“It’s done, meow.”
“Little Grey Moon, he’s dead.”
A long moment passed.
Only after hearing Glimmering Yellow Magical Girl’s words did Magical Girl Grey Moon snap back to reality. She ceased the movement of her axe blade, then rose to her feet.
Magical Girl Grey Moon was undeniably a powerful magical girl. Yet, in that moment, she dared not turn around to gaze upon Zhou Huanan’s expression. She feared seeing even a hint of fear, a flicker of disgust on his face. She would rather bury her head in the sand like an ostrich.
Grey Moon tossed the axe into the air. Despite having just slain a Magma Demon, not a single drop of blood stained its blade; instead, the hand axe seemed to grow more solid and sharp. It dissolved into a crimson aura, dissipating into the sky.
The young magical girl, Grey Moon, rose onto the tips of her toes, her pristine high heels gently tapping the ground. Like a balloon accidentally released, she ascended into the sky, gradually soaring higher and further towards the bright crescent moon above. Magical Girl Grey Moon simply wished to escape the scene.
Yet, from behind her, Zhou Huanan’s somewhat belated voice called out.
“Hey!”
“Thank you, Grey Moon!”
The girl’s lips curved into an unconscious smile, her eyes arching into a beautiful crescent, mirroring the lovely moon in the sky that night.
‘For Grey Moon, what could possibly bring her more joy than his praise?’
Taking a deep breath, she confidently turned back.
Grey Moon had already reverted to her usual aloof and sacred demeanor. An isolated, proud moon seemed to hover at her shoulder, while her long, flowing silver hair refracted delicate light. For a fleeting moment, it seemed as if the myriad stars of the Milky Way had dimmed in comparison. All eyes were drawn to Magical Girl Grey Moon.
Her sacred attire, inevitably, bore fresh bloodstains, spreading across the fabric like alluring spider lilies blooming on a field of snow. Upon closer inspection, warm, crimson beads of the Magma Demon’s blood still trickled down her tender face, from her forehead downwards, congealing into droplets at her cute, slightly plump chin before falling. Yet, the girl paid them no mind; her scarlet eyes held only him. Only him, only him. Only her.
Zhou Huanan stared, utterly captivated.
“So cool…”
Zhou Mu Xi, nestled in his arms, was equally mesmerized. She gazed at the magical girl before them, whose skirt lace was now stained crimson with blood.
“She’s so cool…” she murmured.
Her words broke the spell, severing the intertwined gazes of the two dazed individuals. Zhou Huanan, as if vaguely transported back in time, looked up at Magical Girl Grey Moon. Only at this close proximity did he unexpectedly notice the silk thread still wrapped around his wrist.
‘Magical girls truly are beautiful,’ he thought, smiling with a sense of relief.
Zhou Huanan’s eyes softened. Gently, he embraced his sister, who was gradually ceasing to tremble in his arms. He felt increasingly certain that stepping back from the front lines had been the right decision. Magical girls were simply too beautiful, too perfect—beings more magnificent than the entire Milky Way. Indeed, they were not something he could grasp, too much of a dream. Perhaps this scene would serve to sever the lingering thoughts in his heart entirely, and that would be for the best.
Zhou Huanan lowered his gaze, no longer daring to hope, no longer maintaining eye contact. Seeing this, Magical Girl Grey Moon’s expression turned a touch forlorn, yet she too began to drift away into the distance.
After comforting his startled sister, Zhou Huanan rose and noticed a unique reverse scale belonging to Mo Jiashi lying on the doorframe. Without a second thought, he picked it up and slipped it into his pocket. He then offered his intact room on the second floor to his sister and headed downstairs, pulling out his phone.
Zhou Huanan instinctively sent a message to Liu Li, eager to boast about his encounter with her favorite Magical Girl Grey Moon. He even added a humorous postscript, promising that the next time he saw Magical Girl Grey Moon, he wouldn’t forget to get Liu Li an autograph.
Zhou Huanan placed his phone against his chest, anticipating Liu Li’s adorably exasperated reply. Would she scold him sweetly for forgetting to take a photo and get an autograph? Or perhaps ask if Magical Girl Grey Moon was truly that cute in person? Would she be bitterly jealous that he had spoken to Magical Girl Grey Moon?
He waited by his phone screen for such a reply, but none came from Liu Li.
“Liu Li, did she go to bed too early today?”
Zhou Huanan lay on the sofa, a little dejected, wrapped snugly in a small blanket. Even with his eyes closed and phone off, his heart was ready, anticipating a message from the girl and how he would immediately rise to reply. And so, the night deepened.
