Chapter 94: The Death Delivery Plan
“You made quite a stir last night, Dark Butterfly.”
The next day, Luo Shuangyue, who was checking in at the Polar Night base, was called over by Monise.
As soon as she entered the office, Monise shot a jab at Luo Shuangyue with a tone that carried a hint of sarcasm.
You were supposed to keep a low profile these days, so why did you end up clashing with Rosemary and the others? It would have been fine if you just fought them, but you actually got dismantled once?
After being dismantled, you two even teamed up to deal with another group of people?
What a mess!
Monise had spent half the night pondering over the intel in her hand and had ultimately reached a conclusion: Are you secretly getting along with the magical girls, Dark Butterfly?
Luo Shuangyue didn’t hide it; wasn’t it obvious? You should have anticipated this day when you sold me out before.
“I’m going to be an actor, I can make this much in one go!” Luo Shuangyue stretched out a few fingers and said in an exaggerated tone, “And if I refuse, who knows if a Blooming Level Magical Girl will come knocking at my door in the middle of the night.”
She rejected Xia Mo’s request, but when Longwen came looking for her afterward, could she really reject that too?
Since in the end she couldn’t refuse, why not accept it earlier? It would make things a bit easier on both sides.
Monise shot Luo Shuangyue a deadpan stare; while the reasoning was sound, you were being too brazen.
“By the way, I also met a transformed person under a Royal-class magical creature, and the scent was simply marvelous.”
“Oh? Do tell.” Monise sat down in her chair, her curiosity piqued.
A transformed person under a Royal-class magical creature? Now that’s interesting.
For someone like Monise, who had immersed herself in the world of transformed people for so many years, Dark Butterfly’s flirtations with the magical girls weren’t particularly significant, but a transformed person created by a Royal-class magical creature was indeed noteworthy.
Using stones from other mountains to attack jade, if she could get to the bottom of the technology involved, her own transformation abilities might reach new heights.
“Those transformed individuals are quite powerful; they can hold their own against Initial Bloom Level magical girls. Their regenerative abilities are very strong, and also…”
Luo Shuangyue recounted the characteristics of Magic Four, successfully diverting Monise’s attention to this subject.
The preserved personal consciousness in deep transformations? That was the direction Monise had been researching all along!
A transformation degree like Magic Four’s should have resulted in the complete loss of rationality, turning into something like a magical beast. Yet, it still retained human wisdom and thought!
“If only I could study that individual firsthand…” Monise sighed, her eyes filled with thirst for knowledge.
“The person has already been taken by the Magic Department. If you want to research, you’ll have to find someone from the Magic Department.” Luo Shuangyue thought it best that Monise didn’t get any grand ideas; with her sensitive identity, going to the Magic Department might as well be walking into a trap.
If Monise were captured by the Magic Department, wouldn’t the Polar Night be in deep trouble without any wages being paid?
This second-in-command only knows how to fight, not how to earn money.
“Find someone from the Magic Department… not impossible…”
“What?”
“Nothing, I was just thinking about what connections I could use.”
…
“The aura of Magic Four has weakened…” With jet-black eyes fixated on the direction of the city, the Royal-class magical creature spoke in a detached tone, “Something has happened in the city.”
“Master, should we relocate?”
“No need for now. Magic Three is on their way here, and Magic One is still in the city. Their auras haven’t changed, which means the situation isn’t severe.”
The Royal-class magical creature shook its head; the loss of a subordinate wasn’t particularly painful for it. Besides, it wasn’t clear what had actually happened, so there was no need to panic.
About an hour later, Magic Three, hidden away, finally arrived at the Royal-class magical creature’s hideout and reported everything that had occurred the previous night in detail.
Upon learning that Magic Four had encountered issues because of this incident, the Royal-class magical creature’s expression showed no change at all, as if it were just a trivial matter.
Receiving the sealing card that Magic Three handed over, the Royal-class magical creature’s eyes lit up; the magical energy on it indeed belonged to a Royal-class magical creature. Although it wouldn’t fully restore her strength, it would quench her thirst adequately.
