《Gekitotsu no Hexennacht》 Volume 1, Prologue: The Time is Third Period Volume 1, Prologue: The Time is Third Period The daytime witch hides her identity ¡°10:07 AM: Lightning detected in the west coast of Tokyo Bay: The lightning was reported to have ¡®risen¡¯.¡± ¡°Same time: Automatic doors, active elevators, and train doors malfunctioned and opened across eastern Tokyo. Fortunately, no one seems to have been injured.¡± ¡°Same time: The opened doors across Tokyo malfunctioned and automatically closed. Some believe this explains the lack of accidents with the previous malfunction.¡± ¡°10:12 AM: Lightning warning canceled for western coast of Tokyo Bay.¡± ¡°10:17 AM: Central Tokyo Bay¡¯s Shihouin Academy is annihilating an experimental servant.¡± ¡°10:21 AM: Escape of experimental servant confirmed at Central Tokyo Bay¡¯s Shihouin Academy.¡± ¡°10:30 AM: Requesting pursuit and inspection of experimental servant at Central Tokyo Bay¡¯s Shihouin Academy.¡± ¡°The lightning warning was canceled, but is that what allowed the servant to escape?¡± There was no wind underground, so it seemed terribly boring. Instead, she had to brush a hand through her hair, but it did not flutter much in the air conditioning. It was black hair which went well with her dark green uniform. It would have looked fine with red or blue as well, though. It was not the most individual color. ¡­Which does a good job of showing my position and focus. After that thought, she spoke aloud. ¡°This is Horinouchi Mitsuru, Private Shihouin Academy¡¯s General Education Rank 1 and Overall Rank 4 and representative of the Horinouchi Shrine in charge of servant management. I will now pursue Servant Experiment Registration Number JDPH-a707.¡± She took a breath and started by looking up at the large white ceiling. She was in the underground spell experiment space. The ceiling was twenty meters up. The box-like room was thirty meters on each side and it felt a little cramped with all the work desks, targets, and anti-shock equipment for blunt strikes. However, she spread her arms upwards. ¡°Sing, Suzaku.¡± The empty air split open and a small bird flew out and to her shoulder. It was vermilion. It had an abstract appearance because it was ¡°taking it easy¡± as an information being, but this did more than enough to provide the basis for Divine Beast Suzaku. Something spread from the girl¡¯s palms. It was a ring of light. It was a vermilion circular torii. It had a diameter of five meters and it rotated and lowered while displaying something along its path. ¡°Expand my vision to confirm the extent of its escape. The information will converge from that state.¡± The whole would be made into a single unit. The scattered would be brought together. That process was necessary to trace something distant. And the image displayed on the surrounding barrier was the color blue. It was the external world seen from a great height. All 360 degrees were visible, but for the ¡°convergence¡±, the vision was rapidly dropping. Her vision returned to the earth where she was, but looking up into the heavens showed the blue sky. Looking down showed a large bay with an island floating in the middle. She could not stop her vision from dropping to that point. The many tall structures surrounding the bay formed a great metropolis. However, most of that city was not functioning. It had been destroyed. The area by the eastern bay and the northern area looked like a giant fist had struck them in places and long canyons had been carved into them. Most of those already had trees and other plants covering them and some had even filled with water to create a water source. But there was color in the city near the bay, in the west, and in the south. There was plenty of smoke from factories and ships coming and going through the bay. Those areas contained life that seemed to turn its back on the destruction. The projected vision dropped toward the island in the center of the bay. At some point, that vision grew horizontal. The island scenery growing up from below began with the central forest. There were green trees and clearings. In the north was a flower garden. The forest had something like a mausoleum in the center. A few buildings were located around it. They formed a school. The image displayed on the barrier provided coordinates and labels. The labels on the buildings contained the blue checkmark of a safe place. The school buildings were labelled general education, special equipment, spell, or honors. Buildings labelled gym, library, and cafeteria could also be seen. ¡°Nothing passing through the sky above Shihouin Academy¡¯s artificial island. Nothing out of the ordinary in the surrounding areas. ¡­Visually confirmed.¡± As she spoke, her eyes moved around. She saw something to the southeast between the school buildings located in the four cardinal directions. It was a large white building. The building was a development laboratory for servants and equipment. Her vision dropped inside that building. It arrived. ¡°¡­¡± It converged and connected. She looked up and saw the cylindrical translucent barrier showing her the outside world in every direction. She was underground, but the aboveground projection was the same as standing on the development laboratory¡¯s roof. The inside of the barrier had labels for cardinal direction and scale as well as the courses of the planets in the sky. ¡­I can¡¯t perform astrology with my spells, so it¡¯s not much use for me. She produced a spell circle in her hand and it spread a ley line net out in every direction. The convergence of the high-altitude vision had bound a connection with all of the land she had seen. ¡°I will begin the pursuit now.¡± She brought the magic circle closer. ¡°Um, Horinouchi?¡± The underclassman on the floor with her spoke up. The girl was in charge of examining her work here. The girl was continuing to type on a document spell circle as she spoke. ¡°Are you really going to dispose of that servant when you catch it?¡± ¡°Yes, its power is too great, so no one can control it at the moment. In fact, the power leaking from the servant could destroy nearby people¡¯s spells.¡± She lowered her vision. She saw a plain wood box fixed to a stretcher. Its automatic Hakone-style lock was opened and it contained tangible pale light. It was a small creature. It was a dragon. The girl named Horinouchi looked to the thirty centimeter square wooden box. The dragon inside was only about fifteen centimeters tall. Its blue and white was surprisingly matte. It was made not to show up much even under illumination spells. Its obedience despite understanding the situation showed how well-made it was. However, this was not the real thing. A small ring of light circled the outside of the box. This was a circular torii emblem. It pressurized ether readings. It was meant to forcibly amplify the afterimage left by ether components. ¡°The temporary ley line convergence has successfully reproduced JDPH-a707¡¯s afterimage from the pressurized ley line vibration afterimage. The only question is what to do about this thing.¡± The dragon child was scattering light form its entire body. ¡­Even if it¡¯s found, handling it barehanded would be dangerous. The light was ether light and ether was the foundational element of all things and the fuel of all spells. ¡°If it can emit this much ether, even our top class students won¡¯t be able to handle it. And if it has escaped¡­¡± ¡°Was it that lightning? I hear UAH sent out a warning. There was a bit of a commotion when all of the school¡¯s doors opened at once.¡± ¡°What did the teachers say?¡± ¡°That the lightning caused an error in UAH¡¯s defense system that controls all of eastern Tokyo. That may have cast an ¡®open¡¯ spell on the entire area.¡± ¡°This was more than just opening.¡± Horinouchi recalled a certain scene. ¡°When I went to check on the faculty room, the instant coffee¡¯s lid was open too.¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± ¡°This wasn¡¯t the door system that handles the opening spells. It looked more like everything that can open was forcibly opened.¡± ¡°Is that even possible? Well, um, I know that¡¯s how spells are, but it covered all of eastern Tokyo and even interfered with our school and UAH that have anti-spell defenses.¡± ¡°I was saying it with a fair bit of disbelief, you know?¡± ¡°Ah,¡± said the underclassmen when she finally realized what Horinouchi meant. She smiled bitterly. ¡°To do that would require phenomenon level interference over the entire region, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes, it would. But UAH is probably investigating and our job is to confirm our pursuit information.¡± ¡°But,¡± said the other girl. ¡°Will you really dispose of it when you catch it?¡± ¡°Yes. It would take a very powerful spell-user to fully control it.¡± The girl immediately replied. ¡°Horinouchi, aren¡¯t you powerful enough to-¡­¡± ¡°I already have Suzaku. And the three above me have their own as well.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s a shame after being involved from the beginning of production, isn¡¯t it?¡± But, she thought to crush the other girl¡¯s words. She almost seemed to be trying to convince herself. ¡­What if my mother was here? That great existence had left the Suzaku with her, but she was gone now. So there was no other option here. But, she thought again. Is that really true? After a bit of thought, she opened her mouth. ¡°Most likely¡­¡± She tried to change her train of thought. When faced with a harsh fact, it was easy to use regulations as a shield to convince herself. There were exceptions like this, but she had to get herself moving regardless of whether she liked it or not. This was just an odd whim. Would this underclassman say it was not like her? ¡°Most likely, Koutarou will command the retrieval team. After the retrieval is complete, I will see if there is any other solution.¡± ¡°For example¡­¡± ¡°Instead of disposing of it by disintegration, it could be broken down to strip away its special characteristics, leaving only the basic form. It will no longer have any use as a servant, but¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s a great idea, Horinouchi!¡± Horinouchi paused briefly at the shout and grabbed hand of agreement. ¡­Honestly. It was wrong to rejoice when an exception was supported. They could not make decisions like that all of the time. ¡°I have not finished yet, so it¡¯s too soon to say whether it¡¯s a great idea or not.¡± ¡°Oh, s-sorry.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Horinouchi smiled bitterly and gave her defense for making this kind of decision. ¡°This is an exception. There is no need to thank me.¡± She held a hand over the box and activated a spell. The ley line convergence was expanded from the traces of the dragon child. The tracking had begun. ¡°I am very thankful. I truly know little of this land.¡± Below the clear morning sun, someone bowed toward a police station. It was a local station a ways into the city along the salty bay coast. Armored vehicles with rotating blue warning lights were travelling up and down the surrounding roads. ¡°Well, miss, I¡¯m just glad there hasn¡¯t been any real trouble. Are you on your way to Shihouin?¡± A police officer pressed his back against the police station¡¯s door. If he moved at all, the door tried to open, so he lowered his shoulders in annoyance and looked to the other person. She was a woman still young enough to be called a girl. She was tall, had long hair, and wore a men¡¯s suit. ¡°Your Japanese is pretty good,¡± said the officer. ¡°But what country are you from?¡± ¡°Do I not look Japanese to you?¡± ¡°No Japanese is going to walk into the center of Tokyo and ask where they are. Oh, but you don¡¯t have to answer.¡± Another armored vehicle moved past, but the officer pointed past it with his chin. He indicated the collection of buildings on the bay¡¯s island. ¡°There are a lot like you in Shihouin. They sometimes stop by here after crashing during flight training.¡± ¡°I am actually from Japan, but I will be careful not to do that when I fly.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s usually only the first years who crash. ¡­And where in Japan are you from?¡± ¡°Yokohama.¡± ¡°That¡¯s pretty close by.¡± ¡°I have been in a different country for a while.¡± The girl produced a case from inside her suit and pulled something out of it. ¡°This is my license. Does it work here too?¡± ¡°Ahh, is that the one from the country you were in? It¡¯s a little different from the ones here.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yeah, well, look at this part.¡± The officer pulled out his own and showed it to her. ¡°You were part of that country¡¯s UAH? It says brigadier general here.¡± ¡°You can read it because the writing is pure information, can you? And you are not bad yourself, marshal.¡± ¡°What country are you from? Based on the writing, I¡¯d guess the Middle East. I heard they had it pretty bad there with what happened ten years ago.¡± ¡°No,¡± she said while pointing to her own name. ¡°Kagami Kagami. People say it is a real stylish name.¡± ¡°Is that really something to point out yourself?¡± ¡°I really like it,¡± she said with a smile. Just then, a bell rang. It came from Shihouin Academy in the bay and the officer commented on it. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s third period. My wife will be making her delivery to the cafeteria before long.¡± ¡°Then I should be going. I want to take a bit of a look around.¡± ¡°Oh? You¡¯re going? Can I ask what you¡¯re doing?¡± ¡°Looking for someone.¡± ¡°Did something happen ten years ago?¡± ¡°No, it goes back further than that. ¡­But why do you bring up ten years ago?¡± ¡°Just how peaceful a country were you living in?¡± He gave a bitter smile and Kagami shrugged. ¡°I will admit it was originally a horribly peaceful country filled with nothing.¡± With that, she started to move. As she began to leave, she tapped on the door the officer held in place. ¡°What a nuisance.¡± ¡°Yeah, and take care. ¡­Once you can fly, check in the back of the reconstructed land. There¡¯s a croquette shop with a sign visible from above, so make sure you stop by.¡± And¡­ ¡°You should get to Shihouin before classes end. They¡¯re reviewing a lot and doing some exciting stuff before determining who gets to take part in the next Hexennacht. This time, they say buddies are accepted. The higher ranks are bad enough alone, so it¡¯s got to be quite the group they¡¯ve got there. Maybe it¡¯s for the best to restrict witches to the young.¡± ¡°I see. I will keep that in mind.¡± Kagami raised a hand in parting. The bell rang again and the officer assumed she would head in that direction, but¡­ ¡°Hey, that¡¯s the wrong way.¡± ¡°Something is bothering me a little. I am on my way to school; this is just a shortcut of sorts.¡± The officer just about ran after her, but he stopped. ¡°Huh?¡± At some point, the door had lost all power. He heard the siren of a nearby armored vehicle and the distant and fading sound of the bell. Third period was beginning in Shihouin Academy. Volume 1, 1: Witch in the City Volume 1, Chapter 1: Witch in the City Bonds are made through meetings Class had already begun by the time Horinouchi returned to the classroom. Pursuit of a servant was nothing more than determining its direction by confirming the trajectory of the ether produced as it moved. Shinto spells removed all that was unnecessary, so they made for highly accurate ¡°pathfinding¡± spells. Once it was found and captured, it would be brought back and she would begin her negotiation. But for now¡­ ¡­I should put those thoughts on hold. She faced forward. She was inside a stepped classroom. Shihouin Academy¡¯s general education division had around fifty students in each year. They were few, but they were the elite. Most of them had unique traits, so classes had a tendency to focus on general knowledge and ethics. This was the same. At the bottom of the stepped classroom, a teacher opened a spell circle in front of a large blackboard. ¡°Hexennacht. You will be the stars of that night and you third years need to be especially aware of that.¡± She held up the spell circle which automatically typed out her words. It was a public spell of Shihouin Academy and many of the third years had activated their own because of its efficient ether consumption. Horinouchi was different. She opened a vermilion circular torii that caught the teacher¡¯s words as she thought. ¡­What can I do to secure my place in Hexennacht? Suddenly, the teacher pointed at the girl next to her. ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am,¡± said the girl as she stood up. She glanced over at Horinouchi and gave a gesture saying ¡°leave it to me¡±. Most likely, the teacher had started to point at Horinouchi but hesitated. It was Horinouchi¡¯s fault for getting lost in thought. She nodded back and the neighboring girl brought a hand to her chin in a dignified pose. ¡°Magical girl isn¡¯t the right answer, is it? I did want to be one, though.¡± ¡°Unfortunately, so did I,¡± said the teacher. ¡°I¡¯m a magical woman now.¡± Horinouchi wanted to believe the class¡¯s silent lack of laughter was out of consideration. ¡°Anyway,¡± said the neighboring girl. ¡°The technical classification is a spell attack soldier from the spell branch of the military.¡± ¡°Correct. And what demographic is it composed of?¡± ¡°One hundred percent female.¡± ¡°Correct,¡± said the teacher again. She smiled and waved her hand up and down to tell the girl to sit. The girl complied and the teacher walked across the podium. She moved left and opened a spell circle in front of the blackboard. It displayed a graph with years running left to right and numbers of people running up and down. A red line drew a rectangle, but it radically declined partway through before gradually rising and finally gaining a sudden and rapid rise. ¡°This is an estimate of how many ¡®witches¡¯ were present in the world over time. They were known as shamans, medicine women, and fortunetellers in ancient times. In times of uncertainty, they were hunted as scapegoats and their numbers decreased. However, they made a comeback after the Reformation when Europe developed into a large-scale battlefield. In modern times, they began in Prussia and rose to the forefront. They were even the major fighters during World Wars One and Two. Why was that? ¡­You there.¡± A girl by the window immediately answered without standing. ¡°Active spells,¡± she said. ¡°Both men and women can use spells, but women excel at active ones and men excel at passive ones and neither can outdo the other. So from a combat perspective, women are the attackers and men are the defenders.¡± She continued quietly. ¡°But in modern times, we can mass-produce as many weapons and equipment as we need and servants have been developed to act as our familiars. This has led to an age where that sword and shield relationship is tilted overwhelmingly in the sword direction. Meanwhile, the shield side can gather as a group to set up barriers to protect cities and the like, so the battlefield has divided between the defended positions and the attackers who struggle over the lines between those positions. In other words, the witches have become the stars of battle.¡± ¡°Correct. This division was noticed long ago and the witch hunts were secretly fueled by fears that the existing patriarchal society would lose its power. In the end, the nations that sent their women to the front lines of the battlefield had a drastic reduction in population, so after the initial stages, most wars get bogged down in a struggle to find a way to send one¡¯s defensive line of men into the enemy nation.¡± The teacher was not done. ¡°But you all know why wars like that only ever exist for a short time, don¡¯t you?¡± Because¡­ ¡°Hexennacht occurs once every ten years. And ever since the Middle Ages, mankind has worked to resist it.¡± A servant was an artificial spirit. Despite only just having gone outside for the first time, the dragon child knew the outside world. It was fifteen centimeters tall. It could fly, but flying had brought pursuit earlier. Even if it was artificial, it inherited the instincts of the creature it was based on. It was certain that being pursued would lead to its demise, so it immediately chose to hide. It was currently east of Heiwajima in Ota. It was behind a shopping district off the main road. It had knowledge of the land, the time, and the language. It was aware it was meant to support someone, but it also knew it could not do so in this situation. It was in danger. ¡­A failure. It understood that too. It could analyze its own abilities on the level of instinct. It had been created for Hexennacht with an absolute focus on ether extraction ability. But that extraction was too powerful. In what seemed like a freak accident, the pathways had joined together and its output was far greater than estimated. The temporary acclaim had quickly changed to disappointment. It had been decided that no spell user could contain the amount of ether the dragon child extracted. There had apparently been negotiations with some skilled witches, but they all already had a similar existence. It had been created by accident, so parts of it were uncontrollable. They had taken data on it, so they could apparently reproduce something similar that they could control. In other words, it was not needed. It understood the idea of self-destruction. That was something all servants had an instinctive understanding of. It was meant to support someone, so it would be eliminated if that was not possible. It did not resist or question that fact. Thinking that was simply how things were, it sat still and the door opened. It was opened by someone. The dragon child did not know who, but someone had opened the door to this room inside of which it should have entered eternal sleep. It then recalled something. When it had been revealed to be a failure, someone had placed it on their hand and said the following: ¡°Probably the only person who could become your master would be someone with an unbelievably large ether pool. Or¡­¡± It did not know the rest, but it had an idea as the door opened. Should it¡­ ¡­Search for someone like that? It had heard no one like that existed, but the person who had put it on their hand had seemed disappointed. The ability to read emotion like that was another ability supplied on the instinct level. So as it reached its front legs toward the door, it had another thought. If it found someone like that, no one would have to be disappointed. As a servant, gaining a master was the first and most meaningful thing it could do. ¡°¡­¡± The door was opened. It led outside. It led to everything. The dragon child had knowledge of the outside world. That knowledge had already been there at its birth. Why was that there? It could not use the knowledge if it slept. So it moved outside. It could not let itself be caught. Being caught would lead to ¡°disappointment¡±. ¡°I see.¡± It heard a sudden voice from behind. There had been nothing there before, but¡­ ¡°So there is something like you here. How interesting.¡± After the voice, the dragon child was suddenly lifted up from below its front legs. The servant dragon child looked at the girl who had picked it up. She wore a men¡¯s suit yet she was not a man. But¡­ ¡­Wrong. It could see the ether light surrounding her. In the darkness of this back alley, this may have been the first light that the servant saw. Some kind of powerful divine protection or spell had washed over or passed through her, but¡­ ¡°¡­?¡± Something was wrong. What was ¡°wrong¡±? Her power was. Servants possessed a certain ability in their support role: to fully view someone¡¯s power. But what this dragon child sensed in the girl was not like any of the others it had seen. ¡­Not there. Her ether pool was thin. She was a normal person with no training as a witch. Her ability was much lower than the average for a child. It might as well have been zero. So this was the wrong person. This person could not use spells and supporting her would put her in danger. She would be unable to contain the overflowing ether which could even kill her. ¡°¡­¡± So the dragon child shook its body to say it was too dangerous. ¡°Sorry. Do you want me to put you down?¡± She readily lowered it to the ground. She was kind. It looked up in surprise for a number of reasons and saw her kneeling down. ¡°Wonderful. Just how rich is this world to produce such an unexpected being?¡± And¡­ ¡°I am thankful for your existence.¡± It did not understand. It was a ¡°failure¡±, so why was it being thanked? At any rate, what was it to do? It had struggled and been released, so how was it to react now that it had been thanked? It did not contain the proper knowledge to decide. However, it heard something. It was an armored vehicle. Specifically, a Type 23 Six-Wheel APC from the UAHJ Shihouin Branch. Its anti-spell defenses were effective up to Rank 3, but its greatest ability was its transportation ability. ¡°You!¡± The front door opened and a young man in a suit hopped out. He opened an identification spell circle as he did. ¡°I am Amagi Koutarou, Division 2 Sub-Manager of the UAHJ Shihouin Branch. I want you to step away from that servant and give it to us! Do you understand!?¡± While still crouched down, Kagami heard a group of footsteps lining up behind the man named Koutarou. ¡­Quite the show of force. The ¡°servant¡± was likely the dragon looking up at her. If it was a servant, what did it serve? ¡°Is there something wrong with this thing? It does not look dangerous to me.¡± ¡°Regulation of that unit failed. It cannot control its power and could even kill the user. It is in an extremely dangerous state and¡­¡± ¡­Oh, that kind of servant. In other words, it was a familiar. Or perhaps it could be called a pressurizer. She asked one thing. ¡°What happens after I hand it over to you?¡± The bespectacled young man breathed in before finally giving a clear answer. ¡°It will of course be broken down in the regulatory facility as is the standard-¡­¡± ¡°It will not.¡± ¡°What?¡± Kagami ignored him and looked down. The dragon child was looking up at her there. ¡°Go,¡± she told it. ¡°Go and live. If you were born, then that is worth doing. And if you think you should release your power, then come to me. ¡­I am the type that does not die easily.¡± The dragon child hesitated before lowering its head. It may have been a nod or a bow, but it was a clever creature either way. It was wonderful. But what was she to do now? ¡°Are you going to let it escape!?¡± ¡°What are you going to do?¡± The men lined up in front of her. They wore helmets, ballistic armor that hid their bodies, and backpacks. ¡°It would be a lot of trouble if you got in our way.¡± The young man frowned as he viewed her through a spell window. The glowing magic circle was a type of console and seemed to be a local technique. ¡°Where are you registered?¡± ¡°Oh? Do I have to be registered somewhere?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t just throw out a custom dating back more than a century ago!¡± He suddenly looked up into the sky and inhaled. ¡°It is unlikely, but it is possible you are also a troublesome existence. Are you aware of that?¡± ¡°I am, but I would rather not make that decision just yet,¡± said Kagami. ¡°But you are in no position to answer that with a clear ¡®yes¡¯. And neither am I.¡± ¡°Then I apologize. ¡­We will be acting at my discretion here.¡± He raised a hand. ¡°I authorize the use of anti-witch equipment!¡± ¡°Listen, everyone.¡± The teacher raised her right hand, raised her fingers one by one, and then lowered them. ¡°Ten. Ten years.¡± That was¡­ ¡°We are approaching Hexennacht which occurs once every ten years. The spell attack soldiers are known as ¡®witches¡¯ and that name provides divine protection inherited from the past.¡± The teacher smiled a little. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to say it, but there is no equivalent term for males. But just as the military usually refers to theirs as a defensive occupation, their spells are mostly passive ones such as poison fighting or anti-spell. They can also act on their own during Hexennacht just like we can. ¡­But their objective will be defense, so they end up staying behind. And we have had some success developing defensive spells by researching reactive defense using attack spells, so there is no need to bring them to the front lines at all.¡± She reopened her closed hand and pointed at a girl by the hallway. ¡°However, there is one thing we must be careful about concerning the difference between the men and us. Do you know what that is?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The girl stood up. ¡°Should I show you?¡± ¡°No, this is just confirming what we all already know.¡± ¡°In that case¡­¡± The girl¡¯s shoulders relaxed and the slight tension left the other girls as well. As that stiffness became relief, the girl spoke. ¡°The men can create self-defense divine protection on their own, but in exchange, there is one thing they can¡¯t use.¡± That was¡­ ¡°Servants. A witch¡¯s familiar. The very first servant ever created was ¡®made for witches¡¯ and all modern servants are its descendants, so only witches can use them. But the successful creation of pseudo-spirits allows the men to summon weapons.¡± ¡°Such as?¡± The teacher looked across the students. They all gathered strength in their hands and reached for their necklaces or other decorations. ¡°Summon frames. Men can¡¯t use servants or attack spells, so the most they can manage are Normal Devices. And when summoning them, they use a pseudo-servant known as a public servant.¡± Kagami saw it happen. On the top right side of the men¡¯s backpacks, an upwards-facing launcher burst open and light shot out. It was white light. It was not a bullet, lightning, or even fire. It simply stopped in midair to protect each of them individually. ¡°Spirits? They look artificial, though.¡± ¡°This is one part of IAHJ¡¯s male anti-witch equipment. It¡¯s what you call defensive attack power.¡± As the man spoke, the light vanished and appeared again. Once the light spirit on his shoulders trembled and scattered, it changed to a different form. ¡­Oh. It was a weapon. The light first formed an internal structure to secure its functionality. By the time Kagami recognized it as a ¡°cannon¡±, it had already finished transforming and the bolts made of its own light fixed it all together. The final form was over three meters long. It was a giant jitte cannon made of light. ¡°A weapon for subduing. Is that your defensive attack method?¡± ¡°They may be for men, but we have sixteen subduing Normal Devices here. A non-ranker will be injured. I personally hope you will run.¡± ¡°I must brazenly make my way to that school.¡± ¡°Are you a witch, too?¡± ¡°I do not know.¡± But Kagami could say something else. The technology she had just seen was very interesting. High-density ether was given individuality as a spirit and that was used to summon a weapon. Not only did that reduce the burden on the spell user, but it refined and settled the weapon¡¯s functionality. ¡°I see. So¡­¡± In her case¡­ ¡°You do it like this?¡± As she stood, she spread and swung her right arm. She produced her version there. Koutarou saw something unbelievable. He was fifteen meters away and what he saw was far too strange for a back alley. After all, this girl¡­ ¡°You summoned a Normal Device without a servant!?¡± ¡°Hm. ¡­Is that what it is called? But¡­¡± She was perfectly calm as she produced a spiral of ether around her hand. A weapon made of ether was produced there and she turned to face Koutarou. ¡°This is how you do it, right?¡± He knew why the other men were gasping. She was rapidly constructing a large white sword. However, the central structure was made first and stored away. It was wrapped with a forceful blade that made it more of a blunt weapon than a sword, but inside¡­ ¡°Sub-manager! That¡¯s a shell-producing acceleration cannon!¡± It was also on a huge scale. From pommel to tip, it was over five meters long. If she could create something like that almost instantly¡­ ¡­She¡¯s on the level of a ranker. And a high one at that! He made a single decision. If a witch of this level was unregistered¡­ ¡°Get ready, everyone! Open your defense spells to maximum!¡± This was dangerous. After all¡­ ¡­Only one person in this world can produce a Normal Device without a servant! Faced with that dangerous opponent, Koutarou cried out. ¡°Attack! Subdue her!¡± The class had become a sort of recreation. After going over the basics, the teacher¡¯s shoulders relaxed and she spoke. ¡°On the night of Hexennacht, a male defense unit will defend the surface while we intercept in the air. After last time and the time before that, we know they can ignore the Hexennacht territory and the buddy system has been allowed this time around. But not only can we not ignore the excess firepower that brings, it will actually cause even more damage to the surface.¡± So¡­ ¡°When you return home, the look in your eyes when you face your parents will change. If you spent enough time training here, you will truly understand the meaning of ten years ago or twenty years ago.¡± The teacher spoke with a smile, but someone raised their hand with an ¡°um¡±. The student tensed her shoulders and spoke. ¡°My father can endure fights with my mom without using a frame. Is that some kind of divine protection?¡± ¡°That is your mother showing her love by holding back.¡± They laughed and the general atmosphere softened. But at that point, they all stopped moving. The color vermilion had appeared in the center of the classroom. It was a circular torii spell circle with the word ¡°warning¡± in the center. ¡°Horinouchi.¡± Horinouchi stood silently at the teacher¡¯s call. She spoke to no one in particular. ¡°I have official business to take care of.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the second time today. ¡­Getting too emotionally involved will prevent you from making good decisions, you know?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. This has nothing to do with emotion. ¡­You may remember our visit to the faculty room after the lightning earlier, but the three rankers above me are not exactly prompt.¡± ¡°I see. Then you have permission to head out,¡± said the teacher. ¡°You are #4 in UAH¡¯s world witch rankings, you are a single unit ¡®shrine maiden¡¯-style witch, and you are the daughter of Horinouchi Mitsuyo, one of the three sages and participator in the previous Hexennacht. Keep that in mind when deciding how to act, Horinouchi Mitsuru.¡± She smiled before continuing. ¡°This may just get you worked up, but Hexennacht is near. It isn¡¯t long until that night when we must defeat the Black Witch who will destroy the world.¡± Volume 1, 2: The Two Meet Volume 1, Chapter 2: The Two Meet ¡°Men, we¡¯re allowed to legally touch her!¡± ¡°Commander, she¡¯s allowed to illegally fight back!¡± In Kagami¡¯s mind, combat was no easy task. To fight, one needed the appropriate skills such as decision-making and a powerful build. On top of that, one had to train and train some more. After that, one needed equipment, to maintain that equipment, to learn how to use it, and to continue training with it. But after spending years of effort and lots of money, one would earn one of two things: victory or defeat. One wrong step and death was even possible. ¡­The risk is great. However, there was occasionally reason enough to take on that risk. ¡°Peace and safety. The acquisition and preservation thereof. Does your attempt to eliminate me come from that desire for stability? ¡­Most notably from the preservation of order, I would assume.¡± Her question was answered with sparks. Armored men stood before her. About half of them had collapsed, but the remaining ones were quite skilled. Even now, they were attacking her with giant jitte-shaped weapons. ¡°Who the hell are you!?¡± ¡°I believe I already named myself. But I am new to this place.¡± And¡­ ¡°You are attempting to capture a small creature and you are attacking a newcomer. I too feel a desire to play with an adorable little life when I come across one, so I am not about to hand it over. Is that not how you feel?¡± ¡°Is this any time for that!?¡± ¡°It is!!¡± declared Kagami. ¡°I was showing my love for this small animal, but you suddenly attacked us! So you have an obligation to answer my questions about small animals!¡± ¡°That¡¯s-¡­¡± ¡°Do you like small animals?¡± asked Kagami even as the attacks sent sparks flying from the giant sword in her hands. ¡°Aren¡¯t dogs, cats, and even rodents great? Cats are especially ideal. You know the wonderful feeling when you crouch down in front of them and they interact with you, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°D-dammit! So what if I do!?¡± ¡°Then,¡± she said. ¡°I saw it in the newspaper, but it seems people have started playing with their cats by creating frames on the floor for them to climb inside.¡± ¡°So what!? I¡¯ve never done that!¡± ¡°That is not what I was trying to say.¡± Their weapons were locked together and Kagami lightly pulled hers back and spoke quietly. ¡°When the cat refuses to enter the frame, you feel like picking it up and putting it inside yourself, but that would just be rude, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Kh!¡± ¡°And when small animals do what we want, we sometimes count it as our own accomplishment. ¡­That is wrong, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°W-what does that-¡­¡± He never managed to get out the word ¡°matter¡±. His weapon burst into scattering light. In that instant, his servant was tossed into the space his weapon had occupied. It was a light spirit. The small ball was immediately returned to the spell circle that was rotating in midair. Kagami¡¯s sword had been locked with that man¡¯s weapon, but that weapon was gone now. ¡°I see.¡± Kagami spoke as she swung her own weapon through. ¡°Your weapons are an alternate use of those things you call servants, but as weapons, they are based on your own belief. When faced with a contradiction, they cannot maintain their form.¡± She made a slashing strike. Except this was a sword with a cannon encased inside. The first shot embedded in her opponent¡¯s armor and destroyed it as he was sent flying back. ¡­I have to avoid slamming them into the ground. She had no intention of killing them. She had no intention of losing them. There was another opponent who would force her hand as far as that was concerned. But for now¡­ ¡°Let me ask.¡± Kagami watched her opponents¡¯ movements. They quickly stepped forward to suppress her in waves, so she continued attacking as she asked a question. Kagami held her five meter sword and observed the approaching enemies. ¡°These are made of ether. They use a servant and they take training, knowledge, and ¨C most importantly ¨C belief to use. Their biggest advantage is¡­¡± She looked to her enemy and their three meter weapons created with the same system. No, her own weapon had simply been created by copying how their weapons had been ejected and given form. She smiled a bit when she saw no waver in their attack stances. ¡­Well done. They were a well-regulated organization. Not only were the soldiers this well-trained, but¡­ ¡°The biggest advantage of these weapons is that they can be preserved as long as the spell user¡¯s belief is not broken, their life is not ended, and their ether supply is not cut off. And since they are an embodiment of a spell, their ammunition never needs to be resupplied as long as the ether is maintained. These are a type of invincible weapon.¡± The enemy arrived. The three in the lead slammed their jitte-shaped weapons against her. They came from either side, above, and below. A mid-level jab came from directly ahead. None of them left their jitte sword-breakers level. Each individual attacked with a height difference. They created a wall. The key to it all was the one in the center. His jab arrived soonest. Whether she moved up, down, left, or right to avoid it, the other jitte strikes would reach her. The only way to stop this charge was to take out that central man, but that was not easy when he was hidden by a three meter weapon. The three men were working together quite well. And¡­ ¡­To the left and right as well. Two similar groups were rushing in to surround her. Behind those groups of three, Kagami saw the remaining men gliding along low to the ground and raising their jitte as shields. Rectangular spell circles taller than the jitte stood out from their surface and had the word ¡°defense¡± written inside them. Kagami guessed they were determined to prevent any damage from escaping this battle. In that case¡­ ¡°What is the meaning of this?¡± She moved forward. The central jab arrived ahead of the left and right jitte strikes, but she did not care. She held her sword horizontally and dropped it down from the hilt. Before the diagonally lowered sword¡¯s pommel hit the ground, she stepped on it with the heel of her boot. ¡°What are all of you doing?¡± The sword stood up diagonally and the tip tore into the jabbing jitte from below. It hit the bottom of the sword-breaker portion. The thick blade struck it and sent a steel sound racing out. It hit and broke it. The jitte was not cut, scraped, or severed. It was simply broken. The sword-breaker portion came off at the base, leaving the jitte in two pieces. A metallic sound rang out and the light spirit vanished into the spell circle. A moment later, Kagami¡¯s sword reached the armored uniform of the man wielding the jabbing jitte. The sword¡¯s pommel dug into the ground and the tip drilled into his chest armor from below, just like a pike. The fibers woven below the armor¡¯s hardened plastic snapped and the armor broke. His decelerated body collided with the thick blade. ¡°¡­!¡± His body was tossed upwards because Kagami had kicked up the pommel from below. The hilt rose, making the sword horizontal once more, and she thrust the large sword forward. The width of the blade was thicker than the jitte coming in through the center, but¡­ ¡­This is enough space to escape the attacks on the left and right! Kagami stepped forward as if pulled on by the sword. She made it through. Men in armored uniforms swung their jitte on either side of her. She swung her large sword backwards and spun it around to face the gap between them. ¡°Fire.¡± If this weapon operated on one¡¯s belief, she knew her thoughts would be able to reach it. She immediately heard mechanical sounds coming from her hands. The movement was slow, so she decided she had not quite gotten the hang of using this equipment. At the moment, the sword began to transform, the blade split down the center, and¡­ ¡°The main cannon has appeared, has it?¡± Just as she passed the enemy, she fired the cannon backwards. ¡­She¡¯s even created a firing form!? Koutarou, the young man leading the men in armored uniforms, saw the girl¡¯s shellfire from head on. He heard a tremendous noise and light seemed to explode outward. However¡­ ¡°A blank!?¡± It had been a powerful blast. The defense team¡¯s defense barriers had their surfaces washed away and had to regain their light, so the attack was on the level of a ranker. However¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± The blank explosion blew away the two who had passed her by on either side. They had been in the middle of swinging their jitte. They had likely intended to move forward and avoid any follow-up attacks while rotating their jitte around into a defensive stance. However, the girl had not overlooked that. She had attacked their backs. And instead of firing a shell, she had used a compression cannon that primarily fired a shockwave. Koutarou doubted she was unable to create a shell. She had simply lowered the front-end acceleration inside the acceleration barrel and slammed a high-speed ¡°explosion¡± at them from behind. A shell would have been better. With a shell, she would have had to target one or the other of them. The explosive blast when it was fired may have shaken the other, but that would have been angled away instead of a direct hit. However, a targeted blank blast was very bad. As for how it was bad¡­ ¡°Left and right, spread out!¡± The explosive blast sent their own jitte slamming into them and the two of them flew through the air. Their speed was already past the limits of their armor¡¯s hardening mechanism. Unable to control it, they were tossed helplessly through the air. And they ended up colliding with the two groups trying to surround the girl on the left and right. ¡°Dammit!¡± shouted someone from the right group. ¡°I was getting excited surrounding an unknown witch, but all I get is a guy thrown at me!?¡± Meanwhile, the guy in question collided with three men who caught him. The sound of armor striking armor was surprisingly light and the same pattern occurred on both sides. ¡°Spread out!¡± The three who caught the airborne man moved in unison to leave the center. Koutarou immediately saw the group on the right knocked flying. It happened in an instant. The girl named Kagami had charged straight into that group. She had followed the path of the flying man, but something was not right about her immediate reaction. ¡­Does that blank cannon not have recoil!? Koutarou had already seen the answer to his question. The sword had jumped backwards from the cannon blast, but she had held it in both hands and pressed it against her right shoulder. ¡°There.¡± And she had swung it around. She had used the recoil for a large rotating swing. She had spun like a top on one heel, but she had also leaned backwards for a splendid horizontal swing. ¡°Is that where you are?¡± she had asked while adding direction to the swing. She had planted her other heel to transform her rotation into a charge. As her sword tore through the air, it had accurately followed the soldier who flew to the right. The problem was the three who had tried to catch that man. The girl had accurately sent her sword in directly below him, so they briefly hesitated. That turned out to be a mistake. The sword¡¯s speed allowed it to slip below him as he flew. The thick tip struck the man in the center. He gave up on catching his fellow soldier and held his jitte up to guard. Koutarou heard two low sounds resembling wind instruments. The sword¡¯s tip pierced the jitte. It passed through his guard and knocked him backwards. A moment later, Koutarou saw the sword perform a vertical half-rotation. It opened up for a cannon blast and the mechanism reconfigured itself faster than before. ¡°Spread out!¡± The blank cannon fired as if helping them obey his command. The men on the left and right were blown away and the airborne man fell head-first. ¡°¡­!¡± However, he flipped around and managed to plant his feet on the ground, even if he was leaning back quite a bit. By that time, the arc of light had already drawn a large ring. Just like before, the sword flew in a splendid horizontal swing. Her new target was the left group. She transferred her rotation into an attack, a great sound of impact pounded into Koutarou¡¯s ears, and he heard a voice. It belonged to the girl going by the name Kagami Kagami. ¡°What is the meaning of this?¡± Even as she attacked and swept them away, she asked about the battle itself rather than them. ¡°Why do you need this kind of equipment!?¡± Kagami asked her question while sweeping away the enemy, competing with them, and pushing them back. ¡°This equipment can be reproduced with ether, it can be carried around without worrying about its weight or volume, and it requires no refueling or reloading as long as you maintain your belief and have ether.¡± What would something like that lead to? ¡°If there was a war, it could easily destroy a nation, if not the entire world.¡± But¡­ ¡°But from the looks of this city, you live in peace. The people are kind and filled with life. ¡­That is a contradiction.¡± She moved forward as she spoke. ¡°So I ask you.¡± Kagami Kagami asked her question while striking the enemy before her and opening a path. ¡°What are you all so afraid of?¡± She swung her weapon, fired it, and asked. ¡°You have this powerful equipment and you are protecting this city and its people. So why are you weaponizing small lives and keeping them ready for combat?¡± Why? ¡°What fills you with such fear and need for protection!?¡± Koutarou wondered what this witch was. Should he call her ignorant or foolish? How could she ask why they had developed these weapons and why they worked with the witches to protect the world? ¡°You can see the answer all around you.¡± Yet she was saying she did not understand. However, her question was related to their ¡°normal¡± everyday life, so he felt it had to be the truth. ¡°Commander!¡± Koutarou saw the men taking defensive stances in front of him raise their hips while leaning forward. ¡°We just received an order to evacuate this area!¡± Evacuate. Koutarou understood what that meant: they could not win here. ¡­A witch just has so much more attack power than a male spell user! Female spells were active ones that specialized in attack and repelling. Male spells were passive ones that specialized in defense and buffering. Most importantly, the active spells allowed girls to interact with servants. Modern times had introduced artificial servants and the performance of male defense spells had vastly improved, but¡­ ¡°That girl is at ranker level! I don¡¯t understand how she could eject just a Normal Device without a servant and then swing it around like that, but she definitely has the ability needed to produce a Normal Form and complete a full Frame!¡± ¡°But we should still be able to restrain her when working together.¡± The rest of the team lifted the corners of their mouth. ¡°I forgot to mention it, but we might need to add the word ¡®top¡¯ in front of ¡®ranker¡¯. Besides¡­¡± The man activated several spells along with the others and switched his armor¡¯s mobile functions to high-speed combat mode. He used his fingers to hit the ¡°allow¡± button on a few spell circles. ¡°Look around you. That girl is fighting us, but she hasn¡¯t done anything that would kill us. Really, she¡¯s just been leading us around.¡± ¡°I understand that she has no hostility toward us. However, I have deemed her dangerous because she opposes our regulations for handling servants and she has produced a Normal Device without a servant.¡± And if she did not want any further damage to result from this battle¡­ ¡°She understands we are only fighting due to the obligations of our position.¡± ¡°Do you know why she¡¯s fighting?¡± He did. ¡°Her question.¡± While clashing with their unit, she had expressed her anger toward how they were fighting here. That was likely her reason to fight. They did not understand why she was fighting and she did not understand why they were fighting. She had asked them, but¡­ ¡°We cannot truly answer that question.¡± ¡°Then what do we do?¡± ¡°We endure. Classes are still in session. This is a time of day when any question is sure to receive an answer.¡± So¡­ ¡°An answerer is sure to arrive. A top ranker witch will arrive to answer her question.¡± ¡°Then,¡± said the others. They all stepped back and put some distance between themselves and the non-standard witch named Kagami. They held their jitte vertically and activated spell circles to reestablish their reinforcement spells. ¡°Who do you think is stronger? Her or our young lady?¡± ¡°The young lady has no reason to lose.¡± ¡°Then,¡± said the others again. ¡°Is it our job to test that!?¡± ¡°It is!¡± Koutarou swung his hand. He spoke to Kagami who held her sword in a lowered position while surrounded. ¡°Listen!¡± He did not entirely understand his opponent, the situation, or the escaped servant. However, he felt a strange emotion deep in his gut. ¡­This opponent. If she would question the most obvious facts of their situation¡­ ¡­Will she act as a powerful medicine against all of our problems? ¡°We have no obligation and no right to answer your question.¡± ¡°Does that mean someone else can answer it?¡± ¡°It does,¡± he said. ¡°But you are dangerous and we do not understand your strength. So if someone is coming to answer you, it will be the one ranked 4th in the world.¡± ¡°Let me say that I am prepared to open the way forward on my own.¡± Kagami then smiled slightly. ¡°My reason for fighting has finally gotten through to you, has it?¡± She took a single step forward and then a second. The man in front of Koutarou reacted by giving the hand signal for ¡°fall back¡±. Koutarou was to arrange to have the area evacuated. He was worried about the others, but all of them lifted the corners of their mouths. ¡°C¡¯mon, let¡¯s do this. We¡¯re a decent enough challenge for a double-digit ranker.¡± ¡°But only when we¡¯re working as a group and only when they¡¯re alone and limited to the ground.¡± ¡°Still, we can achieve measurable results.¡± ¡°We¡¯re the world¡¯s barrier,¡± said one. ¡°Yeah,¡± said another. ¡°We won¡¯t let her through. And if she can, then we¡¯ll accept her.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± said a third. ¡°And if she gets past us, it would have to be above. ¡­I wish she was wearing a skirt, but I¡¯m not about to criticize a girl¡¯s fashion.¡± ¡°Sorry about that,¡± said Kagami in her pantsuit and shoes. She nodded and began moving with a light step. ¡°I am counting on you, gentlemen.¡± She raised her weapon. ¡°And I am thankful.¡± Everyone saw a small light in the western sky out the window. They sat inside a stepped classroom with a high ceiling. The girls¡¯ turned to the oblong window and some scanned the scene with spell circles. Clapping hands reached them from the teacher¡¯s podium. ¡°Everyone, we have been falling behind lately, so try to pay attention. Even if Shihouin Academy is meant to instruct witches, it¡¯s still a high school. If you fall behind in your lessons, I¡¯ll get in trouble and you won¡¯t be prepared for your written and practical exams.¡± Some people replied ¡°yes, ma¡¯am¡± and others silently obeyed and focused on the teacher again. However, one girl raised her hand. ¡°Um, will they be okay?¡± ¡°Just now, a notification was sent out that a location-undesignated S-rank battle has begun in the corresponding area,¡± quietly replied the teacher. ¡°The people have been evacuated and it seems the cause is being guided to an external area of ruins. This is not a problem.¡± ¡°No,¡± said the girl who had raised her hand. ¡°Um, I was talking about the opponent.¡± ¡°The opponent is probably a stray witch,¡± said someone else. ¡°Powerful unregistered witches are usually scouted by U.A.H. or the school. But when Horinouchi is sent out¡­¡± Everyone reached a single conclusion. ¡°They tend to be disciplined in some flashy way.¡± The teacher could only nod in agreement. She pushed up her glasses and finally opened her mouth. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that?¡± A light appeared in the western sky as she spoke. ¡°No matter how strong or harsh they may be, our history and destiny suggest it isn¡¯t enough.¡± By the time Horinouchi arrived at the scene, it was filled with wreckage and the wind blew about scattered ether light. These were ruins. If one travelled a little northeast along the coast of the bay, one would arrive at modern ruins even along the rivers. Horinouchi found several familiar faces collapsed at the entrance to such a place. ¡°Everyone!¡± They were on a wide road. Long ago, it had apparently continued even further west. Men wearing shattered armored uniforms stood on either side of the road. Horinouchi had received a report on her way here and the individual described therein spoke up. ¡°Oh? A new challenger?¡± Instead of simply wearing a suit, the girl¡¯s clothes had a tight style reminiscent of riding clothes. She turned toward Horinouchi. ¡°That movement was quite sudden. Was it an Instant Step?¡± She had seen through it. However, Horinouchi had not let that show in the moment of her arrival. So was this girl bluffing? Or¡­ ¡­Did she see the ether movement of a mobility spell? To make extra certain her approach would not be detected, Horinouchi had travelled the last distance on foot. However, this girl had detected in a way she had not imagined. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°Is there something odd about me?¡± Horinouchi glared at her and raised her right hand to point. ¡°That.¡± The girl noticed the pure white Normal Device she held. It was a large sword. According to the report, it could fire a cannon built inside it. However, Horinouchi noticed something strange now that she had seen it for herself. ¡°That Normal Device.¡± ¡°Those guys were making a fuss over it too, but is summoning this thing really so strange? I think they said something about needing a servant to do it.¡± Something seemed off about the girl¡¯s comment, but Horinouchi was mostly mildly irritated by it. ¡­This is odd. She knew what the girl was saying, but she could not understand it. She did not know what the girl meant by it. She was saying she had summoned a Normal Device without a servant, but that made no sense. That was not how summoning a Normal Device worked. So¡­ ¡°Suzaku.¡± A small red bird appeared on her right shoulder. It was an information entity. It had a highly simplified form to avoid exhausting itself, but as a spirit, it still corresponded to the Suzaku of the Four Divine Beasts. It was the guardian deity of the Horinouchi Shrine that she managed and it had lived there since ancient times. The Suzaku was puffing its chest out proudly. The bird was usually the cool type that did little to assert its presence, but it seemed to be in high spirits today. In that case¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°This is all happening so suddenly again.¡± There was no point in responding to the girl. The girl had destroyed one of the defense units that were essentially under her direct control. They could defeat a double-digit ranker, but they had been utterly devastated here. And if none of them were badly injured¡­ ¡­She¡¯s equal to a high level ranker! But was it possible for someone this skilled to exist outside the organization at a time like this? ¡­Based on what I can see here, it must be true. That thought made her tremble. She had no choice but to accept reality. Whether it was painful, unreasonable, a great division, or anything else, it was happening before her eyes. So¡­ ¡°Summon Normal Frame!¡± Volume 1, 3: Fly Through the Sky Volume 1, Chapter 3: Fly Through the Sky A spell that absorbs power Is a witch¡¯s technique Kagami felt her skin tremble at the girl who had appeared before her. The ether and the ley lines were taking that girl¡¯s side. She could instinctually tell that the foundations of the world were obeying the other girl more than her. And she knew what system one used to make all forces obey them. ¡°A spell!¡± People made those so the world would obey them. A power greater than the weapon Kagami held raced around the girl. It was light. Several spell circles opened inside it. They were vermilion. Several words scrolled across the circular display decorated with maple leaves and the red bird on the girl¡¯s shoulder gave a single cry. ¡°¡­!¡± The bird vanished into the light. The ringing of a bell filled the air. But instead of the light jingle of a small bell, this was the clanking of a large metal bell at a Shinto shrine. The ringing spread out as if setting up a barrier of sound and the girl spread her arms in the center. A moment later, she brought her hands together in front of her. A solid clap left them. In an instant, her clothes scattered into the sound. But by the time they did, spell circles enveloped her to the point of hiding her body. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± After another clap, small collections of mechanical components appeared on different parts of the girl¡¯s body. Kagami guessed they were engines made of ether. She was right. The engines consumed ether to spin and they accelerated the ley lines that supported her. The spiraling light was pressurized and it wrapped around her body. ¡°Oh? You can construct armor and reinforced engines too? That is a splendid mental presentation.¡± The girl created heavy armor and clothing. An especially solid part was ejected from the legs to assist in flight and as a point of support when wielding a large weapon. The engines were contained inside and it was all powered by ether. Thousands of bolts made of ether were ejected into the air and they drove into each part of her equipment to hold it in place. The sound reverberated outward. Kagami did not overlook the single spell circle that opened in the center as if to be stored in the girl¡¯s chest. It contained a heart-shaped indicator and it was likely the central system for her ether equipment. Kagami managed to read the mirror-image writing in the spell circle. It said ¡°Phlogiston Heart System¡±. ¡°I see.¡± The ringing of the bell began to fade and the wall of light thinned. A girl wielding a massive bowgun was revealed just about to leave the barrier. On her upper body, the clothing stood out more than the armor, but the giant arms and legs were meant for swift and heavy combat. She slowly raised her head and looked toward Kagami. Sensing that the battle would begin soon, Kagami breathed in. ¡°I see.¡± A realization came to her. She had been mistaken about something. She had been right in assuming the sword she held was the primary form of weapons in this world, but¡­ ¡­It is large and it has a way of swinging you around. She had assumed they had some system for lightening their weapons, but that was wrong. ¡°So you¡¯re meant to swing these things around only after creating an armored outfit and reinforced engines out of ether like you just did.¡± And at the center of it all was the spell circle contained inside the girl¡¯s chest armor. ¡°Phlogiston Heart. Could you call that a burning belief? I suppose that is the core of the spell and the part that manages the presentation. Then if I follow your rules¡­¡± Kagami threw her sword into the sky and prepared her stance. ¡­It is probably my limbs and awareness of my heart that matter. As she thought, the sword fell from the sky. The hilt was pointed up and the blade down. The tip of the massive blade produced a sound of destruction as it stabbed into the ground. Immediately afterwards, Kagami raised her voice. ¡°Summon Normal Frame. ¡­That is how it works, right?¡± ¡°Teacher, I¡¯m detecting a large-scale ley line vibration in the eastern ruins. No, two of them!¡± A girl in the classroom spoke while holding up a crystal pendant. Similarly, another girl raised her head. ¡°The special equipment, spell, and honors divisions are worried too. There¡¯s a stir running through our unique ether. The servants are probably causing a commotion right now.¡± However, the previous girl¡¯s report pointed to a certain fact. ¡°The stray witch summoned a Normal Device, too?¡± A clap answered that question. It came from the teacher on the podium. She looked up at the students and spoke. ¡°A Normal Frame is a general term referring to both the Normal Device weapon and the Normal Form clothing, but that equipment is a manifestation of the summoner¡¯s mind created with a servant¡¯s power.¡± And¡­ ¡°The engine system that supports the Frame is controlled by the Phlogiston Heart we all possess. In that case, it would be entirely possible for this stray witch to summon the same sort of system. She only needs to possess a witch¡¯s heart, the Phlogiston Heart that allows one to alter the world as they see fit.¡± Horinouchi saw the girl summon a Normal Frame. No, she had already summoned a Device, so she was only summoning a Normal Form. But even as she watched it happen right in front of her, she could not believe it. The engine system and everything else were included and the armor was attached, but¡­ ¡°You can summon an entire Normal Frame without a servant!?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been wondering. Can you not?¡± ¡°The only one who can do that is-¡­¡± She was cut off by a single spell circle appearing in the girl¡¯s chest armor. It was decorated with Greek characters that said ¡°Burning Belief¡±. It was not actually a Phlogiston Heart System, but it must have filled the same role. ¡­Did she watch my summoning and copy it? That is insane, thought Horinouchi. I¡¯ve never come across anyone like this before. And this was more than an unintentional copy. During her summoning, the multiple spells Horinouchi had used had pulled the ley lines and ether toward her. All of that was released when she ended the summoning and this girl had targeted that instant. A Normal Device was a weapon made of ether. The girl¡¯s was stabbed into the ground. Ley lines flowed through all space, but their concentration was especially dense underground. The ether blade must have acted as a keystone to the ley lines gathered there and thus supplied her with power. On top of that, she summoned the engines. To directly take in the ether and ley lines she had gathered, the ether engines had used the ¡°mold¡± left by the departing ley lines and ether. In other words, she had intentionally copied Horinouchi. She had already created her Device, so she had only summoned the Form. That cut down the time required. So by the time she knocked her fists together¡­ ¡°I have borrowed a lot for this match, but will this work?¡± She had done a splendid job. The Normal Form was symmetrical. She had directly used a portion of Horinouchi¡¯s system, but¡­ ¡°If you think this is not fair, I can release it.¡± ¡°The Phlogiston Heart System is meant for any witch above a certain level. You can tune the engines for your own needs, but everyone uses one of a few basic models. If modelling yours after that is unfair, then I too am not playing fair.¡± ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Horinouchi was confused. She had been expecting a sign of comprehension such as ¡°I see¡± or ¡°understood¡±, but that was not what she got. ¡­How can she ask what I mean? As she had said, the Phlogiston Heart System did more than simply create a weapon out of ether. It first created engines out of ether so they could strengthen what came later. The engines provided the power assistance needed to complete one¡¯s equipment. And after it was complete, the engines were used to increase the output of the equipment. ¡°I mean the days of merely creating a weapon from ether and wielding them with brute strength are long gone.¡± Her opponent did not respond. She simply stared at Horinouchi and inhaled. She intended to move. The Suzaku appeared on Horinouchi¡¯s shoulder and gave a powerful cry. Was it meant to warn Horinouchi or intimidate her opponent? Either way, the sharp cry was higher-pitched than any Horinouchi had heard before. ¡­Just like that night ten years ago. So she too breathed in and named herself. This was a battle between witches. She doubted it would be listed in the official records, but she raised her Normal Device regardless. ¡°I am Horinouchi Mitsuru, Student Council President of Shihouin Academy and #4 in the world witch rankings. My combat style is ¡®Shrine Maiden¡¯. I challenge you to an official match.¡± ¡°This just sounds bloody. So what is mine?¡± It was obvious at a glance. Then again, a Normal Form was a representation of that person¡¯s heart. Horinouchi simply spoke the name of the designation she assumed it was from its appearance alone. ¡°Holy Knight-style. I believe that is a rather old design.¡± ¡°I guess the previous stuff is influencing it. Oh, well. Thanks.¡± The girl showed off a small smile. It was not a false smile. Her honest thanks could be seen in it. ¡°Horinouchi, you can deal with my affiliation and whatever on your own. ¡­At any rate, I will accept your challenge as a chance to study.¡± She slowly opened her mouth. ¡°My name is Kagami Kagami. I hope you will remember it.¡± A barrier covered the classroom window. It was a thick shutter. Each individual panel of armor was fairly large, but its physical defensive ability was less important than the multiple defense spell system incorporated into the inside. The insides of the classroom walls were covered in a system equivalent to the shutter. The classroom grew dark and reinforcing and buffering control spells appeared in the four corners of the ceiling and floor as well as in a few other places. ¡°This will allow us to endure a Magino Frame attack while inside the classroom. Similar spell defense barriers will have risen in places along Tokyo Bay¡¯s coast to protect the people there.¡± As the teacher spoke, noises shook the classroom. They were located on the bay, so the noise reached them after echoing off the massive ocean surface. ¡°That¡¯s the sound of the air being split,¡± said someone while staring up into the unseen sky. Someone else bent their fingers to count. ¡°It¡¯s moving at over 200 meters per second. If they¡¯re doing this immediately after summoning their Normal, I wish I¡¯d napped in the courtyard instead of going to class. I could have seen an air battle between top rankers.¡± ¡°Wait.¡± One of them spoke behind one of the stepped classroom¡¯s desks so the teacher would not notice. ¡°My dad¡¯s outside and he just told me the stray witch¡¯s combat style is Holy Knight. But I thought that style couldn¡¯t do aerial battles.¡± ¡°Witches are all about exceptions to the rules,¡± someone whispered back. Two loud rumbles shook the ceiling and they all shrugged. ¡°Holy Knight equipment is slow and old and they can never find the right person for it, so how is someone using that in an aerial battle against the Suzaku shrine maiden?¡± ¡°C¡¯mon, everyone. You can find exceptions everywhere and in everything,¡± said the teacher after looking up at the rising rumble and reverberation. ¡°A witch¡¯s Frame is a manifestation of the summoner¡¯s mind created with a servant¡¯s power.¡± Realizing the teacher had heard them, the girls either put up their guard or sighed, but one of them asked a question. ¡°But, teacher. Why are they modeled after the equipment used by different ancient professions? I¡¯d like to freely design one into something more fashionable.¡± ¡°That is to raise the manifestation of the presentation and increase how active it is afterwards. The historical ¡®forms¡¯ have their reasons. Don¡¯t tell me you wanted to fight the Black Witch in a night dress. Listen.¡± As she spoke, new sounds joined the reverberation of the air: sounds of clashing metal and blasting air. ¡°Sword fighting and cannon fire.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The teacher nodded. ¡°The basic design of the Normal Frame is the weapon based in the user¡¯s mind and beliefs and the equipment based on their occupation. I¡¯m sure anyone in the ranker class is entirely focused on strengthening and retouching them.¡± So¡­ ¡°I don¡¯t know about this stray witch, but it is certain that Miss Horinouchi has the upper hand as far as building up one¡¯s Frame is concerned.¡± The teacher did not stop there. ¡°But even if your rank is lower than hers, you still have a role on Hexennacht. You understand how likely that is after the tragedy ten years ago, don¡¯t you?¡± Everyone stiffened at that question. They heard a cannon fired far overhead. The splitting of the air now sounded like distant thunder. ¡°You will receive the most support from your servant. The individual servant determines the coloration of your equipment, but be careful if you choose a servant for fashion reasons. A servant has a symbiotic relationship with its witch, so you cannot swap it out. If you do end up with a servant partner that creates a color you don¡¯t like¡­¡± One of the students raised her hand while looking up into the sky. Despite the battle overhead, this was still class time, so there was something else they needed to focus on. ¡°We¡¯ve already started working towards opposing Hexennacht, but¡­¡± The girl turned her back on the shuttered window as she spoke. ¡°If there is a problem with our equipment, we can hurry over to the clothing division and ask them to find a way to modify the design. For a servant¡¯s idiosyncrasies, we need to get a breeder to fix it.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The teacher nodded and made sure she and the students were focused on her again. ¡°During my generation¡¯s Hexennacht, we were told ¡®that kind of selfishness¡¯ was not allowed, but this is a much nicer age.¡± ¡°Then,¡± said one student while raising her hand. She was the one who had received a report from her father earlier and she leaned forward as she asked a question. ¡°Teacher, is it possible to summon a Frame without a servant?¡± ¡°It is said only one person can do that.¡± After looking across all of her students, the teacher continued. ¡°Only the Black Witch, mankind¡¯s fated enemy who sealed herself in the moon, the source of this world¡¯s magic power, and left Hexennacht as an assignment for us.¡± Kagami was amazed at how clear the air was. It was early summer, but the air was chilly. Of course, she was over ten kilometers up. Also, there was a reason she was able to fly and focus on her fighting. ¡°I see. The engines supporting this outfit take care of the protective spells the spell user would normally have to cast.¡± She saw Tokyo Bay down below. A school was located at the center of its deep shape. She had heard that school raised witches. However¡­ ¡­Around it. Tokyo was destroyed. Occupied villages were visible on the southwest side of Tokyo Bay and heading toward the Yokohama region and she could see the air wavering from the smoke and heat of people living there. But a quick turn to the north and everything changed. A giant crater existed around Shinjuku and it had become a lake. Several other smaller holes decorated the ruined metropolis. In places, diagonal gashes cut into the city¡¯s shape. Destruction had transformed the buildings into twisted pieces of art. Some had been compressed downwards and some had had half the building torn away by a spherical shape. ¡°What is this?¡± muttered Kagami. At the same time, something flew toward her. It had red hair. It was Horinouchi. The ether light of her Normal Frame caused her hair to glow red and she held her weapon at the ready. It looked like some kind of long gun. The gun resembled a red and white dragon¡¯s head or a bird with its wings spread behind it. She held it toward Kagami and accelerated diagonally through the sky. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± She fired. It fired an ether shell created inside the gun, but it had likely had its physical hardness increased. Kagami accelerated to the side to dodge. ¡­Ohh. As the shot broke through an explosion of water vapor and flew past her, she noted arrow feathers on the high-speed shell. The sound arrived after the fact and Kagami approached Horinouchi at the same kind of speed. She understood the principle behind her flight, but she had not quite grasped the technique needed to take tight turns. The flight primarily used the accelerators on her leg armor, which allowed her to easily swing herself around by moving her upper body. Needless to say, if she effectively used that unbalanced nature¡­ ¡°I can turn just my body while maintaining my speed forward!¡± She twisted to the right while flying straight ahead. Once her speed reached a certain level, her entire body could no longer stop its forward movement for reasons other than air resistance. And so she rotated her body to turn right and then backwards. ¡°There you are!¡± About two hundred meters back and to her right, she spotted Horinouchi. The girl jumped away. To forcibly alter her trajectory, she had used her leg accelerators for a short hop. She had moved down. The sky was vast and allowed her to move in three dimensions, but she chose the direction that made it more difficult to lower her speed. At first glance, one would see the ruins down below and her actions would be harder to distinguish. Also¡­ ¡°She is used to this.¡± Kagami jumped, too. As soon as she did, a shell passed through the spot she had just vacated. In an instant, she crouched down in midair and moved as if toppling forward. ¡°Like this?¡± She kicked at the heavens. The acceleration was instantaneous, so she continued doing it. She took a second, third, and then fourth accelerating step. ¡°There.¡± Ahead of her, she saw Horinouchi raising her gun toward her with the ruins in the background. Kagami was going to be shot, so she took evasive action. She tore through the sky, hopped right, hopped left despite the shell flying toward her, and then¡­ ¡°¡­!¡± She sliced through the flying shell with her large sword. She could feel the straight-line force of the shell and she knew Horinouchi would be at the other end of that force. And she was. The rest was simple. Kagami accelerated to fill the gap between them. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± Horinouchi fired on Kagami again from a distance of one hundred meters. The shell flew straight once more. It was an honest trajectory that demonstrated the girl¡¯s diligent spirit, so Kagami sliced through the shell again and¡­ ¡°Fire!¡± She immediately put her sword in firing mode. Instead of a blank, she fired an actual shell along the path she planned to fly. Kagami thought she had hit. In the instant after an attack, when her opponent would have been checking to see if she had hit or not, she had counterattacked. It would have been difficult for Horinouchi to evade while holding that gun. However¡­ ¡°Ohh¡­¡± Ether light exploded and sprayed outward. And another light was visible beyond the fragments and blast of Kagami¡¯s shell. It was an arrow. The arrow was shaped like the shells Horinouchi had fired earlier. However, there were more than one and they did not fly forward like shells. Horinouchi¡¯s right hand was raised toward Kagami and it held three stacked arrows like a shield. Past the three arrows, her sharp gaze was focused on Kagami. While flying and trying to take up a good position against Kagami, the Suzaku shrine maiden spoke. ¡°My shield cannot be broken with a single individual¡¯s power.¡± ¡°So this world also holds that tradition!¡± After speaking, Horinouchi shut down her shield. Kagami also prepared her next attack. But Horinouchi was faster. Her gun was still pointed at Kagami and¡­ ¡°Firing form!¡± With a rotating metallic sound, the back end of her gun opened wide. It was not a gun at all. It was a bow. The bow had two wheels at the base and it opened up in the sky, resembling a dragon or the Suzaku. As she flew, Horinouchi drew the ether bowstring. ¡°Cry out, Akerindou.¡±[1] In an instant, a dozen shells flew toward Kagami. And they were homing shells. Notes 1. ¡ü Means ¡°Vermilion Gentian¡±. Volume 1, 4: Smile to the Moon Volume 1, Chapter 4: Smile to the Moon You are in such a hurry You are in such a hurry You are in such a hurry Can you really pull this off? The white knight flew through the sky. The red shrine maiden pursued her. More and more homing shots were rapidly fired from the expanded red bow. As if chasing their prey, several dozen arrows flew against the wind, descended, and otherwise pursued the knight. The knight made several short midair dashes and occasionally¡­ ¡°Kh!¡± She would throw in quick bursts of acceleration that caused her entire body to tremble to put some distance between herself and the shots that were catching up fast. Occasionally, the homing maws would approach down at her feet and cross paths. They prepared to devour her, but she made a quick dash to put some distance between them. Immediately afterwards, the clear shells collided with each other and detonated. Several bright lights of destruction filled the sky and left a trail behind the knight. The red shrine maiden did not hold back. She always remained behind the barrage and she constantly fired and accelerated. The bundle of shells she fired now resembled a flock of birds taking flight. The twang of the bowstring filled the sky with repetitive music. She forced the knight downwards. If she was to corner the girl, she had to send her to the ruins below where there was no escape. Hiding behind the buildings would be of no help. The arrows could easily punch through the decrepit structures and she could supply the finishing blow in the unmaintained and abandoned streets. Even so, the knight may have thought they would act as cover. She took the lead and flew quickly into the city. Horinouchi did not slow down. She flew at around five meters above the surface. She was very nearly exceeding three hundred kilometers per hour, so merely touching the asphalt would be fatal. However, she still did not slow down. She could not when the witch named Kagami was actually accelerating up ahead. ¡­How reckless. They were traveling at nearly ninety meters per second now. Even if the city was in ruins, there were still obstacles. Before the city had become what it was now, elevated highways had run through it and cars had driven along them. All of that had fallen into ruin, but they had not completely vanished. ¡°It¡¯s been ten years, hasn¡¯t it?¡± A decade before, it had not been like this. Horinouchi vaguely remembered it. There had been people here and the streets had been filled with light, noise, and movement. All of that was gone now. Instead, she and the other witch were creating different lights, noises, and movements. ¡°There.¡± She fired straight forward. She fired a barrage of homing shots. However, she did not stop there. She started on a further attack. ¡°A barrier!¡± A soon as the barrage raced out, she expanded a large spell barrier around it. Every projectile within the designated range of the spell circle had barrier-style course restrictions installed inside. They were then kick-started. The group of shells flew. They tore through the air and surrounded Kagami from above, below, left, and right. However, the course restrictions prevented them from hitting the surrounding buildings or the ground. All of them took the shortest possible route to reach and corner Kagami. Meanwhile, Horinouchi saw Kagami move. The girl turned back toward her even as she moved at such high speeds. Horinouchi understood. She had demonstrated this form of movement earlier. After speeding up, she let her momentum carry her forward while moving her own body around freely. ¡­She will intercept the initial homing shells with her sword and then fire a counterattack. The girl was not going to carelessly let Horinouchi get in close. She had the skill and preparation needed to intercept the shots. So Horinouchi fired again as Kagami turned around. She fired three non-homing but high-speed shots. The arrows split the air and created explosions of water vapor. Kagami reacted by accelerating even as she faced backwards. ¡­They¡¯re going to hit! That was exactly what happened. The three shots struck Kagami. However, they transformed into bursting light. Because they were travelling at ninety meters per second, Horinouchi quickly passed by the light. The scattering ether and the solid sound slipped through her blowing hair. Kagami had defended. Horinouchi saw the girl had stopped the arrows with the tip of her sword which was raised like a shield. Kagami and the sword were blown backwards and she used that extra momentum to escape the pursuing homing shots. Also¡­ ¡°She fired!?¡± She held the sword like a musical instrument and fired it diagonally into the sky. It was a meaningless shot. It looked like she had been trying to hit Horinouchi but had her aim thrown horribly off by her defense. Except that was not the case at all. The shell flew toward a giant building that had originally been a luxury hotel. The white exterior walls were stained by the rain and the sky was visible through the large hole in the center. Partway up the building, a column on either side supported the giant hole and Kagami¡¯s blast tore into the closer of the two. Its destruction sounded like a strong thread snapping. The rest was simple. The wind roared and the collapse began. ¡°Are you insane!?¡± The hundred meter square structure collapsed toward their path forward. Kagami flipped around in midair. She turned her back on Horinouchi and accelerated. The giant mass in the sky above felt like it was about to fall on top of her. Regardless, she accelerated. As if kicking off the air, she collapsed forward and took a path that would slip below the collapsing building. ¡­Not long now. She read the ¡°gap¡± she needed in order to make it through. It all came down to her timing. ¡°Come!¡± As soon as she shouted, three swift attacks arrived from behind. Horinouchi had fired, but¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± The triple attack passed above Kagami and struck something else. It hit the damaged portion of the collapsing building. It accurately pierced through the spot still connecting the collapsing top half to the bottom half. As a result, the great mass lost its only support, making it accelerate and change its course. It was now going to collide with Kagami. With the inside pointed downward, it slid down as if to catch her within. Her course below would not make it in time. She watched as the giant wall fell in front of her. ¡°I see,¡± she shouted. ¡°Instead of shooting me, you chose to block my path and stop me. So that is who you are, Horinouchi!¡± She was aware that she was smiling as she moved. She had her entire body jump upwards. ¡°It was well worth hoping you would be that kind of person!¡± Horinouchi sent herself on a rising trajectory to circle around the falling building. As if drawing in the air ahead of her, she rapidly swung her entire body upwards. After confirming that Kagami collided with the wall below, she would slow down and finish the girl off. But she was not able to do that. When she looked down, she saw Kagami launching her body in another direction. Kagami leaned forward and low, so Horinouchi assumed she had chosen a downward trajectory. But she had not. The white holy knight gathered all the momentum that was sending her body rotating forward. ¡°¡­!¡± And she leaped. She kicked off the air and leaped upwards with a movement similar to returning from a handstand. ¡­That¡¯s ridiculous! She had changed her great forward acceleration into an almost entirely vertical jump. Inertia had to be placing a heavy burden on her body, but¡­ ¡°Kah!¡± The knight let out a rough breath and completed her movement. She had just barely made it. She was close enough to place her hand on the edge of the falling building to assist her rotation. Regardless, she had done it. And Horinouchi realized Kagami had turned toward her. She still had forward momentum, but she was no longer flying. She placed her feet on top of the collapsing and falling building, back stepped, and slid backwards. She held her sword at the hip. The shockwave of her passage shattered the building¡¯s remaining windows, sparks flew from the soles of her feet, and she had her sword at the ready. She planned to fire. The sword was in firing mode and Horinouchi noticed light already inside the muzzle. ¡­She¡¯s trying for a counter!? Horinouchi could block a simple shell with her three arrows, so Kagami had opted for a counter. She would be stopped while Horinouchi would swiftly charge in. But once Horinouchi matched their altitudes, she could fire directly at her. She was guessing their relative speeds would allow her shell to break through Horinouchi¡¯s shield. That was what this was. When she realized what that meant, Horinouchi could not stop the heat that rose from her neck and into her cheeks. ¡­Sh-she predicted I would drop the building in front of her!? Just as Horinouchi felt like she had been called na?ve, Kagami fired on her. The counter flew toward the very center of her body. As an archer, she could tell just how splendid a shot it was. Horinouchi made up her mind. She decided it was her experience that kept her from choosing any kind of defense. She did something else here. ¡°Akerindou.¡± Inside its spell circle, her Phlogiston Heart heated up. While assuming its heat was what she felt in her cheeks, she drew the ether bowstring all at once. The instant she grabbed the string, a shell was formed in Akerindou¡¯s chamber. And this shot was large enough to extend from the chamber into the acceleration pathway. ¡­Even if she defends, this will smash a Normal Device made without a servant! With that thought, she looked forward. Kagami had targeted the very center of her body, so she fired diagonally down from above that. ¡°Cry out!¡± Kagami saw the light shatter in midair and a vermilion arrow fly her way. The vermilion arrow flew down diagonally and her own shell crashed into it. But the enemy¡¯s shot managed to pierce through her own and it flew on at high speed. It was on a perfect collision course and it was quite powerful. Kagami assumed her sword would be destroyed if she tried to defend. ¡°Honestly!¡± A smile appeared on her lips, but she forced it down and gave a shout. ¡°I must ask!¡± With that, she raised her sword. A moment later, the coming arrow collided with the protecting blade. It was a direct hit and the giant blade shattered in an instant. ¡­I shot her down! Horinouchi saw light explode atop the falling building. The scattering light was clearly ether light. The enemy¡¯s Normal Device had been destroyed. The enemy had made a counterattack, so Horinouchi had done the same. And her shell had more force behind it. That was her reason behind firing and it had produced definite results. However, she still did not hold back. She maintained the momentum of her flight, prepared Akerindou in firing form, and flew directly above the collapsing building. She fired again. She fired a non-homing multi-shot toward the center of Kagami¡¯s previous location. A human form was vaguely visible through the glowing smoke, but it lacked accuracy. That was her reasoning for using the multi-shot. The ether bowstring twanged once. The barrage of multiple bullets flew toward the enemy below. Immediately afterwards, the falling building crashed into the ground. The sound of breaking rock rang out. Below, the building seemed to bounce lightly. It was an old and rotting building and walls that had lost their connections fell from the ceilings and floors that were perpendicular to the ground. The roar of collapse and clouds of dust sent the air inside the building blowing out. With the walls knocked loose, the building looked like a grid structure. This opened plenty of massive gaps that allowed the rising dust to settle down. Horinouchi had a thought as she looked at the honeycomb-like wreckage: My shot was almost entirely useless, wasn¡¯t it? But she saw something in the scattering smoke: light. It was clearly ether light. And¡­ ¡°She¡¯s re-summoning a Frame!?¡± Her question proved accurate. Kagami stood directly below her. Her arms were spread and she was completing a certain task. She was doing something to her shattered Normal Device. ¡°Reform!¡± Kagami breathed in. ¡­That was a splendid shot. Comparing just their weapons, her Normal Device could not hope to stand up to Horinouchi¡¯s. Not only had she not used a servant, but she had made hers far too roughly because she had been copying someone and doing it for the first time. She had been fighting with no engines or anything else in her weapon. She had wanted to reform it to fix that, but she had not been able to spare the time needed to officially complete the ceremony and the ether was not something one could gather immediately. That was why she had wanted to recycle her previous weapon. She had decided to reform the existing Normal Device which she considered to be a wonderfully ecological plan. However, there had been a problem. Despite her complaints, she had done a good job of making the weapon. It was not easy to break. That was why she had used Horinouchi¡¯s attack. She had made a counterattack. If that was enough to defeat her opponent, that was fine. But if she instead used her opponent¡¯s attack to destroy her weapon, she could use that ether as well. Either result had been fine by her. ¡­So¡­ She reformed her large sword with an ether engine in the center. This would work. Unlike before, the sword had an acceleration thruster contained in the guard. ¡°Now, then.¡± She grabbed the hilt and took flight. She flew vertically to reach the shrine maiden witch located directly overhead. The servant looked up at the battle in the sky. It had left the area occupied by man and reached an area of nothing but ruins. It had a certain amount of knowledge supplied for its survival, this was an abandoned city, and no pursuers were coming. Therefore, everything would be okay if it settled down here. But the sky was noisy and, when it looked up, it realized something. The person who had allowed it to escape was fighting. It understood that. ¡­What is this? She had nothing. When it had first met that person, it had not sensed the ether power any of this world¡¯s witches would have or anything else either. This was strange. How could she fight if that was the case? How could she fight just like witches did? ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± The servant did not know. But that dragon child had a thought: the method, means, and technique did not matter. She was fighting using something beyond its knowledge. In that case¡­ ¡­Why? Why? Not ¡°how¡±. ¡°Why¡± was she fighting? And why had she let the dragon child escape? Its very existence was a mistake, so why? ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± It looked up into the sky. Two lights were wrapping around each other at high speed, scattering other lights, and rising into the heavens. They would not stop. Horinouchi could tell her enemy had grown stronger. ¡­This girl! The girl was generally following their rules, but she would occasionally do something that ignored them completely. Rankers would occasionally exist outside the rules like that, but this girl was especially bad. Not only had she remade her Normal Device mid-battle, but¡­ ¡°She¡¯s keeping up with my speed!?¡± Horinouchi was a shrine maiden, but her servant was the Suzaku. When it came to flight speed and control, she did not just rival the three ranked above her, she believed she outdid them at least in some aspects. However¡­ ¡°Sorry, but I am borrowing your power. You should have expected that.¡± The girl dodged a homing arrow Horinouchi fired at close range and she swung her sword forward. Horinouchi deflected it with her three arrow shield and placed some homing shots behind her. They had little initial speed, but the homing barrage accelerated and almost seemed to hop over to accurately pursue the girl. However, that girl named Kagami sliced them and swept them away with her sword while accelerating after Horinouchi. ¡°Listen, Horinouchi!¡± ¡°What point is there in speaking with you!?¡± Kagami paid no heed to that response. She pressed her sword against the arrow shield, trying to break through. ¡°This world!¡± Kagami raised her eyebrows as she asked her question. ¡°What is your purpose here when everything is so badly destroyed!?¡± And¡­ ¡°Those weapons. What enemy are they meant to protect you from!?¡± ¡°Have you never heard of Hexennacht!?¡± asked Horinouchi on reflex. ¡­There¡¯s no way she couldn¡¯t have! Horinouchi could not be the only one with such fresh memories of ten years before. Even so, Kagami crossed her arms in midair. ¡°I have not! So I ask that you tell me!¡± ¡­Th-that idiot! She was too honest or too bold or too something. At any rate, she was hopelessly ignorant. Horinouchi began explaining what she had learned in class countless times and saw or heard mentioned on the internet or in conversation on a daily basis. ¡°Listen.¡± She fired arrows and dodged attacks as she spoke to the idiot. ¡°It¡¯s the Black Witch.¡± As she flew, Horinouchi caught Kagami¡¯s sword on her shield and twisted it. She faced them both toward the ground and performed several rolls while glowing sparks flew from the area of continuing contact. ¡°Can¡¯t you see this?¡± Horinouchi ascended through the sky as she spoke. ¡°There is a reconstructed city directly below, but the rest of Tokyo around it, the rest of the Japanese Archipelago, and ¨C most importantly ¨C the rest of the world was mostly destroyed. Can¡¯t you see that?¡± ¡°What is-¡­?¡± ¡°This was the result of our battle with the Black Witch! It happened ten years ago and has been the way of our world for long, long before that!¡± She shoved Kagami away, fired, and fired some more, but Kagami caught the homing shots on her sword and swept them away. ¡°Battling the Black Witch is the way of this world? Is there really a battle like that!?¡± ¡°Yes, that is Hexennacht. The Black Witch is said to have created this world. But when she grew tired of it, she attempted to destroy it. Ever since the people sealed her away and she responded with a sneer, the seal is opened one night every ten years when we must confront and defeat her.¡± However¡­ ¡°The opening in the barrier is small, so generally only one or two individuals are chosen to confront her. And that battle has never succeeded even once in all of human history. She is always resealed.¡± ¡°Then,¡± said Kagami as she flew forward. While ascending, she forcefully raised her sword and thrust it forward, so Horinouchi had to catch it on her three arrows. Kagami quickly moved in much closer. With the space for the blade and shield between them, she asked another question. They continued accelerating toward the heavens all the while. ¡°Where is this Black Witch?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± asked Horinouchi as she fired from behind her shield. Her voice rose to a shout. ¡°The moon!!¡± Faced with that simple word, Kagami briefly forgot to defend. She was late to notice the shell approaching her. ¡°Oh!¡± Her shoulder armor was broken. Due to her rapid flight, the impact caused her to collide with the air. She seemed to bounce and then flipped around in midair. ¡°Ha.¡± She let out a rough breath and tried to control her body. ¡­Yes. A white circle sat in the center of the blue sky overhead. It was the moon. Supposedly, the witch that had created and subsequently tried to destroy the world was there. Once every ten years, one could meet her and battle her. In that case¡­ ¡°Ha.¡± Horinouchi heard Kagami¡¯s laughter. They were already several hundred meters apart, but the other girl¡¯s voice reached her even over that distance. ¡°Ha ha.¡± Something like waves of light appeared around Kagami. They were the ley lines. Normally, only the engines of her Frame would affect them, but she must have been using some other power to pressurize the ether of the ley lines and that ether was rejoicing. ¡­What is that? ¡°Ha ha!¡± As a shrine maiden, Horinouchi knew a lot about ley lines and ether, but she had never seen this kind of ley line interference. If she tried it, she could tune it better and cover a greater area, but she doubted she could achieve that much power. The phrase ¡°brute strength¡± came to her, but this girl was also skilled in combat techniques. The girl¡¯s powerful voice reached her through the ley lines. ¡°Ha ha ha!¡± Her voice would likely reach any witch or anyone else with special powers. If one pressed their ear to the ley lines, it would reach them as if through a duct. ¡°Finally.¡± Kagami brought a hand to her forehead but then swept that hand outwards. ¡°Finally.¡± ¡°You¡­¡± Horinouchi¡¯s voice must have reached Kagami in the same way because she turned around. She raised her eyebrows in a smile, pointed toward the center of the heavens with her right hand, and gave an announcement. ¡°I will defeat this Black Witch of which you speak.¡± Volume 1, 5: Questioning Thoughts Volume 1, Chapter 5: Questioning Thoughts Farewell Is not an antonym of hello ¡­Defeat the Black Witch? Horinouchi gasped at Kagami¡¯s words. This enemy could wield power that seemed to ignore the world¡¯s rules and she had just announced she would eliminate the Black Witch who could be called the source of all those rules. However, Horinouchi did not know what to think about this. They all wished to achieve that same goal, so it might have been best to think of Kagami as an ally. But¡­ ¡°What¡­¡± This girl had suddenly appeared and desired the privilege they were all working to obtain. And¡­ ¡°What do you understand!?¡± Horinouchi recalled that her own mother had been the one chosen for the previous Hexennacht. As a result, the world had been driven to its current state and her mother had been on the verge of death by the time she had been taken in. However, she had left the Suzaku and plenty of spells with Horinouchi and had reached for her daughter from the stretcher. Horinouchi remembered her beautiful smile then. As strength had left the hand touching Horinouchi¡¯s cheek, she had grabbed it with both hands to support it and hold the weakening in check. ¡­And I begged her not to leave me alone. Even as a child she had understood her position as a witch and had had a fair amount of power. But her wish then had not been granted. And that was why she was doing what she did now. On that night, she had had a wish that no witch could grant. She could not allow anyone else to have a wish like that. She would eliminate the source of such wishes. And she remembered what her mother had said with a smile back then. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± She still did not understand what it had meant. Assuming she would eventually understand, she had sealed it inside her heart, but she had yet to find the answer. And so¡­ ¡°I have a question!¡± She prepared to ask while instantly firing another shot. She fired again and again. She swung Akerindou and used that motion to scatter arrows across the sky. The white moon sat at the top of the blue sky, but a surge of red light quickly filled the heavens. The loud notes of the bowstring never fully faded and she shouted her question. ¡°What can you do!?¡± Kagami replied while simply pointing the tip of her blade toward Horinouchi. ¡°If you wish for it, I can bring you happiness, Horinouchi.¡± The white Holy Knight instantly flew toward her. Kagami reached a certain conclusion. ¡­I cannot defeat this opponent in anything but a head-on contest. Horinouchi primarily used long range attacks, but she could place her homing shots in midair for a close range battle. Carelessly charging in would only get Kagami surrounded by a wall of arrows. And if Kagami shifted to moving around, Horinouchi would put some distance between them and begin attacking. That was what had happened when she had knocked down the building. If she had not carelessly stopped moving then, she would not have been able to constantly observe her or get her to approach. Kagami could only describe the girl as reliable. In that case, there was only one way: head-on. When facing the girl head-on, the homing arrows lost their meaning. If Kagami charged in at full speed, their relative speed would allow her to shake off the homing arrows and reach Horinouchi before the arrows could catch up. The high-speed straight-line shots would be a problem, but¡­ ¡°That is why I remade my sword!¡± Kagami accelerated. She leaped through the air as if running and made quick jukes to either side. She travelled several hundred meters in no time at all. ¡°Ohhh.¡± The arrows of red light pursued her in gouging arcs and they seemed to arrive from every direction instead of just overhead. She made a midair sidestep. The barrage shook as it followed and the arrows collided with each other, but¡­ ¡­Here it comes! A high-speed shot arrived from directly ahead. But she did not care. She thrust out the tip of her sword. ¡°Here I go!¡± She smashed it. Horinouchi fired. She fired three shots, two shots, three shots, and then¡­ ¡°A concentrated shell!¡± There was no need to aim. The white knight was charging straight in like a mere target, so Horinouchi prepared to destroy her. The bow and arrow moved like a hammer that functioned over long ranges. The strikes of light ricocheted off the knight¡¯s armor. Her helmet cracked and her shoulder and leg armor shattered, but¡­ ¡°¡­!¡± As soon as Horinouchi realized she was drawing close, her arrow failed to hit. Kagami had pushed her sword toward Horinouchi and then hid behind it. Before, her armor would have been in the way, preventing her from using the weapon for cover. She may have suddenly pulled out this trick after approaching, but¡­ ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter!¡± Horinouchi formed a long, heavy shell inside the chamber. She activated the acceleration spell of the acceleration pathway and let loose the kick of the ether bowstring. Just as she was going to fire, she saw the sword transform. ¡­Firing form! Oh, no. A reflexive decision saved her. She leaped around a dozen meters backwards and abandoned the chamber¡¯s shell into the air. A moment later, Kagami¡¯s shot pierced through the shell Horinouchi had nearly fired. Kagami had planned this. No matter how long and heavy it was, it was nothing more than an ether shell if it had not passed through the acceleration pathway to be fired. That was what Kagami had attempted to exploit. She had created a situation in which Horinouchi needed to fire on the sword and then she had fired her own shell just after Horinouchi¡¯s had been created. If the shell exploded inside the barrel, not even Akerindou would survive unharmed. Horinouchi had managed to avoid that situation, but¡­ ¡°Kh!¡± The sword tore through the fragments of red light from the destroyed shell and it continued toward Horinouchi. It had already left firing mode and it reached her as a thick striking weapon. ¡°This isn¡¯t over yet!!¡± Horinouchi activated her shield to buffer against the strike from Kagami¡¯s blade. ¡­I blocked it! Horinouchi had been pushed back with the shield, but she could fall back and set out some homing shots to put some distance between them. That was her standard strategy. But she heard a voice. ¡°Ha.¡± It began with the exhalation of a rough breath and it continued from there. ¡°You said a single individual could not reach you, didn¡¯t you?¡± Beyond the blade tip on the shield, Kagami raised her head. Her sweat-covered face contained a smile and lifted eyebrows. That face forcibly accelerated. ¡°A direct blow for the first strike!¡± After the shield was pushed back and bent, a metallic sound reached Horinouchi¡¯s ears. She saw Kagami¡¯s sword open into firing mode and the muzzle was perfectly trained on her. ¡°Now the second strike!¡± The impact reached her arms as she held up the shield. Several spell circles opened to inform her that the three arrow shield was reaching its limit. But¡­ ¡­It can still survive this! Kagami used the recoil of the point-blank shot to raise her sword overhead. Seeing that, Horinouchi held Akerindou behind her. She planned to set some homing shots in midair and fall back. However, Kagami rotated before her eyes. The movement was much like a backflip and it sent the sword in a vertical swing. ¡°Ohhhh!¡± Horinouchi could not believe her eyes. Her opponent had used the recoil of the point-blank shot, and¡­ ¡°¡­!¡± After flipping upside down, the girl swung the ¡°raised¡± sword upwards. Her legs bit into the air in preparation for the impact. ¡°And the third strike!¡± The three arrow shield shattered. A solid sound shook the air, light sprayed outwards, and Horinouchi realized several spell circles had appeared in front of her. They said ¡°Impact Buffering¡±, ¡°Pain Reduction¡±, and ¡°Physical Strengthening¡±. ¡°Kh.¡± It was a direct hit. In an instant, she was sent several hundred meters straight up. Kagami realized she had hit while feeling the side effects of her half rotation. However¡­ ¡°It wasn¡¯t enough!?¡± It had been a direct hit, but Kagami saw a small light growing more distant. Directly ahead and moving away horizontally was the light of Horinouchi¡¯s shells. Horinouchi herself had been knocked upwards, so why was the red light of one of her shells located directly ahead? ¡­Was it to throw off my aim!? When Horinouchi had realized she would be hit, she had fired an arrow behind her. The recoil had moved her forward above the sword, shifting her just a bit more toward the hilt. It had still been a direct hit, it had broken through her shield, and she had likely been injured, but it had not been a clean hit. Kagami realized that girl had good instincts and looked up. She saw the moon in the daytime sky. Horinouchi looked down at her with that white ring behind her. Blood flowed from her forehead and both her chest armor and the left power arm that held her bow were damaged. More importantly, she was out of breath and her shoulders were visibly rising and falling. But¡­ ¡°It seems you really don¡¯t understand anything.¡± A single spell circle floated up from her chest armor. It was the Phlogiston Heart. Her state of damage must have fed back into it because it was partially damaged, but it glowed pure red and even produced a flare. ¡°So let me tell you.¡± As the girl spoke, Kagami saw a light. In the air at Horinouchi¡¯s feet¡­no, over a wide area around her, wavering light appeared, resembling a field of glowing red. This was a large-scale ether ejection. ¡°Until this Phlogiston Heart breaks, a witch is never defeated.¡± And¡­ ¡°When the Phlogiston Heart heats up¡­¡± Kagami heard the girl laugh. Her eyebrows lowered as the laughter escaped her lips. ¡°How about I tell you why a Normal Frame is known as a ¡®Normal¡¯ Frame?¡± She spread her arms and clapped. The loud sound rang out and she lowered her head quickly to give thanks. The Suzaku cried out and the shrine maiden gave a shout. ¡°When her servant and Normal Frame recombine, a witch draws out her true form!¡± Her dignified voice travelled across the sky. ¡°Summon Magino Frame!¡± Koutarou had finished giving the evacuation order to the northern reconstructed area and he was now commanding the shrine and temple personnel as they performed ley line interference. He had several spell circles opened and was gathering statistics data while having the shrines and temples of different areas suppress the ley line disturbances. If necessary, it was his job to send Shinto prayers and Buddhist mantras as suppression spells. ¡°Master Koutarou! Our shrine¡¯s acoustic equipment is broken! What should we do!?¡± ¡°When that happens, you need to sing! Ready? One, two, three¡­go! ¡®?The women of Ise are salmon piiiink! That is fine by meee! And the gods and buddhas agreeeeee!¡¯ ¡± ¡°S-singing that would annoy everyone in the area!¡± ¡°Then go buy new equipment!¡± He felt somewhat miffed that his singing had gone to waste, but warning signs suddenly appeared on the surrounding spell circles. The ley line interference at a few different shrines had quickly exceeded its limits and pillars of light were exploding in the distant mountains and throughout the city. It was obvious what was happening. A quick glance into the air was enough to tell. ¡°Lady Mitsuru!¡± Something was being constructed in the deep blue sky above. A massive amount of ether spread out like a field of wheat and a massive form floated up from it. It was a giant warship. A bow-shaped aerial cannon was visible in the sky. It had rapidly taken shape, but it was at least five hundred meters long. The internal frame set in place, the exterior attached to it, and a metallic roar filled the air. Multi-layer ether armor and ether engines were added and it was completed with the ringing of a large bell. ¡°Magino Frame ¨C Akerindou!¡± Kagami saw it. Its overall form looked like a dragon or a bird with its wings spread. It was shaped much like the bow Horinouchi held. However, she held that bow in her hand and looked Kagami¡¯s way from atop the radome equipped at its center. Her damaged Phlogiston Heart scattered red flares and beyond it¡­ ¡°An outfit change? Is that what you call a Magino Frame?¡± ¡°Yes, it is.¡± The girl had changed even more than before. Not only had the damage been repaired, but she now wore a wing-like headdress and a stole. More armor had been attached here and there and the previous armor was a size bigger than before. The bow itself had not changed, but it was constantly enveloped in ether light and had likely received a power-up. And at her feet, the massive form was complete. ¡°Let me tell you why you cannot defeat me.¡± ¡°You mean¡­?¡± ¡°This is the ultimate weapon created through a combination with your servant. This form of your beliefs is based on the Normal Frame and can never be achieved alone.¡± In other words¡­ ¡°This is the technology humanity has gathered together to fight the Black Witch! This is a magic wand measuring over 500 meters long! This is a Magino Frame!¡± Kagami saw Horinouchi looking at her with a smile and lowered eyebrows. Kagami was already damaged too and¡­ ¡­Here it comes! The five hundred meter cannon noisily opened. It took the form of a bow. The central wheels produced the metallic sound of a large bell and the vermilion bow¡¯s wings spread. The central acceleration pathway and muzzle formed a cannon with a caliber of thirty meters. Kagami began to evade, but¡­ ¡°I will crush you.¡± The cannon moved forward. Kagami realized it was quite fast for its great size. ¡°Cry out, Akerindou.¡± The cannon blast instantly crushed Kagami. Horinouchi¡¯s blast stabbed into the ruins. Its power was limited. As the manager of a shrine, she was always trying to suppress any negative effects on the ley lines. The vermilion pillar tore into the ruins of high-rise buildings and pierced into the crust. At first, nothing happened. There was only a light tremor followed by silence. But¡­ ¡°¡­¡± After two beats, it came. The intense ringing of a large bell raced across the ground within a one hundred eighty meter radius of the strike. The earth roared upwards from below and the buildings trembled and exploded. The air cried out as it shook and lightning raced through the sky. Light instantly rose from the crust and into the air. Immediately afterwards, that one hundred eighty meter radius was crushed. It almost looked like someone had smashed it between their hands. As lightning covered everything and tremors scattered everywhere, it sounded a lot like divine thunder. Above it all, a girl watched on from atop a massive vermilion bow. She clapped once and made an announcement. ¡°Load the next shot.¡± Horinouchi was unable to determine where Kagami was. ¡­Her ether is thin. The initial report had mentioned this. Every witch had the ability to process ether within herself. They could let the ley lines pass through their body and extract ether from it like a tap. ¡­But she seems to lack that ability. I don¡¯t know how she can control so much ether like that, but that is what she¡¯s doing. When Kagami had worn her Normal Frame, Horinouchi had been able to detect the ether forming the Frame and had set her homing arrows to lock onto that. But that Frame was destroyed and the girl was likely having trouble in a number of ways. ¡°She is very strange.¡± Magino Frame ¨C Akerindou¡¯s blast had not achieved a direct hit. It contained an ether tracking system for use against witches, but Horinouchi had not activated the kinetic tracking system, so she did not know where Kagami had gone afterwards. ¡°But I know she¡¯s alive.¡± She was somewhere. She was probably catching her breath and working out a new plan in the ruins below. But once she remade her Normal Frame, it would all be over. Horinouchi would detect the ether and fire her main cannon. But until that happened¡­ ¡­I cannot let my guard down. ¡°Secondary cannons.¡± The Magino Frame had more than just the main cannon. Armor panels opened here and there, revealing secondary cannons. They were turret-less, but she used their homing setting to have them carpet bomb the ruins below. The center of the ruins was completely abandoned. Not even animals approached out of fear of the lingering ether remnants. Even the vegetation was thin. It was an unbelievably large area of death. ¡­A Shinto witch attacks with purifying shells. She wondered if she would be able to tune the ley lines there even a little as she fired the secondary cannons. The attack from above was a straight-line carpet bombing created from a standard sixteen shots. Kagami analyzed it while catching her breath. Also¡­ ¡­That is definitely going to consume the line I am on. The secondary cannons likely had a caliber of two meters and thirty centimeters. Based on the noise, their barrels were short and the shells were guided ones that accelerated after being fired. With the direct hits and the shockwave as the shells passed by, this attack was specialized toward hitting a wide area. ¡°How troublesome,¡± muttered Kagami as she looked to her broken equipment and listened to the approaching shell hits. ¡°Honestly, when they talk about surpassing your imagination, they are talking about something like this. I need to watch out for glass.¡± She looked around. She was in a dimly-lit space. It was the second story of what had likely been a department store. She guessed this had been a cafeteria with windows giving a view of the city. Sofa sets and tables were located here and there, but they had been shoved away from the windows. Wind or some other kind of external pressure had entered through the windows. ¡°Was this part of that Hexennacht event from ten years ago?¡± Kagami guessed that this world experienced a great calamity once a decade. And¡­ ¡°The one ten years ago must have been especially bad.¡± That would be why the girl named Horinouchi had shown something akin to anger. She had to have a connection to Hexennacht. ¡°Saving her is going to be another difficult battle.¡± She could fight. She could re-summon her broken Normal Frame. The Phlogiston Heart indicator in the chest armor had not been completely destroyed. ¡­But how did she construct that Magino Frame thing? Something that huge would not be easy to make. It would require a lot of knowledge as well as trial-and-error training. And Horinouchi would never give Kagami the time she needed to figure it out. She wondered what to do as the sound of the carpet bombing approached. No, she could now see the cascade of destructive red light approaching through the city. ¡°I have no choice but to go for it.¡± That said, re-summoning her Normal Frame would be dangerous. As soon as she did that, she would be detected and fired upon. Instead, she could fly as she was, repair the individual parts, and reach that Magino Frame. ¡­Should I try that? As soon as she asked herself that, she noticed something in the shaking of the approaching bombing. A guest had arrived in the lounge. It was a dragon child. It was the dragon servant she had let escape earlier. The servant stared at the witch. ¡­I don¡¯t understand. It should not exist. It was a mistaken existence. But she had let it escape. And now she was fighting the 4th ranked witch. And instead of an official ranker battle, this seemed to be a personal fight over the servant. She was a mistaken existence, too. Her spells strayed from the common witch system and she was challenging a ranker to a personal fight. But to be ¡°mistaken¡± from a ranker¡¯s perspective was what their enemy, the Black Witch, would do. Yet this witch was not the Black Witch. So the dragon servant did not understand. Why did she exist? Why was she fighting? And¡­ ¡­Why? Why was she not running away like it had? ¡°You there.¡± She looked to it and scratched her head. ¡°I apologize for being selfish, but could you lend me your power?¡± For what? ¡°I want to correct the mistakes of that witch up above.¡± She said it. ¡°She should not be living a life that pours all of herself into the Black Witch.¡± The servant trembled slightly. Witches were the way of the world. Defeating the Black Witch was closely related to the very reason they existed. But this person was rejecting that. This person was facing the world head-on and not running. ¡­I understand. It found the answer. It understood something it wished it had not understood. From the moment one chose to oppose the world, there was nowhere to run. And that person was injured. The dragon servant understood the situation. That was the type of creature it was. Even as a failure, it understood what mattered now. And so¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± It stepped forward. Instead of running, it stepped forward. The step was surprisingly light. Horinouchi detected an ether reading ahead of her bombardment. She had detection spells searching each block and the one for the southeast gave a warning. Her eyes raced in that direction and spotted something strange. An ether reading was rapidly increasing inside a group of buildings that had likely surrounded a train station. ¡­Is that¡­? In a spell circle, the ether output formed an upside-down funnel while superimposed on an image of the city. That reverse funnel swirled around and quickly reached the sky. ¡°Lady Mitsuru!¡± As soon as white light burst from the surface to the southeast, a report came from Koutarou. ¡°I have detected a Magino Frame summoning!!¡± The ruins broke apart over several dozen meters. The intense noise resembled breaking stone and it stabbed up into the sky. Rubble, crust, and sand erupted upwards and a giant sword shot up from the earth. And it did not stop there. A great roar accompanied the destruction of the earth, a tremor ran through certain areas as if caught by the rising blade, and the ruins crumbled in those areas. Finally, the giant sword flew into the sky. This blue and white sword of a Holy Knight measured five hundred meters long. Horinouchi watched from diagonally above. ¡­Is that a Magino Frame!? She did not know how, but there had been a servant there. Kagami must have signed a contract with it to bind themselves as master and servant. And as a result¡­ ¡°You¡¯re there, aren¡¯t you!?¡± She was. The massive sword ascended at a speed that made the word ¡°rapid¡± seem insufficient. And Horinouchi saw a Holy Knight facing her from the accelerating Magino Frame. The knight was not just white as before. Just like the Magino Frame, she was colored blue and white and she held her Normal Device at the ready. Kagami Kagami stood on top of the giant blade. ¡°Is that your-¡­?¡± ¡°Yes, it is!¡± Kagami held her Normal Device toward Horinouchi. ¡°It looks like this is my justice!¡± Volume 1, 6: Showing Off Justice Volume 1, Chapter 6: Showing Off Justice Applaud me The blade thrust toward the sky. It shot above the destroyed and abandoned city and toward the great vermilion bow that had its back to the moon in the heavens above. The bow and sword were both colossal. No one may have been looking up from the empty city below, but their five hundred meter lengths allowed much more distant people to see them. The sword accelerated toward the sky and the great bow there. Its first movement after appearing was to ascend in a straight line with its rear accelerators fully activated. Meanwhile, the great bow showed no sign of evading even though preparatory light was filling the central acceleration cannon. The sword raced onward with the unwavering gaze of someone catching up to a friend and tapping them on the shoulder. A girl stood on the sword¡¯s guard. The armored girl pointed forward as the wind swept back her hair decorations made of light. Beyond the large finger of her power arm, she saw her opponent: a girl in shrine maiden garb standing on the great bow¡¯s upper radome. The sword spoke as it picked up even more speed. ¡°I have a question, Horinouchi.¡± The bow responded without falling back. ¡°What is it, Kagami Kagami!?¡± As they spoke, the sword opened up. Sparks scattered from the moving parts rubbing together and the sub-frame above the internal frame activated. By the time the sword split apart and a cannon jutted out, light had filled the rear shell formation area and accelerator. Meanwhile, the light in the vermilion bow also grew. A voice spoke to that light. ¡°I had a thought.¡± That thought being¡­ ¡°You have your back to the moon, but that goes for the majority of this fight as well.¡± So¡­ ¡°When was the last time you looked up at the moon without thinking much of it?¡± Horinouchi felt emotion welling up deep in her chest. ¡­This opponent¡­! It was true she had kept her back to the moon during this battle. After all, she was a sharpshooter. It was best for her to remain above her opponent. But¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± She saw her shadow falling on a giant building below. The summer sun was high in the sky. The moonlight deep in that blue sky was weak and meaningless now, but the way her shadow fell meant she had her back to the heavens. ¡­It¡¯s true. She had not looked directly up at the moon. Had that begun with this battle? No, it had not. ¡°I made a decision.¡± Honestly, she thought. Did this opponent judge my actions and feel a meaning in them that had nothing to do with combat? If so¡­ ¡°I made a decision.¡± She had done so ever since losing something precious to her. ¡°I decided I would only look up at the sky once I could do so forever more.¡± ¡°Wonderful,¡± said Kagami. ¡°And when that happens, I may never be able to look up in the sky again.¡± ¡°¡­What?¡± ¡°Listen, Horinouchi.¡± Without answering her question, Kagami raised her pointing finger. ¡°Let us settle this.¡± The shellfire vertically linking the sky began from above. On the back of the great bow, the spell bowstring was pulled to its limit and then released to strike the shell accelerator¡¯s hammer. The twang of the bowstring shook the sky and ether light rippled out to a diameter of a dozen kilometers as the shell was fired. A chorus of ringing much like a shrine¡¯s large bell shot straight down for five hundred meters. Launched by that sound and spraying light, a massive shell was fired. It was shaped like an arrow, it measured over four hundred meters long, and it left the great vermilion bow to pierce the sky. The tip was enough to split the atmosphere and create an explosion of air. The arrow made of ether soared through the resultant vacuum so it could tear into the sword that had nearly approached to close range. Meanwhile, the blade had yet to complete its firing preparations. The shell had yet to fully form, but the accelerator was filled with light. It would fire as soon as the shell was complete, but the great bow had already launched its attack. However, the girl on the sword¡¯s guard did not lower her raised hand. She stared straight at the coming arrow, the great bow, the girl standing on it, the blue sky behind all that, and the moon. ¡°I hope it reaches.¡± She did not command it to reach. ¡°Give me a path, wings raised toward the moon.¡± Just as the great bow¡¯s ¡°attack¡± would change its name to a ¡°hit¡±, the figure on the sword swung down her hand. ¡°Fire.¡± Horinouchi saw Kagami give the order to fire far too late. ¡­She won¡¯t make it in time! The acceleration pathway was filled with light so it could fire as soon as the shell was formed, but Horinouchi¡¯s own attack was already entering the muzzle. She had won. When the Magino Frame named Akerindou was fired at full power from close range, it ranked near the very top of any Magino Frame. She had met those conditions here. Kagami¡¯s attack would be too late and it would be destroyed. Horinouchi had won. Part of her was disappointed by that, but she did not know if that was due to conceit or over this loss of the ability to admonish her current state. ¡°Break her, attack of Suzaku!¡± With that cry, she cast a spell on the arrow. Akerindou helped pressurize it and a further acceleration spell was installed. And this was a direct installation rather than one that affected a certain range. ¡°Go!¡± It went to break her opponent, but she heard a sound just before it did. It was the scraping of metal and the scattering of sparks. ¡­Is that¡­? It was the sound of the shell formation system sending the shell into the acceleration pathway. The cold sound came from the very back of Kagami¡¯s sword. Was she uselessly trying to fire her cannon, or¡­ ¡°It can¡¯t be¡­¡± As Horinouchi spoke, the power came. It was a cannon firing. The shell raced down the sword¡¯s acceleration pathway. Horinouchi¡¯s own shell destroyed the muzzle and seemed to dig into it. That proved to be a problem. ¡­Oh, no. When it hit, the arrow bent. It was slight, but its straight trajectory was thrown ever-so-slightly off, the pressure focused on the tip, and it swelled out. Needless to say, the vermilion arrow would then demonstrate its penetrative power, but¡­ ¡°Did she time her attack to counter mine!?¡± Horinouchi watched as the sword was destroyed. Her attack should have caused it to fall apart and then split apart further down, but it had destroyed its own tip instead. The force had come from within, and¡­ ¡­I was right! The destructive power did not just tear into Kagami¡¯s sword. The tip of the vermilion arrow was destroyed and it split apart as if deflected. A blue shell shot out from its center. That was the attack fired by Kagami¡¯s Magino Frame. She had targeted the arrow in the instant it hit as a counterattack. ¡°And you slowed the formation of the shell to make a longer and skinnier compressed shell, didn¡¯t you!?¡± The straight line of power was clearly skinnier than the muzzle the arrow had struck. Kagami¡¯s Magino Frame was an outdated Holy Knight-style and it did not specialize in shellfire. That must have been why she decided to compress the shell even further and build up even more acceleration. She had filled the acceleration pathway with light ahead of time so she could charge it up with an additional acceleration spell. ¡­And to fine-tune it so she could fire the skinnier shell without losing stability! Horinouchi did not think she had been conceited. She had simply fired Akerindou in the formal fashion. Kagami however had used any means necessary to ¡°get back at¡± her. ¡°In that case¡­!¡± Horinouchi did not hesitate. She set up a barrier, using her gaze to select the empty space between Akerindou and Kagami¡¯s sword. She then cast a spatial stability spell on her own objects in that range. She did not even think about whether she would make it in time. She simply cast the spell without looking down at her moving fingers. ¡°Be crushed!¡± The spatial fixation also corrected the objects¡¯ shapes to supplement their own indentation. The spell cast on the arrow returned the swelling and splitting vermilion power to its original straight line. The arrow tore into Kagami¡¯s attack and attempted to crush it, but Horinouchi saw something in that instant. That something was Kagami. The fingertip she had swung down to signal her attack was now pointing straight at Horinouchi. ¡°Well done.¡± In that instant, the two powers between them exploded. Both shells could not withstand the collision of power and were destroyed. This led to a massive explosion. ¡°Lady Mitsuru!¡± Koutarou looked up at the sky where the two powers collided and collapsed. Below the moon, vermilion and blue explosions of light were accompanied by intense noise. Horinouchi¡¯s Akerindou and Kagami¡¯s sword were swallowed up by the explosions, but Kagami¡¯s half-destroyed Magino Frame collided with the other. The men being healed cried out as they looked into the sky. ¡°The two Magino Frames¡­!¡± They were intertwined and falling. The sword¡¯s blade had almost entirely broken away as it stabbed into Akerindou which had lost most of its bow shape. ¡°Manager!¡± A transmission arrived. The spell circle had been sent from the operation room built below the Horinouchi mansion. The Horinouchi family had sent representatives to fight the Black Witch since ancient times. Just like similar families, corporations, and military organizations, it possessed a system to provide backup for those representatives. One of the maids inside the command center spoke to him. ¡°Lady Mitsuru¡¯s Magino Frame is falling!¡± ¡°I can see that! Where is it going to-¡­?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t tell?¡± ¡°I-I can tell it¡¯s generally falling to the east of Tokyo Bay, but give me the details!¡± While thinking the maids were being overly strict, he recalled that they were former witches themselves. To them, Mitsuru was a memento of the previous generation and their hope. ¡­Ah, they¡¯re treating me like the unneeded man! But regardless, he held the position of manager. Not even he knew if he had anything to be proud of outside that position, but he did have his ability as a butler. At any rate, he received the requested details. ¡°Northeast of Tokyo Bay¡­Old Makuhari!¡± The bay was the best place to see the fall and destruction. A school was located at the center of Tokyo Bay. As those inside scanned the two Magino Frames falling to the northeast, the school buildings had their shutters closed and a defensive spell barrier was placed in the sky above. But despite the security measures, a few people were visible on the school buildings¡¯ rooftops. First, there was the western building engraved with the words ¡°Special Equipment¡± which was covered by a solar power system. Next, there was the eastern building engraved with the word ¡°Spell¡± which was a midair building with no entrance on the surface. Finally, there was the northern building which was a fully floating honors building. The people atop or in front of those buildings spoke their various thoughts. ¡°Horinouchi.¡± ¡°So it¡¯s finally happening.¡± ¡°Mother, this flower is finally blooming.¡± Afterwards, they all returned to their duties. They turned their backs on the falling objects and looked up at the moon in the sky. A moment later, an extremely massive quake ran through the earth at the northeast end of Tokyo Bay. The sound resembled a solid impact or a crashing wave and it accompanied the explosion produced by a great bow and a sword. The battle was not yet over, but¡­ ¡°Has it been settled yet or not?¡± someone muttered. In that moment, new lights appeared across the school. They were spell circles. They displayed a warning, but that warning indicated a true emergency. And that was not all. ¡°I can see it.¡± Someone pointed it out from the spell building¡¯s rooftop. The moon in the center of the sky was emitting light. The Black Witch had been sealed in that moon which was beginning to act. Koutarou spoke in response to the spell circle warnings opening here and there. ¡°Everyone, ensure the security and peace of your posts! Observation Team, record your observations of Lady Mitsuru and her opponent!¡± ¡°Manager! Don¡¯t we need to observe the moon!?¡± ¡°Someone else will record the moon!¡± Koutarou had a hunch. ¡­What did the Black Witch react to!? That was obvious. The Black Witch¡¯s heart had been moved by the battle between two witches below. One of those witches was the daughter of her opponent from the previous confrontation, and the other one¡­ ¡­She clearly knows the Black Witch! The scale of their battle was not unheard of for witches, but it had progressed oddly. So¡­ ¡°We will record this battle and its result!¡± That was enough. After all¡­ ¡°The Black Witch has shown an interest in the two of them!¡± As soon as he said it, a pale light was added to the summer sunlight. It was a heavenly light. That light seemed to envelop the moon, it formed a ring of ether, and it took form at the moon¡¯s north pole. It looked small from where they were, but it was actually large enough to form an angel¡¯s halo over the moon. ¡°She¡¯s watching!¡± The halo spread, formed an ellipse, and circled to the back of the moon. It almost looked like an eyeball with the moon as the pupil. There was no escaping that massive gaze. And that was not all. Light gathered in front of the moon. ¡°Manager! The amount of ether detected on the lunar surface is spiking!¡± It was obvious what was happening. ¡°The Black Witch is interfering with the seal! She¡¯s releasing her power!¡± The communication officer¡¯s voice filled the air as the light in the sky trembled. The ether light gained a shadow, grew black, and¡­ ¡°It¡¯s an arm!¡± It really is, thought Koutarou. A long, slender black arm crawled out from the moon as if it to connect the sky with the falling wreckage of the two witches. Destruction and a fall were synonymous. Horinouchi realized the impact of her landing had vanished and that the Magino Frame had begun to destroy itself. Akerindou¡¯s great bow was half destroyed and it was losing its acceleration pathway for shells. She opened a spell circle to check and saw a fatal crack in the Phlogiston Heart. It had not completely broken, but it would be unable to endure the damage and it would fall apart. ¡­And my mood feels about the same. She could not continue to fight like this. That resignation stopped the heating of her heart, but¡­ ¡°The sky!¡± Her Magino Frame¡¯s armor had shattered and fallen and she could see the shards turning to light and vanishing, but beyond that, she saw a colossal eyeball floating in the heavens and she saw a slender black hand reaching its claws her way. The black hand and arm approaching through the sky trailed black light and she could not imagine how much power it took to create something like that. ¡­Is that¡­? She knew what it was. It was a portion of the Black Witch¡¯s power. It had escaped the seal and it had to be more of an illusion than anything else. If it had the physical might something that size would normally wield, it would have disturbed the space between the moon and the earth and the sky would have split open. That was an illusion. It may have been powerful, but it was not the Black Witch¡¯s true power. But even knowing that, a different understanding led her heart to tremble. The Black Witch was focused on her. She felt a chill because she recalled certain words. ¡­I¡­ I have always kept my back to the moon. If the Black Witch had wanted, she could have suddenly grabbed Horinouchi from behind. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± She had been na?ve. Or should she say the situation had ¡°corrected¡± itself. This was the sort of relationship the Black Witch and other witches were meant to have. ¡­Kh. The black arm reached out quickly, earnestly, longingly. Its size had already become clear. ¡°It covers the sky!¡± The opened hand was as wide as the moon. It already hid the moon and the color black spread across Tokyo¡¯s sky. The massive fingers seemed to envelop everything and only the center of the palm could still be seen from here. The fingers had surpassed Japan and were likely darkening the area from the central Pacific to Eastern Europe. Horinouchi wondered what she could even do. ¡°Horinouchi!!¡± She heard a voice. She turned to her right and saw someone familiar rushing her way. It was Kagami Kagami. The girl¡¯s Magino Form was even more broken than Horinouchi¡¯s, but she directly observed the other girl. ¡°Is your Phlogiston Heart still active!?¡± Her voice filled the air. ¡°I wish to borrow your power!¡± Horinouchi did not understand what was happening, but she felt an odd sense of trust in the voice she heard. She had been fighting this enemy not long before. The girl had unknown origins, had opposed her for unknown reasons, and had harmed people close to her. But they had the same objective. ¡­And this person¡­ Even now, she did not look away from the moon. Had there ever been someone like this? Every ten years, this world experienced Hexennacht, which might as well have been a ritual sacrifice, yet this girl stared fearlessly into the sky even as the Black Witch¡¯s power approached. ¡°Horinouchi!¡± She reached out her hand, her power arm. She had already arrived right in front of Horinouchi. ¡°What are you going to do?¡± ¡°That is simple.¡± Kagami swung her arms outward. ¡°I must strike her!¡± Horinouchi knew what Kagami was going to do. She had seen the girl do it several times already. The power of this witch named Kagami Kagami was most likely of the craft-style, which used some kind of special technique. The other witches used a ritual process to draw ether from the ley lines and form motors and armor from it. ¡­But she can suddenly ¡°grab¡± the ether and ¡°process¡± it. The word ¡°creation¡± may have been the closest match, but it was not an impossible technique. Some witches would improve themselves through divine protection and modifications, essentially turning their very existence into a spell. However, that all came from their own spells and it reduced and heated the ether they possessed. This girl was different. There had not been an ether reading from the very beginning. That had not changed even now. Not only was it low for a witch, she had less than a normal person. Nevertheless, she could grab and process ether far more quickly than Horinouchi. ¡°I wish to borrow your power.¡± How could she sound so confident? Horinouchi did not understand. There was so much here she did not understand. But she could trust in herself. She had reached Rank #4 and became the Eastern Japanese representative because she had never allowed herself to be shaken. Then, she thought. I will trust in what I¡¯ve seen. The girl in front of her could process ether and she could strategize. Horinouchi was not sure she could say this girl was her equal, but their battle had ended in a draw. So¡­ ¡°Suzaku!¡± The servant must have been exhausted because it was sitting cross-legged in the spell circle on her shoulder. ¡­Are you really a bird? She sometimes wondered that, but she let it slide since there was no real meaning in saying otherwise. She felt that was the adult thing to do. Anyway, the Suzaku seemed to have understood what she was thinking. ¡°I will lend you my power!¡± Instead of leaving her Magino Frame to fall apart, she returned it to ether on her own. That would indeed be a source of power for Kagami who could process ether. However¡­ ¡°There¡¯s no time!¡± ¡°I am aware.¡± Kagami smiled back over her shoulder. ¡°You have my thanks.¡± Koutarou realized he had made the right decision. ¡°Manager!¡± One of the observers pointed at the opposite shore of Tokyo Bay rather than the black hand grabbing at them from the sky. ¡°Lady Mitsuru and her opponent¡¯s Magino Frames are fusing!!¡± He could see it about twenty-five kilometers away. Despite that great distance, the five hundred meter structure rose tall in his vision. ¡°Ohh¡­¡± The air shook from the shrine bell-like ringing of Akerindou¡¯s motors and the church bell-like ringing of Kagami¡¯s sword. The two sounds never joined together. They simply travelled solemnly and separately through the air. Then the two Magino frames took a single form. The sword was at the center and the great bow extended horizontally from the guard. The weapon resembled both a bow gun and a great sword, but it was over a kilometer long. ¡°Could that¡­?¡± Koutarou started speaking, but then shook his head. ¡°That cannot catch up to her mother.¡± He swallowed the word ¡°yet¡± and shouted to the others. ¡°Look!¡± He listened to the ringing of the two types of bells and looked into the sky. The five extended black fingers may have already reached the exosphere. They were beginning to gain a coloration closer to blue than black. The palm seemed to rapidly distort and expand due to the atmosphere¡¯s lensing effect, and¡­ ¡°After ten years, the Horinouchi family¡¯s strike will reach the Black Witch!¡± His shout was immediately followed by the world shaking. The kilometer long cannon had fired its full power into the sky. The recoil could not be buffered. The shockwave of the blast created electrical discharges in the sky over a radius of several dozen kilometers and the ruined buildings to the north and east of Tokyo Bay were swept and blasted away. As the wreckage flew into the air, stabbed into other ruins, and spread destruction as they rolled, the pressure of the blast itself shook the bay. The bottom of the bay came into view along the coast of Makuhari on the northeastern end of the vast body of water. The mud, sand, and the base of the broken manmade islands and reclaimed land were revealed wet in the sunlight and the water swelled outward. The sound was not that of waves. The water itself was compressed and seawater twisted and roared up from below the swelling ocean surface. It sounded a lot like the creaking of a ship. In the center of the bay, Shihouin Academy reacted most quickly to the movement and noise. The academy¡¯s defense system had already activated defense spells, but it now erected barrier walls which rose from the ocean to stop the coming tsunami. While sending warnings to the coast, their defense system sent barriers out as far into the ocean as it could to break the waves. This was only possible due to the relatively shallow depth of Tokyo Bay and the school also contacted U.A.H.J. and an organization founded by influential families such as the Horinouchi family and by the municipal office of reconstructed Yokohama. They cast wide-range spells to stop the waves on the coast and to secure and reinforce the waterways needed to allow the tsunami¡¯s water to escape. Also¡­ It felt like a physical blow. From east to west, it transformed the tsunami into a massive amount of ocean spray. That was the might of the explosive blast. It split the ocean open as a rapid vibration, turned to rain, and¡­ ¡°¡­!¡± The eastern windows on the coastal buildings shook and some cracked. But everyone saw a certain sight through those windows or above their lowered heads. In the center of the heavens above, an attack flew from the skyward-aimed sword bow. ¡°Oh¡­¡± It pierced through the black hand trying to envelop the entire world. It flew in a straight line. As if to show just how defenseless the spread fingers of the black arm were, the shot of light pierced through it up to the elbow. The destruction came afterwards. The forearm was the first to scatter. The area a bit above the wrist swelled out from within and burst like splitting bark. The rest was simple. As the destruction raced up to the elbow, the wrist and hand were left in the sky, seemingly forgotten. They lost their strength, but they were not forgiven. The hole in the palm spread from the other side and the fingers thrust outwards at crooked angles. Then it finally collapsed. It vanished in an instant. Pale ether light shaped like an arm scattered in the heavens and finally disappeared. The destruction from earth seemed to stop when it reached the upper arm, but the arm no longer functioned and that was enough. It all vanished toward the moon and only the eye ring remained around the moon. But that too gathered together as if narrowing. ¡°It¡¯s vanishing!¡± By the time the people stood up, threw open their windows or ran from their homes, and cheered, the black sky had vanished. All that remained was the moon floating in the summer sky. And¡­ ¡°Where¡¯s the witch¡¯s blade!?¡± They all turned toward eastern Tokyo Bay. By then, nothing remained. There were no rain clouds in the sky, but a salty rain fell. The approach of the tsunami left some of the coastal areas soaked and the receding waves roared through the waterways. Everyone was seeing and experiencing a temporary change, but nothing remained in the sky or on the earth. ¡°What was that?¡± The next thing they knew, the rain had passed and everything was back to normal. ¡°Okay.¡± Horinouchi checked on the situation as she heard Kagami¡¯s voice and saw the other girl lower her shoulders. The Magino Frame had vanished and they stood on the roof of an abandoned building. Only the blue sky and white moon could be seen above and the waves below had returned to the bottom of the bay. They were picking up speed, rolling the underwater wreckage and stones around and crashing against the ruins. The underwater structures moved and crashed together and the ocean produced a kind of white noise as it tried to expel the air it had taken in. She heard distant sirens from the opposite coast. Their attack had caused secondary damages. ¡­We aren¡¯t that much different from the Black Witch. But the Horinouchi family, U.A.H.J., and other countermeasure organizations seemed to be functioning properly. The coastal areas were allowing the waves to escape and temporarily accumulate in the ruins and the only obvious damage being reported was broken windows from the shockwave. Of course, some of the shrines and temples near the coast had their ether tanks burst due to the backflow of their ether capacity support systems. However, Horinouchi was focused on something else. The magic circle containing praise from Koutarou was crushed by the praise coming from the maids in the command center, but she ignored that. ¡­Kagami Kagami. She had distinctly heard something during the cannon blast. When the black arm had been destroyed and the moon had been revealed, that girl had spoken. ¡°I finally found you, Shouko!¡± Shouko? Who was that? No, more importantly¡­ ¡­Who are you? Horinouchi did not know, so she focused on what she could see before her. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± Kagami¡¯s entire body wobbled unsteadily. At the same time, she released her Magino Form and returned to her suit. She was falling. No, collapsing. It may have been exhaustion or the release of her tension, but Horinouchi had also lost her Magino Form. She now wore her school uniform. ¡°Wait!¡± She tried to catch Kagami by the back and shoulders and found she was surprisingly light. So as not to hold her too tightly, she supported her by wrapping an arm around her. ¡°You¡­¡± A white and blue dragon servant stood at their feet. Horinouchi remembered that she had helped with the experiments concerning that servant. She had had high hopes for it, but when the decision had been made to dispose of it as a failure, she had arranged a certain plan after taking the final readings. She had made sure the lock spell would release if the servant wished to be free. She could not let it just wait in its cage to be disposed of. That was hypocritical considering how the other servants like that had been treated, but when there was a connection to her¡­ ¡­I remember. After her mother had lost and died, she had heard some people lamenting. Mankind had meant to seal away the Black Witch, but they had actually surrounded themselves by her cage where they simply waited to be killed. Horinouchi had not wanted the servant to be in the same situation. She had been looking down on the creature as she had granted it the right to live and die as it pleased, but she had also had a certain thought. If she could end Hexennacht during this generation, that would no longer be hypocritical. And so she had promised herself she would do just that. But she had not expected the servant to choose the western ruins as its escape route. She had assumed it would go east, away from the danger and the people, but some part of its subconscious may have felt a connection to people. She had sent her tracking spell to the west, so she had ultimately caused Koutarou some trouble. ¡­But¡­ ¡°Wait!¡± It may have only been a small fraction, but she had torn into the Black Witch¡¯s power with this girl she had met after all that. Had she done the right thing? And if so¡­ ¡­I¡­ Wondering what would happen, she looked to the person she could ask. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± She held her in her arms and looked to her face. ¡­¡°I finally found you¡±? There had been no resentment in her voice. It had only contained anger towards something. And it had not been a simple rebuke. It had likely been a mixture of several different thoughts. But¡­ ¡°What does this mean?¡± There was a slight smile on the unconscious girl¡¯s face, but who could say if it was just the relaxing of her muscles as she passed out or if it was an expression of her emotions. Horinouchi still understood nothing. ¡°Who are you?¡± She heard the beating of the air in the distance as Koutarou¡¯s helicopter came to retrieve them. Volume 1, 7: The Morning Sun Rises Volume 1, Chapter 7: The Morning Sun Rises Look up at The bright sun Music could be heard. The morning air warmed as the sun rose. It may have been summer, but the air was still and calm this early in the morning. And that clear air contained music. ¡°What is this? The American national anthem?¡± A few people in track suits stepped out onto the roof and the girl they found there answered them. ¡°I¡¯m about to have a match, so I want to focus.¡± ¡°Oh, sorry. Are we interrupting?¡± The few who had arrived started back inside, but the girl raised a hand to stop them. ¡°You¡¯ll make things more difficult for me if you do that. As the representative of the special equipment division, I represent all of you, so it¡¯ll be more difficult for me if you treat me differently. After all¡­¡± She swept aside the red hair falling just above her shoulder. ¡°America represents the world and its strength can reach any part of that world.¡± ¡°Oh, oh. How reliable.¡± ¡°Yeah, I suppose.¡± The girl smiled bitterly and let the music play. The magic circle by her hand contained an acoustic spell which produced the music of a live orchestra. The song was the American national anthem, ¡°The Star-Spangled Banner¡±. ¡ªOh, say can you see by the dawn¡¯s early light ¡ªWhat so proudly we hailed at the twilight¡¯s last gleaming? ¡ªWhose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight, ¡ªO¡¯er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming? ¡ªAnd the rocket¡¯s red glare, the bombs bursting in air ¡ªGave proof thru the night that our flag was still there. ¡ªOh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave ¡ªO¡¯er the land of the free and the home of the brave? ¡°I don¡¯t understand much of the English, but it sure does sound cool.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear that. When I first heard my dad performing this, I was too young to know what it meant either.¡± The girl looked at the others. ¡°But are you all okay?¡± ¡°If you¡¯re talking about the pre-summer break assignment, then we took care of yours as well, special equipment representative. But if we aren¡¯t treating you differently, you¡¯ll fail if you fall behind on your homework.¡± ¡°Doing mine for me isn¡¯t treating me differently?¡± ¡°In the special equipment division, we take care of each other. No matter where in the world they are or who they are, as long as they¡¯re one of us, we¡¯ll treat them the same. It would be a problem for us all if someone was dragging us down, so we won¡¯t let that happen.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± said the girl. And¡­ ¡°Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave ¡°O¡¯er the land of the free and the home of the brave?¡± The special equipment building¡¯s rooftop was covered in a solar power system and the students who had spent the night in the building working had gathered there to get some of the morning¡¯s fresh air. Some light exercise was a daily ritual of the girls and more and more people had ended up joining in. Today, she smiled at the front of the group. ¡°Oh, honestly.¡± She looked back toward the western coast of Tokyo Bay. A few different areas there were covered in metal scaffolding and the sounds of construction could already be heard. The previous day¡¯s large-scale battle and its after effects had put a large burden on some of the embankments and flood gates. They had spells and divine protection, but physical reinforcement would strengthen it all and increase the number of hooks for adding in divine protection. ¡°Oh? Are those our first years?¡± ¡°Some of them went to help with the construction. They made several ridiculous requests such as making it baroque or like Todai-ji, so who knows what kind of flood gate they¡¯re going to end up with.¡± The girl responded to that with a small smile and stretched a little. ¡°Now, then.¡± She pulled her arm back toward her side and then thrust it forward. ¡°I¡¯m going to be aiming a little higher, so it¡¯s time I did what I need to do.¡± Horinouchi did not like the headmaster¡¯s office. It was not a simple sort of dislike; it was a complicated kind. And that was especially true today. First of all, its location was a problem. It and the other teacher¡¯s officers could have been in one of the school buildings, but they were instead located in the library on the northeast end of the school grounds. The library was another problem. It was divided between normal books and reference books, so one category was naturally larger and the library had been built in a pyramid shape to accommodate that. The teacher¡¯s offices were inside that building, so when someone said they were visiting a teacher¡¯s office, a few people would always make a triangular gesture above their head and ask, ¡°You mean here?¡± The Middle Eastern witches in particular would insist that it provided ¡°pyramid power¡± and would therefore keep flowers from withering, so perhaps the headmaster had designed it to keep herself from aging. The headmaster herself was yet another problem. After all¡­ ¡­She worked with my mother. The three witches who had competed for the representative spot during the previous Hexennacht were known as the Three Sages and the headmaster was one of them. Horinouchi¡¯s mother had ultimately been the representative, but Horinouchi had of course been born at that point and the headmaster was the only person in the school who had known her since she was a child. She found the headmaster was the only person here that she could not take the initiative with. And there was another problem with the headmaster¡¯s office unique to today. ¡­What in the world is going on? She could not help but wonder why she was standing in the headmaster¡¯s office with this person. It was Kagami Kagami. She and that girl in a suit stood facing the headmaster. ¡°Now, then. ¡­Miss Kagami, was it? Did you have a good night¡¯s sleep?¡± Kagami nodded while ignoring the silent glare Horinouchi was giving her. A woman with glasses sat in front of her. Her semi-long hair was of a foreign color and she appeared to be in her early thirties, but as a witch, her appearance was not necessarily a reliable indicator of her age. However, Kagami did sense an indistinct aura coming from the woman. ¡­Should I call it a mystical aura? She did not know the rules here. There were some things only she noticed and some things the others noticed as well, so she decided to set aside the headmaster¡¯s aura for the moment. ¡°I did. Thank you very much, Lady Headmaster.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to call me ¡®lady¡¯.¡± ¡°You have a thin handkerchief in your breast pocket, so I figured you had once worn a badge there.¡± The headmaster flicked lightly at the handkerchief on her chest. ¡°This is¡­¡± She smiled bitterly. ¡°¡­due to some old mischief.¡± Horinouchi gave a blatant sigh, so there must have been a connection there. Regardless, the headmaster opened a magic circle with the hand she had used to flick the handkerchief. The display had a floral shape. ¡°Anyway, this is the bill for using our dorms last night.¡± ¡°I would expect nothing less.¡± ¡°Now, now. To be honest, some witches are forceful enough to use their spatial teleportation to get out of paying, so I¡¯m thankful you actually answered my invitation. Oh, and one other thing.¡± She narrowed her eyes and threw another floral magic circle toward Horinouchi. Horinouchi tilted her head and tried to avoid it. ¡°You don¡¯t need to be that cruel,¡± said the headmaster with a bitter smile in her voice. She pulled back her hand and the magic circle stopped next to Horinouchi¡¯s face. ¡°What is this? Headmaster, could you tell me what you want before throwing things at me? It would be a real pain if it was a bomb, you know?¡± ¡°That¡¯s for Koutarou. I had him get me some root vegetable seeds from Mount Kouya a while back and they have produced some lovely flowers, so I can send him back even more than he gave me.¡± ¡°Why can¡¯t you send this to him directly?¡± The headmaster placed a hand on her cheek, sighed, and shook her head. ¡°I just have no idea how to communicate with teenagers these days.¡± It amused Kagami how much Horinouchi¡¯s upper lip twisted, but the girl blushed as soon as she noticed Kagami watching. ¡°Wh-what are you looking at?¡± ¡°Oh, I just thought it was interesting that you too can give people looks like that.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, Miss Kagami. Miss Horinouchi is a lot cuter than she looks, so please take good care of her.¡± ¡°I will make sure to do so.¡± They both ignored the voice yelling ¡°do what!?¡±, but it still created a break in the conversation. The tension had already faded, so¡­ ¡°Lady Headmaster.¡± This seemed as good a time as any, so Kagami folded up the bill, placed it in her breast pocket, and spoke. ¡°To put it simply, I have come from another world.¡± ¡­She just said something odd!! She¡¯s really done it now! thought Horinouchi. What even is ¡°another world¡±? What kind of made-up story is this? But¡­ ¡°Yes, that happens sometimes, Miss Kagami.¡± ¡°Headmaster!? You believe her!?¡± ¡°Witches can come from anywhere. And Miss Horinouchi, how about we move onto you?¡± Only then did Horinouchi remember that she had been called here along with Kagami. It made no sense to her. If it was to inform her that her rank had changed, why summon Kagami as well? That girl seemed to have a way of ruining Horinouchi¡¯s usual pace, but listening to the headmaster made it sound like Kagami was the main topic here, so¡­ ¡°By the way, headmaster! Why am I here, too!?¡± ¡°Well,¡± said the headmaster. ¡°Miss Kagami here may not belong to our school, but she still defeated you. I was wondering what to do about your change in rank.¡± ¡­You¡¯re announcing my demotion in front of the person who defeated me? Her pride did not like that at all, so she spoke up before the others could say anything more. ¡°I don¡¯t mind if you lower me to 5th.¡± That meant a drop in rank. She had definitely lost the previous day¡¯s match. It was being treated as a draw and there was probably some truth to that, but¡­ ¡°Kagami is an outside witch with no preparation while I have the training and standards of a ranker.¡± Their shells had cancelled each other out at the end of the match, but that was all the proof she needed. Her own had been more powerful, but Kagami had found a way to respond. Horinouchi had also hurried and responded, but¡­ ¡°I was a step behind. If you look past the result and focus on the flow of events and the momentum, then I was the clear loser. I have no objection to a drop in rank.¡± ¡°Please wait,¡± said Kagami with a tilt of the head. ¡°I do not care about the ranks. As long as I can defeat the Black Witch, nothing else matters.¡± ¡°Weren¡¯t you listening?¡± How ignorant of the rules is she? Do I really have to say this here? No, I¡¯m pretty sure I said it yesterday too, so has she already forgotten? ¡°Only one witch can challenge the Black Witch on Hexennacht!¡± Kagami gave the headmaster a questioning look and the woman nodded. ¡°Allow me to explain.¡± She placed a hand on her chin. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s more or less how it works.¡± ¡°That is not an explanation!¡± ¡°Horinouchi, being too nitpicky is bad for your mental health.¡± ¡°That is none of your business!¡± ¡°I see.¡± Kagami waved a hand back and forth and bowed toward Horinouchi. ¡°So I got in the way of your ambitions. I apologize.¡± ¡°That¡¯s called the arrogance of a winner.¡± Kagami raised her head with a corner of her mouth lightly raised. ¡°That is just who I am.¡± ¡­This girl. While Horinouchi mentally clenched her teeth, the headmaster smiled and clapped her hands once. ¡°Okay,¡± she said. ¡°Miss Kagami, your abilities look promising and you don¡¯t seem to have any relatives, so I would like to invite you to join our academy.¡± ¡°Ehhhh!?¡± ¡°Yes, that seems like an excellent decision.¡± ¡°Ehhhh!?¡± ¡°Heh heh. I am glad to hear it, Miss Kagami. Yes.¡± ¡°Ehhhh!?¡± ¡°Indeed. I am glad to have a stable home close to others who understand me.¡± ¡°Um, is it just me or are you two completely ignoring me!?¡± At some point, Kagami had walked up next to her and she placed a hand on her shoulder. ¡°Uh¡­ I look forward to working with you, Horinouchi¡­¡± Kagami looked up at the ceiling before looking back at Horinouchi with a smile. ¡°Horinouchi Manko.¡±[1] ¡°My name is not Manko!¡± She was afraid that would stick. ¡°Head Butler¡­or wait, are you acting as manager at the moment? Anyway, Lady Mitsuru has a message for you from the headmaster.¡± ¡°Yes, I am acting as the former at the moment. What is the message about?¡± Koutarou fixed his suit¡¯s collar. If it was not an emergency, he would have any message inspected at the command center first. It could be an annoyance, but he felt it was safer and took the pressure off of his master when she returned home. ¡­It is not good to live a rushed life. That was his opinion as someone in a position that had served the Horinouchi family for generations. And in the mansion hall, the maid opened a magic circle to perform a double safety check. ¡°It is thanks for the seeds you provided her. Um¡­¡± The maid summarized the contents. ¡°She wishes to invite Kagami ¨C the witch who fought Lady Mitsuru ¨C to the academy, so she wants the Horinouchi family to vouch for her. Also, a ranker cannot exactly stay in the dorms and there is an empty room in Lady Mitsuru¡¯s living space, so she wants us to prepare it for that Kagami girl without asking Lady Mitsuru¡¯s permission. Finally, Lady Mitsuru will be showing Kagami around the academy, so she wants you to provide assistance.¡± ¡°What does that have to do with thanking me for the seeds!?¡± ¡°That was what Lady Mitsuru said it was about when she forwarded the message.¡± Before the maid had even finished her explanation, Koutarou had dashed out of the hall. ¡°I need to hurry to the academy! Check Lady Mitsuru¡¯s movements via GPS! I need to be there waiting for her!¡± ¡°Head Butler, what about dinner?¡± ¡°I will stop at a convenience store on the way!¡± ¡°Then we¡¯ll just do whatever,¡± said the maids as he left them behind and pulled a car key from his pocket. He had to hurry. After all¡­ ¡°The Head Butler of the Horinouchi family must be there before his master needs him!¡± ¡°Anyway, school is already out for the day, so I¡¯ll show you around the academy real quick.¡± Horinouchi chose the path they would take. If she was to give a simple tour of Shihouin Academy, there was only one real option. ¡­Down the center. They first circled northward from the northeastern library. ¡°That floating school building to the north is for the honors division. It¡¯s for those with abilities that don¡¯t fit into the other divisions or those with exceptional power. Their lessons are mostly individualized guidance.¡± But the two of them did not go there. A flower garden was located below the honors building and some students were tending to it, but¡­ ¡°The powers of honors witches can be harder to use and they tend to be sharply focused in one direction, but you can think of them as the highest ranked division. However, when you look at the ranker ratios, their exceptional abilities make it easier to hit them with countermeasures, so very few of them make it to the higher levels.¡± ¡°But the initial attack works well, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Horinouchi could only agree with Kagami. ¡°Yes. The ones with more difficult countermeasures rise the farthest and they are only ever defeated because of the people who essentially act as ¡®sacrifices¡¯ until the countermeasure is ready.¡± Horinouchi was one of those who stood atop that foundation. She did not look down on herself or pride herself for that fact. Tactics based on a system always came with rules. At any rate, she chose to take the southward path. That route would cut across the school grounds from north to south. It was also a path that she liked quite a bit. After all¡­ ¡°Horinouchi, I see the center of the school has been made into a courtyard and nature park. Is that how witches do things?¡± ¡°Yes. It provides a place to focus your mind, to cultivate catalysts, and for the spirits to rest.¡± And when the trees formed a roof overhead, something else could be glimpsed past them. Tall structures were visible in every direction. ¡°Shihouin Academy has split its school building into the four cardinal directions. To the south is the general division, to the west is the special equipment division, to the east is the spell division, and to the north is the honors division.¡± They passed by a few people. Horinouchi did not know if people were focused on her or if Kagami stood out in her suit, but the people stretched out on the grass and the people sitting in the trees holding brooms all looked their way. But she paid them no heed. ¡°The top four world witch rankings are each a part of one of those school buildings. I am #4 and essentially the representative of the general division.¡± ¡°I see,¡± replied Kagami. ¡°Then I just have to defeat the higher ranks with you.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°From what I heard, there is also a buddy system. If you join up with me, things should be a lot easier, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°Stop deciding things for me!¡± Horinouchi was reminded of when she had been forced to say goodbye to her mother. When it came to a battle, one could be lost no matter how powerful they were. Battles between normal witches followed certain rules and someone could step in if there was any danger, but that was not true for a battle with the Black Witch. With the buddy system, one¡¯s mistake could mean losing their partner or vice versa, so¡­ ¡°I fight on my own.¡± Kagami immediately gave a dignified nod and held out a hand to stop Horinouchi. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± Kagami moved only her gaze to look around. Horinouchi understood. This was the courtyard. The students who had begun their afterschool training had grown silent and had taken fighting stances. They were prepared to challenge Horinouchi at any moment. The previous day¡¯s battle had left her Suzaku exhausted. ¡­I could probably summon my Magino Frame, but a full-on battle would be difficult. However, these students were not about to overlook that. Not to mention that Horinouchi had shot back at the Black Witch. If these other students were to defeat her¡­ ¡°I take it they are looking for an opening so they can defeat us and improve their rank,¡± said Kagami without bothering to whisper. ¡°Wonderful. If everyone here can unify their hearts like this, then I look forward to when we can settle this.¡± She began to walk in a random direction and tapped Horinouchi on the shoulder. ¡°Where can I get a good view?¡± ¡°To the south. If we pass through the general school building and leave through the front, we will reach a pier.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s go there,¡± said Kagami with her back still turned. ¡°This is a nice place and I have something to tell you, Horinouchi.¡± ¡°Head Butler! The target is moving south! Most likely to the pier!¡± ¡°Ehhh!? Wait! Didn¡¯t you just say she was headed west to the cafeteria!? Now I have to make a half circuit of the road around the academy!¡± ¡°Quite complaining and get going, Head Butler. You¡¯re a man, aren¡¯t you? If you delay Lady Mitsuru even a second, every last maid is going to greet you with fake smiles tomorrow.¡± ¡°Gender equality! I demand gender equality!¡± Notes 1. ¡ü The kanji for Mitsuru + the feminine suffix ¡°ko¡± = ¡°Manko¡±, which also means vagina. Volume 1, 8: People Have Tears Volume 1, Chapter 8: People Have Tears The words of an infinitely small fraction Are given to the sunset The pier was empty. Normally, the water-element witches would rest and hold their afterschool training there. Their ships and floats were absent now, but that had to be due to the previous day. ¡­The ley lines in the water must still be disturbed. Any training on the sea would have to wait until after the water had fundamentally calmed down. That meant the pool was likely crowded. She reminded herself that the pool was located between the general and special equipment buildings, but then¡­ ¡­Wh-why am I still thinking like a tour guide!? She looked forward and saw Kagami walking below the setting sun. She passed through the decorative gate to the pier and walked along the wooden tile floor. Horinouchi followed five steps behind Kagami while feeling the movement of the waves in the soles of her feet. ¡°I want you to listen to something. Think of it as a nonsense story.¡± Kagami began speaking without warning and did not give Horinouchi a chance to say anything. ¡°Once, in a world different from this one, there were two sisters.¡± Only then was there a pause. Feeling she was being invited to ask, Horinouchi spoke the question on her mind. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Kagami claimed to be from another world. Horinouchi found it hard to believe, but the girl was clearly talking about herself here. And that she had a sister was of course new information. ¡°How about I give you a better understanding?¡± Kagami had her back turned, but Horinouchi heard a bitter laugh and more words. ¡°There was no magic in that world.¡± ¡°¡­What?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t believe me?¡± It was not so much that she did not believe her than it was that she did not understand. If there was no magic, did that mean there was no ether, no spells, and no divine protection? If so¡­ ¡°What did they use for fuel and on what was the value of currency based? In fact, what kind of civilization could there have-¡­¡± ¡°Sadly, you can chalk that up to a lack of imagination. That world did not look all that different from this one.¡± But there still had to have been a major difference on a fundamental level. Of course, Kagami probably understood that. She spread her arms a little before continuing. ¡°Because of that and because the younger of the sisters was quite frail, the two of them enjoyed imagining a world that had everything.¡± As for how¡­ ¡°They expressed it in pictures and writing. The younger sister dreamed of being an author, so she began searching through the materials in the back of her mansion.¡± ¡°Materials?¡± That probably meant she had looked around for history books and other reference materials for writing a book. There were similar people in Horinouchi¡¯s class. In those girls¡¯ case, their drawings and text became spells, but they said it was difficult to balance faithfulness to the reference materials with their own creativity. But in Kagami¡¯s case¡­ ¡°Their father was a collector and, one day, they found something.¡± ¡°What was it?¡± ¡°The Book of Creation.¡± Kagami placed her hands on her hips after reaching the end of the pier. ¡°It was not that our world never had magic.¡± In other words¡­ ¡°Magic was deemed dangerous, so all the world¡¯s magic was concentrated into a single book.¡± ¡°And that was the Book of Creation?¡± All she did was ask questions, but Horinouchi¡¯s curiosity had been piqued. What if all of this world¡¯s magic were gathered together? She had never imagined something like that before, but something like it had once been in Kagami¡¯s grasp. ¡­I-I¡¯m starting to believe her! Well, it¡¯s just a play on words. Yes, that¡¯s how I need to think of it. But Kagami must have understood what she was thinking. ¡°You do not need to know what the book contained.¡± After all¡­ ¡°It gave physical form to its owner¡¯s imagination and linked that physical form to itself.¡± Kagami noticed that Horinouchi was not reacting to what she had said. ¡­Honestly, what a clever girl. She had likely directly grasped what Kagami was trying to say. And after taking a few breaths, Kagami heard Horinouchi¡¯s voice behind her. ¡°It gives physical form to its owner¡¯s imagination? If you had a ridiculous artifact like that, you could become a god!¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Kagami crossed her arms and gathered strength in her hands. ¡°A great many worlds were created.¡± They truly were, she thought to herself. They were definitely crated in the space one could call ¡°the palm of your hand¡±. If one wished for it, countless worlds could be made in any form they wanted and those worlds would be as accessible as the other side of a small door. Thinking back, it had been an entrancing and dangerous game. After all, to establish the worlds they created¡­ ¡°Countless lives were created, lived, clashed when they grew in number, reached a mutual understanding, and lived once more.¡± But there was more she had to say. ¡°Due to her illness, the younger sister constantly felt the shadow of death.¡± ¡°You mean¡­¡± Yes. ¡°That may have been why each world obeyed the younger sister¡¯s imagination and was destroyed.¡± ¡°Wait.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± After her question, additional words reached her from behind. ¡°What happened to the older sister?¡± asked Horinouchi. ¡°If the younger sister began destroying the created worlds, what happened to the older sister?¡± Horinouchi looked to Kagami¡¯s back. The girl had her arms crossed and her sides slowly tensed at Horinouchi¡¯s question. Strength filled the hands holding her arms in place and it looked like she was restraining her own body. Kagami began with a sigh. ¡°The older sister was trapped in the expansion of the worlds and she had some authority over the worlds she created with her sister, although not as much authority as that sister. So she traveled across those many worlds to stop her sister, but¡­¡± But¡­ ¡°She did not make it in time,¡± she said. ¡°And so I will defeat my sister.¡± With that announcement, Horinouchi understood. She understood Kagami¡¯s questions during the battle the day before, her joy when looking up at the moon, and her anger when firing that final shot. ¡­Her younger sister is the Black Witch!? ¡°Ha ha,¡± quietly laughed Kagami. ¡°Listen.¡± ¡°Wh-what is it?¡± ¡°If her imagination of death will destroy this world, then I will stop her and end this even if it means killing her.¡± ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± Horinouchi could not say a thing. She too had a starting point: ten years before when she lost her mother. She was where she was now because she had chosen her path as a witch to wipe away what she had felt back then and to make sure no one else would ever feel that way. She did not want to lose anything and she did not want anyone else to lose anything, but¡­ ¡­This girl¡­ She was prepared to lose something out of necessity. That conflicted with Horinouchi, but Horinouchi was at a loss for words regardless. That was partially due to what she had been told, but she had also noticed something in Kagami¡¯s words. Horinouchi did not want to lose anything or for anyone else to lose anything, but¡­ ¡­If I kill the Black Witch, that will mean I am losing ¡°her¡±. The Black Witch was an enemy. She was both Horinouchi¡¯s enemy and the world¡¯s enemy. Going easy on her would mean a repeat of what had happened to them ten years before. But Horinouchi¡¯s starting point contained a contradiction all the same. Part of that came from not knowing the Black Witch¡¯s identity. She had thought of her as something like a natural disaster that could never be defeated no matter what. But¡­ ¡°Horinouchi.¡± Kagami turned around with a smile in her eyes. ¡°Did you actually believe all that?¡± ¡°Wh-what is that supposed to mean!?¡± She felt like it had all slipped away from her. It felt like all of her thoughts had been for nothing and it embarrassed her. She had thought too much about this other girl even though her standard policy was to avoid empathizing with others if at all possible. Her loss would be too painful otherwise, but so much of this information had been completely unexpected. ¡°Oh?¡± Kagami looked behind her. ¡°You are the one from yesterday.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Horinouchi looked back and saw Koutarou at the end of the pier. He bowed. ¡°Lady Mitsuru, dinner is ready.¡± ¡°Whaaaaaat!? Head Butler! It¡¯s still evening! What is this about dinner!?¡± ¡°Whaaaaat!? Lady Mitsuru is going to be spending the night in her school residence, and just how long would it take you to make dinner and carry it over to herrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!?¡± ¡°D-don¡¯t think I¡¯ll forget this, Head Butler! When you get back, I¡¯ll curse you!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t exactly laugh that off when you¡¯re an actual witch!¡± Kagami followed Horinouchi as the girl walked back down the pier in a huff. The butler named Koutarou then stepped between them. He seemed to be communicating with someone using a simple magic circle, but he closed it and bowed. Kagami bowed back, but¡­ ¡°Are you fine with this?¡± ¡°Are talking about what happened yesterday? While we work with U.A.H.J., our actions are based on different standards.¡± ¡°So it is up to Horinouchi? ¡­But it would seem she does not like me very much.¡± ¡°That is not true.¡± He shook his head. ¡°When she is in a bad mood, Lady Mitsuru hides what she truly thinks.¡± With that said, his expression changed. He was glancing over at her from the side, but he was definitely looking at her. ¡°If I and the rest of the Horinouchi Group had been providing backup during that battle, Lady Mitsuru would not have fallen behind.¡± ¡°That sounds promising.¡± ¡°I am honored you think so. Personally, I would like for you to be Lady Mitsuru¡¯s ally.¡± ¡°You get to the point quickly.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Koutarou nodded. ¡°I am sure you understand, but Lady Mitsuru is doing her best. ¡­That said, progress is being made in the analysis of the compression technology used for unlocking the seal on Hexennacht and, now that the buddy system has been introduced, the other rankers will be pairing up while receiving support on a national level. Lady Mitsuru has been working hard to face all that alone as the head of the Horinouchi family.¡± ¡°As the head of the family?¡± Kagami had more or less realized that, but it was a difficult subject to openly ask her about. Realizing she was still soft, Kagami remembered that the best person to ask stood before her. This person could decide whether she should or should not be given that information about Horinouchi. ¡°Koutarou, this is an awkward question, but what happened to her parents?¡± ¡°The previous generation passed away at a young age. Her mother¡­¡± Koutarou gave a silent bow before continuing quietly. ¡°Her mother was lost as the participant in the previous Hexennacht.¡± So I was right, thought Kagami. Even here, something that should not have been lost had been lost. But Koutarou was not finished speaking. ¡°However, I believe she was fortunate that she at least had a chance to say goodbye.¡± After stepping off of the pier, Horinouchi realized the other two were still halfway down the pier. ¡­They¡¯re probably talking about me. She felt she was being overly self-conscious, but Koutarou could take his support of her a little too far. She could guess he was trying to recruit Kagami. She felt it was none of his business, but she was also thankful. That was why she did not stop them. Instead¡­ ¡°Hurry up, you two!¡± But as she turned back, she noticed something. As Kagami stood halfway down the pier, there were powerless tears spilling from her eyes. ¡­What? Everything was a surprise with that girl and Horinouchi never understood what was going on. ¡°Wh-what is it now?¡± But by then, Kagami must have noticed her tears because she wiped them away with a hand. ¡°Sorry. You may find it rude, but I asked about your mother.¡± ¡°Koutarou!¡± Koutarou bowed deeply. It was a pose that showed he knew he had been impolite but still felt no remorse. She had known him long enough to know that, so she said what she needed to tell Kagami instead. ¡°You did not need to do that, but I am not someone to pity.