About Becoming a Magical Girl

21, The Danger Left Behind

"Headquarters has detected an abnormal resonance signal source. It is suspected that the Whale-type Erosion Entity that escaped Beyond the Boundary last time has launched another attack! Headquarters has issued orders to dispatch..."

Yukina stared at the gloom overhead, her face utterly drained of color.

"That is...!"

"...That is an Erosion Entity, humanity's enemy... It seems there will be no time to savor today's dessert."

Efnir glanced at Yukina and helped her to her feet, as she was too terrified to move.

"But do not be afraid. I am here, and there are also Special Disaster Division soldiers on duty nearby. Please follow Miss Siyejian and evacuate from here."

As she spoke, silver light flickered around Efnir. She had already changed into her combat uniform, and the spear in her hand reflected a cold gleam.

"Nami, Yukina is in your care. Make sure to escort her safely to a shelter. Leave the Corruption here to me! I have some old and new debts to settle with that thing."

Shinomiyami Nami stood ramrod straight and pulled Yukina into her arms.

"Rest assured! I will complete the mission!"

"Mm. Then, see you later."

Efnir took a deep breath, glanced at Yukina once more, then turned and walked to the window, pushing it open.

The wind outside was scorching hot, pouring in with chaotic screams and explosions. From here, the countless Erosion Entities overhead were clearly visible.

Efnir stepped onto the windowsill.

At that moment, Yukina suddenly trembled all over. She abruptly remembered her brother—she had seen him that morning.

He might still be at the venue now.

"P-Please wait! Please wait!!"

Using all her strength, Yukina wriggled out from beneath Shinomiyami Nami's arm like a loach. Shouting loudly, she ran to Efnir's side and anxiously grabbed her sleeve.

"Efnir! P-Please take me to the venue too! I... My brother is still there!! I have to find him!!"

"Your... brother?"

Yukina's words made both Efnir and Shinomiyami Nami freeze for a moment. Efnir's expression, in particular, suddenly became subtle.

Efnir said nothing. Seeing this, Shinomiyami Nami cautiously asked:

"Your brother... is at the venue?"

"Yes! I... I saw him with my own eyes..."

Yukina gripped Efnir's sleeve tightly, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes.

"This morning, beside the waiting area... So..."

Efnir said nothing.

That morning, he had indeed appeared there, together with Shinomiyami Nami.

"No. The venue is too dangerous right now. You cannot go there."

Efnir immediately cut Yukina off.

"B-But... Precisely because it is dangerous, I have to go! My brother... I have to find him..."

"If that is all, leave it to me. Your brother will definitely be alright."

Shinomiyami Nami also said:

"Besides, Miss Yukina, you would not be able to help if you went there now. You would only add to us Orderkeepers' workload, and that would only prevent more people from receiving effective rescue."

"But my brother..."

"If something happened to you, your brother would be heartbroken too."

Shinomiyami Nami gave Efnir a meaningful look. Efnir pressed her lips together without saying anything.

Yukina bit her lower lip tightly and lowered her gaze.

Her hands trembled. One figure after another falling, the terrifying shadow of the Erosion Entities—scene after scene replayed before her eyes, and fear rose in her heart. Just as Shinomiyami Nami had said, even if she went there, she would only cause Efnir trouble.

If it was Efnir... surely she could save everyone, right?

She gradually loosened her grip, raised her head, and looked at Efnir.

"Then... You must come back safely too..."

Efnir did not answer. She merely reached out and placed a hand on Yukina's head.

She gently ruffled it.

On the steel framework, scorched hot by the sunlight, Efnir stood atop the venue's dome, facing the black wind with an expressionless face.

In the sky, the black Floating Island blotted out the sun like a massive cruise ship suspended directly above the stadium. Beyond that, there were countless human-sized flying objects packed densely together. They spread their wings and floated through the air behind the Whale like featherless crows. Like hawks hunting prey, they would dive down and bare their fangs at their victims.

Efnir had never encountered such Crow-like Erosion Entities before.

"Efnir, can you hear me?"

A clear female voice came through her earpiece. Shinomiyami Nami had contacted her. She was Efnir's operator; although her current identity was Efnir's manager, she was also responsible for providing intelligence support and feedback from the rear.

"I can hear you. Go ahead."

"I have escorted Yukina out of the danger zone. Next, I will take her to the nearest shelter. Once she is settled, I will return to my post."

"Thank you, Nami. Yukina is in your care. Please make sure she stays safe."

Efnir paused before speaking.

"Also, please do not tell her about me."

"Do not worry, I understand. Even if I die, I will not let her get hurt."

"That does not need to be so dramatic... Well, never mind. Thank you."

"There is no need to be so polite between us. Besides, ensuring all logistical support is in place is also the duty of us Orderkeepers... Ah, right, Efnir. I received word from headquarters. Because of the investigation, the Commander cannot direct operations right now. She has ordered you to act as the interim field commander."

"Is that so? So it is my turn this time... The Commander really does like ordering people around."

When Qinglan had still been around, she had always held the position of field commander.

Now that Qinglan was gone, the burden had fallen onto Efnir's shoulders. Before she knew it, Efnir had become the most senior agent in the city.

"Suddenly, there is one more thing to do. It really makes me... unable to laugh. Fine, then, Miss Shinomiyami Nami, my operator, do you have any problems with that?"

"None at all!"

"That is good. After all, the situation on my end does not look too promising. I absolutely cannot handle it alone."

"Huh? Even you are saying that, Efnir? Has the situation become that severe?"

"A little..."

Efnir lifted her gaze.

"In any case, keep your distance."

The black shadows kept circling overhead. The oppressive force brought by their overwhelming numbers was almost suffocating.

