Remnant Beasts usually build nests only in safe environnts.
To collect enough materials and provide sufficient magic power, most Remnant Beasts will pick a relatively hidden, food-abundant place to start building their nest.
This is also the main basis for many Magical Girls when they hunt pupa-level Remnant Beasts. They use this as a standard to locate potential nesting sites, waiting at these sites to eliminate those pupa that haven't had ti to build nests and cannot fully utilize their powers.
However, there are always exceptions to everything.
When too many pupa-level Remnant Beasts fail to build nests in ti and are hunted, and when too many pupa leave their nests only to be eliminated by Magical Girls or other Remnant Beasts, the natural law of survival of the fittest cos into play. Those that survive and grow successfully usually possess so extraordinary abilities.
And now, Cornflower realized that what she was facing was likely one of these exceptional survivors in the natural selection process, an elite of the survival competition.
This Remnant Beast was using the mucus available on-site to build itself a temporary nest.
In fact, this was also the first ti Cornflower witnessed the nest-building process of a Remnant Beast.
The liquid flowing from the Remnant Beast, from the buildings and the ground, and even the liquid dripping from her and Nina, started to flow in the sa direction as if they were alive. These liquids mixed with the ground dirt, transforming into a revolting yellow-green pus, swirling around this street block and rising upward.
The surrounding space seed to be stretched along with the constantly circling liquid. What should have been a space of only a few dozen ters in radius began to feel incredibly vast. The once clear street scene began to blur as if covered with a filter, and the colors of the buildings turned into a discomforting blue-gray with foam and bubbles continuously erging from the cracks between stones, wood, and bricks.
The entire space was lting.
Seeing the continuously spiraling and rising mucus wall, now tens of ters high and still closing, Cornflower realized that if this space completely closed, she and Nina would likely be at extre disadvantage.
Her thread magic armor couldn't inflict actual damage on the Remnant Beast's body, and her ruler's control could be easily shaken off by it. Thus, the only option left was the final one.
She let all her unusable threads disperse and held a pair of scissors in her hand.
This was the last resort.
If possible, she didn't want to use her scissors at this mont because once she used her separation ability, she would consu a massive amount of magic power instantly, and her magic power output would be too occupied.
But if she let the nest close, even if she used this ability then, it would be too late to recover the situation.
"Mo He, forget about your clothes, use your magic armor."
Healing her body with magic power, Cornflower tried to maintain her shape and speaking ability, instructing Nina, "Use your ability to fix an air wall on the path of the spiraling mucus, block it."
"Eh, eh? Fix the air?"
Surprised at Cornflower's proposal for a mont, Nina obediently nodded, "Okay, I got it!"
She stretched out her hand, focusing her attention while aiming her palm at the almost closed nesting gap, gradually rging the lting finger covers.
Click.
"Ah!"
However, before she could complete this series of actions, her body suddenly beca unstable, and she fell forward.
During this process, her lower leg bent like a lting ice block, and scattered magic particles floated in the air like snowflakes.
Although for a Magical Girl's magic body, such an injury wasn't a big deal, as even a broken limb could be quickly healed with magic power, in this situation, no matter how much they repaired their bodies, it was futile. Even the magic power used to repair would lt under the rules' influence.
Cornflower quickly supported Nina but didn't have ti to comfort her because if Nina didn't use her magic armor to stop the nest from closing, it would soon be too late.
"Do it!"
She could only shout like this while reaching out with her scissors.
The rules this Remnant Beast possessed were too abnormal, too powerful for a half-molt. At the sa ti, Cornflower found it hard to believe that such a rule, almost equating to "depriving a Magical Girl's ability to act," had no restrictions.
There had to be so overlooked condition for the lting occurring on her and Nina. If she could find it and avoid it, the battle could continue.
But right now, there was no ti for her to think about it.
Her fingers controlled the scissors to close while silently chanting the concept of "mucus" in her mind. However, when she tried to cut, the blade felt like it hit a steel bar and wouldn't budge.
Her total magic power was already insufficient to separate the concept of the nest about to form completely.
Realizing this, Cornflower quickly shifted her separation target to "magic power," but the blade still wouldn't move.
This was only natural. Her magic power was continuously flowing away, lting into liquid, while the magic power controlled by the Remnant Beast grew stronger as it controlled more mucus. In fact, it was the magic power flowing from her that disrupted the balance for the separation ability to activate.
Without more ti to think, Cornflower tried "nest," "self-control," "magic manipulation" in turn, but still couldn't cut through. Finally, she thought of a concept that could change the current situation.
--"Corrosion Resistance!"
Shouting out this term suddenly, the scissors in her hand flashed brilliantly despite the liquid almost entirely covering Cornflower's vision, failing to block this blinding light.
Snap.
With a subtle cutting sound, the scissors in Cornflower's hand closed at that mont.
At the sa ti, Nina, who was half-leaning on Cornflower, struggling to maintain her balance, finally focused her magic power at the mucus opening direction and clenched tightly.
"Grip...Grk..."
Liquid continuously spilled from her mouth like a drowning person as Nina desperately chanted the ability na to activate it.
Thus, the block of mucus finally stopped ascending at that mont.
In front of it, the Remnant Beast's movents halted abruptly as the scissors closed.
A rumbling sound grew louder from its interior.
"Rooooarrrrr--"
It opened its mouthpart, letting out the loudest roar since encountering the Magical Girls.
Then, the entire body completely rotted away.
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