Off Work, Then I Become a Magical Girl
Book 2: Chapter 19: Awakening Moment

Vol 2 Chapter 19: Awakening Moment

“I… I don’t believe anything you say.”

After a brief moment of shock, Bai Jingxuan instinctively retorted, “You’re the enemy. Bad people. And everything bad people say is a lie. My mom and dad are just ordinary people—there’s no way they’d be connected to you.”

But even she didn’t notice: though her voice resisted, her struggle had noticeably weakened.

“You seem to care quite a bit about that? Fine. If learning the truth helps you give up this pointless resistance, I can waste a little time.”

Bingfeng-7 looked at Bai Jingxuan, his voice low and even.

“After all, I don’t want to bring back a half-dead Beastling to the boss. He’ll blame me for damaging a valuable experiment.”

“Your ‘father’—short, a little chubby, liked to smoke. Your ‘mother’—a woman with a scar at the end of her brow, claimed to work in healthcare.”

“They brought you to Fangting City seven years ago, settled down here, and never once took you away. They told you your illness was congenital, something hospitals couldn’t cure. So every year, they’d bring you in for a so-called checkup—even though they knew it was pointless.”

“They gave you your current name. But in reality, neither of them had the surname Bai. They used ‘Bai’ because the ones who helped them escape were part of an organization called Claw Mark. And the leader of Claw Mark—the first character of their alias is ‘Bai.’”

“Your surname was chosen to express gratitude toward Claw Mark’s help.”

“From the start, the so-called ‘family ties’ you remember never existed. You were just their insurance to avoid being hunted down. Once they escaped, they reluctantly raised you to avoid exposing themselves.”

Bingfeng-7’s face remained cold. “Of course, they didn’t know. And because of that… they died.”

Bai Jingxuan’s breath quickened, eyes slowly widening. “So that attack… you were behind it? You killed them?”

“No. Even our boss can’t precisely control Ravagers from half a province away. And back then, we didn’t even know you were in Fangting City.”

Bingfeng-7 shook his head. “Their deaths had nothing to do with us. It was simply karma.”

“Then who was it? Who controlled that Ravager back then?” Bai Jingxuan whispered.

Bingfeng-7 stared at her, calm as ever.

“You.”

He uttered the word without hesitation.

“You’re lying! How could I possibly do that?” Bai Jingxuan immediately began to struggle again, glaring at him. “How could I ever do something like that?!”

“You didn’t need to intend to. A Beastling is a superior being to ordinary Ravagers—a natural-born ruler.”

Bingfeng-7 grabbed her hair, slamming the back of her head against the wall.

“I don’t know exactly what happened that day, but for a Ravager to infiltrate a building, to precisely kill the people next to you—there’s only one explanation.”

—“It wanted to see you. And once it did, it wanted to devour you. Replace you.”

“Your so-called ‘parents’ were just regular researchers. They didn’t know this kind of secret. They thought your magic was hidden deep inside and couldn’t be detected. That ignorance sealed their fate.”

“As long as they stayed close to you, they were bound to die from a Ravager encounter—dragged down by you.”

“Monsters can’t live peacefully in society. The moment you became a Beastling, living among beasts was your only path. So stop playing house with those meat pigs and come with me.”

He let go slightly and tossed her to the ground.

“This is your last chance to choose. Next time, I won’t bother bringing you back in one piece.”

With that, he stared down at her, quietly waiting for her answer.

Bai Jingxuan remained on the ground, unmoving for a long time. Just as Bingfeng-7 was starting to grow impatient, she finally stirred.

She pushed herself up with trembling hands and slowly sat upright.

“…I’m a Magical Girl.”

She spoke in a raspy voice. “Magical Girls are meant to protect and save people. I’ll fight you. And then… I’ll kill you.”

Her words left Bingfeng-7 silent.

It wasn’t her stubbornness that stunned him—it was pity.

“How pitiful.”

He finally said.

“I see it now. You’re nothing. Just an empty shell.”

“Like a beast who can’t comprehend human behavior but wants to be human, so it clumsily imitates them. You don’t know what a real human is. So all you can do is copy—copy what you think a human should look like.”

“You don’t know what a Magical Girl truly is. You’re just mimicking your ‘ideal’ version of one. And not even just one version. From one Magical Girl, you took ‘protecting and saving.’ From another, you took ‘justice and severity.’ Like some mindless beast, mashing them together without understanding.”

“You’re not a Magical Girl. You’re not human. You have no ideals. No past. Not even a sense of self. You’re just an empty shell acting out a concept called ‘Magical Girl.’ And inside that shell—there’s nothing.”

“Not even a reason for the mimicry. Just a sad, empty monster.”

To Bingfeng-7, he’d finally understood her logic. And so, he gave up persuasion.

If she was just a soulless beast, then there was no need for mercy. Force would suffice.

With that, he reached inside his black robe and retrieved his Beast Core, pressing it against his heart. He began to chant:

“This is the righteous—”

—“I’m going to kill you.”

The girl’s voice interrupted him before he could finish.

