"Ehhh?!!"
"That girl from yesterday... she isn't a magical girl?!!"
Illyasviel looked at the floating magical wand before her in state of pure shock.
She had seen it with her own eyes. Yesterday, a girl who looked roughly the same age as her had moved with a level of grace and speed that was almost ethereal. Using a series of elegant movements, she had systematically brought the "Rider" card down to its knees.
The way she had manifested those throwing knives out of thin air... there was no way she could be classified as a normal human being.
"Well... although my sister, Sapphire-chan, has repeatedly attempted to initiate a contract with her, she has been met with a firm rejection every single time."
Magical Ruby floated in mid-air, the wing-like protrusions on its head bobbing in a cheerful rhythm.
"But why?"
Illya tilted her head, her mind struggling to process the information.
"According to Sapphire-chan, the girl seems to have an intense aversion to the idea. As for the specific reason, well, that remains a mystery."
"It's such a waste. A girl with that much talent would surely look adorable as a magical girl, don't you think?"
Ruby chuckled, its voice carrying a note of playful, middle-aged observation.
'Why though?'
Ignoring Ruby's chatter, Illya found herself lost in her own confusion.
She had seen the girl at school earlier that day, but she had been incredibly cold and distant. Even when Illya had attempted to offer a friendly greeting, she hadn't received a single response.
Initially, seeing Sapphire hovering around the vicinity had led Illya to believe the girl shared her own secret identity.
But the news she was hearing now from Ruby made the situation even more difficult to understand.
What exactly was the reason for Miyu's resistance toward becoming a magical girl?
"By the way, we have a card to recover tonight. I suggest you maintain your energy levels."
"Ehh?!"
***
"Ugh..."
"What's wrong?"
"Hurry up and deploy the [Mirror World] reversal."
Standing beneath the bridge, Miyu looked toward Illya with a steady, unwavering gaze. Illya felt a slight sense of discomfort under that scrutiny, but the older girl's authoritative tone finally convinced her that Miyu truly wasn't a magical girl in any traditional sense.
"I can handle the card recovery on my own."
"You just need to open the pathway."
The bluntness of the statement made Illya want to pull her hair out in frustration.
She was being treated like nothing more than a glorified transportation tool!
Did this girl have any idea who she was talking to? She was a magical girl, not some kind of cargo plane!!
"Wait. Are you certain you want to let this child interfere?"
"She isn't..."
Rin Tohsaka looked toward Luvia Edelfelt with a look of serious concern, but she was interrupted before she could finish her sentence.
"Hah? What exactly are you worried about?"
"You saw that child's power for yourself, didn't you?"
"While she has rejected the contract with Sapphire and isn't a magical girl, she possesses a source of power that fundamentally defies our understanding."
"If I were you, I'd be more concerned about making sure you don't drag us down."
Rin's face flared red with indignation at the barb from her rival, but she found herself unable to offer a counter-argument.
After all, during their previous encounter with the Rider card, Illya had done little more than run for her life while the enemy was being systematically dismantled.
It had been Miyu who had arrived and settled the conflict in a matter of seconds.
"Illya, open the gate! We can't let her take all the glory again! You are a genuine magical girl, after all!"
"Y-yes!"
Miyu watched the two women bicker with a look of total indifference.
The reason she had rejected Sapphire's offer was simple. The experiences of "Homura Akemi" had left her with a deep-seated apprehension toward the concept of magical girls.
While she understood that magical girls in this world might be different, encountering the prospect head-on had made her decide to avoid making any hasty decisions.
Illya successfully activated the pathway, and the group entered the distorted space of the mirror world.
The moment they emerged, they were greeted by the sight of a sky filled with an incredible number of complex magical circles.
"Ehh?"
"Wait... this is...!"
"The enemy was waiting for us."
Numerous red targeting dots converged on their bodies, signaling an imminent and overwhelming bombardment.
FWOOSH! FWOOSH!
An impossible volume of magical energy began to rain down from the heavens.
"Oh no!"
The sheer speed of the assault left Illya frozen in place, her mind unable to process the situation.
Miyu let out a quiet sigh at the girl's inexperienced reaction.
[Sakatsuki]!
[Recorder]!
[Caster (Sakuya Izayoi)]!
The power of the [Stand] surged through her form. In a single instant, Miyu felt the flow of time around them begin to slow, eventually grinding to a complete halt.
The beams of light that had been screaming toward them were suddenly suspended in mid-air, frozen like statues of pure energy.
"Don't just stand there..."
"Hah?!! Oh!"
Seeing that Illya was still in a state of shock, Miyu offered a sharp reminder. Illya reflexively responded, snapping back to her senses.
Under Ruby's frantic direction, she managed to deploy a protective magical barrier just as the temporal suspension reached its limit.
"Did it... stop?"
Rin and Luvia watched the phenomenon with looks of pure disbelief. They had never seen anything like this.
At that moment, Miyu released her hold on time, and the suspended beams erupted against the barrier.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! This isn't good! The barrier is going to be shredded at this rate!"
Ruby shouted in alarm as it felt its reserve of magical energy being rapidly depleted by the intensity of the assault.
"Ehh?"
"Counterattack! Hurry up and attack, Illya!"
"We can't let the enemy maintain this level of pressure!"
Sensing their barrier was about to shatter, Rin shouted her own set of instructions.
"Raaah!"
Illya swung Ruby, unleashing a barrage of magical orbs toward the enemy in the sky.
BANG! BANG!
But as the projectiles flew toward their target, they were intercepted by a series of invisible, flat barriers that manifested around the enemy Caster.
"It's not having any effect!"
"Hey! She's gathering an even greater amount of mana! She's preparing for a final strike!!"
"Withdraw! We need to retreat for now!!"
Seeing that their attacks couldn't even reach the target while the enemy was preparing a devastating finishing move, Rin began to contemplate a retreat. Even Luvia seemed to agree with the assessment.
Illya was about to activate the escape mechanism when she heard Miyu let out another sigh.
"Make sure you protect Luvia-姐姐 and the others..."
"I'll handle this."
"Wait!"
Before Illya could ask anything, she was nearly knocked back by a sudden surge of wind pressure. Miyu launched herself into the air like a guided missile, screaming toward the enemy Caster.
[Sakatsuki]!
[Recorder]!
[Berserk (Accelerator)]!
The velocity of her ascent was enough to shock even the enemy, who immediately fired the massive accumulation of mana directly at the approaching girl.
BAM!
'Calculation... starting.'
Miyu focused her mind, constructing a specialized reflection barrier designed to interact with magical energy. She was utilizing the principles of [Vector Manipulation].
While her control was naturally inferior to that of the original [Berserk], she was more than capable of reflecting a straightforward magical beam.
The massive pillar of light suddenly warped and twisted in mid-air, its trajectory reversing completely as it was redirected back toward its source.
KABOOM!
The Caster's own barrier managed to absorb most of the impact, but the feedback was enough to cause significant damage.
The entity began to retreat, attempting to put some distance between itself and the strange girl.
She had never expected an opponent who could turn her own strength against her.
But just as she began to reorganize her defenses, Miyu utilized the kinetic energy of her own momentum to close the gap in an instant.
"!"
Miyu's hand made contact with the entity's chest. The simple touch was enough to disrupt the fundamental flow of mana within the Caster's form.
A moment later, the entire physical manifestation...
POP!
The enemy dissolved into a cloud of magical particles. All that remained was a single, lonely card with the word "Caster" written on it, held firmly in Miyu's hand.
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]
Bonus chapter
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