Battle Again

(Bai Ziye)

They really dare to say that.

If it's faster than light, then time must be flowing backwards, right?

"The bubble can only withstand a flow rate of thirty-eight times the time."

I sprint at full speed, which is about Mach 1.5. I can maintain this speed for three minutes, and the normal running time is about 4.7 seconds. After that, the Bubble Membrane bursts, so I slow down and stop.

This speed exceeds the speed of sound and approaches the speed of the Earth's rotation. At this rate of time flow, all objects except myself become extremely fragile, and even the slightest touch has considerable destructive power.

Unfortunately, even after speeding up, I couldn't hear the meaningful words clearly.

"Supersonic speed? That's so fast!"

Ceruno wiped the sweat from her forehead. Creating the strongest Bubble Membrane had taken a considerable amount of her magic, but her expression was one of great joy.

"Surely there'll be a way to defeat Miss Sirius this way!"

"Yes, her reaction speed definitely can't keep up."

Although my reaction speed couldn't keep up, the magic could still hit me, after all, it was at the speed of light. Fortunately, Sirius could only create lasers, so there were always gaps in her magic that I could find to slip in.

"Take a rest if you're tired."

"Um."

Ceruno obediently sat down next to me.

"Would Miluno like some tea?"

"Well, it's about time you changed how you address me. Just call me Miluno."

Being addressed so respectfully by her all the time always made me feel a little strange.

"May I?"

"Of course, we are friends."

"Friend... Miss Miluno and I... hehe."

As I answered, Ceruno cupped her soft cheeks and squirmed.

When she's with "Miluno," her behavior becomes more girlish;

When she's with "Bai Ziye," she's carefree and often does things that make people both laugh and cry.

I'm on both sides, so I've seen all the changes in her. Seeing her becoming more and more adorable, it's hard for me to see her as a man anymore.

Ultimately, Ceruno was never averse to femininity.

"Miluno, little one... here you go."

While I was thinking, Ceruno brought me some herbal tea.

The maids kept a bucket of herbal tea in a corner of the dance room; it wasn't just for us, they drank it themselves too.

A maid with short, golden-brown hair also came over to pour tea.

"Miss Zara ~"

Ceruno greeted them.

"Oh?"

"Is the kennel cleaned up yet?"

The maid nodded, holding a cup. Ceruno patted the floor beside her and said, "Come and rest for a bit."

This idiot has actually started socializing! Before, she rarely interacted with anyone other than me, let alone initiated a conversation.

"Aww!"

A maid Zara sat down next to Ceruno. Perhaps because they were both wearing maid outfits, their relationship was closer than I had imagined. Zara would even lean against Ceruno and rub against her, or sniff her hair.

They felt they were being too intimate, and even Ceruno felt embarrassed and tried to push it away.

"Haha, Miss Zara, please don't be like that. I heard you're a magical girl too... so I'd like to know what your magic is?"

Zara downed the glass of cold tea in one gulp, and then disappeared from our sight.

"This is... invisibility magic?"

Then, she reappeared in the same spot, shook her head, and grabbed my and Ceruno's wrists. The next second, the entire kennel was bathed in blue, just like a painting by Teacher Himura.

In addition, breathing becomes extremely difficult, and the oxygen content in the air becomes quite thin.

Zara dispelled the spell before Ceruno's face turned into a liver-like color.

"Phew, what is that? It's like... whew, it's like being underwater..."

Is that another dimension or time?

Zara shook her head, then took out her phone and typed two words after a long pause.

[Shadow]

"You mean, that's a projection of reality?"

Zara nodded.

Ceruno said, "If we just take the Monster over there, any Monster that needs to breathe will suffocate inside, right? In a sense, it's invincible?"

Zara shook her head again.

Communicating with this mute lady who can't speak is exhausting.

I'm just a carefree, happy maid, but I ended up drawing a complicated spell. However, this seems to be quite a weakness of mine; if I can't get out of that projection...

"Hmm~"

I heard a soft hum of pleasure. I looked up and saw Ceruno gently stroking Zara's cheek and head. Zara was lying on her side with her eyes half-closed, slowly resting on Ceruno's lap.

This feeling is extremely relaxed.

I felt this harmonious scene looked familiar, and just then, Golden ran in from outside the kennel and rested its head on my lap...

(Patting the dog's head)

...(stops)

Um?!

I suddenly realized it.

Could she be...?

Viewpoint switching warning

(Sun Yao)

Miss Sirius returned from the Hawaii Branch and had a simple lunch with us at the mansion restaurant, where we chatted about the morning's training.

Of course, we concealed the fact that we exceeded the 20x speed limit.

"Now that we've finished eating, let's get down to business."

She wiped the sauce from the corner of her mouth with a wet wipe.

"I went to the branch and sat down with Spica for a good discussion. Although we couldn't agree on the general direction, we still reached a few points of consensus... Before carrying out her so-called counterattack plan, we must first investigate 'the Other Side.' Of course, the first thing to consider is drone reconnaissance, and then individual infiltration. Based on the reconnaissance report, I need to confirm a few things before making any further plans."

