Starting with magical girls, I'll reign supreme for eternity.

He stood before her, blocking the entrance to the hidden gate.

"Why do you have... information about our senior..." Qingluan's expression twisted slightly with anger. "You! What are you...?"

"What's wrong?" Xiwu smiled kindly. "Qingluan, why are you still as clumsy as before? You can't even protect your own wand properly."

The familiar voice, the familiar scolding, choked Qingluan's subsequent angry curses back.

Yugiri took out the card and put it into her wand.

"Didn't I teach you? A magical girl from South China must always protect her wand, right?"

The card was inserted into the wand.

【Star Pattern Descends: Star Spinning Wheel.】

The ground beneath her feet began to shake. Qingluan looked at the stones that were suddenly attacking her and tried to dodge.

However, a magical beam blocked their path.

Magical Girl Yugiri's favorite fighting technique.

After the star pattern descends, use the magic cannon to seal off the escape route...

Shot and thrown by the rolling stones, Qingluan lay on the ground, panting heavily.

As a magical girl, she can still fight even without her magic wand.

only……

Both the magic consumption and the time required will be greater and more.

Her magic was almost gone; she only had enough left to use her spell one more time...

"Your magic power has only one last chance to be used."

However, even this was seen through.

It was as if I were really facing Senior Yugiri.

The boulders rolling in from all directions forced Qingluan to squeeze out the last of her magic power.

"Tore the Earth's Fang!"

She practices all card magic, and can use it even without cards.

It might even be better than the card-swipe version.

In order to keep defeating Iris, and in order to save more people, I must do better.

She never let her guard down.

Her tireless efforts day and night were in response to her expectations. The Earth Fang collided with the boulder, blocking its attack and crushing it towards the magical girl Yugiri!

However, the magical girl Yugiri crushed the magic she had painstakingly created with a single kick.

"That's not how it works, Xiaoqing. That's not how I taught you." Senior Xiwu smiled faintly. "Using the last bit of magic power just to use this kind of magic, there's no way you can win. Or are you expecting someone to come and save you?"

"Don't speak to me like you do, like you do, like you do!" Qingluan looked at the hidden door behind her.

Just a little bit more, just a little bit more!

"You imposter!"

"Such words are not for you lowly people to say, magical girls of South China."

Yugiri twirled her wand, inserting a card as if to demonstrate. "Listen."

【Star Patterns Descend: The Land of Clash】

"Doesn't this announcement voice sound familiar?"

The terrifying gravity pressed down, and Qingluan, who was already on the verge of magical exhaustion, was instantly forced to the ground, unable to get up no matter what she did...

The clone said softly, "This is the voice of our Mirror Kingdom system. The real imposters are you. The so-called first magical girl in South China, Chang Geng, is nothing but a thief who stole the technology of the Mirror Kingdom. You imposters use the technology of our Mirror Kingdom, so it's only right that you offer your power, technology, and memories to us, isn't it?"

Qingluan was stunned for a moment, her heart trembling slightly.

She had never thought about this. Although she often heard announcements from the Mirror Kingdom after entering, which sounded almost exactly like those from the magic wand, Qingluan never considered it in this way.

There were no magical girls in South China before. The first magical girl to be born, Chang Geng, used a card-operated magic wand.

This laid the foundation for the magical girls of South China, and since then, all magical girls of South China have used this kind of wand...

"So you really didn't know anything, huh? They really didn't tell you anything?"

Walking up to Qingluan, Xiwu grabbed her hair and lifted her up. "There are no magical girls in South China. You are just imitations created using the power of the Mirror Kingdom. You are the real replicas of the Mirror Kingdom, and inferior ones at that."

The terrifying purple magic above raged, some of which flowed to the vicinity of the Hidden Gate. Although it was only an aftershock, it still caused enormous damage. Some of the magic just grazed the sky above Xiwu and almost blew the magical girl away.

“This monster.” Yugiri looked up and said, “You guys really know how to pick people. It’s not even at its peak, yet it has such terrifying power. It completely overturns the magical girl theory that the Mirror Country has established for so many years.”

Then she exclaimed, "Qingluan, you're really lucky, aren't you?"

Qingluan gripped her hand, breathing rapidly, "What did you say?"

