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

Chapter 160: Demonic Power, Third Stage!

"Welcome back, Magical Girl Captain!"

As Silver Lotus walked down the corridor and reached the entrance to the hall, the crowd that had been waiting burst their party poppers in unison, colorful confetti and cheers pouring out nonstop:

"Hooray! Captain, we adore you!"

An Shiyu hugged her little paper cup on the second floor, leaning over to peek at Captain Silver Lotus being warmly welcomed below.

She had said she was going to hang out with Keke and Jiang Si, yet she’d returned with her transformation ability restored...

Did she do something with Jiang Si?

Curiosity nudged at her, but she had no intention of prying. After all, Li Yi and Jiang Si were good friends;

if Jiang Si had stepped in to help, it was perfectly natural.

Restoring a Magical Girl who had lost her transformation ability to her own personal reality—Jiang Si really was something impressive...

"Damn it! That guy, if we don’t watch him for two seconds, he’s already flirting nonstop! Little An, how could you just casually let another girl date Jiang Si? Dating should be our exclusive right!"

"Stop arguing."An Shiyu took a sip from her small cup, then stood and started to walk out, "Let’s go welcome the captain."

"Damn it, that fox spirit went off and dated our boyfriend, and now she comes back and smiles at everyone? The nerve..."

"Our boyfriend?" An Shiyu asked with some curiosity, "I don’t remember Jiang Si confessing to you, Senior Mu."

"Huh? Back then, weren’t we both involved?"

"The only one who accepted Jiang Si’s confession was me, senior."

"Damn it, I was the one who willingly gave up my spot back then..." Mujin complained, feeling wronged. "You never cared about those outside flirting with him, but the moment I say 'we' you don’t like it. Do you hate me that much, Little An?"

"Just kidding, just kidding."

"How many truths were spoken as jokes, Little An... I know you better than anyone."

"Okay, I was wrong, I was wrong, is that not enough? Senior, to show sincerity, I’ll treat you to ice cream at noon."

"Really?"

"Really."

The previously sulky Full Bloom Magical Girl immediately lit up with delight.

"Fine, then we must have chocolate mint ice cream!"

Since returning, Mujin constantly craved ice cream, cakes, and all kinds of milk tea.

An Shiyu didn’t like it. Mujin had been suppressed inside the Heart Image Remnant for years and now wanted to indulge—but it was Mujin's body that would suffer.

Besides, An Shiyu didn’t like things overly sweet.

But occasionally letting Mujin have something to appease her wasn’t a big deal.

Descending the stairs, the hall was lively. Some veteran Incubators and other Disaster Control Bureau employees surrounded Captain Silver Lotus, and a few people were openly crying.

Outside the bureau, Longpeng had long been the dependable Magical Boy, always doing his duty. When Longpeng was captain, the Azure Cloud Sect had been more active in Beihai, causing citizens to favor them more.

But within the bureau, many despised that young but extremely serious girl who treated matters so earnestly, plus her two abstract parents at home—some younger employees no longer treated him like a man.

Now that Silver Lotus had returned to the Magical Girl ranks, many people were in tears of joy.

The crowd kept producing celebratory items: confetti sticks, cheering lamps, party hats, masquerade masks, almond-flavored soda, an old phonograph playing elegant music, and even staff bringing out instruments to spontaneously play sacred songs.

It was said Beihai Disaster Control Bureau staff rarely celebrated like this;

it was extravagant and costly, and they hardly ever splurged—until this girl arrived.

The bureau’s strongest Magical Girl had not only bolstered combat strength but supported everyone’s spirit, making the Beihai bureau staff feel their efforts had not been in vain. They were not merely trailing behind the Azure Cloud Sect doing grunt work!

Of course, the main reason was that Iris, before leaving, had stuffed the warehouse with celebration props and musical equipment;

if they didn’t get used up soon, more funding would be needed to expand storage...

Hidden in a corner, An Shiyu watched Silver Lotus framed by the crowd, smiling adorably, and couldn’t help but smile too.

How nice—standing near happy people, just watching could let you taste a little bit of that life-sweetness.

