Chapter 27: Epilogue

“Hum, hum, huuaaahhh!!”

Chu Xiong shouted in utter despair, the stench of dark magic emanating from him was so foul that even from a distance, it forced people to recoil in disgust.

But Jiang Yao showed no hesitation just because the other was breaking down.

No matter what was happening to him, his attempt to harm her mother was unforgivable.

Raising the chainsaw sword high, Jiang Yao charged forward!

“Vzz—”

The chainsaw sword slashed at Chu Xiong’s arm, which was clutching his head, but it met obvious resistance.

The clash between dark magics was essentially determined purely by destructive force.

Even though the crystal teeth on the chainsaw vibrated violently, Jiang Yao’s sword could not advance any further.

“Guh…”

Between the gap of that arm was Chu Xiong’s small eyes, staring fixedly at her.

“Ah!!!”

With a sudden shake of his arms, he shouted loudly and pushed Jiang Yao’s sword away, then followed up with a straight punch.

“Clang!”

The fist collided with the side of the sword, producing a heavy metallic impact.

“Tch.”

Jiang Yao flipped backward nimbly, planting her chainsaw sword into the ground, but she still retreated over ten meters before stopping.

It was hard to imagine what would happen if that move had landed squarely on her.

“Why did this guy suddenly get so strong?”

Jiang Yao was terrified inside, but at the same time, a stronger wave of anger surged in her mind.

(Why is he so strong?)

(Why is he stronger than me!)

(Kill kill kill kill kill kill kill!)

(No no no, it shouldn’t be like this.)

At the last moment, a moment of clarity flashed through Jiang Yao’s mind.

She bit her tongue hard; the sharp pain at the tip brought her back to her senses.

Yes, Jiang Yao did want to kill this demon, but absolutely not for some dark reason like “he’s stronger than me.”

Looking at her hands, the originally holy Knight’s armor had already transformed into a different kind of black armor, carrying an ominous aura.

Jiang Yao didn’t know what effect magic had on the mind, but she instinctively sensed something was wrong.

On the other side, Chu Xiong gave her no time to reflect on the situation; stomping his foot, he raised his fist to strike:

“If not for you… if not for you! You deserve to die, ahhhh!”

“Look at yourself! Who are you blaming? Stop shifting the blame!”

“Swish!”

“Clang!”

Fist and sword clashed again and again. This time, Chu Xiong didn’t have a tail to sneak an attack like before; aside from the ache in her arm from the impact, Jiang Yao found it simpler to handle than before.

Moreover, Jiang Yao realized something.

It turned out that this demon was only tough around his fists and arms; other parts were much easier to cut. The chainsaw sword merely sliced through, leaving a gash with black, muddy stuff oozing out.

So she changed tactics from direct clashes to agile dodges, waiting for opportunities to counterattack.

This strategy proved effective. Chu Xiong’s attacks were fast and fierce; if even one landed, Jiang Yao might not hold up. But if he couldn’t hit her, all his effort was in vain.

Seeing the wounds multiply on his body, Chu Xiong looked like a madman. Suddenly, he let out a long howl, delivering a heavy kick that shoved Jiang Yao back, then raised his arm to the ceiling as black magic gathered upward, shouting savagely:

“I don’t care anymore! I want to kill one first! Die! Heh heh heh heh!”

Realizing what he was about to do, Jiang Yao’s skin crawled. She immediately charged forward at full speed:

“Mutant scum, you dare?!”

“What’s there not to dare! Take this!”

“Boom!”

“Crack—”

The girl was just a second too slow—that one second was enough for the dark magic beam to shoot toward the ceiling, striking the iron cage hanging there.

Chu Xiong quickly retreated, dodging the horizontal slash of the chainsaw sword.

The ordinary iron cage hanging from the ceiling exploded on the spot, but to both their surprise, there was no one inside—only flying iron shards, no captive figure.

Instead, the high-powered lamp above, struck by the energy blast, finally gave out with several crackles and went completely dark.

The entire factory instantly returned to darkness.

Only Chu Xiong’s and Jiang Yao’s eyes glowed faintly red.

“Damn it, where did that woman go?! Witch? Where the hell are you? Show yourself!”

Chu Xiong shouted angrily into the empty darkness, while Jiang Yao just stared blankly at the direction where the shattered cage had fallen.

(Mom, not there?)

Jiang Yao thought.

She felt somewhat relieved. But what was this “witch” the guy mentioned?

