Tokyo: Magical Girl Shatters My Dream of Going Public

Chapter 80 A New Magical Girl (4/5)

at the same time.

St. Luke's International Hospital, Minato-ku, Tokyo, top-floor intensive care unit.

The corridor was empty, the lights were switched to night mode, and it was a cold, desolate blue.

Only the rhythmic ticking of the medical equipment could be faintly heard through the crack in the ward door.

Aiko Furukawa sat on a waiting bench outside the ward, legs crossed, her fingers idly swiping across her phone screen.

The glow of social media illuminated half of her face, making her long pink hair appear somewhat dull in the dim light.

Da, da, da.

Footsteps suddenly sounded from the end of the corridor, unhurried yet jarringly clear.

Aiko paused, then looked up sharply, her gaze fixed on the source of the sound.

The lights were off deep in the corridor.

Only the cool moonlight slanted in through the French windows, spreading a silvery white across the floor.

The moonlight outlined a slender figure.

The newcomer was dressed in a classic red and white shrine maiden's robe, with delicate pale gold divine patterns embroidered on the cuffs and hem of the skirt, which swayed slightly with her steps.

She looked no more than thirteen or fourteen years old, with a youthful face and even a hint of childishness.

But those eyes—

Under the moonlight, her pupils were not the color of ordinary people, but a very light, almost transparent, glassy gold, with fine dust of light slowly flowing in their depths.

The moment those eyes swept over her, Aiko felt a chill run down her spine!

She practically sprang to her feet, dropping her phone to the ground with a thud, but didn't bother to pick it up. She quickly straightened up, placed her hands neatly by her sides, and lowered her head.

The footsteps stopped in front of the ward door.

The girl tilted her head slightly and looked through the glass window at the unconscious Hayami Tenko inside.

She sighed softly.

The sigh was soft, yet it echoed strangely in the silent corridor.

Aiko suddenly felt a heavy weight on her shoulders!

It felt as if an invisible weight suddenly pressed down on me, my knees buckled, and I almost collapsed to my knees.

She gritted her teeth and forced herself to hold on, cold sweat instantly beading on her forehead.

"How is she?"

The girl spoke, her voice clear yet carrying an ethereal quality that seemed not to emanate from her throat, but rather to resonate directly in the air.

Aiko answered quickly, her tone so respectful it was almost fearful.

"Lord Cui, Cui Xing—Tian Xiang suffered severe damage to her internal organs and nerves due to forced triple-core overload. She was just out of danger this morning, but is still in a deep coma—"

"The doctor said it would take at least two months to recover, and even after being discharged from the hospital, there would be incurable sequelae."

Rank A, Magical Girl [Verdant Planet]!

In the past five years since the magical revival, magic has only been revived.

She is undoubtedly the strongest magical girl.

Cui Xing sighed softly, as if talking to herself: "In the end—it's a stolen identity."

Aiko knew that the other person was referring to the origin of the Heavenly Flash.

She lowered her head even further, not daring to reply, cold sweat sliding down her back.

Fearing repercussions, she quickly explained, "It was because of the night watchman's organization's sudden attack; Tianxiang was protecting them."

"this."

Cui Xing interrupted her, pulling out a black recording pen from somewhere.

She looked down and fiddled with it for a few moments, seemingly unfamiliar with the operation. Her fingertips groped on the buttons for four or five seconds before she finally pressed the right one.

Click.

Recording playback.

The background is the sound of heavy rain.

Then, a heavily digitally altered voice, completely devoid of gender, rang out: "Ultimatum. Evacuate immediately."

"Otherwise—I will take measures to forcibly remove them."

Then came Tian Shan's angry shouts and the sudden roar of battle.

The recording was short, but the content was clear: Tian Shan took the initiative to attack, the opponent repeatedly warned him, and he finally retaliated.

Suisei turned off the recorder, and her golden eyes turned to Aiko.

