Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 12 - Chapter 4

Darkness Rainbow

Saturday, April 24th

Harumi and Kanae first met each other a few years ago when Harumi was admitted to the hospital. Back then, Sanae’s condition wasn’t as severe, so Harumi and Sanae were put in a room together. So Harumi knew Sanae too, although it was Sanae-san and not the Sanae-chan that the others knew. After being released, Harumi would still come by every so often to visit Sanae. During those visits, she also ran into Kanae from time to time.

Kanae was currently at the hospital to pick up a few personal belongings Sanae had left behind. On her way out, she’d just happened to spot Harumi and Yurika in the waiting room.

Having finished their business, the three ladies left the hospital and decided to have lunch at a family restaurant. They were done eating and now just casually chatting after their meal.

“Hmm, so the two of you will be gunning for the same boy together... Girls nowadays sure are bold.”

Kanae swirled her glass of iced coffee around while smiling elegantly.

“Gunning for...?”

Kanae’s choice of words made Harumi blush. Still in her teens, Harumi didn’t have the same level of confidence or frankness an older woman like Kanae did in these matters.

“Am I wrong?”

Kanae gave Harumi a teasing glance. She was enjoying seeing Harumi’s innocently blushing face.

“I don’t think you’re wrong, but... I feel like the nuance has changed...”

“Heh, no, it hasn’t changed... But I’m a little jealous. Friendship and love, huh? It’s been a while since I got to talk about this stuff...”

Kanae took a nostalgic dive into her memories and smiled warmly. She imagined herself in her teens and dreamed of going back to that time.

“How long? Like thirty years?”

But Kanae only got to indulge in that fantasy for a few short, sweet seconds before Yurika’s oblivious and ruthless comment dragged her back to reality.

“Yurika-chan, are you trying to pick a fight with me?”

Kanae was still smiling, but her eyes were twitching.

“N-Not at all!”

Yurika frantically shook her head.

I’ve done it! I’ve done it again!

Yurika knew that having a rich enemy was bad. And she was also scared of the punishment she’d get from Koutarou. She continued shaking her head as fast as she could and apologizing.

“She may not have, but I sure did, Kanae.”

Suddenly a new voice joined their conversation. It belonged to a woman in her late twenties or so wearing an indigo suit. The moment they saw this woman, both Kanae and Yurika’s expressions froze up.

“Long time no see, Kanae.”

“Maya?! Why are you...?!”

“This person is using magic... which means, Darkness Rainbow?!”

“Nice to meet you, Rainbow Yurika. I hear you’re always taking care of Maki. I’m her master, Maya.”

The woman that had appeared in front of Yurika and the others was none other than Darkness Rainbow’s Maya.

Nana and Kanae had defeated Maya years ago. The injuries she’d sustained in their fight were severe and she was put out of commission. That was when her disciple, Maki, had taken up the name of Dark Navy.

“Maya... what is that body...?”

“You’ll find out soon. Very soon.”

However, Maya didn’t seem to be any worse for wear now. She looked like she was in perfect health to Kanae. In fact, she even looked younger than the last time Kanae saw her. It was almost as if she’d aged in reversed. Maya’s physical condition surprised Kanae more than her sudden appearance.

“Nijino-san, what’s going on? Who is that person? Why are we here?”

Harumi was even more confused than Kanae was. After Maya had appeared in the restaurant, the group had moved to an abandoned building nearby. Harsh words and dirty looks were being exchanged on both sides. And all Harumi knew was that she’d been dragged into something dangerous.

“Sakuraba-senpai, it’s dangerous, so please stay back.”

“Dangerous...?”

“This is going to turn into a fight. That woman is my and Kanae-san’s enemy.”

“Enemy?!”

Harumi wanted to believe that Yurika was joking. That she was only pretending that this was a scene out of her favorite anime. But something was clearly wrong. The atmosphere was far too tense for this to be a joke. Moreover, Yurika’s tone and expression were extremely serious. Harumi had never seen her look like that, not even during the plays.

Enemy...? This woman is Nijino-san and Kanae-san’s enemy...?

Harumi looked at Maya. Even she could feel the ominous presence coming from her, but all of this still didn’t feel real. What Harumi’s gut was telling her and what her common sense was telling her couldn’t have been more at odds. It only confused her further.

“I’ll explain the details later. Please just do as I say for now, Sakuraba-senpai.”

“O-Okay, I understand...”

Harumi did as Yurika asked and backed off from the group. She didn’t understand a thing, but she had no reason to doubt Yurika. And after confirming that Harumi was a safe distance away, Yurika approached Kanae. Meanwhile, Kanae and Maya’s discussion continued.

“Maya, let Sakuraba-san go. She has nothing to do with this.”

“Heh, I can’t do that. I have my reasons, you know.”

Maya refused Kanae’s request with a confident smirk.

On the surface, she’s just a weak girl. But there’s that second personality insider her that holds vast amounts of power. There’s no way I would just let her go knowing that, is there?

