Published at 17th of August 2019 9:11 am

Volume 18, Chapter 6: By the Remains of the Dream

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

Part 1

Tuesday, September 14

Koutarou and the others left room 106 just after the date changed. Normally, the room was guarded through many means, but going up against Darkness Rainbow, they set up an even more careful defense. They couldn't move until Kiriha's subordinates and the unmanned fighters got in position. As a result, it took some time before they could leave, but now they could move freely. Koutarou and the others split up into their two groups and headed towards their destination.

Koutarou was on team Maki. Apart from him and Maki, Sanae, Theia and Ruth were also in the team. Their destination was the abandoned shopping mall. There was a pavement road that lead to the mall, but if the mall was being used as the ritual site, the road was definitely being monitored. Working with that as their primary assumption they were proceeding to the mall in the woods by the side of the road.

“How does it look, Ruth”

”There are no reactions on the thermal sensor. There seems to be no large living creatures in the effective range of the sensor”

Koutarou and the others were now close to the shopping mall. They lurked over and observed the mall. Up until now they hadn't run into any problems. There hadn't been anything that could be interpreted as monitoring. That was only obvious as they were still more than 300 meters away from the mall, and monitoring all of the surroundings was unrealistic. The road was most likely the only thing being monitored outside of the mall. The problem was from this point forward.

“There are some reactions on the sonic sensor”

”The enemy?”

“It's in the middle of the mountain. It could just be some wild animals. According to a more detailed analysis there doesn't seem to be any active movements”

They began by having an unmanned scout survey from the sky. Fortunately there were no enemies that could be seen, and they believed infiltrating wouldn't be too difficult. Next, they needed to investigate using magic. Since this might be a base for magicians, they should have put up a surveillance net using magic, and of course, the magic investigation was Maki's job.

“Maki, how does it look with magic?”

“There are no magic reactions on the outside”

Maki searched for all kinds of spells she could detect. However, she couldn't sense gathered magical power, all she could sense was the weak magical power being emitted from the surroundings.

“Maybe they're not here”

Sanae tilted her head. There were no signs of Darkness Rainbow casting any ritual magic here. They might be at the resort hotel that Yurika and the others headed towards, or they could both be duds. Sanae couldn't see any traces of aura in the area she could see, and she began suspecting that Darkness Rainbow might not be here.

“It wouldn't be easy to monitor something this big even with magic”

“You're right. It's still too early to jump to conclusions. Putting up surveillance where intruders have to pass is only obvious. The enemy doesn't have enough time to put up a surveillance network to watch for enemies in all possible directions”

“So we should be able to get into the mall without problems then?”

Koutarou wrapped up the discussion and the four girls with him nodded with serious expressions. While they couldn't see anything now, that didn't mean the enemy wasn't here. Koutarou and the others used magic and machinery to hide their presence and carefully approached the mall.

Part 2

At the same time, Yurika and the others arrived at their destination. Their destination was the shutdown resort hotel. While the building itself was smaller than the shopping mall, it surpassed the mall in height, and it was hard to tell how far it reached underground. Moreover, since it was situated in an open area with good view, it would be difficult to approach.

“So what do we do now, Yurika-chan?”

Shizuka asked the commander, Yurika, for the strategy from now on. Team Yurika consisted of Yurika, Harumi, Kiriha, Shizuka and Clan. Just like team Maki, they were hiding before the hotel and observing the situation.

“We're going in. I kinda feel some magical power, so I'd like to enter to confirm it”

“I feel the same way”

Something different from team Maki's situation was that Yurika and Harumi could already sense magical power. They were barely able to perceive it, at the edge of their senses. However, they still couldn't determine that this was the ritual site. They were up against Darkness Rainbow. They had contended against Rainbow Heart for several hundred years, and feints and diversions like this was a daily occurrence. Tossing in a dummy filled with magical power into a building that fit the bill was an old trick.

“To begin with, let's tell the others that we can sense magic”

Clan operated her bracelet and sent a short message to Ruth. Real-time information exchange was Clan's and Ruth's job.

“The problem is how do we enter. There are very few places to infiltrate from”

Kiriha showed a severe expression. Because of what it was, the resort hotel was built in a place with a great view. That's why surveying the area from two or three places on a floor high up was enough to get a good view of the entire area around the hotel. Contrary to its looks, the resort hotel was hard to attack.

“What do we do?”

Yurika quickly gave up thinking for herself and asked the group for their opinion. She was aware that in situations like these, her own ideas usually didn't work out so well.

“If we assume that the hotel is being surveyed from one of the upper floors, we should aim to infiltrate from the northern side by the import road”

The windows in the hotel were pointed towards the south. The site was also wider on that side, making the view better. As a result, the northern side was more narrow, and had less focus on view, leaving them with plenty of places to hide. Moreover, observing the northern side from above was more difficult because of the tighter angle.

“But Kurano-san, won't they be expecting that?”

Harumi was worried that anyone would realize that the area surrounding the roads would make it easier to infiltrate. While it was easy to infiltrate, it was so narrow that it was easy to defend. Some countermeasures would be enough to prevent infiltration.

“Which means we need to choose between an easy way in through the import road that's more likely to be guarded, or the front, which is the harder way in but less likely to be guarded”

Shizuka summarized the problem into two points, both of which had risks that couldn't be ignored.

“I'd like to go through the front”

Shizuka personally preferred the simple and straight-forward way of going through the front.

”I would like to go in through the back”

The careful Clan preferred the import road in the back. Reacting to Clan's muttering, Kiriha showed an innocent smile.

“Because the north side is dark and gloomy?”

“Kii!? I'll punch you, you know!...it's because the distance is short. Either way, we'll need to hide ourselves someway, right?”

”What should we do, Yurika-san?”

”Uhm...”

Yurika showed a troubled expression when she began thinking as Kiriha urged her for a decision. There were risks either way, and in that case she needed to ascertain which risks were more convenient for them.

What I need to prioritize the most is... that's right, the children! When we leave with the children, the safer the better

After thinking for a while, Yurika made her decision.

“Let's go with the import road”

“Because it's dark and gloomy?”

”Kii!”

“Ahaha... no, but after we rescue the children, I think we'll escape using the same route we came. In that case, it's better to be close to a safe place”

Yurika valued the children's' safety most of all.

