Superman Termination Manual

Chapter 259: Chapter 175: Four Transfer Students, A Preview of Witch’s Night

July 10, Yandai Commercial Street, Huanjing Elementary School.

On a deserted overpass at the horizon, there was a moment of silence before a train rumbled by. The wheels friction against the rails shook off brilliant sparks, scattering them from the edge of the overpass into the chillingly quiet city.

The sky transitioned from dark to light as a sliver of dawn quietly spread across the horizon.

The morning light then fell upon the city, like a yellow bus slowly entering Huanjing from the eastern horizon.

It meandered leisurely between the densely packed skyscrapers and the cluttered electronic signs, all the while gilding the city’s network of electrical wires and the Ferris wheel with a faint golden fringe.

It wasn’t long before the rooftop of this elementary school, which hadn’t heard a morning bell in quite some time, was also slowly engulfed in the gentle light of dawn.

The rust-streaked railings and wire mesh were tinged with a faint orange, and through the gradually warming gaps in the wire mesh, one could glimpse the sun slowly rising from a corner of the horizon.

Above the rooftop, a girl in a Christmas dress slowly stabilized her stance, dropped her head, and touched down on her tiptoes. Her figure, flowing through the flaring skirt, landed on the rooftop.

She slightly lifted her gaze, grasping the brain imaging helmet in her right hand. Holding the helmet to her chest, she walked towards the silhouette leaning against the wire mesh.

“Senior, here’s your brain imaging helmet,” she said.

“So, what exactly did you do with it?”

Looking towards the source of the voice, the girl in the gothic dress remained leaning against the wire mesh as before, holding her shoulders and playing with her phone, her head still bowed as she asked.

Little Red Riding Hood replied, “I imagined some of your photos in my mind to see if I could replicate them.”

Magical Girl Ash raised her eyes from her phone, silent and motionless like a black cat staring at her.

“I understand what you mean.”

“If you want a beating, just say so. There’s no need to beat around the bush,” she replied.

“I was just joking, Senior. It seems a trash-picking little girl like me doesn’t deserve to joke. As soon as I joke, I get scolded.”

Little Red Riding Hood looked sorrowfully dejected.

“Aren’t you tired of playing with the same gag?” Ash asked disdainfully.

“So you’ve become tired of me already,” she replied.

“You…”

Seeing her reaction, Little Red Riding Hood quickly regained her normal expression and asked lightly, “So… who is the transfer student you mentioned in the message this morning?”

Magical Girl Ash paused for a moment, as if reminiscing, then answered nonchalantly.

“Magical Girl Spirit Bell Child, Magical Girl Kokonoe Sakura, Magical Girl You Ya, and Magical Girl Qili, from the Alliance’s branches in England, Japan, Iceland, and the United States respectively. They will be stationed at our division for a while.”

“All big names, huh.”

Little Red Riding Hood slightly raised her eyebrows, saying it with a hint of surprise.

She thought, Spirit Bell Child is coming? That nine-year-old magic girl? And what about Kokonoe Sakura, isn’t she the most famous magic girl in Japan? The Japanese division actually let her come over?

“I suppose so.”

Magical Girl Ash responded indifferently.

Little Red Riding Hood pondered for a while before asking, “So why suddenly do we have these transfer students? Is it a rule?”

“The Alliance branches around the world send their iconic figures to each other to foster good relations. It used to be quite common.”

At this, Ash paused slightly, then continued, “Normally, our China division wouldn’t bother with this rule, since our master Xizi Yue said, ‘What’s the point of transferring schools? So boring and troublesome. If you want to try foreign food, just ask me. I can take you there on a space-time train, no plane ticket needed’.”

“That’s very much in Master Xizi Yue’s style,” Little Red Riding Hood nodded, then asked, “So why are there suddenly so many transfer students coming over?”

“Because of… witches.”

“Witches?” Little Red Riding Hood realized, “The Witch Black Rose, right? I saw her on the news last night.”

“Yes,” Ash nodded, “According to the masters, we can now confirm that this witch who appeared suddenly is a member of the Witch Church ‘Babel Tower’. That’s why we need to be more cautious.”

“Witch Church, Babel Tower, I’ve heard of them online.” She pondered, remembering how she had been beaten up by Black Rose the night before, and how the witch had been whisked away by Babel Tower in the end.

Magical Girl Ash put her phone in her pocket and then adjusted her black leather glove.

She thought and said, “They’re a bunch of big bad guys and target magic girls and Contracted Beasts, so you should be careful as well.” After saying this, she turned to glance at Little Red Riding Hood, “You’re better off staying in the Alliance’s building during this period.”

Having said that, the gothic-dressed girl moved toward the rooftop’s iron door and gently pushed it open.

Following behind, Little Red Riding Hood tentatively said, “Strange things are also being smuggled out of Superhero Tower, including a Commander. Isn’t it dangerous for me to stay in the building too?”

She paused, “After all, if those witches were going to strike, they’d likely strike at this location, right?”

“You’re right, but my great master and the Superhero Association’s bunch of useless show-offs aren’t the same,” Ash said flatly, “If the Alliance’s building comes under attack, she will arrive on the train immediately, so that’s why I said staying in the division’s building is safer.”

