(Two beautiful girls clash)
Miyuki, having had her control power returned by Tatsuya, and Lina, believing Tatsuya's kiss was a magic charm bestowed upon her, immediately took combat stances. In this match, however, a significant gap had already opened between Miyuki and Lina on a psychological level.
On one side, the Commander-in-Chief of the USNA Stars; on the other, an ordinary high school girl. This was Lina's perspective, and that very perspective applied pressure on her, whispering that losing was unacceptable.
(If Tatsuya's action wasn't just a charm but actually conveyed something to Miyuki, what is reasonable to assume he conveyed...?)
Every spell she had launched so far had been blocked by the barriers Miyuki deployed. Moreover, the outer layer of her double-layered barrier had been dismissed, releasing gas molecules that had been forced into a false low-velocity state. Regaining their original kinetic speed, the air that had been compressed into a narrow space released its pressure, assaulting Lina as an explosive blast.
(Did I misjudge Miyuki's magical power? No, she's clearly gotten stronger.)
To protect herself from the blast, Lina instinctively dropped to the ground and threw an anti-material barrier over herself. Fighting to keep her body from being blown away along with her shield by stacking inertia-increasing magic, she tried to gauge Miyuki's strength.
(Miyuki is beating me to the punch at every turn... At this rate, I'm going to be slowly whittled down...)
She had to counterattack, even just a little, or she would be overwhelmed. Unless one possessed an exceptionally robust defense magic, offense was stronger than defense in magical warfare. That was the theory.
Lina felt the wind pressure weaken. Since the blast was generated by the dismissal of magic, it stood to reason that once all the compressed air was released, the wind would stop. In her right hand, Lina gripped a combat knife.
Her handgun had been confiscated, but this knife—used to activate "Molecular Divider"—had not been taken. It was a weaponized device for magic developed by the previous Sirius, serving as Stars' trump card.
(I should be able to at least draw Miyuki's attention! Molecular Divider!)
Still prone, she scattered daggers with her left hand, hidden from Miyuki's view, and released the inertia increase. Rising as fast as her body allowed, she dropped to one knee and swung the knife in her right hand in a horizontal slash.
Almost simultaneously with the extension of the virtual area, Lina felt an overwhelming interference force—unlike anything she had ever experienced—unleashed between herself and Miyuki.
(I knew it would be blocked. This is within calculations.) Dancing Blades!
Before confirming that Molecular Divider was nullified, Lina fired her next spell. The daggers she had scattered flew off at blinding speed, drawing arcs just above the ground to avoid the space dominated by Miyuki.
(In this darkness, four blades attacking from the flanks and behind—defend against this if you can!)
Sensing objects imbued with magic closing in at high speed, Miyuki canceled the attack spell she was in the middle of activating and switched to omni-directional defense magic. In her usual state, where her control power was diverted to Tatsuya's seal, blocking this attack would have been difficult. Perhaps she wouldn't have even been able to control such a precise formula. If she had challenged Lina alone, she would have lost... Thinking this, Miyuki offered a prayer of gratitude in her heart.
(Because Brother is watching me... I will not lose. I cannot lose!)
Seeing her intricately crafted surprise attack crushed by brute force, a mix of shuddering dread and fighting spirit welled up in Lina's heart simultaneously.
(Come to think of it, Dancing Blades was already broken by Tatsuya earlier. I knew it wasn't just a simple charm!)
Miyuki thought: I absolutely cannot lose.
Lina thought: I will crush her with everything I have.
And then, the two shouted at the same time.
"Miyuki!"
"Lina!"
""Here I come!""
Space froze.
Space boiled.
The magical power of the two rewrote the world, and two worlds collided. A world of Ice and Snow, shimmering with brilliant light. A world of Flame and Thunder, flashing with lightning.
Niflheim: The freezing hell where the very air freezes.
Muspelheim: The scorching hell where the air burns.
On one side, an area-of-effect magic that decelerated the vibration of gas molecules, not only freezing water vapor and carbon dioxide but even liquefying nitrogen.
On the other, an area-of-effect magic that decomposed gas molecules into plasma, forcibly separating cations and electrons to create a high-energy electromagnetic field.
Cold air turned thermal plasma back into gas; thermal plasma returned frozen air to its original state. The collision of their powers brought down a curtain of aurora borealis upon the earth.
Amidst the dancing polar lights, the clash between ice-snow and flame-thunder—which seemed like it would last for an eternity—saw its outcome decided in less than a minute.
"Urgh...!"
This collision had been taking place on a field advantageous to Miyuki from the start. On top of that, Lina was fighting her third consecutive battle, following the vampire and Tatsuya. Even if she wasn't consciously aware of it, fatigue had accumulated.
(At this rate, I lose.)
Reaching behind her back, she drew her weaponized device once more. However, attempting a multi-cast in this situation was a suicidal act, no matter how excellent a magician Lina was.
"That's enough, both of you!"
Shouting, Tatsuya pulled the trigger of his CAD. His Gram Demolition blew away both Miyuki's Niflheim and Lina's Muspelheim simultaneously.
"Technically it looks like Miyuki-kun's win, but what do we do about this match? She still looked ready to fight."
Yakumo asked Tatsuya, having effortlessly dodged the encroaching fangs of scorching heat and extreme cold.
"I cannot allow lasting aftereffects to remain. Besides, even if Lina successfully pulled off a multi-cast in that state, it wouldn't have reached Miyuki."
"You're right... I don't mind admitting defeat."
Lina admitted her loss smoothly. However, there was no sign of submission in her eyes; rather, they shone as if she had enjoyed herself.
"A promise is a promise. I'll answer whatever you ask. However..."
"However, what?"
"However, the answer will be 'Yes' or 'No'. I won't answer questions I can't answer with that. That is my condition. No problem with that, right, Tatsuya?"
"Fair enough. Even though you might have lost your life in the worst-case scenario, the moment I intervened in the match, the promise defaulted to a draw. I'll accept a condition of that level."
Seeing Lina wearing a lovely smile that hardly befitted a loser, Tatsuya could only nod with a wry smile.
(Author's Note)
This result will give birth to a certain situation later on...
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