Here she comes!
Hifumi’s figure split into three, and three phantom images attacked simultaneously from three different directions.
But this time, Yuan Qing did not wait. The moment Hifumi drew her blade, he had already moved.
The perception from ‘Eagle’ told him that this Three-Body Slash was different from the last one. The distance between the three phantom images was shorter, the transition more seamless, and there were almost no gaps.
After her failed attempt with the Three-Body Slash in the first round, she had improved her technique on the spot.
Yuan Qing did not meet the attack head-on. With a flap of his wings, he pulled himself upward. The three phantom images swept past beneath his feet, their blade lights interweaving and shredding a few raven feathers.
He flipped in mid-air, and raven feathers detached from his wings, transforming into flying blades that poured downward.
Hifumi sheathed her sword, the Three-Body Slash dissipated, and her true self swung her blade to strike down all the flying blades.
Yuan Qing landed, putting distance between them again.
“Miss Raven dodged it!” the announcer shouted, stirring the audience’s emotions. “This time she didn’t meet the Three-Body Slash head-on, but chose to evade instead!”
“A wise choice,” the guest commentator added. “Although she broke the Three-Body Slash in the first round, she paid the price of being injured. Her condition in this round isn’t as good as the first; meeting it head-on is too risky.”
Hifumi estimated the distance between them, calculating which move to use, how much power and speed to employ, and at what angle…
‘Will it be slightly off? Or just right?’
Hifumi waited for her instincts to provide the answer.
‘Slightly off.’
It wasn’t that the distance was slightly off; it was that the reaction speed of the person across from her was even faster than in the first round.
She slightly adjusted her grip on the sword, subconsciously changing the angle by a few degrees. The trajectory of the next strike would be completely different.
Yuan Qing watched Hifumi. With the help of ‘Eagle,’ he could see that she was adjusting, looking for a new distance—a distance where her blade could reach him, but his counterattack could not reach her.
‘I can’t let her find it,’ Yuan Qing thought as he took the initiative to step forward.
**”FALCON!”**
The shot condensed from raven feathers aimed straight at the side of Hifumi’s blade. Hifumi pulled her sword back to block, resulting in a dull thud.
She took half a step back, and Yuan Qing followed with half a step.
**”FALCON!”**
The second shot hit the blade, causing the cold edge to hum from the vibration.
During the third shot, Hifumi’s blade suddenly changed direction, shifting from a block to a slashing strike. The blade carved an arc, slicing toward Yuan Qing’s ribs from the side.
Yuan Qing did not retreat.
He pulled back his fist and tilted his body, letting the blade graze his black robe. Simultaneously, his right wing flapped violently, and a raven feather detached, shooting toward Hifumi’s face at extremely close range.
Hifumi tilted her head, and the raven feather flew past, grazing her hair.
However, that slight tilt made her blade a few tenths of a second slower.
That was enough.
Yuan Qing’s left fist had already swung out, passing through her blade light and striking toward her shoulder.
Hifumi didn’t have time to block, so her body instinctively neutralized the force by leaning back. The fist grazed her shoulder without landing a solid hit, but it still forced her to retreat.
“Miss Raven has landed another hit! Although it wasn’t a decisive blow, she has found counterattack opportunities in two consecutive exchanges against Miss Kazama’s offensive!” The announcer continued to hype the audience.
The guest nodded. “She is compressing Miss Kazama’s space. Every punch is forcing Miss Kazama back, and every punch is shrinking her attack range.”
Hifumi steadied herself and looked at Yuan Qing.
“You know,” she said suddenly, “I haven’t had this feeling in a long time.”
“What kind of feeling?” Yuan Qing asked.
“The feeling of not knowing what will happen in the next second.” Hifumi raised her cold blade again. “I’m going to get serious now.”
The White Snake was still coiled around her arm, its eyes a piercing, glowing red.
Yuan Qing took a deep breath and spread his wings. Raven feathers detached from the wings and began to circle around him.
Hifumi took a step forward.
It wasn’t a sprint, just a single step, but within that step, her figure vanished from the spot.
With the enhancement of ‘Eagle,’ Yuan Qing barely managed to keep up.
‘Behind me!’
He turned, his wings hardening as he pulled them in to protect his back.
*Clang—!*
Hifumi’s blade struck his wings. Raven feathers shattered, and the force of the strike pushed Yuan Qing back several meters.
It was too fast, faster than any strike in the first round.
There was no time to breathe before the second strike arrived.
