Transform into a magical girl after getting off work

The sudden attack stifled the counterattack initiated by the Gemstone Scepter.

Indeed, this attack was not enough to claim the life of Lady Emerald, nor could it completely incapacitate the Gemstone Scepter, but a wound is still a wound. At the level of the Gemstone Scepter, any genuine hit almost invariably results in real harm.

And as this attack took effect, a distant figure gradually revealed its true form.

It was a young man—at least he appeared youthful.

He covered the upper half of his face with a mask, but the lower half that was exposed had relatively smooth, wrinkle-free skin.

"Greetings, Lady Emerald."

In the presence of everyone, he nodded slightly, placing his left hand on his chest in a gesture of salute. However, his right hand remained connected to the end of the black line that pierced through Lady Emerald:

"I have been waiting here for you for a long time."

"...An Angel Envoy?" Despite the injury from the ambush, Lady Emerald showed no further change in expression after her initial shock. She cast several Favo Runes from her hand to dispel the black line piercing her body: "Are these ghostly things your handiwork?"

The "ghostly things" she referred to were evidently the Feather Rank Beasts.

"All aggregations of magic power aren't sources without water."

The young man smiled slightly: "To say they are my handiwork would be too arrogant; at most, I am merely a catalyst."

"That's quite surprising."

While controlling the Jade Stone Pillar to suppress the already severely injured beast, Lady Emerald dealt with the attacks of the beast in mid-air. Even though magic particles kept leaking from her abdominal wound, her tone remained unfazed: "Can you stop them? If you want to chat, perhaps you should show some sincerity?"

"Haha, you flatter me, I don't have that ability."

The young man raised his hand, gathering a magic technique: "I'm not here to chat either; you should be able to tell I'm here to lay siege."

"That's really a pity. It's been a long time since I've seen a 'human' able to elevate their total magic power to such a level."

Lady Emerald chuckled lightly, but her face bore not the slightest hint of a smile: "State your name, so-called 'human' monster, for when I toss your corpse into a specimen jar, there'll at least be something to label it with."

"Just write 'Bee Apostle'."

The man pointed to the insect pattern on his mask: "Of course, to be written in the obituary as the cause of death. After all, given how much time you've spent dragging this out, you must have discovered something unusual?"

Lady Emerald certainly had.

In fact, her willingness to exchange a few words with this mysterious adversary was an attempt to heal her magic body's injuries. Yet, for some reason, even with the use of auxiliary forbidden techniques, her wounds showed no signs of improvement.

But she did not voice this.

She simply lowered her head, looking at the surviving magical girls on the ground.

"Here, I can't unleash many of my techniques."

She said: "I'll take these three troublesome ones out, and the rest of you hold on as long as you can. If it gets bad, retreat into the Boundary Gate; the Royal Court Guards should arrive soon to assist."

With that, she looked up again.

Without any motions, incantations, or visible runes, a cubic space centered around her suddenly "detached" from this world.

Like breaking off a corner from a block of wood, an entire segment of space became distinct from this world.

And quickly, the void created by this separated space began to "heal," as if the world itself was actively filling that spatial gap. The block delineated by Lady Emerald was thus "squeezed" out.

The two beasts and the mysterious man, along with Lady Emerald, were all "squeezed" out.

Their forms vanished into thin air from this world.

The most dangerous enemies were thus taken away, yet the war could not end just because of this.

Whether Lady Emerald could successfully face the three alone was not the issue; the enemies originally stopped beyond the third line of defense were now also arriving.

Cornflower could sense the intense magical power fluctuation approaching ever closer beyond the walls.

Among these enemies, there might not be Remnant Beasts of "Feather" rank, but those of Molt rank, or even King's Transformation rank, were no less than the night before, likely even more.

She glanced at Stonegarlic beside her, barely recognizable, and the group of City Defense Army soldiers recently rescued who could only be called "remnants" at this point, and felt a sense of "helplessness."

Hold on?

Can we really hold on?

The original City Defense Army suffered heavy losses the previous night. Many reinforcements had retreated from the third line to defend, but after being ravaged by a Feather beast, only a few magical girls still capable of fighting remained on site.

Even she herself had barely recovered any magic power, carrying many unhealed wounds, with a persistent spiritual pain warning her: her body had been injured as well.

"Cough, cough… heh… heh…"

Just then, Stonegarlic, lying on the ground, suddenly coughed violently and spoke in a hoarse voice: "Leading ordered, seems it's 'that time' now."

"What time?" Cornflower couldn't help but ask, as Mo He beside her also cast a questioning look.

"Do you need to ask? Cough, cough, I've taught you." Stonegarlic pulled a seemingly open-minded smile: "What do you do when facing an enemy you know you can't beat, and not running means death?"

