You May Take Your Exit

An Xia did not respond, merely watching him in silence.

"Um..."

Feeling unnerved under the girl's stare, Zhou Mo hesitated before trying to speak.

"Why didn't you stay away from the scene? Do you know how dangerous that was?"

An Xia suddenly asked.

"I..."

Zhou Mo's voice caught, and he did not know how to answer.

"Mo Li told me that no matter what happened, your own life came first. How could you disregard your life and do something so dangerous? If something had happened to you, what would your family have done? Sigh, it's all my fault for being careless..."

An Xia's string of nagging made sweat bead at Zhou Mo's temple.

For some reason, her reprimand gave him an inexplicable sense of pressure.

He took a deep breath. Without offering too many explanations, he simply lowered his head.

"Hiss, I'm sorry. I made you worry."

Zhou Mo's sincere apology left An Xia at a loss for words.

"Anyway, you need to protect yourself."

"Yes, yes, my fault. My fault."

Zhou Mo nodded repeatedly, looking thoroughly chastened.

"..."

An Xia said nothing further, and more than half the anger in her heart instantly dissipated.

She did not know why she had been so angry, but learning that he had deliberately stepped into a dangerous area had made her furious.

"Ding!"

Just as the two fell silent, notification sounds rang from both their phones.

When they checked, they saw it was a message from Mo Li.

"[Mo Li sent a location] Come quickly."

The two exchanged a glance after receiving the message. Zhou Mo spoke first.

"Then, let's go."

"...Mm."

Inside a dessert shop, Mo Li sat by the street-facing window, spooning matcha parfait into her mouth bit by bit and savoring it carefully.

"You ran into a Monster?"

Mo Li blinked and looked across the table.

Zhou Mo and An Xia sat opposite her, with a matcha parfait in front of each of them as well.

Zhou Mo coughed awkwardly, then nodded.

"Really? Did you get a video?"

Mo Li slapped the table at once, bracing both hands against it as she leaned toward them, staring at Zhou Mo with shining eyes.

Zhou Mo took off the body camera hanging from him and sent the recorded footage to Mo Li.

"Ooh, ooh, from this angle, it's absolutely one of a kind."

Mo Li became somewhat excited when she saw Zhou Mo maneuvering around the Monster in the footage.

"I didn't expect you to dare go head-to-head with a Monster. That's badass, Zhou Mo."

Mo Li gave Zhou Mo a thumbs-up.

Unfortunately, the footage went black for a stretch in the middle, and only captured the two Magical Girls after the battle had ended.

"Mo Li..."

An Xia glanced at Mo Li with slight dissatisfaction.

Mo Li came to her senses after hearing that. She gave a light cough, then put on a serious expression and said to Zhou Mo:

"Student Zhou Mo, although it was for the sake of better filming the daily lives of Magical Girls, we do not encourage risking your life like that. Don't do anything so foolish again."

"Yes, yes."

Zhou Mo nodded earnestly in agreement.

Then Mo Li cautiously glanced at An Xia. Seeing that she was no longer sulking, she returned to her usual self.

"Alright, I'll send this video to Xiao Baiyi. If there's nothing else, meeting adjourned."

After saying that, Mo Li sent Bai Yi a message.

"Mo Li: [Video] Time to work."

After everyone had left, Mo Li remained in her seat. She opened the video Zhou Mo had sent and stared unblinkingly at the trench-coated man on the screen.

Her expression remained calm as she put away her phone and left the dessert shop.

--

The sun was setting behind the western hills, and red clouds filled the sky.

On an empty street, a man in a black trench coat walked along, his eyes occasionally scanning his surroundings with a furtive air.

When he reached a corner, he pulled a black lump of flesh from his coat. The lump twitched strangely in his hand.

"Not bad. Soon, I'll be able to corrupt a Magical Girl."

Looking down at the Abyssal Core in his hand, the man smiled faintly.