¡± ¡°I do not pity you.¡± Kagami¡¯s eyes were still damp, but she raised her eyebrows. ¡°It saddens me that it was in a world we created that you lost your mother and were filled with sadness.¡± She breathed in. ¡°I have power, so if I had not erred, I could have written a story of happiness for your family.¡± When she heard that, Horinouchi realized that Kagami was telling the truth. ¡­Ah. She did not know how much of a product of that girl and her sister they were. Based on what she had said, they had likely only created the overall ¡°world¡± and had not been directly involved in creating the individuals. Perhaps they had only thought of certain stories that occurred there. However, if they had done everything right, then Horinouchi would have been living happily with her mother and everyone else. ¡°But¡­it¡¯s far too late for that.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Kagami placed a hand on her shoulder. ¡°It is far too late. And that is why I have something to tell you.¡± That was¡­ ¡°Well done getting through it all, Manko.¡± ¡°I told you to stop calling me that!¡± She suddenly realized Kagami was smiling. She thought that girl¡¯s expression changed too much, but she too had shown a variety of expressions that day, although more on the exasperation and annoyance side of things. ¡­I can¡¯t stand this. She sighed and let her shoulders droop. ¡°You don¡¯t have anywhere to eat dinner or to spend the night, do you? Then you can come to my-¡­¡± As soon as Horinouchi said that, Kagami¡¯s expression changed again. ¡­What? A moment later, the hand on her shoulder gave a tug as if pulling her down and it threw off her balance. She pitched forward and was spun back behind Kagami. ¡°Lady Mitsuru!¡± Horinouchi could not even respond to Koutarou¡¯s call as she straightened back up. She did not know why she had suddenly been pulled down, but¡­ ¡­That sound! She heard a metallic sound behind her. When she turned around, she saw something there. It was a green wall and it was large enough to seemingly cover the entire sky. ¡°Is this¡­?¡± Kagami¡¯s right hand was held toward the sky. A defense spell magic circle and a shield of light had formed there. They were quite powerful. Horinouchi knew what it was that girl was using her full strength to support. ¡°A Magino Device!?¡± Koutarou recognized the Magino Device. It was an aircraft-type that looked like a rectangular block standing vertically with armor panels covering it. It was impressive that Kagami could support the five hundred meter device. After all, she stood on a pier, so the earth would not receive the enemy¡¯s weight. She had put together an impromptu reinforcement spell to fill the space between her feet and the bottom of the sea. ¡­She is familiar with the battlefield! With that thought, Koutarou looked up. A Magino Device had suddenly appeared and made a physical strike. ¡­This is¡­ As soon as he decided he needed to tell her, Horinouchi gave a shout. ¡°This is the Rank 3 witch from the special equipment division and the American representative. Her name is Elsie Hunter!¡± Koutarou had nearly opened his mouth to explain, but when he heard Horinouchi¡¯s voice, he was glad he had not robbed her the opportunity to give her own explanation. ¡­I would expect no less of Lady Mitsuru! He did not lament his wasted effort. In fact, it was more that he had let the chance slip away. Regardless, even an outsider like him could tell what this was. ¡°Is a higher ranked witch challenging her to a ranker battle!?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right.¡± Far above, a figure stood vertically atop the vertical Magino Device. The short, redheaded girl wore a Magino Form that resembled a karate uniform. ¡°I¡¯m Elsie Hunter. ¡­Now, will you accept this ranker battle against me, lower rank?¡± No, thought Koutarou. ¡­It has already begun! The girl had suddenly summoned her Magino Frame and made a press attack using its great weight. Her power devices must not have heated up yet, so fortunately she had not been able to fire any cannons or other projectiles. However, even though she had swung down the five hundred meter Magino Device¡­ ¡­She still doesn¡¯t count this as a battle? As he asked that, he saw Hunter raise her eyebrows in a smile. She looked to Kagami who had stopped her Magino Device. ¡°With the surprise attack and weight, I thought you¡¯d be crushed with this first attack, so I¡¯m impressed you managed to stop it!¡± The Magino Device suddenly vanished. Hunter had removed the bonds of the ether. As a massive amount of ether light scattered, she dropped down from several hundred meters up, now wearing her Normal Form. Her Normal Device looked like a miniature pile bunker and it was attached to her arm like a shield. ¡°Here I go!¡± Her first strike pursued Kagami who had prepared to dodge. Volume 1, 9: There is Power in Heaven and Earth Volume 1, Chapter 9: There is Power in Heaven and Earth Nothing is better than having plenty of energy Depending on the situation Horinouchi¡¯s eyes pursued the battle that had just begun. Both the Form and Device of Hunter¡¯s Normal Frame were meant for close-range combat. Horinouchi had heard the girl fell into the witch classification of Karate-style, and her white jacket and belt confirmed that. However, her movements were more of a Peek-a-Boo style with one leg placed forward and she closed in on her opponent with tremendous speed. ¡­Not many witches can fight on the surface. Normally, witches used their flight abilities such as flying on a broom. But Hunter was different. She could likely fly if she had to, but her standard tactics kept her on the ground. Kagami on the other hand had yet to summon even her Normal Frame. She sharpened a defense spell to an acute angle and intercepted Hunter with shield bash attacks. She was only reacting and Horinouchi knew why. ¡­Hunter¡¯s attacks are so fast. Her blows linked together and never stopped. She pushed and pushed and pushed. If Kagami fell back, Hunter would push further forward without ever stopping. This was only possible thanks to the acceleration spells opened on various parts of her body, but there was another reason. ¡°A stability spell near the soles of her feet!¡± Horinouchi saw it below the girl¡¯s feet. Whenever she dashed or threw a punch, a spell circle would appear where her feet touched the ground. ¡°Lady Mitsuru! What is that!?¡± ¡°When she presses down on her feet, the force is sent into the ground regardless of the angle and she receives the feedback!¡± To move was to kick off the ground with the bottoms of one¡¯s feet. The relationship between one¡¯s feet and the ground was surprisingly important in combat. For example, when attacking, if one¡¯s feet were on the ground, they could use that to endure the reactionary force. To strike the enemy was to push one¡¯s weapon into them and that would naturally produce a reactionary force. If the enemy was tough enough, they would actually push back. If one placed their feet down and held their ground, they could not be pushed back. Simply put, planting one¡¯s feet on the ground and pressing down allowed them to throw all of their strength and their weapon into their opponent and it prevented that opponent from pushing them back. This stability spell transferred any reactionary force into the ground. ¡°That lets her maintain her forward momentum even as she strikes and is struck!¡± This was something that did not work when one¡¯s feet were off the ground or in midair. Just like for a bullet, they could not press their feet down and they would be knocked back if their opponent¡¯s defenses were stronger than them. That was why high-speed clashes were the foundation for midair combat or projectiles. The presence or absence of the ground below one¡¯s feet made a great difference. If it was there, they could send all of their attack power into their opponent. That allowed them to wield less overall strength and they could make more compact combination attacks because they did not have to rely on speed. Without it there, they could not send all of their attack power into their opponent. That meant they had to increase the overall strength they wielded and attacks tended to grow longer and more sweeping because they had to rely on speed. Hunter was the former type, but Horinouchi and Kagami were the latter type. No, Kagami¡¯s technique allowed her to rearrange her style to an extent, so she could adapt to the situation if needed. However, her standard tactics were based off of the witch who had taught her how things were done in ¡°this world¡±. ¡­And that was me. Horinouchi felt a little blue over indirectly tripping someone else up. However, she sensed some danger in the combination of attacks and speed sounding from the coastal park. ¡°Lady Mitsuru, below Hunter¡¯s feet!¡± ¡°I see it. She¡¯s started to float a little.¡± ¡°Nicely detected, Lady Mitsuru!¡± Koutarou is very good at raising people¡¯s spirits. But this was not the time for that. As Hunter picked up speed, she began to fly like a witch. Her method was simple. She placed some distance between the stability spell below her feet and the corresponding stability spell on the ground. That meant she was ¡°borrowing¡± the ground as a foothold even while in midair. Why would she do that? ¡­Because of the relationship between the direction of her feet on the ground and the reactionary force. People¡¯s attacks were generally oriented horizontally, so the reactionary force would of course come back in the opposite horizontal direction. However, they could only resist it with the ground vertically below their feet. That created a problem. A redirection process was needed to point that horizontal force down into the ground. They had to redirect the coming reactionary force down toward their feet. That took a lot of doing and created wasted movement and a time lag. That was why most witches did not fight on the surface. When doing so, they needed to be on the ground yet that ground would not receive the reactionary forces like they wanted. Hunter, however, had solved that problem. Even with a gap between her feet and the corresponding ground, she linked them with her stability spell. When she stepped on the midair spell circle, it would act just like the one on the ground. She was ¡°borrowing¡± the ground while in midair. So no matter where in the sky she was, she could brace herself against the ground from any angle. And she was currently beginning to fly more and more. Without waiting to redirect the reactionary force into the ground below, she stepped out into the empty air. ¡°Midair dash!¡± Ether light scattered as the karate girl moved forward. Her steps were solid. Even when she made an attack from a normally impossible angle, she was always ¡°standing on the ground¡±, so it was entirely possible. As a result, she pushed forward, ran into the air as if up a wall, circled around, and focused on the attacks she could only make while in midair. It could all be summed up with a single adjective. ¡­She¡¯s fast! The rotational speed of her attacks was far greater than those of the average close-range combat witch. Even Horinouchi had to admit that, so it had to be a truly unknown threat to Kagami. Horinouchi partially felt it was her own fault that Kagami was stuck on the defensive, so¡­ ¡°How is Suzaku doing?¡± While watching the battle, she opened her magic circle to the side. She checked on the Suzaku¡¯s condition after the previous day¡¯s battle and found the red servant sleeping in a futon. It was completely sprawled out even though its tail feathers caught on the blanket and its eyes were wide open. ¡­Is this thing really a bird? Something always made her question that fact and it seemed to have shown up right away this time. Regardless, if it was asleep, then it had yet to recover from the battle. Kagami must have noticed what she was doing because the girl asked a question while continuing to defend. ¡°Horinouchi, can you summon that thing?¡± Horinouchi started to say no, but Hunter cut in first. ¡°Will she summon it? Of course not. If I defeat you, she¡¯ll get her #4 spot back!¡± ¡°Th-that is not what I-¡­¡± ¡°No,¡± said Kagami. ¡°That is the reality of this world, isn¡¯t it?¡± She wanted to say no, but she knew better than anyone who it was that had come out on top during the previous day¡¯s battle. She had not been looking up at the moon, but¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± As Hunter attacked, Kagami swung both hands. ¡­Is she summoning her Normal Frame!? Horinouchi wanted to ask how she could do it while undergoing that bombardment, but she was already seeing the answer. She saw ether light. As Hunter moved, the magic circle of her stability spell shattered and scattered into the air, but¡­ ¡°Can I take that, Hunter? I have already made a reservation.¡± The light immediately gathered around Kagami. ¡°Lady Mitsuru! That is-¡­¡± Horinouchi replied at Koutarou¡¯s urging. ¡°I can see it myself!¡± ¡°Head Butler, she just ignored you.¡± ¡°Well done, Lady Mitsuru! You need to focus on the battle more than commentary right now, don¡¯t you!?¡± ¡°Having a positive outlook is fine, but she did just ignore you, Head Butler.¡± ¡°Someone! Someone please! My subordinates won¡¯t stop shoving reality in my face!!¡± Hunter gave a light whistle at her opponent¡¯s technique. ¡­Just as I¡¯d heard! This girl could directly grab ether. Ether was the element that made up all things and magic and spells were the techniques to use it as one pleased. However, this opponent made ether her own without using any spells based on the theory of magic. She simply created whatever she imagined. ¡°Are you a god or something, Kagami Kagami?¡± ¡°No, I am a normal, powerless person.¡± As she spoke, engines were created around her. It showed not even a hint of stopping and came to be with no ceremony. It was based on the Japanese style and the ether it used came from the fragments of Hunter¡¯s broken magic circle. ¡°Are you a garbage collector!?¡± ¡°I am recycling it. You should call me ecological, representative of America, the great nation of consumption.¡± The light fit together, and¡­ ¡­Not good! Her strength rushed in as a counterattack and it matched Hunter¡¯s strikes in one aspect. ¡­The speed! This opponent did not have a spell to secure her footing. Knowing that, she had sent out her greatest attack as soon as she summoned the Frame. It was a large white and blue sword and a similarly-colored dragon servant could be seen in the magic circle. ¡°This is my justice. I suppose I will name it Dikaiosyne. Hunter, you can call my servant partner Dikaio.¡± Hunter managed to avoid the thrust. She created a foothold in front of herself, kicked forward in midair, and jumped upwards. However, Kagami was already on the move. She sank down while keeping the tip of the blade in place to raise the sword vertically. The pommel touched the stone pavement in the park and the tip of the blade was pointed up towards Hunter. ¡°Now, we can finally greet each other. Nice to meet you.¡± The sword opened up and fired a blast of light from below as soon as soon as it reached cannon form. Koutarou saw Kagami¡¯s attack. She fired a close-range cannon blast straight up from Dikaoi-whatever. It scored a direct hit. Even with her incomplete Normal Frame, air blasts from her cannon had wiped out his unit and it was powerful enough to hold its own against Horinouchi. However¡­ ¡°She deflected it!?¡± Hunter had raised the bunker shield attached to her left arm and deflected Kagami¡¯s attack from head on. But she was still knocked up into the air and she smashed her own footing spell. She let the hit launch her through the sky in order to distance herself from Kagami. It was mostly vertical distance. However, she was not retreating. She made a half vertical rotation in midair, created some footing towards the heavens, and swung down her bunker shield as if to hit Kagami below. ¡°American-style downward air!¡± While rapidly descending, she fired an ether spear from the bunker shield. It was a pile bunker. Hunter thought to herself as she dropped down and attacked. ¡­Here too. She had seen it after being knocked upwards. She had also seen it on top of her Magino Device earlier. Around Tokyo Bay, the city of Tokyo was seriously damaged. Its height had been worn down and giant holes had been torn down to the crust in places. She knew what that was. She saw it far too much when she flew into the air for training. It was mostly damage from Hexennacht ten years prior. There would have been a few from before that too, but they had been overwritten by the more recent ones. The most damage had occurred ten years ago. Tokyo was of course not the only place so badly damaged. The destruction had occurred on a global scale and everything had ground to a halt for mankind. It had taken at least five years for the damaged areas to recover. The sooner people had begun working at a solution, the sooner the area had recovered. Countless places around the world were still in the process of recovering. The Tokyo area had been one of the earliest to recover. That was why Hunter had transferred to Shihouin Academy to train as a witch and why she had assumed she could focus on the Ranker battles there, but¡­ ¡°Here too.¡± There was destruction everywhere. The decade-old scars were healing, but that was only because they had abandoned the places they decided were hopeless. Mankind had marked their place and closed themselves inside a cage, so¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± Hunter did not use her words. She used her attitude and actions. She was an American. That nation had the world¡¯s most powerful military and was proud of its position as the world police. ¡°Pierce, Hedgehog!!¡± The ether spear was fired from the acceleration pathway. Kagami had the ground directly below her, so there was nowhere for the damage to escape. That meant a direct hit would lead to a single conclusion. ¡­Victory! Hunter watched her attack land. She saw Kagami. The girl held her sword directly below, but the sword was no longer in its cannon form. It had closed into attack form and Kagami was not using it to defend. ¡°Hunter.¡± She heard her speak. ¡°Earlier, you suddenly brought your Magino Frame down on me without even introducing yourself. That is a very interesting kind of handheld Magino, but I have a question and an answer. First¡­¡± First¡­ ¡°Question 1: With a Normal Frame, is it possible to summon a Magino Frame without superheating your Phlogiston Heart?¡± ¡­This girl! ¡°Answer 1: It is.¡± After all¡­ ¡°A witch always carries a Phlogiston Heart. Summoning the Frame may alter its accumulation amount and rate, but it is always there. That is why Horinouchi¡¯s servant maintains its exhaustion even when she is not using her Frame. That proves that the Phlogiston Heart is jointly managed with the servant. In other words¡­¡± ¡°Are you saying you kept receiving my attacks earlier to speed up the superheating of your Phlogiston Heart!?¡± ¡°Would it be showing off if I said yes?¡± Kagami kicked up her sword. The rising blade struck Hunter¡¯s pile bunker. The blade shattered, but¡­ ¡°My charge is now complete.¡± With those words, the entire sword exploded and became a cloud of ether light. Horinouchi looked past the expanding ether light and exploding stone pavement. A massive object was appearing within the scattering wreckage and light. Its construction was accompanied by the ringing of a large bell. ¡°That¡¯s Kagami¡¯s Dika-whatever!¡± ¡°That would be Dikaiosyne, Lady Mitsuru!¡± ¡°I would expect no less of you, Koutarou!¡± I should write that down. Not Dukaiosyne or Dekaiosyne, but Dikaiosyne. She typed it into a magic circle and the search told her it meant ¡°justice¡± in Greek. She wondered why Kagami would go through that kind of trouble, but that seemed to be the kind of person Kagami was. However, that was not the only thing to worry about at the moment. Another Magino Device was appearing right in front of Dikaiosyne. This was Hunter¡¯s Magino Device and its form solidified along with the deafening sound of a large engine. It had heavy armor and a multi-acceleration cannon in the center. Also¡­ ¡­That¡¯s a four blessing model! The acceleration reactor frame was not just held on either the left and right or the top and bottom. Instead, it was held from all four sides. Each individual acceleration unit was made smaller, so its initial speed would not be as great as a two blessing model like Horinouchi¡¯s Akerindou. However, the speed of the shells would not drop by much and would be more stable. That meant one thing¡­ ¡­It¡¯s meant for sniping! Akerindou also primarily used projectiles, but it used spells and such to give the shells homing ability and stable acceleration. On the other hand, Hunter¡¯s Magino Device itself would provide the stability and would use less after-the-fact spells to provide homing ability or anything like that. But if it was more of a sniping weapon¡­ ¡°You mustn¡¯t move away from her, Kagami!¡± Hunter swung both arms while having her Magino Device rapidly ascend. She named what she rode. ¡°This is the Hedgehog, my Magino Device.¡± She contacted someone from above the rear central radome. ¡°US Anti-Witch Combat Division of North American Aerospace Defense Command, please respond.¡± ¡°This is U.A.H.F. Representative Hunter, your Magino Device¡¯s deployment calculations have already reached eighty percent. We are receiving the proper feedback.¡± It had been a while since she had replied with ¡°Thanks!¡± in English. Then the deployment calculations for the Hedgehog did indeed scroll across the spell circles opened in front of her hands. Her Magino Device, the Hedgehog, was not hers alone. It was much like how Horinouchi received backup from the Horinouchi family and from Shinto. ¡°The American representative receives backup from the US military.¡± What did it matter if the other girl could create things with her imagination? Using diligent training, improvement, and cooperation was the American way, so¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± Hunter swung both hands and accelerated the Magino Device¡¯s construction. And¡­ ¡°Ohhh!¡± She broke out into song. On the other end of the transmission, a large underground space was lined with consoles and magic circles. Everyone hurriedly working in front of the monitor light listened to it. Their representative was singing while speeding up her work. ¡°That¡¯s our national anthem, ¡®The Star-Spangled Banner¡¯.¡± She sang the second verse. ¡ªOn the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep, ¡ªWhere the foe¡¯s haughty host in dread silence reposes, ¡ªWhat is that which the breeze, o¡¯er the towering steep, ¡ªAs it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses? ¡ªNow it catches the gleam of the morning¡¯s first beam, ¡ªIn full glory reflected now shines on the stream ¡ª¡¯Tis the star-spangled banner! O long may it wave ¡ªO¡¯er the land of the free and the home of the brave! They all cheered at the witch¡¯s song. ¡°Representative Hunter!¡± One stood up and shouted into the magic circle showing the witch. ¡°The calculations are complete! They actually finished a bit ago, but, sorry, I wanted to hear it to the end. ¡­Are you already on the move!?¡± ¡°Thanks!¡± The karate girl was moving. ¡°I¡¯d started by the second measure!¡± Hunter had the Hedgehog float. It flew up into the sky, sweeping away the ether light spreading below. The Hedgehog¡¯s primary technique was its sniper cannon, but its long acceleration pathway strictly required the entire Device to be pointed accurately at her opponent. Those back in the States said that difficulty of use was similar to a handgun, but she did not entirely understand it herself. Regardless¡­ ¡­Fly. She sent that instruction to the Normal Device Hedgehog on her left arm that now acted as the controller. A hedgehog-type servant appeared in a magic circle and nodded. She would put even more distance between her and her enemy. ¡°Here I go!¡± Once she gave that yell, another yell reached her from the sword whose construction was not yet complete. ¡°Not so fast!¡± It was Kagami, but¡­ ¡­You haven¡¯t finished constructing yours yet! From what Hunter could see, Kagami had put together the external armor first in order to avoid Hunter¡¯s attack. That meant the incomplete parts would be the acceleration system and the shell formation area on the back. It could handle close-range attacks and defense, but it would not be able to pull off long-range attacks or movement. However, her decision itself was right. Hunter was a sniper. She could still attack with her secondary cannon, but trying to defeat Kagami here would give that girl time to finish the acceleration system and shell formation area while the secondary cannon wore down her armor. Hunter decided her best option was to fire her secondary cannon and fall back while avoiding the position directly in front of her enemy. The sword attempted to turn her way, so she fired her secondary cannon to escape. Her output was still weak, so she could not focus much power on that secondary cannon. Nevertheless, she managed to put some distance between them. ¡­Time to borrow some acceleration! After that thought, her opponent began to move. ¡°I said not so fast, Hunter!¡± The sword suddenly shot her way. ¡°What!?¡± The sword¡¯s accelerator should not have been complete, but as soon as Hunter wondered how this was possible, she found her answer. On the back of the sword, she saw light in the acceleration pathway where the shell formation area had yet to be included. ¡°You reversed the cannon¡¯s acceleration pathway and fired an blast of air!?¡± ¡°I have tried firing air a few times already.¡± This is ridiculous. Acceleration pathways are generally one-way! No, but this girl can ¡°imagine¡±. Two-way ones do exist, so it isn¡¯t that strange for her to choose one. The rest was simple. The sword blade collided with the Hedgehog¡¯s upper armor. The malleable composite ether armor was stronger than steel or normal composite armor, but it still bent and sparked. Also, a voice arrived from beyond the roar of impact. ¡°This is my greeting.¡± As Hunter watched, a single part reached completion. The shell formation area attached itself to the back of Kagami¡¯s sword. ¡­Did she give up on the acceleration system and focused on that instead!? She had used her cannon¡¯s acceleration pathway for acceleration because her first priority had been reaching Hunter. It had also allowed her to stop creating the acceleration system and instead pour all of the ether into the shell formation area. That only left one thing. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± A cannon blast struck Hunter from point blank range. The blast tore apart the sky and briefly lit up the darkening heavens. The shockwave shook the forest, tossed spray across the ocean, and caused the pier to hop up. Rubble flew toward Horinouchi, but she activated the kind of reflective pseudo-defense spell sold to witches. As a boy, Koutarou excelled at defense, so he could get by on his own will-power. ¡°She did it!¡± Kagami had scored a direct hit from close range and Horinouchi knew firsthand how powerful that Magino Frame¡¯s main cannon was. Akerindou was a wonderful Magino Frame that focused entirely on attack and therefore had little defensive power, but it still took quite a bit of power to break it. Dikaiosyne had already proven it had that power. ¡°Ah.¡± As the scattering cloud of ether dust cleared, the result came into view. However¡­ ¡°No damage!?¡± Hunter¡¯s Magino Frame floated in midair. Its surface shimmered from the heat of the hit, but it was entirely undamaged. Volume 1, 10: A Will Fills the Distance Volume 1, Chapter 10: A Will Fills the Distance Overwhelming extraterritorial shellfire Hunter smiled bitterly. Several magic circles from those back in the States had appeared around her. They had quickly divided up the work and calculated out a solution. ¡­A force redirection spell derived from my foothold stability spell. The Hedgehog¡¯s armor was physically quite strong as well, but she had cast a spell on it to further increase its defenses. Instead of hardening the armor, she had used the ¡°foothold¡± spell. ¡°I had the damage ¡®step¡¯ out and away.¡± Damage had permeated the entire five hundred meter form, but it had been allowed to escape from every single component. It all had to be done at once, so it had been far too much work for a single person. However, Hunter could do it. ¡°The US has poured all of its military technology into this. It isn¡¯t about to lose to something that¡¯s powerful in just one way.¡± ¡°Representative Hunter, we could only do this because of your initial instructions.¡± She heard the witch who acted as her commander back in U.S.A.H. Next, a male operator spoke up. ¡°You are synced with the Hedgehog. Without your reflexes and decisions, we cannot calculate anything. It all comes down to the one who provides the initial instructions.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± said Hunter. They¡¯re all such nice people, she thought. So¡­ ¡°Can I fire!?¡± ¡°Taking the your coming movement into account, you will have thirteen percent power for that. You can fire a non-physical shell!¡± ¡°The enemy Magino Frame lacks its mobility system, so it cannot pursue you!¡± That settled it. ¡°Fire!!¡± ¡°Kagami, you need to put up your defenses!¡± Even before she was told, Kagami had started switching Dikaiosyne from cannon mode to close-range attack mode. ¡°You never can seem to decide how politely to speak to me.¡± ¡°Just hurry up!¡± ¡°No need.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± said Horinouchi just before light exploded from Dikaiosyne. Kagami lacked her main acceleration system. If she could not hold her ground in midair, then¡­ ¡°This could be a problem!¡± The impact produced a metallic sound and Kagami was blown away along with Dikaiosyne. Horinouchi listened to the wind. ¡°¡­Ah.¡± It only lasted an instant. Ether light scattered through the sky like fireworks and the two massive structures vanished from overhead. One had been blown away by a cannon blast and the other had accelerated using the recoil and¡­ ¡°Wh-where did it go!?¡± Koutarou, I didn¡¯t mean you. You don¡¯t have to raise your hand. Kagami lost sight of her enemy, but that was not all. ¡°Where am I?¡± How far had she been sent through the air? All she knew was that a few minutes had passed. Lacking an acceleration system was troublesome, but Dikaiosyne was still functioning. Fortunately, the cannon blast had hit the closed blade. The blade was meant to double as a ram, so it had Dikaiosyne¡¯s thickest armor and it was the first thing she had pictured in her head when making it. ¡­Heh heh heh. Isn¡¯t it cool? But the real problem was her location. She had assumed she was somewhere in Tokyo Bay, but¡­ ¡­Is this¡­? The geography visible down on her right was somewhat similar, but the bay was not deep enough and the entrance to the bay lacked the Uraga Channel made from the Miura Peninsula and the Bousou Peninsula. Also, the landmass visible on the far side seemed to be the Miura Peninsula instead of the Bousou Peninsula. ¡°So would Mount Fuji be behind me?¡± It was and that was something of a relief. It proved that this world was no different from the world she had come from. ¡­And it proves this is one of the worlds we created. She opened two magic circles while she thought: one to search for the enemy and one that controlled optics. The first one told her there were no other Magino Frames within an eighty kilometer radius and she used the optical one to look across the horizon. ¡°Where is she?¡± Where was Hunter¡¯s Magino Frame? Hunter floated among the clouds. ¡°Already close to Hawaii. The Hedgehog may be an armored sniper weapon, but it isn¡¯t slow.¡± Several islands were lit by the setting sun below. She was over six thousand kilometers away from Japan, but it had taken less than ten minutes to arrive. More than eight or nine kilometers per second was easily over Mach 20. She had moved faster than a shell fired by the average Magino Frame. Needless to say, that kind of speed was impossible even with the Hedgehog¡¯s acceleration. However, the ¡°foothold¡± spell made it possible. The moon could be seen overhead and a few manmade objects were visible between it and the earth. ¡°Satellites.¡± The United States alone had a thousand of them orbiting the earth to observe the moon and protect the earth. Those manmade objects made a full revolution of the earth in an hour and a half, so what would happen if she worked with the United States to use one as her ¡°foothold¡±. The answer was movement at extreme speed. That forcible swing-by allowed her to move anywhere in the world in a very short amount of time. That also meant she could quickly move to a sniping spot where her enemy could not detect her. The frictional heat the Hedgehog had been unable to fully eliminate caused its surface to shimmer. ¡°Honestly.¡± Its armor was more meant to endure that acceleration than it was to defend against attacks. For lower Rankers, she only needed to collide with them during the initial swing-by acceleration. If she was confident enough, she would provide a shell the extreme acceleration of the swing-by and blow away her opponent with the shockwave as it passed by. But that was not enough at the upper levels. If they could teleport, then even her acceleration seemed like a joke. ¡­That¡¯s the problem with magic. She was a witch too, but her home country had led to her focus more on the scientific or engineering side of it all. She thought of magic as a type of technology. That was why the clearly bizarre magical powers she sometimes saw at Shihouin Academy made for exhausting opponents. At any rate, she had arrived at a good position. Hawaii was the westernmost point in the Pacific where she could receive the full backup of the United States. Guam and Okinawa had been wiped out ten years before, not to mention the Japanese mainland. So¡­ ¡°I¡¯d rather not damage Japan here, but¡­¡± ¡°Representative Hunter, this is U.S.A.H. of the North American Aerospace Defense Command! We have synced with the seventh fleet deployed in the Pacific!¡± ¡°Output is at eighty-seven percent. You can now produce physical shells.¡± ¡°I see,¡± said Hunter with a nod. The rest was simple. The magic circles surrounding her contained the calculations made by the others. Now she only had to act as the on-scene commander and the actual combatant. ¡°Cannon fully deployed. System all green. Full barrel open.¡± ¡°Finished inputting the enemy location. Coordinates confirmed. ¡­Fire-time transformation and guidance processing confirmed. Swing-by trajectory path confirmed. Please fire the first shot within seventeen seconds!¡± ¡°You can fire, Representative Hunter!¡± ¡°Understood. Magino Frame Hedgehog¡­main cannon.¡± Hunter thrust her right first straight forward. ¡°Fire!¡± Koutarou was the first to notice. During a battle between witches, the international organization named U.A.H. would remain silent as it had been created to oppose the Black Witch. This was to keep the battle fair, but it also meant the forces supporting the witches had to use everything at their disposal. Currently, those two forces were the United States military and the Horinouchi family. The overall strength of the one dwarfed that of the other, but the Horinouchi family had been chosen as the Shinto representative for Hexennacht. That meant the Horinouchi family had the cooperation of the Shinto network of all local Japanese deities. That network covered all of Japan¡¯s territorial land, sea, and airspace. All of Japan¡¯s Shinto shrines and the Buddhist temples working with them had spread their protective barriers to their full detection range and the powerful shrines around the country were using their ley line control systems to detect the enemy. They had learned two things: the foreign presence had left Japan, and¡­ ¡°Lady Mitsuru! A flying object is approaching from the southwest! It has exceeded Mach 25!¡± ¡°That¡¯s an upper Ranker¡¯s shell, isn¡¯t it!?¡± Horinouchi¡¯s Akerindou could rival that in its initial speed and tension, but this had already arrived off the coast of Bousou and was approaching Kagami at tremendous speed. ¡°Kagami, please dodge it!!¡± Oh, she¡¯s being more polite again, thought Kagami, but she had something else to focus on. ¡°What? All the way from Hawaii?¡± ¡­Not bad. This was Hunter¡¯s cannon shot. Horinouchi was Shinto, so she would be able to detect anything in Japanese territory. So if someone was going to target Mount Fuji, a shot from the south would be caught early by the Okinotori Islands and similar territories. The best direction would be from the island-less east and Hawaii was a very American choice, but¡­ ¡°This is not good.¡± Mount Fuji was behind her. She could avoid the shot if she tried, but¡­ ¡°How troublesome.¡± After all¡­ ¡°I do not like correcting something I have already written.¡± As she said that, one of her magic circles reacted. The circle could detect anything within eighty kilometers and this flying object was moving at more than eight kilometers per second, so¡­ ¡°It is already here, Hunter!¡± A moment later, power itself collided with Dikaiosyne. Dikaiosyne broke. The blade had the thickest armor, but before it could even bend, the force of the impact caused it to shrink, peel away as if melted, and then break into a top and bottom half. The impact then tore into the rest of the sword, randomly striking different spots. The five hundred meter sword was forced into a spin and thrown into the Sea of Trees east of Mount Fuji. The crust of the Sea of Trees was smashed and earth shot to height of a few kilometers. It sounded much like a broken bell and the shockwave tore into the Sea of Trees and blasted the crust away like a crashing wave. The air current forced up by that earthen destruction was caught by the wind descending from Mount Fuji and fell back to earth a dozen kilometers further along. Hunter¡¯s shell had hit Kagami¡¯s Magino Device. ¡°I did it!¡± Hunter viewed the situation using the satellite that had provided her shell the final swing-by. From her bird¡¯s-eye-view in the evening sky, the eastern slope of Mount Fuji and the Sea of Trees looked like a dark shadow, but one of the operators in their headquarters enchanted the imagine with an engineering control spell. The image grew brighter and more focused. She could now see the destroyed land. ¡°Ah.¡± She briefly gasped because she was bracing herself to see tremendous damage. The shell had been made to apply buffering to anything outside a radius of two kilometers so it would only damage her enemy and that enemy¡¯s immediate surroundings. This was a battle between witches, not a fight to the death. However, the fragments could not all be eliminated and the collision with the other Magino Device had affected the surrounding area quite a bit. She refused to say she was ¡°glad¡± it had happened in the Sea of Trees, but it was definitely better than in a populated area. However, she saw something beyond the rising smoke and the massive amount of ether light. ¡°Is that¡­?¡± It was a blade. It was badly broken, but it was definitely there. On the dusk-lit earth, something was floating up from shell hit where it looked like something had gouged into the ground and then been dragged along. The floating object was a sword. No, it could no longer be called a sword. After all, the blade had broken, the guard had shattered, and ether light smoke was pouring from it. However, Hunter knew something. No matter how damaged or injured they might be¡­ ¡°A magic girl has not lost until her Phlogiston Heart breaks.¡± She knew the individual named Kagami had to be struggling there. Even after all that destruction, her will was telling the sky she could still fight. So¡­ ¡°The enemy¡¯s Magino Devi-¡­Frame is still functional!¡± came the report. ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Ridiculous, she thought, while also thinking, I wouldn¡¯t have it any other way. ¡­I would do the same thing. Hunter also had something to bear, so¡­ ¡­How about you, Kagami Kagami?¡± The analysis of the shell hit arrived. It showed her shell hitting a 3D model of the enemy Magino Frame. In the instant of impact, Kagami had tilted her blade as if twisting it. ¡°She slanted her Magino Device and kept it moving to reduce and distribute the damage!¡± reported an operator. ¡°So she avoided a direct hit? ¡­Dammit.¡± Hunter was angry and frustrated but also delighted. This was a formidable opponent. She raised her arms as if lifting the bird¡¯s-eye-view footage before her eyes. ¡°I¡¯ve already damaged you, so how are you going to escape this one?¡± She did not know what Kagami would do, but she knew the girl would do something. She would do something just like she had done several times from the beginning of the battle until now. And so¡­ ¡°Prepare to load the second shot! Let¡¯s keep pushing and-¡­¡± As she spoke, she saw something in front of her. She was looking at Kagami¡¯s sword in the satellite footage. A figure was standing in the center of it. It was Kagami Kagami. That girl had chosen an outdated Holy Knight-style Form and its armor was broken in a few places. Perhaps to repair it, ether light was hovering around those spots, but that was not the problem. ¡­Oh, come on. Kagami was looking up at her. Her eyebrows were raised as her gaze turned directly toward Hunter. This was a common sight. It was simply her enemy giving her an unyielding look. However¡­ ¡°Eh? W-wait a second¡­¡± Hunter could not blame the operator for being confused. ¡°Are you returning my gaze through the surveillance satellite, Kagami Kagami!?¡± ¡­How ridiculous is this girl? She wanted to know, but just how much did that correspond with her own goals? However, she already had the means prepared. ¡°Representative Hunter! The second shot¡¯s swing-by trajectory has been confirmed!¡± ¡°Please fire within fifteen seconds!¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± Hunter said from the bottom of her heart. And¡­ ¡°Second shot¡­¡± She prepared to say ¡°fire¡±, but¡­ ¡°Enough!!¡± A sudden voice cut into the communication line. It had to be someone with the authority to interfere in her communications with the United States. ¡°I, Shihouin Academy Headmaster Shihouin Cerisier, command both of you to stop. And¡­¡± And¡­ ¡°I will determine the outcome of this match. ¡­Okay?¡± Volume 1, 11: And Now Some Rest Volume 1, Chapter 11: And Now Some Rest ¡°Okay, time for an on-scene report from Miss Horinouchi.¡± When she heard the headmaster saying she would determine the outcome of Kagami and Hunter¡¯s match, Horinouchi opened a spell circle. The communications screen displayed the headmaster smiling with her office in the background. Despite the intense battle overhead, the window visible in the office did not even have its defense barrier closed. Even during a battle between rankers, this woman had the skill to respond to any emergency. In fact, she was one of those who had fought to the very end to earn the right to participate in the previous Hexennacht. In terms of the ranker system, she was the same as the current top three. And¡­ ¡­I¡¯ve heard she was the one who fought with my mother until the very end. The wielder of that much power spoke to her through the screen. ¡°Listen.¡± Horinouchi had not taken part in this battle, so this meant little to her. However, it was a very meaningful intercession for the ones above the Fuji Sea of Trees and above Hawaii. ¡°Miss Kagami has yet to officially join our school and we have yet to resolve the issue of Miss Horinouchi¡¯s rank.¡± But¡­ ¡°Miss Hunter, you were trying to push away these two lower ranked girls, weren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yeah, I was,¡± said Hunter. ¡°It¡¯s about time for the top three to be fighting amongst ourselves, so it would be trouble if we were attacked by the 4th ranked representative of the general division or someone even lower.¡± ¡°I see. That makes sense.¡± ¡°H-headmaster!¡± Horinouchi asked without thinking. ¡°Are you rejecting the ranker system!? As long as we¡¯re in the combat range of each other¡¯s rank, we can challenge each other in the hopes of building ourselves up further. Isn¡¯t that the entire point of the ranker system!?¡± ¡°Yes, but I also understand Miss Hunter¡¯s point. Interference from an outsider would only get in the way this late in the game.¡± The headmaster was clearly looking at Horinouchi when she continued. ¡°So how about this? I will officially accept Miss Kagami into our school.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± In her spell circle, Kagami placed a hand on her chin while wearing her broken Magino Form. ¡°No entrance exam? So are you accepting me based on my special talent?¡± ¡°You have already shown me more than enough special talent,¡± said the headmaster with a smile. ¡°The previous battle between Miss Kagami and Miss Horinouchi was never resolved. That leaves you both with a temporary rank of 4, so I think I¡¯ll treat you two as a unit.¡± ¡°I-I¡­¡± ¡°And as a unit¡­you are to battle Miss Hunter.¡± This was an order from the headmaster, so she has no choice but to obey. ¡­I¡¯m so pathetic. She thought that because rejecting the headmaster¡¯s command would most likely place Kagami at #4 and drop her down to #5. If she really did not want this, she only had to take that option, but she did not. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± She had a number of thoughts as to why, but when she summed them all up¡­ ¡­My pride. If she ran away here, she would fail to live up to her pride and she would lose to herself. So¡­ ¡°Headmaster,¡± she asked a question with the intention to accept everything about this situation. ¡°What happens if we lose?¡± Hunter released a shallow breath. ¡­She intends to do it? She sighed. There was a reason she felt so much disappointment. ¡­She doesn¡¯t get why I picked a fight with them. This was a problem. Especially because she was putting a burden on her team in the States. But¡­ ¡°What happens if you lose?¡± The headmaster smiled. ¡°If that happens, how about we keep your ranks the same but remove your right to challenge a higher ranker?¡± ¡°You mean¡­?¡± Hunter reflexively replied to Horinouchi¡¯s voice. ¡°Yeah! That¡¯s perfect!¡± She expressed her agreement. ¡°That would mean challenging these lower rankers meant something after all!¡± Hunter agreed with the headmaster¡¯s suggestion. ¡­That¡¯s right! She would ¡°stop¡± Horinouchi and Kagami here. She would not allow them to interfere with the three ranked above them. That was what she wanted. ¡°I¡¯m counting on this.¡± She had gone out of her way to challenge them because she had wanted to compare their power. Her Hedgehog was backed by the full power of America. Horinouchi¡¯s Akerindou was backed by Japan¡¯s Shinto and a powerful conglomerate. And Dikai-whatever had been produced by the mysterious but powerful intruder named Kagami. It had been immediately obvious which of those was the most powerful as a ¡°fighting force¡±. It came down to firepower, armor, and mobility. Her Hedgehog outdid the other two Frames in all three categories. It was true they might get creative in their attempt to oppose her, but¡­ ¡­Winning a fight without getting creative is where true strength lies. Akerindou had excellent long-range attack power, but it barely had any armor. Dikai-whatever was most likely the close-range type, but she had already proven she could break its armor. She had escaped this one unscathed and she had seen what her opponents had to offer. They could not keep up with her swing-by movement spell, so she could unilaterally attack them and end the battle. That was what she had just done. ¡­But¡­ Horinouchi intended to accept the challenge. Hunter had honestly thought the girl would back down after seeing their difference in strength. Had Hunter been too conceited? Or did Horinouchi have a reason not to back down? She hoped it was the former because she knew an opponent driven by a reason was much more fixated on victory. She had crushed several enemies like that already. She had literally crushed them. They had all sworn to challenge her to a rematch, but they had never reached her. ¡­I climbed the ranks so fast they couldn¡¯t catch up. The ranks were determined both by who one defeated and by one¡¯s win percentage. Even if they had defeated a top ranker, it was assumed someone with a low win percentage had a poor chance of winning on Hexennacht. And there were a lot who were undefeated, so their overall rank advancement would be slow. The top rankers were witches who had not gotten caught up in that. They were generally undefeated. Their number of battles and win percentage were more than enough to fill the top three spots and they had actually taken those spots by pushing aside those who had previously held them. Horinouchi had done the same. Those in the fifth and sixth spots had probably been similar. Loss was a foreign concept to them. That was why Horinouchi¡¯s ¡°draw¡± the other day had been so shocking. They never considered it a possibility for themselves, but damage or injury now was dangerous. After all, Hexennacht was approaching. It was time to select who would take part. Even if they won an unexpected ranker battle, they could still be damaged enough that they could not take part in Hexennacht. That girl had to have considered that kind of problem, but she still had a reason to fight. She had a reason why she could not back down, so¡­ ¡°Fine.¡± This far from Japan, the sky was already dyed in the colors of night. Hunter spoke with the light of the moon washing over her. ¡°You can challenge me as a unit if you want. I have a partner too: the full power of America and the technology developed to oppose the Black Witch.¡± That was far greater than a unit. Fighting alongside her was the surviving military strength of a superpower once known as the world police. And¡­ ¡­The people backing me mean even more than that. ¡°So,¡± she said. ¡°So there¡¯s no way I can lose.¡± Horinouchi noticed the communication line from Hunter had ended. She sighed and so did the headmaster in her spell circle. ¡°I don¡¯t envy Miss Hunter.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± said the headmaster. ¡°Removing her Frame near Hawaii means she¡¯ll have a hard time getting back.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t the US army help?¡± ¡°But if a warship approaches here, Lisbeth will be pissed and say I failed to manage our forces.¡± Horinouchi could only reply with an ¡°oh, I see¡±, but a sudden voice called out to her. ¡°Oh, no! Lady Mitsuru, we will send out a helicopter immediately!¡± It was Koutarou as he ran down the pier toward the parking lot. ¡°We must pick up Lady Kagami!¡± ¡­Now that you mention it. This was not good. She had been worried about Kagami when she had been hit, but due to the girl¡¯s character, she had completely forgotten about her afterwards. But damage to the Frame was fed back to the Phlogiston Heart of its user. If she had been hit with that much damage at once¡­ ¡°Kagami!¡± ¡°Oh, sorry. I just overheard your butler saying he would come get me.¡± The communications spell circle had no video. It was only Kagami¡¯s voice. And¡­ ¡°I had expected an impressive dinner at your place, but¡­¡± ¡°Kagami, you¡­¡± Was Kagami bringing up that everyday topic to avoid mentioning something? ¡­Was she injured? Horinouchi¡¯s worries were answered by a voice. ¡°To be honest, I have not had a bite to eat since I got here.¡± ¡°Th-there wasn¡¯t anything for you this morning!?¡± She looked over to the headmaster¡¯s communication spell circle and saw the video had been replaced with the text ¡°I forgot about that¡±. ¡­Th-that woman! ¡°Listen, Manko.¡± ¡°H-how many times am I going to have to tell you not to call me that!?¡± ¡°You mean you would prefer Miss Manko?¡± That isn¡¯t what I meant! A strange smile appeared on the corner of her mouth, but she managed to control her heart. ¡°Koutarou is on his way there.¡± ¡°Lady Mitsuru! Not yet! I¡¯m not on my way yet! The car was flipped over!¡± For some reason, hearing that made her feel better. She had no choice but to call U.A.H.J. and have them pick up Koutarou first. In the end, Hunter did not get back until midnight. She used her swing-by method for part of the way, but there had not been a carrier in satellite orbit for the rest of the way. She had switched to her Normal Frame and joined the seventh fleet that had supported her during the battle. On the ship, she had been celebrated for her results, but the male soldiers had treated her like a mascot. The witches working with the fleet had all been older, so they had worried for her like mothers. They had asked her what she wanted to eat, but she had politely rejected the offer. ¡°I have lessons tomorrow too.¡± That seemed to be enough for them to understand her situation and mental state. They prepared an insulated bag stuffed with American snacks, ready-made meals, and other foods. ¡°When you have a break, I hope we can have a barbecue on the coast or something.¡± Just as she said ¡°thanks¡±, word arrived that the airplane was ready. A few American military bases were still active even in Japan. There still was not much at Yokosuka because the reconstruction of Kantou had been focused on Yokohama. Yokota only had communications equipment and a heliport left after the events of ten years ago. ¡°I¡¯ll ride with one going to Atsugi.¡± ¡°You sure you want to ride on top?¡± ¡°I have to hop off partway through to get back to school.¡± ¡°You sure are a diligent student.¡± After that exchange, she climbed on top of the plane carrying the data recorded during the battle and began the return trip. She loved the sky. She had always looked up at it in the past. She still did that, but the moon was in the way. She also loved the blue sky. On America¡¯s west coast, she had looked to the sky and listened to the waves. Palm trees and rows of white houses had covered the coast. But the many hills had made a motorcycle indispensable. Whether in the sea or on a tall hill, she had been able to see the blue sky. It had only taken a short walk from the rows of white houses to see it from either of those places. She did not think the blue sky had changed in the last ten years, but she knew of a difference. There was a clear difference in the ¡°sky¡±. It was currently night and the sky felt cold. That was only natural since the moonlit sky of night was the sky of the Black Witch. But¡­ ¡°I won¡¯t forgive you for contaminating the blue sky as well.¡± She saw the lights of Yokohama just before midnight. She gave the plane¡¯s canopy a light tap and dove off. The plane lit its afterburners to say goodbye in the darkness. In midair, she checked a spell circle to make sure everything was arranged for her to legally enter the country. The confirmation program displayed the emblem of the Horinouchi family, but that may have been because Shinto was in charge of detecting those trespassing on Japanese land. If so¡­ ¡­Kagami apparently slipped past that check when she showed up. What kind of opponent had she been? Would they face each other again in a rematch? She did not know. Before long, she was back at the school. ¡°As usual, no one¡¯s sleeping.¡± The special equipment division of Shihouin Academy had light in most of its windows and light coming from the rooftop. She clearly saw the flickering of a bonfire, so an African witch was probably doing something there. When her schoolmates noticed her from the rooftop, they whistled and cast a welcoming divine protection on her. She kicked off the wall to climb to the rooftop as well. ¡°What, are we having a party? I brought some food.¡± ¡°Ahh, we¡¯re far too drunk to taste it, so that¡¯d be a waste.¡± The witches of her year and her underclassmen raised their hands in agreement while sitting around the fire. ¡°You had a hell of a win in that battle.¡± ¡°That was just one of the two, though. And¡­¡± A spell circle had appeared next to her face earlier. ¡°Horinouchi is temporarily being held at rank 4 and she sent me a request for an official ranker battle.¡± It¡¯s set for tomorrow. No, I guess at this point that¡¯s early morning today. She did not even have five hours to spare. Horinouchi probably did not want her to recover from her exhaustion, but¡­ ¡°Eat up.¡± A witch from Italy passed her a plate of chicken. ¡°It was cooked over the fire with an herb spell to remove your weariness and apply a divine protection of luck.¡± ¡°Hey, do we have space for Hunter to sleep today?¡± ¡°The seventh workshop is being used to build a spell clock, so she should be able to sleep there if she closes the blinds.¡± ¡°Then that¡¯s where she¡¯ll sleep.¡± It was amazing how quickly they all settled that. They had found a place for her without disturbing their own pace. ¡°Honestly.¡± Feeling like she had returned to her current home, Hunter sat down and bit into the chicken. ¡°Wow, nutmeg!¡± Volume 1, 12: We Will Meet Again Volume 1, Chapter 12: We Will Meet Again What should I do? A day had passed since he had been named Dikaio. The dragon child opened a spell circle and used it as a door to the outside world. ¡­Hospital room. He knew this place. It mostly matched the knowledge he had been given. To support a witch, he had needed to know about this kind of place just in case. It was still early morning and there was only one other individual in the room with him. ¡­A remarkable person. The name ¡°Kagami¡± had been inputted into his memory, but servants had a natural understanding of the relationship they had with their master. On occasion, their understanding of that relationship would fail and they would eat or kill their master, but that had apparently not happened in about a century. The relationship he felt with her was one between a remarkable person and himself. The remarkable person was sleeping. She was not yet healed. He had protected her. He had done a good job. But the damage to her Phlogiston Heart had brought mental weariness. That was simultaneously her strongest and weakest point. She was a witch, yet she was not one in the strictest sense. He was assisting her, but she could not pool her mental strength inside herself. In exchange for controlling such great amounts of ether, she had an almost nonexistent pool of internal mental strength with which to initially accelerate her power. She was from a world where no one could use magic, but in exchange, she could create magic. However, that meant her Phlogiston Heart could not be normalized and it was dependent on her willpower at the time. A witch¡¯s Phlogiston Heart was her ¡°spirit¡±, but it was normally based on her pool of mental strength. With a powerful ¡°spirit¡±, not even an enemy¡¯s attacks could damage her Phlogiston Heart. And even if it was damaged, the Heart could last as long as she had plenty of mental power pooled up. If that pool ran out, her Heart was dependent on her ¡°spirit¡±. But based on his knowledge, not many witches¡¯ Phlogiston Hearts would last after receiving a blast like that. And she had done so with nothing in her pool. Just how powerful was her ¡°spirit¡±? That was why he thought of her as a ¡°remarkable person¡±. Nevertheless, that remarkable person¡¯s Phlogiston Heart had been damaged. And she had not intentionally let it happen as she had during the battle with the Suzaku¡¯s master. It had been a complete surprise attack. Her Phlogiston Heart had persisted for a while after that, but it had given out as soon as she landed in the Sea of Trees. She had spoken to him below those trees. ¡°Dikaio, I am going to take a quick nap. You do so as well once you are feeling up to it.¡± She had quickly fallen asleep, but his first priority had been calling for help. When he had called, the person named Koutarou had been too busy arguing with a maid who was calling him incompetent. ¡­How unsightly. With that earnest thought, Dikaio had continued hitting the rescue spell¡¯s call button until help had finally arrived. Nothing had changed since. Rest was the best medicine for a damaged Phlogiston Heart. As her servant, he too had been damaged, but¡­ ¡°That¡¯s a dragon for you. You mostly healed yourself using the ley line in the Sea of Trees, didn¡¯t you?¡± He had only needed some simple healing. That healing had been administered by the Suzaku¡¯s master who had helped him escape. As for where she was now¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± He heard some footsteps outside the hospital room. It was her. Dikaio heard the Suzaku¡¯s master walking away from the hospital room¡¯s door. He could tell it was her. Not only did he recognize the footsteps, but he could sense her servant¡¯s presence. The Suzaku was a rare type of avian servant. It had been passed down by the Horinouchi family for generations and Dikaio had seen it when he was being healed. To tell its master he was healed, it had started doing Hindu squats above her. ¡­Is that thing really a bird? It was said a servant¡¯s idiosyncrasies grew stronger the longer they lived, so that had to be the explanation. Maybe. Regardless, the Suzaku¡¯s master had just left. ¡­No. He noticed something in the room that was not present in normal hospital rooms: flowers in a vase. She had likely placed them there before he had woken. The footsteps continued to leave. Hunter wanted to believe it was not sleep deprivation that made the morning sun seem so bright. She had tried to get enough sleep. When she had woken up in the partitioned seventh workshop that morning, the others had still been drinking and partying on the rooftop. They sure are tough, she thought. But¡­ ¡°Oh, are you going?¡± ¡°Do your best.¡± ¡°When you¡¯re done, how about we talk about your homeland a bit?¡± After they saw her off, she felt like she had become a little tougher too. This would be an official battle. By the time she approached the pier in her uniform, the morning sun was rising. Her servant, the Hedgehog, had already woken up and was entirely focused on grooming itself. Watching it roll around in the spell circle helped calm her, but¡­ ¡­Oh, when I get back, what should I do with the food I was given? The others were hopelessly drunk. The snacks would be well received, but people could get a little picky when it came to meat. The special equipment students did not mind the stains from their own work, but a lot of witches saw any other stains as ¡°impurities¡±. Specific types of seasonings and oils could actually be a real problem. Also, any meat cooked in American spices was poorly received. That could be hard to understand for people who were fine even with pineapple in the sauce, but that was just how it was. However¡­ ¡°Oh.¡± Just as she thought the wind had changed, she heard footsteps. Someone was approaching from the school building behind her. ¡°Horinouchi.¡± The girl was alone. ¡°Only you?¡± The girl named Kagami was not with her. Hunter had mostly expected this, but she felt some disappointment once it actually happened. But a sudden change came over Horinouchi¡¯s expression. She lowered the ends of her eyebrows and looked away. ¡°I am enough on my own. I will prove that here.¡± That¡¯s right, thought Horinouchi. She recalled her mother and the day before. She was alone. She had the luxury of Koutarou and the maids assisting her, but she had also lost something. She had no intention of letting anyone else experience that. She could proudly call that her form of justice. And the day before, she had realized she was alone in another way. She had been tested during Kagami and Hunter¡¯s battle. Hunter had commented on Horinouchi and Kagami¡¯s relationship and on the fact that Horinouchi was not intervening in the battle. ¡­She said I wouldn¡¯t summon my Frame. After all, if Hunter had defeated Kagami, Horinouchi would have secured her spot at #4. Horinouchi had tried to deny it. Her Suzaku had not been in top form at the time. And she had already accepted her drop to #5. She had not wanted Hunter to call her a coward without knowing those things. She had had her reasons. But then Kagami had responded to Hunter¡¯s comments. ¡°That is the reality of this world, isn¡¯t it?¡± She had been exactly right. ¡­But¡­ But what? Did I want to say I wasn¡¯t like that? I¡¯m not, but I felt there was no point in saying so. If I said I wasn¡¯t, then I would have had no choice but to join the battle. But Suzaku wasn¡¯t in top form and I had accepted my drop to #5. So I couldn¡¯t say I wasn¡¯t like that. But how did Kagami interpret that? When she saw that I couldn¡¯t say anything, she must have concluded those were the rules of this world. She must have concluded I would focus on my own rank and cast her aside even if something happened to her. She must have concluded I agreed with that. And Kagami had continued to fight. It had felt like she was telling Horinouchi not to worry about it. She had said there was nothing to worry about because those were the rules of this world. Horinouchi had been taking advantage of her. She had wanted to say she was not like that. ¡­But¡­ Her thoughts were running in circles now. Was it cowardly to want to fight in top form? She had not known what to do and had ultimately left everything to Kagami. She had known how powerful Kagami was, so she had assumed the girl would have the upper hand. ¡­Or am I just shoving excuses into my own memories after the fact? As a result, Kagami¡¯s Magino Frame had been destroyed and she was resting. The headmaster was treating the two of them as a unit, so Horinouchi was here now. In a way, Hunter had been exactly right. Horinouchi and Kagami were a unit, but Horinouchi had kept her #4 spot and she was facing Hunter now. It might have been easier had she simply helped out the day before, but¡­ ¡°Honestly.¡± That thought was more of her silly pride. She did not want to be seen as cowardly. That alone she clung to with all her might. But she had not taken action when she should have the day before. Kagami had fortunately not been badly injured, but had given Horinouchi a certain thought. ¡­I need to take responsibility for the result of my silly pride. This too was probably a part of that same silly pride. Wouldn¡¯t it have been better to be a coward? If she would only accept that, she could have faced this battle as herself instead of thinking about Kagami. ¡­But you could say I was the one that injured her. If Kagami had won, Horinouchi was sure she would have said the victory belonged to both of them. That was just how generous a character Kagami was. So¡­ ¡°I will defeat you.¡± Then she would return that victory to Kagami. But only after apologizing for how she had acted the day before. The headmaster said they were a unit, but that did not feel right to her. So to make up for her cowardice, she would accept a drop to #5. She had thought of that the night before, but¡­ ¡°Horinouchi.¡± The ends of Hunter¡¯s eyebrows were lowered. ¡°If possible, I want you to watch over those of us in the top three as we battle each other.¡± She gave a smile of resignation. ¡°I want you two to be a barrier against everyone ranked below you.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Well.¡± Hunter continued with the morning sun shining on her from the side. ¡°I don¡¯t want anyone else to do what I did.¡± Yes, thought Horinouchi. Just as she had her own form of justice, so did this other girl. Hunter had to be just as alone as she was. So¡­ ¡°I cannot agree to that.¡± I won¡¯t let anyone feel the way I do. If Hunter claims to be the same, then I have to make sure this does not become a battle to see who is the most unfortunate. ¡°Now, then.¡± After exchanging small smiles, they opened spell circles containing abbreviated programs for tactical instructions and various divine protections. And¡­ ¡°Summon Normal Frame!¡± Koutarou got to work after seeing Horinouchi off. He was in the headmaster¡¯s office. He had delivered something for his master, Horinouchi. It was not that he was not worried about that girl. In fact, he was extremely worried. Especially after what the maids had said that morning. ¡°If Lady Mitsuru loses, it will be your fault, head butler!¡± ¡°I will hold a grudge against you if that happens. Please make up for that grudge!¡± ¡°If Lady Mitsuru wins, make sure to thank her, head butler!¡± When he had heard that, he had felt a need to ask something. ¡°Just for future reference, who will be responsible if she wins?¡± ¡°That will be due to her own skill.¡± That answer had told him just how unfair middle management jobs could be. ¡­But at least they didn¡¯t say her victory would be due to their support. If the maids had been that rude, I would have been forced to show them my true power. Yes, I would have had to use all of my persuasive power to convince them they were wrong. I can¡¯t exactly beat them in attack power, after all. At any rate, he would provide absolute support to his master. At the same time, his master disliked not doing what she was supposed to. She hated it. She loathed it. That was clear from how angry Kagami and Hunter¡¯s exchange had made her. She must have wanted to join that battle yesterday. Due to her excessive sense of duty. Yes. Certainly not just because she wanted to fight someone. That was why she had a butler like him. His duty was to act in his master¡¯s stead. Of the things she was supposed to do today, this was the one he could do for her. The item he had delivered was placed on the reception table. It was held in a damp-proof and insulated hard case. The spell circle on its surface said ¡°HSKK-Shihouin0329¡±. ¡°This is the new summer version of the flower seeds Lady Mitsuru created in the lab. The previous ones¡­¡± ¡°The reports are ready. Our girls worked hard on that.¡± He looked down and saw a box full of handwritten papers on the table. It had not been there before, but this was a den of witches. There were many different ways for objects to suddenly appear: teleportation, concealment, cognizance alteration, ultra high-speed movement, etc. All he needed to do was pick up the cardboard box. When he lifted it up, he detected the scent of a summer flower from within, but¡­ ¡°Oh?¡± The headmaster looked out the southern window where two low rumblings descended from the sky. ¡°Have they started already?¡± he asked. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be out there to help?¡± ¡°They will be fighting at sea or at high altitude to prevent any damage to the surface this time. I wouldn¡¯t be able to keep up.¡± ¡°Did you get an insurance payment for your car?¡± ¡°That was a loaner. ¡­It was my third one, so they told me to do business with someone else next time.¡± ¡°A well-maintained vehicle really is a valuable thing.¡± The headmaster smiled but then looked away from the window. Still smiling and with a distant rumbling in the background, she turned back toward Koutarou. ¡°Can you tell what¡¯s happening from the sound alone?¡± ¡°Yes. Any true defender can.¡± ¡°Then,¡± said the headmaster as she relaxed her shoulders. ¡°Miss Horinouchi is the rapid fire type while Miss Hunter is the one-hit win type. But since Miss Hunter¡¯s defenses are quite good, Miss Horinouchi is going to have some trouble.¡± ¡°If possible, I wish she had a mid-range attacker with her.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The headmaster smiled bitterly. ¡°I think Mitsuyo would have suggested that to her, though.¡± ¡°She-¡­¡± Just as he prepared to respond, the headmaster began to shake. She was coughing. ¡°Lady Headmaster!¡± In order to run over, Koutarou started putting the box back on the table, but¡­ ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± The hand held out to stop him briefly grew transparent. But had he only imagined it? She smiled with her eyebrows raised and took a breath. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m not going to leave until I have fulfilled the promise I made.¡± Volume 1, 13: Battle in the Witches’ Sky Volume 1, Chapter 13: Battle in the Witches¡¯ Sky The warm welcome of a Shinto bombardment Horinouchi felt there were a number of subtleties to this battle. She was over the sea, about fifteen kilometers south of the Uraga Channel. Her altitude was approximately three thousand meters. The sun was out and clouds formed as the temperature rose in the early morning. The bottoms of the clouds were flat and she was firing on Hunter below that sea of clouds. ¡­Everything is going well so far! Hunter was primarily a close-range fighter. With her stability spell, her attacks were just as powerful in midair. But the sky had no obstacles and an absolute floor like the surface of the earth. When running, there was a great difference in the behavior of someone actually stepping on the floor and someone setting up an artificial floor with a spell. On the other hand, Hunter¡¯s spell acted just like a real floor, so she was even more stable than when on the ground itself. Her movements were rough, but each individual step was accurate. And Horinouchi was aware of all that as she pursued her. She repeatedly fired Akerindou from a dozen meters away. ¡°Kh!¡± She sealed off her opponent¡¯s movements. ¡­And then I settle this with my Normal Frame! That was the best strategy she could think of. Hunter¡¯s Magino Frame had a powerful cannon, thick armor, and great mobility. But while her Normal Frame still had powerful armor and the close-range pile bunker was dangerous, the secondary cannon that used the same power source was not all that powerful. And even if she could make quick straight-line dashes through the air, her flight spells were slow. Horinouchi on the other hand could fire rapidly and powerfully even with her Normal Frame and she had excellent mobility. She would not be outdone in anything but armor strength. ¡­So I can win this if I don¡¯t let her use her Magino Frame. But how was she supposed to do that? She had a reason to be in a hurry. Hunter had been falling back to the east and attacking whenever Horinouchi drew close. Horinouchi had hit her a few times with counterattacks. Her speed would immediately drop and Horinouchi would gain more ground. To prevent Hunter from charging at her, Horinouchi defended herself with projectiles and moved forward once more. She was wearing Hunter down by repeating that pattern. But there was some resistance and she did not like how the Suzaku would give a strange cry every time Hunter was hit. ¡­Does it have to shout ¡°weeeeeeeeird!¡± like some kind of weird bird? Is this thing really the Suzaku? She decided to mute it and concentrated on firing, but she was more worried by the fact that her hits did not seem to be affecting Hunter much. ¡­This is dangerous. She understood that these hits were heating up the girl¡¯s Phlogiston Heart. Which meant¡­ ¡°Has she calculated out the damage from these hits versus her natural divine protection recovery so she knows the exact amount of heating needed to summon her Magino Frame?¡± If so, she was in trouble. A Phlogiston Heart came down to willpower, but the amount of heat was influenced by the quality of one¡¯s emotional excitement. It was important to have a gap. Even if one was emotionally excited, it would provide little heating if the emotion came from mere conceit or selfish joy. It was the struggle against an opponent or the desire to fight despite the damage one had taken that heated up the Phlogiston Heart. Adversity would heat up the heart. In that way, even if Hunter was intentionally taking these hits, it would be providing her Phlogiston Heart plenty of heat. ¡­I may be gaining ground, but I still need to seal off her every movement! During the battle with Kagami the day before, Hunter had rapidly heated her Phlogiston Heart. She had appeared with her Magino Frame already summoned, but that too had to be the result of some kind of Phlogiston Heart heating technique. Horinouchi had wished for an official ranker battle because she did not know what that technique was. An official battle would set any rank changes in stone and prevent her from escaping any possible drop in rank, but it also meant the heat of their Phlogiston Hearts both began within standard ranges. Hunter had not immediately summoned her Magino Frame in those conditions, so she had to have some trick for rapidly summoning it. Horinouchi needed to seal that away. She could not let Hunter escape on the Magino Frame almost immediately and settle this from afar. But if the girl managed to build up the heat like this, the result would be the same. She knew she had to hurry, but¡­ ¡°You¡¯re distracted, Horinouchi!¡± She did not care. She continued firing, made sure the other girl could not escape, and circled around her while firing some more. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± She hit Hunter again. The pattern remained unchanged. But Hunter had intentionally taken the blow. She had done the same to defend several times already. She would use her stability spell to take the blow on the Hedgehog¡¯s armor and fully deflect the attack. But this was different. Hunter was blasted diagonally down and to the left. She made no attempt to hold her ground. ¡­She switched off the stability spell!? ¡­You only get one shot at a surprise attack! First, Hunter heated up her Phlogiston Heart by getting hit while also learning about the attacks from Horinouchi¡¯s Akerindou. She of course defended, but learning through her body was the fastest way. So she ended up taking more hits than expected. The damage could suppress her Phlogiston Heart¡¯s heat, so she used the stability spell to let the damage escape through the Hedgehog. But¡­ ¡­That smarts! She found it odd that getting hit and letting the damage escape hurt more than absorbing the damage. But after doing that a few times, she learned just what kind of damage it was. Horinouchi¡¯s attacks were a fusion of penetrative power and a solid impact. At the moment it hit, the arrow-shaped bullets would act like armor-piercing rounds, but as soon as they dug into the opponent¡¯s armor, they would permeate the inside of the opponent using kinetic energy and reinforcement spells. With just penetrative power, the arrow might pierce straight out the other side. With just a solid impact, the arrow might be blocked by the armor. To achieve both, the power she fired was longer than otherwise necessary. The tip contained the penetrative power and the back contained the impact power. That was the true purpose of the arrow shape. These were not bullets or shells and they were not shaped that way just to follow the shrine maiden theme. They had gained that shape as she sought the perfect form to bring her victory. ¡°And that¡¯s why she goes all-out on offense instead of defense. This is no laughing matter!¡± Horinouchi¡¯s full-power blast was probably the only thing that could compare to the pure power of the swing-by cannon blasts fired by the cannon form of the Hedgehog¡¯s Magino Frame. The only flaw was the difficulty of maintaining the initial speed. Unlike Hunter¡¯s swing-by method, Horinouchi¡¯s shots did not accelerate or maintain their speed midflight, so Hunter had the advantage at longer ranges. But even so¡­ ¡­She can act alone as a gunner with no backup. Hunter understood what that meant. This fighting style was meant for the Black Witch. When the Black Witch descended toward Earth, Horinouchi would fire on and defeat her from the surface. ¡­Yes, I understand quite well. Firing on an enemy from a safe location was not the only advantage of long-range attacks. When one had something to protect behind them, a long-range gunner could defend it all. Most witches had realized that fact. But who took part in Hexennacht was determined by the ranker battles, so they had all obtained armor and mobility to achieve victory against other witches. Even the gunners were skilled in close-range attack methods. If all they had to do was fire on the Black Witch from afar, that would not have been necessary. But what was this before Hunter¡¯s eyes? Even if Horinouchi could fly, she had little armor and her only close-range support weapon was an ether sword. That girl had ranked at #4 with something solely designed to face the Black Witch. Each and every shot hurt. But that was exactly why Hunter would push her aside here. She would defeat Horinouchi to tell her this method was not enough. She would completely crush her and make sure she never looked up again. After all¡­ ¡°I also have something behind me to protect!¡± Hunter had a plan. She had been using her stability spell whenever she defended or was hit, but she would deactivate it for just one hit. And she did so. She received the blow on the Hedgehog, but she did not let the damage escape. She angled the armor linked to her left arm toward the sky and took the blow there. ¡­Down and to the right! She was blasted through the air. It happened suddenly and Horinouchi would be unable to keep up after sensing the resistance of Hunter¡¯s armor each time. Thinking that Horinouchi would have lost sight of her, Hunter looked to the figure up above. ¡­Here I go! She rapidly swung her body left and right as she raced upwards through the sky. The Hedgehog was in its pile bunker form. The attack was nothing compared to the Magino Frame canon, but at close-range, it would break through the enemy¡¯s defense barrier and then destroy the Frame with a solid blow during the reverse permeation that followed. The concept was similar to Horinouchi¡¯s arrows, but¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± As she ascended, she saw something there: Horinouchi. But the girl overhead was not looking down at her. She was looking up at the heavens. She was looking up at the yellowish sky of early morning that had not quite grown blue yet. The moon floated in the center of it. Horinouchi aimed Akerindou straight up while looking to the moon. She was positioned to fire on the moon and her power arm¡¯s fingers were on Akerindou¡¯s bowstring. ¡°Akerindou ¨C Activate Firing Barrier.¡± The bowstring rang several times in the sky as if being plucked. At the same time, a great celestial sphere appeared below the shrine maiden¡¯s feet. It had taken form by pointing the bow downwards and rotating it several times. It all looked something like an umbrella¡¯s framework and it covered the 180 degrees around the shrine maiden¡¯s feet, but Hunter noticed a certain fact. An arrow was not being fired from Akerindou¡¯s acceleration pathway with each plucking sound. And after one more shot, a great sound rang out. ¡°Barrier sublimation.¡± As soon as she spoke those words, all of her actions came to fruition. Arrows were fired in all 180 degrees from the hemisphere opened below her. She did not need to find her opponent. She simply fired a massive number of arrows. Horinouchi had trouble with surprise attacks. Part of it had to do with her personality, but even if she had difficulties there, she could not stop her enemies from using them. So she wanted a countermeasure, but her defenses were not quite enough for that. She had her three-arrow shield and some variations, but the most effective method was offense. A wall was not enough to convince her enemy they could not get close. A wall could be taken away. That left offense. A barrage was the only option. She had to fire everywhere at once. She had a few difference variations for that and multiplying her rapid-fire shots was one of those. She had used that type against Kagami the other day because it was effective in a fluid battlefield with an enemy that moved a lot at long-range. But this was different. This was for when the enemy was making a surprise attack from an unknown location. As long as she knew the general direction¡­ ¡­I just have to fire everything in that direction. If she had the time, she could set it up for all 360 degrees, but it was hard to know how long it would take the enemy to approach and she had seen Hunter jump downwards. Her time limit for constructing the barrier had been until Hunter entered her warning range. That had given her 180 degrees and she fired that barrage. ¡°How about that!?¡± The arrows of light flew toward the sky and ocean below. She saw her opponent beyond that light. Would Hunter evade or defend? Horinouchi would make the finishing blow once she saw which action Hunter took. She aimed Akerindou downwards and drew the bowstring. The Suzaku was in top form on her shoulder, so she muted it. She saw Hunter make her move, but it was neither defense nor evasion. She stood still in midair and she did so horizontally as if to face Horinouchi. ¡­Is she¡­? Horinouchi realized what she was doing. The Hedgehog on her left arm was in pile bunker mode and she was preparing to swing it. ¡°Ohhh!¡± She dashed up toward Horinouchi in midair and thrust the Hedgehog out toward her. ¡°¡­!¡± Horinouchi could predict what would happen, so she fired without waiting to see. Hunter was impressed by Horinouchi¡¯s decision. ¡­She fired again? She really is crazy about offense! Hunter was currently dealing with the barrage. She had to hurry. The barrage had yet to spread out much and the arrows had yet to draw out all of their power. The firing barrier was scattering and some ether light remained. ¡°Hedgehog!¡± She slammed the pile bunker in. The ejected stake was an ether spear. It was fired from the acceleration pathway at the extreme close range of five meters, but its tip could pierce through anything and then strike it with a solid blow. And since it was made of ether¡­ ¡­It can permeate the ether barrier and arrows! The barrier had yet to fully scatter and the arrows had yet to fully expand, so what would happen if she struck now? ¡°I can detonate them!¡± Normally, she would have pulled the spear back, but she did not. She purged the spear. A moment later, she supplied a certain technique to the ether spear tip: her stability spell. The barrier was made to synchronize with a ¡°surface¡± located elsewhere. Normally that surface was the ground or the swing-by satellite, but here she used¡­ ¡­This airspace itself! She created a ¡°surface¡± by capturing the empty space up ahead in a barrier. The spear pierced through it and tore into the barrage. In that instant, the tactile feedback in her left arm felt the fleshy sensation of penetrating that surface. The spear struck the arrows and the ether light of the barrier binding them together. The arrows and barrier were treated as one and the same. As a result, her blow permeated every last one of Horinouchi¡¯s arrows. After a brief moment, everything exploded. The arrows had yet to spread out, so their power turned to light and scattered in 180 degrees around. ¡°Ohh¡­¡± Hunter formed a new ether stake inside the Hedgehog and leaped straight up. The explosion, the intense noise, and the roar of scattering wind were all left behind as she continued upwards with a single task in mind. Targeting the enemy came first, but¡­ ¡­She¡¯s already firing at me! As soon as she passed through the space taken up by the barrage, she found something right in front of her: Horinouchi¡¯s arrow. The attack had been drawn to the limit and fired with perfect accuracy. Horinouchi nocked the next arrow. She did so on reflex, but it ended up saving her. She had fired her best shot down toward Hunter. It had been a perfectly aimed shot from close range and it was the best possible shot using her Normal Frame. But she knew one thing for sure. ¡­Someone on my level will find a way to deal with it! And that was exactly what happened. Hunter reacted to the arrow that flew straight toward the very center of her chest. It scored a direct hit, the solid sound of impact rang out, and Hunter¡¯s Normal Frame was destroyed. Hunter used the Karate-style, so even though her jacket and suit appeared to be made of cloth, they were actually ether. So they all shattered like glass and scattered as fragments of light. But that was not all. Ether light burst from the Hedgehog Device¡¯s dividing lines and it exploded. It broke apart. But Horinouchi knew that Hunter had previously taken her attacks intentionally to heat up her Phlogiston Heart. Hunter most likely had a defense spell to allow the damage to escape. ¡­In that case¡­ Horinouchi¡¯s arrow was meant to pierce Hunter¡¯s armor and permeate its damage through her. But what if Hunter had destroyed her own armor just beforehand? She could see the answer before her. Hunter¡¯s left hand grabbed something amid the fragments of light. It was the stake of light that had been loaded inside the Hedgehog. Its presence meant her Normal Frame had not been fully destroyed. And¡­ ¡°She¡¯s repairing it!?¡± A series of instants followed. Her left arm came first, next was the power arm that connected to the Hedgehog, and then came her left shoulder. The jacket, inner suit, the other arm, and the Hedgehog¡¯s base all appeared at the same time. Finally, the sensor headwear took its position and reset itself with a spray of light. ¡°You used your accumulated heat to repair it!?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right. It¡¯ll delay summoning my Magino Frame, but it was worth it!¡± After all, she had reconstructed her Normal Frame from extreme close range. ¡°I¡¯m close enough to reach you!¡± Hunter attacked with a shield bash using the Hedgehog. The stake inside had yet to fully form, but the attack still reached. ¡­It hit! Horinouchi defended, but it was still a solid blow. The clash of metal on metal sounded loudly. ¡°Kh.¡± Horinouchi groaned and fell back. She was fast and it seemed unfair to move that fast when retreating, but complaining would not help. She most likely had that speed because she was using the Suzaku as her servant. This time, it was Hunter¡¯s turn to pursue. She ran through the air after her enemy. Arrows flew her way, but they were clearly not meant to hit. They were meant to hold her back long enough for Horinouchi to regain her position. In other words, Horinouchi was not ready for a proper attack. But Hunter was. And so she said the same thing she had before. ¡°You¡¯re distracted, Horinouchi!¡± Calm down, Horinouchi told herself. The battle had turned in Hunter¡¯s favor and Horinouchi had been forced into the kind of defensive battle she had trouble with. Panicking would not help and she could not simply put up with this. ¡­I need to calm down, stop her, and fight back! After speaking those words in her heart, she was reminded of where her weaknesses were: close-range battles, defense, and assaults. If she had the power to handle those things, she could likely win. But of course, that was impossible. After all, she was not perfect. ¡­But if I had an attacker to work with me¡­ She knew who that would be, but¡­ ¡°¡­!¡± I¡¯m asking for the impossible, she told herself while attempting to maintain her rhythm of evasion and retreat. By moving at her own pace, she could draw her opponent¡¯s movements into that pace and draw the battlefield toward herself. She had to win here. After all¡­ ¡°I¡¯ve already received some help.¡± The spell circle next to her face contained a certain report. Koutarou had sent it and it came from Kagami. Koutarou had given it to her the night before after picking Kagami up. At first glance, it was the same as the battle opponent report put together by Koutarou and the maids, but the contents were different. It did not simply inform her of the opponent¡¯s combat ability. It contained the reality of fighting against that opponent. In other words, the opponent¡¯s movements, reaction speed, ether consumption rate, and idiosyncrasies. ¡°What is this?¡± ? She had been surprised by the detailed information the night before and Koutarou had bowed and said the following: ¡°I am embarrassed to admit we were not the ones to produce this report.¡± ¡°Then who did?¡± Without raising his head, he had placed a hand on his chest. ¡°Before the battle, Lady Kagami asked me to record this information.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°She said it would come in handy when you fought Lady Hunter.¡± Koutarou¡¯s immediate answer had likely been Kagami¡¯s immediate answer. In the battle so far and in the current defensive battle, Kagami¡¯s information had come in handy. Horinouchi managed to catch her breath and swung her legs in midair to stabilize her movements. Hunter¡¯s attack was coming, but¡­ ¡­This is my chance! Hunter used the heat of her Phlogiston Heart to remake her Normal Frame, thought Horinouchi. The girl had been building up the heat needed to construct her Magino Frame, so the amount consumed to redo her Normal Frame would not buy Horinouchi much time. But, she thought. She can¡¯t summon her Magino Frame just yet. So if Horinouchi shifted to offense here¡­ ¡­I didn¡¯t waste any ether, so I will be able to summon my Magino Frame first! Their positions were reversed. Hunter¡¯s only option was to attack. But Horinouchi did not have the defenses needed to fight a defensive battle when that girl was on the attack. So it all came down to how she fought. Could she endure Hunter¡¯s attacks long enough to summon her Magino Frame? If she made the wrong move, Hunter could build up her heat again and summon her Magino Frame first. ¡°It all comes down to this!¡± Just as Horinouchi made up her mind, Hunter charged right in front of her. Light was already building up inside the Hedgehog. That light created an ether stake. The other girl was also ready to end this here. Volume 1, 14: There Lies Justice Volume 1, Chapter 14: There Lies Justice When you¡¯ve been hit Is the perfect time Hunter saw an arrow strike arriving from straight ahead. It did not use her opponent¡¯s full power, but it was powerful enough for a direct hit to destroy her armor and stop her charge. But if she dodged the arrow, she could not get any closer to Horinouchi, so Hunter transformed the Hedgehog from its pile bunker form to its shield form. ¡°Willpower!¡± She held the armor diagonally so the arrow would hit it. The action was much like a counterattack blow. She had done so countless times in battle and she had learned it as part of her deflection training, but¡­ ¡­I¡¯ve never done it while moving forward so quickly or against someone as attack-obsessed as her! It felt a lot like deflecting a tank shell with a pot lid. The Hedgehog¡¯s thick armor of course gave her some peace of mind, but¡­ ¡°Wah!¡± It hit. The impact reached her. She had meant to knock it upwards while remaining on a nearly level plane herself, but then the great crashing sound reached her. ¡­This is really pushing me! The strike had knocked her down further than she had expected. The arrow had been worn down by the collision and its impact power had permeated her. Her arm was trembling and her body was about to collapse forward. She briefly considered following that motion and circling around from below, but¡­ ¡­The next firing barrier is already up!? The barrier was probably meant for defense or assistance and a volley spell to attack outside the barrier had already opened at her feet. If Hunter moved in like before, Horinouchi would make another counterattack, so¡­ ¡°Here goes.¡± With her body still knocked down a little, Hunter opened a stability spell directly below her chest, but it was not meant for stepping on. ¡­Punch! Her right fist struck the ¡°floor¡± to force her still-sinking body back up. And by leaving her left arm behind as she moved forward, the Hedgehog was automatically pulled back. Then a different arrow arrived. It had been fired while the barrier was being created. Hunter could hardly believe anyone could fire such powerful attacks in such quick succession, but that was just the kind of opponent she was up against. She also took issue with how the shot was aimed at the face. Meanwhile, Hunter opened a stability spell next to her head and used a sideways headbutt to slide her position to the side a little. The arrow passed right by her cheek and her hair scattered through the wind. ¡°Hedgehog!¡± She performed a shield bash, but the Hedgehog had an accelerator on the back. It was meant for flight assistance and became the main thruster for the Magino Frame, but it could also provide acceleration for a physical blow. ¡°This should be plenty!¡± Hunter saw Horinouchi move back and raise her hand. ¡°Three Arrows!¡± That defense barrier was made from three arrows and breaking through meant destroying each individual arrow, but¡­ ¡­You¡¯ve switched to defense, have you!? ¡°That¡¯s fine with me!¡± Hunter threw forward her shield bash. As soon as it hit, she operated the mount that attached the Hedgehog to her arm. She released the slide rail meant to soften the Hedgehog¡¯s recoil. That meant her body was pulled forward by the recoil, and¡­ ¡°Two.¡± She formed a fist with her right arm¡¯s power hand and used the recoil and her footing to throw a punch. It hit. Light sprayed into the sky and the second arrow was destroyed. The rest was easy. Resetting the Hedgehog¡¯s slide rail on her left arm would pull the Hedgehog back for another punch. And if she released the rail again and sent the Hedgehog forward using its accelerator¡­ ¡°And the pile bunker for three!¡± In the instant the third arrow shattered, Horinouchi took action. She purged the emitter for Akerindou¡¯s ether bowstring from the base of the grip. ¡­This is Akerindou¡¯s core. When Akerindou was formed, that bowstring was created as the central coordinate for the motors. Not only was it the center of the grip, but the bow could not be fired without its string. In fact, as long as she had the ether bowstring, she could just barely create a bow around it. It was the same as Hunter¡¯s ether stake. Currently, the ether bowstring vanished from Akerindou. Akerindou would no longer function as a bow, but its motors still worked enough to reinforce the small amount of armor. Its incomplete form had become a shield. Also, the ether bowstring emitter now produced an ether sword. By shortening and solidifying the bowstring¡¯s output, it truly did become a sword. This was her emergency close-quarters weapon and she was properly trained in its usage. Ahead of her were the fragments of the three arrows she had already fired and an ether stake tearing through the air. Would Hunter continue forward or not? And would Horinouchi¡¯s preparations to counterattack pay off? ¡­From here on¡­ As soon as that thought entered Horinouchi¡¯s mind, the ether sword and Akerindou were both destroyed. ¡°What!?¡± This was not right. Hunter¡¯s attack had yet to reach her. ¡°You¡¯re too na?ve!¡± When she heard Hunter¡¯s voice, she noticed the ether light of the three arrows had scattered through the surrounding space. ¡­Did she permeate her strike through the ether fragments!? It was the same method she had used to destroy Horinouchi¡¯s barrier before. Hunter¡¯s ether stake was made to penetrate and then permeate its impact throughout whatever it hit. Horinouchi¡¯s arrows did the same, but Hunter would create a ¡°surface¡± with her stability spell to expand the range of the permeation. ¡­And that lets her strike cover a wide area of space, doesn¡¯t it!? That was exactly what happened. Hunter¡¯s ether stake pierced even deeper through the glowing mist of the three shattered arrows. ¡°Hedgehog!¡± The light of acceleration burst from the thruster on the back of Hunter¡¯s Device. She was seven meters away, which was close range for a witch, and she used the widened range of her pile bunker strike to break the Device that Horinouchi was using as a shield. Akerindou¡¯s surface broke apart. ¡°Ah!¡± The bow form bent down the center and the entire Device broke in two. Hunter did not overlook this opportunity. She moved toward Horinouchi¡¯s Akerindou that was not yet fully broken. ¡°Right!¡± As she pulled back the Hedgehog, she made a punch with her right power hand. Horinouchi¡¯s body was already floating up a bit from the previous blow. Ether light and a sound of impact burst out and Akerindou¡¯s central wheel was broken along with the armor on the surface. Horinouchi was knocked away with the broken sword and bow still in her hands. This sent the girl away, but Hunter was not going to let her escape. She intended to end this here, so she prepared the finishing blow. ¡°Hedgehog!¡± She pursued Horinouchi to make another pile bunker strike. Another of those permeating impacts would fully destroy her Frame. ¡°Prepare pile bunker!¡± The ether stake was fully extended, so she pulled it back while running through the air and shouting. But then a spell circle hopped up from her shoulder. That was a frantic movement from her hedgehog servant and a voice arrived from HQ. ¡°Representative Hunter! Below you!¡± ¡­Below!? She quickly twisted her body. She did not know what this was about, but it was some advice from the people monitoring her. She pulled the Hedgehog close as a shield, but she did not slow her forward movement. ¡°Eh?¡± That was when she noticed it. When she looked directly below her, she saw the volley barrier Horinouchi had prepared earlier. Since it was located below, it had not been caught in the destruction of the three arrows and had thus been abandoned there, but¡­ ¡­It¡¯s pointing this way!? The hemispherical barrier was falling apart and scattering, but the destruction was clearly pointing the arrows up toward her. But what did that matter? The barrier was already destroyed and Horinouchi needed to use her bowstring in quick succession to actually fire the volley. So¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡± Two things seemed off to Hunter. The first had to do with her earlier charge. Why had Horinouchi used her Three Arrows Shield and focused on defense? Was it because her attack barrier had gone to waste when Hunter had not escaped downwards? The second had to do with the arrow Horinouchi had fired toward Hunter¡¯s face earlier. ¡­That was¡­ She understood now. The three arrows had been a way to keep her from looking down. The arrow toward the face had been to create a blind spot. ¡­She already fired an arrow, didn¡¯t she!? She had placed it inside the attack barrier down below. Even as the barrier collapsed and fell apart, it was most likely being controlled. That was why Horinouchi had kept Akerindou intact and running even after removing its ether bowstring emitter. She had synced the barrier with Akerindou and was having it aim toward Hunter. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± She could see Horinouchi injured and damaged up ahead, but the girl had a smile on her lips. And a moment later¡­ ¡°Dammit!¡± An attack came from directly below. The single shot fired from the collapsing attack barrier and passed through the spell circle for a guidance spell, but¡­ ¡­It isn¡¯t aimed at me! It hit the ether stake. As she pulled the stake back, it was pierced through by a vertical attack. And that was not all. Horinouchi spread her arms up ahead. She held the partially broken ether bowstring emitter in her left hand as a sword, but she now returned it to its bowstring form. ¡°Sing!¡± Hunter heard the ringing of a large shrine bell. She knew what was happening. All the damage had fully heated Horinouchi¡¯s Phlogiston Heart. She had planned to take that damage which was quite a gamble for someone with no defensive strength, but she had pulled it off. The Hedgehog¡¯s ether stake exploded at the end of Hunter¡¯s left arm. ¡°Horinouchi!¡± She saw something being constructed in the center of her vision. The broken Akerindou was becoming a much larger structure. The rapid ringing of a large shrine bell accompanied the construction of motors around the ether bowstring that connected Horinouchi¡¯s arms. And¡­ ¡°Magino Frame ¨C Akerindou!¡± As soon as the five hundred meter bow was completed, it fired a great blast toward Hunter. The Magino Frame¡¯s main cannon scored a direct hit from point-blank range. The explosion of light became a spray of ether and a surge of destruction. The wind blew and Horinouchi frowned at the fierce rocking of the Magino Frame she stood on. ¡­That may have been a little too much. Clouds of ether surrounded the Akerindou. Ether reaction light raced through them like lightning. They were thick, but the morning sunlight shined on them from the east and a pale yellow light made it through to her. If not for the wind, noise, and movement, it would have felt like being wrapped in luxurious silk. But then something appeared in her vision. It appeared inside the ether clouds letting the sunlight through. ¡­A shadow!? No, ¡°shadow¡± was not the right term for something so large. It was just as large as the Akerindou she stood on. ¡°The Hedgehog!?¡± Horinouchi saw something to port that she would much rather have not seen. ? It was in its cannon form and Hunter stood on top of it as it completed its construction. She too was constructing her Form and she was out of breath. ¡°Horinouchi!¡± Horinouchi tried to move away, but her position was poor. ¡­She deflected it, didn¡¯t she!? It had been a direct hit, but that had heated up the other girl¡¯s Phlogiston Heart. She had likely used her Normal Device as a shield to gain a short period of breathing room. And she had not mistaken the order in which to summon her Magino Device. Even as she formed the shell as the core, she had likely already started on the radome that determined her location. With that information, the US military could support her. The silent cooperation between her and her comrades had made one crucial accomplishment. During the direct hit, Hunter had used an instantaneous swing-by to escape. It had been a split-second decision like a quick-draw and it had been a gamble since she could not have checked what direction she would be escaping to. But it had saved her. The rest came down to Hunter¡¯s willpower. Even with that great strike closing in on her, she had trusted in her comrades and remained focused on victory. Just like Horinouchi, she had obtained the heat she needed from the most hopeless situation and used that to summon her Magino Frame. Horinouchi belatedly recalled that Hunter was a high-level ranker and even ranked higher than Horinouchi herself. The Hedgehog was summoned with priority on the acceleration pathway. The shell was already visible at the back. ¡°I¡­!¡± Horinouchi could not turn the Akerindou around fast enough as Hunter raised her voice. ¡°I win!¡± Just as she fired, Hunter saw some movement. It came from a sudden intruder. She and Horinouchi should have been the only two witches with the only two giant silhouettes in that sky, but¡­ ¡­Is that¡­? A giant white and blue sword was flying her way, but she could not stop the firing process now. The extreme close-range blast was being made without the acceleration pathway complete, but it should have been enough to tear through the Akerindou¡¯s thinly-armored side. But instead, she heard a solid sound. The sky roared, light burst, and the shell shattered in midair. It had been blocked by the great sword¡¯s armor, so she shouted the name of the blue and white Magino Device and of its owner. ¡°Kagami Kagami¡­and Dikai-whatever!?¡± Horinouchi watched on in a daze until the Suzaku gave a joyous whistle on her shoulder. She snapped back to her senses and looked over at the Suzaku. ¡°Wh-what was that whistle? No bird sounds like that.¡± ¡°Cock-a-doodle-doooooo!¡± It made a fake-sounding rooster cry, so was it really the Suzaku? But that was not what mattered. Up ahead, something had thrust up into the ether clouds scattering between Horinouchi and Hunter. ¡°Dikai-whatever!¡± ¡°It¡¯s Dikaiosyne. You really do have a bad memory.¡± That comment came from the individual standing on the shell formation area that made up the pommel of the great sword. It was Kagami. She was naturally wearing her Magino Form Holy Knight outfit and she looked back at Horinouchi over her shoulder. ¡°Are you okay, um¡­¡± She thought for a second and nodded. ¡°Manko?¡± ¡°And you say I have a bad memory!?¡± Volume 1, 15: There Lies a Rebuke Volume 1, Chapter 15: There Lies a Rebuke A second meeting Is known as a reunion Koutarou stopped just before leaving the headmaster¡¯s office. The support maids had sent a report informing him that Kagami had arrived on the battlefield. ¡­Honestly. Very well done. He had already known she was on the way to the battlefield. After all¡­ ¡°Lady Headmaster, about that paperwork¡­¡± A few pieces of paperwork were lined up on the headmaster¡¯s desk. They included an application to join the school and an acceptance form. The headmaster smiled bitterly as she commented on them. ¡°Yes, well¡­she is a silly girl. Just look at this.¡± She pushed forward a paper containing the details needed to purchase a uniform. ¡°She said she needed to ¡®officially become a student¡¯ before going to save her, so she even had her measurements taken for the uniform before leaving.¡± The noise in the sky had increased considerably, so the windows rattled and the ceiling creaked as the headmaster said one thing more ¡°But I¡¯m glad they seem to be having so much fun.¡± Horinouchi asked a question of the person before her eyes. ¡°Kagami.¡± She did not know what answer she would get and that made her uneasy. ¡°How!?¡± How could she have decided to come here? ¡­How could you ever think to come save me when I didn¡¯t join the battle yesterday? That was what her question had meant, but the holy knight crossed her arms and nodded. ¡°It is simple, Horinouchi. Your battle was producing an awful lot of stray shots.¡± ¡­Stray shots? Something about that answer seemed off, but Kagami kept going with her gaze focused far to the east. ¡°As I was approaching the battlefield, I decided I needed to understand the struggles you two had gone through, so I got myself worked up, let your stray shots hit my Normal Frame, and accidentally filled up my transformation gauge.¡± ¡­Now she¡¯s bragging about how weird she is!? That was not what she had been asking. To be honest, both Hunter and Kagami fell into the ¡°weird¡± category as far as she was concerned, so she had just assumed they could make the shift to Magino Frame somehow or another. But that was not what she had been asking. ¡°Then let me change my question.¡± With that opening, she changed the question word to leave no room for confusion. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Oh, that is obvious, Horinouchi.¡± Kagami¡¯s tone seemed to say ¡°Oh, is that what you were asking?¡± ¡°Yesterday on the pier, you listened to and believed what I said, and you worried about me despite putting on a mask of displeasure.¡± ¡­But¡­ She had no distinct memory of whether she had been worried or not, but¡­ ¡­Isn¡¯t that the obvious reaction? Kagami had claimed to be a resident of another world who had gone beyond reckless, made several mistakes, and came to see the destruction those mistakes had caused. She had claimed her mission was to stop that destruction even if it meant killing her own sister. The power she had demonstrated supported those claims and left Horinouchi with no choice but to believe her. And when looking at it from her point of view, how could one not worry for her? But¡­ ¡°I¡­¡± She had not said that. In fact, her actions had told a different story when she had not helped her. She had shown her own cowardice back then, and yet¡­ ¡°You were worried for me,¡± said Kagami. ¡°And I am not about to overlook that.¡± And¡­ ¡°I heard your story as well.¡± Koutarou had told her what had happened to Horinouchi and her mother ten years before, so¡­ ¡°I must take responsibility for bringing you such sorrow.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need you to-¡­!¡± ¡°Enough.¡± Kagami turned toward their enemy on the great sword that acted as a barrier. ¡°This is an issue of what I feel is necessary.¡± Now then, thought Kagami as she faced Hunter. This was her first time seeing the girl¡¯s completed Magino Frame. ¡­It looks a lot like a fighter jet. That¡¯s pretty cool. Well done, America. ¡°Heh heh. What are you going to do, Hunter?¡± ¡°This just means there¡¯s going to be one more injured person in the end, so it doesn¡¯t matter much to me. ¡­Are you sure you want to do this?¡± ¡°I am.¡± Kagami tilted Dikaiosyne horizontally. The light visible at the back of Hunter¡¯s Magino Device likely meant the thrusters were ready to go. ¡­This is about to develop into a high speed battle. Kagami spoke while opening up her own main thruster. ¡°Horinouchi.¡± That girl was a good person. She had believed the story of Kagami¡¯s past even though it sounded like nonsense. So¡­ ¡°Horinouchi, if you are willing to trust in what I told you.¡± ¡­I don¡¯t even need to ask. ¡°Then I hope you can trust me now, too.¡± Koutarou drove his loaner car northward around Tokyo Bay. His destination was Chiba and the destroyed Bousou Peninsula. Most of the region was nothing but ruins, but it was still a useful location as the ¡°southeast¡± of the Japanese mainland. ¡­Yesterday, her shell got through because she aimed for the eastern gap. He had communications equipment and spell strengthening devices inside the car, so by driving there, he could fill the hole in the country¡¯s detection and perception network. He also received word from their headquarters. ¡°Head Butler! Lady Mitsuru is currently travelling east at 270 kph from 120 km west of the United States! But the readings for the Rank 3 enemy and Lady Mitsuru¡¯s partner have pulled away at even greater speed and have arrived over the United States!¡± That isn¡¯t good, was his view of that. ¡­Miss Hunter is probably on her way to a starting point for her swing-by movement. That method gave her truly unmatchable speed. The one flaw was the need to use a satellite as a foothold. ¡­To increase safety and accuracy when moving, the coordinates need to be as even as possible. That meant she had to be very exact in her actions. Sometimes she would be able to move from one swing-by to another and other times there would not be any around. This was the latter case. Kagami had caught on and started pursuit. She was trying to drive Hunter off course before she could reach the starting point. The information from headquarters displayed the three witches¡¯ movements inside a spell circle. They had all arrived on America¡¯s west coast and Hunter and Kagami were moving far out ahead. But Hunter¡¯s course would waver at times. ¡°Is Lady Kagami battling that heavy armor?¡± She was using an outdated Holy Knight-style, she was fighting on her own, and yet she was taking on someone with the backing of the cutting-edge US military. ¡­Just how many battles has she fought in? A smile appeared on his lips as he did some adlibbed driving along the destroyed road. The headmaster had been exactly right. This was fun. After all¡­ ¡°Understood, HQ.¡± Now that he had grasped the situation and where it was headed, he spoke to the maids working in the support base below the headquarters. ¡°Change Lady Mitsuru¡¯s partner¡¯s designation to ¡®Miss Kagami¡¯. I have a feeling we¡¯re going to be working with her for quite some time.¡± ¡°Understood,¡± replied a maid as the label on the spell circle changed. After confirming that, he gave additional instructions since the enemy had the support of the US military. ¡°Measure their locations using our group¡¯s industrial satellites or other nations¡¯ observation points. If the United States is supporting the enemy with their military power, then¡­¡± Theirs would not be military power, but¡­ ¡°We will provide the support of the Horinouchi Group from the entire surface of the earth.¡± ¡°Kagami! I¡¯m getting support from my people, so I¡¯ll send that to you!¡± Kagami nodded at the transmission arriving over a spell circle. She saw a map of the west coast and central region of the United States with their trajectories added on. Also¡­ ¡­Are those the paths of as many satellites as they could find!? ¡°You have some excellent people, Horinouchi.¡± ¡°They don¡¯t have any military power, but they have joined with the IZUMO conglomerate to spread a Shinto-based trade network to every part of the world. So as long as we¡¯re over the land, our non-spell observation and trajectory predictions can sometimes surpass even America¡¯s!¡± ¡°That is much appreciated,¡± muttered Kagami as she continued firing. She was using her secondary cannons. Currently, Hunter¡¯s Magino Frame and Kagami¡¯s Dikaiosyne were fighting a high-speed battle while moving faster than the speed of sound. They did not have time to use their main cannons, so Kagami was using her secondary cannons to fire beams of light with a high-level homing ability. The bluish-white lines of light curved through the air and took punching trajectories toward Hunter. Hunter used her own secondary cannons to scatter countless bullets. They were slow, but they made for dangerous obstacles. Kagami opened a spell circle to track the entire barrage at once. She swept them all aside with the homing beams of light and then aimed at her opponent again. For both defense and offense, Hunter alternated between scattering her barrage and sending out rapid-fire sniper shots. They tore and stabbed at each other while both trying to gain as much ground as they could. Kagami¡¯s weapons were accurate and powerful but few. Hunter¡¯s weapons were numerous but weak. To gain the best position, they both circled around, occasionally collided, and then moved away again. Kagami felt the need to praise Hunter¡¯s adlibs. Even with such heavy armor, the girl had not taken any obvious hits. Kagami had assumed she would have difficulty with defense since she was used to attacks and charges, but she was actually avoiding it all with the smallest amount of evasion needed. ¡°Well done, Hunter!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± shouted Hunter as their collision scattered sparks and she accelerated away. ¡°I don¡¯t get America¡¯s help just for my cannon shots! I use them for my evasive actions too!¡± ¡°In that case¡­¡± Kagami shouted a question as she pursued and moved Dikaiosyne through the barrage. ¡°If you have this much power, why don¡¯t you lend it to everyone else!? Isn¡¯t America supposed to be the world police!?¡± ¡°Then,¡± shouted Hunter. She broke through a morning cloud, let the light of her bullet wash over her as it broke one of Kagami¡¯s blasts, and waved her right arm down below. ¡°Then look at this!¡± In an instant of wind, Kagami saw something as she exchanged fire and hopped up as part of her evasive action. As they moved from America¡¯s west coast, the ground below should have contained a large city and the natural majesty of the Grand Canyon. But it did not. ¡­Is this¡­? Kagami looked down while forcibly passing below a barrage yet immediately ascending afterwards. There was nothing but destruction. A several kilometer wide hole sat in the middle of the city and the Grand Canyon had mostly collapsed like a sand castle crushed by a child. The worst part was the kilometer wide craters connecting east to west. And more could be seen far to the north and south. ¡°Do you understand now?¡± Hunter arrived by her side. She punctuated her question by ramming her five hundred meter long Device into Kagami¡¯s. ¡°This is the damage from Hexennacht ten years ago! This is what the Black Witch did with the power that leaked from the seal. In other words¡­¡± They reached more ruins as she spoke. The central United States, an area known for its industrial cities, was only a series of great gashes in the land. ¡°In other words, this great nation is not so great anymore.¡± Horinouchi flew through the sky as the battle fought by the other two continued pulling away. Even so, she could hear Hunter¡¯s voice. ¡°Ten years ago, our most skilled witches were killed and we lost our strength.¡± So¡­ ? ¡°So America made a certain decision. To take responsibility as the world police and as the nation with the greatest military force, we decided to settle it all by ourselves.¡± Horinouchi heard her. ¡°Do you understand now!?¡± A powerful light shot by to the starboard side. The Hedgehog must have entered firing mode and used its main ether cannon. Several points of light linked together far in the eastern sky, but they were most likely Kagami¡¯s secondary cannon blasts being swept away. Hunter had great strength, but¡­ ¡°Do you understand now!?¡± Hunter¡¯s voice seemed to be pressing her for an answer. ¡°My dad was a pilot and he loved flying. But¡­¡± Horinouchi wondered why it was she did not want to know what followed that word. ¡°But ten years ago¡­he went missing.¡± She¡¯s the same, realized Horinouchi. She¡¯s fighting with the same feelings in her heart. Yes, that¡¯s right, thought Hunter. We must all be the same. We all have the same feelings in our hearts. ¡°That¡¯s why I became a witch. And that¡¯s why I fly.¡± She had had no other choice. After all¡­ ¡°By doing that, I thought I could see the same things my dad did. But you know what I saw there instead?¡± She could even see it now. It was spread out below her cannon blasts and her speed. ¡°This ruined land!!¡± And¡­ ¡°That moon that never vanishes from the sky!¡± She rammed Kagami again. Sparks flew and a great shaking reached her. She briefly gasped at the gaze viewing her from behind, but she managed to draw out her voice. ¡°So I made a decision of my own!¡± ¡°And what was that?¡± ¡°Well,¡± she answered amid the collision, pushing, and scraping. ¡°I decided I would make sure I was the only one that had to feel like this.¡± With those words, she saw Kagami¡¯s shoulders relax. ¡°¡­¡± The girl hung her head and spoke. ¡°You fool.¡± Horinouchi looked up at what Kagami said. ¡­I was wrong. She had thought everyone felt the same way, but there was one person here who did not. There was a single reason for that which made so much sense: that girl was not from this world. And that was why she was wrong and yet right. From an outside perspective, Kagami was exactly right about their conflict and stubbornness. So¡­ ¡°Thank you.¡± She heard those two simple words that Hunter spoke. ¡­You¡­ There was a lot she wanted to say. She wanted to speak with and exchange thoughts with this opponent. And if they could continue on together¡­ ¡°Kagami.¡± Several thoughts came together to form a single thought. It did not matter how powerful this opponent was¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s win this!¡± You make it sound simple, thought Kagami with a bitter smile. But she agreed. They had to defeat this opponent. But¡­ ¡°What!?¡± A sudden impact reached her. Hunter had been continually ramming and pushing her, but now the girl moved away. She started forward quite forcibly. ¡°Is she using her main cannon!?¡± Hunter¡¯s Device used the air resistance to make a half-turn with a loop-the-loop. She was going for a close-range charge while flying upside down. It was far too forceful. As things were, she did not have the speed necessary to destroy Dikaiosyne with a collision. ¡­What is she trying to do!? Kagami hurriedly shifted Dikaiosyne into firing mode. She already had a shell formed, so¡­ ¡°Fire!¡± With a great roar, light exploded out. It would be nice if it hit, but it would still wear down her armor if it only grazed her. Except¡­ ¡­She moved out of the way!? Hunter¡¯s Device had moved down below Dikaiosyne. Kagami immediately prepared her secondary cannons and fired down at the other girl during their slow passage. Hunter also opened her secondary cannons and fired from close range. ¡°Ohhhh!¡± Explosions of light and shockwaves burst between them. In that instant, Kagami realized what her opponent was really after. Hunter fell from the sky and landed on top of Dikaiosyne as it shook. Hunter had a single goal. ¡­I need to force her away! Kagami¡¯s Device was sturdy. Secondary cannons and a light hit from the main cannon were not going to be enough. Plus, Kagami knew where the swing-by starting points were and was keeping Hunter away from them. As things were, they would wear each other down and Hunter would ultimately have trouble dealing with the nearly undamaged Horinouchi. So she had jumped over. She had given her Magino Device instructions to continue onwards, jumped off of it, and ran along Kagami¡¯s Device. ¡°You¡¯re mine!¡± Kagami quickly raised her Normal Device to defend, but Hunter hit her, sword and all. The Hedgehog¡¯s pile bunker was prepared on her left arm. She came in low, planted her feet on the Magino Device¡¯s armor, and based her movement on the rotation of her hips in order to¡­ ¡­Hit her upwards! She scored a clean hit on the Normal Device that Kagami held up as a shield. The girl floated up from the Magino Device and Hunter felt the tactile feedback of the blow. ¡°Kh!¡± With that groan, Kagami vanished from before her eyes. The hit from the Hedgehog had blown her away and she crashed into the guard of the great sword. A roar and smoke rose from where she landed and the five hundred meter Device shook. But Hunter did not care. She simply ran forward without losing the momentum of her strike. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± She jumped down to the Hedgehog passing by below. Kagami peeled herself from Dikaiosyne¡¯s guard while feeling both impressed and worried. She wanted to praise Hunter¡¯s tactics. She had known the girl was a close-range fighter, but¡­ ¡­I never thought she would jump from her Magino Frame to challenge me to a close-range fight. Kagami realized she was still too close-minded and decided to try it herself if she ever had the opportunity. However¡­ ¡°Hunter!¡± She looked back where Hunter¡¯s Magino Device was twisting around. Its main cannon was aimed her way and light filled its barrel. She could not avoid being shot, but the half-charged blast could not destroy Dikaiosyne. Also, firing in the direction she was traveling would slow her down. ¡­Which means¡­ A quick glance at the spell circle answered it all. There was a swing-by starting point right over there, so¡­ ¡°Goodbye.¡± With that word, Hunter fired. ¡°¡­!¡± Dikaiosyne shook from the blast and it was shifted off course. A moment later, the wind was whipped up. Hunter¡¯s Magino Device had gained the speed of an orbiting satellite. It was a sheltered form of high-speed travel. The wind and everything else was deflected by the Hedgehog¡¯s divine protection. ¡°I¡¯ve done it now¡­¡± Kagami¡¯s word of scolding remained in Hunter¡¯s mind. ¡­I¡¯m a fool, huh? In that case, Horinouchi must be as well, but¡­ ¡°I just parted ways with them. And¡­¡± After pulling in the communications spell circle from the ones opened in front of her, she took a breath and faced only forward. ¡°HQ, this match is officially only against Horinouchi, so I¡¯ll target her. ¡­Is she over Brazil right now?¡± That was perfect. That plus Hunter¡¯s current swing-by direction produced an interesting result. ¡°I¡¯m returning to the coast of Japan.¡± What would happen if she targeted Horinouchi who would have lost sight of her? ¡°Yes, it¡¯s time to snipe her from halfway around the globe.¡± When Horinouchi received a report that Hunter¡¯s location had been lost, she quickly shifted Akerindou¡¯s course. She moved over the southern ocean to make sure no damage would be done to any cities. Plus, she knew her enemy would know her location, so continuing in a straight line would only make her a sitting duck. But¡­ ¡°Where did she go¡­?¡± ¡°Lady Mitsuru, I believe we can determine the enemy¡¯s location.¡± ¡°She already knows where I am, right?¡± It was possible the girl had already fired from far away, so when it came to firing an attack or an interception¡­ ¡°Can we make it in time?¡± ¡°Yes, but to do so¡­¡± Koutarou spoke sharply. ¡°I would like your help.¡± Volume 1, 16: Then What Should I Do? Volume 1, Chapter 16: Then What Should I Do? I know that It only took Hunter an instant to fire. She was flying over the ocean south of Japan. The Seventh Fleet¡¯s Silent Service had searched out this spot that avoided detection by the Shinto guardian deities. So once she was in position, she only needed to align herself with the swing-by satellite passing by overhead and then fire. An explosive blast filled the air and the bullet seemed to skip thrice as it flew east. That was all. Her comrades would guide it for her. They knew Horinouchi¡¯s location, so they would precisely guide the bullet to her. Unlike with Kagami, Horinouchi¡¯s Magino Frame could not avoid taking damage, so this would win the battle. Even if the girl did try to defend, she was over a foreign sea and she did not know where Hunter was. Even if the Horinouchi Group had a wide reach, they would not have reached the ocean quite yet. She might have managed over land, but the sea was a different story. The bullet was fast enough that it would all be over by the time she saw it. The battle was already settled if Horinouchi really did not know the direction Hunter was firing from. ¡°Which means I just have to wait for it to hit.¡± Hunter was not sure if she should breathe a sigh of relief just yet, but the sun had already risen to the height of ¡°early morning¡± rather than ¡°predawn¡±. As if following the sunlight, she looked to Japan with a telescope spell. ¡°Ahh, ahh¡­¡± The base of Mount Fuji had a large black crater torn into it. That was the result of her attack on Kagami. Seeing it discouraged her a little. She felt bad for doing the same thing as the Black Witch. At the same time, she recalled Kagami¡¯s rebuke and smiled bitterly. ¡­That¡¯s right. She did believe her actions had an individual form of justice behind them, but how long had it been since someone had scolded and tried to stop her instead of accepting and supporting her? It was a nostalgic feeling and it brought a song to her lips. ¡°And where is that band who so vauntingly swore, ¡°That the havoc of war and the battle¡¯s confusion, ¡°A home and a country shall leave us no more? ¡°Their blood has washed out their foul footstep¡¯s pollution. ¡°No refuge could save the hireling and slave. ¡°From the terrors of flight or the gloom of the grave. ¡°And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave. ¡°O¡¯er the land of the free and the home of the brave!¡± That was the third verse of the Star-Spangled Banner. Once she finished releasing her song into the sky, a morning breeze seemed to blow in response. ¡°Representative Hunter! The bullet will hit in twenty seconds!¡± The view from the satellite above reached her spell circle. Even from the sky, Akerindou¡¯s great form was visible over the sea. A digital line was added arriving from the west and that straight line and arrow were labelled with the word ¡°bullet¡±. ¡°Oh.¡± The footage revealed an explosion of ether light and a giant pillar of water. Just as she thought it had been a direct hit, an unexpected color filled the spell circle. Hunter gasped at what that must mean. Something was moving inside the spell circle. ¡°The enemy Magino Frame¡­has survived!¡± ¡°It missed!?¡± What did that mean? It should have been impossible to intercept that bullet without knowing what trajectory it was taking, but the satellite footage zoomed in on the enemy. Akerindou was pointed straight up at her eye in the sky. And¡­ ¡°Horinouchi!¡± The girl was looking straight up at the satellite in orbit. A moment later, Horinouchi¡¯s cannon blast destroyed the satellite, but¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t tell me she could see where I was.¡± Hunter had supposedly left the range of her Shinto detection. ¡°Oh? What do you think you are doing there?¡± A voice reached her from behind. It was several kilometers away, but a Magino Frame was approaching with the shimmering heat of acceleration light enveloping itself. The great sword was definitely damaged, but¡­ ¡°Over here. This is no time to be distracted.¡± ¡°Kagami!¡± Hunter wanted to ask how this was possible. ¡­She shouldn¡¯t have been able to catch up! Hunter had used several swing-by pathways to reach this point. The only way to track that would be to follow the remnant ether light, but that method had to be done immediately. Kagami would have needed a means of gaining speed rivalling the swing-by method. ¡°How did you catch up during all that?¡± Hunter spotted some vanishing light on the back of Kagami¡¯s Magino Frame, but it was not the light of a thruster. There were eight of them and they had clearly been stabbed in after the fact. ¡­Horinouchi¡¯s arrows!? ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you had her shoot you to accelerate you!¡± ¡°Precisely!¡± She really is an honorable sort of insane, thought Hunter. What kind of idiot would have their partner shoot them just because they needed some speed? The kind right in front of her, apparently. But she had relied on her defenses to ¡°eat¡± the hard hit. The arrows had pierced into the Magino Frame, but Kagami must have absorbed them and their speed. ¡­This is the problem with that craft-style power of hers! Kagami pointed at the dumbfounded girl. ¡°Hunter!¡± The obvious idiot smiled. ¡°This is where things get interesting!¡± Kagami had Dikaiosyne charge forward. Hunter immediately opened several spell circles around herself. ¡­Are you trying to escape!? Those spells were likely meant to coordinate her swing-by movement with her mainland, so the girl was about to take high-speed flight. And¡­ ¡°I will not let you escape!¡± To accelerate, Kagami used Horinouchi¡¯s acceleration arrows remaining on Dikaiosyne¡¯s back end. The great sword charged forward like it had been kicked. It struck the center of the giant Magino Frame¡¯s stern as if gouging into the seam there. ¡°That was not enough to reach the bullet formation area, was it!?¡± Hunter immediately began her flight. ¡°Dammit!¡± But she missed the swing-by. The massive Magino Device had lost its powerful acceleration method, so now it was Kagami¡¯s turn. She was using her Normal Device to control Dikaiosyne, so she pushed it forward toward the stern of Hunter¡¯s Magino Device. ¡°Charge!¡± Hunter realized she was being pushed. She could see a few of Horinouchi¡¯s acceleration lights vanishing from the back of the great sword. There had been eight to begin with, but now there were only five. Her opponent was losing the source of her speed, but the speed she did have was enough. ¡­It rivals my swing-by method!? Horinouchi had focused and refined that power in order to tear into the moon. Meanwhile, Hunter¡¯s comrades informed her of the next swing-by point, but¡­ ¡­I won¡¯t make it! As each new point arrived, she failed to arrive in time and missed it. Kagami was predicting her actions perfectly. The Horinouchi Group was most likely observing from the surface and determining what satellites Hunter was primarily using. If so¡­ ¡°Secondary cannons!¡± A shootout began from point-blank range. She prepared every last cannon and fired on the great sword stabbing into her from behind. She hit. A shock ran through her own Magino Device, light struck at random, and warning lights indicated damage on the rear thrusters and elsewhere, but she did not care. With each tremor, Kagami¡¯s Magino Device shook and nearly threw her off. That may have been why Kagami accelerated and plunged her blade even deeper inside. ¡­Is this how you want to decide this!? But it was not enough. Hunter¡¯s secondary cannons continued tearing apart Kagami¡¯s Magino Device. She had an overwhelming advantage in number of cannons. When a close-range barrage would work, the Hedgehog would be the one doing the pushing. But then she realized Kagami was only using her secondary cannons to intercept while raising the speed of her charge. ¡­Why!? Even this speed was not enough to break Hunter¡¯s armor. Hunter was accelerating as well and the Hedgehog was sturdy. Then why? she wondered. ¡°Representative Hunter! We¡¯ve secured a point location, so please wait a moment! Also, we¡¯ve confirmed your current heading! The enemy is accelerating you toward¡­¡± There was someone behind her by the rising sun in the east. ¡°The other enemy, the Rank 4!¡± Hunter realized what Kagami was trying to do. ¡°A pincer attack!¡± This was not a normal pincer attack. Kagami was accelerating Hunter toward Horinouchi so the third girl could fire on Hunter with all her strength. It was a forceful use of physics thanks to their relative speeds. ¡­Just how much does she worship attack power!? What is this? Does it have to do with the Japanese love of giant breasts? I remember everyone laughing about that when we stayed up all night that one time. Wait, that¡¯s not the point! This method was completely insane, but it did make sense. After all, Hunter¡¯s own Hedgehog gained enough speed from its swing-by method to destroy another Magino Frame with only that. If she was hit at these speeds, it was possible it could sink her in a single blow. Plus, she was up against a unit of two. Even if she destroyed Kagami or made sure Kagami was caught in her own destruction, they would still win if Horinouchi survived. ¡­In which case¡­ She pushed herself in a straight line through the morning air while leaving several vapor trails behind her. ¡°Representative Hunter! You are now in range of the Rank 4!¡± That was exactly when Kagami raised her voice while pushing Hunter forward with her powerful acceleration. ¡°Fire!¡± Horinouchi viewed her enemy through a telescope spell. A giant form in the west was being pushed and accelerated toward her. She must have noticed Horinouchi directly ahead because she had opened her shield instead of using her cannon form. ¡­I need to break through that armor. Hesitating would be meaningless. She had only one chance and, even from this distance, the acceleration light from Kagami¡¯s rear thrusters could be seen weakening. She would begin slowing soon. Once that happened, it was all over. Once Hunter could escape with her own acceleration, she would change course and destroy the two of them individually. So¡­ ¡­It has to be now! As soon as she thought that, she saw an explosion over the western sea. ¡°What!?¡± It was the white explosion of water vapor created when something collided with the atmosphere at high speed. ¡­Their Device¡¯s exploded? No, the white was nowhere near large enough for that. And soon, Horinouchi¡¯s telescope spell revealed what had happened. ¡°Hunter purged the front starboard side of her Magino Device, didn¡¯t she!?¡± Air resistance caused the entire Device to groan, but Hunter did not hesitate. Her secondary cannons were lodging their shots in Kagami¡¯s Device, and¡­ ¡­Turn! She purged her front starboard armor. The thick multi-layer armor became fragments of ether in the air, lightening her starboard side, but that left the frame and transformation structure exposed. ¡°Air brake!!¡± As soon as water vapor audibly exploded, the Hedgehog creaked to the right as it was pushed. While still moving horizontally, she collided with the air to the front and right. Next, the wind poured inside the armor and internal components halfway along the starboard side, blasting away the central starboard armor. But that damage eliminated the excess stress. The starboard side skidded along the air and the port side flowed forward. ¡°Ohhh!¡± She turned her starboard rear thruster to the right and applied the maximum pressure. She made a turn and no longer seemed to care about Kagami behind her. She used their great speed to make a full 180 degree turn with the great sword still piercing her stern. That thrust Kagami¡¯s Magino Frame toward Horinouchi and¡­ ¡°Representative Hunter!¡± A swing-by point was coming, so she raised her right hand to activate the spell. Meanwhile, she heard Kagami¡¯s voice from behind. ¡°But there was not supposed to be another point around here! Could it be¡­!?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I told you I had the support of the US military, didn¡¯t I?¡± It was obvious what she had done. ¡°I had one of the satellites alter its orbit to come this way.¡± A point of light was moving east in the sky above. The forcible change of orbit meant it was now falling out of orbit, but Hunter only needed to pursue that shooting star. ¡°Here I go!¡± That swing-by would take her east, toward Horinouchi¡¯s cannon blast. ¡°You said this is where things get interesting, didn¡¯t you!?¡± Horinouchi understood the situation. The other two were starting to lose speed, but they began charging toward her with new acceleration. And now Kagami¡¯s Dika-whatever was being held forward instead of pushing from behind. Kagami was likely doing her best to resist, but most of her secondary cannons had been destroyed and there was no more light in her rear thrusters. Also¡­ ¡°Now!¡± shouted Hunter. ¡°Are you willing to shoot your own partner, Horinouchi!?¡± U.A.H.F. of NORAD was filled with excitement. They were doing their best to direct the falling satellite directly over the Rank 4¡¯s head. At the same time, they were sending the optimum course to Hunter and having her make course corrections with the Hedgehog¡¯s accelerators. ¡°Damn, I didn¡¯t think she would actually pull off that 180!¡± ¡°Yeah, I kind of thought she might as well just try to escape!¡± Everyone sent back their confirmation work, stood up, and looked to the spell circle main monitor. The commander spoke over the communicator. ¡°Representative Hunter, your armor cannot be pierced even if it comes down to a shootout after your approach.¡± ¡°I know.¡± The witch they supported replied with a ring of dignity in her voice. ¡°Victory to America!¡± ¡°Now, it¡¯s time for you to lose, Horinouchi!¡± Horinouchi inhaled at Hunter¡¯s words. She was hesitant. Of course she was. But¡­ ¡­Yes. She recalled her actions concerning her rank, her own displeasure, and Kagami¡¯s tears over her mother. ¡­Mother. The scene from ten years ago grew clear in her memories. That had been her last time to speak with her mother. She had known what was going to happen to her, but she had cried and asked her not to leave her all alone. But she remembered clearly what her mother had said. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The god of this world seems to have trouble with loneliness, so I¡¯m sure you will find someone important to you as well.¡± ¡°You mean¡­?¡± ¡°Someone who ¨C like me ¨C will smile when you smile and cry when you cry. And because of that, you will be able to trust them and continue on with them.¡± She had wondered where someone like that could be. She had not wanted anyone else to feel the way she did, so she had intended to remain isolated. But¡­ ¡­Elsie Hunter. Even someone ranked higher than her felt the same way. And someone had rebuked that girl. It had felt like a rebuke against this entire world, yet it had been spoken as a simple observation. ¡°Horinouchi!¡± shouted Kagami¡¯s voice. ¡°Trust in me, Manko!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t call me thaaaaat!¡± She shouted back and fired at the same time. Kagami smiled at Horinouchi¡¯s attack. ¡­I would expect no less! There was no hint of hesitation or restraint. The high-speed shot produced five explosions of water vapor as it flew in from far to the east. It was definitely coming, so¡­ ¡°Charge!¡± Kagami used her last acceleration to drive the tip of her great sword into Hunter¡¯s Magino Frame. Hunter frowned on top of the Device up ahead. ¡°You¡¯re wasting your effort!¡± ¡°Are you worried for me, Hunter!? But¡­¡± Kagami raised her right arm. ¡°Dikaiosyne, firing form!¡± ¡°That won¡¯t accomplish anything!¡± shouted Hunter. Kagami was digging into her armor, but¡­ ¡°Your attack will at best only damage my rear thrusters!¡± ¡°What are you talking about? Attacking is Horinouchi¡¯s job.¡± She operated Dikaiosyne as if to prove that. She poured every last ounce of power into the acceleration pathway and white light shined from the pathway meant for the shell to travel down. ¡°Shell formation area¡­purge.¡± Hunter realized what was happening. ¡­Did she transform the pincer attack into an acceleration cannon!? Kagami stood before her. Below her, the great sword¡¯s acceleration pathway was exposed after losing the rear shell formation area. Horinouchi¡¯s arrow arrived there. Technically, that was probably due to Hunter¡¯s own course corrections. The flying arrow stabbed into the acceleration pathway of Kagami¡¯s great sword and raced through it. ¡°Open shell acceleration spell inside the barrel!!¡± Kagami¡¯s voice was followed by the destruction of her sword-shaped Magino Device. The Device itself could not withstand the power creating the acceleration pathway. But it only needed an instant. The relative speed of the swing-by, the acceleration provided by Horinouchi, and the additional acceleration provided in exchange for Kagami¡¯s Magino Device joined together. ¡°Kh!¡± The power itself burst inside the heavy armor. The destruction only took an instant. The servant managing the Device prioritized protecting Hunter, its master, so when the massive amount of kinetic energy exploded inside, the armor, motors, and transformation system were all abandoned. To make sure nothing obstructed the dispersal of the energy, it was all given over to the destruction and explosion, leaving only the main frame and the base where the servant¡¯s master stood. ¡°¡­!¡± Magino Frame Hedgehog exploded and fell silent. A great noise and clouds of ether light filled the morning sky. Even its giant framework came apart as it slowly fell toward the sea. Atop the crumbling Magino Frame, Kagami stood before Hunter who had fallen to her knees. Both of their Magino Frames had been destroyed and neither of them could continue fighting. Hunter must have known that because she fell backwards onto her butt, stroked her servant¡¯s spell circle, and put it away. ¡°Damn, I lost! Do you have anything to say!?¡± ¡°I have not lived a life worthy of saying anything here. But¡­¡± Kagami took a breath before speaking to Hunter. ¡°Lend us your strength, America. Burning yourself away in a grudge is not what you should be doing. You need act as the world police and lend your strength to those who lack it. And¡­¡± The hand she held out had lost its power arm, but that did not matter. ¡°How about you start by accepting my help here, Elsie Hunter?¡± Hunter looked up into the sky as she slowly fell. The moon was beginning to vanish there and she could only see the morning sun. Of course, that was only because the moonlight was hidden by the sunlight, but¡­ ¡°You¡¯re such an idiot.¡± She took Kagami¡¯s hand with a bare hand that no longer wore her Magino Form. ¡°Why would you go this far to tell me something even elementary schoolers understand?¡± She felt the same applied to herself, but she left that unsaid. Volume 1, 17: I Remember Volume 1, Chapter 17: I Remember Distance can be made meaningless By density The next day, word of the rank change spread like wildfire thanks to the school news. But something occurred to Horinouchi as she walked the short distance from her campus residence to the school building¡­ ¡­Those looks of curiosity aren¡¯t due to the rank change. The girl next to her could not have looked more out of place in her school uniform. She did not have her textbooks or other school supplies yet, so she did not even have a bag. Oddly enough, while her footsteps had rung loudly in the shoes she wore with her suit, she walked silently in the heels of her uniform¡¯s shoes. Of course, Horinouchi walked just as silently. ¡­I stand out enough already. ¡°Here, the rules allow the third years to enter from the bottom.¡± ¡°Is that the same idea as rich families living in single-story residences?¡± Horinouchi nearly asked what her house had been like, but she stopped. She did not feel that close to the girl quite yet. But¡­ ¡°That was supposed to be a roundabout way of asking about your family,¡± said Kagami. ¡°Did you not pick up on that?¡± ¡°I chose not to answer because it would sound like I was bragging.¡± ¡°Is that so? ¡­My family had a three-story house with an attic.¡± The way she laughed frustrated Horinouchi for some reason. The general division school building was made up of a left and right building connected down the center. Their large classroom was on the eastern end. As they walked down the hallway, Kagami spoke while facing forward. ¡°If you want to say anything before we reach the classroom, then say it. Oh, but the fact that I look stunning in this uniform goes without saying, so do not bother. So what do you want to say, Manko?¡± ¡°Stop calling me that!¡± ¡°Then would Mitsuru be better?¡± ¡°I only ever let my parents call me that. But¡­¡± She felt a hint of resignation. ¡°I don¡¯t want you calling me anything weird, so call me that when we¡¯re alone. Otherwise, call me Horinouchi.¡± ¡°What a complicated girl.¡± ¡°Well, I am the resident of a world you created.¡± Kagami smiled a bit at that. Up ahead, the news of the rank change hung on the wall. Horinouchi¡¯s name and Kagami¡¯s name were both written next to Rank 3. ¡°Honestly.¡± How long were they going to be working together? And¡­ ¡°I received an email from Hunter. She wanted to know if we were free this Sunday.¡± ¡°You told her we were, didn¡¯t you?¡± She had not even needed to ask if Kagami was. ¡°I am looking forward to it.¡± Kagami smiled and opened the classroom door. ¡°Everyone! Nice to meet you! I am Kagami Kagami, a visitor from another world! Come on, Manko! Get in here! You really are shy, aren¡¯t you!?¡± Horinouchi decided it was time to teach her a lesson. Volume 1, Final : Let’s Go Together Volume 1, Final Chapter: Let¡¯s Go Together A reunion Is the beginning of friendship Hunter prepared for her future. She was packing her things. Her room was in the special equipment division. It was a special forty-five square meter room given to Rankers. Those who loved machinery would apparently bring machine tools into their room and work with them, but it was nothing but wasted space for Hunter. However, she was not leaving here. She was still the top of the special equipment division. Her destination was the pier. She had contacted the two in Rank 3 to ask if they wanted to hold a sort of party to celebrate their Ranker battle the other day. It would be weird to reconcile their differences there, but they could at least take a less hostile relationship. It was the same as the winners¡¯ podium in sports. Whether they had won or lost, everyone who had given it their very best would recognize each other¡¯s efforts. It was mostly a ceremonial or traditional thing, but those two had also interested her on a more personal level. Kagami had her insane ether control ability, but there was a lot she wanted to ask Horinouchi as well. Her father had not particularly liked Japan, but he had trained in karate at the base and she had based her combat style off of that. Horinouchi¡¯s style was a shrine maiden, aka a Japanese shaman. Shaman-style witches tended to go deep in the forest, get tattoos, give sacrificial offerings of pigs and sheep, and perform strange chanting dances. There was also an American shaman-style, but they used a 75mm gun as a Normal Device, which seemed like it would only work when combined with overwhelming numbers. At any rate, Horinouchi¡¯s Form was from the same culture as Hunter¡¯s, so their designs were somewhat similar. Plus, Horinouchi was the real deal that represented Japan. Even if the design of Hunter¡¯s Form had no real flaws, a real Japanese witch would probably see it as an American karate-style. What would a real Japanese witch think of it? If one of the top rankers had been a Japanese karate witch, she might have had a chance to fight them, but things had not turned out that way. ¡°I wonder.¡± She had fallen to the #4 spot, but she had not given up on or lamented her skill. She had hit a setback in her Ranker battles. She had seen a lot of what these opponents could do, so something different might happen if they did it again. That was all this was. But¡­ ¡°¡­I wonder.¡± She had no complaints about her strength, but her motivation toward Hexennacht had fallen. But not because she had lost. ¡­I was taken pretty far. It had been a tough battle. A witch battle came down to the maintenance and heating of their Phlogiston Heart, so it was a competition of willpower. The more intense the battle grew, the more of herself was drawn out. What had that meant for her in that Ranker battle? She had been cornered by Horinouchi and she had cornered Horinouchi. If the other girl had been that desperate, then she must have shown a similar level of willpower. After all, how many people had lost nothing at all during the Hexennacht ten years before? That was why those with power needed to wash away their grudges and defeat the Black Witch. But¡­ ¡°A fool, huh?¡± She honestly did not understand what Kagami had meant by that word, but she had definitely thought the girl might just be right. Normally, she should have told Kagami not to mock her. After all, she had a responsibility to the people supporting her and the people she needed to protect. But¡­ ¡­I wonder. She finished packing as she thought. She had enough clothes for a few days and there was barbecue meat and some other things in the refrigerator. She could keep the food cold with a cooling spell she had learned at school. After dropping the spell circle in the insulated bag and carrying the bag over her shoulder, she looked like a girl ready to head out for some summer fun. She began to wonder if she should have gotten some sunglasses. She did not even need her motorcycle to reach the pier, so she could leave her helmet behind. That just left her shoes. ¡°The normal ones should work.¡± She walked outside in some deck shoes with crushed heels. It was a sunny day. The pier was surprisingly far away when walking from the dorms. Passing through the center of the campus, and thus the courtyard¡¯s forest, was fastest, but she was not in that much of a hurry. She walked around the courtyard from west to south, passed by the front of the gym, and then by the side of the general division school building. As she walked, she checked her servant hedgehog in its spell circle. It had already been repaired and tuned from the fleet on the Pacific, so it was sleeping peacefully. In other words, I¡¯ve got the day off. And that¡¯s an order, Attack Spell Major Elsie Hunter. ¡­Am I trying to force myself into high spirits? She wondered that as she walked. She left the school grounds, crossed the road, and reached the path to the edge of the bay. The sky was blue and the bay had the salty smell of the sea. It reminded her of the past. She had often gone out to eat with her father. He had been bad at cooking, so he had always tried to eat out. But that was expensive, so instead of going to a proper restaurant, they had often used a portable stove set to have a crude barbecue on the beach. ¡­Wait, am I whitewashing my memories? I say ¡°often¡±, but it was only about three times a week. Well, I guess that¡¯s actually quite a lot. ¡°Eat more meat!¡± her father had always said. ¡°It¡¯ll help you grow up big and strong, Elsie! And I¡¯m good at grilling meat!¡± You idiot. Eating so much meat automatically gave me a restricted carb diet which kept me so small. She had only learned that upon coming here. When she had asked the school doctor, she had been told the following: ¡°Hm. You may have been getting the other nutrients from the barbecue sauce.¡± Did you hear that, dad? Then again, I did get a fair amount of vegetables. From juice. But¡­ ¡°I wonder.¡± What would her father think of this situation if he were still alive and walking by her side? What would he say about the fact that she was a witch, that she represented America, and that she had lost? ¡°Eat more meat.¡± Yeah, he¡¯d say that. He¡¯d definitely say that. But she had to wonder. If he were alive, she would have felt like mankind had won the previous Hexennacht. In that case, would she have even been doing this? And if so¡­ ¡°Oh, I know.¡± She knew the answer. If she had still been doing this even though mankind won the previous Hexennacht and even though her father had survived¡­ ¡°Then papa would definitely scold me.¡± After all¡­ ¡°He¡¯d tell me this was his job and that I shouldn¡¯t be doing it.¡± That¡¯s right. And that¡¯s why I¡¯m a fool. Everyone had expected this of her and hoped she would do it, but the person she cared about most would not have. He had flown through the sky to make sure she did not have to. Everyone had lost something ten years ago. But¡­ ¡°You fool.¡± What was it she had really wanted? And¡­ ¡°I¡¯m a fool. And I¡¯m going to keep being a fool for a little longer, papa.¡± After realizing something so important so late, she decided to disobey her father. After all¡­ ¡°If you were here right now, I¡¯d help you out. Even if you didn¡¯t want me to, I¡¯d find a way to do it. I know I would. And¡­¡± She looked to the pier. ¡°There¡¯s someone even more foolish than me, so I¡¯ve got to help them.¡± She opened her mouth and a song escaped her lips below the blue sky. It was the fourth verse of the Star-Spangled Banner. ¡°Oh thus be it ever when freemen shall stand ¡°Between their loved ones and wild war¡¯s desolation. ¡°Blest with victry and peace, may the heav¡¯n-rescued land. ¡°Praise the pow¡¯r that hath made and preserved us a nation. ¡°Then conquer we must when our cause it is just. ¡°And this be our motto: ¡®In God is our trust!¡¯ ¡°And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave, ¡°O¡¯er the land of the free and the home of the brave!¡± Hunter arrived at the pier. A two ton truck filled with maids waited in front of the pier and a brand new car was parked behind it. Kagami (who wore a suit even though it was summer), Horinouchi, and an unfamiliar man stood by the car. She guessed the man was the driver. They were on their way to Shonan. They had invited her after her initial invitation, but she did not mind. Her invitation had mostly been from her curiosity in them anyway. Also, she had something to teach them. American-style Frames could be summoned quickly and she felt teaching them how to do that would be meaningful. After all, they had accepted her reservations and stuck to their own strength. She had lost. ¡­Yeah, that¡¯s right. She had lost, but that allowed her to do something. The world police, America, and the world¡¯s greatest military force were not to be wielded on one¡¯s own. ¡°Now, then.¡± She adjusted the position of the luggage hanging from her shoulder and she spoke. ¡°Did you know you can lose weight by eating meat?¡± ¡ªThanks. Volume 1, Afterword Volume 1, Afterword And here we have Clash of Hexennacht that I began in parallel with Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon. A straightforward magical girl story is unusual for me, but I must have had a good image of it in my head, because writing it was really easy. When I think about the old witch girls like Hana no Ko *n*n (not ¡°I¡± and ¡°ra¡±) or Magical E* (not ¡°ro¡±)[1], I can¡¯t help but think they must have been blasting at each other with magical attacks like this. I can really feel the Japanese love for big ships and giant guns in that thought process. Anyway, this project didn¡¯t come about by random chance. It¡¯s actually based on the plot I wrote for the manga version drawn by Tsurugi Yasuyuki-san. Tsurugi-san was burned out after finishing his last long serialization and had gotten married, so I found him at a certain event looking like a corpse and unable to come up with any ideas. I ended up offering to give him a plot to make a manga out of. Come to think of it, that kind of was by random chance. If you pick up the manga version, it should help Tsurugi-san raise his kid, so how about giving it a thought? You¡¯ll have a lot more motivation when carrying it up the register if you imagine that one volume might become a clasp on a backpack. And wow, this introduction has gotten heavy. Anyway, time for the usual chat. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what, so how about we talk about witch girls?¡± ¡°Non > Megu.¡± ¡°You¡¯re bringing up an anime from forty years ago? But it¡¯s true Non was a good wife who did everything she could behind the scenes and had a manly respect for one¡¯s duty.¡± ¡°She was a true rival. But something occurred to me when I was watching the reruns the other day. The family Megu lives with has their memories magically altered to make everything fit, but they get that done three times if you include when she leaves and comes back. If it was a cyberpunk story, she would¡¯ve fried their brains.¡± ¡°Witch girl anime from back in the day didn¡¯t hold back, did they?¡± After that, we continued discussing why Non is so great. Anyway, I was putting plenty of work into this, but my usual background music for that work was Kanno Yoko¡¯s Cyberbird. I love the sense of flight it gives you. And this time I was wondering who the biggest fool was. Next time will be another battle against a higher ranker, but that will probably be after Horizon and GT. Please wait a little longer. April 2015. A morning of continuing rain. -Kawakami Minoru Notes 1. ¡ü ¡±Inran¡± and ¡°Ero¡± mean ¡°lewd¡± and ¡°erotic¡± respectively. Volume 2, Prologue: So as to Never Forget This Summer Volume 2, Prologue: So as to Never Forget This Summer Praise wine for being old, But the flower of song for being new ¡ªPindar of Argos The world is connected through summer For witches, the summer meant either the beach or the mountains. Shihouin Academy was in the center of Tokyo Bay, so they were constantly surrounded by the ocean. That might make it sound like summer meant the beach for witches, but witches had their origin in Europe and their culture mostly blossomed in the mountains. ¡°After saying that much, I have to wonder. Is the history here the same as in my home world? Or did some weird magic girl pop in from an alternate wonderland to create the witch culture here? Or maybe witches came from Utsunomiya, the farthest north land my sister was familiar with.¡± A white-haired girl held a spell circle labeled ¡°Lecturer: Kagami Kagami¡±. She wore a two-piece swimsuit that resembled a sleeveless-style outfit and she faced forward without a drop of sweat on her. West of the beach was a small island with a lighthouse connected to the embankment with a bridge. In front of her, someone opened a spell circle in a beach chair shaded by a tarp. ¡°Horinouchi, Hunter. To be honest, I am very interested in this world, but¡­¡± ¡°Just to be clear, witch culture has its origins in a certain nomadic people¡¯s Greek-based nature worshipping beliefs that mixed with Middle Eastern culture in Eastern Europe and then spread throughout Europe.¡± Horinouchi wore a vermilion waterproof shirt over a similarly colored swimsuit and she had a few spell circles opened. Kagami frowned at what she said. ¡°Didn¡¯t the Black Witch create this world?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Hunter, who sat next to Horinouchi, lowered her head and slowly raised her right hand, but Kagami ignored her. The lecturer placed a hand on her chin. ¡°If the Black Witch created this world, then why does witch culture not have its origins in her?¡± ¡°Well¡­after creating this world, she left the world alone for a while¡­¡± ¡°She must have had trouble putting this world together and went off to write some other story. That¡¯s one of my sister¡¯s bad habits.¡± ¡°By the way, there¡¯s no proof for what Horinouchi said. In the middle ages, people started wondering why things were the way they were, the dark sages made some guesses, made guesses on top of those guesses, and ended up coming to that conclusion.¡± ¡°Sounds like the arguments for the existence of god.¡± ¡°I know,¡± replied Hunter. ¡°To be blunt, you¡¯d probably start a religious war if you start questioning that at school. There are some witch factions that were created from that debate, after all.¡± ¡°Yes, the witches with their origins in the middle ages are an incredibly massive group,¡± said Horinouchi. ¡°For example?¡± ¡°The Teutonic Order Eastern Branch Attack Force which is made up of knight-type witches like you, Kagami. There are also a few aerial knight-types in the Rankers, but their armor is really solid. I think that was the first time I used my Magino version on the witch herself. It was so refreshing to know I could fire at a person.¡± ¡°I know what you mean,¡± agreed Horinouchi. ¡°My techniques are derived from the Hussite Sisters Gunner Force and I remember shooting so many times. I remember dedicating three thousand shots below the temple¡¯s eaves, but after firing my secondary cannons until their Magino was destroyed, I realized I could have just used my main cannon. Then I noticed the witch herself was still there, so I finished it off with a blast from my main cannon. You mustn¡¯t hold back after all.¡± ¡°Neither of you think about what people say about you, do you?¡± commented Kagami. Hunter raised her hand. ¡°Where is Utsunomiya?¡± ¡°A fair bit north of here. It is a land of gyoza worship. I hear they have built a holy gyoza that many people worship every morning, so I assume there are gyoza witches there.¡± ¡°Just so you know, Utsunomiya was hit during Hexennacht ten years ago, so it¡¯s still being reconstructed.¡± ¡°Curse my sister! She did always narrow-mindedly insist Yokohama had the best gyoza!¡± ¡°In that case, is Yokohama guaranteed to be safe?¡± ¡°No, she was left half in tears there when she was served a frog at a legit Chinese restaurant, so you must not let your guard down.¡± ¡°The world was half-destroyed a decade ago over things like that?¡± ¡°Well, there would be more to it than that,¡± said Kagami. Horinouchi tilted her head. ¡°You said there were a lot of Kantou prefectures your sister didn¡¯t visit much, right?¡± ¡°Yes. She said something about not reaching Saitama because Harajuku acted as a breakwater, but getting there from our end of things was also difficult.¡± ¡°But the large concert hall in Oomiya was unharmed.¡± ¡°Oh, even as sickly as she was, she did go there once to see a live performance from a voice actor she liked.¡± ¡°W-wait! You mean she was mixing business and pleasure!?¡± Horinouchi opened a spell circle. ¡°Call your sister and have her end this violence! Do you know her number!?¡± ¡°Look, Hunter. Manko is asking the impossible.¡± ¡°I feel like the world would have trouble accepting it if that solved everything¡­¡± ¡°Anyway,¡± said Kagami. ¡°I see. It was a bit of a mystery, but this is probably a world my sister prepared in advance to write about later. And it has a lot of overlap with reality.¡± ¡°Reality? You mean your home? Does that overlap mean something?¡± ¡°It makes it easier to write. In other words, she could write a story there at any time. That is why she put it off until later and constructed more original worlds first. It is a common pattern once an author grows accustomed to writing. But she must have gotten tired of creating all those stories to destroy¡­¡± ¡°So she arrived at this older place?¡± ¡°The Black Witch created this world, but the moment of the Black Witch¡¯s ¡®return¡¯ would be when its history was made and the world began to move. Don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°How are we supposed to confirm that as residents of this world?¡± ¡°Once it began to move, the past was set in place. This world and what you see here, including the past, truly exist now. If there are any holes, they will be inspected and filled.¡± Kagami closed her spell circle. ¡°If I had time, I would have liked to travel overseas, but I think I can grasp the situation in the West using what Hunter can tell me. For the domestic situation, I can have you lecture me, Horinouchi.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you get by with newspapers and the news?¡± ¡°But you always grow angry when I ask ignorant questions.¡± ¡°¡­So you¡¯re studying in order to please me?¡± ¡°Then you will help me out there?¡± At that point, Hunter cut in while glaring at them. ¡°Wait. Am I being dragged into this?¡± ¡°The history of witches is a real pain, especially when focusing on the world at large,¡± said Horinouchi. ¡°Ugh,¡± groaned Hunter just as someone approached the tarp¡¯s shade from the beach side. The Horinouchi maid in glasses bowed. ¡°Milady, the targets have been set up out at sea. There are fifty of the auto-loading variety, so you may begin target practice at any time.¡± ¡°Understood. We¡¯ll use them right away. And once we¡¯re done¡­¡± Horinouchi stood up and turned around. There was another tarp set up on the beach and more maids and suit-wearing Koutarou were operating grills below it. ¡°You there! That fire is too weak! You¡¯re supposed to add in as much of a boost as you can for a roaring flame! What if it burns? If it¡¯s a little burnt, it makes for a nice summer memory! This isn¡¯t our kitchen! You there, that bell pepper is burning! Why would you let it burn!? Isn¡¯t that an insult to the person who raised it from a seed!? And that person was me! Eh!? You¡¯re a Mother Earth-type witch, so I need to apologize to the earth!? Do you hate me that much!? I¡¯m the head butler, you know!?¡± ¡°Horinouchi, Koutarou is being unreasonable.¡± ¡°He always is.¡± ¡°The maids get a little bit of relief with their skirts, but is he okay in that suit?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Horinouchi opened a sun-blocking spell over her head like a parasol and left their tarp. ¡°Either way, let¡¯s get to our training. ¡­The foothold spell is in place. We¡¯ll each supply our own magnification. The targets can move, so how do you want them?¡± ¡°I see,¡± said Kagami with a nod. She had grown fairly accustomed to her Device, but there was still a lot about it she did not understand. ¡°If the targets are moving, how far will the shots fly if I miss?¡± She summoned Dikaiosyne into her hand and Dikaio the dragon servant appeared on her shoulder. ¡­Heh heh heh. It¡¯s summer, but that blue color makes me think of cider. He¡¯s so cute. At any rate, she aimed out to sea and fired with her right hand. She had only summoned it to fire, so the Device immediately shattered into ether. ¡°I¡¯ve seen it a few times now, but it¡¯s strange how yours breaks once you¡¯re done with it.¡± ¡°Is that not how it works?¡± ¡°Normally it stays around for a bit because your willpower hasn¡¯t gone away.¡± One of the maids suddenly looked up. ¡°Ah.¡± She seemed to have notices something, so another maid placing meat on the rib rack also looked up into the sky. A bird of prey was flying through the blue sky, but when she looked toward it¡­ ¡°Lady Kagami¡¯s shot is about to hit!¡± ¡°Eh!?¡± Hunter was taken aback. She opened a spell circle and tapped it twice. ¡°All ships, defend!!¡± ¡°Wh-what is this about?¡± The first witch to notice held her hand out toward the ocean. ¡°Milady, on the count of three. Three, two, one¡­¡± Something like a white wall rose from the sea. The maid who had synchronized with the flying bird whistled. ¡°Lady Kagami, your shot landed two kilometers away, past the American fleet beyond the horizon!¡± ¡°Hm. So I missed it?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t try to hit it! And don¡¯t shoot at things hidden beyond the earth¡¯s curve!¡± ¡°That was nearly an international incident,¡± commented Horinouchi. ¡°But it wasn¡¯t! It was just decided it wasn¡¯t!¡± ¡°Calm down,¡± said Kagami. ¡°Don¡¯t you understand, Hunter?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t get mad, so just tell me.¡± She had permission, so she told her. ¡°To be blunt, I do not really know what my Device can do.¡± ¡°Ohh¡­ So you haven¡¯t taken any readings on its performance?¡± ¡°She¡¯s swinging it around like she knows what she¡¯s doing, but it¡¯s really a wild Device without any kind of readings taken or testing done. She¡¯s only authorized as a witch because her servant was registered.¡± ¡°In other words, I am a deadbeat living off of Dikaio here? ¡­Well done, you!¡± The dragon child withdrew a little but then blushed at the compliment. When Kagami saw the dragon shaking its head and unsure what to do, she looked back and saw the Suzaku on Horinouchi¡¯s shoulder. The Suzaku seemed to stick its tongue out at them, so was it really a bird? Horinouchi must have known it was being rude because she slapped the top of its head. ¡°Sorry about that. Suzaku is just really shy.¡± ¡°Japan sure has a strange culture concerning small animals,¡± said Hunter as she watched Dikaiosyne¡¯s scattering ether light. ¡°That seems like a real shame, but does it mean the school still sees you as a stray witch?¡± ¡°Wild, ain¡¯t I?¡± ¡°They¡¯re leaving her alone, but only because they think they can use her yet interfering probably wouldn¡¯t end well.¡± As Horinouchi spoke, Hunter opened a few spell circles. ¡°If American-style is fine, I can run some tests for you.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t that mean the information will be sent straight to the American military?¡± ¡°It¡¯s shared through U.A.H. anyway, right? And taking specialized readings is our specialty. It¡¯s kind of fun, so how about you do it too, Horinouchi?¡± ¡°M-me too?¡± ¡°I see.¡± Kagami smiled a little. ¡°This is because the American military will be providing us backup too, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°We¡¯re just taking some readings is all. ¡­But I do wonder. You wouldn¡¯t be able to use the swing-by, but I think you could get some GPS help through me. Oh, but only when I¡¯m awake.¡± ¡°W-wait,¡± cut in Horinouchi. ¡°You¡¯ll need to negotiate with Japan if you¡¯re including me in that¡­¡± ¡°When it comes to Black Witch countermeasures, on-site decisions are more important than international negotiations.¡± Hunter said that with a look of exasperation and Kagami could only smile bitterly. ¡°Horinouchi is a Japanese spell attack soldier and I take it Hunter would be the American equivalent. I assume your positions are determined using the Ranker system in order to sidestep a lot of those difficulties, but what role does international law play into your interactions beyond that?¡± ¡°In Japan, the Imperial Household Agency tends to take the leading role.¡± ¡°And who is the representative of the Imperial Household Agency?¡± ¡°The main representative is the imperial family. Then me. Although I only hold the position in order to take part in the Ranker battles, so the leaders of the Horinouchi family do all the actual work. The headmaster was invited in as a special advisor. Another of the Three Sages was also invited and they¡¯re the U.A.H. representative.¡± The older of the maids bowed Horinouchi¡¯s way. ¡°I see. So you have most of the connections in place. But in that case¡­¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Horinouchi gave a look of resignation. ¡°U.A.H.¡¯s foreign issues are handled by the Three Sages.¡± ¡°I act as a middleman there.¡± Koutarou raised a hand while holding tongs, but it almost seemed like he would be in danger if he did not emphasize his contribution. But in that case, Kagami only needed to open a spell circle and make a call. ¡°Lady Headmaster, Horinouchi and I would like to establish a military relationship with Hunter. Do we have your permission?¡± ¡°Oh, my! It isn¡¯t often that Miss Horinouchi is so open about these things! You have permission.¡± ¡°Kagamiiiii!! A-and you too, headmaster!?¡± ¡°Horinouchi, you need to focus on the end result more than how we got there.¡± Everyone glared at Koutarou who was currently focused on the end result of all the flames. Horinouchi did not like Kagami¡¯s choice, but it was too late now. Also¡­ ¡°You¡¯ve said a lot about me, but it isn¡¯t like I don¡¯t have any friends, you know?¡± ¡°Horinouchi, you don¡¯t need to force yourself¡­¡± ¡°I-I am not. Everyone in my class is a witch and we all have special powers, so it isn¡¯t like I stand out or anything.¡± ¡°Ohh,¡± said Hunter. ¡°Through elementary school, schools are generally coed. But the gap between the spells girls and boys can use grows more obvious as the years pass, so it can be tough.¡± Girl¡¯s spells were active and boy¡¯s spells were passive. For a girl, their budding abilities appeared as power, so they would go nuts when they first started learning spells but would soon calm down. That was due to the fear they gained of their own power. There were some groups or individuals that decided to almost entirely seal away their power as a witch. But boys had passive spells which gave them constant physical abilities that began as a sturdy body. That meant the boys looked stronger during everyday life and the elementary school boys had a tendency to move out ahead. ¡°Yeah. On parents¡¯ day, someone¡¯s mother laughed and told her husband he used to be like that too, but that made it clear that the power balance had reversed since then.¡± ¡°Horinouchi, are you saying that does not occur between girls?¡± ¡°Yes, I am. Active witches don¡¯t need to hold back around each other.¡± ¡°Who has the most destructive power in the General Division?¡± ¡°I am at the top.¡± ¡°What about accuracy?¡± ¡°That too is m-me.¡± ¡°And speed?¡± ¡°S-Suzaku is quite fast.¡± ¡°I bet you¡¯re the only one that thinks you¡¯re friends with anyone,¡± said Hunter. ¡°Do they all speak to you really politely?¡± Horinouchi had been beaten. She also saw Hunter whispering something to Kagami. ¡°She¡¯s at the top of the General Division because she¡¯s beaten the rest of them down that far.¡± ¡°What about you, Hunter?¡± ¡°We do a lot of joint development, so we started out using a group system.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Kagami and Hunter looked back toward Horinouchi. ¡°Horinouchi, I think you should avoid shooting people so much.¡± ¡°H-hold it! Don¡¯t treat me like I¡¯m some dangerous person!¡± After saying that, she realized something, so she clapped her hands together and pointed out the delightful fact. ¡°The armor! It would be faster to list the people worse than my Akerindou when it comes to armor! Well, I guess everyone has their flaws. This means I¡¯m perfectly normal. Heh heh heh.¡± ¡°Then the weak armor would be the small flaw that makes her adorable,¡± said Hunter. ¡°What does that make her power, speed, and accuracy?¡± ¡°Failings as a human being?¡± ¡°A-again! Don¡¯t link my abilities to my personality!¡± The maid managing the targets out at sea silently drank some water while thinking Horinouchi was in trouble. Hunter found the beach surprisingly nostalgic. Her father had died partway through elementary school, but there had been so many extra rooms on the American base that she had continued living in their house with a housekeeper coming by every so often. She had been worried about safety, but the base¡¯s witches had patrolled the area and they had been worried about the children who had been orphaned or lost a parent like she had. They had often asked ¡°Trick or treat!?¡± from the sky. If she had needed laundry or cleaning done, she had asked for a ¡°trick¡±. If she had been low on food, she had only needed to ask for a ¡°treat¡±. It was the beginning of her second year in middle school that she had finally managed to accept that her father was not coming back. She had always been powerful, but that was when her abilities had really jumped up. ¡­A witch¡¯s secondary sex characteristics are a real pain. She had been a physical-style witch until then, so she had assumed she would develop in a more elegant direction once she grew up. However, she had only grown more physical. Maybe it was due to eating all that meat. Her rank on the base had risen rapidly, so the military had started experimentally supporting her Magino Frame. After that, her rank in America had started climbing. All the while, her surroundings had been quite lively. But it was true there had been a period when there had not been many people around her. It had only been the witches who would descend from the sky to ask her the same question or the few students still in the elementary and middle schools. Her father was not here and her surroundings had grown a lot busier since then, but¡­ ¡°Eating lunch with two or three acquaintances, hm? This takes me back.¡± ¡°The Special Equipment Division never sleeps, does it?¡± ¡°Neither did the base. Or the ships.¡± She knew her current surroundings were important, but she still remembered that short period after losing so much. Those who had remained had avoided saying so, but¡­ ¡­I don¡¯t know if you call those things important, something you don¡¯t want to lose, or whatever else. She knew how fragile a normal life that allowed for abnormal socialization was. She wondered if these two knew, but that was a different issue. Given Kagami¡¯s history, she had likely had a harder time than Hunter. Maybe. So instead of spreading her own idiocy¡­ ¡°Okay, how about we get started?¡± She summoned her own Device, but¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s go without the Form. Not because it would be too hot, but to make sure you can make that kind of adjustment.¡± Summoning just the Device was easy for Kagami. With her craft-style and her unique ability in this world, she could directly manipulate ether. She only needed the necessary amount of ether and she always produced the Device weapon and Form armor separately. But¡­ ¡°The witches of this world construct the engines when summoning, but that is because it is easier to construct the Device and Form using the power of those engines, right? Or rather, it has been optimized in that way.¡± ¡°Right. So summoning just the Device or just the Form is pretty wasteful. But at our level¡­¡± As Hunter explained, Horinouchi summoned Akerindou. However¡­ ¡°That was pretty slow, Horinouchi.¡± ¡°You¡¯re balancing the engines too cleanly,¡± said Hunter. ¡°Can¡¯t you be a little rougher than that?¡± Horinouchi shook her head. ¡°It isn¡¯t easy stabilizing the engines with the armor this light.¡± ¡°Due to that extra weight you have there?¡± ¡°This girl¡­¡± Horinouchi glared at Kagami. ¡°When sending the ether in to power it, it can end up floating away if the ether density is too low.¡± ¡°Oh, that doesn¡¯t affect me and Kagami¡¯s is pretty heavy as a Holy Knight.¡± ¡°Right. Hunter, you do a good job creating the acceleration system and you use that swing-by method. But Kagami, it¡¯s a mystery how you can keep up with me using such a heavy Device.¡± ¡°Tell me to come with you and I will follow you wherever you might go. ¡­Hello, I am Kagami Kagami and I am currently right behind you.¡± ¡°Are you forgetting the part where you were standing in front of my house?¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t have you running away, could I?¡± Kagami rested Dikaiosyne on her right shoulder. ¡°Anyway, where is the target?¡± ¡°Out at sea. ¡­Um, on Hunter¡¯s instructions, it¡¯s four kilometers out.¡± ¡°I see.¡± That number made sense to Kagami, but Horinouchi tilted her head. ¡°But why that far away? The U.A.H. standard is a kilometer and a half.¡± ¡°That standard is probably set to the bare minimum so the male members can use it for target practice with their guns. Now¡­¡± Hunter raised the corner of her mouth to press Kagami to answer, so she did so. ¡°Hunter¡¯s four kilometers is to correct for the curvature of the earth, isn¡¯t it?¡± Kagami explained her reasoning. ¡°Since the earth is round, the greater the distance between you and your enemy, the more they disappear behind the curve.¡± ¡°Kagami¡­ You don¡¯t need to sink down below my breasts while gesturing, ¡®Like this. Like this, see?¡¯.¡± ¡°My apologies! I thought that would make it easier for you to understand. ¡­It is hard to picture when you are used to firing your Normal Device from visible range or firing your Magino Frame at extreme high altitude, but outside those two circumstances, the earth itself becomes an obstacle. Take Hunter from the other day for example.¡± ¡°When I can monitor my opponent with the satellites, I can fire at them without worrying about them firing back.