Through her sunglasses, Mizuho watched Hifumi walk back to the rest area. The White Snake slid down Hifumi’s arm and onto the table, coiling into a ball.
She didn’t sit down, but simply stood by the chair, staring at the opposite wall.
“Miss Hifumi, the second round… why was it ruled a draw?” A middle-aged man’s voice carried a hint of caution, as if he were testing the waters. “With your strength, if you had kept going — “
“I wouldn’t necessarily have won,” Hifumi interrupted him.
The phone of the young woman beside her rang again. She glanced at the screen and lowered her voice. “The Association is asking again. They said there can’t be any more accidents in the third round.”
“Tell them there won’t be any accidents.”
When the middle-aged man spoke, his tone held a forced certainty.
Hifumi listened to their conversation without saying a word.
The White Snake lifted its head and flicked its tongue against her finger. She looked down, meeting the serpent’s crimson eyes.
‘Ever since I signed the contract with White Snake as a child, all victories and defeats have turned into success or failure.’
‘How nostalgic.’
She remembered things from a long time ago. She had been very small back then. The White Snake would coil around her wrist, and when she first stood on the training ground holding a cold blade, her hand would tremble. The White Snake would lick her fingers with its tongue, over and over.
‘For the Magical Girl organization, for the fans, for my mentor, for my Familiar, for the protection of civilians, for this country — I must win.’
Later, the trembling stopped. Later, she won. Winning became as natural as the rising and falling of the tide, until today.
She stared intently at Yuan Qing at the other end of the arena. Yuan Qing leaned against the back of his chair, looking up at the ceiling.
Sachiko sat across from him, also silent, simply watching him.
Raven lay on Yuan Qing’s shoulder and patted his face with a wing. “Hey, stop spacing out. How are we fighting the third round?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know again?”
“Yeah.”
Raven’s feathers puffed up in frustration. “You — “
“Let him think,” Sachiko interrupted Raven. “It’s fine not to know. You’ll figure it out as you go.”
Raven snorted in dissatisfaction but didn’t press further.
Looking up from the rest area, one could see the dense crowd in the stands, the hands holding up support signs, and the flags fluttering under the lights.
Sachiko pulled her phone from her pocket, glanced at it, and then handed it to Yuan Qing.
A string of messages appeared on the screen.
Mizuho: “How is he? What was that draw in the second round all about?”
Mizuho: “?”
Mizuho: “Sachiko, answer me.”
The last message was sent 30 seconds ago.
Mizuho: “Forget it, I’ll ask him myself.”
Sachiko withdrew the phone. “Mizuho says she isn’t nervous, but she’s been messaging me since the first round started.”
“I see.”
“Aren’t you going to reply to her?”
Yuan Qing pulled his own phone from his pocket. Sure enough, there were messages on his screen too.
Mizuho: “That draw in the second round — did Hifumi pull her blade back on purpose? Are you okay? Are you confident about the third round?”
Mizuho: “Never mind, don’t reply. I was just asking.”
Yuan Qing typed a few words, deleted them, and then typed again.
Yuan Qing: “I’m okay.”
Mizuho replied instantly.
Mizuho: “What do you mean by ‘okay’?”
Yuan Qing thought for a moment and typed a few more words.
Yuan Qing: “I’ll win the third round.”
This time, Mizuho didn’t reply instantly.
The chat window showed she was typing; it flashed a few times, then disappeared, then flashed again.
Mizuho: “Don’t lie to me.”
Receiving no further reply, Yuan Qing put his phone away and stood up from his chair. He stretched his shoulders and rotated his wrists; he felt much better than before.
“Time’s up.”
Yuan Qing yawned.
Hifumi closed her eyes.
A silence shared by 12,000 people…
The match began again.
The referee backed away, leaving the field.
“Eagle, Crane.”
“Triple Body Slash.”
Yuan Qing and Hifumi charged at each other simultaneously, clashing in the center of the arena.
*Clang — !*
A massive noise erupted as raven feathers and white light exploded at the same time. This time, the distance between the two was even closer than in the previous two rounds.
Yuan Qing’s Crane stabbed toward the blade of Hifumi’s sword. The moment before Hifumi’s Triple Body Slash could split, it was caught by Eagle’s perception. He struck precisely where the main body was located.
