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Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? (Light Novel) - Volume 12, Chapter 4: Darkness Rainbow
Volume 12, Chapter 4: Darkness Rainbow
This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml
Part 1
Saturday, April 24
Harumi and Kanae first met a few years ago when Harumi was admitted. Back then, Sanae's condition was still light, so Harumi and Sanae were hospitalized in the same sickroom. That's why Harumi didn't just know Kanae, but also knew Sanae, though only the Sanae with the modest personality. After being released, Harumi would show up every so often to visit Sanae, and then she would also meet Kanae.
Kanae was currently in the hospital to pick up a few personal belongings left behind by Sanae. On her way back, she just happened to spot Harumi and Yurika.
Having finished their businesses, the three left the hospital and decided to eat lunch at a family restaurant. They were now done eating and were peacefully chatting.
“Hmm, so the two of you will be going after the same boy together... Girls nowadays sure are bold.”
Kanae swirled her glass of iced coffee around while smiling elegantly.
“Going after...”
Kanae's frank expression made Harumi blush. Still in her late teens, Harumi didn't have the same level of confidence an adult had.
“Am I wrong?”
Kanae gave Harumi a teasing glance. She was enjoying seeing Harumi's innocent blushing.
“I don't think you're wrong, but... I feel like the nuance has changed...”
“Fufu, it hasn't changed... But I'm a little jealous. Friendship and love, huh... It's been a while since I talked about that myself...”
Kanae went through her memories and smiled nostalgically. She imagined herself shining in her teens and dreamed of going back to that time.
“About thirty years ago?”
However, she had only felt like teen for a few seconds. Yurika's oblivious and ruthless comment dragged her back to reality.
“Yurika-chan, are you picking a fight with me?”
Kanae smiled, but her eyes were twitching.
“N-Not at all!!”
Yurika hurriedly shook her head.
I've done it! I've done it again!
Yurika knew that having a rich enemy was bad. And she was also scared of Koutarou's punishment. That's why she continued shaking her head as fast as she could.
“I came to pick a fight. Kanae.”
That was when a new voice joined in. The voice belonged to a woman in her late twenties wearing an indigo suit. The moment they saw that woman, both Kanae and Yurika's expressions froze up.
“Long time no see, Kanae.”
“Maya?! Why are you?!”
“This person is using magic... wait, Darkness Rainbow?!”
“Nice to meet you, Rainbow Yurika. My Maki is always in your care. I am Maki's master, Maya.”
The woman that had appeared in front of Yurika and the others was Maya, a magician from Darkness Rainbow.
Part 2
Yurika's master, Nana, and her partner at the time, Kanae, had defeated Maya a few years ago. Back then, the injuries Maya had sustained were severe and she was no longer fit for battle. That's why her disciple, Maki, had taken up the name of Dark Navy.
“Maya... what is that body?..”
“You'll find out soon. Very soon.”
However, Maya didn't seem to be under the effect of a serious injury. Her movements looked just the same as they had before to Kanae, not to mention she looked even younger than she did back then, as if she had grown younger these past few years. Kanae was more surprised by that than by Maya's sudden appearance.
“Nijino-san, what's going on? Who is that person? Why are we here?”
Harumi was even more confused than Kanae was.
After Maya had appeared, the group had moved to an abandoned building. While they directed hostility to one another, they exchanged harsh words.
Having suddenly been dragged into a dangerous world, Harumi couldn't do anything but be confused.
“Sakuraba-senpai, it's dangerous so please stay away.”
“Dangerous... why?”
“A fight will start. That person is my and Kanae-san's enemy.”
“Enemy?!”
Harumi thought that Yurika was joking, that she was only pretending that this was like her favorite anime. However, the atmosphere she felt was different. It was far too serious to be considered a joke. Yurika hadn't showed this serious of an expression, even during their plays.
Enemy... That person is Nijino-san and Kanae-san's enemy...
Harumi looked at Maya. Even she could feel an ominous presence coming from her. However, her common sense kept saying that it was all just a joke. Her sensation and common sense clashed, which only served to confuse Harumi even more.
“I will explain the details later. Please just do as I say, Sakuraba-senpai.”
“O-Okay. I understand...”
Harumi did as Yurika said and got away from the other three. She didn't understand a thing, but she had no reason to doubt Yurika. After confirming that Harumi was at a safe distance, Yurika approached Kanae. Meanwhile, Kanae and Maya's discussion continued.
“Maya, let Sakuraba-san go. She is unrelated to this.”
“Fufufu, I can't do that. I have my own circumstances here.”
Maya refused Kanae's request, full of confidence. But on the inside, she was thinking something different.
On the surface she is a weak girl. However, her second personality holds a vast amount of power. Knowing that, there's no way I would just let her go, is there?
Maya had been given a report from Maki, so she knew of the power Harumi had. Based on Maya's objective, there was no way that she would set Harumi free.
