Chapter 143 Prey
As a kind of monster that existed long before human civilization in the material world, no one can say exactly when they were born.
The most widely known theory is that the life and power of all the remaining beasts actually come from the same source, a powerful being that has no name or image left. However, in the existing research on the magic side, there is no evidence to support this theory.
But belief does not need evidence, and there are always people who believe in this. The "Lord" mentioned by Black Dawn actually refers to this unknown existence.
They called it "the beast master".
"The great beast disaster nineteen years ago certainly brought disaster to the material world, but it also left valuable treasures for the study of the power of the remaining beasts."
The voice of the remnant beast with a smile was clearly transmitted to the consciousness of every magical girl present: "A large number of remnant beast remains that have not been stripped of their echoes, a large number of lives damaged by the beast's magic power, and a large amount of data from the battle. These are things that the Black Cinder Dawn cannot obtain in peacetime, but in the Great Beast Disaster, they are readily available."
"After that, we extracted a rare crystal from some extremely special beast remnants. Surprisingly, all the beast remnants with this crystal embedded in their bodies showed a more or less enriched phenomenon of magic power."
"Their body structures are stronger; their special organs are more developed; even their intelligence is unusually evolved."
"We conducted a detailed study on this crystal stone and finally found that it has the ability to absorb and purify a large amount of magic power, and then feed back a certain special energy. This special energy can greatly promote the evolution of the residual beast and raise the upper limit of the residual beast's evolution."
"However, the stock of this crystal is too scarce. We dissected all the remains of the beasts found in the beast disaster, and we could only get a few. And the amount of magic power it requires is too huge. Only a small amount of magic power is completely unable to supply its consumption. Our experiment is progressing very slowly."
"In the first experiment, it took us more than ten years to create a fully evolved remnant beast. However, the good times didn't last long. At the end of the evolution, the remnant beast's body collapsed and turned into a pool of meat paste full of magic."
"The second experiment started two years later than the first and took longer, but the outcome was no different. It collapsed."
"After failing twice more, I ruled out all possible causes and found that it wasn't our thinking that was wrong, but the 'food' that was wrong."
"We produce a large number of meat pigs to feed the leftover animals, but meat pigs alone are not enough. Just like humans will have various problems if they are picky eaters, leftover animals also need a 'balanced diet'."
"The magic of fairies, the magic of magical girls, and the magic of beasts are all indispensable."
"In order to verify this conclusion, two years ago, I made a decision during the latest round of cultivation. I intercepted a portion of the magic power of the Flower Card Magical Girl and fed it to our remaining beast. Then, variables appeared: its growth rate far exceeded the previous experiments, and it also showed a considerable degree of intelligence."
"I know my experiment was successful."
The giant moth flapped its wings slowly, staring at the blue-haired girl lying on the ground. "So I need to thank your teammate, Cornflower. It was Sakura's death that allowed me to obtain enough flower card magic power after a long time. It made me see the possibility of success."
Delphinium said nothing.
Because she was really hurt.
The beast took away his magic armor and then chopped him hard in the body.
It is true that the body of a magical girl is made up of magic power and does not have body organs in the biological sense, but the magic costume does not harm the body of the magical girl, but the deeper soul.
The soul was almost cut in half, and the pain of being cut in half was enough to make an average magical girl lose control of her body.
At this moment, the Delphinium was lying on its back on the ground, staring expressionlessly at the huge moth in the sky, quietly listening to the other party's proud and complacent speech.
"…You seem to lack an audience."
However, even with such an injury, there was no trace of pain in her voice, and she spoke calmly as usual: "I am not interested in your story of sleeping on straw and eating bitter food, and working hard for so many years."
"is that so?"
There was a hint of surprise in Moss's voice: "I thought you would be somewhat moved by the death of your old teammate."
"If you just wanted to irritate me, then you have already achieved your goal."
Delphinium's voice remained calm: "But if you want to tell me 'you killed Sakura' to shake my heart, then I can only answer you, it's impossible."
"Oh? I deliberately kept the altar until now. You should have captured Sakura's magic from the ceremony just now. How can you not believe me?"
"So what?"
Delphinium looked straight ahead, but no one knew what she was thinking under her calm appearance: "Sakura is dead, and her heart gem is gone. I have known this for a long time. Your actions have only made me realize that her death is indeed inseparable from you."