“Well done.” She casually commented, then stuffed the card into her mouth and bit down hard.
Crack.
The sealing card instantly disintegrated into countless fragments of magical power.
A flash of confusion crossed the Royal-class magical creature’s eyes; why did this sealing card taste strange? Where did the magical energy inside go? The flavor of the magic that formed the card was also different from Bai Ye’s…
It was like biting into a meat bun only to find it was made of paper, filled with nothing but air.
After chewing the card a couple more times, the magical creature’s expression turned even more perplexed. Why could it sense a similar aura from this magical energy?
Strange, too strange… Crack!
A hard object was bitten through, and the electric sparks that emerged caused the creature’s expression to change.
Was there technology hidden inside the card?
Not good!
This was a trap!
This sealing card was fake, and the Magic Department had intentionally allowed Magic One to get their hands on it!
The Royal-class magical creature realized the danger approaching and immediately tried to leave.
But before she could turn around, a searing dragon breath came crashing down from the sky.
At some point, a giant silver dragon appeared in the sky, with a silver-haired magical girl standing on its head, a hint of a smile in her eyes.
The fishing plan was a huge success.
Magical girls descended from the sky, surrounding the small park.
“Magical creature, prepare to die!” Dragonwen, resembling a dragon girl from myth, waved her hand lightly, signaling the start of this hunt for the Royal-class magical creature.
Although there was only one Blooming Level magical girl present, the Royal-class magical creature was not at its peak either. The outcome of the battle between the two would not be determined quickly.
The other magical girls were dealing with Magic Two and Magic Three, which was child’s play. While they might not be a match for the two oddities in a one-on-one battle, this is not a one-on-one situation, is it?
One oddity facing four to five magical girls of the same level? If they could still pull that off, the Magic Department might as well disband at that point.
Before long, Magic Two and Magic Three were thoroughly suppressed by the magical girls. Even the strongest regenerative abilities proved ineffective against overwhelming firepower.
“Damn magical girls!” The Royal-class magical creature, seeing this scene, realized that she no longer had time to care about her two subordinates.
Her current task was to escape the encirclement of the magical girls.
…
“What? Let her run away? Isn’t Dragonwen a bit too weak…” Luo Shuangyue was about to make a sarcastic remark, but then thought better of it. With Xia Mo right across from her, if she slipped up and Xia Mo turned out to be a Reporting Person, wouldn’t that be the end?
However, her point had almost been made; logically, given that Dragonwen had been set up with such conditions, how could she not capture the Royal-class magical creature?
“This Royal-class magical creature is quite clever; when it realized it was trapped, it activated the magical energy within its two subordinates, turning them into magical creatures that we had dealt with before, diverting the seniors’ attention.”
While sipping her coffee, Xia Mo defended Dragonwen. Royal-class magical creatures were difficult to kill, and they usually dealt with such creatures with multiple Blooming Level magical girls working together. Now, there was only Dragonwen to face them; completely eradicating threats would still be quite challenging.
As she watched Luo Shuangyue seemingly immersed in the role of Dark Butterfly, Xia Mo felt an inappropriate thought emerge. She thought this version of Shuangyue was somehow even more lovable than usual.
Typically, there was a clear sense of restraint surrounding Shuangyue, but in the posture of Dark Butterfly, that restraint transformed into a sense of freedom, almost as if Dark Butterfly was playing the role of Luo Shuangyue rather than vice versa.
“You have a strange look in your eyes…” Noticing the slight change in Xia Mo’s gaze, Luo Shuangyue couldn’t help but retract her neck.
What was up with Xia Mo? That look in her eyes nearly had a spark to it!
“Strange?”
“Very strange, just like someone looking at their lover.” Luo Shuangyue nodded emphatically.
Xia Mo, Xia Mo, you do have someone you like! You can’t use that look on others, you know?!
The person you like is Luo Shuangyue, not Dark Butterfly!
“You really know how to joke; I don’t have those kinds of feelings for you. I just want to be friends.” Xia Mo shook her head.
Of course, this was a genuine lie, but Xia Mo found no embarrassment at all in saying it.
