Chapter 208

"... Hmm?"

Asai Enka, who was currently locked in combat with the Wren, clearly did not expect Senior Cuique to say this, so she was genuinely stunned: "Now?"

"It is now. We do not have ample time. We must go all out."

Releasing the hand covering her chest, Senior Cuique nodded: "Do not worry about the opponent's abilities. I have a rough idea in my mind, but I need you and Chaoyan to help me verify it."

After saying this, she could not help but frown. To repair the damage to her body, she could feel her magic draining rapidly, and the burden on her soul made her feel uncomfortable all over, but since they were still in the midst of battle, she had to suppress this sensation.

"What?" Hearing her words, Hong Siyu, standing nearby, also curiously leaned in.

"... Hit her. No matter what kind of attack, no matter what method, as long as you hit her, it will do."

Looking at the Wren not far away, Senior Cuique stated with great certainty: "I am ninety percent sure that the essence of her ability is hidden within this information."

"Hit her and that's it?" Hong Siyu looked at Senior Cuique's expression, confirmed she was serious, then looked at the Wren standing not far away, deep in thought.

"Are you sure?"

Taking advantage of the gap created when she was knocked back by the Wren, Asai Enka landed beside Senior Cuique: "If you really insist on saying that, then I will execute exactly as you say."

"I am sure." Senior Cuique likewise straightened her posture slightly: "Go ahead, Asai. Begin the counterattack."

Without asking another word, Asai Enka grinned.

Watching the Wren approach their group once more, she raised the wine glass in her hand with a rather elegant posture. Orange magic gathered in her other hand into a long-handled spoon, and then, she gently rotated it once along the inner wall of the glass.

"Margaret, Grand Bloom."

The surrounding sounds were cut off in an instant, and the resonant chanting became the sole melody. In a dim forest, it seemed as if a spotlight shone down from a high platform, enveloping a young girl in a yellow dance dress.

The wine glass in her hand multiplied as if by magic, stacking layer upon layer like a champagne tower. A counter appeared out of the void behind her, with countless bottles and jars neatly arranged within it, looking just like a liquor cabinet in a bar.

The young girl in the arena stood behind the counter like a bartender. As the counter unfolded, her dance dress transformed into an orange shirt and a black vest, and the long hair at the back of her head turned into a neat ponytail. Her movements were skilled; she shook the cocktail shaker that had appeared in her hands at some point, her wrists flipping dexterously, as if dancing a graceful dance.

The cocktail shaker made a crisp clinking sound in her hands. With every shake, the scenery around her became clearer, until with a "Bang," she lightly tapped the shaker on the table. With the aid of a bar spoon and a strainer, she poured the liquid into the glass. Then, she pushed this cocktail, completed in an instant, to the front of the counter.

"Welcome to, Discretionary Heat Drunkenness."

She made this declaration with a resonant voice; though it should have been a declaration of war, it sounded like a romantic invitation.

And all of this was Margaret's Grand Bloom. As she said with her own mouth, its name was "Discretionary Heat Drunkenness."

Margaret's Magic Gear itself was named "Passion," and its external form, just as it appeared, was a transparent high-stemmed wine glass.

The ability of this Magic Gear was to condense corresponding liquid magic into the glass based on Margaret's own emotions.

The effects of these liquid magics varied. Sometimes, drinking them could heal the user; sometimes, applying them to the body could enhance the user's perception; and at other times, they could be splashed out as weapons, producing a variety of magical attack effects.

And according to Margaret's own tests, the more stable her emotions were, the more the corresponding liquid magic in the glass could provide positive buffs; the more extreme her emotions were, the greater the lethality caused by the corresponding liquid magic.

Undoubtedly, this was a Magic Gear with very rich functions, capable of both attacking and defending, but it also had a huge flaw—its functions were tied to emotions, making it quite unstable.

When the Fang Ting City squad was first formed, Margaret almost dared not use her Magic Gear casually, because at that time, "Passion" was like drawing lots: using it on an enemy might cause damage, but it was more likely to become healing; using it on a teammate might provide a buff, but it could also become a backstab.

