Off Work, Then I Become a Magical Girl
Chapter 81: Black Dawn

Wonderland is an ability that Magical Girls only master after reaching Bud-tier.

As a true manifestation of soul-driven willpower, it is intricately connected to Magical Armor.

In Sparrow’s mind, as a former Bud-tier Magical Girl, there was no doubt that Cornflower should have mastered this ability.

And since Sparrow had already demonstrated the ability to suppress Cornflower when she wasn’t using Wonderland, there was no reason for Cornflower not to activate it in this situation.

This, in turn, confirmed a certain rumor Sparrow had once heard: during the "Garden" Defensive Battle, Cornflower had pushed her power beyond its limits, resulting in damage to her Heartstone, and after persisting in battle for another year, she ultimately chose to retire. The place she chose for her retirement was none other than the city she once guarded—Fangting City.

At first glance, this rumor seemed unreliable. Damage to the Heartstone should be an almost crippling injury for a Magical Girl. If the Magic Source was severely harmed, one could even be left mentally impaired. How could someone still manage to retire in peace?

But the more she thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.

Everyone knew that Cornflower’s teammate, who was also a Lifetime Magical Girl and the strongest Flower Card, Sakura, had been active in Fangting City all along. If Cornflower were truly hiding in the Material World, then Fangting City was undoubtedly the most likely place.

Now, every part of the rumor that Sparrow had heard was gradually being confirmed, making her start to believe that perhaps even the final piece—that Cornflower’s Heartstone was damaged—was true!

Sparrow’s original reason for coming to Fangting City was not just to gather intelligence but also to strike a deal with the lunatics calling themselves Black Cinder Dawn.

Before her arrival, she had learned that a Royal Guard Squad from Black Cinder Dawn had come to Fangting City and planned to stay for some time.

Black Cinder Dawn was a bizarre organization that had surfaced in the Material World about a decade ago. Most of its members were human Magic Users, with a few otherworlders from The Kingdom or the Interrealm who had defected to their cause. They rejected the authority of the current Royal Court of the Magic Kingdom, secretly researching the power of Ravagers.

To achieve their goal of opposing the Royal Court, they were utterly ruthless—massacring and even torturing civilians, launching terrorist attacks on public infrastructure and city governments, and engaging in black-market dealings of all kinds of contraband. They had committed every imaginable crime.

Naturally, their unchecked actions drew the relentless pursuit of the Investigation Bureau. But like cockroaches, no matter how many were exterminated, a new wave would always rise, spreading across the world and continuing their crimes.

As a former Magical Girl, Sparrow had always prided herself on her orthodox training and found these freaks repulsive. But she couldn’t deny that when it came to rare magic materials in the Material World, apart from active Magical Girls, Black Cinder Dawn had the largest supply.

Back when she was still in service, she never had to resort to these shady channels. But after defecting from The Kingdom and joining Claw Mark, she had to think practically about funding her magical research.

After arriving in Fangting City and gathering some local intelligence, Sparrow suddenly recalled an old rumor.

This was the city where Cornflower had retired.

Two years ago, the strongest Flower Card Magical Girl, Sakura, mysteriously died. The event sent shockwaves through the Magical Girl community. Some of her fans even traveled to Fangting City to investigate.

They combed through the city, eliminating every Ravager in the surrounding area. They even approached Sakura’s teammates and husband for answers, but none of them provided any useful information.

Some of these investigators believed in the rumors, convinced that Cornflower was in hiding somewhere in Fangting City, and sought to confront her about Sakura’s death.

But no matter how hard they searched, no one ever found Cornflower.

It was as if the rumor was nothing more than baseless speculation—an illusion created by wishful thinking.

By the time Sparrow arrived, this frenzy had long died down. Both Sakura’s former teammates and her fans had concluded that the culprit had fled, chasing leads to other cities.

With the loss of several elite Magical Girls, Fangting City had entered a period of stagnation for the magic community. The local Magical Girl Squad was struggling, with an evident lack of seasoned members.

Under these circumstances, Sparrow made contact with Black Cinder Dawn’s local squad.

She didn’t know why these lunatics were lingering in Fangting City or where they got their intel. But when it came to their deal with her, they proposed an exchange:

On a specific day, she was to take down Fangting City’s current Magical Girl Squad.

Ideally, she would kill them. If not, she had to at least keep them occupied.

Their primary target? A Magical Girl with long blue hair, dressed in navy blue.

According to them, this girl had demonstrated the ability to use spells, making her at least Leaf-tier—far beyond the two rookie newcomers. Under no circumstances was she to interfere with their plans.

Since Sparrow had already defected from The Kingdom, she had long since abandoned any hesitation about fighting her former comrades. Killing a Magical Girl wasn’t an issue for her, so she readily agreed.

And so, she began her surveillance of the "Blue Magical Girl."

At first, she lingered near Ravager attack sites, confirming what the target looked like.

To avoid alerting the girl through magic perception, she stayed at a distance, using her Little Sparrows to observe.

Then, by tracking the locations and timings of Ravager appearances, she used her sparrows to follow her, deducing her starting point.

To confirm the girl’s route, she even lured some Ravagers into attacking groups of people she had marked as potential suspects.

Finally, during an attack on a light rail train, the Blue Magical Girl appeared.

With this, she was certain—the girl’s usual activity zone was Luoming District in Fangting City.

Through further surveillance, Sparrow pinpointed her frequent locations—an office building—and then noticed something shocking.

This Blue Magical Girl bore striking similarities to the Cornflower described in old rumors.

She told no one of her discovery, instead gathering photographs from twenty years ago.

She didn’t even need to compare them carefully.

She knew—this Magical Girl was Cornflower!

Which led to today’s carefully planned battle.

Sparrow’s goal was to defeat Cornflower, ideally capturing her alive.