“No matter what? Sakuraba-senpai is just a normal person.”
Yurika came to Kanae's side and asked for Harumi to be let go.
Yurika didn't know of Harumi's power. That was because she had been unconscious when Harumi had shown her powers. That's why she tried to keep Harumi as far away from danger as possible.
“No matter what. No matter who that girl is.”
But even then, Maya wouldn't let Harumi go. Maya fearlessly smiled as she tore off the clothes she was wearing, revealing a magical girl outfit that looked familiar to Kanae. But that familiarity ended there.
“Mode change, combat mode! Aura amplification rate to 1.5.”
“Ready. Combat mode with aura amplification rate to 1.5 activated.”
On Maya's command, her wrists began emitting an indigo glow as if she was wearing bracelets. At the same time, the lines that resembled tattoos began glowing with the same light and opened up a little. In that gap, very complex looking machinery could be seen. Most of Maya's body was now composed of machines.
“Maya?! Is that body—?!”
Seeing the machinery through the gaps in her body, Kanae realized how Maya had recovered. But she couldn't imagine that this could be done with modern science. It was a very shocking sight for Kanae.
“Are you jealous? I found a wonderful beauty salon. Aren't I beautiful?”
“A cyborg?! Kanae-san, get away!! That's dangerous!!”
Yurika warned Kanae who was standing still. In response, Kanae followed Yurika's advice and got some distance between herself and Maya. Thanks to her manga and anime, she understood the danger faster than Kanae.
“That's a good intuition! As expected from Nana's disciple I suppose!”
Maya grinned as her body changed even further. Various mechanisms popped out from the gaps forming on her body. Things such as exhaust tubes, armor and weapons appeared. Maya had thrown away her beautiful body and changed into a brutal combat machine.
“Come, Angel Halo! Encyclopedia!”
In return, Yurika called for her own canes.
Her intuition told her that if she didn't reveal her identity and held back on magic, she would have no chance of winning.
Part 3
Having transformed into a magical girl, the first thing Yurika did was to give Kanae a weapon and create a barrier.
“Armed — Encyclopedia!”
One of the two canes in Yurika's hand transformed into a bow. Yurika then threw it to Kanae.
“Please use that, Kanae-san!”
“Thank you!”
Kanae easily caught the bow mid air and swiftly readied herself. As she did, the bow readjusted itself to perfectly suit Kanae.
It works the same way as with Nana-chan... I can fight with this!
Kanae then drew the bow and an arrow appeared out of nowhere. Kanae recalled her breathing from her previous battles and pointed the bow towards Maya.
“Sanctuary — Modifier — Effective Area — Colossal!”
At the same time, Yurika finished casting her barrier. With this, there was no need to worry about their fight being witnessed by anyone outside the building.
“Are the two of you ready yet?”
Despite having finished her own preparations, Maya waited for Yurika and Kanae to finish up their own. She did want to wait for the barrier to be put up, but the biggest reason for this was because she had absolute confidence in her own power.
She was convinced that there was no way she would lose to Kanae, who was growing weary from age, and Yurika, who was still immature.
“That confidence of yours will be fatal.”
“That might be true, if your partner had been Nana.”
The reason she had been defeated by Nana was because of her overconfidence in her power. Maya could honestly accept that.
“But you two are not as strong as the past Kanae and Nana. And besides—”
Maya took a stance.
As she did, a sound similar to a switch being pressed could be heard in several places on her body. That sound served as the gong to start the battle. It was the sound of the safety devices of Maya's weapons being released.
“—I'm far stronger than I was before!”
Maya kicked off the ground. And in that moment, she disappeared from Yurika's sight.
“She's fast?!”
“Above you, Yurika-chan!”
Yurika had lost track of Maya, but Kanae who had excellent eyesight had not. As she warned Yurika, she released an arrow.
“You really are a little slower, Kanae!”
Maya kicked off the ceiling of the building and changed her direction. As a result, the arrow missed her.
“Should I introduce you to a good salon?!”
Maya had kicked off the ceiling and was now charging towards Kanae at a fierce speed. Maya greatly wounded her arm with a hand that transformed into a blade.
“I think I'll pass!”
But Kanae wasn't just going to let herself be done in. She swapped the bow from her left hand to her right and swung it. It handled similarly to a golf club.
“I'm still young after all!”
“My, that's too bad!”
Maya's right hand and Kanae's bow collided. If Kanae's weapon had been a normal bow, it probably would have been destroyed in that hit. However, since it was originally Encyclopedia, it endured the blow.
“Maybe you should lose a little weight instead!”
While retaining its bow form, Encyclopedia unleashed a spell. The bow read Kanae's wish to blow Maya away and activated a shockwave spell.
“I'll let the people who made my body know!”
