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Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? (Light Novel) - Volume 5, Chapter 4: Yurika vs Maki
Volume 5, Chapter 4: Yurika vs Maki
This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml
Part 1
Wednesday, November 18
With the winter season approaching, the amount of clothes Koutarou wore as he went to school had increased. Up until now he had only been wearing his uniform, but now he had another piece of clothing underneath his shirt. It was some of Kiriha's old clothes that she had adjusted just for him.
“Ah, it's warm, but not too warm. It's just right.”
“That's good to hear. Since those are my old clothes, please just endure it.”
Having put on his uniform, Koutarou was delighted. The undergarment Kiriha had made was soft and warm, and it didn't get in the way when he tried to move. The breathability of the fabric was sufficient, so it wasn't too warm either. To Koutarou who moved around a lot, it was perfect.
“Instead of enduring, I'm thankful you gave me something this good, Kiriha-san.”
“Well, I was planning on throwing it away. It would be better for you to wear it.”
“...Or so you say. Kiriha. You had no intention of throwing that away, did you?”
While having her hair dried by Ruth, Theia opened her mouth. Hearing those words, Sanae's interest was piqued.
“What does that mean?”
“The fabric of that undergarment is probably worth more than all of Koutarou's belongings put together.”
“Seriously!? Show me, Koutarou!”
“H-Hey...”
Surprised, Sanae put her face on Koutarou's chest. Since she was a ghost, she was able to pass through his uniform and look directly at the undergarment.
“Based on the appearance and touch, it's clearly made from expensive materials. And based on the craftsmanship, it must have been made by a master craftsman.”
“Now that you mention it, it does feel like that. It's very comfortable too.”
Hanging on to Koutarou, Sanae was able to share his senses, and she could clearly feel the texture of the undergarment.
“Throwing it away is unthinkable. Normally it would be passed down to daughter or granddaughter. Changing that into an undergarment and giving it to Koutarou is flat out insane.”
“I-Is that true, Kiriha-san?”
Hearing what Theia said, Koutarou anxiously turned towards to Kiriha. As he did, he could see her gentle smile.
“As expected from an interstellar princess, you have a well trained eye.”
Kiriha affirmed Theia's words in a roundabout way. Hearing that, Koutarou's face turned blue.
“I-I'll give it back! I-I can't accept something that amazing!”
Learning the truth, Koutarou hurriedly unbuttoned his uniform. However, Kiriha's white finger stopped his hands.
“Koutarou, even if you give it back now, it won't return to the clothing it once was.”
“B-But-”
“Having you use it like that will make me happy.”
Kiriha whispered into Koutarou's ear while smiling.
“Even if you say that, I can't just casually wear something worth more than all of my belongings put together!”
“Then get used to it.”
“As if I could!!”
As Koutarou continued resisting, Kiriha buttoned up his uniform.
“...That's how you overcome his defenses, one at a time.”
Sanae looked over the two of them with a frosty stare. That was because she had realized Kiriha's mode of operation.
“I'll make sure to scold Koutarou later...”
Sanae kept staring at Kiriha's back, thinking to herself that it's her and her duty alone to protect Koutarou.
“Ruth, we can't be careless or she'll sweep us off our feet.”
Theia was in a bad mood because she knew Kiriha's goal. And because she hadn't publicly given her present, the treasure sword, Saguratin, to Koutarou she was feeling impatient.
“Fufufu, oh your highness.”
Since Ruth knew that, she smiled as she looked at Theia pout. Imagining what would happen when Theia's impatience reached it limit, Ruth couldn't keep herself from smiling.
“Koutarou, your coat. If we don't leave soon we'll be late.”
Having finished buttoning up Koutarou's shirt, Kiriha pushed his coat onto him.
“Ugh.”
Koutarou desperately wanted to say something back but after hearing that he was about to be late, he found himself unable to say anything.
Part 2
As Koutarou and the others left for school, something began moving in the empty room 106.
Leaving behind a loud noise, the sliding door of the wardrobe opened slightly. When Koutarou had first moved in, the door was able to open without any sound, but after the thing inside ended up leaning on the door while sleeping from time to time, it now left behind a painful loud noise.
“Did Satomi-san and the others already leave...?”
Yurika peeked her face through the open sliding door. As she peeked through the door, she looked around the room and listened attentively.
“...It looks like it's okay.”
After looking and listening, Yurika fully opened the sliding door. For some reason, what she was wearing wasn't her school uniform, but her magic girl outfit.
“If they see me in this outfit, things would just get confusing again...”
Yurika climbed out from the upper half of the wardrobe. For Yurika, who wasn't very physically active, climbing up and down the wardrobe was troublesome work.
“Alright.”
After climbing out from the wardrobe, Yurika reached in and pulled out a long cane. The cane's name was 'Angel Halo'. It was the cane she used when casting magic.
“Now that Maki is here, I don't have the time to go to school!”
Yurika slapped her cheeks and pumped herself up.
“Yurika Fight! Yurika Fight!”
I'm a bit sad I can't go to school, but I already gave up on going, so I don't mind!
The enemy had finally appeared. The time had come for her to fulfil her duty. Because of that, Yurika ignored going to school and stayed behind to fend off Maki.
And if possible, she wanted Koutarou and the others to know that she was a magical girl who fought for love and courage.
“Now, come, Maki-chan! The magical girl of love and courage ☆ Rainbow Yurika will be your opponent!”
Up until now, Yurika had constantly been telling Koutarou and the others that she was a magical girl, but it was at this moment that she finally became one, in the true meaning of the word.
Part 3
The bell signaling that it's time for lunch went off. As it did, the English teacher in front of the blackboard put down the chalk.
“Alright, that's all. The rest will be your homework, please let Nijino-san and... uhm... Aika-san, was it? Please let those two who aren't here today know.”
“Stand up, bow.”
The class showed their respect as the English teacher left the classroom. At the same time, the strict atmosphere in the room lightened up.
“Lunch time! Food!”
“Kana, did you bring food with you, or are you heading to the cafeteria?”
“I'm heading for the cafeteria.”
“If you're heading for the vending machine, buy some juice for me.”
“Only if you'll pay up for mine too.”
Lunchtime, it was the time in school when all the students loosened up. Everyone spent their time eating their meals and freshened up.
“In the end, Yurika didn't show up.”
Meanwhile, Koutarou stared at Yurika's empty seat.
“She usually comes running in before the second period too.”
Sanae only looked at Yurika's seat with a mysterious expression.
Yurika would often be late because she had trouble waking up, so Koutarou and the others didn't think much of her missing out on the first period. Once they entered the second period, they assumed she must have really overslept this time. The third period started, they still thought that she must have stayed up really late. It wasn't until the fourth period that they found it odd and began worrying.
“If she continues coming in late like this she'll have to repeat a grade.”
“Her grades aren't all that good either...”
While Koutarou and Sanae were worrying over their missing companion, Theia brought Ruth with her and approached them.
“If you're talking about Yurika, she was up until late last night making a fuss. She probably just overslept.”
“She must be excited now that Maki-san is here.”
Koutarou imagined Yurika staying up all night working on an outfit for Maki inside the wardrobe.
“I haven't seen that Aika Maki in question since this morning either.”
Kiriha also joined the group.
“In Maki-sama's case, wouldn't it be because she just moved and has a lot of things to do?”
“Is that really it, I wonder. I'm getting caught up on both Maki and Yurika being gone.”
“It couldn't be...”
Listening to Ruth and Sanae, a theory popped into Koutarou's head. Having worked throughout the night on Maki's outfit, Yurika called her out in the morning and was now forcing her to cosplay.
Then there's what happened yesterday...
