NOVEL NEXT Chapter 66 - YouYu... turned into a monster?
“…Huh?”
Turning around, WuYue was met with a scene so shocking it felt like time stopped. She stared at YouYu, frozen in place, his chest pierced through, unable to believe what she was seeing. No movement… not a single action. Just wide-eyed disbelief.
In that fleeting moment, countless thoughts raced through her mind.
Why was YouYu, who had been holding the cake just a moment ago, now standing there, his chest impaled, looking back at her with a stiff, blank expression?
Why… had the cake, once pristine and white, fallen to the ground?
And why was it now stained red? That dreadful color—one she never wanted to see in her life.
No, this can’t be right.
This wasn’t supposed to happen.
Moments ago… she’d protected him. She’d kept him safe. He shouldn’t be in this condition.
The red on YouYu… it must be just some dye, right? That’s all it is, right?
It’s an illusion, isn’t it? If he were hurt, she would’ve heard him cry out; she would’ve noticed and acted in time.
So this had to be—
“Swish!”
As WuYue tried to “convince” herself that this was an illusion, the black hand suddenly withdrew from YouYu’s chest.
It took with it… splatters of the “dye” that painted the cake.
YouYu’s body wobbled, slowly tipping forward—
“…”
“You! Damn! Bastard!!!”
Seeing the blood splatter, seeing YouYu’s body begin to fall forward, seeing… his now lifeless eyes.
Even WuYue, who’d fought to control her rage and remain calm, could no longer contain herself.
In that moment—
The twisted surge of self-blame, regret, fury, and hatred coursed through her, giving her… unimaginable strength.
In the next instant, she exploded with a speed like never before! Fist clenched, she swung with all her might at the owner of the black hand—Night Demon, aiming directly for its face!
“?!”
Caught off guard by WuYue’s sudden, blistering speed, Night Demon took the full force of her punch head-on, flames erupting across its face!
“…”
The searing pain from the flames was immense, but Night Demon didn’t make a sound. Instead, it quickly composed itself, shifting its body and using its right hand to grab YouYu before WuYue could reach him.
“…Magical girl, if you’re not afraid of hurting this man with your attacks, then you might as well… urgh?!”
Pulling YouYu in front of itself, Night Demon planned to use him as a shield, intending to force WuYue to halt.
But it hadn’t anticipated that this would only enrage her further. The sight of YouYu being used as a shield fueled her anger, making her strikes even faster and fiercer as she charged at it with newfound intensity!
Left with no choice, Night Demon commanded the giant ants—who should have ceased their assault by now—to intervene and block WuYue’s advance.
But… at this moment, to WuYue, these ants were little more than insects—easily crushed underfoot.
Under her relentless, near-frenzied assault, the ants’ bodies were shredded, scattering upon impact, and even after they reformed, they were torn apart once more.
“Even that creature’s power can barely hold her back?”
Night Demon thought, retreating while watching WuYue charge at it.
“…Seems this body is still too fragile to unleash the full power of the Black Orb.”
“……”
Seeing things progress to this point, Night Demon decided there was no need to torment further before his plan could move forward. He found an opening and hoisted the battered YouYu up, saying:
“Magical girl, if you continue attacking me, then you won’t be able to save this man’s life.”
“For now… he’s alive, and you can still save him. My goal isn’t to kill him. I hope you can calm down a little.”
“……”
“What are you planning to do to him?”
Hearing Night Demon’s words and seeing his other hand hovering by YouYu’s neck, poised to “slice” at any moment, WuYue took a deep breath, forcing herself to regain composure.
She knew guilt and regret were meaningless in a situation like this. Instead of sinking into self-reproach, she needed to stay calm and find a way to save YouYu.
Yet, despite her best efforts, anger still burned in her eyes.
Seeing WuYue stop, Night Demon let out a relieved sigh and commanded the giant ants to stop their assault. Then, with an air of assured victory, he said:
“Don’t worry, magical girl. What I’m doing isn’t to fight you, nor is it merely for collecting petty negative emotions.”
“No… I simply want to conduct an experiment, and for that, I need this human’s help.”
“His help…”
At this, WuYue’s brows furrowed, her fists tightening as she readied herself to strike again.
Night Demon, however, seemed oblivious to her tension and continued:
“You know, I’ve always been curious about one thing. Imagine, one day, the person most important to you suddenly betrays you. How would you react?”
“And if, at that moment, you had to fight against them, what would you do?”
“I’m very curious about this… Firebird.”
“After all, in this world’s history, something like this has never happened.”
With that, a dark purple orb materialized in his left hand.
These were condensed negative emotions—extracted directly from YouYu, containing what little darkness lay within him.
And why extract them?
Because Night Demon intended to… ‘ignite’ them.
“Then, let’s see.”
The very next moment.
As WuYue lunged, the dark orb merged into the wound in YouYu’s chest, triggering an explosion of intense negative energy! The force hurled WuYue backward.
“Gah!”
After spinning through the air, she managed to land on her feet. But when she looked up, panic flashed across her face as her gaze darted to where the explosion had occurred.
What she saw… was a creature rooted in the ground, like a giant flower in bloom—a monstrous, grotesque plant.
“Let’s see…”
“Now that I’ve turned the one most important to you into a Negative Beast…”
With a faint, twisted smile, Night Demon continued:
“For you, a magical girl, it’s the equivalent of betraying you.”
“Will you kill him, magical girl?”
“……”
“…Turned into…?! What nonsense are you spouting?! YouYu would never—”
WuYue’s voice rose in defiance, but then her gaze fixed sharply on the creature before her.
“…Wait.”
…The monster’s appearance was a massive flower, resembling the very blossom YouYu had secretly picked out for her that morning.
And now that she looked closer… she could sense YouYu’s presence from within the creature.
“……”
“It can’t be …… be true, right?”
Night Demon’s words and her terrifying realization struck her like a nightmare, halting her fury and leaving her cold and trembling.
Her voice quivered as she spoke:
“YouYu… turned into a monster?”