Off Work, Then I Become a Magical Girl
Book 2: Chapter 82: Semi

Vol 2 Chapter 82: Semi

“Targeting… complete. Circuits… stable. Magic… sufficient.”

A faint murmur, like a whisper in sleep, echoed at the mountaintop. The petite Fairy, Black Cat, was perched on a tall stone tower, her little paws tracing the carvings along the tower’s surface as if confirming something.

She flicked her tail, and the gleam in her vertical pupils made her seem unusually sharp. Black magic particles drifted around her, making her already inconspicuous figure even harder to detect.

“…Just about done.”

That was the conclusion she reached in the end.

The ritual to destroy the city’s Magical Barrier was ready. Compared to all the prep work, what came next would be easy—just channel external magic and shatter the barrier directly above.

As a Fairy who had no need to abide by human morals, she felt no guilt about the catastrophe this “shattering” might bring.

She glanced toward the mountainside in the distance, where red and black magic still clashed with flickers of blue and orange. Strange noises rang out from time to time. She nodded and muttered, “Yuan sure talks like she’s hesitant, but when it comes to doing the job, she doesn’t hold back.”

“Well then, since she’s kept up her end for this long, I’d better finish mine.”

Lowering her head, she stared at the patterns on the tower’s surface and murmured, as if to someone unseen, “...If you're going to hate me, go ahead. I’m just a bad Fairy anyway.”

As she spoke, the magic around her began to ripple strangely.

But before the ritual could even begin, a pale flame shot past her side.

——“Stop right there!”

“Myaaah!”

The sudden attack and shout startled Semi. She didn’t even have time to care about the few singed hairs on her back before she kicked off with all four paws and leapt down from the tower.

Landing on the ground, she quickly rolled over twice to smother the flames, then stood up, looking rather pissed. “Who the h*ll attacks someone like that?!”

Before she could yell any further, several Magical Girls dropped down in a flash of light.

Her eyes widened. A quick count showed—six of them, standing right in front of her.

“Stop what you’re doing right now and surrender immediately! Or don’t blame us if we use force!”

The Magical Girl in sky-blue at the front ignored Semi’s complaints and made a bold declaration, all righteousness and authority. “If you’ve got allies, call them out now—this is your final warning!”

She stood tall like a paragon of justice, delivering her speech before finally lowering her gaze to confirm what kind of enemy they were dealing with.

But the spot before her was already empty.

When she looked up again, a small black shape had darted through the trees and grass, fleeing toward the cliff’s edge.

“She’s running!” shouted Wood Lily.

“Go, go!” Lin Xiaolu was already rushing forward, magic wand in hand.

“Wait! I think we should check that strange device first—” Bai Ji tried to stop the two hotheads, but she was a step too late. The pair had already charged off.

After some frantic scrambling, two more Magical Girls took off after them, leaving the scene chaotic. In the end, only Bai Ji and Xia Liang stayed behind.

They exchanged a silent glance. Xia Liang just shrugged and gave a helpless smile. All they could do was sigh.

None of this, of course, was known to Semi, who was currently tearing through the underbrush.

As she ran, she cursed Yuan and her entire bloodline in her head, deeply regretting ever praising her earlier.

There were nine total, and she let six of them slip past?!

If she didn’t know Yuan wasn’t some cunning schemer, she would’ve thought this was a setup—was she seriously expected to take on that many alone?

But after sprinting for a while and confirming that the sounds behind her were growing faint, her racing thoughts cooled—and she stopped.

Because she knew: she couldn’t just run.

The ritual tower was still behind her. Those Magical Girls might not know the tower was the core, but who’s to say one of them wouldn’t figure it out?

And Yuan was still holding off the other three—most likely the strongest of the bunch, judging by the magic surging from the forest. That meant Yuan was still buying her time.

If she just ran and let them destroy the tower, the mission would be a failure, even if she survived. Yuan might not escape either. In that case, they’d lose everything.

And the Leader would not be pleased.

If she were blamed, the punishment would be all hers—and it wouldn’t be light.

Just thinking about what kind of penalty the Leader might dish out…

Semi turned around.

Better to fight those Magical Girls head-on than risk the Leader’s wrath. At least in a fight, she had a chance. Against the Leader, it was a dead end.

No sooner had she stopped than four Magical Girls appeared before her.

When they laid eyes on each other, confusion flashed across both sides.

“…A Fairy?”

“Only four of them?”

The Magical Girls hadn’t expected their opponent to be a Fairy. They hesitated, uncertain.

As for Semi, seeing that only four had come, her heart sank. She could easily guess where the other two had gone—definitely still at the tower.

She had added protective spells just in case, but who knew what strange tricks they might use?

She could barely breathe.

But now more than ever, she had to stay cool. If she looked panicked, they’d guess the tower was important—and that would be the real end.

So she forced herself to stay calm, trying to appear composed and graceful as she put on airs and said, “Excellent. This open space is far better suited for battle.”

