"As long as I offer human lives, my existence continues... and my power grows stronger..."

Lin Jincheng rubbed his fingers together, his face radiating guiltless delight.

"Did Nuhao teach you that?"

I stared at him, expressionless.

He wasn’t the best friend I knew anymore.

Everything about him now felt utterly alien.

How could he casually dismiss human lives like this?

Was this still the Lin Jincheng I remembered?

"Of course! Without Nuhao, how could I gain such surging... such exquisite power~~~~~"

"Lin Jincheng is beyond saving. Let me purify you!"

Shen Shiyu, having heard his deranged declaration, glared at him with burning fury—as if she couldn’t tolerate this reality.

"I hear your heart’s cry..."

"Grant me power, Baiya!"

Shen Shiyu then raised her right hand before me, as if preparing to transform.

Yeah, she was definitely transforming.

The moment she finished speaking, Baiya’s body dissolved into light. It expanded rapidly, forming a giant avian silhouette that flew toward Shen Shiyu and fused with her.

Seconds later...

As the white glow faded...

A golden-haired girl in an ornate white pleated dress stood before me.

The dress edges shimmered with golden trim. Tiny white wings sprouted from her back. Her silky golden hair was tied into a high ponytail, and a silver crown sat tilted on the left side of her head. Matching knee-high boots, gilded at the edges, completed the look.

A massive bow adorned the center of her chest, right between her ample curves.

Visually, she screamed classic Magical Girl.

Her weapon?

A wand that looked like a toy.

Why "toy"?

Its shaft seemed plastic. The heart-shaped tip cradled an irregular gem, while the base ended in a ribbon bow.

This ultra-girly Magical Girl gear made me want to facepalm at the sheer cringe.

"Magical Girl *Poetic Rain* makes her grand entrance!"

She even shouted this toward Lin Jincheng like an announcement, flashing a three-fingered Kirara-style pose (<ゝω?̥̥̥).

This girl’s chuunibyou spirit rivaled mine.

"*Poetic Rain*? Oh my god..."

Watching Shen Shiyu, I felt secondhand embarrassment.

I might do this sometimes—but seeing others do it reminded me of my own cringey moments.

It was almost too painful to witness.

"Magical Girl? Do you actually believe you’re one? Hahahahaha!!!!!"

Lin Jincheng sneered at her with a twisted face the moment she finished her declaration.

As if he looked down on her completely!

To him, Shen Shiyu was just an ant he could crush anytime.

"Arrogant fool! You’ll soon learn how flowers wither!"

Stung by his mockery, Shen Shiyu shot him a fierce glare as she landed.

She then swung her wand.

As for me...

I wanted to stop this impending fight.

But...

My body wouldn’t allow it.

Just standing took all my strength—fighting was impossible.

I could only watch as Shen Shiyu and Lin Jincheng began their battle.

Shen Shiyu slashed her wand. Seconds later, gale-force winds erupted from its trail, howling toward Lin Jincheng!

"Useless! Useless! I’m invincible now!"

Lin Jincheng waved his hand calmly at the oncoming winds.

The gales swallowing him vanished instantly—as if they’d never existed.

"W-What?!"

Shen Shiyu froze in shock, unable to accept her winds had been erased with a flick.

"Trash is trash. Open your eyes and witness true power!"

Lin Jincheng retaliated instantly, his disdain palpable.

He slammed his fist into the ground.

Stone dragons burst from the earth, jaws snapping toward Shen Shiyu on his command—as if eager to crush her whole.

But Shen Shiyu wasn’t helpless. She wouldn’t stand still to be devoured!

As the dragons charged, she calmly waved her wand, summoning vines to entangle them.

She aimed to restrict their movement.

"Not enough! Not nearly enough! Know your place, ant!!!!"

Lin Jincheng grinned chillingly as vines coiled around the dragons.

He thrust his right palm toward Shen Shiyu.

A magic circle formed before his hand. A crimson beam erupted from it—

Straight at Shen Shiyu, who was busy controlling the vines!

He’d calculated she couldn’t dodge.

"No... no..."

Whoever lost this fight...

I didn’t want to see it.

Though Lin Jincheng had trampled humanity’s final boundary...

He was still my closest friend.

I’d never forgotten that.

But to see a good person fall this far...

It made me mourn life’s cruel twists.

Shen Shiyu couldn’t beat him. If that beam hit her—

Defeat was certain.

Watching her crisis unfold...

My hands trembled despite my regained strength.

"Magical Girls are justice’s messengers! I won’t lose to scum like you!"

Shen Shiyu roared while wrestling the dragons, as if sensing salvation.

She strained to crush the stone beasts with vines—

But no matter how hard she tried, the vines only pinned them in place.

Her face began to pale.

"*Thirteenfold Raging Arrows!*"

I couldn’t watch Shen Shiyu get crushed.

I reloaded the skill card and activated it instantly.

My arrows transformed into thirteen beams of light, intercepting Lin Jincheng’s attack for her.

"So you’re interfering too?"

Lin Jincheng looked unsurprised by my move.

As if he never feared the scales tipping against him.

"Stop this, Jincheng..."

I gazed at him, heart heavy.

Though drained again, my skill wasn’t weak—

Thirteen ice-blue beams shattered his crimson ray, scattering toward him!

"Nuhao! I need more power! More!"

Seeing his attack dissolve, Lin Jincheng demanded strength from Nuhao again—

Power to crush us utterly.

"No problem. I’m generous to my master," Nuhao replied instantly, as if holding infinite power for him to claim.

"I won’t let you have it!"

Hearing Lin Jincheng beg for more power, Shen Shiyu understood: if Nuhao granted it, the fight would turn desperate.

She whipped her wand, redirecting the vines toward Lin Jincheng—

Trying to disrupt his power-up.

But she didn’t expect...

My *Thirteenfold Raging Arrows* didn’t merge with her vines like in anime.

Instead, they froze the vines solid!

"Eh? Why?!"

Shen Shiyu puffed her cheeks at me, shooting a glare full of accusation—

As if blaming me for ruining her attack.

"Hahaha! My dear friend Chu Dongyu—thank you for buying me such precious time~~"

Lin Jincheng mocked us, relishing Shen Shiyu’s glare at me.

Then Nuhao reappeared behind him...

Crimson mist swirled around Lin Jincheng again.

Blood-red scales gleamed brighter.

Demon horns. Razor fangs.

No trace of humanity remained in his form.

"Is this your true self?"

Watching Lin Jincheng transform from the ground...

My heart felt as if pricked by needles.

His face that day flashed before my eyes—

His desperate will to live...

The raw fragility of humanity laid bare in him and his friend...

Yet Lin Jincheng had finally crossed the ultimate human boundary.

"POWER IS EVERYTHING!!!!!"

He waved his hand.

Shen Shiyu flew backward as if hit by a hurricane, slamming into the wall behind me.

A human-shaped crater formed—proof of the impact’s force.

Blood trickled from her lips.

"I’ll give you a choice: pledge loyalty to me, or die."

Lin Jincheng didn’t attack me—perhaps out of old friendship.

He lifted his chin arrogantly, looking down at me.

"..."

Facing his ultimatum...

I sighed helplessly.

Unlike Lin Jincheng, even knowing I’d someday vanish from this world...

I hadn’t crossed that line.

I couldn’t accept his offer.

"Have you truly become a Corrupted Devourer?"

A deep voice cut through the silence from behind me.

I turned.

An old man in military uniform, beard streaked with white, stood there.

Beside him trotted a snow-white fox.