PDLP Chapter 362 New Situation
Chapter 362 New Situation
"Let nature take its course; perhaps a more interesting result will emerge."
Su Tianqing pondered the conclusion she had heard from Inari.
It's 3 PM now, the sleepiest time of day besides late at night.
But this fox has already woken up from its afternoon nap! Now in Spirit Fox Mode!
Especially when she realized that she would be forced to face the scene of Alice fighting the Ripper tonight, and that she could only watch from the sidelines, she became even more energetic.
I'm also worried about Aurora.
"Only a ghost wouldn't be worried!" Su Tianqing thought to herself.
They say they'll let things take their course, but what if they let Aurora become withdrawn again, and then they'll have to spend even more time comforting her?
Just like an iris!
Having learned from Hua Ling's experience, I must be extremely cautious about taking the initiative to intervene!
"We can't create another dark shadow!" Su Tianqing made up her mind.
Unlike the energetic fox girl, Nan Jiayu sat next to Su Tianqing, looking at the contents of the book in her hands, and was a little sleepy.
"Hoo...hoo meow..."
The cat purrs.
Hearing the soft purring beside her, Su Tianqing snapped out of her thoughts and gently poked the catgirl's armpit.
This poke almost made the catgirl jump up in fright.
"Meow?!"
"Little Fish, are you reading seriously?" Seeing the catgirl's adorable reaction beside her, Su Tianqing asked with a smile.
Nan Jiayu quickly perked up, its cat tail straightened and thickened, and it nodded repeatedly.
"Yes, I did watch it carefully!"
"real?"
"...I just took a short nap, but only for a little while!"
"Hmm... Little Fish, do you remember the layout of the orc's pelvic muscles?"
"Of course I remember! On the inner side of the gluteus maximus are the adductor and relaxor muscles, and also..."
So it is, and so it is.
The catgirl recited the orc anatomy section fairly smoothly, and Su Tianqing nodded in satisfaction, her fox tail immediately wagging.
"You remember it pretty well! Little Fish's memory is really amazing; she can remember it after seeing it only two or three times."
"Haha..."
Nan Jiayu didn't dare to reply, and scratched the back of her ear with a wry smile.
With a fox spirit, much like a chief physician, sitting beside her to supervise her studies, Nan Jiayu felt that her brain worked ten times better than it did in class.
"Are we going to cover for Aurora tonight?"
As if remembering something, Nan Jiayu asked curiously while pouring herself a glass of water.
"What a strange way to put it. It makes us sound like some kind of gangster," Su Tianqing complained helplessly.
Then I imagined this scenario in my mind:
Sitting at his desk in the dimly lit room, petting his cat, with Hyacinth standing respectfully before him, dressed in a black suit, he spoke to Hyacinth in Italian—
You live in Chengdu, protected by the Hero Association; you don't need a fox like me.
Now you come to me and tell me the nightingale needs help.
You wouldn't even call me "Teacher Fox."
It sounds pretty exciting.
"I think Aurora should be able to do it," Su Tianqing said, without much confidence.
"But Aurora's combat skills still need refinement. If she's only at the level she was at last time, it will be quite difficult for her to defeat the Ripper Monster," Nan Jiayu commented.
"Her total magic power is insufficient, and she cannot draw magic power from the astral plane, so she cannot use offensive magic as frequently as you and Nightfall."
"Furthermore, her close-combat skills are somewhat weak. If she wants to defeat the Carnivorous Monster by herself... it all depends on her own performance."
"Hmm... let's observe her again tonight. Maybe with a stronger belief, Aurora will unleash even more interesting powers?"
Although Su Tianqing was willing to believe in the magical power of magical girls, Aurora's apparent strength was undeniable, so she still had to be prepared for things to go wrong.
It's best to have a contingency plan in advance! Figure out exactly what might cause Aurora to mess things up!
……
night.
After an afternoon of thinking and brainstorming, Su Tianqing once thought she had figured out almost all the possible points where things might go wrong.
