Hooked

At this very moment, Rongcheng Third College of Arts and Sciences, flag-raising platform on the sports field.

Su Tianqing sat on the slightly chilly marble platform, listlessly flipping through the Codex in her hands.

Her slender fingers pinched a page and gently turned it. The blazing sunset shone upon the brilliant golden fur of her ears, dyeing the dainty Golden Fox crimson.

Closing the Codex, which held no further information, Fox Fox casually tossed the ancient book into her magical space. She rose from the marble platform, raised her arms high, and stretched out her tail to loosen up.

"Mm—ow, this is starting to get boring."

Su Tianqing muttered to herself.

Would the lines and acting she had spent an hour devising really fool Hyacinth?

She had actually spent quite a while fiddling with the complimentary anonymous account on that video website before recording and posting the video. By the time she finally got it uploaded, it was already three in the afternoon. She had no idea whether Hyacinth would even see it.

It was now 6:55.

There were five minutes left until the declaration in the video to level Third College.

What if she had overplayed her hand?

Su Tianqing thought, her two fluffy ears perking up nervously.

The video had been a bluff, actually.

She was a complete rookie Magical Girl. The magic she was best at was firing Magic Missiles with her tail. Things like Magic Cannons, magical shields, or projecting and deploying an inherent barrier were all beyond her.

Why couldn't she do them?

Because this stupid book hadn't taught her! Magic had to be learned, too!

"Yaaawn... yaaawn~"

Fox Fox let out a long yawn.

6:56.

Maybe she should just toss a few Magic Missiles toward the teaching building and go home. So what if she skipped today's daily mission? It was only 200 Divine Codexes, anyway...

A sky-blue Meteor streaking through the corner of her vision caught Su Tianqing's attention.

Her surprise lasted only an instant, followed by a delighted, wicked grin at the success of her scheme.

See? What did I say? Young people from the heroic school of thought were so easy to hook.

"BOOM!!"

An impact like a falling meteor struck the sports field, sending grass blades and dust flying everywhere.

Su Tianqing extended her tail, shielding her skirt and blocking the dust.

A villain had to uphold elegance. That was what the little fox said.

"You finally came, Hyacinth."

Drawing in her fox tail, Su Tianqing addressed the sky-blue Magical Girl who had landed on the field.

Hyacinth looked up at the golden-furred Fox Fox before her, straightened up, and instantly transformed her wand into a greatsword, pointing it directly at Su Tianqing.

"Who exactly are you?! Why are you destroying this school?!"

"Hehe... Didn't I tell you last night? I'm a Villain Magical Girl. Isn't causing destruction perfectly normal for a villain?"

Su Tianqing giggled, her voice sweet and lilting.

Nan Xiaofeng gritted her teeth in anger.

Not for any other reason, but because the person before her had disrupted the time she needed to finish her homework and was even causing trouble at her school.

Gripping her greatsword tightly with both hands, Nan Xiaofeng was about to rush forward and fight Su Tianqing when a faint voice suddenly rang out in the distance.

"Hyacinth! Hyacinth, wait! Don't be impulsive!"

The White Sable Spirit flapped her wings with all her strength as she flew over, stopping Nan Xiaofeng from charging in to fight Su Tianqing.

Su Tianqing calmly watched the white sable fly to Hyacinth's side, narrowing her eyes slightly.

"Bailing, you came at the right time. Help me keep an eye on that girl. I'm going to beat her up right—"

"Don't go over there! Listen to me first!"

The white sable yanked hard on Nan Xiaofeng's arm and said,

"Look carefully at the ground around her!"

"The ground?"

Nan Xiaofeng focused her gaze.

Sure enough, under the white sable's guidance, she spotted a magic circle hidden in the glow of the setting sun, covering the entire stretch of ground before Su Tianqing.

Nan Xiaofeng felt a wave of lingering fear.

That was close!

If she had recklessly charged forward just now, she would probably have stepped straight into the magic circle Su Tianqing had prepared!

"...What a noisy spirit."

Her Immobilization Trap, deliberately concealed by the sunset, had been seen through. Su Tianqing curled her lips and said disappointedly,

"If you'd taken a few more steps forward, you'd already be a toy in my hands by now."

"Despicable! Shameless!" Nan Xiaofeng shouted. "Answer me! What is your purpose? Why did you attack me last night?!"

"Same thing I said before. I'm a Villain Magical Girl. Do I need a reason to cause trouble?"

Su Tianqing's voice dropped several degrees colder, and a wicked smile spread across her lips.

"Perfect. Since Miss Hyacinth is here, why don't you play a game of hide-and-seek with me?"

"Who wants to play hide-and-seek with you?!"

"Hehehe. I hope that when you lose later... your mouth will still be as tough as it is now."

With that, Su Tianqing spun around sharply. Her tail swept through the air, and several golden Magic Missiles appeared from nowhere! They shot straight toward Hyacinth!

