Chapter 31: 🐶 guarantee

The two of them held hands and walked to the edge of the barrier.

Yuexia Liuli pressed her free hand against the barrier.

The barrier parted like water, opening a gap just wide enough for two people to pass through.

They didn’t hesitate.

They stepped inside.

The light within the barrier dimmed sharply, as if they had entered another world.

The sky was a suffocating dark purple.

The scorched earth was riddled with cracks, from which dark purple fog seeped, dizzying and oppressive.

And in the center of a massive pit, a shadow like a pulsing heart floated, bound by countless Golden Chains.

That was the Seal Core—Kyrie’s compressed, restrained true body.

“Stay close to me.

Don’t let go, no matter what.”

Yuexia Liuli walked ahead.

Luo Tianyou could feel that the circulation of magic between them became even more necessary here.

If it broke, the raging magic in the surroundings would instantly devour her.

A deep, malicious roar echoed in the air—the remnants of Kyrie’s will.

Luo Tianyou could even see some tentacles writhing in the dense fog.

She had no doubt that these tentacles could attack at any time.

Was Kyrie waiting for something?

Yuexia Liuli noticed the tentacles as well, but she didn’t hesitate—she only moved faster.

They reached the core area.

All around stood strange rock pillars.

At the center, a huge heart-like mass pulsed, constantly emitting streams of dark purple energy.

But these were tightly locked by countless Golden Chains.

Several glowing golden runes surrounded them—the final nodes of the seal.

But now, they were clearly fractured and on the verge of collapse.

“This is it.”

Yuexia Liuli stopped, her expression grave.

“To reinforce it, we need to inject our magic into the Auxiliary Runes around the nodes at a specific frequency.”

Luo Tianyou immediately focused, mobilizing her inner magic.

Yuexia Liuli released a thread of Moonlight power, like a guiding thread, wrapping around Luo Tianyou’s wrist to lead her magic into the broken runes.

Starlight and moonlight intertwined.

The runes glowed brighter to the naked eye, and the surface cracks began to heal.

Swoosh!

A Wind Blade entwined with dark purple energy shot forth without warning, aiming straight at Yuexia Liuli’s back.

Yuexia Liuli swung her hand back, forming a Moonlight Barrier.

Bang!

The Wind Blade slammed into the barrier and scattered.

“Who?!”

Yuexia Liuli looked coldly toward the source of the attack.

A figure staggered out from behind a rock pillar.

She wore a tattered blue battle suit.

Her long hair was disheveled.

Her face was beautiful, but her eyes were hollow, the whites filled with fine black blood vessels.

A strange, rigid smile twisted her features.

“Qingluan?!”

Luo Tianyou recognized her—one of the two B-rank magical girls who had taken Lihua Yu away that day.

She was here.

And clearly under control.

“She’s been corrupted.”

Yuexia Liuli’s voice turned cold, her golden eyes locked onto Qingluan.

“Be careful.

She’s our enemy now.”

Battle erupted.

The controlled Qingluan fought ruthlessly, caring nothing for defense—only attacking.

The environment seemed to empower her, making Yuexia Liuli, who was not in peak condition, and the inexperienced Luo Tianyou, both struggle to keep up.

Yuexia Liuli’s gaze flicked to the shadows beside a rock pillar—and saw a group of people writhing forward, their movements stiff and unnatural.

Deeper in, more shapes loomed in the darkness.

Luo Tianyou saw them too.

Leading them was a middle-aged woman, her face full and fleshy, her eyes vacant—it was Sister Wang, who had once humiliated Lihua Yu.

Most of those behind her were children, the oldest no more than thirteen or fourteen, the youngest perhaps only five or six.

All had empty eyes and stiff, controlled expressions.

Luo Tianyou recognized several familiar faces among them—the children who had tried to rob the shop and been stopped by Lihua Yu.

At a glance, there were hundreds.

From each child’s body stretched several threads of dark purple Energy Threads, like tubes draining their life force, converging into Sister Wang.

Sister Wang’s body became a twisted converter, turning that energy into denser Dark Purple Fog, injecting it back into the surrounding mist and accelerating the corruption of the seal.

“These are people from the organization Lihua Yu mentioned.

