Published at 17th of August 2019 9:11 am

Volume 18, Chapter 4: Between Friend and Foe

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

Part 1

Monday, September 13

Upon reading Yurika's mail, Koutarou and the others determined that this was an emergency. In order to cover an even wider area, those who could move alone did so, such as Maki, who was used to going alone in the first place, the overwhelmingly strong Shizuka and Theia. The others stayed in groups. Since there was a high chance that Youko had been caught by serial kidnappers, there was no harm in being cautious.

“...I don't want to believe it but...”

Upon hearing about the string of kidnappings, Maki suspected that Darkness Rainbow was behind this. The reason for that was simple. Despite ten children being missing, there were no clues or witnesses, nor had the culprit given any demands. That's why this hadn't been treated as kidnappings but as missing children. And rather than ten cases in a row not producing any evidence or witnesses by coincidence, it was more likely that this was done by someone who had the ability to erase such things. In that kind of scenario, Maki's first thought was of magic. If Darkness Rainbow were to use magic to kidnap children there would be no evidence or eyewitnesses. They could even make the children head into deserted places on their own.

“...And if the kidnapped children were going to be used for energy then...”

One of the reasons why Maki suspected Darkness Rainbow was because only children had been kidnapped. Because young children didn't have any specific thoughts or feelings, pure energy could be extracted from them. Choosing children with comparatively high talent with magic made that energy even purer. Since there were few children with magical talent, they had been gathered all over the city. There not being anything in common between them was the binding trait.

“...If Darkness Rainbow really is involved then...”

Having been a former member of Darkness Rainbow, she couldn't let it be if they were indeed involved with this incident. Because her own dark past was now trying to envelop Kitsushouharukaze city in darkness.

“...I have to protect it... this is a world within light after all...”

Maki headed towards the closest site where a child had gone missing. She had gotten information about the ten missing children through the Sun Rangers. In an attempt to find out if Darkness Rainbow was involved or not, Maki was going to examine the site.

“This is it”

Maki stopped by a riverbed. It was already night so there was nobody by the riverbed. She was wearing a Blue Knight blue and personal color indigo colored band of knights uniform, but in the night it was hard to tell the difference between the two.

“Now then, if they were to kidnap children using magic, where would they do it?”

Maki jumped down from the embankment to the riverbed and looked around the area. This was the place where one of the young boys had gone missing. After playing soccer with friends on the riverbed, the boy never came home.

“There are more people in the urban area... so kidnapping should be done here”

Having been a member of Darkness Rainbow, Maki knew how they moved and behaved. She felt sad about that, but right now that experience was important to find the children. It wasn't the case to say that she didn't want to remember her own dark past.

“But in this open of an area, there would be eye witnesses. In that case...”

Maki had cast a spell to let her see through the darkness. That's why she could clearly see the riverbed despite it being night. Maki used that information and her experience to narrow down the places where a kidnapping could take place.

“Probably, here, or there”

Maki narrowed the potential places for kidnapping down to two. The first was below a bridge near the river bed's exit. The other was a large grassy area.

The reason why Maki suspected under the bridge was simple. It was a place where children would often play, so even if a spell was cast to guide the boy there, nobody would think much of it. Since the boy was supposedly carrying a ball, it wasn't hard to imagine that the boy would want to kick the ball against the concrete wall. It was a place out of view that everyone would overlook.

As for the other place, Maki thought the grassy area looked suspicious because of her experience in Darkness Rainbow. After kidnapping the boy, the best way would be to create an illusion of him and have him walk around the riverbed for a while. Doing that would make the police misidentify the actual place of kidnapping. Having received reports of the boy walking around, the police wouldn't suspect that he had actually been kidnapped long before. The best place to kidnap, use a spell to substitute for the boy and for a magician to hide was the grassy area.

“...Analyze Magic”

Maki used analysis magic to examine the two places. Sadly, she found nothing under the bridge, but she discovered something like it in the grassy area.

“It's faint, but magical power around here is thinned out... after using a spell to kidnap the boy, they used a different spell to cover up their tracks before leaving”

The lead that Maki had found was that the natural magical power that should be around here couldn't be sensed.

If someone were to use magic here to kidnap children, some residual magical power would remain depending on the scale of the spell. In that case, using a second spell was to conceal that residual magical power from any opposing organizations was a normal tactic. So traces of a larger scale spell was concealed by using a smaller scale spell.

However, this method of concealment had a weakness, and that was that it erased the natural magical power in the area as well. There was an unnatural lack of magical power. This was similar to erasing the protective coating of a car by washing it too thoroughly. While it would eventually return to normal in the end, it took more than a couple of days.

That said, natural magical power was very weak, so one couldn't tell it was gone unless you examined it up close. Maki could only tell because she had narrowed the location down to this point. That's why Harumi, who was a magician like her, but lacked the training of a soldier, probably would have overlooked this.

