— — Haaah!!
Boom!!
In a certain urban area in northern Rong City, the intense battle was nearing its end.
Hyacinth deftly dodged an attack, leaped high, and swung her greatsword with all her might!
The Black Wolf Monster fell with this jumping slash, and after a wail, it went still.
"I hit it!"
Hyacinth landed with a backflip, stood beside the fallen Monster, gripping her greatsword, wary of its every move.
Fifteen minutes ago, she, who was undergoing special training, received news that the Hero Association had detected traces of Star Realm Magic in a commercial district and immediately summoned the Magic Girls to investigate.
Then, when the three of them arrived at the scene, the Black Wolf Monster had already appeared on the empty street, and a battle was imminent.
"This guy is quite durable."
After confirming that the Monster was completely lifeless, Hyacinth walked forward and kicked its butt.
The Black Wolf did not suddenly jump into its second phase as it had before, but instead dissolved into magic particles after a weak wail, leaving only a mess of debris and shattered tiles on the ground.
"Hyacinth!"
Not far away, Iris and Nightingale landed together, waving towards Hyacinth.
Nan Xiaofeng raised her hand in response.
"We dealt with it pretty quickly this time!"
The Bai Diao (White Sable) Spirit also flew to Nan Xiaofeng's side, patting her shoulder in appreciation.
"This guy was quite formidable. I didn't expect you, Hyacinth, to be able to deal with it so quickly."
"Hehe... everyone's support was excellent too. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to defeat it so fast."
Hyacinth chuckled, scratching the back of her head.
Iris lightly covered her mouth, her magic cannon transforming back into a wand and floating behind her. She glanced at the messy road around them and softly said,
"However, this Monster only destroyed the road this time."
"Yeah, just like the Monsters Xin Yuehu summoned before, there was no intention of large-scale destruction of buildings at all." Hyacinth nodded.
This was also the method the three of them used to distinguish between wild Monsters and those summoned by Xin Yuehu — wild Monsters destroy indiscriminately, while Monsters summoned by Xin Yuehu have not caused a single casualty incident to date.
"Xin Yuehu's objectives are truly as inscrutable as ever."
Bai Ling said thoughtfully,
"Moreover, the Monsters she has been summoning recently are stronger each time. We also need to intensify our special training so we don't fall behind her!"
""Oh!""
The three of them responded in unison.
...
Today was special training time as usual.
The small interlude brought by the Black Wolf Monster did not interrupt the training plan. The three of them came to the training ground contacted by the Hero Association, rearranged the isolation magic, and once again cast spells on the training dummies.
Hyacinth sat on a rooftop terrace not far away, drinking a bottle of warm water, kept warm by magic, to replenish her fluids, while chatting with the Bai Diao (White Sable) Spirit beside her.
"How do you feel today? Has Star Shadow put any strain on your body?" Bai Ling asked with concern.
Hyacinth shook her head,
"No, I don't feel anything at all. I even feel that my strength in my normal state is stronger than before."
"I see... It seems it wasn't a Star Shadow forcibly awakened through belief, but rather something that came naturally."
Bai Ling nodded with satisfaction.
Hyacinth herself didn't quite understand. After putting down her water cup, she stared at her hands for a long time, still unable to comprehend why she had suddenly successfully transformed into Star Shadow at that time.
Perhaps it was Tianqing Jie's words that moved her.
Thinking of this, Nan Xiaofeng couldn't help but recall the message Tianqing Jie sent her that morning, full of warm concern and care.
At that time, she had resolved to protect Tianqing Jie, which was why she successfully received the favor of the stars and profoundly realized that "guardianship and belief are the true essence of a Magic Girl."
A joyful smile appeared on the girl's face.
Tianqing Jie and Jia Yu Jie had invited her to go out next weekend, and Nan Xiaofeng suddenly felt full of anticipation for the future.
"Anyway, let's finish today's special training first!"
Hyacinth stood up, full of confidence.
Bai Ling nodded with great satisfaction.
As expected of the Magic Girl this Diao (White Sable) has chosen! She has firm belief and has successfully awakened Star Shadow. Her future truly looks bright.
But just as Bai Ling was happily envisioning the future, a magic communication from the sky suddenly entered her mind, making her jolt.
"W-wah?!"
"Bai Ling? What's wrong?"
Hearing the Observer beside her suddenly let out a strange cry, the three Magic Girls simultaneously turned to look.
"N-nothing, I just suddenly received a magic communication."
Bai Ling quickly pulled out a glowing stone tablet from her magic space.
Nan Xiaofeng tilted her head curiously, watching.
She had heard from Bai Ling that the item in her hand was called a divine code stone, a tool etched with magic onto Star Realm stone tablets.
Observers use divine code stones as a tool for communication and contact, and can also store a certain amount of information, similar to a mobile phone or tablet in the human world.
The Bai Diao (White Sable) Spirit solemnly tapped a few times on the stone tablet, which closely resembled a mobile phone. Soon, a magical light screen appeared, showing the face of another calico cat spirit.
"...Oh, you connected quite quickly this time, Bai Ling." The calico cat spirit said in surprise.
"Xiao Hua Senior!"
Bai Ling responded quite respectfully, and the three Magic Girls immediately understood.
On the other side of the light screen was Bai Ling's Observer senior, who assisted the Bai Lili Squad in Shanghai and was an Observer with a relatively close relationship with Bai Ling.
"Hyacinth is there too. Good afternoon, Miss Hyacinth."
"Good afternoon." Nan Xiaofeng politely returned the greeting.
The calico cat's gaze returned to Bai Ling.
"Senior, are you looking for me... about something?" Bai Ling asked curiously.
"It's all because of yesterday's Star Realm Rift." The calico cat said irritably.
"I saw yesterday's Star Realm Jellyfish monitoring report. The Hero Association rated it Pleiades A, almost to Spica. The Monster threat level in Rong City has also been raised by one level because of this."
"Actually..."
Bai Ling felt a surge of lingering fear.
Using constellations to classify Starry Sky Aberrants, Scorpius is the lowest, followed by Pleiades and Spica. This is a common identification method used in both the Star Realm and the human world.
But the highest level Starry Sky Aberrant that has appeared so far is only Spica V. Hyacinth usually fights mostly Scorpius, and stronger ones are only Pleiades I or II. She has never seen a powerful Monster of the Spica level.
And Spica Monsters have another, more widely known name — 【Witch】.
"Because of this, the Star Realm is preparing to send another Observer specifically to Rong City, independent of you, Bai Ling, to develop a separate Magic Girl, ready to assist your actions at any time."
The calico cat continued,
"I heard it was a candidate urgently discussed by the Star Realm Council. Although she's a newcomer like you, her exam results were excellent."
"That's great!"
Bai Ling breathed a sigh of relief.
With Rong City's threat rating increased, plus the pressure brought by Xin Yuehu, having a new Observer to help share the pressure would be quite good.
It's just this task of independently developing a Magic Girl...
"Then, Xiao Hua Senior, do you know this newcomer?"
"How could I know? The Star God Council directly designated the candidate. How could someone at our grassroots level understand that?"
The calico cat rolled her eyes and replied,
"I'm just telling you in advance today, so you don't have any mishaps due to confused information. Alright, I see Hyacinth and the others are still training, so I won't disturb you. Let's chat again next time we have a chance."
"Goodbye, Senior—"
The screen went dark, and Bai Ling thoughtfully put the divine code stone back into her magic space.
The Observer and the Magic Girls exchanged glances, each with some thoughts in their minds.
A new Observer is coming.
And... a brand new Magic Girl.
"I feel a little excited," Hyacinth murmured to herself.