Maya had gotten a report about it from Maki, so she knew of the power hidden within Harumi. And based on Maya’s objective, there was no way that she would let Harumi go free now.

“Won’t you reconsider? Sakuraba-senpai is just a normal person.”

Yurika took her place next to Kanae and made her case for Harumi’s release as well. Yurika didn’t know anything about Harumi’s power. She’d been unconscious when she revealed it for the first time. So, thinking that she was just a normal girl, Yurika wanted to keep her out of harm’s way.

“Not a chance. I don’t care who she is.”

But even then, Maya wouldn’t let Harumi go. Maya flashed a fearless grin as she tore off the clothes she was wearing to reveal a magical girl outfit underneath that was familiar to Kanae. But that familiarity ended there.

“Mode Change: Combat Mode! Aura amplification rate to 1.5!”

“Ready. Combat Mode with aura amplification rate at 1.5 activated.”

On Maya’s command, her wrists being emitting an indigo glow as if she were wearing bracelets of light. The lines resembling tattoos on her arms also began glowing with the same light and opened up a little. Complex looking machinery could be seen through the gaps. Most of Maya’s body now consisted of such machinery.

“Maya?! What is that body?!”

Seeing that parts of her body were now artificial, Kanae understood how she’d made such a dramatic recovery. But she couldn’t imagine that something like that could be done with modern science. It was a very shocking sight to Kanae.

“Are you jealous? I found a wonderful aesthetician. Aren’t I beautiful now?”

“A cyborg?! Kanae-san, get away! That’s dangerous!”

Yurika shouted out a warning to Kanae, who was standing stock still. Kanae followed Yurika’s advice and put some distance between herself and Maya. Thanks to her repertoire of manga and anime, Yurika had a much easier time processing the potential dangers of something so farfetched.

“Good guess! As expected from Nana’s disciple, I suppose!”

Maya grinned as she continued to transform. Various mechanisms popped out from the gaps that had formed in her body. Things such as exhaust tubes, armor, and weapons. Maya had traded in her beautiful human form to become a brutal combat machine.

“Come, Angel Halo! Encyclopedia!”

In response, Yurika called for her staffs. Her intuition told her that she would have no chance of winning if she didn’t reveal her identity to Harumi and go all out with her magic.

After transforming, the first thing Yurika did was give Kanae a weapon and then create a ward.

“Armed! Encyclopedia!”

One of the two staffs in Yurika’s hands transformed into a bow, which she then threw to Kanae.

“Please use that, Kanae-san!”

“Thank you!”

Kanae easily caught the bow midair and swiftly readied herself. As she did, the bow readjusted itself to perfectly suit Kanae.

It works the same way as with Nana-chan... I can fight with this!

Kanae then drew the string and an arrow appeared out of nowhere. Kanae held her breath as she recalled her technique from her previous battles and pointed the bow at Maya.

“Sanctuary! Modifier: Effective Area, Colossal!”

Yurika then finished casting her ward spell. With that, there was no need to worry about their fight being witnessed by anyone outside the building.

“Are the two of you ready yet?”

She’d already finished her own preparations for battle, so Maya waited for Yurika and Kanae to do the same. Part of that was because she wanted to wait for the ward to be put up, but the biggest reason for it was because she had absolute confidence in her own power. She was convinced that there was no way she would lose to Kanae, who was growing weary from age, and Nana’s still immature disciple.

“That confidence of yours will be fatal.”

“That’s might be true... if your partner had been Nana.”

She had been defeated by Nana because she was overconfident in her power previously. Maya was reasonable enough that she could honestly accept that now.

“But you two are not as strong as the past Kanae and Nana. And besides...”

Maya took a stance. As she did, a sound similar to a switch being pressed could be heard from several places on her body. It would serve as the starting pistol for this fight. It was the sound of the safety devices on Maya’s weapons being released.

“I’m far stronger than I was before!”

Maya kicked off the ground and instantaneously disappeared from Yurika’s sight.

“She’s fast!”

“Above you, Yurika-chan!”

Yurika had lost track of Maya, but Kanae had excellent kinetic vision. She released an arrow as she called out a warning Yurika.

“You’re looking a little rough around the edges, Kanae!”

Maya kicked off the ceiling of the building and changed direction in the air. As a result, Kanae’s arrow missed her and flew off in the distance.

“Would you like me to introduce you to a good salon?!”

Maya used the momentum from kicking off the ceiling to charge towards Kanae at a fierce speed. Maya wound her arm back, her hand transforming to bring out a blade.

“I think I’ll pass!”

But Kanae wasn’t just going to stand there and let herself be done in so easily. She held the bow with both hands and swung it like a golf club.

“I still have my youth, after all!”

“My, that’s too bad!”

Maya’s right hand and Kanae’s bow collided. If Kanae’s weapon had been a normal bow, it probably would have snapped in half on impact. But since it had the strength of Encyclopedia, it withstood the blow.

“Maybe you just need to lose a little weight!”

