Transform into a magical girl after getting off work

"Really?" Emerald Sparrow raised an eyebrow but ultimately did not continue the topic, simply accepting the explanation from the lantern.

When the topic shifted to the Investigative Bureau, she actually had nothing to say, as her position as "Patrol Envoy" was in name only, without any substantial network in the bureau.

Sensing Emerald Sparrow's reluctance to discuss further, the lantern tacitly put an end to the topic. The two stopped the small talk and headed toward the center of the nest.

Under normal circumstances, if Emerald Sparrow were to use spell techniques combined with perception to scout the path, the process would be exceedingly long, especially as the space they were currently in was unimaginably vast, even more complex than any of the nests she had encountered before.

However, with the lantern's magic gear, the process became quite easy.

The magic gear of the lantern took the form of a hand lantern. According to her, when she used her own lantern, marks related to magic power would appear in her field of vision, showing the traces of magic power activity within the region in the span of a day.

Besides, if she had marked a certain target's magic power characteristics, she could sense the target's position within a certain range with clarity.

On their way there, she had tracked the suspicious man to the core of the nest using this method and, after combat with him, had even marked one of the pupa-stage Remnant Beasts.

In other words, it was as if she now held a compass, which pointed directly to the heart of the nest.

With such aid, the two found the nest's master without much effort.

It was a vast lair that looked starkly out of place compared to its surroundings.

Unlike the "Abnormal Strategy Bureau level one" they had seen countless times on the way there, this space still preserved a decoration style similar to the Abnormal Strategy Bureau, with blazing white lights and silvery-white walls. Yet, upon closer inspection, one could see that its internal furnishing completely defied common sense.

Tables affixed to walls; filing cabinets twisted into triangles; doors bent into irregular shapes... The scene that unfolded before the two of them was akin to a dream, a surreal and distorted reality.

In actuality, this revealed the true nature of Remnant Beasts—monsters that cannot comprehend the human design and purpose of tools.

Within such a twisted space, there was an even more distorted entity that completely captured the attention of the two Magical Girls, leaving them no room to mind anything else.

It was a Remnant Beast resembling a spider, sprawling atop a massive web that shrouded the entire lair, gnawing on something unrecognizable.

The beast bore several enormous holes on its body, from which blood oozed steadily, evidently sustaining serious "injuries" as the lantern had mentioned earlier. However, its condition did not seem lethargic at all; it was still vigorous enough to feed.

The web beneath it was composed entirely of flesh and blood, appearing incredibly grisly. A sprawling red network engulfed the entire space from which one could smell a putrid stench from afar.

Suspended below the massive flesh and blood web were numerous meaty growths, each several meters tall, hanging motionless.

If you didn't pay attention, you might think that these growths were nothing special, merely extensions of the flesh web. But on closer examination, Emerald Sparrow realized that these growths were not solid but rather fleshy cocoons that seemed to encase something. Under the harsh white light of the lair, blurry shadows could be seen from within.

On an even closer look, it became apparent that the outlines of these shadows were strikingly similar to humans.

"Those are the victims he'd captured, the meaty growths contain people he 'fed' to the Remnant Beasts," the lantern whispered next to her, keeping her voice low, "Although I'm not sure what method he used, that pupa-stage Remnant Beast was very placid in front of that man, showing no signs of an outburst, and it accepted his 'feeding' very obediently."

"As for those whom he 'fed,' they were all stuffed into those growths. I don't know what happens after they're put inside, but the likelihood is..."

She did not finish her sentence, but there was no need. The consequences of falling into the clutches of a Remnant Beast were unspeakable.

Emerald Sparrow's brows were tightly furrowed.

Just witnessing the scene before her made her feel sick to her stomach.

Remnant Beasts ravaging cities and killing people didn't disgust her as much. After all, Remnant Beasts were inherently creatures that followed their instincts blindly, committing atrocities without any ethical burden.

But the fact that humans colluded with the Remnant Beasts was of an entirely different nature.

Harming their own kin, even offering their fellow humans as bait to the Remnant Beasts, such acts were beyond being described as 'contemptible' by Emerald Sparrow.

She had thought herself well-acquainted with 'evil,' yet there were always those who broke through her lowest expectations to reveal even more depraved visages.

What kind of person could commit such acts?

She could not comprehend it at all.

And the person who made her feel so incomprehensible was right there within this nest.

Under a flesh tumor festooned with webs of blood and tissue, there stood a figure resembling a human, gazing up at the Remnant Beasts on the web above.

Clutched in the figure's hand was a device of unknown purpose, as he observed the Remnant Beasts while tweaking something on the gadget.

"Is that the person, should we take action?"

Seeing that Emerald Sparrow had also noticed the shadow, Lantern followed by asking, "But, Senior Emerald Sparrow, you may need to be cautious. He is very strong."

"Take action," Emerald Sparrow said without any hesitation.

Even without looking at the grotesque sight beneath the web of flesh, she was already determined to fight.

Having finally reached the heart of the lair and encountered the enemy, there was no reason for her to shrink back.

The two Magical Girls quickly discussed their plan and decided to strike together: Lantern would feint an attack to draw the opponent's attention on the surface, while Emerald Sparrow would take the opportunity to launch a surprise attack, hoping to severely injure the enemy in one blow.

Azure and dark brown, two trails of magical power flashed over the lair. The azure one vanished immediately, while the dark brown Magic Power Beam chased straight towards the man on the ground.

The man operating the device wore a black robe and was initially focused on observing the Remnant Beasts above his head, but a premonition caused him to suddenly lower his gaze, then he reached out with his hand, around which swirled a purplish-black magic power, shielding him.

Boom!

The purplish-black magic power formed a Magical Barrier that blocked Lantern's attack.

"You dare come back?"

Seeing Lantern appear before him and recognizing his assailant, the man was somewhat surprised, yet his surprise only went so far as he remarked, "I thought after your escape, you would at least find a place to hide for a while. I didn't expect you to be so eager to rush back to your death."

Lantern, without uttering a word, launched several Magic Power Beams and her hands flickered with several Favo Runes, which then transformed into spears instantaneously and charged towards the man.

As a Lei-tier Magical Girl, Lantern's mastery of Spell Techniques was very proficient. Her magical girl abilities tended more towards support, so the Spell Techniques she used were mostly offensive.

Facing Lantern's barrage of attacks, the man scoffed in a somewhat mocking manner, clearly confident in his countermeasures and not taking her seriously.

Just as he showed, in an instant, the barrier in front of him transformed into a gaping maw that devoured Lantern's techniques, the spears only lasted a few seconds in his grasp before being disassembled into scattered pools of ownerless magic power.

While he was smug about his clever response, thinking of further taunts, he felt a chill on his back.

—"Masterpiece, number six, The Chop of Khepri."

Without giving him time to react, a dagger made of magic power stabbed into his back, piercing all of his defenses like the rot pulled from the root, and then, from his heart, thrust out through his chest.