69novels Page 117
Page 117
The humans in this world possess a certain amount of magic. In areas with a large number of humans, a magical field is generated that prevents weaker demons from approaching easily. Even for powerful demons, hunting so many humans at once is not an easy task.
Therefore, it seems quite strange that Arisu Akari and 3904 disappeared without a trace.
Arisu Akari herself is a magical girl, and the place where she disappeared was a stage rehearsal venue, where there were no fewer than twenty staff members, a place that ordinary monsters would not easily set foot in.
The disappearance of 3904 seems even more absurd.
That was under the supervision of Ayasa Terasaki.
Right under the nose of a magic user who, although retired, has not lost any of his abilities and has even made great progress due to the interruption of his magical studies and research.
Although Terasaki Ayasa may seem unreliable at times, the fact that she was able to create a barrier that envelops the entire Miracle City and gain the approval of the rules speaks volumes about her skill level.
Logically speaking, no monster should be able to abduct 3904 right under her nose.
So what exactly is going on now...?
Yuri Takajo was puzzled; she had never felt that the few minutes leading up to the end of school had been so long.
As soon as the bell rang, she wanted to go with Hitomi Tono to Terasaki Ayasa's place, but the pink-haired idiot hurriedly sent a telepathic message: "[Yuri, I'm going to find the Guardians, you go ahead by yourself!]"
Takajo Yuri paused, her feelings a mix of emotions: 【Okay.】
Hitomi Tono is the only one among them who is able to contact the Guardian, so it's no surprise that they'll gradually grow closer.
Yuri Takajo had recently gotten used to going to work with Akari Arisu, but now that Akari had disappeared, she no longer had a temporary partner.
But now is not the time to think about these things. Let's go to the clinic first.
Yuri Takajo hurriedly walked out of the classroom, but suddenly saw Hitomi Tono, who should have rushed out to find the Guardian, bump into Mayumi Haga, whom she hadn't spoken to much in the past few days.
--not good.
Yuriko Takajo was unaware of the "Guardian's" true identity, so in her eyes, the way Hitomi Tono and Mayumi Haga talked was just like Hitomi Tono having an urgent matter but running into an important acquaintance and not being able to immediately cover it up.
We need to find a way to get Mayumi away first...
Thinking this, Yuri Takajo quickly walked forward and patted Mayumi Haga on the shoulder: "Mayumi-kun, you're here! I've been looking for you for so long."
Haga Mayumi:?
Don't think she didn't hear their telepathic communication. Wasn't she in a hurry to get to Terasaki Ayasa's place? She needs to contact her...
……ah.
Mayumi Haga and Hitomi Tono exchanged a glance.
Bad food.
Yuri Takajo is unaware that Mayumi Haga is a Guardian, so when she encounters a seemingly ordinary friend (Mayumi Haga) who is unaware of her secret identity and is causing trouble for Hitomi Tono, she instinctively comes to her rescue.
Mayumi Haga sorted out the relationships: ...
The problem lies with myself.
She and Yuri Takajo were just casual friends; they only became closer thanks to Hitomi Tono, who acted as a unifying force. It's understandable that she didn't want to reveal her identity.
The most important thing right now is to get both of them to the clinic as soon as possible; it doesn't matter if I go a little later.
So Mayumi Haga nodded slightly to Hitomi Tono, then turned her attention to Yuri Takajo and asked, "What is it?"
"Mayumi-kun, come with me for a second..." Takajo Yuri didn't seem to be good at lying, nor could she hide her expression at all. She blinked rapidly to let Tono Hitomi go first, and she would come over after sending Haga Mayumi away.
Mayumi Haga, who witnessed everything: ...
When will this poorly acted farce end?
However, I'll just have to go along with it for now.
Based on the telepathic communication she just received between Terasaki Ayasa and another person, Takajo Yuri in front of her could very well become the target of the spirit's disappearance.
To confirm their suspicions, Mayumi Haga and Yuri Takajo walked behind.
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Yuri Takajo apologized to Mayumi Haga: "I'm so sorry, Hitomi had something urgent to do, so I just..."
As expected, she was a good girl who couldn't keep a secret. Before she even got halfway there, Takajo Yuri couldn't help but apologize to Haga Mayumi, who had been sent away.
Mayumi Haga remained unmoved: "I know."
These words left Takajo Yuri speechless.
