Chapter 2: A Burdened Victory

[Talent Skill: Combat Instinct activated.]

[Scanning for threat sources…]

[Target location locked!]

Streams of data rapidly refreshed in his mind.

[Target: Mutated Void Beast, nascent ‘Resentment Beast’.]

[Characteristics: Prioritizes mental erosion, 37% materialization, core located within a flowing geometric structure in the mid-torso.]

[Threat Level Assessment: Grade Two. Early elimination recommended; otherwise, consequences will be dire.]

[Attraction Source Analysis: Marked human female. Emotional composition: repression, fear, self-loathing. Mental barrier extremely weak, projected to be fully eroded within twenty-nine seconds, becoming a Void incubation ground.]

As this torrent of information flooded his mind, Gu Qing’s expression grew increasingly grim.

The reason for this was the last few lines of data, which were furiously flashing in a blinding red font.

[Optimal Solution: Transform into Magical Girl ‘Azure Star’ and purify the target!]

[Optimal Solution: Transform into Magical Girl ‘Azure Star’ and purify the target!]

[Optimal Solution: Transform into Magical Girl ‘Azure Star’ and purify the target!]

…

Combat Instinct was a talent skill Gu Qing had acquired upon awakening as a Magical Girl, one he could utilize even without transforming.

‘Damn it, it’s still so noisy!’

The system, like a broken record, incessantly repeated the very words he least wanted to see.

His body reacted with a violent repulsion.

An intense, searing pain erupted from his upper right back, instantly spreading down his entire right arm, as if a red-hot branding iron had been pressed against his skin.

He collapsed to his knees in agony, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

The nightmare from seventeen years ago resurfaced.

The S-rank Void Beast codenamed ‘Skyfire’ had turned half the city into an inferno, a scene that included Su Wanning being devoured.

“It’s alright… it’s all in the past…”

Gu Qing’s lips trembled as he tried to suppress the piercing phantom pain.

Then, he roared with all his might at the girl, whose eyes were glazed over.

“Listen! Whatever you’re hearing or seeing in your head, don’t you dare believe a damn thing!”

The girl remained unresponsive.

Gu Qing steeled his resolve, grabbed the thick wad of cash, and forcefully flung it at the girl.

“Hey, snap out of it!”

The banknotes struck her face before scattering across the ground, finally causing a flicker in the girl’s vacant gaze.

She slowly turned her head, her hollow eyes settling on Gu Qing, and spoke in a wispy, ethereal voice.

“But… I’m in so much pain.”

“I just want to die.”

No sooner had she spoken than a chilling laugh echoed from all directions around the overpass.

“A fragile soul, equally consumed by fear, yet still attempting to save others? How utterly laughable.”

The surrounding shadows began to writhe, gathering from the ground like living entities, coalescing behind the girl into a monster composed of countless weeping faces.

“I can see the eternal sea of fire in the depths of your soul, how desperate, how agonizing it is.”

Greed laced the monster’s voice.

“Truly delectable.”

‘Compared to this little girl, this man’s fear is the real prize!’

The monster changed its mind.

It abandoned the girl, who was almost within its grasp, and redirected its focus to Gu Qing.

“You’re insufferably loud, you piece of trash.”

All traces of despondency vanished from Gu Qing’s eyes, replaced by a chilling killing intent.

He casually snatched a piece of gravel from the ground and hurled it at the sole flickering streetlamp.

With a sharp crack, the lightbulb instantly shattered, erupting in a shower of electrical sparks.

The next second, the entire overpass plunged into darkness.

The monster felt a flicker of confusion.

According to its perception, this mortal had not only failed to flee in terror but had extinguished the last source of light with his own hands.

‘Foolish creature.’

‘Darkness, after all, served as the Void’s finest incubation ground.’

Gu Qing, however, had a different calculation.

For this type of low-level Void Beast, whose form depended on an observer’s vision and its own energy cohesion, a sudden shift from light to dark would destabilize its physical manifestation for a brief period.

This was his sole opportunity.

The Void Beast let out a piercing shriek and lunged towards the spot where Gu Qing had been moments before.

The gaping maw, formed by countless human faces, was on the verge of devouring him.

It was at this precise moment that Gu Qing moved.

He didn’t even stand; instead, from his kneeling position, he exerted force from his waist, tilting his upper body backward and to the side.

The massive maw whistled past, brushing against his clothes, before slamming violently into the overpass’s thick concrete barrier.

A dull, thunderous crash echoed, sending shattered concrete flying.

“Idiot.”

Gu Qing uttered the two words with chilling contempt.

Through his ‘Combat Instinct,’ he had long discerned that this type of monster, which prioritized mental erosion, possessed a low degree of materialization. Its body, during periods of instability, was remarkably fragile—fragile enough for him to forcibly destroy.

Seizing the instant the monster’s attack missed and its body stiffened, Gu Qing sprang up.

He channeled all his strength into his right fist, thrusting it savagely towards the monster’s flowing geometric core in its mid-torso.

“Splat!”

His fist plunged into the monster’s viscous, icy body.

Swiftly, his fingertips brushed against a faintly pulsating object.

‘Found it.’

“Trash,” Gu Qing snarled, a savage grin twisting his features. “Belongs in the bin!”

He clenched his fingers, exerting force, and the core was instantly crushed.

The Void Beast let out an agonizing, ear-splitting shriek.

The countless weeping human faces began to peel away from the edges, dissolving into black ash.

A gust of night wind scattered them into oblivion.

He had won.

Yet, at this moment, only exhaustion etched Gu Qing’s face.

He stumbled to his feet, gasping for breath as he braced himself against his knees.

The phantom pain in his back continued to sear his nerves.

It had been a full seventeen years since his last confrontation with such a monstrosity.

He loathed the sensation of old wounds being torn open.

He had gained nothing, only to be forced, once again, into the agonizing memories of the past.

His sole desire was to swiftly depart this wretched place, return home for a drink, and then forget everything that had transpired this night.

However, he had barely taken a single step before he halted.

Not far away, the girl stood silently.

The wind tousled her waist-length hair, creating a silent silhouette against the city skyline.

Her amber eyes were fixed on him, unblinking, holding an expression Gu Qing utterly failed to comprehend.

The two of them stood in silent confrontation amidst the darkness, neither speaking first.

Time seemed to congeal in that moment.

Finally, the girl moved.

She took two steps forward, then her legs gave out, and her entire body toppled rigidly forward.

“Damn it!”

Gu Qing cursed under his breath.

His body reacted faster than his mind could process.

He darted forward, catching her steadily just before she could strike the cold, hard concrete.

The girl’s body felt feather-light in his arms; she had already lost consciousness.

Gu Qing stood on the deserted overpass, cradling this considerable problem.

“This is truly vexing,”

****

Less than three minutes after Gu Qing’s departure, several black executive cars pulled up beneath the overpass.

Car doors swung open, and a group of personnel in dark blue GSA combat uniforms surged out, swiftly erecting a cordon and sealing off the area. (TL Note: GSA stands for Global Starlight Administration.)

Leading them was a woman with a capable, no-nonsense demeanor.

“Report, Team Leader Qin, extremely low concentrations of Void energy residue have been detected at the scene. Based on the decay rate, the target has been eliminated,” a team member reported, stepping forward.