Whose youth romance story begins with a witch's trial?!

Two bullets exploded and flew towards the bushes not far away. Before anyone could ask Chang Rong what she was doing, a 'wreck' holding a parasol and wearing a long lace dress embroidered with withered flowers slowly emerged from the bushes. There were even bullet holes left in her chest cavity and mask area.

"That, that's the wreckage...!? Chang Rong, how did you see it...!" Kurobe Nanoha's pupils constricted. The 'inhuman' aura emanating from that thing was far too strong; even just looking at it caused a sense of resistance.

"I don't know either! I seem to know its attack methods and hiding places quite well, and... uh, I also seem to be very good at secretly stealing your and Rhea-sama's equipment?"

Chang Rong awkwardly turned her head away. She had just done it on a whim, throwing her sword at Leia and her spear with practiced ease, as if she had done it more than once before.

"Hiss, hiss hiss..."

"Roar! Roar! Roar—!!"

The moment the guard with the headband saw the 'young lady's remains', he rushed forward.

Bang!

A deafening roar erupted from the point where the two wreckage pieces collided, followed by a continuous series of sounds of flesh colliding and tearing apart.

"Big sister! Let me help you—uh, no, I can't aim properly like this...!"

Nanoha took the magic spear back from Chang Rong and raised it high, but she couldn't pull the trigger. On the other side of the mechanical cat gadget, two things that had long since become inhuman were fighting and dismantling each other. Their distorted shapes and movements made it impossible for Nanoha to pull the trigger.

Not only Nanoha Kaori, but almost everyone was stunned. The scale and intensity of the battle before them exceeded everyone's expectations.

The headband-wielding guard swung his scythe relentlessly at the 'young lady,' but she either chose to withstand the blows head-on or used her plant vines to forcefully twist the angle of her attacks. Then, she swung her backhand, using the spikes on her body to pierce through the headband-wielding guard.

There was no set pattern or routine; it was as if two hurricanes had collided, unconditionally tearing apart and shattering everything around them that was swept in.

"This...this is a battle between veterans...?" Hannah Tohno's eyes widened; the terrifying scene far exceeded her expectations. The difference in purity was too great...she didn't even have the right to interfere.

"How terrifying! I'm going to punch that guy. If I accidentally get stabbed through, remember to heal him!"

"You come back here—"

Shirley Tachibana happily raised her fist, ready to fight, but was pulled back by Chang Rong.

"You think you can just rush in and get yourself killed, you idiot detective!"

"Waaaaah, I got scolded..."

I finally managed to get Sherry to go up and get killed, but the situation on the other side where the headband guard is looking less than optimistic.

Although the initial battle between the two veterans seemed evenly matched, the presence of plants all around allowed the young lady's remains to activate the last remaining magical remnants in her body, constantly using vines to entangle her older sister.

Gradually, the headband guard fell into a passive and disadvantageous position, and the number of fatal wounds on its body increased, gradually exceeding its recovery speed.

"Hmm... This is completely different from the plan... Should we retreat first, Chang Rong!" Kurobe Nanoha Kaori asked the 'Commander' through gritted teeth, holding up her spear.

"No, my sister is still being held back, we can't just leave like this!" Chang Rong shook her head and rejected the retreat plan.

"My elder sister is immortal, so don't worry about her!"

“Although the wreckage is immortal, the ‘controller’ has a limit to its wear and tear… If the controller is damaged…”

Chang Rong gritted her teeth, her mind a jumble of worries, desperately trying to figure out how to deal with the situation.

While racking his brains, Chang Rong suddenly remembered the scene of the warden being tied up.

"Hannah, can your levitation magic also control your hair, and with a fairly high output?"

"Yes, yes, it can temporarily resist the gorilla woman's superhuman strength. What's wrong—it hurts!"

"I'm sorry, I'll make it up to you later—Sherry, throw this at the young lady's remains!"

Chang Rong plucked a few strands of hair from Hannah's head, then casually picked up a clod of dirt, wrapped it around her head, and handed it to Shirley, who was standing nearby.

“No problem~ Even if I accidentally hit ‘Onee-sama’, it’s okay, right!” Tachibana Sherry took the clod of dirt and, without asking any further questions, immediately assumed a throwing stance.

"Aim at one point if possible—Hannah, get ready!"

"Whoosh!!!"

The clod of earth, tangled with strands of hair, transformed into a missile and crashed straight into the wreckage.

*Plop!*

The clod of earth shattered upon impact, scattering the hair that was bound to it.

"Now's the time, Hannah, wrap your arms around its head—Rhea-sama, it's up to you!"

"It's just a head, watch me wrap it up and desuwa!" "Hmph, leave it to me!"

"Roar roar roar howl—"

In an instant, the wreckage was wrapped around the neck with golden threads. Although the control was only momentary, it still brought the wreckage to a standstill.

At that moment, Ryota Hasumi activated her magic, forcibly locking onto the wreckage and keeping it firmly in place.

"Next—I'm counting on you, Nanoha Kaori, I believe in you!"

"...Hmm, leave it to me!"

