Chapter 272

Chapter 272: Caladbolg, a Trial for the Young

High above.

The Pure White Witch stood beneath the mercury tree, her eyes gazing at the Spiral Sword filled with the magical power of the river, brimming with abundant authority, feeling a twinge of regret.

This spell was inspired by a mythical weapon from her memories.

—Caladbolg/Caladbolg.

In Celtic mythology, it is the Spiral Demon Sword that holds the power of thunder.

As for the first playthrough, she vaguely remembered that it was a treasure obtained from some Slit World or from an apostle, which ultimately ended up as dog food for Levatin. Its specific power was to control hurricanes and thunder, as well as to devour energy, releasing rainbow-like waves of light.

Chu Yuanqing never underestimated Xie Qing Yu.

Don’t be fooled by how silly this child seems; she is quite remarkable, you know?

If her lantern had not been repaired by Charlotte by 9%, her magical power would not have increased by several times. Without using spells like "Echoes of the Past," "Annihilated Massacre," or "Pure White Ode," which would reveal her identity, it would be impossible to fight back.

This is purely a difference in equipment; the gap in their magical powers is too large, saying it is hundreds of times apart is not an exaggeration.

So, she thought about showing a flaw, hoping to draw fire and then use the characteristics of the [Silver Mirror] spell to convert all the magical power released by the opponent into the authority of the Spiral Sword, to save some magical power.

But in the end…

This child let out too much power. How could she have released so little magic? If it weren’t for the high quality, it could barely translate to about ten units of magic power at the "Pool" level.

Just as someone thought their act was in vain,

The little butterfly was fluttering its wings, looking at Honey Qing’s cool Spiral Demon Sword, and said in surprise:

"Wow, Little Yu, she actually drained all your magic! That’s amazing!"

"If I couldn’t smell the scent of my kind, I might mistakenly think she had also ‘Bloomed.’"

Magical girls and humans are completely different species.

The changes that solidified this conclusion occurred during the ‘Blooming’ phase.

Regardless of the amount of magic power or the level of ability, completing ‘Blooming’ brings about a transformation.

During this transformation, magical girls who could still be considered human will officially become ethereal beings. They can bless each other with their own flower language when entering ‘Blooming Flowers,’ immune to lethal injuries that could kill a human countless times, and they will gain a wondrous Passive Field.

In short, it means the basic function of Magic Armor is permanently established.

Xie Qing Yu doesn’t use Magic Armor or magic; she can fly freely in her normal state, and in times of crisis, she has a passive defense barrier. The speed, power, efficiency of her spells, and the efficiency of the Flower of the Soul’s outward radiation have all greatly improved.

The Counter-Magic Bureau believes it is like a permanent wave of energy mixed with a special life magnetic field, along with the blessings of flower language and their respective soul wavelengths, creating a complex coupling phenomenon.

And because of this, no one can permanently hide this force field.

So for the magical girls of "Full Bloom," they can only temporarily hide their identities from each other; it is impossible to keep it secret for a long time.

Chu Yuanqing would not be an exception.

So, at most, she is "Fully Blooming"!

But still, it feels unbelievable. How long has Chu Yuanqing participated in "Dazzling Stage"? How many times has she been on stage? And yet, she has already gone "Fully Blooming"?

And…

Not to mention the Spiral Sword, which draws from her own magic, this towering mercury tree that stands a hundred meters high is made entirely from her magic. Can a normal "Fully Blooming" magical girl have this much magical power?

Xie Qing Yu began to understand why Charlotte would say that.

Chu Yuanqing is just like her, an extraordinary talent who does not follow common sense. Being in the same competition area and even as a teammate, Little Xuan feels a hundred times safer than the other contestants.

Xie Qing Yu silently put away her umbrella. Chu Yuanqing’s Spiral Sword, just by its stance, was enough to sweep away everything in full bloom. It perfectly matched her expectations. She undoubtedly had already "lost," and continuing would only be a pointless struggle. So why bother?

As for keeping her promise, what she really cared about was her sister’s safety.

Since there were no worries in this area, and Little Xuan hated herself, she would just keep her promise.

