by Takehaya
“A powerful demon...?”
In Maki and the others’ homeland, the magical country of Folsaria, there existed abnormal looking monsters known as demons. Occasionally they would stray to Earth and cause chaos. A lot of the monsters and devils in legends and myths were actually demons from Folsaria.
“We want you to capture that demon and make it your familiar. Normally we’d send you some backup, but we’re not in a position to do that now, I’m afraid. That said, if we do nothing at all, Rainbow Heart will exterminate it.”
One of the jobs of the organization Yurika belonged to, Rainbow Heart, was to exterminate demons that wandered to Earth. So sooner or later, this demon would likely meet the same fate.
“So now that Yurika’s gotten stronger, we’ll want to increase the odds in our favor by gaining allies, even if that comes with a risk, huh?”
Maki realized what the girl in purple was really suggesting, and she confirmed it.
“That’s right. Will you give it a shot?”
“I’ll do it. Fortunately, creating familiars is a specialty of mine.”
A familiar was a demon that served a magician and followed their orders. In order to gain a familiar, the magician either needed to bind it using contracts and curses, or manipulate its mind with magic. Maki specialized in the latter: mind manipulation magic. A job like this was right up her alley.
“Besides, I need to get some more power too or I won’t be able to win against Yurika or that man.”
“We’re counting on you, Navy.”
“Yes... Hmm?”
At that moment, Maki’s sharpened senses detected that someone was approaching her.
“Purple, I’ll contact you again later. It looks like I have a guest.”
“Be careful, Navy.”
After finishing her call, Maki tucked her magical tool away in her bosom. And when she turned around, she saw a lone girl approaching, weaving her way through the snow-covered trees.
“Very impressive, Yurika. To think you could sense mana as feeble as this.”
“Maki-chan, what are you doing using magic in a place like this?”
Yurika looked far more serious than she normally did. It made the usual carefree expression she showed Koutarou and the others on a daily basis almost seem like a lie.
Yurika had sensed the mana from the magic that Maki was using and come out to investigate. While it may have only been feeble mana from a magical tool used for communication, Yurika was cautious of Maki using magic under these circumstances. For the past few months, Maki hadn’t made any suspicious moves. She’d simply been acting like a normal classmate. She hadn’t been using magic or causing trouble. So why start now, in the middle of their school trip? That was a question Yurika couldn’t leave unanswered.
“Do you think I have an obligation to explain myself to you?”
A smile appeared on Maki’s lips and she looked Yurika up and down.
From what I can tell, she’s not powered up in her current state... Maybe her staff has something to do with it.
Yurika was currently wearing colorful winter clothes, just like Maki. Maki couldn’t sense anything different about Yurika’s mana the way she was now, so she started to suspect that the strong magic may have been coming from her staff or her magical girl outfit.
“Maki-chan, I don’t know what you’re planning, but I’ll be your opponent if I have to.”
The snow crunched underfoot as Yurika mustered her courage and took a step towards Maki. She was terribly scared of fighting, but as a magical girl, she couldn’t just back down.
“Those are some big words, Rainbow Yurika. Do you really think you can beat me with your skills?”
“It’s not about winning. I’m simply doing my duty.”
Yurika in the past probably would have run away in a situation like this. But ever since she came to room 106, she had slowly been building up her courage, and that courage now supported her.
But I will definitely win. I have to win and protect everyone so I can graduate together with Satomi-san and the others!
It wasn’t so much the courage of a magical girl as it was the courage of a regular girl named Nijino Yurika. She had a strong desire to protect her life as it was, both in room 106 and at Kisshouharukaze High School. Everything had led up to this—even Koutarou hitting her on the head earlier.
“That’s awfully confident... Let’s see how long you can keep that up,” Maki said as she readied herself.
This courage... from the same Yurika who would always run away? She must have gained a considerable amount of power.
Maki wasn’t as optimistic about the situation as she sounded. She didn’t think she stood much of a chance after taking Yurika’s supposedly drastic increase in mana into account.
And then there’s the terrain... This footing is disadvantageous to me.
Maki, in her snow boots, was standing on fresh snow. She fought using a combination of mind manipulation magic and martial arts. In comparison, Yurika’s fighting style primarily relied on long-range spells. Because of that, Maki was at a disadvantage in the snow where she would have a hard time moving. With that in mind, Maki decided she should prioritize retreating and getting her hands on a familiar.
But just running away isn’t my style!
Despite the situation, there was a fire burning in Maki’s eyes. No matter how strong Yurika had gotten, her pride wouldn’t allow her to just run away without putting up a fight.
“Here I come, Nijino Yurika!”
Maki thrust her right arm forward.
“Maki-chan?!”
Yurika’s response was slightly delayed, but she put both of her hands up in front of her.
“Come, Nightwalker!”
“Come! Angel Halo, Encyclopedia!”
In response to their summons, three staffs appeared. Nighwalker appeared before Maki’s right hand, and a staff appeared on either side of Yurika. Angel Halo was on the right and Encyclopedia was on the left. Both girls snatched their staffs out of the air and raised their right hands over their heads as they began concentrating.
