Chapter 34: Claw Marks

This elderly female director appeared to be around sixty years old, with sharp features and bright eyes; a few wrinkles marked the corners of her eyes and her cheeks, giving her a stern yet pleasant countenance.

She wore a dark brown wool coat, her faded blonde hair neatly combed back, looking quite capable, and was now smiling as she looked at Lin Yun.

A Westerner?

Lin Yun formed some guesses in his heart but did not speak them. Instead, he nodded calmly in greeting: "Hello, Director, may I ask how I should address you?"

"Just call me Moss; titles are merely empty names."

The woman spoke thus, her tone calm: "Please sit; I believe we will have much in common."

Following her words, Lin Yun sat in the chair before the desk, exhaled, and looked up to say: "I came here today for no other reason than to obtain the truth."

"The Special Bureau holds many truths unknown to the public; I wonder which one you need?"

Moss gestured with one hand in a 'please' motion: "Perhaps we can first discuss your situation?"

"Your Bureau should already be aware of my situation; I will not elaborate further on some details."

Lin Yun nodded, appropriately making his tone sound a bit more nervous, then cut straight to the point: "At the funeral two years ago, I met a young woman who told me that my wife was actually a magical girl."

"After that, I began sorting through my wife's belongings and found a secret diary among them, which indeed recorded her life as a magical girl. Moreover, according to what was recorded in that diary, she had actually sensed certain hidden dangers before her death."

This statement was one-third true and seven-tenths false; only the information he possessed was true, while the path by which he obtained it was entirely fabricated. To prevent the other party from suspecting his words, Lin Yun also tried to align his words and deeds, maintaining eye contact with Moss to prove the sincerity in his speech.

"I am just an ordinary person; facing such supernatural existence, I can do nothing but treat it as a sudden misfortune. Even knowing her death had another cause, I was powerless to investigate. The only thing I could ultimately do was follow her dying wish and raise our child well."

He stared tightly into Moss's eyes: "It's just... you already know; I inadvertently noticed that even my child has become a magical girl."

"My wife died because she became a magical girl; what about my child? I cannot predict her future fate. If something unexpected happens to her as well... I'm sorry, just thinking of such a future makes me feel suffocated."

"So I must ask you; I feel I have the right to know: who is the murderer? And, can you protect my daughter?"

After finishing this string of words, he took a long breath and lowered his eyes: "Sorry, my emotions may be a bit agitated."

He did not expect to deceive the other party entirely with lies, so most of these words were genuine feelings. The only difference was that the real him did not believe the Special Bureau could protect his daughter and had long chosen to take action himself.

"... I am very sorry to make you relive those painful old memories."

After listening to his statement, Moss closed her eyes, pondered for a moment, then spoke: "As for the murderer who killed your wife that you mentioned, that is actually the reason I am meeting you alone. Mr. Lin Yun, husband of Miss Ying."

"Why?" Lin Yun sensed the special meaning in her words.

Moss kept her eyes closed, her expression somewhat serious: "Because this is merely my own speculation, and it is not convenient to speak aloud outside of private settings. For the outside world, especially within the Special Bureau, the following remarks can be said to go against our purpose and ideals."

"What do you mean?" Lin Yun's gaze tightened slightly.

Opening her eyes, Moss interlaced her hands on the desk, fingers clasped: "... Mr. Lin Yun, do you think that all magical girls in this world represent justice and fight to protect people?"

"... Is that not so?"

Her words made Lin Yun pause, raising a bit of alertness in his heart: "If magical girls did not stand up, ordinary people would far from be able to live so easily."

Although he refuted verbally, regarding Moss's question, he held another answer in his heart. It's just that "Lin Yun" had no reason to know it.

"I wish it were so; the Special Bureau was established for precisely that reason, but obviously, the facts are not so."

Moss, doubting nothing, looked straight at Lin Yun: "Magical girls fight for protection, mainly due to emotional biases brought by their real social relationships, and more importantly, due to the management and constraints of the nation. In fact, if a magical girl abandons morality and conscience and dares to confront the nation, it is entirely feasible for her to inflict this power of harm upon humans, or even upon their own comrades."

"... Unbelievable." Lin Yun agreed thus.

"Yes, unbelievable, but very reasonable."

Moss nodded: "And precisely because of this, among magical girls, there are rebels, even defectors."

"Breaking free from the constraints of the Magical Nation, using this power to do evil, harm others, seize power, and commit wickedness without restraint—such magical girls do exist."

"In recent years, there has even been a group of magical girls gathering together, opposing the nation in the dark while brewing conspiracies for certain goals. For some reason, they can even walk alongside the Ravaged Beasts; they are no, they are even more dangerous than the Ravaged Beasts; they are an existence that must be avoided."

"And based on certain characteristics and their self-proclaimed name, this group of defector magical girls is called 'Claw Marks'."

Only this sentence made Lin Yun feel surprise in his heart.

What Moss said before, he actually knew; it is true that the Magical Nation has defector magical girls, but as far as he knows, such magical girls are marked as wanted by the nation, mostly pursued and arrested by investigation teams, with very few successful defections.

As for a number large enough to form an organization, or even walking alongside Ravaged Beasts, that was unheard of. "Claw Marks" was a term he had never heard before. He never knew such a group existed.

So he appropriately showed confusion and pursued the question: "My wife's diary never mentioned this name."

Moss shook her head: "Because their appearance is a matter of recent years; even I only learned of them by some coincidence. It is quite normal that Miss Ying's early diaries did not record it."

"You mean, my wife's death is likely..." Lin Yun frowned.

"I believe Miss Ying's death should be related to the Claw Marks, because according to her contact, Miss Ying was a magical girl who had fought for many years and possessed great strength. Theoretically, if a Ravaged Beast appeared that she could not defeat, such a Ravaged Beast would have already destroyed Fang Ting City."

The words spoken by Moss, Lin Yun understood better than anyone.

As a magical girl, Anya's strength was sufficient; resolving ordinary Ravaged Beasts was effortless for her, and she often went out alone; otherwise, she could not have lightly guarded Fang Ting City for over twenty years.

And the current strange state of Fang Ting City, if truly caused by this group of magical girls named "Claw Marks," could all receive corresponding explanations.

It's just that there were still some things he did not understand, such as the present moment.

"Then, why do you tell me these things?"

Looking at Moss, Lin Yun asked slowly: "If speaking these things truly carries risk, why tell me, an ordinary person?"

"... I said we would have many common topics. Because seeing you, I cannot help but recall my former self."

Moss's face remained kind, yet her words carried an unspeakable loneliness:

"My daughter, while she was still alive, was also a magical girl."