“Using a large-scale spell at the location thought to be the kidnapping place and then concealing its traces... this is most definitely Darkness Rainbow's doing...”

Maki's expression turned serious.

It was possible that someone affiliated with Rainbow Heart had passed by for some unrelated reason and used magic before covering it up. But that would be too much of a coincidence and was unrealistic. Instead if someone had used magic to kidnap a child, Maki's thoughts naturally drifted towards Darkness Rainbow.

Maki could only think of one reason why Darkness Rainbow would kidnap ten children. That was to use them as an energy source for a large-scale ritual to attack Koutarou and the others. They would then claim the magical power in room 106 and challenge Rainbow Heart to a decisive battle.

“So it's finally starting... however, I won't let you!”

A strong sense of determination beamed from Maki's eyes. She now knew what it was to love, and that love wasn't just one's own, but each person had their own love. All love had to be protected. That's why she would definitely return the kidnap children to their parents. Maki had broken out from her own darkness and was now glowing brightly with determination and love.

Part 2

After mailing Koutarou that she believed that the series of kidnappings was done by Darkness Rainbow, Maki continued searching for clues.

Darkness Rainbow magicians carried advanced magical tools with them. There was of course their cane to exercise magic, and then there was their outfits enchanted with protective magic, but they also used many magical drugs and charms. In the cases that they didn't want to stand out, they also needed to conceal the magical power leaking out from those tools. Doing that would make them have to move while concealing magical power, which would leave an unnatural lack of natural magical power in their wake. Maki was following that trail, chasing after the culprit.

Maki left the riverbed and headed towards the suburbs of Kitsushouharukaze city. She was walking in an area that had been developed as a resort area in the 80's and 90's but once the economic bubble burst companies went bankrupt or discontinued their development one after another. As a result, a modern ghost town appeared. It was the remnants of someone's grand dreams.

“...If this caster had been a little better at information type spells, I wouldn't have been able to follow this trail...”

If the magical power used to conceal the magical power leaking from the user and their tools was weaker than what it was concealing, some faint traces would remain. At the same time, if it was too much an unnecessary amount of the surrounding area's magical power would be erased. The only case when that didn't happen was when the magical powers were perfectly matched. In those cases, only the traces of the user and their tools would be erased, having no effect on the surrounding magical power. However, controlling that was incredibly difficult. The only one that could do that in Darkness Rainbow, was Dark Green, who specialized in information type magic. Fortunately, the magician Maki was following wasn't as good at information type magic as Maki was. As a result, she was just barely able to follow the trail.

“The kidnapper was definitely not Dark Green. If it was Purple or Blue, the trail would have been slimmer and I would lose them on the way. Which leaves Yellow, Orange and Crimson. Amongst them, the worst at information type magic is...”

By comparing her own skills with magic to Darkness Rainbow's skill with magic, Maki figured out who kidnapped the children.

“...I see, so she's here...”

Having figured out who the culprit was Maki stopped in place and smiled sadly. That person was the only person that she might call friend in Darkness Rainbow. While she was selfish, she was honest.

“That's right. Long time no see, Maki”

“Crimson...”

Dark Crimson. She wore a very dark red colored outfit and gave off an active impression. She suddenly appeared in front of Maki, sharing the same sad smile Maki did. The atmosphere around the two standing face to face in an uninhabited alley was as melancholic as the ghost town around them.

Part 3

Having received a mail from Maki, Yurika read its contents and forwarded it to Koutarou and the others, before deciding to join in on the search.

“Kanae-san, please take care of Nana-san”

”You don't have to tell me that. Yurika-chan, I'm your senior when it comes to being Nana-chan's cooperator”

”That's right. Then I'll leave it to you, Senpai”

“That sounds much better”

”Ahahaha”

Yurika left Nana to Kanae. She was reluctant to leave Nana to someone else after dragging her out of Folsaria but this was Yurika's duty, and Kanae had been Nana's cooperator from way back, so her reluctance to leaving Nana with Kanae was little.

“I'm going, Nana-san”

“Yurika-chan...”

Facing Yurika who was departing with a smile, Nana fought against her urge to stop her. Just like Koutarou, she didn't want Yurika to fight. That said, there were few as blessed with talent for magic as Yurika. That's why she had to see her off. She felt completely helpless. They were feelings that oppressed Nana, and she had felt the same way a year and a half ago.

“Please don't look so said, Nana-san”

Yurika realized Nana's complex emotions. In the past, Yurika didn't have the room to notice it. She had been thrown into the middle of a battle and no one in her surroundings understood her. Her talent for magic and skills aside, she was not at the level that could be called magical girl, she had her hands full with herself.

“But...”

“I'm different from the me last year. I have a lot of things I want to protect now”

Yurika had greatly matured in this past year and few months. She had gained courage, learned love and found a reason to fight. Yurika would fight to protect Koutarou, to protect Nana, to protect the girls of room 106, and to protect the many people living in this city, and their plain everyday life. She now had enough ability and mental fortitude to call herself a magical girl with confidence.

