"Lord Winter Lord, shouldn't we make our move?"
Atop the high-rise, the blue magical girl sat on the edge as though she might fall at any moment, swinging her feet in the air.
Beside her, the nervous-looking white magical girl crouched by Bingtang, clutching her wand in both hands. Small as a cat, her skirt snapping in the fierce wind, she said, "Isn't it a little wrong to let the sect master fight alone?"
"Yumo, the sect master said before that we shouldn't interfere with his combat practice. Have you forgotten?"
"But the sect master also said that when dealing with crooked heretics like the Witch Association, everyone should attack together. There's no need to fight one-on-one..."
"That was what he told us. When the sect master is here, no one else is allowed to act on their own."
Before the high-rise, a faint, transparent curtain of ice reflected Jiang Si and Du Juan.
This was one of Bingtang's abilities, Mirror Projection, which let her take in distant battles with perfect clarity.
As the Azure Cloud Sect's grand elder and nominal deputy sect master, Bingtang possessed the most abilities in the sect. Of course, much of that was thanks to Jiang Si's flights of fancy. He always managed to suggest all sorts of strange applications.
Nearly half of Bingtang's bizarre abilities had been developed with Jiang Si's help.
She watched the battle in the mirror in utter boredom until Jiang Si kicked the Witch Association member out of the sky. Her already frosty expression grew even darker.
Beside her, Yumo huddled up, clenching her fists, a smile appearing on her little face. "It-it looks like he's going to win!"
"Don't raise flags like that. There's so much dust. The sect master said smoke means no damage. When fighting someone, try not to kick up dust until you've confirmed the kill. Don't tell me you've forgotten everything?"
"Uh..."
Looking at the speechless Yumo beside her, Bingtang sighed. "Copy out the sect's combat rules once when we get back."
"Ugh, I still have so much homework..."
"No hurry. Copy them after your homework. Just finish this month. There are only ten rules."
"Okay..."
Bingtang swung her dangling legs faster, her tone growing a little urgent. "Can she do this or not? Isn't this one a core member? Why can't I see any difference between her and the ordinary members?"
At this rate, Jiang Si wouldn't transform at all.
She lamented inwardly. She probably wouldn't get to see Shion today either.
She had intended to jump off the building and move a little closer to Jiang Si, but just as she stood up, scorching red magic suddenly blazed in the distance, radiating astonishing power.
It made Bingtang turn to look.
Yumo also noticed that brazen, unconcealed magic. She glanced into the distance, then lowered her head to sniff the wind blowing from that direction:
"It's Keke's and Yinlian's magical signatures."
Yumo said quietly, "Keke only became a magical girl recently, didn't she? She's already got such powerful magic. That's amazing. Maybe she'll be stronger than all of us someday."
"She's the sect master's little sister, after all. Her potential must be high."
Bingtang watched Yinlian and Keke heading toward Jiang Si, looking thoughtful. "Looks like the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau has discovered the Witch Association's trail. I thought they'd be completely unresponsive, like before."
Crouched on the rooftop, Yumo watched Jiang Si's battle one moment, then turned to look at Yinlian and Keke the next. Hugging her wand in both hands, she kept looking back and forth, appearing busy without knowing what she was busy with. "Then what should we do now, Lady Bingtang?"
"Use your wind to hold them up, of course."
Bingtang grabbed Yumo and jumped off the building. "Don't let them disturb the sect master's battle."
"Oh, okay."
In midair, Yumo released her wand, which turned into a fierce gale and blew toward Yinlian and Keke.
The gale howled, instantly buffeting the fiercely burning red magic.
Yinlian's pink petals also danced wildly in the gale, becoming impossible to control.
Trapped in the wind, the two magical girls could hardly move an inch.
Bingtang inwardly marveled as well. Yumo's control over her magic was as perfect as ever.
Although she looked rather timid, Yumo actually ranked among the strongest in the Azure Cloud Sect.
Disciples without sufficient strength couldn't possibly qualify to enter the Illusory Moon Cave Abode.
The most basic requirement for a core disciple was reaching mid-stage New Sprout.
And in terms of magical control alone, even Bingtang fell slightly short of her.
If she fought without holding back, dealing with Yinlian and Keke alone would be no great difficulty for Yumo.
Controlling her wind from such a great distance, Yumo could even precisely dictate where each of Yinlian's petals landed.