Miluno also put down her knife and fork and joined the conversation.

She said, "You want to know if the thirty magical girls who entered the wormhole seven years ago were all transformed into witches."

Sirius's conversation with Miss SpiCa also involved those witches.

"Yes, that failed operation stemmed from our arrogance. If there were still a chance to salvage it, I would choose to take the risk... No, we can't take any more risks. This time, we must be fully prepared to completely thwart the invaders' schemes."

I don't know what happened, but it seems Miss Sirius is planning to support Miss SpiCa's plan?

Furthermore, is there still hope for the magical girl predecessors who disappeared on the Other Side of the wormhole seven years ago to be rescued?

A lot happened without my knowledge; I knew less than Yezi did. At least, Sirius's words weren't as appealing to him as the steak on his plate.

I raised my hand and asked, "You guys are getting really excited, but can someone tell me what actually happened? Why did Miluno and Miss Sirius change their minds?"

"This matter is still under investigation. I'll let you know when the results are in... By the way, you said this morning you wanted to challenge me again, right?"

Although I wanted to ask more questions, my "combination technique" with Miluno gave me a lot of confidence. Since Miss Sirius brought it up, I naturally had no reason to refuse.

"Yes, we've already discussed tactics."

"Now that we've eaten and drunk our fill, let's get started! But Miluno- chan, don't go all out this time, okay?"

Miss Miluno nodded in agreement.

"No, we're not the same people we were two days ago."

"They're all so confident, huh? Looks like I'll have to go all out!"

"Huh? Miss Sirius didn't use her full strength before?"

The whip-like laser beams coming from all directions were already keeping Miss Miluno busy...

Miss Sirius shrugged dismissively.

"Of course! Putting everything else aside, I fought you guys standing on the ground before! You've seen my live battles, right? Would you stand still like that?"

During the first day of the battle, except for the last time she was knocked away, Miss Sirius stood still the entire time.

I thought she was unable to move because she was controlling magic, but it turns out Miss Sirius was holding back... Even Miss Miluno at 38x speed can't let her guard down; twelve years of combat experience can make up for too much.

"Yezi, you should stand further back when you're watching!"

Even though he was already standing dozens of meters away, I was still worried.

Miluno, now in her Battle Dress, reassured him, "Don't worry, Sirius isn't Monster; there's no reason for him to attack."

"We were just worried about him getting caught in the crossfire... Wow! It's incredible!"

Not far away, Miss Sirius had already spread her Wings of Light, shooting out materialized photons as she flew into the air, shouting at us, "When are you two planning to start fighting?"

"This is really tricky; I didn't consider that she might fly away."

"Is there no other way?" I asked.

Miluno glanced at the rocky mountains to the west and replied, "No, there is still a way."

Was she trying to use the height of the artificial hill to fly towards Sirius?

Actually, I can also generate bubbles in the air as landing points, but they are easily broken by Sirius.

Take out the ruby staff and coat Miss Miluno with the strongest protective layer, with stability comparable to aerospace materials, ensuring it won't break even at high speeds.

"We can begin!"

Sirius greeted her, but Miluno turned and ran into the woods halfway up the mountain. The broad canopy of the mimosa trees provided excellent cover, making it difficult for Miss Sirius to spot Miss Miluno from the air.

"Where are you looking, Ceruno- chan? You don't think I won't attack you, do you?"

Miss Sirius hovered above my head and scattered some golden light particles. Then, starting from these light particles, nearly a hundred tiny laser beams struck my protective membrane.

Tsk, are you planning to deal with me first?

These were all Solid Light, which were like rubber bullets to Sirius, so they couldn't penetrate my translucent defenses. After all, being hit by real laser rays would definitely not be a "touch-and-go" situation.

That's teriyaki. Will I become a teriyaki magical mature woman?

"Oh? It got blocked? Your bubble has hardened!"

"Thanks to your guidance, Miss Sirius, I have great confidence in my magic!"

I looked up and smiled at her.

"Nice smile! How about this move?"

Miss Sirius's eyes gathered a large number of light particles, which then swept towards me in the form of wave-like lines—the same move that had previously sent Miluno flying.

"Photon Power is the light that illuminates the Future! Photonic light—beam!"

Where did you come from, you Demon God Zero?!

Deep trenches were dug into the sand along the way. Oh no, my protective shield can't stop this powerful attack, but dodging it won't be easy either. The trajectory of the beam coincides with Sirius's line of sight, and I obviously can't escape Sirius's field of vision in an instant like Miluno...

"Huh?!"

Before anyone could even see what was happening, Miss Sirius plummeted from the sky at incredible speed, crashing onto the beach and kicking up a cloud of dust. The beam of light in her eyes veered to the side, changing from a vertical slash to a wide-ranging sweep... Oh no?

Why is the Yezi still standing there?!