"Archmage..."
The Witch Child's voice was small and hurt as she pointed at Zhang Chulan, pouting. "These bad guys lied to me first!"
Zhang Chulan, now the accused, broke out in a cold sweat.
"That's not true!"
"I didn't!"
"Doc, say something!"
Just as the situation threatened to spiral out of control—
Dr. Gears spoke.
"They have been corrupted by the Ultimate Darkness. A great, invisible evil has invaded our world."
Zhang Chulan: "???"
The Witch Child's eyes widened instantly, her tiny fists clenched in excitement.
She was loving this plot twist.
"What happens next?!" she demanded eagerly.
As she spoke, Dr. Gears' lab coat transformed into robes woven with starlight.
"The Dark Power has taken hold of them. Only a few witches and wizards still retain their magic."
His voice was icy, his fabricated story full of holes—but the Witch Child bought every word.
Especially when she heard "witches." Her eyes sparkled.
"I, as an Archmage of the Council, have been dispatched to subdue them and purge the darkness within."
He paused dramatically.
"And you, little witch..."
She straightened up proudly.
"Will you aid me in defeating this darkness?"
"I—I will!"
As they spoke, Dr. Gears had closed the distance to within ten meters of her.
He raised his staff.
"Together, we can use the Emergency Spellbook—a tome only two mages may wield when the Ultimate Darkness descends."
Then, to everyone's shock, he leaned down and whispered something to her.
The Witch Child listened intently, nodding excitedly, her tiny fists trembling with anticipation.
Touma Kamijou whispered nervously, "What is he telling her? Why does she keep staring at you?!"
Zhang Chulan gulped—
Then doubled over in agony.
"AAAAAHHHHH—!!!"
His scream was bloodcurdling.
Black light erupted from his mouth and eyes.
Touma recoiled in horror. "What the—?!"
Even Dr. Gears looked shocked—but the Witch Child?
Completely unfazed.
Then—
THUD.
Zhang Chulan collapsed, lifeless.
The black energy coalesced into a massive, 10-meter-tall shadow dragon.
WHOOSH!
Its wings blotted out the sky.
ROOOAAAR!!!
A sonic boom rippled through the air.
The chat group fell silent.
Then—
"WTF?! SHE JUST MADE A DRAGON?!"
"IS THIS THE 'DARK POWER'?!"
"Couldn't they give her a lower-stakes script?!"
"Last time it was knights, now a dragon?!"
On-screen, Zhang Chulan stared at the beast, dumbfounded.
"I'd rather fight the knights..."
But the dragon wasn't waiting.
Its gaze locked onto them.
"DOC?! HELP?!"
Zhang Chulan spun—only to see Dr. Gears dragging the Witch Child toward the exit.
He nearly cursed aloud.
Then—
The dragon struck.
The Witch's Turn
Dr. Gears and the Witch Child reached the doorway.
Panting, she looked up eagerly.
"Archmage, how do we defeat the darkness?!"
He raised the "Emergency Spellbook" and staff.
"You must learn its magic and wield it against the darkness."
"Really?!"
She snatched the book, flipping through it frantically.
The Dragon's Wrath
ROAR!
The ground tore like paper beneath the dragon's claws.
Zhang Chulan barely dodged, hurling lightning—but it didn't even scratch the beast.
"D-Class personnel really have no rights!"
"MOVE!"
Touma's warning came too late.
The dragon's breath attack erupted, shaking the air with raw destruction.
BOOM!
The blast vaporized everything in its path.
Zhang Chulan crawled from the rubble, numb.
"Just end me already."
Then—
The air hummed again.
The dragon opened its maw.
Zhang Chulan had nowhere to run.
Suddenly—
A high-pitched voice rang out.
"I CAST MAGIC MISSILE!"
A tsunami of energy gathered behind him.
Even from a distance, the sheer power made him shake uncontrollably.
Touma's face drained of color.
Then—
BOOOOOOM!!!
A beam of white annihilation lanced through space.
The shockwave hurled them into a wall.
When the light faded—
The dragon was gone.
Only a gaping crater remained.
Silence.
Then—
The earpiece crackled.
"Detecting massive energy discharge! D-Class, report!"
"Respond! Do you copy?!"
No one spoke.
Finally, Zhang Chulan's dazed mutter broke the quiet.
"...You call that a MAGIC MISSILE?!"