Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 5 - Chapter 6

Fighting and Magic

Wednesday, November 18th

Maki stood in the center of the inner room of Koutarou’s otherwise empty apartment, focusing intensely on something. She was using her magic to investigate the mana pool in the room. After several minutes, she opened her eyes and wiped the sweat off her brow.

“I see. So the sword Satomi Koutarou used was created by controlling a portion of the mana concentrated here.”

From her investigation, Maki realized that there wasn’t just an excess of mana in room 106, but it was also particularly potent. It was just like the power flowing from the sword Koutarou had used.

“Only Rainbow Heart would ignore the chance to take advantage of this mana.”

The reason Yurika herself hadn’t used the mana concentrated in the room was because Rainbow Heart forbade the abuse of magic. That included personal uses of it, which is why she couldn’t use magic to prove her identity as a magical girl. But that restriction didn’t matter to someone like Koutarou who wasn’t part of Rainbow Heart. Maki thought it was only obvious that Koutarou would be dipping into the power in his apartment.

“But I never dreamed controlling only a portion of it would have that much power. If I could steal control of it for myself, I might be able to level the playing field in terms of power.”

Maki clutched her staff and closed her eyes again.

If I reused the spell Satomi Koutarou used... No, Sakuraba Harumi was the one who managed the spell, so I should be able to do the same.

“Analyze Magic. Modifier: High Precision. End: Casting Time, Four Times.”

Maki increased the precision of her spell and proceeded with her investigation. Her original goals were to check out the concentration of mana in room 106 and to flush out Yurika’s accomplice, but depending on the outcome of her investigation, she might be able to do much more than that. She unconsciously gripped her staff harder.

Just you wait, Satomi Koutarou! I’ll destroy that confidence of yours!

After the afternoon’s events, Maki now felt more hostility towards Koutarou than Yurika.

“Satomi-san, it seems like Maki-chan is investigating the mana pool in room 106.”

“Sure does. Maki-san is doing something suspicious in the middle of the room all right.”

“Satomi-kun, you must have good eyes to be able to tell that from this far. I can’t see anything at all.”

The three of them were spying on room 106. Yurika was using her magic, and Koutarou was just using the keen eyesight he’d been born with. But no matter how hard poor Harumi strained her eyes, she couldn’t see a thing inside the room.

“What’s the situation?”

“She’s probably investigating. I can sense green magic, the kind used for divination. There’s also some orange magic, used for alteration. That one is probably because she’s trying to take control of the mana.”

“What else?”

“I can’t see anything else from this distance using passive magic.”

Koutarou, Yurika, and Harumi were doing their spying from the roof of a five-story apartment building. But since they’d picked a building far away in order to avoid detection, Yurika had a hard time getting a grasp of the situation.

“Should I investigate some more on the premises even though it might get us caught?”

“No, we’ll need to rush in either way, so I’d rather get the drop on her than find out what she’s doing.”

Whatever she was doing wasn’t good, so exactly what she was doing didn’t matter so much as stopping her from doing it. Koutarou had decided that meant a surprise attack gave them the highest chance of success.

“I understand.”

Yurika quickly agreed. Since she wasn’t much good when it came to a fight, she left the tactical decisions to Koutarou, who had a knack for that kind of thing.

“So what are we going to do now?” Harumi asked her companions.

“It doesn’t look like we have a lot of time, so we’ll need to attack,” Yurika replied.

“In that case, I’ll charge in,” Koutarou said, following up on Yurika’s answer.

“Satomi-kun, you’ll what?!” Harumi asked in shock.

“We can’t let Yurika go in in her current state. She’ll keep her distance and support me.”

“Th-That’s true, but...”

Harumi was still worried. Maki used mysterious techniques. She’d experienced that firsthand. She couldn’t help being concerned about Koutarou confronting her.

“In that case, I’ll cast lots of spells on you ahead of time. If I wait to do it when you get close, Maki-chan might notice.”

Yurika pulled out her staff and pointed it at Koutarou.

Now that I think about it, she said her staff and outfit used to belong to that Nana girl...

Koutarou thought about Yurika’s story as he observed her now. It also made him realize he hadn’t properly apologized to her yet.

“Yurika.”

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry for not believing you all this time.”

