Yurika vs. Maki
Wednesday, November 18th
With winter fast approaching, the number of layers Koutarou wore to school was increasing. Up until now, he had been wearing his uniform and a coat, but today marked the addition of a special undershirt to the ensemble. It was an old garment of Kiriha’s that she had modified for him.
“Wow, it’s warm. But it’s not too warm. It’s just right.”
“I’m glad. I hope you can endure it being a hand-me-down.”
After putting his uniform on overtop of it, Koutarou was delighted. The undergarment Kiriha had made was soft, warm, and wasn’t restrictive when he tried to move. The breathability of the fabric also kept it from being too warm, so it was perfect for someone active like Koutarou.
“Endure it? I love it. It’s great, Kiriha-san. Thank you.”
“Well, I was planning on throwing it out anyway. I’m glad you could wear it instead.”
“...Or so you say, Kiriha. You had no intention of getting rid of it, did you?” Theia piped up as Ruth was drying her hair.
That piqued Sanae’s interest and she couldn’t help asking, “What is that supposed to mean?”
“The fabric of that undergarment is probably worth more than all of Koutarou’s belongings put together.”
“Seriously? That is?! Show me, Koutarou!”
“H-Hey...”
Curious, Sanae pressed her face up against 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 feel, it’s clearly made from expensive materials. And based on the quality, it must have been made by a master craftsman.”
“Now that you mention, it does feel like it. It’s pretty comfortable too.”
When she clung onto Koutarou, Sanae shared his senses, so she could clearly feel how comfortable the undergarment was.
“Throwing it away would be unthinkable. That’s the kind of heirloom that would be passed down to a daughter or granddaughter. Modifying it into an undergarment and giving it to Koutarou is flat out insane.”
“I-Is that true, Kiriha-san?”
After what Theia said, Koutarou anxiously turned to Kiriha. As he did, he was met with her gentle smile.
“As expected from an interstellar princess. You have a well-trained eye.”
Kiriha affirmed Theia’s suspicions 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!”
Having learned the truth, Koutarou hurriedly unbuttoned his uniform. However, Kiriha’s porcelain hands stopped his.
“Koutarou, even if you give it back now, it won’t be the same garment it once was.”
“B-But...”
“You using it as it is now will make me happy,” Kiriha whispered into Koutarou’s ear with a grin.
“Even so, I can’t just casually wear something worth more than everything I own!”
“Then get used to it.”
“As if I could!”
As Koutarou continued resisting, Kiriha buttoned his uniform back up.
“...That’s how you’re overcoming his defenses one at a time,” Sanae murmured.
She watched the two of them with a frosty stare. Sanae had realized Kiriha’s game.
“I’ll make sure to scold Koutarou later...” she grumbled.
Sanae kept glaring at Kiriha, contemplating her duty to protect Koutarou from her.
“Ruth, we can’t be careless either, or she’ll pull the rug out from under our feet.”
Theia was in a bad mood because she knew Kiriha’s ultimate goal. She was also feeling antsy that she still hadn’t publicly given her present, the treasured sword Saguratin, to Koutarou yet.
“Heehee, oh Your Highness!”
Since Ruth knew that, she smiled as she watched Theia pout. She couldn’t help imagining what would happen when Theia’s impatience reached critical mass.
After buttoning his uniform, Kiriha pushed Koutarou’s coat on him.
“Koutarou, your coat. If we don’t leave soon, we’ll be late.”
“Ugh...”
Koutarou desperately wanted to say something back to her, but after being told they were about to be late, he found himself unable to say anything.
As Koutarou and the others left for school, something began moving in the empty apartment.
There was a screeching sound as the sliding door to the wardrobe slowly opened a little. When Koutarou first moved in, the door opened without any sound, but now that someone was leaning on it as they slept from time to time, it made a painful noise.
“Did Satomi-san and the others leave...?”
Yurika poked her face through the small gap that had been made. As she peeked through, she looked around the room and listened attentively.
“...It looks like the coast is clear.”
After observing the room, Yurika fully opened the sliding door. Yet for some reason, she was in her magical girl costume rather than her school uniform.
“If they see me in this outfit, things would just get confusing again...”
Yurika slowly climbed out from the upper half of the wardrobe. Since she wasn’t in particularly good shape, scaling the wardrobe was hard work.
“Hup!”
But right now, she didn’t care how exposed she was as she climbed out of the wardrobe in her revealing outfit.
“All right.”
After successfully getting out of the wardrobe, Yurika reached back in and pulled out a long staff she called “Angel Halo.” It was what she used to cast her spells.
“Now that Maki-chan is here, I don’t have 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 once before, so it’s fine!
Her enemy had finally appeared. The time had come for her to fulfill her duty. Because of that, Yurika chose to ignore her responsibilities as a student and skipped school to say home and fend off Maki instead. If possible, at the end of all this, she wanted Koutarou and the others to understand that she was a magical girl who fought for love and courage.
“Bring it on, 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 only now that she finally became one in the truest sense.
The bell rang, signaling lunchtime throughout the school. As it did, the English teacher in front of the blackboard put down the chalk.
“All right, that’s all for now. The rest will be your homework. Someone please let Nijino-san and... um... Aika-san know since they were absent today.”
“Stand up. Bow.”
The student on day duty gave instructions for the class to respectfully say goodbye and thank you to their English teacher as she left the room. And with the teacher gone, the strict atmosphere in the room lightened up.
“Lunchtime! Food!”
“Kana, did you bring your lunch, or are you heading for the cafeteria?”
“I’m going to the cafeteria.”
“If you’re passing by the vending machines, buy some juice for me!”
“Only if you’ll pay for mine too!”
Lunchtime. The time of the school day when all the students loosened up. They spent their time eating their meals and refreshing themselves.
“So Yurika never showed up, huh?”
But out of all the students in class 1-A, only Koutarou was staring at Yurika’s empty seat.
“Normally she comes running in before second period.”
Sanae was also staring at it, somewhat confused.
Yurika was often late because she had trouble waking up, so Koutarou and the others didn’t think much of her missing first period. During second period, they just assumed she’d really overslept this time. During third period, they all thought she must have stayed up really late. It wasn’t until they reached fourth period that something really seemed odd.
“If she keeps 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, Theia approached with Ruth in tow.
“If you’re talking about Yurika, she was up making a fuss until late last night. She probably just overslept.”
“She must be excited now that Maki-san is here.”
Koutarou was imagining Yurika staying up all night working on an outfit for Maki inside the wardrobe.
“And that Aika Maki hasn’t shown up today either,” Kiriha added, joining the conversation.
“In Maki-sama’s case, isn’t it probably because she just moved and has a lot of things to do?” postulated Ruth.
“Is that really it? I’m a little suspicious that they’re both absent,” said Sanae skeptically.
“It couldn’t be...”
Listening to Ruth and Sanae, a theory popped into Koutarou’s head. It went something like this: having worked throughout the night on Maki’s outfit, Yurika called her over in the morning and was now forcing her to cosplay.
Then there’s what happened yesterday...
Koutarou remembered how Yurika had acted during Maki’s welcome party the day before. She’d desperately pleaded with Koutarou, trying to tell him that Maki was dangerous. Even if he ignored the magical girl part, it was still possible that Yurika could have had some trouble with Maki in the past. Whatever it was, it was bad enough to make her cry and run out of the party.
“I guess I don’t have a choice...”
Koutarou kicked his chair away and stood up, getting the attention of the people around him.
“What’s wrong, Koutarou?”
“I’m going to go check on Yurika.”
