Chapter 28: He did it!
“…”
“So we’re suspended for now?”
“That’s what they said. They’ll request another magical girl to temporarily take your places, and they want me to find Iris’s successor soon,” Little White replied, slumping on the table, visibly dejected.
If its companions hadn’t infiltrated the upper echelons of the human world, Little White wouldn’t have to heed the authorities’ orders. Bai Yao, Huang Ran, and Long Shu were all painstakingly scouted by it. Its original plan was to let them grow freely, handling pollution entities as they saw fit. But the authorities forbade “wild” magical girls—either they were recruited, or Little White’s kin would confiscate their transformation trinkets.
In Little White’s world, magical beings were ranked by magic capacity. Little White’s own magic was minimal, only enough for flight and invisibility to humans. If it had just a bit more power, maybe Bai Yao wouldn’t have retired, and Huang Ran and Long Shu wouldn’t be suspended.
“Ugh, so we can’t transform? Big deal,” Long Shu said, picking up Little White and stroking its fur. “This is a long vacation! A rare chance to rest openly. I’m gonna enjoy it!”
Long Shu’s logic was simple: being a magical girl was just a job. If she couldn’t do it, so be it. Life didn’t hinge on the title. Plus, whether a magical girl retired normally or was forced out, they got a hefty compensation—enough for a lifetime of comfort.
“That’s true, but I still feel uneasy,” Huang Ran said, removing her glasses and wiping them with a cloth. She’d been a magical girl for so long; being sidelined felt jarring.
“What’s there to feel bad about? Now we can hang out with Yao Yao all the time!” Long Shu grinned, showing no trace of sadness.
Her cheerfulness lifted Little White and Huang Ran’s spirits.
“Let’s go to Yao Yao’s place now!” Long Shu hoisted Little White onto her head, grabbed Huang Ran, and dashed for the door.
“Hey! Let me lock the shop!” Huang Ran pulled Long Shu back, secured the flower shop, and they set off for Bai Yao’s, leaving their worries behind.
Meanwhile, Augustus was conducting his final experiment in an abandoned munitions factory in a restricted military zone. Rarely guarded due to its disuse, it had been his base for months, dedicated to crafting stronger pollution entities. His goal: a creature rivaling the Demon Realm’s purity, with magic surpassing Transcendent-grade.
“Lilith, bring me the lizard tail fragment I collected,” Augustus said.
“No problem, darling,” Lilith replied in a thick foreign accent, swaying as she handed him a reagent bottle containing the tail.
Augustus opened it, and the tail inside twitched eagerly, leaping onto the table.
“Look, Lilith, such a lively fragment! With the negative energy I’ve gathered, I’ll create a formidable pollution entity!” Augustus’s excitement was palpable as he pulled out his pocket watch, pouring its energy out.
“Lilith, step back. I don’t want to hurt you—that’d break my heart.”
“Of course, darling.”
Lilith retreated, her eyes fixed on Augustus. A focused man was irresistibly handsome, and she had to resist the urge to get cozy with him. But that would anger him. A woman should support her man silently, helping at the right moment without overwhelming him. That’s how to hold a man’s heart.
The watch’s negative energy flooded out, channeled by Augustus into the lively lizard tail. The tail turned black, swelling from palm-sized to two meters in diameter. It didn’t stop—regeneration began. Lizards regrow tails, but this tail was regrowing a body!
Augustus was ecstatic. “Lilith, look! It’s a miracle!”
“Oh, darling, you’re incredible!” Lilith lavished praise.
Men thrived on women’s admiration during work, especially with affectionate words. It turned them into unstoppable machines.
“My darling baby, you’re amazing! You’ll create an unmatched pollution entity and claim your place among the twenty-two Arcana!”
Augustus’s grin widened behind his mask, fueled by Lilith’s words. He watched the tail’s transformation eagerly. The lizard’s body was nearly complete, only the head missing.
“Lilith, the magic controller—quick! One last step!”
“Darling, I’ve got it ready.”
Lilith handed him a black metal collar. As the lizard’s head fully formed, Augustus snapped the collar around its neck.
“Roar!”
The entity sensed its power being suppressed, its body no longer fully its own, and let out a furious bellow. The sound was so powerful it blew the factory roof off.
“That’s not a lizard’s cry…” Augustus stared at the creature’s back, where a pair of black dragon wings unfurled.
“A dragon! It’s a dragon!”
“Hahaha, a legendary creature! Perfect!” Augustus was beside himself with joy.
Lilith joined him, marveling at the sight. Dragons, mythical in the human world, were real in the Demon Realm—apex beings, some rivaling witches. Augustus had done it. An Arcana seat was his!
At the school, Bai Yao—as Pride—faced the Calamity-grade behemoth. Her crimson petals tore through it, but its resilience was unnerving. Jasmine and Rose stood behind, guarding Lin Xue, the girl Little White had scouted.
“Pride Witch, why are you here?” Jasmine asked, wary.
“I sensed trouble near my sister,” Pride replied, not looking back. “This thing’s scaring her friends. I won’t allow it.”
Rose whispered to Jasmine, “Think she’s telling the truth?”
“No idea, but she’s fighting that monster. Let’s focus on protecting the girl.”
Lin Xue clutched her bag, staring at Pride. “She… feels familiar. Like someone I know.”
Little White hovered nearby. “That’s why I chose you, Lin Xue. You’ve got potential, just like she did.”
The behemoth roared, regenerating its wounds. Pride gritted her teeth. “Tch, tougher than I thought.”
In the shadows, Augustus watched, his watch now brimming with negative energy from the crowd’s panic. Pride’s interference was a problem, but his new creation was ready. He murmured an incantation, and a portal shimmered open behind him. From it stepped the dragon-like pollution entity, its collar glowing faintly, eyes burning with malice.
“Let’s see how you handle this, witch,” Augustus sneered, unleashing his creation.
The dragon entity roared, shaking the ground, its wings casting a shadow over the school. Pride turned, her eyes narrowing. “What… is that?”