Eve Nightburn walked down the street, watching the smiling pedestrians passing by, feeling only an endless sense of eeriness.
Is this the world she had forged with her own hands?
Standing in the middle of the road, Eve raised her left hand and looked at the Midnight Rose Ring on her ring finger.
“It’s turning white…”
Eve didn’t know what this meant, but as she looked at it, she felt an emptiness in her heart, as if something was tugging at her, pulling her into the depths of the ocean.
She lowered her left hand and continued to wander through the city.
In a cramped space, Miri Dreamwell watched everything outside the glass. She realized that the scope of this glass was always tied to Eve herself.
No matter where Eve went, the glass would follow her.
But ever since Eve left the bedroom, Miri’s attempts to make any sound seemed to go unheard by her.
When Miri saw that the pedestrians outside were all connected by threads, she finally understood completely—The Syndicate had not been wrong. Eve was indeed a Calamity, an ultimate Calamity!
And her own stubbornness had turned it into reality.
Everyone had become mere puppets, and even she was trapped in Eve’s cage.
Miri crouched in the corner of the space, hugging her knees, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Why? Why is everything I do wrong?”
“Why? No matter what I do, I can’t feel happy.”
Outside Cloudhaven City.
The military had blockaded all roads.
All flights and transportation routes passing through Cloudhaven City had been forced to halt.
The newly appointed governor of Wenford Province had arrived in a temporary tin shed here by plane.
The Country had sent him to replace the previous governor to resolve this Calamity crisis.
In the end, the new governor was just a scapegoat to bear the responsibility.
At this point, they could no longer rely solely on the young Magical Girls. This had become a nationwide war, and everyone had to become a Soldier in it.
Now, the Calamity had devoured an entire city, and no one knew if it would devour a second one.
On his way from The Capital, the governor had reviewed too much information about Cloudhaven City before the Calamity outbreak.
Sitting in the tin shed, the governor looked out the window at the dark curtain that almost blocked the entire visible range, feeling an infinite sense of shock.
At least this disaster, compared to the Worldburn Flame of the past, was visible. Those who had seen that disaster were all dead, and the living had never truly witnessed it.
But this time was different. This Calamity allowed people to witness it while still alive.
The governor pulled his thoughts back from the window. He had seen the true face of this Calamity and didn’t need to waste any more time on it.
“Victor, come here.”
He called over his secretary.
“I heard that someone recently discovered the Worldburn Flame, a world-class Calamity from the past, and it’s said to be in Cloudhaven City.”
“That’s correct,” Victor said, taking out his tablet and handing over a directory.
The governor quickly reviewed the information handed to him by the secretary and then returned it.
“Do you think there’s a possibility that the Calamity was never supposed to be called ‘Worldburn Flame’?”
“Governor Chu, what do you mean?”
Victor realized that the governor must have something more to say. He hadn’t really wanted to see the information just now.
Rowan Chu took out his phone and handed over a screenshot from a surveillance video.
“This is the footage transmitted ten seconds before the Calamity broke out.”
“This footage records the captured Calamity known as ‘Worldburn Flame,’ the last content transmitted from its activity log in subspace.”
Victor said nothing, silently watching the video frame by frame until the end.
At the end of the footage, a large number of ice thorns spread from the feet of a blonde girl in the frame, and then the image froze there.
“Are you saying this Calamity was also caused by the Worldburn Flame?”
“Is that all you can think of?”
Rowan glanced at Victor, then lit a cigarette and took a puff.
Hearing the governor’s reproach, Victor had no choice but to continue his analysis.
“Speaking of which, the white-haired girl in the purple dress in the footage shouldn’t have been in that space. That space was supposed to contain only one Calamity from start to finish.”
Rowan took the cigarette out of his mouth, flicked the ash, and continued, “That girl is the Magical Girl who reported the location of this Calamity. The Country has her data. Her name is Miri Dreamwell, a G-Rank Magical Girl codenamed Ellie Dreamer.”
“What? G-Rank?!”
Victor thought he must have misheard. G-Rank? Does that rank even exist?
Rowan saw the confusion in Victor’s eyes and explained, “She’s the only G-Rank Magical Girl in the Country. It’s normal that you don’t know about this rank because it was specifically created for her. Her abilities in combat are just too poor. Two months ago, she was demoted to this rank.”
“Alright…” Victor wiped the sweat from his forehead and continued his analysis.
“So why did Miri Dreamwell report this Calamity and then go looking for it? I can’t make sense of her actions.”
“Maybe… it’s guilt?”
Rowan offered his answer.
“She and the Calamity referred to each other as sisters, right? In other words, she might have genuinely thought it was just an ordinary little girl, not a so-called Calamity. After all, its appearance is quite deceptive.”
“Victor, I don’t want you to be swayed by emotions like her, understand?”
“Understood,” Victor answered without hesitation. She knew this was a test of loyalty.
She had to answer quickly, or her position would be at risk. No one would choose a subordinate who wasn’t loyal.
“Good. Now, tell me, what is the relationship between this Calamity and the Worldburn Flame?”
Rowan wanted to see how his secretary viewed this matter.
Victor didn’t hesitate and gave her answer: “Actually, all Calamity names are defined by us humans, not their true names. It’s like naming a dog, but does the dog really recognize itself as a dog? We can’t know that.”
“Good!”
Rowan immediately stubbed out the half-smoked cigarette in the ashtray: “For too long, we’ve been too arrogant. Like the Oviraptor, we’ve named the entire world with our biases, never considering the feelings of the things themselves. It wasn’t until I saw that blonde girl that I truly understood for the first time that Calamities can also have emotions.”
“Of course, I’m not sympathizing with that girl-like Calamity.”
As he spoke, Rowan’s fist clenched tightly.
“In one night, 4.05 million lives were taken so easily by it. That is unforgivable. But I must find a way to deal with it. Only by understanding it can we destroy it. Even if we can’t destroy it, we must try to control it.”
