Chapter 97: Douluo Girl

An Shiyu rose with tear-swollen eyes. She did not feel the usual sensations of her first transformation, because by the time she came to, she was already wearing a pretty little dress she had never put on before.

A strange, warm power flowed through her, chasing away her fear and the cold.

In that moment, it was as if a black-and-white world suddenly had color, everything brimming with vivid life.

One ear that had been deaf suddenly could hear; she instinctively touched the scar on her neck.

The scars on her transformed body were gone.

Then more memories surged into her mind...

The traffic accident on the road from Beihai to Hulin City.

It was not a traffic accident; that huge Disaster Beast, swinging with vines, had been perched atop a tall building.

Before the bus was flipped, the boy who had awkwardly confessed to her and whom she had awkwardly rejected…

A jumble of fragmented memories poured up, but the swaying in the vehicle made her head throb.

Before the sky bus was overturned, she had tried to grab at that boy, but she was thrown aside. Someone had grabbed her and prevented her from being flung away, though in that chaos she couldn't tell who it was.

Maybe her parents, maybe someone else, maybe the boy who had been beside her.

After that her memories blurred.

In the violent tossing, everyone was pressed together. Some were thrown out and died, some had their legs broken, some were blinded.

It had been something like glass or a shard that pierced her ear then, rupturing her eardrum and causing deafness.

The cut on her neck was from that same moment — she had been very, very close to death.

Her father held her, pressing his hands to her neck while howling in panic; her mother beside him moaned in pain.

People pounded on the twisted doors, crying for help, yet no matter what they did the warped door would not open.

Everyone was crammed inside that bus, waiting for death.

Maybe the vehicle would explode, or the Disaster Beast would continue to attack; even if nothing else happened, without rescue they would die sooner or later.

Then someone ripped the door open.

Faint memories rose: before she lost consciousness she seemed to clearly see that person’s face.

The boy who had confessed to her had ripped the door open so the wounded could get out, while he searched through the crowd for something.

Was he looking for me?

That was her last awareness before passing out.

Afterwards they were taken to an orphanage for care; from a distance she watched that boy and her sister.

She never dared to speak to them.

An Shiyu had never actually seen a Magical Girl before, because she and her parents left before any Magical Girls arrived.

After that, all memories were gone.

From Beihai to Hulin City, she never had contact with Magical Girls, so there was no chance to recover her memory — until today, after becoming a Magical Girl.

She stared at the returning memories, feeling a rush of mixed emotions.

When she looked up, the fox-masked boy was preparing to leave. That figure—

For some reason, a fuzzy image began to overlap with the boy who had ripped open the sky bus door.

“Jiang Si...”

She murmured the name that had been forgotten for so long; saying it brought more tears to her eyes.

The fox-masked boy only adjusted his mask with a hand, then cleared his throat.

“I am a Saint Hall Envoy, called Jiang the Demon Butcher, the Bloody-Handed Demon Butcher…”

An Shiyu wiped her tears and sniffed. “A newly chosen name? Very, very imposing.”

“No…”

He faltered. He should have changed his surname as well.

“Don’t run! Jiang the Demon Butcher!”

Before she could say more thanks, a sharp shout rang from outside.

The fox-masked boy spread his wings with a whoosh and then shot up!

He smashed through the basement ceiling in an instant and disappeared into the sky.

“Don’t run! Return my millennia soul ring!”

Another Magical Girl crashed in through the doorway like a meteor, smashing and careening.

Because the basement space was so cramped, she collided at odd angles, knocking over many lamps and iron cabinets with a clatter, finally crashing into the central pillar.

“Ouch!” she cried as she fell onto the chessboard.

An Shiyu had wanted to catch her, but the momentum was too strong and she feared she would break her own arm trying, so she stepped back.

The Magical Girl crushed the chessboard into pieces, then sat up rubbing her head. An Shiyu got a clear look at her face.

Her hair was pale blue in twin tails, and her blue magical outfit was decorated with bubble-like ornaments.

A pitiful white flying kitty perched atop her head, clutching her head as if it had landed hard and was dazed.

The four or five children who had stayed behind huddled together in fear, too frightened to speak.

Though anxious herself, An Shiyu stepped in front of them and faced the sudden Magical Girl.

“Told you to go slower!”

The flying kitty pouted. The blue Magical Girl quickly got up, patted her skirt. “If I go slower I can’t catch up. That was a millennia soul ring I finally found! Damn it, the flight-type external soul-bone wings are too OP, unfair!”

She prepared to leap back into the sky.

She scanned the room and then froze for a moment, stopping.

“W-where is this?” Her gaze then fell on An Shiyu, who had already transformed. “Magical Girl?”

An Shiyu looked helplessly at her, clutching her skirt. “I-I don’t know.”

“You are a Magical Girl.” The blue Magical Girl glanced toward the witch laboratory and at the panicked little girls, then inhaled deeply. “You were kidnapped by the Witch Association, right?”

“The Witch Association turned our orphanage into a laboratory.” An Shiyu steadied her breath and placed her hand on her chest. “It was Jiang… Jiang the Demon Butcher who saved us.”