She has two staffs?!
Maki was caught off guard by Yurika having a staff in each hand. She had made the first move, but her incantation was slightly delayed because of her surprise, so she and Yurika ended up chanting the same thing at the same time.
“Costume Change! Modifier: Quick! End: Permanent!”
“Costume Change! Modifier: Quick! End: Permanent!”
It was a transformation spell. The two girls were wrapped in blue light as their winter wear vanished and was replaced with different outfits. After the blue light faded, Yurika and Maki were wearing pink and indigo magical girl outfits respectively.
“And...!”
“What?!”
Maki’s incantation ended there, but Yurika’s continued.
“Arming: Angel Halo!”
After finishing her incantation, the staff she was holding above her head, Angel Halo, began emitting an orange light which gradually grew large enough to envelop it, obscuring its silhouette. Once the light was bright enough, it suddenly divided into balls of light of several different colors.
“She armed her staff?!”
While Maki watched on in disbelief, the balls of light crashed into Yurika’s body one after another, into her head, her back, her chest, her arms, and her legs. For every ball of light that touched her, her outfit began changing. The balls of light that crashed into her limbs and chest transformed and added glowing white embellishments. The ball of light that crashed into her back transformed and added angelic looking wings. And the final ball of light, the one that crashed into her head, transformed into what could only be described as an angel’s halo. Thanks to the transformation, Yurika’s normally revealing outfit, which always screamed “cosplay,” was given a heavenly makeover.
“I am the magical girl of love and courage, Rainbow Yurika!”
As her whole body glowed white, she swung her other staff, Encyclo
pedia, around using both hands.
“I will protect the peace of this city!”
Yurika pointed the tip of her staff towards Maki. Her dignified stance made her look powerful for once.
“I see, so that’s your new power...”
Seeing Yurika’s new appearance, Maki held her breath. She had prepared two staffs, binding powerful magic into one of them and arming the other. While fighting normally with one staff, she’d be looking for a chance to unleash the bound magic in the other.
I see you put some thought into this, Nijino Yurika!
Normally, a lone magician could only use a limited number of spells at the same time. However, by using powerful magical tools, it was possible to increase that number. Maki believed that’s how Yurika would try and use the mana from room 106.
“That new staff holds quite a lot of power, I see.”
“Its power may be insignificant, but I won’t let things go like they did last time!”
“‘Insignificant’? Do you think I’ll fall for that?”
Maki gritted her teeth.
Highly dense mana from artifact-rank magical tools, the highest level of magical tools whose means of creation had been long been lost, was flowing out from Encyclopedia. When Yurika called that insignificant, Maki was slightly irritated.
Eek! I hope she doesn’t see through my bluff!
Yurika, on the other hand, was secretly feeling anxious. It was indeed true that the staff she had gotten from Koutarou held large amounts of mana, but as its name alluded, it was sort of like an encyclopedia. Since it could use a wide variety of spells without relying on the user’s mana, the power of each spell was below average. It was super flexible, but weak. So rather than relying on Encyclopedia’s power, she was counting on it as a way to disguise her own magic while in front of Koutarou and the others. But since the staff did indeed hold an impressive amount of mana, it also worked as a bluff against Maki. That’s all the meaning the staff held to Yurika, whose magic repertoire was wide enough as it was.
“I guess I’ll give it a shot...”
Maki readied her own staff, intent to test Yurika’s abilities for herself. Now that she had revealed her new power, it was a great opportunity to see what it could do.
I can’t show weakness now! Yurika, fight! I’ve grown since then!
Yurika mustered up all her courage and pointed her staff at Maki.
“Sanctuary! Modifier: Effective Area, Colossal!”
“Sanctuary! Modifier: Effective Area, Colossal!”
The two girls again began their incantations at the same time. This time it was a spell to keep other people in the area away. It was an unwritten rule for magicians to use it whenever they fought each other, and it doubled as the gong to start the fight.
“Quick Cast Acceleration!”
Maki was the first to move. After casting a spell that improved her reaction speed, she began closing the distance to Yurika.
As I thought, this footing is terrible!
However, as expected, Maki’s movement was impeded in the snow. She was still moving faster than a normal person, but the poor footing slowed her just enough to give Yurika an opportunity to attack.
“Energy Bolts! Target Option: Spread!”
The spell Yurika chose created multiple magic arrows to attack her target. Those magic arrows normally worked like a machine gun, but Yurika altered the spell to work more like a shotgun. It was a necessary adjustment to score a hit on the quick Maki.
“Tch! Quick Cast Anti-Magic Shield!”
However, Maki wouldn’t just take that lying down. Before Yurika could fire off her glowing red magic arrows, Maki created a translucent yellow shield around herself. Yurika’s magic arrows smashed into it like rain. Since Yurika had spread the shots out to cover a wider area, their power was weakened some. The shield Maki had created easily blocked them.
“Tiny Memory Flash! Modifier: Touch Trigger!”
Still protected by the magic shield, Maki charged forward. At the same time, her staff began glowing indigo. That light was a mind manipulation spell—Maki’s forte—that induced a short-term memory lapse. She infused her own staff with the spell so that it would activate at the same time she struck her target.
