Chapter 133: Two-Level Reversal!
“Nothing.” Bai Qing replied with a stiff voice, then flew inside the headquarters with Luo Shuangyue.
The headquarters of the Magic Department is a city divided into several areas, such as research and combat zones.
The two were currently heading towards the research area.
After flying for about twenty minutes, they landed at the entrance of a large building complex.
“Others will guide you down the next path. I’ll be leaving now.” Bai Qing disposed of Luo Shuangyue at the front door and hurriedly left.
This left Luo Shuangyue puzzled. Was her affinity so low?
Holding onto her doubts, Luo Shuangyue entered through the front door, where a white security robot approached and scanned her. Its yellow expression instantly turned into a green smiley face.
“Miss Dark Butterfly, I will guide you on your next journey.”
It’s fascinating how each area has its own unique traits…
Following the robot into the area, Luo Shuangyue noticed there seemed to be a lot of people here, with guards every three steps, and every five steps, she could occasionally see some magical girls wandering the corridors.
People wearing lab coats and masks moved swiftly, as if they had countless urgent matters to attend to, which only deepened Luo Shuangyue’s confusion.
Why does this place feel off?
What does Monise want her here for?
After navigating through the maze-like building for several minutes, the robot brought Luo Shuangyue to a room and indicated that this was her destination.
With that, it unceremoniously left Luo Shuangyue behind.
One could say these things truly lacked an understanding of human emotions. At least wait for me to knock on the door before leaving, okay?
Thinking this, Luo Shuangyue reached out and gently pressed the ‘knock’ button on the touchscreen next to the door.
The next second, the door opened with a creak, and the sound of heated arguing came flooding into Luo Shuangyue’s ears.
“What’s the point of rushing me? There’s only so many resources available. I’ve been teaching for twenty-four hours straight; this is not something that can be hurried!”
“What do you mean you can’t catch someone? You’re the Magic Department, not a mascot! Let those who dare to breathe down your neck know your strength!”
“I don’t want to hear excuses; I only care about results!”
Monise’s voice was laced with passion. It wasn’t until Luo Shuangyue stepped up to her desk that she snapped back to reality from her spirited debate.
Disconnecting the electronic screen in front of her temporarily, Monise lifted her gaze to Luo Shuangyue, a flicker of surprise passing through her eyes.
At a glance, she could tell that Luo Shuangyue was different from just a few days ago; it seemed that her training in the sky had indeed yielded results.
The aura emanating from the girl had reached a level of near overflow, requiring only slight catalysis to allow her heart flower to fully bloom.
She was only a step away from Blooming Level.
“Why did you call me back?” Luo Shuangyue started assertively.
“I need you to help me with some trivial matters.” Monise handed Luo Shuangyue a tablet.
Glancing at the tablet Monise had handed her, Luo Shuangyue displayed a confused expression.
“This is… Yi’s magic?”
“Yes,” Monise nodded and explained, pointing at the contents on the tablet, “From the very beginning, I discovered that Yi’s magic had some unique features. After testing it, I found that to be the case.”
After becoming a magical girl, Yi had been under constant questioning by the Magic Department, revealing nearly everything she knew.
Her magic development started later on.
At that time, Yi was still with Polar Night, and naturally, the magic development was led by Monise, who became distracted due to the matter of transformations for many days.
When she finally had time to check on Yi, she was astonished to discover that the magic Yi had developed was rather peculiar.
Currently, Yi still had no combat ability; her magic could only be used in strange ways.
“Open door; this is her magic.”
To put it in simpler terms, Yi’s ability is to create a pair of teleportation doors. Once both doors are formed, everyone can move through this pair of teleportation doors.
“That’s really amazing!” After hearing Monise’s explanation, Luo Shuangyue’s first thought was joy.
Teleportation doors!
Setting aside future matters, just now, this teleportation door can greatly enhance the connection between the moon and the mother planet and allow the magical girls, who have fought all day, to return to the mother planet to rest at night.
