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

Good at catching the prelude to transformation, huh.

Staring at the falling Alice, the Golden Calamity Dragon King let out a low roar, then twisted its neck and looked around.

There were no living people nearby, and even the buildings seemed somewhat off.

They did not feel real.

But the direction matched his prediction, roughly the disaster-human realm that Ruo Yun and the others had found.

When the enemy attacked, it had already adjusted its fall trajectory specifically toward this place,

after all, it did not want to get lost in spatial turbulence and have to find its way back.

The dragon paw scratched its dragon head, and the crown dimmed slightly.

Honestly, its skull now throbbed with phantom pain.

Being pressed and rubbed inside spatial turbulence, having its defenses broken by mana— even Jiang Si’s physical body could not withstand that kind of damage.

In the end, the Buddha's Fury Lotus had even been pressed against its face, blowing away half of his head.

If not for Helen’s ring enabling the Azure Sky Dragon Transformation Technique to form a dragon body without transforming, this blow would likely have dealt it a crippling wound.

Most importantly, this Alice from the Mirror World had been precisely tracking his movements, always holding back an attack.

Any attempt to transform would trigger that reserved attack, delivering an even more ferocious strike.

It was not the first time it had seen someone catch the prelude to transformation.

Even in its own fights with Magical Girls, it tried to catch transformation preludes. When it fought the Dream Incubators at the Central Bureau before, it successfully caught their prelude and defeated one before it could transform.

But that was not an easy thing to replicate.

Last time it managed to catch the prelude because the opponent never expected anyone to be able to pierce the transformation invincibility frame and deal damage.

At that time Jiang Si, having just comprehended Divine Sense, used it to break the invincibility frame for the first time.

But the Mirror World Alice in front of it could interrupt its transformation even earlier without Divine Sense; even it found that unbelievable.

Clearly weaker than a Mu replicant, roughly around the late-stage Lush Leaves peak to extreme Perfection, yet intermittently it could burst with interruption power comparable to Flourishing Branches or higher.

If the real one were fighting...

Even the sweat-blood-effort Great Emperor Jiang Si would have to admit—

It’s hacked.

No one in this world could outmatch its reaction and opportunity-grabbing ability; surpassing it meant pure cheating.

If this weren’t cheating, then later when he went back he’d trip over a cliff and find a ring with an old man in it who told him the world was actually a cultivation universe, except years ago the righteous-demons war let demon apprentices win so Magical Girls took over, leaving no cultivation sects and the old man taught him a god-tier burning technique before dying so he could swallow exotic flames and single-handedly become the Great Dao ruler forever...

In short, in its eyes the opponent had obviously used some cheating trick—purple-blood divine art, Thunder Emperor secret technique, deliberate bomb punches—specifically targeting transformations.

Not planning to transform into Shion, Jiang Si had to pull those five random people to interfere with the enemy’s lock-on.

As it turned out, my judgment wasn’t wrong.

As his aura synchronized with the seven people, the enemy’s lock-on faltered, then tried to cover the area with a mana blast.

It held off until the last second, letting those five people slip away.

What had been an exceptionally precise lock-on and interruption developed a minute error,

finally allowing him to complete his transformation.

Sure enough, it was just a machine.

As for why he didn’t transform into Shion, once he realized the enemy was Alice, Jiang Si decided to avoid revealing his identity—who knew if the Prince was watching. Although he didn’t know what she meant, he didn’t want to expose himself to her for now.

On the other hand, the situation remained under control; the Golden Calamity Dragon King’s strength was sufficient to win.

He glanced at the five people by the road. Three of them bore traces of corrupted magic power, so they were probably the disaster-human tribe Ruo Yun had reported.

Actually, keeping those five until the end was the safest course,

but who was the Azure Cloud Sect’s Sect Master? How could he commit such cruelty, giving them plenty of escape time—just that tiny, tiny fraction of a second’s error was enough for him to break a Flourishing Branch Magical Girl’s lock.

Watching the single-horned girl about to die, he turned his head and sprayed another torrent of golden breath.

He drowned the five people!

"Spare me!"

One of the disaster-people shouted; Ruo Yun and Hyacinth were both startled. But the golden breath was fast and urgent.

There was no space to dodge!

They raised their hands to shield themselves, huddled up and closed their eyes.

After a long while they realized they were still alive and cautiously opened their eyes, only to see their wounds healing under the golden breath...

"I’m alive!"

Even the half of the body that had been blown away, the barely-breathing single-horned girl recovered substantially after a moment.

Although she still bore injuries, she had clearly escaped death, and immediately prostrated herself before the Golden Calamity Dragon King.

