Chapter 148: Physical Examination

"The inspection report is out."

In the private laboratory of Emerald, in the suburbs of Fang Ting City.

A round fairy doll hopped down from beside the healing bed, holding a small mirror in its paws, upon which a string of runes was listed. It walked casually before Senior Cuique and said lazily:

"Hmm, how to put it, the situation seems even more complex than I previously surmised."

"More complex than before? Then what state is she in right now?" Senior Cuique asked in a deep voice, frowning and looking toward the healing bed not far away. Lying on the bed was none other than Bai Jingxuan, who had just been brought over.

Several hours had passed since the sudden incident at Lakeside Spring. After the battle, Lin Yun, in his capacity as Director, notified other combat personnel of the Special Strategy Bureau, arranged for the wounded and the dead on the battlefield, and then brought Bai Jingxuan to Emerald's laboratory.

The purpose of the examination was naturally to clarify what that strange black-skirt form was.

Senior Cuique had never seen Bai Jingxuan in that form before; not only had her clothing and appearance changed, but even her personality and magic power differed from her usual state.

If she were to say where she had seen a similar image, it would probably trace back several months to the battle with the rebellious magical girl "Sparrow" from "Claw Mark."

At that time, Sparrow had used a combat state she called "Half-Beast Form," causing half her body to be covered in yellow-and-black patterns. At that time, the appearance of her clothing manifested on her body did indeed bear some resemblance to Bai Jingxuan's previous state.

This made Senior Cuique unable to help recalling the words Emerald had told her before: Bai Jingxuan might be considered a natural "Claw Mark."

"You remembered what I told you and brought this child to me at the first opportunity; that was the right thing to do. In fact, the definition I gave you before may not be accurate."

As if guessing what Senior Cuique was thinking, Emerald manipulated the doll to lift the mirror and handed the mirror surface before Senior Cuique:

"This child is indeed a Deviator, but not a 'magical girl deviating toward a Beast,' but rather a 'Beast deviating toward a magical girl.' In other words, if we define it by the base color of magic power, she is not a magical girl who has mastered Beast power, but a Beast whose form and power manifestation are similar to a magical girl."

"... Is there any difference between the two?" Senior Cuique's frown tightened further.

"The difference is huge, youngster. This means the essence of life is different."

The doll shook its head: "A human who can imitate a wolf's howl, and a wolf that can speak human language. Even if they can communicate with each other, would you feel these two are similar lives?"

Senior Cuique opened her mouth, but ultimately remained silent.

"Yes, it seems you understand too."

Seeing Senior Cuique's reaction, Emerald sighed as well: "Among humans, there seems to be an old saying: 'Those not of my kind must have different hearts.' The Beast population is humanity's and magical girls' natural enemy; between them, one could say they are irreconcilable. And if defined by the nature of magic power, that child is actually a Beast that accidentally stole magical girl power, an infinitely dangerous enemy."

"... I do not accept such a statement. She is not an enemy; she has not harmed any innocent people."

Senior Cuique looked seriously at the doll before her: "On the contrary, she has already saved many civilians as a magical girl."

"Calm down, youngster. I am not saying she has already become our enemy."

The doll withdrew the mirror from its hand: "I am simply telling you what thoughts would arise when an outsider unaware of the inside story discovers this child's identity."

"You can try changing your perspective. If you did not know this child, and you did not know her nature. When you learn that a stranger is actually a Beast using magical girl power, what would you think?"

"Believe me, the attitude of most people would be alienation and vigilance; a minority would directly hold hostility because of this."

Senior Cuique could not refute Emerald's words. She knew this was very likely the truth.

"Then, why is it like this?"

She could only lower her gaze, somewhat puzzled: "Why is this child's magic power like this?"

"To speak the truth, I do not know either. But that does not prevent me from offering some guesses."

Emerald spoke slowly: "I once heard similar rumors, so the most likely guess is: this is the work of Black Ash Dawn."

"... Them again?"

"Of course it's them again. Besides them and Claw Mark, who else in this world spends every day tinkering with Beast power?"

The doll spread its paws somewhat comically: "I should have told you, although Black Ash Dawn is an organization that only grew strong in the last twenty years, it was not established only twenty years ago; its predecessor existed in the Interstice long ago."

