Chapter 59: Opal

“Very simple.”

In Bai’s little paw, a warm white light flickered to life.

“In my name, Tangula Afeial Snide of the Dragon Spine Mountains, Kuku’e, Jianghu Twin Swordsman, Bai II, may the power of light magic accompany you. The contract is hereby sealed. Magical girl, summon the projection of your inner self.”

“Inner… projection?”

Lin Yu took the glowing orb from Little Bai’s hand. Before she could even figure out what this so-called “inner projection” was, the orb suddenly vanished, sinking into her body.

“I’ll ask one last time, qualified candidate.”

Little Bai’s voice rang out loudly:

“Do you vow to save innocent humans from the grasp of darkness?”

Her mother’s voice gradually faded away, replaced by the terrified wails of the people around her.

“I do!”

Lin Yu had fantasized countless times about being a noble dragon saving fragile humans.

But those were just fantasies.

—And after entering high school, she had even realized it was all just juvenile daydreaming.

Now, it seemed those things might not be mere fantasies after all.

And reality would certainly not be as easy as she imagined.

The glowing orb disappeared completely inside her. Lin Yu asked,

“What’s next? How do I save them?”

“All right.”

Little Bai nodded, saying, “Please, set out.”

“Okay!… Wait?”

Lin Yu turned around but then stopped.

She glanced at her palm and said, “I just go like this?”

“Ah, well…”

Little Bai scratched its head. “I think so. You just go.”

Lin Yu: “…Really?”

Little Bai obviously looked guilty and glanced away. “Yeah, yeah. That’s how it went last time. So you… probably the same… just…”

(Mom, am I too late to regret this now?)

Lin Yu sighed inwardly, thinking her mother’s warning about not becoming a magical girl certainly had its reasons.

This fairy’s behavior shattered her filtered view of this mysterious race.

Why did they seem so unreliable?! (Frustrated)

Now, Lin Yu felt her body was hardly any different than before—still tired, still weak.

Then where exactly is the power of a magical girl?

Was that orb that entered her body just some kind of illusion that didn’t actually take effect?

Meanwhile, the fairy was still cautiously poking its little fingers.

It seemed equally unsure of what to do next.

“Ka—”

“Waaaah!”

At that moment, the sound of a car transforming and the terrified screams of a family came from behind.

Lin Yu turned to see the small car finally succumbing to the monster’s assault, beginning to collapse—soon it would be severed in half.

In that moment, she didn’t think about whether it was “reliable” or not, or if she could save them.

Her mind went completely blank.

Yet driven by instinct, Lin Yu’s feet began moving on their own.

She couldn’t just stand by and do nothing. How could she?

That was simply impossible!

Unknowingly, the school uniform on Lin Yu’s body was replaced by a soft glow.

Her black-themed, lightly sheer Lolita dress appeared on her.

On her right forearm, a dragon-shaped flame mark ran down the skirt from her waist, blooming into blazing colors like a dragon’s tail at the hem.

At this moment, she looked like a noble lady fleeing a burning ball—dragon flames underfoot, wildly brushing away the fire on her dress as she escaped alongside others.

But if someone looked closely, they’d see no panic or anxiety on her face—only determination and seriousness.

She wasn’t running with the others. On the contrary, she was heading straight toward the fire.

The flames beneath her feet were her very own Dragon Flame.

To Lin Yu herself, she didn’t quite feel it that way and hadn’t even noticed her clothes had changed into spirit clothes.

Now, she was sensing her surroundings with new eyes.

First, the more repulsive presence.

Dark magic wasn’t just ahead; she faintly sensed it rising from all directions in the city.

Next, to her eyes, the huge monster—a grotesque mix of mantis and beetle—showed faint “lines” at its insect joints.

Like an animation of a bamboo stick insect dancing, the monster’s joints, limbs, and body became simplified sketches made of lines and dots to Lin Yu.

(What now? What do I do?)

Just as the thought appeared in her mind, she looked down to see faint, ghostly threads drifting along her arm in the air.

