Published at 17th of August 2019 9:15 am

Volume 19, Chapter 6: The Return of the Magical Girɬ

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

Part 1

Sunday, September 19

Koutarou and the others had been able to confirm that the castle of Sariachal was Darkness Rainbow's base, but they weren't sure how they'd attack it. Since this was the enemy base, if they attacked from the front, they would likely end up facing lots of enemies. If they were attacked by the six leaders at that time, they'd be in serious danger. Koutarou and the others didn't know that the main force had already left, so they were still unable to attack.

“We had to stop their tinplate soldiers or we wouldn't win, right?”

What Sanae referred to as tinplate soldiers were Forthorthe's and the People of the Earth's weapons. Previously, the difference in forces made it so Rainbow Heart's defeat was near impossible, but with the weapon groups they now had, that difference had been overturned. Koutarou and the others heading to Darkness Rainbow's base was because there should be a way to stop the weapon groups there.

“But going in from the front is dangerous” Yurika said as she dropped her shoulders. Attacking without a plan was bad. Taking some measures was necessary. Harumi raised her hand and spoke.

“Satomi-kun, can I say something?”

“Please go ahead, Sakuraba-senpai”

“Isn't sneaking in the only thing we can do in this sort of situation?”

If they didn't want to go in from the front, they should sneak in. It was a simple idea but highly effective.

“Bertorion, I agree with Harumi”

Clan agreed with Harumi. Rather than feeling the need for it, she wanted to avoid a direct confrontation.

“Yurika, what do you think?”

Once Harumi and Clan said that they wanted to sneak in, Koutarou began leaning in their direction. However, Yurika was in charge, and he wanted to hear her opinion. After gathering her thoughts as she stared at the castle for a moment, she answered the question.

“... Satomi-san, do you think we can sneak into that castle?”

Yurika worried about the very property castles had. In some cases, sneaking in might even be more dangerous.

“It would probably be difficult. Buildings constructed during periods of a lot of wars are troublesome”

Koutarou was also worried about that part. Having experience in attacking castles and fortresses in the past Forthorthe, he was well aware that this castle was a structure of war. It of course had measures to prevent attacks and infiltration.�

“But it's probably still better than going in from the front”

”I understand. We want to avoid fighting, in more meanings than one, and we don't have time. Let's sneak in”

Yurika believed in Koutarou's judgment, but people's lives were the ultimate factor in deciding. If they entered from the front, there was a chance that they would have to fight against Darkness Rainbow soldiers and in the following confusion there might be sacrifices. If they snuck in and accomplished their objective as quickly as possible to force a surrender there would be less sacrifices. Moreover, they also had a time limit, meaning that attacking from the front was even less preferable.

Part 2

If they were going to sneak in, they would need to decide on a route. For that, Koutarou's knowledge from the past came in handy. Old castles had parts that required them to be connected to the outside. The most convenient of which was the aqueduct.

Castle from that age were required to function as fortresses. Therefore, they had to be able to get water from the outside or they wouldn't be able to last in a siege. In the case of the castle of Sariachal, that came in the form of an underground aqueduct.

“How does it look, Clan?”

“We're in luck! The facilities from 2,000 years ago are still here!”

”Alright, luck is starting to get on our side!”

In the past world, Koutarou and Clan had gotten knowledge on the castle of Sariachal when they were thinking up plans of how to attack Maxfern and his group. One of the suggestions back then was to infiltrate via the underground aqueduct. Koutarou and Clan thought of trying that, and as luck would have it, the scout craft that was sent underground found the underground aqueduct had continued to be used. This was a big chance.

“Kiriha-san, what do you think?”

“... The other side doesn't know that we have this information. Even if they use the future forecast, the chances of them seeing us infiltrating from the aqueduct should be less than it really is. However... we should still use some randomness”

Kiriha said and pulled out cards from her bosom, fanning them out and presented them to Koutarou who drew one of them. Since Green relied on her future forecast, having several plans and deciding on which one to go with by drawing a random card like this was the safest way.

“... Then it's decided. Let's go with the underground aqueduct”

Koutarou had drawn an old card with most of its past metallic luster gone and had a motif of Kabutonga. On its surface were the characters that Kiriha had scribbled when she was young. It was a special card only Koutarou and Kiriha understood. The bingo card when deciding on strategies was always this card.

Part 3

The underground aqueduct was connected to a water vein, so Koutarou and the others entered the water vein from an old well and moved on to the aqueduct.

The moved underwater, but they all had barriers or spells to breathe underwater or other measures, so it wasn't a particularly difficult problem.

“Sanae”

”Aye! Thank you for your hard work!”

”Don't be so loud. We're in the enemy's castle”

“Right”

Koutarou released the armor's barrier and put down Sanae who he had been carrying on his back. Sanae landed on the stone paved floor with a familiar motion. They were currently in a maintenance passage running next to the underground aqueduct. If they continued on that passage they would be able to get inside of the castle.

“Still, we were lucky the aqueduct and water vein were connected”, Harumi said as she looked at the water vein she had just come out of. If the aqueduct hadn't been connected to it, infiltrating the castle would have been difficult. Moreover, the people of Folsaria would have had a much harder time. If the people thrown from Forthorthe hadn't ended up here they would surely have had much more tragic lives.

“Harumi, it's less luck and more thanks to their efforts. I think they desperately dug at the aqueduct to connect it to the water vein. Well, even then that was still very lucky”

Having been sent here from Forthorthe, the castle's underground aqueduct became useless. The water vein that the aqueduct was connected wasn't sent with it. So the people at the time began digging where the aqueduct stopped and connected it to Folsaria's water vein. Reaching the water vein was one of the reasons why the people thrown to Folsaria from Forthorthe had survived, as there were neither any lakes or rivers in the area.

“So Maxfern's castle is up ahead... it feels kind of strange”

“To think that the final battleground in the legend of the Blue Knight would still exist... I can't believe it”

Compared to Harumi and the others, Theia and Ruth had a different impression. The castle of Sariachal was a legendary place to them. It only existed within movies and books. That's why it was a strange feeling for them, knowing they were entering a legend.

“At least this is being properly maintained. Very good”

Shizuka looked around and smiled. The urban area was in ruins, so as a landlord it was an unpleasant sight. However, since this passage handled drinking water, it was well maintained and Shizuka was in a cheerful mood.

“This isn't a laughing matter, Kasagi-san”

“Oh, why?”

“If it's being maintained, it means that there is someone who maintains it”

Maki was right, if this passage was clear it meant there was someone cleaning it regularly. It would be very dangerous if Koutarou and the others were to run across those in charge of that.

“It's okay. For places like these, you clean regularly after a schedule. They wouldn't show up at times when people would be using the water”

”I see... as expected of Kasagi-san”

Shizuka showed off her experience as a landlord. Performing maintenance on the aqueduct couldn't be done when the residents were using the water. They wouldn't want garbage mixed in with the water. That's why maintenance would usually be scheduled for early mornings or midnight. Since it was still daytime now, the chances of people coming were low.

“Well then, we've safely gotten inside... but the problems start from here on. Yurika what do you plan on doing now?”

“The controls for the weapons are probably in the command room or laboratory. If possible I want to get there without being noticed, but if that doesn't seem possible we'll break through”

“Understood. Wait a moment... Ruth, come here for a second”

”Yes, Kiriha-sama”

“Use your scout to gather information alongside the haniwas”

“I understand”

“Ho-, Leave it to us Ho-!”

“It's our time to shine Ho-”

Kiriha and Ruth got to work gathering information at once. They wanted to reach the controller for the automated weapons without being found by the enemy, so trying to rush through the castle was a bad idea. Instead they would suppress their unease and gather information.

Part 4

Koutarou and the others left the underground aqueducts passage and entered the castle. They were currently hiding themselves between the second and third floors of the stairs that had been nearby. They hadn't run into anyone at all until now. Moreover, there weren't many signs of people being in the castle. It was impossible to tell from the outside, but while there was an absolute minimum amount of guards there wasn't enough to be called a force. The castle was practically deserted.

