Starting as a Magical Girl, I Alone Shall Rule for Eternity

Chapter 149: The Purple Heavenly Emperor Returns!

Susan looked at the beach, at the girl slumped against the rocks, and finally let out a sigh of relief.

After turning off the engine, she got out of the car, closed the door, and habitually took out a lollipop, unwrapped it, and popped it into her mouth.

This habit was one Peony had cultivated in her.

When you're in a bad mood or a really good mood, having a cigarette feels great.

Peony had said.

But because they were Magical Girls, they couldn't smoke, so a lollipop was better.

The taste of Alpenliebe was no different from when she was a kid.

Tucking her hair, which was being blown by the sea breeze, behind her ear, Susan called out, "Hey, what are you still doing here?"

Peony, who was over by the rocks, shivered, looked up, and glanced over.

Then she immediately turned and started running towards the sea!Susan rubbed her neck with a headache, crunching the lollipop in her mouth.

"Stop right there!"

As she started running, Peony over there ran even faster. "The Heart Image Remnant is gone, what are you still hanging around here for instead of going back? If you drag this out any longer, the Disaster Control Bureau will fire you!"

"Leave me alone!"

"Stop!"

While running, Peony tripped over something and fell flat on her face, tumbling several times in the seawater.

Susan immediately rushed over and pinned down Peony, who was still trying to get up. "That's enough from you!"

"I said leave me alone!"

"Now you find it annoying? Weren't you always this annoying to me before?"

Sitting on top of Peony, pinning down her friend, Susan said, "I've been looking for you for days, how could I possibly leave you alone? I know you hate work. When we go back, I'll apply for a vacation for you. If you don't go back soon, you really will lose your job."

"Then let it be gone."

Peony covered her face with her arm. "I don't want to keep working at the Disaster Control Bureau anyway."

Waves crashed over the two of them. Susan took a deep breath. "So why? Because you're afraid of being tired, you even quit your teaching job. Now you don't want the Bureau job either. How are you going to live?"

"None of your business..."

"You lost An Shiyu?"

The sudden accusation made Peony freeze completely.

Her arm, covering her face, twitched, and she let out a choked "Mhm."

"I knew it." Susan released Peony. First, she tied up her blonde hair, then took off her shoes—having seawater soak into them was unpleasant—and also took off her soggy socks, stuffing them into the shoes.

"For this operation, quite a few Magical Girls from the Central Bureau went missing too. They're still searching everywhere. After all, the Heart Image Remnant is something from a Full Bloom Magical Girl."

"You knew."

"You knew, and yet you hid here alone? If you told everyone, wouldn't searching together be faster?"

"I asked! I asked!" Peony's tone grew agitated, her voice growing thicker with sobs. "The Magical Girls from the Central Bureau who went in all said they hadn't seen An Shiyu. She never even entered!"

"Before the Heart Image Remnant incident happened, I was the one who sent her there! At the time... at the time, I should have sent her to the Central Bureau instead. It's all my fault..."

Susan stared blankly at Peony, who was just lying collapsed in the seawater.

So, she could cry too.

From the first time they met and became teammates, Susan had never liked this always-irresponsible, work-hating person.

Even though she was already an adult, she never took her Magical Girl duties seriously, just spouting nonsense all the time.

The first time Susan was defeated by a Disaster Beast, she had also lain on the ground amidst ruins, covering her face with her arm.

Back then, Peony had squatted beside her with a cheeky grin, saying it was okay, teasing that thirty seconds was already pretty impressive.

Then she had shoved a lollipop into Susan's mouth as a post-battle reward.

They sat in the ruins, watching the repair vehicles come and go, under the clear blue sky. Peony kept telling her which streets had good food, that she wanted to dye her hair blonde like Susan's so they'd match better as teammates...

Even on the day she lost her transformation power, Peony was all smiles. She didn't talk about any of that stuff with Susan, just took her out for good food, got her nails done...

So you can cry too.