She also activated the bewitching fragrance inside the petals, making Yinlian suffer interference from her own ability and lose her way in the wind.
Of course, Yumo didn't dare actually hurt either of them.
Never mind that Keke was the sect master's sister and already held considerable status; Yinlian seemed quite close to the sect master too. She probably counted as a friend.
For a moment, Yumo's thoughts drifted.
She was only a lowly direct disciple. If she hurt Keke and Yinlian, the sect master would definitely expel her from the Azure Cloud Sect. Without her Azure Cloud Sect salary, her family's debts would go unpaid. If the debts went unpaid, her parents would sell her off, and because she had the talent to be a magical girl, the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau would take a fancy to her and buy her.
In the end, she would become enemies with the sect master and Lady Bingtang. Every time she faced Bingtang and the sect master, she would be in agony but have no choice except to fight. Because she already belonged to the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau, she would still fight Bingtang and the sect master with everything she had, ultimately lose, and die miserably at Lady Bingtang's hands. She admired and loved the sect master and Lady Bingtang most of all, yet she would have to die at their hands...
"Bingtang, I don't want to die..."
Naturally, Bingtang had no idea that merely stopping a couple of people had prompted the little girl beside her to imagine an entire tragic drama starring herself, or that she had become so invested in it. She was simply baffled. "Huh? Of course you won't die."
But having spent so long together, she knew this girl, who loved letting her imagination run wild, had probably brought her fanciful thoughts into reality again. She tapped her forehead. "How did you jump straight to dying? Focus on your work. Stop imagining things."
"Oh."
Only after Yumo settled down did Bingtang turn back toward Jiang Si's battle.
Du Juan had taken out a Miracle Seed.
Although it was somewhat rotten and even looked clearly on the verge of crumbling, it was indeed a Miracle Seed.
"Transform!"
Seeing this, Bingtang immediately clapped her hands and cried out in uncontainable delight, "Yes! I knew you weren't useless! You can do it! Go, Du Juan! Don't disgrace magical girls! You can't lose to an ordinary person!"
Beside her, Yumo wondered inwardly why Lady Bingtang was so happy that their opponent had become harder to handle.
She was even cheering for the enemy.
Had she argued with the sect master?
Then Yumo glanced at the pitch-black magical girl who had transformed. A trace of icy killing intent appeared in her usually timid eyes.
She hated the Witch Association's magical girls most of all.
Most Witch Association members weren't magical girls.
In fact, many magical girls quickly lost the ability to transform after falling and joining the Witch Association.
The reason was simple: the power controlled by the Witch Association was the corrupted magic of Grief Seeds.
Not only could they create Calamity Beasts, they could also transplant Calamity Beast power into themselves and use some of their abilities.
Generally, this clashed with magical girls' power, so most magical girls who fell and joined the Witch Association lost their ability to transform-magical girls untouched by Grief Seeds wouldn't join the Witch Association anyway.
But exceptions weren't surprising. The Witch Association's understanding and use of Grief Seeds were the greatest in the present age. Having certain methods to let magical girls transform while corrupted was nothing inconceivable.
Azure Cloud Sect disciples had previously witnessed corrupted magical girls transforming too...
So the instant Du Juan took out her Miracle Seed, Jiang Si immediately ran without looking back.
Magical girls transformed very quickly. The moment of equipping their outfits took roughly less than a second, but with the windup of taking out the seed and shouting their transformation phrase added on,
it was enough for Jiang Si to put some distance between them.
The pitch-black magical girl swiftly chased him from behind.
"Mr. Fluke, what are you running for?"
Compared with other magical girls, a corrupted magical girl's dress looked rather dirty. Her fluttering skirt resembled writhing tentacles, and her magical outfit seemed about to melt, dripping black magic along the way.
For Du Juan, if possible, she didn't want to waste a chance to transform on fighting.
Transformations after corruption were limited in number. The Witch Association's technology could only keep a Miracle Seed from crumbling for three transformations.
This was already her second transformation. After one final chance, her Miracle Seed would shatter.
Her first transformation had happened shortly after she joined the Witch Association, when the branch she joined was wiped out by the Azure Cloud Sect.
The corruption hadn't been deep then. After transforming, she had retained the appearance of a normal magical girl, fooling the Azure Cloud Sect members there and escaping.
