Magical Girl Heavy Dependence

In Cheng Chen's relatively short career as a demon, the opponent he remembered most was a demon named "Fu Hu".

He only possesses the strength of the second-tier 'Ominous Sign', neither strong nor outstanding. Perhaps his only commendable trait is his despicable nature.

At that time, he was just a student, and he would go home after evening self-study as usual.

On the way, he received a threat. The perpetrator knew who he was, his abilities, his trump cards, and his backup plans. Now, his pet dog, Baiguo, has been kidnapped. If he doesn't want the dog to die, he must use all his magic, bring the ransom, and come alone to the suburban garbage dump.

Cheng Chen did as instructed.

What Fu Hu saw was an exhausted him, his magic power completely depleted, wearing a school uniform, and the only thing in his hand that could be called a weapon was a pencil in his schoolbag.

That day, more than ten demons, whose strength was no less than his, stood atop the garbage mountain, looking down at him with a sinister grin as if he were a dead object.

Fu Hu grabbed Bai Guo by the throat and ordered him to commit suicide, or else he would kill Xiao Gou first, and then kill him.

At that time...

"Just like right now."

Cheng Chen stopped in his tracks.

The sky above the ceremony site was a dark brown.

The devout and grand chants echoed through the empty streets, while in the distance, the most iconic ancient building in Longyin District, the Qitian Pagoda, shone with a golden light.

Fourteen magical girls suddenly appeared around him, completely surrounding him.

Each of them wore a veil, with lifelike black nightingales embroidered at the corners of their eyes.

"The Nightingale's House."

Cheng Chen sighed casually.

Swish!

There were no harsh words, no threats, and no detailed explanations of their plans before the fight began; the hunters of Nightingale's House sprang into action.

A dagger with a twisted shape grazed his cheek, leaving a warm, bloody mark.

Beneath the veil, so close to his face, Cheng Chen saw a pair of eyes filled with murderous intent.

Cheng Chen remained expressionless as he raised his hand and threw a punch.

But it all came to nothing.

A ripple spread through the air as the other person appeared a dozen meters to his right, crouching slightly and concealing the dagger behind their back.

The other hunters also disappeared, blending into the surrounding shadows.

Hunting a beast many times stronger than oneself requires not passion, but patience.

"I originally thought that the one who came to stop me would be some other well-known demon lord, but I didn't expect it to be one of the three great kingdoms." Cheng Chen casually touched the blood bead on his cheek. "It's really beyond my expectations that you would cooperate with demons."

Before the words were even finished, several afterimages, whose magical energy fluctuations were suppressed to the extreme, suddenly burst forth from all directions.

The various weapons that the magic wands transformed into all aimed at his vital points and arrived in an instant.

"Too slow."

A surge of even more powerful magic erupted from Cheng Chen's body.

The raging magic, like a tangible shockwave, instantly repelled the oncoming afterimages. At the same time, he casually reached forward with his right hand, precisely grabbing one of the hunters by the neck and slamming her to his feet.

boom!

The hunter coughed up blood in the cracked pit.

She is a magical girl of similar age to Yan Xi and the others. Judging from the strength of her magic displayed during the assassination attempt, she is probably considered one of the best among the magical girls in Yincheng.

Too lazy to discern the other party's identity, before uttering any words that were either pleading or threats, he lightly stomped his foot.

Snapped!

The hunter's head exploded like a watermelon.

Cheng Chen slowly emerged from the pile of blood and flesh, glanced around at the hunters hiding in the shadows and watching him, and said slowly, "Let's continue."

The other magical girls were clearly frightened, since he had been very gentle with them from beginning to end, just like a human who loves cats would always have a soft spot for them.

But at this moment, there was no room for maneuver.

After a brief silence, the leader of the Nightingale's House hunters sprang into action again.

She disappeared from the spot.

Without any magical fluctuations, sound, or trajectory, when she reappeared, she was already right next to Cheng Chen.

Black feathers fluttered in the air, and the moment the dagger was thrust forward, hundreds and thousands of black feathers rained down like a storm.

"Feather Blade! Nightfall!!"

A waterfall of feathers, powerful enough to cut through space, intertwined, and these treacherous feather storms not only obscured Cheng Chen's vision but also provided opportunities for other hunters to move.

The only things that could be vaguely seen were the hunters' fleeting afterimages and the black feathers that sliced ​​space into pieces like paper cutters.

Cheng Chen was unprepared.

He simply took a step, his body moving through the torrential waterfall with an unimaginable trajectory, as if passing through a curtain of rain, inch by inch going against the current.

In a moment of astonishment, he easily traversed a distance of tens of meters with a single leap.

puff.

He used his hand as a knife and plunged it into the hunter's abdomen.

Blood gushed out like a fountain, and everything came to an abrupt halt.

"Your name, let me think... Magical Girl Jingwei."

The dagger fell from Jingwei's hand.

She nestled softly into Cheng Chen's arms like a fledgling swallow, her eyes wide open.

