Starting as a Magical Girl, I Alone Shall Rule for Eternity

"It took about thirty-something tries."

Black Keke was counting on her fingers over there. "In these cycles, I tried destroying many other worlds, but the Magic Kingdom never reacted. Only when I started collapsing the New World over here did those little bastards in the Magic Kingdom finally make a move..."

Jiang Si didn't bother with her either. He just looked down at Beihai.

Over at the Beihai Disaster Control Bureau, everyone had mobilized together to fight the dark turmoil of the Heart Image Remnants. Silver Lotus was naturally charging at the very front.

As the captain, leading the charge against the Heart Image Remnants was, of course, fraught with danger.

Black Keke seemed completely oblivious to the situation below. She just stared at the passage and continued, "But I tried many times and never managed to break through in the end. As for whether the Magic Kingdom is really inside there, I can't be sure either. So my plan for this life is to open the passage and find a way in. Of course, even if I fail, it doesn't matter—I have a second plan..."

"Silver Lotus is hurt."

Jiang Si's sudden words caught Black Keke off guard. She looked down and saw Silver Lotus clutching her arm.

Having lost her Magical Outfit, she had probably injured her physical body.

It looked like her arm was broken.

"Magical Girls running into things like this—it's totally normal. Getting hurt and all that..."

Black Keke muttered a few words, then averted her gaze without really taking it to heart. "The Magical Girl profession is like climbing a high-rise in a city—the scariest thing is getting used to it. Once you get used to it and start becoming numb to certain things, you're not far from death. It's mainly because a Magical Girl's transformation always gives people an unrealistic sense of security."

"Aren't you really fond of Silver Lotus?"

Even if Jiang Si didn't care much about Keke's social circle, he knew that Keke's best friend was probably Silver Lotus.

That girl basically couldn't make any friends at school. He heard from Bingtang that Keke was seen at school as some kind of untouchable, aloof top student.

He had no idea how those people got that impression. Keke didn't match the image of an aloof top student in any way. Her grades were only in the top ten of her grade—slightly above average—and as for aloof... well, that girl was just bad with words.

Regardless, according to Bingtang, Keke didn't even have a deskmate. She didn't want to sit with anyone else, and because of her good grades, the teacher had specially arranged for her to have two desks to herself in the front row.

Only later did Silver Lotus start hanging out with Keke. At the very least, Keke no longer went everywhere alone. She always had that little shorty by her side, so she didn't look so pitifully isolated anymore.

As for the things Black Keke had gone through with Silver Lotus in the past, Jiang Si naturally had no interest, but he figured they were probably similar—close friends and all.

"Yeah, Silver Lotus is my best friend, my best senior, and my reliable comrade. For a long time, even after I reincarnated, I still fought alongside her. Of course I like her. Silver Lotus is like a second mother to me."

After a moment's thought, Black Keke smiled again. "So don't worry—I'll definitely save her someday."

She'll definitely save her someday, so for now, it really doesn't matter.

"Is that so?"

"What, are you mad?"

"Not really." Jiang Si just said casually. "I just think you really aren't Keke."

"Ouch, that stings a little."

Of course, Black Keke knew that Jiang Si might be disappointed in her, or maybe even hold a grudge against her.

After all, she had gone through so many cycles. She was pretty much used to it by now.

Things like not treating people like people, being too cold, and even the question of what was the point in saving everyone.

In any case, in the previous cycle, no matter how righteous and indignant she was, she would forget it all in the end.

Who hadn't been full of emotions at the beginning?

When she first saved her parents, that excitement and happiness, that thrill of feeling like she had changed something—

It was truly unforgettable.

Back then, she also thought that as long as she saved her parents in every cycle, she could live a happy life with them. Wasn't that something to look forward to?

Starting a new cycle wasn't so bad, either.

Saving her parents over and over, only to end up holding their bodies at the end of the world each time.

At some point, her memories started jumping. She couldn't even remember the daily life she had spent with her parents.

She only remembered the beginning and the end.

All that was left in her memories was the moment she saved her parents—holding them, seeing their relief and joy at surviving the disaster.

And then, in the blink of an eye, the parents in her arms had turned into nothing but bones.

Before she could even change the tears of joy she had shed from saving them, they seamlessly transformed into tears of grief.

