Chapter 742 - 279: Assassination_5

Until they successfully broke out of prison, until they journeyed to distant lands, until they fled the kingdom, they realized being executed in prison had never been the only end the kingdom had planned for them.

The Residual Beast Magic within the Heart's Gem was originally poisonous to the Magical Girls.

As this poison began to take effect, many of their companions were eroded by their true nature and died just like that.

No matter where they fled, no matter how they struggled, this poison could not be undone, only resembling a cold countdown that relentlessly reaped their lives.

And just as these Magical Girls fell into despair, an unexpected figure appeared.

—The Purple Diamond.

Or rather, the Purple Diamond of that time.

"I can help you remove this poison so that you won't die from it."

She brought the Source of Beasts from an unknown origin and said to the group of desperate Magical Girls, "But I want you to follow me, become my family and subordinates, and work for me."

This experience was the reason the Purple Diamond, or rather, the White Wolf became the leader of Claw Mark.

It was also the reason she appointed Mo He, or the Black Cat, as the deputy leader.

Because Mo He was originally the leader of this group of Magical Girls, the Purple Diamond was a benefactor who bestowed them grace and saved their lives, she was a seeker of later opportunities.

With time, the Magical Girls later established a more mature organization, adopting the name Claw Mark, and went through numerous upheavals, transforming from victims fleeing their fate into an infamous, unscrupulous syndicate.

The question of "Where did the poison of the Residual Beast Magic come from?" continuously troubled the Black Cat.

Without a doubt, the White Wolf gave her the answer. As a former Gemstone Scepter, she told the Black Cat that it was all orchestrated by the Queen—it was the Queen's conspiracy.

However, there remain many secrets even the White Wolf cannot fully comprehend. To obtain the ultimate answer, the best approach is to directly question the mastermind who planned it all.

That is, to question the Queen.

"It actually wasn't necessary to go through all this trouble if you all had simply died on the battlefield."

And Mo He had never thought that the real answer would be even more cruel than her suspicions: "Dying unconsciously during unconsciousness would mean not having to go through all the subsequent suffering."

"You... never intended for us to survive from the start?" murmured the Black Cat.

"Not from the very beginning. If blame is due, it should be on those enemies who wounded your true nature, weakened your combat abilities, yet didn't kill you."

The Queen sighed, as if truly commenting on something that troubled her: "A group of so-called 'heroes' who can no longer fight, who only require my support, is such a waste."

"What are you talking about?" The Black Cat felt her sanity was on the verge of breaking.

"If possible, I actually didn't want to make things so complicated; no need to poison you, no need for all those tedious steps later on... just handling everything when you were severely injured and unconscious would've been enough. But somebody at the time insisted on saving your lives and wouldn't let me proceed, so I had to give up."

The Queen's gaze pierced through the veil towards the Black Cat: "You should be grateful. My mercy allowed you to receive the honor of heroes, enjoy a period of national admiration, and even gave you a little more life."

—"What the hell are you talking about!" The Black Cat practically shouted these words.

"What did you take us, the Magical Girls, the lives of your admirers for!"

The Queen's smile faded.

"I granted you power."

"I granted you glory."

"I granted you hope."

"I granted you wealth."

"I granted you love."

"I granted you a second life."

"Everything you have comes from my grants, so when I need you to sacrifice for me, what's the problem?"

She stated as if it were a matter of course: "Power, wealth, and glory inherently come with sacrifice and cost. Someone always has to pay something. As a Queen, for me, this kingdom, this world, these subordinates are the most important things. Sacrificing a small group of you to make the kingdom more stable, I have no qualms."

"Serve the one who feeds you, and be loyal to the one you serve."

"Maintaining a group of 'heroes' who can't fight, make no contribution to the nation, yet are continuously sustained, what's the point? When you become the elite, the nobility, continuing to leech off my kingdom, it's better to have killed you from the start."

"The future of this world will see more attacks from the Remnant Beasts, and the Material Realm suffers from the plight of the Remnant Beasts. In any city, having one more Magical Girl means a giant leap in security."

"If you die, thereby freeing up positions for Magical Girls, and making critical combat resources available, what's wrong with that?"

She looked at Mo He, "You should have seen today's Luennolay when you arrived. It is prosperous, affluent, and blissful. The citizens live happily under my rule."

"Your 'grievances', in terms of the stability of this country for the next hundred, or even thousand years, are merely its fodder. For the sake of greater happiness for more people, some are inevitably consumed as sacrifices. No one will care about your story. In a hundred or thousand years, people will only remember the post-war recovery and today's prosperity."