Part 1
Selka stared at the woman as she retracted her wings.
Her face was expressionless, almost devoid of emotion.
"She's like a tall blonde Lina..."
"I don't know who you are or what you want... but that's my prey," she declared calmly.
The woman walked toward Selka without any hurry.
"I'm sorry. I cannot allow you to continue this. That young man is this world's hope..."
"I don't care. I need his Hero Fragment," Selka replied firmly while the other two women held Kazuki.
The woman stopped almost face-to-face with her.
"You are no match for the three of us. Consider this an act of mercy."
Selka was not someone who took things lightly, but she also didn't want to fail Yamato. The fragment was right there. She only had to take it.
"We'll see about that, sweetheart..." she replied as her grimoire began flipping through its pages.
"Selkarinova Velkrim, I will tell you one last time. Abandon your hostile stance. Do not force us to take punitive measures."
Selka froze in shock.
How could they possibly know her name?
She had never told anyone.
"Shadow Ball!"
A dark sphere shot toward the blonde woman.
She raised one hand and created a barrier of light.
The two powers collided, causing a massive explosion.
When the dust settled, the woman was still standing there.
Unmoving.
Without so much as blinking.
"Lyla, we should leave..." commented the shorter blonde with short hair.
"That's right. We don't want to alert you-know-who..." added the other.
Selka crossed her arms in irritation.
"So you're going to run away? And after showing up without even introducing yourselves..."
The witch's words were only meant to buy time.
"Your tricks won't work on me, Witch. I have lived far longer than your imagination can comprehend..."
"Oh, really? And that's why you've been digging into my personal life? Sorry, but you're not my type. I like strong and powerful men, you know?" Selka replied playfully.
Her words seemed to irritate Lyla.
"What an unpleasant woman..."
"Oh? It seems the celestial blonde got upset."
"You're fortunate that our celestial restriction prevents us from intervening by force..." Lyla replied with annoyance.
Selka's smile grew even wider.
"I see... because saving that brat surely doesn't count as 'intervening by force.'"
Lyla seemed to have lost her expressionless composure and was about to answer when the young woman with twin tails stopped her.
"That's enough, Lyla. We accomplished our objective. A confrontation is unnecessary."
"Yeah, yeah. I already told you, if we stay too long..."
Concern appeared on the faces of all three women.
Selka knew something was wrong.
"What is it that they're afraid of?"
"Could it be Yamato's presence?"
"Do they not want to draw his attention?"
"You're right... let's leave before she arrives..." Lyla said.
At that moment, a familiar voice echoed through the area.
"Before who arrives?"
Selka turned around and saw Lina walking toward her.
"Lina... what are you doing here?"
"You were taking too long, and I sensed a familiar presence, so I decided to come." she replied calmly.
The three blonde girls watched the interaction between the two as if they didn't exist, but Lyla began to sweat when she noticed Lina's presence.
"I don't need your help. I have everything under control," Selka said.
"Yeah, I can see that."
For the first time, Lina turned to look at the unknown young women.
Her gaze conveyed absolutely nothing.
"You three... you're Celestia's sisters, aren't you?"
Selka looked at her in surprise.
"You, heretic of light... have no right to speak to us. Return your stolen power."
Lina simply tilted her head as if she didn't understand their words.
"Heretic? Stolen power? Celestia chose me personally... she entrusted this power to me."
"That power does not belong to you. It only brings imbalance to this world."
Lina fell silent in thought.
"Celestia knew this world was unfair. That's why she gave it to me," she replied before pointing at the three young women. "You're the ones breaking the rules by interfering without a wish from humanity."
"You little—"
"Don't fall for her provocations, Risa," Lyla interrupted her sister.
Lina summoned her sword of light.
"If you'd like, we can hold a judgment right here and now... The two of us are more than enough."
She said that while Selka stepped up beside her.
Nina took a step forward and stood next to Lyla while holding Kazuki.
"That won't be necessary. We already accomplished our objective."
"How funny... You don't actually think we're going to let you leave just like that, do you?" Selka replied.
"Honestly... I don't care what an inferior and impure being thinks," Nina answered.
Selka's expression hardened, but before she could reply, Nina created a small sphere above her finger.
"Light Flashbang!"
A blinding light caught Lina and Selka off guard, forcing them to deploy barriers to protect themselves.
"Damn it!"
When the two of them could see again, the three young women and Kazuki had vanished.
"They escaped..."
"Yeah, I can't sense their presence anymore," Lina replied while looking up at the sky.
"I was so close to taking his Hero Fragment..." Selka muttered indignantly.
Lina turned toward her calmly.
"Don't dwell on it. It could have been worse."
She paused briefly.
"We should leave Mermur and return to Mist Valley. Something tells me those three won't stay idle."
Selka smiled.
"Next time, I won't be so merciful."
"I believe that."
"Alright, shorty. Let's go back. I have paperwork to do."
"How rude. I'm not a shorty. I can still grow taller."
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say."
The two of them began walking back toward the city.
Lina knew perfectly well that if Celestia's sisters had decided to intervene even while breaking the Celestial Mandate, then the board had changed.