Something's off about this magical girl.

Chapter 69 The Witch of Calamity

With Chunheng gone, it seems there's nothing left to do on the training field.

Tao Zhuo then called Gu Bai back to the consultation room to wait, saying that she would go see Guan Lan if the treatment results came out later.

Sigh, Gu Bai only felt troubled, but the look Guan Lan gave him before collapsing was unusually different. If it were just a little later, he should go and check on her...

It seems that Yubi kidnapped Fuyutsubaki first.

By the time Gu Bai and Tao Zhuo walked out of the underground training ground together, it was already dark.

I glanced at the time; it was a little past eight in the evening. Thankfully, it wasn't too late.

"When are you going to sleep?" Gu Bai pondered what time it would be until he finished waiting for Guan Lan's condition.

Tao Zhuo walked casually along the green belt and said, "I'll sleep whenever the teacher goes to bed."

"I can go a whole day without sleeping," Gu Bai explained his situation.

"I can go four or five days without sleeping, but I need some magical stimulants or something, otherwise my mind will be a bit overwhelmed."

After saying that, Tao Zhuo noticed Gu Bai's disgusted look, then puffed out her cheeks and said, "Magical girls are so cool! Those curly-haired girls can even go a month without sleeping!"

"Okay, from now on you can work 24 hours a day." Gu Bai said speechlessly.

"Sigh, in the past, there wasn't enough magical girls. We couldn't just say that monsters would appear in the disaster zone at night and we would deal with them during the day. Over time, we ended up with this kind of passive skill."

Unexpectedly, Tao Zhuo's reason was perfectly normal. Then she sighed and said, "Teacher, you didn't look at the schedule. Ever since the bomb incident, every day the magical girl leading the team has had Zhen Yue's name on it."

"Is that so? She must have had a hard time."

Gu Bai didn't have a deep impression of Zhen Yue. He couldn't tell what kind of person she was from the few times they met, but judging from what she said now, she must be very tired.

"But speaking of which, why did Guanlan happen to appear at that exact moment?"

"She must have activated the 'All-Knowing' premium membership package. The Holy Maiden really went all out."

After speaking, Tao Zhuo, who was walking in front, leaned against a telephone pole, raised her hand upwards, and said to Gu Bai as if presenting a treasure: "Teacher, look up there!"

"...What is that?"

"Of course, it's the surveillance system of Qixin Academy!"

Tao Zhuo's tone was light and casual, but she seemed quite proud of herself: "This system was rated as one of the 'Greatest Inventions of Qi Xin' a few years ago, successfully preventing the spread of the atmosphere of magical girls secretly sharing scrolls!"

"Hang a camera at the entrance of the training room, so everyone can see who's training?" Gu Bai interpreted it literally.

"No, no, no, that's just the most basic."

Tao Zhu shook her index finger and continued to explain:

"Once you subscribe to a membership package, you can have exclusive surveillance on specific individuals, which has successfully reduced the occurrence of special situations such as yuri blooming, revenge killings, and suicides. Male teachers who are magical girls are definitely among them."

"...Could you please not say these words together? It feels like you're omitting a lot of information!"

Gu Bai was speechless at Tao Zhuo's relaxed demeanor.

How should I put it? While he was in Qixin Academy, he would often hear about these kinds of magical girl settings that were commonplace but completely illogical in normal terms, through Tao Zhuo or Dong Chun. Uh, in a sense, could Qixin Academy also be considered a girls' hypnosis academy?

Instead of returning to the counseling room, Gu Bai and Tao Zhuo sat on a stone bench by the roadside, chatting about gossip and listening to the news, letting the cool night breeze blow through them.

What is certain is that Guanlan's time at Qixin Academy did not seem to have any impact on the expansion of the Ximing Church's influence.

I've heard that recently, more magical girls have been choosing to join the Church of Dawn in their prayers.

After all, everyone knows that if Ximing really succeeds in finding the so-called "path to immortality" to extend the term of magical girls, then the environment in which Qixin Academy relies on the ability to "create magical girls" to dominate will inevitably be impacted.

Has Ke Qixin made any move? The answer is no, at least not yet, there has been no response.

The current leader of Qixin Academy, the magical girl Wei Zhi, has never responded to the Ximing Church or its claims of immortality. If Gu Bai hadn't happened to see her at the Falling Flower Ceremony that day, he would have almost doubted whether Qixin's head was empty.

Maybe I've been thinking about something else lately, but what could it be?

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.

"Found it, teacher. May I interrupt your break for a moment?"

Suddenly, Xia Zhi's voice snapped Gu Bai out of his reverie.

I wonder if her arrival signifies some kind of change. The cool night breeze that had been blowing earlier has now quieted down, as if it were waiting to hear her words.

"Why are you still at school at this hour? Is something the matter?"

"Yes, yes, there's something I need to tell you."

Xia Zhi, who suddenly appeared next to Gu Bai, did not look well. She did not exchange pleasantries as usual, but went straight to the point after obtaining Gu Bai's permission.

"Recently, the explosive bombs embedded in the bodies of monsters in various disaster zones have become increasingly powerful. Wasn't it previously suspected that this was the work of a witch?"

"Okay." Gu Bai gestured for them to continue.

"Based on the various clues we have gathered, the academy has finally confirmed the witch's self-identification today." Xia Zhi paused, then finally murmured, "The Witch of Calamity."

"disaster?!"

Tao Zhuo, whose legs had been swaying, stopped. As a magical girl, she naturally understood what this title meant, and before Xia Zhi could explain it to Gu Bai:

"The Calamity is pure evil; its only desire is to destroy humanity. In that case, the bombs can indeed be explained!"

Gu Bai asked in confusion, "Aren't all witches like that?"

"That's what Qi Xin is saying." Tao Zhuo took a breath, her interlaced index fingers pointing rapidly:

"In fact, there are some witches who don't take the initiative, but 'Calamity' is different. According to Qi Xin's records, witches who call themselves by this name will actually leave the witch world and come to the human world to cause destruction."

Xia Zhi, who was standing nearby, did not deny Tao Zhuo's statement, but simply added the following:

"And there's another discrepancy: Qi Xin captured traces of the Calamity Witch's magic, but they don't match those on the corpse."

"Like this..." Gu Bai paused for a moment.

"Huh?" Xia Zhi tilted her head, forcing a hint of relief in her voice: "Then the reasoning is flawed somewhere, which is a major crisis for the detective!"

At this moment, Gu Bai's thoughts had already shifted.

The idea of ​​time stopping was refuted earlier by the information brought by Yubi. If it wasn't time stopping, then it might be the work of witches, who should be able to do it with their power.

But now, even the "witch's doing" theory has been rejected, so how exactly did those magical girls die...?

Wait, could it be that—

"Xia Zhi." Gu Bai looked up, his questioning voice direct: "Wang, is she really dead?"

"Yes," Xia Zhi answered readily. "Yubi has already confirmed this; there's an extra spot for the Seven Star Magical Girl."

Tao Zhuo hadn't accidentally dropped the item; she smiled sheepishly to herself, having astutely caught a crucial piece of information.

As expected, it's the magical girl from before.

Although I had a premonition for a long time, once I actually put the two things together—"Seven Star Magical Girls" and "decapitation"—

"……vomit!"