The villainous magical girl's daily mission is to find fault.

Chapter 364 I've Picked You a Good Opponent

The following afternoon.

Inside a private room at a Western restaurant in Chengdu.

"Aurora, my little sister."

"You must answer the following questions honestly, as they will determine our next steps."

"Mmm...uh-huh." Aurora nodded obediently.

"First question. Last night, which Alice were you?"

A brief silence.

Aurora lowered her head and thought for a moment, then said softly:

"How should I put it... it was a strange feeling, like I was split into two people, and both of them were me. I had two identical memories during that time."

"I see. Now, the second question..."

Su Tianqing straightened her expression and said,

"If the black Alice is yourself, then do you possess the memories of the Ripper?"

(Shakes head)

Aurora shook her head.

"The black version of me... I only realized her presence last night."

"I can't stand that evil spirit—no, I should call him the Ripper Monster."

"Unless I see it directly, I cannot perceive its presence, let alone remember it."

"I see... The Starry Shadow, born from the chaotic and disordered magic of the strange man, truly deserves to be called a miracle of the stars," Su Tianqing murmured to herself.

In the analysis of the magic, the Ripper's magic was unusually chaotic, so chaotic that it made them wonder why it had gathered into a monster in the first place.

The two Alices share highly similar magical characteristics, typical of ordinary magical girls, quite unlike the Ripper.

That would give ample reason to believe that Black Alice was born just yesterday.

...But is such a thing really possible? Is it related to her beliefs and will?

Su Tianqing recalled the brief but intense battle between Alice and the Ripper.

This is the only variable that caused Black Alice to appear.

The battle was very short, lasting only a dozen or so rounds, and there wasn't much of a dialogue between Alice and the Ripper.

Most of them are onomatopoeic words like "Hey!" and "Whoa!"

If I had to point out anything special... it would probably be Alice's speech before the opening:

I will defeat you; I am no longer afraid of you!

The lines have a very protagonist-like aura.

"Actually, it was because the atmosphere seemed right, so I... I tried shouting out lines from the anime..."

"It's okay, you look very handsome," Su Tianqing said with a smile.

Aurora was a little shy and grabbed a cushion to cover her flushed cheeks.

After a brief pause, the girl recovered somewhat from her shyness, put down the cushion, lowered her head, and murmured softly:

"...Sister Tianqing."

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

"I used to think I was Jack the Ripper."

"I could only watch helplessly as the monstrous, disemboweled man attacked innocent people, and I was powerless to do anything about it."

Su Tianqing didn't respond, silently acting as a listener.

"I originally thought that as long as I became stronger and defeated that evil spirit, I could completely eliminate it and get rid of its influence."

"It wasn't until I defeated the Ripper that I realized... I had never truly escaped the shadows of my past."

"I am still the same person I was in the past, and... those past events have even become a second version of me, as if mocking everything I do now..."

Aurora said, looking down at the tips of her shoes and gently clenching her fists.

"...Sister Tianqing, there's something I want to do."

"Those who died from the indiscriminate attacks of the Ripper Monster... I want to do something for them."

"I want to protect everyone like a magical girl... but... but..."

"I feel like I can't do anything... I can't make up for all of this, I can't even... I can't even make up for my past mistakes..."

silence.

Su Tianqing paused for a moment, then said softly:

"You've done enough, little Aurora."

"Moreover, you don't need to worry about your past; it's part of you."

"It is because of your past that you are a complete person, and thus a complete Aurora."

"Besides, you are also a victim of the Ripper Monster. If you easily blame yourself for the terrible disaster caused by the monster, it will only bring more pain."

"If you really want to do something for people, start now."

Su Tianqing stood up, opened her arms to Aurora, and offered her the flat embrace of the golden-haired fox.

"Protecting everything you cherish and bringing smiles and cheers to people—this is something only a magical girl like you can do."

Aurora blinked, as if she understood something.

……

night.

The Civic Center in Erliu District, southern Chengdu.

Hyacinth stood expressionlessly on the stone path, staring intently at the two petite girls in front of her who had identical faces.

Black Alice frowned slightly, her eyebrows lowered.

The golden Alice gripped her wand tightly, stepped forward, and respectfully greeted the hyacinth:

"Good evening, Miss Hyacinth! I'll be leaving the rest of the day in your care. Please take good care of me!"

"……Good evening."

Hyacinth responded politely, then looked up at the golden-haired fox girl leisurely humming a song on a rooftop not far away, and said:

"Hey, Heart Moon Fox, you tricked me into coming here just to spar with Alice?"

"What are you saying, Miss Hyacinth? How can you call that lying?"

The golden fox said with a smile,

"I sincerely invited you to come and have fun at the Civic Center, and Miss Hyacinth, you kept your promise and came, didn't you?"

"Tsk..."

Hyacinth pursed her lips, turned to look at the two Alices in front of her, and felt a little tricky.

Not long ago, she received a request from the Hero Association, saying that Heart Moon Fox had occupied the Civic Center and that Hyacinth herself was required to come and "play together".

Furthermore, no other magical girls are allowed to be present, and a promise has been made not to let Hyacinth get hurt.

"You won't let me get hurt? You actually believe what that fox says?" Hyacinth complained to Iris.

There was no other way. Xin Yuehu had the Civic Center building as a hostage. If they didn't go, the next day they would only see the ruins of the building, which had been completely crushed into a fox radish.

Hyacinth considered at least eight possible scenarios she might encounter along the way.

This includes, but is not limited to, situations where the cat is chased and attacked by Hellcats upon landing, is subjected to a mixed doubles attack by Hellcats Cheshire Rabbits, or is subjected to a super gauntlet attack by Hellcats Cheshire Rabbits and Zodiac Witches.

I even imagined being drawn into the world of mental images and then magically transformed into a hellish drawing of a "hyacinth-brand super-durable punching bag".

But he never imagined he would be used as Alice's sparring partner.

"Can you explain why there are two identical Alices?"

"Well... just think of it as Alice's special ability~"

Xin Yuehu didn't offer much explanation, and Fengxinzi didn't give it much thought either.

Don't ask, it's magic.

"Since Miss Hyacinth has no objections..."

"Alice, let's begin."

As soon as she finished speaking, the girl in black stepped forward and thrust out her long sword, which was easily blocked by Hyacinth with her greatsword.

A sky-blue magical girl peeked out from behind a greatsword, her eyes sharp.

A fierce battle is about to break out.

Alice charged forward bravely, her momentum undiminished, but she gradually showed signs of weakness and was eventually knocked down.

Hyacinth finally felt the comfort of "being able to win a fight".

The fox girl and the cat girl stood on the roof, looking down at the crushing battle on the ground.

"There's still a long way to go, Alice," Su Tianqing thought.