Superman?

Molly rubbed her stomach. It was still empty.

"No, I need to go buy more food."

She muttered to herself and headed toward the convenience store.

However, before she had gone far, Molly noticed something was wrong.

The streets were deserted, without a single person in sight.

The streetlights cast a dim yellow glow over the empty streets, making them seem especially desolate.

At this hour, the convenience stores should have been brightly lit and bustling with people.

But now, after checking several convenience stores, she found every door closed and the interiors pitch-black.

"What the hell?"

Molly frowned, feeling a little annoyed.

She recalled the recent uproar over the Dried-Corpse Murder Case and the Monster Demon.

"Those Defectors and Monster Demons must be up to something again!"

Molly gritted her teeth and cursed those bastards from the bottom of her heart.

With no other choice, she could only head farther away.

She refused to believe that in such a huge city, there was not a single convenience store still open.

The night grew deeper.

Molly walked down the empty street, her footsteps especially clear in the silent night.

Her guard was raised to the highest level, all five senses fully alert as she watched her surroundings.

After all, in times like these, going out at night was anything but safe.

Before long, Molly finally found an open convenience store.

However, she also ran into two Black Defectors who had come shopping as well.

The two were chatting:

"This lollipop is tasty. I should buy some to take home, you know."

"Isn't this the same lollipop GG Bond likes? You like this?"

"I like all childhood cartoons, you know."

"Then let me quiz you."

"Sure."

"There's this cartoon with several people in it called Sweetie Gets Supered, Careless Gets Supered, Happy Becomes Superman, Clumsy Gets the Wrong Person, Careful, I'm Superman... What's the name of that cartoon?"

"???"

"..."

Molly, who had been eavesdropping beside the convenience store entrance, was utterly speechless.

Then suddenly, a flash of golden light streaked across a distant rooftop.

Right afterward, a purple-black shadow swept swiftly over the rooftops.

"Hm?"

Molly's eyes narrowed at once.

Looking closely, she saw that the golden light belonged to a young girl in golden magical attire.

The girl held a golden grimoire in her hands and was closely pursuing that purple-black shadow.

The purple-black shadow was incredibly fast, trailing a long plume of purple-black mist behind it. It looked like some kind of Monster Demon.

"It's her!"

A surge of excitement instantly rose in Molly's heart.

She recognized that girl in the golden magical outfit!

She was the magical girl who had saved Molly's life in the alley a few days ago!

She never expected to run into her here!

Molly instantly perked up.

"Great!"

Molly secretly rejoiced. She entered an alley, found a spot beyond the reach of surveillance cameras, and silently uttered:

"Transform!"

Whoosh!

A white magical outfit instantly covered her body. Her silver hair fell to her hips, and she gripped that silver Broken Sword in her hand.

Her aura instantly became razor-sharp.

Molly pushed off the ground and chased after that golden figure.

She was fast. After her Basic Swordsmanship broke through to Tier 4, her physical abilities had improved by a huge margin as well.

But the girl in golden magical attire was even faster, like a golden afterimage weaving between rooftops.

Molly gave it everything she had and closely followed behind.

But before long, she realized she had lost them.

Both the golden light and the purple-black shadow had vanished into the night.

"Damn, why were they so fast?"

"How did they disappear in the blink of an eye???"

Molly stopped helplessly and caught her breath.

She looked around and realized she had somehow arrived in an unfamiliar place.

Abandoned factories surrounded her. The walls were covered in graffiti and cracks, while every window had shattered glass. The place looked utterly dilapidated.

"This is... an abandoned food factory?"

Molly muttered as she looked at the sign on a nearby wall.

The sign read "H-Star Food Factory," though the lettering had already become blurred and illegible.

Just then, a faint purple mist drifted into Molly's nose.

The mist carried a pungent smell that was deeply unpleasant.

Molly's expression grew solemn.

She could sense an evil aura within the mist, identical to the aura carried by a Monster Demon.

"There's something wrong in there!"

Molly tightened her grip on the Broken Sword, her gaze becoming wary.

She vaguely heard the sounds of fighting coming from deep within the factory.

