Pythie Frederica
To put it mildly, she was a monster. While exchanging strikes at short range with someone who had super-magical girl physical abilities, she made full use of her magic, her directions to the Lightnings were always precise, and Frederica could see no openings. Lazuline the First. Great to have if she were on your side; as an enemy, there could be no magical girl more fearsome.
Well…
She felt like when they had been allies, Frederica had just been thinking about what she’d do if she was up against her. Her existence itself was a source of anxiety for Frederica. It was actually a relief to be fighting her as an enemy.
When Old Blue stepped in, Frederica came forward as well. Frederica mistakenly assumed that Old Blue would back up, but Old Blue hit her in the stomach. Frederica’s counterattack only skimmed Old Blue’s nemophila flower decoration, and she tried to grab Old Blue, but Old Blue slipped away. The Lightnings swung down their weapons.
Frederica continued to watch unblinkingly.
Right before the Lightnings’ impact, Old Blue slipped into a gap among the group, and then the explosion happened. A barrier protected the Lightnings whenever they launched an Ultimate Princess Explosion. Frederica had heard that this attack had been used in the homunculus incident the other day where it destroyed all the enemies without harming the attackers.
Frederica didn’t for a moment believe she could use this opportunity to slip in. Old Blue wouldn’t let her do that. Even if she ignored Old Blue and defeated one or two Lightnings, Frederica didn’t want to imagine the toll that would take. Old Blue knew that. Regardless, the Lightnings would reorganize immediately. That plan was basically pointless.
But that was in the case that she eliminated a Lightning. If a Lightning had a mysterious change of heart and become Frederica’s ally, then what? It would no longer be just about one less of them. That would ruin the tactic that currently had her at its mercy. Frederica slid her gaze slightly upward. The star decoration on the end of her hat made a pleasant noise as it spun horizontally, then came to a complete stop. Old Blue also stopped moving.
She knew where Old Blue was looking. It was the star decoration that was on the tip of her head, like a Christmas tree.
No one who looked at it would ever think of it as more than a decoration on her costume. But Old Blue understood the true nature of anything at a glance. This—the decoration made of the tip of the mind-controlling rapier—she knew in one look just what a dangerous item it was. That was the kind of magic she had.
Old Blue’s right arm trembled. The movements of her fingers became even more intense. At the same time, the ground shook. Frederica felt fine vibrations through the soles of her feet. This shaking wasn’t due to the activation. The hypocenter of the shaking was closer than that.
Most likely, someone was digging underground below them. Frederica leaped. The Lightnings swung up their weapons. Old Blue came forward. She flung the star decoration upward, timing it to the moment she drew in the crystal balls that hung around them.
Old Blue was, to put it mildly, a monster. She had incredible processing power, pulling off not just two, but three, four, five, six acts concurrently. The directions to the Lightnings, combat with Frederica, use of her magic, dealing with the crystal balls—if she bungled any one of them, she would lose her life. But despite that, she was pulling it off perfectly with a cool face—so it would look to an outside eye.
“Monster” was a metaphor, and she was in fact a human. She had limits. Just her alone was one thing—but even if she used her subordinates like her own limbs, they were not her actual limbs. This was also a metaphor.
Pukin’s rapier was an extremely dangerous item. Old Blue would notice that. And she would try to deal with it. She had to. Of course. It would send things awry if she were to use it on a Lightning. And if even one thing went awry, then it was bound to be over.
Noticing the danger, she was able to respond rapidly. Normally, this would be wonderful. But that was just what Frederica had been aiming for—to go over her capacity. Pukin’s rapier, the crystal balls, and in addition to that, someone from somewhere-or-other was very kindly announcing their presence with vibrations from the ground. Being purely vibrations from the ground, there was nothing to be seen. She would be unable to grasp its true nature, and that would increase the burden on her.
First, the meteor swarm of the crystal balls arrived, and next the Lightnings did an Ultimate Princess Explosion. Frederica did not resist, leaping from the impact of the blast, flying over a crater, and zooming from one surviving crystal ball to the next.
✦ ✦ ✦
Drill Dory
The intense shaking even reached them underground. It was not the shaking from below that had been ongoing since a bit ago, it was shaking from above. From the sounds, she could tell what was happening. It was continuous explosions.
Arlie put up a fuss, but Dory recognized this attack: Ultimate Princess Explosions. Multiple attacks were happening, some at the same time.
Another explosion occurred, and then another. This time, the shaking came from below, too.
Dory changed directions—even deeper, and detouring. She couldn’t have her and Arlie getting dug up by an explosion. A barrier kept the attackers safe, but anyone else nearby would just get hit. Both Arlie and Dory could use Ultimate Princess Explosion, but they’d still get hurt.
Dory’s strategy of cajoling Arlie into casually leaving had failed because they were firmly covered by the barrier, even underground. So then she changed direction and tried to get away from the battlefield, and for some reason, they passed right under an intense battle. Dory could only assume that, rather than her getting the direction she should go wrong, the intense battle had come to them.
Thinking they just had to keep going, she was digging through the sand and dirt, when right ahead, something like a plant’s root—even thicker than Dory’s torso, though—was extending upward from below. Arlie wailed. Dory got in a panic and changed direction yet again.
She just had to get away from here. This place was no good. Giving the wailing Arlie’s head a whap, Dory spun her drill and started moving forward.