Chapter 156

Elio panted for a while, but the words he spoke made Qi Xing pause slightly: "You… [BOSS] has the same… ability as you…"

What?

"Hmm, are you referring to the Greed Demon also having the ability to materialize souls and extract them from the body?" Qi Xing frowned. "Isn't that just personality excretion? I already know about that. Anything else?"

"It's not just personality excretion! The [BOSS] also takes the excreted personality…"

Already in unbearable pain, Elio's expression changed even more as he said, "And eats it."

Qi Xing: "…"

That guy, the Greed Demon, actually eats shit?

"How exactly do I get to [Magic City Tokyo]? I'm sick of this slow, drawn-out war of attrition." Lifting Elio and shaking him, Qi Xing asked again, "Is it really underground?"

Previously, when Qi Xing first arrived in Tokyo, Sasa had said that she sensed a silver coin, very close, about thirty kilometers away.

But she couldn't feel the direction; it didn't seem to be on the ground.

Over the last ten days or so, Qi Xing hadn't just been killing people. He had long spent a lot of effort investigating whether there really was a dungeon hidden thirty kilometers beneath Tokyo—naturally, he hadn't found one.

How could there really be a dungeon hidden thirty kilometers under Tokyo? Where would there be that much space?

Now, Qi Xing finally had the answer.

Elio reached out a hand, trembling as he pointed overhead: " [Magic City Tokyo]… is not underground."

"The [Underworld King] doesn't necessarily have to stay underground either."

Seeing him point overhead and hearing him say that the Greed Demon and the [Underworld King] possessed the ability to force personality excretion, extract souls, and devour them, Qi Xing finally realized the truth in this moment.

Then he couldn't help but curse: "Fuck! I was wondering what kind of god this was, using thunder to strike me, breaking my thunder magic, and shattering my oceanic authority. I've been thinking about it and guarding against it for the past half month."

He had been wondering how there could be an [Underworld King] in this world who lived underground, could summon clouds and rain, cast down thunder, and devour souls. How could the attributes of such divine power be so mixed?

It turned out he didn't live underground at all, and he wasn't really an "Underworld King" either.

"In the end, I've run into the nemesis of Yego's father!"

Five minutes later, Qi Xing, carrying Dr. Elio's head, flew back to the home of Hinata Haruna—the Sun Magical Girl—returning to that dilapidated, half-destroyed luxury apartment.

One of the benefits of a mechanical cyborg was that Qi Xing could just chop off his head and take it back for interrogation, without needing to lug around the whole body. How convenient!

The medical mages from the Onmyoryo had already arrived at the scene by this time, doing their best to treat the injured.

Memory erasers from the Public Security Secret Bureau would clear the memories and psychological trauma of this event from the general public, and would announce to the outside world that this destruction was an attack by anti-social terrorists—which wasn't even a lie.

But just in case, Qi Xing still carried Elio's head, intending to go back and check on the situation. And so, Qi Xing saw it.

In the ruins of the Hinata family's living room, the Sun Magical Girl, Hinata, sat slumped there, holding her mother's head in her arms.

Hinata did not cry. She would never cry again.

The Sun Magical Girl Soleia, Hinata Haruna, sat slumped in the ruins of her living room, holding her mother's head in her arms. She did not shed any tears; her eyes were like extinguished stars, dead and lusterless.

All her tears were buried deep in her heart, so her appearance hadn't changed at all, but inside her, something had shattered, cracked entirely from top to bottom.

The medical mages were nervously rescuing the injured civilians nearby, but no one dared to disturb her.

The Moon Magical Girl, Magical Girl Artemina—Tsukimiya Ran, stood not far away, but she was also at a loss as to what she should do.

She knew what it was like for a Magical Girl to die in battle; she had seen it with her own eyes more than once. However, seeing a Magical Girl holding the corpse of a loved one with her own eyes, seeing a friend sitting slumped in the ruins of the battlefield like this… that was a completely different feeling.

A loved one dying, caught in the crossfire because she was a hero. This was something that even Tsukimiya Ran feared… it was the thing she was most afraid of, a terror a hundred times worse than dying in battle herself.

She was smart. Using the opportunity provided by Master Leipu, she had avoided this risk in advance. Her parents had already been placed under the protection of the Public Security Secret Bureau, so there was basically no need to worry anymore. Many other Magical Girls and civilian heroes had also adopted this method.

