Chapter 258: Epilogue (1)

September 30, 2026. Seven hours after the Terminus Night incident.

Afternoon sunlight filled a private conference room at the Leijing Magical Girl Company. At the far end of the table, a young girl in a light green qipao sat with poised posture, quietly sipping her tea.

Ke Mingqing sat at the opposite end, still wearing the windbreaker that practically doubled as a bomb suit.

Resting his chin in his hand, he glanced out the floor-to-ceiling window. The city below was completely deserted, like a ghost town. All across the streets, a massive workforce of espers in charge of disaster reconstruction was rushing about, repairing one collapsed high-rise after another.

Naturally, their presence only drove the employment rate for civil engineering majors even lower—which was precisely why working-class members of the super-human species were called "scabs."

"I've got to wonder, how does a busy person like you have time to chat with me?" Ke Mingqing propped his elbow on the table, resting his cheek against his fist while his other index finger tapped lightly on the surface.

He glanced up at the clock on the wall. It was two in the afternoon.

After a moment, the girl in the qipao finally looked up and answered, "All right, I've more or less finished giving out the necessary orders. Sorry to keep you waiting, Mr. Blue Pigeon."

"Are today's press conferences all wrapped up?" Ke Mingqing turned his head, eyeing the bamboo hairpin atop her head.

"Yes," Xi Ziyue nodded. "Sakurahime can step in for me. She's a proper lady from a wealthy Japanese family and has received professional training, so she handles public opinion even more effortlessly than I do. That leaves me with a bit of breathing room, though..." She trailed off, hesitating.

"Though what?" Ke Mingqing raised an eyebrow.

"We are considering making the existence of witches public," Xi Ziyue said in a low voice. "Or rather, at this point, keeping their existence completely under wraps is going to be difficult."

She paused. "However, we're facing a serious problem: once the truth about witches gets out, public trust in magical girls will likely plummet below zero."

Xi Ziyue let out a soft sigh. "The public narrative that 'magical girls are all underage girls, which sets a bad example for minors' was already giving us enough of a headache. If the truth about witches is exposed on top of that... at that point, 'magical girls' will probably be strictly banned by the authorities and cease to exist as a legitimate profession."

"Isn't that only natural?" Ke Mingqing shrugged. "Sending a group of people who are already prone to losing control to fight another group of people who are even more prone to losing control—it makes zero sense no matter how you look at it."

"That may be true, but I don't want the meaning of being a magical girl to be denied so easily." Xi Ziyue's expression remained flat. "It's true that we carry the risk of falling and becoming witches, and most magical girls really are just 'wet-behind-the-ears underage girls'—but isn't it precisely because of that, because they're willing to overcome all kinds of fear and stake their lives to protect others, that what they do is all the more precious?"

Ke Mingqing raised a hand in a "STOP" gesture and rolled his eyes at her. "Whoa, hold on. I didn't come here to have a formal debate with you, and I'm not here to listen to you preach about love and hope."

"I know, I apologize. The pressure has just been immense lately." Xi Ziyue rubbed the dark circles under her eyes. "First, the 'dismemberment of Kiyono Sakura' sparked strong dissatisfaction from the Japanese side, and then the Terminus Night incident drew the entire world's attention to witches. It feels like I've spent these past few days either in a press conference or on my way to one."

"Careful, Ms. Busy, don't work yourself into a panda."

"Someone used to call me that when I was little," Xi Ziyue said suddenly after a moment of silence.

Ke Mingqing thought for a second. "Oh, right, how are the other two of the Magical Girl Three Giants?"

"They're fine. Mizumio Akari wasn't seriously hurt to begin with," Xi Ziyue said slowly. "Utuna has been resuscitated. She overdrew a massive amount of magic power while fighting the Witch of Calamity, which damaged the magic circuits inside her body. She'll likely have to stay on bed rest for the next month or two."

"Then what about Deep Space and Little Red Riding Hood—" Ke Mingqing paused, his eyes darkening.

He turned to look out the window and rephrased his question. "No... what about Ava and An Youlu? What do you plan to do?"

"We'll hold their funerals soon, followed by a memorial service," Xi Ziyue said softly. "However, neither of them had any family or relatives. There won't be any next of kin at the funeral—probably only the magical girls who knew them."

"What about Kuroki Hitomi?" Ke Mingqing asked suddenly. "Didn't Little Red Riding Hood work as a maid for that rich Japanese girl's family? By rights, her people should attend the funeral."

"Kuroki Hitomi left Leijing on a private jet just a few hours ago," Xi Ziyue said. "We wanted to notify her of Little Red Riding Hood's death, but unfortunately, we couldn't reach her."

"Is that so?"

'That's the right move,' Ke Mingqing thought.

He had warned Kuroki Hitomi early on not to get involved in Terminus Night. He just hadn't expected her to leave so late; waiting until the incident had already happened to skip town was cutting it way too close.

Xi Ziyue took a sip of tea and said quietly, "Ava was a good kid, just far too obsessive. From the very first day I met her, I had a feeling she would end up like this. I just didn't expect that day to come so soon."

