Qiuli slipped soundlessly through the rift carved by the Slash of the Void, entering the Tianqi Church undetected.
Simply put, [Slash of the Void] is the ability to cut open space itself, allowing the user to instantly move within a certain range to any location they desire.
Qiuli awakened this ability when she was very young and had become highly skilled at using it.
Some say that magic comes from the power of the heart, and Qiuli agrees with this.
The moment she awakened her power was the time when the Orphanage caught fire.
Trapped in the blaze, she had only one thought in her mind—to escape from there.
And so, after being rescued from the fire and waking from unconsciousness, she discovered she had awakened this ability.
The Bounty Hunter Leader saw this potential in her and adopted her from the Orphanage, which could no longer support so many children after the fire.
However, if young Qiuli had known what kind of person was taking her away, she probably would never have agreed, even if it cost her her life.
After joining the Corpse Collectors, Qiuli carried out all sorts of petty theft and sneaky missions, and thanks to her [Slash of the Void], she had never once failed—until the night she was sent to the Tianqi Church.
At first, everything went smoothly. Qiuli easily slipped through all the Magic Barriers, evaded every guard, but in the end, she was blocked in front of the church’s high tower by a sudden appearance—a Magic Girl in a nun’s robe.
It was only later that Qiuli learned this was the S-Rank Magical Girl [Judgment Scales], who belonged to the Tianqi Church.
That explained why the fight was so one-sided—Qiuli was quickly defeated.
She truly wasn’t skilled at fighting; the Bounty Hunter valued only her ability to steal. Beyond that, she merely had some competent hand-to-hand combat skills.
But just as Qiuli was about to slice open space and retreat, she was shocked to discover that, for the first time ever, her ability failed…
No, it would be more accurate to say that even the magical circuits in her body couldn’t circulate.
Was it going to end here?
Qiuli touched the Collar around her neck, watching as Wange Yue walked slowly toward her, and for a moment she actually felt a trace of relief.
The Bounty Hunter would never allow her to fall alive into the hands of the Association and leak information; they would surely detonate the bomb in advance to deal with her, right?
Either way, this kind of life was bound to end eventually, and perhaps that was a good thing.
Qiuli had already given up on resisting. Yet the moment this thought arose, a jolt of electric pain shot from her neck.
She was forced to reverse her grip on the Short Knife and slash at the person before her—even though she knew full well she didn’t stand a chance, even if she fought.
Sure enough, her attack was easily blocked. But then Wange Yue did something that completely took Qiuli by surprise.
After restraining Qiuli, Wange Yue gently rolled up her sleeve and, seeing the dense scars all over her arm, a trace of pain flashed in her eyes.
“Heavens, I thought there were only those scars on your wrist… Does it hurt? You must have suffered a lot of abuse, haven’t you?”
Qiuli froze—not because someone was showing her concern for the first time, but because Wange Yue had guessed so accurately, even though they were enemies.
Who would care what injuries their enemy had suffered? Was this nun out of her mind?
“How do you know these aren’t battle wounds? I’m a vicious Corpse Collector, after all. Getting hurt in a fight is normal, isn’t it?”
“If these weren’t left by repeated whipping or electric shocks in the same spot, the scars wouldn’t be so dense. And this…”
Wange Yue examined the thick Collar around Qiuli’s neck, which glowed red, making her look like a prisoner who had just escaped from a Prison.
“Is this thing controlling you? I’ll help you take it off.”
Don’t bother—Qiuli wanted to say. Only the Leader had the Key to the Collar; trying to remove it by force was impossible.
Not only could the magical circuit inside the Collar control the wearer, but if damaged, it would trigger the small bomb within and detonate instantly.
But… Normally, she could never destroy the Collar on her own, but this S-Rank Magical Girl probably had the strength to do so, right?
That way, she could be freed at last. That didn’t sound too bad.
So Qiuli simply closed her eyes lightly. Then she heard a click, and for the first time in so long, the foreign weight around her neck vanished. Qiuli stared in disbelief.
How could it be? Even if this Magic Girl was strong enough to destroy the Collar, the small bomb inside should have exploded! But now, the Collar in Wange Yue’s hand no longer glowed red, as if it had stopped working entirely.
“My [Judgment] can suppress all Magical Circuit functions. This thing can’t control you anymore.”
Wange Yue casually tossed the Collar away. Once [Judgment] was lifted, the Collar gave a short “bang,” and a flash of light cut through the darkness.
Qiuli dumbly touched her now-empty neck, her mind utterly blank. She had always thought she could never escape the Bounty Hunter’s control.
Was she free? Was she really… free now? No, she had done so many bad things—what did it matter if she was no longer under the Bounty Hunter’s control?
At that moment, people from the Tianqi Church came forward and escorted Qiuli away from Wange Yue, intending to confine her temporarily in the church’s Prison.
“Wait, she’s suffered a lot of injuries—she should be sent to the Association’s Medical Division for a checkup first…”
“No, this woman is very dangerous. Who knows what valuable items she tried to steal from the Church? Before we find out what she knows, we can’t hand her over to the Association.”
Her protest failed, and Wange Yue frowned. She herself held a high status in the Tianqi Church, so why had she never heard of any shady valuables kept here? What could possibly need such questioning?
Hearing the words “the Association,” Qiuli also realized something. She didn’t want to face all the things she had done in the past.
That’s right, the Association would never let her get away with all those things either, would they? In that case…
For the first time, the thought flashed through Qiuli’s mind: “Just kill me.”
But just as she was about to be taken away, Wange Yue caught up to her again, took her hand, and spoke earnestly.
“Don’t worry. I’ll get to the bottom of this. If you really were forced into this, I’ll do everything I can to help you, so don’t worry.”
Wange Yue’s eyes were clear and bright. Qiuli’s heart trembled, but soon calmed again.
This woman really was odd. Even if she was forced—so what? She was just a stranger… Why would she go so far to help another stranger?
She ought to think this woman was crazy, but for some reason, Qiuli just couldn’t forget Wange Yue’s earnest gaze.
That was her very first impression of Wange Yue after they met—What a… gentle weirdo.