Off Work, Then I Become a Magical Girl
Book 2: Chapter 32: Qi

Vol 2 Chapter 32 Qi

As the battle in the sky intensified, evacuation efforts at the Countermeasure Bureau's headquarters were also underway in full swing.

Pushed along by the crowd flooding out of the building, Tian Sheng struggled to lift his head, a strange sense tugging at his heart as he looked up at the sky.

High above, between the buildings, flashes of familiar blue shimmered amidst a curtain of intertwined purple-red and pale white magic light. The faint blue swayed and flickered as if gathering strength. Then, in a sudden burst, it swept away the surrounding white mist, the brilliant azure seemingly restoring the sky to its true color.

Amid the surging tide of magic, Veronica stood tall and straight, left hand pulling glowing blue threads, right hand gripping a pair of purple-red tailoring scissors. Her petite figure radiated a calm, unwavering resolve.

Blue and purple magic clashed and intertwined, but a subtle boundary still separated them. The fine threads glimmered in her palm, tracing nearly invisible paths across the sky. The exquisite scissors shimmered in her hand, the fine blades hiding a sharp, chilling gleam.

“Huh... Feels surprisingly light…”

Feeling the weight of the scissors in her hand, she couldn’t help but let out a surprised murmur.

The scissors recreated by Hong Siyu were nearly indistinguishable from her original magical armor, both in appearance and feel. But what set them apart most was their magic consumption.

Using magical armor consumes a Magical Girl’s own magic—that’s a given. But depending on the strength of the armor and the user’s proficiency, the level of consumption varies.

Her original Weaving Fate was notoriously magic-hungry. If not for Veronica’s above-average magic reserves for her tier, she wouldn’t have been able to sustain it.

In fact, the more complex a magical armor is, the more magic it demands. According to the Kingdom’s records, there were even cases of Magical Girls unable to advance to Bud-tier because their armor was too intricate.

But now, as she held these recreated scissors, she could hardly feel any magic loss at all. On the contrary, she could vaguely sense some feedback—magic flowing back into her.

“It only lasts five minutes, though. And it’s still drawing on your magic, not mine.”

Seeing the astonishment on Veronica’s face, Hong Siyu turned her eyes away, suppressing the urge to boast and sounding slightly awkward. “So, you don’t have to worry about your magic running out. Just go ahead and fight.”

“…Thank you.”

Veronica understood well that the more sincere a kindness was, the less it needed to be dressed up in words. A simple, direct thank you was the only response she could give right now.

After the brief exchange, she turned toward the buildings nearby, her gaze sharpening.

Yuan hovered there quietly, waiting with interest.

“All set? Ready to go?”

As Veronica’s eyes met hers, Yuan grinned, lifting the ink-metal weapon in her hand. “Using magical armor to complete magical armor—now that’s something you don’t see every day.”

“I thought for sure you’d attack during the handoff,” Veronica said, lightly swinging the tailoring scissors in her hand. “Why didn’t you?”

“I told you—I never stop anyone from using their abilities. Whether it’s a Domain or full bloom, only by defeating an opponent at their full strength do I feel truly satisfied.”

Yuan twirled her fingers. “Interrupting someone’s prep with a sneak attack might get you the win, but that’s not strength—that’s just being a slave to victory.”

“I thought everyone in Claw Mark was some deranged lunatic,” Veronica said flatly. “Shame I didn’t meet you earlier.”

“Meeting now’s not too late. Join us, and we won’t have to be enemies.”

Yuan raised a hand into a battle-ready stance. “But before that, let me see what you’re really capable of. If you’re too weak, I’m not interested in bringing a feeble Magical Girl back to meet the Chief.”

“I appreciate your organization’s interest, but I’m not planning to leave the city I’m stationed in.”

Veronica squared up as well. “So I’ll have to ask you to leave Fangting City.”

“No more talking!” Yuan kicked off with a shout, lunging forward. “The victor decides everything!”

With that, she completely ignored Semi’s cry of “Don’t act on your own!” and reopened the battle once more.

Black and blue magic clashed instantly. Amid the raging currents of power, the two figures didn’t drift apart—they collided in fierce close-quarters combat. The ink-like fluid metal in Yuan’s hands shifted nimbly between spear, sword, blade, and dagger, each form executed with razor-sharp precision that was hard to counter.

But despite Yuan’s tricky techniques, Veronica didn’t falter. Though she was slightly on the defensive, her threads adapted to Yuan’s rhythm, weaving into one Masterpiece after another. If Yuan slashed, she blocked. If Yuan hacked, she struck back. Sword for sword, spear for spear—their magic constructs morphed rapidly, dueling at speeds no ordinary eye could track.

Threads and ink—two magical armors that didn’t look like weapons—were now putting on a dazzling, primal show of combat.

“She’s actually… holding her own against Yuan in close combat?”

Semi, who had been knocked aside by the intensity of the clash, steadied herself and stared wide-eyed at the battle. “Am I dreaming?”

It was no wonder she was shocked—Yuan was notorious within Claw Mark as a close-combat maniac. Her melee prowess was top-tier. Even though her appearances were rare, few ever lasted against her once it got close.

And yet here was Veronica—better known as Chrysoberyl—a Magical Girl with barely three years of front-line experience, matching Yuan blow for blow.

Of course, Semi’s thoughts didn’t affect the fight. In just two minutes, the clash had reached its boiling point—punches, kicks, blades and strikes rang out in a thunderous frenzy.

