Chapter 12: Who on Earth Are They?

In the apartment, Mizuho stared intently at her phone screen, her fingers unconsciously clutching the sofa cushion.

On the screen’s livestream, Yuan Qing and Hifumi were in the middle of a fierce battle. Or, more accurately, Hifumi was attacking relentlessly while Yuan Qing shifted and dodged through the flashes of the blade.

“This guy…” Mizuho muttered, “who on earth is he?”

The Familiar crouched on the sofa’s armrest, also staring at the screen. Although it could experience the scene directly through its main body without any loss of detail, it truly needed a new perspective to look at its actual contractor.

“The bullet comments have slowed down,” the Familiar said suddenly.

Mizuho blinked and looked at the comment section at the bottom of the screen.

It was true.

Just moments ago, the comments had been an overwhelming flood, but now there were only a few scattered here and there. Most of those remaining comments consisted of only a few characters.

“God…”

“?”

“Oh my god.”

It wasn’t that people had stopped watching; it was that no one could spare the time to type.

As an idol, Mizuho had to pay attention to data changes at all times. She quickly switched to the backend statistics, and then she froze.

Real-time viewers, likes, and shares…

Every single metric was skyrocketing.

“This…” Mizuho was stunned. She didn’t know how many times she had been shocked today.

A livestream of a duel between two Magical Girls was actually pulling in a live audience that rivaled her concerts?

And this was despite there being no warm-up, no promotion, and a sudden start to the broadcast.

The Familiar leaned over to take a peek and was also stunned.

“This… isn’t right,” it practically whispered.

“What isn’t right?”

“The popularity points are wrong,” the Familiar said, its voice trembling slightly. “I can feel it. My—or rather, ‘Miss Raven’s’—popularity points are surging. Not a slow climb, but a violent surge.”

“Is it because the opponent is Kazama Hifumi?” Mizuho asked.

“Not entirely. It’s also because of Miss Raven,” the Familiar shook its head. “Because Miss Raven is Luo Yuanqing.”

Mizuho looked back at the screen.

In the video, Hifumi’s blade flashes were so fast their trajectory was almost invisible, leaving behind only streaks of silver-white light.

Meanwhile, Yuan Qing’s figure wove through the afterimages. Black feathers fluttered everywhere, yet he never retreated a single step.

That feeling…

Mizuho suddenly remembered her own experience when practicing her dancing.

When a dance is practiced to the absolute limit, until every movement is etched into one’s bones, performing it is no longer about “imitating movements.” It is about “transcending the limits of the movements.”

The feeling Yuan Qing gave her now was exactly like that.

“Is this really his first time fighting a real Magical Girl?” Mizuho looked at the Familiar.

The Familiar looked back at Mizuho and shrugged.

Yes, the first time.

“Mizuho, look at this data,” the Familiar pointed its wingtip at the screen. “1.87 million people watching in real-time, and that number is still rising. What are these people watching? They’re watching a newcomer challenge the strongest.”

“…”

The Familiar continued, “If this newcomer wins, can you guess what the scene will look like tomorrow?”

If he won, Miss Raven would no longer be just a “newly debuted Magical Girl.”

He would no longer be “that Magical Girl who looks like an idol.”

He would be “the person who defeated Kazama Hifumi.”

The best promotion isn’t telling people how good you are; it’s having everyone else talk about you.

Right now, 1.87 million people were discussing “Miss Raven.” No, it would soon be 2 million, perhaps even 3 million.

And tomorrow, it would become a trending search, a headline, and the talk of every street corner.

“So?” Mizuho asked.

“So I was thinking,” the Familiar looked back at the screen, “did we underestimate him too much before?”

When she first reached a cooperation agreement with Yuan Qing, she thought it was simple—they were just taking what they needed from each other.

But now…

“What does he need right now?” Mizuho asked suddenly.

This question caught the Familiar off guard. “Money?”

Mizuho suddenly felt that if Yuan Qing wanted to, he could easily live the life she had always dreamed of.

—

On the training ground.

Yuan Qing tilted his body to dodge another thrust, his wings flapping to create a 1-meter distance.

His breathing was a bit heavy, and fine beads of sweat had formed on his forehead.

Hifumi stood opposite him, her cold blade pointed diagonally toward the ground. Her breathing remained relatively steady, but her eyes were growing brighter and brighter.

