Chapter 236: The Identity of the Witch of Despair, Ke Mingqing Shocked

The girl in the gothic dress lowered her head, her pitch-black bangs shadowing her eyes. A split second later, she raised her right hand and leveled the tip of Cinderella at Kiyono Sakura's forehead.

A sudden gust of wind whipped at Kiyono Sakura's miko outfit. She offered a mocking smile. "I haven't even transformed yet. Does it make you proud to draw a weapon on an unarmed little girl?"

She paused. "Or... are you just trying to hide your guilty conscience, Senior?"

Little Red Riding Hood looked as if she wanted to speak, but simply turned her head and glanced at Xi Ziyue instead.

Surprisingly, Xi Ziyue made no move to stop them. She simply lowered her gaze and sipped her tea in silence, leafing through an ancient tome she had pulled from who knew where.

Ember rested her finger against the trigger on the umbrella's handle. The classroom fell into absolute silence.

Cold sweat beaded on Yona's brow, sticking his snow-white bangs to his forehead.

After a long moment, he waved his hands and spoke up weakly. "Miss Sakurahime, Miss Ember... Teacher Xi Ziyue is still here. Could we perhaps hear her judgment first?"

At his words, everyone turned their eyes toward the girl seated at the head of the conference table.

Xi Ziyue remained silent for a moment. She reached up to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear, speaking without lifting her gaze.

"Xiao Li, put the umbrella down."

As her voice faded, the classroom was once again swallowed by deathly absolute silence.

Ember slowly lowered her right arm, pointing the tip of the umbrella at the floor. The roses patterned across the canopy swayed gently, looking like black ripples rolling across the surface of a lake.

Kiyono Sakura shot her a glance before offering a lukewarm probe.

"Teacher Xi Ziyue, what do you make of what I said?"

"Miss Kiyono Sakura's suspicions are well-founded," Xi Ziyue replied unhurriedly. "I will be communicating more closely with Mr. Blue Pigeon moving forward to see if he truly has any connection to the witch who abducted you."

She paused for a moment before continuing.

"However, there is still no concrete evidence linking Ember to that unknown witch. For now, I would prefer we limit these meaningless speculations.

"The Terminus Tower invasion is imminent. We must stand united—that is the very reason I reached out to the Magical Girl Companies of various nations and gathered you all here."

Kiyono Sakura lowered her eyes in silence for a moment, then gave a slight nod.

In truth, she held a great deal of respect for Ember. But that was only half the picture. The Witch Cult could strike at any moment; if they waited until the battle had already begun to discover a traitor in their midst, they would be doomed.

She had to detonate this bomb beforehand. If she didn't force the issue and demand answers, she would never be able to shake the heavy stone weighing on her chest.

"Long live unity."

Little Red Riding Hood drawled listlessly. She let out a yawn, fished a potato chip from the pocket of her Christmas dress, and popped it into her mouth.

"It seems no one has anything else to add. Let's get down to business, then."

Xi Ziyue swept her gaze across the room before slowly withdrawing it.

"The main focus of today's meeting revolves around the latest intelligence we have uncovered," she said, pausing briefly. "At the cost of two entire squads, the British Magical Girl Company managed to capture the physical appearances of the three witches from the Terminus Tower."

Hearing this, every magical girl in the room tensed in surprise.

"These are the photographs they managed to take." As she spoke, Xi Ziyue slipped a Magic Card from her sleeve and crushed it.

An old-fashioned camera materialized in her hands. This was the card prop, the Magic Camera. It used mana to generate film, capturing photographs that would never fade.

The magical girls in the room were all intimately familiar with this card. During their everyday operations, whenever they needed to snap photos of a scene for evidence, they would pull this exact card from their storage grimoires.

Xi Ziyue pressed the shutter button.

Immediately, the jack-o'-lanterns hanging from the ceiling blinked out, and the curtains drew themselves shut over every window without a breeze. The entire classroom plunged into darkness as a series of photographs were projected onto the back wall by the Magic Camera.

Ember frowned, raising her eyes to the wall.

The projections showed the faces of the three witches, captured by the British magical girl squads moments before their deaths. Splatters of gruesome blood could even be seen staining the edges of the images.

The Witch of Despair was a silhouette entirely shrouded in turbulent gray currents. From a distance, she looked like television static, every speck of noise a harsh gray.

She was captured with her head slightly turned, her deep, gray-curtained eyes staring directly into the lens. The sheer madness and gloom swirling in her pupils made for an unforgettable sight.

The Witch of Calamity appeared as a young girl in a long, dark-purple dress. Her face was stark white, and her hair whipped wildly in the wind and rain like strands of green algae.

The Witch of Puppets was a young girl who looked no older than ten. She wore a black pointed hat and a dark, archaic witch's robe that looked as if it belonged in the Middle Ages.

For a moment, everyone in the room held their breath.

After a long pause, Kiyono Sakura propped her hands on the table and raised an eyebrow. "They still didn't manage to get a clear shot of the Witch of Despair's face. They got the Witch of Calamity, at least."

