize what was being done to her.

Although Li Xuan had visited Lilika's depths before, this time felt completely different from the last.

The twisted clenching born of extreme humiliation had its own thrill, but how could the tender embrace filled with lingering affection not be an exquisite experience as well?

At the same time, Lilika's feelings were entirely different from before. Unlike the rough thrusting driven purely by conquest, Li Xuan's movements this time were especially gentle. He even took her small stature into consideration and did not push all the way in.

Yet Li Xuan employed countless techniques this time, expertly controlling the rhythm of Lilika's body at every moment. He added fuel at delicate turning points, gradually setting her body ablaze, making the fire burn hotter and hotter until even the last obsession deep inside her heart was reduced to ashes.

Lilika finally gave up resisting. Both confrontations had ended in defeat. Last time, she had lost to a stat monster; this time, she had lost to a mechanics monster. Li Xuan seemed to understand her body's workings more thoroughly than she did herself, leaving her unable not to submit as a woman.

Lilika weakly released her hands, wrapped her legs around Li Xuan's waist, and raised her hips to eagerly meet him. Then a voice that made every nerve in her body tense came from nearby.

"Mom! I want ice cream!"

Alulu's voice came from the bedroom, followed by the soft footsteps of slippers against the floor.

"Hide me, quick!" Remembering her identity as a mother, Lilika's body suddenly clenched, nearly causing Li Xuan to lose control.

"Where am I supposed to hide you at a time like this?" Li Xuan helplessly looked around and found only one of Alulu's dresses on the sofa armrest. He hurriedly grabbed it and covered Lilika with it. Fortunately, Lilika was petite. Once she drew back her legs, hiding beneath her daughter's skirt was easy enough.

"Huh? It's the creepy uncle. Where's my mom?" Alulu rubbed her sleepy eyes as she came out of the bedroom, looking around without seeing her mother anywhere.

"She went downstairs to take out the trash. If you want ice cream, get it from the refrigerator yourself. I approved it for her." Li Xuan turned his head and said.

"Oh..."

"I'm checking whether the sofa is peeling."

"Oh, then when you're done checking, remember to get off my mom. She still has to do flexibility exercises tonight, so don't tire her out too much." Alulu said it as casually as if it were nothing.

"Mm, definitely, definitely... Huh?" Li Xuan only realized halfway through his response. He had not hidden her at all! The little girl had noticed what he was doing long ago.

"Please. I'm not some clueless cuckold protagonist in a porno manga. Even if I were completely oblivious, I wouldn't be stupid enough not to notice something this obvious." Alulu helplessly spread her hands, stepped forward, and lifted her own skirt, revealing Lilika, whose face was red all the way to her ears.

"Doing strenuous exercise in such hot weather while covered by this thing could kill someone." Alulu gently stroked her mother's sweat-dampened cheek.

"You really are filial." Li Xuan gave her two thumbs up. "Since you've already noticed, I won't keep up the act. I'll help her with her flexibility exercises. Go back and play your games like a good girl."

"Jingjing... I..." Lilika's misty eyes looked at her daughter, who had developed even more maturely than she had. She wanted to say something, but in the end, she said nothing. Perhaps the pleasure flooding her brain left her unable to organize her words, or perhaps the words she had just organized were shattered by Li Xuan's impacts that seemed to strike straight into her heart.

"It's okay, Mom. I know you worked hard to raise me all these years. I don't want to deprive you of the right to be a woman because of me. Have fun~" Alulu gently kissed Lilika's cheek, then ran back to the bedroom with a red face.

"That child really is... so disrespectful!" Lilika held it in for a long time before finally managing a weak scolding.

"True enough. Mom isn't big, and daughter isn't small." Li Xuan grinned wickedly and pinched Lilika's body.

"Mmm~ Be gentler!"

Afterward, Lilika lay limp and motionless on the sofa. Aside from her heavy breathing and the rise and fall of her chest, she looked like a doll that had simply been placed there.

Knowing that she was exhausted, Li Xuan found a bottle of red wine in the refrigerator, poured two glasses, added some ice cubes, and prepared to bring her something to replenish her fluids.

However, when Li Xuan turned around, he was shocked to discover a petite girl in hooded pajamas sprawled across the sofa like a cat, sucking on Lilika's little cherry.

Lilika's body, having just endured a storm of passion, was still trembling with lingering aftereffects. But in her hazy state, she thought Li Xuan was being naughty again. She only murmured something incomprehensible and did not rise to stop it.

Although what the little girl was doing was incomparably lewd, there was not the slightest trace of desecration on her face. She looked as natural and peaceful as a child drinking milk.

The sudden turn of events left Li Xuan confused. Only when the little girl raised her head to look at him did he suddenly remember: weren't those black pajamas and that cat-ear hood worn by one of the band's four members?

Only then did the system belatedly issue a notification:

[Magical girl locked on]

[Name: Bai Rijian Black Cat]

[Magic Power Level: A]

[Type: Fantasy Type]