“How much do you know about that Monster?”
On the summit of Dragon Valley Mountain, at the observation deck,
Su Tianqing stood by the railing, gazing at the distant lake, and asked Aurora beside her.
Nan Jiayu held a thermos cup, blowing on the hot water inside to cool it, and hearing Su Tianqing's question, she also leaned closer, ears perked up, wanting to listen in.
The girl opened her mouth as if organizing her words, but Su Tianqing did not rush her.
—The “Monster” Aurora spoke of actually referred to the Ripper that had been haunting her for a long time.
She didn't know why Aurora called the Monster an evil spirit, but judging from her fear, she must have had a considerable psychological shadow.
“Hmm… it's very powerful.”
Aurora thought for a long time, finally squeezing out these few words from her mouth,
“Maybe to Tianqing Jie and you all, it's nothing special, but I think it's incredibly powerful, the kind you simply can't defeat.”
“If you include its ability to revive infinitely, it is indeed quite strong.”
Nan Jiayu said.
“That's right, it returns after a day if it's defeated, which is very troublesome.” Su Tianqing nodded in agreement.
Monsters and Magic Girls were mostly disposable items before she mastered the recycling ability.
If it could successfully return, she would record its special ability combinations and enhancement times in her Fox Fox notebook, adding data for scientific villain activities.
After her long-term summary and research, she had recently developed several relatively powerful combined enhancement templates, just waiting for practical testing on Hyacinth.
—If she could uncover the truth about the Ripper, and with the new Monster types unlocked by the secret codex, could she develop more interesting Monsters?
“Being unable to be completely defeated means needing to expend enormous energy on dealing with it, which is a considerable test for anyone.”
Nan Jiayu continued,
“Aurora, you've managed to persevere for so long without breaking down; your stress resistance is truly impressive.”
“Ugh…”
The girl shyly lowered her head,
“Actually, actually, I'm very afraid of it, and I don't dare to contact the Magic Girls in London. I'm afraid they'll treat me as the culprit and then arrest me…”
“I don't think they would, you know. The Magic Girls are all good kids; if you explain the truth, they should help.” Su Tianqing said.
“But you can't completely trust them, after all, Aurora, in public perception…”
Nan Jiayu's words caught in her throat, and she didn't dare to continue.
Aurora's expression dimmed a bit but was quickly brightened by the scenery before her.
.
“We currently only know that it appears when you transform, Aurora, and then attacks you. Besides that, all other reasons are unknown.”
After a brief chat, on the way to the self-service barbecue restaurant, Su Tianqing made a series of intelligence summaries,
“And there's also your forced transformation near dusk, Aurora; that's also quite strange.”
“I actually think the forced transformation is more important than that Monster. This genuinely affects Aurora's daily life.” Fei Yelan interjected.
Everyone nodded in unison, and Aurora just sighed helplessly.
No one had ever seen Aurora in such a state, including Su Tianqing herself.
Even Observer Fox Fox hadn't heard of it; flipping through the entire Observer Knowledge Compendium revealed no similar situations.
“Theoretically speaking, a guardian star must be actively activated to transform.”
Nan Jiayu said,
“Whether it's us, Hyacinth and her group, or other Magic Girls, everyone must activate their guardian star themselves.”
“In any case, we'll know what's going on when the sun sets!” Su Tianqing said with certainty.
Practice makes perfect; witnessing Aurora's bizarre transformation once might reveal the reason for it. Su Tianqing thought so.
Time passed quickly.
When the afterglow of the setting sun fell upon the lake in the forest park, reflecting myriad brilliant lights, the sight before them made the group almost forget the time.
The vast lake, scattered islands, countless waterfowl flying low over the water, and the ripples on the lake reflecting the splendid colors of dusk.
“So beautiful.”
Su Tianqing sighed.
The autumn water and the sky shared one color; such a scene wasn't something one could see at any time, and it was thanks to the sudden clear weather this evening that everyone could witness this beautiful sight.
Golden Fox tilted her head and glanced at the person beside her.
Nan Jiayu calmly gazed at the golden lake in the distance; although no special expression could be seen on her face, the Cat Girl's high-held tail fully indicated her mood.
Xia Taotao and Fei Yelan next to her were no exception; their Rabbit ears were perked up high, and their wolf tails swayed gently.
Tails and ears could very faithfully reflect the mood of beast-people.
Aurora was also quietly observing the small movements of the tails and ears of the four beast-people beside her.
