Chapter 15: Why not join us witches?
She lifted her head and gazed at the girl standing atop the streetlamp.
“My name is Lin Xibai. I currently belong to neither side. Thank you for stepping in tonight,” she first declared her relatively neutral stance, then gestured sideways at Gu Ranying beside her. “And this is Gu Ranying from the Flower Tower. May I ask how we should address you?”
“Names are nothing but labels.”
The girl’s voice drifted down from above. She leaped nimbly from the streetlamp, landing steadily with a soft thud. In one smooth motion, she bent down and grabbed the void beast attempting to flee into the shadows.
Her slender fingers clamped tightly around the creature’s neck. Faint black sparks flickered between them.
The void beast let out a pained hiss, its limbs kicking weakly.
“Rather than asking meaningless questions,” the girl finally turned half her face toward them, her cold red eyes sweeping over Lin Xibai, “it would be more worthwhile to find out who is commanding them.”
She actually wanted to interrogate a void beast?
Lin Xibai was stunned. Out of experience, she quickly warned, “Be careful. That is only a third-tier void beast. We cannot communicate with these things. They only have killing instincts. It’s best to eliminate it completely before it counterattacks in its final moments…”
But what happened next left Lin Xibai utterly shocked.
Under the cold crimson gaze of the black-haired girl, the ape-like void beast she held suddenly stopped its meaningless screeching. Instead, it produced a series of broken, chattering sounds from its throat.
Even more unbelievable was that the black-haired girl actually tilted her head slightly, looking as if she were genuinely listening and trying to decipher the sounds!
Her brows furrowed and relaxed at times, as though she really could extract fragmented information from those chaotic syllables!
“Hehe~”
Gu Ranying laughed so hard her body shook. “How interesting. Things are getting interesting~ Not only can she control that annoying flame, but she can even chat with these little guys?”
She tilted her head, glanced at Lin Xibai, and asked in a sticky-sweet tone.
“Xier~ Do you want me to deal with her right here~?”
“Wait… just wait a moment…”
Lin Xibai abruptly grabbed Gu Ranying’s wrist. Her eyes were filled with intense struggle.
She knew the taboos of the magical girl world all too well.
In common knowledge, only those who had completely fallen and abandoned their identity as magical girls — the witches — could communicate with void beasts born from corrupted humans or animals.
The black-haired girl before them indeed emanated an unsettling aura. The pitch-black flames she wielded also carried an ominous feeling.
If a magical girl from headquarters were here, she would have already labeled her as a fallen one and launched an extermination without hesitation.
But Lin Xibai didn’t want to let go.
Just from how the girl had unhesitatingly destroyed the void beasts trying to break into the café and protected Ye Zhining and Lin Yuan inside, she could not simply classify her as an enemy.
At that moment, black flames reignited on the void beast held in the black-haired girl’s hand. Its miserable howls gradually turned into rapid, sharp chattering.
The black-haired girl seemed to understand. A flash of realization and excitement appeared in her crimson eyes. She even nodded in satisfaction, slightly loosening her grip as her red lips parted. Her voice carried urgency.
“Good, very good. That’s it. Tell me everything you know!”
Just as the interrogation seemed on the verge of a breakthrough, the blood-red sky was suddenly torn apart by a purple lightning bolt resembling a mad serpent.
‘Boom — Crack!!!’
Without any warning, purple lightning carrying destructive force crashed down from above. The black-haired girl reacted extremely quickly, rolling sideways in a somewhat disheveled dodge. However, the void beast in her hand was not so lucky. It didn’t even have time to let out a final cry before being instantly reduced to ash in the thunder, not even a single hair left behind.
?!
Lin Xibai’s entire body tensed. A sense of danger ten times stronger than when facing the void beasts shot up her spine to the top of her head.
She jerked her head up toward the direction the lightning had come from.
“A witch has appeared!”
This aura was far thicker and more viscous than those void beasts earlier. She immediately turned to the two beside her and warned urgently.
“Gu Ranying, and… this young lady! Stay on high alert!”
“Of course, of course~”
Gu Ranying not only showed no fear, but her smile grew even sweeter, as if she had been waiting for this exact scene. She stepped forward lightly. “I will protect Xier properly~”
The moment the black-haired girl saw the newcomer clearly, instead of fear, a twisted smile mixed with hatred and excitement appeared on her face. Her crimson eyes burned in the darkness.
“Finally… you’ve shown up, you humanoid garbage!”
Without the slightest hesitation, the gravel beneath her feet shattered. She shot forward like a blazing black fireball.
“Wait! We don’t know the opponent’s strength yet. Don’t rush in!”
Lin Xibai shouted anxiously from behind.
But the girl didn’t listen at all.
With a few leaps, she closed in on the witch. Defying gravity with agile movements, she charged upward. Two massive orbs of black flame, accompanied by shrill wailing sounds, appeared in her hands, casting a grim light across her face.
“Damn witch… I will hunt every last one of you monsters down, one by one!”
Facing the fiercely charging girl wrapped in terrifying black flames, the witch standing at the edge of the rooftop remained composed.
“Heh, I thought it was someone strong. Turns out it’s just a rookie who hasn’t even properly fused her magic power yet.”
As the lightning dissipated, a woman in a deep purple gothic dress casually waved her hand. A lightning shield easily blocked the black-haired girl’s fireballs.
She wore a mask that covered most of her face, revealing only lips painted with vibrant lipstick.
“Considering that unique aura of yours, little girl… if you turn back now and join the Witch House, I can speak for my sisters and forgive everything you’ve done before.”
Her words carried a seductive charm, continuing to drift in the night wind.
“In the future, you can enjoy unimaginable wealth and glory in this mortal world~ Do you want unrestrained freedom? Do you want to make up for the regrets in your life? Or do you want the power to take revenge on this unfair world?”
The witch’s voice, like a devil’s temptation, echoed continuously amid the thunder.
“Come. We will fulfill every desire in your heart. Why waste your natural talent on hypocritical justice or boring hatred?”
Lin Xibai stood frozen in place.
Every word the woman spoke felt like a stab to her heart.
Make up for regrets.
She suddenly realized that her choice to retire back then and completely sever ties with the magical side years later came precisely from having witnessed far too many fallen magical girls.
Deep in her heart, she was perhaps also afraid — afraid that one day, when facing such temptation, she would become like the witch before her…
Turning into a monster because her obsessions ran too deep.