“This is bad... they've already left”

This place didn't have the peculiar atmosphere of a base ready to go to war. Koutarou could tell as he had experience with that. Combined with how quiet the castle was, it was most likely that the soldiers had already moved.

“They are most likely already advancing on the capital. We must have missed each other on the way”

While Koutarou and the others chased after Crimson and Green, the main forces had left on a different route. Koutarou and the others had gotten all the way here without noticing that. It wouldn't be strange if the capital was already under attack from Darkness Rainbow. Not being able to confirm the current situation was painful.

“But since Crimson-san and Green-san returned here, the attack still shouldn't have happened. We can still make it if we hurry!”

Yurika still hadn't given up hope. There was still a chance to prevent this war. It was hard to imagine that Darkness Rainbow would challenge Rainbow Heart to a decisive battle without Crimson and Green. And since those two had returned here, there should still be some time before the battle begins. It shouldn't start until they recover and regroup with the rest.

“Koutarou, Yurika is right! There is still a chance if we can seize control of the automated weapons!”

“Yeah, you're right. Let's just continue as planned!”

Koutarou and the others nodded and began moving again. They carefully stepped forward on the third floor. The stairs they had been using only connected floors one through three. This was to keep a single set of stairs from reaching all the parts of the castle in the case of an attack. If they wanted to go further up they would need to find another set of stairs. In order to reach the seventh floor, the top of the castle, they would need to climb one more set of stairs after that.

“... I wonder if things will go that easily”

However, just as Koutarou and the others had left the stairs and were trying to pass through a hall, someone's voice echoed throughout it.

“Who's there!?”

Koutarou instinctively raised his voice and unsheathed his sword. The voice in question laughed in response.

“Fufufu, that's my question, Mr. intruder”

The voice belonged to Dark Purple. She stepped out from the shadow of a thick pillar and stood in front of Koutarou with a cheerful expression. Besides her were the five other leaders. With the exception of a Dark Navy, it was all of the leaders of Darkness Rainbow. Having noticed Koutarou and the others approaching, they had waited for them here.

“... To think the leader would greet us personally”

“The soldiers are all out after all. We're running short on hands. Once we defeat you, we'll be heading to the battlefield as well. Being low on manpower really is unpleasant”

”Then I'll repeat what you said. I wonder if things will go that easily”

“Oh, did I say something like that?”

Even in front of Koutarou and the others, Purple was still confident. She didn't even seen to be even slightly fazed by Koutarou's remark. She shouldn't be all that different from Koutarou and the others in terms of age, but she was very mature. Her confidence came from that maturity.

It's not as bad as Maya, but... she's a troublesome opponent...

Koutarou forced a confident expression as well, while sensing that Purple was a powerful enemy. In fighting and war, those who remained calm at all times would win.

After Koutarou's and Purple's short exchange, Yurika stepped up next to Koutarou. Speaking to Purple was originally her job.

“Purple-san, can't you stop this battle?”

They were the words Yurika had repeated whenever she faced Darkness Rainbow. She would always ask that before a battle. And these words made the calm Purple very irritated.

“How many times do you people have repeat the same discussion before you're satisfied!? We've decided to fight a long time ago! Yet why do you keep asking the same thing!?”

Purple gave words to her irritation, as if she was disgusted with this entire discussion.

That Purple is... just what on Earth...?

Maki couldn't help but feel confused by Purple's behavior. Even among the leaders of Darkness Rainbow, Purple stood on top. That had naturally occurred as she was always calm. However, there was no calmness in her now.

Purple had gotten emotional because she had seen a glimpse of herself in Yurika. When she was in Rainbow Heart, she had fought against Darkness Rainbow like that. However, Maki didn't know that, so she simply had a perplexed expression on her face.

“If I don't ask, a battle will start anyways. We Rainbow Heart exist to protect the lives of the people, so the only path I can take is to continue asking”

Instead, Yurika was the calm one. She knew that this was a situation that she couldn't talk her way out of. Of course, so did Darkness Rainbow. But even then, Yurika only had one path she could take, because she's the magical girl of love and courage, Rainbow Yurika.

“Then I will just crush it! I will teach you that the path you believe in is nothing but an illusion!”

And that was probably all Purple could do. The appearance of Yurika and her friends facing her overlapped when she had faced the necromancer in the past. In other words, if she didn't reject Yurika, she would be rejecting her current self. Defeating Yurika and reviving her lover was the only future that should be affirmed.

“Purple! Now you're talking my language!”

“Don't get too excited, Crimson. Or you'll get the rug swept from under your feet again”

Crimson and Green backed up Purple from both sides. The remaining three, Orange, Blue and Yellow moved the same way and fanned out with Crimson and Purple in the center. Behind the girls, a crowd of automated weapons appeared. Just like Koutarou and the others had gone for the finish, Darkness Rainbow were planning on annihilating the enemies before them.

“Purple-san!”

”It's not going to happen Yurika”

”But...”

“You're right. However, if you die here what will happen to Folsaria?”

“... I-I understand...”

Yurika tried to continue persuading Purple, but Koutarou stopped her. With the enemies ready to attack at any time, trying to talk any further might be dangerous. If she was attacked while she was talking she would be defeated in the blink of an eye. With there being no replacements for Yurika and the others, they would have to give up on persuasion in order to stop the war.

“If this is to protect the people of Folsaria, I will fight!”

It might not have been the correct decision, but it was the best of what was available. Believing that, Yurika grabbed her cane.

“That's right Yurika! Now is the time to fight to protect them!”

“Being a hero is hard! Fight, Yurika! This Sanae-chan will forgive you!”

”Not fighting is ideal, but in reality the ideal is far away. Don't grieve over your ideal not being within reach yet. There is meaning in continuing your pursuit for the ideal. You are not a god, you are just human!”

“I'll do my best!”

More importantly, Yurika had friends who knew that she was just a normal girl who hated fighting. She was able to fight because she believed that she would be able to return to her normal everyday life with them.

“Fufufu, you don't get anything at all! Rainbow!”

Witnessing this, Purple's irritation was starting to reach its limit. Yurika had never experienced losing something truly precious to her. Because she didn't know the desire Purple felt every day, she could remain as a magical girl of justice. Purple's strong feelings of wanting to correct that unfairness started the battle.

“Your defeat was determined the moment you walked in here!”

The moment Purple said so, the anomalies began.

“Network connection lost. Communication to the Blue Knight is impossible”

“The comms are down!? Why!?”

”Me too! We've been completely separated from the Blue Knight!”

The first anomaly was reported by Ruth's bracelet. All forms of communications were being disrupted, and they lost the ability to communicate with the Blue Knight. As a result, they lost the support from their ship.

“Satomi-san, suddenly I can't gather any magical power! I can't use magic like this!”

”Blue Knight! The supply of magic suddenly stopped―”

“Why!? Signaltin's powers stopped!?”

The magicians felt the next anomaly. Yurika and Maki could no longer use magic, and the supply of magical power to Alunaya and Harumi stopped. As a result the three magicians and Shizuka returned to normal girls.

“... I'm starting to feel sick... what is this...”

”Spiritual Energy Field output is decreasing! This is bad Ho-!”

“Only 30% of the generator is reaching the field output Ho-!”

Finally was Sanae and the haniwas. The spiritual energy they controlled was drastically reduced. What was reduced was the amount of spiritual energy being output, which meant that Sanae's body reinforcement and the haniwas' barrier grew a lot weaker.

“Just what is going on!?”

In Koutarou's case, he lost abilities apart from his armor. With the communications cut off he couldn't call for Signaltin, and would have to fight with Saguratin, but less than half of the spiritual energy was passing through the sword. His body enhancing wasn't working as he wanted, and he couldn't see auras very well. Apart from the purely mechanical armor, nothing else could be used.