Unbeknownst to Zhou Huanan, in Zhou Mu Xi’s bedroom, Mu Xi had secretly snuck back. Her room was utterly destroyed, the entire ceiling gone, and fallen bricks had smashed the shelf where she kept her magical girl figurines, shattering all of them.
Mu Xi sat once more in the spot where Magical Girl Grey Moon had saved her, reliving the moment not long ago when Magical Girl Grey Moon had rushed in to rescue her and her beloved brother. In her arms, she still clutched the Magical Girl Grey Moon figurine that her brother had forgotten to give her earlier that day. She stared at the figurine’s face, which bore a striking resemblance to the real person.
‘So cool,’ Mu Xi couldn’t help but hug it tighter. ‘Magical Girl Grey Moon.’
Mu Xi looked up at the beautiful expanse of stars. She had noticed it: her brother had been utterly captivated by Magical Girl Grey Moon just now. ‘If only I could become a magical girl like that, if only I could fight alongside such a cool Magical Girl Grey Moon, and protect Brother and everyone else.’
The girl gazing up at the stars unknowingly manifested a deep blue magical energy within the depths of her pupils.
****
‘So that’s how it is?’ Magical Girl Glimmering Yellow thought, observing the intense, overflowing desire in Magical Girl Grey Moon’s eyes. As she slowly departed with Grey Moon, she glanced back, wondering which lucky brat had garnered the magical girl’s favor. It turned out to be her classmate, Zhou Huanan.
Based on this information, and considering how Unohana Ren (Scarlet Magical Girl) had recently grown close to Liu Li, the true identity of Magical Girl Grey Moon could be largely deduced. Glimmering Yellow Magical Girl chuckled softly, flying low and observing the girl who, out of shyness, had hidden herself in the clouds. With a knowing awareness, she decided not to disturb her further, granting Grey Moon some space. She returned to the TV tower, informing Emerald Magical Girl that the Magma Demon had been slain and that the remaining combatants in the TV station would be expelled. Thus, Magical Girl Grey Moon was left alone, high above the clouds, at an altitude where no one could see her face.
Magical Girl Grey Moon’s face flushed with overwhelming shyness. Through her recent eye contact with Zhou Huanan, she had confirmed what he had told her that day: his heart genuinely held affection for magical girls. After all, the way he had looked at her could not be faked. Knowing this, Grey Moon felt a surge of immense courage. ‘As Liu Li, I might not be liked; I’m gloomy, and I’m a disappointment. But as a magical girl, none of that matters. I’ve gained the friendship of magical girls. I won’t have to worry about food and drink every day, and the person I like likes me back. If I even open my phone now, the top trending topic will be the apology video from Iron Ox, the internet personality from Erzhuzi’s family, who had originally burned magical girl figurines. The online reaction is overwhelmingly positive towards Magical Girl Grey Moon. Countless others who had burned Magical Girl Grey Moon figurines are now expressing their heartfelt regret, lamenting their actions. In short, they deeply regret it. Grey Moon’s reputation has completely turned around tonight.’
‘All of this, everything, has given Magical Girl Grey Moon tremendous courage.’ The magical girl’s delicate fists clenched as she naturally reasoned, ‘Will it be possible, once I fully become a magical girl, to successfully win the love of the person I like?’ Today, Zhou Huanan had faced such danger, stirring a crisis within Grey Moon. She longed to stay by his side, never leaving, to protect him immediately should anything happen. ‘In truth, Liu Li herself had wanted to confess to him for a long, long time. To tell him that she was actually a girl, that she didn’t want him to just grab her wrist when they went shopping, that she wanted to openly embrace him, that she wanted to play games with Zhou Huanan every weekend, and to marry him and eat his cooking for a lifetime.’
‘Yet, even with such desires in her heart, Liu Li still didn’t truly see herself as a girl. She worried that her courageous confession might actually frighten him. But as Magical Girl Grey Moon, there would be no problem. As long as she could ensure that Grey Moon’s identity as Liu Li was never exposed, she could peacefully stay by the side of the person she loved, Zhou Huanan, for a lifetime.’
“Beep-beep…” Her phone chimed with a new message. It was from Zhou Huanan, vividly recounting his encounter with Magical Girl Grey Moon. He was unaware that Grey Moon (Liu Li) was simply trying to elicit a cute reaction from her.
Her scarlet eyes fixated on his words, which spoke entirely of Magical Girl Grey Moon. And so, she yearned to become a magical girl.