Chapter 3: A Triumphant Return and an Idiot’s Predicament

Returning in triumph.

Ling Xing removed his sunglasses, one arm cradling a box, the other dragging the poor rookie magical girl, rushing back to the outpost before her modest curves were thoroughly flattened by the ground.

Though called an outpost, it was merely one inconspicuous, dilapidated building among many abandoned during the war.

It lacked electricity and running water, and even basic communication signals were nonexistent.

For daily fires, Ling Xing had to scrounge for fuel from the magical girls’ supplies.

Its only merit was its ability to provide some shelter from the elements, a slight improvement over the surrounding ruins that boasted gaping holes or partial collapses.

During the era when the Dark Organization could contend with the magical girls as equals, combatants resided in sprawling, well-equipped underground bases.

They dined in the same staff cafeterias as the monstrous cadres.

In those days, everyone considered their outpost home, sharing camaraderie with like-minded companions as they strived towards a common objective.

Now, however, the reason this dilapidated shack could be called home…

Ling Xing pushed open the half-ajar wooden door.

With a grating squeal that set teeth on edge, the dilapidated door slowly swung inward, revealing the scene within.

“Welcome back! My proud combatant, Ah Xing, even the night itself celebrates your accomplishments—”

“Ah, I’m back, Dal. Victory was inevitable; those trashy magical girls were no match for me!”

A white-haired loli, smiling with a hint of a small canine tooth, stood perched on a broken chair.

She earnestly attempted to utter something dignified, yet her body language already betrayed her excitement, her tiny hands reaching out to Ling Xing.

Elevated by the broken chair, her height allowed her to gently embrace Ling Xing’s face.

The loli, her eyes crinkling with a smile, pulled his face into her embrace, softly stroking his hair.

Though she appeared to be a tender, naive loli, her demeanor exuded a touch of maternal affection.

‘The reason a home can be called a home, of course, is because of family.’

Dal, a former Dark Cadre, had lost her powers and fled after being besieged by the magical girls.

Since then, she and Ling Xing had relied on each other, wandering from place to place.

It was only in recent years that they had found this spot, situated on the fringes of the Magical Girl Organization’s jurisdiction, where they had tentatively settled.

If one were to describe it, it was the feeling of “family.”

“I told you not to stay up late waiting for me, didn’t I? I’m an elite combatant; failure is simply not an option.

Look, see how much loot I brought back this time—enough food for a month, fuel, a whole box of candy just for you, and even a magical girl!”

Though he claimed there was no need to wait, Ling Xing’s lips were already curling into an irrepressible smile.

He patted the box he’d brought back, displaying his haul to Dal with a proud flourish.

If he were a cat, his tail would likely be wagging sky-high.

Alas, he was a man, and such an exhibition would hardly be a pretty sight.

“So powerful! Truly worthy of being my most cherished combatant, Ah Xing—ah… did Ah Xing fight a magical girl?

Are you hurt anywhere? Is your body feeling unwell at all?”

The loli, hands on her hips, was about to let out a classic cadre’s booming laugh.

However, her demeanor quickly softened.

Her soft, small hands anxiously cupped Ling Xing’s cheeks, her delicate face drawing so close to his forehead that his words faltered slightly.

He instinctively turned his head, slipping out of Dal’s gentle embrace.

Despite being an elite combatant with an undefeated record, Ling Xing still felt a certain awkwardness and constraint in the face of Dal’s tenderness.

“Don’t underestimate me! I could take on a hundred magical girls of this caliber without breaking a sweat!”

Ling Xing raised his arm, striking a bicep-flexing pose to display his strength.

Unfortunately, Ling Xing was not the muscular type; no discernible muscle definition was visible.

Furthermore, he himself felt he was exaggerating slightly.

Even this rookie magical girl could, in truth, easily defeat him in a direct confrontation.

Thus, Ling Xing quickly touched his nose with a hint of embarrassment, then swiftly changed the subject.

“So, what should we do with this one? Ransom her to her family or organization?”

“Hmm, if she’s a bad child, there’s no problem, but has she committed any misdeeds?

Our objective is to defeat evil magical girls; we mustn’t involve innocent children.”

“Well…”

Ling Xing pulled a small notebook from his inner pocket.

He called it the “Book of Grudges,” specifically for recording various magical girl intelligence and transgressions.

