novelraw Chapter 141: The Secret of Full Bloom
Chapter 141: The Secret of Full Bloom
The terrifying gravity instantly annihilated all the Calamity Dragons ahead!
During the Blooming period, even just one.
Was already a lethal threat, but now, before Iris who had stepped into Full Bloom.
They were like lambs to the slaughter. The dragon breath was twisted and even refracted back within the gravity.
Their super-strong defense and regeneration abilities were decomposed by the gravity. All the Calamity Dragons were erased from the world in an instant.
Qingluán stared blankly at Iris. Her originally azure magical outfit had now turned a bluish-black.
The feeling she gave off now was like a massive black hole.
The bluish-black Magical Girl floated, glanced back once, then turned her head again.
Her eyes even seemed somewhat hollow. The warm smile that was once so comforting had completely vanished.
Even her pupils had lost all color, as if they had absorbed all light and emotion.Qingluán sensed a faint aura of decay emanating from her friend...
Just like the senior.
The Hidden Danger was instantly erased by the gravity, all its spatial passages crushed and destroyed by it.
Gravity converged in front of Iris, forming a massive black hole. The remaining Calamity Dragons flying in, even other Mirror Beasts, were instantly sucked into the black hole and pulverized.
Yet, apart from the Disaster Beasts, neither Qingluán nor Little White were pulled in. The black hole continued to expand, but only absorbed the Mirror Beasts...
But as the black hole grew, Iris's aura grew increasingly faint.
Qingluán struggled to crawl forward, looking at Iris floating in the air, staring blankly, and called out her name, "Iris!"
But she received no response. Iris seemed to have already lost consciousness.
She simply allowed the black hole around her to keep expanding.
"Speaking purely from potential, Iris's Full Bloom might not be as good as yours. It can't be helped. The burden is too heavy for her alone. But she was prepared for this."
Little White, half-sitting on the ground, just lightly swayed its tail and squinted its eyes. "If Little Qing achieved Full Bloom, you'd definitely be stronger than Iris. After all, Little Qing, you are the best flower I personally nurtured, bit by bit."
"Little White, why... why are you doing this...?"
Little White tilted its head slightly. "What are you talking about, Little Qing? Because you were going to die, and you weren't willing to achieve Full Bloom, so I found someone to replace you. Little Qing, you are my important partner. I can't just watch you die."
"That still shouldn't... that still shouldn't be Iris!"
"But, she volunteered." Little White said with a grievance. "She was willing to give her life to save you, to save everyone, to step into the realm of Full Bloom. She said she was the strongest Magical Girl and wouldn't die from Full Bloom."
"She said she wanted to make you smile, Little Qing. She's done it now. You should be happy for her. You should smile for her."
"How could I possibly smile!"
Qingluán grabbed her seed, transformed, and flew towards Iris, wanting to pull her back from that bottomless abyss.
Yet Iris, within the white hole, was continuously losing vitality and power, completely motionless.
Letting the power of Full Bloom spread wildly!
Qingying hadn't even gotten close before she was repelled. Although Iris's Full Bloom power didn't harm her, it prevented her from getting close.
She charged forward again. This time, the repulsion was even more terrifying.
Under the immense gravitational pressure, just circulating her mana brought unimaginable, excruciating pain to her body!
"[The Radiance That Forges Oneself]!"
Even without a card, she could use this reinforcement magic, causing white radiance to erupt from her body. Reinforced, Qingluán charged forward again like a madwoman!
Yet, after just one step, immense gravity pressed down on her. Qingying was instantly pressed into the ground, barely able to stand.
She raised her head, looking at the figure floating within the black hole, the friend who had saved her numerous times.
Her image was merging with that of her mother and her senior.
It seemed like nothing had changed.
A scene that had replayed countless times in her mind.
Once again, once again appearing in reality.
Qingluán forced herself up, frantically squeezing out mana. Within the gravity field, she stood up again, step by step, continuously reaching her hand out towards Iris.