“Take this, Yurikaaa!”
As Maki wound up for her swing, the shield protecting her vanished. She dismissed it in order to attack.
“Now!”
“Kyaaaaaaaah!”
Unexpectedly, the snow below Maki’s feet suddenly rose and lifted her up with it. It was a spell that Yurika used to control the snow and slow down her target. However, Yurika hadn’t recited a single incantation. Her new staff was what had activated the spell.
She can cast spells without any incantation whatsoever?!
Maki was left astonished. She had expected Yurika to use her own magic in addition to the power of the staff, but she didn’t think its effects would be instantaneous. Unlike Koutarou and Kiriha, Yurika knew the ways of magic and understood how it worked. Because of that, she didn’t need to say anything in order to control the magic of the staff. That was the original intended power of Encyclopedia.
“Flame Lance! Target Option: Auto Homing!”
And while Maki’s body was still midair, Yurika created a spear of fire. She was able to cast two spells, one right after the other—something that shouldn’t be possible. The flaming spear soared through the air towards Maki.
“I’ll get hit?!”
Seeing the burning spear charging at her, Maki realized that she had no way of dodging it. She couldn’t take any evasive actions while she was falling.
“Damn it! In that case...!”
Maki pointed her staff upwards.
“Energy Release!”
Maki released the magic infused in her staff and created a small explosion. Thanks to the shockwave of the explosion and a little help from gravity, Maki was able to slightly change the direction she was falling in. The fire spear grazed her as it sailed past, singeing her outfit. It continued on until it crashed into a pile of snow, blowing most of it away and melting the rest. The intense flame continued burning even after all the snow was gone, scorching the earth below.
That was close! If I had been just a moment slower, I would have been defeated!
As Maki mentally wiped the cold sweat from her brow, she quickly rolled across the snow before getting to her feet. She then readied her staff again, but she was still quite taken aback.
To think she’d use magic like that...
Artifacts were powerful magical tools said to be created by god. Any mortal means to create them had been lost to the ages. Because they were so powerful, they tended to be used for large-scale magic. However, no matter how powerful the artifact was, an incantation was required to cast such a spell. That was true for the majority of the artifacts that Maki knew of. However, Yurika’s Encyclopedia worked completely differently. The spells it used were so minor that there was no need for an incantation and it required no focus or casting time. On top of that, it could be used completely independently from Yurika’s own magic.
Maki wasn’t sure which was more dangerous—Yurika’s more powerful spells that required incantations, or the weaker magic that could strike at any moment—but she knew both were a serious threat.
The staff Satomi-san gave me isn’t useless after all! This was made to fight against magicians!
Really, Yurika was just as surprised as Maki was. She’d thought the only use for Encyclopedia would be disguising her own magic, but she’d now realized the true worth of the staff. The staff was an artifact that defied the common rules of magic. It allowed her to attack at just the right time when her opponent had no chance to evade or block.
But I can’t let my guard down! Maki is still better than me!
Yurika grabbed the staff with both hands and stared straight at Maki. Yurika had more mana than Maki thanks to her staff, but when it came to using each spell effectively, Maki had more experience. Yurika knew if she rel
ied on the staff too heavily, she would suffer for it.
“Impressive, Nijino Yurika. That staff surprised me.”
“But you’re still standing, Maki-chan. There’s no point in just surprising you.”
Yurika had no intention of giving Maki a chance to attack.
Theia-chan is always telling me that I’m too weak on the finish!
Thanks to the games that Yurika had played against Koutarou, Theia, and the others for over ten months now, Yurika had gradually gotten better at thinking strategically when push came to shove. Sensing that, Maki clicked her tongue in her mind.
You’ve gotten much more skilled than before, Nijino Yurika... It seems your wish truly has come true...
Yurika had always had the air of a mere apprentice, but not now. Maki now saw for herself what Koutarou had said about Yurika becoming a splendid magician was true.
“Playtime ends here, Nijino Yurika.”
Maki decided to switch gears. If Yurika was now strong enough to be properly recognized as a member of Rainbow Heart, she couldn’t be taken lightly. That meant Maki would go all out in order to defeat her. In other words, Maki was forced to admit that Yurika was a worthy opponent.
“Maki-chan!”
Yurika could also sense that Maki’s demeanor had changed. Her seemingly overconfident expression had vanished and was replaced with a more serious one. She now came across as desolate as her indigo outfit.
“Nightwalker! Recall Precast Category Alpha!” Maki loudly declared with her staff pointed towards Yurika. Maki’s body was then wreathed in colorful lights.
Maki’s new staff, Nightwalker, came equipped with a special ability. A magician could prepare a certain number spells beforehand and store them, and Nightwalker increased that capacity. The two spells Maki had used when talking with Koutarou earlier were a good example, but they weren’t the only spells she had stored in her staff.
What Maki had done now was release more than ten spells all at once. All of them were spells that increased her combat abilities. They enhanced everything from her physical strength to her toughness, from her eyesight to her thinking speed. All kinds of spells activated and enveloped her, greatly amplifying her original power.
