Magical Girl? There's No Going Back!

"You've got guts, then let me go and fight me fair and square!" Wu Yan said angrily through the pain.

"Whether I've got guts or not, won't you find out soon enough?" Li Xuan gave an ill-intentioned smile and used fireproof tentacles to send Wu Yan into the underground Magical Girl's Wonder House.

Ahahahahahahahahahaha

The moment she entered the dim underground warehouse, Wu Yan panicked.

Although no one had brought up what Xu Rou had experienced here, they all understood without saying it. Just from the sticky fluid on her body and her slightly trembling form when she had been rescued, it was not hard to guess what she had endured.

Wu Yan might have been bold and carefree by nature, but she was still a young woman. At the thought of being reduced to a complete mess herself, her body began trembling uncontrollably.

"Are you scared?"

"Scared? What a joke. The word 'fear' doesn't exist in my dictionary!" Wu Yan snorted disdainfully, though her voice lacked conviction.

"Then you should get a dictionary with all its pages intact," Li Xuan teased.

"You think that's funny? You bastard! Loser! If you hadn't used such dirty tricks, I'd have made you vanish from this world in one second!" Wu Yan cursed loudly, seemingly trying to dispel the fear in her heart.

"Your vocabulary is much richer than Xu Rou's when you're cursing. Hmm... your thighs are a lot firmer too. You work out often, don't you?" Li Xuan gave Wu Yan's thigh a hard squeeze, thoroughly pleased by its firm feel.

Seeing Li Xuan brazenly kneading her thigh, Wu Yan wished she could burn him to death with a single blast. However, magic like Judgment was the kind that harmed both sides. Though immensely powerful, it would also leave her weakened for a short time.

In other words, she did not even have the ability to take him down with her now. All she could do was let the monster before her do as he pleased.

"Don't be so tense. I won't deal with you the way I dealt with Xu Rou. Using the same method every time would bore me too." As Li Xuan spoke, his fingers moved downward and removed Wu Yan's red dance shoes.

Wu Yan wore no socks after transforming, so when her shoes came off, a pair of pale, delicate feet was revealed. Her feet were beautifully shaped, with slender, long soles and sharply defined ankles. Her skin was fair and smooth, her pores fine, and her ten toes round and lustrous, each carefully painted with red nail polish. They had clearly been well cared for, and she certainly had reason to take pride in them.

"Your feet really are beautiful. They look pretty sensitive too." Li Xuan smiled wickedly and took out a feather, lightly brushing it across Wu Yan's sole.

"Mmph!" Wu Yan's foot twitched and reflexively pulled back.

"You're actually very ticklish, aren't you?" Li Xuan leaned close and gently bit Wu Yan's ear. His hot breath lingered beside her earlobe, making her shudder.

"Not at all! Give me my shoes back!" Wu Yan said, her face flushing red.

"It's good that you're not, because the punishment I prepared for you today is hell for anyone who's ticklish." Li Xuan extended more than a dozen thin tentacles from behind him. Each held something like a feather, paintbrush, or calligraphy brush, and they suddenly reached beneath Wu Yan's arms, along her ribs, under her feet, across her neck, and around her hips—rubbing at all her most ticklish spots.

"Ehh?... Ha... hahaha~ Stop tickling me... it tickles... ahahahahaha... stop it~~ Don't... ahahahahaha~" Wu Yan could not help bursting into frantic laughter. She twisted desperately, trying to evade them, but the tentacles held her firmly in place. The unbearable itch she could not escape made her entire body tremble nonstop.

Wu Yan had once heard that in ancient times, tickling had been used to torture prisoners. This cruel punishment could even kill people. Was she going to laugh herself to death too?

"Ahahahaha~~... I can't take it... stop already! Hahaha~ Ha..." The relentless tickling made tears stream from Wu Yan's eyes, her face flushed red. Her sweat-dampened chest heaved violently as she gasped for breath. Laughing consumed far more stamina than she had imagined. Several times, she tried to use magic to perish together with him, but the itch assailing every part of her body made it impossible to focus.

"You seem to be having fun," Li Xuan joked.

