But it had to be said that this move was indeed efficient. At the very least, the Demon in the sky was definitely dead beyond doubt. As for these vines...
"Wait... something's wrong! Xiao Qiu, why are the vines still growing!?"
Chen Xiaoxia looked at the vines, only to discover that although the Demon was already dead, the vines were still continuously spreading outward.
That proved these vines were not the Demon's magic!
"Was it the person hiding somewhere?" Xiao Chun warily looked around.
If the one who had cast the vine magic was not the same person as the Demon, then it meant someone was still hiding in the shadows.
And that person could attack them at any moment!
But what Yu Muqiu and the others had not expected was that, just as everyone vigilantly watched their surroundings, the continuously growing vines suddenly stopped in an instant and withered one after another, drooping to the ground.
The green vines were stained yellow, the color of decay. In just a few breaths, all the vines became dry branches and leaves, then scattered in the wind.
The Magic Barrier dissipated at the same time, revealing the outside world before them.
The person hiding behind the scenes had already left at some point, and the magic left here had lost its power and dispersed.
The Magical Girls were safe.
Yet the Magical Girls were in an incomparably heavy mood, because they knew the matter had not truly been resolved.
The real mastermind had not been caught, meaning incidents like this would happen again.
That was what was truly worrying.
Dongdong and Black Rabbit
A dim alley.
A filthy ground.
A girl in worn-out clothes sat against the alley wall, allowing the grime on the ground and walls to stain her clothing.
The girl had been sitting there for who knew how long before she finally regained some strength.
"This time... I was still a little too reckless..."
The girl hidden in the shadows spoke softly.
Beside her, a completely black creature with upright long ears, like a black rabbit, said to her:
"But there was no other choice."
"Yeah... there was no other choice..."
"The giant screen in the sky is clearly playing faster. Going by this pace, the so-called 'Season Two' plot will begin in seven days at the latest. By then... we won't be able to stay hidden anymore."
Black Rabbit spoke to the girl in a gentle voice.
The girl nodded. "I understand. It's just... I'm a little tired."
"After draining such an enormous amount of magic power all at once, it's normal that you'd be tired. But honestly, you gave me quite a scare, Dongdong. I never expected that, with Nightmare Power's help, you could hold back four Magical Girls at once. As expected... you have great potential."
After saying this, Black Rabbit looked up at the screen in the sky and added:
"...Perhaps you have even more potential than the so-called 'protagonist.'"
Even Yu Muqiu had not displayed strength as great as the girl's after becoming a Magical Girl.
But the girl called Dongdong shook her head. "None of that matters. It's just... we failed."
"It's fine. That damned cat can't hide behind the Magical Girls forever. Besides, attacking her this time was merely incidental. Our real objective... has already been achieved."
Black Rabbit let out a sinister laugh entirely at odds with its gentle voice.
Dongdong fell silent as she listened. She suddenly raised a hand, stroked Black Rabbit's head, and softly asked:
"After... after our plan succeeds, can we really..."
"We can."
Before Dongdong could finish, Black Rabbit nodded. "We definitely can. You have to trust me, Dongdong."
"Mm. I trust you."
Dongdong hesitated for two seconds before slowly nodding.
Although she was still alone now, although nothing seemed to have gotten better, she believed Black Rabbit would certainly be able to fulfill its dream.
Because Black Rabbit had helped her. During her most difficult time, it had descended before her and given her the power to take revenge and keep living.
So if Black Rabbit said it was possible, then it had to be possible.
Time passed second by second. The girl leaned against the alley wall and closed her eyes, as if she had fallen asleep.
Black Rabbit's red eyes reflected the girl's figure.
Her long black hair was somewhat disheveled, as though it had not been cared for in a long time. There were also faint smudges on her face, stains she had accidentally gotten while trying to corrupt Toy Bear a few nights ago.
The girl had never had the time or energy to tidy herself up.
A pair of thick black-framed glasses covered nearly half her face, concealing part of her appearance.
Yet even so, it was clear that she was quite pretty. It was only the faintly gloomy aura emanating from her that diminished her looks somewhat.
She wore an old school uniform. Though she was only a first-year student, her uniform looked as if it had been patched many times.
Even the hem was coming apart in places.
No matter how one looked at her, the girl seemed synonymous with poverty.
Yet this inconspicuous poor girl possessed the immense strength to fight four opponents alone, often making Black Rabbit sigh at its own good fortune.
To encounter this girl, whose heart was filled with both hope and despair, immediately after arriving in this world was truly the greatest stroke of luck.
But at the same time, Black Rabbit felt somewhat unfortunate.
The Sky Screen that had appeared overhead constantly made Black Rabbit feel that what it was doing could be exposed at any time.
So... it could not keep waiting.
Even if it had to drain Dongdong's potential, it had to complete its plan before the Sky Screen played the Season Two plot!
Otherwise, once all the information was exposed, it would never again have a chance to complete its plan!
So hold on a little longer, Dongdong. My plan will succeed, and your dream will come true as well.
A world where no one gets hurt will arrive soon.
So hold on a little longer...
As Black Rabbit thought this, it suddenly heard footsteps coming from the alley entrance.
