Starting as a Magical Girl, I Alone Shall Rule for Eternity

Qingluan looked at the Disaster Beast pouncing toward her.

It was a wild wolf, standing as tall as two people. The military forces ahead were being rapidly destroyed by the Disaster Beasts.

And her cat was trembling, hiding under a small table.

Today, because she had done well on her exams, she had insisted, throwing a tantrum, that her mother take her out for a delicious meal.

Then, while drinking a cold beverage here, they were suddenly attacked by a Disaster Beast...

Next, next, she had to go save the cat.

"Are you really going to save the cat?"

A voice asked her, "Your mom is still looking for you, you know. If you go save the cat...

Mom will die."

For some reason, inexplicable memories surfaced in her mind.

The mother who died protecting her, killed by a Disaster Beast.

The father who flew into a rage because of his wife's death, beat her, and stomped the cat to death.

She kept backing away.

"But, don't you want to save your senior?"

The voice spoke again, "If you don't get past here, you'll never know about Full Bloom Magical Girls. Your senior will never wake up. Is that okay?"

Qingluan stopped again.

No, this isn't reality.

No, I should have been swallowed by the Heart Image Remnant.

This, this is the Heart Image Remnant!

She quickly regained her memories. Although somewhat muddled, Qingying quickly understood what she needed to do.

Reality is reality. Reality cannot be changed.

So, she absolutely had to go save the cat, and then, cause her mother's death...

"Little Qing!"

The anxious call came from her mother behind her. Qingluan, who had intended to go back for the cat, stopped in her tracks at that call.

She didn't want to turn back.

Once she turned back, there would be no more chances.

"Little Qing!"

But that calling voice... she had missed it so, so much.

No other words were needed. Just the sound of her childhood nickname, and Qingluan's tears began to fall uncontrollably.

A flawless voice, one that even stirred her memories.

She had almost forgotten what her mother's voice sounded like.

Not a recording, not the slightly distorted sound from a television, but a real voice, transmitted through vibrating air to her ears.

Gentle, giving a feeling that seemed to warm and fill her entire body.

"Hurry over here, Little Qing!"

However, her mother never actually chased after her, only called from afar.

That wasn't how it really happened.

Back then, her mother had been chasing after her the whole time, which was why she was killed by the Disaster Beast.

Because she stubbornly insisted on saving the cat.

It was all her fault, all because of her, insisting on saving some stupid cat!

If, at that time, if she hadn't gone to save the cat...

"Little Qing!"

Her mother's anxious voice rang out behind her. Qingying could even guess.

If she rushed toward the cat, her mother would chase after her the very next second and be killed by the Disaster Beast.

She should run over, hug the cat, and watch her mother die.

Then leave this place, find the secrets within the Heart Image Remnant, find the secrets of the Full Bloom Magical Girl, and save that senior who had been lying in bed, unable to wake up, all for her sake!

She knew everything.

But when her mother's scent drifted over on the wind from behind, lingering at the tip of her nose, that familiar, cherished scent from childhood was right there, not far behind her... When she had a chance to do it all over again, to correct the mistake she could never forgive herself for...

So what if she knew everything?

That was... her mom!

Suddenly, the familiar scent enveloped her once more. Qingluan saw the hands she had missed so much.

They reached out from behind, wrapping around her and pulling her into an embrace.

Qingying lowered her head, grabbing those hands tightly. They were almost exactly the same as she remembered from childhood.

The lines on those palms, the warmth, the feel of the skin... almost identical.

How could this possibly be fake?

"Mom, I really missed you so much, Mom. Dad and I always wanted to see you again..."

She sobbed, crying out her grievances, clutching her mother's hands tightly. Tears dripped, drop by drop, onto those hands, just like when she was a child, wronged and heartbroken.

"Don't cry, don't cry, Little Qing." Her mother stroked her face, wiping away the tears. "Mommy's here. It's okay."

Her mother tried to pull her away, but Qingying just stood there motionless, crying, her whole body trembling as if terrified.

"Don't be afraid, Little Qing." Her mother immediately bent down and patted her head.

Then she picked her up and started running toward safety. "You must... have suffered a lot..."

The quiet sobs suddenly turned into loud, wailing cries.

She leaned against her mother's chest, almost unable to lift her head.