The other two disaster-people also kowtowed repeatedly to the Golden Calamity Dragon King!

Hyacinth quietly asked Ruo Yun, "Should we kowtow too?"

"Just bow and give thanks, I guess..."

Hyacinth smirked under her breath, "Give thanks... Anyway, didn’t he cause those injuries?"

Ruo Yun clamped a hand over her mouth, "Don’t say that."

Such a powerful monster—if it healed wounds it had caused, turning to treat them was still a favor.

To Ruo Yun, she understood the privileges of the strong better than anyone.

"Then, should we avenge Shion?" Hyacinth asked the captain cheerfully, looking toward the pale purple Magical Girl who had crashed.

Ruo Yun froze, "Shion?"

Hyacinth corrected herself, "My bad, I meant the Saint Hall Envoy—she was taken out by the Golden Calamity Dragon King. Our Saint Hall should get revenge."

"Hah, then you go avenge her. I’ll reward you a Main God S-rank side quest."

"I won’t go," Hyacinth said lightly, "She just wouldn’t fight so sloppily."

Ruo Yun found it odd, "Have you seen the Saint Hall Envoy fight?"

"Well... sort of?"

"What are you being mysterious for?"

"There are things I can’t just say..." Hyacinth murmured expectantly. "But I have a feeling—this could be fun."

Ruo Yun frowned, "What fun? Stop riddling, riddle-dealers die!"

"Don’t be impatient. It might not be good for you," Hyacinth soothed, "But I apologize in advance, I might laugh when you’re grieving."

"Heh, no way." Ruo Yun said firmly, "I will never cry in front of you!"

Hyacinth didn’t argue, just glanced at the Golden Calamity Dragon King, which ignored them.

After restoring the five people’s injuries, the Golden Calamity Dragon King looked back at Alice.

The four-color magic lotus was out—undoubtedly a late-stage realm technique.

Yet it possessed values and strength touching the true five-color Lush Leaves peak.

In the Heart Image Remnant, the Mirror World’s replicated Mujin, without a mental landscape, was only a begging heretic Flourishing Branch, a captive of Great Emperor Mu. In pure numbers and mana output efficiency, it was slightly inferior to this Alice, who resembled Shion.

That was why Jiang Si didn’t want to transform into Shion.

He had to consider whether this was his once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

To achieve the classic web-novel feat of taking down the celestial prodigy "Shion".

Following the trope, he habitually scanned the fallen Alice with demonic sense.

No matter what the enemy had become, one must guard against residual souls.

[System corruption severe...

[Warning, warning, control loss, please re...start...]

Frowning, when the dragon breath suddenly sprayed toward that remaining Alice body, the Alice machine suddenly vanished,

so fast!

The dragon snapped its tail back and the tail swiftly stabbed toward the Alice that had just reappeared behind it!

The Alice that had been seemingly ruined easily grabbed its tail.

"Give it to me—"

Alice’s voice sounded a little human, her blank pupils looking at it with a hint of appreciation.

"Down!"

The massive dragon body was thrown to the ground like a light toy by the small Alice girl, who used terrifying strength to slam it down!

The entire city trembled.

Reinforced concrete rolled in wave after wave, countless shards of glass and debris exploded into a noisy storm at dusk. The Golden Calamity Dragon King sprawled over the ruins; its golden scales dusted with grime, dimmer but still reflecting firelight.

The enormous body struggled, the tail swept and leveled buildings.

Dust rose, a deafening dragon roar and breath tore into the sky!

"A fine Simo Tu."

Alice suddenly said that, then her figure dodged the breath like a phantom.

The Golden Calamity Dragon King breathed and beat its wings, the scorching golden breath pursuing Alice relentlessly, and finally struck her above a hill!

But Alice simply conjured layer after layer of lotus petals with one hand to block the breath.

Although the breath rapidly melted each petal, Alice produced petals even faster, and for a time the breath could not break through.

"Don’t be so violent. I’m not here to fight to the death with you. On the contrary, I come seeking cooperation."

"I am the Mirror Queen... oh no, now I should say I’m the former Mirror Queen. The current Mirror Queen is your fiancée Itaen, and I am her mother. Properly, you should call me mother-in-law."

The dragon’s pupils narrowed slightly, and the breath paused.

Nalan Yanran probably had no mother—after all, in the Battle Through the Heavens families, mothers are a luxury; the only exceptions are when the queen becomes a mother or the little healer becomes a foster mother. In that setting, motherless people have the right to compete for the Great Dao.

So Nalan Yanran’s engagement was arranged by her grandfather. But Jiang Si—identity can be swapped; it did not matter.