Her mindset was probably that Shuangyue had been deceiving her for so long, so a little retaliation shouldn’t be an issue, right?
Friends? Is the kind of friendship you magical girls understand really like this? Luo Shuangyue wouldn’t buy Xia Mo’s nonsense; that look was definitely not one you’d give a friend.
Unless you tell her that this so-called friendship between magical girls is of a different kind.
“We’re enemies; we can’t be friends.” Reiterating their identity difference, Luo Shuangyue said while sitting in an enemy-operated café, “So why are you here looking for me again today?”
“Is it not okay to find you to talk about feelings when there’s nothing going on? I was busy until late last night and have no plans today. Plus, the place we used for training was just turned into a hideout by a magical creature and has now been leveled.” Xia Mo shrugged, showing a helpless expression.
She was actually here with another purpose.
Xia Mo clearly remembered the guess Luo Shuangxing made before. Since Luo Shuangyue and Dark Butterfly might be the same person, could it be possible that Bai Ye and Luo Shuangyue were also the same person?
Although this guess sounded difficult to comprehend, with Dark Butterfly as a precedent, Xia Mo wasn’t going to dismiss this possibility.
This time, she was just trying to test it out.
In fact, the park they used previously for training hadn’t been completely destroyed but had lost half of it, and the remaining half was still fine, making it perfect for continued training.
“Oh…” Hearing this, Luo Shuangyue froze for a moment. This magical creature really knew how to pick a spot.
That little park had a nice location and scenery; now that it was blown up, it was such a shame.
Looks like they would need to find another place for Xia Mo and the others to train…
…
That evening, when Xia Mo walked to her building, she found a girl with white hair and golden eyes quietly sitting on a bench in the small park downstairs, seemingly waiting for someone.
The girl bore a striking resemblance to Luo Shuangxing, looking as if she were carved from the same mold. Xia Mo quietly murmured to herself as she voluntarily approached the girl.
“Senior Bai Ye, are you looking for me?”
“Originally, our training venue had some issues; tomorrow’s training is temporarily canceled. I’ll continue when I find a suitable place.” Disguised as Bai Ye, Luo Shuangyue spoke to Xia Mo with an expressionless face.
A hint of something peculiar flashed in Xia Mo’s eyes. Just that morning, she had mentioned this to Luo Shuangyue, and by the afternoon, Bai Ye had come to inform her about the changes in the training schedule. What a coincidence!
Even more crucially, that place was far from being completely unusable.
Bai Ye certainly hadn’t seen the situation in person, Xia Mo concluded in her mind.
Thinking this way, she revealed a slightly puzzled and curious expression, testing Bai Ye in front of her.
“Senior Bai Ye, I feel like you and Shuangxing are somewhat similar.”
This statement did not elicit any peculiar expression from Luo Shuangyue. Was it possible for Bai Ye not to resemble Luo Shuangxing? It would be bizarre if the mother and daughter didn’t look alike, right?
Sadly, this layer of connection couldn’t be known by Xia Mo, nor could Luo Shuangxing know that her mother was actually the renowned super magical girl.
“Similar?” Thus, Luo Shuangyue chose to play dumb; even if they indeed looked alike, as long as she didn’t acknowledge it, Xia Mo wouldn’t be able to pursue the matter further.
“Similar!” Xia Mo nodded emphatically.
“I think they’re not.” Standing up, Luo Shuangyue maintained her aloof senior demeanor, directly cutting off the discussion of this topic.
As long as Luo Shuangyue didn’t admit it, what could Xia Mo do? Could she put a knife to her neck and force her to admit it?
After saying this, Luo Shuangyue turned and left, leaving Xia Mo with nothing but a retreating figure.
Little did she know, after her departure, Xia Mo sat down in the spot she had just vacated, rigorously analyzing the scent she had left behind.
What Xia Mo concluded was something Luo Shuangyue couldn’t have imagined.
“While faint, it truly is identical to the scent on Shuangyue…” Xia Mo sat on the bench, resting her chin in her hand, with a trace of doubt on her face. “But Shuangyue is definitely not the original Senior Bai Ye; there must be some secret in this.”
