—No. That's wrong. That's not a bandit. That's not a human, so it can't be a bandit. Yes, it certainly looks like a human. But I was able to activate Hexed Eyes off the mana within the barrier, and the mana I could see in that *thing* was not flowing like mana flows within a human body. In a human body, mana flows with air and blood, so you can see the heart and lungs clearly, and the blood vessels vaguely. But the only mana I could see was in its skeleton, colored a blood red, and its muscles, colored a deep blue, and its skin, a dark orange. I couldn't see its lungs, or its heart, or its blood vessels.

Natsuki turned to the thing holding an axe, and grimaced. "That's not a human, is it? A puppet? A corpse? A specter?"

Biting down on my cheek, I nodded. "If you wanted to create a fake human out of magic, you would need a skeleton to give it structure, muscles to move it, and skin to separate it from the outside. If all three of those are controlled by mana, then I'd say it's a puppet." I unsheathed my sword and stepped carefully towards the puppet-bandit.

"Yuki, stop." Natsuki's whisper prevented me from moving any further. "The one with the sword must be nearby. If you get too close to the corner, you might get ambushed. That's too dangerous. If we're going to fight, we need to have the axe one move closer to us. I can't even fire my magic if it can just retreat behind the corner."

Natsuki shouted out to the puppet. "You sound pretty confident, don't you? Then stop hiding behind that corner, and come here and fight."

The puppet chortled, but didn't advance. "I'd rather not fight alone against a demon, so no thanks. I'll wait for my comrades, and we'll capture you together."

Natsuki pressed her hands back against the wall and set to loosening its knots, but she wasn't fast enough. A few moments later, the one with a sword— also a puppet— and another puppet, this one without a weapon, emerged from behind the corner.

They turned to each other, and spoke in something which resembled language, but was clearly not.

"'UNEXPECTED_ARGUMENT $ INDEFINITE_SELECT $ \p -> p is { HAIR : COLOR_SILVER }'," the one with the axe said.

"'PROPOSAL (CAPTURE $$)'," the one with the sword said.

"'VERDICT $ KILL $$'," the one without a weapon said.

I did not understand the syntax, but I understood the meaning. My knees quivering, I fell back against the wall. "Natsuki... I..."

"Don't worry." Her voice was decisive. "I'll protect you. Don't worry."

The puppets started to advance. Once they stepped away from the protection of the corner, Natsuki pointed her wand at them, and cast three Firebolts in quick succession. They were beautiful Firebolts, far less wasteful than the ones she had fired before we had studied under Agnia— though they still weren't as powerful as even Agnia's second demonstration.

But the empty-handed puppet simply put his hand forth and cast three equally beautiful Water Lances, which collided with the Firebolts in midair and cancelled them out.

"If attacks won't work... then I'll defend!"

Natsuki cast a barrier spell, which spawned a barrier right in front of the three puppets. I could only discern its existence by the way it vaguely refracted light around where it stood. It itself was not particularly visible, so the frontmost bandit walked into it and bounced off.

"Hah!" it laughed. "This kind of barrier couldn't stop a fly!"

It swung its axe, and the barrier shattered silently.

"Another one!"

Natsuki set up another barrier, but the axe-wielding puppet broke through it too.

"Another one!"

It was futile.

"How much time do you think you can buy with these kinds of barriers? Or do you actually think you can stop us?"

The puppets, all laughing, advanced.

What can we do? Natsuki's magic isn't strong enough. There are two of them with weapons, so I have little chance of winning if I step forth. What can we do? What can I do?

If only Natsuki's magic was strong enough...

That's right! We can just make Natsuki's magic stronger!

"Natsuki!" I grabbed onto Natsuki's arm. "You can make a better barrier if you focus your mana more!"

"I know that, but..." Her face tightened up. "It's not easy to deal with both mana and spellcasting at the same time..."

"Then I'll watch your mana flow! Focus on the spellcasting, and listen to my advice."

Natsuki broke out into a smile, and nodded. "Okay. I'm counting on you, Yuki."

I opened my eyes wide, and looked closely at the mana flowing through Natsuki's arms.

"Natsuki, don't raise your shoulders... loosen your wrists... there's mana collecting in your right elbow... breathe more deeply and synchronize your movements with your breath... don't squint your eyes, and don't look at your hands. Look forwards, at your target..."

Most of what I was saying was more so swordcraft advice than magic advice, but... but it was working. I could see her mana flowing quickly through her arms, dyeing itself orange, and collecting in her palms. And— it wasn't just *her* mana. From the earth through her legs, and from the air through her lungs, the sparse mana of the environment around us was flowing into her arms. I've heard of this kind of magic, though I'd never seen it before. But Natsuki is amazing, so obviously she'd be able to use it!

"A little bit more, Natsuki! It's almost all there in your palms. When I give the word, cast the spell, okay?"

She nodded, and the puppets quickened their pace towards us.

"What, you think that you can make a better barrier with a few seconds of—"

The mana shone like sunstone.

"Now, Natsuki!"