Vol 2 Chapter 20 Physical Examination
“The diagnostic report is ready.”
On the outskirts of Fangting City, in Erald’s private lab.
A round fairy plush toy hopped down from the side of the self-healing bed, holding a small mirror in its paw. Runes were inscribed all over the surface. It strolled lazily over to Veronica and spoke in a laid-back tone:
“Hmm… how should I put this? The situation seems even more complicated than I originally thought.”
“More complicated than before? Then what’s her condition now?” Veronica asked in a low voice, frowning as she looked toward the treatnt bed not far away. Lying there was Bai Jingxuan, who had just been brought in.
It had been several hours since the unexpected incident at Spring by the Lake. After the battle, Lin Yun, acting as Bureau Director, inford the other operatives from the Counterasure Bureau and arranged for the wounded and deceased. Then he brought Bai Jingxuan to Erald’s lab.
The purpose of the examination was naturally to understand that strange black-dress form.
Veronica had never seen Bai Jingxuan in such a state before. It wasn’t just her clothing and appearance that had changed—even her personality and magic felt different from normal.
If she had to compare it to anything, it would be the battle months ago against the rogue Magical Girl “Sparrow” from Claw Mark.
Back then, Sparrow used what she called a “Beast-Shift” battle form, half her body covered in yellow and black patterns. The outfit she manifested at the ti closely resembled what Bai Jingxuan had just displayed.
That comparison reminded Veronica of what Erald had once told her: Bai Jingxuan might be a natural-born Claw Mark.
“It was the right decision to bring this child to as soon as possible. But actually, what I told you before might not have been entirely accurate.”
As if guessing what Veronica was thinking, Erald manipulated the plush toy to raise the mirror and handed it to Veronica:
“This child is indeed a Deviant. But not in the sense of a Magical Girl turning into a Ravager. Rather, it's a Ravager shifting toward a Magical Girl. In other words, if we define her by the fundantal nature of her magic, she’s not a Magical Girl who gained Ravager powers—she’s a Ravager who just happens to look and function like a Magical Girl.”
“...Is there really a difference between the two?” Veronica’s brow furrowed even more.
“A huge one, kiddo. It ans her very essence is different.”
The plush shook its head: “It’s the difference between a human who can imitate a wolf’s howl, and a wolf that can speak human words. Even if they can communicate, would you really say they’re the sa kind of being?”
Veronica opened her mouth to respond, but fell silent.
“Yeah, looks like you get it.”
Seeing Veronica’s reaction, Erald sighed too. “There’s an old saying among humans, sothing like ‘Those who are not our kind must think differently.’ Ravagers and humans—Magical Girls especially—are natural-born enemies. It’s a relationship built on mutual destruction. And if we define this girl by the nature of her magic, she’s a Ravager who, by so twist of fate, stole the power of a Magical Girl. An incredibly dangerous enemy.”
“...I don’t accept that. She’s not an enemy. She’s never hard an innocent person.”
Veronica looked seriously at the plush toy. “In fact, she’s already saved many civilians as a Magical Girl.”
“Calm down, kiddo. I’m not saying she is our enemy now.”
The plush toy withdrew the mirror. “I’m just saying… imagine what other people will think when they learn her true nature.”
“Put yourself in soone else’s shoes. If you didn’t know this kid, didn’t know her background, and suddenly found out that soone who looked like a Magical Girl was actually a Ravager… how would you react?”
“Believe , most people would distance themselves. And so—would imdiately see her as a threat.”
Veronica couldn’t argue with Erald’s words. She knew that was the likely reality.
“Then… why is she like this?”
She lowered her gaze, confused. “Why does this child’s magic work that way?”
“If I’m being honest… I don’t know either. But I can make an educated guess.”
Erald replied slowly, “I’ve heard rumors. The most likely explanation—this might be the work of Black Cinders Dawn.”
“...Them again?”
“Of course it’s them. Who else but them or Claw Mark keeps ssing around with Ravager powers?”
The plush toy raised its little paws in a theatrical shrug. “I think I told you before—Black Cinders Dawn only rose to power in the past twenty years, but they’ve been around long before that. Their predecessor existed in the Interworld long ago.”
“About a hundred years ago, I heard an Interworlder ntion the ‘Apostles’—oh, that’s what Black Cinders Dawn used to be called. They were already experinting with so crazy stuff back then. They weren’t content with just borrowing Ravager powers—they wanted to go further. To create humans who were born with Ravager-type magic.”
“And that desire gave birth to sothing called the Saint-Making Project.”
The plush pointed at a nearby research table. “I don’t know the full details or how it was executed—those creeps always hid in the shadows like cockroaches. But certain terms from the project still found their way into my records.”
“...‘Inevitably,’ huh.” Veronica narrowed her eyes and nodded, ntally filing that term alongside the ‘noble and beautiful’ ones Erald had ntioned before. “So, what kind of terms?”
She didn’t doubt the information—because she’d already heard the phrase Saint-Making Project from soone else.
“Since the project succeeded and the Saint arrived, we’ve had no other choice.”
That was what Mors said on the night of the Moon Festival.
At the ti, Veronica hadn’t understood what it ant—they were still locked in a deadly battle, with no ti to think deeply. She hadn’t expected to hear the sa term again from Erald just two weeks later.
“‘Saints,’ ‘Beastborn,’ ‘Sacrifice Children.’”
Erald recited the words in a flat tone. “No definitions. No explanations. No examples. Just a few solitary terms. But even just seeing the associations among them, you can probably guess so of what they imply.”
Saint and Beast—in the worldview of Black Cinders Dawn, those concepts seed deeply intertwined. And the “Sacrifice” in “Sacrifice Child” brought to mind the bloody rituals those degenerates were known for.