Chang Rong took out the controller from his pocket and ran straight toward the wreckage that was being restrained.

"Screech—" "Bang!!"

Although his body was restricted in movement, the wreckage still swung vines and spikes at Chang Rong.

However, those spikes were forcibly shattered by the ejected bullets just before they pierced Chang Rong.

"It might hurt a little, just bear with it!!!"

The guard with the headband used all his strength to suppress the wreckage, while Chang Rong roared and rushed to the wreckage, forcefully inserting the controller into the wreckage's head.

"——!!!"

With a roar, the rampaging wreckage froze in place.

"Success—!!!" Chang Rong clenched his fists tightly, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Although there were some slight mistakes in the process, and they had misjudged the intensity of the battle between the wreckage, the ending was still a happy one.

however……

"...Why haven't you regained consciousness yet?"

Chang Rong noticed something unusual. After the 'young lady's' remains were inserted into the controller, although they stopped their rampage, they did not respond further.

It was as if it had been turned off, frozen in place and motionless.

"Um, that..."

Just as Chang Rong was feeling incredibly confused, Melu Lulu's timid voice came from behind him.

“Not all remains can be transformed into ‘guardians.’ In fact, most remains can only be destroyed or sealed away because they have no ‘mind’ left. Although I don’t know ‘her’ situation, but… so much time has passed, I’m afraid that her remaining consciousness has been completely worn away and exhausted…”

"—"

After hearing Meru's explanation on the ice, Chang Rong blinked and stood frozen in front of the 'wreckage'.

"Why didn't you say something like this sooner?!" Tono Hannah roared at Ice Meluru.

"Oh, I'm sorry...! But, but I don't know the specifics either. Maybe a miracle will happen... But, but a miracle didn't happen..."

Meruru lowered her head and responded softly.

"Hiss hiss hiss—" The headband-wearing guard stared at the 'wreckage' in front of him, his mask expressionless.

"How could this happen...!" Ryota Hasumi gasped for breath as she clenched her fists tightly.

"Hmm..." Shirley Tachibana silently watched Chang Rong's back, unusually refraining from uttering any strange words.

"Then what should we do...? What can we still do now?" Naoya Kaori slung her spear back on her shoulder. The excitement of protecting Chang Rong with perfect accuracy just now instantly dissipated, leaving only endless confusion.

"Is she unable to regain her consciousness?" Chang Rong looked at Meru on the ice and asked again.

"I'm afraid... no..." Meruru replied in a voice that sounded like she was about to cry.

"In that case—okay."

Chang Rong nodded. After confirming that the miracle had not occurred and that the remains of the 'Young Lady' could not become a 'guardian' like Nanoha Kaori, Chang Rong walked up to the 'Young Lady' and gently hugged her with a smile.

hiss hiss hiss—

The last remnants of the witch factor were continuously absorbed, and the remains appeared to evaporate, slowly disappearing from Chang Rong's arms bit by bit.

"—"

The wreckage neither cried nor smiled, neither struggled nor resisted; it simply stared at Chang Rong with that distorted expression, motionless.

In the end, her existence completely vanished from the forest.

"..."

Chang Rong knelt on the ground, remaining motionless despite having 'killed' the remains.

—The Second

This is the second time... no, this is... how many times? I couldn't save her, and there's no way to save her—I can only watch her fade away like this, deceiving myself...

Chang Rong kept telling herself that everything would be alright, and that everyone could be happy this time, as long as they could find the Great Witch.

So... is that really the case? Can everyone be happy?

What a joke...!! If everyone could be happy, then why her, why them—

"You've already tried your best, Chang Rong, you idiot knight...!!"

"Well……!"

Suddenly, a not-so-heavy impact came from behind; it was Tono Hannah pressing close.

"She... she didn't resist in her final moments, did she? This must be the peace she longed for! So, so—you have to pull yourself together! Although I don't know what you've been through, Chang Rong, although I don't know what that 'young lady' meant to you, but, but..."

"But I'll make up for it...! No matter what, I'll try my best! I'll try my best to become your 'young lady,' so, so—um!"

"...I'm fine, Hannah. I'm just a little dazed."

Chang Rong gently rubbed the somewhat incoherent and flustered Tono Hannah's hands, and gave her a smile that was no different from any other day.

"Are you...are you really alright? For a moment just now, I felt like Chang Rong, you were about to leave us, and suddenly you seemed so unfamiliar..."

"Yeah, I'm fine. But it's really discouraging. All that effort just turned out to be for nothing... After all, I don't really know that 'young lady' very well, ugh... damn it...! Why does it always happen like this—"

Chang Rong's smile didn't last long; it was quickly interrupted and covered by self-cursing.

Hannah Tono didn't know what to do; all she could do was try to comfort Chang Rong again and again. The aspiring witches around her, seeing this abrupt 'ending' devoid of any miracles or dreams, simply stood there in stunned silence.

"..."

On the ice, Meruru looked at Chang Rong kneeling on the ground. Every time the white-haired boy rose and fell with sobs, Meruru felt as if her heart was being stabbed.