However, he had actually reviewed it before the mission; he knew Chao Wu’s page by heart.

He merely pulled it out for a quick glance, intending to add a new piece of information.

Rookie magical girl Chao Wu, with absolutely no combat record—after a moment’s thought, Ling Xing added a line at the bottom of her page.

‘—She’s an idiot.’

****

The Idiot’s Predicament.

When Chao Wu awoke, her first sensation was pain, so intense that she could barely move a single finger.

Her entire body throbbed with the dull ache of strained and twisted muscles, particularly her chest, where she felt as though a file had been vigorously scraped across it.

The less she could move, the more acute her senses became.

Wherever her attention drifted, the pain there grew even more unbearable.

Even more unbearable was this realization…

“I… I lost…?”

Indeed, she, a magical girl, had been defeated.

Having aspired to be a magical girl since childhood, meticulously maintaining her image as a diligent student, and training her skills with earnest dedication, she had finally achieved her dream.

Yet, in her very first mission as a magical girl…

She had made blunder after blunder, failed utterly, and even she herself had fallen captive to the Dark Organization through the combatant’s despicable tactics.

What horrific fate awaited a magical girl captured by the Dark Organization?

What dreadful torments would she endure?

Chao Wu, who had been engrossed in magical girl anime and educational films from the Magical Girl Organization since she was young, remembered it all with chilling clarity.

Beatings, abuse, being swallowed whole, parasitic infestation, brainwashing, modification, execution, consumption…

It was over; everything was over.

Her magical girl career, barely begun, was already destined for a late-night horror slot.

Could she even survive?

No, that wasn’t right; living might lead to an even more dreadful outcome.

Then what, what should she do?

She, she had only just…

In utter despair, Chao Wu, already holding back tears, felt her senses sharpen, magnified many times over.

She seemed to faintly discern a sound emanating from outside the room.

Ah, good!

At least she wasn’t left alone with her frantic thoughts, utterly helpless.

Perhaps she could glean some information?

Perhaps, there was still hope?

Chao Wu strained her ears, trying to catch the sounds beyond the door.

Screech… screech…

The sharp rasp of metal against stone sent a tremor through Chao Wu’s heart.

‘Grinding… the sound of a blade being sharpened.’

“Should we really cut it into pieces first?”

“It needs to be cleaned first, too; it’s too sticky to handle…”

……

Chao Wu’s breath hitched, and she forgot to exhale.

A bead of residual sweat traced a path down her cheek.

Her body, drenched in sweat, felt sticky all over.

“No, it can’t be, right?”

“Sharpening the blade is such a hassle.

How about I just use this thing instead?

One hammer blow, then we just pick up the useful bits—”

“Ah—”

It was over.

Having forgotten to breathe just moments before, she had inadvertently let out a small groan when she remembered to gasp for air.

‘The most useful part… that would be the core of a magical girl’s power, the source of transformation energy, the transformation crystal, wouldn’t it?’

This was the worst possible outcome, something so gruesome it would be considered hardcore even for a late-night show… Ugh, at this point, she was finished anyway.

She had to preserve her last hope, at least!

‘The crystal, the Dark Organization must never get their hands on it—’

Chao Wu’s fingertips trembled as she reached for her chest.

Every magical girl possessed a secret technique, usable only once in their lifetime: to voluntarily extract the source of their magical power, thereby forfeiting their identity as a magical girl to retrieve the crystal.

At that very moment, as if her groan had been heard, the wooden door let out a mournful creak and slowly swung open.

“Yo, you woke up pretty fast, just in time.”

Ling Xing, his hands covered in blood and a claw hammer dangling from his grasp, poked half his body through the doorway.

“Don’t, don’t come any closer! I, I won’t let you succeed; you’ll never get my transformation crystal!”

Terrified by Ling Xing’s appearance, Chao Wu mustered all her strength, pulled out her crystal, and hurled it towards the window!

A transformation crystal would automatically seek out a compatible wielder; if it was already a magical girl, they could draw power from it.

Though she was a magical girl defeated on her very first mission, she could still do this much—provide her juniors with a final act of assistance!

—Then, Chao Wu, who had thrown it with all her might while thinking this, and Ling Xing, who wore a bewildered expression, watched as the crystal, flung towards the window, arced through the air.

…As if drawn by an unseen force, it flew straight and struck Ling Xing.

“Huh?”

“Huh?”