Imagining what would happen after they infiltrated the hotel, there was a high chance that they would escape with the children in hand. If they find the children before Darkness Rainbow, they would avoid battle. That would also ruin the ritual.

And after rescuing the children and escaping, it was more ideal the sooner they could get picked up by the Cradle or Hazy Moon. That would only be possible outside of the resort hotel. That's why using the import road, the children wouldn't have to move as far. Yurika believed that in terms of time and distance, it had the least risk for the children.

“Aha, so you properly put some thought into it after all, Yurika-chan”

Shizuka showed a cheerful smile and gave Yurika a slap on the back. The way Yurika prioritized the children first fit well with Shizuka's senses. The reason for that was because she had lost her own parents at their place of lodging. It was only a natural reaction considering this was a resort hotel.

“Harumi, Kii, what do you two think?”

”I think we should do what Yurika-san says. I think the safer the children are the better”

Harumi agreed with Yurika. Because she had gotten along so well with the children at the hospital, she couldn't see this as someone else's problem. She wanted to prioritize the children's' over her own.

“My answer is already decided. I will save them just like I was saved eleven years ago”

Kiriha smiled at Clan. In the past, she had been saved by Koutarou and Clan. Koutarou had desperately struggled between who to save, his mother or Kiriha, and in the end he chose Kiriha. So there was no way she could abandon these children.

“How about you, Clan-dono?”

Kiriha's tone turned into a more mischievous one. It was the same smile that had appeared on the lips of the young girl Clan had met in the world eleven years ago into the past.

“I-I have no objections. Saving the weak and crushing the wicked. That's the path of a Forthorthe princess”

With gratitude and goodwill clearly directed towards her, Clan blushed furiously and she turned away in an attempt to hide her red cheeks.

“Everyone is in agreement, Captain Yurika”

Shizuka reported to Yurika, and the other three nodded in unison.

“Then let's infiltrate from the import road in the back. Everyone, let's move”

Yurika returned the nod with a strong resolve not to let down her friends expectations. While Koutarou might not like it, everyone would admit Yurika was now a splendid magical girl.

“The princess of love and courage Ho-!”

”You're being surprisingly captain like Ho-!”

This might have been the moment Yurika became the true leader of this team.

Part 3

The inside of the shopping mall was silent. Ruth had mentioned sound coming from inside, but that sound still wasn't reaching Koutarou's and the others ears. This was obvious, as the shopping mall was too large.

“Aika-san, you can tell right?”

“Yes, I can feel weak magical power over a wide area”

But ever since they entered the mall, Koutarou and Maki had sensed magical power. The amount was minute, perhaps because of the distance, but there was no doubt that magic had been used here.

“Ruth, how about that sound?”

“It's still continuing. It also seems like the source of the sound is moving”

Another benefit of having entered the shopping mall, Ruth's information gathering was now more accurate, and more detailed information could be gathered.

“This is all widely spread out, maybe even over the entire mall”

“Hey everyone, stop. This might be bad”

Sanae stopped the group with a rarely seen serious expression on her face. She then looked right to left. There were concrete walls in the way of both directions, however, her glance passed through those and she was looking further beyond.

“What is it?”

“Evil spirits are walking all over the place. And it's not just one or two, but a lot of them”

Sanae could see a lot of spiritual energy. They were vague and dark, clearly distinct from people and normal spirits. Those spiritual energies were walking disorderly, and not very fast either. That's why Sanae believed they were evil spirits.

“Maybe the sound and magical power are from them?”

”Satomi-kun, I think so too”

“I believe there is a high chance of that”

”One of them will appear from around that corner soon”

”Alright, everyone, let's hide in that shop. I want to get a good look at that evil spirit”

”An evil spirit, huh... I don't have any pleasant memories of those...”

Koutarou and the others jumped into a nearby shop, and hid behind the display shelves and tables that had been left behind. They wanted to confirm what kind of evil spirit Sanae was seeing. It was possible that it was a demon summoned by the ritual.

“The sound is getting closer. It looks like the evil spirits are indeed the source for the sound”

“It'll get here in five seconds or so... three, two, one...”

“So that's it”

”It looks like a normal person, but... is that the evil spirit?”

A single human appeared in front of Koutarou and the others. The person was slightly hunched over and was moving slow, but it didn't look like anything but a normal person.

“Your Highness, Master, this is strange”

“What is it?”

“There's no reaction on the thermal sensor”

“What does that mean?”

”Master, that person has the same temperature as the surroundings”

“What!?”

Ruth continued gathering information through various means, including through a thermal sensor. However, even though they had a human in front of them, there was no reaction on the thermal sensor. In other words, as long as the thermal sensor wasn't malfunctioning, the human in question had the same temperature the surroundings did.

“Satomi-kun, I've got it. That is probably a zombie”

“A zombie!? You mean those? The walking corpses in movies!? ”

“Yes... Darkness Rainbow has someone who is skilled at creating them. Purple is probably here”

Maki bit her lip as she spoke.

“Is she that dangerous? That Purple person?”

“Yes. She's someone I definitely don't want to fight against”

In Darkness Rainbow, when it came to pure fighting prowess, Crimson was number one. However, if they were to actually fight, there is someone that could win against Crimson. That was Purple. She was a magical girl skilled at necromancy, and always took a large amount of dead with her. Alone, Purple couldn't beat Crimson, but if the dead were included, she would be the victor. She was the strongest in Darkness Rainbow, the necromancer of nightmares, Dark Purple. Zombies were one of the types of dead she had the most of.

“Maki-san, how many of those zombies could she control at the same time?”

”There's a limit to Purple's abilities, but the weaker something is, the more she can control. Though I don't think there could be more than a hundred”

Purple had a constant total amount of magical power, and the strength of the dead was determined by how much she divided her power. One would be incredibly difficult to deal with, but a hundred would be weaker than humans. Since Purple could freely control the numbers, the strength of the dead would differ from one time to the next. The reason why Purple was so feared was because she was so adept at choosing the right numbers for the right time.

“Master, this is bad”

Ruth's expression grew more severe upon learning of Purple's power.