To control her Magic Gear so that its effects could be used stably in actual combat, Margaret spent a great deal of time researching how to control her emotions, buying a pile of books on methodologies of psychology, successology, and self-management, searching every day within them for the tricks to control emotions.

At the very beginning, her personality was actually far more flamboyant and confident than it is now; she always wore her likes, dislikes, joys, and angers on her face, and because she was too straightforward, she often said some very inappropriate things. Even Anya, a rather casual person, would occasionally feel helpless due to Asai Enka's unintentional remarks.

But later, with the research into relevant techniques and deliberate control, Asai Enka not only gained stronger control over her own emotions but also underwent a one-eighty-degree turn in her way of conducting herself. Specifically, she transformed from a straightforward person into someone quite reserved in expression.

She used to like direct self-praise, but later she liked subtle "Humblebrag" literature; she used to curse openly at things she disliked, but later she quite enjoyed being sarcastic. Although the underlying confidence in her personality had not changed, she made people feel as if she had become a different person.

Regarding Asai Enka's series of changes, the teammate at the time, Su Shengzi, evaluated it as "becoming a scumbag," and along with it, the Magic Gear with the somewhat ambiguous name "Passion" was also evaluated by her as a "Scumbag Magic Gear."

Whether this change was good or bad is aside from the point, but what was ultimately gained was Asai Enka's extremely high level of control over her own Magic Gear.

When a Magic Gear that can attack and defend, with many functions, can stably use the appropriate function in the needed situation, its utility is far more powerful than that of a Magic Gear with a single function.

Precisely because of this, in past joint operations of the Fang Ting City squad, Margaret was the one who acted as the lubricant. Whether in personality or ability, she could fill in the last piece of the puzzle at the squad's weak points.

All of this, when finally gathered together and underwent a further sublimation, became her current Grand Bloom—Discretionary Heat Drunkenness.

"This is... a bar?"

After a brief moment of confusion, the Wren quickly recognized the meaning of the furnishings before her. Having stayed in Fang Ting City for two months, she had gained an understanding of some concepts that had only recently appeared in the Eastern Hua State, no longer as confused as when she first arrived.

"What, are you planning to treat me to a drink?"

Slinging the knife in her hand onto her shoulder, she walked carelessly to Margaret's bar counter, reached out, and picked up the high-stemmed glass placed at the front: "But, I am used to drinking white liquor, so I'm afraid I won't be able to taste the quality of your foreign wine."

"It doesn't matter. If you come, you are a guest."

Margaret no longer paid attention to the wine glass held in the Wren's hand; instead, she moved two steps to the side, opened a phonograph on the other side of the bar counter.

A gentle and melodious jazz music immediately began to flow in this small world.

The melodious sound of the saxophone intertwined with the gentle melody of the piano, filling the gaps of the entire space like flowing water. The rhythm of the music was slow, yet carried a moving sense of beat, making people feel happy and relaxed, unconsciously wanting to nod or sway slightly along with the music.

And almost at the instant the music started, the surrounding forest was no longer a forest, and the cloudy sky was no longer the sky.

Soft, warm yellow lights illuminated the faces of everyone present. The empty ground had somehow turned into scattered and well-arranged tables and chairs. Walls that seemed to be made of solid wood wrapped around the surrounding space, and a faint scent of incense lingered at everyone's nose.

All the Magical Girls present, when they came to their senses, were already seated in their respective places, each holding a high-stemmed glass belonging to them.

Everyone's cup was already filled with wine, and the color of the wine in their hands was different for each person; the only distinction might be that the amount of liquid was not exactly the same.

For example, in Lin Xiaolu's hand was a four-colored cocktail that was almost overflowing; in Xia Liang's hand was a pure liquid, clear in color, but only half a cup full; in Bai Jingxuan's hand was a green liquid with black, constantly bubbling.

As for Senior Cuique, placed before her was a rather small wine glass. The liquid it held was white at the base and blue on the surface, looking as vast and beautiful as the sky. However, the wine in the cup was now only a thin layer, appearing almost dry.

