Crossfire: Ceruno
(Ceruno)
"Hmm, a child?"
Using the lens created by the bubbles, I could see clearly from the top floor of the shelter. Miluno, hundreds of meters away on the highway, blocked and gathered a large area of Black Mud, and finally... a little girl emerged from the Black Mud.
Just as I was adjusting the lens to get a better look, a voice came from above:
"Ceruno, the civilians have been evacuated, and the Monster that tried to attack them have all retreated into the black mist."
Phoenix flew upstairs to inform me of the situation.
In order to provide a protective shield to every magical girl who is attacked as soon as possible, I must stand on this highest rooftop.
"However, there have been casualties among the magical girls. Thirteen more magical girls have lost their ability to continue fighting, and three more... have sacrificed themselves. The witch's magic is too cruel; the slightest carelessness can lead to..."
Death is not far away; it is something that can be expected but is difficult to accept.
As we escorted the last group of civilians out of the barrier, an enemy force led by witches breached the magical girls' defenses. Although the civilians' vehicles were undamaged, my protective shield failed to safeguard the magical girls.
In order to provide everyone with defensive bubbles and to conserve magic power, I reduced the strength of my bubbles.
"Sorry, but conserving magic is essential..."
"I know no one will blame you for anything."
Phoenix patted me on the back to comfort me.
I wish I were stronger.
"And what about the witches?" I asked.
Phoenix simply sat cross-legged beside me, the feather-like tassels from her sleeves dragging on the dirty rooftop floor, a sight that seemed wasteful and extravagant.
She retorted, "A witch? Hmm, you should be able to see her from here, right?"
The top floor of the teaching building definitely has the best view.
"Cough, I wasn't paying much attention."
You can't exactly say that I was observing Miluno's situation the whole time and didn't notice the Monster and the witch heading east, can you?
"You seemed rather distracted while on guard duty."
Phoenix grumbled, then continued, "The Monster and witches are approaching under the cover of the Black Mud, making it impossible for us to confirm our targets... Miss Bai Ze is reinforcing the school gates and vehicles used as cover, but the enemy has long-range firepower, and the ground fortifications can't hold them all off."
"Miluno and the others are dealing with the Black Mud; we just need to hold out for a while."
If each piece of Black Mud yields an extra little girl, then the current amount of Black Mud could probably collect more than a dozen little girls.
Ultimately, what exactly is that little girl?
That's what I was thinking...
Bang--
A purple fireball shot out from beneath the Black Mud, directly bypassing the defensive line that Teacher Bai Ze had erected at the school gate.
"Go on."
Phoenix simply waved his hand, and the approaching fireball veered off course and flew into the distance.
"So, those guys finally couldn't sit still anymore!"
The Black Mud has spread to within a hundred meters of the school wall. At this distance, the remaining Monster and witches can launch an attack even if they are hiding under the Black Mud. Moreover, many Shadow Soldiers have emerged from the Black Mud, just like those seen in Halley's enlightenment...
"Prepare for defense!"
As Bai Ze's messenger, Quanyin shouted through Megaphone in front of the school gate, and the magical girls, except for the wounded, started running around in a flurry of activity...
This is the first time we've seen a group of nearly a hundred magical girls operating on such a scale. As a stage, this middle school is far too small.
In order to completely occupy the Northern District, the "Supreme Council" launched a final offensive, gathering all remaining forces.
"Miss Sirius, it's our turn."
"No need to ask me, just do it."
He raised his staff high, and a ring of golden defensive bubbles spread out from the tip of the staff, instantly expanding to the size of the entire school building.
But that's not enough; it needs to cover the entire school!
All the magic power we conserved before was for this moment. Without this bubble, the unstoppable Black Mud would engulf everyone. Once the magical girl's Crystal Dark Erosion, a witch will be born, and hundreds of magical girls will become witches... This is something that must be avoided at all costs.
Perhaps noticing my magic, the Shadow Soldiers who had been walking unsteadily suddenly quickened their pace, and a few fast-running Monster also joined them, charging towards the magical girl's sanctuary despite its firepower.
The school's "walls" were too low; those Monsters could easily jump over the 2.4-meter fence with their jumping ability, but the moment they jumped, more than one kind of magic would hit their faces.
The Shadow Soldiers are more troublesome. These things, which can't even be called Monster or even have any intelligence, can change their shape like mud and pass through the gaps in the fence. Although they are fragile and have very little combat power, they can quickly reassemble after being scattered, and they have no weaknesses at all.
After all, it's just a school; there's no such thing as an easy-to-defend, hard-to-attack structure.
The simply reinforced school gate was quickly overturned by the endless Shadow Soldiers and Monster, and the battle shifted from positional warfare to close combat.
"Ha!"
I need to speed up the process of opening the barrier.
"Shadow-Driving Barrier, deploy! Begone, darkness!"
I always feel more confident just by shouting it out...
No, this is not an illusion.
What was originally a bubble that seemed to be reaching its limit and expanding slowly, suddenly surged again as if stimulated, eventually forming the hemispherical defensive bubble that I had hoped for, covering the entire middle school. The Shadow Soldiers were also pushed out of the school by the expanding bubble, leaving only a few Monster successfully climbed over the wall.
For a moment, like lambs among tigers, these poor Monster were warmly welcomed by the magical girls.
However, this protective shield only isolates the Black Mud and those Shadow Soldiers; it cannot stop the attacks from the Monster and witches. Maintaining such a large shield requires a lot of magic power, and if it also needs to resist attacks, even I cannot withstand it now.
"Ceruno, well done!"
Phoenix jumped off the rooftop railing.
"I'm joining the battle too!"
The B-25s roared in and began their dive bombing run.
In an instant, both the Monster and the magical girl were running away in panic.
Two more Modified Witch remained, and they, along with the remaining Monster, did not rashly leave the cover of the Black Mud.
As expected of a member of that "Supreme Council," they acted with extreme caution.
If they rush in rashly, they will be ganged up on. Even a witch cannot deal with so many magical girls at the same time. As long as they cast magic outside the school gate, they can kill the magical girls inside without having to consider their allies. After all, it doesn't matter if the Shadow Soldiers are scattered.
At this moment, the wriggling Black Mud had climbed to the edge of my bubble. Although its progress was hindered, it began to wriggle and pile up, and started to climb upwards along my bubble.
I can't keep stopping them indefinitely...
"What is Miluno doing at a time like this?"
The remaining Black Mud.
What should we do?