“Because of the zombies I can't determine the location of the ritual. I can't complete my investigation until we defeat all of them”

Because of the zombies moving around, sounds were coming from all over the place. That's why it was impossible to find the site of the ritual through the sonic or vibration sensor. The thermal sensor wouldn't work because of the many walls all over. All they could do was eliminate the zombies.

“So that's it... Aika-san, what about your magic?”

”Ritual magic releases powerful magical power, but there are spells to keep that from leaking outside. If that's been cast, I don't think I could tell it apart from the magical power from these zombies. Or rather, since this is Purple, she probably has the same amount of magical power leaking out from these zombies that the ritual would release”

Magic was the same as sound and vibration. Maki's intuition told her that Purple would have released these zombies with the magical power from the ritual in mind. As expected, it was impossible to detect the magic circle from the zombies, and all they could do was defeat them one at a time. By letting the zombies wander all over the mall, Purple was protecting the magic circle.

“I think the most troublesome scenario would be if the magic circle is on Yurika's end”

“Because we can't leave until we defeat all the zombies here”

The worst possible scenario would be if this entire shopping mall was a diversion. Koutarou and the others would be stuck here from the powers of just one person.

“Theia, it's your turn”

”I know! I'm raring to go!”

“Everyone, we're defeating the zombies. There's no need to hold back. Speed is everything!”

””Yeah!””

Koutarou and the others responded in harmony to Maki's orders. The morale was high, and fortunately, they had Theia with them. They should be able to disperse the zombies faster than Purple would expect.

Part 4

Before Koutarou and the others attacked the zombies, they contacted Yurika's group. Once they attacked the zombies, the enemy would find out what they were up to. If that happened, their defenses on Yurika's end would probably get reinforced as well. For that sake, they needed to match the timing with Yurika and the others. Truth be, they didn't want to attack until team Yurika found the enemy, but because of the time limit, they couldn't do that. At most they could match the timing of their attacks.

“We've got a message from Bertorion and the others. They've found enemies, and they want to attack depending on our situation. What will you do, Yurika?”

“I'm sure Satomi-san and the others want to hurry, but they'll have to wait until we infiltrate from the import road. It shouldn't take more than five minutes”

“I understand. I'll respond like that”

Yurika and the others were right next to the import road leading to the back of the resort hotel. The import road was already the most obvious place that would be guarded, if the enemy is here that is, so if Koutarou and the others began their attack, this was the first place that would be reinforced. Since Yurika and Harumi could already sense magical power coming from inside the hotel, they wanted the others to wait with their attack for a little.

Kiriha was being cautious since she couldn't read her enemies intentions, but they were in a situation where there was no use thinking about it. She chased her thoughts out from her head and focused on the situation at hand.

“It's okay, Yurika”

”Okay. Let's go everyone”

Yurika and the others left their hiding place and carefully approached the import road. The method of infiltration had already been decided. Darkness Rainbow were skilled at magic, so using magic to hide was risky. Instead, they would conceal themselves using Clan's and Kiriha's technology. Clan's multi purpose camouflage shut out heat, light and electromagnetic radiation. So as long as Kiriha's haniwas could conceal their spiritual energy, the chances of them being found should be low. However, they had no way to cover up sound, so the camouflage was not perfect. Besides, they were going up against elite magicians. Even if it was in the middle of the night, they needed to be careful.

“Uhh, I'm so nervous...”

When the group reached the import road, Shizuka instinctively sighed. She disliked hiding or running away. She could handle on her own in a fight, but in stealth action like this, there was nothing she could do. She couldn't relax in a situation where they'd be out of the enemy who paid extra attention to their surroundings.

“Just endure a little longer. Just keep it up until we get inside”

Originally they'd want to stay hidden the entire time, but with zombies protecting the mall, the situation was different, and it would be difficult to stay hidden. It wasn't hard to imagine that team Yurika would be found shortly after team Maki launch their attack. In that case, they at least needed to get past the import road.

“Sakuraba-senpai, you're awfully calm”

”I've always been more passive after all”

The girls encouraged and supported each other as they walked down the import road. The enemy shouldn't be able to see them, and they weren't using magic so they shouldn't be able to sense any magical power either. But even then, the girls were anxious. They couldn't shake the worries that they might be heard. In the end it was just like Koutarou said. Being good at fighting didn't equal being suited for it.

The next few seconds were a trial for the girls. This was what it was like to feel more dead than alive. However, they were eventually done, and the girls reached the hotel's back door.

“Pheeew... I thought I was going to drop dead...”

Shizuka leaned against the hotel wall and showed a weak smile. She was stronger than anyone else in a fight, but she was still just a normal girl. She was weak to this kind of tension.

“Shizuka-san, it's still too early to feel relieved. We need to get through this door first...”

Yurika was already standing by the backdoor, and she was thinking of how she should open it. Looking at Yurika like that, Shizuka felt that this must be what a magical girl was. She also felt like she understood exactly why Koutarou didn't want Yurika to look like this.

“We'll open it Ho-!”

“We're good at detailed work Ho-!”

The two haniwas came up to Yurika. They were both grasping tools for precise work in their hands. They would open the lock with those.

“No, I'll melt the lock with acid and break through”

However, Yurika shook her head and held her cane.

“That's pretty forceful for Yurika Ho-!”

”Are you sure you should be so violent Ho?”

”Either way, once we get inside Satomi-san and the others will start fighting. That's why I think we shouldn't waste any time. Clan-san, please contact Satomi-san”

“Understood”

After confirming that Clan had begun operating her bracelet, Yurika started her incantation.

“Acid Splash!”

It was a spell to create a strong acid. She knew that it wasn't very magical girl like but she was getting more and more adept at using it. The acid sprayed from the tip of the cane towards the doors' lock.

Because the door knob and lock were metallic, they both corroded and melted when exposed to the strong acid. It looked similar to a candle melting from heat.

“Let's go!”

Yurika quietly pushed the door open. Without the doorknob and lock, the door opened with a light push. Yurika peeked through a small gap to confirm that nothing was on the other side before quickly entering. She was being quite skillful, in complete contrast to her usual self.

“When Yurika-chan is acting cool it's a little lonely”

Yurika was being magical girl-like, leader-like, as she took the lead and jumped into the hotel. Seeing that, Shizuka looked lonely, just as she had said. Shizuka had been the only one to say it, but the other three all felt the same way.

