Chapter 36: Today, the Star Broke Free from the Earth’s Chains

The solid ground beneath her feet grew ever more distant.

Above, she drew closer to Jin Yan, who was plummeting like a stone, unconscious.

Flying through the air, Polaris’s instinct to save her friend overpowered her fear of heights.
Her only thought was to fly faster, higher, to catch Jin Yan in time.

She saw the blood Jin Yan had coughed up staining her face, the howling wind drowning out the frantic pounding of her own heart.

She saw the worm-beast, sensing her presence, shatter the top of the high-rise with a coiled lunge, launching toward them.
Her body trembled uncontrollably, but her calm mind dulled her awareness of its subtle movements.

Suddenly, tears welled in Polaris’s eyes—not from the wind stinging her but from overwhelming fear.

Yes, someone afraid of heights could briefly overcome that instinct to save someone important.
But when a person knows death is imminent, another instinct—longing—takes over their thoughts.

“Mom,” Polaris murmured.

She remembered sleeping beside her mother, the warmth, the comfort, the sense of home.
As a child, when a sudden thunderstorm startled her, her mother had rushed to her side, holding her close, rocking her as if they were flying through the sky.

Perhaps from that day, Polaris had lost the ability to fly alone, always yearning for her mother’s comfort, her support.

“Mom, I’m so scared…”
Tears streamed from Polaris’s eyes as she caught Jin Yan, holding her tightly.
She descended to the ground faster than Jin Yan’s fall, the worm-beast closing in right behind them.

Polaris didn’t control her speed well.
Her leg twisted severely upon landing, and she rolled a long distance across the ground with Jin Yan, stopping just short of the rubble where Lu Ming lay.

Lu Ming was dying, Jin Yan was unconscious, and Polaris—this magical girl who appeared strong but was fragile inside—had no one left to rely on.
All she had was her Starblade and her still-beating heart.

After positioning Jin Yan’s body carefully, Polaris took one last deep look at the dying Lu Ming and the unconscious Jin Yan.
Without hesitation, she gripped her Starblade and charged toward the worm-beast, which was rapidly advancing again.

Mom, I’m sorry. And Dad, too.

Polaris’s face twisted with ferocity, but tears clung to the corners of her eyes.

I’m going to die.

I can’t escape.

I can’t abandon my teammates.

I… I…

“I just want to eat Mom’s cooking one more time,” Polaris whispered.
As she prepared to thrust her Starblade into the worm, it twisted with blinding speed, whipping its tail as it had with Jin Yan, sending Polaris flying.

Polaris “flew” into the sky once more—not by her own will but propelled by the beast’s force.
Perhaps her longing for her mother was so intense that she clung to a shred of consciousness.

She had lost control of her body, blood gushing from her nose and mouth.
Though her condition was slightly better than Jin Yan’s—no broken bones—falling from such a height meant certain death.

Her body still soared through the air.
Watching the clouds speed by and the ground rush closer, she felt a strange lightness, as if her body’s weight had vanished—a fleeting joy of breaking free from the earth’s gravity.

She was no longer afraid of heights.

On this day, the star rose from the ground and fell from the sky, fulfilling its long-held wish.
Then, it landed in a soft embrace.

…………

Corona finally reached the battlefield.
As she approached the giant worm at the abandoned real estate site, a black dot rapidly grew larger in her vision—a figure hurtling backward through the air.

Corona sped toward it, catching the figure to prevent a deadly fall.
When she held the unconscious magical girl, she realized it was Lu Yue, Little Moon’s daughter.

In her Polaris state, Lu Yue’s lower face was stained with blood, though her clothes were relatively intact.

“Mom,” the unconscious Polaris mumbled, as if sensing a motherly embrace.

“Good girl, you’ve done more than enough,” Corona said, her heart wrenching.

What a brave child, fighting to the last moment despite knowing she was outmatched.
Thankfully, Corona had caught Little Moon’s child, her treasure.

But where’s my child?

Corona scanned the ground from the air.
If Lu Ming were still here, she’d never let rookie magical girls take on such a dangerous task, especially not Little Moon’s daughter, whom she treated like a sister.
Yet Lu Ming was nowhere to be seen, meaning she was either incapacitated—or dead.

Truly dead?

Corona finally spotted Lu Ming in a pile of rubble, along with another rookie magical girl, Jin Yan.

After setting Polaris down, she first checked Jin Yan’s condition.
Though most of her bones were shattered, for a magical girl, as long as there was a breath of life, recovery was possible—no major issue.

Then she saw Lu Ming, pierced by steel rebars, on the verge of her last breath.
Corona’s eyes reddened instantly.

She floated carefully to Lu Ming, brushing aside the dust-covered hair from her face.
Ignoring the grime on Lu Ming’s body, Corona gently tapped her forehead, then retrieved a healing potion from her storage ring.
She carefully poured it into Lu Ming’s pale, parted lips.

Though unconscious, Lu Ming’s instinctive swallowing allowed her to take a few sips, enough to cling to life.
The rest spilled from her mouth, but Corona caught it with her hand and guided it back.

How she wished Lu Ming would regain consciousness, call her “Mom” or “Sis”—anything, as long as she lived.
Tears welled in her eyes.

Wiping them away, Corona turned to face the worm-beast in the distance, which was warily watching her.
Rage—this was the first time in years Corona felt true anger.

This beast dared to hurt my daughter.

Corona moved, drifting slowly toward the beast.
Unwilling to submit, the beast lunged at her like a cornered rabbit.

On her tear-streaked, merciless face, Corona’s golden eyes glowed brighter.
A long staff appeared in her hand, then melted like liquid gold into a broad-hilted sword inscribed with runes.

Sunblade · Mercy

She aimed the sword’s tip at the beast and spoke slowly:

“The sun shines equally on all things, but you alone receive mercy.”

Authority · Sun · Judgment · Ultimate Compassion

The sun above Tongzhou City flared brighter.
A beam of light, thousands of times more intense than a summer’s blaze, shot down from the sky.

The beast had no time to scream.
Its entire head was incinerated to ash, and the surrounding ground melted into flowing lava, leaving only a writhing tail segment struggling in vain.