Chapter 122

Beneath the purple-black pillars of the night's light, the beast's roars gradually subsided amidst Mosi's words.

Even though her body remained covered in sores and the flesh cocoon wrapping her was scarred from head to toe, Mosi's appearance seemed like a special signal, making it quiet again, like a well-behaved pet.

"Be careful, this woman is dangerous!"

Moke, perched on Lin Xiaolu's shoulder, warned seriously, but not a single person present cared what it was saying.

Except for Mosi, all the magical girls stood ready for battle.

"Then, before the main show begins, let me match names to faces and confirm. The child with green magic... you are the sacrifice found by the minions of 'Touch', right? Those incompetent ants failed to take you away; that is for the best."

Turning her head, Mosi looked at Bai Jingxuan beside her, maintaining a peaceful smile on her face: "You have a wonderful scent on you. Unlike ordinary magical girls, you are actually closer to those mongrels."

Her words left Bai Jingxuan stunned.

What Mosi said clearly referred to the incident months ago when 'Bing Chu San' and others attacked the Fuli Academy. This remark seemed to imply that the attack was actually related to her. However, she clearly had no intention of expanding on this topic; she merely mentioned it and quickly turned her gaze to Xia Liang beside her.

"Two months at the Bud level, five months... have you almost touched the Leaf level? Truly a terrifying talent, a terrifying child. If left unchecked, you might become a remarkably great existence in the Kingdom in the future."

She feigned a sigh of admiration, then looked unashamedly at the Soul Gem on Xia Liang's chest, licking her lips strangely: "So, your magic will be the finest ingredient."

Her pointed remark caused Xia Liang, who always greeted others with a smile, to turn down the corners of her mouth, revealing a somewhat cold expression.

Mosi continued to shift her gaze, and after evaluating the other two in turn, she directed her gaze toward Lin Xiaolu.

"... What a pity. You really don't look like her at all."

She spoke: "As a magical girl, you are far too ordinary compared to your mother."

Those few short words caused Lin Xiaolu's expression to change drastically.

"How do you know these things?"

Gripping her wand tightly, Lin Xiaolu said in a deep voice: "Have you seen my mother? What are you trying to say?"

"Do not be so tense, child. What I wish to say depends on what you wish to know."

Mosi's expression softened; if one ignored the occasion, her demeanor was like that of a kind elder: "I know many things you do not. Before the main show begins, you can take your time to learn them."

"I do not think someone who turned the city center into a ruin appearing before us is merely here to chat and play the role of a confiding grandmother for a while."

Xia Liang suddenly spoke from the side, questioning calmly: "You must have some other scheme; otherwise, there would be no need to appear at all."

"Clever. You are very right."

Mosi clapped her hands in praise: "But you may have gotten it wrong. My scheme was completed long ago; discussing the process is meaningless. Now, I simply need some audience."

"Audience?" Xia Liang latched onto the word.

"Yes, audience. Two years, nineteen cities, nine altars. Such extensive preparation was only for the result of this very moment."

A smile played on Mosi's lips: "Such a spectacular scene would be far too lonely without an audience present."

"... Two years?"

For both Xia Liang and Lin Xiaolu, this was a year capable of triggering a stress response. Even Lin Xiaolu noticed something was wrong in an instant.

"Correct, two years."

Mosi raised her chin slightly: "Starting from the death of the magical girl codenamed Sakura, that is, your mother."

In an instant, Lin Xiaolu's pupils contracted.

This was the first time she had heard her mother's codename from an enemy's mouth.

She had long known from her father that her mother died as a magical girl, but from beginning to end, she never knew the full story behind it.

Regarding her mother's death, she possessed only the memory of weeping uncontrollably before the tombstone two years ago, and countless sorrows and longings in the intervening time.

Leaving a bone-exposing wound on the body, the pain will subside with the passage of time; the wound will heal along with the body's self-repair; but the scar will never disappear.

Moreover, for Lin Xiaolu, the pain of the wound called 'Mother's Passing' has not been forgotten even a little bit to this day.

"What is your connection to this matter?"

She opened her mouth, only realizing her trembling at the moment she spoke: "Who exactly are you?"

"I clearly introduced myself to this question. I am Moth."

Mosi continued to smile indifferently, then slightly pulled the collar of her black robe, revealing a scar extending from the side of her neck all the way down:

"One of the Twelve Ash Servants of the Black Ember Dawn, and also your mother, Sakura's former enemy."

"Former enemy?" Mosi's words left Lin Xiaolu somewhat bewildered.

"Yes, child. Former."

Mosi turned her head slightly, looking at the giant beast behind her: "But now, many things are different."

Her movement made Lin Xiaolu's heart skip a beat.