"About a hundred years ago, I heard an Interstice person say, 'Apostles'—oh, that was the old name for these people of Black Ash Dawn, anyway—they were tinkering with some very fresh things. They seemed unsatisfied with borrowing Beast power, with the model of utilizing Beast power; they wanted to go a step further—to create humans who naturally possess the magical nature of Beasts."

"And such desire gave birth to something called the 'Saint-Making Project'."

The doll pointed to the research table not far away: "I do not know the specific content and actual operations, after all, these guys were like cockroaches before, only hiding in dark corners playing disgusting tricks. But some terms from this project inevitably leaked onto my data table."

"...'Inevitably,' oh, I see."

Senior Cuique squinted and nodded, classifying this word in her mind under the same category as 'noble and beautiful' in Emerald's mouth: "So, what kind of terms were they?"

She did not question the authenticity of this information, because she had already heard the term "Saint-Making Project" from others' mouths.

【From the moment the Saint-Making Project succeeded and the Holy Son descended, we all had no other choice.】

These were the exact words spoken by Moses in the early morning of that Full Moon Festival night.

At that time, Senior Cuique had not understood the meaning of this sentence; the two were still in a life-and-death struggle, and there was no time for her to think carefully. Unexpectedly, half a month later, she heard the same words again here from Emerald.

—"'Holy Son,' 'Beast Son,' 'Sacrifice Son'."

Emerald recited in a voice without inflection: "No specific definition, no related description, not even a single example; just these few lonely words. But, just seeing the correspondence between these few words, one can probably associate something."

"Holy" and "Beast," these two characters seem highly bound and associated in the cognition of Black Ash Dawn. And the "Sacrifice" in the term "Sacrifice Son" would naturally make people associate with the sacrificial acts those scum have been carrying out in secret, thereby smelling a strong scent of blood from it.

"Your meaning is that Bo Xue... this child, is an associate of this so-called project?"

Senior Cuique asked in confusion: "But, from the data I have learned, this child should have no connection with Black Ash Dawn. Before this, she was also just an innocent orphan."

"On this matter, you might have to ask her yourself."

Emerald pointed to Bai Jingxuan sleeping on the healing bed: "If the matter is truly as you say, that she underwent such a change during the process of fighting Black Ash Dawn. Then the greatest possibility is that she learned something from those people."

Emerald's words made Senior Cuique recall the pupal-stage Beast, or rather the Beast corpse, she saw on the battlefield before arriving at the laboratory. A normal pupal-stage Beast could not leave its nest and appear there alone, so that Beast was most likely a Beast-Transformer of Black Ash Dawn.

The opponent did not hesitate to use a hidden agent within the Special Strategy Bureau, just to try to contact Bai Jingxuan at this time point, presumably to know certain truths. Unfortunately, now only a living Beast corpse remains; it is unlikely to provide any effective information.

"In any case, the result of the examination is this: this child's current state is not some 'abnormality.' Rather, this is the appearance she should manifest, so you also do not need to worry about her body suffering any burden or harm."

Closing its paws and patting them lightly, the doll turned around and returned to the side of the healing bed: "Rather than worrying here about whether this child has any abnormalities, you should think more about what you should do next."

"What I should do myself...?"

Senior Cuique repeated this sentence thoughtfully: "Then, do you have any suggestions?"

"Do you want the suggestion of the Gem Scepter, or the personal suggestion of the magical girl Emerald?"

"What would the Gem Scepter suggest?"

"It would suggest you directly crush the unstable factor in the cradle. Kill this child, or send her to the Research Institute as material for future research."

Emerald's voice sounded casual: "No one can guarantee this girl will not go astray in the future, walking the same path as those traitors of Claw Mark. And if she is allowed to grow up, she will undoubtedly be more dangerous than those people."

"That is indeed a very gem-staff suggestion," Senior Cuique nodded calmly. "Then what about a suggestion with a bit more humanity?"

"It isn't a particularly humane suggestion—it's merely the basic empathy an elder owes to her junior magical girls."

The puppet manipulation ceased its healing bed's operation; the emerald green voice, usually languid, carried rare seriousness:

"If you truly wish for this child to walk the right path, you may have to work harder yourself, investing more energy into her education and guidance."