“Satomi-san...” Yurika smiled and shook her head at Koutarou’s apology. “Life as a cosplayer this past half a year wasn’t all that bad.”

“Yurika...” Koutarou smiled wryly. It was all he could do in this situation.

“Besides, having you help me like this is more than enough.”

“All right. Then I’m counting on you and your magic.”

That part was essential in order for Koutarou to continue helping Yurika.

“Right.”

With a smile, Yurika began her incantations.

“Yes! I did it!” Maki cheered.

The girl who rarely showed emotion threw her staff up into the air with joy.

“It’s such an ancient magic that it takes a while to operate, but I should eventually be able to gain complete control of it!”

Maki had succeeded in starting to take over the room’s mana. That being said, it was a slow process. The part she’d managed to hijack was only a mere fraction of the total power pooled in the room, but it was all she could do in the short amount of time she had.

“For the time being, I’ve managed to stop the energy supply flowing into Satomi Koutarou.”

However, figuring out how to control the mana was a big deal. That was what had allowed her to halt the power flowing into Koutarou.

“All right, at least now I don’t have to worry about that ridiculous sword for a while.”

With the limited control that Maki had gained, she was only able to temporarily stop the mana flow, but that alone would produce significant results. If she could cut off the flow during battle and rob Koutarou of his sword, her victory would be all but assured.

“But to think I’d see a spell using the ancient Folsarian language here of all places...”

The magic language being used in present-day Folsaria was modernized after the old language had become obsolete. They analyzed and unified the magics being used, restructuring incantations so that they all shared the same alphabet and grammar, which, overall, made magic easier to use.

Magic using the ancient Folsarian language was said to have been the hardest to restructure. The language was not only outdated, but phonetic and ideographic characters had been mixed in, creating a very unique alphabet. It had very little in common with other magic languages, making it the hardest magic language to use.

“Just who is this Satomi Koutarou?”

If he was related to Yurika or Rainbow Heart, the magic language he used should be the modern version. But since he was using an archaic one, that indicated he was using ancient magic that had been passed down from a previous era and a different faction altogether.

“He has the brains to create master plans, he can use enhancement or alteration magic without a staff, and he’s a master necromancer. He also has considerable skills in close combat. On top of everything, there’s this mana supply system based on ancient magic. There aren’t that many people even in Folsaria that could pull this off.”

Finally realizing the full extent of Koutarou’s powers(?), Maki was taken aback.

“But I won’t lose next time. Now that I have control of this place, victory will be mine!”

Her sense of rivalry with him flared up once again. Right now, Maki’s enemy wasn’t Yurika, but Koutarou. And as those feelings stewed, a bell tinkled among the decorations on her staff.

“So you’re finally here, Satomi Koutarou!”

It was the alarm closest to room 106 out of the five that Maki had set up inside her ward to keep people away. The first four had been set in places easy to find, but the last one was cleverly hidden. It was an old trick, but Koutarou and the others were amateurs and had easily fallen for it.

“You’re too late, Satomi Koutarou! You too, Nijino Yurika!”

Which was why when they opened the door, Maki wasn’t surprised to see them.

As Koutarou opened the door and jumped into room 106, Maki was watching them in relative calm, certainly without any sign of surprise.

“You’re too late, Satomi Koutarou! You too, Nijino Yurika!”

“She noticed us?!”

“Maki-san! We’ll be taking back this room!”

“You’re welcome to. If you can defeat me, that is.”

“Then that’s just what I’ll do!”

However, Koutarou didn’t seem to care and dashed in anyway. It was normal to withdraw when a surprise attack failed, but there was no room for retreat now. If Maki kept control of the room, something terrible would happen.

“Satomi-san! R-Right, here we go! Angel Halo!”

Yurika quickly realized his intentions and pointed her staff at Koutarou’s back.

“Effect Release!”

With those two words, Koutarou’s body began glowing various colors. It was almost as if he was wearing a rainbow. Koutarou had been magically strengthened to the fullest of his potential, but in order to avoid detection by Maki as they approached, the effects had been sealed. Yurika’s incantation was simply to release the seal and activate the effects.

“I see! You’ve taken the size of this room into account and you’re trying to make this into a close quarters fight. In that case...”

