The sea wind howled as Su Li’s white hair whipped wildly in the rapid descent.
She calmly tightened her grip on the Scythe, magic gathering along the blade’s edge.
There was still a chance—if she could freeze the surface of the sea before she hit it, she’d have a foothold to push off from.
But… Su Li roughly estimated the distance to the sea’s surface. The time left likely wasn’t enough to freeze the sea solid enough to land on, and beneath the surface, the Shark Calamity could shatter the ice.
No matter—she had to gamble!
Su Li sheathed her Scythe, clasped her hands together, preparing to unleash all the magic in her body in one breath.
***
Just as she was about to touch the sea’s surface, an invisible force suddenly caught her body!
“Captain Su Li!”
A familiar voice came from above. Su Li looked up and saw Lin Wan lying on the edge of the cliff, a streak of blue hair catching the sunlight vividly. She stretched out her hands, making a grabbing motion.
The invisible force yanked Su Li sharply upward. At the same time, the Shark Calamity beneath the sea burst through the water, its massive mouth lined with razor-sharp teeth snapping at empty air, sending a ten-meter-high spray of water.
“Lin Wan?!” Su Li used the momentum to leap back to the cliff. “What are you doing here?”
“That’s a long story…” Lin Wan answered nervously.
If she were to say she saw Lu Yuan get into Su Li’s car and thought Su Li intended to do something to Lu Yuan and followed them only to discover they were actually fighting Rose… she simply couldn’t bring herself to say it.
***
“Where’s Rose?” Su Li asked urgently.
“She went north,” Lin Wan replied. “If we start chasing now, we should be able to catch up.”
Lin Wan had considered fighting Rose directly to rescue Lu Yuan, but the power gap between her and Rose was too large. Victory was nearly impossible, so she chose to save Su Li first and discuss the next steps later—a safer option.
Without hesitation, Su Li dashed out, Lin Wan close behind. They pursued swiftly, only the sounds of their hurried footsteps and rustling leaves in their ears.
***
“Got her! Over there!” Lin Wan suddenly said.
In a clearing beyond the forest, Rose smiled at them, making a shushing gesture before beginning to dissolve into a wisp of purple-black smoke, about to vanish right before their eyes.
“Damn it!” Su Li cursed.
Not fast enough… Rose hadn’t yet entered her attack range.
Lin Wan’s heel slammed into the ground, braking hard. She raised her hands to use Telekinesis to forcibly grab Rose, but found Rose was like a nail hammered into the ground—she couldn’t move her at all.
“Goodbye, Magical Girls,” Rose said.
At this critical moment—
***
“Bang!”
A deafening gunshot shattered the silence in the forest. Rose’s figure suddenly fell from the smoke, black blood exploding from her left shoulder in an instant.
“What…?” She staggered, turning around as her tentacles wildly thrashed uncontrollably.
Chen Xin was lying prone on a hilltop, skillfully pulling the bolt to eject a Crystal bullet casing. Her tattered police uniform was stained with blood and dust, but the sniper rifle in her hands was rock steady.
There was no hesitation left in her eyes—only the resolute determination of a warrior.
“Chen Xin?!” Su Li stopped in surprise.
“Officer…” Rose covered her shoulder and looked back at the faint glint on the hilltop, giving a bitter smile. “You don’t want your daughter’s life?”
“I’ve already entrusted the most trusted person to take the Crystal to the hospital,” Chen Xin said calmly, raising her rifle to aim again.
Even though Old Lady Zhang now knew she wasn’t her daughter… when Chen Xin entrusted her with the Transformation Crystal, she still smiled gently and agreed.
That smile was kind, like looking at her own child.
Chen Xin looked through the sniper scope’s crosshairs at the staggering Rose and smiled faintly.
“I don’t lack anything anymore.”
“Bang!” Another shot fired.
Rose dodged the bullet by leaning to the side, but the bullet shattered the tentacles wrapped around Lu Yuan.
Like a puppet with its strings cut, Lu Yuan collapsed limply to the ground.
“Lin Wan!” Su Li commanded.
“Got it!” Lin Wan raised both hands and, before Rose could react, used Telekinesis to pull Lu Yuan to her side.
“Lu Yuan! Wake up!” Lin Wan anxiously slapped Lu Yuan’s face, but Lu Yuan’s eyes remained tightly shut with no response.
***
Rose’s expression darkened instantly. She glared at the tiny glint on the hilltop as her tentacles thrashed wildly behind her.
