Chapter 7: Shadows in the Park

Gripping her magic wand tightly, the magical girl with golden twin tails hovered high in the air, gazing down at the wetland forest beneath the night veil.

The park, which was lush and enchanting, filled with natural beauty during the day, now resembled the gaping maw of a predator in the darkness, waiting for prey to walk inside.

This faint aura of danger made her back feel cold, and she couldn't help but frown.

"Xiaolu, I have a bad feeling about this."

A voice carrying a grave tone sounded beside her ear.

The one who spoke was a peculiar creature that looked like a young cat; it was entirely pink, covered in fur, and had a pair of small wings on its back, reminiscent of a fairy from a fairy tale.

The fairy flew from her side to the girl's back, its face filled with worry: "Although it's very faint, the residual magic power in the surroundings is making my fur stand on end. I'm afraid the enemy this time is very dangerous."

"……You're right, I can feel it too."

The magical girl, or rather Lin Xiaolu, tried hard to suppress the timidity in her heart, staring straight at the woods in the park below: "Although I can't put my finger on it, I also feel it's extremely dangerous."

However, despite saying that, she did not stop her movements. Waving the magic wand in her hand, she slowly descended onto the park's lawn and briefly scouted the surrounding enemy situation to ensure their safety.

This operation yielded nothing, but that faint sense of unease still lingered in her heart.

"Moke, can you still sense the enemy's location?"

She asked the pink fairy for help.

The fairy called "Moke" closed its eyes, remained silent for a moment, and then suddenly opened them: "It's no good. I could lock onto the enemy being in this park before we landed, but now I can't feel its specific position."

Lin Xiaolu was stunned: "Has there ever been a situation like this before?"

"Never seen one."

Moke looked helpless: "I should have told you before, but as a fairy, this is my first time in the material world, so there are many things I don't understand."

"Moke…… you're so useless."

"Saying such hurtful things to a fairy, I'm going to get angry!"

The magical girl and the fairy slowly moved forward on the lawn of the wetland park, while paying attention to any clues in the surroundings. However, nearly ten minutes passed, and they had already approached the central area of the park, yet they still hadn't discovered anything.

Moke, floating in the air, couldn't help but speak up again: "Xiaolu, should we retreat first?"

The magical girl asked in confusion: "Why?"

Moke explained: "I just feel that the Remnant Beast this time is not a simple enemy. The two of us might not be a match for it. It would be safer to go back and get more information and seek help from the adults at the Strategic Bureau."

"Ah? But asking adults for help, isn't that behavior a bit inconsistent with the identity of a magical girl?"

"Now is not the time to be willful in such a strange place!"

"Mm…… I understand."

The chill that refused to dissipate from her back made Lin Xiaolu stop insisting, and she quickly followed the fairy's suggestion: "Let's leave if we haven't found anything by the time we reach the center of the park."

Moke nodded repeatedly in agreement: "Hurry up then!"

They agreed that if they reached the center of the park and still hadn't encountered the enemy, they would head straight back.

Walking across the grass, it wasn't long before the outlines of the pavilions and waterside structures in the center of the park appeared in Lin Xiaolu's eyes. Seeing that she had reached her destination, Lin Xiaolu braced herself and strode forward.

"Still don't see the Remnant Beast."

The girl blinked and tilted her head to look to the side: "Moke, can you sense anything now?"

What met her eyes was a void.

The fairy that should have been flying beside her had disappeared without a trace.

"……Moke?"

Only the magical girl's lonely voice remained, locked within the park.

Realizing that things were beginning to spiral out of her control, Lin Xiaolu finally started to feel nervous and began searching everywhere for her partner.

"Moke?"

The dense woods became the perfect sound insulator, cutting her voice off from the outside world.

Just like that, walking two steps with a sense of urgency, Lin Xiaolu suddenly heard a rustling sound from the bushes nearby.