Next up, Koutarou remembered how Yurika acted during yesterday’s welcoming party. At that time, Yurika was desperately pleading with Koutarou, telling him that Maki was dangerous. Even if he disregarded the magical girl part, it was still possible that Yurika had some trouble with Maki in the past. It was enough to cause her to cry and run out of the room after all.
“I guess it can't be helped.”
Koutarou kicked his chair away and stood up. As he did, the surrounding people focused on him.
“What's wrong, Koutarou?”
“I'll go check up on Yurika.”
“But if you go now, it'll take up the whole lunch hour.”
“Maki-san not being here either is bothering me. I just hope Yurika isn't causing any trouble for her.”
Koutarou was almost certain it was cosplay related. But he couldn't disregard the possibility of trouble. She could also be out cold with a fever.
No matter what it is, I should go check it out.
Koutarou who put action before thought didn't like anxiously sitting on a worry.
“Satomi-sama, I'll come with you.”
“That's okay, Ruth-san. If something happens I'll call you.”
“But...”
“Besides, it'll be faster if I go on my own.”
Koutarou was grateful about Ruth's suggestion, but he would be able to get home rather quickly if he was alone. He would probably make it back to school in time for the next period too.
“Koutarou, your coat.”
“Thank you, Kiriha-san.”
Foreseeing Koutarou's next action, Kiriha brought him his coat. With her help, Koutarou put it on.
“By the way, Theia.”
“What?”
“Why did you know that Yurika was doing something in the middle of the night? Didn't you go back to your spaceship?”
“Ah!?”
As Sanae asked her, Theia's face revealed her shock. She had been caught completely off guard.
“T-T-T-T-That's... I-I forgot something, yes! I forgot something in the room and I came back to get it!”
She couldn't possibly say that she came to look at Koutarou's sleeping face.
“Hmm. Good thing you were able to get it before Koutarou crushed it.”
But fortunately, Sanae didn't ask for any special reason, and accepted Theia's words as the truth.
“T-That's true. Haha, Hahahahah.”
As Theia laughed to hide the truth, Koutarou finished buttoning up his coat.
“Right. I'll get going.”
“Ah, I'll come too!”
As Koutarou headed for the door, Sanae hurriedly chased after him.
“Mackenzie, I'm heading back home for a moment!”
“Hm? What's up?”
“I forgot something!”
“Idiot.”
After exchanging some words with Kenji, Koutarou jumped out of the classroom with Sanae.
“Muu...”
Seeing Koutarou and Sanae together, Theia was for some reason in a bad mood.
“Why didn't you say that you went to look at Satomi-sama's sleeping face?”
“A-As if I could say something like that!”
Theia blushed and looked outside of the window as if to hide her face.
“And right now, you actually wanted to go with Satomi-sama, right?”
In reality, Ruth had suggested going with Koutarou for Theia's sake.
“...”
“If you're too stubborn you'll lose out.”
“As if a princess could beg to her vassal!”
As Theia said that, Ruth smiled.
“If Satomi-sama was just a vassal, that might be true.”
“He is just a vassal! Of course he is!”
Theia glanced at Koutarou who had just run outside of the school. Next to him was Sanae.
Why doesn't he ask me to come with him! Why did he only bring Sanae!?
Theia complained about Koutarou as she stared at his back, until he ran under the gate and she could no longer see him.
Part 4
As Koutarou left the school, Yurika stood in the middle of room 106. She had closed both of her eyes and held her cane above her head; it was almost as if she was focusing on trying to listen to something. She was in the middle of using detection magic to determine if Maki was approaching or not.
“...It doesn't look like Maki-chan is anywhere near here.”
After focusing for a while, Yurika opened her eyes and took a deep breath. Even though she prepared herself for the oncoming fight, Yurika couldn't help but tense up. She didn't know if it would happen today, tomorrow or in a week. Even then, thinking that if she lost it was all over, Yurika was incredibly nervous.
That's when it happened.
The sound of something small hitting something hard entered Yurika's ears. She imagined it was a small stone hitting the window.
“What is... Ah!?”
As she looked towards the window, she could see a single bat. The bat hung upside down off the window frame and looked down on Yurika.
“This bat, could it be Maki-chan's...”
It was still mid-afternoon, much too early for bats to be flying around. And the way it looked down on Yurika was different from normal bats, almost as if it possessed intelligence. Because of that, Yurika figured that it was a bat Maki had sent her way.
“You are correct, Nijino Yurika.”
“Maki-chan!”
It was just as Yurika had assumed. The bats eyes shone red, and Maki's voice could be heard. It was a familiar Maki had sent in order to talk to Yurika.
“What business do you have?”
“There's only one business between the two of us, right?”
Yurika talked to the bat in a nervous voice. In contrast to Yurika, Maki spoke in more of a teasing tone of voice.
“I wanted to finish things with you but I can't just burst into the room and fall right in there, now can I? That's why I sent this one to you.”
“Finishing... is fighting really all we can do?”
“A foolish question. That kind of discussion ended several hundred years ago.”
Rainbow Heart and Darkness Rainbow had a long history together. Their battle had been going on for over several hundred years.
“Then it can't be helped. I'll fulfil my duty too.”
“Straight to the point. With that in mind I have a request; would you mind coming out from there?”
“Come out?”
“Yes, that's right. I don't think it's that bad of deal for either of us.”
“That's...”
Maki was cautious of any traps in room 106, and was hesitant in entering. And Yurika didn't want to have a fight in the middle of her room. If they were going to fight, both of them wanted to do so outside of room 106.
“But if I leave this room, your friends might come.”
Yurika couldn’t make up her mind right away. Maki had six allies. If Yurika carelessly left the room, those six girls might come and occupy it. She couldn't just ignore that risk.
“They won't come.”
“Do you have any guarantees?”
“I don't. You only have my words to go on. But remember, have I ever told a lie?”
“That's...”
Yurika was hesitant. It was true that up until now, Maki hadn't told a lie. The other magical girls would lie and deceive her, but oddly enough, Maki only spoke the truth. But even then, Yurika couldn't make up her mind.
“Besides, I want to cast a wide-area barrier to keep people away.”
What convinced Yurika were Maki's next words. Barriers were one of the traditional techniques used to keep the existence of magical girls a secret.
Since neither side wanted to be found by normal people, they would always cast such a spell before a battle.
“...I understand.”
Yurika nodded her head. She also wanted to have a large barrier. And since she was aware of her own experience, she didn't want to fight in a small area. Taking those risks and Maki's words into account, Yurika agreed to leave the room.
“Then, follow this one, it'll guide you to me. Don't worry, there are no traps.”
“Okay, I got it.”
Yurika left the small room and headed for the battleground.
Part 5
“Is it really this way? Our surroundings are just getting more and more isolated...”
“It's okay, it's okay. I can smell Yurika's spiritual energy.”
Koutarou's nose twitched as he followed Sanae's direction into a residential district. Since they couldn't find Yurika when they reached room 106, Koutarou had Sanae follow Yurika's traces. Since Sanae was a ghost, she was able to sense Yurika's presence.
“What does it smell like?”
“I guess it's some sort of artificial smell? It's like cup noodles.”
“Cup noodles huh... I still don't get it...”
“Ah, then let's do it like this.”
Coming up with something, Sanae stopped flying in front of Koutarou and clung onto his back.
“What are you going to do?”
“Well, when I do this, I can feel what you feel, right? So I figured we might be able to do it the other way around.”
Sanae wrapped her arms around Koutarou's neck like always and put her head on his shoulder. As she did, Koutarou's senses began picking up something different from normal.
“Oh, I can see something strange!”
“Nishishi, this is Sanae-chan's maiden-like power!”
