The Girls Are Still on Their Way

(?)

(What just flashed by?)

(Not sure, but it seemed like some kind of memory?)

(Oh no, kids, I have a really bad feeling... I can smell the knives coming.)

(You like eating knives, huh? Send me your address, I'll mail you some!)

Xiao Bai's sudden power-up on the Sky Screen sparked discussion.

Fang Ming looked at himself in the sky and fell silent.

He remembered that, in order to replenish his magic power and strengthen it, he had merged several temporarily learned Level 1 skills into his magic power level.

He had not managed to break through, but his total magic power had indeed increased.

He had not expected the Sky Screen to show even that scene...

"Is this Xiao Bai's true magic?"

Youyou offered her assessment.

Fang Ming asked in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"I thought it was strange before. Magical Armament comes from one's own emotions and heart, so it is very sturdy. But because of that, once it is destroyed, it is difficult to restore... Yet when you saw her this time, the scythe in her hand was completely intact, right?"

"...So? What are you trying to say?"

"Xiao Bai may have mastered a third magic besides 'Severing' and 'Connection.' And this magic may very well come from the Demons' side... It is magic that requires a price."

Youyou made that judgment and said, "And the price of using this magic may be her memories."

"..."

It was not actually magic, but his cheat ability... Though if he insisted on calling it magic, that would not exactly be wrong, would it?

But if Youyou could make that judgment, then Nino probably knew too. He wondered what Xiao Qiu and the others would think.

Hopefully they would not misunderstand anything.

He had really just used a few useless skills as advancement materials. It was not as grand as they imagined!

After all, he was not stupid!

"Huh? Memories? What memories? I don't know."

Nino stared blankly at Yu Muqiu, who had come to question her, and answered, "I don't know what magic Xiao Bai used either. It might be from the Demons' side, since her Magic Source is connected to Demons."

"...So you don't know either."

Yu Muqiu felt somewhat heavy-hearted.

At the time, she had not really understood what the Songstress Witch meant by 'feeding on knowledge.' But now, after seeing this scene playing out on the Sky Screen, Yu Muqiu had a faint realization.

But she hoped she was wrong.

The Girls Were Still on Their Way

[Xiao Bai and the Songstress Demon were locked in an even battle.

Meanwhile, Yu Muqiu and the others had already arrived outside the amusement park beneath a steady drizzle.

"Whoa, why does it feel like the rain here is heavier than outside?!"

Wearing a raincoat and sandals, Chen Xiaoxia grabbed Yu Muqiu's hand and jogged into a pavilion inside the amusement park to shelter from the rain.

Xiao Chun, who had been waiting there for quite some time, smiled when she saw the umbrellas the two had brought.

"Maybe it has something to do with the Demon... Luckily, you both brought umbrellas. Otherwise, I wouldn't have known how to get out."

Since it had still been sunny when she set out, Xiao Chun had not brought an umbrella.

Now the rain was pouring outside, and Xiao Chun was trapped in the pavilion. If Yu Muqiu and Chen Xiaoxia had not brought umbrellas, the three of them would probably have had to explore the amusement park in the rain.

Yu Muqiu handed one of the umbrellas to Xiao Chun, then looked toward the amusement park, which had been closed due to the heavy rain.

"Then the last Demon really is here?"

"Not sure. I could still sense magic fluctuations earlier, but now... I can't sense them anymore."

Xiao Chun shook her head. She looked into the amusement park as well and said, "And within those fluctuations just now, I also sensed... Xiao Bai's magic."

"Xiao Bai!" Yu Muqiu's eyes widened in surprise. "So Xiao Bai has already found that Demon?"

"That's possible..." Xiao Chun nodded.

Chen Xiaoxia could not wait any longer and darted out of the pavilion. With her raincoat on, she did not need to worry about the downpour soaking her.

As she went out, she waved at the other two.

"Then what are we waiting for? Hurry up! If we're any later, she might defeat the Demon again!"

"...Xiaoxia, the way you said that sounds a little ambiguous... It makes it sound like you're on the Demon's side." Xiao Chun said helplessly.

Chen Xiaoxia blinked. "Does it?"

After saying that, she clenched her fists and added, "I just don't want her lecturing us again afterward.

"Just thinking about how she might smugly tell us things like, 'Kids, hurry home,' or, 'I told you this is my territory, so why are you still here?' after she takes care of the Demon... makes me mad!"

Chen Xiaoxia lowered her voice when she said this. It was obvious she was imitating Xiao Bai, and she did a very convincing job.

As she spoke, imaginary images even popped up behind her head.

The image showed Xiao Bai pointing at Yu Muqiu and the others while making arrogant remarks.

The vividly animated chibi figure was incredibly adorable.

Yu Muqiu and Xiao Chun could not see it, but they could imagine what Chen Xiaoxia was thinking. They exchanged a glance and both laughed.

Yu Muqiu said, "Xiao Bai isn't that unreasonable."

"Besides, wasn't Xiao Bai injured last time? Maybe this time, she won't be able to so quickly..."

Before Xiao Chun could finish, Xiao Qiu suddenly cried out, "That's right! Xiao Bai was injured! She was injured, so why is she still coming out to hunt Demons?! Seriously!"

After saying that, Xiao Qiu impatiently tried to rush into the rain as well.

Fortunately, Xiao Chun reacted quickly and grabbed Xiao Qiu, handing her an umbrella at the same time.