Seeing the spells covering Koutarou, Maki saw through his plan and stepped back.

“Ah!”

With a loud crash, Maki broke the window and jumped outside. If Koutarou was going for a brawl, Maki had no reason to stay in the room and give him what he wanted. Her best option was to get somewhere out in the open where she could use ranged attacks.

“Wait!”

Koutarou dashed through the inner room and jumped out of the window after her. Yurika, however, slowly walked to the center of the room and stopped.

“Maki-chan left the room? But why?”

Yurika frowned, but it wasn’t because her wounds hurt. Maki was supposed to be trying to take the room, yet she was quick to abandon it and retreat. Yurika couldn’t understand why she had done that.

“Analyze Magic!”

But she figured it out soon enough.

The spell has been encrypted?! I see! So that’s what she’s after!

Once her magic told her what Maki was really up to, Yurika quickly chased after Koutarou. She didn’t have the time to undo the encryption. Maki’s first goal was defeating Koutarou and Yurika.

“You’re pretty good, Koutarou!”

“You too, Maki-san!”

By the time Yurika got outside, Koutarou and Maki were in the middle of their fight. They were battling it out on the street next to Corona House. It was normally a well trafficked area, but there was no one nearby thanks to the ward.

“Satomi-san, watch out! Maki-chan is after us!”

Yurika called out to Koutarou, but he didn’t respond. He was too busy dealing with Maki for that.

“Mind Flare!”

“That’s nothing! How about this?!”

Koutarou dodged Maki’s spell and unleashed a kick as he got close.

“Quick Cast Force Field!”

His aim was dead on, but his foot crashed into Maki’s shield of light. Koutarou’s body had been strengthened by Yurika’s magic, and on top of that, his limbs were covered with attack spells. It made his kicks far more powerful than normal, so when he made contact with Maki’s shield, there was an intense flash of light.

“Damn it, this doesn’t work either!”

The red light enveloping Koutarou’s right leg vanished. The attack spell cast on it had been used up.

“This man is better than I thought!”

Since she’d used magic to defend herself, Maki was able to react fast enough to be prepared for his attack. She then jumped far back and put some distance between her and Koutarou.

“I can’t use any big spells with him this close!”

“Not so fast!”

Koutarou quickly chased after Maki. He knew if she maintained range, she would have the advantage.

“Sonic Impact! Modifier: Touch Trigger!”

Koutarou’s right leg began glowing red once more. Yurika had used her magic from the sidelines to rearm him.

“The injured Yurika is supporting him from behind. She’s casting all of her spells on Satomi Koutarou to keep this a close quarters fight, which should put a magician like me at a disadvantage. A solid plan.”

If I wasn’t good at melee combat, I’d really be in trouble!

Maki readjusted her grip on her staff and quickly started on an incantation.

“Quick Double Cast: Acceleration, Tiny Memory Flash! Modifier: Touch Trigger!”

Maki’s body began glowing yellow and her staff indigo. She’d enhanced her reflexes and prepared her staff with an offensive spell that erased a few seconds of the target’s memory.

“Satomi-san, make sure you dodge that! That’s the memory erasing spell!”

Before the fighting had started, Yurika told Koutarou what she knew about Maki’s spells. That included the one currently cast on her staff.

“Correct!”

Koutarou and Maki closed in on each other, and the fight began anew. Koutarou was already in good shape, but with his physical abilities enhanced, he certainly had the upper hand in terms of physical prowess. But Maki used the long reach of her staff to make up for it. That included the troublesome spell she had cast on it now. Since it activated through touch, it worked for both offense and defense.

“Haaaaa!”

“Whoa, not good! She’s not going to let me close in!”

Koutarou was functionally unable to attack. Maki’s staff attacks weren’t too serious. Thanks to Yurika’s cooperation, Koutarou was able to dodge them. But because of the spell on Maki’s staff, just getting hit with it was far more dangerous than normal. Losing a few seconds of time in this situation would spell defeat. Because of that, Koutarou’s attacks were thwarted by the range of the staff. He couldn’t get in close enough to use his fists.

“Satomi-san, back away for a moment!”

“Yurika?”

Hearing Yurika’s instructions, Koutarou didn’t hesitate to lay off of Maki and fall back. As he moved to put some distance between himself and the evil magical girl, her staff swept through the air in front of him. He felt like the indigo light coming from the staff looked more ominous than it had before.