Right now, Koutarou was able to see spiritual energy. The spiritual energy could be seen as white light. It was shining, like a living creature. Since the light blended with the scenery, he could hazily see people through the other side of the wall.
His ears were the same. He could still hear sounds like always, but on top of that, he could also hear the spiritual energy of powerful people and creatures. He was able to distinguish people based on the sound. And then there was the smell. His nose was the same as his ears; it became able to sense spiritual energy. But unlike the ears, he was able to sense traces; he could sense and distinguish the traces of spiritual energy in the air.
“Do you always sense stuff like this...?”
“Amazing, isn't it?”
Sanae laughed with pride. Seeing that smile, a large amount of Sanae's feelings began flowing into him. Most of it was pride for her own ability and the desire to be praised. On top of that was a deep trust and affection towards Koutarou.
“Amazing, amazing.”
“Tehehehe.”
As I thought, she really is lonely without her parents...
Koutarou thought of it like that as he patted Sanae on the head.
“So, can you feel it, Koutarou, the smell of cup noodles?”
“Let's see.”
Koutarou pointed his nose into the air and began smelling. Amongst the many smells, he could in fact sense the smell of cup noodles.
“Oooh! I can feel it, it's this!”
“Yeah. That's what Yurika's spiritual energy smells like.”
“Is it different depending on the person?”
“Yeah. Theia has a scent of flowers, and Kiriha has the smell of the forest in the morning.”
“Hmm... and what about me?”
Koutarou put his nose on his own clothes. But just like his normal scent, he wasn't able to discern the smell of his spiritual energy.
“Koutarou's is... a secret♪”
Koutarou has the same smell as dad.
Sanae hid her words behind a smile.
Part 6
Yurika had been led to a construction site by the bat. As she reached the site, she carefully walked into it.
“Construction is paused for the day...”
There were no signs of people around Yurika. The industrial heavy machinery had stopped. The construction site was wrapped in silence.
“Welcome, Nijino Yurika.”
“Maki-chan.”
Maki stood in the center of the construction site, waiting for Yurika. Yurika moved to within ten meters away and stopped.
Right now, Maki was wearing her magical girl outfit, just like Yurika. The design was somewhat similar to Yurika's, but the color was different; it had a deep indigo color instead. Since her entire outfit had an indigo color, she gave off the impression of being a magician, much more so than Yurika's outfit. In her hand she held her cane, Twilight Wing. This was Maki's battle outfit; the true appearance of the magical girl, Darkness Navy.
There was a reason for the girls to transform into that kind of outfit. The clothes and cane had a function of amplifying the casting speed and power of their magic, and their magic was several times more powerful than when they were wearing their normal clothes. Koutarou probably wouldn't accept that but it's not like they wore it because they wanted to.
“Surprisingly enough, you're wearing it so boldly now. Back when it was spring, you were so timid-looking in it.”
“I haven't spent these past eight months just playing.”
Yurika swallowed her own spit and readied her cane. Normally, Yurika would be easily beaten down by the people around her, but she had spent these past eight months giving it her best. And that hard work had trained and prepared her for this fight.
“Of course you have.”
In response to that, Maki readied her cane as well.
Magic combat aside, she seems to have gathered some experience...
Maki recalled Yurika's figure in the past. Back then, she had simply swung her cane around, casting spells wildly while running away from her enemies. As Yurika stepped onto the battleground with brave steps, Maki couldn't help but admit her growth.
“You really won't step down, will you?”
“I told you that discussion is over.”
Maki's expression grew a little darker as she pointed her cane towards Yurika. They both began chanting at the same time.
“Sanctuary – Modifier – Effective Area – Colossal.”
Their two voices overlapped like in a chorus, and just like that, a single spell extended across the entire construction site. They were casting a barrier to keep people away from their battleground.
“Here I come, Rainbow Yurika!”
“I'll definitely win!”
That spell also signaled the start of their battle. Once the spell had finished, the two of them moved into action.
“First off-”
As expected, Maki who had more experience made the first move.
“Energy Bolt – Target Option – Sidewinder!”
Alongside Maki's loud voice, a shining arrow came flying out from her indigo cane. The arrow crawled across the construction site, avoiding obstacles in its way as it approached Yurika.
“Quick Cast – Multiple Energy Bolt – Target Option – Spread!!”
In return, Yurika swung her cane and chanted a spell. Like with Maki's cane, arrows of light came flying out. Even though Yurika had acted later, she still finished her spell faster and created a larger amount of arrows. Yurika's arrows rained down on Maki's. Maki's arrows crawled and dodged several of Yurika's, but in the end they were unable to fully avoid getting hit, and both sides’ spells collided in the air.
The arrows exploded as they collided, though it wasn't all that big. However, it had enough power to cause some serious injuries if a normal person was caught up in it. The explosion created a loud sound and a shockwave, shaking the empty construction site.
“Well done, Rainbow Yurika!”
As she said that, Maki continued running. Her soft hair and indigo outfit fluttered in the wind as she ran.
“Maki-chan too!”
“But this is where the real battle starts, Rainbow Yurika!”
As I thought, other than mind manipulation magic, Yurika is on top! She really is Nana's successor!
Maki let out brave words, but on the inside she cursed Yurika. Yurika had generally mastered all types of magic and her outfit and cane had been reinforced with the usage of all types of magic in mind. On the other hand, Maki had specialized in the indigo type of magic, mind manipulation, and her outfit and cane had been reinforced specially for just that type of magic. If one specialized in a single type of magic type, like Maki, they would be incredibly proficient, but all the other types would be less effective. Because of that, if they were to fight against someone with equal skill, they would lose if they didn't rely on their specialty.
“In that case!”
Maki swung her cane and pointed the center towards Yurika. Seeing that, Yurika began moving her cane as well.
“I-Is she coming!?”
In terms of physical prowess, Yurika was far inferior to Maki, meaning Maki was still faster than her.
“Got you!! Flash!!”
Just before entering her magic’s effective range, Maki quickly began casting.
“Oh―”
Before Yurika could even react, Maki had already cast her spell. Her cane let out a flash of light; it was the same spell she had used once to rob her opponent of their sight. Although it was a basic spell, based on how it was used, its effectiveness varied. Maki's use of it in this case was splendid. Expecting an attack, Yurika had focused on Maki and got caught up in the flash.
“My eyes! I can't see!”
Since the flash had been fired from outside of its effective attack range, Yurika was only blinded for two to three seconds. However, that time was enough for Maki to line up her next attack.
“Tiny Memory Flash – Mode – Extend Length!”
“Anti-Magical Shield!”
“You're too late!”
Yurika desperately tried to cast a defensive spell, but since she was blinded and unable to move, Maki was able to cast hers first. The indigo ball of light emitted from the top of Maki's cane flew towards Yurika.
“Kya!?”
As the ball of light came into contact with her, her entire body was suddenly covered by the light. As it hit, Yurika did something strange.
“Anti-Magical Shield!”
She recast the spell she had just used.
“Eh, what?”
Obviously, that spell ended in vain. Maki hadn't used any new magic to attack, and she stopped moving as yellow light from her spell enveloped her body.
“W-Where's Maki-chan!?”
Yurika's strange actions continued. Even though she had regained her vision, she had completely lost sight of Maki. She was looking for Maki in the opposite direction of where she really was.
“Right here.”
Because of the state she was in, Yurika couldn’t see where Maki was until she was struck by Maki's red glowing fist.
“Kyaaaaa!”
Suffering a clean hit, Yurika was blown away, and got knocked onto the ground. If it wasn't for the magic shield that she had just cast, that blow would have been enough to knock her out.
“W-What is...”