Now that the silence was broken, Ava, the Danish girl standing in the corner, spoke up.

"I've seen the Witch of Despair. I know exactly what she looks like."

Xi Ziyue remained silent. It took her a long moment to raise her eyes toward the distant, grim-faced Ava.

Kiyono Sakura blinked in surprise before turning to her.

"Then let's hear it. What does she look like?"

"The Witch of Despair is a woman with white hair and red eyes," Ava said, snapping her book shut with a tone laced in deep revulsion. "Her skin is as pale as a corpse's. Her eyes are utterly hollow. She looks like a walking dead woman."

Kiyono Sakura thought for a moment. "If I remember correctly, when the Witch of Despair attacked the town of Rjukan in Norway, you couldn't have been older than six. Do you really remember what she looked like?"

"Once you see her, you never forget," Ava said grimly. "Most of the people whose minds were corrupted by the Witch of Despair are dead now. They either killed themselves or sought self-destruction in their madness. But I'm different."

She slowly raised her eyes, meeting Kiyono Sakura's gaze head-on.

"I am the only person who survived her. So... I wouldn't forget her face even if I died."

.....

.....

On another corner of the globe, in the Old Jingmai District, lay one of the bedrooms in the Xia-Ke household.

Ke Mingqing was slouched by the window, staring down at the college entrance exam prep book in his lap. He twirled his pen as he thought.

'So that's how it is. My Witchification form is actually that strong in their rating system? They say the more titles a witch has, the stronger she is—and after Witchification, I have a total of three titles.'

'But it's not like I'm a real magical girl. It's just a temporary transformation card, and who knows how much of that power I can actually use? Plus, transforming into a witch means losing my mind...'

'So the rule still stands: I should only ever consider using it if I'm completely out of options and backed into a corner.'

His thoughts suddenly shifted, and his brows shot up. 'Crap. If the witches from the Terminus Tower want my little sister this badly, who knows how many titles she'd have if she underwent Witchification.'

'She wouldn't just flatten Leijing right in front of the terrifying Crow Man and our alien mother, would she?' Thinking of this, Ke Mingqing sucked in a sharp breath of cold air.

He set down his prep book, picked up his phone, and tapped into a WeChat group titled "Owl Judge is a 0." Xia Lingxue and Ke Linye were the only other people in the chat, so Ke Mingqing had gone wild with the group name. It wasn't like anyone cared.

[Ke Mingqing: tt.]

[Ke Linye: What's up?]

[Xia Lingxue: ?]

Seeing that both of the big shots were online, Ke Mingqing started typing in the chat box and quickly hit send.

[Ke Mingqing: Do you guys want me to tell our sister about your identities? I just thought of this. If you want to come clean to her, having me act as the middleman would be the easiest way.]

[Ke Linye: Uh... how about we hold off on that for now?]

[Xia Lingxue: Let's wait until I get back to Leijing. Otherwise, she wouldn't believe it even if you told her.]

[Ke Linye: I agree with her.]

[Xia Lingxue: I'm busy. Logging off.]

Ke Mingqing stared at the screen in silence.

His second sister hadn't changed one bit. Once she made up her mind, she left absolutely zero room for anyone else to interfere. A moment later, Ke Mingqing opened his chat with Xia Zili and shot her a message.

[Ke Mingqing: Moshi moshi. How'd your meeting go? Get any clues?]

[Chali Jiushi: Open your window. I'll tell you to your face.]

Ke Mingqing froze. He turned his head and saw the girl in the gothic dress perched outside on his air conditioning unit. She was hugging her knees in the sunlight, her eyes downcast and her brows furrowed in a sulk.

He had no idea what was bothering her, but he walked over and carefully slid the floor-to-ceiling window open anyway, terrified that any sudden movements might provoke the almighty being.

Magical girl Ember collapsed her umbrella and hopped down into the bedroom, her feet landing softly on the floorboards.

"What's wrong?" Ke Mingqing asked.

"White Jack showed up at our meeting and claimed he knew a witch. Kiyono Sakura thinks you know him, and since you're my brother..." Ember murmured. "Well, her suspicions naturally fell on me."

"Did she have any proof?"

Ember was quiet for a moment before shaking her head. "No. So the whole thing was dropped."

"Then that's that. Let them think whatever they want," Ke Mingqing said dismissively. "Anyway, what did you actually talk about in the meeting?"

"Right before they were killed, a British magical girl squad managed to take photos of the three witches from the Terminus Tower." As she spoke, Ember dug a Magic Card from her skirt pocket and crushed it.

Flecks of light scattered through the air as a Magic Camera materialized in her hands.

Ember handed the camera over. Ke Mingqing took it and flicked through the photographs, muttering, "What's the difference? You still can't even see the Witch of Despair's face."

"Ava—the magical girl from Denmark—claimed she had seen the Witch of Despair's face before," Ember said quietly. "She even said she'd shared a small fragment of the witch's memory."

"So what did she look like?"

"She said the Witch of Despair is a woman with white hair and red eyes."

Ke Mingqing suddenly froze. A certain person immediately sprang to mind, and he murmured, "White hair... and red eyes?"