Facing this scene, Senior Cuique's expression shifted slightly, but she quickly returned to her expressionless look, not showing any further action. Yet her reaction could not fool everyone; at the very least, Hong Siyu beside her widened her eyes at this moment.

Before anyone else could do anything, she took her cup and left her seat, sitting next to Senior Cuique. Then, without waiting for Senior Cuique to move, she raised her wine glass high, suddenly turned it sideways, and in an instant poured half of the wine in her cup into Senior Cuique's.

"You are..."

Senior Cuique widened her eyes slightly and immediately raised her hand to grab Hong Siyu's wrist, stopping her when Hong Siyu still wanted to continue pouring: "Stop. Don't do something foolish."

"The one doing something foolish is clearly the senior!"

Hong Siyu had no intention of letting go; she glared at Senior Cuique while continuing to try to pour wine: "Why, when you are already in this state, do you still pretend that nothing is wrong?"

"Because you could have asked about my situation first before making your own judgment."

Senior Cuique looked around and found that Lin Xiaolu was still surprised by the change in the surrounding environment and seemed not to have noticed the commotion on her side, so she lowered her voice and whispered to Hong Siyu: "Look at this cup of wine."

Only then did Hong Siyu have the time to pay attention to the changes in the wine glass before Senior Cuique, and then, she could not help but widen her eyes—

The purple-red liquid she poured was clearly more than half a cup, yet in Senior Cuique's wine glass, it had become a thin layer; though slightly more than the original deep blue liquid, it had not increased by much.

"Do you understand now?"

Sighing with some helplessness, Senior Cuique rolled her eyes at Hong Siyu: "My condition is indeed not great, but for a normal magical girl, it is not as terrible as you think; there is no need for you to do something that diminishes your own combat power."

As she spoke, she raised her hand and poured the wine Hong Siyu had poured back into the original container.

"... Senior."

At this moment, the previously stunned Hong Siyu finally spoke again.

"What is it?" Senior Cuique's gaze had already drifted toward the direction where Yuan was not far away, so she asked only casually.

"You are so amazing!" came Hong Siyu's slightly excited voice instead, along with that rather admiring look in her eyes.

"... Is now really the time for this?"

Gently pushing away Hong Siyu, who was about to embrace her, Senior Cuique gestured toward the direction where Yuan and Margaret were: "Pay close attention to the situation over there; once we enter the next phase, it will be the time for us to act together as well."

The rather peculiar scenery before their eyes was undoubtedly Margaret's Mirage Realm.

While displaying her own blooming, she also, with almost no reservation, brought her own Mirage Realm into use.

Lights, a bar counter, wine glasses, music, aromatherapy... If not for the fact that everyone had just been on the battlefield a moment ago, they would have thought this was a real bar.

And the owner of this bar, who was also the bartender, was naturally Margaret, standing behind the counter with a beaming smile.

Under her gaze, the cocktail cup that Yuan had taken underwent a rapid change in appearance—the originally clear yellow liquid gradually turned crimson and slightly blackened; moreover, the liquid, which had originally been of a single color, began to layer. In an instant, it became a dense, stacked mass of liquid layers, so numerous that one could not count how many there were.

"Oh? This is truly..."

Noticing the change in the cocktail in his hand, Yuan's expression first showed confusion, then realization; he nodded with interest: "An interesting Mirage Realm; the younger generation is formidable."

"No, it should be me who has had my eyes opened."

Margaret shook her head with a smile: "This is the first time I have seen someone's true form, after being manifested, take on such a form; the magic within it can actually have such a structure."

"So, you are using my wine to treat me?"

Gazing at the liquid in his own cup, Yuan grinned: "This is the first time I have encountered a tavern keeper so skilled at playing little tricks."

"It is the rule of the shop; if there is any discourtesy, please be understanding."

Margaret merely bowed slightly and responded with great elegance: "With this single cup of wine, you may enjoy it endlessly, never worrying about finishing it; however, as long as you are in the shop, please observe our shop's rules—"

"—No wastage allowed."