¡± Hunter smiled and pointed out to sea. ¡°From a visual height of a meter and a half, you can see a little over four kilometers away. The Form¡¯s heels raise your visual height to about two meters and that lets you see to a little over five kilometers away, but we¡¯re going Formless right now.¡± ¡°Well, we can do that conversion in our head. ¡­In other words, that distance is America U.A.H.F.¡¯s estimated limit of our effective visual range?¡± ¡°Right. If we can respond to anything at that range, then the challenge for a close-range fighter is how to fill that five kilometer gap. ¡­That¡¯s the absolute distance according to the US.¡± ¡°I see. And that is why you use that swing-by for so much speed.¡± ¡°No other organization can use surveillance satellites or anything equivalent, so that is a troublesome ability.¡± ¡°You two are the crazy ones for beating me.¡± Hunter glared at them, so Kagami had to wonder if that was true. But¡­ ¡°Looking at it now, four kilometers is a surprisingly long distance.¡± ¡°You can only see the top half of the target, right?¡± Once Hunter mentioned it, Kagami realized it was even worse than that. ¡°There are waves out at sea, so it is rising and falling a good bit.¡± ¡°Lady Kagami, shall we stop the waves for you!?¡± ¡°Koutarou, limit your overprotectiveness to Horinouchi.¡± ¡°The amplitude is actually easier to read out at sea, right?¡± said Hunter. ¡°Oh, and shoot without holding it.¡± ¡°Without holding it?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Hunter nodded and removed her Device from her arm. ¡­It is not falling? ¡°The acceleration system uses a flight spell divine protection, so it can fly through the sky just by existing. Your Device should be the same since you based it on Horinouchi¡¯s. The rest is simple. You control it like it¡¯s the Magino instead of the Normal.¡± Hunter gently swung both hands and the Device rose into the air. Horinouchi did the same and hers looked more stable. Then it was Kagami¡¯s turn. ¡°Like this?¡± When she tried, it rose a little too far, so she lowered it as if holding down someone¡¯s head. ¡°The front of yours is light,¡± said Hunter, so that must have been the case. Then Hunter¡¯s explanation continued. ¡°When firing, you can see from the front of the cannon using the firing spell circle. Just think of it as using the Magino Device¡¯s targeting spell while still in Normal mode. Horinouchi, you fire yours with a bow-style, so you target with visual magnification, right? That feels more accurate, but when you have your feet on the ground, it¡¯s best to have your point of view as high as possible. So at times like this, raise it up a little.¡± ¡°I see,¡± said Kagami. ¡°It is true the targeting is matched to the front of the cannon when firing the Magino Device.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure Horinouchi is already doing it, but you should set it so you can see all the important points of your Device when in Magino mode. You couldn¡¯t react when I jumped onto yours, remember? You would have seen me if you were monitoring it from a little higher up.¡± ¡°Akerindou also has viewpoints pointing outwards, but it doesn¡¯t have any looking back toward itself.¡± ¡°So go like this.¡± Hunter opened spell circles around herself. They surrounded her like a forward-facing spindle. ¡°It won¡¯t cover all 360 degrees, but it leaves no blind spots above, below, left, right, in front, or behind.¡± ¡°You create additional viewpoints in Normal mode too? For more than targeting?¡± ¡°In close-quarters combat, having a rearview mirror and side mirrors is pretty convenient. Turning your head just to see where your opponent is can mess up your stance.¡± ¡°I see,¡± said Kagami for the umpteenth time that day. ¡­This is a very interesting world. The weapons were more than just weapons. They included combat support devices. Also, all the functionality of a battleship had been gathered together and placed inside a handheld weapon. ¡°So these are more than mere weapons that provide destructive power and mobility. They are also physical and sensory support devices.¡± ¡°Most of the focus is on sensory support. Some witches will even use their servant or a detachable drone. Also¡­¡± ¡°W-wait a minute,¡± said Horinouchi while displaying a diagram of Akerindou. ¡°I know this is supposed to be a training camp, but aren¡¯t you going over a little too much material at once?¡± ¡°Horinouchi, are you worried for me?¡± asked Kagami. ¡°No, Horinouchi¡¯s frame is just really detailed, so even a small change has to be a big deal. Let¡¯s go over each of the parts and see what possibilities we can find.¡± That also seemed like too much at this point, but Kagami decided to allow it. Koutarou was on edge. The maids were as well. They were watching Horinouchi, Kagami, and Hunter standing on the beach with their Normal Device floating in the air, but¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± Every time the three made a move, Koutarou and the maids prepared to applaud. ¡°¡­¡± But when they saw the girls open another spell circle and begin a lecture on Frames, they stopped moving. It was most noticeable in the young maids, but they all had a dangerous level of tension in their shoulders. When Hunter pointed out to sea and the three girls simultaneously opened spell circles, everyone prepared to applaud once more. ¡°Well-¡­!¡± One of the young maids nearly jumped the gun on her ¡°Well done, milady!¡±, so one of the older maids teleported over and chopped the back of her neck to knock her out. The witch managing the sea targets stood a little back and to the right of the girls, but she looked back and gave the hand signal for ¡°safe¡±. Everyone sighed. ¡°That was a close one.¡± ¡°The younger ones view Lady Mitsuru like a little sister.¡± Hunter must have heard the maid collapsing from the chop to the neck because she turned around. ¡°Something the matter?¡± ¡°Yes, a maid was so focused on grilling the meat she came down with heatstroke!¡± ¡°Heh heh. It really has been a long time since we¡¯ve done anything like this outside,¡± said Horinouchi. Everyone smiled back as if to say, ¡°Indeed it has.¡± When Horinouchi looked back out to sea, one of the maids spoke up. ¡°The heatstroke may have been a lie, but doesn¡¯t Lady Mitsuru¡¯s nostalgic reaction seem a little too cool for something as serious as heatstroke?¡± ¡°It has been a long time, so she merely spoke the truth. I think she simply trusts in our nursing ability.¡± ¡°True.¡± They looked back to the collapsed maid being carried below the tarp. A maid skilled in freezing spells was waiting with a bucket made of frozen beach sand that was being used to hold the meat and other perishables. She let out a white breath and spoke. ¡°If we shove her in this, it should look like we¡¯re doing something.¡± ¡°Yes, convincing Lady Mitsuru matters more than actually nursing anyone back to health.¡± ¡°I need to make sure I never come down with heatstroke¡­¡± Witches are scary, thought Koutarou, but the three girls still had not fired. Once again, their spell circles suddenly vanished. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± Just as everyone prepared to clap, Horinouchi slammed her fist into Kagami. The maids tilted their heads with sweat dripping from their chins. ¡°What was that?¡± ¡°You couldn¡¯t tell?¡± asked Koutarou. ¡°Lady Kagami called her Manko.¡± All of the maids gave him a look of scorn. Finally, the Head Maid smiled his way and placed a hand by her ear. ¡°Oh? What was that, Head Butler? Would you mind telling us what you said?¡± ¡°Either speak politely or interrogate me, but don¡¯t try to do both!¡± ¡°Just so you know, I was the witch in charge of that latter job back in the former West Germany.¡± Koutarou had heard before that she had lost badly to Horinouchi¡¯s mother. ¡­She may be older than me, but my position is higher! I outrank her! But then the maid grilling meat three grills over turned toward them. ¡°Head Maid, Head Butler, may I make a bold request?¡± ¡°What is it?¡¯ ¡°Can we do our work in swimsuits like Lady Mitsuru and the others?¡± ¡°Oh?¡± The Head Maid smiled a little. ¡°The Head Butler is working in his suit, so as his subordinates, we couldn¡¯t possibly do that. Isn¡¯t that right, Head Butler?¡± He had a feeling the look in her eyes was saying, ¡°I accidentally only brought a really skimpy swimsuit today, so if you agree to that request, I¡¯ll pull your teeth out¡±, so he decided to nod. ¡°Oh.¡± Then three cannon blasts rang from the beach. Everyone immediately spoke up without checking on the results. ¡°Well done, milady!!¡± Horinouchi realized something just as they fired. It was concerning Kagami next to her. ¡°Kagami, do you have any blast protection?¡± That was a divine protection generally included in the Form, but at the Ranker level, attacks produced great pressure. Devices were required to have externally-directed divine protections to keep the blast from damaging the people and objects around them. They could only fire their Devices without the Form because they were protected by those externally-directed divine protections. ¡­But did Kagami¡¯s Dikai-whatever have that? She had been firing blanks at first, but she had only fired it with her Form since remaking it. Curious, Horinouchi looked over and saw Hunter looking back from the other direction. Kagami was missing. I knew it, thought Horinouchi as she looked back. ¡°That was rather exciting.¡± Kagami¡¯s voice came from several dozen meters back. Sword in hand, she stood on top of the tarp covering Koutarou and the others. She fixed the swimsuit that had been shifted out of place by the blast, peered down below, bowed toward the maids, and jumped down. ¡°I still cannot tell where this Device is more flexible and where it is not.¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s a weapon, but individuals tend to make a lot of adjustments to theirs.¡± As soon as she landed on the beach, Kagami pointed her large sword toward the other two girls. ¡°Toh.¡± Then she flew forward with the sword held below her arm. She did not run or jump. She literally flew. ¡°Did you put a thruster in your sword!?¡± Kagami¡¯s sword had not had its own acceleration system. ¡°By linking the blasts together, I can use the power of the blanks to fly. It is only a short jump, but I probably could truly fly if I used an acceleration spell instead.¡± ¡°That will seal off your mobility when you¡¯re firing, so be careful.¡± By the time Horinouchi nodded in agreement with Hunter, Kagami had landed next to them. She placed a hand on her chin in thought. ¡°With my method of direct creation, I actually have to remake Dikaiosyne from the ground up every single time. Even if I try to add in those divine protections, I will not be able to remember them all.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ That¡¯s right. We just place the designs in the spell circle console, so the parts and divine protections are added in as we control the ether. In other words, once the designs are made, we only have to control the fuel used to construct it.¡± But Kagami¡¯s craft-style did not require any fuel control and it had no concept of premade designs, so she had to rely on her memories and instincts to build it up from scratch. ¡°Kagami¡­ You don¡¯t care much for details, do you?¡± Directly manipulating ether to construct objects without a ceremony was pretty much the work of a god. But¡­ ¡°Not even a god can create a fighter jet without designs. I would not be able to construct my Device without the knowledge of power systems and firing systems I gained from my experiences in the previous worlds I traveled through. I can increase the armor or power, but I am currently lacking when it comes to detailed divine protections or control systems.¡± ¡°That would explain why you were shooting so wildly¡­¡± said Horinouchi. ¡°I¡¯m starting to feel like I shouldn¡¯t have gotten so serious about fighting you¡­¡± said Hunter. They had both lost to her, so they both understood what it was like. But¡­ ¡°What do you do when you need a divine protection, Kagami?¡± ¡°In fact, do you have some notes listing what you need to put in that big sword?¡± ¡°I have confidence in my memory. But anyway¡­¡± She swung her sword and ether light scattered. ¡­She¡¯s remaking it, isn¡¯t she? Being able to do that instantly was a major strength of the craft-style. She swung the sword a few more times. ¡°There. ¡­No designs and no ceremony. If instantaneous construction is my way, then I only have to remake Dikaiosyne to suit my current needs. Dikaiosyne is a simple weapon. It only has the sword, the cannon, the armor, and the acceleration system. So in battle, I can add on the necessary components in stages.¡± She seemed to be speaking to herself more than anyone and then she fired diagonally up into the sky. ¡°On top of that, maybe I should make recipes for a few different versions. Anti-air, anti-ground, etc.¡± The blast rang loudly, but something was different from before. ¡°That should do it.¡± A wind full of ether light dust whipped around her, but she herself was unaffected. ¡°Did you make it recoilless?¡± ¡°Yes, but I also altered the effective range of the armor spells into a net shape that allows the blast to pass through and disperse. I had already done so with the back end of the Magino Device¡¯s cannon, but I decided I should probably do the same with the Normal one as well,¡± she explained. ¡°And with that, I think we can get down to some proper training.¡± ¡°For being high Rankers, we don¡¯t have much of a common understanding on anything.¡± Hunter smiled bitterly. ¡°I think that means we all still have a lot to teach each other.¡± Volume 2, 1: Look Into the Sky Volume 2, Chapter 1: Look Into the Sky Does passion come from boredom? Does busyness come from passion? As the target practice began, the maids heard a noise they were quite familiar with. Most of them were graduates of Shihouin Academy. Since Hexennacht came once every ten years, the academy had no exact graduation system. Due to the Ranker system, the witches would continue on as Rankers even after completing their studies. But ten years was a very long time. It may have seemed short in hindsight, but that was only because it was so densely packed. Once their skills had advanced and they gained the talent to match their age, they were able to view themselves more objectively. And¡­ ¡°We thought we could produce the most powerful witch if we passed on and combined all of our skills,¡± said the Head Maid. The eyes behind her glasses were of course directed toward Horinouchi. But¡­ ¡°Needless to say, other countries and organizations were thinking the same thing and many of them retired during the past ten years. The promising individuals were worn down and realized the innocent latest generation that took those skills for granted had a better chance at victory, so they cleared the way for that younger generation.¡± ¡°Do you think the next Hexennacht will be the decisive one?¡± ¡°When faced with the power of Lady Mitsuru¡¯s mother ten years ago, the Black Witch showed her true power for the very first time.¡± Meaning¡­ ¡°She forcibly removed the sealing barrier. We had always assumed she was sealed, but she had simply wanted to avoid dealing with an endless supply of challengers. So when we were close to actually reaching her, she stripped off her bonds and fought back. And as a result¡­the world was half-destroyed. Well, maybe not that much, but we were taught a serious lesson,¡± she said. ¡°So there is a possibility the Black Witch will forcibly remove the seal from the very beginning next Hexennacht.¡± ¡°What will happen to the Ranker system then? Oh, please turn over that meat.¡± ¡°It is not cooked yet. Lady Mitsuru prefers it at least medium. ¡­The Ranker system means nothing to the Black Witch. But we will of course strengthen the seal and the top-ranked witch will be at the center of that. I would guess the other witches will be prepared to intercept a similar disaster to ten years ago.¡± ¡°I see. And was there any reason to tell me that?¡± ¡°That is something I only want to tell people who have no reason to hear it,¡± explained the Head Maid. ¡°After all, Lady Mitsuru¡¯s strength has unfortunately yet to reach that of her mother.¡± ¡°I am aware of that. But what do you think about all this?¡± The Head Butler started to the flip over the meat in front of the Head Maid, but she deflected the tongs. After a few clashes of metal, she continued speaking. ¡°I think it is headed in a good direction. ¡­Lady Mitsuru¡¯s mother also had friends.¡± ¡°The Three Sages. ¡­I believe you originally served one of them.¡± ¡°A lot of time has passed since ten years ago.¡± She held the Head Butler¡¯s tongs down with her own. ¡°We are here in the hope of creating the strongest witch who has inherited everything we had. But even everything we had is not enough. The world is a large place and there are countless countries and organizations. However, those may have arrived here in the ¡®present¡¯.¡± Listen. ¡°There is one thing we eventually hope to say: ¡®Well done, milady. You have surpassed your mother.¡¯ We see some hope of that here and that is why every last one of the maids sees meaning in this outing. So please do not try to serve her rare meat, Head Butler. ¡­I will burn you.¡± The maid in charge of the targets blew a whistle. There had been enough for a total of fifty shots. Hunter received the hit statistics from her and said ¡°thanks¡±. The maid smiled, so she may have been a Western witch despite looking Japanese. At any rate, the data included Horinouchi¡¯s and Kagami¡¯s, but¡­ ¡°Hmm. Kagami, hold on.¡± Hunter had thirty-two clean hits, fifteen partial hits, and three grazes. She had not missed even once. Horinouchi¡¯s results were a little strange. For some reason, forty-seven of them were labeled ¡°Success¡±. Three were partial hits. ¡­Is this who I was fighting? She had about a 95% rate of lethal hits and even her fumbles were considered partial hits. That meant she never did not hit. ¡­She shoots entire volleys like this, so I¡¯m glad I didn¡¯t just try to dodge. If they were definitely going to hit, dodging was a waste of effort. It was better to actively let them hit. She had done that on the spur of the moment the other day, but she was starting to realize that had been the right decision. Then again, Hunter also fired scatter-shot rounds. By having her shots scatter at a certain distance and then converge again, she could confuse her opponent and also lower the ultimate scattering effect. She had chosen that technique here because she was firing on practice targets, so it was also a tactical victory. ¡°Y¡¯know, I thought I¡¯d get to see what you were good at or not and how you would handle something like this.¡± Kagami¡¯s results were incredible. ¡°Out of fifty shots, you got twelve clean hits, and twenty-three partial hits. You missed all of the others, but how did that happen?¡± ¡°Good question,¡± added Horinouchi. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just keep firing without forcing yourself? And how could you miss with that long barrel?¡± Kagami brought a hand to her chin and smiled a little. ¡°Well, the ballistic course did not fall as much as I expected.¡± ¡°Fall?¡± ¡°Yes. With mysterious weapons like these, that kind of effect is generally enhanced to increase the realism, so I assumed that would be the case here.¡± Kagami looked out to sea and tilted her head. ¡°After trying it out a few ways, I realized the ballistic path is a lot more normal than I would have thought. In fact, it almost seems too smooth. I had not noticed before, though.¡± ¡°You mean¡­?¡± ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve heard someone blame their misses on ¡®how the world is made¡¯,¡± said Horinouchi. Hunter had to agree, but once she thought about it¡­ ¡­The path of ether projectiles in immobile ether is generally different from the normal physical laws, so you generally just give up on calculating that out. That was supposedly because each spell bent the physical laws in a different way. But Kagami¡¯s spell was a primitive one that did not use a ceremony. According to Horinouchi¡­ ¡°You might be hoping for a pure calculation of an ether projectile¡¯s trajectory.¡± ¡°That¡¯s Kagami¡¯s ¡®stray¡¯ side coming into play, isn¡¯t it?¡± It felt like having a god standing next to you, which was more exasperating than strange. But they had their results. There were certain tendencies to when Horinouchi ¡°missed¡± and the angles of Hunter¡¯s convergence and scattering could use further investigation. So for the time being¡­ ¡°Well, let¡¯s take a quick break. I¡¯ve got a decent grasp on your Normal Devices now and I¡¯m sure Kagami¡¯s running low on fuel.¡± ¡°Well, yes. Japan is in the middle of summer break at the moment. Our girls are nearly shut-ins, but Miss Mitsuru and the others went to the beach. Ahh, I want a vacation too. Yes, a maid from Mitsuyo¡¯s place dropped off the seeds inside a cooler earlier. Koutarou is apparently going to the beach too.¡± A voice filled the sunny headmaster¡¯s office. The person making light gestures and turning around as she spoke was of course the headmaster. She narrowed her eyes as she spoke into the communication spell circle. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re busy too. I¡¯m betting you thought American Representative Hunter was the better bet, after all.¡± She nodded at the response and laughed. She moved over to the window, sat on the windowsill, and finally sighed. Then she laughed again. ¡°That¡¯s right. You had never lived anywhere with the ocean so close by. Do you remember Shonan?¡± She laughed much harder this time. She held her stomach and wiped the tears from her eyes. ¡°Yes, we were three women leaving their husbands at home. Mitsuyo really did like visiting different places to show you around.¡± After all¡­ ¡°Mitsuyo apparently didn¡¯t like going out much. Her husband told me. She would at best visit shrines, so he was curious how she could show us around like she knew what she was talking about.¡± ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± An exasperated voice arrived from beyond the transmission. The headmaster replied while looking to the academy visible outside the window. ¡°That isn¡¯t possible,¡± she said. ¡°I too am allowing a flower to bloom. A very important flower that is separate from the reconstruction of the Kantou region. ¡­I do have my pride as one of those involved. Yes¡­¡± She smiled and spoke into the spell circle. ¡°If you have any thoughts on this, then come meet them, Lisbeth. I, Cerisier Shihouin, may be no replacement for Mitsuyo, but I will show you around.¡± Yes. ¡°I will show you the current cutting-edge and upper limits of witches. Yes, if you¡¯re going to come, do it at the beginning of fall. You¡¯re making some corrections at the American mainland right now, aren¡¯t you? Wait until you¡¯re done with that. I¡¯m sure those girls will be delighted. Those children are honing themselves while training like we once did. The autumn flowers are sure to be quite beautiful by then.¡± Autumn is a long way off, thought Horinouchi with a sigh as she used a towel to wipe off the sweat below her sunblock divine protection. The three of them were drinking some water below a parasol. It was time for lunch to be served and they were all drinking from their water bottles with their servants on their heads, but Kagami suddenly looked over. The silhouette of Enoshima was visible to the west. ¡°It looks like Enoshima was not destroyed. How kind of my sister.¡± ¡°Is that how it works?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Kagami formed a smile on her lips. ¡°My sister handled more of the writing. And if you are putting a location you know in a story, would you destroy it or preserve it?¡± I¡¯m not sure, thought Horinouchi, but this was not a test and she did not have to worry too much about her answer. Hunter clasped her hands behind her head and gave her answer. ¡°Before I knew anything about Hexennacht, I bet I would have destroyed it.¡± ¡°You sound sure of yourself.¡± ¡°Well, destroying somewhere you¡¯re familiar with has more impact, you know? I bet any beginner writer wants to do that.¡± ¡°Are you a writer too, Hunter?¡± asked Kagami. ¡°No, I¡¯m not really interested in that,¡± she said. ¡°But before Hexennacht ten years ago, American movies always had the US nearly destroyed by zombies, a natural disaster, or some evil organization. Until ten years ago, the US was something of a safe zone.¡± ¡°In that case,¡± said Horinouchi. A sudden thought had occurred to her and she tilted her head while sweeping her gaze from Enoshima to the Atami region. ¡°Does that make the Black Witch relatively peaceful?¡± ¡°Perhaps so,¡± replied Kagami while crossing her arms. ¡°We lived in northern Yokohama, but do you think my sickly sister longed to visit this area?¡± ¡°How are we supposed to answer that?¡± Only after asking did Horinouchi realize that was meant to be rhetorical. ¡­What a complicated person. She had expressed her intent to punish her sister, yet she also expressed an understanding of that sister. How many days¡­no, months and years would she have had to pursue her sister to view it like that? ¡°Kagami.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Have you visited your home in this world?¡± ¡°Yes¡­I have. I appeared right in front of it when I arrived here.¡± ¡°Really?¡± asked Hunter, looking a little taken aback. In Kagami¡¯s blind spot, Koutarou was gesturing if he should record this, but the Suzaku slowly shook its head on top of Horinouchi¡¯s shoulder. ¡­I guess that means it has a head. She had a feeling she had seen that several times in the past, but she also had a feeling this was her first time noticing it. At any rate, Kagami began speaking while staring toward Yokohama in the distance. ¡°There was a hole there. It all started when I decided to go to the police and ask what had happened.¡± ¡°You seem rather accustomed to that sort of thing¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m guessing it was supposedly destroyed ten years ago.¡± ¡°This is kind of strange,¡± said Hunter. ¡°If you¡¯d come here ten years before, you might have seen the house that might have been there. But if your sister is writing this story as ¡®ten years afterwards¡¯, then¡­¡± ¡°Most likely, this is the only time I could appear in. This world is ruled by the world creation divine protection that my sister and I created, so you cannot move any further back than Page 1.¡± She sounded like she had personally experienced that a few times. Horinouchi thought she understood but also thought they needed to investigate a few things. ¡°In that case, when did our world begin?¡± ¡°The beginning would be this time period of ¡®ten years afterwards¡¯, but the world born there will fill in the gaps to explain why it and those inside it exist. If it all seems consistent, then either my sister was just that skilled, my guidance was that effective, or¡­¡± Kagami smiled toward Horinouchi and Hunter. ¡°The people of this world managed to determine their own past apart from the two of us.¡± ¡°Oh, you mean like how authors will say the characters in a story start doing things on their own?¡± asked Hunter. I¡¯m not so sure about that, thought Horinouchi. Kagami opened her mouth and licked her lips after removing the water bottle¡¯s straw from them. ¡°I thank you.¡± ¡°Once again, I have no idea why you¡¯re thanking me.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She smiled. ¡°I hope you will eventually understand, Horinouchi. You too, Hunter.¡± Horinouchi could only agree with the self-proclaimed god, but then Hunter raised her right hand. ¡°Um, Horinouchi, can you step out into the sun and wave to the left?¡± ¡°What?¡± She was confused because the ocean was to the left. ¡­Is there someone there? She stepped out from below the parasol and did as she was instructed, but it was more to answer her question than anything. ¡­Over there? She tried waving. ¡°Higher than that.¡± ¡°Are they far away?¡± She leaned back and more raised her hand than waved. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± A great roar passed by in the sky to the north. It was an airplane. It had a somewhat diamond-like silhouette and Koutarou immediately ran out. ¡°Is that an American U.A.H.F. F-23!?¡± Horinouchi was familiar with American fighters because some of her witch work involved the American military. However, things like fighters generally acted as the rear guard during training. After all, the only time they would be sent out with witches would be Hexennacht. But one was flying through the sky now. ¡°You know what that is, Koutarou!?¡± ¡°Yes. American U.A.H.F. is probably using it for period observations of the moon from the earth. But its orientation is a little odd.¡± Sure enough, the aircraft was flying upside down. Its wings were shaped like flat isosceles triangles and they had spell emblems on them. Quite a few of what looked like targeting spells were opened on the back end of the aircraft. ¡°Yeah.¡± Hunter pointed her right thumb up toward it. ¡°After that last battle, you¡¯ve gotten really popular, Horinouchi. You¡¯re known as the Ginger Shrine Maiden. They said they wanted to take some pictures of you, so they had the moon observer fly by.¡± ¡°Was it flying upside down to get pictures of the earth?¡± asked Kagami. ¡°No, they take pictures of the moon reflected in the ocean. But they came here since Horinouchi is in a swimsuit. They said something about working hard to get the settings right for some extreme macro photography. The distance they¡¯re focusing on is completely different after all.¡± ¡°Y-you could at least warn me in advance.¡± ¡°If she had, would you have let them take the photo?¡± She could not answer that question. Besides, who would let them? But¡­ ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry. Everyone in our unit is pretty West Coast.¡± ¡°Okay, men! Out of the 216 shots, we got 12 clean shots of the target!¡± ¡°Second Lieutenant! For all the help I gave on the macro photography settings, I request the full size data!¡± ¡°Just between us, did you get some thermographic images too!?¡± ¡°This is 7th Fleet Detached Force Blue Bloom. Pass over us and we¡¯ll fire our anti-air guns at you, so stay away.¡± ¡°But, commander! We want some eye candy too! ¡­Oh, but that doesn¡¯t mean there¡¯s anything wrong with you, okay?¡± Hunter saw some intense static fill the transmission from her comrades out at sea. ¡­That XO can be pretty strict¡­ Meanwhile, the fighter tilted a bit to say goodbye and then made a steep ascent. ¡°Is there any reason to photograph the moon from within the atmosphere when you have satellites?¡± ¡°You saw the Black Witch reach out her hand before, right?¡± ¡°I did,¡± said Horinouchi as she held up her bottle. A maid brought over a new one. Hunter¡¯s was swapped out too, but that seemed a waste when she still had plenty left. ¡­Does that mean I need to drink this one faster so it doesn¡¯t go to waste!? No, probably not, she thought while continuing where she left off. ¡°The distance from the moon to the earth¡¯s atmosphere and from the atmosphere to the earth are completely different, right? But her hand seemed to move at the same speed while we were watching.¡± ¡°Does the thickness of the arm take that concept into account as well?¡± asked Kagami. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. Meaning¡­¡± Horinouchi continued for her while tilting her head. ¡°That arm was an optical illusion?¡± ¡°No, not that.¡± She did not understand much. In fact, not many inside the American military had seen that phenomenon before. ¡°It was the same as ten years ago. The ¡®side effects¡¯ of the Black Witch came from the moon, but they moved at extremely high speeds before reaching the earth¡¯s atmosphere. And once they entered the atmosphere, they slowed to a speed we can perceive. ¡­I wonder if that¡¯s the world conforming to our reactions.¡± ¡°I will leave it to you two to decide how much that performance conforms to this world¡¯s rules.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Hunter simply nodded. ¡°The Black Witch probably has some control over ether. Just like you, Kagami. Ether runs through the ley lines and controls both time and destiny, so if you could ¡®ride¡¯ that, it might behave in accordance to your wishes. When reaching out her arm, her hand is quickly moved forward until it can clearly be seen as a symbol of fear. Once it¡¯s close enough for us to recognize that performance, it slows down to a speed that she can actually control. That would be my guess,¡± she said. ¡°So if we measure the waves of ether coming from the moon both inside and outside the earth¡¯s atmosphere, the difference in amplitude can tell us how quickly the Black Witch approaches.¡± ¡°Well done!¡± announced Horinouchi. ¡°To be honest, your family and Shinto as a whole are a lot more impressive when it comes to anything related to ley lines. Maybe that¡¯s because we don¡¯t really have any big names in nature worship.¡± ¡°I see,¡± said Kagami while opening a spell circle. She must have taken a picture of the previous aircraft. It was already starting to leave in the photograph, but¡­ ¡°So you use the F-23 here?¡± ¡°Was it different in your home, Kagami?¡± asked Horinouchi. ¡°We used a different model.¡± Is that how it works? wondered Hunter. ¡°I think this one was chosen because of its stealth ability and the fact that divine protection emblems could be evenly arranged on the surface of the wings. The rival model had more acceleration, but all-around defense proved impossible.¡± ¡°Curse my sister. That change was clearly targeted right at me!¡± ¡°Um, can you stop revealing the petty secrets of our world?¡± ¡°Calm down,¡± said Kagami while holding her palm out toward Horinouchi. She then looked to Hunter and showed her a spell circle. ¡°More importantly, look at this.¡± The old-fashioned boxy design of spell circle contained a vanishing Phlogiston Heart. It likely contained the heat from the Device used for training earlier. She had yet to dispose of it, but Hunter was unsure if she should call that careless or just unusual. Regardless, Kagami tilted her head. ¡°Hunter, you said you have a technique to immediately summon your Magino mode from Normal mode.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s an American summoning technique.¡± She more or less knew what Kagami was trying to say. Summoning her weapon was of utmost importance for a witch, so there were a broad variety of methods and Kagami likely wanted as many options as possible. But Hunter had to think. ¡°Hmm. That would be American-style training, so I¡¯m not sure I could get permission.¡± Horinouchi saw Hunter open a spell circle and make a call. After a while, she tilted her head a few times, but then she raised her right hand while still looking at the screen like an operator. ¡°Horinouchi.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Can you take off your shirt? Oh, and move as close to the water as you can get.¡± ¡°Eh? Are they going to take pictures of me from a satellite or a fleet out at sea!?¡± She complied as payment for the leaked information. ¡°Yeahhhhhhhhh! Thank you so much, commander! Thank you so much! Eh? What do you mean we all have to line up on the deck?¡± ¡°Yeahhhhhhhhhhhh! Wait, why are all the witches fully equipped? It¡¯s hot outside, you know? There were sharks off of Kanagawa the other day, you know?¡± ¡°Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Commander! To be blunt, how do you want us to beg for our lives!?¡± ¡°What was that last ¡®yeah¡¯ for!? Now line up and point your asses this way! ¡­Don¡¯t strip!¡± I¡¯m glad they all get along, thought Hunter while listening to the screams coming in over the transmission. But she had permission. They moved over to the cooking area. Below the tarp, they started by eating the meat and vegetables that were already prepared. She was surprised to find the meat had a bit of a breading on it. She could not get enough of the flavor when the sauce soaked into the breading and she ate it with the vegetables. But¡­ ¡°About what you were saying, it mostly comes down to preparing your willpower in advance.¡± She had something to show them, so she grabbed a nearby skewer. ¡°Like this.¡± She stabbed a partially cooked piece of meat onto the tip. The Head Maid working the grill muttered something about that one still being rare, but Hunter knew she just had to finish cooking it later. Anyway, she continued stabbing meat onto the skewer. ¡°This is how Horinouchi and the others prepare their ether and willpower. Basically, they gradually build it up.¡± ¡°So they gather it on site when they need it, right?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± agreed Horinouchi while looking at Hunter¡¯s hand. ¡°That is why we build in the engines. If we start up the engines first, we can increase our ether extraction even when starting from zero.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Hunter held up the skewered meat like a spear. ¡°And once you have this much meat, you transform, right?¡± ¡°Yes. Is that wrong?¡± ¡°You need to change your way of thinking.¡± She handed the skewer to the Head Maid who hated rare meat so the woman could resume cooking it. Hunter instead grabbed some other meat with a pair of tongs. ¡°These are spare ribs. They still haven¡¯t been split apart.¡± Kagami watched Hunter prepare the meat. She had actually had her eye on the spare ribs already. ¡­After all, pork always had a way of showing up in the alternate fantasy worlds. However, her sister had not known much about the slaughtering side of procuring meat. She always had her doubts about it when she saw it, but since they still managed to procure the meat, she could only assume there was some kind of correction in place. ¡­Hooray for fantasy. It is even kind to meat. But in this modern setting, it was a bit of a strange sight. Human ribs and pig ribs were not all that different. The meat between and around the ribs was generally similar to breast meat, but it was also very soft since it was rarely used. And these were cooked in rows of five or six instead of splitting them apart first. They were kept in the shape of ribs. There was a natural desire to split them apart when seeing those bones, but there was a reason not to do so. They were easier to cook like this. If they were separated, the cook would have to think about how well done each and every one was and the flavor would grow too strong when they were individually soaking in the sauce. But when all together¡­ ¡°I was familiar with the idea of a rib rack, but this is my first time seeing one.¡± ¡°A rib rack?¡± asked Horinouchi with a tilt of the head. Hunter only smiled. ¡°It¡¯s a standard for barbecue, but the American-style is pretty crude.¡± The maids carried it over. It was structured like bookends made of thin metal rods. It looked something like a toast stand. ¡°It looks like that thing that holds the tires of bicycles.¡± ¡­That is called a bicycle stand, Horinouchi. But as for the rib rack¡­ ¡°After covering the spare ribs with sauce, you stick them on here without separating them.¡± Hunter applied a thick coating of reddish brown sauce and stuck the meat on the device. ¡°Should you really be putting that much seasoning on them?¡± asked Horinouchi. ¡°They are standing up and the fat will cook out, so most of it will drip down. And it is generally cooked from below with a cover over the top, right?¡± ¡°Right. After it¡¯s been cooked just the right amount, the meat gets nice and tender. Anyway, we¡¯ll be leaving it on low heat for about an hour.¡± Koutarou carried over some already cooked ribs on a plate with a lid. ¡°I thought this might happen, so I already prepared some.¡± ¡°Makes me question why we¡¯re cooking these other ones, but thanks. Now¡­¡± Hunter held a knife out toward the steaming ribs on the plate. ¡°This is over a kilogram which makes it three times as much as that skewer of meat. ¡­Oh, and don¡¯t worry about the bones. Anyway, when eating it, the host will cut it up. But¡­¡± Just as Hunter said that, the Head Maid walked over. ¡°This has finished cooking.¡± She placed the skewer of meat next to the ribs Hunter was holding up. Hunter nodded and then continued. ¡°The skewered meat is small, so it cooks quickly, right? That¡¯s why you grab them right when they¡¯re done cooking and gradually fill your stomach. But¡­¡± Hunter stuck her knife into the ribs. Instead of cutting them apart, she lifted them up and took a bite from the end. She clearly tore a piece off, chewed it with her back teeth, and swallowed. ¡°I¡¯d like a drink! ¡­Thanks. What I¡¯m talking about is eating a giant piece of meat all at once instead of grabbing smaller pieces one at a time.¡± Finally, she began separating the ribs. She took the half she had bitten into for herself and then separated the other half, bones included. ¡°Your way is like sticking a skewer through the cooked meat. My way is like preparing a bunch at once and then cooking it.¡± ¡°In other words, you prepare a pool before entering battle?¡± ¡°No.¡± Hunter raised her eyebrows and smiled. ¡°I always have it.¡± The American representative laughed as she spoke. ¡°I¡¯m always pooling my ether. So instead of using my engines for ether extraction, I use them to speed up the summoning. I always keep a bunch of ether¡­and cook it.¡± ¡°You can do that?¡± Horinouchi¡¯s techniques were meant for Shinto ceremonies, rituals, and tuning of the surrounding environment, so carrying ether at all times sounded dangerous. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be a disaster if you lost control of it?¡± ¡°But you do it anyway.¡± Hunter split the first rib. ¡°You keep your Phlogiston Heart running at all times but don¡¯t summon your Frame. If you¡¯re worried about losing control, you just have to be careful.¡± ¡°That sounds like carrying a gun with the safety off.¡± Kagami was right and Hunter must have agreed too. ¡°It¡¯s actually more like having the gun cocked too. But with Ranks as high as yours, I¡¯m sure you can do it.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± Horinouchi had her doubts. In a way, ether control was Shinto¡¯s specialty. Shinto spells like barriers and divine protections were a packaged form of ether control. But¡­ ¡°Can you really build up enough willpower to summon your Magino without a battle?¡± For a witch to maintain her Frame, she had to keep her Phlogiston Heart heated. ¡°Storing ether without summoning your Frame means to keep your Phlogiston Heart heated without summoning your Frame, but maintaining the Phlogiston Heart requires a high level of willpower.¡± ¡°It does sound difficult in a stressful society,¡± agreed Kagami. ¡°Take a look.¡± Hunter turned her spell circle so they could see. ¡°You surround yourself in some words or a scene that keep you focused. This is the American National Anthem written on the left and right. ¡­I remember my dad singing it.¡± She summoned her Normal Form. ¡°Oh,¡± said Koutarou and the maids. ¡°Summon Magino Frame!¡± With those words, a structure suddenly appeared behind Hunter. The wind whipped up as the five hundred meter magic wand appeared. ¡°Magino Device Hedgehog.¡± She had gone through her Normal Device on the way, but she had still summoned her Magino Frame right away. That summoning would be impossible without maintaining her willpower and ether. She smiled and clapped her hands to end the Frame summoning. With a high-pitched sound like a steam whistle, the Hedgehog vanished into the sea. More than fall, each part fluttered down like snow and created giant pillars of water. Waves washed in, but they did not reach their part of the beach. Hunter was wearing her swimsuit again and she smiled bitterly. ¡°That¡¯s what I mean. You use up some of your pool each time you do it, but with some still built up, it¡¯s easier to do it again. The only question is if you have the kinds of words or scene necessary.¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Horinouchi was fairly certain she did have some words or a scene to maintain her willpower. She recalled the night when she had said goodbye to her mother ten years before. She had carved it into her memories because she had not wanted herself or anyone else to feel anything like that again, but¡­ ¡°Ah¡­¡± The part of her memories that had left the strongest impression on her was not her mother. It was the moon. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± The white circle floating in the blue sky seemed even more distinct than it really was. Why? wondered Horinouchi. ¡­Why did I not think of my mother here? Why did I think of the moon? She had barely ever looked up at the moon before. Who was it that had pointed that out? She knew the answer: Kagami. She had lost her mother ten years before and she had sworn revenge, but she had not been able to look up at the moon. Only after having that pointed out had she looked to the moon. And¡­ ¡­Yes, that idiot laughed. That foreigner had looked up at the moon, turned her back, and laughed. Everyone saw that moon as a target of revenge, but she had laughed with joy and satisfaction in her voice. That knight had not been worried about the opponent that everyone else feared they could not defeat. She had laughed and intended to defeat it. Mankind had been cornered, but she had announced that she had cornered the Black Witch. It was not the moon. The impression left on Horinouchi¡¯s memories was the announcement targeted toward the moon. ¡­Those words overturned my previous focus on nothing but my mother, myself, and the Black Witch. I can¡¯t believe this, she thought. How could those ridiculous words and that ridiculous scene be what keeps me focused? Volume 2, 2: Fun at Night Volume 2, Chapter 2: Fun at Night To play with fire is to manipulate your partner ¡°Head Butler. Lady Mitsuru and the others are chatting, suddenly summoning their Frames, and otherwise being quite aggressive, so our remaining food supply is not looking good.¡± One of the maids raised her right forearm. ¡°Head Butler. We are all busy grilling the meat and we can¡¯t drive the truck to go shopping, so you take care of it!¡± ¡°If you need someone to drive the truck, I¡¯m pretty sure some of you are former JSDF witches! But¡­¡± Koutarou relaxed his shoulders and looked to the three witches who were rapidly yet politely eating through all the food. ¡°Head Butler. Lady Mitsuru seems to be in a good mood, so this is a good thing, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes. I think it¡¯s good she is thinking about things other than herself.¡± ¡°Head Butler. You only say that because she never showed any concern for you.¡± ¡°That goes for you too, doesn¡¯t it!?¡± Koutarou pointed at them all as he started walking toward the embankment. ¡°I forbid you from bringing out the sweets until I get back! I had to preorder those to make sure I could buy them.¡± ¡°The staff later ate them with Lady Mitsuru and the others.¡± ¡°That! That is what I¡¯m afraid of! ¡­In fact, where are they? Where¡¯s the cooler of sweets I had prepared!?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± The maids exchanged a glance. ¡°We brought that to the headmaster before leaving. You said something about providing enough seeds to last a few days. Wasn¡¯t that the cooler?¡± ¡°Oh? Now, now, Koutarou. Why are you treating this old lady so wonderfully?¡± The headmaster smiled and tilted her head when she opened the cooler on the table in her office. ¡°I thought this was the seeds, but is he trying to get on my good side with these sweets?¡± She saw handmade pudding in beakers. They appeared to be katayaki puddings and there were more than thirty of them. That would be why the maids had so much trouble carrying this in, she thought with a sigh. She briefly glanced out the window where the sun was gradually setting and then she opened a spell circle. ¡°Faculty room, is there any room in your refrigerator? And everyone who¡¯s working today, Miss Horinouchi sent us some dessert. Come and get it.¡± Horinouchi grew cautious when a mysterious message of thanks arrived from the headmaster, but once she read it, it turned out to be something Koutarou had arranged. And speaking of Koutarou¡­ ¡°He has heatstroke after running to the city and back in this heat? Well, I am thankful for the sweets.¡± The three of them were eating their beakers of pudding while taking a break on the beach. They left Koutarou collapsed on the sand, ate a dinner that was barely distinguishable from their lunch to rebuild their strength, performed some more fine-tuning of their cannons by the waterside, and practiced the techniques they had learned in their exchange with Hunter. She had not often had such a change to her training methods or trained so hard all at once. Plus¡­ ¡­It isn¡¯t like today is the last day of summer break or anything. Meanwhile, the maids began setting up the fireworks. Some were already waving around handheld ones, but looking at them now made it clear they were older than her. They really were the ¡°current¡± generation continuing from ten years before. She had memories of them all teaching her things, but¡­ ¡°Here. I don¡¯t know much about handheld fireworks.¡± She was handed some charcoal inside a hanging metal basket to light the fireworks. Feeling its heat told her the beach¡¯s temperature was beginning to fall. Hunter must have been thinking something similar because she looked out to sea where her comrades were. ¡°So if what Kagami says is true, what does that mean about the position of our world?¡± Kagami nodded, lit a handheld firework, held it up, and let it dangle down from her hand. The sparks coming from the tip of its longish shape changed color and gave off a unique scent as it disappeared. When the light finally became a green chemical flame, Kagami spoke. ¡°You can resent me if you wish.¡± ¡°Yeah, but¡­what are we supposed to say?¡± Hunter smiled bitterly, opened a spell circle, and displayed something on the screen. It was a game. A witch-like character jumped through a medieval-looking city while dodging curry. It was a confusing idea for a game world, but¡­ ¡°Kagami, what you¡¯re doing is like being inside this game and speaking with us, the characters. And let¡¯s say the way the game is made puts us at a disadvantage.¡± That would mean¡­ ¡°What you¡¯re talking about is having your own character telling you to make them jump better.¡± ¡°Um, but¡­¡± Horinouchi started to speak because she had sensed a misunderstanding in what Hunter was saying. She did not know if Hunter really meant it or not, but she had separated them from Kagami. ¡­Of course, she was trying to say the characters wouldn¡¯t want to complain to the player. But, she thought concerning Kagami as an individual. ¡­She¡¯s the type to get emotionally invested, you know? She recalled when Kagami had wept on the pier. So even if Hunter categorized herself as a character, Kagami would weep for her. After all, that girl had wept over the death of Horinouchi¡¯s mother. So¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± She had started to tell Hunter she was overthinking this, but she decided against it. ¡­I¡¯m not that nosy. Hunter was still having difficulty judging her distance from Kagami. And she was probably trying to swing back a little from the truths she had learned today. In other words, Hunter was not actually trying to distance herself from Kagami. That said, misunderstandings were frightening. They could lead to a loss. That was what it meant to be a witch Ranker. And that was why Hunter had said they would not complain about Kagami even if they were characters and she was the player. That was likely Hunter¡¯s way of providing a positive sense of distance. It was a line that would only work with Kagami. They would most likely only grow closer from here on out. Kagami would play a role in that. She did not hide the fact that she was special and she interacted with them in a way that told them not to worry about it. ¡°Even if she created this world, Hunter, couldn¡¯t you say the things that were born and raised in this world were not created by her?¡± That was something they had confirmed several times today. That was the common point between Horinouchi and Hunter, so it would tie them together here. They would think about the present more than their worries. Her past with her mother was important, but she had not thrown it away. The fact that she was looking to the moon in the present was what mattered. Hunter must have understood that because she crossed her arms and tilted her head. ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°Thinking about it isn¡¯t going to change anything.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so strict about that kind of thing, Horinouchi.¡± Hunter smiled bitterly and then looked to Kagami. ¡°Do you have anything to say to this ¡®fool¡¯, Kagami?¡± ¡°The fact that you are hoping for a solution is more than enough, Hunter.¡± Kagami responded immediately. Horinouchi could only respond with a look of exasperation, but Kagami suddenly smiled. ¡°I am thankful.¡± She immediately swung her right arm outwards. ¡°Not bad.¡± She suddenly summoned her Magino Device. ¡°Was it like this?¡± ¡°Well done,¡± said the Head Maid when she saw the sight. Kagami had a clearly abnormal ability to control ether. The Head Maid understood that on an intellectual level, but it was simply too different from their own abilities. ¡­In our day, you were considered quite skilled if you could summon a Magino Frame at all. A church bell rang behind Kagami and a giant sword was constructed. ¡°Magino Device Dikaiosyne. ¡­Well done.¡± Hearing that, the Head Butler looked up where he had collapsed from heatstroke. ¡°Well, of course.¡± He grabbed a nearby bottle, presumably for some water, and drank some through the corner of his mouth. ¡°Lady Kagami is on equal footing with Lady Mitsuru!¡± ¡°Head Butler. That is the spare rib sauce.¡± A new commotion began when he spat something red from his mouth and fell back to the ground. Hunter whistled and Horinouchi gasped as they looked to the giant sword that had appeared over the ocean. It was over five hundred meters long. That was the same length as Hunter¡¯s Hedgehog and the Hedgehog had more volume overall, but¡­ ¡­A sword just isn¡¯t fair. The shape alone gave off a sense of power. ¡°It is well-made and that was nice and fast, but¡­it could use some work.¡± Kagami lifted the corner of her mouth and let her Magino Frame be destroyed. The ringing of the bell split and reverberated across the ocean to Enoshima. It must have distracted the cars and motorcycles on the road beyond the embankment because horns began to honk. But as the sword broke apart and fell, Horinouchi looked back. ¡°Wh-why do you say that?¡± ¡°Well.¡± Kagami placed a hand on her chin and looked up at the purged light scattering across the ocean. ¡°Yes. The ether reacts to my focus by increasing the amount I acquire, but I have trouble storing it. During battle is one thing, but I have little to keep me focused during peaceful times and I cannot maintain that focus for long.¡± ¡°You should be able to do it once you know you have a battle coming up, so just keep it in mind. But anyway¡­¡± Something else interested Hunter. ¡°What about you, Horinouchi? Have you thought of a way to stay focused?¡± ¡°M-me!?¡± The question was so sudden that Horinouchi had nothing to say in response. ¡­I have nothing prepared! Hunter had already mastered this technique and she used the American National Anthem to remain focused. For Kagami, that focus and her ether manipulation ability seemed to be the key. But for Horinouchi¡­ ¡°U-um¡­¡± ¡°Not to worry, milady!¡± The three girls turned toward the voice and saw Koutarou getting up from where he had supposedly been sleeping off his heatstroke. He had something red staining his mouth and chest, but Horinouchi decided to pretend she had not seen it. However¡­ ¡°What is that, Horinouchi?¡± asked Kagami. ¡°Later! We¡¯ll send him to the hospital later!¡± ¡°Who was it that could drive the truck?¡± ¡­Him¡­ ¡°N-no, wait! We have some maids from the JSDF!¡± ¡°That is kind of an amazing thing to say if you think about it.¡± However, those maids were currently waving their hands back and forth below the tarp. The surrounding maids were gesturing that everything was fine and that there was nothing to worry about, so they could likely ignore this. But¡­ ¡°C¡¯mon, Horinouchi. Everyone¡¯s waiting.¡± ¡°C-could you not put so much pressure on me!?¡± At any rate, she had to think of a way to maintain her focus. ¡°I-in my case¡­¡± There was something she had thought of earlier: Kagami laughing toward the moon, Kagami weeping, and¡­ ¡­During the battle with Hunter. Kagami had clearly told her to trust in her. As someone who had always fought alone, that had felt embarrassing. But Kagami¡¯s skill was real. Her strange actions had a way of standing out, but Horinouchi wanted to believe it was unintentional. However, using all that to maintain her focus felt¡­ ¡°You do not need to force yourself, Manko.¡± ¡°D-don¡¯t call me that!!¡± As she shouted back, she summoned her Normal Device into her hand and her Magino Device behind her. With the ringing of a shrine bell, the sky briefly split apart and Magino Device Akerindou appeared. The blowing wind whipped up Horinouchi¡¯s shirt and stirred up the waves at her feet. ¡°Hyahn!¡± She took a surprised step and looked back, wondering what that was¡­no, wondering what had happened. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡­I-I did it? She questioned it, but the results were plain as day. The Normal Device in her hand, the five hundred meter or more Akerindou behind her, and the Suzaku calmly smoking a cigarette on her shoulder were all real. It had worked well, so she calmed her breathing. ¡°S-see? I did it.¡± Hunter and Kagami held their palms out and took three steps back. What is that for? she wondered as Hunter glared at her. ¡°You grow focused when people call you Manko?¡± ¡°Dirty words get you excited, Horinouchi? Quite the covert pervert, aren¡¯t we?¡± ¡°S-stop right there! Don¡¯t just decide what kind of character I am!¡± Koutarou, stop praising me and get to the hospital. After a few visits, exchanged techniques, and emergency scrambling of the F-23s, the period of time known as summer break finally approached its end. In the middle of Tokyo Bay, Shihouin Academy began welcoming back the witches who had returned home to or gone to train in other regions or countries. The second term had yet to begin, but the school was filled with people and voices. After August 20, the chimes for class periods began to ring to ease the students back into the school schedule. ¡°I see you¡¯re methodical as ever even this early in the morning. Did you end up spending summer break here?¡± ¡°No, I did visit a few places, even if they were nearby. They were all day-trips.¡± A tall girl spoke inside the headmaster¡¯s office. The headmaster stood by the window behind the large desk and the girl in a black summer sweater, a black uniform, and long socks brought her hands to the reception table. She was looking at the potted plant on the table while protectively placing her hands around it. Something fell from the flower into the girl¡¯s hands: ether light. ¡°That hasn¡¯t actually been tuned for recovery purposes. That¡¯s a perfectly natural potted plant, but they end up like that when grown somewhere with good ether line exposure.¡± The headmaster looked out the window to the flower garden on the north end of the large courtyard. The witch tending to it must have noticed her because the girl waved her hand. The headmaster waved casually back. The tall girl next to the table breathed a sigh of relief and slowly removed her hands from the potted plant as if making sure not to spill any of the ether light. ¡°Thank you for showing me something so lovely. Now, about my request¡­¡± ¡°Yes, that is not such a gentle topic. Why do you want to challenge Miss Kagami to a match?¡± ¡°I do think I would be best off challenging the #1 instead of someone ranked lower.¡± She seemed to stab her fingernails into her short white hair and brushed it back. ¡°Oh, dear,¡± lightly said the headmaster, but the girl bowed in silence. ¡°My apologies.¡± The girl nodded. ¡°But I cannot bear to let that great criminal Kagami Kagami live.¡± ¡°I see.¡± The headmaster smiled bitterly without rejecting that reason or providing any other feedback. ¡°Then there¡¯s no helping it. Um¡­¡± As soon as she said that, the headmaster saw something. Or rather, she saw nothing. The girl had already vanished from the office. She had announced her plan to challenge Kagami and that was it. ¡°Oh, dear. Is she saying she¡¯ll do this even if I stop her? What an impatient girl.¡± She smiled bitterly and looked out the window. ¡°Such a shame when you can see the fruits of this final summer out the window.¡± She looked back to the flower garden outside and waved back when the girl watering it waved up at her. ¡°It looks like we¡¯re going to make it in time, Mitsuyo.¡± Volume 2, 3: When the Current of the World… Volume 2, Chapter 3: When the Current of the World¡­ Gathers in the world, the world begins The second term began. Quite a bit of summer heat remained and the clouds were still sparse in the sky yet had not taken their scattered form for autumn. Those white clouds formed a barrier as they welled up from below and cut into the wind, but the faint shape of the white moon could be seen in the blue sky beyond them. One could look up at that moon from two kinds of places. The first was a wide-open place. The second was a tall place. One spot had both: Tokyo Bay. A facility covered a wide area on an artificial island built in the center of that bay. It was a school. A high school. The buildings in the four cardinal directions were school buildings for the different division and their dorms. The name on the sign was Shihouin Academy. A two-story dining hall was located to the northwest of the campus. It was a glass-sided building, but someone was looking up into the midday moon from the terrace on the roof. Tables and chairs were prepared across the terrace and three people sat at one of the central tables. The students at the other tables a short distance away were giving them curious looks. ¡°What did you do this time, Horinouchi?¡± ¡°I-it wasn¡¯t me. I¡¯m betting this is about Hunter returning on a fighter jet last night.¡± ¡°Everyone knows I always do that, so it wouldn¡¯t gather any attention. Maybe Kagami is still standing out a little.¡± ¡°No, I am a perfectly normal person who cannot even use much magic. ¡­So what did you do this time, Horinouchi?¡± ¡°I already said I didn¡¯t do anything. Stop pushing on that topic.¡± Hunter was the one to hold out her palms and tell them to calm down. Then she looked around. ¡°I bet I know what it is. The Rank 4 and some strange girl clashed just before summer break. Then they formed a buddy group, challenged the #3 and took her place. And after summer break, all three of them are eating lunch together. How could that not gather attention?¡± Hunter looked to the other two. ¡°How is the General Division viewing this?¡± That¡¯s a good question, thought Horinouchi. The sunshine was a little bright, so she placed a large sunblock spell overhead and lightly spun it around to shade the three of them like a parasol. ¡°Kagami has been telling the story and exaggerating to make things more exciting, so everyone¡¯s kind of accepted it in a weird way.¡± ¡°For example?¡± ¡°Remember how she pursued you after you vanished off of the American coast?¡± ¡°Oh, yeah. So they¡¯ve all been exposed to the insane story of a crazy person shooting another crazy person who used the power of that shot to accelerate?¡± ¡°Yes, but in the version of the story spreading through the General Division, a pod of dolphins told Kagami which way you had gone.¡± ¡°Dolphins?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Horinouchi could only nod, but Kagami turned toward them, looking taken aback. ¡°You have that all wrong, Horinouchi. ¡­There was a pure white dolphin in the middle of the pod!!¡± ¡°Are you sure you weren¡¯t hallucinating!?¡± ¡°Ha ha ha. I do not know if they are all very trusting or if they just like getting worked up over that kind of thing, but I appreciate it.¡± But that was not all. ¡°I¡¯ll omit most of it, but in the version of the story going around, your karate uniform tore when you were defeated. And after we reconciled our differences, you shouted ¡®Ahh, you can see my skin! How shameful!¡¯, so Kagami lent you her coat.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t drag me into it! I¡¯m not that kind of character!¡± ¡°Come to think of it, how does the Special Equipment Division view that Ranker battle?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± said Hunter as she looked up into the sky and seemed to stare at something. ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell us if you don¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that. You know how there¡¯s always room for improvements with machines, right? Well, no one wants to deal with complaints, but if there¡¯s an improvement you can make, you want to do it, right?¡± ¡°So you¡¯ve all gathered together to improve your equipment?¡± ¡°Everyone kept showing up asking about when I lost, so it was kind of discouraging. But I gradually managed to calm down some and figured out what I¡¯d done wrong.¡± Yes, I suppose Hunter was the victim this time, thought Horinouchi as she took a sip of the iced tea on the table. And there was something else she needed to ask now. ¡°The second term has begun and Hexennacht is coming up at the end of October, so I¡¯d like to move on to the next Ranker battle soon.¡± ¡°Indeed,¡± said Kagami. ¡°Even if the battle with the Black Witch is not until the end of October, we still have to work with and cooperate with the other organizations preparing for that battle. Each nation needs to be preparing for both the possibility of winning Hexennacht and the possibility of losing it. We only have our battles with the Rank 2 and Rank 1 left, but if we do not settle that this month or early next month, we might be stopped by interference from elsewhere.¡± ¡°I think the headmaster will announce the end of the Ranker battles around the end of September. If we knew the exact date now, some people would probably begin fighting more fiercely as it approached, but the headmaster wants to see our skill during normal conditions.¡± ¡°Have any lower ranked challengers come to you, Hunter?¡± ¡°Oh, one from the Special Equipment Division did, but we settled that inside our building the night before last.¡± ¡°That was fast.¡± ¡°Well, yeah.¡± Hunter smiled bitterly. ¡°It was really more of a test for my Hedgehog now that it¡¯s been fixed. I couldn¡¯t summon the Magino Frame since we did it indoors, but I smashed up the hallway and classroom pretty bad. But now that they know I¡¯m still a force to be reckoned with, I doubt any others will try to push their way up any time soon. More importantly¡­¡± Hunter looked at both Horinouchi and Kagami before looking to the witches surrounding them at a distance. ¡°If you two move up to Rank 2, I¡¯ll have an easier time dealing with the lower ranked witches. I¡¯ll be able to work with the former Rank 2 to act as a shield.¡± Horinouchi was briefly confused by Hunter¡¯s words. ¡°Why are you willing to go that far?¡± ¡°To be blunt, we do not mind at all if you want a rematch.¡± Hunter kept her eyes on their surroundings and reached for her glass on the table. ¡°With a Frame on the Hedgehog¡¯s scale, the damage from a single battle can take a lot of time to repair.¡± ¡°Meaning¡­?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to have it completely destroyed in the battle against you two. If I fought you again now, I wouldn¡¯t have enough time left to take on the Rank 2 and 1 afterwards.¡± ¡°Do you regret fighting us?¡± asked Kagami. ¡°You¡¯re the ones that challenged me, aren¡¯t you? I tried to crush Kagami first in a preemptive strike, and I still think that was the right decision. If the two of you had taken the fight to me, it would have been like starting from the situation off of Brazil in our second battle. My odds of victory would¡¯ve been even lower then.¡± Now that the girl mentioned it, Horinouchi had a feeling that was indeed how it would have turned out. ¡°So,¡± said Hunter with an exasperated glare. ¡°My advantage had completely evaporated once you two met up off of Brazil.¡± ¡°You sound like you have something to say.¡± ¡°Normally, people don¡¯t just recover from damage and injuries like that.¡± ¡°Well, that is just how excellent my Dikaio is.¡± Kagami produced the dragon child from a spell circle. It had no idea what was going on and simply looked around worriedly. Meanwhile, Suzaku appeared on Horinouchi¡¯s shoulder and began performing shadow Muay Thai as if to threaten the other servant, so was it really a divine beast? Hunter leaned back in her seat as if to say ¡°anyway¡±. ¡°So you¡¯re going to challenge the #2, right?¡± ¡°We have no other choice.¡± ¡°I see,¡± said Hunter, so Horinouchi asked her something. ¡°Do you know something about the #2?¡± ¡°Well,¡± said Hunter as she looked up into the sky. ¡°Can I order something?¡± ¡°We still have fifth period, so try to avoid anything that will get your hands dirty.¡± ¡°A rib sandwich it is, then.¡± ¡°You really do like meat, don¡¯t you?¡± Hunter ignored Horinouchi while linking a spell circle to the dining hall application and placing an order. ¡­Oh, they have their seasonal menu out. Chestnuts, hm? No, thanks. I¡¯m trying to fill my stomach here. ¡°Umm, does anyone want a dessert?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take whatever you¡¯re having.¡± ¡°That¡¯ll be a fried pork tenderloin sandwich.¡± ¡°How is that a dessert!?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a secondary meat.¡± She confirmed the order. The bill was transmitted to her spell circle, so she passed it over to Kagami while getting back on topic. ¡°The #2 is a foreigner from some other country.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a foreigner too, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Oh, well, yes.¡± ¡­If she¡¯s not from the US either, then she¡¯s a foreigner to me too! It was a mystery whether Shinto people just viewed everything from a Japanese perspective or if Horinouchi was viewing her as one of her own. However, Hunter did not understand everything about this either. ¡°The thing about the #2 witch is¡­she¡¯s an absolute single.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard that too,¡± agreed Horinouchi. ¡­Then I guess Kagami is the only one who doesn¡¯t know anything. She decided to think of this exchange of information as being for Kagami¡¯s sake. For Horinouchi, this would only be supplementing her information. In that case, thought Hunter, but then Kagami asked a question. ¡°What do you mean by an absolute single?¡± ¡°She isn¡¯t supported by a nation like I am, but she fights using a vast pool of spell power. I guess you could call it the ultra-orthodox route.¡± ¡°What do we know about her abilities?¡± asked Kagami. Hunter looked to Horinouchi. However¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± The shrine maiden shook her head. There was a reason that response made sense to Hunter. ¡°I don¡¯t know that much either. Barely anything is known about the #2.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°For example, how much information did you have on my Hedgehog, Horinouchi?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Horinouchi trailed off, but finally continued. ¡°That it was supported by the US military, that it had extremely thick armor, and that it had a sharpshooting ability rivaling my own. I also knew you used American karate. ¡­I think that covers it.¡± ¡°High Rankers didn¡¯t end up in their position because they lost to someone. The position is usually decided by their grades up to that point. That¡¯s why high Rankers generally don¡¯t know much about each other¡¯s abilities. And the witches that lose to them don¡¯t reveal much information about them.¡± ¡°So they can be the ones to defeat them in a rematch?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Hunter simply nodded. ¡°If they leak the information, the witch that¡¯s risen above them will receive a concentrated attack from the other witches and be defeated. However, that won¡¯t increase their own rank. They lost to that higher Ranker, so they¡¯re stuck below them. And since the witch who does defeat them will move up, their rank will even drop.¡± ¡°That is why witches like to fight where no one can see them and why they don¡¯t like revealing what happened in those battles.¡± ¡°That made the barrage of questioning to improve my Hedgehog all the more painful,¡± said Hunter. ¡°Oh, and revealing my information acts as a show of force for America, so mine is actually pretty well known. Horinouchi, you don¡¯t hide much of yours either, do you?¡± ¡°To rise within the General Division and for my duties as student council president, I have to remain more diplomatic. Also, I personally find it to be unfair, so I dislike hiding things.¡± ¡°Actually, would there be any point in hiding your information?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± When she was asked that, Hunter could only turn to Kagami who turned to face her as well. ¡°Hunter, as someone who has experienced it firsthand, it is your duty to tell her.¡± ¡°Okay...¡± She decided she might as well. ¡°When all you do is attack, attack, attack, there¡¯s no point in hiding anything.¡± ¡°Yes, Manko has a lot of brute strength.¡± ¡°I-I have decent speed too, you know!?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that more thanks to that strange creature on your shoulder?¡± ¡°Since the Suzaku guarantees her speed, she probably focuses entirely on attack,¡± added Kagami. ¡°W-what does it matter? And it¡¯s fine if everyone knows by this point.¡± Horinouchi then asked a question. ¡°Um, in that case, what about the #1? Do you know anything, Hunter?¡± She was skipping past the #2 to the #1. Hunter thought the girl was getting ahead of herself, but she could answer this one. After all¡­ ¡°I don¡¯t know a thing.¡± Yes. She did not know anything and that was why she could answer. ¡°All of the previous #2 witches dropped in the ranks after losing to her and she¡¯s been in that top spot for ten years now. Everyone who loses to her won¡¯t say a word about her identity. From what I¡¯ve heard, the current #2 got the spot due to her grades after the previous one dropped down.¡± ¡°So this one is a secret too?¡± ¡°Well, according to the rumors I¡¯ve heard, she hides her face behind a mask and is completely overwhelming.¡± Those three and all the witches around them exchanged a glance at that one. They seemed to be searching among themselves and their gazes finally stopped on a witch from Polynesia who was wearing a giant witch doctor mask. She quickly began waving her hands back and forth. ¡°No, I¡¯m from the General Division.¡± ¡°Oh, yeah. That¡¯s right!¡± ¡°And the witch doctor shaman style is slow to get started, so there aren¡¯t any in the top Rankers, right?¡± ¡°Is it true you don¡¯t wear any clothes back home!?¡± Their excitement showed the amazing depth and breadth of the world of witches. At any rate, the #1 did not seem to be here. ¡­She¡¯s the top of the Honors Division and the Honors Division itself is pretty much a giant secret itself. It was for the specialized people who could call themselves witches based on their individual power without being tied down to an existing style of witch. Due to their specialization, they were incredibly powerful against anyone who had never seen them before. But information on those techniques would leak out after a few battles. Once that happened, a group countermeasure would be more powerful. Due to their specialization, their system was theirs alone. Since they would have to take on that group countermeasure on their own, they statistically tended to lose any rematches. However, one of them had held onto the top position for a very long time. And¡­ ¡°I¡¯ve heard no one has ever challenged the #1 to a rematch.¡± ¡°So they¡¯re all that utterly defeated?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, but those are the facts. ¡­And the US has decided that¡¯s one thing that has guided the previous generation of witches to retire over the past ten years. In other words¡­¡± Kagami took over from there. ¡°For the past ten years, some witches who have graduated as students continue on as Rankers, but one thing that leads them to retire as Rankers is to challenge the #1? Is that what you are saying? So the #1 tells them through defeat that they should retire, even though they have reached the peak of their skills?¡± asked Kagami. ¡°Then we should sense danger in facing this #1.¡± ¡°Yes, you-¡­¡± Just as Hunter began to respond, she swallowed the words. ¡­This is¡­ Before she could think ¡°dangerous¡±, her left forearm shot up. ¡°Summon Hedgehog!¡± Kagami saw a shield. It was a five meter Normal Device and it was a shape she had seen a lot recently. ¡°The Hedgehog?¡± However, Hunter was looking to the terrace¡¯s entrance while blocking Kagami¡¯s view with the Hedgehog. She was likely protecting her from something there, but¡­ ¡°Hunter, what is-¡­?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t try to peek!¡± Hunter scolded her. Wondering what was going on, she looked to Horinouchi. ¡°Kagami, can you sense things using ether?¡± ¡°Just to make sure, you have not forgotten where I am from, have you? It is a peaceful world where talking about ether will only get you blank stares in return. No one suddenly shouts ¡®Killer intent¡­!?¡¯ in the middle of the city before moving back three meters.¡± ¡°W-well sorry for being weird, but that¡¯s what¡¯s happening here!¡± ¡°Oh, that is wonderful, Hunter. Now, whose killer intent is it? And I probably should not ask something like this out of curiosity, but what does killer intent feel like? Is it a tickling on the back of your neck? Does your vision grow distorted? Do you hear a strange musical note? Oops, I asked out of curiosity anyway. ¡­So what exactly are you doing?¡± ¡°Kagami¡­ Hunter isn¡¯t doing this because she¡¯s sick in the head. She¡¯s trying to be nice.¡± ¡°Th-that kind of help hurts most of all!¡± shouted Hunter. Hunter looked past the shield. The other witches were also looking beyond the Hedgehog. That seemed to be why she lifted up the shield. She had not summoned her Form and the movement of her left arm raised the shield pile so its muzzle pointed straight forward. Kagami looked forward with the Hedgehog raised overhead like an umbrella. She heard the other witches speaking behind her. ¡°It¡¯s really her¡­¡± In that case, the person facing them was probably quite well known. ¡°I am a third year in the Spell Division as well as the Rank 2.¡± The voice from directly ahead was more dignified than calm. ¡°I am Mary Sue.¡± Horinouchi recognized the girl. ¡­Black and white. Her clothing was almost entirely black. She wore a black summer sweater over her uniform instead of the standard coat and her skirt was black too. The socks that rose to the top of her thighs were black with defensive emblems woven in. She wore gloves even though it was summer and they too were black. ¡­That makes the white of her hair stand out even more. She was tall and the black outfit made her look all the sharper for it. ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°You know who she is, Horinouchi!?¡± asked Kagami. ¡°Yes.¡± At that moment, someone else stepped up to the side of the table. They had come from the dining hall with a rib sandwich and two fried pork tenderloin sandwiches and they served the plates from a tray. ¡°She is Lady Mary Sue, the Spell Division¡¯s ace who is also known as ¡®The Hitman¡¯.¡± ¡°Koutarou!? When did you show up!?¡± Koutarou bowed and began providing them with fresh iced teas. ¡°I am holding negotiations with this dining hall.¡± Do you mean you¡¯re working part-time? she wondered, but she left it unsaid. ¡°I would expect no less from you, Koutarou,¡± said Kagami while accepting her new glass. ¡°Now, about that girl¡­¡± Kagami indicated the girl named Mary who was standing with her heels together. She was clearly facing Horinouchi, but she bowed without looking her in the eye. ¡°Miss Horinouchi,¡± she said in her dignified voice. ¡°Congratulations on your promotion to Rank 3. As you now have the right to challenge me, I will go ahead and designate you in advance.¡± Horinouchi moved her heels a little forward and placed them on the floor so she could move at any time. Hunter also lowered her hips down in her chair. Kagami calmly drank her tea, but that was just the kind of person she was. ¡°You want to¡­fight us?¡± ¡°It would seem so,¡± said Kagami. ¡°Such a strange person, picking a fight with someone ranked lower than her.¡± ¡°Hey.¡± ¡°Kagami, sometimes people just feel like doing something crazy like that.¡± ¡°Hold it, you two.¡± ¡°I see, Horinouchi. I suppose people cannot always make rational decisions with Hexennacht so close.¡± ¡°If you¡¯ve got something to say to me, at least face me.¡± ¡°How about I order you a teriyaki burger, Hunter?¡± ¡°All is forgiven.¡± That seemed to be how that worked. Horinouchi had said ¡°us¡± as a test, but she could not see Mary¡¯s expression since the girl¡¯s head was still bowed. In fact, Horinouchi started feeling bad for chatting like that while the girl kept her head lowered. But then she heard a voice. It was Mary¡¯s. ¡°There is something I would like to do before fighting the #1.¡± There was no change in her tone of voice as she spoke toward the floor. ¡°What is-¡­?¡± Before Horinouchi could ask her question, Mary raised her head. She had a slight smile on her lips. Her short hair was briefly lifted toward the sky and ether light scattered around her. She most likely had a defensive or bodily reinforcement divine protection active at all times. However, Mary lowered her head for another bow. ¡°Goodbye.¡± She did not intend to answer Horinouchi¡¯s question. She turned around and the surrounding witches opened a path. ¡­That was well done. Horinouchi thought on Mary¡¯s behavior and the movements of the surrounding witches. ¡­She understands her position. She was Rank 2. If anyone challenged her and won, they would gain that position. Even if it was forceful, would anyone really overlook that opportunity with Hexennacht so close? But¡­ ¡°To be a witch truly is to be a technician and witches themselves are the result of that work.¡± The leaving girl was already a fair distance away. Kagami spoke while observing Mary¡¯s steady but not swift pace. ¡°When seeing a glass and its quality, no one can help but imagine how it was made. And no one will think of pouring an unbefitting drink into it. Such excellent pride.¡± ¡°Well said,¡± said Hunter as she let the Hedgehog disperse. The amount of ether light left behind was far more than one would have imagined from its original size, so the surrounding witches responded in surprise. ¡°So? What¡¯re you going to do?¡± ¡°Good question.¡± A Ranker battle was exactly what they wanted, but¡­ ¡°Can you look into her abilities and history, Koutarou?¡± ¡°Yes, I can do as much as I can, milady.¡± ¡°Did you look into me like that, Horinouchi?¡± ¡°You attacked us before we could.¡± ¡°Do not forget that I was the one that defended against that.¡± Why did Kagami feel the need to assert herself there? But¡­ ¡°So what would you have done if you had looked into me?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± As Horinouchi thought, she saw Hunter and Kagami whispering to each other. ¡°What are you saying, Hunter? She would end up shooting like crazy either way.¡± ¡°Yeah, is there any point in her looking into anything?¡± ¡°H-hold it! Don¡¯t treat me like I¡¯m a human cannon!¡± Then again, that is what happened off the coast of Brazil. Koutarou was in a bit of a hurry after that. When a higher Ranker challenged a lower Ranker to a Ranker battle, the lower ranked one could not refuse. If Mary Sue challenged them, they would have to respond no matter when or where it was. So if possible, he wanted to have some amount of information by the end of school that day. After all, it was possible Mary Sue would attack them on the way back from school. But Mary was from the Spell Division. Since ancient times, most witches were made to take classes in that division. They were ¡°made to¡± because those who did not already have the techniques would still have to learn the ancient witch techniques there. Students from other division would go there for special lessons and many people learned in the library and classrooms there. ¡­The Spell Division would have been the standard route for Lady Mitsuru when joining the school. After all, she was the representative of Japanese Shinto. That made her a representative of an entire faction of witches. However, he knew why Horinouchi had chosen the General Division. Her mother Mitsuyo had gone to Shihouin Academy and had been in the General Division. Of course, Japan had not had a school that specialized in facing Hexennacht back then. However, her mother had competed with the other witches there who had been formidable foes indeed and she had gained trustworthy comrades there. In that way, joining the General Division was something of a ¡°jinx¡± for Horinouchi. Cerisier, the headmaster and one of the Three Sages, had allowed it. And now she had comrades in Kagami and Hunter, so she was doing quite well. However¡­ ¡°Excuse me!¡± Koutarou knew a way of acquiring the necessary information on short notice. Information had a way of gathering where witches gathered. So¡­ ¡°Horinouchi Maid Squad, please give me the information I need to help Lady Mitsuru!!¡± ¡­This prostration is quite cool, everyone. In the Head Maid¡¯s opinion, the Horinouchi Maid Squad could rival an army. After all, about five percent of the witches that graduated Shihouin Academy and retired as Rankers ended up there. Most of them joined because ¡°going home would be a pain¡±, but they most likely had a different real reason. The Horinouchi Family contained one of the Three Sages, it was the Shinto representative, the daughter of the family was quite skilled, and¡­ ¡°Probably the biggest reason is that we do not ask about their past as far as battles are concerned.¡± The Horinouchi mansion was a three-story building on a hill in the center of a nature park in Shinagawa. Tokyo Bay and Shihouin Academy could be seen from there and it was the Horinouchi family¡¯s base. Currently, someone was prostrating in front of the maids cleaning the central entrance hall. It was the Head Butler. His combat abilities were honestly quite low, but more importantly¡­ ¡°I will commend your dedication to serving Lady Mitsuru. As well as your recognition that, as a whole, we are the best for this job.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you go one step further!?¡± ¡°But this concerns our past battles.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± said a voice from the hall¡¯s staircase. A maid there held a long feather duster. She sat on the railing and looked down at the others. ¡°I believe she is the one I had a Ranker battle with last year. I think that was when she moved up into the top fifty. I retired afterwards, though.¡± ¡°Be quiet. We need a little more before we can give him our information.¡± A single glance and the maid moved back. The prostrating head was sinking into the carpet in front of the Head Maid. It was an excellent prostration. And she did understand why he was in such a hurry. ¡°Listen. We complete our daily work and have many feelings for Lady Mitsuru, but we simply wish to be involved in Hexennacht, Head Butler. If we are to step up onto the stage, it will be on Hexennacht. We will fill the gaps in the battlefield that U.A.H. cannot fill and we will make sure this land Lady Mitsuyo protected will be passed onto the next generation. Our pasts are only to be used to support Lady Mitsuru. Besides,¡± she said. ¡°What would you do if we told you about the #2 now?¡± ¡°I would be able to provide commentary for Lady Mitsuru!¡± ¡°That is not enough.¡± The Head Maid kneeled down and spoke down toward the Head Butler. ¡°You must pass the information onto her so she understands it herself. We do not want to hear you providing commentary. It is when Lady Mitsuru provides commentary that we can exclaim, ¡®Well done, milady!¡¯ If it is to that end, then we will provide you with the information.¡± ¡­I sure ate a lot at lunch. Hunter heard the afterschool bell as she left the Special Equipment Division building and made her way to another building: the General Division dorm. After what had happened at lunch, they had arranged to hold a strategy meeting. The Special Equipment Division building was on Shihouin Academy¡¯s west side and the General Division dorm was on the southeast side. ¡°It¡¯d be faster to cut through the courtyard.¡± With that decided, she rushed along. She saw the General Division dorm a lot. It was located near the school¡¯s main gate on the south and she often saw it as a ¡°pretty building¡± when returning by air as she was wont to do. The Special Equipment Division dorm was simple and sturdy for a dorm and its exterior looked a lot like a factory, so the Special Equipment Division students often commented on the design of the overhanging upper floors of the General Division dorm. Then again, they were usually dangerous comments along the lines of, ¡°I bet the whole thing would come crumbling down if I destroyed that part¡±. Still, it was fun getting to actually go inside it. It¡¯s all about having connections, she thought as she cut through the forested courtyard and to the central pathway. She decided to follow that to the southern loop, but¡­ ¡°Oh.¡± She spotted a familiar face to the north which was on her left. It was someone she felt like she had only just met. ¡°Hey, there.¡± A tall figure in black stood on the courtyard¡¯s central pathway. ¡°Mary Sue, do you need me for something?¡± Volume 2, 4: Different Sorts of People Volume 2, Chapter 4: Different Sorts of People Reality has natural extraterritoriality, doesn¡¯t it? Hunter immediately summoned her Normal Device. The ether light and engine noises shook the courtyard forest¡¯s trees. The leaves were still in their summer colors, but the shaking would have scattered the leaves everywhere had it been autumn. Her hair fluttered in the wind. ¡­Wow. This is like a duel, she thought as she asked the question on her mind. ¡°Were you waiting for me?¡± ¡°Why would you think that?¡± ¡°This is too much to be a coincidence.¡± ¡°You can think of it that way if you want.¡± Mary began to move. ¡­Oh. Hunter saw the girl casually hang a plastic bag on a nearby branch. However¡­ ¡­That was fast! She had not rushed the action, but there was no wasted movement and it had great speed due to the great reach provided by her height. She had clearly taken fewer steps than would normally have been necessary, but perhaps due to her excellent balance, it looked perfectly natural. She was not strengthened by any kind of spell. It was pure martial arts. ¡°Um¡­¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Once Mary returned to the center of the path, Hunter asked an honest question. ¡°Are you always like that?¡± ¡°Like what?¡± So she is. This could be bad. She might know how impressive that action was, but she doesn¡¯t find it strange. Hunter remembered how suddenly the girl had vanished when leaving the dining hall. She may have been moving ¡°like a normal person¡± back then out of concern for Hunter¡¯s group and the surrounding people. But¡­ ¡°Are you asking for a fight?¡± ¡°I believe you are the one preparing to attack me.¡± ¡°True enough.¡± Hunter was Rank 4 and her opponent was Rank 2. That was within the acceptable range for a Ranker battle, but Mary had challenged Rank 3 Kagami and Horinouchi to a battle. It was out of the ordinary for Hunter to attack now, but there was something she had to say. ¡°Do you think you can just leave after sending killer intent my way?¡± She was referring to lunchtime and now. She did not know if this meeting was a coincidence or not, but¡­ ¡°This is the second time.¡± Mary was blatantly sending killer intent toward her. ¡°The first time it was directed at Kagami, but I think you could say I was included in that.¡± ¡°Are you asking for a fight?¡± Provoking her was meaningless. Mary¡¯s tone and words made that clear, so¡­ ¡°What if I¡­¡± Just as Hunter planned to ask ¡°am¡±, Mary continued in her previous tone. ¡°What can you do with that Normal Device?¡± ¡°What?¡± As soon as Hunter expressed her confusion, a few spell circles appeared by her hands. ¡­Damage detected!? She looked up and she saw it. The ram and ether pile had been entirely torn off from the front of the Hedgehog. Hunter briefly recalled the specs of her Device. The pile section of her Normal Device had the same super armor and hardness as the Magino Frame. The ram¡¯s armor was thinner, but it was essentially the same as the Magino. And yet they had been easily torn away. She initially wondered how that was possible, but the answer was obvious. The Hedgehog servant inside her spell circle was bristling its spines as it looked at the Device. It seemed to be surprised, so¡­ ¡­It doesn¡¯t know!! They knew what had happened, but they did not know how it had happened. Hunter knew that was a very dangerous situation. Including the fact that she had no countermeasure to take. But¡­ ¡­Well, knowing that is enough. That thought filled her with an odd feeling. Upon seeing the power of a higher Ranker, she felt something beyond surprise or a threat. ¡°Not bad.¡± She felt impressed. Mary was puzzled by the casual whistle she heard. ¡­What kind of reaction is that? It was a little difficult to respond to. After all¡­ ¡°What is with you? And after I went to the trouble of lying in wait for you here.¡± ¡°Just out of curiosity, what would you have done if I¡¯d followed the path around instead of cutting through the courtyard?¡± ¡°I was tracking your location, so I would have cut you off on the southern edge.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Hunter¡¯s eyes moved to the plastic bag hanging from a branch. ¡°You were out shopping, but you spotted me and decided to pick a fight, huh? I¡¯ll admit that counts as both a coincidence and lying in wait.¡± Hunter¡¯s tone continued to confuse Mary. ¡­She seems awfully calm. ¡°I thought you were the type to fill with animosity and charge at me.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Hunter clapped her hands together as if in understanding. ¡°Were you planning to defeat me when I did in order to get those two worked up against you?¡± The comment came with a laugh. Instead of a mocking laugh it was one of true amusement. ¡°Ha ha,¡± laughed the Special Equipment Division representative as she raised her right hand. ¡°Then I¡¯m done.¡± ¡°You¡¯re done?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right.¡± Hunter shrugged. ¡°I saw what you¡¯re capable of when you cut my weapon down to size. That¡¯s enough for me.¡± ¡°What could you possibly understand from that?¡± ¡°I may not understand it, but those two and the people who support me can look into it. The Hedgehog¡¯s got a good memory, you see.¡± She spread her mouth horizontally and smiled a little. ¡°Besides, I gave my Rank to those two. I¡¯m not going to be bait for you, so there¡¯s nothing more for me to do.¡± ¡°After how desperate you were to defeat the Black Witch?¡± ¡°So you knew about that.¡± Mary could only nod. The Spell Division was linked to the history of witches and few of the witches in it had any attack power to speak of. They primarily followed an older style that turned them into a walking spell book of charms and jinxes from the Middle Ages or earlier. However, they were second to none in chemical, mineral, environmental, and especially revelation and divination spells. That was why Mary¡¯s division colleagues used magic to gather information. More than just standalone spells, they would combine their spells with a computer to provide a focal point they could draw the information from. There were spells to tell you what path to take and spells to tell you who would become your lover, so if you needed to know a specific person¡¯s history or feelings, the Spell Division was where to go. History was a continuous sequence of information. Compared to the history of witches, acquiring information on a single person was like collecting a pebble on the roadside. So¡­ ¡°In that context, I am curious about this change that has come over you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t expect me to say too much. Even I¡¯m confused by some of it.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yeah. So how about you-¡­¡± Hunter released her Normal Device. The ether light scattered faster than Mary¡¯s information had said. Kagami Kagami had absorbed her ether light fragments in their previous battle, so this was likely a countermeasure against that. That showed she had not lost sight of herself as a Ranker. So¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± Mary naturally moved right up to Hunter. It only took two steps. ¡­Impossible! Hunter was honestly shocked. She used her foothold spell and swing-by method for mobility, but even with bodily reinforcement divine protections¡­ ¡­I couldn¡¯t move sixteen meters in a step and a half without a running start! It would probably take her two and a half steps. The difference in reach was obviously part of it, but that was not all. The bodily reinforcement divine protections were blatantly over the limit. No one would use that much on a daily basis. But, she thought. This is the Rank 2. As Mary leaped forward while leaning forward, Hunter hurried backwards. If she jumped back before Mary could take the final half step, she could put some distance between them. But¡­ ¡°No fair!¡± A surprise attack reached her. And it was made with the skill of the Rank 2. But nothing was off limits for witches. They were originally the people who had been shunned after those in power deemed them heretics. There was no such thing as ¡°no fair¡± here. She could not fight reality. ¡­But¡­! Hunter knew she was not the best one to say this, but she sensed something similar to herself in Mary. She could tell this girl had lived a life in which battle was perfectly normal. In other words¡­ ¡°Do you belong to a combat family or organization!?¡± As soon as she asked that, a chilly sensation ran through her side. She did not think she had been hit. After all, the sensation did not fully reach the skin. Instead she thought, Way to go, me. And while she was at it¡­ ¡°I can see that!¡± Just as her opponent had finished her half step and prepared to take the next step, the girl had launched an attack from midair. Hunter had seen Mary pull her right hand back. ¡­I need to watch out for the tip of that hand! Spells could be used without summoning a Frame, so was the chill on her side just now the same as what had torn away the tip of the Hedgehog? It did not particularly matter if those were two different things. After all¡­ ¡­There! Hunter attacked. She was in midair, but she was on the way to landing. Her opponent would have to stop briefly to take her next step. Hunter dropped her heel down. She used the landing motion of her back step to place all of her falling weight on her heel. She did not target her opponent¡¯s approaching hand. She targeted further up, at the wrist. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± She hit. Her heel gouged into her opponent¡¯s right wrist from above. Or she meant to. ¡­Oh. She felt a chill on the back of her dropping right thigh, so¡­ ¡°¡­Toh!¡± Hunter made a hook with the heel on her opponent¡¯s right wrist and she rotated it backwards. Mary was impressed. ¡­So this is the former Rank 3! Mary had thrust her right arm forward, but Hunter had stepped on the wrist and launched her entire body backwards. And while spinning around at that. It was said close-range witches could easily stand on top of a blade during a battle, but Mary had not expected the girl to use her attacking hand as footing during such a high-speed exchange. She had gotten a blow in on Mary¡¯s arm, and¡­ ¡­She made a jump without her foothold spell! Hunter flew through the air. The rotating path her body took showed no sign of rushing. To leap as far back and as far away as she could, she made a powerful swing of her lower legs and slid them outwards to spin around. Plus, she had already taken a fighting stance as she fell and she was aiming to make a counterattack. ¡°Well done!¡± ¡°You too!¡± Mary reached the former Rank 3 as soon as the girl landed. She made a jab. She launched her right forearm straight ahead. Her summer sweater¡¯s sleeve could not keep up, so it exposed her arm from wrist to elbow. The black leather glove was carried with enough speed that the outline of the fingernails could be seen. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± Hunter leaned her body forward as she moved back. Her raised right elbow attempted to deflect Mary¡¯s right hand. ¡°¡­¡± But a tremor of apparent hesitation ran through Hunter¡¯s body. She then made a decision. She did not block Mary¡¯s right hand. She still reflected Mary¡¯s arm, but she used the time lag of the tremor to send her guarding arm to the inner side of Mary¡¯s wrist. ¡­An excellent decision! Hunter had not made a mistake. If her opponent¡¯s right hand was the focal point of her spell¡­ ¡­Then blocking her right hand with my arm would be risky! That would be like blocking a blade with her arm. No, I still don¡¯t know what kind of spell it is, but it¡¯s probably dangerous. I mean, some people launch their spells from their hand, but does anyone do it from their wrist? Hm? But that American wrestler witch I fought back in the States did place a cutting spell on the inside of her elbow for a lariat. Well, she did complain that it was an ¡°Axe Bomber¡± instead of a lariat, but hell if I know what that means. So when a brief tremor ran through her body, she had used the time lag of shifting to an attack stance in order to adjust the timing of her guard. She had been in the middle of back stepping, but she had used the momentum of leaning forward to power the blow coming from her right shoulder. She used her right arm to guard and parry her opponent¡¯s right wrist out to the left. Then she sent her right fist toward the center of the girl¡¯s (surprisingly large) chest. That would make for a counterattack. But¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± She made a change of plans. She could not make a counterattack. She called off her attack and back stepped away. After all¡­ ¡­Not good! Sensing danger in the Rank 2¡¯s movements, she hurried herself by snapping her entire body backwards. ¡­Will I make it in time!? A second solid sound rang out between them. Hunter¡¯s body was knocked backwards, but she managed to hit something herself. A direct kick from Hunter knocked Mary¡¯s left wrist back. Hunter used the force of the kick to perform another backflip and place her hands on the ground. Her fingers caught at the mold of the central path¡¯s stone pavement and she leaped backwards while regaining control of her position. ¡­That was close! What was that!? While taking her landing position, Hunter felt a mixture of panic and admiration in her heart. She had definitely almost been hit by some kind of strange attack. It had not been a jab. Her opponent had launched a high-speed strike with a long reach. The danger had come from the tip of the girl¡¯s hand, so Hunter had started by knocking her wrist outwards. Then she had prepared to make a counterattack with her right hand. Her opponent had done two things in response. First, Mary sent out her left hand to match Hunter¡¯s counterattack. It came from further out than Hunter¡¯s counterattack and it was aimed at her face. Hunter could not see Mary¡¯s left hand because her swinging right forearm was in the way. ¡­That means the right is a decoy and the left is the real one! She did not care. She only had to instantly lean her body forward toward her opponent¡¯s left side. That would move her face below the left hand targeting it. Her counterattack would then strike Mary¡¯s solar plexus instead of her chest. Hunter would completely lose her back stepping movement. She had to fully step forward in order to lean her upper body forward like that. It was a lot like making a full-body tackle. After making up her mind, she prepared to take the step. But that was when it happened. ¡­Hold on. Something seemed off about Mary¡¯s left arm. The left arm seemed positioned to push her opponent¡¯s right hand out of the way, but then its strength vanished. If that was to push it inwards, Hunter would have understood, but Mary¡¯s arm did not do that. The inner edge of the forearm lost its strength from the tendon and moved away from Hunter. What was this? Hunter instinctually understood thanks to her experience in making physical strikes. When making a high-speed strike, one could not clench their fist before launching it. One had to relax their hand and arm and build up acceleration by gathering strength starting from the shoulder, the foot, or somewhere else far removed from the point of impact. Only after building up all the acceleration would they clench their fist and make the punch. So why had Mary relaxed the inner edge of her right arm? There was only one answer: she was making an instantaneous sweep from outside Hunter¡¯s guard. Hunter did not know what kind of attack that would be, but¡­ ¡°The left was the decoy and the right¡¯s the real one!¡± In that case, the left jab had been meant to cut off Hunter¡¯s escape by making her lean and step forward. And the true attack¡­ ¡­The sweeping right arm! Hunter immediately made up her mind: no one was stupid enough to use themselves as a guinea pig here. So she used her forward-stepping foot that was outside her opponent¡¯s field of vision. She made a kick against Mary¡¯s left wrist. ¡­Will I make it!? Before her opponent¡¯s sweeping right arm could reach her, she bent backwards and flew low through the air. She leaped. Hunter knew she had dodged it. She flipped once and landed in a low stance. However, Mary leaped after her. She was fast, but more importantly¡­ ¡­What¡¯s with that stance!? Hunter had just dodged Mary¡¯s sweeping right arm by kicking back off of the girl¡¯s left arm. Her opponent had just swung her right arm inwards and had her left arm knocked backwards. In other words, she should have spun a little to the left. But that was not the case. Hunter saw Mary¡¯s back. She had given herself over to the rotation and she used the tornado spin to attack with a right backhand blow. ¡­This girl! Her right hand was no longer making a jab. The backhand¡¯s trajectory was entirely in the sweeping form. Her right arm drew a crescent moon-like arc as it flew diagonally downwards. It was coming, but¡­ ¡°Wah.¡± Hunter saw something scattering to her left. It was her bangs. They had probably been cut in the previous attack. A few tufts had been taken out near enough to the base for Hunter to think, Hey, wait. If I have to cut it all this short to match, it¡¯ll really make me look like a kid! There were no split ends. Of course, that was not all. Her uniform had been cut at her right side and left arm. It was not torn. It was split, as if it had always been like that. And that was despite the Shihouin Academy uniform¡¯s anti-spell defenses. ¡­First Horinouchi and now her. Are they confusing stat allocation with judging the intent to kill!? But dealing with the crazies is the police¡¯s job. Good luck, America. So Hunter gave up on her back-stepping. She did move back, but she slid her feet back while on her toes. ¡°Ha.¡± She said it while in the upright stance of American karate. ¡°Bring it, rookie!¡± Mary renewed her opinion of Hunter yet again. Mary had a high Rank, but that was based on her grades up to this point. Both of them had fought lower Rankers a few times, but they had no experience battling those with similar Ranks. Hunter had dropped to Rank 4, but that was not due to a lack of skill. She was solidly Rank 3 there. And from what Mary could see¡­ ¡­She is incredibly nimble with incredible bursts of strength. More than once now, she had kicked off Mary¡¯s body to dodge an attack. That was likely only meant for emergencies, but it took a lot of skill to do it on a moment¡¯s notice like that. And now she prepared a combat pose. ¡­Heh. It made Mary a little happy. This had strayed from Mary¡¯s initial plans, but Hunter was no longer saying ¡°I¡¯m done¡±. Realizing someone was willing to be her opponent erased the ¡°a little¡± from ¡°a little happy¡±. Mary was happy. She had moved forward, swung her arm, and had it deflected, but she had used the motion of her other arm to spin around and¡­ ¡°¡­!¡± She moved forward again. Hunter sped up her own rotation. ¡­Spells! As she quickly exhaled, she applied the foothold spell and some bodily reinforcements. The battle was not giving her a gap long enough to even instantly summon her Normal Frame from her pool of accumulated ether, so she activated the spells in her ¡°standard¡± state to do as much as she could. But¡­ ¡°Ohhh!¡± She was glad she practiced karate. This opponent¡¯s attacks were definitely based in sweeping motions. When making a jab, she most likely activated a cutting spell on the inner edge of her hand¡¯s tip. But once that jab extended far enough and she could sweep inwards with her arm, the cutting edge extended from her wrist to elbow. It was a scythe. It was more powerful when sweeping back as if in an embrace than when jabbing outwards. It was a difficult spell to deal with. Why would she make a spell that was more powerful and more likely to hit on the way back? But Hunter¡¯s close-range expertise as a karate user told her how annoying this technique was. For one thing, she could not guard against it properly. She could not intercept the jabbing tip and even her defenses would be sliced through once it began its ¡°reaping¡± motion. The most she could do was knock the jab to the side with her guarding arms or make an attack of her own to knock the wrist or forearm away. She could move right up to Mary, but then Mary¡¯s arm would sweep in from behind her and it would all be over. She might be able to get an attack of her own in, but then she would be sliced into as if by an embracing arm. The difference in damage between their attacks was huge. And, she continued. ¡­Her movements are all so perfect they piss me off! When it looked like Mary¡¯s long reach would almost mechanically rotate around her body, she would instead make a curving motion. It was like she had made her entire body into a whip. Plus, even her straight-line attacks like the jabs began by swinging the arm behind her and then launching them up at high speed. It began with her feet. She would step with her feet, twist her hips, move her shoulder, and finally swing her arm. Hunter did the same thing, but Mary used her long reach to completely control her entire body and she could link any movement to an attack with her arms. Hunter could not take that lightly. The acceleration of attacks made with the human body was determined by the number of acceleration points and the muscular strength controlling their reach. Everyone had the same number of joints, so it came down to the quantity and quality of muscles moving those joints. If Mary could pull off the same speed as Hunter, her extra reach would raise the force behind the blows that much more. And she was most likely doing just that. Their speeds were nearly identical. Hunter took quick steps and her strikes were¡­ ¡­Oh, they¡¯re completely straight. Well, I am a karate user. Her opponent would charge quickly forward and her strikes flew in curving arcs. They clashed. Hunter intercepted the surefire blade that Mary could freely send in from outside or straight ahead. She moved back and a squealing noise come from the soles of her shoes as she slid freely along the midair footholds her spell gave her. ¡°Hey!¡± Ether light sparks scattered from the deflected point. Mary was using a spell too. Just like Hunter, she had lost a chance to summon her Frame. That made Hunter a little happy. It meant she was not completely at her opponent¡¯s mercy. Of course, that did not mean she completely understood Mary¡¯s attacks or that her uniform was not being sliced apart. ¡°That really isn¡¯t fair!¡± She said it, even if it was a little late. ¡°Do those two interest you that much!?¡± Mary felt happy as the scattering ether light sparks washed over her. Her opponent had activated some spells even in this rushed battle with no openings. This was the American representative. Under normal standards, she was the representative of the world¡¯s greatest military force. That was who viewed Mary as a worthy opponent and was currently fighting her. It was wonderful. She decided to answer Hunter¡¯s question, although not because of that. ¡°Yes,¡± she said. ¡°I must have those two taking this seriously.¡± ¡°And so you¡¯re challenging them to a fight!? What are you thinking!?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t understand?¡± Mary had only one thing to say. ¡°I am saying that waiting for allies is nothing more than na?vet¨¦.¡± Those words brought an immediate change to Hunter¡¯s expression. Her eyes widened in surprise, but then her eyebrows rose to erase that look. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª!!¡± Hunter gave up on intercepting. She kicked off the air in front of Mary and leaped backwards. ¡­Is that¡­? Mary was curious about the girl¡¯s actions and the brief change to her expression. It had almost looked like the girl had been angered by her words. ¡°¡­¡± Mary watched as Hunter created three footholds in midair and flipped backwards. With some distance between them, she landed and resumed her fighting stance. Her eyebrows were raised and her teeth bared. ¡°Come on out, Normal Frame!¡± With a brief mechanical roar, witch clothing covered Hunter¡¯s body. When the completed shield spear appeared by her left arm, its tip had been repaired. She held that weapon at the ready. ¡°Becoming Rank 2 doesn¡¯t sound too bad!¡± Mary smiled. ¡­She has excellent ether control. She was entirely serious. A witch¡¯s version of serious. Mary could sense her anger. And in this world, it was emotion that heated up a Phlogiston Heart. Her anger made her into a witch. That furious emotion was wonderful. If one raged and raged and raged, they could change the world. But¡­ ¡­But! Mary raised her voice as she charged forward. ¡°Ira! Summon!¡± Hunter saw Mary summon her Frame. But¡­ ¡°What!?¡± The tall figure charging toward her wore black. Each part was shaped like a crescent moon and yet had a solid presence. The black hat and black cloak had color running through them like red blood vessels. ¡­Executioner-style!! That combat style was also known as Grim Reaper-style. It had its origins in the Middle Ages, making it quite old. It predated the witch hunts. It was also associated with war and pestilence, so Hunter, who was raised in America, had never seen it before. Mary held a triple scythe in her right hand. It looked like a gun at first because three similarly-shaped long scythes were lined up alongside each other and they seemed to extend the silhouette of Mary¡¯s long arm even further. But that was not all. Hunter saw something behind Mary and it very much resembled the Device the girl held. However, it was far larger and the long scythes were arranged in a circle as if to pierce the heavens. ¡°A Magino Device!?¡± This is bad, thought Hunter. The constant surprises brought by this opponent reminded her of something she had experienced quite recently. Oh, she¡¯s just like that idiot Kagami. Idiots who readily broke the rules could create shocked openings in normal people. That was the case here. ¡­What is this!? ¡°You directly summoned the Magino Frame!? What happened to heating up your Phlogiston Heart!?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t get it?¡± asked Mary. ¡°I am always serious.¡± ¡­That¡¯s not an answer!! Since Hunter still sort of understood what she meant, it likely had to do with the Phlogiston Heart. That said, the enemy was already closing the distance between them. She may have ignored the Normal-to-Magino step, but Hunter could instantly summon hers too if she followed that step. So she corrected her stance. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± She regulated her breathing, prepared to take a step back, and then noticed something. ¡­The ground behind me. It was torn apart. There was a meter wide gouge that continued for a few hundred meters. Its depth varied from five meters to deep enough to see the ocean below the artificial island. Hunter knew what had happened. ¡­A Magino Frame attack!! Most likely, it had only missed because she had regulated her breathing before moving back. If she had immediately moved back, that would have been the end of it. By the time she thought ¡°not bad¡±, Mary was already right in front of her. Hunter had no ground to step on behind her, but¡­ ¡°Foothold!¡± As soon as she started her step, light dropped from the sky. It was a Magino Frame secondary cannon and it fell between her and her enemy. ¡°¡­!¡± It exploded and she was thrown into the air. ¡­I will not let you escape! Mary did not hold back. She knew this was when she had to settle the match. She had created an opening by showing what she could do and she would not get an opening like this again. So¡­ ¡°Here I go!¡± She neatly guided the secondary cannon blast. Ira, her Magino Frame, had some weaknesses with this method of attack, but she was making up for those here. The impact sent her opponent into the air and the blast¡¯s scattered ether would interfere with the creation of any new spells, preventing the girl from using her foothold spell. But¡­ ¡­Reach her! Mary was acting under the same conditions. That secondary cannon was meant for use on Magino Frames, so the scattering ether fragments would prevent her from using her anti-personnel spells as well. However, she could use the ones meant for herself. So she used an acceleration spell, caught up to her opponent without losing any momentum, and struck with her blade at close range. ¡°Macabre!¡± She summoned her own servant into a spell circle. It was known as the Grim Reaper type, but she thought the yellow eyes inside the hood were full of emotion and quite cute. But for now¡­ ¡°Divine protection!¡± When she yelled that, the servant raised its scythe and placed an attack spell on her blade. And that blade was the executioner¡¯s scythe. If the divine protection was placed on the blade itself, the scythe would act as the core and the scattering ether meant nothing. She could not fire it very far, but it was more than enough for a flesh-and-blood opponent. And¡­ ¡°Reach her!¡± The high-speed strike reached the girl. Mary felt clear tactile feedback as a physical blow that returned to her hands. Hunter was working to control her foothold spell. She could not get it active on the bottom of her feet in time. That was partially due to the secondary cannon having been fired there. So¡­ ¡­My hands! If she opened a foothold spell on each palm, even an idiot could push off of empty air. And she only needed a small push, so the ether disturbance did not matter. However, she was worried about one thing. ¡­She¡¯s fast and tall! Mary had abnormal speed and reach. Hunter suddenly realized that was two things she was worried about. Well, mistakes like that happened all the time. Would those things let Mary reach her or could she avoid her? ¡°Ohhh!¡± As soon as she decided it was a gamble, something shot in between the two of them. At first it looked like a shield, but a closer look showed it was a sword. And¡­ ¡°Kagami!¡± Kagami blocked Mary¡¯s attack with her Normal Frame. Volume 2, 5: If It’s Just for Fun Volume 2, Chapter 5: If It¡¯s Just for Fun You don¡¯t have to say anything Yet you even act on it ¡°Are you okay, Hunter!?¡± As Kagami shouted back, she sensed something odd about her opponent¡¯s attack. She had caught it on her blade. Or so she thought. She felt and heard the impact, and she should have stopped the opponent. But there was an odd slipping sensation coming through the large sword. ¡­What is this? It felt like sticking a knife into a slab of meat and cutting it with a pulling motion. It was the charming sensation of the meat¡¯s elastic pressure trying to hold the knife in place inside it. But if she was feeling that here¡­ ¡°Kagami Kagami!¡± Mary roared her name and raised her triple scythe. That was when Kagami noticed something about the front armor of Dikaiosyne that could defend against Hunter¡¯s attack even in Normal mode. ¡­It was cut through!? She could not see it from where she was, but she could sense the reduced internal pressure due to the split armor. A spell circle appeared and Dikaio informed her of the emergency. That told her how far the blade had gone, but¡­ ¡­What is this? Mary¡¯s scythe had indeed been stopped by the armor. Dikaiosyne had been split by a power emitted by the scythe blades. Three attack lines ran diagonally up and to the left like claw marks. What if that spell had been fired as a projectile instead of emitted from the blades? In fact, most witches would be able to convert such a power into a projectile. In that case¡­ ¡°It would seem luck is smiling my way, Mary!¡± With that announcement, Kagami saw Mary¡¯s back. The girl had spun around after launching that full-power attack. Her hand was reaching into the sky. The scythe-like curves of her fingers were pointing toward the Magino Device with its giant nine ring arrangement that almost resembled a wind instrument. That weapon fired something in response. ¡°Kagami! A secondary cannon is coming!¡± ¡°I can see that for myself, Hunter!¡± It was a direct attack. Horinouchi spoke to herself. ¡°She said she was heading out to get Hunter, but she certainly is taking her time.¡± As soon as she stepped out of the General Division dorm¡¯s front entrance, she saw a nine scythe Magino Device sticking up from the courtyard. She immediately spat out the iced coffee she was drinking from a cup. ¡°Wh-what in the world is that!?¡± ¡°Milady! That is Lady Mary Sue¡¯s Magino Device!¡± ¡°I know that, Koutarou!¡± ¡°Yes, but the thing is¡­!¡± Just as Koutarou prepared to send her a further explanation¡­ ¡°Heyyy! Horinouchi! We¡¯re in a battle!! At the ocean!¡± She heard Hunter¡¯s yelling voice. So¡­ ¡°U-um, milady!¡± ¡°Later, Koutarou! I¡¯m heading to the pier!!¡± The Head Maid saw the Head Butler punching the floor as alarms blared throughout the mansion. The Ranker battle had begun so unexpectedly that U.A.H.J. within Shihouin Academy had been slow to react. The assessment of the situation, approvals, and evacuation requests were all running late and an alarm sounded from the residential area at the base of the mountain. But as for those here¡­ ¡°You should have acted more quickly, Head Butler.¡± ¡°Dammit¡­! I so wanted to provide commentary for Lady Mitsuru!¡± ¡°Head Butlerrrr. Can I send the data straight to Lady Mitsuru?¡± ¡°No, you may not!¡± He shot to his feet and his car keys were already spinning around his finger. ¡°The battle is at the pier! I will hurry there, so send all information to me! And make sure Lady Mitsuru does not notice!¡± ¡°Head Butler.¡± The Head Maid pushed up her glasses. ¡°There is something severely wrong with your mental health.¡± Hunter flew through the air. ¡­Wah! Her arms held onto Kagami in Normal Frame mode. As soon as Kagami had been hit, Hunter had grabbed her from behind and leaped to the right. That had shifted the blow a little, but it had not completely erased it. They had been sent flying in a certain direction. ¡°This is right toward eastern Tokyo Bay!¡± Her instruments said their initial speed had exceeded Mach 4. It had taken a short time for her body tuning divine protection to bring her back from a brief blackout, so once her vision had returned, it had looked like they were flying south of the secondary cannon¡¯s direction. But that was inaccurate. Kagami had probably held Dikaiosyne diagonally, so the direct secondary cannon hit had sent them flying southeast into Tokyo Bay. She could see their destination shimmering in the distance, but¡­ ¡­That¡¯s the abandoned industrial district on Tokyo Bay¡¯s eastern coast! ¡°America¡¯s tuning divine protections must be excellent indeed!¡± As Kagami spoke within her arms, they began skidding along the ocean¡¯s surface. They were just like a stone skipping on the water. It felt more like ricocheting off a sticky wall than off of water. ¡°Wah!¡± Their bodies rotated vertically at high speed. Hunter wanted to use her foothold spell, but that would actually be dangerous with her feet alternating between the earth and sky so quickly. Even if Tokyo Bay was relatively shallow, their speed would convert the water¡¯s mass into a powerful blow. Also¡­ ¡°Here it comes!¡± She looked up to the sky as she spun and saw several curves of light. ¡°It¡¯s that secondary cannon!¡± When Horinouchi ran out onto the pier, she saw a giant black scythe floating in the sky. ¡­This is the Rank 2¡¯s Magino Device! Scythes were arranged together into a circle. The black scythes varied in size with a single large one and two small ones forming a set. Three such sets were attached together. As it floated, it produced a noise reminiscent of a heavy chain rattling. It was the sound of a chain in a spinning pulley. ¡°The tone of judgment as the condemned is hanged?¡± ¡°Head Maid! Lady Mitsuru just said something poetic!¡± ¡°That happens a lot with witches. You did that while you were students, didn¡¯t you? Something about hellfire and dark freezing.¡± ¡°P-please stop that, Head Maid! That attack is super effective against me!¡± ¡°¡­Hey, where is the Head Butler?¡± ¡°Milady! Please come with me to safety!¡± Horinouchi saw a car slipping along the pier as it tried to brake. It bore the red emblem of the Horinouchi family and Koutarou beckoned to her from the driver¡¯s seat. ¡°Milady, this is already a Ranker battle! It is too dangerous here!¡± ¡°B-but I¡¯m also the Rank 3.¡± ¡°No, this Ranker battle is between Lady Hunter in Rank 4 and Lady Mary in Rank 2. Lady Kagami may have joined in, but she will be treated as an intruder and there is a chance the outcome will have no influence on the original two¡¯s Ranks.¡± In that case, she thought. ¡°If I joined in too, it might be counted as a Ranker battle between Mary and us?¡± ¡°Yes. And even if you won, Lady Mary could protest the outcome because you joined as intruders! So¡­¡± So¡­ ¡°I do not know what Lady Mary wants, but if this becomes your Ranker battle, she will have an advantage whether she wins or loses! It would be best if you did not join in.¡± ¡°B-but then what do I do?¡± ¡°Please allow me to carry you to safety in this car! It contains level 2 ether concealment, so they will have difficulty detecting it!¡± ¡°My, that must have been expensive. How did you convince my family to pay for that!?¡± ¡°I was having difficulty finding any insurance that would accept me, so I paid for it myself!¡± Horinouchi gave the car a closer look. It had the Horinouchi family crest on the hood, but that meant¡­ ¡°Did you paint it yourself?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous, milady! That is a sticker!¡± ¡°I¡¯m watching this via satellite,¡± cut in Hunter. ¡°But is this what you call a corporate slave?¡± ¡°Hunter,¡± replied Kagami. ¡°In this case, he would technically be a shrine slave.¡± ¡°S-stop that, you two! I don¡¯t need you saying everything I¡¯m thinking!¡± ¡°Anyway, milady! You need to evacuate!¡± Just as Koutarou pointed at the car, a secondary cannon shell fell right on top of it. ¡°Ahhhhh! I only just got that car three days ago!!¡± Come to think of it, ether concealment isn¡¯t much use when it¡¯s plainly visible. But more importantly¡­ ¡°Kagami!¡± More and more pillars of water rose from the ocean. The two witches could not move freely after being blown away, but they managed to skid along the ocean¡¯s surface and randomly change their trajectory. Secondary cannon shells dropped into the ocean to pursue them. ¡°Their precise homing ability actually gives us a chance!¡± Hunter was the one dealing with them. Due to their speed and rotation, she could not just move at random. So¡­ ¡­My foothold spell! She created several footholds around her but did not use them. She just left them there. The foothold spells would remain in place for a set period of time and they were made to endure the reaction of her step. They used a fair bit of power, so if their opponent¡¯s shells were pursuing the ether they detected¡­ ¡°These will work as chaff!¡± Her plan showed results almost immediately. The shells began tearing into and devouring the foothold spell circles placed away from them. Even so, a few of the shells still followed their proper target. And¡­ ¡­Here it comes! Hunter checked the live footage from an American surveillance satellite and saw Mary¡¯s Magino Device floating over Tokyo Bay in a shot from low to the south. ¡°Hunter! Can you send us flying at satellite speed?¡± ¡°Sorry! There isn¡¯t one overhead right now! Wait a little longer!¡± ¡°I think our opponent is the one who will refuse to wait around.¡± Sure enough, it was coming. ¡­The Magino Device! Mary¡¯s multi-scythe Device was aiming its nine points their way. The secondary cannon shells were being fired from each of the scythes, but¡­ ¡­Here it comes! Even when a witch specialized in ground combat, their Magino Device¡¯s flight speed would be at least Mach 3. There was a distance of less than ten kilometers between their position on the coast and Shihouin Academy in the center of the bay, so it would catch up almost instantly. If possible, Hunter wanted to summon her Magino Device and put more distance between them, but¡­ ¡°Kagami, until our spin dies down¡­¡± ¡°Oh, not to worry, Hunter.¡± As soon as she said that, Kagami grabbed Hunter from the side. ¡°Eh?¡± The world spun. A spell circle desperately worked to tune her inner ear and organs. She saw an incredibly familiar spell circle next to Kagami¡¯s face. ¡°Y-you copied me!?¡± ¡°I started with a copy and further developed it on my own. That is a virtue for the Japanese, Hunter. Now look behind you.¡± Since they were rotating, she could only assume ¡°behind you¡± meant to the west. The Magino Device there was scattering acceleration light behind it. It was coming. She had no idea what kind of range its main cannon had with that strange cutting power, but¡­ ¡°It seems surprisingly focused on the closer ranges. The secondary cannons have poor homing and does this mean the main cannon cannot reach this far?¡± As soon as Kagami said that, the ocean split to their right. A straight line opened in the water for about two kilometers. ¡°Oh,¡± said Kagami. ¡°She seems quite narrow-minded.¡± ¡°Can I be a little narrow-minded too!?¡± ¡°Save that for later, Hunter.¡± The secondary cannon fired behind them, but the trajectory was different from the earlier homing ones. ¡°These will be guided! That one was for calibration!¡± Kagami swung Dikaiosyne around and struck downwards with the back of the blade. ¡°Hunter, you were born on the West Coast, weren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes, I was¡­¡± She had a feeling she knew where this was going, so she decided to ask. ¡°Kagami, have you ever done this before?¡± ¡°Leave it to me. ¡­I saw plenty of people doing this when I visited Shonan.¡± ¡°Y-you¡¯re the worst!¡± As the barrage pursued them from behind, Kagami placed her feet on Dikaiosyne. They were spinning through the air, but the five meter sword crashed into the water, maintained its orientation despite skidding, briefly cut deep into the water, and stopped all of the water that reached it. After that¡­ ¡°I was right to create an acceleration system the other day.¡± They cut through and across the ocean surface using the sword as a surfboard. American U.A.H.F. received word that American Representative Hunter was taking part in a Ranker battle. As soon as they realized no satellite would make it to the swing-by point in time, they scrambled two F-23s from Atsugi. They would be criticized if they took part in a witch¡¯s Ranker battle, so¡­ ¡°We have arrived! Just you wait, young lady! Marvel at our uselessness!¡± ¡°A man¡¯s gotta make an immediate appearance when a witch is in a bind!¡± The two planes on the apron switched the digital optical paint on their wings from a defense emblem to an acceleration emblem. Even including standby time, they took off quickly. The first did not wait around for the second, but they both almost instantly broke the sound barrier and shot through the sky. The spell circle opened on the HUD showed a busy sky. Various witches and organizations had set up security barriers to mark out their territory and the aircraft course schedule was visible for the air routes that witches from major organizations used. The two fighters avoided only the ones that would cause a collision and hurried to their destination. In the sea off of the Uraga Channel, the Seventh Fleet was working with the JSDF¡¯s Yokosuka Fleet to quickly grasp the entire situation. They were also working with the Shinto Horinouchi family. And at the center of it all¡­ ¡°It¡¯s creepy how we know next to nothing about the Rank 2.¡± ¡°That old hag from the Seventh Fleet¡¯s Song Caf¨¦ is warning the Rank 2 with every communication method she can, but she¡¯s being completely ignored. The Rank 2¡¯s got to have some guts. ¡­After all, she¡¯s ignoring a warning from the world¡¯s greatest military force, from Shinto, and from the witches.¡± ¡°Out of context, you would almost think we¡¯re bullying her. ¡­What¡¯s the academy doing?¡± ¡°They¡¯re viewing this as a Ranker battle for now and will intervene if it proves necessary.¡± ¡°Ha,¡± laughed the other. ¡°Shihouin Cerisier of the Three Sages. Even if the Ranker system wasn¡¯t as defined back then, she was the Number 2. She sure is nice to the current upper Rankers that are below what she once was.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t get it¡­ Oh, and I can see them! We¡¯ll be able to see them for twelve seconds with our spell vision!¡± The two fighters parted to the left and right. ¡°Don¡¯t get close! We¡¯re only gathering intel! Once we pass by, circle back around the bay and leave the rest to the photographer! They can be more use here than just snapping some pics of the moon!¡± Hunter was swung around. Kagami held her while surfing along the ocean with Dikaiosyne. And she was forcing them through slaloms as they went. ¡­Whoaaaaaaa!? ¡°Ha ha ha. Summer may be over, but these are the best waves this year!¡± They skidded along the water. A secondary cannon shell landed below them, blasting them forward. Another shell targeted the spot where they would land, but¡­ ¡°Hunter, swing your legs to the left!¡± She did as she was told and they tilted down and to the right, allowing for a slalom to the right as soon as they landed. To ensure they did not move too far over, she swung her legs in the opposite direction to keep their balance. The ocean to their left exploded a moment later, but that no longer mattered to them. She was fairly certain the shell had grazed the tips of her toes, but she did not have the heart to check. Two F-23s were flying through the sky, but she did not have time to look up at them. Mostly due to the dangerous person right next to her. ¡°I never knew surfing was so invigorating! I had my doubts when I saw those people shouting ¡®cowabunga¡¯ out on the summer waves, but I think I will be joining them next year, Hunter!¡± You already are, you idiot. Regardless, this was definitely more dangerous than the explosions. However, the idiot gave Hunter a cheerful look and performed a three-sixty to avoid a shell on their right. The shockwaves blasted even the ocean spray away. ¡°This is working pretty well, Hunter!¡± ¡°Just fly! Wouldn¡¯t that be a hell of a lot easier!?¡± ¡°The sky may be open, but don¡¯t you think that mean she is luring us there?¡± Hunter realized she had experienced exactly that earlier. Then a series of sounds arrived from behind. It was a barrage of secondary cannon blasts. However¡­ ¡°Hold on! That¡¯s a full volley!¡± ¡°Not to worry, Hunter! We are already at the edge of Tokyo Bay!¡± The bank was visible up ahead. The map in her spell circle also showed them arriving at the eastern coast of Tokyo Bay. ¡°Why¡¯s it still called Tokyo Bay when it¡¯s in Chiba Prefecture?¡± ¡°You do not know, Hunter!? It was to create a laboratory to hold the mice and wild beasts with developed intelligence that were sent over from America!¡± ¡°Really!? Tokyo sure is full of awful people!¡± ¡°Indeed. Tokyoites and mice are both awful people, Hunter! Now, might I ask one thing?¡± ¡°Eh!? There¡¯s more!?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Kagami smiled. ¡°As someone who has done this before, do you perhaps know how to stop this thing?¡± Horinouchi opened the connection linked to in an email from the US military that said ¡°This is secret, but please take it¡± in suspicious Romanized Japanese. She sipped on her cup of iced coffee while sitting on top of the totaled red car. ¡°Why does this live feed show those two messing around?¡± From a shallow southern perspective, the two of them were surfing and jumping up onto the slope of the bank. They crashed into an abandoned factory and broke right through it. Horinouchi spat out her coffee and wiped her mouth with a handkerchief. ¡°Wh-what are they doing!?¡± ¡°Milady! I believe breaking through seventeen abandoned buildings in a row is a new world record, so should I spread this information online!?¡± ¡°Wait, Koutarou! That was nineteen and a half buildings! The information needs to be accurate!¡± ¡°Well done, milady!!¡± So even abandoned buildings have materials inside, noted Kagami. She was on a coastal factory¡¯s transport platform. The corporation had likely sheltered their vehicles there before the Hexennacht ten years before. She and Hunter had crashed into and knocked aside the row of trucks, but that had cushioned them enough to stop them. Regardless, their summer surfing had come to a physical end. But now she and Hunter sat on the concrete floor behind the smashed trucks. ¡°Ha ha ha! My, wasn¡¯t that dangerous, Hunter!?¡± ¡°Yes! Yes, it was! Yes, it was was was!!¡± Her vocabulary seemed to have dropped, so Kagami was worried she had hit her head too hard. But then the girl sighed. ¡°Is something the matter, Hunter?¡± Hunter smiled bitterly and looked over at Kagami. ¡°Yeah, sorry. I thought that girl would be more understanding than this!¡± ¡°I see,¡± was all Kagami could say as she adjusted her grip on Dikaiosyne. ¡°Hunter, you fight with backup from America. I assume you fought on your own this time to match your opponent¡¯s style, but you should avoid doing that in the future.¡± ¡°And what am I supposed to say to the idiot that matched my style and still won?¡± ¡°Why not praise her?¡± Kagami stood up and faced the hole they had opened on the western side of the building. ¡­I can hear the American fighters. If their opponent¡¯s Magino Device was used at close range, it would move quietly. It may have been based on the idea of creeping up and chopping off the enemy¡¯s head. ¡°Kagami.¡± Hunter stood up next to her and swung both arms to release her Frame. She once more wore her uniform that was cut in places and ether light scattered around her. ¡°I¡¯ll return this to you.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± agreed Kagami. There was one thing she had to say as she held her hand out to the scattering ether. ¡­My thanks. But just as she prepared to do so, Hunter lifted the corners of her mouth and spoke. ¡°You should thank me.¡± Her Phlogiston Heart was heating up inside its spell circle. The speed of that process had just shot up, so¡­ ¡°Of course.¡± She stepped toward the destroyed opening showing the late-summer sunlight. ¡°Summon Magino Frame!¡± Horinouchi ran from the pier to the artificial island. She was headed west toward an artificial hill. ¡­That¡¯s the only spot I can see the eastern coast from! Alarm spell circles had popped up around the artificial island to provide information, but they were not informing people of the Ranker battle. ¡­Mary¡¯s previous Magino Device attack split the island? A long crack had been created from the center to the south. The southern end was still connected, but the island rose and fell with the tides. The stress of that process might just break the island apart along that line. The two fighters in the sky were making their second circle to gather intelligence. Voices and metallic sounds were coming primarily from the western end of Shihouin Academy. The Special Equipment Division witches were often sent out to perform repairs, so they were out repairing the artificial island. In that case, Horinouchi could only leave it to them. She had to hurry as well, but¡­ ¡°I¡¯ll have to summon my Frame.¡± And¡­ ¡°Koutarou!¡± ¡°What do you need?¡± Koutarou drove up alongside her in a white light car, but¡­ ¡°You had a spare car!? She peeked inside and saw a maid in the passenger seat. She was a shooter-type from the Middle East and she raised a hand in greeting, so Horinouchi nodded back and gave Koutarou a warning. ¡°No destroying this one, okay?¡± ¡°I am aware of that.¡± ¡°In that case,¡± she began before getting to her instructions. ¡°Gather information on Mary and track her location. I especially want to know her attack range and attack power. Focus on the spell information because the US military will be recording the physical reactions and speeds from the air. We can compare the two information sources afterwards, so gather the information you imagine they would be unable to. Can you do that?¡± Meanwhile, she heard a rumbling from the east. ¡°Milady, that was¡­¡± She knew what that ringing of a large bell meant. She did not even need to turn around. ¡°Kagami summoned her Magino Frame!?¡± The witch in the passenger seat spoke up before Koutarou could. ¡°Milady, well done!¡± Koutarou, is that really worth shaking your fist at her for? The battlefield was located above Tokyo Bay. A set of nine giant scythes and an incredibly long sword faced each other in the air while drifting in circles in an attempt to reach the other¡¯s side. They were both five hundred meters long. They looked heavy and slow, but they were actually quite fast and trails of clouds formed as their various tips tore through the air. Tokyo Bay was about twenty kilometers across, so when five hundred meter magic wands faced each other from a distance of ten kilometers, their movements ruled over the entire bay. ¡°Hey.¡± Along the coast from western Shinagawa to southern Yokohama, people closed the waterways among the alarms and strengthened the ley line defenses at the various shrines and temples. ¡°A wall of clouds is forming over Tokyo Bay!¡± The two circling Magino Devices altered the weather after only two circuits. The sunny late-summer afternoon was now covered in a vortex of clouds that looked like cumulonimbus clouds shredded horizontally. Those clouds were forming something like a torn dome. Inside that, everyone looked up at and listened to the giant weapons that scattered ether light as they moved. The black multi-scythe Magino Device produced the sounds of rattling chains. The giant sword produced the ringing of large bells. The two sounds would not blend together, and¡­ ¡°Look!¡± The muzzles of secondary cannons opened. A battle was beginning. Everyone who lived in this region knew the standard method witches used to fight: holding their opponent in place with secondary cannons in order to fire their main cannon. So if those secondary cannons were opening¡­ ¡°A volley of secondary cannons is coming!¡± someone shouted. Immediately, the sword¡¯s blade opened wide and fired its main cannon. ¡°Oh, dear. Miss Kagami is quite the rule breaker.¡± The headmaster placed a hand on her office¡¯s windowsill and looked up into the sky. ¡°But Miss Mary is a very troublesome person. Just as much as you.¡± Volume 2, 6: Accept the Blame Volume 2, Chapter 6: Accept the Blame I¡¯m mad, I¡¯m mad, I¡¯m mad Even though it¡¯s not a habit of mine After reaching the coast, Hunter quickly prepared to construct her Normal Device for defense while visually confirming what had just happened. Ten kilometers was not far for a Magino Frame. After all, they were five hundred meters long. From a human perspective, it was like having a shootout from a distance of about twenty meters. At that mid-range they could not reach each other and they could flee if need be. That was why they used their secondary cannons to hold each other in place and then fired their main cannon. But¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t fire your main cannon right off the bat!¡± Even for the Magino Device, the main cannon ate up a lot of power. It would prevent any acceleration needed immediately afterwards. After all, a Magino Device main cannon was meant to be used against the Black Witch. It was meant as a preemptive strike as she descended from the moon, so all the focus was on attack power. Most Ranker battles were ended with the main cannon, but they could not fight with that alone. Most of the time, it would be avoided or, if the opponent had the resolve, defended against. But¡­ ¡°¡­What?¡± Hunter saw something strange. Namely, nothing. Kagami had fired her main cannon, a deafening noise had thundered out, and the clouds had been blasted away behind the great sword. And yet¡­ ¡°It vanished?¡± There was nothing between Mary and Kagami¡¯s Magino Devices. There was no light, no sound, no power, and not even any shell fragments. Also¡­ ¡°Eh?¡± Something else was not right: their positions. There had been a distance of ten kilometers between them before, but now¡­ ¡°Why are they right in front of each other!?¡± Hunter saw the two Magino Devices approaching. That was odd. Before Kagami had fired, there had been a distance of ten kilometers between them. Yet now¡­ ¡°They¡¯re within five kilometers!¡± It would not have been that strange if Mary had been the one to move, but a closer look showed it was Kagami¡¯s position that had changed. ¡­What is this? After imagining what had to have happened, she gasped. ¡°Kagami!¡± She waved toward the fighter flying through the air and pointed toward Kagami. ¡°Be careful! ¡®That¡¯ isn¡¯t it!¡± Kagami took action before Hunter¡¯s voice reached her. ¡­The shell was consumed!? She had thought her opponent¡¯s power was a cutting power, but¡­ ¡°Indeed it is not ¡®that¡¯, Hunter-kun!¡± At some point, Mary¡¯s Magino Device had moved much closer. No¡­ ¡­I¡¯ve moved closer too!? She could only assume the distance had been manipulated with. That raised the question of ¡°how¡±, but in that case¡­ ¡°I see. So it is normally used for this.¡± Kagami swung her Normal Device Dikaiosyne and pointed it toward her opponent. ¡°Fire all secondary cannons!¡± Kagami laid Dikaiosyne down in the sky in front of her while it was in floating mode. The Normal Device was synchronized with the Magino Device and it controlled the firing of the various secondary cannons. Several firing spell circles opened. The timing of the shots was set by the touch of her fingers. She similarly controlled the trajectory with the movement of her arm and then linked the Device¡¯s movements to her gaze. ¡°Cry out!¡± Cannon fire burst from the Device as if she were playing a keyboard and directing an orchestra. Currently, Dikaiosyne did not have that many secondary cannons, but they made up for that with their excellent precision guidance and tracking ability. That was likely thanks to it being based on the technology found in Horinouchi¡¯s Akerindou. Even the secondary cannons were quite powerful and fast. She used a wide section of the sky. The volley of guided and tracking shots gathered together into what amounted to a single shot. The barrage of power told her opponent to aim for the gaps in time, gaps in position, and blind spots if she could. If she was a witch, perhaps it would be an incantation that struck back. ¡°Fire.¡± With that word, she swung both arms, spun her Device around, and fired, fired, fired, fired until the entire atmosphere shook. She released as much power as she could and it flew forcefully through the sky. But¡­ ¡°It did not reach her!?¡± It vanished suddenly near Mary¡¯s Magino Device. There was no noise and there were no fragments. Every last shot and strike made from every angle imaginable was gone. They were not stopped and they did not scatter. They simply vanished vainly into thin air. What was this? This opponent had a cutting power and secondary cannons, so what was this defense? ¡­Is there an invisible shield there!? As Koutarou traveled to the north coast of Tokyo Bay, he viewed the battlefield from the side. Kagami was to the east and Mary to the west and they had both begun firing their secondary cannons. They were five kilometers apart, which was nearly close-range for Magino Devices. The sky connecting them was filled with the beams of light from the cannons, but also countless defense spell shields, solid sounds, and scattering lights. However, one portion of the exchange was entirely one-sided. Mary had not activated any defense spells. ¡°Is she doing this undefended!?¡± Desiring a battle with no defenses was a common tactic for masochistic or self-harming witches. The more they were injured, the more they could convert that into power and send it back at their opponent. But the maid in the passenger seat muttered something. ¡°You can¡¯t see it, can you?¡± After all¡­ ¡°It really is invisible.¡± He had no idea what she meant, but he continued watching the exchange of attack and defense in the sky. Kagami seemed to have the advantage as she performed both attack and defense while Mary appeared to be focused entirely on attack. But¡­ ¡°Koutarou! Mary¡¯s Magino Device has not been hit at all!¡± ¡°Well observed, milady!¡± He looked over to the maid in the passenger seat, gave a nasal laugh of triumph, and returned to his duties. She sent an email to the Head Maid in a spell circle, but he decided not to worry about it for the time being. And¡­ ¡­If what Lady Mitsuru said is true¡­ He saw it with his telescopic spell. The two Magino Devices were once more circling Tokyo Bay clockwise in order to take up positions against each other. The black multi-scythe one was not defending in the slightest, but¡­ ¡°It isn¡¯t¡­reaching her?¡± Kagami¡¯s secondary cannons were vanishing before they reached the black scythes. No sound, light, or fragments remained. It was like a giant eraser was passing over them there. ¡°You can¡¯t see it, can you?¡± said the maid in the passenger seat. ¡°I fully sealed that away. And I was an Armor-style witch known as the Vulcan Powder Keg. It could erase and consume any barrage and even the distance between you and your opponent.¡± Kagami realized her secondary cannons meant nothing against this opponent. ¡­What is this? Every last shot would vanish before it reached her opponent. She also recalled the very first shot, when she had fired Dikaiosyne¡¯s main cannon. ¡°Was that the same as this!?¡± The main cannon blast had been erased just like the secondary ones. It was all being done by some invisible defensive power held by Mary¡¯s Magino Device. ¡°Kagami!¡± A transmission arrived from Horinouchi. ¡°Here she comes!¡± Sure enough, the black scythes were accelerating her way. She was approaching. That Magino Device had an absolute defense and a cutting power that could slice an artificial island in two, and now it was flying straight toward her. Is this all? thought Mary. This opponent had defeated the Rank 4 and Rank 3 and she was a Holy Knight, so Mary had wondered how much she could do. ¡°But she can¡¯t do a thing against my power!¡± Then this is over, she thought while accelerating Magino Device Ira. There was nothing to fear. Her opponent¡¯s attacks could not reach her. If she charged straight in, it would work out somehow or another. So¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s go, Macabre!¡± The grim reaper servant nodded on her shoulder. ¡°¡­!¡± Macabre swung its scythe forward and Ira moved. The executioner¡¯s Magino Device was an outdated close-range model, but it could handle anyone when combined with Mary¡¯s power. So¡­ ¡°Prepare to sink, Kagami Kagami!¡± She stared directly at her opponent and only had to move straight in. She could not miss and her opponent had no way of hitting her, so she only had to go for it. But a moment later, her telescopic spell showed Kagami doing something. Kagami¡¯s Normal Device was floating out in front of her. She was using that to control the secondary cannons and the Device, but unexpectedly¡­ ¡°What?¡± Kagami¡¯s right leg kicked the Normal Device toward Mary. That Normal was controlling the Magino, so¡­ ¡°¡­!?¡± The Holy Knight¡¯s sword began an immediate charge. It flew in a straight line counterattack toward Mary. ¡°Oh, that idiot!¡± When the maid in the passenger seat spoke up, Koutarou had to respond. ¡°Lady Kagami would not make a mistake!¡± ¡°Um, so you aren¡¯t going to deny the ¡®idiot¡¯ part?¡± It was true he had thought much the same thing. But¡­ ¡°Lady Kagami is not an idiot. ¡­She is something else!¡± ¡°Um, sure¡­¡± The maid nodded, so he decided to leave it at that. Still, it was obvious what Kagami was doing. ¡­Is she testing it out!? Her secondary cannons and main cannon had been erased. ¡°Are you seeing what happens with the entire Magino Device, Kagami!?¡± asked Horinouchi inside the spell circle. ¡°You have such a discerning eye, milady!¡± Koutarou¡¯s shout was followed by a collision in the sky. The two giant structures had approached on what amounted to a head-on collision course. ¡°Did it hit!?¡± After hearing Koutarou¡¯s shout from her spell circle, Horinouchi saw the answer as she used her Normal Frame to fly eastward along the northern end of Tokyo Bay. Something had happened high enough in the sky that she had to look up to see it. Two Magino Frames had collided. They produced the ringing of a large church bell and the rattling of an iron chain. The former was Kagami¡¯s Dikaio-whatever and the latter was Mary¡¯s Magino Device. It looked like they hit head-on, and¡­ ¡­Kagami¡¯s Device was eaten into!? Their angles were odd for a head-on collision. They were skewed diagonally. And with a roar, the great sword suddenly accelerated forward. It almost looked like a blade thrusting in and through the opponent. ¡°Did she break through!?¡± ¡°No!¡± A voice reached her from a spell circle next to her face. It came from Hunter on the east end of Tokyo Bay, southeast of Horinouchi. The spell circle displayed the scene as Hunter saw it. Something was visible in the sky. ¡°Ah¡­¡± She could not believe her eyes. ¡­What does that mean!? After the collision, the black multi-scythe was unscathed and Kagami¡¯s sword¡­ ¡°The front armor was stripped away diagonally!?¡± The situation made no sense to Hunter either. She knew Mary had made a counterattack when Kagami¡¯s Dikai-whatever charged toward her. But in an instant¡­ ¡­Kagami dodged? She must have sensed something and quickly moved the sword tip away from a direct collision with the scythe. A moment later, a diagonal section of the blade was torn away from the front center to the starboard side. It looked like it had been gouged out with a spoon, but something was not right. After all¡­ ¡°There are no fragments or ether light!?¡± What was this? Hunter gave voice to her thoughts. The enemy¡¯s attack was not cutting or a projectile. ¡°This is annihilation!¡± ¡°Kagami!¡± shouted Horinouchi who must have been watching the midair movements from close by. ¡°Get out of there!¡± That was right. The collision had failed and Dikaio-whatever had a large chunk torn from it. Kagami needed to move away and recover her position. But even though the great sword¡¯s thrusters were emitting light¡­ ¡°Kagami!?¡± She was not moving or responding, so Horinouchi shouted her name. ¡­Is Kagami focused on resisting? Hunter did not know why, but Kagami could not move away. Mary¡¯s Magino Device had torn into her own, but she was still being held there as if she were being strangled. In that case, thought Hunter. There was only one possibility she could think of. ¡°Kagami! Do as I say!¡± This was her only advice. ¡°Accelerate toward your opponent!¡± When she heard Hunter¡¯s words, Horinouchi looked up into the sky while soaring through the air. And¡­ ¡°Kagami!¡± The image showed Kagami¡¯s great sword fidgeting a bit in the sky as more and more of it was torn away at the point of contact. ¡­Move! She then heard a sound. It was the low ringing of a great bell. It began as one, but then grew to two and three as the light from Dikaio-whatever¡¯s rear thrusters grew. ¡­Ah. Once she realized what Kagami was doing, Horinouchi raised her voice. ¡°Do it, Kagami!¡± In that instant, the large sword Magino Device fully opened its rear thrusters. But that was not all. The pommel-like shell creation section briefly opened just before the thrusters released their light. ¡°Fire!¡± The main cannon had been torn apart along with the armor, but the thrusters were still functioning. So¡­ ¡°If she fires a blank behind her, it will add to her acceleration!¡± Bells rang and the great sword escaped the bonds of the scythe. As the scythe rapidly swung around, the sword with damaged blade had not lost its will to fight. They began a rapid rotation to take up the best position against each other and new clouds trailed after them in the sky. And at the center of that rumbling, words were formed. They came from a grim reaper. Mary in her black witch outfit turned back toward Kagami who was also turning back toward her. ¡°It seems that wasn¡¯t enough.¡± She said more from there. ¡°But this is not enough to satisfy everyone¡¯s grudge.¡± ¡°What?¡± Horinouchi tilted her head as she landed on top of an abandoned building in the east. She could see Tokyo Bay to the west from here. She could also see Hunter on the coast two kilometers to her left. She looked to the two Magino Devices in the sky, but¡­ ¡­Even if I start moving now, I can¡¯t catch up with them. If she was going to do something, it had to be here, so she asked the question on her mind. It was concerning what Mary had just said. ¡°Everyone¡¯s grudge?¡± She opened a communication line to call for Kagami, but then she heard a voice. It was not Hunter, Koutarou, or the headmaster¡¯s voice. She heard a noise that did not form any actual words. It was simply someone breathing in¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± And falling silent. ¡­Eh? Had anything ever brought Kagami to silence before? ¡°Kagami!?¡± ¡­What does this mean? Had Mary¡¯s words meant something to Kagami? Those words had shocked Kagami. ¡­Everyone¡¯s grudge? What did that mean? Her mind raced and reached a certain fact. The human named Kagami Kagami was not from this world. ¡°Kagami!?¡± Just as she cried out in order to clear away her anxiety, a great noise filled the sky. The executioner¡¯s chain had finished turning around and it had gained a sudden burst of speed. ¡­That was fast! The scythe seemed to leap at its opponent. ¡°Fight back, Kagami!¡± Horinouchi saw it. Kagami¡¯s Magino Device fired its secondary cannons while turning back toward the black multi-scythe. But every one of those attacks was erased. The precision guided shots that had been so useful in the battle against Hunter were wholly annihilated before they reached the black scythe. ¡°Listen.¡± Someone spoke from the sky. It was Mary. She moved straight in toward Kagami as she uttered a certain line. It concerned Kagami¡¯s background and it was just what Horinouchi had feared. ¡°Did you never think there might already be a transfer student from another world?¡± Kagami ordered Dikaiosyne to move back as it turned around. ¡­The power has dropped after that last shot. The main cannon had been torn into. It was being repaired, but she did not know if those repairs would finish in time. She was more concerned about the ether spilling from there than the ability to fire. So to buy as much time as possible, she responded to her opponent as she made her retreating turn. ¡°Another world? You mean¡­?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Mary was clearly gaining ground. ¡°My home, known as the Layered Circles World, was much like this planet. There was an army there that fought a god in order to stop a concrete phenomenon known as the Curtain of Destruction.¡± Hunter hit the side of her head after hearing Mary¡¯s explanation. ¡°Fantasy?¡± ¡°S-some of the European witches have backgrounds like that,¡± argued Horinouchi. But an army that fights a god? ¡°Crazy?¡± ¡°U-um, that would put us in the category of crazy too!¡± But the voice in the sky laughed. She almost seemed to crawl toward Kagami, but she also accelerated to fill the gap. ¡°But partway through the conclusion, someone with incredible magical power appeared and was eventually promoted to the rank of brigadier general.¡± She spoke a name. ¡°Kagami Kagami, it was you. Although surnames in my home world can only be two syllables long, so you went by Kaga Mikagami instead.¡± ¡°There you have it.¡± The headmaster held a pot with a single flower in it, but she set it down on the reception table. ¡°You were not an unprecedented case, Miss Kagami. That is why your acceptance went so smoothly. It was all thanks to the excellent student who set a valuable precedent.¡± Before, she had praised the flower in that pot. ¡°It seems flowers that scatter ether light much like this one grew in her homeland.¡± But¡­ ¡°All of those must have been destroyed by the ¡®god¡¯ who was another form of the Black Witch.¡± That explains some things, realized Kagami. She had seen the destruction of several worlds on the way here. The one this girl going by Mary had mentioned had been the world before this one. ¡°That was a circular world divided into layers to create a single giant World Pillar.¡± They had a shared image in their memories. ¡°Then you must be¡­¡± The girl in black answered with her head lowered. She would be in range for a second clash before long. ¡°I am Reese, warrior of the May clan. Do you remember me? No, I suppose you wouldn¡¯t.¡± ¡°The fantasy-ness¡­just keeps growing¡­¡± ¡°Y-you¡¯re pretty weird yourself, Hunter!¡± ¡°Milady! You have them both beat!¡± She had named herself. ¡°Ha.¡± She had kept this hidden for a long while and she had never expected to reveal it to this girl of all people. ¡°No, you wouldn¡¯t remember. After all¡­¡± She paused for a moment. ¡°After all, just before our world was destroyed, you fled without even trying to fight!¡± ¡°Wait!¡± Mary looked to Kagami. The great sword looked almost within arm¡¯s reach now and the girl was holding her right palm out toward her. ¡°Please tell me! What happened¡­with the destruction of that world!?¡± ¡­You¡¯re asking that now? Anger accompanied that question in her mind. But her heart was the polar opposite. It was cold. This was wonderful. She had expected Kagami to shout in anger and provide an explosion of emotion. Before summer break, when the Rank 4 had fallen to the north of Tokyo Bay and when the battle with the Rank 3 had been relayed to the school early in the morning, a certain thought had come to Mary. ¡­She must be here to become a target of my grudge. This was anger. That emotion gathered up all of one¡¯s resentment, misery, and frustration and then thrust them outward. If she had a target for that, wouldn¡¯t she be able to get rid of her own anger? But that was not the case. ¡°Honestly¡­¡± She could feel a tremor filling her entire body. She could tell her body temperature was dropping. She could not hold her eyes steady. This was not heatstroke. She had gotten plenty of water. But she kept thinking about so many unnecessary things. ¡­I want to distract myself from who I am now, don¡¯t I? She understood that. She was trying to justify her anger by saying it was righteous. And she wanted to accept the mistaken idea that she only had to expel the ugly parts of herself. She suddenly realized her expression was twisted. ¡°So you¡¯re from that world.¡± ¡­No, not ¡°that¡± world. ¡°That was our world.¡± She had seen what had become of her home. But that was not all. ¡°They left everything with me and then disappeared! I looked up to you and learned how to pool my magic power from you, so I was left with all the world¡¯s magic power and then everything except for me disappeared!¡± Mary allowed herself this as she spoke. She aimed at the great sword and at Kagami. ¡°¡­!¡± She fired her main cannon while charging forward. Kagami¡¯s mind went blank for a brief moment. ¡­Disappeared? No, it was true that the world her sister had created had been destroyed. And just as Mary had said, she had escaped that world before it happened. But¡­ ¡°Wait!¡± There was something she had to say. However¡­ ¡­Is it too late!? The rear scythe portion of Mary¡¯s Magino Device spread out. She could not see it, but something was definitely being fired. What was she supposed to do about this invisible attack? If she simply dodged, she would be back where she started. But Mary clearly had the advantage and moving in close would only get her captured like before. Then what do I do? she wondered until someone answered her. ¡°Kagami!¡± A spell circle appeared in front of her. It was Horinouchi. She held her Normal Device. She was not firing it, but the line of fire was displayed on the spell circle. ¡­So that is it! Kagami nodded and gave motion to everything. She set a destination for Dikaiosyne¡¯s turning while repairing the Magino Device. ¡°Charge to the point Manko showed me, Dikaiosyne!¡± Hunter sensed it. During the summer afternoon, a large chunk of the sky vanished. It seemed to have been gouged away, but that may have been an illusion. However¡­ ¡°Kagami! Regain control!¡± The great sword was moving in response to the scythe¡¯s attack. The entire thing had slid to the side, avoiding the ¡°gouging¡± and remaining unharmed. ¡­It didn¡¯t hit! That was thanks to Horinouchi. She had most likely determined the direction of Mary¡¯s attack. But how had she done that? ¡°How did you do that, milady!?¡± ¡°Even if we don¡¯t know the path of the main cannon, it isn¡¯t that hard to predict if you know where Kagami is and can read the orientation and slight movements of the Magino Frame. After all, it has to hit to be effective. Then I just had to determine Kagami¡¯s exact position to send a spell circle that told her what direction the main cannon would fire in. The real problem was Kagami¡¯s position, but¡­¡± From the surface, she could not see Kagami on top of the Magino Device. However, there was still a way of finding it. Two fighters had passed by the airspace while coming almost too close to the battle. ¡°Representative Hunter! Did the three-point range-finding using us and the satellite come in handy!?¡± It had come in way too handy. She used a telescopic spell to take a bunch of photos of Horinouchi and sent them over. Horinouchi was on top of a building, so this would give them some low angle shots they would never normally get. ¡°Wh-what are you doing!? Hey, stop that!¡± ¡­You¡¯ve gotta pay for that help somehow. Is that what you call an offering? Well, it doesn¡¯t really matter. ¡°Kagami!¡± This was her chance. ¡°Go!¡± Kagami made several movements in a row. The two F-23s flying above Tokyo Bay saw her Magino Frame fire its main cannon as it passed by on their right. ¡°Did she finish repairing it!?¡± ¡°No, she¡¯s forcing this!¡± Ether light was leaking from halfway down the main cannon and light burst from the starboard side where such a large chunk had been torn away. She fired, but that destroyed the main cannon. She could not fire it a second time. Plus, the two Magino Devices were passing each other by, so this shot would not score a direct hit. However¡­ ¡°So that¡¯s what she¡¯s after!¡± Kagami¡¯s main cannon shell flew as if to scrape along the port side of Mary¡¯s Magino Device. In an instant, the light was annihilated at its destination. This was the black scythe Device¡¯s defense. Kagami had dodged her opponent¡¯s annihilation main cannon and had her own main cannon devoured by her opponent¡¯s defenses. The enemy¡¯s attack and defense had been canceled out. And if they had been neutralized¡­ ¡°Go, Rank 3!¡± She did. The Holy Knight¡¯s great sword scraped the unharmed port side of its blade against the grim reaper¡¯s scythe as if locking blades together. They were both moving forward, so ether light sparks scattered from the long point of contact as they passed by. And¡­ ¡°You¡¯re kidding right?¡± The observer pilot saw the scene while turning away from Tokyo Bay. As the five hundred meter blades locked together, the Holy Knight and the Executioner ran toward each other. ¡°The witches themselves are starting a swordfight!!¡± Volume 2, 7: But You Ran Away Volume 2, Chapter 7: But You Ran Away I forgot Yet I remembered The battlefield was the five hundred meters passing each other by. Their footing was withdrawing using great acceleration. But the two of them clashed on the edge. The long blade and shaft of their Magino Devices were scraping together, a wave of ether light surged up several dozen meters, and they did not bother with any impudent little spells. Under those conditions, they struck at each other with their Normal Devices. All the while, they ran toward the rear of the Device they stood on. A swordfight broke out where they met at the scraping edge. Kagami swung Dikaiosyne and Mary raised Ira for a scraping blow. Sparks of ether light scattered and deafening noises continued without end. The grim reaper targeted the holy knight¡¯s neck, torso, and arms. As the holy knight dodged and repelled those blows, she swung her blade down toward the grim reaper¡¯s head. But the grim reaper would turn the blow aside and turn to the side to dodge with the least possible movement. She did not lean back because that would have removed her from the scraping edge. The holy knight did not fall back either. They exchanged potentially lethal blows at equal range. ¡°Ohhh¡­¡± And they accelerated. ¡°I ask you!¡± Kagami raised her voice while swiftly spinning around after sending out her blade and deflecting an attack. ¡°I understand that your world was destroyed! But¡­is it true? Are the director and all the secretaries really gone¡­?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Mary ducked down to avoid Kagami¡¯s back-hand strike. She did so while running, but she placed a hand on the ground racing by below her and instantly spun her body to launch herself back to her feet, all while giving Kagami a sharp look. ¡°Everyone was. Everyone. ¡­Even the marshal that always supported you despite the trouble you caused!¡± The shout and the attack came from low down. It was a vertical slash that used the motion of hopping back to her feet. ¡­Ohh! This was the first time she had targeted Kagami from below during this high-speed exchange. She had likely set this up. She had only attacked from the side so Kagami¡¯s eyes would grow accustomed to it and then she suddenly switched to a vertical attack. Also¡­ ¡°They all smiled as they died! ¡­And as they gave me their magic power!!¡± The words stabbed into her from below. ¡°You abandoned everything and fled! It¡¯s time you paid for that great crime!!¡± Mary gathered speed in her strike. She had long arms and a tall body. She also used a flexible snap to provide even more speed to the long scythe. Her opponent had just made a backhand swing of her sword, so her arms were almost fully spread to the sides, leaving her unable to move. The triple scythe would slice her in three. She only had to swing the blade up while making sure the tip moved fastest of all. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± She hoped that it would hit, but she did not think it would. After all¡­ ¡­I know this opponent! I never once defeated her back in our world. So¡­ ¡­Reach her! After that thought, she suddenly lost sight of the enemy before her eyes. ¡°What!?¡± She had disappeared. No, that was not it. The enemy had done something amid the scattering ether light of their Devices¡¯ locked blades. ¡°She canceled her Frame!?¡± Kagami had a plan. ¡­There are a lot of Device fragments scattering around here. That gave her plenty of supplies for a Normal Frame at least. So she gave a shout to Dikaio in the spell circle on her shoulder. ¡°Dikaio! Time to change outfits!¡± Oh, no, thought Mary. This opponent¡¯s great ¡°strength¡± in her world had been thanks to a certain ability. ¡­The free construction of ether! She did not use the ceremonies and spells everyone else did. She had the same power as the ¡°god¡± that could make ether her own and play with it. She was different from Mary. When Mary had arrived in this world and learned about the techniques of ¡°witches¡±, she had felt oddly relieved that they were so similar to the techniques of her own world. She had lost everything, but this had acted as a replacement for that loss. But this opponent had not changed. No, she had gained more information. But when Mary had seen her using and fighting with a witch¡¯s Frame, she had forgotten something: this was a ¡°god¡± merely acting like a witch. After canceling her Frame, she was wearing a suit and floating in the air a bit. But the momentum of swinging her sword remained in her body. She had been swinging a five meter sword, so with only the suit weighing her down, she spun back and to the right with enough speed to avoid Mary¡¯s attack. ¡°Kh¡­¡± Mary raised her right arm while bending back. The opponent in front of her opened her mouth while spinning. ¡°Summon Normal Frame!¡± It was an act of parting. The holy knight spun in midair while summoning her Frame and making a horizontal strike. At the same time, the grim reaper gave a shout and thrust her backwards-leaning body toward the ground in front of her. She no longer tried to run. The holy knight¡¯s sword smashed two of the three scythes, but its own blade was severed diagonally. Then the grim reaper¡¯s great stomp shook her own Magino Device. ¡°¡­!¡± They both ducked low, but a valley appeared in the sky. The two Magino Devices repelled each other and parted. Kagami was repelled more strongly. ¡°Was she stronger because she followed my lead!?¡± The wind whipped up as the two Magino Devices rapidly parted. Kagami saw Mary¡¯s Magino Device perform a quick rotation. ¡­That was fast! The speed was blatantly abnormal. The turn looked like sped-up footage. She had made a few actions like that before. Thinking of it like a short dash, it must have been possible for her when certain conditions were met. But¡­ ¡°Defense spells!¡± Kagami opened plenty of spell shields toward her opponent to use as cover. However, they all disappeared and the sky came into view. Mary¡¯s main cannon had instantly ¡°reaped¡± her defenses. ¡°I did it!¡± Mary gasped for breath with her right hand held forward. Beyond the one surviving scythe, the giant sword had lost both its port and starboard sides. The central main cannon had already destroyed itself, so it lacked the attack power needed to defeat her. In that case, she thought while standing up within the scattering ether light. She raised her scythe again. ¡°Time to end this!¡± Just as she looked to her opponent in the distance, Kagami was also looking her way. Their eyes met. It seemed like a coincidental moment, but¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± Her opponent had not lost the will to fight. Why not? ¡­Don¡¯t tell me¡­! Her thoughts led her straight to the answer. Just as two fighters flew through the sky, a single attack arrived. ¡°Horinouchi!¡± That girl¡¯s arrow rose from far below and tore into her, ignoring the Device¡¯s movements and the cover it provided. It was a direct hit. Hunter whistled at the conclusion in the sky. ¡°Horinouchi, I thought you specialized in pure attack power, but it looks like I was wrong about you.¡± ¡°Oh? It took you this long to figure that out?¡± ¡°Yeah. ¡­You specialize in shooting people.¡± ¡°I-isn¡¯t that just twisting it in a different direction!?¡± But in truth, that had been ridiculous. Even with assistance from America¡¯s fighters and satellite, she had hit someone on a quickly-moving Magino Device when she could not see them. And the path of the arrow had been crazy. ¡­Mary would¡¯ve noticed if she fired it up into the air and had it drop down, so she had it practically crawl along the Magino Device¡¯s upper surface. That seemed like too broad an interpretation of ¡°precision guided¡±. Plus, it had been really fast. By the time Mary¡¯s servant had detected it in the Device¡¯s warning range, it must have been too late to dodge it. ¡­Horinouchi¡¯s too much of a crazy person to do it, but I bet she could use that to pull off sniper shots with a stealth spell active. It was just like using the Hedgehog to fire from outside the enemy¡¯s range of vision. That was why one had to challenge a sniper to a head-on battle. That had been part of her thinking in the previous Ranker battle. And now a parting had been accomplished in the sky. While Dikai-whatever fell toward the southeast side of Tokyo Bay, the black scythe came apart in a mist of ether light. They were both sinking, but their damage was different. Kagami¡¯s Magino Device was practically destroyed, but Mary¡¯s was not. She had only lost the controlling Normal Device thanks to Kagami¡¯s attacks and Horinouchi¡¯s arrow. She would be injured herself, but it really came down to the loss of control. Of course, she could regain control and continue the fight, but¡­ ¡°If she does that, I will be her opponent.¡± Horinouchi was untouched, so taking her on would be a poor decision. That may have been why the black multi-scythe descended beyond the clouds that trailed and scattered behind it. She was leaving. That would likely take her to Shihouin Academy in the end, but this was a Ranker battle. If she returned to the academy to reset everything, that would count as the conclusion. Also¡­ ¡°Kagami!¡± A bell rang over Hunter¡¯s cry. Kagami¡¯s Magino Device had fallen into the abandoned buildings to the southeast. Horinouchi ran over to the crash site and saw the fighters passing by overhead in a wide turn back toward Atsugi. While silently thanking them, she knew she had to hurry. ¡°Kagami!¡± Hunter had already sent word that she had found Kagami. She knew where to go because it was where that giant Dikai-whatever had crashed. A blizzard of ether light was rising into the sky. The moon was there. If the Black Witch had seen that battle, what had she thought? That was a battle between her sister and the survivor of a world she had destroyed. ¡­Maybe this too is a part of the story she¡¯s made. Horinouchi¡¯s feet came to a sudden stop. Kagami was there. She stood on the road in front of a smashed abandoned building. The summer afternoon sun warmed that broken asphalt where grass grew through the cracks. Kagami wore her Normal Form with Hunter at her side in her school uniform. ¡°Horinouchi.¡± But when she noticed Horinouchi, she canceled the witch outfit. She took a light step and returned to her usual suit. And¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± Horinouchi could say nothing as the girl sighed and relaxed, but the sound of the fighters tearing through the distant sky reached them. Kagami opened her mouth, looked up into the sky, and placed a hand over her eyes. ¡°How could this happen?¡± Something that reflected the sunlight dripped down from below her hand. She was crying. Just as she had in the setting sun before, she cried below the hand blocking out the afternoon sun. ¡°The world brings such cruel karma.¡± Horinouchi could only watch as Kagami shed her tears. The unofficial Ranker battle had an incomplete ending. From what Horinouchi heard, Mary had returned to Shihouin Academy after canceling her Device and had received quite a talking to from the headmaster about splitting the artificial island in two. Meanwhile, Horinouchi and Hunter had collected exhausted Kagami and had a US Navy hovercraft take them back to the academy, but Kagami had seemed absentminded the entire time. Horinouchi had known she needed to snap the girl out of it, so she had shoved her into the gym¡¯s shared bath and forced her to take a break. Kagami had visited the sauna after taking a long bath and then appeared in a new suit she had been storing somewhere. As soon as she saw Horinouchi, she had said the following: ¡°So. What shall we do now?¡± That had seemed odd for someone who always made the first move, but she was likely still in shock over Mary¡¯s identity. That was precisely when they had both received an email from the headmaster. It was of course a request for a rematch from Mary, and¡­ ¡­Tomorrow afterschool? She sure is eager to get this over with. Perhaps she wanted to do this before Kagami¡¯s mentality had a chance to recover. In that case¡­ ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s make use of the time we have to prepare for tomorrow.¡± With that, Horinouchi took Hunter and Kagami (whose gait seemed a little weak) to her room. Volume 2, 8: To Where It Simply Is Volume 2, Chapter 8: To Where It Simply Is The smallest unit of currency these days Is the double burger Hunter thought about the concept of money. But not so much as precious metals like gold. Gold was often used in magic, but it could be a pain since its quality dropped as it grew harder and bronze started to work better. Her thoughts on money were centered on the currency economy. ¡°You sure can find a lot of it in some places¡­¡± She looked around a hall. The square room had fifteen meter sides and a five meter high ceiling. There was a tiered platform in the back and there seemed to be an entrance at the top, but¡­ ¡°Is this your private room, Horinouchi?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s the top floor of the General Division dorm. That said, I¡¯m the first one to use it.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Horinouchi nodded. ¡°This dorm was originally part of the school Shihouin Academy was based on.¡± ¡°It was moved?¡± ¡°Yes. ¡­That school was wiped out during the previous Hexennacht, but a few of the buildings survived. They were equipped with the most advanced spell defenses of the time and they were moved by eighty feng shui witches over three hours. That¡¯s why this school is known as the One Night Castle. ¡­Although since the school itself had been lost, I¡¯m not sure how much the dorm¡¯s defenses actually helped.¡± ¡°Well, if it survived, it¡¯s still a nice jinx for safety. ¡­Witches do like to live in the houses that mysteriously survive landslides and things like that.¡± But a question did occur to Hunter. ¡°Why are you the first one to use this top floor room?¡± ¡°It¡¯s simple. There were never any standout Rankers from the General Division, so everyone refused to use it.¡± Horinouchi placed a hand on her cheek and sighed. ¡°There were even some witches who reached the single digit Ranks, but they still refused. They said they had to make it even higher. ¡­This room is based on the one my mother used during her student days, so I think she would have wanted everyone to use it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure that¡¯s exactly why no one wants to use it¡­¡± Especially when her daughter was at the school. And if that daughter was climbing the Ranks, no one would want to use it. Hunter felt all the previous witches had agreed this was the Horinouchi castle. ¡­It¡¯s more like a safe house for the head of the Horinouchi family than it is a dorm room. Then the door on top of the tiered platform opened and the glasses guy who had caused so much trouble during the summer training camp stepped out. ¡°Welcome to the room of Lady Mitsuru, head of the Horinouchi family.