Casually shoving a lollipop into Peony's mouth and picking up her shoes, Susan looked at the distant sea. "It has nothing to do with you."

After all, the one who had An Shiyu come over was the Azure Cloud Sect's order, and Susan's own arrangement.

It was precisely so An Shiyu could help the Azure Cloud Sect members enter the Heart Image Remnant.

"How does it have nothing to do with me!" Peony cried, losing control. "Back then, if I had gone with you, you wouldn't have fallen into the Witch Association's ambush, you wouldn't have... you wouldn't have lost your Magical Girl power!"

Susan was stunned for a moment, then sat down in the seawater, holding her shoes. "You're still hung up on that? How long has it been?"

"You were always more suited to being a Magical Girl than me. I'm just not cut out for it at all. If only I had been the one to lose the transformation ability back then... If it had been you, Susan, you wouldn't have messed things up like this, you wouldn't have sent An Shiyu..."

"Starting to talk nonsense again. You became a Magical Girl much earlier than I did. You're way older than me, Auntie Peony."

"Who's Auntie Peony!" she reflexively retorted, then hung her head. "Forget it, auntie it is... I'm just so useless anyway."

"Wow, you're even accepting that now? You must really be feeling down." Susan shrugged. "But how you want to blame yourself is none of my business. After all, you're always so carefree normally. Letting you get depressed for a bit is kinda nice too."

"Then don't bother with me!"

A hint of a smile appeared on Susan's usually stern face. "But, it'll be troublesome if you stay this depressed forever. After all, you haven't helped me get my transformation power back, and you haven't found An Shiyu either."

Peony moved her arm away, her reddened eyes looking at her friend. "I can't do either."

"If you keep spacing out here, then true." Susan said softly. "If you really feel so guilty, then get up. Come with me to look for An Shiyu. And then, figure out a way to help me get my Magical Girl power back."

The tide crashed irregularly. Seagulls cried below. Peony said sadly, "Is it really okay? With someone like me."

"What kind of stupid talk is that? We're teammates." Susan held out her hand to her. "What did you always tell me before? We're friends, so don't shoulder everything alone. Was that just pretty talk from an adult to trick a kid back then?"

"It was not." Peony grabbed her friend's hand. "I just... hate myself for not being able to help with anything..."

"Don't worry, I'm here." Susan pulled her friend up from the seawater in one motion. "What was that slogan we used to say? The two of us together, we can charge forward fearlessly."

"It's 'We can do anything.'"

Correcting her friend's misremembered version of the team slogan she had come up with while wiping her tears, Peony sniffled. "I've already searched everywhere. Anyang city, the seaside. I even rented a yacht, searched the nearby sea surface, scoured the seabed... She's nowhere. I... I really don't know what to do..."

She disappeared along with the Sect Master.

Remembering that Jiang Si and Shion were also missing, Susan sighed too.

Although she was comforting Peony, her own heart was heavy. After Jiang Si lost contact, the aura emanating from the Azure Cloud Sect was truly suffocating.

Even though the truth was limited to the true-transmission disciples and a few inner disciples.

However, Susan never really believed the Sect Master would be in any real trouble. If An Shiyu was with the Sect Master, she should be safe too.

The remaining question was: where exactly did they go? And how long until they come back?

"I heard some news before, saying the missing people are related to the Mirror World. The Heart Image Remnant had items from the Mirror Kingdom. An Shiyu might have accidentally entered the Mirror World."

Peony stared blankly. "Mirror World? How do we look for that?"

"We'll have to find a way to ask the Central Bureau..."

The ground beneath their feet suddenly shook.

Both Peony, who had just stood up, and Susan nearly fell. The massive tremor stirred up a tsunami, rushing towards the shore!

Peony transformed instantly, shielding Susan.

The tsunami instantly submerged the nearby forest, toppling a bunch of trees. The original beach instantly became a vast expanse of water!

"What happened?"

"Look over there!"