Still in bow form, Encyclopedia unleashed a spell. It read Kanae’s wish to blow Maya back and activated a shockwave spell.

“I’ll pass that along to the people who made my new body!”

But even the close range shockwave didn’t rattle Maya. She made no attempt to dodge, and instead pointed her left arm towards Kanae. The next moment, the shockwave crashed into the parts of Maya’s body covered in armor and dispersed. She responded by firing the gun protruding from her left arm.

What Maya fired wasn’t normal bullets, however, but bullets of indigo light. It was a type of energy weapon where the energy was discharged directly from Maya’s body.

“Oh no!”

Kanae hurriedly took evasive actions, but she was too close to dodge all of the discharged bullets. At this rate, she would definitely be hit.

“Quick Cast Force Field!”

But just before the bullets collided with Kanae, a yellow barrier of light appeared in their way. Yurika’s shield deflected the majority of the bullets, but it was unable to withstand the entire barrage. The last of the bullet hail broke through the barrier and continued flying towards Kanae.

However, thanks to Yurika buying her a few seconds, Kanae barely managed to jump out of the way of the remaining bullets. One grazed her cheek and one sheered a few strands of hair, but she was otherwise unharmed.

“Oh... You’re working harder than I expected.”

Getting some distance, Maya seemed a little impressed with Kanae and Yurika, but her confidence remained the same.

“Please be careful, Kanae-san.”

“...Thank you, Yurika-chan.”

Yurika stepped forward to keep Maya in check. Meanwhile, Kanae got up and readied her bow again. As she did, the weapon changed shape according to Kanae’s will.

Even if it’s a little hard to draw, if I don’t have enough power, I won’t be able to hit her at that speed...

Maya was moving far faster than Kanae remembered. Maya was good at magically enhancing her physical abilities in combat, but this far outclassed what she’d been able to do with magic.

“I wonder what this is... I don’t know what’s going on with her body and her weapons...”

Yurika held her staff at the ready and took a good look at Maya.

Despite it not being her real body, she can move so fluidly... And she can move at that speed without using any magic. Her defense is very impressive, too. And that weapon just now is strange... Not even a machine gun can break through a force field that easily. It probably isn’t magic, but it has some other properties...

Overwhelming speed, powerful attacks, and solid defenses. Yurika could only think of one person with that kind of strength.

“If I don’t treat this like I’m fighting against Satomi-san, I’ll be killed!”

Maya reminded Yurika of Koutarou. He had Sanae’s psychic powers, Kiriha’s gauntlet, and the haniwas— Once Yurika reached that point in her thought process, she had an epiphany.

“I see! The underground dwellers made your body, didn’t they, Maya-san?!”

Yurika remembered the remains of the altar that Kanae had shown her the other day. It was a broken spiritual energy device. If Maya had connections to the underground dwellers back then, chances were high she still did now. Their technology would explain Maya’s smooth movements and extraordinary speed.

“Hmm... I guess you’re not as stupid as you look, just like Maki said...”

Maya’s smile disappeared as several new weapons took from on her body.

“Pity, though. Now you all have to die.”

Maya wanted to keep her connection to the underground dwellers a secret. But now that Yurika knew the truth, Maya had to eliminate her in order to protect her relationship with them. Maya’s goal before now had only been to buy time, but this made things serious. Playtime was over.

“Kanae-san, I’ll enhance your strength with magic! I’ll leave the attacking to you!”

“Okay! I’ll count on you to back me up!”

“All right!”

Kanae dashed forward with her bow at the ready. Yurika wouldn’t be able to lock on to Maya, so she left the attacking to Kanae.

“Quick Double Cast: Lightning Reflexes, Mighty Power!”

Yurika cast two spells: one to make it easier for Kanae to keep up with Maya, and one to make it easier for her to wield her bow. She wanted to do more, but since Maya was already making her move, two spells was the most Yurika could manage right now even when cast quickly.

“How about this?!”

Kanae sent one arrow after another flying at Maya. She could clearly see Maya now and had a much easier time drawing her bowstring thanks to Yurika’s magic. The arrows she let loose charged straight through the air towards Maya.

“Good, Kanae! It’s like you’re getting back to your old self!”

“Automatic interception system activated. Beginning interception.”

However, Maya wasn’t without her own plans. Two antennas thrust up from her body and started firing powerful lightning bolts. Though they didn’t directly hit the arrows, the electromagnetism they generated was enough to affect the metallic tips of Kanae’s arrows and pull them off course. Not a single one hit Maya.

“But you’re still not there yet! You really have gotten old, Kanae!”

“It’s not over yet!”

In that moment, the bow in Kanae’s hand greatly changed shape. As it returned to its original staff form, Kanae swung it. Kanae was skilled with both bows and naginatas, and she was going to fight Maya using the staff as a makeshift naginata.

“I see! So you have more weapons than before too!”

In response, Maya fired the gun on her left arm while charging in.

“Protection from Soul Energy!”

