"If you want to improve your strength, the best way to train every day is to practice controlling the shape of your magic."
Hyacinth sat elegantly on a stone stool. Perching Cloud Academy was peaceful in the setting sun.
She still wore that pitch-black sailor uniform, which stood out in the courtyard full of green vegetation.
Her headphones hung around her neck, and she held a thick book, but its contents had nothing to do with the college entrance exam.
Instead, it contained research materials on magical girls' magic.
"I see. How did you train before, Senior Hyacinth?"
Li Yi and Jiang Keke sat opposite her, as well-behaved as elementary school students. It was Li Yi who asked, "I heard the other members of the Magic Combat Team say they never did any dedicated training before."
"Mm. After all, when magical girls use their powers against Calamity Beasts, they don't need many changes in the shape of their magic."
Hyacinth spoke gently. "As long as you release enough power to cause destruction, you can kill a Calamity Beast. But magical girls have no way to train their reserves of magic. So far, no reliable way to increase them has been found. They can only rely on the intense emotions that erupt when they face adversity."
Jiang Keke raised her hand and asked, "Then, Senior, I heard the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau has Full Blossom-level Miracle Seeds. When a Calamity Beast they can't handle appears, they can use a Full Blossom-level Miracle Seed to transform into a Full Blossom magical girl. Does that mean your magic can actually be passed down?"
"An excellent question."
Hyacinth closed her book, her vacant gaze settling on Keke's face. "Keke is much smarter than Yiyi. You'll have to take good care of her from now on."
"I thought of that too, Senior Hyacinth!" Li Yi immediately protested. "I was just slower to say it!"
With a gentle smile, the black magical girl nodded. "Yiyi is just slow on the uptake. She isn't stupid."
"I'm not slow on the uptake either..." Li Yi muttered, but ultimately offered no further argument.
Hyacinth continued at her leisurely pace. "Of course we've tried increasing magical girls' power by transferring magic. Keke, come here and take out your seed."
Jiang Keke moved closer and took out her red seed.
Ever since yesterday's eruption, her Miracle Seed had grown an increasingly rich red, and Keke could feel the power within it increasing.
Hyacinth was slightly taken aback when she saw the seed. She looked Keke over. "You haven't been a magical girl for long, have you?"
"Only two or three days."
"Two or three days?" Hyacinth murmured, then took her Miracle Seed.
"Already showing the beginnings of New Sprout after two or three days. The younger generation truly is formidable..."
As she spoke, Hyacinth had only intended to check the amount of magic inside. But when she stimulated it slightly with her own magic, the magic surging within the red seed made her jerk her hand back as though she had been burned.
Beside her, Jiang Keke hurriedly caught the Miracle Seed that had nearly been flung away and looked at this pitch-black senior in confusion.
"Sorry."
Two of Hyacinth's pale fingers were slightly red. She brought them to her lips and blew on them. "Your flames reminded me of some unpleasant things."
"It's fine, it's fine..."
Looking at the flustered Jiang Keke, she couldn't help sighing.
She put her fingers in her mouth to cool them.
The aura of the purple magical girl...
She knew that magical girl's flames all too well. Searing, stinging, sticky.
Exactly the same.
Even the resentment and hurt of her defeat back then welled up.
"Senior Hyacinth? Senior?"
Only after Li Yi called to her twice did Hyacinth come back to her senses and smile. "It's nothing. I just spaced out for a moment. Keke's flames are very special, and somewhat familiar. They reminded me of someone I used to know."
Li Yi immediately exchanged a glance with Keke.
In fact, both of them knew about this.
Keke's flames were very close to Ziyuan's-not in color or shape, but in the nature of the magic they contained. Anyone with a keen perception of magical properties could easily notice it.
Keke had never hidden from Li Yi that she had transformed under Teacher Ziyuan's guidance. Before Ziyuan, her Miracle Seed had contained no magic, so she suspected that Teacher Ziyuan had infused it with magic, allowing her to transform.
Thus, their flames were actually extremely similar.
With Hyacinth sensing it now, both Li Yi and Keke felt a little guilty.
After all, it was public knowledge at the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau that Ziyuan had beaten Hyacinth into retirement.