Susan looked up. The sky actually had fine cracks appearing!

Then, as if something heavy had smashed against something, another tremor hit, and the cracks suddenly spread—

A spatial quake!

Susan saw wisps of dissipating purple flames.

Her heart pounded wildly!

Jiang Si!!

Just as she was about to notify Lady Winter, another wave of roaring seawater came rushing over.

A grayish-white Magical Girl, carrying an aura of death, stood before the space riddled with cracks.

She reached out and pressed against the fracturing space.

The space that had been breaking apart actually began to slowly repair itself?

Susan was stunned for a second, quickly guessing something. Although she had notified Lady Winter,

who knew how long it would take for her to get here.

If they didn't stop this grayish-white Magical Girl now, the Sect Master might not be able to come through over there!

They had to stop her!

Susan glanced back at Peony.

She couldn't let her take the risk. Peony was never good at fighting to begin with.

Right now, just holding onto Susan to survive under the tsunami was already straining her.

That grayish-white Magical Girl, although her strength was unclear, repairing space was obviously no simple ability...

The entire space shook violently once more. This time, it was accompanied by a dull roar, like drumbeats coming from somewhere far away. The area that had just been repaired cracked open again, even wider than before.

Yet the grayish-white Magical Girl seemed to exert more force as well, making the repair speed visibly faster.

"It's no good, I can't hold back this tsunami. If we let it go, it'll rush towards Anyang and cause a huge disaster! Susan, quickly notify the nearby Disaster Control Bureau!"

"There's no time!"

Susan stared fixedly at the crack in the sky. The dissipating flames were constantly clashing with the force repairing the space. "I'm going in, Peony."

"Huh? What's going on?" Peony was still busy using her mana to block the tsunami, having no time to look at the friend in her arms. "What are you going to do?"

"Peony."

She took a deep breath. "Can I... trust you, Peony?"

Peony said urgently, "What trust or not trust, what time is this for that! What's actually happening!"

"Nothing. I just want to apologize to you too."

Peony, holding Susan, finally couldn't control any more of the tsunami. Just before they were about to be submerged, she looked down at her friend.

The girl pulled a pendant from her chest.

"I'm sorry for keeping it from you all this time."

A blue Miracle Seed, shaped like a water droplet, swayed, shimmered, emitting a gentle yet brilliant light.

"Susan, you..."

"Making you feel guilty for so long, I'm really sorry."

Susan fiercely grasped her Miracle Seed. Delicate blue threads unfurled. The roaring waves around them solidified above their heads, then scattered.

The ferociously roaring tsunami swirled obediently around Susan, as if an invisible force protected the two of them.

"Tides."

Under Peony's stunned gaze, all the threads converged onto Susan's body.

"Roar!"

Another overwhelming tsunami crashed down, instantly swallowing the two of them, as if to turn the world into an ocean. Yet, the very next moment, a blue pillar of light shot through the tsunami!

The massive blue pillar of light rapidly expanded to both sides, like a water blade cutting from below upwards. The sea was split in two, revealing the original sandy beach. And then—

One slash, Water Burial.

All the seawater instantly collapsed, receding.

Even the grayish-white Magical Girl, who had been continuously repairing the space, couldn't help but glance over here.

The aqua-blue Magical Girl swam through the waves like a mermaid.

Magical Girl Zhu Lu didn't say anything more to Peony.

She charged straight at the grayish-white Magical Girl!

The grayish-white Magical Girl, who had been pressing against the space with one hand, tilted her head to look at her, making Zhu Lu's heart sink slightly.

What kind of eyes were those?

Like simple glass marbles, with an abnormal, inhuman feel, more like the eyes of some animal.

As a Magical Girl who could manipulate water, the ocean was essentially her home turf, given the sheer amount of water she could mobilize.

"Masterpiece, Fourth, The Thousand-Hole Hundred-Pierce of Thread-Entangled Flow!"

Blue threads even more massive and dense than during her fight with Yinluo!

