Chapter 16: Why did you save her?!

“Shut up!”

The black-haired girl completely ignored the witch’s seductive and contemptuous words. Her crimson eyes burned with nothing but boiling killing intent.

She poured every ounce of her magic power into the black fireball between her palms, causing it to swell and spin before ruthlessly hurling it toward the witch on the rooftop!

It was a desperate, all-out strike with no regard for the cost.

“…Stubborn fool.”

Under the witch’s mask, the playful curve at the corner of her mouth vanished instantly, replaced by ice-cold killing intent. “Then, I cannot spare you.”

She raised her fingertip. The electric charge in the air compressed to its limit. A purple thunderbolt as thick as a water bucket pierced through all the obstructing fireballs without deviating in the slightest, shooting straight toward the girl’s thin chest!

“!?”

In that instant, time seemed to fall into eternal slow motion.

In Lin Xibai’s field of vision, only that surging purple light and the defenseless girl remained.

In that split second, her body moved faster than her thoughts. She didn’t even have time to weigh the pros and cons or consider the consequences. Some long-dormant instinct and protective impulse inside her suddenly awakened, completely overpowering reason.

“Danger!!”

In a flash, her petite body leaped up with astonishing speed. Just before the lightning struck the girl, she wrapped her arms around her from behind in a death grip.

“Get out of the way…!”

Lin Xibai shielded the girl’s fragile body tightly in her embrace. At the same time, she forcefully twisted her waist and core in mid-air, turning her body.

‘Sizzle—!’

Scorching heat, numbness, and a pain as if her bones were being melted assaulted her. The fatal purple lightning struck solidly on Lin Xibai’s back!

“Ugh.”

She felt the world before her eyes instantly turn pure white.

The massive impact, carrying violent lightning energy, sent the two of them flying like ragdolls. They traced a parabola through the air, crashed heavily onto the hard, cold ground more than ten meters away, and rolled several times before stopping, kicking up a cloud of dust.

“Cough, cough cough…!”

Lin Xibai lay on the ground, coughing violently. Every cough tugged at the burning wound on her back, causing her vision to darken from the pain.

A rush of sweet, metallic blood surged up her throat, but she forced it back down.

It hurts so much…

The area directly hit by the lightning had already been charred black and torn. Her skin showed terrible burns and scorch marks. Her muscles and bones screamed with pain as if they had been crushed and reassembled.

Magic power rampaged inside her body, clashing fiercely with the invading lightning energy and causing waves of numbness and spasms.

But… it was still bearable.

This thought allowed her to maintain a sliver of clarity amid the agony.

Gritting her teeth, cold sweat instantly soaked her bangs. A sense of relief washed over her.

Thank goodness… the attack hit me instead.

Even though this body had been away from high-intensity combat for many years, its basic qualities still far surpassed those of ordinary humans, and even most newly awakened magical girls.

She glanced at the black-haired girl in her arms, who was now completely stunned, her face full of shock.

Lin Xibai knew very well that if that lightning bolt had struck the black-haired girl directly, especially while she was in a full-offensive state, she would likely have had her internal organs pierced and died on the spot.

“Xier? You… you!!!”

The sweet smile that always adorned Gu Ranying’s face completely twisted the moment she witnessed Lin Xibai throw herself in front of the lightning and cough up blood while falling.

Her voice was filled with heart-piercing panic, followed by a surging, world-burning fury!

The fabric over her chest fluttered without wind. A brilliant yet eerie pink light suddenly appeared, pulsing violently like a heartbeat.

The light spread rapidly. The originally simple dress on her body seemed to be painted by an invisible brush. The hem, cuffs, ribbons—every edge began to flow and change, dyed with radiant magical patterns.

“How… dare…”

Gu Ranying spoke word by word, her pink eyes locked deadly onto the relaxed purple figure. “You hurt Xier…”

“Go to hell!!!”

Before she even finished speaking, her slender, graceful ten fingers spread wide, pointing toward the rooftop where the witch stood!

‘Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh.’

Countless fine pink threads emerged from the air, weaving into a vast net that instantly blanketed the large area around the witch.

Each thread carried sharpness and toughness, aiming to thoroughly strangle the target!

Gu Ranying herself turned into a pink afterimage and instantly appeared beside Lin Xibai.

She knelt on one knee. Healing light that was extremely unstable emanated from her fingertips as she pulled Lin Xibai into her arms.

“Are you okay? Xier, tell me you’re okay, right? Where does it hurt? Your back?”

She spoke incoherently, her voice carrying a rare sob. The previous composure was gone. “Hold on… I’ll call the sister from the Tower who is best at healing right now!”

“I’m… I’m fine.”

Lin Xibai leaned against Gu Ranying’s cool embrace, her vision somewhat blurry.

She glanced at the purple figure still fiercely counterattacking, then at the black-haired girl in her arms who looked so much like her late wife. Finally, she looked toward the café.

She forced out a pale smile and laboriously raised one hand, gently placing it on Gu Ranying’s cold, trembling wrist in an attempt to comfort her.

“I’m just a little… a little tired.”

At least everyone else is still safe.

In that case, it didn’t matter if she herself was heavily wounded by the witch.

Enduring the burning pain on her back, Lin Xibai stared dazedly at the night sky.

In the dimension of magical girls, every beating heart had a Heart Stone embedded deep within — the crystallization of the soul’s will, and the source of all supernatural power.

She could feel that the Heart Stone inside her, which had been dormant for so long and already covered in cracks, was now emitting a dull resonance due to the violent impact earlier.

A first-tier Beginner’s Heart Stone was as weak as a firefly. A third-tier Morning Star’s was like a lone star at dawn — just like the black-haired girl before them. Though her potential was astonishing, she was still fragile.

And Gu Ranying, who was currently kneeling beside her in panic and releasing healing power, had clearly reached fifth-tier Spirit Light level. Not only was her power strong, but the light of her Heart Stone also contained a gentle power that nourished life and soothed wounds.

I bet correctly…

Lin Xibai smiled bitterly in her heart.

Before retiring, she had also been fifth-tier. Even with her body deteriorated, she could still rely on her remaining physical foundation to block the attack.

From her perception, the magic power emitted by the witch on the rooftop was roughly around the same fifth-tier level.

A full-powered strike between peers might cause serious injury, but delivering a killing blow in one strike was by no means easy without special means or favorable conditions.

Moreover… that strike from the opponent was most likely a execution-style attack calculated for the black-haired girl’s endurance limit, and not necessarily the witch’s full strength.

“Why did you save her?!”

Gu Ranying’s question, laced with sobs and anger, interrupted Lin Xibai’s relieved thoughts.