There was still one day left until the scheduled duel with Brokenwing Butterfly.
The topic had already exploded across the internet.
On one side was Brokenwing Butterfly, the Fifth Seat member of the Magic Alliance; on the other, the recently emerged Gray Witch, Ariel—both dominating the conversation.
In fact, much of the uproar surrounding Gray Witch Ariel was thanks to the “Aurora Witch.”
For years, there had been rumors among the common folk about a pyromaniac called the Aurora Witch who specialized in hunting down magical girls—even the Ten Seats had reportedly been humiliated and “retrained” by her, which was both shocking and hard to believe.
After all, magical girls were terrifyingly powerful, especially the Ten Seats. What kind of existence could possibly hunt and tame them?
Unfortunately, since there was no official confirmation, the Aurora Witch’s existence gradually faded into an urban legend passed down by word of mouth.
But the appearance of Gray Witch Ariel proved that the Aurora Witch, Elera, really did exist.
If ordinary people could actually get close to the Ten Seats, there’d probably be reporters bluntly asking, “Have you ever been toyed with by the Aurora Witch Elera?”
For those Ten Seats who had suffered humiliation at Elera’s hands, being asked such questions was equivalent to public disgrace.
They would be unable to suppress their anger, unleashing their resentment fully, shattering the image of magical girls and reducing decades of effort to ashes in an instant.
In reality, such rumors were already rampant online.
Originally, news about Gray Witch Ariel circulated only among certain netizens, but Brokenwing Butterfly’s public challenge ignited nationwide discussion, which inadvertently reignited the spotlight on the Aurora Witch.
“I miscalculated… I didn’t expect this to affect my other comrades,” Brokenwing Butterfly said with a troubled expression, staring at the coffee cup in front of her, filled with self-blame.
The internet was flooded with endless speculation about which current Ten Seats had been “retrained” by the Aurora Witch, and the Magic Alliance’s official social media pages were overwhelmed with similar questions, making the comment sections unreadable.
At the center of the most intense discussions was Brokenwing Butterfly herself.
This time, it was her bold public stance that made her the hottest topic.
Other Ten Seats were still under suspicion, but Brokenwing Butterfly had already been labeled “definitely defeated,” with various humiliating past stories fabricated about her.
Some had even started creating related R18 works.
Bang!
“These reports are going way too far!”
Bailingwu angrily slammed the door open and threw her phone onto the sofa. Even her usually mild temperament couldn’t tolerate this.
What if her elder sister got distracted because of this!
Brokenwing Butterfly immediately masked all emotions on her face.
“Sister, do you want me to go out and refute those irresponsible media outlets now? At least if we issue a warning, the platforms might limit those remarks.”
“Bailingwu, don’t pay attention to those rumors about me. Focus on your own matters.”
“But, sister—!”
“It’s nothing. Some of their guesses are actually true. After all, I was indeed defeated by Elera.”
Brokenwing Butterfly said calmly, “If I let these rumors affect me so much that I fail at more important matters, that would be the real embarrassment.”
Ordinary people didn’t understand the difference; they lumped the Gray Witch and the Aurora Witch together.
In their eyes, defeating the Gray Witch meant defeating the Aurora Witch.
So no matter how loud the uproar was now, after her victory tomorrow, all these rumors about her would be effortlessly debunked.
“…Alright then.”
Bailingwu lowered her eyelids sadly.
At that moment, the boundary sea customs alarm sounded—another dimensional beast had invaded.
Since the issuance of the Level 3.7 boundary sea tidal alert, dimensional beasts had been crossing the border almost every few hours.
Though none were high-level, they were incredibly annoying.
“Sister, you don’t have to worry. Leave it to me.”
“I really can handle it! Earlier was just a momentary lapse.”
“Then it’s yours to take care of. Don’t disappoint me again.”
Watching Bailingwu leave, Brokenwing Butterfly’s calm expression cracked, turning dark and grim.
Staring coldly at the comments about herself online, her eyes seemed capable of killing.
“No progress at all compared to before, huh… really speechless.”
Who was she mocking with that comment?
The netizens? Herself? Or—
Brokenwing Butterfly shook her head in frustration and tossed her phone aside, showing these rumors did have some effect on her.
Not just because of this, but also because of that dream last night… which left a bitter taste.
【Manjusaka was right—the outcome with Ariel had already begun before the agreed date.
Was this also in your expectations, Gray Witch Ariel…?】
“Hah, that was a lucky hit.”
After checking today’s news trends, Luoyou couldn’t help but sigh.
She had predicted that when Brokenwing Butterfly publicly challenged Ariel, the topic would shift to the Aurora Witch Elera.
She just hadn’t expected it would link back to Butterfly’s past.
Lucky?
“If that’s the case… hmm, time to adjust the plan a bit.”
