Ashina Swordsmanship

(Sun Yao)

"... It's recovered."

As Miluno drew her ice sword, her magical power visibly increased, even surpassing her full strength.

Is this the enemy's mercy?

"What you up to?"

Miluno also questioned the witch in front of her.

"Is this charity? But I'm not as easy to deal with as you think."

"Very well, this is your reward for letting me draw my sword. Now I will accept your challenge as a swordsman... Come on! Magical girl who controls time, charge at me head-on!"

Fomalhaut, clad in ice-blue armor, landed, gripping his sword with both hands and assuming a defensive stance, voluntarily relinquishing the right to attack. Miluno's face remained expressionless; she casually tossed aside her composite longsword and swung her ice-white longsword in a flourish.

"It really feels right in your hand, maybe even better than my own sword... I hope you won't regret it."

The Sword Witch simply nodded.

Miluno gripped the sword with one hand, her other hand brushing the tip of the blade with her fingers together, and then vanished in an instant. Countless exaggerated afterimages appeared around the witch, and I could only vaguely make out Miluno's figure at the moment the blades clashed.

Before the Sword Witch could even draw her sword, countless high-frequency sword lights, like dimensional slashes, flashed around her, clashing head-on with Miluno's attacks.

"Miss Falcon, now's the time!"

I called out to Miss Falcon, who was also stunned, and she snapped out of her daze. The beam of light behind her suddenly brightened, and she soared into the sky before swooping down towards her father and mother...

Bang--

Falcon was sent flying by an invisible hammer blow, seemingly about to crash off the building.

"Don't be a spoilsport. If you want to mess with my friend, you'd better figure out a way to... defeat me first."

My friend?

Is this what "the Other Side" calls traitors to humanity?

Or did she know her father Past?

Fomalhaut did not answer; she drew her sword.

The flawless blade was almost identical to the sword in Miluno's hand.

She was seeking fairness in her duel with Miluno, and didn't even use her immense magic power, simply enjoying the clanging of their swords.

But this also buys time.

The Star Crystal of Heat Haze, that sun-like topaz, is almost completely merging into Mother's body...

I should have stopped it, but I didn't know how.

"Seluno, give me the protective shield! The strongest one possible!"

Miluno's Roar.

This was the first time I'd ever heard her shout so loudly.

"Oh!"

I raised my staff and mobilized my magic to the maximum extent to create a thick layer of Bubble Membrane.

At that moment, the evacuation alarm sounded in area B2. Was it your aunt who contacted the airship?

A giant holographic beacon appeared above the private clinic.

This signaled the disappearance of Miluno's afterimages.

Although Fomalhaut moved quickly, he remained within my sight. Could he possibly match Miluno's speed?

However...

The one who was sent flying was Miluno, accompanied by icy water vapor.

"Speed alone is not enough. Your will is too sharp; you don't know how to conceal your edge. You cannot become a powerful swordsman."

The Sword Witch seemed disappointed.

"So this is your limit... huh?"

The ice-blue armor wings detached from the witch's back and crashed heavily to the ground.

Miluno sliced them off one by one with her sword; because the armored warrior was numb, the witch didn't even realize it.

"You're thinking of using air superiority against you? I never intended to use air superiority against you in the first place."

Miluno got up without saying a word. She raised her military boots and stomped heavily on the ground. The ground and floorboards beneath Fomalhaut's feet shattered with a crash. This small movement couldn't defeat the witch, but it created an opening for her.

Seizing the opportunity, Miluno pulled out a revolver from behind her back and fired several shots at Fomalhaut. Because the firing was so fast, I could only hear the overlapping loud bangs.

"--!"

Fomalhaut did not fall after all. She jumped back to her father, but blood was seeping out from beneath her icy white armor.

Although she has become a witch, her blood still flows and remains bright red.

"It seems I have won," Miluno declared.

"Despicable!"

The glorious swordsmanship duel was marred by a sneak attack, igniting Fomalhaut's fury, which burned fiercely and uncontrollably.

But Miluno seemed quite disdainful.

"You're even more despicable for letting me challenge you when you know you won't lose, aren't you?"

Several bullets inflicted more serious injuries on Fomalhaut than they appeared. What exactly did Miluno do?

"It must be painful, right? The slowing bullet's pain as it slowly penetrates your body... I didn't shoot you in any vital areas because someone wants you to live."

Miss Miluno didn't have such good marksmanship that every shot hit the gaps in the ice-blue armor... Actually, Falcon was manipulating the bullet's path. She had somehow climbed back into the stairwell and even made a shushing gesture to me.

I see.

That revolver belongs to Falcon. Magical girls' weapons can withstand higher acceleration, and Miluno's ability is not only to accelerate—she also slowed down the time it took for the bullet to enter Fomalhaut's body.

Although it slowed down, its kinetic energy remained the same, thus doubling its power and even creating an even larger hole inside her.

That's why the bleeding was so severe; the injury was far more serious than it appeared.

Miluno stood before Fomalhaut, who was kneeling with a sword in hand, and questioned, "You were once a magical girl, a human... Did you know that?"

"So what if we know? Now we are... soldiers on the 'The Other Side'."

Still don't know what "the Other Side" is called?

"Did you choose to betray us based on your own will?"

The refusal to answer, even contained anger.

The immense magical power suddenly collapsed, and the witch's figure was covered by a blizzard.

Just like the same time with the Shark Princess Witch.

This is the evolution of Monster.

However, for the Sword Witch, it was merely the unleashing of her true form.

The temperature plummeted, and a cold snow fell in the sweltering August heat.

"Miluno! Be careful!"

A sword strike, interspersed with icicles, slashed towards Miluno from the blizzard. Miluno dodged, but several meters of ice spikes exploded on the ground behind her.

Originally Sword Witch manipulated cold water vapor, she has now become Winter General clad in white armor. Her armor has completely lost its metallic texture, turning into thick, frosty ice. Her long, snow-white hair has frozen over, and huge icy horns have grown from it.

Like a... deer?

"You have failed me, and you will die for it."

"Presumptuous in her expectations, and equally prone to disappointment; her capricious nature truly befits a witch."

Miluno is usually quiet, but she's surprisingly talkative!

She used her foot to lift her composite sword.

"I take back what I said earlier; my own weapon is still the most handy."

Bite--

The dazzling exchange of blows began again, but this time, Fomalhaut used his magic. Miluno dared not take many of the attacks head-on. Holding a longsword in one hand and a revolver in the other, she dodged and used the openings to counterattack...

What can I do in a battle of that level?

Just like when facing the Hunter Witch, my magic is like a plastic wrap in high-powered battles, and even in tempered mode, it can't withstand it... But if I temper the protective film, Miluno can't move.

"Aurora, that's enough."

The old man spoke up and stopped the fight.

"The conversion is complete."

Having completely merged with the Star Crystal of Heat Haze, the mother transformed into light.