BXBX NOVEL Chapter 14: Spending Time With Magia Fleur
For a moment, the horrors of the battlefield melted away, replaced by the unexpected warmth of his gaze. Her eyes traced the strong lines of his jaw, the determination in his eyes, and the sincerity of his expression.
As if in a dream, she reached out and took his hand. The touch sent a shiver down her spine, not from fear or cold, but from an unfamiliar and unexpected connection.
"Thank you," she whispered, her voice barely audible over the breeze. She couldn't tear her eyes away from his. "You saved me."
Linsley gently pulled her to her feet, his grip firm yet gentle. "I couldn't stand by and let them harm you," he replied, his smile widening. "We're in this together."
Magia Fleur felt her cheeks flush. She had faced countless battles, but this was the first time she had felt this way.
The world seemed to narrow down to just the two of them, the chaos and destruction fading into the background.
Her heart pounded in her chest, but this time it wasn't from fear or exertion.
She found herself lost in the depths of his purple eyes, feeling a sense of safety and belonging she hadn't known she craved.
"Who are you?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly.
"I'm the Phantom Reaper," Linsley replied, his tone softening. "But you can call me Linley Sinclair."
"Linley…" she repeated, testing the name on her lips. It felt right, somehow, like a promise of something new and hopeful amidst the darkness.
As they stood there, hand in hand, Magia Fleur felt a spark ignite within her.
It was a feeling she had only read about in shoujo mangas, a feeling she never thought she would experience in her harsh reality. Yet here it was, undeniable and real.
Experiencing such a wonderful feeling, Magia Fleur found herself questioning, 'Have I fallen in love with him at first sight?'
'Linley is handsome, strong, and capable. He hates the Outer God lackeys as much as I do. He's everything I envisioned my future husband to be.'
'I want to confess my feelings to him. But I can't. The Outer God has already arranged a fiancé for my true identity. If I pursue a relationship, the lackeys would find it suspicious. Anyone who defies the Outer God is either a magical girl or a mecha driver.'
'I want to kill more Outer God lackeys and cleanse this world of the filth they've spread. I can't afford to let them suspect my true identity. If they do, I'll be like a rat in a sewer, always hiding, always hunted.'
'If my true identity is discovered, my fate will be worse than a criminal's. At least criminals are thrown in prison, but for magical girls like me, the lackeys will defile our purity and torture us before they kill us.'
Remembering those horrors, Magia Fleur's mood darkened as she was reminded of just how twisted this world had become.
She wanted to confess to Linley, to have a real relationship with him. She would even reveal her true identity just to be with him openly.
But the harsh reality of this world shattered those daydreams.
She faced an impossible choice: her first love or her duty to save the world and her hatred for the Outer God's lackeys. If she chose her first love, she would put Linley at risk, making him a target if the lackeys discovered she was a magical girl.
Magia Fleur knew Linley wasn't a mecha driver, yet he had an unusual power that destroyed the black-colored tentacles and immobilized the Outer God lackeys.
As she held Linley's hand amidst the destruction and ruins, Magia Fleur realized this might be as far as her first love could go. But she decided to savor the moment, to enjoy the fleeting feelings of love before she had to return to her duty as a magical girl.
For now, she would cherish this connection, even if it could never fully blossom into what she truly desired.
Linsley had no idea what Magia Fleur was thinking, but he decided to stay by her side because he found himself drawn to her.
In his past life, he had always dreamed of starting a harem of beautiful girls after reincarnating or transmigrating into another world.
Although he had indeed transmigrated to another world after his death, the god-forsaken world he found himself in was more like a giant prison. If not for the God Simulator, Linsley would have preferred to stay in a normal, modern world rather than this twisted, oppressive reality.
'When I've gathered enough power, I should kill that damn Outer God. But for now, I can only assist the magical girls and mecha drivers in fighting the Outer God's lackeys, hoping to reduce their numbers.'
'Although I like Magia Fleur and wouldn't mind having her as my girlfriend, it's inconvenient that the Outer God has already arranged my future wife.'
'I'm a patient man, so I don't mind suffering in this world for another year if that's how long it takes to gather enough power to free this world from the Outer God.'
'But if I were to defy the Outer God now and risk my life just because I don't like the future wife arranged for me by that damn monster, it would be a foolish, rash decision that could jeopardize my future.'
'For now, I can endure because the God Simulator has given me hope—hope that I can eventually take revenge on the Outer God.'
Neither Linsley nor Magia Fleur was wearing their nametag collars, so they didn't know each other's true identities.
The nametag collar was like a wearable ID, but far more humiliating. It didn't have any bombs planted in it, but going outside without wearing it was tantamount to disrespecting the Outer God and being labeled a rebel.
Because of this, Magia Fleur felt much more at ease in her magical girl form since she could remove the nametag collar without anyone discovering her true identity.
As Linsley and Magia Fleur held hands, savoring their time together amidst the destruction and the corpses of the Outer God's lackeys, they soon noticed several more lackeys approaching their location.
Magia Fleur turned to Linsley, concern in her voice. "Several Outer God lackeys are heading toward us. Can you defeat them? If not, we can retreat and return to the real world separately."