“You're right. I'm sorry. Then let me advise you as your senior magician”

“Thank you very much”

”Yurika-chan, there is not much one person can do. Rely on your allies when you have to”

“Please leave it to me. I'm good at relying on people”

Yurika jokingly answered. However, Nana could see right through her. She smiled wryly and chose to point out what Yurika was trying to hide.

“I'm talking about when it gets truly serious. Yurika-chan, you don't try to rely on others when it really matters”

”...Yes, I'll be careful”

When the matter had been so clearly pointed out, Yurika had no choice but to give up. She obediently nodded her head and promised Nana.

“And one more thing. Eleven years ago, when Maya had kidnapped Sanae-chan and Kiriha-san, she used a pretty large magical circle for her ritual”

”How big exactly?”

“About the same size as the underground parking lot of a normal building”

“That's pretty big”

“But this time ten children have been kidnapped, so if they plan to use all of them for the ritual, an even larger magic circle should be needed. They should need the basement of a large building”

”Yes, I understand!”

While Nana's body might have been handicapped, she still had her brain. Yurika smiled, thinking 'as expected of Nana', but she couldn't just be delighted.

“Then I'm going!”

”Good bye”

”Be careful!”

“Oka~y!”

Yurika kept Nana's advice at heart and left the cabin after saying goodbye to Nana and Kanae.

With Yurika gone, only Nana and Kanae were left in the cabin and the two stared at the door Yurika had run out of for a while.

“Nana-chan”

”Yes?”

”Yurika-chan is a good apprentice, isn't she?”

”Yes. She's my pride and joy number one disciple”

“My, you went big. My daughter is also my pride and joy”

“Then let's believe in our disciples and daughters and their friends”

”Yes. If it's them, I'm sure everything will work out”

Eventually the two of them smiled at each other. They were worried that Yurika and the others might be hurt, but they didn't think they would lose. Now that a magical girl with the title of Rainbow was heading to battle by her own volition, she would definitely return victorious. That's what they had told themselves in the past when they themselves fought. And like they had proclaimed, they had continued coming out victorious. That's why the two could smile, as they believed Yurika and the others would do the same.

Having returned to the surface from the Blue Knight in orbit, she grouped up with Koutarou who was the closest to her. The two then began looking for the missing children together.

“Yurika, you could have just stayed with Nana-san you know?”

But as expected, Koutarou wanted Yurika to stay with Nana. They had finally met again after so long, and even if they hadn't peacefulness suited Yurika better. If possible, he didn't want her to get involved.

“This is my duty. If Darkness Rainbow are committing evil deeds, I have to fight them in order to protect my own happiness”

If Darkness Rainbow was acting behind the scenes, it was the duty of a magical girl from Rainbow Heart to stop them. While it was just a chance that they were involved, it wasn't something they could ignore. She couldn't take an optimistic view and let the worst come to the worst.

Above all else, Yurika knew that in order for her to lead a happy life, all those around her needed to lead happy lives as well. If they didn't she couldn't even eat some instant noodles in peace and quiet. To Yurika, taking action here was necessary.

“I won't accept it. You showing the face of a magical girl is an unhappy thing”

The reason Yurika fought was simply because she had been born with a talent for magic. That's why she should be allowed to live the life of a normal high school girl.

“...If you feel that way, then it's not unhappy at all, Satomi-san”

However, Yurika didn't see herself as unhappy. While Koutarou could admit that Yurika was a magical girl, he didn't want her to live as one. As long as Yurika had someone that wished she lived a plain and ordinary life, Yurika wouldn't feel unhappy no matter how fierce of a battle she was dragged into. That was especially true since she had endured a period where no one had understood her.

“That's not true”

“Am I unhappy?”

“Yeah”

”Then you should comfort me, Satomi-san”

”Come on now...”

”You shouldn't show it with words but with actions. Like a kiss”

Yurika drew closer to Koutarou and obviously stretched forwards with her lips pushed out.

“Stop acting stupid and let's go cut off that source of unhappiness”

Koutarou one-sidedly ended that discussion and walked ahead of Yurika. Seeing that, Yurika let out a small sigh.

“...You will lose out on a lot in your life, Satomi-san”

Yurika didn't mind anything Koutarou did to her. In fact, she had been just fine if he had kissed her. However, Koutarou wanted to treasure her just because of the way she was. If he had been a little bit more selfish his life might have been more fun.

“If you're going to go on about loss and profit, then you'll end up overlooking the really important things”

”Important things... like the fact that I love you?”

“...”

Smack.

“What are you doing!? You don't have to be so embarrassed”

“I'm not talking about small stuff like that”

Koutarou muttered as he continued walking on ahead. Yurika didn't follow the meanings of those words right away and stared at Koutarou's back.