It was pretty convenient, actually.

She didn't need to work herself up to cry anymore, because putting emotion into things was exhausting and troublesome.

Then, one day, when she reincarnated, she arrived too late.

She watched her parents die right in front of her.

She watched those two tumbling bodies get crushed, turned into a bloody mess.

And for some reason.

She breathed a sigh of relief.

Finally, no more fussing over it.

Since her parents had died first, there was nothing she could do. She just had to go deal with whatever she needed to do.

She'd handle it in the next cycle.

But then, when the next cycle came, she accidentally took too long again.

Too long again.

In the end, she simply stopped going.

After all, the result was the same.

It was like suddenly giving up on a daily quest one day. Instead, she felt a sense of liberation.

Relaxed and carefree.

"A person's feelings for something are limited, don't you think?"

So when Jiang Si asked her opinion on the dangers Silver Lotus was facing, Black Keke said just that.

"Once those feelings are used up, no matter what happens afterward, you'll just be numb and feel nothing. The difference between me and Keke is just that her feelings haven't been drained yet."

"Is that so?"

"That's how it is."

She repeated it, unsure if she was trying to convince Jiang Si or reinforce her own thoughts.

Jiang Si shook his head. "You're not cut out for the Seven Emotions Ascending Heaven Art."

Magical Girls follow the Path of Extreme Emotion.

Instead, they can unleash the true potential of the Path of Emotionlessness.

Black Keke didn't argue. She just fixed her gaze on Silver Lotus. As the Heart Image Remnants expanded below...

Li Yi, who had been knocked out of her Magical Girl transformation state by a Full Bloom Magical Girl's remnants, looked up at the torrent of magic rain crashing down on her.

Her face twisted in fear. She instinctively reached out a hand to block.

Ah, she had seen that expression before.

For some reason, Black Keke suddenly remembered it.

Actually, she had pretty vivid memories of everyone's final moments before death.

Whenever Li Yi made that expression, she would soon be torn to pieces.

Wait until the next cycle...

"Yiyi!"

Her memories were still stuck in some cycle long ago. The shattered Yiyi urged her to leave.

Ahead of her, another version of her own shouting pulled her back from the memory.

Standing in front of Li Yi, Keke unleashed a sky-covering wave of black miasma. Her polluted magic blotted out the sky like a Disaster Beast, crushing the Full Bloom power within the Heart Image Remnants and forcing it to bow its head.

Then, carrying Li Yi, she flew straight toward a safe place.

Watching Keke—who was a Witch herself but still once again drawing cheers and adoration from the crowd—displaying such power, Black Keke fell into thought.

Had she ever done that before?

Black Keke tapped her head. Actually, she couldn't remember.

Because saving others in her past cycles had always been futile.

Then she looked at Jiang Si again. "So, what do we do, dear big brother? Are you going to come with me to see if that passage really leads to the Magic Kingdom, or are you going to stop the collapse of the New World?"

"If the New World collapses here, won't your plan fail?"

"Honestly, it doesn't matter. Next cycle, or the cycle after that, I can keep testing it out." Black Keke said indifferently. "What's most important right now is our cooperation. If you want, big brother, I can end it anytime. We can put the goal of this cycle on hold and focus on Shion and the Beast of Eternity first..."

"What if I say I want to enter the passage, but I don't want the New World to collapse either?"

"Hmm..." Black Keke didn't show any particular expression. She just pondered for a moment. "That's too greedy. You might end up with nothing. It's better to play it safe."

"Wanting both—that's the safest way of thinking."

Just as Jiang Si finished speaking, Black Keke suddenly realized something. Her head snapped up.

She saw the purple-haired Magical Girl walking toward the New World from the sky, step by step!

"Let's go."

Without waiting for Black Keke to say anything, Jiang Si had already grabbed her by the collar. The golden dragon wings on his back spread wide, and he shot straight toward the passage!

However, the Incubators reacted quickly. They immediately detected Jiang Si and Black Keke's approach and scattered like a swarm of bees.

The little bear ornament was naturally among these Incubators.

As an Incubator released by Black Keke, it was actually the one that had called this entire group of Incubators here.

Because its cooperation with Black Keke was very simple.

When Black Keke let it roam free, it summoned the Incubators from the Magic Kingdom to come and reclaim the World Essence of the New World.

