Chapter 71: Unreasonable Request
In the observatory, the battle raged on.
Sarah’s wand blazed with pink light, her Heartstorm Tempest raining down on Gea in relentless waves. Each blast pushed the demoness back, but only a step. Gea’s dark barrier absorbed most of the damage, her smile never wavering.
"You’re wasting your mana, little girl," Gea purred, deflecting another volley with a flick of her wrist. "All that energy, and you’ve barely scratched ."
Sarah’s breathing was ragged, her transformation flickering at the edges. "I’ve got plenty left! Don’t underestimate !"
But her wand flickered. A blast sputtered and died before it left the tip.
Lisa’s eyes widened. "Sarah, you’re out!"
She sprinted to Sarah’s side, her mint-green wand glowing. "Mana Transfer!"
Blue energy flowed from Lisa’s wand into Sarah’s, replenishing her reserves. Sarah’s transformation steadied, but Lisa’s own glow dimd in exchange.
Andrey stood at the front, katana and staff in hand, his body a shield between the girls and Gea. Every ti the demoness lunged, he intercepted, his Damage Absorb flaring red with each impact. Lisa’s barriers reinforced him, but cracks spread across their surfaces with every blow.
Gea laughed, a lodic, mocking sound. "Is this all you’ve got? Three little mice, squeaking and scurrying? How disappointing."
Sarah’s face contorted with fury. "Shut up!"
She raised her wand, pink light gathering into a concentrated beam. "Love’s—"
Gea’s hand shot out. Dark energy wrapped around Sarah’s wand, squeezing. The pink light flickered, sputtered, and died.
"Apocalypse?" Gea finished for her, smiling sweetly. "How predictable."
Sarah stared at her wand, then at Gea, her eyes wide with shock and frustration.
Andrey didn’t hesitate. His katana vanished into the inventory ring, replaced by the white-and-gold pistol in a fluid motion. He raised it, aid, and fired.
The shot was precise, aid directly at Gea’s exposed throat.
Gea’s head tilted. The bullet passed through empty air where her neck had been a split second earlier. She hadn’t moved her body, just shifted her head slightly, the motion almost imperceptible.
"Close," she murmured, her crimson eyes gleaming. "But close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, little mouse."
Andrey didn’t lower the pistol. His finger remained on the trigger, his Ki senses probing for an opening.
Sarah, still catching her breath, looked at him. "Andrey, what’s the plan?! We can’t just keep defending forever! My mana won’t last, and Lisa can’t transfer forever!"
Andrey’s jaw tightened. "I’m working on it."
But his mind was racing. They were outmatched. Gea was toying with them, drawing out the fight, enjoying their desperation. She could have killed them already, he knew that.
’System,’ he thought, his voice urgent in his mind. ’Can I contact Sein through you? A direct link?’
System: Affirmative, Host. As the Magical Girl Manager, you can establish a ntal communication link with any contracted Magical Girl. However, the connection may be unstable due to the dark barrier surrounding the guild hall.
Andrey’s eyes narrowed. ’Do it. Connect
to Sein. Now.’
System: Establishing link... Please hold.
A mont of static in his mind, then—
"Andrey?! Is that you?!" Sein’s voice, sharp and surprised, echoed in his thoughts.
"Sein. Listen carefully," Andrey said, maintaining his outward focus on Gea. "We’re holding her off, but we can’t break through. I need you to coordinate with us. We’re going to use Synchronized Heart Mode."
Sein’s voice crackled through the ntal link, sharp with frustration. "Wait a minute! We’re overwheld here too. If we activate Synchronized Heart Mode now, it won’t be precise, and it’ll be wasted!"
Andrey sidestepped another dark tendril from Gea, his katana deflecting a second strike aid at Lisa’s barrier. "How bad is it over there?"
"Bad!" Sein’s voice was strained. "A lot of people are exhausted and have already fallen. That bastard Ernando is fighting at full S-rank strength while the rest of us are hobbled by the barrier. We’re barely holding the line!"
Andrey’s jaw tightened. "Change of plans. I’ll get out of here. You just hold on a little longer."
Sein’s response was imdiate, almost incredulous. "That’s an unreasonable request!"
