Race Against Time: Ceruno

(Ceruno)

In the distance, endless Black Mud poured down like water from a tap, and the first thing to be submerged by the Black Mud was the Shuttle Tower that brought more than a hundred Monster.

Its thick texture is somewhat like hot chocolate sauce...

Thinking about it that way, the Black Mud actually looked a little better, but I decided against coating it with chocolate sauce myself.

"I'll go up and check the situation!"

Falcon took off and went straight to reconnaissance.

"Have the new magical girls clear the area at the back and prepare to organize the evacuation of the civilians."

Teacher Bai Ze's greeting.

Chaos erupted at the temporary shelter due to the sudden appearance of strange phenomena, and unease began to spread among the people, but there was still time to evacuate.

Sky Lock asked, "Should we retreat with them?"

Teacher Bai Ze shook his head.

"No! If the magical girl leaves, it's like handing over the North Suburbs... We have to find a way to shut down that wormhole, otherwise, with Dark Energy pouring in like this, the whole world will be in danger!"

But how do we do it?

The group looked at each other, but none of them had a definite answer.

With my current magic, is it possible to plug such a large wormhole?

Climbing to the top of the teaching building, one can see in the distance that billowing Black Mud is covering more and more streets, even polluting the river, and spreading closer and closer to the edge of the Witch Domain...

This is bad!

The magical girls who cleared the area quickly reported back that the shelter, including the newly arrived magical girls, numbered over a hundred, overwhelming the surrounding Monster. Because of the Black Mud, the Monster that had been lying in wait were not in a hurry to attack, probably waiting until the Black Mud was pressing in before making their move.

"Still haven't found a car?"

Teacher Bai Ze paced anxiously downstairs, when a magical girl replied:

"We found two buses and a few vans, and some local uncles said they could drive people out."

"Then let the people squeeze onto the bus first."

"But some people refused to leave, saying they wanted to stay and help. The Old District was their home... They hoped to stay here to take care of the wounded, or prepare food, hot water, and so on... to help us hide from the invaders."

"Thank you for their kindness, but the general public must leave immediately. This stronghold will become a battlefield sooner or later, and the presence of civilians will hinder the fighting."

Teacher Bai Ze is right, but ultimately, how do we fight against this sweeping torrent?

No matter what kind of attack, it could not repel the falling waterfall, nor could it stop the rolling Black Mud.

"Ceruno!!"

Quanyin- ne downstairs held up Megaphone and shouted:

"Covering!"

"Oh!"

The people boarded the vehicles quickly: one large bus, two public buses, and two or three minibuses Dantai Society.

Holding guns high on the roof of the teaching building, they put glittering Bubble Membrane over vehicles to get everyone out. Even if the vehicles were full, it would take two trips, but there were also injured people who couldn't be bumped or touched, so it would take at least three trips.

It takes time to come and go, but the Black Mud Army seems to be at the city gates.

"The Black Mud is spreading very quickly, and the Monster and witches have also gathered here!"

Falcon landed on the rooftop, leaned against the railing next to me, and continued:

"There are still scattered magical girls fighting outside! Their retreat route might be ambushed, and that Black Mud shows no signs of stopping. If we don't stop it, there's really no other way but to withdraw from the battlefield!"

I shook my head and replied, "Withdrawing from the battlefield won't do, Sister Jila! Take me to the front lines and let's test if my magic can stop this Black Mud."

"OK!"

Falcon shouted down from the teaching building:

"Yoko, combine! Let's take Ceruno flying!"

Phoenix lifted me high into the air from under his armpits, looking down upon the entire Witch Domain.

"Wow! That's dangerous!"

Taking off into the sky is like being a target; there are always Monster and witches who will try to shoot us down, but they can't even break my Bubble Membrane.

"It's okay! They can't break my bubble... Why is there another car over there?"

From above, a pickup truck the size of Matchbox was speeding down the highway, followed by several small black dots.

"Isn't that Miluno?!"

Phoenix descended vertically, and sure enough Miluno, Mono, and Miss SpiCa were in the back seat of the pickup truck. Their long, flowing white hair was highly recognizable even at high altitudes.

"Ceruno? Watch out!"

The Shadow Girl chasing them reacted to our arrival, their heads twisting into black gun barrels, and black bullets shot out, but all of them were deflected to the side by Phoenix's control.

Don't underestimate me!

The burning flames exploded on the Shadow Girl, but caused no obstruction or damage.

"Heave-ho..."

We landed in the back seat of the pickup truck. Miluno caught me, while SpiCa's White Silk helped Phoenix steady himself.

Miluno said, "Using Fire Phosphor on those guys is useless; it won't ignite, and their core won't be damaged."

"Did they emerge from the Black Mud?"

"These Black Mud are part of the 'Great Will,' and these Shadow Girl are the vanguard of the 'Great Will.' We need to find a way to block that wormhole, but we can't teleport to the Other Side within the Witch Domain."

Miluno ruffled my blond hair again as she spoke and asked:

"Since Sirius lent you its power... you successfully left the barrier?"

"Um."

I sat on her lap and nodded. She continued:

"Then let's leave the Witch Domain and go outside; that way we'll have a way to infiltrate 'the Other Side'."

"Isn't Miss SpiCa going to give instructions?"

"I'm not suited for the limelight, and besides, I have four witches in front of me."

"Four witches?"

I turned to the side and looked at the front seat of the pickup truck.

Miss Chris was driving, but the passenger and back seat were occupied by women I'd never seen before, all of whom had Miss SpiCa's White Silk covering their heads.

"This is truly remarkable."

Phoenix squinted and twitched the corner of his mouth, then said, "How about we let Ceruno try out her magic first?"

"You want to stop the Black Mud?"

"Yes! We must secure a safe haven to ensure the Old District doesn't fall completely."

"Even with the power of Sirius, it would be impossible to stop this flood of darkness..."

Miluno stopped mid-sentence; she didn't want to discourage my enthusiasm for using magic.

He stood up from the pickup truck bed, raised his Ruby Gunstaff, and created a huge hemispherical bubble behind him.

The billowing Black Mud crashed against the bubbles, but unlike Miss Alpha's darkness, it didn't seep in. However, the bubbles themselves were carried away by the Black Mud...

SpiCa drew its own conclusions regarding this.

"Ceruno's magic can indeed block the Black Mud, but this size is not enough; it needs to cover the entire shelter to prevent it from being washed away."

Whether Miss Sirius and I can protect the entire town's elementary school with our combined magical reserves is uncertain.

Are the bubbles big enough?

Miluno muttered something to herself, then took something out of her pocket and tossed it over.

"Do you think this might be useful?"

It was an opaque pink Crystal.