As her head loosely shook back and forth from the damage, Yurika desperately tried to force herself up. She didn't know what was going on. Maki had released a flash of light, and was about to cast another spell, so Yurika had cast a defensive spell on herself. But in the next moment, Maki was by her side and came in swinging. Even though she was supposed to be casting a spell right in front of her.
“Did you forget what my specialty is?”
Maki stopped and faced Yurika who was getting up from the ground. Yurika realized what had happened as she saw the tension in Maki's face.
“T-That's right, Maki-chan's specialty was indigo!”
The spell that Maki had used right after the flash erased the memories of its target. However, trying to use any large-scale memory altering drained a lot of magic power. So Maki limited the memory being erased to a few seconds, which reduced the magic power used and allowed her to use it in battle. At first glance, losing a few seconds doesn't seem like a big deal. But in the middle of a fierce battle where the situation was constantly changing, getting hit by that spell was almost as if your opponent had just vanished.
And because Maki knew what her opponent would do next, she would be able to get in a clean hit on her opponent. Since Maki was physically fit, the damage from one hit packed quite a punch. Flash, Erase and attacking with a magic infused physical attack; that was Maki's favorite combination attack.
“Yurika, just stay down. For someone like you, it's impossible to keep on fighting. You'll just die.”
“Maki-chan really is strong... but!”
Yurika used her cane for support as she stood up. She hadn't given up. Since she had been knocked into a part of the construction site where the soil was exposed, her entire body was covered in dirt. But her eyes continued to shine beautifully.
“But if I give up just because of something like this, I can't call myself a resident of room 106! Theia-chan and Kiriha-chan are much, much stronger!”
“So you'll still stand... It seems you at least have guts.”
Seeing Yurika like that, Maki let out a voice of admiration.
As I thought, she is far more mentally stable than before...
Eight months ago, when she had just become a magical girl, Yurika would have run away if she had been hit by Maki's attack.
Just who is it that makes Yurika this brave... I'm getting more and more interested. Hurry up and show your face, accomplice!
Maki pumped herself up at the thought of the rival she had still yet to see. But on the other side, she began feeling irritation at the same time. She couldn't trust anyone. Others were made to be subdued by power. Since Maki felt like that, the mere thought of the person Yurika trusted only served to anger her.
“Maki-chan, the fight's not over yet!”
“Well said, Rainbow Yurika!”
Yurika readied herself and Maki did the same. She let out a fearless smile on her lips. The fight between the magical girls had only just begun.
Part 7
“This is the place?”
“Yeah. I can smell cup noodles from here.”
Sanae and Koutarou arrived at a construction site at the outskirt of the town. Surrounding the construction site were steel walls; based on the size of the site, the apartment house being built here must have been several hundred square meters big.
“But something's strange.”
However, Sanae stood in front of the construction site and tilted her head.
“What's strange?”
“The smell ends there.”
Sanae pointed towards the door leading into the construction site. Yurika's smell that she had been following ended exactly there.
“Since it's a door, isn't it only natural for the smell to stop?”
“It's not a real smell, so a door can't get in the way.”
“Oh right, that's true.”
Koutarou remembered that he had been able to sense people through walls when Sanae had been clinging onto him.
“If it ends right there it could mean... that, Yurika dropped dead on the floor right behind it?”
“Don't say scary things like that.”
Sanae sent punches flying towards Koutarou, but since the fists weren't filled with hostility, Koutarou couldn't feel any pain.
“For the time being, let's just go take a look. If we don't check out the inside, we'll have come all this way for nothing.”
“That's true.”
Quick to take action, Koutarou opened the door to the construction site. He peeked in through the open door.
“There doesn't seem to be any bodies.”
“Geez, you're always so mean.”
“Sorry, sorry.”
Koutarou apologized to Sanae and entered the construction site without making a sound. He didn't want to be found by anyone working there.
“Seems like they're still working on the foundation...”
Looking around the area, Koutarou spotted several heavy machinery, and further in he could see a large hole dug for the foundation to be put into place.
“We're in luck. Seems like the workers are off today.”
There were no workers to be seen inside. As Koutarou let out a sigh of relief, he could hear Sanae's pitiful voice.
“Wait, Koutarou~”
“What are you doing?”
When Koutarou turned around, Sanae was doing something by the door.
“It's almost like there's a wall here.”
“A wall?”
Koutarou returned to the door, and like Sanae had said, it was almost as she was pressed up against an invisible glass wall.
“Ahahahahaha, what a funny face.”
Trying to get in, Sanae was pushing her face against the invisible wall, causing her face to look like that of a pig’s.
“Hey, don't laugh and do something!”
“Even if you say that...”
Holding back his laughter, Koutarou approached Sanae. Meanwhile, Sanae continued her fight with the cursed invisible wall.
“It's unfair that only you can get in!”
Koutarou and Sanae stood face to face by the door frame. Judging from Sanae's appearance, there seemed to be an invisible wall there.
“What to do...”
“Just do something.”
“Alright, then I'll try pulling you in.”
“Please do.”
Koutarou reached his hand out towards Sanae. Even as he reached the invisible wall keeping Sanae out, his hand didn't stop.
“That's unfair, you’re the only one not affected.”
“There, there. I'm pulling.”
“Okay.”
As Koutarou grabbed Sanae's hand, he pulled her towards him.
“Ah!?”
When he did, Sanae easily passed through the door. Just a few moments ago she had tried so hard to get through in vain, and now she easily passed through without any problems.
“W-Why!? It was useless just a second ago!”
“I don't really understand the mechanisms very well, but the cause was probably that.”
Koutarou pointed towards a nearby small shrine.
“What's that?”
“It's purification. It's put there before construction to... uhm... what was it?”
“Ah, I've seen that on TV! If they don't put it there they'll be cursed and bad things happen, like cranes falling over.
“Yeah, that.”
The shrine had been made at the groundbreaking ceremony to pray for the safe construction of the building. Koutarou figured that the shrine was the reason Sanae had been unable to enter.
“I don't curse.”
But Sanae wasn't satisfied. She pouted since she didn't like being treated like an evil spirit.
“You were able to get in because you don't curse, right?”
“I see. I got in because I get along with you.”
After Koutarou said that, Sanae regained her good mood and began looking around the construction site with great interest.
“Ah, I can smell Yurika's smell.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. It seems like she's in that direction.”
Sanae was able to pick up Yurika's smell once more. She then pointed in the direction of the big pit that had been dug for the foundation.
“Alright, let's go.”
“Yeah. The fifth period is about to start too.”
“Geez, what is that idiot doing in a place like this.”
Koutarou and Sanae began walking towards the pit.
However, the two of them had been wrong; there was a big misunderstanding at play here.
What kept Sanae out from the construction site had not been the shrine.
Part 8
“What's this!?”
“Someone's coming!”
Maki and Yurika both pulled their canes away. Their fight was still going on, but the two of them had sensed an oddity and temporarily stopped fighting.
“There's someone that can pass through barriers!?”
“Why on earth!?”
The two of them had stopped their fighting because someone had passed through the barrier. Maki and Yurika had both cast a barrier, meaning there was a double layered barrier around the construction site. It was next to impossible for a normal person to get through that. However, someone who had done that had appeared. Because of that, the two of them stopped their fight.
“There she is!”
“Yurika, what are you doing over there!?”
Both Yurika and Maki turned to look in the direction those voices had come from.
“S-Satomi-san!?”
“That's the resident of room 106!! I think his name was Satomi Koutarou!!”
When they turned to look, they saw Koutarou and Sanae. Yurika and Maki had been fighting at the bottom of the shallow pit dug for the foundation. Koutarou and Sanae stood at the edge and looked down at the two surprised girls.
“Satomi-san, Sanae-chan, why are you here!?”
“Yurika, how long are you going to play around here!? Limit yourself, will you!?”