Finally, half her leg was pressed into the ground. Stumbling and falling, Qingluán finally grew quiet.
Over and over, she clawed at the dirt on the ground, her fingers full of soil, her fingernails torn off, desperately grabbing at the earth, trying to crawl out!
"Don't waste your energy. She's already lost consciousness. The power to trigger any kind of miracle, to make any wish come true—that is a Full Bloom Magical Girl. But, whether it's magic or miracles, they all require a price."
Qingying stopped her hands, looking at this Little White who had grown up with her since childhood. That unfamiliar sense of coldness had never felt so intense.
Every day and night, by her side, eating together, sleeping together, going to school together, fighting together.
Never leaving her side, occupying almost half of her life, Little White...
The Incubator now revealed a gentle and happy smile. "If Little Qing feels sad, then you should achieve Full Bloom too. After Full Bloom, take on the price of Full Bloom for Iris."
"If it's Little Qing, perhaps you can change fate, save Iris, overturn everything before your eyes."
"The unavoidable price and withering—Little Qing, you just need to overturn them all. That way, Iris will surely be happy too."
"Or perhaps, even so, Little Qing will still hesitate? Always hesitating, that's why Little Qing, you always..."
"Let me achieve Full Bloom!" Qingluán's bloody, filthy hands grabbed her seed. "I want to achieve Full Bloom!"
The Incubator stood up and walked towards Qingluán. "Then close your eyes and make your wish to me. Let's trigger a miracle together, save that fool Iris. Granting the wishes of Magical Girls is our mission. This time, we can definitely..."
[Heavenly Tribulation Preparation Complete]
[Heaven and Earth Spirit-Locking Six-Nine Heavenly Thunder Locked On.]
[Foundation unstable, Perfection not reached, recklessly attempting to break the ultimate realm, heavenly punishment descends!]
Before the Incubator could finish speaking, a thick bolt of heavenly thunder descended from the sky! It pierced through the Heart Image Remnant and crashed down upon Iris!
The deep purple mana aura—there was no doubt it belonged to Miss Shion!
The terrifying heavenly thunder even dyed the black hole around Iris purple!
Qingying, who had just resolved herself to achieve Full Bloom, was stunned. Even the Incubator, after being sent tumbling several times by the thunder's impact, turned to look at the rolling heavenly thunder. Its pitch-black gaze seemed filled with disbelief.
"What is this..."
The first bolt of heavenly thunder dyed the black hole purple but failed to disperse it. Iris within remained like a deflating balloon, continuously losing vitality and power.
"As expected, still..."
Just as the Incubator was about to urge Qingying to achieve Full Bloom again, a second bolt of heavenly thunder crashed down!
This time, the black hole surrounding Iris immediately dispersed somewhat!
Followed by the third, the fourth...
An endless stream of heavenly thunder fell from the sky. The black hole around Iris was completely shattered by the strikes!
Qingluán licked her lips. The surge of emotions and resolve from moments ago had been thrown into chaos by these thunderbolts, leaving her somewhat dizzy.
She watched as the final bolt of thunder crashed down upon Iris, causing the blooming flower atop Iris's head to actually begin to contract!
Qingying had once seen the seed of her senior after Full Bloom. After blooming, it would gradually wither.
Once it finished withering, she would fall into eternal slumber.
But now, before her eyes, the blooming flower on Iris was contracting... or rather, receding!
It was turning back into a blue Miracle Seed!
[Heavenly Tribulation Mission: Strike Down Realm]
[Mission Complete]
[Undergoing Tribulation is common for immortals, young lady, please start over from the beginning.]
Qingying looked around and realized the voice was coming from a mirror nearby.
The Mirror Kingdom's system voice?
Looking at the girl who had fallen to the ground, her body now devoid of that aura of decay and life-draining, Qingluán finally snapped out of her shock.
Uncertain whether the emotion in her heart was relief, confusion, or the wild joy of surviving a calamity, Qingying ran over and picked Iris up.
Although directly struck by the purple mana lightning, Iris bore no injuries on her body.
