“But, I refuse.”
“Huh!?”
Captain 19 watched in horror as Grey Moon, floating serenely in the sky, uttered those startling words.
Their gazes met, his fear reflected in her crimson eyes.
“Could it be that you still have some hidden trick up your sleeve? Unleash it now!”
“None.”
The petite magical girl, suspended in the air, merely shook her head, confirming her utter helplessness in the face of the unfolding events.
“What is this? Are you truly abandoning us, Magical Girl!?”
“I knew it! I knew Magical Girl Grey Moon was nothing but a pretty face, a mere showpiece! We’re utterly doomed, Aieeee…”
A chorus of furious accusations erupted from the internet trolls, held captive as hostages, upon witnessing Magical Girl Grey Moon’s seemingly resigned stance.
Yet,
Magical Girl Grey Moon met their barrage of accusations with only a faint, knowing smile.
A sudden realization struck her: even if she were to earn the approval and accolades of these people, it would bring her no joy.
How many, she wondered, had merely echoed praise for Magical Girl Grey Moon in the past, when her online image was less tarnished, without a trace of genuine sentiment?
Was it half? Three-quarters?
Or perhaps, was it everyone, with only a handful of souls truly cherishing Magical Girl Grey Moon?
****
Dr. Zhuge and Captain 19 observed Magical Girl Grey Moon, who remained suspended and unmoving in the air.
They exchanged a brief glance, a silent confirmation that no significant emotional turmoil was discernible on her face.
“It appears she won’t be corrupted into a villain after all.”
Dr. Zhuge felt no pang of regret.
After Captain 19’s detailed observation and subsequent agreement, relayed through a private voice channel on their earpieces, she confirmed the termination of the procedure.
“A true shame,” Dr. Zhuge remarked, pressing a button on her phone.
Instantly, every monster within the stadium reanimated, their eyes glinting with a base, avaricious hunger as they fixed their stares on Magical Girl Grey Moon.
“Then disappear, Magical Girl Grey Moon.”
Dr. Zhuge merely turned her back, making no effort to observe Grey Moon’s expression, and exited the arena with Captain 19 in tow.
Upon reaching the stadium’s egress, Captain 19 cast a backward glance at Magical Girl Grey Moon, suspended mid-air, her abilities severely curtailed, suffering a relentless barrage of attacks, and virtually powerless to retaliate.
A thought flickered, prompting him to speak, but he ultimately clamped his lips shut.
“No issues here, no need for you to come.”
Before him, Dr. Zhuge was engaged in conversation with the mastermind behind this plan’s contingency.
Captain 19’s security clearance was too low to ascertain the individual’s precise identity, yet observing Dr. Zhuge speaking with such deferential politeness, he surmised the person’s standing must be considerable.
Once the communication concluded, Captain 19, after much internal debate, finally broke his silence.
“Dr. Zhuge.”
“Yes?”
“I intend to remain here.”
“To savor the moment Magical Girl Grey Moon, who has repeatedly foiled your nefarious schemes, faces her own destruction?” Dr. Zhuge asked, a knowing smile playing on her lips.
“You really do bear a grudge, don’t you? Very well, you may go.”
The woman, he realized, had undoubtedly divined his intentions.
Captain 19 disregarded Dr. Zhuge’s mocking smirk, paid her no further attention, and swiftly turned on his heel, re-entering the vast stadium.
Within his sight, Magical Girl Grey Moon, once the very embodiment of purity and grace, was now a canvas of wounds.
Countless monsters, surging like an unrelenting tide, afforded her not a single moment to catch her breath.
Her sacred attire, now tattered and torn, exposed the tender, scarred skin beneath, presenting a truly heart-wrenching spectacle as she hung suspended in the air.
Despite it all, she refused to yield.
Beyond the anguished cries that escaped her lips with each impact, she uttered no words, much less a plea for surrender.
From life’s first breath to its last,
Grey Moon maintained the silent, dignified composure of a true hero.
Even when blood welled at the corner of her mouth, she would lick it away, only to spit out a bloody phlegm, a stark display of her raw grit and ferocious might, utterly distinct from any ordinary magical girl.
“Again!!!”
Grey Moon roared, her adaptive speed astonishingly swift.
It appeared she had deciphered the distinct capabilities of the A-rank monsters.
Captain 19 shook his head, a grim thought forming: ‘Even if Grey Moon had seen through their tactics, it would prove futile.’
These five A-rank monsters were all rare entities, possessing time-manipulating abilities.
The most colossal among them could halt time for a full one and a half seconds.
