Apocalypse, then transforming into a magical girl

The part of the limb controlled by Old Man Sun, the limb that had been attacking Xia Zhaozhao, suddenly swung violently in an extremely strange way!

"Snapped!"

It struck the appendage that was about to pierce Xia Zhaozhao's neck with remarkable precision!

The immense force shoved the appendage away, grazing Xia Zhaozhao's cheek!

Before Xia Zhaozhao and Xiao Lü could react, something even stranger happened.

The limb controlled by Old Man Sun did not stop after deflecting the fatal attack. Instead, it collided violently with a limb belonging to the monster that was about to attack Xia Zhaozhao!

"Pfft!"

Two limbs, both belonging to the fleshy monster, actually... started fighting?

The black monster's limbs and the human-like limbs savagely lashed and tore at each other, splattering slime and debris everywhere, creating a scene of utter chaos.

Xia Zhaozhao was stunned; she couldn't understand anything at all.

"What...what's going on?" she murmured in disbelief. "The monsters...are fighting amongst themselves?"

No, that's not right! Old Man Sun... is still conscious? Is he helping her?

Meanwhile, Little Green on the other side also experienced a similar change.

Just as her ice wall shattered into pieces from the frenzied attacks, no further attacks followed.

Little Green quickly jumped back, looking in shock at the limb suspended in mid-air and the male head attached to its base.

She saw that the man's head was turning with difficulty, as if he was struggling against some kind of control. His lips moved slightly, silently making several mouth shapes.

Little Green understood; it was—

"Kill me."

Seeing Little Green standing there blankly, seemingly not understanding, a trace of pain flashed in the filthy eyes of that head.

He seemed to be engaged in a fierce struggle with his aggressive urges, and in the end, he actually managed to activate his severely damaged vocal cords, letting out a hoarse and eerie roar:

"kill--!"

"It's over!"

"I--!!!"

The sound was filled with extreme pain, a longing for liberation, and a hatred of one's own existence.

Do those... those who were devoured and merged still retain their own consciousness?

The chaos inside the monster intensified, and fragments of Xiao Wu's consciousness also floated within it.

He felt a sharp pain in his head, as if it were being torn apart by countless sharp sounds and images. The desire to kill, the urge to devour, and the instinct to destroy constantly assaulted his nerves.

However, in this vast torrent of interconnected consciousness, he discovered that some thoughts belonging to "human beings" were resonating.

From these voices, he barely understood the current situation. He, like them, was trapped in this cage of flesh and blood, turned into... a monster.

Instinct drove the arm connected to his consciousness to slap towards the two small figures emitting a faint light in front of him.

But the nerve impulse was cut off halfway. A gentler, yet unusually firm, consciousness halted his movement.

He turned his head in confusion, looking in the direction from which his consciousness had come, and saw Aunt Zhou's familiar yet sorrowful face, shaking her head slightly at him.

A powerful thought, like an electric current, spread from the core of Aunt Zhou's consciousness, reaching Xiao Wu and every remaining conscious being within the fleshy mass:

"That girl... I know her... her name is Xia Zhaozhao... she's a college student..."

Immediately afterwards, the thoughts belonging to the middle-aged man also erupted.

"We've already become like this, but we can't let them become like this too..."

"I've long been confused by this world... but scolding them is one thing, how could you actually hit two kids like that..."

This awareness came from Old Man Sun.

Li Ding's idiotic face, perched atop the fleshy mound, also howled in anger, unable to comprehend the betrayal of his body:

"Don't hit her! Don't hit Mommy! Her hands and feet are bad! Hit her!"

More and more heads struggled to turn their eyeballs, revealing expressions of pain, despair, or pleading for relief.

The enormous ball of flesh descended into unprecedented chaos, its limbs tearing at each other. The human parts roared in pain or rage, while the monstrous parts uttered malevolent howls.

This is a war that broke out within the same body.

Xia Zhaozhao stood there blankly, watching Aunt Zhou struggle to stop the attack of the other tentacle, watching Old Man Sun's limbs collide with the monster's appendages, and watching the uncle use his last strength to let out a cry for death.

A hot tear rolled down her cheek.

They were once human beings, living, breathing people, with their own lives, their own joys and sorrows.

But now, they have become like this, trapped in this hell made of flesh and blood.

Xia Zhaozhao didn't want to become like this.

She glanced subconsciously at Xiao Lü beside her, not wanting this sarcastic companion who used to play games with her and was now fighting alongside her to turn into this.

There was also Aunt Zhou, Old Man Sun, and everyone else she knew or didn't know.

No matter what kind of people they were, no matter how stubborn and annoying she used to think Old Man Sun was... she didn't want anyone she knew to end up like that!

"No...no, you mustn't do this!"

Deep anger and grief replaced fear, and an unprecedented resolve erupted from her petite body.

She could clearly feel the magic power within her body growing and boiling at an incredible speed.

She understood instantly.

"...Preventing unwanted things from happening...is that the true meaning of protectiveness?"

On the other side, looking at the face that was contorted in agony and seeking death, Xiao Lü's heart sank to its lowest point. She felt as if something was tightly gripping her heart.

"—Never mind!"

A twisted expression appeared on Xiao Lü's face, a mixture of wanting to cry and forcing a smile, making her look incredibly conflicted. Without further hesitation, she raised her small hand and poured all the magic power within her into the old man's head!

"Ah—" she cried out, her voice trembling with sobs.

An extreme chill erupted instantly, and the head area, along with the surrounding monster tissue, rapidly solidified, losing all vitality.

The magic has taken effect on the area controlled by the consciousness. This means... he is determined to die.

Aunt Zhou, Old Man Sun, Little Wu... all the remaining conscious beings inside the fleshy ball clearly felt that the consciousness that had been radiating pain and a longing for liberation had completely disappeared.

Aunt Zhou's mouth managed a tiny upward curve with difficulty.

"sorry--"

Xia Zhaozhao let out a heart-wrenching scream. She infused the kitchen knife in her hand with magic and hurled it fiercely at the completely frozen head.

"Snap!"

The head shattered instantly, turning into countless ice crystals and black powder, which dissipated into the polluted air along with the light spots formed by magic.

Tears welled up in Xia Zhaozhao's eyes, but her gaze became incredibly resolute. She clenched her right hand in mid-air, and the familiar two-handed sword reappeared in her grasp.

She poured unprecedentedly powerful magic into the sword, causing the blade to glow with dazzling magical light.

"Give me—freedom—"

She let out a furious roar, her voice trembling with tears, and gripped the greatsword tightly with both hands, slashing down at the ball of flesh below.