Chapter 149

The spear moved like a dragon, piercing through in a single strike before sweeping across, blasting two mud monsters into black sludge.

In just a few seconds, they had carved a web of interwoven light across the street.

The black gel monsters collapsed and wailed, twisting as they tried to flee, but this group of Valkyries in skirt armor never intended to spare their lives.

"I've been wondering about this for a while."

Sitting in the car, watching the two Magical Girls crush that pile of monsters that looked like kitchen waste from hell, Qi Xing finally asked,

"Why are the Magical Girls of the Lionheart Society so strong? What did they sign a contract with?"

It couldn't possibly be nine Magical Girls who all signed contracts with Giant Spirits, right? Where would they even find that many Giant Spirits…

"They won't tell me exactly how that works either."

Rin frowned,

"But at least I know part of the reason now—have you noticed the sword in Siegrune's hand and the cape on Ortlinde?"

"Those are Holy Relics."

…What?

"The nine Magical Girls (Valkyries) of the Lionheart Society all fuse spiritually with Holy Relics to obtain first-class combat power."

Holy Relics.

The literal meaning of this term is, of course, objects left behind by saints of Christianity during their lifetimes, such as holy nails or the Holy Grail—sacred items like those.

The Spear of Longinus, which has been in Qi Xing's possession lately and which the Holy See doesn't dare to come and reclaim, is one of the highest-ranking Holy Relics of Christianity.

"The sword in Siegrune's hand is the 'Sword of Saint Catherine'; the one draped over Ortlinde is the 'Cloak of Saint Martin'."

Rin explained calmly,

"The Lionheart Society possesses a large number of Christian Holy Relics. Each generation of Magical Girls selects a Holy Relic that resonates with their soul to fuse with."

Although her tone was very calm and collected, Qi Xing could tell that even Rin was a bit speechless about this—why? Why would the Lionheart Society have so many Holy Relics?

How could a pile of Christian sacred objects be hoarded by such a bizarre Japanese gang like the Lionheart Society?

Anyway, Magical Girl Brunhilde told her in all seriousness that it was because the Young Master specifically ordered them to smuggle and acquire these items.

Over the past few decades, Holy Relics scattered around the world—though nowhere near the quantity held by the Holy See—have been constantly changing hands on the black market, eventually flowing into Japan in large numbers, where the Lionheart Society secretly acquired and collected them under the guise of collecting art.

They don't sell drugs or engage in prostitution; the Lionheart Society just has a passion for smuggling tobacco, alcohol, jewelry, and these strange sacred objects.

—And right now, it wasn't just the Magical Girls beating up these mud monsters; even the male knights in black suits were displaying astonishing combat prowess.

They immediately drew their heavy knightly longswords, wielding them with wind-like agility.

No magic, no supernatural abilities, only strength honed to the extreme—they used nothing but superhuman speed and reflexes to coordinate with the two Magical Girls in front.

A knight swung his longsword steadily, the heavy slash precisely hitting the monster's limb and pinning it in place.

The next second, the spear in the hand of the Magical Girl Ortlinde pierced through the monster's core, cleanly ending its life.

The movements were extremely precise. They were like modern knights who had walked out of some cold laboratory, as precise as high-speed machinery.

This was clearly not a capability that normal humans could possess.

"What about these knights? They can't all be fused with Holy Relics, right? I heard the Lionheart Society has three hundred knights."

Qi Xing had known before that these knights of the Lionheart Society had at least ten times the physical fitness of a human, certainly not inferior to the warrior monks of the Truth Mantras—but Qi Xing could also tell that they clearly weren't practicing proper cultivation. He had been wondering for years how these knights were created.

"That."

Rin gave a dead-fish look, her tone slightly helpless,

"They are the modified knights of the Lionheart Society."

This made Qi Xing frown: "…Modified knights?"

"I heard they use runes to carve scriptures onto their skin and bones, with a total of eight modification ritual surgeries, and they have to drink blood from the Holy Grail or something—I don't really understand most of the technical details."

"…Rin, I know this might sound a bit rude, but at this point, I really have to ask." Qi Xing was finally speechless, "—What exactly is the deal with your dad?"

By now, anyone could see it.

This Lionheart Society was likely a monster created single-handedly by Jingo Shinji's father.

Their fundamental operations, from the Magical Girls to these strange modified knights, and perhaps even the techniques for Holy Relic fusion and knight modification, were all cooked up by Jingo Shinji's father.

Whether it's Jingo Shinji or H.D. Leonhart, these names likely don't represent his true identity.

However, in this vast, absurd world, it's not strange for a few hidden powerhouses to exist. Qi Xing originally thought there was no need to obsess over his true identity… it's just that for Rin, as his daughter, it was probably hard not to.

"They won't tell me too clearly either."

Rin sighed slightly, her gaze looking out the car window,

"I asked those Valkyries what my dad's real name is, and they said they took an oath when they became Magical Girls and cannot answer questions related to that."

"They said the names of the Young Master and the Big Boss cannot be spoken."

"They only told me that Dad established the Lionheart Society in Tokyo over twenty years ago, and he was also an old acquaintance of the head of the Onmyoryo."

"For nearly ten years, he was also in Tokyo, just like we are now—hunting down evil forces."