“Aha”

However, after a few seconds she understood the meaning and smiled, before running after him. As she thought, Koutarou was embarrassed.

“That's the kind of thing I love about you”

Yurika lined up next to Koutarou and smiled gently as she talked to him. Koutarou caught a glance of her smile before turning his face away.

“...Shut up and look for the kids. This is an emergency”

”Oka~y”

Understanding the meaning of Koutarou's actions, Yurika looked down with a smiled for a moment before looking around the area in search for the children.

Part 4

Koutarou and Yurika searched for the children as they followed after Maki.

If Darkness Rainbow was indeed involved, she would eventually come into contact with them. When that happened, having more allies would be better. However, Maki had encountered one of the members of Darkness Rainbow, Dark Crimson before they could link up.

“You look better than I thought, Maki”

”My treatment is pretty good after all”

The two faced each other on a vacant lot a little bit off the main road. They didn't want to stand out even if they were just talking. Their appearances were that of lovely girls of age, but being spotted in the middle of night would be problematic.

“That said... has nobody warned you about your outfit ever since I vanished? They're all wrinkled up”

”There's no one that's as nagging as you. Orange called it wild and cool, and my subordinates are too scared to say anything”

”Geez, Darkness Rainbow's status is plummeting”

“It's a group to allow such selfishness to pass”

”That's true”

Their discussion was light hearted, and the atmosphere around them was like that between classmates. In Darkness Rainbow, this kind of friendly relationship was rare.

“So, what are you doing now, Crimson”

“I've come to save you, Maki”

Maki wanted to ask about the kidnappings, but Crimson's answer was different than what she had wanted.

“Me?”

Surprised by Crimson's answer, Maki's eyes opened wide. In Darkness Rainbow, captives were only considered as a potential risk that could leak information. The thought of saving a captive never occurred to them, instead the captives were left to die or were disposed of. That's why Maki couldn't hide her surprise when heard the word 'save' come out of Crimson's mouth.

“Yes. The decisive battle with Rainbow Heart is near, so if possible I want to take you back. There's not enough time to recruit a new Dark Navy”

”I see now...”

In the decisive battle against Rainbow Heart, Darkness Rainbow needed as many forces as they could get their hands on. Rather than fighting without one of the seven leaders, saving Maki was more reasonable. They weren't saving her because she was Maki, but because they needed another pawn. It was a very Darkness Rainbow-like logic, and it made sense to Maki as well.

“I can't come back”

Maki said and shook her head. On her neck was a mechanical collar. Darkness Rainbow should be suspecting that the collar was a tool to force Maki to obey.

“...I wonder if that collar can really kill you”

“The truth is I don't really know what it is. I didn't put it on myself. That said, it's not like I can really try”

Maki's shoulders slumped. She had expected questions like this so she wasn't shocked in the slightest. She gave Crimson a prepared answer in a natural fashion. This answer didn't contain any lies, Maki hated those. As a result, the atmosphere around her was the same as always.

“But before that... Maki, you're staying on that side out of your own will, aren't you?”

However, Crimson's next question made Maki feel like her heart was being pulled out of her chest. She couldn't believe that Crimson, who never thought too deeply about anything, would be able to see through her. Maki carefully answered while repressing her unrest.

“Why do you think that?”

“That's because you look like you've gotten stronger”

Crimson smiled and her long hair fluttered in the night wind, it was as if it was burning, and that greatly increased the threatening atmosphere she had.

“Until I met you, I thought you were being forced to obey because of that collar. But don't you think it's strange that you'd get stronger if you're being forced?”

Crimson guessing that Maki was acting of her own free will was because of her logic as someone who sought to fight the strong.

If Maki was being threatened with the collar and forced to work, she should be getting weaker. If Maki had no reason to act on her own will and was simply taking action because she didn't want to die, there was no way she'd have much if any mental fortitude.

Yet, Crimson sensed clear mental fortitude within Maki. Even more than ever before at that. In a battle with magic, willpower had a huge influence on the outcome. If Maki's willpower had increased, then she should be even stronger than before.

“That's why I thought. Ahh, Maki must be acting of her own will”

”Crimson...”

Crimson's intuition was correct. Maki sensed that trying to hide it wouldn't work against her anymore. However, she still couldn't see Crimson's intentions, so she continued speaking as she followed the flow so far.

“Even if it's as you say... what are you planning to do, Crimson? Purge me right here? Or report to everyone that I'm a traitor?”

Since just being a risk to leak information would cause Darkness Rainbow to leave you to die, or dispose of you, betrayal should warrant an even more severe response. Chances were high that she could be purged right here and now, or be reported to all six of the other leaders and have them come slay her all together.

“Why do I have to do something as wasteful as that? What I need are battles with the strong. Maki, I welcome you getting stronger”

Crimson prioritized her own desires over the logic of her organization. To her, fighting and winning against the strong was everything. Improving herself was all that mattered, the rest didn't matter.