"I promise, I will never…"

And just when someone was about to boldly make a declaration,

The little butterfly skillfully gave her a slap, quickly shutting her mouth and trying hard to act like the big villain, starting to speak:

"Little Yu said this is just the beginning! Chu Yuanqing, you…"

Violet was halfway through her sentence when she awkwardly interrupted the atmosphere, saying:

"No, that sounds so unfamiliar. Can I call you Honey Qing?"

The Pure White Witch nodded blankly and saw the little butterfly across from her happily continue speaking.

"Yay, Honey Qing! Hurry and give Little Yu a good beating! Little Yu is very stubborn; if you don’t defeat her and send her to the Blooming Flowers, she won’t admit you’re strong, even if you hurt her!"

Chu Yuanqing sharpely noticed Xie Qing Yu’s thoughts. She understood that now she could lift all spells, end the fight without any trouble, ignore the squabble between the sisters, grab the Disaster Debris materials, and leave.

But…

"Violet, are all the magical girls like this troublesome?"

The Pure White Witch lifted her golden eyes. The Spiral Sword in her hand expanded infinitely with the flow of magic, a wild hurricane swirling with thunder, shredding the air around, creating a terrifying area of intense heat, and a dragon-like wave of light formed in an instant.

Suddenly, the sky was drowned in colorful neon lights, and the wave of light, mixed with hurricane and thunder, seemed to have passed through the mythical rainbow bridge, instantly appearing above Xie Qing Yu’s head, carrying the power to melt steel and break mountains, striking down!

The little butterfly was nearly scared to tears. It shimmered into a streak of light and hurriedly hid in its family master’s lantern, but still got struck on the wings by the lightning, feeling very wronged.

Xie Qing Yu didn’t even have time to perform complex spells before being swallowed by this beautiful, rainbow-like outer shell filled with thunder and hurricanes. She was caught in an energy far stronger than the Shadow Cutting sword’s force, and cracks appeared in the passive force field. Instinctively, she began to channel magic to repair it.

From the outside,

In the scorching rainbow light that fell like an angry dragon, the core transformed into a continuously burning purple meteor.

This meteor was bombarded by the Spiral Demon Sword and struck the beautiful Salzburg, where thunder and hurricanes swirled around it, as if divine punishment had come from the sky, shattering Monk Mountain, the castle, the museum, the mountain elevator, and the cable car below.

The meteor, shaped by Xie Qing Yu, was propelled by terrifying energy as it smashed through seven or eight kilometers of various buildings built into the mountains, racing down to the old town and leveling three churches and a graveyard, before the purple light, symbolizing magical defense, gradually grew stronger.

The girl finally broke free from the sound barrier and returned to subsonic speed, giving her the chance to summon a sea of violet flowers made of magic to help absorb the impact, allowing her to control the backward arc and ignite the Flames of the Underworld with her parasol, dispelling the remaining power of the Spiral Demon Sword.

To an outside viewer, this scene showed a wave of light plowing through the old town, with the roads covered in violet petals, burying the wreckage just caused, while the Flames of the Underworld intertwined with the lingering hurricane and thunder, like a fireworks display.

If one ignores the economic damage caused, this scene was truly breathtaking.

Inside the actual castle,

Chu Wang Shu was greatly shocked. She understood why Honey Qing said they needed a bigger place, and Sister Charlotte immediately created a copy of Salzburg in another space.

If it were a space as big as a castle, it would probably have been pierced by Spiral Sword by now.

And the scariest part is that the battle seems to have just begun.

In other words, if Little Qing fought Xie Qing Yu in real life without holding back, she could almost destroy Salzburg in no time, and the hundreds of thousands of people inside wouldn’t have any time to seek shelter.

"Magical girl, so scary."

The lovely daughter was witnessing extraordinary power for the first time, and she instinctively expressed a feeling like the timid cat, realizing even more deeply that her dad is a hero.

Without "Pure White," if Disaster were allowed to come freely, the magical girl couldn’t possibly pull the enemy into another space every time, and once the battle began in reality, it would only lead to tragedy, no matter the outcome.

So, maybe her dad is greater than she imagined.

Xie Qingxuan’s eyes sparkled as she tugged at Charlotte’s sleeve and said seriously:

"I’ll give you two photos of Little Qing; please record it for me."

