Scene.
“Xia Mo, let’s hurry… what are you doing?”
When Luo Shuangyue elbowed open Xia Mo’s bedroom door, she saw the girl in thin sleepwear standing by the half-open window, looking like she was about to jump.
“Shuangyue? Why are you…”
“There are monsters in the sky—we need to get to the basement, now.”
Before Xia Mo could explain, Luo Shuangyue grabbed her wrist and forcefully pulled her toward the door.
“With your condition, you still want to fight monsters? Just do what you’re told and take shelter!”
“Shuangyue, listen to me—I have something really important I need to do.”
“Something important? You mean jumping out the window?”
Luo Shuangyue shot a glance at Xia Mo, who looked conflicted, and continued dragging her toward the stairs.
“Monsters are scary, yes, but I know you’re not the kind of person who’d panic and jump from a building because of them.
“You’re hiding something from me—I know it. But I don’t care what it is. All I know is, I can’t let you do something stupid.” Luo Shuangyue’s sharp gaze pierced into Xia Mo, making her avert her eyes.
In that moment, Xia Mo wanted so badly to shout the truth to Luo Shuangyue—that she was a magical girl, and that fighting the monsters in the sky was her duty.
But then she remembered how Shuangyue usually felt about magical girls.
The words that had reached the tip of her tongue were forcefully swallowed back.
Shuangyue had always disliked magical girls.
If she found out about Xia Mo’s identity, their relationship… might be fractured beyond repair.
“Don’t say anything. Come with me—we’re going to take shelter!”
Luo Shuangyue turned and dragged Xia Mo toward the stairwell.
Just then, the ground beneath their feet began to shake violently.
The chaotic aura from the sky grew even more intense.
Boom!
The sound of fierce battle came from above.
The entire apartment building trembled like a small tree in a violent storm, on the verge of collapse.
The monster… had broken free!
“Those fools… Did they really think what they had could hold that thing down?”
The director’s irritated voice rang in Xia Mo’s ears.
Because of the monster’s surrounding interference field, normal communication methods no longer worked—he was using the magical communication channel only accessible between magical girls.
“Lily of the Valley can’t handle that monster alone. Even if Siam arrives, the two of them—both budding-level—can’t beat a general-ranked beast…”
“Tch… Rosemary, can you still fight?”
There was deep helplessness in the director’s voice.
Compared to other cities, Xinghai City had fewer magical girls, both in number and power.
The strongest one, Rosemary, was only at the budding level.
And now that Rosemary was injured, a single general-class monster was enough to leave the director utterly at a loss—forced to ask Xia Mo to fight, even though she was injured herself.
It was an unreasonable request.
“I can.” Xia Mo took a deep breath, looking at Luo Shuangyue with a hint of apology in her eyes.
In the face of responsibility, she had no choice.
“Shuangyue!”
She forcefully pulled her hand free from Luo Shuangyue’s grip.
The boyish-looking beauty turned and gave Xia Mo a look that was half confusion, half disappointment.
Seeing those silver-white eyes made Xia Mo’s heart clench with pain.
She knew that she might lose a friend who truly cared for her, who was willing to do anything for her.
But even so, she had no regrets about her decision.
“Shuangyue, I’ll tell you everything. But not now.”
Xia Mo looked Luo Shuangyue in the eyes and said each word with conviction.
“I have to do what I’m meant to do!”
With that, she turned and ran up the stairs without looking back, regardless of how Luo Shuangyue might react behind her.
From Luo Shuangyue’s perspective, all she could see was Xia Mo running upstairs without looking back.
After Xia Mo disappeared from sight, a faint violet light suddenly flashed upstairs.
Then, in her perception, she sensed a slightly weakened presence soaring into the sky.
“You hopeless idiot!” Luo Shuangyue punched the stair railing in frustration and growled angrily.
Even if Xia Mo hadn’t transformed to confront the enemy, she herself would have taken Xia Mo to a safe place and then transformed to take down that skyborne monster.
Her sister and her childhood friend were both here—was she supposed to place her hopes on those two baby-faced newbie magical girls?
The “Polar Night” organization didn’t get along with magical girls, but in a certain sense, they could be considered allies—at least when it came to fighting monsters.
Whenever a monster appeared in a populated area and was about to harm the city or innocent people, “Polar Night” never hesitated to take action.
“If I don’t break you into pieces again today, I’m not a Luo!”
Gray airflow transformed into butterflies, and a deathly aura spread through the narrow staircase, corroding the corridor walls until they were full of pits and cracks.
The Death Butterflies from the underworld unfurled their elegant wings and cast an indifferent gaze toward the sky.
***
“Senior Rosemary, how did you…”
Sensing the familiar presence behind her, Luo Shuangxing thought that the reinforcements the director had mentioned had finally arrived.
But the moment she turned and saw Rosemary’s condition, her heart sank.
Compared to a few days ago, Rosemary looked extremely pale, and the light from the pale purple gem at the tip of her wand had grown dim.
It was obvious her injuries hadn’t healed yet.
If she fought the monster in this condition, it might…
“Don’t get distracted—the monster is attacking!”
Taking a deep breath and suppressing the pain that throbbed in her abdomen, Rosemary unleashed a beam of violet light that deflected the monster’s claw just as it was about to strike Linglan.
Then, she calmly instructed her junior:
Unlike Linglan, who had only recently become a magical girl, Xia Mo was a seasoned fighter with three years of battle experience.
She had defeated so many mid-tier monsters that you couldn’t count them on two hands.
If she were at full strength, Xia Mo could probably keep the entire battle in the skies, preventing any damage to the buildings below.
But now, not only was she not at her peak—she was carrying old injuries.
“Linglan, distract the monster and give Rosemary an opening to attack. Remember—your safety comes first.”
“Understood!” Luo Shuangxing nodded firmly.
Her power was still too weak to threaten the monster directly; her only role now was to assist.
“All right.”
“Time is short—move!”
A beam of pure white light streaked across the sky.
The monster swung its massive claws and intercepted it.
Thanks to this attack, Linglan successfully drew the monster’s attention.
Mid-tier monsters had no intelligence—they would attack any creature that came near them.
And right now, Linglan was the closest one.
“Success!”