“Let me tell you, Boy”

Koutarou and the others were puzzled by the sudden power down when a new voice echoed in the hall. Koutarou had heard that voice before. It was the voice of someone who had been a pain in his side many times and was also Maki's master, the former Dark Navy, Maya.

“Maya!? Are you doing something!?”

”It's not just Maya. It's me too”

”Elexis!”

Maya and Elexis appeared in front of Koutarou and the others as well. Neither of them seemed ready to fight as they calmly looked at Koutarou and the others.

“It's simple. We've analyzed your power and are jamming it”

“It took a lot of hard work to make this you know”

Elexis showed of a 30 centimeters big metallic cylinder to Koutarou. It was a device that jammed gravitational waves, spiritual waves and magical waves. This was the device that had sealed Koutarou's and the others powers.

“In order for it not to affect us and only seal your powers, we had to gather and analyze data beforehand. It took quite a long time too”

“I see... so that's why you left without a fight in the underground and never even showed up the other day. It was all to make that!”

With that, Koutarou could understand the situation. Maya and Elexis had calculated that they would win with this, so they hadn't bothered actively attacking before. Darkness Rainbow had also cooperated in gathering data so that they could make sure they win against Rainbow Heart.

“The only uncertain elements in this battle are you”

“If we don't eliminate you then the outcome would be the same as in the underground”

“But if we exclude you, victory will come on its own”

”In other words, we will eliminate all of you first”

Since Koutarou and the others started working together, they became too powerful. And they could turn the tides of war just from their own whims. Since there were reinforcements that were stronger than the enemy they were fighting against, a win in the war was only temporary. That's why Koutarou and the others had to be eliminated first. It was a natural reasoning.

“But there's something I don't understand”

“What don't you understand, Koutarou-kun? It's clearly logical”

Koutarou had his doubts, which caused Elexis to spread his arms wide open and question Koutarou. He figured that it can't be that important.

“That's not what I'm talking about! Elexis, you know that they are descendants of the magicians led by Grevanas too, don't you!?”

“Oh... I'm impressed you noticed, Koutarou-kun”

Elexis narrowed his eyes slightly. Elexis had heard of Folsaria's creation from Maya. Upon learning that the name of the first leader was Grevanas, anyone from Forthorthe could understand. However he was surprised that Koutarou knew.

Why does he know something that only the elders of Rainbow Heart know? Did he learn it when he came to this castle? Or did the elders reveal it too him? Either way, Koutarou-kun really does have some kind of secret...

Because of that, Elexis' doubts of Koutarou grew deeper. Regardless of if he understood after seeing the castle, or if the elders had revealed the secret to him, Koutarou had a special something to him. It was hard to believe that he was just a normal boy.

“Elexis, if you know, then why would you have them fight!? They want to return to Forthorthe!! You could easily take them back couldn't you!?”

What didn't make sense to Koutarou was that Elexis hadn't taken Darkness Rainbow to Forthorthe. Darkness Rainbow's true objective was to return to their true home. If Elexis were to take them there, they wouldn't have a reason to fight.

“Just taking them there isn't enough. That won't change Forthorthe!”

“What!?”

”If the magical kingdom of Folsaria remains as it is now, even if I were to bring them to Forthorthe that would be the end of it! The elders would never allow an army of magicians to intervene with another country! However, that would be possible after Darkness Rainbow wins! This is necessary in order to change Forthorthe”

“Ridiculous, you'd start a war in this country for something like that!?”

Koutarou was aghast by Elexis' words. Elexis was trying to revolutionize Forthorthe's current political system, and he would use the magical kingdom of Folsaria to do so. For that end he had made a deal with Darkness Rainbow and supplied them with various technologies. In return they would cooperate with Elexis after they had won. And once everything was over, he would bring those who wanted with him to Forthorthe. After Elexis' revolution, Forthorthe should easily be able to accept a few immigrants from Folsaria.

Koutarou thought of that as a meaningless fight. But Maya frowned at his words.

“Boy, you're calling it 'something like that'... but just how much of our circumstances do you understand?”

Maya had a very irritated look as she stared at Koutarou who didn't properly understand the situation.

“What do you mean?”

“Darkness Rainbow had indeed been created with the intention of returning to our true home. However, after hundreds of years of fighting, we have found more than one objective! We're not in a situation where we can just reconcile because we can return home!”

The reason was the negative inheritance from their hundreds of years long history of fighting. In the past, the only objective had indeed been to return home. However as they fought against Rainbow Heart, they gathered people who wished to accomplish different goals using magic. Just like how Crimson only wished to fight or Purple wanting to revive her lover. Right now, those kind of people were the majority in Darkness Rainbow.

If this had happened when their only purpose was to return home, then everything could be resolved with Elexis taking them to Forthorthe. However, that wouldn't resolve everything for people with other objectives like Crimson and Purple. If they stopped fighting and surrendered, private use of magic would be forbidden and they couldn't accomplish their goal. They had to defeat Rainbow Heart no matter what.

Another problem was that hundreds of years had passed since the fighting started. The chain of hatred that had been created made it impossible to reconcile.

As many of those kinds of problems began to intertwine, Maya couldn't forgive Koutarou for dismissing it all as 'something like that'.

“We will defeat Rainbow Heart and return to our home in a dignified manner as partners of the new system Elexis is creating! We have no intentions of arriving as refugees! We are Darkness Rainbow! Proud magicians!”

“If you want to stop them, then just try, Koutarou-kun! You'll learn the hard way of why they sought power!”

As Maya and Elexis spoke, the six dark magical girls slowly approached. In the current situation, only Theia and Koutarou would be able to put up a fight against them. However, Koutarou had powered down quite a bit, and if they fought he would only end up getting in Theia's way. At this rate, they would lose in an instant.

Part 5

In this certain death situation, Koutarou's directions were to retreat. If they fought they would be annihilated. Breaking through those six and destroying the jamming device Elexis was holding in his hand was next to impossible. So all they could do was run.

“Everyone, let's fall back for now! Even if we fight there's no chance of winning!”

”Of course we won't let you escape! We knew you'd try that!”

However, the moment Purple declared so, automated weapons poured up from the stairs Koutarou and the others had come from. After being caught in a trap, it was clear that they would try to escape... they didn't even need to rely on Green's forecast for that. With their objective being to eliminate Koutarou and the others, they had deployed their forces so that there would be no escape.

“Kuh, at this rate we'll...!”

Koutarou cut down the automated weapons in front of him with a bitter expression on his face. Thanks to the armor, he could deal with the automated weapons with ease when fighting one at a time. But since he was swinging around a normal sword he couldn't reduce their numbers right away and he couldn't open a path to the stairs. Of course, since Darkness Rainbow's magical girls were attacking at the same time, Koutarou and the others were stuck on defense.

“What's wrong!? Is that all you've got without magical power!?”

“I'm not done yet!!”

Having been looked down on until now, Crimson targeted Shizuka. She wasn't using her laser or cannon and was just attacking Shizuka with her cane which she had transformed into an axe. Crimson strengthened herself with magic and her axe was infused with magic as well. In contrast, Shizuka was fighting her unarmed and without Alunaya enhancing her abilities. As a result, Shizuka had her hands full just avoiding the attacks.

“Maki-chan, please go!”

”I'm counting on you, Yurika!”

Maki and Yurika were working together to fight against Green. Their spell effectiveness was greatly reduced by Elexis' jamming device, so they chose to cooperate to amplify their magic. But even then they could still only control about half of the normal amount of magical power. So they had Maki, who excelled in direct combat to fight against Green in close combat. Since they didn't sent spells flying, the power of her attacks were higher. Moreover, Green was not good in close combat, so in that sense they had a chance to win.

“Navy-san, if you weren't around, then Crimson would!!”

However, Green was well aware of that. So she chose to send some automated weapons onto Maki while she used her spells to attack.

“Uhhh!?”

”Maki-chan!!”

”Mirage Blast!!”

“Kyaaa!?”

”Stand back, Yurika!”

With this style of fighting Yurika was defenseless, so Maki couldn't go to far from her. The two were hurt by Green's spell and were gradually being cornered.