It was somewhat understandable that Shuangyue was Dark Butterfly, but the notion that Shuangyue was also Bai Ye was not something easily comprehensible.
They were completely two identities from different eras; why would they congregate onto one individual?
Luo Shuangyue still hadn’t realized that her identity had once again been caught by the unreasonable noses of the magical girls. After informing Xia Mo that the special training was postponed, she began frantically searching for suitable locations for the special training.
The result was that she found something odd.
Hey, the original park still has half of it left; isn’t it still usable?
At this point, she still didn’t suspect that Xia Mo’s claim of the place being leveled was a test; after all, in Luo Shuangyue’s mind, her identity was safely concealed, and even her most frequently used name, Dark Butterfly, had not been exposed, let alone Bai Ye, who only appeared during special training.
She thought it was simply that Xia Mo had heard exaggerated descriptions from other magical girls and believed them.
However, while the park could still be used for training, it was evident that it couldn’t be utilized for a few days. This area had numerous Magic Department personnel setting up equipment to detect the residual magical energy left by the Royal-class magical creature, trying to trace its escape route.
Further out, the Magic Department’s encirclement had already formed, and the upcoming Xinghai City was only allowing entry and not exit until the Royal-class magical creature was captured and eliminated.
As for the impact this would cause, the Magic Department wasn’t concerned at all. It wouldn’t be more significant than letting a tiger return to the mountain.
“A net all around.” Luo Shuangyue muttered quietly before turning to leave the small park.
She had to make good use of her time to check out a few other locations.
…
In a factory within the Xinghai City district that had collapsed due to poor management, a girl with black hair and black eyes hid in the shadows of the corner, quietly waiting for the magic energy from the sky to pass.
Xinghai City had fully transformed into a web, and she was just a little bug caught in it.
Her battle with Dragonwen had further exacerbated her injuries, diminishing her power.
Out of four subordinates she had brought, three were dead, leaving her with only one Magic One remaining.
There was no doubt that the Magic Department wouldn’t let her off; as long as she was alive, the Magic Department would never rest.
Hiding was useless; the Magic Department could scrape the entire ground of Xinghai City in their search for her, scouring every corner.
She couldn’t just sit and wait; she had to find a way…
But what could break the deadlock?
“Master! I’m back!”
As the Royal-class magical creature was lost in thought, Magic One silently returned to her side, kneeling beside the creature and speaking in a voice filled with guilt, “I am incompetent! Please punish me, Master!”
If it weren’t for him falling into the Magic Department’s trap, his three colleagues wouldn’t have died, and his master wouldn’t be in her current predicament; everything was his fault!
But the Royal-class magical creature didn’t reprimand Magic One. At this point, what good would scolding do? Would it improve the situation or bring the dead back to life?
The creature was rational; it wouldn’t exhibit any unnecessary emotional fluctuations.
Such as anger.
“Tell me everything that happened the night before last.” She ordered in a bland voice.
“Yes! Here’s what happened: we first received some intelligence…”
As Magic One narrated, the Royal-class magical creature suddenly seized upon a crucial figure.
Dark Butterfly!
This person should be a force opposing magical girls in Xinghai City, but after Magic One and the others seized the sealing card from her, she chose to briefly cooperate with the magical girls to deal with Magic One.
It seemed very normal, right? But you have to know, the sealing card Dark Butterfly and the magical girls were fighting over was fake! And her swift recovery of fighting ability after being dismantled was also peculiar.
So, is there a possibility that Dark Butterfly had actually colluded with the magical girls to stage a show for Magic One and the others?
However, that wasn’t the main point; the main point was the battle process that followed: Dark Butterfly had actually attempted to consume Magic Four.
She was eating!
After hearing Magic One’s account, a thought emerged in the Royal-class magical creature’s mind, an idea that could help her turn a dire situation around.
The Magic Department wanted her dead; only by dying would the strict encirclement of Xinghai City be lifted, thereby giving her a chance to escape and return.
Thus, she had to die under the watchful eye of the Magic Department.
