The words had barely left her lips when the silver-white girl appeared in front of Yuan Qing.
‘So fast.’
Yuan Qing lunged to the side to avoid her, but her fist still grazed his black robe.
She didn’t stop, throwing punch after punch, each one so fast that its trajectory was nearly invisible. Yuan Qing dodged, blocked, and retreated amidst the flurry of blows. This was the first time he had retreated today.
“Are you ready?” the silver-white girl asked, smiling as she breathed slightly hard. “Ready to face defeat and all that?”
“…”
Yuan Qing didn’t answer. His breathing remained steady.
The silver-white girl’s offensive grew increasingly fierce, forcing Yuan Qing to back up until he reached the edge of the arena. Then, she stopped.
“You’ve been defending the whole time without attacking once,” she said, looking slightly confused. “Why?”
Yuan Qing answered without hesitation, “Because I want to fight a little longer.”
The silver-white girl froze for a moment, then burst out laughing. “Haha… at least give me some kind of response…”
Yuan Qing remained silent.
The silver-white girl charged again.
This time, her attack was even sharper than before, but Yuan Qing’s response was more composed. The two fought intensely in the center of the hall, the sound of clashing fists and feet echoing continuously.
The bullet chat began to flood the screen again.
“So exciting!”
“This is what real combat looks like!”
“Miss Raven has finally met her match!”
They fought for a full 10 minutes before the silver-white girl eventually stopped and stepped 2 steps back.
“I give up,” she said, raising both hands as she retreated. “Being a Magical Girl or whatever… it really doesn’t suit me after all.”
“…”
Yuan Qing looked at her.
“You haven’t used your full strength yet,” the silver-white girl smiled. “If we keep going, it’ll only end worse for me.”
With that, she turned and headed toward the door. After a few paces, she suddenly stopped and glanced back.
“By the way,” she said finally, “I’m looking forward to your match with Miss Kazama. Don’t lose too embarrassingly.”
She pushed the door open and left, waving a hand over her shoulder.
Raven flew down and landed on Yuan Qing’s shoulder. “That’s the seventh one. No one else is left to fight.”
“Then let’s end it here.” Yuan Qing also turned, preparing to undo his transformation and leave.
“Wait!” Raven hurriedly stopped him. “The stream is still on! At least say something!”
“Continuing tomorrow.”
As soon as he spoke, raven feathers surged, and Yuan Qing’s figure vanished from the training hall.
“Just fighting monsters isn’t enough anymore. Is our Miss Raven going to start fighting real people now?”
“The rest of us Magical Girls might as well just retire.”
“I have a premonition — she’s going to become a monster.”
The bullet chat was still scrolling frantically, but Miss Raven had already disappeared from the arena.
Raven flew up from the spectator stands and landed in front of the lens, tapping the camera with a wing. “That’s it for today’s stream! See you at the same time tomorrow!”
With that, the bird shut down the stream and teleported to Yuan Qing’s side.
By the time the raven feathers dissipated, Yuan Qing was standing by the window of his rental apartment, his black robe gone.
“Continuing tomorrow,” Raven said, landing on his shoulder. “With your strength, seven is far from enough.”
Yuan Qing didn’t speak, simply staring out the window.
“Hey,” Raven poked his cheek. “I’m talking to you.”
“Yeah.”
“What does ‘yeah’ mean?”
“It means seven is far from enough.”
Raven tapped Yuan Qing’s face with a wing, but he only turned his head slightly without any other reaction.
“Fine,” Raven nodded. “I’ll have Mizuho keep making appointments for you tomorrow.”
Yuan Qing didn’t say anything else.
Raven perched quietly on his shoulder, no longer pressing him, and watched the scenery outside with him. In the distance, the Tokyo sky was a gloomy gray. The clouds hung low, looking as though it were about to rain.
“It’s going to rain,” Mizuho said.
“Yeah,” Yuan Qing replied. “Be careful not to catch a cold.”
A moment later, the rain actually began to fall.
Fine raindrops tapped against the glass, creating a soft, rhythmic sound that was very soothing. Yuan Qing curled up on the bed, watching the water trickle down the windowpane.
***
The next day, 5:30 AM.
Yuan Qing opened his eyes. It was still raining outside, but the sky was beginning to brighten. He sat up, got out of bed, and walked to the window.
Raven was still asleep on the windowsill. He didn’t wake the bird, choosing instead to stand by the window and watch Tokyo through the rain. The drizzle was dense, merging into streaks of water on the glass. The distant buildings were blurred by the curtain of rain, though the lights that hadn’t been extinguished yet were still visible.
He watched for a while before turning and walking back to the bed to poke Raven.
“Wake up.”
Raven didn’t react. He poked the bird again.
“Teleport.”
Raven stirred and grumbled, “It’s raining… the monsters won’t even come out…”
“They’re out.”
“How would you know…”
“Get up.”
Raven finally opened her eyes. “Sigh, fine. Let’s get today’s training started.”
The bird flapped its wings and took flight as raven feathers surged.
At 6:20 AM, Yuan Qing stood in an abandoned construction site. The rain was still falling, hitting his black robe and wings before sliding off the feathers. Before him stood a large monster covered in scales that reflected a dull light in the rain.
The monster charged, but Yuan Qing sidestepped to avoid it without attacking. The monster turned and charged again, and he dodged once more.
Perched on his shoulder and getting soaked, Raven shouted discontentedly, “What are you doing? Why aren’t you attacking?”
“I’m waiting.”
The monster charged a third time.
This time, Yuan Qing moved. It wasn’t a Falcon shot or a Crane thrust; it was just an ordinary punch delivered to the monster’s head. The creature staggered but didn’t fall. It shook its head and charged again.
Yuan Qing avoided it and threw another punch.
He continued this way, punch after punch. None of them were particularly heavy, but every single one landed in the exact same spot.
By the tenth punch, the monster’s scales cracked.
By the twentieth punch, the monster finally collapsed.
Yuan Qing stood in the rain, watching the monster’s body begin to disintegrate into black debris that was washed away by the rainwater.
Raven sat on his shoulder, completely drenched. “Are you practicing control?”
“What else would I be doing? I have to learn how to control my power, angle, and rhythm, right?”
Yuan Qing flicked his cloak, sending a spray of water flying. He watched the spot where the monster had vanished as rain slid down his cheeks.
“Let’s go,” Yuan Qing said as the feathers of his wings began to fall away and wrap around him. “Next one.”
At 7:10 AM, the third one.
At 8:00 AM, the fifth one.
The rain never stopped, and neither did Yuan Qing.
He no longer went for instant kills. Instead, he fought every monster punch by punch, controlling his power, his angles, and his rhythm. By the time he reached the fifth one, he was able to pierce through a monster’s defense within ten punches.
***
At 9:00 AM, at a certain training hall for Magical Girls in Tokyo.
Yuan Qing stood in the center of the arena, his black robe still damp from the rain. Raven perched on his shoulder, using a wing to wipe the water from her face. Once finished, she shook her body like a dog, splattering rain onto Yuan Qing.
On the other side of the training hall, the door pushed open. A girl in a purple combat suit walked in, freezing when she saw Yuan Qing.
“You… you’re soaked from the rain?”
“Yeah. I came here after fighting monsters outside.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
The girl hesitated for a moment before taking a deep breath and assuming a combat stance. “Please guide me.”
Yuan Qing nodded.
Raven flew up from his shoulder and landed on the spectator stands. “Begin!”