But even the close range shockwave didn't affect Maya's confidence. Without even trying to dodge, she pointed her left arm towards Kanae.
The next moment, the shock wave crashed into the parts of Maya's body covered in armor and dispersed. And at the same time, Maya fired the gun protruding from her left arm.
What Maya fired weren't normal bullets, but bullets of indigo light. Energy was discharged directly from Maya's body.
“Oh no?!”
Kanae hurriedly took evasive actions, but she was too close to dodge all of the fired bullets. At this rate, she would definitely be hit.
“Quick Cast!! Force Field!!”
But just before the bullets hit Kanae, a yellow shield of light appeared in the way of the bullets.
The shield of light blocked the majority of the bullets, but it was unable to withstand the barrage and the last remaining bullets continued flying towards Kanae.
However, thanks to Yurika buying her some time, Kanae barely managed to avoid the shots. She escaped with only one bullet grazing her cheek and another cutting off a few strands of hair.
“Oh... aren't you working hard.”
Taking some distance once more, Maya seemed a little impressed as she looked at Kanae and Yurika, but her confidence remained the same.
“Please be careful, Kanae-san.”
“...Thank you, Yurika-chan.”
Yurika stepped forward to keep Maya in check. Meanwhile, Kanae got up and readied her bow again. As she did, the bow changed its shape and bowstring according to Kanae's will.
It's a little hard to draw, but if I don't have enough power I won't be able to hit her at that speed...
Maya was moving far faster than she had before. Maya was good at using magic to enhance her body's abilities, but even back then she hadn't been this fast.
“...What is this I wonder... I don't know what is up with her body and her weapons...”
Yurika held her cane and looked at Maya's body again.
Despite it not being her real body, she can still move that fluidly, and she moves at that speed without even using any magic. Her defense is quite impressive as well. And that weapon just now is strange... Not even a machine gun can break through a force field that easily... It probably isn't magic, but something else...
An overwhelming speed, attacks hard to defend against and strong defenses. Yurika could only think of one person with that kind of power.
“If I don't treat this as if I'm fighting against Satomi-san I'll be killed!”
Maya reminded Yurika of Koutarou. He had help from Sanae, and Kiriha's gauntlet and haniwas were― once Yurika reached that point in her thoughts she had an epiphany.
“I see!! The underground people made your body, didn't they, Maya-san?!”
Yurika remembered the remains of the altar that Kanae had showed her yesterday. They were pieces of spiritual energy devices. If Maya had connections to the underground people back then, chances were high she still did now. And with the underground people's technology Maya's smooth movements and overwhelming speed could be explained.
“Hmm... I guess you're not as stupid as you look, just like Maki said...”
Maya's smile disappeared.
At the same time, several new weapons appeared on her body.
“But because of that, you now have to die.”
Maya wanted to keep her connections to the underground people a secret.
But now that Yurika had found out the truth, she had to kill her or her relations with the underground people might worsen. Maya had been buying time up until now, but now her goal became to kill Yurika and the others. Playtime was over.
“Kanae-san, I'll raise your strength with magic! I'll leave the attacking to you!”
“Okay! I'll count on you to back me up!”
“Yes!”
Kanae dashed forward holding her bow. Yurika wouldn't be able to lock onto Maya, so she left the attacking to Maya.
“Quick — And — Double Cast! Lightning Reflex, Mighty Power!!”
Yurika enhanced Kanae's reflexes and strength with magic. With this, she would have an easier time keeping up with Maya, and she would be able to use her bow more easily. There were other parts she wanted to enhance as well, but since Maya was already making her move, even by forcibly speeding her spells up, two was her limit.
“How about this?!”
Kanae sent one arrow after another towards Maya. She could clearly see Maya and could more easily draw the bowstring. The fired arrows rushed straight towards Maya.
“Good, Kanae!! It's like you've returned to how you used to be!!”
“Automatic interception system activated. Beginning interception.”
However, Maya wasn't without her own plans. Two antennas thrust up from her body and started firing powerful lightning bolts. Though the bolts didn't directly hit the arrows, the electromagnetism they created had an effect on the metallic tips of the arrows. As a result, the arrows that were headed straight towards Maya veered off course and missed.
“But you're still a bit off!! You really have gotten old, Kanae!!”
“It's not over yet!!”
In that moment, the bow in Kanae's hand greatly changed its shape. As the bow returned to its original form of a cane, Kanae swung it. Kanae was skilled with both bows and naginatas. Kanae was going to fight against Maya using the cane as a replacement for a naginata.
“I see, so you have more weapons than before!”
In response, Maya fired the gun on her left arm while charging in.
“Protection From Soul Energy!”
But this time, the bullets were completely blocked by Yurika's defensive spell. Knowing that she was going up against the underground people's technology, she realized that protection from spiritual energy would be more effective than protection from physical attacks.
“Haaaaaaaaaa!!”