They’re being controlled—used as Kyrie’s fuel.”

Luo Tianyou realized, anger flaring.

“Yuexia Liuli, that leader is a villain!

A scumbag who trafficked and abused children!

Killing her shouldn’t be a problem!”

To her, such filth deserved to die, especially as she was now helping to destroy the seal.

However—

Yuexia Liuli stared at the children moving like puppets, her small fist clenched so tightly her nails nearly pierced her palm.

She understood the scene before her.

Kyrie’s mental pollution had infected this group, drawing them into the seal.

The reason stemmed from the second use of the Children’s Radiance Seal by that magical girl.

Kyrie had tried to learn from it, and while sealed, forcibly controlled a group of children, attempting to use them to break the seal.

These children, raised by the Black Organization that thrived on C City’s corruption, had never been registered as normal citizens.

Even after the incident, magical girls and management bureaus would search for infected victims using census data—but these unregistered children weren’t in any database.

No one realized hundreds of victims had disappeared.

There was no warning.

Kill the leader?

The Energy Threads connecting her to the hundreds of children would snap instantly.

Those children, whose life force had been drained and who were under control, could suffer energy backlash or mental collapse—possibly death.

Kyrie’s mental pollution was more vicious than imagined.

It turned victims into batteries and shields for both sustaining itself and breaking the seal.

Force an attack, and the children die.

Hesitate, and the seal breaks, dooming the whole city.

No perfect choice.

Only a balance of consequences.

And right now, her magic far from recovered and her strength limited, Yuexia Liuli had to face the controlled Qingluan, protect Luo Tianyou, repair the seal, and fight against Kyrie’s will surging through the purple fog.

Yuexia Liuli might be ruthless to her enemies, capable of plotting against Luo Tianyou and harboring dark thoughts, but she could not watch as hundreds of already-tragic children died because of her actions.

The controlled Qingluan seemed to receive a command, her attacks growing even more frenzied.

At the same time, the energy extraction from the children behind Sister Wang intensified.

Pain crept onto their numb faces, their bodies convulsing, and the Seal Core trembled more violently—some of the runes that had been healing fractured again.

The churning purple fog—Kyrie’s will—was rapidly recovering, even beginning to seal the seal itself, preventing anyone from leaving.

Yuexia Liuli’s eyes sharpened.

She made her decision.

“Master, listen to me.

No matter what happens next, hold my hand and don’t resist.”

Luo Tianyou looked at Yuexia Liuli.

“What are you going to do?”

Yuexia Liuli pulled Luo Tianyou close.

In the latter’s stunned gaze, she stood on tiptoe and pressed her lips fiercely against hers.

“Mm!”

This was no gentle touch.

It was an almost predatory kiss.

Yuexia Liuli pried open Luo Tianyou’s teeth, greedily drawing magic from within her.

The force was so strong, Luo Tianyou felt her magic—and even her soul—being drained.

Yuexia Liuli’s small body erupted in dazzling golden light, temporarily driving back the surrounding Dark Purple Fog.

Her moon-white battle dress transformed.

Red and black veins spread like blood vessels, entwining with golden Moonlight, making the dress more ornate, its hem turning into trailing bands of energy.

Stellar Prototype—Incomplete Form.

Luo Tianyou’s eyes widened.

She could feel Yuexia Liuli trembling, her body burning hot, golden blood seeping from the corner of her mouth.

She was forcibly invoking the Stellar Prototype in a weakened state.

The burden was immense.

Yuexia Liuli released Luo Tianyou’s lips.

Luo Tianyou stared at her in shock.

“Yuexia Liuli, you…”

“I said I’d get you out safely.”

A faint arc appeared at Yuexia Liuli’s lips, pain flickering across her young face as uncontrollable magic raged within her.

“Moonlight Dominion.”

She extended her free hand toward Qingluan and the children.

A field of Moonlight magic enveloped the area.

The dark purple Energy Threads binding the children writhed violently, emitting corrosive hisses.

But one by one, they were stripped away by the Moonlight, safely severed.

The children collapsed, falling unconscious or half-conscious.

Qingluan let out a muffled groan, staggering to her knees, her gaze struggling as she battled the lingering pollution within her.

