The upper section of the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau building rapidly transformed. Huge gun emplacements extended from its floors, pouring terrifying firepower onto the Calamity Beast.
In an instant, it completely blanketed the sky!
Yet when the smoke cleared, the crimson Calamity Beast was unharmed, still flying toward the four falling figures.
It merely cast an icy glance at the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau building with its crimson eyes, then opened its mouth and spewed terrifying flames at it.
Yellow ripples rose around the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau building, swallowing the flames.
It was probably some magical girl's magic barrier.
Even as he fell, Jiang Si was still in the mood to follow the movements of the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau building and the Calamity Beast.
Modern weapons could injure or even suppress Calamity Beasts of C-rank and below. Although they could not kill them, sufficient firepower could still pin them down.
But at B-rank, modern weapons became largely ineffective against Calamity Beasts, leaving them dependent on the power of magical girls.
Even most modern materials could not withstand a B-rank Calamity Beast's attacks.
"Everyone, watch out!"
Although the blast of flames at the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau building had failed, the Calamity Beast did not linger, instead continuing its charge toward the four of them!
After shouting, Yinlian no longer bothered with her disguise and immediately took out the Miracle Seed embedded in her key.
She raised it high, facing the enormous beast bearing down like a mountain!
"Dance, cherry blossoms of fantasy!"
"Transform!"
Countless pink petals instantly drifted and whirled around her, forming a tornado with Yinlian at its center.
The Flame Bird-what Jiang Si was tentatively calling this giant avian Calamity Beast-slammed its enormous body into the gathering petals. As though it had struck a spring, its massive body was bizarrely bounced away.
The most practical ability magical girls had, and one they all possessed: transformation invincibility frames.
At the instant of transformation, they could negate damage and knock away nearby enemies.
The only pity was that magical girls faced restrictions on both transforming and undoing their transformations. They could not continuously switch between the two, or they could have exploited those invincibility frames indefinitely...
Countless petals swirled inward, finally converging on Yinlian at their center.
Her long pink dress had gorgeous ribbons that fluttered in the wind, making her look like a flower.
At first glance, the blue butterfly on her head seemed alive, its wings trembling slightly. Only a closer look revealed that it was a bow.
After transforming, Yinlian ignored the Calamity Beast she had knocked away and turned to fly downward even faster, catching her older sister.
Although she was some distance away, Jiang Si briefly calculated the distance. If he could push off something once in midair, he could send himself over to Yinlian.
He had chosen his falling position with care. Beside him stood the tall mountain on which the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau stood; its face was close enough that kicking off it would be no problem.
A mere fall was nothing. His well-trained body would not betray him, though at this falling speed, he would probably break a bone.
It would not make much difference.
He took a deep breath, calculated the distance, and prepared himself for the pain of a fracture. Just as he was about to kick hard against the mountainside, someone suddenly caught his right hand.
His fall slowed. To keep inertia from tearing his arm off, the other person fell a considerable distance with him before finally stopping with him in her grip.
Jiang Si looked up. His younger sister had already transformed, her gorgeous fiery-red dress swaying in the wind like burning flames. Riding a broom, she was looking up at the Calamity Beast above with a cold expression.
Bud magical girls could not fly, so the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau specially provided brooms for them.
They could control them simply by supplying magic power. A convenient tool, and very Harry Potter.
"Could you stop making trouble for me?"
"Oh."
That was the entirety of the siblings' exchange.
Nearby, Yinlian had just rescued Yinluo and was about to ask Jiang Keke for help. Turning to see that Keke had already caught Jiang Si, she immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, while Jiang Si had been detained earlier, she had taught Keke how to summon a broom to pass the time.
Though summoning and controlling a broom was the first thing every novice magical girl learned upon entering the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau anyway.
Besides, although these siblings spoke harshly to each other, they would still lend each other a hand at a critical moment.
They were family, after all...
"Keke, take him over to the platform first!"
"Understood, Captain."
She called her captain quite naturally.
Yinlian was a New Sprout magical girl, and not even particularly far from Full Blossom, so she did not need a broom and could fly on her own.
Carrying her sister, she quickly reached the platform. After carefully setting Yinluo down, she turned and saw Keke casually toss Jiang Si beside the platform. The boy nearly landed on his face.
If only her attitude could be a little gentler...
Before she could think any further, the Calamity Beast overhead let out another piercing cry, the flames on its body splashing like lava!