“Ah—” The Magical Girl blinked, surprised, then reacted. “He probably did it casually, I followed him chasing all the way here, he’s been releasing soul beasts everywhere—ah, whatever. A rescue is a rescue, no need to split hairs. Anyway!”

She offered a radiant smile, tapped the kitty on her head, and extended a hand.

“I’m Xingxuan, star of the starry sky.”

“This is Sky Cat, the finest cat under the heavens.”

“We’re Magical Girls, here to help you.”

An Shiyu hesitated, then reached out. “Thank you.”

“Mm-hmm. I’m kind of your senior too. You must be a newly minted soul-user, probably at level two or three. After I find you a soul ring and you learn skills, you’ll level up fast…”

An Shiyu’s head spun. “Wait, aren’t we—not Magical Girls?”

“Yes, read as Magical Girl, written as soul master, that’s common knowledge.”

“Is that so?”

Xingxuan patted her shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ll teach you what a true Magical Girl is!”

She shouted loudly, “Watch my primary spirit!”

A magic wand appeared in Xingxuan’s hand.

But the wand was shaped like a jeweled pagoda, with four rings—two yellow and two purple—and beneath the pagoda was a slot for cards.

Xingxuan pulled a card from the card holder at her waist and inserted it into the pagoda.

“Seven Treasures call forth Ruri! Number Four!”

The fourth ring on the pagoda lit up.

A mechanical female voice emitted from the wand:

【Stellar Mark Descends: A radiant, nourishing rain.】

Starlight poured down like rain over everyone; An Shiyu saw the wounds on the orphanage children slowly heal.

She reached to catch that warm rain of light, whispering, “Is this the miracle of Magical Girls?”

“No.”

Xingxuan sternly denied her. “This is my fourth soul skill, Seven Treasures Divine Light!”

An Shiyu, who had been moved, was suddenly confused.

When Twins left, Red Crane’s expression, which had still worn a smile, turned dark.

She immediately rose and walked toward the door.

Several Witch Association members who had been waiting at the entrance followed at once. “Shall we eliminate her?”

Red Crane shot a warning glance at the subordinate. “You go.”

The subordinate grinned. “Boss, you must be joking. How can I fight a Complete Witch…”

“You know that?” Red Crane’s face darkened. “Besides awakening Disaster Beasts, who else are you planning to use to handle Twins?”

All across Hulin City, to avoid drawing the attention of the Disaster Control Bureau and to prevent Magical Girls from appearing, the Witch Association had, since twenty years ago when she arrived, refrained from openly using polluted magic or Disaster Beasts.

Most Witch Association members were ordinary people, so they could act covertly.

The only Complete Witch sent from headquarters two years ago, Scorpio, was sealed in the orphanage basement.

Red Crane disliked that person.

Always reckless, using polluted magic indiscriminately—didn’t she realize how easily that would expose them?

Typical low-level witch thinking; foolish.

She had indeed complained when the Central Bureau casually deployed higher-level combatants.

Still, the Heart Image Remnant was about to appear — a huge opportunity for the Witch Association. They had to gain as much from that remnant as possible, or at least deal a heavy blow to the Disaster Control Bureau.

The power from a fallen Full Bloom Magical Girl could enable the Witch Association to produce far stronger Complete Witches, so Red Crane let Scorpio have free rein.

She had specially arranged an orphanage for her to use as a laboratory.

For the Witch Association, obtaining the remnants of a fallen Full Bloom Magical Girl’s mental landscape was not easy and they could not compete directly with the Disaster Control Bureau, because both Full Bloom and Heart Image techniques were proprietary to the Bureau; the Witch Association lacked the necessary tech.

To seize the Heart Image remnant resources and turn a fallen Full Bloom Magical Girl into a witch required technical preparation — Scorpio’s purpose for coming here.

The Disaster Control Bureau had always made the Witch Association’s research institutes targets for attack, so in cities with a bureau presence it was hard to carry out such activities.

Hulin City, one of the rare cities without Disaster Beasts and Magical Girls, had been sealed for so many years that the association found it difficult to infiltrate.

When Captain originally planned to sneak into Beihai it took great effort; they plotted for two years, and it was only thanks to some naturally arising small Disaster Beasts around Beihai that they managed to enter that otherwise sealed city.

But Red Crane was clever.

She had been in Hulin right before the city was completely sealed.

Those twenty years in one city were the fruit of her life’s work; she had painstakingly cultivated every Disaster Beast like her own child, protected and raised them.

Now the city had over two hundred class-B Disaster Beasts. Every time she checked the breeding app on her phone, she felt satisfaction.

Being a mother didn’t necessarily require giving birth; raising Disaster Beasts gave a similar sense of fulfillment.

If the Witch Association ever came into the open and controlled Hulin City, outsourcing beast-rearing and industrializing it, making it a major business, she had already planned the advertising slogans.

“Road to Wealth: Perfect Women Run the Operation, Raise Disaster Beasts, Build an Empire!”

