Starting as a Magical Girl, I Alone Shall Rule for Eternity Chapter 51
"Regarding the support request from the Beihai Disaster Control Bureau, headquarters received it quite early. Originally, they planned to send Kingfisher, since she had been here before and saved many people, especially since the newly promoted Magical Girl Keke also knows Kingfisher."
In the living room, Iris, who had regained her confidence and boldness, sat at the head of the table. "But unfortunately, Kingfisher is currently in retirement due to some unexpected circumstances and can't take on missions, so this matter has been delayed until now. After hearing about the Miracle Seed being lost from the Disaster Control Bureau, headquarters sent me to help in Kingfisher's place."
Upon hearing this, Keke's face showed a disappointed expression.
"I never properly apologized to her."
And Jiang Si also felt some regret.
He had never fought against Kingfisher.
Back when he hadn't yet obtained the Magical Girl's Miracle Seed, the first time he witnessed supernatural abilities, the blue Magical Girl seemed like a celestial deity in his eyes, the most brilliant light of hope.
The impressions of strength, mystery, and invincibility were deeply engraved in his heart.
Just like newborn chicks imprint on the first thing they see as their mother, for Jiang Si, the first supernatural power he witnessed, Magical Girl Kingfisher, held the most special and powerful position in his heart.
Even after early entry into the Blooming domain, this impression never disappeared.
But times change, and naturally he wanted to spar with Kingfisher, to let this Magical Girl who guided him into the path of the Great Dao see his growth.
On the other hand, he also wanted to verify whether his strength had reached the level he once admired.
To surpass the existence he once looked up to.
Hearing that Kingfisher had retired naturally brought great regret.
It would be good if he could defeat her with his own hands, and being defeated by her wouldn't be bad either.
However, according to online novel records, most protagonists' guiding seniors tend to meet unfortunate ends in their later years, encountering misfortunes.
Hopefully Kingfisher won't have any accidents.
"Don't worry, before I came, Kingfisher specifically found me. She's been paying good attention to your activities and was very happy for you when she heard you became a Magical Girl. She always believed you were a child with great potential."
When speaking about Kingfisher, the confident and bold Iris's expression softened a bit, then she cleared her throat. "Ahem, anyway, Kingfisher also asked me to bring you a message."
"You're doing great, Keke. Keep working hard to become an outstanding Magical Girl who brings happiness and miracles to everyone."
Keke then somewhat embarrassedly tilted her head. "Then, can I visit her in the future? I want to see Senior Kingfisher again."
"Well, retirement was a decision Kingfisher carefully considered. She doesn't want to be disturbed for now, but if there's an opportunity in the future, I can ask for you."
"Thank you!" Keke replied happily, then paused and glanced back at Jiang Si. "Then, did Kingfisher have any message for Jiang Si?"
Iris also looked somewhat awkwardly at Jiang Si. "Um, Kingfisher just said she hopes you siblings can get along well."
"Thank you for her concern." Jiang Si said calmly.
Keke immediately widened her eyes.
Noticing his sister's gaze, Jiang Si glanced at her. "What?"
"Nothing."
Keke instinctively gave an evasive response, then muttered, "So you can speak like that too."
"You've never spoken to me like that..."
"Bringing happiness and miracles, huh."
Li Yi, who had been spacing out nearby, couldn't help but repeat Kingfisher's words, then said gloomily, "Can Magical Girls really bring happiness and miracles?"
"Even if your seed was destroyed, you shouldn't lose faith in Magical Girls, Miss Li Yi."
Iris wagged her finger at her. "If you lose a believing heart, you're disqualified as a Magical Girl. The Witch Association polluting Miracle Seeds is indeed hateful, but as long as you believe in miracles, Magical Girls can surpass the Witch Association's evil methods!"
"Easy to say."
Although Li Yi remained silent, Susan couldn't help but retort. "If miracles were that easy to obtain, they wouldn't be called miracles. This so-called believing heart is fundamentally a vague concept. Believe? How much belief is needed? Who can provide reasons when you believe until death yet receive no response? If failure means not believing enough, and success means believing enough, with no standards except results, how is this different from superstition?"