He glanced over—and saw Bai Jingxuan standing.

At some point, she had risen to her feet. Her head hung low, bangs hiding her eyes. Only her chin and lips were visible, and they moved as she repeated the words again.

“I’m going to kill you.”

Then again.

“I’m going to kill you.”

“Boring,” Bingfeng-7 said coldly. He wasn’t fazed and once more prepared to initiate his beastification.

But Bai Jingxuan seemed unable to hear anything. She kept muttering the same phrase, over and over, her voice steady and unbroken—as if to escape, to emphasize, or perhaps to hypnotize herself.

She stepped closer. And closer.

And when she finally stood in front of Bingfeng-7, she looked up—revealing eyes that no longer looked human.

Her sclera had turned pitch black. Vertical pupils twitched in their sockets, glowing with cold, violent emotion. The sight sent a chill down Bingfeng-7’s spine.

At last, she spoke again.

Firm. Certain. Merciless.

“I’m going to kill you.”

And that was the last thing she ever said to Bingfeng-7.

---

Veronica sprinted from the Countermeasure Bureau at top speed, using magic to accelerate along the way, arriving at Lakeside Spring as fast as possible.

The intense magic drain worsened her already unstable condition. Just landing left her with a pounding headache. She grabbed a nearby wall to steady herself, and once the pain dulled, she pressed forward into the residential area.

The main gate stood wide open, but there was no one around—no workers, no civilians. Everyone had clearly evacuated. That alone eased her mind somewhat. But the deeper she walked in, the more broken the streets became—evidence of a recent battle everywhere.

Clearly, a major fight had broken out here. Likely between the Third Squad of the Special Operations Division and remnants of Black Cinders Dawn.

Since she hadn’t received any calls from the squad along the way, Veronica wasn’t optimistic about how it ended. And soon enough, her fears were confirmed—when she found a collapsed body at the roadside.

Judging by the uniform, the person was a Third Squad member. They still clutched their weapon, their face twisted in rage—but a massive gash across their neck made it clear. They were dead.

Veronica stood in silence for a moment, then cast a ritual to shield the corpse, preserving it from further damage.

She didn’t have time for more. She had to move on.

The deeper she went, the more bodies she found—not just Bureau staff, but also black-robed corpses that clearly belonged to Black Cinders Dawn.

For each fallen staff member, she cast protective barriers, silently counting. By the time she reached the central plaza, the body count had risen to nearly a third of the Third Squad.

That was when she sensed it—a powerful, chilling magic signature. If her instincts were right, it belonged to a Chrysalis-tier Ravager.

Even in her weakened state, she still retained significant strength. For something to make her feel threatened now, it had to be at least Chrysalis-tier.

Cautiously, she stepped into the center of the plaza. What she saw left her frozen in place.

She only had to look up to find the source.

A massive Chrysalis-tier Ravager. Its once-complete chrysalis shell now shattered in places, failing to fully contain its body.

Even in this damaged state, the creature radiated immense magical pressure.

It wasn’t in its Nest, but had somehow ended up in this residential area—still far too dangerous for most Magical Girls to handle.

And yet… it lay sprawled on the ground, unmoving.

Aside from the cracked chrysalis shell, it bore no serious injuries. Its limbs were intact, its form still whole—not as if it had been attacked.

But now, that creature’s vital signs were so weak they were barely detectable. Even though it still brimmed with powerful, abundant magic, it simply lay there—silent, motionless.

Beside it stood a figure that Veronica found strangely familiar… and eerily foreign.

It was a girl, dressed in a black-and-green stage gown.

The gown was pitch-black and nearly touched the ground, hanging just slightly above it. Green floral patterns, made of an unidentifiable material, covered its surface—unremarkable from afar, but intricate and arcane up close, carrying an unsettling, twisted aura.

Her long green hair flowed down her back to her waist, with the tips curling slightly and tinged with streaks of violet—strikingly out of place.

On her arms were a pair of black opera gloves that extended to her elbows. From the ends of those gloves, long green claws jutted from her fingers, sharp and menacing like talons.

Those claws were, at this very moment, deeply embedded in the Ravager’s flesh. Slowly, meticulously, she sliced through it—until its body was split in two.

What did it feel like to be cut in half while still alive? Veronica didn’t know. But judging from the way the Ravager’s body trembled, it wasn’t anything close to pleasant.

The creature barely moved under her terrifying motions—its response weak, lifeless. Yet the girl didn’t seem to care. She continued mechanically, carving it open like it was routine.

Once she’d split the Ravager completely in two, she suddenly stopped. Pale green magic flared to life from her hands, flooding into the creature’s wounds—and miraculously, it healed. Its broken body returned to the same intact state Veronica had seen earlier.

As if nothing had happened.

Then, the girl turned slightly, a small, satisfied smile appearing on her lips. She plunged her claws back in, cutting again—slowly, cruelly, deliberately.

She had clearly done this many times before.

The Ravager looked whole only because it was being constantly healed—repeatedly restored. But it had suffered who knew how many fatal injuries already.

