Cleave!

A witch formed from a fallen magical girl was even more dangerous than she had been before.

And as time passed, she would only grow stronger.

A paper published by the Ministry of Magic once stated that every magical girl was destined to become a witch; it was only a matter of time.

It was like an endless cycle that had run on Earth for thousands of years, eventually reaching a bizarre equilibrium.

Whenever a witch died, a new magical girl was born. The rule had never been broken.

"D+?"

Hearing that, Hell told Bai Xiaoxiao, "Go hide somewhere nearby. You can't help in the fight ahead."

Nightingale nodded as well. "Xiaoxiao, just watch from the side. Leave the rest to the two of us."

"All right..."

Though Bai Xiaoxiao was worried about them, she obediently backed away.

Nightingale was the first to leap down from the corridor, attacking the witch at the center of the stage.

The latter's figure flashed, and countless ballet ribbons stretched out from behind her. They were supple and resilient, yet as sharp as blades.

Nightingale's magical weapon was a scythe, and her magic technique allowed her to "detonate" objects she touched.

Together, the scythe and explosions defined this magical girl's fighting style.

Unfortunately, the frenzied dancing witch's ballet ribbons happened to counter Nightingale's ability.

The ribbons were endless. Even if she detonated one, another would quickly take its place, while her opponent could pull and control her scythe.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!!"

Amid the countless ribbons, Nightingale detonated them one after another, maneuvering around the stage, but she could never get close to the witch at its center.

At that moment, the music from "The Nutcracker" suddenly shifted partway through into Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake."

The black swan witch, dressed in a black ballet costume, danced gracefully at the center of the stage.

If I don't kill her, the ribbons will never end.

Nightingale knew how to break the deadlock, but she lacked the ability to do it.

Fortunately, Hell, who had been watching the battle from the side, soon made her move.

She landed on the stage, magical power surging around her.

Dismantle.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The ribbons sweeping through the air toward her were cut apart.

This time, Hell held nothing back. Endless slashes burst out from her, forming a "white shield" around her.

The severed ribbons fell to the ground, turning into white roses that withered away.

"Let's end this farce."

Hell's tone was calm as she approached Fukui Miki, step by step, paying no heed to the growing number of ribbons bearing down on her.

Fukui Miki showed no reaction, continuing her own solo performance of "Swan Lake."

With Sukuna's level of magical power, Hell could use her slashes to withstand the witch's encircling ribbons without suffering the slightest injury.

Just then, the music abruptly shifted, and Fukui Miki's movements changed with it. The dance reached its climax.

The black swan began spinning in place, round after round.

"Thirty-two fouettés?!"

Bai Xiaoxiao recognized the move from the raised platform.

It was the most famous feat in the history of ballet, also known as thirty-two whip turns. It required the dancer to spin thirty-two times in place without putting her foot down or shifting position.

Countless ribbons erupted from the witch's skirt, sweeping across the entire stage like a meat grinder.

Nightingale lasted less than three seconds before she was sent flying off the stage and forced out of her transformation, her body covered in cuts.

Hell frowned and silently increased the output of the "Dismantle" slashes around her. For a moment, the two sides were surprisingly evenly matched.

As expected of a witch's finishing move-even she was having some trouble getting close.

"Senior!"

Bai Xiaoxiao immediately jumped down and helped her up.

"I'm fine, but that girl...?"

Nightingale looked up at the figure already engulfed by countless ribbons, afraid she would be torn to pieces the next second.

"She's actually competing with the witch in magical power... I've never seen anything so crazy."

A witch's magical power could be described as inexhaustible, yet this gray-haired girl dared to meet her head-on.

What happened next shocked them even more.

Even though Fukui Miki had used her strongest move, she had only stopped Hell in her tracks for a moment before Hell advanced again.

"I said—the farce ends here!"

Miss Hell's voice turned utterly cold as she took a step.

Whoosh!

Her figure flashed, and when she reappeared, she was already behind the witch.

"Cleave!"

"Cleave": a specialized Cursed Technique of Malevolent Shrine. Based on the difference in magical power between the two sides, it created a guaranteed-hit slash on the opponent that would invariably cut them apart. Its drawback was that it required physical contact to use.

Buzz! Buzz!

The elegant, melodious classical music came to a halt at that moment, like a cello with broken strings crashing to the floor.

The ribbons covering the entire stage were also neatly severed at the same instant, scattering like snowflakes.

Only the witch in the middle of the stage continued spinning alone-until her final turn.

Splurt-!!

Her body was neatly cut into three pieces, and countless streams of filthy magical power dispersed and vanished from her.

She fell to the ground like a ragged doll, her magical attire vanishing completely, leaving only her filthy ballet costume.

For a fleeting moment, Fukui Miki regained some awareness. She looked at the spotlight on the stage and spoke softly:

"Miki... did it."

She spread her arms, as if embracing herself—or perhaps something else.

Hell shook out her right hand, which was covered in cuts, and turned to look at the witch gradually disappearing on the ground, her face expressionless.

She might have felt a tiny bit of sympathy, but that was all. After all, the two barely knew each other.

She was just here to run a dungeon.

As the witch died and disappeared, the witch's domain covering the entire abandoned school also fell away.

The three girls from the school ballet troupe whom Fukui Miki had taken were found backstage.