"To feed a beast, especially to raise one with sufficiently excellent aptitude, exquisite ingredients are indispensable."

Mosi explained indifferently: "Ordinary humans, though their mortal flesh contains magic, ultimately possess magic without a foundation; it is merely inferior food. It may suffice to stave off hunger, but it is insufficient to nourish growth."

"To make a beast sufficiently high-quality, one must feed it high-grade ingredients: only the magic of beasts, magical girls, and fairies is valuable. And among these, naturally, the stronger and more purified the magic, the better."

"Therefore, in this matter, I must thank your mother."

"What... are you saying?" Lin Xiaolu's ominous premonition grew heavier and heavier.

"Can you not feel it?"

Mosi continued to gaze at the distant beast without looking aside: "Inside its body lies your mother's magic."

Even though she had guessed what Mosi wanted to say, the moment she learned the truth, Lin Xiaolu felt her mind go completely blank.

She instinctively raised her wand.

"Do not be impulsive, Bai Mei!"

Sensing the surge of magic beside her, Xia Liang almost immediately reached out to block Lin Xiaolu. She did not want Lin Xiaolu to rashly engage the opponent in battle, as it would likely result in a great loss.

However, when her hand touched Lin Xiaolu's arm, she discovered that Lin Xiaolu had made no extra movement.

A chaotic flow of pale green magic erupted violently from her side, and a figure rushed straight to Mosi's front amidst the gushing magic.

"Hakuyuki?" This was something she had not anticipated.

Among the several Magical Girls present, Bai Jingxuan, though the youngest, had always been the most sensible and quiet. Even if her usual combat style was somewhat excessive, there was no reason for her to act rashly against an enemy of unknown strength.

But now, even Lin Xiaolu had not moved due to the intense emotional turmoil, yet Bai Jingxuan had already charged out.

This was truly the worst timing.

In an instant, Xia Liang understood why Bai Jingxuan had done this and felt only bitterness in her mouth.

Before this, no one present had told Bai Jingxuan the fact that the Magical Girl "Ying" was dead. On top of that, no one had ever told her that Lin Xiaolu was Ying's daughter.

Until now, Bai Jingxuan had always believed that Ying was merely a senior Magical Girl of Fang Ting City who had left Fang Ting City for some special mission, which was why there was no more news.

Everyone was waiting for a suitable moment, a moment where even if the truth was told to Bai Jingxuan, her emotions could be controlled and soothed, preventing her from becoming too depressed.

Everyone knew that the core spiritual pillar for Bai Jingxuan becoming a Magical Girl was Ying.

She became a Magical Girl out of admiration and gratitude for Ying, and her greatest wish after becoming one was also to meet Ying; this emotional drive constituted the Magical Girl "Thin Snow," or one could even say, this was currently all of Bai Jingxuan.

Everything about her as a Magical Girl was a subconscious imitation of Ying.

Therefore, upon hearing Moss's words, she charged out immediately.

The music of the music box played at some unknown time; Bai Jingxuan made no attempt at defense whatsoever, simply reinforced her body with mana, and then, without a care, raised her wand and swung it at Moss.

Moss stood still, neither left nor right, and caught Bai Jingxuan's swing with her left hand.

"Not bad force, completely unlike a Bud-rank physique."

Feeling the force transmitted through the wand, she commented with slight surprise. But surprise did not mean respect; after blocking this attack, she released her grip on the wand, then used her arm to wrap up along the wand, reaching directly for Bai Jingxuan's neck.

In this critical moment, Bai Jingxuan dodged by turning her head in time. Her offensive did not slow down because of this; instead, she turned her body and swung the wand in her hand at Moss's head once more.

"It's useless," Moss curled her lips and blocked Bai Jingxuan's attack with a hard clash.

Bai Jingxuan raised her head slightly; her face remained calm with no special expression, but her pair of heterochromatic yellow-green eyes were now both slightly dyed blood-red:

"Really?"

With those words, a strong mana fluctuation surged along the wand connecting her and Moss. At some unknown time, the melody played by the music box had changed, and the restrained mana fluctuation within Bai Jingxuan's body began to become incredibly violent.

Then, Bai Jingxuan's mana exploded at an extremely close distance to Moss.

This was not a wise move, because Bai Jingxuan herself had no means to avoid such an explosion. Roughly unleashing her frantic mana, even if it could hit Moss at this distance, she herself would surely be injured.

However, the scene of mutual destruction that was expected did not appear.

Because at the very moment Bai Jingxuan unleashed her mana, all the mana she had erupted simply vanished into thin air.

"Really." Moss nodded with a smile.

Then, she casually raised her hand, and purple-black mana condensed into a point at her fingertip, gently poking Bai Jingxuan's forehead: "Too naughty, Sacrifice Child."

