“Two medium-sized ones, and they're too close to each other,” Mingyue said, lowering her scythe from her shoulder.
“Snowrealm, you take the one at the bus stop. I'll handle the one in the underpass. We can't let them merge. If they combine, they'll get a power boost.”
Snowrealm didn't reply; she was already on the move.
Mana condensed on the standing water, forming a path of ice.
She dashed along the icy path, her entire body blurring into a silver-blue afterimage.
The Erosion Body on the roof of the bus stop spread its carapace.
Snowrealm flipped above its head, pointing her straight sword downward. She drove the blade into a gap in its carapace, pouring ice magic through the tip. It rapidly spread across the entire shell.
The Erosion Body let out a muffled screech, but she gave it no chance to break free.
Chains whipped out from her left hand, piercing the mana barrier it tried to raise for defense and pinning it to the roof.
Snowrealm pulled her straight sword out of the medium-sized Erosion Body's core. The black mist was washed away by the rain before it could even begin to disperse.
She landed on the street, where the standing water reached her ankles. The splash from her boots, mixed with fragments of ice dust, reflected white light under the streetlamps.
“I've cleared this side,” her voice came through the communication channel, accompanied by light panting.
She felt stronger today, as if the mana flowing through her body during battle was completely inexhaustible.
Even the spells she usually cast were significantly more powerful.
Snowrealm clenched her fist, feeling the mana inside her that was several times higher than usual.
And all of this...
...was of course Qiluo's doing!
Qiluo had opened the mana valve by a huge margin.
That was why Yuki could fight so effortlessly.
Hurry up and thank Qiluo!
On the other side, Mingyue had already engaged the Erosion Body at the entrance of the underpass.
This medium-sized one had a much thicker defense than normal ones; it seemed to be a defense-specialized type.
Mingyue's first strike only sliced through the surface. Her second was blocked by its forelimbs, the sparks flying from the collision between her scythe and the carapace instantly snuffed out by the rain.
Nuomi launched itself off her shoulder, its two tails whipping out two golden shockwaves in the rain.
The shockwaves left the Erosion Body momentarily paralyzed, briefly exposing the core beneath its carapace.
Mingyue kicked off the ground and lunged forward, thrusting her scythe upward from below until the tip pierced through a gap in the Erosion Body's back.
Mingyue pulled her scythe out of the dissolving remains, shook off the lingering black mist on the blade, and turned to look toward the bus stop.
Snowrealm was currently pulling her straight sword out of the core of the Erosion Body on the roof.
“This side is cleared too,” Mingyue said, walking up from the underground stairs with her scythe resting on her shoulder, rainwater trickling down the curve of the blade.
“The Observation Department has updated the patrol route. Next, we'll push toward the station.”
Mingyue swiped her fingers across her terminal a few times and sent the coordinates to Snowrealm. “Can you keep going?”
“I can,” Snowrealm replied, sheathing her straight sword at her side.
She looked up at the sky. The torrential rain showed no signs of letting up, but Star-trail was still floating not far above her.
Like a looming meteor.
Mingyue watched Snowrealm beside her.
She had only recently become a Magical Girl, yet she was already able to handle medium-sized ones in a downpour.
From her very first battle to now, Snowrealm had been optimizing her movements in different ways with every fight.
Was it her contract with Star-trail that made her grow so quickly? Or did she simply possess this talent naturally?
Perhaps it was both.
Speaking of Star-trail... Mingyue looked up at the small creature in the air.
Even though it could have easily rested on Snowrealm's shoulder, it chose to hover in midair, masking its presence to the point where it was almost imperceptible.
The closer a Contract Spirit was to its contractor, the more efficient the mana link between them would be.
That was why Nuomi always stayed very close to her during battle.
But Star-trail was different.
“Is it the type that isn't suited for combat?” Mingyue turned the thought over in her mind.
Star-trail's mana spectrum belonged to the celestial type, and its physical exam report stated that its core magic circuit had an extremely high level of integrity.
Yet, it indeed had never directly intervened in battle.
Perhaps its mana structure was better suited for support and reinforcement rather than direct attacks.
