My Superpower Is Piloting Magical Girl Corpses?

In Origin Space, the endless black fog that had been surging like a tidal wave suddenly froze in place.

Hum—

The storm that pierced heaven and earth abruptly collapsed and condensed. The dense, ominous mist seemed to take on substance, layer upon layer wrapping the girl's body. In midair it coalesced into a pitch-black, massive cocoon, silently hovering at about half the height of the Sacred Tree's trunk.

"...!!"

The sudden anomaly stiffened the smiles on the magical girls' faces in an instant.

Everyone stared at that mass of darkness that gave off a threatening aura and absorbed all light, bewildered.

Tang Keren murmured, "What... is happening?"

Su Fang widened her eyes: "Senior Airwen, she—"

Zihan did not speak. Her golden right eye kept fixed on the cocoon, her expression one of incredulity.

Among the three in Full Bloom present, only her vision was the sharpest. That golden Eye of Judgment could observe things others could not see.

—Perfect, flawless, without a single imperfection.

Even…

There was no causality she could observe, no seam to peer through.

Not even a single fatal line existed.

At the same time,

a nameless dread swelled in everyone's hearts.

All the black fog, the Abyssic giant tree below, and the trend of corrosion toward the Sacred Tree had clearly stalled, yet the feeling intensified instead of easing.

This was not relief.

It was a perception that something infinitely great was about to descend, and so the entire world sank into silence and hush.

But…

The next moment,

the crimson figure that had been knocked away streaked across the sky again like a meteor, charging toward the massive cocoon suspended in midair, snapping them back to attention.

"Mengmengxiang (senior)!!"

At this moment, the Soul Gem on the crimson magical girl's chest had lit up halfway. The previous cracks and cloudiness seemed to have partially receded, and a clearer, surging flame glowed within.

Her pretty face tightened with no hint of hesitation. The boiling spirit outfit field drew endless magic from the water's surface with a howl. In an instant, it was assimilated into a blazing, violent dragon of fire, which, together with her microphone staff, roared and slammed toward the black cocoon.

Boom—

But as the staff tip just touched the edge of the black fog, it abruptly and eerily froze.

A strange repulsive force violently erupted, forcibly pushing Lin Guang aside and knocking him away again.

"Ugh…"

Yet her attack seemed to awaken the others.

In the next instant, Tang Keren's star bullets, Zihan's slashes, and Su Fang's sniper beams poured down.

Magic fluctuations stirred dazzling illusions across heaven and earth, but the moment they touched the black fog they sank without trace, like a stone thrown into the sea, unable to stir even a ripple.

However, the attack seemed to rouse something sleeping inside.

(bgm: Magia)

Thud thud.

The pitch-black giant cocoon floating above the liquid magic surface suddenly began to rhythmically contract and expand.

As if a colossal egg gestating some gargantuan creature was nearing hatch, it sent forth fetal movements.

Or like a massive heart beating with a low, heavy thud, growing ever more active.

The water's surface trembled.

The color blocks on the virtual stage and the sky lanterns shook, like unstable signals.

Thud thud.

The Fragments of Hope circling the Sacred Tree's crown, shining like stars, also quivered.

Invisible ripples spread outward.

Even the three most dazzling stars in the sky—the three magical girls in Full Bloom—grunted in unison, feeling magic slipping from their control. They needed to expend massive effort to restrain it.

Only the crimson magical girl, the light in her Soul Gem growing stronger, could stubbornly resist that force and inch closer to the giant cocoon bit by bit.

Thud thud.

Thud thud!

Thud thud!!

At that moment, the entire world between illusion and truth could hear that enormous sound.

A genuine, endless tide seemed to charge forward from far away, becoming a violent flood about to swallow the world.

Meanwhile,

in Kazenari Town,

the blood-red sky hung like a curtain soaked in gore, oppressive and suffocating.

Fierce battle raged among the city's ruins.

Over thirty retired magical girls still fought fiercely, their radiance undiminished, even growing brighter.

But after upper-level Nightmare Seeds entered the fray, some stragglers began to appear. Dangerous species and Claw-type units started penetrating the city, forcing several magical girls to split off and clear them out.

And at that moment,

whether fighting on the front lines or hiding deep underground, everyone heard a clear, heavy beating in their ears.

Thud thud.

The sound of something breaking grew clearer in the sky.

A cheering tide emanated from the ruptured void; it was the Abyss's monsters howling in eager anticipation.

Endless black fog began invading inside the barrier.

Then—

the first drop of blackish-red rain fell from the gloomy fog, striking the earth and staining Kazenari Town's streets a dark red.

The next second, as if composed of foul blood, the downpour came pouring down violently. Countless monsters, thirsty and expectant, radiated a cold, eager chill from each filthy raindrop.

Cracks in the Sacred Tree Barrier widened again. More large Nightmare Seeds squeezed into reality like a tide.

Bathing in the drops, the creatures streaming from the fissures seemed to have heard an order from an ultimate will and went completely mad.

The instant they entered the barrier, they lunged forward recklessly. The frequency and force of the invasion surged in an instant.

In a flash, the magical girls—who had been able to maintain the upper hand thanks to the Sacred Tree's magic and the Tree's domain suppression—immediately felt unprecedented pressure.

—The Sacred Tree's suppression was clearly waning!

And just when everything seemed to slip into despair,

inside the Grand Hall of the Magical Girl Association,

golden light slowly faded.

In front of the Sacred Tree, the fiery bird and the amber-haired magical girl were gone. Only a single flaming red feather remained on the table.

At the same time, a calm male voice sounded in the hall.

"I understand."

Those aquamarine eyes bore a sense of awakening wonder, yet also the resignation of someone already prepared to sacrifice everything.

He slowly set down the crystal vial in his hand and said in a deep voice:

"From now on, leave Kazenari Town to me."

In Origin Space of the Utopia,

the drumlike throbbing of the pitch-black giant cocoon grew more violent, its frequency climbing.

Then,

like a bud blooming,

the cocoon's petals of black-mist shell silently transformed into pure darkness.

At this moment, the four magical girls' gazes were locked on that dissipating darkness.

A slender figure slowly emerged in the heart of the gloom.

It was a beautiful, valiant girl.

Her eyes were closed. She wore a sleek black light skirt-armor from head to toe and wielded a black phantom sword. Her skirt, woven as if from night itself, hung behind her, and her long black hair fell like a waterfall, motionless without wind.

Her face showed no change—every facial contour and the cold aura she gave off were identical to the Airwen they had known before; only the previous silver-white was replaced by a profound black.

Yet…

everyone's pupils involuntarily constricted violently.