“Perfect Women Pair With Disaster Treasures, Raise Them Big and Secure Retirement!”

“Raise B-level Disaster Beasts, Become a Happy Woman!”

She glanced at today’s breeding app reports.

The newborn class-B Disaster Beast babies had increased food intake but were picky and malnourished, lacking exercise; their growth metrics had even declined to third place.

Red Crane tapped to adjust their nurturing and warned the Witch Association members about balanced diets, then phoned someone.

“Look at the disaster beast next door, why is their data so much better than yours?”

“That top pig is doing better than you!”

“Increase the second feeding by 3 milligrams today! Add 2 milliliters more water for the third meal!”

“And move its food bowl two centimeters to the right!”

The breeding app, Hulin City’s most popular breeding platform, was not meant for uploading Disaster Beast data. Most content was ordinary citizens recording pet care.

Red Crane, who felt lonely raising beasts, had started uploading masked Disaster Beast data to the app for fun.

The app had leaderboards and data competitions; watching the beasts grow from B-level to A-level day by day gave her profound satisfaction.

She was one of the top breeders on the app; every day she received private messages asking how to raise big, obedient pets.

She had hidden her beast-raising for twenty years not because she was particularly restrained, but because she secretly enjoyed the thrill of raising them and seeing her results grow stronger.

She could have kept this up thirty or fifty years without giving it up.

So whenever the Witch Association demanded she act now, she always replied, “Wait.”

Wait until she had hoarded even more, then she wouldn’t mind sacrificing some.

After all, they were her children; the thought of sending them out to fight made her reluctant.

“But Twins still must be dealt with.”

When she stepped out of the underground bar, Red Crane lit a cigarette and felt a little melancholy. “Twins brings trouble wherever she goes. If you don’t get rid of her soon, the Azure Cloud Sect will sniff us out.”

Her underlings nodded. “That’s right, boss.”

“Keep her under surveillance. Don’t let her contact outsiders. Keep an eye on crystal balls and phones!”

“Yes!”

“And again, who will handle her?” Red Crane asked. “I can provide some Disaster Beasts to use.”

The underlings exchanged glances. Then one man said with a grin, “We’re just ordinary people, boss. That doesn’t seem right.”

“What’s not right? I’ll give you beast-control devices. Just use them to command the beasts in battle. It’s that simple, isn’t it?”

“That thing only works up close,” a young man whispered. “Besides, aren’t you a Complete Witch? If you acted, couldn’t you handle a little girl easily?”

Several underlings nodded vigorously. “Right, right!”

Red Crane smiled, then kicked one of them hard.

“I’ve been in Hulin for so many years! Spent so much money! Raised so many! For what—to let others take the glory?!”

“There are five major officials in Hulin, four of them are here! Six underground industry heads are present, three of them before you! Look at yourselves—who among you isn’t dressed to the nines? Who isn’t filthy rich? Who isn’t one of Red Crane’s confidants?!”

“And yet my trusted people of so many years are all cowardly and ungrateful! Useless! Trash!”

“Boss, that’s a bit harsh…” a subordinate tried to object.

Red Crane grabbed her hair. “You’re officials only because you’ve stayed in your spots a few years. You learned how to flatter me, didn’t you? When it’s time to act you’re full of excuses. Are you all that afraid?!”

“Why hire me to fight Twins if you’re going to hide behind money?!”

She smashed the cigarette underfoot and kicked another man. The underlings were humbled; Red Crane took a breath, smoothed back her hair and calmed herself.

“It’s fine. Twins still needs time. She won’t have enough time to cause much trouble right now.”

She lit another cigarette and took a deep drag, exhaling a smoke ring; the chill in the air made her feel cold inside.

Rubbing her stomach, she picked up her phone. “Forget it. Let Scorpio handle it. This time she can act.”

She had initially not wanted Scorpio, who didn’t know restraint, to act recklessly — her outbursts could draw the Disaster Control Bureau’s attention.

But acting herself would be just as dangerous and might draw the bureau’s ire. In terms of power, Scorpio was not far less than her.

She opened a crystal ball and connected to Scorpio. Suddenly she heard a distant explosion!

She looked up; the blast came from the orphanage where Scorpio was located!

“Scorpio! What are you doing!”

She yelled. Such a small commotion could expose their location!

If the witch laboratory was exposed, her twenty years of preparation would be ruined!

This was decades of savings — she hadn’t dared use it!

The crystal ball she had just opened slipped and rolled on the ground, the image flickering. When it stabilized, it showed Scorpio’s head torn open.

Her anger instantly choked off. Red Crane trembled.

Twins did this?

Impossible it could happen so fast.

What on earth had gone wrong…

She could not finish thinking because explosions began erupting all over the city.

The polluted magic aura of Disaster Beasts spread across Hulin City!

Many Disaster Beasts that had not yet been fully raised were forcibly pulled out, stumbling and running wildly through the streets!

Red Crane’s cigarette fell and her eyes reddened.

“My babies! The ones I raised for twenty years! I didn’t even dare use them! Which damned person did this!”

The next second, Red Crane saw a figure flying from the orphanage!