The giant golem, a mass of rock that shouldn't be so nimble, swung its fist. The golem, which felt no pain, easily punched through the approaching fire dragon, cracking the asphalt.
Rio, who should have been standing there, was now in the air. This time, she sent a dragon made of lightning that had been waiting behind her.
"Himeragi-san, please!"
"Right!"
Yukina swung her Sekkarou, and a God-Tuning Wave Drive Formula appeared on the tip of the spear, scattering the dragon's body.
"Goliath!"
Goliath's joints groaned as it aimed at Rio, who had used up her attack methods and had no way to move in the air. The part of its body that acted as its waist rotated forcefully, and an arm five meters in diameter slammed into Rio. The girl's body was thrown into a building like a cannonball.
The force of the attack was strong enough to disfigure a person if this wasn't a mock battlefield. Even in this setting, it was an attack that could have easily reduced her life bar to zero.
Goliath continued to spin, unable to kill its momentum. Corona, the golem's creator, and Yukina, who were standing on top of it, were both dizzy.
"Ugh... maybe we shouldn't use this attack when we're on it...?"
"Y-you're right about that..."
The two of them held their mouths on Goliath's shoulder. They managed to regain their balance and looked at the result of the attack.
When the dust settled, Rio was standing firmly on two feet. Her barrier jacket was slightly torn, but she was still ready to fight. Her life bar wasn't even halfway depleted.
"She didn't fall after taking that?"
"Rio is good at defense, too."
In addition to her two types of magical conversion qualities—fire and lightning—she also had a talent for martial arts. Her overall talent might even rival Nanoha's or Fate's.
A combination of versatile magic and martial arts. Her skills had been further honed through special training for the tournament. She was not an easy opponent to defeat.
"!"
Yukina, who saw the future through her spiritual vision, forced her body backward. The next moment, a powerful heel drop slammed into the spot where Yukina had been standing.
It was Yaoh, who was flying using the power of the Griffin from the "Genom Tree." While the two of them were focused on Rio and had forgotten about her, Yaoh launched a full-force attack, using the weight of a powerful animal.
A large chunk of Goliath's shoulder, which was supposed to be made of solidified concrete, was gouged out.
"So close."
"Y-Yaoh-san..."
Yukina aimed her spear at Yaoh, who was riding the wind. But her distance was too short. The spear's reach was enough to strike her.
They couldn't win if they were constantly on the defensive. It was a good thing that Yaoh, who was the most mobile, was now within their reach.
"Hah!"
A lightning-fast spear thrust was launched. However...
"I-it won't hit!?"
"Too slow, too slow."
Yaoh, who was using the reaction speed of "Scary Monsters," easily parried the attack. But with Yukina's usual spear handling, she should have been able to hit her. No matter how fast her reflexes were, her body shouldn't have been able to move at this distance.
But she was still dizzy, and...
"Hehe, are you flustered, Yukina? Are you that worried about the bet?"
"No! Of course not!"
"H-Himeragi-san!"
Yaoh's words made Yukina's spear handling even more erratic. Her face was bright red, of course. Now, Yaoh could easily dodge her even without using her "Scary Monsters" vision.
Corona, who was on the opposite shoulder, was also panicking, unsure of what to do. The fact that she didn't know the details of the bet was a big factor. She had no idea why Yukina was so flustered.
Fortunately, Yaoh had no intention of attacking. She was more focused on teasing Yukina.
"I get it. I totally get it. Lately, there have been more and more forward girls, haven't there? If this hadn't happened, you wouldn't have been able to ask Sho on a date, right?"
"You're totally enjoying this! You're saying that because you don't care if you win or lose!"
"Hm? That's not true at all."
"...Huh?"
Yukina's spear stopped dead in its tracks.
"If I win, everyone will be so angry that Sho will have a hard time. I want to see that."
"That's the worst reason ever..."
She wanted to cause chaos. A truly mischievous reason.
While they were being toyed with by Yaoh, they had completely forgotten about Rio.
Rio, who had been waiting for an opening, began to move.
(That golem operation is not normal. She must have practiced a lot...)
"Raishinso!"
Rio clad herself in lightning. It was a physical ability enhancement focused on speed.
"Goraiho!"
A powerful kick slammed into Goliath's right leg. Corona had been distracted by Yukina's battle with Yaoh and her operation had become sloppy.
"Woah!"
Once its balance was broken, it was all she could do to keep it from falling, and she couldn't move to attack.
