LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 138 - Fight
“……”
Without a moment’s hesitation, YouYu took the two cards in front of him and absorbed them into his body.
Then, as he watched the cards gradually merge into his flesh, YouYu let out a quiet breath, closed his eyes, and began carefully feeling out the power they brought.
What he felt was…
A void.
No—actually, calling it a void might’ve been too dramatic. That would’ve been overstating it.
To be more precise… it was like tossing two tiny pebbles into the ocean. Sure, there were ripples, but compared to the vast, infinite sea, they were far too insignificant to matter.
“…Why is it like this?”
Frowning, YouYu focused on the faint traces of mana coursing through his body—so faint it was almost negligible.
Liu Meng, watching him from the side, quickly picked up on his expression and asked:
“What’s wrong, YouYu? You’ve been frowning this whole time… are you feeling unwell?”
“If something’s off, you should stop immediately,” WuYue added, exchanging a worried glance with Bai Yu.
Both of them seemed to be preparing to act at any moment—ready to step in if something went seriously wrong.
“…There is something odd going on, but it’s not painful or uncomfortable.”
Shaking his head, YouYu opened his eyes, sighing softly.
“The mana inside these two cards… I don’t know why, but when I was holding them, they felt fine. Now that they’re inside me, though, I can barely sense them. It’s like they’re barely there at all.”
“This didn’t happen when I used the card you gave me before, Liu Meng…”
Trailing off, YouYu paused for a moment before continuing.
“WuYue, Bai Yu, try adding more mana into these cards. Maybe it’s simply not enough. After all, you both know it’s nearly impossible to control mana infusion perfectly—there’s bound to be some deviation.”
“Add a bit more, and let’s see what happens.”
“…Is it really safe to do it like this? Without taking the cards out?”
“It’s fine.”
“…Alright then.”
Hearing YouYu sound so sure, neither WuYue nor Bai Yu hesitated further. They raised their hands, channeling mana directly toward the cards now embedded inside YouYu’s body.
Strangely enough, the process went smoothly—none of the negative emotions that usually disrupted mana transmission seemed to affect them. Probably had something to do with how… unique YouYu was.
But as they continued pouring mana in—as if trying to fill a bottomless pit—Bai Yu suddenly sensed something. Her hand slowed to a stop, brows furrowing slightly.
WuYue, however, noticed nothing. She kept channeling mana steadily.
And just as Bai Yu realized something might be seriously wrong and opened her mouth to warn WuYue—
It was already too late.
“Boom!”
“?! YouYu!!”
The moment the mana hit a certain threshold, red flames erupted from YouYu’s body without warning. The sudden blaze lit up the entire room, making everyone jump.
Thankfully, the flames flared for only a split second before quickly compressing and snuffing out.
Still… faint trails of black smoke curled from YouYu’s clothes, now singed and burned through in several spots.
“……”
“Well… that was a bit of an accident.”
“…I-I’m so sorry, YouYu! I… I didn’t realize that would happen!”
WuYue’s voice trembled as she stared at his charred clothes, panic rising in her expression. She scrambled to her feet, desperately wanting to apologize.
But YouYu simply shook his head, gently motioning for her to sit back down.
“No, it’s fine. This isn’t your fault, WuYue. I was the one who asked you to do it. Besides… even I didn’t expect that to happen.”
Even though, truthfully, it wasn’t exactly an accident.
While they had been transmitting mana, YouYu noticed something odd—the mana infused into the cards remained completely inert. Curious, he’d tried pulling at it himself, seeing if he could force it to merge directly with his body.
The result?
Predictable. WuYue’s mana combusted inside him, flaring violently. Thankfully, Liu Meng’s mana was still there, acting as a stabilizer, so the damage wasn’t severe.
Still, the whole thing left him puzzled.
Where, exactly, was the problem?
“It was never going to be that easy, huh…”
Muttering thoughtfully, Liu Meng, clearly having the same suspicion, spoke up first:
“YouYu… I think that time your negative emotions fused with the mana… it was a very, very unique case. Something you won’t be able to replicate so easily.”
“Judging by what I observed during your last transformation… I’d say it required very specific circumstances to allow your body to fully integrate a magical girl’s mana.”
“So what you’re saying is—”
Coming back to himself, YouYu finished her thought:
“Another ‘crisis’ like last time, right?”
“…Yes. If my guess is right, that’s exactly it.”
“It’s only in those moments… when the magical girls’ deepest wishes become strongest, that the mana—driven by those wishes—can be fully controlled by you.”
“Right now, you’ve managed to hold onto a portion of their mana, but… each magical girl’s power is fundamentally incompatible with one another.”
“Rejection is… inevitable.”
“I see.”
YouYu nodded at her explanation, but there wasn’t the slightest disappointment on his face.
After all, it was never going to be that simple to claim their power—he had known that from the start.
Still… he’d been hoping for a gentler way. Looks like, in the end, he’d have to go back to the original plan.
“……”
Bzzz—
Just then, a phone rang, cutting through the silence.
The ringtone came from Liu Meng’s phone.
“…Who’s calling me at this hour?”
She glanced at the screen, pausing briefly before answering the call and exchanging a few words.
It seemed something had come up at work—short-staffed, they needed her to come back urgently.
“…Sorry. Looks like I’ve got to leave for now.”
Hanging up, Liu Meng looked at the others.
“You probably heard… they need me at the store, so I’ll have to head out.”
“You’ll be fine here, right?”
“Yeah, same as usual, right?” YouYu nodded.
“Mm. Most likely won’t be back until late.”
“Take care.”
“Will do.”
After exchanging a few more words, Liu Meng grabbed her things and made to leave—
“Uh, wait a second!”
“Hm? WuYue?”
“Actually… I’ve got something I need to do too.”
WuYue quickly stepped over to Liu Meng’s side, glancing back at YouYu before speaking:
“So I’ll head out now as well. We can go together, if that’s alright?”
“……”
“Sure, no problem.”
Clearly understanding WuYue’s real reason, Liu Meng didn’t question her and agreed readily.
“Great.”
Letting out a breath, WuYue glanced back at YouYu—and at Bai Yu, still seated nearby—and added, voice strangely deliberate:
“Well then, we’ll head out first!”
“You two… take your time.”
“…Alright. Be careful on your way home.”
“Got it!”
Giving a final nod, WuYue quickly followed Liu Meng out, shutting the door behind them.
And just like that, the room quieted, leaving only YouYu and Bai Yu.
That familiar silence settled in once more.
“……”
“That was… sudden.”
After a long pause, YouYu finally spoke, breaking the stillness.
Then, turning his gaze to Bai Yu, he asked:
“So… is there something you wanted to say, Bai Yu?”
Bai Yu hesitated for a moment, then, as if steeling herself, said firmly:
“YouYu, I want to fight you.”
“I want to fight you as Magical Girl BlueNight.”