Since then, she had hidden from the Azure Cloud Sect and the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau for two years.
That had also cultivated her cautious habits, because those who weren't cautious enough were quickly caught by the Azure Cloud Sect and the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau.
When Jiang Si leaped into the sky and kicked her down, Du Juan knew this fellow wasn't so simple.
Using only the Grief Seed's power to become a Calamity Beast might still have let her defeat him, but firstly, she didn't want to play footsies. Using corrupted magic gave her no absolute advantage, and things might drag on for a long time.
Secondly, being knocked down by an ordinary person had left her somewhat humiliated and enraged.
She would slowly torment him, make him understand the gap between them, and plunge him into the deepest despair!
She would make him remember firmly: never try to oppose a magical girl!
Although Jiang Si was fast, after witnessing the explosive power of his leap, Du Juan could already fully adapt to and track him.
However fast he ran, he couldn't outrun flight!
Accelerating again, she traced a pitch-black arc through the air and instantly blocked Jiang Si's path. Yet he showed no intention of slowing, charging into her as fearlessly as a heavy truck!
Pitch-black, mire-like magic gathered into a barrier before her to cushion the impact. But when Jiang Si crashed into it, the terrifying impact sent corrupted magic splattering like mud!
Still, it stopped the boy's advance.
She lightly tapped her wand against the ground. Magic poured underground burst through the earth beneath Jiang Si's feet, grabbing for his ankles.
But Jiang Si suddenly stamped down. A muffled boom threw up dust and a surge of wind, and the collapsing ground actually forced the magic back down!
For the first time, Du Juan encountered her controlled magic being suppressed by brute force. She froze for an instant, and in that very instant, the boy opposite her seized the opening and blasted out another punch!
It smashed straight through the magical barrier, but its force was nearly spent. Du Juan dodged it with only a slight tilt of her head.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Si turned his hand and grabbed her black hair, soaked through with corrupted magic.
Gripping her hair, he dragged her head toward a nearby tree trunk and slammed it down hard!
"You're courting death!"
The moment her hair was grabbed, Du Juan tapped the ground with her wand. Magic gathered above them into a spear that suddenly plunged toward Jiang Si's head!
Forced to release her, Jiang Si took a step back. The spear drove into the ground along the tip of his nose. Then he kept jumping backward without a moment's pause, because the magic continuously stabbing up beneath his feet left him unable to continue attacking.
But her magical control wasn't fast enough.
It was far inferior to Bingtang's, and its precision couldn't compare with Yumo's either.
A New Sprout rookie.
Taking a deep breath, Jiang Si stopped after being forced away and looked at the cut in his trouser leg.
But even so, he still couldn't completely defend against her attacks.
In reaction speed, defense, and even speed, his physical body still fell somewhat short of a New Sprout magical girl's.
Although none of those gaps could be called particularly large, every small difference came together to form a gulf that inspired despair.
Ultimately, having only his strength reach New Sprout level was nowhere near enough...
Pitch-black magic churned before and behind Du Juan. She walked slowly toward Jiang Si and casually waved her hand, sending a dense pillar of magic crashing toward him with overwhelming force.
Even when he dodged the pillar with extremely quick reactions, the splashing magic sliced his skin like blades.
"You really are outstanding. I admit it. In all my years, this is the first time I've seen someone develop their body to this degree. If it were when I first became a magical girl, I probably wouldn't be your match."
At this point, Du Juan was no longer impatient or angry. If the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau and the Azure Cloud Sect had noticed the disturbance, they should have arrived already.
Since there had been no response even now, those useless fools clearly hadn't discovered her at all.
Even if they had, it didn't matter. She sensed her captain's presence, so she wasn't worried in the slightest.
"What a pity that you encountered me. You don't need to feel sad about your defeat either. Even among magical girls, I'm outstanding. Losing to me is your honor. Jiang Si, you're strong. Stronger than your magical girl sister."
Yet he clearly had no interest in communicating, charging once more toward the pillars of magic flying through the air!
Du Juan shook her head and sneered. "So desperate you want to kill yourself?"
The numerous pillars of magic split apart, intertwining into whips that danced wildly between them, weaving an airtight defensive net.
Then she saw the charging Jiang Si abruptly duck, actually flying in through a gap between the magical net and the ground!
He really was flying, his feet barely touching the ground. Even the magic seeping through the earth failed to catch him. In the blink of an eye, he passed through her woven magical net and arrived beneath her.