During the three-year agreement, Nalan Yanran’s grandfather had watched his granddaughter lose and be divorced by the Flame Emperor.

Having someone else replace that identity was not impossible...

Seeing the Golden Calamity Dragon King actually stop, the Alice—or rather the former Mirror Queen—revealed a subtle expression, "Didn’t she ever tell you about me?"

"No."

The former Mirror Queen laughed faintly, "Still the same as before—stubborn and proud little girl. If she had brought you along, wouldn’t it have been more secure... My dear daughter, sooner or later you will suffer for this."

Then she raised her head and extended a hand toward the Golden Calamity Dragon King. "How about cooperating, respectful Mr. Simo Tu."

"I already have an engagement with Prince Nalan..."

The former Mirror Queen shook her head, "An engagement is just that—an engagement."

Yes, merely an engagement.

"Cooperate with me and you can still marry her. Moreover, I can also be yours."

So you can help me get that broken-off engagement scene patched up?

The former Mirror Queen spoke in small, precise tones, "I can give you half the Mirror World, perhaps even more than half. With your possessiveness and arrogance, I will permit him to access my men."

The Golden Calamity Dragon King fell silent.

Because it hadn’t quite understood what she was saying.

What did this have to do with their cooperation?

"But I am different. I will give you the entire Mirror World. You will become the Mirror King, and I will only demand the position of queen. If you like the Prince, after you take her authority, you may make her a consort—whatever you wish to marry, marry as many as you want."

Who would fill in the missing divorce plot for me?

Seeing its worry, the former Mirror Queen smiled and said, "As Mirror King, you shouldn’t be bound by worldly morals. Marrying mother and daughter is not shameful. Besides, I am already dead. I severed ties with the true Mirror King sealed in the Heart Image Remnant years ago—only a string of data remains, so no psychological burden. The Mirror Kingdom needs a king like you to rule..."

This was her only chance to turn the tables.

With almost all permissions already taken by the Prince, she uploaded part of her data into Alice’s base code at the last moment.

She interfered with Alice’s behavior, changing her search from Shion to Simo Tu.

She knew that a man who could capture the Prince’s attention must have formidable qualities—at least enough to assist the Prince considerably.

Although the Prince was a lonely girl with little romantic experience, from being sealed with the Mirror Kingdom he had been searching alone for ways to restore it. He was easily charmed by a man who could accompany and help him. But in the Prince’s romance the most important factor was value.

If he didn’t see enough value, no matter how flashy the man’s actions, the Prince would not look twice.

And that had proven true.

Simo Tu’s strength was enough to crush most of the Old World.

Alice-Phil Unit Zero, created from extensive data on Shion, was the highest-level product the Mirror Kingdom had produced,

yet it still could not quickly subdue the Simo Tu before it—meaning he was at least on par with Shion!

Just as the rumors said, a legend escaped from the North Sea Demon Lair... no wonder.

That was why she wanted to snatch this person from the Prince’s side.

Whether for revenge or resurgence, as king or as woman,

to thoroughly humiliate and defeat the Prince, to make him show expressions of devastation!

"But I already have an engagement with the Prince. Unless she initiates it, I will never break the engagement."

The Golden Calamity Dragon King said coldly, breath gathering, "Also, I have no interest in being a mediocre spouse."

Young men act for youthful pride, to sweep the world with that youthful ardor!

The idea of dragging it into being a middling partner was unforgivable.

He had seen people praise The Sect Leader’s Road as a cultivation version of To Live—getting old and marrying a mother and daughter; that was living life to the fullest.

A middle-aged cultivator stagnating at Qi Refining for twenty years and only breaking through Foundation Building at fifty-nine—who could identify with that?

He always saw people cherish those niche meaningless works, and every time he was tricked into finishing one, he developed a deeper appreciation for how excellent Battle Through the Heavens and how truly great Concealing the Heavens were!

Real men should read those!

"Is that so? Then nothing we can do."

"Thank you, Simo Tu."

"Thanks to you, that Phil AI that was limiting me from unleashing my full machine output finally disappeared." The Mirror Queen touched her neck, feeling the data interface at the back of it. "One minute; the Prince should arrive soon. After Alice’s disappearance she would notice."

"In one minute, I will make her see your body and regret it forever!"

Breath, claws, tail, and curses from the Curse Realm, plus some probability-manipulating curses—

the opponent’s abilities were nearly all analyzed.

For the former Mirror Queen, it was not only about alliance but also stalling for time.

Alice-Phil Unit Zero excelled at analysis and adaptation, extracting the dragon’s abilities and building countermeasures before inputting them...

