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Lauren showed little panic as the steward lunged toward her. Her own strength was indeed lacking, only at the seventh stage, but she was no longer fighting alone.

“Formation!” At her sharp command, several longswords suddenly thrust out from the darkness.

The steward twisted aside to evade them, only for several more blades to strike as though they had anticipated his exact movement, stabbing directly into the path of his dodge.

This time, he failed to avoid them. The swords pierced his body. In an instant, a white-and-crimson fluid burst from beneath his skin, creating a revolting sight.

“A sword formation?” Facing the flawlessly coordinated officers from the Inspection Bureau, the steward’s face twisted with fury. “You think this is enough to stop me?”

In the blink of an eye, his body swelled grotesquely as thick veins bulged across his flesh. Already an enormously obese man, he now became even more monstrous, towering several times the height of an ordinary person.

“Heh heh… all of you will become my blood nourishment.” With a savage grin, he charged forward. Every step made the ground seem to tremble beneath his immense weight.

The foul, blood-reeking wind pouring from his mouth made Lauren’s head swim, but she forced herself to stay focused and shouted her orders. “Don’t confront him head-on! He’s bigger now, but he’s slower!”

The moment the words left her mouth, a wave of danger washed over her. Acting on instinct, she threw herself to the ground. The steward’s enormous hand swept over her head, smashing apart a century-old tree by the roadside.

Leaves rained down in a flurry, momentarily obscuring the steward’s vision.

Seizing the opportunity, Lauren drove the shortsword in her hand deep into his body. Without lingering for even a moment, she planted a kick against his massive frame, using the recoil to propel herself swiftly backward.

To the steward’s colossal body, the shortsword was no more significant than a toothpick. Embedded in his flesh, it scarcely seemed to cause him the slightest discomfort. He did not even bother pulling it out, instead dropping onto all fours and lunging at Lauren like a feral beast.

To him, Lauren, the only woman present, smelled the most delicious.

Lauren tugged at the corner of her mouth, a pained expression flashing across her face. Then she formed a hand seal and softly uttered, “Lightning, come.”

The shortsword lodged in the steward’s body immediately emitted a dim, eerie glow. It was drawing something forth. The pitch-black sky answered with a deafening clap of thunder. A dazzling bolt of lightning descended from the heavens, striking the steward with absolute precision.

Demons feared lightning above all else. Before that heavenly thunder, the steward had no strength to resist. Amid a miserable scream, his body was reduced to a charred black husk.

His limbs continued twitching. The nauseating stench of scorched flesh made Lauren feel sick. But at least… They had won. Lauren let out a slow breath of relief. Yet before she could truly relax, her expression stiffened once more.

She turned toward the alley swallowed by the night. Footsteps echoed from within. But how could professionally trained members of the Inspection Bureau commit the elementary mistake of exposing their footsteps in the darkness?

And what about the men she had hidden in the shadows? After firing several arrows at the steward in the beginning, why had they gone completely silent? Lauren struggled to keep her face composed, unwilling to let herself appear so frightened. Yet her slender body still trembled uncontrollably.

One after another, figures cloaked in black robes gradually emerged from the darkness. Their faces were hidden. Their gender was impossible to discern. But the bloodthirsty eyes gleaming beneath those oversized hoods were identical to the steward’s.

Only then did Lauren realize she had made a catastrophic mistake. The Lightning Summoning Spell could indeed annihilate whatever the steward had become in an instant. But the tremendous commotion it created would inevitably attract others of his kind.

What Lauren had never expected… was that there would be so many of them. Looking at the densely packed black-robed figures that had completely surrounded the area, even someone as composed as Lauren could not help but be overwhelmed by an endless sense of terror.

Not to mention the subordinates behind her. Several were already so terrified that they dropped their weapons and fled in panic. Moments later, a scream echoed from the darkness. Then their presence vanished.

Lauren knew exactly what had become of them. But she never turned around. Because she knew there was nothing she could do to change their fate. Merely facing those monsters had already exhausted every ounce of courage she possessed.

Lauren’s gaze swept across the family crests embroidered on the black robes.

The Ye family. The Ye family again. So everything that had happened tonight really had been orchestrated by the Ye family. That meant Chief Inspector Li had been assassinated by them as well?

Lauren tightened her grip on the spare shortsword strapped behind her. She clenched it so hard that her fingers turned pale. ‘Think, Lauren. Think! There has to be some way to escape this hopeless situation. You haven’t avenged him yet. You can’t die here!’

But after exhausting every possible idea, even considering using her own subordinates as bait, Lauren had no choice but to admit the truth. She had run out of options. Before her lay nothing but certain death.

She…was doomed.

‘Hm? Death?’

*”This thing can save your worthless life.”* She suddenly remembered the words spoken by the mysterious little girl named Jasmine before she had left.

Lauren pulled out the black crystal. It felt icy cold and emitted no trace of power whatsoever. She had no idea how to use it. But at this point, she had nothing left to lose. Holding the crystal before her, she said, “If your purpose is to save my life… then now would be a good time to start.”

The crystal remained completely unresponsive. Lauren’s expression changed slightly. ‘Had that little girl lied to me?’

The black-robed figures burst into mocking laughter. “We thought you had some hidden trump card and stayed cautious because of it. Turns out you were just putting on an act.”

With that, they no longer hesitated. The leading black-robed figure lunged toward Lauren. He was far faster than the steward had ever been.

Despair filled Lauren’s heart. In a panic, she hurled the black crystal at him. The crystal struck the black-robed figure squarely on the head. Whatever material it was made of, it actually made him cry out in pain. But only for a moment. It accomplished nothing else. His charge continued unabated.

Lauren closed her eyes in despair. Then, at that very instant, the black crystal changed. It first seemed to melt, transforming into a pool of black liquid. The liquid gathered together again, taking the shape of a strange rod-like object.

The object became a streak of light and shot toward Lauren. Its speed far surpassed that of the black-robed figure, reaching Lauren’s hand before he could. With her eyes still shut, Lauren felt a warm, gentle power flow into her palm.

The energy spread rapidly through her arm and into every corner of her body. Then… It took control of her body. Against her own will, she raised the rod in her hand and cried out in an adorably cheerful voice so embarrassing that even she would have blushed hearing it.

“Magical Girl, Transform!”¹　

Radiant light erupted, illuminating the night. An energetic, youthful transformation theme blared across the night sky.

Every black-robed figure froze in place. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to move. A terrifying force had immobilized them completely, leaving them no choice but to watch as Lauren underwent her bizarre transformation.

The form-fitting uniform she wore vanished, replaced by an irresistibly cute pink pleated skirt. Her neat shoulder-length hair was gathered into lively twintails with star-shaped hair ties, making her look overflowing with youthful energy.

Her slender legs became wrapped in pure white thigh-high stockings. Even her face, which had never known makeup, was adorned with peach-colored lipstick that gave her lips a soft, delicate sheen, along with pink eye shadow.

Then, as the background music reached its climax, Lauren struck an incredibly embarrassing pose and proclaimed in an even more embarrassing voice, “Magical Girl Lauren, reporting for duty!”