Chapter 46
(Sun Yao)
Several large blades struck, each blow heavy, causing unstable ripples to bounce on the protective membrane, but I didn't trigger any tripwires or traps.
In other words, these hidden weapons were likely thrown by the assassin himself.
"This guy's weapons are really a mixed bag."
Just as Miss Sirius said, its attacks became increasingly powerful. This flying wheel, despite being a melee weapon, almost shattered my protective shield. Fortunately, as before, it didn't pursue, only launching a sneak attack each time. If it failed to land a blow, it would disappear into the darkness to wait for the next opportunity...
This assassin was more cautious than anyone could have imagined.
UI-31 picked up the several large flywheels and hung them on his lower back, seemingly intending to use them as weapons.
"Be careful, it's already following us."
"Awoo!"
"Let's not stray too far apart. Even if we spot our target, we must come back as soon as possible if we lose track of them."
"Mmm!"
I sensed that UI-31 was in a good mood; he seemed quite willing to follow my instructions.
Just a little more patience, and we'll be out of the jungle soon.
On that relatively open beach, the assassin's room to maneuver would be limited, but she could still hide in the jungle and shoot at us. Once she entered the air-raid shelter, she would have to chase us in and confront us head-on.
Whoosh--
With a faint whooshing sound, UI-31 tilted its head to dodge another black crossbow bolt. Its reaction speed was no less than Miluno's. After dodging, it slammed its hand on the ground. Sometime during the night, its right wrist was covered by a green plant-shaped gauntlet. An invisible energy chased after the direction from which the crossbow bolt flew, and the plants along the way began to grow wildly. The outstretched tendrils were like conscious arms, wrapping around a target in the darkness.
"Scare--"
The Werewolf charged Past with a low growl, seemingly having made some progress.
"You succeeded?"
I also pushed through the bushes and chased after her, walking for more than ten meters before I finally had a chance to catch a glimpse of the assassin's beautiful face... well, it certainly could be called beautiful.
"A Monster woman... no, a witch?"
The tangled branches caught a "woman".
A beautiful face was revealed beneath a large, dark green cloak. Although she was humanoid, she looked more like a robot overall. Her dark paint job would allow her to move stealthily in the jungle at night. She had a pair of wings on her back, which should have been propulsion devices, but they were folded back like fans, probably for better concealment.
"... Gotcha? Miss Witch, looks like you lost this game of hide-and-seek."
Although I didn't catch it, it didn't stop me from feeling smug.
"But don't worry, as long as you behave, we won't hurt you."
I raised my wand, intending to trap her in a bubble.
"Aww!"
The Werewolf beside me suddenly pounced on me, using its weight to pin me down. Although its armor didn't look heavy, I couldn't push it away for a moment.
"What you need to do--"
Before he could finish his panicked question, a series of explosions blasted at his back. His protective shield shattered in the first round of blasts, and through the smoke and dust, I could see what was launching the attack.
They are six hand-shaped mechanical devices that fly in the air.
These floating, cannon-like mechanical arms are controlled by the robotic witch. They ambush us from above with rocket-propelled weapons, only launching their attack when we approach... It's an elaborate trap; she deliberately got entangled in these branches to catch us off guard.
Although the rockets failed to penetrate the UI-31's back armor, he was still unable to get up in a disheveled state, seemingly stunned by the bombardment. He lay on top of me in a daze. The witch's wrist flicked out a sharp arm blade that cut through the old tree roots, freeing herself from them, and then she conjured a jet-black dagger in her hand.
It appears to be made of a similar material to the Black Arrow. Although it couldn't break through my protective shield, it could easily slice through the Werewolf's carapace.
The Werewolf needs to be re-protected, but...
"Hey! Wake up!"
My wand fell to the side when I fell, just centimeters from my fingertips, but I couldn't reach it because UI-31 was pressing down on me.
The Mechanical Witch wore a triumphant smile on her inorganic face as she strode closer, dagger raised high.
"Hmm."
UI-31 braced itself against the ground to raise its upper body, unaware of the danger approaching from behind.
"Get out of the way!"
My reminder startled him awake. A stream of high-temperature heat gushed out from the air duct behind the armor, and a red glow appeared between the gaps in the armor.
Burst form.
The heat forced the Mechanical Witch back, and he quickly sprang up from the ground. A slender fist sword grew from the gauntlet on his right wrist, and he thrust it at his opponent with rage, but it was all deflected by the dagger and arm blade. Even some of the armor plates on his body were removed. While fighting, he also had to be wary of the interference attacks from the mechanical arms in the air.
Clearly, the UI-31 was at a disadvantage.
The witch was indeed formidable; she could even use her skills to suppress the faster UI-31. Seven years ago, the witch who went to "the Other Side" had no weaklings. I was too careless in approaching her...
But she didn't leave, so we still have a chance!
I picked up the wand beside me and added a protective shield to UI-31. As long as the shield didn't break, the witch's dagger wouldn't be able to hurt him. However, as a price for assisting in the battle, the four mechanical arms shifted their target and attacked me with crossbows, pistols, short knives, and toilet pegs. At first glance, they looked like light weapons, but they were all quite powerful, and their continuous attacks quickly broke through my defenses.
So, just how many weapons did she actually have?
Why are there still toilet pegs?
Even though I restrained these mechanical arms with bubbles, they could quickly burst the Bubble Membrane. Continuing to use magic made me a little breathless, but this Mechanical Witch seemed to be more impatient than us. She suddenly threw out several round spheres, which exploded into a choking smoke.
Then, they escaped using the smoke as cover.
What kind of ninja is this guy?
They could have solved our problem, but they suddenly ran away?
The Werewolf sheathed his arm blade, circled me once, and only after confirming that I was alright did he pat his breastplate and breathe a sigh of relief.
He was clearly in a worse state than I was; his armor was badly damaged, exposing its internal structure and wiring.
Are you alright?
He shook his head.
"Let's go hide in the air-raid shelter first. Fighting her in the jungle is too disadvantageous."
While I might not be a match for them even in an air-raid shelter, I currently have no way to deal with enemies that can easily break through my bubble...
Are we going to suffocate her with seawater?
Wrong.
In the case of the robot, it's probably a short circuit.
Putting aside the fact that it appears to be IPX8 waterproof, even if it were possible, I wouldn't dare try it, since Miss SpiCa requires witches to be captured alive.
They were our predecessors, magical girls.
When we arrived at the entrance of the air-raid shelter, there were already people waiting for us.