Something's off about this magical girl.

Chapter 71 Moon Shattered

Let's turn back time a little.

It was nighttime before the meeting began.

A crimson warning light appeared in the sky above the 092 Calamity Zone, and an alarm sounded, indicating that magical fluctuations had been detected, or that a strange beast had been thrown into the area by a witch.

The disaster area was located on the edge of the city. As soon as the alarm sounded, the remaining pedestrians on the street retreated to the outside of the area, and the streets were soon empty.

Going inwards against the flow of people was a squad of quasi-magical girls.

It's so painful because the frequency of monster appearances has been too high lately. On average, we have to go out once every two days, and we don't even have a chance to rest properly.

But before they could enter, a magical girl senior stopped them.

"Your squad has been fighting too frequently lately. Leave this to me. You guys go back and keep watch until we get backup."

The squad leader hurriedly spoke up, "Senior, but—"

"This is an order." The magical girl's body rippled with magical energy, and her tone became much more forceful: "Go."

The team members hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided to withdraw.

The team leader made a note of the senior's figure, intending to thank him properly later.

If I recall briefly, I saw a crescent-shaped hair accessory tucked into her hair. Her face wasn't exactly beautiful, not because she was unlucky, but because she looked exhausted. The dark circles under her eyes were so pronounced they seemed impossible to erase, and her lips were almost bloodless. She looked like a string stretched to its limit, ready to snap at any moment.

Wait, that person seems to be... Senior Zhenyue?

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Ever since the "bomb" incident came to light, Zhenyue's name has appeared on the duty roster in the disaster zone every single day.

Six-star magical girls who specialize in combat are rare, and Zhenyue is one of them.

And wherever she goes, she can protect some reckless magical girls, preventing them from disappearing due to simple mistakes.

Today, it remains the same.

The alarm sounded, indicating that abnormal fluctuations in environmental magic had been detected, but expanding the perception magic did not reveal any sounds of the building being destroyed.

The further they went, the more Zhenyue frowned.

Something feels off. Could it be that the creature appearing in the Calamity Zone is a monster, or perhaps a trap deliberately set by the witch for magical girls?

She was certainly aware of the situation in the previous two disaster zones, but stopping there would prevent anything from progressing.

If the goal is truly magical girls, then the more low-star magical girls there are, the more lives they'll have to be fed into this place.

She can come and take a look by herself first; that's enough.

The night breeze swept through the empty streets at this time.

After a moment of mental confusion, Zhenyue saw the other person suddenly appear in the distance.

The "person" was sitting on the shoulder of the strange beast in the center of the area, as if she were sitting on an ordinary chair, while the beast, which should have been devouring people, was as docile as a crouching cat beneath her.

Zhenyue's breathing became shallow.

There's no need to compare the traces of magic, no need to compare any records.

At the level of six stars, some things can be directly sensed, and the existence before us can be considered an anomaly.

"Calamity, that's what I call myself. Of course, according to Qi Xin, I should be called the 'Witch of Calamity'."

As he introduced himself, he floated down from the beast's shoulder to the ground.

She turned her head to look at Zhenyue, and suddenly let out a soft "Eh," as if she had discovered something interesting.

"You must be Zhenyue."

She spoke softly, then smiled, "The traces of 'heart' still linger on you, how pitiful..."

Zhenyue didn't reply, nor did she have time to think about it. She was simply pondering how to defeat the opponent. Killing the witch was impossible, but there were precedents for containing witches.

I'll give it a try.

So, Zhenyue raised her hand.

The crescent moon hair ornament in her hair glowed faintly, and a pale, cold moon floated in the sky.

She was so tired that even the moonlight seemed a little weak.

"Little sister, aren't you going to take some medicine? You don't seem like a magical girl like Qixin at all."

The disaster seemed to be mocking, but Zhenyue ignored it and flew above the moon's shadow. Faced with this abnormal existence, there was only one option: to eliminate it.

After the crescent moon turned into a full moon, she uttered a single word very softly, as if she were expelling something all at once—

"—Melted away!"

The illusory moon suddenly exploded, and its cool moonlight transformed into countless streams of light, which immediately poured down upon the Witch of Calamity.

Then, the light faded.

The Witch of Calamity remained standing in the same spot. She raised her hand and brushed her shoulder as if dusting off non-existent dust, showing no sign of being offended.

"To unleash a powerful spell in the very first strike, catching the opponent off guard?"

She looked at Zhenyue with a hint of disinterest: "But your magic power is too weak. Now that the play is over, come down."

The magic created an oppressive force, and the invisible power crashed down on Zhenyue, who was in mid-air.

The Witch of Calamity slammed her to the ground, and Zhenyue's pristine white combat suit was instantly covered in dust. She tried to get up, but the force was like a giant hand, pressing her firmly to the spot.

The light from the crescent-shaped hair ornament in her hair gradually dimmed.

The Witch of Calamity slowly strolled over, squatted down in front of her, tilted her head to look at her, as if she had genuinely felt a little bit of curiosity:

"Do you have any 50% or 80% enhancement potions you haven't used yet? Would you like me to use them for you?"

"Witch, get out of my way!" Zhenyue responded to the other party for the first time, the six star marks on the back of her neck shining brightly.

"Haha, a witch? Little sister, let me ask you a question. What is it that you're trying so hard to protect? Is it a magical girl? Or... a person?"

Perhaps noticing the number of Star Marks on Zhenyue, the Witch of Calamity did not give Zhenyue a chance to speak.

She let out a soft "sigh," then answered herself, "Zhenyue? Never mind, I don't like hearing the words of magical girls like you who live in the glamorous world of Qixin."

The magical girl of calamity then stood up, looking down at the people on the ground, a gentle smile curving her lips:

"However, I'll spare your life. Think carefully and slowly about the question I asked you today."

The words fell.

Click, click-click—

A sound that defied common sense and made one's teeth ache came from Zhenyue's body one after another.

An invisible force was bending her bones inch by inch in a precise and calm manner, completely breaking her body apart without taking her life.

"what!"

Zhenyue groaned softly, the pain rendering all her conceived ideas for retaliation completely ineffective, and the light of the crescent moon hair ornament in her hair was rapidly dimming.

Only when the streets were empty, with only scattered, cold, and lifeless specks of light remaining, did the Witch of Calamity completely lose interest in the magical girl who was now unable to move.

She glanced around at the empty, desolate calamity zone, as if only then remembering what she truly needed to do that night.

She walked back to Zhenyue's side, squatted down, sensed the magical fluctuations, and then took the storage bag from the other's body. After hacking into it, she took out one item from inside—a cell phone.

The Witch of Calamity took it, stood up, and walked out of the Calamity Zone with light, almost joyful steps.

The cordon was just ahead. Beyond the line lay the muted yet bright lights of the Prayer Heart District, the glamorous world built and maintained by Prayer Heart.

Stepping inside, I turned on the phone screen and slowly swiped through the contacts, looking at each name one by one.

Finally, she stopped at a certain name.

The smile that had returned to his face was back.

It was light and slow, while also making no attempt to conceal her almost pleasurable malice.

She pressed the dial button, held the phone to her ear, and listened to the ringing call coming in one after another.

connected.

On the other end of the phone came a soft, sweet voice with a hint of coquetry—it was disgusting.

The Witch of Calamity ignored those words. She licked her lips and, in a tone as if she had been waiting for a long time, slowly uttered her words:

"Hey, isn't that the Magical Girl of Hearts?"

"As you guessed, I am... the Witch of Calamity."

"Soon, I will peel away all your layers of pretense, and I will expose your filthy heart to everyone without reservation!"