New Breed of Monster

The white-clad girl stood atop a building.

She looked down at the hastily repaired Mindscape structures below. A white Magic Cannon floated at her side, not yet loaded with magic power, but kept ready to fire at a moment's notice.

"Feeling nervous?"

Another girl's voice sounded beside her, soft and languid, as though she had just awakened from a nap, carrying the loose drowsiness of an afternoon.

Iris hesitated for a few seconds, then nodded gently.

"A little. Aren't you nervous? You'll have to fight the monster in close combat later. No matter what, it's still huge."

"Of course I'm a little nervous too. After all, I'll be taking the lead," Hellcat said with a smile.

She was currently sprawled in a shadowy corner of the rooftop, lazily stretching like a cat that had just awakened. Even her tail swayed along with her stretch.

The catgirl lightly rose from where she had been dozing and walked to the railing, looking over the city within the Mindscape. Her gaze swept across the Qiu Gui Squad, who were carrying out the final checks on the defensive line.

"A firepower defense array and a one-time wide-area Magic Shield... What kind of monster would require this kind of defense?" Hellcat asked in a teasing tone.

Iris shook her head.

"I'm not sure either. Senior Qiu Gui said that Monster No. 12 has some long-range attack capabilities, and its nature is completely different from the other monsters. It's very unusual."

"Really... Forget it. Qiu Gui herself created these monsters, so she should know exactly what they can do."

After saying that, the catgirl stopped paying attention to the magical defenses Qiu Gui had arranged. She found a comfortable place to sit and began chatting with Iris about recent events and things that had happened earlier.