The girl who had once lost her power became increasingly agitated as she spoke. "Without experiencing the pain of losing Magical Girl power, how much can you possibly understand? Don't act like you know everything. After you've lost your transformation power once, then come educate the captain about how to regain miracles. Magical Girls aren't omnipotent just by saying you believe!"
Peony quickly pulled at Susan nearby. "Alright alright, stop talking, Shanshan."
Susan glared at her friend. "I told you not to call me that."
"Calling you that is the easiest way to get you to pay attention to me..."
Iris's expression also became more serious. "I certainly know that even with a believing heart, various reasons can prevent getting desired results. Miracles don't respond every time. But I still believe that the more desperate the situation, the more we must firm our faith, because this is our only path, isn't it?"
Even Susan, who had been angry moments before, quieted down now.
Because this was indeed true.
Jiang Si finally carefully examined the Magical Girl Iris before him.
As a Magical Girl, even the Azure Cloud Sect rarely had someone this outstanding.
With such mental state, she had probably reached mid-stage Blooming.
This woman should not be underestimated.
Li Yi lowered her head, her tone tired. "Well, Senior Iris is right. It's just that I myself don't want to be a Magical Girl anymore."
Iris gently patted her head. "Don't worry, how old are you now? There's still plenty of time. Think slowly, no need to make decisions now. Senior Kingfisher thought for several years before deciding to retire. You should also think carefully for a few years. As long as the Miracle Seed remains, you can always rediscover your miracle. No need to rush."
"I'm in tenth grade, sixteen years old."
"Only sixteen? You... huh? Sixteen?"
Looking at the astonished Iris, Keke couldn't help but laugh nearby.
She was actually quite worried about Yiyi too. Not wanting to be a Magical Girl was really such a pity.
She didn't know why, but her mind naturally imagined what Jiang Si would say if he spoke at this moment.
If you don't want to do it, then get lost.
She quickly shook her head, dispelling this rude thought, then turned and glared at Jiang Si.
It was all his fault for making her think nonsense.
Then she saw Jiang Si making a phone call, probably ordering takeout.
With so many people staying to eat at home, cooking themselves would definitely be too late, and Jiang Si wouldn't have the interest for it anyway.
Ordering takeout was indeed a good choice. She wondered if he had enough money.
He couldn't just order a few cheap dishes to entertain guests—that would be too shabby.
While thinking, Iris began talking about the Magical Girl combat team's future plans, then moved on to interesting stories about Kingfisher.
She mentioned how Kingfisher liked dance machines, how she stood up for her juniors at dance arcades, and similar stories.
Keke and Li Yi were both captivated, while only Peony showed little interest.
After all, she wasn't familiar with Kingfisher nor was she Kingfisher's fan, so her attention remained on her friend Susan.
From the moment they arrived at Jiang Si's home, she had noticed.
Susan had been paying particular attention to Jiang Si, yet her gaze never dared to directly meet his.
How strange.
After watching Susan for a while longer, she lowered her voice and whispered in Susan's ear:
"You haven't actually fallen for Jiang Si, have you?"
Susan stiffened all over, then immediately shook her head vigorously, her earlobes actually turning somewhat red. "No, no, absolutely not. Don't talk nonsense."
Oh no, oh no, oh no.
Peony instantly felt darkness before her eyes.
With this reaction, it was eighty percent true.
Having been together for so many years, how could she not understand Susan's thoughts? If Susan refuted expressionlessly, that would mean nothing was there.
But this flustered covering up—it was impossible to clear suspicions.
Peony also turned to examine Jiang Si.
You know, this guy is quite handsome, especially after witnessing how he violently beat up men twice his size, now sitting there quietly with his delicate features.
He really was quite attractive.
The problem was, this was Shion's boyfriend...
Remembering when Shion had cornered them before, Peony felt a pang of guilt.
"Susan, it's not that I don't support you as a sister, but if you're trying to steal a man from Shion, forget about charm, looks, and such things—let's just talk about strength alone. If Shion goes berserk and wants to kill you for stealing her man, who could stop her? Well, Iris might actually be able to stop her, but you can't just rely on her, right?"
