Chapter 56: A Timely Intervention

So this is your true form, and your real power, you monstrous thing.

After enduring a blow that pierced her body, Black Mirror rose, casually spitting out several transparent fragments.

The monster’s current strength was vastly different from before, its magic level having undeniably reached the Corrosion-tier.

All previous efforts to deplete and restrict it had proven utterly futile.

Considering the various anomalies it exhibited, it was clear this entity would be even more troublesome than an ordinary Corrosion-tier Corrupted Entity.

Corrosion-tier Corrupted Entities were commonly known as “Calamities of the City.”

This was no mere metaphor, but a statement of grim fact.

If a Corrosion-tier Corrupted Entity was not successfully vanquished shortly after its emergence, the devastation it wrought could genuinely annihilate a city, transforming prosperity into ruin and leaving a trail of hellish desolation in its wake.

Even more terrifying, Corrosion-tier Corrupted Entities possessed mental influence abilities that inflicted severe negative effects on ordinary people.

Individuals with fragile minds, if continuously affected, could easily be induced to transform into new Corrupted Entities, thereby sparking greater chaos within the populace and leading to even more unpredictable consequences.

It absolutely could not be allowed to leave this park; it had to be eliminated here.

Having made her decision, Black Mirror took a deep breath and raised Lord Crusher.

Initially, she had only wanted to control the situation on her own terms, striving to preserve Liu Tianze’s life and avoid being forced into action.

Yet now she realized—she wanted to destroy it more than anyone.

‘Focus your mind, attend to the task at hand.

‘Do not dwell on so-called responsibilities and missions; the lives and livelihoods of others are none of your concern.

‘You wish to destroy it simply because its existence has enraged you, and that reason alone is sufficient.’

‘Tch, this kind of thing should obviously be handled by magical girls, shouldn’t it?

‘But those incompetent amateurs are useless here anyway.

‘She certainly didn’t want to see Polaris defeated by such an inexplicable monstrosity.’

‘That person’s life as a magical girl could only be ended by her own hand.’

The two Corrupted Entities faced each other, their battle devoid of ethics or morality, a mere struggle for survival where only the fittest would prevail.

This time, it was Black Mirror’s turn to make the first move.

The black-haired girl, wielding her warhammer, launched her assault on the monster.

Her nimble form, light-footed, wove through the curtain of rain.

Having concentrated and narrowly dodged a beam of light, she had already closed to a sufficiently close range, while her opponent had raised its arms, ready to defend.

However, those arms failed to absorb any damage, for Black Mirror’s movements suddenly accelerated as if a speed button had been pressed, embedding the hammerhead brutally into the opponent’s abdomen with unforeseen velocity.

Lord Crusher erupted with a dazzling red light upon impact, its immense force directly sending the monster flying, only to be halted abruptly after crashing into a tree.

“Tsk, it’s really tough.”

Observing her opponent sway as it rose, seemingly unharmed to the extent she had anticipated, Black Mirror recalled the sensation of her strike.

The hammer had felt as though it had slammed into a block of iron, and as the monster was sent flying, her own hand had tingled slightly.

Lord Crusher was a weapon designed for swift, decisive battles.

Unlike Lord Torturer, which amplified pain and fear to torment the mind, Lord Crusher granted Black Mirror a more direct and devastating destructive power.

Moreover, Lord Crusher could achieve instantaneous acceleration of movements by infusing it with magic, and upon striking an enemy, it would double the original impact force to inflict severe damage in a short period, making it a highly practical ability.

Breaking through defenses with overwhelming, irresistible force and mercilessly crushing enemies—these were its hallmarks, perfectly aligning with the name Black Mirror had bestowed upon it.

After landing a successful blow, Black Mirror gave her opponent no chance to recover.

With another swift dash, she surged behind it and brought her hammer down onto its back, instantly carving a shallow crater into the ground, monster and earth alike.

Its back, too, proved astonishingly resilient; there was no discernible sensation of significant damage being inflicted.

A torrent of continuous hammer blows rained down upon the Corrupted Entity, pinning it down and rendering it immobile.

In retaliation, a beam of light shot from its palm, piercing straight through Black Mirror’s body, which she had no intention of dodging.

Both were monstrous beings; such seemingly grievous injuries had little effect, and her body had already begun to self-repair and regenerate moments after the beam passed through.

After attempting to strike various parts of its body, Black Mirror ultimately focused her target on the colossal eye embedded in the Corrupted Entity’s face.

That eye, once on its chest, had migrated to its visage, consuming its entire countenance; it logically followed that some connection must exist.

Perhaps its constant suppression had ignited its fury, for Black Mirror noticed the creature beneath her resisting with increased ferocity.

Its arms, previously held to protect its head, suddenly splayed open, meeting her descending warhammer with a force that was no less formidable than her own.