“Control Plants! Modifier: Extend Length Four Times!”

When those words left Yurika’s lips, the trees by the road suddenly began moving. She was using her magic to control them, making their branches reach out for Maki.

“Curse you, Yurika!”

Annoyed by Yurika’s intervention, Maki used her staff to smack away the branches. As she did, the indigo light covering her staff vanished. After touching the branches, the magic that had been charged in the staff was consumed.

“Satomi-san!”

“Leave it to me!”

By the time Yurika yelled out, Koutarou was already charging in. This was his chance, and there was no way he was going to miss it.

“Got you!”

Koutarou used all of his might to throw his right fist at Maki. She readied her staff to protect herself, but it looked like he just might be about to destroy them both.

“You leave me no choice but to use this.”

However, before Koutarou’s fist could reach Maki, a black disk appeared and blocked it.

“What?!”

And as he made contact with it, almost all of the spells cast on Koutarou dispersed. The few that remained were the ones on his body furthest away from his right fist—the one that had touched the black disk.

“Satomi-san, run away!”

The black disk moved at the same time Yurika shouted. It was absorbed by Maki’s staff, and the staff itself turned black.

“Surprised? This is your power, you know. Of course, I can only use a portion of it right now.”

“My power?”

Koutarou paused after hearing what Maki said.

“Maki-chan is controlling the power in room 106! So hurry up and run away!”

“So that’s—”

“It’s too late to run now!”

Maki grinned as she pointed her staff at Koutarou. It was the expression of someone convinced of their victory.

I’ve gotten control of access to that mana pool! Satomi Koutarou can’t use that ridiculous power anymore! It’s all mine now! In other words, I win!

In Maki’s eyes, up until now, Koutarou had been the cause of endless suffering for her. He made fun of her when she first transferred, and he duped her at the welcome party in order to gather intel on her. And worse, he interfered in the fight at the construction site where she’d experienced the bitter taste of defeat at his hands.

She was victim to several one-sided misunderstandings about Koutarou, and they were the primary reason she was so exalted by her grasp on victory over him now.

“Die and return to the soil of your homeland, Satomi Koutarou!”

That was a frequently used phrase in Folsaria, where it was said that the dead returned to the now lost lands of their ancient origins. But saying those words under such circumstances was the equivalent of handing out a death sentence.

“Lightning Lance! Modifier: Change Element, Darkness! High Concentration!”

Like she had done at the construction site, Maki created a lightning spear. However, unlike before, the spear was black this time and was becoming slimmer. As it shrunk, it got darker. Once it finally stabilized, it was like staring at a black hole.

“Satomi-san!”

“Not good!”

Koutarou tried to run away, but since the majority of the spells cast on him had been neutralized, he was now much slower than he had been before.

“Taaake thiiis, Satomi Koutarooooou!”

Maki unleashed the black spear against Koutarou, who was trying his best to get out of the way.

Satomi Koutarou, there’s no way you can dodge this spear the way you are now!

The spear discharged several black sparks and closed in on Koutarou.

“Quick Cast Anti-Magic Shield! Modifier: Maximize!”

Yurika used almost all of her remaining mana to cast a defensive spell on Koutarou, but she was too late. Maki’s spear reached Koutarou before Yurika’s spell could activate.

“Uwaaaaah!”

“Satomi-saaaaaaaan!”

When hit by the spear, Koutarou didn’t just feel an intense shock. He could actually feel his strength leave him. His limbs went numb and his body grew cold. Maki’s dark energy spear had stolen his life force.

“Ugh... D-Damn it!”

Koutarou fell to his knees. The spear hadn’t actually injured him, but with his life force stolen, he was weakened and unable to move.

“My, to think you’d survive a blow like that. As expected from Satomi Koutarou, perhaps?”

I knew a single blow wasn’t enough... But with this, the remnants of the white magic inside his body should be used up. The next one will finish him off for sure!

“Satomi-san, you can’t stop now! Run!”

“I can’t... My body won’t move...”

On top of her severe injuries, Yurika had now used up all of her mana. And after Koutarou had his life force stolen by the black spear, he wasn’t in much better shape. The two of them were helpless.