Not only would this make her famous, but it could also be profitable—she remembered hearing long ago that someone in Claw Mark was very interested in this former legend.

And when she activated her half-beast form, she had even believed that victory was within reach.

She could pierce Cornflower’s Magical Barrier, knock her out of the sky, and pound away at the magical shell of threads she had woven around herself.

Yet, as the battle dragged on, Sparrow realized something troubling—

Cornflower had not taken a single injury.

And worse, due to the vast difference in magic efficiency, while Sparrow’s magic reserves were rapidly depleting, Cornflower remained safely hidden within her Magical Armor, refusing to emerge.

This couldn’t continue.

Much as she hated to admit it, if Cornflower remained in defensive mode, then Sparrow’s magic would run out first before she could break through.

She had to force her opponent out of her defenses.

"I don’t really care, but you—are you really planning to keep hiding in your little shell?"

With that, Sparrow spoke, swinging her Magical Armor. "If you don’t activate Wonderland soon and just keep dragging this out, your little companions might be in serious danger."

This was completely made up. In fact, even she was curious about where those rookie newbies actually were. But as the saying goes, all’s fair in war—if she could shake her opponent’s focus with a few offhanded taunts, then it was undoubtedly a worthwhile strategy.

However, her casual provocation had an unexpected effect. As soon as the words left her mouth, Veronica, who was behind Masterpiece, suddenly stiffened.

The moment she heard Sparrow’s words, a thought immediately struck her—she recalled that missed call from earlier. Then, she remembered Xia Liang and Lin Xiaolu reporting their whereabouts not long ago.

They had gone to Lixing District to find Moko.

Could something really have gone wrong?

She knew there was a chance this was just deception, but even so, she instinctively diverted part of her focus to sensing her spells.

And in the very next moment—her breath caught.

The tracking spell she had placed on Moko had disappeared.

"You have accomplices?" Her expression grew cold.

"Accomplices? Yeah, no way. I wouldn’t lump myself in with those lunatic freaks."

Sparrow scoffed dismissively before continuing her taunt. "But you’re not wrong—your little companions aren’t here. They might be facing off against a group of ruthless killers as we speak. Without your help, do you really think they can win?"

This time, despite her previous lies, what she said wasn’t entirely false.

She had no idea what Black Cinder Dawn was after, but once they found it, there was no doubt in her mind that a bloody, gruesome ritual would follow. And if those rookie newbies from Fangting City ran into them during that process, they were as good as dead.

"If you activate Wonderland now, you might just beat me and make it in time to save them."

Noticing that her words were having an effect, she pushed further, pouring fuel on the fire. "Of course, that’s the best-case scenario. If things are moving too fast on their side, then those seedlings you’ve been nurturing so carefully... well, they might already be dead. Who knows?"

Then—

Whether it was a trick of the mind or something real—

The air around them froze.

The next moment, it felt as if the atmospheric pressure had dropped, making it suddenly difficult to breathe.

"You're right—it's about time to end this."

Veronica's tense fingers slowly loosened, and the Masterpiece Shield that had been gathered in front of her dissolved into a web of Magic Threads.

She abandoned all defenses.

Flexing her stiff fingers, she cast an icy gaze toward Sparrow.

"So... no clear background to trace. Strange black magic, possibly a signature trait of the entire organization. Half-beast form, seemingly connected to Ravagers in some way. A purple-black magic gemstone, with a fundamental shift in the base color of the Magic Source... Looks like that’s about all I needed to confirm."

As she muttered to herself, the deep blue magic aura around her—previously showing signs of exhaustion—gradually faded, like a flame losing its warmth.

"Oh? You actually came out? Not bad, not bad. Looks like retirement hasn't completely dulled your courage."

Something about Veronica’s sudden calmness made Sparrow feel uneasy, though she couldn’t pinpoint why. Still, she was pleased with her success in goading her opponent and laughed.

"But bluffing won’t work on me. I can tell—your magic reserves aren’t even on par with an average Bud-tier right now!"

"Hmm. You’re right."

Veronica’s voice was unnervingly calm.

"Hah? Right about what?" Sparrow was caught off guard by her easy admission. "Are you out of your mind?"

"As you said, I’m not in my best condition."

Her tone was detached, as if she were discussing someone else’s problem.

"Due to a combination of factors, I have to admit—right now, I’m nowhere near my peak strength."

"And you’re telling me this now? Are you surrendering?"

A strange sense of unease crept into Sparrow’s chest, though she couldn’t quite grasp why.

"What, are you trying to say you can’t activate Wonderland or defeat me? Are you begging for mercy?"

"No. I’m just clarifying something."

Her long hair began to rise without a breeze, silky strands fluttering in the air.

A soft whooshing sound accompanied the movement as the Magic Threads around her rippled gently, tracing patterns like currents following the wind.

Fixing her gaze on the half-beast figure before her, shrouded in dark magic, she spoke in an eerily calm and natural tone, as if stating an indisputable fact—

"I don’t need Wonderland to defeat you."

In the next instant—

Deep blue magic exploded outward.

But unlike before, its entire nature had changed.

No longer was it a controlled, disciplined flow of power.

Instead, it surged wildly, spilling out in every direction like an unstoppable flood—so overwhelming that it was impossible to keep one’s eyes open.

If her previous magic had been a gentle stream, then now, it was an unstoppable river, surging forward with unmatched force.

Veronica lifted her head, her blue eyes now gleaming with an intense glow.

The Heartstone at her throat pulsed with power, radiating an almost blinding brilliance.

She reached out her hand, and even the tips of her fingernails shimmered as if painted with a fluorescent polish, glowing in the same deep blue hue.

"It’s about time."

Her voice was steady.

"Let’s finish this quickly."