Chapter 17: Six magical girls.

She maintained the healing magic while tightly hugging Lin Xibai’s shoulders.

“From the very beginning, she acted so arrogantly, keeping that icy stinky face and refusing to even give her name… If I were you, I would have punched her first to make her wake up!”

She seemed to want to say something harsher, but seeing Lin Xibai’s pale face, she swallowed it back. Instead, she poured all her fury onto the dazed black-haired girl beside them.

She grabbed the black-haired girl’s dusty collar and yanked her close.

“A mere third-tier wants to exterminate a fifth-tier witch? Do you even understand what a witch means?!”

“If Xier hadn’t used her own body to block that lightning for you, you would be dead right now! Do you understand? Dead!”

Gu Ranying’s face drew close to the black-haired girl. “Your body would have been pierced by lightning, your internal organs would have been torn apart! Did you think magical girls are immortal? Did you think you could casually heal any injury?!”

The more she spoke, the angrier she became. The hand gripping the collar trembled.

“Damn it! If anything happens to my Xier, I’ll make you pay with your life!”

“……”

The black-haired girl, being dragged and scolded like a helpless chick, bit her lower lip the entire time and silently endured the storm of rebuke.

She turned her face away, her long black hair covering her guilty red eyes. She didn’t dare meet Gu Ranying’s gaze.

She had no way to refute it.

In that instant earlier, the touch of death had felt so real.

When the sound of purple lightning tearing through the air exploded beside her ear, her mind had gone completely blank.

Time seemed to stretch infinitely.

Countless chaotic thoughts flooded her like a bursting dam. In that fraction of a second, she thought of the always silent and taciturn old man at home, her mother’s smile, and the truth she had yet to uncover.

When she stepped onto the thorny and dark path of becoming a magical girl, she had rehearsed the scene of death countless times in her heart and believed she was prepared.

But she never expected death to come so suddenly… and so… meaningless.

She hadn’t even touched the edge of any truth yet, hadn’t truly hurt the enemies she swore to destroy, and yet she was about to die like a bug casually crushed, at the snap of a witch’s fingers whose face she hadn’t even seen clearly.

What shook her even more, leaving her unable to recover, was that sudden, unexpected protection from one of her own kind.

Why did that white-haired, seemingly delicate and fragile magical girl throw herself over?

They didn’t even know each other.

Why would she use her own body to block that fatal lightning?

The warm embrace, the tightly gripping arms… These sensory memories were branded far more deeply into her chaotic mind than the shadow of death.

A sour emotion she didn’t know how to handle, mixed with the exhaustion after surviving danger and thick guilt, pressed heavily on her heart, making it harder to breathe than the actual injury.

“Alright, alright… She’s still a child. Don’t scare her.”

Seeing that Gu Ranying’s rage was almost about to ignite the black-haired girl who had just faced death, Lin Xibai endured the burning pain on her back and hurriedly spoke up to mediate.

“Look, I’m… I’m not seriously hurt.”

She gently tugged at Gu Ranying’s sleeve, signaling her to let go. “After all… I used to be a proper fifth-tier. I might be rusty in combat, but when it comes to taking hits, I don’t need much magic power. My thick-skinned foundation is still here. Cough, cough…”

Before she could finish, another fit of coughing overtook her.

“Geez, really!”

Gu Ranying was both angry and heartbroken by her pretending-to-be-relaxed act. Although still unwilling, she snorted and released the black-haired girl’s collar. She carefully supported Lin Xibai’s shoulders instead, pouting unhappily.

Clearly, she was very dissatisfied that Lin Xibai was still speaking up for an outsider at a time like this, diverting attention away from her.

In her logic, Xier’s gaze should forever stay only on her alone.

This unvented anger naturally shifted targets once again.

Thus, she abruptly turned her head and poured all her accumulated fury onto the purple figure in the air.

“Witch! I originally planned to finish you off cleanly.”

Her voice was no longer sweet, only left with ice-cold killing intent. “But now, I’ve changed my mind. I’m going to make you beg for life and beg for death!”

Before her words even faded, two streams of light belatedly cut across the night sky and landed on the street not far away.

The light dispersed, revealing two magical girls in standard United Headquarters combat uniforms. They had clearly rushed over after receiving the emergency support request.

The purple-dressed witch on the rooftop had been watching the chaotic scene below with interest. She even let out a light laugh when Gu Ranying issued her threat.

But when she saw the headquarters reinforcements arrive, along with the glaring Gu Ranying, the pale but still powerful Lin Xibai, and the black-haired girl whose eyes remained fierce despite her injuries…

She clicked her tongue in disappointment.

“My my, how rare. This is the first time I’ve seen six magical girls gathered in one place. This little place is really too lively.”

Six?

This number made Lin Xibai pause.

Including the witch herself, Gu Ranying, herself, the black-haired girl, and the two who had just arrived, it was indeed six.

But the witch’s tone gave her a strange feeling.

“This isn’t fair. One against many? I can’t handle that~”

The witch laughed lightly as her figure began drifting backward, merging into the shadows of the rooftop. “You all can slowly catch up with each other here. Big sister will take her leave first~”

Before her words finished, she suddenly spread her hands wide!

‘Boom——!!!’

An even more violent and wider purple lightning net exploded outward with her at the center!

The blinding electric light not only forced the two newly arrived headquarters girls to retreat urgently, but also precisely severed many of the pink magic threads Gu Ranying had previously spread that had yet to fully dissipate!

“Don’t even think about running!”

Gu Ranying instinctively wanted to chase after her. Pink magic power surged around her once more.

But the moment her foot moved, her peripheral vision caught sight of the pale-faced Lin Xibai beside her, who could only sit upright by leaning on her. Her movements instantly froze. In the end, she unwillingly stomped her foot and abandoned the idea of pursuit.

“What six? This witch must be so scared her eyes are blurry?” One of the headquarters girls who came to support joked. “Or are you too fat, and the light refraction made you see one person as two?”

“Peh peh peh,” the accused girl’s face reddened. She glared with wide eyes. “Let’s treat our comrade first!”

She quickly took out two special healing potions glowing with soft green light from the portable medical kit at her waist. Together with her companion, she hurried over to Lin Xibai’s side.