The next day.
5:30 PM.
The sun hung dimly on the horizon, slowly but surely setting.
The Cat Girl and Fox Girl sat side by side, gazing at the wall of a distant building illuminated by the golden glow of the setting sun.
After a day of tutoring, Su Tianqing and Nan Jiayu went to deliver dinner to the hospitalized elder. They sat on a bench at the hospital entrance, as if waiting for something.
The festive atmosphere of the New Year had fully spread throughout Rong City.
The hospital was no exception.
Couplets and red lanterns hung at the entrance, adding to the holiday spirit, but the flow of people was as large as ever.
"There are so many people, it's almost New Year's, and there are still so many people in the hospital."
"Maybe it's because everyone who returned home for the New Year realized that their elderly family members were sick, so they specifically came to the hospital to see a doctor."
Su Tianqing said calmly.
She often saw this scene.
Elders are unwilling to go to the hospital, but when their children return home for the New Year and realize the elder's condition, it makes the hospital lively.
"Jia Yu."
"Hmm?"
"Grandma's recovery is going well. The doctor said she can be discharged and go home tomorrow afternoon."
"I heard the doctor say that Grandma had some kind of chronic illness with acute exacerbation, right?"
"AECOPD, acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis. Elderly people are very prone to this in winter."
The attending physician, Fox, was seriously conducting a teaching session.
"Jia Yu, look, all of Grandma's blood test indicators have returned to normal. Tomorrow, we'll go for a follow-up CT scan to check the lung infection, and then she can go home in the afternoon."
"Eh... is that... how it is?"
First-year university student Nan Jiayu blinked her clear Cat Girl eyes, as if listening to an incomprehensible lecture.
After the discussion about the illness ended, the two still sat shoulder to shoulder on the bench, watching the sun almost disappear below the horizon.
"It's almost time."
"Yeah, there shouldn't be any Monsters appearing today, right?" Nan Jiayu murmured.
Su Tianqing smiled bitterly and nodded.
Aurora's guardian star was very special; it would trigger a transformation when the sun set, which brought enormous trouble to her life.
And it would also summon a strange Ripper beside her.
Yesterday, Rabbit and Cat Girl worked together to defeat that troublesome Monster, putting it on a one-day resurrection cooldown.
But if they had to deal with it every other day, no one could endure it in the long run.
What's more, it was covered in blades, and even Jia Yu, who loved to fight, didn't seem willing to fight that Ripper, which made it even more troublesome.
"Speaking of which, has Inari Senior contacted us?"
Suddenly remembering something, Nan Jiayu asked.
"Not yet. It's best not to disturb her until she contacts us proactively," Su Tianqing shook her head and said.
Yesterday, she had asked Inari to help investigate the Ripper.
But Inari hadn't contacted her all day, which made Su Tianqing quite uneasy.
Could this Ripper even stump Inari?
Inari could access the laws of time with just her normal form's magic, and had developed countless experimental Star Realm Magic spells. She was an absolute magical genius!
If even such a genius couldn't find out the origin of the Ripper, then...
"Ding-a-ling! Ding-a-ling!"
Suddenly, the familiar opening theme of a Magic Girl anime played. The Cat Girl and Fox Girl froze for a moment. Su Tianqing took out her phone and looked at the contact list.
【Nan Gong Qian Sui】
Ah, she remembered now. She had exchanged contact information with Inari.
Su Tianqing answered the call. The Cat Girl also leaned forward, her cat ears and fox ears pressing against the phone simultaneously.
"Miss Qian Sui."
"Good evening, Miss Tianqing."
After a polite greeting, both parties quickly got to the point.
"Miss Tianqing, are you free now? I have some important things I'd like to talk to you about."
"I am free. Please wait a moment, I will contact you proactively."
This communication, which was comparable to an encrypted call, made Nan Jiayu almost bend her cat tail into a circle.
...
A little later, on the villain's rooftop.
Aurora, with her new codename, sat obediently and properly on the sofa on the villain's rooftop.
Magic Girl 【Alice】, Su Tianqing decided to call Aurora that from now on.
The Golden Fox and the Cat Girl sat opposite her, talking to the Red Fox Girl on the other end of the communication divine code stone.
"Hmm... I see..."
Using the image from the camera familiar, Inari carefully examined Aurora's condition, her red fox tail slowly swaying, as if she was thinking about something.
"Miss Inari, have you noticed anything from Alice?" the Golden-haired Fox Girl asked.
"...A very special transformation method, only existing in theory. This is my first time seeing it."
Inari said,
"Miss Xin Yuehu, do you know about 【The Pitch-Black Shadow of the Stars】?"
"Yes, and Cat Girl and I have both witnessed it firsthand." Su Tianqing answered honestly, and also told Inari about Iris's state at that time.
"I see. In that case, it's much simpler to explain."
.
"Magic has two sides."
"It can transform us into Magic Girls, giving us powerful magical abilities, but it can also possess unowned objects or beasts, turning them into Monsters or Witches."
"Once the Magic Girls' beliefs waver, and twisted wills or other obsessions are born, they may enter the dark side of the Shadow, transforming into a Star Shadow that acts solely for its obsession."
"If a Magic Girl remains in the Pitch-Black Shadow of the Stars state for a long time, her guardian star will be tainted by this Shadow, leading to some unexpected situations."
"Miss Alice, you might have encountered such a situation."
Aurora blinked blankly.
Su Tianqing and Nan Jiayu exchanged glances, and both realized the truth.
Indeed, the problem lay with Aurora's guardian star!
Su Tianqing had thought from the beginning that a guardian star that forced a transformation at sunset must have a problem.
But her analysis magic couldn't detect the problem with that guardian star; she even once thought it was a very ordinary guardian star.
Not skilled enough, Fox Fox!
"Then, then that means..."
Alice looked nervously at the guardian star in her hand and said,
"Could it be that this guardian star... really contains a terrifying evil spirit...?"
"No, that is impossible."
Inari said. Alice opened her mouth blankly, at a loss.
"A guardian star shrouded by the Shadow will amplify the darkness and obsession within you, projecting it through a complex Star Realm reflection effect, gathering magic into the Ripper you see."
"Alice, if it's alright, could I ask you some more in-depth questions?" Su Tianqing interjected.
"Have you experienced some unpleasant things, perhaps even bringing you to the brink of collapse?"
Silence.
The girl remained blank for a long time, instinctively wanting to shake her head, but what came out of her mouth was completely different:
"I... but, I..."
She gradually lowered her head, clutched her skirt tightly with both hands, and pressed her lips together.
Su Tianqing narrowed her eyes.
It seemed that Aurora's past experiences were indeed quite heavy, enough to make her so evasive.
A long silence.
But the words that came out of her mouth made all three of them freeze simultaneously:
"...................."
"...I killed my stepmother."