Grabbing the arm that the golem had put on the ground to keep from falling...
"HEAVE...!"
She put her back into it.
"HOOOO!"
And she threw it.
"Whaaaat!?"
She slammed it into a building in return. But it wasn't a small girl who was slammed into the building, but the giant Goliath. The building was crushed under the golem's weight.
Rio gave a victory sign.
"But... Corona wasn't the only one who's been training!"
The two of them were left speechless by the sheer power of the attack.
"Hmm. That girl is surprisingly strong."
"Yaoh-san, you're so carefree for a teammate..."
"Yaoh-san! Let's strike while Goliath is down!"
"This is bad... Goliath, get up!"
The battle between the four of them was about to turn. Corona, in particular, relied on her golem. If Rio got close to her, she would be completely defenseless.
Yukina aimed her spear at the approaching Rio and Yaoh. At that moment, two girls stormed onto the battlefield. A girl in cherry blossom colors followed by a black shadow, and the Queen of Time who controlled it.
---------
The time rewound again, back to the very start of the match. The battle between Kurumi and Sakura.
"We!"
"Kekeke."
"Shall play with you."
"But we won't hold back, will we?"
"Will you entertain us?"
The clones of Kurumi emerged from her shadow. It was the power of "Eight Bullet," one of the bullets from her angel, "Zafkiel." These were clones that were given only a very short amount of time, unable to use her angel, and would only exist for this one moment in this battle.
But if more than thirty of them attacked at once, an ordinary person wouldn't stand a chance.
On top of that, the field was Kurumi's "City of Devouring Time." An endless number of clones emerged from the blackened ground.
Sakura, however, was not to be outdone. A flat, cherry-blossom-colored whip extended from her feet. Even under the influence of the "City of Devouring Time," Sakura's movements weren't slowed down, thanks to a different type of shadow spreading from her feet.
Sakura's magical attribute was "Imaginary Element: Imaginary Number." The state of her magical circuits, which had been broken by the Matou family's upbringing, had completely recovered. Furthermore, after ten years of training her magic to fight, she was completely unfazed by Kurumi's onslaught.
Even though it looked like a whip, it had the sharpness to cut through reinforced concrete. It was also chipping away at the angel's spiritual armor, which could nullify a certain amount of attacks.
"My, that magic. I never thought it would be so terrifying when faced as an enemy. It's a good thing I'm the one fighting you."
"I think so too. I thought that out of everyone, Kurumi-chan would be the most troublesome one to deal with, even more than Sho-kun. I'm grateful that you're willing to fight me one-on-one. I can hold you here."
"Oh my. With all these clones, do you truly think my real self is still in this place?"
"I don't want to think that Kurumi-san is underestimating me. I am a 'special student' of Section 6, after all."
"...Kekeke."
The battle between the two was extremely fierce. Bullets and shadowy blades flew, scattering destruction as they danced.
They moved constantly, never staying in one place. Because of this, they crashed into other battlefields.
They came across the fallen Goliath. It was the delicate moment where a single exchange was over and the battle was about to turn.
"K-Kurumi-san!?"
"Oh, Yukina-san. We'll be intruding for a moment."
Without a moment to catch their breath, a rain of magical bullets fired by Tianna poured down from the sky.
"Gah!?"
They were fired to hit only the enemy team and were impossible to completely avoid.
Should they focus on defense, or try to evade? Sakura and Rio chose the former, while Yaoh chose the latter.
Either way, they would be hit. The tide of the battle changed in an instant. Goliath got up, exuding an overwhelming sense of intimidation.
In the midst of the battle, a communication came in from Lutecia.
The operation. The key to Team A's comeback was Sakura's magic.
"Understood. Then... let's go!"
Shadow soldiers gathered around Sakura. As they gathered, even the shadow that had spread out from Sakura was absorbed. The grown and unified shadow soldier had now become a giant.
Its size was even larger than the already huge Goliath. It stood there without a roar to match its size, spreading a creepy sense of dread all around.
The girl who commanded it waved her finger, guiding the giant toward the enemy lines.
"Then, shall we crush them all the way to the back?"
The shadow giant began to advance with slow movements to match its size.
"Tianna-san!?"
"It's right in front of me!"
Tianna was familiar with this attack. She had seen a similar attack when Sakura had her practical exam, just like Sho and the others. It was Sakura's Imaginary Number magic, which disassembled and absorbed magic.
What she was seeing now was far larger than what she had seen back then. She didn't feel a good premonition at all.
