Phantasm Dream

"BOOM!!!"

"Ugh!"

The Cat-Claw Gauntlets' full-force strike collided head-on with Hyacinth's greatsword, neither side giving an inch.

But Hyacinth, wielding the greatsword, was the first to pull back and retreat.

"Why are you running?"

Hellcat did not rush to pursue her. The Cat-Claw Gauntlets hung at her sides, and an imperceptible trace of mockery flashed through her mismatched blue-and-yellow cat eyes.

"Do you think you can't beat me, so you're trying to run away?"

"Who's running away?! Don't get so cocky!"

Hyacinth refused to back down verbally, but the numbness radiating through both her hands forced her to admit that Hellcat was right.

She really did seem unable to beat this catgirl.

The deep-blue magical girl floated not far ahead of her.

Her petite frame was barely taller than Heartmoon Fox's, less than half a head taller at most.

Her slender, delicate figure made the absurdly huge Cat-Claw Gauntlets on her hands look utterly disproportionate. It was hard to imagine such a tiny catgirl swinging those gauntlets hard enough to throw punches at the speed of sound.

"You seem to be having fun, Hyacinth."

A soft call came from behind her.

Hyacinth glanced back, catching sight of the golden-haired fox girl leisurely sitting on her wand. Her brows immediately furrowed tighter.

"Heartmoon Fox...?"

If Heartmoon Fox was here... then Iris, she...

"I know what you're worried about. You're worried about Miss Iris, aren't you?"

Su Tianqing smiled teasingly.

"Don't worry. I used an isolation barrier to seal her off from the outside world. No one will be able to hurt her."

"If you don't believe me, just look down~"

Hyacinth glanced toward the ground from the corner of her eye.

Just as Heartmoon Fox had said, Iris was wrapped in a translucent magical shield. Though she had been hit by immobilization magic, there was indeed no sign that she had been hurt.

"But rather than worrying about your companion..." The little fox grinned, her tongue sweeping over her tiny canine teeth and reflecting a crystalline, vicious gleam.

"Miss Hyacinth, you should be more worried about your own situation."

"..." Hyacinth said nothing and tightened her grip on her greatsword.

Bailing had also been trapped inside a magical barrier by Heartmoon Fox, and she was not even imprisoned in the same barrier as Iris.

That meant she had to face two magical girls alone...

Heartmoon Fox had never revealed her true strength, but her magic for summoning monsters was incredibly powerful and absolutely not to be underestimated.

Not to mention that there was now Hellcat, who swung her fists around.

"Come to think of it, Cat-Cat."

With Hyacinth between them, Su Tianqing called to the catgirl across from her.

"Hm? What is it?"

"Which do you think is more fun? Fighting someone one-on-one, or having two people gang up on one person?"

Hyacinth broke out in a cold sweat.

Don't discuss something that terrifying right in front of me!

"One-on-one fights and ganging up... If I had a choice, I'd prefer one-on-one, but ganging up doesn't sound too bad either."

Hellcat pinched her chin with one enormous Cat-Claw Gauntlet and thought for a moment before answering seriously.

Hyacinth sweated even harder.

"I see... Then, Cat-Cat, do you prefer watching puppet shows, or Sleeping Beauty~?"

"Um... I've never seen either."

"Hmm~"

The completely nonsensical conversation sounded like some kind of riddle.

What is wrong with these two?! Nan Xiaofeng grumbled inwardly.

If they wanted to fight, then hurry up and fight! What were they dawdling around for?!

But Heartmoon Fox's actions had always seemed to lack any logic, so perhaps it was only natural for her to say things like that—

"Hyacinth." Heartmoon Fox suddenly spoke softly.

The girl had no intention of paying attention to the fox, but a rustling sound behind her caught her notice.

What trick was this fox pulling now?

Curiosity made Nan Xiaofeng turn around. She saw only the little fox fiddling with a small string puppet in her hands.

Yet from the puppet's eyes, dazzling magical light suddenly burst forth!

"W-What?! This is—"

"Come, Miss Hyacinth."

Su Tianqing smiled sweetly.

"Relax your body. A lovely sleep awaits you next. Sweet dreams~"

A brilliant light flashed.

The sky-blue magical girl instinctively raised her hand to block the white light, but it still completely swallowed her vision.

.

The next second, Hyacinth abruptly opened her eyes.

She was no longer in the sky above Rongcheng's commercial street.

—This was her classroom.

She sat at her desk, with no one else around. Only the glow of the setting sun streamed through the windows.

It was a dreamlike sight.

"...Poke, poke."

A gentle touch came from behind her.

Hyacinth turned around.

A petite, adorable girl lay sprawled across the desk behind her. She wore the Liberal Arts Academy uniform skirt, her snow-white hair falling over her shoulders as she looked at Hyacinth with great interest.