“Fighting the you from before would hardly have gained me anything... but you are different now. You're someone worth fighting!”

Crimson smiled happily. Maki had been strong when she was in Darkness Rainbow, but not on the level of Crimson who saw fighting as everything. Moreover, Crimson specialized in energy tyype magic, which gave her an advantage over Maki. That's why Crimson was always waiting for Maki to get stronger, as if waiting for the right time to harvest.

Finally, Maki grew stronger by leaving Darkness Rainbow. She became someone with the power Crimson had hoped for, and became someone worth fighting. However, if Crimson reported Maki's betrayal to her allies, she would lose her chance to fight her. That's why she refrained from reporting it and chose not to tell Maki to come back. Her battle with Maki, which she had always waited for, had come.

“I have no intentions of letting this chance go by! Fight me, Maki”

”You are Darkness Rainbow to your very core, Crimson...”

Darkness Rainbow's concept was to prioritize your own wishes and use magic to fulfill them. Crimson was currently prioritizing her own desires while ignoring the reasoning of Darkness Rainbow as an organization. Because Crimson was like Darkness Rainbow, she ignored the organization itself. Crimson had the same way of thinking as Maya. That's why Maki had reached the conclusion that she couldn't convince Crimson.

“...Crimson”

“What?”

“I probably wanted to become friends with you”

Up until now, Maki had lived while being surrounded by solitude and betrayal. That's why Maki liked Crimson's way of life, honest and staying true to her own feelings. She had always been interested in her. To Maki it was most likely a small comfort in the darkness she had been in.

“Is that so. But I wanted to fight against you”

However, Crimson didn't think of it the same way. It was because she was honest that she had single-mindedly been wanting to fight Maki. However, Maki seemed to have a psychological wall, preventing her from demonstrating her true strength. That's why Crimson had been interested in Maki.

“So we were after different things from the beginning... what a shame”

Steeling herself, Maki readied her cane. They had both been interested in each other, but what they wanted from each other was inherently different. Since Maki liked Crimson's honest side, she couldn't resolve this difference in desires. Crimson truly wanted to fight against Maki now that she had overcome the wall in her way. That's why Maki had to fight, because she liked Crimson.

“Maki, I feel like we've finally gotten the chance to be open with each other”

”How ironic. It's not until this happened that we were finally able to become friends”

The two shared sad smiles. It was the same expression they had shown when they first met just now. It's possible that they had suspected this would happen from the very start.

“Even if we're friends, I won't hold back, Maki”

”Don't worry, Karen. I know”

Crimson's real name was Karen. When Maki had told Crimson her real name, she had replied in kind.

“I told you not to call me that name”

However, Crimson didn't like her own name. She wanted to grow strong, yet her name was Karen. The image of her name didn't suit the image of who she wanted to be, and so she had told Maki to call her Crimson instead.

“I remember. I just wanted to say it once more”

”Then you'll fight for real once as well?”

“Yes. You're my friend after all”

”Fufu, I'm looking forward to it”

The two exchanged smiles one more time before raising their canes above their heads and incanting the spell to create a barrier. Despite there being a battle between the two about to start, the expressions on their faces was far from that one showed their enemy.

Part 5

To Crimson, being strong was everything. Because of that, she didn't miss a single day of training. As a result, her reflexes were faster and she finished her incantation sooner. Moreover, since she focused on training her energy-type spells they packed a big punch.

Maki on the other hand wasn't that stuck on combat. Maki specialized in mind manipulation spells, so her strongest point was before a battle began. It wasn't like she was bad at fighting, but she had no choice but to admit that she was inferior to Crimson when it came to fighting.

“Night Walker! Recall – Precast – Category Alpha!”

Because of that, Maki saw the very beginning of the battle as the most important. She activated more than ten spells she had cast ahead of time and left on standby, enhancing her physical abilties and her brain activity. Crimson would of course do the same thing, but enhancing physical abilities and brain activity was Maki's specialty, so with this, there was a high chance that Maki could fight evenly against Crimson.

However, there was one problem, and that was that Crimson had been faster when it came to casting the first spell.

“That's strange! What is the meaning of this!?”

However, going against Maki's expectations, Crimson didn't enhance her body and mind for some reason. This was clearly different from how she normally fought. The Crimson she knew would have enhanced her abilities before aggressively attacking up close and personal.

“When I came here, I fought against some strange people... and that's when I realized”

Crimson practically stood still as she looked at Maki glowing from all the spells she had cast on herself. Maki wasn't just casting spells on herself, but also on her cane and it's form changed to that of a greatsword. At this rate, Maki with her enhanced abilities would rapidly close in and cut Crimson in half with her greatsword. However, Crimson showed no sign of panic, but it wasn't like she had given up on winning. Seeing that, Maki felt that was an incredibly frightening thing.

