Counterattack Saiba
(Babaluno)
The churning, murky shadows of the muddy flow are slowly obscuring the bubble shield in the Central District and drawing ever closer to the Light Flow from which Miss Terra is unleashing her power.
"Miss Terra, it is attempting to block your blessing."
"Yes, but what can we do about it?"
You actually asked me?!
As the personification of the Earth's Will, I always felt that Miss Terra was confused and unreliable.
Although her entire body had turned into Crystal, her appearance hadn't changed much. She didn't become a long-legged mature woman, nor did she become as sparkly as one might imagine; she simply changed her hair color...
From Barbara's verdant green.
It transformed into the azure blue that symbolizes the Earth.
... And pink?
Where did Pink, the symbol of Vega, go?
"If that thing collapses, can we hold it off? What if it floods into the underground passage?"
The current situation looks very bad no matter how you look at it.
The area above my head that can receive the Flowlight is getting smaller and smaller, and the power within my body is getting weaker and weaker. Without Miss Terra's power, I can't possibly hold on on my own...
"I think so."
Miss Terra's tone remained indifferent, yet she added:
"But why aren't you running? Just run as far as I can still reach, what? Are your legs rooted to the spot?"
"Um?"
Oh right, I can run!
I was limited by Barbara's habitual thinking and forgot that the roots beneath my feet were merely "prosthetics" woven from energy.
I said to the blue magical girl beside me:
"Sister Quanyin, Black Mud may be flowing into the underground passage. Please go down and warn everyone to evacuate! Also, make sure the command center and the wounded are away from the Central District area!"
"Okay, what about you?"
"It's coming for me, I need to distract it."
"Huh? Wait a minute!"
Before Quanyin could say anything more, I had already started running in the opposite direction from where the "Great Blood" had come from. Compared to Miluno's incredibly fast speed, I was as slow as crawling on the ground.
Once I escape the shield's range, it will be much easier for "Great Blood" to catch me... but I also have my own ways of moving.
"Ha!"
I put on the bubble wrap and rolled down the gentle slope to the north.
The City School is situated on a hillside terrain that is high in the middle and low around the edges. There is also some wind. With a little adjustment, I can roll like a ball all the way to the edge of the City School. Although there are trees to the west, I can adjust the rolling path to avoid these difficult terrains.
The only trouble is the Monster and witches along the way.
They noticed my movements and formed a line in my path to intercept me. There was even a large mech with outstretched arms blocking my way, an insurmountable barrier.
Behind me, most of the "Great Blood" had already flipped over the protective shield and was crawling towards me. Without my magical support, the bubble shield beneath it collapsed, like a giant blanket covering the ruins of the Central District.
Fortunately, Quanyin- nee went down to inform everyone beforehand, so no one should get hurt.
The "Great Blood" that falls from the bubble is like a living giant wave or tsunami; the noise it makes when it rolls on flat ground is much greater than when it clings to the bubble.
"My power rendered it lifeless before, but now you're on your own, okay?"
Even if you say that...
The rolling bubbles were impossible to stop. Just as I was at a loss, the Monster, witches, and even bipedal robots blocking my way all moved to the sides of the path. Surprisingly, not one of them dared to actually stop me... Or perhaps, they didn't want to be eaten by the "Great Blood"?
Regardless, this is an opportunity for me.
Riding on the bubbles, they rolled without hesitation through the gaps they had cleared, past the grove of trees and medicinal fields to the north, and closer to the northern edge of the City School.
But if we fall off the edge of the City School, then our journey will end there.
The Betelgeuse's Great Crater is, after all, a pit; without external help, we can't roll out of it.
"Ceruno, out of kindness, I'm reminding you again."
Miss Terra's tone suddenly turned serious.
"The longer you maintain this state, the longer you accept my power, the closer you will draw to me and eventually become a part of me. Although I don't think this is a bad thing, I still want to confirm... is this the result you want?"
I know.
I don't want to disappear, but right now I need this strength.
"Thank you, Miss Terra."
She seemed to feel guilty about absorbing me, and just knowing that made her seem like a decent person.
"So what are you going to do now? My power can't change the nature of your magic. You're a magical girl who's biased towards defense anyway, so dealing with this big guy might be very difficult."
The northern edge of the city was just ahead, beyond the last grove of trees, and the "Great Blood" had already swept through Miss Freya's carefully cultivated herb field, rendering the herbs unsurprisingly ruined.
What a pity.
Thanks to Miss Freya's Life Magic, the herbs were of very good quality and could be brewed into highly effective potions.
"Miss Terra, you're mistaken. My magic isn't for defense... Please continue to lend me your power; I have an idea to deal with it."
"Of course, no problem, but do you want to do it this way?"
Although it has no fixed form, "Great Blood" looks a lot like a giant liquid worm. When it emerged from the edge of the Betelgeuse's Great Crater, a certain United States B-movie flashed through my mind. Even the way it broke through the ground from the bottom of the City School was exactly like the monster in the movie.
Given its distorted appearance, it's clear it can't fly.
After crossing the guardrail in the north of the city, I removed the bubble that was carrying me with inertia.
The inertia of the bubble did not transfer to me inside, so I paused briefly in the air before falling straight down under the influence of gravity.
As I plummeted to the height of halfway up the City School, I unfurled a second bubble.
The transition of this series of operations was very smooth, and then a large lump of Black Mud was seen flying down from above the City School and landing not far from the bottom of the pit.
"Now!! Miss Terra!"
The Light Flow shining through the wormhole was even more intense.
Next, I summoned bubbles around the "Great Blood" to act as a cage.
Since I couldn't see its full appearance before, I didn't pack it up completely.
Since the "Great Blood" loses its activity when it comes into contact with Miss Terra's power, would completely encasing it in a bubble restrict its activity?
With this in mind, a hasty operation was devised, but what was the result...?
"Ceruno!"
At that moment, Mono's voice came from above...
No, Mono doesn't call me that.
It's Miluno!