"I'm not... hahahaha~ It's just... hahaha... just a physical reaction! You... hahahahaha~" Wu Yan was laughing so hard she could barely breathe, yet she still tried to argue with Li Xuan.

"You magical girls are all so stubborn."

"Let me go~~ I'm going to lose my breath... I can't do this... If this keeps going, it'll get weird..." Half an hour later, Wu Yan's voice had grown quieter, not because the tickling had weakened, but because she no longer had enough oxygen to sustain such prolonged laughter.

[Defeat CG unlocked: Tickling Play (I)]

[CG elements: Tickling & Suffocation]

[Experience +3]

[Current Experience: 3/10]

Seeing that the CG had been unlocked, and that Wu Yan might really suffocate to death if this continued, Li Xuan snapped his fingers and had the tentacles release her, in the interest of sustainable development.

The moment the tentacles let her go, Wu Yan collapsed limply onto the floor. She had laughed until she had no strength left anywhere in her body. Though the tentacles had not secreted any slime, her face was already covered in her own tears and saliva, leaving her in a complete mess.

Li Xuan checked the map on the Hunting Radar. Qi Mo and Xu Rou had already dealt with the Slime and were heading this way. He did not have much time left.

Li Xuan retracted his tentacles and turned to leave, but a weak voice suddenly called from behind him. "Stop! Where are you going? Our battle isn't over yet!"

Li Xuan turned around to see Wu Yan actually forcing herself back to her feet. Staggering forward, she threw a punch at his chest.

However, Wu Yan had already exhausted all her strength. Her soft fists carried no force at all, and she could no longer summon those deadly flames.

Li Xuan caught Wu Yan by the wrist and pulled her into his arms. "You're this limp already. How are you going to fight me? Or are you reluctant to leave me and want to play with me a little longer?"

"Of course not, let go of me! Ah~" Wu Yan's hands were twisted behind her back by tentacles, and a heavy slap landed on her shapely rear.

The sensation of being spanked humiliated Wu Yan beyond measure, and tears immediately spilled down her face. She had boasted confidently before her companions, but when it came to a real fight, not only had she failed to avenge Xu Rou, she had gotten herself captured as well. For someone with such fierce pride, it was a hard reality to accept.

Li Xuan had no idea she was having such complicated thoughts. He simply found some rope in his toolbox, tied Wu Yan to the floor with her legs spread in an M-shape, sealed her mouth with tape, and left several small tentacles behind to keep counting her ribs.

These tentacles were monsters created by the second batch of Fallen Blood. They had no combat ability, but when they died, they released smoke that made people irritable. As long as cracks formed among the magical girls themselves, his plan could proceed perfectly.

"They'll stop after they count to ten thousand. Enjoy yourself slowly."

Watching Wu Yan squirm in humiliation, Li Xuan smiled with satisfaction before swaggering out of the warehouse.

By the time Qi Mo and Xu Rou found the warehouse entrance, Wu Yan had nearly been driven mad by the torment.

Xu Rou hurried over, pulled the tentacles off, threw them to the floor, and crushed them underfoot. Then she carefully cut through the ropes with the blade of her axe and freed Wu Yan. The crushed tentacles released a cloud of pink smoke, but Xu Rou seemed not to notice as she focused on rescuing her.

1111111 Bro, You Really Sent It!

"Are you okay, Flame Dance? Does anything hurt? Has the monster left?" Xu Rou asked anxiously.

"I'm fine. My hands and feet are just numb from being tied up," Wu Yan said, breathing heavily.

Seeing the skin where the ropes had dug into Wu Yan was bright red, Xu Rou helped her sit up and massaged her to restore her circulation. Wu Yan's body was still sensitive after the tickling torture, and she occasionally let out alluring gasps.

By now, the pink smoke had spread throughout the enclosed space. Watching Xu Rou's little hands press and rub over Wu Yan's body, Qi Mo became increasingly irritated. At last, she could not help saying, "Wu Yan, I told you long ago that we should act together, but you went in alone again! You let a monster that practically delivered itself to us get away!"