The blade shuddered, and two of the three afterimages dissipated.
The third one did not.
Hifumi’s true body emerged from the afterimage, her cold blade slicing in from the side. Yuan Qing pulled his wings in to block. The blade edge scraped against the hardened raven feathers, sending off a shower of sparks.
The two retreated at the same time, then lunged forward again.
There were no probes, no gaps — only continuous, uninterrupted offense and defense.
One punch, one slash.
One thrust, one strike.
Their figures intertwined constantly in the center of the arena. White light and black shadows became entangled, moving at a speed that the eyes in the spectator stands could not follow.
The announcer’s mouth opened and closed repeatedly. Finally, he managed to say, “So fast… I can’t see them at all…”
“…” The guest commentator didn’t respond, merely staring at the center of the field without blinking.
Standing in the corner, Mizuho had forgotten to let go of her gripped hem.
She watched that black figure weave through the white flashes of the blade. She watched him strike the edge of the sword with punch after punch, watched him move forward instead of retreating against Hifumi’s onslaught.
Yuan Qing tilted his body as the blade brushed past his black robe, severing a few raven feathers. Simultaneously, his right hand reached out, fingers clawing toward the wrist Hifumi used to hold her sword.
Hifumi flipped her wrist, and her cold blade drew an arc in the air, slashing upward from below. Yuan Qing withdrew his hand and retreated, the blade grazing his fingertips.
Both took a step back at the same time.
“In the third round, the rhythm of both sides is even faster than the first two!” the announcer’s voice trembled.
The guest also cried out, “This is no longer a speed that an ordinary Magical Girl can keep up with!”
Hifumi still had strength left in the third round.
‘Yes, that’s it. Charge at me with the determination to crush me,’ Hifumi thought expectantly.
‘Help me shatter.’
“Falcon!”
A shot condensed from raven feathers flew straight for Hifumi’s face. Hifumi tilted her head to dodge, simultaneously swinging her blade in a horizontal slash. The blade light cut in from the side, and Yuan Qing pulled his wings together to block.
*Clang — !*
This strike was too heavy. Cracks appeared in the hardened raven feathers, and his feet slid a considerable distance across the ground.
But it wasn’t over. Hifumi’s second strike was already there.
Yuan Qing had no time to adjust his posture and could only take it with his wings again.
*Clang — !*
The cracks expanded, and fragments of raven feathers went flying.
Third strike.
*Clang — !*
Large chunks of raven feathers began to crumble from his wings.
Hifumi’s sword hung in mid-air; she did not deliver a fourth strike.
“You’re almost out of raven feathers.” Hifumi pointed her blade at the ground.
It was true. Every raven feather was a part of his power. From the first round until now, he had used too many of them. He had used hardened defense too many times, and new feathers didn’t have time to grow back.
“Do you want to keep going?” Hifumi asked.
Without giving him time to answer, Hifumi raised her blade again. The White Snake slid down her arm and coiled around the edge of the sword. The entire blade began to glow.
This strike would be heavier than any that came before.
It couldn’t be dodged. This strike could not be avoided.
Hifumi stepped forward, and the blade light swung down. But Yuan Qing didn’t retreat. He stood his ground, watching the approaching white light, watching the power flowing over the blade, watching the White Snake’s crimson eyes.
In an instant, the blade light slashed right in front of Yuan Qing.
And then, the blade light passed through him.
The moment the blade light touched him, Yuan Qing’s body suddenly turned into a flurry of raven feathers. His entire body, from the top of his head to his toes, disintegrated into countless pitch-black feathers in a single heartbeat.
The blade light passed through the feathers, hitting nothing but air. These feathers gathered once more behind Hifumi, reforming into Yuan Qing’s shape.
“Ah, thank you,” Yuan Qing said, breathing slightly as he remained wary of Hifumi. “Without you, I couldn’t have gained the attention of so many people.”
A split-off Raven poked its head out from Mizuho’s handbag. ‘The increase in popularity points has allowed the cooperation between Yuan Qing and me to bloom with new possibilities. We really have to thank Hifumi this time.’
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