For An Shiyu, she couldn’t always stay by Jiang Si’s side, so she had to find little pleasures and happiness in life elsewhere.

A world propped up by Jiang Si should blossom lushly—otherwise Jiang Si’s outstretched hand would be wasted.

She also wanted to be like Captain Silver Lotus, welcomed by everyone, to show Jiang Si a different side of herself.

"Can you stop daydreaming and smiling like an idiot, Little An? It’s embarrassing, I hardly want to use your body anymore."

"Shut up."

Carefully stifling her grin, An Shiyu shifted her position again.

She was deciding whether to go greet Silver Lotus, to get a little closer. Since she’d only returned recently and later went to Anyang, she wasn’t very close to Silver Lotus.

When Silver Lotus had lost her transformation, she’d been gloomy except for around Keke.

Now she seemed more approachable...

"An Shiyu, what are you hiding here for?" A familiar voice came close and actually wrapped an arm around her, stuffing a party popper into her hand. "Come on, let’s dive into the crowd!"

An Shiyu looked back at Senior Peony’s lazy face and breathed a sigh of relief. "Senior, are you done with work?"

"Oh, work can wait. If you miss something joyful, life will lack an important piece." Peony rubbed her cheek affectionately. "Little An, you must know, happiness is non-renewable—each joyful moment you spend, you lose forever, like paid leave. So grab it. Work will be there later."

"But the bureau chief will scold us..."

"Then fire me if you can!"

An Shiyu could only smile helplessly. "But this time it’s investigating why so many Disaster Beasts have appeared. Slacking off feels wrong, doesn’t it?"

Mujin had been glaring from the sidelines, very displeased with Peony.

This concerned the public’s safety—it was a Magical Girl’s job;

how could one be so lax!

"Don’t worry." Peony smiled smugly. "I’ve already informed Azure Cloud Sect’s legendary Futaba. For searching intel, no Magical Girl is better than Futaba. Just wait for their results—absolutely fine!"

"What? Throwing the work to Azure Cloud Sect's Magical Boys... do they take the money and feel guilty?"

That was Coldlin interrupting through An Shiyu’s body with a pointed question.

"That’s also for your own protection! Besides, Azure Cloud Sect’s existence is tacitly supported by the bureau. A small organization collects your taxes;

letting them handle some work isn’t a bad deal!"

Peony lowered her voice, leaning in close and speaking in a conspiratorial tone: "Also, to be honest, Azure Cloud Sect has been watching this for a while. I can’t say much—if you know, you know. I’m an adult;

there’s a lot you’re too young for. Strange Disaster Beasts mean big interests are involved. I can’t say more—powerful people are implicated;

the traces I could follow were scrubbed clean. So I can only say—if you understand, you understand. If you don’t, there’s nothing I can do."

For a moment, the veteran Magical Girl Mujin was dumbfounded.

"How could our Magical Girls become like this..."

"Ay, don’t think about it." Peony shook An Shiyu, looking toward Silver Lotus’s radiant smile in the crowd. "I haven’t seen Little Silver Lotus so happy in a long time. Forget the messy stuff for today—celebrate properly! It’s a pity there’s no holiday, though."

"With Disaster Beasts appearing more and more, there won’t be days off."

"I know, I know."

An Shiyu then saw Silver Lotus being pulled aside by Susan.

The cold, blonde senior said just a few words and dispersed the surrounding people.

Although some were upset and a few even stepped forward to argue with Susan, the moment she looked over, those aggressive people immediately shrank back.

"Who are you to act so high and mighty? All Magical Girls were corrupted, but the captain regained her power—what are you now, a useless lump..."

Susan had never been very popular at the bureau. A newly arrived Silver Lotus fan bolder than most had spoken out.

Susan didn’t waste words—she shoved the gun barrel into the woman’s mouth.

An Shiyu watched the chaotic hall, stunned for a moment. "Senior, it looks like they’re about to fight. What should we do?"

"It’s fine, Susan knows what she’s doing." Peony waved nonchalantly and glanced at Susan. "Always scowling, even though she’s several years younger than me, but people still treat her like a mother, hehe..."