The girl simply kept splitting it apart, dragging it to the edge of death, then healing it again—over and over. No wonder its reactions to pain were so muted. At this point, if it had a soul, it was long gone. All that remained was a body kept barely alive through forced healing.

Veronica stared at the girl in the center of the plaza. Her throat clenched tight, and for a moment, no words would come out.

It took her a long time to compose herself. When she finally found her voice, she softly called out:

“…Bosetsu?”

That name made the girl turn her head.

Black sclera, slit pupils—those inhuman eyes stared at Veronica. But there was no ferocity in her expression, no madness. Only childlike innocence.

She looked at Veronica. After a brief pause, that innocence turned to joy.

“Teacher! You came!”

She instantly dropped the Ravager and skipped toward Veronica, pointing excitedly back at the creature.

“Did you see? I did it! Just like you—I defeated the bad guys! And I punished them really hard! I bet they’ll never do bad things again!”

“Those bad people told me I didn’t have a mom or dad… that I was one of them. They said I wasn’t a real Magical Girl, that I was just copying others.”

“But I told them—I am a Magical Girl! I’ll save everyone! And then I’ll punish the bad guys, just like this!”

She pointed toward the other end of the plaza, eyes shining as she looked at Veronica expectantly. “And over there—look, Teacher!”

Veronica followed her finger—and saw it.

A large group of Countermeasure Bureau personnel were gathered on the other side. Their wounds glowed with green light, being healed, their expressions peaceful, as if asleep.

But next to them, in a different pile, lay the mangled corpses of Black Cinders Dawn members. Blood had soaked the ground beneath them. Their bodies had been dumped like garbage—ignored and forgotten.

Heaven on one side, hell on the other.

It was the only way to describe what Veronica saw.

“Hehe, I knew you’d come looking for me, Teacher. You do care about me after all.”

After showing off what she’d done, Bai Jingxuan was still excited. She hugged Veronica’s arm, smiling brightly.

“That bad guy said my parents were fake, that I never had a real family. But I don’t care—because now I do!”

“Right, Teacher? You’re my mom now, aren’t you?”

She said it like it was nothing, then turned back to the dying Ravager, puffing up like a proud child showing off a toy.

“See that? That’s my mom! My mom came to save me! You got anyone like that? Hah! Bet you don’t!”

But standing so close now, Veronica could feel it clearly:

That Ravager… couldn’t hear a thing.

—It was already dead. Only the body was still alive.

Maybe Bai Jingxuan had killed it from the start—and had been lashing out ever since. Or maybe she’d slowly tortured the life out of it. Either way, it was gone.

Veronica looked again at Bai Jingxuan. The girl was still rambling, explaining things endlessly, asking for her opinion as if desperate for validation.

—She was scared. She just wanted to be praised.

Veronica realized that.

She stood silently, taking in the grotesque yet sacred scene—the blend of cruelty and compassion, of blood and light—and something finally clicked in her heart.

She suddenly understood why, after the Moon Festival battle, Lin Xiaolu had said those words to her.

Back then, Lin Xiaolu had been afraid of what Veronica had become after killing Mors—but even so, she had walked up, taken her hand, and said, “Let’s go home.”

Veronica didn’t know exactly what was going through Bai Jingxuan’s mind right now, or whether she was just mimicking others—but what she saw now mirrored that moment perfectly.

She understood.

Without a word, Veronica walked up to her, slowly opened her arms—and pulled the still-excited girl into a tight embrace.

Then, she gently patted the back of her head.

“Let’s go home,” she whispered.

“Home? Where?”

The girl seemed confused, her voice hollow.

Though she was in Veronica’s arms, something about her felt distant—like she could vanish at any moment, drift away like smoke on the wind.

This wasn’t enough, Veronica thought.

Just this wouldn’t bring the real Bai Jingxuan back. She needed more—needed to anchor her.

And the answer was obvious.

“…Come home with Mom.”

Veronica bit her lip and softened her voice even more. She stroked the girl’s back, speaking gently and patiently:

“We’ll go back to the secret base. We’ll go home.”

“…Mom?”

“Mhm.”

“You mean it? You’ll be my mom?”

“Yes. I mean it.”

“Do you want me to go home with you?”

“Mom wants you to come home.”

Veronica held her tightly, as if afraid she’d vanish again.

“I’ll bring you back. Just follow me. We’ll find the others—okay?”

And then… silence.

In the quiet, Bai Jingxuan lifted her head slightly in Veronica’s embrace. Her strange eyes met Veronica’s.

She stared for a moment—then smiled.

The blackness in her sclera faded like a receding tide.

“Okay, Mom.”

She said it softly.

Her black gown disintegrated like wilting petals, dark magic dispersing into the air and flowing off to parts unknown.

The gown turned white… then shifted into her everyday clothes. And the girl collapsed into Veronica’s arms.

Looking down, Veronica could barely believe what she saw—like the whole thing had been a dream.

Just an ordinary little girl now, quietly nestled in her arms.

Her face was peaceful, full of trust. No defenses. Just sweet, gentle sleep.

And in that sleep… she smiled.