“Oh... even though you familiars have gotten a power down you're still trying so hard”

”They're not familiars, they're servants”

“Ho-! Guts Ho-!”

”Let's show them the power of haniwas Ho-!”

Kiriha never had special powers of her own. Her strength was mostly born from her sharp mind, so she used her haniwas to cover for the reduced cutting power of her naginata. She was also fortunate that Yellow was more skilled at defense. While she couldn't do much damage with this power down, dodging Yellow's attacks weren't that difficult.

“We're going again, Karama, Korama!”

“We can't complain Ho-!”

“We'll make up for what we lack with courage Ho-!”

Kiriha and the haniwas method for attacking was having Kiriha attack from the front and letting the haniwas attack from blind spots. With the power down, the haniwas couldn't be used effectively for defense, that became their new primary role.

“But there's more than one way to defend yourself... Hedgehog Guard”

However, Yellow was a leader of Darkness Rainbow. Being an expert at defense, she had learned special defensive spells.

“Owowowow, w-we were hit Ho-!?”

“It's spiky Ho-!”

The haniwas attempted to tackle Yellow while she was preoccupied with Kiriha but were repelled by Yellow's defense. Though that wasn't the problem, rather, the barrier was made out of spikes. The haniwas had charged into the spikes and taken damage. Thus, Kiriha and the haniwas began being cornered.

“Harumi, don't go too far away from me!!”

”I'm sorry for making you fight on your own, Sanae-chan!”

”No problem, this is my time to shine!”

Sanae was desperately fighting to protect Harumi. Since Harumi technically couldn't use magic on her own, she returned to being a normal girl once she was cut off from Signaltin. Sanae on the other hand could still use some of her powers, so she was protecting Harumi.

“Come on, it's only going to get harder!”

”Uhh, what a terrible personality”

Sanae was going up against Purple. Adapting to Sanae's weaker power, Purple summoned many departed souls. The normal Sanae would easily be able to defeat one of those departed souls, but the current Sanae couldn't. Sanae was doing her best to prevent Harumi from being attacked and was gradually taking more and more damage.

“Sanae!”

“Gyaaaaoooooo!!”+

That was when Theia, who had realized the danger Sane was in, fired her assault rifle into the crowd of departed souls. Physical attacks had little effect on departed souls, but Theia's rifle had a larger caliber than a rifleman's rifle, and was able to deal some damage. Though if Purple had limited the numbers to improve their power, it probably wouldn't have worked.

“Thank you, Theia”

“Be careful!”

“Ok!”

During this opening, Sanae defeated one of the departed souls and regained her posture. Theia felt relief seeing that, however, the enemy wouldn't overlook her own opening.

“Do you think you have the time to worry about others!?”

”Whoops!”

Theia suddenly jumped backwards. Moments later an orange, yellow and red cloud appeared where she had stood before. Theia was going up against Dark Orange. The cloud so colorful it stung in Theia's eyes just looking at it was made by her. Orange's specialty was to change the properties of things. It was a dangerous attack where one didn't know what would happen if you came into contact with the cloud.

“You're spells are just so slow you see”

”That's not cute at all!”

Theia had the upper hand in the fight between her and Orange. Theia's equipment was purely scientific, so she was most unaffected by the jamming. Orange mainly used a tricky fighting style, so in a straight up battle of firepower, Theia had the upper hand. However, Theia couldn't finish off Orange.

“Ruth!”

“I'm sorry, Your Highness!”

She had to cover for her allies so she couldn't focus fire on Orange. If Theia had been equipped with Assault Red instead of Command Green, she probably would have defeated Orange by now, but be out of ammo instead.

Ruth who had just been covered, was currently fighting against Blue.

“... Why don't you just give up? With all the skills you're so proud of sealed, you have no chance of winning”

Blue indifferently attacked as she spoke. Her specialty was summoning magic. She could summon demons to attack, or lava from elsewhere and pour it on her opponents. She had very varied attacks. The same could be said for Ruth's normal way of fighting.

“Even if that's the case, a knight will continue to fight to protect her allies. There was never a option to give up to begin with!”

Unlike usual, Ruth was swinging her beam saber around. With her connection to the Blue Knight cut off, she couldn't attack while relying on her unmanned fighters and information network. While she had started to get more skilled with the sword, she was still stronger with her unmanned fighters. With her best techniques sealed off, Ruth was having a hard time.

“... We've won, Elexis”

“I'd be troubled if we didn't. We've spent this much time after all”

Watching over the fighting, Maya and Elexis were convinced of their victory. With Koutarou and the others' abilities sealed they were clearly at a disadvantage and were being cornered by the dark magical girls and the automated weapons. Sensing the flow of things, the live soldiers who had been forbidden from joining in to prevent the loss of manpower, began attacking as well. No matter how they looked at it, victory was guaranteed.

“Damnit, I have to let everyone get away! At this rate we'll only die”

Koutarou desperately repelled the enemy while looking around. He was focused on returning the girls of room 106 home. However, he couldn't see how they could win. All he could see was the girls struggling and the enemies increasing. Koutarou's experience let him know that this was a complete defeat.

“Is it going to end in a place like this!? I still haven't done―”

Koutarou looked away from the humanoid automated weapon for an instant to look over the entire battlefield. That was when the automated weapon thrust its right hand forward into Koutarou's side.

“Guaaa!?”

Having suffered several attacks from enemies, his barrier was hardly working. The claws on the automated weapon easily pierced through the weakened barrier and gouged his flank. Koutarou kneeled from the intense shock and pain. If he could control his spiritual energy he could ease the pain, but that was difficult now. Koutarou could no longer move.

“Koutarou!?”

Seeing that, Theia let out a shout. As she did, the girls of room 106 looked at Koutarou on reflex. And that created a large opening for the enemy.

“Don't look away in the middle of a battle, are you insane!?”

”Kyaaa!!”

The dark magical girls' attacks hit the girls. They hurriedly defended themselves and avoided any critical damage, but they were all knocked to the ground, and couldn't stand up from the impacts. The next attack would most likely be the last. With that, Koutarou and the others would be defeated and Darkness Rainbow would win. There was no longer anything Koutarou and the others could do.

“Koutarou-kun, it's been months since our first battle... but it seems like I'm finally about to get my first win”

“It's been more than ten years for me you know? I'm glad it happened before I became an old lady”

Elexis and Maya approached the girls. To these two, Koutarou and the others were opponents they were deeply connected to. They wanted to see the end up close.

“... It's our complete defeat, Maya, Elexis. There's nothing we can do now. You guys win”

Koutarou honestly admitted defeat and showed a wry smile. Just like his words suggested, it was the expression of someone that had given up. But seeing that, Elexis stopped dead in his tracks.

“What is it, El?”

”... Those words don't suit him at all. It seems like Koutarou-kun is planning something. Purple-kun, kill them right away”

Elexis felt that Koutarou wasn't speaking what he truly felt. Based on Koutarou's actions and behavior from the past, he would continue to protect his allies until the bitter end. That's why Elexis believed that Koutarou was only saying that to get him to lower his guard.

Damnit, he caught on...

Koutarou clicked his tongue in his mind. Elexis was spot on. Koutarou was trying to overload his armor's generator and cause it to explode. By doing that, the girls of room 106 should be able to escape.

“Understood. This is goodbye, intruders”

The six dark magical girls pointed their canes at Koutarou and the others. In a moment they would each release their specialties and annihilate Koutarou and the others.

“I won't let you!!”

Koutarou forced up his numb body and ran towards Darkness Rainbow's magical girls.

Everyone, make sure you get away!

He would use his body as a shield and blow up the generator to create an opening for the girls to escape. He was desperate to protect the girls. Koutarou knew that it would be difficult to actually pull it off, but he couldn't keep himself from trying anyways.

“What a foolish man... what do you think will come from that?”