This is nothing short of a strategic magic, far stronger than Loran’s card transport!
“But!” Monise coughed heavily, indicating that she wasn’t finished speaking.
“She requires a large amount of magical power to create the teleportation doors, and at most, she can only create a door that connects one side of the headquarters to the other.”
After all, Yi was merely a magical girl who had just gained her powers a few days ago; expecting her to establish a gateway to the starry sky instantly was quite challenging.
“And she also mentioned that she can sense fluctuations from deep within the starry sky, suggesting that her magic seems to be capable of sensing the royal-class magical creature.”
“Isn’t that a good thing? It allows us to know where the royal-class magical creature is!” Luo Shuangyue tilted her head.
“But her strength is too weak. Now, the royal-class magical creature hasn’t truly descended, yet she can vaguely sense its location. What will happen when the royal-class magical creature truly appears? I’m afraid she’ll be completely scared.” Shaking her head, Monise expressed that Luo Shuangyue was underestimating the situation.
Yi is currently too weak; weak enough that just a glance from a royal-class magical creature could crush her spirit.
The power she possesses is too significant, and the Magic Department currently lacks such energy that can span bridges in the starry sky.
However, magic varies from person to person, and there’s no way to pass Yi’s magic onto someone else.
While the Magic Department contemplated what to do, Monise, who had been preoccupied with matters of transformed individuals, chanced upon their debate and indicated with a weary expression that it wasn’t impossible to let others use Yi’s magic.
She had General Dark Butterfly, who could absorb magical power to gain the abilities of magical girls and magical creatures. If they let Dark Butterfly consume Yi’s magic, wouldn’t they be able to utilize Yi’s magic?
If Yi’s strength wasn’t enough, then Dark Butterfly, as an Initial Bloom-level leader, would certainly have sufficient capabilities, right?
Upon hearing this, the headquarters personnel quickly submitted a report. In less than half a day, approval was granted.
Thus, Luo Shuangyue, who was happily cutting down magical creatures in the sky, was called back.
“Huh?” After hearing the whole story, Luo Shuangyue was a bit dazed.
How did they think of summoning her? Yes, she could consume the magical power of magical girls to gain a portion of their abilities, but this thing is highly random.
Luo Shuangyue had no idea how much magical power she needed to eat to acquire Yi’s magic.
“This is the only method; you’re the only one with such ability.” Monise shrugged, indicating that Luo Shuangyue’s power was unique, and taking the risk was better than not taking any risk.
After all, the situation in the sky hadn’t reached the point where they couldn’t manage without Luo Shuangyue; should they really wait until a conflict arises to summon her down?
That would be foolish!
“Yi is waiting for you in this place. I’ve already informed the people over there about your visit. You can go directly. I’m very busy and don’t have time to chat.”
Luo Shuangyue could tell that Monise was currently a workaholic.
“So, how many transformed individuals have successfully completed their transformations in headquarters now?” Luo Shuangyue asked curiously.
“Quite a lot, but most of them are still adapting to their new bodies and abilities, with none currently dispatched for tasks.” Upon mentioning this, Monise finally showed a hint of happiness; it seemed she saw her dreams gradually becoming reality.
The future where everyone could use magic and no longer had to tremble in front of magical creatures, waiting for a hero to rescue them, was beckoning her on the horizon.
As long as she continued on this path, Monise believed she would eventually realize her dream.
“I saw the sister who brought me over adapting quite well.”
“Well, adaptation comes in many aspects.” Monise’s expression suddenly grew a bit complex, as she wondered about how the combat department’s transformed individuals guided Luo Shuangyue.
Currently, the transformed individuals accepted by the combat department were mainly elites from various divisions, and these elites were mostly male.
So, you know.
“My transformation surgery had some side effects; you can see for yourself later.” Monise waved her hand, ushering Luo Shuangyue out of her room.