It probably wouldn't be good if Hyacinth learned of Keke's connection to Ziyuan.
Fortunately, Hyacinth didn't pursue the matter. She merely took a breath and regained her earlier composure. "Yiyi, send your magic into her seed."
"Yes."
Li Yi immediately complied.
Then Keke felt her own magic react to contact with Li Yi's like oil set alight.
It boiled!
An intense sense of rejection and tearing spread continuously from the seed, making even Keke herself feel some pain.
Fortunately, Li Yi had only infused a tiny amount of magic. Once it dissipated, Keke's seed gradually returned to normal.
"This is what happens when you merge magic."
After explaining patiently, Hyacinth continued, "Magical girls' magic is made up of the emotions accumulated in their individual hearts. No one's emotions can be shared directly, and the same is true of magic. That's why we can't pass magic on to the next generation."
"Magical girls who possess Miracle Seeds can't use anyone else's Miracle Seed either." Hyacinth put away her headphones and book and stood up. "The Disaster Countermeasures Bureau's Full Blossom Seeds can only be used by children who haven't obtained a Miracle Seed yet, but have the potential to become magical girls. Unfortunately, the bureau still hasn't found any such children."
Because the Azure Cloud Sect had snatched them all away.
Keke and Li Yi followed behind Hyacinth.
The three walked out of Perching Cloud Academy and into the deserted grove behind it.
Hyacinth took out her pitch-black seed, a trace of regret showing in her eyes, then transformed.
Black magic covered her entire body, carrying a faintly ominous aura.
But it wasn't polluted magic like the Witch Association's.
"It's hard to understand through words alone."
Hyacinth waved her wand, and her magic turned into a black cat. At her feet, it rubbed against the small stretch of pale leg she had exposed, then looked at Li Yi and Keke. "The time my magic control improved fastest was when I fought that purple magical girl. So I'll teach you how to control your magic better through actual combat."
"Don't hold anything back. Attack with everything you've got, then feel the changes and flow of my magic."
A hint of a smile appeared on the black magical girl's lips. "This is experience I learned from Beihai's strongest magical girl. Make sure you learn it well!"
By the time Keke and Li Yi came out of Perching Cloud Academy, they were supporting each other, both looking unsteady on their feet.
Although they weren't really injured, both their faces looked utterly exhausted, looking like
"Senior Hyacinth really doesn't hold back..."
"It wasn't that bad. I heard in the Magical Girl Combat Team that when Peony and the others trained with Senior Hyacinth before, she even beat them to tears."
"Wow..."
Still, Keke could understand why Senior Hyacinth was so strict, because they really had improved a great deal.
Ever since her magic had erupted and increased yesterday, her control over it had been somewhat unstable.
But after combat training with Hyacinth, her previously restless magic had become docile again.
Fine control methods, magic conversion techniques, and a few little combat tricks.
Actual combat really did bring much faster improvement than training randomly like a headless fly.
"Just now, Senior Hyacinth raised one hand and scared Keke into flying several meters away. It looked so funny! Hahaha."
"You have the nerve to talk? Who was it who crouched down clutching her head and nearly cried when Senior Hyacinth knocked her on the head with her wand?"
"That was just strategic deception!"
"Mine was strategic deception too!"
The two girls bickered along the way, laughing as they ran and play-fought toward Keke's home.
When they reached the roadside, Li Yi suddenly noticed that Keke, who had been laughing happily a moment ago, pressed her lips together, her expression turning cold.
She turned to look and, sure enough, saw Keke's older brother jogging over from the distance on the other side.
Without so much as glancing at them, he ran toward home.
"Senior Jiang Si!"
Li Yi immediately called out loudly. Jiang Si, who had been running ahead, stopped and glanced back at her, his tone as cold as Keke's current expression. "What?"
"There's something I'd like to talk to you about."
She nudged Keke again. "Keke, go home first. I'll leave after I finish talking to Senior Jiang Si."
Keke gave her captain a worried look, but under Li Yi's resolute gaze, she went along with her wishes and headed home first, looking back with every step.
"Are you planning to stay like this for the rest of your lives?"
"Not that long." Jiang Si did the math. "In about seven years, Keke will go to university. Then we'll live separately."
"..."