Purple sneered at Koutarou. She already knew what he was intending to do, and that Yellow's barrier would be able to block it. That's why Koutarou would simply die for nothing. He would just die a moment before the girls. Purple found that unbearably amusing.

Be grateful, Blue Knight. That you don't have to feel this desire, and that you get to pass away with those precious to you...

Magical power gathered at the tips of Purple's and the others canes. Their magic would be unleashed any moment now. Maya, Elexis and the six leaders of Darkness Rainbow were convinced of their victory. And this victory would lead to victory over Rainbow Heart. The girls were smiling as their desired future was right around the corner.

However, the future they desired so much was washed away by a rain of bullets. They were suddenly brought back into battle.

“Guaa!?”

The bullets were first focused on what was in Elexis' hand and penetrated the jamming device. Elexis almost dropped the jamming device from the shock and held it with his hand. He knew very well what would happen if he lost the device.

“Kyaaa!?”

”W-What's going on!?”

Next the bullets rained down on the six magical girls. For some reason, the bullets easily penetrated Yellow's barrier. Normally that was unthinkable, so the surprised girls stopped their attacking and got out of the way.

“Who's there!? Come out!!”

Since Elexis was attacked, Maya was enraged. She searched for the attacker with her eyes full of fury and hatred. If possible she wanted to kill the culprit with just her glare.

“... You're the same as well, Maya. You always act like an adult full of confidence, but if someone messes with something you care about, you erupt in anger”

“That voice!! Could it be!?”

”It is”

The mysterious attacker appeared in front of Maya. She had a small body and characteristic pig tails. A youthful face, but deeply intelligent eyes.

“Rainbow Nana! My nemesis!!”

Rainbow Nana, she had once been the strongest magical girl in Rainbow Heart, and she was still the topic of a lot of talk. Folsaria's living legend. She was supposed to have retired after taking a serious injury, yet here she was standing in Maya's way again.

Part 6

The moment Nana appeared, everyone related to Darkness Rainbow stopped moving. That was how powerful of an opponent she was. If they overlooked a single one of her actions, they would lose in an instant. Nana was the most dangerous opponent to Darkness Rainbow and she had come out on top of them several times before.

“... I've given the name of Rainbow to Yurika. That's why I'm just Nana now”

”So what about it? What kind of idiot would let their guard down because of that?”

“In truth I can barely use magic on my own”

”Even if that is the case, I won't ease up until the moment you die”

Not missing the opening Darkness Rainbow showed when they stopped moving, she repeatedly fired the gun in her right hand some more. The bullets fired from this gun were energy bullets made from mixing magical power and spiritual energy. This was normally a gun that gathered and fired magical power, but with her magical power reduced, the spiritual energy generator powering her artificial limbs supplied the gun with spiritual energy to make up for the difference. However as a result it increased the bullets penetration. Both magic and spiritual energy would be required to block these bullets.

“Protection From Soul Energy!”

“Anti Magic Shield!”

Noticing the reason for why the barrier had been penetrated, Purple and Yellow each cast a defensive spell. Purple cast a defensive spell against spiritual energy and Yellow cast a defensive spell against magic. This two layered shield repelled Nana's bullets. The bullets themselves didn't have an impressive amount of energy.

“Don't think we're the same as before, Rainbow Nana!!”

While protected by the defensive spells, Maya charged at Nana. Maya fired her own gun, built into her left arm, at Nana. She got closer, intending to settle the match with the blade in her right arm.

“Then let's try this”

In contrast, Nana rolled something across the floor with a playful expression.

“Oh no!?”

By the time Maya realized what it was, it released a bright flash.

Nana had rolled a flashbang across the floor. Since everyone was focused on Nana, it proved exceptionally effective. Everyone in Darkness Rainbow ended up seeing the flash. Everyone apart from Maya whose mechanical body gave her measures to protect her from flashes and Green who didn't rely on her eyes to fight were all unable to move.

“Everyone, hurry up and regroup!”

Nana left those words behind to Koutarou and the others and ran towards Maya who was rapidly approaching. Even to Nana, Maya was someone she couldn't lower her guard around.

“Green, you kill the boy and the others!”

”Okay!”

The highly capable Maya would engage Nana while Green would operate the many automated weapons to deal with Koutarou and the others. In this situation that was the optimal way to fight.

“El, what about the jamming device!?”

”It's impossible to maintain all functions! If I bypass the circuit I can keep jamming at least one of them!”

Meanwhile, Elexis was trying to repair the jamming device that Nana had shot. But unfortunately it had taken a lot of damage and recovering all functions was impossible.

“Then make it that dragon!”

”I'm working on it!!”

Elexis shifted all of the jamming onto Shizuka. If Alunaya appeared now everything would be over.

“Speaking with a man? You've changed, haven't you!?”

“That goes both ways!”

Nana's and Maya's battle began. Koutarou wanted to go back up Nana, but he couldn't as most of them were still unable to move. While the jamming had stopped and everyone could use their own powers, they weren't able to start fighting right away. They had to make preparations and injuries needed to be treated.

“Men, leave Green to me! Meanwhile, the rest of you get ready!”

The only one that could move right away was Theia. Normally she'd want to exchange weapons, she was also hurt, but if she didn't stop Green here they would be defeated. Theia fired off her guns as if she was trying to use up all ammunition as she stood in the way of Green.

“It will be impossible for you alone to deal with this many weapons”

”Then let me show you! There's no need to actually win after all!”

Green attacked from the front, and the automated weapons attacked from all sides. Theia was trying to stop them , but she was horribly outnumbered. At this rate, Theia would be unable to surpress the enemy shortly. From now on it was a battle against time.

“Yurika, Aika-san, leave me and Ruth-san for later, heal Sanae and landlord-san first!”

”O-Okay!”

”Kasagi-san, I'll heal you right away!”

Koutarou had those who could move almost right away get healed first. Koutarou and Ruth required time to readjust the system settings and summon their weapons. So healing people like Sanae and Shizuka who had their own powers was more effective.

“Then I'm off to help Theia”

”I'll go get some payback too”

”Shizuka, I'm still being jammed and can't use all of my strength. Don't go overboard”

”And to think my weight is still increasing. Unforgivable!”

Having had their injuries healed by magic, Sanae and Shizuka headed off to help Theia. That relieved Koutarou's worries about Theia, but he still had more he worried about.

“Yurika, will Nana-san be okay? She only just got better, and she can't use as much magic as she could before, right?”

While being healed by Yurika, Koutarou was looking at the battle between Maya and Nana. He was worried for her safety. Not much time had passed since Nana got her artificial limbs, moreover she had less magical power and she had been away from active duty for a long time. Thinking about it normally, the battle with Maya was extremely dangerous.

“She'll be fine”

However, Yurika, who knew Nana, wasn't worried in the slightest. After glancing at Nana for a moment she smiled at Koutarou.

“Nana-san is a genius magical girl”

“But she can't use that much magic now”

Even though she used to be a genius magical girl, she had lost most of her body and her magical power with it. Even if she used a device to heighten what power she had left, she wouldn't reach the same level as she had been before. That's why Koutarou felt like the battle between her and Maya was too dangerous.

“Nana-san had indeed been called a genius magical girl, but that doesn't mean she was a genius at magic”

”What?”

“She's a genius that can use magic”

Strictly speaking, Nana was one of the weaker of arc-wizards when it came to magical power. However, she was skilled at controlling that magical power and could get great effect from small amounts of magical power. Moreover, her flashes of brilliance allowed her to come up with effective ways to use magic, leading to great results. A genius girl using the versatile tool like magic. That's what everyone meant when they called Nana a genius magical girl.

“So please don't worry. That is without a doubt the genius magical girl... Rainbow Nana”

To begin with, if she wasn't like that, she would never have been able to fight against Darkness Rainbow on her own, and bring the fight to a draw. Darkness Rainbow's leaders weren't so weak that they'd lose to someone just because they had an overwhelming amount of magical power. That's why even though she now had artificial limbs and had changed tools from magic to weapons, Nana was far from weak. Yurika believed that while Nana might be weaker than she was before, she was still stronger than anyone else here. Her second name as a genius magical girl was not just for show.

