Chapter 317

Chapter 317: After the Event, Who Is the Guardian?

On this day, all the people affected by Disaster Relief witnessed, through the song that cleanses the soul, the boundless pure white that dispelled all darkness.

Although Pure White Ode blurred everyone’s memory afterwards, the magical girls in front of the 46 disaster aura light pillars had some resistance, thus they all signed corresponding confidentiality agreements.

Finally, the Disaster Relief event, which affected 46 regions worldwide and harmed nearly six million people, almost causing the upper levels to launch space-based weapons and prematurely reveal the core of the salvation plan, came to an end.

Time taken…

Three minutes?

No, to be precise, it was 217 seconds.

Esther chewed on this number, looking at Miss Savior who was still on stage, finishing the performance with great emotion, her dance and singing showed no flaws, and she was in silent shock.

If they ignored the excitement of the stage and focused only on the actual time of action, she took less than 10 seconds in total to act.

That slight development was enough to approach world-ending levels of Disaster Relief; under this Patronus Magic, even the dust in sunlight seemed insignificant.

The most terrifying part was that, besides the 46 pillars of disaster aura, there were 3,791 locations worldwide, where personnel from their respective branches reported hearing the Pure White Ode from Sankt Wolfgang.

In other words, she used some method to sense the victims left by Disaster Relief all around the world, sending those unknown shadows of bullets to hunt them down.

This had already surpassed the normal range of Shining Magic.

Chu Yuanqing undoubtedly locked in on the concept of the rules concerning Disaster Relief.

As for the medium, it was most likely the strand of disaster aura drawn from Luna.

So, if everything went well, she may have even killed the main body of Disaster Relief just now, but because it happened so quickly, the Countermeasures Bureau didn’t have time to notice.

This method was very overbearing, just like the Holy Maiden’s Decorate Phantasm; the opponent’s magical source must also be a very powerful type.

"It is truly amazing."

Esther also made the same exclamation as Golden Bowl.

Even if Chu Yuanqing was placed in the position of the Lighthouse, the most optimistic prediction in the data model suggested that achieving such an exaggerated feat would take time, even after debuting.

This was the highest expectation the upper echelons had for this treasure of Donghong.

Although the opponent displayed unprecedented combat skills, worthy of being called the God of War reborn after fighting in hell for a lifetime, in terms of the stage and Shining Magic, the upper echelons always believed that Charlotte was irreplaceable.

As for now, the atmosphere, which was once very solemn, like a heavy meeting waiting for the fate of humanity to be announced, had entered the stage of opening champagne.

The attendees from the Donghong Federation praised their little idol’s excellence, having enough leisure to play a game of subtle flattery and criticism.

Well, although the Lighthouse should not be taken lightly, some people would mention Pure White Witch’s teammates, suggesting that the new generation selected by the Sacred United Country was somewhat lacking, like childish elementary school students, filling the surroundings with a joyful atmosphere.

Esther did not take part in this farce; she watched the stage from afar as it came to an end, deleted the posts on Charlotte’s social media, and tried to limit the online discussions to reduce the fame of the other person’s hometown.

At the same time, the live broadcasts happening in various places in Daxia and Austria suddenly went black.

The Super AI looked back at Miss Saintess and straightforwardly asked,

"Charlotte, is Disaster Relief still alive?"

Charlotte blinked her eyes, showed a cute smile, and said confidently,

"I don’t know, but even if someone at the Church of the Gods saves it, it probably won’t survive."

"Little Dream noticed those long spears, right?"

The Last Diva glanced at the light dust transformed from the mercury tree; her frost-blue eyelashes drooped, and her eyes hid emotions of either nostalgia or sadness, as she softly said,

"Those are all projections of Mythical Armament."

"Eternal Spear has the power related to fate and causality, and can directly lock onto things at the level of rules; even Disaster Relief cannot escape it."

"Unless it comes from a forbidden place and has the full support of a certain sect, then it might be able to stop it."