“But if you go now, it’ll take up the entire lunch hour.”
“Maki-san not being here either is bothering me. I just hope Yurika isn’t causing her any trouble...”
Koutarou was almost certain it was cosplay related, but he couldn’t discount the possibility there was real trouble. She could also be out cold with a fever.
No matter what it is, I should go check it out.
Koutarou, the type to leap before looking, didn’t like anxiously sitting on a worry.
“Satomi-sama, I’ll come with you.”
“That’s okay, Ruth-san. I’ll call you if something happens.”
“But...”
“Besides, it’ll be faster if I go on my own.”
Koutarou was grateful for Ruth’s offer, but he would be able to run home on his own rather quickly. He would probably even make it back to school in time for the next period.
“Koutarou, your coat.”
“Thank you, Kiriha-san.”
Foreseeing Koutarou’s next move, Kiriha brought him his coat. She even helped him put it on.
“By the way, Theia...” said Sanae.
“What?” Theia replied.
“How did you know Yurika was doing something in the middle of the night? Didn’t you go back to your spaceship?”
“Ack!”
Theia’s face scrunched up at Sanae’s question. She had been caught completely off guard.
“Th-Th-Th-Th-That’s... I-I forgot something! Yes, I forgot something in the room and I came back to get it!”
She couldn’t possibly admit that she had come back to see Koutarou’s sleeping face.
“Hmm... Good thing you were able to get it before Koutarou crushed it.”
But fortunately, Sanae took Theia at her word and didn’t ask for details.
“Th-That’s true. Haha... Hahahahaha!”
As Theia was laughing to hide the truth, Koutarou finished buttoning up his coat.
“Okay, I’m off.”
“Wait, I’ll come too!”
As Koutarou headed for the door, Sanae hurriedly chased after him.
“Mackenzie, I’m heading back home for a minute!”
“Hmm? What’s up?”
“I forgot something!”
“Idiot.”
After letting Kenji know, Koutarou rushed out of the classroom with Sanae in hot pursuit.
“Hmph...”
Seeing Koutarou and Sanae off, Theia appeared to be in a bad mood.
“Why didn’t you tell her you went to see Satomi-sama’s sleeping face?”
“A-As if I could say something like that!”
Theia blushed, turning and looking out the window as if to deny it.
“And right now, you actually wanted to go with Satomi-sama, didn’t you?”
In reality, Ruth had suggested accompanying Koutarou for Theia’s sake since she didn’t have the courage to ask herself.
“...”
“If you’re too stubborn, you’ll lose out.”
“As if a princess could beg her vassal for something!” Theia shouted.
But Ruth just smiled.
“If Satomi-sama was just a vassal, that might be true.”
“He is just a vassal! Nothing more!”
Through the window, Theia watched Koutarou exit the school building. Sanae was with him.
Why didn’t he ask me to come with him?! Why did he only take Sanae?!
Theia internally berated him as she watched him go, all the way until he went through the school gate and she couldn’t see him anymore.
Just as Koutarou left school, Yurika was standing in the middle of the inner room of his apartment. She had her eyes closed and was holding her staff above her head, almost as if she was focusing and trying to listen to something. Really, she was in the middle of using a detection spell to determine if Maki was approaching or not.
“...It doesn’t look like Maki-chan is anywhere near here.”
After concentrating on her spell for a while, Yurika opened her eyes again and took a deep breath. Even though she had prepared herself for the coming fight, she couldn’t help being tense. She didn’t know if it would be today, tomorrow, or next month. The thought of losing everything if Maki defeated her made her incredibly nervous.
But those dark thoughts were interrupted by what sounded like a small but hard impact. Yurika imagined it was a small stone hitting the window.
“What is... Ack!”
When she looked towards the window, Yurika saw a single bat. It hung upside down from the window frame and looked down at Yurika.
“Could that bat be Maki-chan’s...”
It was still midafternoon, much too early for bats to be flying around. And the way it looked down at Yurika was different from normal bats, almost as if it possessed intelligence. Yurika figured it had to be a bat sent by Maki.
“You are correct, Nijino Yurika.”
“Maki-chan!”
It was just as Yurika had thought. When the bat’s eyes shone red, Maki’s voice reached Yurika. The bat was a familiar Maki had sent in order to talk to her.
“What do you want?” Yurika asked the bat nervously.
“You know what I want, don’t you?” In contrast, Maki spoke in more of a teasing tone of voice. “I want to finish things with you once and for all, but I can’t just burst into the room and fall right into your trap, now can I? That’s why I sent this little one instead.”
“Finish things with me? ...Is fighting really all we do?”
“A foolish question. That kind of discussion ended several hundred years ago.”
Rainbow Heart and Darkness Rainbow had a long history. The divide between them was deep, and their battle had been ongoing for centuries.
“Then you leave me no choice. I have a job to do as a magical girl.”
“I’m glad you’re 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 a deal for either of us.”
“That’s...”
Maki was wary of traps in room 106, so she was hesitant to enter. And Yurika didn’t want to have a fight in the middle of where she lived. So if they were going to fight, both of them wanted to do it away from room 106.
“But if I leave this room, your friends might come,” Yurika said.
She couldn’t agree to it right away. She knew Maki had six allies. If she left the apartment undefended, those six girls might move in to take it. She couldn’t just ignore that risk.
“They won’t come.”
“Do you have any guarantees?”
“I don’t. You only have my word to go on. But think about it. Have I ever lied to you?”
“That’s...”
Yurika was hesitant. It was true that up until now Maki had never told a lie. The other dark magical girls were deceptive, but Maki was strangely honest. But even then, Yurika couldn’t make up her mind.
“Besides, I want to create as big of a ward as possible to keep people away,” said Maki.
And that sealed the deal for Yurika. Wards were one of the traditional techniques used to keep the existence of magical girls a secret. Since neither side wanted to be discovered, they cast spells like wards to prevent being noticed during battle.
“...Okay.”
Yurika finally nodded her head. She also wanted to cast a large ward. And since she was aware of her own inexperience, she didn’t want to fight in a small area where a mistake could really cost her. Factoring in that risk and the fact that Maki was probably telling the truth, Yurika agreed to leave the room.
“Then follow the bat. It’ll guide you to me. And don’t worry. There are no traps.”
“Okay, I got it.”
Yurika left the tiny apartment and headed for her battlefield.
“Are you sure it’s this way? It looks like we’re headed somewhere no one really goes...”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m sure. I can smell Yurika’s aura.”
Koutarou was guided by Sanae, whose nose twitched as she led him into a residential district. When they had arrived at room 106, they couldn’t find Yurika, so Koutarou had Sanae try and track her down. As a ghost, she could sense Yurika psychically.
“What does it smell like?”
“I guess it’s... sort of an artificial smell? It’s like instant noodles.”
“Instant noodles, huh? I still don’t get it...”
“Okay, then let’s do it like this.”
Sanae had an idea. She stopped flying in front of Koutarou and clung to his back instead.
“What are you doing?”
“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 too.”
Sanae wrapped her arms around Koutarou’s neck like always and rested her chin on his shoulder. When she did, Koutarou’s senses began picking up something different from normal.
“Oh, I can see something strange!”
“Eeheehee, behold Sanae-chan’s maiden power!”
She’d functionally granted Koutarou the power to see spiritual energy in the form of people’s auras. It appeared as a white light, although it was a stronger form of vision than normal sight. The result was that Koutarou could hazily see people through the wall.
