The sudden attack forced Larkspur to abandon her plan to continue attacking. Using magic power, she executed a swift midair recovery, spinning her body and slamming her gauntlet heavily against the spider spear, narrowly evading the attack from below.
However, that did not mean the crisis was over. The Aberrant Beast before her could tell that the magical girl had been affected by its Rule, so naturally it had no reason to stop there. It quickly gave chase, attempting to press its attack against Larkspur.
In the midst of the danger, Lantern stepped in at just the right time and took Larkspur's place. The two magical girls fought as they retreated, barely managing to defuse this round of the Aberrant Beast's assault.
Only, the spider silk around Larkspur's elbow still could not be dealt with.
During gaps in the battle, she repeatedly used Masterpiece to cut at the spider silk binding her, trying to free herself, but it was completely ineffective. This spider silk produced by the Rule was utterly unaffected by either her Magic Armament or magic power.
More importantly, when she got a clear look at the spider silk on her arm, she discovered that it seemed no different from the strands binding Cat Tail and the others. At last, she understood what Spider had meant by "experiencing it firsthand" before transforming.
The Cat-Tail Squad had clearly fought Spider before, and the reason the entire squad had been defeated here was evidently that they had failed to overcome this Aberrant Beast's Rule.
Even for Larkspur herself, once her elbow was bound by that special spider silk, not only was it difficult to bend or move her arm, but even the circulation of magic power through that area became terribly sluggish.
"How is it?" Lantern asked from nearby when