The disposition of Zhennu Yibai had finally been decided.
The two-day argument within the conference hall came to an abrupt halt.
The assembled Transcendent-tier Magical Girls gazed at the gilded text suspended in the air.
Representatives of the execution faction angrily swiped away their holographic projections, while members of the exile faction merely scoffed in displeasure as they departed. Yet, before the divine oracle of the Lily Goddess, all dissent dissolved into silence.
Kloxia flicked her fingertips, transmitting the final resolution across the kingdom.
A vibrant green magical pattern outlined the lily emblem in the void, proclaiming Zhennu Yibai’s imprisonment with a life sentence, to be held until a great calamity struck, at which point he might be granted an opportunity to atone for his crimes through meritorious service.
It was, in a way, an explanation to the masses.
With the verdict sealed, it was time to lift the internet restrictions on topics related to ‘Zhennu Yibai’.
“Lift the network controls,” Kloxia commanded, massaging her temples.
However, it wasn’t long before her communicator buzzed with an urgent message. The crimson alert from Tanhua City’s technical department cast a fiery glow upon her pupils.
At 3:17 PM, the urban network defenses of Tanhua City were breached by an unknown hacker. All 166,732 smart televisions across the city simultaneously broadcast surveillance footage of Zhennu Yibai alongside real-time street recordings from passersby.
That silver-haired, violet-eyed male figure utterly shattered the public’s faith in the ‘Vestal Maiden’.
Simultaneously, on the streets, the thick smoke from burning effigies had yet to dissipate when new protest banners appeared in various squares:
‘How many more lies does the Magical Girl Association hide?’
‘Thoroughly investigate the hermaphrodite masquerade!’
****
“Immediately trace the origin of the attack,” Kloxia’s voice was icy, her mind pondering whether a more dangerous conspiracy lay hidden behind this storm of public opinion.
Technical personnel sprang into action, lines of code delving deep into the network.
When the preliminary report was relayed, Kloxia stared at the constantly shifting IP addresses on the screen, her pupils contracting slightly. All attack paths pointed to the same codename: Aisi Aimu.
‘So brazen, using a codename online…’
Of course, it wasn’t impossible that an enemy was impersonating Aisi Aimu.
****
Meanwhile, far away in Tanhua City, Ling Cheyin had moved to a new location, atop a dilapidated signal tower on the city’s outskirts.
She was actively spreading ‘conspiracy theories’ across the internet, live streaming her broadcast. Her aim was to sow doubt, making people question whether the Magical Girl Association harbored other ‘hermaphrodites’ similar to Zhennu Yibai – individuals who appeared to be women but were, in fact, men.
On her laptop screen, a newly edited video was counting down to its release.
“Do you truly believe Zhennu Yibai is an isolated case?” she asked, a smirk playing on her lips as she addressed the camera through a twin-tailed virtual idol avatar, her voice also processed.
Immediately after, dozens of blurry photos of Magical Girls flashed across the electronic screen.
“Let me tell you, within the Association’s archives, among the never-before-released files of ‘Transcendent-tier candidates,’ especially those Magical Girls from Zhennu Yibai’s generation… just how many ‘fake women’ might there be?”
“The Association headquarters must be utterly rotten…”
The moment the video was released, countless pop-ups, having bypassed censorship mechanisms, erupted on various terminals across the Iris Kingdom. The comment sections were instantly overwhelmed with ‘conspiracy theories’ and calls to ‘investigate the Association’.
The young witch was able to disregard the short-video platform’s controls, effectively skipping the review process and publishing directly. This single act ignited a fresh wave of unrest throughout the Iris Kingdom.
While the online world seethed, Ling Cheyin was still busy coding new virus programs. She gazed toward Tanhua City Prison in the distance, recalling Silvia’s expression when he had disciplined her with a small toy back then.
‘Zhennu Yibai, since you made me lose face in front of Qiye back then, don’t blame me now… Hmph~ Even if you’re imprisoned, I’ll still muddy these waters…’
With a press of the Enter key, a new round of cyberattacks commenced.
****
At this very moment, Kloxia was intently gazing at the constantly spreading hotspots of public opinion on the holographic map. This storm, ignited by the revelation of gender, might merely be the prelude to a greater crisis.
It seemed the Lily Goddess’s prophecy would soon come to pass.
****
Meanwhile, within Tanhua City Prison, in Silvia’s cell, he was utterly disheartened, unwilling to move or to think. Yet, he couldn’t help but recall, for the seventy-seventh time, the image of Xia Naxin fleeing in disgust.
His girlfriend, Xia Naxin, had left him. Qiye, Weizhan, and Xincheng had also departed. He was now virtually alone and helpless.
‘So, what meaning is there left in living like this?’
“Sigh—”
Silvia had no idea how many times he had sighed already. But then, he suddenly felt the mechanical tentacles covering his lower back—why had they abruptly stopped functioning? The peculiar sensation of his magic being siphoned away had simply vanished.
Silvia couldn’t perceive the situation outside the magic-suppressing cell; it was pitch black. Yet, he could feel an external force actively dismantling the cell.