But something similar was happening with his hearing. He could hear everything like normal, but on top of that he could also hear the wavelengths of auras emanating from people and other creatures with strong spiritual energy. He was even able to distinguish people based on that sound. And then there was his sense of smell. Just like his eyes and ears, his nose became able to detect auras. But this was more subtle than the other senses. He could pick up traces of auras in the air.
“Do you always sense stuff like this...?”
“Amazing, isn’t it?” Sanae laughed with pride.
Seeing her smile, a large amount of Sanae’s feelings began flowing into him. Mostly he could read her pride in her powers and her desire to be praised, but there was also deep trust and affection for Koutarou.
“Amazing. Just amazing.”
“Teeheehee!”
As I thought, she really is lonely without her parents...
Koutarou patted Sanae on the head.
“So can you smell it too, Koutarou? The scent of instant noodles?”
“Let’s see...”
Koutarou pointed his nose into the air and began sniffing. And out of all the smells he was picking up, there was indeed the scent of instant noodles.
“Oooh, yeah! I can totally smell it!”
“Yeah. That’s what Yurika’s aura smells like.”
“Is it different depending on the person?”
“Yeah. Theia’s has the scent of flowers, and Kiriha’s smells like a forest in the morning.”
“Hmm... And what about me?”
Koutarou smelled his shirt. But just like his normal scent, he wasn’t able to discern the smell of his own aura.
“Koutarou’s is... a secret! Heehee!”
Koutarou’s smells fatherly.
Sanae hid the truth behind a smile.
Maki’s bat led Yurika to a construction site. Once there, she approached carefully.
“So construction is paused for the day...”
There was no sign of people anywhere nearby. The industrial heavy machinery was all powered down and the area was cloaked in silence.
“Welcome, Nijino Yurika.”
“Maki-chan...”
Maki stood in the center of the construction site, waiting for Yurika. Yurika moved within a dozen meters or so and stopped.
Just like Yurika, Maki was wearing her own magical girl outfit. The design was somewhat similar to Yurika’s, but the color was quite different. Maki’s dress was a deep indigo. Her dark outfit made her look much more like a magician than Yurika did. And to top it all off, she was holding her staff, Twilight Wing. This was Maki’s battle garb, and the true appearance of Magical Girl Dark Navy.
There was a reason for the girls transforming into these outfits. Their clothes and staffs functioned as amplifiers for the casting speed and power of their spells, meaning that they were several times more powerful while transformed than while wearing regular clothes. Koutarou probably wouldn’t be able to accept it, but it’s not like they wore their costumes because they wanted to.
“My, my, you look so bold. You were so timid to wear it in the spring.”
“I haven’t spent these past eight months just playing around.”
Yurika gulped and readied her staff. Normally she let the people around her bring her down, but she’d spent the last eight months learning to do her best on her own. And that hard work had prepared her for this fight.
“Of course you have.”
In response, Maki readied her staff as well.
She seems to have gained some experience outside of just combat magic...
Maki conjured up memories of Yurika in the past when all she would do was swing her staff, wildly casting spells as she retreated from her enemies. Now that she was stepping onto the battlefield of her own accord, Maki recognized how far she’d come.
“You really won’t step down, will you?”
“I told you that discussion was over.”
Maki’s expression grew a little darker as she pointed her staff at Yurika. Both girls began chanting at the same time.
“Sanctuary! Modifier: Effective Area, Colossal!”
“Sanctuary! Modifier: Effective Area, Colossal!”
Their voices overlapped like a chorus and a single spell extended across the construction site. They were casting a ward to keep people away from their chosen battleground.
“Here I come, Rainbow Yurika!”
“I won’t lose!”
But that spell signaled the start of their showdown. Once it was finished casting, the girls faced off.
“First...” As expected, the more experienced Maki made the first move. “Energy Bolt! Target Option: Sidewinder!”
As Maki called out, a shining arrow came flying out from her indigo staff. It snaked across the construction site, avoiding obstacles in its path to Yurika.
“Quick Cast Energy Bolts! Target Option: Spread!”
In return, Yurika swung her staff and incanted a spell. And just like with Maki’s staff, arrows of light came flying out of Yurika’s. Even though Yurika had been slower on the draw, she finished her spell faster than Maki had and was able to create a larger amount of arrows. Yurika’s barrage rained down on Maki’s arrow. It manage to wind its way through several of Yurika’s bolts before finally being struck down.
There was a small explosion as the two arrows collided mid-air, but it was still powerful enough to have caused some serious injuries to anyone who might’ve been unlucky enough to get caught in it. The explosion created a loud sound and a shockwave that rattled the empty construction site.
“You’ve gotten stronger, Rainbow Yurika!” Maki called out to Yurika and made a dash for her. As she did, her soft hair and indigo outfit fluttered in the wind.
“You too, Maki-chan!”
“But this is where the real battle starts, Rainbow Yurika!”
As I suspected, aside from mind manipulation magic, Yurika has outclassed me! She really is Nana’s successor!
Maki was making a brave front, but she was cursing Yurika internally. Yurika had a general mastery of all types of magic, and her outfit and staff had been designed with that in mind. Maki, on the other hand, had specialized in indigo magic—mind manipulation—and her outfit and staff were catered to that. It made her extremely powerful with her chosen type of magic, but much less effective with all the others. It meant she’d be forced to rely on her specialty in order to defeat an opponent that matched her in strength otherwise.
“In that case...!”
Maki swung her staff and pointed it at Yurika as she ran. Seeing that, Yurika began moving her staff as well. The tension in the construction site spiked.
“I-Is she coming?!”
In terms of fitness and reflexes, Yurika was vastly inferior to Maki, meaning Maki often got the drop on her. That held true even now.
“Got you! Flaaash!”
Just before entering her effective spell range, Maki quickly began casting.
“Oh n—”
Before Yurika could react, Maki had already gotten off her spell, which released a blinding flash of light from her staff. Although it was a basic spell, its use could prove very effective under certain circumstances. And Maki made good use of it. Yurika was expecting an attack and was prepared to defend herself, leaving her totally unprepared for the flash.
“My eyes! I can’t see!”
Since Maki had cast the spell at a considerable distance, Yurika was only blinded for two or three seconds. But Maki used that time to line up her next attack.
“Tiny Memory Flash! Modifier: Extend Length!”
“Anti-Magic Shield!”
“You’re too late!”
Yurika desperately tried to cast a defensive spell in time, but she was still shaking off her blindness and Maki was able to cast her spell first. The indigo ball of light discharged from the top of Maki’s staff flew towards Yurika.
“Kyaah!”
When the ball hit Yurika, her entire body was enveloped in its indigo light. Next, Yurika did something strange.
“Anti-Magic Shield!”
She repeated the incantation for the spell she had just used.
“Wait, what?”
But since Maki hadn’t attacked again, Yurika’s defensive spell wreathed her body with a protective yellow light in vain.
“Wh-Where’s Maki-chan?!”
But Yurika continued to behave strangely. Even though she had regained her vision, she had completely lost sight of Maki. Really, she was simply looking in the wrong direction.
“Right here.”
In her disorientated state, Yurika didn’t realize where Maki was until she was struck with her glowing red fist.
“Kyaaaaah!”
It was a clean hit powerful enough to knock Yurika back and send her tumbling along the ground. If it weren’t for the magic shield she had just cast, that blow would have been enough to knock her out.
“Wh-What is...”
As her head slowly tilted from one direction to another in a daze, 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 the next thing she knew, Maki blindsided her with a punch, even though she was supposed to be casting a spell right in front of her.
“Have you forgotten my specialty?”
Maki stood still and watched Yurika as she lifted herself off the ground. Yurika realized what had happened when she saw the tension in Maki’s face.