Cheng Chen pressed down on her shoulder, slowly withdrawing his hand from the touch of flesh and blood: "I've seen your file. I never imagined our first meeting would be in a place like this. Did you want to kill me?"

Jingwei did not answer.

Other magical girls attacked from the side and behind, trying to save him, but Cheng Chen didn't even turn his head.

A massive white wolf head emerged from the void, its menacing jaws snapping down!

"what!"

After a short scream, blood splattered everywhere.

Chew, chew, chew.

The giant wolf finally revealed its full form, obediently crouching beside Cheng Chen, its scarlet pupils radiating a cold, fierce light as it stared at the hunters hidden in the shadows.

"...Moon Wolf".

Jingwei finally let out a weak cry.

Cheng Chen looked at his bright red arm, frowned slightly, and a flash of magic power disappeared in an instant, clearing away the blood clinging to his sleeve and palm.

"You've come here to die on purpose," he said calmly. "As a 'hunter,' my forte has never been direct combat. You know very well that even if you bring everyone from Nightingale's House on the surface, they still won't be a match for me."

Jingwei clutched her bleeding abdomen and collapsed to the ground.

"If you were truly prepared to die, you should have used your finest hunting techniques to delay me, wear me down, and provoke me, slowly waiting for an opportunity," Cheng Chen continued, shaking his head. "So you're just pawns; what's your real killing move?"

Jingwei suddenly laughed.

"Evil Lord... I admit you're strong... but why bother putting on an act in front of me?" Jingwei looked up, a mocking smile on her face. "Just kill me already. You've never used your full strength. If you were even slightly serious, cooperating with your Moon Wolf, you could wipe us all out in an instant. Why don't you do it?"

Cheng Chen frowned and glanced at her, then sighed helplessly:

"That's why I hate this situation."

He only met Fu Hu once. That day, the other man grabbed the puppy by the throat, blocked it in front of him, and yelled at him, "Why aren't you being arrogant anymore? If you have the guts, keep fighting. Aren't you very good at fighting?"

Cheng Chen looked up and gazed into the distance. In the golden light at the top of the Qitian Tower, there was a magical girl bound by layers of magical chains and suspended high in the air.

Cang Qing was crying at this moment, desperately looking in this direction, shaking his head and crying out.

"Actually, Cang Qing is on our side. She's been lying to you, revealing your whereabouts, and leading you into a trap for us."

Jingwei, enduring the excruciating pain, staggered to her feet. "There's a magic circle beneath your feet, the Nightingale's House's pseudo-miracle, the Soul-Ferrying Song. It's very difficult for us to use a magic circle of this level. Not only do we need to prepare in advance, but we also need to accumulate magic power bit by bit. Now, there's still some time before it's fully prepared, enough for you to kill all of us ten times over... Hurry up and do it."

Cheng Chen walked past her expressionlessly and headed towards the Qitian Tower.

With just this one movement, the golden light at the top of the tower suddenly burst forth, almost engulfing the azure sky.

He stopped in his tracks.

"It's no use. As long as you try to save her, or if any unfamiliar magic comes near, the ritual light will activate immediately." Jingwei turned around. "She is the sacrifice, the core of this ritual, the vessel through which the ritual summons beings to descend."

She was panting heavily, a sickly sneer appearing on her face: "However, the ritual has no one to whom the name is to be recited, you know what that means... Once the [Song of Soul Transfer] is activated, the ritual will be forcibly interrupted, and she will be safe and sound."

"So, choose. Kill us ignorant ants, or simply turn around and leave now."

On top of the tower.

Large tears rolled down her pale face, and she cried out hoarsely, but no one listened to her.

She shook her head in despair, momentarily lost in thought.

Time seemed to rewind to that afternoon many years ago, when the demon grabbed her mother and used her as a shield, threatening the magical girl Fei Peng to step back.

Either kill us all, or just leave.

Jingwei had heard her tell this story.

She's now deliberately using the same lines that demon used to say.

Cheng Chen took a step closer to Jingwei.

He expressionlessly reached out, grabbed Jingwei by the throat, and lifted her into the air.

"Ugh!"

The suffocating pain caused her to howl, while the Moon Wolf beside her raised its head and howled to the sky.

Accompanied by the howl of wolves, a bright, blood-red moon suddenly appeared above the Qitian Tower, obscuring most of the city's sky.

Jingwei did not struggle; blood had already soaked her dress, dripping onto the ground. Her breath was visibly weakening.

Even though her face turned purple from being pinched, she was still smiling, glancing at Cang Qing out of the corner of her eye, laughing triumphantly.

It was as if she was saying silently that she had won.

Just as your mother was worthless to Fei Peng, you are worthless to him as well.

The next instant, Jingwei was thrown to the ground.

Cheng Chen clapped his hands and took a step back with a sullen expression.

The Moon Wolf, which had been roaring at the sky and exuding a terrifying aura, suddenly shrank and turned into a very soft and fluffy Samoyed, wagging its tail and jumping into his arms, whimpering.

