Awakening: Saiba

(Ceruno)

The turned earth kicked up dust, obscuring the uninvited guest's appearance for a moment, but I could roughly guess what it was...

"The Great Blood".

The producer of the Monster, it is the first Proxy Unit left behind by the "Great Will," and also... possibly the seed with the largest capacity for darkness.

That's terrible.

I scratched my head and complained:

"Are you kidding me? Is it really necessary to be so relentless? We couldn't even beat the 'Great Hand,' and now we have to deal with this thing that could very well be Last Boss?"

The biggest question is... how did it get up here?

Before dealing with the missile swarm of the "Supreme Council," Mono showed me and Miluno an image of the "Great Blood," which appeared to be compressing its volume...

If a substance is too large to fly, can it fly if it's shrunk in size?

The immediate priority is to repair the broken bubble. The already riddled City School cannot withstand the pressure of the wormhole. Fortunately, as we enter the wormhole and get closer to Earth, the power that Miss Terra can provide has also increased considerably.

"Be careful, this guy is different."

Sirius spread its wings of light and rose into the sky.

Before the smoke and dust had cleared, a colossal shadow burst forth from the dust... The target of "Great Blood" remains me.

The "Great Blood" is now much smaller, but that's relative. Compared to its original size, which was the size of a lake, it's now just a ten-meter-tall female giant.

It looks like an unpainted figurine, with only a human shape but no color.

In terms of appearance, she does resemble... no, this is a giant version of the Ice Dragon!

Was his appearance copied because his father had fallen in there?

SpiCa's voice brought a lot of people from the Central District.

"We don't know what abilities it has, so caution is advised... Prioritize protecting Ceruno and maintaining the City School's bubble shield!"

Adhering to the principle of striking first, a magical girl with a prosthetic limb swung her electric whip from afar, wrapping it around the throat located high up. The strike, aimed straight for the vital point, did little damage. Instead, the latter grabbed the whip, swung it around twice like a hammer, and threw it away.

"Everything about that thing is fake. Its humanoid appearance is just an imitation; it's essentially still that liquid monster that acts on instinct... Our attacks won't work on it."

That's what Miluno said; this information must have been given to her by Mono.

"No, it's still possible to deal with her... Don't forget what we talked about before."

I mean using Fomalhaut's magic to deal with it. Back in the Breeding Facility, the combined power of Father and Fomalhaut froze "Black Pool" and those Guardian. Since it could freeze "her" back then, it can definitely be used to deal with "her" now.

"Miss SpiCa, where's Dad?"

"She's still inside my cocoon. What, are you planning to reunite as father and son now?"

Even Dad...

As expected, Miss SpiCa is planning to brainwash everyone.

"No, her magic might be able to deal with the Great Blood. Freezing it with low temperatures, then breaking it apart, is the only way I can think of."

"Is that so? But letting her out now might just increase the enemy's numbers."

Dad isn't that easily brainwashed...

"There's no way to negotiate with the 'Great Blood,' they won't join forces."

Miluno also said, "The Dark Energy it contains is far greater than that of the current Mono, and coupled with its ability to produce Monster... if it were to fall to Earth, not only would its Corruption Rate increase dramatically, but it could also become a nest for enemies... and it might not necessarily produce Monster then; given its habits, who knows what kind of things it would create."

Take, for example, that "Guardian" that transcends human aesthetics—that headless creature with a mouth; just looking at it is creepy.

"I'm going back to talk to A-Ji ... Metal, have the City School stop inside the wormhole."

SpiCa left the order and returned to the Central District.

"Does that mean... we have to hold out until she brings her father back?"

When I asked this, Sirius shook his head.

"To be precise, we protected you until she brought A-Ji back. Ceruno- chan, you've always been our hope. The answer to why those guys on 'the Other Side' call you 'Star Guardian' is becoming clearer, isn't it?"

Clearly, my bubble has become everyone's lifeline.

But they also used their lives to build a wall for me.

Sirius, Miluno, Ryu, and the magical girls who came with SpiCa to provide support all stood between me and "Great Blood" as a defensive line.

Back view...

Again, it's just a view from behind.

That tall, reassuring figure from twelve years ago...

"I understand, then I'll leave it to everyone to protect me."

Protect.

How many times has this happened?

From the beginning.

I've always been well protected by people who are more outstanding than me.

That person twelve years ago was like that, Yezi was like that, Heat Haze was like that, and now everyone here is also a stabber.

But I am Guardian, this can't go on forever...

"But in return, I will protect everyone!"

The ruby at the tip of the spear shone brightly.

I am no longer the person who couldn't perform to my full potential because of a lack of self-confidence.

"Miss Terra, please lend me a little more power?"

"Ceruno ..."

His voice sounded hesitant.

"No need to remind me anymore, I know... Miss Terra is a very gentle person too."

"A person...?"

She seemed to be thinking, pondering my words.

"I respect your awareness, and it feels good to connect with a child like you... Go ahead and do it, I will fully support you."

"Thank you, Miss Terra."

While supporting the City School bubble, I also cast defensive bubbles on every magical girl present, causing my magic expenditure to rise again. As a result, Miss Terra had to give me even more blessings...

My compatibility with Terra Crystal must be increasing rapidly, right?

"Ceruno is good enough now, stop using the power of Earth's Will!"

Miluno seemed quite anxious about this.

"I can find a way to deal with 'Great Blood,' but you can't get any closer to the Earth Crystal. I don't want to... I'm not ready to lose you yet, stop!"

As she spoke, she assembled her longsword and charged towards 'Great Blood'. The Dark Energy within her body formed a shockwave to clear a path, which was Mono assisting Miluno in her attack. Unfortunately, it had no effect on Great Blood.

"I'll use that move to decide the outcome!"

Miluno's thrusting sword successfully pierced the waist and abdomen of "Great Blood," and time magic flowed from her body into the opponent's...

"Tear me apart, you bastard!"

It's rare to see Miluno swearing like this.

However, the "Great Blood" actually shattered into several pieces. These fragments flowed at different rates; some had already fallen to the ground, while others were still slowly falling through the air...

"Was it successful?"

Future their breath, these shattered fragments miraculously reassembled into a gigantic mouth...

"Varied--"

Before I Future react, I swallowed Miluno whole...

Is this fake?!