Rin paused, frowning,

"…Although his methods might have been a bit strange."

But it was precisely during that period that the Tokyo underground world did indeed experience a violent purge.

1995, known as Japan's year without gods.

January, the Great Hanshin Earthquake; March, the sarin gas attack; May, the Aum cult incident; July, the Hachioji supermarket massacre.

…However, from 1995 until around 2007, apart from the Asian financial crisis, no major social incidents occurred in Japan.

Even this current 'Underworld King' and 'Greed Demon'—when did he come to Tokyo? That was ten years ago.

He must have known that Tokyo once had such an old senior who was capable of suppressing the era, which is why he specifically went all the way to Aomori to deliver a gift to Rin; it's hard to tell if it was a provocation or genuine etiquette.

"I also heard from Magical Girl Brunhilde that during that time, there was a very refined and elegant monk by Dad's side who acted as his partner."

"But later, for some reason, that monk seemed to have broken ties with Dad."

"After that, Dad met my mom, retired to Aomori, got married, joined her family, and opened an inn. There's nothing much else to say about that."

"So, there are some things I'll definitely have to go home and ask my dad about clearly once things here in Tokyo are resolved."

Speaking of this, Rin huffed fiercely.

"But Qi Xing, no matter what the past was like, the battle against evil is indeed in this form."

"It must be done continuously, spending a lot of time and effort. Otherwise, nothing will change."

"If what you want to change is the entire world, you must be even less anxious and even less impatient."

"Besides,"

She looked out the window once again.

Magical Girls Siegrune and Ortlinde were still entangled with the gelatinous monsters at this moment. Silver light and sparks flew. The modified knights were silent, yet they pressed on step by step, like a battle formation cast from cold iron.

"You are not fighting alone."

Qi Xing truly understood the meaning behind Rin's words.

He knew very well why Rin had specifically pulled him into the car to have this chat, and Qi Xing did not think her point of view was foolish.

Even on the path to changing the world, good people following you will bleed, and you cannot be impatient. Because being impatient is useless.

Only persistence, only determination, only the confidence of certain victory—in fact, isn't that the case with everything in the world?

So, after thinking it over, Qi Xing could only sigh in the end: "I know."

"Good that you know."

Rin nodded.

After a moment of silence, she spoke again:

"I've been thinking these past few days why Fujiwara Eiga—the Greed Demon—would know that my dad was living in seclusion in Aomori."

"Why Dad, after reading his letter, would ask me to go cut off his head."

"In between all this… there likely lies a lot of relationships we don't know about."

"But regardless,"

She slowly closed her eyes, as if returning to deep thought,

"Anxiety will only lead one into demonic obstacles."

————————————————

Anxiety will only lead one into demonic obstacles.

Qi Xing was probably lucky.

Whenever he was troubled or thinking, there was always someone—mostly beautiful girls—who would give him enlightenment and support, ensuring he never went astray, and also boosting his favorability with the beautiful girls.

However, not everyone in the world has such good confidants, just as not every Magical Girl has parents as considerate and understanding as Tsukimiya Ran's.

——Meanwhile, elsewhere.

Recently, over the past half-month, the war between good and evil in Tokyo has been escalating.

Master Leipu led the righteous path in a strong advance, pushing the evil forces into retreat, and even the Lionheart Society drew their blades to assist.

Magical Girl Artemina shone brilliantly on the front lines, becoming the veritable 'Strongest Magical Girl in Modern Tokyo.'

However, not all Magical Girls can be so firm.

There are some who are trapped between two worlds, hesitating and caught in a dilemma.

The Magical Girl of the Sun, Soleia, Hinata Haruna,

Half a month ago, Master Leipu held a meeting and demanded that civilian heroes—either give up fighting, accept public security protection, and withdraw from Tokyo along with their families to hide; or stay behind and fight to the death on the real battlefield.

Hinata Haruna… did not withdraw from Tokyo like those who completely gave up their hero identities, but recently she hasn't fought as a hero either.

Even though she is the Magical Girl of the Sun with extremely high potential, if she doesn't want to fight, no one can force her. Master Leipu will fiercely punish anyone who attempts to force minors to go to the battlefield against their will.

For the past half-month, Hinata Haruna has simply retreated back into the daily life she is familiar with.

Waking up early every day, putting on her school uniform, taking the bus to school, doing homework, coping with exams.

Coming home at night, eating a bento from the convenience store.

And then… there was nothing else.

Her busy parents were dull and uninteresting, at most occasionally coming to ask about her grades, never caring about her emotional needs.

The topics of conversation among her classmates in the classroom were monotonous, and the more she looked, the more she felt they were mechanical and rigid, as detestable as NPCs.

Despite being at a youthful age, she felt herself becoming more and more like a walking, soulless machine.

Even she herself began to doubt:

"Was I… originally this kind of person?"

She sat in the last row of the classroom, her eyes fixed outside the window, the sunlight making her hair glimmer with a faint gold.

She is the Magical Girl of the Sun; logically speaking, she should be a symbol of light and heat.

But for this period, she felt more and more… that the sun couldn't illuminate anything.

She began to take aimless walks after school,

Started staring blankly at the TV until late at night,

Started digging out that dusty transformation compact mirror—

And then silently put it back in the drawer.

…But she knew very well.