Chapter 365: Sacrifice
As the saying goes, one wrong step leads to another. For Mint, when the arrowroot potato found him in the maze, many things had already gradually gotten out of control.
This loss of control eventually led her to choose to "show her cards" with her two teammates in this way, and then she overturned in an unexpected way.
Looking at the two people in front of him who had already shown a wary look, Mint was stunned, as if thinking about something. After a moment, he gradually put down the hand that was rubbing his hair, closed his eyes and muttered to himself: "Forget it, there is still room for negotiation. It's not a dead end."
"You two, if you have any questions, go ahead and ask."
She let out a long breath, as if trying to calm herself down. "I won't deny that if you are truly unnaturalized sacrifices, true magical girls, then in your eyes, I am your enemy. But before we really fall out, I think you have something else you want to ask?"
Lin Xiaolu and Bai Jingxuan were very confused by this strange performance that seemed to be directed and performed by themselves. After exchanging glances, they realized that neither of them could understand what was going on in the mint gourd.
"Delaying time?" Lin Xiaolu guessed.
"Is there a trap?" Bai Jingxuan also had her own ideas.
The two of them had no intention of avoiding Mint at all. After all, the situation had developed to this point and there was no need for either side to hide anything.
"Neither." So Mint gave a straightforward answer.
Not only that, she also took out a block-shaped object from her sweatshirt pocket, placed it on the coffee table, pushed it gently, and sent it directly in front of Lin Xiaolu.
This frightened Lin Xiaolu so much that she almost subconsciously grasped the Heart Bud and transformed, trying to prevent possible attacks. But she soon discovered that the situation was not what she thought.
Mint really just threw something to her.
Lin Xiaolu took a closer look and finally saw what Mint had pushed over—it was actually a Heart Leaf gleaming with magical light. Judging from the magical fluctuations within it, this was Mint's own Heart Gem.
"...What does this mean?" Lin Xiaolu asked in doubt.
"Show me my sincerity. I don't want to fight you. Rather, I hope we can have a good talk."
Mint, who had regained his sanity, picked up the drink in front of him and took a sip, his expression calm. "You can check it out. This is my heart gem. It's real. If I want to fight you later, you can just attack my gem and destroy me."
"What? You are... huh? You people from Black Dawn really all have something wrong with your brains." Lin Xiaolu was holding Mint's Heart Gem and didn't know what to say for a moment.
"If I don't do this, you'll probably call the sheriff or even notify the other magical girls, right?"
Bo He sneered, "Little sister Bo Xue over there, although your movements were well hidden, I have very sharp ears. I heard the sound of your phone being pressed, didn't I?"
Bai Jingxuan looked at her innocently.
"Don't come on, don't do this to death."
Bohe rolled his eyes. "Anyway, can we continue this conversation now? It's a lost cause."
"Even if we let the people from the research institute arrest you, they can still get the so-called secret from you, right?" Lin Xiaolu held Mint's Heart Gem, but still did not agree immediately.
"Well, probably, they will know, but you definitely won't be able to know."
Mint remained calm. Clearly, she had already considered what Lin Xiaolu had just said. "Also, they'll know that I met two other magical girls with the power of residual beasts in the Emerald District today."
Lin Xiaolu and Bai Jingxuan's breathing was slightly stagnant.
"...I'll say it again, I have no idea what kind of residual beast magic I have. Don't put strange accusations on me."
Lin Xiaolu said unkindly, "As for Bo Xue, her situation is special. Members of the Black Dawn like you are not qualified to drag her down with you."
"I understand, I understand. Your captain is that Cornflower. After all, he still has some influence in the country."
Bohe looked unfazed. "But are you sure you want to escalate this to the point where she'll need to ask for favors? If I can explain a few more things, perhaps there'll be a better solution. After all, you still have my gem, right?"
Lin Xiaolu was silent.
She thought for a while, exchanged glances with Bai Jingxuan again, and finally made a decision. She looked at Bo He again:
"First question, what is your purpose in coming to this city?"
"My own goal is to take the exam and get my white card."
Mint said without hesitation: "As for the purpose of Black Dawn, I only know that among the beastmen traveling with us this time, some of them are tasked with performing certain tasks during the fourth assessment."
"Don't you have any mission?" Lin Xiaolu frowned.
"If I say 'no,' you probably won't believe me." Mint shrugged. "But I can tell you honestly, Black Dawn is actually a very large organization. Just like a group of magical girls often have different goals, we are actually the same."
"You mean to say that although you are from Black Dawn, you are not actually participating in any operations this time in the kingdom, and you are just a passerby who came to take the exam?" Lin Xiaolu looked unconvinced.
"If I really participated in the mission, would I not even know who my teammates were? And would I mistake you two for mine?"
Bohe looked gloomy: "Rather, I thought you were here to carry out some mission. I was even thinking of eating some melon."
This answer left Lin Xiaolu and the others speechless.
