Esper X Family – Chapter 443 – The Defeat of Mimic King

The spectacle projected by Mo Qiuli left everyone utterly dumbfounded.

The colossal sphere hovered behind the petite figure of the blue-haired loli, creating a contrast of extreme absurdity and overwhelming shock.

The sunlight was blotted out by it, casting an enormous shadow that enveloped the ruined battlefield and the terrified masses below.

“Heavens… heavens above! Wh-What is that!?”

The people on the ground who had just been cheering for Mo Qiuli’s outburst of power moments ago were now left with nothing but boundless fear and awe.

Many more found their minds going completely blank, capable only of gazing up at the behemoth that had swallowed the sky.

“M-Mercury?! She pulled… Mercury here?!”

The Mimic King, which had been crushed into the shape of a thin pancake, felt the projection of Mercury appear. In that instant, its primal instinct to devour overpowered its fear of imminent death.

It perceived with absolute clarity that this projection contained unimaginable energy!

This was “food” of a grade countless times higher than any life form or substance it had ever consumed before!

If it could devour this superficial projection, it would not only recover instantly but might even evolve to an unprecedented level!

It had never eaten a planet before, nor had it ever transformed into one.

This was undoubtedly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

Eat, eat, EAT!

The chance to mimic a more noble existence was the Mimic King’s very instinct!

Just as Mo Qiuli was panting slightly from the effort of maintaining the massive projection…

The “heavy pressure” magic suppressing the Mimic King wavered for a fraction of a second.

The Mimic King moved!

The gray “pancake” abruptly contracted and coalesced, transforming into a gray streak of light so fast it tore through the air itself.

It wasn’t fleeing. It was charging with greed and desperate, all-or-nothing madness.

If it missed such a pure manifestation of mental power, it would regret it for a lifetime!

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It wanted to devour this planet! And then become this planet! Even if it was just a projection!

Mo Qiuli’s expression remained utterly impassive.

Her eyes held no trace of human emotion.

After projecting the Mercury formed from her mental power, she seemed to have been possessed by a certain will.

Morning Star Form: Mercury Auto-Battle!

The Mimic King slammed into the Mercury projection just as it desired.

Yet, the anticipated devouring didn’t occur.

At the moment of contact, the Mimic King felt as if it hadn’t crashed into an energy body, but rather as if it had been sucked inside.

It tried to activate its racial ability, to open its maw wide and envelop this not-so-large sphere.

Even if it only managed to coat this Mercury projection with a layer of its gray “skin”, it would still gain some benefit.

But it had grossly overestimated its own capabilities.

Or rather, it had gravely underestimated the power of the human before it.

It couldn’t move! It simply couldn’t move at all!

This wasn’t mere mental power construct!

Under the horrified gaze of countless pairs of eyes, the Mimic King was like a lump of clay kneaded by an invisible giant hand. From an irregular pile of sludge, it was forcibly compressed and reshaped.

One second… two seconds…

In just a few breaths’ time…

The Mimic King, which had been overwhelming three S-rank powerhouses just moments ago, was compressed into a perfect sphere gleaming with a bizarre metallic gray luster on the surface of the Mercury projection!

This gray sphere was the compressed remnant of the Mimic King.

It was the final proof of its existence.

“It’s over.”

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Mo Qiuli’s azure eyes held no mercy, only the resolve of a mission fulfilled.

The planetary scepter in her hand pointed gently forward, aimed at the compressed gray sphere.

“Disappear.”

As her cold, clear voice fell.

The massive, suffocating Mercury projection, along with the gray sphere embedded on its surface, erupted with a blinding, piercing aquamarine light.

The flash of light vanished as quickly as it came.

The sky instantly returned to clarity.

The vast shadow that had blotted out the sun disappeared.

The suffocating sense of oppression receded like the tide.

The countless dazed, bewildered, and relieved faces of survivors on the ground were the only testament that the apocalyptic scene they just witnessed hadn’t been a hallucination.

A deathly silence fell over the battlefield.

The wind swept through the ruins, stirring up fine dust.

Sunlight spilled down once more, illuminating the blue-haired girl suspended in the air, who was panting softly.

The radiance of her “Morning Star Magic” slowly receded, and her distinctive Morning Star Form faded completely.

But the majesty befitting an S-rank Esper and Mercury’s Spokesperson hadn’t dissipated.

She looked down at the crowd below, whose expressions shifted from despair to shock, then to bewilderment. She then looked up at the screens reflecting her own face.

Surely, many people were watching her now.

Mo Qiuli took a deep breath, striving to calm the surging power within her.

A smile filled with hope and determination, one befitting a magical girl, bloomed on her young face once more.

Despite being tinged with a hint of fatigue, it was dazzlingly brilliant.

She raised her magical wand, her clear and resonant voice echoing across the silent battlefield:

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“See! Evil shall always be vanquished by justice! This is the power of magical girls!”

“To restore the glory of magical girls is our duty!”

“I am the greatest partner of Magical Girl Lullaby – Magical Girl Mercury!”

At this moment, no one questioned her identity as a “magical girl” any longer.

So this wasn’t just a performance after all.

Who would dare to question her stats?

Forget magical girl. With that kind of power, she could claim to be a giant of light ¹ Ultraman. and people would still believe her!

The fear brought by the Mimic King was washed away by this “miracle” that had saved the city.

It was replaced by a complex mix of awe, worship, and the ecstatic joy of survival.

“Heavens! Lady Mercury!”

“Mama Mercury! Let me join the Magical Girl Alliance!”

“You bastard! How can a grown man be a magical girl?”

“Don’t be so rigid with the rules! Are gender and age such inconvenient shackles?”

“Come to think of it, is Magical Girl Lullaby really that ‘Tong Yao’?”

“Nonsense! If this Mercury girl is this strong, who else could the Lullaby who stands beside her be?”

“The sky is falling! How did Great Emperor Tong Yao become a magical girl? I refuse to accept this!”

“Become a magical girl, and you too can be that strong.”

“Damn! Then I want to be a magical girl!”

The cheers erupted like a long-dormant volcano finally blowing its top, soaring into the heavens.

Even Mo Qiuli’s parents were struck speechless when they witnessed this scene.

“Is that… our daughter?”

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“Sh-Should be.”

“Why is she so incredible?”

“I don’t know. Maybe she really is a magical girl?”

Mo Qiuli hovered in the air, bathed in sunlight and cheers.

Her small figure had become the most dazzling and improbable symbol of heroism on this battlefield of despair.

She had done it!

Ye Yao, did you see that?

【Mo Qiuli has achieved a great achievement under the name ‘Magical Girl Mercury’. Magical Girl Alliance’s prestige has greatly increased. Reward: 10 attribute points.】

【Unallocated Attribute Points: 120】

Ye Yao couldn’t help but cover her eyes with both hands, barely able to look.

Well, that’s it.

The moment Mo Qiuli made that declaration, any remaining dignity Tong Yao possessed was shattered beyond repair.

“…Whatever. As long as Little Mo is happy.”

Author Note

The mandarins by the roadside have all disappeared. The only orenjis left are tangerines and oranges, which aren’t quite right. I’ll just enjoy pineapples for now. Five yuan for a whole big one is acceptable!

Text: Wait until I

Steal from you again