“What are you all doing! Hurry!”

That was when Yurika popped her head back outside. She was getting impatient as the rest of the group wasn't coming.

“You're right, I'm sorry. Let's go right away!”

There was no time to reflect on sentiments. The girls looked at each other and nodded before following after Yurika into the hotel.

Part 5

The first one to sense anomalies was as expected, the fortune-telling Green. In preparation of the enemy, she cast a bunch of spells out of caution, including future forecast. She swiftly reported this to her allies in the same room.

“Crimson, Blue-san, the enemy is coming”

”Are you sure?”

Crimson and Blue were in the same room as Green, but only Crimson reacted. Blue currently had her hands full with the ritual and couldn't move.

“Most of the predictions that the enemy won't show up just vanished. I think they're inside the building”

Green's future forecast allowed her to see all kinds of possible futures, letting her forecast the future with probability. If she saw ten futures, and the enemy appeared in six of those, there was a 60% chance of the enemy appearing. Because the world was uncertain, she could only see vague futures like that.

As the forecast futures turned into reality, the futures that never occurred were excluded. That's why, if the futures of the enemy not coming were to vanish at such an unnatural timing such as this, it meant that the enemy was here.

“What a bad timing to show up at. Only you and I can move right now”

Crimson clicked her tongue. Blue was in the middle of the ritual. Purple, Orange and Yellow had left to cause diversions for the enemy, and once they're done they'll adhere to the plan and won't be returning here. Now that the enemy was here, only Crimson and Green could deal with them.

“Can you tell how many there are?”

”The highest probability is five. But there's some swinging back and forth”

”What about Maki?”

“She shouldn't be here. The futures that she is are within the accepted margin for error”

”I see...”

After confirming what she wanted to know, Crimson picked up her cane that she had left leaning next to a wall nearby. Green turned an anxious look at Crimson.

“So you're going”

”Yes. If we fight here, the ritual will be ruined”

The summoning ritual was currently one third of the way done. If interruptions got in the way here, the ritual would never complete. If they were going to fight they should avoid this place and pick somewhere closer.

“Will you be fine on your own?”

“My injuries have been healed”

“But...”

“Don't be such a worrywart. Besides, you learned your lesson last battle, didn't you? Your forecast rapidly drop in accuracy once you're included”

According to their strategy, Crimson would fight alone at first. Green would gather information from afar and support Crimson with her future forecasts. The reason they chose to fight that way was because they wanted to avoid the forecast loops.

If Green forecast her own future, the very fact that she did would distort the future. One normally couldn't perfectly copy movements one had seen. This was like speaking into a mic, broadcasting it through speakers and picking it up in the mic again. The margin of error of Green's forecasts would grow larger, and the forecast would eventually fail. In her last battle, Kiriha had seen through that weakness and defeated her. In the end, not including your own actions in the forecast would create a more accurate result. Since they didn't want to make the same mistake again, they had decided on this way of fighting.

“Even then I'm reluctant to sending you out on your own, Crimson”

”Oh? That's not something someone from Darkness Rainbow would say”

”Don't make fun of me! I just want to make this plan a success!”

Listening to Green's words, Crimson felt a strange sense of disappointment. Those feelings made her realize something.

I was expecting Green to act as Maki's replacement

Having realized that, Crimson wanted to confirm something. That's why she stopped in place and turned towards Green.

“Green”

”Yes?”

“...If I wanted to―”

―fight with you, would you be my opponent?

Crimson wanted to ask Green that, but she decided to stop mid-sentence. That question was far too different from Darkness Rainbow's way of thinking.

Thinking about it calmly, wanting to fight against powerful enemies, meant that others had to accept Crimson's methods like Maki had. Even among people who fought as their occupation, only a few of them saw fighting as everything like Crimson. In truth, Crimson was the only one in Darkness Rainbow that felt that way, and unable to wait for rivals to appear, she had Maki accept her method.

Having others accept her method wasn't very Darkness Rainbow-like. It was only possible with Maki because she had left Darkness Rainbow. It was sheer folly to ask that of one of the leaders of Darkness Rainbow that had turned her back on Maki.

“―Never mind. That's right, Green. Why did you join Darkness Rainbow?”

Instead, Crimson asked Green why she had joined Darkness Rainbow in the first place, unaware that question was yet another one not very Darkness Rainbow-like.

“Mine?”

That's why Green's eyes opened wide.

“Yes. If it's not too much, could you tell me?”

However, Green was just surprised, she wasn't rejecting it. Urged by Crimson, she explained her own circumstances.

“A long time ago... my expectation was wrong, and I lost something very precious. That's why I wanted a certain future rather than a possible one. If I know something will happen before it happens, I won't have to lose anything”

”That's not bad. I've revised my opinion of you, Green. Let's at least grab the freedom to observe the future from Rainbow Heart”

”Crimson... yes, let's do that”

There was actually something Crimson hadn't noticed. That was that unlike Maki, Green would lie. That's why she didn't understand Green's true feelings.

Green wasn't worrying for Crimson just because she was worried about the success of the mission. The truth was that she was sad that Maki had become an enemy. She didn't want Crimson to know that, so she wasn't honest with her. If anything, if she could do that, there might have been a different path for her in her life. The darkness she had fallen into was too deep.

Part 6

Koutarou and the others waited for Yurika and her group to enter the resort hotel before launching an attack on the zombies in the shopping mall. Fortunately, the zombies weren't all that strong, and they were slow, so Koutarou and the others had the upper hand from the start.

“...Even though I understand, I can't say I like it”

“Your Highness, if possible, let's finish them with a single attack”

“Yes, let's do that”

Zombies were combat-oriented demons made from the corpses of humans. Because of that, even though they knew that they were dead, it still pained Koutarou and the others to defeat them. That's why Koutarou and the others tried to defeat them without hurting them too much, or oppositely, defeat them in a way that doesn't leave a corpse behind. If possible, they wanted them to meet a peaceful end. While mentally strong members were gathered here, they were still girls of age.