She paused. "And as for Little Red Riding Hood—"

Ke Mingqing didn't seem to want to hear her bring up Little Red Riding Hood, so he changed the subject. "By the way, did you mention me during the press conference?"

He asked because he suddenly remembered the system panel that had popped up in front of him after he killed the Witch of Despair on the stage of Terminus Night.

[Congratulations! The player has successfully killed an "S Rank Superhuman Species"!]

[First-kill rewards obtained—1. Player level instantly increased by 1; 2. One A Rank Equipment Box; 3. 15,000 superhuman coins; 4. A global first-kill announcement for the S Rank Superhuman Species to all players worldwide.]

An S Rank first-kill announcement?

'If the Magical Girl Company announces to the public that "Blue Pigeon" was the one who killed the "Witch of Despair" during the Terminus Night incident—and at the exact same time, the first-kill announcement of "Jin Chengwu" slaying the S Rank Superhuman Species "Witch of Despair" spreads among the players, I don't even want to imagine what'll happen!'

At that thought, Ke Mingqing sucked in a sharp breath, mentally bracing himself for his "Blue Pigeon" identity to be exposed among the players.

Still, there was a chance. As long as the Magical Girl Company kept it strictly confidential from the public, his identity wouldn't leak.

"Yes," Xi Ziyue said. "We mentioned all the outside support personnel who helped us in this operation, which naturally included you, Mr. Blue Pigeon, as well as Rain Crow, Officer Girl, and the others. However, it wasn't convenient for us to mention unofficial personnel like Owl Judge and Red Lotus in the interviews, as that would cause unnecessary trouble."

"Oh, got it," Ke Mingqing said casually.

Xi Ziyue thought for a moment, then looked up to meet Ke Mingqing's eyes, asking curiously, "Why do you ask?"

"Just asking," Ke Mingqing made up an excuse. "I'll be joining the Roundtable to work alongside Rain Crow as his assistant soon. This should go on my record, right?"

"Of course. Even in the files of the Superhero Roundtable Council, the witch organization 'Terminus Tower' is listed as a Double-S threat. Since you played a massive role in this operation, it will definitely deepen the Roundtable's recognition of you."

"Then did you mention that I was the one who took out the Witch of Despair?" Ke Mingqing looked up, probing tentatively.

Xi Ziyue shook her head. "No. For the time being, we haven't disclosed the identities of the three witches to the public. As I mentioned earlier, we still haven't decided whether to make the existence of 'witches' public at all."

Ke Mingqing froze for a moment, silently breathing a sigh of relief. After a long pause, he said, "That's good... Even if you decide to go public about 'witches' later on, there's no need to go out of your way to tell people I killed the Witch of Despair, right?"

"Why?" Xi Ziyue turned the question back on him.

Ke Mingqing stretched lazily and said nonchalantly, "Because it's too high-profile. I still haven't recovered from that whole thing with the 'Clock Maker' a while back. Let me lay low for a bit, yeah?"

"All right, I'll make a note of it." Xi Ziyue picked up her teacup and said mildly, "Here I thought you were someone who loved the spotlight. I didn't expect you to be so surprisingly low-key."

"Oh, right, didn't you say earlier that you had something to tell me once I got back?" Ke Mingqing paused. "So, what did you call me here for?"

"First, it's about your younger sister," Xi Ziyue said.

"Rain Crow is my dad, and he's a member of the Roundtable," Ke Mingqing said abruptly. "Before you consider executing my sister, I suggest you think carefully about whether you want to make an enemy of the Roundtable Heroes."

With that, he tilted his head and stared deadpan at Xi Ziyue.

Xi Ziyue fell silent for a moment. "You misunderstand. We never intended to put Xiaoli on the execution list to begin with. Or rather—this is the first time in history that a magical girl has been able to revert from a witch form back to her magical girl form, and even back to her normal human state. To us, Xia Zili is of great observational value. Perhaps through her, we can uncover knowledge about witches that we still don't understand."

She paused for a long moment, took a deep breath, and added, "In fact, her very existence... might even completely overturn everything we know about witches."

Ke Mingqing glanced up and said without missing a beat, "So what you're saying is, my sister is a very important lab rat. Next, you plan to lock her up in a lab for experiments, and if anything goes wrong with her, you'll just dispose of her, right?"

"No, it's not as if we have no feelings for Xiaoli. Calling her a 'lab rat' is going too far—" Xi Ziyue shook her head. "If possible, we want Xia Zili to live, too. How she does going forward will determine our final choice."

"You—"

"Please don't be so quick to interrupt me, Mr. Blue Pigeon," Xi Ziyue cut in. "Let me put it this way: if your sister wakes up and enters her witch form once again, slaughtering the innocent and causing countless casualties—or even the destruction of an entire city or a whole country—what choice would you make then?"

Having said that, she lowered her eyes slightly, gazing at the ripples spreading across the surface of her tea.

"Don't worry, that won't happen," Ke Mingqing shook his head, speaking with certainty.

"Why do you say so?" the girl in the qipao pressed.