But this time, the bullets were completely blocked by Yurika’s defensive spell. Knowing that she was going up against the technology of the underground dwellers, she realized that protection from spiritual energy would be more effective than protection from physical attacks.

“Haaaaaaaa!”

“Raaaaaaaa!”

Maya and Kanae clashed, the blade in Maya’s right hand meeting Kanae’s staff. Kanae’s staff was made out of wood, but thanks to the mana inside, it was harder than steel. As a result, it successfully held off Maya’s blade. But the blow was heavy, and so was Maya’s body thanks to all the machinery in her. Moreover, her speed was superhuman. Because of that, Kanae couldn’t hold her own despite being strengthened by Yurika’s magic.

“I’ve got you now, Kanae!”

The momentum from the blow sent Kanae up into the air, and Maya unleashed a kick with her long legs. A blade had appeared on her foot, just like the one on her hand. Maya was planning on finishing off Kanae with this attack.

“Quick Cast Push!”

“Kyah!”

But before Maya’s leg could reach, Kanae was blown away by Yurika’s spell. Thanks to that, Maya’s kick only caught air.

“Staff, please!”

Kanae then used the Encyclopedia’s magic to make a soft landing. But despite having survived the immediate crisis, Kanae’s expression was severe.

She’s strong... and her attack pattern is completely different from the past... If I let my guard down for even a moment, I’ll be killed!

The staff transformed into a bow once more. Kanae wanted to wipe the sweat off her forehead, but she didn’t have time for even that.

The battle continued in Maya’s favor. She could attack in any way she pleased thanks to her many weapons, which kept Yurika and Kanae on the defensive despite having Maya outnumbered. Harumi knew next to nothing about fighting, but even she could tell that Yurika and Kanae were being driven into a corner.

“What is going on...? Just who are Nijino-san and Higashihongan-san...?”

Harumi was overwhelmed by the spectacle taking place right before her eyes. A battle had suddenly broken out, and she had no idea why. She was confused by the woman with the mechanical body, and by Kanae who fought against her like it was natural. But what confused her the most was Yurika’s appearance.

“It’s like she’s a real magical girl... Wasn’t that supposed to be cosplay...?”

As Yurika fought, she looked just like the magical girls Harumi had seen in anime. She was summoning light and fire that stopped bullets and scorched the air. It was clear it wasn’t any kind of special effects, either. This was very real. Real, but nearly unbelievable. Harumi had to wonder if she was dreaming. It was just that fantastical.

“Huh...?”

A strange feeling surfaced in Harumi’s mind. It was a sense of deja vu.

Haven’t I seen something like this before...?

A faint memory flashed through her head. She saw Yurika fighting against a girl in an indigo outfit. It was hazy and that was all she could remember, but she felt like she’d seen it somewhere before.

What is this...? I feel like I’m forgetting something important... 

Harumi began focusing, trying to scan back through her memories and find what she had forgotten.

It wasn’t this year. It was probably after the first play... I talked to Nijino-san and Satomi-kun, and then all of us went out to play with Matsudaira-san... No... Was it a little before that?

Based on the feelings she was getting, what she could remember of what she was wearing and what she’d seen of her surroundings, Harumi had a vague idea of when it had taken place. Going off of that, she dug deeper and slowly began to uncover the answer.

That’s right... Back then, this woman... No, it wasn’t her, but a different girl in a similar outfit... She kidnapped me and I couldn’t move...

Something was glowing on Harumi’s forehead, and it grew brighter the harder she thought about her past. That bright white glow turned into a torrent of mana that was trying to break the spell that had sealed Harumi’s memories.

And then...

Harumi could remember a large fireball. As she recalled the image in her mind, one appeared before her in reality too.

“I don’t know what you’re planning, but let’s put a quick end to it!”

Maya summoned a fireball just like Maki had in Harumi’s memories. Maya sensed the mana that Harumi was releasing and made the first move to keep Harumi from interrupting her fight with Yurika and Kanae.

“Run away, Sakuraba-senpai!”

Yurika shouted to her friend. The situation was frighteningly similar to last time, but this time around, Yurika had just cast a spell and couldn’t do anything to protect Harumi in that downtime. And since the attack coming at her wasn’t magic this time, Maya was far faster with her fire than Maki had been conjuring her spell. Worse yet, Kanae was too far away to try and stop Maya’s attack. It looked like Harumi’s life was in danger.

“Goodbye, young lady!”

In the end, Yurika’s warning hadn’t reached her in time. Harumi wasn’t a magician, and she had no combat training. And as a normal girl, all she could do was stand there and stare blankly as imminent doom came for her.

“Sakuraba-senpaaaaaiiiii!”

And then I was swallowed by crimson flames...

Darkness Rainbow wasn’t just after Yurika. Dark Green and Dark Crimson were planning on attacking room 106 of Corona House. Darkness Rainbow’s main goal was to seize the mana concentrated there. Maya’s attack on Yurika was just a diversion to stall for time. The apartment was what they were really after.