But she also couldn’t actually die. She needed to appear dead without actually dying. That sounds like an impossible task.
However, upon learning that Dark Butterfly was trying to consume Magic Four, the Royal-class magical creature immediately thought of an effective way to fake her death.
Dark Butterfly was of Initial Bloom Level strength, whereas she was Royal-class. Absorbing a Royal-class magical creature’s magical energy little by little wouldn’t be an issue, but what if too much was absorbed?
After all, a magical creature’s consciousness is tied to its magical energy. If Dark Butterfly accumulates too much of her magical energy, exceeding her own strength, will she still be herself?
“You want to eat me, don’t you?” A smirk crept onto the Royal-class magical creature’s lips as she felt that she had found the perfect way to escape.
The creature didn’t care what form her body would take; a stolen body was no different from her original, and she wouldn’t have any of the human’s feelings of rejection.
Faking her death and seizing Dark Butterfly’s body to achieve her resurrection was the best choice for the Royal-class magical creature right now.
Thus, before that, she needed to allow Dark Butterfly to gradually consume her magical power, letting that power accumulate within Dark Butterfly until she ultimately offered herself as a meal to be devoured and take the opportunity to seize control of Dark Butterfly’s body.
“Magic One, how many more times can we summon magical creatures with what we have on hand?”
“Three for Royal-class, fifteen for level class.”
“Good, prepare to summon magical creatures to draw the Magic Department’s attention; I will handle Dark Butterfly personally.”
“Understood!”
A writhing motion occurred within the black attire of the Royal-class magical creature. Soon, a black sphere the size of a fist separated from her body. After leaving her, the black sphere quickly morphed into a black butterfly that flew gracefully toward the sky.
“My power won’t be that easy to digest…”
For an Initial Bloom Level magical girl to absorb a Royal-class magical creature’s magical power was no simple task. Even after a few days had passed, the Royal-class magical creature felt that Dark Butterfly had yet to fully absorb her strength.
As long as her magical energy still resided within Dark Butterfly, the butterfly released would be able to locate Dark Butterfly.
Once it found Dark Butterfly, it would naturally pretend to have killed her, only to be appropriately defeated and consumed by Dark Butterfly.
The Royal-class magical creature’s plan could easily be described as a delivery of one’s head; she intended to offer herself to be consumed by Dark Butterfly and make her choke!
…
Monise had gone missing.
After learning that Magic Four had been taken away by the Magic Department, she made several calls throughout the day and then left a note in the office saying, “I’m going to study that guy” before disappearing.
With the boss gone, all operations of Polar Night had to temporarily halt. After all, the organization relied on a ragtag team, and without Monise, it couldn’t function at all.
“Against Three.”
“Royal Flush! Jiuye, you lose.” Slapping the last two cards she had on the table, Luo Shuangyue laughed before picking up a black marker and drawing a black circle on Jiuye’s face.
During the boring days when the boss had disappeared, the other capable girls of Polar Night could only entertain themselves with such methods.
Going out was impossible; the outside was swarming with magical girls, and Jiuye and Black Dragonfly would be treated as magical creatures and wiped out the moment they stepped outside.
“Lord Dark Butterfly is amazing; I can’t beat her.” Jiuye lay slumped on the table, her cat ears drooping pitifully over her head.
After playing cards with Luo Shuangyue for nearly an entire morning, she looked like she was painted in black.
No more playing cards with Lord Dark Butterfly! Jiuye silently vowed.
“Want to play again?”
“No, if I keep playing with Lord Dark Butterfly, I’m really going to turn into a black person.” Jiuye shook her head repeatedly.
So, Luo Shuangyue turned her attention to Black Dragonfly, who had been watching from the side.
Black Dragonfly tilted her head and quickly shook her head like Jiuye. “I don’t know how to play cards!”
Well, it seemed card games were off the table.
“Then Jiuye, how about you practice with me?” Luo Shuangyue beckoned to Jiuye with her finger.
As fellow catgirls, the difference in battle capability between Jiuye and Siam was too great. Luo Shuangyue felt that this simply wouldn’t do.
Her cat should be the best cat!
