Tokyo in the afternoon, the gentle December sun was just right.
Yuan Qing stood in an abandoned parking lot, facing the last monster of the day.
It wasn’t particularly large. In general, its appearance was similar to a wild dog. Its four paws scraped deep grooves in the ground, and a low growl rumbled in its throat.
“Let’s begin.” Yuan Qing clapped his hands.
The monster charged.
Its speed was fast. Its claws whistled through the air, aiming straight for Yuan Qing’s chest. Yuan Qing sidestepped to avoid it. Simultaneously, ten of Raven’s feathers shot from different directions. Their angles were tricky, and their speed was faster than yesterday’s.
Yuan Qing’s body twisted forcefully in mid-air, evading seven. He used hardened feathers to block two. The last one grazed his arm, leaving a faint scratch on his black robe.
“Slow,” Raven squawked.
Yuan Qing ignored it.
The monster’s second attack followed immediately. It lunged fiercely at Yuan Qing’s throat. Yuan Qing pulled his wings in close, the hardened feathers blocking the strike. His body was pushed back half a meter. At the same time, Raven’s second wave of feathers had already arrived.
This time, there were fifteen.
Yuan Qing dodged, blocked, and retreated between the monster’s attacks and the feathers. His rhythm didn’t falter.
“Two minutes,” Raven called out the time.
The monster’s speed began to drop, but Raven’s feathers were getting faster and faster.
Yuan Qing began to counterattack. One punch struck the monster’s head, shaking its skull and cracking it. One kick landed on its joint, throwing its body off balance.
Simultaneously, Raven’s feathers were still shooting, forcing him to continue dodging even while attacking.
Finally, under Yuan Qing’s relentless pursuit of punches and kicks, the monster crashed to the ground with a thud, its body beginning to disintegrate. Raven retracted its feathers and landed on Yuan Qing’s shoulder.
“Three minutes and two seconds,” Raven checked the time on its phone. “The last one for today.”
Yuan Qing shook his hand. “No more?”
“Shouldn’t be any more.”
“Then let’s go spar.”
“Yuan Qing.” Raven suddenly called out.
“Hmm?”
Raven paused, as if weighing its words.
“Nothing,” it said. “Let’s go, let’s go.”
Feathers churned.
A Magical Girl-exclusive training ground somewhere in Tokyo.
Yuan Qing stood in the center of the arena, waiting for today’s opponent.
“…So, where is the person?” Yuan Qing asked.
Raven, in the spectator stands, was silent for a moment.
“Couldn’t book anyone,” Raven’s voice carried a hint of helplessness. “Two were scheduled for today, but they both messaged this morning saying something came up.”
“…They just don’t want to come, right?”
Yuan Qing pointed out the truth.
Raven nodded. “Correct. Recently, fewer and fewer Magical Girls are willing to spar with you. After the last livestream, a few more dropped out.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re too strong,” Raven spread its wings. “Fighting you, besides getting crushed, they learn nothing. No one wants to be a punching bag forever.”
“So, are we training today?” Yuan Qing asked.
Just as Raven was about to speak, the training ground door was pushed open.
Yuan Qing and Raven turned simultaneously.
Pink and white tracksuit, a high ponytail, holding a convenience store plastic bag in hand, fine beads of sweat on her forehead as if she had run here.
Sakuma Seidai.
Yuan Qing was stunned for a moment. Raven was also stunned.
Sundae stood at the entrance, looking at the figure of Miss Raven in the center of the arena. She took a deep breath and then walked in.
“Excuse me!” Sundae’s voice echoed in the empty training ground. “I’ve come to challenge you!”
Raven flew up from the spectator stands and landed on Yuan Qing’s shoulder. “Well, your opponent is her. She just contacted me today, didn’t expect her to come so fast.”
Yuan Qing didn’t answer.
Sundae walked to the center of the arena, standing opposite Yuan Qing, about ten meters apart.
She placed the plastic bag at her feet, straightened up, and looked at the “Miss Yonai” before her.
“Miss Yonai,” she said, her voice a bit nervous. “I know my strength isn’t enough, but I want to practice with you.”
She hadn’t even changed out of her tracksuit, still carrying the convenience store bag. She clearly came straight after work.
“…Best of three,” Raven proactively suggested after a brief silence.
Sundae was stunned. “Huh?”
“Best of three. Each match lasts three minutes,” Raven repeated. Then it looked at Yuan Qing. “I won’t interfere. Is that okay?”
Yuan Qing didn’t answer, just gave a slight nod.
Sundae, after processing it, nodded vigorously. “Okay! Thank you, Miss Yonai!”
Yuan Qing didn’t speak again, just slightly turned his body.
Raven crouched in the spectator stands, watching the two people in the center of the arena, its wings tightening slightly.
“We can start now,” Yuan Qing assumed a fighting stance. “Begin.”
Sundae stood up, clenched her right hand, and pinkish-white light surged from her palm, coalescing into a slender staff. A pink gem was embedded at the top of the staff, currently emitting a faint glow.
Inu-oh also shook its body, a layer of pale golden halo appearing on it. Although faint, it was definitely there.
“Are you ready?” Yuan Qing asked.
Sundae took a deep breath and gripped her staff tightly.
“I’m ready!”
Sundae said it earnestly.
She took a deep breath and assumed a simple starting stance. The posture wasn’t exactly standard, but it was earnest, every joint tensed tightly.
Yuan Qing looked at Sundae standing opposite him and was silent for a moment. “…Where’s your Familiar?”
Sundae finally realized. “Oh, right!”
Then she hurriedly pulled out a palm-sized furball from her pocket—a small, round, brown puppy, curled up in a ball and yawning.
“Inu-oh! Wake up!” Sundae gently patted it. “We have a match!”
Inu-oh opened its eyes groggily, looked around, then let out a “Woof!” and jumped down from Sundae’s hand, stumbling a bit upon landing, clearly also just waking up.
Raven flew above the arena, somewhat speechless.
“The rules are simple. The match ends when one side surrenders, loses combat ability, or leaves the arena. Best of three,” it announced loudly. “Begin!”
At the same time, the livestream began.
“Isn’t that the Magical Girl Miss Raven saved before? The gap in strength is way too big, right?”
“Is it because they can’t find opponents, so they have to do a best-of-three with her to fill the livestream time?”
“Well, it shouldn’t be that bad, right? At least little Sundae is commendably brave.”
The comments scrolled by, a bit sparse.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the screen, Mizuho sat on a bench in the practice room, her phone propped on her knees, the screen showing the livestream.
Avatar crouched on her shoulder, tilting its head to watch together.
“She really went,” Avatar said softly. “But it’ll do, I guess. After all, they can’t book any other Magical Girls now.”
Mizuho didn’t speak, just stared at the screen.
“How long do you think she’ll last after three minutes?” Avatar leaned forward, poking its head out to look Mizuho in the eye.
Mizuho thought for a moment. “…Don’t know.”
“Ten seconds?”
“Maybe.”
Avatar retracted its leaning body and rubbed its wing against Mizuho’s cheek. “You don’t seem very happy.”
“I’m fine.”
“Sigh, but it’s normal to not be happy. Right now, it’s less like sparring and more like a daily routine livestream. Not much entertainment value.”
Mizuho ignored Avatar, just brought the phone closer.
“No one thinks highly of her.”
Avatar’s words were cruel.
“Yeah.”
“What do you think?”
Mizuho tilted her head. “Maybe she just wants to try? To see what the gap is between her and a real genius.”
“Haaah…” Avatar yawned. “Maybe.”
In the center of the arena, Yuan Qing looked at Sundae opposite him.
Then, Sundae moved first.