"And this will inevitably be a path filled with hardship. The residual beast's magic will continuously influence the child's thought patterns, making her accustomed to bloodshed and killing; beyond that, the outside world will inevitably regard her with caution and suspicion, even misunderstanding."

"I do not consider this suggestion 'humane,' because it would be profoundly unfair to you. You must carefully consider whether you truly need to do this for this child."

"Or rather—do you still have the capacity to do this for her, young one?"

—Do I still have the capacity?

Senior Cuique pondered silently. The answer to this question required no deep deliberation—it would inevitably be no.

Grandmother Emerald's words sounded harsh, even cruel, yet each one was a direct challenge, forcing Senior Cuique to reflect seriously.

Though still under a misunderstanding, she already had a daughter to raise; furthermore, guiding three junior magical girls had already drained her greatly; the Strange Strategy Bureau was now in ruins, and as director, she could not slack off in her efforts to make Fang Ting City safer; next year's certification exam was approaching, requiring substantial preparation.

If she were to deeply educate and guide Bai Jingxuan, she would inevitably invest even more time and energy into her, leaving less for all other duties.

But the standard for judging this question was not her own "capacity."

Whenever Senior Cuique recalled Bai Jingxuan's gaze—wearing the black dress, looking at her with expectation, yearning for acknowledgment—such rational calculations became trivial details.

Only I can do this, she told herself.

It was not self-delusion; she could clearly sense that whenever Bai Jingxuan's magic revealed its beastly side, her connection to "humanity" had become vanishingly faint.

She had lost her parents, lost her ideals; the magical girl who saved her had died in an accident; her identity as a "magical girl" hung by a thread. Bai Jingxuan's ties to her human side were nearly gone, like a kite with its string severed, ready to drift into an unknown distance.

At that moment, Senior Cuique could do only one thing: become that "kite string." She answered Bai Jingxuan's hope, accepting the role of "mother."

This might temporarily recall Bai Jingxuan and barely maintain her connection to "humanity," but there were side effects: if Senior Cuique failed to sustain this "kite string," this final bond would vanish.

In other words, before Bai Jingxuan could establish new connections, Senior Cuique was the only one who could guide this child. Whether the child walked the right path or veered into error would be intimately tied to her.

What she was contemplating was no longer "whether to do it," but "how to do it."

Yet this question had no standard answer; mere speculation could yield no meaningful conclusion. Everything must first be grounded in action.

After bidding farewell to Grandmother Emerald and leaving the research institute with Bai Jingxuan, Senior Cuique loaded the girl into the car and drove home.

It was evening; the dim golden sunlight streamed through the windshield into the car. Bai Jingxuan, who had been in deep slumber, awoke on the sun-drenched backseat, gazing around in confusion, then saw Senior Cuique in the front through the rearview mirror.

"Teacher?"

She called out hesitantly, then, as if recalling something, asked strangely: "What's happening to me now?"

"You fell asleep, so I drove you home," Senior Cuique explained calmly.

"I fell asleep?"

Bai Jingxuan instinctively looked at her hands, her expression dazed: "I remember my hands grew claws? I think I defeated the bad guys and saved everyone from the Strange Strategy Bureau? Were all those... just dreams?"

"Not dreams. All of it was real."

Senior Cuique's voice was cool yet gentle: "You just passed out at the end. You did well. I'm proud of you."

"It was all real?"

Bai Jingxuan paused slightly, then blinked, hesitating:

"Then I remember—I called you 'Mom,' didn't I? And you... you... acknowledged it?"

Silence filled the car.

The honking of cars outside the windows continued, yet all sound was sealed away, dividing the space into two worlds.

"... Yes. It wasn't a dream."

Senior Cuique gripped the steering wheel, gazing ahead at the traffic. After a long silence, her expression hardened with resolve as she spoke seriously:

"You're right. From now on, I'll be your mother. Bo Xue... no, Xiao Xuan."

This was the first time, in her magical girl form, that she had abandoned the codename and called Bai Jingxuan by her real name. After speaking, she instinctively glanced at the rearview mirror, wondering if the girl would accept this claim.

But she had not expected what she saw in the mirror: the girl's smile.

A smile she had never once seen on the child's face since meeting her.

Not a dutiful, obedient smile, nor the instinctive wild laughter of battle—but a true, childlike joy, as if something genuinely wonderful had just happened.

(End of Chapter)