“You're thinking too hard about it, everyone. Those people are grateful for us. They are in pain by being like that”

As luck would have it, Sanae was here. She could tell what the souls of the zombies felt. Most of them were grateful of being freed from the zombification spell as they ascended. There were some who held hatred, but that hatred was directed at the person who turned them into zombies, and they weren't looking at Koutarou and the others. Because Sanae was telling the others that, their psychological load was greatly reduced.

“Koutarou, let's beat Purple for these people too”

”Yeah, you're right. We have to stop her from doing terrible things like this”

Koutarou and the others got angrier and angrier the more zombies they defeated. There was nothing more blasphemous for the dead than forcing them to fight as zombies. They would capture Purple, the person responsible for this, and have her free all of the dead. Their sense of duty was burning within them.

“But Satomi-kun, something's strange”

”I think so too”

“What's strange?”

Sanae blinked in confusion.

“Purple who made the zombies isn't attacking. Same with the other Darkness Rainbow. Why aren't they using this chance to attack?”

As they fought, Koutarou and the others felt like something was wrong. There were zombies. They were all over the shopping mall and attacking one after the other. They already numbered over 50, and if Maki was right, they had already defeated half of the zombies she could control.

While the zombies weren't very strong, there were many and they were tough. Using them as shields and casting spells from a distance was a good tactic. Yet the zombies were just being wasted as no magicians appeared. This was something normally unthinkable.

“Master, maybe this shopping mall really was a diversion”

“That might be true...”

”That said... there's no way to tell until we defeat all of the dead. That Purple is quite skilled”

”She is probably the most scary one in Darkness Rainbow right now”

In Maki's experience, Purple was the most frightening enemy. In terms of simple fighting prowess, Crimson stood out, if Maya could be included, she might be the overall strongest. However, Purple didn't have the same kind of bravery or humor that Crimson or Maya had. She was always calm, and her state of mind that attacked without mercy made Purple even more frightening. Koutarou and the others might have already fallen into Purple's trap. It probably wasn't a coincidence that she had chosen zombies to go up against teenagers. As Koutarou and the others were starting to realize that, they continued fighting.

Part 7

Having safely infiltrated the resort hotel, Yurika and the others could only move freely for a couple of seconds before they were found by the enemy. Lots of enemies were placed inside the hotel.

“Ane-san, there's a reaction to spiritual energy Ho! We'll analyze the pattern Ho!”

“Analysis complete, there's an 80% chance it's not mechanical soldiers from before”

“Not good, there's a gravitational wave reaction! Forthorthe weapons are being used!”

Having entered the hotel from the import road, Yurika and the others didn't rush to attack but instead jumped into the warehouse connected to the entrance and observed the situation of the building. The children were the top priority and if possible they wanted to find out where they were. If that wasn't possible, they at least wanted to confirm the enemy's situation.

That's when they detected several reactions they believed belonged to the enemy. If they had carelessly attacked, they would have run across those enemies.

“So the shopping mall is being protected by zombies while this is protected by spiritual energy and Forthorthe weapons, huh...”

“What is it, Kiriha-san?”

Hearing the haniwas' and Clan's reports, Kiriha put her hand on her chin and began thinking. Wondering what was wrong, Shizuka took a look at her, but with a severe expression, Kiriha called out to Yurika.

“Yurika can you sense magical power?”

“Yes. It feels like the entire building is filled with magical power”

”So that really is it then”

”What is?”

Shizuka asked Kiriha again, and she finally turned towards her.

“The enemy should be performing the ritual in this place. The children are here”

“Really!?”

Yurika exclaimed in surprise. She then walked right up in front of Kiriha. Since this was Yurika's original duty, her reaction was completely different from normal.

“If the enemy is logical, there's no mistaking it. The zombies were placed in the shopping mall to make it look like there is magical power there. And this resort hotel already has magical power, so they're defending it without the use of magic. What do you think that means?”

Kiriha didn't state the answer outright, but Yurika figured it out right away.

“I get it! They both contain magical power and you can't tell them apart!”

”That's right. They are holding their ritual in this hotel”

If they held the ritual here and protected it using magic, the magic reaction would be too large and Yurika and the others would be able to tell from the outside. Conversely, if the shopping mall was protected by People of the Earth and Forthorthe weapons, there would be no magic reaction, and they wouldn't even need to investigate. By protecting the ritual site with weapons and the duds with magic, they spread the magical power out between the locations and forced Koutarou and the others to investigate both of them.

However, because of that, Kiriha was able to tell that this was the ritual site the moment she got inside and was able to confirm the presence of weapons.

“Kiriha-san, please give me a moment! I'll find the center of the magical power!”

Yurika got into action right away. They had the save the children no matter what. The activation of the ritual meant the death of the children, so they had no time to waste.

Part 8

As a result of Yurika's magic investigation, they figured out that the magical power was coming from the basement. The magical power was slowly increasing there. However, there still wasn't all that much magical power, definitely not enough to be ten children's worth. Which came as a huge relief to the group.

“It looks like the children haven't been fully drained yet, but based on Sanae-chan's experience, if they have a third sucked out, it might affect their lives in the long-term. We should break through, even if its by force”

”Please wait, Yurika-san! If we don't think through how we breakthrough, the enemy will surround us and we'll waste even more time!”

Yurika wanted to break through the defenses. The longer they waited the more danger the children were in. However, Harumi objected. If they just rushed for the basement they'd get surrounded and would end up using more time. They had to devise some good plan.

“Ugh... I understand. Does anyone have any ideas?”

Being the words of Harumi, whom she respected, Yurika obediently backed off. She then took some deep breaths to calm down. With the children's lives at stake and Darkness Rainbow present, Yurika realized that she had been rushing too much.

“Why don't we go through the areas with few enemies?”

Shizuka's idea was simple. They had already gotten a map of the hotel ahead of time, and they had a good idea of where the enemy was. So her idea was that they should just take the easiest route, based on distance and the enemies' position.

“A decoy wouldn't be too bad either”

Clan's idea was a decoy. Having someone act as a decoy to gather up the enemies, while the remaining four headed underground after the defenses had weakened.

“Shizuka would be a good decoy”

“I'm doing it!?”

Shizuka reeled back in surprise from Yurika's words.

“That's because you're the least likely to be hurt”

”Uhh, that's true, but...”

