Chapter 22: A Familiar Desolation

“That child, Xiaobai, her temperament is quite similar to yours, Qingyao.” Xiaohua led the way, while Su Qingyao followed, clutching her wooden staff, her footsteps light and unhurried.

They should have traveled by flying.

However, Xiaohua claimed her magical reserves weren’t particularly high.

Flying would be too strenuous for such a journey.

As for Su Qingyao’s suggestion of “carrying her to travel,” Hua Pules’s objection was unexpectedly fierce.

Hua Pules turned back, letting out a sudden “meow” towards the young woman. “They are all very kind and gentle children,” she added.

‘Oh, so suddenly elegant, are we?’

“And they all adore human children, nya.”

Su Qingyao remained silent, simply blinking.

‘That sounded a bit jarring, though in a certain sense, Xiaohua wasn’t wrong.’

“So, where exactly are we… heading now?”

Su Qingyao subtly changed the subject, steering the conversation back to their actual purpose.

“To an orphanage, nya.”

The continuous “meowing” continued. “However, this particular orphanage isn’t within Xiaobai’s usual range of activity.”

“This elder only found it after expanding her search radius, nya.”

“Ah, Lin Xiaobai, does she often visit orphanages?”

Su Qingyao tilted her head in confusion.

“Indeed.” Xiaohua gracefully leaped, landing on the edge of a flowerbed.

“Even though Xiaobai should have had parents when I first met her, she would secretly visit various orphanages to see the children there.”

‘So that’s why the search radius was extended to include “nearby” orphanages, then.’

Su Qingyao glanced around her surroundings.

The ambiance of streetlights and neon signs gradually faded. As Xiaohua led the way, the young woman seemed to turn onto a path that felt increasingly like a “construction zone.”

“Madam Hua Pules, is this… the correct route?”

Su Qingyao seemed to hesitate.

A shimmering, unreadable light began to flicker in the young woman’s eyes.

“It’s a shortcut, nya.” Xiaohua showed no surprise at Su Qingyao’s question, raising a front paw to indicate a direction.

“The orphanage we’re heading to is in the East District. If we take the main roads, we’ll be circling for at least an hour.”

“It appears you are quite familiar with this area, Senior.”

“Of course, nya! This elder was already forming contracts with magical girls before the Tower was even built, nya.”

“I see,” Su Qingyao nodded.

It was a reasonably plausible explanation.

The young woman tilted her head, spotting a familiar sign half-buried amidst a pile of old stones and debris.

‘Baikou Cola?’

She was so startled she almost cried out.

Su Qingyao’s gentle smile faded, slowly replaced by a somber expression.

She was certain it wasn’t a mistake.

With careful observation, it was easy to discern the collapsed, half-ruined buildings, the various remnants of waste and debris, and even the bleached bones of monsters and humans.

‘Ah, how terribly familiar.’

Su Qingyao faced an environment that would likely strike those born into the new world as utterly grim.

Yet, for her, it felt almost like coming home.

This was the mundane landscape where Su Qingyao had once lived and fought. The absence of a few demon beasts or other monsters made it feel rather desolate.

‘What a joke.’

During the apocalypse, some scenario-based anomalies presented terrifying scenes that were, paradoxically, far more comforting than the outside world.

At least there were still intact buildings to use.

The very first home she and her senior had built after gaining their superpowers was in—

‘Another blank.’

Su Qingyao let out a faint sigh.

This realization only solidified Su Qingyao’s certainty that she was now in a world twenty-five years into the future.

This was no fleeting dream, no deathbed hallucination.

“What’s wrong, nya? Did something frighten you?”

Xiaohua sensed that the magical girl behind her was feeling uneasy. “If you’re uncomfortable, we can always take a different route, nya.”

“It’s fine, we’ll go this way.”

Su Qingyao cast a sidelong glance at the somewhat nervous white cat.

‘She would be restless if they didn’t continue this way.’

****

Fifteen minutes passed.

Su Qingyao’s footsteps faltered slightly.

“No, this is wrong.”