“I see,” Little Red Riding Hood said, then suddenly wondered, “Wait, so those transfer students, are they sent here to counter the witches appearing in Huanjing?”

Ash nodded, not denying it.

“Exactly, you’re pretty smart,” she said,

As she paused, she extended her hand and took the brain imaging helmet from Little Red Riding Hood’s arms, then continued, “They say transfer students, but they are actually reinforcements sent by the Alliance’s divisions. They are some of the most formidable among all magic girls.”

“I see. Senior, I have another question.”

“What’s the problem?”

“Isn’t that Spirit Bell Child from London only 9 years old?” Xiaohongmao said, “If she transfers here, wouldn’t she have to start from the first grade of elementary school?”

“My master told me that the kid’s intelligence is far beyond her peers. She might even be smarter than you, so attending high school is more than enough for her,” Ash paused, “So she will disguise herself as a high school student and study at Huanjing Third High School with the other four Magic Girls transferred from foreign branches.”

“Oh, I see.”

Xiaohongmao sighed softly, thinking that it looks like she’ll have to play role-playing games not only at the Alliance but be careful with those four Magic Girls at school when summer vacation ends and school starts.

“Why the sigh?”

“Just envious that they have school to attend.”

“You could go to school too. I’ll have my master pull some strings, then you can join my school.”

“No thanks, I don’t like that idea.”

“You really are strange…”

The two made casual conversation as they entered the classroom and sat down at the conference table, both bowing their heads in silence.

After a while, Magical Girl Ash broke the silence.

“In any case, you don’t need to understand or get involved in this matter. If you see anyone from Babel Tower, stay far away, understand?”

“Even if my senior is in danger?” Xiaohongmao asked.

“Even if I’m in danger.”

Magical Girl Ash spoke softly, her beautiful face expressionless.@@novelbin@@

“Alright, I understand,” Xiaohongmao said, “But could you tell me what exactly are the people from Babel Tower?”

“I don’t know, and neither does my master. All we know is that they are all witches, and that’s enough.”

“I remember the news from last night—after Black Rose was defeated by Black Wukong, she was rescued by a beam of light. There was a pattern of a high tower in the sky at the time, could that be…”

Magical Girl Ash interrupted her, lowering her voice: “That’s the symbol of Babel Tower…”

Speaking, she gently inhaled, slowly raising her slender arm to the right, lifting her pale fingers, and poking Xiaohongmao in the side of her head.

“What are you doing, senior?” Xiaohongmao covered her head.

“My master said, that witch is coming for me.”

“Black Rose?”

“Yes. So if they come, stay away from me.”

“You’ve said that many times.” Xiaohongmao muttered.

“I don’t want to see my friends die before my eyes again, and I don’t want to see them get hurt because of me, so… stay far away,” the girl said, her clear eyes obscured as she lowered her fringe. Her right arm still suspended in mid-air, her finger pointing at Xiaohongmao’s head.

Xiaohongmao fell silent for a moment, then nodded lightly: “Well. But why would that witch target you?”

Ash withdrew her hand, shaking her head, “I don’t know.”

She continued: “But it will be a battle to the death, my three masters and those four Magic Girl transfer students are very likely to be involved, you being amidst them would just be like paper being torn apart, understand?”

“Oh.”

“So don’t come near, and don’t even glance at it.”

“But what if my senior is in danger, like that time in Wanxiang City, what should I do?”

“This is different from that time at Wanxiang City, it’s much, much more dangerous…”

As she spoke, Magical Girl Ash opened her mouth slightly, her voice growing colder, “Even my master said… ‘Night of the Witches’ could occur in this war.”

“Night of the Witches?” Xiaohongmao was stunned for a moment. “What is the Night of the Witches?”

“You don’t need to know what it is, just remember my words.”

Xiaohongmao fell silent for a while: “Alright, I won’t ask.” She said, changing the subject, “Then, senior, when will those four transfer students arrive?”

“In a week or two, they still have tasks to handle on their own.”

“I understand.”

“Let’s call it a day, send me a message after you get home, telling me you’re alright.”

The gothic-dressed girl tilted her face slightly, wrapping her arms around the brain-imaging helmet inside. Her grey skirt spread slowly across the cold conference table, like withered petals. She bent her knees, her shoes resting on the edge of the table, her right hand hugging her delicate knee, the toes of her other leg pointed in mid-air, gently swaying.

“Okay.”

After saying that, Xiaohongmao shifted her gaze away from her, turned around, and walked out of the classroom without looking back.

Just as she stepped through the doorway, she stopped, turned her head, and glanced at Ash sitting at the conference table, saying softly.

“If you’re in danger, senior, I definitely won’t just sit by and watch…”

As her voice fell, she raised her magic wand embedded with rubies, swept up in a flurry of snowflakes under the gothic-dressed girl’s gaze, and slowly disappeared into the sky.

Magical Girl Ash was momentarily stunned, then withdrew her gaze from the now empty corridor.

“Really an idiot…”

She sighed, murmuring softly, leaning her cheek against her bent knee, her eyes tilting towards the classroom floor, “Let’s go home.”

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