“You shoot me with the bullets I gave you? You think that’s enough to win?” she roared, clearly broken inside. “I have more than just this card up my sleeve.”
She suddenly pulled a bottle from her Combat Suit and smashed it on the ground. Black smoke surged forth, and several giant Mimic-type Disasters resembling slimes appeared out of nowhere.
Su Li’s heart skipped a beat. Disaster creatures in her possession? Had her control over Calamity advanced this far?
The situation was spiraling out of control. Su Li had already used up more than half her magic in the previous fight. If she kept going, she couldn’t guarantee everyone’s survival.
“Lin Wan! Take Lu Yuan and leave first!” Su Li’s tone was decisive. “I’ll hold them off!”
“No!” Lin Wan hugged the unconscious Lu Yuan tightly, tears shining in her eyes. “I can’t leave you behind!”
***
Chen Xin’s third bullet hit Rose’s other shoulder precisely, blood spraying out. Rose staggered backward in pain but smiled.
“Too late,” she whispered.
One of the Disasters rushed forward, gaping its bloody maw as countless sharp, massive Crystals shot out from its mouth. Su Li swung her Scythe, blocking almost all the attacks, but the force still knocked her back several meters.
The dust stirred violently. Rose took the opportunity to turn and escape.
But Lin Wan wasn’t about to give her the chance.
Lin Wan clenched her fists tightly, using Telekinesis to grip Rose’s neck firmly.
“Ugh!” Rose winced in pain.
“This time…” Lin Wan panted heavily, her strength increasing, beads of sweat forming on her forehead, “you’re not running away!”
“You…!” Rose struggled, thrashing her tentacles, but couldn’t touch anything.
As the smoke cleared, Su Li seized the moment Rose was trapped by Lin Wan, swinging the Scythe down with biting cold!
Yet at the last second, another Disaster suddenly blocked the lethal blow in front of Rose.
“Damn it!” Su Li’s Scythe sliced through empty air. She quickly reversed the blade, attempting a rising second strike.
But Rose twisted her body and dodged.
At the same time, tentacles shot out from the ground in front of Lin Wan, forcing her to temporarily give up controlling Rose and defend herself.
Taking the opportunity, Rose broke free, panting as she staggered backward. “You… can’t kill me… I will…”
“Bang!”
Before she finished, Chen Xin’s final bullet hit her squarely in the forehead. Rose’s expression froze, and her body slowly toppled backward.
But instead of turning into black smoke as usual, her body began melting like wax, revealing the internal structure—a hollow shell.
“A decoy?” Lin Wan stared incredulously at the body dissolving on the ground.
Su Li crouched down, the tip of her Scythe lifting a piece of melting tissue. “A B-class Mimetic Disaster, modified by Rose to nearly A-rank level as her decoy. We were tricked.”
Though a decoy, the incident could be considered over.
***
“We fought so long against an enemy only close to A-rank Disaster?!” Lin Wan found it unbelievable. From how it felt, their battle with Rose should have been close to S-rank level. How could it be only an A-rank threshold Calamity?
“Because Rose controls it; this Disaster has intelligence,” Su Li explained. “Most Calamity lack intelligence. They don’t know how to use their powers—like a child using a gun without professional training. If a child and a trained adult use the same gun, who do you think is more threatening?”
“Obviously the latter.” A voice sounded.
Heavy footsteps approached. Chen Xin staggered forward, her police uniform soaked in blood, but her eyes were gentle, a tired smile on her face.
“Chen Xin…” Su Li spoke.
“Captain Su Li…” She slowly raised both hands before Su Li, “You caught me.”
Lin Wan instinctively stepped in front of the unconscious Lu Yuan. “You…!”
“I know,” Chen Xin smiled bitterly. “Assisting a fugitive, stealing police equipment, attempted murder of a Magical Girl… enough to sentence me to twenty years.”
“I have only one request: if the Crystal Rose gave is useful, please don’t tell my daughter where it came from.”
“Do you regret it?” Su Li asked quietly.
“This…” Chen Xin scratched her head. “There’s no point in regrets. I’m a villain, purely selfish. As long as my daughter wakes up again, I’m willing to do anything.”
“I won’t run from the consequences either. If I have to go to jail, I will. Just if my daughter asks… tell her I’m dead.”
Su Li was silent for a moment before cuffing Chen Xin’s hands.
In the distance, sirens and ambulance horns grew louder. Sunlight broke through the clouds, shining down on this battle-scarred battlefield.