The Alluring Witch’s Torment and a Vengeful Encounter

“Why do I feel… a little hot…”

Chloe felt a dark fire gradually ignite in her chest, uncontrollably spreading throughout her entire body, as if molten lava, rather than warm blood, now coursed through her veins. The rising temperature of her body compelled her to pant heavily, her mouth agape, while her eyes, stung by the heat, streamed with uncontrollable tears. Unable to bear it any longer, Chloe was forced to pant like a small dog, her tongue lolling out to cool herself. In her kneeling posture, complete with fox ears and tail, she truly resembled a bewildered little fox overcome by the heat.

“Just enjoy yourself here~ I, your elder sister, have matters to attend to. Until next time~”

“Haaah… ah~ Don’t… don’t leave… Eek!”

Chloe frantically tried to reach out and stop her, but the moment her body shifted even slightly, the friction between her legs and the grass was magnified hundreds of times, transmitting to her brain and causing it to issue aggressive, erroneous commands. This spurred her body into violent reactions, which, in turn, only intensified her movements, creating a vicious cycle.

“It seems quite effective, bye-bye then.”

As Isabella’s figure gradually faded from view, Chloe collapsed weakly onto the grass, her eyes vacant, saliva dribbling from the corner of her mouth.

“Xiaolan? What are you doing here?”

Sera looked at the familiar figure, yet felt an unsettling strangeness about her.

“Young miss, I have come for my revenge.”

Xiaolan was clad in a dark purple dress, its hem embroidered with intricate and mysterious black runes, the skirt swaying gently, shimmering with an ominous luster. Her eyes were deep and obsidian, while a pair of black high heels added a determined and confident air to her bearing. Without another word, she raised her right hand, gathering a dense shroud of black energy that radiated an awe-inspiring power, then unleashed it forward under Sera’s disbelieving gaze.

“Transform! Ah!”

Sera frantically attempted to transform into her magical girl form, but the meager magic she could muster offered virtually no defense against the incoming impact. Sera was flung through the air like a rag doll, slamming into a wall and shattering the bricks and tiles embedded within it.

“…”

Seemingly surprised that Sera was also a magical girl, Xiaolan froze for a moment, the resentment in her eyes deepening further.

Magical girls, accepting even this kind of mongrel!

Xiaolan’s goodwill towards the magical girl collective plummeted into negative territory, causing the black energy swirling around her hands to grow even denser. Advancing towards the nearly unconscious Sera, Xiaolan once again gathered energy in her hand, preparing to deliver the final blow.

Is this what a magical girl is? Utterly pathetic!

In that critical moment, Xiaolan suddenly sensed an intense danger from her side, prompting her to decisively change direction and unleash her attack sideways.

“Stop!”

The arriving Night Moon instantly dispersed the incoming black energy and positioned herself in front of Sera.

“Cease this, it’s not too late.”

Night Moon and Xiaolan faced each other, an odd tension hanging in the air. Though Night Moon didn’t understand why Xiaolan had become a witch, she knew that as long as Xiaolan hadn’t strayed too far, there was still a chance for redemption. Facing an enemy who was once a human she protected was the last situation she ever wished to encounter.

Xiaolan, despite her current animosity towards magical girls, still felt a flicker of hesitation when facing the girl who had once helped her.

If I indiscriminately vent my emotions, wouldn’t I be no different from the kind of people I despise? Xiaolan hadn’t forgotten the reason she sought such power. Yet, sometimes decisiveness was paramount, lest she fail to completely sever ties with the humiliations of her past.

Thus, Xiaolan initiated the attack, tentatively unleashing multiple streams of black energy to strike at Night Moon.

What defined “Wolf Fang”? Night Moon’s fighting style was akin to a wolf’s—swift, keen, and adept at seizing opportunities to launch fierce assaults. Perceiving Xiaolan’s unrefined control over the black energy, Night Moon dodged the attacks by darting along the wall with speed that left afterimages. Circling behind her opponent, she pushed off forcefully, rocketing towards Xiaolan like a cannonball, her swift fist generating a powerful gust of wind as it ruthlessly slammed into Xiaolan’s back.

The defeated Xiaolan quickly adjusted her posture, her eyes fixed on the rapidly moving Night Moon, attempting to control the black energy to form a defense around herself, though mostly without success. As the situation increasingly turned against her, her gaze suddenly shifted, and all the black energy redirected itself, aiming directly at Sera in the corner.

“No!”

Night Moon’s entire body surged with rapidly circulating magic, barely catching up to the black energy ambushing Sera with astonishing speed. She dispersed it with a single punch, her twin ponytails unable to withstand such velocity. Her green hair fanned out, swept to one side by inertia, and alongside the dissipating black energy, she cut an imposing figure, truly resembling a Valkyrie.

“You nearly had a life on your hands.” Night Moon stated coldly.

“It’s not about a life, but whose life.” Xiaolan remained unyielding, still intent on launching another attack, but Night Moon had no intention of granting her another opportunity.

“Regardless of your grievances, you’ll come with me first!”

Xiaolan had misjudged the power gap between them; she had assumed Night Moon’s previous speed was her limit, but the moment Xiaolan raised her hand, her body was already no longer in its original position.

“Cough!” Her throat burning, she coughed up a mouthful of dark red, tainted blood.

Seeing Xiaolan incapacitated, Night Moon raised her fist high, preparing to knock her unconscious, bag her, and take her away.

“Oh my, what a mess you’ve gotten into~”

Night Moon’s pupils constricted. She decisively withdrew her fist, re-assumed a defensive stance, and stared sternly at the woman slowly drifting down from the sky. She could sense that this woman’s magical power concentration far surpassed Xiaolan’s, and her strength was likely on par with, if not greater than, her own.

A witch…

“Truly Ke Lan’s sister, you know quite a lot.”

At these words, Night Moon’s eyes widened instantly, fixed intently on the smiling witch.

“You know my sister. State your name, witch. I presume your name is on the wanted posters.”

“Hehe, my name is Isabella, merely an insignificant, unknown character.”

Isabella… that alluring witch who stalks the shadows, luring and draining the life force of countless innocent girls…

Night Moon murmured, her heart growing increasingly tense. Her sister had told her that the girls whose life force Isabella had stolen remained joyful until their dying breath, frantically craving carnal pleasures from everything around them, transforming completely into animals dominated by desire, their deaths utterly devoid of dignity.

Witches were truly such vile beings, spreading pain and death selfishly across the world under the banner of chaotic justice, proving to be the most formidable enemies of magical girls. Compared to ordinary monsters, the life forms of witches were exceedingly complex. Researchers at the Watchtower had continuously tried to find commonalities between witches and monsters to formulate combat strategies, but their findings proved the relationship between the two was akin to that between humans and animals. While both derived their power from humanity’s darker side, they differed vastly in every other aspect. One could even say that the relationship between witches and humans was quite similar to that between magical girls and humans, differing only in their fundamental ideologies.