Black Keke had naturally succeeded in piecing together the New World back then with the help of the Incubators, and this agreement was the reason they had been willing to help her in the first place.

The Incubators had naturally been on guard against her all along. Black Keke, who had made a contract with the Incubators, couldn't possibly get close to the passage—

In theory, that should have been the case.

But when the blazing golden torrent slammed into the gate of the passage that was about to close,

The forms of many Incubators trembled.

The little bear ornament took a deep breath, looking at the golden curse scattering everywhere.

"It's the worm..."

An Incubator next to it muttered in a low voice.

The power of the curse was the worm that corroded the World Tree. It wasn't necessarily overwhelmingly strong, but it had an extremely potent suppression effect on the World Tree and the Incubators. Among them, the golden curse could even be called the King of Curses, a power the Incubators avoided at all costs.

Even though many Incubators had tried to use the power of Magical Girls to manage it, they had all ended in failure.

But generally speaking, the curse wouldn't spread too severely. It couldn't be eliminated, but sealing it wasn't too difficult.

As long as something like Jiang Si didn't come charging out carrying it...

Boom!

With the entire passage trembling, all the Incubators held their breath.

Fortunately, in the end, the closing passage wasn't broken through. All the Incubators breathed a sigh of relief.

They all started moving, intending to quickly bring back the collected World Essence of the New World...

Boom!

Another loud crash.

The little bear ornament's pupils contracted. It turned its head.

It saw a dragon claw, violently thrust into the passage!

Golden curse dripped like molten lava onto the passage, withering the branches below.

The passage closed again, frantically crushing that dragon claw.

Blood splattered everywhere!

The entire dragon claw was crushed as the passage closed, sending flesh and blood flying. But it seemed to feel no pain at all, as another dragon claw thrust in.

"If you can't open the door..."

Then, with both dragon claws, he forced the passage's entrance wide open!

A massive figure loomed over all the Incubators.

"I can help you."

Blood began to spread through the chaos within the passage, and all the World Essence fell back into the New World!

...

"Now, over in Beihai, the dark turmoil is in full swing. All the forbidden zones have opened, and countless Sovereigns have appeared, each fighting for their own path to immortality, battling it out..."

Yumo slapped Qinghua on the head. "It, it's not the time for that!"

"I'm keeping a local record."

Qinghua shook her head, wetting the brush with her mouth, then flipped through her local chronicles. "Local records are very important, you know?"

As she spoke, she wrote a few big characters in her so-called local chronicle.

Beihai, sunny weather, nothing happened today.

Yumo took one look and nearly fainted from anger. She looked up at the Heart Image Remnants everywhere.

"Nothing happened?! Where?!"

Back then, just a single Heart Image Remnant from Mujin had put the entire Disaster Control Bureau on high alert. It could have easily swallowed half of East China.

And now, how many months had it been? Less than half a year. Inflation had gone through the roof.

The ground was littered with Heart Image Remnants!

Although Yumo had barely managed to suppress two Heart Image Remnants by expanding her Mental Landscape, centered on Beihai, there had to be at least several hundred Heart Image Remnants throughout all of East China!

Qinghua's Puppets were already filling the sky like a swarm of locusts. In fact, among the current true-transmissions of Azure Cloud Sect, Qinghua was suppressing the most Heart Image Remnants.

Because quantity was strength!

Even Senior Sister Bai Mei, far away in South China, who was playing fruit ninja in the sky, wasn't as efficient as Qinghua.

But seeing Qinghua still leisurely messing around, Yumo couldn't help but feel a little anxious. Lady Bingtang was already run ragged, barely managing to keep the entire world from collapsing.

And you're still playing around here!

Even if it was just for show, Yumo had to make it look like she was busy!

In other regions, the Magical Girls of the Disaster Control Bureau had all been deployed. Although the Bureau had plenty of experience dealing with Heart Image Remnants—they could even safely dismantle them from the inside—

It was too inefficient.

Furthermore, a green Full Bloom Magical Girl's remnant soul had used a Heart Image Remnant to arrive above Beihai.

"Return the World Essence of the disaster-human realm!"

As she spoke, she waved her right hand, and a small model of Beihai appeared before her. She casually thrust her hand into the center of the model.