The purple mana lightning had simply eliminated both the mana and magical outfit on her body, causing a direct mana fracture that led to the failure of Full Bloom?
No, it probably did something else that Qingluán didn't know about.
Was that Miss Shion's power?
She really could do anything...
Sensing Iris's Miracle Seed, the pure mana within had diminished significantly.
But more than that, there was residue.
Though Qingluán didn't know how to describe it, within the seed, there was a residue left after emotions were exhausted.
It was like sugarcane that had been chewed and then air-dried.
What exactly was this thing...
In her confusion, Little White suddenly jumped up from behind, landing on Iris's body.
"Ah, what a pity. It was just about to succeed."
Little White let out a sigh, then tilted its head. A milky white light began to glow from its body.
"As expected, the special individual, Magical Girl Shion, is very troublesome. To think she can even do something like this. A perfectly good Full Bloom was interrupted just like that. There's really no helping it."
As the milky white light glowed from Little White's body, Iris's Miracle Seed began to continuously flow power towards the milky white light.
Even Iris herself began to lose power and life once more...
Qingying grabbed Little White, holding it down firmly. "What exactly are you doing! Little White!"
The mana from her transformation gathered in her hands, obstructing the Incubator from continuing to drain Iris's power.
"I'm not doing anything. Just making her pay the price for the miracle. Isn't it strange to eat a meal without paying? Little Qing."
This time, Qingying finally stopped listening to the Incubator's nonsense. She spoke, word by word, "You... deceived Iris into achieving Full Bloom! And you still want to kill her, is that it!"
"I didn't deceive her. I told her the price of Full Bloom. She agreed. It was a fair transaction. I won't kill her either. I'm just making her pay the price for the miracle. Afterwards, she can still live, within an eternal beautiful dream. Isn't that good?"
The surrounding Heart Image Remnant began to disintegrate. The glass above and various spatial dislocations made everything around them unstable.
Qingluán breathed rapidly, gripping Little White.
This partner who had lived with her for over a decade was now looking at her with an innocent, sad expression.
"Just like... the senior?" Qingying asked softly. "Like the senior, never to wake up again?"
"Perhaps she might wake up."
"How long... do you plan to keep deceiving me, Incubator!"
The Incubator's pitch-black, round pupils blinked. "I have never deceived you, Little Qing. We are the best of partners. How could I deceive you?"
Amidst the dust, gravel, and falling shards of glass, she lowered her head, holding her good friend.
Various sounds of shattering and rumbling booms echoed around her, making her head spin.
The girl in her arms had a faint rise and fall in her chest.
When she came to her senses, her hand was already tightly gripping the Incubator's neck, lifting it up.
"You want... to kill me? Little... Qing..."
The Incubator, struggling to breathe, showed an expression like it was crying. "Aren't we... partners?"
Qingying, who had raised her head, revealed a smile. "Yes, Little White, you are my best partner."
When she lost her mother, was disliked by her father, and was all alone, it was Little White by her side, accompanying her, comforting her.
She still remembered that night when she lost her mother and was nearly killed by her father. The Incubator sat by her bedside, stroking her head with its paw.
Softly comforting her, telling her not to be afraid, that she hadn't done anything wrong.
All the suffering was to make her become the most dazzling Magical Girl.
It was Little White who gave Qingluán the dream of becoming a Magical Girl.
It was Little White who, every night by her pillow, told her stories of Magical Girls, lulled her to sleep, even sang songs for her.
It was Little White who described the shape of miracles for her, told her the color of happiness. Gave her the courage to live again, until she could step out of her home and face the whole world.
"Then... why..."
The girl, tilting her head and smiling, had a faint glimmer of tears in her eyes. "The days spent with Little White were truly happy, truly blissful. Without you, I couldn't have become a Magical Girl. I might not even have known how to survive."
"I really, really like Little White the most."
Layers of space collapsed around them. The Incubator's four legs kicked at Qingluán's hand, trying to break free from her grip. Yet Qingluán simply, naturally, applied more force.