"Yeah."

He fell silent for a moment before pressing further. "What else did Ava say?"

"Ava said that when her mind was being corrupted by the Witch of Despair's mana, she caught a glimpse of some of her memories," Ember replied casually.

"Her memories?"

"Right. The gist of it was that the Witch of Despair traded her own heart for something to help her find a specific person. But in the end, she couldn't find whoever she was looking for, and she went completely insane."

"Her heart... white hair, red eyes?"

Ke Mingqing murmured silently to himself. A moment later, he managed to squeeze a single name from his throat.

"Bai?"

In that instant, his mind snapped back to the witch dossier Kiyono Sakura had handed him the other day.

[Witch of Despair. Gender: Female. Formerly 'Magical Girl Oboro'. Age: Unknown, currently estimated to have been alive for over two hundred years.]

'The Witch of Despair has lived in this era for two hundred years. She has white hair, red eyes, and traded away her heart to search for someone...' Ke Mingqing's expression grew solemn as he thought. 'That's almost identical to what Bai went through. But Bai hasn't been in this era for anywhere near that long.'

'But then... how does this make sense?'

He tipped his head back, staring blankly at the ceiling. 'Why would there be two Bais in this world? Did something go wrong while she was traveling through time?'

At that thought, Ke Mingqing suddenly recalled the last thing Bai had said to him before they parted ways.

.....

"Time travel is an extraordinary experience. I felt as though I was being torn in half. I didn't think I would survive it, but the next thing I knew, I woke up in this era."

......

"Torn... in half?"

Ke Mingqing murmured the words out loud, his pupils constricting. 'Did Bai actually split into two during her jump through time?' A violent storm seemed to erupt in his mind.

'Did one half arrive here in the present and find me, while the other half got thrown over two hundred years into the past and became the Witch of Despair everyone keeps talking about?'

Ke Mingqing stared blankly, his eyes slowly widening in the silence.

He quickly shook his head, focusing all of his thoughts.

'Wait, that's not right. If the Witch of Despair really is the other half of Bai, why would she have become a witch? The difference between a vampire and a witch is massive. That's way too absurd.'

But another thought quickly followed. 'But... the Bai I know also claimed that she gained a supernatural ability after traveling through time. Her ability to manipulate Puppet Strings.'

'If that's the case, and there really is a second Bai out there... it wouldn't be completely out of the question for her to have somehow gained the power of a magical girl and then fallen into corruption, becoming a witch.'

Ke Mingqing was completely dumbstruck, his Adam's apple bobbing nervously.

The fierce sunlight was streaming through the window, casting half of his face into deep shadow. He lowered his eyes, his gaze flickering as his mind raced.

'Forget it... I can't be sure yet. I'll just have to wait until I actually come face to face with this Witch of Despair. And worst-case scenario, even if she really is Bai's other half, it doesn't fundamentally change anything for me.'

Just then, a slightly aggrieved voice drifted over to his ear.

"What are you thinking about so hard? You've been staring into space forever."

Ke Mingqing finally snapped out of it, realizing that his shirt was drenched in cold sweat. He slowly turned his head to find that Xia Zili had dropped her magical girl form and returned to her normal self.

The girl, now clad in an orange hoodie, was sitting quietly against the wall, giving him an annoyed glare.

After a moment of silence, he spoke up. "By the way, do you want me to let our older brother and second sister in on your identity? Or our third sister, for that matter?"

Xia Zili blinked, furrowing her brow.

"Hah—?"

"No panting at me," Ke Mingqing said with a shrug. "We could have a massive family confession right now. I could let you experience the joy of a true family meeting."

"Genuine question: what is the point of letting those three muggles know my secret?" Xia Zili asked, completely baffled. "If I get caught by a witch, are they going to swoop in and protect me or something?"

She paused to think before adding, "It's better not to tell them, just to save them the needless anxiety. When the witches finally attack, we can just let them evacuate to the shelters with the rest of the normal civilians."

"Alright. But there's still one person in this house who actually can protect you. What about that?" Ke Mingqing shrugged.

"Mom?"

Xia Zili blurted out, her voice dripping with absolute shock.

Ke Mingqing froze. After a long moment, he stared at her, utterly dumbfounded. "I was talking about Dad! Does the great Rain Crow really have zero prestige in your eyes?"

Xia Zili was silent for a moment before letting out a slightly disappointed, "Oh."

"Comrade Xia Zili, would you seriously rather think of Mom than acknowledge the sheer power of your own glorious superhero dad?" Ke Mingqing asked, astounded.

"I just forgot. Or rather, I didn't want to remember him. Just thinking about him pisses me off," Xia Zili scoffed.

Ke Mingqing, who had just picked up his cup for a drink of water, immediately choked. He coughed violently for a while before finally managing to speak.

"Whatever... So, after all of that, do you want me to tell Dad that you're the magical girl Ember?"

Xia Zili hesitated. Just then, a sudden knock echoed from the door, followed immediately by Ke Mingwei's deep voice from the hallway.

"What are you two talking about in there?"