Qinghua and Yumo immediately sensed that the World Essence of Beihai had indeed been seized by the other party!

Yumo immediately contracted her Mental Landscape, directly suppressing the Beihai World Essence that the other party had grabbed, sealing it within her own Mental Landscape!

Howling winds swept through, instantly swallowing the green Full Bloom Magical Girl's remnant soul into the Mental Landscape.

In a moment, there was no more movement.

The two or three Heart Image Remnants she had been suppressing before immediately reappeared. Then, as if giving birth, they suddenly spawned nearly a hundred new Heart Image Remnants.

They began spreading toward Beihai!

Qinghua stared dumbfounded. After a long pause, she fumbled to close her local chronicle and hastily scratched out the words "nothing happened."

She charged forward herself, using the howling wind and freezing ice to suppress the spreading Heart Image Remnants again!

If these Full Bloom Magical Girls actually wanted to fight, the true-transmissions wouldn't necessarily be afraid.

Especially after gaining the second transformation ability from the world bubble.

In terms of realm, they could already rival Full Bloom.

But their chaotic and strange rule-based abilities were a headache to deal with.

Especially since they had to protect the city, putting them at a natural defensive disadvantage.

These were all Lady Bingtang's assets!

Even so, the influence of the two true-transmissions stretched from East China all the way to West China.

Not only did they prevent a single Heart Image Remnant from expanding into the cities and causing casualties, but they even minimized property damage.

"Sigh—still feels like it's not enough." Qinghua watched as a Prohibition Zone Sovereign had already burned their entire forbidden zone and sacrificed everything, gasping in shock. "Alright, if you're going to ascend, then I'm ascending too!"

"Since it's come to this, second transformation! Yumo!"

"...That sounds terrible." Yumo made a disgusted expression.

"Then what should we call it?"

Yumo looked a little uncertain. "Blooming again? Or Grand Full Bloom?"

"Whoa, that doesn't sound bad. Now we just need the transformation pose..." Qinghua praised. "For Yumo, you just have to tear open your clothes like a gorilla, bare your chest, and yell, right?"

As she said this, she also placed both hands on her chest, made a serious face, and mimed ripping her clothes open in the air. "Heart's Flower!!!"

"Gross, you idiot, moron, Qinghua you pervert!"

Down below Beihai.

Yingwei and Qingying looked up at Dandelion and Qinghua in the sky. Both wore expressions of admiration and reverence.

The entire Beihai Disaster Control Bureau was already struggling just to deal with a single Heart Image Remnant, stretched thin and suffering greatly.

Especially now that the main forces of the Beihai Bureau had all been deployed.

The main problem was that after Keke transformed into a Witch, aside from her stats, she couldn't use many spells. Even her Mental Landscape was forbidden from being deployed. With all that raw power, she couldn't do anything against the Heart Landscape.

Most importantly, as her desire to save others grew stronger, the polluted magic she could control became less and less.

This meant she couldn't hold onto her corrupted magic power... Having lost the magic supply from Chongxu, and with her own inability to produce negative emotions, Witch Keke's power was plummeting.

At this point, she could barely hold back the Full Bloom Magical Girl remnants that weren't assisted by Heart Image Remnants. The Heart Image Remnants themselves had to be handled by Mujin.

As for Silver Lotus, she had only just returned to Blooming and hadn't even stabilized her realm by passing the Heavenly Tribulation—nowadays, every Magical Girl had to pass the Heavenly Tribulation after promotion to be considered stable.

Otherwise, the authorities wouldn't recognize it.

So currently, Silver Lotus couldn't even be considered a standard Blooming Magical Girl...

Therefore, even with Mujin's help, the three of them were fighting with extreme difficulty against a single Prohibition Zone Sovereign.

So when they looked up and saw the two true-transmission disciples suppressing nearly all the Heart Image Remnants in East China and West China, they couldn't help but feel a bit emotional.

But Azure Cloud Sect seemed to believe that their true-transmissions could handle it on their own, showing no intention of helping.

Meanwhile, the Heart Image Remnants that Yingwei and Qingying had been holding back were finally suppressed, gradually quieting down.

Just as Yingwei was about to go help Keke,

A figure shot out from a Heart Image Remnant, flying toward the sky above Beihai.