A creaking, cracking sound came from the Incubator's neck.
"But, a pet... is just a pet."
The originally pitch-black eyes gradually grew dim and lifeless.
"No matter how many times you say 'partner,' it's still... a pet."
Tears flowed uncontrollably. The girl trying hard to maintain her smile found her expression twisted and torn. "People are what's most important! People are what's most important, Little White!"
*Crack.*
She looked at the Incubator that had completely lost its vitality, gone limp and motionless, and released her hand.
The Incubator's body gradually dissipated.
She hugged Iris tightly.
"I... I won't choose wrong again. Mom, I will never... choose wrong again..."
The next moment, the entire Heart Image Remnant finally crumbled.
Qingluán, who had quickly composed herself, was thinking about how to carry Iris and escape.
A strange heat suddenly rose from beneath her feet, making her somewhat dazed.
Looking down, densely packed purple mana lines, like blood vessels, rapidly spread across the entire Heart Image Remnant!
......
"After An Shiyu arrived, I wanted to protect her. But the Mirror Kingdom reacted swiftly, immediately found her, and trapped her. But actually, if I wanted to, I could have used An Shiyu's body to achieve Full Bloom and then regain control of the Heart Image Remnant."
"But doing that might harm An Shiyu's body, even cause her to lose her seed and never be able to become a Magical Girl again. So, if possible, I still hoped someone else could handle this matter."
"Thanks to your appearance, I don't even have to worry about my Heart Image Remnant collapsing anymore."
While traversing the mirror realm spatial turbulence, Mùjǐn, using An Shiyu's body, still had time to chat with Shion. "I never imagined you're not just terrifying in mana quantity, but even your mana control is this exaggerated... Most Full Bloom Magical Girls haven't been in that state for long, so I can tell you with certainty, probably no other Full Bloom Magical Girl can match your mana control precision."
"Maybe it's just that you're not good enough."
"Absolutely impossible! I've been in Full Bloom for quite a long time too!"
Mùjǐn immediately retorted. Then, as they advanced through the torrent of mirrors, veering slightly off course, they could see distorted space rolling towards them like waves!
Shion clenched her fist, about to strike, but Mùjǐn quickly pulled her back, casually opening a spatial region and hiding inside it.
They waited until the turbulent spatial wave passed.
"Acting recklessly here can easily drop you into the cracks, with no way to find your way back. Can't be rash."
Mùjǐn was originally holding Shion's hand. Sensing An Shiyu's happiness, she simply interlocked their fingers. When Shion looked over, she just grinned. "I'm afraid of getting lost."
Sensing An Shiyu's consciousness was about to faint from shyness, Mùjǐn inwardly grumbled a couple of times. *If you get shy this easily, how are you going to pursue a guy like this?*
Then she said to Shion again:
"However, although purely comparing mana, Full Bloom might be slightly inferior to you, the most powerful aspect of Full Bloom lies in the Personal Reality extended through the Mental Landscape. For example, my Mental Landscape, at its peak, could easily send you back to that world. So, you still need to be careful when encountering a Full Bloom."
"Naturally."
After walking who knows how far through the chaotic mirror space, Mùjǐn finally stopped and pointed to a huge mirror nearby.
"It's right here. But because of the Mirror Kingdom's blockade, I estimate it'll take quite some time..."
Shion punched and shattered the huge mirror. Her purple mana, precise and restrained, melted a passage through the door behind the mirror!
Mùjǐn facepalmed. "You're making my spatial abilities seem useless..."
After the two walked through the passage, the backup system core of the mirror space came into view.
In the center was a huge screen, constantly streaming various data and incomprehensible text, intermittently flashing scenes from the other Heart Image Remnant.
On both sides were placed the large glass containers that had previously trapped An Shiyu, over a dozen in total, all containing Mùjǐn.
Mùjǐn then hopped forward and pointed at the screen ahead.
"Everything you want to know, all the Mirror Kingdom's research data on Full Bloom Magical Girls, is right here."