A resounding crack of golden magical lightning shattered the morning calm.
A giant lion wreathed in lightning leaped from the warped distorted space-time.
For just an instant, a moment from the past when the Fourth Primogenitor had summoned his Beast Vassal was truly and completely manifested before the Prison Barrier, summoned by Tokoyogi Yuuma.
The golden flash stabbed toward the teetering other space. The vast surge of magical power seemed to trigger a tectonic shift, shaking the earth alongside the unstable space.
Avrora winced, covering her ears as the roaring thunder and blinding light overwhelmed her senses.
After a long moment, the lightning finally dissipated into the soft sunlight.
"...Did it work?"
An unfamiliar woman's voice reached Avrora's ears—it was the natural voice of Tokoyogi Yuuma's own body.
Dazedly lifting her head, Avrora saw the girl bound in chains in the distance staring at the Prison Barrier, murmuring weakly.
"...Did we... switch back?"
Avrora blinked, then clenched her fist tightly.
The familiar sensation, along with an inexplicable pulling feeling on her scalp, brought her back to herself. A grin spread unbidden across her lips.
Then, as if remembering something, the smile vanished from Avrora's face in an instant. She snapped her head toward Minamiya Natsuki's direction.
'I think I saw Natsuki-chan appear right in front of the Regulus-Aurum at the last second.'
The power of Regulus-Aurum was enough to annihilate any spell in its path. Its berserk thunder would not let any magic hinder its advance.
The raging tidal front churned up white spray. The wave crashed toward that swaying island, and then...
Hit nothing.
The Prison Barrier, residing in its otherspace, still wavered like a mirage.
Hovering in the air before that space filled with cracking sounds was a petite girl with long black hair.
Minamiya Natsuki twirled her parasol leisurely. Fine arcs of electricity danced amid her black locks, and the surrounding space rippled with enchanting undulations.
'Natsuki-chan... blocked Regulus-Aurum head-on?' Avrora's jaw dropped, her eyes twinkling non-stop as if to say 'amazing!'
"Although it was an incomplete Regulus-Aurum, that witch still shouldn't have been able to do it," scoffed the voice of Root, who had appeared along with Avrora's regained body, sounding unconvinced.
"What blocked it was her Guardian."
"Guardian..."
Avrora muttered, looking up and scanning her surroundings.
That's right, Natsuki-chan is a witch too, so she must have her own Guardian.
But why couldn't she see it?
Avrora turned her head, her big eyes filled with confusion.
There was the trapped Tokoyogi Yuuma, the 'Root' tugging at her own hair, Minamiya Natsuki floating in the sky, and one Neco-Arc.
No particularly special figure seemed to have appeared...
Wait!
"When did that Neco-Arc get there?" Avrora's eyes widened as she stared at the Neco-Arc, who was wearing a triumphant expression.
Could it be...
"Just as you're thinking," Root knocked lightly on her head. "That's her Guardian."
Just moments ago, the Guardian Neco-Arc, emerging from the void, had torn apart the onrushing lightning.
"We failed," Tokoyogi Yuuma let out a faint smile, her cheerful expression just like always.
The swapped senses from the spatial distortion had already failed. The last attempt using the Fourth Primogenitor's attack had been blocked.
She took a deep breath, shifted her body bound by chains, and a relieved smile touched her lips at the complete lack of room to move.
"It's over."
The figures of the witch and her Guardian appeared instantly before her.
Minamiya Natsuki tightly gripped her Guardian's paw, preventing it from swallowing the residual lightning still crackling there.
Simultaneously, as if nothing had happened, she adopted a cool expression and said to Tokoyogi Yuuma, "Come with me."
Why is it a servant of the Fifth Primogenitor...
"...This is your Guardian?" Tokoyogi Yuuma glanced at the Guardian Neco-Arc, then looked back at her own Le Bleu. Confusion immediately flooded her mind.
While everyone's Guardian is different...
That flowing short golden hair, those large crimson cat-like eyes, those round ball-like fists, and that adorable face.
Soft, bouncy cat ears swayed amidst the hair, and a lively tail swished behind it.
The difference in artistic style was a bit too much.
"It's as cute as your outfit."
"You have better taste than your mother, it seems," Minamiya Natsuki remarked with some surprise, blinking and showing a slight smile. "But no amount of flattery will help. Come back to the security forces with me."
The chains gradually tightened, lifting Tokoyogi Yuuma's body weightlessly into the air.
"Barring any surprises, the people from LCO over there must have wrapped things up long ago. You—"
Minamiya Natsuki turned gracefully, the hem of her lace-trimmed skirt tracing an elegant arc, and then...
It was torn apart by a formless impact.
A warm sea breeze swept past, catching the fluttering fabric.
"You intend to continue?"
The gentle wind not only stirred the girl's hair but also carried an icy voice.
"No matter what you do, your mother won't praise you," Minamiya Natsuki said coldly, watching the girl whose head hung low.
She observed the girl gathering magical energy, her gaze fixed on the face that was the spitting image of Tokoyogi Aya. A soft sigh escaped her.
"Once your mission is complete, you'll just be cast aside, like that Grimoire that was just burned to ashes."
"I know," Tokoyogi Yuuma slowly raised her face, revealing an expression on the verge of tears. "I know all of that."
Her lips quivered painfully. Behind her, the Azure Knight shakily raised its steel fist. Its battered, tattered armor plates clanked together, producing dull, clashing metallic sounds.
"But I cannot defy my predetermined fate! That is the price of the contract I made with a demon!"
The battle-scarred knight slowly traversed the space, swinging its fist down toward the petite girl.
The Guardian Neco-Arc swung its rounded paw, blocking the knight's arm.
The attack from an enemy several times its own size was caught with ease. The hard armor began to crack and splinter inch by inch.
Tokoyogi Yuuma suddenly let out a choked gurgle. Blood flowed into her eyes, dyeing her vision a dark crimson.
Although her Guardian's form resembled a Stand somewhat, unlike a Stand, damage to a Guardian is not fed back to the user.
There was only one possibility for this situation.
"Your physical body is collapsing."
Minamiya Natsuki helplessly tightened the chains. Tokoyogi Yuuma's body slowly drifted toward her.
Forcibly connecting space to occupy Avrora's body, drawing out the Fourth Primogenitor's magical energy to summon a Beast Vassal, all while battling Minamiya Natsuki, whose spatial abilities far exceeded her own...
Even for a witch, her body had long since surpassed its limits.
"If you keep releasing magical energy like this, you'll die."
"It doesn't matter..." The pain of backlash made Tokoyogi Yuuma's mouth twitch uncontrollably. Blood streaked down her chin, dripping into the sea.
"Soon, my mission will be over. This way, I can finally... be free..."
"What a nuisance."
Minamiya Natsuki clicked her tongue in displeasure. She lifted Tokoyogi Yuuma's face, staring directly into her eyes.
"Look at me."
"...What?"
Tokoyogi Yuuma looked up blankly. She didn't understand what Minamiya Natsuki intended to do now.
The sky was clear as if washed, with leisurely white clouds drifting on the horizon, like nature's careless brushstrokes dotting the azure canvas.
A warm, translucent golden sunlight spread over Tokoyogi Yuuma's face. And in the eyes of Minamiya Natsuki, meeting her gaze—
A fiery red suddenly ignited.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.