“Your power is rising,” Hifumi said suddenly.

“!”

Yuan Qing’s movements paused.

“I can feel it,” Hifumi continued. “I don’t know why, but with every passing instant, your strength gets slightly stronger. From the beginning until now, you have already become much more powerful.”

“Full marks for observation,” Yuan Qing chuckled.

“Is this your tactic?” Hifumi raised her blade. “To stall for time and wait for your power to rise enough to contend with me?”

She charged forward again. This time, she was even faster—so fast that Yuan Qing’s eyes almost couldn’t keep up before the cold blade was already in front of his face.

Yuan Qing sidestepped, but this time, the blade didn’t just graze past him. It turned.

Hifumi’s blade traced a strange arc in the air, actually following his sidestep and slicing directly toward his chest.

Yuan Qing instantly retracted his wings, his hardened feathers forming a shield in front of his chest.

*CLANG—*

A massive sound of metal colliding rang out.

A shockwave exploded, and Yuan Qing was knocked back 1 meter, a dull pain radiating from his chest.

He looked down. On his black robe, a large section of the hardened feathers on his chest had cracked.

Hifumi withdrew her sword and stood still.

“Your strength is rising, but the speed of that rise isn’t faster than the speed of my attacks,” Hifumi said, her gaze calm. “Your little scheme won’t work.”

Yuan Qing looked up.

“Then I won’t stall anymore.” He rolled his shoulders.

His wings unfurled again, and the cracked feathers began to repair themselves.

“Are you getting serious?” Hifumi took her stance again.

Raven stood on the low wall, its heart pounding.

It felt it.

The viewers in the livestream, the Magical Girls holding up their phones, the people frantically reposting the news—everyone was contributing popularity points to this duel.

Although the rate of increase couldn’t match the speed of Hifumi’s attacks, if he could just stall for a little longer…

Hifumi moved again.

This time, her blade was no longer a simple slash or thrust. Her figure left three phantom images in the air, each maintaining an offensive posture, attacking simultaneously from three different directions.

The surrounding Magical Girls gasped.

“Miss Kazama’s ultimate technique!”

“Triple-Phantom Slash!”

“Miss Raven, watch out!”

Three phantom images, three flashes of the blade.

Which one was real?

They were all real.

Yuan Qing’s wings instantly unfurled to their maximum width, and raven feathers surged out frantically, forming a black barrier before him.

But Hifumi’s blade was faster.

The first phantom image cut into the barrier and was stopped by the feathers.

The second phantom image followed immediately, slicing through the first layer of defense.

The third phantom image passed through the barrier.

“You lose.”

It was Hifumi.

Yuan Qing looked down at the cold blade held mere inches from his chest, the tip reflecting in his eyes.

Hifumi withdrew her strike. At the same time, a flash of white light occurred. The cold blade disappeared, and the Magical Girl uniform slowly dissipated. Yuan Qing also reverted from his Magical Girl form, his black robe and wings vanishing into the wind.

Raven, standing on the low wall, let out a long sigh of relief.

Fortunately, Familiars would force a de-transformation before actual damage could be inflicted. This was a basic rule of Magical Girl duels.

“Hello.”

A sudden female voice made Raven look up. It was Hifumi’s Familiar, a slender and bewitching White Snake. It was slithering along the low wall toward Raven.

“Ah…” For a moment, Raven didn’t know how to respond. “Hello…”

Yuan Qing stood in place, wearing his deep gray suit. His long hair was a bit messy, and his expression was blank.

There was a moment of dead silence, followed by a massive explosion of noise.

“Miss Raven lost!”

“Miss Kazama won!”

“That move just now was so cool!”

Phone cameras flashed frantically, and the livestream’s comment section was instantly flooded.

Hifumi walked up to Yuan Qing. She looked at him without any of the arrogance of a victor, and Yuan Qing looked back at her.

“Your talent is indeed staggering,” she said. “If I gave you another six months, I might not necessarily win. But I won’t wait six months for you; I will continue to grow stronger.”

Yuan Qing smoothed out a wrinkle in his suit. “Thank you for the compliment.”

Hifumi nodded. “My question has been answered. White Snake, let’s go.”

After speaking, she gave a slight bow, turned, and left. The crowd automatically parted to make a path for her and the Familiar following behind her.

Meanwhile, Sundae could only watch blankly.