Holding the Line: Ceruno

(Ceruno)

Enter.

The headmaster, who had her back to me, turned around and looked at me.

A smile appeared on that usually bitter and resentful little face.

"Ceruno is back?"

"Okay, I'm back to recover."

Having exhausted my magic power once again in the battle, I returned to the temporary underground command post to catch my breath.

"You've worked hard. How's it going?"

"There's not a big problem right now, but... the grove of trees in the Garden District can provide natural cover for the enemy, and those Monster sneaking in from there are not easy to deal with. The pressure on the northern front is a bit high."

The grove of trees is right next to the Central District, so the magical girls stationed on the northern front are constantly facing enemies rushing out at close range, making the situation quite dangerous.

But it's only "relatively dangerous".

"I'm so angry!"

Xiao Yi slammed her hand on the table in dissatisfaction.

"Are those bastards playing guerrilla warfare on our turf?"

To be precise, it was our territory that fell into their territory.

Metal also returned to rest, added:

"However, the enemy's desire to attack is not very strong. Apart from cannon fodder sent to their deaths, very few Monster will charge straight at us."

Xiao Yi sighed:

"Sigh, that's because it's unnecessary..."

Although it sounds like good news, anyone can see that it's just complacency stemming from a sense of certainty. For us, who are deep behind enemy lines, any losses or casualties are irreplaceable, and we must carefully calculate every bit of our fighting strength.

Most importantly, the Materials Distribution Center is in the Dormitory District to the west, and the Logistics Center is in the Industrial District to the east. To ensure safety, Metal has also blocked the underground passage leading to these areas...

We, who were staying in the Central District, had no logistical support at all, but the "The Other Side" was able to continuously replenish supplies and manpower. While they were doing so with ease, they began to threaten us to set up camp and build defensive lines.

"Those Monster are mass-produced; at this rate, we'll only suffer a slow death... Is the rotation of the defense lines going smoothly?"

When I asked that, Xiao Yi nodded.

"One hundred magical girls have been deployed in each direction, with teaching magical girls serving as battlefield commanders, working in three shifts. There are medical teams in the underground passages ready to provide support at any time... There are no problems at this stage, but manpower is tight. If the casualties increase further, we will have to reduce the number of troops stationed here."

Although the magical girls also experienced periods of confusion and helplessness, this state did not last long. After the City School landed, we kept optimizing our deployment strategy, which eventually led to the rotation system that Xiao Yi just mentioned, in order to prevent all the magical girls from running out of magic power at the same time.

However, the income was always insufficient to cover the expenses, and there was a limit to how long this could be used to delay the inevitable.

I asked Miss Metal, "Sister, what exactly was that backup plan you mentioned? Now is not the time to keep you in suspense."

We need more efforts to break the status quo of chronic death.

Metal, however, remained smiling and did not answer.

"Oh dear~ a secret plan is only truly effective when used at the crucial moment; using it beforehand is like revealing a secret, and it won't work."

"Does Xiao Yi know?" I asked again.

"You don't know? Why don't you show us what other trump cards we have?"

"It's not the right time yet; the target hasn't appeared."

Target?

Whose goal is this?

"Something's up. Take a look at this."

A magical girl piloting a drone suddenly reports in, projecting the footage of the drone returning onto the screen.

"Dark Aggregate has appeared to the west, its individual codename 'The Great Hand'."

The white-haired, brown-skinned witch looks quite similar to Miluno and also has a single horn, but her most distinctive feature is her enormous wrists that swell from her forearms. Although she is not short, her giant wrists still reach the ground when laid flat.

"The Great Hand" is a marionette that forcibly manifests "Great Will" and is controlled by special equipment.

Footage transmitted back by the drone showed that she had landed in the Dormitory District on the west side of the City School.

Wait, to the west?

Didn't she fight Miluno? Where is Miluno now?

"The Great Hand"... no... Aldebaran doesn't seem to have any intention of attacking yet. After landing at the City School, it just stands on the edge, motionless.

If she attacks, we must arrange for people to block her, otherwise the entire Central District will be razed to the ground, and even the underground passages will not be spared.

Even if they were to try and stop them, they might not necessarily be able to win.

Simply put, her strength is a bit beyond what's typical.

After the battle in the Old District, the magical girls had all heard of the "Great Hand's " formidable reputation, and...

The fact that even my bubble couldn't withstand one punch from her.

Xiao Yi's complexion wasn't very good either; at such a young age, she already had deep frown lines between her brows.

But as the principal and the commander on site, everyone else could panic, but she couldn't.

"Principal, what should we do?"

Metal asked this, Xiao Yi quickly replied:

"A task force of at least fifty faculty members will be needed..."

"Wait, is fifty men enough?" Metal asked.

"... Then let's organize a hundred people. We can't abandon the defense of other fronts just to deal with the 'Great Hand.' Once we've decided on the personnel, we'll hold a meeting and discuss countermeasures while we're on standby... If the 'Great Hand' makes any further moves, then we'll take the initiative and must stop her outside the Central District. Otherwise, if a battle breaks out, it will affect the command post and the wounded... Sister Ceruno, you should come along too."

They were more than capable of dealing with enemy grunts, but against an opponent of the caliber of "The Great Hand," their current forces were somewhat insufficient.

"Okay, then I'll wander around for a bit."

The underground passage was dark and damp. Due to the previous bombing and the impact of the landing, some parts had cracked. Metal used magic to reinforce the passage itself, but even she couldn't guarantee the integrity of the structure below.

But compared to the ruins on the surface, this place is still safer.

In a corner of the underground passage, Barbara, Fran, and other magical girls with healing magic were tending to the wounded who had been evacuated from above. However, both of their magic required herbs or plants to cast, and they didn't carry many with them, so their effectiveness was greatly limited.

"Should we send someone to the Garden District to pick the fruit?" I asked.

Barbara shook her head and stammered:

"To cause even greater casualties and deaths in the pursuit of medicinal herbs is a losing proposition."

"I can use teleportation magic to Past, pick the fruit when those guys aren't looking, and run. This battle could last forever, so stocking up on potions is essential... and mana Enhancer too... we'll need those when we're really desperate."

Currently, the only people surrounding the City School are cannon fodder and ordinary Monster, who pose little threat. We still have time to harvest herbs.

If the witches under my father's command also join the battle, it will be very difficult to get anything else.

Only after this was said did Barbara nod.

Miss Fran also picked up her phone.

Be extremely careful.

"Um?"

But the signal icon in the upper right corner of the phone caught my attention.

"... There's still a signal here?"

I pulled out my phone from the Star Crystal, which I thought was now bricked. After a few seconds of pause around the circle in the upper right corner, a few bars of signal appeared. I was bombarded with tons of text messages, mostly from my mother, but also a few from my sister Yin Wei...

Um, it's not that they care about me...

She can't get in touch with Sister Luer?