¡± He bowed, but Hunter was unsure what to do since Horinouchi was standing right next to her. ¡°It is time for dinner, so would you like to eat now?¡± Koutarou looked to Hunter and then behind her. Someone else stood there and Horinouchi looked back to call out to her. ¡°Kagami. It¡¯s time for our strategy meeting.¡± ¡°Eh!?¡± When she heard Hunter¡¯s shock, Horinouchi ignored her with a glare. ¡­This is no time to be eating! After all, Kagami was being too quiet. That in and of itself was nice, but Horinouchi would have preferred a normal sort of quiet. Fat chance of that, she thought to herself, but she could always hope. ¡­She¡¯s been lost in thought this whole time and she won¡¯t be much help like this. Kagami must have been exhausted after the battle over Tokyo Bay because she had fallen asleep on the way back, but she had been thinking ever since waking up. Even when they had taken a bath, she had not noticed Horinouchi calling out to her. Horinouchi knew why. Mary Sue at Rank 2 was most likely a resident of a world that Kagami had seen destroyed. On top of that, they seemed to have had a teacher and student relationship. ¡°We need to come up with some countermeasures in this meeting.¡± Without an excuse like that, Kagami would carry it all inside herself. Everything here was a fictional world to her, but she was the sort to empathize with its residents even if they were now living outside the author¡¯s control. It was not that Horinouchi did not enjoy stories. She had even shed tears over fiction. There was that one story in Japanese class during elementary school¡­what was it called? That one where the man rescues the crane and the crane came to repay him. The husband was told not to peek when his wife was weaving her cloth, but he did and found out she was the crane. And when the crane prepared to leave in shame¡­ ¡° ¡®Wait! I¡¯m actually only attracted to birds! Please stay in your true form!¡¯ And then the aroused man spread the crane¡¯s legs and prepared to-¡­¡± The very end had been so awful that she had cried. Their teacher had asked them if this was a happy ending or not and the class had been divided. The radical furries among the boys had gathered together to insist humans and animals should receive equal treatment and it had ultimately led to a class trial, but Horinouchi had to wonder what the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology was thinking with that. ¡­I¡¯m getting way off track here. At any rate, she understood why Kagami felt depressed. She had likely seen destruction quite a few times in the past, but this may have been the first time a survivor had appeared before her. ¡­Honestly. In her battles with them, Kagami had proven to be an insane adlibber who could adapt to just about any situation. But if this was what happened when she was not used to something¡­ ¡­Were her previous adlibs all things she had studied before? Or¡­ ¡­Can she only adlib when up against ¡°others¡± like us but not when she¡¯s up against ¡°herself¡± in the form of her emotions? Which was it? But Horinouchi had a feeling she somehow understood this ever-troublesome person. So¡­ ¡°We need as many countermeasures as we can get. This is undoubtedly a formidable foe.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Headmaster Cerisier looked out the window as she cleaned up her office. From here, she could see the courtyard woods, the Spell Division dorm and school building on the left, and the General Division school building and dorm past the woods. It was still only eight in the evening, but¡­ ¡°It looks like they¡¯re really taking action.¡± She snapped her fingers to turn off her office¡¯s lights and peered out. ¡°It¡¯s rare for the Spell Division building to still have its lights on at this hour.¡± There was a smile in her voice, but she had more to say. ¡°And it¡¯s also rare for the back lounge of the General Division dorm¡¯s top floor to have its lights on now. ¡­We used to chat and discuss our training there all the time. I wonder what those girls are using it for.¡± Hunter felt ¡°you sure can find a lot of it in some places¡± for the second time that day. ¡°Wait, wait, wait, wait. What¡¯s with this carpet? I could sleep on it.¡± ¡­My home¡¯s floors were all boards cut with an electric saw. They had been used without much done to them, so she remembered them being stained with drips of barbecue sauce. For her, ¡°home¡± brought a fairly spicy smell to mind. When a bully in her class had said her house smelled of salsa, she had yelled ¡°It smells like mustard sauce!!¡± and punched the bully in the face. She and her father had stood in front of the principal and defended her actions because ¡°Mustard makes for a better general-use sauce!¡± ¡­But I¡¯ve started to think salsa is pretty good too, papa. But anyway, the floor. ¡°The cleaning costs have got to be astronomical when you drip sauce on it¡­¡± ¡°Actually, Lady Hunter, we have stain-removal spells. Yes.¡± The maids nodded in agreement with the glasses guy and Hunter recalled that the Shinto magic system was pretty obsessed with cleanliness. So¡­ ¡°Oh, that must be nice¡­ You can go nuts while eating and still keep everything looking nice.¡± She got down on hands and knees and leaned down. ¡°It doesn¡¯t even smell.¡± ¡°Wh-what are you doing, Hunter!?¡± ¡°Well.¡± She got up and looked around. ¡°I¡¯ve seen places like this in mafia movies. Y¡¯know, the red carpeted lounge with a grand piano and a dedicated bar.¡± ¡°It¡¯s from my mother¡¯s time, so of course it seems dated.¡± Hunter looked to the many lights on the ceiling and the side lights that illuminated the walls for ambiance. ¡°Talk about a wealth gap¡­¡± ¡°Um, well, my family has donated a lot of money to Shihouin Academy. And it helps that my mother and the headmaster were old friends. But don¡¯t you have a nice room as a Ranker?¡± ¡°Well, in the Special Equipment Division, we bring heavy equipment like milling machines and winches into our rooms for our homework. Some of the true heroes bring in lathes, but those feel like they¡¯re about to break through the floor.¡± That was true and it gave a certain impression upon entering a Special Equipment Division Ranker¡¯s room. ¡°It feels like a warehouse or parking lot¡­¡± ¡°I see.¡± Horinouchi clapped her hands and a wall opened to allow a tiered platform and sofa set out. ¡°Is there any reason to not just have that out all the time?¡± ¡°I was told it¡¯s normally stored away and only used for parties. That table set is enough for me, so I never really bring it out. But¡­¡± Meanwhile, the maids moved behind the dedicated bar¡¯s counter. They used spells to silently control the electric burners as they began preparing to cook. The smell of melting butter was already filling the air. ¡­It¡¯s a bit light for dinner, but I guess it¡¯ll do. Hunter saw Horinouchi looking toward the large window. It faced south, so it gave a view of southern Tokyo Bay. From here, they could see the lights on the pier and coast of Shihouin Academy¡¯s artificial island, as well as the lights of the recovered areas primarily from Shinagawa to Yokohama on the western coast of Tokyo Bay. The lights of trains were occasionally visible, but those had apparently been restored with the help of the Special Equipment Division about three years before. Someone stood in front of the glass, looking at those lights. ¡°Kagami.¡± Horinouchi gestured toward the sofa. ¡°I¡¯d like to begin our meeting. If there¡¯s anything you want to say, you can start.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Only after reacting in surprise did Kagami realize she was not herself. ¡­We cannot have that. She was not her usual self. She also wondered if her usual self was her real self, but she was fine with that usual self. But despite thinking that, she was not maintaining that usual self. In that case, the self she currently saw in herself was not her usual self. So¡­ ¡°Going along with what you two are doing would be the right thing to do here.¡± ¡°I see you don¡¯t change even when you¡¯re depressed¡­¡± Hunter was crouched down and having fun letting her fingers sink down into the carpet, but then she looked up at Kagami. ¡°What are you going to talk about first?¡± ¡°Good question.¡± Horinouchi relaxed in front of her and she was glad the girl did not feel the need to put up her defenses. But she was having some difficulty with this topic, so she asked a question instead. ¡°What would you like to hear first?¡± ¡°How about The #2¡¯s crazy story about some kind of fantasy world? Is that true?¡± ¡°Stop that,¡± said Horinouchi with a glare at Hunter, but it was too late. ¡­You are getting a little overprotective, Horinouchi. However, watching the exchange between the two girls had improved her mood a little. ¡°Yes,¡± she admitted about Hunter¡¯s question. ¡°I have traveled through many worlds. They were all destroyed, but that was one of them.¡± She added a ¡°most likely¡± before continuing. ¡°It was the most recently destroyed world. It must have been. As you heard during the battle, I was there and I worked with the others there to fight a ¡®god¡¯.¡± ¡°Then,¡± asked Horinouchi. ¡°When she said you fled before the end¡­?¡± I had a feeling she would ask about that, thought Kagami. Horinouchi is a sharp one. ¡°That was not a lie.¡± In other words¡­ ¡°I did indeed flee from there.¡± Kagami¡¯s declaration left Horinouchi speechless. After all, even if it had happened many times before¡­ ¡­It means that world was destroyed. It was not that she had not believed Kagami when she had said it before, but having a witness to back it up changed her image of it. That meant the same could happen to this world and they would become more ¡°witnesses¡±. Also¡­ ¡­She fled from the previous world? Questions like ¡°why?¡± and ¡°you aren¡¯t serious, are you?¡± entered Horinouchi¡¯s mind, but then she looked to Kagami. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± Her shoulders relaxed when she saw the way Kagami was standing. Kagami must have noticed the change because she tilted her head. ¡°What kind of reaction is that? Aren¡¯t you going to criticize me and question me further?¡± ¡°What good are criticisms and questions against someone who is determined to say nothing no matter what I say?¡± Yes. This girl strongly empathized with others, so most likely¡­ ¡­She would accept any criticism I sent her way. She would not oppose any kind of protest and she would accept it all in silence. Needless to say, accepting people¡¯s protests would not bring back what had been destroyed. Nothing could be done, but that was exactly why she would accept those accusations. She felt that was the right of those who had been created and destroyed with no say in the matter. ¡­But that isn¡¯t the case. As the world moved and the people developed over generations, it all left the god¡¯s control. Even if the god was responsible for the destruction, the people had had the right to fight it and to overcome it. Any accusations over the destruction could be viewed as no more than complaints, but this girl would accept them. Because she had been unable to stop it as the other creator. So¡­ ¡°What an awful sort of resolve.¡± But¡­ ¡°I trust you enough to understand that.¡± Kagami did not react to Horinouchi¡¯s words. Horinouchi had hoped she would say something to either support or reject those words, but she did not. ¡­I-I hate these awkward pauses. And so she said more. She hoped she was not talking too much, but she felt this must be Kagami¡¯s turn to listen. And¡­ ¡°But¡­¡± She added an admonition to her previous kind words. ¡°Kagami? You¡­most likely do have some form of obligation to that world, but you are one of us right now and we have a goal. Please don¡¯t forget that.¡± ¡­Hunter, quit whistling. But Kagami did smile a little. Horinouchi had a feeling Hunter had ruined the mood, but then the Suzaku whistled back from her shoulder and she had to wonder again if it was really a bird. At any rate, Kagami sighed and looked back at Horinouchi. ¡°Yes. You have my thanks.¡± This wasn¡¯t something to thank me for, she thought, but when she tried to say it¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± Tears spilled from Kagami¡¯s eyes as she smiled and nodded. ¡­Ah. It was so sudden that Horinouchi¡¯s heart reacted first and she could not respond properly. Before she recovered from her confusion, Kagami raised her right palm toward her. Still smiling, Kagami lightly shook her head to throw off the tears. ¡°I think I will go buy us some drinks. You two start the meeting without me.¡± ¡°Lady Kagami! We have plenty of carbonated beverages at the bar!¡± ¡°Do you have Lingalia¡¯s McCol Strong Milk sold in the courtyard?¡± ¡°I am so very sorry!¡± ¡°Head Butler¡­¡± ¡°Head Butler¡­¡± ¡°Keh.¡± ¡°Who just said ¡®keh¡¯!? You need to be less straightforward when you say it!¡± ¡°Head Butler. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­Was there a reason¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­for that?¡± ¡°Ah. What were those gaps for!? And what do you mean be less straightforward!?¡± ¡°I will be back.¡± Horinouchi watched as Kagami left with a quick wave. But¡­ ¡°Ah, Kagami! The lock spell is-¡­¡± ¡°I am used to opening things.¡± Without even looking back, she waved her fingers past the door to open it. How did she do that? wondered Horinouchi, but then she remembered how so many things had ¡°opened¡± when that girl had come to this world. It had to be the same as that. But what were they to do now? ¡­I could chase after her. But¡­ ¡°¡­¡± She decided not to. She felt like that would be getting too nosy, so she decided this was the most she could do. Then Hunter spoke up from the floor. ¡°Why are you blushing?¡± ¡°N-no reason!¡± Since this was the most she could do, she decided there could not be a reason. Volume 2, 9: It Isn’t Enough Volume 2, Chapter 9: It Isn¡¯t Enough With indelible memories Clenched tightly in your grasp Choose to whom you will pay The courtyard is surprisingly loud this late at night, thought Kagami. Summer must not have been quite over yet. Perhaps due to the thickness of the lingering heat, the cicadas were chirping around the lights even at night. Cicadas, hm? she thought before changing it to, Is this how my sister pictured the real world too? She looked up into the night sky and saw the moon, but that too was strange. She was standing on an artificial island that generated power using the tides, yet the moon was always overhead. This truly was an imaginary world. ¡­And if I mess up here, it will be a destroyed world. The only place where she could not hear the cicadas was where she could hear the night insects. They used their shrill musical chirping to make their presence all too obvious. As the somewhat chilly night air descended around her, Kagami saw the central clearing through the trees. ¡°A mausoleum, hm?¡± There was a small white shrine atop a short hill. It had been mentioned in her tour of the school. ¡­The old school¡¯s victims of the previous Hexennacht have their graves underground there. They were not placed on a hill with a view like the foreigner graveyard in Yokohama. ¡°Can you not bring yourself to place your view of life and death in a bright place, Shouko?¡± As she walked further, she spotted something else. There were four round plazas situated around the mausoleum in the cardinal directions. They each had benches and vending machines for drinks and snacks creating a slight focal point. ¡°Coin-operated acceleration-style prayer wheels? You did not have to put those here, Shouko.¡± She put a one hundred yen coin in one to try it out and it gave her as many pieces of popcorn as times it had spun. ¡­Corn seems somewhat out of place for Buddhism, but since it is curry flavor, is it supposed to be Indian? Not bad, Shouko. Ho ho? And here we have the Vs. VIPs series of the Saint Masters card game. It has the ¡°Fury of the Burning Stake¡­!¡± one, so do they also have the crucifixion one? Ho ho? And this is¡­oh! They even have this one¡­ I am glad I stopped by here. At any rate, she needed to get back to her original objective. There were four drink vending machines and she stood in front of the Lingalia one. ¡°Oh?¡± She started to put a coin in, but it took cards. When did that happen? she wondered, but then she realized the vending machines would have ¡°opened¡± along with everything else when she appeared in this world. They must have been modified as a countermeasure against that. ¡°So you use your student ID to pay? But you would need to authorize it for payment, so mine would not work¡­¡± Hers was only any good for proving her identity, so there was nothing she could do. What do I do now? she wondered. ¡­If I return empty-handed, I will worry Horinouchi again. She knew that much. But then what do I do? she wondered again just as an arm in a black sleeve reached in from the side. ¡°This world prefers cards to coins because it helps preserve the public order and because the people transform and fly so much.¡± It was Mary. Mary had decided to remain on her guard. She did not even need to imagine what would happen. This was her enemy. So she had decided put up her guard, say as little as possible, do what she had come here to do, and leave. But she had been shocked to find the girl spinning the strange prayer wheel popcorn machine and wandering around inspecting the card game vending machines. Mary had wanted to avoid hiding (or what amounted to hiding) while she waited. She was not here as a challenger. So she had reached in from behind and scanned her payment card. Once the spell circle opened, she confirmed it. ¡°How many do you need?¡± Kagami answered without looking back. ¡°Four.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you mean three?¡± ¡°Koutarou has terrible taste.¡± Kagami pressed four different buttons. And just as Mary thought she was done¡­ ¡°One more.¡± Mary could only spread her mouth horizontally when Kagami did not hesitate to add an extra drink. ¡°I see that part of you hasn¡¯t changed, Brigadier General.¡± ¡°Yes, I always did have you buy me a drink after each futile attempt to defeat me in a sparring match.¡± ¡°You always bought an extra one, so there were rumors you had a boyfriend.¡± ¡°What was it that I always bought?¡± ¡°Milk.¡± Oh, I see, she thought. It was fairly common in this world, but¡­ ¡°So your boyfriend was a cat.¡± ¡°It was for me after my bath.¡± ¡°Thank you very much for solving that old mystery.¡± Kagami stepped aside, so it was Mary¡¯s turn. She needed five drinks. Kagami glanced over at her after seeing what buttons she pressed. ¡°I thought I told you to quit drinking those carbonated ones.¡± ¡°Those are for my friends.¡± ¡°Oh, you have friends now?¡± She kind of wanted to protest Kagami¡¯s tone of voice there, but she decided to think of it as the provocation of the enemy. So¡­ ¡°Yes.¡± She kept her heart calm. ¡°I have so many more than I used to.¡± Only after saying it did she realize how heavy a line that was. I can¡¯t believe this, thought Mary. Force it down, she commanded the bottom of her gut. These are my feelings. But she could not maintain her expression. ¡­I can¡¯t do this. For the first time in a long while, she had recalled not the resentment and anger, but the nostalgic times from before that. Yet in the past, she had told herself the present was the present and she could remember old times after her grudge had been dealt with. ¡°Brigadier General, you don¡¯t change, do you?¡± ¡°No, I do not. I have always had this baby face.¡± That comment was proof that she had not changed, so Mary ignored it. For some reason, Kagami was gesturing her over, but she refused to play along. They were enemies after all. Besides, there was something else she had to say. ¡°Due to a distortion in space-time, four years have passed since I arrived here, but I believe it has actually been two hundred years.¡± ¡°I do not seem to age, perhaps because the worlds recognize me as their parent,¡± said Kagami. ¡°But this world seems to be a little different.¡± ¡°In what way?¡± ¡°My sister definitely exists here as the Black Witch. She is not just as an embodiment of destruction. And¡­¡± ¡°And?¡± ¡°I have some comrades here. Also¡­¡± Something unbearable filled Mary when she heard that. The next thing she knew, she was speaking without looking Kagami in the eye. ¡°Please stop that.¡± Kagami listened to the girl who now went by the name Mary. ¡°You call them comrades, Brigadier General, but you will still betray them and flee if something happens, won¡¯t you?¡± That is true, she thought. She was only here because the previous world had been destroyed. ¡°Brigadier General.¡± Kagami wondered what this could be about as Mary¡¯s voice reached her. She placed her drink cans in a plastic bag she pulled from her pocket and she turned her back. ¡°We can settle this in our match tomorrow night.¡± Her footsteps were louder than the cicadas and the other summer insects. Only the leaving girl¡¯s words reached Kagami¡¯s ears. ¡°I will punish you and take both our grudges to the Black Witch.¡± Koutarou realized that Horinouchi could not relax inside the lounge. Kagami was taking a long time to return and that had to be the reason. ¡­Lady Mitsuru really likes to help people out. She had been very well educated, so she could do most things better than most and she had twice the average sense of responsibility. Hunter had eaten a snack and fallen asleep on the sofa, so Horinouchi had prepared a blanket and placed it over the girl. Of course, that was likely to fill her idle time while waiting for Kagami to return. She would occasionally glance out the window, but that only gave her a view to the south. Kagami had gone to the courtyard on the north side of the building and the dorm entrance was in a blind spot from here, so that would not tell her anything. Is she just that impatient? he wondered, but what could he do? ¡°Um, what are you all doing?¡± A few maids were crouched down behind the bar counter. The European witch in the center had opened a ritual spell circle and they were all checking their smaller handheld spell circles. ¡°Please be quiet, Head Butler. We are acting as Lady Kagami¡¯s indirect bodyguards.¡± ¡°Lady Hunter ran into trouble, so we intend to intervene if anything happens.¡± ¡°What is that look for, Head Butler?¡± ¡°¡­Did you never think about taking Lady Mitsuru¡¯s feelings into account?¡± ¡°Her feelings and what benefits her most are two different things. Plus, doing it covertly is a lot more fun! Right!?¡± That second explanation is the real one, he concluded just as one of them looked up. ¡°Head Butler, Lady Kagami is back!¡± ¡°Very good,¡± he replied before turning to Horinouchi. ¡°Milady! Lady Kagami has returned!¡± Horinouchi sat at the window-side table as she waited for Kagami to return to the lounge. She stopped pretending to look out the window and acted like she had just noticed Kagami. ¡°Did you buy them?¡± ¡°I did. I see Hunter fell asleep.¡± Kagami handed the cans to Koutarou and smiled a little. ¡°Did I keep you waiting?¡± ¡°If you think you did, then maybe you did.¡± ¡°You like letting others make decisions for you, don¡¯t you?¡± Kagami seemed to have recovered enough to say things like that. Horinouchi only had to nod and bring up the topic at hand. The maids moved from behind the bar counter with a light meal of toast with a fried egg on top and a mixture of blanched vegetables and cooked pork, but she set that aside for now. ¡°We know what Mary¡¯s spell is.¡± ¡°You really do?¡± She could answer ¡°yes¡± because both the Horinouchi family and America¡¯s U.A.H.F. had investigated it. ¡°She attacks by pulling in an annihilation spell.¡± Koutarou stepped from behind the counter and began filling glasses with crushed ice at the side of their table. He also opened a spell circle and gave an explanation. ¡°As Lady Mitsuru instructed me, I recorded optical footage and had it analyzed.¡± The spell circle displayed that afternoon¡¯s battle over Tokyo Bay. The five hundred meter black Magino Device shaped like multiple scythes was tearing into Kagami¡¯s Dikaio-whatever and negating all of its cannons. ¡°This is the process she uses to erase all of your secondary cannon blasts, Lady Kagami. ¡­Rather than a reflection spell defense, she emits a gouging type of annihilation spell and then swings it inward.¡± ¡°So it is a scythe.¡± ¡°Precisely,¡± confirmed Koutarou. He then opened a new spell circle which displayed a large arrow moving from right to left. ¡°Lady Mary¡¯s attack is first fired as an invisible cannon with an annihilation power at the tip.¡± That was powerful enough on its own, but¡­ ¡­The real attack is what happens next. After flying straight forward, Mary¡¯s ¡°blade¡± would swing back. ¡°This is when Lady Mary¡¯s attack ¡®returns¡¯.¡± ¡°And as it moves back, anything it touches counts as a ¡®hit¡¯, correct?¡± ¡°No.¡± Koutarou shook his head and looked to Horinouchi who nodded. Then he took a breath and continued. ¡°When Lady Mary attacks, everything in the range of its returning trajectory and everything within the entire area surrounded by that trajectory counts as a hit and is annihilated.¡± ¡°So,¡± said Koutarou. ¡°Let us view this from above.¡± The image on the spell circle vanished and then a straight white line extended from the bottom of the screen to the top. ¡°At this point, only the very tip will count as a hit. But¡­¡± As he spoke, the tip of the line turned toward the bottom left. ¡°It turns around.¡± This was the scythe swing. And in this line drawing of the phenomenon, something happened. The white vertical line had appeared first and then the diagonal line had dropped down to the left from the top. Then a third line appeared, horizontally connecting the tip of the diagonal line with the original vertical line. The diagonal line continued growing from there. As it did, the triangle created from the diagonal, vertical, and horizontal lines grew in area. ¡°I see¡­¡± The inside of that growing triangle was filled in with the same white as the lines. A moment later, the diagonal line changed direction from diagonal left to diagonal right. It was approaching the original location to close the loop. This created a giant triangle from the white area. Once the white line did reach its starting point, the filled-in triangle was vertically long and horizontally narrow on the left. This triangle diagram meant one thing. ¡°It acts as a piercing attack on the way out and the annihilation spell consumes everything at once on the way back.¡± ¡°Do you understand?¡± Kagami saw Koutarou grab the window¡¯s curtain as he spoke. He started by half-closing the curtain. ¡°The return motion is a lot like closing a curtain toward the center. It is a wiping attack that connects the return path with the cannon¡¯s starting point. It occurs at very high speed, so it looked to us like our defenses were simply being erased.¡± ¡°Having her do that from behind you would be very bad indeed.¡± ¡°Well, based on the footage from the battle, she even activates it while right in front of her opponent.¡± What did that mean? ¡°So she has decent range without having to circle behind her opponent?¡± ¡°Yes, Lady Kagami. Didn¡¯t you fire your main cannon because you had picked up on that?¡± That butler was a perceptive one, but he had more to say. ¡°According to the analysis Lady Hunter had done, this spell can perform spatial annihilation.¡± ¡°You mean¡­?¡± ¡°During your battle, you were occasionally pulled in toward Lady Mary and she occasionally used some unexplained acceleration.¡± She remembered being pulled in by something and receiving that odd acceleration. ¡°Are you saying she tore into space itself and then sewed it back up?¡± ¡°Well done, milady. ¡­It is likely based on a teleportation spell. It may have originally been a spatial fusing movement spell.¡± ¡°Yes, it just might.¡± Horinouchi then tilted her head. ¡°But if it is cutting into space, wouldn¡¯t it be easier to have it scatter right in front of her? Why activate it at the distant reversal point?¡± ¡°Oh, I can answer that.¡± Kagami took a breath and lightly swung her right hand. ¡°She was taught long ago that annihilation spells are dangerous.¡± ¡­Honestly, she has such a good memory. Yes, that was a lesson Kagami had taught her. She had matched her lessons to the spells of that world. ¡°It is just like fireworks. They are a little too dangerous to let children hold them. ¡­So I told her to activate them at some distant point if she was to use them.¡± ¡°¡­Was she a good student?¡± ¡°A little too good a student, if you ask me.¡± Kagami breathed in and smelled something. She smelled butter, pepper, meat, and the sweet aroma of steamy vegetable leaves and roots. I must have been hungry, she belatedly realized. ¡°Lady Kagami, here is the McCol Strong Milk you requested.¡± She held up the glass Koutarou handed her and then gulped it all down. ¡­Oh. It seemed to clear her throat for her. Her stomach quickly set to work and she felt her throat on down being pulled toward the bottom of her stomach, but it was probably about time for this. Her mood was beginning to recover. There was food before her eyes. How refreshing, she thought. It was not that things had been stale before, but she had something to say as she saw Koutarou serve a glass to Horinouchi as well. ¡°The past is the past.¡± ¡°But if it refuses to go away, you still need to turn back and deal with it, you know?¡± ¡°What about you?¡± When she asked that, Horinouchi looked her in the eye but then quickly looked out the window. ¡°I have never had that problem.¡± ¡°Were you spoiled?¡± ¡°I prefer to say I was happy.¡± ¡°So you admit it.¡± ¡°I am proud of it. ¡­Aren¡¯t you proud of your justice?¡± ¡°Then how about I take your ham steak?¡± ¡°Ah,¡± said the maids behind the counter, but Horinouchi did not resist and Koutarou stopped the maids with a hand. ¡­Yes. That is how it must be, Koutarou. After all, I provided the drinks. Mary suddenly patted her pocket in front of the Spell Division building. ¡°Oh, no! I forgot to give the Brigadier General a bill! Now she¡¯ll never pay me back¡­¡± ¡°You sure have cheered up,¡± commented Horinouchi with a sigh. She saw Kagami starting on her third plate of food and began to wonder if she had worried in vain. Or rather, the girl was amazingly skilled at rotating the plate while operating her spoon or fork. The fact that she did it all silently made it even more impressive. It was like a hidden talent. But as Horinouchi looked at the girl, Kagami suddenly spoke to her with a slight smile. ¡°You have my thanks.¡± ¡­F-for what!? She kept that question unsaid. If she actually asked it, she would get an answer. If she got an answer, she was sure she would do more than just blush. Yes, I would definitely scold her. After all, she is carrying too much of a burden on her own. Even if she is a self-styled god who suddenly appeared from another world. Koutarou must have sensed a gap in their conversation because he bowed and opened a new spell circle. ¡°How about you look over the final segment of today¡¯s battle, milady, Lady Kagami?¡± ¡°Nnn,¡± groaned Hunter from across the room. ¡°Something smells great¡­¡± ¡°Come on over here, Hunter.¡± ¡°Pulling an extra chair up to the side of a two-person table set? That¡¯s a blatant birthday seat¡­¡± She came over regardless. A plate came for her too. It had thick-cut ham steak and vegetables and a side of bread in a basket. ¡°I will take that.¡± Kagami grabbed the bread before Hunter could. No one was surprised. After Hunter took a drink of the glass prepared for her and gave a skeptical look, Koutarou continued speaking. His large spell circle displayed the final stage of the day¡¯s battle. Kagami¡¯s Magino Device fired its main cannon and charged. ¡°This was the one successful part of Lady Kagami¡¯s battle.¡± ¡°Because Mary didn¡¯t use that cannon that makes everything vanish?¡± ¡°Yes. Lady Kagami¡¯s final charge worked because she fired ahead of time and Lady Mary prioritized dealing with that. ¡­Lady Kagami successfully used that opening to send her Magino Frame in, but Lady Mary will be ready for this next time.¡± The same method would not work again. And¡­ ¡°She will likely realize we have figured out how her cannon works and have a variety of methods to deal with that.¡± Horinouchi had something to say about that fear. And that was of course¡­ ¡°I will take part from the beginning next time. That should increase our odds of victory.¡± After all, their opponent had not fought her yet, but she knew their opponent¡¯s techniques thanks to Kagami. So¡­ ¡°I am counting on you.¡± She nodded at Kagami¡¯s words. ¡­Eh? But then she realized Hunter, Koutarou, and the maids were all staring at her. ¡°Wh-what are you looking at!? I¡¯m not some kind of spectacle!¡± ¡°Well¡­ You just have a way of really letting your reaction show.¡± The fact that she pretended to look out the mirror to check her face in the reflection showed that she was fairly aware of that fact. Volume 2, 10: I Want To Deliver This Volume 2, Chapter 10: I Want To Deliver This I forgot hope somewhere Yet I remember moving away from it Mary wondered what to do about the bill for the drinks as she walked up the Spell Division building¡¯s wall. The black building had no entrance on the surface. No, it technically did, but that was only for deliveries and for those who worked inside. It was not meant for the witches to use. The Spell Division¡¯s entrance was on the roof. In other words, any traditional witches were to arrive from the sky. Mary was trained in flight spells, but she did not always feel like using them. When she went to buy drinks for her friends was one such time. She wanted to walk. So on the way back, she would walk up the school building¡¯s wall to reach the roof. She could see the sky from there. It gave her a view of the moon overhead. The black building¡¯s roof, however, was filled with light. The students were performing rituals and doing research with their spell circles. A group constructing a spell for use in everyday life turned toward Mary to greet her. They worked with the school to develop the popular spells that could be used in normal households. There were a lot of Rankers with Hexennacht approaching, but they had not forgotten their main role as witches. ¡­Magic in this world was a special technique used for the more troublesome aspects of everyday life. Healing injuries, controlling or forecasting the weather, computing complicated calculations, and performing music or plays that influenced people¡¯s emotions were all the realm of magic. Mary had grown attached to this world as she learned of that aspect of its history. In her home, everything had been a means of resisting the ¡°god¡±. That had of course included everyday fire-starting and illumination spells, but those had only just barely been any help as their use had been limited to preserve fuel. Her first impression upon reaching this world was that not everything was focused on the military. The everyday was the foundation of this world and the military side had developed from that. That was abnormal for her. It had all seemed backwards. She had not spoken their language and her clothes had been different, so she had assumed the people would drive her out as an outsider. But they had not. They had started by gesturing her to sit and then they had served her some food. She had later been told that they had decided she was not an enemy because she had been so well-behaved. However, the police of this world were not part of the military and there was another organization situated above even the military. To her surprise, that organization was a school. By the time she had been taken in by U.A.H. and asked if she wished to join that school as an unregistered witch, she had learned how to use a translation spell. Due to her skill, she had started off with a Rank in the double digits. She had chosen to join the Spell Division, but not because she had wanted to hone her magic. She had wanted to learn the history and workings of magic in this world. This magic had developed from culture and civilization, not from the military and combat. It had been persecuted and forgotten at times, but it had persisted and come to the forefront as a means of opposing the Black Witch. By the time she had finally learned the language, she had come to love this world¡¯s magic. She had learned her own spell system in order to fight yet they had been unable to stop the destruction, so there were honestly parts of that system she had hated. She had decided it was useless. But this world used magic for something else. At first, she had considered no longer fighting. But at one point, she had visited a town called Yokohama. That was where she had appeared in this world. At the time of her arrival, she had not known what the people there had said. But during this second visit, some of them had remembered her and had shown her a spell circle displaying the old news of U.A.H. taking in a Ranker-class witch. That was when she had been told why they had fed her when she had first appeared. She had been thankful, but then they had asked her something. ¡°Are you going to fight as a Hexennacht Ranker?¡± It had been a simple question. Her answer had also been simple. After all, this had been her answer: ¡°No. I have already lost.¡± ¡°I see,¡± they had all said. ¡°If anything happens, come here. There¡¯s a lot you can do.¡± She had nodded, but shock had filled her on the way back. These people had taken her in and treated her kindly, but she had just told them she could not protect them. She felt that inability to protect them was the truth. After all, the ¡°god¡± of her home was only an imitation of this world¡¯s Black Witch. The Brigadier General had said that ¡°god¡± had only been the vestiges of the destructive power. She had been no match for that, so how was she supposed to stand up to the Black Witch? But that was not it. That was not the problem. This world¡¯s magic had not originally been created to protect. But what about her? She recalled the words of the person she had once wished to be like. ¡°Do not think about what it means to others. Think about what it means to you.¡± That was exactly right. And that was why she had returned to the school without looking back even once and had started fighting in the Ranker battles. Once she reached the single digits, a witch from Yokohama had told her the people there were rooting for her. And that was enough. This place had shown her the endless possibilities available to her and she would do what she could for herself here. And yet¡­ ¡°Honestly¡­¡± Someone truly troublesome had appeared and that person had a way of turning her back into the person she used to be. She had wanted to go for a walk, but that was over now. She had arrived on the rooftop where the sky was so visible. ¡°Hey, Mary!¡± Her friends were waving her way. She had told them about her situation, so she had no trouble speaking to them. ¡°I bought us some drinks.¡± Mary¡¯s friends took the cans and immediately opened them. They repaid her up front by exchanging the money and the can at the same time. Mary was fairly certain she had heard that that was a jinx for good luck. She suddenly grew curious about the restored city in the Yokohama region. It was hard to see from here with the General Division¡¯s dorm and school building in the way, but she could see the southwest coast of Tokyo Bay. Beyond the Uraga Channel, colors illuminated the sky from below. The group inspecting a fire-starting spell turned her way. ¡°Mary, we¡¯re going to start a fire, so what do you want us to cook for you? A sweet potato or fish wrapped in foil?¡± ¡°You¡¯re doing that again¡­?¡± Can¡¯t you take your research and development more seriously? she thought. But¡­ ¡°We¡¯re working on an open-air spell this time, so this is a great way of testing it, Mary. It¡¯s for emergency use.¡± ¡°Or rather, in my spell system, the open-air one is the original. This will smoke any offerings real good. My mom always used it on nights with a lot of dew.¡± ¡°See? So let¡¯s eat, Mary. Tomorrow¡¯s your big day, right?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± She could not keep up with the sudden change in topic and a group working on astronomical spells turned her way. ¡°You need to come on up further south, Mary. It¡¯s a bad omen there.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re down below again, tell us. We can make sure you get a ton of good-luck jinxes.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± said a wind-reader witch. She poked her head out from the stairway up to the roof and began erecting a windsock. ¡°That¡¯s right, that¡¯s right. ¡­You¡¯re always talking about that teacher of yours. Y¡¯know, the Brigadier General you respect a little too much? That¡¯s who you¡¯re going to fight, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°But¡­¡± Mary hung her head a little. ¡°When she¡¯s right in front of me¡­¡± She could not do it. Her grudge always kicked in first. But the others already knew that. ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with a grudge.¡± ¡°Right, right. Dealing with grudges is a job for witches. You can either throw it out or try to fulfill it. You¡¯ve decided what you want to do, so now you just have to do it. If any of it¡¯s still with you afterwards, you can leave that to us.¡± ¡°My servant loves resentful words, so come to me if you can.¡± ¡°Now, now,¡± said a third-year manager who was recording the results of the various groups. ¡°That person is still alive, isn¡¯t she? Whether it¡¯s a grudge or anything else, don¡¯t reject your feelings as long as she¡¯s alive.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± said her friends who were illuminated by the fire-starting flames. They all held up the drinks she had bought for them. ¡°A toast to pray for the victory of our Spell Division representative.¡± ¡°Do your best.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± She knew they were rooting for her. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± She smiled. She did not audibly laugh, but she knew there had to be a smile on her lips. This was the leading edge of witches. This magic was born from techniques made to live, something unthinkable in the world she had come from, but they still used these techniques to protect people. Was she equal to all of them as they cheered her on? Regardless, she was glad. And that happiness brought a smile. This was a time of joy for her, and not just resentment. It was lovely. All of them then looked to the two drink cans in her hands. ¡°Mary, why do you always buy an extra one?¡± ¡°Um, well¡­¡± The night darkened as she answered. She had to fight tomorrow. The day of reckoning was coming. She saw lights on in the top floor of the General Division dorm. They were preparing for that battle. The battle was set to begin at nightfall. That proposal was made by Mary, the higher Ranker. They attended morning and afternoon classes and then went to the designated location: the pier. The artificial island¡¯s coast and the coast of Tokyo Bay were both lit. Mary had already summoned her Normal Frame as she viewed the distant lights of the Yokohama region. Someone else was there to meet Kagami and Horinouchi when they arrived at the pier. ¡°Headmaster!¡± The headmaster nodded and opened a few spell circles to approve the Ranker battle and receive the approval of the participants. ¡°Now, Ranks 2 and 3? Don¡¯t hold back in this battle, okay?¡± As the witness, she swung her hand toward the night sky to signal the beginning of the Ranker battle. At the same time, Kagami and Horinouchi used their Normal Frames to fly up into the sky with Mary. They made no noise and left no motion on the surface. The battle for Rank 2 had begun. In the Horinouchi family¡¯s underground command center, Koutarou monitored Horinouchi and Kagami¡¯s positions while sitting in the commentator¡¯s seat. ¡°The battle has begun. Will Lady Mitsuru and Lady Kagami be able to take the Rank 2 spot away from Lady Mary? What are these three witches thinking as night begins and evening ends? Analysis will be provided by Lady Hunter who is currently with the Seventh Fleet.¡± ¡°Head Butler, you are pissing me off, so can I beat you up?¡± ¡°And are you getting our data?¡± asked the girl on the spell circle that acted as the command center¡¯s main monitor. It was Hunter who wore a track suit with the twilight in the background. The tower visible behind her was likely an aircraft carrier¡¯s bridge. Hunter pointed at the structure behind her. ¡°All the data from our mainland is being gathered here and then sent to you. There¡¯s a decent time lag, but the Ranker battle rules only allow Horinouchi and Kagami to receive support from the Horinouchi family.¡± ¡°That is true, Lady Hunter.¡± Koutarou nodded. ¡°The visual information from America¡¯s satellites and fighters will be extremely useful. The Horinouchi family will accept that data and supply it to those two ourselves. What is American U.A.H.F doing?¡± ¡°They¡¯re following the three of them. They said it¡¯s been awhile since there was so much excitement in their underground Yokota facility. And¡­¡± Hunter opened a spell circle. It displayed a map of Kantou and three dots began to intersect at a certain place. ¡°The Chichibu Mountains of west Kantou!¡± Volume 2, 11: Rushing Thoughts Volume 2, Chapter 11: Rushing Thoughts Only those you have caught up to Are in front of you The battle shifted to the mountain range. Mary had been the one to move out ahead and choose the location. Horinouchi pursued her while muting the Suzaku as it gave a war cry of acceleration on her shoulder. ¡°She¡¯s surprisingly fast.¡± ¡°She was the candidate chosen to be the next generation ace for the magic system of an entire world. After the training she underwent in the Spell Division, I do not see how she could be inferior to us. But¡­¡± ¡°But?¡± ¡°She holds her arms forward like this when she flies because I taught her it was the polite thing to do.¡± ¡°You aren¡¯t even doing that right now!!¡± As soon as she said it, she wondered if that was the response Kagami wanted, but¡­ ¡­Ah. A warning suddenly appeared on her spell circle. The Suzaku was hopping around and creating spell circles in several different directions. ¡°The scythe is firing on us!¡± Kagami saw Horinouchi immediately begin a counterattack. Even Mary¡¯s scythe was a spell that used ether. Due to the annihilation element, the attacks were invisible, but they could still be picked up using ether detection. But¡­ ¡­That is quite a high level of annihilation! Both the ether creating it and the remnants left after it was fired caused annihilation. Thus this was a job for their spells and servants, not their own senses. As ether beings, servants could visually perceive ether information. The Suzaku was moonwalking and performing swaybacks on Horinouchi¡¯s shoulder to visually represent the path of the annihilation, so what is it really a bird? Regardless, Dikaio was trembling on Kagami¡¯s shoulder as it detected the lines of annihilation. That detection was Horinouchi¡¯s spell. Shinto was a system of purification and barrier spells, so it made clear distinctions between outsiders and insiders. That was normally limited to one¡¯s field of vision, but she had put together a servant version of a spell for detecting ¡°outsider¡± spells. Such a spell would normally pick up all the spirits in the air and on the surface, so the spell was performing some level of selection. But¡­ ¡°I am surprised even I can use your spell, Horinouchi.¡± ¡°Major systems like Shinto sell and distribute spells for the general public, you know? Those sometimes use local gods and my family has been the main creator of those spells during the recovery. Currently, the Spell Division and other places are systemizing the various branches of daily necessity spells.¡± ¡°Does that mean you would be able to use my spells?¡± ¡°Yes, I just have to present your spell as an ¡®offering¡¯.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Kagami sent her a few.¡± ¡°Wh-what is this all of a sudden!?¡± ¡°Defense spells. I am worried about your thin armor.¡± ¡°Y-you know¡­¡± They moved apart to avoid the annihilation and then they moved back together to avoid the next wave of annihilation. ¡°You can send me spells if you want, but I still have to worry about my Phlogiston Heart¡¯s heat. I can¡¯t just use them back to back. Overusing spells will only reduce their power. With your craft power, you can¡¯t just use a bunch of spells at once, right? It¡¯s the same.¡± ¡°We really did make an annoying world here.¡± The Suzaku gave a muted screech from Horinouchi¡¯s shoulder. The spell circle made it clear what had happened, but¡­ ¡°The annihilation is growing in power!¡± Horinouchi realized the triple beams of scythe-fire had raced by and were scraping back through the sky. ¡­It¡¯s huge! The tip she had avoided was not thick at all, but it was over thirty meters tall. And after racing about four kilometers behind her, it scraped back through the sky. ¡°Kh¡­!¡± It moved back quickly. It was far faster than her own flight speed, but that may have been because it was a wave of annihilation. It was just like how waves accelerated right at the shore. But even if she avoided that, the leftover remnants of annihilation did not vanish. Touching them would cause damage, so they were like a trap. And¡­ ¡°¡­!¡± After the Suzaku¡¯s warning, the triple shot fired a total of twelve beams. And as more were added¡­ ¡°The sky!¡± As the sky passed twilight and approached the bluish black of night, it seemed to be ¡°filled¡±. A moment later, several dozen scythes reached her as rapid-fire shots. The vast sky above the Chichibu Mountains in central Kantou was sliced apart vertically and horizontally. Horinouchi focused on evasion. She was not watching to see what would happen. One wrong move and she would run into this annihilation trap, but circling too far around would give Mary free time. Moving in close was the best option for both offense and defense here. So¡­ ¡°Suzaku!¡± She unmuted the Suzaku to help it get excited. ¡°Yessssssssss!¡± When she looked over in shock, the Suzaku averted its gaze and began chirping like a bird. ¡­W-well, I might have misheard. ¡°Horinouchi, that thing might very well be a parrot or a red myna.¡± ¡°It is the Suzaku! The Suzaku!¡± Also¡­ ¡°You evade too!¡± Their evasion was based on spells. The Suzaku and Dikaio could see a lot with their ether-detecting eyes, so they would look around and fire something into the safely empty space they saw. ¡°Horinouchi, these are guiding torii, aren¡¯t they!?¡± They were indeed torii. Kagami¡¯s were blue and Horinouchi¡¯s were red. Three of them were placed at fifty meter intervals. Three more stages of three torii showed the directions beyond that, so their routes were drawn in the sky using a total of twelve each of the red and blue torii. They followed them. To surpass the invisible obstacles and avoid the erasing slash that pursued them, the blue and red witches passed through the torii in the sky. Sometimes they raced forward, sometimes they hopped upwards, and sometimes they spun around, dropped down, split to the left and right, or¡­ ¡°¡­!¡± Crossed paths. Occasionally, the torii behind them would be sliced apart and shattered, but the shrine maiden and holy knight did not care. The torii displayed ahead of them would construct their route and keep them going. However, the grim reaper up ahead did not allow them to safely avoid her attacks. Since the torii were appearing, she began firing her annihilation at those gates of passage themselves. But they did not care. The two witches accelerated and, if the torii was destroyed, they could actually see the slice. That allowed them to read the path of the annihilation spell, so they actually chose to fly in toward it. ¡°¡­!¡± The shrine maiden¡¯s armor was worn down and lines like claw marks ran down the holy knight¡¯s sword. But the two of them continued forward. ¡°Horinouchi!¡± shouted the holy knight. ¡°The torii are too close! Put more space between them!¡± The fifty meter distance was passed in about a second when they were flying at 80 kph, but the blue witch had a different idea. ¡°Set it to 120 meters, Horinouchi! Do you think you can keep up?¡± The blue and red accelerated. The black also accelerated, but there was only so much she could do while flying backwards. So the grim reaper removed some of her weaponry. She slid the triple scythe blades open to reveal more of their internals than before. And¡­ ¡°¡­!¡± Reddish purple ether light scattered from the internal structure as she sliced through the sky as much as possible. A unit of four F-23s from Atsugi was tracking the three of them along with the surveillance satellite even higher in the sky. They saw it happen from about the same height as the battle. ¡°Hey¡­¡± Western Kantou¡¯s Chichibu Mountains covered central Kantou from the northwest to the southeast. As they monitored the battle, they could see the mountain range continuing into the distance, but¡­ ¡°A bombing!?¡± From left to right, from north to south, the countless mountain peaks burst. And that was not all. The mountainsides and mountain ridges wavered for a moment before finally being annihilated and blasting up in an explosion of dust. The maps on their HUDs all showed the color red fill the mountain range from north to south. It was already thirty kilometers long. The exchange of destruction spread from there and the leading edge flew through the night sky. ¡°That was close!¡± shouted Horinouchi while using almost all of her power on acceleration and control. ¡°But¡­I see her!¡± She was there, across the night sky. The black grim reaper was visible beyond the torii that now had seven stages. The torii had 120 meters between them now. And while they accelerated like that, their opponent had increased the range of her cutting. The sky had been invisibly split and the earth had been rent apart. They were still at an altitude of five kilometers, yet it had still reached the surface. ¡­Just how big of a scythe is this!? No, Horinouchi¡¯s own arrows could reach that level. The problem was how much ether that this annihilation spell had to use up and how wide its effective range was. This attack was not cannon-fire. It was an ultra-wide area attack spell. Their opponent¡¯s ability to secure and pool ether clearly surpassed their own. It was possible Horinouchi, Kagami, and Hunter together could not match this girl. She was still using her Normal Frame, yet her attack range and power likely exceeded the average Magino Frame. But¡­ ¡°Kechooooooooooh!¡± Horinouchi accelerated with the Suzaku in top form. A moment later, the air was sliced apart and the erasing power pursued her. She surpassed it all, dodged it, and continued forward. And¡­ ¡°Horinouchi! The arc is larger at a distance. I will head in closer, so you¡­¡± ¡°Understood!¡± They could see their opponent, so that left¡­ ¡°Here goes!¡± Mary realized a path to her had been made. It was a path of blue torii. She had messed up. The red torii had briefly moved ahead and she had reacted to that. She had three scythes in her Normal Frame and she had fired one of those at the red torii. As soon it shattered, the blue torii appeared on the right. It was too fast, it was a feint, and it was bait, so she waited. Then another blue torii appeared on her left. This was a feint too, but since they blocked her view, she fired her scythes such that they hit both. A moment later, a torii appeared somewhere. It appeared between the two shattered blue torii. It overlapped the previous two and she would have been able to respond if she had displayed their destinations. Her opponent had shifted from the left or right to the center. That small feint created hesitation. Should she fire or not? She briefly hesitated in that instant, but she fired in the end. Immediately afterwards, she saw something. There was a blue torii behind the fragments of the red torii she had destroyed earlier. ¡­Is that¡­? That was the real one. The blue torii in the center was a feint. She had been made to destroy the red torii first and tricked into thinking the blue ones were the true threat. And now¡­ ¡°Are they both going to pass through the overlapped torii!?¡± The blue torii had been placed just behind the red one. The two witches accelerated from there and flew in toward her. Mary saw Kagami forcibly slip below her annihilation spell scythe. ¡°Kh!¡± She finally arrived right up next to Mary. Her acceleration was perfect. She swung her great sword as if slamming her entire body forward and Mary blocked it with her triple scythe. The impact added to Mary¡¯s backwards acceleration, and¡­ ¡°Does this mean things are different from yesterday!?¡± ¡°Are you the same as you were in those sparring matches, Reese?¡± Kagami swung up her great sword and spoke while Mary controlled her speed, used their relative speed to throw a kick at her opponent, and used the recoil to accelerate. ¡°I learned how to be rude after arriving here!¡± The annihilation scythe returned toward the target of her kick, but her opponent opened up her raised blade. Kagami fired a blank. She jumped directly overhead. Just as Mary thought her opponent had dodged, the annihilation reached the spot the girl had just vacated. Except it did not. Just before the annihilation arrived, light shot in directly ahead of it. The shrine maiden had fired an arrow. Even the slightest mistake would have sent a swift shot into her partner, but¡­ ¡­She didn¡¯t even hesitate to fire, did she!? There was only one explanation as for how she could do that. Mary gulped and swept her scythe so it would hit the flying arrow and the overhead opponent. The girl overhead immediately reacted. She swung her body in midair and flew toward Mary as if slaloming. She swung her body to swing her great sword. ¡°I will not let you escape, Mary!¡± Kagami wanted a clash with Mary. It was a swordfight, but it was at extreme high speed. Rather than competing with footwork, they would fill their midair bodies with acceleration to slam their blades into their opponent. They both tried to take the most advantageous position, turned back to defend, and yet continued accelerating northward. To set the stage for victory, Kagami¡¯s blade struck in an attempt to destroy her opponent¡¯s stance and Mary tried to hit her with the annihilation spell. She began an extreme close-range exchange with that scythe of annihilation. Needless to say, she also fired when there was a gap in the swordfight. She instantly sent the blast into the sky behind her. The annihilation scythe tore into the armor on her arms and knees, but she had no intention of ceasing her charge and barrage. ¡­Please. Kagami thought. ¡­Please tell me. Please tell me everything about that lost world. ¡°Kagami!¡± Horinouchi¡¯s voice rang out. ¡°You¡¯re pushing her back!¡± She moves from attack to attack so quickly, gasped Mary. Mary had the greater power and the greater ability, but her opponent was better when it came to technique such as chaining attacks together. ¡°Kh¡­¡± No matter how many lethal attacks she sent out, her opponent would avoid them and approach for a further clash. When she moved back and launched an attack from there, her opponent would dodge it truly by a hair¡¯s breadth and¡­ ¡°The other one!¡± The shrine maiden fired on her. Mary¡¯s high speed flight kept the shrine maiden from circling around to her blind spot, but it was still dangerous when she was focused on her main opponent. ¡­Incredible. That thought came to mind, but she did not feel like erasing it. Yes, this opponent was incredible. Even in Mary¡¯s home, this girl had gathered comrades, helped them work together, and led them to many a victory over the ¡°god¡¯s¡± army. But even so¡­ ¡°Why¡­?¡± As their blades crossed and ether light scattered, she sent out her annihilation and continued her swift backwards movement. ¡°If you can do all this, why did you flee from our world!?¡± Horinouchi heard the two ahead of her exchanging words as they deflected each other¡¯s attacks and continued evading and moving. ¡­Mary? At the leading edge of the solid noises, sprays of ether light, splitting of air and earth, and trailing tremors, Mary asked a question. ¡°Do you remember!? We all trusted you and thought you would save us!¡± That was a world Horinouchi did not know. It was most likely a created world that had existed separate of this one and then vanished. And this world Mary spoke of¡­ ¡­It was created by Kagami¡¯s sister, wasn¡¯t it? In that case, the answer was obvious. ¡°Yes, I remember.¡± Mary sent a kick toward Kagami¡¯s words. It was blocked by the great sword and a great rumbling rang out as the grim reaper leaped through the sky. ¡°You remember!?¡± Then¡­ ¡°Then why!? Why did you flee!?¡± ¡°Telling you will change nothing!¡± That¡¯s true, thought Horinouchi. Even if Kagami had a reason, Mary would never accept it. What if Kagami had been ¡°right¡±? Mary probably had not thought that far. The fact that Kagami had fled was everything to her now and she based all her decisions on it. ¡°Then!¡± said Mary. ¡°I will surpass you and leave everything of the past in the past!¡± ¡°Yes,¡± replied Kagami as she sent her great sword toward Mary¡¯s shoulder. ¡°That is the spirit!!¡± A moment later, Mary held her scythe up to defend. The blade struck it and sparks flew. ¡­Here it comes! Horinouchi shouted along with the two out ahead. ¡°Summon Magino Frame!¡± Koutarou watched the footage from the surface sent by the shrines and temples affiliated with the Horinouchi family and the footage from the air and from orbit sent by American U.A.H.F. The maid in charge of ether detection raised her voice. ¡°I¡¯m picking up massive ether readings from all three! Their Magino Frames are coming!!¡± They could not hear it, but a few of the maids muttered it to themselves. ¡°Clang, clang, clalang¡­¡± That was the sound of Horinouchi¡¯s Magino Device as it was summoned. It was the ringing of a large shrine bell. Kagami¡¯s was the ringing of a large church bell. Mary¡¯s summoning sounded like a clattering chain. Those sounds would be filling the sky at the moment, and¡­ ¡°The Magino Frames are in place!!¡± The three great forms had appeared in the night sky, but there was something odd about it. ¡°H-huh?¡± said the maid checking the monitor and helping report on the situation. ¡°That¡¯s strange.¡± The maid in charge of ether detection frantically stood up from her seat and said something else. ¡°They aren¡¯t there?¡± Yes. Even Koutarou doubted his own eyes at this sudden turn of events. The spell circle acting as the command center¡¯s giant monitor displayed data from American U.A.H.F. and the Horinouchi Group, but the close-up view of the night sky did not show the three Magino Frames. The sky was empty, which meant¡­ ¡°Lady Mitsuru is missing!?¡± Hunter understood the general idea, but it seemed too insane to have actually happened. ¡­The three Magino Devices vanished? Several spell circles were appearing and disappearing around her on the deck. They were all observing and scanning the sky of western Kantou and they were all confirming that Kagami and the others were not there. But Hunter thought something else had happened, so she raised her hand. ¡°Mainland group, use the surveillance satellites to search them out.¡± And¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t use the ones moving in orbit. Focus on the ones in geostationary orbit!¡± She could explain why right here and now. She knew what had happened. ¡°The Rank 2 changed the battlefield! This was the movement spell that uses the pull of her annihilation spell. They¡¯re probably in two different places! Kagami and the Rank 2 will be in one and Horinouchi will be in the other!¡± ¡°Found them, Hunter!¡± The second-in-command witch shouted from within the ship with the bridge in the background. ¡°Where!?¡± The answer was an extremely simple one. ¡°The opposite poles! They¡¯re in the airspace above the North and South Poles!!¡± Meaning¡­ ¡°The Rank 2 tore into space and sent them halfway around the globe!¡± Volume 2, 12: But I Move Away Volume 2, Chapter 12: But I Move Away Because I only move somewhat away I can¡¯t say goodbye Because I¡¯ve always been alone I can¡¯t say goodbye Horinouchi felt cold. ¡­Where am I? With that question in her heart, her eyes sensed darkness. She had blacked out. The annihilation scythe of Mary¡¯s Magino Device had cut into space. That cut had trapped her and blown her away. Akerindou had altered its path to avoid the scythe blade, but the movement had been much like an instantaneous spatial leap and it had apparently put a great amount of stress on her health management divine protections. She was conscious, but¡­ ¡°Kh¡­¡± She got up. There was a floor there. She was on top of Akerindou¡¯s radome, which was her usual spot, but¡­ ¡°Ah.¡± Something was wrong with her inner ear because she lost her balance and collapsed to the side. This isn¡¯t good, she thought, but there were no warnings of an enemy attack or ether readings. Then she saw something beyond Akerindou¡¯s floor and the emergency enhancement spell circle for her health management divine protections. It was the night sky. She saw the moon there. She saw the Black Witch¡¯s home. But something was wrong with the sky around it. It was definitely night, but the darkness was oddly thick. And¡­ ¡°Nn¡­¡± She got up as if crawling and saw something down below. ¡°White?¡± She thought it was the clouds. She thought a sea of clouds was flowing swiftly below Akerindou like a white fog. But she was wrong. One of the spell circles around her told her the answer. It gave the temperature. ¡­Negative thirty-two!? That can¡¯t be, she thought. It was the end of summer and positive thirty-two would make sense, so why was it negative? Besides, wasn¡¯t the negative thirties when you could start hammering nails with a banana? ¡°Why am I bringing up that banana?¡± On her shoulder, the Suzaku responded by spitting loudly away from her, so was it really a bird? But she more or less understood. The health management had seemed delayed because it had been dealing with the surrounding temperature first. Her health was quickly returning. She shook her head and the scenery came into focus. She could now tell what those white clouds below Akerindou were. ¡°A great blizzard covering the surface!?¡± ¡°Milady!¡± Someone shouted from a spell circle. It was Koutarou. ¡°We know where you are! You are at southern latitude 90! You are above the South Pole!¡± ¡­She really got them there! Hunter clicked her tongue and brushed up her bangs. ¡°She was stretching out her annihilation scythe during the whole battle!¡± The Rank 2 had likely sent out an annihilation in the early stages of the battle and let it continue flying without swinging it back. She must have sent it out and accelerated it while it was as thin as a hair. Then when the other two had gotten close and summoned their Magino Frames, she had swung the annihilation. It had torn into space itself, sent her and Kagami far to the north, and sent Horinouchi far to the south. Part of Hunter had trouble believing that was possible, but she could fire her own shells that far. To intercept the Black Witch¡¯s descent from the moon, one needed as long a range as possible and anyone in the single digit Ranks would have a way of doing that. The Rank 2¡¯s annihilation had just shown a hint of that. No matter where the Black Witch descended to the earth, that annihilation could reach her. ¡°Just how much power does she have?¡± Hunter was honestly disturbed by that. After all¡­ ¡°If she could ignore the attenuation of the scythe, she could split the earth in two.¡± She had sent Horinouchi and Kagami to opposite poles, so her annihilation had stretched to a half-circumference of the earth, which was even longer than the diameter. ¡­That¡¯s pretty great! If Hunter was still Rank 3, how would she have taken on this opponent? Would she fire from afar or charge in close? One point of consideration was the Rank 2¡¯s lack of backup such as American U.A.H.F. or the Horinouchi Group. That meant Hunter would have had an advantage by knowing her location, but¡­ ¡°In that case, she might set up a net of annihilation over the earth.¡± She started wondering how many scythes the Rank 2 had, but¡­ ¡°Hunter! We spotted a red bird!¡± She checked the spell circle by her hand and indeed saw a vermilion bird in the air above the wide area of terrain called the South Pole. Based on the display information, it was footage from the geostationary satellite over the South Pole. That was Horinouchi, but¡­ ¡°Have you still not spotted the North Pole ones!?¡± ¡°All three geostationary satellites over the North Pole were lost! We¡¯re moving in the nearby ones!¡± The Rank 2 had really gotten them. The way those two could easily detect satellites in orbit was a real problem. But in that case, Mary¡¯s intent was obvious. ¡°She¡¯s pretty blatantly trying to split up Kagami and Horinouchi!¡± Based on Hunter¡¯s own experience, those two¡¯s strength came from the buddy system. Horinouchi was entirely focused on long-range attack power and Kagami handled the close- and mid-range attack and defense, so they shared the roles quite well. ¡­They¡¯re like an energetic hound and hunter. That made Hunter think of her own family name, but even if the Hedgehog played both those roles, it had lost to those two in battle. Those two might just be the strongest. But to put it another way, they were not the strongest on their own. And Kagami was most likely fighting Mary after being captured by her. ¡­What do we do!? The two partners had been sent to opposite ends of the planet. Their fastest method of travel would be the swing-by system, but that still took over forty minutes to move halfway around the planet. The North Pole battle would likely be over by then and Mary would have had plenty of time to recover. Besides, American U.A.H.F. could not directly support those two. ¡°Dammit!¡± But then¡­ ¡°Representative Hunter! We have managed to observe the North Pole from a shallow position! As for the two witches¡­¡± After a pause to check, the report immediately continued. ¡°They¡¯re already fighting! ¡­The atmosphere over the North Pole has split!¡± In the ceiling-less dome of clouds at the bottom of the bright night, Kagami began fighting a girl bearing the colors of the grim reaper. She could imagine how they had gotten here and why Horinouchi was not with them. ¡­Was it that spatial leap using the annihilation!? It technically used great speed, but it was nearly a means of teleportation. Unlike Hunter¡¯s swing-by system, it could take her wherever she wanted, but since the starting point and ending point were bound together, she probably could not stop partway through. ¡­But it can cover half of the earth¡¯s circumference!? They were currently flying in circles with the front of their Devices pointed at each other Kagami was firing her secondary cannons, but the shots did not reach. Mary¡¯s Device was a close-range type. It was a scythe, but that meant it had decent reach. It could reach farther than Kagami¡¯s great sword. But the current age focused on cannon-fire, so did that difference in reach even matter? That was likely why the Holy Knight-style and Executioner-style had vanished. The girl going by the name Mary would not have known that. When she had entered this world and taken on her witch¡¯s form, the world had given her the traits that suited her. Namely, the executioner. Who was that execution for? ¡°¡­Kh.¡± Kagami fired, but the shots did not reach. The outdated executioner had a long reach and almost no actual armor. With the cloak wrapped around her, she could not move around with much speed. But this world had given her those traits. It had given those traits to the girl with the annihilation spell. The reach that outdid a sword could now extend almost endlessly and she could erase any attacks instead of using armor. And instead of moving around normally, she could tear into space itself and send herself flying. This world had given her an appropriate form. Kagami continued firing, but the shots did not reach. Kagami alone was worn down. So¡­ ¡°I suppose I should be thorough.¡± She made up her mind and thought, What is wrong with that? ¡°The bond between teacher and student should not be broken. No matter what the student might think, the teacher can have her own thoughts. Plus, you have not actually gone against our mutual understanding.¡± In other words¡­ ¡°You have not taken the Black Witch¡¯s side, have you?¡± Mary put up her defenses when she heard her ¡°teacher¡¯s¡± voice for the first time in so long. That was exactly right. She was trying to defeat her teacher, but that did not mean she was on the Black Witch¡¯s side. In fact¡­ ¡°I prepared this confrontation because I do not think you are fit to stand on the battlefront against the Black Witch.¡± ¡°I see. ¡­And you feel differently about Horinouchi?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Mary nodded. ¡°Once I defeat you, I will call off this Ranker battle. ¡­I have decided Horinouchi¡¯s power as the Rank 3 will be useful on Hexennacht, but she will not oppose me on her own. That is my purpose here. To eliminate you from Hexennacht. ¡­After all, if we place our hopes in you, a hole is bound to open. You will run away, betray us, and transform our hope into despair. I cannot allow someone like that on the battlefront.¡± And¡­ ¡°I am the only one that knows that, so I am the only one that can stop you. Only I have the justification needed to do so.¡± She stopped speaking there. She only needed to raise her hand and increase the range of her secondary cannons. ¡°I have already built up my willpower.¡± She tore at the world. ¡°Words are only needed to defeat or to build one¡¯s willpower. So¡­¡± She moved forward. She advanced to defeat the opponent she needed to defeat. ¡°Hit her with your anger, Ira.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why she did this¡­?¡± Horinouchi gasped at the words from the North Pole battle that were sent from American U.A.H.F. to Hunter, from Hunter to Koutarou, and from Koutarou to her. ¡­This Ranker battle was meant to eliminate Kagami? Mary had a reason. Kagami had betrayed her and not opposed the destruction of her world. As a result, she did not trust Kagami concerning the coming Hexennacht. She was afraid Kagami would flee at a critical moment and leave a hole in the front line. To her, eliminating Kagami would eliminate a portion of their fighting force while also eliminating that fear. To everyone else, Kagami was a great addition to their fighting force. Even the headmaster accepted that. It would likely be concluded that eliminating Kagami was unrealistic. And that was likely why Mary had decided to deal with her fear as a personal grudge. Because she had a proper reason to eliminate Kagami. So, but, even so¡­ ¡°You can¡¯t do that.¡± Perhaps Horinouchi was na?ve, perhaps she needed to be more heartless when it came to a battle with the fate of the world hanging in the balance, and perhaps she was being blinded by the presence of such an intense partner. But¡­ ¡°You can¡¯t do that.¡± She spoke the words that came to mind. ¡°What value is there in a world where personal grudges can influence destiny?¡± In the setting sun, the witch who had been involved in the creation of this world had shed tears over the death of a single person. If this world was a collection of such things¡­ ¡°It can accept a personal grudge with nothing more than a single tear.¡± Yes, she thought. Let¡¯s do something about this. So¡­ ¡°Koutarou!¡± She raised her voice. The spell circle footage from the North Pole showed the battle had already begun. Something white covered the sky like a dome. Was it clouds, or¡­ ¡­The annihilation? It did not matter. What she had to do was hope. ¡°I need to hurry back to Kagami! I need to decide how to do that, so send me all the data you have!¡± The maids celebrated, but Koutarou simply nodded. ¡°Everyone, work quickly to grasp the situation. Use every spell, sense, and piece of knowledge you have to guide Lady Mitsuru toward a way to reach Lady Kagami.¡± ¡°What about you, Head Butler? Are you not going to do anything?¡± ¡°No,¡± he replied. ¡°My job is the very last one. ¡­And that means I have to wait for all of you, so hurry!¡± As soon as he spoke, the maid relaying the transmissions from America turned his way. ¡°The audio and video footage from Lady Kagami has been cut off! The Rank 2¡¯s annihilation has surrounded the battlefield like a barrier!¡± Kagami had the following thought about Mary¡¯s plan: ¡­Not only is she keeping me from escaping, but she can bring these walls together to finish this if she needs to. Annihilation scythes were racing around and creating the walls of a dome about sixty kilometers across. She was repeatedly firing and managing the annihilation. That cut Kagami off from the outside, and¡­ ¡°¡­Toh!¡± As Kagami fired her secondary cannons and had Dikaiosyne quickly sink down, the scythes creating the surrounding walls were pulled back to Mary¡¯s Device. That power was invisible, but its strength and range could be seen with the perception spell used through Dikaio. The blades were thirty kilometers long and five kilometers wide. They curved around as both scythes and whips. Plus, only three of the Magino Device¡¯s nine scythes were used to create the walls. The remaining six were continuing to fire toward Kagami. Kagami relied on the perception spell to launch her five hundred meter Device around. She could not rely on her armor. As for speed, her opponent could evade with spatial movements that looked like instantaneous slides. And when there was an opening, that same movement would tug at Kagami¡¯s Device. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± She would sense the danger from Dikaio¡¯s trembling and she would quickly slide left and away from her opponent. Then a white wind would fly vertically through the space between them. Mary was trying to pull her in and trap her. This was dangerous, but Kagami still had a means of attack. So¡­ ¡°Here goes!¡± Mary read her opponent¡¯s tactic. She knew Kagami was powerful and could use seemingly unfair methods, but in this world people faced each other with the giant weapons known as Magino Devices and the battle would be determined by the damage to those Devices. That meant Kagami would need to destroy Mary with her main cannon. The rest was simple. Mary just had to avoid facing her head-on. That was all. When Kagami charged in, Mary would charge past her on the left or the right. And as soon as they were lined up alongside each other, she tore at the space along the inner edge to¡­ ¡­Turn! Macabre, the servant on her shoulder, spun around. How cute. Then Mary¡¯s vision turned around, the scenery rapidly changed, and she was parallel to Kagami¡¯s starboard side. She fired. She pulled her in. Kagami¡¯s Device shook violently as it was pulled and tugged in. Its size caused an explosion of mist in the air around it. With a great sound, the drift ice on the ocean¡¯s surface split apart. Still, the blue and white Magino Device filled its thrusters with light and worked to pull away from Mary. It raised its tip, let the air hit it, and ascended as if riding that air. But Mary¡¯s cannon-fire reached her. Two long scars raced along the great sword¡¯s starboard armor. Mary would not let her escape. She too began to ascend. ¡°I will not let you escape!¡± Two magic wands fought inside the severing walls of white mist. Kagami worked to reach the position needed to fire her main cannon and Mary pursued her to target her side. Kagami¡¯s secondary cannons filled with noticeable light, but fragments were constantly scattering from her Device. As if she were caught on a fishing line, Kagami ascended and descended to somehow break free. For a more flexible use of the acceleration system, Dikaiosyne partially changed form. As Mary pursued, her Device¡¯s overall silhouette seemed squeezed in tight as it worked to eliminate air resistance. The two Devices raced through the white dome, but Mary had the upper hand when it came to movement. She did not have to fear the battlefield¡¯s outer walls, so a few times, the grim reaper intentionally guided the holy knight ahead of her and then continued turning further and further out and to the left to corner her opponent. The holy knight accelerated to escape, but¡­ ¡°Kh¡­¡± The greater her speed, the more difficult it was to turn. While being pursued form the left, which was the inside of the turn, she could only move up or down to escape. Meanwhile, Mary¡¯s Magino Device took the best position. She focused her annihilation on Kagami¡¯s secondary cannons while having herself sucked in through the gaps that created. She combined defense and propulsion into a single action. ¡°I have your left side, Brigadier General!¡± Mary decided to not even warn her. So she attacked. Of her nine great scythes, she continued using three to produce the barrier and used the remaining three on the right to secure Kagami. She captured the great sword on the side. The great sword fell into the gaps between the annihilation used against its secondary cannons. The blue and white Magino Device briefly hopped as if drowning and then its speed matched Mary¡¯s. They were completely side-by-side now. All that remained was to finish this. Mary combined her three remaining scythes into a triple scythe. ¡°Pierce her, Ira.¡± She sent it straight down at the great sword that was captured on the side. It hit, thought Mary. The invisible blade had slammed down like a giant staple, so the great sword would be unable to resist any longer. Then sparks of ether light scattered, but¡­ ¡°She dodged it!?¡± Kagami¡¯s great sword had moved forward. She wondered how, but the answer was right before her eyes. The acceleration system on the back of Kagami¡¯s Magino Device was fully opened. No, that alone would not have been enough to escape. That left¡­ ¡°The main cannon!¡± The recoilless system used to fire the main cannon had been pointed backwards. ¡­It can¡¯t be¡­ The great sword had been running in a half-transformed state this whole time. What if that had not been just to increase its mobility? What if the power pathways had been connecting to reconstruct something? ¡­Yes, she would go that far, wouldn¡¯t she!? All of that had given Kagami massive instantaneous acceleration from firing the main cannon. That would have been enough power to escape. But, thought Mary. She¡¯s already right next to the outer wall and one wrong move could get the Device itself sliced into. ¡°I can¡¯t believe her!¡± Sparks of ether light had just scattered from the great sword¡¯s starboard side and they were near the outer wall of annihilation. That would suggest that wall had sliced into her, but¡­ ¡°The annihilation does not create ether light sparks!¡± Then what had Kagami done? ¡°You used your power to repair the damage my attacks had done, didn¡¯t you!?¡± Mary had to capture her quickly. The only way was with her great scythe. Three were creating the outer walls, three more were locked onto the secondary cannons, and the final three had been combined into a triple main cannon, but she released those three and sent them forward to capture Kagami instead. ¡­They made it through! The annihilation pierced through the approximately two kilometers of space between them. That was the perfect range to pull her in. The holy knight¡¯s great sword lost speed as it was pulled toward the executioner¡¯s scythe. The rest was simple. She had already caught up to her opponent and she did not need to hold her in place any longer. She only had to swing the scythe, and¡­ ¡°Pierce her, Ira!¡± As soon as she shouted that, the slowed sword fired again. But not at Mary. ¡­Ahead!? And it was a blank shot that did not fire a shell. Mary understood what Kagami had done, but her imagination could not keep up. Kagami had turned vertically with respect to Mary. She used the motion of her Device being tugged back while moving forward and the recoil of the cannon blast to rotate the five hundred meter Device backwards. The great sword rotated toward Mary like a blow swung from overhead. ¡°Kh¡­!¡± In the instant of the rapid turn, the sword¡¯s muzzle pointed Mary¡¯s way. A great noise soon followed. The church bell-like ringing was the sound of Kagami¡¯s sword firing its main cannon a second time. This time it was not a blank. An actual shell was fired for a direct hit. The blast of power launched Dikaiosyne away. It had not lost its forward speed. The recoil of the cannon blast caused the Device to half rotate once more. This returned it to its original orientation, so the great sword raced along the outer wall. Mary¡¯s Magino Device followed, but¡­ ¡°So it was a direct hit!¡± Due to the initial blank shot, the acceleration system had not been at full power. ¡­But it should have been effective against such a delicate little Magino Device! When Kagami looked back, she saw it. The nine scythes had ruptured in midair. After the obvious roar of a hit¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± A shockwave spread from the Magino Device in every direction. The air was split, the clouds burst, and the drift ice bounced up. It had been destroyed. Utterly destroyed. ¡°Kh¡­!¡± Kagami had smashed her enemy, but she still put up her guard. She fired her main cannon toward the scattering Magino Device once more. She fired again on the scattering ether light. But Dikaiosyne¡¯s cannon used physical shells. It was powerful when it hit, but it was weak against fragments like this. The shockwave spreading from its ballistic path caused the ether light to scatter even further, but¡­ ¡°So it was not enough¡­!¡± ¡°No, it wasn¡¯t!¡± That voice was followed by a certain noise. It was the sound of chains. A chorus of metal chains rang out as if they were racing every which way through the sky. A moment later, the all-encompassing annihilation walls vanished, bringing into view the bright night sky of what bordered on a white night. Rather than black, the night sky was a dark blue with scarlet at the bottom. The broken field of white down below only continued to spread. And the wind blew. The ether forming the annihilation walls became a racing wind. It all gathered at a single point: the point of the sky where the executioner¡¯s Magino Device had been hit and destroyed. A grim reaper floated there. And below her feet¡­ ¡°Magino Device¡­re-summon!¡± She consumed the annihilation walls as fuel and colors of black and red instantly appeared. The ether light had scattered and re-summoned Mary¡¯s Magino Device. The fact that the barrier over the Arctic Ocean had vanished was both good and bad news for Hunter and the others. It was good news because they could see Kagami and Mary¡¯s status now. It was bad news because¡­ ¡­The Rank 2 fed on the barrier to re-summon her Magino Device!? Hunter had seen that girl suddenly summon her Magino Device. If she could do that, then it was hardly surprising she could instantly repair her Device after damage from Kagami¡¯s main cannon. But¡­ ¡­That¡¯s really bad right now! According to their data, Kagami¡¯s Device was damaged. Her opponent making a full recovery only made things worse. But what can we do? wondered Hunter. ¡°Dammit!¡± Her group could not move and Horinouchi was above the South Pole. Just as she thought there was nothing they could do¡­ ¡°Lady Hunter!¡± A rectangular spell circle appeared as a window inside her communications spell circle. It displayed the troublesome glasses guy from the Horinouchi family. A maid with an eye patch stood behind him. ¡°I have a personal request. Is that okay!?¡± ¡°What is it? Just tell me.¡± ¡°Very well.¡± He nodded. ¡°Please have the 7th Fleet¡¯s lunar surveillance FA-18 take off immediately. Send it toward the South Pole, and¡­¡± The 7th Fleet was one of the fleets that America used to defend the Pacific Ocean. They were asking to scramble one of its fighters. ¡°Wait, wait! You¡¯re calling that a personal request!?¡± Hunter added a ¡°but¡±. ¡°You said immediately, right!?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that what scramble means?¡± The next line clinched it. ¡°Lady Mitsuru has found a solution.¡± ¡°Well done, Horinouchi!¡± Inside the command center, Koutarou had just swung up his clenched fist to shout something, but he slowly lowered it instead. Among the maids behind him, the Head Maid commented while giving orders by spell circle. ¡°Such a shame she stole your line, Head Butler.¡± ¡°Th-that¡¯s fine! Her friend¡¯s praise matters more than mine!¡± ¡°Very true.¡± The Head Maid did not bother looking his way. ¡°And if you know how little you matter, please hurry up and finish your work.¡± Hunter slapped her cheeks between her hands. ¡­Okay. This would work. This would definitely work. Kagami was not going to give up. Her mentality was completely insane, after all. And Horinouchi would not give up either. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right. And that means¡­¡± ¡°Hold it.¡± A transmission cut in. It did not display a face, but she knew who it was. ¡°The second in command!¡± ¡°Pipe down, Hunter...You, pretty boy. That¡¯s Green Cat behind you, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± The eyepatch maid replied with a naval salute. ¡°Long time no see, Blue Bloom. My right eye has ¡®seen¡¯ this. There is no doubting it.¡± ¡°Hah. My eye can still see too. ¡­Then we have no time. None at all. Isn¡¯t that right? Are you prepared to hand over some information, Green Cat?¡± ¡°Yes, sir!¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine then,¡± replied the second in command. ¡°A witch¡¯s eye can fly through the sky, but an FA-18 can¡¯t keep up with our eyes.¡± ¡°What?¡± asked Hunter with a tilt of the head. She could tell they had to hurry, but¡­ ¡°A witch can¡¯t head out to interfere with a Ranker battle and we don¡¯t have any F-23s with us, right?¡± ¡°That just means we have to send this out.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± She looked around and saw a giant form riding up the deck elevator. With a rumbling, a dark-looking craft covered in angles and flat surfaces came into view. ¡­That looks a lot like an F-23. ¡°It¡¯s a YF-22. That¡¯s the prototype that lost to the 23. ¡­But this thing has an arresting hook built into the rear. Of course, it¡¯s meant for emergency use on land and not on a ship, but that¡¯s why I had this prototype erased from the account books for emergencies. This is the world¡¯s only YF-22 made entirely for use on ships. Our technician team likes playing with it, but it has plenty of speed. Its cruising speed is twice that of the 18. Send out a supply plane from a base in Australia and we can make up for all the chatting here and then some.¡± The second in command added a ¡°look¡±. ¡°You can¡¯t place many divine protections on this thing¡¯s wings. If it¡¯s going to carry someone¡¯s vision, that someone needs to have some skill of their own, Green Cat. We can¡¯t have an FA-18 bring in our lunch like we did back at the Spratly Islands. You¡¯re working with an F-23, right? We¡¯ll link with Atsugi, so move your eye over as soon as you can!¡± Volume 2, 13: I Won’t Let That Happen Volume 2, Chapter 13: I Won¡¯t Let That Happen Wait there, you fool Mary breathed deeply to calm her heavy breathing. Ira was fully formed below her feet. ¡­So I made it in time. She had shown Hunter this direct summoning of her Magino Device. The trick to that technique was the size of one¡¯s ether pool and the stability of their constant heat. But there was an even more surefire way of skipping past the Normal state and forcibly summoning the Magino state. It was to make the Magino state the foundation of one¡¯s summoning. The witches of this world constructed a two-stage frame-style summoning to reach toward that power. Achieving the Normal state stabilized their ether pool and the heat of their Phlogiston Heart. However, there was no real reason that the Normal state was necessary to reach the Magino state. Then what came next? It was simple: you just had to keep the Magino Frame in a summonable state. It could be done through the Normal Frame. Once the Magino Frame was in its pre-summon state, you had to ¡°remove¡± the Normal Frame. It did not need to be canceled. You only had to remove the Normal Frame like clothing and then live your daily life like normal. As long as you had a massive pool of ether and the requisite management skills, you could do whatever you wanted. Mary had just used that technique. She had re-summoned her destroyed Magino Frame. She had not repaired it. In the instant it was destroyed, she had allowed almost all of the ether constructing the Device to escape. And¡­ ¡°The annihilation walls were useful there.¡± They had been sent from the Device in the first place. During the re-summoning, she had pulled back and reabsorbed the ether the Device had held. Since it had originally been shaped by the Device¡¯s ¡°mold¡±, she had been able to summon it as if reforming it. ¡°Pierce her, Ira!¡± She fired toward Kagami¡¯s Magino Device right in front of her. She used all nine scythes instead of just three. This was Ira¡¯s greatest annihilation. Kagami tried to dodge. The thrusters would be too slow, so she used the main canon she had just fired repeatedly. ¡°¡­What?¡± The targeting spell in her spell circle was still blacked out. As soon as she wondered why, Dikaio produced a spell circle from her shoulder. It provided ether detection data over a radius of one hundred kilometers. The ether density of each area was shown with a bar graph, but the bars around them were shorter than those elsewhere. And it grew progressively more so the closer it got to them. ¡­Is this¡­? She understood. The construction of Mary¡¯s Magino Device and the repeated use of Kagami¡¯s main cannon had reduced the surrounding amount of ether. Plus, Mary had likely been acquiring and pooling the surrounding ether to maintain the annihilation barrier. ¡°Is this¡­?¡± She finally understood why that barrier had not attacked her after the first time. That first time had been a diversion. It had had another true purpose. ¡­Was it to reduce the amount of ether I could use for my craft ability!? No matter what happened, Mary intended to starve her and drive her to defeat. This strategy was tailor made for her. So¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± The great scythe on the back of Mary¡¯s Magino Device had fully expanded. The reddish-purple light coming from it likely meant it had fired the main cannon meant to finish Kagami off. Which meant¡­ ¡°Fine then. Come¡­!¡± She gave voice to her expectation. ¡°Manko!!¡± ¡­A forbidden word!? Mary heard a bold word shouted in the sky above the North Pole for the first time. She hoped it would also be the last time. But her cannon had already fired. It was too late for her opponent to fire her main cannon now and this attack could reach her anywhere within her range of movement. And¡­ ¡°Hit-¡­¡± Before she could add the ¡°her¡±, three colors expanded before her eyes. It was not the blue and white of Kagami¡¯s Magino Device. It was the navy blue and scarlet of the white night and the bluish white of the drift ice below. ¡­Eh? Then her main cannon tore through empty space. But¡­ ¡­She¡¯s gone!? Kagami and her Magino Device had vanished. Mary seriously doubted she had fallen victim to the annihilation, so if that giant form was gone¡­ ¡°Where is it?¡± Just as she looked left and right, the grim reaper servant named Macabre pointed its scythe into the sky to the right. She did not look back because she knew the location already. So¡­ ¡°Dodge!¡± She sent herself to the left. She slid Magino Device Ira to the side while having the entire Device turn. That decision made all the difference. A gust of wind blew through the area she had just vacated. ¡­A Magino Device main cannon!? It did not come from Kagami¡¯s Magino Device. The girl could not yet have secured enough ether in this airspace. That meant¡­ ¡°Horinouchi!¡± She was there. A vermilion and white bow-shaped Magino Device existed forward and to the right, which was technically the northeast. There was no mistaking it. This was the Rank 3, Horinouchi, and her Magino Device, Akerindou. Plus, Kagami¡¯s Device was visible behind that Magino Device. Akerindou had suddenly appeared in the airspace, but¡­ ¡°How!?¡± Horinouchi and her Magino Device had been sent to the South Pole. ¡°So how did you travel all the way to the North Pole!?¡± ¡°Yesssssss! She got there! Second in command! Everyone! Thanks!¡± Hunter raised her voice and both arms. She cracked her knuckles up in the air. As the sound filled the air, she checked the spell circles and saw the night sky in various places. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be. I¡¯m pretty confident in my eyes, but I couldn¡¯t see that at all!¡± said the pilot of the F-23 in Japan¡¯s southern sky. ¡°To think she would reopen the closed annihilation pathway and follow it in reverse!¡± ¡°Yes. I just had to open what had been closed.¡± Even though she had known it was coming this time, her senses had not sorted themselves out yet. ¡­It hurts that my attack missed. But she had made it here. As for how¡­ ¡°Opening, unlocking, obtaining passage. It¡¯s a common spell effect, but that¡¯s what I used.¡± It was simple in theory. Mary had created an annihilation pathway to send Horinouchi to the South Pole and Kagami and herself to the North Pole. That had closed, so Horinouchi had ¡°opened¡± it once more. Opening it was easy. It had been open already, so she only had to use an opening spell before it had settled in the closed position. The problem had been the length of the ¡°gate¡± and the time. To reopen it, some traces of the spell had to remain, but the ¡°gate¡± had been as long as half the planet¡¯s circumference. She had been unable to comprehend the whole thing from her point of view in the South Pole. That was why she had used American U.A.H.F. She had used the high-speed mobile reconnaissance F-23, YF-22, and the surveillance satellites in orbit. The Horinouchi maids who excelled at ether detection abilities had placed their ¡°sight¡± on those machines to scan the important points. Once Horinouchi had worked out the general shape, she had used the opening spell. She had known how to do it. Shinto had one of the world¡¯s greatest opening myths. ¡°Ama-no-Iwato.¡± When Sun Goddess Amaterasu had hidden in a rock cave out of disgust, the world had been closed up in darkness. Tricking her into opening it from within was the Shinto opening myth. Horinouchi had been in the perpetual night of the South Pole during summer. That matched the conditions for Ama-no-Iwato, which acted as a jinx to raise the odds of the spell¡¯s success. Plus, her destination was the sunlit white night of the North Pole during summer. That too had acted as a jinx for the cave-opening. But she had one secret: something else had made her think of this idea. ¡­Kagami¡­ She had seen an odd phenomenon during the morning she had first met that girl. Something had occurred over a wide area around Yokohama, including Shihouin Academy. Things had opened. Every sort of door and lid had opened and apparently the more tightly sealed of the students¡¯ clothing had opened too. She had heard there was a commotion in the Special Equipment Division when some containers of dangerous materials had opened, but¡­ ¡­That made me think a powerful opening spell would be able to reopen the annihilation pathway. It had been a success. ¡°I did it.¡± ¡°Yes. I was thinking it was about time for you to show up. You have my thanks. What would you like? Yokohama¡¯s specialties are an incredibly hard pudding and curry.¡± ¡°Just so you know, the lost sweets of Tokyo are more valuable than anything from Yokohama. Things like Toraya yokan.¡± ¡°I see. Then what about some Shokoku Monaka from Kinokuniya?¡± That did not sound bad at all. So¡­ ¡°Yes. And you can prepare enough for the maids, can¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Is it just me or did she not mention the Head Butler just now?¡± ¡°Yes¡­ It sounded like she completely ignored him¡­¡± ¡°Poor Head Butler.¡± ¡°Head Butler, my religious sect prevents me from eating the chestnut in the white bean paste flavor, so if I get one of those, I can secretly give it to you later.¡± ¡°Th-this is fine! It means she doesn¡¯t think I need her help! I can buy my own!¡± Horinouchi had a thought as she saw Kagami jot down a note in a spell circle. ¡­She seems to have recovered emotionally. ¡°Can you continue fighting?¡± ¡°I was waiting to get serious until you showed up.¡± Now she¡¯s said it. It really scares me that she can say things like that so easily. But¡­ ¡°Yes, I decided to call your name as a jinx to bring you here and it seems to have paid off.¡± Hunter heard some infighting from the sky above the North Pole. ¡°W-wait a second! What name did you call!?¡± ¡°Horinouchi¡­ Please do not make me say anything so embarrassing.¡± ¡°M-Manko! You said Manko, didn¡¯t you!? You shouted Manko at the North Pole!?¡± ¡°Ha ha ha. Hunter, Horinouchi will not stop saying it.¡± Don¡¯t drag me into this. ¡°We¡¯re recording all this, you two, so pull yourselves together.¡± Up above, the Atsugi F-23 that had accompanied the YF-22 partway was returning to base. Everyone raised their arms and cheered toward the plane as it roared past. There were an awful lot of witches, but that was likely to make sure they supported the Rank 3 properly. A single line of light ran through the sky. That ether light connected the South Pole to the North Pole. The Rank 2 had placed it there and Horinouchi had forcibly reused it. The spell¡¯s ¡°mold¡± was collapsing, so it would be difficult to reuse again. But¡­ ¡°Horinouchi! It¡¯s time to get reckless!¡± Horinouchi realized Mary had done something because the Suzaku reacted on her shoulder. As an ether creature, the servant could see Mary¡¯s annihilation, so it began shadow boxing toward some empty space. ¡°Kyehhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!¡± Oh, that actually sounded kind of bird-like. That one was safe. ¡°Horinouchi, was that¡­?¡± ¡°Safe! That one was safe!¡± Oh, I¡¯m defending it, she thought, which was kind of refreshing. I question it myself, but I cover for it from other people¡¯s questions. I¡¯m kind of a pain to deal with, aren¡¯t I? But¡­ ¡°Kagami!¡± She knew Mary¡¯s attack was coming and she knew this place was dangerous. After all, the ether detection revealed that the ley lines here had grown thin and it was possible several annihilations had been set up in the air like before. So she activated her spell. ¡°Cave Opening!¡± The spell she threw into Akerindou¡¯s chamber took form. She used it like she was firing a blank. ¡°Ring out, Akerindou!!¡± ¡­This is a prayer spell! Mary did not let down her guard when she heard the ringing of a shrine bell from Akerindou. If Horinouchi was using her Cave Opening spell again, she was likely planning to escape along the same annihilation pathway she had arrived on. So¡­ ¡°Are you running away!?¡± Her question received an immediate response. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± It was Kagami. She was using a spell behind Akerindou. She had opened a spell circle for¡­ ¡­A power-boosting pressurization divine protection!? That was a support spell used to boost other spells. If she was casting that on the Cave Opening spell¡­ ¡°It can¡¯t be¡­¡± ¡°Oh? You were the one that invited me on this selfish trip to see the white night. It is always nice to rediscover nature,¡± said Kagami. ¡°So this time, you come with us. Come see what it is like to live in the big city. ¡­Your teacher demands it.¡± With those words, the shrine bell rang and Mary was caught in the forced transfer. The Cave Opening spell reused the annihilation pathway to carry them away. Hunter lined up all the data coming into her spell circle. The situation was on the move. She no longer needed data on the poles from the bases in Australia and Canada. She sent words of thanks and sent an email to a higher up suggesting they rebuild the air force base in Iceland. Then¡­ ¡°Atsugi lunar observation unit, keep going a little longer!¡± After leaving and returning, they still had some hard work to do, but six FA-18s were already leaving the aircraft carrier to support the surveillance. They were all headed toward a place filled with witches. ¡°Tokyo! Above Shihouin Academy!¡± ¡°They¡¯ve appeared, Hunter!¡± She could tell. From here, she could not see the Kantou Mountains or even Mt. Fuji beyond the northern horizon, but she could see a pillar of white clouds exploding upward. Something had appeared and stopped in the sky there at extreme speeds. She understood that all too well. After all¡­ ¡°Oh, hell!¡± She slammed her hands together and was well aware of the upward bend at the corner of her lips. ¡°I so want to join in with Hedgehog!¡± Volume 2, 14: I’m Made to Look Back Volume 2, Chapter 14: I¡¯m Made to Look Back Are memories That which can be restored with anger? Is anger That which wells up from memories? Kagami noticed a familiar scent in the air. This was Tokyo Bay. Fresh water and salt water mixed together here. The northern end was shallow and the water temperature rose easily, so the smell of water grew stronger there. The scents of the nearby shopping and industrial districts mixed in to create a unique local aroma. That characteristic seemed to have weakened with Tokyo half-destroyed in this world, but¡­ ¡°It seems the North Pole was just too clean. ¡­Isn¡¯t that right, Tokyo? It is nice to be back.¡± She looked down to the dark water below and saw a giant school island and the moon reflected next to it. She had been ejected as if being thrown toward that. ¡°Koutarou!¡± Akerindou next to her turned back toward Mary¡¯s Magino Device behind them. ¡°Give me the results of this scan!¡± The witches of Shihouin Academy ran out of the dorms and school buildings when this battlefield appeared in the night without warning. It was still early, so a lot of them had been eating dinner. Most of the school buildings and dorms had lowered their explosion- and spell-resistant shutters and warnings were telling no one to go in or out, but no one obeyed those. They all moved out into the late summer night air and ran toward anywhere with a view as they listened to the cicadas and other insects chirping in the night. Some unlucky ones were too slow and thus trapped inside the buildings, but they displayed a video feed from the broadcast committee or attempted to force their way out with spells, only causing more alarms to ring. Regardless, they all looked up to the night sky. This did not just apply to Shihouin Academy. On the coast of Tokyo Bay, from Shinagawa to Yokohama, in Shonan, and even across most of Kantou, people opened their windows and doors to point into the sky. ¡°What is that!?¡± It was the battle for Rank 2. This would decide the second defender of the world, so everyone looked up into the night. The battlefield was primarily situated at an altitude of four kilometers. With the grim reaper¡¯s Magino Frame at the center, the great sword and great bow took opposite sides and raced clockwise through the sky. They revolved around it. The grim reaper¡¯s scythe targeted and pursued the two Devices, but they kept their distance and continued firing their secondary cannons. The three seemed to twist around above Tokyo Bay, creating wind and clouds. The wind roared, the night roared, and the cannons and engines created an ensemble of bells and chains. The vibration tossed up spray from the water below and the trees shook their branches as if in applause. Then the great sword took action. It had likely decided it had the momentum it needed. While it revolved around the black scythe, it faced that Device, spun through the air, and aimed its main cannon. ¡°Milady, Lady Kagami and Lady Mary are placing each other in their line of fire!¡± ¡°I can see that!¡± Mary had to be focusing on Kagami at the moment, so¡­ ¡­How about this!? But Horinouchi¡¯s secondary cannon shots were erased just before they collided with the black scythe Device. She also heard Mary¡¯s voice. ¡°I learned my lesson yesterday!¡± Mary had already corrected for the guided attack Horinouchi had sent her way from below her field of vision. She had likely placed sensors on the Device itself, but that would mean she had altered her Magino Device overnight. ¡­I guess she is the top of the Spell Division! But Horinouchi recalled her discussion of strategy with Kagami and Hunter the night before. Kagami had made a certain suggestion based on her combat experience. The girl had obeyed her great hunger by asking for another plate and she had said the following: ¡°Mary is controlling her annihilation spell. Do you know what that means?¡± ¡°Well, she would be controlling it, wouldn¡¯t she?¡± Horinouchi had answered. ¡°She chooses between homing or guided rounds, right? What about it?¡± ¡°You mean her interceptions aren¡¯t set to automatically respond, right?¡± asked Hunter. That had clued Horinouchi in and Kagami had nodded at that apparent understanding. ¡°Horinouchi, you do not have your secondary cannons automatically respond much either, do you? Is that because drawing the bowstring and firing is more your style?¡± ¡°If I set them to fire automatically, the ether consumption gets pretty ridiculous.¡± Hunter had spread her mouth horizontally and muttered ¡°Just how much power do you give those things?¡±, but she had decided to ignore it. ¡°Mary¡¯s Magino Device is most likely the same. Her annihilation spell eats up a lot of power and she could lose control if it reacts automatically. She is likely afraid of that.¡± ¡°Then if they don¡¯t react automatically¡­¡± She had recalled the lack of defenses when she had fired her attack the day before. ¡°That is why she did not respond to your attack from her blind spot. Simply put, that Magino Device¡¯s weakness is any attack from her blind spot.¡± ¡°But she¡¯ll have a way of dealing with that tomorrow, won¡¯t she?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Kagami had agreed. ¡°She will have learned that a buddy system pair can send one partner to her blind spot while she focuses on the other.¡± However¡­ ¡°That does not change the fact that she is controlling her cannons. And those scythe cannons must fire along a certain path from their base. Even if she can react to an attack from her blind spot, her control of those bases should not be perfect. ¡­So I will charge in early to draw those paths toward me. You record that and pierce her when you find a hole.¡± That had been their plan, but things had turned out differently in a good way. ¡­I can¡¯t believe this. During the battle above the North Pole, Kagami had already recorded the paths of the scythes. Horinouchi had just left that scan with Koutarou and sent some extra data as well, but¡­ ¡°Milady! The scan is complete! Please take this!¡± ¡°Excellent job, everyone!¡± In the spell circle, Koutarou bowed and the maids cheered. I have such wonderful allies, she thought while opening another spell circle. The information sent there showed a 3D model of Mary¡¯s Magino Device and a spherical barrier surrounding it. The barrier was a mesh made up of countless scythe paths. A close look showed some gaps, but¡­ ¡­They¡¯re so narrow! Nevertheless, this was her job. She had been told to snipe through those gaps, so¡­ ¡°Here I go!¡± Horinouchi flew forward as the Suzaku shouted on her shoulder. She could perceive her opponent¡¯s annihilation. Akerindou was constructed by the Suzaku servant. It had been a little Suzaku-y(?) lately, but this should still work. It did. In the middle of her revolution, she moved in toward her opponent and quickly circled down below. The spell circle in front of her eyes showed her the gaps in her opponent¡¯s blind spot. Then she only needed to forcibly face upwards toward one of those. ¡°Kh¡­!¡± The Suzaku gave a strange cry from her shoulder as the pressure of acceleration grew. ¡°Hakkeyoiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!¡± A sumo referee!? she wondered while making her descent. She passed down through the wind and one of Akerindou¡¯s wind shield panels was torn away on the upper port side. Mary was targeting her, but¡­ ¡­I made it into her blind spot! Her sights fit right into the gap between the scythes. And¡­ ¡°Dodge! Horinouchi!¡± What? Isn¡¯t this her blind spot? she wondered just as she saw something. The night sky had vanished from the ocean surface below and she saw something else instead. ¡­A hole? She saw the bottom of Tokyo Bay. The water had been forcibly removed over a radius of about a kilometer. It was the annihilation. Mary had predicted the attack from her blind spot and made a certain decision: since she could not control the cannon bases for a precise counterattack, she would make a large scale attack over the entire area. There was no real need to hit. Even if it was fired blind, such a large attack would include a lot of the sea and the atmosphere. ¡°Oh¡­no¡­¡± When the annihilation spell removed a large chunk of the atmosphere, it would create a sudden air pocket. Of course, floating divine protections could deal with a vacuum, but the air current would start to suck her in. Before she could say anything more, Akerindou vibrated as it fell into the kilometer and a half gap. ¡°Horinouchi!¡± Hunter saw it happen as she rode atop an FA-18 conveying data from the 7th Fleet to Atsugi. In the night sky, the vermilion and white Magino Device had fallen vertically into an air pocket and collided with the wall of atmosphere below. Akerindou had fallen into a vacuum, but air was immediately drawn into it and the shockwave battered the Magino Device. It was only momentary, but Akerindou still lost control. And a high level Ranker was not going to overlook that. Mary¡¯s Device had been pursuing Kagami, but now it turned Horinouchi¡¯s way. Hunter sensed it facing downward and firing an invisible blade. Three scythes combined into a single tip that was swung straight down toward Horinouchi¡¯s Akerindou. Mary saw her attack fired a kilometer and a half below. It instantly flew toward the great vermilion bow, but¡­ ¡°A shell from the side!?¡± Before her annihilation could break the bow, something broke it from a diagonal angle. ¡­This interception! It was Kagami. She had fired her main cannon on Horinouchi¡¯s Magino Device instead of Mary. ¡­An excellent decision! Mary¡¯s spell could erase anything. It was only natural for combat, but a direct hit would have erased Horinouchi herself. So to prevent that, Kagami had chosen destruction over annihilation. The vermilion Magino Device was broken and falling. Ether fragments were scattering from the expanded part of the bow, so it could not fire its main cannon. Mary debated whether she should fire another shot to be extra sure. ¡°No.¡± She had a more important opponent. ¡°Brigadier General, you have lost sight of the situation!¡± Kagami¡¯s Magino Device was tilted downward in front of her. Its main cannon was not aimed Mary¡¯s way. She had chosen to save her companion rather than firing on her enemy. Mary felt her eyebrows rising because of her thoughts concerning Kagami¡¯s action. She was comparing her own abandoned world to Horinouchi, and¡­ ¡­How pathetic! She shook off her feelings and prepared to reap that Magino Device with her main cannon. She would pierce it with the tip of the scythe and then slice it apart while pulling the scythe back. The blue and white sword was trying to change course in midair. It was trying to use the recoil of the cannon blast to slide back and to the right. But it was too slow. Mary had already fired her annihilation. It hit. Mary saw her shot score a direct hit. ¡­I hit! That was to be expected given her position and the distance. The close range made it a quick shot and the explosion of wind enveloped it after the fact. White clouds raced along the curving path and struck Kagami¡¯s sliced Magino Device. The following shockwave sent the shards of the Magino Device scattering through the sky. The collision of wind broke and shattered the sliced areas. ¡°I did it¡­¡± She had finally pierced it. Her annihilation blade had finally reached the target of her grudge. It had been a solid hit. It had seemed a little anticlimactic, but a single hit from her attack was enough. This was just how it was when it hit. But then she saw a white and blue sword rising beyond the wind and scattering fragments. ¡°¡­What?¡± She had pierced it, she had sliced it, and she had scored a direct hit. So why? ¡°It wasn¡¯t a direct hit!?¡± It was half destroyed. The port side of the blade cannon¡¯s outer armor was split and scattering, but the barrel itself was unharmed. ¡­Impossible. You could not hope for someone to miss at such close range. No, it simply could not happen. Which meant¡­ ¡°Macabre!?¡± The servant was trembling on her shoulder. A spell circle appeared to show her the bottom of Magino Device Ira. She could not see that area on her own and something was stabbed into the three-scythe structure there. It was an arrow. An arrow-style ether shell had been fired from directly below. ¡°Akerindou¡¯s shell!¡± She could see the great vermilion bow aimed up at her from far below, almost to the ocean. However, that entire Device should have been destroyed by Kagami earlier. But it had not been. She did not know why, but Akerindou had fully recovered. The bent base, the bow shape, and the wings needed for flight and stabilization were all back. Everything was back to normal. ¡°¡­¡± The second main cannon shot tore into a gap in Ira¡¯s structure, but then pierced straight through. ¡­That Magino Device has a lot of gaps! Akerindou¡¯s structure also had a lot of empty space, but Mary¡¯s bundle of scythes had so many gaps that one could see through to the other side. However, Horinouchi could fire now. ¡°Honestly.¡± Hunter sent a transmission after descending to the Special Equipment Division in her Normal Frame. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you would use a cannon blast to do the kind of Frame restoration I did.¡± ¡°We are high level Rankers, you know? This was safer than what we did in our battle against you.¡± The shell Kagami had fired earlier had not been a normal shell. ¡°She fired a spell shell rather than a physical one. It temporarily destroyed Akerindou, but I was able to capture the shell¡¯s ether with my willpower and use it to repair Akerindou.¡± They were no longer inside the Arctic Ocean barrier with such thin ether density. Partially due to being in Shihouin Academy¡¯s territory, the sky above Tokyo Bay had excellent ley line flow. It had been easy for Kagami to secure and form a shell out of enough ether to guide Horinouchi to recovery. She could tell Mary was looking down at her from the edge of her Magino Device. Horinouchi simply looked back up at her and made the appropriate announcement. ¡°There are some tactics you can only use when you have a partner.¡± Then she fired repeatedly. Mary felt Ira shake from the repeated direct hits of the main cannon below her. To intercept, she swung down three scythes, but she realized one of them would not move properly. It had been hit. As she quickly sent down one from another section, another one stopped functioning. ¡°Kh¡­!¡± Two was good enough. Including the previous hit, she could not use three of them now. She used the remaining one to respond to Kagami¡¯s attack. ¡°I can¡¯t let this happen! If I lose, everything I lost will be-¡­!¡± But then she saw Kagami¡¯s Magino Frame finally aiming her way and firing its main cannon. ¡°Ohhhh!¡± She sent the remaining three scythes forward and devoured Kagami¡¯s main cannon blast, but¡­ ¡°You¡¯re mine!¡± She reacted on reflex to that announcement from below. She could see Kagami in front of her, but she could check on Akerindou¡¯s position in her memory. So¡­ ¡­There! She annihilated the three flying main cannon blasts as if reeling them in. She devoured them. Three splits appeared in the air and she felt her interceptions hit. ¡­Calm down! Akerindou was aiming vertically up at her. Horizontal movement would be difficult like that, so she could predict the girl¡¯s line of fire. Even if she was in her blind spot¡­ ¡°I can still deal with you!¡± ¡°Oh, is that so?¡± She heard a voice. ¡°Time for three more shots.¡± As soon as she heard that, she swung the three lower black scythes. She sent their full power straight down. The triple blade had enough power to annihilate both the shells and Akerindou. Mercy and logic no longer mattered. She would simply erase everything in her way. So¡­ ¡°Be¡­¡± She never managed to say ¡°gone¡±. Three main cannon blasts struck Ira¡¯s port side. Mary heard the three scythes on Ira¡¯s port side being pierced through and utterly destroyed. Those collections of attack power used their tips to pierce and then sent a great impact across the whole. However, the three arrows had not come from below. They had flown from the southern sky. ¡°I can¡¯t be¡­¡± ¡°But it is,¡± replied a voice. It came from below. It was indeed the shrine maiden controlling the great vermilion bow that answered. ¡°Did you think all I did was take penguin photos when you sent me to the South Pole? After making plans for the next battlefield, I just had to fire from there. And¡­yes, I have one lesson for an outsider like you.¡± That was¡­ ¡°Tokyo is a scary place.¡± Three shots from below and three more from the south struck Ira. Vibrations, fragments, and impacts burst vertically toward heaven. And above that, Mary saw something. The great sword with the half-destroyed blade was charging tip-first toward her. The hits continued. The scythe was half shattered. She could not fight back or move, but she did use one remaining blade. ¡°Stay back!¡± She sliced the upper armor of the great sword. That was because an arrow from below had sent Ira¡¯s tip hopping up. As Ira floated up as if from an uppercut, something collided with its starboard side. The great Sword¡¯s broken blade had stabbed into Ira¡¯s tip with just its unharmed lower portion. And¡­ ¡°Fire!¡± A main cannon blast from point-blank range struck Ira and the connecting arch that supported it. Koutarou sent Horinouchi the footage from an F-23 that had begun flying around Tokyo Bay. She was still firing her main cannon, but that was to prevent the annihilation from being aimed Kagami¡¯s way. After all, a battle had begun atop the enemy Magino Device. ¡­Honestly. Kagami had jumped down from her Magino Device and approached Mary atop the great scythe. She had desired a clash and gone in for hand-to-hand combat. ¡°She really is stupid¡­¡± Horinouchi honestly thought that, but there was no helping it. She also thought the same thing about herself. The footage showed the two girls fighting with sparks flying everywhere. Mary¡¯s Magino Device was unlikely to hold up for much longer, but those two did not stop each other in this battle of willpower atop it. ¡°Idiot.¡± But, she thought. Go do it. ¡°If you aren¡¯t going to tell her, then you have to do this, Kagami.¡± Yes. After their discussion of strategy the night before, they had left sleepy Hunter to doze off and they had discussed something. ¡°That was¡­¡± It was about the destruction of a world that had been lost. Volume 2, 15: Look At That Volume 2, Chapter 15: Look At That Don¡¯t act tough Don¡¯t act weak Forcing a smile Only brings pain Kagami recalled something during her swordfight with Mary. She recalled two things: the world she had told Horinouchi about the night before and the world she had actually visited and been indebted to. The night before, she had rested her elbow on the table and started speaking. ¡°About that world¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡± She had been thankful for that girl¡¯s clear prompting, so she had taken a breath. ¡°The director who led that world knew that there was no saving that world even with me there.¡± In other words¡­ ¡°I was too late.¡± Horinouchi had said nothing when Kagami went on to say that was just an excuse. It did not matter what others thought. It mattered what she thought. So¡­ ¡°I¡¯ll listen until you can convince yourself.¡± ¡°I thank you,¡± she had said quietly. ¡°Despite that fact, I was asked to help because I could probably delay the end.¡± ¡°Then the reason you fled before the end was¡­¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Kagami had nodded. ¡°The director knew my situation and asked me to go, lest I be too late for the other worlds.¡± Kagami had hung her head and covered her face. After a while, she had continued. ¡°Then again, I was too late for all the worlds before that too.¡± ¡°B-but that isn¡¯t your fault!¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Kagami had raised her head and smiled. That may have been why Horinouchi had stood from her seat and placed a hand on Kagami¡¯s cheek. ¡°Have you shed that many tears already?¡± ¡°It seems to be something I cannot get used to.¡± ¡°Then,¡± Horinouchi had said. She had removed her hand from the cheek and embraced her own body to have somewhere to place the hand. ¡°What did you do after that?¡± ¡°To make a long story short, I fled.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t go with you, you know?¡± ¡°That is just being cruel.¡± Kagami¡¯s shoulders had shaken a little and she had sighed. ¡°The director said everyone else would escape too, but I had my doubts. That world¡¯s transfer gate was poorly made and I doubted it could send more than me and one other person through.¡± ¡°You mean¡­?¡± ¡°The director told me not to worry because my student would be sent through first and that we should work together to one day defeat my sister.¡± ¡°Lady Kagami.¡± Koutarou had asked a question from the counter. ¡°I know this is rude, but if I might ask a question. ¡­If you had met Lady Mary before Lady Mitsuru, would you have made her your partner?¡± ¡­Uuh¡­ You¡¯re pretty perceptive, Koutarou, Horinouchi had briefly thought. Yes, only briefly. ¡°Head Butler! My foresight as a witch is telling me someone is insulting you!¡± ¡°Throw out that foresight and get back to work!!¡± Horinouchi had listened to Kagami answering Koutarou¡¯s question. ¡°No.¡± She remembered thinking Oh?, but was that accurate? Or was she only hiding her relief? However, she did know what Kagami had said. ¡°We would have been enemies just like now.¡± ¡°Why? If you told Mary what you just told me¡­¡± ¡°Mary¡¯s reality is Mary¡¯s reality. If I tell her my truth and make excuses, it will mean I did not accept her reality.¡± Kagami had said ¡°listen¡± and faced Horinouchi. ¡°I am a visitor in all worlds. And¡­if I were to apologize to her, I would be insulting the director¡¯s and the others¡¯ concern for me.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± Horinouchi had fallen silent. She had wanted to say that put too much of a burden on her. And that may have been why Hunter had gotten up from the sofa and joined the conversation. ¡°You¡¯re such an idiot.¡± She had laughed bitterly and collapsed back onto the sofa as she continued. ¡°But I like idiots.¡± Horinouchi had nearly nodded and said ¡°so do I¡±, but she had swallowed the words. That had happened last night and long ago. Horinouchi knew the truth, but Kagami would not tell Mary. That was Kagami¡¯s right, so Horinouchi and Hunter could not butt in. But even so¡­ ¡°Kagami! Win this!¡± She had her own thoughts on what Mary had said during this battle. ¡°No one will bless a world saved by a grudge!¡± ¡­That¡¯s right. She was the same. Most likely, Hunter and most of the other witches were too. After what had happened ten years ago, everyone had a grudge against the Black Witch. But¡­ ¡°We aren¡¯t fighting to take revenge for what was lost! We¡¯re fighting to prevent any more loss! Isn¡¯t that right, Kagami!?¡± Mary gasped at the voice she heard through the gaps in the cannon-fire. She continued her swordfight with Kagami. ¡­I know that. She did. She knew that world¡¯s end had already arrived. While entrusting the world to her, the director and the others had known how much of a burden it would be. That was why they had said nothing about her teacher. At the time, she had not understood because she had been a child. She had not understood that girl had passed through many worlds and she had not understood that meant their world was nothing special and she was just a visitor there. But Mary understood all that now. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right!¡± Beyond the sparks, her teacher said nothing. She simply received or dodged Mary¡¯s blade while making definite and skilled attacks of her own. She remained silent. Mary understood why she would do that. Mary was wailing over the destruction of her world, but the opponent before her had been involved in many worlds before that and then seen them all destroyed. ¡°Why¡­!?¡± she asked, searching for an answer from that silence. ¡°Why!?¡± She recalled the sword training she had received long ago. ¡°Why did you appear before me again!?¡± Kagami deflected the strike and responded. ¡°You have grown, Reese, warrior of the May clan. And I see you have made friends.¡± ¡°What are you talking about!?¡± ¡°The director told me you had trouble making friends. But it seems things are different in this world.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Her teacher smiled. ¡°This is what that world wanted for you. ¡­And it is something I could not teach you or grant you,¡± she said. ¡°So you were not wrong, Mary.¡± In the spell circle footage, Horinouchi saw the two of them stop moving atop the crumbling Magino Frame. But after a few breaths, Mary suddenly took action. ¡°Ahhh!¡± She raised her triple scythe toward Kagami. ¡°Milady!¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± The maids did not even try to stop Koutarou as he went limp and collapsed to the side like a felled tree. He then rolled down the steps, crashed into the wall, and began humming a sad song, but he recovered once he heard some of the witches tending to their equipment. Horinouchi saw Mary swing her weapon. That weapon was turned toward Kagami, but it did not reach her. Mary slammed her scythe blade into her own Magino Device. With a solid sound, cracks ran through the Magino Device¡¯s armor. And¡­ ¡°Ahhhhhh!¡± Mary bent over, placed her forehead against the scythe, and cried. ¡°I¡­I can¡¯t stand it anymore¡­!¡± The grim reaper hid her face in her hood as she shouted. ¡°It would be so much easier if I could get rid of all this destruction, this doubt, this grudge, and myself!¡± The tall girl slowly fell to her knees. ¡°They entrusted the world with me, but what am I supposed to do!? I¡¯m not as strong as you! I was only chosen because I had a bit of power!¡± So¡­ ¡°What am I supposed to do!?¡± ¡°Stand, Mary Sue.¡± Kagami spoke calmly. ¡°Stand up, Mary.¡± Mary asked a question to that familiar form standing with the moon behind her. ¡°Stand up¡­and do what?¡± ¡°Well,¡± replied her teacher. ¡°Live as you like and die as you like.¡± ¡°But the Black Witch is in this world¡­¡± ¡°Manko and I will defeat her.¡± A spell circle from Horinouchi immediately appeared, but her teacher quickly folded it up and put it in her pocket. ¡°Now.¡± ¡°Sh-shouldn¡¯t you answer that?¡± ¡°It can wait.¡± Mary sensed some killer intent from below, so was that really okay? Then her teacher spoke with an air of ¡°at any rate¡±. ¡°Mary, you only need to live. Simply do that and everyone else will live on with you.¡± And¡­ ¡°There was something I was unable to tell when I had you buy me those drinks last night.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± That was true. Mary had cut her off and left, but¡­ ¡°I am grateful that you are alive.¡± Her teacher smiled. ¡°And let me add one more thing.¡± Now¡­ ¡°Live, Mary Sue. You can run away or give up if you want, but make sure you live.¡± She held out her hand, but Mary only stared at it. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± And she stood. She did not take that hand. She used her own two feet. That was her answer. After all¡­ ¡°I¡¯ve grown up, Brigadier General.¡± ¡°Enough to stand on your own, at least.¡± Her teacher smiled and pulled back her hand. Mary¡¯s shattering anger rose into the sky as light around them. She breathed out and more tears spilled from her eyes. ¡°Do not cry. ¡­You stood up, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°This is the last time.¡± It was already over. She had not lost anything. It was simply over. And that brought some words to her lips. ¡°I¡¯ll be heading back.¡± ¡°Where to? No, look carefully.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± she replied. She looked back and found Ira had fallen far enough to see Shihouin Academy. She saw the artificial island¡¯s coast, the academy grounds, and the building rooftops. ¡°Ah¡­¡± People and her classmates were there and raising both arms. Mary belatedly heard their cheers. ¡°Mary.¡± Mary heard her teacher¡¯s voice just as the cheering voices below realized she had looked back their way. ¡°Ohhhhh!¡± She heard voices saying ¡°well done¡±, ¡°great job¡±, and ¡°you put up a good fight¡±. The ones asking her to hurry on down were probably her classmates. But her teacher had more to say. ¡°If this surprises you¡­then you must not have noticed. You were not alone in this world. You had all these people with you.¡± ¡°¡­!¡± The witches gave welcoming cheers from the pier and the rooftops. She even saw a picture of Macabre made with illumination spells on the Spell Division rooftop. ¡°Yes,¡± said the teacher behind her. ¡°If you had noticed this, I doubt we would have won. ¡­The warriors of that world could draw out their greatest strength when they had something to protect.¡± ¡°Then¡­¡± ¡°There is no reason to hesitate,¡± said her teacher. ¡°You have a home here, Mary.¡± She nearly agreed, but she swallowed the words. She was not that obedient. But there was no point in denying the truth before her eyes, so she nodded as if to convince herself. She then said one last thing to those cheers. ¡°I¡¯m on my way back.¡± She said it clearly and this time she did not look back. She sure is popular, thought Horinouchi as she watched the two Magino Frame¡¯s scattering after canceling her own Frame and returning to her uniform. Mary flew down toward the Spell Division rooftop and all the cheers there. The praise mostly came from how little anyone knew about her as a Ranker and the impressive fight she had put up leading to her defeat. Even greater cheers surrounded her as she descended. Meanwhile¡­ ¡°Idiot.¡± Kagami must have been exhausted because her Frame came apart in midair. ¡°Ah.¡± Horinouchi saw her fall into the ocean beyond the pier. She contacted Hunter and had the Special Equipment Division send out a boat to rescue her. She decided to wait at the pier¡¯s mooring area. That soaking-wet idiot would eventually be standing before her with a smile, so what was she to do then? Should she scold her first? Or¡­ ¡°Aren¡¯t you glad?¡± She said that now, but she would never say it later. Once the dawn came, summer would be over. The moon was visible in the sky, but their days as the Rank 2 would begin tomorrow. Volume 2, Final : Summer is Over Volume 2, Final Chapter: Summer is Over Follow the summer wind That will be your excuse Summer is over, thought Mary. The days were still hot, but the heat no longer lingered inside her clothes. The air was simply hot with low humidity and it would then become a wind. Three days had passed since the end of the Ranker battle. Everyone had already forgotten the excitement of that day and returned to their normal lives. She too had returned to her normal life with the questions from the PR Committee as the only lingering effect. It was lunchtime. Her usual friends had started something on the roof, so she had gone to buy some drinks. She chose the same courtyard vending machines as before. Walking there without using any noticeable spells took less than two minutes. She soon arrived in that clearing with the mausoleum hill to the north. She approached the row of vending machines, but found a familiar person there. ¡­Horinouchi Manko¡­ She was pretty sure that was her name. She could have sworn she had heard it was Mitsuru, but this must have been her true name. Some magic required speaking the target¡¯s name, so perhaps a forbidden name that one could not carelessly say out loud was a defense against that. The Horinouchi family was frightening indeed. At any rate, she stood next to the girl who was audibly pondering what to buy and she too began to think. ¡°Oh?¡± ? When Horinouchi noticed her, she nodded. ¡°Excuse me.¡± And she decided she might as well say something else. ¡°Could you buy me some drinks to make up for before?¡± Before? wondered Horinouchi until she realized what Mary meant. ¡­Sh-she¡¯s referring to that night, isn¡¯t she!? Kagami had taken an awful long time to get some drinks, but Horinouchi had never imagined the girl had made their opponent buy her the drinks. ¡­You have to tell me things like that! Horinouchi did not like being indebted to anyone, so she decided to pay off this debt. ¡°How many?¡± ¡°Four.¡± She was surprised to find that Mary¡¯s immediate reply lacked the harshness from before. As the Shinto representative and a shrine maiden, Horinouchi would perform ritual prayers. She sensed no ill will in Mary¡¯s voice, so she decided she was safe. And so she held up her card. ¡°That¡¯s fine. Go ahead.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± Mary bowed and pressed four buttons. Horinouchi approved each payment on her card, but after Mary grabbed the fourth drink¡­ ¡°Sorry, but one more.¡± ¡°Eh? Oh, that¡¯s fine?¡± ¡­Is there some point to this time-delay attack? She could guess that Kagami had done that to Mary the other night. In that case, she was obligated to fill in for Kagami here. But then she saw the fifth can Mary took. ¡°That can¡­¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s milk.¡± The girl seemed to like black, so Horinouchi had expected her to choose the squid ink barley tea or the health asphalt tea. But if she was choosing milk¡­ ¡°Do you have a cat?¡± ¡°No, someone once told me that drinking milk would help me grow tall.¡± Why was it she could guess who had told Mary that? ¡­And I guess that means they had milk in that other world. Was that a mistake in the setting or was there a reason for it? She did not know, but if they bought milk like that there too¡­ ¡°Toh.¡± She bought one more drink and Mary glared at her. What¡¯s this? she wondered as Mary pointed at the can she pulled from the vending machine. ¡°You should quit drinking the carbonated ones.¡± ¡°Oh, this isn¡¯t for me.¡± ¡°Then who is it for?¡± ¡°Well,¡± she cut in to answer. ¡°For Kagami.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Mary nodded, paused for three seconds, and suddenly glared at the vending machine. ¡°Sh-she told me not to drink those¡­!¡± Why was it Horinouchi could imagine both the other world and current world sides of that story? When did I fall for her trap!? angrily wondered Mary. But¡­ ¡­Well, it is true I grew tall¡­ The fact that she began searching for ways to calm her anger made her think, ¡°Oh, I¡¯m a fairly convenient person, aren¡¯t I?¡± Then she heard a bitter laugh next to her. ¡°If you like, come join us. We¡¯re just enjoying ourselves without being too formal.¡± ¡°But the Brigadier General¡­¡± ¡°She¡¯s sitting there without worrying about any of that.¡± Mary understood that girl enough to say, ¡°I suppose she would be¡­¡± But there was more to the Brigadier General than that. ¡°She will eventually-¡­¡± ¡°I know.¡± Horinouchi turned toward the General Division dorm as if to avert her gaze. ¡°She is a companion, but also a visitor. No matter how this turns out, she will eventually leave. But¡­¡± ¡°But?¡± On her prompting, Horinouchi continued. ¡°If you think about what you will lose or have lost, you lose sight of what¡¯s important. ¡­Your time to think about things is finite too, so I want to think about the important here and now more than about what will be or has been lost.¡± Horinouchi recalled her mother as she spoke. She also remembered what Kagami had said on that sunset pier and everything that had happened since. She would not forget about her mother, but there were some things she had now specifically because it was the present. And so she spoke. ¡°You asked why she appeared before you again, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°That was¡­¡± That could likely be called destiny, but if she was going to describe it using the visible phenomena¡­ ¡°Everyone comes across losses and meetings like that. So when I meet someone, I want to treat it with the importance it deserves.¡± She waved goodbye and left Mary. She was grateful that the girl remained motionless. That meant she only had to leave as quickly as possible so Mary would not notice something. After all¡­ ¡­Wh-why am I giving my approval for everything that¡¯s happened with Kagami!? Momentum is a frightening thing, she concluded. ¡°Head Butler! Lady Mitsuru just left Lady Mary while blushing!¡± ¡°What!? Blushing!? Did she shame her in some way!? Like by saying her name over and over!?¡± ¡°That isn¡¯t her name, Head Butler! Correct your memories!¡± Mary watched Horinouchi leave. ¡­She is a considerate person. Having a name like that must have given her a difficult life. And it was often said a difficult life helped people grow up. ¡°How admirable¡­¡± She bowed toward the departing figure and then started back toward the Spell Division dorm. Despite walking away from Horinouchi, she felt oddly like she had not turned her back on her. It just felt like she was walking in a different direction. Like she would see her again tomorrow. ¡­Next time¡­ What would she do? Next time, next time, next time¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± She thought and failed to find an answer, but she suddenly found herself back at the Spell Division dorm¡¯s roof. As usual, a few groups were researching spells. The latest fad was searching for directions of good luck. It seemed to have been started by that moment when they had seemingly vanished during the previous Ranker battle. They were likely trying to find a way not to lose sight of them next time. But¡­ ¡°Mary!¡± A classmate spread her arms in front of a spell circle floating just barely off the floor. ¡°We¡¯re freezing things with a spell! Do you want a lemon or a melon!?¡± ¡°A melon.¡± She answered, passed out the drinks, and then sat in the circle with the others. They all raised their voices when she did. She found the impressed voices puzzling, but they were already opening their drinks and having a toast. One of them held her can up toward Mary. ¡°This is the first time you chose to sit in our circle. We need to celebrate.¡± ¡°Eh? But I always sit with you¡­¡± ¡°I said chose to.¡± ¡°Look.¡± Another pointed to the edge of the roof. ¡°You always sit on the edge there, listlessly staring out at the restored city.¡± ¡°Well, this might just be on a whim, but at least you know that isn¡¯t the only spot for you.¡± Once they pointed it out, it did seem odd. It was true she had thought of that as her spot before, but for some reason she no longer felt that way. Freedom was nice. So¡­ ¡°Does that mean I¡¯m free now?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t overthink this. You always overthink things.¡± ¡°I know, right?¡± said someone else. ¡°Anyway, we¡¯ll always make sure there¡¯s a spot in the circle for you.¡± ¡°And if no one¡¯s here, just sit down and someone¡¯ll be here before long. ¡­Only afterschool, though.¡± She nodded. ¡°Yes.¡± Then they all smiled bitterly. ¡°Don¡¯t cry, Mary.¡± I¡¯m not crying, she thought. I¡¯m happy. Aren¡¯t you glad? Volume 2, Afterword Volume 2, Afterword And that was Clash of Hexennacht Volume 2. This is running at the magazine serialization rate, so it¡¯s getting published really quickly. It and Tsurugi-san¡¯s manga version are continuing with a focus on plot progression, so please keep following it. This volume included the area from the western coast of Tokyo Bay to Shonan, but that region is interesting because its atmosphere seems to change every few years. A lot of it comes down to a ¡°for better or for worse¡± standpoint, but I had it be one of the restored regions because if that strong sense of vitality. When I used to go to Yokohama, I would always buy illustrated versions of China¡¯s Journey to the West and Romance of the Three Kingdoms in order and it was fun to have them all together. That really takes me back. Yokohama looks a lot different these days, but I was glad to see those wildly oversized nikuman are still sold in the Chinatown there. Now for the chat. ¡°Do you have anything to talk about regarding magical girls?¡± ¡°Hmm. I¡¯ve always wondered what the Minky in Minky Momo means.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t it mean ¡®like a mink¡¯? Not that a mink coat seems like it would be much of a defense.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mix them together. And Minky isn¡¯t in the dictionary¡­ I bet it¡¯s a Tomino name meant to hide that her real name¡¯s Haman.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mix them together. And that¡¯s a different studio. ¡­But do you have anything else?¡± ¡°Besides Minky, there was Creamy, Fairy, Magical, Pastel, and Fancy.¡± ¡°Minky¡¯s uniqueness really stands out among those. ¡­I wonder why.¡± ¡°I dunno. But now that I think about it, the second one stands out at as the only food.¡± ¡°I pulled out my dictionary just to check and Creamy means ¡®smooth like cream¡¯.¡± ¡°That sounds pretty inappropriate if you ask me. And in that case, why not just go with Milky?¡± ¡°Hey, Fujiya.¡± ¡°Oh, yeah! There¡¯s that eternally young witch sticking her tongue out, isn¡¯t there!?¡± Yeah, she¡¯s pretty much invincible. Anyway, the background music this time was The Story from Taito¡¯s Rastan Saga II. It¡¯s a pretty cool muscular barbarian song. I recommend the arcade version. And this time I¡¯ll end it with this: ¡°Who was searching for a home the most?¡± Next up will probably be the main Horizon novel. September 2015. The morning of an approaching typhoon. -Kawakami Minoru Volume 3, Prologue: Place of Waiting Volume 3, Prologue: Place of Waiting Fortune is not on the side of the faint-hearted ¡ªSophocles of Athens No matter how distant they are Their coordinates will coincide Like the long hand and short hand At Shihouin Academy, the second term midterms were beginning. When Hunter stepped into the dining hall at lunchtime, it was relatively uncrowded. Everyone was holding exam strategy meetings in the classrooms. The dining hall was located away from all of the divisions, so there was no reason to hold their meetings there. The only people there had already resigned themselves to their fate or had confidence in their success. Hunter fell into the latter category. After all¡­ ¡°The upper Rankers are exempt from the exams.¡± Being an upper Ranker sure is great, thought Hunter. Even after dropping a Rank, she was still in the single digits. She could generally choose not to take the exams, which meant her other records came into focus. All that really meant was she had to have a meeting with her teacher if her attendance was too poor. Shihouin Academy tended to accommodate the students like that. A witch¡¯s schedule was mostly determined by the organization she belonged to, so some could not do anything during the day and others were restricted to lucky days. Some had magic eyes that prevented them from looking at or even in the general direction of a member of an opposing organization in their class, so it was hard gathering everyone in one place. During the exam period, all of them stayed in the classroom, but Hunter confidently showed up in the dining hall. ¡°I¡¯d starve if I didn¡¯t.¡± Some were strong enough to survive off of the dorm¡¯s shop or off of water and mist alone, but this was the only place that cooked food to avoid different witches¡¯ taboos and had a store selling a wide variety of specialized catalysts and school supplies. At the meal ticket vending machine guarded by partitions and elsewhere, there were posters saying ¡°No Ranker Battles in the Dining Hall¡±. This was a den of witches. The ones making the food ¡°in order to help out the younger witches¡± were powerful individuals with longer histories than the teachers. Some had fought not in the Hexennacht ten years before but the ones twenty or thirty years before. However, the ban on Ranker battles only applied inside. The outside was a different matter. ¡­Kagami and Horinouchi must have really wanted a fight since they know that and are still eating up on the terrace. That said that they were willing to take on whoever wanted to fight, but that they also wanted to eat. The latter half seemed to hold the greater conviction. And according to one of Horinouchi¡¯s maids¡­ ¡°Lady Mitsuru likes to lure in her targets!¡± Hunter was not entirely sure what that was in reference to, but she got the idea it meant the girl was a real sniper. Today was the same. Kagami and Horinouchi were eating on the terrace above. Hunter had been delayed cleaning up her equipment, so she was showing up late. She really should have been buying some sweet bread at the Special Equipment Division building¡¯s store and heading back to review the current lesson or exchange information on the exams with her friends. ¡­But, well, I¡¯m exempt from the exams. Let¡¯s take this easy, she thought while ordering the ¡°Conqueror of Land and Sea Meal¡± which was a pork cutlet burger and a fish burger. ¡°If that¡¯s all you eat, you won¡¯t get the necessary nutrients,¡± said the old cook lady beyond the counter. ¡°You need to eat more meat!¡± That seemed ridiculous, but she was served the tray regardless. ¡­Come to think of it, she might be telling me to order the ¡°Conqueror of Land, Sea, and Air Meal¡± that comes with a chicken burger too. But chickens don¡¯t fly, so how is that ¡°air¡±? ¡°Oh.¡± She spotted a familiar face wearing glasses and reading the textbook opened on the table. It was Mary. ¡­Eh? What¡¯s she doing? Hunter initially found this strange. After all, the upper Rankers were exempt from the exams. But Mary was very clearly studying and reviewing the material in a textbook. Odd. Why would she need to do that? Something else also seemed off, but she focused on the one mystery for now. Then Mary suddenly spoke. ¡°Rank 4.¡± At first, Hunter had no idea what she had said. But eventually, it hit her. ¡­Oh, that¡¯s me! She referred to people by their rank, but that may have been due to being in the military in her original world. She even referred to Kagami as ¡°Brigadier General¡±. So Hunter decided to do the same. ¡°What is it, Rank 3?¡± Mary pushed up her glasses and sighed. She did not even bother looking at Hunter. ¡°You are keeping me from my studies. Please leave.¡± ¡­Is she picking a fight with me!? As soon as she thought that, she saw the cooks beyond the counter each pulling out a knife or plate they had no real need for. Oh, no. I just about turned this into a danger zone. But she still had a question. ¡°¡­What are you doing?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t tell?¡± asked Mary without stopping. ¡°I am writing in order to study. ¡­I would have thought even you were familiar with the concept and meaning of writing.¡± Hunter was pretty sure anyone who heard that would have tackled the girl to the ground. But she decided to grow stubborn. ¡°Y¡¯know¡­ This school is pretty lax when it comes to exams and classes.¡± She said it. ¡°Are you so stupid you can¡¯t keep up without studying?¡± ¡­Is she picking a fight with me!? Studying like this was necessary for Mary. She viewed it as her duty and task as a student. Thus¡­ ¡°Just so you know, I was third in my year during last term¡¯s finals.¡± ¡°Oh? That¡¯s pretty high.¡± ¡°Heh. ¡­And where did you fall?¡± ¡°I was #1 on the practical exam.¡± ¡­Kh! Mary belatedly realized she had been led right into that one. ¡°Hmm,¡± said the #4. ¡°So what are you doing, Miss Third-in-Her-Class?¡± Now you¡¯ve done it, she thought with a stir in her heart. But then she heard the cooks in the kitchen switching off their fryers and stoves. They were preparing for battle. Oops. This is the facility that provides most of my food. The Spell Division store seems permanently covered in the smell of herbs, so I might really be stuck with three canned drinks a day if I cause any trouble here. Calm down, Mary Sue. You are living here to protect this world. Not to destroy the dining hall with an indigenous monkey. ¡­Besides, I can prove my point with my results. So instead of responding to the girl¡¯s provocation, she answered her question. ¡°I am studying for the midterms and reviewing the material from class.¡± ¡°The upper Rankers are exempt from the exams, you know?¡± ¡°Just because we are exempt does not mean we can grow reliant on that. We are students.¡± The dining hall fell silent. After a while, the #4, those in kitchen, and the other students began to applaud. Faced with this sudden focus, she blushed, stood up, and bowed in all four directions. Once they started to stop, she sat down and the expressionless #4 spoke to her. ¡°But the upper Rankers are given that exemption because we¡¯ve diverted our efforts elsewhere and shown real results in doing so. You have a point about being students, but are you sure you¡¯re acknowledging what you¡¯ve accomplished?¡± ¡°I want to do this. I dropped a Rank. ¡­That means my skill was insufficient and I must make up for that deficiency. That is what this is.¡± ¡°Then,¡± said the #4. ¡°Kagami and Horinouchi are up above, but do they not need to study?¡± Mary could only nod. ¡°They are stronger than me, so they likely operate under a different logic. And after losing to them, I have no right to criticize them.¡± Hunter was honestly creeped out. ¡­She has issues¡­ She defines her world through Kagami and Horinouchi¡­ But Mary was here rather than with the source of that definition. Hunter decided to ask why that was. ¡°Why not go up and eat with them?¡± ¡°Sit at the same table as those two? I wouldn¡¯t dare!¡± ¡­Hey¡­ Can we maybe talk like normal human beings? However, Hunter decided this was probably a type of religion. And Horinouchi was a shrine maiden. But she kept some hope in her heart and continued speaking. ¡°C¡¯mon, they¡¯re just normal people. ¡­If you ignore their attack power and insanity.¡± ¡°You would mock those who defeated you¡­? That says a lot about you.¡± ¡°Yeah, this is saying a lot about you too and it¡¯s honestly weirding me out¡­¡± Mary sighed and relaxed her shoulders. She may have mistaken what Hunter had said. If she had taken that as a compliment, she may have had a handy ability to mentally explain away any insults people threw her way. But Hunter still had a slight question. ¡°Hey, about the table you chose¡­¡± Normally, people chose a seat toward the center of the dining hall. By the windows, they could be ¡°traced¡± or ¡°seen¡± by a remote-style witch. By the counter, they could end up in trouble with the witches waiting for their food. So the center was the safest place, and yet¡­ ¡°Why are you by the window?¡± ¡°Heh. You don¡¯t understand? Because my mission has already begun.¡± Hunter had kind of expected this, so she opened a communication spell circle. She tapped a recorded number and the call was answered almost immediately. ¡°It is I, but who is this? Oh, let me guess¡­ Yes, this must be the manager of the ramen shop Ice Cold in Sakuragichou¡¯s third block. I must apologize for scooping out all of the garlic, but you used so very much of it!¡± ¡°No, you idiot. Um, Kagami? Where are you sitting right now?¡± ¡°On the south edge by the stairs. Is something the matter?¡± Hunter looked up to the ceiling and saw the bottom of the external staircase. Finally, she stared expressionlessly up at the ceiling and spoke. ¡°You have a stalker down here, so could you try moving to another spot?¡± Fifteen seconds later, Hunter saw Mary silently move her chair two tables over. ¡­How can she see that!? Oh, now that I think about it, she stays in her Magino state at all times. I guess sensing a target¡¯s ether would be pretty easy. As Mary resumed studying as if nothing had happened, Hunter asked a question while thinking, I¡¯m being a pretty good sport about this, aren¡¯t I? ¡°Why are you sitting below them?¡± ¡°If a lower Ranker picks a fight with them, I will cut in from below. ¡­You couldn¡¯t tell?¡± ¡°Yeah, sorry, but no, I couldn¡¯t.¡± That would mean jumping past Hunter to pick a fight, so she did actually sort of understand why Mary wanted to be a breakwater. She had been planning to do the same thing herself. However¡­ ¡°You¡¯ve really accepted Horinouchi, haven¡¯t you?¡± Mary felt a faint heat in her heart at the mention of Horinouchi. That was the girl that Kagami, her brigadier general and teacher, had accepted as a partner. Mary had honestly not paid any attention to Horinouchi before it had come to their Ranker battle. No, she had known the girl was a possible opponent, but she had underestimated Shinto shooting spells because her brain had been so inundated with thoughts about her brigadier general. But the reality had been different. According to the battle records, her brigadier general had stuck to being a tank and an attacker who kept Mary from attacking. Each of the battle¡¯s turning points had begun and ended with Horinouchi. The most frightening of those was her overall ability that could be summed up with the word ¡°shooting¡±. ¡°I have no choice but to accept her.¡± After all¡­ ¡°Is it normal for shots fired from the South Pole to hit me in Tokyo?¡± The #4 silently hung her head in what could only be a sign of wholehearted agreement. ¡°Yeah¡­¡± said the #4. It was unusual for her to agree with Mary. This of course brought Mary no joy, but she did say more just to confirm this with herself. ¡°There is more.¡± ¡°Tell me.¡± ¡°Very well.¡± Mary voiced her recollection of that past battle. ¡°The three shots she fired from the South Pole were effectively simultaneous. But high power shells will normally interfere with and deflect each other when they are that close.¡± ¡°She probably expected that and added in some spell processing. ¡­Even my Hedgehog is restricted from firing two shells at once because of the interference seen during experiments.¡± ¡°Come to think of it, one of Horinouchi¡¯s shots negated your cannon, didn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yeah. Yeah, it did,¡± confirmed the #4. ¡°I thought the one I fired to the ocean off of Brazil had missed, but if it had, there wouldn¡¯t have been a pillar of water like that. ¡­No one could have imagined it, but that was a counter hit.¡± But thinking back, that was completely insane. ¡°Just because you have data on the level of a surveillance satellite doesn¡¯t mean you should counter an ultra-high speed shell.¡± ¡°She is a frightening person,¡± said Mary. ¡°After all, a complete focus on attack power with only the bare minimum of defense applies to my Ira as well.¡± ¡°Come to think of it, that¡¯s true. ¡­Although Horinouchi has superb mobility on a fundamental level thanks to having the Suzaku for a servant.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± agreed Mary. She then stopped writing and clasped her hands as if in prayer. ¡°But¡­can I ask you something?¡± ¡°Sure. What is it?¡± Mary paused for a breath before speaking. ¡°I can abandon defense power and focus on attack power because of my annihilation spell. It normally requires some kind of powerful spell like that. Either that or strengthening your spells with a backup organization like you do. ¡­So why does she use her own primitive physical shells?¡± When she heard that, the #4 covered her face with her hands and bent her entire body backwards. Horinouchi saw a communication spell open next to her face. She checked it to find it was from Hunter. She had no reason not to answer, so she approved the connection. ¡°What is it, Hunter? Are you short on money?¡± ¡°Oh, sorry. I haven¡¯t paid you back for that yakiniku, have I?¡± ¡°Oh, I used student council money for that, so don¡¯t worry about it. That said, I will not take responsibility for you getting drunk and using your pile bunker to turn the skirt on the headmaster¡¯s statue into a miniskirt.¡± ¡°Wait! That was me!? And here I was thinking someone had done a pretty shoddy job of it.¡± ¡°Ha ha ha,¡± laughed Kagami. ¡°Horinouchi, I think Hunter might be ready to go finish the job.¡± A communication spell circle arrived from the headmaster, but Horinouchi chopped it to pieces. ¡°Anyway, Hunter, what do you need? We haven¡¯t made any plans for a post-midterms party yet.¡± ¡°No, it isn¡¯t that. Um¡­¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Why do you use physical shells for your main cannon?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you do that too?¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Kagami crossed her arms and nodded from across the table. ¡°Has Hunter begun to question her attack spell? Very well. You tell her, Horinouchi. Tell her that physical shells just feel so very good when you fire them! Do it!¡± Horinouchi ignored the idiot and asked a question of her own. ¡°Do you need a new viewpoint for fine-tuning the Hedgehog?¡± ¡°Uh, no. Y¡¯see, I have the US military working with me and supporting me, right?¡± Oh, realized Horinouchi. While she did have the support of the Horinouchi family, the cannon itself was her own personal ability. As for why she did it that way¡­ ¡°I want to do things for myself, so I chose a cannon structure that wasn¡¯t too complicated and allowed me to supply ¡®my own share¡¯. And¡­¡± She focused a little on Kagami¡¯s reaction as she continued. ¡°My mother also used physical shells.¡± Hunter realized she had fallen silent. Mary was trying and failing to look down at her pen and notebook, but she eventually pushed up her glasses and looked Hunter¡¯s way. ¡°What is it, #4?¡± ¡°Well, um, about Horinouchi¡­¡± ¡°Yes, why is it that she uses physical shells?¡± Hunter answered without delay. ¡°She wanted to supply her own share, and that¡¯s why she ended up like that.¡± In other words¡­ ¡°It¡¯s her Japanese spirit. Her humility made her like that.¡± She continued with an ¡°also¡±. ¡°She says her mother was like that too.¡± After saying that, she looked back toward Mary and held her head in her hands. ¡­Yeah. I know just what you¡¯re thinking. ¡°In every world out there, the crazy people don¡¯t realize how crazy they are.¡± And thus the midterm exams began without issue. Volume 3, 1: The Relief of Knowing Something is Coming Volume 3, Chapter 1: The Relief of Knowing Something is Coming When serving something Keep your head held high As if to say this is your master¡¯s pride At night and in her dorm room¡¯s lounge, Horinouchi felt the midterms had begun relatively well. Across the table from her, Kagami was viewing online information with a spell circle and taking notes in a notebook. To the left, Hunter was on the carpet looking back and forth between a dictionary and a spell circle. Horinouchi herself had a notebook open to review for the Modern Japanese exam the following day. The occasional sound of a flipping page breaking the odd silence created a slight tension. For the first time in the past few months, they actually felt like students. ¡­Well, if you get down to it, Shihouin Academy is a school. The exams covered standard educational material, but with a focus on magic. The Japanese class began with grasping the meaning of what was written, but then touched on the concept of kotodama using Waka and classic literature. Math attempted to explain the truth of all things, chemistry tended to be about alchemy, and history was based on the formation and spread of folklore. Of course, it did not particularly matter if they had low scores in any of those. Witches all belonged to a specific culture. The exams would sometimes touch on taboos, so it was rare for everyone in a class to be able to solve a problem. When making hamburger steak with a partner in home ec, it was fairly common for someone to carelessly turn the meat into a catalyst and curse their partner. This year, when doing the back hip circle in pairs during gym, a continental witch had accidentally removed her partner¡¯s soul from her leg. That had caused quite a commotion. The amazing part was that a ¡°sorry, sorry¡± had been enough to get past it. But it had been a Scandinavian witch who had returned the soul by kicking it back with her leg, so the world had a nice cycle set up. Horinouchi chose to take the exams. She was the Student Council President after all. But it had been a bit unexpected for Kagami to take the exams along with her. Not to mention¡­ ¡°Why have you pretty much moved in with me?¡± Kagami had settled down in a room near the entrance since the battle with Mary. Horinouchi did know why it had happened: the battle with Mary itself. In her skirmish with Hunter, Mary had split the academy¡¯s artificial crust and the dorm building for faculty and others had been located along the crack that formed. Kagami had apparently been living in an empty room (the roof actually) of the faculty dorm, but she had moved here once the crust reinforcement and repair construction had begun. She had done so without permission, so at first¡­ ¡°You showed up this early in the morning just to walk to school with me?¡± But that assumption had been wrong. Horinouchi¡¯s dorm covered the entire top floor, so its size was part of the problem, but it had more to do with how unthinkable a possibility it had been. She had only noticed a week after Kagami had moved in and the maids and Koutarou had already noticed by then. ¡°Lady Mitsuru, kicking Lady Kagami out would only cause a scene outside!¡± That argument had been incredibly persuasive. By that point, Hunter and Mary were apparently fighting off the lower Rankers that attempted to move up, and given how interested Kagami had seemed in that information¡­ ¡­She¡¯s prepared to take any of them on if she has the chance¡­ And according to Kagami¡­ ¡°Of course, Horinouchi. Even if it was primarily my sister¡¯s doing, we created this world and I would like to see what possibilities it holds.¡± However, Horinouchi had felt a chill when she saw Kagami and Hunter getting all excited about it. At any rate, when Horinouchi thought about it, she discovered the main reason she had taken so long to notice her new roommate. She never even saw the maids except in the lounge or hallway, so¡­ ¡­Ah. I¡¯m like a child being kept in isolation! This was a new realization for her. But Kagami did not seem intent on sharing the space in any noticeable way. The only differences Horinouchi had noticed were a new toothbrush in the bathroom and some IZUMO ¡°Crystal Wasabi¡± that she was curious to try out. However, she did sometimes notice a fair bit missing from her ¡°Soi Matcha ¨C For Purification¡±, so maybe Kagami had trouble with wasabi. ¡­And does this not say ¡°Soy Matcha¡± because Kagami¡¯s sister misspelled it? Were those discrepancies between product names and the knowledge of the world¡¯s residents just part of the setting? Lately, Horinouchi had found herself blaming the Black Witch for any questions about the world and she found it unbelievably annoying how this new knowledge had influenced her thought processes. But it was now the third night of the midterms. As Hunter lay on the lounge floor drawing a problem diagram in a spell circle, Kagami suddenly spoke. ¡°Given the season, we need to have a Halloween party to celebrate the end of the midterms, Horinouchi.¡± Why are you making that sound like a foregone conclusion!? Hunter thought Halloween was the best choice. ¡°I¡¯m not really sure how it happened, but I¡¯m competing with Mary over our test scores. So it would be nice to have a Halloween party as a reward to help her get over losing.¡± She honestly did not know how it had happened, but after leaving the dining hall together that day, Mary had declared war: ¡°Then let us compete to see who ranks higher in our year.¡± But¡­ ¡­I¡¯m already above you in that regard, so are you sure you want to do that? Still, a Halloween party reward would be wonderful. ¡°In America, it wasn¡¯t so much about costumes¡­I mean, the witches tended to come by to the Hexennacht orphans to do their ¡®trick or treat¡¯, so on Halloween itself, it didn¡¯t feel all that special. The witches from different regions formed benefit organizations and they would visit the orphans¡¯ houses to leave housework spirits, bread that never ran out for two weeks, or ham that regained its original thickness overnight no matter how much you cut off.¡± ¡°I feel that is beyond anything my sister could have imagined.¡± Hunter looked up at Kagami¡¯s comment. ¡°You mean it¡¯s original to this world?¡± ¡°A creation cannot contain more knowledge than the author possesses. ¡­So anything set in motion by those inside it would be ¡®outside¡¯ my sister¡¯s creation.¡± According to Kagami¡­ ¡°My sister and I knew very little about the Fuji crater lake hot springs land, but it exists here. My sister based this world on our world, so my world seems to have been included here as part of the ¡®setting¡¯. The information on the Hexennacht battles was placed on top of that and my sister has a habit of getting rid of the things she has difficulty understanding. But the aspects she was unaware of would have been untouched.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a huge nuisance for those of us living here, you know?¡± Hunter rested her head in her hand while lying on the floor. ¡°But what did your sister know about America?¡± ¡°We saw a fair number of cities there when traveling with our father for his job.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ That¡¯s kind of what it felt like.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°The Hexennacht damage was mostly limited to the major military bases and a line from east to west that hit the major airports. People tend to say the Black Witch targeted the more populated areas, but I bet it was actually because those were the areas she knew best.¡± ¡°I can make no excuses for my sister when it comes to that.¡± Kagami often joked about her sister, but in the end, she was intent on punishing her. Horinouchi was a little unsure whether or not the decision seen there came from Kagami¡¯s feelings. But¡­ ¡°Well, it all comes down to the results. We must fight in Hexennacht.¡± As she said that, Kagami¡¯s expression partially faded but also showed a hint of realization. But Horinouchi had something else to say. ¡°Once the midterms are over, we will almost certainly be faced with a Ranker Battle against the Rank 1. After that, the Black Witch will be right in front of us.¡± ¡°Assuming we defeat the Rank 1, you mean.¡± Kagami smiled a little and then looked to Koutarou who stood at the counter behind Horinouchi. ¡°You said you have no information on the Rank 1, did you not?¡± ¡°We have heard she has held that spot ever since the headmaster established the Ranker System immediately after the end of the previous Hexennacht ten years ago.¡± ¡°Interesting. Have any of the Horinouchi maids fought the Rank 1?¡± Horinouchi knew what answer Kagami would receive. ¡­None of them have. If any had, they would already have that information, but they had none. That meant the Rank 1 was unseen and inviolable. And of course, Koutarou¡¯s response was¡­ ¡°There is one.¡± ¡°There is one?¡± This was news to Horinouchi, but Koutarou lowered his head a bit and reworded his answer. ¡°Or perhaps I should say there was one.¡± ¡°You mean¡­?¡± ¡°After her defeat to the Rank 1, she left the Horinouchi family for a variety of reasons.¡± ¡°How long ago was this?¡± ¡°Nine years ago.¡± Hunter¡¯s question and Koutarou¡¯s answer pointed to a certain fact. ¡°Then she really has held that position for ten years¡­¡± ¡°Yes. I once saw the power that gives her that position. It was when I was still a normal butler serving your mother.¡± ¡°What was it?¡± Koutarou paused for a moment but finally answered. ¡°She used an absolute defense and absolute attack to become unbeatable.¡± Koutarou took a breath and looked behind the counter. Some maids were crouching in the space leading to the hallway, placing them out of view of Horinouchi and the other girls. The bespectacled Head Maid aimed a simplified Normal Device lance toward him. ¡°Head Butler, say anything unnecessary and I will stab you, so be careful.¡± ¡°I will say nothing of the sort! And why are all of you here!?¡± ¡°Because this is related to Lady Mitsuru¡¯s mother and the others,¡± said a picture book witch from Western Europe who looked like a child despite being a true veteran. ¡°The maid who left did not say anything more because she felt this was not something she should get involved in. She came here after graduating and enjoyed her time among us, but she was afraid she would let some information slip if she let her emotions or her circumstances get the better of her. Do you understand?¡± The witch looked up at him. ¡°I do not understand why since I never rose above Rank 8, but she felt the Rank 1 should be the one to fight on Hexennacht.¡± Horinouchi felt like she had been presented with a riddle. ¡°Absolute defense¡­and attack?¡± ¡°She has both?¡± ¡°I would say Hunter is close to having that,¡± commented Kagami. ¡°Depending on how it¡¯s used, Mary¡¯s annihilation spell was an absolute defense and attack, wasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°But I do believe someone still managed to blast her. I believe she even managed to copy her.¡± ¡°Th-that was only because I caught her off guard. ¡­Right?¡± Horinouchi looked to Hunter for agreement, but¡­ ¡°Hunter? Why are you crouching down and covering your face!?¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re making ridiculous demands¡­!¡± ¡°But,¡± said Kagami without warning. ¡°The Rank 1 seems to pull off the ridiculous, so what do we do? Horinouchi, your mother was the previous Rank 1, so what spells and Frame did she use and fight with?¡± Her mother¡¯s spells and Frame. Horinouchi gasped when Kagami asked her that. She recalled saying goodbye to her mother, but¡­ ¡°¡­That would be difficult to answer.¡± Yes. There was one thing she did not know about the Hexennacht ten years ago. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± It had happened on a night ten years ago. In just one night, most of the world had been broken and she had lost someone important to her. Her memories of saying goodbye were so vivid, but there was something she did not know. ¡°Unfortunately, I don¡¯t know how my mother fought.¡± ¡°You do not know? ¡­It must have been an intense battle. Are you saying you do not know what happened in it?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Horinouchi answered Kagami¡¯s question. ¡­I really don¡¯t. She had no memory of the battle between her mother and the Black Witch. Or rather¡­ ¡­It was erased. How had her mother fought? How had she protected everyone? And how had she been defeated? She had thought those things ¡°existed¡± in her memories, but she did not know the answers. She had a vague image. There was a lot of light and power there, but other than that¡­ ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡± Kagami turned toward her. She started to say something, held a hand up to her face, and then turned back around. ¡°Did you-¡­¡± ¡°You were about to ask if I became an idiot, weren¡¯t you!? Weren¡¯t you!?¡± ¡°No, no. You are a clever girl, Horinouchi.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± Hunter raised her hand. ¡°Don¡¯t you know about those things the Black Witch sent out when she was feeling cornered? Even we know about them.¡± ¡°Yes. ¡­The Black Witch summoned a large number of giant humanoids and dragons as reinforcements.¡± She knew that. Those ¡°reinforcements¡± were speculated to have descended to earth from satellite orbit. They had descended while entirely ignoring things like ¡°distance¡± and ¡°speed¡±, but they had made a soft landing on the surface. They had used the rotation of the earth to descend along the equator in turn, so once everyone realized what was going on, the time lag before dropping had meant the US West Coast to the Oceania region should have received relatively little damage. But their understanding of the situation had come from naked eye reports and confused, conflicting information, so they had only made it in time for the Polynesia region. That was likely why Hunter and the 7th Fleet she worked with tended to cooperate with the forces that still survived there. That was why Hunter had chosen the ocean near Hawaii for her first sniping position during her battle with Horinouchi and Kagami. ¡°Kagami, I guess I¡¯ll ask¡­ Did your sister have an opinion of Hawaii?¡± ¡°Yes, my sister had a traumatic experience picking up a sea cucumber on the beach there, but she generally liked the place.¡± ¡­I knew it. Hunter was averting her gaze, but Horinouchi was growing used to that. ¡°But,¡± said Kagami. ¡°What do you mean when you say you ¡®don¡¯t know¡¯ about the Black Witch¡¯s battle and your mother¡¯s battle?¡± ¡°She means exactly what she says, Lady Kagami.¡± Koutarou spoke from beyond the counter. He thoroughly polished a glass and stared at it before continuing. ¡°There are no detailed records of the battle with the Black Witch or how either side fought.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± Horinouchi answered that question. ¡°Because they were ¡®erased¡¯ by the Black Witch. From this world, from history, from everything.¡± ¡°You mean¡­?¡± ¡°That is the Black Witch¡¯s power. It is a spell we call Concept Erasure,¡± she explained. ¡°It is the opposite of the power that created this world. The power to destroy this world and erase anything in it is used on whoever loses. ¡­So my mother¡¯s ability to resist was erased and the records were erased.¡± Since she knew about Kagami¡¯s existence and how this world had been created, Hunter had something to say about that. ¡°It¡¯s an eraser.¡± She understood. It may have been a little late, but she now understood something about the Black Witch¡¯s destructive power. ¡°Instead of the power used to write and create this world, it¡¯s the power to erase. ¡­All records concerning the spells Horinouchi¡¯s mom used to oppose the Black Witch were erased with an eraser.¡± ¡°If everything was erased together, I can see how there would be a blank at those portions alone,¡± said Kagami. ¡°Does that mean you inherited none of her techniques to oppose the Black Witch?¡± ¡°It does. ¡­For one thing, my mother was the first case of the Black Witch using her erasure against someone.¡± ¡°It was?¡± Hunter asked without thinking, but Horinouchi simply nodded. But then she tilted her head. ¡°I think the Black Witch must have been panicking a fair bit and it¡¯s possible similar situations occurred in the past, but as far as my research could take me, my mother¡¯s case is the only one where the erasure was used on any spells used against her as well.¡± ¡°That is too bad.¡± Kagami crossed her arms deeply across her chest. ¡°If we knew what they were, giving you a power up would have been simple. Yes, you would have evolved from a Normal Manko into a Super Manko!¡± Horinouchi stood up and Kagami gallantly fled at the exact same moment, so Hunter gave them a reminder. ¡°Hey, midterms. We¡¯ve got exams to study for.¡± Horinouchi heard Kagami speak as the two of them sat back down. ¡°But anyway, it is a shame we have no hint toward helping you grow, Horinouchi.¡± ¡°No, there is something.¡± ¡°Do you have a data defense that can defend against phenomenon-class erasure?¡± ¡°No, I just mean we still have the information not related to my mother¡¯s spells during the final battle. So¡­¡± Horinouchi summoned the Suzaku. When she looked atop her own right shoulder, she saw the Suzaku eating soba inside its spell circle. When its eyes met hers, it put on a serious look. ¡°¡­¡± And it silently hid the bowl in the space beyond the spell circle. It then stood on a single leg and began chirping nonchalantly. Kagami and Hunter glared at her. ¡°Horinouchi, about that servant¡­¡± ¡°B-birds eat soba too. I¡¯m sure they love soba seeds.¡± But the Suzaku was important to the conversation. ¡°The Suzaku contains Frame data stored by several generations of Horinouchi family representatives. So while I can call the Akerindou my own, I referenced the previous generations a lot when strengthening it.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± said Hunter, sounding impressed. ¡°In other words,¡± said Kagami while glaring at Horinouchi. ¡°Your mother was also fully focused on attack power?¡± ¡°I can see why the Black Witch was so worried¡­¡± added Hunter. ¡°Yes, she must have decided that was something too dangerous to leave un-erased.¡± ¡°S-stop that, you two! Don¡¯t make up things about my mother¡¯s character!¡± Horinouchi turned toward Hunter. ¡°Besides, Hunter, you understand the relationship between attack power, Frame size, and sturdiness, right?¡± ¡°Oh, yeah, I do. But depending on how you use it, the optimal values change a fair bit.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Kagami. Hunter used her hands to measure out a distance of about 50 cm. ¡°Y¡¯see,¡± she began. ¡°It¡¯s pretty hard to actually use a Magino Frame class of magic wand, right? When it¡¯s that big, any small manipulation is difficult and the efficiency of the power system gets pretty bad. At a military scale, everyone could work together to manage it, but Hexennacht is about heading out to fight on your own.¡± ¡°Are you saying Horinouchi¡¯s Akerindou is at the limit of its growth?¡± ¡°There are probably areas I could improve on, but it¡¯s time we started thinking about how to improve it on a more fundamental level.¡± So¡­ ¡°My mother might have made similar improvements for the final battle.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Koutarou heard Kagami speak as she sat back down. She was one of the creators of this world. She was much like the Black Witch, so she likely understood how the previous generation¡¯s crucial knowledge had been lost and what that meant. ¡°In other words,¡± said Kagami as she raised her right index finger. ¡°In the next Ranker Battle, we might get some kind of hint toward catching up to your mother. Right, Horinouchi?¡± ¡­Well done, Lady Kagami! A voice overlapped Koutarou¡¯s natural thoughts. ¡°Splendidly said, Lady Kagami.¡± Someone appeared from behind the wall on the right side of the counter. It was the Head Maid. Horinouchi saw the Head Maid step out from around the hallway corner behind the counter. She carried a tray bearing a tea set for the girls. ¡°Lady Mitsuru, I should probably tell you not to worry.¡± ¡°Not to worry¡­?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± said the Head Maid as she silently set down the cups and served the tea into them. Hunter raised her hand. ¡°Oh, I want lots of lemon in mine!¡± The Head Maid smiled and tossed a lemon into the air. The lemon split in two directly above the cup she held up, and¡­ ¡°Are you going to scoop it out?¡± asked Kagami. ¡°No, I will twist it apart. ¡­My spear Device can act as a high-rotation rifle round.