Guardian Heart

On the third underground level, three minutes after the battle ended.

Love found an empty junction in the service tunnels and glanced around.

"Good. No one's here."

A pink glow spread outward. The elaborate Regalia fell away layer by layer like petals, revealing a handsome young man in a baseball cap.

The first thing Yang Chen did when his feet touched the ground was pull out his phone and check the time.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no!"

It had been a long time since he'd excused himself to go to the restroom.

He sprinted along the maintenance passage, frantically running through excuses in his head.

A line? The restrooms really were packed at this hour. That might work.

Got lost? In an eighty-thousand-seat venue, that was plausible.

Stomachache? It would cost him some dignity, but it was the most believable...

He'd use all three!

By a fire hydrant in the audience corridor, he straightened his cap in the metal's reflection, brushed the dust off his shoulders, and took three deep breaths.

"Okay. Stay calm. I just spent a little too long in the restroom. It happens to everyone."

He pushed open the door and returned to the front row.

Then he saw the back of Chen Qianqian's head.

Very, very slowly, her head turned toward him.

Like something out of a horror movie.

"Yang. Chen."

"Here."

"Where. Did. You. Go?"

"The restroom..."

"Twenty. Three. Minutes." Chen Qianqian held up her phone. A timer was still running on the screen. "I started timing you the moment you stood up."

"...Why would you do that?!"

"Because I had a bad feeling!" Chen Qianqian gritted her teeth, speaking one word at a time. "And I was right! Knight ranked up! Live, right here! A live rank-up you'd be lucky to see once in a century! Broadcast to the whole city! Eighty thousand people witnessed it! And you—weren't—here!"

"My stomach hurt..." Yang Chen protested weakly.

"Your stomach hurt?" Chen Qianqian narrowed her eyes. Suddenly, she reached out, pinched a bit of dust from his shoulder, and held it in front of his face. "The restroom floor has dust like this? Did you go mining in there?"

Cold sweat broke out across Yang Chen's skin.

Dust from the underground tunnels. Damn it.

"That's... It was crowded, and people kept bumping into me..."

"Oh—" Chen Qianqian drew out the word. "They bumped into you."

She fell silent.

She just stared straight at him without blinking.

Her gaze felt like two sharp blades scraping from his forehead down to the soles of his feet. His scalp prickled, and he squirmed under it.

Onstage, the curtain-call music and the crowd's cheers sounded distant and unreal, as though they were coming through frosted glass.

Only one sentence kept playing in Yang Chen's head.

I'm done, I'm done, I'm done, I'm done.

"That time in the park." Chen Qianqian leaned a little closer and lowered her voice. "You had the same look on your face."

Yang Chen's heart skipped a beat.

"...What look?"

"The look you get when you're about to go do something."

She spoke so softly that the noise around them nearly drowned her out.

Yang Chen opened his mouth, but not a word came out.

Chen Qianqian stared at him for a long, long time. Long enough for him to start drafting a full confession in his head—

Boom!

Confetti cannons burst over the stage, showering the crowd with gold.

The cheers surged to a new pitch. Chen Qianqian instinctively glanced back at the stage, and when she turned around again, the blade-like edge had left her eyes.

She stood and picked up her jacket from the back of her chair.

"Come on. It's over."

"...Oh. Right."

Yang Chen followed her at once, relieved beyond words.

After a couple of steps, Chen Qianqian tossed a remark over her shoulder.

"This isn't over. I'm just in a good mood today, so I'll let it go for now."

"When are you going to bring it up again?!"

"When I remember to."

The night wind was cool on the way home.

Chen Qianqian walked along clutching the Knight merchandise she'd just bought—a sword-shaped badge. Her excitement hadn't worn off. One moment she mimed Knight sweeping her cape aside; the next, she hummed the theme song off-key.

After a while, she suddenly went quiet.

"Hey, Yang Chen."

"Yeah?"

"Don't run off like that next time." She stared at her shadow on the ground, her voice low. "There were eighty thousand people in there today. You disappeared for over twenty minutes and didn't answer your phone... With that many people around, I was afraid we'd get separated and I'd never find you again."

Yang Chen paused.

"Never find me again? It wasn't that serious."

Under the streetlight, warm yellow light gilded her profile. Her lashes were lowered, hiding her expression.

He suddenly remembered that day in the park. She'd been like this then, too: yelling at him for "almost getting flattened by a Fallen Beast" until her eyes turned red.

"...Okay," Yang Chen said softly. "Next time, I promise."

"Pinky swear."

"Aren't you a little old for—okay, okay. Pinky swear."

At that very moment, the internet was experiencing an earthquake.

Six of the top ten trending searches were about tonight.

