Chapter 26: Male? Bear?

Chu Xiong approached Jiang Yao, bowing slightly: “Your mother, the delicate beauty, is in that cage.”

Ignoring her furious glare, he clutched the remote with one claw, his other hand hovering over another switch: “Tell me everything about the ancient weapons, or I’ll press this, and your frail, ordinary mother will… whoosh—” He mimicked something plummeting, grinning: “Splat!”

“…You… [filthy curse].”

“Hahaha!” Chu Xiong laughed: “Pathetic, even your curses are muffled by your own magic.”

He crouched before the fallen girl, locking eyes with her burning anger: “Got a lot of broken bones, huh? Too weak to lift your weapon, yet you’re still glaring? Pointless. Answer me, or stand and fight.”

In the shadows behind, the magical girl [Aurora], fully transformed, stepped forward, wand in hand. Boom!

Then, she froze, watching Chu Xiong fly backward, and hesitated to retract her step. ‘What’s happening?’

Jiang Lingwei knew her daughter had fought valiantly. For a novice magical girl to hold out against such a demon was remarkable. But how did this monster get blasted back? Who struck him?!

Sensing an explosion, Jiang Lingwei turned, confused, and stepped back. “Dark magic?”

Yes, pure dark magic. Its source… Jiang Yao, who’d just been sprawled on the ground.

“How?!” Chu Xiong’s eyes widened, shocked: “You’re using dark magic?!”

Before him stood the girl, now clad in fierce black armor. Her longsword had morphed into a chainsaw-like weapon, red crystals as its teeth, whirring and spinning at her will.

Jiang Yao tossed the snatched remote aside. She knew her state wasn’t good. Dark magic wasn’t easy to control. Part of her wanted to tear the demon apart; another part urged her to check on her mother.

The conflicting emotions tangled in her mind, her sanity barely holding. How she’d tapped into dark magic, she didn’t know. In her searing anger, something dormant from before stirred, and then—this.

“Kill you first.”

The girl decided instantly, too overwhelmed to think deeper. Even transformed, dark magic might veil her from her mother, but she didn’t want to be seen like this.

Her left hand curled into a claw, condensing a red-and-black energy ball since the start. She swung her arm, hurling it forward.

Boom!!!

Chu Xiong, just knocked back, tried to dodge—too late. The expanding energy ball slammed into him, unleashing a wave that shattered everything nearby.

“Hiss…”

Chu Xiong struggled from the crater, battered but smirking smugly: “I see.”

He stood, twisted flesh growing over his wounds. Pointing a claw at the charging Jiang Yao: “I don’t know how, but… dark magic doesn’t faze me.”

If it were light magic, he’d likely be down. But these injuries? They’d heal in time.

His confidence surged back. He could still win, still fight, still—

“I know.”

The girl, now inches from his face, grinned wildly: “So, I’ll chop you to bits~”

“What—” Buzz—

The chainsaw sword roared, its high-frequency vibrations severing Chu Xiong’s still-human hand. Dark magic weakened dark magic’s impact. But who said she’d use magic to strike? Ever heard of a melee magical girl?

Buzz—

From a distance, Jiang Lingwei, foot retracted, watched Chu Xiong—arrogant moments ago—now rolling on the ground, one-armed, battered. She was more baffled than he was.

Fairy? Yes, Xiaobai was a fairy. Magical girl? Yes, Jiang Yao was one. So where did this dark magic come from?

It made no sense. Light and dark magic were opposites. A qualified magical girl couldn’t tolerate dark magic—force it, and they’d implode.

Now, she didn’t need to act, but a bigger problem loomed. Where did her daughter’s dark form come from?

Jiang Lingwei could only guess it was her “talent,” something innate. As she stood stunned by her daughter’s dark magic, the battle neared its end.

“No…”

Chu Xiong crawled a few meters, collapsing to his knees, gasping. Humiliation—endless humiliation—flooded him again.

His bloodshot human eyes bulged, the last human remnants in his dark-magic-soaked body. The suffocating shame of defeat, of utter failure, choked him. Mocking voices echoed in his darkened mind.

Was his so-called dignity worth more than his life? If he couldn’t beat this magical girl, he should flee.

But that was a demon’s tragedy. Every fallen soul, seduced by darkness, carried an obsession. Magic thrived on such things. Beautiful hopes, joyful emotions—or mad obsessions, greedy desires, raging fury—could push magic to its peak.

Thus, Chu Xiong wouldn’t flee.

Thud, thud.

He struggled to his feet, his twisted, mutated legs supporting him. Hot tears streamed from his human eyes.

“You filthy trash.”

Jiang Yao approached slowly, her sword’s crystal serrations trembling, her voice cold: “You can cry too?”

“I… I feel it.”

Chu Xiong babbled, as if to himself, ignoring Jiang Yao, staring at the dazzling white light above. His human eyes wept: “I, I feel it!”

The dark entity hadn’t lied—his new form would emerge in battle. In triumph, he felt nothing; in anger, no change. But in this desperate, humiliating moment, he felt “Xiong” truly awaken.

Joy overflowed, wrapping his body. This bliss drowned the pain of his wounds, the unrest of his mutations.

“Ha…”

Chu Xiong knelt, claws clutching his chest, roaring: “Bliss, aaaaah!!!”

Black substance enveloped him, like a chocolate egg undergoing a bizarre transformation. Jiang Yao, chainsaw sword raised, moved to stop it, but a black shockwave burst from Chu Xiong, forcing her to block with her sword.

Buzz— “What?!”

The girl looked up, shocked. In an instant, Chu Xiong’s transformation was complete.

“This is… ‘Xiong’…”

His hands, no longer frail, gripped a sturdy body. Clad in dark-magic-woven clothes, something new obscured his vision. His eyes dulled.

Through the overhead light reflecting off a purple crystal, Chu Xiong saw his new form. A fair, round face, slightly plump—almost robust—body, a thin beard trailing to his chin. Sneakers with white socks, a white short-sleeved shirt, black shorts, and round glasses.

He recalled the dark entity’s whisper: [I understand. You want a strong body, free from superficial women, admired by men.] [In short, a bear, right?]

Its tone was odd: [I don’t judge you humans. You’ll get what you want.]

“Ah…”

Jiang Yao lowered her sword slightly, thrown by the absurdity. Chu Xiong collapsed, clutching his head.

At that moment, the same thought flashed through the minds of foe, friend, and a certain ancient magical girl watching from afar: ‘So, the Chengdu must-eat list is this dull!’ *