It looked like she would have to protect this little guy well in the future.
Meanwhile, Qiluo had absolutely no idea that Mingyue had already designated a protective role for her in her mind.
In truth... Qiluo simply didn't want to fight!
Fighting with Star-trail's vessel was incredibly uncomfortable.
Star-trail was tiny, while Qiluo's mana was massive.
Squeezing so much mana into such a tiny body made fighting feel like trying to drain a flood with a drinking straw.
Furthermore, Star-trail's role from the very beginning was that of a support-type Contract Spirit, responsible for providing mana boosts and battlefield awareness rather than charging in to engage in hand-to-hand combat with Erosion Bodies.
Thus, during every battle, she would have Star-trail hover high above the battlefield. This allowed it to replenish Snowrealm's mana at a moment's notice while also using its bird's-eye view to warn them of danger.
“...Mingyue, your hand,” Snowrealm's voice snapped her out of her brief distraction.
Mingyue looked down at her hand. There was a small laceration on the web of her thumb, likely split by the impact when she blocked earlier.
She hadn't noticed it; the chill of the rain had numbed the pain.
“It's just a scratch. It won't affect my grip,” she said, pulling a healing bandage from her waist. She wrapped it twice around her hand with one hand and bit off the excess with her teeth.
“You said the same thing during the last joint operation,” Snowrealm said, walking up to her and holding out her hand. “After we went back, the wound got inflamed. Nuomi told me.”
Mingyue turned her head to glare at Nuomi, who was currently perched on her shoulder, using its tails to fan its own ears.
Nuomi immediately pulled its tails back and stared up at the sky with a face that practically said, “Nuomi doesn't know anything!”
“Nuomi wouldn't betray its comrade,” Mingyue chose to have a little faith in her Contract Spirit.
“It would. All it takes is some strawberry daifuku.”
Mingyue: ...
Snowrealm gently took Mingyue's hand, unwrapped the loosely tied bandage, pulled a fresh healing bandage from her own equipment pouch, and carefully wrapped it layer by layer.
Her movements were incredibly gentle, but every wrap was much neater and snugger than Mingyue's self-wrapped attempt.
Mingyue didn't pull her hand away. She simply rubbed the back of her neck with her other hand, turning her gaze toward the distant streetlamps blurred by the curtain of rain.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the city.
The three members of the Wings of Freedom had also just finished a battle.
Kohinata rested her hammer on the ground and bent over, panting heavily as rainwater trickled down the tips of her hair.
Amamiya leaned against a wall. Her twin blades were already sheathed, and she was using her soaked cuffs to wipe the water from her face.
Water dripped from the edge of Night Sakura's mask as she crouched, her fingers tapping rapidly on her waterproof terminal.
“There's still a mid-tier one to the north, and a large cluster of low-tier ones to the west. At our current pace, we can clear at least three more waves tonight.”
Hovering her finger over the screen, she switched to the communication channel, her tone returning to its usual lighthearted, cheerful note.
“Lightweaver, Lightweaver, are you there? The Erosion Bodies are popping up like crazy tonight. We just finished clearing a batch and still have more work to do soon. Do you want to join the fun?”
She stared at the screen for a moment after sending the message. The read receipt lit up, and a reply came quickly.
“No. The convenience store closed early, so I'm going back to my apartment.”
Night Sakura looked at the reply. She could easily picture the expression on Lightweaver's face as she typed those words.
Cold and indifferent, with a tone that practically screamed, “Don't bother me.”
“Got it. Take care of yourself. Mana fluctuations are unstable during heavy rain, so don't get hit by a spawn point on your way back.”
“You too. Stay safe, everyone.”
Night Sakura let out a soft laugh, slipped her terminal back into her waist pouch, and stood up, brushing the water droplets off her skirt.
“Aww... Lightweaver isn't coming. We'll have to clear them all ourselves tonight.”
Kohinata pulled her hammer from the ground, hoisted it onto her shoulder, and wiped the rain from her face, flashing a high-spirited grin.
“Then let's show her what we're made of!”
Rate on N.U.
