Doma Umaru Herself, Ceruno

(Ceruno)

"This portal is just a smokescreen. That guy wants to lure us to a completely unrelated place so he can make his escape!"

So that's how it is?

I never expected that Quanyin- ne, who always gives off a reckless impression, would notice enemy tactics that even I hadn't noticed.

He has blue hair, you can't judge a book by its cover.

The enemy's plan has been exposed; all that's left is to stop her from escaping... That's what I wanted to say, but it doesn't seem that easy.

"Don't underestimate echolocation!! You have nowhere to hide from me!!"

When Quanyin- nee picks up the Megaphone, even a simple shout produces a destructive booming sound, enough to shatter trees—what kind of echolocation is this? I feel a headache even with my ears covered.

However, colorful petal-shaped shields bloomed in the air one after another, reducing Quanyin's sonic attack to harmless.

Is it a defensive type of magic, like mine?

"That guy's trying to run away! Ugh, why didn't I push the car over here!"

The cloaked magical girl was clearly the culprit who scattered the Crystal, and she was currently making a high-speed retreat through the woods. My magic requires direct eye contact with the target, but the nearby forest was very pristine. The dense, lush woods and the colorful, petal-shaped shields made it difficult for me to lock onto the target, so I couldn't use bubbles to interfere.

"This guy's magic is even more fancy than yours; those flower-shaped shields are soft and can absorb my sound waves very well."

Quanyin cursed and swore, but her voice couldn't penetrate the opponent's defenses, making her appear somewhat impotently furious.

"If only there were a way to get close!"

Near...

"Quanyin- nee! Would you like to try what it feels like to fly?"

"Ah?"

"I can reduce your weight and throw you Past the air!"

Compared to tracking through dense forests, leaping Past low altitudes would be faster. Furthermore, Quanyin- nee can use sound waves to control direction and propel herself in the air, theoretically enabling long-distance flight...

"Oh! Let's give it a try!"

She readily agreed. Since the enemy was still on the run and there was no time to explain the plan to us, I put Bubble Membrane on her and kicked her into the air like a football.

Quanyin cursed:

"Hey! Why don't you just throw me out already!"

It's easier to kick with your feet to generate more power.

"It flew away!!"

The Megaphone transformed into a sonic boomer, and the lightweight Quanyin -ne arced through the treetops, hurtling forward at low altitude. Ahead of her stood the cloaked magical girl, the distance between them rapidly closing, and it seemed the plan was about to succeed...

Bang--

"Waaaaaah!!!"

With a sound like a badminton shuttlecock hitting a racket, Quanyin- ne was thrown in another direction by a huge, multi-lobed shield, flying very far away, and she wouldn't be able to recover for a while.

Since we can't count on Quanyin- nee, I'll have to figure something out myself.

The cloaked figure kept flashing by at the edge of my vision. If I didn't do something, she would slip away soon, but unfortunately, my magic wasn't suited for chasing.

My only advantage in the jungle is that I can ignore the sharp needles and shrubs, but my opponent has better motor skills than me. This advantage can't help me close the distance; it can only keep me from losing sight of them.

"So annoying!"

If Miluno were here...

No, we can't rely on Miluno for everything.

Even if she stays in my sight for just a second, I can restrain her with Bubble Membrane.

But this cloaked woman knew my magic well, and even while we were running away, she kept using her Flower Shield to obstruct my view.

These soft-textured shields became obstacles in my pursuit; because they were quite flexible, I couldn't just crash into Past like I would into bushes.

I've considered opening a teleportation portal to take a shortcut, but opening the portal takes time, and waiting will only allow her to run even further. If I were to use that method...

Previously, when I merged with Miss Sirius, I used the bubble itself as a teleportation medium to instantly transport Fomalhaut to a distant place.

The mana consumption is secondary; the key issue is the extremely high level of skill required to manipulate magic. After all, casting a teleportation spell requires enveloping oneself in it, and one wrong move could result in injury...

Without merging with Sirius, I'm not very confident.

But sometimes, it takes the courage to take risks.

"Let's give it our all!"

Once you've made up your mind, put it into action.

As I ran, I brandished my ruby cane, and bubbles enveloping me appeared out of thin air and gathered together.

This is my teleportation magic. As the bubbles gather, similar bubbles also appear near the cloaked magical girl; that's the destination...

That's how it should be in my ideal situation.

"... Tsk, it just didn't work."

The calculation of the teleportation coordinates was off, so I buried myself underground.

That wasn't all; only my upper body was on the ground, upside down, unable to move, I was stuck headfirst in the soil...

Your skirt, your skirt's flipped up too, hasn't it? My bottom feels all cold!

Forget about tracking her down, if Quanyin- nee saw this embarrassing display, given her loudmouth personality, the entire "Zodiacal" would probably know.

Although buried underground, the air bubbles encasing it created a small space, filtering oxygen from the soil through their Bubble Membrane, preventing it from suffocating due to lack of oxygen...

But I couldn't find my walking stick!

Broken!

Without a wand, you can't use a wand; that's how I'm designed.

I couldn't breathe because I was buried in the mud. My entire upper body was buried in the soil, and I couldn't exert any strength. I didn't know if Sister Quanlin could find me. I was really going to suffocate like this!

Magical Girl Ceruno.

He Doma Umaru by his own mistake at the age of seventeen.

Help!

I don't want to die in such a shameful and embarrassing way, but I also don't want anyone to see me in this disgraceful state.

Fear and shame surged alternately, and just as I was feeling completely lost, someone outside grabbed my kicking legs and started pulling them upwards like pulling up a radish...

Who is that? Who is that? Who is that?

Could it be a wild woodland gorilla from Skyreach City?!

No, that's not right.

A gorilla's hand couldn't possibly be that small...

Is it Sister Quanlin?

She flew back again?

But I don't think I heard anything.

Oh no! My brain, which was congested with blood due to being upside down, went completely blank from lack of oxygen, and my cerebellum was throbbing with pain. I couldn't think straight...

Bang! Bang!

In the face of certain death, a series of soft things appeared, clinging tightly to my body. These flexible and elastic objects pushed through the soil, giving me a chance to crawl out of the ground... They were petal-shaped shields.

It was the cloaked magical girl who saved me from almost burying myself alive.

At that moment, she was holding my calf, staring at my panties under my skirt.

"..."

My short cane is not in my hand.

But beneath the turned-up soil, a corner of the Ruby Staff tip can be seen.

"What, still thinking about repaying kindness with enmity?"

She wore a large cloak, and I could only see her mouth and chin.

I replied, "You spread Contaminated Crystal, created chaos, and increased the rate of Dark Erosion. Regardless of your ultimate goal, your actions have betrayed human society and make you my enemy."

Faced with my accusation, a... sweet smile appeared on her lips?

She's so beautiful.

"My responsibility is to hand over the Crystal to those who are dissatisfied with society, but we have another, more important order."

She sprang up a new "petal bed" at my feet, while my most precious wand was pressed under it.

"Miss Ceruno, you must live, that's why I came back to save you. I hope you will cherish your life... After all, your fate is tied to the survival of the Earth."

... What?