"You're not a Magical Girl, you're not human, you have no dreams, you have no past, you don't even have a 'self.' Before me, all there is is but a shell that mimics the concept of a 'Magical Girl.' And inside this shell, there is actually nothing."
"There's not even a reason for the imitation, just an empty, pitiful monster, that's all."
Bee Hornet Seven had completely understood the logic behind the girl's actions and finally gave up on persuasion.
If it was a monster devoid of humanity, then there was no reason for him to have any mercy. It would be enough to subdue it with brute force and bring it back.
Thinking this, he reached into the inside of his black robe and took out his beast gut. Then he gently pressed it to his heart and began to chant:
"This be the eradication of traitors..."
—"I'm going to kill you."
But before he could finish speaking, the girl's voice came through once again.
Glancing over, he saw that Bai Jingxuan had already risen to her feet at some unknown time. Her head was bowed, her long bangs covering her eyes, revealing only her chin and mouth that opened and closed as she echoed the words he had just heard.
"I'm going to kill you."
Then, she repeated the phrase once again.
"Boring," Bee Hornet Seven coldly remarked, not caring about the girl's dull words, readying himself once again for the transformation into his beast form.
"I'm going to kill you," Bai Jingxuan continued, seemingly deaf to the outside world, repeating the phrase over and over again.
She incessantly chanted, possibly as a form of escape, emphasis, or self-hypnosis. But from start to finish, the words never ceased, and step by step, she continued to approach Bee Hornet Seven.
When she finally stood in front of Bee Hornet Seven and once again looked up, the eyes she revealed were entirely inhuman—her sclera were completely blackened and her eye sockets held a pair of vertical pupils.
Those cold and violent pupils stared straight at Bee Hornet Seven, trembling slightly within their sockets, brewing a disquieting emotion that made Bee Hornet Seven feel a chill down his spine.
FInally, the girl spoke again.
Utterly resolute, utterly certain, utterly cold.
"I'm going to kill you."
This was also the last thing she said to Bee Hornet Seven.
Emerald Sparrow left the Abnormal Strategy Bureau with the greatest speed, continuously using Magic Power to accelerate, until she finally arrived at Lakeside Spring with the greatest dispatch.
The severe consumption of Magic Power aggravated her already dire injuries, so much so that just by landing after her flight, Emerald Sparrow felt a conspicuous headache. She steadied herself against a nearby wall. After the pain subsided slightly, she took up her pace once more and rushed into the neighborhood.
The gates of the community were wide open, but there was no staff or pedestrians at the entrance; obviously, they had already fled to the shelters. Inside, too, there were no signs of ordinary people, which somewhat reassured Emerald Sparrow. However, as she ventured further in, the roads around her gradually became fragmented and everywhere there were signs of post-battle destruction.
Clearly, there had been a fierce battle here. If her guess was right, the combatants must have been the Special Operations Third Squad and the remnants of Black Ash Dawn they were originally dispatched to investigate and capture.
Considering she had not received any calls from the Third Squad on her way, Emerald Sparrow was rather pessimistic about the outcome of the battle. This conjecture was soon confirmed—she came upon a staff member's limp body beside the road.
From the clothing, the deceased was undoubtedly a member of the Third Squad, still clutching a weapon, his face frozen with a ferocious and angry expression. However, his neck bore a huge gash, and by then he was completely silent.
Seeing the tragic state of the staff member, Emerald Sparrow observed a moment of silence for him and then cast a Spell Technique, encapsulating the body within it to prevent any further damage.
In these pressing circumstances, this was the most she could do to protect the dead. After safeguarding the body, she had to continue moving forward.
As she delved deeper, the number of bodies she encountered increased. Not only were there Abnormal Strategy Bureau staff members, but there were also a few in black robes, unmistakably corpses of Black Ash Dawn.
Emerald Sparrow released a Barrier Spell Formula for every staff member's corpse she came across, meanwhile mentally counting the number of the dead until it nearly reached a third of the entire Third Squad. She then finally arrived at the central plaza of the community.
It was there that Emerald Sparrow felt an intensely strong and icy Magic Power. If her senses were correct, the source of this magic fluctuation was likely a Remnant Beast.
Even though her strength was considerably depleted, the power she retained was still noteworthy. For her current self to feel endangered, it had to be an entity at the Cocoon Stage or above.
With such complex thoughts in mind, Emerald Sparrow cautiously stepped into the community's central plaza. When she got closer, the sight that met her eyes stopped her in her tracks.
All she had to do was look up to see the source of that powerful Magic Power.
—It was a massive Cocoon Stage Remnant Beast. One could see that it once had a complete cocoon shell, but now the shell was mysteriously shattered in many places, no longer able to properly envelop the body of the Remnant Beast.