“You? A retired Magical Girl?” Lin Xingyao stared at the mature woman before her, who looked like a force to be reckoned with. She couldn’t connect her to any of the Magical Girls she knew.
“That’s right. You couldn’t tell, could you? That’s the first thing I wanted to tell you.” An Wan took out a file and set it down in front of Lin Xingyao.
“First of all, Xiaoxue has been active as the Magical Girl Blue Butterfly for almost a year now. I’m sure you’ve seen reports about her on TV now and then, but you never recognized her, did you?”
“That’s true!” Lin Xingyao thought it over carefully. Su Xueqian didn’t look all that different after transforming. Other than the obvious change in hair color, her features only shifted slightly at most. Before and after transforming, she still looked at least seventy or eighty percent the same. Yet in all this time, Lin Xingyao had never once suspected that Su Xueqian and the Magical Girl Blue Butterfly were connected.
Su Xueqian, who’d been on the receiving end of Lin Xingyao’s strange stare, seemed a little embarrassed. She pursed her lips and glared at her, so Lin Xingyao awkwardly turned her head away.
“The reason for this phenomenon is the honorific name.”
“Honorific name?” It was a rather strange term. A noble name? Or did it refer to something else?
“When you became a Magical Girl, you received three things in the Temple of Thought: an anchor object, an anchor phrase, and an honorific name. Right?”
Lin Xingyao nodded thoughtfully.
“In the occult, names are very important. For some demons, simply knowing their name is enough to control whether they live or die. An honorific name is like another name, another identity. When you become a Magical Girl, you fight under the identity described by your honorific name. In other people’s minds, it has nothing to do with your ordinary identity. That’s what causes the discrepancy in their perception.”
“So! The most basic rule for a Magical Girl is: never tell anyone your honorific name!”
“Anyone?” Lin Xingyao’s heart skipped a beat.
“That’s right. You can’t reveal it even to your mom or Su Xueqian.” An Wan added, “Your honorific name protects you when you use magic in the real world. It keeps the corruption from the Abyss from warping your original mind, and it’s also one of your sources of power.”
“If someone learns your honorific name, it means you’ll have no protection when you transform. You’ll be exposed to spiritual corruption and fall into depravity.”
Su Xueqian nodded in agreement.
“……”
She hadn’t planned on telling anyone her honorific name anyway. Just the opening words—“Wanderer from Another World”—already gave away who knew how much. If she recited the whole thing, she’d probably be stripped bare.
“For a Magical Girl, putting your complete trust in someone is very dangerous.” An Wan held her index finger in front of her nose, looking at Lin Xingyao with an utterly serious expression. Then she wagged the finger at her a few times, pointedly.
“What about the anchor object and anchor phrase?” Lin Xingyao asked.
“Those aren’t as important. They’re just ways to stabilize your sense of self. Of course, they also represent your special abilities.” An Wan scratched her head, then glanced strangely at Su Xueqian before adding, “Ahem. But the anchor phrase also describes your fate to a certain extent, so... even if it’s not that serious, it still counts as personal information.”
Lin Xingyao noticed An Wan’s strange look... Was Xiao Qian’s anchor object weird? Judging by its appearance, it seemed like it should have something to do with butterflies.
“But this is where your problem lies!” An Wan said, pointing at Lin Xingyao.
“A problem?”
“You have two different anchor phrases, don’t you?”
“Yeah. Star and Red Lotus, Dream and Violet. I haven’t figured out what they mean either. They seem to be related to my abilities and outfit after transforming.”
“That’s the biggest problem! No Magical Girl has ever had two forms before! Usually, combining two objects into one anchor phrase is enough. Two different anchor phrases mean two different destinies. How could one person live two different lives?”
So, because she’d been reborn, did the two anchor phrases represent two different lives? That made a lot of sense! But she still needed a plausible excuse.
“I think I know why.” Lin Xingyao lowered her head, pretending to analyze the matter carefully. “When I was choosing my anchor object, I started with Star and Dream. Then the Guide seemed to malfunction... and forcibly split it into two.”
“Do you think I’m going to believe that?” An Wan looked at her expressionlessly.
“Believe it or not, I’m telling the truth! And haven’t you noticed how different my two forms are?”
“You’re right. That’s something else I can’t figure out. In your red form, you look like an ordinary human, but in your purple form, you look like an adult succubus.” An Wan nodded.
“So my guess is that Star and Dream was my original anchor object. But something went wrong back then, and it was split into two extremes.”
“Interesting. Go on.”
What was she supposed to say? She was running out of things to make up! Lin Xingyao’s mind raced. “I think it might be because I don’t identify with being a succubus. The anchor object reinforces your sense of self, but subconsciously, I divided my life as a human from the life I’d have as a succubus into two separate parts. Maybe that caused the split?”
“That makes some sense.” An Wan nodded, though something still didn’t quite add up. In theory, even if someone changed bodies, it would still be an extension of their fate in this life. It was all predetermined, so their anchor phrase shouldn’t change. There was even a real-life example of this from a previous generation of Magical Girls. At the same time, what Lin Xingyao said did make some sense. If the change came from how she saw herself, it wasn’t impossible.
In fact, when Lin Xingyao went for her physical, An Wan had already asked Luna about her having two forms. The answer she got was: “There’s no need to understand everything about Magical Girls.”
In other words, Luna—the Magical Girls’ mascot and guide—had no idea what was going on either.