Since Shizuka had the powers of the Fire Dragon Emperor within her, there was no worry of a normal enemy defeating her. However, if she used those powers, she would gain weight. Shizuka feared her potential weight increase over any potential injuries.

”Alright, let's get started right away”

“Wait a minute uncle, don't rush it! Kiriha-san, Kiriha-san, don't you have a good plan!?”

Shizuka stopped Alunaya who was getting really fired up, and turned to Kiriha with a pleading look. She couldn't allow her weight to exceed 200 kilos again.

“Well, it's not like I don't”

Kiriha nodded. She didn't care about Shizuka's weight, but she didn't want to use her as a decoy because of her combat potential, so she was thinking of a different idea”

“I don't know if it's possible or not yet however”

”Please, just tell us! We'll do it!”

Kiriha still wasn't convinced of its success, but Shizuka was crying, so she had no choice but to let the others know of her imperfect plan.

“We destroy the floor and go underground like that”

”“Eeeeehhh!?””

””Hoooooooooooo!?””

When Kiriha said that, the surprised voices of the four girls and the two haniwas came together in beautiful harmony.

“The problem is that the children might get caught up in it. We don't know where they are at the moment after all”

They didn't want to come across enemies, they didn't want to use a decoy. In solution to both of those problems, Kiriha suggested that they destroy the floor. By doing that the problems wouldn't occur. But if they were to destroy the floor, a large amount of debris would come falling down. And if the children were to get caught up in it, they would likely lose their lives. If that happened, everything would have been for nothing. That's why Kiriha was unsure of the success of this plan.

“Kiriha-san, this place will be okay”

However, Yurika had an answer to her doubts.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Since the children are being used as sacrifice, they will be above the magic circle. This place is outside of the magic circle, so there should be no danger to the children”

Since the children were the energy source for the ritual, they were in its center. That was common knowledge to a magician.

“Let's do it right away, hurry!”

“You really hate it that much?”

“You're so slim, you don't understand my worries, Sakuraba-senpai!”

”It's not something you have to cry over...”

Thus, Yurika and the others decided to destroy the floor.

Part 9

Even though reason said that it should be safe, there was still the off chance that something might happen. So they decided to make a small hole in the floor and send a camera down it to confirm the situation. Fortunately, there was nothing below, but an empty large hall stretched out below. Having confirmed that it was safe, the girls could destroy the floor without worry. The actual destroying of the floor was done by Clan's laser that she have often used for working, and a one meter in diameter hole was opened up. A cylindrical concrete slab fell down on the floor below and made a loud noise.

The noise echoed through the empty hall. It would most likely attract enemies, but with the ritual's magic circle nearby, there was no meaning trying to be stealthy. The party didn't worry as they jumped down to the next floor.

“I was wondering what you'd do, but... that's a pretty bold entry method”

An unfamiliar voice welcomed Yurika and the others as they reached the first underground floor. It was a girl wearing a dark red outfit. She was Dark Crimson, a member of Darkness Rainbow.

“You used to be so timid too... I've revised my opinion of you, Rainbow Yurika”

“Crimson-san...”

Yurika firmly held her cane as she looked at Crimson. Not everyone here had met Crimson, but based on how Yurika was acting, they readied themselves as well.

“Why didn't you get in the way?”

“Because it's more convenient this way”

After Crimson's words, the hole leading to the floor above was closed. This was done by the weapons. Upon learning that they were breaking through the floor, Crimson purposely left them be to lure them in. With the hole closed, Yurika and the others lost their means of escape, which was convenient for Crimson who wanted to wipe them out.

“You sound awfully confident, Crimson or whatever you were called”

”Kurano Kiriha... you may have gotten the best of me last time, but it won't go the same way this time”

“Well, I wonder about that”

Kiriha showed a confident smile, but this was a bluff. This time, Darkness Rainbow were working under a more detailed strategy. If she thought things would go the same as last time, she'd get the rug swept under her feet. That's what Kiriha believed, but she had no obligation to tell the enemy that. With a confident smile on her face, Kiriha racked her brain.

Why did Crimson come alone? There are six in Darkness Rainbow... even if they split in half to guard both this place and the mall, there should still be another two here... what are those other two doing? One of them is without a doubt performing the ritual. Is the other one helping her? Or doing something else? And then there's the laser and cannon that Maki told us about, how is she going to use those? What can we do to counter it?

All kinds of expectations and countermeasures popped into Kiriha's head. This was her greatest weapon. Her individual strength wasn't all that much, but her brain would accurately choose the road to victory. Crimson was the most cautious of the power that had no shape.

”Green, how will they move?”

Crimson spoke within her mind to Green, who was standing by elsewhere. They were connected with a spell that let them speak with their minds, so a radio or similar device was unnecessary.

”It looks like they have counter measures for the laser and cannon. There are also several futures where they will block normal attacks”

“And if we go according to plan?”

“There is an 80% chance of success”

“That's perfect!”

Crimson cheered within her mind before readying her cane and pulling the lever o n the side of her barrel. She was in a disadvantageous situation of 5 vs 1, but she was planning on winning. Her expression was overflowing with confidence.

“Crimson-san, I suppose you can't stand down?”

“What a silly question, Yurika! I'm in Darkness Rainbow so I can fight!”

”Then it can't be helped, I will defeat you as Nana-san's successor!”

“Try it, if you can!”

Crimson made the first move. She swung around her cane loaded with a cannonball and started her incantation.

“Ray of Sunshine―”

“The laser is coming! Yurika, Clan-dono!”

”Mage Shield!”

”Focus the deployment of the distortion field forwards!”

With Kiriha's warning, both Yurika and Clan took defensive measures. Yurika used magic and Clan used science to create a large shield to protect the group. They had heard from Maki that the laser was powerful, so they focused their defenses forward to create a sturdier shield. With the two of them, they should be able to block Crimson's laser.

“―Modifier – Single Wavelength – Target Option – Spread!”

However, here something unexpected happened. For some reason, Crimson pointed her cane in a completely different direction. Yurika and the others were puzzled by her actions, but they'd soon learn of her intentions with their bodies.

“Go!”

The laser travelled in the direction the cane was pointed, but as it reached the wall it changed direction and headed towards the group. In addition, just before it was about to hit, it split, and rained down on Yurika and the others. Since the magical and scientifical shields were directed to the front, they couldn't block this attack.