Although Mayumi Haga didn't seem to mean it by saying that, and didn't seem to care about their tendency to ignore her, Yuri Takajo still felt guilty.
Both Hitomi Tono and I are magical girls, and we tend to abandon our friends in emergencies... The work and daily life of magical girls have long been out of balance, and if it weren't for Mayumi Haga being an incredibly tolerant person, this friendship might have already ended.
Mayumi seems quite reliable; she's definitely not the kind of trustworthy person who would spread her secret identity around. It's not good to keep it a secret forever.
After this matter is over, I still need to discuss it with Hitomi and find a time to tell Mayumi the truth.
We need to have a good talk.
I'll reveal a little bit now... that should be fine, right?
"...Mayumi-kun, it's like this... Eh? Where is she?"
Out of guilt for neglecting Mayumi Haga for too long, Yuri Takajo wanted to reveal something, but after hesitating for a long time, she suddenly realized that the person who should have been walking beside her was nowhere to be seen.
The surrounding scenery was still the same road I walked to and from school, but after turning a corner, a thick white fog appeared out of nowhere.
She stood there, stunned.
Main text: Chapter 185 Mayumi-kun?
...Mayumi, who was just next to me a moment ago, has suddenly disappeared?!
Yuri Takajo didn't even sense anything unusual, and Mayumi Haga didn't make a sound either; they simply vanished right before her eyes.
What should we do now?
Seeing someone she knew suddenly disappear from her sight, Takajo Yuri was indeed a little flustered at first, but after a brief moment of helplessness, she forced herself to calm down and think things through.
First, memorize the surrounding environment and see if there is anything special about it. Then, quickly go to Terasaki-senpai and report this matter.
First, there's the location.
This is a residential area, and many students usually walk on this road, but it's club activity time now, so most people probably haven't left school yet, and there are very few people here. Just now, it was just me and Mayumi walking along the road.
Then there's the time... There's still some time before dusk.
Although the location was roughly correct, the time was still a bit different from the legendary evening, which Takajo Yuri really couldn't understand.
She hurriedly used her image-capturing magic to record what had just happened, carefully capturing the surrounding environment in the photos. Then, she quickly found a secluded spot, transformed, and prepared to leave immediately.
However, the invisible hand that had vanished from sight did not seem to intend to let her go.
The vast white mist seemed to come to its senses, suddenly contracting and enveloping her just before she took off. Before she could even send out a message, she lost consciousness.
Following the "ordinary person" Mayumi Haga, the "magical girl" Yuri Takajo was also pulled into the other world by the spirit.
The moment the golden magical girl disappeared from the surface world, Sugiyama Rika seemed to sense something.
While processing the magical materials in her hands, Sugiyama Rika frowned, casually put the obsidian ring on the table into her pocket, and then locked onto the teleportation location that Terasaki Ayasa had specially set for her.
I had a bad feeling... Anyway, I should go find Ayasa and tell her the information I found.
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"...Hey! Iris...no, Yuri Takajo, are you alright?" A panicked voice came from the face, but it sounded muffled and distorted, as if it were coming from across the water or through a different medium. Yuri Takajo couldn't immediately tell whose voice it was.
...I can't breathe...I need to breathe...!
Yuri Takajo felt as if something was covering her face, like a thin film, making it hard for her to breathe. The familiar person beside her was also desperately tearing at this suffocating layer.
After a frantic struggle of more than ten seconds, the two finally managed to peel the thin film off Takajo Yuri's face when she was holding her breath so hard that she was seeing stars.
"Huff...! Huff, huff..." Fresh air finally rushed into her lungs, pulling Takajo Yuri back from the shadows where she was almost suffocating. Her previously blurry vision gradually cleared, and after her mind became slightly clearer, she recognized the person who had saved her, "Tenran?"
The blue-haired, bespectacled girl who appeared before them was none other than the magical girl Azumi—Arisu Akari, who had previously disappeared.
Wait, since Tianlan is here, that means...
"Is this the world after the ghosts disappear?" Yuri Takajo looked at Akari Arisu in astonishment, and the latter nodded solemnly to her.
The world after the spirit disappears, also known as the inner world, is actually very different from the real world.
Although it is still in "Miracle City" in general, Miracle City is dilapidated everywhere, with many traces of magical destruction. Only the residential area where the two are located looks better. Places near the city center shopping mall, which are frequently attacked, have been razed to the ground.