The voice, the scent, the touch... everything, everything was almost indistinguishable from reality.

She really wanted to look up and see her mother's face one more time.

But she still didn't look up, just held her mother tighter.

"Mom, I really, really missed you."

"Mhm, Mommy knows."

"Mom, I really, really love you."

"Mhm, don't say that now, silly girl."

"Mom, I also... I'm also really, really sorry. I'm the one who killed you. Dad won't forgive me, and I will never, ever forgive myself either."

Seeing Qingluan, who had kept her head down, suddenly jump out of her embrace and stop running, her mother also stopped, looking at her in confusion. "What's wrong, Little Qing?"

Qingying turned around, her back to her mother, facing the Disaster Beast. "So, Mom, I can't let myself kill anyone else. I will never, ever let myself kill anyone else again."

"What's gotten into you? Hurry up and run!"

"Right now... right now I can't turn back." Qingying kept her back to her mother, gripping her hand tightly. "So..."

"Let's go back together, Mom."

In the final second before the Disaster Beast's impact, her mother hugged her, shielding her underneath.

Just like in the past, her mother, sent flying by the Disaster Beast, crashed headfirst onto the distant street like a ragged cloth.

When Qingying stood up, the Disaster Beast behind her slammed into her as well!

Then, she landed next to her mother.

However, it wasn't a fatal wound. She lay beside her mother's corpse, feeling only intense pain, so real it was unbelievable.

She waited quietly. Nothing changed. The world continued to develop.

She was stunned for a moment, then began to crawl on the ground.

Something was shaking in her heart.

With great difficulty, she crawled to her mother's corpse. Holding her mother's body, this time, she finally saw her mother's face.

...

Blood was flowing. The wound she had caused was horrifying, so deep the bone was visible. A large amount of warm blood flowed uncontrollably.

The Disaster Beast's roars still echoed in her ears. Her mother's body temperature gradually grew cold. Sticky blood stained her clothes. The sounds, the scents... everything, everything felt incredibly real.

A little kitten meowed nearby.

The Disaster Beast kept walking toward them, but the cat just rubbed affectionately against her foot.

"Mom..."

Holding her mother's head, a lump formed in her throat, and she cried again.

Is this place... reality or not?

"Qingluan!"

A voice rang out from afar.

"The streets are already in chaos!"

Qingluan lifted her head, looking around.

"Qingluan! What are you spacing out for?"

Until the voices from outside grew louder and louder.

"Qingluan, aren't you going to act?"

Qingluan took a deep breath, looking at the mother in her arms.

Slowly, slowly, she let go.

"Hurry up and wake up, Qingluan!"

Then another slap landed on her own face. Qingluan looked up, seeing the anxious Iris.

"That's strange. Didn't Teacher Hongmian say you wouldn't be affected within your own Mental Landscape? Why is everyone still not waking up?"

She looked around again and realized they were actually inside Iris's Mental Landscape.

The scene, like falling onto the moon, made her feel disoriented for a moment.

Then she looked down and saw she was actually holding a rock in her arms. She quickly threw it away.

Looking around, she could see many other Disaster Control Bureau Magical Girls lying in Iris's Mental Landscape.

And these Magical Girls were disappearing one by one!

She immediately scrambled up, calling out to Iris, who was flustered beside Teacher Hongmian. "Iris, what's going on?"

Iris turned and saw Qingluan was awake, nearly crying with joy. "You're finally awake! After coming in, I did as Senior Hongmian said and expanded my Mental Landscape first. I clearly saw other Magical Girls expanding theirs too, but in the end, only my Mental Landscape remained. Everyone else's collapsed not long after expanding..."

"Calm down." Qingluan patted her shoulder, then wiped her own face. Her heart was still immersed in the pain of having caused her mother's death again. She took a deep breath and looked around.

She even felt a bit confused about where she was now.

Is this... reality? Is it possible this is also fake?

But Qingluan didn't dare gamble anymore. "According to previous records, Senior Mujin's Mental Landscape is related to space. Everyone might have been teleported to other locations..."

Before she could finish, Iris suddenly picked up a magical badge over there.

"Finally, a message!" Iris said excitedly. "It's a message from Senior Jincha. She says the disappeared Magical Girls have all been teleported out."

