1, 2, 3, Wooden Man

(Sun Yao)

I looked up.

Through the scattered gaps between the leaves, I could vaguely see the blue ring forming before the wormhole, as well as the deep darkness at its center.

"...This is happening way too often."

Four invasions in three days.

Based on past experience, that figure was definitely abnormal.

Not to mention, ever since Miluno had "debuted" in Skyreach City, the number of invasions across the city—especially in D3 District—had dropped sharply. Over the past six months, there had only been one or two a month. Miss Miluno had fought only sixteen battles since her debut, and even Miss Heat Haze's income had fallen.

The Association's drone drifted over and handed Miluno and me radios. Since there would be no broadcast before the battle officially began, both Miluno and I summoned our Battle Dresses. I changed my hairstyle back into its original fluffy pink long hair.

"Hey, Ceruno, why did you run into another wormhole?"

Miss Heat Haze's voice quickly came through the earpiece.

"Uh, maybe my luck is just bad..."

"You've encountered more Monsters in two days than I have in two months. And why are you still with Miss Miluno?"

Heat Haze had spotted Miluno through the drone's camera as well.

"Miss Miluno brought me out to clear my head. Isn't this area a scenic spot?"

Miss Heat Haze said somewhat sourly, "Oh? I couldn't tell. She's pretty attentive toward you, her junior, isn't she?"

"Yeah, hehe."

Just thinking of Miss Miluno made me laugh, only for Miss Heat Haze to scold me. "Your laugh is seriously disgusting."

So my laugh was disgusting...

"E2 District has always been handled by a magical girl named Loud-Roar. You'd better wait for her—she'll be there soon."

Though Heat Haze said that, Miss Miluno replied, "No need to trouble her. We can take care of it ourselves."

As expected of Miss Miluno. She made dealing with a Monster sound as easy as crushing a cockroach.

But...

Miss Heat Haze started lecturing her.

"No, Miss Miluno. I know you don't care about the Association's bounty, but this is another magical girl's territory. Monsters are a magical girl's source of income. Smashing someone else's rice bowl like that will make people resent you."

Miss Miluno showed little expression, but it was obvious that she had no interest in those so-called unspoken rules.

Neither did I...

Magical girls shouldn't be scheming against each other over money.

Miss Miluno answered, "...I'll wait only until the Monster lands."

"Isn't that the same as not waiting at all!?"

Ignoring Miss Heat Haze's jab, I asked, "Miss Miluno, I have a request."

"What is it?"

"Um, could you let me handle this one?"

In other words, I wanted to deal with the Monster myself.

Given the equation Monster = bounty, I was basically asking Miss Miluno for money. But I didn't think she would mind.

"Of course. I'll watch from the side."

Just as expected, she agreed.

"Thank you!"

Besides "allowing" things to pass through, my Bubble Membrane could also "block," or rather, "deny" things passage. In that state, the Bubble Membrane became extraordinarily sturdy against whatever it denied. Not only would it not compress or deform, it could withstand attacks it normally could not.

Ordinary soft bubbles lacked destructive power, but sturdy bubbles were different. Combined with the fact that my magic had no trajectory, I could create solid wedges anywhere within my field of vision.

That was the idea, but how to apply it in actual combat was still a problem. After all, my magic could not directly designate a specific target.

Bzz—

It was coming!

Miss Miluno flipped onto a nearby tree. She moved so quickly that I lost sight of her in an instant.

A blue pillar of light shot into the sky, and descending with it was a Monster resembling a Stump. It was short and stout, with facial features but no branches or leaves. Still, it was well suited to this forest battlefield.

Even Miss Heat Haze mocked it. "Hey, what kind of tree spirit is that? It looks pretty easy to deal with."

Indeed, it looked completely countered by the fire-using Miss Heat Haze.

After landing, it stared at me for several seconds before crouching on the spot. Its root-like feet began burrowing into the soil, and in the blink of an eye, it truly became a Stump buried in the ground. That was troublesome. The part within my vision was incomplete, meaning I couldn't wrap it in a Bubble Membrane.

"Hey! Watch out!"

A whip-like gust swept across my arm. Even with the Bubble Membrane's protection, it still burned with pain. Thankfully, Miss Heat Haze's warning made me instinctively raise a guard, or the blow would have struck my head and knocked me down.

"Why are you always so careless? Can you stop getting distracted during a fight?"

"Sorry..."

"Looks like this guy can control trees, huh? Its appearance really was exactly what you'd expect."

"But I don't really have a way to deal with it!"

The surrounding trees began to stir again, swinging their thick branches at me like sumo wrestlers. Those branches were soft and nimble, utterly lacking the rigid texture trees normally had.

Damn it, this mountain forest was practically its home field. As expected, the Other Side deployed Monsters with specific targets in mind.

"What's wrong? You bragged in front of Miss Miluno, but now you can't even come up with an effective counterattack?"

As I struggled to fend off the branches, Miss Heat Haze was still mocking me through the earpiece.

"See you!"

I began running toward the mountaintop. The Stump Monster froze for a moment, then sure enough, pulled its roots free and started chasing me. It was not particularly fast, since its root-tangled feet were poor for running, but at the same time, the surrounding trees calmed down...

The range of its ability was extremely limited, and it only worked after it rooted itself. Maybe its roots were doing something underground.

"This guy seems pretty weak."

Even Miss Heat Haze said so.

Just like magical girls, Monsters varied greatly in strength. Whether it was Heat Haze or Miluno, either of them could easily take care of this thing.

But I couldn't. Without any direct offensive means, I had to find another way...

The ridge was covered in exposed rock, unsuitable for trees to take root. The closer I got to the summit, the sparser the trees became. At the top was an open clearing without trees. There, I could at least cut off the Stump Monster's means of attack.

"Wait, Ceruno. It stopped."

I stood on the ridge without any trees for cover, while the Stump Monster stopped at the treeline and did not continue after me.

"It realized what I was trying to do."

It might have a wooden head, but it wasn't actually just a piece of wood.

Miss Heat Haze suggested, "Why not wait for Loud-Roar to deal with it? This thing doesn't look like it can suffocate, and until you develop a direct offensive application for your magic, you have no way to handle it."

"No rush. I still have one trump card I haven't used."

"...What?"

I pointed at the cloudless sky.

"The sun!"

"Huh?"