Chapter 7: Can You Face Your Own Feelings?

"Hey, Jiang Keke, is your brother coming to the parent-teacher meeting again this time? I'm having my sister come..."

During the class break, a male classmate's greeting caused Jiang Keke to close her book.

She picked up her lunch and left the classroom.

"Ah, you scared her off again."

"I was just trying to talk to her..."

Jiang Keke's grades at school were quite good, so she wasn't exactly a target for bullying.

The fact that her brother attended parent-teacher meetings had been mocked before, but the teacher was very conscientious and had sternly disciplined the students who made fun of her at the time.

In reality, her classmates didn't look down on her or isolate her.

After all, she was a good student.

It was just that Jiang Keke herself disliked socializing.

Especially with boys.

She hated boys, and her most hated was her brother, Jiang Si.

Poor grades, constant truancy, a love for fighting, and always causing trouble.

And, he never apologized.

He had been like that ever since the day their parents died.

Looking back now, she sometimes felt a sense of trance.

In truth, she had known since she was very young that Jiang Si was a very cold person.

Aside from his daily, almost manic, self-destructive training, he had no interest in anything.

However, he had been quite respectful to their parents back then; he would listen to whatever Mom and Dad said.

At that time, Jiang Keke loved to cling to him because, although Jiang Si was a man of few words, he was always willing to play with her.

Thinking about it now, perhaps he was merely humoring their parents.

From the very beginning, that man had never cared about her, nor did he care about their parents.

Unfortunately, the young Jiang Keke hadn't understood this then; she had foolishly thought her brother was just a good person who wasn't very expressive.

Until their parents passed away.

He hadn't shed a single tear, and he wasn't even willing to attend the funeral.

The impatience and distraction he showed while standing before their parents' bodies were unmistakable.

Selfish, cold-blooded, and devoid of humanity.

That was the entirety of Jiang Keke's evaluation of her biological brother, Jiang Si.

She took out the bento she had made last night; the leftovers were somewhat cold.

Ever since her parents died, she rarely ate hot meals.

She didn't eat the food Jiang Si made; she didn't want to depend on the man who had always wanted to abandon her.

Since she only had time to cook for herself at night during the school term, she would make extra to eat the next day.

By daytime, it would all be cold, and there was nowhere in school to reheat it.

Eating her cold meal, she reached for the water bottle beside her—the school did have hot water, which could warm her stomach.

The wind blowing from the construction site at noon carried a hint of chill. Summer in BH City always arrived late, and the winter cold lingered too long, making the early spring warmth feel like a small sugar cube dropped into bitter tea.

Before any hint of sweet warmth could be tasted, it was swallowed by the bitter cold.

She huddled in a corner of the third-floor balcony, looking at the distant park in the center of the city.

That was the place their parents used to take them frequently when they were little.

Their parents would lead them running all over the park, finding fun attractions to make them happy.

When they were tired from playing, her mother would carry her on her back, while her father would carry Jiang Si, singing nursery rhymes as they walked home.

She still remembered the casual conversations their parents had on the road, thinking the children had fallen asleep.

They would discuss when to buy a car; their parents' salaries weren't actually low, but to raise two children, much of the money couldn't be spent recklessly. Buying a car had to be pushed back, and her father had even planned to buy a second-hand one to use first.

He said he would teach Jiang Si how to drive...

Whenever she felt cold, past memories would surge up, providing a tiny bit of warmth, only to turn into an even greater chill.

Therefore, she could not forgive Jiang Si.

She could not forgive that blood relative who showed no sadness after their parents' death.

She could not forgive the fact that, to this day, he lived his life perfectly well as if nothing had happened!

"BOOM!"

Suddenly, the entire teaching building shook.

The bento in Jiang Keke's hands spilled all over the ground. Though her heart ached, she quickly picked up the lunch box and looked down from the building.

A disaster beast that looked like a bat burst out from the ground on the playground in front of the teaching building!

Disaster beasts had appeared frequently in BH City in recent years, so it was no longer that shocking to many people.

But without Magical Girls, it was still very dangerous.

The school security guards reacted quickly, immediately sounding the alarm, and students and teachers rushed out of the building.

Though there was some commotion, there wasn't much chaos; several retired guards from the Disaster Management Bureau stood at the front, holding spray cans—dispersion agents developed by the Bureau to combat disaster beasts.

These could briefly make the beasts feel fear or even cause them to stop moving, buying time for the Magical Girls to arrive.

However, the bat showed no reaction to the spray; it merely let out a piercing shriek!

The first to be affected were the guards standing in front with the spray. Amidst the shriek, they collapsed to the ground without warning. The spray cans rolled across the ground toward the beast, only to be crushed under its feet.

A large amount of the agent splashed onto the beast's body, but it had no effect whatsoever.

The volume of the shriek gradually diminished to the point of being inaudible, but across the entire school and the surrounding streets, there was not a single person left standing.

Everyone lay on the ground, as silent as if they were in a graveyard.

Jiang Keke wished she had fainted too.

But she hadn't.

The shrieking disaster beast turned its head, its terrifying eyes staring fixedly at her.

It was always like this.

She gripped her lunch box tightly, trying hard to breathe, but found it difficult.

It was always like this.

The beast suddenly flapped its wings, and the gale kicked up surrounding debris, making it almost impossible for Jiang Keke to keep her eyes open.

When the great bat's feet clamped firmly onto the window ledge, hanging upside down to gaze at her, Jiang Keke took a step back.

Then, her legs gave way, and she slumped to the ground.

She bit her lip; more than fear and panic, she felt a profound sense of grievance and sadness.

Why did she always have to experience things like this? Why was there not a single good thing in her life?

Her father and mother died at the hands of a disaster beast.

The blood relative left behind was as cold as if he weren't human.

A person, struggling, for reasons unknown, just to live until now.

And now, even the tiny wish of simply staying alive could not be fulfilled.

As the disaster beast opened its massive maw and its pitch-black shadow loomed over her, Jiang Keke instinctively reached for her seed.

The Magic Seed.

The proof that one could transform into a Magical Girl; she had received it on the day her parents died.

However, from the moment she received it, the Magic Seed had remained a dull, dim gray.

It was as if its energy had been sucked away by something.

What she held in her hand was merely an empty shell.

Just like her life, it always gave her the deepest despair at the very moment it was filled with hope and happiness.

Mocking her weakness and ugliness in the face of misfortune.

Leaving behind nothing but an empty shell that existed for no reason.

"If only... I had never been born..."

Closing her eyes and giving up the struggle, she felt a momentary sense of liberation.

Yet, she still feared the pain and the unknown death, trembling slightly.

"Disaster beasts grow stronger by eating humans."

A voice, as clear and melodious as a bell, drifted into her ear, followed by a warmth that dispelled all the chill.

"SKREEE!"

The disaster beast let out an unusual cry.

Thus, Jiang Keke cautiously opened her eyes.

Purple flames descended from the sky like meteors, crashing heavily onto the disaster beast!

The beast, slammed headfirst into the ground, let out a cry of pain and was momentarily swallowed by dust and smoke.

The purple flames slowly descended in front of her.

Elegant light-purple boots made a crisp, light sound as they touched the ground, and the purple glow that resembled burning flames quietly dissipated.

A purple-gold long skirt, light ribbons fluttering behind her, cute bow decorations, and purple hair swaying in the wind.

Until that beautiful yet cold face came into view.

"If a Magical Girl is eaten, the disaster beast will become even stronger," the girl, who looked like a purple flower, said to her. "If you die, it will be quite troublesome."

That day, the sun rose again in Jiang Keke's life.

Though it was purple, the warmth remained.

(End of Chapter)