“Daaaaaaaaaa!!”
Maya and Kanae clashed, and the blade in Maya's right hand crashed into Kanae's cane.
Kanae's cane was made out of wood, but thanks to the magic power inside, it was harder than steel. As a result, the cane successfully blocked Maya's blade. But her strike was heavy, and so was Maya's body, thanks to all the machinery in her. What's more, her speed was abnormal. Because of that, Kanae couldn't hold off the blow despite being strengthened by Yurika's magic.
“I've got you, Kaanaeee!!”
With Kanae being blown upwards, Maya unleashed a kick with her long legs.
A blade appeared at her foot, just like with her hand. Maya was planning on finishing off Kanae with this attack.
“Quick Cast — Push!”
“Kyaa?!”
But before Maya's leg could reach, Kanae was blown away by Yurika's spell. Thanks to that, Maya ended up missing completely.
“Cane, please!”
Kanae then used the cane's magic to make a soft landing. But despite having survived the crisis, Kanae's expression was severe.
She's strong... and her attack pattern is completely different from the past... If I let my guard down for a moment, I will die!
The cane transformed into a bow once more. Kanae wanted to wipe the sweat off her forehead away, but she wasn't given the time to do so.
Part 4
The battle continued in Maya's favor. She could attack any way she pleased thanks to the many weapons she had, and though Yurika and Kanae had the numerical advantage, they were forced to defend themselves. Harumi knew next to nothing about fighting, but even she could tell that Yurika and Kanae were being driven into a corner.
“What is going on...? Just who are Nijino-san and Higashihongan-san...?”
Harumi was overwhelmed by the spectacle taking place in front of her eyes.
A battle had suddenly started, and she had no idea why. She was confused by the woman with the mechanical body, and Kanae who fought against her. But what confused her the most was Yurika's appearance.
“It's like she's a real magician... Wasn't that supposed to be just cosplay...?”
As Yurika fought, she looked just like a magical girl that would appear on an anime. And for every time they swung their arms, the earth tore up and the air was burnt and scorched. It was obvious that this wasn't some kind of special effect. With a spectacle that ignored common sense like this playing out in front of her, Harumi started question if this was even real.
“...Huh...?”
That was when a doubt floated up in Harumi's mind. It was a sensation of deja vu.
Haven't I seen something like this before...?
A faint memory appeared in her mind. It was the sight of Yurika fighting against a girl in an indigo outfit. However, that memory was very hazy and she couldn't remember it very well. But she could somehow feel that the memory she had was of something that had happened in the past.
What is this... I feel like I'm forgetting something important...?
Harumi began focusing on her own mind, searching through her memories, trying to recall that vague memory.
It wasn't this year. It was probably after the first play... I talked to Nijino-san and Satomi-kun, and then we, all of us and Matsudaira-san, went out to play... No... Was it a little before that?
Based on her own sensations, the clothes worn at the time and her surroundings, Harumi got a feel for roughly when it had happened. And using that as her guide, Harumi's memories gradually started getting clearer.
That's right... Back then, this woman... No, not her, it was probably a different girl with similar clothes... I was kidnapped by that girl, and was unable to move...
Something was glowing on Harumi's forehead, and it started glowing brighter the clearer her memory got. That pure-white glow turned into a torrent of magical power and was trying to break the spell put on Harumi's memory to pieces.
And then...
Harumi could remember a large fireball. At the same time, a fireball appeared in reality as well.
“I don't know what you're planning, but I won't let you do anything!”
Maya created a fireball just like Maki had in Harumi's memories. Maya sensed the magical power that Harumi was releasing and made the first move to keep Harumi from interrupting her fight with Yurika and Kanae.
“Run away, Sakuraba-senpai!!”
Yurika shouted. It was a situation very similar to last time, but this time, Yurika had just cast a spell and was now unable to protect Harumi. And since the attack this time around wasn't magic, Maya was far faster than Maki had been. Moreover, Kanae couldn't stop Maya's attack from her position. At this rate, Harumi's life was in danger.
“...Good bye, young lady.”
In the end, Yurika's warning hadn't been quick enough. Harumi wasn't a magician, and she didn't have the ability nor the will to fight. Being just a normal girl, Harumi simply stood there with a blank stare.
“Sakuraba-senpaaaaiiii!!”
And then I was swallowed by crimson flames.
Part 5
Darkness Rainbow wasn't just after Yurika. Dark Green and Dark Crimson were planning on attacking room 106 of Corona House.
Darkness Rainbow's main goal was to seize the magic power concentrated in room 106. Maya's attack on Yurika was a diversion to stall for time. This room was their real goal.
“Are you ready, Green?”
“Yes. My forecast is telling me to watch out for a girl with golden hair that uses the key word 'Blue Knight'. I can see a multitude of different attacks stemming from that. And one more warning.”