"You don't understand what 'The Strongest Hanaru' means, nor do you understand what she is capable of. Sakura, you have defeated all kinds of invincible enemies time and time again to reach that position."
She supported herself on the ground with both hands, straightened up slightly, and her tone gradually became serious: "You scum like you want to defeat her, or even kill her?"
"Don't make me laugh. You are not worthy to mention her name to me."
Moss was silent for a while, then she laughed again: "Hahaha, very good, I really like your character of not admitting defeat."
"That's why I chose to set the stage today, in this extremely grand occasion, and invited these lovely little audience members."
She waved her wings and pointed her limbs at the newcomers not far away: "Whether I can kill Ying or not, I can't prove it to you now. But what if it's these little guys? What do you think?"
"For example, the girl over there, Ying's daughter, her father seems to be having an affair with you. If I kill her here, can you still keep that icy face? I'm looking forward to it."
"...Don't even think about it." Delphinium used the silk thread to support her body and stood up again.
"Then it depends on your performance."
Moss said this, raising her limbs, and countless densely packed purple-black spheres appeared in the air: "How long can you protect her, Cornflower?"
As she finished her words, several purple-black magic balls fell towards Lin Xiaolu's location like meteorites.
Lin Xiaolu and her companions were still fighting with the beasts while approaching the direction of the delphinium. When they saw the light ball falling from the sky, they immediately turned around and tried to avoid it. However, the purple-black magic ball seemed to have consciousness. As Lin Xiaolu moved her position, their landing point also shifted.
Delphinium turned into a stream of light and flew to the side of several newcomers in a blink of an eye. The magic suit formed a huge network in front of it, blocking the magic ball that was falling from the air, trying to stop it.
However, before the magic ball came into contact with the magic suit, the magic thread she had woven disappeared into thin air.
Without hesitation, she cast the Favor Rune again, and several magic barriers quickly enveloped the people, isolating the magic sphere. However, these magic barriers also turned into nothingness in an instant.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Lin Xiaolu below also raised her hand and swung out a silver-white magic flame, slashing at the magic ball, but like the delphinium, she disappeared halfway.
“It’s not just one-time storage, it can be stored in multiple sections.”
Delphinium muttered to herself in the air. Seeing that the magic ball was about to hit Lin Xiaolu, her eyes focused slightly, and then she accelerated again. She rushed in front of Lin Xiaolu and used her body to firmly resist the magic ball.
Seeing this, Xia Liang quickly released her magic suit, and several mirrors wrapped around the sphere, trying to divert the magic power of the sphere to other places. However, her magic suit could not withstand such a large amount of magic power, and before Moss could even make them disappear, all the mirrors exploded.
Crack.
“Hey… Ugh!”
Cracks suddenly appeared on Xia Liang's face, and he was blown away.
Not to mention Delphinium, who was at the center of the magic explosion. The heavy blow to her soul caused her to fall like a kite with a broken string, and she was quickly caught by Lin Xiaolu below.
"Xia Liang! Damn it! Delphinium! What happened to you!?"
She frantically felt for Delphinium's breath, looked at her torn dress that even had some burn marks on it, and called out in a panic, "Are you okay? Delphinium?"
Cuiqiao's tightly closed eyes opened again when Lin Xiaolu called her, then she stood up slightly and grabbed Lin Xiaolu's hand.
"fine."
After taking two short breaths, Cuiqiao looked at Lin Xiaolu calmly: "I'm here, don't worry, everything will be fine."
"What do you mean 'it's okay'? It's happened twice already! You're already so injured!"
Lin Xiaolu's voice was filled with tears: "Don't treat yourself like this. If she wants to kill me, it will hinder you from fighting, so it's better to..."
Delphinium said nothing more.
She just squeezed Lin Xiaolu's hand, signaling her not to say anything more, then struggled to stand up again and looked at Moss in the air.
"I thought your melodrama would last a little longer."
Moss taunted, "Why don't you show her more of your spirit of sacrifice so that I can see more tear-jerking scenes?"
"I don't want to waste my breath in front of scum."
Delphinium's voice remained calm and firm: "If you want to see a tragedy, go to hell and slowly watch your own ending."