The sounds of objects colliding and a Monster Demon roaring could faintly be heard.

"That golden magical girl should be inside!"

Curiosity welled up in Molly's heart.

She wanted to know what that golden magical girl was fighting.

Molly hesitated no longer. Carrying the Broken Sword, she cautiously headed into the factory.

The inside of the factory was pitch-black.

Faint purple mist filled the air, leaving very little visibility.

Molly could only rely on her sharp five senses to feel her way forward.

The ground beneath her feet was covered in dust and gravel, crunching with every step.

"Oho!!!"

Suddenly, a black shadow lunged out from behind a nearby pillar!

The shadow was incredibly fast, its entire body covered in purple-black scales. It had no facial features, only a split-open maw filled with sharp teeth.

Its claws were like sickles, gleaming with a cold light as they slashed toward Molly's throat!

[Monster Demon: Zombie Demon]

[Level: 6]

"Zombie?"

Molly narrowed her eyes, recognizing the monster.

She did not panic in the slightest. With a flick of her wrist, the silver Broken Sword shot forward like a streak of silver lightning.

Clang!

A crisp ring echoed out.

The Broken Sword collided with the Zombie Demon's claws.

The Zombie Demon's claws were sent flying, striking the ground with a dull thud.

"Hiss-ha!!!"

The Zombie Demon let out a miserable shriek, staggering several steps backward.

Molly gave it no chance. She slid forward, closing in as the Broken Sword in her hand swept out with fierce momentum and sliced across the Zombie Demon's neck.

Slash!

Black blood sprayed out.

The Zombie Demon's head fell straight to the ground. Its body twitched a few times before going completely still.

Molly sheathed the Broken Sword. Just as she was about to relax, she noticed a tiny purple-black fragment had fallen beside the Zombie Demon's corpse.

The fragment was only the size of a fingernail and emitted a faint purple-black glow.

"Another one of these purple-black fragments... Huh?"

As Molly spoke, the Broken Sword in her hand suddenly emitted an intense white light.

Whoosh!

A beam of white light shot from the Broken Sword's tip, enveloping the purple-black fragment.

As though drawn by some force, the fragment flew straight up and toward the Broken Sword.

The instant it touched the Broken Sword, the fragment turned into a streak of white light and merged into the blade.

At the same time, a panel suddenly popped up before Molly's eyes.

\n[Holy Judgment, Tier 1: 400/10000]\n

"Huh?!"

Molly's eyes widened, her face filled with surprise.

That was right! Holy Judgment's proficiency had really increased by 100 points!

"These purple-black fragments can actually increase Holy Judgment's proficiency?"

An enormous wave of delight instantly surged through Molly's heart.

She had been worried that Holy Judgment's cooldown was too long. She normally had no chance to use it, and its proficiency rose slower than a turtle could crawl.

Who would have thought that the fragments dropped by these Monster Demons could directly increase Holy Judgment's proficiency!

This was exactly what she needed!

"Awesome!"

Molly was thrilled beyond measure.

She looked at the Broken Sword in her hand, then toward the depths of the factory, her eyes blazing with fervor.

There had to be plenty more Monster Demons inside the factory!

As long as she killed them, she could obtain more fragments and raise Holy Judgment's proficiency faster!

"Let's go!"

Molly gripped the Broken Sword tightly, no longer hesitating as she strode toward the depths of the factory.

The sounds of battle deeper in the factory grew clearer and clearer.

The clash of weapons, the roars of Monster Demons, and the sharp cries of a magical girl intertwined into a fierce battle hymn.

Molly's gaze sharpened.

She could sense that the battle ahead was intense.

That golden magical girl had probably run into trouble.

Molly quickened her pace, the Broken Sword in her hand glinting with merciless cold light.

She wanted to see what kind of Monster Demon could give that golden magical girl such a headache.

And more than that, she was eager to find out how much proficiency the fragments dropped by those powerful Monster Demons could give her.

She had to increase her strength faster!

Only by becoming stronger could she survive in this perilous world and protect the people she wanted to protect!