"After all, this stage is rather rushed; there wasn’t enough time to gather more people to watch, and the light provided is far from enough to show its true limit."

Esther was gathering information, and she asked,

"Mythical Armament, Eternal Spear."

"Does this relate to her Patronus Magic?"

Charlotte turned to look back, smiling as she said,

"Does Little Dream want to know? But this is a girl’s secret, so I have to keep this mystery for Little Qing; let me keep you in suspense for now."

[Pure White Ode].

Instead of saying it is magic, it is better to say it is a record that saves from the first playthrough, revealing all its effects, just like revealing one’s own identity.

Although the situation was getting more intense, the information released on this matter did not cause any negative waves at the top, but some secrets, once exposed, were no longer secrets.

If the Calamity God also had memories of the first playthrough, then we must never let them get more information about Chu Yuanqing.

Esther was deep in thought; she did not ask further, sharing similar ideas with Charlotte. Given the unpredictable nature of Disaster’s abilities, it was better for the Lighthouse to act as a surprise, only appearing when it truly mattered.

Therefore, for some matters, it was really safer if even our own people did not know.

At this moment, on the stage.

Kirimi Miyuki lowered her eyes and smiled at the audience, enduring the splitting headache as she helped her lovely daughter who nearly fell, and quickly bowed while the audience was still in a daze, leaving the stage with her teammates.

Tang Liuli looked like a wilted caterpillar; her twin ponytails drooped, her bright green eyes spinning, and the Cocoon of the Heart had lost its shine. She could only rely on the cool and powerful Great Devil to return to the waiting room.

In this performance, everyone exceeded their limits and bore the intense backlash of a double-layered enhancement buff; it was already remarkable that they managed to hold on until now.

Xie Qingxuan was the same; she looked better than Liuli. She was used to performing on a high-pressure stage and was tougher, but in reality, she couldn’t even meditate and could faint at any moment.

In fact, if it weren’t for "Pure White Ode" giving a final boost, there would have definitely been a major incident on stage where everyone fainted and had to be rushed to the hospital.

When the little idols returned to the waiting room, they didn’t even have the energy to change out of their performance outfits and collapsed on the sofa, letting out tired or satisfied sighs.

The girls’ four pairs of legs were close together, looking very charming.

Tang Liuli leaned on Chu Wang Shu’s shoulder, her eyes half-closed in sleepiness. Luckily, she hadn’t done sit-ups like before out of nervousness before going on stage, or she surely would have collapsed.

"This time, everyone really gave it their all."

"Even though I am really tired, seeing the audience’s reactions and thinking that we helped others gives me a wonderful feeling."

As Chu Wang Shu spoke, she snapped back to reality and showed a bright smile, happily saying,

"This is what the teacher means by feeling a sense of achievement after realizing one’s self-worth."

Kirimi Miyuki closed her eyes, her pink lips curled into a smile as she said happily,

"This means that both Little Shu and we have gotten closer to our idol and to becoming magical girls."

Xie Qingxuan stared for a long time before softly asking:

"Little Qing, have we helped other magical girls?"

The golden light in Pure White Witch’s eyes dimmed. She changed her appearance, turning her hair and eyes completely black, hiding her blurry gaze. She swallowed the metallic taste of blood, tucked the lantern deep into her collar, and smiled as she said:

"Yes, of course! To put it simply, each of us has saved about a million people."

Although this was a toned-down truth, everyone still took it as an exaggerated joke.

However…

Since Honey Qing would say this, it meant they had at least saved a few hundred people, right?

Even if only one person was saved, or if I only helped the other magical girls a little bit, it was still a big step forward.

Kirimi Miyuki felt very satisfied about this. She wanted to be an idol because she could bring some sparkle and warmth to people’s lives.

But now, not only could she do those things, she could even use the stage to protect the happiness of some people. No matter how she thought about it, it was amazing.

"That’s really great! I will work even harder from now on."