“Realize what!?”

”Just like how there's a proper way for a swordsman to use a sword, there's a proper way for a magician to use magic― Ray of Sunshine – Modifier – Single Wavelength – Target Option – Gaze Tracking”

When Maki was almost right in front of her, Crimson began her incantation.

Preposterous!! What can she do with a sunray!?

Crimson had cast a spell that created a powerful light. However, some light wouldn't stop Maki. If she stared straight into the light she might lose her sight for a while, but she was confident she could still cut Crimson down even like that. Aiming for the eyes of someone moving at high speed was hard. Even if everything went perfectly, Maki would only lose sight in one of her eyes.

Would Crimson, a prodigy of fighting, make such a foolish decision!? That's not possible! There's definitely something else behind this!

In the next moment, Maki forcibly changed her direction and tried to move away from Crimson. She hadn't figured out what Crimson was trying to do, but she understood her fixation with battles more than anyone. That's why there had to be a reason for Crimson to use this spell. You could say that Maki believed in Crimson's strength.

“Kyaaaa!?”

Maki's intuition had been correct. Just as Crimson's incantation finished, two of the three defensive spells Maki had cast were blown away. The third spell was still present, but it was unstable after taking heavy damage. Fortunately, Maki herself hadn't taken damage, but she still didn't understand what had happened. Together with the power, this proved to be a big threat to Maki.

What did she do!? What destroyed the defensive spells wasn't magical power! I could only sense magical power used to activate her spell! Did she send something flying!?

Maki panicked. She didn't know what Crimson's attack was. If she took the same attack once more, she would suffer major damage.

“Quick Cast – Force Field!!”

Maki jumped backwards and distanced herself whilst casting another defensive spell. If she didn't have at least two layers of defense she wouldn't be able to block Crimson's attacks.

“Maki, if you don't solve this problem quickly, you'll get worn down!”

Crimson launched her second attack.

That attack destroyed the remaining third defensive spell and the newly cast Force Field. Not only was it powerful, but it was accurate as it hit Maki while on the move.

It's powerful and accurate. If she's sending something flying it's frighteningly fast... but Crimson's incantation was just that of a light spell... wait, light!?

In that instant, the sight of Theia pulling out a weapon from the Blue Knight appeared in Maki's mind. That appearance let Maki know the truth behind Crimson's attack.

“I see, so that's what it is...”

”Oh, you've already figured out what I'm doing?”

“Yes... that magic, it's a laser isn't it?”

Since Maki had seen Theia's laser cannon in action, she realized what Crimson's attack really was. Lasers hit the same moment they fired and packed a punch, and they were very accurate. It fit Crimson's attack to a T.

“Bingo! As expected from Maki!”

Despite Crimson having the mystery behind her attack being revealed, she seemed happy. To her, powerful enemies was everything. She wanted a very close fight. That's why she didn't want Maki to get defeated one-sidedly without ever figuring out what Crimson was doing.

“To think you'd use science to enhance magic”

“I had a hard time reworking my magic theory from the very basics you know”

Crimson let out an exaggerated sigh as she tapped her shoulder with her cane. Doing something like that in the middle of battle left her wide open, but she knew that Maki wouldn't use their conversation to launch a surprise attack.

“That's definitely not like you”

”This is what happens when you lose to a non-magician only using scientific theories”

Crimson's 'non-magician' was none other than Kiriha. Using her brain and knowledge as weapons, she defeated Crimson and Green. As a magician capable of altering reality, getting outwitted by a normal human was a horrible humiliation. She had thought that she was amazing, but had been taught that she knew nothing of the world. However, that gave Crimson a chance to change herself. Even though it wasn't like her, it was necessary to defeat Kiriha.

“I know saying this sounds bad, but... we Folsarians value magic so much that we're simply too unscientific”

Their lack of understanding of science made their magic inefficient. A simple example was a spell to create fire. Folsarians don't understand the mechanics behind combustion, that's why when they created fire, they would get a red flame they saw in everyday life.

The red flame was because of a large amount of impurities and insufficient oxygen. It was an imperfect combustion. A more efficient flame was pale blue. While they should be creating that faint blue flame, magicians made red flames. Their preconceptions and common sense got in the way and they wasted energy.

By introducing advanced scientific knowledge, Crimson removed such waste. As a result, the energy was used more efficiently, and the power of her magic increased greatly.

“So that's why it's a laser”

“Maki, I knew you would try to oppose me by enhancing your abilities, that's why I use magic that moves at the speed of light. It's only rational don't you think?”

“To think I'd hear you use the word rational. What a strange feeling”

“Are you picking a fight?”

”Well of course. We're fighting after all. I'm also buying time to think of a countermeasure”

“Hurry up and think of something! You don't have much time!”

The two moved at the same time. They each began on each their own incantation.

