Jiang Wanfeng had already ventured deeper into the abandoned arcade alone.

The interior of the arcade shouldn’t have been this vast, yet the corridor ahead now seemed to stretch on infinitely.

Coin pushers acted as if they were broken, game coins raining down like water with a constant clatter; slot machines flashed incessantly, their winning fanfares speeding up and then rewinding, sounding exceptionally grating.

The broken arcade machines on both sides suddenly lit up, screens flickering with static noise, occasionally reflecting blurred figures whispering to one another—

“She’s here…”

“Poor thing…”

“Join us…”

Crack!

Jiang Wanfeng paused slightly and raised her ring blade, casually shattering an arcade machine and exposing the sparking circuits within.

But in the next second, even more machines lit up.

“Hehehehe.”

“She’s angry.”

“It’s no use…”

The shadowy figures conversed and giggled, mocking the girl heading toward her end alone.

A cloying fragrance spread through the air, and Jiang Wanfeng’s eyes grew increasingly hollow, her body moving forward only by instinct.

Drawn by this strange scent, more and more eyes overflowing with desire opened in the darkness.

Squelch. A magic beast dropped from the ceiling. It was a spider-like monster; its eight legs were covered in joints resembling human fingers, and its abdomen split open to reveal a pale, gaping mouth.

But before it could even let out a screech, Jiang Wanfeng had already raised her ring blades, and a streak of interwoven gold and black light sliced through the darkness.

Squelch.

The Magic Beast was sliced clean in half, and a Magic Core fell out.

Jiang Wanfeng reached out to catch it, then crushed it without a moment’s hesitation.

As the purple-black mana surged into her body, Jiang Wanfeng trembled slightly.

On her Magical Girl Attire, another small portion of the originally bright orange-gold patterns was stained black.

Soon, even more Magic Beasts appeared from nowhere. They let out piercing shrieks and flailed their twisted bodies, venting the hidden resentment in their hearts to their hearts’ content.

Like a black tide, they surrounded Jiang Wanfeng, closing in on her in layer after layer.

Jiang Wanfeng joined the ring blades in her hands together, transforming them back into a spear—

Boom!

With a horizontal sweep of her spear, a large number of Magic Beasts were sliced in two. They turned into tiny Magic Cores that fell to the ground before transforming into streaks of purple-black light that surged into Jiang Wanfeng’s body.

If Lulu were here, it would have surely noticed that these Magic Beasts were abnormally weak, as if someone were deliberately gifting their Magic Cores to Jiang Wanfeng.

Indeed, the aura emanating from Jiang Wanfeng soared with the massive influx of mana, approaching the Full Bloom Tier at an unnaturally rapid pace!

But this was destined to be a poisoned gift…

Countless Magic Beasts approached only to be slaughtered. Screams, flesh and blood, surging mana… a scene of purgatory played out within this abandoned arcade.

What… am I doing?

A sticky sensation clung to her hands, and every breath she took was heavy with the thick smell of rust.

Yet all these physical sensations felt incredibly distant to Jiang Wanfeng.

Her consciousness was light and airy, as if she were plummeting into a sea of cotton, sinking deeper and deeper…

Only a single voice remained strikingly clear in this world where everything else had blurred. That soul-stirring voice seemed to bypass her eardrums, manifesting directly within Jiang Wanfeng’s mind—

“Do you know what eternity is?”

Eternity…

Jiang Wanfeng’s lips quivered.

Repeating the word filled her with dread. It was just like the meaningless wailing she had done as a child in the face of death and darkness; that same association and darkness now welled up from the depths of her heart.

Because…

“Nothing is eternal, is it?”

The words sliced into Jiang Wanfeng’s thoughts with the precision of a scalpel.

Nothing remains unchanged, and no promise is immune to fading. Everything in this world shifts constantly, like the patterns of a kaleidoscope.

Even the closest of siblings drift apart after they grow up; even lovers who swore eternal vows find their feelings fading amidst the mundanity of daily life.

Even the promise her brother made to her would be broken.

Even her relationship with her brother would eventually shatter…

A massive fear filled Jiang Wanfeng’s heart like overflowing sludge.

And that voice continued to whisper—

“That’s right, nothing in this world is eternal. The moment any pact or promise is spoken, people are already thinking of how to break it; even the sun, as boundless as it seems, will meet its end in the distant future.”