Jiuye’s eyes blinked, her expression conflicted for a long moment before she finally nodded.
After all, there was nothing to do; it was better to train with Lord Dark Butterfly and improve her battle power.
“Black Dragonfly, you come along too.” To avoid being beaten too severely on her own, Jiuye dragged Black Dragonfly along.
But these two weaklings together couldn’t change the outcome of being spun around by Luo Shuangyue.
“Woo meow!”
As Luo Shuangyue transformed and spun Jiuye by the tail, she ended up lying on the ground, rubbing her tail while making a pitiful sound.
Lord Dark Butterfly is a little too harsh, isn’t she?
As for Black Dragonfly, her strong suit was rapid reconnaissance, so Luo Shuangyue merely raced with her.
The end result was that Black Dragonfly also got toyed around with, having lost her way.
“Jiuye, your strength hasn’t improved at all compared to a few days ago.”
“You know, Lord Dark Butterfly, our source of power is different from the magical girls. They can become stronger through training, but we can’t.” Jiuye quietly defended herself. Their kind, the transformed individuals, were different from magical girls; as long as they didn’t continue modifying their bodies, their strength wouldn’t see much improvement.
At most, they could learn more battle techniques. Yet, these techniques are still too weak in the face of absolute power.
Was there really such a great difference in battle techniques between Jiuye and Siam? Not really.
But Siam could treat the air as a wall, and her physical strength was unimaginably higher than Jiuye’s, so with magical power at her disposal, how could Jiuye possibly win against Siam?
This was the predicament faced by the transformed individuals; no matter how hard they worked, they could only look on enviously at the magical girls’ backs.
“Unless we completely abandon our human identity to pursue the full powers of magical creatures, our strength will only peak here.” Jiuye lowered her head and sighed softly.
What Jiuye said was absolutely true; Luo Shuangyue couldn’t solve this problem either. After all, she was just a fighter; it was Monise who could solve this issue.
She could only reach out and gently ruffle Jiuye’s hair, doing her best to sound gentle, “Trust Monise; she’s seeking new breakthroughs this time.”
Although she didn’t know how Monise was planning to “study that guy,” that didn’t stop Luo Shuangyue from believing in her.
This person was exceptionally cautious and would never act without purpose.
“By the way, I recently gained a new ability. Do you both want to take a look?”
“Eh? A new ability?” Jiuye’s eyes sparkled with curiosity at Luo Shuangyue’s words.
What could Lord Dark Butterfly’s new ability be?
“Yes! Use your claws to grab my arm—harder is better; ideally, draw some blood…”
…
“Oh, this is simply a miracle! To be transformed like this and still retain human consciousness, that Royal-class magical creature is truly a genius.”
“I don’t quite think so; can something like this still be called ‘human’?”
Dragonwen stood outside the transparent glass wall, coldly observing Magic Four, who was restrained on an iron bed, her expression dark.
Beside her stood a golden-haired girl in a white lab coat.
“That depends on how you define ‘human.’ To me, as long as a person recognizes themselves as human and does good things, then they are a ‘human.’ As for appearance and body, that’s not the key.” Monise shook her head.
Just like magical girls, can they really still be referred to as ‘humans’?
They don’t age, and as long as their magical power doesn’t deplete, they won’t die; compared to humans, they resemble magical creatures more, don’t they?
Just because they are beautiful doesn’t mean we can ignore the special nature they possess.
“To fight magical creatures, having only magical girls isn’t enough. We need to give ordinary warriors the strength to rival magical creatures; that’s the effective path.”
“The weapons developed by the Magic Department can achieve this, and they would be more accepted than your transformations.”
“Weapons and transformations aren’t two opposing paths. I know you can’t accept my ideas, but someone has to explore this avenue. If you don’t want to do it, I will. If I can find that way, it would indeed be a fortune for all humanity,” Monise said softly.
Dragonwen remained silent for a long time before finally closing her eyes noncommittally.
“None of his body parts are allowed to leave this room. All research must be conducted under the supervision of the Magic Department; that is our greatest concession.”
“No problem; I’m not an insatiable person.”
