The Tokyo outside the window was still submerged in a gray-blue morning mist. The streetlights’ glow diffused in the fog. Raven was still sleeping on the windowsill, its head tucked into its wing, emitting a soft, rumbling sound.
Yuan Qing sat up and didn’t call it.
He got out of bed, walked into the bathroom, and splashed cold water on his face, feeling much more awake.
He looked at himself in the mirror. It was still the same world-weary face, the same look of someone not fully awake.
“You’re up quite early.”
Raven’s voice came from behind him, hoarse from just waking up.
“Yeah.”
“Today, we’re still fighting monsters first,” Raven said, preening its feathers.
“Yeah.”
Raven fluttered its wings, flew up, landed on his shoulder, and yawned. “Alright, alright, let’s go.”
Crow feathers surged.
Six in the morning, Tokyo Bay warehouse district.
A massive monster was moving between shipping containers. Its body was covered in dark gray scales, and each step left deep cracks in the concrete ground.
Yuan Qing stepped out from the vortex of crow feathers, his black robe fluttering sharply in the morning wind.
The monster turned its head. A pair of gray-white eyes locked onto this uninvited guest, and a low growl rumbled in its throat.
“No using ‘Falcon’ or ‘Crane’ to one-shot today,” Raven said from his shoulder, unusually serious. “Fight it properly for a full three minutes for me.”
Yuan Qing didn’t speak, just flexed his wrist.
Raven started the timer on its phone, holding the device aloft with its feathers.
The monster charged.
It was fast. Its claw came with a whistling sound of wind, aiming straight for Yuan Qing’s chest.
Yuan Qing sidestepped to avoid it. The claw grazed past the black robe, stirring up a few crow feathers. He didn’t counterattack, just continued to evade.
The monster’s second attack followed immediately—a tail sweep. Yuan Qing pulled his wings in close, hardened feathers blocking the blow. His body was pushed back, sliding half a meter.
The monster seemed enraged. Its onslaught grew fiercer and fiercer—claws, tail, teeth—every part of its body became a weapon, creating an impenetrable storm.
Yuan Qing dodged, blocked, and retreated within the attacks. Each movement consumed stamina, but his breathing remained relatively steady, and his rhythm didn’t falter.
“Two minutes,” Raven announced.
The monster’s speed began to drop. Yuan Qing noticed. Its attacks were fierce but lacked variation; every move had a tell.
This was the difference between monsters and humans. Monsters only attack on instinct, while humans think, anticipate, and adapt.
“One minute.”
Yuan Qing began to counterattack.
Not “Falcon,” not “Crane,” just ordinary punches and kicks.
A punch to the monster’s joint, a kick to its ribs. Each strike wasn’t heavy, but each one landed on a vital point.
The monster’s movements grew slower and slower, its openings larger and larger.
“Thirty seconds.”
Yuan Qing took a step back, creating distance.
The monster staggered forward, already at the end of its strength. Yuan Qing sidestepped its charge, his right hand shot out, five fingers gripping the gap between the scales on its neck, and gave a sharp twist.
The monster crashed to the ground with a thud, its body beginning to disintegrate.
“Exactly three minutes,” Raven checked the time on its phone. “Good. This was better than last time.”
Yuan Qing shook his hand. “Still not enough.”
“Of course it’s not enough,” Raven flew up from his shoulder. “Let’s go. Next one.”
Six forty, the second one.
Seven twenty, the third one.
Eight o’clock sharp, the fourth one.
Golden sunlight spilled onto the surface of Tokyo Bay, shattering into pieces of light that were a bit dazzling.
Yuan Qing stood at the edge of the warehouse district, watching the monster scatter with the wind. His black robe fluttered noisily, the crow feathers on his wings swaying slightly.
For each monster, Yuan Qing no longer went for the one-shot kill. Instead, he forced himself to fight for over three minutes, ending the battle only in the final thirty seconds.
Raven lay on his shoulder, panting slightly from the multiple teleports. “You fought four today, each for a full three minutes.”
“That’s good.”
“Rest for a bit?” Raven asked.
“No need.”
“Then next, we go to the training ground,” Raven summoned the crow feathers again. “We have sparring sessions with three Magical Girls scheduled today. Still have to fight for a full three minutes. We’ll continue fighting monsters in the afternoon.”
“Yeah.”