His right foot stepped forward, pinning her instep firmly beneath it. Even with magical protection, she still felt pain. A vicious glint flashed through Du Juan's eyes. She swung her wand hard, and vast amounts of magic rapidly contracted, surging toward Jiang Si from every direction!
There was nowhere to escape!
Yet Du Juan discovered that the boy beneath her had no intention of escaping at all.
His young body compressed and tightened, muscles swelling as he gathered power like a spring.
The heat of evaporating sweat and his surging blood seemed to take physical form, clearly visible.
Then, before the magic could envelop him, that body abruptly sprang upward!
A fist like a steel cannon instantly pierced the magic and smashed into her chin!
Six Paths, Samsara Fist!
For an instant, Du Juan thought she had been struck and launched by a speeding train.
A magical girl's body had actually been punched into the air by a human fist...
The instant Du Juan landed, the terrifying magic converging from all around simultaneously engulfed Jiang Si!
Du Juan rolled twice through the mud before stopping. Then the magic beneath her lifted her to her feet.
She touched her chin. Feeling such distinct pain while in magical girl form was rare.
But it soon disappeared.
Impacts like this were commonplace when fighting Calamity Beasts. For a magical girl, they weren't enough to leave a wound.
"You really are a monster."
Even Du Juan's voice held a little fatigue. Then she drew a breath. "Injuring a New Sprout magical girl with a body built through training alone-you can be proud of that, Jiang Si. Unfortunately, this is as far as you go. Magic is a power beyond your imagination. Even that all-out strike you risked your life on only gave me a minor injury."
Opposite her, the magic enveloping Jiang Si gradually dispersed. His shirt was somewhat tattered, his entire body thoroughly steeped in corrupted magic. Blood flowed down his forehead, covering his right eye.
His head hung low, and he panted lightly, seemingly finally exhausted.
Looking at the somewhat powerless boy, she actually couldn't help breathing a sigh of relief.
Although she had never actually been in danger, his ferocious attacks had still put her under considerable psychological pressure.
Seeing that he had finally lost the ability to keep fighting, she couldn't help sighing with relief.
Then she smiled.
"I can't imagine what a terrifying being you'd be if you possessed magic. Unfortunately, we won't get to see that possibility, because I'll turn you into the most perfect Calamity Beast. You'll be the strongest Calamity Beast in history!"
Du Juan's voice grew increasingly excited, her steps increasingly quick. "Be angry! Suffer! All the effort you've poured everything into can't compare with a magical girl's passing whim. Release all your despair and resentment! They'll devour the entire world! I'll take you..."
Her words abruptly stopped, and so did her footsteps.
As though someone had grabbed her by the throat, every one of Du Juan's movements came to an abrupt halt.
The boy stood unsteadily with his head lowered and a few injuries on his body. At some point, a seed had appeared in his hand.
A purple seed, so deep in color it was almost black.
The cool night breeze brushed past, and a fallen leaf drifted onto her shoulder. Du Juan stared blankly at Jiang Si. "You..."
"Heaven and earth are without mercy."
The boy's tone was solemn, and faintly, a bell began to toll from somewhere unknown.
The surrounding polluted mana surged madly toward him!
"They treat all things as straw dogs."
"Transform."
Purple flames shot straight into the heavens!
They spiraled like a tornado, sweeping away every trace of polluted mana in the surroundings!
When the flames dispersed, small purple boots adorned with golden patterns lightly touched the ground, then settled.
Iridescent ribbons turned translucent at their ends, like scattered light fading away. On the long purple-and-gold Lolita-style dress, purple mana churned within the ancient yet simple star-and-moon cutout patterns.
Amid the lavish attire, that lovely face seemed veiled in a faint layer of moonlight, a beauty rare even among magical girls. A cute bow nestled among the purple strands of hair lent the exquisite, flawless features a slightly childlike air.
Yet her cold gaze, as still as an ancient well, stood in stark contrast to her appearance.
Even Du Juan, her nerves taut, lost herself for an instant.
Beautiful, powerful, mysterious... a purple magical girl.
There was only one in BH City.
Du Juan's face went blank with shock. Only after a long while did she manage to speak, her voice bitter beyond measure. "Shion..."
"The warm-up is over."
The girl's tone was indifferent. "Let's begin the real fight."