“How could you have arrived before us? You were clearly late—” Mingyue stopped halfway, suddenly remembering how this person was always so elusive, and swallowed the rest of her sentence.
Lightweaver did not answer the question directly, shifting the topic back to tactics.
“Now is not the time to press for answers. Mingyue, your target is the underground core. I will locate the core's exact position from the air, but I need you all to break open the ground first.”
Hearing this, Night Sakura became uncharacteristically serious. “Breaking the ground is no problem; Kohinata's hammer is perfect for that. But how do we know the core's exact location? If the area is too large, testing it hammer blow by hammer blow would be far too inefficient.”
“That will depend on the silver-white Contract Spirit next to you,” Lightweaver said, her tone somewhat casual. “Its sensitivity to mana is extremely high, and it has already sensed the general location of the underground core. If you coordinate its guidance with Kohinata's hammer, you can precisely break open the ground.”
Kohinata, who had been flying toward the mountain peak with her hammer on her shoulder, paused mid-step, nearly letting the hammer slip from her shoulder.
She looked up at Star-trail, who was hovering next to Nuomi, then turned to look at Lightweaver's codename on her communication terminal, blinking.
“Lightweaver, do you know this Contract Spirit?” Curiosity was evident in her voice.
“I've only met it a few times.”
After saying this, she didn't give the others a chance to press further, shifting straight back to the main topic.
Taking advantage of the gap while the others discussed tactics, Seina slowed her flight and quietly backed up to fly alongside Star-trail. Tilting her head to look at the silver-white ball of light hovering next to Nuomi, she lowered her voice and asked, “Is Lightweaver also your contractor?”
“No, she is not my contractor,” Star-trail answered without hesitation. “Lightweaver has not formed a contract with any Contract Spirit.”
Qiluo wasn't lying; Star-trail and Lightweaver indeed did not share a contract.
As for any other relationship, Seina didn't ask. If she had, Qiluo would have told her the truth, of course~
This answer was somewhat beyond Seina's expectations. She had originally thought that since Lightweaver was so strong, she must have an equally powerful Contract Spirit supporting her.
“But you two seem very familiar with each other,” she whispered.
“We just happen to know each other,” Star-trail replied, its tone completely neutral. “Lightweaver saved me once, and we became acquainted after that.”
Without waiting for Seina to ask more, it flew upward a bit, allowing its voice to reach everyone present at once. “The exact location of the underground core has been marked.”
Mingyue fell silent for a few seconds after hearing Lightweaver's arrangements. Confirming that Lightweaver would not be participating in the battle, she asked with a hint of disappointment, “You're not coming?”
The communication channel fell quiet for a moment. Even Night Sakura, who was adjusting her camera angle, paused her movements. Kohinata rested her hammer on the ground, perking up her ears as she waited for Lightweaver's answer.
“No,” Lightweaver replied briefly. “Having you all here is enough this time.”
Lightweaver's voice rang out again, but what she said next took everyone by surprise. “Besides, I would love to join you, but I can't pull myself away right now—I'm also in the middle of a battle on my end.”
In the background, the faint, muffled sound of something being pierced could be heard.
“What are you fighting?”
Mingyue scanned the surrounding mountain terrain. The view here was wide and open; if Lightweaver were truly fighting nearby, they should be able to see the glow of mana.
Yet, she caught no trace of anything.
“A fish-type Erosion Body, in the water,” Lightweaver paused. “It's very slippery.”
Qiluo pushed Lightweaver's mana fluctuations outward by half an inch, then released a few extremely fine threads of light over the pond.
The threads of light lightly skimmed the surface of the water, startling several koi fish into scattering in all directions, their tails slapping the water and creating tiny splashes.
She even deliberately controlled the threads of light to create a few ripples on the water's surface, making the mana fluctuations sound as if she were locked in a struggle with a troublesome opponent.
Mingyue sounded as if she were choking on something. “A fish?”
Kohinata propped her hammer on the ground and turned to look back at Amamiya. “She says she's fighting a fish.” Amamiya didn't respond, remaining expressionless.
Night Sakura covered her mouth, her shoulders shaking suspiciously as she pointed the camera toward the clouds under the distant sunset.
“Yes,” Lightweaver's voice remained deadpan. “It's not easy to catch. The water area here is quite large, and it keeps darting through the water weeds. The range of my threads of light is limited underwater.”
“Do you need help?” A hint of amusement crept into Mingyue's voice, likely because she was imagining Lightweaver crouching by the water, pitting her wits against a fish-type Erosion Body.
“No need. Focus on your fight,” Lightweaver replied, resuming her trademark cold tone. “The channel is open. Call me if anything comes up.”
She suppressed Lightweaver's mana fluctuations back into her body, withdrew the threads of light, and casually tossed another small breadcrumb into the pond.
A few koi fish swam over lazily, completely unaware that they had just been conscripted as the fictional opponents of a top-tier Magical Girl.
Kohinata swung her hammer onto her shoulder, the hammerhead glowing with a fierce orange light as she infused it with mana. “I'll take the lead!”
Night Sakura crouched on a protruding rock, steadying her camera. “I'll handle recording the combat data and real-time footage,” she said into the communication channel. “A subjugation battle of this scale doesn't happen every day. Amamiya, go with Kohinata. Watch the flanks.”
Amamiya drew her twin blades from their sheaths.
The blades reflected the dim light with a cold gleam. Her gaze swept over the edges of her weapons before landing on the constantly regenerating vines.
“These things regenerate too quickly,” she said, uncharacteristically taking the initiative to speak. “If we don't completely destroy the underground core, the vines on the surface will keep growing endlessly. Kohinata's hammer has enough impact, but the area of effect is too scattered.”
“Then we'll clear the surface vines first to pave the way for Kohinata.”
Night Sakura summoned a long-handled umbrella. When closed, it reached her waist, boasting an elegant design with a deep purple canopy.
So this is her weapon? I didn't expect that umbrella to actually be more than a decoration.
Back then, when Night Sakura had held an umbrella when it wasn't even raining, Qiluo had thought she was just posing.
“Seina, Snowrealm, you two are in charge of long-range suppression. Don't let the vines get near Kohinata and Amamiya. Mingyue, you handle flank interception. Kohinata, just charge forward and smash the location Star-trail marked earlier. Amamiya, you clean up the stragglers and clear any vines flanking us.”
This was probably the first time Night Sakura had commanded the Association's Magical Girls in such a formal tone.
Mingyue glanced toward Night Sakura. Although she said nothing, she had already positioned herself on Kohinata's left flank.
In a chaotic melee, having an information-gathering Magical Girl around was truly ideal.
Nuomi crouched on her shoulder and whispered, “Mingyue, do you want to shout a slogan too?”
“Don't you dare bring that up,” Mingyue said, gently pinching Nuomi's mouth shut with her free hand.
“Is everyone ready?” Night Sakura's voice came through the communication channel.
Rate on N.U.