Even in the very center of the city, a huge, bottomless pit appeared.
Unbeknownst to the two, this was the "inner world," the counterpart to the outer world they lived in.
Here, the world presents a completely different, true hue from its surface, and all the destruction suffered by the surface world is transferred here. Of course, the items on the shop shelves are updated regularly, so at least there's no need to worry about starving.
Here, the magical girl's magic is suppressed to the point that it is difficult to flow smoothly, and maintaining the transformed state consumes a huge amount of energy. It is best to save that little bit of magic for when encountering monsters.
That's right, the underworld is also a place where monsters are born.
The damage caused to the surface world, and the residual magical fluctuations, will form magical elemental creatures in this world that have no independent consciousness and only rely on instinct to attack humans.
Like magical girls, these monsters also experience a significant decrease in strength when they enter the surface world due to the incompatibility of their magical abilities. However, in their home turf, the abilities of high-level monsters are unbelievably powerful.
Especially when the magical girl is suppressed, the difference in strength becomes even more obvious.
Arisu Akari shared all the information she knew with Takajo Yuri.
Yuri Takajo was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information she received in such a short time. As she tried to process it, she suddenly realized something: "Arisu Juri, you only arrived here half a day before me, where did you get so much information from?"
"Half a day...?" Arisu Akari was bewildered, then realized what she meant and said urgently, "But I've been here for two days already!"
Is there a significant difference between the flow of time here and in the real world?
Yuri Takajo couldn't understand it either, but she suddenly realized that Mayumi Haga, who had no ability to protect herself, had also come in. She immediately grabbed Arisu Akari's arm anxiously and asked, "Arisu Akari-san, have you met anyone else these past two days?"
“When I first came in, I met 3904. She kept avoiding me, so I couldn’t talk to her,” Arisu Akari said. “And the white-haired guardian, she came yesterday.”
"Did you see my friend?" Yuri Takajo gripped her hand tighter. "He's an ordinary person, probably this much taller than you, with short black hair, and he probably wears glasses too..."
Akari Arisu shook her head: "I didn't see her."
But this shouldn't be happening.
If they were just ordinary people, they probably wouldn't have been able to disappear without a trace.
Last night, Arisu Akari learned some of the true rules of this world from that elusive guardian.
First of all, everyone bleeds in this world.
They are no longer protected by the rules of harmony.
Secondly, the targets this world chooses to devour are those who "can cause abnormal fluctuations in magical power".
Recently, the spiritual veins of Miracle City were partially damaged, causing a partial overlap between the two worlds. The higher a person's spiritual value, the more easily they will sense this world and thus accidentally enter it.
If they are just an ordinary person, then they must have a great talent for magic.
There must be something special about this place that led them to come here.
Upon hearing this deduction, Yuri Takajo seemed to fall into thought: "The special thing..."
What's special about Mayumi-kun...?
As I was pondering this, a strange melody suddenly drifted from afar.
A melodious female voice was humming something softly, the sound ethereal, and it was clear that she was gradually approaching.
"This isn't the time to discuss this, Takajo. Come with me first, let's find a safe place to recover our strength." Arisu Akari instinctively became alert.
As the guardian had instructed her, the variety of monsters in this world was beyond her imagination, and she was told to leave immediately if she encountered any strange noises.
She had intended to pull Yuri away, but the singing was indeed quite pervasive. Even though they were quite far apart, it still managed to reach their ears.
After listening to just a couple of sentences, I suddenly felt my eyelids starting to droop.
A strange illusion seemed to be playing out before my eyes—the cheers of the crowd below the stage, and the warm moments the three of us shared…
All I saw was the two magical girls' eyes gradually becoming vacant as they stood up in the direction from which the singing was coming, and they wanted to walk in that direction.
"【——】，【————】、【————-】——"
Another voice suddenly joined the monster's solo. The person, who usually spoke in a low and hoarse voice, now sang with a clear and dignified tone.
Her pronunciation was different from usual; it was the language of the Guardian's original world, with a unique charm and intonation. There were no special techniques involved; she simply found a tune she often hummed during her travels and combined it with the water nymph chanting words she had memorized.
The monster's overly delicate singing voice was immediately drowned out by the guardian lady who suddenly joined the chorus, and it was obvious that the monster stumbled.
Of course, anyone would feel awkward if someone suddenly joined them in a chorus.