Regarding the fact that my best friend is a magical girl

(Albinocotyledon)

Without warning, a wormhole alarm suddenly sounded, plunging the huge shopping mall into "orderly chaos." Although people had developed good evacuation habits, they still felt tense when necessary.

After storing my "trophies" in the electronic lockers in the mall, I took off my mask and put on my battle gear.

"Are small monsters following large monsters?"

The wormhole's three-minute deployment time was far too fast; this was unprecedented.

The idiot and the woman who looked a lot like Lulu hadn't come out of the lingerie shop's fitting room yet; at their speed, they probably wouldn't make it there in time.

Lulu showed me Seruno's physical stats, which aren't particularly outstanding for a magical girl. I vaguely remember there are magical girls active in the C4 area, but the wormhole opened too quickly this time. Just to be on the safe side, I'll go over there first to check the situation. If no one has arrived by the time it opens, I'll take over.

Having made up my mind, I adjusted my time flow to three times, braved the scorching heat, rushed out of the mall, and looked up to search for the holographic marker in the air.

"Tsk, 500 meters away?"

It wasn't particularly far for me; I vaguely sensed that it was a city park in that direction.

The speed at which a wormhole expands depends on the size of the monster. Most of the time, a monster's size and strength are linked, but there are exceptions. Small but exceptionally troublesome extraterrestrial invaders often appear. They are generally not strong, but their abilities can cause great damage to civilians who do not have time to take refuge... such as poison gas.

When I arrived at the park entrance, people were still fleeing from inside, and even armed police had just assembled.

"You're here! Miss Miluno, thank goodness you're here!"

Noticing my approach, the lead male officer greeted me.

I asked, "Officer, why did the warning only start three minutes before it was issued? Was it an oversight on the airship's end?"

"No, this wormhole is indeed much smaller in size."

hum-

The low-frequency hum that accompanies the opening of the wormhole has lasted for three minutes.

"I've gone in, everyone must have left by now, right?"

"Yes, I wish you good luck in your military campaign."

I don't like being flattered, but I still nodded to the police officer.

The wormhole is located in the center of the park's scenic lake. A towering blue beam of light has already connected to the world on the other side, while the other magical girls have not yet arrived.

It seems I'm the only one who can help this time.

I stretched my arms, then drew the two short swords from my waist, ready for battle.

Something fell along the beam of light, passed through the blue ring, and stood in front of me.

"...What is this? Is this still a weirdo?"

The figure was twisted like a wrung-out towel, but it was barely recognizable as female. She wore a pointed witch's hat that covered the upper half of her face, leaving only her scaly jaw visible.

"female?"

Because of her small size, she was able to open a phase wormhole that allowed her to pass through within three minutes.

...Over there, could it be that there are too many male monsters dead and not enough to go around?

The witch-like female monster held two short swords in her hands, the hilts of which were connected to chains. The slender chains were wrapped around her twisted arms, which were covered with silver-blue scales as if they had been twisted. Most illogically, she stood steadily in the middle of the landscape lake, the water surface appearing as flat as the ground to her.

This oppressive force is stronger than any of the strange people I've encountered so far.

I can walk on water, but by accelerating my own flow of time, not only will the air become heavier, but the water surface will also become almost solid. However, there is still a risk of falling in, since there can be no time to stop.

She noticed me, even though her hat was so high that you couldn't see her eyes. The chain on her arm had come loose, and part of her dagger had fallen into the water, creating two swirling eddies on the lake's surface.

What is this? A twin-tub washing machine?

Just as I was pondering her attack methods, a chain-wielding dagger, drawn from the water's surface, accompanied by a waterspout tens of meters long, attacked me from both sides towards the lakeside.

The impact was so powerful that even trees were cut in half by the blow, just like a typhoon passing through.

But it's still too slow!

Ding!

I swung my short sword and accurately knocked away the short knife that came from my left, dispersing it along with the waterspout on the chain... but a slight stinging sensation came from my face.

Tsk, it's a splash of water.

The water droplets from the waterspout are sharp yet tiny and imperceptible. If you hit these pervasive "water blades" at ten times the speed, even I would get hurt.

The dagger was just a decoy; the waterspout it created was the main source of its damage—a tricky ability for someone like me who excels in speed.

He looks like a physical warrior, but he fights like a mage, only launching ranged attacks from the center of the lake far from the shore. Is that short sword actually a staff?

