The 30-Year-Old Magical Girl - Chapter 60

Could it really be… You Dong is the magical girl Tidal?

“No way…”

Chen Xi shook her head vigorously, trying to drive the ridiculous thought from her mind.

But the harder she tried to deny it, the more convincing the evidence became.

Consider the timeline.

You Dong had deliberately staged an affair and broken up with her—right around the same time Magical Girl Tidal suddenly appeared.

Could that really be a coincidence?

Maybe.

But what about that day on Jixiang Street?

Chen Xi had watched You Dong disappear into a dark alley. Moments later, Tidal had appeared in the sky above her.

Another coincidence?

And if it was, why had an ordinary man like You Dong rushed toward the scene immediately after an aberration appeared?

What was that flash of white light she’d seen just before he disappeared?

Then there was Tidal’s relationship with Raging Flame—You Xi.

Why was Tidal always around her?

And why had she just called Chen Xi “Xianjie”?

Could it have been nothing more than an old habit slipping out because the situation had been so urgent?

The more Chen Xi thought about it, the more certain she became.

Then, one final memory settled the matter.

It was from the first time the three of them had met here and eaten together.

When Chen Xi had made up an excuse instead of telling You Xi the truth about her breakup with You Dong, she clearly remembered Tidal—who had been silently eating fries until then—suddenly looking up at her.

Afterward, Chen Xi couldn’t remember exactly what expression Tidal had worn.

Yet that brief moment had somehow remained etched in her memory.

Now, looking back, it felt almost like some sixth sense had been guiding her toward the truth all along.

And with everything she knew now, that strange glance from Tidal finally made sense.

It had been a look filled with guilt and gratitude.

Tidal—no, You Dong—had felt guilty for deceiving her.

And he had been grateful because she hadn’t exposed his supposed “affair” in front of You Xi, sparing him from an embarrassing confrontation.

…Everything fit.

As the scattered pieces finally came together, Chen Xi’s mind went completely blank.

It felt as though something had exploded inside her head.

She stared in disbelief at Tidal, who was fighting the aberration in the distance.

Tidal swung her weapon.

At the tip of her magic wand, countless magic particles condensed into a one-meter-long blade of high-energy plasma.

Like a lightsaber slicing effortlessly through tofu, it cleaved through the incoming tendrils.

This was a new technique Tidal had developed recently.

Its principle was similar to her normal beam attack. However, instead of firing the magic outward, she concentrated it around the crystal at the tip of her wand, forming a blade-like weapon.

The result was something as precise and destructive as a high-pressure water cutter.

Using it in close combat allowed her to control both the range and precision of her attacks while conserving stamina and magical energy.

…All of that was just an excuse.

The real reason this technique was so amazing?

It was unbelievably, ridiculously cool.

Swinging that glowing blade through the air made Tidal feel like a Jedi Knight from Star Wars.

The inner middle-schooler inside her was practically screaming with delight.

Tidal darted through the air, performing a series of graceful aerial maneuvers.

She twisted and turned between the attacking tendrils, dodging strikes from every direction while slicing through each one with pinpoint precision.

One after another, the root-like tendrils fell.

The entire car display area was soon covered in foul-smelling green fluid, transforming it into something resembling a grotesque green hell.

“Can’t these things just die already?”

Tidal soon discovered a serious problem.

No matter how efficiently she cut the tendrils apart, new ones continued emerging from underground.

If this continued, she would eventually run out of magic before the creature did.

She immediately changed tactics.

If the tendrils were all emerging from underground, then the creature’s core was probably directly beneath the area.

If she could fire a powerful beam straight downward, she might be able to damage—or even destroy—the core.

With that plan in mind, Tidal stopped fighting the tendrils and flew higher.

The shopping plaza had been built around a large open central area, with a ring of floors surrounding it.

For a flying magical girl, there was plenty of vertical space. She could rise from the first floor all the way to the steel framework near the roof.

Tidal estimated that most of the tendrils could only reach around the third floor.

If she climbed higher, she’d have enough room to safely charge her attack.

Unfortunately, she’d underestimated the creature.

As though it could read her intentions, the monster beneath her suddenly sent another dozen tendrils shooting upward.

These new tendrils were thinner than the previous ones—only about as thick as an adult’s arm.

But they were longer, more flexible, and much faster.

Even after Tidal reached the sixth floor, they continued climbing after her.

—!

Before she could react, one wrapped around her ankle.

Another caught her thigh.

Then her waist.

Her arms.

The slippery, slimy sensation against her skin reminded her of eels covered in mucus.

The physical disgust—and the psychological discomfort—triggered an enormous surge of magic.

Tidal immediately formed a high-cost magic barrier around herself.

The moment the thin tendrils touched it, they were vaporized by the intense heat.

But the attack didn’t stop.

More tendrils continued rising from below, launching themselves at her one after another like endless suicide charges.

At this rate…

For once, Tidal felt genuinely frustrated.

The barrier made her completely untouchable, but maintaining it consumed far too much magic.

She couldn’t charge a powerful attack capable of penetrating the ground while simultaneously sustaining the barrier.

Attack or defense.

She had to choose.

Just as she hesitated, Huangxing arrived with Lao Lin.

“Senior! I’m here to help!”

Huangxing called out as she entered the battlefield.

However, she didn’t immediately attack.

Instead, she quickly scanned the area, searching for someone.

Most of the civilians had already escaped.

The first floor was nearly empty.

Then she found her target.

You Xi was sitting on the ground, still in her human form.

Her eyes were vacant, her expression completely hollow, as though she had fallen into despair.

Huangxing’s expression darkened when she saw her.

But she quickly composed herself and raised her bow.

“Huangxing.”

During a brief lull in the battle, Tidal called out to her.

“Senior?”

“I need some time to charge an attack. Help me keep them away.”

Tidal hovered in midair, looking down at her teammate.

Huangxing immediately understood.

“Got it! Leave it to me!”

Three yellow arrows began forming in her hands.

Electricity crackled around their tips.

They were the same technique she’d used that night—the attack that had trapped Bai Mian inside the lightning net.

“Hyaah—!”

She released all three arrows toward the ground.

But halfway through their descent—

Boom!

The arrows exploded in midair.

A cloud of electrically charged mist spread across the area below them, gradually forming a layer of yellow storm clouds.

The moment the thin tendrils touched the charged mist—

Crackle!

Powerful arcs of electricity surged through them.

The tendrils were instantly fried, collapsing lifelessly to the ground.

Seeing the result, Tidal finally lowered her barrier.

She looked toward Huangxing and gave her a thumbs-up.

“Nice work.”

Now…

Tidal raised her magic wand.