The ground began to fracture, a web of obvious cracks spreading across its surface.
Following that, towering pillars of water erupted, forming a simple barrier. Yet, the fireball's advance didn't slow in the slightest.
A pale blue electric glow surged around Misaka-senpai's feet as she manipulated magnetic forces to launch herself forward.
With her innate advantage in speed, Misaka-senpai, while calculating the distance to the magician in her head, charged straight towards him, even as the fireball drew nearer and nearer.
Reacting with only a slight delay, the water dragon beside Natsume-san moved. She felt she somewhat understood Misaka-senpai's plan.
Coordinating with Misaka-senpai's charge, the water dragon surrounding Natsume Sonoko surged forward, aiming for the magician as well.
The air, distorted by the intense heat, was just barely kept under Natsume-san's control as the water dragon continuously absorbed the thermal energy.
But the moment it made contact with the fireball, her control shattered.
The water dragon coalesced into a sphere of water that slammed directly into the fireball, instantly generating a massive cloud of scalding steam.
This wasn't the first time Natsume-san had her control over the air wrested away. Being quite accustomed to it by now, she didn't feel particularly shaken.
She simply continued manipulating the air, drawing the heat away from the red-haired magician's vicinity, hoping to tilt the situation slightly in their favor.
The blistering fireball approaching Misaka-senpai suddenly underwent a phenomenon akin to a pressure explosion near her, generating a powerful burst of steam pressure.
A split-second before this, a thick wall of iron sand had formed in front of Misaka-senpai. Instantly, a hole large enough for a person to crawl through was burned through its center, the work of the lingering fireball's destructive force.
And within that cloud of steam, a dazzling light abruptly appeared—a brilliant blue-white beam, strikingly vivid.
Fired straight through the hole burned in the iron sand wall, a Railgun shot erupted.
The piercing hum of electricity filled the air, the scent of burning metal permeating everything as Misaka-senpai's arm remained raised high.
Yet, this straight, unwavering beam of light ultimately halted several meters behind the red-haired magician, its trajectory and angle severely off, striking a tree not far behind him instead.
"Did she miss?"
This caused a certain bun-girl to gasp in surprise.
She had thought Misaka-senpai was closing the distance to rescue Meigo-senpai.
She herself had even prepared to provide support, but the sudden Railgun shot was rather startling.
But what shocked Natsume-san even more was the missed shot. Even if she was holding back, this Railgun was veered way off course.
After all, precision akin to shaving with a Swiss Army knife was a key factor in Misaka-senpai being a Level 5.
"Incredible speed," muttered the flame magician named Stiyl, furrowing his brow.
A projectile with an initial velocity exceeding multiple times the speed of sound, launched from behind the cover of steam and an iron sand wall—even he hadn't been able to react in time.
Unexpectedly, however, its trajectory had been significantly off-target.
Could it be that earlier shot was actually a warning?
This magician had come prepared, though. Runes pre-etched inside his clothing could activate a flame barrier the instant an attack like the Railgun made contact.
The downside was his outfit would be incinerated in the process, a far cry from Index's 'Walking Church.'
While only usable once, a magician's greatest taboo was staying still; he couldn't just stand there waiting for the next attack.
The Railgun had missed, but Misaka-senpai's assault continued.
The coating of iron sand protecting her was falling away like raindrops under the intense heat, but the distance to the magician was now less than thirty meters.
Stiyl began an incantation, and several fireballs of varying sizes materialized before him, only to be promptly extinguished one by one by the water dragon following close behind Misaka-senpai.
Natsume-san, reacting swiftly and without hesitation, caused the surrounding underground water pipes to rupture simultaneously. Countless new water dragons formed, charging once more towards Misaka-senpai's position.
At this point, Stiyl finally frowned deeply, one hand reaching behind him towards the girl, Meigo Arisa.
He had no intention of continuing this struggle with the two Espers; his plan was to take his target and leave.
He'd kept her behind him precisely to avoid her being harmed by his own flames.
His orders from the 'Necessarius' church were clear: swiftly confirm her identity as a Saint, and once confirmed, bring her back to them.
But no matter how he looked at it, this young girl seemed like nothing more than an ordinary student.
Thanks to his disciples' rash actions, however, there was no time for confirmation now. His only option was to extract her from Academy City first.
Stiyl wasn't worried about her escaping. He'd already set up a 'Barrier' spell at the exit of the pedestrian walkway—the only way out in the direction behind him.
Once he left through that exit, even Academy City's Espers would be affected by it, buying him more than enough time to retreat.
This was the preparation he'd made while his 'Innocentius' delayed the duo of Espers.
Although 'Innocentius's' performance had been rather disappointing—a Pope-class spell theorized to counter Saints, yet so easily contained by two Level 5s... it seemed to have underperformed.
But Stiyl had set up the runes in a hurry, and the flame golem's power fluctuated greatly depending on the number of rune cards used.
Meigo Arisa was right there, within arm's reach, yet Stiyl's grasping hand closed on empty air.
The girl who had been just behind him was suddenly yanked away by an immense force.
Misaka-senpai was now barely ten meters away, manipulating a few scorched fragments of a coin to pull Arisa away from the red-haired magician.
Back when she fired the Railgun, the projectile hadn't been a standard coin. It was a specially treated coin, coated in iron sand.
This coin had several deliberate weak points.
After the outer iron sand was completely vaporized, the coin itself shattered, carrying the iron fragments—which hadn't vaporized immediately—to a spot near Arisa.
In fact, worried the scattered shrapnel might injure Arisa, Misaka-senpai had deliberately aimed the projectile to strike a thick, sturdy tree first.
Because Stiyl maintained intensely hot flames around him capable of melting iron sand, any iron sand moving too slowly would be liquefied before reaching Arisa.
And liquid iron loses its magnetism under high heat, rendering it uncontrollable for Misaka-senpai.
This was also why Natsume-san had continuously doused Misaka-senpai's iron cage with water—to keep it in a controllable state, rather than just letting it cool and solidify.
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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.