Li Yi hadn't expected him to bring up something seven years away. For a moment, she didn't even know how to continue.
Only after a long while did she draw a breath. "So you're planning to stay like this for all seven years?"
"What's wrong with that?"
"Of course it's wrong!" Li Yi said angrily. "You're family! Brother and sister! Without parents, shouldn't you get along and look after each other all the more? You have to mend your relationship, don't you?"
Because that was how it was for her and her older sister.
"We've always gotten along and looked after each other."
Jiang Si raised his eyebrows. "Why do we need to mend our relationship? Is our relationship that bad?"
Li Yi opened her mouth, then almost laughed in anger. "You barely even talk to each other, and you don't call that bad?"
"Does not talking mean we have a bad relationship?"
It clearly made no sense, yet the question still stumped Li Yi. "In our family, if my sister and I aren't talking, it means we aren't getting along..."
"That's your family."
Jiang Si interrupted her. "Every family is different, Captain Yinlian. If you're worried about Keke, you can look after her more. You don't need to concern yourself with our family affairs."
"It's precisely because I want to look after her, because Keke is my good friend, that I can't ignore what happens in her family!"
Li Yi said firmly, "As her older brother, you should take good care of her. Keke is such a sweet, good girl. It's because of you that she's always so quiet, doesn't like talking, and has no friends at school..."
"That's just her personality."
For the first time, Li Yi wanted to transform and beat up an ordinary person.
Because when she got angry and wanted to hit him, she suddenly realized that without transforming, she couldn't even beat him.
Even Limp, strengthened by a Grief Seed, had been kicked to pieces by him.
If she only borrowed a little magic, she probably wouldn't fare any better than Limp...
This monster.
But her professional ethics made it impossible for her to transform and bully an ordinary person, leaving her feeling somewhat aggrieved.
Only after several deep breaths did she calm down a little. She looked at Jiang Si seriously. "I want Keke to be happier and more relaxed at home."
"Then you should tell her that."
"You're the one making her unhappy and tense."
"Oh."
"I'll definitely set you straight!"
"Are you finished?"
Jiang Si tilted his head. "If you're finished, I'm leaving."
"No!" Li Yi said huffily. "I'm not finished yet. You can't leave!"
She jogged alongside him. With barely any strength left after combat training, Li Yi panted as she ran. "You, you, I, will definitely, make you realize, your mistake..."
Jiang Si stopped and waited a while. Only after she had caught her breath did he ask calmly, "Do you like Keke?"
"Yes!" Li Yi answered without hesitation. "She's my best friend now!"
"...Since she's your best friend."
Jiang Si tilted his head and looked at Li Yi. "Then you should be willing to let Keke live with your family."
Li Yi stared blankly at him, momentarily forgetting even to answer.
"You're not willing?" Jiang Si shook his head and continued jogging home. "Then don't talk about liking her."
"Do you really hate Keke that much?"
"If you think I make her unhappy, wouldn't it be best if I disappeared?" Jiang Si's tone was flat. "If she finds living with me painful, then we can separate. But Keke can't live alone yet. Someone has to look after her. I'd feel more at ease with her at your house."
"I really don't get it."
Li Yi held her head. "Do you care about her or not?"
Seeing that Jiang Si was about to leave without paying her any attention, Li Yi shouted, "Jiang Si! I'll definitely make your relationship with Keke better! I absolutely will!"
What nonsense.
After jogging home, he found Keke slumped on the living room sofa, curled up and looking very tired.
He changed his shoes and fetched a fresh set of clothes, planning to shower first.
The spacious room was deathly silent apart from the siblings' breathing and footsteps.
As he passed Keke, the little girl instinctively shrank farther into the sofa, wanting to get away from him.
Only when he reached the bathroom door did Jiang Si suddenly remember something. "Your Captain Yinlian."
Keke raised her head and glanced at him.
"Her older sister's name is Yinluo?"
"She said so the first time we went to the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau."
"Forgot."
After getting confirmation, Jiang Si nodded without saying anything more, entered the bathroom, and turned on the shower.
Yinluo.
The Witch Association member the Azure Cloud Sect had already made preparations and plans to kill.
It had nothing much to do with him. He should think about what to do on his upcoming date instead. That was the most pressing matter right now.