Violent flames reappeared within the cathedral, the extreme heat relentlessly incinerating the building that had already been overtaken by tentacles.
The white-robed youth stared at Blazing Flame in stunned silence for a long moment before suddenly bursting into laughter, offering his praise.
“To think you even know my number. It seems you really are special.”
“In that case, I will give it my all as a sign of respect!”
As soon as the youth finished speaking, the tentacles making up the entire cathedral surged toward No. 024’s body like a tide.
They became more refined through constant fusion, embedding themselves into the youth’s body like precision screws.
Blazing Flame stood to the side, watching with a flat expression as No. 024 completed his fusion.
She didn’t even bother to stop the tentacles from rushing toward him or hinder his attempt to gain more power.
A few minutes later, after incorporating all the tentacles into his own body, the white-robed youth looked at Blazing Flame and smiled.
“You have great poise, surprisingly refraining from a sneak attack. However, even if you had tried, you could not truly kill me until every tentacle filling this cathedral had been consumed…”
Before the white-robed youth could finish, Blazing Flame poured most of the Magic Power within her body into her warhammer, fully activating her inherent Thermal Field.
In the blink of an eye, the gravel on the ground began to tremble for no apparent reason.
Liquid seeped strangely from the cracked floor tiles, only to be rapidly evaporated by the high temperature.
The white-robed youth’s expression shifted instantly. He suddenly realized that what he had just said was a joke.
If Blazing Flame had not held back from the beginning, the tentacles of the entire cathedral would have been evaporated into ash, and he would have been completely unable to complete this Final Evolution.
‘Is this… What is this? Can a Magic Girl really possess this kind of power?’
“Stop talking,” Blazing Flame said, too lazy to answer his question. “I won’t say I didn’t give you a chance. Attack.”
“You—”
The white-robed youth grit his teeth. Looking at the indifferent Blazing Flame, he felt a strange sense of being looked down upon.
But he also had to admit that Blazing Flame, who currently possessed power beyond common logic, was indeed qualified to strike such an arrogant pose.
Thinking of this, he slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air and touched his lips, which had begun to crack from the heat. He relaxed his body, preparing to use the move he had originally reserved for 009.
To repay the Night Lord and to prevent traitors from appearing within the organization, he had fused all human hand-to-hand combat techniques from ancient times to the present.
He had condensed them into this most simple, yet most lethal, killing blow.
He had intended to use this move to kill 009 after she had served her purpose, allowing himself to become the new 009.
But now, it seemed there was a target who posed an even greater threat to the Night Lord, one worthy of this move.
Reflecting on his goal and the direction the Night Lord had pointed out for him, the white-robed youth slowly closed his eyes and allowed his body to relax completely.
Under Blazing Flame’s watchful gaze, the youth’s body began to melt like liquid, finally turning into a mass of black-and-white fluid that constantly swirled in place on the ruined floor.
At first, his speed was extremely slow, but after completing the first lap, he grew faster and faster until Blazing Flame’s eyes could no longer track his movements.
After an unknown number of rotations, the black-and-white liquid returned to the white-robed youth’s original form.
However, he looked somewhat strange, and Blazing Flame could not sense even a hint of danger from him.
Then, he swung a fist toward Blazing Flame with a staggering motion. It still carried no Magic Power and was not particularly fast—so slow that Blazing Flame’s body didn’t even sense a threat.
Watching this fist slowly approach her, Blazing Flame suddenly smiled.
“I see. So this is the power you’ve managed to borrow through sheer technique? It is indeed impressive.”
“But unfortunately, since you are using human techniques with a non-human body, it has absolutely no reference value.”
“Let’s end this.”
With that, Blazing Flame gripped her warhammer and took a deep breath, drawing all the Magic Power she had leaked into the Thermal Field back into the weapon.
She didn’t raise it over her head, nor did she grip the hammer with both hands.
Facing the white-robed youth’s punch, Blazing Flame simply held the hammer with one hand and channeled all the Magic Power in her body into this single strike with her fastest and most violent strength, meeting the attack head-on.
There was no earth-shattering explosion, nor was there a shattering sound that reached the heavens.
Time seemed to freeze at that moment, stopping at the exact second the fist and warhammer collided.
The white-robed youth looked at his fist suspended in mid-air and then at the surrounding floor, which had not been blown to bits. He remained silent for several seconds.
Then, he smiled slightly, withdrew his fist, and murmured, “Even in a head-on collision with the pinnacle of human technique, you still have the strength to spare the surroundings from destruction?”
“As expected of the Strongest Magical Girl in History. I accept my defeat wholeheartedly.”