“What?”
“Don't enjoy your battle with the girl wearing an apron too much. If you got too into it, I can see several futures where you get the rug pulled out from under you.”
“Okay, okay. Despite your calm looking expression, you're quite harsh...”
After invading the premises of Corona House, Crimson and Green released the spell that concealed them. They had already put up a barrier to keep people away so there was no need for them to worry about being spotted.
“Crimson, take a step to your right quickly.”
“Okay, okay, you're so demanding...”
The two of them both took a single step to the right, and that was when it happened.
A beam of light appeared just where they had been standing. The light carved a large hole into the ground and the shockwave created from the heated air greatly shook the two.
“Kyaaaaa?! What's going on?!”
“...It's the enemy's attack. They noticed us approaching when we put up the barrier.”
Having predicted the enemy's attack, Green simply shook from the enemy's overhead laser attack, but Crimson lost her balance. She then hurriedly rebalanced herself and complained to Green.
“Let me know those important things sooner!”
“It's okay. We'll be using a mental link from now on.”
As Green activated a new spell, the people that had attacked them appeared. They were five girls around the same age as Green and Crimson.
“Oh... to think you would dodge that... How interesting.”
“Your highness, this is strange. According to the observed data, these two took evasive action just before the weapon was fired.”
“But it doesn't look like they sensed an aura.”
“Then did they wiretap us? How rude, I'll have to call the operator...”
“If they wiretapped us, they probably would have moved sooner. It seems like it's something different.”
Theia, Ruth, Sanae, Shizuka and Kiriha. The five girls of room 106 stood in Crimson and Green's way, ready for a fight.
“But should we really have attacked out of nowhere?”
“No problems. They couldn't be anything than enemies in this situation.”
Sanae was worried about having attacked right away, but Theia had made a grounded decision. There had been signs that informed her of their raid.
First, all signals between Koutarou's bracelet and the Blue Knight, except for the signal that used gravitational waves, had been suddenly cut off. Finding that strange, Ruth investigated the situation and found that most communications methods around Koutarou had been cut off. They had also lost contact with Yurika. In that situation, communications in Corona House had been disrupted as well. And at the same time, two girls had snuck into the premises of Corona House. This had all been circumstantial evidence, but Theia made the call that they weren't friendly and used the Blue Knight to attack without hesitation.
“I like that swift decision of yours.”
Crimson smiled. A fire started in her eyes, she was excited to fight against a powerful opponent.
“Of course. Those are the basics of battle. Make a preemptive strike with overwhelming force. It's your own fault for carelessly approaching after such an imperfect diversion... How ungraceful.”
Theia smiled elegantly and covered her mouth with an even more elegant folding fan. Enraged by Theia's behavior, Crimson readied her cane and roared.
“Then I'll turn you into cinders right now!! I'll make you regret talking down to me!!”
Crimson was conscious of her own error. She also felt ashamed for her ungraceful appearance during the bombardment. So having Theia throw some harsh words towards her, Crimson's blood started to boil.
“Calm down, Crimson.”
“But...”
“I understand how you feel, but don't fall for their provocation. That girl is very calculating.”
“Uhh... O-Okay...”
But with Dark Green's calm words, Crimson barely managed to hold herself back. Seeing that, Theia closed her fan and erased her sarcastic smile.
“I see... so that's the kind of combination you two have...”
Like Green said, Theia was simply trying to provoke them. She was no longer the type of person that would aggravate others for no reason. Skilled in battles, Theia was trying to extract info from Crimson by provoking her.
They're unknowns, but I've figured out a bit... These people really are behind the diversions... The green one is in charge of information, and the red one can use high energy attacks. The reckless red is being controlled by the calm green. Based on this relation, the green one is the leader... and then there's that cane that the red one was going to attack with... Surely that can't be a magical cane, can it...?
This brief exchange of words had been enough for Theia to obtain a lot of information. Upon analyzing the information, Theia reached a certain conclusion. To confirm it, she asked Kiriha who was by her side.
“Kiriha, what do you think?”
“I believe I have reached the same conclusion as you, Theia-dono. Sadly, I cannot think of anything else.”
“I see... so they really are...”
Theia grinded her teeth. If Theia and Kiriha were right, the two in front of them wouldn't be foes they could so easily deal with.
“What do you mean, Theia-chan?”
Shizuka who hadn't understood asked Theia.
“...Those two are magicians.”
“Eeeehhh?!”
“You're kidding?!”
Shizuka and Sanae's eyes opened wide in surprise. Even Ruth who was behind them was surprised.
“Your highness, are you sure?!”
“...You might think that I am being foolish, but I am almost completely convinced. They are like Yurika, in a good way.”
Like Yurika in a good way. That meant that they had the same kind of power Yurika had when she had saved Sanae from her crisis. It meant that they could use magic.
