The Unveiling of Chaos

“Wutong District… isn’t that right here!?”

No sooner had the thought crossed Bai Muxue’s mind than the ground began to tremble violently.

The Disaster Prevention Bureau building swayed precariously, dust billowed all around, and screams erupted in a cacophony of terror.

The potted flowers lining the terraces tumbled down, shattering into countless fragments.

In the distance, several shorter buildings bore massive cracks, their glass shards spraying outwards.

Further still, an earth-shattering roar faintly echoed, its immense volume piercing the deepest fears of the human soul.

‘This is… a monster disaster?’

Despite having worked at the Disaster Prevention Bureau for over a decade, Bai Muxue, whose role had always been limited to post-disaster assessments, found herself unexpectedly thrust into the very heart of such a catastrophe for the first time.

According to the Bureau’s assessment standards, a C+ disaster rating implied that the incident would likely result in the destruction of several city blocks.

‘Had Shen Jingyi… been fighting against such things all this time?’

‘Indeed, only a professional like her could handle such a situation!’

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Bai Muxue wasted no time in pulling out her phone and dialing Shen Jingyi’s number.

“The number you have dialed is temporarily unavailable; please try again later…”

‘No answer… perhaps Miss Shen has already gone there?’

Just as Bai Muxue attempted to console herself with the most optimistic interpretation, she noticed Tang Xingwan had, at some unknown point, slipped away from her side and was now running towards the direction of the monstrous roar.

“What are you doing!?”

Bai Muxue swiftly moved forward, seizing Tang Xingwan by the arm and pulling her tightly closer.

“There are designated shelters here at the Disaster Prevention Bureau; we need to get there immediately…”

To her surprise, Tang Xingwan abruptly wrenched her wrist free, her eyes, facing the chaotic scene, glinting with a resolute determination that Bai Muxue could not comprehend.

“It’s alright, you go ahead and take shelter.”

“What about you!?”

“I…”

Tang Xingwan glanced at the screaming, scattering crowd in the distance, then back at the anxious, pretty girl before her.

She bit her lip, then offered a cunning smile.

“Oh, a hero can’t abandon their post in the heat of battle!”

With those words, before Bai Muxue could even react, Tang Xingwan, without a hint of hesitation, winked at Bai Muxue and swiftly dashed away.

‘Wait, what did she just say? What hero…?’

Bai Muxue stood stunned for a moment, then a sudden realization struck her—’This little girl hasn’t watched too many hero movies and actually intends to go save people, has she!?’

“Tsk, honestly…”

Ignoring the calls coming in from her driver and other members of the Bai family, Bai Muxue gritted her teeth, about to chase after Tang Xingwan, when suddenly, her heart gave a slight flutter.

As if sensing something, she instinctively turned to look behind her.

In that instant she turned, time seemed to freeze.

The air solidified, the monster’s roar, the crowd’s screams, the piercing alarms—all vanished without a trace.

Bai Muxue couldn’t even hear her own heartbeat.

The previously chaotic street was now utterly silent, all noise instantly gone, as if the entire world had paused in that single moment.

****

—And within a shard of glass visible in her peripheral vision, a silver-haired girl in a Gothic dress suddenly appeared.

‘It’s that girl, the one who made me sign the contract!’

Though she hadn’t clearly seen the girl’s face at the time, Bai Muxue was now absolutely certain—this was the black-dressed girl who had appeared beside her before!

“Greetings, young lady.”

The girl’s face bore an elegant smile as she delicately pinched the hem of her skirt, bowing to Bai Muxue from within the reflection.

“Go forth and do what you must, make more Magical Girls your captives…”

The girl’s voice was soft, like a feather or a petal gently drifting down.

“Only then… perhaps a sliver of salvation might yet be found…”

‘What does that mean? Why are both of them speaking in riddles…?’

Frowning, Bai Muxue was about to speak when the girl before her placed a forefinger to her lips, revealing a subtle, enigmatic smile.

Bai Muxue paused, slightly bewildered, then a sharp pain shot through her brow.

She felt countless strange pieces of knowledge surge into her mind like a tide, and under the intense agony, even the surrounding scenery began to dim.

