"You transformed. You can continue."
Perhaps noticing Xia Liang's momentary hesitation, Mimosa made no further move after transforming. She merely held her wand behind her back and calmly declared this to Xia Liang.
Xia Liang said nothing more. She swung the wand in her hand and tentatively fired several Mana Beams forward.
As the most basic offensive means of magical girls, Mana Beams were fairly powerful while requiring little concentration, making them the best tool for probing an opponent.
She did not immediately use a Spell Formula or Magic Armament—while doing so might reveal the limits of her opponent's strength more quickly, it would not be conducive to either side displaying their abilities.
The nature of this battle was ultimately a spar. There was no need for extreme measures. Victory and defeat mattered, certainly, but leaving room for both sides to demonstrate themselves better embodied the purpose of a "spar."
So, how would her opponent deal with the simplest Mana Beams? With that thought in mind, Xia Liang watched Mimosa after firing them.
In her estimation, most people would handle such a simple attack by relying on reflexes to dodge, or by opening a barrier to block it. Those skilled and bold enough might even counter with their own Mana Beams to cancel them out... And no matter how her opponent responded, Xia Liang had already prepared methods of retaliation. As long as the other side made a move, she could immediately employ one of the plans she had thought through beforehand...
Unfortunately, the moment Mimosa revealed her method, Xia Liang understood that those plans would probably be useless.
She witnessed a scene that would remain deeply etched in her memory.
How would she describe what she had seen in that instant to others in the future? Even that seemed