What Must Be Protected

(Sun Yao)

Everything happened in half a blink.

I watched as Miluno broke through the Monster's defense.

I also watched as that Monster fired a massive barrage of projectiles toward our side.

Yet by the time I came to my senses, I had only enough time to catch her frail body. Though it was just a blur, I could imagine what she had done. The defensive membrane I cast had been shredded in an instant, and the rain-dense barrage slammed into her back, each heavy blow transmitting through her body to mine.

She seemed to have lost consciousness.

Several fragments were embedded in her frail back, alongside countless lacerated wounds, and even her Battle Dress was shattered.

Miss Miluno, who had never been defeated, who could end any battle against any Monster within five minutes, and who was known as invincible, had done this just to protect... just to save someone like me...

"...Why?"

"Ceruno! Get a grip!"

Heat Haze's scolding came through the earpiece, full of exasperation.

"Miluno isn't dead, and that Monster isn't dead either! This is no time for you to be moping!"

I raised my head.

In the distance, that twisted female Monster was once again condensing a new water spear from the lake water.

The more that emerald pale light shone, the higher its destructive power became.

Unlike the steel spikes of Thunder God that required growth to fire, a water spear inherently lacked a fixed shape, making it difficult for me to trap it in bubbles. Furthermore, as long as water remained, she had a continuous stream of ammunition. By contrast, I no longer had enough magic power to intercept every single water spear.

Even if I intercepted them, what then?

I had no means of counterattacking; was I supposed to go drown the opponent instead?

This Monster could definitely breathe underwater, considering she looked just like a shark.

"Even Miluno was helpless against her, what can I do..."

"Coward! Stand up! Didn't you take the name Ceruno simply because you like Miluno? She collapsed just to save you, and yet you're here crying like a baby?"

Heat Haze roared through the earpiece.

Yet her scolding was entirely correct; I truly was a coward.

My Magical Girl posture was entirely a facade, and my feminine behaviors were merely clumsy imitations. The real me was just a fat otaku who made Heat Haze feel disgusted.

After causing Heat Haze to be hospitalized with severe injuries, even the idol I adored had fallen right before my eyes... Someone like me had no qualification to be a Magical Girl, right?

"Miss Ceruno, please calm down and listen to me. This is SpiCa, Director of the Magical Girl Association's Tactical Division. Since Miss Miluno has fallen, I need you to take over this operation."

Someone else had taken over the earpiece.

Unlike Heat Haze, the voice of this commander named SpiCa was cold and detached, as if devoid of emotion.

I sighed, "...What can I possibly do with just me?"

"Pin down the target. Other Magical Girls are already on their way to provide reinforcement. I need you to protect yourself and the unconscious Miluno... In addition, I will also be deploying for this operation. Please hold out for another three minutes."

As she spoke, a familiar Phase Wormhole appeared overhead.

Yet the color of the ring was pure white.

"...Is another Monster coming?"

* "No, that's wormhole technology currently undergoing testing by the Association."

The Association possessed wormhole technology as well?

"...So, Miss SpiCa is a Magical Girl too?"

"I was, but I've been retired for a long time. Allow me to reintroduce myself: my codename as a Magical Girl is Spica, or you may call me Virgo."

"Virgo?!"

Spica, one of the original seven Magical Girls.

Opposite Fomalhaut, who was known as the "Military God," she was a tactical commander known as the "Strategic Sage"... So it was she who had established the Tactical Division.

Amidst our conversation, the Monster's water spear struck once again. I erected a bubble to block it in front of Miluno, but it was easily pierced through, and I was knocked flat by the weakened water spear, drenching my entire body.

It hurt like hell.

Even a water spear dulled by a bubble still felt like the punch of a brawny man when it hit. Lying flat on the ground from the pain, I wiped away the liquid on my face—whether it was lake water or tears.

"Look at that, I can't even withstand a single spear. The Star Crystal chose the wrong person; I simply don't have this aptitude."

Spica...

Virgo said, "Ceruno, your Star Crystal once belonged to my comrade, the Vega known as Celestial Fortress. Compared to sheer destructive power, her obsession with 'protection' was far more memorable... Perhaps the form is different, but the moment I first saw your magic, I knew you too had obtained this power in order to 'protect' something."

As she spoke words of encouragement, I was once again struck down by a water spear, my magic power nearly bottoming out.

That female Monster's sadistic water spears always targeted the fallen Miluno. Picking on the soft persimmons seemed to be her habit; she knew I wouldn't dodge, and she knew I couldn't block... But if this continued, I would die.

"What can these fragile bubbles protect?"

"That is something you need to ask yourself."

Celestial Fortress possessed heavy armor and countless huge lances.

And what about me?

I could only blow bubbles.

I tried to stand up, using my final strength.

The water level of the scenic lake was receding; the fish and shrimp at the bottom of the lake were faintly visible. The tactical officer's operation was working after all, but around that Monster, a full seven slender Water Spears had already condensed.

She didn't need an ammunition depot anymore, either.

"Where is the power to protect something?"

I stumbled forward to stand in front of Miluno, erecting my final bubble and accumulating enough power. The shark Monster flicked her fish tail, and a water spear shot forth with the momentum to pierce through everything.

"Don't you touch her..."

A massive collision sounded, yet the bubble remained intact.

"This is..."

A bubble that couldn't even block ordinary water spears now blocked the Monster's full-strength blow. Unlike its previous state where it would be squeezed and deformed, this bubble was like ordinary tempered glass, remaining completely motionless when attacked, and the water spear failed to leave a single trace upon it.

This wasn't a water bubble; this was a glass dome.

What caused the properties of the water bubble to change?

When her attack failed, the shark Monster was quite surprised. The situation she thought was already in the bag had developed a variable, causing her to feel inevitably impatient. She hoisted the remaining six Water Spears high and approached step by step, hurling the second water spear as she walked.

Bang—

Water splashed everywhere, yet not a single drop entered my bubble.

"Your magic doesn't just 'allow' things into the bubble; it can also 'reject' things from entering it. When you strongly repel something, your magic will respond to you as well... Ceruno, your magic requires a believing heart. When you are confident enough, the magic will respond to you!"

As expected of a strategist hailed as a Strategic Sage, unlike Heat Haze who could never explain anything clearly, Virgo seemed to have figured out my magic, even pondering it more thoroughly than I had.

However, the power of "rejection"?

No, it was because I wanted to protect Miss Miluno... That, that was the power of "protection"!