"Can’t you do it?" Andrey’s voice was calm, almost teasing.
A pause. Then Sein’s voice, fierce and defiant. "Of course I can. Stupid question."
Andrey allowed himself the smallest smile. "Good."
The ntal link dissolved.
Andrey turned to Sarah and Lisa, who were both staring at him, waiting. Gea had paused her assault, watching them with curious crimson eyes, her tail swaying lazily.
"Girls," Andrey said, his voice steady. "Brace yourselves. It’s going to shake a little."
Sarah’s eyes widened. "What do you an—"
Andrey’s hand closed around the collapsible staff at his belt, its familiar weight settling into his palm.
"This is a serpent staff," he said, his voice low but steady. "It can stun an enemy’s movents. I don’t know how effective it will be against an S-rank demon, but it seems worth trying."
Sarah’s eyes widened, then narrowed with understanding. "So you want to stop that demon’s movents with that thing? But we can’t even scratch her with our own strength!"
Andrey t her gaze. "I’m going to perform Synchronized Heart Mode on you, Sarah. We’ll make that woman regret underestimating us."
Sarah’s breath caught. Her cheeks flushed from anticipation. "Fine. Let’s do it. I’m tired of being treated like a pest."
Lisa raised her wand, mint-green light flickering. "I’m ready. I’ll keep her distracted."
The plan crystallized. Andrey nodded once.
Andrey lunged first, staff spinning in a blur of Ki-enhanced strikes. The runes along its length pulsed with each swing. Gea evaded effortlessly at first, her head tilting, body swaying but Andrey kept pressing, driving her sideways, corralling her.
Lisa joined from the flank. Her Starlight Bursts peppered Gea’s barrier, each hit insignificant, little more than tickles. But they kept the demoness’s attention divided, her smirk fixed in place.
"What are you planning?" Gea purred, dodging another staff strike. "This is useless. You’re just delaying the inevitable."
Andrey said nothing. He drove the staff forward at the space beside Gea. The runes blazed.
The staff twisted.
tal beca flesh. The shaft coiled, scales replacing steel, and a serpent’s head rose from the grip, fangs gleaming. It wrapped around Gea’s torso in an instant, constricting, locking her arms to her sides.
Gea’s smirk didn’t waver. "A snake? How quaint." She tested the coils, finding them tighter than expected. "But still useless."
Andrey’s voice was calm. "It’s not useless."
He turned to Sarah.
"Synchronized Heart Mode : Activated."
Sarah’s eyes locked onto his. The system chid in both their heads.
System: Synchronized Heart Mode initiated. Affection Points will be consud to amplify power. Duration scales with consumption. Confirm?
Sarah didn’t hesitate. "Confirm."
Pink light exploded from her body.
Her frilly dress blazed brighter, the fabric shifting, becoming more ornate, ribbons of light weaving through the air, her wand elongating into a staff topped with a crystal heart. Her brown hair lifted, streaks of pink threading through it, and when she opened her eyes, her pupils had transford into gleaming stars.
Sarah gasped, her voice echoing with newfound resonance. "I’m... filled with power..."
Gea’s composure cracked. Her crimson eyes widened as she felt the surge of energy, pure, radiant, and aid directly at her. She heaved against the serpent’s coils, dark mana flaring, but the snake held.
"What—what is this?!" Gea struggled harder.
Sarah raised her wand-staff, pink light coalescing into a storm above her head. The observatory’s dark glass ceiling reflected the glow, the unfamiliar stars paling in comparison.
"Now you’ll regret underestimating us," Sarah said, her voice soft but absolute. "Love’s... APOCALYPSE!"
The column of pink energy that descended was unlike anything before. It roared with the combined force of Sarah’s power, amplified by Synchronized Heart Mode, focused into a single, devastating point. It struck Gea square in the chest, driving her into the floor, the stone cracking beneath her.
"Aagghh!" The demoness scread, the sound filled with genuine pain.
Andrey didn’t wait. His hand dove into the inventory ring, fingers closing around the last object there. The Mana Disruptor. Cold, pulsing with chaotic potential.
He activated it.