“Are you ready, Green?”

“Yes. My forecasts are all prepared. And do watch out for a girl with blonde hair that uses the keyword ‘Blue Knight.’ I can see a multitude of different attacks stemming from that. And one more warning...”

“What?”

“Don’t enjoy your battle with the girl wearing an apron too much. I can see several futures where you get the rug pulled out from under you if you get too into it.”

“Okay, okay. You know, despite your calm looks, you’re pretty offhandedly harsh...”

After invading the Corona House grounds, Crimson and Green dismissed the spells they were using to conceal themselves. They had already put up a ward to keep people away, so there was no need to worry about being spotted now.

“Crimson, quickly take a step to your right.”

“Okay, okay. You’re so demanding...”

Both girls took a single step to the right, and then it all began.

Two beams of light appeared just where they had been standing. The lights carved large holes into the ground, and the shockwave created from the superheated air blasted the two girls.

“Kyaaaaah! What’s going on?!”

“It’s the enemy attacking. They noticed our approach when we put up the ward.”

Having predicted all this, Green was only a little shaken by the overhead laser attack. Crimson, however, was caught completely unaware and lost her balance. She hurriedly regained her equilibrium and voiced a complaint to Green.

“Let me know important things like that sooner!”

“It’s okay. We’ll be using a mental link from now on.”

As Green activated a new spell, the people that had attacked revealed themselves. There were five girls around the same age as Green and Crimson.

“Oh? To think you would dodge that... How interesting.”

“Your Highness, this is strange. According to the observed data, these two took evasive action just before the weapon was fired.”

“But it doesn’t seem like they read our auras or anything.”

“Then did they wiretap us? How rude. I’ll have to call the operator...”

“If they wiretapped us, they probably would have moved sooner. It seems like this is something different.”

Theia, Ruth, Sanae, Shizuka, and Kiriha, the five present girls from Corona House, stood in Crimson and Green’s way. They were ready for a fight.

“But should we really have attacked with no warning?”

“That’s not a problem. These two couldn’t be anything but enemies in this situation.”

Sanae was worried about just opening fire, but Theia had thought this through. There had been signs of an enemy invasion beforehand.

First, all communication between Koutarou’s bracelet and Blue Knight except gravitational signals had been suddenly cut off. Finding that strange, Ruth investigated the situation and found that communications methods with Koutarou had been cut off too. They couldn’t reach Yurika, either. Upon investigating further, it seemed communication to and from Corona House had been jammed. And shortly thereafter, two girls had snuck onto the property. It was all circumstantial evidence, but Theia made the call that they weren’t friendly and used Blue Knight to attack without hesitation.

“I like that you take swift action.”

Crimson smiled. A fire had started burning in her eyes. She was excited to fight against powerful opponents.

“But of course. That’s part of the basics of battle. Making a preemptive strike with overwhelming force. Getting noticed was your fault for carelessly approaching after such an imperfect diversion... How ungraceful.”

Theia smiled elegantly and covered her mouth with an even more elegant folding fan. Enraged by Theia’s behavior, Crimson readied her staff and roared.

“I’ll turn you into cinders right now! I’ll make you regret talking down to me!”

Crimson knew good and well they’d made a mistake. She was also embarrassed over looking like a fool during the bombardment. So Theia taunting her now only made her blood boil.

“Calm down, Crimson.”

“But...”

“I understand how you feel, but don’t fall for their provocation. That girl is very calculating.”

“Ugh... F-Fine...”

But with Dark Green’s calm words, Crimson barely managed to hold herself back. Seeing that, Theia closed her fan and forsook her taunting smile.

“I see... so that’s the kind of dynamic you two have...”

Like Green said, everything Theia said was to try and incite them. She was no longer the type of person who would aggravate others for no reason. Skilled in battle, Theia was trying to extract info from Crimson by provoking her.

They’re unknowns, but I’m starting to figure things out... They’re definitely the one responsible for the diversion. The green one is in charge of information, and the red one can use high-energy attacks. The calm girl in green is keeping the reckless girl in red under control. Based on their relationship, the green one is the leader. And then there’s that staff that the red one was going to attack with... Surely that can’t be a magical staff, can it?

The brief exchange had been enough for Theia to discern quite a bit. And upon analyzing what she knew, Theia reached a certain conclusion. To confirm it, she turned to Kiriha standing next to her.

“Kiriha, what do you think?”

“I believe we’ve come to the same conclusion, Theia-dono. Sadly, I can’t think of anything else.”

“I see... So they really are...”

Theia gritted her teeth. If Theia and Kiriha were right, the two girls in front of them wouldn’t be easy to defeat.

“What do you mean, Theia-chan?” Shizuka asked, unsure of what they were talking about.

“Those two are magicians.”

“Whaaat?!”

“You’re kidding!”

Shizuka and Sanae’s eyes opened wide in surprise. Even Ruth looked startled.

“Your Highness, are you sure?!”

