Magical Girl and Monster

After parting with Chen Xi, Tidal and You Xi proceeded with the day’s training as planned.

They were now at one of the former Fifth Ring’s operational bases—housed inconspicuously within a six-story white office building in the heart of the city.

The building contained over a hundred small offices available for rent, occupied by all kinds of businesses: foreign trade firms, e-commerce startups, software developers, design studios, even borderline-online streamers. A true melting pot of professions and people.

Precisely because of this chaotic mix, no one paid much attention to what their neighbors did or who came and went. And located right at the center of the Fifth Ring, the site allowed rapid deployment to any nearby district—making it an ideal base of operations.

“Today, since there are no active missions, we’ll focus purely on theory.”

Tidal crossed her arms and addressed You Xi.

“Got it, Senior!”

You Xi nodded vigorously, full of energy.

“…Anyway, go ahead and transform first.”

Tidal suddenly realized she had to tilt her head up to meet You Xi’s eyes—a fact that struck her as both absurd and slightly amusing.

“No problem, Senior!”

You Xi pressed her soul gem against her chest. A flash of light erupted, and Raging Flame emerged—her long, flowing red twin tails fluttering as if caught in an unseen wind.

“…Huh? Wait… the injury… it’s still not healed?”

Raging Flame stared at herself, puzzled.

Though she looked far better than she had that night, and her previously fractured right arm appeared externally healed, the moment she tried to move it, she felt no strength in her wrist. The usual lightness after transformation was also missing.

“S-Senior… what do I do? I can’t fight like this!” Raging Flame whined, her face falling into a worried frown.

“Ugh… you really don’t know this?” Tidal shot her a look.

She herself was just learning as she went, but if a magical girl didn’t even understand such basic knowledge, she couldn’t help but worry about her niece’s future.

Even regular office workers got onboarding training. And magical girls? This was life-or-death work. How could the Magic Kingdom send these teenage girls into battle without any proper instruction?

The thought made Tidal’s blood boil.

She turned sharply toward the corner of the room, where Lao Lin was napping on the sofa, and shouted:

“Lao Lin!”

“Present!”

Lao Lin shoved the magazine off his face and shot upright like a spring.

“You people—what’s wrong with you? How does Raging Flame not even know how to replenish her magic? She’s been walking around injured this whole time—how is that acceptable?”

“Commander is absolutely right.”

Lao Lin adopted a stiff, overly respectful posture.

“This subordinate, due to insufficient ideological awareness and failure to uphold responsibilities, has allowed such a low-level error to occur. Following criticism and education from higher-ups, I deeply recognize the severity of my mistake. My reflections are as follows…”

“Enough. Shut up.”

Tidal waved her hand, cutting him off.

The title [Magic Commander] was a cover identity Lao Lin had fabricated for her. In the Magic Kingdom, a Magic Commander was a special envoy—essentially a covert operative entrusted with critical missions.

Due to the nature of their role, Commanders held absolute confidentiality. They answered only to their superiors and were under no obligation to disclose their actions to anyone else.

The brilliance of this false identity was that unless a high-ranking official from the Magic Kingdom personally came to Shangjing City, there was no way to verify or disprove her status. And Tidal’s magic wand—real, functional, and visibly powerful—only added to the illusion’s credibility.

“Here. Take this.”

Tidal handed Raging Flame a small, bottle-cap-sized crystal glowing with pure white light.

“What’s this?” Raging Flame asked, taking it with confusion.

“It’s a magic crystal left behind by that Arm Monster we fought that night.”

“Whether it’s a magical girl or a monster, the body we manifest in this world is ultimately made of magic. There’s no fundamental difference.”

“…Huh?”

Raging Flame blinked, stunned.

“No difference? So… are you saying we’re the same as the monsters?”

“Yes. No difference. The magic that escaped from the Magic Kingdom gets shaped and distorted by the real world, eventually forming various corporeal aberrations.”

“And us—magical girls—we’re no different. Our bodies are also shells crafted from that same escaped magic. So we share the same origin.”

“…There have been cases of magical girls falling and turning into monsters,” Lao Lin chimed in. “So besides fighting, you should also pay attention to your mental well-being.”

“Wait… does that mean… we could become monsters too?”

Raging Flame’s shoulders slumped. Her expression darkened.

As a teenage girl, the idea that she might be no different from the monsters she fought was hard to accept.

“You don’t need to dwell on it too much.”

Seeing her niece’s distress, Tidal softened.

“Raging Flame, remember this—power is just power.”

“We humans are the same. We’re all made of flesh and blood, yet some are noble, some are vile; some kind, some cruel. Raging Flame—what kind of person do you want to be?”

“That answer,” Tidal continued, “was already clear the moment you made your vow and became a magical girl. When the endless battles leave you tired, when you feel lost—remember that moment. Remember how you felt.”

“Because as long as that brave, pure heart remains unchanged, as long as it doesn’t fade or rot, we will never fall and become monsters.”

These words were both a magical girl’s guidance to her junior—and a guardian’s quiet reassurance to his niece.

“…Senior… that was so cool.”

Encouraged, Raging Flame perked up again.

“Anyway… don’t let something like this get you down. Got it?”

Tidal cleared her throat, flustered by the way Raging Flame was staring at her with such burning admiration.

“Back to the lesson.”

“Since we share the same origin as the aberrations, the magic crystals they leave behind when defeated can be used by us—to replenish magic, repair damage, or power our spells.”

“The essence of a magical girl’s injury is the loss of the magic that composes her body. Replenishing it from ambient magic takes time. But using a magic crystal is like drinking a healing potion in a game—immediate and effective.”

“I get it! So I use *its* magic to heal my body, right?”

Raging Flame said, then promptly popped the crystal into her mouth.

“…Idiot! That’s not food!”