A huge hole collapsed through the wall, cracks spiderwebbing out from the windows, affecting both the upper and lower floors.
'Perfect.'
Even before the real fight had properly started, Natsume-san had already managed to demolish half the building housing Branch 177.
Add to that the secondary explosions caused by the superheated spheres, and the exterior of the building was instantly turned into a mess.
Konori-senpai's bicycle, parked near the flower bed downstairs for her commute, was caught in a blast wave and sent flying, who knows where.
Having broken yet more things, Natsume-san felt a twinge of guilt.
Fortunately, that explosion was quite far from the branch office itself, otherwise Uiharu-san and the others would be holding their next meeting in the open air.
The current battlefield being inside the building was a distinct disadvantage for a mobile caster like Natsume-san.
Misaka-senpai, however, was largely unaffected; the ubiquitous steel reinforcements made her particularly suited for fighting in narrow, constructed spaces.
And ever since she'd dismantled several research institutions, this senpai's experience in urban combat had increased significantly.
After Saten-san and the others had been evacuated, the only ones left in the branch office were Misaka-senpai and… a certain bun-headed girl, who had long since merged seamlessly with the surroundings.
The magician named Stiyl once again let loose tongues of scorching flame, wrestling with a certain bun-head for control of the surrounding air.
The intense heat spread through the corridor, snaking through the entire building. As the door handle melted, the high temperatures invaded the branch office's domain.
The three magical girls stood ready, chanting something under their breath. Immediately, debris from the crumbling wall gathered, forming a thick, protective barrier.
That question from before was now answered: the remaining magical girl's ability was likely earth manipulation.
So, the four of them present perfectly covered the four classical elements: earth, fire, wind, and water—the very elements some ancient civilizations believed constituted the world.
Clad in thick earthen armor, the magical girls, with their water orbs floating overhead, exchanged glances. They pushed open the door, its lock now fused shut, and stepped into Judgment Branch 177.
Stiyl, however, remained quietly in place, ready to respond to any sudden developments.
"Master, there's no one inside."
Though muffled by the water barrier, sound could still travel through the liquid.
The magical girl Marie spoke loudly, but her voice reached Stiyl's ears as a mere whisper.
"Teleport...!"
Stiyl's pupils dilated slightly as someone suddenly appeared right beside him.
The cigarette fell from Stiyl's lips. A tremendous force slammed into his body.
He doubled over like a boiled shrimp, spittle flying uncontrollably from his mouth.
Holding onto Shirai-san's arm, her body coated in a fine layer of iron sand, the girl named Misaka Mikoto descended from above, enduring the searing heat to deliver a powerful punch.
Shirai-san couldn't teleport objects over 130 kilograms, so Misaka-senpai could only deploy the iron sand on the side facing the intense heat, leaving her back exposed to the open air.
Without the iron sand's protection, Shirai-san couldn't stay within the flames. She vanished the instant she appeared, only to reappear moments later, eight steel needles now held between her fingers.
The combat style of Teleportation users revolves around a combination of projectile attacks and high-speed mobility for evasion.
Their weakness, however, is equally obvious: a single solid hit is often enough to take them out of the fight.
Come to think of it, in this world of magic and espers, most magicians and ability users share a certain fragility.
They possess immense firepower but almost no durability, like a glass cannon.
A certain bun-head is a prime example of this.
No matter how powerful her abilities, if she takes a direct physical hit, Natsume-san would be down for the count right then and there.
Fully aware of this, Natsume-san always preferred to sneak away and hide at the start of any fight.
Given this context, Shirai-san's tactical value was immense; she was an incredibly useful tool.
The moment Stiyl was struck by Misaka-senpai, numerous fiery serpents materialized out of thin air, engulfing the surroundings in a sea of flames.
On one hand, he used the inferno to conceal himself; on the other, he began chanting once more, preparing to summon Innocentius.
Steadying himself, Stiyl finally grasped the situation.
Aside from the two Level 5s, there seemed to be a Teleporter among them as well. His mission target had probably long since been teleported away by that person.
In other words, this assault had failed yet again.
Another thing nagged at Stiyl: the one with temperature control, whom he'd been so wary of, was nowhere to be found. She hadn't made an appearance since the beginning.
The fiery serpents reduced everything in the corridor to charcoal. Shirai-san's rage meter instantly hit its limit.
This place held immense meaning for her; it was where she lived and worked.
Clamping the wheelchair between her legs—fighting with it was truly inconvenient—Shirai-san's form shattered like a bubble.
She landed at the edge of the wall with the massive hole, her gaze piercing through the flames to spot the red-haired magician.
She quickly calculated his position and simultaneously launched all eight steel needles towards the red-haired magician.
Shirai-san could easily send needles into a person's body, but she generally avoided that, preferring to use them to restrict movement.
Moreover, people weren't like stationary trees; once the target started moving, Shirai-san had to make predictions, drastically increasing her computational load.
The needles whistled past Stiyl's body, aiming to pin his cloak firmly to the ground.
But it was all like a mirage. The red-haired magician's form began to blur, the illusory image becoming almost indistinguishable from the real one.
This trick was highly effective against spatial ability users. Without a precise lock on the opponent's location, attacking with spatial abilities became a pipe dream.
The battle between the two sides seemed to have lasted a long time, but in reality, only about ten seconds had passed.
With a deafening roar, a towering flame creature materialized in the burning corridor, blocking off most of the passageway.
"Look out!"
Shirai-san instantly appeared next to Misaka-senpai, hurriedly pulling her away from the flame creature's attack range.
Just as the flame creature appeared and Stiyl's position became uncertain, the main door of Judgment Branch 177 crashed down with a final, resounding boom.
A magical girl came flying backwards out of the office, her face a mix of confusion and bewilderment, only to be yanked back inside the branch room by a frost-laden, gaseous arm.
After a battle that could hardly be called arduous, Natsume-san had successfully trashed the branch office, even putting another large hole in the wall, greatly improving the office's ventilation.
However, Natsume-san had successfully prevented the flames in the corridor from spreading inside. In truth, the biggest loss for Branch 177 was just this new hole.
A certain bun-head didn't care for cramped environments. To fully utilize her advantages, she had chosen earlier to leave the building.
Given her ability, as long as the target was within her range, it hardly mattered whether she was physically present or not—the main difference lay in precision.
Natsume-san hovered in mid-air, two magical girls floating unconscious beside her. The arm she'd sent out earlier had just brought back a third.
Judging by their condition, they had clearly been knocked out by a certain bun-head again.
Their eyes were spinning with spiral patterns, the water orbs above their heads had vanished, and they seemed completely out of the fight.
'Honestly, walking around with a giant water orb on your head… Magicians really are a bunch of weirdos.'
Natsume-san figured they did it to prevent her from using shock therapy, but she quickly realized the water inside these orbs was problematic.
Natsume-san had a deep understanding of water. She could easily control water mixed with impurities or other liquids, simply by adjusting her personal equation.
But this water gave her a headache. She had to adjust her formula multiple times just to barely manage to evaporate it, wasting several precious seconds in the process.
Normally, this sort of thing would be done in the blink of an eye for Natsume-san.
And the moment it evaporated, the liquid transformed into a shimmering, rainbow-hued light.
So, it seemed this water was entirely created through magic.
Anything involving magic meant that the rules Natsume-san was familiar with needed redefining, and the methods of control became entirely different.
Perhaps because Natsume-san's personal equation was so broadly applicable, even with some unknown interference, it still had some effect on this magical liquid.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 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.