Laser Magical Girl

(Sun Yao)

"Eh?! We're fighting as soon as we get here?!"

Without a moment's hesitation, Miss Miluno challenged Miss Sirius... and of course, I had to join in too.

Miss Sirius was the strongest magical girl to date. Even after fighting on the front lines for twelve years, no one had surpassed her in strength... at least, that was what the power rankings said.

I was just a rookie who had barely gotten started. Even with me on her side, Miss Miluno might not be able to defeat Sirius.

"So confident, are you? Then let's fight on the beach! It'll be easier to clean up afterward too. It'd be quite troublesome if we set the rainforest on fire."

Miss Sirius had actually watched my battle streams?

I felt deeply flattered.

Hawaii's clear skies were certainly perfect for using the Bubble Lens from before, but...

"I won't use that move. Using Sunbeam in front of the strongest light-type magical girl would be like showing off an axe at a lumberyard."

Sirius's magic controlled the light she emitted herself.

"Don't say that. That move really is impressive. You broke through the limitations of your own magic and developed such a high-powered technique. Ceruno, you're very talented as a magical girl. You just lack confidence."

My Star Crystal came from the magical girl Vega.

She was the legendary magical girl known as the "Celestial Fortress," and Sirius's former comrade. Was that why she had always been keeping an eye on my battles?

We had no luggage, so there was no need to even go to the guest rooms.

Miss Yin Wei, on the other hand, had bags in both hands that she needed to sort through, so she did not plan to come with us.

Before leaving the mansion, Miss Sirius gave instructions to the maid by the entrance.

"Melissa, start preparing the guest rooms and lunch. We'll be back soon... Also, get the first-aid kit and burn ointment ready. Someone might need to be bandaged up."

...Were we really going to fight that seriously?

I was a little scared. I was not even this nervous when facing Monsters.

The beach on the eastern side of Nabu Island was vast, and half of it lay beneath shallow seawater. That only made it all the more charming.

"Two against one. I'd like to say we should stop before anyone gets hurt... but it's perfectly fine if you give it everything you've got!"

The blonde idol swept back her long hair, then crooked a finger at Miluno.

"Fine, then let's begin right here!"

The next second, Miluno shot forward like a bullet, kicking up a massive spray of fine sand behind her.

"Eh? So fast!"

It was two against one, yet I could not keep up with her speed at all. My eyes could not even track her, so I could not put a Bubble Membrane around her.

That was also the weakness of my magic. The other side of being able to hit anything I could see was that I could not use it at all against something I could not see.

But the next instant, an intense flash blinded me.

Damn it, it's a flashbang!

Amid the searing light, I heard only a dull thud, followed by something crashing onto the sand beside me.

"Eh? What... Miss Miluno?"

Once my vision finally returned, I saw what it was. Miluno was crouching with a hand over her stomach, her eyes squeezed shut in pain. Having rushed in close, she had suffered more severe damage to her vision than I had.

"Ohoho~ Delicate little chicks, are you already done? I haven't even used any offensive magic yet!"

"You're the top-ranked magical girl, yet your methods are this underhanded..."

"Don't put it like that. Your file says your magic is speed-oriented. Since I'm not as fast as you, I can only use a wide-range, indiscriminate attack like this. It's called countermeasures. So, Miluno, do you have a countermeasure for my magic?"

Miluno reminded me, "Ceruno, put a membrane on me that reduces light transmission."

"Oh, right!"

I raised the Ruby Staff, and under the membrane's effect, Miluno's figure became dim.

Then she vanished again.

"Hah, how naive!"

Sirius no longer used mere flashes. Dozens of high-energy lasers radiated outward in every direction from her body, like a laser ball in a dance hall. Wherever those beams swept across the beach, the sand turned black and molten.

Yet Miss Miluno wove effortlessly between those lasers.

Amazing!

I could not even keep up with her with my eyes!

She was not merely fast. Her reaction speed was incredible as well. Sirius's lasers could not catch Miss Miluno at all. At first glance, Miluno even seemed to have the upper hand, dancing around Sirius and toying with her.

But that was not the truth. Although dodging was not a problem, she had no way to get close to Sirius. It was like walking a tightrope over a cliff—one misstep, and there would be no recovery. The battle was far more intense than I had imagined.

I could not just stand by and watch. This was not Miss Miluno's fight alone. Even as support, I had to do something.

With that thought, I created a ring of bubbles above Sirius that "rejected" light.

Put simply, they were mirrors.

I had intended to use reflection to send the lasers back at Sirius, but...

"Ugh?!"

The refracted lasers flew wildly in every direction, completely failing to shoot at Sirius as I had intended. Instead, Miss Miluno became even more constrained.

Rather than helping, I had practically become a burden to her...

"Hehe, Ceruno, that was a very good idea. Being adaptable in battle is an excellent quality. But I'm sorry— even the angle at which light refracts is under my magical control! Your countermeasure will only make things harder for Miluno... And I can do moves like this too!"

The scattered beams curved and lashed about like whips, resembling countless tentacles of light.

"Ohohoho! My magic is the control of light! I can change light's form or give it physical properties—anything is possible!"

Miluno sprang away, frowning as she demanded, "Can that still be called light?!"

"If I say it counts, then it counts!"

Sirius's unreasonable magic gave Miluno a headache, but her eyes showed no intention of admitting defeat...

Of course.

If she gave up just like that, she would not be the Miss Miluno I knew.

The short swords in her hands connected end to end, forming a long sword with its center offset.

Then she vanished without warning. My eyes still could not keep up, but I could feel that she was faster than ever before.

Bang—

It sounded like a volleyball being spiked. Sirius, who had been standing on the beach just moments ago, suddenly flew sideways, crashing into the shallow sea along with her tentacles of light... No, those tentacles had been severed.

The moment the severed, scorching tentacles touched the water, they sent up clouds of white steam.

"Eh? She actually... actually hit her?!"

Miss Miluno... she had sent Sirius flying.

What had just happened?

Before I could understand it, a dazzling, multicolored laser burst from the cloud of steam. That beam of light, almost tangible in form, drove Miluno backward, carving a long trail through the sand even as she fell.

Sirius rose while clutching her side, shaking her head helplessly.

"Hey! Don't you have any strength left to dodge?"

That was true. Under normal circumstances, Miss Miluno could never have failed to evade that attack.

The instantaneous burst of speed she had used to send Sirius flying had already far exceeded her usual limit.

"Cough, cough... pfft..."

Using her long sword to support herself, Miluno pushed herself up from the beach, spitting out fine sand.

"So... lasers really can come out of someone's eyes."

Then she collapsed again.