Reversal

Aberrant Beast building nests is usually a behavior that occurs in safe environments.

In order to gather enough materials and provide sufficient magic power, most of the Aberrant Beast will choose a relatively secluded place with abundant food before they begin to build their Nest.

This is also the main basis for many magical girls to hunt down pupa-level Aberrant Beast. They will use this as a standard to check the possible nesting locations of those pupae, and by guarding these locations, they can hunt down those pupae that have not yet had time to build nests and cannot fully exert their strength.

However, there are always exceptions.

When too many Pupa Stage Aberrant Beast are hunted down because they cannot build nests in time, and when too many pupae are eliminated by magical girls or even other Aberrant Beast because they leave their nests, the law of natural selection will take effect. Those Aberrant Beast that survive and successfully grow up will mostly possess some extraordinary abilities.

Now, Cornflower realizes that she is probably facing such a survivor, a top performer in the survival competition, who has survived natural selection.

This Aberrant Beast is using the slime collected at the scene to build itself a temporary Nest.

This was also the first time that Cornflower had witnessed the formation of Aberrant Beast's Nest.

The liquid flowing from the Aberrant Beast, rising from the buildings and the ground, and even dripping from her and Nina, all seemed to possess a life of their own, flowing in the same direction. This liquid mixed with the filth on the ground, turning into a yellowish-green pus that was too painful to look at, swirling and rising around the block.

The surrounding space seemed to be stretched by the constantly circulating liquid. What should have been a space with a radius of only a few dozen meters began to become incredibly vast. The clear street scenes also began to blur, as if they had been covered with a filter. The color of the buildings turned into an unsettling bluish-gray, and white foam and bubbles began to emerge from the gaps between the stone, wood, and bricks.

The entire space was melting.

Looking at the viscous outer wall that was still spiraling upwards, now over ten meters high, and even closing in, Cornflower realized that when this space completely closed, she and Nina would probably be in an extremely disadvantageous situation.

Her Thread Magic Armament couldn't inflict any real damage on the Aberrant Beast's body, and the control she achieved with her ruler would be easily broken. Therefore, the only remaining option was the last one.

She unfurled all the unusable threads, and what she held in her hand transformed into a pair of scissors.

This is a last resort when all else fails.

If possible, she didn't want to use her scissors at this time, because once she used the ability to separate, she would expend a huge amount of magic power instantly, while also having too much magic power consumed.

However, if the Nest is allowed to close down now, even if she uses this ability again later, it will be too late to turn the tide.

"Ink Lotus, forget about your clothes for now, put on your Magic Armament."

Using her magic to heal her body, Cornflower struggled to maintain her physical shape and ability to speak, instructing Nina, "Use your abilities to create an air wall along the path of those spiraling slimes, and stop them."

"Huh? Is it for fixing the air?"

After a moment's surprise at Cornflower's proposal, Nina obediently nodded. "Okay, I understand!"

She opened her hands, her palms aimed at the nearly closed opening of the Nest, and while concentrating her attention, she gradually brought together the several finger cots that were also beginning to melt.

Snap.

Wow!

However, before she could complete this series of movements, she lost her balance and suddenly fell to the ground.

During this process, one of her lower legs bent as if it were melting ice, and scattered magical particles danced in the air like snowflakes.

While such injuries are nothing to a magical girl's body, even a severed body can be quickly healed with magic without any loss, in the current situation, no amount of repair will help. In fact, the magic used to repair the body will melt under the influence of the Rule.

Cornflower swiftly caught Nina, but there was no time for her to offer words of comfort, because if Nina didn't use her Magic Armament to stop the Nest from closing, it would be too late.

"Do it!"

All she could do was shout this as she stretched out her scissors.

The Rule possessed by this Aberrant Beast were far too abnormal, far too powerful for a Half-Molt. At the same time, Cornflower found it hard to believe that such Rule, which were practically equivalent to "depriving magical girls of their ability to move," would be completely unrestricted.

This melting that is happening to her and Nina must have some kind of overlooked limitation. If this limitation can be found and avoided, the battle can continue.

But right now, there's no time for her to think about those things.

Her fingers controlled the scissors to close, while she silently recited the concept of "mucus" in her mind. However, when she tried to cut, the blade in her hand seemed to hit a steel bar, and she couldn't make a move.

Her total magical power was no longer sufficient to completely separate the concept that was now forming the entire Nest.

Realizing this, Cornflower quickly transformed the separated target, turning it into "magic," but the blade remained unmoved.

This is to be expected, as her magic is constantly leaking away in the form of melting into liquid, while the magic controlled by this Aberrant Beast is becoming stronger as it controls more and more slime. In fact, it is the magic that is leaking from her that is affecting the balance of the separation ability at this moment.

Without time to think too much, Cornflower tried the sub-concepts of "Nest," "self-control," and "Mana Manipulation," but she couldn't cut them down either. Finally, she came up with a concept that could change the current situation.

--"Corrosion Resistance!"

She suddenly shouted the word, and at the same moment, the scissors in her hand shone brightly. Even though the liquid dripping from her eyelids almost completely obscured Cornflower's vision, it still couldn't block out the dazzling light.

Click.

With a soft snip, Cornflower's scissors snapped shut.

At the same moment, Nina, who was already half-lying on the Cornflower and barely maintaining her balance, finally focused her attention and magic, and suddenly clenched her fist in the direction of the sticky liquid at the opening.

"I... I... I'm going to..."

Liquid was constantly spilling from her mouth, making her look like a drowning person. Nina desperately chanted the incantation needed to activate her power.

And so, the blocked mucus finally stopped flowing upwards at that moment.

The Aberrant Beast before them, its movements abruptly halted as Cornflower's scissors closed.

They could all hear a kind of rumbling sound slowly emanating from within their bodies.

They could all hear a tearing sound Echo continuously inside their bodies.

They could all see that cracks had appeared on the Aberrant Beast's body, which had been relatively intact.

"Cover your ears, Ink Lotus."

Feeling the melting of her body finally slow down, Cornflower had the peace of mind to give Nina this instruction. Then she raised her hand and covered her ears.

As if it had heard her words, the Aberrant Beast raised its twisted head.

--"Roar! Ro...

After a while, it opened its mouthparts and let out the loudest roar since it encountered the magical girls.

Then, accompanied by the spraying and splashing of liquid, the entire body completely rotted away.