In the brief instant their movements stalled, the colossal eye on the enemy’s head, now alarmingly close, flew wide open, coalescing a vast quantity of dark purple magic.

Even with its limbs entangled, it always seemed to possess additional means of attack.

From the hands bracing against the warhammer, searing beams of light erupted, forcing Black Mirror to temporarily retreat.

This time, however, the colossal eye on its forehead did not emit a beam; instead, it violently spewed forth a swarm of dense, insect-like fissures.

These minute, space-rending cracks rapidly proliferated and writhed through the air, obscuring her vision while leaving countless wounds across Black Mirror’s body.

Immediately after, a straight punch enveloped in fissures and the warhammer struck simultaneously.

The Corrupted Entity brutally impacted Black Mirror’s shoulder, sending her body flying like a cannonball to crash into a nearby fitness facility.

The price for its blow, however, was an arm deformed by the force of her hammer strike.

Propping herself up with her hammer from the wreckage of what had once been fitness equipment, Black Mirror surveyed her own body.

Her skin was riddled with wounds, as if gnawed by insects, and her uniform hung in tatters.

That recent punch, imbued with fissures, had cleanly dislodged her right arm from its joint, a precise blow that left the limb’s ragged severance looking like a strip of cloth violently torn apart.

It seemed her right hand would be unusable for at least the next thirty seconds.

Despite being an Epidemic-tier Corrupted Entity, Black Mirror’s physical body was surprisingly fragile.

This mirror-like, brittle form was even weaker than some Infiltration-tier Corrupted Entities.

Although her body’s regeneration speed was astonishing, losing her dominant hand, even for a short duration, significantly impacted her combat effectiveness.

Black Mirror’s ability to traverse mirrors inherently dictated that her combat style should never involve the close-quarters brawling she was currently engaged in.

Instead, it should be assassination: appearing from blind spots unseen by the enemy, striking swiftly, accurately, and ruthlessly, then vanishing without a trace like an invisible phantom after a successful hit.

Indeed, Rainbow had once remarked that assassination and infiltration were the true domains where Black Mirror’s talents could shine.

That self-proclaimed “powerless” individual had also stated that, strictly speaking, neither of them was truly suited for combat.

Black Mirror had always maintained a skeptical attitude towards this assertion.

However, Black Mirror did concede one point: her combat abilities were not outstanding.

She had undergone no formal training, possessed weak combat techniques and awareness, and almost exclusively relied on her abilities to act.

Furthermore, her consistent ability to easily evade both magical girls and the Magic Supervision Department meant her practical combat experience was sorely lacking.

Simply put, her current self was merely an individual who thrived by exploiting mechanics and stats in everyday situations, and she would likely suffer a significant setback when encountering a truly formidable foe.

As for why she could admit this so frankly, it was because she had participated in a battle against an Epidemic-tier Corrupted Entity.

Though ostensibly an inhumane three-on-one fight, in reality, the outcome of that battle had been predetermined even without her and Rainbow.

She had witnessed firsthand how Epidemic-tier Corrupted Entities, truly skilled in combat and masters of their power, fought.

‘If that entity were here, this thing in front of me would probably be knocked down with a single punch.

‘It’s a pity that for a problem awaiting resolution, sometimes one cannot wait for someone capable of easily solving it, nor for someone willing to do so.

‘One can only, in the end, intercept an unavoidable individual.’

Having temporarily lost her right hand, Black Mirror no longer opted for an aggressive strategy of exchanging blows with the enemy.

Instead, she maintained a certain distance, circling it while waiting for her arm to regenerate and further adapting to its attack rhythm.

Powerful limbs, extremely fast-firing beams, and wide-ranging, spreading fissures—its offensive capabilities were far more diverse than her own, effective in both close-quarters and ranged combat.

The good news, however, was that its regenerative ability seemed rather poor; even as her body was nearly fully reformed, its battered arm remained at a twisted angle, appearing difficult to use.

“Alright, round two.”

Gripping the hammer’s handle with her regenerated right hand, Black Mirror charged forward once more.

Her aggressive, almost reckless, fighting style proved both effective and insidious.

Leveraging the disparity in their regenerative abilities, though Black Mirror appeared increasingly battered with each exchange of blows, her opponent sustained far more substantive damage.

After several rounds, even as her own arms were brutally torn off, she had again severely wounded the monster’s arm, crushing its beam-emitting palm into a pulpy mess.

She didn’t need to win gloriously or with righteous flair; she simply needed to ensure this method could annihilate the enemy in the shortest possible time.

She absolutely would not permit such a disgusting entity to remain alive in this world.

‘This way, she could win.

‘Just a few more repetitions, and it would grow progressively weaker.

