“Suhō, you did a great job.” The silver-haired girl walked up to her, a smile of admiration on her face.
“You are the most talented Magical Girl I have seen in all these years.” “Eh?” Suhō froze for a moment, then embarrassedly scratched her cheek, her fair face flushing red.
“Elwen-Senpai, you’re praising me too much…
I was just lucky to defeat three monsters.
I can’t compare to you at all.” “That’s not an exaggeration at all.” The girl called Elwen withdrew her smile, her black eyes staring at her with utmost seriousness.
“Ordinary people who want to transform into a Magical Girl usually need to go through immense emotional trauma, or burst forth with an extremely strong will at the moment of life and death.” “But you, Suhō, were able to cross that threshold so calmly and naturally.” Elwen paused, her tone growing a bit heavier.
“You were clearly just an ordinary girl attending school and living an ordinary daily life before, yet you were able to calmly slay three Minion Class monsters on your first transformation without any guidance.
This is enough to prove your talent as a Magical Girl.” “Most importantly…” Elwen looked up at the black mist swirling all around them, her eyes filled with emotion.
“The very fact that you appeared here in the Forest of Mist is the best proof.
You are the ‘Maiden of Prophecy’ of this generation.” “In other words, you are the one with the greatest hope of leading us to snatch back the shards of hope from the Abyss and purify the corrupted Holy Tree.” “You might be able to save the world.” Suhō listened, completely stunned, her face flushing crimson.
“Ma…
Maiden of Prophecy?
Save the world?” Her small hands waved frantically in front of her chest.
“No, no!
How could someone like me take on such a huge responsibility!
I’m just an ordinary middle school student…” Elwen shook her head.
“It has already happened.
This isn’t something you can just choose not to be.” “The Abyss feared you.
They hypnotized you and lured you to this place before you could awaken, hoping to eliminate you in advance.” “Of course, the Holy Tree also sensed this, which is why it guided me to cross the Barrier and rescue you.” Suhō clearly couldn’t accept it right away: “This…” Elwen looked at her flustered expression and simply raised her hand to pat her head, not arguing further.
Her eyes grew a bit deeper: “Time will make everything clear.” Boom—!!!
Just then, a dull explosion suddenly echoed from deep within the distant forest.
The violent tremor even transmitted to the ground beneath their feet.
A crimson flash of fire could be faintly seen piercing through the layers of black mist, casting a slight red glow over half the sky.
Following that was the faint sound of stirring music.
“That’s…” Suhō looked in that direction in surprise, “What’s happening over there?” Elwen also frowned slightly, resting her chin on one hand, a thoughtful look in her eyes: “The Forest of Mist has no Danger Class Monsters that use fire.
That kind of commotion…
it’s very likely that another Magical Girl is fighting.” “Another Magical Girl?” Suhō’s eyes lit up, “Could it be someone you know?” “It’s hard to say.” Elwen shook her head and raised a slender finger to her lips: “Red-type Magical Girls are still relatively common in our system, so I’m not sure if it’s someone I know.” “What’s a Red-type?” Suhō asked back like a curious child.
“That is the overall main color after a Magical Girl’s transformation, which usually also represents the attribute of their power.” Elwen explained patiently: “The commotion over there should be a Red-type Magical Girl.
The characteristics of this type are often controlling fire or possessing strong instantaneous explosive power.
And Suhō, that blue outfit you were wearing just now represents the Water-attribute and excellent agility…” Before she could finish, the fire and the sound of collisions soared into the sky again, and the music became more stirring.
“Ah!” Suhō immediately turned serious: “You can tell me more about this knowledge later!
The commotion over there is so big, she might really need help!” Elwen was slightly stunned, said nothing, and nodded.
The two immediately hurried forward along the position where the fire was flickering.
Soon, a chaotic battlefield came into view.
Suhō’s gaze swept over a long-dismantled Maid Doll.
Looking at its broken wooden joints, a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes.