She could even use seawater to strengthen and extend the threads' mana. In just an instant, a web-like mesh of dense blue threads intertwined around the grayish-white Magical Girl, wrapping her up layer by layer.

"Let go!"

After warning the other, Zhu Lu heard the grayish-white Magical Girl say in a mechanical, stiff voice:

"Detecting intermediate-level threat."

"Enemy mana detected: Blooming."

"Opening attack permissions."

Zhu Lu was slightly stunned. Although she had now fully recovered and even broken through because of it, after passing the inner disciple test, she was only at Seedling Peak Perfection. Yumo had said her mana reserves were still a bit lacking, and it was better not to rush into promoting to Blooming.

However, on the ocean, seawater could compensate for the mana deficiency, putting her on par with Blooming.

How did the other party measure that?

She was puzzled, but her hands moved faster than her brain. Even though she didn't understand what was going on with the opponent,

her hands were already pulling the threads taut suddenly!

Countless threads penetrated into the grayish-white Magical Girl's body, but inside, there was a feeling of an empty shell!

Her threads had evolved to the point where they could pass through the Magical Outfit and directly bind the body beneath.

If caught off guard, even the true-transmission disciples of the Azure Cloud Sect would suffer badly.

Yet, this grayish-white Magical Girl before her showed no reaction at all, because beneath the Magical Outfit, there was no body!

An empty-shell Magical Girl?

Before she could think more, sharp white mana had already bloomed from the opponent's hand!

With a single sweep, all the surrounding blue threads were severed in an instant, along with the mana connection to her side!

A massive amount of seawater crashed back onto the sea surface like a waterfall. The white mana from the other side, transformed into sharp blades, came slashing over without losing any speed.

*Be careful!*

Peony's anxious voice suddenly rang in her mind. Zhu Lu reflexively activated her magic ahead of time.

"Mediocre Work, Third, The Glass Realm of Ten Thousand Acres of Blue Waves!"

The sharp white mana dissipated considerably beside the water waves, but quite a bit still passed through her water barrier, slashing towards her body!

*Down below!*

Peony's voice came from her heart again. Without thinking, Zhu Lu slipped down from the water waves like a fish, falling into the seawater.

Sure enough, as the sharp white mana penetrated the defensive water waves, the entire water barrier was instantly torn to shreds!

If she hadn't dropped down in advance, Susan would likely have been torn apart along with the water waves.

Magical Girl Zhu Lu, poking her head out of the seawater, blew bubbles and looked over at Peony, who had warned her twice in a row.

Peony snorted from afar. "See, without me, you fighting alone is really too unreliable."

"Who made it so most of my battles were with you?" Zhu Lu quickly stood together with Peony. "Haven't heard your telepathy in so long. Is it still the exclusive partner skill only I can hear?"

"What, would you get jealous if I transmitted to others?"

"That sounds disgusting. I just want it as a privilege for being the original teammate."

"Hah, just like you hid from me that you got your power back, I hid from you that I've transmitted to lots of people long ago."

"...Sorry."

"Forget it. We'll talk about when you got your power back later. I'm definitely going to complain to you properly!" Peony looked up at the grayish-white Magical Girl. "Although I don't know who she is, since you're taking action, it means she's definitely not a good person, right?"

"Mhm."

"Beihai Disaster Control Bureau, strongest Magical Girl team, Flower Fish Team." The magic wand in Peony's hand transformed into a single eye. "Temporarily revived. The two of us won't lose!"

Magical Girl Zhu Lu revealed a brilliant smile. "Of course!"

"Don't you hold me back!"

"You're the one who should worry, being out of practice for so long!"

"Let's go!"

"Okay!"

A massive waterspout suddenly rose from the sea! It charged straight at the grayish-white Magical Girl!

"Target her right hand! Make her let go! Release the spatial crack!"

"Got it. So next, she'll release magic downwards! Watch out, here it comes!"