(Not thinking about that now, take advantage of this chance…)

She gripped the chainsaw sword and wanted to press the attack, but suddenly felt her legs go weak.

“Huh?”

“Snap.”

The magical armor fell off, landing beside her with a light sound. Jiang Yao lay on the ground, eyes wide, barely able to believe it.

She had actually fallen.

A wave of exhaustion swept over her. As the anger ebbed like a tide, Jiang Yao realized she was almost out of magic.

Moreover, inside her body, the reaction of dark and light magic repelling each other had begun.

Dull aches radiated through her whole body. These effects didn’t appear just now but had been masked by her extreme rage, now erupting simultaneously at the worst moment.

(This can’t be happening, how come…)

The girl struggled to get up again. Her fingers trembled unwillingly, legs struggled forward, and she painfully crawled.

(No… not now, no…)

She wanted to pick up her sword, to defeat the demon before her, to save her mother.

But she couldn’t anymore.

“Phew…”

Chu Xiong was also at his limit. He had only just gained this new form and hadn’t fully adapted.

His body, reshaped by dark magic, needed time to stabilize.

Underneath his human-like exterior, aside from the brain and a few organs that hadn’t changed much, the rest was a jelly-like mass of black magic.

Now, aside from his appearance resembling a human, he contained less than one percent human components.

He was a complete dark magic creature.

Like a crab just molted, Chu Xiong was at his most vulnerable moment—not because his attacks were weaker, which were in fact stronger than before—but because his internal structures were still unformed.

However, it didn’t matter.

He would recover fully soon enough. First, capture that magical girl, then… change himself again.

His wish, his long-cherished goal, no matter how many mistakes happened along the way, was bound to be fulfilled. Yes, yes! He would succeed, he would…

“Gah?”

Suddenly, Chu Xiong felt something big, thick, and dangerous pressed against his lower back, interrupting his fantasy.

“Second-stage demon, I advise you not to move.”

A girl’s voice came from behind: “Move and you die.”

Caught off guard by the unknown person behind him, Chu Xiong stiffened, secretly mobilizing dark magic to repair the wounds from the fight while opening his mouth to speak.

But the one behind him spoke first, coldly:

“I’m kidding, you die even if you don’t move.”

“You—”

The magical staff pressed against his waist burst forth with pure light magic, unleashing the magical girl’s strongest strike at nearly point-blank range!

Chu Xiong, true to a second-stage demon, immediately spun around to fight back again, but the light was too intense, too bright.

So bright it could swallow him whole, leaving him no room to resist.

(How could this be…)

At the moment his body was enveloped in light and his entire being was consumed by painful burning, a sealed memory began to awaken.

In the hazy memory from twenty years ago, his childhood, when his frail body was almost killed by a sudden earthquake, he seemed to have experienced similar light.

“You’ll be okay.”

The owner of that light said as they saved him from the rubble.

When he woke up, his body had been healed, the incident forgotten, and he had followed his mocking parents to a new home in another city.

At the edge of life, Chu Xiong’s eyes widened, as if wanting to see the existence behind that light—the warmth, the thing called hope.

But he could only futilely reach out with hands that turned to ashes, leaving a voice like a sigh:

“…It’s… you…”

Not far away, Jiang Yao lay on the ground, her transformation ended as her magic was exhausted. Naturally, she also noticed the radiant light.

The light pierced the factory’s darkness, blasting through part of the ceiling to reveal the night sky outside.

Soft moonlight shone down from the clear night.

“Step, step…”

The pink-haired magical girl appeared again, coming before Jiang Yao, slowly squatting and gently cradling her weak body in warm hands.

At the same time, a comforting energy flowed into Jiang Yao, bringing a peaceful sleepiness to her exhausted form.

“I… my mom…”

Jiang Yao weakly whispered, clutching the pink-haired girl’s collar.

“Don’t worry, you did very well, really well. Thanks to you, I’ve already saved your mother; she won’t suffer any harm.”

“You…”

“My name is [Aurora].”

“I… I want to…”

“I’ll teach you, about magic.”

(Why… I want to ask something, but she already knows…)

With a faint, relieved smile, overwhelmed by fatigue and sleep, Jiang Yao drifted toward unconsciousness.

Just before closing her eyes, she seemed to see the magical girl holding her shimmer with tiny points of light.

She grew taller, transforming into her mother’s shape.

(Is this a dream…)

(Mom… I’m okay, don’t cry…)

In this reassuring embrace, Jiang Yao fell into a deep sleep.