Accompanied by a tremendous crash, a brick dislodged from the rooftop, smashing the glass into smithereens.

Fragments flew everywhere, and the black-dressed girl vanished without a trace.

It was as if a video that had been paused suddenly resumed playback.

The clamorous sounds once again filled Bai Muxue’s ears, and the frozen world resumed its original trajectory in that moment.

Yet, the previously anxious Bai Muxue remained rooted to the spot, silent for a long, long time, a clear blue light flashing within her dark pupils.

****

“It’s a Calamity Beast indeed… I can’t believe two would appear in one day…”

Meanwhile, Shen Jingyi, having helped a little girl who had fallen to the ground, couldn’t help but frown as she observed the colossal, roaring figure in the distance.

The Calamity Beast’s massive body stood majestically like a mountain, its terrifying maw agape, revealing a mouth full of triangular fangs.

Its overall form resembled a shark, yet instead of fins, it possessed wings adorned with bird-like feathers growing from its sides, stretched out long and wide.

Sturdy tree trunks by the roadside had been ripped from their roots, and cars carelessly abandoned on the street were tossed haphazardly, their tires and body fragments scattered everywhere.

‘Why does it feel like… this one is different from previous Calamity Beasts?’

Shen Jingyi focused her magical energy into her eyes, her normally dark pupils transforming into a vivid purple, as she meticulously scanned the rampaging behemoth.

While the Calamity Beasts she had dealt with before were often bizarre, most still adhered to basic biological principles.

However, this particular beast before her seemed as if a shark and a bird had been crudely stitched together, exuding an unsettling sense of disharmony throughout its entire being.

Suddenly, the girl’s gaze sharpened slightly.

Above the enormous Calamity Beast, a slender figure was faintly discernible… it seemed to be a woman.

‘Is that… a human? Or is it one of those strange beings mentioned in the disaster alert?’

An ordinary human certainly wouldn’t possess the ability to float.

‘Is this one a Magical Girl too? Doesn’t quite look like it.’

‘Or could it be… the controller of this Calamity Beast?’

Regardless of who that person was, they were undoubtedly connected to the Calamity Beast before her.

‘It’s certainly better than rashly charging in to confront the beast head-on,’ Shen Jingyi thought, nodding to herself as she roughly simulated a battle plan in her mind.

‘I just wonder if that person went to the shelter…’

A shapely figure suddenly flashed in her mind, and Shen Jingyi’s heart skipped a beat.

She then vigorously shook her head, expelling all the tangled thoughts from her brain.

‘That one is a young lady of wealth and status; she’s definitely a key protected individual for the Disaster Prevention Bureau and the Anomalous Investigation Department.

She’s probably already safely hidden away in a shelter, I presume.’

Shen Jingyi surveyed her surroundings—the streets were already deserted due to the evacuation alert… making it the perfect moment to transform.

Yet, just as she pulled out the small box from her embrace, she heard a crisp voice, tinged with excitement and nervousness, beside her.

“Alright… when something happens, you can’t just sit idly by… huh?”

Shen Jingyi instinctively turned her head, only to see Tang Xingwan, who had disappeared from the memorial service earlier, standing right beside her, staring at her with a bewildered expression.

“Huh?”

“Huh?”

The two exchanged glances, staring at each other in a strange silence, as if both were internally wondering where the other had suddenly appeared from.

Several invisible crows seemed to glide across the air, their awkward, speechless caws faintly audible.

Shen Jingyi, the first to react, was startled, hastily tucking the small box back into her pocket before sternly addressing Tang Xingwan.

“Um, it’s very dangerous here; it’s best to go to a shelter quickly.”

Tang Xingwan seemed to have also put something into her pocket, scratching her head awkwardly.

“Ah? Oh, you’re right, you should hurry and take shelter too, ahaha…”

The two simultaneously turned and ran in different directions, without another word.

“Good… there shouldn’t be anyone else now.”

After repeatedly confirming that there were no other onlookers around, Shen Jingyi opened the small purple box and placed a dainty charm into its recess.

“Transform!”