Miss Saintess happily agreed to this guaranteed deal.

Kirimi Miyuki looked at the scene in the picture and finally understood why Honey Qing could fill herself up in just one second every time. She was even shocked that she had been able to drain the other person’s magic last night and began to feel a bit guilty.

The shy cat was relieved that Honey Qing had a good temper and was not proud. Otherwise, when she tricked the other into giving their first kiss, she would probably have been turned to ashes by Spiral Sword and lost the entire Zhelong Town too.

At the same time, in the Mortal Realm Barrier.

A purple shooting star tore through the old town and hit the small Buck Bridge connecting to the new town, shattering the bridge filled with love locks and sending a large amount of broken buildings crashing into the sparkling salt river, creating waves that splashed hundreds of tons.

In the next moment, the Flames of the Underworld separated the salt river like Moses parting the sea, opening a vacant area.

Xie Qing Yu, holding a sunshade, stepped out. Her Magic Armor was as good as new and didn’t get wet from the river, as if she had never been harmed. Only the little butterfly trembling in the lantern knew that if she hadn’t shed most of the kinetic energy by flying several kilometers away, this Magic Armor would have been on the verge of breaking.

Even so, her insides were severely shaken, and she was just one step away from suffering from "Blooming Flowers."

Xie Qing Yu swallowed the sweet, red blood. She raised her gaze to the sky, her magic flowing within her body. Her pale face regained color, her injuries were completely healed, and her entire being was perfectly fine.

This is the arrival of the full-bloom witch.

Even if the Blooming Flowers are not actively triggered, the magic can passively heal injuries and even provide some resistance to previous attacks.

Chu Yuanqing’s Spiral Sword has breached defenses, but not completely; the next hit won’t hurt her, and in terms of results, there is no special significance.

But the problem is…

If she hadn’t held back just now, allowing Chu Yuanqing’s Spiral Sword to absorb more magic, the situation would be completely different now.

Xie Qing Yu knows this very well; she even starts to doubt that the Spiral Demon Sword in Chu Yuanqing’s hand can be fully classified as a Taboo Technique for single targets. Once the opponent blooms, this thing might be able to pierce through several layers of the mirror world in one go, completely defeating the nightmare with such a tricky move.

Moreover, considering that the Countermeasures Bureau’s library is fully open to captain-level personnel, it’s strange that she has never heard of this technique. It is very likely a part of the opponent’s Patronus Magic system or even a completely self-created spell.

In fact, she guessed very correctly.

The magic that Chu Yuanqing created perfectly fits the authority of Pure White Ode within the Patronus Magic.

The Pure White Ode can bring back the powers that were once controlled or even seen in the past.

So, whether it’s a blessing like the Silver Mirror, once possessed, or the Caladbolg, a mythical weapon used before, they fit well with the system of Patronus Magic, making it not very difficult to weave them together.

Of course, ‘not very difficult’ is relative to her own level.

On the other hand, the unique power of the Calamity God and the fully enhanced Levatin, which naturally holds the threads of fate and the whole concept of myth, cannot be recreated by magic either.

At least not for now.

Chu Yuanqing looked at the witch who rose from the salt river and soared into the sky, whispering thoughtfully,

"Has the injury fully healed? Although that little magic-powered imitation only restored one-thousandth of the Spiral Demon Sword’s power, the captain-level witch is indeed stronger than I imagined."

Xie Qing Yu clearly wasn’t serious and had no fighting spirit, nearly defenseless.

Being hit down from the sky by the Spiral Demon Sword, plowing through over ten kilometers at supersonic speed, can barely be considered breaking her defense, which shows that when she fought the disaster beast, being caught off guard by a few attacks greater than this power didn’t matter much.

In other words, it allows for mistakes.

This is much better than the first playthrough where there was only blessings and no system for the warriors.

In such an apocalypse, a tiny difference in information or a small accident can lead to the death of a powerful ally blessed with strong abilities, while the special traits of the witch can prevent most mistakes and withstand pressure.

If we think of the world as a game, New Game Plus is certainly the updated version, introducing a more organized "class."

But…

"It’s too relaxed."

Chu Yuanqing whispered with her head down.