“Th-That’s right! Maki-chan’s specialty is indigo magic!”
The spell Maki used right after the flash erased the memories of its target. The downside to any serious mind-altering magic was that it drained a lot of mana, so Maki limited the effect to only a few seconds. That reduced the mana required to cast it and made it usable in a fight. At first glance, just losing a few seconds of memory didn’t seem like a big deal, but those few second could make a deadly difference in the heat of battle. At the very least, getting hit with it could make it seem like your opponent had vanished.
And because Maki knew what her opponent would do next, she was able to use that time to her advantage and get in a good, solid blow. Since Maki was physically strong, the damage from one hit packed quite a punch. A flash, a little amnesia, and then a magic-infused physical attack. That was Maki’s favorite combo attack.
“Yurika, just stay down. It’s impossible for someone like you who relies on others to keep on fighting on your own. You’ll die.”
“You really are strong, Maki-chan, but—!”
Yurika used her staff to support herself as she stood up. Even after Maki’s warning, she hadn’t given up. She was covered in dirt after being knocked into a part of the construction site with exposed earth, but there was a beautiful light shining in her eyes.
“But if I give up because of something like this, I can’t call myself a resident of room 106! Theia-chan and Kiriha-chan are much, much stronger!”
“You’d still get back up? It seems you’ve at least got guts.”
Seeing Yurika in this condition, Maki was complimentary of her grit.
As I thought, she is far more mentally stable than before...
Eight months ago, after she had just become a magical girl, Yurika would have fled in the blink of an eye if she’d been hit with one of Maki’s attacks.
Just who is it that’s making Yurika this stable? I’m getting more and more interested. Hurry up and show yourself, accomplice!
Maki grew excited at the thought of meeting her as yet unknown rival. But something about the situation also irritated her. She couldn’t trust anyone. People were made to be subdued by power. That was how Maki lived, and the mere thought that Yurika had a trusted ally infuriated her.
“Maki-chan, the fight’s not over yet!”
“Well said, Rainbow Yurika!”
Yurika readied herself, and Maki did the same with a fearless smile on her lips. The fight between the two magical girls had only just begun.
“Is this the place?”
“Yeah. The smell of instant noodles is coming from here.”
Sanae and Koutarou finally arrived at a construction site on the outskirts of the town. The grounds were surrounded by massive steel walls. Based on the size of the site for the apartment building going up, some of the units would probably be several hundred square meters big.
“But something’s strange,” Sanae said, standing before the construction site and tilting her head to the side.
“What is it?”
“The smell ends there.”
Sanae pointed at the door leading into the construction site proper. Apparently the trail of Yurika’s scent abruptly went cold there.
“Since it’s a door, isn’t it normal for the smell to stop here?”
“It’s not a real smell, so a door shouldn’t make a difference.”
“Well, that’s true...”
Koutarou recalled how he’d been able to sense things through walls when Sanae shared her powers with him.
“If it ends right there, could it mean... Yurika dropped dead right on the other side?”
“Don’t say scary things like that.”
Sanae let loose a flurry of punches at Koutarou, but since there was no hostility in the blows, Koutarou didn’t feel any pain from them.
“For starters, let’s just go take a look. If we don’t even check it out, we’ll have come all this way for nothing.”
“Fair enough.”
Quick to action, Koutarou opened the door to the construction site and peeked through.
“Well, there aren’t any dead bodies.”
“Jeez, you’re terrible.”
“Sorry, sorry.”
Koutarou apologized to Sanae and entered the construction site without making another sound. He didn’t want to be caught by anyone working there.
“Seems like they’re still working on the foundation.”
Looking around the area, Koutarou spotted several pieces of heavy machinery, and further in he could see a large pit dug for the foundation to be put into place.
“We’re in luck. Looks like the crew had the day off.”
Indeed, there were no employees to be seen. Koutarou sighed with relief. At least they had that going for them.
But then he heard Sanae pitifully beg, “Wait, Koutarou!”
“What are you doing?” he asked.
He turned around to see what the hold up was, but Sanae was doing something on the other side of the door.
“It’s almost like there’s a wall here,” she said.
“A wall?”
Koutarou returned to the door, and just like Sanae had said, it was almost as if she was pressed up against an invisible glass wall.
“Ahahahahaha, you look hilarious!”
Trying to get in, Sanae was pushing herself up against the invisible wall, making her face look like a pig’s.
“Hey, don’t laugh! Do something!”
“Easier said than done.”
Koutarou approached Sanae while stifling his laughter. 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 on either side of the doorframe. From what Sanae said and how she was acting, there really was some kind of barrier there.
“What should I do?”
“Anything!”
“All right, then I’ll just try pulling you in.”
“Sure.”
Koutarou reached his hand out for Sanae, but it seemed to pass through the invisible wall without trouble.
“That’s unfair. Only you’re unaffected.”
“There, there. I’m gonna pull now.”
“Okay.”
Koutarou grabbed Sanae’s hand and pulled her towards him.
“Ah!”
When he did, Sanae easily passed through the doorframe this time. Just a few moments ago she’d been trying in vain with all her might to get through, but now it was a piece of cake.
“H-How?! I couldn’t get through just a second ago!”
“I don’t really understand how the rules of this work, but the cause was probably that,” Koutarou said, pointing to a small shrine nearby.
“What’s that?”
“It’s for purification. They put it there before construction so, um... What was it again?”
“Oh, 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 and stuff.”
“Yeah, that.”
The shrine was installed at the groundbreaking ceremony to pray for the safe construction of the building. Koutarou figured it was what had kept Sanae from entering the site.
“I don’t bring curses.”
But Sanae wasn’t satisfied with that answer. She didn’t like being treated like an evil spirit and pouted accordingly.
“And you were able to get in exactly because you don’t, right?”
“I see. I got in because I get along with you.”
But after Koutarou’s explanation, Sanae regained her cheer and began looking around the construction site with great interest.
“Ah, I can smell Yurika’s aura again!”
“Really?”
“Yeah. It smells like she’s over there.”
Sanae was able to pick up Yurika’s scent once more. She then pointed in the direction of the big pit that had been dug for the foundation.
“All right, let’s get a move on.”
“Yeah. Fifth period is about to start right about now.”
“Jeez, what is that idiot doing in a place like this?”
Koutarou and Sanae began walking towards the pit, victims of their own misunderstanding. What kept Sanae out of the construction site had nothing to do with the shrine.
“What is this?!”
“Someone’s coming!”
Maki and Yurika both lowered their staffs. Their fight was still ongoing, but they had sensed a disturbance and temporarily put their arms aside.
“There’s someone that can pass through wards?!”
“How?!”
The disturbance they had sensed was someone passing through their ward. Maki and Yurika had both cast it, meaning there was a double-layered ward around the construction site. It would be practically impossible for a normal person to get through. And yet someone had slipped through anyway. It was enough cause for concern that they paused their attacks for the time being.
“There she is!” a girl shouted.
“Yurika, what are you doing over there?!” a boy followed suit.
Both Yurika and Maki turned to look in the direction the voices had come from.
“S-Satomi-san?!”
“That’s the resident of room 106! Satomi Koutarou, was it?”
Both Koutarou and Sanae were approaching from a distance. Yurika and Maki had been fighting at the bottom of the shallow pit for the foundation. Koutarou and Sanae stood at the edge of the hole when they arrived and looked down at the two surprised girls.
“Satomi-san, Sanae-chan, why are you here?!”
“Yurika, how long are you planning on playing around here? Show some restraint, will you?!”