Qingluan breathed a sigh of relief. It was good everyone was safe.

Then, looking at those Magical Girls who possessed Heart Image Remnants but were still unconscious, Qingluan glanced at Iris again, somewhat puzzled. "Why are you the only one unaffected?"

Iris immediately snorted proudly. "That's obviously because my Mental Landscape, as the Disaster Control Bureau's first 300-level Advanced Blooming Peak Magical Girl, is invincible! The ancient Magical Girl Senior Mujin, who doesn't understand the value of this level, can't affect me!"

Could it really be because of this reason that even a Full Bloom Magical Girl senior couldn't affect her?

......

"Mirror Heart Reality, of course, is the first layer of trial for this Heart Image Remnant."

"Mirror Heart Reality?"

"It's the world from your memories you just experienced. I named it Mirror Heart Reality." An Shiyu explained, standing on the Calamity Dragon's back.

Feels inferior to the Heart Devil Tribulation.

Jiang Si thought disdainfully in his heart, then said with displeasure on his dragon face, "How long are you going to stay on my back?"

"Hey, I'm light anyway. Besides, we're acquaintances, cut me some slack."

"She has her own legs." Then the powerful muscles on his back rippled, and the wings on both sides flapped so hard An Shiyu almost flew off.

The girl was so scared she quickly hugged the Calamity Dragon's tail. "Hey, hey, hey, hey! I'm explaining the mechanics of the Heart Image Remnant to you! Can't you fulfill my and her wish? It's just stepping on your back a bit."

The Calamity Dragon quieted down.

An Shiyu jumped back onto his back and continued, "Although it's a trial, Mirror Heart Reality isn't actually that dangerous. After all, it's meant to screen out Magical Girls capable of handling the Heart Image Remnant's troubles. Its essence is actually an insurance mechanism."

"Generally speaking, after falling into the world of memories, you'll face the person you regret most, or the person you most want to see, someone you have an inextricable regret about. Then, before such regret and such a person, you'll face a choice again."

"Magical Girls without resolve will be screened out, to avoid them regretting it later. Because what's needed here are those willing to fight to the end as Magical Girls, no matter what."

"Magical Girls who are screened out will be kicked out of the Heart Image Remnant." As Jiang Si flew, An Shiyu on his back clapped her hands. In the glass of the receding buildings, the faint images of those unconscious Magical Girls appeared.

"These... are no longer needed."

Jiang Si nodded. Understood.

Emotion-Questioning Valley.

But clearly, they can't even copy properly. If you fail the trial, shouldn't you just be kicked out? Shouldn't you be killed, revived, and then have your heart tortured further? They copied a bit of the surface and started changing it according to their own ideas, right? Without considering if it's suitable or not, making it so stiff!

Anyway, I'll find this Full Bloom Magical Girl later to collect ancestral taxes!

An Shiyu suddenly shivered.

Jiang Si let the girl stand on his back. From a distance, it looked like An Shiyu was riding a Pokémon. "The world from memories... will eventually become reality?"

"That's right. The reason Mirror Heart Reality has the word 'Reality' is because it gradually becomes a real world based on the individual's perception."

Jiang Si frowned his dragon brows.

How does it sound more like False History? Right?

Right, it should be Emotion-Questioning Valley. Right, right.

"Once someone can grasp their heart and make the correct choice, the Jiang Si reality will transform into a completely real world."

Right, right, it's still False History.

An Shiyu sat on the Heart Image's back, stepping on the patterns and ridges between the Calamity Dragon's white dorsal plates. "However, the content that can be perfected with all details from memories and turned into a real world cannot possibly be fabricated. It must truly exist somewhere. So rather than saying memories become reality, it's more like it's constantly linking to the real world in terms of space, just existing between stability and instability."

Is it right or not?

Can't you make this thing simpler?

I won't ask you for ancestral taxes anymore, okay?

"After passing the assessment, Magical Girls who completely treat Mirror Heart Reality as real will be sent to the real-world area linked by the Heart Image Remnant. So don't worry, they're all very safe. Actually, you're the only one who's unsafe."

The Calamity Dragon asked in a deep, rumbling voice, "How so?"

"People who treat the Mirror Heart world as real, even for just a moment, will have their bodies enter the Mirror Heart world—that is, another layer of space. Generally, they won't be attacked or harmed by the Mirror Beasts in this layer."

