“Milady, what should we do?”
Zhou Zheng stared as Moonlit Liuli was swallowed by the dark purple clouds, his heart pounding with fear.
So this is the battle between an S-class Magical Girl and an S-class monster? Who will win?
If Lord Moonlit loses, then all that’s left is this person beside me.
Luo Tianyou stood before the glass window, the strange scene in the sky clearly visible.
Behind her stood the managers of the Bureau.
C City wasn’t a first-class city and didn’t have any A-class Magical Girls stationed.
Even if there were, they wouldn’t have the qualifications to face Giriel head-on.
At this moment, all they could do was follow Moonlit Liuli’s arrangements to resist the energy impact from Giriel, awaiting Luo Tianyou’s command.
Daughter of the Starry Witch Flora.
Only those who had experienced that era understood the weight of those words.
With Moonlit Liuli’s recognition, the ability to obey Luo Tianyou’s orders, and that battle suit that could never be faked, Zhou Zheng completely believed in her.
He entrusted his command authority entirely to Luo Tianyou, asking again, “Milady, what should we do?”
“….”
Luo Tianyou was silent.
Zhou Zheng spoke no more, quietly waiting for her instructions.
But in reality, I don’t know a damn thing!
Luo Tianyou was frantically jumping up and down inside.
You think my silence means I’m thinking? I’m just completely clueless!
How could Moonlit Liuli hand the command of a city to an outsider like me who knows nothing? And how can you, the Bureau’s chief manager, trust me so much?
Is the title of Flora’s daughter really that trustworthy?
Do you really not suspect that I’m just an idiot?
Moonlit Liuli, you’re such a bad dog.
You know I’m a fool and still say this…
Maybe I should just be honest.
I’m not even a D-class Magical Girl.
Luo Tianyou turned around, lips slightly parted.
Everyone’s gaze was fixed on her, faces pale, the space filled with fear.
Only Zhou Zheng and a few others had steadfast eyes, looking at her expectantly, as if hope would come the moment she spoke.
“Milady, C City is depending on you…”
Luo Tianyou couldn’t say the words.
The baseless trust of these people, the citizens of the entire city—it was overwhelming.
But what could she do?
She still hadn’t figured out how to use magic, the battle suit, or her power.
The Starry Battle Suit pulsed with a faint heat, as if responding to her thoughts.
Mother’s power.
In her mother’s relics, perhaps there was information she had yet to discover.
Luo Tianyou looked toward the hotel, in the area about to be swallowed by the purple clouds.
All her belongings were in the hotel room.
“I need to go out and find something. You handle command here.”
“This is a comms earpiece. It can function in high-magic environments.”
Zhou Zheng handed her an earpiece.
Luo Tianyou took it and placed it on her ear.
She quickly walked to the building’s entrance, the Bureau officials following behind.
Outside, the street was deserted, the dark sky thick with a suffocating air, as if all light had faded.
Though Giriel hadn’t fully descended yet, going out now was definitely not a good decision.
That’s what she thought, but before she realized it, her body had already stepped through the glass doors.
“Milady…”
A voice came from behind.
A bone-chilling cold swept over her, making her shiver.
“Don’t call me milady. It sounds weird…”
Luo Tianyou turned back, trying to force a smile, but her eyes instantly narrowed.
One manager’s face was deathly pale, eyes bulging as he pressed desperately against the glass door, his face distorted, staring straight up at the sky.
“Lord Giriel, Lord Giriel! You have finally come to rule Earth again!”
Zhou Zheng and the others pulled him back, restraining him.
“Milady, please hurry.”
Zhou Zheng pleaded sincerely.
It’s not that they didn’t want to act, but facing an S-class monster, only Magical Girls of the same level could fight back.
Only Magical Girls could fight monsters.
In those eyes, there was no doubt, no hesitation—only complete trust and hope.
Luo Tianyou made no promises.
She knew her words meant nothing at this point.
She was moving forward purely on instinct and passion.
Faced with a city’s lives, she felt she had to do what little she could.