Efnir was not particularly skilled at aerial combat. During her battle against the Whale in front of headquarters last time, she had relied entirely on the towering buildings around her to create opportunities to attack. But now, in the open stadium with barely any footholds beneath her, Efnir could not properly make use of her strength at all.

Even if she used Order Force to condense a Stairway beneath her feet, climbing to such heights in one go was asking too much. Unless she could use an aircraft to deploy herself above the Whale, she could gain a brief opportunity for aerial combat by relying on the Stairway.

But in the face of such absolute numbers, that method could hardly be called efficient.

If only Fifina were here.

Compared to Efnir, Fifina was one of the few agents capable of providing long-range support in combat. Even if she could not completely turn the tide, she could better cover the crowd's evacuation, allowing Efnir and the other agents to fight without restraint.

That slender, adorable figure flashed through Efnir's mind, but she knew clearly that Fengling Shiyin could no longer appear here.

"Efnir?"

Shinomiyami Nami's voice sounded in her ear. Efnir took a deep breath and cleared her thoughts.

"Sorry... I got distracted just now."

"Are you... alright? Getting distracted in battle does not sound like you at all..."

"It is nothing. I just remembered a few things... I will pull myself together."

Even if something was wrong, Shinomiyami Nami could not possibly urge her to retreat from the battlefield.

This degree of concern was, in truth, unnecessary.

"Efnir, you..."

"Anyway, enough small talk. Nami, you should be able to receive the footage from here now, right?"

"No problem. I can see it."

"Then let me explain the current situation. I have been observing the Erosion Entities that suddenly appeared this time. Since their arrival, they have remained concentrated directly above the venue. What is strange is... after carrying out a single wave of attacks, those things have not launched any further offensive."

The Whale and the Crows continued floating in the air, wandering aimlessly like drunkards. From time to time, they let out shrill screeches, yet they did not lower their altitude in the slightest, nor did they show any intention of attacking.

They looked as though they were waiting for something.

While this gave the people stranded here more time to evacuate, it also gave Efnir more leeway to wait for reinforcements.

But the current behavior of the Whale and the Crows made Efnir uneasy. They seemed poised to strike, yet they also seemed to have deliberately appeared here for some purpose. What they were doing now was absolutely unrelated to her appearance.

Erosion Entities could not possibly possess intelligence, yet none of this could be explained by instinct either.

"With numbers and scale like this, it is undoubtedly a Special A-class disaster. But what concerns me more is this: how did they cross the Boundary Stele's observation range and appear here without triggering any warning at all? If the attack on headquarters last time was merely a one-in-ten-thousand coincidence, then this time..."

Efnir lowered her voice. The speculation rising in her heart forced her to think further.

After the White Hole Incident, every city had relied on Boundary Steles to exist. They were products integrating Ruins Technology, appearing as enormous stone monuments erected around a city's borders. Like ley lines, the Boundary Steles interconnected to form an interwoven giant net that completely enveloped the city.

This great net kept the Corruption caused by the White Hole outside. Within the Boundary Steles lay the city, the safe zone. Beyond them was an expanse of white—the vast, barren region known as Beyond the Boundary, filled with countless Erosion Entities.

Beyond the Boundary was also known as the Fallen Zone. Almost no humans could survive there. Only a small number of Erosion Entities would slip into the Boundary Steles' massive net during a Collapse and invade the human world.

By observing the varying degrees of vibrations in Boundary Steles at different locations, the Orderkeepers could accurately calculate where Erosion Entities would appear before they emerged. At that point, agents had to deploy and Exile the Erosion Entities, preventing them from threatening the city.

This world had always operated that way, but everything had changed five days ago.

22, Missed Call

If the crisis five days ago had been an accident, it could still be explained as "abnormal White Hole fluctuations occasionally causing abnormal observation data and leading to calculation errors." But could this unannounced Corruption still be called a coincidence?

What was more, when news of the Corruption arrived, Shinomiyami Nami had also brought another piece of news.

The Beacon had been stolen.

"If someone intercepted the data transmitted back by the Boundary Steles, they could easily know when and where this Corruption would appear, while also using it as cover to steal the Beacon?"

Shinomiyami Nami's voice came through the earpiece. Efnir merely gave a quiet hum.

"I will not make rash assumptions... But regardless, I think this deserves attention."

The Beacon was the crystallization of Ruins Technology. It was because of the Beacon that agents had come into existence.

It was a technology that nearly transcended the boundaries of matter and energy. It was easy to understand why someone might covet such power beyond common sense. The organization had always tightly controlled information in this area, and aside from that forgotten past, there had never been any major issues. But that did not mean there would be no mistakes in the future. If the attack on headquarters last time had also been part of a plan, then this matter was far more complicated than anything visible on the surface.

"Then I will report this truthfully to the organization."

"No need. I will speak to the Commander myself afterward. Only then can we ensure nothing goes wrong... Well, in any case, let us deal with the immediate problem first."

"You are right..."

"Nami, the number of enemies is far greater than expected. I am afraid I cannot clear them all out alone. To avoid provoking those things, I do not intend to act rashly yet. I am only standing by and observing... They do not seem like they will move immediately, so use this opportunity to contact the Special Disaster response forces. Have them complete the crowd evacuation and shelter procedures as quickly as possible."

The other end fell silent for a moment.

"Understood. I have received the situation report. Also, I just received contact from the Commander. The Special Disaster Emergency Response Force has arrived at the scene. At the same time, an emergency shelter warning has been issued to the areas around the Central Stadium. Support orders have been sent to the other agents. Reinforcements will arrive soon and rendezvous with you immediately."