A wave of white-blue energy erupted from the orb, spreading outward in a frenzy. The observatory’s runes flickered. The dark barrier around them crackled and strained. The serpent coiled around Gea trembled, its form destabilizing.
But Andrey held on. He pushed the disruptor’s energy directly into the space around Gea, compounding the chaos.
The demoness’s screams grew louder. The pink light of Sarah’s Apocalypse still blazed, and now the disruptor’s wild mana tore at her defenses from within. Her dark barrier shattered. Her claws scraped uselessly at the stone.
"IMPOSSIBLE!" Gea shrieked.
Andrey stood over her, breathing hard, the disruptor’s light reflecting off his cracked glasses.
"You underestimated us," he said quietly. "That was your mistake."
The crack in the observatory’s dark glass ceiling spread like lightning, fragnts raining down around them. Andrey didn’t hesitate.
"Grab on!"
He scooped Lisa into his arms in one motion, then grabbed Sarah’s wrist. Sarah yelped, stumbling, but she didn’t resist. Andrey pulled her against his side, her pink-streaked hair brushing his cheek.
"Hold tight! Don’t let go!"
Lisa wrapped her arms around his neck, her mint-green glow flickering. Sarah gripped his shoulder, her transford wand still clutched in her other hand.
"What was that thing?!" Lisa gasped, looking at the observatory crack. "That item was so chaotic! Why didn’t you use it from the start?!"
Andrey answered breathlessly. "Because the demon could have repaired the barrier with her mana. I needed to wait until she was weakened."
Behind them, Gea scread.
The serpent staff was still coiled around her, but its form was destabilizing, cracks spreading across its scales. Dark mana erupted from Gea’s body, purple flas licking at the snake’s constricting grip.
"You think this will hold ?!" Gea’s voice was raw, furious. "I’ll tear you apart! I’ll rip your limbs from your bodies! I will not forgive you! DO YOU HEAR ?! YOU WILL DIE!"
Andrey didn’t look back.
He ran toward the edge of the crumbling observatory floor, the starlit void yawning below. The barrier that had sealed them was gone, shattered by the disruptor’s chaos. Beyond, he could see the grand hall—far below, a patch of light and shadow and distant figures.
"We’re on the rooftop?" Sarah gasped, realization dawning. "We’ve been on the rooftop this whole ti?!"
"The observatory is the top floor of the guild hall," Andrey said, not slowing. "The demon brought
here through a portal. Now we’re going back the hard way."
Lisa’s eyes went wide. "Andrey wait, what do you an ’the hard way’?!"
Andrey reached the edge.
Behind them, the serpent staff shattered. Gea burst free, her pink hair wild, her crimson eyes blazing with murderous fury. Her horns had grown longer, her tail lashing like a whip.
"You WORMSSSS!"
Andrey jumped.
The wind roared past them, cold and sharp. Sarah scread. Lisa squeezed her eyes shut, burying her face against Andrey’s chest.
Andrey’s Ki flared around them, softening their descent, but not enough to stop it entirely. He aid for the grand hall’s shattered skylight, a gaping hole where the ceiling had collapsed during the fighting.
They fell through.
Heroes scattered below as shadows passed overhead. So looked up, faces pale with shock. Others were too busy fighting to notice.
Andrey twisted in mid-air, angling toward a relatively clear space near the center of the hall. He hit the ground rolling, Sarah and Lisa tumbling with him, the impact jarring his bones.
They ca to a stop in a heap, coughing, gasping.
Andrey pushed himself up, his glasses askew, one lens completely shattered now. His body ached, but he was alive. Sarah groaned beside him, her transformation flickering but holding. Lisa sat up slowly, rubbing her head.
"You... are... insane..." Sarah wheezed.
A familiar voice cut through the chaos.
"Finally. My hero arrives."
Andrey turned.
Sein stood a few ters away, her crimson dress torn and singed, her orange hair wild, blood trickling from a cut on her forehead. Her gauntlets still blazed, though dimr than before.
Her green eyes t Andrey’s. There was no mockery in them. Just exhaustion and sothing else, sothing that looked almost like relief.
Andrey allowed himself a small smile. "Sorry to keep you waiting."
Sein’s lips twitched. "Tch. You’re late, Glasses."
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