“Yeah! Try thinking about the problems you’re causing us for once!”
Having found Yurika, the two of them laid into her. It was now half past one o’clock and they’d all be late for fifth period.
“I see. So that’s how it is... It seems I’ve misunderstood the situation!”
Yurika was surprised, but Maki was floored.
“That man, Satomi Koutarou, has learned magic on his own! He’s the one controlling that ghost! He’s Nijino Yurika’s accomplice!”
That was how Maki interpreted Koutarou’s appearance. Of course, that wasn’t actually the case. She was still quite seriously mistaken on the matter.
“Being able to pass through our wards without destroying them means you can either use alteration or enhancement magic! And since you’re controlling a ghost with so much spiritual energy, your necromancy must be at quite a high level as well! You can at the very least use two colors of magic, and you’re more powerful than Yurika, too!”
Since he could easily pass through the ward, there was no way that Koutarou was just a normal person. And since the ghost had passed through with him, it was hard to believe she was a typical ghost. Since she had arrived at Koutarou’s side, Maki was under the impression that he was controlling her.
I was far too naive. He’s much more than just the mastermind behind this all! I never guessed she had this kind of trump card hidden up her sleeve...
If Koutarou really had the kinds of powers Maki was imagining, then even if all seven magical girls of Darkness Rainbow went in together on an all-out attack, they would be no match for him. Just the thought sent a chill 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 enhancement or alteration! I don’t even want to think what would happen if I hadn’t found him.”
A necromancer was a real threat. Ghosts or walking corpses strengthened with enhancement magic... Changing the toxicity of ghouls or departed souls through the use of alteration... The already troublesome undead could be made even more powerful via magic and sent to attack Darkness Rainbow. If they suffered a surprise attack like that while they were busy with Yurika, even the leaders of Darkness Rainbow would be in danger. At the moment, Maki was grateful that she’d gone scouting alone. 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 was no longer Yurika, but Koutarou, the mysterious man who possessed both cunning and great magical power. Considering the odds against her, Maki figured it was impossible to take them both down right now. Instead, she was planning on defeating Yurika to reduce some of Koutarou’s power. Maki’s decision was precise and swift, even if it was all based on a gross misunderstanding.
“Come on. Get over here, Yurika. We’re going home.”
“No, Satomi-san! It’s time for you to face facts already!”
“That’s my line!”
Maki sprinted towards Yurika and Koutarou as they talked.
Now that they’re preoccupied, this is my best chance!
Maki readied her staff with both hands and started reciting an incantation without slowing down. If she used her familiar indigo magic, she could focus on casting it even though she was running.
“Bind Person! Modifier—”
Koutarou noticed what Maki was doing and tried to stop her in the middle of her incantation.
“Huh? Maki-san, it’s already over!” he shouted.
Don’t make a fool of me! It’s not over yet!
But it didn’t stop Maki. Worse, she was incensed at what she perceived as provocation.
“Maki-chan?! Oh no!”
“Modifier: Double Effect!”
“Quick Cast Anti-Magic Shield!”
Speeding 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, Maki didn’t seem disappointed. In fact, she felt certain of her victory and closed in on Yurika. The next moment, the indigo bullet hit her dead on.
“Kyaaaaah!”
Despite her defensive spell protecting her, Yurika let out a scream. Maki had activated her spell twice, so even though it was a single spell, it had twice the power. Yurika’s defensive spell only protected her from the first effect and wasn’t able to block the second.
“M-My body can’t...”
The spell implanted a deep suggestion into its target’s mind, depriving them of their freedom of movement. After she was hit, Yurika couldn’t even lift a finger.
“Oooh, for someone who skipped school to practice, well done!” Koutarou cheered.
“Koutarou, Koutarou, a beam just shot out of the tip of her staff! A beam!” Sanae eagerly pointed out.
Watching what went down between Maki and Yurika, Koutarou and Sanae began clapping. They were surprised by the bullet of indigo light that came flying from Maki’s staff, but for all the wrong reasons.
“It seems like they’re pretending that being hit by that makes you unable to move.”
“Light effects, huh? Cosplayers these days sure go all out with the details. I wonder how they’re doing that...”
“Who knows? Technology advances so fast these days that it’s hard to keep up with.”
“Koutarou, you sound like some old man.”
“Leave me alone.”
Despite what had happened, it only looked like cosplay to the two of them. They were thoroughly amused, oblivious to what Yurika was going through.
“Jeez, way to kill the tension... Oh right, I need to hurry up and do something!”
Yurika tried her best to escape from the binding spell, but she was mostly annoyed by Koutarou and Sanae’s reactions.
“You’re too late, Yurika! I win!”
Before Yurika could move again, Maki closed the distance between them. Maki’s leg was glowing red this time. She was planning on finishing off the immobilized Yurika with a deadly, magic-infused kick.
“Sorry for getting in the way of your fun, but...”
“Tch!”
However, just before Maki’s blow connected with Yurika, she stopped short and jumped back.
“I figured you wouldn’t stay out of this, Satomi Koutarou!”
Maki had only relented because Koutarou had come down to the bottom of the pit.
“Of course I wouldn’t.” Koutarou smiled wryly at Maki as he walked over to the unmoving Yurika. “Come on. Stop playing around, Yurika. We’re going back to school.”
“S-Satomi-san, it’s dangerous! Please hurry and hide somewhere!”
“The only one in danger is you. You’re going to have to repeat a grade if you keep this up.”
Koutarou leaned over and put his hand on Yurika’s shoulder.
Jeez, all you do is play...
Koutarou sighed in amazement.
“Look, let’s just hurry up and go.”
“I would if I could! I can’t move right now! So please just run away on your own, Satomi-san!”
Yurika was still under the influence of Maki’s binding spell, and 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’m gonna get angry.”
“Huh?!”
However, the moment Koutarou pulled on Yurika, something unexpected happened.
“I-I can move? I can move again!”
Yurika inexplicably regained her mobility. Surprised by the sudden change, she touched her body to confirm that she was back to normal.
“Of course you can. Jeez...”
Why on earth wouldn’t she be able to?
Genuinely amazed, Koutarou began rubbing his temples.
“Wh-What was that—”
However, Maki’s surprise far surpassed Yurika’s. She couldn’t believe what had just happened.
“He dispelled it? Without a staff or 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 as soon as the white light touched her, the magic holding Yurika prisoner dispersed, freeing her.
“Impossible. I’ve never even heard of white magic... More importantly, just how much mana would it take to dispel my magic without the use of a staff or incantation?”
In truth, it was the same white light that had saved Koutarou and the others from danger several times in the past. But the only one who had noticed it this time was Maki, who considered Koutarou a threat. The doubts brewing inside of her stirred more and more.
“Even if he’s making up for the lack of a staff and outfit with some other magic tool, I can’t underestimate his ability to use spells without incantations or gestures. It looks like I’ll need to use that...”
No matter what kind of magic Satomi Koutarou uses, that will at the very least...
Maki’s eyes narrowed and a grin crept across her lips.
“Let’s go, Yurika. This is over.”
“Yeah. I can understand why you would practice something this intense in secret, but even then there are limits.”
“I’m not practicing! I’m really fighting!”
While Koutarou and Sanae argued with Yurika, Maki appeared to turn and shout to a storage shed nearby.
“Come out, Sakuraba Harumi!”
“Huh?!”
“Sakuraba-senpai?!”
Hearing such an unexpected name from Maki’s lips, Koutarou and the others hurriedly turned around.
“S-Satomi-kun, Nijino-san...”