“Eh?!”

The threads reminded Lin Yu of when she had been walking while looking down at her phone, only to crash face-first into a spider web that a large pregnant spider had spun right in the middle of the path.

She could barely dance and cry her way into Wen Yaquan’s arms at that moment.

Maybe that’s why she was so scared of bugs—because of that lingering trauma.

So, seeing the threads in her hand, her first thought wasn’t “What are these?” but “I gotta shake these off!”

Nope.

—Actually, she tried, but the threads wouldn’t budge at all.

“That!”

The fairy behind her—the one called Bai, let’s just call it Little Bai—suddenly came to life.

It shouted loudly behind Lin Yu:

“Don’t panic! Use your magic outfit and magic to fight!”

“That’s easier said than done—”

Lin Yu fumbled at the stubborn threads. “What are these things anyway?”

“What things?”

“You can’t see?”

“I can feel a little.”

Little Bai squinted hard, shouting, “No, I still can’t see! That’s your talent—use it well!”

“You!”

Lin Yu laughed bitterly. Where was this magical girl’s helpful fairy? Other than making her a magical girl and shouting encouragement from afar, what good was it?

For some reason, she suddenly thought this little white puffball with two black mustaches looked like a soccer ball.

Made her really want to kick it.

Huh? This soccer ball—ah no, fairy—why did it suddenly look terrified?

What was it saying?

“Watch out!” “Eh?”

Just as she heard that, a gust of foul wind swept past her head.

She quickly dove forward and rolled to her feet, narrowly avoiding the scythe strike of the beetle behind her.

She—

The beetle had abandoned the people trapped inside the car and instead charged at Lin Yu, the newly minted magical girl.

Naturally, Lin Yu didn’t know that monsters usually target magical girls with higher magic power.

This trait was sometimes even more useful to the forces of darkness than demons.

When facing a magical girl, monsters would swarm without orders.

You could say, to monsters, magical girls were a delicious feast, while ordinary humans were just bland appetizer rolls.

A feast is unforgettable, but who remembers how many rolls they ate?

Even a normal beast knows what to choose.

If someone could invent a translation device, besides the sharp screeches that could be translated as “Friend, tasty,” it’d probably mostly be:

“Ahhh, Lousy! Lousy is a soft, sweet, sour, little cake! Ahhh, Lousy, let me have a bite!”

—kind of wild shouting.

For novice Lin Yu, the situation was even grimmer than what Jiang Yao had faced against those worms.

“So… disgusting.”

The simple line sketches vanished from her vision.

She unconsciously took a step back.

The approaching beetle’s gnashing mandibles, its swinging massive scythe, and those incessantly moving legs all made her recoil in fear.

Step back.

Again, step back.

Her fighting spirit drained, fear once again took hold of her heart.

This was real fear.

Even other monsters, gorillas, or rhinos—anything was better than bugs!

Jiang Yao had only faced some magnified worms and wasn’t afraid of bugs herself.

Her spirit clothes and magic outfit were straightforward armor and sword.

More importantly, Jiang Yao’s magic outfit came with a swordsmanship set, and even without it, she clearly understood she was supposed to slash the bugs with a sword.

Lines.

But for Lin Yu, all she had were meaningless threads.

And her enemy was no mere fodder worm.

(Maybe I should run.)

Inevitable, Lin Yu’s heart wavered.

She had decided to become a magical girl because she couldn’t bear to see others hurt in front of her, hoping to save that family, making a rash decision.

Now that family’s danger was over. If she just lured this bug away…

(Where would I lure it? To Mom’s place and add to her workload?)

Suddenly, Lin Yu stopped moving.

Just as she felt at the start, dark magic was rising everywhere in the city.

Her mother must be busy saving everyone right now.

Should she run?

As the beetle closed in, Lin Yu unexpectedly shut her eyes.

The world grew silent in that moment.

She could only hear the whoosh of the giant’s scythe swinging through the air.