But Lin Xingyao had a pretty good idea of what was happening to her. Most likely, Star and Red Lotus represented her previous life. The phrases “stars crossing time and space” and “even after a second dawn” were direct references to her being a transmigrator. And since she’d been an ordinary human in her previous life, her red form had an ordinary human appearance. Meanwhile, the descriptions of “love and desire” and “dreams” in her purple form matched her identity as a succubus in this life.
Yeah, that made sense!
But in a way, that also meant it was fated for her to change from a half-human into a succubus? Lin Xingyao felt like she’d need time to come to terms with the situation.
“By the way, there’s something I’ve been wondering about from the start.” After thinking for a moment, Lin Xingyao asked her question.
“What exactly is Luna...?”
“Were you calling me?” Hearing someone call her, Luna poked her head out of the shadow.
Lin Xingyao pulled Luna out of the shadow and held her in her arms. The little cat felt wonderfully fluffy and warm. She was so soft, Lin Xingyao wanted to cuddle her and pet her all over.
“Don’t let her appearance fool you. Luna’s been around ever since the Containment Facility was founded.”
Huh? Was the little creature in her arms some kind of antique?
“Who are you calling an antique?!” Luna protested from her arms.
“I haven’t even said anything yet. How did you know what I was going to say?”
“Hmph! Don’t think I don’t know what you’re all thinking! You all give me that look whenever you find out how old I am.”
“So, how old are you, exactly?”
“Not telling! Bleh!”
After making a face at Lin Xingyao, Luna wriggled free of her embrace and retreated into the shadow.
“I have a brief file about Luna here. Take a look; it covers pretty much everything else I wanted to tell you.” An Wan handed Lin Xingyao a neatly organized file.
《Abnormal Containment Facility File—Codename A-037 (Brief Version)》
Anomaly Name: Magical Girl
This type of anomaly consists of a group of females, usually numbering between one and five. It originates from the products of ancient alchemical magic and once served as the guardians of ■■. It is created when a cat-like being calling itself “Luna,” designated A-037-0, forms a contract with a human girl. The contract grants the user powerful magic. The source and workings of this magic are unknown, but the greater the contractor’s innate magical power, the higher her potential. It is suspected to be a magical power amplification device.
At first glance, A-037-0’s contracts seem normal, but they contain numerous one-sided clauses that force the contractors to serve it. At the same time, they impose a strict age requirement on contractors: twelve to eighteen. The contract automatically expires once they exceed that age range. Aside from forcing contractors to fight, it has no other known effects.
Contractors are usually young women between the ages of twelve and eighteen, and are generally exceptionally beautiful. When they fight, they appear in dresses made of magic. Each outfit is different, but every member has her own main color, usually red, green, blue, yellow, or pink. When their contracts end, some of their magical enhancements remain. They’re still superhuman even after their contracts expire, so the Containment Facility often invites retired Magical Girls to join its staff.
A-037-0 is extremely friendly and has cooperated with the Containment Facility many times throughout history. It even greatly assisted in the Facility’s founding. A-037-0 has a strong sense of justice, and its core behavioral principle is to maintain the normal functioning of society. It therefore serves as a partner to the Containment Facility. Most girls who contract with it become government employees of their own accord, and A-037-0 even has some influence within the Facility.
Containment Difficulty: High
Threat Level: Low
……
Lin Xingyao silently finished reading the file. So the criteria for becoming a Magical Girl were age, magical power, and... good looks? No wonder every generation of Magical Girls was full of pretty girls. She hadn’t known that was part of the requirements.
“By the way, do some of the physical enhancements remain after the contract ends?”
“That’s right. After my time as a Magical Girl ended, I lost the ability to transform, but my physical strength was still superhuman. My lifespan was extended too.”
“Huh? It can make you live longer, too?”
“The Containment Facility still hasn’t fully figured out how Magical Girl contracts actually work. As far as we know, the oldest retired Magical Girl is that old woman at the South China Province headquarters. She’s over a hundred and fifty and still bouncing around all day.” As if she’d just remembered something unpleasant, An Wan’s face twitched.
Come to think of it, becoming a Magical Girl after meeting Luna was quite a bargain, aside from being forcibly turned into a succubus.
“By the way, why did those two monsters kidnap Luna, of all people? She’s our mascot.”
“We’re still investigating. The lab recovered the monsters’ bodies and is analyzing them. Based on the preliminary results, the bat was probably created by the Demon Revival Society. As for the giant spider... there are a lot of unanswered questions. It’s the first one that’s ever managed to pull Luna out of a shadow.”
Uh... Whenever Lin Xingyao thought about the two monsters she’d crushed into meat patties in a moment of excitement, she felt a little regret. If she’d known, she could’ve left one alive for questioning.
As if she’d read Lin Xingyao’s mind, An Wan reassured her, “Don’t worry about it. Even if those monsters hadn’t died, they’d have ended up locked up or dissected at the Containment Facility.”
“That’s... pretty ruthless.”
“The Containment Facility has always taken a hard line toward anything that threatens public safety.” An Wan looked at Lin Xingyao seriously. “As a future member of the Containment Facility, I hope you’ll develop the same resolve.”
“Yes! I won’t let you down, Chief!” Lin Xingyao put on a serious face and saluted.
“You don’t have to go that far.” An Wan looked both amused and exasperated. “Some things only really sink in after you experience them yourself. If I tell you all this now, it’ll only be skin-deep.”
“All right, that’s enough for today.” An Wan glanced at her phone. It was almost eight in the evening.
“I’ll drive you and Xiaoxue home. We can talk about the rest on the way.”
……
On the very clearing where the Containment Facility personnel were retrieving the two monsters, a tiny spider quietly crawled out of the ground and quickly disappeared into the night sky...