The hunched monster, nearly invisible to the naked eye due its severely stooped posture, could accelerate its own temporal flow by almost double, though its kyphosis still significantly hampered its overall speed.
The remaining three monsters wielded similar types of… abilities.
Even if Grey Moon managed to adapt and counter the assaults of four of the monsters, the time-stopping monster remained an insurmountable obstacle.
Moreover, the arena was not merely populated by five monsters; a multitude of lesser grunts swarmed around, aiding their superiors.
Even the most rudimentary of these creatures could inflict damage upon a magical girl, and under the ceaseless, overwhelming tide of these numerous grunts,
The scales of victory inexorably began to tip in Banjao’s favor.
At last,
The young girl emitted another sorrowful whimper.
After a brief temporal pause, a monster’s fist slammed into her abdomen, sending her hurtling across the stadium to collide violently with the audience stands.
This time, however, Magical Girl Grey Moon did not rise.
“It hurts… so much…”
The sound was utterly heartbreaking.
Her grimy, silver-grey bangs partially obscured her face, while her bloodless lips parted and closed listlessly.
A copious amount of ominous, pink-tinged blood dropped steadily from her chin.
Grey Moon drew a ragged breath, lying supine in the crater her impact had carved.
Through the scattered strands of her fringe, her crimson eyes tracked the grunt monsters as they scuttled towards her.
‘She had briefly entertained the thought of coolly flipping them off.’
‘Alas, not a single ounce of strength remained in her body, and the concrete, as expected, was unyieldingly hard.’
Grey Moon shifted within the crater, seeking a marginally more comfortable spot.
She attempted to glance skyward, but the stadium’s vast sunshade ceiling completely obstructed her view.
Ultimately,
She still hadn’t grasped why she had become a magical girl.
Her gaze drifted back to the captive masses, meeting their expressions of profound disappointment.
Grey Moon, however, found she no longer cared about them.
‘It doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter…’
‘Wait…’
Magical Girl Grey Moon’s eyes suddenly flew open, wide with shock.
****
Captain 19, observing Magical Girl Grey Moon’s utterly depleted state, sensed that the moment for his intervention had arrived.
Activating his stealth.
He watched her beautiful eyes slowly dim, their vibrant color fading, and, gritting his teeth, he surged forward.
“I will not let you die, Magical Girl Grey Moon.”
“Don’t you dare! Don’t you even think of dying on me this easily!”
Why, then, would Captain 19 suddenly rush to rescue the very girl he had victimized?
Was it the pitiful sight of the young magical girl before him that sparked a sudden, remorseful awakening in Captain 19?
Or perhaps, did Captain 19 believe he hadn’t exacted enough vengeance upon Magical Girl Grey Moon, finding it unacceptable to let her perish without first capturing her and subjecting her to severe punishment within a dungeon?
Neither, no, neither of those.
The truth, as always, proved far more astonishing…
As Captain 19 charged forward, his mind held but a single thought:
‘Should Magical Girl Grey Moon die, Liu Li would grieve for an agonizingly long time.’
He moved, swiftly, yet simultaneously, Magical Girl Grey Moon also stirred.
Captain 19 skidded to an abrupt halt, as if confronted by a monstrous apparition.
“Impossible!!?”
She had sustained such grievous wounds, her pristine white dress almost entirely dyed red, yet she could still rise, still clench her fists.
She could even manage a smile?
Grey Moon slowly peeled off the crimson silk gloves from her hands, her gaze sweeping indifferently over the charging horde before her, and the captive masses they bore.
“It doesn’t matter…”
The young girl murmured, as if a key to a long-unsolved labyrinth had finally materialized in her grasp.
Then, a smile, genuine and radiant, graced her lips.
Indeed.
Those citizens, they were utterly inconsequential.
Their condemnations held no weight, their cold stares meant nothing, their praises were hollow; she had no need whatsoever to plead for their affection.
Their love was, quite simply, irrelevant.
Magical Girl Grey Moon had, at last, comprehended what truly held significance within her heart…
[“No matter what happens,”]
[“I will always love Magical Girl Grey Moon the most.”]
A vivid memory resurfaced: the firm grasp on her shoulder, the unyielding, direct confession.
How could such a recollection not fill her with delight, not make her smile?
Back then, she had stifled her smile, not daring to let it show, but now, she would wholeheartedly make up for it.
Though she remained unsure why Zhou Huanan had suddenly clasped her shoulder and declared his feelings then, it was undeniably true.
Grey Moon’s cheeks flushed faintly at the thought.
It was truly a blessing that he had spoken those words at that moment.
Indeed, she needed only to be loved by one person; Zhou Huanan’s love, and his alone, was all she required.