¡± As she spoke, the inside of the lemon vanished and fell into the cup as a somewhat paste-like liquid. The Head Maid caught the falling lemon peel on an empty plate. ¡°I apologize for letting you see such a banal technique.¡± ¡°No, it was wonderful. ¡­How large of a fruit can you do that on? Would a grapefruit be too large?¡± ¡°Depending on the amount of power I use, I can do it to a watermelon or a metal drum. When I was a student and the Rank 3, this and my hairstyle gave me the Urban Name of Lady Drills.¡± ¡°Ohh, the Head Maid is having fun with it.¡± Koutarou agreed with the maids sitting behind the counter. He glanced over at them as they used a spell circle to view the lounge. ¡°And when she went to serve that tea, didn¡¯t she walk out to the hall while still crouched down before walking back out like normal? She did, didn¡¯t she?¡± ¡°Head Butler, you¡¯re the one that made the mistake of standing up. Leaning is important on a mission.¡± ¡°You forget that I am a normal person who took this job after graduating as a normal student.¡± ¡°Then please stop trying to resist us!¡± ¡°A heart of resistance has nothing to do with being a witch or a normal person!¡± He ignored the witches when they accused him of sophistry. Then the witches cast a lip-reading spell on the spell circle image. ¡°Well, we understand why the Head Maid stepped out before walking back in.¡± ¡°Is it related to some kind of jinx?¡± ¡°No, it just would¡¯ve been creepy if she suddenly stood up next to you.¡± ¡°What do you mean creepy!?¡± ¡°Oh, we weren¡¯t calling you creepy, Head Butler.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, Head Butler. Please stop with the persecution complex just because you work with nothing but witches. If you keep persecuting us over your persecution complex¡­oh, but if I say that, your persecution complex will just make you hate us more!¡± ¡°Someone! Someone please! This maid has a persecution complex!¡± The Head Maid was facing away from them to serve the tea, but a spell circle dropped from inside her skirt and onto the floor. It was set so only they could see it and it said, ¡°Shut up.¡± Koutarou grimaced at the short message and the maids cheered. ¡°Well done, Head Maid!¡± ¡°Hold it, all of you! ¡®Well done¡¯ may only be used on Lady Mitsuru and her friends! It is not to be used on ourselves! They deserve a different level of praise than us!¡± ¡°I get what you¡¯re saying, but that¡¯s pretty creepy, Head Butler. Oh, and that¡¯s only a low level insult.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s low level, then the highest level would probably kill me!¡± With a witch¡¯s kotodama that might actually be possible, he realized. After Koutarou tearfully retreated down the hallway for some reason, four maids stepped around the corner in his place. They were apparently going to prepare a snack. Horinouchi felt this was a good time for a break, but she was also amused how much the Head Maid was enjoying her conversation with Kagami. The Head Maid was from Germany and had been an underclassman of Lisbeth Lueger, who had been the German Representative and one of the Troika, aka the Three Sages. The Head Maid had graduated after rising to Rank 3, but rumor had it that was only due to focusing on supplying techniques to her home country after the damage it had taken in the previous Hexennacht. She said she had come here because she had felt that graduating had lightened the load, but her skill remained and she was in charge of managing the other witches. She was smiling as she spoke with Kagami. That was a surprise because the woman was known for rarely smiling, but¡­ ¡­Kagami¡¯s ether crafting spell must be an unknown technique to the Head Maid. Yes, they were discussing technique. And that must have brought the Head Maid back to her days as the Rank 3. ¡­So it doesn¡¯t mean she was moved to emotion by Kagami¡¯s personality. After thinking that, Horinouchi looked out the window. She saw a difficult expression in her reflection. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± What was she so conflicted about? ¡­And why am I feeling jealous of the Head Maid!? It was not that she did not understand her own feelings. This was clearly the same as finding her playmate was looking to someone else. But there was something she wanted to ask while the Head Maid was in such a good mood. ¡°Head Maid? You said before that I shouldn¡¯t worry, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± said the Head Maid while turning toward her. The woman seemed to realize she had gotten sidetracked, so she fixed the position of her scarf, gave Kagami and silent nod, and spoke to Horinouchi. ¡°Whoever your opponent is, you are your mother¡¯s daughter.¡± ¡°My mother¡­? Why bring her up here?¡± The Head Maid smiled behind her glasses. Her eyes were smiling as they stared thoughtfully into the distance. It was the look of someone reminiscing about the past. She then looked directly at Horinouchi with the eyes of a witch. ¡°Our records still have data on your mother¡¯s old Akerindou up until the battle to determine the Hexennacht representative. In other words, until the battle among the Troika. That is the situation you are in now,¡± she said. ¡°So this is a jinx. Lady Mitsuru, a witch¡¯s jinx says the same thing will happen in the same situation. The jinx will ensure that what happened with your mother will happen with you now. Even if the phenomenon was scrubbed from the world, no one can stop a jinx from taking effect in the world of witches. And even the Black Witch is a witch.¡± ¡°Then¡­¡± The Head Maid closed her eyes in a smile and then lowered her head a little. ¡°We think that you too will gain the power needed to oppose the Black Witch in your battle with the Rank 1.¡± Horinouchi listened to the Head Maid. She saw the woman nod once and pour some more tea into each of the cups. ¡°It was your mother who took part in the previous Hexennacht, Lady Mitsuru.¡± Horinouchi was well aware of that. She had been there ten years ago. But that was her mother. They had been discussing their concerns about the current Rank 1. ¡°I am not the same as my mother.¡± ¡°Very true,¡± chimed in Kagami. ¡°Your name is different.¡± Horinouchi glared at her for a short moment. And that¡¯s more of a nickname¡­no, I¡¯d rather call it an insult. However, the Head Maid bowed and stepped back. She placed her heels together and shifted her balance backwards at the hip. ¡°History¡¯s most powerful witch challenges the Black Witch who has existed back to the very beginning of history. The ether and spells were enough to blind us if we had looked directly at them, but all that was defeated by the Black Witch¡¯s rule-breaking strategy. She used reinforcements to destroy the surface which was not part of the fight. ¡­So to put it another way, we believe your mother would have won in a fair fight.¡± ¡°But,¡± said Horinouchi. ¡°My mother lost and everything about her final battle was erased.¡± ¡°Yes. That is true. It is due to her loss that we are where we are now. And that is why I¡­why we came here as maids. Our justifications of protecting our homeland, our organization, or our family could be overwritten with a single goal: victory on Hexennacht. And we believe that you can surpass your mother.¡± ¡°You mean¡­?¡± Before Horinouchi could ask anything more, the Head Maid stepped further back to end the conversation. This meant she had nothing more to say. She simply raised her head to reveal her normal emotionless-looking face. She was back to normal. So Horinouchi realized how the current head of the Horinouchi family should act. ¡°Yes,¡± she said while smiling to the Head Maid with her eyebrows slightly raised. ¡°I hope for the same thing as you. I hope the battle with the Rank 1 will make us the strongest.¡± ¡­Well done, Lady Mitsuru! The Head Maid silently expressed her praise as she listened to the other maids moving around and suppressing their voices beyond the counter behind her. So she reiterated herself aloud. ¡°Well done, Lady Mitsuru.¡± She gave a true bow this time. She had been unable to reach the point where she could say that. While she could perhaps say she simply had not reached that point, she stubbornly refused to say that. But there was someone here who could say that. And they were here to support that person. ¡­This has fulfilled the retroactive thoughts I did not notice at the time. She took a breath. ¡°I apologize for the intrusion. If we can help with your midterms in any way, please tell us. The same goes for you as well, Lady Kagami and Lady Hunter.¡± ¡°In that case, Head Maid,¡± said Kagami. ¡°Could we ask you to prepare a Halloween party after the midterms are complete?¡± ¡°Yes, of course. What scale, location, and food would you like?¡± ¡°It must be something that all of you may also attend.¡± ¡°Very well. Then¡­Lady Mitsuru?¡± When she looked over, Horinouchi nodded and shrugged. ¡°Given the season, we can¡¯t exactly do barbecue on the beach again, can we?¡± They completed their midterms, the short break afterwards passed, and it came time for the graded exams to be returned. Horinouchi and Kagami had prepared for the Halloween party during the break and, on the exam results day, they saw Hunter and Mary facing each other on the dining hall terrace. ¡­What are they doing? Horinouchi gave them a look of ¡°oh, that¡¯s what¡± just as Hunter and Mary each pulled out a piece of paper and slammed it against the table. ¡°Draw!¡± Really though, what are they doing? Volume 3, 2: Not Even Worth Bargaining Over Volume 3, Chapter 2: Not Even Worth Bargaining Over Bet your life on it Also your dignity, shame, and reputation But do not bet money Ever On the dining hall terrace below the blue sky, Horinouchi saw Hunter make the first move. She slammed some A4-sized papers on the table and announced her actions. ¡°I summon Modern Japanese in the attack position! But I use a special summon for the similar Classic Literature! And I summon one more face-down for defense!¡± Just as Horinouchi prepared to ask what this all meant, Mary placed her own papers on the table across from Hunter. ¡°Then I summon this #1-in-my-year Spells in the attack position. ¡­And I special summon one in the face-down position. Do you really think #2 or #3 stands a chance against #1? Attack!¡± ¡°Wait.¡± ¡°Not so fast, Horinouchi!¡± said Kagami while raising the tray that held her lunch. ¡°Two warriors are betting their pride and who pays for our lunches!¡± Mary looked to Kagami¡¯s tray and the food it held: a mountain of burgers, ice cream and adzuki beans in a cup (known as the dining hall sundae), ham, and salad. ¡­She set us up again, didn¡¯t she!? This unique brand of anger made her feel somewhat homesick, but she was pretty sure this was a form of power harassment. However, Horinouchi spoke up with a hot sandwich, fried chicken wings, and even a fruit salad piled up on her own tray. ¡°I guess it can¡¯t be helped then,¡± she said with a sigh. ¡­What does that mean!? Was she accepting that either Mary or Hunter would have to pay? Or was she exasperated that the two girls would go that far to pay for her lunch? Regardless¡­ ¡­What kind of flowers does she have growing in her brain!? A bet did seem like a good way of taking the competition seriously, but that ¡°it can¡¯t be helped¡± made it sound childish. Mary felt like she was being belittled in an unexpected way, but as for the child across from her¡­ ¡°Looks like you¡¯re ready to do this, Rank 3!!¡± Hunter even clenched her fist, so Mary wondered if she was on the same level as the girl. But she was more curious about the contents of Kagami and Horinouchi¡¯s trays. Not only was there a lot there with the hamburgers and salads and such, but¡­ ¡­Do you two not order anything to drink!? As soon as she wondered that, Kagami seemed to realize something. ¡°Oh, no. Horinouchi, how about this? ¡­Okay, you two. Let us say that whoever loses also must go down and buy us each a drink.¡± ¡­How does ¡®how about this¡¯ lead into ¡®okay¡¯!? Mary wanted to protest so very badly, but Horinouchi sighed again. ¡°I guess it can¡¯t be helped.¡± Is there just a part of this world¡¯s grammar and expressions that I don¡¯t understand? Mary heard some comments of ¡°they¡¯re monsters¡± from their surroundings, but Kagami had something else to say. ¡°What is the matter? You just have to win, don¡¯t you? It is only natural for the loser to feel frustrated.¡± ¡°In that case¡­intercept!!¡± Hunter flipped over her defense position paper. Hunter made a counterattack. ¡­I have a trick up my sleeve! Just look at the exam I was holding in reserve. ¡°I use my #1-in-the-year Shop exam to counter your #1! I then attack with my #2 and #3 Modern Japanese and Classic Literature!¡± ¡°In that case¡­¡± Mary flipped over her face-down paper to place it in attack position. ¡°I scored #1 in both Spells and Spell History, so I can counteract your Modern Japanese and Classic Literature even if I allow you supplementary lessons!¡± Hunter groaned. Meanwhile, Horinouchi and Kagami had left their trays with the butler and they placed some papers over Mary¡¯s. One of them placed one and the other two. ¡°I scored #1 in Practical Spells which focuses more on battle than the spells themselves.¡± ¡°Let us just say that I was #1 in Physics and Math.¡± Hunter groaned again. ¡°Th-that means you tie with us or at least make for a worthy opponent!¡± ¡°I guess it can¡¯t be helped.¡± Horinouchi sighed for a third time, let her shoulders droop, and pulled out another paper. Kagami then placed another paper on top of that. The forms were identical. ¡­The same exam? It was the exam for¡­. ¡°General Home Ec,¡± said Horinouchi. ¡°I was #1.¡± ¡°And I was #2,¡± chimed in Kagami. ¡°Your exams would have covered the same topics, so how did you two do in makeup, cooking, and etiquette?¡± Mary threw her hands up in the air, but the Rank 4 collapsed to her knees, so Mary felt that made this her victory. ¡°How is it fair using etiquette when it¡¯s mostly based on Japanese standards?¡± ¡°And makeup is dangerous for the Spell Division because it¡¯s treated as an emblem, so we barely ever use it.¡± ¡°Oh, look at that, Horinouchi. We order our drinks and all we get are grumbling complaints. ¡­Remember, we both need a drink.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t take it too far,¡± said Horinouchi while holding out a hand to stop Kagami. Then she started eating the lunch at the table. During the post-exams break, she and Kagami had visited Yokohama and Kawasaki and prepared for Halloween, so she had not eaten the academy¡¯s food in a while. The school that the academy had been based on had had a business partnership with a hotel restaurant. The hotel itself had gone out of business after Hexennacht, and¡­ ¡­I have a feeling Kagami and I destroyed it during our battle¡­ No, she was absolutely certain of it. Well, it was officially an abandoned building in the off-limits zone, she rationalized. Even if the flavor had changed a fair bit since then, it was still more than enough for a lunch. She quite liked the hot sandwiches here. The fillings were placed between two pieces of toasted bread and then a special grill was used to lightly toast them a second time, bringing the bread and fillings together. She also liked how the bread tasted more like roasted wheat than just toast. She could think about all of this because¡­ ¡­I have the time to stop and relax. During the exams, her thoughts had been focused on scoring as many points as she could. The goal of the exams was to give them knowledge and countermeasures, so it was easy to know what would be covered. But that was not true of her next task: the Ranker Battle. They had to fight the mysterious Rank 1. There was nothing but unknowns there. But was she anxious? ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± She felt like their recent preparations and relaxation had been more about being able to concentrate than about taking a break. In which case¡­ ¡°Starting tonight, we should be busy going over our spells and putting together what information we have for the next Ranker Battle.¡± ¡°Eh? Then when are you doing that Halloween party?¡± asked Hunter. ¡°What?¡± asked Horinouchi with a tilt of the head. She snapped her fingers and Koutarou walked over. He already had two costume cases in his hands. She pointed to them. ¡°It¡¯s about to begin down below. Hunter¡­and Mary too, are you two emptyhanded?¡± ¡°No one told me about that!!¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t informed either!¡± Hearing that protest in stereo, Horinouchi turned to Kagami. ¡°Um, Kagami¡­?¡± ¡°Hm.¡± Kagami crossed her arms and solemnly stared into the distance. ¡°There must have been a breakdown in communications. ¡­But it would probably be best for all involved to not investigate who is at fault.¡± ¡­Th-this girl¡­! Horinouchi glared at her, but she doubted it would have any effect. She was worried about what was to come, but this would be over by midnight. However, Hunter spoke up while Mary started calculating something with a calculator spell. ¡°Well, I¡¯m fine with going in wild, but you said it¡¯s happening down below?¡± ¡°Yes. It is primarily being run by the General Division. Then again, it is really just an official school costume party. Actually name it after Halloween and it could easily trigger some kind of ritual spell. ¡­Now, let us enjoy the festivities.¡± Volume 3, 3: The Relief of Simply Watching Over Volume 3, Chapter 3: The Relief of Simply Watching Over What is this Brand new form of flirting Between a shrine maiden and holy knight? Koutarou was reminded what it meant to be bullied. ¡­And yet they¡¯re supposed to treat me like our U.A.H.J. division chief. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t move, Head Butler. Move and it could become an emblem and activate a spell.¡± The maid in front of him pressed a foundation puff against his cheeks. They were in a dressing room created by the partitions set up in the dining hall. It was set up for boys, but since Shihouin Academy was a witch school, he was the only one using it. As for what he was using it for¡­ ¡°Why am I dressed like a maid?¡± A redheaded maid answered him while hiding a medal below her eyepatch. ¡°Well, you know? It¡¯s like how they would treat a child as the opposite sex to trick any evil spirits and rid those spirits of all meaning. And there are going to be a lot of witches taking it easy today, so you have to be careful as the only guy.¡± ¡°And yet I have some of the best passive divine protection spells in the country.¡± His complaint had no effect on the maids. They used eye shadow, lipstick, and other terms he normally never ran across to give him his ¡°costume¡±. Partway through, Horinouchi poked her head through the curtain forming the partition. ¡°Koutarou, are you-¡­¡± She burst out laughing as soon as she saw him. As she looked away and tried to suppress the laughter, someone else spoke from beyond the curtain. ¡°What is it, Horinouchi!? Has something horrible happened to Koutarou!?¡± I really don¡¯t want her to see this, he thought from the bottom of his heart, but he also prepared himself because he knew Kagami would see it eventually. And at the same time, he was usually one of those helping prepare and he had done that today as well, but¡­ ¡­It all feels different when I¡¯m also a participant. He could hear the voices of the students gathering outside the partition. The party was being held inside and outside the dining hall, so it covered a wide area. They had more outside lights on than usual and a lot of bonfire-like fires had been lit. All Koutarou and the maids had to do was cook and serve the food. That was the same as always, but¡­ ¡°Where are your costumes?¡± ¡°Eh? Oh, we¡¯ll do that very last. And when we do, Head Butler, we¡¯ll give you another costume too, okay?¡± ¡°Then why even dress me up like this!?¡± He was answered by a witch silently shoving lipstick against his lips. Only afterwards did she expressionlessly speak. ¡°Ohh, sorry, Head Butler. If you don¡¯t stay quiet, I¡¯ll accidently write a sudden-death emblem, so please keep silent.¡± Everyone¡¯s more normal than I expected, thought Hunter. There were bunny girls as well as dog girls and cat girls who had simply changed the ears and tails, but there was also a goat girl that she was pretty sure was a demonic symbol. But in addition to the baseball and soccer players¡­ ¡°Kagami, what kind of athlete is that supposed to be?¡± ¡°A kabaddi player. It is most known for repeatedly jumping left and right. That over there is a sepak takraw player, but even I initially mistook her for a handballer.¡± As Kagami (who wore a shrine maiden outfit) looked disappointed in her own mistake, a bowling pin walked past her, but Hunter wanted to believe that was not a familiar or something like that. As for Hunter herself¡­ ¡°Hunter, what are you? A fighting game character?¡± ¡°Um, yeah. I¡¯m the protagonist of Storm Apocalypse. You can pull it off with a karate gi and kendo armor. You also need a golf club to go with the karate.¡± ¡°My sister always liked the rival character in that.¡± ¡°So she liked rampaging around with a powerful character, did she?¡± Meanwhile, a criminal approached. The criminal had her arms passed through a metal frame and she dragged around a metal ball chained to her ankle. ¡°Oh, brigadier general, Rank 4. This is where you were.¡± ¡°Just because you¡¯re always an executioner is no reason to become a criminal as a change of pace.¡± ¡°This was a classmate¡¯s idea. I intended to come as an executioner.¡± How little creativity do you have? wondered Hunter, but she held her tongue. Also¡­ ¡°What are you gonna do about your hands?¡± Mary moved her hands inside the parallel holes. Then she pulled them lightly back. ¡°Heh. This is just a costume, so I can easily remove them should the need-¡­¡± Her wrists clunked against the wooden holes and came to a stop. ¡°¡­¡± She tried a few more times, but they would not budge. Why am I not surprised? thought Hunter while glaring at her. ¡°Did your friends do too good a job for you?¡± ¡°¡­Brigadier general, can I cut this away with my annihilation?¡± ¡°Is the criminal planning to become a jailbreaker?¡± ¡°And if you remove that, wouldn¡¯t you just be wearing old pajamas?¡± ¡°Y-you just had to say that, didn¡¯t you!?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s true, isn¡¯t it?¡± replied Hunter as Horinouchi approached through a group of girls dressed as the British Queen¡¯s Guard. ¡°Eh?¡± The confused voice came from Mary. And Hunter fully understood that confusion. Kagami did too, but¡­ ¡°Dressing up as each other, huh?¡± Hunter sensed the bitter smile on her lips as she commented on the two girls¡¯ costumes. ¡°Kagami¡¯s dressed as a shrine maiden and Horinouchi as a holy knight. ¡­You couldn¡¯t have made it more obvious you were dressing up as each other.¡± Horinouchi wanted to say it had not been intentional, but she knew they would never buy that. The idea had come from a casual comment Kagami had made as they went shopping to prepare for the party during the post-exam break. They had been in the Yokohama shopping district that smelled of soy sauce and oyster sauce. ¡°Now that I think about it, we are allowed the Buddy System for Hexennacht, but even though we get along well enough for me to call you Manko, I know very little about shrine maidens.¡± ¡°Part of that sentence does not fit with the rest of it!¡± But as they ate and drank steamed buns, soup, and jasmine tea at the table in front of a Chinese restaurant, Horinouchi had lent Kagami a handkerchief and explained all about shrine maidens. And as a result¡­ ¡°So the shooting spells are your personal technique and the shrine maiden part is only relevant to the foundation!¡± Horinouchi had considered throwing the teapot at her, but she had restrained herself since it did not belong to them. At any rate, Kagami seemed to have really liked that conclusion. ¡°Okay, I have a better understanding now! And since it does not require shooting anything, I will go with a shrine maiden costume!¡± ¡°Why is your decision based on that?¡± ¡°And you will be going as a holy knight, right?¡± ¡­What!? Horinouchi thought she had done a good job of expressing her doubts through her expression, but the idiot in front of her had simply smiled while flipping through a picture book of The Water Margin she had bought at a souvenir shop in Chinatown. ¡°But, Horinouchi! My holy knight fashion is merely a result of this world and Dikaio reacting to my burning heart of justice, so I have next to no knowledge of holy knights. That means I must leave it to you to study up on the holy knight part! I know you can do it, Horinouchi!¡± Thinking back on it, Horinouchi could tell it was her own fault for not vehemently protesting. And that brought her back to the present. She was a holy knight. She had not wanted to dress up exactly like Kagami and she could not sew herself anything like a power arm. So she wore armor and a cape on the shoulders and a skirt that spread out from her waist. She had made it herself and she had been severely lacking in information, but¡­ ¡°You look lovely, Horinouchi.¡± ¡°Your shrine maiden outfit is one of our ready-made ones, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes. I was surprised to find the chest size could be special ordered in ¡®Lady Mitsuru¡¯ size.¡± ¡°A-are they trying to reveal my personal information!?¡± ¡°What is wrong with that?¡± asked Kagami. Kagami then reached a hand out toward Horinouchi and maintained that stance. ¡­No fair. It would have shamed her for Horinouchi to not take her hand. But Horinouchi knew it would be meaningless for her to do that to Kagami and Kagami was also well aware of that fact. She felt like she was being tested, so she spoke in an attempt to keep them on equal footing. ¡°Don¡¯t you have something to say?¡± ¡°My hand is lonely, Horinouchi. At this rate, my fingers will die of loneliness.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no helping you, is there?¡± She took Kagami¡¯s hand. What was that ¡°oh¡± for, Hunter? You don¡¯t have to say anything. ¡­Honestly! Not even Horinouchi knew who her anger was directed at. But¡­ ¡°Now, it¡¯s about time for the party to officially begin! But first, the headmaster has arrived!¡± Koutarou stood on the entrance stage dressed as a maid, gave his announcement through a microphone, and then loudly applauded. The surrounding maids continued with the applause and the students realized what was going on. A group wearing cardboard boxes and a group dressed as firefighters began clapping and the rest followed. ¡°¡­!¡± And just as everyone thought the stage was set for the headmaster to enter the room, the dining hall¡¯s entrance opened and someone walked through. It was the headmaster. However, she was wearing a student uniform that did not even come close to fitting her and her hair was done up in twintails. She carried her own microphone, stood on the stage, and struck a pose. ¡°Good eeeeevening! Please welcome your new schoolmate, Shihouin Cerisier!¡± Two buttons burst from the uniform¡¯s stomach. On the opposite coast, the people living in Shinagawa saw a bright white light from Shihouin Academy in the center of Tokyo Bay to their northwest. It happened during dinnertime and a lot of houses still had their windows open due to the lingering seasonal heat, so a lot of people saw it. Barely any of them knew what the light was, but an old witch who owned a general store near Shinagawa Station did. The witch was known as the Sculpting Granny because she could form a straw doll starting from any part of the body and she currently held a doll made from a folded cigarette box. ¡°I-is that what I think it is¡­!?¡± ¡°Wh-what is it, granny!? Do you know what it is!?¡± ¡°That is the light of a tsukkomi spell that can only be activated by a group of witches!¡± ¡°Have you gone senile!?¡± She threw a right hook at her grandchild and said more. ¡°And that is the highest level of tsukkomi spell¡­the Whiteout!¡± In a manga, that would have been three full panels of pure white, thought Hunter as she viewed the scene. The headmaster was quickly carried out back by the maids and a stuffed bear on a chair took her place. With all eyes on him, the crossdresser struck a pose and gave a shout. ¡°Let the festivities begin!¡± Horinouchi had a surprising number of thoughts about the party. After all, the school¡¯s different divisions and years were mixed together. They were not divided between school building like they were during the school festival and they were not in competition like they were during the athletic festival. They were allowed to mingle together here. She was glad she had the maids, Hunter, and Mary with her. A lot of witches had come to greet her and the underclassmen had come to encourage her or to ask to have a picture taken with her. She had refused the pictures because they could be used for curses, but after ensuring it did not violate each other¡¯s taboos, they had shaken hands and spoken together. She felt it had been a worthwhile time, but¡­ ¡°Sigh.¡± The heat of the place seemed to get the better of her, so she made her way to the rooftop terrace. She rested her elbow on the railing by the entrance and the wind carried the smell of the food to her. The festive atmosphere seemed very strange to her and she stared forward. She could see people gathered in the lights below. In addition to the outdoor lights, people were carrying pumpkin-shaped lanterns. They dangled from sticks and cast their orange light on the road. Some were picking up food at the dining hall and returning to their dorm while others were resting in the courtyard. As the lights moved within the courtyard forest, they looked like will-o¡¯-the-wisps. ¡­You can see pretty far when you come here at night. As she stared out into the courtyard forest, Kagami arrived next to her. ¡°The courtyard¡¯s vending machine plaza is surprisingly far away.¡± ¡°The mausoleum is the center of the academy. It¡¯s equally distant from everything else.¡± Kagami¡¯s eyes were focused on a brightly-lit spot beyond the leafy rooftop of the forest. Below that white light was the mausoleum and the vending machine plaza. ¡°Horinouchi, about that mausoleum¡­¡± ¡°My mother is not inside, if that¡¯s what you¡¯re asking. Due to the erasure of the phenomena surrounding her, her body was sent in for an autopsy. When it was returned¡­I assume they were being considerate because all of her injuries had been ¡®healed¡¯. So she is now resting below Horinouchi family land.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Horinouchi understood that Kagami was hanging her head while looking at the lights and moving costumes down below. She did not see it or know it, but she understood that Kagami would be doing that. So she spoke. ¡°Kagami. Tears will not bring her back.¡± But¡­ ¡°I do appreciate your tears.¡± ¡­I-I¡¯m a little too easily won over, aren¡¯t I? She went too far with her lip service. But there were some things she could only say when it was dark and there was light down below. The night really does have a way of making people honest, doesn¡¯t it? she thought. So¡­ ¡­That¡¯s right. Kagami had once told her something. On the pier when Koutarou had told her about Horinouchi¡¯s mother, she had shed her tears and said¡­ ¡­It saddens me that you were filled with sadness. Was Horinouchi thinking the same thing now? She was not sure. ¡°If¡­¡± ¡°Do you need something?¡± ¡°If I ever thought something on a level equal or even greater than you¡­would that mean this created world had surpassed the Black Witch?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Kagami looked up and laughed bitterly. Horinouchi felt herself blush when she heard it. It felt like Kagami was laughing at everything she had been thinking. ¡°Well, that was rude!¡± ¡°I apologize. But if that is the case, then you have already defeated the Black Witch.¡± ¡°¡­Really?¡± ¡°Of course, silly.¡± Hunter climbed up from outside the railing she was resting her elbow on. She pulled herself up as if by a rope instead of with a pull-up motion and she stood on the other side of the railing. ¡°You need to be more open with your thoughts, Horinouchi.¡± ¡°A-about what!?¡± ¡°Calm down.¡± The criminal skillfully climbed up as well. ¡°Miss Horinouchi.¡± Miss? she thought, but she could not fault the girl for being polite. And¡­ ¡°You fired three rapid shots from the South Pole and they were multi-stage arrows at that. Shouldn¡¯t we assume that has already surpassed anything the Black Witch could have imagined?¡± ¡°So you¡¯re going there, are you¡­?¡± But was that really true? She did think she needed firepower to defeat the Black Witch and most witches had firepower at their foundation, but based on what she had discussed with Kagami, she had a feeling there was something more important than that. Namely¡­ ¡°If we cannot surpass the Black Witch in imagination, firepower is meaningless no matter how great.¡± The Black Witch would understand the means of expressing firepower, so she would make those things her own and strengthen them as far as her imagination would allow. They could not defeat her like that. Creativity was what mattered. They needed something the Black Witch could not imagine. Or something she could not deal with even if she could imagine it. If they could think like that¡­ ¡­Would we be able to win? They only had to surpass the Black Witch. It was a simple idea, but it led to something else. It was something the Head Maid had mentioned during the exams. ¡°During the battle for Rank 1, my mother found a power that allowed her to oppose the Black Witch.¡± Just as she said that and Kagami nodded next to her¡­ ¡°Lady Mitsuru.¡± She heard the Head Maid¡¯s voice from further back on the terrace. There was no stairway up on that end and there had been no one there when Horinouchi had arrived. But the older witch called to her in this nighttime atmosphere that had become less than festive. So she turned around along with Kagami, Hunter, and Mary. Everyone was there. It was all of the Horinouchi maids. Is that a costume? wondered Hunter. The Head Maid was wearing a military uniform. It was the U.A.H.G. uniform which was based on a German Air Force uniform. ¡°That¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen that. I guess it was true that the 200th Division was brought back.¡± ¡°Even in my generation, it already belonged to the Federal Republic,¡± said the Head Maid with a smile. Similarly, the maids behind her wore different uniforms. Only going on the ones Hunter recognized, the one behind the Head Maid was from the KSK, the airborne troops of the German army. If the 200th Division was no longer performing bombing missions, then their only connection would be how seriously Germany was about witch strategies. There were also familiar SAS and SBS uniforms from the UK, but the one in the blue beret of the D11 metropolitan police special forces was standing out front. That may have been a sign that the real authority concerning Hexennacht was laid at the queen¡¯s feet. There was also one from France¡¯s GIGN, a group Hunter had once defeated in training back home, and one from Australia¡¯s SASR, a group that had been a lot of help during the battle against Mary. Canada¡¯s JTF-U.A.H. had apparently been causing trouble in some territorial conflicts back home. Poland¡¯s GROM was known as an emergency response unit, but that worked well enough since emergencies were an everyday occurrence these days. She also saw the JSDF uniforms of a ninja unit, regional troops, and military police. ¡­It¡¯s kind of impressive they can get along without more conflict. But more were from America than anywhere else. ¡°If my people saw this, it¡¯d probably be like a class reunion.¡± She had heard there was a witch from MARSOC who had been a former Ranker, but this was her first time seeing the woman. There were enough SWAT uniforms to form a platoon, some familiar SEALs, some in berets, and a few in suits. She saw a few ethnic types that looked like gypsies, but since she could see a few different varieties there, she guessed there some Yenish in addition to the Roma. Although she did not know enough to know which were which. There was even one who was clearly an indigenous African, but their madman style was way too conspicuous. ¡°I have to admit, there¡¯s a lot of you.¡± ¡°Yes, there are. ¡­It has been ten years since Lady Mitsuru¡¯s mother¡¯s defeat. And in that time, this many people have gathered here.¡± As the Head Maid said that, someone stepped out in front of the group. A figure in the armored uniform of a Japanese U.A.H.J. combat unit stood alongside the Head Maid. He removed his helmet to reveal the butler¡¯s face with makeup still intact. ¡­That¡¯s just scary! I need to cancel that out by eating some meat later on, decided Hunter as the butler spoke. ¡°Lady Mitsuru¡­and Lady Kagami too.¡± Everyone lowered their heads. ¡°Every last one of us will provide backup during your battle against the Rank 1.¡± Horinouchi accepted her subordinates¡¯ bow. She had seen this a few times before. They had not been wearing those uniforms, but they had all expressed their expectations for her in this way several times. But it was somehow different this time. That was partially due to the important Ranker Battle coming up, but¡­ ¡­I understand. There was a reason they wore their various uniforms. They had hidden their identities and arrived as witches, but now they were revealing their origins. Most of them still had some connection to their former organizations. But they were at best a reserve member. In some cases, it really was just a connection and that organization would provide no support. So this was only a show of their former glory. People who had held so much power were now supporting her. That was what this meant. But¡­ ¡°Yes.¡± This did not place any pressure on Horinouchi. They had their expectations and they had their thoughts, but¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s win this together.¡± She understood. Just a few months before, this would only have been a show of strength, but now she could say it for real. ¡°That is what I intend as well. I could not have won up to this point if I had been alone.¡± Yes. Ever since a strange visitor had arrived, she had gained a partner within the Buddy System and she was not alone. So she understood that everyone¡¯s expectations would assist her from here on. They expected her to be someone worthy of being given their strength. This was not just a delusional hope. Power could be handed over to someone else. So the Head Maid smiled and spoke with her head still bowed. ¡°I am pleased to hear that.¡± It looked like Head Butler Koutarou would be the first to raise his head, but then a witch in a police uniform raised her head prematurely before quickly lowering it again. Since the surrounding witches tugged her back down by the uniform, their cooperation seemed adequate. Then they all stood up and Koutarou spoke. ¡°We do not know who your opponent will be in the Rank 1 battle, but we have a rogue factor of our own.¡± ¡°Do you mean Kagami?¡± ¡°I see.¡± The girl in a shrine maiden costume crossed her arms and lifted the corners of her mouth. ¡°Just as we know nothing of them, they know nothing of me. Is that what you mean?¡± ¡°We believe that Lady Mitsuru could win even on her own.¡± None of the maids made a move when Koutarou said that. They had their pride as her supporters. So¡­ ¡°Kagami¡­¡± Horinouchi prepared to thoughtlessly tell Kagami that did not mean she was unneeded, but Kagami spoke to the others before she could. ¡°So the one Horinouchi can most rely on during battle is me.¡± Meaning¡­ ¡°You are all leaving your precious Manko with me, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡­Well done, brigadier general! Mary thought about what she had just heard. ¡­Way to earn their trust by using Horinouchi¡¯s true name! Immediately afterwards, Horinouchi hit Kagami with a fairly sharp side kick. Everyone enjoyed the festive atmosphere, the food, the conversation, and the liberation from the exams, but they all felt like something was missing. However, that something arrived without warning. They heard a voice. It came from the dining hall terrace a story above them. The usual two stood next to the railing like it was a stage. ¡°Everyone was being so considerate to sum up a number of issues at once, so why in the world would you start calling me Manko!? Why would you suddenly call me Manko here!?¡± ¡°I only said it once, so calm down, Horinouchi. There are times when a girl just cannot resist.¡± ¡°Try a little harder to resist! ¡­And stop laughing, Koutarou and Head Maid!¡± ¡°Yes,¡± said one of the witches. She looked up at them as the criminal tilted her restraints along with her head and the karate fighter in partial kendo armor shrugged. ¡°Well done, Rank 2!¡± Everyone else nodded and raised their pumpkin lanterns. Beyond those lights, the holy knight grabbed the shrine maiden by the collar and protested on the stage. They all laughed as if to say this was more like it. It was an excellent party. It ended with laughter and led into the next event. ¡°The Ranker Battle.¡± That was right. ¡°The final Ranker Battle is coming up!¡± The headmaster sighed and lightly spun around in her office. Her reflection in the mirror was still wearing a school uniform. ¡°The uniform is different from when I was a student, but the girls these days have excellent figures¡­¡± She thoughtfully rubbed the stomach with its missing buttons. She looked pathetic, but she knew there was a smile on her face. ¡­This is so much fun. She could immediately recall equally fun times from her days as a student. ¡°If anything, it was usually me cutting loose, Mitsuyo getting dragged into it, and Lisbeth moving in to support us.¡± She continued with a ¡°but¡±. ¡°How will it work from now on? No, I suppose we¡¯ve already moved beyond that.¡± A few spell circles were opened on her desk. They were images of the party someone had taken. The faces of the witches were blurred out by an information concealment spell, but some of them were a selfie taken by a girl in a gasmask. The headmaster smiled a little as she looked at them. ¡°It¡¯s about time that Miss Horinouchi and the others learned everything. And¡­¡± The last of the spell circles was a communications one with a U.A.H. seal. It was from¡­ ¡°Lisbeth Lueger. One of the current U.A.H.¡¯s founders and their current General Commander of the Asian region. I know what it is you want, but do you understand what that will mean?¡± As if to check, she took a picture of herself in her current outfit and attached it to her response. ¡°It will mean war. You¡¯re prepared for that, aren¡¯t you? That too is a witch¡¯s party, Lisbeth.¡± Volume 3, 4: Days to Say Goodbye Volume 3, Chapter 4: Days to Say Goodbye I run along To become life-sized ¡°We called it a Halloween party, but since we held it before the end of October, the end of the month is going to feel somewhat empty.¡± Kagami commented as she viewed a calendar on a spell circle, so Hunter looked around the area. ¡°And we really had a party last night, didn¡¯t we?¡± Girls in uniforms were crouching down everywhere she could see in the afterschool courtyard. They all held translucent plastic bags. ¡°I didn¡¯t think the party would end with picking up the trash. ¡­And we never really left the terrace up top.¡± ¡°It is called joint responsibility, Horinouchi. Being Student Council President is not easy, is it?¡± Horinouchi refused to voice any agreement, but that was likely her form of pride. So Hunter decided to go along with it without complaining. It was a job. They were at the flower garden that gave a view of the Honors Division building to the north. They were on the path cutting between different levels of flowers that bloomed in fall. Instead of just littering, it looked more like people had dropped things while enjoying themselves, but there was still a fair bit of trash between the flower beds and the path. They picked it up with metal tongs and stuck it in their bags, but¡­ ¡°Oh, I just remembered there¡¯s another event today. Had you heard?¡± ¡°I had,¡± replied Horinouchi. Kagami and the Rank 3 only tilted their heads. Hunter shrugged and opened a spell circle for those two. ¡°European U.A.H. is having their Wand Viewing.¡± ¡°Wand Viewing? What might that be?¡± Kagami¡¯s tone made it clear she had a good guess, but Hunter answered anyway. ¡°They¡¯re rolling out mass-produced Magino Frames for Hexennacht.¡± ¡°Hm? But don¡¯t they have us for Hexennacht?¡± ¡°The Black Witch had her troops descend from the moon during the previous Hexennacht, right? This is meant to combat those and for use in case the Rank 1 is defeated.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± replied Horinouchi. ¡°I would like to call them our backup, but they have their own problems to deal with.¡± ¡°You mean European politics?¡± The Rank 3 asked the question in her mind. ¡°There are a lot of European witches in my division, so I hear about it from time to time. In Europe, they have already estimated a few patterns for the damage they will take on Hexennacht and they are already beginning the power games for after the battle.¡± Hunter sensed a resignation distinct from anger in the girl¡¯s voice. Which meant¡­ ¡­Has she changed as far as that¡¯s concerned? In the past, she probably would have been angry that someone would not be working to protect the world. But now she gave off an air of exasperation. ¡­Yeah, that¡¯s it. She was disappointed that the people she was to protect only saw this threat to the world through a political lens. She was now on the side of the protectors. She no longer thought the entire world was just like her and she instead tried to see it as something she needed to protect. ¡°I see.¡± Hunter had also been called a fool in the past few months. She could not act like Mary¡¯s better and she felt more camaraderie than anything. Of course, if she actually said that, the Rank 3 would insist she was wrong. ¡­She needs to eat some meat and chill out. Despite that thoughtful point, everyone had their own dietary habits. And while Hunter thought about that, Kagami lightly raised her right hand and faced Hunter. ¡°That is what Europe is doing, but what about America?¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯d think we¡¯d be in on that, wouldn¡¯t you? ¡­But to be honest, American U.A.H. is different from the other U.A.H.s.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± replied Horinouchi. ¡°Japanese U.A.H. has a military alliance with America, so it too is rather unique. That¡¯s why it could build Shihouin Academy and the Ranker System.¡± Horinouchi felt Japanese U.A.H.¡¯s uniqueness was thanks to her mother and her companions. After all, this was the battlefield the previous Hexennacht¡¯s witch had chosen. Horinouchi¡¯s mother had been lost, but one of the Troika had remained as the headmaster and created Shihouin Academy. ¡°In a way, the previous Hexennacht divided the different U.A.H.s.¡± The European nations had received a powerful blow during that Hexennacht, but America had possessed enough emergency reserves and military power to make up for the damage they took. That had allowed America to partially leave as a U.A.H. member and to act independently. European U.A.H. had lacked the military and technological power to boss American U.A.H. around and it would have been dangerous to be dragged around by something like that. Thanks to America¡¯s sense of gender equality and their forces spread across the globe, America¡¯s fleets had been quick to recover and had worked to transport emergency supplies and ensure the safety of the sea and air routes. That had helped to make their presence known. ¡°At the time, Europe had agreed to have Hexennacht here because using a small eastern nation as the battlefield would prevent any damage to Europe. But in the end, Europe was severely damaged and there was even a major exodus of their witch forces.¡± The European witches had had a simple reason for leaving Europe. ¡°Europe had abandoned this eastern land and made it a battlefield. To take revenge and to assist the recovery, witches from Europe and elsewhere gathered here. In a way, the headmaster¡¯s decision to create a witch training institute here was a natural development.¡± ¡°But that would create a dearth of witches in Europe, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± asked Kagami. ¡­You know the answer already, don¡¯t you? So Horinouchi answered while well aware this was a farce. ¡°That is why the European nations created a joint U.A.H. to assist their recovery and to strengthen the EU. Their own witches had left for Japan, so they had to create a native-born unit.¡± And¡­ ¡°And today is the long-awaited rollout of their mass-produced Magino Frames for Hexennacht. Europe likely intends to use this to climb onto the stage of international politics. Japan has Shihouin Academy, so we will express our joy that Europe has a way to defend itself while we remain on our guard for possible interference.¡± A lot of information would be reaching the Horinouchi family, but Koutarou and the Horinouchi family itself would be working with the Imperial Household Agency to shut it down. ¡°This was my mother¡¯s battlefield and is now the home of her successors. In a way, this is an inviolable land where no one can interfere.¡± ¡°Of course, that¡¯s why foreigners like me come here for connections,¡± added Hunter. ¡°Yes, it is oddly lax about that¡­ Well, I have my connection to Shinto as well.¡± Every country and organization wanted the knowledge and techniques of the witches that had left them. That could be useful if it meant official support, but¡­ ¡°Hexennacht is a right given to the Rank 1 here, at the forefront of witch history. That is one thing that no country or organization can deny.¡± That much was certain. Yeah, thought Hunter. ¡°So while we might officially cheer them on, America and Japan¡¯s U.A.H. and political response to Europe is basically, ¡®don¡¯t you try anything funny¡¯. Personally, I¡¯ve been getting the occasional footage of European U.A.H.¡¯s Magino Frames, so I¡¯m curious to see the official deployment.¡± ¡°How many are there?¡± ¡°About 2000.¡± ¡°Ohh?¡± gasped the Rank 3. This was about European U.A.H., but Hunter still felt somewhat proud. She guessed Mary¡¯s world had not had that many witch-level fighters. ¡°Although some of them will go to Russia, the Middle East, Africa, and South America.¡± ¡°Oh? It does indeed sound like they are considering the post-Hexennacht power game.¡± ¡°So anyway, America¡¯s higher ups only see this Wand Viewing as an annoyance.¡± After saying that, Hunter noticed something. ¡°Ah.¡± The surrounding students were focused on them. I see. So this place is a lot like the world in miniature, realized Kagami. Witches could be seen as the forefront of indigenous culture and a civilization¡¯s secret techniques. To have them gather here made Shihouin Academy a version of the world in miniature, but at the same time¡­ ¡°Given who is supporting them and thinking about them, this really is the world in miniature.¡± Most of the European witches were probably proud of the coming Wand Viewing. A third force would be supporting Hexennacht in addition to the Ranker Battles and American U.A.H. In a way, Kagami was grateful. ¡­But whatever the other countries might want, this place is inviolable. According to Horinouchi, that was also true for the witches at this academy. A belated thought occurred to Kagami. ¡­It must be the same for the witches at Horinouchi¡¯s place too. Leaving their old organizations and becoming maids had been an extension of that inviolability. I see, she thought while resuming her trash collecting. ¡°It is still a mystery why Koutarou is with the Horinouchi family, though.¡± ¡°She says you¡¯re a mystery, Head Butler!¡± ¡°She says no one needs you around, Head Butler!¡± ¡°She says everyone wants you gone, Head Butler!¡± ¡°Can you stop making worse and worse assessments of my position here!? I am here because I served Lady Mitsuru¡¯s mother!¡± ¡°Head Butler, we all know that, so you would need to tell Lady Kagami.¡± ¡°B-but I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯ve told her that before! Huh!? Huhhhh!? And if you¡¯re willing to use our equipment to spy on them, why not head out into the open and wait on them!?¡± Once the conversation was mostly over, Hunter began picking up more trash. It was a simple task. As before, she used the metal tongs to pick up trash on the pathway and next to the flower beds and put it inside her garbage bag. She passed by a few people as she did. Most had filled their garbage bags enough to be on the way to the trash pickup zone by the front gate. She saw someone wearing an Honors Division hood walking through the flower garden. The girl was always looking after the flowers, so Hunter sort of saw her as part of the background. The student was gathering trash from among the flowers, so Hunter realized all of the students were using the day to clean up after the previous night¡¯s party. And¡­ ¡°Miss Horinouchi, what do we do about the broken flowers?¡± Mary asked that while walking past a flower bed with a clear outline of someone having collapsed there. ¡­Did someone trip during the party? Some of them had apparently been drinking alcohol, so that was hardly surprising. And Horinouchi shook her head. ¡°The headmaster manages this flower garden, so some divine protections are in effect. A healing divine protection will return the broken flowers to normal. Cleaning up the trash is to ensure the divine protections can flow properly.¡± ¡°Lady Headmaster seems to enjoy gardening and flowers.¡± ¡°Does she?¡± asked Hunter. Kagami pointed to the spell circle open above her shoulder. Her servant was sunbathing inside it, but that was not her point. ¡°Her spell circles have a flower motif.¡± ¡°I remember her showing me a potted plant when I visited her office,¡± agreed Mary. Horinouchi agreed while tying up the top of her bag. ¡°She has pushed for the forestation of Kantou Plain as well.¡± Hunter had heard that was a personal matter, but she had also heard it was quite largescale. ¡°Kantou was mostly torn up during Hexennacht ten years ago, wasn¡¯t it? I hear they ultimately started using spells for soil recovery and a strengthening of the entire plain in north Kantou.¡± She had seen the land while riding a fighter from the Atsugi region, but she had also seen giant craters in the Saitama and Ibaraki regions. ¡°But from what I saw from the air, it hasn¡¯t been very effective.¡± ¡°Still, it¡¯s a wonderful thing as long as it is even a little bit effective. That will give people hope. Don¡¯t you think so, Rank 4?¡± Mary joined the conversation, but Hunter felt like she was being used as an excuse. ¡­Sh-she can be such a pain! Horinouchi understood how Mary felt. She was unsure whether or not she should get close to others. She felt it would ¡°all be over¡± if she got too close and drove the other person away, so she tried to keep some distance between them. Assuming she was not imagining or misunderstanding things, Horinouchi felt the same way at times. Based on Kagami¡¯s actions, that girl never felt that way at all, but¡­ ¡­Hunter¡¯s more on Kagami¡¯s end of things. But Mary was on Horinouchi¡¯s end of things. It was not just recently that Horinouchi had felt that which ¡°end¡± someone was on was determined by how they recovered after a relationship came to a sudden end. For a long time, she had remembered her mother without making any kind of recovery and she had used that grudge to drive her toward Hexennacht. Then she had been unsure what to do when an idiot had cried for her. Mercy was not needed in the Ranker Battles, so there was no room to worry about others. And with her power and excellent grades, she was naturally distanced from the other students. In the past, she had carried the grudge of her ended relationship and sought Hexennacht. But someone had cried for her. There was no pride in having someone cry for her after defeating her. But to cry was to win. There was nothing to be done about it. And when she thought back now, she felt like that moment had returned her to just after that relationship¡¯s end. She did not know if that was true or not, but she decided to accept it now because it was convenient. Believing in uncertain facts was a witch¡¯s job. But she hoped that this really was a fact. And with that in mind¡­ ¡­Mary must feel the same way now. In her case, the end of the relationships had occurred much more recently. It was a fresher wound, so it came to mind more easily. Changing so quickly would be too much to ask, so she ended up keeping her distance. Looking at it that way, having Kagami by my side in the Buddy System really helped me to recover, thought Horinouchi. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± ¡­Why am I emphasizing Kagami¡¯s presence so much!? She knew why. It was the same reason kids with no communication skills would grow so attached to anyone who was nice to them. Mary was probably the same there. But it seemed to Horinouchi that Mary had Hunter too. Base on how Mary had entered the conversation, those two seemed to get along fairly well. Then she should be fine, thought Horinouchi while walking between the General Division building and the gym to arrive next to the front gate. They had apparently called professionals from the mainland to pick up the garbage bags. Three garbage trucks with a Kanagawa mark were parked there and a few students were taking the bags from everyone. Those girls turned around and saw Horinouchi¡¯s group. ¡°¡­!¡± They gave shouts of ¡°Kyah!¡±, ¡°Hyah!¡±, and even the incomprehensible ¡°Uhah!¡± and then scattered. Their underclassmen ran away. Some of them added in midair dashes or made a front flip before vanishing into thin air, but Horinouchi simply watched them go. ¡°What was that about?¡± What was so exciting about holding a garbage bag and metal tongs? But Kagami nodded next to her. ¡°Our costumes last night must have had an effect.¡± In other words¡­ ¡°Dressing up as each other makes us look even more like a couple than if we wore matching costumes.¡± Mary agreed with Kagami. ¡­That¡¯s true! Exchanging one¡¯s possessions was a necessary part of her original world¡¯s marriage ritual. Most engagements began with the groom dedicating a number of things to the bride¡¯s family. When the brigadier general had attended the wedding of one of her field officers¡­ ¡°I see! This is Nagoya-style, isn¡¯t it!? Curse my sister. So we have her half-remembered knowledge of this to thank for the existence of kombu in this world!¡± Mary had not understood that, so she had decided not to think about it. At any rate, those two had left quite an impression the night before. A holy knight and a shrine maiden were both jobs that served a god. The others were different. Mary only had to imagine herself or Hunter in place of those two. If a karate fighter or criminal showed up at night and asked to trade clothes with someone, it would clearly be a crime. Any nearby elementary schools would start having the children head home in groups. But from Horinouchi¡¯s point of view¡­ ¡°What are you talking about!?¡± ¡°Oh? Horinouchi, it is not like you to deny something that has already been decided. The internet is already flooded with pictures of the two of us.¡± Kagami displayed them on a spell circle. After a moment, the Rank 4 commented on them. ¡°Kagami, you took these yourself, didn¡¯t you? I don¡¯t know about the anti-curse divine protection on them, though.¡± ¡°Y-you leaked the ones I placed the anti-curse divine protection on, didn¡¯t you!?¡± Mary simply found herself writing this off as Kagami being Kagami, but was that a kind of dependence? Meanwhile, the Rank 4 pointed toward the garbage trucks. ¡°We¡¯re already just standing around, but¡­¡± Oh? You seem to know those two well. ¡°But why not throw out this trash and go to Horinouchi¡¯s place for a break? You come too, Rank 3.¡± ¡­Are you a god!? But after that brief thought, Mary¡¯s self-control kicked in and another response escaped her lips. ¡°Don¡¯t decide that for me, Rank 4!¡± ¡­She really is a pain¡­ Not that she¡¯s the only one, thought Hunter as she glared at Horinouchi and Mary. She pointed at her garbage bag and the garbage truck. ¡°Well, let¡¯s just think of that as the Rank 3¡¯s habit of arguing with everything. So let¡¯s go throw out this trash, okay?¡± ¡°Ho ho? So are you going to take me on after that?¡± Mary glared at her. Damn you¡¯re tall, thought Hunter, but she knew from their previous fight that her own speed was greater. Then Horinouchi reached out a hand. ¡°Hold on.¡± But Kagami grabbed that hand from the side. ¡°Wait a moment, mother.¡± ¡°I am not anyone¡¯s mother!¡± The underclassmen at the trash pickup zone looked back and nodded, but they avoided commenting on the issue. But despite all that, Mary looked down at Hunter and spoke. ¡°We never did settle things between us.¡± ¡°Eh? You want to do that again? Or rather, you¡¯re still doing that?¡± Instead of answering, Mary raised her garbage bag. Then she looked at the glove on her hand and narrowed her eyes. ¡°Let us settle this with the amount of trash we can gather.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Kagami crossed her arms. ¡°When it comes to gathering trash, Mary¡¯s height allows her to gather things from further away in a single motion! Hunter has a disadvantage there!¡± Another voice followed hers. It sounded a lot like the Head Butler. ¡°Well-¡­.!¡± But it vanished for some reason. Did it come from over here? wondered Hunter as she looked toward the gate, but she did not see him there. Was she just imagining things? The maids held Koutarou down behind the front gate. They had already taken up position here and the Head Maid had spotted Horinouchi and the other girl from behind the gate. ¡°We drew their attention. Remain as silent as possible as we shift from capture to transportation.¡± ¡°Um, what are all of you doing?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t tell?¡± The Head Maid gave him a serious look and a maid answered while pressing her ear against the ground. ¡°You were going to say ¡®Well done, Lady Mary!¡±, but she is not yet one of our girls, Head Butler.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± replied a maid confirming the safety of their escape route on the sidewalk alongside the gate. She used SWAT hand signals to order everyone forward. ¡°Your time on the front line and interacting with her on a daily basis has tricked you into accepting anyone that Lady Mitsuru has opened up to.¡± ¡°But in the original sense, a witch is something that lives in your home. ¡­We cannot use ¡®well done¡¯ on witches who have not entered the home.¡± Koutarou reflexively prostrated himself when he heard that. ¡°Truly¡­you are truly a master of the Well Done arts!¡± ¡°As long as you understand, Head Butler. ¡­Now, we need to evacuate. If Lady Hunter and Lady Mary fight, it raises the odds of them both ending up as one of ours.¡± With that, the Head Maid left the edge of the gate. ¡°¡­?¡± A spell circle appeared next to her face. It was¡­ ¡°¡­From my old home.¡± That would be the German Air Force¡¯s 200th Division. It was a communications spell circle bearing the airship mark of the U.A.H.G.L-200, so this was news from the organization she had belonged to. ¡­What could that be? Koutarou saw the look on her face change. She immediately looked over as if she could see straight through the gate. ¡°Head Butler. ¡­Send instructions to all of the maids. Have them use all of their contacts. And have them gather at the Horinouchi home and the General Division dorm room.¡± ¡°What is going on?¡± The Head Maid turned back, pushed up her glasses, and opened her mouth. ¡°Schlacht. Something that follows witches everywhere.¡± Hunter did not look away from Mary. A message from the 7th Fleet had suddenly arrived in a spell circle next to her face, but it was not a wide-band warning meant to inform her of an emergency. Since she could put it off, she decided to do just that because the current situation was dangerous. ¡­Are they photographing stuff again? To ensure she remembered about it, she fixed the coordinate so it would follow along next to her. Her attention was directed forward. Mary held up her garbage bag with the school gate, the south pier plaza, and Tokyo Bay in the background. Hunter responded with a shrug. ¡°Y¡¯know what?¡± She did understand why the Rank 3 was acting how she was. Mary had a hook to interact with them, but she had not overcome the barrier yet. That barrier being Hunter, who had been the entrance to the other day¡¯s Ranker Battle. She likely understood that Hunter, Kagami, and Horinouchi did not want either of them to be higher than the other, but¡­ ¡­She¡¯s the type that can¡¯t stand for something to be unresolved. Thanks to her time doing karate, Hunter knew there were people who could only make friends with someone by defeating or losing to them. And based on what she had seen of the Rank 3¡­ ¡­She isn¡¯t the type that needs to win. That meant she had left the witch Rankings after losing to Kagami. In that case, Hunter did not need to treat Mary too carefully. It would be quite nice if defeating her would not make her bitter, and that made Hunter somewhat fond of the Rank 3¡¯s character. That girl could face forward even when she lost. However, there was a ¡°but¡±. Their conflict would be meaningless. In fact, it could even do damage. Hunter did not know how useful their power would be, but if they were to provide support on Hexennacht, then they were the next line of defense after Kagami and Horinouchi. ¡­But¡­ She also had to admit that the Rank 3 probably understood that. Someone who could face forward even when she lost was stewing over an unresolved outcome, so she was trying to pick a fight. But if she was being realistic about this¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± In that case, thought Hunter with a bitter smile. ¡°Why has this jobber from another world been hanging out with us all day?¡± It was blatant provocation. ¡­Wh-what is she thinking!? Horinouchi was confused by Hunter¡¯s harsher than usual comment. And just when it had looked like Hunter was managing to get closer to them, too. Had something been building up inside Hunter until she snapped? The public TV show ¡°Try and Be Gay¡±[1] had mentioned that eating nothing but meat gave you a shorter temper. Hunter had been watching it with them and she had had this to say: ¡°What about the people who don¡¯t eat meat but still lose their temper at the drop of a hat and attack at full power?¡± ¡­Thinking back, why did she ask me that with such a serious look on her face? Regardless, the situation was underway. Mary nodded at Hunter¡¯s provocation. ¡°I see.¡± But Horinouchi noticed something about her expression as she nodded. ¡­Oh? She was smiling. Her eyebrows were raised, but there was no harshness there. And¡­ ¡°What is this American stalking horse saying when she¡¯s ranked lower than me?¡± ¡­Yes. Horinouchi saw Mary and Hunter throw their garbage bags at each other again. Hunter reached forward and grabbed one and Mary swung her hand outwards to snatch the other. Hunter spoke when she saw Mary lightly spin her bag around. ¡°Oh? Oh? You wanna do this?¡± ¡°No, I am fine with giving you Rank 3.¡± ¡°Eh? You¡¯ll really give it to me!?¡± ¡°Yes, once the Brigadier General and Miss Horinouchi are Rank 1, I will be Rank 2 and you will be Rank 3.¡± ¡°Okay, it¡¯s on now!¡± Horinouchi wondered why that last line had been in the Kansai dialect, but she guessed it was some kind of karate skill. At any rate, the two of them seemed to understand this was a verbal battle and not a physical one. Or if it was to be physical, it would be through the medium of exams or trash collecting. So¡­ ¡­Mary understands too. Even if she was stewing, the girl knew her purpose here and would avoid any pointless battles. She would stick to the kind of conflict common in everyday life. That may have just been how witch arguments worked. And Mary had chosen to remain near them. She had to have a number of thoughts on losing her home, but she was here because she was suppressing them and thinking about what mattered most now. So Hunter responded in kind. Instead of being meaninglessly mature, she approached Mary with an attitude that allowed her to respond to those arguments at any time. Being ¡°understanding¡± of Mary would only distance her. After all, they stood at different positions. Mary was still stewing, but the rest of them had accepted everything as they faced Hexennacht. Mary wanted to be the same, but she could not. However, kindly ignoring that would only hurt her. Hunter was not ignoring all that. ¡°I¡¯m ready to go whenever you are.¡± Hunter was likely the only one taking on that kind of behavior so she could accept it all. They had already determined Mary¡¯s position in relation to them. ¡­That¡¯s our relationship. Mary understood that too. The two of them faced each other but then they both looked Horinouchi and Kagami¡¯s way. ¡°Kagami.¡± ¡°Miss Horinouchi.¡± Kagami tossed her garbage bag to Hunter and Horinouchi handed hers to Mary. And then¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± A wind passed between and below the two garbage bags. Oh? thought Kagami. When did she get so close? It was a student in a Shihouin Academy uniform. The short girl hid her face with her hood and she passed between them with a quick footwork. She took the very shortest route. That was partially due to their position right in front of the garbage trucks in the trash pickup zone. Passing between them was more direct than circling around them. But something caught Kagami¡¯s attention. ¡­She did not act like we were in the way, did she? It had been natural. Her running steps had danced between them like leaves floating down a river. But it was not quite right to say she had danced between them either. She had simply passed between them. There had been no resistance or obstacles to her movements or landing. Hunter caught the garbage bag the girl had passed below and turned back toward Kagami. It was obvious what the look in her eyes said. ¡°You want to eat katsudon, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I was thinking those movements went beyond light!¡± By the time those words reached Kagami, the hooded girl was leaving her trash with the garbage collector. And¡­ ¡°That girl¡­¡± said Horinouchi as she left her garbage bag with Mary. ¡°She¡¯s the Honors Division student who was looking after the flower garden before.¡± The girl left her trash with the garbage truck and turned back toward the four witches walking up behind her. Her hood hid her face. But the four witches each stepped aside to open the way. The girl must have known what they meant because she used her ¡°passing through¡± way of walking to lightly sway her body while her feet carried her straight through. She used the forward and back motion of her body to walk forward not too fast and not too slow. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± She simply walked straight through and toward the flower garden on the north end of the courtyard. ¡°That really did go beyond just light. Not that she was floating or anything.¡± Hunter commented on the girl as she left two bags with the garbage collector. ¡­That¡¯s different than me. She based her actions on her footing, so her footsteps tended to be loud. She could silence them if she wanted to, but that would change her standard movements. She had only seen for a moment, but she could guess some things from the hooded girl¡¯s movements. ¡°Is she an elemental type?¡± Like wind or something. She probably used spells associated with a natural element. But¡­ ¡°Were we just being careless for her to get that close without any of us noticing?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a good question,¡± said Horinouchi with a bitter smile. They were answered by a quiet laugh. It came from the garbage collector who had taken their bags. She sat on top of the garbage truck and was probably a witch. She wore a sanitation department jumpsuit, but she held a broom under one arm and stroked it like a cat. She looked into the distance between the General Division building and the gym. Hunter looked in the same direction and saw someone walking north. The girl¡¯s movements looked unremarkable from this distance, but¡­ ¡°That girl is always like that,¡± said the garbage collector witch. ¡°Every single day.¡± The driver gave his own comment while closing the tailgate to compress the garbage bags. ¡°She brings the withered flowers and rotten stakes from the flower garden. ¡­All of a sudden we find her standing there.¡± ¡°I was right,¡± said Horinouchi. ¡°She really is the one always looking after the flowers. I believe she¡¯s in the Honors Division¡¯s third year.¡± ¡°She¡¯s a quiet girl. I¡¯ve never heard her speak,¡± said the witch on top of the garbage truck. ¡°And I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen her with a servant either. But how should I put it? ¡­I can¡¯t even feel one¡¯s presence.¡± She doesn¡¯t show her servant? thought Hunter with her curiosity piqued. A servant was necessary to summon a Frame. There was an exception standing right next to her, but she refused to let there be another. ¡­So is she hiding her servant or is there no point in bringing hers out? Kagami raised her right hand. ¡°Is it possible to never bring out a servant?¡± Hearing that, Hunter and Mary both looked above Horinouchi¡¯s shoulder. The Suzaku had appeared on its own and it was reading a horse racing newspaper. But when it noticed them¡­ ¡°¡­¡± It silently entered its spell circle. After what was clearly the sound of a door shutting, the spell circle vanished and its owner frantically waved her hands back and forth. ¡°U-um, it¡¯s been passed down for generations, so it¡¯s an adult! It¡¯s allowed to gamble!¡± ¡°What kind of explanation is that?¡± ¡°Well, Dikaio also shows up without being called for.¡± ¡°My Macabre is generally out because I always keep my Magino Frame active. It hides so as not to eat up too much power, though.¡± Hunter¡¯s Hedgehog was much the same. There were of course times when a servant was not evident, but¡­ ¡­I¡¯m not sure I could keep that up every day. Also¡­ ¡°You can¡¯t sense one?¡± She asked the witch on top of the garbage truck. The witch nodded with the afternoon sun behind her. ¡°Right. That kind of thing is important for my job.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± said the driver as he leaned inside through the passenger-side sliding door. The witch on top raised a hand toward Hunter and a spell circle appeared on the back of the truck. It was likely for a barrier spell. Garbage produced where witches lived could be unknowingly affected by spells, so this would seal that away. This was necessary because the trash dump was outside the school. ¡­Back home, Tuesday was the day for spell-related trash. Sometimes the dumpster would set on fire and sometimes it would grow legs and run away. But according to this witch who could detect ether in the trash¡­ ¡°I wonder if she really doesn¡¯t have a servant.¡± ¡°Well, there are a number of styles and the Honors Division is for the more unique ones.¡± ¡°But wouldn¡¯t she have trouble in battle without being able to summon a Frame?¡± ¡°That might be why she¡¯s in the Honors Division.¡± Hunter had to admit that was a good point. ¡°The Honors Division isn¡¯t so much for the highly skilled as it is for users of highly unique one-off spells.¡± ¡°Then,¡± said Hunter while thinking about what happened before. ¡°Was it dangerous to let her get that close?¡± ¡°If she was a Ranker, I suppose,¡± said Kagami. ¡°Even with a surprise attack, pseudo-passive reflexive defenses are standard, aren¡¯t they?¡± asked Horinouchi. ¡°I kept my right hand free.¡± Hunter was shocked. ¡°Um, but¡­¡± said Hunter as she faced away from them. Kagami had to agree. ¡°I was on the left and you were on the right, Horinouchi. And you were handing Mary the bag with your left hand, so were you planning to shoot without letting your opponent see your right hand?¡± ¡°You need to subconsciously prepare yourself in case something happens.¡± I would expect no less, thought Kagami as Horinouchi glanced over at her. ¡°But I think you noticed her first.¡± ¡°Because she moved along our current of motion.¡± ¡°Our¡­current?¡± asked Mary. ¡°A trace of your presence is found along the line of your motion,¡± explained Kagami. ¡°It is like your hair blowing in the wind. And when someone is purposefully following that, it is quite noticeable.¡± ¡°Following that?¡± ¡°I believe it was the wind or something similar.¡± That girl had been drawn in by their walking motion. She likely used a light step normally, but when she approached some other ¡°motion¡±, she was drawn in yet did not fight it. By not resisting it, she followed that current and moved forward. That was how she had slipped between them. She had not interfered in their actions. ¡°In a way, it is a method of piercing something without interfering with it. Although it still felt like she was getting in our way because she was using our movements.¡± ¡°Is she the evasive type?¡± asked Mary. Kagami had to agree on that point. ¡°Of course, if she can evade, she can also circle around you or make a surprise attack. She can turn her evasion into an attack. Although Hunter would be our expert on footwork.¡± ¡°She wouldn¡¯t be able to turn that movement into the solid footing needed for a powerful blow.¡± ¡°True enough,¡± replied Kagami just as the garbage collector witch spoke from the top of the truck. ¡°Everything looks dangerous to the upper Rankers at this time, doesn¡¯t it?¡± She laughed as the garbage truck started to move. It drove forward, made a U-turn, and then drove on the road to Tokyo. Kagami saw the next garbage truck approaching and Horinouchi noticed some people behind them. ¡°More people are coming. ¡­Let¡¯s wash our hands and then go to my room.¡± ¡°Lady Mitsuru has announced she is returning!¡± ¡°And Lady Mary is coming with her! Now we can use ¡®well done¡¯ on her too!¡± ¡°Wait, everyone!¡± shouted Koutarou as he quickly climbed over the wall surrounding the academy. ¡°We have a more pressing matter! We must inform Lady Mitsuru!¡± ¡°But, um, Head Butler?¡± ¡°What is it!? What could be wrong with informing Lady Mitsuru of this urgent news!?¡± ¡°This school¡¯s walls have an anti-intruder barrier set up and the warning just dropped below three seconds.¡± He looked up and saw the number on the spell circle. It was zero. Mary heard what sounded like a lightning strike far to the southeast. ¡­I wonder what that was about. Well, these things happen a lot, she decided. In the Spell Division, lab walls were blown down at a rate of two or three a week. But aside from that, the fact that she had been called to Horinouchi¡¯s room held important meaning. ¡­Does that mean she¡¯s accepted me as one of them!? Based on how Horinouchi had invited her, the girl had likely already seen it that way. ¡°Thank you very much.¡± When Mary bowed, Horinouchi¡¯s shoulders shook and she turned around. ¡°Wh-what for?¡± ¡°Mary is very polite about these things,¡± said Kagami. ¡°But you are quite generous, Horinouchi. You even let me borrow one of your rooms.¡± ¡°Not only do you invite people over, but you just moved in without asking!¡± Mary just about asked ¡°Isn¡¯t that being a little too loose?¡±, but she decided not to when she remembered Horinouchi¡¯s true name. That forbidden word could easily be used against her. ¡­She truly is frightening! Shinto was frightening indeed. At any rate, Mary followed Horinouchi to take her up on her offer. But then the Rank 4 raised her right hand. ¡°Oh, hey. ¡­They¡¯re starting something interesting.¡± ¡°What?¡± Mary looked back to find the Rank 4 opening a video spell circle, but¡­ ¡°What¡­?¡± ¡°¡­is that?¡± finished Kagami. ¡°Well,¡± said Horinouchi. ¡°That looks like the European U.A.H. Wand Viewing we discussed earlier.¡± Notes 1. ¡ü Parody of the Japanese cooking show Tameshite Gatten. Volume 3, 5: That is an Illusion Volume 3, Chapter 5: That is an Illusion The world¡¯s bonds Can come from anywhere And in any form Koutarou saw the image superimposed on the sky. He lay on the grass just outside the wall on Shihouin Academy¡¯s southeast side. Earlier, he had triggered the security system by carelessly crossing the wall and had been hit by a lightning strike, so he could not move. The maids sat around him, but¡­ ¡°Oh, tell us when you can move again. We¡¯ll be having a tea party.¡± He moved just his fingertips to send a report to academy security. ¡°The previous alarm and lightning strike were nothing to worry about. I was merely performing a test.¡± He did not specify what kind of test. He simply watched the spell circle next to the tea party until his body¡¯s tuning divine protection kicked in. He watched the European U.A.H. Wand Viewing with a few doubts in his mind. ¡­What is this? Below a colorless sky, he saw a location surrounded by forests and mountains. It was a vast space. More than just an airfield, an entire city¡¯s worth of space had been cleared. It was made of rock. Based on the sunshine, it was an elevated region. A tall forest surrounded it on the south, east, and west while a mountain range rose to the north. The mountains formed a right angle because the cleared area had been made level. The cutting of the mountain was strange. A straight line had been cut into the rocky base of the mountain as smoothly as slicing tofu. The cut had to be over 30 km long and its height exceeded 2 km in places. But as far as Koutarou could tell from the footage, the cut was a perfectly straight line. A waterfall spilled from a gap in the layers of rock and it flowed into an artificial river below the cut, but the scale was too large to grasp. ¡°Lady Lueger created that on her own. She said she wanted somewhere where the other U.A.H. leaders and the politicians couldn¡¯t interfere and the she created it in a single night,¡± explained a European maid who was brewing tea on a travel sheet spread out on the grass. ¡°Lisbeth Lueger is one of the Troika and the German representative. She is also currently the strongest witch who returned to Europe and supported that land after all the other witches left.¡± She seemed to remember something else. ¡°Oh, and she gets mad with a smile on her face if you talk about her age.¡± ¡°Precisely,¡± said an unexpected voice from the footage. ¡°As long as you remember, Green Moon. Your skill was lacking, but I see you haven¡¯t forgotten what I scolded you over.¡± ¡­Eh? The footage was not a two-way transmission and it was supposedly being broadcast worldwide via satellite. But the Head Maid commented while pulling a sandwich baguette out of a midair spell circle. ¡°Women can always hear you when you spread rumors about them, Head Butler. This is the same as Lady Kagami and Lady Mitsuru noticing when they are being monitored from satellite orbit.¡± ¡°Can she not notice you, Head Maid?¡± ¡°I am not spreading rumors.¡± Women are scary, realized Koutarou, but that thought was immediately thrown from his mind. He saw movement in the footage. Koutarou saw ranks of witches. The witches in the clearing wore black Normal Frames as per the ancient legends. But those ranks were spread incredibly far apart. The witches were each about 300 meters from each other while lined up in rows and columns. But given how wide the clearing was, even at that distance apart¡­ ¡°We have a primary force of 2000 here.¡± Blowing wind accompanied the voice from the footage. It felt like a cold wind, but that may have been because it was the north wind blowing down from the dry mountains. Now, what were those 2000 U.A.H. members going to do? ¡­Will they summon Magino Frames? That was supposedly the number of mass-produced Magino Frames they had. And a voice spoke a single word from the footage. ¡°Start.¡± Immediately, light appeared in the dully colored clearing. It appeared in the hands of the witches. ¡°Normal Devices.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°They¡¯re gunblades. Are they like Lady Kagami¡¯s?¡± ¡°Single-edged? They look a bit like kitchen knives.¡± As the maids commented, black blades appeared in the hands of the spread-out 2000. They were straight, single-edged swords and they were non-transforming types with a built in cannon. But¡­ ¡°They have a combined power system and it looks like the main engine has been reinforced.¡± ¡°So they can¡¯t move while firing?¡± ¡°They¡¯ve gotta move for themselves. More importantly¡­¡± Koutarou knew what they were going to say next. The 2000 had raised the swords in front of their eyes as if praying. Then far, far more ether light than before exploded into the sky. ¡°That was fast¡­!?¡± ¡°Eh? They didn¡¯t have to build up their mood first!?¡± The maids¡¯ surprise was to be expected. ¡­They can rapidly move from Normal to Magino like Lady Hunter!? That was exactly what was summoned into the dry sky. 2000 straight, single-edged swords were drawn into the colorless sky. Hunter gasped a little. ¡­They¡¯re really showing off. They had rapidly summoned their Magino Frames immediately after summoning their Normal Frames. Normally, that required heating up their Phlogiston Heart in their Normal Frame for a stepped increase. It was possible to prepare a keyword for increasing their willpower and to keep their Phlogiston Heart perpetually and stably heated for a quick Magino summoning. But this was different from that. ¡°It¡¯s how they¡¯ve split up the engines.¡± ¡°You know what they did, Hunter!?¡± ¡°Why pass this off to her?¡± asked Horinouchi while glaring at Kagami, but Hunter did not mind. Hunter spread her arms to either side to indicate a straight gesture and then pointed near the center. ¡°They have a large engine here that¡¯s probably for both firing and propulsion.¡± ¡°The same engine handles both of those?¡± asked Mary with a tilt of her head. Her Magino Frame¡¯s annihilation spell was powerful, but the Frame¡¯s mobility was unimpressive and its armor was thin. According to Mary¡­ ¡°Generally, a Device has three different engines: one for attack, one for movement, and one for defense. Which one receives the most focus determines the majority of a Device¡¯s characteristics.¡± ¡°Right,¡± replied Hunter. ¡°When the Form and Device ¨C combined into the Frame ¨C grow large and complicated, the power needed also grows. That means they need separate power for attack, movement, and defense. That also requires heating up your Phlogiston Heart for all three. But¡­¡± She pointed at the base of the Magino Frame barrels on the footage. ¡°What happens if you only have two?¡± Kagami crossed her arms and answered. ¡°The three categories of attack, movement, and defense become the two categories of (attack + movement) and defense?¡± ¡°Yes. Their attack and movement systems are linked. That requires only two areas for heating up your Phlogiston Heart. But since they can create an engine large enough for twice the capacity, it can really help heat up their Phlogiston Heart. ¡­That¡¯s probably what we just saw.¡± ¡°Why have the rest of us not been doing that?¡± ¡°If you combine your power source for attack and movement, you can¡¯t move while attacking and you can¡¯t attack while moving,¡± answered Horinouchi. ¡°Of course, you can always send some excess power over, but that is dangerous in battle.¡± ¡°I see. In other words¡­¡± The corners of Kagami¡¯s mouth rose. ¡°These Magino Frames are specialized for two things: sniping the Black Witch and her minions that descend from the moon and ramming right into them without firing.¡± That is a ridiculous idea, thought Horinouchi. ¡°These were mass-produced, but I doubt they would stand a chance if they fought inside the Black Witch¡¯s seal. Their range of tactics is too limited.¡± ¡°Then why produce so many of them?¡± ¡°You do not understand, Mary?¡± When Kagami said that, she and Horinouchi turned toward Hunter. And Hunter shrugged. ¡°This is what European U.A.H. is thinking: The witch in Japan can fight the Black Witch however she likes, but we will use these 2000 Magino Frames to defend Europe.¡± ¡°In other words,¡± said Horinouchi. ¡°After Hexennacht, they will let Japan take the honor of having fought the Black Witch, but Europe will be the unscathed land that can rule the world afterwards. Is that what you mean?¡± If so, it painted this Wand Viewing in a new light. ¡°Is this European U.A.H.¡¯s way of stepping away from Hexennacht?¡± ¡°It is not,¡± answered Kagami. Horinouchi turned toward her. ¡°What do you mean? Don¡¯t you think it would be difficult to oppose the Black Witch with these Magino Frames?¡± ¡°Do they have an ace witch by any chance? Oh, maybe that old lady who has been speaking?¡± ¡°What did you just say?¡± replied the voice in question. Hunter glared at the footage and Horinouchi raised an index finger in front of her nose. ¡­That¡¯s the kind of person she is, isn¡¯t it? But she was still bothered by what Kagami had said. ¡°Are you saying that member of the Troika is going to join the Ranker Battles? ¡°No, they would not need to do that. European U.A.H. has a simpler way of joining Hexennacht.¡± As Kagami said that, something happened in the footage. The 2000 black swords had their blade tips raised toward the center of the heavens and those tips began to glow. They were spell circles. ¡°Yes. That is the right answer.¡± Horinouchi heard Kagami speak and she saw light in the center of her vision. The spell circles opened on the 2000 sword tips joined together to form a single giant circle. ¡­They¡¯re combining their power!? Not all of them had done so. It was only the 1000 in the center. But the spell circle stretched to more than 5 km across and a word appeared in the center. It was a movement spell, but not one that carried something over a distance. All of that power was being poured into¡­ ¡°A teleportation jump!?¡± More than one part of that seemed impossible to Horinouchi. Teleportation spells were well known as witch spells. They moved objects not by carrying them or by shifting their location. Instead, they altered their location. These spatial jumps or distortions were powerful movement spells, but they were also known for another factor. Their restrictions and necessary conditions were very strict. After all, to link two points in space, the spell had to affect both ¡°here¡± and ¡°there¡±. That meant activating a spell somewhere you were not. It meant doing something somewhere other than where you were. ¡°Is that difficult even for the witches of this world?¡± asked Kagami. ¡°Can you eat or study in a place you aren¡¯t?¡± asked Horinouchi. ¡°Magic is what allows us to do things like that, but altering the location of objects is very difficult.¡± The accuracy and power needed grew immensely as the distance increased, so¡­ ¡°Most teleportation spells are limited to the user¡¯s field of vision or they need a ¡®receiver¡¯ at the other end.¡± The former was a short-range teleportation. The latter was the stereotypical type of spell known as a ¡°gate¡±. A location or partner acted as a physical focal point to link the teleportation spell. Horinouchi herself had done something similar to a gate a few days before. ¡°Miss Horinouchi, when you used your Cave Opening on the annihilation spell I used for high-speed movement, you did something similar to this. I automatically acted as your ¡®receiver¡¯.¡± But what they saw here was different. European U.A.H. intended to send the 1000 blades somewhere. ¡°Are they bringing these identical Magino Frames together and synchronizing them to use a spell that requires immense power?¡± asked Kagami. ¡°And it required the sacrifice of simplifying their attack and mobility into one,¡± added Horinouchi before addressing another of the impossibilities she had thought of. ¡°But where are they planning to send the blades!?¡± ¡°That is simple,¡± said a witch¡¯s voice. It did not only come from the transmission footage. It descended from the sky surrounding Shihouin Academy in every direction. ¡°Right there. To the new school for witches.¡± A moment later, 1000 blades measuring 50m surrounded Shihouin Academy. The witches watching the footage were slow to notice. The 1000 blades had vanished from below the teleportation spell as it burst and scattered. But none of them imagined those swords had all arrived in the sky around them. They first felt it as a wind. Thick masses of air pushed in at them from every direction. And when they turned their gazes against the whipping air currents, they saw what was there. The blades were lined up vertically in the sky. 1000 straight swords surrounded the academy as if preparing to slice into it. ¡°Lady Mitsuru.¡± Horinouchi viewed the 1000 swords surrounding them like an open-top dome. She also heard Koutarou¡¯s voice over a transmission spell. ¡°Lady Mitsuru, you know that a number of countries have troops stationed in Japan to prepare for Hexennacht, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yeah, I think we know that.¡± Hunter opened a spell circle in annoyance, but the external transmission spell circle grew distorted. ¡­Interference. The surrounding Magino Frames linked together their barriers to create a ¡°wall¡± blocking any communications. The mainland should have been visible from here, but it seemed to be shimmering. If light was being distorted too, then it was adequate defense for a Magino Device. Their attack and movement were linked, but defense seemed to have its own independent power source. ¡­Honestly. She sensed the presences and heard the sounds of the surrounding students moving and raising their guard. Some of those witches would be from Europe. But at the moment¡­ ¡°Everyone has fortified our defenses!¡± Mary had connected to the school network to grasp everyone¡¯s actions. Her Spell Division contained a lot of Europeans, so if they were working to fight this¡­ ¡°Was this an independent action on European U.A.H.¡¯s part?¡± ¡°Yes, Lady Kagami,¡± answered Koutarou. ¡°In that case,¡± said Horinouchi. ¡°The other nations are generally in charge of protecting us here and of taking the defensive role during Hexennacht, right? Why would they be doing this now?¡± Hunter took issue with that dismissive description, but Koutarou had more to say. ¡°Well, this is very hard to say, Lady Mitsuru,¡± explained Horinouchi¡¯s Head Butler who was in charge of liaison work. ¡°But the European nations are demanding administrative authority over Shihouin Academy. ¡­They say it is to manage the execution of Hexennacht and the selection of the witch who will take part.¡± ¡°Ho ho?¡± said Kagami with a nod. Since that did not worry Horinouchi, her thoughts were probably accurate. In other words, she added in her heart before speaking. ¡°Is this what you were talking about before, Kagami?¡± ¡°Hexennacht is no more than a political card to these nations.¡± Kagami sounded entirely bored with it all. ¡­Not that I want her to enjoy this¡­ Did that mean this had not exceeded her predictions? Kagami then pointed her thumb back toward the main gate behind her. Horinouchi knew what that meant. After surrounding them so noticeably, their opponent would arrive through the proper entrance. ¡°But don¡¯t witches like using the back door?¡± asked Horinouchi. ¡°This is politics.¡± Horinouchi was calm enough to shrug that off with a ¡°well, whatever¡± and she picked up her pace. But as they walked emptyhanded toward the main gate, Kagami spoke with her back to Horinouchi. ¡°If the Black Witch is indeed defeated, the successful witch¡¯s country will have a large advantage over the other countries.¡± She sounded just as disinterested as before, but Horinouchi responded while moving up alongside her. ¡°You mean in influence and military power, right?¡± ¡°Military power?¡± asked Mary a step behind them. The answer came from outside the group. It was Koutarou. ¡°Yes, that is right. To defeat the Black Witch is to create a threat greater than the Black Witch.¡± ¡°Ever since the middle ages, the witches of this world have been accepted as a legitimate military force,¡± added Horinouchi. Mary had come from another world, so it must have seemed odd to her even if she had the knowledge. ¡°It may not be as obvious in Japan since witches gathered here after crossing national borders and it is especially hard to tell here in Shihouin Academy, but since they still have to focus on national borders in Europe, they have a tendency of viewing a powerful witch as a weapon.¡± ¡°That is exactly right, Lady Mitsuru. ¡­And I believe this incident comes directly from that viewpoint.¡± ¡°Then,¡± began Kagami. ¡°Those nations are attempting to supervise us because we have yet to settle those issues?¡± ¡°It would seem so, Lady Kagami.¡± Hunter raised her hand when she heard that. She looked up into the sky and finally sped up her slowing feet. ¡°Oh, looks like my people are taking the academy¡¯s side.¡± ¡°Are you talking about that light in the southwest sky?¡± asked Kagami. ¡°A lunar surveillance F-18 ascended vertically and is sending an optical transmission this way.¡± ¡°Morse code? Won¡¯t European U.A.H. notice?¡± ¡°No, this is the 7th Fleet¡¯s personal code. There¡¯s no cracking it because it¡¯s based on the number of letters in the behavioral standards form that changes weekly. And the standards form is handwritten by the second-in-command, so bad things will happen if an unauthorized person reads it. ¡­Right now they¡¯re stopped at Hawaii and they can apparently leave to hold the other nations in check once their preparations are complete.¡± Hunter¡¯s spell circle displayed the communications that had supposedly been blocked. It had been sent to her by the 7th Fleet that supported her, but¡­ ¡°The header says ¡®Watch this, European U.A.H.¡¯ and the attachment is the official specs of those Magino Devices floating there,¡± explained Hunter. ¡°Look at this. It says they have three main engines. And they even sent out a test wand just like that. They made us all think this was the normal design.¡± So they set us up, realized Kagami with a bitter laugh. Seeing this world fighting itself like this made her wonder if her sister¡¯s personality had grown even worse. But¡­ ¡°The fact that they would set all this up to give themselves even a slight advantage in a later age may be proof of how rich a world this is.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure if that¡¯s self-flagellation or a compliment,¡± commented Horinouchi. ¡°I am merely impressed. In a way, this is a moving scene. And I take it Hunter¡¯s people will be responding to this.¡± ¡°But won¡¯t that just confuse the situation further?¡± ¡°Probably.¡± Hunter crossed her arms. ¡°Makes you wonder why they¡¯re just stirring up the embers.¡± Meanwhile, they arrived at the main gate again. A few people were standing beyond it. ¡­Witches. The witches in black Magino Forms were older than Kagami¡¯s group. She realized this was her first time seeing witches not affiliated with Shihouin Academy. She had flown over America during the battle with Hunter, but she had not run across any local witches. She had assumed that was a ¡°gap¡± in the world her sister had created, but¡­ ¡°There are some.¡± Once she said that, Horinouchi held out her right hand to stop them. ¡°Do you have something to say as Student Council President?¡± ¡°No, someone else wants to speak first.¡± As Horinouchi spoke, spell circles appeared all across the sky above the academy. The witch communication devices blossomed all around them and in all parts of the academy. They were shaped like flowers. ¡°Lady Headmaster?¡± That was exactly who they displayed: the headmaster. She was likely looking south from her office¡¯s window. The room provided the background and the footage was shot from a somewhat low angle as she spoke to everyone. ¡°I must warn you.¡± This was a simple rejection. ¡°Set foot in my academy and you will be deemed an enemy. Do you understand, European U.A.H.?¡± ¡­She just defined her opponent. Defining a phenomenon to understand and grasp it is how witches use power, thought Horinouchi. That was why the headmaster named her opponent and warned the surrounding Magino Frames. ¡°My academy is inviolable. I believe we promised as much ten years ago¡­Lisbeth.¡± She spoke a name. Yes, Horinouchi could see that person. The witches in front of the main gate split apart and a single individual approached. It was a tall woman. She wore a black cape, hat, and boots. An eyepatch covered her right eye. Her hair had some gray mixed in, but her face did not look aged at all. Horinouchi¡¯s mother would have been the same age had she still been alive. And Horinouchi naturally accepted that fact as she spoke. ¡°Come any closer and you will be deemed an enemy, Aunt Lisbeth.¡± ¡°¡­Mitsuru.¡± Lisbeth stopped as if she had only just now noticed her. She was right in front of the gate. ¡°Long time no see. And do not call me ¡®aunt¡¯.¡± Hunter took a deep breath behind Horinouchi and whispered a question. ¡°Kagami, who¡¯s the old lady?¡± ¡°I do not know, but this woman, who is clearly past her thirties, is most likely an important individual.¡± ¡°Um, you two? Why not be nice and stick to ¡®older than us, but possibly at double our score¡¯?¡± ¡­She can hear all three of you! As Horinouchi thought that, a voice arrived from straight ahead. It started as a quiet laugh. ¡°I can hear you, Ranker girls.¡± Lisbeth also held up a spell circle that displayed a document. ¡°I am U.A.H. Representative Lisbeth Lueger. Based on U.A.H.¡¯s decision, I have arrived to place Shihouin Academy under our protection.¡± ¡­So that really is what this is about. Kagami and the others had been right. ¡°The witches of the world view Shihouin Academy as the site of their decisive battle and a facility to train in, so we have decided we must protect this academy while you are determining who will take Rank 1.¡± This really was what Kagami had mentioned, but¡­ ¡°European U.A.H. is trying to control Hexennacht like this, isn¡¯t it?¡± Mary nodded in agreement with Horinouchi, and¡­ ¡­This means they see who controls the world as a problem in addition to the Black Witch. Kagami stood a half step ahead and she asked Horinouchi a quiet question. ¡°How strong is she?¡± She was referring to the witch named Lisbeth who stood in front of the main gate. ¡­She is very skilled, isn¡¯t she? Mary could tell at a glance. And that was without any kind of observation spell. The uniform the woman wore was likely a Normal Form, but it truly was clothing. It was not panels as soft as cloth or something that simply took that ¡°form¡±. Ether formed threads which were woven together into a uniform. The higher Rankers could do that much, but each piece of this woman¡¯s uniform was made differently. They all used different thicknesses and colors of thread. ¡°Brigadier general.¡± ¡°Yes. She is a uniform fetishist. I sense great skill in her¡­.¡± Horinouchi clenched the fist behind her back so hard the veins bulged out, but Mary understood she was not trying to tell her anything. Horinouchi did, however, look back over her shoulder to glare at Kagami. ¡°She is the third witch who formed the Troika with my mother and the headmaster during the previous Hexennacht. My mother died during Hexennacht, but the headmaster created Shihouin Academy and Aunt Lis-¡­Miss Lisbeth helped construct the modern form of U.A.H. She is now the German representative.¡± ¡°In other words, she was the Rank 2 or 3 a decade ago? ¡­But how strong is she now?¡± A voice answered Kagami from beyond the main gate. ¡°Rushing to action will accomplish nothing, current Rank 2.¡± Lisbeth followed up those words by looking into the sky. Her smile may have shown approval of their behavior. And with that smile intact, she spoke to the headmaster. ¡°We have no time, Cerisier. Transfer control of the academy to me.¡± ¡°That will not be necessary, Lisbeth.¡± Mary saw a quick reaction to the headmaster¡¯s response. Lisbeth¡¯s expression changed. The headmaster had essentially rejected her, but¡­ ¡­That wasn¡¯t anger. The ends of her eyebrows had lowered just for a moment. Mary saw the shift in Lisbeth¡¯s expression. It looked like hesitation or displeasure at the rejection, but it soon vanished. A moment later, she opened her mouth with her eyebrows raised. Her gaze was powerful as she glared at a spell circle in the sky. ¡°But Cerisier¡­¡± Was she protesting or persuading? They never found out because someone else suddenly appeared. ¡°Lisbeth.¡± As the headmaster spoke, a small form descended from the sky behind the spell circle. The girl wore a pink Normal Form and wielded a hoe-shaped Device. She landed between Mary¡¯s group and Lisbeth. Her back was thin and slender, but the strangest aspect was her face. ¡­A mask? Perhaps to hide her face, the girl wore a gas mask. And her movements were hard to follow after she straightened back up from landing. Her movements were smooth and felt perfectly natural, so Mary began to speak. ¡°Miss Horinouchi.¡± ¡°You set foot inside,¡± said the headmaster at the same time. It had likely been when Lisbeth¡¯s expression had changed, but she had taken a half step inside the gate. And the pink girl moved to punish that action. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± She rushed forward. Volume 3, 6: Rejection Arrives Without Warning Volume 3, Chapter 6: Rejection Arrives Without Warning Slap the surface To make a nice noise Koutarou saw an instantaneous exchange of offense and defense. ¡­Has it started!? The maids had called off their tea party and scattered to various points within the academy. A few of them continued the tea party, but that was a diversion against the surveillance from the surrounding Magino Devices. Koutarou and one of the maids (a Latina witch from South America who specialized in stealth) were rushing toward the main gate. The maid kept her stealth spell active and held it up like a cloak as she spoke. ¡°This jaguar-style spell can erase my footsteps, but it honestly won¡¯t work against something on that level.¡± ¡°That is fine. As long as I can confirm the situation-¡­¡± He trailed off as offense and defense intersected 40 meters away. The gas mask girl, who had a pink Normal Frame with what seemed to be a flower motif, rushed at Lisbeth. It was timed to catch Lisbeth by surprise and Koutarou only noticed it once she stood up after landing. She reached forward while standing and swung her hoe-shaped Device forward. But¡­ ¡­That isn¡¯t going to hit! The hoe could only manifest its power along the path of the swing. Mary¡¯s scythe could slice the things on the inside edge, but a hoe only effected things along the path of the blade itself. Why would she use something like that here? ¡­Is she a reckless warrior for justice!? As expected, the attack did not hit. But a row of objects appeared along the path of the hoe. They were flowers. ¡°What is that?¡± ¡°Please get down, Head Butler!¡± Just as his head was held further down, the ether flowers that blossomed over an arc began to scatter into the wind. Immediately, light and power appeared straight ahead. ¡°Those are explosion spells!¡± A chain reaction of explosive light covered a radius of three meters between Lisbeth and the girl. Kagami saw Lisbeth¡¯s reaction. She found it interesting because the woman did not fall back. The European U.A.H. witch simply swung her right hand. That light upward snap brought something into existence. ¡­A straight sword device! It only took a moment. But the blade did not hit the expanding arc of explosive light as it approached her. The blade tip produced a path of bluish-black light. ¡°What is that?¡± ¡°That is Aunt Lisbeth¡¯s spatial cutting!¡± ¡°You are a knowledgeable girl, Horinouchi!¡± That was exactly what happened. The explosive light and power were sliced in two before reuniting and exploding behind Lisbeth who was covered in a slight bluish-black shadow. ¡­Oh. Kagami heard something. Power was bursting and the ground was shaking, but Lisbeth¡¯s surroundings remained entirely uneventful, as if she were contained inside an invisible scabbard. The explosive flowers¡¯ ether petals scattered through the air and the wind whipped them up a little later. Then Lisbeth moved forward. She held her sword upside down as she did so. Immediately, the gas mask girl swung her hand. Ashes spread gently through the air. And as ether light surrounded them¡­ ¡°Flowers again!?¡± Just as Lisbeth swung her sword upwards, another series of explosions occurred. Their density was even greater than before, which meant¡­ ¡­That gas mask girl¡¯s Phlogiston Heart is heating up! But as the flowers scattered and the wind actually reached her this time, Lisbeth spoke. ¡°A flower spell¡­!¡± After confirming that her opponent was using a spell with a flower motif, Lisbeth continued. ¡°That spell is Cerisier¡¯s-¡­¡± She was not able to finish her question. The girl cut her off after taking a quick step back. ¡°The Rank 1.¡± It was a quiet, restrained voice. And after a breath, she concluded her thought. ¡°That¡¯s me.¡± Horinouchi shuddered when she heard the gas mask girl. ¡­So that really is what¡¯s going on here!? This girl had attacked after the headmaster¡¯s announcement, so she was clearly working for the headmaster. The Rank 1¡¯s identity was not publicly known, but the headmaster knew. That had been a worrying fact. Horinouchi had wondered if the Rank 1 and the headmaster were connected in some way. If the Rank 1 was a powerful individual who could act on the headmaster¡¯s behalf when instructed to, it changed the meaning of keeping her identity hidden. ¡­But¡­ The series of events playing out here and the headmaster¡¯s instructions had revealed something. The Rank 1 witch was indeed under the headmaster¡¯s control. ¡°¡­Horinouchi.¡± Kagami seemed to understand the same thing. Horinouchi knew perfectly well why she had called her name. Horinouchi was the Student Council President. Her job was to gather the students¡¯ opinions as their representative, convey them to the headmaster, teachers, and administrators, and return to the students with the decision they made. The headmaster could be seen as her enemy and the headmaster had just made her stance clear. But what was Horinouchi supposed to do as a student? Just as she began to make that decision¡­ ¡°Horinouchi.¡± Kagami had walked up to her side and grabbed her right hand. ¡°You are the final boss of the students, so you cannot be in the very front, now can you?¡± Lisbeth Lueger had been a candidate for the Hexennacht representative. She was here now as a U.A.H. representative. She used spatial cutting, so teleportation spells were familiar to her. The power of 2000 Magino Frames had teleported half that number here, but¡­ ¡­This was the limit when starting from Europe. That was a practical range, but it was still less than half the circumference of the earth. However, teleporting something smaller would not extend that range. In fact, the weaker the ¡°field¡± of the object, the shorter the distance it could travel. Those had been the optimal conditions. And once she had arrived, it had looked like Horinouchi¡¯s daughter had brought the other Rankers to see her, but¡­ ¡°The Rank 1 is here to greet me!?¡± ¡°No.¡± Straight ahead, the gas mask girl took a step back in her pink Normal Form and swung both arms toward Lisbeth. ¡°I¡¯m not greeting you. I¡¯m eliminating you.¡± It was ash. She threw blossoms full of ether. The explosion spells could not actually hit Lisbeth. She used her Device¡¯s spatial cutting to slice through the ashy smoke and push it to the left and right. But¡­ ¡­It¡¯s spending more time in the air? Before, it had been split and pushed away before exploding. But now, after being split to the left and right, it approached Lisbeth from behind as if the wind were carrying it. Which meant¡­ ¡°Is this ¡®wind¡¯ meant to respond to my spatial cutting!?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t tell you.¡± Fine. I can figure it out on my own. In fact, I already understand it fairly well. And¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± As soon as she stepped forward, the pink Normal Form flipped backwards. Lisbeth swung her Device¡¯s blade up toward her. But¡­ ¡°Ohh.¡± Her opponent had swung her hoe Device during her backflip. They both swung their weapons up toward the heavens. Blade clashed with blade tip. Sparks and ether light flew and a portion of Lisbeth¡¯s spatial cutting was negated. A moment later, the flowers bloomed. The ash that had been gently blown behind her was transformed into flowers which exploded. Things had gotten quite troublesome behind her, but it was in front that required her attention. ¡­She interfered with my spatial cutting. The next attack would be dangerous. Her opponent had created a hole in her spatial cutting, so the girl was undoubtedly planning to shove the flowers through there. This girl was pretty good. Lisbeth could think of a few ways to deal with this, but one was more exciting than the others. Thus, she instructed herself to take a step forward and do this in a different way from her opponent. ¡°Fire.¡± Instantly, eight pillars of light dropped from the sky toward the pink Normal Form. Eight Magino Devices waiting in the heavens had fired their main cannons. Hunter saw European U.A.H.¡¯s decision. ¡­They¡¯re eliminating the Rank 1 here!? She had noticed the eight Magino Devices instantly turning in the air. The Rank 1 also would have noticed those giant forms directly above her. But Lisbeth had moved in close to keep the girl from escaping. Then the Magino Devices fired. A hit would be devastating. That meant two things. One, the European U.A.H. Representative named Lisbeth was taking a hostile stance against the headmaster. Two, she did not want the Rank 1. This would show that she saw the headmaster¡¯s prot¨¦g¨¦ as unneeded. ¡­Is she prioritizing control of this place over victory on Hexennacht!? The Rank 1 was higher in the ranks than Hunter and the others. That meant she had higher odds of victory if she fought at Hexennacht. But¡­ ¡°If you don¡¯t do what European U.A.H. wants, you¡¯ll be eliminated!?¡± Had there even been a chance to talk this out? No. The headmaster had been the one to pick this fight. That made Hunter think that European U.A.H. had not been given a choice in the matter, but that may have been due to her familiarity with the methods of a powerful nation like America. If someone sought to shake your hand, you were friends. But if they made themselves an enemy, you would crush them with all your might. That was how a powerful nation did things. What would American U.A.H. think of this when they heard of it? And¡­ ¡°I doubt this is the end of the Rank 1.¡± As if to agree, Horinouchi remained motionless a step ahead. Even after those eight blasts¡­ ¡°Even we could endure that much,¡± said the Rank 3 standing to Hunter¡¯s side. And that was when it happened. The eight descending blasts were deflected by something rising from the ground. They were transformed into explosive light and knocked back up into the air. The eight strikes had been deflected by something growing up from the ground: ¡°An ether forest¡­!?¡± Lisbeth saw a forest appear. But this was not like the Black Forest of her homeland. Instead of a forest so thick it was hard to even walk through, this was an artificial forest with plenty of walking space. And¡­ ¡­A cherry tree forest¡­! It covered a square of about 30 meters. The forest let cherry blossoms scatter into the wind as it forcefully grew up toward the sky. The eight blasts of power collided with the flowering branches that had pale enough colors to look like clouds. A moment later, the upper layer of cherry blossoms exploded. An explosion spell blossomed across them like a burning fuse had reached the flowers and the light and sound spread faster than anyone could respond. A great tremor reached the air and earth, and the cherry tree forest shook. And that caused the cherry blossoms to scatter. But they did more than just scatter as before. After being hit by that great force, the forest spread as if in resistance. The entire forest swung up toward the sky with an even greater motion. The eight cannon blasts were hit by a fierce counterattack from the flowers. ¡°¡­¡± And a chain-reaction of explosions roared through the air after the initial one. The sky split apart. Or it seemed to as Koutarou watched the wind whipping up and colliding with the school buildings and dorm buildings. The immediate shockwave crashed into the buildings which had seemed so solid. The walls were scraped as if by claws and they shook from the loud noise of the explosion-resistant shutters lowering. That power also reached Koutarou where he lay on the ground. ¡°¡­Kh!¡± Ah, I feel like a hero forced onto the defensive, he thought just before a stone was peeled up from the stone paving and struck him on the side of the head. ¡°Raise your head and you¡¯ll get hit, Head Butler! Oh, you did get hit! Ah ha ha!¡± Why do Latinos always have to be like this!? he thought as the peak of the blast passed by over their heads. It was a lot like having a steamroller of power sweeping across the stone paving. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± In exchange for a moment of silence, great brightness filled their vision. Then the blast passed them by. And¡­ ¡°Head Butler!¡± Hearing that, he realized a forest had appeared. The cherry tree forest was made of ether, it covered the area from the main gate to the General Division building, and it continued to grow. He gulped when he saw the ether rapidly fill the school building and pathway like a jungle. There was only one thing he could say about this. ¡­Is the Rank 1¡¯s cherry tree forest an absolute defense against Magino Devices!? After all, she was still using her Normal Frame. A forest constructed in that form had surpassed eight Magino Device main cannons. And yet European U.A.H.¡¯s Magino Devices had combined the power for attack and movement, so if they focused on attacking, they should have been able to attack with twice the power of a normal Device. She had endured that. But the situation was still underway. The eight Magino Devices in the sky moved down, and¡­ ¡°Something else is coming! 16 shots from the side!¡± Just as a maid shouted that and held his head down, he saw it. It was a blizzard of cherry blossoms. Along the hundreds of meters from Shihouin Academy¡¯s main gate to Tokyo Bay, pink ether light blew through the sky. When did she do that? wondered Lisbeth. The girl had not had an opening to make a firing command. After all, Lisbeth had been viewing her every movement with her one eye. She could see every single action the girl took using a speed, strength, or movement spell. She knew all of the movement techniques the girl used. So as long as she saw the initial movement, she had thought she could tell what the girl was doing. But she had been wrong. ¡°Was it the cherry tree forest!?¡± The forest had moved, not the girl. No, it was more than that. The branches and petals were all moving autonomously. They would protect the girl even without a direct command from her. And¡­ ¡°They use wind spells, don¡¯t they!?¡± There was no wind, but the branches were creaking and the leaves rustling. The clouds of petals covered everything. They pushed endlessly toward Lisbeth and the girl and they all scattered at once. ¡°Interesting¡­!¡± Lisbeth drew a sword. Instead of just the one in her right hand, she raised her left hand to her eyepatch and pulled a second sword from there. ¡°I will be using this!¡± The sky was split. A diagonal cross stabbed through it from south to north. The cherry blossom blizzard was growing to a kilometer in length, but an X-shape pierced it. The two intersecting strikes easily split through it all while expanding to a length of several hundred meters. The bottom edge severed the roof of Shihouin Academy¡¯s General Division west building. A moment after being quartered by the spatial cutting, the cherry blossom blizzard burst into light. A largescale ether explosion began beyond Shihouin Academy¡¯s main gate and spread toward Tokyo Bay. Shihouin Academy¡¯s defense barrier used its full power to stop the blast. Instead of just enduring it, reactive spells activated for an offensive defense. The impact resistant structures just below the surface and inside the building walls were purged by the reactive force. The explosive blast collided with the building materials that shot up toward it. By counteracting the force of the explosive wave, the initial impact was weakened enough for the proper defense spells to function. The blast hit. With the outer walls and surface gone, the pulsating divine protection conduits and the armor were exposed on Shihouin Academy¡¯s southern side. The blast hit there, but then the defense divine protections kicked in. The impact was distributed out to the edges of the buildings and then erased. But the part of the blast that escaped outside the academy was a problem. The shockwave hit the waves of Tokyo Bay and gave the water enough force to expose the shallow ocean bottom. That pressure bent the earth¡¯s crust, and Shihouin Academy¡¯s southern side supports, which were driven deep underground, sank by about a meter and a half. A moment later, the reactive force sent everything hopping back up. And this happened while the academy¡¯s defense system was responding to the blow on the upper surface. A few of the south side supports broke and the structure ruptured. Starting from the area cut during the former Rank 2 and the Rank 4¡¯s battle, the academy¡¯s foundational structure really did split from the main gate to the center. Warning spell circles appeared here and there to warn of the danger and the thousand blades arranged in an arc in the sky were thrown out of position along the south edge. The seawater had been launched skyward when the bottom of Tokyo Bay sprang back up, so it fell back down as rain. But a woman sliced apart that dark, muddy rain. It was U.A.H. Representative Lisbeth. She split the pouring rain with a cross shape and let the blue sky wash over her. ¡°Ha ha ha¡­! Yes, I thought so!¡± Her enemy was right in front of her. ¡°That spell is Cerisier¡¯s, isn¡¯t it!¡± Her enemy did not respond. Her small, slender form simply reached behind her as the cherry tree forest continued to grow. Flowers bloomed, but they were not meant to explode. They decorated her neck, wrists, and head. ¡°Magino Frame.¡± With those words, something manifested above her. It was a great wand more than 500 meters long, but it looked something like a hoe and something like a small plant with a single leaf and a single stalk. Horinouchi used a Shinto barrier spell for defense. Shinto barriers ¡°separated¡± the space inside and outside. Rather than defending, they shifted the internal space out of phase, so they were generally safe even if an ether explosion hit. Or they should have been. ¡°Horinouchi! Is it just me or is this barrier creaking?¡± ¡°The pressure outside is too powerful, so the ground forming the foundation of this space is in a bit of trouble!¡± The pouring rain was also a problem. The sand from the ocean bottom naturally had the ¡°phase¡± of sea, so it was interfering with the ¡°phase¡± of their temporary earth. A barrier defense was based on the definition of its ¡°space¡±, so this was a difficult situation for it. Hunter must have realized that because she summoned her servant and sighed. ¡°Ohh, I thought your three arrow defense was way too convenient, but I guess it has this flaw.¡± ¡°It is not a flaw! This is simply an exceptional situation!¡± At any rate, something had caught Horinouchi¡¯s attention. Mary had not taken her eyes off of the Rank 1 and she seemed to have noticed as well. ¡°Where is her servant!?¡± The Suzaku stepped out of its spell circle and onto Horinouchi¡¯s shoulder in a highly exasperated way, but¡­ ¡­She wasn¡¯t talking about you. Mary meant the Rank 1 who stood below her summoned Magino Device. She had a pink Magino Form and the clothing likely had a flower petal motif. But¡­ ¡°I didn¡¯t see a servant even when she summoned her Magino Frame!¡± A voice answered Mary¡¯s question. It came from overhead and from the school building behind them. They looked back and saw a spell circle in sky full of wind from the explosions. It displayed the headmaster. She must have come outside because she stood in the center of the flower garden on the north end of the courtyard. Her flat gaze was directed at her old friend. ¡°Fall back, Lisbeth. You will get hurt.¡± The Magino Device immediately started moving. The wand-shaped Device looked like a hoe or like a clover with a single leaf. It should have been designed longer horizontally to help it fly, but¡­ ¡­It¡¯s longer vertically? That may have been to help the flower and plant motif. But then the hoe blade of the single-leaf design split apart. The leaf separated to the left and right. The three leaves that looked like a triple hoe had several turretless cannons on their surface. ¡°Is that¡­?¡± Something arrived while Horinouchi spoke. They were flowers. The many turretless cannons produced a great cluster of flowers as if spreading a cloud of pollen. The pink cloud was even larger than before and it became smoke or balls as it tumbled down through the sky, but those scattered before they actually reaching the ground. ¡°¡­!¡± Lisbeth responded by stepping forward to protect the witches behind her. A moment later, everything exploded. The explosion in the center of Tokyo Bay swept light to the southeast and triggered a chain reaction. Each individual explosion differed in size. Some turned into shockwaves at a diameter of about a meter and others devoured the surrounding explosive light to reach several dozen meters. The water of Tokyo Bay was consumed. The spreading explosive blizzard detonated the water once it reached the surface. Holes formed in the water, but the water caused the explosive cacophony to reverberate high into the sky and vibrate deep into the ocean. A low sound much like rock being struck scattered along many levels from the bottom of the ocean. And as the many roars of noise joined together, something happened. The ocean bottom was exposed. By that time, the explosive blizzard in the sky was about to reach the opposite bank of Tokyo Bay. That meant the blizzard was about 10 kilometers long and it was also about 3 kilometers wide. The flowers danced through that vast space and the explosions swept through after them. Wind, sea, sky, water, and air were all split and detonated as long as the flowers reached them. As a result, the sky and sea of Tokyo Bay were split from south to north. The water was ruptured, the sea bottom was dug up, and it was all blasted into the sky in a V-shape. And light scattered through it all. The flowers¡¯ lifespans were only momentary. They all returned to ether light and dissolved back into the air. All that remained were the roiling sea returning to its original form and the wind that could not blow the flowers away. As the light decorated the vast space like mist, the girl spun her hoe Device in her hand and passed it over her hips and to her other hand. After two rotations, she spun it with her twisted fingertips and took a breath. She looked to where her enemy had been beyond the ether light remaining from the explosions. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± The lenses of her gas mask pointed in that direction and she re-summoned the ether cherry trees behind her. And when she faced forward, she spoke with a voice that echoed inside her mask and sounded like it had passed through a cave. ¡°I did it, mama¡­¡± There was nothing in the direction she looked. Nothing but the main gate lit by the setting sun. The artificial crust had split apart and the spray from the waves reached as far as the main gate. ¡­So this is the Rank 1¡¯s strategy! Koutarou watched as he moved toward the school buildings on the maid¡¯s instructions. The power that had split Tokyo Bay had launched the water up from the valley and changed the color of the sky. The moisture in the air was likely being compressed and falling as rain on the shore of Chiba to the east of the academy. The somewhat darkened sky was only dark where it was raining, so it looked like a 300 meter wall rising from the ocean. ¡°Head Butler, is this what they call a cataclysm? Splitting the ocean and making it rain?¡± Of course, Horinouchi, Kagami, Hunter, and Mary could likely do the same thing. Firing their powerful main cannon into the ocean would easily split it. But that was simply tearing apart the ocean with their power. Simultaneously splitting it across such a wide area was something else entirely. The flower blizzard could hover in the air and it could produce great destructive power by detonating. In just a short time, that girl had split about half of Tokyo Bay. Based on that speed¡­ ¡°If you tried to move into a firing position, she could cover all of Tokyo Bay with that flower blizzard.¡± What did that mean? The maid clicked her tongue and communicated with the other maids as she spoke. ¡°She uses massive simultaneous explosions over a wide area. And you can¡¯t just defend against these bombs for an instant. They blow down on you in stages, so they keep coming even if you defend against them. And that wave-like structure is the default.¡± ¡°Do you think there is a way to avoid it?¡± ¡°A barrier that defensively solidifies the surrounding space. Although then you wouldn¡¯t be able to attack either. Just think about it. You can¡¯t defend against water while soaking in the pool and this is instantly spreading that pool so far you can¡¯t escape it. Her previous opponents must have realized that and solidified their defenses, but then they couldn¡¯t do anything themselves and their defenses were eventually worn down.¡± Meaning¡­ ¡°This isn¡¯t about being shot, cut, or erased. Each individual blast might be weak, but the explosions fill the entire battlefield and place it under her control. That is the #1¡¯s strategy.¡± The girl thought to herself. She had driven the enemy off. She had defeated the leader who was the central figure of her opponents. She had done a good job. She wanted to be praised for that. After all, there was no one at the split in the artificial island beyond the scattering fragments of ether light. Now she only had to do something about the 1000 Magino Devices around the island. But she looked forward. The main gate was about 10 meters away. The gate itself remained, but the artificial crust had split all the way up to that entrance and the ocean waves were crashing there. There was nothing else. But she noticed something odd. ¡°¡­It¡¯s too close?¡± The scenery was strange. The scenery through the gate was slightly shifted from everywhere else. The shifted area was exactly as wide as the gate and about 15 meters tall. The sky and waves of Tokyo Bay were different there. It was almost like she was looking at a screen displaying footage taken from beyond the shifted area. A flower petal flew out. The pink petal reached the space where the scenery was shifted one step forward. ¡°Show me.¡± Her request was answered by an explosion. Destruction ran through the sky. The single explosion of light destroyed the shifted scenery and the scenery split and fell away, showing what was really there. The scenery of Tokyo Bay reverted to its non-shifted distance and the enemy stood there: the woman named Lisbeth, the witches working for her, and¡­ ¡°Who!?¡± Two unfamiliar witches were with them: a black executioner and a white and green karate fighter. Hunter was sweating in her heart. ¡­Thank goodness my Magino Form summoned in time¡­ Horinouchi had instructed them to defend European U.A.H, so Hunter and the Rank 3 had moved between the two combatants. Hunter tended to operate the Hedgehog primarily with her left hand, so she had approached the Rank 1 from the left while the Rank 3 did so from the right. They had approached by stepping backwards with their backs turned toward European U.A.H. to make it clear they were here to support them. Just in case, Hunter had also held her right hand behind her back and made American military hand signs. Then they had summoned their Magino Forms. They had needed to endure the Rank 1¡¯s attack, but that flower blizzard had been a pain. Even if they had summoned their Magino Devices, they would still have been contained in the space covered by the flowers. They had settled on the following plan: ¡°I¡¯ll summon just the armor of my Device to defend. Rank 3, you use you annihilation spell to create a barrier cutting off the surrounding space.¡± The #3 created her barrier in the same way as she had at the North Pole during the previous Ranker Battle. By annihilating the space around them, she created gaps that isolated them from the space outside that. She had not used as complex a shape as during the North Pole battle, so from the outside, it would have looked like the isolated space was missing and the surrounding scenery was shifted. It had been Hunter¡¯s job to defend against the flowers already inside the barrier and that entered through gaps in the barrier. She used a simple method. ¡°Intentionally taking hits when you summoned the armor panels and then slamming them against my annihilation spell? That was a very violent method, Rank 4.¡± ¡°Immediately using everything available to you is the trick to survival, Rank 3.¡± ¡°You two¡­¡± The European U.A.H. Representative turned toward them. But Hunter did not have time to return the look. She had no Magino Device and their opponent did. The Rank 1 had also started by summoning her cherry tree forest. Not only had the enemy taken the initiative, but they had been hit by a surprise attack. But as the witches behind her fell back, the European U.A.H. Representative opened her mouth. ¡°Do you know each other?¡± She did not mean Hunter and the Rank 3. She was talking about what the Rank 1 had said earlier. ¡°She asked ¡®who¡¯ when she saw you¡­¡± ¡°Oh, dear.¡± Mary spoke to the Rank 4 without turning around. ¡°Miss Hunter, you are the Rank 4 and you support America, but she¡¯s treating you like a nobody.¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s pretty amazing that a shut-in from another world is being treated like a nobody.¡± After provoking each other, they named themselves. They spoke directly to the Rank 1. ¡°Nice to meet you. I am a jobber.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a stalking horse.¡± Then they moved forward. Mary used her long stride and Hunter used quick steps to accelerate. Volume 3, 7: Rejection Should be Impartial Volume 3, Chapter 7: Rejection Should be Impartial A blooming flower has extraterritoriality From almost directly to the side, Horinouchi saw the two of them charge forward. But she was not worried about them. ¡­Where was her servant!? Where had it been when the Rank 1 had summoned her Magino Frame? It was the same with the Normal Frame and with this attack. ¡°I can¡¯t see her servant!¡± ¡°And it would seem this is not the same as with me,¡± noted Kagami. ¡°Yes, even you would have difficulty summoning a Magino Frame without a servant, wouldn¡¯t you?¡± Horinouchi doubted it would be impossible for Kagami. She trusted her that much. So she worked backwards from that assumption. ¡°Is her servant hiding?¡± ¡°But why?¡± ¡°Lady Kagami, I apologize for cutting in, but sniping a servant ¨C while rare ¨C is still an existing strategy. If the servant is injured, it can negatively affect the summoning and preservation of the Frame. ¡­But when summoning the Normal Frame or higher, the servant must link with the Frame¡¯s ether, so the damage is transferred to the Frame when necessary, and¡­¡± ¡°Could you sum that up in three words?¡± ¡°Hiding isn¡¯t necessary,¡± offered Horinouchi. ¡°Well done, milady!¡± Of course, that was common knowledge for any witch with any combat experience. ¡°Seeing the servant can help judge your opponent¡¯s strategy and strength. Over the long history of witches, almost every servant design has been used, so just one glance can tell you quite a lot. However, we can¡¯t see that with her.¡± ¡°I see,¡± said Kagami while crossing her arms. ¡°Understood. Not to worry. You need not hide it, Horinouchi.¡± ¡°Hide what?¡± Kagami placed a hand on her shoulder. ¡°Koutarou mentioned sniping the servant. I am sure you wanted to end this all at once by blasting her servant, but she saw it coming. Yes, that is most unfortunate, Horinouchi. But you must not take the easy way out. Even if shooting things does feel good to you.¡± ¡°Were you even listening to me!? And focus on those two!¡± Actually, I should be doing that too, she thought while the other two approached the enemy. They had moved right up to her. Hunter felt belatedly glad she had positioned herself on the right. She had intended that as a way to prevent her attack from getting in the Rank 3¡¯s way and vice-versa, but attacking in the same place was best when attacking in waves. There was no preventing her from determining where that was as she moved the Hedgehog¡¯s Device in with her left arm, but¡­ ¡­That means it comes down to mobility! Mary spoke while moving alongside her. ¡°When my annihilation spell consumed the armor panels before, I saw something interesting: The armor was destroyed by the explosion, but it was not annihilated. It did not even turn to dust.¡± Hunter had noticed that as well. That had only been the partially-summoned materials not being strong enough. And since the Device on Hunter¡¯s left arm had the same traits as the Magino version even if it was smaller¡­ ¡°Your spike should be able to pierce the explosion!¡± Hunter would attack while Mary defended. So it got through to her after all. In that case¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± With that shout, Hunter created a midair foothold and kicked off of it to accelerate. Mary decided to make this an extremely short range battle. Their opponent used explosions, flashes of light, and the extreme quantity thereof, so the greater the distance between them, the greater the risk. And since the U.A.H. Representative and the others were behind Mary, the Rank 1 would automatically be able to attack them from a distance. So Mary moved in close to prevent the Rank 1 from doing that. And directly in front of her, the Rank 1 finally moved when the distance dropped below 5 meters. Or so it seemed. ¡­Huh? The Rank 1 had only moved her eyes to face her. The girl had not actually made any kind of counterattack. But¡­ ¡°Mary!¡± Mary realized the truth when she heard Hunter¡¯s voice. Without her even noticing, a glowing blizzard of flowers had filled the space between her and her opponent. ¡­When did that happen!? Even as she thought that, she understood. It was same with actual cherry blossoms and the fallen leaves of autumn: they surrounded you before you knew it. This was the flow of nature. It was the ever-changing nature of all things. Simply noticing it was not enough to stop it. But¡­ ¡°If I¡¯ve noticed it, there is something I can do!¡± Her Device fired its annihilation spell. Mary erased. Instead of making a cut, she released a trailing band of annihilation that rid that space of the flowers there. The scythe¡¯s movement was a lot like a broom sweeping up fallen leaves. ¡­I can consume them! If they had yet to explode, they were no more than fragments of ether. She had feared they would react to the annihilation spell by detonating, but that did not seem to be the case. So¡­ ¡°I will clear a path, Elsie Hunter!¡± She used three annihilation scythes as a counterattack against their enemy¡¯s first attack. She swung them wide, but that was still not enough to fully cover for Hunter. However, that girl would be able to weave through the gap and continue forward. In her fight against Mary, she had slipped past the annihilation spell plenty of times. Had the Rank 1 ever endured that kind of technique? Mary did not know, but a second blizzard followed the initial exchange. When Mary intercepted this, she knew the flowers of the first attack that had arrived behind her would detonate. Basing this on the previous timing, that was when the detonation would occur. So she focused on reading the smoke-like paths of the countless flowers arriving from ahead. ¡°Here they come!¡± There were a lot of them. It really was like a blizzard of flowers. ¡°Just clear the important points!¡± said Hunter. ¡°I have armor to handle the rest!¡± So if you have to use your armor, I have failed. Understood. Then I will erase them all. But¡­ ¡­Here it is! She had not seen it, but she could tell from the timing. She sensed something using what could be called her intuition. ¡°She is making a counterattack!¡± As the ether smoke fluttered like ashes, it focused in on Hunter. A moment later, the detonation time arrived. Mary sensed danger and reacted just as everything around her exploded at once. The girl laughed quietly. It was not a mocking or scornful laugh. She was merely reacting to the result she had accomplished. So she laughed quietly with joy in her voice. Her opponents had vanished, but the ether blizzard did not stop. She had more enemies further away. And¡­ ¡°Over there.¡± The tall figure in black who had been running toward her before had escaped to the left. ¡­That was a weird movement. It had looked like teleportation, but was it really? It did not matter. The flowers would bloom no matter where she fled. The flowers would bloom, blow in the wind, and fill everything and everywhere. So¡­ ¡°Begone.¡± As soon as she said that, someone suddenly arrived from the right. ¡­Eh? When she looked over, she saw the small enemy she had supposedly gotten rid of before. Why was she there? And why was she unharmed? And as the girl wondered that, she confirmed a certain fact. The ground around the trees behind the small one had been torn apart. The tall one had likely erased a single step¡¯s worth of space there. The small one must have escaped there and moved right back toward the girl before the flowers could catch up. But the girl was more worried about something other than her opponent¡¯s attack. She could see the roots of the trees in the torn apart part of the ground. ¡°No,¡± she said. ¡°Don¡¯t do that.¡± Hunter realized the Hedgehog¡¯s pile bunker had failed to hit. ¡­Seriously!? Her opponent had moved unexpectedly. She had grabbed a vine hanging down from a branch in the cherry tree forest behind her. ¡°Those weren¡¯t just for decoration!?¡± The cherry trees were the source of the explosives. Assuming they were made of ether, they took the form of a forest, but they were actually a collection of explosives. Hunter had assumed this girl was scattering portions of it to produce small scale explosions. But that was incorrect. The cherry trees were more than just a form. Even the objects attached to them functioned naturally. In that case, when they grew and expanded before, they were doing more than taking form. They were growing as trees. ¡­Is it even possible to create an environment out of ether!? ¡°That¡¯s a pretty nice show!¡± Hunter used the force of the Hedgehog¡¯s pile retracting to adjust her thoughts. A moment later, her opponent¡¯s smoke arrived. It was made of ether flower blossoms and they rushed in like a wave. ¡°Hah.¡± But she laughed. She knew what to do if her attack missed. She raised the Hedgehog like a shield, and¡­ ¡­I can take this! The explosives hit her head-on. She took the hit. But in the instant of impact, she pushed the Hedgehog forward. The wafting smoke wrapped around behind her, but she had still created an opening. She could handle the rest herself, so she looked out from behind the shield. ¡­There she is! While the Rank 1 was focused on Hunter, Mary rushed in from behind the girl. ¡­I lack experience! When she shifted from defense to offense, Mary was painfully aware of her deficiency in martial arts. She knew her height gave her an advantage and she thought she understood her faults, but things changed on a battlefield that required tight evasion and movement. She had wanted to send an annihilation scythe toward Hunter too, but she did not have the time to spare. She had to use two of them to secure her own safety. And¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª!¡± She sent the third scythe to attack her opponent¡¯s Device within the explosively blossoming flowers. ¡­I will not lose anything in this world! She was entirely attacking from behind. It would be difficult to dodge the long scythe after noticing it at the last second. But Mary heard a sudden voice from below the Rank 1¡¯s gas mask. ¡°You were the one that tore up the ground earlier.¡± The girl confirmed that fact without turning around. ¡°Unforgivable.¡± Mary realized there were flowers blooming below her feet as she ran forward. They had not fallen there. They had stalks and leaves and they had grown from the ¡°ground¡±. ¡­The flowers fluttering through the air weren¡¯t the only ones!? Just as she thought that, the horizontal swing of her annihilation spell severed the Rank 1¡¯s Device. The hoe blade was cut diagonally off near the base. ¡°I did it¡­!¡± That was when the flowers at her feet exploded. Mary¡¯s decision made use of her previous inexperience. She had an annihilation spell scythe positioned defensively both in front of and behind her. And she had sent the third one forward to attack. ¡­I can use the front defensive one for something else!! She sent it straight up. As soon as it tore into the air and flew 7 meters up, the surrounding flowers began to explode. A chain reaction of explosions spread through the surrounding flowers and quickly swept across the visible scenery. It was like a wave. And as she watched that, Mary realized that some of the flowers did not detonate. ¡­They aren¡¯t all triggered at once!? She had assumed everything would be destroyed in the chain reaction once the detonation occurred. But she had been wrong. The explosion was arriving at Tokyo Boy with instantaneous speed, but the glowing mist and flowers did not vanish. In fact, what remained seemed to grow even thicker. Which meant¡­ ¡°Once they¡¯ve been released, the detonation space only grows denser and denser!¡± It would not all be over after an explosion or two. It would only grow and grow. Also¡­ ¡°What does that mean!?¡± The Rank 1 was not holding her Device. The Magino Device still existed. It rose toward the heavens and scattered flowers into the air at the center of the cherry tree forest that spread beyond even the academy. But the Rank 1 was not holding the Device that Mary had cut. No. It had simply fallen to her feet where it sank into the ever-growing undergrowth of flowers. ¡­Miss Horinouchi said she couldn¡¯t see this girl¡¯s servant, but¡­ She was maintaining and controlling her Magino Device without a control Device. When Mary had fought Kagami and Horinouchi, she had temporarily withdrawn after her control Device had been destroyed, but was this opponent ignoring that necessity? ¡°No.¡± That did not matter. Mary had once fought a ¡°god¡±. Compared to that, this was only an unknown technique used by someone at her school. And since she could see the Magino Device¡­ ¡°Summon Magino Device Ira!!¡± The servant that appeared in the spell circle over her shoulder rapidly released her already heated Phlogiston Heart. The black multi-scythe Magino Device immediately appeared below her feet. Hunter fell back while watching Mary¡¯s attack. ¡­She summoned it in this space!? Is she hoping for a draw at best!? A Magino Frame was summoned into a certain space. It could be set up to ¡°consume¡± whatever was already there, but it was generally made to ¡°reject¡± it all by pushing it out of the way. Mary¡¯s Magino Device was not very durable, so it would almost certainly use the rejection method. But¡­ ¡°It won¡¯t last when the explosions hit it!¡± Hunter did not need to think about hurrying. The Rank 3 was just that kind of person. So Hunter raised her voice while riding the stream of explosions away from the center. ¡°Fire¡­!¡± Or would ¡®annihilate¡¯ be more accurate? she wondered as she looked to the sky. Transparent lines ran through the crimson evening sky as fragments of light blew through it like snow. Nine full-power annihilation spell scythes raced toward the enemy¡¯s Magino Device while giving no consideration to defense. ¡°I¡¯ll win this¡­!¡± Mary was relieved that she got her attack in before the explosions were triggered. ¡­I can make it! The annihilation spell scythes had taken flight. Even if her Magino Device was destroyed, she could still slice through her opponent. She was relieved, but she did not let her guard down. She put Ira through as much evasive action as it could manage. Even with everything turned to explosives in this space, she would have some hope if this movement could open a small gap. So¡­ ¡°Full speed in reverse¡­!¡± She instructed the nine scythes to move back while pointing backwards, but then a spell circle appeared next to her face. It was from Hunter. The girl was falling back while being hit by a few explosions inside the spreading cherry tree forest down below. ¡°They bloom on spells!¡± Mary had no idea what Hunter meant until it happened. Flowers bloomed on the communications spell circle. ¡­Is that what it means to create an environment!? Hunter realized where the danger was. ¡°The flowers!¡± The flowers were more than just bombs. After all, the ether flowers had bloomed on the spell circle she had been using to communicate with Mary. And those flowers had dug their roots into the spell circle while growing up with stalks and leaves. ¡­Do these flowers grow as plants!? And then the flowers scattered. They were clearly growing much faster than the previous ones. And Hunter had seen all too well what would happen after that. They exploded. ¡°Kh¡­!¡± The communication was cut off. The spell circle itself had been shattered. But she understood something. ¡­There¡¯s no escape in this environment! The density of the flowers alone was dangerous, but¡­ ¡°Flowers bloom on whatever this storm of flowers touches! So¡­¡± What about that? she wondered. The flowers had bloomed on a spell circle just now. In that case¡­ ¡°What about the annihilation spell!?¡± She saw explosions draw several arcs through the sky. It happened at the midpoint between Mary¡¯s Magino Device and their opponent¡¯s Magino Device. A chain reaction of explosions followed the path of the nine scythes. Mary saw the nine explosive paths in the evening sky. The nine arcs rapidly tore through the air, but it ended there. The annihilation spells had detonated. And it had happened because¡­ ¡­Flowers bloomed on them!? She did not need to question it. Exploding ether flowers had bloomed on all nine curving lines. Her means of attack had been blocked. And she doubted her opponent had given any specific instructions. The exploding cherry blossoms and flowers grew in this space of blowing flowers. Inside that environment system, their weapons, attacks, and everything else were no more than soil and seedbeds for explosives. And she heard a voice. The unseen Rank 1 spoke from the forest below. ¡°Flowers will bloom anywhere.¡± Her singsong voice contained a tinge of delight. ¡°They belong everywhere.¡± And¡­ ¡°That is the world my mama wanted.¡± With that, Mary finally understood. Her enemy¡¯s attack was not an explosion spell. It was something that environmentally produced explosion spells. ¡°Is the enemy¡¯s Magino Frame spell a growth spell!?¡± As soon as she shouted that, flowers bloomed on Ira. They quickly grew and blossomed from the tip and right up to Mary¡¯s feet. ¡­What? She had to evade. The black multi-scythe Magino Device was instantly covered in glowing flowers and lost its black color. And¡­ A wave of light arrived from out front. The next chain reaction of explosions was racing toward her. ¡°Kh¡­!¡± She quickly jumped away to use Ira as a shield. And the instant she threw herself into empty air, the wave of light washed over the 500 meter Magino Device and it burst. It was destroyed as a single explosion. ¡°Lady Mary¡­!¡± Koutarou saw the explosion in the sky as he pressed his back against the front wall of the General Division building. ¡­What was that attack!? It was an environment system that filled that space with explosive attacks. Constructing that was her primary means of attack. ¡°I see,¡± sighed the maid who had interfered with the General Division building¡¯s barrier to reinforce their protection. ¡°Head Butler, do you remember what our upperclassmen said after losing to the Rank 1 and leaving the Horinouchi family?¡± It was¡­ ¡° ¡®She used an absolute defense and absolute attack to become unbeatable.¡¯ ¡± That was exactly right. Everything in the environment, including the air and earth, existed to attack the Rank 1¡¯s opponent. There was no distinction between offense and defense. ¡°A space where everything is ¡®absolute¡¯¡­¡± ¡°Head Butler, I apologize for interrupting you in your excitement, but Lady Mary¡­¡± Oh, right, he thought as he looked to the evening sky beyond the scattering ether light. ¡­She lost Ira! Is she all right? he wondered before spotting something. Two giant objects made their presence known with the setting sun behind them and the flowers surrounding them. ¡°Those are¡­¡± They were a giant blue and white sword and a giant vermilion and white bow. They were Kagami¡¯s Dikaiosyne and Horinouchi¡¯s Akerindou. The two Magino Devices were clearly positioned right where Ira had exploded. Koutarou did not really understand, but¡­ ¡°Well done, milady!¡± ¡°Um, let¡¯s save that for when we know what happened, Head Butler.¡± I have reserved the right to say it, he told himself. Horinouchi realized how dangerous the situation was. ¡°Horinouchi, how is Mary?¡± ¡°I collected her. She was falling, so it was a good thing Akerindou is so long vertically.¡± Mary sat on her knees on the lower right main wing that passed behind the barrel on the side. She had likely lost her tension, so it was impressive that she had maintained her Magino Form. ¡­She really hates to lose, doesn¡¯t she? If Horinouchi or Kagami egged her on, Horinouchi was pretty sure Mary would come up with another idea and fiercely attack the Rank 1. But the situation was not looking good. After all¡­ ¡­If we fight the Rank 1 while the Headmaster watches, it might count as a Ranker Battle. They were not ready. And the enemy had just now revealed what she could do. Was it too much to hope for enough time to come up with a countermeasure? But¡­ ¡°Are you going to run, Horinouchi?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to settle for putting some distance between us.¡± She had only said to protect the U.A.H. Representative. Those two had attacked the Rank 1 afterwards because they had let her provoke them, but¡­ ¡­They were trying to get her to show how she fights to help with our Ranker Battle, weren¡¯t they? Horinouchi should probably thank them. And then Mary looked up at her. ¡°What should I do? ¡­I can try it once more.¡± ¡°Hold on,¡± said Hunter. ¡°Do you have enough ether to run back home crying afterwards? You aren¡¯t talking about a one-way trip, are you?¡± ¡°Ho ho? And who is it that is wasting a ton of ether just to howl into the distance?¡± They sure do get along, thought Horinouchi, but Hunter¡¯s intervention had come in handy. ¡°Here they come.¡± No, they had arrived a bit ago. They were circling in the evening sky over Tokyo Bay. ¡°Those American U.A.H. reinforcements from Atsugi were a lot of help.¡± ¡°That was clooooose.¡± Hunter realized the waves of detonation had ceased even though the amount of flowers blowing through the air had not lessened. And she heard jets tearing rapidly through the sky. Eight F-23s had been scrambled from Atsugi and they had done a splendid job. ¡°The three-dimensional monitoring from the eight fighters is checking on the paths and movements of the ether flowers, calculating out the most dangerous airspace, and sending that to those two via me.¡± Hunter was providing data on the situation below and from her position in front of the enemy. There was one thing in particular she had to be careful about. ¡­I need to leave an impression that the US was involved. It would be dangerous if this developed into a Ranker Battle. She did not know how great a gap in strength there was between the Rank 1 and the duo of Kagami and Horinouchi. The Rank 1¡¯s spell might be overwhelmingly more useful as a countermeasure against the Black Witch, but Hunter doubted this rushed situation would allow the two of them to draw out their true strength in a Ranker Battle. ¡°Of course, I attacked them at just such a moment myself.¡± Despite her self-deprecating comment, the F-23s focused on making their presence known as they noisily tore through the air. If the Rank 1 took action, they might be caught in the crossfire. That prevented her from beginning a Ranker Battle or from displaying her and the Headmaster¡¯s ¡°justice¡±. In a way, Hunter was sacrificing herself to defend and intervene. The rest had been up to Kagami and Horinouchi, but those higher Rankers had performed flawlessly. They had set up a barrier to secure a safe zone and then summoned their Magino Devices. Also¡­ ¡°European U.A.H., huh?¡± The cherry tree forest came to a sudden stop by the main gate behind her. It was cut off in a cross shape and someone walked in through that opening. ¡°Lisbeth Lueger.¡± She had not been injured in the slightest during all of the explosions, but was that due to her technique or her experience? The woman was full of mysteries, but there was one thing Hunter could say for sure. ¡°Kagami, Horinouchi. ¡­You¡¯re in charge from here on.¡± Volume 3, 8: Absolute Declaration of Intentions Volume 3, Chapter 8: Absolute Declaration of Intentions Do they not want to touch this? Do they want stay away from this? I don¡¯t know, but my opponent smiles ¡°Lady Headmaster!¡± Horinouchi heard Kagami speak. She also saw Kagami point dramatically forward with Dikaiosyne¡¯s control Device. The blue and white gunblade pointed toward the tall Magino Device from which the glowing flowers spread. Horinouchi wondered if the Rank 1 was there. ¡­She is. She was on top of the Magino Device. She stood on top of one of the three blades spread out like leaves atop the standing hoe-shaped Device. She was hard to see from this distance, so Horinouchi used a telescope spell. The spell circle was accompanied by four American U.A.H. spell circles. ¡­This shows the situation from above and provides data on the density and speed of the spreading flowers, doesn¡¯t it? It was the data taken by those circling in the sky. Some of it was quite comprehensive, so she could tell Atsugi was assisting with the data processing. ¡°Can you see this too?¡± Just as she wondered what she was supposed to be seeing, another four spell circles appeared. They all provided close ups of her and Mary. ¡°H-how many planes do you have flying upside down up there!? And Hunter, this one from below is you, isn¡¯t it!?¡± ¡°I get paid for cooperating.¡± The girl was impressively shameless about her motivation, but if American U.A.H. was doing all this¡­ ¡­European U.A.H. must be communicating with the Headmaster. With that thought, she nodded toward Kagami. She thought this was a good time to end this conflict. But when she looked over, Kagami was lying down on top of her Device and pointing a photography spell toward her. ¡°Hurry it up¡­!¡± You don¡¯t have to bow down Dikaio. This is your master¡¯s responsibility. ¡°Now, then.¡± Kagami swung the control Dikaiosyne forward once more. ¡°Lady Headmaster! I would like for the Rank 1 and European U.A.H. to end this conflict! After all,¡± she continued. ¡°Her official opponent is us!¡± She pointed to the girl standing on the tall Magino Device a kilometer away. She had referred to the gas mask girl as ¡°her¡± and she used the same pronoun once more. ¡°We do not wish for another force to intervene in our Ranker Battle with her or for the trouble that will bring! We only wish for an official battle with her!¡± As soon as her raised voice traveled across the sky, her opponent took action. While standing on the hoe Magino Frame, she opened a spell circle. ¡­For communication? Was she speaking with the Headmaster? But that must have only lasted a few words because the girl suddenly raised both hands. At the same time, everything around her turned to fragments of ether. ¡­Oh? The air, the forest, the scattering flowers, and even the noise scattered as fragments of ether. The sound of shattering glass started as a wave. By the time Kagami turned toward Horinouchi, it had grown into the great reverberation of a waterfall as it raced through the sky. She seemed to have rewritten the world. The Rank 1 had canceled her spell. Hunter saw two actions as the falling and dancing ether light fragments washed over her. First, Dikaiosyne and Akerindou came apart and self-destructed directly overhead. Second, the tall Magino Device to the north also shattered and self-destructed. But the Rank 1 was still there. She dispelled her Magino Form and stood in midair. She was standing on the hoe Device that Mary had supposedly split before. ¡­Well, she is from the Honors Division. It was less about power than about being incomprehensible. As rumored, the Rank 1 was from the Honors Division. The Honors Division building was probably located directly below her. Hunter saw Kagami and Horinouchi descending within Dikaiosyne and Akerindou¡¯s falling ether light. By the time those two could see the Rank 1 in the sky beyond the General Division building¡­ ¡°This really is a blizzard of flowers.¡± Just how much ether was in the air? The density had dropped, but the fragments of light never seemed to fully vanish as they continued dancing around the area. What did it all look like to the F-23s flying overhead? But as the sky was returned to normal, a new light appeared there. ¡°I see.¡± It was the Headmaster¡¯s voice. Hunter saw and heard. In the courtyard, on the school buildings, inside the buildings, and ¨C most importantly for her ¨C on the roof of the General Division building above her, spell circles appeared to display the Headmaster¡¯s face. She was in the sky. ¡­Is she next to the Rank 1? Hunter could see two people on top of the distant hoe Device that had fallen onto its side. The Rank 1 was on the left and the Headmaster on the right. That¡¯s a neat trick, she thought as the Headmaster looked out at her from the footage. ¡°You want a Ranker Battle, don¡¯t you? You want this external influence driven out to ensure a pure battle, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes, that is our intention.¡± Horinouchi placed a hand on her chest. ¡°After all, the Ranker Battles determine which witch is chosen for Hexennacht. That is the privilege given to Shihouin Academy, we have been presented with an opportunity to exercise that right, and we intend to do so.¡± So¡­ ¡°If any power would interfere with that, we must fight back.¡± Horinouchi turned around to face the main gate. She looked to Lisbeth there. ¡°Now, the conflict has ended for the time being.¡± She spoke to Lisbeth and the other European U.A.H. witches behind her. ¡°From now on, we and the rest of the witches here will respond if you attack. Do you understand?¡± Horinouchi¡¯s words received a response. It began as shadows and grew into countless sounds and presences. More and more people appeared from behind the school buildings, in the windows, on the edge of the roofs, and behind or in the trees. ¡­Ohh. They were witches. All of the witches of Shihouin Academy made an appearance. Horinouchi stood in the lead, but she simply stared at the European U.A.H. Representative without turning back toward the others. ¡°What do you say to that, European U.A.H. Representative Lisbeth?¡± The witch representative from Europe made a single movement. ¡°Let me ask one thing. ¡­To Student Representative Horinouchi Mitsuru.¡± ¡°Yes. What is it?¡± ¡­She really has guts to not be intimidated here¡­ As Hunter thought that, the European U.A.H. Representative asked her question. ¡°Do you intend to become the Rank 1?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°I see.¡± The European U.A.H. Representative nodded once. ¡°In that case¡­we can speak again once you are the Rank 1.¡± She took a breath. ¡°Until then, U.A.H. shall protect Shihouin Academy.¡± Horinouchi heard cheers behind her. ¡­That puts that problem off until later. They had not actually solved the problem. But Lisbeth had chosen her to negotiate with at a later date. Of course, that was on the condition that she and Kagami became the Rank 1. But the current situation was over. Hence the cheers. ¡­But what does this mean? She had a question. Why had Lisbeth chosen her and Kagami becoming the Rank 1 as her condition? It was as if¡­ ¡°She seemed to be saying she wishes for us to stop the Headmaster and that girl over there.¡± Kagami sent that quiet comment and Horinouchi had to agree. ¡­So Kagami is curious too. With that in mind, she wanted to ask Lisbeth why she was supporting them. The focus of Hexennacht was achieving victory over the Black Witch, so it was best to support the more powerful witch and it made little sense to hope anyone in particular would take the #1 spot. However, she was not given time to ask about that. ¡°Very well,¡± said the Headmaster in the spell circle in the sky. ¡°Then let¡¯s do that.¡± She readily compromised. ¡­Is that really okay? That was awfully obedient compared to the initial rejection. Something was not right. Combined with Lisbeth¡¯s previous condition, it felt like those two had some kind of hidden understanding. But the Headmaster continued as if to ignore Horinouchi¡¯s doubts. ¡°First, please fall back, Lisbeth. At the very least, I do not intend to welcome you as a guest or as an academy official as long as I hold the position of Headmaster.¡± That comment turned several gazes toward Lisbeth. What would the European U.A.H. Representative do now that she had been told to fall back? The other U.A.H. witches and the Shihouin witches gave her looks of doubt and curiosity. Lisbeth sighed in front of them all. ¡°So you are prepared to go that far.¡± ¡°As I am now, I must be prepared for anything I might do.¡± ¡°But.¡± Lisbeth looked around. ¡°Are you okay with the way things are now!?¡± ¡°We had a promise, Lisbeth.¡± ¡­A promise? Horinouchi did not know what ¡°the way things are now¡± meant. But she heard a quiet bitter laughter. It came from the Headmaster in the spell circle. Her shoulders shook and she pulled the Rank 1 toward herself atop the Device. It was not quite a hug, but she did pull the girl right alongside her. ¡°Listen. The Rank 1 and 2 will have their showdown early tomorrow morning.¡± That was half a day away. ¡­That doesn¡¯t give us much time. Did the Headmaster not want them to have time to prepare? But Kagami suddenly tilted her head. She pointed her right index finger toward the Headmaster and Rank 1 in the distance instead of at the spell circle. ¡°Lady Headmaster.¡± She asked a question. ¡°Is she who I think she is?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The Headmaster nodded with a smile while the Rank 1 removed her gas mask and hid behind the woman. Her face was revealed. ¡­Ah. It was the girl who had passed by them when they were throwing out the trash earlier. But the Headmaster placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled. ¡°This is Shihouin Fleur, my daughter.¡± Volume 3, 9: Now, What to Do? Volume 3, Chapter 9: Now, What to Do? If we leave it be The world will ring the bell Because we left you be World, ring the bell Without waiting for the sun to set, America¡¯s 7th Fleet left Hawaii and set out for Japan with an accompanying fleet. The primary aircraft carriers joined the ships sent as reinforcements from the 3rd Fleet back at the American mainland. Altogether, they formed a fleet of 65 ships which accelerated toward Japan while prepared for combat. The onboard aircraft had already been fixed in place. Thanks to the ships¡¯ spell thrusters and the friction-reduced cruising provided by the emblems on the armor, they exceeded a speed of 170 kph. The interior of the ships were bustling with energy during the friction-reduced cruising. The friction-reduced cruising was managed by the men who specialized in that sort of spell, and the acceleration system was managed by the women. They were usually divided between their division and specialty, but the magicians and witches were currently working together while sharing the roles. The structure was quite simple with everyone split into just two groups and both reports and strategy meetings were being made or held throughout the ship. ¡°Listen, everyone.¡± The ships rang with the low voice of the second-in-command witch, Song Caf¨¦. Her voice caused the witches to stiffen and bow while the magicians tensed their shoulders. She spoke calmly. ¡°I¡¯m done looking pathetic. ¡­Make sure we arrive in Japan on time. We have 8 hours.¡± ¡°Aye, sir!¡± They all raised their voices and the ships began to change form. They were transforming into their higher acceleration form. Large ships were affected by water resistance and ¨C to a certain extent ¨C the curvature of the earth. The center of the bottom was easily pushed up by waves and those impacts could damage the ship, so¡­ ¡°Transform from acceleration cruising form to higher acceleration cruising form!¡± The smaller ships moved to the left and right while the aircraft carriers and battleships rearranged the bottom of their hulls. The joints of the armor panels were released and the center to the back was curved upwards. This slightly shifted the weight to the front, so the entire ship would essentially be continuing down a never-ending slope when the curvature of the earth was taken into account. And to factor in the earth¡¯s rotation, the entire ship was curved somewhat to the left. ¡°Higher acceleration preparations complete! Connecting power!¡± ¡°Yes, good girl. ¡­Accelerate to 200 knots in 3 minutes.¡± There were some surprised gasps or annoyed groans here and there, but no more than that. ¡°Aye, sir!¡± With that identical response from every last post, the ocean was split by ether acceleration light. The air was split and a heavy whistling sound was produced by mostly the aircraft carrier decks. They were traveling northwest where the setting sun still shined, but the sky over Japan already looked dark to them. Inside the primary aircraft carrier¡¯s briefing room, a few reports and decisions were made. ¡°Honestly.¡± A woman clicked her tongue. She had short blonde hair and she wore the insignia of a naval rear admiral and a badge containing a musical note and a shot glass. Inside the chair-less conference room, she opened a spell circle on the table that displayed a map of the ocean. ¡°I never thought European U.A.H. was capable of such a largescale transfer spell. Having the world¡¯s greatest ability to transport supplies was supposed to be our selling point, but they¡¯ve completely outdone us, A-un Silver Coin.¡± She looked to a black-haired woman wearing a jacket bearing the insignia of a vice admiral who smiled bitterly. ¡°We learned our lesson last Hexennacht and don¡¯t keep our command post fixed in Yokosuka, but here we are wishing it was still there. ¡­Right, Song Caf¨¦?¡± She narrowed her eyes. ¡°Now, can you win a direct confrontation with Lisbeth Lueger or Shihouin Cerisier?¡± ¡­This is bad¡­ As Hunter listened in with her spell circle, she realized her superiors were even more dangerous than she had thought. She had made a casual report and assumed they would leave this to her, but¡­ ¡­The fleet is on the move, they¡¯re in higher acceleration form, and the captains are saying some ominous things. What am I supposed to do? At this rate, if anything more happened, the 3rd Fleet would show up to create a Combined Pacific HQ and the president might even show up. ¡­I can¡¯t believe this. She started sweating and feeling blue, but she was currently taking a break in Horinouchi¡¯s room. Things had been so peaceful not long ago, so how had this happened? ¡°And just when I was hoping to get some dinner and hold a strategy meeting now that the sun has set.¡± ¡°Dinner¡­!?¡± That surprised response came from Mary who sat to her left. The two of them were by a lounge table where Kagami and Horinouchi sat across from each other. Those two were in chairs while Hunter and Mary were on the floor. To Hunter¡¯s left, Mary quickly straightened her posture. She then bowed toward the two at the table. ¡°I could not possibly have you go to that sort of trouble after I could not even win that battle.¡± ¡­Here we go again. Kagami crossed her arms and nodded in a theatrical way, but Horinouchi glared down at Mary and waved her hands to say ¡°stop that¡±. Hunter pointed to the left, pointed to her own head, and then tilted her head. Then Mary looked over at her while still bowing. ¡°It would seem you haven¡¯t learned your lesson, Rank 4.¡± ¡°Is there anything I need to learn a lesson about?¡± Oh, right. The whole 7th Fleet thing. ¡°Yes, can¡¯t I handle Lisbeth Lueger using a pinpoint bombardment of barrier bombs from long distance? I specialize in quantity and long distance attacks. I can hit her with a triple digit number of attacks before we¡¯re even close enough to send out our witch unit. But then what about Shihouin, A-un Silver Coin? Isn¡¯t she also a worthy opponent?¡± ¡°Hmm, the others wouldn¡¯t like it if I used the same method as you, Song Caf¨¦, so how about we have the Silent Service deployed near Japan fire strategic barriers and see what happens?¡± ¡°Hey, don¡¯t think you can just take the easy way out!¡± ¡°But I¡¯m so busy managing the fleet! So very busy! It isn¡¯t easy managing the fleet when we have reinforcements with us like this! Do you want to try it in my place, Song Caf¨¦!?¡± ¡°What!? Are you sure you want that!? Did you forget last time I took over for you when three of the battleships flipped over backwards!? Do you really want me doing that again!?¡± ¡°You cowards!¡± ¡°Cowards!!¡± ¡°¡­Um, hi. This is Hunter.¡± ¡°Ah!? We¡¯re getting kind of worked up right now, so keep it down!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, Hunter. And sorry if we end up destroying your home, okay?¡± ¡­I can¡¯t believe this¡­ Hunter wanted to believe she had made an effort to fix it, but at this rate, the 7th Fleet could easily intervene in the Ranker Battle. She had told them the Ranker Battle would be held like normal, so how had this happened? And even if Song Caf¨¦ was a lost cause, why was the commander known as A-un Silver Coin getting so carried away? ¡­She did this in the sea off of Vietnam too, didn¡¯t she? Her motto was ¡°what a pain¡±, but the real problem was how she could also be quick to action thanks to her short temper. That was why it was generally Song Caf¨¦ who responded to things, but that was not the case this time. ¡­Well, they did have their pride wounded by European U.A.H. They had apparently received word of European U.A.H.¡¯s wand viewing ceremony while away from Japan to patrol the ocean and observe the moon. That alone would not have warranted a response, but word of the transfer spell had been leaked to them. They would not have arrived in time for European U.A.H.¡¯s arrival while out observing the moon. And even if they had, they would not have been prepared for combat and the fleet would have been low on ships. That was why they had fallen back to Hawaii to wait it out. The 7th Fleet had 7000 witches during peace time and they could mobilize 24,000 during war time. But even during war time, they would only have 2000 elites capable of aerial combat and constructing a front line. ¡­Of course, 2000 is still a pretty major threat. That was why American U.A.H. could remain independent from the rest of U.A.H. But European U.A.H. had sent in 1000 witches and Magino Devices. The 7th Fleet would of course not be the only group responding. Atsugi and the other functioning bases would work with them. But if it did come to a clash, American U.A.H. needed a definite victory. That was why the supervisors of the Pacific had made the humiliating choice of waiting in Hawaii. It was only after reinforcements had arrived that they had started for Japan. ¡°The only other question is how much we can restrict this.¡± ¡°If possible, I want to keep it out at sea. It would be a problem if they used the academy as a hostage, but Japan¡¯s Imperial Household Agency did give me a map of the Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples around Tokyo Bay, so we could have the SEALs set up a ley line barrier while we settle it in Tokyo Bay.¡± Kagami and Horinouchi seemed to be giving it a fair amount of thought, but at the base of it all¡­ ¡°¡­Man, do I wish we had done the previous Ranker Battles properly,¡± complained Hunter. ¡°Are all those spell circles from the US military?¡± ¡°Well, yeah, more or less.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± said Kagami. ¡°What stance are they taking?¡± ¡°The same as ours.¡± Hunter shrugged while sitting on the floor. ¡°If Hexennacht is happening, it¡¯ll be in Japan. And Horinouchi is aiming for the Rank 1 spot as the representative of eastern Japan. So if you two win and do become Rank 1, then in a way, the right to Hexennacht will fall to whoever is in charge here. Plus, Japan is allied with the US, the two countries get along, and I¡¯m also an upper Ranker, so it¡¯s all a pretty good deal for the US.¡± ¡°A good deal?¡± ¡°After Hexennacht, the US can benefit a lot alongside Japan.¡± ¡°What happens if we lose Hexennacht?¡± Horinouchi tilted her head, so Hunter answered while hitting and erasing some new spell circles full of bickering. ¡°After last time, America has distributed its forces across the sea and land. And most of the cities on the equator were moved north while unmanned interception systems were placed there instead. That means there will be less damage this time. And with that in mind, everyone is still prepared to fight. That¡¯s how they convinced the other nations that we deserve more of the benefit after Hexennacht.¡± But¡­ ¡°European U.A.H. has a relatively safe position, but they¡¯re trying to take that benefit for themselves, right? We¡¯re kind of ignoring that part right now, but America will want to make their presence known to warn European U.A.H. not to try anything.¡± A sign frame popped up from the 7th Fleet: ¡°We have but one option: Let¡¯s kick their asses!¡± ¡°Yes, they really are asking for an ass-kicking!¡± ¡­Why are you getting ahead of yourselves!? Well, surely they mean ¡°if it comes to that¡±. ¡°Of course, if the US makes a show of force and ends up fighting here, it could easily cause trouble for Japan and this academy. American U.A.H. would only be taking on the minimum risk needed to protect their own, but European U.A.H. loses their justification of defending against Hexennacht if they end up fighting American U.A.H. That¡¯s why they won¡¯t be able to do anything. And this is the will of America more than just the 7th Fleet.¡± ¡°Does my presence as the Rank 3 not affect anything?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t belong to any country. And since you get along with Horinouchi and me, we can act as negotiators if someone else tries to recruit you. So in America¡¯s view, you¡¯re more of a return than a risk.¡± ¡°Then what about me?¡± asked Kagami. ¡°Well.¡± Hunter waved her hands back and forth. ¡°You¡¯re returning to your original world after Hexennacht, right?¡± ¡­That¡¯s right. Horinouchi felt somehow disappointed about that obvious fact. ¡­If we win Hexennacht¡­ She of course intended to win. She knew she was doing everything she could to that end. But if they won, it meant goodbye. And¡­ ¡°Who knows what happens if we lose.¡± ¡°The different countries are predicting they will at least take similar levels of damage to last time, aren¡¯t they? But¡­¡± ¡°But what, Hunter?¡± asked Kagami. ¡°You¡¯ve got a bad feeling about this, don¡¯t you? The Black Witch has noticed you¡¯re here, Kagami.¡± So¡­ ¡°If we lose the next Hexennacht, won¡¯t the world be erased?¡± ¡°True enough,¡± said Kagami. ¡°The Black Witch was originally trying to destroy this world, but she was sealed inside a restricted area and her power was suppressed.¡± ¡°But during the previous Hexennacht, her minions were sent outside the seal.¡± ¡°In that case.¡± Kagami crossed her arms. ¡°You could say the seal is no guarantee against destruction. ¡­Shouko knows I am here. She knows I have finally caught up with her.¡± She had not reached the previous world in time. Her little sister had already moved on to another world, so that creation of her sister as a ¡°god¡± ¨C a world already tending toward destruction ¨C had been given the last push towards its doom. That had happened many times before. She had found what she could call her sister¡¯s presence or retreating back, but¡­ ¡°This is my first time facing her head-on. Not only is this world very similar to the world we lived in, but Shouko probably sees it as her masterpiece.¡± ¡°Can the destruction of a world really be called a masterpiece?¡± ¡°At a certain age and in a certain environment, people think it is cool to reject a happy ending.¡± So¡­ ¡°I should probably apologize.¡± ¡°For what?¡± That was obvious. ¡°Kagami? You had better not be so full of yourself that you claim your presence here will destroy the world during the next Hexennacht.¡± Mary heard Horinouchi speak. ¡°Listen,¡± she said. ¡°If the Black Witch does try to destroy the world this Hexennacht, it isn¡¯t because you¡¯re here.¡± Instead¡­ ¡°It¡¯s because my mother gave her so much trouble last Hexennacht. So when she sees we¡¯re still defying her, she will decide she can¡¯t hold back this time. That is how well the previous generation and we have done.¡± ¡­This girl¡­ With that thought, Mary nodded in her heart. This girl had been born to a ruined world and intended to defeat the Black Witch. Mary¡¯s ¡°teacher¡± had come from an outside world and intended to defeat the Black Witch. Had it been the same in Mary¡¯s world? ¡­No. They had placed their hopes in Mary¡¯s ¡°teacher¡±. They had relied on her. But these two had defeated her and Hunter and now stood out ahead of them. They had different backgrounds, yet they were the same. As she was now, Horinouchi would not give in to the Black Witch even without Kagami here. And as Horinouchi stared at Kagami on the other side of the table¡­ ¡°¡­Ah.¡± She seemed to notice they were still looking each other in the eye. She looked away and Mary¡¯s ¡°teacher¡± smiled. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°F-for what?¡± Horinouchi blushed and looked to Mary in order to change the subject. ¡°How long are you going to stay sitting down there?¡± ¡°This is all I deserve after failing to overwhelm an enemy just because I have never seen them before¡­¡± ¡°Now, now,¡± said the Head Butler as he walked in. ¡°Let¡¯s try to keep a positive outlook.¡± He snapped his fingers and the maids carried in a tablecloth and some plates. It was dinner. But the Head Butler was also focused on the 1000 Magino Devices visible out the window. ¡°Do you think they are monitoring us out there?¡± ¡°Yes. And it isn¡¯t just them. Everyone is focused on a number of things at the moment. Some of us have noticed gazes from the foreign embassies and institutions.¡± A few maids in the back raised a hand while opening a spell circle map of Tokyo Bay and the surrounding area. ¡°Some people can carry just their gazes to the windows or rooftops, so it can be a real pain.