In other words―
“Our enemies are magical girls. If you look down on them thinking they're just cosplayers, you're in for a world of hurt.”
―It meant that they were troublesome enemies that could fight in an abundance of ways.
Part 6
Theia had reached conclusion that the two were magical girls because of their canes and the situation.
Both of them had canes of different shapes. The interference in Corona House very closely resembled the barrier that Yurika had put up using Encyclopedia. On top of that, the cloak they had used to approach was incredibly advanced and had allowed them to slip past all of the sensors that Theia and Ruth had set up. It was hard to believe that could be possible with the current level of technology on Earth.
Koutarou had brought Yurika's cane in from another world, but it worked without any problems in this world as well. That meant that the laws of physics allowed for the existence of magic. In that case, it wouldn't be strange for there to be real magicians.
With this, it meant that either the two were magicians, or they had science advanced enough to deceive Forthorthe's sensors. Either way, it was clear that they were dangerous. And in the worst case scenario, them being magical girls was the most dangerous. Based on Yurika's past efforts, it was more troublesome going up against magic that could be used for all kinds of things rather than Forthorthe's technology that became a lot more limited in a battle.
“That's right. You will all be defeated by our magic.”
With a confident smile, Crimson readied her cane. As she did, the crimson outfit she was wearing began to emit a faint red glow, making it look like she was on fire.
“But it's nothing personal... Green, are you ready?”
“Yes. The first attack will come in 33 seconds.”
Green silently nodded. However, her voice reached Crimson. This was thanks to a telepathy spell.
“What kind of attack?”
“The girl in the apron will lead the attack.”
When Green readied her cane, several holograms appeared around her. The holograms displayed characters and images, and it looked very similar to the holograms Clan could produce with her bracelet.
“An enemy that can do what Yurika-chan did back then, huh... then I will lead the way. Everyone else please back me up.”
“Shizuka, I'll help too!”
“We're counting on you, Shizuka, Sanae. Blue Knight, auto select using the anti-personnel laser as the starting point.”
“As you wish, my princess.”
“Karama, Korama, change the settings on the Spiritual Energy Field, raise its resistance towards elemental attacks as much as you can. I will permit the use of spiritual energy weapons. Release your limits, I will allow you to force yourselves to the point that you break if need be.”
“Understood Ho-!”
“Leave it to us Ho-!”
“We're going up against enemies we know nothing about! Everyone, please don't push yourselves too much until I can gather the necessary data!”
Shizuka was the vanguard with Sanae backing her up with her spiritual powers. Theia would be shooting from a distance to make the best use of her firepower. Kiriha took charge while her high mobility haniwas would cover everyone. And Ruth stayed in the back to gather and analyze data.
I just hope this is good enough...
It was a sturdy and the strongest possible formation, but even then Kiriha felt like it was lacking. Based on her own experiences of using Encylopedia, Kiriha knew just how flexible magic was.
“Are you just about ready yet?”
“...Don't play around too much, Crimson.”
As proof of that, despite standing in front of five, Crimson and Green were still confident. They had no doubt that they would win.
Part 7
The invader girls made the first move.
“Here I go!”
With her exceptional physical strength and speed, her hair, apron and skirt swayed as she rapidly approached the enemy vanguard, Crimson.
“Shizuka, I couldn't strengthen your body as well as Koutarou's, so don't get overconfident!”
“I got it, thank you Sanae-chan!”
As Sanae said that from the rear, Shizuka kicked off the ground and jumped. With her body strengthened even further by Sanae's spiritual energy, she shot through the air like a bullet. Shizuka then lightly rotated mid-air and thrust out her right leg. She flew towards Crimson, trying to hit her with a jump kick.
“Child's play!”
“That kick is just a diversion. The real attack is a ranged attack afterwards, counter attack after you've dodged that.”
“Got it!!”
As Shizuka's kick approached, Crimson took a mysterious step. After parting from Shizuka for a moment, Crimson stepped forward again as if she was going around her.
The next moment a laser passed through the area where she had been standing. This laser was fired from a weapon that Theia had summoned.
“It's not over yet! Sanae-chan God Arrow― wait, what?!”
As Sanae was about to attack because Theia's attack had missed, many Crimsons appeared in the area. Surprised by that, Sanae's attack was delayed for a moment.
“Crimson, attacks won't come from this position.”
“Hmm, then let's start the counter attack!”
Several dozen Crimsons then readied their canes all at the same time.
“Oh no?!”
Shizuka who had missed her kick was trying to land curled up and crossed her arms, bracing for Crimson's attack. She knew that she was the target thanks to the power to see the intention to attack, given to her by Sanae.
“Sanae, they're just holograms! Just attack!”
“Okay!”
Sanae fired an arrow from her bow made out of spiritual energy. That arrow was also made out of spiritual energy so it split into several dozen smaller arrows midair and assaulted the crowd of Crimsons.