Harumi in her school uniform appeared from behind the storage shed, but she was acting strangely. Her expression was pale and her movements were 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! I can’t help it!”
Harumi was frightened by her limbs moving like they had a will of their own. It was a haunting feeling to have your body stop listening to you. It would scare anyone.
“Sakuraba-senpai!”
“I’ll save you right away!”
“Why is Harumi even here...?”
Recognizing Harumi’s distress, Koutarou and the others rushed towards her. Koutarou couldn’t imagine her joking around about something like this.
“Oh, that won’t do...”
“S-Satomi-kun!”
However, Maki was much faster. She reached Harumi long before the other three, who then stopped dead in their tracks.
“What’s the meaning of this, Maki-san?!”
“Well, that’s obvious.”
Maki thrust her staff at Harumi.
“So this is all your doing, Maki-chan?!”
“That’s right, Yurika. No matter how strong you and that man are, do you think you can still 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!” Koutarou scolded them.
“I wouldn’t do anything like that! I didn’t even know Sakuraba-senpai was here!” Yurika pleaded.
“What wonderful expressions, Yurika, Satomi Koutarou. I’ve been waiting to see that kind of look on your faces.”
Seeing Koutarou and Yurika panic, Maki was satisfied that she had read the situation correctly.
As I thought, this girl is important to Yurika...
Ever since seeing Harumi on the rooftop at school, Maki thought she might make a good pawn.
“S-Satomi-kun!”
“Now, what will you do, Rainbow Yurika, Satomi Koutarou?! Will you attack me and risk hitting this girl?!”
“Hey, Maki-chan, that’s unfair!”
Harumi couldn’t move on her own because of Maki’s magic. Maki was basically holding her hostage and planning on using her as a shield from Yurika’s and Koutarou’s attacks.
“Koutarou, something’s wrong here.”
“I know!”
Koutarou and Sanae nodded at each other and then glared at Maki.
“Maki-san, enough 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 understand the situation Harumi was in, but he knew that Maki had gotten her involved.
Just what is going on? Is this something more than a cosplay routine?
For the past half a year, Koutarou never had a single doubt that Yurika was only cosplaying. That was slowly starting to change.
Koutarou had grown suspicious when Harumi first appeared to them at the construction site. When he thought the whole thing through, he couldn’t believe that Yurika would involve Harumi like this. The two of them were close enough to call best friends, and Yurika was aware of Harumi’s weak constitution. There was no way Yurika would drag her into some cosplay skit straight out of an action movie. But the biggest give away of all was that Harumi was scared. Even Koutarou could tell that she wasn’t acting.
“Satomi-kun, Nijino-san! What’s happening?”
“Just hang on, Sakuraba-senpai! I’ll be right there!”
“Maki-chan, let Sakuraba-senpai go!”
“This discussion is over. Protect me, Sakuraba Harumi!”
“Kyaaaaah! Wh-What is—?!”
Maki ignored Koutarou and Yurika and ordered Harumi around. As she did, Harumi began moving against her own will.
“Yurika, what is happening?!”
“I told you! I’m fighting with Maki-chan!”
Yurika stepped out in front of Koutarou as if to protect him, brandishing her large staff.
“Koutarou, what’s happening? I know Yurika’s a cosplayer, but is this 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 just sit there!”
“Waaaaah!”
“Kyaaaaah!”
Koutarou abandoned his train of thought in favor of screaming. Stones lying around the construction site floated up into the air and rained down on them. That was the power of Maki’s spell.
But as the stones began falling, Yurika readied her staff and shouted, “Quick Cast Force Field!”
“Ow, owowow! Wait, what?”
The stone rain that was pouring down on Koutarou suddenly stopped. As he cautiously looked up, he could see a barrier of yellow light deflecting the rocks.
“What is going on?”
“I don’t get it either...”
Koutarou looked around for answers, but what caught his eye was Yurika holding her staff over her head. A yellow light was flowing out from her staff. It spread out over them like an umbrella, creating the yellow barrier.
“Yurika, you...”
“Are you okay, Satomi-san?”
Yurika had also been hit by rocks on her head and exposed limbs. A few of her wounds were bad enough to be bleeding, but Yurika showed no concern for own well-being as she smiled at Koutarou.
“C-Can you really... use magic?”
Even Koutarou could see the truth as Yurika used a strange power to protect them from the falling rocks.
“That’s what I’ve been telling you from the very start!” Yurika retorted with tears welling in her eyes.
Which means that the things I saw when we first met weren’t just some tools or tricks. It was all real...
The moment that Yurika had been waiting months for had finally come. Koutarou finally realized the truth.
“Got you!”
But just then, Maki appeared under Yurika’s umbrella of light after making her own way through the stone rain. The spell hadn’t just been an attack. It also served to conceal her next move as she enveloped her limbs in a red light. They were energy bolts set to activate when they came in contact with something. Maki was planning to strike Yurika down with a physical attack with the power of an energy bolt behind it.
“Oh no!”
The appearance of Harumi, the stone rain, and Koutarou. Yurika was too distracted by those three things to react to Maki in time.
“It’s okay! Don’t worry, Yurika!”
“Tch! Satomi Koutarou?!”
Maki was thrown for a loop. Her punch didn’t connect with Yurika like she’d expected. Before it reached her, Koutarou got in between them and grabbed Maki’s arm, stopping her attack. Although he didn’t know what to do in a fight with a magic user, fist fights were his forte.
“Satomi-san!”
“Don’t worry!”
Koutarou grabbed Maki’s wrists and pulled her away from Yurika with all of his might.
“This man again?!”
When he did, the red light vanished from Maki’s hands. The mysterious white light Koutarou emitted had dispelled it.
“In that case...!”
With both of her wrists grappled, Maki threw out a kick with her right leg. In such close quarters, it would be impossible to avoid. The red light around her legs was also still there.
“Special Move: Sanae-chan Shield!”
However, even Maki’s deadly kick was blocked.
“Are you okay, Koutarou?!”
“You saved me!”
Sanae had diffused the attack by using her Poltergeist powers to throw Maki’s leg back. Colliding with Sanae’s psychic powers, the energy bolt was depleted and the red light around Maki’s right leg vanished.
“Tch, pesky ghost!”
Maki used the momentum from her redirected kick to free herself from Koutarou. As a parting gift, she spun around and kicked at him with her left leg.
“Whoa!”
Having lost his balance when Maki broke free, Koutarou had no way of avoiding Maki’s kick this time. Just as it looked like he was about to suffer a direct hit...
“Snare Trap!”
The soil around Maki’s feet suddenly began rising up, throwing her off balance. It was the quick work of a spell that Yurika had cast in the heat of the moment. It was a basic spell, but it had more than enough power to stop the rotation of Maki’s roundhouse kick.
“Good job, Yurika!”
“Tch, I knew three on one would be impossible! Energy Release!”
Maki released the magical red light still surrounding her left leg in the form of a small explosion and a smokescreen.
“Uwah?!”
“As if I’d let you catch me that easily!”
While the explosion had hurt Maki some, it was intended to make Koutarou lose sight of her. Reaching out to capture her again, he only grabbed smoke.
“Sanae-chan Psychogun!”
Coming up with an idea after watching the stone rain earlier, Sanae used her Poltergeist powers to wield a stone and aimed for Maki. Once launched, it chased after Maki with the speed of a bullet.
“Nice teamwork, but too bad!”
Maki was fleeing back towards Harumi, and she reached her in time to put the innocent Harumi between her and the speeding rock.
“Kyaaaaah!” Harumi shrieked as the stone closed in.