Yuan Qing dodged sideways, the blade grazing his black robe and cutting several feathers.
The third strike rose from below.
He leaned back, and the blade swept past his face, the wind it kicked up stinging his cheeks.
The fourth strike was a horizontal slash.
There was no time to dodge.
Yuan Qing thrust out his right hand, using his hardened raven feather armor to block.
*Clang—!*
This strike was too heavy. His arm was thrown wide by the shock, and he lost his balance, falling to one side.
Hifumi’s fifth strike followed immediately, chopping down.
While off-balance, Yuan Qing’s tattered left wing slammed against the ground. He used the leverage to roll away just as the blade struck the spot where he had fallen, slicing a shallow mark into the floor.
He rolled twice and stabilized himself on one knee.
Hifumi sheathed her sword and stood a few meters in front of him, her breathing slightly heavy.
The entire arena erupted in thunderous applause.
“Miss Kazama’s combo just now was too fast!” the announcer’s voice trembled. “Five strikes, completed almost in the same instant!”
“But Miss Raven caught them,” the guest’s voice had also changed. “She caught all five of Miss Kazama’s strikes!”
Yuan Qing knelt on one knee, gasping for air.
His arms were still numb, and his shoulders ached, but he was still conscious.
‘Eagle’ told him that for those five strikes, Hifumi had used her full power without reservation.
Five strikes. He had caught five strikes.
But it wasn’t enough. If a sixth strike had come, he wouldn’t have been able to catch it.
“You caught five strikes,” Hifumi said, looking at Yuan Qing. “Can you still stand up?”
Yuan Qing braced himself against his knees. His legs and arms were shaking, but he stood up.
Hifumi looked into his eyes. There was a hunger there—no, rather, there was something missing.
“In all of Tokyo, there aren’t many Magical Girls who can withstand the moves I just used,” Hifumi nodded. “You are the fastest among them.”
Yuan Qing moved his numb wrists. “It’s not enough. Withstanding five strikes isn’t enough.”
Hifumi fell silent for a moment, and then, she sheathed her blade.
It wasn’t a temporary stance; she completely put the cold blade away. After doing so, she turned and walked toward the resting area.
The announcer was stunned.
The guest was stunned.
All 12,000 people in the audience were stunned.
“Miss Kazama… sheathed her sword?” the announcer asked in confusion. “Why did she sheathe her sword? The match isn’t over yet!”
“I don’t know,” the guest’s voice was also full of bewilderment. “She didn’t forfeit, and she hasn’t lost the ability to fight. She just… sheathed her sword?”
“This round is a draw,” Hifumi said without looking back. “Besides, I want to see the third round.”
The White Snake on Hifumi’s arm looked back at Yuan Qing, a hint of curiosity flashing in its crimson eyes.
Raven flew down from the railing and landed on Yuan Qing’s shoulder. ‘What on earth is this person thinking…’
Yuan Qing also stood up and left the arena just as Hifumi did.
In the third round, she would be even stronger than she was now. Yuan Qing was certain of it.
Only now did the referee realize what was happening and hastily announced, “The second round… is a draw!”
The cheers from the crowd were deafening.
In the corner, Mizuho noticed that Sundae was so excited she had thrown both of her cheering signs away. She was spinning in circles while holding Inu-oh. “A draw! A draw! There’s still a third round!”
The live stream comments on the twin-tailed girl’s phone were moving so fast that the image was completely obscured.
“Three million.” She stared at the numbers on the screen.
The brown-haired girl leaned over. “Three million what?”
“The number of people online. It’s broken 3,000,000.”
The clone poked its head out of Mizuho’s handbag. ‘That scared me to death… I thought we were going to lose the second round…’
“There’s still the third round,” Mizuho said softly.
‘Yeah,’ the clone nodded. ‘There’s still the third round.’
—
Yuan Qing walked back to the resting area. Sachiko was still sitting in that chair, the same few cigarette butts in the ashtray in front of her.
“The second round is a draw,” Sachiko said, looking at Yuan Qing. “How does it feel?”
Yuan Qing sat down in the chair. “Exhausting.”
“And that’s just the strongest of the new generation. There will only be more powerful enemies from here on.”
Sachiko took a cigarette out of her pocket and sniffed it under her nose, but she didn’t light it.
“Sachiko.”
“Hmm?”
“How should I fight the next round?”
“Don’t ask me.” She stuffed the cigarette back into her pocket. “I’m not your producer or your coach.”