Chapter 145

She screamed—

But, *snap*!

Artemina had already used a Moonlight Arrow, radiating a chilling aura, to gag her.

"Do you think I've never thought about these things?"

The strongest Magical Girl in modern Magic City Tokyo looked at her coldly.

"Unfortunately, I already considered this last time, after I was threatened by my own teacher."

"I will do my best to protect my family and my friends."

"And I will also do my best to defeat you guys."

"But if I fail… if I really can't protect them, or even save them…"

Her gaze sank, but her tone didn't tremble at all.

"I won't cry, and I won't break down. I will absolutely not wallow in self-pity."

"Because you are the ones who are wrong—you villains are the ones who are wrong."

As she finished speaking, Artemina lowered her eyes and slowly drew her bow of light again.

"So now, Princess Black Needle."

"Tell me where the Underworld King is hiding, and how to find him."

"Otherwise, I will really start following the example of Master Leipu…"

"And see… how to make villains like you understand what 'pain' really is."

Volume 4: Evil Magic City Tokyo: 138: The Horn of War

Where is the Underworld King hiding, and how to find him?

"Looking for the BOSS? …"

This question left Princess Black Needle stunned.

"…Artemina, you don't actually think you can challenge the Big Boss just because you beat a cadre, do you?"

Even though her arm had been blown off, Princess Black Needle didn't continue screaming; instead, she revealed a nearly mocking smile.

"Magical Girl… perhaps you really do have a chance to defeat our leader."

"But our BOSS—that is completely different."

She raised her head, her eyes still filled with intense pain, yet a faint sneer tugged at the corners of her mouth.

"We are the leader's subordinates, but the BOSS is an existence on a completely different level."

"He doesn't even care about someone at my level. So what if you can beat me?"

Indeed, Magical Girl Artemina was already stronger than the cadres of Tokyo's evil forces, but the leaders of the various major evil organizations were certainly stronger than Artemina alone.

The leaders of major organizations might be defeated by top-tier Magical Girls working together.

However, Greed Demon, their BOSS…

The tone Princess Black Needle used when speaking of him sent a chill down Artemina's spine.

When she said this, she didn't show the slightest bit of hesitation.

She completely and utterly believed that Greed Demon could not be defeated. She wasn't worried about that happening in the slightest.

Perhaps these words weren't just empty talk.

But—

"I didn't ask you to say all this nonsense."

Artemina said coldly, cutting off her rambling.

The next moment, the Magical Girl had already jammed the Moonlight Arrow back into Princess Black Needle's mouth.

"Tell me where the Underworld King is hiding. How do I find him?"

She had the posture of someone ready to let the light arrow explode in her mouth if Princess Black Needle said another word of nonsense; her expression was cold, yet her killing intent was clear.

The cold sweat breaking out on her forehead made Princess Black Needle decide that it was better for her to talk less nonsense.

"How could I possibly know where the Big Boss is hiding? I've only seen him with my own eyes once."

"Once?" The Magical Girl frowned. "Once is enough. Talk."

She hadn't actually expected to capture an evil cadre and immediately get key intelligence, yet she hadn't expected to actually get a lead related to Greed Demon.

"We cadres under Dr. Doxuanban are not qualified to be summoned by the Big Boss for meetings."

Princess Black Needle could only continue speaking while sweating coldly,

"Only when we first become cadres are we taken by the Doctor to meet the Big Boss, to receive the BOSS's approval, and to express our gratitude and loyalty to him."

"When I was taken by the Doctor, and when the Doctor occasionally went over for meetings, he always used an Alchemy teleportation array he made himself, so it's impossible for me to know where that place actually is—however, I know the Doctor calls that place 'Magic City'."

"It feels like a huge city."

Magic City

Magical Girl Artemina had, of course, heard of this legend. It was said that hidden beneath Tokyo was a dark city completely cut off from the world above, an 'Otherworld' that none of the rules of the surface world could touch.

Could such a thing be true?

…Impossible, right? How could it be possible to actually build a city under Tokyo?

Artemina felt half-believing and half-doubting.

As for the Alchemy teleportation portal that Princess Black Needle mentioned, Artemina had seen that sort of thing plenty of times.

Every time the weirdos of the Rise Mora Group were repelled by heroes, they would take out glass vials filled with Alchemy solution, smash them on the ground, and in an instant, they would turn into portals, taking them away and sending them back to their respective lairs.

Most heroes and Magical Girls could only watch them escape through gritted teeth, cursing angrily: "Damn you, Rise Mora Group!"

But Artemina was different.

She already possessed a unique spell of the teleportation portal type. Over the past few months, she had worked hard to study it, finally coming up with a way to stop weirdos from teleporting away—the scene the night before last, where she killed the weirdo Jet-Black Muscle Stud by interfering with his portal, should be enough to prove her results.