“They're all fakes?!”
All the Crimsons hit by Sanae's arrows disappeared entirely. As Theia had said, they were all illusions created by Green. But, there were so many holograms that Sanae couldn't get rid of all of them. And the real Crimson was still present amongst them.
“Infernal Fire — Modifier — High Concentration.”
Three Crimsons remained, and all three of them made the exact same movements and produced a large burning red ball of flame each. That large ball then contracted and shrank to the size of a tennis ball. This increased the heat of the fireball, and it shone like a miniature sun.
“Take this!!”
And those three fireballs were all sent towards Shizuka.
“Kya Kya Kya!”
Shizuka didn't know which one was real. Moreover, she had just landed and couldn't move away in time. That's why all she could do was let out a scream.
“Karama, Korama!”
“Leave it to us Ho-!”
“Shizuka-chan, you can take it easy Ho-!”
Just before the fireballs were about to hit Shizuka, Karama and Korama appeared in front of her. They then pointed their arms forwards and emitted a yellow light. That light turned into a large membrane that enveloped Shizuka and the haniwas.
The moment the fireballs crashed into the haniwas’ membrane of light, a large explosion occurred. The shock wave from the explosion caused the entirety of Corona House to tremble. Because of the explosion, Shizuka and the haniwas were wrapped in flames and their appearance couldn't be seen from the outside.
“*cough* *cough, cough*”
“Shizuka-chan, quickly fall back Ho-”
“I know, but, *cough*”
“This way Ho-”
Fortunately, Shizuka and the haniwas appeared shortly after again. The haniwas were bringing Shizuka back to Theia as she was having a coughing fit. Both Shizuka and the haniwas were a bit dirty from the explosion, but they had no injuries.
“...I think we're a strange bunch, but you might be even more so. Normally at least one person would die from that.”
Crimson gave words of praise to Shizuka who had safely gotten out of her pinch. Infernal Fire was one of Crimson's strongest attacks, so taking a direct hit from that and being unharmed was quite surprising.
But she didn't stop at being surprised, and while she was praising Shizuka, she communicated with Green without the use of words.
“Green, what's next?”
“The next is in 18 seconds. Those cute machines will try something.”
“Let me know when you get more details.”
“Ok.”
Crimson and Green were confident that they would win, but that was if they could work together without making any mistakes. The two couldn't afford to let their guard down.
“Your highness, this really is strange. The enemy is moving to where our attacks won't hit just before they're fired. It's as if they know where the attacks will come to begin with.”
“But they're not reading our auras. I can't feel that they're using spiritual energy at all.”
“Could it be profiling?”
“No... I can't imagine our opponents have enough information on us to do that. It would make more sense to suspect magic is playing a hand in this. I don't know if they're reading our minds or auras though...”
At the same time, the invader girls worked on improving their cooperation against the two unknown enemies. They realized that they had no chance of winning if they all fought on their own.
“Karama, Korama, don't let them get close.”
“Roger Ho-”
“Leave it to us Ho-”
“Blue Knight, keep them restrained. Put interception on auto reaction.”
“As you wish, my princess.”
The two got back into formation and tried to keep the two magical girls at bay while planning their strategy. If their attacks were being read, they couldn't carelessly go on the offensive. Meanwhile, the two magical girls weren't taking the offensive either. They were waiting for the invader girls to show an opening while blocking Karama, Korama and the Blue Knight's attacks.
“...Uhm, can I say something stupid?”
Shizuka dusted off her clothes while speaking coyly.
“Go ahead. I am willing to try any plan.”
Theia nodded seriously. She was ready to try anything.
“Those girls are magicians right?”
“That's right. There's no doubting that.”
Kiriha said that. The fireball that Crimson had fired from her cane all but proved that they were magicians. As the fireball was being generated, Karama's, Korama's and the Blue Knight's gathered data revealed that it wasn't being created by science or spiritual energy.
“Then... can't they just see the future in a crystal ball like the witches from fairy tales?”
“Future forecast!”
Shizuka had embarrassingly spoken out, prepared to made fun of, but Kiriha and Theia did no such thing. Instead, their eyes opened wide and looked at each other.
“Kiriha, what are the chances?!”
“It can't be dismissed.”
Kiriha figured that since Koutarou had travelled through time, it must be possible to obtain from the future in some way. The problem was whether it actually could be done or not.
“...We have to confirm how to they are reading our moves, and including the possibility of future forecast.”
“Then what do we do?”
“That's―”
Kiriha swiftly gathered her thoughts and conveyed them to her allies. The girls all moved out, following Kiriha's directions. Sensing that, a grin appeared on Crimson's face.
“Looks like they're finally getting motivated. Finally, I was getting bored of playing with these toys.”