I-I at least need to get Yurika out of here...

Koutarou poured all of his remaining strength into moving his body.

She’s not the kind of girl that should have to fight!

But the best he could do was move the fingertips on his right hand. The rest of his body was unresponsive.

“Maki-chan, don’t do anything else to Satomi-san!”

“Surely you’re joking, Yurika. You should know just how dangerous this man is to us.”

Maki sighed as she created two more black spears. She was going to use them to finish off both Koutarou and Yurika.

I wasn’t able to control very much of that room’s mana, but it seems that it was more than enough...

As Maki pointed her staff at them, she was once again impressed by the power of the mana concentrated in room 106. If she could seize that power for Darkness Rainbow, they really would be able to shake things up in Folsaria.

“Well then, this is goodbye.”

“I-It’s no use...”

No matter how hard he tried, his body wouldn’t budge. Even Koutarou realized his defeat.

“Satomi-san.”

Yurika used her staff as support and hobbled over to Koutarou. Having used up all of her mana, there was nothing more she could do. Even so, she was determined to protect Koutarou. But it was a sad sight. She moved slowly due to the pain from her injuries. She wasn’t going to make it to Koutarou before Maki unleashed her spears.

“Farewell, Nijino Yurika and Satomi Koutarou.”

Maki hurled her spears at Koutarou and Yurika. Each one roared as it tore through the sky. But just when all seemed lost...

“Karama, Korama, spiritual energy field at maximum output! Focus everything you have forwards!” a familiar voice called out.

“Understood, ho!”

“Leave it to us, ho!”

Then two haniwas appeared in front of Koutarou and Yurika. They were none other than Kiriha’s servants, Karama and Korama.

“What?!”

As Maki’s eyes shot wide open in surprise, the two haniwas created a shield made of yellow light in front of them.

“A barrier?! But you won’t be able to block my spears with a single spell!”

“I suppose it’s a good thing this isn’t a spell then.”

As the spears of darkness collided with the shield, their trajectories changed dramatically and they flew up into the sky. While the spears had a great amount of power behind them, Karama and Korama deflected them with their shield. But Maki had barely been paying any attention to that. She was too distracted by Kiriha, who had appeared from an alley.

“Kurano Kiriha? There’s a ward in place, so how did you get in? And what’s with those clay figures?”

Maki was caught off guard both by the sudden appearance of Kiriha and by the power of the two haniwas that were able to deflect her attack.

“Sanae came to get us, and with Harumi waiting here for us, it was easy to get in.”

“Satomi-kun, Nijino-san. I brought everyone here as you asked.”

“Koutarou, are you okay?!”

When Kiriha mentioned Harumi and Sanae, they appeared from behind her. Harumi had brought everyone into the ward. Before the fighting started, Yurika had opened up a hole in it, and they’d had Harumi wait there to show Kiriha and the others the way in.

“Karama and Korama were able to deflect the spears because they’re used to that type of attack.”

The black spears stole the life force of a human. That was very similar to stealing spiritual energy, and Karama and Korama were skilled at controlling spiritual energy. While they might not have been able to defend against a normal spell, the black spears were right up their alley.

“But you won’t be able to defeat me by staying on the defensive!”

Mysterious allies of theirs have arrived. I’ve taken too long. What to do now...?

Although Maki had spoken with confidence, she was cautiously plotting her next move. But she didn’t have long to think.

“Agreed. You can’t win a battle without attacking.”

“Your Highness, communication through electromagnetic waves may be jammed, but it seems we can still use hyperspace communication.”

“...And attacking is my specialty!”

Theia and Ruth were the next to arrive, and Theia was quick to begin her offensive.

“Blue Knight! High convergence laser bombardment! Annihilate the enemy that stands before me!”

Theia used her bracelet to order her battleship in orbit, the Blue Knight, to start the attack.

“Your Highness, that’s too much!”

“That’s not true! Torturing my knight is punishable by death!”

“As you wish, my princess.”

Theia was furious. Burning with rage, she glared at Maki. Koutarou was her vassal, and lately he was becoming something more. Theia simply couldn’t find it in her to forgive someone that had hurt him.

“Quick Cast Force Field! Modifier: Maximize!”