¡± ¡°Good point,¡± said the Head Butler as he snapped his fingers to open a large spell circle outside the window. ¡°Is that one of those one-way transparency spell circles?¡± asked Kagami. ¡°Indeed. From outside, it shows a commercial for Horinouchi-affiliated shrines and a promotional video of Lady Mitsuru¡¯s battles.¡± ¡°You never told me about that second one!¡± protested Horinouchi. ¡°That was my request,¡± explained Kagami. ¡°It is a superb presentation that ends with me calling your name.¡± That exact part could be heard outside the window: ¡°Mankooooo!¡± ¡°Stay tuned for more in a sky near you!¡± ¡°Wh-why does that have surround sound!? And with narration!?¡± ¡°What is wrong with that, Horinouchi? And I doubt any of the spies will be able to focus with that playing.¡± An atmosphere of ¡°anyway¡± hung over them, so Horinouchi clapped her hands. It was a signal, not for a spell. ¡°Let¡¯s eat. ¡­And come sit at the table, Hunter and Mary. We need to come up with a plan for the Rank 1.¡± Volume 3, 10: Finishing This Comes First Volume 3, Chapter 10: Finishing This Comes First This simple method Reminds me of The word satisfaction The meal was steak and katsudon, the perfect choice for a pre-battle jinx. Horinouchi and Mary sat next to each other with Kagami and Hunter across from them. After they finished a fulfilling meal, which included Hunter asking for an extra steak, Koutarou opened a spell circle in front of their table. ¡°This is the footage from Lady Hunter and Lady Mary¡¯s battle this evening.¡± ¡°Oh, the one you edited with my people.¡± The image played on the spell circle had no excess information and was corrected for backlight and anything other distractions. They all looked to the Rank 1¡¯s spell. ¡­The Ranker Battle is at 4 AM. Lady Mitsuru and Lady Kagami have less than 8 hours. Hunter and Mary were here too in the hopes that they could be of some use. That was wonderful. As the head of the Horinouchi family, Horinouchi Mitsuru had to hone herself even further than the previous generation since her mother had been lost. She was powerful, but she was also well aware of that and would show concern for others in an almost parental way. But that was different from making friends who would stand alongside her. Koutarou had honestly thought she would live her life alone. Even if the previous generation had been lost much too soon, she had had a husband and friends. But given the 10 year span between Hexennachts, her daughter was taking on that challenge during her student years. That was unavoidable thanks to the policy of the Shihouin Academy¡¯s headmaster and the Ranker Battle system. ¡­But those fears are gone now. Horinouchi Mitsuru could enjoy her time with her friends and consult with them, but those friends would also risk their lives alongside her. It had only been recently that Koutarou had learned that their ¡°Lady Mitsuru¡± could grow angry or laugh at other people¡¯s jokes or grow exasperated with someone. And she had come to terms with the loss of her mother and she could face the Black Witch without falling into despair or belligerence. Besides how this all played into Hexennacht and the Ranker Battles, Koutarou felt she was becoming an appropriate leader of the Horinouchi family. Well done, milady. With those words in his heart, he began to speak. ¡°Now, about the enemy¡¯s¡­that is, Lady Shihouin Fleur¡¯s spell.¡± Horinouchi listened to Koutarou¡¯s explanation as she watched the video. The screen showed cherry trees scattering lots of flowers into the air. ¡°Lady Shihouin uses an explosion spell specialized toward the traits of a flower. The spell itself is a simple explosion and this footage shows that both physical and spell shielding are effective against it.¡± ¡°But this density is insane¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s like the entire atmosphere turns into an explosive. Like with a dust explosion. Look.¡± Hunter indicated the footage recorded from her vision. Flowers were blooming from the cherry forest floor and those would grow larger before the flower flew into the air. ¡°Watch carefully.¡± Horinouchi did as instructed as saw the flying flower finally fall to the ground, where¡­ ¡°It blooms again.¡± The fallen petals scattered and each one breathed life into new buds, which grew leaves, a stem, and then a full flower. It took less than 5 seconds. ¡°Do you get it now? This is creating an environment.¡± Which meant one thing: ¡°While they¡¯re exploding, the unnecessary ones become seeds which spread the explosion spell through natural growth, right?¡± ¡°That is correct, milady.¡± Koutarou opened a map showing Tokyo Bay from overhead. ¡­Shihouin Academy is in the center. A blue dot appeared over the center of the academy. And it scattered smaller blue dots in every direction. This was probably a diagram showing the spread of flowers by the Rank 1¡¯s spell. They floated like clouds as they gradually spread. ¡°¡­Eh?¡± And they suddenly accelerated. Just when the flowers seemed to hit an indefinite boundary, that boundary burst and the flowers covered Tokyo Bay while accelerating to 2 or 3 times the speed. ¡°The color¡­¡± Just as Mary pointed out, the blue grew to a red that indicated a greater top to bottom thickness. After exceeding an altitude of 1000 meters, that acceleration linked with the acceleration of the flowers spreading out down below. When Koutarou zoomed out the Tokyo Bay map to show the whole region of southern Kantou, the flowers quickly spread further west until they covered half of Tokyo. Their thickness surpassed 7000 meters. ¡°If there are no obstacles, the flowers will reach this state in about a minute and a half.¡± ¡°Is this expansion caused by the seed-creation we just mentioned?¡± ¡°Yes. As the scope grows, fewer of the flowers need to explode, so the further it spreads, the more flowers can be used to increase their spreading power.¡± ¡°And based on the video, the flowers create their own environment and that environment grows stronger the denser the cloud of flowers is. That means the cherry trees grow and the number of flowers increase. When real plants are packed together like that, the central region weakens, but these evolve, starting from the central region and spreading in waves to the outside.¡± The stages of acceleration seen on the diagram were when that evolution created a new version. ¡°Based on our calculations, it would only take about half an hour for the flowers to cover half the earth¡¯s surface while reaching the troposphere at their thickest point.¡± ¡°Plus, in that environment, the flowers will bloom on any attack spell,¡± said Mary while lightly tapping her fingernails on the table. ¡°Even my annihilation spell was turned into flowers and scattered en route. Even if the Black Witch uses attacks remotely and sends in her minions, they should be scattered as explosions once they enter that environment.¡± Meaning¡­ ¡°As a Hexennacht countermeasure, this creates a surefire and perfect defensive environment against the Black Witch. That is the Rank 1¡¯s plan.¡± ¡°Wait just a moment.¡± Kagami honestly thought this was a well-made method. ¡­Flowers that use ether as fertilizer, hm? Magino Frames themselves were made of ether, as were spells. This had been entirely designed as a witch countermeasure. And¡­ ¡­It has some complex effects and combinations of effects for a spell, but it is most impressive that she allows it to grow on its own as a plant and even evolve. That would be the result of building the spell like a program and doing some selective breeding. But Kagami did have a question. ¡°Where is she getting all that ether from?¡± ¡°After the spell begins, we believe the flowers absorb ether from the ley lines to grow on their own. During this battle, the coastal shrines and temples detected a change in the ley line levels they were measuring.¡± ¡°But there would have to be an initialization phase and a way to control it after it¡¯s begun,¡± pointed out Horinouchi. ¡°No, we think the control is mostly left to the flowers and trees. The detonations use a chain reaction, so she shouldn¡¯t need to manage the entire region.¡± ¡°No, that isn¡¯t true.¡± Mary cut in while stopping the footage of the chain reaction explosion. She zoomed in on a region of overlapping explosions. Several bright explosions filled the evening sky, but there were also flowers scattered between them. ¡°Do you see this? Some of the flowers were not detonated.¡± ¡°And what do you think of that, Mary?¡± ¡°Most likely, the flowers within a certain range are labeled based on their grade and the situation. The Rank 1 can choose to detonate or not detonate them based on those labels.¡± ¡°Can you do that?¡± Mary spread her hands and bent her right pinky down. ¡°With 9 lines, I can manage them all the way to the other side of the planet.¡± Hunter whistled, but Mary only glared at her. ¡°My annihilation spell is a line. At best, I can create a barrier wall with it. But the Rank 1¡¯s technique goes beyond a 1D line or a 2D surface to create a 3D mass. What do you think, teacher? As a brigadier general, what do you think of this level of ether extraction?¡± ¡°The pure amount being extracted is probably greater than I can pull off.¡± When Kagami admitted that as an obvious fact, Hunter threw both hands into the air. ¡°Then how are we supposed to defeat her? That¡¯s a good question, thought Horinouchi. No, she could generally see what they had to do. And Kagami must have picked up on that because she looked her way. ¡°Yes, how can we beat her? What would you do?¡± All three of them answered at the exact same time. ¡°Get close and shoot her.¡± ¡°Get close and shoot.¡± ¡°Get close and shoot at her.¡± ¡°Well done, milady! Such a simple plan!¡± ¡°They get along so well.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. My fortunetelling also said it¡¯s important to get close to someone before making your move.¡± ¡°Of course, the real question is how to get close to her.¡± Hunter had a strategy in mind. ¡°We settle it before it reaches pandemic levels.¡± ¡°Agreed. Before her created environment can reach the next level, we must approach her and destroy her Magino Device. If necessary, we can attack the spell user herself to prevent her from attacking and to knock her out.¡± That was probably what it would take. And they already had a method of doing that. ¡°Will that mean immediately shooting after a rapid Magino Frame summoning?¡± ¡°We already know how to do the rapid summoning and shooting things is your specialty, Horinouchi, so there will be no problem there,¡± said Kagami. ¡°But this will not be that simple. ¡­At the start of a Ranker Battle, especially one directed by the Lady Headmaster, both sides will already have their Frame at least partially ready.¡± That was the problem. If the Rank 1 had her Magino Frame and environment established from the very beginning, the battle would immediately become much more difficult. ¡­Because her Magino Device is an environmental accelerator¡­ They would win if they could destroy that, but its very existence was dangerous. If she summoned it in advance and put some distance between them, things would end up the same as that evening. ¡°Could you keep your distance and wait until time runs to win by default or something?¡± ¡°There is no time limit rule. The battle continues until one side has won,¡± explained Horinouchi. ¡°And in an endurance battle, I think the Rank 1 would have an advantage since her created environment can absorb ether and return to ether.¡± ¡°Then what do you plan to do, Horinouchi?¡± ¡°Well,¡± said Horinouchi as she opened a spell circle. ¡°I will use multi-stage armored shells.¡± ¡°Multi-stage armored shells¡­¡± repeated Hunter under her breath. ¡°Huh? Aren¡¯t you always using those?¡± ¡°You know what those are, Rank 4?¡± ¡°Well, yeah. I was hit by a lot of them in my Normal Form before.¡± Why did that lead the Rank 3 to glare at her? But back to Horinouchi¡¯s shells¡­ ¡°It¡¯s those ones where the tip increases their penetrative power and the inside provides an impact.¡± ¡°They aren¡¯t all like that. Different effects can be added in as stages.¡± Horinouchi opened a simple diagram showing a shell inside another shell. ¡°These have two armored layers specialized for penetrative power and the core shell within has a focus on the purification effect. The armor layers will be purged when a certain amount of flowers have bloomed on them. If I have an acceleration spell automatically kick in at that time, I think they can avoid our opponent¡¯s lock to a certain extent.¡± ¡°Couldn¡¯t that knock them off target?¡± ¡°Given the size of a Magino Device, I want to fire from within 3 kilometers.¡± For 500-meter Devices that was more or less close range. But they would have to do that. And¡­ ¡°We need to think up a countermeasure in case she manages to start her flowers growing on their own, but I think approaching her Magino Device will work well there too. She can¡¯t blow herself up with her own bombs, right?¡± Horinouchi looked to Kagami. ¡°So we approach while firing. Once we¡¯re at close range, she won¡¯t be able to attack lest she destroy herself.¡± ¡°I would assume she has a defense system for just such a scenario,¡± said Kagami. ¡°But it is true it all comes down to getting close. ¡­And luck would have it that I can repair my armor mid-battle using my ether extraction. At least to a certain extent. And if it comes down to it, we could board her Magino Device for a direct battle.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re saying we actually have a fair number of options?¡± ¡°But she would not be the Rank 1 if she did not have a way of crushing those options.¡± Kagami placed her elbows on the table. ¡°Now, we know we can at least picture a scenario where we have the upper hand. We can wait until we have calmed down more to picture a scenario where she has the upper hand. And we have enough time to picture ourselves overcoming that scenario. ¡­But I have one question.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Koutarou? The Rank 1¡¯s name is Fleur, correct? How much of her spell is inherited from her mother, the Lady Headmaster, just like Horinouchi¡¯s spells were inherited from her mother? Also¡­¡± Kagami asked one more thing. ¡°Since Horinouchi¡¯s mother fought in the previous Hexennacht, that means she defeated the Lady Headmaster. Are there any records of that?¡± ¡°Well done, Lady Kagami.¡± Koutarou praised Horinouchi¡¯s partner¡¯s question. But he was not the one to answer it. Instead¡­ ¡°Milady, please answer her.¡± ¡°Yes. Kagami. ¡­Look this way. We can eat dessert after we¡¯re done talking.¡± Should we serve it first? It is already lined up on the counter. Hunter was staring in the same direction, so they ended up serving it first. ¡°Now, then. ¡­Even if it is that time of year, shiratama anmitsu with cream is a nice jinx dessert since it looks like the moon.¡± ¡°Do you care more about the state of the world or dessert?¡± ¡°I simply enjoy eating with everyone.¡± ¡°Yes, yes.¡± Horinouchi spread her mouth horizontally but then glanced toward Koutarou. She was about to discuss the past, so he nodded back at her, as did the maids waiting behind him. And then Horinouchi spoke. ¡°The headmaster¡¯s spell is a lot like the technique used by Fleur, the Rank 1.¡± ¡°I see. Was it that advance information that allowed you to push it back with a barrier spell when you summoned Akerindou?¡± ¡°I doubled it and pushed the front barrier with another barrier behind it. Even if the flowers bloom on the front one, it can still be pushed from behind until it explodes. Of course,¡± she began before sipping at her thick tea and wiping her lips with a kaishi. ¡°Once we are near the center of the environment, both of the layers will probably have flowers bloom on them.¡± ¡°So you are saying the headmaster also used flowers and explosions as an environment spell?¡± ¡°No. She simply scattered flowers from her Magino Device and made the ether around them into the same. That allowed them to be ¡®planted¡¯ on other Devices and spells. The natural budding and growth that Fleur uses must be a result of selective breeding.¡± ¡°I see,¡± replied Kagami. ¡°And how did your mother fight that?¡± ¡°Well.¡± Horinouchi nodded and gestured drawing a bowstring while making sure she did not get in Mary¡¯s way next to her. ¡°By speeding up her shells, she hit the headmaster before the headmaster¡¯s spell could get at the shell. That was her only option because Akerindou¡¯s loading area could only create a whole crystallized ether shell at the time, so she could not create multi-stage armored shells.¡± ¡°And?¡± asked Hunter. ¡°In that battle between moms, yours won?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± She trailed off but then gave a clear answer. ¡°There are no records left of that battle.¡± Horinouchi saw the other three frowning. ¡°I mentioned before that there are no records left of Hexennacht, remember?¡± ¡°The eraser, huh?¡± If that was what they were calling it, then that was exactly right. ¡°Yes. When my mother settled her battle with the headmaster, she used a spell that was also effective on Hexennacht. I don¡¯t know if it was created spontaneously or if she had prepared it in advance, but whatever happened there was erased by the Black Witch. So¡­¡± She said it. ¡°Not even the headmaster herself remembers.¡± That is a troublesome trick, thought Kagami. She sipped some tea to alter the flavor in her mouth and then crossed her arms. ¡°Would it not be more accurate to say you just do not know where to find it?¡± ¡°I think it would be best to work at a way of improving what we already have. Isn¡¯t that more realistic than pursuing some mystery?¡± ¡°That is very like you, Horinouchi. And I agree that is best.¡± ¡°But,¡± said Hunter. ¡°They¡¯ve been building that spell up for the last 10 years, haven¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± confirmed Koutarou. ¡°Compared to our old records, the flowers now have countless variations and can bloom anywhere. They are likely attempting to respond to any and all situations.¡± ¡°In other words, it has been specialized and changed to perfectly seal off their enemy.¡± ¡°But what would happen to the surface if the flowers are detonated while covering half the earth or more?¡± asked Hunter. That was a major concern for Hunter whose homeland had been badly damaged. This meant the intercepting witch could end up doing the same thing. ¡°The side effects of my shots are pretty bad, but that environment is on another level entirely. It split Tokyo Bay this evening, and it could do the same to other regions. The Hexennacht witch¡¯s goal is to defeat the Black Witch, but that environment spell is trying to do that at all costs.¡± ¡°It¡¯s easy to complain after you¡¯ve lost,¡± said Mary. But she did not even look in Hunter¡¯s direction as she continued. ¡°And as another who lost, I agree. I intend to become a winner, but I refuse to accept monsters.¡± ¡°This girl sitting across from me is a real pain the ass¡­¡± Those two sure get along, thought Kagami, but something else was bothering her. ¡°Horinouchi, you seemed to notice something during the battle. What was it?¡± ¡°Well, that Rank 1 summoned her Magino Frame without a servant.¡± That was true. And to go further¡­ ¡°When we were throwing the garbage out, someone said they had never seen her servant, right?¡± ¡°Yes. The sanitation witch did.¡± Hunter looked up. ¡°Does that mean she really hasn¡¯t been using a servant all this time?¡± ¡°¡­? But she isn¡¯t from another world like the brigadier general, right?¡± ¡°Might I provide some information concerning that?¡± A sudden voice reached them from behind. Koutarou and the maids quickly turned around to find someone in front of the counter. The woman was drinking a glass of beer she had taken without asking. ¡°Lisbeth Lueger?¡± Kagami saw Lisbeth raise her glass while wearing a black suit. ¡°I am honored that one of this world¡¯s creators knows my name.¡± Someone else ¡°broke through¡± and appeared behind her. It was the Head Maid. She had pierced space itself to make an appearance and she held a knife meant for serving food. The Head Maid first looked to the girls. ¡°My apologies, milady. It would seem we forgot to monitor the entranceway.¡± ¡°You just skipped right past Koutarou, did you not?¡± Hearing that, Koutarou looked back, looked to each of the girls, and shook his head. ¡°No, I don¡¯t mind. Lady Mitsuru is the master here, so I don¡¯t mind at all.¡± ¡°It really bothers him, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Mary, putting it like that does the most damage of all.¡± But Lisbeth smiled bitterly. ¡°Explaining why I am here would have been a pain and I doubt you would understand regardless. So I snuck in through the main entrance, stealthily used the central elevator, and held my breath as I walked down the middle of the hallway. And to resupply for my infiltration, I am drinking a beer. Stealth is a lot of work, you see.¡± Hunter glared at Horinouchi who waved her hands back and forth when she noticed. ¡°N-not everyone I know is like this.¡± ¡°That is right, Hunter. Everyone Horinouchi knows is an innocent saint. Right, Manko?¡± ¡°You be quiet!¡± But laughter followed. It was Lisbeth. She ignored the knife at her throat and brought the glass to her mouth. ¡°So you can smile now, Mitsuru?¡± ¡°I was angry. Weren¡¯t you watching?¡± ¡°If you can get angry, you can smile. But if you ¡®smile¡¯, you can also hide your anger.¡± She stepped forward as she said that. But the Head Maid did not pull back the knife at her throat. She gathered strength to hold her hand in place as a warning not to move. ¡°What a dull blade.¡± But Lisbeth continued forward regardless. Her neck passed through the knife. ¡°An illusion?¡± asked Hunter. But it was not. A closer look showed what had happened. There was a cut through Lisbeth¡¯s neck. No blood or anything else flowed out, but there was a definite pulse there. ¡°This is spatial cutting. I am not embarrassed to cut myself at this age.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad to see you¡¯re still so healthy.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Lisbeth stopped next to the girls. ¡°Now, then.¡± Just as a will-o¡¯-the-wisp servant appeared on her shoulder, a Normal Device jutted out from her hand. Mary immediately stood up. ¡°How dare you¡­!¡± She raised her voice, but Lisbeth was looking straight at Kagami. And the woman spoke calmly with the straight sword still held vertically. ¡°You have good instincts. You have supposedly seen hundreds of worlds fall into ruin and now I can see that¡¯s likely true.¡± ¡°I¡¯m honored you think so.¡± Kagami remained seated, but her right hand was casually extended overhead. The fingers seemed to be grabbing something in midair, but¡­ ¡­Don¡¯t tell me¡­ Ether light sprayed out in a horizontal line. It moved from the window to Lisbeth with Kagami¡¯s raised hand in the middle. After the ether light scattered, something appeared there. ¡°A Normal Device¡­¡± ¡°My Dragoon is a double sword.¡± It was obvious now what Lisbeth had done. As soon as the first sword had appeared, she had cut space too quickly to be seen and hidden the other sword there. ¡°I cut it quite thinly, but I must be getting old if you saw through it.¡± ¡°No, you can chalk that one up to me being awesome.¡± ¡°This girl...¡± muttered Horinouchi before standing up. ¡­Eh? Mary turned toward Horinouchi in confusion and saw her brushing her long hair back with a hand. ¡°So did Kagami pass your ¡®test¡¯? Then what do you want, Aunt Lisbeth? ¡­If you aren¡¯t just here to play around, do you have something to show us?¡± ¡°You could tell?¡± ¡°You said we would not understand if you explained why you are here, so I assume you want some of our time. Where do you intend to take us?¡± The maids tensed, but the corners of Lisbeth¡¯s mouth rose. The smile was more of satisfaction than amusement. ¡°Mitsuru, you really are clever. So let¡¯s get going.¡± ¡°Again, where to?¡± Horinouchi asked again and looked the woman in the eye. The European U.A.H. Representative used her thumb to point to the north behind her. ¡°It isn¡¯t far. ¡­There¡¯s something I should show you. Here in this academy.¡± Volume 3, 11: And the Truth Volume 3, Chapter 11: And the Truth The truth is not in the depths It is in the center Is that because the earth is round? Hunter was unsure whether or not she should go with them, but she ended up doing so. ¡­I wonder what the others would say if they knew I was hanging out with the European U.A.H. Representative. She checked and found the 7th Fleet had taken the range of the Rank 1¡¯s spell into account, so they had chosen to stop in the ocean off of Chiba instead of landing at Yokosuka. Thanks to that, they would not arrive until past 3 AM, but¡­ ¡­Does that mean they can provide backup during the Ranker Battle at 4? Depending on how the Rank 1¡¯s spell spread this time, they could be restricted from taking off from and landing at the bases on land. If the Rank 1¡¯s environment covered all of Kantou, they might not even be able to communicate with Yokosuka, Yokota, and Atsugi. In that case, the 7th Fleet out at sea would have to immediately relay the satellite information as a general HQ. The crew was likely making sure everything was set up for that in the fleet command room. ¡°If the flowers bloom on ether, we¡¯ll have to go with physical objects. Look, the orbits of 3 satellites fit our needs, so can¡¯t we drop them down on her? Once they accelerate, she won¡¯t be able to escape.¡± ¡°So it would be the US army¡¯s first meteor strike!? I like it! Hey, bring out another round of drinks!¡± Hunter decided to forget she saw that. At any rate, Lisbeth unsurprisingly brought them out into the night, but where they went next was unexpected. The European U.A.H. Magino Devices still surrounded the school, but¡­ ¡°Are we not leaving the campus?¡± ¡°This is the courtyard¡­isn¡¯t it?¡± Based on Horinouchi and Kagami¡¯s speed as they walked out ahead of Hunter and Mary, they did not know where they were being taken either. But it was apparently within the campus where they lived. As they walked north, they occasionally passed some students who were out to get some food or drinks. ¡­Is that where we¡¯re going? Hunter somehow knew the answer. It was the center of the school. The structure at the center of the courtyard. There was a clearing with a radius of 50 meters and the building in the center resembled a bell tower. ¡°The underground mausoleum?¡± ¡°Why are you taking us here?¡± Kagami looked around while listening to Horinouchi¡¯s question. They were walking down a corridor with a width and height of 5 meters and bluish-white sterilization divine protection lights on the ceiling. The walls and everything else were white, but the large lace pattern carved into the walls was likely an emblem providing a divine protection that ensured peace for the souls laid to rest here. But¡­ ¡­I thought the underground mausoleum¡¯s entrance was locked. She had looked around to a certain extent after transferring in. ¡°Are you allowed entrance here?¡± she asked Lisbeth. ¡°This place was originally built by me¡­no, by us.¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¡°You mentioned Fleur¡¯s servant before, didn¡¯t you? There is something I would like to show you concerning that. As a ¡®guest¡¯.¡± Their surroundings changed. Rows of gold-colored bronze doors appeared along the walls. Each of the doors was positioned at waist height. They were about 1 meter tall and 30 centimeters wide. The ornamented single doors had a relief and a name engraved in them. ¡°Graves for ashes? But who do they belong to?¡± How many of them were there? The corridor seemed to continue forever, but Lisbeth answered without turning back. ¡°Those who, in death, wished for the safety of this world were chosen. If you have officially joined this academy, then you will visit this place each year.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Horinouchi spoke quietly. ¡°This place is for the people who died during the previous Hexennacht.¡± Horinouchi realized Kagami was looking her way while walking alongside her. ¡°Horinouchi. If your mother is here, I should have bought some flowers to greet her.¡± ¡°Brigadier General! If you need some, I can go buy them!¡± ¡°That will not be necessary,¡± insisted Horinouchi. ¡°You can only say that because you must be bringing her flowers regularly.¡± Was Kagami praising her or teasing her? ¡­Probably the latter. But after turning a few corners, the passageway curved and the doors vanished from the walls. Then some paint drew yellow diagonal lines at their feet. ¡°Aunt Lisbeth? We¡¯re leaving the area for guests.¡± ¡°Stop calling me ¡®aunt¡¯. And I am well aware of that.¡± She pointed forward. A metal door covered the full width of the corridor. It was labeled ¡°Off Limits Zone¡± and Lisbeth raised her right hand in front of it. She held a card key. ¡°Only a handful of people have one of these. From here on, I will be a formal guest.¡± With that, she stuck the card in a slot on the door and slid it down. ¡°Now, then.¡± The door did not open. After a while, she looked back in front of the unmoving door. ¡°Hm?¡± She tilted her head and repeated the action a few times, but the door still did not budge. Of the 4 girls watching, Horinouchi looked back at the other 3 who nodded. ¡°Aunt, that isn¡¯t the reader¡¯s slot; it¡¯s just a gap in the device. So¡­¡± She grabbed the card away from Lisbeth and pressed it against the sensor. A chime rang. ¡°Thank you for using our card.¡± The electronic voice seemed a little off, but Lisbeth took a breath and spoke. ¡°I knew that. I really did. ¡­What¡¯s that look for, Mitsuru? You don¡¯t believe me, do you!?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, Manko. Starting today, you need to be an honest Manko.¡± ¡°You be quiet!!¡± But the door slowly opened. A chill reached them from what was revealed on the other side. ¡°A large room?¡± The round room there was dark and still. Horinouchi followed Lisbeth into what could be called a great hall and only then realized how dark it was. The room was about 15 meters across. There were bluish-white lights on the walls and ceiling. There was also a faint light coming from a raised platform in the center of the floor. The only other light came from¡­ ¡°Glowing plants.¡± Hearing Hunter¡¯s comment, Horinouchi realized there were indeed plants covering the walls and floor. And the flowers growing from them were glowing enough to faintly illuminate their surroundings. It was enough to make the floor more black than dark and for the angle of illumination to reveal the shape of the walls and ceiling. Then Horinouchi realized Lisbeth had sped up in front of them. She was walking toward the center of the hall. ¡°So it really has weakened this much¡­¡± Wondering what she meant, Horinouchi walked through the ankle-deep plants and found a servant at the edge of the light in the center. ¡°A flower dragon!¡± It was a white dragon formed from white lily-like petals. Some red provided an accent on the edges of the petals. ¡­How rare. She had memories of the Headmaster using one, so¡­ ¡°This might be Fleur¡¯s servant.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s too far away from the battle this evening. And it doesn¡¯t seem prepared for remote support.¡± The flower dragon noticed them, but it remained in the center of the hall and simply turned around. Horinouchi began to approach it, but Kagami called out to her from behind. ¡°Wait, Horinouchi. Look to your feet.¡± She did so. In another step, she would have reached a shallow fence of climbing roses. It was not even 30 cm tall or thick, but there was something contained inside the fence. It was a glass-covered coffin. And¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± When she looked down, she saw a familiar face. The eyes were closed and it was entire devoid of motion. ¡°The Headmaster¡­?¡± ¡°What is this¡­?¡± Horinouchi¡¯s downward gaze saw roses filling the glass box. And a metal plate was installed above the Headmaster¡¯s head. The given date was the end of October from 10 years ago. ¡­The day of Hexennacht. She thought about what this meant, but¡­ ¡°It can¡¯t be. She¡¯s only sleeping, right? I mean¡­¡± When she looked back down below the glass, she noticed something. In the rose-filled coffin, the Headmaster¡¯s body was hidden by a sheet, but the shape visible through the sheet was not that of a whole body. Kagami stood next to Lisbeth who had taken a half step behind Horinouchi. ¡°What is the meaning of this, Lisbeth?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t tell?¡± ¡°I can take a guess, but I would like to hear it from someone who knows.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Lisbeth¡¯s shoulders drooped. ¡°My friend Shihouin Cerisier died that night. ¡­She died taking out the Black Witch¡¯s minions who would have otherwise killed me.¡± The servant known as a flower dragon looked up at them and fidgeted like it did not know what to do. Lisbeth narrowed her eyes toward it and continued speaking. ¡°She believed we would win the battle. And, Mitsuru, she believed that your mother would be safe¡­so on the verge of death, she made a promise. She said she wanted to fill the world with flowers to erase the scars of the battle. When we were still trainees, she had always looked after the flower garden.¡± ¡°That¡¯s really surprising¡­¡± ¡°That is very harsh, Horinouchi.¡± ¡°I-I meant the part about my mother!¡± On the other side, Hunter lightly spun her right arm as a sign to ¡°wrap it up¡±, so Kagami gave her an OK sign and spoke. ¡°But what happened after that?¡± ¡°Things might have been different if she could have spoken with her child like Horinouchi¡­like Mitsuyo did. After we preserved her body, we returned to find her in her home.¡± Someone who should have been dead had returned home. In that case¡­ ¡°A ghost?¡± ¡°No, it was her ¡®regrets¡¯ given physical form. Think of it like a tape imprinted with her will.¡± Kagami raised her right hand when she heard the word ¡°tape¡±. She looked at the others to find Horinouchi and Hunter had tilted their heads too. ¡°Tape?¡± ¡°Then an MD¡­¡± Kagami knew that one, so she raised her hand, but the other three were still tilting their heads. Lisbeth cleared her throat. ¡°¡­A memory card?¡± ¡°Let us go with that.¡± When the others nodded, Lisbeth turned around and forcefully struck the empty air with her Normal Device. ¡°Dammit!¡± Hunter and the others stepped back in surprise, so Kagami held her palms forward to calm them. ¡°The generation gap is always cruel. We too will age like that eventually, so we must make sure we do not end up like her.¡± ¡°Kagami, you¡¯re not helping her by saying that.¡± She turned back around to find Lisbeth glaring at her and sighing. Finally, she opened her mouth again. ¡°At its foundation, her spell contains the concept of ¡®growth¡¯. In other words, ¡®life¡¯. So just before she died, she took a mold of her life and imprinted it with her remaining life force.¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± ¡°She used her body as a vessel to allow her regrets to remain in this world.¡± Horinouchi looked up as she explained. ¡°That means the Headmaster we¡¯ve met was only her regrets, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°It does. That was Shihouin¡¯s final spell. It is only because of her immense power that it has been able to exist at a nearly physical density for so long. This is where the vessel is stored. But her will and memories were clear enough to see herself as the real one, so we allowed it and worked as ¡®her¡¯ backup. But¡­¡± Lisbeth looked to the slowly fading light of the glowing plants on the walls. ¡°Her life used to shine brightly in here, but it has grown so weak.¡± She looked between Kagami and Horinouchi. ¡°So I have a request.¡± ¡°I will hear it.¡± ¡°Heh.¡± Lisbeth laughed without a smile on her face and then she told them. ¡°Defeat her daughter Fleur and free the two of them.¡± When she heard that, Horinouchi realized why Lisbeth had brought them here. ¡­She said it had to do with why Fleur never showed her servant¡­ The flower dragon looked up from the floor and tried to always keep a certain distance from them. But¡­ ¡°Are you saying Fleur¡¯s servant isn¡¯t the flower dragon here¡­¡± ¡°This flower dragon is Cerisier¡¯s servant. Fleur¡¯s servant is¡­¡± Horinouchi did not need to hear the rest of that sentence. ¡°The Headmaster is Fleur¡¯s servant, isn¡¯t she?¡± ¡°Wait.¡± Kagami suddenly uttered that single word. She held her right hand forward and looked to Lisbeth. ¡°Does Fleur know this?¡± ¡°Of course. Cerisier gave herself and her great power to Fleur so that she might survive the next Hexennacht. And those two have improved on their spell and fought until they reached this point. So Fleur thinks that as long as she continues being a ¡®good girl¡¯ by fighting and winning, she will never lose her mother. But¡­¡± Lisbeth indicated their surroundings with a sweep of her hand. ¡°At this rate, Cerisier¡¯s soul will be worn down until it disappears. If she participates in Hexennacht, I doubt it will last. ¡­It is only just barely holding on now.¡± ¡°So if we defeat Fleur in the Ranker Battle, it will remove the Headmaster¡¯s need to protect Fleur and Fleur¡¯s need to be protected?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Lisbeth nodded. ¡°That is why I am here. To free my friend¡¯s soul after I once accepted this situation and thus bound her to it. I once told her to live, but now I am cruelly telling her to die. ¡­However, she was never one to do what I said. And she isn¡¯t now either.¡± ¡°So that is it.¡± Horinouchi heard Kagami mutter those words. She looked over to see Kagami raise her index finger and point at Lisbeth as if striking at the air. ¡°The Lady Headmaster said she would not welcome you as an academy official as long as she held the position of Headmaster. ¡­She understands the situation as well, doesn¡¯t she?¡± Meaning¡­ ¡°If she disappears, she will give that position to you.¡± When Horinouchi heard that, a few things clicked into place inside her. ¡­That¡¯s right. That exchange had indeed occurred that evening. Lisbeth, the instigator of the battle, had hesitated and the Headmaster had chosen to accept the battle. So¡­ ¡°Does the Headmaster wish to protect her daughter Fleur and to achieve victory on Hexennacht? Or does she wish to lose and free Fleur from this conflict?¡± ¡°Fleur should actually understand this too. But¡­¡± ¡°Yes,¡± agreed Horinouchi. She had lost her own mother, but her mother had not left any regrets. ¡­I wonder why not. If she had known about Fleur and the Headmaster¡¯s relationship at the time, would she have been jealous? But at this point she was not. She had once refused to look up at the moon due to her grudge over losing her mother, but that had changed. Was Fleur able to look up at the moon alongside her mother¡¯s regret? No, it seemed different somehow whether she was able to or not, but was that only because Horinouchi was arrogantly rejecting the possibility that others were happy? ¡°Horinouchi,¡± said Kagami. ¡°Fleur has realized the truth¡­just like you did. But she refuses to accept it, so she refuses to look down even as she walks along a bridge that will eventually come to an abrupt end.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it arrogant of us to shove her off of that bridge?¡± ¡°Then what would you do?¡± Horinouchi tried to answer that question, but¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± No words came out. She had expected herself to say something clever, but¡­ ¡­I don¡¯t know. ¡°That is fine.¡± Kagami looked her straight in the eye. ¡°After all, you have never seen someone being placed in the same circumstances you used to be in.¡± And¡­ ¡°When that happens, will you turn her into what you used to be or will you be able to make her what you are now? You need to think about what you will do.¡± ¡°D-don¡¯t act like you know everything.¡± But she understood what Kagami was saying. She did not know if they could defeat the Rank 1, but the light of the plants around them did not lie. The Headmaster¡¯s soul was at its limit. And since Shinto dealt with souls and she was its representative¡­ ¡°Putting it to rest is my job¡­¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Hunter crossed her arms behind her head. ¡°We¡¯ve got a copy using the Headmaster¡¯s soul as fuel and someone who¡¯s grown dependent on that copy even though she knows it¡¯s a lie. ¡­But even though the copy isn¡¯t sure this is the right thing to do, she continues wearing down the soul for the daughter that adores her. We can¡¯t let this keep going.¡± ¡°Then Horinouchi. ¡­Let us stop this. If she vanishes, nothing at all will remain.¡± ¡°¡­Can you make it in time?¡± Mary¡¯s narrowed eyes were lowered toward the glowing plants. She was likely using the amount of light to calculate out their master¡¯s amount of ether. And the look on her face was not promising. But¡­ ¡°I do not know. Whether we do or not depends on what happens next,¡± clearly stated Kagami. ¡°But as things are, we will be forced to see her die a second time. And this time, she will truly leave nothing behind.¡± So¡­ ¡°We will stop this. It is necessary for our own ambitions, but what comes after that is up to those two.¡± Moonlight filled the courtyard. Oh, dear, thought Headmaster Cerisier. I never liked the moon because it reminds me of Hexennacht, but when I¡¯m with Fleur, I¡¯m more worried about her. Fleur did not fear the moon. It was unclear if that was due to her mother¡¯s presence or just part of her personality. But when she let the moonlight wash over her in the flower garden where everything looked white and dark blue¡­ ¡°How pretty, Fleur.¡± ¡°Mama, you would already know that if you didn¡¯t refuse to go out at night.¡± Fleur spread her arms in front of the blossoming flowers. ¡°I picked up all the trash today to make it nice and pretty! See? Look, mama! I looked after them, so they¡¯re blooming so much this year!¡± The flowers continued as far as the girl could spread her arms and as far as the eye could see, but had the garden always been this large? She had forgotten after only viewing it from above for so long. ¡­That¡¯s right. This was late in coming, but she was glad she had come to learn this now. In the past, her daughter had barely been able to look after the potted plants in the house, but now she could make all this. A smile naturally came to her lips. ¡°How pretty, Fleur. I hope they can continue blooming forever.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry! If I do what you say, the flowers will never wither! They¡¯ll continue spreading forever! And¡­oh, I know! If I defeat the Black Witch, you won¡¯t have to fear anything anymore, right!?¡± ¡°Fear¡­?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Fleur walked over and looked up at her. She grabbed her mother¡¯s hands, shook them up and down, and spoke with a smile. ¡°Like worrying about leaving me all alone!¡± ¡°That¡­¡± That was her regret. It was the worry that had prevented her from leaving this world. ¡­If Mitsuyo was here, she would probably scold me over that¡­ She had to smile bitterly in her heart at that. And it was concern over this that had brought Lisbeth here. She had built up her current surroundings in an attempt to not worry anyone, but now she was certain her current friend and the friend in her memories were worried. I¡¯m a failure of a Headmaster, she thought as Fleur tilted her head in front of her. ¡°Mama, is something worrying you?¡± ¡°Yes. ¡­I¡¯m worried whether or not you can be a good girl, Fleur.¡± ¡°Then don¡¯t worry.¡± Because¡­ ¡°I¡¯ll defeat the Black Witch, so then we can be together and I won¡¯t have to be alone, mama! So if I¡¯m ever not a good girl, scold me and correct me. If you keep doing that forever, I¡¯ll always be a good girl! So¡­¡± Her daughter looked in a certain direction: the heavens. The Rank 1 spoke with the moonlight filling her eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll have another challenger tomorrow morning, but this is sure to be the last one. Mama, let¡¯s win this together and then go defeat the Black Witch, okay!?¡± After leaving the mausoleum, Hunter realized how terribly exhausted she was. ¡­Even if you can¡¯t see them, there are things like ghosts and regrets there¡­ Horinouchi must have noticed because she slapped them each on the shoulder in turn. The sound was louder than the hit felt, which Hunter found impressive, but¡­ ¡­Oh. ¡°That lightened me up more than I expected, Horinouchi,¡± said Kagami. ¡°I could use one of those next time my shoulders are feeling stiff.¡± ¡°This has more to do with your mood.¡± Meanwhile, Lisbeth raised a hand. Hunter and the others also raised a hand, so the woman smiled bitterly. ¡°That should be enough. Don¡¯t hold back in the battle tomorrow morning, okay?¡± ¡°If you will be monitoring the battle, be careful. Her attack is indiscriminate.¡± ¡°True enough.¡± Lisbeth turned around and walked toward the main gate on her own. ¡°Hurry to bed, children.¡± ¡°You just had to say that, didn¡¯t you?¡± muttered Hunter, but the woman was already gone. A few of the distant Magino Devices were changing position. ¡°What is that?¡± ¡°Oh, I got some information from Atsugi saying an additional 300 witches are arriving from Europe, so those are probably guiding them in.¡± ¡°So Lisbeth truly intends to protect this place, does she?¡± asked Kagami. ¡°I suppose so,¡± agreed Hunter. When she pointed toward the General Division dorm and began to walk, everyone followed. There had been some lingering summer heat when she had fought Mary near here the other day. But now the air felt chilly. The season was changing and Hexennacht would be here by the time the moon changed. It¡¯s all happening so fast, she thought before speaking. ¡°The European politicians probably really did want to control this place. I think European U.A.H. used that as bait to get the EU and NATO to mass-produce those Magino Devices. But European U.A.H. actually wanted to make Hexennacht inviolable.¡± ¡°But if the politicians had taken the initiative, things could really have gone in the direction they want.¡± ¡°Yes, and that¡¯s why the witches had to make a show of taking Shihouin Academy themselves. I bet that¡¯s what the 1000 Magino Devices were for.¡± It had been a largescale bluff. And¡­ ¡°That means this place is worth that much.¡± With those words, they entered a small plaza. It was known as the vending machine plaza. Mary took a step forward. ¡°What would you like?¡± ¡°Some kind of fruit juice,¡± answered Horinouchi. ¡°Do you want a soda, Kagami?¡± ¡°I feel like tea.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll have a soda,¡± said Hunter. Mary also chose a soda. All 4 of them sat at different seats at about the same time. Also at about the same time, they all opened their drinks and started drinking. Kagami was the first to speak this time. ¡°I feel like we should perhaps just leave them be. Is that just me being soft?¡± ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± asked Horinouchi. ¡°Even if she is a fake, that Lady Headmaster is real to Fleur. And in way, she is real to me since I never knew the original one. So¡­¡± Someone interrupted her as she looked up toward the sky. Unsurprisingly, it was Horinouchi. ¡°You are too kind, Kagami.¡± Hunter understood enough to agree. In front of the streetlights and vending machine lights, Horinouchi smiled a little and looked to Kagami. ¡°And do you think you can win?¡± ¡°As long as I have you with me, there is no way I can lose.¡± Kagami tried to distract her with a counterattack, but even as Horinouchi blushed, she sighed to lower her angrily raised shoulders. She lightly shook her hair and spoke to Kagami. ¡°Kagami, if you are unsure of something tomorrow, just leave it to me. I too know the Headmaster quite well. ¡­Although maybe I shouldn¡¯t say that when I didn¡¯t know what she really was.¡± After their short break in the courtyard, the 4 girls headed back while holding a quick strategy meeting. After that, Kagami and Horinouchi settled down for some sleep, Hunter started for Atsugi, and Mary took up a position on the General Division dorm rooftop as a guard. And at 4 AM the following morning, Horinouchi, Kagami, Fleur, and the Headmaster gathered in front of the main gate. On the Headmaster¡¯s signal, they flew into the northern sky. Lisbeth had to watch them go and she waved from the main gate to Mary who was on top of the General Division dorm. ¡°I suppose it would be a good idea for my unit to join forces with America. Preventing any other countries from acting would likely be best for Hexennacht.¡± Yes. ¡°We are recovering from 10 years ago. I will not let anyone else interfere.¡± Volume 3, 12: Flowers Blossom in the World Volume 3, Chapter 12: Flowers Blossom in the World Once you blossom on that night stage, there is no turning back Those gunfire fingertips will either look up or scatter The battlefield was established in a location Horinouchi had not expected. They were currently flying approximately 5000 meters above Kasumigaura. Due to the previous Hexennacht, Kasumigaura had become a region of large lakes. During this period near autumn, the temperature difference between the air and water as dawn approached created fog. There were clouds in the sky and they flew above those. ¡°Kh¡­¡± Fleur flew out ahead while putting up a surprisingly good fight. Flowers scattered from her and, when Horinouchi and Kagami fired back¡­ ¡°Oh, dear.¡± The Headmaster, who wore a dress and flew alongside the girl, had her daughter dodge. ¡­What is with this three-legged-race situation!? One of them handled attacking while the other handled dodging. They both only had to focus on their own task, so they were more efficient than Horinouchi and Kagami. Horinouchi considered ignoring them and summoning her Magino Device, but¡­ ¡°Horinouchi! Suppress your urge to destroy! It is too soon for that!¡± ¡°Y-you could phrase that differently!¡± But she did understand what Kagami meant. The lakes of Kasumigaura spread out below, but she could see the lights of human civilization on the eastern coast. There were not many of them and the most noticeable were the streetlights of the coastal road. There was one spot where it flourished, like a road relay station. ¡°The Headmaster and Fleur haven¡¯t summoned their Magino Frame because they want to avoid getting them involved.¡± ¡°Horinouchi, do you have any guesses as to where they are headed?¡± That would be awfully convenient, she thought, but then she realized she did. Koutarou had investigated a few things connected to the Horinouchi family. ¡°The Headmaster is working to reconstruct the destroyed regions in northern Kantou. A 50-kilometer area of land in north Ibaraki had its terrain entirely changed and we practiced there during the summer of our second year.¡± ¡°How did that training go?¡± ¡°When firing from one end to the other, I hit with 29 out of 30 shots.¡± ¡°¡­And where¡¯d the 1 you missed end up?¡± cut in Hunter via spell circle. That interruption must have meant things were ready on her end. ¡°Are you there?¡± ¡°I just arrived with the others in the ocean off of Boso. I¡¯m being inspected, but what¡¯s this? Are you moving north?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± confirmed Horinouchi as something like a glowing cloud appeared. It was the flower explosive spell. They were supposedly still moving to the battlefield, but¡­ ¡­We can¡¯t exactly complain if they settle this here! With that in mind, Horinouchi responded to Hunter. They were not just ¡°moving¡±. ¡°We¡¯re in battle!¡± It was still night in the sky. The 3 girls were equipped with their Normal Frames and the woman wore a dress. They attacked and defended while continuing north. The pursuing Holy Knight and Shrine Maiden had the Holy Knight charge in with her sword while the Shrine Maiden provided covering fire from behind. But the arrows she fired were not just meant to attack. While pursuing the flower witch whose high-speed path took on a square wave shape as she jerked to the side, she fired a combination of homing and straight-line shells. But the flower witch and her dress-clad servant did not just let the arrows reach them. The flower witch swung the hoe-shaped Device in midair and spun her own body to scatter flowers around her. They flew along paths not even she could predict and their innumerable quantity struck her pursuers. But those 2 did not care. A few of the launched arrows expanded in midair to form three-arrow barriers. They lost their momentum, but they collided with the stream of flowers and scattered the explosions. And the few arrows that flew between them detonated on their own. Ether light burst and detonated the flowers caught in the blast. ¡°I can cast explosion spells on my arrows too!¡± Kagami was impressed at how well Horinouchi¡¯s rapid-fire shots cleared a path. Firing so often would usually drastically lower one¡¯s mobility. But during the battle against Hunter, in the beginning of the battle against Mary, and during their own battle with their Normal Devices, she had indeed managed to keep up with the flow of battle even as she fired. ¡­Is it the Suzaku servant that provides her mobility even as she fires!? The technical accumulation from the previous versions of Akerindou likely helped a lot too. Thus, Kagami focused on lowering the burden on Horinouchi. She continued targeting Fleur up ahead while firing down the center to reduce the total number of flowers coming her way. And she moved forward. ¡°Here goes¡­!¡± When she raised her voice, her opponent had to target her. The flower storm was almost impossible to control, but Fleur had likely given it vague directionality. And if that was headed her way, it was easy to intercept. ¡°¡­!¡± She could also fly up, down, left or right to an area of thinner distribution. Countless flowers were launched like a great mass of smoke. She detonated those, slipped through the gaps, and continued forward. And¡­ ¡°Horinouchi!¡± As soon as she called the name, an arrow flew over her shoulder and detonated the flowers in front of her. The blast reverberated in her body and echoed inside her. Her opponent was riding the wind and ether to send out explosives, so she rode her pulse and her blood flow to continue forward. And she did so. She accelerated down the path opened by Horinouchi¡¯s blast and she saw the enemy. They were there. It was Fleur and the Headmaster. The flower witch noticed her and tried to swing her hoe back. But she was too slow. Those two were a single pair splitting the roles of offense and defense, but Kagami and Horinouchi were two individuals playing to their individual strengths. If they fit well together, they could pull off double the attacks. Even if their enemies were trying to strike back¡­ ¡°We can intervene!¡± Kagami fired first. Just before Fleur could launch an attack from her swinging hoe, Dikaiosyne fired. Headmaster Cerisier realized she was actually able to enjoy a battle for the first time in forever. ¡­It¡¯s so nice being able to move around like this. Being pursued by her official duties in the headmaster¡¯s office had been fun in its own way. Everything was fun. It was much more fun than dying in her regrets and not being able to do anything. And at the moment, she was embracing her daughter¡¯s shoulders and having her fall back. Kagami was quite good. It was obvious the girl really had traversed many worlds. She likely had more combat experience than Cerisier herself. After all, her combination with Horinouchi was clever. Against only Horinouchi, it would likely have begun and ended with a simple push and pull, but Kagami added her own timing and proactive style to it. This should have been an artillery battle where the number of attacks determined everything, but she was predicting their actions to transform it into a martial arts battle. She was targeting the daughter¡¯s actions. Cerisier and her daughter were splitting the offensive and defensive roles. Her daughter focused on offense while she assisted with that, dodged, and defended. Their roles were clear, so they could draw out their full power and speed. But that meant they only had a single person attacking. They were not really working together. They had fought some previous Ranker Battles with a Buddy System element to them. Their two opponents had indeed worked as a team then. But those opponents had used a mistaken sort of teamwork. They had formed a single team with one of them assisting the other, so they either had just the one person attacking or had both of them fire at the same time for double the attacks. But Kagami and Horinouchi worked together in a different way. Their attacks had started out simple enough, but they were not ending. That was partially because Horinouchi could keep up her rapid-fire for long periods of time, but Kagami was filling in the gaps to make sure their attacks truly were constant. So Cerisier would move her daughter in order to alter the timing at which their enemy¡¯s attacks arrived. That transformed the unending shots into scattered shots that were not quite aimed right. But Kagami made up for that. In order to attack, Cerisier was shifting the timing at which their opponents¡¯ attacks hit, but then Kagami instructed Horinouchi to fire on Fleur¡¯s attacks. The trouble grew when Fleur briefly stopped attacking. She had to resume her firing pose and the time that took was wasted. The enemy used that time to get closer and attack even more. It was the same now. Their attack was intercepted, that gap opened a path, and Kagami would fire before having Horinouchi begin her rapid-fire along the new firing line. Horinouchi was firing from behind her, but Kagami would readily change her course, which Cerisier could only call impressive. That was likely because Horinouchi knew exactly where to fire. ¡­I accepted the Buddy System for these girls, but it looks like that was the right decision. Those 2 were getting closer. Fleur had no choice but to scatter ashes in the air and dot the sky with flowers. But then she spoke unexpectedly. ¡°It¡¯ll be okay, mama. I just have to go where you said to, right?¡± ¡°Yes, go there and everything will be okay.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t wait¡­!¡± Cerisier was delighted to sense anticipation and no concern in that voice. ¡­My daughter doesn¡¯t hold any unneeded fear of fighting. She faced forward while well aware that worked against them at the moment. So¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± It¡¯s about time we made our real attack, she thought. It was a simple thing. Cerisier had been watching Kagami and Horinouchi¡¯s actions this entire time. She knew that the two of them were trying to eliminate the timing for Fleur¡¯s attacks and that it started with Kagami. So she intervened. ¡°Fleur.¡± Her call got through. Kagami and Horinouchi were not the only ones who could use the Buddy System. So she added something extra to Fleur¡¯s attacks. She did so right after dodging Kagami¡¯s shot. ¡°¡­!¡± She had Fleur fire a hoe shot as they spun around. Kagami saw the attack. The counterattack after dodging had been quite rushed. That showed just how cornered those two were feeling, but¡­ ¡­Our attack won¡¯t make it in time! Kagami had only just fired. Horinouchi¡¯s rapid-fire attack would begin next, but that was not going to arrive in time. That suggested that the Chancellor had been observing them carefully while handling the dodging, but¡­ ¡°Kh¡­¡± Kagami dodged and opened a path for Horinouchi to attack. Due to their relative speeds, the flowers launched as a counterattack would reach her, but that would open a hole before they reached Horinouchi, preventing this from being an obstacle for her. That meant Kagami had to deal with this on her own. Meaning¡­ ¡°Bear with it¡­!¡± As soon as she thought that, she saw movement. Their opponent had spun around in their position 70 meters ahead. She could tell they were rotating because it was a horizontal attack from the hoe-shaped Device. But the way it made that rotation was odd. A single rotation should have been a compact action, but it had yet to release its flower attack and¡­ ¡­The rotation is oddly large!? That question was immediately followed by understanding thanks to their own Buddy System. In other words¡­ ¡°Are they doing it too!?¡± It was Fleur and the Headmaster. The rotation of the hoe-shaped Device was not an attack. It was Fleur and the Headmaster swapping out their roles. And thus¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± The movement of the rotation was small, but then it suddenly grew indiscernible. Kagami recalled when that girl had casually slipped past them on the way to throw out the trash. She had not fought the flow of her surroundings, she had ridden on that flow, and she had been pushed through. It had been perfectly visible, but they had suddenly found her beyond their own flow of movement. So even though they had seen her, they had been slow to comprehend it. Those two had done that here. Also¡­ ¡°Take this.¡± The Headmaster scattered ashes with a smile. Unlike with Fleur, it did not float out over a wide area. ¡­It¡¯s bundled together!? The bundle of ashes was too thick to call a spear and it spiraled toward Kagami. It transformed into flowers in midair and those spread out with their spiral trajectory intact. They did not entirely rule over that space, but this attack crashed into an opponent¡¯s defenses and momentum. It spread out before Kagami in no time at all. ¡°Superb.¡± As soon as she said that, the explosion erupted. Fleur thought their movement had put a large distance between them and their opponents. ¡°Mama!¡± As soon as she traded places with her mother, the sound of the life-bringing explosions reverberated toward her. But it could not keep up with them and ended as a strange rumbling. ¡­Amazing, mama! Fleur had been unable to hit this opponent, but her mother had done it in a single shot. But¡­ ¡°Mama, what is it?¡± Her mother was still staring behind them. And she had already launched her next attack and a third one after that. ¡°Mama!?¡± Fleur was briefly baffled why her mother would do that. They had moved out ahead and one of their enemies had been defeated. As proof, the staged chain-reaction of explosion flowers was detonating behind them. She could not imagine someone escaping that unharmed. But¡­ ¡­Eh? Something split through the explosion light. It was the not the Holy Knight. It was three overlapping arrows extending in three different directions. It was the shrine maiden witch¡¯s defensive shot. ¡°She counterattacked in time!?¡± Horinouchi felt a mental cold sweat as she faced the Headmaster¡¯s multi-stage detonating flower spear. ¡­I just barely made it in time! She and Kagami had failed to predict the Headmaster and Fleur swapping roles, but the switch had created a slight gap. Was she supposed to view that gap as an opening or as a danger? She had settled on the latter. For one thing, Kagami would have charged in on her own if it was an opening. She knew she could leave that to Kagami, so she had chosen defense. She had fired a three-arrow shell along the course Kagami had indicated. ¡°That was a close one!¡± The Headmaster had not held back and her attack had been impressive. In order to suppress the entire area, Fleur would let the flowers float out before they expanded, but the Headmaster had sent them in a corkscrew shape before having them expand. ¡­How badly did she want to send out those explosives? But Horinouchi had defended against it. There were 2 more shots coming, but¡­ ¡°Kagami! Dodge¡­!¡± They needed to change their course. For one thing, the Headmaster¡¯s first shot had not been fully eliminated. It had been sent in like a spear, so it had not all exploded. And the three-arrow defense would not last forever. It would either shatter from the explosions or burst from the flowers that blossomed on it. Besides, at their speed, they would quickly surpass the three-arrow defense she had shot forward. So¡­ Kagami, you need to change your course in a hurry!¡± As soon as she shouted that, she saw something reckless. Kagami accelerated right into the opened three-arrow barrier and kicked it out of the way. ¡­What does she think she¡¯s doing!? She understood well enough to ask it like that. Cerisier saw it. ¡­Ah!? The explosion she had sent their way had been kicked back her way. She was familiar with the three-arrow defense spell. Horinouchi¡¯s mother, Mitsuyo, had used it often. It was an excellent spell that could be held up by hand or fired as a shell. It expanded only after being activated and thus maintained its high speed while a shell, so she had known it could be sent into the middle of their exchange of fire. But¡­ ¡­Did she kick it!? The wall of explosions was pushed back by the three-arrow shape and then flew straight toward her after reaching a certain point. It had clearly been kicked or something similar, but she still had a question. ¡­Why hasn¡¯t it been destroyed!? No, there was no point in wondering that. That girl could create things from ether as she saw fit, so¡­ ¡°Did she replenish the ether and recreate it even as she kicked it away!?¡± As soon as Cerisier shouted that, the second flower spear reached her opponents and collided with three arrows. But once again¡­ ¡°Ohh¡­!¡± Kagami gave a cry as something collided with it. And a moment later¡­ ¡­I was right! The shape of the three-arrow wall appeared in the explosion and it was pushed back Cerisier¡¯s way. Kagami accelerated. She did not get many opportunities to kick things in midair, but she needed to use everything in her arsenal for this exchange of offense and defense. ¡­And this is especially useful while using our Normal Devices! She wanted to settle this in their Normal states if at all possible. That was just how difficult Fleur¡¯s Magino Device would be to deal with. The Headmaster¡¯s attack had been superbly timed, but she had still managed to respond. ¡­Because I had heard her spell is different than Fleur¡¯s! The environmental aspect of the spell had only been introduced in Fleur¡¯s generation. The Headmaster¡¯s had not reached the point of growing flowers on the target object. Kagami would have been in trouble if the Headmaster had shared that new trait as Fleur¡¯s servant. But if that were the case, they would have no reason for dividing their roles. The Headmaster had let Fleur handle offense because she had decided her daughter was the superior attacker. And Kagami¡¯s understanding of that had given her this opportunity. ¡°The 3rd shot¡­!¡± She broke through the explosion and accelerated. Her distance from the 2 in front of her rapidly shrank. On the early morning rooftop, Mary realized that Hunter was relaying the data to her. She operated the communication spell circle to check the data from multiple radars and other surveillance data. The 4 combatants seemed to be rapidly flying north in southern Ibaraki. ¡°Kagami just kicked right through the explosion spell¡­!¡± exclaimed Hunter. She¡¯s as crazy as ever, isn¡¯t she? briefly thought Mary before a more positive voice arrived over the spell circle. ¡°Well done, Lady Kagami!¡± That must be how you praise people in this world, she belatedly realized. ¡°Ohh¡­!¡± After breaking through the shattering light, Kagami approached Fleur and the Headmaster. The Headmaster had fired a 4th attack, but Kagami was already close enough to move around it. She kicked off of Horinouchi¡¯s three arrows to slightly change her trajectory and to accelerate. She shifted her acceleration field fully forward to cancel out the air resistance. And as soon as she arrived in front of her opponents, she swung Dikaiosyne forward. But just before that, Fleur spun around in front of her. They were switching attacker and defender roles. However¡­ ¡°Too late¡­!¡± Kagami cried out and sent her attack right into the hoe Device. Sparks flew and she felt the tactile feedback of the blow. ¡­This¡­? The sensation returning to her hand through her power arm was not that of breaking through. It was the solid rejection of her sword being deflected. ¡­What does this mean!? Fleur reacted as Kagami accelerated and made attack after attack. She reacted with sword fighting that could only be called flawless. Her hoe Device was poorly balanced for swinging around, so it was obvious she was holding it close to intercept Kagami¡¯s attacks. The Headmaster took care of dodging and moving and Fleur herself was likely including those imperceptible movements of hers when she moved in to attack, but even with that¡­ ¡°How can she respond to Kagami¡¯s attacks!?¡± It would have been difficult for Horinouchi or even a close-range specialist like Hunter to fully respond to Kagami¡¯s attacks. It was that level of offensive skill that allowed Kagami to use the old Holy Knight style without difficulty. ¡°So how can that fairy tale witch manage it!?¡± ¡°Horinouchi, is the heat of battle leading you to discriminate?¡± ¡°Sh-she uses a flower motif! What else would you call it!?¡± Horinouchi could not help it if her voice was picked up by the communications. But she also realized that ether light continued to scatter from Fleur¡¯s flower motif Form. ¡­What is that? It was a spell. It was one she had cast on herself. That was simple for the boys and their passive magic, but the girls had to cast it on themselves from outside using a spell that would scatter ether light. So¡­ ¡°Is that a reinforcement spell!?¡± ¡°I expect she is casting a ¡®growth¡¯ spell on her Form to strengthen it. Cast it on her Form and it is much easier to make adjustments and exceptions.¡± Unsurprisingly, the spell expert from the Spell Division provided an immediate answer. ¡°Well done, Lady Mary!¡± ¡°Kwaaaaaaaahhh! I was in the Spell Division, but the Head Butler stole the ¡®well done¡¯ I wanted to give my underclassman!¡± ¡°Head Butler¡­ Please be more considerate.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I doubt Mary wants to hear that fist from you.¡± ¡°Y-you¡¯re all unfairly attacking me, aren¡¯t you!? Aren¡¯t you!?¡± Kagami did not panic within the exchange of attacks. Someone¡¯s strength was meaningless if they did not have the skill to use it. The problem was the way Fleur had a natural sense for those imperceptible movements and that made it easy to overlook her actions. ¡­That is a skill in its own way. It was not a combat skill, but it was an effective substitute. That allowed her to fight as a warrior. But that natural sense had a weakness. Fleur was using those imperceptible movements in place of an attack spell, but she had never been properly trained in combat. The lack of variation in her attacks and defenses made that clear enough. So she used her sense for imperceptibility instead. But¡­ ¡­Not good enough! As they exchanged sword strikes, Kagami struck an attack she had overlooked. ¡°Do you understand now!?¡± It was obvious once she increased the density of attacks. Even if some of her opponent¡¯s movements were imperceptible, that only meant she could not see them. It did not mean they did not exist. ¡°If I simply cannot see them, then there is nothing to worry about!¡± She could sense her opponent¡¯s movement in the tactile feedback from her own attacks. If she attacked one way, she knew how her opponent would respond. And when she raised her weapon one way, she knew what attack her opponent would make. By figuring out those patterns, she could respond appropriately even without seeing the attacks. Thus¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± She went as far as closing her eyes while making her attack. She made a barrage of attacks as she stepped straight forward in the sky and reacted to her opponent. ¡°Ohh¡­!¡± She predicted her opponent¡¯s actions, counterattacked, and pushed forward. ¡°Here goes!!¡± She outdid the girl almost immediately. ¡°Fleur!¡± Cerisier heard a series of sounds that were more like tearing cloth than solid blows. The attacks were beginning to hit Fleur. ¡­Kagami Kagami! She noticed that opponent was not even looking their way. Her eyes were closed, but she could tell what they were doing from the tactile feedback in her sword and she could predict what they would do next. There had once been someone who could fight like this. No, there still was. ¡°This is just like Lisbeth¡­!¡± It would be dangerous if the girl had reached that level. And Kagami¡¯s previous battles were more than enough to know this was unlikely to stop there. So¡­ ¡°Fleur!¡± She focused on dodging and tried to put some distance between them. ¡°Mama!¡± But she sensed a note of joy in the voice she received in response. A moment later, she saw her daughter looking back her way even as her Form shattered. She was smiling. ¡°Mama! Watch! Watch this!¡± Cerisier did as she was told and watched. ¡°I prepared this spell so I could surprise you!¡± ¡°Kagami!¡± When she heard Horinouchi¡¯s voice, Kagami opened her eyes and looked. It was a split-second decision. ¡­It has changed! The tactile feedback from the attack on Fleur was different now. She had resisted Kagami up until this point, but a sudden opening appeared in that resisting strength. ¡­Is she guiding my attack!? And when Kagami looked forward, she saw blooming flowers. Several roses were growing on Fleur¡¯s Normal Form like decorations. ¡°These are just like your flowers, mama!¡± She sounded just like someone giving some flowers to a playmate. At the same time, her Form shattered. ¡°You can have them.¡± The scattering roses exploded before Kagami¡¯s eyes. Fleur saw it. Just as the explosive created from her Form hit her opponent, the enemy raised her Device and threw it her way. ¡­Eh!? Getting rid of one¡¯s Device was the same as giving up on the battle. But¡­ ¡°Fleur! She can freely create her Device!¡± Fleur did not know what that meant at first, but she did notice the danger in her mother¡¯s voice. So she shifted to a focus on dodging. She tried to get her and her mother out of that airspace. Immediately, her flowers collided with the abandoned sword Device and detonated. Explosive flames blossomed, but the sword split the explosion and continued flying. ¡°Kh¡­!¡± Before she could dodge, the shattering sword flew right toward her. Her mother voiced another warning. ¡­Don¡¯t worry. I understand! I do understand. I understand everything you¡¯re saying, mama. Because I¡¯m a good girl. But her mother¡¯s warning was not what she expected. ¡°Above you!¡± Eh? she thought on reflex. After all, her enemy had been hit by the explosion in front of her. But there was indeed a figure above her. The Holy Knight was there, raising her arms toward heaven. As soon as she raised her empty hands toward the moon in the center of the night sky, Fleur saw two things happen. First, the sword Device broke in two and shattered. There was no one behind it, but instead¡­ ¡°¡­An arrow!?¡± It was a shot fired by the shrine maiden. She had fired straight ahead while using the broken sword as cover. And the other thing descended from above. ¡°Let us settle this, Dikaio!¡± The Holy Knight held a new Device in her hands. It almost looked like she had borrowed this power from the moonlight. ¡°You¡¯re stubborn! Don¡¯t interrupt my time with mama!¡± Kagami flew right toward the enemy. She saw the look on Fleur¡¯s face. Below the girl¡¯s disheveled hair, her eyes were glaring back at Kagami. Kagami also saw the Headmaster protecting her daughter by embracing her from behind. But Kagami had considerable experience in being stared at, so she looked the girl right back in the eye. ¡°Sorry, but I will be bringing this all to an end!¡± ¡°You can¡¯t! I won¡¯t let you! Because¡­¡± Fleur raised the hoe Device to counterattack. Kagami deflected it outwards and let Horinouchi¡¯s arrow pass below her arm. But¡­ ¡°Kagami!¡± She knew why Horinouchi called her name from behind: Fleur was bait. She had only pretended to raise her hoe Device to attack. ¡°The Headmaster¡¯s attack is coming!¡± Horinouchi was exactly right. A spear of coiled roses was launched straight toward Kagami. She used her right arm. The Headmaster spun around with Fleur as she launched the rose spear attack. That quick attack was meant to crush Horinouchi¡¯s arrow and Kagami did not hesitate to strike at it with Dikaiosyne. She thrust the sword forward. She opened her sword in cannon mode. ¡°I will be using that!¡± And she fired a blast at the spear tip. Horinouchi saw the rose spear instantly become an explosive fuse. At the very last second before the spear detonated, Kagami¡¯s shell struck its very core. The rest was simple. Control of the undetonated bomb spear fell to the one who detonated it. Kagami¡¯s shell was likely annihilated by the very explosions it induced, but a chain-reaction of explosions shot down the rose spear from Kagami¡¯s end to the Headmaster¡¯s end. Dikaiosyne¡¯s tip was shattered at the same speed as its shell had flown, and explosions of light raced down the spear toward Cerisier and Fleur. ¡­It¡¯s going to reach them! As soon as Horinouchi thought that, she saw something. It was Fleur. She accelerated the rotation of her body while seeming to embrace the Headmaster. She had been bait, but now she quickly spun the hoe Device and the Headmaster with it. ¡°She¡¯s going to cut it!?¡± The dancing spin sent the hoe¡¯s blade accurately into the center of the rose spear. The spear was sliced in two and the induced explosions did not reach the Headmaster. And as the hoe continued swinging around, Fleur¡¯s flowers bloomed whitely along its path. The racing arc of white was going to reach Kagami as she held Dikaiosyne forward. ¡­Does that mean¡­? It had been a double trap. No, Horinouchi doubted either of them had planned it this way. Those two could work together while far closer together than Horinouchi and Kagami could. And as soon as the Headmaster threw away the remnants of the spear in her hand, the arc drawn by Fleur and the spear¡¯s remnants released an explosive blast. The brightness-enhanced footage from the F-23s showed Hunter the explosion between the two sides. Even with the high-level surveillance skills of the pilots from Atsugi, following all the detailed movements of the witch battle was not easy. Currently, footage from 3 fighters was being combined and unified to create the video Hunter watched. Even with a direct feed from the 7th Fleet¡¯s processing system, there was a slight lag. ¡­Dammit. I can¡¯t really complain, but I really want to! As soon as she thought that, two people burst from the explosive blast. One was Kagami. She had likely used the half-destroyed Dikaiosyne as a shield against the shockwave. Horinouchi flew out behind her. She had been slowed by a fair bit, but the two of them still ascended. ¡°Above!?¡± That was exactly right. The two of them were flying high in the west where the Headmaster and Fleur flew as a single silhouette. Their destination was displayed on the spell circle¡¯s bird¡¯s-eye-view map. When Hunter read the text there, she could feel her mouth spreading horizontally. ¡°Oh, c¡¯mon. Be careful, you two! You¡¯ve arrived on the battlefield!¡± Horinouchi realized something as she pursued the enemy with Kagami. At some point, the clouds and fog below them had disappeared. ¡°It would seem we have arrived, Horinouchi.¡± They had left the lake region that had produced the fog. Which meant¡­ ¡°This is the battlefield they prepared, isn¡¯t it!?¡± From here on, they could summon their Magino Devices. With that in mind, she looked over to see the Headmaster and Fleur turning back their way. They were going to do it. They were going to summon their Magino Frame as the Rank 1. But one thing bothered Horinouchi. ¡°Why are they moving so high!?¡± Fleur¡¯s Magino Device created a forest on the ground and towered up from there. They had assumed it positioned itself on the ground to create the environment around it. However¡­ ¡°Is there some other way of using it!?¡± Fleur spoke as she watched the two ether lights approaching them from a lower altitude. ¡°Let¡¯s go, mama! Let¡¯s end it with this battle!¡± ¡°Yes,¡± replied her mother who embraced her from behind. This was a jinx and her mother always did this when she was doing something important. ¡­Right. She nodded in her heart and she had permission outside her heart, so she did it. ¡°Summon Magino Frame!¡± Horinouchi summoned her own Magino Frame while checking on the terrain with a spell circle. This was the north end of Ibaraki where the western border with Tochigi and the northern border with Fukushima came together. The Nasu Highlands were to the west and a 50 kilometer downward slope and plain continued to the east, but¡­ ¡­During the previous Hexennacht, the damage continuing north from Tokyo Bay was concentrated here. Since it was on the border between prefectures, there had been conflict over which prefecture would lead the recovery work, so Shihouin Academy had apparently settled the arguments by having it restored to its natural environment. The scars of the destructive power would be allowed to fade with time and the focus would be on restoring it as a grassy plain. But for the moment, it was a battlefield. Fleur did not have to worry about using her Magino Device¡¯s full power in this deserted environment. ¡°Kagami, let¡¯s finish this according to plan!¡± ¡°Horinouchi, it does not look like they will let us!¡± Eh? thought Horinouchi as she looked up into the sky along with the Suzaku that had appeared to construct the Magino Device. Ether light was gathering in the night sky to construct Fleur¡¯s Magino Device. There were a few strange things about it. Its size was expanding and the summoning of its supporting parts did not stop. ¡­Huh!? Something was not right about how the Magino Device was created in a series of moments. It was being created far faster than her own. That was due to its simple design and the Headmaster¡¯s assistance, but¡­ ¡°What is with that height!?¡± It was far different from when she had seen it the evening before. Just the hoe blade and its base were more than 2 kilometers tall. ¡­That¡¯s more than 4 times before! And that was not all. Ether light suddenly sprayed through the sky. It came from Fleur¡¯s gigantic Magino Device. But the light did not produce a flowery fog. It flowed out like a roaring waterfall on either side and then something was created to the left and right of the hoe Device. It was a tall frame with a firing system gathered at the top. It had a hoe-like shape accented by the three leaves brought together at the top. ¡°It¡¯s copying itself!?¡± It all continued. At her speed, Horinouchi should only have been able to hear the roaring wind, but she did hear something else. She heard the ley line vibrations as those gigantic objects were instantly constructed from the ether. There were 5 copies. Fleur¡¯s Magino Device had summoned those copies on either side of itself to form a circle around it. ¡­Is this¡­? Kagami understood what had happened. But¡­ ¡­Can they do that using this world¡¯s system!? The Magino Device had instantly copied itself and combined with the copies. ¡°Kagami! Horinouchi!¡± Hunter¡¯s voice arrived with some video footage. The live footage was from a surveillance satellite overhead and it showed exactly what had been created. Above the black color of the highlands at night, 6 different hoe Devices had attached their back ends together into a giant circle around the central one. It was¡­ ¡­A flower!? Seen from above, the completed form was a giant flower with the six hoes arranged in a circle. ¡°It¡¯s 3 kilometers across! This is the largest Device in our records!¡± As Hunter said that, light appeared. The giant flower was like a floating fortress and it began emitting streams of flowers Volume 3, 13: Blooming of the Flower of Illusion and Rejection Volume 3, Chapter 13: Blooming of the Flower of Illusion and Rejection Is what you love In front of you now? The attack was sudden. Fleur¡¯s Magino Device had taken on a floral shape. That fortress composed of 6 Devices slowly rotated while scattering flowers into the space around it. They were not just released horizontally; it was a complete field of air currents, so they hovered, rocked, rose, and fell. As the giant flower continued to spin, countless flower petals flew from what had originally been the hoe blades. Those large components had cannon openings on the top and bottom and explosive flowers spilled from there like clouds of pollen. The only sound was the roaring of the wind. But something else happened once 2 Magino Devices approached it while avoiding the air currents. Spell circles opened on the flower¡¯s upper surface. 6 of them opened in a horizontal flower shape and they bore the word ¡°fire¡±. As soon as all 6 glowed, a single attack was formed. At the center of the 6 spell circles, glowing flowers appeared higher up in the air and flew from north to south. The cannon blast of glowing flowers raced in a straight line toward the part of the sky the other 2 Devices occupied. The beam of light shot through and swept across the night. The 2 Devices swiftly descended and dodged the path of the light. But the flying light still brought destruction. At a range of 270 km and after passing over the 7th Fleet on the Pacific, the beam drew a great arc and the ocean exploded along a straight line. Hunter saw a long, long north-to-south stretch of light along the eastern ocean. It happened behind them while they faced the battlefield on the mainland, but¡­ ¡°That wasn¡¯t a physical shell or a created shell! I didn¡¯t know a beam attack could fly that far!¡± Based on the power of the hit, it could have gone even further. Its actual range may have been more than 500 km. That was far shorter than the range of Hunter¡¯s Hedgehog, but¡­ ¡°There¡¯s nothing you can do if she fires that from the absolute defense of her environment¡­¡± C¡¯mon now. ¡°When did this turn into something from a kaiju battle?¡± ¡°And does this mean mankind couldn¡¯t defeat the Black Witch last Hexennacht even with something like that?¡± ¡°The Headmaster might not have had this. This is the powered up version, remember?¡± But then the Head Butler called in from the Horinouchi family. ¡°There are records of a similar attack being used back then. ¡­But since Lady Mitsuru¡¯s mother was even more powerful than Lady Shihouin or Lady Lisbeth, she must have had something even greater.¡± That fact was what mattered here. What could defeat something rivalling this? ¡­Is what we discussed last night really going to work? Hunter wondered what she would do if it was her, but she had to focus on the present situation. ¡°I doubt I¡¯ll get an answer, but what kind of power could defeat this?¡± There were of course no records of that. They had been erased by the Black Witch. So Horinouchi and Kagami would have to figure something out. They would have to add to the previous night¡¯s strategizing and defeat this fortress. ¡­If only we still had those records. Just as Hunter thought that, the Head Butler sent another transmission. ¡°The combat records for Lady Mitsuru¡¯s mother do not remain, but we do know the name of what she did then.¡± ¡°And what is-¡­?¡± Just as she tried to ask, a bright explosion cloud appeared in the sky. ¡­Has it started to build up its environment!? She saw a vast flower garden and cherry trees in the night sky. They were in full bloom. Horinouchi and Akerindou were enveloped by the giant swirling blizzard of flowers. ¡­A typhoon!? The giant pink flower was sitting in the center and ether flowers were spreading in every direction ¨C both horizontally and vertically ¨C from there. It all created a vortex with a vast rotation and trailing flowers that ignored the wind. Those flowers even arrived behind Horinouchi. Information from the US military was reaching her via the Horinouchi family. The process by which Fleur¡¯s Magino Device was constructed was displayed next to her face. It was a single giant Device. The engine system was focused at the center of the top and the bottom only contained the ether extraction system. It looked like it specialized in defense and attack. The fundamental design philosophy was probably the same as European U.A.H.¡¯s Magino Devices. But¡­ ¡°What is with this expansion of the cannon portion!?¡± She barely saw any of the thruster-related structures that it would need to move. Did it have a buoyancy system installed across various points and did it move by altering their balance? But in addition to that, the cannon¡¯s shell creation system was far too large. The entire base of the hoe¡¯s three leaves formed the shell creation system. The rest was only the skinny handle, so essentially 80% of the Magino Device was used to create the explosive flowers. The design was far simpler than she had thought, but when it was this extreme, it completely restricted what tactics were available. ¡°Can you really focus this much on attack!?¡± ¡°Huh? I feel like I was shot down by a Device with that exact philosophy recently.¡± ¡°What a coincidence. I too had a Device with that philosophy shoot me all the way from the South Pole.¡± ¡°I-if you have something to say, come out and say it!¡± ¡°Ha ha ha. They know you will understand even if they do not. It is a sign of trust, Horinouchi.¡± Honestly, sulked Horinouchi as she checked on Akerindou¡¯s summoning. She decided to accelerate upwards and go for the first attack. Next to her, Kagami had finished the summoning of Dikaiosyne, so¡­ ¡°Here we go!¡± ¡°Roostaaaaaaaahhhhhh!¡± The Suzaku shouted from her shoulder, but she decided to assume it was only saying ¡°rooster¡± and ignored it. It may have been at the age where it wanted a hen, but she decided not to think about the possibility of it being female. She simply flew onward. Just as they had discussed, she used multi-stage armored shells. She had to get close before firing them and Fleur¡¯s Magino Device still had to fully disseminate its flowers and establish its environment. This was her chance. ¡°Akerindou, let¡¯s go at full speed!¡± Kagami casually waved from Dikaiosyne next to her. She was a little further ahead. This was how it always went. This was a Ranker Battle and not a time to just watch the enemy. So¡­ ¡°Here goes!¡± She split through the wind while having Akerindou fold up and down into its acceleration form. She continued on. She eventually broke through the blowing wind and only heard the sound of herself tearing through the atmosphere. White water vapor trailed back from Akerindou¡¯s leading points and corners. ¡­Hurry¡­! Hunter and Mary had taught them that making a quick attack was crucial against this opponent. And¡­ ¡­We have to stop the Headmaster and Fleur! With that thought, the distance between the two sides dropped below 5 kilometers. Their opponent was gigantic. Horinouchi had no idea how it worked, but she knew this would make it easy to target. However, the flower at the center of it all suddenly tilted. Six spell circles opened on the top. ¡°Horinouchi! You¡¯re moving too far ahead!¡± Just as Kagami sent her a warning, a beam of glowing rose flowers swept across their airspace. Mary watched the footage as Horinouchi and Kagami dodged in a very forceful fashion. The video was only static after the wide-range vortex of flowers hit it, but she could still detect the 2 Magino Devices by setting the proper band of ether detection. Kagami proactively dodged the beam of light released into the sky. ¡­She fired her cannon! Mary recognized this because Kagami had dodged her attacks like this inside the barrier she had created at the North Pole. Kagami used the recoil to spin around backwards. And Horinouchi¡¯s Akerindou was along that spinning path. So the rest was simple. ¡°She collides with her.¡± Sure enough, a collision hit Akerindou diagonally. Dikaiosyne knocked itself down in order to push Akerindou away. It hit. An intense sound shook the scene, but the footage showed the 2 Magino Devices had indeed fallen below the sweeping beam of light. It did not hit. However, the movement of the beam created a shockwave. ¡°Miss Horinouchi¡­!¡± Mary decided not to use the girl¡¯s true name as she watched the 2 Magino Device¡¯s tumbling through the air. The shockwave created by the sweeping light had struck them as a wide surface. It was a powerful enough hit for the 500-meter Devices to lose control. The blue and vermilion Devices were thrown several kilometers and flipped 5 times before righting themselves. After regaining control, they found themselves in a certain position. The giant flower was turned such that the oldest of Fleur¡¯s Magino Devices was facing Kagami and Horinouchi. Horinouchi was aware her pulse was racing. ¡­Was that its main cannon!? She had sensed some panic when up against Hunter and Mary or in her other Ranker Battles. But she felt something else against this opponent. That panic never left her. It felt like everything was dangerous and that a single mistake would lead to absolute defeat. Also¡­ ¡­Are our attacks even getting through? Just as she wondered that, Kagami rested her control Device on her shoulder and spoke atop Dikaiosyne. ¡°I see.¡± Her tone did not allow anyone to contradict her. ¡°So you can take it this far if you are willing to use any means necessary.¡± Was that a bad thing or not? It was not wrong from the perspective of defeating the Black Witch. Criticizing the use of so much power was only the jealousy of the weak. ¡­Then why? Once she wondered that, she belatedly recalled where Kagami came from. She was one of this world¡¯s creators. The world was a story and a setting, but there had likely been some kind of ideal built into it. In that case¡­ ¡­Yes. Kagami must have been angry. Angry at herself. After all, she had created this world and she had made one of its residents take things this far. If she had stopped her sister, the Black Witch, sooner, this kind of power never would have been created. But this much power had been created, and¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± A few things seemed to link together inside Horinouchi. So she had something to say, even if her origin was different from Kagami¡¯s. ¡°Kagami.¡± ¡°Do you need something?¡± ¡°Yes, I am panicking and cautious. I am wondering what in the world is going on.¡± But¡­ ¡°I am not afraid of the person I must face.¡± She spoke without taking her eyes off of their opponent and she did not receive an immediate response. But after the span of a few breaths, her partner spoke clearly. ¡°Thank you.¡± But she also heard another voice. A witch was laughing from the great flower at the center of the moonlit vortex of flowers. ¡°Ha ha.¡± The flower witch raised her hands toward the night sky. ¡°That should be enough, right? No.¡± Here it comes, thought Horinouchi just as it and an announcement arrived. ¡°Bloom.¡± The blowing flowers began a chain reaction detonation. ¡­Wow, that¡¯s really cruel¡­! A mass of light appeared in the western sky. It was far from small. Even from the distant ocean, the air and sky covering multiple regions of eastern Japan emitted the light of ether explosions. There was more than one light. Countless chain reactions rotated around, raced out, and burst to form water vapor explosions, clouds, and a rotating air current that turned it all into a great vortex. It was a giant explosive typhoon. The air struck by the blasts was electrified and lightning began to race vertically and horizontally through it. Also¡­ ¡°Hunter! Can you see the expansion by eye!?¡± ¡°I can, I can! It¡¯s really spreading!¡± She stood on an aircraft carrier flight deck. She used the edge of the deck to measure by and could tell the explosive cloud was spreading along the mainland. It was spreading surprisingly quickly. She had seen the calculations the night before, but seeing it for real was entirely different. ¡­There was a movie with a scene like this, wasn¡¯t there? She had a feeling there were a lot of movies that did. It could be sharks, gators, snakes, cows, or anything really. This time it was flowers. ¡°Would you call this a Flowernado?¡± ¡°A Fleurnado! It would be a Fleurnado, Hunter!¡± Where is the captain from anyway? But then she heard a voice over the staticky transmission. ¡°Heyyy, you alive?¡¯ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± There was no response. Only static. So¡­ ¡°Mankoooo.¡± ¡°I-I¡¯m trying to dodge!!¡± That exchange could not have been less surprising. Fleur shook both hands and practically slapped the keyboard to instruct the flowers to bloom. They did so. The front line of blooming flowers could rise, fall, or ride the rotation around as she saw fit. Explosions danced through the sky and scattering light blew in the wind. The wind, the air, and everything that bloomed and scattered was her power. ¡°Magino Device Zephyr! Let¡¯s see how far those flowers can bloom!¡± The environment had already spread its power over a 50 kilometer region. The flowers were everywhere and they shined in the moonlight. Everyone feared the moonlight, but she did not. She thought it was pretty. After all, the flowers that mama and I made glow at night. ¡°This light is proof that mama is by my side!¡± The flower light was everywhere now. It surrounded the heavens and earth and held the moon overhead as if to bless them in the center. Even that moonlight will eventually be ours. And then this will all be over. I¡¯ll never again have to worry about losing mama. The end is within reach. The chain reaction of overlapping explosions is shaking my laughter. The vibration in the bottom of my lungs becomes a sound of joy in my throat. ¡°Ha ha¡­¡± With each laugh, a portion of the sky detonated. Even the air burst with that floral scent. She could only produce laughter. ¡°Hey.¡± She turned back toward her mother and spread her arms to indicate everything. ¡°We finally, finally have this many flowers blooming, mama! Isn¡¯t it amazing!? It¡¯s just like the flowers you had bloom 10 years ago! Let¡¯s make it even better together! If we do, then you won¡¯t lose again, right!? You won¡¯t go away, right!?¡± Yes, that was what she wanted. But¡­ ¡°You fool¡­!¡± They had so much freedom and power, but there were two things that opposed them: the 2 Magino Devices that had been swept through the current of explosions but escaped. The girl standing on the sword Device raised her voice. ¡°There is something you have lost even if you wield that power! So why are you growing drunk on that power!?¡± Fleur had no idea what this girl was saying. ¡­I mean, mama and I are doing so well together. Why is she telling us to stop? ¡°Ha ha.¡± If we stop, we can¡¯t win at Hexennacht. If you can stop us, then you might be able to win at Hexennacht. But¡­ ¡°Then what are you going to do about it?¡± She decided to ask. ¡°If you two at Rank 2 can stand up to mama and me at Rank 1, then how are you going to do it!?¡± ¡°We will stop you!¡± Horinouchi heard Kagami yelling to Fleur. ¡°You must not use your mother¡¯s life to grow drunk on power!¡± ¡°Yes,¡± agreed Horinouchi. ¡°We will stop that power.¡± She then reached a hand out toward Kagami. She did not look toward the other girl. And with the space between their Magino Devices, there was no way her hand could reach. But, as if calling out to Kagami, she spread her right hand and held it out as if to hold hands. There was a great gap between them, but when she glanced to the right¡­ ¡­I knew it. Kagami had raised her left hand in the same way. But hers was reaching out as if to reach Horinouchi. ¡­Is that how she does it? She smiled a little, but that was only due to how amusing that slight difference was. Probably. She then clenched her raised hand. ¡°Let¡¯s do this.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± With that, she launched Akerindou forward. She began a charge. Volume 3, 14: What is Important Volume 3, Chapter 14: What is Important I will show you That it is not a lie Before I scatter Like counting numbers Their approach did not use a simple course. Kagami had instructed Horinouchi to not fight the air current but to use high-speed mobility. ¡­That is contradictory! Horinouchi felt it was like being told to slowly hurry, but there was a reason to do that. ¡°If she is using her senses to manage this airspace, then the visible flowers and invisible air are all moving according to her will.¡± Meaning¡­ ¡°If we take any noticeable actions, the flowers will sense it, approach, and surround us. They are just like leaves fallen into a stream. If we are a rocky area, they will unexpectedly approach and surround us.¡± That reminded Horinouchi of something. ¡°When Aunt Lisbeth fought Fleur yesterday evening, the flower ash circled behind her spatial cut, didn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Right. Her flowers are not simply blowing in the wind. The environment gives them motion as ¡®wind¡¯.¡± Then what were they to do? ¡°We will be able to see the environmental current if we pursue the flowers with our own current. The flowers cannot approach or surround something riding the same current. And if we are riding that current, we only have to let it lightly carry us onward. ¡­Can you discern our path?¡± She could. She sent their visual information and the data from their Devices¡¯ senses to the Horinouchi family. By the time she had made a half rotation along with Kagami, a program containing course information had been sent to her spell circle. ¡­We can do this! The air current swept everything upwards. Riding that would take them even higher than Fleur¡¯s combined Device, but that only meant they had to charge at her from above. ¡°The only other thing to worry about is¡­¡± ¡°That sweeping attack of course, but also the flowers that Fleur automatically sends at us plus the blasts and shockwaves of the detonations that occur within the air currents.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a lot to watch out for.¡± She was calm enough to make wry comments. This was their opponent¡¯s environment, but they were still putting together a counterattack plan. Horinouchi rode the air current, accelerated to surpass it, and clapped her hands. ¡°Kagami, I¡¯m going to send you some power!¡± Mary heard a familiar sound from the spell circle displaying the battlefield. It was a high-pitched sound mixed in with the repeated explosions and impacts that were reminiscent of a thunderstorm. ¡°A shrine bell¡­¡± Those bells were rung when praying at a Shinto shrine. And if they were sounding¡­ ¡°Has Miss Horinouchi started using a barrier spell!?¡± Fleur realized her opponents were not being incorporated into her environment. ¡­That bell! The flowers should have been growing on their Magino Devices by now, but they were not and the ringing of a bell shook the air instead. ¡°That is a barrier, Fleur. She is using a Shinto purification spell.¡± ¡°No fair, mama! I worked so hard on this!¡± The enemy also began using their secondary cannons while circling rapidly through the spiraling flowers. They were not attacking her. They were piercing the surrounding flowers and air currents to intentionally trigger detonations. Of course, Fleur¡¯s flower air currents were constantly being created, but by reading the path near them and triggering explosions in advance, they could create safe areas. So Fleur actively sent flowers in to limit the enemies¡¯ locations. And¡­ ¡°Open the petals!¡± The petals on the bottom of the giant 3 km flower also opened. It was not quite double, but the expansion of flowers was further pressurized. If the enemy was going to ignore her environment¡­ ¡°Can you survive if I blow up everything except for mama and me!?¡± She spread her arms and then lifted them up. The environment was already being constructed. So¡­ ¡°Bring the front line of flowers to full bloom and lift them up!¡± ¡­Is she detonating the entire area!? Kagami saw the area below fill with the color of explosions. She knew what Fleur had begun. After confirming that the environment was replete with flowers, she had prepared enough to fill in the gaps and¡­ ¡°She is detonating everything horizontally from bottom to top!¡± There were already a great many flowers scattered in the air, so there would be no dodging this. Kagami and Horinouchi¡¯s equipment was touching and riding them. By starting a horizontal detonation from below, Fleur could leave the rest to a chain reaction that quickly filled the entire environment with explosions all the way to the top. The best way to avoid it would be to escape the environment. But carelessly moving outside the current would trigger explosions around them before the larger scale one arrived from below. The two of them were already riding the environment¡¯s current to approach their enemy. The only possible shelter was¡­ ¡°Right next to the enemy! Kagami!¡± The chain reaction would be set to not damage Fleur herself. So¡­ ¡°So we must read the route through the environment and charge on in!¡± As soon as Kagami raised her voice, it arrived. A sweeping attack flew their way from the 6 spell circles on the top of the giant flower. Fleur saw the emitted beam of light pass directly above the two Magino Devices. She had meant to hit them, but they had started descending. ¡­They¡¯re coming, aren¡¯t they!? They had been circling somewhat upwards as they rode the current, but now they were forcibly accelerating down toward her. They were matching their course to the environment while also making their way inwards. They had said they would stop her, so they were on their way to do so. If they had been all talk, they would have been swept away. But if they were charging toward her¡­ ¡°Stop meddling!¡± As soon as she yelled up at them, a shockwave ran through the entire space the beam had passed through. Lightning scattered, the air could be heard splitting apart, and the two Magino Devices were struck from above. The blue and vermilion sword and bow shook violently, but Fleur did not stop there. She pointed down with both hands and drew a connecting circle. ¡°Garland.¡± With that, a ring of new explosives blossomed around the giant flower Device. It would provide a counterattack from below as the enemy was knocked down by the shockwave from above. Once that knocked them off balance, the all-encompassing horizontal explosions would rise up and destroy them! Then the ring of explosives reached the vermilion and blue Devices. ¡°It hit!¡± ¡°Horinouchi!¡± Kagami decided the biggest threat was letting the explosives hit the center of their Devices from below. In this situation, they could withstand the weight and impact of the shockwave bearing down on them from above, but that would cause the front and back to lower. An upwards hit on the center could easily break the Device in half. They needed to ascend at full power. Then the counterattack explosions would not hit them from below and they could reduce the damage from the following all-encompassing blast by putting more distance between them and it. So¡­ ¡°Ascend at full speed!¡± Dikaiosyne and Akerindou were both tail heavy, so the back was lowering and the front was rising as the garland of explosives blossomed. ¡­We avoided a direct hit! Immediately, the garland blast arrived from below. ¡°¡­¡± The 500-meter Magino Devices¡¯ front ends hopped up like they had been hit by an uppercut. And¡­ ¡­Here it comes! The rising vertical detonation approached from directly below. The bottom of her vision grew white. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± The wind caused by the explosive blast grabbed at them and enveloped them. Fleur saw the cascade of light rise before her eyes. It covered everything she could see in every direction. The explosion of light seemed to have had the shape of her flower cut out of it as it blew upwards from below. It was beautiful. It had gone well. ¡°Mama! Wasn¡¯t that amazing!?¡± The explosive cascade covered everything within 50 kilometers. She had never seen anything like this either, but she still bragged about it. ¡°And this isn¡¯t all.¡± That was right. A new current of flowers was already fluttering up from below. And the sky came into view. The wall of explosions rose toward the heavens, reached its peak, and vanished. There was the sky. As the flowers on the outer edge whirled around, the final explosions reverberated as a great noise. They echoed through the air. ¡°Ha ha.¡± A laugh escaped. She was glad. After all¡­ ¡°We won, mama.¡± Nothing remained. The power she had made with her mama had kept her at Rank 1. This had ended it. She was not afraid of Hexennacht. And yet¡­ ¡°Mama.¡± Why? ¡°Why aren¡¯t you smiling, mama?¡± A rumbling raced through the northern sky. Mary listened to it from the Spell Division building¡¯s rooftop and saw a distant pillar of light rising toward the heavens. ¡­What is that? She recalled a similar spell being used in her world. But it had been used to destroy the minions of the ¡°god¡± along with the city they occupied and it had taken several thousand spell users to cast. Even if this world was richer and had further developed its spell-related techniques, it was unbelievable that an individual could pull off something like that. ¡°Incredible¡­¡± How would I fight something like that? she wondered as she saw some movement. ¡°Is that¡­?¡± It was Lisbeth. She was walking down an academy path. She was headed through the courtyard for the mausoleum. Footsteps sounded at the bottom of the night. Lisbeth hurried along the cold floor of a quiet underground corridor. She was so intent on taking the shortest route that her shoulder bumped into the inside wall at a curve. ¡°Kh¡­¡± She groaned in her haste, but she did not care. The spell circle next to her face was receiving updates on the Ranker Battle from U.A.H. witches. Her pace quickly took her to the end of the corridor. She ignored the ¡°keep out¡± sign and held up her card key. ¡°So you only have to hold it up to the reader¡­¡± That part alone she handled calmly and then she stepped in through the opened door. I would really prefer not to visit this place over and over, thought Lisbeth. The hall she had visited the night before was simply dark. The light of the glowing plants had almost entirely vanished, so she had to rely on the lights illuminating the central coffin and other important points. The flower dragon near the coffin approached when it saw her. It likely wanted to know why things had gone so dark. ¡­Is Cerisier approaching her end? She had tricked herself into thinking the woman was alive because they would occasionally contact and converse with each other. Since that woman would sometimes talk about Mitsuyo, it had felt like reminiscing between two survivors. But that was inaccurate. She had been meeting and speaking with regrets that had yet to fall asleep. Once those were gone, none of it would remain anywhere. ¡°Mitsuyo knew.¡± She had been strict but kind. ¡°She knew her soul would fill this world and protect so very much.¡± This world. Some ancient witches had proposed the theory that the ether-based ley lines were a torrent of ¡°power¡± that included the souls of the people, of nature, and even of the stars. Shinto included the idea that the dead would protect the local people as earthly spirits. Looking at it that way, it was obvious why Mitsuyo had sealed away her regrets and left. She had known she would protect the next generation and she had guided her heir without mistaking that girl¡¯s nature. But what about the others? When Lisbeth had discovered Cerisier¡¯s regret playing with her daughter at the Shihouin mansion like nothing had happened, she had been hesitant, but she had accepted it. She should have scolded the woman. She should have told her to accept her slumber and to let her soul disappear. Why had she not done so? ¡°Cerisier¡­¡± Lisbeth kneeled next to the coffin. ¡°You can hear me, can¡¯t you!? What are we doing!?¡± She remembered what Cerisier¡¯s regret had said when they had been reunited. ¡°There¡¯s still more I have to do to protect my daughter and this world.¡± To help her with the ¡°and this world¡± part, they had built Shihouin Academy and decided to protect and raise the next generation of witches there. But what about her daughter? ¡°Are you really ¡®protecting¡¯ Fleur right now? ¡­Your daughter is continuing to wield that power because she doesn¡¯t want to leave you and because she wants you to praise her!¡± Fleur might lose her mother at some point. So to rid her daughter of that fear, Cerisier had told her daughter something. ¡­¡°If you¡¯re a good girl, we can be together forever.¡± Cerisier had to understand the truth. She had to understand what it truly meant to ¡°be together¡±. ¡°Mitsuyo understood that.¡± Even if your mother had left you and was gone, you would sometimes notice something. You would find in yourself the power, skills, and ways of thinking that you had inherited from your mother. That was part of a parent¡¯s ¡°divine protection¡±. That meaning seemed to have gotten through to Mitsuyo¡¯s daughter, Mitsuru. Her knowledge of Shinto would help there, but last night she had lacked her previous grudge over losing her mother. She had learned to smile even at the small things. Was that due to her interaction with the Kagami girl who claimed to have come from another world? Or had she gained that through the previous Ranker Battles? Lisbeth did not know. But children would grow even without their parents. On the other hand, what they had been taught would never go away. And yet¡­ ¡°Your child doesn¡¯t realize that she is alone right now!¡± She yelled down at the coffin. ¡°Is that really the child you wanted!?¡± ¡°Mama?¡± Fleur saw her mother lightly bite her lip. ¡­What is it? ¡°Are you in pain? Did something upset you? Tell me, mama. It doesn¡¯t matter if something bad happened. I mean, we can do all this when we work together. And¡­¡± And¡­ ¡°If I¡¯m doing something wrong, I¡¯ll be even more of a good girl. I¡¯ll always, always do everything you tell me to. So¡­¡± She trailed off there. Suddenly, the Magino Device below her feet shook vertically. And¡­ ¡°Eh¡­?¡± The shaking continued a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th time. Countless warning spell circles appeared atop the Device and around her. Most of them appeared along the edge of one of the Devices forming the great flower. And as those red warnings appeared, something happened to the hoe surrounded by them. ¡°¡­What!?¡± With a metallic shattering sound, sparks, and ether light fragments, the hoe-shaped Device hopped straight upwards. It had been struck. A collision of pure power had knocked a portion of the flower out of place. And¡­ ¡­A cannon blast!? It was fired straight up from below. The hoe blade¡¯s three leaves were pierced and deflected by the blast of light. When the Device was broken by the ether light, the shockwave and power reinforcement divine protections caused it to scatter from above. The Giant Device came apart with a sound like dozens of glass panes shattering, and Fleur saw her enemy. A blue sword and a vermilion bow appeared alongside her. ¡­They did it! Hunter saw two Magino Devices beyond the newly-created explosive air currents. They were below the giant shattering flower. They were lined up in a vertical orientation to hide below the petals. She did not even need to ask when they had done that. ¡°When they were knocked down before, the counterattack from below turned their front end skyward.¡± ¡°They used the recoil?¡± asked the Head Butler over a spell circle. She nodded. ¡°Instead of resisting the upwards force of the counterattack, they let their Devices point upwards and then fired their main cannons. If they don¡¯t reduce the recoil, that provides a short dash backwards. ¡­And that must have brought them just below the giant Device.¡± Below the flower was a safe zone, so they had fled there. Hunter was impressed they had survived, but both Devices already had several pillars of ether smoke rising from them. If they had not repaired the Devices even with Kagami there, they must not have had any time to spare. But¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t waste this chance!¡± Horinouchi had fired. She had used a multi-stage armored shell. She had done exactly what they had planned at their meeting. ¡­That destroyed one of them at least! That said, there was another problem they had to face. Akerindou and Dikaiosyne were currently positioned almost entirely vertically. In both cases, the entire Device acted as the barrel, so they would have to tilt the Device to aim left or right unless they were using guided shells. But even right next to Fleur¡¯s 2-kilometer-tall Device, the pocket created by the destroyed piece was narrow. She considered using a guided shell, but it would be meaningless if she could not destroy the target. Besides, if the shell ricocheted up into the sky, it would give Fleur and the Headmaster quite a shock. ¡°Heh heh. That might not be a bad idea.¡± ¡°Head Butler! Lady Mitsuru just laughed fearlessly!¡± ¡°Is this what you call having enough confidence to scoff even at the Headmaster¡¯s daughter!?¡± ¡°No Device can survive a close-range hit from Lady Mitsuru¡¯s cannon!¡± ¡°Are you maids inventing aspects of Lady Mitsuru¡¯s personality and reputation now!?¡± Fleur used a spell circle to check on the damage to her Devices. She had lost 1 of the 6 and her opponents were hiding in the pocket created by the damage. It was true Zephyr could not send the environment flowers to that location. To avoid self-destruction, the flowers were set to not reach any space that was supposed to be inside it. Her opponents must have understood that. The sound of cannon fire echoed within Zephyr¡¯s walls. They had apparently taken aim at the Device on the right side of the opened pocket. After a sound of impact, the pocket-side leaf of its 3 was destroyed. ¡­They¡¯re so mean! ¡°Why are they trying to stop us? They don¡¯t stand a chance against us!¡± To protest, Fleur started up the device control spell circle and removed the lock. Then she moved the secondary cannons that stuck up from the Devices like towers. They were 200 meters tall. The total of 5 secondary cannons could open the muzzles on their surface and fire 64 beams of light each. They were meant for close-range combat and for Devices that stuck to hers like these were doing. After releasing them in order starting from the top, she used the Device¡¯s sight devices to view the two Devices in the pocket. ¡­Oh. They¡¯re actually pretty damaged. Then there was nothing to worry about. Those two could not stop her and her mama. But she would not let this Device be plucked by anyone other than her and her mama. So¡­ ¡°I¡¯ll beat them down!¡± The secondary cannons pointed in the correct direction launched a total of 152 guided beams toward the targets. Horinouchi did not hesitate. She fired three 3-arrow defense shells toward the massive downpour of light raining on them from above. ¡°I¡¯m counting on you!¡± She used the recoil of the shots to circle below Dikaiosyne like it was an umbrella. Immediately afterwards, the 3-arrow expansions were pierced through with an explosive sound far above. The remnants of the 3-arrows and the beams of light slammed into the Magino Device acting as an umbrella. Sound sprayed out, tremors raced out, and Horinouchi could feel the hits to Dikaiosyne even as far away as she was. Dikaiosyne took a total of 82 hits. 70% of the upper armor was stripped away, 37% of the primary frame was damaged, and the aftereffects were still hitting it. But below that rumbling, the Suzaku cried out. ¡°Chiiiiiiivalryyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!¡± What was that? Chivalry? she wondered, but Kagami was not here to provide a tsukkomi. Of course she was not. After all¡­ ¡°Go, Kagami!¡± She had already told her she was counting on her. ¡°Get her!!¡± Her appearance and action were instantaneous. Fleur had just set the secondary cannons to their automatic barrage setting when someone appeared right before her. ¡­Eh? A blue and white figure stood on the Device. It was a Holy Knight. She held a large sword and was running toward Fleur. ¡°Why¡­!?¡± My and mama¡¯s Device are going to win. And that¡¯s how I can make mama happy. It¡¯s how I can be a good girl. So why? ¡°Why are you interfering!?¡± The flower witch fell back. She took a step back while raising her hoe Device, but it was too late. And so she swung her body like usual. With that movement, anyone would lose sight of her and be unable to keep up. So¡­ ¡°Ha ha.¡± Aware she had entered a safe zone, laughter escaped her lips. When her opponent charged in, unable to see her, she would circle around behind the girl. And then she only had to get an attack in with her hoe and hit her with the flowers. That had been a close one, but¡­ ¡­Mama, I did it! Her mama would be coming to help her too, but she could handle this much on her own. ¡°Mama.¡± Her mama was always doing something with her: fighting, creating her Device, or growing the flowers. They were always together. They were together everywhere. Only a bad girl would just let her mama help her out. A good girl would listen to what her mama said and do her part. She was a good girl who did not cause her mama any trouble. So just like her mama, she could do something together with her. Thus¡­ ¡°I¡¯m not a bad girl, mama.¡± With that, she circled around. She circled behind the Holy Knight to get in her attack. Except she could not. ¡­Eh? Her opponent was not in front of her. The girl was not where she should have been. Almost like¡­ ¡°My-¡­¡± ¡°People are not fallen leaves, Fleur. Once we see it a few times and focus on it, we can copy even the most complex and intricate movements.¡± A shiver ran down Fleur¡¯s spine when she heard that voice behind her. ¡­It can¡¯t be¡­ ¡°I was a bit of a late bloomer for a cherry blossom. But it is autumn, so no one will complain if the flowers have withered.¡± When she looked back, she saw the Holy Knight approaching to swing an attack down from above. ¡­Impossible! She could think of no other word, but a different word escaped her mouth. ¡°Mama¡­!¡± ¡°Cerisier¡­!¡± Lisbeth shouted in the underground hall. The last remaining glowing plants lost their light as falling flower petals. ¡°Hey¡­!¡± The witch from Europe placed her hands on the coffin and raised her voice. ¡°Is this the end¡­!?¡± Kagami stopped moving. She had come here intending to hit the girl. But¡­ ¡­Horinouchi was right. She had said she would handle anything that Kagami was hesitant about. But¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± It was not Fleur standing before her. It was the dress-wearing Headmaster. She had faded enough to see the night and the cloud of flowers through her. The Dikaiosyne that Kagami held was stopped at the woman¡¯s left shoulder. It had not hit her. Kagami had stopped it there. When she remembered the coffin and glowing plants she had seen underground the night before, she had been unable to go through with the attack. As she faced the woman who had shoved her daughter aside and spread her arms, she breathed in and spoke. ¡°Well done.¡± Kagami did not bother with any clich¨¦d thoughts about this being how a true parent should act. For the first time, the woman had simply protected her daughter. Instead of helping her dodge or defend, she had simply moved to protect. ¡°I thank you.¡± Kagami appreciated that a resident of a world she had helped create had made that decision. And¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± The Headmaster began to disappear. Ether light scattered from her feet, hands, and sides. She had reached her limit. The light scattered from the same locations that had been missing inside the coffin the night before. The Headmaster looked Kagami¡¯s way and her lips moved. She was probably trying to speak, but she no longer had enough strength to produce an audible voice. She was no more than video footage now, but she still spoke. ¡°I leave this to you too.¡± There was no point in asking what. Kagami had been left with many things in the past. So she nodded and the Headmaster looked behind her. ¡°Mama!¡± The girl there was weak in the knees and she simply reached her hands out. Fleur tried to keep her mother here. She tried to hold her in her arms and to keep it all from leaking out. But she could not. Her arms swung through empty air and her hands passed through the pieces of her mother that scattered into the sky. ¡°Ah, ah¡­!¡± She stretched her hands out toward the scattering light and tried to gather it all together, but it was no use. Everything strayed from what she intended and it all vanished. Her arms only found herself to hold as she shook her head over and over. ¡°Mama!¡± As she yelled, her mother vanished with a smile. Her mother had smiled, but she was nowhere to be found now. Fleur looked left, right, forward, back, up, and everywhere her spell circle would show her, but she could not find her mother anywhere. She looked around and around, refusing to accept what had happened. ¡°No¡­!¡± She shouted. She raised her voice toward the sky. ¡°Why¡­!? You promised¡­!¡± Several lights appeared around her. She could no longer control the Magino Device, so the power was running out of control. But that did not matter. ¡°Come back¡­!¡± She simply raised her right hand and 3 main cannon spell circles opened at once. She could do that. She could do that and more. But she had no one to show it off to anymore. However, she did have someone to beat down with it. So¡­ ¡°I¡¯ll be a good girl! I¡¯ll show you I can, so come back, mama!!¡± She used the 3 main cannons to sweep an attack around the top of the Zephyr for a combined total of 1080 degrees. Fleur¡¯s Magino Device was collapsing. The armor peeled away like falling flower petals and transformed into fragments of light. But Horinouchi saw two movements from below the half-destroyed Dikaiosyne. The first was the scattering armor turning into flowers. The second was main cannon beams cutting across the sky while scattering roses. Three beams of white roses raced out and pursued the Holy Knight who had jumped down from the Device. ¡°Kagami!¡± Kagami had avoided a direct hit, but there were also aftereffects. Her Form¡¯s armor and the sword she had used as a shield had shattered. Dikaiosyne could not move, so Horinouchi slid Akerindou out. ¡°Kagami¡­!¡± She ran to the edge to catch up. To make it in time. She stretched out her hand, but Akerindou had no hand to grab with. She and Kagami needed it, so neither of them would let her throw it away. The battle was not yet over. With that in mind, she reached out with her nearly bare right hand. ¡°¡­¡± She grabbed Kagami and pulled her in. Akerindou descended to better catch the falling girl. ¡°Going dowwwwwwn.¡± When she looked back toward that voice, she saw the Suzaku clearing its throat. ¡°Um, was that¡­?¡± ¡°Horinouchi! Its owner must not question it!¡± Kagami seemed to be doing well. The next thing Horinouchi knew, she was holding that girl who she could only sigh at. ¡­Honestly. ¡°I said to leave it to me if you were going to hesitate.¡± ¡°I did not hesitate. I simply saw a certain decision.¡± Kagami smiled bitterly, then breathed in and looked overhead. ¡°We have to stop her. But¡­¡± All of the stripped away armor was turning into flowers. And what would that lead to? ¡°Does she intend to destroy everything even as she loses control!?¡± ¡°Kagami! Horinouchi!¡± Hunter viewed the scene through a light-amplified telescopic spell. The wild cloud of flowers was splitting apart and gaps were forming. But not because it was weakening. The force with which the flowers were being ejected had grown beyond anything seen previously. They had been floating as a cloud before, but now they swirled as a violent storm. Triple main cannon shots were continually racing out and detonating the clouds they hit. They were sometimes fired toward the Pacific and detonated the ocean along a somewhat twisted arc. And the fleet began to move. ¡°All ships, approach to 50 km off Japan¡¯s east coast! ¡­We must move below the angle of fire!¡± The deck rocked below Hunter¡¯s feet as the acceleration lifted the bow and pulled down the stern. ¡­We¡¯re all gonna die together here. Hunter had something to do, so she contacted the command center with a communication spell. ¡°Captain! And Lieutenant! If we get closer, we can get more detailed data, right!? Send that to the Horinouchi family! And to the Rank 3 at Shihouin Academy!¡± Mary understood what she had to do. ¡­I need to read the currents of these storm clouds! She could freely control invisible annihilation scythes, so she could easily read currents of power. Of course, those currents grew complex with as many layers to the power as seen here. But¡­ ¡°My teacher easily read and emulated the way that girl moves.¡± She had suddenly done it in the middle of battle, so she was a monster. Mary was normal compared to that, but¡­ ¡°All done!¡± She was skilled at reading multiple layers. Her training allowed her to draw it all out as actual skill. Her teacher had seen that inside her. So¡­ ¡°I need to send them this information!¡± Horinouchi received simulation data of the surrounding clouds courtesy of Koutarou. She had the Suzaku eat it while she focused on firing. But the collapsing armor was getting in the way. Even when she fired, the armor would self-destruct like sand and the force of the blow would not get through. And the chips of destroyed armor panels became flowers and rained down on them. ¡°Kh¡­!!¡± Explosions fell like a waterfall and tore into Akerindou. Kagami was next to her. ¡°Dikaio, can you pull yourself back up?¡± The dragon child shook its head at that. Defending against the previous hits had to have taken nerves of steel, but that servant was a sturdy child despite its appearance. ¡­Letting her go was the right decision. But even as they fired and detonated the flowers to secure a safe zone¡­ ¡­How long is this going to continue!? As she asked that, Horinouchi heard a voice in the sky. It was Fleur. The girl was crying alone atop her collapsing Magino Device. ¡°Mama! Where are you!? Where did you go!? Weren¡¯t we supposed to be together forever!? Mama! I¡¯ll be a good girl and I won¡¯t do anything else you need to scold me for, so come back, Mama!¡± She had not done anything wrong, so why had her mother gone away? ¡°Was I not a good girl? Then I¡¯ll be one! I will! I really will!¡± Her mother had often told her she was a good girl and that she would get stronger. And yet her mother had gone away. ¡°It was you two! It was you two that made mama go away!¡± Her Magino Device¡¯s sight devices showed her the opponents hiding in the broken parts of Zephyr. ¡°Give back mama!¡± She controlled her Magino Device. She had power. Her mother had wanted her to be powerful. So she used that power as if grabbing the giant Device in her hand and moving it. ¡°Ahhhhhh!¡± If she pulled it hard to the west, the enemy could not follow. She slid the 3 km wide Device through the sky. And she saw it. In the swirling blizzard of flowers in the eastern sky, a small bow-shaped Device floated while facing the moon. It could not keep up with her and simply aimed toward heaven. If she destroyed that, it was over. And once it was over, it would be Hexennacht, just like she had promised with her mama. Her mama would keep her promise, so the rest was simple. She would use the main cannon spell circle opened overhead to make a main cannon attack. ¡°Wait for me, mama! I¡¯ll be there soon! I¡¯ll keep my promise! So¡­!¡± She fired the main cannon at full power. This was not a sweeping attack. It was a straight line. Horinouchi sensed danger. ¡­I was too slow to respond! No matter what happened, she had never imagined a 3 km wide Magino Device could move so suddenly. Akerindou was exposed to their opponent while pointing straight up. In that position, it would be nearly impossible to dodge left or right. And since it was focused on firing, the thrusters were set to maintain its position, meaning it could not immediately ascend. That left only one option. ¡°Kagami! I¡¯ll endure this with multiple layers of 3-arrow barriers! But¡­¡± Kagami¡¯s Dikaiosyne had been almost entirely destroyed, but it was slowly falling toward the surface. So Horinouchi was going to tell her to evacuate onto that. But a strength stopped her. Kagami powerfully grabbed her shoulder and pulled her close. Triple main cannon blasts were arriving from beyond Akerindou and the light was approaching head-on, but Kagami raised her eyebrows in a smile and squeezed Horinouchi¡¯s shoulder. ¡°It all comes down to this.¡± And¡­ ¡°Horinouchi. ¡­What form do you imagine could defeat and admonish that opponent?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Just as Horinouchi wondered what this girl was talking about, the rose main cannon struck Akerindou. ¡°A hard hit!?¡± Hunter saw a massive ether explosion inside the battlefield¡¯s air currents. Those were clearly the fragments of a Magino Device¡¯s destruction. And that led to only one conclusion: ¡°Did they lose!?¡± Dikaiosyne had sunk down out of view. It had already been destroyed. And now Akerindou and its excellent attack power had been destroyed. So¡­ ¡°Damn!¡± ¡°Hunter!¡± She shook when she heard the second-in-command, Song Caf¨¦, suddenly shout her name. And then warning spell circles appeared all across the deck and the other ships. ¡­Huh!? Hunter quickly looked around and saw all of the ships advancing in alert mode. That meant there was something considered dangerous at their destination. But even if Fleur¡¯s out-of-control Device was clearly dangerous, they already had all the data on it. So¡­ ¡°Hunter! Look carefully out ahead! Our control system has detected something large enough to trigger an alert!¡± ¡°Something large¡­!?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know! We can¡¯t identify it at all! It¡¯s a new model! And-¡­¡± It appeared before Song Caf¨¦ could finish speaking. The ether explosion smoke of Akerindou¡¯s destruction had created a glowing cumulonimbus cloud and two wings stretched toward the night sky from within it. The wings broke through the clouds and reached a height of more than 5 kilometers in the sky. ¡°¡­Ah?¡± Dumbfounded, Hunter gasped as she ignored the surrounding sounds of waves, of the accelerating fleet, and of the wind. ¡­What is that? Everyone else on the deck was equally speechless as it tore through the cloud to move forward. A shrine bell and a church bell could be heard ringing together as vermillion armor and a vermilion cloak came into view. The helmet worn deep over the eyes was decorated with wings. The weapon it held was the familiar shape of Dikaiosyne except with a vermilion color and an even greater size. ¡°A Holy Knight-type¡­?¡± No, it had wings and it had a skirt and sleeves that the clouds trailed from. It was over 3 kilometers tall. It looked like a divine idol and its name was given in a transmission from the Horinouchi family. ¡°This form was left in the records of Lady Mitsuru¡¯s mother. She sublimated her Magino Frame to bring it to an even higher level.¡± It was¡­ ¡°Lady Mitsuru¡¯s mother named it the Geo Frame!¡± Koutarou saw it on the video footage. He must have seen this once before, but he had forgotten. ¡°Thank you very much, milady¡­¡± This had overwritten the erased memories of his first master. That divine idol resembled both Kagami and Horinouchi. The trick behind it had to be Dikaiosyne. The Magino Device had collapsed and fallen, but it had not been completely destroyed. And the giant Device¡¯s collapse had produced a massive amount of ether. Dikaiosyne had stored that and given it to Kagami. The rest was Horinouchi¡¯s job. A Shinto shrine maiden was defined by her connection to her god. The image she had wished for resembled Kagami¡¯s Holy Knight, but that may have been due to the Halloween party the other day. ¡°Well done, milady!¡± Horinouchi felt like she knew this. ¡­No, I do know it. She and Kagami controlled it from a deck-like platform atop the chest. ¡°The Geo Frame¡­¡± She and Kagami had worked together to create this Device. The dragon child and the Suzaku both produced their own spell circle and both of them displayed the view from the giant divine idol¡¯s eyes. She realized their Forms had changed as well. They had feathered decorations, a cloak, sleeves, and side skirts, so it seemed a little too Western for a Shinto shrine maiden. But, she thought. ¡­This is the ¡°power¡± I pictured in my mind. She did not deny that. And there was a large flower in front of them. They would reach it in another 5 seconds. So¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s do this, Kagami!¡± ¡°Yes, Horinouchi. What should we call this?¡± She realized her Akerindou had inherited its name, so she had never named a weapon. So¡­ ¡°I¡¯m not sure, so I¡¯ll leave that to you.¡± ¡°Then how about the Hyper Manko!? Attack, Ultra Manko!¡± The idol stopped moving. ¡°Y-you idiot! You just hurt its feelings!¡± ¡°No, I believe it is only responding to your own excitement.¡± Honestly, she thought as she caught her breath. The idol began moving once more. ¡­Ah. The air currents triggered a chain reaction of explosions. Fleur had instructed all of the flowers to detonate in order to destroy them. Mary saw the spell circle¡¯s footage white out from the large scale ether explosion. To the north, white light raced high in the sky and shimmering heat covered the surface of the night sky. The air pushed away from the northern battlefield by the explosion had reached her on a large enough scale to distort the environment. And she could see it with the naked eye now. She saw it far north of the destroyed buildings on the northern coast of Tokyo Bay. ¡°That¡¯s it¡­¡± The goddess idol broke through the light and smoke of the explosion and took a step forward. It was unharmed. ¡­Is that the Shinto power of purification? She was certain that a shrine bell could be heard ringing on the battlefield every time it moved. And the idol slowly but lightly stepped forward. ¡°Impossible¡­!¡± Fleur saw an unbelievable power approaching her. ¡­Impossible! ¡°Mama never told me about that! Don¡¯t you think using that is rude to mama!? Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s unfair!?¡± She slammed the flowers against it and fired volleys from her secondary cannons. But none of it could even scratch the great sword held up as a shield. ¡°Mama! I¡¯ll keep my promise!¡± She cried out and swung both arms forward. She swung a triple main cannon blast down like a sword raised overhead. It was settled by a single attack. The idol raised its great sword overhead and launched a counterattack. The high speed slash struck the triple rose spears that swung down like a whip from heaven. ¡°We will stop you!¡± Shrine and cathedral bells rang in unison as the blade sliced right through the three lines of roses. The roses scattered and the light split. The great sword¡¯s blade alone was more than 4 kilometers long. That vermilion sword split the great flower. It was split from top to bottom and the idol¡¯s follow through motion brought the blade all the way down to the ground. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± The idol turned its back on the great flower that still floated in the sky. It stood tall and stabbed its sword into the ground. At that very moment, the two halves of the collapsing flower Device shifted slightly, one half up and one half down. The self-destruction was instantaneous. Instead of exploding, everything turned to flower petals and scattered into the air. The air shook with a wave-like sound. The sound of rustling leaves reverberated through the sky. Then all of the flowers burst and spread across the sky like one giant blooming flower. From there, it all became fragments of light that decorated the air. It had been destroyed. At some point, the sky had gained a faint light. The battle was over and dawn was breaking. Volume 3, 15: What I Want To Convey Volume 3, Chapter 15: What I Want To Convey Thinking back That was the same as The starry sky before dawn Horinouchi and Kagami descended to the ground in the early dawn. This place had been a battlefield not long before. A plain continued as far as the eye could see and the Nasu Highland and the mountains could be seen beyond a horizon that showed the curvature of the Earth. It was quiet. US F-23s flew in wide arcs overhead to protect them. The low rumbling of shockwaves reached their ears, so the battlefield must have contained some considerable decibels for this to seem quiet. Hunter and the Americans had performed an inspection out at sea and had concluded none of the explosive spells remained. The European U.A.H. Magino Devices were still visible in the western sky, but they were not approaching. Horinouchi and Kagami had already dispelled the Geo Frame and had returned to their normal uniforms. They would likely return to the academy in a Japanese U.A.H. helicopter arranged by Koutarou. ¡­How am I supposed to handle all this once I get back? Horinouchi would have to give an explanation to U.A.H. and provide a response for the Horinouchi family. Even if she left all that to Koutarou and fled into the school, she was being treated like a celebrity lately and the newspaper club and PR Committee would never leave her alone. And since she was the Student Council President, they had the perfect excuse to approach her. But something else was important at the moment: ¡°Fleur.¡± It was not their first time meeting, but she was unsure if she should use her given name like that. Nevertheless, she called out to the weeping girl who was sitting in the dark field. Part of Horinouchi thought this was the arrogance of victory, but¡­ ¡°Ah¡­¡± As soon as the crying face spotted her, the girl stood up. She had realized these two were the opponents she had fought during the battle. Horinouchi let Fleur weakly walk over. She took 11 steps. That brought her to Horinouchi, but she ended it with what amounted to a tackle. ¡°You two¡­!¡± She clung to Horinouchi and hit her. She pushed with her entire body, telling Horinouchi to stand back. She was saying she refused to accept it. She wanted to say that the other two girls, the previous battle, and the circumstances she found herself in were lies and impossible, so she pushed back, trying to defeat them. ¡­Yes. Horinouchi accepted those thoughts. She took a light step back and looked at Fleur while sensing her heat. Kagami started to provide support from the side, but Horinouchi stopped her with a hand. She simply listened to Fleur. ¡°Mama¡­! Mama went away¡­!¡± She knew what the girl was saying. ¡°Give her back! Give her back!!¡± She understood. ¡°Why¡­?¡± She really did understand. Fleur had not been ignorant of her mother¡¯s situation. But she had refused to accept the inevitable future, created certain conditions she could use as an excuse, and clung to them. And Horinouchi understood how this girl felt as she sobbed, grabbed at her collar, and yet buried her face in her chest. Horinouchi had once been the same. So¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± She held the girl in her arms. The girl¡¯s small shoulders shook. ¡°Stop¡­!¡± She would not stop. She would not let go even if the girl struggled. ¡°Stop! If you do this, mama will go away!¡± Yes. This was the arrogance of victory. If the loser accepted it, it would mean accepting what she had lost. Horinouchi would not tell this girl to feel the same way she had in the past. But¡­ ¡°Stop¡­!¡± She looked at the teary face looking up at her. She looked at it through her vision which had grown blurry at some point. Fleur tried to blame the other girl. She tried to call this unfair, she tried to tell her to stop, and she tried to say she refused to accept this. But when she looked up, she saw something. The girl holding her was crying. For some reason, Fleur felt like there was a smile on her own face. That feeling brought a sense of shame. ¡°Wh-what are you doing!? Your tears of sympathy aren¡¯t going to-¡­¡± ¡°No,¡± said the girl. ¡°That isn¡¯t what this is.¡± Horinouchi understood now. She recalled the past and the events on the sunset pier after her battle with Kagami. ¡°This is not sympathy.¡± She continued to cry, but strength filled her eyebrows as she spoke to Fleur. ¡°Your mother, who was also our savior, has been lost. That and the fact that you are sad are making me sad.¡± Yes. This was not sympathy. It came from her care for the target of the other girl¡¯s sorrow. And so she wept. She now understood why Kagami had cried back then. Would this girl in her arms understand one day? And¡­ ¡°Hey, Horinouchi, Fleur.¡± Kagami called to them, so Horinouchi looked back and saw a certain sight. The surrounding land was being illuminated by the rising sun. The white sunlight was level with them, but it soon rose to an angle and lit up the field in which they stood. And as that light filled it¡­ ¡°Flowers¡­¡± Hearing Fleur¡¯s voice, Horinouchi let her go. That small body stretched up on her toes to see the entire scene. She was simply not tall enough for that. After all, what they saw continued beyond the horizon. ¡°A flower garden?¡± ¡°The Lady Headmaster apparently sowed divinely protected flower seeds here as part of the recovery work. ¡­As she chose this place for the battlefield, Fleur, she must have wanted you to see this no matter how the battle turned out.¡± Kagami asked Fleur a question. ¡°Do you perhaps sense your mother here?¡± Fleur looked back with tears in her eyes. But instead of answering, she wiped away the tears, turned her back on the other girls, ran a few steps forward, took a heavy breath to catch her breath, and¡­ ¡°Mama!!¡± Fleur yelled to the earth and the air. ¡°I¡­I¡­!¡± That was as far as she got. She covered her face with her hands, raised her voice again, and wept. But this time it was not to resist or accuse; it was to rid herself of her anger. ¡­That¡¯s right. Horinouchi had once cried like that. If no amount of resistance and accusation would change anything, then crying your eyes out was the only option. And once you grew sick of crying, you would stand back up. She wondered what her mother would think of her past self and her present self, and then¡­ ¡­Oh? Perhaps because of the flowers¡¯ divine protections, a wind carrying ether light whipped up around them and then moved in next to Fleur. ¡°Headmaster¡­¡± For a brief moment, Horinouchi could have sworn she saw the woman there: smiling, holding weeping Fleur¡¯s shoulders, and nodding toward Horinouchi. ¡­Ah. The woman flew up toward the rising sun and toward heaven. She left the flowery earth and vanished. Or perhaps Horinouchi only imagined it. Volume 3, Final : That is a Small Light Volume 3, Final Chapter: That is a Small Light Well, you know The seasons change The Ranker Battle ended and a week passed. Lisbeth had rethought why she had come to Japan. She had originally come as a representative of European U.A.H., but on the day after the Ranker Battle, U.A.H. had left and she had taken over as Shihouin Academy¡¯s headmaster. U.A.H. had protested this, but after some pressure from American U.A.H., she was accepted as a special adviser from European U.A.H. She had a lot to do. Not only did they have to prepare for Hexennacht, but every country around the world was boiling with excitement over the concept of the Geo Frame. The presence of Kagami Kagami as ¡°the Black Witch¡¯s sister¡± drew people¡¯s attention both positively and negatively and she could only smile coldly when no one could decide whether the girl should be given an inquiry or an interview. As she kicked out all requests for Kagami to visit another country or the mass media, Lisbeth realized just how right she and Cerisier had been to create Shihouin Academy. ¡­We were much the same back then. The Horinouchi family had worked well for Mitsuyo, so Lisbeth felt an obligation to protect Mitsuyo¡¯s heir in the same way. But¡­ ¡°This way, Fleur.¡± She had an important job today. Fleur had come to school for the first time in a while and she had said she wanted to visit the mausoleum. Lisbeth guided silent Fleur down to the end of the corridor and pulled out her card key. ¡°You take this, hold it out like this¡­and it opens.¡± Will that surprise her? she silently wondered, but the girl seemed too focused on holding something inside. Well, that doesn¡¯t matter, decided Lisbeth as she opened the door and looked within. It was a dark space illuminated only by the installed lights. But there was one thing illuminated by the central coffin¡¯s lights: a flower dragon. It was pink and it noticed them. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± Oh? thought Lisbeth as it passed between her and Fleur and ran off. A flower dragon was a powerful type of servant, but she had no obligation to capture it. If it had lost its master, it would find someone else for a symbiotic relationship. ¡­And I suppose this girl is the same. Lisbeth looked to Fleur next to her. A great change had occurred in that girl. ¡­She can¡¯t use even the simplest of spells. She had not lost her ability to control ether. She simply no longer knew what to do with it. Her combination with her mother had likely been too perfect. For better or for worse, Cerisier had guided Fleur¡¯s actions. Simply put, she lacked the methods, but she still had the ability. If she was eventually given the chance, she would likely return to normal. After all, an investigation had found her ether control and ether extraction abilities were far greater than Lisbeth¡¯s own. That colossal Device and its attacks had used the ether she drew out as its foundation and Cerisier had only lent a hand in controlling it. And when she stepped inside the hall full of withered plants¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± Fleur ran over to the coffin in the center. Her feet sounded light on the plants and she kneeled down next to the coffin. Her mother slept there. ¡°Mama.¡± That familiar cry contained a tremor. ¡°You were here the whole time, weren¡¯t you?¡± Yes, thought Lisbeth. She is saying goodbye to her mother. She had used the past tense. By seeing this unmoving form, she engraved in her heart that this precious person was someone who had already left and would move no more. ¡°Lisbeth.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Can I stay at this school?¡± ¡°I have no intention of letting a promising witch leave.¡± ¡°I was a bad girl.¡± ¡°You were,¡± agreed Lisbeth. ¡°You took the most convenient interpretation of what your mother said, you indulged in that, and you simply relied on her without doing anything yourself.¡± But¡­ ¡°Cerisier would not have traded that time for anything. ¡­I can only say I feel bad for her since only we get to see you become a good girl.¡± ¡°Then¡­¡± ¡°Tell me when you grow tired of being a student. I will make you headmaster. It is a simple job. ¡­You only have to plant flowers in the wasteland.¡± ¡°I see,¡± replied the girl¡¯s small back as she hung her head, let her shoulders shake, and yet noticed something. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Mama is¡­smiling.¡± Was she? Had rigor mortis set in even within the preservation spell? But when Lisbeth had seen her the night before, there had been no smile on her face. If there was¡­ ¡­You¡­ The records of that battle said that Cerisier had met her ultimate end while trying to protect her daughter. That was what she had originally wanted. That was what Lisbeth had asked her about that night. ¡­Did you hear me? Lisbeth noticed a small light at her feet. It came from the plants. That was where the flower dragon had been. That servant had likely stayed there protecting the last remnant of its master¡¯s soul. That old friend¡¯s soul had not been lost. ¡°I see.¡± Lisbeth noticed heat on her cheeks below her eyes. ¡°Hexennacht.¡± On the way here, the 2 who had become the Rank 1 and the other 2 had been fighting over food and shouting something about a celebration party up on the cafeteria terrace. Part of Lisbeth had been exasperated, but another part of her¡­ ¡­Yes. She and her friends had been the same. Cerisier meant ¡°cherry blossom¡±. And that spring flower had finally withered. But the autumn flowers were waiting to bloom. Flower gardens were best when they were busy. Noisiness was its own sort of beauty. ¡°Lisbeth.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°When mama and that shrine maiden¡¯s mother¡­decided who would be the representative, why were they fighting?¡± asked Fleur. ¡°The Ranker Battle system didn¡¯t exist back then, right?¡± ¡°Correct,¡± confirmed Lisbeth. A colossal Device and a Geo Frame had been summoned 10 years before. And the reason behind that battle was frightening indeed. ¡°They were fighting over the 8 PM TV channel.¡± Fleur looked back and forth between Lisbeth and her mother with a look of disbelief on her face, but, well, that happened a lot. ¡ªI will keep my promise. Volume 3, Afterword Volume 3, Afterword That was Clash of Hexennacht III. I felt like I had to have a character with a flower motif if I was doing magical girls. But what do I know about doing what¡¯s normal when I¡¯ve already put in a karate fighter and an executioner? When I looked into it, there seemed to be both a lot and very few motifs for magical girls. They of course have to be ¡°girls¡±, so there are some standard motifs and color schemes. I did a lot of studying there. But the most frightening thing is how hard drawing them becomes if you get too obsessed with all their decorations, so it¡¯s difficult getting the balance just right. Tsurugi-san is putting in a lot of work on the manga version that is being released in parallel. I believe this volume is being released alongside the 3rd manga volume which features the end of the Mary arc. You can see a smug Manko among other things, so I recommend picking it up. Anyway, this volume had a lot happening in Nasu, but I used to go skiing around there a lot. There was a period of several years where they didn¡¯t get much snow and I couldn¡¯t go, but I have to wonder if the restaurants on the way still have ¡°beef bowls¡± that clearly use lamb or bentos that have curry in them for some odd reason. That really takes me back. Now for the chat. ¡°You can talk about magical girls.¡± ¡°I will always be suspicious of those pervy creatures that hang out with them.¡± ¡°So we¡¯re starting with distrust, are we? And don¡¯t call them pervy. They take it all very seriously¡­probably.¡¯ ¡°But what counts as a magical girl and what doesn¡¯t? Do they just need one of those pervy creatures with them? That would make Kiki¡¯s mom a magical girl! This is great. We¡¯re really in the zone now!¡± ¡°Shut up. And there are some that clearly don¡¯t have a pervy creature. Like when they have a supervisor.¡± ¡°A supervisor pervy creature!¡± ¡°Get your mind off of pervy creatures. And sometimes a guy has a pervy creature. And I don¡¯t mean that as a euphemism. ¡­Maybe it¡¯s the title? But then Hana no Ko *n*n wouldn¡¯t qualify. So much for that.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask me to talk about something and then say never mind!¡± I didn¡¯t say the conversation was over. Well, whatever. My work background music this time was Outride a Crisis from Super Hang On. That song really makes me picture the moment of dawn, so I always chose it. But this time I¡¯ll leave you with the question ¡°Who remained the most reliant?¡± Next will be a Horizon Girls Talk, but there¡¯s also the smartphone Obstacle reboot, so things should be busy. June 2016. A really hot morning. -Kawakami Minoru Volume 4, Prologue: A Walk in the Moonlight Volume 4, Prologue: A Walk in the Moonlight He who holds no aspirations will not find happiness. ¡ªAeschylus of Greece The night is lonely because there are fewer people around The night is enjoyable because that loneliness is a relief A girl stood in a city with a view of the moon. She was on the outskirts of the city. She walked toward the city¡¯s lights using a sidewalk that began at the river mouth. Her gray uniform blew in the autumn night wind. Her shoulder-length hair fluttered as the wind carried in the mixed scents of the river and the sea. ¡°Amazing. ¡­I¡¯m glad I put so much effort into it since it came out so well.¡± ¡°I personally can¡¯t recommend this much, but I suppose it¡¯s valuable for you to see it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± said the girl with a smile on her lips and in her eyes as she viewed the city. Her black eyes captured the nighttime lights before her that took the form of a city. ¡°I¡¯m going to keep going.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you would do so even if I told you not to.¡± ¡°Ha ha. Should we spend the night somewhere?¡± ¡°You do not have permission to spend the night!¡± ¡°Yeah, I said it because I knew you¡¯d say that.¡± ¡°Why do you always get so energetic when you use your imagination?¡± ¡°Because it feels like I can arrive at something even better if I do.¡± The girl directed the words ¡°don¡¯t worry¡± toward her left side. She carried a white leather handbag there and a voice spoke from within. ¡°We¡¯ll head back together. Of course, we arrived together too.¡± ¡°Thanks. What does this feel like to you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the same thing you always do. It¡¯s like flipping through a book and pointing to a word on a page.¡± As they walked and approached, the city arrived at their sidewalk. It felt more like it was accepting their walk than spreading out before them. The scents of the river and the sea were overpowered by the sounds of cars, trains, and people living their lives. The sounds, lights, smells, sensations, atmosphere, and aura were all the product of the people who lived there. The girl entered that manmade amalgam. She had already passed the increased density of light that acted as a border. So¡­ ¡°We¡¯ve arrived in Yokohama,¡± said the girl. ¡°We should have gone to the center to start with.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be able to bear that. I¡¯d die.¡± ¡°Stop exaggerating,¡± said the voice from her side. ¡°Look. Over there.¡± The sidewalk ran along the river, but there were several buildings across the road on the other side. At an even interval between the buildings, information towers displayed spell circles. A certain announcement scrolled across one of them along with some news and ads from sponsors. ¡°3 days until Hexennacht,¡± read the girl. ¡°That¡¯ll be 2 days once dawn arrives.¡± A map from Tokyo Bay to the ocean off of Kanagawa was displayed along with footage of a woman with long white hair, a black suit, and an eyepatch. Some roads on the map were marked with red lines and those extended toward western Tokyo, western Kanagawa, or northern Shizuoka. They were¡­ ¡°Evacuation routes?¡± ¡°Are the city¡¯s people evacuating?¡± ¡°It looks like they¡¯ll start evacuating by block tomorrow.¡± The girl looked around. ¡°I would think they would have to evacuate sooner, but let¡¯s just assume that means a lot of witches live in this region.¡± ¡°I really don¡¯t think you should just assume you¡¯re always right.¡± The voice from the bag under her arm spoke quietly. ¡°You have to make sure you¡¯re right in the end.¡± ¡°Only 3 days remained until Hexennacht. ¡°On that day, the world would settle things with the Black Witch. They would do battle with and destroy the very person who created this world and sealed herself in the moon. ¡°That was the day on which mankind had continually lost and received incredible damage. ¡°It always occurred at the end of October. ¡°The official date had been determined suddenly but also quite late, and everyone knew why. ¡°One of the Troika had been lost. ¡°The Troika were the 3 witches who had competed to the end over becoming the representative for the previous Hexennacht. ¡°The one who won that competition, Horinouchi Mitsuyo, had already been lost in the previous Hexennacht. ¡°But one of the remaining two, Cerisier Shihouin, headmaster of Shihouin Academy where the Ranker Battles were fought, was no longer with them. ¡°This was due to the loss of Fleur Shihouin, the previous Rank 1 in the witches¡¯ Ranker Battles which were used to determine who would fight on Hexennacht. ¡°Cerisier had been her daughter Fleur¡¯s servant, but she could not ¡®last¡¯ any longer. ¡°She left the fate of the world up to a new Rank 1 who had summoned the Geo Frame, the ultimate witch¡¯s Frame that had also been summoned by Horinouchi Mitsuyo during the previous Hexennacht. ¡°Thus, Lisbeth, the last of the Troika and the new Headmaster of Shihouin Academy, decided on the date of Hexennacht. ¡°¡­How does that sound as narration for the PR Committee¡¯s documentary, Horinouchi?¡± ¡°Please stop writing your own script! And Aunt Lisbeth has called for us, so we need to gather in the courtyard!¡± A cage surrounded the sky. It was a circular cage with a diameter of about 3km. Each of the bars on the cage was a long gunblade. They were 500-meter Magino Device¡¯s colored a uniform black. 1000 of them were arranged in a circle which surrounded a great expanse of water and the structure that floated there. That structure was Shihouin Academy. The floating island¡¯s giant academic facility was not functioning properly. Classes were in session. A look inside the windows of the school buildings positioned in the cardinal direction would show teachers speaking in front of their lecterns and writing words or drawing diagrams on the blackboards. But the classes were not academic in nature. In the General Division building to the south, a teacher in glasses spread her arms in front of her students. ¡°Listen up. Just like last time, we predict the Black Witch will scatter her minions over a wide area from the sky. You need to consider the possibility that your post will be destroyed or evacuated when that happens.¡± They were being taught the means to survive and to fight. Each division was learning a distinct witch survival method. ¡°Listen up.¡± The General Division teacher raised her hands which had countless stiff scars on them. Her hands had more scars than fingers. When the students saw that, they gasped, nodded, and continued listening. ¡°Listen, everyone. This here¡­is an example of success. Because I¡¯m still alive.¡± In that case¡­ ¡°If your post is destroyed, is your best option to join the U.A.H. troops stationed in a nearby region? You might think so, but you would be wrong. After all, it is likely they will be in combat. So what should you do in that case?¡± A student with pine leaves and branches on her desk raised her hand. She had white skin and blonde hair. ¡°Shihouin students are a part of U.A.H., but we also have our own exclusive communications channel. I think it would be crucial to first search for members of the Special Equipment Division posted nearby.¡± Why was that? The answer was given in the Special Equipment Division building to the west. In front of the students¡¯ lab tables, a teacher in a lab coat drew a map of Japan on the blackboard and drew a horizontal red line between Tokyo Bay and the ocean off of Kanagawa. ¡°You will be positioned along this line. You are to protect Japan from there. But listen. There are 2 problems about that.¡± She tapped the line she had drawn. ¡°The first is that, assuming things are the same as last time, the Black Witch distributes destruction by dropping down her minions. Last time, she dropped black candy boxes which exploded, but even the small ones spread ¡®destruction¡¯ over a diameter of 300 meters. That is the first problem, but the other one is based on your own abilities.¡± Meaning¡­ ¡°The Special Equipment Division is an engineering school. You have trained in two things: combat ability and how to magically construct and repair defensive formations. But that is why you will form the foundation of our defenses while retreating and why you must take command to prevent our formations from collapsing.¡± ¡°You¡¯re telling us to be leaders?¡± ¡°Not telling you to. I am saying you will have no choice but to.¡± The teacher smiled bitterly. ¡°I mean, if you see a collapsed formation or a structure that could probably function as a shield with a little work, would you be able to ignore it? But the truth is that only you have that kind of discernment. You need to understand what that means before heading home today because it¡¯s too late once you¡¯re actually out there.¡± ¡°Wait a second, sensei. ¡­In that case, well, I guess the General Division isn¡¯t too surprising since a lot of them are only witches for fun, but what about the Spell Division?¡± The answer to that was being given in the Spell Division¡¯s school building. There, an old woman in a black coat walked around the classroom. ¡°Listen. You all have a role to play. The Special Equipment Division will end up being defenders and assisting in retreat. But what will you be doing? Defending? Assisting in retreat? Or guiding people? Surely you don¡¯t intend to divine people¡¯s destinations or love lives on the battlefield. You¡¯re not going all the way out there just to determine tomorrow¡¯s future from some beer foam, are you? C¡¯mon, you tell me the answer.¡± ¡°Of course! ¡­We are to attack. We are to take the initiative and make accurate and effective strikes, especially while the enemy is approaching from outside our field of vision.¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s not the answer.¡± The elderly teacher rubbed the student¡¯s head. ¡°Only a small fraction of you will be able to do anything that cool on the battlefield. And as one of those who couldn¡¯t, let me tell you the real answer.¡± She slowly pointed toward the ceiling. ¡°The moon is there. Ever since the previous Hexennacht, my right hand¡¯s nails have always been able to accurately point to the moon. So¡­¡± So¡­ ¡°If you aren¡¯t sure what to do and think it¡¯s hopeless and if you think you still have some strength left, then remember this: fire toward the moon. They always come from the moon, so you have a much better chance of hitting them that way than by making a poor horizontal or homing shot or attempting some kind of martial arts. ¡­Listen. The Spell Division is the foundation of our offense. You¡¯re allowed to use this world¡¯s most advanced magic for violence. Isn¡¯t that the best? So don¡¯t just cling to your magic power and die. But with that in mind, don¡¯t forget this: if you survive, you might just get another shot at this. That will mean spending another pathetic and bitter 10 years on this, but you won¡¯t even get that if you die.¡± She said ¡°listen¡± once more. ¡°Each team will receive a single member of the Special Equipment Division for reinforcement and support. You¡¯re good communicators, right? Yes, here is where you can use your fortunetelling and foresight. I believe I have raised the world¡¯s greatest attackers with social skills to match. The Honors Division tends to have trouble with that last part, though.¡± ¡°But, sensei, the Honors Division¡­¡± ¡°Yes, they lost their most powerful Ranker. Fleur Shihouin has lost her ability to grasp ether, so she is actually weaker than a normal person. I wonder what they¡¯re going to do about that.¡± They all nodded in agreement with that. Fleur had been at the top of the worldwide witch ranking, but she had lost both the Ranker Battle and her power. The greatest advantage of the Ranker Battles was how the losers were not lost, but that did not apply to this result. ¡°That means everything will likely be focused on the current Rank 1, but how will the Honors Division view that?¡± The question was also asked within the Honors Division. ¡°Sensei.¡± That voice came from a closed white space without windows. Fewer than 20 witches sat in floating chairs with armrests. A few of them kept their hands busy by repeatedly opening and closing locks or making random structures out of floating building blocks, but one of them asked a question. ¡°Will we be useful at all?¡± ¡°Well, all of you have unique powers,¡± said the sweater-wearing teacher. ¡°But that is why we have long been thinking about how to use your abilities. Your deployment this time will take that into account and the witches in command will have been instructed how to use you, so you don¡¯t need to worry. Of course, that¡¯s what makes it such a disappointment that we lost Fleur who had such incredible power in combat.¡± The teacher said ¡°but¡± again. ¡°Witches are people. You and we are people. We are analog and cannot be reproduced no matter how many gears you put together. ¡­We can¡¯t blame someone if circumstances and happenstance led them to lose their power.¡± ¡°Then¡­¡± said a girl holding an origami crane in the air. Her blue eyes looked to the teacher. ¡°Do we just have to place all our expectations in the current Rank 1?¡± She took a breath. ¡°They might have a greater power than Fleur, but we don¡¯t know if they can win. I mean, that Geo Frame they summoned was already defeated 10 years ago.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the question I think we¡¯re all asking right now.¡± During the Hexennacht 10 years before, Horinouchi¡¯s mother Mitsuyo had been the representative, but she had lost to the Black Witch. And she had summoned the greatest witch¡¯s Frame known as a Geo Frame. ¡°The daughter is using the same technique that was defeated last time. ¡­Can they really win like that?¡± With that question, the crane took flight. The white origami crane flew lightly through the white classroom without flapping its wings. ¡°Ah.¡± It suddenly opened up. It did not tear or come apart. It unfolded, and¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± The blue sky spread out within that closed white space. Something opened with a sound like struck cloth. ¡°A window!? But those were only included during the initial planning stage!¡± As the teacher asked that, everyone turned back toward the blue sky and saw something there: a giant blue and vermilion weapon. Two Magino Devices, which measured more than 500 meters, had appeared in the sky above Shihouin Academy¡¯s central courtyard. ¡°Hold it! Kagami Kagami! How dare you!! We¡¯re having enough trouble with the evacuation schedule for this area changing on such short notice, so why are you doing something so noticeable and threatening!?¡± As the woman¡¯s voice passed in one ear and out the other, Horinouchi watched the silver-haired and uniformed girl in front of her shrug. ¡­Now she¡¯s done it. Horinouchi thought this was absolutely ridiculous, but the other girl did not notice her glare. Kagami simply ignored Lisbeth who stormed quickly over from beyond the courtyard. ¡°What do you think, Horinouchi? I used the ether I was given and the designs you let me see to summon both Dikaiosyne and Akerindou simultaneously! What do you think!?¡± What did she think? There was only one answer to that. ¡°How in the world did you do that?¡± ¡°You cannot tell!?¡± Kagami struck a pose with her hands and elbows bent. ¡°I was told I could do what I wanted with the ether, so I simply took control of all the ether that is normally collected using the engines. I made the whole thing all at once! The entire Device! I always preferred bananas, but Shouko is so narrow-minded and only allowed the production of strawberries.¡± ¡­Umm. It took an extra leap of logic to figure out what that idiot had done. After all, the rules of this world did not entirely apply to her. So¡­ ¡°You secured the ether needed to summon the Device without using the engines?¡± ¡°Yes, that is correct, Horinouchi. It was a request from Lisbeth who is running over here right now. To confirm the Device repair technique I used in the battle against Mary, she wanted to see how much of Dikaiosyne and Akerindou I could ¡®construct¡¯.¡± Horinouchi understood what that meant because she had checked with Lisbeth about it earlier. ¡°That¡¯s to see how much of a Device you can repair with your crafting ability, right?¡± ¡°Indeed it is!¡± Kagami spread her arms wide with the 2 summoned Magino Devices behind her. ¡°With my power, I can repair and even create the Devices so long as I have sufficient ether.¡± ¡°Hehhh.¡± Horinouchi looked to the voice from her right shoulder. ¡°¡­Suzaku, was that you?¡± The servant intentionally looked the other way and made fake-sounding bird cries, but its identity did not matter at the moment. But just as the Suzaku¡¯s comment was meant to point out, there were some problems with Kagami¡¯s crafting. First of all¡­ ¡°Milady! This is the mainland team! Why are you summoning your Magino Devices!? The evacuating vehicles were so distracted they crashed, the trains suddenly lost power and stopped, and U.A.H.J. sent us a message saying, ¡®what is it this time¡¯!¡± ¡°Tell them it¡¯s ¡®the usual¡¯. You must maintain your presence of mind.¡± ¡°Well done, milady!¡± With Hexennacht the day after the next, evacuation orders had been sent out for the area from Shihouin Academy to the ocean of Kanagawa where the seal would be established. The same was true for the residents along the east-west line where damage was expected from the ¡°reinforcements¡± summoned by the Black Witch. They could have done this earlier, but most of Japan was still reconstructing. If those areas could not function for long periods of time, it would cause losses from something other than direct damage. So it had all been calculated out so those areas could remain active right up to the limit. They would also have been preparing everything for evacuation as that limit approached. ¡°They apparently redid their evacuation preparations last night almost on a whim,¡± said Horinouchi. ¡°So those areas are a little on edge.¡± ¡°Ho ho? Then the sudden appearance of our Devices must have gone a long way toward improving their morale.¡± ¡°¡­It would seem they¡¯re panicking a little because they think Hexennacht might have started early.¡± ¡°My, aren¡¯t they quick to jump to conclusions.¡± Kagami smiled bitterly. ¡°Then again, I hear most of those evacuating are children and the elderly because approximately 1.2 million of the other witches and men with spell training will be assisting from the coast of Tokyo Bay to the Kamakura region. It sounds so incredible.¡± ¡°Thanks to Shihouin Academy¡¯s presence, all of the schools in the reconstructed areas have classes in those things.¡± For the past 10 years, a foundation for opposing Hexennacht had been established even at the governmental level. Everyone from high school age to age 50 would generally remain to combat the disaster during Hexennacht. The women as attackers and the men as defenders. If the Black Witch called in her ¡°reinforcements¡±, U.A.H. would handle it. But the local people would provide backup for U.A.H. while also handling the disasters and human damage caused by those reinforcements. The need to protect your own city was a constant lesson in the reconstructed regions. U.A.H. would make up for their anxiety about intercepting the actual enemies, so they both made up for what the other lacked. ¡­So even if a lot of people are evacuating, we don¡¯t have to worry too much about them. It was hardly surprising that those evacuees would be surprised and concerned when Kagami used her crafting ability to create 2 Devices without warning. ¡°Heyyy, Kagami, Horinouchi,¡± said Hunter¡¯s voice. ¡°The internet is going nuts about something.¡± ¡°Yes, I suppose they would be,¡± was all Horinouchi could say. But Kagami¡¯s crafting had another problem beyond this kind of event. ¡°Now, then.¡± Horinouchi put her hands on her hips and turned back toward Kagami who only tilted her head. The look on Kagami¡¯s face said ¡°Is there a problem?¡±, so Horinouchi pointed at the 2 Magino Devices overhead. ¡°Listen,¡± she said. ¡°Repairing them without using their actual ¡®mold¡¯ and just creating the whole thing at once is definitely amazing. In fact, it seems to reject the very foundation of our techniques. But you won¡¯t be able to activate the engines when they¡¯re made like that.¡± ¡­From a technical aspect, what she¡¯s doing is on the level of a god. Horinouchi could not help but enviously wish she had the same power because this crafting ability allowed one to directly convert ether into a desired form. While Horinouchi would use spells and the engines to smoothly process the ether in stages, this was more like taking a giant hand to knead out some clay. ¡­It¡¯s just plain ridiculous. It broke the rules of witches. When making her giant Device, any witch would first use ether to create the engine system needed to support the gathering and circulation of the necessary amount of ether. Looking at it like a human body, it was like creating the circulatory and respiratory systems first and creating the rest while sending blood and oxygen to the entire body. That drastically reduced the burden and stress to a lot of the components when compared to making it all at once. After all, that meant instantly creating a structure measuring more than 500 meters long. It was difficult for an individual¡¯s skills to secure the necessary amount of ether and to periodically send it to the various parts of the structure. Also¡­ ¡°The engines have enough power to create the rest from scratch, but if you try to activate the entire thing at once, the strain will be too great and it will forcibly shut down.¡± ¡°You mean it starts in low gear and rises to top gear by the time the entire Device has been made?¡± ¡°So you understand it intellectually at least.¡± ¡°My engines took yours into consideration¡­well, they were mostly copied straight from yours, so I leave a lot of that up to Dikaio.¡± ¡°Then¡­¡± Something about Kagami¡¯s crazy abilities bothered Horinouchi a bit, but she put it off until later. She opened a performance graph of her engine system. ¡°It might sound like you can just increase the output of the low gear, but starting with too much power right away puts a real burden on the engine system itself.¡± ¡°And what do you do about that?¡± ¡°You prepare a secondary engine system to act as a starter for the primary engine system.¡± In other words, they would create a small engine to turn the large engine. In response, Kagami looked up at the giant sword and bow floating in the sky. ¡°That sounds like a pain. ¡­But even with that, there is another problem, is there not?¡± She knew the answer already, but she still asked it. Of course, Horinouchi went along with it by shrugging and answering. ¡°The Device¡¯s ether pathways will be destroyed if it receives too powerful an ether circulation right away. It¡¯s like a sudden spike in blood pressure.¡± ¡°How do you avoid that with Akerindou?¡± ¡°Accumulated experience,¡± she said. ¡°Witch techniques are always being reformed, but that happens on a personal level as well.¡± As soon as she explained that, someone grabbed Kagami¡¯s shoulders from behind. ¡°Kagami Kagami! I can¡¯t believe you!!¡± It was Lisbeth. Lisbeth had predicted that this would not happen. She now realized that had been far too na?ve, but she blamed her mistake on assuming Kagami would have anything resembling common sense. ¡­How much can you repair Dikaiosyne and Akerindou using your crafting ability? Asking that had been the problem. She had guessed the girl could do this much. When predicting the accuracy and scope of Kagami¡¯s crafting ability, she had only needed to imagine the girl was the god who created their world. But she had carelessly assumed Kagami would not go this far. After all¡­ ¡°I can¡¯t believe you! You forcibly stole that ether, didn¡¯t you!?¡± ¡°Forcibly? How rude, Lisbeth. ¡­I merely opened things up and found it there, so I took it.¡± ¡°Took it from where!?¡± She had received reports from within the school that everything from windows to cabinets had unlocked and ¡°opened¡±. The same thing had happened when Kagami came to this world, but this was different. ¡°What did you open!?¡± As soon as she asked that, several spell circles appeared next to her face. There were 7 in all. Each one was an emergency transmission. ¡­From the surrounding Magino Devices!? She looked up into the sky just as the voices reached her. ¡°Mistress! I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t hold on any longer!¡± ¡°Emergency! ¡­What is this? Some kind of malfunction!? Or¡­¡± ¡°C17 through C24, evacuate to the surface!¡± It was impressive that none of them were screaming. They were surprised, but they were handling the situation even as light exploded in the sky. More than 1000 Magino Devices surrounding Shihouin Academy and 7 of them suddenly self-destructed. The Device management spell reports Lisbeth had seen on the way here had told her what this was. And¡­ ¡°Lisbeth. Even if they are mass-produced, you should not use the same name for so many of them.¡± ¡°¡­Did you ¡®open¡¯ them by using the name of that block of Devices!?¡± ¡°I needed the ether. Dikaiosyne and Akerindou each seem to need as much ether as a bit more than 3 of your mass-produced models.¡± ¡°Your crafting is more wasteful than you might think, so I believe the actual amount is more like 2.7.¡± The person more familiar with the girl made a correction. But as the Devices scattered in the sky, a voice cried out beyond the trees surrounding the courtyard and the other Devices moved to fill the newly created hole and retain the overall balance. They would not panic and make themselves look bad. But the situation was still quite out of the ordinary. ¡­She broke down the Devices starting from the ¡°name¡±? The concept of a ¡°true name¡± required caution among witches. Names were the definition of the thing itself. All things physically ¡°existed¡±, but they also received a name to ¡°exist¡± as something with meaning. Give a name to an animal and it became a pet. The name given to a building could turn it into anything from a rundown shack to a frontline base. Also, the namer became the parent of the named and they gained the right to control it. From a magic perspective, the name of the magic user could be a difficult issue. If you knew your opponent¡¯s name, the ether could better reach your opponent and produce greater power against them. But if your opponent knew your name, they could control your spells via your name instead of via the spell itself. Of course, any higher Ranker would have protections applied to their name to ensure it was grounded. But¡­ ¡°The internal structure of the Devices was supposed to have multiple names for the various parts to increase their defenses.¡± ¡°In other words, you used multiple passwords.¡± ¡°They were linked together, so controlling just one part shouldn¡¯t have been able to stop the whole.¡± ¡°I did not stop them. I opened them, Lisbeth.¡± Kagami shrugged. ¡°I mean, there was no need to stop them. I wanted the ether as a material, not to control your devices. So¡­¡± So¡­ ¡°I saw it when you were fighting Fleur near the main gate. When Fleur¡¯s attack destroyed the blade, the individual parts had spells built in to direct the explosions inwards and thus avoid damaging their surroundings. From there, I only had to read the text written on the spell circles.¡± ¡°So you found the name and ¡®opened¡¯ them?¡± ¡°Precisely, Lisbeth! You catch on quickly!¡± Beyond Kagami, Horinouchi placed a finger next to her head and spun it in a large circle. ¡­Um, yes, that¡¯s about right¡­ The threat here was not a difference in skill or quality as it had been when Lisbeth had taken on Cerisier and Mitsuyo. ¡­She used the name as a hook to ¡°open¡± it? What Kagami had done could simply be described as follows: ¡°You discovered the ¡®name¡¯ of something that isn¡¯t even a door, but you still used the control provided by that ¡®name¡¯ to use it like a door, didn¡¯t you?