Apocalypse, then transforming into a magical girl

Zhao Jia, realizing he didn't seem to possess any particularly outstanding 'virtues,' and unsure how to choose, simply asked Xia Zhaozhao directly:

"Zhaozhao, what virtue did you choose back then?"

Upon hearing this, Xia Zhaozhao's eyes darted around for a moment, seemingly a little embarrassed: "Uh... I didn't think too much about it at the time, I just said, 'I want to protect this happy life where I can play games every day.'"

"...This has absolutely nothing to do with virtue, does it?"

"That's right!" Xia Zhaozhao slapped her thigh, her tone filled with regret for her youthful ignorance.

"After listening to me, Kaka actually took it upon herself to say that she detected something in the underlying logic of my words, forcibly distorting and interpreting my anchor point as 'protective instinct'!"

"Please! I was completely absorbed in the game back then, how could I possibly care about protecting anything? Oh, except for my game saves."

"Oh, I see. You chose an anchor point that you don't even agree with, which caused your magic reserves to stagnate, turning you into... a lowly magical girl? A lowly one~"

"Zhao—Jia—!" Xia Zhaozhao began to breathe heavily. "Do you believe I'll bite you to death right now?!"

Zhao Jia shrank back, deciding to quit while he was ahead, and began to seriously consider his choice.

"What did you just say you had? Kindness... piety..."

"Choosing kindness in the apocalypse seems like a sign of unrequited love... and judging from the vicious way you mocked me just now, I suspect you're completely incompatible with the word 'kind'!"

Then, Xia Zhaozhao puffed out her chest with a mischievous grin and pointed to herself: "Your piety is not bad. But who are you going to worship? Me?"

Zhao Jia rolled his eyes and ruled out both options.

"Then... justice?"

"No, no, no! No, no, absolutely not!" Xia Zhaozhao's expression turned unusually serious.

"Justice is such a subjective thing! Everyone's understanding of it is different! The magical girls I know who uphold this virtue are all those obsessive-compulsive people with abnormal brain circuits, more dangerous than nightmares!"

"...I'll name one and you eliminate one for me, how am I supposed to choose?" Zhao Jia felt a bit overwhelmed.

"Hey, Kaka over there, are you watching? Why don't you help me pick one?"

"No. The choice of anchor point must be made independently by the individual based on their own will; any external interference may cause the anchor point to become unstable. This is the rule."

Zhao Jia sighed and fell into final thought.

Kindness breeds a saintly heart, piety leaves one without a loyal subject, and justice easily leads to fanaticism. So what is the most important and core quality in this world where monsters roam, order has collapsed, and even the contract messengers of magical girls have to run away?

It is the determination to take a step forward even when you are in darkness.

It is the courage to still wield a weapon when faced with fear.

Zhao Jia's gaze gradually hardened. He raised his head, looked at the purple groundhog in the air, and said in a clear voice:

"I choose—courage!"

"Courage, huh..." Xia Zhaozhao looked at Zhao Jia, a smile of approval on her face. "It sounds so cliché, but it's probably, maybe, possibly, and indeed, somewhat appropriate."

Kaka hovered in the air, showing no emotion, mechanically recording everything.

"Anchor point 'Courage' confirmed. Contract terms match. Meets signing standards."

Complex energy patterns appeared around the purple sphere, and its voice resounded directly in Zhao Jia's mind:

"Zhao Jia, you, as an individual, have chosen 'courage' as your anchor of strength. It will be the source of your strength, and also your eternal shackle."

"Confirm again, proceed?"

"Sure."

"—From this moment on, your courage benchmark will be locked at the current threshold. Even if you are terrified, you can muster your willpower and overcome difficulties."

"The contract is established."

The moment the last word fell, Zhao Jia felt a powerful and warm surge of energy erupt from Kaka's body and instantly flow into his limbs and bones.

A dazzling white light burst forth from Zhao Jia, instantly filling the entire small living room.

"Wow, it's changed!" Xia Zhaozhao squinted at the light, but her excitement and anticipation made her reluctant to close her eyes completely. She stared intently at Zhao Jia's figure, a smile full of anticipation spreading across her face as she looked forward to what was to come.

What will he become? A monster with an explosive physique? No, since she chose courage, according to her guess, perhaps Zhao Jia will become a Hellboy whose entire body is engulfed in flames?

"Change quickly, change quickly, let me see!"

Zhao Jia, who was in the center of the light, did not feel any heat or impact in the bright light; the energy flowing into his body was warm and vast.

This is an extremely unfamiliar experience; it is neither pain nor pleasure, but a reshaping that transcends the definition of the five senses.

He felt his body undergoing some kind of earth-shattering change, like clay being kneaded by an invisible pair of hands. He could clearly feel his bones contracting, his muscles dissolving, and his skin becoming smoother.

Wait, something doesn't seem right?

"Huh?" Xia Zhaozhao, who had been standing on tiptoe trying to see Zhao Jia's changes in the light, suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

Because she discovered that the figure in the light, which was originally much taller than her, was visibly shrinking...!

Just now, she had to tilt her head slightly to see Zhao Jia's face, but now, the silhouette in the light had shrunk so much that... she could even see the top of his head?

"Huh? What happened? Why did it shrink?"

The light enveloping Zhao Jia began to gradually dissipate, revealing his head first.

Xia Zhaozhao's mouth opened wider and wider, her anticipation and excitement instantly replaced by extreme shock and disbelief.

That was… long, smooth hair with a turquoise sheen, tied into cute low pigtails that hung down on both sides of her shoulders? Neat bangs framed her delicate, doll-like face.

Her mouth dropped open again. In fact, the shock she felt at this moment was far greater than when she learned of the end of the world from Zhao Jia.

"...What are they stirring up now?"

The light continued to spread downwards, revealing her complete form.

She wore a white dress with lace and ribbon decorations in a distinctly magical girl style, but it looked rather plain compared to Xia Zhaozhao's gorgeous knight armor.

The living room fell into a deathly silence.

Xia Zhaozhao stared blankly at the cute magical girl who had suddenly appeared before her, her mind completely blank.

After a full ten seconds, she swallowed hard and, in a trembling voice, commented:

"I...you...you're just too cute, it's almost too much..."

"...You don't have to mute yourself when you swear, I don't mind." A clear, somewhat childish female voice rang out.

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Jia froze. Whose voice was that?

Zhao Jia looked down, his vision falling on a delicate lace skirt and a pair of dainty ankle boots. He raised his hand and saw five slender fingers, with neatly trimmed and adorable nails… the fingers of a little girl?

He was then drawn to a patch of green in his field of vision. He tried to grab it with his hand and touched a pair of soft, silky, turquoise pigtails with a faint fragrance.

"ah???"

A startled scream, which sounded somewhat childish to Xia Zhaozhao, filled the room.

Zhao Jia took a few deep breaths and still managed to accept his transformed form with great difficulty.

"Um... could you change your hair color? I like long, straight black hair."

"Objection! What did Green Hair do to you?" Xia Zhaozhao retorted decisively.