CLANG!
CLINK!
The sounds of steel meeting steel echoed through the street as the throwing knives collided with the projected blades, sending both tumbling to the pavement.
A dense forest of knives soon covered the ground, creating a spectacular and lethal landscape.
"..."
Sakuya observed the way the projected blades shattered and dissolved into glass like shards the moment they were deflected. She instantly grasped the difference between their weapons.
Like a perfect copy of a fake, the daggers Homura generated were made of nothing but pure magical energy.
'But... the existence of those blades is undeniable.'
It would be a fatal mistake to underestimate them.
Even if they were "Counterfeits" forged from magic, they possessed more than enough physical mass to be lethal.
"I see. You're combining your firearms with these projected weapons to maintain a continuous stream of fire..."
"I suppose that fits your identity as an Archer."
As long as Homura remained unable to use her time-stop, Sakuya held the absolute tactical advantage. After all, she could still accelerate or reverse the time of objects, or even freeze a specific area of space.
Against such versatile power, a mere reliance on guns and blades would never be enough to cause Sakuya any real trouble.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
Several swords suddenly manifested in the air and shot toward Sakuya, forcing her to dodge.
SHING! SHING! SHING! SHING!
The weapons followed the trajectory of her movement, piercing the ground one after another until they formed a jagged line of steel.
'Her attack speed is increasing.'
'If this continues, I won't have the space to launch a counterattack.'
Forget about getting close enough to land a strike; without her temporal manipulation, even finding an opening for a single throw was becoming a challenge.
The process of that "Projection" was far too fast. The relentless "Firepower" was effectively suppressing her ability to act.
"Well then... why don't you use it? That power of yours to manipulate time."
Homura spoke with a cold disregard for her own magical consumption, her hands continuing to weave more blades and projectiles from the void.
She hadn't come here today just to lose a war of attrition.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
In the next heartbeat, Sakuya rotated her body in mid-air. She raised both hands and unleashed a flurry of knives she had been holding between her fingers.
Homura's eyes sharpened.
Even though the knives weren't aimed directly at her, she remembered how the maid had made previous projectiles change their direction in flight.
"[Illusion Burial: Night Mist Phantom Killer]!"
At Sakuya's command, the knives that had been flying toward the edges of the street suddenly swerved and converged upon Homura's position. They surged forward with a speed that exceeded the capacity of the human eye to track.
SPLURT!
The edges of several blades grazed Homura's limbs, while others struck deep into her vitals.
Yet, as the knives remained embedded in her body and her lifeblood began to soak her clothes, Homura didn't even blink.
She glanced over her shoulder to ensure Miyu was still safe before turning her gaze back to the maid, showing a complete indifference to her own pain.
'She can control the direction of the knives after they've been thrown. She can concentrate her fire and imbue the blades with temporal acceleration.'
It was a combination that was nearly impossible for any normal opponent to avoid.
Because the knives moved within accelerated time, the reaction window left for an enemy was narrowed down to an infinitesimal fraction of a second.
Any other human or Servant would have been turned into a pincushion and died instantly.
But to Homura Akemi, these wounds were far from fatal.
She didn't care how many holes were put into her body. As long as her [Soul Gem] remained intact and Miyu was safe, she was effectively "Immortal."
"!"
Sakuya froze the area of space around herself, caught between a fresh volley of projected blades.
She applied a reversal effect to the incoming steel, forcing it to retreat and create a localized gap in the net of fire.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
Once she was in a safe zone, she released the temporal lock. The swords and knives buried themselves into the dirt behind her in a single, synchronized thud.
"Do you understand now?"
"Regardless of what tricks you use, you will never be able to defeat me."
Sakuya maintained her elegant posture, her voice low and steady as she looked at the wounded magical girl.
"True. You have complete mastery over the flow of time. Your performance in that domain is undeniably superior to my own."
"No matter how I attack, I can't reach you. Meanwhile, you can use your power to move through my offense as if it were nothing but a light breeze."
Homura spoke with a natural, calm cadence as she reached up and began to pull the daggers from her flesh. She tossed them to the ground one by one, ignoring the spurts of blood that accompanied their removal.
"?"
Sakuya narrowed her eyes, unable to grasp where Homura's confidence was coming from.
The power to create weapons from nothing was impressive, but if those weapons never touched the target, they were as useless as a child's toy.
"Whoa, whoa. If you two keep making this much noise, you're going to get spotted by the whole city."
Josuke's head popped up from over a nearby wall. He looked into the empty lot and addressed Sakuya.
"I thought I told you I could handle this on my own?"
"Honestly, don't be so cold. Even if I'm just a student, I am still your Master. I can't just sit around and watch every time things get heated, can I?"
"Besides... I still can't believe that a little girl like that is a Master. It's beyond weird."
"Is she the one you mentioned? The Servant with the same temporal powers?"
Josuke climbed over the wall and landed in the clearing, ruffling his hair as he walked over to join Sakuya.
"Do you two have some kind of wish that you absolutely have to grant?"
"Because if you don't... just hand over your Dragon Ball and leave. There's no need for this to get ugly."
Josuke looked at Miyu, who was standing behind Homura, and tried to initiate a dialogue.
If he could help it, he really didn't want to be the kind of guy who fought children.
'The Master of Caster...'
"Miyu, how are we looking?"
Homura ignored Josuke's offer, her focus remaining entirely on the young girl behind her.
"Just a little longer... the recording is almost complete."
"Understood."
Now that she knew where Miyu stood, Homura turned her attention back to the pair in front of her.
"We won't be handing the Dragon Ball over to you."
"Hah? You're covered in blood and you're still talking like that?"
"Look, I don't like picking on people smaller than me. But if the only way to make you back down is to use force, then I'm willing to play the part of the villain for a day."
Josuke looked at Homura with a mix of shock and frustration.
From his perspective, he and Sakuya held every possible advantage.
The girl had sought them out, she was clearly losing, and yet she still refused to yield. He started to wonder if he was being too nice.
'Maybe I should act more like a proper delinquent? Maybe that'll scare them off?'
'Kids are usually easy to intimidate if you look mean enough...'
He fixed his gaze on Miyu and tried to contort his face into a terrifying, murderous scowl.
"I'll say it one more time. Put down the Dragon Ball and you can walk away."
"Otherwise... I'm going to have to get rough with you."
"And it's going to hurt."
His pompadour and his tough-guy act were certainly intimidating to anyone who didn't know him, but the effect was somewhat lost on a pair who had lived through literal apocalypses.
"..."
Sakuya let out a quiet, inward sigh at her Master's performance.
He might look like a thug on the outside, but underneath the hair and the scowl, Josuke was fundamentally a kind soul.
If they had simply attacked together, the battle would have been over minutes ago, yet he still insisted on trying to talk them out of it.
"The recording is finished, Archer!"
Miyu's voice was sharp with a sudden urgency. Sakuya and Josuke both sensed a change in the atmosphere.
A surge of golden light erupted from Homura's body, the motes of energy coalescing into the shape of a small, floating vessel.
"That kid is a Stand user?!" Josuke shouted, recognizing the manifestation instantly.
"!"
In that same instant, Sakuya felt a tiny spark of light leave her own chest. It was drawn through the air as if by a magnet, disappearing into the golden cup.
The vessel then divided into two, turning into twin beams of light. One shot into Homura's back, while the other flowed into Miyu.
Homura raised her handgun and aimed it directly at Sakuya's heart.
"Now then... let me see what I can do..."
"With the power to manipulate time."
BANG!
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]