Seawater spiraled, climbing upwards along the massive mana cannon the grayish-white Magical Girl released downwards. And Zhu Lu swam up rapidly through this winding seawater like a mermaid!

Compared to flying, she was faster and more agile in the sea. All the seawater was part of her Magical Outfit!

*Watch out! Her right foot!*

A brief reminder that needed no extra explanation. Zhu Lu quickly used threads to entangle the opponent's left foot. That left foot actually gathered a terrifying mana cannon, stomping towards Susan!

*Northwest direction!*

Besides that stomp, the grayish-white Magical Girl summoned two or three more mana cannons, aiming at Susan from different directions, almost blocking all her escape routes.

Yet Zhu Lu swam towards the northwest direction Peony indicated without a second thought!

All the mana cannons flew past her, actually heading straight for Peony.

However, a sapphire-blue water wave quickly enveloped Peony, deflecting the mana cannons.

[Mediocre Work, Third, The Glass Realm of Ten Thousand Acres of Blue Waves].

"Idiot, how long have we fought together? How many Disaster Beasts have targeted Peony?"

Zhu Lu sneered, finally reaching the front of the grayish-white Magical Girl!

The grayish-white Magical Girl punched Zhu Lu. An ordinary punch, but then several types of mana cannons instantly detonated within the fist!

Smashing Zhu Lu back into the sea like a meteor!

But when she turned her head, the grayish-white Magical Girl found Magical Girl Zhu Lu behind her, grabbing her right hand that had been pressing against the spatial crack in the sky, unable to move.

Peony below gasped for breath, revealing a triumphant smile. "After fighting against Four Leaf and Six Leaf for so long, although I can't reach their level, but... a moment of confusion in battle, even I can manage that."

"Meeting our Magical Girl team, Flower Fish, is your bad luck."

Zhu Lu grabbed that right hand. Before the grayish-white Magical Girl could turn her hand to blast her away, she finally used a magic she hadn't used in a long time.

"Masterpiece, Sixth, The Clear Ripple Arrow of the Azure Tide."

Pale blue mana boiled like an arrow, piercing through the opponent's right hand. Immediately, water currents surged wildly within the grayish-white Magical Girl's right hand!

A series of huge explosions instantly blew apart the grayish-white Magical Girl's right hand that had been stubbornly pressing against the sky!

"Threat coefficient increased."

"Requesting higher-level permission opening."

"Permission opened."

The moment she let go, that massive tremor came again! Across the entire sky, clearly visible cracks instantly spread!

The grayish-white Magical Girl wanted to block the sky crack again, but how could Zhu Lu let her have her way? She charged forward once more.

*Watch out, right side!*

Peony's warning came again from below, but this time it failed.

Zhu Lu, who had just been about to grab the grayish-white Magical Girl, was instantly pressed down by immense mana!

The multiple waterspouts she controlled were also scattered one after another. Even Peony, who was at a safe distance, was grabbed by an invisible force around her neck, lifted into the air.

"Blooming, Peak Perfection..."

The control over the seawater, which had been in Zhu Lu's hands just moments ago, was instantly lost. The seawater became the weapon of the grayish-white Magical Girl. She controlled the seawater to form a prison, trapping the two.

While relentlessly compressing the seawater, trying to crush the two Magical Girls to death, she reached out again, trying to press against the rapidly spreading crack in the air.

*Crash*

A piece of the sky shattered like glass.

A fair, delicate little hand with pale purple nail polish reached out from that crack.

Before the grayish-white Magical Girl's hand could press against the crack, it was suddenly grabbed!

The grayish-white Magical Girl's previously somewhat mechanical expression showed a hint of surprise. She frantically tried to pull her arm back, but couldn't break free!

"The mortal realm."

Purple pupils like blazing fire lit up on the other side of the dark crack.

The seawater began to boil. Overwhelming purple flames could no longer be contained, spilling out from the crack, more and more, setting the entire sky ablaze!

"It has become filthy again."