Chapter 82: Wang Tengfei

Wang Tengfei grabbed his coat and left the office building, jogging toward the direction where deep blue light flickered.

At forty years old, compounded by years of sedentary work and social engagements, his physique and stamina no longer supported running like a young man; after only a few hundred meters, he was already panting heavily.

Judging by his frantic sprinting posture, no ordinary person could imagine that this middle-aged man had once been a sprinting star on his university track team.

In fact, even Wang Tengfei himself had almost forgotten.

After graduating from university and entering society, relying on family connections to smooth his path, he climbed the ranks within the Gao Sheng chain group, and before turning forty, he had already secured the position of branch general manager; in the eyes of others, he was successful.

In terms of status, he would likely be promoted to headquarters in the future, perhaps even securing a key management position there; in terms of wealth, even without counting his elders' assets, his personal fortune was considered affluent among the middle class, and it would surely grow even richer in the future.

Was such a life successful? Of course, it was successful.

But humans are always greedy, or rather, always longing for what they have never possessed or have lost.

For instance, his own youth.

Memories of youth were like a treasure box; the contents inside might be insignificant to him now, but whenever he took them out to examine and play with them carefully, he always found the purest and most simple joy.

And as he grew older and various minor ailments began to appear in his body, the frequency with which he missed his youth increased.

But too much time had already passed.

Apart from some unforgettable memories, his recollection of his younger self had gradually become blurred.

What did he like back then? What was he thinking about? What did he want? What was he truly pursuing? He still vaguely remembered some answers, but for others, even he could no longer say.

But among the things he remembered, there were always a few streaks of color in the blue sky.

That was pink, blue, purple, orange... the colors belonging to the sky of Fang Ting City, the colors belonging to the Magical Girls.

The young Wang Tengfei was a fervent fan of Magical Girls.

Among them, the one he especially admired was that blue silhouette which had saved him during a Beast attack, dispersed the crowd, and left only the back of its head behind.

This streak of blue had disappeared at some unknown time while he was still young.

Whether on television, in print news, or online, no one had seen that blue silhouette again.

Regarding the disappearance of such a Magical Girl, people had made various guesses and rumors, but none were confirmed, and no one knew the truth.

Those who loved that Magical Girl, those who loved Cornflower, from a certain day on, never saw Cornflower again.

Wang Tengfei was the same.

From initial confusion, to subsequent worry and anxiety, and finally to sadness and helplessness; many years passed, circumstances changed, and this emotion had faded into only a faint nostalgia.

It had faded so much that only that streak of blue remained in the depths of his heart, yet he no longer deliberately recalled it.

So, when a blue hue almost identical to his memory appeared in the corner of his vision, he even began to doubt his own eyes.

Could it be her? Is it really her?

Carrying emotions he himself could not distinguish, following the blue and black trajectory in the sky, he ran toward the end of the light.

Along the way, he saw damaged roads, displaced crowds, and buildings covered and protected by blue magical threads; that premonition grew stronger and stronger.

This premonition was finally confirmed the moment he finally approached the scene.

Like an endless source, blue magical energy scattered wildly, surging like waves, bursting with dazzling light. The radiating light was even somewhat blinding, making it impossible to see the figures within.

Only a black figure struggled to flee amidst the waves of magic.

—"What kind of joke is this!"

Being chased by what seemed like endless threads, Sparrow darted frantically among the buildings; even adjusting her magical output to the maximum and flying at her fastest speed, she could not escape the blue wave of magic behind her.

And within that wave, a small figure shimmering with blue light followed closely behind with a rather light posture.

"Such magic, this amount of magic..."

Waving the magical gear in her hand to destroy a few threads about to wrap around her ankles, Sparrow shouted in some shock and anger: "Are you playing with me!"

Behind her, Senior Cuique, whose body radiated blue light, pursued silently without answering her.

As the distance between the two grew shorter, feeling the timing was ripe, Senior Cuique reached out, grabbed a few threads, and slowly pulled them tight while flying at high speed; accompanied by the wave of threads, she whispered:

"Masterpiece, Number One, Gladius."

The surrounding threads began to hum.

Within the wave, guided by Senior Cuique, they dispersed and converged; hollow blades condensed from magical threads detached from them and floated in the air.

Then, the wave of threads became a wave of blades.

This technique, Senior Cuique had used against a Pupa-stage Remnant Beast in the sewer; even then, she had only unleashed it for the final blow, killing the target in a single strike.

Now, having mobilized more and stronger magic, using the same technique naturally produced a far more fierce momentum.

"Cornflower—"

Seeing countless Masterpiece blades surging toward her, Sparrow finally stopped fleeing and turned to face Senior Cuique; screaming and roaring, she spread her black magical wings, and the feathers on the wings burst forth from within like blades, facing the current of blue blades head-on.

The black blades and blue blades crossed in the air; after a brief resistance, they were quickly annihilated; the impact and confrontation of the dual-colored magical blade flows, accompanied by Sparrow's shrill cries, turned into a one-sided crushing.

The black magic belonging to Sparrow, even with its powerful corrosive ability, ultimately scattered.

Like a bird in the sky struck by a shotgun, the black magical wings scattered, and like an announcement of the battle's end, turned into feathers drifting across the sky.

The blue magical current extinguished the last trace of black, slowly receded, and a figure fell from mid-air, collapsing helplessly onto the ground.

That was a woman who appeared to be in her twenties.

The woman looked quite thin, wearing a simple set of home clothes; she looked like a passerby who had come out for a walk from home, and now lay helplessly, having lost consciousness.

Without a doubt, this woman was Sparrow's true form.

After a Magical Girl is defeated, unless her true form is completely destroyed, she will not die. Even if the injuries sustained after transformation are severe, as long as the true form remains unharmed, she will eventually recover with the passage of time.

As she lay on the ground unable to rise, the blue figure that had been chasing her finally stopped, then descended from the air, landing lightly and elegantly on the ground with both feet.