Chapter 7: Park Shadows

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Clutching her magic wand and sporting golden pigtails, the magical girl hovered high in the air, gazing down at the wetland forest under the night sky.

What was a verdant and charming park filled with natural beauty during the day had become akin to a predator's gaping maw in the darkness, waiting for its prey to wander in.

This faint sense of danger gave her a chill up her spine, making her involuntarily frown.

"Xiaolu, I've got a bad feeling about this."

The voice, laden with gravity, rose beside her ear.

The speaker was a peculiar creature resembling a kitten, pink all over, fuzzy, with a pair of tiny wings on its back that inevitably brought to mind a fairy from a fairy tale.

The fairy flew up behind the girl, its face clouded with worry: "Although it's very faint, the residual magic power around us is making my fur stand on end, and our opponent this time might be very dangerous."

"...You're right, I can feel it too."

The magical girl, or rather Lin Xiaolu, tried hard to suppress the fear in her heart, staring intently at the woods in the park below: "Although I can't quite explain it, I also feel it's very dangerous."

However, despite her words, she didn't stop her movements. Waving her magic wand, she slowly descended onto the grassy expanse of the park. Lin Xiaolu quickly surveyed the surroundings for any enemy presence to ensure it was safe.

This action yielded nothing, but the vague unrest lingered in her heart.

"Moka, can you still sense the enemy's location?"

She turned to the pink fairy for help.

The fairy, known as "Moka," closed its eyes. After a moment of silence, it suddenly snapped them open: "It's no good. Even though I could lock on to the enemy in this park before we landed, now I can't sense its exact position."

Lin Xiaolu was startled: "Have we ever encountered this situation before?"

"Not at all."

Moka looked helpless: "I should have told you before. As a fairy, it's also my first time in the material realm, and there are many things I don't understand."

"Moka... you're so useless."

"Saying such hurtful things to a fairy, I might actually get angry!"

The magical girl and the fairy moved slowly across the grassy field of the wetland park, all the while attentive to any traces around them. But as nearly ten minutes passed and they approached the central area of the park, they still found nothing.

Floating midair, Moka couldn't help but speak again: "Xiaolu, should we retreat for now?"

The magical girl asked in confusion: "Why?"

Moka explained: "I have a feeling that the Remnant Beasts this time is not just any simple enemy, and the two of us may not be a match for it. It would be more prudent to go back and learn more from the adults at the Abnormal Strategy Bureau and seek help."

"Ah? But isn't seeking help from adults, isn't that behavior a bit out of character for a magical girl?"

"Now is not the time to be stubborn in such strange circumstances!"

"Uh... got it."

The persistent chill at her back made Lin Xiaolu relent, and she quickly took the fairy's advice: "If we don't find anything by the time we reach the park center, we'll leave."

Moka nodded repeatedly in agreement: "Quickly, then!"

With that, they had an agreement: if they still hadn't encountered the enemy by the time they reached the park center, they would head straight home.

Stepping across the grass, in no time they could see the outlines of the pavilions and water features at the park's center. Having reached their destination, Lin Xiaolu lifted her spirits and strode forward.

"Still no sign of the Remnant Beasts."

The girl blinked and looked to the side: "Moka, can you sense anything now?"

She was met with emptiness.

The fairy that should have been flying by her side was nowhere to be seen.

"...Moka?"

Only the magical girl's lonely voice was trapped in the park.

Realizing that things were evolving beyond her control, Lin Xiaolu finally became anxious and started to look around for her companion.

"Moka?"

The dense forest acted as a perfect sound barrier, isolating her voice from the outside world.

And so, with a somewhat frantic heart, she took a couple of steps, when suddenly she heard a rustle from the bushes beside her.

Her heartbeat skyrocketed, and the magical girl immediately turned towards that direction. After some flustered positioning to prepare for battle, she called out somewhat fiercely, yet nervously:

"Who's there? Come out!"

The response was a very faint voice: "Quickly..."

"What?"

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"Run! Xiaolu!"

This time, the Magical Girl heard it clearly.

And as she picked up the distant sound, a blurry pink shadow also flew over from afar, then crashed into her arms.

What appeared at this moment was precisely her partner Moco, who had suddenly vanished earlier.

However, compared to the unscathed appearance from a few minutes prior, Moco was now covered in wounds, one of her wings was missing, and a deep gash stretched across her body, with pink glowing particles fluttering incessantly from the wounds, looking terribly wretched.

Yet, at this moment, Moco wasn't concerned with her own injuries but instead tried to shout, "Run, the Remnant Beast this time..."

——"Hrrrrrrr."

The growl, like that of a wild beast, came through the shadows of the nearby woods.

Moco didn't get a chance to continue speaking as a fearsome monster emerged from the darkness, its sharp claws digging deeply into the mud, making no sound as it eerily appeared in front of Lin Xiaolu.

"Grrrrrr, roar!"

There was no doubt that this was a Remnant Beast.

Because no animal in a park could possibly have a body larger than 4 meters, nor could it have two heads.

The dark purple fur coated with an unidentifiable liquid, eyes glowing with an eerie green light filled with brutal murderous desires, and peculiar tubular structures protruded from its body, connecting to its drooling twin heads.

Just standing there was enough to send a chill down one's spine.

This was something that, as a Magical Girl, Lin Xiaolu should find impossible to encounter.

After all, as a Magical Girl, there was no reason to fear a Remnant Beast.

She had obtained this power to fight the Remnant Beasts and protect others from harm, so why should she fear the enemy she was supposed to vanquish?

Lin Xiaolu didn't understand, yet she couldn't suppress the negative thoughts in her heart.

Could she possibly lose?

Just as the thought crossed her mind, it was interrupted by a voice from outside:

——"Xiaolu!"

Her partner's voice resounded in her ears once more, "Hurry up and move!"

It was Moco, Moco was calling for her to flee.

At this moment, she suddenly remembered the action she should have taken from the start—survival.

Raising her Magic Wand, the air around the girl began to pulsate and then, accompanied by a roaring sound, she soared into the sky. She had entered the park flying and, naturally, fleeing via the aerial route seemed the safest choice.

Lin Xiaolu thought this, but she noticed that the Remnant Beast on the ground showed no reaction, even as she chose to escape through the air, it just stood silently in its place, watching everything with those eyes that glowed faintly green.

Is there a trap?

Before Lin Xiaolu had time to think further, she realized her upward flight had come to a halt.

In its place was an intense pressure from behind.

The injured Fairy asked laboriously, "What's wrong, Xiaolu?"

The sudden halt in her escape clearly puzzled the Fairy.

Noticing the confusion and panic on her face, the Fairy couldn't help raising its paw towards its head, only to feel a repelling force, and then its paw was bounced away.

"Magical Barrier..."

This time, even the Fairy's face showed a hint of despair, "It's over; this was a trap from the beginning!"

In an instant, both the Magical Girl and the Fairy's spirits plummeted to rock bottom.

However, unlike the Fairy, Lin Xiaolu still retained some instinct for battle and was constantly watching the Remnant Beast below her field of view.

What chilled her heart was not that her escape was blocked, but the expression that appeared on the grotesque face of the Remnant Beast below once she stopped.

Could Remnant Beasts make such human-like expressions?

Pondering this, she suddenly felt a pause in her vision, and in a blur, the enemy had disappeared from sight.

"——Xiaolu!"

And the next moment, amid the Fairy's cries of despair, she got her answer.

The claw of the Remnant Beast had already reached in front of her throat.

The last thing she saw was the malevolent and mocking sneer that should never have been present on a Remnant Beast's face.