"Because I'll beat her awake before it ever gets that far." Ke Mingqing clicked his tongue. "Also—holy crap, can an old-fashioned little lady like you stop talking in that archaic tone? This humble one has been rude." As he spoke, he cupped his hands in a mock salute and gave a slight nod.

Xi Ziyue ignored his smart-aleck remark and asked next, "What if she doesn't wake up?"

Ke Mingqing was silent for a moment before looking up. "I don't know. But no matter who tries to lay a hand on her, I'll definitely stand on her side. I can't just stand by and watch my own sister get ganged up on..."

Xi Ziyue suddenly lifted her head, her eyes—as clear and bright as fresh bamboo—fixing on him.

She asked, "Then what if, after undergoing Witchification, your sister kills someone who is very important to you?"

Ke Mingqing sighed and looked away from her gaze. "Is there any point in making up all these hypotheticals that haven't even happened?"

Xi Ziyue watched him without moving a muscle.

"There is. It's the necessary attitude when handling a matter of great importance. Not everything can be left to wishful thinking. You probably don't quite understand the weight of my position."

She spoke at an unhurried pace, reining in the pressure hidden in her tone.

"Then what about Little Red Riding Hood?" Ke Mingqing thought for a moment and looked up. "It's a fact that my sister killed her, and that's something that has already happened. How do you plan to handle that?"

Xi Ziyue fell silent for a long while, then suddenly pulled her gaze away from his face. After a moment, she spoke. "Had it not been for our negligence in letting the witches of Terminus Tower succeed, Ember wouldn't have been guided by them into falling and becoming a witch—so at its core, the blame for Little Red Riding Hood's death lies with us, not with a Xia Zili who had lost her mind. Xia Zili is only a victim."

"So you do know my sister is a victim?" Ke Mingqing finally caught a slip in her words.

"Yes. As far as the Terminus Night incident is concerned, she is a victim. However, that does not mean she won't become a perpetrator after this."

"Hah—" Ke Mingqing laughed.

Xi Ziyue said expressionlessly, "Everything I have fought to secure for Xia Zili is built on the premise that she unprecedentedly reverted from her witch form back to her normal state, and that she can maintain her sanity from here on out."

She paused, lowering her voice. "Otherwise—no matter how deep our personal feelings for her may be, it will not sway the Magical Girl Company's final judgment. She will be executed by us as a witch."

Ke Mingqing fell silent.

A moment later, he let out a quiet sigh. "And then? What was the thing you wanted to talk to me about in private?"

Xi Ziyue considered it. "The atmosphere between us has gotten a bit too tense. I don't think now is a good time to bring it up."

"If you don't bring it up now, don't bother bringing it up later. I don't like people leaving me hanging," Ke Mingqing shrugged and said softly. "Little Red Riding Hood left me hanging right before she died, saying she told me a lie, and I still haven't figured out which line was fake."

"I'm sorry, but now really isn't the time, and I have too much on my plate," Xi Ziyue said quietly. "If you're still willing, I'll arrange to meet with you again in a few days."

"Fine, whatever."

Ke Mingqing was trying to figure out what Xi Ziyue had wanted to say when the phone in his windbreaker pocket suddenly gave a "ding."

He pulled it out and glanced at the screen.

[Ke Linye: The old man is pretty much recovered. He's at the hospital with Officer Girl, and Mom went over to see her too.]

[Ke Mingqing: Ohh, sounds like a total bloodbath. What about Third Sister?]

[Ke Linye: I asked Zorro to find someone to look after Ningzhi. Zorro knows a top-tier underground doctor who's also an esper, so Ningzhi should make a full recovery soon.]

[Ke Mingqing: That's a relief. Is Little Sister awake yet?]

[Ke Linye: Not yet. I'll let you know when she wakes up.]

[Ke Mingqing: Okay, leave it at that then. I'm heading straight home now.]

After sending that message, Ke Mingqing looked up and said to Xi Ziyue, "I'm leaving, Xi Ziyue."

"Go right ahead." Eyes lowered to her documents, the girl in the qipao lifted her teacup and took a light sip.

Ke Mingqing was just about to slip his phone back into his pocket when another "ding" rang out. He sighed and looked down at the screen.

[Ke Linye: Wait, can you get in touch with your Second Sister?]

Ke Mingqing blinked, then quickly typed out a reply on his phone.

[Ke Mingqing: What do you mean? I haven't contacted her. Isn't she busy in Egypt fighting three hundred rounds with that mythic vessel called "Anubis"?]

[Ke Linye: Axue hasn't replied to my messages all day. Normally she would've written back ages ago. Besides, with something as huge as "Terminus Night" happening, there's no way she wouldn't check in with us.]

[Ke Linye: Has she not contacted you?]

Staring at the message, Ke Mingqing froze slightly, the glow of the screen reflecting in his pitch-black eyes.

The next second, he blankly lifted his head. For some reason, in that split second, the words the other Ke Mingqing from the future had spoken to him inside that bizarre mental space echoed in his mind.

"'Devouring another mythic vessel'—that is the only path for a final-stage mythic vessel to avoid self-destruction. 'So, you should understand by now what Second Sister has actually been plotting all this time...'"