"What do we do? Did you teach us that?" Mo He clearly couldn't recall such a memory.

But Cornflower understood.

In an instant, she recalled that word.

—Desperation Bloom.

That was the last resort a Magical Girl could use in battle.

Only Bud Level and above can learn it, but the success rate is extremely low. It is said to be many times more difficult than the Flower Level mastering the Great Prosperity Bloom—the "suicide" technique.

Mo He not remembering it is quite normal because even though Stonegarlic had exposed the existence of this technique to everyone, she actually only taught a very few Magical Girls she thought were "gifted" or might "venture to die." For someone like Mo He at Leaf Level, this technique feels like a tale heard and naturally forgotten.

And Cornflower, she was one of those rare few. Stonegarlic taught her, and she learned it.

Thus, she understood very well what it meant when Stonegarlic brought this matter up herself.

"Don't be afraid, I won't ask you to use Bloom with me."

Seeing Cornflower's expression suddenly darken, Stonegarlic merely lifted her hand to tug at her cheek: "You're a little rascal; your face is about the only cute thing about you. Smile more often; otherwise, you truly annoy people."

"The Chief... said we should retreat into the Boundary Gate, to the Garden."

However, Cornflower really didn't have the mood to smile: "It's not just me, you don't have to stay here either..."

"I'm already a wastrel."

Stonegarlic calmly smiled: "My whole self is almost about to collapse. Even if I survive, I would just be paralyzed in bed for the rest of my life."

"I can carry you so you can survive somehow."

Cornflower shook her head: "Even if you can't move, as long as you're alive, someone will be happy for you..."

"And how many people would have to die for that?"

Stonegarlic exhaled long: "We hardly have any fighting strength left. If you cover for this wastrel to retreat, who knows how many little girls' lives have to be sacrificed for us. On the contrary, if I hold the rear, you... can all retreat into the Boundary Gate."

Cornflower was silent.

She couldn't refute it. Because she knew, under these circumstances, Stonegarlic was right.

Even if they begin to retreat towards the Boundary Gate now, the speed of their remnants couldn't outpace the foes behind them. By then, they might be overtaken by the enemy before joining the Royal Court Guards and forced into battle.

But if a Strong Flower Card could perform Bloom to block the Boundary Gate, using the terrain to intercept the pursuers outside, it should buy them quite enough time.

Stonegarlic's proposal already minimized the sacrifices, except the one dying would be the Commander.

"I don't want you to die." Ultimately, Cornflower could only voice this somewhat emotional statement: "If I perform Bloom, and let them take you away..."

"It's not worth it."

Stonegarlic closed her eyes: "You little rascal, you're still young; you can still move. It's not worth it. Quickly go now; we don't have much time left."

There were faint sounds of crying around.

Stonegarlic lay there listening to these sounds, silent for a moment, then opened her eyes again.

"Shut up, all of you! Stop crying! What does sobbing like that look like in battle!"

She shouted hoarsely: "This is the Commander's order! Now, every last one of you who can still breathe, retreat into the Boundary Gate! Right now!"

Gathered around, the Magical Girls finally stirred to action.

For no other reason than Stonegarlic had clarified the nature of her words, it was an "order."

Cornflower realized at this moment that she couldn't persuade her anymore.

This person who had been her leader for half a year, always with the attitude of a seasoned soldier, full of crude language but showed ample care to subordinates, shall forever vanish from her life. Just like those comrades who had already perished.

The time for farewell had come.

"Don't make me repeat it; get out." Stonegarlic looked at Cornflower: "Don't lament here; you need to understand, a soldier has the right to choose their manner of death on the battlefield, and that in itself is a privilege."

Cornflower moved.

She cast Stonegarlic a deep look as if intending to etch her face in memory forever, then turned, leading Mo He away.

"The two of you, I entrust a final request to you."

Stonegarlic's voice reached them from behind: "If either of you deals with that brat Heidi in the future, remember to take care of her a bit. Though she seems like a goody-goody, she can really get wild."

Cornflower's steps halted a bit.

Heidi, also known as Tulip, was Stonegarlic's daughter. Currently, whether she was still alive was uncertain to them.

"Understood, Chief."

But she made no mention of this, as if by default Tulip must still be alive, responding to Stonegarlic's request. Afterward, she continued towards the Boundary Gate.

Eventually, Stonegarlic was left lying alone in the wreckage.

She sensed the increasingly close magical power fluctuations in the distance, struggling slightly as she used her remaining, disobedient hand to extract a pipe from the inner lining of her clothes, but after placing it in her mouth, realized there was no tobacco.

"...Little brat."

After a long silence, she cursed with a smile.

Then, without hesitating further, she tossed the pipe aside, clutching her Heart's Gem.

"This flower... shall Bloom."