Part 7

Nana had practically lost all of her ability to use magic. Since she couldn't accumulate any magical power in her artificial body, she could only use the magical power her living parts generated as she got it. Moreover, since she had few living parts the magical power she did accumulate was little. Because of that, she could only use the most basic of magic in her current state.

But if her weapon could accumulate magical power, she could make full use of the generation she still had. And if that wasn't enough, she could also use spiritual energy. With that idea in mind, Nana's guns, Over the Rainbow, were made.

The grip of these guns continuously absorbed Nana's magical power and the spiritual energy generated from the artificial limbs generator. When fully charged, the guns had about 15 shots each. Even if she used up all of those, with enough time, she could fire them again. Moreover, she could also use bullets that only consisted of spiritual energy, and while the power was reduced without any magical power, she could continuously fire without fear of running out thanks to the generator. Nana fired bullets with magical power to break through defenses and then only relied on spiritual energy bullets.

“Nanaaaa!!”

“You've gotten ridiculously fast since the last time we met, Maya!!”

Nana rapidly fired spirit bullets, bullets consisting of only spiritual energy, at Maya. This was because a large amount of bullets were required to hit Maya when she was moving so fast. She couldn't use magic bullets, bullets with magical power mixed in, as there was a limit to how many she had.

“It's just perfect to defeat you and that boy, don't you think!?”

”It's certainly troublesome!”

Nana tilted her head to the side, and moments later, Maya's blade passed through where her head had been.

I've fired that many bullets and not a single one has hit!!

Nana had splendidly dodged Maya's attack, but she was marveled by Maya's strength. Nana had a combat mode built into her body, but that was just a secondary mode. Her new body had been made prioritizing her ability to live a normal life. Maya on the other hand had gotten a body made primarily for combat, and in that regard she exceeded Nana.

“But I have all kinds of things too!”

Nana spun her body around and pointed her left hand towards Maya. As she did a glowing red ball of fire appeared in front of her hand. While small, it was still a fireball spell.

“Magic!?”

”Amplifier!!”

Next Nana made the gun in her right hand shine and a glowing magic circle appeared in front of the fireball. At the same time she ordered the fireball to launch. The fireball was launched at the same speed as her bullets and passed through the magic circle. When it did, the fireball grew one size larger, swelling up into a normal size. When that fireball exploded it would hit a wide area. It should be an effective attack against Maya who moved swiftly.

“Quick Cast – Anti Magic Shield!!”

Sensing danger, Maya suddenly incanted a defensive spell. A small wand was stored in her left arm, and while Maya had lost her ability to accumulate magic she could still use spells, though not in succession.

What is going on!? Nana shouldn't be able to properly use magic!!

Thanks to Maya's defensive spell, Nana's attack disappeared before it exploded. However, instead of attacking, Maya distanced herself from Nana for a moment. Her fighting style up until now had assumed that Nana wouldn't be able to use magic, so she needed to rethink how she would fight.

“I'm surprised... I heard you couldn't use magic anymore”

Maya sent a glance full of both surprise and bitterness at Nana.

Darkness Rainbow had left Nana be because they had determined that she could no longer use magic and had to retire as a soldier. However, what just happened in front of Maya's eyes turned that assumption on its head. She couldn't hide her surprise.

“I can't now either”

”Quit lying. Then what was that Fireball? I don't want to hear some lame excuse of it just being a trick”

“Thanks to all kinds of tools, I'm able to use magic on the same level as a normal person. Well, in that sense it's a trick”

Nana showed off her left arm and gun as she spoke. Actually, by using the power of what was built into her left arm and her gun, she was able to use magic. Maya narrowed her eyes and stared at Nana.

“I see... I did hear a report about your apprentice having a cane that allowed anyone to use magic”

”Correct. I am only amplifying the magical power gathered in the gun. I still can't use magic on my own”

The frame of Nana's left arm had been made by transforming the cane that Koutarou had brought with him from the past world. While the cane could use all kinds of magic, there was little power behind them and there was a need to amplify them. However, Nana couldn't accumulate magical power on her own. That was where her guns, Over the Rainbow, came in. While Nana couldn't accumulate magical power, these guns could. Using that magical power, Nana cast an amplifying spell. With that she could add the guns magical power on top of the cane's magical power, and somehow managed to reach the level of a normal person.

“With that we're roughly equal, huh...”

When it came to the performance of their bodies, Maya was on top, while Nana was on top when it came to magic. In Maya's eyes, there was hardly any difference in their overall capabilities.

“It looks like it”

Nana agreed. At this rate it seemed like the fight would drag on.

“In that case, with allies on my side, I will win!”

However Maya was convinced of her victory. The reason for that was because if need be she could use an automated weapons group. Maya used her communications function to request reinforcements. That was when four automated weapons gathered to protect Maya.

“... What a coincidence. I have allies too”

“Sorry for keeping you waiting, Nana-san!!”

Fortunately, Nana had allies as well. That was Yurika who had just finished healing the others. Though their positions of magical girl and cooperator had swapped, this was the first time in a year and a half that they worked together.

Thanks to the time Nana had managed to buy, Koutarou and the others had managed to recover. However, the same was true for Elexis, and after finishing adjustments on the jamming device, he boarded his personal mobile weapon and faced off against Koutarou.

“... It looks like the shape has changed again, Elexis”

“If I used the last one, the results would just be the same”

”That makes sense”

”I guess I'd call this Warlord II”

Elexis' mobile weapon was a five meter tall steel giant. This was an improved version of the mobile weapon he had fought with before, and the design was slightly different.

“However... I can't boast too much about the improvements this time around. They're all equipment that Maya had brought. It's all thanks to her”

The design was different because technology using magic and spiritual energy had been incorporated. It used the highest class magic from Darkness Rainbow and spiritual energy technology that Maya had gotten from her negotiations with the underground radical faction, which was also the best technology they had available. The difference in design was slight, but its performance was remarkably different.

“In fact, that's what's more scary. You having allies. The strength of the mobile weapon isn't that much of a problem”

“I've learned after losing to you several times”

”There's a limit to what one man can do”

“Indeed, I am of the same mind right now”

However, Koutarou was more worried about Elexis' ally, Maya, than the strength of his mobile weapon. In the past it had looked like Elexis had allies, but he had been fighting on his own. Yet now he was fighting partnered up with Maya. Koutarou knew better than anyone what cooperation with allies could bring forth. Elexis' mental stability was a clear sign of that.

“It seems like you've changed a little bit as well, Koutarou-kun”

”I haven't changed. This is just borrowed as well”

”Which means that it's extremely dangerous”

”There's a limit to what one man can do after all”

“Hahaha, we're both in a bind aren't we”

“Yeah, it's a sad story”

Koutarou and Elexis drew their swords at practically the same time. Both of them were going to have an upfront battle with swords as they both knew that petty tricks wouldn't work on eahc other.

“Sakuraba-senpai”

”Yes”

Koutarou called out to Harumi in his mind. Her voice responded in no time at all and Signaltin was glowing in his hand.

”Please focus on controlling Signaltin. He's someone who you can't let your guard down around”

”I understand. Good luck, Koutarou-sama”

Harumi's hair glowed silver as she enhanced Signaltin's magical power. Normally she'd want to use the excess magical power to support, but if she did that her control of Signaltin wavered. Going up against Elexis, any carelessness would prove fatal. Harumi could also tell that she needed to focus on controlling the sword.

“Then let's go, Koutarou-kun!”

”It's on, Elexis!”

With those words as their signal, the two of them moved forward. The last time Koutarou had moved first, but this time they moved at the same time. This was proof that Elexis' giant had been improved.

“Confirming enemy mobile weapon's hostile actions. GOL will begin its offensive”

As expected, Koutarou's additional equipment, the Garb of Lord, made the first attack.