Only Veronica could feel the real pressure of the battle.

Even with her scissors back in hand, she was barely managing to keep up. Finding a clean opening was nearly impossible.

What made things worse wasn’t just Yuan’s techniques—it was the pale mist swirling around her.

Veronica couldn’t identify it, but the mist responded to Yuan’s every breath, cycling around her. Within its haze, all magic attacks were severely suppressed, and Veronica’s magic couldn’t extend beyond her own body.

“This mist... it’s not your magic or your armor.”

Blocking another swing, Veronica narrowed her eyes. “It doesn’t feel like Ravager power either. It’s something else.”

“Magic? Nah,” Yuan said, seemingly enjoying the fight. “This is my Qi.”

“I’m a Magical Girl, yeah—but I’m also a martial artist. This power comes from an ancient tradition in Donghua Province. It’s nothing like magic.”

“Qi?” Veronica frowned. “We’re not characters in a wuxia novel.”

“Fiction often mirrors reality. If it shows up in stories, it must come from somewhere.”

Yuan’s eyes narrowed, the yin-yang symbols within spinning slowly. “Of course, people today wouldn’t know that. Things that can’t keep up with the times get left behind. Martial arts are just one more piece of forgotten history—not worth remembering.”

“Left behind by the times?” Veronica dodged a strike with a slight tilt of her neck. “Why?”

“Because martial arts—those so-called ancient arts—can’t hold a candle to modern magic. They're slow to train, expensive, and require insane talent. Even after all that, they're useless against real disasters like Ravagers.”

“No matter how gifted or passionate they were, generation after generation of martial artists failed to advance the path. The deeper they went, the more they realized it was a dead end.”

“Martial arts rely on youthful bodies. With age, the blood cools, strength fades, and no amount of passion can stop the decline. Eventually, you're just watching yourself deteriorate.”

“That’s why I joined the Kingdom. As a Magical Girl, I gained a body that doesn’t change, and time to see if I could go further.”

Blocking another Masterpiece, Yuan grinned. “What you’re seeing is the result of all that effort.”

“Then why join Claw Mark?” Veronica pulled back her threads, adjusted her stance, and launched a new assault. “You betrayed the Kingdom, sided with Ravagers—is that the path you chose?”

“Betrayal? Siding with monsters?” Yuan blinked, then laughed. “Is that what you think? That never crossed my mind.”

“The Chief found me, showed me a new kind of power, beat me, and I followed her. Simple as that.”

“To me, strength is everything. Its shape doesn’t matter—magic, martial arts, good or evil, pretty or ugly, heroic or criminal—I don’t care. All I care about is growing stronger.”

The two briefly broke apart, Yuan pausing with a relaxed grin. “Let the world say what it wants. I’m getting stronger. That’s enough.”

At that, Veronica knew words wouldn’t work. Yuan wasn’t like the villains of Black Cinders Dawn—brutal and beyond reason. She wasn’t evil, but neither was she good.

She just didn’t care. About anything.

Someone like that could be a comrade—but as an enemy, there was nothing left to say.

And after their exchange of blows, Veronica realized: she wouldn’t be easy to defeat.

Yuan’s close-combat skills were at least equal to hers—possibly better. If no one interfered, this fight could go on indefinitely. But Veronica didn’t have that kind of time.

The scissors recreated by Hong Siyu only lasted five minutes. After that, her armor and magic reserves would be crippled.

If she wanted to end this, she had to do it now.

She focused, drawing a huge amount of magic into the scissors, fully activating Weaving Fate’s scissor form.

In a fierce exchange, her small tailoring scissors burst with light. Without hesitation, Veronica aimed them at the mist around Yuan, blades opening wide—then snapping shut.

Click.

A sharp snap—and a large chunk of the mist vanished instantly.

At the same time, not far away, Hong Siyu—clutching her book—swayed, her face going pale. The wall of books behind her vanished by a third.

“Ugh… cough cough cough!”

She stumbled back, leaning against the ruined wall of the reception room, clutching her forehead. After a moment, she let out a wry smile. “So this is how much magic that armor eats up… You’ve been fighting like this all along, haven’t you, Senior? That’s just… insane.”

Her reaction was intense—but the battlefield felt the impact even more. Yuan faltered, her rhythm thrown off, coughing like she’d been choked. She backed off, taking several deep breaths, eyebrows raised in confusion. “My Qi… it’s been cut off?”

Not far away, Veronica was breathing heavily too.

This was her first time using the recreated scissors at full power, and clearly, the strain on Hong Siyu was massive.

But the result was exactly what she’d hoped for—this was the scissors’ true ability: Separation.

Weaving Fate’s scissors were usually paired with a Domain to remove large-scale concepts. But even without that, they had power.

Just now, a single snip had forcibly severed Yuan’s “Qi” from her body.

It was a bit underhanded, sure. But that was why Veronica had asked about the mist—once Yuan explained it, she gained just enough understanding to trigger the scissors’ power.

Of course, the effect wasn’t permanent.

Activating it cost a huge amount of magic. Keeping it active required even more—magic she couldn’t provide herself. That burden now fell squarely on Hong Siyu.

Which is why, back on the night of the Moon Festival, she’d had to destroy her scissors to erase the Ravager concept on a massive scale. Without doing so, she’d never have had the magic needed.

Now, again, to end this fight quickly, she had no choice but to use this ability.