The sky was overcast tonight.
Thick clouds obscured both the moon and the stars, and the surroundings were dim; nothing could be seen except for a few scattered streetlights still glowing.
But for the Magic Girls, this level of darkness was no different from daytime under the effects of vision-enhancing magic.
"...They were just around here a moment ago, how did they disappear so suddenly?"
Hua Ling stood on a rooftop, whispering.
The three stood side by side, Hyacinth gripping her greatsword, wary of her surroundings, while Nightingale had already silently cast two layers of magic shields on her teammates.
An hour ago, the Magic Girls received an urgent notification from the Hero Association: Xin Yuehu had appeared in the Cold River District Industrial Park.
Although she hadn't summoned any Monsters, for safety reasons, the Hero Association immediately sealed off the entire industrial park.
"Be careful, this might be their scheme."
Hyacinth said,
"That smelly Fox Fox is very cunning; she might be watching us from some hidden place."
Hua Ling didn't say much, but she was somewhat distracted.
She hadn't seen Xin Yuehu today.
It was as if she was deliberately avoiding her, leaving her heart's expectations empty and causing a strange sense of frustration.
"Magic Girl Dandelion doesn't seem to have appeared today," Nightingale said.
"Perhaps she's busy, or active elsewhere? I'm not very clear," White Sable Spirit spread her hands and replied.
As an Observer, Bai Ling's duty was to assist the Magic Girls in defeating Monsters or in their daily activities, or to relay information like today.
And Magic Girl Dandelion was not a Magic Girl she had developed herself; according to the Observer's rules, she had no authority to know any of Dandelion's movements.
After explaining the above rules to the three, they finally understood.
"So that's it, I thought you, Bai Ling, were on very good terms with that Fox Fox Spirit," Nightingale quipped.
"No way! I and Little Yue... I and Miss Yue Tianxin met for the first time, okay?!"
White Sable Spirit replied with a slight blush.
"Is that so? I saw you two chatting very happily yesterday," Hyacinth timely stabbed her own Observer in the back.
"And you're even calling her 'Little Yue,' and you say you two aren't on good terms?"
"That was a slip of the tongue! A slip of the tongue!!"
Bai Ling's blush became even more noticeable,
"Besides, I'm a girl too, okay?! I just feel that Miss Yue Tianxin is a junior, so I should care for her!"
"Ah, right, right, right," Hyacinth shrugged, choosing to go along with Bai Ling's lines.
Nightingale chuckled beside them, Iris suppressed her laughter while loading her magic cannon, and the rooftop was filled with a joyful atmosphere.
But soon, this atmosphere was broken by a silvery, bell-like laugh:
"Hehehehe..."
"You've arrived just in time, Magic Girls."
"""!!!"""
The three simultaneously sobered their smiles, looked up, and met the gaze of Golden Fox floating in the air not far away.
The same posture, sitting on her magic staff, the same smile, but the oppressive feeling she brought was stronger than when they last met.
"Everyone, be careful, she can summon Witches now, she's very dangerous!"
Hyacinth raised her greatsword, intending to rush forward immediately to fight that little Fox Fox, but reason made her stop.
"Oh my, it's been so long, Miss Hyacinth is still as impulsive as ever."
Covering her lips lightly with the tip of her tail, Su Tianqing said with a smile.
It had indeed been a long time since she had met Hyacinth and her group; the last time was Rabbit's first battle, when Catcat Rabbitrabbit had hung the three of them up and hammered them, which directly led to her starting the Star Shadow project.
And now, the three Magic Girls had been fully strengthened and trained; would they bring her an even greater surprise?
"What, don't you want to come up and fight me, Ben Hu~?"
"Hmph, you must have set up an ambush around here, right? I won't fall for your trick!" Hyacinth responded.
"Ho... you're smarter than the last time we met," Su Tianqing smiled and said.
Hyacinth wasn't stupid; after so many losses, she would surely learn something, not to mention that she was now part of a Magic Girl squad and couldn't just charge in recklessly like she used to when fighting alone; she had to consider her teammates.
What's more, Xin Yuehu also had two quite troublesome individuals—
"The invisible Cheshire Rabbit, and the Hellcat with both mobility and strength."
"But don't underestimate us! We've undergone thorough special training!"
Hyacinth said confidently.
The close-combat special training Iris had been doing recently was specifically to counter Cheshire Rabbit's invisible sneak attacks, and Nightingale's magic shields could also help her.
As for Hyacinth herself, she had put a lot of effort into close-combat fighting, and with Star Shadow, she would have a full chance of winning even against a full-strength Hellcat!
Not to mention there was also Dandelion, ready to come to support at any time; if she had her enhancement magic, taking down all three of them by herself wouldn't be a problem!
Four against three, the advantage is mine!
"Oh? Really?" Su Tianqing raised an eyebrow.
"Just you wait and see!"
After saying that, Hyacinth didn't hesitate, exchanged a glance with her companions behind her, and then raised her greatsword to attack Golden Fox!
Su Tianqing hadn't personally seen Hyacinth's swift jumping slash in a while; no matter how many times she saw it, she would be surprised by this Magic Girl's agility.
"But, don't think that Ben Hu hasn't made any progress, either."
"—Catcat Rabbitrabbit! Act!"
At her command.
Hyacinth instinctively wanted to remind Iris and the other behind her, but what appeared before her eyes was not that giant cat's paw, but a pink great hammer with Rabbit ears printed on it!
"Wh—"
"Bang!"
A hammer blow from mid-air, it heavily struck Hyacinth's hastily defended greatsword, smashing the sky-blue Magic Girl to the ground!
"Crash! Rumble!"
A warehouse was smashed through, rubble and debris flew everywhere, raising a large cloud of dust.
Cheshire Rabbit, dressed in a pink bunny girl outfit, floated in front of Golden Fox, a playful and indulgent smile on her face.
"Ah... indeed, hitting Miss Hyacinth still feels better..."
Rabbit Girl mumbled to herself, a hint of madness seemingly hidden in her crimson eyes.
"Well done, Rabbit," Su Tianqing praised with a light laugh.
Hyacinth struggled out of the ruins, floating back into the sky, her injuries completely healed by magic, but a trace of unease could still be seen in her eyes.
This was not what she had expected!
Shouldn't she and Hellcat be fighting, and then Iris and the others restrain Cheshire Rabbit? Why did it suddenly...
"You and Catcat have fought quite a few times, Miss Hyacinth, how about a change of opponent today?"
Su Tianqing's face was full of joyful smiles.
"A heads-up, Rabbit's magic has been specially replenished."
"If you, Hyacinth, insist on not using Star Shadow... perhaps, some unpleasant scenes might occur~"
Before her words finished.
The light of the stars flashed, and Hyacinth unhesitatingly activated her Star Shadow form.
The Cheshire Rabbit before her made her feel an oppressive force no less than that of Hellcat!
She had to meet her in Star Shadow form to ensure victory!
Looking at the sky-blue Magic Girl who had suddenly transformed into an extraordinarily splendid figure, Xia Taotao was stunned, the madness in her eyes seemingly receding a bit, replaced by a touch of infatuation.
"How beautiful, how magnificent, this sparkling form like the stars!"
Su Tianqing spoke, as if voicing Xia Taotao's inner thoughts,
but then suddenly changed her tone:
"However, compared to this beautiful form, I am more looking forward to something else."
"—In such a beautiful form, will we see some appearance that no one has ever seen before?"
"Miss Hyacinth~?"