"I just told someone not long ago that killing hostages and enemies together when threatened is a sign of incompetence." Cheng Chen ruffled the puppy's hair. "If I kill you now, wouldn't that be saying I'm incompetent?"

As he spoke, he deliberately turned toward Cang Qing so that she could see the shape of his mouth.

He found a barely intact bench by the roadside and sat down.

"If you want to activate your magic circle, then activate it."

Cang Qing stared blankly at this scene, his whole body beginning to tremble.

Do not……

Don't do that!

Doesn't that mean he's risking his life to gamble on whether I can survive once the magic circle is activated?

To save me, to ensure my safety...

Why? Why did I have to go to such lengths? I'm a traitor!

Tears welled up like a burst dam, completely blurring Cang Qing's vision. She shook her head, looking far away, and met Cheng Chen's calm and deep eyes.

Cang Qing saw the answer in his eyes.

—Because I am your brother, I will always stand by your side.

"don't want……"

She could cry helplessly, then raised her head, "No!!"

hum!

The heavens and earth began to tremble from that moment.

The dark brown curtain that had enveloped the world shattered, replaced by a dazzling, blindingly bright platinum light that surged forth from the earth.

As the light rose, countless nightingales took flight from the shadows, bathed in the dazzling light, shedding their black feathers and turning into pure white.

Their cries and songs drowned out the original ceremonial chants, gradually becoming the only melody in the world.

"Haha...hahahaha."

Jingwei laughed loudly, laughing so hard she could hardly breathe.

She laughed and shook her head with pity: "Evil Lord, you are even more foolish than I thought."

The "Song of Extradition" is now fully complete!

Jingwei spread her arms and let her body fall, merging into the ground that had become a sea of ​​light.

Cheng Chen ignored the provocation.

He was reminiscing.

What was the final outcome of that meeting with Fukuto?

Ah, right! When he pierced Fu Hu's eye socket with a pencil, amidst his wails and shouts, he experienced for the first time just how hot blood could be.

"Come on, girls."

He slowly raised his right hand, like a conductor, and murmured softly.

As the order was given, the light in the sky seemed to freeze for a moment.

Then, the soaring melody that echoed between heaven and earth changed, from the birds’ chorus to the girls’ chorus.

The pale phantoms slowly emerged from behind Cheng Chen, solidifying into physical forms. They slowly raised the holy swords in their hands, and suddenly spread a pair of tattered wings from their backs, flying out in all directions.

[The girls who inherited the heroes' weapons!]

A brand new miracle meets the Nightingale's House's "Song of the Soul's Ferry".

A crushing defeat without any suspense.

The singing nightingales were suddenly cut down, and the holy swords emitted a bloody light from the girls' hands. Amidst their innocent and natural laughter, they were brutally slaughtered.

Thump thump thump thump.

One cloud of blood mist after another exploded, and the hunters who were part of the [Song of Souls] fell one after another under the holy sword.

Jingwei was forced out of the ocean where the birds gathered.

She looked around in terror, forgetting even to run away.

"No...impossible! How could this be?"

"Woof."

Jingwei looked down and saw a cute little dog wagging its tail at her feet.

"Get out of here!"

Jingwei mustered all her magical power and brandished her dagger.

However, the next second.

The puppy's adorable body instantly swelled up. The enormous shadow of the Moon Wolf, as large as a mountain, completely enveloped Jingwei's desperate body.

Its menacing maw snapped down mercilessly.

……

Cheng Chen arrived at the top of the Qitian Pagoda.

The magical chains binding Cang Qing crumbled inch by inch, and she threw herself into Cheng Chen's arms without hesitation. Her emotions, which had been suppressed for so long, completely broke down at this moment. She hugged him tightly and burst into tears.

"Brother... Waaah... I'm sorry... It's all my fault..."

Cheng Chen felt the trembling body in his arms and glanced into the void.

He gently patted her soft, long hair, soothing her softly as always:

"It's okay, let's go home."

"Um."

A deep, lingering nasal sound escaped from Cangqing's throat.

Cheng Chen smiled and was about to call the puppy to come and get them, but his mouth stopped abruptly.

A thin sword pierced his abdomen.

The owner of the rapier was in his arms, his eyes unfocused at some point.

"you…"

Cang Qing pushed him away, making him seem like a stranger.

She knelt on one knee and pleaded earnestly.

"War calls upon you. Mortals gild the contours of desire with seven colors, thus proclaiming that divine authority can be attained. I offer the smoldering remnants buried beneath reality as a sacrifice, begging you to warn the usurpers... Run! Iron steed! Run! This is the time of judgment."

……

In the small apartment, Ah Hui stuffed a piece of Tavares fried chicken into his mouth and chewed it slowly.

"I'm sorry, Jingwei. I never said that this ritual was just a pretense."

Cheng Chen let herself fall to the ground, feeling "severely injured".

"Excuse me, you there. I never want to just finish off the mobs and call it a day. At least let me see what the boss looks like."

"Always causing trouble from the shadows, it's disgusting, you know?"

……