"Wait! Take an umbrella!"

Yu Muqiu, who had nearly charged into the rain and become a drenched mess, scratched her cheek awkwardly. Only then did she take the umbrella Xiao Chun offered, open it, and step into the rain.

After Chen Xiaoxia's reminder, Yu Muqiu remembered that only two days had passed since she and Xiao Bai had separated. In those two days, Xiao Bai had not had a healing-type Magical Girl like Xiao Chun by her side, so her injuries definitely had not fully recovered.

Even if Xiao Bai was very strong, being injured would still affect her strength to some extent.

Yu Muqiu did not care whether Xiao Bai would win. She was only worried that Xiao Bai might worsen her injuries. After all, from the current situation, this unknown Demon seemed extremely strong.

Its magic power could even affect the real world and alter its weather. Yu Muqiu and the others had never encountered anything like that before.

Yu Muqiu worried that something might happen to Xiao Bai, so she wanted to find her as soon as possible.

Chen Xiaoxia had wanted to compete with Xiao Bai, but when she thought about how Xiao Bai was indeed still injured, she could not help feeling worried as well.

She simply did not show it.

Xiao Chun did not know much about Xiao Bai, but kind by nature, she was also concerned about Xiao Bai and the Demon.

The three Magical Girls immediately sprang into action. Braving the downpour, they quietly slipped into the closed amusement park and began searching inside.

But after searching for quite a while, the three still could not find the Nightmare Barrier.

This Demon seemed very good at hiding.]

(At this moment, the girls were still riding hard to the rescue...)

(Save her! Xiao Qiu, if you're any later, you'll only be collecting Xiao Bai's corpse!)

(Look on the bright side. Maybe Xiao Bai can take care of the Demon by herself?)

(...Do you hear yourself? This is obviously the final boss! How could Xiao Bai handle it alone?!)

(Everyone, everyone! Horror story: look at the progress bar!)

The opening that had played for over a minute, nearly two minutes of the OP, nearly five minutes of Xiao Bai fighting the Songstress Demon, and now the process of Yu Muqiu and the others meeting, talking, and searching.

Altogether, the Sky Screen had already been playing for twelve minutes. In other words, there were only a little over eight minutes of the episode left.

Yet Yu Muqiu and the others had not even caught a glimpse of the boss.

"Stop rushing us! It's not our fault we couldn't find it. This Witch was just too good at hiding! And who could have guessed the entrance was in the sky... Plus, it was raining at the time..."

Seeing the comments urging them on, Chen Xiaoxia puffed out her cheeks and complained.

The Songstress Witch was different from every Witch they had encountered before. Not only was she intelligent, she also actively avoided Magical Girls like them.

If Xiao Bai had not found her first, and if her fight with the Songstress Witch had not exposed her aura for Nino to notice, they might never have guessed that the Songstress Witch was in this place.

And if Xiao Chun had not guessed the entrance to the Nightmare Barrier in time, they probably would not have found anything even by nightfall!

So it was not their fault!

Bzz—Bzz—

While Chen Xiaoxia was watching the Sky Screen with Xiao Qiu and the others, she suddenly felt her phone vibrate.

She took out her phone and checked it. It was a call from He Xuan, the deputy director of the Investigation Department.

Looking at the others around her, who were immersed in the Sky Screen's story, Chen Xiaoxia stood and walked a few steps away. Only after putting some distance between herself and the others did she answer the call.

"Hello? Auntie He? Is something wrong?"

"Xiaoxia, come to the Investigation Department this afternoon if you have time. I have something I need to ask you to do."

"Me?" Chen Xiaoxia pointed at herself, then looked at Yu Muqiu and Xiao Chun, who were giving her puzzled looks. "Just me?"

"Yes. We need your magic for a... small experiment. Your magic is Enhancement Magic, right?"

"Yes."

"Have you tried enhancing ordinary objects?"

"No, I haven't..."

Chen Xiaoxia shook her head.

When she transformed into a Magical Girl, all she could think of was enhancing her body and strengthening her weapons.

As for enhancing other things... Chen Xiaoxia had never tried it.

"Then come try it this afternoon," He Xuan told Chen Xiaoxia.

Chen Xiaoxia asked in confusion, "What's going on? Why so sudden? Did something happen?"

"..."

"Auntie He?"

"...It's nothing. It's just that we seem to have found Song Niandong and Fang Ming..."

"What?! You found Brother Fang Ming?!"

Chen Xiaoxia's voice rose despite herself, drawing everyone else's attention.

She immediately apologized awkwardly to the other students. Then, as Yu Muqiu and Xiao Chun came closer, she quietly asked He Xuan, "...When did this happen? How is Brother Fang Ming now?"

"They escaped."

"Escaped... What do you mean, they escaped?"

"Exactly what it sounds like. Two officers found them, but... they were hypnotized by Suggestion Magic and overlooked what was unusual about the two. By the time we realized something was wrong, the records had been erased, and the two had already vanished without a trace."

He Xuan said wearily from the other end of the call, "...That's why I want to ask you to see whether you can enhance some magical items that can block magic."

That was why He Xuan had contacted Chen Xiaoxia.

Ordinary people had no resistance to magic. Even if they truly found Song Niandong, they would immediately lose track of her again.

In this regard, the Investigation Department was at an absolute disadvantage.