As for the tablet, she let Luo Shuangyue take it, as it was necessary for guiding her through the vast headquarters.
While heading to Yi’s location, Luo Shuangyue skimmed through the details of Monise’s transformation surgery.
Overlooking the portions she couldn’t understand, Luo Shuangyue quickly found what Monise had referred to as ‘side effects.’
After reading it, Luo Shuangyue fell silent.
Well… it’s hard to say.
No wonder Bai Qing had shown such a reaction earlier; she understood now, completely understood.
Gaining power comes at the cost of becoming a beautiful girl. This kind of thing might be a bit too stimulating for the passionate boys of the Magic Department.
Shutting down the information regarding the surgery, Luo Shuangyue cast a subtle glance at the magical girls in the headquarters. She felt these magical girls might not be as innocent as they seemed.
Of course, in a way, she and those transformed individuals should share quite a common ground.
After all, they walked the same path.
With strange emotions, Luo Shuangyue arrived at the research facility where Yi was located and, led by the staff, reached the door of Yi’s room.
The living quarters assigned to Yi by the Magic Department were quite lavish, with a large area and equipped with various high-tech devices that made it hard to imagine she was actually in a single room.
Upon opening the door and walking in, Luo Shuangyue was greeted by the sight of a magnificent towering tree, so tall that even from a distance, it left a shocking impression.
Yi sat not far from the cliff’s edge, her hair gently blown by the breeze, her emerald eyes gazing deeply at the distant giant tree, exuding a faint sense of sorrow.
The scene here, of course, was not real but rather a projection created through technology.
After Luo Shuangyue and the researcher responsible for caring for Yi entered the room, the scene transformed to a normal appearance.
And Yi wasn’t sitting on a cliff; beneath her was an obviously comfortable sofa.
“Holographic projection technology, infused with some magical power; it works well as a distraction,” the female researcher softly explained to Luo Shuangyue.
“Miss Dark Butterfly, Miss Loran, good afternoon.” Yi stood up from the sofa, politely greeting the two.
The last time Luo Shuangyue saw Yi, this poor girl from outer space had just lost her sister, filled with lifelessness and the hatred fueling her to continue living.
Now, after the passage of time, the death intent in Yi’s eyes was gone, and her animosity toward magical creatures had been well repressed within her heart.
She appeared like a noble young lady, with elegance radiating from every gesture.
Her clothing was also unique, embodying a beauty and design that differed completely from humanity, revealing quite a bit of skin, yet still giving off no sense of disrespect.
The decorations in the room conveyed a natural aura, coinciding with humanity’s prior imaginations of elves.
“This is something restored based on her memories,” Miss Loran continued to explain.
The Magic Department had searched through Yi’s memories thoroughly, extracting anything valuable while discarding what wasn’t.
Valuable items for humanity had been rapidly put into production, while the leftovers were used in these areas.
They crafted a room for Yi, filled with elven style, equipped with highly advanced and believable holographic projection devices, hoping to improve Yi’s mood while she stayed here.
Their efforts appeared successful, as evident from Yi’s current expression; it seemed this girl was in a good mood.
“Cough, Miss Yi, regarding the plan we mentioned before, you still have one last chance to reconsider.” After explaining the room, Loran gently spoke to Yi.
In that moment, a motherly glow radiated from this young lady, making Luo Shuangyue find it noteworthy.
Wow, the Magic Department indeed hides many talents! With such a gentle saint-like young lady caring for Yi closely, it would be eerie for Yi’s mental state not to improve.
“I won’t reconsider. I’m just letting Miss Dark Butterfly consume some of my magical power; how could I have an objection?” Yi shook her head firmly, indicating she wasn’t that petty.
Two swirling orbs of starlight appeared in Yi’s palm, and she combined them, tightly holding a beautiful and profound starlight gem in her hand.
Then, she softly uttered the word ‘Transformation.’