“The girl with the golden hair will make the first move by summoning another machine. Don't get too surprised, because a large amount of small missiles will come flying at you. They follow heat sources so after they lock onto you, use Flare to avoid them.”
“Really, how many surprises do those girls have? Multiple Energy Bolt!”
While listening to what Green was saying, Crimson attacked the haniwas flying in the air with energy balls created by magic. However, since the haniwas stopped their attack and began falling back, the energy ball missed and continued flying forward until it could no longer be seen. And in the next moment, Theia made her move.
“Let's do this! Blue Knight! Anti-personnel multi-missile!”
“As you wish, my princess.”
Space-time holes opened up on both sides near Theia, and a big box appeared from each hole. The box was about a meter and a half tall and it had a quite squarish design for something from Forthorthe.
“Target locked, beginning attack.”
As the Blue Knight's AI signaled, the boxes opened and revealed 16 missiles about 50 centimeters in length.
The missiles all began spewing out fire at the same time and flew out of the box. The missiles flew straight up for a moment before turning towards the two magical girls at once.
“Here I go!”
As the missiles changed direction, Shizuka started running. While their enemies were intercepting the missiles, she was going to close in on them.
“Flare!”
Crimson held her cane above her head and chanted a short incantation. As she did, a bright glowing ball of light appeared between her and the missiles.
The missiles misidentified the light as their target and started following it. Crimson manipulated the ball of light to send the missiles of in a random direction. The missiles continued chasing after the ball of light and flew off somewhere.
“Now it's my turn!”
Shizuka who had approached Crimson while she was dealing with the missiles launched her attack while keeping her momentum.
“I've been waiting!”
Crimson held her cane in both hands and moved up to intercept Shizuka. To Crimson who only sought after strength, having a close quarter fight was a welcome event.
“You don't need to.”
“Kyaaaaaa!!”
Just a moment before Crimson's battle would start, the soil by Shizuka's foot sunk down. Since Shizuka was just about to take a step she lost her balance.
“Hey Green, let me have some fun too!”
“Only once we've thinned their numbers a little.”
“You better mean it!”
As Crimson was complaining to Green, Shizuka rolled by at a terrific speed. Because she had fallen properly, she hadn't taken any serious damage, but she lost her breath and was unable to move.
“Seriously... I hate these kind of throwaway matches the most...”
Crimson jumped towards Shizuka while she was unable to move. Crimson then pointed her feet down and fell towards Shizuka. She was going to finish off Shizuka while she was unable to move by slamming her feet into Shizuka's stomach.
“Bend your legs, Crimson.”
“Alright.”
“Look out, Shizuka!”
But the spiritual energy arrow that Sanae had fired barely managed to save Shizuka. Since Crimson had to bend her legs to avoid Sanae's attack, a slight delay occurred in her attack. During that time, Shizuka rolled out of the way and managed to avoid the attack with just her side being grazed.
“Fall back to three meters behind me.”
“Okay, okay, boy we sure are busy, aren't we?”
“Blue Knight, pull the enemy away from Shizuka! I'll leave the method of attacking to you!”
“As you wish, my princess.”
The weapon that Theia had summoned from the Blue Knight spewed a large amount of bullets between Shizuka and Crimson. However, since Crimson had already moved to evade, the bullets never hit. And like that, Crimson fell back even further alongside with Green.
“So she did avoid it!”
Despite the attack simply being dodged, Kiriha's expression distorted in astonishment. In fact, Theia's attack had revealed an important truth.
“Ruth, how does it look?!”
“They are just barely outside of the Blue knight's set attack radius. It's like they've analyzed the Blue Knight's combat algorithms!”
All the attacks up until this point had been performed with a certain intention.
For example, the missiles were to find out if the girls were really using magic to find out what they were doing. Since the missiles had many different methods of tracking, they were testing to see if they would use the correct counter measures, revealing if their attacks were being read in some fashion. And in fact, Crimson and Green had correctly used heat to deal with the missiles. If they didn't know what kind of tracking method the missiles used, it would make sense to use magic to protect themselves, so this revealed that their moves were being read somehow.
And the most important attack was Theia's last. Theia had left everything to the Blue Knight. In other words, if the magical girls had been using magic to read their minds or intention to attack, they shouldn't have been able to avoid this attack. And yet, Crimson and Green had accurately fallen back to outside of the Blue Knight's attack radius. It was hard to think that the Blue Knight's attack systems had been analyzed in this short amount of time, which left very few possibilities.
“Green, looks like they've found out.”
“So it seems. A large amount of forecasts just disappeared.”
Despite having their opponents find out about the secret to their strength, Crimson and Green were still confident. The two simply smiled as they stood in front of the five astonished girls.
“I didn't think it was possible, but... you are reading the future...”
“That's right. So just give up and die.”
It was only obvious that they would remain confident.
The two of them knew that their advantage wouldn't disappear just from having their secret revealed.
