That sound was like a herd of wild horses pounding the ground as they ran.
“Danger! Sairi, stay behind me!”
Without hesitation, Hilvia raised her Holy Sword, ready to face the coming assault.
“Whistle!” Just as Hilvia expected, after a clear clang of blades meeting, a triangular, spearhead-shaped blade fell to the ground.
Then that blade floated up and swiftly flew into the forest.
Soon after came the rapid sound of running footsteps, and the two realized they were surrounded by a group of Demonic Horses, closing in from all sides.
“Hilvia sister, could these be the high-level Magical Beasts we heard about?”
“Looks like it. They resemble wild horses but have ranged attacks and are aggressive. Each has that triangular blade on their heads, their skin is very dark, and some even have a glowing black spot on their chests.”
That black spot emitted a faint purple glow beneath it—a sign of being tainted by the Black Flow.
“Get ready to fight, Sairi!”
“OK!”
That’s what was said, but what could Sairi really do? Facing so many high-level Magical Beasts, it would be easier for Hilvia alone—she could just focus on fighting.
But now, with Sairi here, Hilvia had to battle while also keeping an eye on her.
Thankfully, Sairi had learned the Sword Qi Wave and Enchanted Slash, so she stayed at a distance to support Hilvia, who fought up close.
Compared to Sairi’s light attacks, Hilvia’s strikes were practiced and effective.
Hilvia gripped the Holy Sword tightly, dodging the Magical Beasts’ assaults and countering whenever she could.
After a fierce skirmish, several beasts had fallen, pierced through their black spots by Hilvia’s blade.
“Ah, Hilvia sister!”
Hilvia kicked away a charging beast and turned to see Sairi surrounded by a ring of Demonic Horses.
Because these beasts were much taller than humans, Hilvia couldn’t see Sairi’s condition.
At the same time, the beasts seized the moment, swarming in thick waves and pressing in, trapping Hilvia as well.
This was bad—Hilvia realized she’d been careless this time.
They came to Sairi’s side.
“Hey, big horse brothers, let’s talk this out. I’m just a massage therapist; I’m no threat to any of you.”
Sairi took a small step back, begging.
“Besides, look at my tender skin. There’s nothing tasty on me, just bones—totally inedible. So please, spare me this once!”
The beasts didn’t care and closed in further.
“Wow, big brothers and sisters, your black skin is so cool! And your horns—so awesome! You’re just like the legendary unicorns, super impressive.”
Even after buttering them up, the beasts remained unmoved. Sairi gave up; these Magical Beasts didn’t understand words. Looks like this was really the end for her.
Hilvia’s situation wasn’t optimistic either.
Although the beasts didn’t understand speech, they seemed to have some intelligence, concentrating their attacks around Hilvia to overwhelm her, while leaving fewer beasts on Sairi’s side—apparently, they could tell who was stronger.
This was bad. Hilvia regretted her carelessness amid the fight.
What should she do? Should she unleash the Holy Sword Hero’s power here? If she did, these beasts would be no match, falling in moments.
But such power would definitely be detected; people would get wind of it, and even the Top Perception Mage in the Royal Capital would sense it. There would be no escape after that.
Sairi had already given up. Her Sword Qi Wave did little damage, so she wildly swung the Rainbow Sword, hoping to intimidate the beasts.
But the beasts weren’t fazed.
One lowered its head suddenly, and its horn shot out toward Sairi.
“This is it!” she thought—this was really the end.
Startled, Sairi ducked just in time.
The horn struck her head, hitting the Five-pointed Star Hairclip.
To her surprise, the horn didn’t pierce the hairclip—it shattered instead, leaving only a jolt of impact.
“!”
What was going on? Was her hairclip really that tough?
Before she could react further, a faint voice echoed in her mind.
“Summon transformation… harness the power… cleanse the Black Flow…”
Transformation? What was that? Never mind.
“Transform!”
***
Hilvia heard Sairi’s shout and spun around, only to be blinded by a dazzling flash of light.
The beasts were startled by the sudden radiance as well.
Within the glow, Sairi’s appearance changed.
Her golden hair vanished, replaced by white hair tinged with pink.
Her blouse and pleated skirt disappeared, swapped for a pink dress.
Her underwear and white tights remained unchanged, but a bow appeared on her chest, adding a touch of cuteness to her plain appearance.
Her travel boots turned into small leather shoes, each heel adorned with a white bow.
White long arm sleeves appeared on her arms.
If she had been holding a magic wand, the transformation would have been complete, but she still wielded the Rainbow Sword.
“! What’s going on? Why did I get this outfit? It’s so embarrassing, like the magical girls I’ve heard about, but why am I using a sword and not a wand?”
Despite her embarrassment, Sairi felt her power surge.
She recalled a few moves in her mind.
This strength was unexpectedly formidable, and she could consciously control it.
“Whatever, let’s finish you off first!”
Sairi swung the Rainbow Sword, which glowed brightly.
With a flash, she seemed to fly toward the beasts.
“Look at my sword!”