Subtle metallic scraping sounds echoed in the darkness. First, the magic-nullifying shackles binding the exterior of the cell emitted a faint clang—a sound of breakage? Immediately afterward, that external force tore a hole in the rear right side of the cell.
Elemental insulating fluid began to flow out, winding into a stream across the gold-inlaid floor. Then, Silvia felt the magic-suppressing cell being lifted. Another violent shake, and the cell completely split open.
Silvia fell to the ground. He tore off the mask from his face, looking at the blood-red silhouette.
“Lina?” Silvia exclaimed in surprise, never having expected Lina to sneak in and rescue him. However, Lina was unusually aloof.
Before entering, she had silently killed five female jailers in the monitoring room.
“Come on, I’ll take you out.”
But Silvia was perplexed; he could see that the surveillance system was still operational.
“Why… didn’t the alarm sound?” Why hadn’t they raised an alarm, even after detecting someone coming to rescue him?
“Heh~ How could these inferior supernatural constructs detect me?” Lina impatiently tossed her long hair, and blood mist coalesced into sharp blades, slicing Silvia’s prison armor into fragments. The metallic debris clattered onto the gold-inlaid floor, yet no alarm was triggered.
However, she couldn’t touch the gold stones in the room; doing so would trigger an alarm.
“Before I came, I drank the blood of a few mortals to recover some strength, and then I just came in… For me, bypassing these broken surveillance systems is incredibly simple.” As a blood race member, Lina’s transcendent system was far beyond what these Magical Girls could contend with. She wielded blood energy, naturally allowing her to disregard these inferior prison regulations and surveillance. Infiltrating was effortless for her.
“Hey, are you coming or not?”
Upon hearing this, Silvia hesitated. He instinctively pushed against the ground, attempting to rise, only to fall back heavily. If it had been before, he would have seized this opportunity without a second thought. But now, Xia Naxin’s disgust, Qiye’s tears, and the overwhelming online abuse felt like countless iron nails pinning him to the spot.
Even if he escaped prison, what would await him? Being hunted by the Three-Color Squad? Or watching his former companions turn against the entire Iris Kingdom for his sake? His life was already shattered; would escaping prison truly give it meaning?
Seeing his hesitation, Lina frowned, stepping back half a pace, a flicker of disgust in her eyes. If the person before her were still the gentle ‘Miss Silvia,’ she would have forcibly dragged him out, fighting their way to freedom. But this male version of Silvia made her instinctively resist contact.
“If you wish to die, I won’t force you.” She flicked her wrist, and a few drops of fresh blood splattered onto the ground, outlining a complex teleportation blood array. “This array can only last for one minute. If you want to leave, do so quickly. If not, that’s fine too… I came to save you, and that’s enough. Our debts are settled.”
With that, Lina didn’t linger. She transformed into a wisp of blood mist and vanished into thin air.
Now, Silvia once again pushed himself up, gazing at the teleportation blood array so close at hand. He knew that with a single touch, he could be transported to a safe place Lina had prepared. But… should he really go? Given his current situation, if he escaped, surely… the Three-Color Squad would come to apprehend him? Silvia also didn’t want to put Qiye and the others in an awkward position. Of course, Silvia was already utterly disheartened.
At that moment, the alarm suddenly blared, and the cell flashed with red light. Silvia, however, merely collapsed to the ground, laughing self-deprecatingly. His laughter, tinged with a choked sob, echoed through the confined cell, a desperate lament. He had no face left, having lost everything; what right did he have to ‘live’?
Soon, the array vanished. His only chance of escape was gone. ‘Self-inflicted suffering? So be it…’ Silvia lay powerlessly on the ground, staring at the flickering emergency light on the ceiling, understanding that he had lost his ‘will’ to live the moment he had transformed into a man.
****
Not long after, Warden Hera, accompanied by her female jailers, burst through the door. As they hurried in, they found Silvia lying amidst the wreckage, his gaze vacant as he stared at the ceiling.
Warden Hera’s first thought was that Silvia had attempted an escape but failed. However, the message crackling through her radio communicator reported that a blood-robed woman had killed people in the monitoring room, attempting a jailbreak. But the outcome was… the assailant had seemingly failed? After destroying the magic-suppressing cell, the blood-robed woman had vanished?
Nevertheless, to be safe, Warden Hera still stepped forward to inspect the cell’s condition. First, she checked if the gold stones had failed. How could the jailbreaker have ignored the effects of magic suppression?! But after her inspection, the gold stones were functioning normally; the array remained intact. Only the bloodstains on the floor and the shattered magic-suppressing cell silently testified to the attempted jailbreak.
Next was Silvia. He lay there motionless, as if half-dead. If not for his faint breathing, Warden Hera might have thought he was… dead.
“Transfer him immediately!” she ordered, clutching the buzzing radio, listening to the report of the monitoring room’s gruesome state. Cold sweat trickled down her spine. She wondered, ‘Could it really be such a coincidence? The higher-ups just issued the life imprisonment notice, and now someone attempts a jailbreak…’
‘Thankfully, it didn’t succeed… otherwise, my position as warden would surely be jeopardized.’