Rebirth

The twisted monstrosity known as the Ram-Head Centipede, despite its overwhelming strength, found itself pressed hard by the united assault of over a dozen magical girls, two of whom were Ten Seats.

Yet if one looked closely, they’d notice—

It was still holding something back.

Its focus wasn’t entirely on the battle. It continued diverting attention toward a specific point on the battlefield.

The Super-large Star Ring provided ample space for movement, but the creature took advantage of the magical girls’ priority—to rescue survivors.

With disturbing precision, it launched jets of pollutant matter at the clustered, wounded survivors.

The dark smoke it expelled was eerily alive, slithering with intent.

Any body it touched quickly became corroded, withered, reduced to fragmented remains.

The magical girls were forced into a defensive posture, casting barriers and resistance spells to block direct hits.

“Even for a dragon-class dimensional beast with higher intellect, this thing knows too much about how we operate!” Xingyu spoke coldly.

It was like this creature had been designed to target magical girls—exploiting their weaknesses with surgical precision.

‘It’s hiding something.’

Jinwang narrowed her eyes.

Despite its aggression, it hadn’t moved an inch from its original position.

What part of the Star Ring was it occupying?

“That’s… the Singularity Core!” Xingyu’s voice rose in alarm.

“Its target is the Singularity Core? Why? Do dimensional beasts even need that?”

“No—it’s not the Core itself. It’s the magical energy we infused into it during stabilization!”

Xingyu caught the trick instantly.

Something was definitely off here.

She would be demanding answers from whoever was responsible once this was over.

But for now, one thing was certain—they couldn’t let the creature succeed.

“I’m invoking First-Rank Magic. Stall it for me!”

“Be careful—it might phase out! If it escapes into the extradimensional layers via the damaged Star Ring, we’ll lose it for good!”

“First-Rank Magic—Let There Be Light.”

Strangely, the Ram-Head Centipede didn’t try to flee.

That was a mistake.

Thanks to its inaction, Xingyu was able to channel her magic to full completion.

Backed by the Soul Pillar and Mirror World enhancements, the spell she unleashed far surpassed the scale of her previous cast in the Sea of Realms.

Below—

“So this… this is the full power of the Third Seat?”

Feiyu looked up in awe.

She was already close to becoming a Ten Seat herself—recognized as one of the official candidates.

But even if she earned the title, she’d only barely scrape the bottom of the ranking.

The gap between her and veterans like Xingyu was still massive.

The storm of divine light had utterly overtaken the twisted sky above.

Ram-Head Centipede’s screech was drowned beneath the blinding deluge.

Magical girls nearby instinctively retreated—the magical pressure alone was suffocating.

And yet, the Star Ring, sitting at the epicenter of the blast, remained perfectly intact—untouched by the attack.

After what felt like an eternity, the white light parted like the birth of a new world, splitting above and below to reveal what remained beneath.

“It’s intact?” Jinwang asked, eyes scanning the area.

“No,” Xingyu replied. “My First-Rank Magic isn’t focused on external destruction—it dismantles internal structure. And I could feel it land.”

True to her words, cracks began to appear along the beast’s body.

Thick, black-gray fluids oozed from within.

Its vitality ebbed rapidly.

The grotesque, snarling ram’s head gradually withered, hollowing into a lifeless husk.

Just to be sure, Jinwang unleashed a follow-up combo, pounding its segmented body into pieces.

Even the monstrosity’s head was shattered under her golden barrage.

“Don’t tell me that was it?” she muttered in disbelief.

A dimensional beast of mid-dragon-class level—easier than the last low-tier one?

But Xingyu still wasn’t at ease.

“Why didn’t it dodge at the end?” she murmured. “If it had fought back properly, even First-Rank Magic wouldn’t have been enough to stop it.”

“Who knows. Maybe it didn’t care?” Jinwang shrugged.

“…Something feels off.”

Xingyu’s eyes sharpened.

“Remember the Flower Sea incident?”

Jinwang’s expression immediately turned grim.

“You mean that human-dimensional beast hybrid? We never got its tissue samples—couldn’t analyze it at all.”

“You don’t think this one is…?”

“But I blasted its head to pieces. What, do we have to reduce every cell to ash to be safe?”

“For now—yes.”

“To be thorough, I’ll handle it.”

Jinwang activated her second innate magic: Golden Realm.

Golden tides surged outward from her feet, swelling from a trickle into a tsunami, sweeping toward the Ram-Head Centipede’s remains.

Its dismembered flesh turned golden as the liquid engulfed it—its tissue melting and dissolving into the golden sea.

When the tide receded, nothing was left behind.

“Now it’s dead, right?”

Jinwang panted lightly.

Both she and Xingyu had spent a tremendous amount of magical energy.

They needed rest.

She turned her gaze toward the spot where Herrera stood.

That woman—

She still hadn’t moved.

Arms folded, chest out, her haughty posture unchanged.

As if to declare to the world: The battle isn’t over yet.

‘Don’t tell me…’ Jinwang frowned.

‘If that thing isn’t dead, just send me straight to Herrera as tribute already.’

“You girls really don’t understand the simplest thing about Plunder-Light-class?”

A voice echoed from the void.

Both Xingyu and Jinwang froze.

Xingyu’s face paled slightly.

‘So Manzhushahua was right after all… It is Plunder-Light?’

‘But why did it go down so easily?’

On the Super-large Star Ring, at the exact point of the Singularity Core—

A new hole had opened.

From it, thick, black-gray matter surged upward, congealing midair into a grotesque form—

The Ram-Head Centipede’s terrifying body.

No…

“Look at its head!”

Xingyu pointed.

Where the beast’s ram head had once been, a humanoid upper torso had emerged.

Less monstrous in appearance—yet infinitely more dangerous.

It studied its new body curiously, as if recently born.

Then sighed, faintly disappointed.

“Pity. Still can’t escape the shackles of form…”

It seemed almost regretful at maintaining such a horrifying physical state.

Jinwang and Xingyu tensed, instincts screaming.

“It’s the same entity we encountered in Flower Sea City. Be careful.”

“Intel said this one—was originally human.”

“Wait, you’re saying it’s already… Plunder-Light?”

Xingyu’s fingers trembled as she recalled Manzhushahua’s warnings.

And the price paid in the battle four years ago.

“If it really is Plunder-Light…”

“Who can stop it?”

“Out of the way. I’ll handle this.”

A violent gust erupted nearby, forcing both Jinwang and Xingyu back several meters.

“Herrera? What the hell are you doing here?!” Jinwang shouted.