As she thought and remembered, her mind suddenly drifted away.

Shortly after Little Sakura finished speaking, her consciousness started to fade, and she fell asleep on the sofa.

Chu Wang Shu also rested her chin in her hand, as if dozing off in class. The green-eyed cat beside her had already fallen asleep, and even the most "energetic" Honey Xuan squinted her eyes, looking very tired.

This was understandable; overusing the "Cocoon of the Heart" was very serious. Without the support of the "Pure White Ode," it would take all four of them three to four days of sleep to recover.

Chu Yuanqing coughed a few times, glanced at the empty space beside her, and smiled as she said:

"Charlotte, please take them back to the hotel room; it is not very convenient to sleep here."

The Last Diva lifted her haze, looked at the girl’s pale face, pressed her lips together, reached out to open a space gate, and summoned a bunch of little Charlottes to carry everyone back to their own rooms.

After the girl did all this, she walked over to Chu Yuanqing, squatted down beside her, gently held her cold hand, lowered her eyes, and softly said:

"I thought you would hide it from me and try to be strong all on your own."

Chu Yuanqing couldn’t stop coughing; the light in her eyes faded, her gaze turned dark and blurred, blood spilled from her lips, and before it could hit the ground, it turned into tiny ashes, evaporating into nothingness.

This was the curse of the Sea of Truth, the result reflected back onto her body.

Since advancing to the [River] level of magic and being transformed by [Mercury Blood], in theory, no matter what injury she suffered, the blood that spilled could flow back.

Even if 90% of her flesh and blood instantly evaporated, she could achieve an infinite regeneration effect at the cost of losing some magic power.

But the Sea of Truth was clearly no longer included; just a slight return of a few threads of curse from [Pure White] was enough to cause the high-density magic to extinguish.

The blood she coughed up now was all part of the passive trait of [Mercury Blood]. In its instinctive fight for survival, it constantly turned the cursed parts into blood to cough out, similar to detoxification.

Chu Yuanqing’s long eyelashes drooped, her delicate face had an ethereal beauty. In her hazy, dreamy eyes, there was a hidden, vulnerable strength. She gently brushed her fingertips over the Holy Maiden’s face, smiled, and said honestly:

"Today is your birthday. I know you tried to keep it a secret, but you can’t hide it from me. If it weren’t for Miyuki and the others being in such poor shape, you would have given it away just now."

Charlotte puffed up her cheeks. Pretending to be slightly annoyed, she stood up and sat down next to Honey Qing, letting their thighs touch, and said:

"Selective honesty? That’s quite mischievous, isn’t it?"

The Last Diva said this while observing the other person’s expression. She couldn’t help but feel pity and tenderly reached out to touch Honey Qing’s face, speaking softly:

"It must hurt a lot, so please don’t do that again next time."

"Even if you don’t resonate with [Pure White], the Eternal Spear can still lock onto the rules of [Disaster Relief] and eliminate those 46 disaster aura light pillars."

"The essence of [Disaster Relief] can definitely be handled by the Countermeasures Bureau."

Chu Yuanqing coughed blood but stayed silent. She certainly understood this truth and believed that the Human Alliance, with its 17 years of experience, could handle the underdeveloped [Disaster Relief].

But…

"These curses will only make me uncomfortable for a little while, and they won’t change how long I live."

"But if I don’t act, it will kill many people, including children just starting school, fathers who support their families, young mothers who are still clumsy, and fans who want to see our stage."

Chu Yuanqing’s dull eyes sparkled as she remembered the victims she had seen. Her light pink lips curled up into a bright, joyful smile as she softly said:

"The happiness of saving them is far greater than the pain I have to bear, and that is enough."

At this point, the Pure White Witch showed a cute expression of guilt on her beautiful face. Without realizing it, she softened her tone, grasped Miss Saintess’s sleeve, and even her usually cold voice, which suppressed her sweetness, became more inviting:

"I believe that if it were Charlotte, she would make the same choice as I did."