Typically, there’s no strict rule that magical girls must shout transformation catchphrases during their transformation; everyone does it because a magical girl’s combat power depends on the strength of their heart.
Shouting the lines during transformation can significantly boost morale, enhancing a magical girl’s combat effectiveness.
To put it more figuratively, shouting a catchphrase during transformation can increase combat power by around 10-20%.
This is quite a substantial boost, so most magical girls choose to vocally express their transformation lines before battles to motivate themselves; some even select very cool transformation styles for better effects.
For example, transforming while running or yelling as they charge toward the magical creatures are common tricks that many magical girls utilize.
However, Yi, in this case, was simply providing Luo Shuangyue with her magical power, so she didn’t require any flashy actions and transformed directly.
Yi’s hair turned a deep blue under the starlight, countless star rays flowing through her waterfall-like long hair, making her appear as if she had stepped out of a fairy tale.
Her emerald eyes were also tinted with black and white hues, the black appearing capable of swallowing everything, while the white seemed infused with the essence of creation.
She lifted her hands, streams of glowing magical power surged from her palms, both in quantity and quality quite pitiful.
A budding-level magical girl could only reach this extent.
Though her hatred for magical creatures ran deep and her heart was resolutely steadfast, she still needed to undergo her growth phase.
It’s not as if just having a strong will could overpower royal-class creatures; that simply wasn’t possible.
Even summer dew, the most suited for willpower breakthroughs, could only briefly match royal-class creatures at their peak.
Defeating royal-class magical creatures was entirely out of the question.
Luo Shuangyue received the magical power Yi sent out and immediately stuffed it into her mouth without letting the butterflies taste it.
Mmm, Yi’s magical power is quite different from Luo Shuangxing’s; it has a very refreshing taste, making one feel like sitting under a tree eating fruit.
With one bite, a sense of clarity overwhelmed her, relieving the accumulated fatigue from recent days significantly.
But in terms of deliciousness, Luo Shuangxing’s was still better.
Yi continuously emitted magical power while Luo Shuangyue kept stuffing it into her mouth. As Yi’s magical power was slowly digested and absorbed by her, she indeed sensed some unknown effects emerging in her power.
“Whew… I’ve run out of magical power; I’m sorry.” At that moment, Yi also halted her supply of magical energy, displaying a fatigued expression.
As a budding-level, her total magical power just wasn’t sufficient.
Luo Shuangyue, feeling unsatisfied, licked her lips gently, kindly informing Yi that she didn’t need to push herself; if one day wasn’t enough, they could do it over two or three days. After all, she was free for the next few days.
Consuming too much at once might cause her problems as well.
Whether this reassured Yi was unclear, but that girl immediately exited her transformation state and returned to her room to rest.
Meanwhile, Luo Shuangyue followed Loran into the adjoining laboratory to test how much of Yi’s abilities she had obtained after absorbing so much of Yi’s magical power.
“I can roughly mimic her magical power, but the conversion rate is quite low.” The first aspect was the magical properties, which were best suited for Luo Shuangyue. She could mimic any magical power as long as she had tasted an attribute of it before.
Nevertheless, the conversion ratio depended on how much of that specific attribute she had consumed; the more she absorbed, the higher the conversion rate, and vice versa.
Moreover, the converted magical power remained an imitation, possessing only the most basic effects. For instance, even if Luo Shuangyue could copy summer dew’s bond power, it would have no practical use.
Because the bond power she mimicked wouldn’t be able to utilize willpower, and that’s just useless.
The same goes for other magical powers; thus, Luo Shuangyue preferred magical powers with fairly good fundamental attributes, such as those that were high-temperature, corrosive, or contained various strange abilities.
“Her magical power has a unique effect, seemingly lacking strong attack power, but…” Luo Shuangyue flipped her wrist, and the starlight magical power she had mimicked vanished into space.