With the way Theia was acting, Maki sensed something bad was coming and used all of her remaining mana to cast a defensive spell. Theia had chosen a laser weapon. Normally there wouldn’t be enough time to block something like that, but since the attack was coming from orbit, there was a slight time delay. Because of that, Maki was able to complete her spell just seconds before it hit.

The lasers punched through the atmosphere and rained down on Maki. Plowing through the atmosphere actually dispersed a great deal of their power, but they were quite a force to be reckoned with. Maki’s fully powered defensive spell easily began giving away.

At this rate, they’ll break through my shield! Hmph, let’s see what they think of this!

Maki used the remaining power she had gotten from room 106 and poured it into her defenses. As she did, her magical shield recovered and turned black. It was still faltering, but it held up against the Blue Knight’s onslaught.

“Wow. I know the lasers were weakened by the atmosphere, but I’m impressed you could withstand a bombardment like that.”

“R-Ridiculous! This kind of attack power...!”

Maki had now used up all of the power she had stolen from room 106 in addition to depleting her own mana. It was the price of maintaining her shield against the Blue Knight’s bombardment.

“But this is over! Blue Knight, fire a limited Genesis Buster!”

“Your Highness! Stop it or I’ll get angry!”

But once Theia tried to bring out the antimatter cannon, Ruth put her foot down. That cannon had far too much power to be used on a single person.

“Koutarou has to stand on the stage with me! We’re going to shout at each other, laugh together, and create a play together! And yet someone dared to harm Koutarou! I cannot forgive that!”

“But do you want to annihilate Satomi-sama along with this entire planet?!”

“Ugh...”

“Don’t worry. Leave the rest to me, Theia-san.”

Shizuka was the last one to make her presence known. She approached Maki without making a sound and casually swung her fist.

“I have no intention of forgiving someone who broke my window.”

Maki was skilled at martial arts, but she was exhausted after her fight with Koutarou and Yurika, and she had used up all of her mana that she would normally combine with her fighting techniques. In this state, Maki had no way of avoiding Shizuka’s attack.

“Kyaaaaah!”

Several consecutive blows from Shizuka ended with Maki slamming into the asphalt. Just a minute ago, she’d had an overwhelming advantage, but now she was battered and bruised.

I was too obsessed with defeating Satomi Koutarou and failed because of my greed...

After taking this much damage, even Maki had to admit defeat. She should have stayed true to her original objective of gathering information.

But this wasn’t all in vain. I was able to learn the power of the people around Satomi Koutarou. If I withdraw now, this will end in a draw!

But even in her current state, Maki was still trying to think of a way to escape Koutarou and the others.

“Which means...”

Maki quickly got back to her feet and raised her staff above her head.

“You still want to go at it?!”

Shizuka reacted by taking a stance, but no one saw what was coming next.

“...Thank you for everything up until now, Twilight Wing.”

Maki ripped off one of the ornaments on her staff. Seeing that, Yurika realized what Maki was doing and tried to warn the others.

“This is bad, everyone! Brace yourselves for an incoming attack! Maki-chan is about to use a spell!”

“An attack? In her condition?”

“Jeez, she’s so stubborn!”

“Karama, Korama, deploy the spiritual energy field. Protect everyone.”

“Got it, ho!”

While everyone was bracing themselves, Maki began her incantation.

“Sacrifice: Twilight Wing. Release Precast Spell.”

By destroying her staff, Maki released the mana inside of it in the form of a spell. A magical girl’s staff was her life. It was a tool required to cast advanced spells. If it were ever lost, it would take a considerable amount of time to recreate. So no matter how much power was stored inside of it, no magical girl would sacrifice her staff without a good reason. After being backed into a corner, this was Maki’s last resort.

“Next time will be different, Nijino Yurika and Satomi Koutarou!”

The spell Maki released erased several hours from the memories of anyone nearby.

“And that’s how I managed to escape. Today was a rough day, really,” said Maki.

Her voice echoed in her empty room. She was surrounded, but only by holograms. They were of the same six girls as before.

“That really does sound rough, Maki.”

“It might have been rough for Maki personally, but to us, this was a great success.”

“That’s true, Purple-nee-sama. I think so too. If Navy-chan hadn’t investigated this thoroughly, we would have been going in blind against whatshisface and a bunch of other girls we knew nothing about.”