Then… what should I do…

“Therefore, what you feel at this moment, what you experience at this moment, that is the whole of the world, the truth behind all things.”

“Emotions and vows are nothing but a void destined to change. Only the ‘strength’ itself that allows you to seize the ‘now’ is worth pursuing.”

Is… that so…

So… I have to be strong enough…

Magic beasts crawled out from the walls, plummeted from the ceiling, and surged from the darkness behind the arcade machines.

Jiang Wanfeng brandished her spear, and then even more magic beasts appeared.

Tap, tap, tap.

Someone was lightly clapping to the rhythm of Jiang Wanfeng swinging her spear; with every clap, a swarm of magic beasts dissolved into a tide of mana, absorbed by the girl who had nearly lost consciousness.

What… am I doing?

This question surfaced in her sluggish mind for the second time. Accompanying the massive influx of mana was a bone-chilling cold and a needle-like stinging pain.

Jiang Wanfeng’s movements grew faster and more proficient.

Beams of mana erupted repeatedly within the abandoned arcade, illuminating her increasingly pale face.

She neither defended nor dodged, slaying the endless stream of magic beasts with near-frenzied efficiency.

With every magic core she absorbed, the depth within her mana grew a shade darker. Her originally orange-gold attire began to fade, the hem of her skirt curling as if scorched by fire before turning pitch black.

The ribbons on her body lost their soft curves, becoming incredibly sharp. The hair on her forehead was swept up by the wind stirred by her mana, and several strands began to turn a dull grey.

“This can’t go on…”

Perhaps it was a warning from her body as it neared its limit, or the final struggle of her consciousness, but an alarm rang out in Jiang Wanfeng’s mind.

But it was already too late.

The frenzied “ritual” had reached a point where it wasn’t something the participant could stop just because they wanted to.

Even though she knew she shouldn’t, Jiang Wanfeng’s body remained immersed in that power within her reach.

Amidst the haze, in the intervals between slaying magic beasts, Jiang Wanfeng raised her head and finally saw the existence that had been whispering softly and keeping time for her.

A woman in a pitch-black dress sat atop an arcade machine, her face covered by a veil as dark as the night.

“Oh, I’ve been spotted.”

The woman hopped down from the machine, brushed off non-existent dust from her skirt, and then revealed a delighted smile.

“But it’s almost there, isn’t it? Just a little more, a little more…”

“Jiang Wanfeng!”

The woman’s voice was interrupted by a loud shout.

Supported by Wen Yumian, Su Lingyin burst into the chaotic battlefield. Forcing back the tremble in her voice, she screamed at the girl in the midst of the tide of magic beasts:

“Wake up! Don’t give up!”

“Hehehe, it seems there’s still a little child here who doesn’t understand the situation.”

The woman did not stop Su Lingyin; rather, she was watching everything with great interest.

Then, as if to validate her words, a sudden crackling sound of growth rang out.

Jiang Wanfeng collapsed to her knees. The marigold emblem on her chest let out an overburdened wail as the once-clear gemstone embedded within it was stained black bit by bit, finally becoming as dark as ink.

“It’s blooming.”

Crack.

The gemstone shattered, and a pitch-black, eerie flower bloomed regally.

This promotion process, which originally belonged to a Full Bloom Tier Magical Girl, had been polluted by a massive surge of black mana.

The shadow behind Jiang Wanfeng gradually ceased to look human. It twisted, elongated, and expanded, slowly unfurling into the shape of wings.

At the same time, the orange-gold mana she emitted was completely swallowed by the darkness.

Her attire changed rapidly: the hem of her skirt lengthened, transforming into a tattered black battle skirt. A pair of broken wings unfolded from her back; one side still retained a faint light, while the other had turned completely pitch-black.

A broken halo appeared above her head, with crimson blood constantly dripping from the gaps in the halo.

This was…

Witchification.

Su Lingyin watched this scene, her voice nearly breaking.

“Don’t…”

“Xiao Feng, please don’t…”

But everything was already beyond stopping.

Jiang Wanfeng slowly lifted her head.

No… that was no longer entirely Jiang Wanfeng; that was a newborn Witch.

The rite of Witchification was nearing completion.

The name of this Witch naturally surfaced in the hearts of everyone present, as if the world itself were naming the newborn Calamity.

