Off Work, Then I Become a Magical Girl
Book 2: Chapter 76: The Beast Heart is Released

Vol 2 Chapter 76: The Beast Heart is Released

When Veronica arrived at the scene, Yuan was already waiting, calm and unhurried.

She hadn’t waited by the stone tower, but had instead come forward and intercepted the Fangting City group before they reached the summit.

The mountain forest here was rarely visited, the towering trees densely packed and the surroundings shrouded in a thick curtain of darkness. The ancient trees groaned softly in the night breeze, their sounds swallowed by the snow, leaving only silence.

Behind her was a narrow path, winding and barely visible under the shadows, seemingly leading straight to the summit. In the distance, the mountains disappeared into the thick darkness, blending seamlessly with the sky and earth.

Yuan stood quietly beneath the trees. Snowflakes drifted down from the canopy above, landing on her shoulders, dotting her black cloak with spots of white.

The arrival of Veronica and Morning Glory didn’t surprise her. She had fought both of them before and already had a rough grasp of their abilities. Of the group behind them—clearly younger and less experienced—the most striking figure was the one cloaked in gold.

“So this must be the new friend who recently arrived in the city.”

She looked brightly at Margaret and grinned. “I’d hoped we’d get to sit down and talk properly, but I didn’t expect our first meeting to be under these circumstances. Quite a pity, really.”

“If it’s such a pity, then maybe stop picking fights during holidays?”

Standing in full Magical Girl form, Asou Madoka—or rather, Margaret—wore a tight smile. “We had just fired up the hotpot, dropped in the premium beef we bought especially for New Year’s Eve, and were ready to enjoy a lovely meal. Then we got a call saying we had to head out to this godforsaken place for a fight. What do you think my mood is like right now?”

“You mean… you brought the hotpot here with you?” Yuan stroked her chin, looking genuinely curious.

“Of course not! We left it halfway cooked and ran here,” Hong Siyu snapped. “And even if we had brought it, it’d be cold by now. Totally ruined.”

“Cold’s not a big deal—it’s still meat.” Yuan replied seriously, “If it’s already cooked and the seasoning’s on, temperature’s just a minor detail.”

“No need to stall. We’re not here to debate food with you.”

This time, it was Veronica who cut in, getting straight to the point. “Where’s the ritual site you mentioned?”

“So impatient?” Yuan had wanted to chat a little longer, but seeing the group clearly meant business, she pointed behind her. “Head toward the summit. Just before the top, there’s a clearing. You’ll know when you see it.”

As soon as she spoke, Veronica moved to fly forward—but was instantly blocked by Yuan’s Magical Armor.

Veronica reacted swiftly, using Threads to soften the strike and leaping sideways to try and bypass her. But Yuan’s armor moved as if it had a mind of its own, cutting her off again.

They exchanged looks—Veronica’s was blank, Yuan’s was all easygoing amusement.

They didn’t need to speak. The message was clear.

Veronica had no interest in Yuan; she just wanted to confirm if the ritual was real. Yuan, on the other hand, had no intention of letting anyone pass without a fight.

“You plan to stop nine people all by yourself?” Veronica looked at her like she was crazy. “Or is this ‘ritual’ of yours just a ploy to get us out here and play at wuxia duels?”

“One-on-nine? I didn’t realize there were that many of you. Really pulled out all the stops, huh? But since you’re here—why not let me try?”

Despite the numbers, Yuan remained relaxed. “As for the ritual—if you beat me, you’ll find out if it’s real.”

“…If there’s even a chance you’re telling the truth, I’d rather it were a lie.” Veronica’s usually stoic face showed a flicker of conflict before it vanished. “Because if it is real, then you and Fangting City are officially enemies.”

“Enemies? That’s a heavy word.”

Yuan’s smile remained, but there was a new gravity in her tone. “Though maybe I’m not the right person to say this—Veronica, have you misunderstood me?”

She retracted her Magical Armor from Veronica’s path. “Is it that my actions haven’t been cruel enough, so you thought I was just joking? Or that I haven’t crushed you yet, so you assumed all of you together could beat me?”

“Let me be clear. The ritual is real. Right behind me. If you don’t stop it in the next two hours, it’ll trigger a massive Chaotic Magic Surge, destroy this mountain and the surrounding City Barrier, and unleash magic waves that will draw in Ravagers.”

“And once that happens, a major Beast Disaster will erupt near the breach. It might rival the one from twenty years ago. Without a barrier, your city will be as helpless as a newborn. You know what that means, right?”

“So now you understand. We’ve been enemies from the very beginning. And I don’t joke with my enemies about things that could hurt me. Do you?”

Her words were blunt—even cold.

Whatever intentions she might have once had, they were now dead and buried. What stood before them was nothing more than a Clawmark officer.