First was the golden breath, the most destructive. If it hit, even Alice-Phil Unit Zero would lose combat capacity for a time. Repair would be lengthy because of curse cleanup.

But after calculating the golden breath’s speed, direction, and destructive power, the Mirror Queen controlled Alice-Phil Unit Zero to hover nimbly around the breath. Even if struck, there was a simulated Magical Girl Ruri magic shield.

Petal after petal could be forcibly extended to buy blocking time, enough for a safe escape.

Dragon claws were not too threatening because they were too short; the foreclaws were short, hind claws not agile.

The tail was dangerous, but if treated as the first defensive target, it was manageable.

The curses and probability-manipulating curses could be handled too; there were specific routines to clear curses—the Mirror Kingdom had never stopped analyzing and countering Old World abilities!

With maximum unimpeded output,

it could kill him!

Amidst the dense dragon breaths and tail strikes, the Mirror Queen seized an opening and drove a spear through the Golden Calamity Dragon King’s wing!

The flight organ was damaged; the dragon’s movements lagged. But with the probability-manipulating curse covering the dragon’s body, quick recovery was possible.

Yet in such a battle, a slight pause and imbalance were fatal!

Slipping through the gaps between dragon claws, her body struck the dragon’s lower jaw like a projectile!

It was the weakest part of its entire body; with the breath’s faint movement and the rotating crimson spear tip, it pierced flesh. Warm dragon blood mixed with curse ran down the spear shaft, soaking the hand that gripped it.

Black curses quickly crawled along her hand, but when they reached her face they dissipated rapidly.

Not only did she have curse resistance now, her curse-cleaning speed had increased.

The Mirror Queen laughed wildly, bathing in gold dragon blood, driving the spear on.

The Golden Calamity Dragon King’s skull trembled on the spear tip; a choking thud came from its throat. The entire spear and Alice’s body vibrated with a grinding hum.

Until the spear pierced the skullcap and blew apart the dragon scales, nailing its head in place.

But when she tried to withdraw the spear, she saw a mocking look appear in the dragon’s pupils.

Something felt off, yet at this moment the dragon had poured all its strength onto the spear tip.

Just struggling with claws and tail to restrain her took all its might, and it could not pose a true threat.

The Mirror Queen did not hold back. With a cruel expression, she twisted the spear and the dragon’s skull exploded!

"Taking down a body, so difficult?"

The Mirror Queen’s face stiffened slightly.

"They’re at Flourishing Branch level, same heavenly-grade battle tech of ghost possession—much worse than Mujin."

Her smile vanished quickly as she spun around.

A fair-faced youth stood there, blood-streaked, expressionless.

It was the same voice the Golden Calamity Dragon King had used moments earlier, the same aura. In his right hand he held a lotus.

Seven-colored, the Buddha's Fury Lotus.

"Impossible!"

After transforming into a Disaster Beast, the core and the beast could not separate!

And how could a human condense mana into a seven-colored fire lotus? Her Alice-Phil’s control over mana was so powerful that a four-color lotus had been the limit!

More importantly, she felt that purple magic.

As Alice’s target, she knew very clearly whose purple magic that was:

Shion!

"Who are you—"

Before she could finish, the Golden Calamity Dragon King’s belly suddenly split open and swallowed Alice and the seven-colored lotus whole.

Then Jiang Si grabbed the Golden Calamity Dragon King and hurled it forcefully into the tear in the sky.

After a moment of silence,

the world began to shake. The small crack in the sky rapidly spread across the world; in the blink of an eye the heavens were riddled with countless fissures!

Blazes flowed out from the cracks, only to be forcibly sucked back by something unknown.

The Old World convulsed as if falling into a volcanic eruption, shaking and trembling. Scorching heat waves spread again and again, yet the world never fully collapsed.

After who knew how long, the spread of sky-cracks finally stopped, and the oppressive heat that had made the world scarlet gradually dissipated.

It was as if the apocalypse had finally passed.

...

Mirror World, independent space.

The Prince, having just discovered Alice-Phil’s loss of control, was pursuing that latest Alice as it jumped through space toward the disaster-human realm,

when he saw the Golden Calamity Dragon King thrown out from that realm.

Its body was riddled with wounds; even its skull was gone.

The Prince’s pupils shrank slightly as he urgently called the system.

"Immediate rescue—"

But before the command completed, the dragon stirred.

Then he watched his Alice-Phil Unit Zero crawl out from the dragon’s belly...

The next moment, world-consuming flames devoured everything.

Alice-Phil Unit Zero and the dragon were both reduced to dust!

"Simo Tu!"