Part 3 – Introduction
Lucie runs through downtown, pursued by an armored car. The vehicle chases her, ignoring buildings and pedestrians. Wu Xiaohu leans out of the armored car, aiming a rocket launcher at Lucie.
Lucie doesn't know what a "rocket launcher" is, but from its shape, she thinks:
「It's probably not meant for humans. 」
Wu Xiaohu, however, shoots without hesitation. Lucie deflects the missile with her "Artificial Spirit" shield. The deflected missile strikes at a giant monitor that symbolizes the downtown area.
「Isn't this more lethal than magic?」 Lucie wonders, seeing the remains of the monitor.
Lucie manages to escape by skillfully using her "Synthethic Spirits," despite causing significant damage to the surrounding area.
However, the " Synthethic Spirits" run out of magic one by one, and she is finally cornered by heavily armed soldiers and Wu Xiaohu with no way to counterattack.
Just then, a raven swoops down from the night sky, landing between Lucie and Wu Xiaohu, shielding her from the bullets. It doesn't just protect her; it grabs her by the shoulders with its large claws and carries her away into the sky.
Wu Xiaohu immediately makes a radio call, and combat helicopters fly in and surrounds the raven. But the raven destroyed one of them by ramming it and disappeared high into the sky.
Part 3 – Chapter 1
Lyka took Lucie away and roughly threw her onto the roof of a skyscraper. Transforming into human again, Lyka suddenly grabs Lucie by the neck and lifts her up.
「Are you with them?」Lyka asked.
Lucie had no idea what Lyka was talking about and couldn’t speak because she was being strangled. Struggling, she dropped her mother's report and a part of the Sacred Ruins. Lyka glanced at the fallen report, noticed the "name" written on it, and loosened her grip on Lucie's neck. While Lucie crumpled to the ground, Lyka reads the report.
A few moments later, Lyka turns to Lucie and asks sharply:
「Hey, is this Helen… this report was made by Helen?」
「It's my mom's report... 」replied Lucie. Lyka's eyes widened.
「Are you really Helen's daughter?」
When asked that, Lucie answered, "Yeah," just with her head.
Lucie nodded, unable to speak. She wanted to answer that she wasn’t lying but decided not to, as she felt that she might be killed otherwise.
「Is she alive? 」
「I’m going to the ruins to find that 」
「Well…」The hostility disappeared from Lyka's face.
「Do you know my mom? 」 , asked Lucie.
「She is, my teacher」, replied Lyka「 Are you sure you really want to go to the ruins? 」,
Lucie immediately answered nodding. Seeing that, Lyka also smiled.
「Okay. Let's go! 」Lyka pulled Lucie to her feet and then, with a suspicious smile, said「I've got stuff to do first.」
Lucie was unable to ask. Lyka grabbed her and started walking. Lucie felt slightly relieved, thinking she wouldn't be harmed anymore.
A searchlight suddenly shone on them as they decided their next destination. They were surrounded by combat helicopters marked with "AAA," as Lyka had mentioned.
「What are those people?」Lucie asked.
「They are the ultimate believers,」Lyka replied.
Before Lyka could finish, a figure jumped down from a helicopter, firing an assault rifle as he descended. The figure with the distinctive bandana wrapped around his head was Wu Xiaohu.
Lyka clicked her tongue and transformed into a giant crocodile, hiding Lucie while deflecting bullets with her strong scales. Wu Xiaohu discarded his assault rifle and landed on top of Lyka. She caught him mid-air as he pulled a pistol from his waist holster, firing wildly at her.
「Heads down!」said Lyka, when Wu Xiaohu aimed at Lucie.
Screaming in silence, Lucie kneeled down, activating the last surviving "Synthetic Spirit" to block the bullets.
Wu Xiaohu pulled out a grenade, activated it, and threw it at Lyka. He rolled away as the blast went off, but Lyka had turned into an elephant and was unharmed. She caught Wu Xiaohu with her long trunk, lifted him high into the air, and slammed him to the ground.
「Don't think you can kill me by surprise twice！」
She spat out, and while Wu Xiaohu was momentarily frightened by the impact, she jumped on him with her full elephant weight.
「Ha, ha, ha!」Lucie let out a pitiful sound. The roof couldn’t withstand the weight and impact of the elephant, collapsing. All three plummeted to the floor below.