“You might think that I’m being cute, but I am almost completely certain. They’re like Yurika... in a good way.”

Like Yurika in a good way. She meant that they had the same kind of power Yurika used when she saved Sanae from her crisis. It meant that they could use magic. In other words...

“Our enemies are magical girls. If you take them lightly and treat them like cosplayers, you’re in for a world of hurt.”

It meant that they were troublesome enemies that could be incredibly flexible in a fight.

Theia had surmised they were magical girls when she saw their staffs and how they behaved. Their staffs looked different, but the interference in Corona House currently very closely resembled the ward spell that Yurika could put up using Encyclopedia. On top of that, the invisibility they had used to approach was incredibly advanced and had allowed them to slip past all of the optical sensors that Theia and Ruth had set up. It was hard to believe all that possible with Earth’s technology.

Koutarou had brought Yurika’s magical staff in from another world, but it worked here without any problems. That meant that the laws of physics allowed for the existence of magic. In that case, it wasn’t all that farfetched to think there were other magicians here.

So in short, these two girls either had be magicians or have science advanced enough to deceive Forthorthian technology. Either way, it was clear that they were dangerous. Between the two options, Theia had to play it safe and assume the worst—that they were magicians. Based on what they’d seen from Yurika, magic was flexible and had a multitude of uses, whereas technology—however advanced it might be—had a more limited range of application in battle.

“That’s right. And you will all be defeated by our magic.”

With a confident smile, Crimson readied her staff in both hands. As she did, the crimson outfit she was wearing began to emit a faint red glow, making it look like she was on fire.

“But it’s nothing personal... Green, are you ready?”

“Yes. The first attack will come in 33 seconds.”

Green silently nodded, but her voice still reached Crimson. That was thanks to her telepathy spell.

“What kind of attack?”

“The girl in the apron will lead the charge.”

When Green readied her staff, several lights appeared in the air around her. They displayed characters and images, and looked very similar to the holograms Clan could produce with her bracelet.

“An enemy that can do what Yurika-chan did back then, huh? Let me handle this up front. You guys watch my back, okay?”

“Shizuka, I’ll help too!”

“We’re counting on you, Shizuka, Sanae. Blue Knight, activate automatic weapon selection. Begin with the anti-personnel laser.”

“As you wish, my princess.”

“Karama, Korama. Change the settings on the spiritual energy field. Raise the resistance towards elemental attacks as much as you can. I will permit the use of spiritual energy weapons. Release your limiters. Go as far as you need to, even if it means breaking.”

“Understood, ho!”

“Leave it to us, ho!”

“We’re going up against enemies we know nothing about! Everyone, please don’t push yourselves too much until I can gather the necessary data!”

Shizuka was the vanguard with Sanae backing her up with her psychic powers. Theia would be shooting from a distance to make the best use of her firepower. Kiriha took charge of defenses, using her high-mobility haniwas to cover everyone. And Ruth stayed in the back to gather and analyze data.

I just hope this is good enough...

It was the best possible formation in their current situation, but even then Kiriha felt like it was lacking. Based on her own experiences with Encyclopedia, Kiriha knew just how flexible magic was.

“Are you just about ready yet?”

“Don’t play around too much, Crimson...”

And as if to confirm Kiriha’s fears, Crimson and Green were still confident even in the face of five opponents. They had no doubt that they would win.

The invader girls made the first move.

“Here I go!”

With her exceptional physical strength and speed, Shizuka’s ponytail, apron, and skirt whipped around wildly as she charged the enemy’s front line: Crimson.

“Shizuka, I can’t strengthen your body as much as Koutarou’s, so don’t get overconfident!”

“Got it! Thanks, Sanae-chan!”

After Sanae’s words of caution, Shizuka kicked off the ground and jumped up. With her body strengthened by Sanae’s spiritual energy, she shot through the air like a bullet. Shizuka then lightly rotated midair and thrust out her right leg. She flew towards Crimson, trying to hit her with a jump kick.

“Child’s play!”

“That kick is just a diversion. The real attack is a ranged attack afterwards. Counterattack after you dodge.”

“Got it!”

As Shizuka’s kick approached, Crimson moved strangely. She stepped aside and then forward, as if to move around Shizuka. Not a moment later, a laser passed through the area where she had just been standing. It was fired from a weapon that Theia had summoned.

“It’s not over yet! Sanae-chan God Arrow— Wait, what?!”

Sanae was about to attack after Theia’s laser missed, but suddenly there were several Crimsons in front of her. Surprised by that, Sanae hesitated in her attack.

“Crimson, there are no incoming attacks in your current position.”

“Well then let’s start the counterattack!”

A dozen or so Crimsons then readied their staffs all at the same time.

“Oh no!”

Shizuka’s flying kick had missed and she was still in the air trying to come down for a landing. Seeing the incoming attack, however, she crossed her arms in front of her face and chest and curled up as best she could to brace herself. She knew that she was the target thanks to Sanae’s spiritual power that allowed her to see people’s intentions to attack.

