Proving one's status starting with magical girls

"I'll be your opponent!"

The crisp sound echoed in the empty subway station hall, like a pebble thrown into stagnant water, causing a visible commotion in the otherwise silent crowd.

Under the watchful eyes of countless people, a girl of about sixteen years old walked out from the crowd.

She had delicate features, wore simple casual clothes, and carried a long cloth bag on her back. She stood fearlessly in front of the demon.

The third eye on the demon's forehead slowly rotated, locking onto her, and a mixed voice, indistinct in hushed tones, emanated from its mouthparts:

"Sir, are you perhaps a magical girl?"

Magical girl.

These four words were like a flame, bringing hope back to people's despairing faces.

If it's a magical girl, as long as it's a magical girl.

Then they might be saved, after all, she's a magical girl!

Amidst the burning, expectant gazes of the crowd, Li Jiangqun agreed without hesitation.

"That's right, I'm a magical girl!"

"Didn't you want someone to be your opponent? Release them all, and I'll be your opponent!"

However, the tall demon remained unmoved after hearing her words, and simply scrutinized the girl.

Before everyone could even rejoice, Fu Xun's disappointed voice plunged them into an icy abyss.

"...You are not a magical girl."

Its eyes move, and its mouth opens and closes.

"Although they are very similar, I did not sense the presence of any natural enemy, and there was no trace of those angels around you."

The demon paused, then his tone unusually carried a hint of genuine approval.

"However, I admire your courage in daring to stand in front of me with your mortal body."

Its eerie sound echoed all around, causing Li Jiangqun's palms to sweat slightly.

"I was hoping to pull the same trick as before, but this time I was seen through immediately..."

She wasn't sure whether the demon in front of her was too cautious or the witch she had encountered before was too arrogant.

Meanwhile, upon learning that the girl who stepped forward was not a magical girl, the suppressed unease in the crowd immediately erupted.

"If she's not a magical girl, what's the difference between this and suicide?"

"Hey, isn't she just a child? Is it really okay to let her go?"

"Shut up! Why don't you, an adult, go out and die?"

"Are all the people in the countermeasures department dead?!"

"Waaaaah... I don't want to die! Magical girl, please save me..."

"..."

A cacophony of noise rose and fell among the crowd, but this uproar did not last long. The tall demon merely swept his gaze over, and the crowd fell silent in fear once more.

The leaders of the Demon Angels never show the slightest mercy to ordinary people when they are killing.

This has been the consensus of all humanity for the past fifteen years.

However, compared to the silent majority, Fu Shun was clearly more interested in the girl in front of him who dared to face him directly.

With a slight lift of its right hand holding the bone knife, the tip of the knife flicked, sending the long knife lying on the ground flying into the air, where it landed with a clang at Li Jiangqun's feet.

"In that case, I will give you a chance."

"Pick up the knife."

However, upon hearing its words, the girl simply shook her head and reached out to untie the cloth bag behind her.

"No."

As the cloth bundle was untied, a longsword, three feet and a half inches long, with faint black and gold patterns flowing across its blade, was revealed to everyone.

She gripped the sword hilt with her right hand, the tip pointing directly at the demon, her tone calm and collected.

"I have my own sword."

Seeing the girl pointing her weapon directly at him, the demon didn't pay much attention. Instead, he focused his gaze on the sword in the girl's hand.

It stared at the patterns on the sword for a long time, a hint of surprise on its non-human face.

"...I see. It seems she has returned to the embrace of the Blood Duke."

Fu Xun's voice carried a hint of emotion.

"The person who comes to kill her must be an extremely powerful magical girl."

With that, it waved its gray robe, and several Demon Sky combatants wearing iron masks immediately gathered in front of it.

"Although I don't know how her weapon ended up in your hands, since you possess this sword, let me see what kind of person you are!"

"Desperate fighter, confront her, and dedicate your fighting spirit to the mighty and supreme Desperate General!"

As he finished speaking, a Demon Sky combatant wielding an iron rod stepped out of the ranks.

At first, they approached slowly, then turned into a rapid run. The cyborg's leather boots pounded on the smooth tiles of the subway station, while the iron bar behind him made a low whistling sound as it cut through the air.

The crowd unconsciously held their breath.

Some people instinctively shrank back, and many others closed their eyes in fear, as if they would see the iron rod smash the girl's thin head in the next second.

Seeing the fierce oncoming fighters, Li Jiangqun took a deep breath and silently recited an incantation.

"If there is still something in between, remain calm amidst all changes."

As the incantation was performed, a ray of clear light suddenly enveloped his divine sense.

The unease vanished instantly, like the receding tide, and the whole world seemed to quiet down.

Li Jiangqun was extremely focused at this moment. Under her gaze, even the trajectory of the iron rod raised by the combatant seemed to slow down a bit.

"Golden Light Technique!"

Just before the combatant was about to swing his weapon, the girl leaned forward to the side, a gust of wind brushing against her hair, and at the same time, the longsword slashed upwards.

"Clang!"

A golden light flashed, and the blade drew a light golden arc in the air. The cyborg's forearm, which was holding the staff, was severed at the elbow, thrown high into the air, and crashed to the ground with a heavy thud.

There was no blood splatter as expected; instead, the cut on the combatant's shoulder revealed inhuman, mechanical tissue.

The fighter who had lost an arm did not stop; instead, he charged towards the girl even more fiercely.

Li Jiangqun, in a state of tranquility, remained calm and instead of retreating, advanced.

With a deft flick of his wrist, the longsword was thrust forward, its sharp edge striking the combatant's chest.

Without any obstruction, the golden sword tip pierced through his chest, penetrating his heart and bones.

The damage to the core organs and the extraction of magic power rendered the combatant incapable of fighting in an instant.

The fist, which was originally powerful enough to shatter bones, was now just an empty shell, and it didn't even make the girl flinch when it hit her.

"Bang!"

The cyborg's remains collapsed to the ground, but the girl, without changing her expression, drew her longsword, the blade still shimmering with golden light.

"Well, to defeat a combatant with a mortal body, even with the help of that demonic sword, is indeed commendable."

Fu Xun spared no praise, its gray robe waving once more, this time with two combatants stepping forward simultaneously.

"Let me see your limits!"

As soon as it finished speaking, two figures rushed towards Li Jiangqun from the left and right, like arrows released from a bow.