"So, can you please not be angry?"

Charlotte fell silent upon hearing this. How could she be angry? She only felt sad, sad enough that her heart felt like it was pierced by a sharp knife, as if time twisted around and flowed back to the moment she first saw Chu Yuanqing die.

No matter how their looks and genders changed, or how heavy the years apart became, she was still the fool who willingly took on all the troubles.

Whether in pain or suffering, even if she died a thousand times or pushed herself to the brink of madness, she never went against her original ideal.

—She wanted to save everyone.

—She wanted everything to start over.

—She wanted everyone on this planet, in this land, to find happiness.

And this was, at first, her wish.

After Charlotte awakened the blessing and became a bearer of the flame, she shared such a naive and impossible ideal with Chu Yuanqing.

At that time, no one knew that those idle words spoken on the street could actually become a reality one day.

But if the price for making everyone happy is for Chu Yuanqing to suffer forever, she would rather be a little selfish, even more selfish.

But… she couldn’t say it out loud.

These words could be spoken by Liuli, Miyuki, Honey Xuan, or Little Shu, but they could not be spoken by the one who stayed by their side until the end, knowing the weight of this ideal.

Charlotte swallowed her bitterness and sadness, showing a smile like before, hugging her beloved beside her, feeling the warmth of their body, gently rubbing Honey Qing’s cheek, and softly said:

"I’m not angry at all."

"I respect Little Qing’s thoughts, but you also have to remember that you can’t always be reckless. The new generation of magical girls will sooner or later face trials of blood and fire, and spoiling them too much can lead to bad consequences."

Chu Yuanqing listened carefully to the advice and replied seriously:

"This time is a special case; [Disaster Relief] is too powerful."

"And in a few days, a group of little idols will come to join the magical girl training. I will research the right magic to help everyone train and be a good teacher."

Charlotte thought for a moment and decided to keep her opinion to herself. It was not just about what training magic Honey Qing could come up with, but it would definitely be very painful.

There was nothing that could be done; even though Little Qing was a very gentle person, she grew stronger over time in this extreme way, and her training style inevitably leaned towards this.

Miss Saintess decided to temporarily ignore these details. She blinked her eyes and said seriously:

"Stop talking, let me help you heal first."

Chu Yuanqing coughed a few times, the beautiful blood turning to ashes and withering. Based on her past experiences, she had a high tolerance for pain, but she was somewhat afraid of the pleasure that came after reaching a positive threshold.

The key point was that the more painful it was, the stronger the pleasure felt when most of the pain was blocked out after recovering magic.

Pure White Witch hesitated and said:

"Huh? Right here? There are so many spectators outside, all of them your fans, and there might be someone coming at any moment. Doing this here… might not be good. I have enough magic, just bear it a little… um."

Charlotte used the simplest and most direct way to cover that hesitant, soft pink lip. After gently tasting for a moment, she lowered her frost-blue lashes, her eyes filled with mist, and began to channel her magic.

Chu Yuanqing’s cursed mind dissolved as its thoughts intertwined and blurred. Her hazy pupils regained their golden glow, while her breathing became uneven, creating a slightly hoarse sound.

The Mercury Blood within her was very honest, completely yielding to Charlotte’s magic. It began to speed up, detoxifying while also consuming.

The Lantern Gem hidden in her chest also regained some vitality, finding the strength to digest the wishes pouring in from the stage, creating a positive feedback loop.

During this time, neither of them noticed the faint noise of the door being pushed slightly.

Liang Xiaoxiao, holding the snacks and drinks she had just bought, opened the door to greet the people inside, only to see a shocking scene that shattered her beliefs, her pupils shaking wildly.

"Xiaoxiao, why don’t you go in…"

Before Lin Baor could finish her sentence, the girl next to her covered her mouth. She stared blankly at the inappropriate scene in the waiting room, her pretty face turning as red as steam rising.

Huh???

Teacher Chu and Charlotte are that kind of relationship?!!