Veronica closed her eyes, took a deep breath. When she opened them again, they were flat and unreadable.

“We’ll stop this so-called ritual.”

Her voice was icy. “And if you insist on getting in the way, then we’ll defeat you and move on.”

“Good answer.”

Yuan laughed. “But let me give you some options. First, you fight me, realize the gap between us, and come quietly—with that girl in green behind you.”

“Second, skip the fight and come with me now. Think of it as protecting your team. If you do that, I’ll stop the ritual.”

“Third, beat me. And this time, I won’t be holding back like last time.”

She raised a hand, palm open, like toasting them. “Choose. Your decision will determine the fate of your city.”

Veronica didn’t respond.

She lowered her stance slightly, Magical Armor glowing with surging Magic.

At her side, Hong Siyu, Margaret, and the younger generation of Magical Girls followed suit, each taking their combat stance.

Their Magic—in color, strength, and type—was different. But now, it all shone for the same reason: to protect the city behind them.

“Excellent.”

Yuan nodded, visibly pleased. “Yes, that’s what a real Magical Girl should be—resolute and unyielding, like crystal. In return, I’ll give you the greatest respect I can offer: the respect of a warrior.”

“Be glad. My ‘no holding back’ means giving you everything. No hidden aces. Just me, as I am. I’ll show you my peak from the start.”

She placed a hand on her chest. Veins bulged in a sickly violet hue, and purple-black Magic surged toward her heart like a tidal wave.

“Are you ready? To face this world’s first—and maybe last—‘Ultimate Martial Form’?”

Yuan began to dissolve.

Her black Magical Armor turned watery and gray, her Magic pooled like liquid rivers. Even her physical form seemed to melt away like wax, collapsing and losing its shape.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The sound of her heartbeat grew louder, deeper, thunderous—like drums echoing through the mountain.

Then, a Beast raised its head from the tide of darkness.

“Yuan—Beastheart Unleashed. Hundred-Arms Formation.”

With that declaration, the world seemed to shatter like glass. Reality crumbled into dust, replaced by an oppressive darkness.

And from that void, a new figure emerged.

It was Yuan—or something that had once been her.

Her face was still recognizable, but her body had changed: taller, more stretched, like her proportions had been altered. Her jet-black hair was now ash-white, tied into a long ponytail. The robes she once wore had transformed into ornate crimson feathered armor, fierce rather than elegant. The waist was bristling with hidden weapons, the hems sharp as feathers, the patterns unsettlingly intricate.

But most terrifying were her eyes: the sclera now pitch black, her former dual pupils gone, replaced by birdlike irises ringed in white. Crimson markings extended from her eyes to her temples, forming a half-mask of flowers.

Her transformation was complex—but it took only seconds. Of all those present, only the three leading Magical Girls had seen it clearly.

The others, too weak to reach even Leaf-tier, were crushed by the sheer pressure, unable to breathe.

It wasn’t physical. It felt mental—an aura that made even mid-tier Magical Girls hesitate to look directly at her. Just resisting it drained them.

If the backline felt that way, the frontline was no better.

Veronica felt like someone had struck her head with a blunt object; her vision blurred. Hong Siyu was coughing, her breath ragged. Only Margaret remained standing, frowning, clearly affected but managing to hold on.

“…Some kind of Blooming, maybe?” It was Margaret who broke the silence.

As a Flower-tier Magical Girl, she was most familiar with Blooming Forms, and her experience gave her a clue. The Magic, the changes—it all felt similar.

“Blooming? If you want to see it that way, I don’t mind.”

Yuan finally spoke again, unmoving like a statue. “But for those of us in Clawmark, Beastheart Unleashed replaces Blooming. Because when we became Clawmark, we lost the ability to Bloom.”

“Replace it?” Margaret frowned. “That’s a new one.”

“Yep. We can’t fully unleash our power through Magical Girl Magic anymore. So we use Ravager Magic instead.”

Yuan tilted her head, still motionless. “To borrow a martial artist’s phrase—it’s like practicing a forbidden technique, falling into madness. But for us, madness is strength.”

“I can see that.”

Margaret nodded slightly. “Then why haven’t you moved this whole time? Is there something wrong with this form?”

“Oh, that?”

Yuan glanced down at herself, then looked back up and smiled.

And then—she vanished.

In the same instant, a lightning-fast strike flashed past Margaret’s side.

It happened in a blink. Margaret didn’t even have time to call on her Magic. She could only instinctively lean back and watch as a beam of black Magic narrowly missed her.

“Oops. A little rusty.”

Yuan still stood like a statue, smiling. “This form’s speed is a bit much. If I don’t hold back, I’ll overshoot just by twitching.”