“Kyaaaaaa!?”

“Ugh!”

Yurika's and Kiriha's expression distorted in pain. Harumi, Clan and Shizuka had been fortunate, and the laser only grazed them, but Yurika and Kiriha took the full brunt of it.

“Reflectors!? This room has been setup to freely let her use lasers!! No wonder she was so confident!!”

Clan quickly realized what had happened. Crimson had bounced the laser of the reflector built into the wall.

“Correct. You jumped into this trap yourselves”

The moment they had decided that they would use this hotel for their ritual, Crimson and the others had made preparations for any possible attacks by the enemy. With the ritual as their bait, the enemy would definitely appear. As long as they approached the ritual site from the surface, there were several places they had to pass through, and those places had been prepared with utmost care. This place was one of those, and the walls, ceiling and floor had gotten reflectors built into them. With reflectors, the laser could be launched and attack the enemies from unexpected directions. It was an extremely advantageous room with lasers as the primary attack method.

“Are you okay, Yurika-san, Kiriha-san!?”

”I'm fine”

“The haniwas protected us”

Fortunately, the laser had lost some of its power by reflecting off the wall and even more when splitting up. As a result, while it might have been a big shock, they hadn't taken enough damage to be incapacitated.

“...But this situation is bad. Because of the reflectors we can't tell how the laser will move. That said, if we put up protection around ourselves, we can't defend against the cannon. This strategy has been thoroughly planned”

Since reflecting the laser would lower the accuracy, it was split up in the end, that's why the power wasn't all that high, meaning they would be able to defend against it if the magical and scientifical shields were deployed around them instead of the front. But if they did that, they wouldn't be able to protect themselves against the cannon. Increasing the area of the shields like that would reduce their strength.

“In that case, it's my turn”

Shizuka stepped forward. As she did, Alunaya called out to her from within.

”Are you sure?”

“This isn't the time to worry about my weight”

”Okay. Then let's go, Shizuka!”

At this rate, they'd get worn down by the laser. They needed to settle this fast, and in that case, Shizuka was needed. She released some of Alunaya's power and faced Crimson in her half-dragon form.

“Your appearance and magical power are completely different from before. Is this your full power?”

Crimson looked at Shizuka and grinned. Even though she sensed her massive magical power, Crimson's confidence remained. She was confident she could still win, and she also felt rivalry in Shizuka after her previous defeat.

“Something like that. Did you train up your magic?”

Shizuka hadn't forgotten either. She had won against Crimson because Crimson didn't commit to either magic or martial arts. Crimson's confidence was proof of her vigorous training as a magician. Even though she wielded the power of a dragon, Shizuka wasn't going to let her guard down.

“Somewhat”

Crimson pointed the tip of her cane towards Shizuka. As she did, the People of the Earth's spiritual weapons and Forthorthe's scientifical weapons appeared behind her one after another. Yurika and the others could tell that they were there to prevent anyone from getting in the way of Crimson's and Shizuka's battle.

“Here I come, Shizuka!”

”I won't let you!”

Once the weapons group fortified the surroundings, Crimson launched her attack on Shizuka. The barrel attached under the cane was pointed towards Shizuka.

“Explosion!!”

The sound of the cannon being fired shook the entire hall. The cannonball approached Shizuka at frightening speeds.

“Too easy!”

However, Shizuka wouldn't get beaten so easily. She spewed plasma flames from her mouth to intercept the cannonball. While she didn't have as much firepower as Alunaya, it was enough to evaporate half the cannonball, the other half lost all of its momentum and fell down on the floor.

“In the short while since we last met you've learned some ridiculous things”

Crimson was amazed by Shizuka, as she moved to cast her next spell.

”I won't let you do as you please!”

Shizuka stepped forward to stop her. But the army of weapons stood in her way to shield Crimson.

“Shizuka-san, please continue forward!”

Before the weapons could attack Shizuka, Yurika and the others supported her. Yurika repeatedly fired magical arrows to restrain the weapons while Harumi cast a protective spell on everyone. Kiriha's haniwas and Clan's beam cannon destroyed the weapons in order.

“It's over, Crimson!”

Shizuka slipped past the weapons that were stopped and approached Crimson.

“I don't know about that”

However, this too was part of Darkness Rainbow's plan. Crimson disappeared from right in front of Shizuka.

“What!?”

As a result, the claws Shizuka swung down slashed nothing but air. Surprised, Shizuka looked around the area, but she couldn't find Crimson anywhere. Instead, she witnessed a surprising spectacle.

“The enemies are!?”

The weapons Crimson had brought with her suddenly changed their appearance. The weapon turned into Shizuka and the other four girls. With so many weapons, they turned into four copies of each girl, for a total of 20 copies. Shizuka and the others were stunned by the sudden development, and in that opening, the copies mixed in with the real one, making them indistinguishable.

Green wasn't just skilled at information handling and fortune-telling, but illusions as well. The spell she had prepared beforehand had activated. This was also why Crimson had vanished.

”If I do this it doesn't matter how strong you are, does it? Or are you going to defeat everyone including your own allies?”

Crimson's bodiless voice echoed throughout the hall. This was why Crimson was so confident. Regardless of how strong Shizuka was, if the situation turned into a brawl when nobody could tell each other apart, she couldn't do anything. Even more so for Shizuka who could eliminate her opponents in a single attack.

“Uncle, can't you tell them apart!?”

”It's difficult, the user of this illusion is very skilled”

Dragons were blessed with massive magical power at birth, but they were focused on flight and combat, using it very roughly. As a result, they weren't good at delicate magic like illusions, and against someone as skilled like Darkness Rainbow they wouldn't be able to see through it.

”Yurika might be able to do something however”

”Yurika-chan, please!”

“O-Okay!”

Yurika and all the fakes around her nodded. The other girls were in the same situation, they were only able to tell who they themselves were. However, the weapons could communicate with one another and could attack Yurika and the others freely. They couldn't use projectile weapons since they'd be found out right away, but at this rate it was only a matter of time before Yurika and the others would be wiped out. Yurika herself was well aware that she had to do something.

”You think I'd give you the time for that!? Ray of Sunshine!!”