Yinlian immediately took out her wand. Countless petals shielded the station, blocking the incoming fireballs.
Although the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau also had a magic barrier, the mountain beneath it began to shake under the splashing flames.
"Keke, let's lure it out and deal with it in the uninhabited outskirts. Sis, get Jiang Si out, then return to the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau immediately and prepare for battle. Jiang Si, remember not to head toward the outskirts once you're outside. Just go home, and you won't be in danger!"
After transforming into a magical girl, Yinlian had not only grown taller; her presence had also become considerably sharper.
She was somewhat like Susan, speaking crisply and decisively. After assigning the three of them their tasks, she immediately flew toward the Calamity Beast with Keke.
Jiang Si looked up at the swift and decisive Yinlian, finding it rather curious.
Yinlian was completely different after transforming. He had seen quite a few magical girls at the Azure Cloud Sect, but none had changed this much.
Still, transformation really did affect height.
When he transformed into Shion, he became shorter, while Yinlian grew taller when she transformed.
He wondered what principle governed it, and whether there was any pattern.
With those thoughts in mind, he turned to glance at Yinluo.
Ever since Yinlian had left, this outwardly mature older sister had been staring blankly in the direction her younger sister had gone.
"Aren't we leaving?"
"Sorry, I spaced out." Coming back to herself, Yinluo smiled apologetically and led the way. "My little sister really is amazing, don't you think? It's like she became a completely different person all at once."
"Mm."
"She used to depend on me all the time. When she first became a magical girl, our family didn't want her coming to the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau. They thought focusing on school was the proper path, so Yinlian could only come to me, crying and begging me to help her. She wanted to be a magical girl. Back then, whenever she ran into any trouble, she'd come to me to talk about it and ask for help."
She began recounting the past on her own.
Jiang Si thought she was a little too quick to treat him like an old friend.
As Yinluo spoke, her expression grew wistful. "Ever since she became a magical girl, she's gradually stopped depending on me. Yinlian keeps getting stronger. She used to follow behind me, but now I'm the one chasing after her back, and I can't even catch up..."
"I really want to become a magical girl too."
Wasn't she a little too old?
Jiang Si glanced sideways at her. Yinluo seemed to be in her twenties, though saying she was only eighteen or nineteen also seemed plausible. Jiang Si did not have the ability to judge ages by appearance.
Still, however he looked at it, Yinluo seemed a little on the older side.
Those who transformed into magical girls were usually young when they obtained their Miracle Seeds, primarily middle and high school students. Occasionally, some were a little older or younger, but the variance was generally not large.
At Yinluo's age, obtaining a Miracle Seed would be rather difficult, though not impossible.
After all, even he had obtained one. As long as her wish was strong enough, she should be able to get one too, probably.
"Forget it, let's not talk about this. Being an older sister who's jealous of her younger sister is really ugly, don't you think?"
"It's nothing," Jiang Si said mildly. "I have a younger sister too. Having your younger sister become a magical girl really does give you a sense of crisis."
"Haha, but I think our worries are a little different. Your relationship with your sister is rather worse."
Yinluo walked to the wall between platforms nine and ten and opened it with her key. "All right, off you go. Remember not to go to the outskirts, and be careful on the way."
"See you."
Hearing that, Yinluo gave a bitter smile. "I hope we do."
Naturally, Jiang Si did not notice her somewhat strange, bitter smile. After they emerged from Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, Yinluo led him through turn after turn before they finally left the winding route leading to the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau.
There was probably some kind of magical design involved. Even after visiting once, he likely would not be able to find it at all without a guide.
Not long after coming outside, she saw streaks of pink and red light flash across the sky.
Immediately afterward, that firebird burst out of the clouds too.
It seemed the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau had more than one entrance.
There was one in the sky above too, though ordinary people probably could not get through it.
Taking out his Miracle Seed, Jiang Si gazed at the gorgeous magic power flowing within and tightened his grip on it.
He really could understand Yinluo. Without a magical girl's power, it would be hard not to feel jealous when looking at these magical girls who could transform.
He had only encountered B-rank Calamity Beasts a handful of times in three years. He absolutely could not let this one go.
That Grief Seed was sure to hold an enormous amount of magic power.
"Sorry for making you face a B-rank Calamity Beast right after joining, Keke. But the other team members are all dealing with Calamity Beasts elsewhere. I asked, and none of them can get here."