"Hahaha, interesting, since you are so motivated, let's continue."
The purple-black magic ball of light once again appeared above everyone. Moss said in a high-pitched voice: "Let me see, when you can't use magic, how long can you protect them with your already scarred body?"
Looking at the dense magic balls in the sky, Delphinium remained calm, Moko was terrified, and Xia Liang lowered his eyes helplessly. Lin Xiaolu was also pale. She looked at Delphinium and subconsciously spoke again, but she had no idea what to say.
Moss's attack was not shaken by the will of the magical girls.
The purple-black magic ball fell again, and this time, Delphinium again blocked it with its body.
"Hahaha, this is really rare. A magical girl who once held the Jeweled Scepter and became a flower card master is now in such a state!"
Moss laughed, "Where's your magic suit? Where's your wonderland? Where's your flourishing? It's ridiculous to fight like a species, or even worse than a species!"
"You've been standing there talking nonsense like a brat. Do you think I don't know? You've overdrawn yourself twice in the Garden Defense War and the Great Beast Disaster. Your strength has long been reduced to only one tenth of what it was!"
"Look at what you look like now, how pathetic!"
"This is the magical kingdom! This is their hero! The hero who saved the day in the war and saved the city in the material world, only to be humiliated like this in the end!"
"That's why you are my best prey and the best ingredient for me to step onto a higher level!"
As she finished her words, more magic balls appeared around her.
“…I see.”
Delphinium looked at the sky that had been dyed purple and black, and her gem-like eyes reflected the figure under the light: "Your target has been me from the beginning."
"You just realized it now? It's too late!"
Moss laughed carelessly and said, "What city, what human beings, what country, and what investigation institute? These things have nothing to do with my plan from the beginning. All I need is you."
"Use a large amount of pigs to feed a crippled beast on the verge of collapse over two years, and then obtain a large amount of high-quality magical girl magic in one go, enough to restore the magic power in its body to balance. This will achieve the result I want quickly!"
"What better prey is there than a former Gem Scepter who is seriously injured, retired for many years, and unaware of the outside world?"
"As long as I can obtain your source of magic power and complete the final completion of my beast organs, I can break through the limitations of the metamorphosis and ascend to a higher level, becoming an existence close to the peak - the King of Metamorphosis!"
"I asked Touch's useless men to attack your old friend's daughter, and you showed up as expected; I asked them to attack the man you were related to, and you accepted the challenge; I asked Spider to attract the attention of the Investigation Institute, and you went there immediately; I asked Hong Si to deceive you, and you were also unaware!"
"I prepared so many smoke bombs to delay the ceremony, and prepared so much trouble to delay your steps. As expected, every step you took was within my expectations. You are so ignorant that I feel pity for you!"
"You are like a bird living in a cage, trapping yourself in the cage, completely unaware of the number of crises approaching from the outside world. How pathetic, ridiculous, and lamentable!"
"Put aside your useless stubbornness and kneel down before me at the end."
Her voice gradually turned cold. "Just like I was powerless to protect my own daughter, you are powerless to protect those little girls now. Kneel down and beg for my mercy. Perhaps I can spare their lives and let them become my new experimental subjects."
The moth beast raised its limbs high, and under its flapping wings, countless purple-black magic balls flickered, surging with the breath of destruction: "Of course, you can also refuse. I don't mind swallowing a few more heart gems in the final ceremony."
It just looked down at the delphinium, waiting for its reply.
However, the answer obtained is that there is no answer.
Delphinium did not respond to her words.
Her long azure blue hair was stained with dust, and her navy blue dress was torn and blackened. Although she looked to be at an absolute disadvantage, Delphinium still stood there very straight and firmly, looking at Moss calmly.
“…There is no direction.”
"Huh? What nonsense are you talking about?"
"When magic disappears, there is no direction to flow."
"So what, answer my question!"
"There's no need to answer. I don't want to waste my breath on nonsense."
Delphinium said calmly: "I have already guessed your rules."
These words were like throwing ice cubes into boiling water, causing the originally arrogant Moss to calm down instantly.
"……oh?"
After a long while, she said in a playful tone, "That's really, surprising."
