Chapter 70: The Price of Survival

Luo Huayin gazed down at the grey-haired, grey-eyed magical girl.

Feeling the powerful magic emanating from her battle attire, a power no less formidable than her own, a hint of playful amusement stirred within her.

She had known all along that this transaction with Violet would not disappoint her.

When she first learned the details of the deal, she had been quite surprised. Was it truly just to obstruct a single individual?

It sounded rather ominous. If it wasn’t to hinder some mundane, ordinary magical girl, then it most likely involved confronting a truly formidable opponent.

Luo Huayin wouldn’t have cared if she had to withstand the Hundred-ton King or a direct impact from a dump truck. However, facing those humanoid dump trucks that belonged to the core forces, or even the Twin Stars under Su Yi, would surely reduce her to a mere biscuit.

While Fading Star, hailing from Yuzhou, was certainly no easy adversary, Luo Huayin still felt confident she could enjoy a prolonged engagement with her.

As her vision returned, Gu Xuanyu abruptly pulled her military saber from the wall. She scanned the window, searching for Silver Moon’s form.

The latter was precariously soaring through the distant sky, already reduced to a mere speck. Seeing this, Gu Xuanyu locked onto her position and hurled the saber with fierce intent.

The military saber transformed into a fleeting, silver-white afterimage. In the space of a single breath, it appeared behind Silver Moon.

Under Silver Moon’s horrified gaze, the blade severed her right wing.

Golden blood, far more turbulent than before, gushed forth. Almost simultaneously, Silver Moon lost her ability to fly, plummeting heavily to the ground. She reverted to her human form, collapsing in a disheveled heap.

Appalling gashes appeared on her lower body and along her spine, ceaselessly spewing golden blood. This caused her vision to blur progressively, and her body grew cold.

Feeling her life ebb away with her body temperature, Silver Moon thrashed violently, like a fish out of water. She clawed at the ground with her still-mobile right hand, wriggling like an insect.

Immense fear enveloped her heart. ‘No matter what, I do not want to die.’

Indeed, Silver Moon was cunning. She had always known that her actions inflicted cruel harm upon other magical girls, yet she harbored no regrets.

‘Isn’t it a perfect equation,’ she rationalized, ‘to trade the sacrifices of a few for the security of the vast majority? Besides, I am one of that ‘vast majority’.’

Within her heart, she repeatedly scorned and accused magical girls of dereliction and incompetence. Yet, she almost never fought alongside them, citing “avoiding becoming a burden” as her excuse to evade dangerous battles.

The duty of magical girls was to confront evil. Even if it meant sacrificing themselves, their value was fulfilled as long as they could contribute.

But she was different. As long as she remained alive, she could continue to discover new magical girls. For her to die in battle would be utterly valueless.

These were the answers Silver Moon’s rationality provided: why she could freely harm other magical girls, why she absolutely had to survive, why she should be the one protected.

However, she subconsciously ignored the subtle emotional impulse secretly at play within her. In truth, she always made judgments most beneficial to herself, then used so-called rationality to construct a perfect excuse, whitewashing her self-interest and selfishness.

Yet, the moment she crashed through the glass, her fragile mask of rationality shattered with it, exposing her truest, weakest self.

She fled desperately, determined to escape even if she clung to life by a thread. She needed to get away from that silver-haired witch, even by an inch, by a hair’s breadth.

The cowardice she once disdained—now she admitted she was the one truly cowardly. She was not ready to face death.

‘Someone, save me! Anyone! Even Silver Eyes… What are you doing? Come and save me!’

Golden blood trailed behind her for several meters, transforming the dry, uneven ground into shallow crimson puddles. Her vision grew increasingly dim; she seemed unable to crawl any further.

Just then, a familiar figure abruptly entered the periphery of Silver Moon’s vision. With long, matcha-green hair, it was none other than Duanmu Jin, the person she yearned for.

All shadows were dispelled in that instant. A wave of relief, born from surviving a catastrophe, swept through her entire body, creating the illusion of reaching paradise amidst her daze.

She mustered her remaining strength, crawling forward with both arms, her speed surprisingly much faster than before.

‘As long as I can reach that place…’

Yet, blood still flowed unceasingly from her. Duanmu Jin was merely a mortal, possessing no healing abilities. Moreover, Silver Moon was an experimental subject, different from humans; even if taken to a hospital, she couldn’t receive a blood transfusion. At this rate, she truly might die!

Silver Moon tightly clutched the wound on her spine, trying to stem the blood loss. The excruciating pain twisted her features, and the ‘lover’s filter’ she wore vanished completely in that moment, revealing a beautiful yet unfamiliar face.

From any perspective, Silver Moon, in her true form, was delicate and charming.

Silver Moon likely felt no inferiority about her appearance.

The tragic part was that she herself had never seen her true face, for this ‘lover’s filter,’ inherited from Su Yi, existed passively. Silver Moon could not remove it; she could only perceive it as part of herself.

When she was alone, she would sometimes stare blankly into a mirror, stroking that perfectly unreal face. The sensation transmitted by her fingers was real, differing from what the mirror reflected, yet by touch alone, she could never imagine her true appearance.

Perhaps even she herself couldn’t say who she truly was or what she genuinely desired, but now, everything was clear: she simply wanted to live.

“Save me…”

Silver Moon’s plea was faint, her consciousness already blurring. Just as she was about to plunge completely into the cold embrace of unconsciousness, a warm current surged through her body, halting the loss of temperature and seemingly mending her wounds.

She felt herself being helped, slowly rising. A warm, gentle hand clasped her wrist, unconsciously filling her with a sense of warmth.

It was the only time since her birth that she had genuinely felt the warmth of the world.

“Thank you,” Silver Moon said hoarsely, struggling to open her golden eyes, stained with golden blood. She wished to clearly see her savior.

However, as her gaze met those soft purple eyes, the sliver of relief she had just managed to summon was driven out and replaced by an even greater terror.

“Zizi…”

“Please call me An Yueying, Miss Silver Moon. Are you perhaps surprised by my arrival?”

An Yueying’s lips curved naturally, and her tone of voice was rich with amusement. Yet, beneath her purple eyes, a chilling coldness emanated, causing Silver Moon to instinctively try to pull her hand away in fear.

But An Yueying offered no such opportunity. Instead, with a grip strong enough to shatter her wrist, she held Silver Moon firmly, pulling her closer.

“To accept my kindness and then immediately try to shake me off—how impolite. But seeing you in such a sorry state, I can’t help but feel genuinely delighted~”

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