Hearing Peony’s slightly gloating laugh, An Shiyu, not knowing what she was amused by, forced a polite laugh and took a sip of water.

Susan dragged Silver Lotus to a nearby spot and glanced at Peony and An Shiyu, not holding back her words: "The former bureau chief says Central Bureau’s Jincha is coming. It seems tied to this recent Disaster Beast surge."

"Oh."

She then looked into Silver Lotus’s bag. "Where’s your friendship letter? Did you give it to Jiang Si?"

At those words, An Shiyu pricked up her ears. Mujin cocked her head, both girls listening intently.

Even Peony leaned in, expression focused.

Li Yi liking Jiang Si and planning to deliver a friendship letter was somewhat secretive, but to this group of Magical Girls, it wasn’t much of a secret.

"No." Li Yi shook her head. "I threw it away."

Mujin and An Shiyu both breathed easier.

Peony sighed softly and murmured, "Silly girl..."

Mujin whispered into An Shiyu’s mind: "Let her be silly. If she weren’t, how would we win..."

"Giving up is fine too." Susan said indifferently. "After all, his relationship with Shion is complicated."

An Shiyu choked on her water;

Coldlin burst into shameless laughter.

"Yes." Li Yi suddenly smiled. "You wanted to deliver a friendship letter because you intended to give a love letter to Silver Lotus."

"You didn’t confirm before Longpeng saved you, Susan, you sneaky thing. Don’t be disgusted with me. So you wanted to test expressing your feelings to me."

An Shiyu sprayed water out of her mouth.

She quickly handed the body back to Mujin—spitting water was too embarrassing. Let Senior Mujin handle it...

Mujin, who had been laughing wildly, took over the body, coughing and wiping her mouth.

Noticing people staring, Mujin waved, "Carry on, carry on... It doesn’t matter! It was An Shiyu who confessed first, so it’s fine! And she got confessed to by Jiang Si twice! Win—win three times!"

Susan coldly interjected, "He already has a girlfriend."

Unexpectedly, Silver Lotus just smiled and said, "It’s fine, Keke will help me!"

Both Susan and An Shiyu nearly lost their composure.

Unfair! Someone brought outside help and cheated!

......

Keke, as usual, went to the outskirts of the city to wait for Shion.

Her heart was still basking in joy that the captain had regained her power.

For Keke, in her Magical Girl life, Li Yi had been like a second teacher—of course, the first was Shion.

Li Yi’s inability to transform always worried Keke. When she resigned and left the bureau to seek her older brother, Keke had been most afraid that Li Yi would encounter danger without her transformation ability.

At that time, Keke truly had no extra energy to worry about others;

in the end she gave up thinking about it.

Now that her brother had returned and Li Yi had regained her Magical Girl power, Keke felt that cotton-candy-like warm sweetness she hadn’t experienced in a long time.

Basking in the warm sunlight, Keke realized her only worry now was the final exams.

Of course, it was just that finals would take time, and she wondered if they would interfere with work...

But before that, she needed to set her attitude right.

Though Keke planned to learn ways to get stronger from Shion, she no longer intended to treat Shion with the same deference.

Since she planned to become stronger than Shion, surpass and defeat her, Keke would not hide her plan.

She had to draw a clear boundary with Shion.

Besides, the last time they met, she had explicitly told Shion she hated her.

Yes, Keke hated Shion!

Although her brother had returned, Keke hated Shion for making him risk danger, hated her for using her brother, hated her for approaching Keke to get to her brother!

Once she realized Shion’s target had only been her brother, that first meeting soured in Keke’s heart.

Why did Shion happen to appear at Keke’s school? With so many Azure Cloud Sect disciples, and back then the Disaster Beasts were weak, any Azure Cloud Sect Magical Girl could have handled them.

Why did Shion personally come?

To approach her brother through Keke!

All the incomprehensible things connected into a truth that made Keke’s anger deepen.

She had respected Shion before, thinking Shion helped without asking for anything.

It felt like trampling on her trust and dignity.

So Keke decided, if she met Shion again, she would never give her a pleasant face!