“You’re with that Magical Girl with the claw mark, aren’t you?”

Lin Xiaolu narrowed her eyes at the black cat Fairy in front of her. “So you’re the one trying to destroy Fangting City’s Magical Barrier?”

“Hmph. I have no obligation to answer your questions.”

Semi flicked her tail, replying coldly, “Unless you beat me here, you’ll get nothing out of me.”

“What’s with this arrogant little punk?” Lin Xiaolu clicked her tongue.

“Right? It’s just a Fairy! There are four of us!” Wood Lily joined in. “Talking about ‘defeating’ it—don’t say we’re bullying you later!”

“No… Something’s off.”

Only Mimosa looked serious. She tugged on Wood Lily’s sleeve. “It’s a Fairy.”

“Huh? Yeah, and?” Wood Lily turned to her, confused.

“Big Sis told me—Fairies don’t betray the Kingdom.”

Mimosa stared at Semi, slowly saying, “But the claw mark… that means she’s a traitor.”

“Oh! So you mean, Fairies like her are rare?” Wood Lily nodded, seeming to get it. “Because barely any Fairies ever betray the Kingdom, so she’s, like, one of the rare ones?”

“That’s not what I meant!”

Mimosa puffed her cheeks in frustration and yanked on Wood Lily’s sleeve so hard she nearly toppled over. “She said it’s not that they don’t want to, it’s that they can’t!”

“Don’t want to? Can’t?” Wood Lily still looked lost.

“So you’re saying there’s some secret behind her?” Lin Xiaolu, having overheard, turned back to them. “Normal Fairies can’t betray the Kingdom—so she must have something special?”

“…I don’t know.” Mimosa could only shake her head. “The only Fairy I’ve met is Polly.”

She was referring to Bo’an City’s Seeder, and only knowing your own city’s Seeder was normal for most Magical Girls.

“Some big secret, huh?”

Hearing this, Semi could no longer keep her expression in check. The prideful act faltered. “Hah? Don’t tell me you brats don’t even know that?”

“You’ve got something to say?” For once, Lin Xiaolu managed to keep her cool and pressed further.

She, too, had a feeling that whatever Semi was hinting at—it mattered.

“…Fine. If you don’t even know where I come from, there’s no point fighting.”

Semi licked her paw and straightened up slightly, eyes sharp as she looked at them.

“Let me introduce myself. I’m Semi, and as you can see, I’m a Fairy.”

“But unlike those pets the Kingdom keeps on a leash, I wasn’t born in the Magic Kingdom—I’m from the In-Between Realm.”

“There have always been Fairies outside the Magic Kingdom.”

Her words drew gasps from the Magical Girls.

“The In-Between Realm?”

“There are Fairies there too?”

Each of them was surprised, but for different reasons.

Ultimately, it didn’t matter. What did matter was what happened next.

At the back of the group, Bai Jingxuan gripped her magic wand tightly, a serious look on her face.

“…I smell a Ravager,” she said in a low voice.

“Sharp nose,” Semi replied, swishing her tail. “At least now you won’t be caught off guard.”

“What?”

Her words raised everyone’s alarm. And in the next instant—they understood.

The dainty, cat-sized body began to swell.

It was like stuffing more and more cotton into a doll. The once neat form distorted and grew grotesquely large. But instead of bursting, the shape held—and kept expanding.

But it wasn’t just size.

Fangs. Claws. Fur.

All grew more distinct. The black fur lengthened and stuck out. Her eyes, once two, slowly moved closer and merged into one giant eye.

Her cat tail split into two thick, branch-like limbs stretching skyward like withered trees.

Sinister patterns crawled along her fur, fusing into the markings like they were always part of her.

No doubt about it—what stood before them was no longer a Fairy.

It was a Ravager.

Its feline outline still lingered faintly, but the massive eye and twin tails were anything but natural. From appearance to magic signature, it was clearly a Ravager.

“A Fairy… turned into a Ravager?”

Lin Xiaolu had never seen anything like it.

She’d seen humans turn into Ravagers. She’d seen a Magical Girl corrupted by Ravager magic—Yuan. But a Fairy?

That hit different.

Even now, having grown past her naïve view of Magical Girls, she still saw Fairies as “pure and kind little creatures.” Even someone like Moko stuck to that rule.

In her mind, Fairies and “combat power” were parallel lines—never meant to cross.

But now, that illusion shattered—in the most brutal way.

A Fairy had become the enemy. A Ravager.

“I didn’t want to use this form here… too flashy.”

The one-eyed Ravager opened its mouth, black magic surging outward. “But since you’ve all come to me—go ahead and leave your lives behind.”

It lifted its head and stepped forward. Its twin tails twined in the air like snakes, weaving a mirrored spiral that reached toward the sky.

On a moonless night where no moon should have been, a ghostly blue full moon rose.

——“Or rather, lose yourselves in my Nest.”