Part 3 – Chapter 2
Lucie fell headfirst, her vision spinning as she landed atop an office desk. The floor below was evidently used an office. Lyka, unfazed by the roof collapse, was crushing the chest of Wu Xiaohu with her elephant foot, yelling in rage.
「Say it! Who tipped you off? Utsunes? I don't think so! Gandennia would be the one to gain something by selling me!!」
Wu Xiaohu didn’t answer. likely because an elephant's foot on his chest made speaking impossible.
「If you’re not talking, then die.」said Lyka, pressing down harder with her legs.
But Wu Xiaohu resisted. He slowly raised his upper body without changing his expression. Lyka tried to push harder, but Wu Xiaohu had already slipped his hands under the elephant's legs.
「Un…!」Lyka gasped. Wu Xiaohu regained his strength, lifting the elephant-form Lyka before she could react.
「No way! How is this possible?!」asked Lyka.
Wu slammed her into the floor, making the floor collapsing again. All three plummeted again.
「Unbelievable …!」said Lucie. They had fallen into a restaurant's kitchen. Surveying her surroundings, Lucie saw a large hole nearby. Lyka had fallen two floors down due to her elephant weight.
「What should I do…」, thought. She hadn’t time to think.
「It would be better to handle it from this.」somewhere Wu Xiaohu was talking. She ran out of the the kitchen without looking back. The restaurant floor, a high-class establishment, was in chaos as patrons panicked from the commotion.
「Get out…!」Lucie dashed through the crowd, trying to escape, but someone grabbed her by the neck, lifting her into the air. Lucie caught a glimpse of the stunning cityscape through the glass.
「It's beautiful…」she thought absently, just before the window shattered, and she was thrown out of the skyscraper.
「Noooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!」Lucie fell, screaming. When Lyka awoke and casually glanced outside, her eyes met Lucie's as she was falling.
「Damn brat…」Lyka muttered. She smashed through the window, transforming into a great raven to catch Lucie in mid-air.
The combat helicopters targeted Lyka, forcing she to enter the building.
「You don't care about your partner, do you?」Wu Xiaohu was already there, delivering a full-force blow to Lyka's face. The shock undid Lyka's transformation, and she was thrown out of the building again.
「You bastard! 」said Lyka. transformed into a spider monkey, grabbing the leg of Wu Xiaohu with her long tail as they fell together. They continued fighting mid-air, with Wu Xiaohu slamming Lyka against the building's outer wall. Lyka, though battered, remained conscious, transforming into an armadillo to cushion the impact.
Realizing she wouldn’t reach Lucie in time, Lyka untransformed, hitting the wall with a sickening thud, blood covering her face. Ignoring the pain, she reached out, digging her fingers into the body of Wu Xiaohu. The tattoo on her back glowed mysteriously as she released her transformation magic.
Meanwhile, Lucie, though nearly fainting, managed to think clearly. She remembered the last "artificial spirit" she had summoned in the building. The tattoos around her eyes wriggled, activating the final "artificial spirit" which raced toward her. It caught her around the belly, gently slowing her descent with a soft glow.
Lucie sighed in relief, but as she considered her landing spot, the light began to fade. The magic was running out.
With the "artificial spirit's" magic depleted, Lucie began to fall again, the cracks in the concrete ground becoming clearly visible. She closed her eyes, bracing for impact. Suddenly, she felt herself floating once more. Opening her eyes, she saw Lyka, in raven form, holding her firmly.
「Are you alive?」said Lyka.
「Hope so…」Lucie replied, then asked「Who is that guy?」
Part 3 – Epilogue
When Lucie regained consciousness, she realized she was still in the air. Moreover, the ground was rapidly approaching.
「I'm going to die... 」 Lucie thought, preparing herself for the impact. Yet, against all odds, she managed to land smoothly, albeit awkwardly on all fours. Though the position felt undignified, the relief of being alive outweighed any embarrassment.
She couldn't help but chuckle, recalling the nickname "a pawn who comes back even if you throw her away." In this instance, it seemed fitting.
He approached his subordinates, who were on high alert, trying to inquire about the situation. However, they seemed nervous, avoiding his gaze. Frustrated, he raised his voice, finally catching their attention.
「Why do they seem so large?」
「Is this Captain Wu Xiaohu!?」
「Oh my……!」
They were saying something, but he couldn't understand their reactions. He looked down at his hands and discovered, to his horror, that he had paw pads.
「What the hell!」
Wu Xiaohu had been transformed into a strange cat.