The original script was: “Gray Witch defeats Brokenwing Butterfly, then leaves without a glance.”
Now it would be: “After defeating Brokenwing Butterfly, thoroughly humiliate her before leaving.”
“What plan change?” a magical girl asked.
“Nothing much, just saying you all need to change your fitness routine,” Luoyou said as she guided the magical girls through their workout.
It was her second day on the job, and she felt fulfilled; her love for fitness was finally being satisfied.
Much better than sulking away in the gym before.
“By the way, Anjiu hasn’t contacted me in a while…”
Luoyou still cared about this trainee.
During those lonely days of widowhood, Anjiu had been her only light… well, exaggeration aside.
But she was someone Luoyou knew.
And more importantly, she was a wealthy lady.
So it was only right to care.
“Luoyou, are you here?”
“Hm?”
Luoyou glanced toward the door.
Outside, Xingyue pointed toward the stairwell, signaling for her to come over.
“What’s up?”
“There’s something I need to discuss with you.”
Xingyue cast a soundproofing spell, though the range was small—just about one meter—forcing Luoyou to stay very close.
Her head was awkwardly pressed against Xingyue’s chest.
So brutal.
“I heard from Little Red Riding Hood that you know some martial arts?”
“Hmm? That’s right.”
“And that you’re quite cunning?”
“That’s nonsense! I’m just a bit smart. What do you mean by ‘cunning’?” Luoyou’s almond eyes widened.
Xingyue smiled slyly.
“No need to deny it quickly. Actually, I want you to go beyond just teaching these magical girls fitness. You know, magical girls tend to be pretty innocent, so I want you to show them the tactics of villains.”
“Are you saying I’m a villain?”
Luoyou pursed her lips, about to refuse, when suddenly—
“Villain tactics?”
Luoyou cautiously asked, “Including those~~ kinds of things?”
“Yeah, including those~ things,” Xingyue nodded. “Of course, within limits.”
“Why me? There should be plenty of people fit to play villain.”
“Because I want them to realize not to trust appearances too much—even someone as cute and easygoing as you can make them suffer greatly.”
Xingyue grinned and bent slightly forward, pressing down heavily on Luoyou with overwhelming wickedness, leaving Luoyou gasping for breath.
“Someone like you, Youyou, is perfect—cute and scheming… let them take a few hard falls.”
Luoyou remained silent, thinking:【No wonder Xingyue immediately saw through my scheming.】
But this was expected.
Luoyou didn’t think she could keep up the innocent act around Xingyue forever; eventually, her true nature would be revealed.
Since she’d been seen through anyway, she might as well be straightforward.
“Should I show them that you can’t judge a book by its cover… like this?”
Luoyou said, then suddenly reached out and pinched the most vulnerable part of the “evil” pressing down on her head.
Xingyue just stared back, not even flinching.
“No, please give me some reaction,” Luoyou said in disbelief.
“That’s too childish,” Xingyue said lightly, stepping back a couple of steps.
“They’ve already been trained to deal with villains, so ordinary tricks won’t work. You have to be more creative.”
“Ok, ok! No problem. I’ll just check villain tactics online!”
Luoyou promised her enthusiastically.
She then excitedly returned to the fitness room.
“…Such audacity.”
Only now did Xingyue’s cheeks flush as she covered her chest.
She really hadn’t expected Luoyou, with such a pure and adorable appearance, to suddenly attack like that.
If she hadn’t gotten somewhat used to it during the Imperial Duel 2.0, she might have lost her composure just now.
“By the way… that infamous Gray Witch recently—is it her?”
With Xingyue’s knowledge of Elera, she felt this was probably the right answer.
“She failed to succeed against Xing Yuliyun and the others, then shifted her sights to Brokenwing Butterfly…”
Xingyue didn’t really want to get involved.
Brokenwing Butterfly had carried emotional baggage for years, hindering her progress.
If the Gray Witch could act as a shock to motivate her, all the better.
Besides, Xingyue couldn’t always stop Elera’s hunting.
If repressed too long, the bomb would explode.
Who knew how many magical girls would be worn down?
As long as Elera didn’t unleash Silver Paw and kept Brokenwing Butterfly as her main target, Xingyue wouldn’t interfere.
Allowing Luoyou to do those~~ things to the magical girls in Huahai City was also to slightly relieve this witch’s cravings.
“I won’t be back for a while. I hope everything goes well,” Xingyue said seriously—a rare solemn expression.
From today onward, she would dive deep into the Boundary Sea.
Teleporting directly to Seidheim, deep in the Boundary Sea, to begin exploring its depths.
“Sigh… if she can avoid causing me trouble during this time, that would be perfect…”
Xingyue sighed in both sorrow and worry, her mind troubled by this flirtatious pyromaniac.