Of All Times

Here? Of all times?!

At the other end of the tree-lined path, the exact same thought exploded through Yang Chen's mind as it had through a certain Knight's.

He felt that bone-chilling malice more clearly than anyone—clearly enough to make every hair on the back of his neck stand up, clearly enough to judge its strength: second rank, third? No, second rank at its peak at most. One creature. Not particularly aggressive.

If he could transform right now, he could probably kill it with one punch.

But—

He stiffly lowered his head and looked at the shopping bags in his hands.

The bag on the left held the soy sauce and eggs Aunt Su Wan had asked him to buy. The one on the right held the chips and yogurt Chen Qianqian had swept off the shelves.

He stiffly raised his head again and looked at Chen Qianqian, who was still chattering away beside him about milk tea.

They had only come out to buy a few things.

He had only come along to shop with her!!

Come on, Fallen Beast. Don't you ever take a day off?

Worse still, Chen Qianqian was right beside him.

If he suddenly made an excuse to leave, she would worry... and might even do something reckless.

But if he waited until later to make an excuse—if he left after the Fallen Beast appeared—wouldn't that be deserting her in the face of danger?

And that's the end of the story.

"Yang Chen? What's wrong? You've suddenly gone so pale..." Chen Qianqian finally noticed something was off.

"N-nothing." Yang Chen forced a smile. "I just suddenly feel like eating eggs."

"Huh?"

Just then—

Above the park, the wisp of gray-black mist flowing along the treetops abruptly contracted and plunged downward.

It landed with a muffled splat, like something rotten bursting against the ground.

The mist coalesced in the center of the fountain plaza into a jellyfish-shaped Fallen Beast. Murky currents churned within its translucent gray-black body. Dozens of sticky tentacles hung limply from it, and a cloudy eye opened in the middle of its torso.

"Wh-what is that...?"

"A Fallen Beast! It's a Fallen Beast—!"

The people in the plaza stood frozen for only two seconds before screams erupted.

A mother pushing a stroller, old men playing chess, couples on dates—everyone scattered.

Panic spread like ripples.

And as it spread, the Fallen Beast visibly swelled.

"Damn." Yang Chen's pupils contracted.

He had to transform immediately—

"Qianqian, I—"

"Everyone, stay calm!"

A clear voice suddenly rang out above the screams.

Silver light flared amid the crowd.

A baseball cap flew off, a hoodie dissolved into motes of light, and silver light armor formed piece by piece around a straight-backed figure. A longsword took shape in her hand, its tip angled down, its edge gleaming coldly.

"Magical Girl Knight is here!"

"Everyone, leave the park now! Run to the east gate! Don't look back!"

"It's Knight!"

"Knight's back! We're saved—!"

The crowd instantly found someone to rally around. The screams subsided, and the fleeing people even began to move in an orderly line.

The Fallen Beast's cloudy eye rolled toward the one who dared to shine.

"Hiss—!!"

Dozens of tentacles snapped straight like whips and lashed at Knight, trailing a foul wind.

"Come on!"

Knight neither dodged nor retreated. She swept her longsword across, and an arc of silver light severed the three foremost tentacles.

Then she watched the severed tentacles bounce twice on the ground before melting into black sludge with a squelch and flowing through the gaps between the paving stones back into the main body.

Its size had barely changed.

Knight: "..."

It could regenerate?!

The battle that followed was a perfect example of a stalemate.

Knight's sword moved so fast it left only afterimages. Every strike carved a huge chunk from the Fallen Beast.

But the jellyfish was essentially a mass of flowing sludge. Every piece she cut off melted on landing, flowed back, and rejoined the fight.

"Hyaa—!"

Her sword pierced straight through it. Silver flames erupted inside the Fallen Beast, blasting a hole large enough for a person to pass through.

Three seconds later, the hole writhed shut.

"Will you just stay down already?" Knight gritted her teeth.

She didn't dare use a more powerful move. This was a park. Behind the fountain were benches, and behind the benches were civilians who had yet to escape.

Besides, she wasn't sure a stronger move would work. The Fallen Beast's regenerative ability was formidable, and she herself was only at Firefly Rank.

The jellyfish monster had no such reservations. Its tentacles flailed wildly, smashing two of the fountain's stone sculptures to pieces.

One fighter had to hold back. The other had no limits.

That difference should have decided the fight, yet they were somehow evenly matched.

Watching from outside the fight, Yang Chen felt a vein throb on his forehead.

No, no, no—hit its core! Regenerating Fallen Beasts all have cores! It's three inches behind that eye in the middle of its body! Hitting anywhere else is barely scratching it, Miss Knight! Aim your sword!

He was so anxious he nearly shouted it aloud.

"Yang Chen..." Chen Qianqian gripped his arm, her voice tense. "Can Knight... win?"

"She can," Yang Chen answered reflexively. "It just won't be pretty."

"How do you know?"

"Just a guess."

At that moment, the battle took a sudden turn.

Unable to break through Knight's defense, the jellyfish Fallen Beast abruptly turned its cloudy eye eastward. There, a mother pushing a stroller had fallen, less than twenty meters from the fight.

She was also not far in front of Yang Chen and Chen Qianqian.

Fear. The most delicious fear was right within reach.

"Hiss—!"

The Fallen Beast flattened its entire body into a wave of black sludge, swept around Knight, and surged toward the mother!

Faced with imminent danger, the mother didn't try to escape alone. Instead, she shielded her child beneath her with her entire body.

She had no idea whether it would help, but she did it anyway.

Holy shit! That hit way too close to home!

"No!" Knight's expression changed drastically. She spun and raced after it—

Too late.

Fast as Knight's sword was, it couldn't outrun the tide of sludge rushing across the ground.

Yang Chen's pupils shrank to pinpricks.

Transforming... definitely wasn't an option...

I'll have to gamble!

"Qianqian!" He shoved both shopping bags into Chen Qianqian's arms. "Hold these for me!"

"Huh? Where are you going—"

Before Chen Qianqian could react, Yang Chen charged forward.

As horror filled her eyes, Yang Chen lunged and shoved the mother and child clear.

The next instant, dust billowed up, completely hiding Yang Chen from view.

"Yang Chen!"

At the sight, Chen Qianqian felt the world spin.

So... Yang Chen still hadn't put what happened back then behind him? Was that why he'd reacted like this when he saw them...?

Knight, seeing the "girl" who had stepped forward now lost in the dust, her fate unknown, was beside herself with grief and fury.

What a brave girl!

She was weak herself, yet she'd risked her life to protect someone else!

Rage blazed in Knight's eyes.

Lightning began to flicker around her, as wild as the turmoil in her heart.

"Die!"