“Yeah! Think about the problems you're causing us for a change!”
Having found Yurika, the two of them began scolding her. The time was now half past 1, the fifth period had already started.
“...I see, so that's how it was. I've had a huge misunderstanding!”
Unlike Yurika who was purely surprised, Maki's surprise was much deeper.
“That man, Satomi Koutarou, learned magic on his own! And he's also the one controlling that ghost! And he is Nijino Yurika's accomplice!”
That was how Maki interpreted Koutarou's appearance. Of course, that wasn't the case. It was just her one-sided misunderstanding.
“Being able to pass through mine and Yurika's barrier without destroying it means that you either use degenerating or reinforcing type magic! And since you're controlling that ghost with so much spiritual energy, your necromancy is at quite a high level as well! At the very least, you can use two colors, and you're even more powerful than Yurika!”
Based on the fact that he was able to pass through the barrier, Koutarou couldn't just be a normal person. And since the ghost had passed through as well, it was hard to think of her as a natural ghost. Since Koutarou had arrived at the battleground with the ghost, it was only natural to assume that he was controlling her.
I was far too naïve. He's far from just helping her out with plans! To think she had this kind of trump card hidden up her sleeves!
In the case that Koutarou had the kind of powers Maki was imagining, if all seven magical girls of Darkness Rainbow went on an all-out attack, they would easily fall prey to his trap. Just imagining that caused a chill to run down Maki's spine.
“Thank god I found him before all seven of us gathered... To think he's a master of necromancy and either reinforcement or degeneration. I don't even want to think what would happen if...”
Ghosts strengthened by magic or walking corpses. Changing the toxicity of ghouls or departed souls through the use of degeneration. The already troublesome undead could be strengthened by magic and come attack them. If they suffered a surprise attack by something like that while they were busy with Yurika, even the top officers of Darkness Rainbow would be in danger. Maki felt incredibly fortunate and thankful that she had gone scouting alone. Right now, even in the worst case scenario she would be the only casualty.
“In that case, I'll at least take you with me, Yurika!”
Maki was convinced that the true enemy wasn't Yurika. She was certain it was Koutarou, the mysterious man who was both cunning, crafty and held great magic power. With that in mind, Maki assumed it was impossible to defeat both Koutarou and Yurika right now. In that case, she was going to defeat Yurika, and reduce some of Koutarou's power. It was all a massive misunderstanding, but Maki's decision was precise and swift.
“Come on, get over here, Yurika. We're going home.”
“No Satomi-san, just accept reality already!”
“That's my line!”
Maki sprinted towards Yurika and Koutarou who were talking.
Now that they're preoccupied with their conversation, this is my best chance!
Maki grabbed her cane with both hands and started her incantation without slowing down. If she used the type of magic she specialized in, she would be able to focus on casting it, even though she was sprinting.
“Bind Person – Modi―”
“Ah!? Maki-san, it's already over!”
Koutarou noticed what Maki was doing and tried to stop her in the middle of her incantation.
Don't make a fool of me, It's not over yet!
However, Maki didn't stop. Instead she interpreted Koutarou's words as provocation and it enraged her.
“Maki-chan!? Oh no!”
“―fier – Double Effect!”
“Quick Cast – Anti-Magical Shield!”
Having sped up her incantation, Yurika finished casting her spell first. Before the indigo colored bullet could reach Yurika, a yellow light enveloped her body.
“I win!”
However, seeing that, instead of feeling disturbed, Maki felt certain of her victory and closed in on Yurika. The next moment, the bullet of light hit her.
“Kyaaaaa!”
Despite her defensive spell protecting her, Yurika let out a scream. Maki's magic activated twice; it was a single spell with twice the effect. Yurika's defensive spell only protected her from the first effect, so it wasn't able to block the second.
“M-My body is-”
The spell implanted a deep suggestion into its target, depriving the target of their freedom. Having been hit from the spell, Yurika wasn't able to move so much as a finger.
“Ooooh, for someone who skipped school to practice, well done.”
“Koutarou, Koutarou, a beam just came from the tip of the cane! A beam!”
Seeing that, Koutarou and Sanae clapped and let out words of admiration. Even the two of them couldn't help but be surprised by the bullet of light fired from Maki's cane.
“It seems like they're pretending that being hit by that makes you unable to move.”
“A beam huh... recent cosplayers seem to pay careful attention to detail. I wonder how they're doing it.”
“Who knows. The advancement of technology is so fast. It's hard to follow.”
“...Koutarou, you're like an old man.”
“Leave me alone.”
But even then, it only looked like cosplay to the two of them. Unaware that Yurika was in a pinch, they casually laughed.
“Ah geez, the tension is being ruined... Oh right, I need to hurry up and do something!”
Yurika was annoyed by Koutarou and Sanae's reaction as she tried to escape from the binding spell.
“You're too late, Yurika! I win!”
Before Yurika could move her body, Maki reached her. Maki's legs were glowing red; she was planning on finishing the immobile Yurika off with a deadly kick powered up by her magic.
“Sorry for getting in the way of your fun, but...”
“Tsk!”
However, just before Maki's kick could slam into Yurika, she stopped and jumped back.
“As I thought you won't just leave me be, Satomi Koutarou!!”
Maki had fallen back because Koutarou had come down to the bottom of the pit.
“Of course I won't...”
Koutarou smiled wryly at Maki as he moved towards Yurika who couldn't move.
“Come on, stop playing around, we're going back Yurika.”
“S-Satomi-san, it's dangerous! Please hurry and hide somewhere.”
“The only thing in danger is you as you're about to repeat a grade.”
As Koutarou said that he put his hand on Yurika's shoulder.
Geez, all you do is play...
Amazed, Koutarou sighed lightly.
“Look, just hurry up and let's go.”
“Even if you say that, I can't move my body! So please just run!”
Yurika was still under the influence of Maki's magic, the only thing she could move was her head. It was almost like the rest of her body had turned to lead.
“I said let's go. If you don't cut it out, I'll get angry.”
“Ah!?”
The moment Koutarou pulled on Yurika, something unexpected happened.
“I-I can move!? I can move my body!”
Yurika's body regained its freedom all of a sudden. Surprised by her sudden freedom, she touched her body to confirm that she was alright.
“Of course you can, geez.”
There's no such thing as magic, so of course she could move. Koutarou was amazed from the bottom of his heart and began rubbing his temples.
“T-That right now was―”
However, Maki's surprise far surpassed Yurika's. She couldn't believe what had just happened.
“He dispelled it!? And without using any incantations!?”
The moment Koutarou had pulled on Yurika, his palm had let out a white glow for just an instant. At that point, the magic binding Yurika was still very strong. But the moment that white light touched her, the magic holding Yurika prisoner dispersed, freeing her.
“Impossible... I've never heard of white magic... More importantly, just how much magic power would it take to dispel my magic without the use of a cane or incantation...?”
It was the same white light that had saved Koutarou and the others from several dangers in the past. But the only one that noticed that was Maki, who treated Koutarou as a threat. Because of that, the doubts brewing inside of her grew larger and larger.
“Even if he was making up for the lack of cane and outfit with some other magical item, I can't underestimate his ability to use magic without incantation or movement. It looks like I'll need to use that...”
No matter what kind of magic Satomi Koutarou uses, with that it will at the very least...
Maki's eyes narrowed, a grin appeared on her face.
“Let's go, Yurika. This is over.”
“Yeah. I can understand why you would practice something this large-scale in secret, but there's still a limit to things.”
“I'm not practicing, I'm really fighting!”
While Yurika and Koutarou argued, Maki called out a nearby materials storage.
“Come out, Sakuraba Harumi!”
“Eh!?”