However, Crimson wasn't that naïve. Even while she had vanished from sight she attacked with her laser. While they took some damage from that, the biggest problems to the girls were that they got so distracted by the laser that they completely lost sight of their allies original position. So all they could do now was dodge the lasers while fighting against copies of themselves. Of course that was anything but easy. The weapons did their best not to fight against the real one, so the girls were stuck on the defensive. Yurika didn't have the time to investigate the enemies with her magic.

“Karama, Korama, can you tell us apart from our auras!?”

”It looks like this illusion is taking spiritual energy into consideration too Ho-!”

“We can't tell you apart at all Ho-!”

“Image analysis and thermal vision isn't working either! The illusion was created with avoiding detection in mind!”

”Bingo! We're not going to stay stupid forever!”

Crimson was acting triumphant. Though her expression was invisible, it was clear that she was full of confidence from her voice. Like with Crimson's laser, Green had also obtained scientific knowledge and put that to use in her spells. This was Green's version of scientific magic.

“Come on, take that! I won't be stopping anytime soon!”

”Kyaaa!?”

Pressured by the rain of lasers, Harumi fell to the floor.

“Sakuraba-senpai!”

The nearby Yurika instinctively reached out with her hand. However, Harumi hit it.

“Kyaa!? Senpai, what are you doing!?”

Yurika's hand was protected by her magic outfit, but Yurika was shaken with shock from having been attacked by Harumi.

“Are you okay, Yurika-san!?”

While sympathizing with Yurika, Harumi continued attacking. Yurika ran around, confused, as Kiriha explained the situation.

“Calm down, Yurika, that's a fake!”

“Ah, I-I see... they can even mimic things!”

They didn't just move and sound the same, but they could also pretend getting hit by lasers. Green's illusions were very elaborate, having even been given some intelligence.

Just how can we overcome this situation!?

Kiriha protected herself from several fakes and lasers while desperately racking her brain. Everyone had several wounds. For each time the real one was hurt, the fakes were hurt in the same place, so there was no doubting that. At this rate they would be annihilated. Something revolutional would be needed.

“Ah geez, I don't care about my weight if I can destroy these things!!”

Even Shizuka was unable to do anything. Since she couldn't tell friend from foe apart, her amazing powers were being wasted. All she could do was grieve.

Weight?

Thought it would seem that Shizuka's grieving gave Kiriha an idea on how to tell the real and fakes apart.

“Clan-dono, the mass! Even if their appearances change, they can't change their mass!”

”You're right! If I calculate the distortion of space, then...!”

Not even an illusion could change the mass of the weapons the illusions were protecting. Even if sound and electromagnetic radiation could be disguised, the space distorted by the mass of the weapons couldn't be disguised. Correcting the distortion in space would require a massive amount of magical power. Considering the amount of fakes, it's hard to imagine that the mass was being disguised as well.

“All the fakes have been locked on!! But there's still that one chance!”

None of the girls weighed more than 50 kilos. Filtering those out, Clan immediately got the position of the enemy. However, there was still the chance that a fake Kiriha had told her that. That's why Clan hesitated to attack.

“There's no need to aim directly at them! Just aim right next to them!”

Kiriha's reply was strange.

“Eh!?...but there's no time to hesitate, beginning attack!!”

Clan was puzzled, but she didn't have the time to hesitate. Clan ordered the fire control system to attack. Following the targeting data gotten from filtering after mass, the beam cannon she was armed with began bombardment on its own. The aim was right next to the girls. Clan still didn't understand, but she had to believe in Kiriha.

A white flash of a beam grazed the side of one of the Yurikas. As it did, the beam scored a hit in a place where there should have been nothing, opening a large hole. Metal and electrical components peeking through the hole. The next moment the illusion collapsed, and the weapon returned to its original form. It seemed like the attacked spot held something vital as the weapon stopped moving. It was exactly the outcome Kiriha had hoped for.

“Impossible!? What just happened!?”

Crimson's shaken voice echoed out. She was still invisible, but there was no doubt she had been taken in complete surprise.

“It's nothing really. Even though the weapons are covered in elaborate illusions, there are two things that can't be deceived. Mass and shape”

Mass not being concealed was explained above, but there was still a chance of it. Because of that Kiriha had Clan attack just next to the body. Even though the weapons' shapes had been changed by the illusions, they hadn't really changed. Kiriha and the others were just normal girls so they were smaller than human shaped spiritual energy weapons. In other words, while it couldn't be seen, the weapons' real bodies were poking out past their fake shapes.

“It wasn't a bad idea. If you had prepared several women soldiers, we would have lost”

”Kuh, to think there was such a blind spot!”

The strategy was good, but they chose the wrong thing to cover in illusions. Because of that the plan was imperfect, which allowed Kiriha to see through it.

“...Kii... your intelligence is frightening from time to time...”

”Which means, we just have to not hit them directly!”

”Time for a counter attack!”

“I won't forgive you for attacking Yurika-san with my appearance!”

Attacking so that attacks grazed the body wouldn't hurt their allies, but defeat their enemies. Having realized that, Yurika and the others began their counterattack and they defeated the fakes, one after another.

”Again! Curse you Kurano Kiriha!”

”Calm down, Crimson”

”But Green!”

”I heard. You're stalling five people, including Rainbow. That's more than enough of a win”

”...Sorry for whining”

Crimson was enraged, but Green was able to calm her down. Getting emotional was the first step to defeat. That was another lesson Kiriha had taught them.

”It's okay. And Crimson, your chance of victory has dropped below 50%”

”Okay. Let's continue as planned”

”Yes”

Having calmed down, Crimson followed Green's plan. Still hidden, she left the hall. Once her chance of victory dropped below 50% she would stop fighting here.

Even though Crimson had obtained scientific magic and made plenty of preparations, there was still a chance that she wouldn't be a match for many enemies. So Green continued forecasting Crimson's chance of victory, and once it dropped below 50% they would switch plans, as they had agreed on beforehand.

”Crimson, you did good”

”You're the only one that would praise me”

Yurika and the others were still fighting against the weapons behind Crimson, but she didn't even turn to look. 20 weapons were not a big loss, and besides, this loss had already been planned for. As the weapons bought time for her to fall back, Crimson returned to Green's side.

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