"It's fine."
Keke gripped her broom tightly, her palms a little sweaty. "Since I decided to become a magical girl, I was mentally prepared for this much risk."
"Well said!" Yinlian gave her a thumbs-up. "Then let's do our best and take this thing down! Coordinate with me, Keke. Fly down!"
"Yes, Captain."
Yinlian flew upward while Jiang Keke flew downward. The pursuing Calamity Beast paused for a moment.
Then it beat its wings. A pitch-black fissure spread downward from its crest, rapidly splitting its body in half.
Yinlian looked back and froze too. It looked as though someone had cut it apart.
But the next moment, both split bodies erupted with flames, filling in their missing halves.
It had become two firebird Calamity Beasts!
That alone would have been manageable, but even their auras had barely weakened. After splitting, both firebird Calamity Beasts were B-rank!
Horrified, Yinlian immediately stepped onto her petals and tried to return to Keke's side.
Her original intention in separating had been to let Keke leave the firebird Calamity Beast's attack range while she engaged it in a chase.
Keke would provide supporting attacks from a safe distance nearby.
After all, she was a novice magical girl with little combat experience. Facing a B-rank Calamity Beast in her very first battle was a little too unreasonable. As her captain and senior, Yinlian naturally had to look after Keke as much as possible and ensure her safety.
She had not expected this firebird to suddenly split into two without either one's strength diminishing, instantly wrecking her battle plan.
Instead, she had put Keke in danger!
B-rank Calamity Beasts required seasoned New Sprout magical girls to handle them. Keke was only a Bud and could not deal with one at all.
"Keke, come back!"
The sudden change left her no choice but to issue a contradictory order. Keke did not question her captain's command and immediately pulled on her broom, trying to return to Yinlian. However, the two firebirds were faster!
Yinlian was fine. Without a broom to control, she could fly freely and nimbly, and her reactions were relatively quick. She easily dodged the firebird charging at her.
Keke could not. Bud magical girls could not fly in the first place. Even with a broom barely enabling her to fly through the sky, she was not proficient at it. When the firebird charged her, she did everything she could to dodge.
But it still hit her.
Sent tumbling head over heels, Keke felt the world spin around her.
But the broom was quite responsive, quickly flying back from above, where it had been knocked away. Once Keke recovered a little, she reached out with her right hand and grabbed it. She dangled and swayed in the air, holding her wand in her left hand, unable to climb back on for the moment.
Below, the firebird's downward charge set the woods on the outskirts ablaze.
The Disaster Countermeasures Bureau had reported in advance that this area was uninhabited, so there should be no need to worry about innocent passersby getting caught up in it.
But the woods were blazing. If left alone, the fire might spread into the city.
Yinlian wanted to go protect Keke, but the firebird whose charge she had dodged curved around overhead and rapidly plunged down again!
Searing flames exploded behind her. Even with her petals protecting her, Yinlian still staggered and nearly fell.
Pink petals rapidly enveloped the firebird behind her. Before all the petals could catch fire, Yinlian fiercely clenched her fist at the Calamity Beast.
Countless petals crushed the Calamity Beast, sending flesh and flames splattering together.
Below, Keke looked up at her captain's strength, immediately filled with admiration.
So powerful.
Could I become that strong too?
"Watch below you, Keke!"
Only at Yinlian's warning did Keke react and look down.
The firebird that had crashed into the woods burst out again, charging toward her at tremendous speed!
It was too fast!
At the same time, the other firebird burst free of Yinlian's crushing petals. Although its flames were much dimmer, it still kept Yinlian occupied.
As a result, the petals Yinlian sent to help were still about two meters above Keke when the firebird's flames were already burning before her!
The heat made even her clothes grow hot. She, too, was a magical girl who used fire.
Yet the flames she struggled to ignite with her wand looked tiny and laughable before the Calamity Beast in front of her.
The flames pouring from her wand were burned away in an instant.
She could only watch helplessly as the Calamity Beast slammed toward her...
Boom!
The next moment, the Calamity Beast that had been hurtling along with such overbearing might smashed into the ground like a meteor!
Only then did Yinlian's pink petals finally catch up, wrapping around Keke and shielding her within.
Keke quickly used her wand to disperse the surrounding petals, looking with delighted surprise at the figure standing in front of her.
"Teacher Shion!"