Keke would show Shion her backbone!

Even if Shion was the strongest Magical Girl, Keke would not bow or flatter power. She would learn all of Shion’s magic with her head held high.

When Shion arrived, she would give her a lesson and make her know Keke was not the same...

"Keke."

"Yes!"

Like a student called out for daydreaming, Keke straightened up reflexively.

Realizing the moment was embarrassing, she stiffened her expression to look cooler, turning to remind Shion that she was no longer the same.

Don’t expect me to respect you like before. I hate you, Shion, but I’ll continue learning from you only to protect my brother. Don’t think you can command me like before...

All those words got stuck mid-turn.

Shion’s pretty face was very close;

Keke could even feel her breath. Purple, chilly eyes appraised her, soft purple hair brushed across her face and tickled.

It felt a little unfairly beautiful...

Keke was forced to take a step back.

Her head spun.

No, no—last time she had been calm facing Teacher Shion.

And Shion hadn’t been this suffocatingly beautiful then. Just her appearance now brought pressure—did her demeanor change that much?

"What are you doing?"

The voice was the same, yet it exerted a force that made resistance impossible.

Cold and stern, it suppressed any defiance in Keke’s heart.

Just one sentence made her uneasy—had she angered her?

Keke quickly bit her lip in anger.

No! I am not the old Keke. I am the reborn Keke, the new super Keke—definitely won’t be overwhelmed by Shion’s presence. I must be tough and let Shion see how capable I am!

My heart is iron, unbreakable!

She forced on a fierce, resolute expression and raised her voice to sound imposing: "I’m..."

"Shut up, you’re noisy."

"Sorry, sorry..."

An automatic apology escaped.

So useless, Keke!

Her heart sank—this would end with Shion pressing her down forever. She had to change!

Thinking hard, she recalled how she had once suppressed Shion and made Shion apologize.

It was when she talked about her brother at home;

that had weakened Shion.

Her brother was Shion’s weak point!

"I was thinking about my brother. He finally came back recently."

"Oh."

No reaction at all!

Wait—last time mentioning her brother made Shion weak, didn’t it?

Keke mustered courage and whispered, "He disappeared for so long. It was dangerous. Shion shouldn’t have let him go to dangerous places. I think..."

"And?"

When those eyes fixed on her, Keke’s heart jumped;

she tried to look away but forced herself to hold Shion’s gaze.

Don’t lose, Keke!

"So I hope you won’t take my brother to dangerous places in the future."

"Ask your brother." Shion said coldly. "He went of his own accord."

Keke froze, then deflated like a punctured balloon.

It’s over, everything’s over.

Her plan to stand equal with Teacher Shion, to press Shion down by seizing her weakness, collapsed entirely!

She would never lift her head in front of Shion again.

Keke, you’re a useless little trash...

It’s not entirely my fault—Brother, what have you been doing!

"Finished?" Shion cut in, seeing her drifting off. She then reminded, "How’s the homework I left you last time?"

Keke listlessly transformed and then demonstrated the Great Barren Imprisoning Heaven Finger.

She even displayed several variants of the Imprisoning Heaven Finger.

Her mana control precision had improved;

she could wield the Imprisoning Heaven Finger as if it were an extension of her hand.

Shion watched the flexible, varied Imprisoning Heaven Finger and seemed somewhat surprised, then nodded approvingly, "Far beyond my expectations."

The previously gloomy Keke immediately brightened, rubbing the back of her head with a proud smile, "Hehe, it’s—it's okay..."

Shion didn’t belittle her. After Keke had her moment of pride, Shion said, "This time I’ll give you a faster way to get stronger."

Keke stood up straight, attentive.

"Learn to use Polluted Magic."

The black flame sleeping within the seed suddenly exploded. In an instant Keke found her entire body wrapped in corrupted magic power;

the familiar erosion and pain made her feel as if she were burning fiercely.

"Without the Tianshen Refining Tower to assist it’s too inefficient. This time, I’ll help you!"

"Keke, face the Fallen Heart Flame and tame it!"

Brother, Teacher Shion wants to kill me.