“Activating right shoulder laser cannon. Beginning attack on enemy mobile weapon”

After activating the laser cannon, GOL fired on its own. It's fire control system was modelled after Theia, so it made very quick decisions. In a more human expression, it was very impatient.

“Don't fire too much. This is a troublesome opponent”

Going up Elexis, Koutarou not only needed to severely manage his sword, but also his armor's energy. So Koutarou gave the AI a warning.

“... As you wish, my lord”

There was a brief pause before its answer. Koutarou charged towards the giant while thinking that Theia probably would have started sulking.

Part 8

While Koutarou and Elexis were clashing swords, battles were about to start in other places as well. The most hasty of the dark magical girls was of course Crimson. Once she found enemies, she attacked without hesitation.

“I've been waiting for this moment!!”

”You again!?”

Crimson's target was Shizuka. However, unlike before, Shizuka easily warded off the attack. She was currently in her half-dragon form, so she wouldn't be done in that easily. However, despite her attack failing, Crimson was in a good mood.

“That's more like it! There's nothing fun with fighting weak opponents!”

Crimson didn't actually like Elexis' jamming device all that much. She didn't like the idea of winning after weakening her opponent. To her it was like trying to climb to the top of a mountain but blowing up the top to lower its peak.

When Shizuka turned into a dragon she exceeded the strength of what a human could achieve, which Crimson didn't like, but she at least wanted to fight her half-dragon form. To Crimson who saw fighting as her everything, this was the moment she had long awaited.

“If you're a martial artist, you should understand this feeling too!”

”I like fighting against strong opponents, but I can't enjoy a life or death battle!”

Shizuka unleashed a roundhouse kick while rejecting Crimson's words. Shizuka was doing karate herself, so she liked fighting strong people. However, that was just so that they could test themselves on one another, not for cutting her opponent down. To sum it up, Shizuka liked karate but not using it to kill others.

“I see, that's too bad!! But I won't hold back!!”

Crimson caught Shizuka's kick on the handle of her axe, in other words, her cane, and chanted a spell.

“Quick Cast – Heat Metal!”

“Uwah hot!?”

Only the metallically reinforced parts of the cane, which happened to be where Shizuka's kick had landed, heated up quickly. Crimson's spell allowed her to freely heat up metal, though using it on her own cane lowered its durability, so she couldn't use it too many times. However, when suddenly used in the middle of a close range fight, it was a troublesome attack.

“Geez... magicians really are crazy”

Shizuka hurriedly jumped away and patted the part of her leg that had been burnt a couple of times. It had only felt really hot, but she hadn't taken any serious damage. Shizuka had the powers of the Fire Dragon Emperor so apart from the sensation, she barely ever took any damage from heat.

“Who's the crazy one... But that's more like it”

Crimson showed a fearless smile. The stronger her foe was, the more joy she felt when winning. She couldn't help but look forward to what would happen in this fight.

Part 9

In contrast to Shizuka's intense battle, Kiriha's battle was progressing a little more calmly. Her opponent was Dark Yellow who specialized in defense and strengthening, and their battle was more one of intellect.

“Kiriha-san was it...? What will you show me next?”

”You've gotten measures against electricity too, so... what should I do...”

Yellow was a magician skilled at defense and strengthening, so both her offensive and defensive powers were very high. Kiriha's attacks had pretty much no effect, while a single shot from the bow Yellow was using would pierce through the haniwas defense. Fortunately, Yellow wasn't all that skilled at fighting. She normally only cast strengthening magic on someone and let them do the fighting.

Kiriha was finding openings and attacked. For example, just before Karama had started by attacking with eye lasers, upon which Korama followed up with an electric attack. Doing that ionized the air and created a path for the electricity to travel through, allowing for an accurate attack at Yellow's feet, which was an area that was hard to guard. It was a clever attack that made up for the fact that electricity rarely moved straight forward in the air.

However, being skilled at defense, an attack used once wouldn't work twice on Yellow. Electrical attacks no longer worked on her so a new method of attack needed to be found.

“If you're not coming, then I will!”

Determining that Kiriha was having a hard time attacking her, Yellow knocked an arrow on her bow. This bow was her actually her cane that had been transformed but its original power wasn't all that high. However it had been strengthened with magic and now had the power to match a cannon. It was a terrifying attack, but this was the moment Kiriha had waited for.

“Now, do it!”

”Ho-, Yurika-chan's specialty, poison gas attack Ho-!”

”Poison gas isn't very heroic but we can't worry about that in this situation Ho-!”

When Yellow attacked she had to undo part of her barrier. Kiriha had the haniwas analyze the timing of that and waited for this moment.

“Oh no!?”

The moment Yellow fired her arrow, the balls thrown by the haniwas entered her barrier. The balls then began emitting white smoke at a furious pace.

“At this rate I'll lose!”

Yellow was fully protected by her barrier. Looking at that from another perspective, the gas had no way out. At this rate the gas would fill up the area protected by the barrier and she would die. Believing that, she suddenly undid her barrier to get out of trouble. She knew that Yurika was skilled at this kind of attack, so this countermeasure was always in her mind.

“... So I tried doing something like this”

“Kyaa!?”

The next moment, Kiriha flew through the smoke and stabbed at Yellow. Yellow responded by quickly defending herself, but because of the naginata infused with spiritual energy and the surprise attack, she was unable to fully block the attack and she was thrown backwards.

“She fell for it Ho-!”

“Ane-san really is a bad woman Ho-!”

“I-I was fooled... they were just normal smoke grenades, weren't they...”

Yellow hurriedly pulled herself up and glared at Kiriha with disgust. Completely unfazed by that gaze, Kiriha clearly nodded.

“That's correct. I don't have any real poison gas”

Everything had gone according to Kiriha's plans. After forcing Yellow to strengthen her barrier, she filled said barrier with gas. Darkness Rainbow were cautious of Yurika's spells, so Yellow easily accepted that it was poison gas and undid her barrier. After that all Kiriha had to do was charge through the harmless smoke and strike down Yellow. She was completely at Kiriha's mercy as she was made to crawl on the ground.

“... You won't die a pretty death you know”

“Well then, allow me to defeat you quickly to keep that from happening”

Kiriha had an elegant smile as she covered her mouth with a fan, thinking of how she should use her real poison gas, which would only numb its victims.

Part 10

With the connection to the Blue Knight restored, Ruth summoned four small unmanned fighters. She fell back to the rear and gave the fighters information and orders, making the fighters to cooperate and attack the enemy.

“It seems like there's someone like me on their side too”

Facing her was Blue, who specialized summoning magic. She summoned demons and had them fight against her foes, which was very similar to Ruth's fighting style. She had summoned four demons and was having them fight against Ruth's fighters. It was a clash between fighters and familiars.

But what is shaking up the demons? Just what are they so scared of?

Blue was confused that the summoned demons were for some reason scared. They were also repeating a word she couldn't understand. She had never seen demons act like this.

“... Is Vadra... Vadra is attakin agen...”

“Kil... Vadra kil our kind”

”If we don kill fas we die...”

”Scared... is Vadra...”

Ruth on the other hand knew the reason. She had heard the word the demons were repeating before.

“Fatra? Could they be survivors of back then...?”

Forthorthe and Earth had the same flow of time, but Folsaria and the Nether where the demons came from did not. There were also many demons that had been sent directly from the past Forthorthe to current age Earth. Because of that, there were demons that knew of Koutarou directly, and Fatra, the Blue Knight, became a word for their fear.

“Keep it together! If you don't want to die you have to fight and win!”

However upon being scolded by Blue, the demons began returning to normal. They knew that fighting and winning was the only choice as well. After all, even though they had been thrown to the future and to a different world the Blue Knight had come after them.

“Go!”

“Guuuraaaaaaaaa!!”

“Here they come! Auto reaction, begin the counter offensive!”

Like that, a strange proxy war between Ruth and Blue began. Magic and lasers flew about, and fangs, claws and armor was glowing. The fight was chaotic and nobody could imagine the outcome.

