This thought was more horrifying than the chasm beneath her feet. However, the Celestial just blinked, dragged the girl back to the platform and immediately healed up the wound on her shoulder.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“I didn’t expect you to help me.” The girl braced herself for the truth being exposed right here and right now.

“Why? Because you are an enforcer?”

“Um… kinda?”

“We’re in this together. Let’s go, we should keep up with the others,” Shadow said as he leaped to the next platform.

What did THAT mean? He wanted to deal with this later? Or did I just imagine he’d understood something? Be that as it may, Niji continued the difficult journey forward.

Having found a more or less stable piece of surface, the sorcerers finally reached their destination. Their target wasn’t the cute schoolgirl Mirabel had described: instead, a green-haired water fairy in a gilded breastplate stood before them, surrounded by a thick cloudy haze. The head of the mermaid witch was covered with a hat with a glowing green feather. She was clearly waiting for the intruders: her long and thick scaly tail was coiling, ready to smash anyone who would dare to approach the nymph.

“Sou desu ka…” Izumi adjusted his glasses. A surge of energy enveloped him as the Viridian fell into a trance-like state. Surrounding himself with a spiraling aura, he allowed the magical stream to overcome him as emerald fire was dancing in his iris. The All-Seeing Eye, Niji guessed—one of the most famous abilities of Sages. Then he began his report:

“Emilia’s mind is enslaved by one of the legendary artifacts—namely, her headgear. Her inner monster feeds on the power of the merrow’s relic and maintains the illusions. Deep inside, she wishes us no harm, but she will fight back. It is enough to take the enchanted item away from her so that curse will be dispelled, and we will complete our mission. Viktor, summon your shield and move forward to deflect her possible attacks. Niji, use a ring of fire to make her less mobile, and then hit the tail with fire strikes. Mirabel, watch out for mana. Shadow… you know what to do.”

“Understood, commander,” the healer smiled.

“Please proceed.”

“PRISM and M.A.G.E. joining forces, huh?” the Amber ran forward, protecting himself with a magical cover. Niji followed him, snapping the mechanism on her glove.

Izumi turned to the Azure. “Hitomi…”

“I can’t summon a single thing here,” she said as she shook her head.

“True. But there is that secret technique of yours… don’t you think it’s high time you used the sacramental knowledge of your kin?”

“You believe it’s going to work?”

“You keep your shikigami sealed, don’t you? That means you can invoke them anywhere.”

Hitomi sighed. With a subtle movement, she pulled a strip of paper with hieroglyphs from a garter under her skirt and brought it to her lips. She whispered something and threw her hand forward—and a stream of powerful energy turned the paper into a kitsune. Unlike her usual semi-transparent spirits, the white nine-tailed fox was made out of flesh and blood. Its head was decorated with a helmet, and its long paws were covered with the small plates and a crimson ribbon with a bell was tied around its neck. The servant looked at her Summoner with clever eyes, waiting for orders.

“Impossible…” Hitomi whispered.

“The fragile essence of this world just empowers it,” Izumi explained. “Off we go!”

Boiling aura of all colors filled the small universe. Flashes of scarlet elemental fire reflected in the cracking surfaces of the illusory world. Warm orange hue had become a reliable barrier that saved lives. Soothing pale blue light of healing spells gave hope of victory. Azure flashes of magic pierced the fairy like annoying needles. Barely visible green vectors indicated the right direction and helped them choose a perfect moment to strike.

Niji was seized by peculiar, if not perverse, passion. They were fighting in the middle of a ramshackle otherworld with a minatory Viol—yet at the same time a pure euphoria overwhelmed her, and each spell evoked an ecstatic feeling deep down her heart. Despite the whole situation being downright horrid, she divided into this stream of enthralling battle and stopped taking it for real: it was more like she was inside an online game, so Niji just did what she was used to in whichever setting she was in. It seemed so right and natural, like she was born for it.

The monster turned out to be cunning and tough. Controlling the space around her, the mermaid cast obstacles where it was least expected. Deadly rays were flying from the magic circle behind her, blocking the path from different angles. When the mages moved a little closer, she surrounded herself with giant spikes. With her rage unleashed, it was becoming more and more difficult to avoid her curses.

“Push forward!” Izumi shouted. “Sooner or later, her mana will run out. Hold on!”

Although they had never tested their teamplay—after all, they belonged to warring factions—the mages were acting as if they had fought back to back together for a very long time: all credit to Izumi, who was tirelessly guiding the flow of the battle:

“Viktor, get ready to block a massive attack. Mirabel, I need some mana. Niji, aim lower. Keep in mind that she must not be killed. Hitomi, on the right!”

Once again, the mermaid knocked the attackers away from her and threw a blackish purple clot of energy towards the Summoner. Kitsune blocked it with its body and fell, struck by the powerful shock. At that very moment, a hail of throwing knives fell upon the witch. A few of them slashed her hand and tail, making her hiss furiously. Viktor, who was standing closest to her, protected himself with a repulsing aura, and Nij was saved by her Celestial Shield popping up just in time.

Sensei returned from his trance state and traced where the knives might have come from—and then Elia jumped out of the thick fog. Her blazing, radiant aura was painful to look at. Tousled and dirty, she landed not far from the battlefield and headed resolutely towards the mermaid: the mere fire in Elia’s wet eyes threatened to incinerate the nymph to ashes.

“You! You killed my brother…”