“Sakuraba-senpai!?”
Hearing that unexpected name come from Maki's lips, Koutarou and the others hurriedly turned around.
“S-Satomi-kun, Nijino-san.”
Harumi in her uniform appeared from behind the materials storage. But Harumi was acting strange. Her expression was pale and her movement was awkward. Seeing that, Koutarou worriedly called out to her.
“What's wrong, Sakuraba-senpai!?”
“I don't know either. M-My body is moving on its own, there's nothing I can do!”
Harumi was frightened by her limbs moving on their own. If you were just doing your thing and your body suddenly stopped listening to you, anyone would feel the same way.
“Sakuraba-senpai!”
“I'll save you right away!”
“Why is Harumi even here...”
Understanding that Harumi was distressed, Koutarou and the others rushed towards her. Koutarou couldn't imagine that Harumi would lie.
“That won't do.”
“S-Satomi-kun!”
However, Maki was faster, and stood by Harumi's side. Seeing that, Koutarou and the others stopped.
“What's the meaning of this, Maki-san!”
“Well, that's obvious.”
Maki pointed her cane towards Harumi.
“I see, so this is your doing, Maki-chan!”
“That's right, Yurika. No matter how strong you and that man are, can you fight me while protecting this girl?”
“Don't be unreasonable, you guys! Unlike you, Sakuraba-senpai has a weak constitution! Don't involve her in this!!”
“I wouldn't do anything like that! I didn't even know Sakuraba-senpai was here!”
“Those are some nice expressions, Yurika, Satomi Koutarou. I've been waiting for the two of you to make that kind of expression.”
Seeing Koutarou's and Yurika's faces, Maki was satisfied that she had read the situation correctly.
As I thought, this girl is important to Yurika...
Ever since Maki had passed by Harumi on the roof, she had always assumed that Harumi was worth using.
“S-Satomi-kun!!”
“Now, what will you do, Rainbow Yurika, Satomi Koutarou!? Will you attack this girl along with me!?”
“Kuh, Maki-chan, that's unfair!”
Harumi couldn't move on her own because of Maki's magic. Maki was planning on using Harumi as a shield from Yurika's and Koutarou's attacks.
“Koutarou, something’s wrong with this situation.”
“I know!”
Koutarou and Sanae nodded and glared at Maki.
“...Maki-san, stop it already! Sakuraba-senpai is off limits! Don't involve her in this!”
“I bet she is. That's why I chose her!”
Koutarou didn't know what situation Harumi was in, but he knew that Maki had involved her.
Just what is going on? Isn't it just cosplaying?
For the past half year, Koutarou hadn't doubted that Yurika was only cosplaying. But his opinion was now gradually changing to something he knew nothing of.
Koutarou had only begun feeling that when Harumi appeared in this construction site. When he thought about it again, he couldn't believe that Yurika would involve Harumi. The two got along so well, it wouldn't be wrong to call them best friends, and Yurika was aware of Harumi's weak constitution. He simply couldn't believe that she would have Harumi participate in this cosplay straight from an action movie. And most importantly, Harumi was frightened. Even Koutarou could tell that she wasn't acting.
“Satomi-kun, Nijino-san, what is happening?”
“Just wait, Sakuraba-senpai, I'll be right there!”
“Maki-chan, let Sakuraba-senpai go!”
“This discussion is over. Protect me, Sakuraba Harumi!”
“Kyaaaa! W-What is!?”
Maki ignored Koutarou and ordered Harumi around. When she did, Harumi began moving, regardless of her own will.
“Yurika, what the hell is happening?”
“I told you, I'm fighting with Maki-chan!”
“Koutarou, what's happening? Yurika is cosplaying, but is that Maki girl a real magician?”
“Based on what's happening, that seems to be―”
“Stone Rain – Mode – Effective Time – Twice!”
“Satomi-san, here she comes! Don't sit still!”
“Waaaaaah!”
“Kyaaaaa!”
Koutarou began screaming in the middle of his sentence. Stones lying around the construction site floated up into the air and began raining down on them. That was Maki-chan's spell, but as the stones began raining down, Yurika readied her cane and shouted.
“Quick Cast – Force Field!!”
“Ow, owowow, wait, what?”
The stone rain striking Koutarou's body stopped all of a sudden. As Koutarou cautiously looked up, he could see a barrier of yellow light, deflecting the stones.
“What is going on?”
“I don't know either...”
Not understanding the situation, Koutarou turned to look towards Yurika, who was holding her cane above her head. A yellow light was pouring out from her cane, and that light spread out like an umbrella, creating the yellow barrier.
“Yurika, you...”
“Are you okay, Satomi-san?”
Yurika had also been hit by rocks and there were wounds bleeding slightly on her head and exposed limbs. But Yurika showed no signs of caring about her wounds as she smiled at Koutarou.
“D-Did you just use... magic?”
Even Koutarou could understand when the stones raining down on him had been blocked. Yurika really could use magic.
“That's what I've told you from the very start!”
As Yurika said that, tears appeared in the corners of her eyes.
Which means that the thing I saw when we first met wasn't some tool or a trick, it was all real...
The moment that Yurika had waited for, for over half a year happened, Koutarou finally realized the truth.
“Got you!”
The next moment, the stone rain stopped and Maki appeared under the umbrella of light. Maki's stone rain wasn't just an attack; it also served to conceal her next move. Her limbs were enveloped in a red light.
“Oh no!”
They were energy bolts, set to go off when they came in contact with something. Maki was planning strike Yurika with an energy bolt infused magical attack.
“It's okay, don't worry, Yurika!”
“Tsk, Satomi Koutarou!?”
However, Maki's attack did not connect with Yurika. Before it reached her, Koutarou had gotten in between them and grabbed Maki's arm, deflecting her attack. He had no idea what to do when in a fight with a magic user, but a fist fight was his specialty.
“Satomi-san!?”
“I'm okay!”
Koutarou grabbed Maki's wrists and pulled her away from Yurika with all of his might.
“This man, again!?”
At the same time, the red light vanished from her hands. The white light Koutarou emitted had erased it.
“In that case!”
While both of her wrists were caught, Maki threw a kick with her right leg. At this distance it shouldn't be possible to avoid. And the red light around her legs was still there.
“Hissatsu! Sanae-chan shield!!”
However, even Maki's deadly kick was blocked.
“Are you okay, Koutarou!?”
“You saved me!”
Sanae had blocked the attack by using her poltergeist phenomenon to throw Maki's leg back. Colliding with Sanae's telekinetic power, the energy was used up and the red light on her right leg vanished.
“Tsk, pesky ghost!”
Maki used the moment from her reflected kick to free herself from Koutarou. And as a parting gift, she spun around and kicked with her left leg.
“Woah!?”
Having lost balance when Maki broke free, Koutarou had no way of avoiding Maki's kick. And it looked like he was about to suffer a direct hit.
“Snare Trap!”
However, just before the kick could hit Koutarou, the soil around Maki's footing began rising up, throwing her off balance. The reason for that was the basic magic that Yurika had used in the heat of the moment. But it had more than enough power to stop the roundhouse kick.
“Good job, Yurika!”
“Tsk, as I thought three vs. one is impossible! Energy Release!”
Maki released the magical red light still surrounding her left leg. The released energy left behind a small explosion and a smoke screen.
“Uwah!?”
“As if I'd let you catch me that easily.”
The explosion hurt Maki, but it made Koutarou lose sight of her, and his hand moving to capture her missed.
“Sanae-chan Psychogun!”
Coming up with an idea after seeing the stone rain from before, Sanae used her poltergeist to manipulate a stone and aimed for Maki. The stone chased after Maki with the speed of a bullet.
“Nice team work, but-!”