Wu Yan had already been furious after Li Xuan's treatment, and Qi Mo's accusation made her answer sharply, "The monster was right in front of me. Was I supposed to wait around to die?"

"Stop trying to twist things. I'm talking about you chasing after the monster on your own! You always get carried away and let your emotions control you completely. When are you going to fix that habit?" Qi Mo said with a frown.

"Enough, Qi Mo. Wu Yan only did it to avenge me, so don't blame her too much," Xu Rou urged.

Seeing Xu Rou defend Wu Yan only made Qi Mo angrier, and her voice rose accordingly. "Why are you defending her too? She's always this reckless. One day, she'll get us all killed!"

"Don't yell at Xiao Rou! If you've got the ability, go find that monster and kill it! You're always acting like you're lecturing people. You're not my mother!" Wu Yan snapped back irritably.

"I should've known better than to save you. I should've just let you die at the monster's hands!" Seeing Wu Yan's hand still resting on Xu Rou's shoulder, Qi Mo's voice shook with anger. She turned and slammed the door as she stormed out.

Naturally, Li Xuan saw all of this through the Hunting Radar. He smiled in satisfaction and switched the view to Qi Mo, who was leaving in a fury.

Forum Friends, Judge This! I Got NTR'd!

Still burning with anger, Qi Mo returned home, opened the forum she frequented, and made a post tearfully recounting her miserable experience. Naturally, she did not mention magical girls or monsters, replacing those parts with a similar scenario instead.

This sort of love-triangle drama was very popular online, and a flood of replies soon appeared. Most people were simply watching the show and jokingly patting the original poster's head; a few kindhearted people offered comfort. Qi Mo had expected this reaction. She only wanted to vent and get a few comforting words.

After venting, Qi Mo could not help recalling the sight of Xu Rou using her pale little hands to massage Wu Yan. She grew somewhat excited and opened a certain unspeakable website, entering "magical girl" as a search term in hopes of finding some material.

However, the recently uploaded videos were all terrible. Some used magical girls as bait, only for the actual content to have nothing to do with them. Qi Mo was deeply disappointed and was about to close her computer when she suddenly received a private message through the forum.

When she opened it, the message read:

[What you have isn't called NTR, because the heroine in the story isn't your lover yet, only someone you secretly love, so it doesn't fit the definition of NTR. Also, saying you were 'NTR'd' is wrong. NTR itself is already a passive expression.]

This was obviously aimed at the post she had just made, and Qi Mo immediately flared up. There was no need to maintain a ladylike image online anyway, so she grabbed the keyboard and clattered out a reply at the speed of seventeen characters every two seconds:

Who the hell are you? I like using it that way, so why is it any of your business?

You think knowing a little makes you something special? You read a few posts and now you're playing grammar police everywhere. What are you showing off for?

What? Not replying because you're scared?

After sending the messages, Qi Mo smugly imagined the other person flying into a rage. However, their next reply was far beyond her expectations:

[Reply 1 and get 200GB of high-definition magical girl content]

1111111 Bro, You Really Sent It!

Right afterward, a cloud-storage link was sent to Qi Mo's email. Thrilled, she opened it and downloaded a file package called "Study Materials." Once the download was complete, she opened it and found many magical girl animated clips inside, all of exceptionally high quality.

Qi Mo eagerly browsed through the clips. As she watched, she suddenly noticed a live-action video among them. Was it some kind of magical girl cosplay?

Curious, Qi Mo clicked the video.

The video was short, only a little over a minute. Its contents were the classic magical girl and tentacle monster scenario, something Qi Mo had seen countless times before.

However, when she saw the heroine's face clearly, all the blood in her body seemed to rush to her head—the magical girl on screen was Xu Rou, whom she had coveted for so long! Looking at the surroundings, it was clearly the abandoned warehouse where Xu Rou had been rescued that day.

The overly stimulating scene made Qi Mo stop thinking. She replayed the video again and again, put on headphones to listen to Xu Rou's cries, and soon found release.

Only after the post-climax haze passed did Qi Mo realize how suspicious this was. She hurriedly opened the private messages and asked:

How did you get that live-action video?