The young woman murmured.

“Senior Xiaohua, do you sense it?”

Su Qingyao turned to look at Hua Pules, who had begun glancing around nervously.

But to her disappointment:

“Huh? Sense what?”

Xiaohua’s fur bristled, feeling as though something was pressing down on her. “It’s so scary here, nya! I’m never sneaking into the reception room to watch horror movies again, nya.”

“Isn’t this the path you’ve walked yourself, Xiaohua?”

“Last time I came, it was during the day, nya.”

Only then did Su Qingyao recall that fantasy creatures were prone to being rather scatterbrained.

Even those who appeared more mature were fundamentally no different.

“Alright then.”

The young woman muttered to herself, shifting the wooden staff she held in her arms into her dominant hand.

It seemed that current fantasy creatures had completely diverged from the old system. Consequently, even modern magical girls couldn’t perceive what Su Qingyao was referring to.

“Please step aside.”

Su Qingyao requested softly.

“Oh my, Little Qingyao, are you about to—”

A sharp, metallic ring.

A piercing clash of metal, or rather, the sound of a magic energy cannon firing.

A flash of light erupted from the gem on the young woman’s wooden staff, abruptly piercing the night and arcing through the air.

A pure white beam, as thick as a wrist, instantly tore through the shadows.

Beneath the light, a four-legged demon beast, lurking low, was revealed. The moment its indistinct face became fully illuminated:

The white brilliance had already licked its neck, like a branding iron searing through thin snow.

The magic cannon’s speed was unhindered, its whistling rush persisting until it vanished beyond the horizon.

In the illuminated darkness, a “beast” attempting a surprise attack collapsed to the ground like a rag, unable to even let out a whimper.

Only the dull “thud” of its rolling head remained.

“Meow!” Xiaohua puffed up into a perfect circle, startled. “How can you be so frightening, child?”

She turned back, only then noticing the “beast’s” corpse.

The white cat’s eyes widened in astonishment.

“Huh? Isn’t that a demon beast?”

“But why didn’t this elder detect any magic?”

“Well… it can be considered a demon beast.”

Su Qingyao pinched the brim of her hat, pulling it down with a resigned expression.

The output of her magic cannon had been so powerful that the resulting air current nearly blew her hat off.

‘Perhaps she should fashion a transparent strap out of magic?’

“Hmm… this is probably a ‘local specialty’ from the countryside.”

Su Qingyao offered a benevolent lie that wasn’t entirely untrue.

“This is a demon beast formed by ‘Inverse Magic’.”

“Nya? What in the world is Inverse Magic, nya!?”

“It’s a type of magic that isn’t easily perceived. For now, let’s just understand it that way.”

Su Qingyao felt a headache beginning.

Ever since she had seen the fragments of the “homeland of fantasy creatures” embedded in the Tower, the young woman had been wondering if any remnants remained.

She hadn’t expected “Inverse Magic” to appear so impatiently before her.

The relationship between Inverse Magic and regular magic could be metaphorically understood as that between Pepsi Cola and Coca-Cola.

While their formulas differed, resulting in distinct tastes.

Ultimately, both were “cola,” treated as carbonated beverages without distinction.

“However, why would ‘Inverse Magic’ be appearing now?”

Su Qingyao couldn’t help but wonder.

Nevertheless, at this critical juncture, there was no room for further contemplation.

The tranquil silence shattered.

An increasingly pervasive aura of “Inverse Magic” had begun to spread throughout the ruins.

“Mind Collapse.”

Su Qingyao softly uttered the nostalgic term.

She took a deep breath.

In her eyes, which had lost their former luster, a faint magical glow slowly ignited. She spoke in a deep voice to the still bewildered:

“Senior Xiaohua, what we are facing now is a byproduct of this calamity.”

Indeed.

Magic and Inverse Magic.

The calamity corresponding to the Magical Girl system was precisely “Mind Collapse.”

A genuine smile curved Su Qingyao’s lips.

Five years ago, this had been her most stress-relieving pastime.