“When you were little, your mother protected you. Now that you’re grown up, I’ll protect you. Every time you encounter danger, you always manage to escape unscathed. There are always people by your side who are willing to sacrifice for you.” As she spoke, Xiwu pointed to the dense purple magic above. “Look, such a dangerous mental image remnant, and such a powerful magical girl protecting you. You’re so lucky, Qingluan.”

"Always able to hide behind stronger people, always able to let others die for you, always able to be a little baby hiding behind others, always able to be protected by others, it's really enviable, Xiaoqing, Mingming, I want to live too."

“Come on, yell for help,” Yugiri said with a smile. “Let the magical girl up there come down and save you. Isn’t that what you’ve always done? Always acting cute and leaving all the painful and difficult things to others, right?”

Blood trickled from Qingluan's lips as she was pulled to her feet by her hair. She realized that her magical armor was about to collapse.

But just hang in there a little longer, just a little longer and it will be alright.

"You're right, I always do that."

Qingluan raised her head, tears welling in her eyes, but she laughed. "Always acting spoiled, always hiding behind others, and unable to do anything. It's such a waste for my mother and seniors to lose their lives for someone like me."

"So you knew it yourself," Yugiri said in a low voice. "It's amazing you've managed to survive this long."

“Because they can’t see anymore, they can’t go any further, so I have to keep going.” Qingluan grabbed her hand and slowly pulled it away, tearing at her own hair as she spoke, each word distinct and deliberate.

"I want to go forward, go further than them, to places they couldn't reach, places they couldn't see, and then..."

The magic power has been depleted, and even maintaining the magic armor has become extremely difficult.

If he hadn't been holding on, he might have lost consciousness.

"Then, become a real magical girl! Like them, protect others!"

Xiwu smiled. "Is that so? Then show me. The Hidden Gate is right in front of you. There are less than two minutes left before the collapse of the Heart Image Remnant. In two minutes, the Hidden Gate will open outside. The Mirror Beasts—and those cloned Disaster Dragons—will fly to every city through the mirrors. What do you want to protect? What can you protect?"

Qingluan shoved Xiwu hard, pushing her backward with all her might!

The force of the outburst forced Yugiri to take a step back.

However, he remained composed, but as he turned his head to laugh, he suddenly realized something was wrong.

The purple light arrows that darted around the nine layers of the building bombarded the surroundings, and then one of them suddenly fell towards her location!

So that's what it was for.

She kicked Qingluan away and then deployed a magic barrier. However, even though it was just a stray arrow with no intention of attacking her, it still pierced through the magic barrier. Xiwu caught the arrow.

His palm melted instantly, but he still managed to deflect the arrow, which grazed his cheek.

A huge, dark crater was blasted out in the distance!

After dodging the terrifying stray arrow, he turned around and saw that the Azure Phoenix had already pounced on him again.

He grabbed her wand.

Yugiri frowned, and was about to forcefully pull back her wand when...

A card was inserted into her wand.

That was Qingluan's last card.

Qingluan took a deep, deep breath and pressed down on Xiwu's magic wand.

It read its own card.

Even if I have no magic, even if I have lost my wand.

It doesn't matter.

This is how the magical girls of South China fight.

[Star Pattern Descends: The Final Judgment.]

When the announcement came on...

A meteorite from the sky passed through the remains of the heart image and fell towards the two of them!

Qingluan hugged Xiwu tightly and whispered:

"Senior, am I starting to look somewhat presentable now?"

The massive meteorite crushed everything around them, and the impact and heat instantly destroyed the two of them!

After a brief silence, violent coughing erupted from the rubble and ruins.

Having reverted to its original form, the Azure Phoenix reached out from the rubble and crawled out.

Looking up at the hidden door ahead, clutching his broken arm, he staggered toward it.

The purple magic overflowing from above, though only a tiny amount, caused a commotion in the surrounding area that was almost comparable to his own final judgment.

If only I could be as strong as Miss Shion.

Perhaps then we wouldn't be in such a sorry state.

I always feel so weak; I want to do something, but I never have the strength.

Nothing can be saved, nothing can be done, no matter how hard we try, we're always just a little short.

It will only harm others and become a burden...

So this time, no matter what, we have to close the door.

Be the one who stands at the forefront, protecting others...

Dozens more calamity dragons descended, blocking the hidden gate and roaring at her.

Even at their peak, they were completely unable to cope with opponents beyond the realm of reason.

Qingluan tilted her head, remained silent for a moment, and then revealed a smile.