"What's surprising? Are you surprised that I can actually guess your rules, or are you surprised that I'm not a fool?"
Delphinium narrowed her eyes slightly: "You have been constantly bringing up various topics from the beginning, your own experience, Sakura's death, the country's system, and my past... Aren't you just trying to divert my thinking and distract me?"
"You keep talking like a noisy clown in the middle of a battle. The only reason I can think of, other than because you are a natural chatterbox, is that you are trying to control our thinking."
"You use all kinds of topics that you think will stimulate me and arouse my interest to force me to respond, so that I will ignore and actively give up thinking about the nature of your rules."
"After all, your rules seem so unsolvable, as if they can block everyone's magical attacks, but to be honest, they are just one sentence:"
"——The person with the biggest shadow takes over the magic power of others."
Her words caused Moss to fall silent again.
"Nonsense." Moss sneered after a moment, "If this is the conclusion you have come to, then you will only lose more miserably."
"Yeah?"
Delphinium did not comment: "If that's the case, then why didn't you remove the blindingly bright beam of light after your 'ritual' ended? And you kept moving around meaninglessly, letting your shadow cover us all the time?"
"Oh, then let's just take it as such."
"Yeah, let's take it as such." Delphinium also repeated Moss's words, then stretched out her hand and pointed behind it: "After all, the magic suit I left behind you has not disappeared until now."
Following the direction of Delphinium's finger, Moss looked behind herself and saw a small piece of blue magic thread that had been fixed to the ground at some point, and was now quietly emitting a magical halo.
It just maintained its posture, looking at the small piece of magic thread, and after a moment, it turned back and suddenly stretched and spread its wings. In an instant, a huge black shadow enveloped the area around the delphinium.
Moss looked at the piece of silk thread, and only at this moment did she realize that she might have really underestimated this magical girl who had retired for many years.
"You've actually been thinking about this."
Looking at the Delphinium, it said in amazement: "If we were not enemies, I would have to ask you what made you so calm."
"The first rule is not to listen to the nonsense of a beast like you."
“It’s a real honor.”
"The second reason is that I have fought countless battles between rules."
Delphinium continued, "Guessing and concealing the rules is the first priority. I don't think you will ignore this. After all, when the truth of the rules is understood, your rules will lose their threat."
"Oh? Even if you know the rules, what can you do?"
Moss said expressionlessly: "You still can't use your magic power, and you can't use your magic suit. And now you can't use the wonderland anymore, and you have no way to resist all this..."
——"Who says I can't use Wonderland?"
Delphinium interrupted it and stared at Moss: "Did I say that I can't use Wonderland?"
"Humph, bluffing!"
Moss snorted coldly: "Your heart gem and magic suit have been damaged for a long time. It's a miracle that you are still alive. Do you think this lie makes sense?"
"Whether it's a lie or not, we'll know after a fight."
Delphinium said calmly: "As long as I know your rules, then from now on, your rules will no longer work."
"Okay, come on."
Moss paused, then smiled and said, "Let me see your wonderland and see what means you can still use to struggle now that things have come to this!"
Delphinium did not speak to Moss again.
She silently opened her hands, and the little remaining azure magic power surged in her body again. Amid the interweaving of silk threads, a small pair of tailor's scissors, only as big as her palm, gradually appeared between her fingers.
The silver-blue scissors seemed to be engraved with dense and intricate patterns, but when you look closely, you will find that those patterns are actually cracks. In fact, the scissors have long been reduced to just an outline, and they are afraid that they will break completely if they are moved casually.
Delphinium stared at the scissors in its hand, as if it was missing something, and as if it was gradually letting go of something.
"…I'm sorry for using you so roughly all this time."
She reached out and wiped the tailor's scissors, her voice a little gentle: "But, let me be willful once more."
Picking up the scissors and pulling out the silk thread from her knuckles, Delphinium waved her hand and faced the crippled beast in the air sternly.
"Magic constructs are extracted; wonderland unfolds. Let us judge everything here—"
She uttered commands, her will became stronger, and the azure magic power gushed out again like high-voltage stimulation, and even the cracks on the scissors emitted light, as if they would break and explode at any time.
Then, Delphinium raised her voice and called out the name of her magic suit for the first time since her comeback: "Weaver."
(End of this chapter)
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