Chapter 14: You wouldn’t be angry with her, would you?

Jasmine’s kindness stirred something in Pride.
As Iris, she too had always put others first.
But when situations exceeded her abilities, people blamed her for inaction, for failing to save them.
Without magical girls, wouldn’t these people, happily playing in the amusement park today, have died long ago?
“Do you think your life is worth the thousands here?”
Pride stepped forward, a gust of wind rushing toward Jasmine.
Her blood-red eyes locked onto Jasmine’s brown ones.
In an instant, they were a finger’s breadth apart.
“Look into my eyes and tell me, why save them? Have you forgotten how they treated Iris?”
Pride’s words stabbed into Jasmine’s heart like a sharp dagger.
She had always felt deep guilt about Iris.
She and Rose were on a support mission in a neighboring city when they learned Iris faced the Greedy Witch, unable to return in time.
It took seven days to resolve the trouble caused by the Tarot Society in that city.
In those seven days, Iris faced an unbeatable witch alone.
Worse, she was swept into a storm of public criticism, ultimately stripped of her magical girl title to appease the masses.
It was their fault for being too slow. If they’d been faster, even by a day or half a day!
Iris might still be fighting alongside them.
No ifs, no buts.
What happened couldn’t be undone.
Jasmine wouldn’t dwell; she had to look forward!
The priority now was saving everyone in the amusement park!
Even if it meant sacrificing herself, she was willing.
That was her resolve as a magical girl!
“Answer me, have you forgotten Iris’s fate from days ago?”
“Didn’t Iris fight tirelessly on the front lines? Didn’t she do her utmost to protect everyone? Was it a mistake to prioritize restraining the Greedy Witch?”
“Answer me, was her choice wrong?”
Pride stepped back, slowly scanning the crowd below.
As a witch, she increasingly found some humans—vermin—utterly disgusting.
They didn’t deserve to be human, didn’t deserve the safety magical girls provided.
They should be on the front lines, fighting with guns against pollution entities, using their flesh to build a sturdy defense for others!
Crimson, tangible magical aura radiated from Pride, the air growing oppressively heavy.
“Yes! Iris wasn’t wrong!”
“No!” Pride shouted, her voice warped. “She was wrong!”
“She was wrong to restrain the Greedy Witch. She shouldn’t have focused on the witch—she should’ve dealt with the pollution entity first.”
“Then let the Greedy Witch crush all you vermin!”
“Crush you all!!!”
Pride’s piercing voice left everyone dizzy, bleeding from their orifices.
Her savage witch aura surged, forming a powerful force that blasted outward.
The amusement park’s tall structures vanished instantly, not a speck left.
Pride’s chest heaved, her eyes narrowing at Jasmine and Rose.
She pointed the spider lily at them, crimson spiked vines instantly binding and suspending them in the air.
Pride stuffed two full spider lily buds into their mouths, silencing them.
Rose talked too much; Pride didn’t want her plan disrupted.
Since Jasmine insisted on her kindness, Pride would let these vermin’s malice fill her eyes.
She wanted to see if, faced with their evil, Jasmine would still sacrifice herself for these pathetic worms.
Did these pitiful creatures, reliant on others to survive, truly deserve to live?
“Now!” Pride addressed the crowd below. “I’m giving you a chance to live.”
Two spider lily buds appeared before her.
“One of these buds, when infused with magic, will bloom into a vibrant spider lily. The other is completely dead.”
“Choose one. Pick the blooming one, and I’ll let you leave, then kill them.”
“Choose the dead one, and I’ll crush you all.”
Pride stood high in the air, gently waving her spider lily, releasing everyone’s restraints.
The scene erupted into chaotic, despairing cries.
“You have three minutes to decide and send a representative with your answer.”
“Remember, only three minutes.”
With that, Pride sat back, a massive spider lily materializing beneath her shapely hips.
Her gaze fell on Bai Feifei.
Bai Feifei stepped back, trembling. This witch had saved her earlier but now threatened mass slaughter.
It terrified her to her core. She’d thought Pride was different from other witches.
Now, they seemed the same.
Sis, where are you?
I’m so scared.
Bai Feifei didn’t dare meet Pride’s eyes, tears glistening.
She searched the crowd for Bai Yao but couldn’t find that familiar face.
Where was Sis?
Could she have died in the crowd earlier?
No, no, no!
Sis wouldn’t die, she wouldn’t…
Bai Feifei clasped her hands to her chest, faintly feeling her heartbeat.
Only this reassured her she was still alive.
Her body trembled, still sensing Pride’s gaze on her.
Pride looked away as time neared its end.
“Come, give me your answer.”
The crowd exchanged glances, no one willing to step forward.
“You go.”
“Why don’t you?”
“I’m scared the witch will crush me with a look.”
“You’re scared? Like I’m not?”
They pushed responsibility onto each other, none daring to approach.
Pride lost patience, looking at the disappointing crowd below.
Fine, she’d choose for them!
“Oh, there’s a third option. Name any punishment, and I’ll inflict it on the magical girls.”
“When they can’t endure anymore, you’re free to leave.”
Pride’s words were a ray of hope in the bottomless abyss.
Moments later, someone finally stepped up to try.
“I… I’ll go. Whip Jasmine with a vine.”
It was a pockmarked woman.
“Jasmine, you heard her? She wants me to whip you. You won’t be mad at her, will you?”
Pride’s emotionless face finally showed a trace of feeling—a mocking smile curled her lips.