Chương 109: A knight in jet-black heavy armor? No, it's a beautiful girl in hot pants and boots

No, it's a beautiful girl in hot pants and boots No, it's a beautiful girl in hot pants and boots!

After calming down slightly, Ji Ying, clinging to a one in ten thousand chance, glanced quickly at her lower body as if in disbelief, then abruptly looked away as if burned by something.

A scream, even more piercing and desperate than when she realized her voice was off, escaped her lips uncontrollably, echoing in the quiet corner.

What he glimpsed in that fleeting moment was just as impactful to him as being directly struck by Mirror Lord's black lightning.

The imposing, all-over black heavy armor she remembered was long gone, replaced by a "cool" outfit that made her want to die on the spot.

The upper body was covered by a short, black turtleneck jacket with an open design. The fabric had a peculiar metallic sheen and barely covered the shoulders and part of the arms.

Underneath the jacket was a strapless, tight-fitting top of the same color, barely covering the key areas and exposing large expanses of smooth, delicate skin to the cool night breeze.

And her lower body—a pair of extremely short black denim hot pants, tightly wrapped around her pert buttocks and long, slender thighs.

Further down are black knee-high boots that cover the calves and extend all the way down to below the knees. The boots are made of a similar material to the jacket, with a cold, metallic feel.

This outfit completely exposed her flat, smooth abdomen, her slender waist, and large expanses of fair and delicate thigh skin without any concealment!

"What—what is all this?!" Ji Ying roared inwardly, feeling his worldview about to collapse.

While Xing Shuang's pink combat suit was a dress, at least it provided adequate protection for her entire body. But what is this outfit now? Lingerie? Is she going to fight a Void Realm Apostle, or attend some late-night party?!

Wearing this kind of thing to the battlefield is like using exposed skin to tell the enemy, "Come on! Attack these undefended areas!"

Although there was no mirror here and she couldn't see what her face looked like, considering her outrageous outfit and that clear, melodious girlish voice—? It seemed there was absolutely no need to look at it anymore.

If it weren't for the familiar black arm armor still on his hands, and if it weren't for the two black blades on either side of the arm armor that gleamed with a chilling light, they could still be freely extended and retracted at his will.

She almost began to doubt that the imposing, heavily armored knight "Silent Shadow" who had blasted an erosion-level void beast with a single punch was just her imagination.

"And this arm armor is actually a scaled-down version—" Ji Ying looked at the arm armor on his arm, which was obviously more than one size smaller, but whose exquisiteness and ferocity were not diminished at all, and slightly pursed his lips.

She tried to control the arm armor with her mind, and then found that it turned into thin streams of black light, silently merging into her body.

What was revealed was a pair of smooth, slender, and even somewhat pale arms.

"Hmm? It can be manipulated, absorbed, and released by thought—that's somewhat similar to the battle suits of magical girls." She analyzed subconsciously, then a thought suddenly struck her.

Since the arm extensions can be "removed" in this way, can the armor on other parts of the body also be "re-put on" in the same way? To restore the imposing and imposing heavy armor knight state as before?

This thought was like a ray of dawn in the darkness, instantly igniting hope in her.

She immediately focused her mind and tried to recall the state of the heavy, menacing black armored cavalry that covered her entire body.

"Om one" Black light surged from all parts of her body once again, following her will, and quickly covered her entire petite body like a living tide.

However, when the shimmering light gradually faded and Ji Ying's figure reappeared, she was still wearing that revealing outfit that made her want to die, unchanged.

Ji Ying was completely stunned, his face filled with confusion and bewilderment.

How could this happen? She clearly had a feeling that she could indeed revert to that heavily armored knight state, but—that process was unexpectedly interrupted midway?

Just as she was about to try again, defiantly, the system's cold notification suddenly rang in her mind: [It is recommended that the host refrain from making such attempts again.]

"Why?!" Ji Ying subconsciously asked himself, "I clearly felt just now—" With your current remaining virtual energy reserves, it is no longer sufficient to support the construction and maintenance of that form.

[If you force yourself to try, you may temporarily lose the ability to transform into your current form due to the depletion of your ethereal energy.]

"Insufficient Void Energy?!" Ji Ying was stunned again, his face showing even greater confusion.

"I didn't fight in that form for very long, so why is my Void Energy insufficient?"

She clearly remembered that when she fought Mirror Lord's independent mirror image before, the opponent had shown considerable endurance in battle. Could it be...?

Before the system could reply, a sudden thought flashed through her mind, and she realized what it meant.

She recalled her conversation with Director Roland, during which he explicitly mentioned that the magic that permeates this world comes from the magical kingdom of Esmeralda.

This magical energy floating in the air is an important way for magical girls to replenish their magical energy after battle.

But what about virtual energy?

Virtual energy obviously cannot be obtained and replenished from the surrounding environment as easily as magic.

