The 30-Year-Old Magical Girl - Chapter 61

Before the electrified mist had completely dissipated, Tidal unleashed her decisive strike.

A beam more than two meters in diameter came crashing down, blasting straight through the ground and carving out a perfectly circular hole.

Apparently, the attack had inflicted a fatal wound on the aberration’s core. The countless green tendrils suddenly convulsed simultaneously, writhing in what appeared to be their final struggle.

Soon, their vibrant green color faded, turning an ashen gray. Having lost all strength, they collapsed onto the floor and gradually dissolved into countless white magic particles, returning to the natural cycle.

It’s over.

Tidal exhaled in relief.

She had been worried that her attack might not have reached the aberration’s core, but now it seemed those concerns had been unnecessary.

“That was insane!”

Huangxing had witnessed Tidal unleash her full power for the first time, and she was completely stunned.

Excitedly, she flew down toward the first floor, eager to see just how deep the hole was. However, before she could get anywhere near it, an intense wave of heat forced her back.

“Whoa! It’s so hot!”

Huangxing quickly flew back up and returned to Tidal’s side.

“Lao Lin, what exactly was that thing?”

“…”

Lao Lin didn’t answer immediately.

He stared solemnly into the enormous hole.

Tidal sensed that something was wrong.

As far as she remembered, Shangjing, being a City zone, hadn’t experienced any large-scale aberration incidents in many years.

Creatures of that size had nowhere to hide in a densely populated urban area. The moment they were discovered, magical girls or the Special Operations Bureau would immediately target and eliminate them.

That was why Cities had never been suitable hunting grounds for such creatures.

The abandoned Wilderness was their true domain.

“…I have a theory. Let’s go down and take a look.”

Lao Lin leaped from Huangxing’s shoulder onto Tidal’s.

“Go down?”

“Yes. Into the hole you just made.”

Tidal had already been thinking along the same lines, so she acted immediately.

She erected a barrier around herself, shielding her body from the intense heat while also protecting herself against anything that might be lurking below.

Once she was ready, she slowly descended into the opening.

After several minutes of descending, Tidal began to feel increasingly uneasy.

She had deliberately reduced her speed so she could carefully observe her surroundings. Even so, after several minutes, she should have already descended at least fifty or sixty meters.

Yet the darkness below showed no sign of ending.

And the farther she descended, the wider it became.

At first, the hole had only been two or three meters wide.

Now, it had expanded into a gigantic cavern large enough to accommodate hundreds of people.

Tidal floated inside the vast underground space, feeling like a deep-sea diver.

The sunlight from the surface had completely disappeared.

Above her was nothing but darkness.

Below her was an endless, pitch-black abyss.

The fear of the unknown—and the sudden awareness of her own insignificance—made Tidal shudder.

At this point, she could only be certain of one thing.

This underground chasm had already existed long before her attack.

Her attack had merely opened a doorway into it.

“I think I understand.”

Lao Lin’s voice came from her shoulder.

“Quick. We need to go back.”

His voice trembled.

Clearly, he wanted to leave this place as quickly as possible.

Tidal agreed.

She gathered her magic and shot upward like a bullet.

The descent had taken several minutes.

The ascent took only a few seconds.

When Tidal finally returned to the surface, she gasped for breath.

It wasn’t because she had exhausted her magic or stamina.

It was pure, instinctive dread.

An oppressive, suffocating fear that seemed to weigh down her entire body.

Where did this abyss lead?

What was waiting at the bottom?

And what exactly had she just fought?

Countless questions filled her mind as she turned toward Lao Lin, who was still perched on her shoulder.

“The tendrils you destroyed… they weren’t an aberration.”

Lao Lin paused.

“Or rather, they weren’t a single aberration.”

“You mean…”

Tidal’s expression changed.

“It was only a part of something?”

During her descent, Tidal had already begun to suspect the same thing.

But the possibility was so terrifying and surreal that she hadn’t dared to say it aloud.

“Yes.”

Lao Lin nodded.

Then he offered an analogy.

“Think of an iceberg floating in the sea. Its mass may be enormous, but only a tiny fraction of it is visible above the surface.”

“At the bottom of this abyss…”

His voice trembled slightly.

“There may be something so enormous that neither you nor I can even begin to imagine its true size.”

“The tendrils that surfaced may have been nothing more than a single limb among tens of thousands.”

Hearing this, Tidal’s face gradually turned pale.

“Then… what exactly is it?”

She swallowed.

“Are you saying there’s a colossal aberration lurking beneath Shangjing?”

“Heh…”

Lao Lin let out a cold laugh at her question.

“Shangjing has a colossal aberration lurking beneath it.”

He deliberately repeated Tidal’s own words.

Then he continued.

“…But what if it’s the other way around?”

“What if we simply happened to build a city on top of it?”

Tidal fell silent.

A wave of cold dread spread from her spine throughout her entire body.

This should have been a terrifying realization.

And yet, for some reason, she almost felt like laughing.

If their theory was correct…

Then the absurdity and madness of this world were just like this bottomless abyss.

Truly endless.

“In any case, this is a critical event that must be reported to the Magic Kingdom and the Special Operations Bureau immediately.”

With that, Lao Lin leaped from Tidal’s shoulder and landed on the ground.

“I’m leaving. I probably won’t come to Earth again for a few days.”

He looked at Tidal and Huangxing.

“You two can act freely for now. Just stay safe.”

“…Got any cigarettes?”

Lao Lin glanced back at Tidal.

Then he realized he’d asked a completely pointless question.

Tidal looked toward the devastated surroundings.

“What will happen to this place?”

She glanced at the nearby shops.

Many of them held memories of her time with Chen Xi—memories of the dates they’d shared together.

Thinking about them, Tidal felt a sudden pang of attachment and sadness.

“Probably won’t reopen.”

Lao Lin sighed.

“Not that I blame them… It’s just a shame.”

As he muttered his lament, his figure gradually faded from view.

Not far away, Huangxing appeared to be talking to You Xi.

Huangxing seemed agitated, while You Xi simply listened in silence, her expression numb.

Tidal watched them from a distance.

Why hadn’t You Xi transformed before the fight?

Only now, with the battle over, did Tidal finally have enough time to wonder about it.

—You Dong?

Suddenly, a cold and sharp voice came from behind her.

It was Chen Xi.