Having suffered a loss from the first strike, I dared not take the second strike head-on, and used my speed advantage to evade its trajectory.

Should I try to charge in and decapitate them? If they have any defensive mechanisms, I'd just be running into spikes...

An association drone flew over.

"Miss Miluno! This is the Tactics Division. We are draining the water from the landscape lake, which will take about ten minutes. Please provide support during this time!"

So that's how it is. There's no way a city park could have a natural lake. This scenic lake is artificial; to put it bluntly, it's just a reservoir. If the waterspout wrapped around the chains weren't there, this strange man wouldn't be a threat.

but……

"Ten minutes is too long."

I've been a magical girl for a year now, and I've never been in a battle that lasts more than five minutes.

"Well, drainage will take time, after all, it's such a big lake..."

The tactician's overly respectful attitude made me uncomfortable.

"I'll figure something out."

The female monster's first attack failed, and she retracted her short sword into the lake to begin building up a second whirlpool.

Don't think you're safe just because you're standing in the middle of the lake. I also have ranged attack capabilities—though it's a bit beneath me.

I picked up a pebble from the roadside and swung it towards the strange man in the middle of the lake. Without even a whooshing sound, I hit the strange man's witch's hat, leaving a trail of fiery red light.

"Ugh!"

The taciturn eccentric let out a muffled groan.

It seemed to be working, so I started looking for suitable stones to throw, because the lakeside, littered with ruins, was full of handy "weapons" for the female monster's first wave of area-of-effect attacks.

My magic can also "accelerate" flying items.

The accelerated stone is not only difficult to detect its trajectory, but its power also increases exponentially. If I don't use too much force, the air will rub the stone away and destroy it. I can make it even more destructive.

The female monster roared angrily to the sky, and I could even see the sharp, razor-like shark teeth in her mouth... It looked terrifying.

However, the second flying stone was actually deflected by the chain.

What kind of reaction speed is this?

"Ow!!!"

Not only that, she began to wave her arms, and the super-long chains that spun at high speed pulled the short swords around her in a way that defied the laws of physics, mixed with lake water, forming a circular defensive iron curtain.

Like an egg.

Or perhaps it's... a cocoon.

Chapter Twenty-Two: Water Curtain Sky Splendor

(Albinocotyledon)

The cocoon formed by the strange woman shimmered with emerald light, continuously absorbing water from the artificial lake beneath her feet.

This is evolution.

Some monsters will unleash their second or even multiple forms during battle, and this evolution is usually accompanied by a significant increase in their abilities.

The small (female) monster was allowed to evolve after passing through a phase wormhole in order to launch a surprise attack.

An unnamed tactician warned, "Be careful, Miss Miluno, that sphere is gathering power inside."

"I can tell."

"I think we should wait until the lake water is pumped out—"

A high-speed water jet unexpectedly pierced through the six-rotor drone, and the tactical officer's voice came to an abrupt halt.

If we wait until the lake is drained, the monster will have already evolved.

The association's tactical officer isn't very helpful, so it seems I'll have to figure something out myself. However, I do lack the means to get close to the enemy. If we were on land, I probably would have ended the battle long ago.

It seems that we have no other choice but to use that method.

Gripping my two short swords in reverse, I crouched down, preparing to charge, but then...

"Miss Miluno!"

A petite, pink figure ran towards the park entrance.

“…Serno?”

She ran up to me, squinted her eyes, and smiled, "Oh my! I'm so honored that you know my name!"

Did just calling her name excite her?

Another water jet shot out, seemingly its only defensive measure in this evolutionary process. Seruno didn't dodge, relying on the protective membrane that opened up on its body to take the hit head-on... The power of this water jet wasn't that great, just enough for Seruno to withstand.

“I have a way to get Miss Miluno over there.”

"How to do it?"

"My magic can form an air cushion covering the water's surface, which you can step on and also prevent it from continuing to absorb lake water to evolve."

Although she has only just arrived at the scene, has she already figured out the situation?

I didn't want to reveal my trump card, but Serino's proposal was just right for me.

How many water gun shots can your magic withstand?

"Judging from the power of that attack just now, it can withstand at most two hits, but my shield can also be replenished. If she can't fire in quick succession, she won't pose a threat to me."

"Could you let the water gun pass through?"

"No... I can't imagine isolating myself from the lake water while keeping the water guns open... But I have another way, Miss Miluno, you can prepare to run!"