As an [Executor] valued by Lord Moba, he was different from those disposable workers who spent all day typing away in basements. He was an official employee of the organization, with a legitimate labor contract.

His work was of a higher caliber: corrupting Magical Girls.

"Ah, Magical Girls. What wonderful things. I really want to see it again—the instant they fall. I could die without regrets after that."

The trench-coated man gripped the Abyssal Core in his hand and closed his eyes in enjoyment. At the thought of Magical Girls transforming into Abyss Witches before him, he could not help humming softly.

"Is that so? Then how about you die right now?"

A girl's voice abruptly rang out above his head. The man instantly became alert and looked up.

A girl in an ornate black dress, with black hair and purple eyes, sat atop the wall at the corner, looking down at him from above.

"A Magical Girl?"

The man narrowed his eyes. He recognized her identity at a glance and quietly took a step back.

For her to get this close without him noticing, this Magical Girl was definitely no weakling.

"Beautiful Magical Girl, may I ask what you need from me?"

Rather than irrationally choosing to flee, the man questioned her first.

In response, the girl jumped down from the wall and casually walked toward him.

"Nothing much. There's something on you that interests me. Could you let me have a look?"

The man was confused and was about to ask what she meant when the Magical Girl before him crooked a finger at him.

"Oh, right. That thing in your hand. Let me see it."

"Hm?"

The trench-coated man froze for a moment, unable to process it.

A Magical Girl wanted an Abyssal Core?

Wasn't she afraid of the Abyss?

Even if she had resistance, no Magical Girl would make such a request, would she?

Before he could react, his hand suddenly felt empty. He immediately looked down.

The Abyssal Core he had been holding had vanished.

Ahead of him, the black-haired Magical Girl was already holding the black flesh ball. Its surface twisted violently, as though it were resisting some kind of force.

Yet the Magical Girl merely observed it expressionlessly, rubbing her chin as she muttered to herself:

"Ah, an improved version. It can connect someone to a deeper place, and it can be reused. It works as long as you touch it. You don't need to swallow it."

She squeezed the Bone Core in her hand. The black lump of flesh seemed quite elastic, deforming under her grip.

"Heh, it's pretty stress-relieving. I'll bring it to Xiao Baiyi to play with."

"You..."

Watching this bizarre scene, a bead of cold sweat slowly slid down the man's temple.

Treating an Abyss creation like it was nothing... Top Tier? Or one of the Ten?

"Who exactly are you?"

the trench-coated man asked in a low voice.

"Me? My name is Mo Li."

The girl turned to look at him and bluntly gave her name.

"Mo..."

The man looked utterly bewildered. Why did that not sound like a Magical Girl name, but more like...

"Ah, I accidentally gave my real name."

The girl suddenly realized this as well and immediately covered her mouth. Then she gave a light cough and introduced herself again:

"I am the Magical Girl Lilith."

"Lilith... Lilith... Li... Huh?!"

Upon hearing the Magical Girl name she gave, the trench-coated man pondered for a long while. Then, as though he had thought of something, his eyes widened instantly. His body stiffened, and he raised a finger as a trembling voice escaped him.

"You... you're..."

"[Shh]"

Mo Li placed a finger against her lips, signaling for him to be quiet.

The man immediately fell silent. It was not that he did not want to speak—he suddenly could not open his mouth.

Seeing this, his eyes filled with shock and disbelief.

Then Mo Li softly said again:

"[I say], you may take your exit."

Bzz—

As the girl's words fell, the trench-coated man's trembling body went still. His eyes, once full of terror, became vacant.

The next moment, his body gradually turned transparent. Without any struggle, he scattered into the wind like foam.

After finishing all that, Mo Li tucked the Abyssal Core into her pocket and clapped her hands as though she had clocked off work.

"You actually dared lay a hand on someone Xiao Baiyi wanted to protect."

Mo Li muttered to herself, then shook her head and sighed softly.

"Sigh, if she wants to protect him, why won't she let me follow him? Whatever. Xiao Baiyi's word is law."