Only Sister Wang suffered a backlash.

Her flesh ruptured, her organs rotted, and she wailed in agony upon regaining awareness.

After such a massive, precise use of Dominion, Yuexia Liuli’s face was as pale as paper.

Her small body swayed.

More golden blood trickled from her lips.

“Go!”

Using the last of the Stellar Prototype’s power, she wrapped Luo Tianyou in her arms, along with the unconscious Qingluan and hundreds of children.

“Moonlight Banishment!”

A pillar of Moonlight shot upward.

In the dark purple sky sealed by Kyrie, it forcefully carved a brief path of safety, pushing the glowing sphere holding everyone out of the barrier.

The fog boiled.

Kyrie’s furious voice tore at their ears.

“Yuexia Liuli!!”

In the instant before being expelled from the barrier, Luo Tianyou managed to look back.

She saw Yuexia Liuli suspended before the shattered Seal Core, her small frame straight and unyielding.

Her long hair streamed in the violent currents of energy, blazing with golden light that rapidly faded.

Her eyes met Luo Tianyou’s—complicated, weary, tinged with release, and emotions Luo Tianyou couldn’t understand.

Banishment could only select targets other than herself.

Then, the sphere burst through the barrier.

Luo Tianyou’s vision was filled with blinding light.

She staggered upright.

Qingluan lay nearby, coughing violently, while the children sprawled all over the ground.

“Lord Luo Tianyou! Qingluan!”

Lin Weiwei, Tiejie, and others guarding the perimeter rushed over.

Seeing the scene, they were shocked, quickly organizing aid for the unconscious children and watching the barrier warily.

The dark purple light and violent fluctuations within seemed to weaken, but had not settled.

“Where is Lord Yuexia Liuli?”

Lin Weiwei asked urgently.

Luo Tianyou felt her heart clench, her eyes filled with shock and conflicted emotions.

That damn mutt… she actually stayed behind to protect the children—and her—in that desperate place?

Wasn’t she only seeking revenge against her mother?

Didn’t she want to drag Luo Tianyou down?

Then why…?

“No…she…”

Luo Tianyou instinctively tried to rush toward the barrier, but Lin Weiwei and Tiejie stopped her.

“My lord, you can’t go in.

The situation inside is unknown.”

Lin Weiwei looked pale as she stared at the turbulent barrier.

“We must request stronger support immediately!

Tiejie, maintain the outer barrier—don’t let anything come out!

I’ll contact higher command…”

“But she…”

Luo Tianyou’s voice trembled.

Suddenly.

Bang!

Near the ground, a bulge swelled on the barrier’s surface.

Then, like a bubble—

Pop.

A tiny platinum-white dumpling was spat out, rolling across the ground and picking up a layer of dust.

It tumbled a few times, then shakily stood up.

It was a little girl, appearing only seven or eight years old, barely waist-high to an adult, wearing a moon-white robe several sizes too big, her messy short golden hair sticking up.

She lifted her small face—delicate as the finest porcelain—clearly Yuexia Liuli’s features, only shrunken to a genuine child.

She blinked her golden eyes in confusion, looking around.

Then her gaze locked on the stunned Luo Tianyou.

A familiar smile spread across her tiny face.

She waddled over, arms outstretched.

In a childish, sweet voice, she called:

“Hug me 🤗.”

“…”

Luo Tianyou.

“…”

Lin Weiwei and Tiejie.

The scene fell silent.

Only the barrier’s uneasy hum and the distant wind remained.

Luo Tianyou stared at the mini version of Yuexia Liuli who looked like she’d just run away from kindergarten.

Her mind went blank.

So, the pain and complicated feelings from earlier…

What were they for?

This damn mutt had shrunk again—and came out in such a ridiculous way?

“Why did you come out?

You seemed unable to before…”

“Uh, no, I never said I couldn’t come out.

But I thought I might have to stay inside for a while.

After sending you all out, I still had a bit of power left, so I reinforced the seal and slipped out.”

Yuexia Liuli answered matter-of-factly.

At the same time, she opened her mouth and gave a silly, childish laugh, blood trickling from her lips.

Then she promptly fainted.

“…”

Luo Tianyou caught her.

“Damn mutt.”