“Sanae, they’re just holograms! Attack them!”

“Okay!”

Sanae fired an arrow from her bow made out of spiritual energy. That arrow too was made out of spiritual energy, and it split into more than ten smaller arrows as it sailed to assault the crowd of Crimsons.

“They’re all fakes?!”

Each Crimson Sanae’s arrows hit disappeared into thin air. As Theia had said, they were all illusions created by Green. And there were so many of them that Sanae hadn’t been able to hit them all. The real Crimson was still hiding among them.

“Infernal Fire! Modifier: High Concentration!”

There were three Crimsons left. And all three of them made the exact same movements, each producing a large burning ball of red flame. The massive fireballs then contracted and shrank down to the size of tennis balls. That increased the intensity of the heat, and all three of them shone like miniature suns.

“Take this!”

All three came at Shizuka at once.

“K-Kyah!”

Shizuka didn’t know which one was real. Moreover, she had just landed and couldn’t move away in time. All she could do was let out a scream.

“Karama, Korama!”

“Leave it to us, ho!”

“Don’t worry, Shizuka-chan! Ho!”

Just before the fireballs were about to strike Shizuka, Karama and Korama appeared in front of her. They then pointed their arms forwards and emitted a yellow light between them. That light turned into a large membrane that enveloped Shizuka and the haniwas.

The moment the fireballs crashed into the haniwas’ light shield, there was a large explosion. The shockwave from it was so severe that it shook all of Corona house. It looked like Shizuka and the haniwas were completely consumed in flames.

“Hack, ack, urgh...”

“Shizuka-chan, fall back right away, ho!”

“I know, but... ack...”

“This way, ho!”

Fortunately, Shizuka and the haniwas emerged from the flames when they died down. Shizuka was having a coughing fit, so the two haniwas tugged on her hands to lead her back to Theia. Both Shizuka and the haniwas were a bit sooty from the explosion, but they were unharmed.

“Heh, I think we’re a strange bunch, but you guys are pretty strange too. That should have killed at least one of you.”

Crimson offered a few scant words of praise for Shizuka, who had safely managed to escape her attack. Infernal Fire was one of Crimson’s strongest spells, so not many people could walk away from a direct hit, even with protection. But even though Crimson complimented Shizuka, her head was still in the battle. She was secretly communicating with Green without saying a word out loud.

“Green, what’s next?”

“The next attack is in 18 seconds. Those cute machines will try something.”

“Let me know when your forecast gets more detailed.”

“Right.”

Crimson and Green were confident that they would win, but that was if they could work together perfectly without making any mistakes. They couldn’t afford to let their guard down.

“Your Highness, this really is strange. The enemy is moving to where our attacks won’t hit just before they’re fired. It’s as if they know where all the attacks are going to land.”

“But I’m sure they’re not reading our auras. I can’t tell that they’re not using spiritual energy.”

“Could it be profiling?”

“No... I can’t imagine our opponents have enough information on us to do that. It would make more sense to suspect magic is playing a hand in this. I don’t know if they’re reading our minds or what though...”

The invader girls were also working on improving their cooperation against these two unknown enemies. From their brief exchanges so far, they’d realized that they would have no chance of winning if they all fought on their own.

“Karama, Korama, don’t let them get close.”

“Roger, ho!”

“Leave it to us, ho!”

“Blue Knight, keep them restrained. Put interception on auto.”

“As you wish, my princess.”

The invaders got back into formation and tried to keep the two magical girls at bay while planning their strategy. If their attacks were being read, they couldn’t afford to be careless. But the magical girls weren’t taking the offensive either. They were blocking the haniwas’ and Blue Knight’s attacks while waiting for the invaders to reveal an opening.

“Um... can I ask something stupid?” Shizuka asked as she dusted off her clothes.

“Go ahead. I’m willing to consider any plan,” Theia answered with a serious nod.

“Those girls are magicians, right?”

“That’s right. There’s no doubting that,” said Kiriha.

The fireball that Crimson had fired from her staff confirmed that they could use magic. As it was being generated, data collected from the haniwas and Blue Knight revealed that it wasn’t being created by science or spiritual energy.

“Then... can’t they just see the future in a crystal ball like the witches from fairy tales or something?”

“Of course! Predicting the future!”

Shizuka has sheepishly spoken up prepared to made fun of, but Kiriha and Theia did no such thing. Instead, their eyes opened wide as they looked at each other. What Shizuka had suggested clearly struck a chord with them.

“Kiriha, what are the chances?!”

“We can’t overlook the possibility.”

Kiriha figured that since Koutarou had travelled through time, it wasn’t impossible to gain things from the future, including information. Was that their trick?

“We’ll have to confirm how they’re reading our moves, considering the possibility of some kind of divination.”

“Then what do we do?”

“For starters...”

Kiriha swiftly gathered her thoughts and conveyed them to her allies. The girls all moved out, following Kiriha’s directions. When she sensed they were making a move, a grin appeared on Crimson’s face.