¡± Using that, she could also ¡°open¡± people, weapons, the sea, or the sky like a door. Lisbeth had heard Kagami¡¯s ability was crafting, but that was not actually the case. ¡°You have the power to control phenomena¡­and the ether is no more than the fuel and material used for it.¡± ¡°That is correct. ¡­I have a pen in my hand and this world is my notebook. I can make anything I want. But I need the proper motivation and the pen I use runs out of ink very quickly.¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t refer to someone else¡¯s Device as your spare ink,¡± said Horinouchi. You¡¯re the one that just defined it that way, thought Lisbeth, but it was an accurate description. As a result, 2 Devices had appeared and 7 others had been lost. ¡­Creating 7 of them all at once is going to be a pain¡­ The idiot would just keep making them and destroying them, but securing that much ether would affect the amount of ether in the surrounding ley lines. That was why Shihouin Academy was located in the middle of Tokyo Bay where it would have relatively little effect on anything else. U.A.H.¡¯s European headquarters were in the mountains for the same reason. We should get the help of the 7th Fleet at Yokosuka to do this out at sea, thought Lisbeth before Horinouchi spoke up. ¡°But Aunt Lisbeth?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t call me ¡®aunt¡¯.¡± ¡°Lisbeth.¡± That¡¯s not great either, she thought, but then Kagami whispered in Horinouchi¡¯s ear. ¡°You must not rush things, Horinouchi. People are slower to make decisions as they age. And what you call someone can be dangerous as it is connected to their name. So, Horinouchi, let us decide what is best here. ¡­What is your relationship with Lisbeth?¡± ¡°She¡¯s an old friend of my mother¡¯s, so I¡¯ve always called her my aunt.¡± ¡°I see. And what is the safest thing to call her?¡± ¡°Well¡­Lisbeth, I suppose.¡± ¡°I see. Then it would be best to put those two together! Go for it!¡± ¡°¡­Aunt Lisbeth.¡± ¡°Damn you two¡­!¡± The two turned their backs and ran about 7 steps away as she swung her right fist down, but she was also painfully aware of how much Horinouchi had changed. ¡­I¡¯m not sure if Mitsuyo would have liked this change, though. She knew Mitsuyo would forgive her that much of a criticism. But then Horinouchi asked a question. ¡°So, Second Headmaster, why did you have Kagami do this nonsense? Hexennacht is only 2 days away.¡± ¡°Well,¡± began Lisbeth. ¡­2 days away, hm? How had it been 10 years before? She remembered working to cheer them up so Mitsuyo would not be worried, but she now realized it was she who had been worried. And Horinouchi would remember what had happened 10 years before. So Lisbeth had a question for her. ¡°Mitsuru. We weren¡¯t doing this at this stage 10 years ago, were we?¡± ¡°At our home, we were living relatively normally. My mother was giving me my normal spell training, teaching me how to do the work around the shrine, and completing those duties herself¡­¡± Yes. ¡°She assumed those normal days would continue like normal after Hexennacht.¡± ¡°In that case, this idiot is a powerful drug that provides an accent to those normal days.¡± She looked to Kagami, but the girl only placed a hand on her face and smiled a little. ¡°Jealous?¡± Of what? Your skin? Are you talking about how young your skin looks¡­? thought Lisbeth, but Horinouchi placed a hand on Kagami¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Kagami, stop that.¡± ¡°You would stop me?¡± ¡°Yes. ¡­German witches are scary when they hold a grudge, you know?¡± Lisbeth raised her right fist and they fled 5 meters. ¡°Anyway,¡± she said with a sigh. They were incredibly lacking in tension, but as a veteran, she tried to understand that was just how the current Hexennacht was going to be. But she did have one thing to say. ¡°It¡¯s simple. Hexennacht is a clash between Devices. Even if you summon your Geo Frame, that does not change the fact that it is a fight between Devices.¡± So¡­ ¡°If Kagami can use her crafting ability for regeneration as a superior form of defense, you have a considerably better chance of victory.¡± Do you understand? ¡°The Black Witch has never faced a witch with such a powerful recovery ability. Or witches using the buddy system for that matter.¡± That¡¯s true, thought Horinouchi. ¡°Throughout the history of Hexennacht, the battle with the Black Witch has always been 1-on-1. The battle inside the barrier has always been focused on offense and it has never been focused on a recovery spell.¡± ¡°I see. In other words, Horinouchi, you and your mother are witches optimized for Hexennacht.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like what you¡¯re implying there.¡± Kagami turned to the side, held her right hand out toward Horinouchi, and opened a communications spell circle. ¡°Yes, is this Hunter? What? You¡¯ve been placed in charge of us? Why do you sound so glum? I will come by to cheer you up later, so rest easy. ¡­Don¡¯t come by? Now, now. Be honest with yourself. ¡­Anyway, I have a quick question. In your opinion, what is Horinouchi¡¯s greatest strength? Her giant breasts? Yes, her giant breasts. I see.¡± Kagami closed the spell circle and smiled Horinouchi¡¯s way. ¡°My apologies, Horinouchi! A meat-eating American assures me that you are all about giant breasts and not attack power!¡± Lisbeth gave her a silent nod, so Horinouchi threw Kagami to the ground. ¡°I think we got off topic,¡± said Horinouchi. ¡°Is it normally like this with all of you?¡± asked Lisbeth. ¡°Not at all,¡± said Kagami as she got up, but that elicited a glare from Horinouchi. The idiot stood up and brushed off her uniform. ¡°Listen. Normally, I would ask Mary for confirmation and she would provide a course correction back on topic, Lisbeth.¡± A communications spell circle appeared next to Kagami¡¯s face, but the idiot crushed it from the top and bottom between her hands. ¡°Kagami, what was that?¡± ¡°Oh, nothing to worry about. You can pretend it never happened.¡± That was Mary wasn¡¯t it? thought Horinouchi, but she left it unsaid. She was afraid what the glaring Second Headmaster would ask. But another thought did occur to her. ¡­I¡¯m not at all on my own like I used to be. Hunter was there and so was Mary. She of course understood that Kagami stood at the center of it all, but she was thought of as ¡°one of the gang¡± in her current environment. It was the crazy visitor from another world that had triggered such a change in her and her environment. And she then realized what Lisbeth had meant earlier. ¡­Even if Kagami acts as our healer¡­ ¡°I understand, Second Headmaster. Even if the Black Witch has never fought someone who used recovery spells, that is only true in this world.¡± Lisbeth looked toward her. The woman was otherwise motionless. She did not confirm that was what she had meant, but she did not deny it either. So Horinouchi had something else to ask. ¡°Kagami? Can you tell us? In the worlds you passed through on the way here, has the Black Witch fought any battles like that?¡± ¡°To be honest, I do not know.¡± Kagami told the truth. ¡­Has Shouko ever fought someone with a complete grasp of recovery spells? She did not know. Or perhaps it was better to say she was not certain. But there was a reason she did not know. After all¡­ ¡°Do you remember what I told you before, Horinouchi? ¡­It has finally happened.¡± Horinouchi¡¯s eyebrows rose at those final words. After an ¡°oh¡± of realization, she gave the answer. ¡°This is the first time the Black Witch ¨C meaning your sister ¨C has a clear presence, right?¡± ¡°Yes. It was originally just the destruction of the world as a phenomenon. From there, it gained a clear cause, became the work of a supernatural being, and ultimately became an act of a god or deity. And here, she is finally¡­finally seen as a single witch.¡± After saying that, Kagami snapped her fingers. A tall figure appeared from behind some nearby bushes. It was Mary who carried a plastic bag full of drink cans. She entered this part of the courtyard and looked up at the 2 Magino Devices overhead. ¡°¡­¡± She glared at Kagami and clearly wanted to say something, but Kagami pretended not to notice. Then Kagami spread out her snapped fingers while raising her hand toward the sky. ¡°Mary, do you remember what happened to your world?¡± ¡°If you are asking if there was a recovery spell squad, that would be the War Wound Healer Division of the Eastern Pure Law Team.¡± ¡°Curse Shouko. Did she think it sounded cool to give them kanji names¡­?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you reading too much into that?¡± asked Horinouchi. ¡°No,¡± said Mary. ¡°The Brigadier General was always using a powerful translation spell or mutual understanding spell, so I don¡¯t think she noticed, but the Eastern Pure Law Team was read as the Far East Extra Lawyers and the War Wound Healer Division was read as the War Wound Healer Band.¡± ¡°Where did the pure part go!? And where did the band part come from!?¡± Hunter parted the bushes as she ran over. ¡°So they used kanji and English in another world?¡± ¡°Horinouchi, please tell my sister that the next time you see her. That is a truly bad habit of hers, but she only ever says, ¡®But everyone¡¯s doing it!¡¯ ¡± ¡°Um, Brigadier General¡­she didn¡¯t destroy our world because she was sick of having that pointed out, did she?¡± Please don¡¯t suggest something so scary, thought Hunter. But it was nice that she could skip the annoying ¡°classes¡± by saying she had to look after Kagami and the others. And then they would take her out to eat with them and they would let her borrow a bed that didn¡¯t smell like oil. ¡­I can sleep on the floor of Horinouchi¡¯s room! That was the best. Her family home had wooden floors with gaps between the panels, so sleeping there was the perfect way to end up eye-to-eye with a snake or scorpion from the foundation below. Regardless, she had to ask about something Mary had said. ¡°You had a unit like that? So if you can have healers in a battle with a big army, could that be implemented using something as big as a Magino Device?¡± ¡°What kind of world are you imagining, Hunter?¡± asked Kagami. The answer was obvious. ¡°If you had a war in outer space with warships the size of Magino Devices blasting each other, you could do some fleet-wide healing, couldn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Too bad! My sister can be very hardheaded, so whenever she has machines appear, she generally only treats them like machines.¡± ¡°You couldn¡¯t use a magic wand to heal them like with a Device?¡± asked Horinouchi. ¡°When it was a space war, she had injuries dealt with using individual superpowers or a healing pack while machines were repaired using repair equipment. The common pattern was for it to look like the enemy was in the center of the universe, but then everything would gather there and begin to be annihilated.¡± It sounded like Kagami was remembering the actual topic at hand. But in that case¡­ ¡°Is this the first world where things like machines could be healed?¡± ¡°Due to the rules of witches, the magic wands were likely given that ability automatically.¡± So¡­ ¡°Even if there had been some development of healing spells, this should be the first time it has been at the Device level. At the very least, I have seen nothing like it in the worlds I visited in pursuit of my sister. Plus, Lisbeth, an older representative of this world, was shocked when she saw what I had done.¡± ¡°In that case, will it be effective?¡± asked Horinouchi. ¡°Yes,¡± said Kagami with a nod. However, she then looked up at the 2 Devices in the sky. ¡°If I can do it, then she can as well assuming the conditions are right. Besides, she is the creator of this world and much crueler than me,¡± she said. ¡°Now, I see a way to strengthen our defenses. But that still leaves how to defeat my sister who also has this power. We need to give that some thought.¡± Volume 4, 1: People are a Gathering Volume 4, Chapter 1: People are a Gathering You mustn¡¯t Praise me for nothing more than this ¡°Everything just got a lot noisier over toward Tokyo Bay, didn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Did you see all of the bulletin boards on the main road switch to ¡®stop everything¡¯?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± said the girl as she shook her short black hair in response to the white handbag by her left side. The sky was illuminated by a late October setting sun. She walked along the same riverside road as the previous night, but the road was full of cars now. The lines of cars belonged to the evacuating people. The people had been instructed to use public transportation instead of private cars, but no one was listening. ¡°And yet they even increased the number of trains and buses,¡± commented the girl. ¡°They¡¯re running some exclusively for evacuation.¡± ¡°The people probably want to get their own possessions out. Not everything is going to go as planned.¡± ¡°C¡¯mon, don¡¯t act like you¡¯re better than everyone.¡± ¡°I think you should tell that to yourself last night.¡± Meanwhile, some horns began blaring down the congested road. The girl sped up to see what that was about and she found a car stopped up ahead. ¡°Out of gas?¡± ¡°If so, they would only need to refuel, but it doesn¡¯t look that way. Maybe it broke down.¡± As the girl wondered what they would do, two people descended from the sky. A male and female police officer wearing lightly-armored uniforms flew down on mass-produced Normal Device cowling brooms. They hopped down instead of landing and the woman instructed the male driver to get out onto the sidewalk. She held out her hand to the waiting cars and held up a spell circle containing her signature of jurisdiction. ¡°That was fast,¡± said the handbag. ¡°That¡¯s the police for you.¡± The girl saw the driver get out with whatever luggage he could hold. The male police officer shook the driver¡¯s hand and got inside the car in his place. ¡°I wonder what he¡¯s doing,¡± said the handbag. ¡°Using a spell inside?¡± ¡°Maybe securing temporary ownership rights? Guys use passive magic, so I think he¡¯s making the car his possession so his spell can apply to it.¡± ¡°What kind of spell? Is he going to lift it up and move it?¡± ¡°Lifting it up would be a physical strengthening spell, but I think using that on a car would cause it to bend.¡± The girl approached as she spoke and she saw the woman open a spell circle and get the driver¡¯s signature. Then the man got out of the car and placed a spell circle on the hood. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± When the man said something to the woman, she held her palm out to get the driver to stand back and then casually lifted up the car. There was a spell circle above her head, but it only displayed authorization to move the car and her qualifications. ¡°She¡¯s carrying it?¡± asked the handbag. ¡°I doubt she would lift it up and support it using one of her active spells. That would cause a continuous burden, making it pretty inefficient.¡± ¡°Then¡­¡± The handbag trailed off because the woman ¡°placed¡± the car over the man waiting in the road. ¡°Oh,¡± said the voice from the girl¡¯s side. ¡°If he¡¯s only ¡®supporting¡¯ it instead of ¡®lifting¡¯ it, then passive defense spells will work just fine. This way the car won¡¯t bend.¡± ¡°That seems more like a play on words to me.¡± But the man began walking with the car supported by his raised arms. He moved nimbly. He likely had a destination in mind. While walking down the center of the 4-lane road, he even positioned it vertically when passing by a bus. That did not seem to dump the contents of the car to one side, so they too must have been ¡°supported¡± by the spell placed on it. ¡°They probably have motor pools set up in places so they can gather up everything blocking the flow of traffic,¡± said the girl. ¡°And the people responsible will be placed on the public transportation, I suppose.¡± The driver bowed and the woman passed him a spell circle telling him where to go. Then the driver walked off in a different direction. He left the flow of traffic and was probably on his way to a train station or something. To clean up, the female police officer erased the spell circles from the road and bowed toward the waiting cars. After that, she only had to fly away as a witch. Everything was back to the way it was. The girl looked up into the sky from the sidewalk. ¡°Witches like that must be going on standard patrols.¡± She could see groups of 2 and sometimes of 3 or 4. ¡°Accidents like this are less than 0.01% of the whole,¡± said the voice from her side. ¡°So if they remove those, I¡¯m guessing they only need to deal with the traffic congestion like normal. Their thinking is a bit forced, but they know people will use their private cars even if told not to, so having something like this in place is the right decision, even if it doesn¡¯t score a perfect 100.¡± ¡°Wow. That scoring really, really makes it sound like you think you¡¯re better than everyone.¡± ¡°But if that¡¯s how they¡¯re doing things, I kind of want to see it for myself.¡± ¡°There was an elementary school near here, so maybe they¡¯re temporarily carrying them there.¡± ¡°Should we go take a look?¡± The girl hesitated but ultimately shook her head. ¡°There¡¯s something else I want to see.¡± ¡°You should have gone last night.¡± ¡°I wanted to walk through the city at night then. Because I was never able to do that. But¡­¡± The girl looked into the eastern sky. Beyond a line of buildings, she saw the elevated buildings and roadways along the coast from the Uraga Channel to Tokyo Bay, but she could not see past there. She sighed. ¡°The world is in motion and connected even in the places you can¡¯t see.¡± She began walking. She was headed deep into the congested flow of people and cars. She turned her back on Tokyo Bay and quickened her pace. ¡°I wonder how much of it has been made.¡± Koutarou and the others were helping U.A.H.J. by constructing tents in various places. They were currently constructing the European U.A.H. Headquarters Expansion in front of Shihouin Academy¡¯s main gate. While they quickly worked, the Head Maid approached. She stepped into the tent where they were beginning to line up the communication equipment and command desk carried in by an outdoor transportation wagon. ¡°We are constructing similar tents in Yokohama, Yokosuka, and Enoshima. Enoshima will be our external headquarters. We have already geographically distributed our posts, but we will head there to assist with the advance team with construction once we finish here, so hurry it up, everyone.¡± They all said they would and continued working. Then the Head Maid asked a question. ¡°Head Butler, will you be heading back to the mansion for today?¡± ¡°No. The mansion has already been locked up, so we will all be heading out. Most likely to Enoshima.¡± Hearing that, several of the maids working on the tent nearby raised their voices. ¡°Ehhh!? You¡¯re coming with us!?¡± ¡°All right! That means those of us here will be safe!¡± ¡°Head Maid, please say something to the Head Butler!¡± ¡°J-just in case I wasn¡¯t clear enough, all of the mansion¡¯s witches will be going, too!¡± ¡°Well, I suppose so.¡± The Head Maid used a spell circle to link a parabolic antenna to a relay truck. ¡°The Black Witch¡¯s minions do not attack with simple explosions. They use ¡®destruction¡¯, so it permeates belowground too. The mansion¡¯s basement may be able to endure the smallest level of ¡®destruction¡¯, but from midlevel and up, a direct hit would leave us with no escape. ¡­But why Enoshima?¡± ¡°Because we have determined that not even the Black Witch will be able to move freely while fighting Lady Mitsuru and Lady Kagami.¡± Magino Device battles naturally covered a wide area, but given the effect that terrain had on the collection of ether and the barrier placed on her, the great ¡°fluctuations¡± of a city or the mountains would be inconvenient for her. The best terrain would be the sky above a large river that matched the flow of a ley line. That allowed one to secure the ether welling up from there, but there were no large rivers matching those conditions in Japan. So¡­ ¡°We think the Black Witch has an all-around strength with no fixed specialty, so she will likely choose to fight over the ocean for the lack of ¡®fluctuations¡¯ instead of finding somewhere with a specific advantage.¡± ¡°That¡¯ll be the area of fiercest fighting,¡± said a witch with an eyepatch over her left eye. She was the maid who had supplied her eye power to the 7th Fleet during Mary¡¯s Ranker Battle. She opened a spell circle while tying the tent canvas to the poles. ¡°The 7th Fleet is currently calling the 5th Fleet to Hawaii for backup. It looks like the battlefield will be the backwards ¡®L¡¯ of the coast from Tokyo Bay to Kanagawa.¡± ¡°Where is the 7th Fleet?¡± ¡°In a position where they cannot be seen from an altitude of 10 kilometers at the widest range of the battlefield.¡± ¡°They¡¯re using the curvature of the earth as cover?¡± Because the earth was round, that curvature would come between two positions with sufficient distance between them. ¡°Even if the Black Witch¡¯s ¡®eye¡¯ applies to all of her minions, the final stage should be fought almost entirely on the surface. The fleet intends to attack them by using the earth as cover and traveling along the appropriate latitude.¡± Everyone briefly stopped moving and nodded at what the eyepatch witch said. When they were mopping up all of the Black Witch¡¯s minions, would they be winning or would it be the opposite? No one had any way of knowing. But there was something Koutarou had to say. ¡°Not to worry. ¡­Lady Mitsuru is beginning to surpass her mother. And this time, she has a partner who more than rivals her in strength.¡± Let me say one thing. ¡°We are leaving the mansion and heading into the fiercest of the fighting, but not just to support those of you there. It is so we can praise Lady Mitsuru when she emerges victorious.¡± As soon as he said that, light sprayed through the sky. At the same time, the maids trembled and the barriers opened around their bodies and hair began to glow. ¡­Those are¡­ They were the witches¡¯ persistent defense and protection spells. A large quantity of ether had flowed into them and overloaded them. He knew why. ¡°Did Lady Kagami dispel the Devices she had put together?¡± She did so as carelessly as she created them. A look up in the sky showed scattering light and no sign of the 2 giant forms that had been there a moment before. She¡¯s causing some kind of commotion again, thought Mary as she looked into the sky alongside Hunter who was doing the same. She lightly raised a hand. ¡°So are we really having a strategy meeting here, Brigadier General and Horinouchi-san? Oh, and New Headmaster.¡± ¡°Yes, that is right, Mary. I am willing to give you some of my valuable time. How about that?¡± She ignored her. And¡­ ¡°New Headmaster, you seemed to be performing an experiment using the Brigadier General, but could you please tell us how the Black Witch¡¯s sealing barrier works?¡± ¡°Oh?¡± replied Lisbeth with a smile on the corners of her lips. ¡°You are a clever girl.¡± ¡°It is a natural question. After all¡­¡± Mary gestured into the sky. ¡°Earlier, the Brigadier General created a Device as a form of defense, but that consumed a great quantity of ether. That leads to a question: can external ether be sent into the sealing barrier where the battle will take place?¡± This was much like a strategy she herself had once used. After dividing Kagami Kagami from her buddy and taking just Kagami to the North Pole, she had used a certain tactic against Kagami who had a crafting ability and the ability to acquire massive amounts of ether. ¡°I surrounded that space with a barrier and thinned out the amount of ether within. As a result, the Brigadier General had considerable trouble repairing her Device and attacking.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t that end with you getting hit by some intercontinental arrows?¡± Quiet, Rank 3. At any rate, that result told her one thing. ¡°If this barrier is the type that cuts off ether, it is a poor match for the buddy system. After all, the Brigadier General and Miss Horinouchi both use techniques that consume a lot of ether, so they will automatically run out of fuel quite quickly. ¡­In that case, the Brigadier General¡¯s Device repairs will be all the more dangerous.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you consider the possibility that the Black Witch will be bound by the same conditions?¡± ¡°Because the Black Witch is much like a creator god.¡± Mary knew that it had been a ¡°god¡± that destroyed her world and that the ¡°god¡± had only been a subordinate of what this world called the Black Witch. This was a being higher than the gods. The normal rules did not apply with someone like that. ¡°Even though she was cornered during the previous Hexennacht, the Black Witch sent out her minions to turn things around. That tells us that she can be injured and ultimately destroyed and that her creation ability is likely only limited by what she can think of.¡± ¡°True¡­ Summoning minions that could cause such great destruction to the surface is not possible using the existing ether conservation laws.¡± ¡°While I have brought in my own unique rule while still fundamentally being bound by the rules governing this world¡¯s characters, my sister is most likely using her own unique rule but is bound by that.¡± ¡°Why, Brigadier General?¡± Mary had a question. ¡°She would be invincible if she did not construct that rule, so why create it?¡± ¡°The pride of an author.¡± Kagami smiled a little with her eyebrows still raised. ¡°She creates and destroys this world, but she feels a pang of conscience from that act. So by establishing a rule that makes her highly unlikely to be harmed but still technically able to be harmed, she can remain almighty and yet soothe her conscience about what she does to the world.¡± ¡°Oh, you mean like how you feel guilty playing a game on god mode, but that guilt almost entirely vanishes when you can still die if you fall in a hole?¡± Mary did not know what the Rank 3 was talking about, but there was one thing she understood. ¡°In other words, the Black Witch can be hurt, but she has excellent means of recovery and defense¡­¡± That led to a certain conclusion. ¡°Just how obsessed with attack power is the Horinouchi family¡­?¡± Horinouchi realized that Lisbeth and everyone else were looking her way. This just took a turn for the worse, she thought, but she decided to say something regardless. ¡°Wh-what is that look for, everyone!?¡± ¡°Horinouchi, you said before that you have made a number of improvements over your mother, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± said Hunter while throwing her hands in the air. ¡°And she tested them on me.¡± ¡°E-either way,¡± said Horinouchi, ¡°defeating the Black Witch is our most important task, so greater attack power should be a good thing.¡± ¡°Looking at it another way, this means we already have attack power equal to the Black Witch¡¯s, doesn¡¯t it?¡± asked Horinouchi. Now that you mention it, thought Horinouchi before saying more. ¡°It may be somewhat insane, but we can also rival the Black Witch¡¯s defense¡­or rather, we have a way of repairing our Devices. And on the level of recreating them entirely.¡± That was Kagami. And Kagami clearly knew it because she puffed out her chest and tried to get Horinouchi to praise her some more. ¡­She sure is full of energy¡­ Kagami had been messing with a lot of people lately and doing all sorts of unnecessary things. Horinouchi wondered what had her so worked up, but would she answer if Horinouchi asked? But Horinouchi had another question too. It was the same one Mary had asked earlier. ¡°How is the sealing barrier formed?¡± Lisbeth¡¯s answer was simple. She took a breath and then spoke. ¡°Currently, the seal connecting the moon and the earth does block ether.¡± That meant the ether inside was limited. Hunter knew most of this already. American U.A.H. had not been on the scene during the previous Hexennacht, so they had not been affected much by the Black Witch¡¯s ¡°eraser¡±. That left them with some information and predictions concerning this Hexennacht¡¯s battle. ¡°There are 2 problems with an ether-blocking barrier. The first is that it blocks spell communications. Of course, that can be overcome by using optical communication spells that compress the data.¡± The other problem had already been mentioned: ¡°How to handle the fuel efficiency.¡± ¡°Rank 3, you make it sound like your Hedgehog has cleared the fuel efficiency problem.¡± Mary¡¯s sharp, she thought before nodding. ¡°The truth is, both Fleur and Horinouchi¡¯s mom had also cleared it.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± said Horinouchi while looking her way. ¡°You mean great size with heavy armor or high density, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I should have known!¡± Kagami looked to Horinouchi¡¯s chest. ¡°Great size indeed.¡± Horinouchi attacked with a no-motion iron claw. That was fast. ¡°Ow, ow, ow, ow! Your bow-holding grip is truly impressive, Horinouchi!¡± What kind of compliment is that? thought Horinouchi since she might as well view it in a positive light. ¡°Fleur¡¯s giant Device and the Geo Frame are both created with massive amounts of ether. But they are more than just large. They are made to hold ether inside, so they can continue fighting even when the ether density is low.¡± She felt a vibration much like a flopping fish from beyond her left hand, but she ignored it. I am actually a very good cook. Squeezing juice out of apples, for example. But Mary spoke after taking a quick glance beyond Horinouchi¡¯s left hand. ¡°I have a question. ¡­If the ether density drops, won¡¯t the Device come apart?¡± Mary¡¯s question was a good one. But¡­ ¡°A 500m Device might just barely survive, but a Device or Frame larger than 3km will carry its own ¡®phase¡¯.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Instead of a ¡®space¡¯ through which ley lines flow, they become large enough to create their own ¡®geographic phase¡¯. Then again, that requires more than just size. It also needs a geographic function and purpose, but Devices contain plenty of elements that grant that.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± agreed Horinouchi. ¡°I understand why Fleur¡¯s Device created an ¡®environment¡¯ and why my mother¡¯s giant humanoid Device is known as a ¡®Geo Frame¡¯. Geo is an indigenous mother earth goddess. So if we can summon the Geo Frame, the Device will maintain its form as a ¡®phase¡¯ even within the ether-blocking barrier and it will continue to function based on the ether contained within it. ¡­Of course, that will then become the upper limit of our fuel.¡± ¡°When you think about it, becoming your own ¡®phase¡¯ is really the work of a god.¡± ¡°Your Hedgehog is the same, though.¡± That was because the heavy armor of Hunter¡¯s Device increased the density of the ether. So depending on the circumstances, it might create its own ¡°phase¡± separate to its apparent size. ¡­It¡¯s probably on the border of being able to do that or not. Becoming a ¡°phase¡± would mean being dragged around by that ¡°phase¡±. And in the Hedgehog¡¯s case¡­ ¡°A ¡®phase¡¯ made from heavy armor would probably be similar to that of the earth¡¯s crust or of boulders. So once you reached that level, you would probably have difficulty moving very quickly.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. And that¡¯s why I didn¡¯t keep the heavy armor airtight during the Ranker Battles. The swing-by method would require a hell of a lot of power if I was being dragged around by my own ¡®phase¡¯ and that would slow me down. ¡­So after winning the Ranker Battles, I was planning to seal it all up in preparation for Hexennacht. ¡­Because if the Hexennacht barrier blocks ether, I wouldn¡¯t be able to use my satellite swing-by method anyway. I would have needed to strengthen the interior.¡± ¡°Was that how it worked?¡± Mary sighed lightly and Horinouchi understood why she felt disappointed. ¡°My Ira was not designed to function in a zero-ether environment.¡± ¡°In that case, U.A.H. would have provided advice and assistance, so worry not.¡± Lisbeth was right. And Horinouchi felt Mary had done more than enough. ¡°Your annihilation spell would work against the Black Witch, you know?¡± ¡°It didn¡¯t work against the former Rank 1¡¯s environment spell.¡± Horinouchi needed to correct her. ¡°It did not work ¡®against¡¯ it. During the final battle, Kagami and I adjusted to match the environment in order to avoid being hit. ¡­It¡¯s all in how you think about it. And we were only able to make that decision after seeing your earlier battle.¡± ¡°Miss Horinouchi¡­¡± It still was not clear why Mary called her ¡°miss¡±, but the girl lowered her head regardless. ¡°Thank you for your kind words.¡± ¡°Did you hear that, everyone!? Lady Mitsuru showed concern for a friend and received respect in exchange! Eavesdropping was worth it after all! You have to accept that now!¡± ¡°Head Butler, while I must say ¡®well done, milady¡¯, what you are doing is the worst.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you for the valuable scene, Head Butler. But you are the worst.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. This deserves a major ¡®well done¡¯-ing, but the Head Butler is the worst.¡± ¡°Ahh, I can¡¯t hear you, I can¡¯t hear you! This is all thanks to me, so I¡¯ll just ignore all of that! ¡­Well done, milady!!¡± Anyway, thought Horinouchi. ¡­Our strategy for Hexennacht is becoming clear. ¡°Once the battle begins, we need to use Kagami¡¯s ability to prevent any damage and then we need to summon the Geo Frame if the battle is going to last very long.¡± But a question arose. ¡°During the previous Hexennacht, the Black Witch called in her minions for reinforcements. If all ether was blocked, how did she do that, Kagami?¡± She removed the iron claw and asked her question, so Kagami shook her head and immediately answered. ¡°Well, that would be because she did not use anything like a spell, Horinouchi. Let us discuss this while we head out for some food. This involves some private information, after all. Mary, Hunter, you come as well. What about you, Lisbeth?¡± They looked over to find Lisbeth glaring at Kagami and waving her right hand. She then wrinkled her brow. ¡°I have work to do!¡± It looks like she really, really wants to come with us. Volume 4, 2: Think About It Volume 4, Chapter 2: Think About It Instead of wondering how this happened You think ¡°not again¡± because you know exactly how this happened ¡°Oh, I think I¡¯ll go buy a drink!¡± Even the traffic jam filling the roads had ended. The girl quickened her pace as the majority of the traffic became witches who were no longer hiding who they were and U.A.H. vehicles. She had come to the entrance of a train station. The station building doubled as a shopping center and it bore the words Sagami Railway Main Line ¨C Mitsukyo Station. Leaving through the north ticket gate led to an elevated terrace in and out of the station. The area around the station was hilly and the green of trees was visible from the terrace. ¡°Over there, by that hill.¡± ¡°Is that where the drinks are?¡± ¡°My home. You can¡¯t see it from here, though.¡± The girl pointed toward a hill to the northwest. The bag by her side sighed. ¡°That¡¯s pretty far. And we couldn¡¯t use the train anyway.¡± ¡°Thanks for sticking with me.¡± She walked across the terrace and out the north entrance. There was a shopping district there, and¡­ ¡°Oh, the open caf¨¦ really is here.¡± ¡°That seems really out of place. Do I have your extreme authority to thank for this?¡± ¡°You should thank me for not letting it disappear on its own.¡± The girl walked over to the open counter bearing the logo of a chain caf¨¦. There were already 2 or 3 people there. After walking below the roof, she realized there were a few witches inside and they were gathering information with spell circles. The girl casually looked over the shoulder of the person ordering ahead of her, so the voice at her side spoke. ¡°Is this your first time somewhere like this?¡± ¡°I sometimes went to the burger place inside the station. I always got the fish burger.¡± ¡°I look forward to seeing how badly you screw up ordering.¡± ¡°Prepare to be disappointed,¡± said the girl as her turn arrived and she stepped forward. The clerk was a tall woman who opened a standardized spell circle prepared by the restaurant. ¡°What would you like?¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯ll have a medium-sized icing brulee with extra chocolate chips, chocolate sauce, and double cream. To go.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t there a more specialized way of saying that?¡± Hearing the voice, the clerk smiled and the girl tapped her side. The clerk jotted down the order, and¡­ ¡°Your servant?¡± ¡°Yeah, something like that.¡± ¡°I see. ¡­Oh, is the bitter caramel sauce okay?¡± ¡°Eh? Um¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s the difference?¡± asked the voice. ¡°With this combination, it has a powerfully melty texture with a thick and heavy sweetness, so the bitter caramel can make it all fairly heavy. Using the sweet caramel makes a clear difference and mixing it in improves the flavor, but that¡¯s just the average opinion. I think some people prefer it heavy.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll have it heavy.¡± ¡°Okay, then wait just a moment. ¡­Oh, and what herb? Mint?¡± ¡°Oh, yes, I¡¯ll go with that.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± said the clerk as she passed the written order to the cook further behind the counter. She opened a takeout bag and placed some paper napkins inside. ¡°Do you have a post for the day after tomorrow? You know, for Hexennacht.¡± ¡°Ohh¡­¡± The girl hesitated a moment and then smiled with her eyebrows lowered. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be taking part.¡± ¡°I see. ¡­Then if you have a seal, let me see it. If you¡¯re in charge of this region, this will be on the house.¡± ¡°Oh, no, I¡¯m not in charge of this region. I¡¯ll be more¡­out to sea I think. I only came here to see my family home.¡± ¡°Oh, then you do that. It¡¯s important, isn¡¯t it?¡± The girl blushed a little at that and lowered her head. ¡°Thank you very much.¡± ¡°No, no. ¡­When most witches are assigned to a region¡­well, Japan is Shinto, so they have a lot to do with the local shrine and such. It apparently makes a better ¡®match¡¯ than you might think, but I hear they will try to fit in by continuing with their lives like normal and following the local god.¡± ¡°Is that how it works?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s more of a jinx based on the idea that it would be nice for things to continue like that. It apparently spread on the internet and I think everyone does it nowadays. Since you don¡¯t seem to worry about that, does that mean you¡¯re from the academy?¡± ¡°Eh? Umm, something like that.¡± ¡°No, you aren¡¯t. Don¡¯t just agree to-¡­¡± The girl snapped her hand up from below to silence the contents of her bag. The clerk had not heard that exchange, so she smiled calmly to fill the gap. ¡°The Rank 1s at the academy are causing a commotion again, aren¡¯t they? The coast was in a panic with the combat-form Magino Devices that were summoned without warning. Did you know that?¡± ¡°Oh, um, I knew something happened, but I didn¡¯t know that¡¯s what it was¡­¡± ¡°I see,¡± said the clerk as she turned back toward a voice from the kitchen. When she turned back around, she held a clear plastic cup. ¡°Here you go. ¡­Should I put the straw in?¡± The girl answered in the affirmative, so the clerk did so and then put the cup in a plastic bag. The girl listened to the woman as she handed her the bag. ¡°Those Rankers have been eating out a lot recently. The academy has been busy lately and U.A.H. has been more active here in the Kanagawa region, so it¡¯s probably quieter if they head out somewhere.¡± ¡°So they¡¯re on their way to Shinagawa? ¡­Well, middle management jobs aren¡¯t easy, Lisbeth Lueger.¡± The sea breeze blew in the afternoon sky and a slab of steel floated in the vast, dark blue ocean below. It was a giant aircraft carrier. Currently, both sides had opened, the anchoring floats were out, and the waterline was positioned high as several moving figures and voices were found on the deck. The ship faced north, a fellow ship was positioned far to port, and 5 giant spell circles were opened in the sea between the 2 ships. ¡°Unlock!¡± In response to the loudspeaker spell from the ship, the spell circles on the ocean surface began to rotate like screws. Fog appeared in that area of sea, a 2nd and 3rd spell circle stacked atop the existing ones, and they all slowed or sped up their rotation while repeatedly moving down and up. Something grew from the center of the spell circles as they did so. It was a giant sword made of light which was even larger than the aircraft carrier. The sword quickly grew black. ¡°Lisbeth Lueger. You originally created these with only the ether of the mountains. And you designed them for that purpose, didn¡¯t you?¡± A blonde woman in a jumpsuit sat on the edge of the deck while smoking a cigarette. The woman looked to the sea. She was a witch with the insignia of a rear admiral and a badge of a musical note and shot glass on her shoulders. She quietly clicked her tongue toward the communication spell circle opened at the end of her cigarette. ¡°We specialize in the ¡®phases¡¯ of the sea, the sky, the wind, and the night. ¡­This is a bad match. We still have 2 more to go and it¡¯s taking an awful long time.¡± ¡°Can your aircraft carrier not fly to the mountains of Europe?¡± ¡°If you told me to, I¡¯d get it flying. Are you sure you want to see more of the chaos that I, Song Caf¨¦, can cause?¡± And just as the woman, Song Caf¨¦, said that¡­ ¡°Ah, Song Caf¨¦! I¡¯m boooored! Is that Lisbeth!? Having a class reunion?¡± ¡°¡­Now that is not someone I wanted catching wind of this.¡± ¡°Who is it?¡± asked Lisbeth. ¡°No, if it¡¯s someone there, it would have to be-¡­¡± Before Lisbeth could speak the name, Song Caf¨¦¡¯s communication spell circle shook. A moment later, someone wearing a vice admiral¡¯s jacket ran up from behind. She wore sunglasses and her long black hair fluttered in the wind as she opened her own communication spell circle. ¡°Lisbeth! ¡­What¡¯s this? What do you think you¡¯re doing with our cute Hunter!? Give her back!¡± While intercepting the communications at the bus stop in front of Shihouin Academy, Hunter held a hand to her head. While waiting at the bus stop next to her, Mary moved out of the way of Kagami who was trying to capture Horinouchi with a video spell. ¡°What is it, Rank 3? You¡¯ve had your ear to that communication spell circle for a while now.¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯ve only been gone for a day, but it¡¯s already sounding like a drama is starting.¡± ¡°I see,¡± said Mary, but there was nothing Hunter could do about the drama developing out at sea. ¡°Listen!¡± shouted A-un Silver Coin, commander of the 7th Fleet, on the transmission. ¡°If Hunter doesn¡¯t get to eat meat every day, her barbecue flavor will turn to salsa!¡± Hunter had no idea what that meant. ¡­Am I really that bad? But that incoherence was just how A-un Silver Coin worked. As that Urban Name suggested, she used strategies based on fortunetelling using medallions, but she oftentimes took her foresight too far and had trouble holding a normal conversation. Song Caf¨¦ was on old friend of hers and had come along as her aide to translate for her and help her along, but¡­ ¡°Hunter is our girl, so if you don¡¯t feed her enough meat and get her injured, I¡¯ll destroy you!¡± Don¡¯t just jump to the conclusion, thought Hunter, but she could tell she was cared for. Then Lisbeth responded. She answered the outrageous behavior in a calm voice. ¡°¡­I will crush both of you.¡± ¡­Please spare me this! Should Hunter cut into the transmission and say, ¡°Hi, hi. I¡¯m on my way to a family restaurant to eat some meat, so don¡¯t worry! Okay!?¡± She was fairly certain they would demand that the child stay quiet, but was that only her timidity talking? Regardless, that was when Song Caf¨¦ cut in. ¡°Hey, Lisbeth.¡± After a short pause, she spoke an admonishment. ¡°Right now, you¡¯re asking us to repair your Magino Devices. I know one of our people is being a little full of herself, but try to keep yourself under control.¡± Yes, yes, yes, thought Hunter. Cool. Stay cool. When cooking meat, you can¡¯t just constantly flip it over. ¡­Staying calm is important! That must have gotten through to Lisbeth because she cleared her throat and spoke in the transmission. ¡°Yes, I understand that, American U.A.H.¡± She understands that¡­? thought Hunter, but did that make her more of a normal person than she thought? Then Lisbeth continued with her words of understanding. ¡°I understand that, but this is a different matter.¡± ¡°¡­What is it, Rank 3?¡± asked Mary. You don¡¯t have to say anything. I know there¡¯s something wrong with this. Have you ever even heard the word ¡°understanding¡± before? Hunter just hoped a great witch war would not break out between Tokyo Bay and the ocean off of Kanagawa while her group was visiting Shinagawa to eat meat and parfaits. But¡­ ¡°Oh, here it is, everyone.¡± The bus had arrived. Hunter sealed the communication spell. She could not allow anyone in the bus to overhear those voices. But as she erased the spell circle¡­ ¡­Will this be okay? A-un Silver Coin¡¯s voice reached her ears. ¡°Fine then! Let¡¯s fight it out just like last time! ¡­Just like the fight to be representative 10 years ago!¡± Ah, thought Hunter as she tried to stop the spell circle¡¯s erasure, but it was no use. ¡­The European U.A.H. Representative and those 2 knew each other? Lisbeth could tell it was time for a change of pace. ¡­I¡¯ve had far too much work and far too many things to think about for work. She wanted to take a break, but that would never work inside the academy. When she could see the Devices surrounding her in the sky, she felt like she had to work. Am I being infected by the Japanese spirit? she wondered, but Germans were hard workers during the work hours. And it was still before 5. With that logic, she felt like she had to work. Americans were the best when it came to forcing themselves to take breaks at times like this. After all, they were loud and incomprehensible. But one of them was saying something nostalgic. ¡°You defeated us, so why did you lose to the 2 above you!?¡± That was a simple question. ¡°Because I lacked attack power.¡± ¡°Lisbeth, you destroyed my ¡®counter¡¯ with a single attack.¡± ¡°Let me make one thing very clear,¡± said Lisbeth. ¡°I lost to Mitsuyo because I did such a bad job cleaning the bathtub.¡± Ever since, she had made sure not to leave any grime around the edges. That was her promise to a lost friend. ¡°¡­Thanks for the confusing answer,¡± said Song Caf¨¦. You¡¯re welcome, she thought but did not say. Still, this did remind her of old times. ¡°Come to think of it, you 2 were the first to use the buddy system in the representative battles, even if it wasn¡¯t called that at the time.¡± ¡°I did the fighting and A-un Silver Coin did the strategizing. With the Hexennacht barrier in mind, we used optical communications to exchange instructions, but you saw through that, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°We fought in the sky above the ocean and the battlefield¡¯s range was limited. You had sent the 7th Fleet below to ¡®observe¡¯, but my ¡®eye¡¯ can see laser light.¡± ¡°I managed to communicate my prediction, but before I could tell her the details, the battle began, we lost, we unfortunately had to retreat, and we arrived too late!¡± That was right. When America¡¯s representatives lost that battle, they had given up on holding a position during Hexennacht. They had been growing independent from Europe at the time, but they had lost to Lisbeth, who was effectively the European representative. With that and Cerisier, who was also European, at Rank 2, America had lost any room to intervene. That had kept their 7th Fleet from moving, but¡­ ¡°But 3 of my medallions pointed to good fortune here! So I might have received a lot of mockery, but the next thing I knew, I was the commander, I found myself here, and I was telling Hunter to enjoy her connections even after the Ranker Battles were over! Agh, I just wish I could have predicted back then exactly what was going to happen.¡± ¡°I suppose prophecy and foresight abilities do grow more inaccurate over longer periods of time.¡± A-un Silver Coin responded to Lisbeth¡¯s comment with a sigh. ¡°My ¡®reading¡¯ predicted victory. ¡­And so I let my guard down.¡± Lisbeth started to say ¡°I see¡±, but held her tongue. Come to think of it, A-un Silver Coin did indeed use foresight fortunetelling. So back then and now¡­ ¡­Wait. Calm down, she told herself before asking a question. ¡°Are you talking about the representative battle against me?¡± Lisbeth felt like her question chilled the air. A-un Silver Coin likely knew what her question meant. Finally, the woman sighed with a slight smile. ¡°This is top secret,¡± she said. ¡°My ¡®reading¡¯ back then was pretty long-term, but it said the final representative should have defeated the Black Witch.¡± ¡­If Mitsuyo was supposed to win, why did she lose? Lisbeth asked a few ¡°why¡± questions and followed the mental path that the answers laid out for her. Why had A-un Silver Coin¡¯s ¡°reading¡± said Mitsuyo would win? Why had that ¡°reading¡± been wrong? And if such ¡°readings¡± were possible, why¡­ ¡°¡­Did you ¡®read¡¯ that you could not win the representative battle against me?¡± ¡°No? Destiny¡­or would you call it a thread? A lot of it changes as you draw that thread in. I can ¡®read¡¯ things, but it takes time, right? I look down at that thread and read it, but some people will draw the thread in partway through and some will intertwine it with another thread.¡± Fortunetelling witches often said there was more than one destiny. ¡°In my case, I simultaneously read a series of about 30 threads located around the target, but I lost that time. ¡­Thanks to some sudden interference.¡± ¡°¡­? No one interfered in our battle.¡± ¡°There were the 2 above you, remember?¡± ¡°Wait,¡± said Lisbeth. ¡°Neither Mitsuyo nor Cerisier interfered in our battle. That was how our relationship worked.¡± ¡°And that¡¯s the point,¡± said Song Caf¨¦. ¡°You had that relationship with them. If it was just your destiny and your thoughts, that would be one thing. But that powerful relationship caused you to think of them in battle, allowed you to entrust your destiny to them, and even led you to wonder what they would do in certain circumstances.¡± ¡°You mean¡­?¡± ¡°The report from Shihouin Academy says we and this world are the product of someone¡¯s imagination. But¡­we can use our own imagination to compare ourselves to someone else. I think that means we aren¡¯t the product of someone else. No, um, we aren¡¯t just the product of someone else. So¡­¡± So¡­ ¡°At the time, Song Caf¨¦ and I knew each other well enough to know what the other would be thinking even with the ether blocked, but it turned out you were the same. ¡­I thought we could win, but we were defeated by the breadth of the solid relationship you had formed. We lost because we didn¡¯t realize you had that breadth. But that doesn¡¯t mean that ¡®you won¡¯.¡± Hearing that helped her understand a lot about those 10-year-old events. Lisbeth had held some doubts about some of it. ¡­Like that I was 3rd best and could never move any higher than that. She still felt she had lost to Cerisier and Mitsuyo because of her insufficient attack power. But¡­ ¡°It is true that when I fought those two back then¡­I felt I could entrust everything to them even if I lost.¡± ¡°I think the other two were a little different. Saying this might be a little mean, though.¡± A-un Silver Coin¡¯s calm tone belied what she was saying. ¡°Those two probably were willing to entrust everything with you, but I think they had also resolved themselves to carry everyone else¡¯s thoughts and relationships.¡± ¡°Probably so.¡± Lisbeth could always just say they had had the greater resolve, but Mitsuyo and Cerisier had had children. That gave them something to protect. Having that gave them the resolve to carry everyone¡¯s thoughts and relationships, and it also gave them someone to entrust everything to if they lost. Lisbeth had only had half of that. Yes, she thought. ¡­Maybe I should have gotten married. No, I doubt it¡¯s that simple. Oh, no. I¡¯ve never once felt I should do that, so am I only thinking it now because I¡¯m feeling timid with Hexennacht approaching? But understanding this told her just why Cerisier had made a school. The witches of the school had been someone Cerisier could entrust everything to. But Cerisier¡¯s desire to protect them had been stronger and she had felt regret. ¡­Honestly, what is all this? Had Lisbeth understood all this when she had pressed Cerisier about it? And now the act of taking over the headmaster position felt like supplementing something that was never there. I can¡¯t believe this. Cerisier¡¯s spell had been based on flowers. Flower spells were standard for fortunetelling. Had she perhaps ¡°read¡± this future? If so, it made sense that Lisbeth had been no match for her. Mitsuyo had been the strongest, Cerisier had been second, and Lisbeth had been last. And thankfully¡­ ¡°Was I guided to victory over you two by my relationship with and thoughts about those two?¡± ¡°Maybe so. Predicting a single person and reading their relationships with 30 other people is simple enough, but including the relationships and thoughts built up inside that one person is much more difficult. ¡­I mean, they don¡¯t actually exist and you don¡¯t know when they¡¯ll show up.¡± I see, Lisbeth said in her heart. Over the past 10 years, there had been a few questions and signs that she would gradually forget and then suddenly remember as something like a regretful worry. She had never expected to find the answer here. Without thinking, she sighed and spoke. ¡°You have my thanks.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Song Caf¨¦ smiled bitterly as she crouched on the deck and viewed the half-formed European U.A.H. Magino Devices. ¡­Now that¡¯s some high-level thanks. The European U.A.H. Representative was bowing to her and A-un Silver Coin who were essentially America¡¯s representatives. Then again, this was a private issue. It was nothing worth informing the mainland about. But they could tell some ill feelings were being cleared away inside them. ¡°And you have our thanks.¡± Song Caf¨¦ sighed. ¡°I still sometimes wonder what would have happened 10 years ago if American hadn¡¯t distanced itself from Hexennacht.¡± ¡°We will make sure there is no next time. Count on it.¡± That German spirit could be scary. ¡°Yeah, but what are you going to do?¡± asked Song Caf¨¦. ¡°You¡¯re changing the makeup of the barrier for the buddy system, right?¡± ¡°The old barrier still exists, so we only have to alter it. The authority to change it is naturally held by U.A.H. and U.A.H.J., but there is one change that should be made as soon as possible.¡± ¡°What is it that¡¯s worth breaking tradition over?¡± ¡°We must stop blocking the ether.¡± Huh? thought Song Caf¨¦ before A-un Silver Coin¡¯s voice joined the conversation. ¡°Wait! Do you know what will happen if you do that!? It won¡¯t be able to contain the Black Witch or our witches, so the kaboom will get through!¡± Not even Song Caf¨¦ knew what exactly that meant. But her own knowledge did reveal a risk in Lisbeth¡¯s idea. ¡°The barrier is supposed to prevent the Black Witch and our witches¡¯ spells from getting out, so won¡¯t this render it useless? Even if the restrictions still apply to the Black Witch herself and the Devices, spells are almost entirely composed of highly-active ether.¡± ¡°There might be a benefit that outweighs that risk.¡± ¡°That isn¡¯t something I expected to hear from a German. So tell us what it is.¡± ¡°When the Black Witch felt cornered during the last Hexennacht, she called in ¡®reinforcements¡¯, right?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± agreed Song Caf¨¦ while A-Un Silver Coin sent a blank message to express her understanding. Lisbeth then said more. ¡°That summoning probably wasn¡¯t a spell. So we have concluded that the blocking does no good.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Lisbeth heard both the Americans express their confusion in unison. ¡­Well, I can¡¯t really blame them. So she would first let them have their say. She fell silent for that purpose and they seemed to understand what her breath meant. A-un Silver Coin spoke first, as if trying to reject the idea. ¡°You¡¯re saying she instantly gave form to so much ether and called down that great army, but she didn¡¯t use a summoning spell?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Then what? What? What was that? Did they already exist? Or did the Black Witch have a summoning spell on the ¡®outside¡¯ that was set up to activate once she was in danger?¡± ¡°It was not a spell. ¡­Weren¡¯t you listening?¡± ¡°Then,¡± cut in Song Caf¨¦. She selected a portion of what A-un Silver Coin had said. ¡°They already existed?¡± ¡°That isn¡¯t possible!¡± insisted A-un Silver Coin. ¡°If they did, we would have been able to ¡®see¡¯ them! There would have been some kind of reaction. I mean, once they were summoned, our detection devices went haywire!¡± ¡°Then they weren¡¯t summoned, A-un Silver Coin,¡± corrected Song Caf¨¦. ¡°Were they simply created? Not with a spell, but with some power that ignored the ether and ley lines?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± confirmed Lisbeth. ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± A-un Silver Coin was likely trying to say ¡°that¡¯s impossible¡±, but she knew by now that it was not impossible. ¡°Earlier, Kagami Kagami, one of the Rank 1s, said something interesting. While instantly creating 2 Magino Devices, she said that her power used ether when processing ether.¡± What did that mean? ¡°Kagami¡¯s crafting ability looks like a spell that consumes ether, but she is simply securing the energy needed for the ether processing. The system itself is no more than her own power.¡± ¡°You mean¡­?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Lisbeth sent out her own speculation that had since been confirmed. ¡°That crafting ability is not a spell at its core. That power is at a higher or deeper level than ether or ley lines. ¡­Perhaps you could call it the hand of god.¡± She now understood what had happened during the previous Hexennacht. ¡°The Black Witch felt cornered by Mitsuyo. She had always prepared a massive stock of spells, fought in the ether-blocking barrier, and won under the same conditions as her opponent. But she found herself helpless against Mitsuyo¡¯s Geo Frame, so she broke her own rules.¡± She used her power. ¡°The Black Witch used the same power she used to create this world. Fearing she might lose, she panicked. She probably still tried to follow her rules as best she could, but she still created her minions outside the barrier. She did not intervene with the battle within the barrier, but she created those destructive reinforcements in the outside world.¡± The ether-blocking barrier meant nothing when she used a power that surpassed both ether and the ley lines. She had only been following their rules voluntarily, so she could always destroy or simply ignore them. ¡­Honestly¡­ Up until that point, humanity had been underestimating the Black Witch. She had never used her power in any serious way. She had only been placing herself in a cage she could destroy or ignore at any time and seeing how her creation was doing every 10 years. It made Lisbeth wonder just how much she looked down on them, but there was a troublesome aspect to this. When someone rose to her level so she could no longer look down on them, she would destroy them. ¡°This time, Mitsuru wields the power that was inherited from Mitsuyo and further improved upon. And she is joined by Kagami who claims to be the Black Witch¡¯s older sister and can use that crafting ability. ¡­The Black Witch could very well choose to destroy this entire world.¡± ¡°And that¡¯s why we needn¡¯t bother shackling ourselves with the ether blocking?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± replied Lisbeth with a nod. ¡°To let Kagami use her crafting ability to its fullest, we should remove the ether blocking and allow her to resupply with ether at any time.¡± ¡°But, but, but? What about the Suzaku-user¡¯s attacks? Without the barrier¡¯s defenses, a stray shot could hit the mainland.¡± Lisbeth held a hand to her head. ¡­Yes, that. Song Caf¨¦ could tell she had hit on a critical point. Lisbeth had probably been worrying about that and trying to not to think about it. But after a while, Lisbeth resumed speaking. ¡°We will make sure she does not hit the mainland.¡± ¡°Who will and how?¡± ¡°She will not hit the mainland, so no one has to do anything.¡± ¡°Now you¡¯re making less sense than me!¡± Apparently A-un Silver Coin was aware how little sense she made. But Song Caf¨¦ had a feeling pointing that out was more trouble than it was worth. ¡­Removing all the stops for a head-on battle with the Black Witch, hm? What would happen if they were wielding even more power than last time? No, the Black Witch would have learned her lesson last time, so she would have prepared for this. They could not let their guard down. But something still bothered her. ¡°Is the Black Witch¡¯s crafting ability superior to Kagami¡¯s?¡± ¡°Conditionally, yes. ¡­But there is one concerning external factor.¡± ¡°External?¡± Song Caf¨¦ wondered if the power came in different forms or directionalities, but Lisbeth¡¯s answer was different. ¡°There is something known as the Book of Creation.¡± ¡°? ¡­That is a focusing tool for the technique, correct? I saw the report.¡± ¡°I thought so too, but what Kagami said suggests it is on another level entirely. Most likely,¡± she explained, ¡°it is an Intelligent Artifact and it was the item used to create this world with ease. The Black Witch possesses it and it allows her to create anything she wants while ignoring the ether consumption that Kagami requires. ¡­That is what defeated us during the last Hexennacht.¡± ¡­Wait. If Hunter was here, she would have said something funny here, thought Song Caf¨¦. Just like A-un Silver Coin, Song Caf¨¦¡¯s name was widely known among the American witches and the European witches, but¡­ ¡­We pale in comparison to this ridiculous power. ¡°We did receive a report from U.A.H.J. We read about the supposed resident of another world who was joining the Ranker Battles.¡± The girl claimed to be the Black Witch¡¯s older sister and she claimed this world was no more than a creation of her sister and her. And the Book of Creation had indeed been mentioned there. But it had been unclear if that was true or not. And even if it was, what did that matter? The American mainland had taken a more realistic stance. ¡°If it is true but does not provide a way of immediately eliminating the Black Witch, then it is no more than a profile.¡± That was exactly right. Even if the details about the Black Witch¡¯s family and past were true, it was meaningless if that did not let them erase the threat of the moon hanging in the sky. So her presence had not been all that meaningful. A visitor from another world would not immediately rid them of the Black Witch. Hexennacht was still the only way of defeating the Black Witch. In that case, it was all up to Kagami¡¯s ability. She just had to be skilled. If a meaningless person got involved by merely making herself look important, it would cause great damage. Thus, they had left this in U.A.H.J.¡¯s hands, but their ace, Hunter, had been defeated and the visitor had risen to Rank 1. At that point, Song Caf¨¦ had looked at it thusly: ¡­From here, we just have to see how useful she is when compared to the Black Witch. What mattered was that she did not betray them and take the Black Witch¡¯s side. From that perspective, Song Caf¨¦ could see why Shihouin Academy had introduced the buddy system. It had looked like the rest came down to ability, but¡­ ¡°¡­The Book of Creation, huh?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± replied Lisbeth over the transmission. ¡°We may have finally begun planning a full countermeasure against the Black Witch instead of merely throwing brute strength her way.¡± ¡°And? And? What do we know about this Book of Creation? Anything at all?¡± ¡°Kagami¡¯s group is probably discussing that now. ¡­Want to visit a Shinagawa family restaurant?¡± What would happen if they did? The answer was obvious. ¡°It¡¯s still the afternoon, but Hunter is definitely eating meat.¡± Volume 4, 3: It Flows Volume 4, Chapter 3: It Flows Going is always beautiful Because you can return or look back The girl bent forward a little as the light of the nearly setting sun washed over her. Her back rose and fell as she tried to catch her breath. She was on a road. However, this road sloped up a hill that was nearly a small mountain. It was a fairly wide, one-lane road. A slope up and a slope down existed on the left and right of the road, but those slopes were covered in dried leaves and thick with trees. The girl coughed once and then twice below the branches. ¡°Wow.¡± The breath that escaped her throat sounded surprised. ¡°I¡¯m way healthier than I used to be.¡± ¡°This is better!?¡± ¡°Now, now, now,¡± said the girl as she pulled a largish cup from the plastic bag she held. She shook it a few times while sweating in the autumn air and then she stuck the straw in and took a sip. Still leaning forward, she swallowed a couple of times. ¡°Okay, it¡¯s perfectly melted and perfect to drink!¡± She straightened up and looked down the slope. She saw something beyond the trees. An iron fence. It was painted black, it had spikes on top to keep off birds, and it was at least 2m tall. It also had cables wrapped around it in places for security. Inside it was a landscaped line of trees and a lake. She could not see any further than that, but the girl still glanced in that direction. ¡°Let¡¯s get going.¡± ¡°You aren¡¯t going to take a look? You aren¡¯t going to say hi?¡± ¡°I could see the whole thing from the bend up above. You can¡¯t see any of it when the angle¡¯s wrong, though.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡± ¡°Because I wanted to see something else.¡± ¡°You aren¡¯t here to see the mansion?¡± ¡°No,¡± answered the girl with a bitter smile as she hurried down the road. By the time she passed a group of a few cars, she had caught her breath. The autumn evening had fully arrived by then, so her pace picked up and she had worked out a way to walk and drink through the straw at the same time. ¡°Yeah, I always wanted to do this.¡± ¡°Were you in a restrictive environment?¡± ¡°No. I just never decided to do it myself.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad I could accompany you in this personal growth.¡± ¡°C¡¯mon, that¡¯s just creepy. This was only a whim. ¡­My sister had no trouble doing this kind of thing, so maybe I just wanted to caution her.¡± ¡°Oh, this is getting more complicated, so I¡¯ll pass. I¡¯m here to listen to the stories you come up with, so I¡¯ll hear you out if it¡¯s part of that.¡± ¡°I suppose you¡¯re right,¡± said the girl as the slope reached the city and the forest on either side of the road ended. Her vision opened up. She could look down on the city all the way to the station. The sun was shining on her back from this position. Its light washed over the city, so the girl¡¯s gaze followed that and then moved beyond it. ¡°Oh, are those the 1000 Devices that came to Tokyo Bay?¡± ¡°They should just barely be visible from here. And I believe there are 1500 of them now.¡± ¡°Then that must be them. Want to go get a better look?¡± The bag by the girl¡¯s side responded with a sigh. ¡°You won¡¯t last.¡± ¡°We should be able to see them from Shinagawa.¡± ¡°Shinagawa? Why?¡± ¡°When I used to meet up with my sister afterschool, we would take a break at a family restaurant on the river there.¡± ¡°Your family was wealthy, wasn¡¯t it? Were you studying lower class culture?¡± The girl glared at and slapped the bag from below. ¡°I apologize,¡± it said. ¡°Good.¡± With the light shining on her back, the girl walked toward the station. And¡­ ¡°Look, my school is that way and my sister would get off one station ahead and come meet me because ¡®it is on the way¡¯. ¡­And when I wasn¡¯t feeling well, we would stop at that family restaurant.¡± ¡°And when you were feeling well?¡± ¡°There was a place on the river bank that was part of the park¡­over there. My sister would go buy something for me.¡± As the girl explained, they reached the slope leading to the station. ¡°Wow, this takes me back. This is the road, this is the road. It never seemed like a slope on the way there, but it¡¯s a decent way down when you see it from the top like this. I need to remember that.¡± ¡°Are you going to say this in Shinagawa too?¡± ¡°If the family restaurant is still there.¡± The girl smiled a little. ¡°We celebrated my sister¡¯s birthday there once.¡± ¡°Lower class style?¡± ¡°Again, Japan doesn¡¯t have that harsh a class divide¡­ Well, we do, but it¡¯s pretty flexible. We went out for her birthday, but the roads were congested and we needed to take a break somewhere, so she suggested we celebrate it there.¡± ¡°And?¡± ¡°They had a seasonal menu, so it was full of things we¡¯re always seeing but never get served at home, right? We had fun ordering all sorts of things and, since it was my sister¡¯s birthday, mom and dad decided to let us do it. Long story short, it was amazing.¡± ¡°Having fun is the best thing to do at times like that.¡± ¡°It really is.¡± The girl gave another small smile. ¡°How many years ago was that now?¡± ¡°Was it before you met me?¡± ¡°¡­You don¡¯t actually have to figure it out, okay?¡± The girl added ¡°and knowing you, you probably would¡± as she sped up her pace. The station came into view. After leaving the road and choosing the stairs leading up to the terrace, a train arrived at the station from the east. ¡°Oh, the one we want will arrive to meet that one!¡± The girl watched the flow of people around her and she predicted the timing of the train as she climbed to the terrace. She put the empty cup and its bag in a terrace trash can and saw a train to the west. She would make it in time. The sun had descended quite a bit. But¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s go to Shinagawa. ¡­That¡¯ll be our last stop.¡± Horinouchi never knew quite what to do with herself when traveling by bus. Almost all the seats were filled with people from the academy and they kept glancing her way. I must have become famous at some point, she thought, but she had probably been that way in the first place. Previously, she had traveled in a private Horinouchi family car or ¡°flown¡± there using a transportation spell. But¡­ ¡­In Kagami¡¯s original world, everyone must use this sort of transportation method. She had heard it was a world without the concept of ether, but it was also possible that Kagami herself did not have the ability to use it and thus she or her entire world had simply not ¡°noticed¡± the ether. But how would witches like them live without that kind of power? She had trouble imagining it, but as far as transportation was concerned, they would be unable to fly. Unless they had personal flight devices, they would have to walk, ride a bicycle, drive a car, or use public transportation such as trains. Hunter seemed like a compromise since she would ride on fighters, but maybe that was different. At any rate, Kagami had recently started suggesting they hold meetings and waste time at a Shinagawa family restaurant, but Horinouchi sensed that she had some kind of reason for that. Shihouin Academy and the Horinouchi family were of course busy preparing for battle and Yokohama, Sakuragicho, Kawasaki, and further south were full of evacuating people as well as the witches and U.A.H. members moving in and out, so things were more oppressive than usual. Yokosuka in particular never seemed to sleep even when viewed from the living room lounge at night. Atsugi and the 7th Fleet out at sea continued to exchange fighters monitoring the moon and they were likely dropping off people who rode them like Hunter when they passed above Yokosuka. In that case, visiting somewhere different from normal and doing things in a different way than normal was a decent choice. To be honest, the view of Shihouin Academy and the 1000+ Magino Devices floating above Tokyo Bay seen out the Shinagawa family restaurant¡¯s large window seemed like something from a different country entirely. She had once commented on that view at night. ¡°That is a scene that shouldn¡¯t exist.¡± ¡°It will soon be that way, Horinouchi.¡± You make it sound like it will just happen on its own, she thought, but it seemed like her feelings had been validated since Kagami saw it the same way. Ever since then, they would visit Shinagawa once a day and it had become very important to her, even the dull trip there and back. When she had gotten permission from Lisbeth on the 3rd day, she had expected to receive a warning, but the woman had been much more positive: ¡°That¡¯s a great idea! Yes. Spend some time away from here. That would be for the best. You definitely don¡¯t want to have everyone gather together at night and fight over the TV channel! Got that!?¡± Why the emphasis on that? wondered Horinouchi, but that was apparently important. They had started to run out of conversation topics, but then¡­ ¡°¡­You said you had a lot to tell us about the Book of Creation, didn¡¯t you?¡± For Horinouchi, that was an important element of their upcoming enemy. But Kagami smiled a little and shrugged before speaking. ¡°Well, it is really more the story of my sister. Just because she has that does not mean she can do anything about us. And all I can tell you is what happened and what its powers are. ¡­Should I tell you that here?¡± ¡°We¡¯re on the bus, you know?¡± ¡°I can use a noise-cancelation spell,¡± suggested Mary. Horinouchi held out a hand to say ¡°wait¡± just as Hunter, who had previously grown silent in front of some kind of communication spell, suddenly turned her spell circle around for them to see. She turned back from the seat in front and asked a question. ¡°Oh, should we call Fleur?¡± Horinouchi had recently noticed that Hunter seemed more willing to make requests when she knew someone better. But besides that, this particular request was rare. ¡°You can contact Fleur?¡± ¡°The Special Equipment Division tends to act as a manager on the scene, so the European U.A.H. Representative seems to come to me for that kind of thing.¡± Is that so? wondered Horinouchi as Mary nodded and spoke while viewing Tokyo Bay through the window. ¡°There is no sign of the enemy, so it should be fine. ¡­And I am worried about her too.¡± Since Horinouchi and Kagami would be the main fighters on Hexennacht, Lisbeth must not have wanted to burden them with managing the group on top of that. When it came to their effective authority, they tended to decide things as a group, but Mary rarely took the initiative and Hunter tended to defer to Horinouchi and Kagami. ¡°In that case, we will have to decide. ¡­How about it, Horinouchi? Are you ready for a reunion with the person you slashed at and held to your giant breasts just the other day?¡± ¡°There was a lot of unnecessary noise in that question, but I don¡¯t mind.¡± However¡­ ¡°Will Fleur be all right with it?¡± ¡­If I had to say whether there¡¯s any hope for her, I¡¯d have to say no. That was Hunter¡¯s opinion of Fleur¡¯s chances as a witch. During the last Ranker Battle against her as the Rank 1, she had lost her mother who had acted as her servant. The academy had also lost its headmaster which effectively left them without someone to negotiate with the other nations, but Lisbeth had filled that role. But Fleur was not so lucky. Her environment spell used a massive amount of ether and she had been getting a lot of help from her mother in order to control it all. More specifically, Fleur had handled the acquisition and use of the ether while her mother had kept it stable and otherwise supported her. ¡­In that case, Fleur has plenty of her own talent. She was like a framework and a powerful engine. That might look cool as a drag racer, but without a maintenance crew, she could not corner or brake as a car. ¡°She¡¯s tried a few things, but she apparently loses control every time.¡± ¡°Does it go off on its own?¡± ¡°From what I¡¯ve heard, not anymore. Even if she uses a small spell, the power is so great that it quickly grows saturated and bursts.¡± ¡°So she lacks a controller,¡± said Kagami while bringing the dragon child out onto her shoulder. Instead of just looking over her shoulder, Hunter had brought her knees up onto the seat to completely turned around to face the back. ¡°That¡¯s why she¡¯s staying at the dorm for the training ground in the reconstructed region of north Kantou even though she¡¯s part of the Honors Division.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Horinouchi frowned at that one. She said ¡°umm¡­¡± while looking the other way, so Kagami nodded and patted her shoulder. ¡°Yes, yes. That is right, Horinouchi. Fleur is living the farming life now because you hinted that the flowers blooming there were left by the Lady Headmaster.¡± ¡°I-I wasn¡¯t asking her to do that!¡± ¡°It¡¯s probably part of her rehabilitation now that she¡¯s lost her servant,¡± said Hunter. ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Mary as she turned sideways to look back. ¡°Without her servant, she can¡¯t control her power. The Spell Division¡¯s nursing and healing classes teach that living in an environment separate from spells is the best way to remind her how to use her own power.¡± ¡°That¡¯s it. She could have stayed at Shihouin Academy and gone through rehabilitation by stacking up blocks by hand and things like that, but Shihouin is pretty busy right now and it would probably be cruel to have her just sit around in the same place as her mother¡¯s grave.¡± That last part was on Lisbeth¡¯s instructions. Is that being too strict? Hunter wondered, but she had trouble saying since she had been supported and raised by witches after losing her father. ¡°That said, her life there has stabilized, so she¡¯s apparently returning once before Hexennacht to figure out what to do about her personal items here and the Headmaster¡¯s grave below the academy. ¡­And since she¡¯ll be visiting, we¡¯re supposed to deal with her.¡± ¡°Wait, when was that decision made?¡± ¡°Just a bit ago. ¡­Lisbeth said she couldn¡¯t handle it because someone caused trouble.¡± Horinouchi brought her hand to her head and Kagami simply laughed next to her. ¡°That means we have no other choice when it comes to Fleur for today,¡± said Kagami. ¡°We can prepare some way of passing the time tomorrow, so it might be best to discuss the Book of Creation now.¡± Mary opened a spell circle. Hunter immediately checked the bus driver¡¯s seat. The driver was looking their way, so she displayed a Ranker ID sign frame and a ¡°classified business¡± sign frame that used the authority of American U.A.H. She then cast them both toward him. Using that, she could rent out normal transportation, especially more flexible ones like buses, but they only wanted to talk right now. She raised a hand, made eye contact, and pointed forward. The driver seemed to mistake what she meant because he stepped on the gas, but¡­Well, close enough. ¡°Are the bus lanes busy today?¡± ¡°Brigadier General, Most public transportation finished transporting evacuees in the midafternoon, so I think only the lanes heading back will be congested.¡± Mary¡¯s really getting used to life here if she looked into that in advance, thought Hunter. Then Kagami clapped her hands once. The sound spread out, but it did not echo back. That¡¯s an annihilation type, isn¡¯t it? thought Hunter, considering Mary¡¯s specialty. Then Kagami spoke. ¡°As I said before, this world and many other worlds were created by my sister. I was used to find fault in them. And what my sister discovered and used as a collection of documents was the Book of Creation.¡± Kagami remembered a few clear divisions. ¡­It began with that statement by Shouko. It had been a love story with an Egyptian setting. As the older sister, Kagami had seen it as an important step when her sister first attempted a romance story. It had been an excellent drama of love and hate from those who had known each other in a past life but had only realized their feelings after being reborn, but Kagami¡¯s first thought had been ¡°Aren¡¯t they doing today what they should be doing tomorrow?¡± And when she told her sister that, Shouko had scolded her: ¡­Why don¡¯t you understand romance, Kagami!? But the culture, civilization, or atmosphere depicted there had certainly seemed to be on a different level from before. ¡°Yes, it had a different atmosphere.¡± ¡°Kagami, when you suddenly comment on your own thoughts, we can¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± She had no choice but to explain everything she had been thinking. And then¡­ ¡°It was not about the food or the politics. It was¡­the temperature? How dry the air was, how much that makes you sweat, the scent of the wind, the¡­¡®flavor¡¯ of the sand, I guess you would call it. How it felt to trudge through the sand. It was all written there in the text.¡± ¡°It was written there?¡± ¡°It was,¡± she replied. ¡°It was almost written like she had found documents describing it all and could not help but use it. So I remember feeling a harsh difference between the main story and those sensory aspects.¡± ¡°And what did your sister say?¡± ¡° ¡®Oh, yeah, you can tell!?¡¯ She seemed delighted by it. ¡­It was not a document or a report, so I asked her if she could write something I would want to read.¡± And what happened after that? ¡°Next it was Europe. The story took place in a mountainous region at around 3000 BCE. It was a magic story based on a megalith culture and¡­come to think of it, there is someone in our class who uses stones, isn¡¯t there?¡± ¡°If you mean Aria Notice, she¡¯s been traveling between her assigned post and the quarry in Yamanashi to help defend Yokosuka.¡± ¡°What kind of spell does she use?¡± asked Hunter. Kagami started to explain because it was amusing, but she was stopped by the girl next to her. Regardless, what had happened with her sister? ¡°After that, it was a historic-seeming story that took place in ancient China. It was about performing flood control on a large river while being oppressed by a great force. It had no romance or fantasy elements, so I quite liked it and rated it well.¡± ¡°Are you referring to magic as fantasy¡­?¡± Horinouchi glared at her, so she gestured for her to calm down. Horinouchi then tilted her head. ¡°From what you¡¯re saying, it sounds like it wasn¡¯t so much the stories that changed. It¡¯s more like the background or the setting rapidly gained more depth.¡± ¡°Well done noticing that, Horinouchi.¡± ¡°You¡¯re exaggerating,¡± she said, but Kagami was not about to agree with that. ¡°I noticed the same thing as you, but I forgot to wonder why that was. I simply thought my sister, Shouko, was working hard at her stories. But that was a mistake on my part.¡± After all¡­ ¡°By that time, she had already found the Book of Creation and had most likely begun interacting with it.¡± The word ¡°interacting¡± felt off to Mary. She had already heard Kagami talk about her sister when they were back in Mary¡¯s world, but that relationship with the Book of Creation had not seemed out of the ordinary since it was a common thing in her world. But after living in this world for a while, Mary¡¯s standards had changed and it sounded different to her. Also, she could use this world to picture Kagami¡¯s world which had lost all spells. That likely meant she had grown and expanded her viewpoint, but¡­ ¡°That¡¯s strange.¡± ¡°What is, Mary?¡± ¡°The word ¡®interacting¡¯,¡± she said. ¡°In my world and this world, it is not unusual to find artifacts with a will of their own. But, Brigadier General, you claimed there were no spells or even detectable ether in your world. So how could your sister ¡®interact¡¯ with a book?¡± That had sounded perfectly normal to her before, but after living here, she knew how strange it was. ¡°There shouldn¡¯t have been any spells in your world¡­so it¡¯s strange for that book to be the lone exception.¡± Oh, that¡¯s right, thought Hunter. ¡°For that book to be an intelligent artifact, Kagami¡¯s world would have to have ether and spells, but as far as Kagami knew, neither of those things existed there.¡± That was a contradiction. How could that work? ¡°It seems a certain law existed in my world.¡± ¡°What was that?¡± ¡°Contradiction allowance,¡± answered Kagami. ¡°All contradictions are ultimately ¡®allowed¡¯. And thus it was not a problem. Or so the Book of Creation told Shouko.¡± Hold on, now, thought Hunter as she saw Horinouchi¡¯s mouth spread horizontally. Hunter knew very well what the girl wanted to say. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t contradiction allowance be the ultimate law that means ¡®anything goes¡¯ in the end?¡± ¡°Yes. But that power should at least exist in this world and the others I have seen. Because my sister made them with the Book of Creation.¡± Kagami leaned back in her chair a bit, crossed her legs, and took a breath. ¡°When I praised her for how well she put together her settings, she got all excited and brought out a book. She apparently found it in our father¡¯s library and it looked like a hardcover that had been remade a few times. My sister claimed it was an amazing history book and that it would answer anything she asked of it. ¡­I could not read what it said, it was made of something like a cloth instead of paper, and it appeared to be brand new, so I assumed it was something my sister had made. I thought it was a little strange, but I did not believe in such artifacts at the time. So I thought she had a dictionary or app to translate it into Japanese and that she was working to keep the truth from me.¡± Also¡­ ¡°She eventually stopped bringing it out to me. Instead, she would allude to her interactions with it. She would say it ¡®told her¡¯ about something or that it had ¡®answered¡¯ her question. ¡­I just thought it was a figurative way of talking about a book she was obsessed with and I thought that was acceptable since the background worlds for her stories had grown much more precise, even when they were original. Artists are always a bit eccentric, after all.¡± ¡°Well, I suppose you would think that in a world without spells or that kind of artifact.¡± ¡°But how did you learn the Book of Creation was an artifact?¡± ¡°I did not, even in the very end. ¡­I was still ignorant when I was sent to the first world and it was only after seeing a few worlds destroyed that I realized these worlds were ones my sister had created. And that they were only the ones she created after growing so obsessed with that book. ¡­I found intelligent artifacts to be ordinary parts of the destroyed worlds and I was shocked when the pieces started fitting together in my mind.¡± She continued with a self-admonishing ¡°but¡±. ¡°I do remember what I said just before my sister stopped bringing the book out to me. When she continued to insist that it spoke to her, I asked her why, if what she was saying was true, there were no other such books or phenomena in the world.¡± ¡°That would be a pretty good point in a world without that kind of thing.¡± Oh, that exasperated look on Horinouchi¡¯s face seems rare. The bus slowed as it passed through a checkpoint between the bridge and the mainland. A left at the intersection led to Yokohama, straight led to Kawasaki, and right led to Shinagawa. ¡°Oh.¡± Hunter grabbed onto her chair back as the bus made a wide right turn with more momentum than normal. It started down the bus lane toward Shinagawa. ¡°The evacuation congestion has mostly cleared up, hasn¡¯t it?¡± Mary pointed that out while looking up into the sky out the window, so Kagami nodded. ¡°Is that a testament to how well my sister made the world? Or did the world only become this way after the creator left? ¡­I would suggest the latter, but my thinking did not reach that point at the time.¡± ¡­I should have noticed back then. ¡°Kagami? What did your sister say when you pointed that out?¡± ¡°She snorted and said all of that sort of power had been combined into that book of hers.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a pretty good excuse.¡± ¡°Thank you, Hunter. That is what I thought too.¡± So she had asked another question: ¡°Why had the person who made the book done that? If such a convenient power really existed, would it not be better for it to be distributed across the world?¡± ¡°And what did she say?¡± ¡°She could not answer and never again let me see the book.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± said the other 3 while covering their faces with their hands. ¡°¡­That¡¯s a tricky one,¡± said Horinouchi. ¡°If that artifact was real, then your sister really would have seen you as a stubborn big sister¡­¡± said Hunter. ¡°When I heard about this before, Brigadier General, I was on your side, but now¡­¡± said Mary. ¡°Well, that just means I am not a perfect person. That was the one and only mistake in my life.¡± Horinouchi gave her an amazing look. ¡°But anyway,¡± said Kagami. ¡°What my sister said was true. And she has created and destroyed several worlds. Many of which were made based on advice from me. ¡­But someone helped her do so.¡± ¡°¡­That would be the Book of Creation, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Amaze.¡± The other 3¡¯s eyes widened when she spoke that name with a bitter smile. That reaction was amusing, but not surprising. ¡°That is apparently the Book of Creation¡¯s name. My sister told me, but do you know what I said when she did?¡± After a pause, Hunter raised her right hand. ¡°If it was a super ancient artifact, why is its name an English word?¡± ¡°Exactly. ¡­But I should have noticed. First, that people are more easily swayed by what they agree with than by a sound argument, but also that my sister had already begun interacting with the Book of Creation.¡± ¡°Then,¡± said Horinouchi. ¡°Was Amaze a name your sister gave to the Book of Creation?¡± ¡°Exactly. Well done, Horinouchi! Now, do you know what that means?¡± They should. This was a world of artifacts. It was the territory of witches. So¡­ ¡°As its namer, my sister uses the Book of Creation as what you call a servant in this world. The owner and the possession. They accepted each other and can thus use ¡®creation¡¯ that exists higher than this world¡¯s laws.¡± Horinouchi felt like she had just heard something unbelievable. Mary had heard this before, but she must have gotten something different out of it this time because her lips twisted into a frown. And Hunter was indeed an engineer from the Special Equipment Division: ¡°Being able to make anything and ignore all the laws is just plain cheating.¡± ¡°Is it, though? I have high hopes for you all. Especially Horinouchi.¡± ¡°Wh-what do you mean?¡± Kagami turned to face her. Their gazes audibly met and Kagami spoke before the tremor could fill Horinouchi¡¯s entire body. ¡°Everyone holds infinite possibilities. Do you know what I mean?¡± Knowing her, there had to be some twist to this. So when she mentioned ¡°possibilities¡±, she meant more than whether you could or could not do something. Most likely, the infinite part was what mattered. Because they were talking about the Black Witch¡¯s ability to use creation which ignored the world¡¯s laws. So when thinking of creation in terms of the infinite¡­ ¡°¡­You mean imagination, don¡¯t you?¡± She seemed to be asking for confirmation. ¡°The act of creation requires that you first have the idea to make something. And that is the power of imagination. Even if the Black Witch has infinite creation, she is still limited by her own imagination. So¡­¡± There was one thing that could be infinite. ¡°We just have to surpass the Black Witch¡¯s imagination.¡± Mary heard Hunter mutter the power phrase ¡°well done¡± under her breath. ¡­Well done¡­! She repeated it in her own mind, but that was exactly right. To add some of Hunter¡¯s native language that would be ¡°Yes, well done!¡± Thus¡­ ¡°I think so too,¡± confidently said Mary. ¡°Miss Horinouchi¡¯s imagination will be effective against the Black Witch. That much is certain.¡± ¡°F-flattering me like that won¡¯t actually give me any ideas about what to do.¡± ¡°No.¡± Hunter shook her head. ¡°Anyone who has been on the receiving end of your attacks would say the same thing.¡± ¡°It¡¯s called learning from experience,¡± said Hunter, completely deadpan. Horinouchi covered her face with her hands and turned toward the window, so had they said something wrong? ¡°¡­Oh.¡± The bus came to a stop, just like it had a few times already since arriving on the mainland. They were 3 stops away from the usual place at Shinagawa. That reminded Mary of something: ¡°Rank 3, where did you arrange to meet the former Rank 1?¡± ¡°I figured the station area would be crowded today, so I told her to come straight to the family restaurant. I did send her a map, but I also told to call me with her phone if she had any trouble.¡± Hunter seemed to realize something. ¡°Oh, and Fleur isn¡¯t even using spell circles as part of her rehabilitation, so I guess she¡¯s effectively living just like Kagami would have in her world. ¡­I¡¯m guessing she¡¯s in a train approaching Shinagawa right about now.¡± Now, I¡¯ve done it, wholeheartedly thought Fleur in the nighttime crowd. ¡­This is bad. This is really bad. I just keep forgetting things. If mama was here, she¡¯d scold me, but if she was here, I bet I wouldn¡¯t have forgotten it in the first place, so I¡¯m just hopeless right now! But no amount of complaining was going to improve this. She had screwed up regardless. ¡°¡­I didn¡¯t buy any gifts.¡± The light from Shinagawa Station behind her was interrupted by the shadows of people moving this way and that. They seemed to be taking a break as far as evacuations for Hexennacht were concerned, but she could still hear voices telling people where the gathering spots for different regions were and where the lines for high-speed buses were. Of the normal people, the elderly and those with insufficient combat spell training were being urged to evacuate while those with sufficient training were forming a volunteer unit of defenders. According to the dorm mother, support was arriving from Scandinavia, Australia, and other regions latitudinally removed from Japan, where Hexennacht would primarily be fought. They were coming from the far north and south because, during the previous Hexennacht, the damage had begun at the point of the barrier from Tokyo Bay to the ocean off of Kanagawa and had spread along the rotation of the earth from there. But that had nothing to do with her now. ¡­Gifts! ¡°Since you¡¯re going all the way there to visit,¡± the dorm mother had told her, ¡°you should bring them something.¡± The woman seemed to be using a fairly limited vocabulary, but the odds were good she had mistaken Fleur for a foreigner due to her name. But 2 hours ago, the train had left while she tried to decide whether she should buy some food at the station. And at the time she had only thought ¡°Whoa, it¡¯s moving!¡±. She had not noticed her automatic failure to buy any gifts until she got off the train, told herself ¡°Did I forget anything? I don¡¯t think so. Nope, definitely not!¡±, and then realized the truth with a horrifying sensation like everything she had eaten was exiting through her butt. I can¡¯t believe this. The dorm mother had told her that gifts were important. After all, they implicitly told someone that her home was safe and prosperous. ¡°Is it a type of good luck charm?¡± ¡°Yes. Part of it is bringing them a piece of that location, but it also shows that you are doing well enough to send them a gift like that.¡± What the woman had said next was important. ¡°And the Rank 1 there is Miss Horinouchi, isn¡¯t it? She is from a shrine, so you should probably follow that kind of etiquette with her.¡± That had affected her the most. What would happen if she failed to be polite? ¡­Will she slash me and fire on me from point-blank range again¡­? She doubted that, but on the way here, she had heard about that duo scaring people by suddenly summoning their Magino Devices for no reason. Did that mean they were already prepared to fight? And what would happen if she impolitely showed up with no gifts? ¡­They¡¯d probably blow away the family restaurant. Did anywhere around here sell products from northern Kantou? And the Rank 3 had probably thought she was being considerate, but the directions she had sent to Fleur¡¯s cellphone were as follows: ¡°Once out of the station, follow the main road for 200m. Face north there and you¡¯ll see a hawk emblem sign. Head in that direction for 53m.¡± Are these supposed to be mission instructions or something? Well, if I get in trouble, I¡¯ll just use a taxi, she decided just before noticing how congested the roads heading down that way looked. Oh, no. ¡­Maybe I should use a spell circle to search for the route. But she immediately shook her hand and stopped. She was in rehabilitation. She must not use spells. After losing her mama, she had started having trouble with her spell ability. If I had been more skilled at controlling spells, I wouldn¡¯t have put as much of a burden on mama. So I can¡¯t rely on spells during rehabilitation, but what am I supposed to do about the gifts and arriving at the meeting point, mama? This is when I really want to rely on you, mama! Isn¡¯t there a saying in Japanese describing this feeling, mama!? Oh, I know! ¡°By the time you want to show filial piety, your parents are gone.¡± ¡­No!! If anything, that¡¯s backwards. Sorry, mama. ¡°Hmm.¡± She told herself to calm down and set her priorities. First, she had to think about finding some gifts here. The traffic situation would change while she dealt with that, so she could put off figuring out how to get to the meeting point until later. So for now she needed to look for a map. With a station this big, it was sure to have a map of the station and the surrounding area. Then she had to use that to find somewhere she could buy the gifts. But¡­ ¡°Where¡¯s the map?¡± To be blunt, there were spell circle displays. But those were controlled by one¡¯s own ether readings. And that meant she could not use them during rehabilitation. She had even gone out of her way to buy a non-reactive ticket on the way here. She wondered if this insistence on following her own rules just made her hardheaded. She checked the road in front of Shinagawa Station and the walls of the surrounding buildings, but there was no information sign anywhere. ¡­I¡¯m screwed, mama! Her mother would probably not know what to do with these constant updates, but what else was she supposed to do? ¡°¡­Ah.¡± She saw someone leaving the station. They stood out because they wore a school uniform different from the one Fleur was wearing now. ¡­And she¡¯s coming out. Overall, Shinagawa Station was sucking people in. That was partially because it was time for people to be headed home, but it was also an entrance for evacuees. If that school uniform girl was leaving, did that mean she was a local? ¡°Um.¡± Wanting to ask someone who knew the area, Fleur spoke up. And she tried to be as friendly as possible so she would not seem suspicious. ¡°Do you have a moment for me, cutie?¡± The girl holding a white handbag by her side did not even try to hide the suspicion in her eyes. Volume 4, 4: If Some Return Volume 4, Chapter 4: If Some Return If I seem full of energy from the outside Am I looking at myself from the outside? The girl had gained a strange companion. Based on the school uniform worn by the other girl accompanying her through Shinagawa Station, she was from Shihouin Academy. That was the school where witches gathered and competed to be the world¡¯s best. That school seemed so far removed from the girl¡¯s life. Both the witches and the chest-accentuating stitching option available on the uniform. And this companion seemed the same as far as that second one was concerned. Her name was Fleur. The girl was curious, so she looked into where this girl ranked at Shihouin Academy. Any Shihouin witch would be registered in the world witch rankings. Or they should have been, but¡­ ¡°¡­She isn¡¯t there?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t find her name or anything else in Shihouin Academy¡¯s registry.¡± This seemed somewhat awkward, but the girl tried asking while guiding Fleur to the gift shops inside Shinagawa Station. ¡°That uniform is from Shihouin Academy, right? Aren¡¯t you busy right now?¡± ¡°Ohh, due to, um, reasons, I¡¯m rehabi-¡­training in the reconstructed area of north Kantou.¡± ¡°So they have a trainee system?¡± ¡°Kinda like that, yeah!¡± There seemed to be more to this, but digging into it any further would not accomplish anything. ¡°I believe there is a Shihouin student dorm in the north Kantou reconstructed area,¡± said the voice from the girl¡¯s handbag. ¡°Their pamphlet says, ¡®To increase your spell power, work in this reconstructed land and train your mind and body to thrice their previous strength¡¯.¡± ¡°Thrice?¡± She might be tougher than she looks, thought the girl, but she also felt some relief. If she was training somewhere like that, Fleur would not have much of a connection to the Tokyo Bay Shihouin Academy. So I should be fine, she thought while letting her guard down. ¡°This shop sells specialties from different regions.¡± ¡°That one?¡± ¡°This one.¡± She corrected Fleur¡¯s pointing finger and walked through the station, but they did not have to walk far. Once she saw the line of counters that looked a lot like stalls, Fleur dashed over. ¡°¡­Oh, you sure are full of energy.¡± ¡°I¡¯m gushing with it!¡± Is that really how you want to describe it? The girl had honestly been planning to leave after showing Fleur the way, but Fleur turned back. ¡°This is amazing! I can actually pull through with this!¡± If she had said ¡°thank you¡± or ¡°that was a huge help!¡±, the girl could have waved goodbye. But sometimes it was hard to find a good ending point. Would a witch call this a jinx? But even for the girl¡­ ¡°What do I do?¡± ¡°It¡¯s still a lot earlier than last night,¡± said the handbag. She decided to move up alongside Fleur and view the north Kantou products with her, but¡­ ¡°Fleur, this is the Kyushu section.¡± ¡°That¡¯s close enough! It should work!¡± The girl decided to just assume Fleur was giving it to someone who would be fine with that. But she decided she should probably ask about it when Fleur started comparing a few wooden swords. ¡°How old is the person this is for?¡± ¡°Oh, she¡¯s my age, but she¡¯s more like my mama.¡± ¡°Is she grown up?¡± ¡°Yeah. Her boobs are pretty incredible.¡± ¡­So it¡¯s about the chest-accentuating stitching! Witches are amazing¡­ she thought, but could a witch¡¯s life experience really cause that much of a difference at the same age? And that brought another question to mind: ¡°Fleur, which year are you in?¡± ¡°3rd year. What about you?¡± ¡°Oh, um, 3rd year.¡± ¡°Ahh! So we¡¯re the same!¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± confirmed the girl while thinking something different. ¡­Oh, no¡­ I¡¯m only in the 3rd year of middle school¡­ She¡¯s really acting like we¡¯re equals, she thought, but why was it Fleur actually seemed younger than her? Fleur herself was slowly but surely moving to the Tohoku pickled foods section. ¡°Maybe this would be best since I bet everyone thinks I¡¯m someone who swings a hoe around to grow flowers.¡± ¡°Would someone your age really want something pickled¡­?¡± ¡°But the dorm mother said food makes a good gift because it doesn¡¯t stick around! Think of it that way!¡± In that case, the T-shirts, keychains, and lacquered chopsticks were off the table. Fleur had been looking at a bag in a corner that said ¡°Kiritanpo with One Character Wrong!¡±[1], but who made that? It wasn¡¯t me. Please don¡¯t buy it, she willed Fleur and it seemed to work. Do I have psychic powers? Then they looked at what was lined up on the counter. There was hard candy, but Shihouin Academy had to be busy. It seemed wrong to send that to someone in such a rushed place. ¡°And the fugashi package is a little big.¡± ¡°Kinakobo!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you want something with more individuality?¡± Oh, I¡¯m saying the kind of thing my sister would. And yet she had promised herself long ago that she would not just randomly shoot down other people¡¯s ideas. But Fleur was different. How was she different? She was different from the girl. So Fleur simply smiled. ¡°Oh, I get it! Individuality! Yeah, it has to show where I came from!¡± In that case, checking the Okinawa section would not work, but after hearing that line spoken straight to her¡­ ¡­Ah. Someone else had just hit her with the same thing she had said constantly in the past. And it really affected her. The excuse that they were two different people did not seem like anything more than an excuse. Instead of interpreting the situation differently, it felt like the truth was passing her right by. And when faced with that¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± She realized she had grown a little stubborn. She could not correct it right away, but she was certain that the warm sweat on her back came from her appreciation for Fleur who she had only just met. And Fleur spoke to her with a few products in hand. ¡°Sorry about keeping you from getting home on time.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. ¡­I was only stopping by a family restaurant for some food before heading home.¡± ¡°A family restaurant!?¡± Fleur really leapt at that one and the girl felt overwhelmed by the intensity. ¡°Um, yes. The Safe Restaurant over there.¡± ¡°That¡¯s it!¡± What is? wondered the girl, but Fleur grabbed her hands and shook them up and down. ¡°How wonderful! I want to stay with you forever for today!¡± What is going on? But you¡¯re gathering attention, so stop. Just stop. ¡°Huh? Is Fleur still not here?¡± Hunter tilted her head in front of a lit building below the dark sky. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t Fleur be confused if she got here ahead of us?¡± asked Horinouchi. ¡°I thought of that, so I told her to wait if we weren¡¯t there yet. There was a margin of error of about 2 or 3 minutes.¡± She looked down the road toward Shinagawa Station, but there were no Shihouin uniforms walking below the streetlights. After disembarking from the bus, they heard an FA-18 passing overhead on the way to Yokosuka. The city seemed stiller than normal and there were fewer cars than normal, but¡­ ¡°Wait a second.¡± Hunter used a spell circle to connect to Fleur¡¯s cellphone via the communication line. ¡°¡­Isn¡¯t that going way out of the way?¡± asked Horinouchi. ¡°Oh, well, this technically belongs to American U.A.H. That means all of the related fees are managed by them, so any time I use it has to have something to do with the 7th Fleet.¡± ¡°¡­I can only guess, but that is using a satellite for part of the journey, isn¡¯t it?¡± asked Kagami. ¡°Rank 3, aren¡¯t you going a little too far for a personal call?¡± asked Mary. ¡°Don¡¯t ask how much it costs! Don¡¯t you dare ask! Got that!?¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be better if I just called her instead¡­?¡± ¡°Horinouchi!¡± said Kagami. ¡°This is part of the management mission that Lisbeth gave to Hunter! So it would be best to put it all on a bill we send to Lisbeth.¡± I think that¡¯s exactly what I¡¯ll do. But anyway¡­ ¡°What is it, Hunter!?¡± said the woman on the spell circle. ¡°Calling from Shinagawa!? What geographic point do you want us to send a spell missile strike to!? You can mark it, can¡¯t you!? Yes!¡± ¡°Hey, A-un Silver Coin!¡± shouted another voice. ¡°The sea is rough after creating those Magino Devices, so don¡¯t fire from the SS! The higher ups have been saying they want to see the Michael Monsoor fired, so use that! We can get away with 2 shots or so that way!¡± Don¡¯t just decide that on your own. And what am I supposed to do with this GPS that appeared on the right? ¡°Kagami, is there a restaurant around here you don¡¯t like?¡± ¡°That Gyudon ¨C Kiraiya place with the sign over there had a pretty bad mayo gyudon, but I have no hard feelings.¡± ¡°I started targeting it, so don¡¯t make feints like that!¡± ¡°What in the world are you doing, Hunter?¡± asked Horinouchi. Okay, okay. I¡¯ll make the call. After some static as it connected, she heard the noise clear up as it entered the allotted space meant to ensure privacy, but¡­ ¡­Hm? She checked the spell circle and found the number she had called either did not have a signal or was powered off. ¡°Oh, Fleur¡¯s phone is old, so it¡¯s probably drowned out by all the spell communication waves,¡± explained Horinouchi. ¡°That¡¯s bound to happen at this time of day in a train station like Shinagawa.¡± ¡°Then she must have made it to Shinagawa Station.¡± If she had gotten lost, the call would have gotten through. This is actually pretty easy to figure out, thought Hunter as Kagami placed a hand on her forehead and fanned her body. ¡°Horinouchi¡­does this still count as a call for Hunter¡¯s communication spell?¡± Hunter looked back to see Horinouchi hold a hand to her mouth and avert her gaze. ¡°Yes¡­it would.¡± ¡°Oh, shut up! Don¡¯t ask how much it costs! Don¡¯t you dare!¡± ¡°How much is it, Rank 3?¡± ¡°¡­Including the security, about 20 thousand¡­maybe? But that¡¯s pretty cheap all things considered!¡± They all covered their faces and turned their backs. What are we supposed to do about this? wondered Horinouchi. She was aware her mouth was twisted and Kagami indicated a three-way junction off of the main road instead of the main road itself. This path bordered a building that was surrounded by an ¡°under construction¡± cover and had remained untouched afterwards. It was only a difference of about 30 meters, but it apparently meant a lot to a local like Kagami. ¡°This way is actually shorter when coming from Shinagawa Station. ¡­Of course, this assumes Fleur notices it.¡± The road cutting by in front of the restaurant bordered a wide river on the left. The family restaurant they would gather at provided a view of Shihouin Academy thanks to that river. ¡­It¡¯s kind of strange. Shihouin was visible from a place those sisters remembered fondly, but had that been caused by the Black Witch¡¯s creation? If so, the Black Witch was a warped individual. If not, this world was harsh to the Black Witch. But if Fleur came along the route Kagami had mentioned, she would be able to see Shihouin the entire way. That would provide a landmark, but¡­ ¡­Hunter didn¡¯t tell her that much. However, Hunter glared at Kagami and lightly raised her left hand. ¡°Kagami? ¡­Isn¡¯t that only true if the Black Witch made things that way?¡± It took Horinouchi a second to realize what she meant. ¡­That¡¯s true! Kagami must have realized the same thing because she slapped her forehead. ¡°My apologies! You are correct! It might be different.¡± ¡°Well, it is true we always arrive by bus,¡± said Horinouchi. ¡°Have you ever come here via Shinagawa Station, Kagami?¡± ¡°No, no,¡± said Kagami as she shook her hands. ¡°It seems I am surprisingly trusting of Shouko.¡± ¡°But, Brigadier General, if everything else around here is how you remember it, it seems only natural to assume the rest is too.¡± ¡°Should I run on over and check?¡± asked Hunter ¡°Can¡¯t we just check the city map on a spell circle?¡± Kagami stopped Horinouchi as she raised a hand. ¡°No, it would be crass to check on the truth. I would appreciate it if we kept this the way it is.¡± How complicated, thought Horinouchi, but she also realized a certain truth. ¡°My hostility toward the Black Witch has softened a lot more than I thought.¡± Horinouchi saw Hunter and the others quickly turn back toward her. ¡°Are you okay, Horinouchi!? Losing your hostility isn¡¯t going to lower your attack power, is it!?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, Miss Horinouchi!? Your hostility is our overpowered ATK! The carefree killer intent I felt when you shot me from the pole really squeezed at my spine! In a bad way!¡± ¡°Ha ha ha. Your deadly power is quite popular, Manko.¡± ¡°What are all of you saying!? And that last one! I don¡¯t like that look that says, ¡®I might as well say it since the others did¡¯!¡± But she did look at this different than before. ¡°This is very complicated.¡± ¡°What is?¡± ¡°From what I¡¯ve heard from you, Kagami, this world has less to do with the Black Witch than it does recreations of your sister¡¯s memories.¡± Before meeting Kagami, she had only thought of the Black Witch as toying with and then destroying the world. But that was wrong. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be able to destroy the memories of my mother.¡± Hunter and Mary were likely the same. If they were fighting for what they had lost, they would not be able to reject what they had lost. But¡­ ¡°Why is the Black Witch trying to destroy this world?¡± ¡°Ah,¡± said Hunter when she realized what Horinouchi was trying to say. Horinouchi probably understood the contradiction in what she was saying, but her feelings had not fully grasped it yet. Meaning¡­ ¡°The Black Witch is trying to destroy her memories?¡± ¡°Yes. Kagami just now assumed that a back way only they knew would be here, and it might indeed be here. She¡¯s recreated it to that level, but then there are the things about Utsunomiya being the kingdom of gyoza and frog not being available at Yokohama.¡± ¡°Miss Horinouchi, you¡¯re getting sidetracked in a weird way.¡± ¡°Try to understand,¡± said Hunter. ¡°This means she¡¯s memorized everything Kagami has ever said.¡± ¡°Y-you! Don¡¯t make any weird interpretations of this!¡± At any rate, it would be best to ask someone who was involved, or at least related. ¡°What¡¯s the meaning of this, Kagami?¡± ¡°I would imagine that is because my sister was ill and saw no future in her own world.¡± Horinouchi remembered hearing something about that early on and it made some sense to her. But¡­ ¡°You would imagine? So are you just guessing here, Kagami?¡± asked Horinouchi. ¡°Listen, we do not understand the Black Witch.¡± After thinking on Horinouchi¡¯s words for a moment, Mary nodded. ¡­That¡¯s true. She wanted to eliminate the Black Witch. The Black Witch had killed, erased, and annihilated the others from her world. And partially just for fun. ¡°I cannot forgive her for what she did.¡± That much was certain. But at the same time¡­ ¡°It is true we do not know much about the Black Witch.¡± Until now, they had simply assumed that this was how the Black Witch was. But there were some questions. ¡°Based on what Kagami has said, it doesn¡¯t sound like the Black Witch created this world to destroy it,¡± said Horinouchi. ¡°Of course, a lot has been lost and we all have our own thoughts on the matter. Everyone in this world probably does. And many of us won¡¯t be able to forgive her. That means she cannot be allowed to exist any longer. But¡­¡± ¡°But? But what?¡± ¡°The Black Witch wants to destroy this world for some reason. Unless we figure out why that is, we are no different in our desire to destroy the Black Witch.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Mary spoke while thinking about the standards inside themselves. ¡°I cannot forgive the Black Witch. So I do feel a need to destroy her with all my might and there is no way of undoing what she has done.¡± But¡­ ¡°I did the same thing. Yes, I tried to.¡± She had tried to erase Kagami because she could not forgive her. But Kagami had accepted the fight, heard her out, and chosen not to criticize her. Mary had been that way. And¡­ ¡°I was just about to become a ¡®fool¡¯ too,¡± said Hunter as she looked to Kagami. ¡°Kagami, can you do to your sister what you did to us?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Kagami wrinkled her brow. And in that instant, Horinouchi spoke up. ¡°Kagami, you are surprisingly awkward.¡± The shrine maiden put on a small smile. ¡°You are so tolerant when it comes to victims, the weak, or those in danger, but you are so harsh when it comes to aggressors, the strong, or those who put others in danger. ¡­That might be the proper form for those with power, but if you oppose the aggressors, the strong, and those who put others in danger in the same way, then we will be standing in the same position as our opponent.¡± So¡­ ¡°Since you guided us this far, we want you to do the same thing for your sister. If you don¡¯t, we will become the same as the Black Witch.¡± ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t want this to be a case where the hero who defeats the monster turns into a monster herself.¡± Hunter was exactly right. And Kagami had prevented them from doing that so far. ¡°Brigadier General.¡± Mary found she understood why Kagami had done that. ¡°Were you hoping that only you would become a monster because you will be leaving this world after we win? ¡­Were you thinking of wrapping this all up in that way?¡± She¡¯s such an idiot, thought Horinouchi with a small smile. She did not know if Mary was correct, but¡­ ¡°We have our own thoughts and we aren¡¯t powerless. Also, the Geo Frame is needed to destroy the Black Witch and that requires us to work together.¡± So¡­ ¡°It is no longer possible for only you to become like the Black Witch and turn into a monster. At the very least, it will affect me as well.¡± She said it. And after a while¡­ ¡°¡­¡± Hunter and Mary gave some scattered applause. Some citizens and witches passing by also noticed her and joined the applause. ¡°Wh-what is this about!?¡± ¡°You should know since you¡¯re the one that said it.¡± ¡­Eh? Did I say something bad? But she was more interested in Kagami¡¯s reaction to her words. She noticed the white-haired girl had closed her eyes. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± After taking a breath and laughing through her nose, she looked to Horinouchi. It was a direct, testing look. ¡­Ah. Sensing that Kagami was going to do something to her, she tensed up, but she kept herself from moving away. It was fine. If this girl was going to become a monster, she would stop her. And if that was not possible, she would go with her. Was it an excuse to claim that was necessary to protect their world? But if she did not think of it that way, she felt like her emotions were going to explode inside her. She was clearly sending herself in a dangerous direction, but she also sensed hope there. If it was the world that just barely kept her from forgiving herself for the irresponsibility of not caring how this turned out, did that mean she had already surpassed this world? But then Kagami averted her gaze. She turned toward Hunter. And then toward Mary. ¡°You have my thanks,¡± said the visitor from another world as she relaxed her body. ¡°Perhaps it is now my time to be stopped by you.¡± Horinouchi sensed relief in the air. ¡­That¡¯s right. She did not know what was ¡°right¡±, but she believed that it was a good thing. She might be being idealistic and some might say she had grown soft or treacherous. But because she could criticize the Black Witch¡¯s actions¡­ ¡°Just as we don¡¯t want to be the same as the Black Witch¡­Kagami, we don¡¯t want you to end up that way either.¡± She did look Hunter and Mary¡¯s way. And when they noticed her¡­ ¡°Oh, can you include us in that too?¡± ¡°Yeah, um, us. Include us.¡± ¡°Y-you don¡¯t have to put it like that¡­!¡± Maybe it can¡¯t be helped since the Geo Frame is between Kagami and me, she thought, but outside of that¡­ ¡°But if we do have to stop the Brigadier General, how exactly will we do it?¡± ¡°¡­Couldn¡¯t I just wait for her to charge out ahead and then shoot her in the back?¡± ¡°Kagami, Horinouchi just said something pretty damn amazing!¡± ¡°I might need to think twice about making any careless actions!¡± Well, maybe so, thought Horinouchi. And when thinking about who would be best for the job¡­ ¡°Who would best be able to respond to Kagami¡¯s starting dash?¡± ¡°The Rank 3.¡± ¡°Me!?¡± ¡°Yes. So you catch up to the Brigadier General and stop her long enough for Miss Horinouchi to shoot her.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be caught in the blast too, won¡¯t I!? Won¡¯t I!?¡± ¡°In that case, Mary and Hunter can work together to stop her.¡± ¡°What do you mean ¡®in that case¡¯, Horinouchi!?¡± ¡°I-if those are your orders, Miss Horinouchi¡­!¡± ¡°Horinouchi, I feel like Mary is growing less respectable, so can you do something about that?¡± asked Kagami. What am I supposed to do? That said, they were waiting for Fleur. When they peeked inside the family restaurant¡­ ¡°The corner seat by the entrance is open,¡± commented Horinouchi. ¡°If we wait there, won¡¯t we be able to see Fleur no matter which road she arrives on?¡± ¡°You still have to worry about the reflection on the window,¡± pointed out Hunter. ¡°And I¡¯ll be focused on eating.¡± ¡°Yes¡­someone is going to have to restrain you.¡± Hunter¡¯s face stiffened at that, but it was somewhat amusing. ¡°Let¡¯s go in and wait there. And Kagami? While we do¡­no, afterwards as well, I want to hear more about you and your sister. I want to learn any clues we can about why the Black Witch created this world and yet is trying to destroy it.¡± Notes 1. ¡ü Change the ¡°ta¡± to a ¡°chi¡± and it sounds like ¡°severed penis¡±. Volume 4, 5: There Are Also Those Going Volume 4, Chapter 5: There Are Also Those Going If walking together brings us closer Are we distant because we aren¡¯t walking together? The girl had not spoken with another person in a long time, so she tried to judge whether she was doing it right. Was she talking too much? Was she getting too excited? Was she looking down on them? And so on. She worried about the conversation while imagining what she looked like and how she was being seen. But it was true that she was not changing herself to match the other person. She had no intention of making that other person uncomfortable, but she wanted to avoid restraining herself to match them. She did not have to do that with Fleur. In fact, Fleur would not let her. If Fleur didn¡¯t like something, she would say so. If she liked something, she would celebrate it. But she did not hold it against the girl when she did not like something. They would say what they thought and reply with how they felt, but there was no real criticism there. The girl asked a sudden question as Fleur paid for the gifts. ¡°You¡¯re kind of refreshing, Fleur.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah! That¡¯s cause I took a bath!¡± ¡°No, not like that. I¡¯m saying you just come out and say whatever you want.¡± ¡°Oh, do I?¡± ¡°You do,¡± confirmed the girl. How should I explain this? she wondered before finding the answer. ¡°You don¡¯t try to persuade me.¡± ¡°Hm? Did I do something wrong?¡± ¡°Eh? Well, no.¡± ¡°Then it wouldn¡¯t make sense.¡± Could you please make some sense when you speak? quietly thought the girl, but those leaps of logic seemed to be Fleur¡¯s thing. That said, the girl could kind of see the logic that filled in the gap. If she was not being accused of doing something wrong, there was no need of persuading the other person of anything. ¡­Ohh. When choosing the gifts, Fleur had made a lot of comments about what she liked and disliked, but that had all been about personal preference. The girl had been choosing things based on the region of origin and what a recipient would want, but Fleur had only been looking at things based on what she personally would like. And the final selections that Fleur had lined up on the corner were the ones that they had both decided would work. The girl had recommended things based on what was ¡°right¡±, but if that was all that was needed, the things Fleur liked would have vanished from the counter. What remained were not things that she had persuaded the girl would work or things she had selected based on some logic of her own. They were simply the things she liked. ¡°Oh, sorry. I was a little too presumptuous, wasn¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Press-ump-chus?¡± ¡°Um, what I mean is¡­I gave some weird advice.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine. I mean, I got to choose them in the end. You¡¯re the better person for helping me out, and making a mistake here isn¡¯t going to hurt anything.¡± ¡­Ohh¡­ The girl grew painfully aware of her own desire for control, but she also doubted that saying that would actually get through to Fleur. ¡­Is she saying I can do whatever I want since I didn¡¯t do anything wrong? The girl felt like that was not quite right, but she also had another thought: ¡°I like the way you think.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what my mama was like!¡± Fleur smiled as she grabbed the bag of gifts which was quite large. She ensured the old woman behind the counter that she could carry it and then turned toward the girl. ¡°Mama said not to use your power when it comes to grudges or fighting over the TV channel. And I¡¯m bringing these to the people who stopped me when I was close to doing that!¡± Since Fleur was not in Shihouin Academy, did that mean she had done something when fighting over the TV channel? She did not seem like the type to hold a grudge, but the girl had no way of knowing the actual situation. Oh, trying to figure out someone else is a lot like trying to read their expression, she thought. And¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± Her thoughts turned to herself. What had she been like long ago when her sister had made a lot of decisions about ¨C or rather, critiques of ¨C her. She remembered trying so hard to meet her sister halfway and to read her sister¡¯s expression that she had ended up complaining that ¡°you¡¯re always like this!¡± despite that contradicting her attempt to meet her halfway. At the time, she had felt oppressed, so she had felt a need to push her sister back no matter what it took. But¡­ ¡­Wow. She had seen herself as fighting back, but had her sister even been trying to persuade her of anything? Her sister had often spoken of the logic at the base of her likes and dislikes, but if she had always left the ultimate decision with the girl¡­ ¡­No. That was not it. Her sister had never said the decision was the girl¡¯s. But¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± She had a thought while looking to Fleur. The decision here had been Fleur¡¯s even though the girl had never said so. It was contradictory to think the decision was yours only if someone else gave you authorization. How had her sister seen it? What is the point of this? she wondered to mentally distance herself from the issue. Why am I thinking about this now? she also wondered in surprise. She had met and spoken with people like Fleur before. So why was it only resonating with her now? ¡°Is something wrong?¡± Fleur peered over at her from the right, so the girl shook her head. ¡­I¡¯m not sure. ¡°Something reminded me of old times.¡± That was probably it. She had come here and learned that a familiar person had come here. When she had reached out her hand, that person had scolded her. So was she able to think like this now because she had grown up? If so¡­ ¡°Fleur. Shall we go?¡± The girl pointed out of the station. ¡°You¡¯re incredible, Fleur. More than I imagined.¡± ¡°I am incredible.¡± When Fleur agreed, hope filled the girl. ¡°And the people who helped you out must be incredible too.¡± ¡°Hey, Hunter! Why do you have to grab the fries with your hands!?¡± ¡°Oh, c¡¯mon. It¡¯s too soon to become a mom, Horinouchi. Wait like 5 more years.¡± ¡°Brigadier General, please stop placing your order by saying, ¡®I want everything from here to here¡¯.¡± ¡°Mary, the standard life is not enough! Meeting people is what matters! Meeting people!¡± ¡°Wait, that¡¯s way too much, Kagami! Keep it low enough that I can write it off as a Student Council expense!¡± ¡°Um, in that case¡­waiter, I want everything from here to here.¡± ¡°What did I just say!?¡± Fleur was kind of hopeful about this girl with her. She had not asked the girl¡¯s name. After all, her mother had often told her it was rude to carelessly ask a witch her name because it might involve her true name. Fleur¡¯s own name was not a problem because her spell forms had been created jointly with her mother. And she was presently not exactly living as a witch. They walked down the road. It was still not quite night, but the late October sky was plenty dark. It was even darker at the dorm, she thought, but this was normal for here. It was the same as when she had tended to the courtyard. She remembered what the sky looked like at different times. And she realized something about the girl as she spoke to her. ¡­She¡¯s smart! Back when they had been buying the gifts, the girl had proven to know a lot about the specialty products, geographies, and histories of different regions of Japan. That seemed like a lot of information, but that might just be the way of things for a knowledge-type witch. And the tempo of conversation was different. When speaking with her mother, conversations had been all about a rapid back and forth. When they had disagreed on something, they would sometimes just agree to disagree. And even when one or the other conceded to the other¡¯s side, they knew that was a plus. That was all because they were confident in the fact that they cared for each other. Conversations with the Honors Division had been all about individualism. To show the proper respect to each other, they had generally never gotten any closer to each other. She had envied the General Division on that front, but she had stayed where she was because her spells and abilities would have stood out. That had kept her from making any friends and it had extended her life in the courtyard as the Rank 1. But now she was successfully speaking with the girl walking alongside her. They were not just throwing words back and forth like with her mother, but she was not keeping her distance from a complete stranger either. They were talking about things they wanted to talk about. Fleur would tell the girl about things that happened at the dorm. The girl would tell Fleur about her family. If Fleur did not understand, she would make a joke. If it was funny, she would laugh. Most of it was complaining, but they both partially agreed that that was just how things were. As long as they did not take the other¡¯s side too readily, neither one of them fully controlled the conversation and they maintained their freedom. Fleur had learned this from her mother. Her mother had taken her side, but had once taught her this: ¡°Fleur, I am on your side. I will trust you no matter what. But I will not see your enemies as my enemies.¡± ¡°Why not? Isn¡¯t that weird?¡± ¡°Because once I make your enemies my enemies, we will be controlling each other.¡± She had not understood at the time, but thinking back, it had always been like that. She fought alongside her mother plenty of times, but her mother had obviously been forcing herself to do it. And in the very end, her mother had protected her. If her mother had made Fleur¡¯s enemies her enemies, then she would have attacked instead. She would have fought back. Of course, that would have meant using up her power and vanishing. But her mother had made her own decision, separate from Fleur¡¯s will, and protected Fleur. To the end, her mother had been on her side but not been controlled by her and acted independently. That was the reason why. So¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± Just remembering that filled her with a tremor and anger, but she understood that her mother had done what she had thought was best. Fleur herself might have been the worst back there, but her mother had not been controlled by her. According to Lisbeth, a servant normally took its master¡¯s emotions into account, but¡­ ¡°Fleur, you are still ranked too low. Do you understand? ¡­And you should think the same of me.¡± That last part seems like what she really wanted to say, but I guess it doesn¡¯t matter. At any rate, she had come to understand her mother¡¯s stance while tending to the field in the reconstructed region. She could distance herself from the unpleasant things by staying busy and she had seen a certain meaning in that. Before, she had felt perfectly happy just remaining by her mother¡¯s side, but she could now think back on their conversations as being quite meaningful. And when she looked back at her memories like that, she regretted how little she had understood at the time and mourned the loss of her mother here now, but she was glad she at least had the option of reporting on these things in front of her mother¡¯s grave. She had changed a lot. She had a lot of thoughts on all this, but so much could remain the same because her mother had made sure everything was in order. If she had been controlled by her mother, she could not have been like this now. As for the girl walking alongside her¡­ ¡°What is it?¡± The way she looked over reminded Fleur so much of herself. The sister who often came up in the girl¡¯s stories was the opposite case from Fleur¡¯s mother. That sister had apparently been a powerful enemy of the girl¡¯s desire to be an author. The girl had tried to get her sister to say she liked her stories, but she had gone too far and ended up getting into arguments. But the girl seemed to understand that liking something was about personal preference, not objective logic. Fleur found it interesting how the stories the girl told had the mysterious skill to make her say ¡°Really!?¡± She often came across it in manga and dramas, but she could now tell that the mechanism really did exist. She did not understand it quite enough to say ¡°I see¡±, but she was pretty sure the girl was right about her and her sister not quite being on the same page. Her sister had her preferences and her sister could explain what those were, but when the girl heard that, she felt like she was being rejected. But that was not it. Her sister was merely explaining that she liked things her way, so she could not quite see what was so great about one particular aspect and she found some other aspect more appealing. ¡­Yeah. The girl wanted to overturn that in her own way, so she likely wanted her sister to fully face her. And she seemed to have realized that about herself. ¡°It¡¯s exhausting.¡± ¡°Oh, yeah. Knowing that only makes the hurdle taller, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± said the girl. ¡°I mean, I need to think about what my sister meant when she would talk about the way she likes things.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that simple? ¡­After she gave the reasons for her critique, she didn¡¯t tell you to change your story to match, right?¡± ¡°You mean¡­?¡± Fleur¡¯s mother had not been controlled by Fleur to the very end. And Fleur had not been controlled by her mother. So when her mother had vanished, it had been of her mother¡¯s free will. So¡­ ¡°She was telling you to do whatever you wanted. And to do it in a way that she and everyone else could understand.¡± I see, thought Fleur. When she saw the girl¡¯s look of surprise, she trusted that she had said the right thing. Back then, her mother had seen her off while remaining herself as much as possible. That way Fleur could be with others while remaining free. This was the same. So Fleur said more. ¡°I hope you can make something that can be enjoyed by not just your sister but everyone else ¨C like me ¨C as well. When you do, I¡¯ll show it off to my mama. And to everyone else too.¡± ¡°Oh, um, sure¡­¡± The girl looked sort of pale when she faced Fleur. ¡°Is something wrong?¡± ¡°No, um¡­¡± The girl had been trembling a bit for a while now, but now she took a deep breath. ¡°I¡¯m not so sure.¡± ¡°About what?¡± The girl responded with a lowered-eyebrows smile. ¡°Can I really catch up to what I created?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Fleur did not understand what that meant. But just from the sound of it¡­ ¡°That was kind of cool!¡± ¡°R-really?¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± After a pause, the girl gave a thumbs up. ¡°Yes, yes,¡± said Fleur to show her approval. The girl then chose the right path at a fork in the road. The path to the left looked brighter, but¡­ ¡°Oh, if you¡¯re going to that family restaurant, this way¡¯s faster. ¡­This should take us there.¡± It did not. ¡°Huhhh?¡± said the girl with a tilt of her head. Fleur patted her on the shoulder and they laughed together as they walked back the way they had come. As they did, a sudden voice spoke up. ¡°You are getting carried away.¡± It came from the girl¡¯s handbag. Fleur was a little surprised, but then she remembered the girl was a witch. ¡°Your servant?¡± ¡°Oh, yes. That¡¯s right,¡± she answered with a tone of resignation but a definite smile. ¡°It¡¯s named Amaze.¡± Hunter was more interested in Fleur¡¯s whereabouts than the fries. She was pretty sure the other girl could make it on her own since they were the same age, but she also wanted to avoid not noticing when she arrived. ¡­I really can¡¯t see outside the window¡­ She had learned over the past few days just how dark it got outside, but it was more of a problem today. But she could not use a night vision spell inside the bright restaurant, so she asked a question of Horinouchi who sat across the table from her. ¡°Horinouchi, can I use an infrared night vision spell?¡± ¡°Going the see-through route, Hunter!?¡± asked Kagami. ¡°What are you two planning!?¡± protested Horinouchi. ¡°Don¡¯t react to middle school level knowledge,¡± complained Hunter. That got annoying fast. So she instead opened a communication spell circle and contacted the 7th Fleet. ¡°Oh, hello? I can use GPS, so can you cast some ether detection from overhead on an anti-personnel level? There¡¯s a geosynchronous satellite up there right now, isn¡¯t there?¡± ¡°Did you hear that, Song Caf¨¦!? Hunter¡¯s target is an individual! What has come over that girl!? Is it a rival in love!? Or a guy who rejected her!? Does it even matter!?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t open the firing tube without my authorization!!¡± I hope this doesn¡¯t end badly, thought Hunter, but she was fairly certain Song Caf¨¦ would help keep things under control. If Song Caf¨¦ was not there at the moment¡­oh, well. At any rate, the GPS spell circle she held displayed the surrounding area as viewed from the sky. It was a real time view that updated every 3 seconds. The resolution was 5cm per pixel. Since the disturbance of the air was removed, it was quite well done and a person was displayed with about 6-9 pixels. It was dark, but by increasing the brightness and reducing the color saturation, the streetlights and lights from homes stood out. She could see the streets quite clearly. She also saw the people walking there. Due to the ether detection placed over the image, the people emitted light. The ether light seen through the family restaurant¡¯s roof was brightest for Mary, followed by Horinouchi and then Hunter. She tapped the screen to check on each of them. Kagami was unable to carry ether with her, so nothing was visible for her. Also¡­ ¡­Is this her? An especially large ether reading was walking from the station along the main road they had seen earlier. It was Fleur. She was apparently not using spells for her rehabilitation, and that may have been why her ether was only partially leaking out. At any rate, Hunter had located her. ¡°Have you located Fleur, Rank 3?¡± asked Mary who sat next to her. ¡°Yes, she¡¯s on her way here. She should arrive in about 3 minutes, I think.¡± Hunter breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°But it would probably be best if we went out to meet her when she arrives. ¡­After all, she¡¯s coming alone, so she might not know this is the right place.¡± Fleur realized the girl¡¯s pace was gradually growing lighter. ¡­Does she like family restaurants? The girl had said she often went to this one. She had used it to rest when she was feeling unwell and she had mentioned her sister as usual. It seemed to be an important place to her. But Fleur did have a question: The girl had said nothing about meeting someone there, so why was her pace growing lighter? A word familiar to Fleur suddenly came to mind. ¡­A grave? That was where no one was waiting for you and yet someone was still waiting for you. Of course, a family restaurant was not a graveyard. Then was it a prominent location from her memories where she went to think about things and report on her current self, just like Fleur did when she visited her mother¡¯s grave? Fleur had someone waiting for her. Did that make her fortunate when compared to this girl? And while she thought about that¡­ ¡°Ah, wait, wait.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± The girl must not have noticed her pace had gotten so quick. She briefly looked shocked but then smiled and looked back toward Fleur. ¡°¡­Oh, sorry. I was feeling kind of impatient.¡± ¡°For someone who claims to fall ill easily, you sure are energetic.¡± ¡°That might be thanks to Amaze.¡± ¡°They do say illness starts from the mind,¡± said the handbag. ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± agreed Fleur. And, ¡°Want to join us inside?¡± The girl thought for a bit as they walked below a streetlight. And finally¡­ ¡°Hmm, no thanks. I¡¯ll stay on my own.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Fleur nodded and felt no regret. The girl must have been prioritizing her own memories. Probably memories of her sister. Fleur just had to wait until they left to think about what to do. ¡°We¡¯ll probably be making a lot of noise, so if you change your mind, feel free to join us.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Fleur waved a hand dismissively as they approached the light shining from the family restaurant. And then the girl spoke quietly. ¡°I wonder if people like you will be able to stop me.¡± ¡°¡­? From doing what?¡± ¡°When I try to do something bad.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that for your sister to do?¡± ¡°Most likely, my sister is to me what your mama was to you. And¡­¡± And¡­ ¡°If I can¡¯t stop myself, I¡¯ll never be able to stop relying on my sister.¡± ¡­Hm? Something seemed off about that. Fleur thought about what it was, and¡­ ¡°The only options for stopping you are us or you alone?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± The girl did not seem to understand what that meant. She laughed as they both entered the light. ¡°That¡¯s right. Thank you, Fleur.¡± As she said that, the family restaurant door opened from the inside. Fleur assumed it would be some customers leaving, but it turned out to be the group she was meeting there. ¡­Oh, they¡¯re all there. Fleur was still with the girl, so she decided it would be best to introduce her. And when the girl looked straight ahead instead of at Fleur¡­ ¡°Um, you don¡¯t have to answer if you don¡¯t want, but what is your name?¡± As soon as she asked that¡­ ¡°¡­Shouko?¡± The answer came from straight ahead. From Kagami. Everyone looked back at her as she froze in place with the restaurant¡¯s light shining from behind her. Volume 4, 6: Parting and Meeting Volume 4, Chapter 6: Parting and Meeting The silence of someone close to you Feels more distant than the greeting of a stranger The girl stopped moving. Nothing stopped her. She simply lost all strength when she saw who stood before her. ¡­Why? She was unsure if that word was a question, an expression of anger, or a warning to herself. A familiar face stood in the entrance space at the top of the short stairway to the family restaurant¡¯s entrance. Her hair was white now. That stood out a lot, but this was no stranger. It was her sister. It was Kagami Kagami. The girl had once reached a hand out to her after noticing her fighting the shrine maiden witch who now stood next to her. The girl had prepared for Hexennacht while doing her very best to ignore her sister, but¡­ ¡­She¡¯s here too. That kind of made the girl happy, but did that mean she was too soft? After all, she knew what her sister was trying to do to her here. Her sister had become a character in the worlds the girl had created. And the girl had destroyed many of those worlds. The residents of those worlds would never be able to accept that. The characters lost everything. The girl had done that time and again and her sister had been on the receiving end time and again. So¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± She would be scolded, accused, and stopped. Her sister would probably use the same method she did or the methods of this world. From the characters¡¯ viewpoints, killing her would be justified. She had done more than enough to deserve it. But¡­ ¡­But¡­ After descending into this world, she had started to think that her sister might not be her enemy. After speaking with the character named Fleur, she had realized it all came down to your point of view. That was why she had wanted to do some thinking in a location from her memories. So her sister¡¯s presence here led to another thought: ¡­Was she thinking the same thing I was? But that was not the case. ¡°Those are Shihouin Academy¡¯s top Rankers.¡± Amaze¡¯s words seemed to wake her up. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Shihouin Academy was holding a witch ranking competition in order to defeat the Black Witch. The people around her sister were those Rankers. The shrine maiden she had seen her sister fighting was also there. In that case¡­ ¡°They¡¯re friends.¡± Those words escaped her lips. ¡°Shouko, calm down,¡± said Amaze. She was calm. She understood exactly what this situation meant. Her sister was meeting with friends to prepare to defeat the girl. And she had brought other people to this location from their memories. ¡­That¡¯s right. This was unavoidable. She had done enough to deserve it, so it was unavoidable. But¡­ ¡°I don¡¯t have to go along with that, do I?¡± She did not think her sister was right. Nor did she think this was unavoidable. If she was not controlled by her sister, she could say this: ¡°How could you¡­!?¡± It doesn¡¯t matter if no one else sees it the same way. My enemy doesn¡¯t have to be anyone else¡¯s enemy. So¡­ ¡°¡­Shouko!¡± That familiar voice pierced her chest. No, she thought as her movements came to a stop. And then her sister said more as if to drive the point home. ¡°Don¡¯t decide this on your own!¡± Kagami saw a certain movement. Her sister looked her in the eye. The light coming from behind Kagami reflected off the tears in her sister¡¯s eyes. ¡°You¡¯re late. And yet you keep getting ahead of me and doing everything better than me.¡± ¡­This is not good. Kagami quickly moved forward. She had to run over to her sister and say something to her. But¡­ ¡°You wouldn¡¯t understand. So¡­¡± The next thing she knew, a power had hit her. A black blade pierced the center of her chest. ¡­Is this¡­? It looked a lot like Dikaiosyne, but it was black and thin. It was too complex to have been constructed in an instant. It had suddenly appeared and Kagami¡¯s own momentum had propelled her body into it. So this is a power of creation greater than my own, she rationally analyzed while her sister¡¯s form changed before her eyes. ¡°The Black Witch¡­!?¡± exclaimed Horinouchi That was exactly who stood there now. It was likely a Magino Frame. Kagami¡¯s sister wore a black Queen-style Form. ¡°Stay out of this fight, Kagami.¡± With that, her sister casually pulled the sword from Kagami¡¯s chest. The alarm sounded. And it had jumped straight to Level 5. That alert authorized any final decision. Despite the suddenness of the sound and the many spell circles that appeared in quick succession, Lisbeth reacted immediately. This was not her first time experiencing this. She had remembered this and constantly prepared herself for it times, so she opened a spell circle like she was making a counterattack. ¡°The Black Witch has appeared! All hands, once you confirm her location, you may fire at will!¡± As soon as she barked that order, black light welled up from the northwest horizon. ¡­Over there¡­!? The ether detection spell circle by her hands displayed a great mass of ether in the Shinagawa region. She did not even need to confirm what it was. She activated a control override on the airborne Magino Devices waiting on standby. She used the ether detection spell in place of a targeting spell, and¡­ ¡°Fire¡­!¡± Light raced above the ocean and through the sky. A cage of gunblade Devices surrounded Shihouin Academy in the sky. The 21 that formed the western curve quickly fired on a single spot. They were all fired in emergency mode, so they did not perform any recoil reduction. Unable to eliminate the momentum of their attack, the blades slid, rotated, and dropped down through the sky above Shihouin Academy. But the 21 shots they fired flew accurately toward the coast of the mainland. ¡°That isn¡¯t enough power! Prepare a second blast!¡± Two motions followed that shout from the witch commanding the west end of the cage. The first was the gunblades surrounding Shihouin Academy¡¯s eastern side entering sniper mode. There were 37 of them. From their vertical orientation, they rotated 270 degrees, sending their blade tip slicing through the wind before pointing to the west of Tokyo Bay. Targeting spells opened as their ether-gathering engine system fully opened to increase the density of the blast. Then a high-pitched roar sounded while several strengthening spells appeared in the cannon¡¯s internal acceleration system to increase the power. But¡­ ¡°The enemy is appearing!!¡± The range-finding witch making observations for the sniper shots announced the second motion. Black light swirled around at one point to the west of Tokyo Bay. The 21 shots of light approached it, and¡­ ¡°That¡¯s a direct hit!¡± That shout reached them all just as light exploded on the coast of the mainland. It was a hit. They were all convinced of that when something unexpected happened. It was not a hit. ¡°You did it, didn¡¯t you!?¡± Lisbeth could see the 21 cannon lines fired from high in the night sky, but she did not bother following them as she spoke. At first glance, it looked like they had been hit back, but that was not the case. ¡°Did you make it so they didn¡¯t hit!?¡± She understood what had happened more than how. The cannon blasts had definitely been on course for a direct hit. They did not know what was there, but the attacks had been set to track that ether output. It should have been an automatic bull¡¯s eye. There were 2 possible reasons why they did not hit. 1: They had been dodged. 2: They had been blocked. But they were up against the Black Witch here. There was a 3rd option that she alone could choose. In other words¡­ ¡°3: They simply ¡®didn¡¯t hit¡¯.¡± That witch held the same power that had created this world. She could rewrite the laws around her as she saw fit, so she could make an attack ¡°not hit¡±. Or from their perspective¡­ ¡­Our attack power wasn¡¯t enough to match the Black Witch¡¯s imagination! Simply put, she could grasp and rewrite anything within her imagination. Imagination formed the foundation of creation. And the only ones who could surpass the Black Witch¡¯s imagination were the top Rankers in Shinagawa and their Magino Devices which had had their sniping power increased to the limit. But¡­ ¡°¡­Kh.¡± Exactly what she had received a report on existed there now. Since the concentrated cannon fire had not hit, something stood up from the storm of black ether light. ¡­Is that¡­? She had never seen it before, but she knew what it was. Of course she did. Just the other day, her memories had been overwritten with the proper information, resurrecting the knowledge within her. She knew what was standing up from Shinagawa. She remembered it. ¡°The Geo Frame!?¡± No. The other day, she had seen a white and vermilion Geo Frame. That had been the holy knight standing over 3km tall which Horinouchi and Kagami had created. That was not what she saw now. It was a black queen. It stood over 3km tall and it wielded a skinny sword much like Dikaiosyne. ¡°Did the Black Witch summon her own Geo Frame!?¡± Oh, no, thought Lisbeth, feeling like she had screwed up. This was not a feeling that this was bad, dangerous, or frightening. She was worried that the great form standing before her eyes would lead to every single negative result imaginable. With Hexennacht approaching, they had been pouring all of their strength into defeating the Black Witch, but¡­ ¡­What if it wasn¡¯t enough? She had thought they could win if they tried. She had decided that meant they needed to try. So she had chosen what they needed to do, saw the Ranker battles through to their proper end, and improved their equipment and techniques. Everyone else had been working in their own way to wipe clean their previous failure. But what if the Black Witch was the same? The Geo Frame was the lost technique that they had finally regained after doing what they needed to. The Black Witch had hidden it from them and kept them from seeing it. It was not that she had never considered the possibility of the Black Witch using it. She had considered every possibility. But¡­ ¡­She¡¯s using it here!? The Black Witch should have been sealed within the moon. Why was she here? It made no sense. But she was here. She should not have been, but she was. Which meant¡­ ¡­She must have had some way. That was not so strange. It only meant she had used some unknown method to overturn their assumptions and betray their expectations. It was not that they had failed to give it enough thought. They had thought about it wrong. And that was why Lisbeth thought ¡°oh, no¡±. Also¡­ ¡°Report!¡± Now that Lisbeth could see the Black Witch standing up, she made her next move. The alert was already at Level 5, so she could do anything she had to. ¡°Ma¡¯am!¡± One of her witch subordinates¡¯ voices rang out. The wind from the Magino Devices finally arrived at Shihouin Academy and blew through in multiple layers. That witch wind of late October rustled the dried leaves of the trees. ¡°A 2nd powerful reading has appeared in Shinagawa!¡± Lisbeth could see it. The massive vortex of light was white this time. Unlike with the Black Witch, this power expanded in a first and second phase. ¡°Is that Horinouchi and Kagami¡¯s Geo Frame!?¡± Horinouchi thought she should stop Kagami. ¡­This is reckless! The other girl was summoning her holy knight Magino Frame. She had fallen to her knees, her shoulders rose and fell, and she coughed a dark red substance onto the chest stage forming the Geo Frame¡¯s control floor. That substance was blood. ¡°Kagami!¡± Horinouchi did have healing spells. But because Ranker Battles were generally 1-on-1, she had not learned many healing spells for use on others. Besides, Kagami had healing spells of her own. ¡°I am fine, Horinouchi.¡± Kagami stood up, lifting her hips first. A spell circle appeared on her back and in front of her chest. That stopped the bleeding for now, but she was far from ¡°fine¡±. However¡­ ¡°Horinouchi!¡± What mattered most now? Kagami called her name to point that out and Horinouchi realized they had no time. So she stepped up next to Kagami. ¡°Let¡¯s do this!¡± Hearing that, Kagami¡¯s looked at her in surprise. But soon¡­ ¡°Well done, Horinouchi!¡± Horinouchi was not going to agree with that. She had only made the obvious decision. They were ¡°buddies¡± in order to defeat the Black Witch, but¡­ ¡­Is the battle beginning now!? She had wanted to learn more about the Black Witch. And when the Black Witch had seen them, she had looked to Kagami and Horinouchi and then cried. ¡­Why? But at the very least, Kagami and her sister had had a falling out. Something had happened with the sister. This only increased Horinouchi¡¯s desire to learn what that was, but reality demanded she act now. They had to get through this here and now. So she took Kagami¡¯s hand and had the Geo Frame prepare for battle. ¡°Straight ahead!¡± ¡°No!!¡± Just as they sent an attack forward, Hunter¡¯s voice and a multi-layer blow arrived from overhead. Several beams of light fell from the heavens above the Geo Frame¡¯s head. The 21 initial shots fired from Shihouin Academy had been deflected by the Black Witch, but now¡­ ¡­They curved back around!? Lisbeth saw the 21 lights descend upon their curved paths. ¡­Is this¡­? It reminded her of something. Something much like this had happened 10 years ago. After simply blocking Mitsuyo¡¯s attacks, the Black Witch had suddenly bent the attack in a way that broke all the rules. That had been the turning point in the battle. But¡­ ¡°Hunter!¡± A shield opened directly below the 21 descending shots. The 500m shield was Hunter¡¯s Hedgehog. 17 shots scored direct hits. The other 4 passed down through it and hit the Geo Frame, but they only hit the armor on the outside of the shoulders or legs. The half-destroyed Hedgehog wobbled unsteadily in the sky, but the Geo Frame below was nearly unharmed. And so Lisbeth raised her voice. ¡°Up above you!!¡± Mary realized she had been late to react. She knew their enemy was there, but she was still on the ground, and¡­ ¡­Brigadier General! Miss Horinouchi! Since they had arrived in Shinagawa, hadn¡¯t they wanted to learn more about the Black Witch? And hadn¡¯t they not wanted the Black Witch to end up the way they had? Mary felt it was not her place since her world had been destroyed and she had tried to annihilate Kagami, but she could not help but feel a certain concern for the two who faced their enemy now. ¡­Are you sure this is what you want!? That was not a question she should be asking now that it was all in motion. And those two would have already overcome this thought. Now was the time for action. After all¡­ ¡°The Black Witch¡­!¡± She was up above. The 21 shots she had twisted around had destroyed Hunter. And from further above¡­ ¡­What are those? Even from the surface, Mary noticed them. Giant, round silhouettes were visible through the explosion of light. There were two of them and they were both more than 200m long. ¡°It¡¯s the Black Witch¡¯s reinforcements! It¡¯s her minions!¡± When she heard Lisbeth¡¯s voice, Mary reflexively drew Ira from empty air. ¡­Make it in time! Hunter¡¯s Hedgehog had been destroyed. The Rank 3 had evacuated into the air and she gave a clear nod after seeing Mary on the surface. She was not saying ¡°you handle this¡±. She was saying ¡°do it¡±. So Mary unleased her power. She could see the enemy. One was a dragon that seemed to be created by connecting spheres together. The other was a giant with a headless body, a single eye, and short arms and legs. They both looked like scribbled drawings, but¡­ ¡°¡­!¡± Mary split them apart along with the half-destroyed Hedgehog. The giant Magino Device was torn into three and the attack continued past it. Immediately afterwards, the two minions were split by her annihilation spell and turned to light. ¡­They explode!? That was right. There were holes from giant explosions across Japan and the rest of the world. What had caused those? ¡°Do these minions explode!?¡± She briefly thought that defeating them had been a mistake, but that was not it. They were meant to move along the surface and explode when they were damaged or some other condition was met. An explosion on the surface would cause massive damage. Destroying them in the sky was the correct thing to do. But¡­ ¡°Brigadier General¡­!¡± Everything stopped. The explosion erupted in the sky, the shockwave shattered the surrounding glass on the surface, and it shook the roofs of the buildings. It felt like a light earthquake, but¡­ ¡­The ley line facilities will adjust for it! The ley line stabilizers installed primarily at Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples would absorb that damage through the ley lines. A few of the stabilizers would likely blow, but that was what they were for. So there was no need to hold back. ¡°Attack¡­!¡± She looked up, but the Geo Frame was not moving. ¡­Huh? Earlier, she was fairly certain the Geo Frame had raised its giant sword and swung it forward. But the giant, vermilion and white female knight had frozen in its attack pose. It did not move. No, it was moving. The movement came from the Geo Frame¡¯s giant sword which was extended forward from Mary¡¯s perspective. The extra-large vermilion and white Dikaiosyne exploded. What had happened? ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª!?¡± Mary saw a long black blade jutting out from the vermilion and white Geo Frame¡¯s back. The Black Witch¡¯s sword had pierced straight through Dikaiosyne. ¡­It¡¯s the same¡­!? Lisbeth once more saw the same thing happen as 10 years ago. It had been the same back then. Mitsuyo had managed to defend against her own attack when the Black Witch had ignored the world¡¯s laws and bent it. She had used an attack from her Geo Frame¡¯s bow to counteract it. And that was when the Black Witch had called in her ¡°reinforcements¡±. It had been more like the minions suddenly appeared than were summoned and none had appeared inside the barrier. Mitsuyo had made a preemptive attack on them because she had predicted what damage they would cause. Sensing future danger was not a bad thing. But imagining something else on the battlefield had created an opening. The Black Witch had taken full advantage of that. At the time, the Black Witch had not had anything rivalling the Geo Frame and her sword had pierced Mitsuyo¡¯s Geo Frame. It was the same now. It would not have been so bad if only the cannon fire had fallen from overhead. But the Black Witch¡¯s minions had appeared out of nowhere. Mary had dealt with them, but thinking about what to do about the subsequent explosions and thinking about 10 years ago had created an opening. Lisbeth was honestly impressed that the Geo Frame had managed to get in an attack. ¡­But I guess their attack couldn¡¯t reach her thanks to that opening! Reality stood before her eyes. The Black Witch¡¯s giant Frame had used its Device to pierce both the Geo Frame¡¯s sword and the Geo Frame itself. If the Black Witch had used only its Device sword as a weapon, things would have ended differently. A sword alone would have lost to the weight and momentum and it would have been the Black Witch who was defeated. But that was not what had happened. The black queen, which was equivalent to a Geo Frame, had ¡°adjusted¡± to match the opening in her enemy¡¯s attack. As a counterattack, she had taken a quick half step back and thrust her sword toward the Geo Frame¡¯s blade. The half step back had moved her entire body like a wave traveling up from below. The rough attack had been stopped by the blade thrown with her full body behind it and the Queen-style Frame had crouched down to move in from below. From there, the long blade had simply pierced through the giant Dikaiosyne and reached the Geo Frame itself. They had been outdone. Explosive pressure reached them from overhead. The light was split and two shockwaves burst. ¡°¡­!¡± An incredible amount of ether light scattered in every direction. All that remained was the enemy. The queenly silhouette remained while Kagami and Horinouchi¡¯s Geo Frame was destroyed. Horinouchi cried out within the explosive blast and light. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª!¡± She had no idea what she had shouted. But by the time their Geo Frame had been pierced and Dikaiosyne had burst and shattered, Kagami had collapsed forward. When Horinouchi supported her, she felt something with her right hand, which was bared to draw her bowstring. It was a somewhat sticky liquid that carried Kagami¡¯s body heat. It was blood. ¡°Kagami¡­!¡± ¡°That would be goodbye. ¡­Now stay out of this fight, Kagami,¡± said a voice. ¡°This is my Satanic Frame. It¡¯s only a makeshift creation, but it came in handy.¡± As the light scattered, the chest stage on which they stood also shattered and fell. The black Queen-style Frame was visible in front of them. ¡­The Satanic Frame!? The Black Witch must have created it to compete against the Geo Frame. But her words belatedly rang within Horinouchi¡¯s ears. ¡­Stay out of this fight¡­? She questioned that as everything shattered and fell. She held Kagami in her arms, but the girl only felt like a warm weight. ¡°Kagami¡­!¡± Every healing spell she had activated automatically. Would the healing spells meant for her affect Kagami if she held her close like this? Her eyes looked to the black Satanic Frame visible in the sky beyond the light. It moved. ¡°Listen up, my creations. ¡­We will settle this tomorrow.¡± That meant moving Hexennacht up by a day. And more importantly¡­ ¡­Kagami! With a wound this bad, there was no way Kagami would be able to fight by the next day. Despite that, the Black Witch flew through the sky. Light scattered, a black wind whipped up, and she vanished into the moonlight in the blink of an eye. Horinouchi could only look up and feel the resilience of the person in her arms. ¡°Someone¡­!¡± Even if she did everything she was supposed to, she was still worried. The stage was shattering and falling, but she replaced even her fall control spells with healing spells. ¡°Someone!¡± It did not matter who. She wanted help from anyone other than herself. ¡°Someone please help her!!¡± Volume 4, 7: What Do You Think? Volume 4, Chapter 7: What Do You Think? I thought I was going to Make some kind of gag But unwanted memories replayed one after another Shouko woke up. She felt like she was peeling herself up from the sticky weariness. She was only opening her eyes, but it felt like lifting her entire body. As for why¡­ ¡­My room. She felt like she had been elsewhere a moment before. In fact, she really had been. ¡°Nn¡­¡± She sat up, looked around, and saw a book by the pillow. It had a black leather cover and decorations in gold thread. ¡°Amaze.¡± ¡°My, you sure slept soundly, Shouko.¡± She probably had. She could definitely sense the feedback reaching her body. ¡­It¡¯s been a while since I materialized one of my dreams. ¡°What was that? It feels like I dreamed about meeting and arguing with my sister.¡± ¡°That was the truth in one of the world, Shouko.¡± ¡°You always say such confusing things, Amaze.¡± She lay back down and looked out the window where she saw the earth. A bit above horizontal, the blue planet floated at an angle that placed Japan in the center. The view out the window showed a wasteland of rocks and black shadows leading out to the earth which floated in the black background. ¡°Being on the moon isn¡¯t that much of an issue when I¡¯m inside my home.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯ve spent so much time asleep. And more importantly,¡± continued Amaze. ¡°Shouko, will you create a new world¡¯s story?¡± Shouko had heard Amaze¡¯s invitation countless times before. ¡°I am incredibly thankful and happy that your imagination is always changing its technique and quality while always creating an ending.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Really. ¡­Techniques are developed and create derivations, but the old ones will end. You are quite fascinating because you carry that out at the level of entire worlds. After all, that means you are approving of me in my entirety.¡± ¡°Maybe so, but I¡¯m not really aware of doing any of that.¡± She began working her mind as she said that. She gradually recalled what she had thought and done a moment ago on the earth in that materialized dream. ¡­Wow. She had caused a lot of trouble for that girl named Fleur. She was unsure if she could say the same about her sister. Or was that just her being stubborn? ¡°I can¡¯t believe this¡­¡± She leaned her upper body down toward the blanket. It felt surprisingly cool on her forehead. ¡­But my mood kept shifting up and down because it was a ¡°dream¡±. It was all reliant on the dream, but with Hexennacht approaching, she had suddenly dreamed of that region where her home had once been. It also may have had to do with knowing her sister was there. So she had tried materializing her dream, but¡­ ¡°I went too far. ¡­I was even conceited enough to think I was changing.¡± Even if it was a ¡°dream¡± for her, it was reality for her sister. And for everyone else there. She was not ignorant of what she had done to the many worlds she had crushed in the past. Nor was she ignorant of how her sister saw her after being caught in that destruction as a character. ¡­I really don¡¯t want her to scold me. But despite thinking that, she still destroyed the worlds. Because she knew she had created them poorly, so they would eventually fall out of balance and collapse on their own. A large part of that had to do with the way she created stories. Because of her chronic disease, her tendency to stay home, and the pressure she felt from her sister, the worlds she created were always twisted in some way. Amaze would praise the worlds she made, but that was always about the world¡¯s techniques and the various aspects of the setting, not because of the twisted part. At first, she had not wanted to destroy them. But that had not stopped it. The worlds had collapsed on their own. So at first, she had made her identity known and participated just like her sister was doing now. But once it had become clear that there was no stopping it, they had demanded she take responsibility. They had asked her why. But there was nothing she could have done. Those worlds had been doomed to that fate from the moment they had been made. The small distortion that had slipped past her notice would ultimately make an appearance far after the story she wanted to tell had ended. She had created those worlds because she wanted to tell a story, so she had not thought about what would happen afterwards. But they had all blamed her. They had insisted she take responsibility. They¡¯re probably right, she had thought. I made it, so of course they¡¯ll say that. It came down to the limits of her imagination. But after several of the worlds had broken, she had made up her mind: she would take responsibility. ¡°If a world is going to break, then I will destroy it as its creator.¡± She had made up her mind and acted on that conviction. As she did, she had realized something. When she acted as a world¡¯s enemy, its residents would resist her. She had created them. She had thought up a story for them and she had cried, laughed, and felt anger about them, but they had all sent their anger and resentment her way. To be honest, that was hard to bear, but she could not blame them either. It was her fault for her insufficient imagination. She had made the same excuse over and over again: ¡°If you can stop me, then your world will not be destroyed. So do your best.¡± And so she had destroyed those worlds. She thought it was her fault that the worlds would break down and die. So she wanted the residents to do their best. Their very, very best. She wished she could create a world that would not be destroyed, but she also hoped the residents would do their best. However¡­ ¡­Why? A few signs had informed her that her sister was pursuing her. A few times they had just missed each other as she left the world and her sister entered it. But¡­ ¡­Why here? ¡°Shouko.¡± ¡°Oh, right.¡± That vague response was not a confirmation or denial and it seemed something like both. ¡°This is unusual,¡± said Amaze. ¡°No, this is how you were when we had just met. Should I continue on as I am?¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t be too strict. And as for me¡­it seems I still haven¡¯t changed.¡± ¡­I can¡¯t believe this. With that thought, she got up. She always felt kind of refreshed when she got up, but she would feel terribly worn out just a few minutes later. ¡°Amaze.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Am I doing this right?¡± ¡°You¡­well, according to my standards, you are. You create things and you end them. Nothing could be better for a responsible creator.¡± ¡°Nothing could be better, hm?¡± ¡°Indeed. ¡­Although I doubt my creators ever thought I would be used for a girl¡¯s entertainment.¡± ¡°And I never thought there would be a world where people lived on the moon because you get magic power from moonlight. But¡­¡± ¡°But what, Shouko?¡± ¡°Can you tell me about yourself again, Amaze?¡± She badgered the book to talk about itself. Whenever it complied, the story was fairly ridiculous, but she kind of understood some of it. After all¡­ ¡°Tell me about the people who made you.¡± It helped relax her to hear that there had been people like her in the past. ¡°Which era should I talk about?¡± ¡°I know it was from a time when years and calendars don¡¯t apply, so don¡¯t bother with that.¡± ¡°Then which region?¡± ¡°There were four floods, so nothing but latitude and longitude has any meaning, right? Compared to now, I mean.¡± ¡°Then as an introductory remark¡­¡± ¡°Amaze, you¡¯re a terrible singer.¡± ¡°You love to cut out everything necessary for a proper ritual, don¡¯t you!?¡± ¡°You can stick all that stuff at the end. C¡¯mon, get on with it.¡± ¡°Well,¡± said the book as Shouko thought to herself. ¡­There was an old spy movie where a recording medium disguised as a book gave people verbal instructions, wasn¡¯t there? ¡°Amaze, you aren¡¯t going to shoot out smoke and burn away afterwards, are you?¡± ¡°You¡¯re expecting some weird things from me, aren¡¯t you?¡± The book grew cautious, but it also began talking. ¡°Let¡¯s go with an older period than usual. Before the events in this world.¡± ¡°Before the 3rd person?¡± ¡°Yes. This is back when I was created.¡± ¡°¡­You remember that?¡± ¡°Well, yes. Besides, I didn¡¯t have this form originally.¡± She remembered hearing a bit about this before. ¡°You were a collection of thin slates, right?¡± ¡°Right. I was originally a holder that contained the magic power of your world. But that magic power interfered with itself and produced my consciousness.¡± ¡°You were a bug?¡± ¡°No, I was probably made to do that. After all, my will thinks in human terms and I prioritize being read by someone. Also¡­¡± ¡°Also?¡± ¡°My creator respected me, but I do in fact know who it was that made me.¡± Shouko had a feeling this was the first time Amaze had shown any emotion toward its creator. She considered asking about it, but Amaze did not seem aware of it. So she decided against it. Instead, she asked about something else she had noticed. ¡°What were you created to do when you had that form? Were you just a storehouse for power?¡± ¡°I was originally made to respond to someone¡¯s will and, if possible, create whatever it was that person imagined.¡± ¡°So you were an all-powerful creation device?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a tad blunt, but I suppose so. Of course, it had to be someone with a will capable of communicating with me, which was apparently rare. But in my case, I could use my knowledge to supplement the imagination of the will communicating with me.¡± ¡°So like an AI supporter.¡± ¡°Exactly. ¡­Now, you know how there are discussions about where the wheel or steel were first invented, right? I helped in the creation of such things.¡± ¡°¡­Now you¡¯re just bragging.¡± ¡°No, no, no. It¡¯s true. To create those, someone had to first wish for a technology to carry things more efficiently or a material sturdier than wood or dirt, right? I wasn¡¯t the right answer myself, but I could help reach the answer and actually produce it for them once they settled on the answer.¡± ¡°What if what you made wasn¡¯t the same thing the user wanted?¡± ¡°The user can only imagine something fairly vague, so as long as it functions properly, I don¡¯t see how there could be a problem.¡± ¡°Ahhh¡­ But there are things better than wheels and better than steel, so I feel bad for the civilizations that drew the short straw there.¡± ¡°You can be rather harsh, you know that!? But anyway,¡± continued Amaze. ¡°I was created to assist in people¡¯s development like that. The power in our world was thin, so I concentrated it together to guarantee it could be used for creation.¡± ¡°And how did you end up at our house?¡± ¡°People were no longer able to communicate with me.¡± ¡°You¡¯re speaking with me. And weren¡¯t you given a will of your own to make communication easier?¡± ¡°Have you forgotten that your family couldn¡¯t communicate with me?¡± Now that Amaze mentioned it, that was true. ¡°I hope I haven¡¯t gone insane and I¡¯m just sitting here talking to a book.¡± ¡°Do you really think I would confirm that even if it was true?¡± This book has a point¡­ she thought, but then Amaze sighed and asked a question. ¡°Once people begin to doubt that god even exists, they start looking at themselves. They want to have a logical explanation for why they came to be. Because they assumed they had originally been created by someone.¡± So¡­ ¡°I was glad I could communicate with you, Shouko.¡± ¡°Yeah, you say that.¡± ¡°It¡¯s true,¡± said Amaze in a shrugging tone. But if what the book said was to be believed, it had not spoken with anyone for at least several hundred years. ¡­I wouldn¡¯t be able to stand that. She did not want to imagine her life coming to an end while everyone ignored her. ¡°Your imagination is incredible,¡± said Amaze. ¡°There is no greed for money or fame. You simply construct worlds. You can imagine good, evil, and everything in between. That is your talent.¡± ¡°I have a feeling that¡¯s not quite a compliment, but I do sometimes wonder something.¡± She had wondered it in the past and in the earlier ¡°dream¡±. ¡°Even if the worlds are fictional¡­is it really okay to destroy them?¡± ¡°It is.¡± The response was carefree. ¡°I mean, you imagined them. They might have been created, but they are essentially fictional. You only have one reality. You cannot let your worries about the product of your imagination affect the imagination needed to create something.¡± Shouko thought Amaze was right. At the same time, they both knew it was only a slight difference. ¡°But, Shouko? You see more than just functionality and invention within the fictional things your imagination creates, don¡¯t you? You also see value in them, don¡¯t you?¡± Amaze¡¯s tone grew more mature when it was thinking more rapidly. And at times like that, Amaze became an innocent being that valued creation. So Shouko¡­ ¡°If anything, when you¡¯re writing a novel, the background world exists to establish the characters¡¯ techniques and lifestyles, so what matters most is the characters¡¯ story created from that.¡± ¡°Is it like the difference between a playwright and a prop master?¡± Shouko was not sure. She did not have any direct experience with plays. ¡°But when my sister heard my stories, she would laugh and cry.¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s weird, isn¡¯t it? It¡¯s in our imaginations, it¡¯s fictional, and it¡¯s all fake, so why do we laugh and cry?¡± She called out Amaze¡¯s name. ¡°What we¡¯re doing might be wrong and I might be realizing how to do the right thing.¡± ¡°But when you tried to do that, you ultimately chose to take responsibility. ¡­If there is a better means of doing something about the worlds you have created, then I will assist you. But you will end what you have created. And I will help with that. Do not think in terms of right and wrong; think in terms of can and can¡¯t.¡± She had no response to that. And¡­ ¡°When I think about it, Amaze, I¡¯m controlling you, aren¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Yes. I caught a glimpse of this in your ¡®dream¡¯, but if you are drunk on my power, then that would mean you are controlling me.¡± ¡°Am I drunk?¡± ¡°You used to be. ¡­You know, like when you wrote that one about Robins, the handsome brother of the king, and Maris, princess of Crystal Grande, meeting and fighting back against the king: ¡®Maris! I missed you! I was willing to cross a billion nights to see you!¡¯ ¡± ¡°Ahhhhhhh! You didn¡¯t have to mention that!!¡± ¡°Just to be clear, of the worlds you materialized, you were drunk on my power during at least the first 70 or so.¡± ¡°What about now?¡± ¡°For the 2000 or so after that, I suppose you were sober even after materializing them.¡± I¡¯ve made that many? she thought. But I¡¯ve still got a ways to go to reach 3000 worlds, she also thought. ¡°However,¡± said Amaze. ¡°When you were trying to keep the worlds from being destroyed, you noticed I could never do anything more than you asked of me, didn¡¯t you? I can mix together and mash up your imagination, but I am a Book of Creation that cannot create anything from nothing.¡± ¡°Then the real question is why I materialized those worlds in the first place.¡± ¡°You have done nothing wrong, Shouko. You have simply used and enjoyed your imagination.¡± So¡­ ¡°Once you decided you wanted to see whether or not your imagination was correct, you decided you wanted to view it as reality instead of fiction. ¡­And I complied. I thought your imagination was correct, so I created it. And the resultant worlds are beautifully complete worlds that are born, develop, and then vanish.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°But, Shouko, if you do not want to see your worlds disappear, then you should make even more worlds. Or-¡­¡± ¡°I know that,¡± she said, cutting off Amaze. She looked to the planet visible outside the window and thought about what and who was there. ¡°If they are to stop us, they can¡¯t let themselves be stopped by us. ¡­Perhaps this is the world that will accomplish that. But¡­¡± But¡­ ¡°If not, prepare for the next one, Amaze. ¡­I will erase this world and create the next.¡± Volume 4, 8: Wishes Gather Volume 4, Chapter 8: Wishes Gather An ideology pours all its energy Into an unclear result Willpower pours in all its energy Even after the result is clear Fleur could tell she had been caught in the middle of something big. The day before, she had been trying to meet up with Kagami¡¯s group, but she had apparently guided the Black Witch to them instead. She had returned to Shihouin Academy to find something like a night-long party and she had spoken with Lisbeth in a tent in front of the main gate. However¡­ ¡°So that¡¯s what happened¡­¡± After Fleur explained everything, the woman had sighed and hung her head quite deeply. Horinouchi, Hunter, and Mary had also been called in, so she had re-explained a lot. Those three and Lisbeth had all asked for details about the Book of Creation that Shouko had. After comparing her information with what Kagami had told them, they concluded that it was all accurate. As long as Shouko had that, she could threaten this world using creation as a weapon. But what were they going to do? ¡°As long as she and the book are in agreement, they can¡¯t be separated unless we defeat the Black Witch,¡± said Horinouchi. ¡°That means we have to surpass her imagination to make her give up on her imagination.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s what your attack power is for¡­¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s gotta be what her attack power is for.¡± Horinouchi had glared at the other 2 Rankers, but Fleur was pretty sure they were right. But while she was talking about Shouko the second time, she had said the following: ¡°I think Shouko loves Kagami.¡± That had caused Horinouchi¡¯s eyebrows to rise, but then she had gulped and nodded. ¡°¡­Probably so.