“Sanae-chan!”
“Whoooooaaa!”
Sanae changed the stone’s trajectory as quickly as she could. It grazed Harumi’s bangs, then flew straight up into the sky and disappeared.
“Hey, using Harumi as a shield is unfair!”
“Say what you will. I’ll do whatever it takes to win against three 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...”
Koutarou scolded Sanae while locking eyes with Maki. She stepped out from behind Harumi once more.
On top of the fact that Yurika really can use magic, it seems like the part about Maki-san being an enemy is true too. Anyone who would use Sakuraba-senpai as a human shield definitely can’t be a good guy. I see. So Yurika’s enemy really came after all... 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 this threat for months now.
“S-Satomi-kun, Nijino-san, j-just what is happening?” Harumi asked, terrified and confused by the events spiraling out of control.
“What’s wrong? Aren’t you going to attack?” taunted Maki.
She was relentlessly provoking Koutarou and the others, but they couldn’t do anything. They knew she would just use Harumi as a shield if they did. Koutarou spent a long minute glaring at Maki before he called out to Yurika.
“Yurika.”
“Yes?”
“You’re a magical girl, right?”
Yurika was ecstatic when she heard Koutarou say those words. She couldn’t help rejoicing that she had finally been able to convey the truth, but she suppressed those 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 gasped.
“I’m charging in.”
“That’s too reckless!”
“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 in the middle of saying something, but didn’t finish the thought.
“Besides what?”
“...While I’m in there, can you do something about Sakuraba-senpai?”
Koutarou answered her, but not with what he had originally intended to say: “Besides, you couldn’t punch Sakuraba-senpai.” In the worst case scenario, they might need to knock Harumi out in order to take her back. The timid and incredibly gentle Magical Girl Rainbow Yurika would never let him do that.
“I got it. I’ll give it a shot.”
“I’m counting on you.” Koutarou nodded at Yurika and turned back towards Maki. “Maki-san, could you give Sakuraba-senpai back to us?”
“A foolish question, but I’ll release this girl once I’ve beaten all of you.”
Is he aiming for a hand-to-hand fight, or is he going to try to save Sakuraba Harumi first? In that case, should I use her to threaten them? But if I lose my hostage, this’ll turn into three on one again. In that case...
Maki readied her staff and began chanting a spell.
“Blast Fireball!”
A huge fireball about a meter in diameter appeared over the tip of Maki’s staff.
“Koutarou, this is bad!”
“Let’s go, Yurika!”
“Right!”
Before Maki finished her incantation, Koutarou began sprinting towards her. Sanae followed at a slight distance. Against someone with ranged attacks, all three of them standing clumped together would just make them easy targets. They needed to keep some space between the two of them and Yurika, who was going to use her magic to cover them.
“Modifier: High Concentration!”
Once Maki finished chanting her spell, the fireball began shrinking. In exchange, the temperature of the flames grew rapidly. The flames turned from red to white as the orb shrunk down 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!”
After Yurika called out her warning, Koutarou and Sanae’s bodies were enveloped in a yellow light. It was another defensive spell from Yurika.
“Oh, that’s quite all right.”
Maki smiled at Koutarou and the others, but it was only a smile in name. There wasn’t so much as a hint of kindness in it.
“I have no intention of shooting it at you.”
“What?!”
“What’s that supposed to mean?!”
Leering at her confused opponents, Maki pointed her staff at her target.
“...Huh?”
Her real target was just over her shoulder—Sakuraba Harumi. Once she lined up the shot, the fireball flew from Maki’s staff straight for Harumi.
“Wait, you’re aiming for Sakuraba-senpai?!”
“Koutarou, Harumi is going to be killed!”
The fireball had already been launched, so there was nothing Koutarou and Sanae could do. Even if they defeated Maki now, it wouldn’t save Harumi.
“Kyaaaaah!” Harumi screamed as she watched the fireball come for her.
Clueless as to why this was happening and unable to move her body, there was nothing she could do either. She had no way of defending herself from the searing ball of flame flying towards her.
Sakuraba-senpai!
“Cancel!”
In the face of Harumi’s crisis, the only one who had the power to do anything was Yurika. She canceled the spell she was casting and started a different incantation.
“Recall Precast Teleport!”
Teleportation magic normally required a long time to prepare and cast, so Yurika whipped out an incantation she had prepared beforehand. It was a one-time-use ace in the hole. The moment she finished her incantation, she vanished from where she stood and reappeared in front of Harumi.
“Koutarou, Yurika just...!”
“Yurika! What are you doing?!”
Sanae was amazed that Yurika had teleported, but Koutarou was more worried about why she’d appeared where she did. Yurika brandished her staff and started another incantation.
“As long as it’s not a direct hit, this should be able to protect you...” Yurika said, smiling.
Next, her spell activated and a yellow light enveloped Harumi.
“Nijino-san, what are you—”
“I’ll leave the rest to you, Satomi-san.”
Then the fireball crashed into Yurika.
Yurika was well aware that this was Maki’s plan. She wouldn’t do something crazy like kill her own hostage—her trump card. And even though she knew she was walking into a trap, Yurika had to protect Harumi. If not, the unthinkable might have happened.
“Yurikaaaaaaa!”
“Nijino-san!”
“Yurika, why would you—?!”
The moment the fireball hit Yurika, the energy inside of it was released all at once. It burned through the defensive barrier protecting Yurika and scorched her. In the sea of flame, Yurika’s lifeless body collapsed to the ground.
But thanks to her actions, Harumi was unharmed. Some of the flames that burned Yurika reached Harumi too, but they had no effect because of the defensive spell Yurika had put on her.
“I figured this would be the simplest method,” Maki said, coldly staring at Yurika, who laid collapsed on the soil.
That’s right. This is Rainbow Heart’s weakness. You have too much to protect. Because of that, you end up not being able to protect anything at all...
However, for a moment there was also pity in her glance.
“Satomi-kun! Nijino-san... Nijino-san is...!”
Still unable to move the rest of her body, all Harumi could do was scream. She was horrified at watching Yurika’s sacrifice to protect her.
“Yurika! Hey, Yurika!”
Koutarou ran over to Yurika and held her up. Her defensive spell had kept Maki’s fireball from being fatal, but Yurika was still badly wounded and unconscious.
“She’s okay... right?”
Sanae timidly looked at Yurika. Sanae could see Yurika’s spiritual energy, but it had weakened to the point where even Sanae was worried.
“As if something like this would kill her.”
Koutarou trembled with anger as he held Yurika. However, that anger wasn’t aimed at Maki so much as it was himself.
Why did I take so long to listen to her?! This wouldn’t have happened if I had just believed in her!
Because he hadn’t taken her seriously, he had ignored the impending threat of evil magical girls for over half a year. If only he’d listened to Yurika, they could have at least come up with some sort of plan. Then Yurika might not have been hurt like this. Koutarou just couldn’t forgive himself. He now realized with perfect clarity that he should have given Yurika some credit, even if it was only just a little bit. That realization boiled into an intense rage deep inside of him.
“Satomi-kun...”
At this point, Harumi began to faintly understand the situation she was in. Yurika obviously wasn’t just a cosplayer. There was something else to it. She didn’t know if what she had seen was magic or not, but she understood 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, almost no one would believe a total stranger going on about magic, magical girls, and approaching enemies. It was somewhat unfortunate that Koutarou and Yurika’s first meeting had been under mostly normal circumstances.
“There’s no need to worry. You will soon all meet the same fate as Yurika,” Maki coldly declared.
