Fracture: Ceruno

(Ceruno)

The collected metal was rolled into a ball the size of an oil drum, which Metal lifted with one hand.

I didn't even put a weight-reducing Bubble Membrane on her; her strength is astonishing. She has such power, yet she prefers to be a magical girl providing support from the rear? She's quite ruthless in battle though...

Well, everyone has their own choices~

Sirius has been silent for a long time; she hasn't appeared for a while.

"During periods of mana depletion, a short nap helps my mana recover... But compared to that, what you did was truly audacious—picking herbs right in front of us. Aren't you underestimating your enemy?"

Thanks to the clear division of labor, the herb-gathering operation proceeded relatively quickly. From passing through the teleportation channel to returning fully loaded, it took less than two minutes. Miss Metal also took down several Monsters and soldiers.

Even without retaliating, the enemy's attacks would have little chance of breaking through my protective barrier; they could only hinder my collection of herbs.

Sirius still said:

"But Monster have all sorts of abilities. What if we happen to get bogged down?"

I understand.

But for these life-saving herbs, isn't taking a little risk worthwhile?

We did not successfully return--

"Wow, this is truly devastating."

After passing through the teleportation tunnel, what lay before me was a scene of utter devastation.

Although the underground passage has not completely collapsed, the cracks in the wall are getting bigger and bigger as the tremors come from the west, and rubble is falling from them.

Some of the magical girls are even deciding to evacuate the underground passage.

"Could this also be part of Dad's plan?"

Perhaps "The Great Hand" wasn't actually fighting anyone; she was simply pounding the floor.

My father knew we were all hiding underground, so he used this method to force us to come out.

This aligns with his strategic thinking of achieving big results with small investments.

Since we landed, we haven't seen a single witch. They're all cannon fodder sent to their deaths, but they're still really draining our manpower. Now they're using this method to force us to leave the passage.

Is she about to launch her final offensive?

After filling in the deformed and cracked passages, Metal said, "I'll go reinforce the command post first. You go and deliver herbs to the medical team. If the collapse there is severe, move the wounded to the command post entrance as soon as possible."

"OK."

She tossed the herbs to me and then turned and ran into the command post.

The underground passage was crowded, much like a subway during rush hour. The cramped space was packed with people, and the panic of a potential collapse was spreading among the magical girls. Some were running away from the underground passage, but leaving meant losing their shelter. The buildings on the surface were completely destroyed, and sooner or later they would face enemy bombardment...

Although Phoenix is also available.

But her magic will eventually fade; she can't be our protector forever.

"Wow?!"

The shaking was so violent that I had to hold onto the wall to keep my balance.

Not only was there an earthquake, but a deafening crash echoed from the passageway ahead, where the medical magical girl and the wounded lay...

Oh no!!

Driven by unease, the magical girls quickened their pace and were systematically rescuing the wounded.

"Miss Barbara?!"

A massive tree trunk supported the passageway, creaking and groaning incessantly. Its branches held up part of the collapsed ceiling, creating a narrow passage for survival. But the ground beneath its feet offered no foothold, and the tree itself was bent under the immense pressure...

The City School is situated beneath a steel structure.

The soil that allows her to survive exists only on the surface.

"Hey, don't just stand there at a time like this!"

Sirius forcibly took control of the body and retrieved the Trident from behind him.

"Quickly expand the bubbles, we'll support the passage!"

Golden Solidified Bubble replaced Barbara, reinforcing the collapsed passageway. The magical girls hurriedly carried out the wounded, but Barbara never transformed back into a magical girl... I'm not sure about the condition of the trees, but they were clearly not as sturdy as they looked.

"That's enough! You don't need to support yourself anymore! Change back now!"

Miss Fran took the herbs from my hand, extracted their life force, and injected it into Barbara's body through the tree roots. Only then did Barbara begin to move, her enormous body gradually shrinking until she finally transformed back into her magical girl form.

But she was still very weak, and before she could even take a step, she staggered forward and fell. I went forward to support her small, thin body...

So light.

But Miss Barbara, who had finally learned to speak, couldn't even manage to utter a single word.

"Miss Fran, please save her."

[They've already tried to resuscitate me.]

Miss Fran picked up her phone to translate.

"Are we safe now? Will everything be alright?"

I will do my best.

Although Barbara is always clinging to Miluno, it's because of my influence. I wouldn't go so far as to wish for something to happen to her...

"What's wrong?"

Metal and Xiao Yi rushed over in a hurry.

"The passageway for accommodating the wounded collapsed. Barbara transformed back into her original form to hold up the passageway in order to save people, but she seems to be seriously injured."

Carrying her to a relatively safe place, Metal quickly repaired the passage to ensure the temporary safety of the area.

Xiao Yi asked, "Did Sister Fran take a look at it for her?"

Miss Fran typed a long string of words with her head down before finally revealing the translator.

[The tree trunk is broken, and many phloem tubes are damaged, which is equivalent to blood vessels in a human body. This is a fatal injury to a tree. Even if I inject life force from the roots, it cannot reach the whole tree...]

Perhaps feeling that this statement was too pessimistic, Fran added further details.

[But the cypress tree is very resilient; if it maintains its magical girl form for a while, it might recover.]

Yes, it has survived for thousands of years.

Besides, our concert isn't over yet, and we still need to protect the trees in the Sacred Tree Park. Barbara shouldn't and can't fall here.

So...

"Then let her recuperate inside me!"

"Huh? No way!"

Xiao Yi, hands on her hips, rejected the idea.

"... Ceruno, you have three Crystal inside you?! That's already beyond common sense, and you actually want to put a fourth one in... If anything happens to you, how am I supposed to explain it to Sister Miluno?!"

It was indeed a reckless attempt, since that's the case...

"If all else fails... let Miss Sirius go out first."

"Huh?! Ceruno- chan, are you trying to get rid of me?"

"If you're not inside me, I can still use light magic, right? We need firepower outside, and I can increase my magic reserves by relying on Barbara's Crystal..."

I think this allocation would be better. As "Babaluno," she could use two types of magic, but it's different when she's "Celius."

Since Sirius itself is Star Crystal, after she merged into my body, I was unable to use her light magic.

She needs to take control of the body, but Bubble Magic can't be used then...

"Okay, okay."

Sirius's enormous Star Crystal fell out from my back.

Her hair color turned back to pink, and Miss Terra's voice could no longer be heard; it seemed she really couldn't manifest herself here.

Sirius, now back in human form, cupped my cheeks and said:

"If you merge with Barbara, the pain she's enduring will also be transferred to you. Can you accept that?"

Of course!

Unnecessary questions.

What's a little hardship compared to saving lives?