If Bo He really knew more about the inside story, there seemed to be no reason for her to make such a low-level mistake. Rather, the fact that she was in such a confrontation in this cafe was itself a manifestation of "unprofessionalism".
"...Then let me ask you another question. What exactly do you mean when you say that I have the magical power of a remnant beast?" Fortunately, Lin Xiaolu quickly adjusted her mentality and continued to ask questions.
"Yes, yes, what does 'can' mean?"
Mint continued to drink his drink: "Didn't I tell you that in the eyes of a beastman like me, the magical fluctuations of a crippled beast are like light bulbs. It's impossible to mistake them."
"But why don't I know?"
"Then why are you asking me? Aren't you too useless?"
Mint scoffed. "But it's true. From a sensory perspective, if the remaining beast magic power in Little Sister Bo Xue is like a 100-watt household light bulb, then yours is probably like a nearly burnt match. While stronger than an ordinary person, it's so weak that it's probably the weakest among the sacrificed children."
"Huh? Who are you calling weak?"
Lin Xiaolu was a little unhappy for a moment, but soon realized that she had no reason to compare herself with others in this matter: "How can a large amount of magic power in a remnant beast be a good thing? Less is better!"
"When the royal court comes to take people away, they don't care how much beast magic power is on you. If it's there, it's there." Mint said in a neutral tone.
"So I really have the magical power of a remnant beast?" Lin Xiaolu continued to ask.
"Yes. Or rather, you can ask your younger sister Bo Xue to feel it carefully. The answer should also be 'yes'." Bo He said confidently.
So Lin Xiaolu looked at Bai Jingxuan.
Bai Jingxuan looked at Lin Xiaolu hesitantly, then at Bo He, and finally moved closer to Lin Xiaolu and closed her eyes. After a long moment, she slowly raised her eyelids.
"...I can't really explain it. It's really too vague."
"What do you mean by vague?" Lin Xiaolu's mouth twitched.
"...It seems like there is, but it's so weak that it feels like an illusion." Bai Jingxuan said in a low voice.
"Ha ha ha ha!"
Mint burst out laughing. "As a sacrificial son, you're a complete loser!"
"So what are these sacrificial children and beast children you're talking about?"
Lin Xiaolu glared at her fiercely: "Why should I be happy about my talent as a villain?"
"Wrong, wrong, Jizi is not gifted at being a bad guy."
Bohe had a look of "you don't understand" on his face: "It should be said that although the name is not very nice, but the sacrifice child is actually a rare talent for humans."
"How do you say that?"
"The so-called 'Sacrificial Child' is actually the gift of being able to use the magic power of a crippled beast as one's own source of magic power without affecting one's mind or body."
Mint said proudly, "In other words, only the sacrifice child can wield the power of a beast in a human form."
"...How is this different from the so-called claw marks?" Lin Xiaolu frowned. "Don't they also maintain their human form after transforming?"
"On the surface, there are some similarities, but in reality, they are completely different. Claw Mark simply replaced the magical girl's magic source with the power of a broken beast. In essence, there is only one kind of magic in the body, but it uses the magic of the broken beast to simulate the power of the magical girl."
Mint shook his head: "Their abilities as magical girls have become incomplete, and they haven't mastered much of the abilities of the remaining beasts. Their efficiency in using the remaining beasts' magic power is very low."
"What about the sacrifice?"
"Just like a magical girl, a magical girl can gain the power of seeds, buds, leaves, buds, and flowers in order through Kaihua."
Mint put down the cup. "Sacrificial child, while maintaining human form, can improve step by step from egg, caterpillar, pupa, molt... until finally possessing abilities completely equivalent to the entire life cycle of a remnant beast."
"Not only that, if a female priest is a girl, and after becoming a priest, she has the opportunity to sign a contract and become a magical girl, what path do you think this priest will take?"
She placed her hands on either side of the cup and smiled refreshingly, "The answer is, it will become something like us."
"Don't use the word 'we'. Even though I have this kind of disgusting potential, I have never accepted the magic of any beast."
Lin Xiaolu looked unhappy: "What about the beast? What's the difference between a beast and a sacrifice?"
This time, Mint didn't answer immediately.
She looked at Lin Xiaolu and Bai Jingxuan with an eerily calm expression, but Lin Xiaolu kept staring back at her with considerable determination. It wasn't until a long time later that Bohe spoke again.
"The essence of a beast is also a sacrifice, but it is a sacrifice that has been chosen after completing rounds of food sacrifices and surpassing the selection process."
She lowered her voice, as if recalling something, and continued, "Hundreds of crippled beasts were mixed together with a sacrifice of the same rank, and locked in a cage. This cage will remain sealed for the next month."
"A month later, the last few surviving beasts will become the materials for the Cinder Guards and even the Cinder Servant to craft the Beast Viscera."
"And if the one who survives is the sacrifice..."
"Then she will become a beast."
(End of this chapter)
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