Yes, I did all of this!

"I can't protect Aunt Katsuragi, but now, Mr. Duanmu, you're still by my side, and that's why I won't give up."

The magical girl's power is of course meant for protection, but if we were to define the smallest unit of this power, then in Yuzhi's view, it would be to protect Duanmu Mo from harm.

The grief of witnessing the death of someone important to her is not something she can easily overcome. In order to hide her identity as a magical girl, she could not show this sorrow openly and could only suppress it continuously... until these emotions were transferred to Duanmu Mo, who had similar concerns to Mrs. Katsuragi.

Both are important people in the story and both are harmed by the strange man, but one has already lost his life while the other still has a chance to be saved.

Yu Zhi tugged at Duanmu Mo's sleeve, seemingly unwilling to let him leave.

She looked up and met Duanmu Mo's gaze, finally letting him see her eyes:

"Mr. Duanmu, will you stay by my side while I'm still a magical girl?"

Although her appearance hadn't changed much, her pure eyes revealed a profound inner turmoil and obsession, proving that the inner turmoil Yu Zhi had experienced these past few days was far from the calm she appeared to be.

Without giving a direct answer, Duanmu Mo took off his trench coat and draped it over her shoulders.

"Don't worry, I will always support you, Yuzhi—go back now, don't catch a cold."

"Um......"

Nodding slightly, Yu Zhi, wrapped in Duanmu Mo's trench coat, turned and left in the increasingly heavy rain.

. . . . . .

—After that, Yuzhi continued her life as usual, going to school and fighting as a magical girl.

The world belongs to everyone, and the misfortune of one person will not affect the whole world.

Although Yuzhi would occasionally show a sad look in her eyes when she thought about this incident, she usually maintained a gentle and refined demeanor, and occasionally one could glimpse her youthful and immature side.

People don't mature quickly because of a single setback, but they can still learn a lot from failures. As a magical girl, although her appearance didn't change, you could already feel that her inner self had begun to change, and the will beneath that youthful body had probably begun to sprout.

— Clang!

A flash of lightning, and a strange man was split in two by Huangyi. The combatants behind him tried to launch a sneak attack, but Huangyi had already reacted.

Thunder roared instantly, and the surrounding combatants were blasted into charred remains by the lightning.

With a flash, Huangyi vanished from his spot and reappeared standing behind the combatants.

Holding the katana, Huangyi sheathed the blade, and the combatant behind him was cut to pieces at that moment.

The battle here was over, and Huangyi looked to the other side.

boom!

If the Radiant Wings are like swift thunder exuding a sharp aura, then the other side is like a raging inferno that seems to never cease.

The sun was gripping a strange man by the neck, while its other hand slammed into his body.

The formidable defense shattered in an instant, accompanied by Xi Ri's somber question: "Answer me, where is the poisonous vine!"

"Hmm..."

The strange man answered shakily, while a group of combatants ran wildly toward the setting sun.

"If you don't know, then you might as well die!"

Without a shred of pity, the evening sun slapped the monster's body away in the direction of the combatants, leaving a burning mark on his body.

The mark exploded the moment the monster made contact with the combatant, and the blazing flames burned away all the combatants who came near.

Hearing their screams, Huang Yi also felt a pang of pity:

"Senior Yuuni, these combatants were once human too. Next time you fight, please be more decisive, okay?"

"—When they use their power to kill ordinary people, do they hold back because they find it cruel?" Without any hesitation, Yuhi stared coldly at Huangyi and said, "Since they choose to submit to powerful monsters, their dignity as humans no longer exists."

"But......"

Huangyi was about to say something, but Xiri didn't give her a chance to continue speaking. She turned and left, leaving Huangyi with her mouth half open and then falling silent again.

—After that battle, Xia Yan seemed to have become a different person, completely cutting off contact with others. Apart from occasionally contacting Duanmu Mo to find out the location of the monster, she was like this during the battle.

They were determined to find the poisonous vine and kill her completely.

And the poisonous vine seemed to have satisfied something, so it stopped acting so blatantly and even stopped appearing in front of the magical girl, leaving Yuhi empty-handed every time she tried to catch her.

Although she completely abandoned the fighting style of cooperating with Huangyi in the battle, her strength was astonishingly enhanced. The deeper red flames than usual seemed to become an extension of her arms, which could be transformed into any form such as fists, feet, or blades, chasing after her with each move and causing more powerful damage.

But seeing her burning intensely, Huang Yi felt a vague sense of unease.

A powerful flame can ignite any flammable material, but this also drastically reduces the lifespan of the flame, which is exactly what Huangyi is worried about.

Whether it's Xi Ri or Xia Yan, their current state is like a raging fire, not only burning their enemies more violently, but also scalding anything that gets close to them.

"Yoriya-senpai..."

Watching her retreating figure, Huangyi tried to chase after her, but quickly lost track of her and had no choice but to deactivate his transformation and give up.

Touching the pendant on her chest, Yu Zhi took a deep breath, and the joy of completing the battle quickly faded away.

Chapter 61: Special Training

When Yu Zhi returned, Duanmu Mo also returned, taking off his trench coat and hanging it aside.

"Mr. Duanmu, you just got back?"

Looking at the mud on Duanmu Mo's trench coat, Yu Zhi suddenly asked.

"It's just a commission to investigate infidelity," Duanmu Mo replied casually.

However, after completing the request, he went to the vicinity of the magical girl's battle and collected the energy cards of the two strange people.

