Senior Hell's Lap Pillow

"Listen carefully. The principle behind the Reverse Cursed Technique is simple: fuse multiple sources of magic power together to create a controllable order of entropy increase within a small area."

Inside the magic curtain, Hell explained her understanding of the Reverse Cursed Technique as simply and clearly as she could.

What set Hell apart from other users of the Reverse Cursed Technique was that she had worked backward from effect to cause: she had obtained the result first, then sought to verify the process.

As a result, Bai Xiaoxiao and Saionji Kirika couldn't understand a word Hell said. They were like elementary schoolers listening to Newton's second law.

Hell looked at the two youngsters' bewildered faces and sighed helplessly before raising a hand.

Silver-white magic power burned on her hand like fireworks, illuminating her small face, which was exquisitely cute even without an expression.

"Seeing it once is better than hearing about it a hundred times. Hold out your hands, and I'll let you experience the feeling yourselves."

Saionji Kirika was the first to step forward. She took a deep breath and touched her chest, completing her transformation.

Then she reached out and carefully took the other girl's hand.

Miss Hell's hand... it's so soft. But her body temperature is much lower than mine. Is it because of her health? Should I bring a hand warmer next time?

Her thoughts wandered uncontrollably.

"Focus. I'm starting," Hell reminded her softly. Wuhua quickly came back to her senses and nodded.

"I'm ready."

Hell then used the Reverse Cursed Technique with the smallest possible unit of magic power, mainly to let Wuhua experience what the technique felt like firsthand.

"I... I can feel it!"

Wuhua gently closed her eyes, feeling Senior Hell's intensely dangerous magic power flow throughout her body.

My body... it's warm and tingly. It feels so good.

For that brief moment, Wuhua even felt as though she had returned to her mother's embrace, her whole body enveloped in the sense of security Senior Hell brought her.

Suddenly, Hell let go of her hand.

"Is it over? That was fast..."

Wuhua opened her eyes at once. A mist of tears shimmered in them as she looked at Hell, reluctant to let the moment end.

In that short time, both her understanding of magic power and her use of Cursed Techniques had improved considerably.

[Magical girl "Nightingale"'s affection for you is rising significantly.]

Hell waved her hand, dispersing the magic power on it, and said in a slightly serious tone, "You're not injured, so you can't take too much reversed magic power. Otherwise, it'll have the opposite effect."

"All right." Wuhua could only nod obediently. She then beckoned Bai Xiaoxiao forward, and seeing that she was a little nervous, reassured her:

"Don't worry, it doesn't hurt at all."

Bai Xiaoxiao nodded, stepped forward, and took Senior Hell's hand. Her first thought was how wonderful it felt to hold it.

Her second thought was the same as Wuhua's: Senior Hell's hand felt cool.

"Mm!"

The controllable entropy-increasing magic power that Hell had reversed slowly flowed into Bai Xiaoxiao's body.

At first, Bai Xiaoxiao closed her eyes gently and felt as relaxed as if she were soaking in hot water.

She subconsciously tried to imitate the way that magic power circulated.

But just then, the magic power inside Bai Xiaoxiao suddenly went berserk and began pouring out of her like mad.

"Ugh...!"

Bai Xiaoxiao let out an agonized scream.

Anyone else would surely have stopped the Reverse Cursed Technique immediately.

But Hell frowned and instantly increased the output of the Reverse Cursed Technique, going almost all out.

When projected outward, the Reverse Cursed Technique was generally only a quarter as effective as normal magic. Reversing it in the first place cut its effectiveness in half, and projecting it outward cut it in half again.

That was one of the reasons the Reverse Cursed Technique was so difficult to use.

"That's... Xiaoxiao's Magic Cursed Technique?"

Wuhua, standing to the side, noticed frost gradually forming on Bai Xiaoxiao's hair and recalled their first meeting.

Bai Xiaoxiao had clearly used her Magic Cursed Technique once back then, but for some unknown reason, she had never managed to use it again afterward.

By all rights, that shouldn't have happened.

Every magical girl had an innate Cursed Technique Engraving, and using that power should have come naturally to her.

"Crack, crack..."

The frost on Bai Xiaoxiao began spreading along Hell's fingers and onto her body.

Through her perception of magic power, Hell sensed that an intensely aggressive power inside Bai Xiaoxiao was fighting her Cursed Technique Engraving for control.

That seemed to be... the power of the Planet Huo People.

Hell couldn't help thinking of her invincible dad and Mo Xiaochuan, who had only recently awakened. Both had similar powers within them.

Saionji Kirika didn't dare speak, but she was no less worried as she silently prayed that things wouldn't get worse.

About ten minutes passed.

The power inside Bai Xiaoxiao finally began to stabilize.

She opened her eyes in a daze and discovered that she was lying on Senior Hell's thighs.

Hell was sitting with her knees bent in a "duck sit" on the blanket spread over the grass, holding Xiaoxiao's left hand firmly between both of hers.

This is... Senior Hell's lap pillow!

Upon realizing that, Bai Xiaoxiao's face quickly turned crimson. The soft feel of the black tights against her cheek made her heart race even faster.

So soft...

"You're awake."

"Xiaoxiao, you're blushing."

Wuhua suddenly leaned over from the side and teased her with a smile. "Senior Hell's lap pillow is really comfortable, isn't it?"

She tucked the black hair by her face behind her ear, her violet-blue eyes full of envy. "What a shame... I wonder if it's too late for me to pass out now."

"Huh? I-I..."

Bai Xiaoxiao's brain froze, and heat rose from her in waves. She could only cover her mouth and do her best not to babble nonsense.

"Ahem... be serious."

Miss Hell, who could hardly listen any longer, gave a quiet cough, though her expression looked as cool and calm as ever.

But a closer look would have revealed that her ears were slightly red too.

She slowly let go of Xiaoxiao's hand and asked, "How do you feel?"

Thanks to her work regulating and treating them, the two powers inside Bai Xiaoxiao had come to a sort of reconciliation and begun to merge, and they were no longer attacking each other.

Bai Xiaoxiao quickly sat up, a little reluctant to leave, but too embarrassed to trouble her senior any longer. She hurriedly answered:

"Thank you, Senior. I don't think I feel uncomfortable anywhere anymore."

More importantly, Bai Xiaoxiao sensed something. She gently raised her hand, summoned her staff, and aimed it at the woods ahead.

"Ice Arrow!"

The Magic Cursed Technique engraved within her responded instantly, forming an arrow of ice that shot out in an instant.

Upon striking a tree trunk ahead, the arrow burst apart, creating a semicircular frozen area.

This was the Magic Cursed Technique innately engraved within Bai Xiaoxiao: Cold July Sky, an ice Magic Cursed Technique that could control low temperatures and water vapor.

"What an amazing Cursed Technique."

Saionji Kirika watched from the side, her eyes bright with delight.

"Congratulations, Xiaoxiao!"

Bai Xiaoxiao felt a little embarrassed at that. She turned to Hell behind her and bowed, holding her staff in both hands.

"Senior Hell, thank you!"

"If it weren't for your help, I definitely couldn't have mastered my Magic Cursed Technique so quickly."