"What an idiot."
Xiao Bai gave Chen Xiaoxia an almost pitying look, then raised a finger and lightly tapped Chen Xiaoxia on the forehead.
The next instant, the chains dragged Chen Xiaoxia into the depths of the Magic Barrier, as though she had been banished.
But Chen Xiaoxia's attack still bought Yu Muqiu time to prepare her magic.
The Light Cannon had already taken shape. Pink light, like a spear piercing heaven and earth, shot straight toward Xiao Bai!
"Xiao Bai!! Take this! This strike carries my feelings!!"
Determination filled Yu Muqiu's eyes.
As long as she could defeat Xiao Bai here, as long as Xiao Bai could understand the feelings she, Xiaoxia, and Xiao Chun held, then Xiao Bai would understand them.
Then... everyone could become friends!
That was what Yu Muqiu believed. A blast carrying the meaning of "hope" tore through the sky!
The Light Cannon rushed toward Xiao Bai and, in the blink of an eye, swallowed Xiao Bai atop the chains.
Just as Yu Muqiu thought victory was within reach, Xiao Bai's voice came from behind her:
"You really... are naive."
"Huh!?"
Yu Muqiu's pupils shrank. She was about to turn around when she discovered that Xiao Bai had already immobilized her.
Xiao Bai, who had somehow moved behind her, controlled chains with one hand to bind Yu Muqiu, while the other gripped Yu Muqiu by the neck.
Her lips drew close to Yu Muqiu's ear. Warm breath brushed against her, yet the words she spoke carried icy coldness:
"Tell me... if I killed you here, what would you do?"
Kill... me...?
Xiao Bai... wanted to kill me...?!
Feeling the force in Xiao Bai's fingers around her neck, Yu Muqiu panicked, her mind going blank.]
This Isn't Right, Is It!?
(!!! Th-this scene!!)
(Gasp! Does Xiao Bai x Xiao Qiu have potential?)
(It does, bro, it does. Go on D Station—there are already who knows how many thousands of fanart pieces!)
Fang Ming: "???"
N-no... that wasn't right, was it?
This wasn't right, was it!?
Watching the scene on the Sky Screen that viewers considered a "beautiful sight," Fang Ming fell into deep thought.
He remembered that he had indeed restrained Xiao Qiu this way back then.
But... but he didn't seem to have made it this... this... this suggestive, did he?
Take a closer look at Xiao Bai and Xiao Qiu's current positions.
Xiao Qiu had been pinned in place by Xiao Bai, and the hand holding her magic wand had also been caught in Xiao Bai's other hand.
Her remaining hand was locked around Xiao Qiu's throat, a vital point.
Normally, this would have been an extremely dangerous scene, because Xiao Bai only needed to exert a little force to snap Xiao Qiu's neck.
But perhaps the Sky Screen had done it on purpose, or perhaps Fang Ming had ignored how it looked to outsiders because he wanted Xiao Qiu to understand Fear.
In any case, the scene before them somehow looked like... a domineering villain flirting with the heroine while holding her captive!
No... come on, man!!
This wasn't right, was it!!
And the comments, you people were something else too. In such a dangerous scene, was this really all you cared about?!
You even had the mood to ship them!?
Weren't you worried that Xiao Bai might really snap Xiao Qiu's neck and kill her?!
Huh? Xiao Qiu was the protagonist? And this was only episode seven, so she wouldn't die?
...Fine.
Then never mind.
[Perhaps Xiao Bai's words were too cold, or perhaps Xiao Qiu had truly sensed the killing intent in them.
Yu Muqiu's mind was blank, and she couldn't say a word for a long time.
Her body trembled as the word "death" surfaced in her mind.
Yu Muqiu had never considered such a thing. She had never imagined that "death" could be so close to her.
Because she was controlling Xiao Qiu's body and was standing so close to her that they were practically pressed together, Xiao Bai could feel Yu Muqiu trembling.
Only after confirming that Yu Muqiu had truly realized what fear was did Xiao Bai continue:
"Demons aren't 'good people' who will spare you after defeating you. Once you lose a fight against a Demon, you could very well lose your life.
"Situations like this... will definitely happen again in the future. Can you be certain that you'll survive every time? Can you be certain that you'll always stand until the end unharmed?
"Don't be naive. Fighting Demons can get you killed. Fighting those so-called outside forces of yours can get you killed even more easily. Every battle against Demons has you walking the line between life and death.
"If you die, do you think your families will be okay? Have you... thought about what would happen to your parents if something happened to you?"
Xiao Bai rarely spoke so much at once.
After she finished, she released Xiao Qiu and dispelled the Magic Barrier, returning the three of them to reality.
Yu Muqiu sat on the ground, knees folded beneath her, staring blankly ahead in a daze.
Xiao Bai stepped back several paces, then finally walked in front of Yu Muqiu. Looking down at Yu Muqiu sitting there, she said slowly:
"So stop being a Magical Girl. Like I said, this isn't an easy job."
"Th-then what about you, Xiao Bai!"
Yu Muqiu looked up at Xiao Bai. "If it's really like that, if we... could die at any time fighting Demons, then... Xiao Bai, aren't you worried about your family...?"