Floating quietly in the ocean of magical power that ordinary people couldn’t perceive, this strand of magical power remained completely unphased by the ocean’s turbulent waves.
It was as if this magical power was expressly designed to combat the magical ocean!
“Miss Loran, please step aside; I’ll try to create a teleportation door.”
“Understood.” Loran hurriedly moved to the other side of the laboratory, ensuring that researchers operating nearby equipment didn’t blink, as they had to carefully document every step of Luo Shuangyue’s experiment.
Indeed, there were researchers present, with one transformed individual currently operating new equipment that required magical power to utilize.
This laboratory housed the highest-grade technology in the headquarters; only the elite could work here.
Luo Shuangyue, unaware of the intricacies within, first transformed nearly half of her magical power into starlight magical power. Although the conversion rate was pitifully low, her quantity of magical power, now teetering at the edge of Blooming Level, was vastly superior to Yi’s little newcomer power.
Even with low conversion rates, the starlight magical power Luo Shuangyue produced exceeded Yi’s total magical power by a large margin.
With this magical power, she could attempt to create a teleportation door…?
“Hmm?” Luo Shuangyue blinked, seemingly having overlooked a crucial matter.
She had no clue about the principles of a teleportation door. How could she create one with only magical power in hand?
At that moment, Luo Shuangyue resembled a craftsman who had prepared building materials, eager to construct a wonder, but lacked the design blueprints.
She hadn’t even seen what that wonder looked like.
And she wasn’t some genius with extraordinary wisdom, so trying to deduce the mechanics of a teleportation door would be impossible.
“Um, could someone tell me how to construct a teleportation door?” Luo Shuangyue raised her head, casting an inquiring glance toward the scientists a short distance away.
Aren’t you all the clever ones? You should understand a bit, right?
The scientists all shook their heads. This was magic; how could they, as scientists, grasp this?
If this were a few years down the line, after all the scientists had transformed into magical girl variants, perhaps Luo Shuangyue would receive an answer to her inquiry.
But for now, she could only get negative responses from the smart-looking researchers who simply couldn’t apply their high intellect.
A teleportation door is not science; it is magic.
We, as scientists, don’t understand this.
Among the researchers, the only transformed girl, fresh from surgery, was still in her body adaptation phase, having no time to study magical subjects.
Thus, research into teleportation doors suddenly hit an impasse.
Luo Shuangyue held two bundles of starlight, realizing that since she couldn’t glean information from these wise folks, she’d better activate her intuition.
She shaped the two bundles of magical power into the form of doors, but evidently, this self-deceiving method was utterly useless.
After entering and exiting the magical power-shaped door several times, Luo Shuangyue ultimately confirmed that this attempt ended in failure.
Sure enough, crafting such an advanced object as a teleportation door isn’t easy.
The disparity between the magical power of magical girls and magical creatures is indeed vast; the magical power of creatures can be utilized directly upon acquisition, whereas a magical girl’s power requires creative expansion to be implemented. This is exceedingly challenging.
“Tomorrow, I’ll have Yi demonstrate how to create a teleportation door.” Luo Shuangyue helplessly withdrew the ineffective doors back into a magical state and addressed Loran.
“Alright, I’ll make the arrangements.”
Logically, Luo Shuangyue’s task for today was already complete, and she could now roam freely around the headquarters, visiting any areas that weren’t highly confidential.
However, looking at the bundle of starlight magical power in her hand, she thought that since she had converted it, she should explore other uses besides creating a teleportation door.
With that in mind, she recalled how starlight magical power seemed to exhibit good resistance to the raging waves of the magical ocean. Perhaps she could leverage this feature to reduce her magical power consumption while traversing through the magical ocean?
With a thought, the starlight magical power was activated by Luo Shuangyue, forming a complex magical array in mid-air.
This was the magic circle for her Butterfly Instantaneous Movement spell, an innate magic she had mastered upon awakening as a magical girl. She wanted to test how this magic would work using another type of magical power.