They even prepared contingency plans:
If Alice intends to fight the Ripper in melee combat, she will have the cat secretly instruct her on her movements to increase her chances of defeating the Ripper with melee.
If you choose to use magic bombardment to restrain her, then have Miss Dandelion, who hasn't had a chance to appear recently, secretly buff her so that her magic power is abundant and doesn't run out instantly.
Even when Alice shouts lines that sound like they came straight out of a special effects studio, like "Fox! Cat! Lend me your power!", Su Tianqing has a ready way to handle it.
"Then you, dog, will provide Alice with magical support and perform the Lakshir ritual with that ripped monster."
"Is this really reliable? And I'll say it again, I'm a wolf."
"Trust me, as long as Alice shouts that, just go for it, nothing will happen~"
This is how Su Tianqing explained it to Fei Yelan.
But as evening fell, the group gathered in a deserted forest park, where Alice confirmed the appearance of the "evil spirit" she had spoken of...
.
A monster with a disemboweled body appears.
Alice raised her wand, which transformed into a longsword resembling a hyacinth, and charged straight at the crackling blade.
Su Tianqing thought the battle would last for a while, and that Alice would engage in a protracted struggle with the Ripper Monster, eventually defeating him or collapsing from exhaustion.
There can only be these two outcomes.
However, the battle ended a little too quickly, so quickly that Su Tianqing felt somewhat rushed.
"Drink it!!"
"Pfft!!"
Alice thrust her longsword forward, seizing an opening in the grotesque man's movements, and pierced his chest with the blade.
The strange man took a few steps back, roared in disbelief, fell backward, and never got up again.
The battle, which lasted only a dozen or so rounds, ended in Alice's victory.
"Oh?"
Hellcat raised an eyebrow and couldn't help but applaud Alice.
"That's excellent swordsmanship. Did you learn it from Hyacinth?"
"Hmm." Alice nodded.
"I watched Hyacinth's battle logs and videos today and learned some sword fighting techniques from her."
"I knew Alice could do it!"
Su Tianqing wagged her fox tail happily, sparing no praise.
As expected of a classic magical girl! Her magical power is almost on par with the hero power in isekai anime!
After regaining her faith and confidence, Alice will have at least one episode of invincibility, just like Hyacinth and the others!
Choosing to let Alice kill the Ripper during this invincible period was definitely the right decision I made.
however,
A strange noise came from the direction where the disemboweled monster had fallen.
"Click-click-click—"
"Buzzing..."
It was a crisp metallic clang of blades clashing, accompanied by a subtle hum of magical energy. The strange figure rose into a dark shadow, seemingly about to drift away, yet also as if it were reassembling.
Everyone was stunned, including Su Tianqing.
What? There's a second phase? That's ridiculous.
As the shadow gradually took shape, and a completely different human figure appeared inside the shadow, Su Tianqing finally sensed that something was wrong.
【Task Update】
Even the secret manual timely provided a new task.
[Quest Chain: Alice's Special Training]
【Task 4: Investigate the Shadows of the Stars, 0/1】
"...What is that?"
Hellcat stared at the figure shrouded in shadow not far away, and after a long while, finally managed to squeeze out these words.
Heart Moon Fox slowly shook her head. Alice gripped her wand tightly, looking bewildered, not knowing what had happened.
—Aurora will trigger her Guardian Star transformation at dusk, at which time the Ripper Monster will appear beside her and attack her.
This has become a habit for her over the years, and her fear of the ripped monster has gradually become numb and dulled, no longer just running away like before.
Just like before, she was able to muster the courage to face it bravely, and even defeat it with her own strength.
but,
The petite figure shrouded in shadows before her evoked in Alice a long-forgotten feeling of the fear and astonishment she had experienced upon first encountering something incredible:
The figure in the shadows turned its head and stared directly at Alice.
She had the same features as Alice, a cold expression, jet-black hair, pale skin, empty eyes, and a star-like brilliance in her pupils.
“…………”
After a long silence, she spoke:
"……Who are you?"