[CH.26] The battle style of the senior sister
Mercury was knocked into the air by the monster. She raised her staff and used levitation magic to stabilize herself in the air. She gracefully spun around her staff, raising her little feet and sitting cross-legged on it.
"What a troublesome creature, but I absolutely won't tolerate your mischief!"
As she spoke, Mercury lifted her left hand, and a silvery light gathered, forming a frigid ice spike exuding a chilling aura.
"Ice Shards!"
Mercury forcefully hurled the ice spike, but as soon as it touched the outer shell of the single-horned beetle monster, it shattered into ice fragments. The monster shook its head, seemingly mocking Mercury's incompetence.
"Tsk, you dare to mock me, a mere bug?!"
Mercury was getting annoyed. She continuously launched ice spikes, but hundreds of attacks that had no effect. Her attacks were like scratching an itch for the single-horned beetle, leaving no traces on its shell.
Mercury flew in the sky, getting increasingly frustrated.
She was a healing-type magical girl, not inherently possessing strong attack abilities. Moreover, she had spent a significant amount of points to exchange for flight magic, leaving her with no other combat skills.
It's worth mentioning that Mercury hadn't learned healing magic. Currently, the healing-type was only a visual attribute.
Han Huayang, carrying the senior sister on his back, was growing anxious for Mercury. If he were to join the fight, his charged Love Strike could defeat this monster in a single blow, and he could follow up with more punches if needed.
His gaze scanned the crowd, trying to find a suitable corner to transform into Magical Girl Alice.
Perhaps sensing Han Huayang's thoughts, the senior sister knocked his head gently and whispered softly:
"Wait, don't rush to intervene. Wait a little longer..."
"Why?"
"Let me ask you, have you ever encountered other magical girls while you were active as a magical girl before?"
Han Huayang thought for a moment. Since he had become a magical girl, he had never seen any other magical girls. Even the senior sister operated independently and didn't fight alongside him to eliminate monsters.
Han Huayang had assumed this was Kate's orders. After all, Magical Girl Lillian was always perceived in the public eye as a violent, clumsy girl with braided hair and glasses, which didn't match Alice's kind and loving image.
"Different magical girls from different agencies cannot appear at the same time. Each magical girl has a set entrance and exit phrase. As long as a magical girl is on the scene and hasn't exited, you can't forcefully join the battle. We can't steal someone else's achievements."
The Magical Girl Agency's main sources of income were two-fold: the appearance fees for attending various events as idols and the alliance bonuses for eliminating monsters.
Every quarter, the Magical Girl Alliance would review the performance of various agencies and rank them. Different rankings brought different amounts of money. Of course, the assessment of performance was quite extensive, and the number of monsters eliminated was just a small part of it.
However, to avoid conflicts over monster hunting, the spirits of the major agencies had reached an unwritten agreement.
"As long as the magical girl on the scene has magic power left, other magical girls from different agencies cannot enter the battle to attack the monsters. That's why you didn't see other magical girls appear earlier."
"But you and I are both Kate's magical girls. Why didn't we fight together before?"
"You're silly. You don't need help; you can defeat most monsters with a single punch. Should I stand by and applaud you?"
The senior sister gently knocked Han Huayang's head again.
"Besides, as Lillian, my public image doesn't match yours. It's not suitable for us to fight together."
"But, are we just going to watch the monster destroy the streets? That kid doesn't seem capable of dealing with this monster at all."
Han Huayang appeared anxious and somewhat helpless.
"That's just how it is. If Mercury doesn't leave, and you rush in, it'll be seen as stealing someone else's achievements. You'll have to wait for the situation to change. If Mercury runs out of magic or if the lives of citizens are threatened, then you can transform and enter the battle. That way, there will be a reasonable explanation afterward. Otherwise, let me handle it."
"You were so drunk you could hardly stand, right? And are you really drunk, senior sister?"
"Don't worry about that. Come on, quickly, run to that alley over there."
"Senior sister, you don't need me to carry you. At the very least, you can walk by yourself."
"Don't waste time talking, hurry!"
The senior sister gave Han Huayang's small bottom a pat, urging him to move quickly. Meanwhile, on the ground, the two continued their discussion while Mercury in the sky continued her relentless attacks on the monster.
Shattered ice fragments filled the air, making the entire street look like it was experiencing a hailstorm. Large and small ice shards continued to fall all around, causing the onlookers who had gathered to watch the magical girl battle to seek cover.
Apparently growing impatient with the attacks, the monster spread its wings and flew into the sky, ramming into Mercury.
Magical Girl Mercury, firmly gripping her staff, barely managed to stop in mid-air.
"Wait! Wait, can you still fly? Are you just being lazy?!"
However, the monster didn't give Mercury time to rest. It swung its giant horn and slammed Mercury to the ground. The radiant light surrounding her completely dispersed.
The points of light revolving around Mercury attempted to regroup, but the monster descended immediately, attempting to squash her flat with a move resembling a crow riding an airplane.
With no time to react, Mercury instinctively used her staff to shield her face.
But, at the critical moment, a golden beam of light struck the single-horned beetle. Although it didn't penetrate its carapace, the powerful force was enough to push the monster away from above Mercury.
In a nearby alley, the senior sister, transformed into Magical Girl Lillian, released an attack that had a significant effect but was not enough to defeat the monster.
While her magical skills were long-range beams, like Han Huayang, she was also skilled in close combat. She typically wore down monsters' stamina by grappling with them in hand-to-hand combat, and then, in the end, she used a point-blank beam attack to pierce the most vulnerable part of the monster, often resulting in the need to censor the video footage when broadcasting it on television.
However, it should be noted that, like Han Huayang, the senior sister, as a contract spirit of Kate, was also a love-type magical girl.
While Mercury's healing type was at least somewhat visually expressed, the senior sister's love type only occasionally showed when dealing with Alice.
"Gentle, kind-hearted, graceful, Magical Girl Lillian makes a magnificent entrance!"
The senior sister jumped out. While reciting her entrance phrase, she strutted with a model's catwalk, swaying her light brown ponytail. She took off her glasses and tucked them into her skirt pocket, assuming a stance for a powerful attack, with her gaze becoming exceptionally sharp.
"Ha!"
With a burst of energy, Lillian charged at the monster like a bullet. She reached the monster's side and delivered a rapid series of punches, each attack leaving deep cracks on the carapace.
She battered the monster to the ground, and the cracks on its back began to spread across the entire shell.
"Die!"
Lillian found the largest crack on the monster's body, fired a golden laser. The beam passed through the crack without any hindrance and completely pierced the single-horned beetle.
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