However, the magical array composed entirely of starlight magical power showed no signs of operating, indicating that this spell must be activated with Luo Shuangyue’s own magical power.
Injecting her magical power into the magic array, she gradually adjusted the proportion of the two types of magical power. Finally, when the ratio reached seven to three, the magic began to function.
The majority was Luo Shuangyue’s black-purple magical power, forming the foundation of this magic, while the sparkling points of starlight adorned various parts of the magic array, bestowing upon the entire magic a hint of mystery.
Without a second thought, Luo Shuangyue leaped into the magic array; she was well aware of what she had created and trusted there would be no danger.
Her body was completely engulfed by the magic array, transforming into a butterfly adorned with starlight that vanished from the room.
At that moment, all detection devices were unable to find Luo Shuangyue’s presence, as if she had suddenly disappeared from this world.
“Eh? Should we…?” One researcher displayed a panicked expression, instinctively reaching to press the nearby red button.
A hand swiftly grasped his wrist. “Hold on; the magic array is still operating. Miss Dark Butterfly is just testing the magic.”
Loran signaled for everyone to remain calm and wait a few minutes. If Luo Shuangyue didn’t return or if the magic array disappeared, it wouldn’t be too late to press the emergency button then.
…
“It’s truly different now; Yi’s magical power is perfectly tailored for the magical ocean!” Looking at the starry energy enveloping her, Luo Shuangyue exclaimed with delight.
At that moment, she had long since left the mother planet, having crossed through the myriad defenses set up by Blooming Level magical girls and arrived at the Moon Base.
Previously, making such a trip would have directly resulted in her being exposed by the turbulent currents laid out by Blooming Level magical girls halfway through, but now, thanks to the protection of starlight, those colossal waves conjured by the magical girls could not cause her significant harm.
Though she was still tossed about, her little vessel wouldn’t be completely smashed to pieces; this was an incredibly huge improvement.
Moreover… Luo Shuangyue could sense the magic array positioned on the mother planet. With just a thought, she could return directly to her current location.
Could this be considered the prototype of a teleportation door? A thought crossed her mind.
While she was curious to see if the magic array on the ground would still function after leaving this place, Luo Shuangyue ultimately restrained that thought. If it didn’t work, she would have to fly back and would undoubtedly cause quite a bit of trouble for Loran.
Sighing, she decided to return and inform Loran of her findings before testing further.
With that in mind, Luo Shuangyue gently tugged the thread within her heart, suddenly feeling as though she were tied up with multiple sturdy ropes, rapidly soaring toward the designated location.
This speed was astonishingly fast?!
Just as this thought had barely registered in Luo Shuangyue’s mind, she crashed heavily onto the ground.
The pain wasn’t severe; such an impact was shielded by her spontaneously activated protective magical power, yet Luo Shuangyue glanced back at the metal wall she had collided against, now showing an indentation of her form, and felt that this ‘teleportation door’ could serve as a method of execution for ordinary people.
“Miss Dark Butterfly, are you alright?!” Amidst the hurried alarm sounds, Loran rushed to Luo Shuangyue’s side, pulling the magical girl from the wall.
Everything happened so suddenly; Luo Shuangyue had vanished for less than three minutes, and the magic array left behind suddenly illuminated with a blue-violet glow. Then, Luo Shuangyue shot out like a cannonball from the magic array, crashing heavily against the laboratory wall.
The impact triggered the laboratory’s automatic alarm, and by this time, a magical girl on duty was likely hurrying toward the scene.
“What happened? Is there an enemy attack?!” As expected, just seconds later, a heroic pink-haired girl burst into the laboratory.
After surveying the scene, she paused momentarily before emitting a confused sound, “Huh? Nothing is wrong?”
“Ahem, Miss Peach, the situation is a bit complex; I’ll explain it thoroughly later.” Loran gently coughed, offering an apologetic smile to the magical girl who had come to investigate.