—The “Fallen Valkyrie” was born.

A tragic Witch who once yearned to protect her only treasure, yet the thing she guarded was no longer there. Thus, she brandished her spear, treating all who approached as enemies who would snatch away her happiness.

But she had no happiness left to speak of, so she simply, foolishly, attempted to kill every existing thing.

Rumble.

The entire Abandoned Arcade began to shake; pebbles danced across the ground, and the walls and ceiling distorted like a melting oil painting.

Countless black feathers drifted down from the void.

Su Lingyin struggled to lift her head, seeing the surrounding space being overwritten by another set of rules.

—A Domain had expanded.

Unlike the Domains expanded by ordinary Full Bloom Tier Magical Girls, a Witch’s Domain was far more massive, as if it were venting the entirety of the despair within her heart.

Centered on the abandoned arcade, reality began to erode.

One by one, the lights of the old commercial street flickered out, transforming into torches that burned with multicolored flames. Along both sides of the street, the shop signs peeled away to reveal yellowed walls that looked like old photographs. Countless little paper figures leaned out from the windows, staring at the Witch.

The marble tiles and asphalt road transformed into a path paved with blades. As the Witch walked upon them, the soles of her feet were sliced open, spilling a deluge of blood. Dragging her tattered wings, she wept tears of blood that spilled from her hollow black sockets, trickling down her pale cheeks and onto the ground.

“Brother…” she whispered. “Brother…”

Her only answer was the laughter of the abstract paper figures lining the road. They had no facial features, only wide, cracked black maws curled into smiles. They stood along the path, clapping their hands and swaying their bodies.

“Abandoned.”

“All alone now.”

“Unwanted child.”

“Hahahaha…”

The Witch did not stop. She simply continued to whisper the name of her most precious treasure, slowly passing the paper figures.

A moment later, a sharp whistle pierced the air. A pitch-black spear plummeted from the sky.

Thwack!

One of the paper figures was impaled and pinned to the ground.

Then came the second, the third, and the fourth.

Long spears fell like a torrential rain, piercing the little figures mocking her one by one and pinning them to both sides of the path of blades.

Yet they did not stop laughing. Even as their bodies were impaled, even as their paper-like limbs were torn asunder, they continued to grin with their black mouths.

“Abandoned.”

“All alone now.”

“Never coming back.”

As they laughed, they tore themselves free from the spears. Their pierced bodies were stitched back together by black Mana, becoming even more twisted and deformed, only to be cut down once more.

Following this, repeating the cycle of life and death, they trailed behind the Witch like a joyful funeral procession.

They clapped their hands and sang unintelligible nursery rhymes, lunging at even more figures along the road.

And so, the mockers killed the mockers, and the abandoned created even more abandoned shadows.

Laughter, weeping, singing, and the sound of tearing blended together, composing a maddening symphony within this Barrier.

Outside the Domain, the area surrounding the Old Commercial Street also began to be affected.
Although far from residential districts and sparse with foot traffic at night, a few stray passersby still stopped in their tracks, staring vacantly toward the Abandoned Arcade.

A middle-aged man suddenly pulled out his phone and dialed a number that had long been disconnected; then, overcome with sobs, he fell to his knees and began to kowtow repeatedly.

On the other side, a frustrated drunkard suddenly went mad. He began shouting at the top of his lungs, picking up stones and hurling them at the glass windows of a long-shuttered shop.

Sorrow and madness were spreading like a plague…

If this Domain were allowed to continue expanding, it wouldn’t be long before the entire Old Commercial Street was dragged into the Witch’s Barrier.

By then, it wouldn’t just be a few passersby who were affected.

Su Lingyin and Wen Yumian stared at the path paved with blades and the Witch walking further and further along its center, their eyes filled with pain.

“Xiao Feng…”

Su Lingyin gritted her teeth.

“No, we can’t let her go any further.”

Wen Yumian looked up. There was still blood at the corner of her mouth, and her eyes were rimmed with red.

“But we’re currently…”

“Even if there’s no way, we have to try.”

Su Lingyin took a deep breath and raised the Rose Scepter. Its rose petals began to wither and fall.

Wen Yumian was silent for a moment, then she nodded gently.

She flipped open her Grimoire. The pages rustled as a pale green light flowed from them, but the book also began to burn, growing thinner and thinner as the pages turned ragged.