Seeing Susan's expression turn somewhat strange, even biting her lip tightly as if forcibly restraining something.
Peony immediately wondered if she had gone too far.
Actually, Susan wasn't bad-looking either, just lacking some feminine charm. After all, Susan always kept a stern face, dressed somewhat masculinely, and didn't really like wearing makeup.
At first glance, she was more likely to intimidate than attract.
"Anyway, take my advice—there are plenty of good men in this world. Don't fixate on such a troublesome guy."
"I already said it's not like that." Susan's tone sounded somewhat complaining. "Can you stop guessing randomly?"
"Fine, fine, you think I'm annoying, right? Anyway, when you have someone you like, sister friends are just roadside trash, whatever, kick them aside. I get it, I get it."
"If you keep talking nonsense, I'm really going to get angry."
Peony chuckled, knowing full well that Susan wasn't that heartless. She just enjoyed teasing her friend like this. "This reminds me of back when we were still teammates, chatting at night before sleep. I was worried that if we kept being Magical Girls, cleaning up Disaster Beasts, what would we do if we couldn't find partners and get married in the future."
"After fifty, we could just live together and take care of each other." Susan continued her sentence, then snorted. "It was just casual talk, I'm surprised you remember."
"You remember it too."
Peony looked toward Jiang Si and sighed leisurely. "Ah, it feels like my good friend is being taken away. Damn Jiang Si, not only did he get together with Shion, but he even dares to seduce my friend..."
Susan knocked her hard on the forehead, making Peony shut up.
Originally Susan hadn't been thinking in that direction, but with Peony constantly saying it, saying it over and over.
She couldn't help but start thinking in the wrong direction...
Jiang Si is Shion.
The person who brought her miracles and saved her back then was Jiang Si.
After that face imprinted in her heart that night was gradually replaced by Jiang Si's face, it was inevitable that some subtle feelings would arise in her heart.
But soon she ruthlessly extinguished those strange feelings.
Regardless, Jiang Si is Jiang Si, Shion is Shion.
What she admires is Shion, not Jiang Si!
Then she inevitably remembered how Jiang Si had taken half her salary from here.
Thinking that it was actually Shion-sama who took half her salary, Susan felt somewhat unable to hold back.
As the Azure Cloud Sect Master, could she possibly lack this little money? What was with fleecing her like this?
Those salaries of hers were originally issued by the Azure Cloud Sect, meaning issued by Shion-sama. If she wanted to deduct her salary, she could have just done it directly—why go through this unnecessary trouble?
It couldn't be that she had special feelings for her too...
"Anyway, my main purposes for coming this time are to recover our Miracle Seed and to capture Shion and bring her back to headquarters."
Iris's frankness brought Susan back to reality. This statement made Keke, Li Yi, and Jiang Si all sit up straight immediately.
Keke first glanced at Li Yi.
One Miracle Seed was over here.
Originally, the Disaster Control Bureau didn't agree to give Li Yi a seed, but the director made an exception to issue Li Yi a seed, thinking that if Yinluo could transform in the future, it wouldn't count as a violation since Miracle Seeds are meant to be used anyway.
Making the most of resources—headquarters wouldn't investigate.
But now that Yinluo had passed away and the former director had been removed, Li Yi was keeping the Miracle Seed, temporarily unwilling to return it. As a memento originally intended for her sister, she wanted to keep it with her a while longer.
Iris probably only thought the Witch Association took the seed...
Then she glanced at Jiang Si.
Although he was Shion-teacher's lover, hearing that Iris wanted to capture Shion, Jiang Si showed no expression whatsoever.
Keke didn't know whether she felt Shion-teacher wasn't being valued enough or felt relieved.
Iris observed the expressions of the several girls and understood. "Don't worry, I know Shion and her Azure Cloud Sect have good reputation in Beihai these past years. As a free Magical Girl organization, they haven't done anything bad but have been helping clean up Disaster Beasts instead. The citizens of BH City all support them. I won't rashly start conflicts that would cause public dissatisfaction."