Luo Tianyou ran toward the hotel, the cold, sticky air enveloping her, tinged with a nauseating sweetness, as if countless malicious whispers were burrowing straight into her mind.
“You’re worthless…”
“Give up…”
“Flora is dead. What can you do?”
“Go back. Hide. Wait for death…”
Luo Tianyou shook her head violently, her azure hair flying in the oppressive wind.
She bit her lower lip so hard it almost bled, annoyance flashing in her eyes.
“Shut up! All of you, shut up!”
The starlight flowing on the Starry Battle Suit suddenly brightened, and a night wind-like aura seeped from the suit into her skin, dispelling the suffocating mental oppression.
She oriented herself and sprinted toward the hotel.
The sound of high heels striking the pavement echoed sharply through the silent city.
Luo Tianyou could sense countless eyes watching from the darkness—people either consumed by fear or lured into hiding by Giriel’s psychic power.
Thunderous roars echoed in the sky.
As she passed a corner, almost reaching the hotel, sharp voices of argument suddenly pierced her ears.
“Li Huayu, you told us to steal before, and now you say not to. What do you want us to do?!”
“We just want to eat. It’s a perfect opportunity—why won’t you let us?!”
Luo Tianyou turned her head and saw a group of twelve- or thirteen-year-old children shouting at a familiar figure on the street.
“…Stealing is always wrong.”
Li Huayu replied hoarsely, eyes clouded, her body exuding a thick, sweet scent.
She stood in front of a convenience store with a smashed window, blocking several fierce, agitated youths.
“Wrong? Li Huayu, stop pretending to be noble!”
A tall boy spat.
“Weren’t you the one who taught us how to steal wallets the fastest? Now the monsters are here and the world is ending, and you won’t let us take some food?!”
“Yeah! You might not care, but we still want to live!”
Another girl screamed, trying to squeeze past Li Huayu.
Li Huayu blocked them firmly, pain and struggle interlacing her brown eyes.
It wasn’t the children she feared, but the evil whispers in her mind urging her to join the looting.
Those voices mocked her, calling her a hypocrite, saying she was just as rotten as they were.
Yeah, she was a rat from the gutter.
What right did she have to play the hero now?
She didn’t even know how many things she’d stolen or how much money she’d cheated from others.
Why was she standing here, saying these things?
As her mind wavered and her gaze dimmed, a blue figure like a meteor tearing through the darkness burst into her vision.
Luo Tianyou.
Why is she here…
Luo Tianyou saw her too—and the restless group of children behind her.
She hesitated, brows furrowing.
Clearly, she hadn’t expected to meet Li Huayu here, especially in this situation.
“Luo…”
Li Huayu instinctively wanted to call her name, to explain, to plead for help.
She saw surprise, confusion, and perhaps a trace of doubt in Luo Tianyou’s eyes.
No. Don’t look at me like that…
She didn’t want Luo Tianyou to see her so pathetic, to think she was beyond saving.
She had promised her—to become a good person, to start a new life…
Li Huayu suddenly turned around, facing the children, and shouted with all her strength,
“Get out! All of you, get out! Anyone who dares to steal again, I’ll break their hands!”
The kids were startled by her sudden outburst, glancing at each other.
Finally, under the growing pressure from the sky, they scattered with curses.
Only Li Huayu and Luo Tianyou remained at the corner.
Li Huayu panted heavily, and a voice came from beside her.
“Li Huayu, are you under mind control? Why aren’t you calling Lord Giriel?”
Luo Tianyou looked at Li Huayu’s bulging eyes, pale face, and saw she was almost identical to those in the building who had fallen under Giriel’s control.
But none of the children had been controlled by Giriel.
Was she really Li Huayu? It was said S-class monsters could take human form to deceive.
Li Huayu looked confused.
She didn’t seem to realize her own state.
Luo Tianyou thought for a moment, then raised her hand toward Li Huayu’s cheek as if to strike.
Almost instantly, Li Huayu closed her eyes, trembling, and resigned herself to being hit.
That’s right.
It’s her.