She could, of course, say that the current situation was because Soleia had done something foolish herself, hadn't confessed her identity as a Magical Girl to her parents in advance, hadn't taken her parents out of Tokyo, and had even hesitated before the danger arrived…

But could she really "say" that? Could such words be said to a friend who had just lost her mother? As someone who also had a mother, at least Tsukimiya Ran couldn't bring herself to say it.

It was at this moment that Master Leipu flew back, carrying the enemy's head.

The moment he stepped into the ruins, he scanned the scene and immediately understood what had happened: Hinata's mother had likely been grazed by the shockwave of a mechanical beast's beam cannon, and her head had been instantly severed by the particle beam; she had died on the spot before she could even feel pain or bleed. Painless, clean, and efficient.

But for the loved ones, this "painless" death was likely not enough of a consolation.

Seeing Master Leipu fly back carrying the enemy's head, not only did Artemina instantly become flustered, but even the medical mages nearby, who didn't dare to get involved, broke out in a cold sweat—this was Master Leipu, after all!

They all knew his style—blunt, cold, and never beating around the bush. If he started scolding the Sun Magical Girl for her mistakes right there, could they stop him? Could the person involved handle this added blow to her mental health? What should they do?!

The air seemed to freeze instantly. No one dared to make a sound, no one dared to move. …However, what happened next was beyond their expectations, and even Artemina's.

The invincible Master Leipu walked over, looked down at Hinata, looked at the head in her arms, and said, "I'm sorry."

This sentence left all the surrounding medical mages stunned, and even Artemina couldn't help but widen her eyes. "I shouldn't have let children fight."

The dignified Demon King actually sighed, his expression revealing a trace of sorrow. "Regardless of what you think, I should have pulled you away beforehand."

But just as his voice fell, Hinata, who was sitting slumped there, raised her head and stared blankly at Qi Xing. Her face was tense, clearly trying her best to suppress her emotions. "No."

Then she spoke, though her voice trembled, "I don't want to be sent away now. I have already… everything—"

Before she could finish, she suddenly covered her face with her hands, a sob stuck in her throat. Qi Xing finally frowned. "What else do you want to do?"

What did she want to do? Did he really have to ask? But when Hinata moved her hands away, she didn't say anything more; there was only a stiff, cold calmness on her face.

Because the thought she was calculating in her mind right now would definitely be stopped by the "adults" if they heard it.

"I am… the Sun Magical Girl Soleia." So, she said in a voice that was as restrained as possible, yet still quite trembling, "Don't drive me away… I can still fight."

Qi Xing only shook his head: "I shouldn't let children fight anymore. I have already dealt with the murderer who killed your mother." Saying this, he shook Dr. Elio's head to signal to her.

But Hinata only glanced at the head and had no further interest. Her dull eyes were not looking at just the head of this small boss of the Rise Mora Group.

"You should leave Tokyo and be with your other family members…" Qi Xing continued, but as he said this, he realized it was a bit awkward, "…You should have other family, right?"

"My dad went to France to attend an international design exhibition, and he won't be back for at least half a month." Hinata replied in a dry voice, "I don't want to disturb him right now."

Hmm. Actually, as long as Qi Xing spoke up, even if he were in France, the [Association] could immediately drag Hinata's father back, ordering him to quickly take his daughter, change their names, and hide in a safe house.

But as things stood, with a child (although Hinata was seventeen and not really a child anymore) sitting in the ruins of her living room holding her mother's head, Qi Xing certainly didn't want to use force on her.

"Master Leipu," perhaps sensing Qi Xing's thoughts, Hinata suddenly bent down and gently set her mother's head down, moving carefully and tenderly, as if afraid of waking someone sleeping.

Subsequently, she knelt on both knees, pressed her forehead to the ground, and performed a dogeza to Qi Xing, pleading, "Please allow me to stay in Tokyo."

What kind of desire, what kind of obsession was burning secretly in her dull eyes—even Qi Xing could see it. So after a few seconds of silence, Qi Xing sighed.

"No." He said, "You will die. And you will die a miserable death."

"Haven't you realized it yourself yet, little girl? —You are no longer the Sun Magical Girl."

…What? What?!

After a pause, Hinata hurriedly grabbed her magical makeup mirror and shouted with a trembling voice: "Dress Change!"

However, this time, the makeup mirror did not emit a dazzling light.