—The two had already drained their mana; from now on, they would have to start burning the power they had accumulated until now.

Wen Yumian’s gaze became exceptionally resolute.

“After we wake Xiao Feng up, let’s take a good rest for a few days.”

“Don’t raise a flag; that sounds so unlucky,” Su Lingyin said with a bitter smile. Then, the two of them soared into the air.

Slender vines emerged from the void, coiling toward the Witch.

At the same time, Wen Yumian deployed a barrier, layering pale green light over the vines to make those rose vines even tougher.

They didn’t choose to attack; they only wanted to restrain Jiang Wanfeng.

“Wanfeng!” Su Lingyin shouted. “Wake up!”

The rose vines wrapped around the Witch’s wrists and then her ankles.

The grimoire in Wen Yumian’s hand had burned down until it was paper-thin, and the barrier transformed into invisible shackles, pressing down layer by layer.

Hindered by these forces, the Witch actually came to a halt.

She looked down at the vines entwining her; every time she attempted to move, she was pulled back to the same spot.

The expansion of the barrier stopped.

It’s working!

Su Lingyin was overjoyed. She took a deep breath and summoned even more vines.

But blood-red tears slid down the Witch’s face, dripping onto the vines.

In the next second, the vines withered instantly.

Then, the Witch slowly raised her hand, and several pitch-black spears coalesced in the air.

Within the Domain of the Fallen Valkyrie, anyone who approached her would be cut down.

The long spears were already pointed at Su Lingyin and Wen Yumian.

Su Lingyin’s pupils shrank.

Golden-black marks appeared on both her and Wen Yumian simultaneously.

This was the Spear of Destiny, the Spear of Vengeance; once locked on, there was no escaping it.

“Crap—”

Su Lingyin only had time to utter a single word.

Boom!

The spear shot forth.

Wen Yumian’s grimoire burned away completely, unfurling a barrier before the two of them.

Su Lingyin forcibly channeled her scepter, causing rose vines to grow wildly in an attempt to entangle the spear and alter its trajectory.

However, the moment they touched the spear, the vines withered instantly, unable to stall it for even a second.

The barrier was also quickly shattered by the spear.

Yet, just as the spear was about to pierce the two of them, the Witch’s hollow eyes suddenly flickered, and her body stiffened for a fraction of a second.

Consequently, the spear grazed past their bodies, blasting a massive crater into the ground behind them.

The shockwave sent Su Lingyin and Wen Yumian flying simultaneously. The two girls slammed heavily onto the ground, unable to stand up again.

“It’s no use… it can’t be stopped anymore…”

That was Su Lingyin’s final thought before her consciousness plunged into darkness.

The Witch stepped over the two fallen girls and continued along the path of blades as the Domain began to expand once more.

At the end of the road, the woman in the pitch-black gown stood waiting.

The veil on her face fluttered in the wind, a satisfied smile playing on her lips.

In a flash, the woman appeared before the Witch. Looking at the Witch, who was weeping tears of blood, she reached her fingertips toward the eerie, pitch-black flower on the Witch’s chest.

“Come.”

“Give your despair, your strength, and your last remaining wishes to me.”

Just as her hand was about to touch the Witch’s chest—

The woman’s hand froze in mid-air.

She looked up.

A crisp cracking sound echoed from the sky covered by the Domain.

Crack.

Snap.

It seemed as if something was forcibly tearing open this world composed of despair from the outside.

The next second, pure white threads pierced through the rift.

First was one, then ten, then thousands…

Countless threads, like rays of light piercing the night before dawn, tore open a corner of the Witch’s Domain with the purest form of violence. The Witch’s Domain let out a strained shriek as the path paved with blades was carved apart by the white lines. The laughing minions looked up in terror; before they could even flee, the threads swept through them, turning them into a flurry of paper scraps.

Through the torn rift, a black-haired girl in a simple dress stepped slowly into the Domain. She looked like a high school girl who had wandered in by mistake, completely out of place in this absurd and desperate world. But as the woman looked at her, the smile on her lips gradually faded.

Phil ripped off the black wig and tossed it aside. Her long silver hair billowed in the wind kicked up by the dancing threads, and her scarlet eyes glinted with a coldness like solid ice.

“You had better take your hand…”

Phil took a step forward as white threads spread out from beneath her feet, weaving a white Domain.

“…off of her.”