Chapter 56: How about playing a game?

The strong never care about the struggles of the weak.

Just as an elephant doesn’t notice if it steps on an ant.

Lei Li had been careless.

He never imagined a mere transcendent-level magical girl could actually harm him.

That final magic blast surpassed the limit of his defense!

She was only transcendent-level, while he was an invincible calamity-level!

This was intolerable!

He’d been bitten by an ant!

As Venus fell from the sky, so did the pure white parasol that had dealt real damage to Lei Li.

“I’ll make you die!”

All 81 human-faced towers aimed at the falling Venus, firing 81 magic blasts in unison.

Venus could still faintly see the countless attacks coming, along with Lei Li’s twisted, furious face.

The gap of one magic level… was it truly insurmountable?

The sound of the magic blasts’ fluctuations echoed in her ears—a death knell.

“Venus!”

Iris and Pansy flew shakily toward her falling form.

Even knowing they’d die, they charged forward without hesitation.

Venus’s body froze mid-fall, a calm voice rising above the chaos.

“Stop.”

The sensation of falling vanished, and the world went quiet.

The voice, full of life’s hope, shone like a blazing sun, enveloping everyone.

It dispelled their fear, leaving only a hint of a witch’s playful mockery.

Pride’s voice was like a massive hammer, crashing into the battlefield, forcibly halting the fight that was about to end.

“Venus.” Pride floated slowly toward the falling Venus. “You’re in quite a state. Last time, you weren’t this badly hurt.”

Pride reached out, her fingertip brushing Venus’s blood-streaked face.

A witch?

Venus watched Pride touch her, powerless, her heart sinking into darkness.

With just Lei Li, they had a chance to survive.

But now a witch was here—the same Pride they’d met before.

Venus saw no hope, only a black abyss of despair rushing toward her.

Pride lifted Venus from the air, wiping the blood from her face.

Venus was deathly pale, near death, with nothing left to fear.

If she had to die, better by a beautiful witch’s hand than a pig like Lei Li.

“You’re a shining star, bringing hope to all. A death wish doesn’t suit you.”

Pride cradled Venus’s face, forehead touching hers, nose to nose.

Venus’s golden eyes, with an elliptical core and sun-halo patterns, gleamed.

“Don’t worry, I won’t kill you.”

Pride set Venus on the ground, snapping her left fingers.

Snap!

A surge of magic poured into Venus, healing her wounds at an incredible speed.

Pride turned to the two magical girls frozen mid-run, her interest piqued by one.

The pure, flawless Iris.

Once, she too was Iris; now, she was the Pride Witch.

Pride pinched Iris’s chin, tilting her head to meet her eyes.

“Such lively eyes. I see fear in them—and a touch of curiosity.”

Pride bent down, fingering Iris’s skirt.

The fabric felt nice—she hadn’t touched this magical dress in ages.

“And you, colorful little one—what flower are you?”

Each city’s magical girl organization differed, as did their codenames.

Pride’s city named them after flowers, Venus’s after stars.

But their goal was the same.

To protect.

“Oh, you can’t speak yet? Tell me next time, okay?”

Pride ruffled Pansy’s head, smiling faintly.

She was always lenient with magical girls.

They were like exquisite dolls.

Cute, beautiful, and strong.

Their precious qualities fascinated her.

Whoosh!

A magic blast suddenly shot toward Pride’s heart.

“Hahaha, what witch? Die!”

Lei Li laughed, as if he’d been helpless!

He wasn’t some weakling like Augustus—he was a calamity-level Arcana!

A witch was just one level above him.

With the right chance, killing someone a level higher wasn’t impossible.

Like now.

Even a witch would die if her heart was pierced, right?

Lei Li watched the blast aim for Pride’s heart, but his grin didn’t widen.

The blast didn’t touch her—it dissipated around her.

“Huh?”

Pride tilted her neck back, looking upside-down at Lei Li above.

“Why can you still move? Was my spell not strong enough?”

Crack!

As Pride spoke, Lei Li crashed to his knees, shaking the entire building.

His kneecaps shattered!

The searing pain made him want to scream, but absolute stillness silenced him.

Pride floated up, spinning to face him, landing before him.

“So ugly.” Pride’s face was full of disgust.

“Ugly people don’t get to look at me.”

Bang!

Her words made Lei Li slam his head into the ground, over and over.

From slow to fast.

From light to heavy.

Like a pile driver, he pounded the ground.

Each impact shook the building.

“Eighty-one—you like that number?”

Pride twirled her hair, asking casually.

“You have 81 towers, so I’ll make you repeat 81 head-smashes, 81 times each. Sound… good?”

Bang bang bang!

Pride’s question was rhetorical—she was just informing him.

She rarely had time to interact with magical girls and hadn’t even enjoyed her time with Venus when this pig disrupted her peace.

She was not in a great mood.

The three below were dumbfounded. Lei Li, who’d beaten them senseless, was like a toddler before the witch.

Utterly at her mercy.

Venus felt anew the suffocating gap between magic levels.

Following Venus’s gaze, Pride suddenly flashed in front of her.

“Venus, wanna play a game?”

Pride’s words filled Venus with dread. She didn’t want to play!