She spoke as she ran: “These wounds…
there’s no sign of any sharp blade cutting them.
It looks like they were smashed apart by pure brute force, bare-handed.” “Elwen, my observation is correct, isn’t it?” Elwen, who was slightly ahead of her, nodded upon hearing this: “It is indeed destruction caused by bare hands.” As the two continued deeper, Suhō felt more and more alarmed the further they went.
The entire way was littered with severed limbs and broken arms, and there were even many types of monsters she had never seen before.
“Is that…
a soldier made of stone?” Suhō looked at a stone statue by the roadside with its upper body shattered and couldn’t help but gasp: “Even a monster with such high defense was defeated, and it looks like it was killed in a single blow.
The person fighting ahead must be an incredibly powerful Magical Girl!” Boom!
The explosions and flames from ahead grew more intense, and the air even filled with a high temperature and a foul, scorched smell.
However…
The sounds suddenly ceased.
The music stopped, the booming stopped, and everything seemed to come to an abrupt halt.
For some reason, an indescribable anxiety welled up in Suhō’s heart.
She couldn’t help but quicken her pace, following Elwen as they rushed toward the center of the battlefield.
“It’s just ahead!” Finally, after pushing through the last layer of black mist, their vision suddenly cleared.
In the center of that chaotic clearing, they saw two figures.
One stood in the middle of the scorched and unrecognizable battlefield, while the other knelt on the ground.
The standing figure wore crimson Spirit Dress and held a massive staff, her back to Suhō and the others, her posture as straight as a pine tree.
The fallen doll was already beyond recognition.
Elwen’s voice sounded in Suhō’s ear with a strange tone: “That is a Lower Danger Class, the [Head Maid Doll].” “In this Forest of Mist, its danger level is second only to those few monsters…” “Danger Class?!” Suhō’s eyes widened uncontrollably.
After all, the three dolls she had narrowly managed to kill earlier were only the lowest-tier Minion Class!
Among the remains they had seen on the way, most were also Lower Minion Class, with only a few being Upper Minion Class.
This Head Maid Doll, which had reached the Danger Class, had actually been killed by this Magical Girl all alone…
and after she had already killed dozens of low-tier monsters?!
So amazing!!
She must be a super-strong Senpai!
Suhō’s heart bloomed with joy.
She straightened her bangs, which had been ruffled by the wind, and prepared to go forward and greet her, a friendly smile appearing on her face.
However, just at that moment.
The ornate Spirit Dress on the red-haired girl’s body suddenly flickered, and countless red specks of light peeled off and dissipated from her like fireflies.
In the blink of an eye, she reverted to her ordinary appearance, wearing a blood-stained white shirt and black hot pants.
Without the Spirit Dress’s suppression, those shocking blood holes were once again exposed to the air, and blood gushed out like a broken levee, completely dyeing the white shirt red.
“…Senpai!!” Suhō’s pupils shrank: “You need healing!” However, the other party did not respond.
An inexplicable unease welled up in her heart.
Suhō cautiously walked forward, her voice trembling slightly: “Senpai?” She circled around to the front of the other person, and her words came to an abrupt halt.
The cherry-blossom-haired girl’s eyes were still open, her face as pale as paper, yet a satisfied smile still hung from the corner of her mouth, while the light had already vanished from her gaze.
Life had completely drained from this body.
Yet even though she had lost her life, she did not fall, but stood tall here, like a flag.
“…What…
No…” The next instant, Suhō’s shrill voice exploded throughout the entire forest: “No!!!” If she had transformed to travel faster, would she have arrived in time to help Senpai…
and she wouldn’t have died in battle?!
Could it be her own fault…
Amidst these sobs, Elwen, standing behind, slowly approached and came to Suhō’s side.
However, at this moment, as she looked at that standing corpse, there was not a trace of surprise or regret in those black eyes, as if she had seen too many, too many similar things.
Elwen simply lowered her head, a faint sadness and weariness showing in her eyes.