…However, interfering with a portal is one thing, but wanting to enter the enemy's hinterland through it is another matter entirely.

Nine out of ten of a Magical Girl's spells are figured out by relying on their own instincts, and Artemina was no exception. With her current magic power and technique, she couldn't yet achieve that step.

Recalling her thoughts, she pressed on again.

"You are a cadre weirdo of the Rise Mora Group, you must have a way to contact your leader—tell me, how to find Dr. Doxuanban."

—As long as she caught a leader-level subordinate directly under Greed Demon, especially the evil doctor who created the portals, she should be able to head to the 'Magic City' where Greed Demon was located, right?

There wasn't much of a problem with the logic behind Artemina's thinking.

It's just that she didn't expect Princess Black Needle to suddenly shut her mouth at this moment.

"One thing is one thing…"

Even though her hands had been broken and scorched, Princess Black Needle still forced herself to sit up, her mouth crooked in a sneer that was both ironic and stubborn,

"Even if I were willing to take you to find the BOSS to die, I have no intention of acting as a hero's lackey to take you to find our leader."

"I'm not going to tell you, you idiot Magical Girl!"

This reaction from Princess Black Needle finally made Artemina slightly surprised.

—Could it be that villains also care about their companions?

Finally, the situation before her left Artemina somewhat hesitant.

Princess Black Needle lay slumped on the ground, heavily injured and with no power to fight back, yet she still stubbornly clenched her teeth, refusing to say a word.

Logically speaking, if a villain clearly knows information but refuses to reveal it—then it's time to brutally torture them.

As long as one inflicts enough cruel and precise torture, the information will eventually be squeezed out.

…But Artemina delayed taking action.

This wasn't indecision.

She had indeed killed many evildoers in battle and had shot through the hearts and heads of many monsters. Each strike was the result of a calm judgment. In the battles of the past few months, she had never been sloppy.

The shrill and clear killing intent in her battles, without a trace of hesitation, with every arrow pointing directly at vital points, was something rarely seen even among cold-blooded bandits.

Slaying evil in battle was the fire of justice.

But now, the Princess Black Needle in front of her had completely lost the ability to fight, her limbs charred, her breath unstable, looking as wretched as a dead dog.

In this situation, using torture, agony, and pain to pry her mouth open—

That was no longer battle.

Viciously torturing and cruelly tormenting a villain who had already lost the ability to resist was something she had never done.

Because that required not the fire of justice, but hatred for evil.

That kind of cold, firm, and unshakeable hatred needed to be as heavy as iron and as ruthless as poison.

Artemina was, after all, just a child. She possessed decisive anger toward evil and the burning radiance of justice, which could be called a virtue.

But hatred, she did not possess.

She had never learned it, and she didn't want to learn it.

Even so, she knew—if she gave up the interrogation now, Princess Black Needle would likely not say another word.

Although this battle was won, it was equivalent to having asked nothing at all.

And more innocent people would pay the price because of her hesitation.

Gritting her teeth and remaining silent for a moment, Artemina finally aimed the Moonlight Arrow at Princess Black Needle's wound, intending to stab it in.

She had already made up her mind.

For everyone, for the safety of more people, she would—

"That's why I often say that I don't want children doing this kind of thing."

At this moment, a hand reached out from behind her and pressed down on her arrow.

Qi Xing had arrived.

Like a shadow, he stood behind her.

Artemina was, of course, startled. Upon seeing Qi Xing, her originally tense fingers loosened slightly.

But she still tried her best to speak in a firm tone: "Master Leipu, I can do this; I have enough courage—"

"That's not what I meant."

Qi Xing shook his head,

"It is very ugly to make children go to war."

If it weren't for the fact that this world had too many children possessing combat power, and among them were many children with pure hearts who voluntarily wanted to fight for protection and justice, Qi Xing would never have allowed them to step onto the battlefield to become heroes.

Although, he himself had already been a hero when he was a minor.

"You did very well."

"Fighting is one thing, but leave the vicious torture to me."

After speaking, Qi Xing grinned and patted the Magical Girl on the back, startling her into a scream, her face turning so red that she bolted away.

That scream was mixed with a hint of shame and a nasal sound of relief.

The not-for-children things that followed were not suitable for minors to watch.

In the dilapidated bar, only Qi Xing and Princess Black Needle on the ground remained.

"The famous Master Leipu."

The Gothic Lolita weirdo raised her head and pulled out a twisted sneer,

"Others might be very afraid of you, but I'm not afraid of you."

"You won't be afraid of me,"

Qi Xing said indifferently,

"But you will be afraid of pain."