Her heart rate spiked, and the magical girl immediately turned her gaze in that direction. After a flurry of activity, she took a combat stance and shouted, somewhat bluffing:

"Who is it? Come out!"

The response was a very faint voice: "Quick……"

"What?"

"Run! Xiaolu!"

This time, the magical girl heard it clearly.

And as she heard the sound from not far away, a blurry pink shadow flew over from the distance and crashed into her arms.

The one who appeared was her partner, Moke, who had suddenly vanished just moments ago.

However, compared to how it looked unscathed a few minutes ago, Moke was now covered in wounds, even missing one of the wings on its back, with deep gashes across its body. Bursts of pink glowing particles drifted incessantly from the wounds, making it look very disheveled.

Yet, Moke couldn't care about its own injuries and opened its mouth to shout: "Run, this Remnant Beast……"

——"Grrrrrrrrr."

A roar like that of a wild beast came from the shadows between the trees not far away.

Without giving Moke time to continue, a terrifying monster walked out from the darkness. Its sharp claws dug deep into the soil beneath its feet, and it appeared before Lin Xiaolu without making a single sound.

"Gurgle-gurgle-gurgle, roar……"

Without a doubt, this was a Remnant Beast.

Because it was impossible for any animal in the park to have a body over 4 meters tall, let alone two heads.

Unknown liquid remained on its dark purple fur, its green-glowing eyes held only the brutal desire to slaughter, and strange tubular structures protruded from its body, connecting various parts to its two giant, drooling heads.

Just standing there was enough to make one feel terrified.

For Lin Xiaolu, as a magical girl, this should have been an impossible thing.

After all, a magical girl has no reason to be afraid of a Remnant Beast.

She obtained this power to fight Remnant Beasts and protect others from harm; why should she feel fear toward an enemy that should be eradicated?

Lin Xiaolu didn't understand, but she couldn't suppress the negative thoughts in her heart.

Could she actually lose?

The moment this thought appeared, it was interrupted by an external voice:

——"Xiaolu!"

Her partner's voice sounded in her ear again: "Run quickly!"

It was Moke, Moke was telling her to run.

At this moment, she suddenly remembered the action she should take most—survival.

Raising the magic wand in her hand, the air around the girl surged, and then, with a whistling sound, she shot into the sky. She had entered the park by flying from the air, so naturally, it would be safer to escape via the aerial route.

As Lin Xiaolu thought this, she discovered that the Remnant Beast on the ground showed no reaction. Even though she chose to fly away, it just stood quietly in place, watching everything with its eerie green-glowing eyes.

Was there some kind of trap?

Before Lin Xiaolu could think it through, she realized that her upward flight had come to a halt.

In its place was a strong sense of compression coming from behind.

The injured fairy beside her asked with difficulty: "What's wrong? Xiaolu?"

Clearly, it was confused by her partner's sudden stop in fleeing.

Noticing the same confusion and panic on her face, it couldn't help but raise its claw to touch the space above their heads, only to feel a sense of repulsion before its claw was bounced back.

"Magic barrier……"

This time, even the fairy's face showed a look of despair: "It's over, this was a trap from the very beginning!"

In an instant, the spirits of both the magical girl and the fairy plummeted to freezing point.

However, unlike the fairy, Lin Xiaolu still retained some combat awareness, so she kept her eyes fixed on the Remnant Beast below in her field of vision.

What chilled her heart the most wasn't that her escape was blocked, but the expression revealed on the Remnant Beast's hideous face after she stopped.

Can a Remnant Beast make such a human-like expression?

She thought this, but suddenly felt her vision blur, and where her gaze landed, the enemy had already vanished.

"——Xiaolu!"

And the next moment, amidst the fairy's mournful cry, she received her answer.

The Remnant Beast's sharp claws had already reached her throat.

The last thing reflected in her eyes was that cruel and mocking grin, which theoretically should not appear on the face of a Remnant Beast.