Concealing the latter half, Duanmu Mo sat down in a chair, flipping through the map to find the locations of all the strange people, and silently added a few more strokes to it.

Hearing Duanmu Mo's nonchalant tone, Yu Zhi lowered her eyes, her mood inexplicably somber: "Be careful when you go out these days, Mr. Duanmu. What if you get attacked by some strange person..."

Instead of worrying about me, you should worry about yourself.

Ignoring Yu Zhi's reminder, Duanmu Mo opened the news and spoke to Yu Zhi.

The host's voice rang out as usual, and Duanmu Mo crossed his legs, his attitude unchanged.

"—Although I don't want you to remember, the monster that was born from Mrs. Katsuragi's belly is not something you can defeat at your current level." He picked up his glass and took a sip: "On the news, it punched that mountain into a mudslide. Although the weather played a part, it shouldn't be underestimated."

He asked Yuzhi, "Unless you can truly use all your power as you say, can you still do it now?"

"No... I tried again after that, but I just couldn't do it." Yu Zhi recalled how she felt at that time, but no matter how she thought about it, she couldn't transform into the form with wings on her back like in that battle.

"Can't you do it?" Upon hearing this, Duanmu Mo looked regretful. It seemed that he would not be able to cause greater damage to the poisonous vines this time.

In this battle, the demon puppet became a premature baby, Yuzhi lost Mrs. Katsuragi, and Yuhi became withdrawn. Duanmu Mo, who lost nothing, became the final winner, but he was still not satisfied.

The water wasn't murky enough for the two magical girls to achieve the feat of truly causing the poison vine to bleed profusely.

"I wanted to ask Senior Xia Yan how she did it, but she hasn't been talking to me lately."

As a senior who became a magical girl earlier, Yuzhi believes that Xia Yan might have a better way to bring out this state.

Duanmu Mo stroked his chin, pondering his next move.

Duanmu Mo naturally saw Xia Yan's situation. Her mental state was indeed not very good. If she could maintain this strong combat power, he wouldn't say anything.

However, Duanmu Mo still felt it was necessary to understand her more deeply.

—Although the Poison Vine has stopped making any obvious moves, Duanmu Mo knows her plans and is probably currently planning a way to restore the Demon Puppet.

The magical girl can't afford to be too passive either; Huangyi's strength still needs further improvement... If she were to face the Poison Vine at this moment, she would inevitably be at a disadvantage.

"Should I find someone she's close to kill her?" Duanmu Mo jokingly thought to himself.

"Since we can't rely on burst damage, we can only continue to improve our skills in normal conditions." After thinking for a moment, Duanmu Mo had a clear goal, and a training plan emerged in his mind.

"Huh? But Senior Xia Yan has already..."

"—I'm here to give you special training."

Under Yu Zhi's questioning gaze, Duanmu Mo took out his usual motorcycle gloves from the drawer, then seemed to remember something, a strange smile appearing on his face.

For no apparent reason, Yuzhi suddenly shivered.

. . . . . .

The high mountain in Kamishiro City was where Kou-Tsubasa and Yuhi trained. The flat-topped mountain was once a well-known spot for watching the sunrise, but it was gradually abandoned because the road leading to it was at risk of collapsing after the monsters caused trouble.

The open space was deserted. After Yu Zhi transformed, she distanced herself from Duanmu Mo. Despite having greater power than him, Huang Yi was still somewhat afraid and even swallowed nervously.

"Um... Mr. Duanmu, may I double-check that our training methods are correct?"

“I told you, what you need to improve now is your combat power under normal conditions, and your current strengths are speed and reaction ability, which are directly linked to your combat power.” Duanmu Mo put on motorcycle gloves, pulled down his goggles, and sat on the motorcycle.

A flashlight was attached to the front of the motorcycle, providing a bright beam even during the day. The light shone obliquely on the ground, illuminating objects within half a meter in front of the motorcycle.

"—So I can only dodge within half a meter of the motorcycle. During this time, I will increase the speed to over 300 kilometers per hour, and you are not allowed to use any abilities. You must dodge entirely with your physical body!"

Of course, if the ferocious black horse were to go at full speed, it would certainly be faster than this, but this is already the limit for an ordinary person.

"but......"

Although the transformation gave him confidence, Huangyi still felt a little apprehensive when facing the fierce front of the car.

He was not only worried about himself, but also afraid of what would happen to Duanmu Mo on the motorcycle if he hit it.

boom--

Without giving Huang Yi a chance to refuse, Duanmu Mo started the engine. The distance between them was enough to reach the ideal speed from the start to the close.

"Don't hide, Huangyi."

Leaving those words behind, Duanmu Mo lowered his body and sped away on his motorcycle.

boom!

With a loud bang, Huangyi watched the motorcycle hurtling towards him, and panic finally rose in his heart.

If she had the intention of stopping or smashing it, it wouldn't have been a big deal for her. But she had to dodge it at the extreme distance, while also keeping an eye on Duanmu Mo in the car.

The various psychological pressures caused Huang Yi to subconsciously dodge away, quickly putting distance between himself and Duanmu Mo's motorcycle.

The motorcycle nearly brushed past him, the violent wind it generated leaving Huangyi terrified.

After rushing for a while, Duanmu Mo braked suddenly, leaving two obvious tire tracks.

He shouted unhappily:

"What are you doing? Huangyi, charge at the motorcycle!"