However, Harumi was standing still in the direction Maki had run off to. Maki ran up behind Harumi and put her in between her and the stone.
“Kyaaaa!”
Seeing the stone closing in, Harumi let out a scream.
“Sanae-chan!”
“Ah, that was close!”
Sanae hurriedly changed the stone’s direction away from Harumi.
After brushing up to Harumi's bangs, it flew straight up into the sky.
“Hey, using Harumi as a shield is unfair!”
“Say whatever you'd like. I'll do whatever it takes to win against three unfair people ganging up on me.”
“That's rude! Teaming up is a privilege for heroes of justice!”
“Sanae-chan, stop saying such stupid things.”
“S-Sorry.”
After scolding Sanae, Koutarou quickly turned back towards Maki. She appeared from behind Harumi once more.
On top of the fact that Yurika really can use magic, it seems like Maki-san being an enemy is also true. And someone who would use Sakuraba-senpai as a human shield definitely can't be a good guy. I see... So they really did come; Yurika's enemy, the evil magical girls...
If Yurika wasn't a cosplayer but really a magical girl, it would mean that Koutarou and the others had ignored the threat of evil magical girls for over half a year.
“S-Satomi-kun, Nijino-san, j-just what is happening?”
“What's wrong? Aren't you going to attack?”
Harumi was scared by the mysterious situation, and Maki was fearlessly provoking Koutarou and the others, but they couldn't do anything. That was because they understood that Maki would use Harumi as a shield. Koutarou spent some time glaring at Maki before he called out Yurika's name.
“Yurika.”
“Yes.”
“You're a magical girl, right?”
Yurika felt ecstatic when she heard Koutarou say those words. She couldn't help but feel happy that she had finally been able to convey the truth. But Yurika suppressed her feelings and responded with a nod.
“Yes. I'm the magical girl of love and courage ☆ Rainbow Yurika.”
“Then back me up.”
“Satomi-san, what are you planning on doing!?”
Yurika held her breath when she heard what Koutarou had said.
“I'm charging in.”
“That's unreasonable!”
“If Maki-san is going to use Sakuraba-senpai as a shield, our only option is to close in and turn it into a brawl. You might be a magical girl, but you're no good in fist fights. Besides...”
Koutarou was trying to say something, but stopped halfway through.
“Besides, what?”
“...While I'm in there, can you do something about Sakuraba-senpai?”
Koutarou responded with an answer different from what he first been about to say. Besides, you can't punch Sakuraba-senpai. That's what Koutarou had been about to say. In the worst case scenario, they might need to knock Harumi out in order to take her back. However, this timid and incredibly gentle magical girl would not let him do that.
“I got it. I'll try it.”
“Please do.”
Koutarou nodded at Yurika and turned back towards Maki.
“Maki-san, could you give Sakuraba-senpai back to us?”
“A foolish question. I'll release this girl once I've beaten all of you.”
Is he aiming for a hand to hand fight, or will he try to save Sakuraba Harumi first? In that case, should I use her to threaten them? But if I lose my hostage, it'll turn into a three on one again... In that case!
Maki readied her cane and began incanting her spell.
“Blast Fireball – Modi―”
A huge fireball about one meter in diameter appeared by the tip of her cane.
“Koutarou, this is bad.”
“Let's go, Yurika!”
“Yes!”
Koutarou began sprinting towards Maki at the same time that she started her incantation. Sanae kept a slight distance to him as she followed. Against someone that used ranged weapons, all three of them standing clumped up would just make them a target. They needed to create a distance between them and Yurika who was going to use her magic to cover them.
“―fier – High Concentration.”
Once Maki finished her incantation, the fireball began shrinking. In exchange, the temperature of the flames grew rapidly. The flames turned from red to white as it shrunk to the size of a baseball.
“Satomi-san, watch out for that fireball! I can't block a direct hit from that, even with my magic!”
“I got it!”
The moment after Yurika's warning, Koutarou's and Sanae's bodies were enveloped in a yellow light. It was a defensive spell that Yurika had cast.
“Oh, that's quite alright.”
Maki smiled at Koutarou and the others. However, it was a smile only by form; the smile didn't have a hint of kindness in it.
“I have no plan on shooting it at you.”
“What!?”
“What's that supposed to mean!”
Leering at her confused opponents, Maki pointed her cane at her target.
“...Eh?”
Her target was at a diagonal behind her, Sakuraba Harumi. The next moment, the fireball left her cane and started flying towards Harumi.
“What, you’re aiming for Sakuraba-senpai!?”
“Koutarou, Harumi is going to be killed!”
The fireball had already been fired, so there was nothing Koutarou and Sanae could do. Even if they defeated Maki, it wouldn't save Harumi.
“Kyaaaaaa!”
Seeing the fireball coming flying towards her, Harumi let out a scream. Clueless to the situation and unable to move her body, there was nothing she could do. She had no way to defend herself from the flame flying towards her.
Sakuraba-senpai!!
“Cancel.”
In this crisis, the only one who could do something was Yurika. She cancelled the magic she was casting and started on a different incantation.
“Recall – Precast – Teleport!”
Teleportation magic. Normally it required a long to cast and prepare, so Yurika had called out and used an incantation she had prepared beforehand. It was her one-time use ace magic. The moment she finished her incantation she vanished from where she stood, and appeared in front of Harumi.
“Koutarou, Yurika is-!”
“Yurika!? What are you doing!?”
Sanae was amazed that Yurika had teleported. But Koutarou was more worried about where she had appeared then. Yurika brandished her cane and started an incantation.
“As long as it's not a direct hit, this should be able to protect you...”
Yurika smiled as she said that. At the same time, her spell activated and a yellow light enveloped Harumi.
“Nijino-san, what are you―”
“I'll leave the rest to you, Satomi-san.”
The next moment, the fireball crashed into Yurika's body.
Part 9
Yurika was well aware that this was Maki's trap. She wouldn't do something like throwing away her ace up her sleeve, her hostage. But even though she knew, Yurika had to protect Harumi. The unthinkable might have happened.
“Yurikaaaaaa!”
“Nijino-san!”
“Yurika, why would you!?”
The moment the fireball hit Yurika, the energy inside of it was released all at once. The massive energy burned through the defensive magic protecting Yurika and scorched her. In the sea of flames, Yurika's lifeless body collapsed to the ground.
Because of Yurika's actions, Harumi was unharmed. Some of the flames that burned Yurika reached Harumi, but they had no effect because of the defensive spell she had cast.
“As I thought, this was the simplest way of doing it.”
Maki coldly stared at Yurika who laid collapsed on the soil.
That's right. That's Rainbow Heart's limit. You have too much to protect. Because of that you can't protect anything...
However, for a moment there also pity in her glance.
“Satomi-kun! Nijino-san, Nijino-san is!!”
Still unable to move, Harumi screamed out. She was at a loss after seeing Yurika collapsing after protecting him.
“Yurika! Hey, Yurika!”
Koutarou ran up to Yurika and held her up. She hadn't died because of her defensive spell, but she had suffered major damage and lost consciousness.
“She's okay... right?”
Sanae timidly looked at Yurika. Sanae could see Yurika's spiritual energy but she had weakened to the point where Sanae began to worry.
“As if something like this would kill her.”
Koutarou trembled with anger as he held Yurika. However, that anger was not aimed at Maki, but at himself.
Why didn't I believe her for over half a year!? This wouldn't have happened if I had only believed in her!
Because he hadn't believed in Yurika, he had ignored the threat of the evil magical girls for over half a year. If he had believed her, they could have at the very least come up with some plans. That way, Yurika might not have collapsed like this. Koutarou couldn't forgive himself. He should have believed what Yurika had told him, even if it was just a small portion of it. That intense rage and regret boiled inside of him.