“Ray of Sunshine – Modifier – Single Wavelength -Target Option – Gaze Tracking”

Crimson's spell was the laser from before. It was a spell with a single wavelength of light that had a lot of power and would strike whatever she looked at. Unlike normal lasers it hadn't even been colored. It was a nightmare of an attack that blew away whatever she looked at in an instant.

“Fog Cloud!”

Maki on the other hand cast a simple spell that created fog. However, this fog was the best way of blocking Crimson's laser.

The fog blocked Crimson's view, throwing her aim off, and as the laser passed through the fog it would get diffuse reflected, rapidly weakening its effects. While the fog alone wasn't enough to fully block it, the laser was weakened to the point that defensive spells could take the hit.

“Good thinking, Maki! Thermovision!”

However, since she had known Maki for long, Crimson had expected that her vision might get obstructed. She quickly cast a spell to allow her to see heat and spotted Maki through the fog. She then pointed her cane towards Maki.

“Explosion!!”

Crimson unleashed a new attack against Maki. It was a cannon fired using magic. Installed underneath her cane was a metallic cylinder. Inside was a cannonball, and by creating an explosion within the cylinder, the cannonball was expelled.

“It's over, Maki!”

Alongside a dulled roar, the cannonball was fired out of its barrel. Since the explosion was focused forward thanks to the cylinder, it was much more powerful than using Explosion directly on Maki, and the speed of the cannonball was incredibly high. It was an ideal way of attacking Maki who was on the other side of the fog. Of course, the recoil was big, and even though Crimson was holding her ground she was still pushed back a little.

The cannonball cut through the air and flew straight at Maki at an overwhelming speed of two kilometers per second. At this range there was no way to block the cannonball. It would easily smash through even a triple layered defense. Crimson was convinced that this attack would defeat Maki.

“I don't think so!”

”Maki!?”

However, the cannonball didn't hit Maki. She wasn't standing where Crimson had aimed, but somewhere else. Maki dashed out of the side of the fog and charged Crimson with her greatsword. That was when Crimson noticed that Maki wasn't emitting any heat from her body.

I see, so that's what the fog was for!

That was when Crimson finally realized Maki's aim. By obstructing the view, Maki forced Crimson to focus on heat. She then cut off the heat from her own body and created a dummy. After that all she had to do was use the fog to easily get closer to Crimson.

“Haaaah!!”

”Makiii!!”

Maki's greatsword closed in on Crimson. Since that sword was a magical blade attached to Maki's cane, Crimson's life was in danger. That's why she took a big chance.

“You can have an arm or twooo!!”

Considering the timing, defensive spells wouldn't make it in time. The recoil from her cannon had also been too large, making it difficult to block with her cane. So instead, Crimson swung her left fist at Maki's greatsword.

This was an incredibly dangerous action. By touching Maki's greatsword, a heavy impact hit Crimson's left arm. Since it was a blade created from magic, just touching it caused major damage. As a result, in exchange for avoiding a direct hit on her body, Crimson lost her ability to move her left arm.

But that wasn't the only problem. Memory loss magic had been cast on Maki's greatsword. That's why, at the same time as Crimson lost her ability to use her arm, she lost several seconds of memories.

“You did well blocking that, Crimson! But I win!”

Crimson lost sight of Maki, having lost several seconds of her memory. Maki pulled back her greatsword before launching another attack. Maki was going to defeat Crimson and her victory was certain. Anyone watching would surely think that way.

“Explosion!!”

”Wha!?”

However, that was when something unexpected happened. Crimson had lost her most recent memories, but the explosion magic that she was supposed to use within her barrel was now used in the middle of nowhere. The explosion was cast right in front of Crimson, and in front of Maki. This was Crimson's real bet. If she lost her memories, she should try to use her explosion magic again in an attempt to fire her cannon. Rather than being beaten by the greatsword, she would rather throw her arm away and avoid a direct hit to her body, whilst blowing herself up in an attempt to make this a match of luck. The timing was a little sketchy depending on the effect of the memory loss, but Crimson won this bet.

Like that, the two of them were caught up in the explosion. By the time the sand cloud kicked up by the explosion cleared, no one was standing.

Part 6

Since Maki was in the middle of attacking, she didn't have the time to brace herself from the shockwave, and she was thrown across the ground. Because of that she took a lot of damage, and could no longer get up. While she was conscious, she felt impatient over being unable to move her body because of the pain all over. All she could do was look up into the starry sky. With the season turning from summer to fall, the stars were beautiful.

“Maki”

With the beautiful starry sky as her background, Crimson looked at Maki's face. Unlike Maki who couldn't move, Crimson still could. Luck had sided with her.

“...You win, Crimson”

Maki honestly admitted her defeat and smiled at Crimson. The battle was decided. The girl in front of her was no longer an enemy. She was Maki's friend.

“I don't feel like I've won, being like this...”