Nine in the morning, a Magical Girls’ dedicated training ground somewhere in Tokyo.
Yuan Qing stood in the center of the arena, waiting for his opponent. Raven lay in the spectator stands, holding its phone aloft with its feathers, the camera aimed at the arena.
First match, victory.
The Purple-clothed Girl was on one knee. Her staff had been knocked from her hand, bounced twice on the ground, and rolled to a corner. She was panting heavily, her forehead covered in sweat. She looked up at Yuan Qing standing before her.
Raven shouted from the stands, “Three minutes and twelve seconds! Next, please!”
Second match, victory.
The red-clothed girl’s blade was sent flying, spinning several times in the air before embedding itself in the ceiling with a buzzing sound. She was on one knee, hands braced on her knees, breathing heavily. When she looked up at Yuan Qing, her eyes were full of unwillingness.
“Three minutes and fifteen seconds. Next, please.”
Third match, victory.
The blue-clothed girl’s bow was knocked from her grasp, landing at her feet. Her quiver was empty. She stood there, hands trembling slightly, lips pressed tightly together. Finally, she lowered her head and forced out the words through gritted teeth, “I surrender.”
“Three minutes and seven seconds,” Raven announced. “That’s about it for today’s livestream!”
Comments floated across the livestream.
“He won again? Seems like the ‘must fight for three minutes’ rule isn’t very effective.”
“Miss Raven is in such good form today.”
“Will Miss Kazama feel pressured watching this?”
After the livestream ended, Yuan Qing released his transformation. The black robe dissipated, revealing the faded tracksuit underneath. He walked to the wall, leaned against it, sat down, and took a drink from his water bottle.
Raven landed beside him. “Fewer and fewer Magical Girls are willing to spar with you lately. I had a hard time asking these three to come today.”
“…How many monsters are left for the afternoon?” Yuan Qing asked.
“There are probably five or six left in the Tokyo Area,” Raven said, preening its wing with its beak. “Still have to fight for a full three minutes, remember.”
Yuan Qing didn’t speak, just closed his eyes.
The training ground grew quiet, with only the occasional sound of distant vehicles. Sunlight leaked in from the high windows, painting golden lines on the floor.
Six in the evening, another location at Tokyo Bay.
The last monster fell, its body disintegrating into black fragments scattered by the sea breeze.
Yuan Qing stood on the shore, watching the sunset sink into the sea, burning the entire sky into an orange-red hue. The sea surface shimmered, golden specks of light rising and falling with the waves.
Raven lay on his shoulder, too tired to speak clearly. “Today… you fought eleven monsters today, plus three sparring matches… How do you feel?”
Yuan Qing clenched his fist, feeling the weariness flowing through his flesh and blood. “Feels alright.”
“Not satisfied?”
“No,” Yuan Qing unclenched his fist. “I wasn’t expecting anything anyway.”
The Tokyo night wind was colder than before.
Raven lay on Yuan Qing’s shoulder, unusually quiet. Probably exhausted from the day, it didn’t even have the energy to be noisy.
When they ran to that bare cherry tree, Yuan Qing saw Sakuma Seidai under the streetlight from afar. She was stomping her feet on the spot to keep warm, her exhaled breath forming puffs of white mist.
Seeing Yuan Qing run over, she jogged up to meet him.
“Mr. Luo!” Her voice was still full of energy. “You worked hard today too!”
Yuan Qing nodded, slowed down, and stopped in front of her.
“Been waiting long?”
“No, no,” Sundae waved her hand. “Just got here a little while ago.”
“Let’s start running now,” Yuan Qing said.
“Okay!”
The two started running side by side, their footsteps echoing in the empty street, one light, one heavy.
“Mr. Luo,” she said as she ran, a bit boastfully, “I fought a monster today.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah,” Sundae’s voice was a little soft. “In the park. It wasn’t a major threat, but it still had to be dealt with.”
“You worked hard,” Yuan Qing comforted.
“It took a long time,” Sundae laughed, her smile carrying a hint of self-mockery. “I could barely hold my staff steady. In the end, Inu-oh helped me win.”
Yuan Qing didn’t speak, just slowed his pace a little.
“Mr. Luo, I’ve made a decision,” Sundae suddenly said.
“What decision?”
Sundae took a deep breath, as if psyching herself up.
“I plan to challenge Miss Raven later.”
She said this, slowly exhaling that breath.