“Since you have defeated us who represent the limits of humanity, do not lose to anyone else after this, Miss Zhiyan.”
After saying this, the white-robed youth closed his eyes with a look of total resignation and lowered his head, accepting the fact of his defeat.
the moment he lowered his head, cracks began to appear across his body one by one, spreading from his head all the way down to his feet until not a single part of him remained intact.
“…You aren’t human. You’re just a damn monster.”
“Since you’re a monster, don’t say such sentimental things. Just die quietly for me.”
Looking at the man’s crumbling body, Blazing Flame turned away, having no interest in witnessing his final moments.
The moment she turned, the white-robed youth gave a helpless laugh and casually raised his right hand made of tentacles, clenching it into a fist one last time. In the next second, his body shattered and dissipated into fragments.
Having dealt with this troublesome Shadow Beast, Blazing Flame found a place to sit among the ruins.
She rubbed her temples and clutched her stomach, trying her best to suppress the nausea brought on by her churning stomach.
The warhammer in her hand had vanished at some point, and her dark red cloak was nowhere to be seen.
All that remained with Blazing Flame now was a Greatsword and the crimson, off-the-shoulder, sleeveless dress she wore.
“Whew… ha…”
Blazing Flame panted heavily, struggling to adapt to the discomfort of being completely drained of Magic Power.
She forced herself to stay conscious, refusing to close her eyes and fall asleep in a place like this.
However, the intense fatigue and the terrible emotions rising strangely in her heart made it impossible for her to remain calm.
She found herself strangely beginning to envy Baixue in City D, Sapphire, and even the ordinary citizens who lived their daily lives in peace.
Blazing Flame was jealous of them, feeling that the world was unfair. She hated that they could enjoy a mundane life while she had to carry such immense pressure as the damn Guardian of City A.
She clearly possessed the power to run rampant across the world, power enough to be the strongest on the planet.
Yet she was bound by boring obligations, trapped in the responsibilities of a Magic Girl, afraid to do anything out of line.
She didn’t dare admit to others that she was Blazing Flame. She felt that wasn’t her.
She felt that Blazing Flame, the Magic Girl, and Lu Ren, the ordinary University Student, were two different people.
‘How ridiculous.’
‘Without a Magic Fairy to assist her Transformation, logically, she doesn’t need to be some Hero.’
‘She should think more about herself, using this accidentally acquired Forbidden Power to seek more benefits and change the world into the shape she wants.’
‘As for her reputation or the insults of others?’
‘That’s for other people to worry about. What does it have to do with me?!’
‘If I just use this power to charge into some vault and take all the money, I could enjoy a brand-new, beautiful life—the life of luxury I’ve always wanted.’
‘Right. As soon as I stand up, I’ll take the Greatsword, go to the bank entrance, and say I’m robbing them. It’s all very simple, nothing difficult about it…’
“…Shut up!”
Before her heart could be completely shrouded by these foul emotions, Blazing Flame let out a low, sharp bark.
She slammed her right hand heavily against the ground, forcing herself to stop thinking about things that had nothing to do with her identity.
Only after striking the ground and feeling the flash of pain did Blazing Flame finally calm down. She sat in place, let out a long sigh, and continued to rest.
A few minutes later, as Blazing Flame was debating whether she should walk home or find someone to borrow a Mobile Phone from to call Xu Wenxing, a voice she didn’t expect to hear appeared beside her.
“Citizens! I am a Staff Member from the Monster Response Department! Please follow directions! Proceed downstairs quickly! Follow the signs toward the Shelter!”
“I repeat! Citizens, please follow directions, do not panic, proceed downstairs quickly, and head to the Shelter in an orderly fashion!”
“…Eh?”
Holding a megaphone, Xu Wenxing stared blankly at Blazing Flame sitting in the ruins, then looked at the collapsed cathedral next to her, feeling quite bewildered.
Seeing her roommate acting as a Staff Member and evacuating the local citizens, Blazing Flame laughed for some reason. She forced herself to stand up and teased him.
“Ho, I didn’t realize you had a talent for this. You’ve only been with the Monster Response Department for a few weeks, and you can already speak so fluently. You even look somewhat like a decent human being.”
“Uh… it’s actually just because the Official uniform is good. A black jacket, white shirt, necktie, and trousers—even a dog would look like a person in this.”
“Fair point. By the way, are you done with your logistics work? Why are you evacuating people like the regular Staff Members…”
Before Blazing Flame could finish, her eyes suddenly drifted shut and she pitched forward.
“Ren—Brother Ren!?”
Xu Wenxing was startled and quickly dropped the megaphone to catch the girl’s petite body, terrified that she might have been hurt.