“Looks like they’re getting motivated. Finally. I was getting bored of playing with these toys.”

“The girl with the blonde hair will make the first move by summoning another machine. Don’t let it startle you. A large amount of small missiles will come flying at you. They follow heat sources, so after they lock on to you, use Flare to avoid them.”

“Really, how many surprises do those girls have...? Multiple Energy Bolts!”

While listening to Green’s predictions, Crimson attacked the haniwas flying in the air with magical energy darts. But since the haniwas had already started to fall back, the darts missed and continued flying off into the distance until they could no longer be seen. Just a moment later, Theia made her move.

“Let’s go, men! Blue Knight! Anti-personnel multi-missile!”

“As you wish, my princess.”

Space-time holes opened up on either side of Theia, and a big box emerged from each. The boxes were about a meter and a half tall and had a very Forthorthian design.

“Target locked. Beginning attack.”

With a signal from Blue Knight’s AI, the boxes opened, revealing sixteen missiles each about half a meter long. They all belched flame and roared out of the box at the same time. They flew straight for a few seconds before taking a turn towards the magical girls.

“Here I go!”

When the missiles changed course, Shizuka started running. While their enemies were busy intercepting the missiles, she was going to close in on them.

“Flare!”

Crimson held her staff above her head and chanted a short incantation. As she did, a bright ball of light appeared between her and the missiles. The missiles misidentified the light as their target and started following it. Crimson manipulated the ball of light to send the missiles off in a random direction.

“Now it’s my turn!”

Shizuka, who had approached Crimson while she was dealing with the missiles, launched an attack with all of the momentum from her charge behind it.

“I’ve been waiting for you!”

Crimson held her staff in both hands and moved up to intercept Shizuka. Crimson thoroughly enjoyed combat, so she welcomed a close-quarters fight.

“There’s no need for that.”

“Kyaaaaah!”

Just moments before Shizuka and Crimson clashed, the soil below Shizuka’s feet sank down. She was just about to take a step, so the shift in the ground underneath her sent her off balance.

“Hey, Green, let me have some fun too!”

“Only once we’ve thinned their numbers a little.”

“You better mean it!”

As Crimson was complaining to Green, Shizuka rolled to the side at a terrific speed. She’d properly broken her fall, so she didn’t take any serious damage, but it still knocked the wind out of her lungs and momentarily stunned her.

“Seriously... I hate these kind of throwaway matches the most...”

Crimson jumped towards Shizuka and stuck both of her legs out as she came down for a landing. She was going to finish off Shizuka while she was unable to move by slamming her feet into Shizuka’s stomach.

“Bend your legs, Crimson.”

“All right.”

“Look out, Shizuka!”

But the spiritual energy arrow that Sanae fired barely managed to save Shizuka. Since Crimson had to bend her legs to avoid Sanae’s attack, that gave Shizuka enough time to roll out of the way.

“Fall back to three meters behind me.”

“Okay, okay. Sure busy this time, huh?”

“Blue Knight, pull the enemy away from Shizuka! I’ll leave the method of attacking to you!”

“As you wish, my princess.”

The weapon that Theia had summoned from the Blue Knight spewed a large amount of bullets between Shizuka and Crimson. However, since Crimson had already moved to evade, the bullets never hit their mark. And like that, Crimson fell back even further alongside Green.

“So she did avoid it!”

Kiriha looked astonished at this result. As it turned out, Theia’s attack had revealed something important.

“Ruth, how does it look?!”

“They’re just barely outside of the Blue Knight’s set attack radius. It’s like they’ve analyzed Blue Knight’s combat algorithms!”

All the attacks the invaders had tried were tests. For example, the missiles were to find out if the girls were really using magic to read their moves. Since missiles had many different methods of tracking, the girls chose one at random to see if their enemies could take appropriate countermeasures. And indeed, Crimson and Green had correctly used heat to distract them. If they hadn’t known for sure what kind of missiles were being used, it would have made more sense just to use magic to shield themselves. But the fact that they’d responded situationally told the girls that their enemy did indeed have a read on them somehow.

The last important piece of information came from Theia’s last attack. She’d left everything about the attack up to Blue Knight, and the magical girls still managed to avoid it. In other words, if the magical girls had been using magic to read their minds or their auras, they shouldn’t have been able to predict an attack from a machine. Yet nevertheless, Crimson and Green had accurately fallen back to outside of Blue Knight’s attack radius. It was hard to think that they’d analyzed the ships attack systems in such a short amount of time, which left very few other possibilities.

“Green, looks like they’ve found us out.”

“So it seems. The future of this battle just narrowed significantly.”

Despite their opponents having discovered the secret to their strength, Crimson and Green were still confident. They stood smiling and unfazed before the five astonished girls.

“I didn’t think it was possible, but... you really are reading the future...”

“That’s right. So just give up and die.”

And it seemed they had every right to be confident. Their advantage wouldn’t disappear just because their secret had been revealed.