Chapter 5: The Vigilante’s Grand Entrance

Sometimes, Ling Xing couldn’t shake the feeling that he didn’t quite fit the mold of a dark organization member.

Ling Xing arched an eyebrow, engaging in a silent staring contest with the Magic-Science Squad members before him.

It wasn’t that he harbored some secret kindness, or any such nonsense; it was simply that he felt…

“Hiss… whoosh…”

Clad in identical form-fitting combat suits, their faces obscured by fly-headed gas masks, each wielded a standard-issue assault rifle, complete with external communication devices.

Honestly, these Magic-Science Squad members looked far more like mass-produced, standard combatants than he ever did.

“Have you made up your minds yet? Rescuing a Magical Girl would surely earn you far more merit than simply clearing out some anonymous stronghold, wouldn’t it?”

The cramped, dilapidated shack felt even more so with five or six tall women squeezed inside.

Dal, peering cautiously from the bedroom behind, had been strategically positioned by Ling Xing at a safe distance where she could easily feign being a hostage.

Meanwhile, Ling Xing sat alone at the table, confronting the fly-headed women.

It ought to have been a scene brimming with coolness and imposing presence.

However, having been inexplicably shrunk into a delicate, white-haired girl by an unforeseen force, the current Ling Xing, rather than exuding his former dashing aura, now felt more akin to…

…a delinquent girl?

“Hiss… whoosh… We’ve already reported to our superiors. Don’t fret, little one, an answer will arrive shortly.”

“Little you—”

He bit back the retort.

Tugging at the corner of his mouth, Ling Xing suppressed the colorful language that had nearly escaped his lips.

It wasn’t the time to reveal his true colors. For the sake of the meat soup alone, he would refrain from lashing out here and now.

Ling Xing cradled the bowl of meat soup in one hand, gently blowing on it, then subtly waved the spoon before discreetly flipping a middle finger at his opponents beneath the table.

“Zzzzt—”

Ah! The communication had finally arrived.

He had never intended any harm to this Magical Girl; simply sending her back would have posed no issue.

Yet these troublesome individuals were making such a fuss, even with a free Magical Girl, dawdling and requesting permission from their superiors.

Could their superiors possibly order them *not* to rescue her? What were those fly-heads even thinking—

“—No rescue required. Target Chao Wu has been re-designated as a defector. Eliminate on sight.”

“……”

“Hiss… whoosh…”

Ling Xing suddenly realized she might have gravely underestimated the depravity of the Magical Girl organization.

As the utterly flat, emotionless directive crackled from the specialized radio, she blinked, then exchanged an awkward glance with the fly-headed figures before her.

Her hand settled upon the carving knife resting beside her, while their hands instinctively moved to their trigger guards.

For a tense moment, neither side made the first move.

Until…

CRASH————

A thunderous crash shattered the silence.

The bedroom door was violently kicked open.

“Wow, Ling Xing, she escaped!”

“Ha! I finally found my chance! Not even a Dark Organization executive can hold me! I am a Magical Gi—”

Chao Wu, having slipped from Dal’s grasp and executed an audacious escape, burst through the door, intent on ambushing the enemy from both sides with her Magical Girl teammates, just as her training dictated!

With a pincer attack, how could victory not be assured?

However, before her words could fully leave her lips, she discovered…

What greeted her was not a coordinated response, but a chilling array of black muzzles all aimed squarely at her.

“W-wait, hold on, I’m Chao Wu! I escaped! Wh-wh-why…”

“Hiss, whoosh… You have been designated a defector. Target confirmed. Priority: annihilation. Other targets: lower priority, live capture permitted.”

Bang—

Clatter—

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat—

Bursts of gunfire illuminated the derelict shack.

Gunfire roared, bullets flew indiscriminately, and glass shattered into countless shards from stray rounds.

The shack, once slightly cluttered and worn but imbued with a touch of warmth by Dal’s diligent care, was now reduced to utter chaos amidst the furious roar of gunfire, its furniture splintered into fragments.

