The heavy silence in Mayumi's helicopter shattered with Mizuki's sudden gasp. "Ah!?"
"What's wrong?" Miyuki asked softly, breaking the tension she'd caused.
"A beast-like aura near Bay Hills Tower…" Mizuki said, having removed her glasses to scan the ground, volunteering as lookout since boarding.
"Beast-like? Aggressive, ferocious?" Mikihiko asked, pulling a talisman and activating a spell. Peering through it at the distant tower, he gasped. "Enemy attack!?"
"Certain?" Erika pressed.
"But the volunteers pushed them back," Kanon countered.
Mikihiko nodded to Erika, shaking his head at Kanon. "Small-scale ambush. Terrifying magical aura. We need to return—the Association's in danger."
His last words targeted Mayumi, who exchanged a hesitant glance with Mari before Nagura's voice crackled from the copilot seat. "Young Mistress Mayumi, emergency call from the Magic Association on the Ten Master Clans' line."
"Give it!" Mayumi snatched the comms, hearing confirmation of Mikihiko's warning. Her hesitation vanished. "Nagura-san, head to the Association!"
Without waiting for a reply, she worked the comms. "Juumonji-kun, we're heading to the branch. We'll be quick, so focus on repelling the enemy."
"Count on you," Katsuto replied.
"Got it," Mayumi said, cutting the line as the heli veered.
At the heliport, Mari shouted, sensing a presence. "That guy… Ryu Gouko, right? He escaped after Tatsuya-kun caught him."
Mayumi's perception magic confirmed it, her eyes narrowing. "Ryu Gouko!?"
"You know him?" Leo asked.
"Formidable foe," Erika said.
"Nice," Leo grinned, eyes gleaming.
The seniors winced at his enthusiasm. As the enemy approached, Miyuki gripped her CAD, but Mayumi stopped her. "Miyuki-san, stop! You'll nullify the Association's magic!"
"I'll end it in one strike," Miyuki said.
"No. If you miss even one, it's on you," Mayumi warned.
Miyuki, inwardly certain she wouldn't miss, pocketed her CAD, understanding Mayumi's concern. "Understood."
"Miyuki-san, guard the branch floor," Mayumi said. "I hate putting this on you, but you're our last line. Kirihara-kun, Mibu-san, Tomoe-san, protect Miyuki-san, Shibata-san, and the Hirakawa sisters. Isori-kun, Kanon-chan, Yoshida-kun, Isshiki-san, handle the other soldiers."
Mayumi turned to Mari. "Mari."
"We'll take him," Mari said, eyeing Erika and Leo. "You two, help."
"Obviously," Erika shot back, meeting Mari's gaze. Leo nodded firmly.
Ryu Gouko, in white armor masking his wounds, breached barricade after barricade of armored vehicles. At the final one, he faced Mari, the girl who'd twice humiliated him. Wielding a three-sectioned sword from the Association, Mari held her CAD ready. Ryu lunged, but Erika struck from the side. He blocked Orochimaru with both arms, withstanding Yamatsunami's force via Steel Qigong.
Leo roared, Thin-Winged Dragonfly slicing at Ryu's legs. Unable to see the near-invisible blade, Ryu leaped, aiming a flying kick at Leo. Leo shifted to an upward slash but was too slow.
"Guh!?" Ryu grunted midair, blasted off course by Mayumi's magic—hundreds of low-mass projectiles striking simultaneously.
"Panzer!" Leo shouted, activating a command. Ryu's double thrust hit his chest, sending him crashing into a barricade vehicle.
Erika swung Orochimaru downward. Ryu dodged, but the blade, without hitting the ground, flipped upward, drawn to his side. Yamatsunami: Swallow Return—a variant restoring inertia only at the upswing. Still, the slower strike couldn't pierce Ryu's Steel Qigong. His palm strike sent Erika and her blade flying into the barricade.
Erika collapsed, motionless. Ryu, briefly puzzled by the lack of resistance, refocused on Mari. That moment cost him. Mayumi's Dry Meteor, her trump card, finished him.
"Mari-san, you okay!?" Kanon called, rushing over with Mikihiko and a weary Isori, the other enemies dispatched.
"I'm fine, thanks to the protector," Mari said.
"No injuries here either," Mayumi added, appearing from the barricade.
"I'm good," Leo said.
"Same, barely," Erika groaned, sitting up.
"Erika!?" Mikihiko rushed to her, Leo watching worriedly.
"Erika-kun, you okay?" Isori asked.
"Fine. Mild concussion, stayed conscious," Erika said, sighing deeply. "Ugh, I lost."
Grumbling about defeat over celebrating victory, Erika's quip drew wry chuckles from Mikihiko and Leo.
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