"Watch out!"

"I don't need you to tell me that, Bailing!"

The greatsword blocked them!

The Magic Missiles could only explode into particles of magic power against Nan Xiaofeng's greatsword. By the time she raised her sword and charged forward, the golden-furred Fox Fox had already darted into the teaching building behind the field. All that remained visible was the flickering silhouette of a fox tail racing up the stairwell.

"Stop! Don't run!"

Nan Xiaofeng skirted around the magic circle and strode forward.

Bailing hurried after her.

Yet the White Sable Spirit caught a whiff of something strange.

This Golden Fox Magical Girl who called herself a villain... seemed to be plotting something...?

The terrain inside the teaching building was extremely complicated.

Su Tianqing made full use of the balance and mobility advantages that came with being a Golden Fox.

The large fluffy tail behind her was not merely for decoration. It could help her turn sharply around right angles, while also conveniently firing a couple of Magic Missiles at Nan Xiaofeng pursuing her from behind.

But Nan Xiaofeng had completely entered combat mode.

If the greatsword was too unwieldy indoors, she would use the wand's lighter form instead. Combined with her familiarity with this teaching building, the distance between her and Su Tianqing rapidly shrank!

Nan Xiaofeng firmly believed one thing: as long as she could close into melee range, that Golden Fox Magical Girl would be no match for her!

"...You move pretty fast."

As she rounded a corner, Su Tianqing glanced back at Nan Xiaofeng rapidly closing in and frowned.

Nan Xiaofeng remained unmoved and continued the pursuit at full speed.

"You really are hard to deal with."

Su Tianqing muttered inwardly.

She was fast and excellent in close combat. Though Su Tianqing had not yet seen much of Nan Xiaofeng's magical ability, Nan Xiaofeng was far more proficient as a Magical Girl than she was.

But unfortunately, she was one step behind in cunning.

At another corner, Su Tianqing ran to the end and stopped.

A dead end lay before her.

The walls on both sides were sealed off, and Nan Xiaofeng had already blocked the way behind her. With her pitiful close-combat ability, smashing through the wall to escape was obviously unrealistic.

Fox Fox furrowed her brow and backed away step by step as Nan Xiaofeng advanced.

"Now you can't run away, can you?"

Magical Girl Hyacinth said angrily.

"You'd better honestly tell me what you're planning and what kind of scheme you're up to!"

"Oh my... I really didn't expect you to drive me into a corner, Miss Hyacinth," Su Tianqing murmured.

"Quit talking nonsense! If you won't tell me, I'll beat it out of you!"

Nan Xiaofeng no longer wanted to waste time arguing with this golden-furred Fox Fox. She still had to go back and finish her homework.

Light shone from the tip of her wand, forming a blade. Magical Girl Hyacinth charged forward!

But just as the blade was about to strike the Golden Fox Magical Girl—Nan Xiaofeng saw that a wicked smile had appeared on Su Tianqing's dainty face at some point.

Underfoot!!

A magic circle flashed.

It had been laid out very small and carelessly covered with a dust sheet. Nan Xiaofeng had completely taken it for a pile of clutter, never expecting a magic circle to be hidden underneath!

The light flashed.

Nan Xiaofeng did not lose consciousness, but she could no longer move a single inch. She could only remain frozen in place with a look of utter shock.

"Snap!"

Su Tianqing snapped her fingers.

"You fell for it," Fox Fox said with a smile.

The reusable Immobilization Trap had actually been hidden in this spot all along. The barrier on the sports field had merely been a useless imitation she had painstakingly copied to fool the two of them.

"Hyacinth! Hy—waaah?!"

The White Sable Spirit arrived belatedly. What entered her sight was Magical Girl Hyacinth, immobilized in place by the binding magic, and the loli Golden Fox standing beside her and examining her closely.

And a Magic Missile rapidly filling her vision.

"Pashoo!"

"Thud!"

The Magic Missile hit. The White Sable Spirit fell at once and was knocked unconscious on the spot.

"That gets rid of the noisy one," Su Tianqing whispered as she leaned close to Nan Xiaofeng's ear.

"What a shame, Miss Hyacinth. You lost."

"Next... it's punishment game time~"

Warm, fragrant breath brushed past her temple and the tip of her nose. Nan Xiaofeng struggled to break free from the immobilization spell, but she could only watch helplessly as the golden-furred Fox Fox pulled a winged camera from beneath her skirt and began recording in front of her.

"Hello, viewers~"

"Look who this is—the Magical Girl Hyacinth, famous all across Rongcheng!"

"Today, Fox Fox wants to uncover some pri—vate information about Hyacinth."

"Where should we start, where should we start~?"

"The color of a certain piece of clothing? Which kind of socks she wears? Or perhaps..."

"I've got it! Let's start with Miss Hyacinth's measurements~"

Nan Xiaofeng wanted to cry out in despair.

At this moment, the Magical Girl's silence was deafening.