Maki was in the middle of reporting the results of her fight with Koutarou and Yurika to her allies.

“So you mentioned controlling a portion of that mana, but how was it, Maki?”

“Hmm, I would say it was about as much as ten shots of your Inferno Fire.”

“That many?!”

Hearing Maki’s report, the eyes of the girl in red began sparkling. Her only true aim was to strengthen herself. Maki’s claim gave her high hopes for what controlling room 106 might mean. She couldn’t hide her excitement at the prospect.

“If a small portion has that much power, the entirety of that power must be massive,” said the girl in purple.

“Yes,” Maki confirmed.

“Even if all seven of us used it, it would still be enough to give each one of us the equivalent power of an artifact, if not more. It looks like it will take a lot of time to analyze though.”

As she reached that point of her report, Maki’s expression turned dark.

“But our biggest obstacle is taking care of the people who live there.”

“You mean that blonde girl whose attack took all of the mana you had to block?”

“I’m more interested in the girl using those two haniwas. Haniwas are cute, right?”

“There was also mention of a master of martial arts in their group, right? I can’t wait to face her.”

“You can’t forget about Nijino Yurika. And most of all, that man I despise... Satomi Koutarou.”

When Koutarou’s name slipped her lips, Maki’s otherwise calm expression distorted into a grimace of rage and she gritted her teeth.

“That man is a serious threat with his necromancy and the control he has over the mana in room 106. And what’s more, he’s smart. Who knows what trap he will have waiting next time...”

“Heh, what? Did you fall for him?” The girl in red teased Maki about her obsession with Koutarou.

“Could you not casually say something so ghastly? I don’t want anything to do with a smart man that manipulates others!”

Maki specialized in magic that manipulated the minds of others because she didn’t want to be betrayed. That was the life she’d known until now.

It started almost as soon as she was born in Folsaria. Her parents sold her off as a slave. Then as a slave, a group of other slaves she had been planning on running away with informed their master of the plan just before it was put into action. Her life felt like one betrayal after another. It was a vicious cycle she’d only been able to escape when Darkness Rainbow took her in because of the magical potential she had.

And because the ideal of betrayal was so abhorrent to her, Maki was fiercely loyal. But she was still afraid that others would betray her if she didn’t make them obey her through force. She had no faith in people. All she sought was power. That way, she could control people however she liked. When Maki saw Yurika’s trust in Koutarou, she felt nothing but disgust.

That man is the worst! He plays with others’ feelings. He uses them and then betrays them. I’ll definitely straighten him out with my magic!

If Maki was ever to fall in love, it would have be with an honest man that would never betray anyone. And what she felt for Koutarou was nothing of the sort. His despicable existence enraged her.

“Anyways...”

Maki, lost in thought, snapped back to reality when the girl in purple began muttering. She chased Koutarou from her mind. And as she collected her thoughts, the girl in purple continued.

“It would probably be for the best if we proceeded with caution in the future.”

The other six girls nodded their heads in agreement. After listening to Maki’s report, they all understood the seriousness of the situation.

“Maki, you should hurry and remake your staff. Gather as much information as possible while maintaining their trust. Since you erased their memories, we should make sure to use that,” recommended the girl in purple.

“Understood.”

Maki had no objections. Either way, she had no way of fighting until she completed a new staff.

“The remaining members should hurry up with their preparations as well. Granted, we can’t exactly rush the recovery of the wounded...”

The leaders of Darkness Rainbow, excluding the girl in purple and Maki, were all unable to act. They were either healing from their wounds from eight months ago, in the middle of rehabilitation, or training their successors. They still hadn’t recuperated from their battle with Rainbow Nana.

“I have some things to do on my end, so you’ll have to carry the burden on your own for a while longer, Maki,” said the girl in purple.

“Don’t worry. Having that man as my opponent is just what I want.”

“Don’t go too crazy, Maki.”

And with that as a parting warning, the girls surrounding Maki disappeared. The meeting was over and Maki was left all alone in her room.

Satomi Koutarou, at the very least, I’ll take you down before the others arrive!

Maki’s hatred for Koutarou boiled inside her. She had no intention of heeding her allies’ warnings.