One second later, she opened her eyes and stepped back again.

“Bang!”

The scythe slammed heavily into the pavement, carving a nearly one-meter-deep pit, scattering gravel and dust everywhere.

“Screech!”

Green liquid oozed from its mouth, and it emitted an eerie, incomprehensible shriek.

The giant opened its wings, bizarre eye-like patterns fixed on Lin Yu.

Indeed, it was no ordinary worm-like minion. It was a monster personally corrupted by a dark fairy.

In the natural world, insects use their wings and strange markings to intimidate enemies and prey, a tactic perfectly utilized by this giant to spread fear.

It could sense the fear in the magical girl before it.

Look, she’s so scared she can’t move.

“BJA!” The giant’s scythe swept again; the prey was within reach!

“…?”

The giant made a confused cry.

For some reason, it found its front claw couldn’t strike.

It didn’t understand.

What was happening?

“…I get it.”

Lin Yu raised her right hand and stared at the giant that still tried to attack but was frozen in place.

To her eyes, all the terrifying pincers, massive jaws, dreadful compound eyes, and antennae had disappeared.

Only simple black lines outlining the shape of the bug remained.

And the threads in her hand wound tightly along the lines connecting the giant’s claws to the ground, binding the scythe-shaped front claws.

Lin Yu felt a warm current flowing through her body, infusing power into these illusory, barely visible threads.

She had never felt this before, but now she knew what it was.

Magic.

Light magic.

If she lightly plucked the threads belonging to the giant, it would react.

For example, what if she destroyed its wings?

The threads trembled, and the lines representing wings twisted and snapped.

“Ah!!!”

The giant felt no pain, only roared angrily.

For Lin Yu, once trapped by a spiderweb, haunted by the memory.

Now, she would shatter it with her own hands!

Clenching her fists, light magic surged and boiled.

The dragon-shaped pattern on her spirit clothes flared with blazing fire:

【String Control·Dragon Flame】!

Flames traveled along the ethereal threads, injected into the giant’s body, instantly igniting.

“Gaa!!!”

The giant let out a resentful roar before turning to ash amidst the raging fire.

“…”

Shivering,

Lin Yu took a deep breath and hugged her shoulders, chilled to the bone.

“No, that bug was still so disgusting. Better to cremate it, yes, cremate it…”

Having dealt with the enemy, she hurried to the car and rescued the family of three trapped under the deformed vehicle.

Thankfully, they weren’t seriously injured—just terrified.

Lin Yu instinctively released light magic, and soon the family calmed down.

“Thank you! Thank you, magical girl!”

The parents in the family immediately knelt down, but Lin Yu quickly helped them up.

“Take the child to the shelter quickly. No need to thank me—I still have to deal with the other darkness.”

“Mm.”

Once the father regained composure, he knew what she said was true.

He looked up and asked,

“So, what should I call you?”

“I’m a magical girl…”

Lin Yu thought a moment: “Magical Girl [Opal].”

“You did great! You did great! I respect you so much!”

After handling things for now, Lin Yu went over and grabbed the bouncing Little Bai, who could do nothing but shout encouragement.

“小 Bai, what should we do next?”

“How come you too…” Little Bai murmured pitifully, then got serious.

“Um… I have another magical girl I contracted with first. I think you two should meet soon. Let’s go find her.”

Lin Yu’s eyes lit up.

As she became a magical girl, that familiar feeling grew stronger.

Though her memories were still filtered, she needed to see it with her own eyes.

But at least from this familiarity and warmth, Lin Yu could be sure of her guess.

“Is she the one wearing knight armor and wielding a sword?”

“Yes, yes!”

Little Bai nodded vigorously. “You’ve already met her.”

“Of course.” Lin Yu nodded strongly. “She’s my mom.”

“So that’s how it is… huh?!”

Little Bai’s eyes went wide.

It looked at Lin Yu, then recalled Jiang Yao’s appearance.

(Humans… are they really this amazing?)

The light fairy Little Bai was now afraid.