Chapter 33: Golden Needle Yellow! A new magical girl appears?

A blinding golden light erupted in the center of the field! Reida, shielding the startled girls, now wore sleek gold-and-white armor.

Gripping a knight’s longsword that shimmered with golden streams, she exuded a holy, untouchable aura, standing firm against the monster!

Not only were Dongfang Cheng and Lin Feng stunned by the sudden turn, but even Phoenix Red, who’d arrived as a red streak to save the day, nearly lost her flight control, stumbling mid-air.

“Another powerhouse?!”

“A new… magical girl?!”

Almost simultaneously, Dongfang Cheng, Lin Feng, and the barely recovered Phoenix Red shared the same question.

But Reida gave no time for reactions. She calmly raised her sword, murmuring softly:

“Osmanthus Sword, Full Armament Domination Unleashed.”

The intricate osmanthus patterns on the blade flared with blinding brilliance. With a light shout, countless golden petals, almost tangible, surged from the ethereal sword, swirling in the air before cascading like a torrential rain toward the motionless monster.

Under this divine yet lethal spectacle, the mole monster didn’t even have time to wail before disintegrating in the radiant golden storm, leaving only a bottomless pit and wisps of fading black magical aura.

One-hit kill.

“So… so strong…” Phoenix Red muttered, dazed, staring at the gallant golden figure below. She descended slowly, approaching Reida with a complex expression. “Are you… also a magical girl?”

Reida gracefully sheathed her ornate sword into an invisible scabbard behind her, her movements elegant and precise. Lifting her molten-gold eyes, she nodded slightly to Phoenix Red. “You may call me Golden Needle Yellow, Captain.”

The calm “Captain” hit Phoenix Red like a thunderbolt. Her gaze froze, her heart gripped by an unseen hand. As team leader, she should’ve been thrilled to gain such a powerful ally, but an inexplicable unease and bitterness surfaced, her mind flashing to Kirara’s face. She instinctively stepped back.

Dongfang Cheng’s heart jolted.

Golden Needle Yellow? A new yellow magical girl? Had Hoshino Kirara… been permanently replaced?

His mind conjured the loud, argumentative, yet fiercely determined blonde twin-tailed girl. Had her near-disaster under Dan’s influence led to her expulsion?

Lin Feng’s brows furrowed as he covertly checked Ouroboros’s database on his phone—no record of “Golden Needle Yellow.”

What unsettled him more was her aura, demeanor, and that strike’s power—surpassing even Phoenix Red, radiating A-rank, maybe S-rank, magical girl prowess!

Just then, the remaining three magical girls arrived late. Shizuku Blue eyed the gold-armored warrior, then the shaken Phoenix Red, and finally the massive pit “purified” by golden osmanthus.

Instinctively clutching her chest, her usually composed face betrayed worry and grief.

“Kirara…”

Her whisper, soft as if carried away by the wind, was caught by Dongfang Cheng’s sharp senses.

—So, she was Hoshino Kirara’s replacement.

As teachers frantically evacuated students and set up barriers, several black-suited “association” agents arrived, claiming to handle special incidents. Carrying unfamiliar devices, they briefly spoke with Reida before conducting identity registration, magical signature recording, and preliminary battle documentation.

“New magical girl—Golden Needle Yellow, identity confirmed, temporary registration complete,” one agent reported tonelessly into a communicator.

Dongfang Cheng watched from the distant crowd, his gaze darkening.

“Rich dog,” he whispered, nudging Lin Feng, “could Duhuang City have two yellow magical girls at once?”

Lin Feng shook his head. With his knowledge of magical girls, no city in Super Asia had ever seen that—not even Duhuang.

“Then… is Meteor Yellow really dead?” Dongfang Cheng’s brows knit, nearly slipping Hoshino’s name.

“Maybe too injured to resonate with her magical core, like the previous Pink. Or—” Lin Feng paused, his tone heavy, “she fell for reasons we don’t know. Who can say?”

“But you seem awfully invested, A-Cheng,” he added, pivoting.

“…She was a hero who protected Duhuang, after all,” Dongfang Cheng said, looking away, his voice flat.

Lin Feng scoffed. “If only everyone thought like you. Those brain-dead online rumors about ‘magical girl palace drama’ or ‘Meteor Yellow ditched for losing favor’ are so annoying.”

But, as if to validate those “Meteor Yellow retired” rumors, reality seemed to lean that way.

Over the next seven days, Duhuang City faced five more minor monster attacks. Each time, “Golden Needle Yellow” Reida fought as the team’s strongest, alongside Red, Blue, Pink, and Green.

Her combat style was overwhelmingly dominant, visually stunning, and deadly. Within a week, she gained a massive online following, her popularity soaring, even overshadowing the once-mysterious, highly discussed Zero.

“Outrageous, these fickle idiots!” Lin Feng fumed, scrolling through brainless comments hyping Golden Needle Yellow while bashing other magical girls. “Miss Zero’s just laying low, and these bandwagoners forget her? Where’s the Knight Corps’ loyalty? Faith?”

His 500-member “Knight Corps HQ” chat was now mostly about Golden Needle Yellow intel, sprinkled with spicy fan art of the knight girl.

Dongfang Cheng was fine with it. He wasn’t keen on constant fighting; having someone draw attention away from Zero was a godsend.

But Lin Feng wasn’t ready to abandon his “mission.” He sidled up to Dongfang Cheng, grinning slyly, and shoved his phone screen forward.

“Still, some fans stay loyal! Check this out!”

The screen showed a niche blue fanfiction site, under #MagicalGirlZero, sorted by popularity.

Dongfang Cheng glanced at it, every tag screaming inhuman.

[Removed by mods for being too wild]

“…Why’d you bookmark every single one?” he asked.

“They’re all useful!” Lin Feng grinned.

Dongfang Cheng’s fist clenched, veins popping.

“This punch is for Zero! Die!!”

“Gwah—!”