Bai Jingxuan's slightly reddened eyes narrowed at this.

—Thump!

No one could see clearly when Moss's mana bullet was actually unleashed, let alone dodge; in just an instant, Bai Jingxuan was struck head-on by the mana bullet and was directly smashed away.

Boom!

Bai Jingxuan, struck by Moss, fell from the high sky like a meteor, crashing directly into a building on the ground, causing an entire skyscraper to collapse along with her.

"Xiao Xuan!"

Moke, who had originally been lying on Lin Xiaolu's shoulder, immediately jumped down and hurriedly flew toward the ruins below.

Xia Liang also witnessed the entire process with her own eyes; it was not that she did not want to go up and help, but rather that it was simply too brief. In merely a few seconds, the battle situation changed from Bai Jingxuan charging up to being smashed away, a change that caught everyone off guard.

But before she could turn back to save Bai Jingxuan, she felt the hand she had been keeping in front of Lin Xiaolu brushed aside.

Looking again, Lin Xiaolu had also charged out with her wand raised. The light blue mana trails almost intertwined with the light green before Bai Jingxuan was smashed away, and the two launched an offensive against Moss one after the other.

"I told you not to be impulsive! She just wants to anger you!"

Xia Liang looked up and shouted helplessly at Lin Xiaolu's back, but obviously could not call back her companion who had already flown out. After a brief decision, she could only charge out after Lin Xiaolu:

"Ah! I really can't do anything with you!"

At this moment, Lin Xiaolu could no longer care about what Xia Liang said.

Because at the very moment she launched her attack against Moss, Moss also raised her hand simultaneously; purple-black mana gathered again at her fingertips, then turned into ripples spreading outward in all directions.

"Danger!"

Xia Liang, following behind, immediately activated her Magic Armor, placing the mirror shield in front of the ripples about to hit Lin Xiaolu, but before she could activate her ability to transfer mana, a huge impact force suddenly acted upon her mirror surface.

Crack!

The mirror surface of the Magic Armor was directly shattered by Moss's technique.

"Hmph!"

The damage to the Magic Armor instantly made Xia Liang feel a pain in her head; she let out a muffled groan, and even the surrounding undamaged mirror surfaces became somewhat illusory.

The ripples created by the technique, after slight loss, shattered Xia Liang's mirror, and the remaining momentum was not diminished at all, continuing to spread toward Lin Xiaolu.

Lin Xiaolu was completely unafraid.

The light blue mana around her suddenly changed under these circumstances, revealing a hint of silver-white amidst the burning.

Her entire body seemed to be burning with silver-white flames; raising her hand and waving, white flames collided with the purple-black mana ripples. After a fierce clash, they vanished completely, but the purple-black mana was also significantly weakened.

Lin Xiaolu repeated the same trick, swinging the wand in her hand again. With the obstruction of several silver-white flames, she finally blocked Moss's technique.

Then, she raised her hand, the flames turning into dozens of mana bullets, which were fired at Moss amidst the sound of explosions.

"White mana? A technique? No..."

Moss's tone carried a hint of confusion; she reached out and caught a silver-white mana bullet, but immediately felt her palm burn as if on fire, and the skin of her entire hand turned black and charred.

She looked at her palm, first slightly stunned, then curled her lips, revealing an expression of interest on her face: "It's actually a property I've never seen before? Interesting."

While she was sighing in admiration, Lin Xiaolu had not yet given up her offensive; silver-white mana condensed in her hand once more, this time forming a phantom flame spear.

She said nothing, staring fixedly at Moss not far away.

The playful smile on the other party's face made her feel inexplicably uneasy in her heart.

But the arrow was on the string and had to be released; regardless of whether the attack would succeed, she could not give up this opportunity to attack, so she waved her arm, preparing to throw the spear in her hand.

"Don't move."

A somewhat familiar voice made her freeze.

Brilliant azure light shone down from above her head; countless threads of magic, like tassels, cascaded down in streams as a figure, unknown when, had blocked her path.

It was this suddenly appeared person who had called off Lin Xiaolu's attack.

Not far away, Mosi's smile grew even wider.

Behind her, Xia Liang let out a slight sigh of relief.

Lin Xiaolu stared blankly at the suddenly appeared person, blinked in disbelief, then hesitantly spoke:

"... Senior Cuique?"

"Yes, so don't move."

Turning back from the brilliant azure, Senior Cuique looked at Lin Xiaolu, her voice somewhat gentle:

"It's already fine; let me handle it."

This chapter counts as last night's, because I wrote a version I wasn't satisfied with, deleted most of it, so it was delayed until noon today to post.