Earthquake

(Ceruno)

"That's it. I want to take advantage of this time to rush to the Garden District to harvest some herbs."

Back at the temporary command post, I explained to Xiao Yi that Barbara and Fran needed herbs.

"I see, medicine is also very important... The teaching building collapsed, we need to find a way to salvage the medical supplies from the infirmary."

Metal caught the iron ingot and hooked his arm around my shoulder.

"This area also falls under logistics, right? Then I'll go with you!"

"Eh? I'm just going to pick some herbs!"

The iron ingot in Metal's hand changed like clay, yet always reflected the luster of metal, eventually forming several separate blades that circled on her fingertips.

"Pulling weeds is never as fast as cutting them, and you're not good at dealing with enemies either, are you?"

This saves effort; I can transport herbs using my bubbles, so we can bring back a large quantity of herbs on our own.

"Then let's just go."

Although the magic power has not yet recovered, it can still support short-distance teleportation channels.

Open the teleportation portal in the underground command room; the exit is located in the plaza of the Garden District, which is also the stage for the concert.

The surrounding flowerbeds and medicinal herb fields remained undamaged because no fighting had taken place there...

Um, not before.

But it exists now.

A series of bullets hit the Bubble Membrane, sending up sparks, but I felt nothing.

Ten meters away stood a small squad of soldiers. Although they were dressed in neat standard equipment, they were much weaker than the bizarre and grotesque Monster.

Should we kill them?

Metal put his arm around my shoulder, completely ignoring the soldiers who were firing.

"Or... we could just focus on gathering herbs; their weapons can't hurt us anyway..."

Despite seeking my opinion, Metal still flicked the blade in his hand, which spun like a fidget spinner.

The single-edged throwing knife unexpectedly unfolded into a three-edged shuriken in flight, flying close to the ground, harvesting a large area of herbs in the field, before rising up and slicing the soldier who looked like the captain in half.

"Hey, you'd already decided to take them all out, hadn't you?"

When I asked that, Metal tightened his grip on my neck and said:

"Of course we have to take them down! I just wanted to hear Ceruno- chan's opinion, but you're just as kind-hearted as I thought! Being too merciful to the enemy isn't good. Even if you're not afraid of them, the other magical girls will still get hurt by the bullets!"

Although I understood, these soldiers looked much like armed police officers, ready to kill...

When their comrade was instantly killed by Metal, the other soldiers did not show any fear or panic. They simply called for backup while scattering to find cover and continuing to fire at us.

Do these guys have no feelings?

Or did discipline overcome fear?

Many more soldiers surrounded them, this time including some strange Monster. Although they weren't a major problem, they would definitely hinder the herb gathering.

"Alright! Let's start harvesting before more reinforcements arrive?"

Metal said this, he released me, rolled up his sleeves, and removed a large amount of metal from the stage behind his ear to form blades, which he then threw at the surrounding herbs and soldiers.

Is she harvesting herbs or the heads of Monster?

Or perhaps both?

The bubbles enveloped the harvested herbs and kept merging together, soon forming a large, floating bundle. Harvesting with a blade like this was much faster than plucking them one by one, and it was wonderful that Metal could come to help.

"Miss Metal, it's about time... um..."

Although I didn't want to go, it was hard to ignore the soldiers and Monster who had fallen in the medicinal herb field when harvesting herbs.

"Have you collected enough? Let's head back!"

Metal turned around with a smile, but was somewhat horrified. She was covered in the blood of her enemies... no, or perhaps some kind of bodily fluid?

"Um..."

I nodded, but before I could open the return passage, a huge tremor came from the west of the City School, and even here I could feel the ground shaking.

"What is this, an earthquake?"

No, earthquakes are impossible in this world.

Carrying the herbs compressed with Bubble Membrane on his back, Metal also looked westward.

"Is that the 'Great Hand' over there? Is she coming over? No, she's fighting with something!"

The violent earthquakes are still ongoing; it's incredible how many rounds of this "Great Hand" it has to go through...

"Is it Miluno? If it's the current Miluno, perhaps she has the potential to stand against the 'Great Hand'?"

Metal's expression was quite unpleasant, and he had even lost his previous composure.

"What's wrong?"

"We can't let them continue fighting. The structure of the City School can't withstand such intense combat... it might collapse."

"A landslide? In the Central District? Then Xiao Yi and the others are going to be buried alive!!"

"No, it's not just the Central District... Remember what I told you? We have a trump card; we're just waiting for the target to appear."

"Ah... um..."

"That trump card is hidden in the underground passage of the City School, you know? I sealed off the passage not only to prevent enemy intrusion, but also to prevent your father's informant from discovering our plan."

"What exactly is their trump card?"

"I can't say, okay?"

"I can't possibly be Dad's informant, can I? Why can't you even tell me?"

No, that's not it~

Metal tapped his head and explained:

"Director SpiCa used a 'Mental Overlay' spell on me to ensure that under any circumstances... even if I were captured, I wouldn't reveal any information. Even if I wanted to tell you, I wouldn't be able to."

Huh?! They're not even sparing friendly forces?

Wrong...

Because she didn't know who was an ally and who was an informant, Ms. SpiCa assumed that no one could be trusted when formulating her plan.

She had this feeling when the Association was laying off staff; her father had driven her to the brink of a nervous breakdown, to the point that she locked herself in prison.

"Wait a little longer! We'll bring these back soon too!"

Metal began collecting more metal, then extracted the flowing clay and kneaded it into balls in his hands.

"If it hasn't collapsed yet, I need to reinforce the command post; these are the materials."

"Won't the City School be destroyed by the earthquake?" I asked.

"No, Dragonbone that can't even withstand this kind of earthquake isn't the material I developed."

I knew Metal had many research collaborations with the Association; did she even have a role in the construction of the City School?

"It won't disintegrate, but it will collapse... Isn't that contradictory?"

"Even though the foundation supporting the entire City School uses metal capable of withstanding the pressure of a wormhole, the superstructure still faces the risk of collapse..."

She extracted metal not only from the concert stage, but also from inside the Monster's body.

"Because of Sun Ji's defection, SpiCa ordered a shortened construction period. The original design was for a space fortress where the entire hull could withstand the pressure of a wormhole and be traversed completely... cough, that's about it. Let's go! They're surrounding us again!"

So, this City School was actually a warship prepared for a counterattack?

With that in mind, I braved the hail of bullets and opened the teleportation portal for the return journey.