Part 11

To Green who called herself Crimson's partner, Maki was an eyesore. Even though they had become enemies, Crimson was still worried about Maki. This irritated Green to no end. That's why unlike the other girls of Darkness Rainbow, she didn't intend to undo Maki's brainwashing and bring her back. She was going to kill her, right here and now.

“If only you didn't exist!”

Green's hatred was intense. Even Crimson's fight against Maki was just more fuel for her envy. After returning from her fight against Maki, Crimson seemed somewhat lonely. It was a reaction that she had never shown after fighting against someone before, so Green, who was always watching Crimson, could tell right away.

“What are you talking about, Green!?”

”Shut up! Shut up!! I'll kill you right now!!”

Maki didn't understand why Green held a grudge against her. That said, Green had her pride and couldn't reveal the reason either... and that too irritated Green.

“Phantom Blade!”

Green created several blades curved like the crescent moon and attacked Maki. These blades were illusions, a mass of information, but touching them could actually cut you. Green was a master at information-type magic, and the density of information in the blades were enough to make the body think it had been cut.

“Fake Vision!”

To counter this, Maki used her own illusions. Being skilled at mind manipulation, her spell worked directly on the mind and provided fake visual information. It was an effective defense, even against someone like Green who had her forecasts.

“Hmpf, something like this!”

Green shook her head to the left and right and shook the illusion away. But by that time, Maki had escaped from the range of the blades Green had sent flying. Brandishing her greatsword, Maki was closing in on Green.

“Wind Blade!!”

Maki infused magical power into her blade as she ran and took a big horizontal swing at Green. The blade was infused with wind magic and the attack reached farther than the blade itself.

“How about this!?”

”I won't make― Magic Shield!!”

Even though Green could predict attacks, because she wasn't all that well trained, she couldn't escape an attack covering such a wide area. Having realized that she wouldn't be able to evade the wind even if she dodged the blade, Green quickly cast a defensive spell to protect herself.

“Kyaaa!?”

However, if both were of equal ability, the attacking side had the advantage. Green was unable to fully block Maki's attack, and was sent flying backwards. Seeing her chance, Maki tried to pursue.

“Hah!?”

However, she judged that she would be unable to pursue and jumped back as well. As she did, illusion blades stabbed into the ground between her and Green. In order to protect herself, Green had called her illusion blades back.

“... You're pretty good, Green”

”I'll do whatever it takes to kill you!”

Green had been sent flying by Maki, but she was able to regain her balance midair and landed safely on her feet. Normally she wasn't very good at fighting, but her sense of rivalry for Maki made her stronger. As a result, their strength was equal, and it looked like the fight would be drawn out.

Part 12

With her allies recovering their power, the load on Theia dropped greatly. Thanks to that, Theia was able to focus on her own battle, and the battle was turning in her favor.

“Damnit, you're not cute at all, princess!”

“I have the right to choose who I show my cute side too, and that is not you”

”You're really not cute at all!”

Orange stamped her feet in frustration. It was only natural she would. She had been hurt and her outfit was torn and dirtied all over. Orange liked dressing up in cute outfits, so she was very unsatisfied with her current appearance.

“I'll defeat you right now and listen to your cute voice as you beg for mercy!”

”Do it if you can!”

Theia flashed a fearless smile and slashed at Orange with the heat knife in her hand. Theia's current style of fighting was firing her assault rifle while she closed in to strike with her heat knife.

I have the upper hand now, but this is bad...

Her expression was one of confidence, but Theia was panicking a little on the inside. The truth was that she was almost out of ammo. With her connection to the Blue Knight restored, she could just change the entirety of her Combat Dress, but she would be defenseless while she did so. Orange wouldn't be kind enough not to attack as she changed, and there were also automated weapons and soldiers in the area. Changing her Combat Dress in this situation was suicide. That's why her use of the assault rifle and knife was just an attempt to buy time until she ran out of bullets.

“A girl shouldn't use a violent weapon like a knife! Just imagine being on the receiving end!”

Orange blocked the knife with her cane. Her cane was decorated with expensive jewels and cloth, it was the opposite of Theia's rugged knife. Moreover, whenever she swung her cane she spread around glittering powder. It was as beautiful as diamond dust.

“Which one of us is the violent one! You're the one spreading around the suspicious powder!”

However, the glittering powder was a product of Orange's magic. Being skilled at spells that changed the properties of things, Orange prepared countless traps to attack Theia. One of which was the glittering powder, which caused chemical burns just by touching it.

“Eeeehh!? Isn't it cute!?”

Sensing that Theia didn't like the powder, Orange turned her cane towards Theia in an exaggerated fashion and spread the powder around.

“I've got you!!”

”Eeehh!? W-What!?”

Theia grabbed both of Orange's wrists and restrained her. She got some of the glittering powder on her body, but now wasn't the time to complain about that. There was something Theia wanted to, and she was prepared to suffer some minor burns to do it.

“Blue Knight! Change Combat Dress to Assault Red!!”

”As you wish, my princess”

And that was to change her dress and replenish her ammo. Before Orange's very eyes, Theia's dress changed from green to red, from command to assault. By the time Orange noticed what that meant, the damage was already done.

“Oh no, I was tricked!?”

”Hahahaha, you were the cute one!”

”Grr!”

With her arms grabbed, Orange couldn't use magic, and the allies around her wouldn't risk shooting her to get to Theia. Thus Theia was safely able to changed her armaments.

Part 13

Sanae was going up against Purple. Sanae's spiritual energy far exceeded human limits, and without proper measures, not even the leaders of Darkness Rainbow had a chance of winning. Due to that, Purple stood out like a sore thumb. She used necromancy, in other words, she used magic that manipulated spiritual energy. She would be able to fight against Sanae with some measures prepared beforehand.

“Now it's my turn, Purple!”

As Sanae ran towards purple, she emitted a glowing aura. Some of the overwhelming amounts of spiritual energy within Sanae's body was leaking out and transforming into light. It was proof that her abilities were interfering with physical space.

“Just how much can you do before the very gates of hell... Activate – Precast Spell – Summon Abyss Gate!!”

”What is this!?”

Sensing something abnormal, Sanae instinctively stopped. The presence of that abnormal something was coming from behind Purple. At first there was nothing there, but a few seconds after Sanae sensed the presence, a black dot appeared. The dot gradually grew larger and turned into a black whirlpool.

“... That is something bad...”

The black whirlpool gradually grew larger and it eventually reached several meters in size. The black dot in the center also grew larger, and to Sanae it already looked less like a whirlpool and more like an accumulation of malice.

“... Why did you bring something like this out? Do you know what this actually is?”

What Purple had summoned was an accumulation of intentions that prioritized itself and denied others. It's scale was much smaller, but this was the same power that Tayuma had come into contact with.

“Oh I know. I opened the gates of hell”

”You don't get it! This is different from normal powers!”

“I do know. At the very least, with this, your powers will cancel each other out!”

Purple was right. The light around Sanae grew weaker as the whirlpool of malice, the gates of hell, opened. Sanae's power was born from optimistic intentions and a strong vitality. It was the opposite of the power overflowing from the gates of hell. Purple was going to weaken Sanae with the gates of hell, and then finish her off herself.

Purple doesn't get it! If she uses this, she will be dragged into it herself! Just like that creepy old man! I have to hurry and do something!

Sanae recalled Tayuma as she stared at the gates of hell. Tayuma was the kind of man who wouldn't hesitate to blame all of his misfortune on others. While it was smaller scale, if she continued to curse others, Purple wouldn't have a nice future.

“You will die here! You will be killed by my hands!!”

”... If Purple falls unconscious, will that go away too...? I don't know, but I'll at least give it a try!!”

Determination burned in Sanae's eyes as she ran towards Purple. She wasn't thinking of defeating Purple. She wanted to protect her friends and at the same time save Purple. Sanae's meeting and parting with the ghost woman that had attacked her led her to this conclusion. And that kindness would become a great power to combat the gates of hell. Sanae believed that love was all.

Share