Hospital

The man in the gray suit stayed stunned for only three seconds.

Three seconds later, he made the worst decision of his life.

"Grab her!" he roared, backing away. "She's just a fledgling who's only just awakened!"

He never finished.

Because the hyena-like Fallen Beast moved first.

It lunged at Thousand Blades, fangs tearing through the air—and then it saw the rain.

Countless blades turned at once, their tips shrieking through the air in a single, unbroken howl.

A silver-bright Blade Rain poured down. The Fallen Beast did not even get out a cry before it was shredded in midair into a cloud of black mist.

Blade Rain did not stop.

"Aah—!!"

The subordinate at the front felt a chill in his limbs. The next instant, more than a dozen blades pinned him to the wall. Every one had passed precisely through a sleeve, trouser cuff, or collar, brushing his skin without leaving a scratch.

The second, the third, the fourth.

Someone pulled a gun. Before he could raise it halfway, a blade knocked it flying with a clang, slicing off half his shoelace for good measure.

Thousand Blades had never learned any fighting techniques.

She simply raised a hand through her tears. Wherever she pointed, Blade Rain fell.

The man in the gray suit scrambled toward the door on hands and knees. His fingertips were half a meter from the handle—

Hum.

Dozens of blades crossed and plunged down before him, weaving a wall of glinting steel.

He turned his head stiffly.

At the center of Blade Rain, the tear-streaked girl looked at him and said, one word at a time:

"Harvesters... collect negative emotions, do they?"

"Why aren't you collecting any now?"

In the city branch's monitoring room, an alarm suddenly blared.

"Unknown Magic Power signature! West side of the city! Its strength—it's still rising!" The monitor's voice cracked. "This Magic Power isn't on record!"

Knight and Masked Heroine exchanged a glance, then rushed out of the Association.

The warehouse had fallen quiet.

Five people lay sprawled, pinned to walls and floor, their groans rising one after another.

Not even ash remained of the Fallen Beast.

Thousand Blades stood where she was, panting.

Then she jolted back to herself.

"Yang Chen!!"

The blades filling the air vanished with a rush, scattering into points of light. Only a dozen or so remained circling her.

She ran to the pool of blood and dropped to her knees. Her hands hovered over his body, shaking so badly she did not dare touch him.

Blood.

So much blood.

His back and arms were covered in gaping wounds. His face was white as paper, his eyes shut tight.

Yang Chen: I don't dare open them. I really don't dare.

"Yang Chen... Yang Chen, wake up..." Her voice broke with every word. "An ambulance... right, an ambulance! My phone—where's my phone?!"

Her phone had fallen onto the old street when she was abducted.

"...Stop shouting."

The boy in the pool of blood cracked one eye open, his voice barely a whisper.

"You'll... lose your voice..."

"Yang Chen!!" Fresh tears spilled down Thousand Blades' face. "How are you? Don't scare me! What am I supposed to do if you die—"

"...I won't die." Yang Chen's mouth moved with difficulty. "It just... hurts a little... Let me... sleep for a while..."

With that, his head lolled to one side, and he "passed out."

Not bad acting. In the dark, Yang Chen gave himself a score.

His plan to fake his death had fallen through anyway, so he would settle for the next best thing: serious injuries, unconsciousness, a trip to the hospital. He could figure out the rest when he woke up.

I'm sorry, though. I made her cry this hard...

"Yang Chen!!!"

As the girl cried out in anguish, he let himself slip into "unconsciousness" with a clear conscience.

A silver shield smashed the warehouse doors open.

Knight charged in first, Guardian Heart already deployed—then stopped short.

Four people were pinned to the walls and one lay on the floor, all dressed like the Liberation Faction members in the alert. Black mist from a purified Fallen Beast lingered in the air. Blood covered the floor. Beside a pool of it, a blood-soaked "girl" lay unconscious, while a magical girl in an unfamiliar outfit held him, apparently about to fly away.

"Association! We're with the Association!" Knight put away her sword and shield and hurried forward. "Medical help! Now!"

Celestial Star, who was following behind, stepped forward at once.

The medical team could not arrive that quickly, but Celestial Star usually could not use her exclusive ability, so she had learned an assortment of other skills.

Her Magic Power-wrapped hand settled gently on Yang Chen.

"Hm?"

Celestial Star paused, as if she had noticed something.

Knight crouched down and saw the boy's face in the light—

She froze.

"You're... Yang Chen?!"

What was he doing here? And how had he been hurt this badly?

Thoughts flashed through her mind and linked together: the kidnapping, the helpful citizen, the Liberation Faction...

"I see." Knight clenched her fists until her knuckles cracked. "Those scum."

She turned to the unfamiliar magical girl, who was still crying, and softened her voice.

"Did you save him?"

Thousand Blades looked up through her tears and edged farther in front of Yang Chen, wary.

"...I did."

"Thank you," Knight said solemnly. "You did well. Leave the rest to us—he'll go to the best hospital. I promise."

Central Hospital, late at night.

Harsh white lights lit the corridor outside the emergency room.

Chen Zhou and Su Wan stumbled in.

Their daughter had not answered her phone. Someone had found it on the old street. Then came the police report, the wait, and finally the call from the Association. Those two hours had nearly taken everything out of the middle-aged couple.

"Qianqian! Where's our Qianqian—"

Then they saw what was happening at the end of the corridor.

Nurses were wheeling Yang Chen out of the emergency room on a hospital bed, taking him to intensive care.

"Chen?!" Su Wan's legs gave way. She nearly fell to her knees, but Chen Zhou held her up.

"How could... how could Chen..."

"Please accept my condol—no, no, that's wrong!" Ranger floundered beside them. "He's not dead! The doctor said they're all superficial wounds. They just look frightening!"

"Can superficial wounds look like that?!"

Chen Zhou's voice nearly cracked.

He had only caught a glimpse, but Yang Chen was practically wrapped up like a mummy.

Knight stepped forward and gave them a brief account: the kidnapping, the ransom demand, and Yang Chen going to the meeting alone.

"Fortunately, Thousand Blades acted in time, so nothing too serious happened."

"Thank you..." Tears spilled down Su Wan's face again. She took Chen Zhou's hand, and they bowed deeply. "Thank you for saving him... Thank you... But have you seen our daughter?"

Only Yang Chen was here. She still had not seen her Qianqian.

"Ah... no, you don't need to thank me... Ah! No, no... that's not right!" Thousand Blades was so flustered she did not know what to do with her hands. "It's me!"

Only then did Thousand Blades realize she had been so frantic that she had forgotten to cancel her transformation.

Soft light spread outward, and her magical outfit peeled away in layers like a receding tide—

Standing in the light was an ordinary girl in a school uniform, her hair a mess.

Chen Zhou: "..."

Su Wan: "..."

A deathly silence fell over the corridor.

"Dad, Mom." Chen Qianqian forced a smile uglier than crying. "Um..."

"I can explain..."

"Our daughter??!!!"

Su Wan's eyes rolled back, and she toppled straight backward.

Chen Zhou fumbled to catch her. His own blood pressure surged, and darkness washed across his vision.

"Honey! Honey, don't scare me!"

"Sir! Your hands are shaking too!"

"Nurse! Nurse!!"

The corridor erupted into chaos.