“Maki-san!”
Brandishing her staff, she approached Koutarou and the others.
So she’s planning on finishing off Yurika...
Realizing Maki’s intentions, Koutarou laid Yurika down on the ground and stepped forward to protect her and Harumi.
“I won’t let you lay a finger on 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 just planning on assessing Koutarou’s abilities. She had no intention of going into a real fight with an opponent she knew nothing about right away.
“Then I’ll just have to win!”
And if I can’t protect Yurika now, I really will be an idiot!
The moment Koutarou shouted, a loud, shrill sound similar to hitting two light metal pieces together rang out as a pure white light lit up the area.
“What?!”
“You’re finally going all out, are you?!”
An orb of white light appeared between Koutarou and Harumi, right where Yurika was lying. It was roughly a meter in diameter and floated above Yurika. As it illuminated her face, her pained expression seemed to relax some. Just like the white light that had healed Harumi during the sports festival, this white orb was healing the critically wounded Yurika.
“What’s going on?!”
“Koutarou, this is that light!”
This light... It’s protecting us again?!
Koutarou was surprised by the appearance of the light, but it was Sanae who recognized it. In the past, it lit up a sword and protected Theia. It had also lit up charms and protected Sanae too. Having experienced it firsthand, Sanae was quite sure this was the same light from before.
While Koutarou and Sanae were taken aback by the sudden appearance of the light, Harumi called out to Koutarou.
“Koutarou-sama...”
“Sakuraba-senpai?!”
When Koutarou looked to Harumi, he was met with an unusual sight. Her hair was glowing in a silver light, and there was a crest resembling a sword on her forehead. Her appearance seemed almost divine, like she was the very embodiment of a shrine maiden or a holy woman.
“S-Sakuraba-senpai, what happened to you...?!”
“There’s no time to explain,” Harumi said.
There was a gentle look in her eyes as she shook her head. It was as if she was having some nostalgic reunion. Like she had found someone she had been searching for for a long time.
“If I use this power that healed Yurika and call out your sword...”
As she spoke, Harumi reached for the glowing orb. She held her palms out towards it and closed her eyes.
Sakuraba Harumi escaped the effects of my magic?! She dispelled it?! No, of course she could with that much mana...
Maki couldn’t hide her surprise when she saw that Harumi could move freely now.
But since when could Sakuraba Harumi use magic? Is she trying to control the light that Satomi Koutarou summoned?!
The most surprising thing out of all this was that Harumi began manipulating the white light that had appeared.
“Sakuraba-senpai, just what are you...”
“It’s okay. Your fate is not to die here.”
With Harumi holding her hands out, the orb of white light started to contract. It was similar to how Maki had shrunk her fireball, but when Harumi did it, the orb began to take the shape of a sword instead.
“Koutarou-sama, please use this. I couldn’t summon the real one, but this is without a doubt your sword.”
“Koutarou, that sword has amazing powers! What’s going on? It’s overflowing with so much power that I can barely see!” shouted Sanae.
Sanae could sense the power the sword was emitting. Almost like blowing wind, white light was flowing out from the sword. It was strong enough that Sanae—a ghost—could feel it spraying against her skin. It was so strong, in fact, that she couldn’t see the outline of the sword clearly.
“I understand!”
I don’t get what’s going on, but there’s no time to hesitate!
Koutarou took the sword of light without another thought. It was simply a mass of light, but once in his hands, it felt the same as the sword he had borrowed from Theia. Even knowing it had tremendous power, Koutarou felt no fear in wielding it. Instead, there was only gentleness and warmth.
“Koutarou-sama...”
The warm feeling from the sword was very similar to the warmth he felt from Harumi’s smile. And watching Koutarou with the sword in his hands, there seemed to be a smile in Harumi’s eyes even now.
“May fortune be with you...”
“Sakuraba-senpai?!”
After getting a handle on the sword, Koutarou looked back at Harumi only to see her falling slowly towards the ground. As she did, her hair returned to its normal color and the sword crest on her forehead vanished.
“It’s okay. It seems like she’s only sleeping.”
Sanae approached Harumi to check her breathing and get a closer read on her aura. Neither indicated any real cause for concern.
“I see...”
Relieved, Koutarou grasped his sword and turned towards Maki. He was still worried about Harumi, but he couldn’t afford to forget about his enemy.
“Color me surprised. So that’s your true power...”
Maki appeared to have no intention of attacking as she stared at Koutarou’s sword. Just like she said, she appeared to be quite surprised.
“I’m surprised too.”
Koutarou didn’t fully understand what was really going on. Between Yurika actually turning out to be a magical girl, the arrival of her enemy, and the showdown between them, it had been a wild chain of surprises. And then there was Yurika sacrificing herself to save Harumi, the mysterious white light, and Harumi summoning a sword out of it. This year had been chaotic for Koutarou, but today was the worst by far.
“What are you, some kind of monster...?”
Maki tensed when she saw the weapon Koutarou had in his hands. As a magic user herself, she could tell how strong the sword was. It was literally overflowing with power—enough to shake the whole construction site.
I’ll give it a try...
Maki braced herself and pointed her staff at Koutarou.
“Here I come, Satomi Koutarou!”
“Sanae, I’ll leave Yurika and Sakuraba-senpai to you!”
“Got it!”
Koutarou readied his sword and took a Forthorthian-style stance. It was the old school sword fighting style that Theia had beaten into Koutarou on a daily basis as part of his training.
“Double Cast: Force Field, Lightning Lance!”
As expected, the one who made the first move was Maki with her ranged attacks. She incanted spells in rapid succession, creating a shield to protect her and a powerful lightning spear.
“Take this!”
Maki hurled the electric javelin at Koutarou who was currently closing in on her. She specifically targeted his sword in hopes it would act like a lightning rod.
“Haaaaaaaa!”
Seeing the oncoming attack, Koutarou roared to pump himself up. As if in response to his battle cry, light began overflowing from the sword. And as the lightning spear came in contact with the light, it vanished as if it were just an illusion.
“What?!”
“Hyaaaaaaaaaaah!”
In Maki’s momentary stupor at the outcome of the situation, Koutarou closed the distance between them and swung his sword down towards her.
“Tch!”
Maki twisted and leaned, barely managing to dodge the sword. As its edge grazed her, the protective spell she’d cast on herself vanished.
“What is this?!”
I had no idea he was this strong! At this rate, I don’t stand a chance! This is an unfortunate match for my specialty!
Just the light being emitted from Koutarou’s sword was enough to negate Maki’s lightning spear, and his sword simply skimming by her had ripped through her magical shield. It was the perfect weapon for fighting a magician.
“In that case...!”
Maki used her momentum from dodging the sword to do a backflip. The moment she landed, she cast her next spell.
“Quick Cast Fog Cloud! Modifier: Effective Area, Colossal!”
“What?!”
As its name implied, Maki used a spell that created a cloud of fog. She’d cast it so that it would cover a wide area, more than enough to fill the pit at construction site.
“What is this?! I can’t see anything!”
The thick, magical fog completely obscured Koutarou’s vision. And because it was magical, not even Sanae could see through it.
“Sanae, you stay there and protect Yurika and Sakuraba-senpai!”
“Got it!”
But Koutarou’s sword had the power to cut through the fog, and so little by little, he cleared the air around him. As soon as he could, he looked around and readied his sword again.
Why isn’t she attacking?
But no matter how hard he looked, he couldn’t find Maki. There was no surprise attack. He stayed on his guard until the fog scattered on the wind. But once the fog had completely lifted, Maki was nowhere to be seen.
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