An Shiyu looked at him with a flickering gaze. "But you're different, Sir, who can transform into a Disaster Beast and retain your sanity. Your physical body never entered Mirror Heart Reality from the start. In other words, you never treated that place as real from beginning to end."

Hmm, Illusion Sea. Confirmed.

I won't change my mind this time.

"Generally, being pulled in a second time happens because, after passing the trial, you regret it, thinking Mirror Heart Reality is better, and then you get pulled back." An Shiyu scratched her head. "Did you hear any voices at the time?"

"I heard one, just like your voice."

"But that actually wasn't me. It was... anyway, it's just a reminder that the assessment is over..." Then An Shiyu looked even more confused. "If you could hear it, that means the Mirror Heart Reality was indeed constructed with you as the subject. That's strange, completely illogical. Could it be you have a split personality?"

Looking at An Shiyu, who didn't seem to understand it herself, Jiang Si flapped his wings. The strong wind blew An Shiyu off. "Aren't you the master of the Heart Image Remnant?"

"This, this, I'm not clear about that." An Shiyu got up, laughing, then pretentiously raised a finger. "I'm just an ordinary guide for the Heart Image Remnant. Actually, this Heart Image Remnant doesn't have much to do with me..."

After murmuring a couple of sentences, under the Calamity Dragon's stare, cold sweat dripped down An Shiyu's face. "A-Anyway, spatial chaos causing people from the other real space to accidentally enter Mirror Heart Reality... that, that's also normal, right? And the world in your memories is a bit special, isn't it? It caused problems in this Heart Image Remnant space, which attracted your mother over there..."

Jiang Si nodded. "Oh, the world in my memories is indeed a bit special."

An Shiyu immediately said loudly, "See, I told you! You clearly aren't ordinary! This extraordinary Mirror Heart Reality of yours caused my... this Heart Image Remnant to have some problems. Spatial chaos, causing your mom from the other side to mistakenly enter your Mirror Heart Reality."

The girl patted her chest again. "But don't worry! Once you break free from the Mirror Heart space, the Mirror Heart space, having lost its subject, will gradually return to normal. Your mom will also return to her original world. It'll just be like she had a dream. There won't be any danger!"

Jiang Si snorted coldly but didn't pay her any further mind, just looked around.

Anyway, it wasn't good to stay here for long.

Without understanding the reason, it would be troublesome if he got pulled in again.

As he quickly flew toward the city outskirts, An Shiyu jumped onto his back again.

"Wow, so fast, so exhilarating!"

Ignoring the other party's exclamation, after leaving Beihai, the outside wasn't the familiar suburbs. It was even completely different from Jiang Si's memory—a stretch of continuous forest.

"Really brings back memories." An Shiyu suddenly said. "That big forest outside Beihai back then, I loved it the most. I wonder how it is now."

"Beihai doesn't have a big forest anymore."

"Ah? How could that be..."

Accompanied by An Shiyu's low, dejected complaints, a large number of Mirror Beasts emerged from the great forest.

Jiang Si glanced at her. "Was the big forest outside Beihai like this back then?"

"Of course not."

An Shiyu tilted her head, looking at Jiang Si. "Beihai used to be very peaceful..."

Before she could finish, Jiang Si had already charged forward first.

High in the air, a terrifying dragon's breath was unleashed instantly without any warning!

Mana bombarded the forest and all the Mirror Beasts within it!

Flying while surveying the entire great forest, continuously spewing dragon's breath, Jiang Si suddenly heard a heart-wrenching cry.

"No! This place is the illusion! Boss, we need to go back! We need to go back! Back to the real world!"

"Lu Ya! Mom!"

Jiang Si was stunned. His mind immediately focused on the Nascent Soul within his heart. He saw this Nascent Soul Black Dragon currently rolling around frantically, crying and shouting, "I want to go back! Ahhhh! I want to go home! Mom! Lu Ya!"

"What are you talking about?" Jiang Si asked coldly. "What mom? What Lu Ya?"

"It was right there in the memories! It was about to become reality!"

The Nascent Soul Black Dragon wailed miserably:

"I can't tell them apart! I really can't tell them apart, Boss!"

Damn, so the Heart Devil is here...