One minute left.
“Inu-oh, circle around!”
As Sundae shouted the command, she herself dashed forward.
Yuan Qing’s eyes followed her.
Inu-oh circled around to Yuan Qing’s back from the other side, his small body leaving a golden arc on the training ground floor.
Sundae stepped within three paces.
Instead of firing a beam, she gripped her staff horizontally and swept it like a melee club toward Yuan Qing’s waist. The light at the tip trailed a pink-white arc, leaving a brief afterimage in the air.
Yuan Qing retreated half a step; the staff tip passed just in front of his black robe.
Using the momentum of the sweep, Sundae turned, drawing a full circle with her staff in the air, and brought it down from the other direction. Yuan Qing sidestepped, the staff brushing past his shoulder.
Third strike.
Sundae didn’t retract the staff. Instead, she drove its tip into the ground, using it as a pivot to launch herself into the air, then kicked both feet together toward Yuan Qing’s chest.
Yuan Qing’s right wing slightly folded, hardened crow feathers blocking his front. Sundae’s soles struck the feathers with a dull thud. Using the rebound, she somersaulted backward, adjusted her posture in midair, and had her staff raised again the moment she landed.
A beam shot out.
This time the distance was so close that even Sundae herself thought it impossible to dodge.
But Yuan Qing didn’t dodge. He raised his left hand, back outward, and the beam struck his hand, blocked by a thin layer of crow feathers. The pink-white light burst across the feather surface.
Sundae didn’t stop.
Second shot, third shot, fourth shot.
Each shot targeted a different spot, but each was blocked by that thin layer of crow feathers.
Sundae saw it.
She finally saw it.
It wasn’t that Miss Mine reacted faster than her; it was that Miss Mine knew where she would strike before she even moved.
Sundae thrust her staff, the tip aiming for Yuan Qing’s abdomen. He sucked in his stomach, and the tip passed just before his robe.
Taking advantage, Sundae stepped forward, released the staff with her left hand, and struck toward Yuan Qing’s chest with a palm, fingers together.
Yuan Qing’s right hand shot out, grabbing her wrist. His palm pressed against the back of her hand, fingers closing with just enough force to keep her immobile.
Sundae looked up into Yuan Qing’s eyes—eyes completely devoid of any ripple.
Sundae yanked her hand back, retreated two steps, and regripped her staff with both hands. Inu-oh ran to her feet. One person, one dog, facing the black figure that had never once actively attacked from start to finish.
“Ten.”
Raven began the countdown. Inu-oh grew a little anxious.
“Nine.”
She knew what would happen next.
“Eight.”
From the start until now, Miss Raven had been dodging, waiting. Waiting for these three minutes to end, and then she would strike. Just one move, and the match would be over.
“Seven.”
Just like every previous sparring session.
“Six.”
Just like those Magical Girls she had beaten into submission.
“Five.”
Sundae took a deep breath.
“Four.”
She raised her staff.
“Three.”
Not to attack.
“Two.”
But to assume a defensive stance.
“One.”
Yuan Qing moved.
Sundae didn’t see his movements clearly. She only saw a black afterimage, heard a sharp whistle of crow feathers cutting through the air, and felt a gust of wind brushing past her.
Then, a hand reached out from the side, fingertips together, lightly tapping the middle of her staff.
“Crane.”
The pink-white staff flew out of Sundae’s hand, tumbled several times in the air, landed three meters away on the floor, bounced twice, and rolled to the corner.
Sundae looked down at her empty hands.
Inu-oh still stood at her feet, mouth open, tongue hanging out, having even forgotten to bark.
“Time’s up,” Raven’s voice came from the spectator seats. “Three minutes and two seconds. First round, Miss Raven wins.”
Yuan Qing withdrew his hand and took a step back.
Sundae stood still, head lowered, staring at her empty palm.
The training ground was silent for a few seconds.
Then Sundae raised her head. Inu-oh nuzzled her ankle with his head.
Woof.
A very small sound.
Sundae crouched down and scooped Inu-oh into her arms. The little familiar’s fur was a bit messy, and the faint golden glow on his body had completely faded, but his body was warm, and his heart beat fast, thumping against Sundae’s palm with each pulse.
“You worked hard.” Sundae buried her face in Inu-oh’s fur, her voice muffled.