"I'll first try to negotiate with Miss Shion and have her voluntarily come with me to headquarters. If she's unwilling, then I'll forcibly take her away. Of course, I'll be careful not to harm her, so rest assured."
Everyone exchanged glances without speaking. Finally, Keke couldn't help but say seriously:
"Shion-teacher is the strongest."
"I'm also the strongest." Iris said nonchalantly. "And free Magical Girls like her, without undergoing headquarters' training and education, cannot fully master Blooming-level power. So although we're both Blooming, our strength isn't on the same level. A professional dealing with an amateur is actually somewhat bullying."
Keke momentarily didn't know how to refute. She certainly believed Shion-teacher was the strongest.
But Iris also seemed really strong...
Plus the other party was so overwhelmingly confident that even Keke felt somewhat unsure whether Shion-teacher could win.
Seeing their doubts, Iris smiled slightly. Better to directly demonstrate her strength.
Her blue seed flashed, and a Magic Wand independently appeared in her hand.
"This is called Magic Equipment Extraction. It allows summoning part of the magic equipment without transforming, an ability used when needing to conceal identity."
Peony and Susan exchanged glances.
They themselves had explored many such things through combat—it wasn't exactly high-level technique...
"And this, precise magic control technique, allows continuously transforming magic into desired forms."
Li Yi glanced over. The cluster of magic at Iris's fingertip freely transformed—from a seed, to sprouting, flowering, until withering—each transformation extremely intricate.
But Li Yi also noticed that the transformed shapes' outlines weren't that distinct. Clearly, the finer edges were somewhat rough.
Quite inferior to Dandelion...
But immediately after, Iris pointed at Keke. "Lend me your seed."
When Keke took it out, she sensed the magic in her seed being mobilized, without her permission at all.
Iris manipulated Keke's red magic with one hand and her own blue magic with the other, showing a composed smile. "Simultaneously controlling two types of magic is also a required course at headquarters, but it's extremely difficult. Even among Blooming-level Magical Girls, few can freely manipulate two types of magic."
This time, the four finally showed impressed expressions.
Simultaneously controlling two types of magic truly exceeded their understanding.
"However, generally speaking, different magics cause intense conflicts, not only easily harming oneself but also producing serious consequences, even leading to inability to transform. So headquarters strictly forbids Magical Girls from fusing two types of magic together. This method is for emergencies when one's own magic is about to be exhausted." Iris confidently smiled again. "Of course, it can also be used during battles to seize opposing Magical Girls' magic. At headquarters, I won first place in competitions using this method."
"Really amazing." Keke praised.
Peony and Li Yi both nodded, while only Susan glanced at Jiang Si.
Taking in these reactions, Iris felt quite pleased.
Then she tapped her own seed, and more massive blue magic instantly filled the entire room!
The tremendous pressure made Peony and Keke involuntarily transform simultaneously, but Iris didn't look at them, her gaze firmly fixed on Jiang Si.
Since Susan and Li Yi couldn't transform, her pressure only targeted Peony, Keke, and Jiang Si!
Even the two transformed Magical Girls were somewhat unable to withstand it. Keke even collapsed onto the table, and Peony also had sweat on her forehead.
But Jiang Si sat steadily without any reaction.
Iris's gaze flickered, watching Jiang Si for a long time before dispersing the surrounding magic suppression.
Peony and Keke both breathed long sighs of relief, even discovering their own magic was almost depleted.
Even Li Yi and Susan, who weren't the main targets, showed relieved expressions—just the overflowing magic had brought considerable pressure.
Only Jiang Si continued looking at his phone, face unchanged, without even any change in breathing.
"This is magic suppression that can only be used at Blooming level."
Iris propped her chin with both hands, watching Jiang Si with great interest. "Your strength is truly impressive, Jiang Si. You remained completely unfazed facing such magic suppression. Since your sister is a Magical Girl and your strength is this remarkable, would you like to join the Disaster Control Bureau? The Bureau also needs power like yours."
The room fell into complete silence.