"This was sent anonymously to the association's headquarters three days ago."

"It's very different from what you wrote in your report."

Aiko's face turned deathly pale, and her throat tightened.

In an attempt to absolve herself of responsibility, she did indeed deliberately embellish the content.

She quickly bowed her head and apologized, "I... I only speculated based on the traces at the scene—Tianxiang has been unconscious, the specific details—"

"alright."

Suisei's voice was calm, yet it silenced Aiko instantly.

"I won't pursue the matter of your report," she said calmly, "but Tian Shan is unable to fight in the short term, and Tokyo cannot afford to be short-handed."

She tilted her head slightly, looking towards the other end of the corridor: "So, I brought you some help."

helper?

Aiko followed her gaze.

Da, da, da.

Light footsteps came from the darkness.

A young girl walked in unsteadily, her hands behind her head.

She looked to be seventeen or eighteen years old, wearing a slightly oversized dark blue sports jacket with the zipper only halfway up, revealing a T-shirt with an unidentified character printed on it.

She had a diamond-shaped crystal, about the size of a palm, hanging from her waist, like a talisman.

Her hair was light flaxen and tied into a high short ponytail at the back of her head, which swayed with her steps.

What's most striking is the smile on her face.

He grinned, revealing a small canine tooth, and his eyes shone a little too brightly.

Suisei introduced, "A D-rank magical girl, [Justice]. You two met at the Kyoto Conference, so I won't introduce you two."

She turned to her son: "From today onwards, she will take over from Tian Shan and become your partner."

Aiko's pupils contracted, but she immediately lowered her head: "—Yes, Lady Suisei."

2

Aiko answered verbally, but inwardly she was cursing.

Why did they send this madman?!

Cui Xing seemed oblivious to her emotions, or rather, she simply didn't care.

Having finished her business here, she turned to leave.

He took two steps, then stopped.

She didn't turn around; her voice drifted over softly.

"With magic only recently revived, the number of legendary vengeful spirits is overwhelming. Kyoto simply cannot spare any more manpower."

"But Tokyo has the highest population density, and the number of enemies with grudges will only increase—I don't want any more magical girls to make any mistakes because of personal habits."

She paused.

Is that alright?

The two words, "Okay?", seemed to be a solicitation of her opinion.

But Aiko felt a chill run down her spine.

These words were clearly a reference to her reluctance to strike at night.

If she had gone with Tian Shan that night—

If Tian Shan hadn't turned out like this...

"I understand!" Aiko replied immediately, "I will fight with all my might from now on!"

Cui Xing stopped speaking and silently disappeared into the darkness at the end of the corridor.

Only when the oppressive feeling completely disappeared did Aiko let out a long breath, almost collapsing from exhaustion.

"Furukawa-senpai——!"

A vibrant voice exploded in my ears.

Justice had already moved in front of her, grinning and extending its hand, its fangs gleaming: "Looking forward to working with you in the future!"

Aiko forced a smile that could barely be called a smile and took her hand: "Nice to meet you—"

It felt surprisingly strong, even making her knuckles ache slightly.

Zhengyi let go, turned around, and pressed his face against the glass of the ward, peering curiously inside.

"So this is Heavenly Flash? It's badly injured—"

Aiko had expected the other party to offer some words of comfort because of Tensaku's injuries.

Unexpectedly, she just chuckled and even made a sarcastic remark.

"Well, this is karma, isn't it? Who told her to steal from others?"

She seemed more interested in the person who attacked the Sky Flash.

"Furukawa-senpai, I heard there are only two of them?"

Aiko rubbed her fingers and gave a perfunctory "hmm".

"Wow, that's amazing! I never knew there were such talented people in Tokyo." Zhengyi turned around, his eyes sparkling. "Then I'll have to work even harder!"

Seeing her daughter's eager expression, Aiko, who had just calmed down, felt her emotions turn somber again...

Now—she probably won't have it so easy either.

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