“Woof!” Inu-oh licked her chin with his tongue. “It’s okay, as long as Xiao Shengdai isn’t hurt!”
Sundae stood up holding Inu-oh, turned to Yuan Qing, and bowed deeply. “Thank you for your guidance, Miss Yonai!”
Yuan Qing looked at her. “Second round. Are you ready?”
The outcome was already clear. No matter what, she would quickly lose in the second round after three minutes. But in her heart, a stubborn feeling arose. No matter what, she just didn’t want to give up on herself. She just wanted to try.
Sundae held Inu-oh. Her arms were still trembling, the vibration from the staff’s dislodging still lingering in her palm.
Inu-oh nuzzled her chin with his head. “Xiao Shengdai?”
“…I’m ready. We don’t need to rest.”
Sundae set Inu-oh down, walked to the corner to retrieve her staff, then returned to the center of the arena and stood opposite Yuan Qing.
“Second round,” Raven’s voice amplified, “begin!”
Sundae stepped forward, sweeping her staff. The light at the tip drew an arc through the air, slicing toward Yuan Qing’s waist—a little faster than the first round, a trickier angle.
Yuan Qing retreated half a step; the staff tip passed before his black robe.
Sundae didn’t retract the staff. Following the sweep’s momentum, she turned and brought the staff down from another direction. Yuan Qing sidestepped, the tip brushing his shoulder.
The exact same combo as the first round, except for the third strike.
Instead of using the staff as a pivot to launch herself, she simply released it. The staff flew toward Yuan Qing’s face. Yuan Qing tilted his head; the staff passed by his ear. At the same time, Sundae had already rushed in front of him, right hand clenched into a fist, aiming for his ribs.
Yuan Qing’s left wing folded, hardened crow feathers blocking the punch.
Woof!
Inu-oh leaped out from behind Sundae, his small body pushing off her shoulder for extra force, lunging straight at Yuan Qing’s face.
Yuan Qing flapped his right wing, weaving the feathers into a net in front of him. Inu-oh crashed into the net, was wrapped in the soft feathers, and bounced back into Sundae’s arms.
Sundae caught Inu-oh while simultaneously reaching back with her left hand, just in time to grab the staff falling from the air.
The entire process took less than two seconds.
“Trained that?” Yuan Qing asked.
“Mm,” Sundae set Inu-oh down. “After being saved by Miss Yonai last time, I kept thinking about what to do if I ever encountered an enemy I couldn’t beat.”
Yuan Qing pressed. “Found an answer?”
“No,” Sundae raised her staff again. “So I just trained everything I could.”
She charged again, stabbing with her staff. Yuan Qing sidestepped. She swept the staff; Yuan Qing leaned back. She thrust upward; Yuan Qing pulled his shoulder back.
Sundae’s attacks never stopped. They weren’t attacks that held back—she went all out. She didn’t care about openings, didn’t care about stamina, didn’t care how to connect the next move.
She just wanted to hit Yuan Qing, to prove something.
The comments increased a bit.
“Xiao Shengdai is fighting so desperately.”
“Though she’ll still lose in the end.”
“Doesn’t anyone think that familiar’s little four-paw scampering is adorable?”
Yuan Qing dodged through Sundae’s onslaught, sidestepping, pulling back, leaning away—each move just barely letting the staff tip pass him by.
Crow feathers fluttered through the air. Pink-white beams interwove across the training ground. Inu-oh traced one golden trail after another on the floor.
But throughout, not a single one of Sundae’s attacks actually touched Yuan Qing.
“One minute left.”
Sundae’s breathing grew heavy. Sweat dripped from her forehead onto the floor. Her arms trembled, and the light at her staff’s tip began to flicker.
But she kept fighting.
Yuan Qing looked into her eyes. Within them shone a light that was impossible to avoid.
“Ten.”
Raven began the countdown.
“Nine.”
Sundae didn’t wait. She charged forward.
“Eight.”
Staff sweep.
“Seven.”
Yuan Qing retreated.
“Six.”
Beam fired.
“Five.”
Crow feathers blocked the beam.
“Four.”
Just a few seconds left. In these seconds, Sundae absolutely had to hit Miss Yonai.
“Three.”
Sundae stepped within one pace of Yuan Qing.
“Two.”
Staff thrust.
“One.”
Yuan Qing moved.