"And once we reach this point, in the following time, a huge beast disaster will erupt near this breach. The scale might be no less than the one we had twenty years ago, and without the protective net, the city will be as powerless as a newborn baby. You should know what happens then, right?"
"Now, do you know what you should do? We have been downright enemies from the start, I've never made jokes that would harm myself with my enemies. Would you?"
Hong Siyu's answer was very straightforward, even somewhat cold-hearted.
There was no doubt, regardless of what she had thought or wanted to do before, from this moment on, she had killed all those possibilities.
Now, standing here, blocking everyone's path, was just a cadre from the claw marks.
Thus, Emerald Sparrow closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and when she reopened them, there remained only indifference in her gaze.
"We will stop this so-called ritual."
Her voice was icy cold, "If you insist on standing in the way, then I will defeat you first and then stop it."
Margaret laughed heartily, "But let me give you a tip, you actually have three choices: The first is to fight with me, realize the gap in our strength, then meekly surrender, and then you and that little girl in green clothes behind you come with me."
"The second is to skip all the troublesome steps outright as a way to protect your teammates; just come with me now, and I will naturally stop the ritual."
"The third is to completely defeat me here, and this time, I will bet all my strength, without holding back anything like last time."
She raised her arm in a salute-like gesture, "Choose now, this will determine the safety of the city behind you."
Emerald Sparrow did not respond.
She merely crouched slightly, the Magic Armor in her hand shimmered with the glow of surging magical power.
By her side, Hong Si, Margaret, and a generation of new Magical Girls all took a battle stance to express their determination.
Their magical power's strength, color, nature, and even essence were all different, but at that moment, they all shone solely for the city standing behind them.
Gret nodded, looking very pleased, "Exactly, true Magical Girls should be , facing all difficulties with a crystal-clear and tough heart... thus, I should also give you the utmost respect, the respect from a mere warrior."
"Be glad, my so-called 'not holding back' means offering all I have, so you needn't worry that I have any tricks up my sleeve, just focus on facing me as I am now is enough. At the very start of the battle, I shall display my 'ultimate.'
She pressed a hand to her heart, veins on her arm turning an abnormal purple, the dark purple Magical Power Flow burst forth like a tidal wave, all converging to her heart,"Ready to face the world's original, and perhaps final, 'Martial Ultimate?' "
All that belonged to Gret seemed to be melting.
Her black Magic Armor became loose and grey like diluted ink; the bursting magical power like a tangible liquid, formed into rivers; and the "person" in front of everyone, Gret's existence, also seemed to collapse like melted wax, deforming beyond recognition.
Only the sound of a heartbeat grew louder and louder, like thunder, like mountains crumbling, like an earthquake, as if the whole mountain was drumming for it, creating a violent tremor.
And then, the "beast" raised its head amid the dark tides.
——"Gret, Beast Heart Liberation, Hundred Arms Formation."
With the falling of that voice, the surrounding scenery shattered like a broken pane of glass, completely fragmented as if space itself had turned to dust, leaving behind nothing but a heart-throbbing pitch-black darkness.
And within that pitch-blackness, a figure emerged.
It was Yuan, or rather, "some existence" that had previously been Yuan.
If one were to only look at the face and features, they were very similar to that of Yuan who had just been present, but the figure was now taller, as if the proportions of the person had been stretched.
The once black hair had now turned completely gray-white, tied into a long single ponytail at the back, and the original robes had been replaced by a magnificent Red Feathered Robe. However, this attire couldn't give off any impression of softness, whether it was the dense array of hidden weapons tied around the waist, the sharp, feather-like streamers at the collar and hem, or even the weirdly intricate patterns on the clothes that felt unsettling, all conveyed an indescribably fierce aura.
The most eye-catching feature was her eyes; the sclera had turned completely black, and for some reason, the unique double pupils that had been like Yin-Yang fish had disappeared, leaving only a pair of white-bordered, bird-like pupils. Crimson patterns extended from the corner of her eyes towards her temples, forming a half-mask of flowers.
The process of Yuan revealing her new form was complex, but it didn't take much time. The transformation was complete within ten seconds, yet among the Magical Girls present, only the three leaders witnessed the process in its entirety.
Because those who stood behind, any Magical Girl who hadn't reached the "Lei" level, were all overwhelmed by the immense pressure, struggling to catch their breath.
This pressure wasn't physical. If one had to define it, it seemed to be some kind of mental ability that made the weaker Magical Girls almost utterly lack the courage to face Yuan directly. Just contending with this pressure consumed a great deal of the girls' energy.
With such tremendous pressure coming from behind, the three in the front naturally couldn't be clueless to it.
In fact, Emerald Sparrow felt as if she had been struck on the head with a blunt object, her vision blurring; Hong Siyu kept coughing, her breathing becoming much more rapid; only Margaret seemed to be less affected, though she was frowning, indicating her discomfort.
"Is this... some kind of 'full bloom'?" Eventually, it was Margaret who made the first assessment.
As a "Flower" level Magical Girl, she undoubtedly also possessed her own "full bloom" form. With years of advancement to this level and rich combat experience, she was naturally the most familiar with the concept of "full bloom" among the people present.
Based on the magical power fluctuation Yuan had just displayed and the regularity of the transformation, she gauged that this seemed to be a state closely resembling "full bloom."
—"Full bloom? If that's how you want to understand it, that's not a problem," Yuan, who had until now stood still and silent, finally spoke, her form unmoving as if she were a motionless statue; "However, since all the Magical Girls who become Claw Marks lose their full bloom, strictly speaking, Beast Heart Liberation is actually a substitute for it."
"A substitute?" Margaret was clearly hearing this concept for the first time.
"Yes, unable to harness the Magical Girls' power to fully release one's own power, one naturally has to rely on the power of Remnant Beasts to achieve this," Yuan tilted her head slightly, her body still stationary; "In the words of a martial practitioner, this might be understood as 'reversed cultivation, leading to possession by devilry'? It's just that for us Claw Marks, being possessed is far from a bad thing; in fact, it brings more benefits."
"It's evident," Margaret nodded as if in agreement with the other's statement; "Then, why have you been standing still since just now? Is there a problem with this form?"
Yuan looked down slightly, scanning her entire body before raising her head and smiling softly at Margaret.
Then, everyone saw Yuan's figure suddenly vanish.
Simultaneously, an attack as fast as lightning struck, arriving at Margaret's side in virtually the same instant the words had fallen.
In just the blink of an eye, Margaret didn't even have time to use her magic power and could only lean back slightly on instinct, watching helplessly as a jet-black Magic Power Beam whizzed past her face.
"Sorry, I'm a bit rusty," Yuan still stood off to the side, motionless and smiling; "This form of mine is a bit too fast. If I don't hold back a bit, any slight movement might send me flying past my target."