#Knight Ranks Up Live# [Exploding]

#Thank You Love# [Exploding]

#What Is the Lamp-Lighting Rank# [Trending]

#Pure Love Warrior Love# [Trending]

#Liberation Faction Concert Attack# [New]

[She ranked up live!! I recorded the whole thing! When that sea of light rose, my mom asked why I was watching TV on my knees]

[I cried during the eighty-thousand-person singalong, then I cried again when she ranked up. My tears are worthless tonight]

[Wait, what did Knight mean when she said "Thank you, Love" at the end? Love wasn't onstage, was she? Where was she?]

[Check the Association's statement! They just posted it—the Liberation Faction tried to launch a large-scale attack at the concert tonight, but Association operatives and the Magical Girl "Love" stopped them together. Not a single audience member was hurt!]

[So... while we were waving glow sticks up there, someone was fighting a battle for us underground??]

[Mystery solved: why Knight suddenly ranked up. She was singing onstage while Love was risking her life below. What kind of incredible bond is this]

[I finally understand the title "Pure Love Warrior." She protects Love and answers Love. I'm crying again]

[I hereby announce the official opening of the "Knight and Love" fan community. Welcome home]

[You're missing the point! Our city has someone at the Lamp-Lighting Rank now! There are fewer than a hundred registered nationwide, and one of them is Knight, whom we grew up watching!]

[Am I the only one curious how Love got underground? Did the Association's security...]

[Shut up unless you want the authorities at your door]

The Association's official statement was being shared everywhere. Its wording was solemn and proper throughout, but the final paragraph carried a subtle note of ingratiation—

"...We extend special thanks to the Magical Girl Love for her generous assistance. The Association's doors are always open, and we stand ready to work alongside every Magical Girl who wishes to do good."

The city Branch was brightly lit.

The moment Knight pushed open the door—

"Congratulations!!!"

Ranger was the first to launch herself at her, coming in like a gust of wind.

With Absolute Evasion as her ability, no one could stop her flying tackle. As usual.

"The Lamp-Lighting Rank! The Lamp-Lighting Rank! I was fighting underground, and suddenly it felt like the ceiling was glowing!"

"Knight! I need to document this!" Celestial Star followed close behind, clutching her Record Book. Light flashed across her round glasses. "The entire rank-up process! Peak energy curve! How it felt! Halo diameter! Everything! Every detail!"

"Nicely done!"

Masked Heroine strode over and gave her trademark thumbs-up, nearly shoving it into Knight's face.

Old Wei stood behind them, his voice still hoarse. The creases at the corners of his smiling eyes bunched together like flowers. He said nothing, only gave Knight's shoulder a hearty pat.

Even the Branch Director had come in person, his face glowing and his blood pressure more stable than ever.

After the excitement had gone on for a while, Masked Heroine cleared her throat and got to the point.

"So—"

Her eyes gleamed.

"Your unique ability! Come on, tell us! A Lamp-Lighting Rank's unique ability! We spent the whole drive back betting on it. Ranger bet on a light cannon, and Celestial Star bet on a group shield!"

Knight smiled.

She raised her hand.

A shield and a sword appeared in her hands.

The shield was a silver-white kite-shaped tower shield, half as tall as she was. The shield emblem that had once adorned her armor now stood out in solid form at its center, its patterns intricate and solemn. The sword was a straight silver blade, slender and gleaming with a gentle luster. It no longer looked as sharp as it once had.

"My unique ability is called—"

"Guardian Heart."

The training room went quiet for a moment.

"When an enemy attacks," Knight said slowly, "no matter whom the attack was originally aimed at, I can make it come for me first."

"Hostility, killing intent, the path of an attack—my heart draws them all toward me. At the same time, my defense increases."

"And," she paused, brushing her fingertips across the emblem on the shield, "any Magic Power attack directed at me has some of its strength stripped away first."

"As long as I'm standing there, any blade coming for my comrades has to get past my shield first."

"It has to lose some of its edge against me."

"Whoa—" Ranger was the first to jump up. "Does that mean I can hide behind your shield and attack as much as I want from now on?! We're a perfect match, Knight!"

Masked Heroine immediately started mocking her again.

"Attack? You? Since when?"

"You wretched old hag! I don't want to fight you on such a happy day!"

The two of them wandered off to one side, still bickering and tugging at each other.

"Hostility attraction, enhanced defense, Magic Power reduction..." Celestial Star scribbled furiously without looking up. "Targeted interception plus a damage-reduction aura. This ability was made purely for protection... It's beautiful."

Knight lowered her head and looked at the brand-new shield in her hand.

Her face was faintly reflected in its silver surface. She'd long since wiped away her tears, and the knot that had tightened her brow for a year was gone.