"I no longer have any family."
"...!"
Yu Muqiu's eyes widened.
Xiao Bai's voice remained calm:
"I've always been alone. I was alone in the past, I'm alone now, and I'll be alone in the future too, so..."
Before she could finish, she turned around, her back facing Yu Muqiu.
"...I don't need companions, and I'm not interested in your 'friendship game.' Also... don't let me see you in the Nightmare Barrier again. Otherwise... I'll beat you up first, then throw you out. I mean what I say."
After saying that, Xiao Bai bent her knees and leaped into the air, soaring toward the sky before vanishing beyond the horizon.
Under the twilight that was about to give way to night, Yu Muqiu remained seated where she was, unresponsive for a long time.]
(Xiao Bai is still so strong.)
(Xiao Bai is probably an experienced Magical Girl. It's only natural that she'd be stronger than Xiao Qiu and the others.)
(Those final words were obviously her worrying about Xiao Qiu and the others' safety... Haki Bai, you...)
(Whoever came up with Haki Bai should probably invite Haki Gao over.)
(Anyway, I'm leaving a Haki Gao here first.)
(www Xiao Bai really is a tsundere!)
"Hmph, if she cared, she could've just said so. Why did she have to use that kind of tone? She's so annoying."
Below the Sky Screen, Chen Xiaoxia, who was also watching it, crossed her arms and snorted.
But her tone had softened considerably. Only from an observer's perspective could she understand that Xiao Bai had seemed harsh and heartless back then, when in reality, she simply hadn't wanted them to get dragged into danger.
That girl...
Chen Xiaoxia's feelings were complicated.
In truth, Chen Xiaoxia had stopped disliking Xiao Bai long ago, ever since they faced the Demon formed from six Nightmare Seeds.
No matter what, they had fought side by side as comrades, and Chen Xiaoxia knew perfectly well that Xiao Bai had never meant to target them.
It was just that Chen Xiaoxia had always treated Xiao Bai this way. So even though their relationship had actually improved, they still ended up arguing nonstop whenever they met.
According to Xiao Chun, that was what people called a pair of bickering lovers?
Who wanted to be bickering lovers with that girl!
"No father, no mother..." He Xuan, the deputy director of the Investigation Department who was also watching the Sky Screen, analyzed the information Xiao Bai had revealed. "This... narrows the direction of the investigation down another level."
A young girl, an orphan, withdrawn by nature, cold on the outside but warm on the inside.
On top of that, the names of the previous three Magical Girls had followed the sequence of "autumn," "summer," and "spring." Then this fourth Magical Girl's name likely contained the character for "winter."
It happened to correspond to the four seasons of the year.
That narrowed the scope considerably further.
But the problem was that even after narrowing it down this much, the Federal Government still had no clue about the fourth Magical Girl.
There were plenty of girls around the world with "winter" in their names. Even if they only searched within the entire Eastern Province, across its twenty-three cities and more than a hundred counties and towns, there were still at least a thousand girls with "winter" in their names.
Even as the scope gradually narrowed, there were still quite a few people who fit the criteria.
But... among the girls they had found so far, not one matched the image of Xiao Bai above.
Just who was Xiao Bai's true identity?
"But speaking of which." He Xuan looked at the Sky Screen and asked in confusion, "Where's Xiao Chun?"
"Hm?" Xiao Chun, who was sitting in the corner, froze for a moment and pointed at herself. "Me?"
"No, I mean the Xiao Chun up there. Why hasn't she arrived yet?"
Yu Muqiu had been fighting Chen Xiaoxia and Xiao Bai for quite a while now on the Sky Screen. Judging by the Sky Screen's timeline alone, including the earlier travel time, five minutes had already passed.
The actual time was probably even longer.
Yet Xiao Chun was nowhere to be seen after all that time. That was highly unusual.
"Oh, that... you'll probably find out soon enough?"
Xiao Chun had intended to answer, but when she saw the image on the Sky Screen change, she stopped explaining and instead gestured for He Xuan to keep watching.
He Xuan raised her head toward the Sky Screen.
Sure enough, after Yu Muqiu and Chen Xiaoxia fell silent for a while, the scene shifted. The two of them brought Nino back near the swimming pool.
Then...
In the poolside lounge, they found Fang Ming asleep.
And Xiao Chun, curled up beside Fang Ming like a cat, sleeping soundly.
He Xuan froze at the sight, then turned to Xiao Chun beneath the Sky Screen and asked:
"You fell asleep!?"
They all knew there was a Nightmare Seed around, yet she had still managed to fall asleep... wasn't that a little strange?
"...I don't know." Xiao Chun's delicate brows knitted together. After thinking hard for a while, she said, "...I've forgotten what happened back then too. Anyway... the last thing I remember is knocking Brother Fang Ming out, then... then I fell asleep too. I don't know what happened either."
"...?"
He Xuan frowned in thought.
After knocking Fang Ming unconscious, she had passed out too?
That was clearly abnormal.
It seemed necessary to have another talk with Mr. Fang Ming.
This Involves the Plot of Season Two
Before you continue