The two who had gone missing earlier were confirmed dead. Judging by their injuries, they had died while dancing ballet in a frenzy.

Bai Xiaoxiao's friend was luckier. She had only fractured her leg and fallen unconscious, but her life was not in danger.

[Congratulations, Miss Witch. You have completed a random event.]

[You have received a reward: Grief Seed.]

Hell suddenly remembered.

A Grief Seed? That's good stuff. I can use it to nourish the Tree of Calamity.

According to the game's setting, my soul core as the Calamity Witch is inside the Tree of Calamity.

The more flourishing the Tree of Calamity is, the stronger I become.

In theory, I can also revive indefinitely, but I don't think that's very likely. There's no way to test it. Only an idiot would gamble her life on whether the code developed bugs after being copied into reality.

Hell mulled it over as she picked up a nearby curtain and wiped her palm and the back of her hand.

The injuries there were gradually healing.

For magical girls, losing hands and feet in battle was commonplace. As long as they had enough magical power, they could recover anyway.

Of course, the trade-off was that if a magical girl's Soul Gem was damaged, her strength would drop sharply, and she might even turn into a witch prematurely due to unstable magical power.

"Miss Hell."

Someone suddenly called Hell's name softly, and she turned to look at Bai Xiaoxiao and Nightingale.

Suddenly, she blinked. The more she looked at Nightingale, the more familiar she seemed, until Hell finally remembered who she was.

Saionji Kirika.

The young heiress of the Saionji Group, from a member state of the Eastern Continent Alliance. It was a prominent family whose lineage had truly endured for a thousand years.

They were in the same school's high school division.

"What is it?"

Miss Hell concealed her surprise, her tone indifferent.

The one who had called her was naturally Wuhua.

The girl wore a deep-black sailor uniform. Her black hair hung loose, and a pair of violet eyes stared intently at Hell from her fair, delicate face.

She blinked. "Um... thank you for stepping in to help this time, Miss Hell. May I ask which region you're a magical girl from?"

"That's none of your business."

Hell coldly rebuffed her inquiry, then turned to leave. "Now that they've been found, I'll be going."

As she spoke, she pushed open the door with one hand and left the academy's abandoned auditorium. Only her gray hair swayed in the wind as she disappeared from the two girls' sight.

Bai Xiaoxiao had mixed feelings as she watched her go. Even now, she still couldn't figure out what the magical girl codenamed Hell was after.

Wuhua thought with her head lowered for a while before looking at the little owl on her shoulder.

"So, Gugu, you mean that girl is probably a magical girl from overseas?"

The little owl Gugu nodded. "That's right, little Wuhua. Her codename has never been registered with the Ministry of Magic, and her magical power is extremely dangerous and aggressive."

"Frankly, of all the magical girls I've met in my limited lifetime, she's the most unusual. How should I put it? Anyway, there's just something odd about her."

"If she were a new magical girl, she'd be far too strong. Her danger level is at least D+, and her magical power might even be C+!"

"So it's more likely she came from overseas."

On Bai Xiaoxiao's shoulder, the little white dove nodded repeatedly, expressing its full agreement.

"If you meet her again, you'd better be careful. That girl looks hard to get along with."

It still remembered how, when they first met, she had given its Xiaoxiao a test of strength. She was arrogant, and her behavior was unpredictable too.

Unlike her companion magical spirit, Bai Xiaoxiao had a good impression of the gray-haired girl.

"She did help us, after all. It's not right for us to talk about her behind her back."

Wuhua nodded as well, holding the owl. "If she hadn't helped, I'm afraid the two of us alone wouldn't have been a match for that witch."

"In any case, we should thank her again if we get the chance."

"Let's head back first, Xiaoxiao. Stay at my house tonight."

"Can I...?"

"Of course. My house is very big."

Bai Xiaoxiao was about to agree when the phone in her skirt pocket suddenly vibrated. She took it out and unlocked it.

Mo Xiaochuan: "Xiaoxiao, our brother's home. I'll tell you a secret: he actually ran off to the New European Continent to get injected with Compound Nine! Oh my God, I can't imagine how Dad's going to chew him out tomorrow."

"And our eldest brother and second sister will definitely be furious when they find out too."

Standing beside her, Saionji Kirika saw Bai Xiaoxiao's expression change from delight to a mixture of anger and worry. Puzzled, she asked:

"Who's it from?"

Bai Xiaoxiao quickly shook her head and turned off her phone. "It's nothing, just a family matter..."

"Sorry, Senior Wuhua. I think I'll go home and rest tonight after all."

Saionji Kirika blinked, seeming to understand something, and nodded. "Mm, that's fine. I'll have the driver take us both home."

"People from the Ministry of Magic are already on their way. They'll take your friend to the hospital."

"Sorry for the trouble, then." Bai Xiaoxiao breathed a sigh of relief.

Meanwhile.

Outside the abandoned school auditorium.

The gray-haired girl stood quietly on the other side of the door, arms crossed, leaning against the wall. She had heard every word of their conversation.

Only then did she slowly turn and leave.

Eavesdropping is immoral, but I was only making sure my identity hadn't been exposed, so I'll make an exception.

It wasn't as if she was worried that something might happen to Bai Xiaoxiao on her way home alone.