Even though she had faced disaster beasts and fought many life-or-death battles, she still lived in a peaceful time. Even as a captain-level magical girl, her fighting awareness was only at this level, so it’s easy to imagine how inexperienced the other witches must be.

Although from her perspective, these magical girls are simply immature children, they seem more like idols who have learned magic than true warriors.

But the problem is that as a witch with extraordinary powers, stepping onto the battlefield is destined to happen. Treating them as children, or simply as idols, is undoubtedly irresponsible for their lives.

So…

— A trial is needed.

Chu Yuanqing gently touched the lantern on her chest, its 9% part glowing with pure white light. She breathed in magic from around the world, and in her hand, the dim Spiral Demon Sword slashed through the roaring hurricane, releasing lightning as it fell toward the rushing witch.

Xie Qing Yu is not foolish; after recognizing the threat, it makes no sense to take damage. Her parasol opened, and Flames of the Underworld shot out like a beam of light, colliding head-on with the Spiral Demon Sword’s lightning.

A thunderous explosion echoed.

The girl’s pupils shrank as she noticed the flames did not burn away the lightning. Her expression grew serious. Flames of the Underworld spread through magic, reshaping and burning in mid-air, purple butterflies blossomed, turning into a tide that devoured the lightning and surged back up.

"Little Yu, stop saving your magic. The opponent’s magic control is stronger than yours, and their power is beyond what you expected. They can even hide their presence. Your perception is completely wrong; just charge straight through!"

The little butterfly flew around in the lantern, helping to build the magic spell while cheerfully cheering, but inside it felt more and more scared.

Although they only exchanged a few blows, Chu Yuanqing’s control over magic was so precise and skilled that Little Yu’s Flames of the Underworld, which he had calculated carefully to counter the heavenly lightning, ended up being turned against him.

In other words, on a technical level, they had already lost.

This feeling was less like fighting a beginner who had just become a witch and more like facing Teacher Dream Weaver in a training simulation; there was no chance of winning with equal magic power.

Xie Qing Yu didn’t outright admit defeat; as long as there was some spirit left, it made no sense to choose to avoid battle in this situation. She didn’t really believe her opponent had such full power—that was just too absurd.

So, as long as they didn’t hold back anymore, winning would not be difficult.

Xie Qing Yu was surrounded by dark purple butterflies, her presence completely hidden. The wind around her blended perfectly, and she let her flying speed go free. Even moving at Mach speed, she left no trace or sound behind.

"Yes, just like that! Let’s strike hard and blow up Honey Qing’s mercury tree. As long as that is there, competing in magic power will only put us at a disadvantage. Smash it, then use magic to break through Honey Qing’s Magic Armor!"

The little butterflies acted like an outside brain, carefully arranging their strategy. They carefully concealed the waves around Little Yu, using multiple spells to make the wind, sound, magical aura, and mental waves all disappear.

Xie Qing Yu’s Patronus Magic was related to butterflies; it was more focused on support and assassination. Among the team leaders, she was one of those whose direct attack methods were rather lacking. The Unrestricted Technique: Butterfly Burial she used to destroy the mirrored world could be used, but in an awkward way.

Hmm, her teammates can make up for this flaw.

But who can blame them for being short-handed? Last time, they could only send one person on the mission.

But now is different from being toyed with by nightmares, only able to outsmart the air.

Chu Yuanqing is right in front of her; there’s no reason she can’t win!

So, why attack the Mercury Tree first?

The girl’s thoughts flowed, and a withered butterfly twirled around her fingertips, transforming into delicate patterns, solidifying into a knife-like shape with a dreamy texture, coated with poison, confusion, intoxication, decay, slowness, and slicing the wind… a total of 19 kinds of debuffs.

The most important part is, there’s no need to pierce the Magic Armor or dig into flesh; just touching the opponent’s magic will allow her to flow in and take effect in an instant, ending the battle.

And just with one breath,

The Pure White Witch was already very close.

But before she could truly get close, the other person seemed to gaze down like a prophet. The golden color in her eyes held power and seriousness, yet it was swallowed by a heat so intense it consumed the sunlight, comparable to the Spiral Demon Sword from a myth, which breathed like a dragon!