Qingying and Yingwei were both startled. They looked up at the Magical Girl who had emerged from the Heart Image Remnant.

This was a desperate move—abandoning the Heart Image Remnant, pushing all power to the limit, seeking only a temporary peak!

"Is this... ultimate ascension?"

Qingying couldn't help but mutter.

Yingwei listened beside her but didn't ask her good friend what "ultimate ascension" meant.

Because that would make her look stupid.

She only knew that the term was way too cool, and she, Yingwei, wanted to achieve ultimate ascension too!

But before she could even gather her strength, she saw one Full Bloom Magical Girl remnant after another flying up from all directions, shooting toward the sky.

More Heart Image Remnants resonated together. More and more Full Bloom Magical Girls abandoned their Heart Image Remnants and underwent ultimate ascension!

The voices of the many Magical Girl remnant souls overlapped, sounding like ghosts.

"Give our world back to us..."

Then, suddenly, one of them seemed to notice something. It looked toward Beihai.

And screamed.

"Damn, it's Keke!"

Instantly, all the Magical Girls who had been trying to reclaim their World Essence turned to look at Beihai!

Their gazes were cold and sharp, as if Beihai held someone they deeply detested.

"Give us back our World Essence! You lying cheat Keke!"

Yingwei and Qingying were stunned. Silver Lotus and Mujin on the other side also looked back in confusion.

They saw Witch Keke, wearing an even more bewildered expression, staring at the Magical Girls who were all glaring at her.

"Huh?? Me? Did you find the wrong person... no, it's Black Keke..."

"Who else could it be if not you?! You really are a Witch! You tricked us out of our World Essence, and you made us serve as the glue for your New World all along! Debt must be repaid, Keke! We will never forgive you, Keke!"

As the leading Full Bloom Magical Girl charged straight at Keke, the other Magical Girls from the Heart Image Remnants also fixed their gazes on Keke, then swarmed toward her in a flood!

"Fight! Liar Keke! Beat her! Liar Keke!"

Just as Yingwei, Qingying, Mujin, Silver Lotus, and even the Azure Cloud true-transmissions in the distance were about to step in front of Keke,

A searing heat suddenly erupted in the air.

The true-transmissions' movements all froze.

The orange-yellow Magical Girl remnant soul leading the charge suddenly looked up. It felt as if a blazing sun was approaching from far away in the air. Instinctively, it raised its hands to block something...

Boom!

The walls near the Beihai Disaster Control Bureau instantly turned to dust. A violent wave of heat exploded outward in an instant, sending Magical Girls in the sky and on the ground flying away—but only for a moment. That violent, seemingly world-destroying power was immediately gathered and quickly disappeared.

Only a wisp of a gentle breeze remained.

A scorching chasm stretched from the Beihai Disaster Control Bureau all the way to the city center. The ground looked as if it had been plowed by a fiery plow, with deep furrows still radiating heat and sparks.

And the orange-yellow Magical Girl remnant soul had already been impaled by a long spear, hanging on the tallest building in Beihai.

On the building's massive screen, an advertisement for the Magical Girl Idol Project was playing. The sound of the ad was currently broadcasting quietly throughout Beihai.

"Strongest character rate-up event! Log in now to get a free 20-pull! The fire-type Magical Girl Shion is having a rerun! One-person army, no teammates needed! ..."

The entire screen on the building displayed Shion's delicate face. Then, as if she had stepped right out of the advertisement,

The purple-haired Magical Girl, whose features were identical to the one in the ad, was standing in front of the building at some unknown moment.

She then extended her soft, petite hand, grasped the scorching, violent purple spear, and slowly pulled it out.

As the orange-yellow Magical Girl fell from the building, reverting back to a Heart Image Remnant,

Shion finally turned around, looking at the numerous Full Bloom Magical Girl remnant souls in the sky.

"Go back."

As soon as she said this, thousands of Heart Image Remnants shattered simultaneously!

In an instant, the world fell silent.

In the distance, Qinghua, who had finally found some free time, happily pulled out her local chronicle again.

"Today, sunny. New World in great disarray. Calamities and disasters strike suddenly."

After writing this, she looked up at the advertisement on the building again.

"Sect Master rate-up, first ten-pull hits the jackpot, everything goes smoothly!"