While Crimson had won, she was in a wretched state. Like Maki, she had also been caught up in the explosion and suffered major damage. She also couldn't move her left arm yet either. However, because of the difference in their stances, Crimson had taken less damage from the shockwave., and she was barely able to stand. In other words, she had only won because of their difference in luck. Crimson didn't feel like she had won because she hadn't overcome Maki through ability. According to Crimson's senses, there wasn't a big difference in their abilities.

“They say luck is a skill. Be proud, Crimson, or you'd be rude to the loser”

Maki who hated lies and bravely faced her defeat. There were no lies or deception in the battle, so a loss was a loss. She honestly accepted her defeat. The fact that her opponent was Crimson also had a big effect on it. She was someone she wouldn't regret losing to.

“...Fufu, I don't hate that side of you”

Crimson had a satisfied smile. While luck had determined the outcome, they had both used all of their strength to fight. This was the kind of fight Crimson wanted. That's why she was satisfied. She would have probably felt the same way even if she had been the loser.

“But still, I'm surprised... to think you'd use a cannon. The laser was a surprise, but the cannon even more so”

Maki laughed as she looked at the cane in Crimson's right hand. A barrel of a cannon was installed on it. It was a surprising method of attack one wouldn't expect from a magical girl.

“But why didn't you use Inferno Fire? You would have been able to create an even more amazing cannon with that”

Crimson's strongest offensive magic was Inferno Fire. It was even more powerful than the Explosion that she had used to fire the cannonball. Maki was bothered by why Crimson hadn't used that to launch her cannonball instead.

“If I use Inferno Fire, the barrel won't survive. I'd need an even bigger barrel, and the recoil would be too big. Explosion is enough to overcome defensive spells and I can fire it repeatedly. More power isn't everything”

Before this battle, Crimson had actually gone through several tests. As a result, she believed that using this barrel with Explosion was the most optimal way. By the way, when she tried using Infernal Fire, she had an awful experience. She didn't want to use that in real combat.

“And that's why we didn't both go down”

“That's right”

If the final attack had been Infernal Fire instead, both Maki and Crimson probably would have been reduced to ashes. The reason that hadn't happened was because Crimson had chosen an appropriate method of attack. While it might have been within a barrel, creating an explosion next to yourself was a big risk.

“So you won by using the new powers you created for the sake of winning. Did I satisfy you, Crimson?”

”Yes... thank you for fighting seriously, Maki”

There was one more reason as to why Crimson was so satisfied with the battle. That was that Maki had actually fought. Since most of Maki's spells were focused on mind manipulation, she wasn't as suited for fighting as the more energy-type focused Crimson. She would have been safer creating disturbances with her magic and running away. Nevertheless, Maki had fought. Crimson was grateful for that.

“That's what I said at first. Since we're friends we should at least fight seriously once”

”That's right, my bad”

In the end, Maki was true to herself from start to finish. There were no lies in here words, and she had kept her promise until the end. Crimson smiled wryly at her friend who had gotten stronger, but remained the same. However, shortly thereafter her her smile vanished. Someone had invaded the barrier that had been raised before the battle.

“It looks like we've got guests”

“This feeling, I'm sure it's Satomi-kun”

Maki recognized this feeling of the barrier being passed through. According to her memories, it should be Koutarou.

“Him, huh... guess I can't stay for long”

Crimson frowned. Assuming that the intruder was one of Maki's allies was appropriate. If Maki was correct, the formidable adversary, Satomi Koutarou, was approaching. Since Crimson didn't think Maki would lie, she knew that she would meet Koutarou if she remained. Being seriously hurt, Crimson decided to leave right away in order to avoid another battle.

“Cya, Maki”

Crimson shouldered her cane and turned her back to Maki.

“Crimson, wait. Are you sure you don't need to kill me?”

Surprised by Crimson's actions, Maki instinctively stopped her. In response, Crimson only turned her head to look at Maki and smiled.

“You went along with me and fought. And because of that, I'll go along with your style too”

“...Crimson...”

Crimson had no intention of killing Maki. She knew that Maki had fought to fulfill her desire. That's why Crimson would comply with Maki's desire and left as a friend.

“But the next time we meet it won't end like this. Next time, I will treat you as an enemy and kill you”

“...I don't think I'll show any mercy either”

Maki's and Crimson's friendship ended here. From this point on they were enemies. They wouldn't do another one on one battle, but attack as a group. It was clear that their desires weren't matching up, so this was where their relationship ended.

“See you, Maki. Today was fun”

Crimson spoke those words and smiled as she left.

“Karen!”

Maki called out to Crimson one last time using her real name. Hearing that Crimson stopped for an instant before deciding not to turn around and vanished into the darkness.

“...Good bye, Karen...”

To Maki, Crimson was a small flame she had found in the darkness. However, that flame never flared up, and distanced itself from Maki. She felt that was sad, but since she couldn't live like that flame, she didn't try stopping Crimson from leaving.

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