Superman Termination Manual

Yuffie hung her head low, "There's one more year. When the Comet Magiya appears, I won't be a Magic Girl anymore. If there's no hope now, there'll be even less hope for me in a year. So... in this last period of time, I want to know what you think, and hope you won't evade the question like last time."

"Do you think being a 'Magic Girl' makes you superior?" the Black Judge stared at her.

Yuffie was taken aback, "What?"

The Black Judge continued to ask, "Or do you think that if you're not a 'Magic Girl' anymore, you're worthless?"

"I..."

"Then why should I respond to you, someone who has no value without the gifts of the outside world?"

The Black Judge spoke calmly.

Yuffie's mouth opened as if to say something, but no words came out. She just slowly bowed her head, "No, it's not that... I just feel that even as a Magic Girl, I couldn't get you to give me a second glance, let alone the ordinary person I'll be in a year..."

She paused, her hands clasped behind her, fingers intertwined, "Even if it's just for one year."

The Black Judge took a deep breath, falling silent for a moment.

"Why are you so fixated on this year? Even if you're not a Magic Girl, what of it? Perhaps I prefer someone a bit more ordinary..." Ke Yinzhi said, removing half of his mask, the sea breeze lifting her right hand, which he kissed on the back, "Fearing that you'll have nothing without the title of 'Magic Girl' is foolish... You are far more excellent than you think, even without being a Magic Girl."

The next moment, the entire Steam Castle was puffing steam, creating a scene straight out of a cartoon. The rising tide enveloped their figures, keeping the sky full of crows at bay. The sound of the black feathers falling from the sky was swallowed by the surging waves.

Yuffie's cheeks flushed, as she stared at that handsome face, asking word by word, "Then you..." Read latest stories on empire

"One year from now, we'll meet here on this coast. But this chaos is an exception. If you go any further, you might even end up on the Management Bureau's extermination list," Ke Yinzhi said, lifting his clear eyes and smiling.

"Will you wait for me, even if by then, I'm no longer a Magic Girl."

"Yes... but not now."

As he spoke, he reached out and lightly touched Yuffie's forehead, a burst of black light flaring from his fingertip. The next second, Yuffie lost consciousness, collapsing onto his shoulder.

Ke Yinzhi gazed down at Yuffie's face for a moment before lifting his eyes to the Mechanical Castle ahead. Even with Yuffie unconscious, the Mechanical Castle didn't crumble but continued advancing toward the Huanjing Coast.

"What a nuisance, I'll have to dismantle this pile of toys," he said, one arm gently holding Yuffie, the other reaching forward as the corners of his mouth curved slightly beneath the mask.

The next moment, the upper half of the Mechanical Castle was marked by millions of pitch-black lines, gnarled and intertwined like a spiderweb. Soon after, the entire castle collapsed, shattering like broken glass.

Ke Yinzhi put on his mask, turned around, and holding Yuffie, stepped onto a staircase formed of converging dark matter light, walking back onto the sandy beach.

"Just like six months ago, the power of this card is still so difficult to control. A card that not even its user can handle, that's why it's forbidden. Fortunately, the castle's defenses were weakest when it moved over the sea, otherwise it would've taken me longer to deal with it," he muttered softly, his expression blank as he looked downward.

"Did she disappear because of you?" Qing Ya asked.

"Guess so. Half a year ago, I evaded her confession ambiguously, and in a huff, she ran off to live in seclusion in a forest in Denmark," the Black Judge spread his hands, "Playing with kids can be so tiring, can't it?"

"Indeed, it's rather absurd... They're all just a bunch of immature children, yet they wield such power."

Qing Ya gazed at the castle slowly sinking into the sea in the distance and took a deep breath.

"Anyway, I'll leave her in your care. Please trouble yourself to deliver her to the Alliance and hand her over to Xizi Yue."

As the Black Judge spoke, he wrapped Yuffie's body in dark matter and gently sent her towards the lighthouse.

Qing Ya had a flock of crows lift the girl's body and said, unhurriedly, "More than that, I've seen some records from Yandai Cinema City, and I'm curious..." He paused, "What exactly are you doing in this city?"

The Black Judge adjusted the metal gauntlet on his hand and said with a smile, "Oh... As I recall, I deleted those surveillance videos cleanly, didn't I? The fact that you still found out, Mr. Qing Ya, shows that nothing in this city can escape your grasp, as long as you remain here."

"Give me an explanation." Qing Ya demanded without room for doubt.

"The Management Bureau wanted a set of reference data for the brain imaging helmet on ordinary people, so it just so happened that Yandai Commercial Street opened a new cinema, and I picked that place. I even sat there and watched a movie; the experience wasn't bad. Shall we set a time to meet at the cinema and foster some goodwill?"

"So... it really was you who did it?"

The Black Judge stroked his chin, puzzled, "Rather, I feel you might be overly concerned with this matter. Could it be that someone I used for the brain imaging helmet experiments is someone you care about?"

"No, any one of them is a citizen of this city, and no matter what, I am a superhero. You using ordinary people to test your toys crosses a line for me. I advise you, stay away from this city..."

Qing Ya spoke slowly, his voice gradually growing more ominous.

"The brain imaging helmets are very safe. I just needed a string of reference data, I had no intention of treating ordinary people as guinea pigs, you've misunderstood," the Black Judge explained.

"It doesn't matter what you say... I know what kind of person you are, you don't care about human life at all."

"Whether I care about human life is another matter..." the Black Judge laughed dismissively, neither confirming nor denying, "but that's not something someone from the Superhero Association should say to an operative of the Management Bureau."

"I don't care what you think, but be warned... Go back where you came from. Don't meddle with this city's affairs; I'm in charge here." Qing Ya said.

"Of course, I'll leave after the holiday, but until then, it seems we'll have to deal with each other for a while," the Black Judge replied.

With that, the Black Judge turned and ascended the coastal stairs, walking at a leisurely pace towards the marble street above, "By the way... don't let your crows follow overhead, it's noisy."

At that moment, the Deception Puppet dropped from the traffic lights, using the D-class equipment "Nightwalker Belt" to conceal itself and sat on a wooden public bench by the coast, gazing at the massive object slowly sinking into the sea in the distance.

Most of the Mechanical Castle's debris had already plunged into the sea, and only a single tentacle was still gently swaying on the surface of the water, waving goodbye to the world.

"Seriously, they're cleaning up so fast, and I still haven't gotten a piece of the action... What kind of speed is that, big brother?"

Ke Mingye was beside himself with frustration, thinking he had really missed out on a juicy scoop.

So he began the classic act of courting death.

"Hey hey hey!" The Deception Puppet deactivated its invisibility, jumped in front of the Black Judge and struck a flamboyant pose, "Mr. Judge, long time no see, did you miss me?"

The next moment, just as it had landed, its body was sliced into countless pieces as if a black scalpel had made a million cuts. Then, like fish on a chopping board, it fell in pieces towards the sandy beach.

The puppet's body hadn't even exploded before it was utterly consumed by a dark light.

The Black Judge didn't even glance back as he passed by the heap of grey fragments, the eerie laughter trailing behind him as he slowly walked away.