Glancing toward the entrance, Black Rabbit immediately burrowed into Dongdong's arms.
That movement woke Dongdong, who had already fallen asleep. At the same time, she noticed the person entering from outside the alley.
Someone was here?
Instinctively hiding Black Rabbit, the image of an open book flashed across the back of the girl's right hand before quickly fading away.
Then the girl heard the footsteps stop beside her. A bespectacled young man frowned as he looked at her sitting there.
"Miss, are you all right?"
The young man asked as he took out his phone.
The girl shrank back, braced herself against the wall, and barely stood up from the ground. She raised her head to look at the young man, who was much taller than her, and shook her head.
"I... I'm fine..."
"Are you really okay? It's almost midnight. Why are you here alone? Where is your family? Do you need me to call the police?"
By the end, the young man seemed to be asking for the girl's opinion, but his finger had already opened the phone dialer. The numbers 110 had been entered, ready to be called at any moment.
"...No!" Almost instinctively, Dongdong grabbed the young man's arm, then raised her head to meet his eyes and pleaded:
"Don't call the police... I... I'm really fine. I was just... too tired and accidentally... fell asleep, that's all... I... I'm really fine..."
The girl emphasized it twice before withdrawing her hand. Her left hand pressed against the back of her right hand, which she held against her chest.
Then she lowered her head and said to the young man, "Thank you for your concern. I'll be going home soon. You don't need to call the police. Thank you."
As she thanked him, the girl repeatedly stressed that he did not need to call the police.
As she spoke, a faint purple glow emerged from the back of her right hand. However, because her left hand covered it, the young man did not notice.
To be honest, the girl's reaction was suspicious to the extreme. But perhaps following the principle that less trouble was better, the young man put away his phone.
Then he asked:
"Do you need me to take you home?"
"..."
The girl only shook her head.
The young man then said, "All right, then. Sorry to bother you. Goodbye."
Only after confirming that the girl did not need help did the young man pass her and head toward the alley's other exit.
The girl hesitated for a long time, wondering whether she should transform and cast hypnosis magic on him, until Black Rabbit spoke to her through Telepathy:
Don't act rashly, Dongdong!
That guy has magic power on him. No... it's his glasses. They have magic power that interferes with cognition. He should be someone connected to those Magical Girls, most likely that group of Magical Girls' cousin, Fang Ming. Attacking him will draw the Magical Girls' attention!
"..."
Only after hearing Black Rabbit say this did the girl give up on the thought of transforming and hypnotizing him.
She watched the young man leave, and only after confirming that he had left the alley did she turn and depart.
But the girl did not notice that, not long after she left, the young man who had supposedly already departed took out his phone and made a call.
"Hello? Investigation Department? This is Fang Ming. I just found a rather suspicious girl. Could you investigate her?"
The young man, Fang Ming, spoke to the operator on the other end at the Investigation Department.
Although the girl had seemed fine, the fact that she had not wanted him to call the police was enough to prove she was suspicious.
In any case, whether there was actually something wrong with the girl or not, it could not hurt to investigate her first.
The Fifth Magical Girl?
"Song Niandong, female, first-year student at Spring City No. 1 Middle School. Her parents died of illness when she was young. Two months ago, her only remaining relative, the grandmother who had raised her, also passed away from cancer. Since then, she has been alone.
"Her performance at school is average, or even somewhat 'invisible,' and..."
In the reception room, the investigator conducting the inquiry introduced Fang Ming to the identity of the girl he had encountered yesterday.
When reaching the end, the investigator paused slightly, prompting Fang Ming to ask:
"And what?"
The investigator sighed and said, "And... she has experienced long-term bullying at school..."
Hearing that, Fang Ming could not help frowning. He looked again at the girl's file, tapping twice on the character Dong in Song Niandong's name.
"Her name has 'Dong' in it, right?" Fang Ming looked up at the investigator. "So she might also be the real identity of Magical Girl Xiao Bai...?"
"That is possible, but we investigated. This girl looks nothing like Xiao Bai, does not have white hair, has a timid personality, and has not shown any signs of magic power. So the possibility of her being Xiao Bai is not high."
"...So you ignored her situation and just allowed the school bullying to happen??"
Fang Ming looked at the investigator in disbelief.
The investigator said with some difficulty:
"Mr. Fang Ming, although the appearance of Magical Girls has indeed given us... people in the Investigation Department considerable authority, our authority is not as great as you might imagine in matters unrelated to Magical Girls.
"As for what happened to Song Niandong, all we can do is report it to the education department. How it is handled... is the education department's matter."
"So you're just passing the buck!"
Fang Ming could not stop himself from slamming his right hand on the table. His voice rose as he questioned the investigator.
The commotion startled the investigator, as well as He Xuan, who had just entered.
He Xuan stood blankly at the doorway, looking at the troubled investigator before turning to Fang Ming. After a brief moment of thought, she approached with a smile and asked:
"Mr. Fang, why are you so angry?"
Realizing that he had become somewhat agitated, Fang Ming took a deep breath. Then he pointed to the file before him and said to He Xuan:
Before you continue