In this real world "favored" by magic, the only place where one can see dense virtual energy is probably inside those distorted "virtual bubbles" when the virtual realm infiltrates.

Aside from that, the only way to replenish the consumed virtual energy is probably to rely on the energy cores left behind by the dead virtual beasts or to plunder the "virtual source" of other virtual apostles. This realization made her understand many things instantly.

Those Void Apostles are facing the same predicament as I am now. They certainly have ways to replenish their Void Energy, but it is likely that they are not as convenient as the magical girls, and there are considerable limitations.

This is probably why those apostles from the virtual world rarely engage in high-profile activities in the real world.

She subconsciously asked the system if her guess was correct, and quickly received an affirmative answer.

This discovery deepened her understanding of the group of Void Apostles, but her previous doubts did not completely disappear.

If that's the case, the "virtual source" belonging to Mirror Lord that I absorbed earlier shouldn't have been so little, right? At least—it should have been enough to allow her to maintain that heavily armored form for a little longer, right?

[The host can try to familiarize themselves with their own power in this current form.] The system's voice sounded again, offering timely suggestions.

With a hint of doubt, Ji Ying tried to move her "brand new" petite body.

Then, she was surprised to find that when she moved in this light, feminine way, she was much faster and more agile than when she was in her previous fierce, heavily armored knight form.

The previous heavily armored knight form, while boasting terrifying strength and defense and speed far exceeding that of ordinary people, still appeared somewhat cumbersome compared to the extreme agility of the present form.

Moreover, and most importantly, she doesn't feel her internal energy being rapidly depleted.

This astonishing discovery instantly reminded her of a core concept about magical girl transformation that the system had previously explained to her: the magical girl's body is essentially constructed from pure magic.

If—if the transformation process of the Void Realm Apostles is similar to this.

That means whether it was the previous two-meter-tall, fierce, heavily armored earth-rider form, or the current "lightly dressed," petite, and delicate feminine form— In essence, it is a "body" constructed from the illusory energy within her body, rather than her actual body wearing any armor or clothing. With her current petite body, comparable to Xingshuang, it is absolutely impossible for her to wield such a heavy and frightening suit of armor.

She had previously unconsciously regarded that imposing, jet-black heavy armor as "protective gear" similar to a magical girl's battle suit, capable of providing powerful defense. This was probably a fundamentally flawed understanding.

That heavy armor wasn't equipment at all; it was simply "the body in that form."

It is a special combat form that sacrifices a considerable amount of agility in exchange for greater strength and almost superhuman defensive capabilities.

Correspondingly, maintaining that form requires constantly consuming a large amount of virtual energy as support.

This also means that her current petite, scantily clad body—which makes her so ashamed she wants to die on the spot— Is this the most original, most basic, and least resource-intensive "original appearance" of the "Silent Shadow" apostle of the illusory realm?

"No way." Ji Ying let out a long sigh, feeling utterly hopeless, as an indescribable grief and indignation welled up in his heart.

She could already foresee that in most future situations, if she wanted to use the power belonging to "Silent Shadow," she would have to fight in this shameful state.

The scene she had envisioned—a majestic, heavily armored knight in black, defeating all enemies with an air of arrogance and protecting everything in a dashing manner—that she could only live in her dreams.

At that moment, she suddenly remembered the system's ruthless declaration that "transforming into a magical girl is the underlying code."

"I accept that magical girls are all girls, there's nothing I can do about it! But what about the Apostles of the Void Realm?! Isn't Mirror Lord a man?"

"Why did I have to become like this?" She finally couldn't hold back and roared angrily at the system in her heart.

[Based on analysis, it's possible that the power belonging to the magical girl Starfrost within the host's body had a certain impact on the ethereal energy you subsequently acquired and converted, as well as the construction of your Void Apostle form.] This effect may include your body shape after transformation, and—your gender.

The system's "explanation," devoid of any emotion, pierced Ji Ying's heart like the sharpest dagger. The influence of the Starfrost Power... body type... gender... her mind was instantly flashed back to that unforgettable night, the night that marked the beginning of all the "tragedies," as if a depth charge had been dropped into it.

That was the first time she transformed into Xing Shuang. The system "patiently" told her that she could silently recite the "size" she wanted in her mind.

Then came the petite and delicate magical girl, Starfrost, who was less than 1. 4 meters tall— In other words, the reason she is now in this "Shadowless" form is because she is petite, feminine, and dressed in such a shameful and revealing way...

Ultimately, it all comes down to that initial thought of "wanting to be smaller"!

It was the "underlying design" of the Starfrost form that further "polluted" or rather "shaped" what she subsequently acquired.

What is the final appearance of the Void Apostle form, which should have been majestic and imposing?!

"ah--!!!!!"

Having figured everything out, Jiying could no longer suppress the collapse in her heart.

She clutched her head with both hands and let out a cry that was more piercing, more desperate, and more filled with a sense of utter despair than ever before.