Chapter 37: A Rift in the Sky

As an elite combatant, what truly matters most? Agile reflexes, a brilliant mind, formidable combat prowess? While these are undoubtedly crucial, for Ling Xing, the paramount factor was, without a doubt—Presence!

“People of D City! I am an elite combatant under the Dark Cadre, and I stand upon the very land usurped by the Magical Girl Organization! I am here to show you that we, who were long ago declared annihilated, shall, at this very moment, vanquish the wicked Magical Girl Organization and expose their heinous crimes to the world!”

Amidst the chaotic eruption of fireworks, Ling Xing stood with one foot propped on a small raised platform, ensuring her petite figure would be more prominent in front of the cameras.

The surrounding guards had already been mostly incapacitated—for while fireworks couldn’t knock a person unconscious, Ling Xing’s powerful thighs and elbows certainly could.

After she had choked the last stubbornly resisting guard with her thigh until they rolled their eyes back and toppled to the ground, the remaining guards had smoothly surrendered, sliding to their knees.

Now, the entire tower complex was unobstructed.

The media and public, who had initially been observing from the periphery, seeing that several bolder colleagues had approached unharmed, now eagerly followed suit, surging into the tower complex that should have been a restricted zone.

Cameras, video recorders, mobile phones, even door locks—a chaotic array of lenses were practically shoved into Ling Xing’s face, ensuring her heroic image instantly appeared across countless live streams.

‘It just goes to show how popular a beautiful girl can be…’ Normally, individual accounts and media from these fringe towns garnered little attention, but today…

Gazing at the cover image of Ling Xing, her jacket half-draped, revealing a broad expanse of her fair, delicate midriff, the viewership in these live streams rapidly swelled to more than ten times their usual numbers.

Many passersby, drawn in by Ling Xing’s striking cover, clicked into the live streams, only to see—

Behind her, the Magical Girl Organization’s headquarters, seemingly ‘captured’ by mere fireworks, serving as a peculiar backdrop.

Festive fireworks continued to trail across the sky, crackling and popping with joyous abandon. Had newcomers to the stream not known what was truly unfolding, they might have believed it was a celebratory display welcoming some new Magical Girl to the headquarters.

“Ahem, yes, indeed! Their extravagant indulgence, their brutal taxation, their armed suppression of protests, their clandestine research into anti-human experiments—these are merely the tip of the iceberg. The Magical Girl Organization’s true objective is—”

Ling Xing brandished her small fists, mimicking Dal’s posture, using her body language to imbue her words with greater force.

‘Though she had no idea what the Magical Girl Organization was truly up to, what schemes they were brewing, or what clandestine activities they engaged in, since they had essentially ceded the stage to her, then whatever she declared would be the truth!’

“—to transform all of humanity into Magical Girls!”

Ling Xing placed one hand on her hip, pointing a finger skyward, and uttered these words with an utterly serious tone and demeanor.

“…Huh?”

The bustling scene instantly fell silent. The live stream’s comment section erupted with bewildered exclamations.

People had grown accustomed to various reasons given by opposition and attacking organizations, and no matter how much Ling Xing attacked, no matter what facts and arguments she presented, they would take it all in stride, dismissing any ‘dirt’ as inconsequential. But—

This particular act, they had truly never witnessed before.

It was so utterly outrageous that it almost sounded plausible…

Surely, a normal person couldn’t fabricate something so utterly shocking, could they?

This was precisely the effect Ling Xing intended!

‘In this era, who would remember an ordinary declaration of justice? You needed something shocking, something impactful enough to make history, to truly spread!’

‘Anyway, the Magical Girl Organization couldn’t refute her now, not unless they dropped whatever they were doing and came to physically stop her…’

‘If they did come to stop her, it would only prove their fury and further confirm the truth of her words!’

‘This was a preemptive strike, after all. Since she had no shame, it would be far more troublesome for the Magical Girl Organization to try and disprove her!’

‘Indeed, would they seriously attempt to formally disprove such utter nonsense?’

A mischievous smile played on Ling Xing’s small face.