The rookie Magical Girl, desperate to escape, the foolish Magical Girl who believed salvation was at hand, now stood bewildered and helpless under the muzzles of her own comrades, utterly…

“Wh-why? I… I tried my absolute hardest to…”

…to become the Magical Girl she had always dreamed of being.

Before the words could fully escape her, Chao Wu was engulfed by a merciless hail of bullets.

****

At that very instant, a brilliant white light erupted.

“Hiss…… What!?”

“Ah, ah… ah… ah?”

Silver-white hair, stirred by no discernible breeze, billowed around her as she stood tall.

A pristine aura, radiant as the dawn, illuminated the space as brightly as midday.

“Tsk, this is truly enough. My apologies, you foolish Magical Girl, for still clinging to illusions about the Magical Girl organization, for thinking they wouldn’t harm their own. Clearly, I was mistaken—”

A figure, not particularly tall, now stood protectively before Chao Wu, who remained frozen in stunned terror.

A pristine white shield materialized, severing the tempest of gunfire.

“A Magical Girl? Another one? How is this possible? Report immediately—”

“No, no, no. I am certainly not a Magical Girl. Remember my name well: I am the elite combatant, Ling Xing! The vigilante destined to defeat villains like you!”

Chao Wu’s pupils dilated.

That was… the very entrance declaration a Magical Girl, as Chao Wu had always fantasized, would make.

After joining the organization, she had been mocked countless times for such a “cheesy, chuunibyou” entrance; everyone else was a pragmatic, armed combatant, prioritizing efficiency and ambush tactics.

Yet, ever since childhood, Chao Wu had believed that a Magical Girl *should* be precisely like this!

She had always envisioned herself making such a grand entrance against villains, but now…

This fantasy had manifested before her eyes in a form entirely beyond her imagination.

“Whoosh—Report immediately, move it!”

“Oh my, you wouldn’t happen to be looking for this, would you?”

Ling Xing offered a contemptuous smile, winking one eye as she subtly raised her left hand.

The specialized radio that had just crackled with a response had, at some point, been deftly snatched by her amidst the chaotic gunfire and was now concealed within her sleeve.

Now, with no one able to communicate externally, no one would know what transpired within these walls.

“Come now, repent for your wicked deeds. Though I harbor no mercy for you, this is the last act you are capable of.”

“Hiss… whoosh… How dare you underestimate our Magic-Science Squad! Concentrate fire and delay! Squad 2, use grenades to assault the unarmed person behind her—”

“—Huh?”

A silver flash, swallowing their words.

Ling Xing’s already swift movements, amplified by her Magical Girl powers, became so blindingly fast that these self-proclaimed elite soldiers couldn’t even track her with their eyes.

They could only perceive the afterimages of Ling Xing’s silver hair, streaking past at high speed, coalescing into shimmering silver lines.

“Captain? Hiss! Fire! Fire! Open fire, nowwwww—”

“What in the world?! How could we possibly contend with a Magical Girl of this caliber? Run! Quick, ugh…”

“Just a little… oof—!”

Their carefully planned tactics dissolved into a mere joke. In a matter of seconds, the arrogant fly-heads lay sprawled haphazardly across the floor.

Ling Xing lightly clapped her hands, then kicked over the already dilapidated, teetering table, gracefully catching the precious bowl of meat soup mid-air.

“Meat soup recovered, bad guys dealt with. Sigh, it’s a shame the house is still such a mess. Who knows how long it’ll take to clean up… You won’t blame me, will you, Dal?”

You won’t blame me, your combatant, for turning into a Magical Girl, will you?

“Of course not! You’re my proudest combatant, Ling Xing! You took care of all the bad guys in one go, and, and, and—”

The loli executive trotted closer, rubbing her small hands together.

Then, rising onto her tiptoes, she playfully placed her small hand on Ling Xing’s cheek, a wide smile gracing her face.

“Hehe, now I can even touch your head without a chair, Ling Xing.”