“You’re saying… Bosetsu, this girl, is connected to that project?”
Veronica was skeptical. “But from what I’ve found, she doesn’t seem to have any links to Black Cinders Dawn. She’s just an orphan.”
“That’s sothing you’ll have to ask her yourself.”
Erald pointed at the still-unconscious Bai Jingxuan. “If what you say is true, and she transford during the battle against Black Cinders Dawn… then odds are, she learned sothing from them.”
Veronica recalled the Chrysalis-tier Ravager—or rather, the Ravager corpse—she saw on the battlefield before coming to the lab. Normally, those Ravagers couldn’t leave their nests, so its presence there ant it had to be one of Black Cinders Dawn’s Beast-Shifters.
That ant they were desperate to contact Bai Jingxuan, probably to reveal so truth. Unfortunately, all that was left now was a corpse. No answers there.
“In short, the results of the examination show that this child isn’t in so ‘abnormal’ state. In fact, this is probably her true form. So you don’t need to worry about her suffering from any physical backlash.”
The plush toy clapped its paws together, then turned and returned to the side of the bed. “Instead of worrying about what’s wrong with this child… you should be thinking about what you are going to do next.”
“What I’m going to do… huh.”
Veronica echoed the words thoughtfully. “Then, do you have any advice?”
“Do you want advice from the Sapphire Scepter? Or from Erald the Magical Girl?”
“What would the Scepter say?”
“It’d tell you to eliminate the instability at the root. Kill the girl, or hand her over to the research institute as a subject.”
Erald’s voice remained casual. “No one can guarantee she won’t go rogue soday—just like the Claw Mark traitors. And if she grows stronger, she could be even more dangerous than them.”
“Very Sapphire Scepter-like advice.” Veronica nodded calmly. “Then what about sothing a bit more… human?”
“It’s not about being ‘more human.’ It’s just basic empathy—from a senior Magical Girl to her juniors.”
She halted the healing bed, and for once, her lazy tone grew serious:
“If you really want this child to stay on the right path, then you’ll have to take it upon yourself to guide and teach her.”
“And that won’t be easy. Ravager magic will constantly influence how she thinks—make her used to bloodshed and violence. On top of that, the world around her will respond with fear, suspicion… and misunderstanding.”
“I don’t think this is so noble act of kindness—because honestly, it’s not fair to you. You’ll have to ask yourself: Can you really afford to do this for her?”
Do I still have anything left to give?
Veronica reflected silently. But deep down, she already knew the answer—it was no.
Erald’s words were harsh but true. Veronica couldn’t deny a single one of them.
She already had a daughter—misunderstood or not. She was already ntoring three juniors. She had her responsibilities as a Bureau Director, rebuilding Fangting City into a safer place. She had the upcoming certification exam to prepare for.
Adding Bai Jingxuan into the mix would stretch her ti and energy thin.
But that wasn’t the real issue.
Because when she rembered the look in Bai Jingxuan’s eyes—the way she silently begged for recognition, for love—those practical concerns faded into background noise.
Only she could do this. That’s what she told herself.
Not because she was being sentintal. But because when Bai Jingxuan’s magic showed its beastly side, her connection to humanity beca fragile.
She’d lost her parents, her dreams. The Magical Girl who saved her had died. Even her identity as a Magical Girl was unstable.
She was like a kite with a snapped string—adrift, ready to vanish into the unknown.
At that mont, Veronica was the only thing tying her back to the world.
So she responded to that unspoken hope. She accepted the role of “mother.”
It may have pulled Bai Jingxuan back temporarily, but it ca with a cost—if Veronica didn’t maintain that connection, it would vanish entirely.
Until a new connection was ford, Veronica was the only guide this child had. Whether Bai Jingxuan stayed on the right path or veered into darkness, it would depend entirely on her.
What she was thinking about now wasn’t “Should I do it?” but “How do I do it?”
There was no easy answer—only action would lead to anything real.
After saying goodbye to Erald, she carried Bai Jingxuan back to the car and drove her ho.
It was already evening. The golden sunset poured in through the windshield. In the back seat, Bai Jingxuan stirred under the warm light, looked around in confusion, then caught sight of Veronica through the rearview mirror.
“Teacher?”
She called out uncertainly at first, then after a mont, as if recalling sothing, said in a strange tone:
“What… happened to ?”
“You passed out. So I drove you ho,” Veronica answered calmly.
“I passed out?”
Bai Jingxuan instinctively looked at her hand, dazed. “I rember… claws growing from my fingers? I think I beat the bad guys… saved everyone from the Bureau? Was that all… a dream?”
“No. It wasn’t a dream. It all really happened.”
Veronica’s voice was cold yet gentle. “You did great. I’m proud of you.”
“...It really happened?”
Bai Jingxuan blinked, then hesitated before softly asking:
“Did I… call you Mom? And did you… did you say yes?”
No one answered.
Outside the car, horns honked on the road, but none of it reached the quiet space inside. It was like they existed in a world of their own.
“...Yeah. It wasn’t a dream.”
Veronica gripped the steering wheel and stared ahead. After a long pause, her voice took on a rare firmness.
“You were right. From now on, I’ll be your mom. Bosetsu… no, Xiaoxuan.”
It was the first ti she’d addressed Bai Jingxuan by na instead of alias—while still in her Magical Girl role. She instinctively glanced in the mirror to see if the girl accepted her words.
What she saw caught her off guard.
Bai Jingxuan was smiling.
Not a polite or restrained smile. Not a wild grin from battle.
But the radiant, genuine smile of a girl her age—like sothing truly wonderful had just happened.
User Comments
0 comments from readers