The sunset spread across her white strands, while her bright eyes brimmed with amusement.

Hua Ling? Iris?

But this...

"What's wrong, Xiaofeng? Did you get all muddled from sleeping?"

Gentle words slipped from the girl's crystalline lips, soft and tender.

For an instant, Hyacinth felt as though her heart had skipped a beat.

She was so cute.

If Hua Ling could smile this gently too, she would be unbelievably cute.

But what was going on?

Where exactly was this place?

"Damn it... Heartmoon Fox! What the hell are you doing?!"

Hyacinth stood and shouted angrily at her surroundings.

The petite girl abruptly shrank back, clutching the collar of her school uniform tightly before her chest with both hands, looking helpless and confused.

"Wah! Heartmoon Fox... who is Heartmoon Fox?... Why did you suddenly become so, so fierce...?"

"I only woke you up... I'm sorry..."

Tears welled in the girl's eyes, as though Hyacinth's sudden harsh rebuke had frightened her.

Hyacinth froze for a moment, instinctively wanting to apologize.

But just as the words reached her lips, she swallowed them back down.

No... How could that be...

Where was this place? It was a dream, right?

Hadn't she just been fighting Heartmoon Fox? Why had she suddenly... suddenly ended up in a classroom with Hua Ling...

"Rustle, rustle..."

A faint sound came from below.

Hyacinth looked down. A soft, fair little hand had pinched the hem of her clothes.

The petite white-haired girl had tears in her eyes. Her ears were pressed flat against her head, trembling slightly like those of a frightened little animal.

Yet she forced a smile onto her face.

"I'm sorry... I-I shouldn't have disturbed you while you were sleeping, Xiaofeng..."

"But if you sleep with your head on the desk, you'll catch a cold..."

"And, and school ended a long time ago. Let's go home together...!"

Her voice was soft and weak, her movements careful and cautious, and her gaze pitiful.

She was completely like a little animal terrified of being abandoned.

Hyacinth was momentarily dazed.

Where exactly was she?

And what was with the Iris before her?

Was she disguised by Heartmoon Fox? But then why... why was she so...

Was this some kind of magic of hers, or... was this a dream...?

A dream?

"Urgh!"

A sharp pain suddenly shot through her head. Hyacinth staggered back several steps, knocking over a few chairs before falling to the floor.

Her palm scraped across the ground, and a burst of pain shot through it.

Hyacinth looked at her palm. A bloody gash had been scraped open there.

"Hiss... It hurts..."

"Are you okay?! Ah, you're bleeding!"

The frail girl hurried over, cupping Hyacinth's injured right hand in both of hers as she spoke in alarm.

Even her voice trembled.

"Wait, I brought bandages and disinfectant. This... this needs to be treated...!"

The girl turned and rummaged through her shoulder bag, the hem of her skirt brushing past Hyacinth's hand.

A silky sensation touched her fingertips, seeming to ease even the sting in her palm.

Hyacinth sat there blankly.

The petite Iris sat before her, carefully treating her wound as though the scolding earlier had never happened.

Those little hands were delicate and slender, their skin smooth and soft as rendered jade.

"All done!"

Two cute bandages covered the wound. The girl lifted her eyes, a timid smile on her face.

"How is it? Does it feel better now?"

"..."

Hyacinth did not know how to answer.

She was dreaming, right?

If it was a dream, why was she dreaming of Iris—and in such a completely different form?

—Was the girl before her a disguise worn by that demon-like Heartmoon Fox, or was she someone entirely different?

"Let's hurry home! Dad must have made lots of delicious food!~"

The girl tilted her head, smiled sweetly, and took the hand that Hyacinth had not scraped.

Hyacinth stood up in a daze.

But the instant she took one step after the girl, a deafening voice suddenly rang in her ears.

"##----!"

"Wake up..."

"Wake up! Hyacinth!!"

The world crumbled before her eyes.

Yet Iris's bright smiling face was deeply etched into Hyacinth's mind.

.

She jolted awake.

Hyacinth gasped violently.

"Gah... Hah... Haaah..."

The girl looked around blankly and met the concerned gaze of the White Sable Spirit beside her.

"What happened... What happened...?"

"You're finally awake!"

Bailing let out a relieved breath.

"You suddenly passed out just now! No matter how we called you, we couldn't wake you up!"

"I... passed out...?"

Heartmoon Fox and Hellcat had vanished without a trace, while Iris was still immobilized by magic not far away.

Everything that had happened just now seemed like nothing more than a dream.

Hyacinth looked down blankly, instinctively glancing at her stinging palm.

—Those two cute bandages were still stuck to her hand.