Witch Legion Babaluno

(Babaluno)

My whole body aches.

Especially my lower limbs, my feet, it hurt like I twisted my ankle while going downstairs and missed a step... and both of my feet were twisted.

It is estimated that the damaged tree roots and trunk affected the human body.

This is only the pain after merging with Ceruno; if it were just Barbara, the pain would probably be even more intense.

It seems I'll need some time to recover and heal.

I wonder if the tree trunk can fully recover...

Too tired to walk any further, Metal helped me sit down in the aisle in front of the command center.

"How's the situation outside?" I asked.

"As usual, they're determined to wage a war of attrition against us. This can't go on."

The devastating earthquake to the west has subsided, and the reinforced underground passages are temporarily safe, but a lingering unease remains...

What are some things I can do right now?

"Bring me those herbs, and get me a pot... I'll mix the potion first."

Metal frowned at my request.

"Why don't you take a rest?"

"No, it would be a waste if we didn't make these herbs into potions, given the risks you took to get them. Besides, we'll definitely need them later..."

Metal, however, reminded:

"It's not 'you,' it's 'us.' Don't forget that you are also Ceruno."

"... Um."

The fusion inevitably leads to confusion about identities, which explains why Ceruno's feelings could be contagious to Barbara...

However, this is not necessarily a bad thing.

My thoughts and memories are passed on to the two people after we are separated, so Barbara can learn common sense about being human in this way, such as how to speak and the feeling of liking someone, which is of great help to her.

However, Ceruno will be unhappy because she's jealous...

Then what am I?

Metal set up a small medicine pot for me in the command post, but heating it relied on Hualun's magic; after all, starting a fire in a poorly ventilated underground passage was tantamount to suicide by burning charcoal...

"Um, what should I call you now?"

Hualun, with his red hair, squatted down next to me and asked a question.

She must have been out fighting too, Battle Dress was all dirty, so I reached out and wiped the dirt off her little face.

"No need to be so formal, just call me Babaluno."

"Babaluno? Oh~ she's quite cute! But your personality seems more serious than Ceruno's, so smile more!"

"Huh? Really?"

After thinking about it for a moment, I realized it was probably because of Barbara; my facial expressions lacked variation, so I was perceived as serious.

Of course, given the current dire situation, there's really no reason to laugh...

"I'm not being very serious~"

I rubbed Hualun's head in Ceruno's tone, which only made the latter yell in anger:

"Don't treat me like a child! You should call me 'older sister'!"

Hey, she's actually arguing with me about this...

"Sister? If that's the case, then you'd have to call me grandma?"

"Um?"

"Barbara is already 1,400 years old, you know? Even if you don't count Ceruno's age, I should be at least 700 years old, right?"

"Huh? You can't count it like that! They were all trees before!"

Although Hualun was noisy, he controlled the temperature of the medicine pot very well.

The potion brewed in the small pot could also speed up my own recovery from injuries, so I drank some of the potion myself. Since I lacked packaging bags, I simply used Bubble Membrane as a coating to make little popping boba-like balls.

"Want to try some?"

I handed the first finished product to Hualun.

She demurred, replying, "I'm not injured... and I'm afraid of hardship..."

You actually said you're afraid of hardship?

I almost laughed. This guy still says he's not a child?

"It's not bitter; I adjusted it to taste like fructose."

While the potion does have a characteristic bitter smell from the herbs when brewing, the finished product has been seasoned. This was a suggestion Ms. Yin Wei gave me when I first started making potions, to help my product sell better...

"Hmm?"

Hualun had just swallowed the potion from my hand, licked his lips.

"It's quite fun to burst in your mouth, and the taste is sweet and refreshing! It's like jelly. It would definitely taste even better if Haite were chilled!"

It's still a bit warm, but the scent of herbs and plants is even stronger.

"I wasn't lying to you, was I?"

Hualun nodded, and Xiao Yi peeked out from the command post again.

"Sister Ceruno!"

She stared at the potion in my hand for a few seconds before saying:

"There's trouble again to the west! Come and check it out!"

"Has the 'Great Hand' struck?"

"... No, the Great Hand has indeed left."

Unable to move easily with his feet, he put on Bubble Membrane and was pulled by Xiao Yi into the command center.

The footage transmitted back by the drone showed a magical girl with long, straight pink hair...

Of course I know who she is.

"Did Dad... finally come out in person to oversee the battle?"

"A-Ji is only Fake Magical Girl, but the team behind her is made up entirely of witches. Coupled with the Monster Soldiers are already forming a pincer movement, we are destined to fight a tough battle."

At the "Zodiacal" Magic Academy, support-type magical girls make up a significant proportion, with only about a thousand magical girls actually capable of combat. Even defense requires division of labor and cooperation, let alone facing the Witch Legion brought by her father.

"Oh, right."

Is there anything else Xiao Yi wants to say?

"According to this drone's recording, 'The Great Hand' just took Sister Miluno away, huh?"

"... Huh?! Miluno was taken away?"

Even Miluno now is no match for the "Great Hand." Just how strong is that puppet?

"Where did it go? Didn't the drone follow it?"

The magical girl in charge of piloting the drone said helplessly:

"We can't keep up. This is the last record that drone transmitted. The drone has been destroyed by the Witch Group."

The "Great Hand" is controlled by Aldebaran, and that guy has been plotting against Miluno for a long time. What is he trying to do by taking her away now?

I am very uneasy.

Xiao Yi said, "I will deploy the elite teaching staff that I gathered to deal with the 'Great Hand' to the west, but even elite magical girls will have a hard time dealing with witches..."

"Principal, something terrible has happened!"

A magical girl in charge of reconnaissance ran down from upstairs.

"The enemy is spraying Magic Suppressant onto our positions. Magical girls can't fight there. They're closing in."

I immediately opened the bubble covering the entire underground space to prevent the Magic Suppressant on the surface from seeping into the underground.

"Professor, where is the Dark Activator?"

Xiao Yi looked at Stratos, who was sitting in the corner studying Azura (shaped like a steamed bun), but the latter's expression froze.

"Um, Miluno took them all. She came to me wanting those. I thought she brought them back for you."

"Huh? You didn't leave any at all?"

There's one can left.

The professor took a hexagonal gas cylinder out of the inner pocket of his white coat.

But she added, "This evaporates quickly if thrown outdoors, and it's only effective in enclosed spaces, unless you spray the Magic Suppressant over a large area like they do."

There's nothing we can do.

I looked at Miss Metal.

"The enemy has reached our doorstep; if we don't use our trump card now, we might miss our chance!"

Is this our last hope?