‘By then—’

Just as Black Mirror surveyed the opponent’s body, contemplating which part to target next, the Corrupted Entity’s colossal eye suddenly narrowed.

Its deep red pupil regarded Black Mirror’s broken arms, discarded on the ground, with a hint of mockery.

Before Black Mirror could fully grasp the meaning of that gaze, rows of wing-like appendages on its back abruptly swelled, forming a pair of thick, heavy wings.

Pushing off the ground with its feet, it launched itself into the air, spreading its wings and soaring skyward.

‘No, this thing wants to escape!’

Instinctively summoning Lord Torturer, Black Mirror reached out, intending to lash with her whip and drag the opponent down from the sky.

Only then did she realize she had fallen into its trap.

‘Wait, her arms hadn’t fully regenerated yet.’

Gazing at her armless torso, Black Mirror suddenly awoke to the flaw in her battle plan.

It was still possible to pursue it, but without any means to attack, she could no longer restrict its movements.

If it managed to escape into other areas, everything would be lost.

It had discerned Black Mirror’s inability to annihilate it quickly, as well as her intention to confine it to this area.

Thus, it had deliberately targeted Black Mirror’s arms, aiming to buy more time to escape while the girl regenerated her body.

It certainly couldn’t defeat her, and if the fight dragged on, it would eventually be worn down to death.

However, it had no absolute reason to continue engaging her; since it couldn’t win, fleeing was a perfectly rational choice.

Watching helplessly as her opponent soared higher and farther away, Black Mirror frantically gave chase.

She attempted to block its movement with her body, but her efforts were utterly futile; she was even seized and violently flung back to the ground.

‘Damn it, it’s getting away!’

The silhouette of the retreating winged figure, frozen in Black Mirror’s vision, suddenly wavered a few times with a clap of thunder.

“Bang.” “Bang, bang.”

This time, she clearly heard it: several gunshots.

Simultaneously, multiple holes were punctured through the Corrupted Entity’s wings, which, now structurally compromised, caused its entire body to teeter precariously in mid-air.

As for the subsequent pink light, plummeting from above like a shooting star, she no longer needed to guess its origin.

The “shooting star” directly struck the unstable Corrupted Entity.

A barrier woven from starlight made intimate contact with its cheek, and with its momentum, utterly blasted its entire body down from the sky.

“…Didn’t I tell you to get lost? Why did you bring back the most useless one?”

Gazing at Baoyu, who aimed her gun at the enemy from above, and Polaris, who strained to suppress it with her shield, Black Mirror, despite their timely assistance, couldn’t bring herself to acknowledge it verbally.

“…If only your body were half as tough as your mouth.

“Look at the state you’ve been beaten into.”

Even in this critical moment, Baoyu maintained a relatively calm and composed demeanor, even teasing Black Mirror.

It had to be said, upon rushing back to the scene, seeing Black Mirror—her former formidable foe—now utterly battered and flung to the ground like a rag doll, a complex emotion had stirred within her.

“Polaris, I don’t care if you want to come back and die, but what’s your intention bringing this dead weight with you?

“Are you trying to get her killed?”

The girl with the shield was kicked away by the Corrupted Entity, sliding several steps across the ground, propped by her shield, before finally coming to a halt.

Caught between two Corrupted Entities, she resolutely angled her shield towards the one that harbored true hostility towards her.

“Eliminating Corrupted Entities is what we magical girls are meant to do.

“And Baoyu is no dead weight; we need her and her magical gear to stop it, don’t we?”

Polaris’s words silenced Black Mirror.

Undeniably, even though the young girl with the gun was, without question, the absolute bottom of their team in terms of magic reserves, her awareness and talent were genuine.

Her firearm-based magical gear was indeed the most stable and indispensable source of firepower within that team.

As long as she could maintain a safe position, she could continuously pose a threat to the enemy.

Both Polaris and Black Mirror lacked such simple yet effective offensive weapons.

Facing a Corrosion-tier enemy, Asherah’s style, relying on agile movements to evade damage, was simply too risky.

The girl who wielded wind needed to evacuate Wen Qiusheng and Ji Lanxin quickly to seek assistance; thus, Polaris must have brought Baoyu back with her for support.

It was logical, perhaps, but still not a good choice; this lineup was essentially walking a tightrope.

What annoyed her even more was seeing that stubborn look on Polaris’s face again—the kind that, despite lacking confidence, always gritted its teeth and persevered.

“Don’t use that disgusting ‘we’ term.

“I won’t help you protect her.”

Despite her words, Black Mirror still glanced twice in Baoyu’s direction.

“That ten-minute limit, there’s still some time left, right?”

To Polaris’s thrown question, Black Mirror adopted a hesitant expression before finally replying:

“…I forgot.

“Let’s restart the timer.”