The Rainbow Sword pierced a beast’s body, causing a violent explosion of lightning that shredded its insides.
The beast howled in pain and collapsed, slowly losing life.
Two beasts shot their horns at Sairi, but she nimbly dodged and grabbed both horns, twisting and throwing them back.
The horns impaled another beast, which immediately thrashed about.
Sairi flashed to that beast and sliced its long neck clean off, black blood spraying as she kicked it away.
The last two beasts couldn’t escape either.
Sairi cast magic, conjuring two glowing ropes that wrapped around them.
She then hurled two spheres of light, bursting them open and leaving the beasts mangled and unable to continue.
Having dealt with the beasts around her, Sairi called out to Hilvia.
“Hilvia sister! I’m done here! I’ll come help you!”
Hilvia, still channeling the Holy Sword Hero’s power, paused briefly.
Then she stopped the power release and charged toward Sairi, breaking through the encirclement.
Along the way, she hacked off many beasts’ legs.
Once clear, she stared in surprise at the transformed Sairi.
She looked completely different now.
“Same.”
“Stop dazing off, Hilvia sister. Let’s finish them off!”
“Got it!”
Back to back, their weapons locked, the two teleported into the midst of the beasts.
Waves of energy rippled outward with explosions and flashes, as if performing a deadly dance.
The two coordinated flawlessly, facing attacks from all sides.
Their blades traced elegant arcs through the air, like long tails—beautiful and lethal.
Some beasts were beheaded, some hacked to death, others blown apart by light spheres.
As the last heavily wounded beast whimpered and fell lifeless, the pair had wiped out all the high-level Magical Beasts.
What had once been a lush green meadow was now littered with corpses and black blood.
But Hilvia’s concern wasn’t with that.
“Sairi, what happened to you?”
“Well, I’m not sure. When those beasts attacked me, I heard a voice in my head saying ‘transform.’
I tried it, and this happened. And it seems pretty strong.”
“Looks like another one of your body’s anomalies.
But it’s good—makes fighting easier.
And…”
“And what?”
“And… very cute, haha.
You’re basically a flat-chested loli, but now with this pretty dress, pink-white hair, and little leather shoes, you look like a doll.”
At that moment, the black spots on the beasts’ corpses flickered strangely.
A faint purple glow emitted, giving an ominous feeling.
“Sairi, be careful. These creatures might have abnormalities.”
Hilvia knew the beasts were corrupted by the Black Flow, but she lacked the ability to purify it.
Her friends in the Royal Capital could do that.
At that moment, gentle words echoed in Sairi’s mind.
“How is it? Sairi little sister, do you like this power?”
“Eh, it’s you, Goddess Sister,” Sairi replied in her mind, exchanging fragmented thoughts with the Goddess.
“Yes, this power exists within you.
Now you can use it to purify the polluted Black Flow.”
“Polluted Black Flow?”
“This Black Flow appeared in this world at some unknown time.
It corrupts other beings and causes great destruction.
Now you can cleanse it completely.”
“Sairi little sister, why are you spacing out?
Can you really purify the Black Flow?”
Hilvia’s voice interrupted Sairi’s connection.
“All right, Sairi little sister.
If you want to help your friends by cleansing the Black Flow, I’ll connect with you again when the time comes.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll get started now.”
Following the Goddess’s instructions, Sairi placed her hand on the Five-pointed Star Hairclip.
A burst of light flashed as the Black Flow inside the beasts floated up, gathering before her.
Sairi then raised the hairclip, which shone dazzlingly.
After the glow, the Black Flow slowly corroded and dissipated, and the beasts lost all vitality.
“Not bad, Sairi little sister. I didn’t expect you to be so powerful, able to purify the Black Flow.”
“I didn’t expect it either.”
“By the way, how do you feel wearing such a pretty outfit?”
That made Sairi blush as she desperately tried to pull down her skirt, hoping to cover more of her thighs.
“Hilvia sister, stop teasing me! I didn’t choose to wear this.
I don’t know why I ended up in such an embarrassing outfit.”
“But isn’t it cute?”
“Not cute! I want to change back right now!”
“Well… if you silently say ‘cancel transformation,’ you should be able to change back.
After all, you said you transformed by silently saying ‘transform.’”
Sairi did as told, silently repeating “cancel transformation.”
A flash of light greeted her, and she successfully reverted to her original outfit.
Her hair returned to grayish gold.
“Looking at it now, that cute outfit was better.
How about you stay transformed, Sairi?”
“No way! Let’s finish cleaning up the beasts and go back to change.”
“Alright, alright. No more joking.”
The fallen beasts’ bodies soon decayed, leaving only their horns intact.
Fortunately, those horns served as proof of kills.
Sairi leaned against a large tree in the forest, resting and thinking through everything that had happened.
Meanwhile, Hilvia cleaned the battlefield.
Relaxing like this felt great.
Watching Hilvia tidy up after the fight, Sairi felt cheerful.
There would definitely be more Magical Beasts to fight in the future.