“Look! Look at the towering structure behind me, the very same towers that stand in every city! Despite the war’s conclusion, these colossal edifices still consumed decades of economic output from countless cities to construct! They claim military defense, yet these sky-piercing towers were effortlessly breached by our Dark Organization with nothing but fireworks!”

“All these observations prove that their true purpose is far from what they outwardly claim. And I, Ling Xing, an elite combatant under the Dark Cadre, invite all of you to join me in witnessing the dark secrets of the Magical Girl Organization, to witness their wicked facilities where ordinary people are twisted into Magical Girls—”

‘Come on.’

‘What exactly was the Magical Girl Organization doing? What schemes were they concocting? She would go and see for herself!’

‘Surely, even a wicked Magical Girl Organization wouldn’t dare open fire on innocent civilians in broad daylight, especially with an un斷直播 camera rolling.’

Ling Xing loathed the sensation of constantly being manipulated and outmaneuvered.

‘Since she refused to be manipulated, the initiative belonged in her own hands; she would take the offensive herself!’

Ling Xing turned, a beaming smile gracing her lips as she faced the tower.

Coincidentally, the fireworks display was nearing its end, with only a few scattered bursts remaining.

The dazzling spectacle of light finally began to subside. For a moment, the sky itself seemed to darken.

‘…Darkened?’

Ling Xing keenly sensed something amiss.

Her smile vanished as she looked up at the sky.

The shift in light was not caused by the lingering smoke clouds above.

But rather—

That sky, little by little, began to spread and materialize, tearing a gaping wound in the celestial canopy as if it were mere tissue paper, and from this fissure, a foul, dark purple corruption—a rift—spilled forth.

It was the harbinger of the ‘monsters’ that, before the advent of Magical Girls, had once driven humanity to the brink of despair, slaughtering nearly half the world’s population at the time, and were the culprits responsible for reducing this remote town to its current state of ruins and dilapidated buildings, where life barely clung on.

Yet, just a few years prior, after the monsters had been entirely blamed on the Dark Organization and its demise declared, there had been no reported sightings of rifts for years.

But precisely today, precisely at this moment, precisely in this very place—

The calamity unseen for years, the rifts believed to have vanished, had descended here, just as Ling Xing initiated her assault on the tower, poised to uncover its inner truths.

[*Static…*] Abnormal Detection Agency report: anomalous magical energy detected. Tonight, monsters may appear in the city. The Pacific Front has dispatched a squad of warriors to assist. Please remain indoors; do not…]

Ling Xing instantly recalled the radio broadcast Dal had picked up.

During the midday radio broadcast, Ling Xing had naturally assumed the report was a cover for the warriors’ genuine operations, to conceal their movements as they encircled the Dark Organization.

But no, that was wrong.

The premise had been flawed from the very start.

The Magical Girl Organization cared nothing for the opinions of ordinary people. If it were merely about warriors, they wouldn’t bother with such elaborate deceptions.

This was a true rift, manipulated by the will of the Magical Girl Organization, manifesting in this world.

The natural disaster that had once nearly annihilated humanity had, at this very moment, become a strategic weapon that the Magical Girl Organization could freely control.

And Ling Xing was the first target of this newly manifested strategic weapon.

“Feel honored, little punk. You and your play-acting Dark Organization will become the instigators of ‘monster manipulation and mass slaughter.’ The Magical Girl Organization, long out of battle and constantly facing demands from politicians and the public to cut its budget, will now have the perfect justification, thanks to your ‘terrorist attack,’ to eliminate all obstacles in their path.”

From the topmost floor of the tower, the woman known as the Branch Chief gazed down imperiously at the ground below, her eyes meeting Ling Xing’s through the panoramic window.

‘The last Dark Organization? The last Dark Organization combatant?’

‘An unexpected move, certainly, and one that had surprised her slightly. But ultimately, it was nothing more than that—it wouldn’t change the outcome.’

‘The very purpose of the Dark Organization’s existence was to serve as a stepping stone for the Magical Girls!’