<(Bringing something like that out is cheating!) I'll make an opening and hit that big guy once! Anyone near her, help her out! A large-scale magic like that can't be maintained for a long time! If we force her to use up her magic, Sakura will be out of the match!>
"Got it, I'll try!"
Corona scattered all the crystal terminals she had—Goliath's core—and squeezed out every last bit of magic.
"Please, do your best! Goliath!"
Goliath's body was fleshing out more and more. In an effort to counter the shadow giant, its concrete arms became thicker and thicker. Its sheer mass increased, making its intimidation factor completely different from the shadow giant.
"Hehe, that's amazing. But I'm stronger, you know?"
The two giants stared at each other, and their fists crossed.
"!"
It was Corona who gasped.
Sakura's shadow, which stripped away and disassembled magic into imaginary numbers, was a fatal blow to Goliath, whose parts were held together by magic. The parts that made up its fist crumbled away.
They couldn't fight it head-on. She knew that in an instant.
"In a situation like this—"
"The iron rule is to aim for the user, right?"
Perhaps it was the price of making it so massive, but the shadows that were protecting Sakura had disappeared. She was defenseless.
The ones attacking her were Kurumi, who had been fighting her all this time, and Riko, who had appeared out of nowhere with a bomb.
"Do you really think you can get past me?! Riko!"
Creating a curtain of bullets and landing was Aria, swinging her pink twin tails. She had been chasing after Riko, who had bolted when the battle changed.
It was Yami who stopped Kurumi, who had also flown in.
With their attacks stopped, a moment of emptiness was created. Sakura didn't miss that opening.
Just because the shadow giant was huge didn't mean it couldn't perform intricate attacks. Countless blades extended from its torso. The razor-sharp blades, which bent at sharp angles, attacked Team B.
The range was terrifying, and a building behind them was torn apart like a pile of LEGO blocks.
"!"
Corona, Yukina, Kurumi, and Riko, all four of them, were dealt enough damage to completely wipe out the advantage they had gained from Tianna's Crossfire.
"This... might be a little bad, won't it?"
Kurumi's face also turned sour. Fortunately, only Kurumi avoided major damage because her clone had acted as a shield. But in return, all the clones on the ground were gone.
Their opponents were now led by the strongest attacker, Sakura, along with Rio, Aria, Yami, and Yaoh. All of them were fine. They were outnumbered and outgunned.
On a rooftop where she could look down on the battle, Tina, who had changed her sniping position, stood.
(I can hit her from here.)
Of course, she was looking at Sakura through her scope. If she could shoot down Sakura now, she might be able to turn the tide of the battle.
"—Fake, Fake, Spiral Sword: Caladbolg III"
"—!"
Just before she pulled the trigger, a twisted arrow pierced the spot where Tina was standing. Tina, who was unable to dodge or even react, had her life bar reduced to zero—she was eliminated.
"Don't think you're the only sniper, Tina."
The one who fired was, of course, Kuro. She jumped down from the building and joined up with Sakura and the others.
"I took down the sniper who was aiming from above. Life bar is zero. She won't be getting back up."
With more people on the field, the situation became even more desperate.
The remaining members of Team B tried to go help, but their opponents, whom they had been fighting since the start of the match, were in their way, preventing them from moving as they wished.
"Damn it! Get out of my way, Onee-san!"
"No way! If you want to get through here, you'll have to beat me first!"
Nove was held up by Subaru.
"Elio, you've gotten so strong...!"
"I won't let you pass, Fate-san!"
Fate couldn't get past Elio.
"You're going to keep me company, Asuna-san...!"
"If this weren't a serious situation, I'd be happy to...!"
Asuna couldn't defeat Kirin.
Team B, Sho, Einhart, and Caro, who were watching the situation from the rear, were holding themselves back from jumping in. The reason was an order from Tianna.
"W-what is it?"
"That's right! I can use my right hand to erase the power of supernatural abilities."
"...! Probably."
"I just need to erase it right before you fire, right? I'll leave the timing to you!"
If they were too fast, the enemies they had managed to gather might scatter again. But if they hesitated, their allies would be wiped out, and they would be pushed back.
"Hmm? Aren't you guys going to help them?"
Lutecia of Team A appeared with a confident smile. And for a good reason, the ones who appeared with her were Takamachi Nanoha and Takamachi Vivio. The Takamachi family.
"T-this is seriously bad, isn't it? Will we even survive until the operation?"
"I-I think so too..."
The battle was approaching its climax.
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