“Satomi-kun...”
At this point, Harumi began to faintly understand the situation. Yurika wasn't a cosplayer, but something different. She didn't know what she had seen was magic or not, but she knew that Yurika was fighting a battle with lives at stake.
“Don't blame yourself, Satomi-kun.”
“But, if I had believed her, this wouldn't have happened!”
That said, normally nobody would believe someone they had first met talking about magic, magical girls and that enemies were coming.
“There's no need to worry. All of you will soon meet the same fate as Yurika.”
“Maki-san!!”
Brandishing her cane, Maki approached Koutarou and the others.
So she's planning on finishing off Yurika.
Seeing that, Koutarou laid Yurika down on the ground and stepped forward, to protect her and Harumi.
“I won't let you touch Yurika.”
“If you win, that is...”
There's no need to go all out... as long as I can get a grasp of this man’s true strength...
Maki was planning on ascertaining Koutarou's abilities. She wasn't planning on defeating an opponent she knew nothing about, right away.
“That's why I'll be the winner!”
And if I can't protect Yurika, I really will be an idiot!!
The moment Koutarou shouted, a loud shrill sound, similar to hitting two light metal pieces hitting each other, rang out and a pure-white light lit up the area.
“What!?”
“You're finally going all out, are you!?”
Between Koutarou and Harumi, right by the area where Yurika was lying, an orb of white light appeared. The orb of light was roughly a meter in diameter and it lit up the area as it floated above Yurika. As the orb lit Yurika up, her expression loosened. The light was healing the critically wounded Yurika, just like it had with Harumi in the past.
“What's going on!?”
“Koutarou, this is that light!”
This light, it's protecting us again!?
Koutarou had simply been surprised by the light appearing, but Sanae was surprised that she recognized it. In the past it had lit up a sword and protected Theia, it had also lit up charms and protected Sanae herself as well. Sanae felt that this light was the same as back then.
While Koutarou and Sanae were surprised by the suddenly appearing light, Harumi called out to Koutarou.
“Koutarou-sama...”
“Sakuraba-senpai!?”
When Koutarou looked at Harumi, he noticed that she was different from normal. Her hair color glowed in a silver light and on her forehead was a crest that resembled a sword. Her appearance seemed divine; words like shrine maiden or holy woman would work as a description.
“W-What's with that appearance...!?”
“There's no time to explain.”
While shaking her head, Harumi for some reason had a very gentle glance. It was almost as if she was meeting someone nostalgic she hadn't seen for a long time. Like she had found someone she had been searching after for a long time.
“If I use this power that healed Yurika to call out your sword...”
As Harumi said that, she reached her hands out towards the glowing orb. And as she held her palms towards the orb, she closed her eyes.
Sakuraba Harumi escaped the effects of my magic!? She dispelled it!? With that much magic power, it's obvious she did!
Maki couldn't hide her surprise when she saw that Harumi could move freely.
On top of that she can use magic too!? She's trying to control the light that Satomi Koutarou summoned!
What surprised her even more was that Harumi began manipulating the light that had appeared.
“Sakuraba-senpai, just what are you!?”
“... It's okay, your fate is not to die here.”
When Harumi held out her hands, the orb of light began to contract. It was almost the same as when Maki had shrunk the fireball. However, unlike before, the white light began forming into the shape of a sword.
“Koutarou-sama, please use this. I couldn't summon the real one, but this is without a doubt your sword.”
“Koutarou, this sword has amazing powers!? What's going on!? It's overflowing with so much power that I can barely see!”
Sanae was able to sense the power the sword was emitting. The white light flowing out of the sword was almost like a gale blowing. Sanae could even feel the power spraying onto her skin. And the too strong power kept Sanae from being able to see the outline of the sword.
“I understand!”
I don't get what's going on, but there's no time to hesitate!
Koutarou took the sword of light without any hesitation. The sword was simply a mass of light, but it felt exactly the same as the sword he had borrowed from Theia. But despite sword having terrific power, Koutarou strangely enough felt no worry holding it. Instead, he felt gentleness and warmth.
“Koutarou-sama...”
The warmth felt very similar to the warmth he felt from Harumi's smile.
“May fortune be with you...”
Sakuraba-senpai!?”
After Koutarou had taken the sword he looked back at Harumi, only to see her falling slowly towards the ground. At the same time, her hair color returned to normal, and the sword crest on her forehead vanished.
“It's okay, it seems like she's only sleeping.”
Sanae approached Harumi and checked her breathing and spiritual energy. She didn't notice anything irregular about either.
“I see...”
Feeling relieved, Koutarou grasped his sword and turned towards Maki. He was worried about Harumi, but if he forgot about Maki something terrible would happen.
“Color me surprised. So that's your true powers...”
Maki showed no signs of attacking; as she had said, she looked surprised.
“I'm surprised too.”
Koutarou didn't understand what was going on. Starting with Yurika being a magical girl, her enemy, Maki's, appearance and a fight between these two magical girls. And then when Yurika had collapsed when protecting Harumi, a white light appeared and Harumi had changed that into a sword. This year had been a mess for Koutarou, but today was the worst by far.
“What are you, a monster...?”
Maki swallowed when she saw that sword in Koutarou's hand. Since she used magic, she knew very well that the power residing in that sword was massive. Enough power to shake the entirety of the construction site was overflowing from that sword.
I'll give it a try...
Maki braced herself and pointed her cane towards Koutarou.
“Here I come, Satomi Koutarou!”
“Sanae, I'll leave Yurika and Sakuraba-senpai to you!”
“I got it!”
Koutarou readied his sword and took a Forthorthe-styled stance. It was the old school sword fighting style that Theia had beaten into Koutarou on a daily basis.
“Double Cast – Force Field, Thunder Lance!!”
As expected, the one who made the first move was Maki who had ranged attacks. She chanted spells in rapid succession, creating a shield to protect her and summoning a powerful lightning spear.
“Take this!”
Maki threw the electric spear towards Koutarou who was closing in. Her target was his sword since long things had an easier time attracting lightning.
“Oooooooo!!”
Seeing that, Koutarou roared as he charged. In response to his roar, light began overflowing from the sword. As the lightning spear came in contact with the light, it vanished, as if there was nothing there to begin with.
“What!?”
“Daaaaaaaaaaaaa!!”
Koutarou swung his sword down towards a surprised Maki.
“Tsk!”
Maki bent her body over and barely managed to dodge the edge of the sword, but since the sword touched her, her protective spell vanished.
“What the hell is this!?”
To think he was this strong! At this rate I won't stand a chance! The matchup with my specialty is far too poor!
The light alone being emitted from Koutarou's sword had erased Maki's lightning spear, and the sword simply skimming by her had torn through her magical shield. It was the perfect weapon when dealing with a magician.
“In that case!”
Maki used her momentum from dodging the sword to backflip, and the moment she landed she cast her next spell.
“Quick Cast – Fog Cloud – Modifier – Effective Area – Colossal!!”
“What!?”
Maki casted a spell that created a fog. The effective area was wide, filling up the entirety of the pit in the construction site.
“What is this!? I can't see anything!”
The created fog was thick and completely blocked Koutarou's vision. On top of that, since the fog was made from magic, not even Sanae could see through it.
“Sanae, you stay there and protect Yurika and Sakuraba-senpai!”
“I got it!”
As Koutarou erased the fog with his sword, little by little, Sanae began being able to see. Koutarou readied his sword and looked around the area.
She's not attacking? Why?
But no matter how long he looked, he couldn't find Maki. There was no surprise attack. As he stayed on guard, the wind scattered the fog. Once the fog had completely vanished, Maki was nowhere to be seen.