Looking at the intertwined cat tail and fox tail, the girl's originally tense mood immediately dissipated a lot, and she covered her mouth, chuckling softly.
“…Ah, speaking of which, isn't it almost time?”
Su Tianqing suddenly reacted and asked Aurora.
“Hmm, the sun is about to set, it's almost time—”
Before she finished speaking, a faint magical fluctuation suddenly came from the girl's waist pouch.
Her guardian star was emitting a faint white light; the strange phenomenon made Su Tianqing momentarily stunned.
“What… how could the guardian star…”
“It looks like it's almost time.”
Aurora calmly put away her guardian star, looked at the deserted lakeside pier not far away, and pointed there.
“I'll go over there later. Once that Monster appears, I'll notify you immediately.”
“Okay. Be very careful.”
Su Tianqing cautiously instructed, watching Aurora leave, and the villain quartet also successively slipped into a hidden corner, each completing their transformation.
When Aurora appeared at the port in her Magic Girl form, another magical power that followed also attracted Su Tianqing's attention:
Not far behind the petite blonde girl, a dark halo emerged from the void, and the Ripper, covered in blades, appeared!
“…”
Aurora instinctively took half a step back,
But for some reason, the girl suddenly gathered courage, clutching the Xin Yue Magic Wand in her hands tightly,
She suppressed her inner fear and stood tall in front of the Ripper, momentarily stunning the Monster.
“Don't be afraid… Aurora…”
“Xin Yuehu Jie said, this is just a Monster, and with ample magic, I can definitely—”
The girl talked to herself, using murmurs to cheer herself on.
But the Ripper's figure suddenly disappeared from her sight, and in the next instant, those blade-covered hands had already reached the girl's front!
The part that was its mouth split open into a gaping maw, intending to tear Aurora, who was frozen in place, into pieces on the spot!
“Ka-wong! Ka-cha-cha-cha-cha—!!”
“!!!!”
The harsh sound of blades grinding and breaking rang in her ears.
The girl snapped out of her horrified daze, cold sweat drenching her back, her face pale, as she looked at the gray-clad girl who had blocked the attack for her.
“This guy is so strong!”
Fenrir raised her Xin Yue Magic Wand, and a thick magical shield opened in front of her, directly confronting the Ripper's full-body blades, sparks flying everywhere!
“Fenrir… Jie…”
Aurora said nervously.
The dark blue Cat Girl appeared beside the Ripper, reaching out to take the large hammer thrown by the Rabbit Girl, and smashed it against its side, shattering countless blades!
No one wanted to punch sharp thorns head-on, and Hellcat was no exception.
But the moment she smashed the Ripper away with Cheshire Rabbit's large hammer, Nan Jiayu had a very strange feeling.
“…Is this guy stronger than the day before yesterday?”
“————###!”
Smashed far away, the Ripper landed lightly, glanced at Aurora, who was shielded behind Fenrir, and didn't rush forward, instead observing from a distance.
“Little Golden Fox, does this guy get stronger when it revives?” Hellcat asked Aurora.
The girl shook her head blankly.
“No… before, before there was never such a situation… he was never this powerful!”
“Then it seems we've encountered a hidden variant? Rabbit, hold it back, let's go in together!”
After a simple complaint, Hellcat's eyes ignited with fighting spirit, and she strode forward, charging!
Watching her companions engage in a fierce battle with the enhanced Ripper, Su Tianqing silently put on the exquisite fox mask,
【Xin Yue Magic Wand · Inari Form】
【Inari's Analysis】
The Ripper's magical power was several times higher than the day before yesterday.
To her surprise, this guy had no connection whatsoever with Aurora, not even a magic link,
This completely ruled out the possibility of Aurora unconsciously summoning it.
If it was a slightly stronger Monster the day before yesterday, now it was at the level of an elite Magic Girl, at least capable of ranking among her Zodiac Twelve Witches.
Why?
Aurora said that the Ripper had never gotten stronger after reviving, so why was it so powerful now?
Think carefully, Su Tianqing, what crucial clue did you miss?
If judged by the controlled variable method, the only variable she introduced was…
The Fox Girl's face was half-exposed from the mask, and she narrowed her eyes, looking at Aurora, who was trembling behind Fenrir yet peering out to watch the battle.
…Aurora's magical power.
She had replenished Aurora's magical power once; this was the only variable.
Why would a Monster, completely unrelated to Aurora in terms of magical power, become stronger as Aurora's magical power changed?
What exactly… what exactly was going on?