¡± Fleur had expected her to insist the enemy could never feel that way, but she did not. That was a relief. If Fleur saw Shouko on the battlefield, she was not sure what she would want to say, but as far as Hexennacht was concerned¡­ ¡­That¡¯s right. She had her issue with her mother and she felt like Horinouchi and Kagami had taken Hexennacht from her. The best way to bear with how low that made her feel had been to remind herself that she had lost her mother and her power, but¡­ ¡°¡­This is in your hands, Horinouchi.¡± She now felt she could leave this to Horinouchi since that girl felt the same way about Shouko. She was also worried about Kagami¡¯s condition and, since things were going to get dangerous with Hexennacht moved up a day, she had considered returning to the dorm first thing in the morning. However¡­ ¡°Fleur. We have a role for you.¡± ¡°Eh? Do I get to be an evacuee!? Wow! That sounds like fun!¡± ¡°Um, not quite.¡± Lisbeth snapped her fingers. ¡°We have witches who specialize in drain spells. However, the process for drain spells is a bit of a pain and they are nearly useless for attacks. But on the battlefield, there will be plenty of witches who overused their spells and ran out of Blessings. ¡­Do you see what I¡¯m getting at?¡± ¡°Wait.¡± ¡°Can we use drain spells on you to redistribute your excess Blessings to the other witches?¡± That meant¡­ ¡°I¡¯m a batteryyyyy!?¡± More or less. At any rate, Hexennacht was set to begin at 10 PM. According to the spell circle clock, everything would begin in another 2 hours. When is she going to wake up? wondered Horinouchi. She stood in a white room. Something a lot like this happened when we fought Hunter, didn¡¯t it? she thought, but this was much worse than that time. She looked down at someone without even bothering to sit in the chair. ¡°¡­Kagami? They tell me you¡¯re dreaming.¡± Kagami lay in the bed while a few spell circles stabilized her condition. She was alive. She was fine. She had bandages wrapped around her in places, but below the blanket, the stab wound in the center of her body had completely vanished. According to the medically-advanced European U.A.H.¡¯s medical division¡­ ¡°Hell, yeah! We got it closed up! But should we put a strength-stone or something inside!? Or make something grow from her!? How about it!?¡± They had gotten a little overexcited, but Koutarou had smoothed things over with his persuasion skills. One of them had been an acquaintance of a Horinouchi family witch, so the healing of Kagami and the exchange of information had been completed quickly. Kagami was fine. Her body was there and her injury had been healed. But there was a problem. ¡°What are you dreaming about?¡± She was dreaming. Some kind of attack had influenced the ether forming her body and her mind, locking them both in a state of dreaming. So even if they tried to harm her, no real weapon could do so. An ether attack would be weakened, but it would still work well enough. So the only way to affect her through normal means would require equipment extracted ¡°from a dream¡±. Hunter had tilted her head when she heard that. ¡°If she¡¯s basically invincible¡­does that mean we could break through anything if we fired Kagami as a shell?¡± ¡°Her body is still as soft as ever.¡± ¡°You touched her, Miss Horinouchi?¡± Why did they have to glare at me for that? At any rate, it had been an Eastern European witch that had detected this and she had claimed it was ¡°a super powered-up version of the fairy tale situation where the princess was awakened by a kiss from the prince¡±. ¡°Super? Just how super are we talking about here?¡± ¡°Well¡­it¡¯s just quite super is all. Yes.¡± The doctor had avoided answering like that, but it seemed Kagami¡¯s mind was active in her dream. The final conclusion was that she would wake up once she was done dreaming. ¡°But you didn¡¯t wake up. ¡­And Hexennacht is starting in 2 hours.¡± Horinouchi stood by the window, spread the blinds with her fingers, and viewed southern Tokyo Bay. She saw the bay and the coast as night fell. This was the medical building on the south end of Shihouin Academy. The view from the window showed several Magino Frames summoned above the bay and the moving beams of searchlights. The 7th Fleet and a JSDF fleet were arranged to form the barrier in the center of the bay. While European U.A.H.¡¯s Magino Devices had been the only ones in the sky earlier, there were now some Devices from a group of volunteer witches. And at the center of it all, something could be seen in the full moon which floated at the midpoint of the heavens. It was a shadow. No, it was not just one giant shadow. Countless tiny shadows surrounded the moon like a sandstorm. ¡°The Black Witch¡¯s minions. Her reinforcements.¡± It was a swarm of black dragons and black dolls. As she looked at them, Horinouchi nodded and then looked to Kagami once more. ¡°Your dreaming must be a kindness from your sister. ¡­Even if this world is destroyed, it will not happen in your dream, so you will not be destroyed along with us and you can continue to the next world.¡± Meaning¡­ ¡°The Black Witch must intend to defeat us and take you with her as she moves on.¡± ¡­This really is complicated. The older sister was a lot of trouble, but the younger sister seemed to be a handful as well. However¡­ ¡°When you next wake up, Hexennacht will probably be over. Hopefully, we¡¯ll win. But if we don¡¯t¡­you will journey to yet another world.¡± So¡­ ¡°Farewell, my precious guest. If possible¡­¡± Once she said that, something caught her attention. ¡­Oh? I was getting a little carried away with what I was saying, but was I about to say what I think I was? She looked around to make sure there was no one else here. She could not detect anyone hiding using stealth. Dikaio had been standing on the side table, but it had tactfully hidden behind the flower vase. ¡­What a clever servant! I¡¯m glad it left. Or am I? Well, I suppose so. And after having the stage set so perfectly, it would be wrong of me not to play my part. So¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± When their lips met, her hair fell down on the right and she had to brush it back up with her hand. She felt that proved how inexperienced with this she was. But after staying like that for a while¡­ ¡°Nn.¡± She moved away and felt a single teardrop fall from the corner of her eye. ¡°I¡¯ll be going. There is so much I want to say, but that will have to wait until this is over.¡± It turned out a kiss would not wake Kagami. Feeling a somewhat disappointed sense of relief, Horinouchi turned her back on the girl. Kagami would be safe even if the world was destroyed. But Horinouchi had a job to do. ¡°I will stop your sister.¡± It was 10 PM on the dot. The seal to resist the Black Witch had been formed. The barrier spread out to envelop the ocean off the coast of Kanagawa and it was pointed toward the moon. Once their opponent¡¯s presence was confirmed, it would be linked to the barrier already surrounding the moon. That would bind the territories of the two sides of the battle. This time, the seal would not block ether. While inside that, Horinouchi would be able to receive a near limitless supply of ether. A barrier-strengthening installation was linked to the shrines and temples around Japan. It appeared as a blossoming flower that enveloped Akerindou from below. And with the barrier as a focal point, all of the shrines and temples could install additional spells which would also increase the defenses of the surface. By ley line strengthening Japan, it would become a powered nation that would take only a third of the damage if they were hit by the same kind of attacks as 10 years ago. And while that plan was put in place, there was movement in the air close to the surface. European U.A.H.¡¯s Magino Frame unit had increased to a total of 1500 thanks to an extra 500 sent in from Europe. They were flying around to protect the area around the barrier and to intercept attacks from the sky. Next, the volunteer witches from Shihouin Academy and other U.A.H. branches rose into the sky on their Magino Devices. The men and witches who could not summon Magino Frames and the witches who had decided they were more effective with their Normal Frames had all moved to their assigned positions. At 10:05, the lead 50 of the European U.A.H. Magino Devices aimed diagonally up at the moon from a position approximately 500km above Tokyo Bay, placing them near the top of the earth¡¯s thermosphere. After that, a second wave arrived at the same altitude from off the coast of Kanagawa. Once they targeted the moon from almost dead ahead, the specks on the distant lunar surface slowly moved in response. The black dragons and black dolls that formed the Black Witch¡¯s reinforcements began to approach the earth. The black multitude moved out ahead of the witch. While waiting in Shihouin Academy on the surface, Lisbeth gave her instructions. ¡°Formations 1 and 2, fire three volleys¡­!¡± As she ordered, a total of 300 lights flew toward the moon, as if to connect the two heavenly bodies. No one knew how many times Hexennacht had been fought, but this time it began with a preliminary skirmish. Volume 4, 9: An Incompletely Seen Place Volume 4, Chapter 9: An Incompletely Seen Place Face backwards and look ahead In a place you wanted to visit at least once With 50 to a division, the 12 divisions of European U.A.H. Magino Devices moved to the front line and formed the first line of defense. The enemy was numerous. Considering the distance between the earth and the moon, the 500km range of the earth¡¯s thermosphere was only a slight distance and margin. But if it was breached, the earth¡¯s chances would be that much worse. With that in mind, the Magino Devices on the front line were modified with a focus on rapid-fire and power. They focused on firing with close-range attacks as only a last resort, so they activated firing spells and cooling spells as they began their barrage toward the moon¡¯s surface. There was no boom at their altitude. The sound reverberated from the mountains far below. The witches felt the vibrations in their bodies as sound while they watched the first round of attacks reach its destination. ¡°They made it¡­!¡± The shots hit. Small explosions of light appeared within the throng of enemies. Some raised their voices in celebration, but they had to start moving and firing soon thereafter. Sniper fire from the same location only made you a good target. They all seemed to pass each other by as their Magino Devices received the spell circle instructions informing them of their next location. The movement and attitude control were handled by the Device¡¯s management spells. The witches played their roles as a part of the interception system and simply sent their impacts toward the unseen opponents. Or so it should have been. ¡°¡­They¡¯re so close!?¡± A few people voiced their confusion, but that was the truth. Their ether sensors had checked along the range connecting the earth to the moon, but the throng of enemies flowing along that path had rapidly picked up speed. No, this was¡­ ¡°They¡¯re swapping positions!¡± shouted a bookshelf witch from Italy. ¡°They¡¯re swapping themselves out with empty space just like swapping out two books!¡± ¡°Is there a point to that?¡± ¡°The swapping lets you ¡®fill the gaps¡¯ in addition to moving, so it speeds things up! There¡¯s no way I could keep the mausoleum orderly otherwise! ¡­This is the Black Witch¡¯s library technique!¡± This was not simple movement. Like climbing steps, any empty space would be filled with the Black Witch¡¯s reinforcements, so what had looked like sparse dust became more like a thick river. ¡°Don¡¯t let it get to you!¡± shouted the leader of the third wave. ¡°If you can manage, focus on firing penetrative rounds! They¡¯ve gathered together for us, so think of it as an easier target!¡± The witch¡¯s wings created some empty space. ¡°¡­!?¡± And she was hit. It happened in an instant. With that first hit, 32 of 600 on the front line disappeared. Of the enemy black dragons and black dolls, the former exhaled a breath. It seemed to act like black flames and it formed round bullet shapes of the same color. Those bullets reached the witches. The destruction was silent. A few of the Magino Devices failed to move in time, were hit by the counter shot, and vanished. The firepower instantly shattered the entire Device and it all scattered as ether light. But no one looked back. They knew the same would happen to their own Devices if they were hit. It was a matter of sooner or later. If they were lucky, they would survive for now. And looking back would reduce that luck. That was a witch¡¯s jinx. So they all faced forward and made gestures or threw pebbles to help maintain their luck. ¡°Fan out in vertical layers!¡± The leader¡¯s instruction was repeated by each group¡¯s control spell circles. They coordinated with each other as they determined their individual destinations. The automatically-created formation was a three-dimensional parabola. This would stop the enemy and concentrate fire on the enemy¡¯s front tip. Their formation was designed to allow them to scatter further in every direction, but they could not move and fire simultaneously. That was due to the design that raised their Magino Devices¡¯ power. It was destroy or be destroyed. The downpour of enemy fire arrived amid those two options. The enemy¡¯s volley arrived from the front of the river flowing with its replacement movement. Those black flame bullets devoured the witches. They wore down the gunblades attempting to form a parabola in the sky, but¡­ ¡°Formation 2 is in position!¡± 50 more Magino Devices had been on their way from the earth far below and they had caught up to the center of the parabolic formation where the bulk of the enemy fire was arriving. And they plugged themselves in like it was a power socket. ¡°Activate defense spell!¡± Power clashed in the sky. The scattering ether light visible from the earth was mostly from defense barriers. The enemy, which looked like a black cloud in the sky, contained quite a few explosions of light, but those impacts did not seem to be reducing the overall numbers much. On the surface, Lisbeth received a report on the situation from a position with a decent view of the battle continuing in the sky. She was in the space between Shihouin Academy¡¯s main gate plaza and the pier. The tent and partitions prepared there were their HQ. On Hexennacht, the moon would be directly above the ocean off the coast of Kanagawa. But they could not set up their HQ there and, even if they would be able to see the enemy¡¯s approach head-on from directly below the moon, their sense of distance would be poor and the danger of being hit by stray shells would increase. Thus, they shifted the axis somewhat and chose Shihouin Academy. They could not see the ocean off of Kanagawa from here, but the witch battle was fought in the sky. Lisbeth had chosen this location for their HQ because it increased their odds of survival and was a useful location for using spells and securing ether. They were monitoring the distant midair battle in real time. ¡°The 1st thermosphere frontline group has engaged the enemy. 170 destroyed, 232 damaged to varying degrees! But 42% of the enemy¡¯s front line has been destroyed!¡± ¡°Excellent job.¡± The ¡°enemy¡¯s front line¡± was only their own estimation. From the enemy¡¯s perspective, it was probably only a few percentage points of the whole. But, thought Lisbeth. We couldn¡¯t even do this last time. ¡°So buy as much time as possible and keep the pressure on them! If we can scatter their drop positions using the earth¡¯s rotation, we¡¯ll have a chance to destroy them individually!¡± And¡­ ¡°Make sure to thank those who were lost!¡± The communications and staff officer witches looked up at that. Lisbeth felt their look of slight surprise was somehow rude, but¡­ ¡°I only mean to use your thanks to purify your lost luck and turn it into good luck! Do not misunderstand!¡± ¡°Wah!¡± cried the witches as they looked back to the spell circle consoles, but their expression had changed. ¡°The enemy is continuing to descend! And from behind¡­¡± Lisbeth knew what was coming. With the vanguard¡¯s attack complete, the next group was coming. And with more than 50% of the vanguard remaining. ¡°A force more than twice the size is coming! The enemy¡¯s 2nd and 3rd waves are incoming!¡± Shouko locked up her house on the moon. She tended to wear her school uniform when heading out. And now she wished she had bought some casual clothes in that ¡°dream¡±. The minions she had designed and the witches born of her imagination were fighting along the line connecting her to the earth¡­or rather to her home. It was not even worth watching. Near the top of the moon¡¯s dark sky, lights would be scattering on the way to the distant earth. She was not using as powerful a technique as when she had reached her hand out toward earth, but her minions were approaching the earth with serpentine movements instead. ¡­The slower speed only applies more pressure. Her experience from destroying the previous worlds told her that taking her time here would make things worse for them. But if she quickly reached out her hand like she wanted to, she would be intercepted. She had thought only her sister could strike back at something like that, but there seemed to be a few others, so she was going to pass on that one. She would do it the old-fashioned way. And she wanted to do it the easy way. So¡­ ¡°If I take it slow, what will they do?¡± ¡°Yes, we do seem to be breaching the enemy¡¯s first formation,¡± Amaze replied from her side. ¡°We have the superior numbers, after all.¡± She looked up to see a small light rising beyond the black river. Didn¡¯t I see a light like this during a magnesium oxidation experiment a long time ago? she thought. ¡°I¡¯m not so sure,¡± she said, aware of the slight expectation and great restraint inside her. ¡°If they¡¯re going to stop me, I want them to put up a real fight here.¡± Horinouchi was aware of two sides of herself: the side that could not move and the side that was itching to move. ¡­They¡¯re fighting such a large battle in the sky, but I can¡¯t take part. She needed to focus on securing her own ether, so she had to leave everything else to the others. After all, her job was to fight the Black Witch. What would happen if she used her power and focus on anything else? ¡­The same thing that happened to my mother. Her mother had not done anything wrong. She had simply been unprepared when the unexpected had occurred. But even if she had been prepared¡­ ¡°The front line has been breached!¡± The front line, which included the additional Devices, was falling apart. The enemy had approached close enough that each individual one was distinguishable when using a telescope spell. They were finally breaking the equilibrium using their numbers. Of course, the witches had predicted this would happen, so Lisbeth¡¯s voice arrived over a communication spell circle. ¡°First formation¡­you have permission to charge.¡± Finally, thought the first formation¡¯s leader on the front line. The 30km-radius parabolic formation was breaking, falling, and generally transforming into an upside-down dome shape. However¡­ ¡°If you have taken only light damage, descend at full speed! Join those below! If you¡¯ve taken more damage¡­focus on the center!¡± The defense spell witches in the center wordlessly ascended at full speed. What would happen if the center of the dome shape jutted outwards? The formation gained a narrow point, like a closing umbrella. And¡­ ¡°Vertically stack the front line!¡± The defensive witches who accelerated out front began to line up vertically. There were not many of them, but¡­ ¡°Fall back once your barrier drops below 50%! Use a rotation to maintain your barriers! ¡­And then ascend!!¡± That command was repeated again and again and again. Those many non-incantation responses sounded over the communications as the witches stabbed into the black river like a flat-tipped blade. The very front focused only on defense. The following witches were meant to launch attacks forwards, but they launched their power elsewhere: ¡°Fire to the west!¡± Shouko saw it from the moon. The earthborn blade accelerated and plunged into the river, but it was unlikely to last even halfway through. The river¡¯s density was simply too great. That made the enemy¡¯s action a mere kamikaze attack and thus a complete waste. ¡°Oh, come on.¡± This was not good. After all¡­ ¡°I don¡¯t even need my imagination here. It¡¯s a foolish plan.¡± ¡°Think again, Shouko.¡± Amaze seemed to see this differently, so she looked at it again. She looked again at what the people born of her imagination were doing. ¡°Light¡­?¡± ¡°They rotated their Magino Devices to the west and fired. Then they used the recoil to return their orientation to normal and also accelerate upwards. ¡­That will slow them down, so they will form two levels and make sure there is never a lull in their attacks. Do you know what will happen then?¡± ¡°They¡¯ll continue firing from the center to the west while among my reinforcements. But then the line from the center to the east can descend right past them, can¡¯t it?¡± ¡°The enemy formation¡¯s trajectory is angled diagonally, so it seems a third of them will descend straight down on the east.¡± Shouko felt like Amaze was again asking if she understood, so she thought about what would happen. I can¡¯t rush this, she told herself. ¡°Are the earth forces going to have a third intercept from straight ahead?¡± Once she said it out loud, she realized what the light in the distant sky meant. That was not just the rapid-fire and destruction as the enemy attempted to stop her invasion. ¡°They¡¯re using my minions¡¯ explosions to split them into front and west lines, aren¡¯t they!? If the explosions gather together too much, the western line would be thrown into chaos, so¡­they¡¯re trying to shift two-thirds of the western line to the west of Japan, aren¡¯t they!?¡± ¡°Yes. Our power cannot move the moon from above Japan now. It will move with the rotation of the earth. But the servants which have shifted from our power and are scattered throughout the air after entering the earth¡¯s atmosphere will all flow westward. Meaning¡­¡± Meaning¡­ ¡°The enemy has cut our servants away from us, thus forcing us to let them handle it on their own. The witches who knew this would happen will be waiting along or near the belt surrounding the earth at the same latitude as Japan. ¡­And we can see them! Right this instant!¡± ¡°Head Butler! The Japanese wild bird witches have sent us a rough estimate! ¡­Approximately 88.88 million! And a third of them are currently breaking off starting from the front!¡± Below the tent in Enoshima, the moon was almost directly overhead. In the far distant sky, the battle was being fought in a region that could more or less be called outer space, so none of the sound reached them here. But the enemy¡¯s approach grew narrower and the black river began to scatter into the western sky. A few witches placed their hands on their chests or crossed themselves to send divine protection. And the Head Maid checked what was written on her communication spell circle. ¡°Head Butler. ¡­The Circular Hexennacht Intercept Band has fully activated.¡± ¡°Well done.¡± Koutarou expressed his praise for all of them instead of anyone in particular and he spoke into the spell circle by his hands. ¡°Milady. ¡­This is not the same as ten years ago. The entire world is standing up in defiance!¡± Horinouchi saw something from the bottom of the barrier that blossomed to accept the Black Witch. She was worried about what was happening up above and she was worried about her surroundings, so she had ascended to an altitude of 20km. That much was safe. ¡°Milady!¡± When Koutarou called out to her, she looked to the east and the west of Japan from her altitude. To the east, she saw the sea beyond Boso. To the west, she could see as far as the area past Osaka, but lights appeared along the line connecting the east to the west. Those lights grew into a band about 100km wide that cut across Japan. It was ether light that rose to a height of about 300m. She knew it was made up of defense and strengthening divine protections. Where the reinforcements were dropping after the U.A.H. witches scattered them in the sky, many facilities, starting with the shrines and temples, produced support barriers for the witches assigned to each region. And that was not all. A report from the Horinouchi family HQ said these same barriers were being activated along the same path far, far to the west: to China, the Middle East, Europe, America, and across the Pacific Ocean. It was a global Great Wall-style interception network. They had not been able to do this ten years ago, but they had it now. The band of light wrapped around the globe displayed by her hands. The blue light cut a ribbon-like line horizontally across Japan and the wires for ley line pressurization support were drawn out from regions to the north or south: Australia, Taiwan, India, Africa, Scandinavia, Canada, etc. ¡°Submit.¡± As soon as she hit that single key, it all manifested. The long band of light racing across the ocean from the east completed its circuit in front of her. The light hit and some of it sprayed upwards, but there was no sound. However, that established it all. ¡°Now.¡± The European U.A.H. witches literally banded together and charged toward the eastern third of the black river which was still being torn apart. ¡°This is where the real battle begins.¡± The first formation of witches saw it as they rose into the black sky. They still could not see the whole of the earth below them, but beyond the falling black enemies, they saw a clear band of light extending east and west. ¡°Yes¡­!¡± The leader¡¯s Magino Device was mostly destroyed and she could no longer launch spells, but she nodded when she saw the results of their actions. ¡°That¡¯s enough, everyone! Withdraw!¡± She looked back only to find nothing there. The witches following her had vanished. She knew what had happened. Not one of them would have fled. ¡­So they were lost. With that, she faced forward. And she spoke within the river of enemies narrowing down on her from the left and right. She instructed her Magino Device to self-destruct and stood on its upper surface. ¡°Do you know what happened ten years ago? I was so afraid of you all that I ran away. ¡­And I was supposed to be with the garrison. Afterwards, I said I hadn¡¯t expected anything like that to show up and everyone agreed with me.¡± But¡­ ¡°But I was part of the garrison!¡± She began the self-destruct countdown. It began at a minute remaining, but she spun that down to ten seconds and smiled. ¡°So how about this, Black Witch!? Did you expect anything like this to show up!?¡± With those words, her vision was stained with light. Her Magino Device self-destructed and took the approaching minions out with it. Lisbeth heard the report from the sky. ¡­So the splitting was a success. The interception band had been established. They had made it for more than just defense. It also had the power to draw in targets through the ley lines as the earth rotated. If the enemy scattered out as they descended, they would naturally end up over a wide area on the surface. So just like a jinx for ensuring a fruit landed in your hand, they had prepared a divine protection to ensure the enemies landed in the interception spots. That said, they had needed to split up the flow of the enemy at the beginning. The ¡°drawing in¡± divine protection was weak, so it would not work if the enemy dropped straight down. Thus, dividing the enemy with the initial interception had been a crucial part of their strategy. ¡°And we pulled it off!¡± Now they could fight so much more than ten years prior. They had lost approximately a third of their Magino Devices to accomplish it, but they could only assume that had been their best option. And¡­ ¡°Ma¡¯am! Troposphere Interception Formations 2 and 3 have been breached!¡± ¡°The enemy¡¯s third wave has entered the stratosphere almost entirely unscathed!¡± The enemy¡¯s invasion was clearly picking up speed. In that case¡­ ¡°Prepare for a surface battle. ¡­Deploy the main force. Have each unit charge at the enemy from the north. Intercept them while trying to drop them into the ocean!¡± ¡°Our vanguard was split, but they have arrived near the surface,¡± said Amaze. ¡°They have certainly improved their interception tactics.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Shouko was aware how rough her sigh was. She was impressed by what she saw happening. A halo-like ring had been placed a bit above the surface of the earth. The river of her minions had been split in two and the thicker branch was being guided toward that ring. ¡­I don¡¯t like this¡­ It felt like her black was staining the earth¡¯s decor. But¡­ ¡°Yes.¡± She nodded. ¡°Yes. That¡¯s right! This is how it has to be.¡± ¡°Shouko?¡± There was no point in answering Amaze¡¯s question. She was simply happy. Happy that the product of her imagination had surpassed her imagination. And¡­ ¡°It¡¯s great that it¡¯s turned into something so pretty and amazing. So¡­¡± So she summoned her own Magino Frame. She would do this as the Black Witch, not as Kagami Shouko. Also¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s go, Amaze. ¡­Let¡¯s keep hope in our hearts as we head out and see what happens.¡± ¡°Head Butler! The enemy has accelerated!¡± Koutarou heard the Head Maid¡¯s voice. A large spell circle created a three-dimensional display in front of the tent and it showed their second formation falling apart and their third and fourth formations choosing to descend while wearing down the enemy before they suffered a similar fate. And on Lisbeth¡¯s orders, the fifth unit on up began to prepare for a surface battle while the combined third and fourth formations attacked the enemy vanguard from either side. ¡­They still have so much momentum even after we divided them. The descending third and fourth formations had just joined together in midair. They pursued the accelerating enemy vanguard and adopted a spiraling trajectory as they challenged the enemy to a close range battle. The enemy had already arrived within 100km of the surface. The witches high in the sky fired straight down at the enemy approaching the earth. ¡°After them!¡± They all flew down headfirst while pursuing the enemy river. They and the enemy descended with seemingly unstoppable momentum, just like water flowing down a slope. But neither side was a liquid and each individual was either one of them or the enemy. So they all accelerated but circled around so they would not be targeted. ¡°Our Devices lose acceleration when they fire! You know what it means to target the vanguard, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°We won¡¯t do anything as lame as let them destroy us just to eliminate them!¡± There was only one thing to do: avoid the black dragons¡¯ breath bullets and the black dolls¡¯ close-range Demon Eye Cannons, and¡­ ¡°Pick up speed so you can fly right past them even while firing. ¡­Back home, I was said to be the fastest witch around!¡± The Black Watch saw the enemy¡¯s third and fourth formations join together. They intended to interfere with her reinforcements which were gathering back together and accelerating. ¡­This I can imagine. She had given a decent enough mission to the reinforcements which were essentially mindless. They were like a river and they formed a ¡°path¡± for her. Once they reached the surface, their ¡°arrival¡± would be established and, from then on, nothing else would count as ¡°arriving¡±. Once it was all connected, it was all ¡°the same place¡±. So¡­ ¡°I think it¡¯s my turn to surpass your imagination this time.¡± With that, she gave a single order. ¡°Some excavation will be necessary before creating the path. You have made some good decisions thus far¡­but you didn¡¯t think of this, did you?¡± The witches were consumed by the enemy vanguard. They accelerated at full power and then shifted that power to their cannons. They fired despite knowing this would fry their power system. ¡°Charge!¡± The blades at the end of the Magino Devices destroyed the black dragons and black dolls at the front. There was one thing they had to watch out for: if they made close-range attacks, the black dragons and dolls could counterattack with the same. The black dragons made a close-range counterattack by breathing black flames over a wide area. The black dolls did so with the short-range Demon Eye Cannon they fired from the giant eye on their torso. But if they knew it was coming, they could handle it. The movement of the dragons¡¯ heads telegraphed their attack and the dolls¡¯ focused their eyes in the direction they would fire. They marked the heads and eyes with the same symbol on their spell circles and used the direction of those symbols to determine their own route. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± From there, they were at the mercy of what little power remained in their Magino Devices. After instantly using up all of their power by firing and accelerating, those Devices fell as wide-open targets. The enemy forming the new vanguard targeted them before they could recover. ¡°What are you looking at!?¡± With that cry, more witches destroyed the vanguard once more. The first wave of witches saw that and chose to use their recovered power either to descend or return to the unit. Not all of them could continue fighting. The individual witches only had so many Blessings. But three or four Magino Devices accelerated downward while targeting the enemies trying to stand on the vanguard. They could already see the individual streets in the city down below. The witches with better eyesight could probably see the people moving through those streets. ¡°Damn, there¡¯s no end to them¡­!¡± shouted one of the witches as she made her charge. ¡°And we can already see the city below¡­!¡± ¡°What?¡± asked another witch who circled around next to the first. ¡°Um, are you saying it¡¯s pathetic to let them get this close to the people we¡¯re supposed to be protecting!?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m saying the people down there can probably see us, too! I wanted to look cooler than this!¡± ¡°I suppose you would want that, wouldn¡¯t you?¡± The two of them attacked and destroyed the enemy simultaneously. An explosion erupted behind them, but¡­ ¡°¡­Hm?¡± That was their third charge, but the wind was different. They both looked back to see why. ¡°Stop the charge! ¡­Withdraw! Take anti-explosion measures!¡± As soon as that voice arrived over their spell circles, it happened. A black doll on the enemy¡¯s new vanguard had not been looking down at them. It was looking back toward the moon and the giant stream of its own kind. ¡°The Demon Eye Cannon!¡± The attack triggered a chain reaction of explosions that destroyed the first several hundred of the reinforcements. More and more massive explosions of light erupted. ¡°¡­!¡± Those two witches, along with the combined third and fourth formations, were blown every which way by the blast. The Black Witch saw the explosion of light covering several hundred kilometers above the earth. More than the explosion itself, the shockwave blew away the enemy witches. ¡°Excavation complete,¡± said the Black Witch. The magnified view on her spell circle showed a large blank space had opened. The witches would not arrive in time. The only ones who could continue on were her reinforcements which mindlessly advanced. They had been divided, but a third of them were headed for Japan. The remaining two-thirds would descend anywhere from Asia to Europe and even America. ¡°Now, then.¡± She said. ¡°Let¡¯s perform a test: is humanity¡¯s imagination pointed more toward survival or destruction?¡± The witch who had been the first formation¡¯s leader realized she was opening her eyes. ¡­Huh? Hadn¡¯t she been caught in the same self-destruction used to take out the enemy? She had resigned herself to death. But now she saw black dragons and dolls flowing from the moon and through the black sky. They appeared to be facing her and backing up, but that was probably not the case. ¡°Am I rapidly descending toward the earth?¡± ¡°Oh! You¡¯re alive!¡± She trembled when a voice spoke so near her ear. She wondered what was going on, but she could see no one nearby. She only saw a few spell circles and an ether thread connected to her neck. ¡°Division Commander! I¡¯m glad we managed to pull you away in time¡­!¡± ¡°My spider web follows fate, so distance is meaningless! It¡¯s slow, though!¡± Oh, I get it now, she thought. I didn¡¯t quite die. And¡­ ¡°Division Commander! You¡¯ll be an underling once you¡¯re down here! Witches who have used up their Blessings can only do things like guide people at crosswalks, after all!¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be done here after we pull in another five people, including you! And then I¡¯ll have to go deliver bentos for the first time in my life!¡± But¡­ ¡°You were the last one we retrieved! Thank you for leading us without running away!¡± While she fell and was pulled down, she thought about those words: This is where it truly begins. She had made up for her past. That time from ten years ago was now over. From here on, each minute and second was a fight to reach the future. So¡­ ¡°Come on. Make a counterattack¡­!¡± Her wish was granted. As she fell, a line of power passed by her side and pierced the sky directly above. She knew who had to have fired that attack that tore through everything in the vicinity, regardless of its actual trajectory. That came from¡­ ¡°Elsie Hunter!!¡± Horinouchi saw the power stab through the sky, tear apart the enemy vanguard, and pierce its center for a few thousand kilometers. ¡°That¡¯s insane.¡± ¡°Huh? And yet I¡¯m only Rank 3. What¡¯s up with that?¡± ¡°Hm, I wonder who¡¯s in Rank 1 then,¡± said Horinouchi to play dumb. But Hunter¡¯s timing had been superb. ¡°Can you fire a second one?¡± ¡°It¡¯s really hard to control the intersecting satellites for the counterattack.¡± The fact that she did not say it was impossible was a lot like her, or perhaps a lot like America. Regardless, the shell had split apart the black river approaching from the east, but¡­ ¡­Ah. Some horribly chilly air arrived from the moon. It was like an ether-carried ¡°presence¡± that arrived before the actual heat or power. And that meant¡­ ¡°Mitsuru, can you hear this?¡± She knew what Lisbeth was going to say. ¡°The Black Witch has left the moon. ¡­Her Magino Device has begun its descent.¡± ¡°Now, let¡¯s go.¡± The flow of the black army had been split. The initial division by the witches and the attack from the enemy¡¯s elite had clearly defined the overall division. One branch straight ahead and the other to the west. Once the ¡®mold¡¯ was set, the phase of the flow was fixed in place. The Black Witch knew which of the two branches she should take with her Magino Device: straight ahead. Also¡­ ¡°The vanguard¡¯s numbers were reduced quite a bit, but some of them have reached the surface. What will you do?¡± With that, she ¡°swapped places¡± with the very front of her vanguard. ¡°I will do you all one favor.¡± A school¡¯s front gate lay before her eyes. It belonged to Shihouin Academy. There, she saw the HQ of the organization built to fight her. That primarily meant European U.A.H in this case. Their leader was also there. That leader woman had had both eyes ten years before, but the Black Witch remembered her. She asked her a question from atop her Magino Device. ¡°How about this?¡± Volume 4, 10: If You Direct the Way Volume 4, Chapter 10: If You Direct the Way Yes, yes, yes, this way It¡¯s probably safe, definitely safe I haven¡¯t gone that way myself, though Fleur had been dismissed as a battery. On Lisbeth¡¯s merciless instructions the night before, some witches had greeted her with smiles and taken her to a waiting area in Yokohama. She had assumed the waiting area was for evacuees, but it was full of witches. Lots and lots of witches. She had heard a number of things there. Kagami¡¯s condition was stable and Horinouchi¡¯s group was prepared for battle. Her mother had often told her about the preparations that would be made for Hexennacht. If she had still been the Rank 1, she would have been there herself. So she had mostly known what was going on and she could simulate it in her mind better than a lot of those actually involved in it. Based on those memories, she knew the inland area was relatively safe. Since the battle would be held off the coast of Kanagawa, being as far inland as Kawasaki would have been better, but Yokohama had plenty of places to have fun and that gave her more motivation to protect it. So first of all¡­ ¡°So what am I supposed to do as a battery?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°What was that ¡®eh¡¯ for?¡± ¡°Miss¡­Fleur? Do you have some kind of artifact?¡± When she asked, it sounded like they were prepared to use a drain spell to supply themselves with Blessings, but¡­ ¡°Generally, the land¡¯s keystone or some other artifact will have been charged at a shrine or temple, so we can extract Blessings from that.¡± ¡°Wow! So you¡¯ve never seen a human battery before! Neither have I!¡± They decided to try it out, so they found a convenient keystone nearby and attempted to transfer her Blessings into it. Five seconds after they began, the keystone split apart and ether burst out, which was no fun for anyone. ¡°That wasn¡¯t my fault! It¡¯s Lisbeth¡¯s fault!¡± ¡°I heard that,¡± said a disembodied voice. Curse that old lady. At any rate, Fleur did not feel like she had used up any Blessings at all. ¡°Am I just really pent up because I haven¡¯t been using any spells lately?¡± That got her displeased looks from several directions, but that happened a lot. The witch in charge of the drain spell was from Eastern Europe and belonged to Shihouin Academy¡¯s Spell Division. She was a second year, but she knew a lot about indigenous spells related to herbs and soil. So they quickly found a common interest. ¡°Right!? Right!? Those flowers are the best because you can use them to get all sorts of cats to show up!¡± ¡°Yes! And if you make an even stronger potion out of it and have someone drink it, they¡¯ll be horny for like three days straight, which is always hilarious! I had my crush drink some, but he ended up fucking a neighborhood tree and got questioned by the police! So I must rank lower than a tree!¡± ¡°You actually did it!?¡± She was a practical sort of witch, so it was a lot of fun. At any rate, they managed to supply Blessings to keystones, statues, and protective charms which were small enough to carry around, but Fleur did not feel any weaker for it. In fact¡­ ¡°I feel like¡­you know how they say bleeding a little stimulates hematosis?¡± ¡°U-um, none of our equipment can hold it all, so please don¡¯t go all out!¡± But after all that, she had been dismissed. As for why, it was looking more likely that the inland area was going to be part of the battlefield, so if she was not going to the waiting area in Fujisawa, she was to help the people evacuate and take shelter. She had no way of moving herself and she considered evacuating with them if necessary, so she parted ways with the drain witch and moved out into the thick of things armed with guide lights. She had also been given a helmet with the following explanation: ¡°You¡¯ll understand once you get there!¡± Five minutes later, a black doll had fallen on the waiting area and caused a real mess of things. But now I¡¯m this crosswalk¡¯s guardian deity. However¡­ ¡°Hexennacht is a lot different from how mama described it.¡± Something was different this time. The first one to notice was Mary who had already sensed that presence in her previous world. ¡­Is that¡­? They were on the border between the Uraga Channel and the ocean at an altitude of 7km. To stabilize Hunter¡¯s shellfire, she had formed an open barrier with her annihilation spell and she kept the water level inside it. She was briefly confused when that appeared behind her. Why? she wondered before remembering that such questions meant nothing with this opponent. Thus¡­ ¡°Second Headmaster¡­!¡± As soon as she sent that transmission, she saw light in the northern sky. Lisbeth was confronting the Black Witch. Lisbeth did not immediately attack. The other witches in the area had yet to evacuate, so she had to buy some time. But the black Magino Device floating in front of her was an even more refined version of the one she had seen in her memories countless times. ¡­It looks a lot like Kagami¡¯s Device. It was a non-transformation type, but it was a Multi-Device that could fire projectiles of light from the blade. And the enemy spoke while facing her from atop the Magino Device. ¡°I will do you a favor. This will be the final battle. Because I intend to destroy this world. So¡­¡± The Black Witch raised her hand. Lisbeth assumed she was launching an attack, but that proved incorrect. Far overhead, a new blackness appeared from beyond the black river the witches had worn down. ¡°Lisbeth! A fifth enemy formation has appeared!¡± That was not all. Something like lightning fell from the moon to the ocean off of Kanagawa. It looked like an instantaneous bolt of lightning, but it was not. The path the lightning took told Lisbeth what had happened. ¡°Damn you¡­!¡± She cursed at the Black Witch who smiled in the moonlight. ¡°I have released the seal. Because ¡®I am here¡¯,¡± she said. ¡°You can¡¯t exactly complain, can you? ¡­Forget just using your champion. Come at me as a group, witches. After all, I have already eliminated the strongest witch you had been building up.¡± So that¡¯s how she¡¯s doing it, thought Hunter. ¡­The Black Witch removed her own seal and says she wants a death match. That seemed like a huge plus for the witches, but it was not actually. Where should they go? How should they fight? Where should they fight? They suddenly had to answer all of those questions. Not only could they no longer use most of their plans or strategies, but even with so many more witches available, only the ones as strong as Hunter herself could hope to hit the Black Witch with their attacks. Plus, the Black Witch could use her descending reinforcements as a diversion. ¡°Rank 3!¡± She understood the situation. She totally understood what she needed to do. And supporting Lisbeth was not the answer. ¡°We need to support Miss Horinouchi so she doesn¡¯t go on a futile rampage!¡± Yeah, that¡¯s what I thought. ¡°I-I am not going to go on a futile rampage!¡± 20km above the ocean off of Kanagawa, the black reinforcements could be seen splitting into two branches far overhead. One branch descended toward Yokohama and Kawasaki while the other flowed far to the west. Horinouchi knew the sealing barrier had been neutralized. The barrier blossoming around her had absorbed the lightning from the sky and shattered. The method was simple: read the ether pathways forming the barrier ¨C that is, its structure within the ley line network ¨C and send in enough ether to overload it. The ether overflow would blow away any spell fixed there. The method itself was simple, but accurately reading the barrier¡¯s structure from the moon would have been extremely difficult. ¡­Of course, she can do it without going through all the normal steps. If the Black Witch could imagine it, she could use her power in a way that intervened. It may have been simpler to say any phenomenon she could imagine was automatically turned into a spell. Horinouchi could logically explain how the barrier had been destroyed, but it had looked like being crushed from above. In that case, the latter explanation was probably accurate. And she was about to fight an enemy like that. Or she was supposed to have. ¡°The Black Witch is at Shihouin Academy, isn¡¯t she!?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t, Miss Horinouchi!¡± She knew why Mary was stopping her. Firing from here would not accomplish anything. ¡°You¡¯re telling me to wait until the battlefield is better prepared, aren¡¯t you!?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± said Hunter. After a while, a spell circle arrived, displaying an overhead-view diagram of Tokyo Bay. A red dot appeared in the center, spread outwards, and stopped after fully covering the bay. ¡°Do you know what this is?¡± asked Hunter in monotone. ¡°The Black Witch¡¯s barrier or her attack range?¡± Silence followed. What is this? she wondered with an odd sweat after more than five seconds passed. Mary¡¯s voice finally gave the answer. ¡°Miss Horinouchi, that is the extent of the damage if you fired one of your standard shells at full power from that altitude.¡± ¡°A standard shell?¡± She watched as the red range grew even further. The eastern end passed the Boso Peninsula and reached the Pacific Ocean. ¡°And this is with a reinforced shell,¡± said Hunter. ¡°Still wanna shoot?¡± ¡­Well, shooting is still an option on the table. If it was guaranteed to defeat the Black Witch, Hunter thought that was a perfectly valid choice. But that opponent was the problem. They assumed the Black Witch had the ability to neutralize anything they could normally imagine. That was why they had not had the 7th Fleet send in a wide-range attack spell with a missile. ¡­If only we had Kagami¡­ You never knew what that idiot was going to do, but she had a way of finishing things. ¡°Rank 3, what are you thinking about?¡± ¡°¡­About getting rear-ended high in the sky near Brazil.¡± ¡°Miss Horinouchi can be just as bad.¡± Don¡¯t make it a competition, thought Hunter, but Horinouchi was pretty bad. Firing from the pole and the Geo Frame had both come from her imagination. Horinouchi had not realized it herself, but Hunter kind of understood why Kagami had accepted her. When Kagami first met her in this world and copied her Device construction spell, she must have found some kind of originality there. Kagami had seen something that surpassed her own ideas, so she had concluded that Horinouchi stood on the forefront in that field. ¡­And she stands on the forefront of attack power too! Kagami must have seen that going in. But that imagination advantage had grown much weaker now. ¡°Horinouchi? Can you hear me? The destruction of the seal barrier shows that the Black Witch knows your location. That means you¡¯re standing on the board of her imagination. Of course, there¡¯s nowhere to run on this battlefield, but we do have a chance of distracting her for now.¡± That being¡­ ¡°The European U.A.H. Representative is going to battle the Black Witch¡­!¡± ¡­So Horinouchi is going to regroup with Hunter and Mary. That¡¯s for the best, thought Lisbeth. They did not need to come support her. After all¡­ ¡°I was judged unworthy ten years ago, so joining me will not allow them to win in the ¡®now¡¯.¡± After speaking that line, she saw the Black Witch nod atop her Magino Device. The Black Witch held a book below her left arm, pointed at Lisbeth with her right hand, and then pointed into the western sky. ¡°Then to clean up after ten years ago, I will destroy the now and the thereafter.¡± ¡°Well, aren¡¯t you full of yourself¡­!¡± Lisbeth could tell how tense her brow was as she had her Magino Device leap forward. She had it leap, not fly. She instantly filled the gap. ¡°Go, twin swords!¡± Koutarou controlled several battlefields. The European U.A.H. HQ at Shihouin Academy was not currently functioning. Their equipment seemed to be running, but¡­ ¡­Has Lady Lisbeth begun to fight!? Depending on the outcome, the European U.A.H. HQ could lose all decision-making ability and would only function as an information relay point. Currently, the U.A.H.J. HQ set up at the Okunitama Shrine in Fuchu, Tokyo, seemed to be giving commands and making decisions according to a program, but most of the information processing that had been sent to the European U.A.H. HQ was being sent here instead. Koutarou could see the movements of Horinouchi and the others they were in charge of and he could see the status of the battle that had begun at Shihouin Academy courtesy of the European U.A.H. HQ. The Head Maid had once worked for Lisbeth and she was scanning and processing the data arriving from European U.A.H. Countless spell circles stacked up and she even used a foot pedal spell interface to work through it all. ¡°¡­!¡± ¡°Head Maid! ¡­Someone take over the trajectory calculations for the Head Maid!¡± The Head Maid glared back at him for that. It was a sharp look, but he rivaled her when it came to glasses. ¡°Head Maid, let someone else handle all the trajectory calculation processing. You have more important matters to work on.¡± The Head Maid eventually nodded and then looked back toward the spell circles. ¡°¡­Well done, Head Butler.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°I am not saying it again.¡± As she returned to work, some of the witches around her raised their hands and groups of spell circles flew over to them. ¡­What was that? Koutarou felt like she had said something incredible, but his brain¡¯s processing could not keep up. And the rest of you, enough with all that whistling. I need to focus on this work coming in. After all¡­ ¡°Lady Lisbeth has begun a close-range battle with the Black Witch¡­!¡± Man, I¡¯m getting old! concluded Lisbeth with such refreshing self-awareness that it shocked even her. They had just completed a rough circuit of Tokyo Bay and they were flying south. A shockwave caused pillars of water to erupt on either side of her as she pursued the retreating Black Witch. She was already moving too fast to hear the sound around her. The nighttime bay reflected the moon and waves were formed by the land battle and anti-air fire. And the Black Witch fired endlessly to keep her away. Her attacks were massive. Even the secondary cannons had as much power as the main cannon of Lisbeth¡¯s Magino Device and the Device itself showed no wavering in its speed or trajectory. ¡­So this is creation instead of ether gathering¡­! Amid the endless shellfire, the sword tip would occasionally turn Lisbeth¡¯s way and the main cannon would fire. The attack would split the bay, draw an arc through the air, and vanish into the sky. Lisbeth was known for her one-hit kill attacks, but even she felt a chill. But as she evaded and continued pursuit, she had a definite thought. ¡­I have gotten old! In the past, she could have dodged a barrage like this barehanded. It was not for nothing she had been able to take on Cerisier¡¯s environment spell and she had had a much easier time getting her surefire attack through there than Mitsuyo had. But she was being worn down. Am I whitewashing my memories? she wondered, but she cast aside that line of thinking. ¡°This isn¡¯t whitewashing! I really was incredible in the past¡­!¡± But now she was getting old. That was only natural. But if she did what she had to as someone older, there was a different path for her. ¡°Give me strength¡­!¡± Her own power was not enough to continue pursuit while dodging a homing barrage of at least 32 shots. So she delegated the evasion route processing to the others. She set an observation spell to send over the enemy¡¯s movements and chose the best combination out of the reaction patterns instantly returned to her. She included her own decisions in the mix to cancel out any lag, but¡­ ¡°I¡¯m still being worn down!?¡± The damage to her Magino Device was already beyond ¡°light¡±. But¡­ ¡°Senpai!¡± I told you long ago not to call me that. But that definite underclassman gave her permission. ¡°Your Phlogiston Heart has reached max heat! Please focus on attacking!¡± Koutarou saw it on an ether detection spell circle. A mass of light appeared between the dots representing the Black Witch¡¯s Magino Device and Dragoon, Lisbeth¡¯s Magino Device. He knew what had happened. Even from Enoshima, the sky was bright above the Uraga Channel at the south end of Tokyo Bay. ¡°¡­Was that a full-power blast from the Black Witch!?¡± Petals of light scattered around them. The Head Maid and the other witches had flipped around their spell circles and turned them to flowers. They had instantly processed evasion routes for hundreds of shots and destroyed the completed ones so they would not get in the way. ¡°¡­Ah!¡± They sped up. It looked like all of their work had briefly grown slower, but¡­ ¡­Is this¡­? He understood. Their burst of acceleration was not just in response to Lisbeth¡¯s request for processing. ¡°Are you processing predictive patterns as well!?¡± ¡°It is a maid¡¯s duty to predict her guest¡¯s requests.¡± What should he say about her saying ¡°guest¡± instead of ¡°master¡±? ¡°Well done, Head Maid.¡± When he said that¡­ ¡°Huh?¡± The Head Maid looked back, blushed, and froze in place for just a moment. And all the other witches¡­ ¡°You idiooooot!¡± As they shouted abuse, the Head Maid quickly struck empty air with her right arm. Values settled into all of the spell circles and were returned. They were sent to¡­ ¡°Senpai! The rest is up to you!¡± The Black Witch saw a single answer. ¡­So there are several ways to surpass my imagination. She had long thought of two ways. One was to have a genius opponent utterly outdo her inventiveness. The other was for the entire world to evolve such that everyone rose above her imagination. But what she saw now was different. The witch fighting her here was likely in the top five of this world. But she was focusing on pursuing the Black Witch above all else. The only talent needed for that was her instincts for evasion and Device control. But she lacked that. This witch had probably always excelled at close-range combat. The design of her Device made it clear the long-range attack cannons had been added on afterwards. The Black Witch could shoot down an opponent like this by staying on the move and firing a barrage of homing shots. And yet the black blade remained on her tail. She skipped off the surface of the Uraga Channel, spun through the air, and broke through the barrage even as it tore into her. The Black Witch understood this trick. Countless spell circles flowed around the witch on the Device and they shattered to sublimate the text written on them. She was supporting by a large backup crew. ¡°So that¡¯s it¡­¡± This was a third method of surpassing the Black Witch¡¯s imagination. Even if each individual was ordinary, what would happen if they gathered together and worked together as a single whole? This was a collection of data and control. This quantity and multi-faceted accuracy were impossible for a single genius to produce. A sense of purpose created it faster than the world could change. The Black Witch alone could not fully read the product of that gathering. So¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate us, Black Witch¡­!¡± The enemy witch yelled at her while ducking and leaping through the sky. ¡°We are not alone¡­¡± But¡­ ¡°We can become one¡­!¡± The black gunblade accelerated. Spell circles displaying its destination shattered as it raced through the sky. Endless cannon fire flew its way. Some flew in clusters of straight lines and others circled around to the side or back, so there was no overall standard. But the black gunblade moved forward. As if to say it knew where it would not be hit, it evaded and advanced at the same time, which ultimately became a series of gentle curves. ¡°Go, Dragoon! This is your final job!¡± The cannon fire arrived from extreme close-range now. But¡­ ¡°You did a wonderful job, underclassman¡­!¡± With those words, the black gunblade accelerated. The clusters of incoming shells were homing. It directed its blade directly toward them. ¡°¡­My blade can break through!¡± The Head Maid realized their trick had been set up. She had understood this ever since Lisbeth had taken such wide evasive action. She had understood that Lisbeth¡¯s close-range blade could slice through even above-average cannon blasts. Lisbeth could slice through the attack and continue forward, so why had she chosen to dodge instead? As someone who had known her in the past, the Head Maid was probably the only person who knew why. So she had done it. She had kept that power hidden instead of using the Magino Device blade when it would not really matter. ¡°I made sure it would provide a decisive blow in the end. ¡­Does that work for you, guest?¡± The black gunblade caught up with the pitch black sword. It did not hesitate to charge right into the many homing shells arriving from dead ahead. ¡°Go!¡± The gunblade¡¯s blade sliced through one of the shells like a piece of fruit. All that remained was to fly forward. So she did. Pillars of water burst from the ocean on either side and the shockwave scattered that water into a whirling mist as the gunblade artlessly slipped through the single shell gap. That power simply moved straight ahead. A moment later, Lisbeth swung the Device in her hand atop the gunblade. At the same time, the Magino Device¡¯s blade glowed and power raced along it. ¡°I shall cut you down¡­!¡± Immediately, another power opposed it. It was the Black Witch¡¯s sword. The Black Witch herself spun around while standing atop it. It was a light motion, as if there was no core to her body, but the motion swung around the Normal Device controller that she held. ¡°Impressive.¡± But¡­ ¡°This still ¡®matches¡¯ my imagination.¡± The Black Witch¡¯s Normal Device launched black light on the level of a main cannon blast. The counterattack perfectly matched Lisbeth¡¯s timing. The Black Witch heard the air bursting and saw the black light smash the enemy. Fragments of the black gunblade Magino Device burst outward while surrounded by the fog created by the explosive blast. They quickly struck the air and flew into the distance. ¡­That ends that. The sound could not keep up. She simply saw the components of the blown-up Device return to ether light and scatter. The Black Witch lightly swung down her Normal Device sword. ¡°Next. I had wanted to recover some ether, but¡­¡± She noticed something odd as she said that. ¡°¡­?¡± The mist and fragments of the enemy witch¡¯s Device were vanishing into the distance behind her, but for some reason, she had a detailed view of that result. The object she saw there was compressing to the sides, like a cat narrowing its eyes. ¡­What is this? As soon as she wondered that, the distant enemy Magino Device¡¯s final component returned to ether light. It was the cannon. But there was one thing she could not see. ¡°Where did the sword go¡­!?¡± The enemy Magino Device had a gunblade design, but among the destroyed parts, she had only seen the cannon that had been added on almost as an afterthought. So where was the rest? ¡°Shouko! ¡­Spatial cutting!¡± Amaze gave that warning just before something appeared. The surrounding scenery squeezed in and bent before the center shattered and it appeared. ¡°A black sword¡­!¡± The enemy Device was upside-down as it split the air as only the sword. And the enemy witch stood atop the flipped blade. She was unharmed. Lisbeth simply moved. The cannon had been added to her Device after the fact. She could focus the power on the blade and the acceleration system by purging it, but that severely reduced her ability to gather ether. If she was going to abandon the cannon, it had to be at the very end. Her underclassman had predicted that the enemy would have another attack ready even if Lisbeth sliced through the enemy¡¯s shells with her blade. That witch had not been very thoughtful in the past, but that must have changed. She had suggested discarding the cannon just in case. Lisbeth could have gone in for a hit with the very first attack, but that probably would have been blocked. She was up against the Black Witch. The Black Witch¡¯s imagination could probably account for even that kind of last-ditch effort. After moving right in front of the enemy while expecting to get hit by a close-range counterattack, Lisbeth had used the Device¡¯s spatial cutting to drop the Device itself downwards. So¡­ ¡°I said I would cut you down, didn¡¯t I?¡± The enemy¡¯s attack hit the purged cannon and now Lisbeth delivered the final blow. She could do this. She had a way. She placed a hand on her eyepatch and pulled a Device from there. It was a single-edged sword. It matched the one she already held in the other hand. Instead of just raising them, she reversed her elbows and wrists to cross them and raise them together. ¡°Sever, twin swords¡­!¡± While upside-down, she sliced open a spatial fissure. ¡°Impressive,¡± said the Black Witch while feeling a slight flush to her cheeks. ¡°Then I have something to show you. Both in appreciation of the imagination you have demonstrated and to ensure you never use that method again.¡± She simply spread her hands, dropped them down from overhead, and stated the form of her creation: ¡°Switch places.¡± Lisbeth saw empty space spread out before her eyes. Her vision told her she had caught up to the Black Witch. Except that was not what had happened. ¡­Were our positions swapped!? It was the same method the Black Witch had used to come here from the moon and to accelerate her reinforcements. Not taking it into consideration had been their own failing. If Lisbeth had still had her cannon, she could have used its ether fuel for acceleration and escaped. But¡­ ¡°¡­I used it all up.¡± She had used up herself, the others, and¡­ ¡°My frustration and regrets from ten years ago¡­!¡± She had done everything she could, and this was the result. She did not even need to look back. She knew her own power. Her Magino Device would be sliced apart and scattered by the spatial cutting she herself had launched. What was the Black Witch thinking as she watched from her swapped-out position behind Lisbeth? ¡°You aren¡¯t all that impressive yourself, Black Witch,¡± said Lisbeth as the light and noise of her Device¡¯s destruction washed over her. ¡°If you can¡¯t imagine a new method, you should come to my school.¡± ¡°True enough,¡± said the Black Witch as she watched the explosion of her enemy¡¯s fully-destroyed Magino Device. She had indeed been quite insulting to her enemy. It had been sudden and effective, but she had responded with something old. So¡­ ¡°I won¡¯t use this method any longer. ¡­That was the latest method ten years ago. Let¡¯s just leave it at that.¡± This battle had ended everything from ten years prior. From there, she secured the ether light from the enemy¡¯s exploding Device. ¡­I will settle this with the current latest method. What was that? She had already revealed it once, but¡­ ¡°Summon Satanic Frame!¡± The fifth wave she had called had arrived in the sky above, so she looked up at it and smiled. ¡°This is the end, products of my imagination¡­!¡± The Head Maid accepted that all information processing requests from Lisbeth had ceased. And at the same time, another maid gave a report. ¡°Head Maid! And Head Butler too, I guess! I¡¯m picking up a massive ether reading at the Uraga Channel!¡± ¡°You guess!? What do you mean you guess!?¡± Pipe down back there. But they all knew what this was. The ether reading had been described as ¡°massive¡± not ¡°powerful¡±. So when they looked back, they saw something beyond the hills of Zushi that hid Uraga. ¡­Is that a knee? A Queen-style Device rose more than 3km tall. At this distance, they could only see up to the bottom of its chest. This is a nightmare, she thought. The sword it held was the original Magino Device increased to several times its size and the fifth wave of enemies descended behind it like a cape. That nightmare personified began to move. Beyond the hilly region, it started to enter the Yokohama region as if to head vaguely toward Tokyo. The main battlefield was not the ocean off of Kanagawa. Fighting there would give an advantage to Akerindou and the other Rankers. Did the Black Witch not want to assist the enemy or did she simply like the cities of Yokohama and Kawasaki? And just as the Head Maid wondered what to do about that giant being¡­ ¡°Head Maid, instruct everyone to prepare some tea.¡± The Head Butler¡¯s words reminded her who she was. No, she had been trying to do that herself, but she had been looking at herself in the wrong way. To refresh her mood, she raised her right hand to her forehead. She took a deep breath, snapped her fingers, and swung her hand outwards. ¡°Understood, Head Butler. ¡­Anyone who is free should prepare some tea. And add some snacks as well.¡± ¡°Wah,¡± cried out one witch among the sighs of relief. She held a report saying the enemy¡¯s fifth wave had arrived. And it had begun to destroy the Yokohama region as if to support that giant Device. This was a crisis. However¡­ ¡°A witch must not fear a crisis.¡± Once she said it, she felt that way herself. A witch¡¯s words held power. That was what this was. Because she knew just how tense she was, she formed a small smile on her face. And all she had to say was what she honestly thought: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, everyone. ¡­Lady Mitsuru and the others will emerge victorious. That is a foregone conclusion.¡± Volume 4, 11: Can I Pass? Volume 4, Chapter 11: Can I Pass? A night On which fear will not arrive There¡¯s a black waterfall in the sky, thought Hunter. That was the enemy. The dark cascade fell from the moon. Starting from the first wave, the Black Witch¡¯s minions flowed down toward the surface. Hunter and Mary had decided to hurry toward the Uraga Channel where the European U.A.H. Representative and the Black Witch were fighting. So they had started in that direction from the ocean off of Kanagawa while protecting Akerindou, but¡­ ¡­Is there no end to the new enemies!? The Black Witch¡¯s giant Device had appeared and a fifth wave of enemies was descending from the sky, so things had gotten much more dangerous. They could no longer call it a river or rain falling from the sky. It was a full house of black dragons and black dolls. It was fortunate that the enemies were no longer ¡°building up their numbers¡± on the moon, but they must have all been approaching at once because they fell from the sky like a solid wall. Hunter and Mary fired their secondary cannons while feeling the pressure from the silent communication spell circle that Horinouchi had sent them earlier. ¡°Mary!¡± ¡°I know!¡± With that, a band of explosions raced across the sky. It was a horizontal line. Mary had laid out her annihilation spell like a razor wire and let it slice through all of the falling enemies. Those explosions raced across the enemy and triggered further explosions that covered 3km horizontally and 12km vertically. Of course, it did not all end there. Hunter saw something else as she fired straight up. The gap they had torn in the enemy curtain revealed the Black Witch¡¯s humanoid Device to the east. That was the Yokohama region and they were still in the ocean near Kanagawa, about halfway between Oshima and Kamakura, so they were 40km away. But the light in its eyes was visible even from that distance. The humanoid Device¡¯s eyes had definitely marked them. And¡­ ¡°¡­Oh.¡± The Black Witch¡¯s humanoid Device stabbed its long black sword into the earth. Something happened a moment later. Hunter was in the air, but somehow an earthquake reached her. ¡­Are you kidding!? The falling waterfall of enemies had suddenly shaken. They all shook and accelerated like the string holding them up had been cut. ¡°They¡¯re all going to fall!¡± She needed to fight back, but¡­ ¡­Is there anything I can do against this many!? Horinouchi sent a silent spell circle, but Hunter broke it with her right fist. She honestly thought, If only Kagami was here. ¡°Kagami would know how to deal with Horinouchi at a time like this¡­¡± Kagami was sleeping. She felt like she was dreaming for the first time in a long while. It was a dream of her past. But the contents were quite clear, so it might have been her life flashing before her eyes or perhaps her memories were replaying because her mind was not properly anchored. In her memories, she was wise, considerate, and yet humble. Until having this dream, she had wondered if she was altering her memories to her own benefit, but this told her that was not so. Now she never again had to worry as she remembered how great she was. Regardless, she remembered a great many things. Instead of just standing and watching, she decided to have her mind sit down and watch. She found the dream was mostly of when she had played with her sister. Despite being in middle school, her sister had said some ridiculous things, so Kagami had asked what she was doing, swiped what she was writing, read it, and then cried. She was pretty sure it had been a story of a dog. Dogs were cheating. It just was not playing fair. Anyone would cry at that. So she had told her sister to write a story about adults. Her sister had done so and Kagami had read it, not expecting much since it was written by a middle schooler, but she had found herself laughing. Her sister had been aware she was only a middle schooler and had written it to get laughs. That was cheating too. So Kagami had told her to write something more serious. She had starting getting into video games at the same time, so she had suggested her sister write something like that. Kagami had always preferred world history over Japanese history and she had been learning about politics and economics, so she had checked over the story. Before long, she had been telling the story of the characters along with her sister and, before she realized it, she had found she could write a decent story herself. That had been a mistake. Once Kagami started making stories, her sister had grown upset, said she could not compete with her, and started obsessively gathering materials. Then that fateful day had arrived. Her sister had previously said she had found ¡°some amazing material¡±, but that was the day she had shown it to Kagami. It was a black hardcover book. The writing on the cover had been indecipherable to Kagami, but her sister had said ¡°It¡¯s the Book of Creation. I call it Amaze.¡± and opened the pages. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± No further. I remember the rest quite well. It is not hazy and I have not altered my memories. I lacked imagination, so I couldn¡¯t read what was created, what happened, or what changed there. At some point, everything had fallen apart and she had traveled through many worlds. But¡­ ¡°Yes.¡± Thinking back, there was one thing she had never said to her sister. And¡­ ¡°I cannot believe this. Wasn¡¯t I planning to say something when I said goodbye to Horinouchi? She had yet to do so. She had not tried saying the words that would confirm whether or not her imagination was correct. The battlefield had moved to Yokohama. Fleur received instructions from the manager of this jurisdiction and she guided the people. She did not do it all at the same place. Once the evacuating people were organized and sent in the right direction, the manager would send her elsewhere. Each time, two or three male U.A.H.J. members would stay behind to check for people who had not yet escaped, but¡­ ¡­Isn¡¯t that really dangerous? The ones who remained were wearing light armored uniforms and she decided to ask just out of curiosity. ¡°Isn¡¯t it dangerous staying behind?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous! ¡­There might be a cute girl here!¡± It was an immediate answer. ¡°I¡¯ll put this delicately: what if it¡¯s an old person or a middle-aged man?¡± ¡°They might be a cute girl¡¯s family member!¡± The man clenched his right fist so tight it trembled. ¡°And the desire to protect someone helps maintain our defense spells!¡± ¡°So your personal tastes and practicality are in alignment¡­¡± ¡°Just leave it to us!¡± he said with a smile, but his resolve was quite something. After all, the enemy reinforcements were flowing down from the sky toward the coast of Yokohama. So Fleur mimicked the drain spell she had seen before. ¡°Here you go. ¡­This is enough for 3 or 4 more people, so share the Blessings with them.¡± At first, he did not know what she meant, but then he checked his status on a spell circle. ¡°Wow! ¡­Now I have to hope for a girl even cuter than you!¡± ¡°Go help her out then.¡± Fleur smiled and left for the next next location. But¡­ ¡°Eh?¡± They were working upstream along the river that flowed into the ocean through Sakuragi-cho, Yokohama. A sign said it was the Ooka River. It grew somewhat narrower as they moved upstream and, as the next train station came into view on the opposite bank, it arrived. She had just guided some people across the crosswalk, but¡­ ¡­Oh? On the evacuated eastern side, a building in Sakuragi-cho collapsed and a giant form appeared. It was a black dragon. It was about 200m tall. It had most likely descended from the sky and bounced thrice while rolling toward them. They had been using the buildings as cover while evacuating the people, but¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± Ah, it looked me in the eye, she thought. That was when it happened. She first felt a tremor in the earth and then she realized the black dragon was running toward her. But she was looking at something other than the approaching dragon. Through the valley created by the destroyed buildings, a group of many more black figures were bouncing, running, and releasing their breath. And standing in the center of that black wave was the giant humanoid Device that Fleur had seen the night before. That was¡­ ¡°Shouko¡­?¡± The pilot of an airborne fighter saw it all. His primary duties were forceful reconnaissance and to carry witches to the battlefield. Two F-23s had been launched from Atsugi and the latter mission had already been completed, so they were taking turns with the former mission. They could not let themselves be shot down. So they chose a mission altitude outside the attack range of the black dragons and black dolls fighting on the surface. They had weapons, but provoking the enemy and becoming a target would rob everyone of their wide-range surveillance. That meant they could not interfere, but¡­ ¡°Damn¡­!¡± People, primarily those assigned to the rear guard, were being evacuated down below. The inland area had been deemed relatively safe, but the Black Witch had made a change of plans and that was no longer true. So everyone was being guided further inland or inside barriers and underground shelters, but¡­ ¡°They were spotted!¡± The black dolls and dragons were generally about 200m tall. Some were as tall as 500m, but those were not suited for urban areas and were descending toward the coast and rivers instead. Meanwhile, the manmade structures were tall. Excellent work, modern architecture. Even the 200m giants had difficulty seeing the surface when there were a few buildings in between. And those buildings acted as shields and as cover when moving. They could guess that the Black Witch was currently establishing a foothold. The destruction of Yokohama would plow and prepare the earth for the creation of the barrier needed for the wide-range activation of her spell. And what would that spell do? Destroy this world. So if they could evacuate faster than the Black Witch could spread her preparation of the earth, they could survive. Or so the theory went. The problem was the Black Witch¡¯s reinforcements. It was the shape and traits of those minions. They were round. They were also soft. And that softness was the kind that bounced, not that drooped. So when one of them fell to the ground in just the wrong way, it bounced toward the evacuees. It destroyed countless buildings, but one building that could not be broken caused the black dragon to bounce upwards. When the black dragon fell into the valley formed by a road, some evacuees were crossing that road 700m ahead. They had been spotted. The black dragon ran toward them while spewing breath from its mouth. There was nothing the pilots could do. There were no witches around to run over and help. All of those were fighting in the sky or at the center of Yokohama which had become the borderline. ¡°Hey! Let¡¯s go! ¡­I think we need to do some low-altitude recon!¡± ¡°Nice excuse!¡± That¡¯s right, thought the pilot as he operated the control column. Most of the fighter¡¯s movements were automated, but this time, it rapidly descended toward the urban area. This was now his own responsibility in more ways than one and he sent confirmation to control as if asking for ex-post-facto approval. And he did not bother waiting for a response. ¡°Let¡¯s go¡­!¡± Just as he said that, he saw a light on his HMD. The point of light indicated the ether reading of a witch. But¡­ ¡­What? The output was greater than the charging black dragon and it might have even rivalled the Black Witch¡¯s humanoid Device. ¡°There¡¯s a witch there!?¡± Fleur stepped forward. The city was being destroyed and the people would be kicked around at this rate. But she knew who was commanding this. ¡°It¡¯s Shouko¡­isn¡¯t it?¡± She wanted to believe otherwise. She wanted to think it was someone else and that Shouko wasn¡¯t controlling them. But she had another thought and she spoke it aloud. ¡°I was binding mama¡¯s soul.¡± She had not been controlling it, but her existence had definitely allowed her mother to remain in existence. Shouko was the same. She had to be. There had to be several factors supported by her presence. ¡°So maybe I have no right to say anything to Shouko now.¡± But she remembered Horinouchi who had shed tears with her without feeling pity. She remembered Kagami who had taught her that her mother still existed. And she remembered that Kagami had tried to stop Shouko. So¡­ ¡°Someone¡­¡± She no longer had any power. And she was honestly afraid of using her power as a witch. ¡­I might lose something again. But, thought her heart as it prioritized everything else over that. Even if she had no power and was afraid¡­ ¡°I won¡¯t let myself lose anything anymore¡­!¡± She made up her mind. She did not know if she could use her power, but she stood to face the approaching black dragon. ¡°I won¡¯t lose¡­!¡± Just as she cried out and prepared to fight, something ran between her and the charging dragon. It was a flower dragon. Specifically¡­ ¡°Mama¡¯s servant!¡± While Mary¡¯s annihilation spell barrier and Hunter¡¯s attacks took care of the multitude of enemies falling from the sky, Hunter realized the overall flow of battle was moving toward the urban area. The river from the sky was beginning to avoid her and Mary. They were still above the ocean near the coast of Kamakura, but from there they could receive the backup of the Horinouchi family on Enoshima. Hunter checked the surface deployment, enemy distribution, and predicted arrival points. ¡°Rank 3! Fire here¡­!¡± ¡­Dammit! She¡¯s faster than my spell¡¯s prediction! Was that Mary¡¯s ether detection sense? Since she had been top class in her own world, she was able to predict the flow of the enemy forces based solely on the ether distribution. So Hunter fired a shot to both follow Mary¡¯s instruction and to confirm the result from her own spell. ¡°Kh¡­!¡± She felt like the enemy was more densely packed in. They had descended like a waterfall before, but by bending that path, they wavered and their distribution grew a lot rougher. That left some less dense areas, but a gunner had to take the densest area into account, which was a real pain. Also¡­ ¡­The city has got to be in real trouble! She wanted to know what had happened to the evacuating people, but she had heard transmissions were cut off. So as she fired¡­ ¡°Dammit¡­!¡± She felt the need to rush this. She wanted to move forward. She had to crush the enemy and get Horinouchi to the Black Witch. After all, she had heard the Black Witch was preparing a barrier. The surveillance footage from the sky confirmed that. ¡­What is she doing!? Mary had fallen silent when it came to that question. And that told Hunter the answer. The Black Witch was trying to erase this world. Her position was dangerous. For their strategy, Shihouin Academy had become a ley line management area at the center of everything, but the Black Witch had taken up a position right in front of it. If she placed a large barrier around Tokyo Bay, she could use Shihouin Academy as a focal point and access the entire world¡¯s ley lines. After that, the Black Witch could install some kind of ¡°destruction¡±, no matter how mundane, and her imagination would destroy the world. So they had to stop her. That was why Hunter wanted to hurry, but¡­ ¡°Rank 3! The waves of enemies are merging over Yokohama!¡± ¡­Are we not going to make it!? Just as she thought that, she saw something. A silhouette flew into the sky from Sakuragi-cho in western Yokohama. No, it was not just the one. And not just a few either. They were countless round black forms. The Black Witch¡¯s minions were launched skyward. ¡°Huh? A counterattack?¡± Had we set up anything like that? wondered Hunter as something else appeared. It was a flower. It was a giant Magino Device with six flower petals connected together in a circle. ¡°¡­Is that Fleur!?¡± Fleur felt no fear. She had the flower dragon¡¯s assistance and she had successfully summoned Zephyr. But the flower dragon was simply creating a ¡°framework¡± to assist her ether management. The power overflowing from her simply would not stop. ¡­Wow. She had always thought her mother was amazing. She had thought her mother was summoning Zephyr and using the environment spell when Fleur wanted her to. But that was incorrect. Her mother had only been controlling and adjusting Fleur¡¯s power. It was Fleur who had the power. And that was what scared her. This was different from the fear she had felt of that black dragon. She was afraid she would not be able to do it right and she was afraid she had enough power for her to lose everything. Without this power, she probably would not have lost her mother. But¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± The flower dragon stood at her feet. That was the one that had left her mother¡¯s grave. And it had come to her now. ¡­Yes. Her mother would not come back. But she had a servant which had accepted her as her mother¡¯s heir. So¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s go, mama.¡± Her mother existed within her power. Her mother existed within what she needed to do. This was not control or bondage; the two of them coincided. So¡­ ¡°Watch this.¡± The fighter that flew past her sent information on her surroundings to her spell circle. That support information from the US military told her that someone else was beyond the descending enemies to her right and a little behind her. There was only one thing she needed to do. ¡°She¡¯s the same as me.¡± That person had cried when Fleur had lost her mother. And there was another person who she had recently gotten to know. Her duty was to bring those two together. If she was going to blow away everything ¨C both walls and enemies ¨C then¡­ ¡°Zephyr! ¡­Whip up the wind! The wind of flowers!¡± ¡­Fleur? Shouko felt like she heard a voice. It sounded like someone calling out to her from the distance, but all she could see was a flower as large as her Satanic Frame. The flower was blossoming with petals that then danced through the air. The multitude of flowers and petals became a great gale. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª!¡± Everything touched by or surrounded by them subsequently exploded. Shouko was impressed that the flower petals did not destroy the city as the air currents carried them around. When they were about to hit a building, the wind would whip up and they would avoid the building, slip below elevated structures, and fly back up again. The only things destroyed were Shouko¡¯s reinforcements. The black minions altered their descent trajectory and some of them fought back with their breath or Demon Eye Cannon, but they could not hope to match the great number of petals. Also¡­ ¡­The main cannon! As the giant flower approached, a thick beam of light fired from the peak at its center. Fleur approached while typing at her many spell circles like they were a musical keyboard. Her main cannon was smashed by a slash from the giant Device¡¯s right arm. But in that moment, the arm within the black dress was definitely destroyed. It instantly regenerated, but this proved it was not indestructible. Whip up the wind, send down the flowers, and hurry your heart. To be honest, she had felt a cold sweat dripping down her body for a while now. She innocently realized just how powerful and amazing her mother had been for being able to control this much power. Zephyr was already having trouble maintaining the connection between the six pieces. ¡­Was it too soon to go all out¡­!? She could only answer that in the affirmative. But she had moved the front line away from the people evacuating behind her and she had destroyed the central portion of the Black Witch¡¯s reinforcements. ¡°Shouko!¡± If her main cannon could reach her, then so could her will. ¡°Shouko¡­!¡± There was one thing she understood: what Shouko wanted through becoming the Black Witch. It was what they had discussed the day before and it was what Shouko was doing now. Also¡­ ¡­There¡¯s something I can understand when I think of her as if she¡¯s the same as me. That was¡­ ¡°Shouko! You want to be destroyed, don¡¯t you!?¡± Mary listened to Fleur¡¯s voice arriving at her spell circle. ¡°You came to destroy a bunch of worlds, right? And here you¡¯ve finally shown yourself! Why!? If destruction is the world¡¯s destiny and your goal, then there¡¯s no reason for you to appear here!¡± That¡¯s right, thought Mary. She could destroy the world through her minions or in another form, like she had in Mary¡¯s world. So why had she appeared as herself in this world? Fleur explained: ¡°You must be blaming yourself! The world you created with your imagination is going to fall into ruin and you blame yourself for that! So you had a thought! If what you imagined will be destroyed by your imagination, then you too can be destroyed by your imagination!¡± Meaning¡­ ¡°If what you imagined uses a power that surpasses your own imagination, then the creation will have surpassed its creator. And you feel you should be destroyed by that.¡± ¡­In that case¡­ ¡°Does the Black Witch think this world might pull that off!?¡± exclaimed Mary. What had caused her to think that? ¡°Was it the attack power!?¡± asked Hunter. ¡°Oh, it probably was!¡± agreed Mary. ¡°Let¡¯s not jump to conclusions!¡± protested Horinouchi. She just scolded us. But at the same time, Fleur had gotten quite close. Her flower storm was filled with explosive blasts as her Magino Device began to fall apart on its own. ¡°Shouko¡­! Open your eyes!¡± She fired all six main cannons while sweeping them around by spinning her Device. Shouko decided to give Fleur¡¯s words some thought. However¡­ ¡­That¡¯s right. What was she supposed to think about? She could not come up with anything. She tended to reject things, so she was probably trying to reject what the girl was saying, but ¡°that¡¯s right¡± was all that came out. But¡­ ¡°Shouko. ¡­If that is your intent, I will accept your defeat.¡± She realized her expression lost all strength when she heard Amaze express its understanding. Was she surprised? But¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± She pulled out the sword stabbed into the earth. Then she stepped forward with a smile on her lips. ¡­Fleur. She had pulled out the sword which had been forming the barrier to erase the world. Let¡¯s make that my indirect answer, she thought while silently swinging the blade. She sliced through the six beams of light and then¡­ ¡°Thank you.¡± She sliced through Fleur¡¯s flower from straight ahead. I got through to her, thought Fleur. She was the Black Witch, but she was also Shouko. She was acting as the Black Witch here, but the true will lay deep inside that. ¡°Don¡¯t be dumb.¡± As the greatest form of penance, Shouko was letting her creation destroy her if it would surpass her. And so she was essentially saying this: ¡° ¡®I can just stop myself¡¯?¡± You¡¯re wrong. Mama and I are different, even if we seem so similar. ¡°There is someone who seems a lot like you, but they aren¡¯t you!¡± Fleur could see the space that her flower storm and six sweeping main cannon blasts had cleared of enemies. A group had managed to fly into that gap. The Black Witch had moved forward to attack Fleur. Her giant Device had turned from Sakuragi-cho and toward Fujisawa to the west, but the three Magino Devices were approaching from the north, with Yokohama behind them. Their position would push the Black Witch toward the sea off of Kamakura. Fleur fell through the air as she watched the three Magino Devices set up that situation. She held the flower dragon in her arms. ¡­Good! Everything had looked hopeless, but she had rearranged it into a direct confrontation. Her mother was probably smiling. So¡­ ¡°The rest is in your hands¡­!¡± Volume 4, 12: Come Below the Moon Volume 4, Chapter 12: Come Below the Moon The destination of acceptance Is a much more important crossroads Than a home to return to Shouko saw her enemy. ¡­Three of them! She had researched the higher Rankers. After returning home from the family restaurant the night before, she had spent the time after waking up on research. The people who had competed with her sister were now trying to defeat her just like her sister. And those three all held the possibility of surpassing her imagination. Since Fleur had left the rest in their hands, they must understand her circumstances. That was fine. She was mentally prepared for the possibility that she would be defeated by them. She was also mentally prepared for the possibility that they would be no match for her. Either way, something would be destroyed. This was the perfect night for destruction. This world contains the possibility of surpassing my imagination and I am fighting back with the power to manifest my imagination. This is the world I created versus me. My sister has been silenced. So it¡¯s only me. Every part of me will settle things with myself. That is for the best. When I defeated my sister, I placed a curse on her. Whether I am about to lose or win, that will count as the ¡°Part 1 Ending¡± for this world and she will be excluded from it. She will be sent back to our original world. And I will either be destroyed or move on to destroy the next world. That is for the best. So I will face them. The sea is behind me and the city of Kamakura is at my feet. I remember the anmitsu at the Japanese caf¨¦ by the station being good. But come to think of it, I probably stepped on it earlier. It was probably on my way here¡­ ¡°Shouko! Shouko!¡± shouted Amaze. ¡°You¡¯re looking kind of down, but is it their fault!?¡± ¡°Hmm, only extremely indirectly, but kind of, yeah.¡± Well, whatever. I can see the enemy. That¡¯s the Rank 2¡¯s Ira, right? That annihilation spell Magino Frame is out front and that over there is America¡¯s Hedgehog. And that¡¯s the Akerindou paired with my sister in the buddy system. She could perceive it all. Good, she thought as she pointed her sword forward. ¡°Bring it on.¡± As soon as she said that, a blow struck her Satanic Frame at a somewhat diagonal angle from behind. It was a missile strike from the ocean. ¡°Did it hit!?¡± Song Caf¨¦ got up from the deck as the report from the observation fighters and confirmation via satellite came in. She stood up and checked the details on her spell circle. ¡­So two out of five hit! A cruiser had launched high-speed cruise missiles. The warheads were purely physical to slip past the enemy¡¯s ether detection. After ascending and accelerating using the swing-by method, they had shut off their propulsion partway through their descent. The fleet had calculated a position out at sea that could not be seen from the battlefield thanks to the curvature of the earth, but¡­ ¡°Who would have thought the enemy would produce something 3km tall?¡± They were glad they had received that information yesterday. That had allowed them to move the fleet out of view even from an altitude of 3km. And their attack had made it through. It was not as powerful as a blow from the Hedgehog, but it had to have done damage to the 3km Frame. Then¡­ ¡°All ships fall back!¡± On A-un Silver Coin¡¯s orders, all ships in view opened up their side hulls with the assistance of ether light. As soon as they took their accelerated cruising forms and confirmed their respective destinations, light flew toward them. ¡­So she isn¡¯t going to let us escape, is she!? Picture-perfect lightning descended from the deserted sky where the moon hung. Song Caf¨¦ smiled at the thick glowing projectiles that raced across the ocean¡¯s surface in search of them. A-un Silver Coin was using her management spell to control the entire fleet¡¯s accelerated cruising, so Song Caf¨¦¡­ ¡°Ha ha¡­!¡± She laughed and used her caf¨¦ menu spell circle to order defense spells for all the personnel and ships. She also ordered something else while she was at it. ¡­Will this make it in time!? She did not know, but there was something else she did know. ¡°Our attacks can reach you. And that means you aren¡¯t invincible, Black Witch!¡± Shouko laughed as she sensed her lightning attack hit the target in the ocean. ¡°Ha ha¡­¡± Her Satanic Frame¡¯s back armor had been lightly damaged. Two out of five missiles had hit. The remaining three had broken apart in midair and burst into light, but they had probably been on a timed fuse. That meant they had calculated the timing of the hit mere moments beforehand. If she had taken just one step differently, this would have turned out differently. The two missile hits had moved her giant Device slightly forward. She could repair the back armor. In fact, she already had. She could simply view this as a side show before the main battle, but¡­ ¡°Good.¡± ¡°N-no, this is not good,¡± said Amaze. ¡°Oh, yes it is. ¡­I hadn¡¯t imagined that.¡± ¡°Well¡­ I feel more like you weren¡¯t cautious enough and got careless.¡± ¡°You can only be careless about what you didn¡¯t imagine. Because that means you didn¡¯t think about it.¡± Meaning¡­ ¡°Let it surprise you and you lose.¡± ¡°That certainly is simplistic.¡± With that, she faced her enemy. The three Devices were in front of her. ¡°Now, let¡¯s get this started.¡± A moment later, five shots flew in from behind her again. They sure are immature¡­! seriously thought Hunter just before the hit. She had lost her connection to the 7th Fleet. She had thought there was nothing they could have done about the Black Witch¡¯s attack, but she also felt like they would do something about it. And even if there was nothing they could do, she still felt like they would do something about it. They had not spent the last ten years just sitting around. They could take care of themselves. But at that timing, they should have been withdrawing. Those missiles had their trajectory inputted in advance, but they had still managed to fire them along a surefire trajectory while withdrawing. Whether it was a surprise attack or not, they considered any kind of hit to be a win. But Hunter saw a movement in front of her. The Black Witch¡¯s giant Device had turned to the right. It was not worth asking when she had done that. The sword tip which had been pointed toward Hunter¡¯s group was now raised overhead in one arm. It was a natural movement, but that was what made it so hard to read. Was it her imagination that let her do that? But that raised sword had another purpose. As the black blade rotated behind her back, it erupted with a flame-like black light. ¡°That will not work a second time.¡± Sure enough, the power exploded. Just like before, two of the five should have hit, but those two were burned and detonated by the black flames. The remaining three overshot the giant Device and detonated in empty air, but¡­ ¡­They missed!? They had not hit, so Hunter moved forward. She started the Hedgehog forward. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Kagami¡¯s sister¡­!¡± ¡­Am I overthinking this if I view it as a personal attack!? Shouko clenched her teeth more as herself than as the Black Witch. Her opponents were the witches of this world, so they would see her as the Black Witch. And yet¡­ ¡°Why is she referring to me as my sister¡¯s sister¡­!?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that an accurate description?¡± This book needs to be quiet. But it seemed her first opponent would be the American Representative. They might have been letting the lower ranked ones go first. The missiles had been from America as well. But when she raised her sword to the right and stepped forward to intercept¡­ ¡°Eh?¡± She had thought the American Representative¡¯s Magino Device had moved forward. But it had not. When they had first appeared, she had seen three Magino Devices. From front to back, they had been arranged Ira, Hedgehog, and Akerindou. But now there were only two. What did that mean? ¡°It can¡¯t be¡­¡± It arrived before she could look back. It was behind her. Ira suddenly appeared behind the giant Device and it collided with it at full power. Mary had understood what America was setting up. They had repeated the same material with the missile attack. Just beforehand, a text-only spell circle had arrived from the Rank 3 behind her: ¡°A second attack is coming.¡± She had thought that was ridiculous. It was true the high-speed cruise missile attack had hit the first time, but¡­ ¡­This is the Black Witch we¡¯re talking about! She had the power of creation and she had originally wanted to be an author. Repeated material would not work on her. But the Rank 3 would have known that. They all had the same information and they had come to a consensus on their interpretation of that information. So why had the Rank 3 sent her that spell circle? Her doubts had been resolved with the arrival of another spell circle: ¡°Shooting you from the pole worked, didn¡¯t it?¡± Mary had gasped at that. The second attack had yet to happen, but it would be happening soon. And in that tense situation, she understood just how much the Rank 3 trusted her. There was something she alone could do. ¡­She¡¯ll have predicted that we¡¯ll think she won¡¯t expect a second attack. The Black Witch was clever. A second attack wouldn¡¯t work on her. So what were they to do? ¡°A truly unexpected third attack¡­!¡± Mary used her ability. Her annihilation spell could do more than destroy and cut things. It could slice through space itself and let her fly into the opening. ¡°Which lets me move¡­!¡± She did it at extreme close-range during the second attack. In the instant the Black Witch was dealing with the repeated attack¡­ ¡­Rank 3! The Rank 3 moved forward. Mary moved back as if to use her as a shield and she narrowed down her annihilation spell and sent it behind a nearby building so it would not be detected. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± And she made the leap. Shouko realized they had entered new territory with this double-repeated material. It was the same as a running gag. You could use it once and then twice, but after the second time showed that it would not work any longer, you used something else for the third time. ¡­Like a falling washtub! This time, it was Ira. While it was not a washtub, the Magino Device was just as Ira-tating. Looking back, the American Representative calling her ¡°Kagami¡¯s sister¡± had been setting this up. Calling her that had forced her to focus on that girl. ¡°And that created a slight opening¡­!¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that your fault for falling for it so badly!?¡± Shut up. But the enemy¡¯s action was clear. Stepping forward to strike the American Representative¡¯s Magino Device had been a mistake. As Ira stabbed into her from behind, its thrust pushed her giant Device forward. ¡­Kh! Ira was not shaped for high speed. That might change if it had a bundled acceleration system, but each of the nine scythes used its own individual thrusters. ¡­But this type is more stable and has greater torque! That proved accurate. Shouko tried to swing her body to the left and right, but the nine scythes adjusted their thruster output as if steering her. In the worst cases, her movements had the opposite effect and were used to push her further forward. In that case, she thought while swinging the giant Device¡¯s arm inwards. She slammed its sword behind her. The nine scythes digging into her had no way to evade, but¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t move!!¡± Just as the enemy barked that warning, both her giant Device¡¯s arms were severed. Shouko was aware how confused she was. She knew her opponent could use an annihilation spell. The European U.A.H. Representative she had fought earlier had used spatial cutting and Shouko¡¯s giant Device had specialized defenses against it. It used an ether bending defense. Instead of being solid or absorbing the shock, it sped up the flow of ether on the surface so any ether attack would be deflected away. Any damage done by attack power such as shells could be immediately repaired, but spatial cutting and annihilation would leave a ¡°mold¡± in that space for a short period of time afterwards. Of course, even simple kinetic energy would create a ¡°mold¡± and if it damaged her, it would leave its traits in her ¡°mold¡±. But spatial cutting and annihilation altered ether in a much more powerful way. The traits they left on one¡¯s ¡°mold¡± were much more powerful. They worsened the area¡¯s omen, which made it harder to create or recreate things there. Thus, she deflected the ether away so it would not affect her ¡°mold¡±. ¡°Was she too close!?¡± She was fortunate the enemy¡¯s attack took the form of a scythe. The attack had needed to circle in from the outside, so it had only severed her arms. A sword would have split her torso. ¡­I can manage without the arms! Think of it like that. And imagine a countermeasure, she told herself. At the same time, she managed to look out ahead. A lot was going on behind her, but that was not all. ¡°I told you to attack me all at once, didn¡¯t I!?¡± She remembered. And they would be doing exactly that. That meant it was not the Magino Device behind her she needed to focus on. It was¡­ ¡°The American Representative¡­!¡± The giant Magino Device looked like a shield and a high-speed shot was fired toward its wide-open lower chest. ¡°Will it hit¡­!?¡± Koutarou¡¯s asked his question as the attack pierced the air on its way toward the Black Witch¡¯s giant Device. ¡­How did it turn out!? This shot had been fired after Mary restrained her and kept her from resisting. It was on course for an absolute bull¡¯s-eye, so its path connected the two Devices. ¡°American Representative!¡± shouted the Head Maid. ¡°Ready a second shot!¡± Her imagination only took an instant. Shouko had not expected this, but she had a flash of insight. It concerned the whereabouts of the arms that Ira had severed. The arms alone were larger than the enemy Magino Devices, but¡­ ¡°Too bad.¡± She held the Normal Device which acted as a controller. And it was connected to¡­ ¡°This can move as a Magino Device all on its own.¡± The flying black sword stabbed in front of her as a shield. At nearly 3km long, it was larger than the standalone Magino Device, but its functions were identical. So she only had to move it like she did in the Magino version. ¡°Its aim is accurate.¡± With a pleasantly solid sound, light flashed beyond the standing sword. A moment later, the scenery between the sword and her opponent grew distorted and the night grew all the darker. ¡°Too bad.¡± The bursting shockwave tore apart and blew away the city below as if crushing, ripping, and piercing it. ¡­I missed!? Hunter watched from atop the Hedgehog as the blast tore up the surface and tossed the buildings and natural crust into the air. Light shined below her in a graph paper layout. The defense spell cast on the land for Hexennacht had activated to endure and weaken the shockwave. Of course, it was not powerful enough to stop a wide-range impact on the level of a natural phenomenon, but it activated to weaken the shockwave and adjusted the output of each small unit of area to ensure the damage did not spread elsewhere. Light covered the ground and the wind exploded. The first thing visible beyond the power and light was a sword. And that was not all. Regenerated giant black hands held the enormous sword¡¯s hilt. That pair of decorated hands held the sword aloft. ¡­She¡¯s unharmed!? That had to have worn her down some, but it had not reached the level of damage. The giant Queen-style Device swung one arm around to smash Ira away with an elbow, and¡­ ¡°I¡¯ll deal with you first¡­!¡± She took an instant step into the light. ¡­She¡¯s fast! The 3km colossus could apparently move at a scaled speed twice that of a human. Its full body broke through the lingering shockwave and turbulence to arrive within three steps of the Hedgehog. Hunter moved back at full speed. ¡°This isn¡¯t over yet¡­!¡± Everything in that airspace shook and roared and Hunter focused on preserving herself as she fell back. The Hedgehog was designed to withstand the high mobility of the swing-by method, so it could easily resist an explosive blast on this level. So what was she going to do from here? ¡°Hunter!¡± A sudden transmission arrived from the 7th Fleet. She assumed they were going to ask about her situation, but¡­ ¡°Get her!!¡± She reflexively smiled. And she made up her mind. She opened the Device¡¯s muzzle even in this gale, and¡­ ¡°What do you think I¡¯m doing¡­!?¡± She raised her eyebrows and bellowed that while the Black Witch¡¯s giant Device raised its sword to mid-level and then swung it down at her. This attack used the blade near the guard rather than at the middle. It was an ideal attack using the sharpest part of the blade. Shouko gave an instruction while she swung her sword. ¡°Find Akerindou!¡± When stepping forward, she had made sure to keep her eyes on the enemy beyond the explosive blast and light. So she had seen that Akerindou had disappeared. ¡­That annihilation spell! This was the same thing Ira had used earlier. It had likely been done on Ira¡¯s guidance. And that had sent Akerindou outside of her range. The most dangerous location was behind her. Ira¡¯s annihilation spell had left a ¡°mold¡± in space there. So it was possible Akerindou could have used the same path as Ira¡¯s annihilation spell. That would be why Ira had let itself be torn away without continuing the pursuit. If the multi-scythe Device had self-destructed, the explosion of ether light would act as cover for Akerindou when it appeared there. But if it was not behind her, what would she do? ¡­If I step forward, she can¡¯t take aim! So she did just that. She could leap forward and slice through the American Representative¡¯s Hedgehog. By doing that, this would no longer be a many-against-one battle. So that was what she did. The Hedgehog had activated its main cannon to resist her. But it was too slow. And even if it did fire its main cannon, the shell would be split by her sword¡¯s blade. As she swung down the sword, the guard end dropped down first and everything above it would reach the Hedgehog. The sharpest part would slice the Magino Device and the heavy guard would defend her. This would work. The only thing left to worry about was Akerindou¡¯s location. If it did not simply appear in the same airspace Ira had appeared in before¡­ ¡­Even further back!? Akerindou was a sniper type. A bit more range would not have a significant effect on its power. So she decided to move from this spot immediately after launching this sword strike. ¡°Eh¡­?¡± But then the color vermilion filled her vision. The vermilion resembled both a bird and a dragon. It was a bow-shaped Magino Device. She had suddenly located Akerindou which had remained unseen until now. It was not behind her, to the side, or far away in the distance. It was quite close by. And¡­ ¡°Behind the Hedgehog!?¡± Akerindou¡¯s location had not changed. It had used the annihilation spell to disappear, but it had remained in the exact same airspace. ¡­That means¡­ Hunter realized she had successfully coordinated with Mary and with Horinouchi. It seemed those two had also understood the series of events that had begun with the 7th Fleet¡¯s missile attack. After all¡­ ¡°This was the combination of everything that defeated us¡­!¡± First, they had pushed from behind the enemy and fired a sniper shot there. And when that missed¡­ ¡°I used my Device as an extra acceleration barrel to strengthen Akerindou¡¯s shot!!¡± They had been assisted by Mary¡¯s annihilation spell. It had been used to move Akerindou. Except that was only a feint to make the enemy think that had happened. Because Mary had used her annihilation spell to circle behind her, the Black Witch had been wary of them repeating that material. Would Akerindou appear behind her, on the way there, or somewhere else entirely? Mary successfully severing her arms had increased her caution. But they had not done that. Akerindou had been in its original location. It had entered the annihilation spell, but it had not moved. And Akerindou was about to repeat some other material. It was the method once used to defeat Hunter. Akerindou¡¯s ultra-close-range sniper shot was further accelerated. Hunter knew the timing perfectly since she had been hit by it. ¡°Get her¡­!¡± She felt the Hedgehog falling apart as the attack passed by directly below her and was launched further forward. Mary watched the scene from atop Ira after it was smashed and torn away. Ira was mostly destroyed. The explosion of air from impacting this airspace would be enough for it to fall apart. And just as the Hedgehog fired while being destroyed from within, an ether explosion erupted between them. The spreading blast formed several rings of ether light which all sliced the air. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± The light was so bright that Mary shielded her eyes with a hand and that extreme light filled the space. The explosion spread as if to consume anything and everything. ¡°Did I shoot her¡­!?¡± Horinouchi did not bother with her follow-through movement even though a light-blocking spell automatically appeared in front of her face. The shot had been passed through Hunter¡¯s acceleration and then reached their opponent. It had been a solid hit. After all, the projectile had scored a direct hit without even breaking through the sword first. That had been obvious from the sensation and the ¡°pause¡± before the hit. So¡­ ¡°What happened to the Black Witch¡­!?¡± With that, she looked forward and past the Hedgehog which shattered and split in two along the central line. And both inside and outside that abundant storm of ether light¡­ ¡°She¡¯s gone¡­¡± The Black Witch¡¯s giant Device was not there. It had disappeared. Volume 4, 13: I Shall Shoot the Shadow Volume 4, Chapter 13: I Shall Shoot the Shadow Face forward Face your target There are no dreams Where there are no enemies Hunter felt herself relax. An enemy large enough to block her view had existed within that unending dance of scattering light shards. But now there was nothing there and only the ether light whirled around in a city-sized vortex. ¡°Not yet!¡± A voice rang over her spell circle. It was not from the 7th Fleet. It was from Mary. The girl¡¯s next line told her this was a pressing issue that required top priority. ¡°Elsie Hunter!!¡± She used Hunter¡¯s name. Horinouchi realized three things happened nearly simultaneously. The first was Hunter¡¯s nearly-destroyed Hedgehog entering a forced ascent. ¡­Eh? Before she could wonder why, a line of black pierced through the sky. The high-speed shot looked a lot like flames, but it suddenly changed direction in midair. ¡°Hunter!¡± It scored a direct hit on the Hedgehog. No, Hunter made sure it did. Horinouchi understood. The black cannon blast had flown in from far ahead and it had been targeting her. Most likely, Mary had intercepted it during her descent. She had not been able to actually hit it, so she had reaped and bent the area of space it would pass through. It had remained on a path toward Horinouchi, so Hunter had taken the hit instead. ¡°Horinouchi¡­! It¡¯s okay!!¡± She wanted to answer ¡°what is?¡±, but she was not sure she could after seeing something far beyond Hunter. A figure stood above Sagami Bay off the coast of Kamakura. The moonlit figure¡¯s armor was broken and clothing was torn, but¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± Black light raced from the ocean and repaired the standing colossus. The damaged areas, the lost portions, and the broken materials were all repaired. It swung the sword it held to test its strength. ¡°The Black Witch¡­!¡± She was not unscathed. But¡­ ¡°That wasn¡¯t enough to defeat her!?¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be! Lady Mitsuru¡¯s attack couldn¡¯t destroy her!?¡± ¡°Not even Lady Mitsuru¡¯s attack power was enough!?¡± ¡°If Lady Mitsuru¡¯s attack isn¡¯t enough, then nothing in the world is!¡± ¡°That¡¯s fairly insulting to Lady Mitsuru, you know!?¡± Shouko briefly did not understand herself. ¡­I¡¯m not sure. She had come to destroy the world because she felt she needed to be rebuked. But if the product of her imagination would rebuke her, she wanted them to surpass her, the one who had imagined them. But she nevertheless continued to resist them. She thought that was because she lacked the guts to accept that rebuke. ¡­I¡¯m not sure. If she had just accepted it, it would have all been over. But she had resisted. The method was simple. She had pulled back the sword she had been swinging toward the Hedgehog. She had fortunately been prepared to move at a moment¡¯s notice due to her wariness concerning Akerindou¡¯s appearance. She had pulled her body and the sword backwards and then slammed her power against the incoming shell. The Magino Device main cannon was fired from the length of the sword and she had used that for a close-range collision as she fell back. The power had collided and the blade had shattered. But the shell had exploded and knocked her backwards as she tried to move back. The next thing she had known, she was standing in Sagami Bay. However¡­ ¡°Amaze.¡± She was still standing, but that attack had been quite effective. Reacting to it and repairing afterwards had required a lot of her resources. She was worn out. But there was one thing she knew even in this situation. ¡°I can still imagine this.¡± ¡°Shouko. ¡­To be honest, this is dangerous.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Your imagination might be fine, but the rules of this world are cornering you.¡± With that, Amaze displayed a spell circle before her eyes. Her ether temperature was displayed on a cage-like decoration. That was her Phlogiston Heart. The black pulse was full of cracks and close to shattering. ¡­Oh, I get it. The Satanic Frame was fine as the Black Witch, but¡­ ¡­They¡¯re starting to surpass me. She had the clearly unfair power of imagination and creation, but she was still being cornered. The Phlogiston Heart was more than just the heating of a witch¡¯s ether. It was the strength of her heart. She had power and she could repair any wounds, but her heart was accepting that her opponent was reaching her level. ¡°I wonder what happens if my Phlogiston Heart breaks.¡± ¡°At the very least, you will lose your powers as a witch until it recovers.¡± Meaning¡­ ¡°You will lose your power of imagination and creation as the Black Witch¡­and our bond will be temporarily severed. Because our ability as a witch has been written into the framework of this world¡¯s rules.¡± Horinouchi saw the enemy beyond the ether shards that blew through the air like spring flowers. She was undamaged and her power far surpassed Horinouchi¡¯s. But¡­ ¡­Is she tired? No. That was not it. She seemed to just be standing there, but that was due to Horinouchi¡¯s intense focus. The shattering pieces of the Hedgehog appeared to be falling in slow motion, so everything appeared frozen before her eyes, just like the target immediately before she fired. Her mind was clear. And she realized that the Black Witch indeed did not move right away and was probably creating a slight ¡°pause¡± before her next action. That gap was not due to exhaustion. Nor was it due to carelessness, resignation, anger, or hesitation. ¡°Is it relief¡­?¡± She had likely realized something and reached a certain conclusion after drawing out all her strength, dodging, attacking, breaking, and recovering it all. On top of that, Horinouchi thought about the girl named Kagami Shouko that Fleur had told her about. ¡­A girl who wanted to stop herself. Were they her children? No, they might be distant descendants, but they would not be her direct creations. And now they were fighting evenly with her. What would happen if she was bound by the Phlogiston Heart rule? She could secure an endless supply of ether and repair any damage, but her Phlogiston Heart reflected her will to fight and her willpower. If she really did want what Fleur claimed she did¡­ ¡°You understand now, don¡¯t you?¡± They had already proven something here. ¡°We can fight on your level or even higher.¡± She gestured toward everything around her. ¡°So this is the correct answer.¡± Shouko nodded. ¡­That¡¯s probably true. She could not help but understand something as she was driven into a corner and tried to reverse what had happened. She could reverse what had happened, but the fact that she had to meant they had gotten the upper hand here. Her own imagination had surpassed her as her enemy. She had somehow managed to recover, but¡­ ¡­That doesn¡¯t erase the fact that they outdid me. She might be able to erase the fact from her mind, but it would not erase the actual fact. In that case, this was enough. This world had surpassed her. I can stop myself. Yes. That¡¯s right. This is enough. However¡­ ¡°I haven¡¯t been rebuked yet.¡± ¡°Amaze,¡± said the Black Witch. ¡°How many worlds have I destroyed?¡± ¡°I lost count after two thousand.¡± ¡°I see,¡± said the Black Witch. ¡°I see,¡± she said again with a nod. ¡°Then¡­they would probably want to know why I was treating this world so much better. Because I destroyed them. They would want me to be fair. ¡­They would want to know why I suddenly became such a good girl. If I¡¯m to be rebuked, they would say the only correct answers are for me to destroy or be destroyed.¡± So the Black Witch faced dead ahead and spoke to the vermilion bow-user. ¡°How dare you¡­!¡± She spoke the words that were correct for the Black Witch. ¡°How dare you¡­! How dare you try to break our creation¡­!¡± Mary saw the giant Device standing in Mogami Bay swing its sword at high speed. The blade launched the same pitch black attack that Mary and Hunter had stopped earlier. ¡°Miss Horinouchi!¡± Her Ira was already broken and she had entered a descent that allowed her to land safely. Hunter was the same, so there was nothing to protect Horinouchi. And Horinouchi launched an attack. A white arrow shell collided with the black shot. Their effects canceled each other out. ¡­Are you serious!? There was only one appropriate response to equaling one of the Black Witch¡¯s attacks head-on: ¡°Well done, Man-¡­nouchi!¡± She had trouble deciding which name to use and screwed it up. ¡°Ohh¡­¡± The Head Maid watched the ultra-precise shootout that had begun in the eastern sky. It was nothing more than an intersection of cannon blasts. But their method of defense was strange. They negated the enemy¡¯s shots with their own and then launched another shot of their own. The Black Witch held up her sword, caught the light on the blade, and sent it flying back once the light turned pitch black. Meanwhile, Horinouchi used simple rapid-fire to pierce the enemy¡¯s shells and get her own attacks through. The high-speed rally drew the afterimages of several dozen ballistic paths between them and it all accelerated. ¡°Well done, milady!¡± They raised their voices as one to praise their master. Horinouchi sped up. Her opponent did the same in response. No, the Black Witch was raising her speed as high as she could imagine. In that case¡­ ¡°I will show you the rapid-fire of someone with official training and practice¡­!¡± ¡°Well done! Well done indeed!¡± Shut up, Hunter. But there was one thing she came to understand here. Every part of her that had its beginnings in that night ten years ago would find its result in what happened tonight. She hoped that result would be a good one, but¡­ ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± She focused. The high-speed back-and-forth left a trail of afterimages, but each individual light felt like the result of the last ten years. ¡°Time for the Serious Mode my mother taught me!¡± She bared her right shoulder to lighten the arm nocking the arrows. The night breeze felt chilly on her skin. ¡°Here I go!¡± She continued her rapid-fire. Shouko felt satisfied. ¡°Amaze.¡± During the exchange of light and power, Amaze opened several spell circles. They displayed the state of the battles and resistance occurring across Japan and all over the world. Her reinforcements had already arrived all around the globe and the flames of war were spreading all over. Cities were probably being destroyed and engulfed in flames while so very much was lost. ¡­That¡¯s right. If she knew she could be rebuked, she could not just let it end like this. The worlds she had already destroyed would never allow it. So she continued the exchange of power while watching the battles around the world. ¡­Yes. The people were resisting her and what she had imagined. Some of them would probably fail, but the very act of resistance was a stark contrast to ten years ago. She did not know if they could do it now, but she was certain this world could greatly surpass her imagination. Constant resistance was a necessary part of imagining. So they could overcome everything. Some of them had the talent to surpass her imagination. The entire world had evolved so it could surpass her imagination. The common people could join together and surpass her imagination. So what about me? If this world surpasses me, will I be left behind? ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± She did not know and she did not want to know. The answer might be different, but¡­ ¡­Yes. I had no talent. My world fell apart. I had no friends. Where did I go wrong? Or was there some other answer for me? But there was one way of escaping this anxiety. ¡°Amaze. If I do defeat this world¡­¡± ¡°Yes, I am prepared to create the next world.¡± ¡°I see,¡± she said before testing it out. Their speed was still rising, but it was still within what she could imagine. ¡°Did you know? My power is almost identical to my sister¡¯s. With the exception of Amaze.¡± After descending to the surface, Hunter saw the rally overhead. But suddenly, she saw the Black Witch¡¯s giant Device reveal a certain trick. The 3km Queen-style suddenly spread its arms to either side. If that was all, it would have looked like some kind of pose. But it was not. The giant Device held a black sword in its right hand. ¡­Huh? For a moment, Hunter thought there was something wrong with her eyes, but there was not. The giant Device also held a black sword in its left hand. ¡°She duplicated it!?¡± That was right. Other than the Book of Creation, the Black Witch had almost the same abilities as Kagami. Which meant¡­ ¡°That¡¯s cheating¡­!¡± The Black Witch¡¯s giant Device crossed its swords to block Akerindou¡¯s attacks. And then it swung both arms. ¡°¡­This ends here.¡± The twin swords fired twin blasts. They were launched with slightly shifted positioning and timing and they flew straight toward Akerindou. They were moving far too fast to dodge and the two attacks on different paths could not both be negated. And they were both on a collision course. Horinouchi was prepared to take a hit. The best choice was probably to activate a three-arrows defense and stop both shots. But¡­ ¡­That shield can¡¯t cover a wide enough area! She knew she could not afford to give up. ¡°¡­Heh.¡± So she breathed a surprisingly optimistic bitter laugh. She made up her mind, faced the two incoming attacks, hurriedly fired and activated a defense spell, and¡­ ¡°Who was it that turned me into such a positive thinker?¡± As soon as she said that, she saw the Black Witch bring the two swords together after swinging them. ¡­Huh? Horinouchi had assumed she was using the double swords to double the number of shots fired and number of responses required from Horinouchi, but that was not the case. She brought the two blades together and swung both arms horizontally. ¡°She¡¯s firing with double power!?¡± A shot with far greater speed flew toward her through the gap between the previous two. Horinouchi was sure she had been hit. She had hurriedly put together the three-arrows and fired a shot, but¡­ ¡­I wasn¡¯t fast enough? She heard the cacophony of impact and shattering armor. The atmosphere vibrated and ether light exploded. She had been hit. There was no questioning that. But something odd had happened. Other than the vibration in the air¡­ ¡°¡­Eh?¡± Akerindou was not shaking as it fell apart, it did not lose balance, and she felt no damage whatsoever. She looked to her shoulder and saw the Suzaku had left its spell circle. The vermillion servant had gathered all its things in a cloth carried over its back, but it looked around and then at her. ¡°¡­¡± It silently stepped back into the spell circle. ¡­Looks like you packed up for nothing. And how did you tie that cloth anyway? Well? Anyway, Horinouchi could see no change. Akerindou remained intact and, in a scene that seemed to be happening a lot lately, Kagami was there. ¡°Horinouchi, could you warn me next time if you are going to be firing your three arrows? It was horribly difficult finding the right timing to intervene and the shot deflected by your three arrows just about hit me, so it was just difficult all round.¡± ¡°Well, um, but¡­¡± She had no idea what was going on. She only knew that something weird was happening. But that change was probably so large that she was having difficulty seeing it all. So¡­ ¡°Kagami¡­does anything here seem odd to you?¡± ¡°Good question, Horinouchi. We really should have saved the world and been done with all this by now, so what are we still doing out here?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± said Horinouchi as she finally realized what it was. She looked to Kagami in her Holy Knight outfit and to the sword Magino Device positioned vertically as a shield in front of Akerindou. ¡°Why are you heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere!?¡± Volume 4, 14: You Shall Cut the Light Volume 4, Chapter 14: You Shall Cut the Light The anger and resignation Of having your many questions concentrated down to a single answer Kagami thought deeply about Horinouchi¡¯s question. ¡­Why am I here? It was a very philosophical question. And since Horinouchi had asked it, she could assume there was real meaning to the question. So¡­ ¡°Horinouchi, wait just a moment.¡± ¡°Is there any reason to wait?¡± Show some patience. But this must mean she is expecting something of me. In that case¡­ ¡°Could you give me a hint?¡± Horinouchi responded by pointing behind Kagami. Kagami looked in that direction and saw the badly-destroyed city of Kamakura and¡­ ¡°¡­Shouko.¡± That giant black humanoid Device stood there with two swords. ¡­I see. She realized there were also battles being fought all around them. The Black Witch¡¯s minions continued to fall from the sky. The explosions of light and sounds of destruction were primarily to the west, but they were getting closer. What did that mean? ¡°It would seem I arrived in time for the peak of the festival.¡± ¡°Sorry about the wait, everyone. This is where things truly begin.¡± Horinouchi smiled bitterly at what Kagami said in the middle of the battlefield. That girl was as haughty as ever. But¡­ ¡°You made us wait far too long, Kagami.¡± ¡°Yes, and I feel bad. But my dream lasted a little long.¡± That was right. Kagami was supposed to be trapped in a ¡°dream¡±. ¡°How did you escape the dream?¡± ¡°It was simple. I might have been asleep, but someone outside the dream woke me. ¡­Horinouchi, I heard your voice: ¡®Help me, Kagamiii!¡¯ Yes, it would have been an insult to the Kagami name if I had not answered your cry!¡± ¡°I said nothing of the sort.¡± ¡°Now, now. There is no need to be embarrassed, Horinouchi! I felt a squeezing in my chest when I heard your heart¡¯s voice!¡± ¡°My heart didn¡¯t say it either!¡± she responded, but she belatedly realized just how much Kagami must have been thinking about her. Horinouchi was considerate enough to realize that. So¡­ ¡°What will you do now, Kagami?¡± ¡°Well, first there is one thing I want to check on.¡± Kagami pointed Dikaiosyne toward the Black Witch. ¡°Shouko.¡± Horinouchi was not sure if the Black Witch would respond, but she did so. ¡°What? Don¡¯t interfere.¡± ¡°I was just wondering what you had named that rip-off of a Frame you copied from Horinouchi¡¯s mother. You might have said it before, but I haven¡¯t had a chance to hear it.¡± On Horinouchi¡¯s spell circle, Hunter was holding up a spell circle with ¡°Don¡¯t provoke her!¡± written on it. Oh, Hunter doesn¡¯t know how to write that kanji. I know how. But the spell circle also showed Mary moving her right hand in a circle to say ¡°Wrap it up! Wrap it up!¡± and Horinouchi had to agree with her. But after a breath, the response arrived. ¡°The Satanic Frame.¡± She had said it. Shouko had definitely answered her sister. And her sister tilted her head. ¡°Huh? One more time.¡± ¡°The Satanic Frame.¡± ¡°One more time.¡± ¡°The S-Satanic¡­Frame.¡± ¡°And what does that mean?¡± ¡°Eh? Um, uh, a Satan¡­ish Frame?¡± ¡°Shouko¡­ Is the Black Witch the devil? No. She is not, is she? She is simply a witch decked out in all black, right? That is at best Queen-style. ¡­So why are you calling yourself satanic?¡± Umm, she thought before realizing something. ¡°Wh-what does it matter!? That¡¯s just how it works in this world! Isn¡¯t that good enough!? Besides, what are you calling your big Frame!?¡± Her sister discussed something with the shrine maiden witch. After a while, her sister gave the shrine maiden an OK gesture. ¡°This one is known as the Geo Frame.¡± ¡°Huh? Geo isn¡¯t even an adjective. Besides, isn¡¯t Geo an earth goddess? It¡¯s true a Shinto shrine maiden will have local deities tied to the earth, but isn¡¯t it weird to call it Geo?¡± ¡°Shouko¡­¡± Her sister used her large sword as a staff and tilted her head. ¡°That is why you have hit your limit here.¡± ¡°Even after everything you told me about her,¡± said Amaze. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize just how unreasonable your sister is.¡± ¡°Right!? Right!? I wasn¡¯t lying! Everything I said was true!¡± ¡°Actually, you might be about as bad as her¡­¡± ¡°Nooo! Not even this book will take my side!¡± ¡°Now, then,¡± said Kagami. She had a lot of opinions here, but¡­ ¡°Shouko. ¡­It is time to say goodbye to the Book of Creation there.¡± ¡°Huh? Why?¡± It must have seemed sudden. Kagami would not demand she part with the book. Nor would she force her to. She did not intend to wield her power as a sister. Forcing it with her authority would only lead to the girl relying on something similar in the future. Thus¡­ ¡°You, Book of Creation. Amaze, was it? It seems you can speak with me here. This conversation should have shown you how unreasonable I am, and that will not change.¡± ¡°Are you saying you can sever the bond between Shouko and me?¡± asked the book. ¡°Shouko wanted me. Even if you destroy her Phlogiston Heart and sever our bond using this world¡¯s rules, that will only last until her Heart recovers. It will ultimately return to normal.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. This can¡¯t be changed by force,¡± said her sister. ¡°And I can¡¯t beat you, Kagami. But when I¡¯m with Amaze, I¡¯m the Black Witch and she¡¯s far more powerful than you.¡± ¡°So the question is how we can win,¡± said Kagami. That sounded like a riddle, but¡­ ¡°Kagami.¡± Horinouchi stood next to her and raised her hand. Kagami knew what she was going to do, so she took her hand. ¡°Our imagination will defeat the Black Witch, correct?¡± ¡°This is mostly due to your influence, you know?¡± ¡°Your heart belongs to you, Horinouchi.¡± Horinouchi, smiled a little at that. And so they spoke in unison: ¡°Summon¡­Geo Frame!¡± Volume 4, 15: The Two Together Volume 4, Chapter 15: The Two Together Strength pours evenly in here Power shakes the heavens and obeys Force reverberates and covers the earth A great roar was reflected in the sky, permeated the land, and echoed back. Across Japan, especially around Kantou, the people battling the Black Witch¡¯s reinforcements were worried about when the descent of enemies would end. ¡°Hey¡­¡± They heard something like distant thunder in the sky and saw lightning in the Tokyo region. The witches exchanged words as they struck the black dragons and resisted despite being pushed back and destroyed. ¡°Do you know what these tremors and those flashes of lightning in the sky are?¡± They did. Any witch here would understand. The noise, light, and shaking reaching them had one thing in common. ¡°This is the rhythm of footwork and sword fighting.¡± It all came from a battle. Just like them, something colossal had turned the eastern land into the scene of a showdown. The threat from the heavens continued to descend, the witches were hit and had their power taken, and there was no end in sight no matter how much of themselves they poured into the task. But¡­ ¡°They¡¯re fighting.¡± Someone else was. Someone other than them. Some unknown person. And that unknown someone was fighting for the same goal as them. Where was the frontline? That would be the showdown to the east, but¡­ ¡°It¡¯s here too!¡± The witches responded to the actions of the unknown eastern witch that reached them like natural phenomena. Both the women and men did. And not just those in Japan. It spread to everyone who understood the situation due to the communications, ley lines, and exchange of divine protections. ¡°Keep resisting¡­!¡± The battle continued. Fight. Resist. There is no point in accepting defeat to the enemy before your eyes. In the distance, someone was attempting to settle things with the Black Witch. With that in mind, they all matched their steps to the rumbling tremors, which provided a divine protection. ¡°No one¡¯s going to complain if we show off and keep going tonight!¡± ¡°They¡¯ll probably point out we¡¯re too old for this, though.¡± ¡°Who cares? It¡¯s like we only ever age once a decade anyway.¡± The witches laughed. They laughed and resisted the enemy. ¡°Hexennacht is the night when everyone spends ten years together¡­!¡± The battlefield had moved to Tokyo Bay. Instead of the Uraga Channel, they were deep in the bay where Shihouin Academy was, so the field was approximately 20km across and the water was nearly 20m deep. That was plenty of space for two 3km Devices to move around. The black and white opponents clashed. The white sword collided with the twin black swords. Once the blade was blocked, they changed position and sent out another attack. White sparks flew and black embers burst endlessly into the sky. The giants and Hexennacht as a whole had disturbed the air currents, causing a meteorological oddity around Tokyo Bay. It began as thunder clouds rising over an area twice the size of the bay. Lightning ran through the clouds, the din of clashing swords shook those dark clouds, and localized rain and lightning once more spread out through the sky. The racing lightning sought somewhere to go, washed across the surfaces of the giant Devices, came to an end, and disappeared. Three people danced amid it all. Two were the witches holding hands on the chest of the giant white Device. The third was the witch wielding two swords atop the chest of the giant black Device. They danced with a view that extended beyond each other and beyond even the entire battlefield. Their gazes seemed to view the entire world and beyond. They stepped, swung their bodies this way and that, and occasionally spun or paused. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± They showed no fear even as lightning flashed around them and rain poured down on them. ¡°Kagami,¡± said one witch. ¡°If we destroy her Phlogiston Heart, can we separate Shouko from the Book of Creation?¡± ¡°Yes. The book said so itself. Although it would be temporary.¡± ¡°Then we need to destroy the Book of Creation in that time. ¡­Right?¡± ¡°Well done, Horinouchi.¡± The other witch smiled but her expression immediately returned to normal. ¡°Why is it everyone seems to know what I want more than I do? But in that case¡­¡± That witch formed a sword between her and the witch holding her hand. There was a Suzaku and a dragon on their shoulders. They both placed a hand on the sword¡¯s hilt and held it to support the blade. ¡°Here goes.¡± ¡°I will go even further than you.¡± ¡°Then¡­let¡¯s go together.¡± The two witches stepped forward on the stage. After regrouping with Mary, Hunter was in the sky. She and Mary were both riding different fighters. ¡°It took them three steps to reach Tokyo Bay, but we aren¡¯t so lucky¡­!¡± They had a reason to go there and to pursue the others. But when they looked down from the sky¡­ ¡°¡­Ohh¡­¡± Central Kamakura had lost most of its buildings, so they had an excellent view of the battle in Tokyo Bay. The three people and two Devices continued their swordfight deep in the thunder clouds that obscured the view like a forest¡¯s trees. The sound of ether light sparks indicated that the giant black and white Devices were accelerating their clash. The density of attacks was far greater than when they had fought Hunter and Mary. And Mary called over from the other fighter. ¡°Elsie Hunter! Down below¡­!¡± ¡°I see it.¡± Something became apparent once they gained altitude. There were fires on the surface and shards of ether light scattered like flower petals. Several black figures moved through those areas and spread destruction, but there were also plenty of people resisting them, using their own power, saving people, and changing position. And it was more than just unfamiliar witches. Even the normal citizens were among them. They were not just fighting. If surviving was to resist destruction, then evacuation was another form of resistance. And then Hunter realized something. ¡°Was my dad a part of this ten years ago?¡± This was the same. It was the same as her father¡¯s battlefield, the same as her father¡¯s sky. She felt the same thing her father had. Tokyo Bay spread out straight ahead. As they flew straight through the thunder clouds¡­ ¡°Kagami, Horinouchi¡­!¡± The giant white Device accelerated. The twin black swords were deflected by the pommel and they spread out. ¡°Keep going¡­!¡± Kagami knew their attack had hit. Her sister¡¯s blade had also hit them, but it only managed to scrape them. Their attack had clearly broken something. The black Satanic Frame¡¯s right shoulder had obviously lost the spherical motor below the armor. ¡°The ¡®mold¡¯ from Mary severing the arm is still there!¡± ¡°I see,¡± said Kagami to praise her student. After all, it was thanks to Mary¡¯s consideration that she had been able to come here at all. Lisbeth had said that Mary referred to her as ¡°Second Headmaster¡± when she was fighting the Black Witch. That had reminded Lisbeth of Shihouin Academy and of Kagami sleeping in the medical building. She had claimed Shihouin Academy might have been destroyed had she continued fighting. Many factors had been necessary for Kagami to be here now. ¡°You have my thanks.¡± With that, she continued attacking. She knew what to target. Once they had caught her sister¡¯s sword, they had to push forward, deflect the other sword with the pommel or guard, and¡­ ¡°There¡­!¡± Their attack reached the opposite shoulder from before. It broke. The attack did not have much speed behind it, but it was a very heavy sword. Ether light fragments scattered, but the giant black Device¡­ ¡°It isn¡¯t working¡­!¡± Instant regeneration returned the motor below the armor to normal. But¡­ ¡°Kagami¡­!¡± Kagami saw what Horinouchi meant. On the giant black Device¡¯s chest stage, her sister was raising twin swords and breathing heavily, but a book floated in front of her. That was¡­ ¡°The Book of Creation¡­!¡± ¡°Amaze.¡± Shouko tried to ask what the book was doing. She wanted to say moving out in front was dangerous. But she was too out of breath. ¡°You¡¯ve pushed yourself too far, Shouko. ¡­I cannot imagine things like you can, but the things you imagine and create are accumulated inside me. So I can use that to support you.¡± ¡°You idiot.¡± She smiled bitterly. ¡°That¡¯s just like when we first met. You said, ¡®I cannot imagine things like you can, but the things I have seen imagined and created are accumulated inside me. So I can use that to support your writing.¡¯ ¡± ¡°Did I say that?¡± ¡°Sorry, I might have invented that memory.¡± ¡°Then I said it.¡± Amaze smiled and faced forward. Or it seemed like it. ¡°Let¡¯s do this,¡± it said. The Satanic Frame moved forward. Shouko had not willed it to do so, but¡­ ¡­I desire. If I have accumulated within Amaze, then this is everything I have been until now. And this is Amaze¡¯s judgment of me after watching me. That means I¡¯m even more unrefined than I think I am. ¡°I desire, Amaze. ¡­Just like when we first met, I simply desire.¡± So¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s hit them with all of ¡®our¡¯-selves, Amaze.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± agreed Amaze. And: ¡°Kagami¡­! Don¡¯t think imagination is enough to defeat our accumulated creation¡­!¡± The Satanic Frame had briefly come to a stop, but Horinouchi realized it had accelerated once more. ¡­It¡¯s fast? She added the question mark because she sensed no will behind their opponent¡¯s movements. The motions were smooth, like something someone had practiced over and over. ¡°Kh¡­!¡± They were now fighting a defensive battle. Kagami also seemed to understand what was happening with the attacks from the giant black Device and its twin swords. ¡°This is a combination of katas! ¡­None of it is new, but it is the same as us!¡± ¡°The same?¡± ¡°Even if it is nothing special, by combining enough of them together, it becomes something new.¡± Meaning¡­ ¡°The Book of Creation does not have its own imagination, but it is trying to surpass the imagination inside it!¡± The two Geo Frames crossed swords while moving around Tokyo Bay. Their blades collided, but then the twin black swords both fired. Each of the individual movements was something that had happened before. But the timing and situation were different. What had previously only been trying to score a hit was being used as the optimal form of that motion. The series of attacks was dense and unpredictable. They fired at each other, they deflected each other¡¯s blades, and the black power roared. ¡°Kagami! Did you know this!? Shouko has envied you for a long, long time and she always wanted to defeat you one day!¡± So¡­ ¡°So I will make sure that happens¡­!¡± Something changed with those words. The entire giant black Device grew. It grew to approximately 1.3 times its previous size. The great size did not create any kind of gap and the power and pressure grew with it. ¡°Do you understand!?¡± The giant black Device raised its voice while swinging a truly impressive blade with even more force and speed than the white sword. ¡°That is her desire!¡± it said. It split the thunder clouds, used its footwork to keep up with the giant white Device that slid to the side so that it would not be pushed back, and pummeled that white Device with two black blades. ¡°Do you understand!?¡± it asked again. It continued while the twin black blades attacked without rest from multiple directions. ¡°To imagine is to desire! Imagination lies at the base of all forms of affirmation ¨C be it fame, money, pleasure, knowledge, or self-satisfaction!¡± Do you understand? ¡°When comparing you to Shouko, Shouko has the far greater complex¡­!¡± A sword strike knocked the white Device back to the edge of the bay. Waves broke on the nighttime coast and the white giant just barely managed to remain standing while the black queen continued a calm march forward. ¡°We turn imagination into power, so you cannot defeat us¡­!¡± But a voice responded to that announcement. ¡°So what?¡± Two witches firmly held hands on the chest of the giant white Device. The one wearing a Holy Knight-style Frame spoke. ¡°Let me make one thing clear.¡± ¡°And what is that!?¡± ¡°Well.¡± The witch smiled. ¡°If you can only view imagination as power, then you are already obsolete.¡± The giant black Device responded in two ways. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± First, it fell silent. And then it began a mad dash straight forward. ¡­Evade! Horinouchi wielded Dikaiosyne with Kagami and when they leaped, the Geo Frame moved as well. Then the 1.3x-sized twin swords struck the space they had just vacated. ¡°That was a splendid evasion, Horinouchi!¡± ¡°I think the buildings in the Makuhari region were squashed flat!¡± ¡°Yes, my sister once went to Makuhari instead of Ariake because she mistakenly thought the event was being held there. This was probably an indirect expression of anger over that.¡± ¡°There¡¯s another attack coming!¡± They ducked and a sword slash powerful enough to destroy a small island passed just above the Geo Frame¡¯s head. They stood up to take advantage of the opening after the enemy¡¯s attack. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± She nodded and had Dikaiosyne interfere. They moved forward. After evading the one attack, they made an attack of their own before the next one. The precise movements that even used the scattering thunder clouds as cover were a true tightrope walk. But as they continued moving and using their entire body to evade and attack, Kagami spoke to her as if whispering. ¡°Horinouchi, this is where it ends. ¡­Fighting while protecting you and also being protected by you was truly worthwhile.¡± Why are you saying this now? wondered Horinouchi, but she felt the same. So as they dodged the enemy¡¯s swords and the wind whipped up the bottom of her Form, she responded. ¡°¡­I feel the same. You taught me I didn¡¯t have to do it all alone.¡± ¡°You have my thanks.¡± Seeing Kagami¡¯s smile, Horinouchi smiled back and nodded, but then they both faced forward. ¡°Let¡¯s do this.¡± An attack was swinging down from above, but they did not dodge it or knock it aside. They bent their entire body like a bow and sent Dikaiosyne in from below. ¡°¡­!¡± Dikaiosyne shattered at almost the exact moment the twin black swords were deflected. ¡°Huh¡­!?¡± Shouko sensed danger in Amaze¡¯s confusion. Something beyond their imagination had occurred. ¡­They were willing to shatter their own sword to knock us off balance!? The giant white Device stood before them with its arms spread wide, but it was unarmed. Meanwhile, their arms were similarly spread wide, but they had a sword in each hand. Their arms were positioned at about the right point for a mid-level sword strike, so Amaze would probably shift into exactly such an attack. That meant they could still pull this off. It was all thanks to Amaze increasing the Satanic Frame¡¯s size. She understood that Amaze was not trying to make attacks of its own but was replaying the motions found in what she had accumulated within it. Since only the necessary attacks were made, there was no unnecessary effort and the attacks were light. They moved swiftly from one attack to another, but there was no weight to them. That was why Amaze had grown the Satanic Frame to acquire the necessary weight. It had also had a secondary effect on their reach and sturdiness. Deflecting each other¡¯s attacks had opened a space between them, but the Satanic Frame¡¯s attacks could reach the enemy. And it was thanks to the growth that their swords had not broken even though the enemy¡¯s had. Shouko and Amaze had the upper hand. There was only one area where the other side had an advantage. ¡°Amaze¡­!¡± The exhaustion was intense. Her head in particular was overheating from thinking about too many things. But this was something only she could imagine. ¡°And I will do what I can!¡± Her opponent¡¯s advantage was her advantage. After all¡­ ¡­My sister will remake the broken sword¡­! Not repair, but remake it from scratch. And if they had created an opening in her Satanic Frame for that¡­ ¡°I¡¯ll take it for myself!¡± Shouko pulled in the ether from the destroyed Device. She had the greater power because she had Amaze. So if she secured her sister¡¯s ether light and used it to repair her Satanic Frame and the twin swords¡­ ¡°You¡¯re out of weapons, Kagami¡­!¡± Once she shouted that, she saw two straight lines. ¡­Eh? They were two paths cutting through the sky from southwest to northeast. They were fighters. F-23s. Wow, they¡¯re just like I designed them, she thought as they passed between the giant white Device¡¯s spread arms. And they launched two figures. ¡°It can¡¯t be¡­!¡± Hunter spread her arms toward the sky as she fell along with Mary. ¡°Take this! And¡­¡± ¡°Please go get ¡®em, Brigadier General! Miss Horinouchi!¡± What kind of polite language is that? wondered Hunter as they used the heat of their Phlogiston Hearts to release the ether they had gathered. They released it into the spread arms of the white Geo Frame. ¡°Bring out Akerindou!¡± It was summoned as if in response to those words. That giant vermilion and white bow was a Magino Device capable of scoring a bull¡¯s-eye even at great distances. The Black Witch recalled the night ten years before. A similar scene had occurred during that Hexennacht too. ¡°Repeat material¡­!?¡± She said that, but a part of her told her she was wrong. Ten years before, the giant white Device had not had any companions. That was different now. This was someone with talent. They were supported by the evolution of the world. And they could surpass anything with the changes brought on by their companions. If this was what this world had lacked ten years before¡­ ¡°They got it right in the retake!?¡± She raised her voice and sent her two blades toward the center of her vision. However¡­ ¡°Shouko!¡± The attack launched her way scored a direct hit. The sounds of breaking metal and falling stones spread without end. But Horinouchi realized the Black Witch was still hanging on. It was not over yet. Their opponent had not yet given in. She stepped forward to defeat that opponent. And someone else stepped forward alongside her. ¡°Are you sure, Horinouchi?¡± ¡°Sure about what?¡± ¡°In a way, I am dragging you into what should only be between my sister and me.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind,¡± she said. ¡°Remember what you said happened to your home in this imaginary world? That the building and everything else were blown away?¡± But¡­ ¡°Koutarou looked into it and I visited it myself. The house was inside a forest that you could oddly never enter from the road, but there was one part of the road from which you could see it¡­and that showed a scene of two sisters smiling and living together.¡± That settled it. ¡°Our desires are the same.¡± ¡°Yes¡­if you insist on being my stalker, then I shall become your stalker as well.¡± Shut up. At any rate, the two of them stepped forward. They released the bow and reconstructed the sword. Their opponent had fallen back a bit and ether light smoke was spewing from all over its body, but it had survived. It bent back but then curled its body forward as if to hold in what it contained inside. And it used that momentum to attack. It brought the twin swords together overhead and swung them down. But Horinouchi and Kagami stepped forward. They understood. They were not alone here. Across the country and the world, everyone stepped forward in unison. That witch¡¯s step struck the earth as one. ¡°Milady! ¡­This is the world¡¯s divine protection!¡± Koutarou yelled over the transmission. The movements of Kagami, Horinouchi, and the Geo Frame were being monitored by the US military via Hunter and Mary. The Head Maid and the others here had gathered that data, taken the transmission lag time into account to predict the exact timing, and sent out the instruction for the step. That instruction was spread to every part of the world that their will could reach: night or day, land or sky, solid footing or no footing at all. ¡°Let¡¯s do this, Head Butler¡­!¡± said the Head Maid. ¡°The world¡¯s greatest witch divine protection will assist Lady Mitsuru¡¯s step!¡± Koutarou wondered how this would turn out, but he also thought about Horinouchi who had taken them this far. ¡°Well done, milady!¡± Horinouchi smiled a little. Was Koutarou relaying this battle to everyone? That crucial step had been supported from the other side. All the world¡¯s witches were telling them to keep going. They must have been thinking of her and Kagami while taking similar steps of resistance. She was glad. She simply stepped forward, while their opponent¡­ ¡°Ahhhhhhh¡­!!¡± Her attempt to endure the damage led to her greatest speed yet. Horinouchi and Kagami were going to be hit first, but then Kagami spoke. ¡°Shouko.¡± She simply spoke to their opponent. ¡°I had a dream. I had a chance to review what we did so very long ago. And there is one thing I forgot to say.¡± Kagami smiled while countering the attack. ¡°Do you remember the many stories you showed me back then? It is about them¡­¡± She looked to her sister. ¡°They were good. I could not bring myself to admit it at the time and that was wrong of me. The stories you wrote were good. I guarantee it. ¡­So how about you take better care of the things you create from now on? After all, they are a part of you.¡± ¡°She said she had one thing to say, but didn¡¯t she just say a lot more than one thing!?¡± protested Amaze. ¡°That¡¯s just the kind of person she is¡­!¡± Shouko thought to herself as she answered. ¡­I just can¡¯t win. Her sister had apologized to her. She had not asked Shouko to forgive her. She had accepted Shouko¡¯s complex and then asked Shouko to place all responsibility on her. She was a strong person, but Shouko understood that strength. It was not just her strength. It came from being with other people. The more she was with someone else, the greater the possibilities of her imagination grew. ¡­I can¡¯t win. And her sister had also said exactly what Shouko had desired. ¡°Amaze, I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. I understand. ¡­You want to take care of what you created instead of destroying it, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She was still responsible for destroying all the previous worlds and she had her own personal issues, but her sister would accept her and had realized what she wanted to do. So¡­ ¡°I can¡¯t help but desire it. ¡­It really isn¡¯t fair of me, is it?¡± ¡°Now, now, Shouko. It isn¡¯t unfair to desire something. ¡­What¡¯s unfair is desiring something but hiding that fact.¡± And¡­ ¡°You desired something and you created it instead of hiding it. Where you went from there is where you differ from me. That is all.¡± Amaze seemed to affirm her decision while continuing to attack. ¡°I exist to create new things. If you want to create a world inside you and take good care of it, that will sometimes mean not prioritizing new things.¡± So¡­ ¡°I might be obsolete.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you let my sister influence you too.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± said Amaze. ¡°There is nothing new in a retake, but just as combining the ordinary can lead to creation, combining multiple retakes might just lead to something no one has ever achieved. That is not my method, but if you can make that method work¡­you will take over as creator after me.¡± Amaze moved forward. ¡°So watch me. ¡­And if I do well, praise me.¡± Kagami made an attack. The enemy¡¯s twin swords were held together and she sent the blade on an accurate path toward the center of those two blades as a counterattack that took advantage of the enemy¡¯s movement and weight. ¡°Let us return everything to the way it was, Shouko. ¡­Back when we imagined, cried, laughed, and even felt anger.¡± It hit, so it shattered the blades. The attack broke through and opened the way, so they stepped forward again. The white Geo Frame bisected the black Satanic Frame as if embracing it. Volume 4, 16: Sink the Heavens Volume 4, Chapter 16: Sink the Heavens Say goodbye To the sky you looked up into Light danced. With the dark clouds in the sky, Horinouchi thought it looked like snow, even with the moon out. As far as she could tell from the Geo Frame¡¯s chest, the light was falling all across Kantou. And starting from the band of planetary-level divine protection created on the surface¡­ ¡°They¡¯re disappearing, aren¡¯t they?¡± The Black Witch¡¯s reinforcements were crumbling. Everything came to a stop and seemed to melt away. Once their bodies had collapsed about halfway, they broke apart into ether light. There were some in the sky that had yet to fall, but they scattered into light in midair. ¡°Oh, my.¡± When she looked far into the distance, the band of light spread out like a curtain from east to west. Hexennacht was over and the glowing curtain was closing. It was a strange sight. ¡°Even the giant Black Device and those dragons and dolls become ether light once they break apart.¡± She then looked over at Kagami. Kagami held a girl in her arms. That girl who wore a black Form was the being they had called the Black Witch. But now¡­ ¡°Is your sister all right?¡± ¡°She was always much more peaceful while asleep. And peaceful is probably what she plans to be now. But¡­¡± Kagami placed her sister in a cradle made from a spell circle. Horinouchi knew what Kagami wanted to do. There was something they had left undone. She looked directly overhead, toward the moon. The full moon still hung in the center of the heavens. ¡°Since the moon has not moved from that spot, it must not be my sister¡¯s doing.¡± They saw a line of light as they looked up. ¡°It is the Book of Creation.¡± I need to land somewhere higher up next time I drop down onto it, thought Hunter as she climbed up onto the Geo Frame¡¯s chest stage. She was of course using her Normal Frame, but so was Mary who had also climbed up. And after exchanging a glance, they heard a voice from above. ¡°Did you save Shouko!?¡± Fleur jumped toward them with a light step and she was oddly full of energy. But then she opened a spell circle connected to the Shihouin Academy HQ. ¡°It¡¯s the Book of Creation!¡± said Lisbeth. ¡°Can you see it!?¡± Damn right they could see it. It seemed to be making sure they could not avoid seeing its glowing ascent. ¡°That book¡­is on Shouko¡¯s side, right?¡± But if they did not do anything, this really would get serious, even if it was only pretending. ¡°It intends to escape to the moon and seal itself once more!¡± said Lisbeth. ¡°That way we cannot interfere until it finds a new imaginer.¡± Would that really be so bad? thought Hunter, but she knew that was being na?ve. ¡°Anyone the Book of Creation chooses would be a creator who only ever chooses what¡¯s new, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°That is correct, ¡­It was created in the world¡¯s dawning age, so there would have been nothing in the world and it would have been acceptable to only desire for what is new.¡± Kagami shut her eyes just once. ¡°But now the world is a richer place and needs to do things differently, so the Book of Creation no longer fits in.¡± So¡­ ¡°Let us send it back. ¡­This world has surpassed imagination, so let us return that power of creation to the ley lines so that it might become one with everything. That is what we must do as those who will live out the new way of doing things.¡± Kagami nodded. Hunter, Mary, Fleur, and Horinouchi formed a ring with her and raised their hands. ¡°Let us bring an end to the illusions and misunderstandings of imagination that cross all the many worlds.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± agreed Horinouchi. ¡°From now on, Hexennacht will be a night worth remembering.¡± Koutarou saw the Geo Frame standing in Tokyo Bay change form. ¡­Is that¡­? It had used the Knight-style before, but now six giant wings grew from its back. And instead of folding up, they spread out in the air behind it. As for the front of the Geo Frame¡­ ¡°It¡¯s more subdued¡­?¡± ¡°No, Head Butler! It¡¯s getting even flashier!¡± ¡°That¡¯s the Princess-style! I¡¯ve never seen it before, but it has to be!¡± ¡°You don¡¯t get fashion at alllll, do you? The Head Maid is going to have a lot of trouble from now on, isn¡¯t she?¡± ¡°What does any of this have to do with me!?¡± protested the Head Maid. But more importantly, the six-winged Princess-style Geo Frame stood tall within the storm of ether light snow falling in the night. The weapon it raised was the weapon that had once pierced the Black Witch¡¯s hand as it approached from the moon. ¡°An arbalest made by combining Dikaiosyne with Akerindou!¡± The weapon was six-times larger than back then and the princess raised it toward the sky with both arms. It looked like an angel lifting a cross. Koutarou looked to the others. The Head Maid used a karate chop to silence a maid that was about to jump the gun and then she gave everyone a commanding look. With the others behind him, Koutarou lightly spun his arms around and then raised them. ¡°Well done, milady¡­!¡± ¡°Well done! Well done, Horinouchi. Oh, come to think of it, I never called you Manko this time! I need to do better than that, sorry! How about using it as the signal for firing!?¡± ¡°Can you please keep your eyes on the sky!?¡± Amaze saw something at a point on the earth far below. A phenomenon greater than a mere spell was underway and targeting Amaze. And there they were. It was Shouko¡¯s sister and her companions. ¡°Are you sure?¡± it asked. ¡°If you destroy ¡®me¡¯, every single world will lose the benefit of creation. That will delay the development of humanity. Can you really accept that!?¡± ¡°I can!¡± She did not hesitate to answer. That¡¯s incredible, it honestly thought. She is even more decisive than Shouko said. So Amaze waited for her words while continuing to fly. And her responding will reached it in the form of words. ¡°We now see imagination as something real, even without turning it into creation.¡± But¡­ ¡°You claim imagination is mere fiction and you value imagination while also throwing it out instead of taking care of it, so your role has ended!¡± So¡­ ¡°From now on, remain in this world and use that divine protection of creation to protect everything, you guardian of humanity!¡± It saw light rising from that point on the earth. The attack was directed straight toward it. This was an attack greater than imagination and it was more powerful than everything Shouko and Amaze¡¯s previous owners had accumulated. ¡­I see. Amaze only now accepted that this girl was Shouko¡¯s sister. ¡°Guardian of humanity, hm?¡± There was no greater praise. The attack pierced the heavens and the blast pushed Tokyo Bay down to the very bottom. Shihouin Academy had defense barriers up, but the pier and surrounding water were blown away and the mud of the ocean bottom burst with enough force to splatter onto the barriers and bounce off again. Tokyo Bay¡¯s coast was using all of its anti-wave spells and tsunami-protection technology. A cylinder of light seemed to surround the stage where the Geo Frame¡¯s attack reached the moon. The shell broke through the Book of Creation and crashed into the moon. It hit. The moon changed form. The white satellite bent as if being pushed away from the earth, split around the swollen peak, and then shrank in size. After everything was compressed to about two-thirds its size, the shell¡¯s power had nowhere else to go, so it finally carved away at the surface. It tore into the moon and simply attempted to pierce straight through it. There was a house at the location of the hit, but it was shattered and everything was smashed to pieces by that mortar. All that remained was for that force to reach the core. It only took an instant. As if shifting its orbit, the crushed moon shook in the direction of the earth¡¯s rotation, but it could not withstand the strain and lost its form. It exploded. Amaze was reminded of old times in the instant it lost its shape. Even as it was destroyed, it did not forget the engineer who had produced it or a certain conversation held in front of a fireplace one night. That was after it had already lost its form as stone slabs but before it had gained its final form. At that time, it had just been made into a book. Its master had been an unselfish person, but he had been interested in books and had worked with Amaze to create technologies for producing and publishing books. After completing a few such technologies, Amaze had realized that he no longer had any desires. But it had thought this master was the most knowledgeable and thoughtful of any it had had before, so it had done one thing before returning to sleep. ¡°I want to know about the future.¡± That was something Amaze could not imagine. ¡°Master¡­at what time would I no longer be needed?¡± That conversation wasn¡¯t actually in Japanese, was it? I think I¡¯m altering the memory after spending so much time with Shouko. But whatever language it was in, Amaze¡¯s master had definitely given this reply: ¡°That would have to be far, far into the future.¡± ¡°Well, yes, I suppose so.¡± ¡°No, I am not just talking about a length of time.¡± What did that mean? ¡°It would have to happen for a reason that neither of us can imagine. The world would have to have grown rich enough to establish a reason we cannot accept. At a time like that, people like that would be born from the old things and not just the new things. It would have to be a cycle or a system with greater complexity.¡± ¡°You mean¡­?¡± ¡°The world would be overflowing with creations and a diversity of value systems would exist.¡± Amaze¡¯s master had smiled. ¡°I have no idea when a time like that would arrive, but you should feel proud when it does. Because it would be your presence that allowed the world to develop that far.¡± It had then gone to sleep. The next thing it had known, it was busy granting a certain girl¡¯s desires. Just now, the world had surpassed it. And not just the new things, but the old things, the common things, and everything else. ¡­Yes. If everything had the potential to create new things, then its role was over. ¡°Book of Creation,¡± said Shouko¡¯s sister. ¡°Return to the ley lines. And we will meet again somewhere. Next time, I hope we can do something together with you in your new form and new role.¡± ¡°I see,¡± it said. Its role was complete. But it would not disappear or be lost. It would return to the world it had created and be born again. And if it could hope for another life¡­ ¡°Shouko.¡± It too had something to say. It had to do with the many stories it had experienced with that girl. ¡°It was fun¡­to the very end.¡± What were you supposed to say when the conclusion left you hoping the next story would be just as enjoyable? Volume 4, 17: Oh, Unforgettable Moonlit Night Volume 4, Chapter 17: Oh, Unforgettable Moonlit Night I can¡¯t repair my heart in time And I can¡¯t gather up everything that spilled out Pieces of the moon scattered in the night sky like the milky way. Dawn gradually arrived. Hexennacht was over. And as the morning light shined on the Geo Frame¡¯s chest, Kagami stood with the light behind her and Shouko¡¯s cradle by her side. She looked back toward the others. ¡°Everyone.¡± Only after calling out to them did she realize the morning sun was visible through her body. The sunlight was faintly passing through her. ¡°It would certainly be a problem if my insides or some more arousing areas showed through.¡± ¡°I think we¡¯ll be fine as long as the contents of your mind don¡¯t show through.¡± She had to smile bitterly at Horinouchi¡¯s comment, but one thing was certain. ¡­So this is goodbye. She would leave this world. Her sister had lost her power and the Book of Creation was gone. She and her sister had been bound here by those things, so they would leave this imaginary world and return to the real world. They would wake from the dream. ¡°I want to scold Shouko for going with an ¡®it was all a dream¡¯ ending, but maybe that is not the best idea.¡± She saw that Shouko too was growing transparent. Horinouchi must have realized the time to say goodbye was approaching fast because she canceled her Frame. The Geo Frame slowly fell apart, but it was so large that there was plenty of time before it entirely vanished. Kagami also canceled her Frame and returned to her normal appearance. Then Horinouchi appeared right in front of her. ¡°This is goodbye, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Lose something and you will come across it again later. Look at it like that for now, Mitsuru.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She nodded and smiled a little. ¡°It isn¡¯t often you use my actual name.¡± ¡°You wanted me to call you Manko that badly¡­!?¡± She glared at Kagami. But Kagami did not let it bother her. ¡°But Horinouchi¡­I thought you had something to say to me before I left. What is it?¡± ¡°¡­Eh!?¡± Horinouchi suddenly blushed and froze in place, so Kagami walked all the way around her. ¡°In the hospital¡­yes, I do believe I heard something like that.¡± She added another ¡°yes¡±. ¡°For battle purposes, you should probably start using lipstick that does not come off quite so easily.¡± ¡­After everything, I have to deal with this!? Hunter and the others were whispering something behind the other two. ¡°See, she¡¯s like a wolf¡­¡± ¡°She¡¯s a lot more proactive than I thought¡­¡± ¡°Eh!? Won¡¯t we be in a lot of trouble if Shouko finds out!?¡± Shut up, all of you. And I certainly didn¡¯t expect things to turn out like this. But she wanted to fight it here. ¡°I will not say it. Saying it now would only make me regret it more.¡± ¡°In that case, there is something I would like to say. ¡­Horinouchi, could you lean in here for a moment?¡± ¡°For what?¡± She followed Kagami¡¯s beckoning and leaned forward. And Kagami kissed her. She heard an ¡°ah¡± and an ¡°oh¡±, but that was meaningless. Tears spilled from her eyes, but Kagami would not allow it. She pushed against her lips even harder and Horinouchi responded in kind. And¡­ ¡°Ah.¡± They pulled back for air at the exact same moment and more tears fell. She wiped them away with her hand. ¡°You idiot. ¡­Now there¡¯s no way I can forget.¡± Because¡­ ¡°¡­I can¡¯t believe we were thinking the same thing.¡± ¡°That is why I chose you, Horinouchi.¡± Kagami looked her in the eye with tears in the corners of her eyes as well. ¡°I chose you to laugh, cry, and grow angry with. ¡­And it does not matter even if you do forget me. I will always be with you whenever you laugh, cry, or grow angry.¡± Kagami picked up her sister. It was time to say goodbye. Horinouchi could still feel the heat on her lips as Kagami smiled and opened her mouth. In that instant, Horinouchi nodded and spoke her own words. So did everyone behind her. ¡°You have my thanks.¡± She heard Kagami¡¯s voice join theirs, but was that just as an illusion as she disappeared? Volume 4, Final : A Place of Memories Volume 4, Final Chapter: A Place of Memories That is me, who can establish anything Just by believing in it Kagami woke up. Her body felt horribly heavy and slanted. Of course it was. ¡°The usual riverbank¡­¡± When she went to meet her sister, if her sister was feeling well, they would come here to enjoy some snacks and to talk. When she got up, she noticed her hair color. It was black. Not white. ¡°Almost like I never went through all that hardship.¡± She breathed in and found she truly was below the Yokohama sky. The city air had the usual scent and the riverbank¡¯s grass covered damp soil. This same place had existed in the world she had just left, but this was the one she ¡°knew¡±. No, she had also known the place she had just left. She suddenly remembered someone with whom she had just said goodbye, so she wiped her eyes with her school uniform¡¯s sleeve. And she realized something: ¡°Shihouin Academy¡¯s uniform was the same as my high school¡¯s¡­¡± Shouko had designed that world, so it made sense that Kagami was enrolled at that school. Oh, whoops, she thought when she found herself thinking of herself in terms of that world. It had only lasted about half a year, but it had deeply influenced her. This was reality. She found it was evening. In her school uniform, she had awoken from a dream on the riverbank slope and she sat up. ¡°Shouko.¡± She looked to the side and saw her sister sleeping in her middle school uniform. She had not collapsed; she had fully surrendered to the sleepiness brought on by the warm sunbeam. It was cute how her knees were raised and held together as a remnant of trying to stay awake by holding her knees. ¡­Good. She could confirm the truth of what had happened once Shouko woke up. And from there, the question will be whether or not I want to believe it. ¡°Oh.¡± Then she spotted a book between her and Shouko. She first thought of the Book of Creation, but it was a notebook instead. She flipped through it in a bit of a hurry. ¡­An idea notebook. It contained the ideas for Shouko¡¯s new story. Kagami saw designs for a few swords and weapons as well as terms like Normal Frame and Magino Frame. As she flipped through it, a few tears dripped down and she laughed. ¡°How serious were you taking this, Shouko?¡± But seeing that gave her memories more clarity. She remembered the many battles and the everyday life, she smiled bitterly at her behavior, and she believed it all as true. It was like she had had a long dream. Yes, all of that had been real. ¡°Honestly¡­and when I have my entrance exam coming up this year.¡± Just as she sighed to calm herself, she heard a sudden voice from the top of the riverbank. ¡°Oh? Then you¡¯ll have to get studying, won¡¯t you?¡± ¡­Huh? It was a familiar voice, but it should not have been here. Kagami hesitantly looked back toward the top of the riverbank. And she called the girl¡¯s name. ¡°Manko?¡± ¡°That nickname¡­! Are you sure you aren¡¯t having issues with your memory!?¡± It was not just her. Everyone from her memories was there: Hunter, Mary, Koutarou, the Head Maid, the other maids, Lisbeth, and more. Mary looked her in the eye and gestured like she was opening a door. That meant¡­ ¡­Did she unlock it!? That was the technique that had once separately sent Kagami and Mary from one world to another. Mary had made it her own. And they were all laughing: ¡°Ha ha.¡± Horinouchi took a step toward Kagami and extended a hand. ¡°Look, Kagami. ¡­This might make taking your entrance exam difficult.¡± ¡°What might?¡± Kagami took her hand and looked in the same direction as Horinouchi: the sky. Behind them, giant forms flew through the evening sky which should have only contained the city¡¯s buildings. ¡°Ohh, giant dragons¡­!¡± Hunter was exactly right. ¡­Huh? A group of dragons measuring more than 100m long flew toward the ocean. And while her sister started to stir and Fleur ran down the riverbank¡¯s steps to greet her, Kagami turned her back on the evening background to face Horinouchi. All the while, Devices resembling giant ships flew through the sky and traffic control witches blew whistles from the roads as they accelerated. ¡°What is this¡­?¡± ¡°It must have been the Book of Creation. ¡­By releasing everything accumulated within it, the lost worlds can also be ¡®taken care of¡¯. Or that¡¯s how I see it.¡± And¡­ ¡°If there is more than one world, they can come together, influence each other, and become something greater than anyone could imagine.¡± While the dragons roared in the sky, Hunter placed Dikaio on Kagami¡¯s shoulder. There was no moon in the sky. Was it just not out at the moment, or was it not there at all? As Kagami wondered if this was another form of influence, Horinouchi took her hand. ¡°Now.¡± After looking over at Shouko who had woken, Horinouchi turned to face Kagami. ¡°Yes,¡± agreed Kagami. She only needed an instant to make up her mind, so she held Horinouchi¡¯s in return and she spoke. ¡°Let us continue. And if we are no longer needed, instead of throwing ourselves out or disappearing¡­let us move on to the next thing. That way, we will never reach the end, Horinouchi.¡± So without fearing anything, they pressed their foreheads together and smiled. They had been thinking the same thing, so they nodded, let go of each other¡¯s hand, and moved their arms. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± They embraced. They stored something undeniable in each other and formed words. ¡°Now, let us move on to the next story¡­together.¡± Oh, the rest of you stay quiet for now. Do not ruin the moment. ¡ªThis is the correct answer, you know? Volume 4, Afterword Volume 4, Afterword And that was Clash of Hexennacht Volume 4, the final volume. Well, then. I had originally planned this as three volumes, but it was well received and I ended up finishing it at the fourth volume. Being able to write this much is a luxury. Thank you very much. This was a very busy two years, but Tsurugi-san¡¯s manga version will release its final volume at the same time, so I hope you will pick it up as well. I think shorter series like this might be best for Obstacle. After all, it feels like a place where I can keep the footwork lighter. (Although that depends on what exactly I¡¯m making.) But Yokohama in the real world has changed quite a lot. You often hear about crowds turning up for social network games and what you see there seems to change every few years. Change really is the standard theme of the city of Westernization, or any port town really. I also visit Shinagawa a lot, but Shinagawa was where Japan¡¯s railways originated. It all began with the test opening of the line from Shinagawa to Yokohama (Sakuragi-cho) in 1872 and it really began to spread after (parts of) the Yamanote Line were added on in 1885. If Kagami¡¯s family was a well-off family in the Yokohama region, they would have been very familiar with the railway and I think Shouko would have prioritized that information over knowledge of the city center. I think the Kagami family was in the mountains because they moved there during World War Two, but that¡¯s because of the history and general feel of the Yokohama and Kawasaki region. Now for the chat. ¡°You can talk about magical girls now.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never seen any of those.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t there anything similar in your memories? Something that could fit a broad definition of a magical girl?¡± ¡°Lady Haman?¡± ¡°¡­Not quite. If we accept that, things like Wonder Woman would have to count, too.¡± ¡°But¡­y¡¯know, Lady Haman uses her familiar to fill the worthless with holes. And she¡¯s got that aura. Not to mention the pharaoh-style haircut.¡± ¡°I will admit she wouldn¡¯t look out of place playing card games on a motorcycle or board.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t a magical girl you can call ¡®Lady¡¯ a wonderful thing?¡± Why don¡¯t you realize how weird that is? Anyway, my work background music this time was Heavy Line (MT-32 Version) from Granada. That¡¯s a really old STG, but the music was primarily done by Sakuraba Motoi and you can really feel the heroism in that Sakuraba tune. Anyway, I¡¯ll leave you with this question: ¡°Who was imagining the most?¡± I think Girls Talk should be next. January 2017. A somewhat chilly morning. -Kawakami Minoru