The other person replied quickly:

[That isn't important. What matters is that I have the full version of the video. Don't worry. Aside from me, you're the only one who has seen it.]

Qi Mo hesitated. The magical girls' cognitive barrier worked even on recorded footage, so she was not too worried that the other person would upload the video online. Still, their identity was deeply suspicious. Had they really sent her this video by coincidence?

How much?

Even with so many doubts, Qi Mo ultimately could not resist the temptation and typed her question.

[No money. I only need you to help me test a new product.]

What new product?

[A magic potion. As long as you give it to someone you like, she will develop feelings of love for you. Don't worry, it won't cause her any harm.]

You think I'd believe something like that?

[You will.]

The conversation ended there.

The next afternoon, Qi Mo really did receive a bottle of red liquid. Her first instinct was to throw it away, but somehow, she still brought it with her.

Because of the monster attacks, school had been suspended, so Qi Mo went directly to Xu Rou's home to see her.

"Let's go have dinner together," Qi Mo invited.

"Shouldn't we invite Wu Yan? You two just had an argument. Wouldn't this be a good chance to ease things between you?" Xu Rou asked.

"Precisely because we just argued, we need to keep our distance and give both sides some time to cool off," Qi Mo replied with the excuse she had prepared long ago.

"You really think things through. I was careless," Xu Rou said with a smile, taking Qi Mo's hand as they headed out together.

Held by Xu Rou's cool little hand, Qi Mo felt indescribably happy, her heart nearly overflowing with joy.

The two went to a restaurant they often visited and casually had a simple meal. Several times, Qi Mo wanted to take out the magic potion and have Xu Rou drink it, but every time it felt too abrupt, and she feared arousing Xu Rou's suspicion.

Just then, the aura of a monster suddenly appeared nearby.

"Could it be that guy again?"

Qi Mo and Xu Rou looked at each other. They both took out their badges, transformed, and rushed toward the source of the aura.

Deceiving Yourself

After arriving, Qi Mo could not help letting out a sigh of relief.

This monster had four arms and looked like a gigantic gorilla. Though its body was tall and muscular, it was not especially difficult to deal with.

Xu Rou immediately swung her Moonblade Axe and charged in, while Qi Mo used various spells from behind to restrict the monster's movements. With the two working together, Xu Rou soon slew it.

"Xiao Rou, are you all right?" Qi Mo stepped forward and used magic to heal Xu Rou's wounds.

"I'm fine. I'm just a little low on energy." Xu Rou dismissed her transformation and sat down wearily on the ground.

Ever since she had been captured after that mistake, Xu Rou had always seemed distracted. Beneath her shame and resentment, she faintly sensed that there seemed to be a trace of hidden expectation in her heart. If Qi Mo and Wu Yan had not come to save her that day, what other shameless methods would that monster have used on her? How long could her noble convictions truly have held out?

No. She could not keep thinking about it. Absolutely not.

Xu Rou tapped her forehead with her fist, strangling those thoughts in the cradle.

"You've been forcing yourself to stay strong lately. I can tell you don't want Wu Yan and me to worry, but that's no reason to push yourself so hard. As a magical girl, of course you have to be strong, but when you feel weak, you can rely on someone too. Do you understand?" Qi Mo said gently.

"I'm sorry. I was too narrow-minded. This isn't something for me to bear alone, yet I kept thinking I had to handle it myself." Xu Rou thought of how Qi Mo, only one year older than her, cared for her as attentively as an older sister. She was deeply moved, completely unaware that their intense friendship had long since quietly changed.

"That's more like it! Have some water to soothe your throat. Charging ahead in every battle is exhausting." Qi Mo smiled and naturally handed Xu Rou a bottle of drink.

Xu Rou happened to be thirsty, so she unscrewed the cap and gulped it all down.

When Qi Mo saw her pick up the drink, her heart pounded furiously. Only after Xu Rou drained it without any suspicion did she finally relax, though she also felt a trace of regret and disappointment.

"Go home and get some proper sleep. Leave the cleanup to me," Qi Mo said softly.