Sakura Emma, ​​I'm going to control you fiercely!

“I disagree with the view that ‘eclipses occur naturally.’ For example, some eclipses are caused by human intervention. In such cases, simply eliminating the initiator can stop the eclipse.”

Sherry exclaimed in surprise, "Wow... even Sherry didn't know that!"

I see……

An average student—Emma silently noted this down in her little notebook.

'I always felt that Mag was like an older sister to me...'

This was Margot's first impression of Emma.

Yang Wen wondered: Why would Mag mention such a setting that is irrelevant to the current situation?

Or……

Is this "Chekhov's Gun"?

A gun appears at the beginning of the story, and it will inevitably fire before the end.

In other words, it's foreshadowing in the plot.

"And then, Emma will be paired with Nanoha Kaori this time!"

Shirley's words interrupted Yang Wen's thoughts.

He checked the chat history and discovered that they had just talked about "eclipses must be done in pairs".

He controlled Emma and said,

"Sherry doesn't want to be in a group with me?"

"Huh? No, that's not it!"

Shirley waved her hands repeatedly, pulled Emma to the edge of the rooftop, and whispered,

"Emma probably plans to advance to Blue-rank Magical Girl, right? One of the requirements for advancement is 'judges' approval.' Nanoha is one of the judges!"

Shirley was truly earnest and persuasive.

"Emma, ​​you must get along well with Nanoha Kaori!"

Even Yang Wen was quite surprised by Shirley's thoughtfulness.

Emma, ​​in particular, felt the glow of "maternal love" from Shirley.

The two men's private conversation lasted less than a minute before they returned from the corner.

"So, that's roughly the mission!"

Shirley raised her hand high with great enthusiasm.

"Everyone, please don't die!"

After that, there was a lot of mutual encouragement in a very magical girl style.

Emma also went over and disgusted Marg once again.

"Margot, you have to come back! After all, Emma loves you the most!"

"Heh, heh... Of course... Emma too."

[Gained 3 units of Pink Filth]

"Hmm... and then we just have to wait for the eclipse to happen."

Shirley took out her phone and looked at it.

"Because the location and time of erosion can only be roughly predicted. Especially the time, there may be an error of about one hour."

Sherry simply squatted down, hugged her knees, and took out her phone to play "Fate/Grand Order" (FGO).

"Anyway, everyone just needs to wait for the mission to begin. Before that, you can chat with each other."

"no need."

But Emma's completely out-of-place voice suddenly drifted over.

The three girls all looked at her.

However, Emma's gaze was fixed on the cityscape of Ikebukuro, but in reality, she was staring at the pop-up window displaying "Mission About to Begin":

"10."

“10?” Sherry tilted her head.

"9,8,7,6..."

Hearing Emma's time announcement, all the girls were puzzled.

Only Emma instantly understood the divine being's meaning:

'No way...'

"3--"

As the number dropped, the previously calm night breeze suddenly stopped.

The girls felt as if the building beneath their feet had stopped beating, followed by a heart-pounding tremor!

They immediately understood what Emma meant by telling the time.

Shirley stood up.

Could it be—

Even the usually aloof Nanoha looked at her in shock.

Mag gripped the furisode of her kimono even tighter.

Could it be that... Emma Sakuraba can accurately sense the timing of an eclipse?

This is not good news...

Before they could react, Emma's emotionless voice continued, precise as a death knell:

"2."

"1."

Whoosh—!

The space of half of the Ikebukuro commercial district was instantly distorted.

The eclipse began at the very end of Emma's countdown.

Volume 1: Chapter 55 The Outbreak

A patch of static, like the static on an old-fashioned television, would occasionally flash across half of the Ikebukuro screen, only to return to normal in the blink of an eye.

The pitch-black night sky suddenly faded, turning into a nauseating waxy yellow, with silhouettes of old newspapers and barcodes pasted on the canopy.

The huge LED billboards on the street emitted a sharp, piercing buzzing sound.

The once glamorous smile of the teenage idol instantly twisted and melted, replaced by a screen full of flowing scarlet characters:

[Go to hell!] [Why?] [They're all trash!] [Kill them!] [Look at me!] [Look at me!]

"Ah, ah... Ahhhhhh!!!"

Several young people on the street suddenly convulsed. Under the horrified gaze of their friends, their bodies abruptly rose, transforming into servants and even remains.

Crash! Crash!

Black smoke billowed from the western block, buildings on the northern side were snapped in half, and the overpass on the eastern side collapsed violently...

In an instant, the honking of car horns filled the air, and screams of agony rose and fell...

The eclipse had barely begun for 30 seconds when, amidst the tremors in the city, the lights of civilization began to go out one by one.

As Emma awaited instructions from the Demonic Bureau, she watched this scene with a chill in her heart...

Why exactly does this "eclipse" occur?

While feeling heavy-hearted, she also gained a clearer understanding of the arrival of the [Circle]:

Didn't He come to my side precisely to eliminate the despair of the remains, the witch, and the eclipse?

'And besides, aren't the gods the ones who suffer the most at times like this?'

After all, as the embodiment of hope, He was witnessing something like an eclipse.

The deity has been silent for so long, surely it is because he is heartbroken by this?

Meanwhile, Yang Wen was still wondering when the cutscene would end.

He couldn't wait for the blood to flow like rivers!

But before that, he glanced at the status bar and felt something was off:

[Witch Factor Activated]

[Magical Girl's Blessing: The "Witch Factor Activation" effect inflicted on you by this location is reduced to 10%.]

[The protection of reason: You are immune to "witch factor activation".]

Similar to the second music hall incident, Emma now has the "witch factor activated" effect.

Moreover, Beibei, who was hiding inside the doll, seemed to be very uncomfortable.

—"Because the location of the eclipse is random. We can only roughly predict which district it will be, not the exact location. Therefore... evacuation work is very difficult."

Naoya Kaori explained in a deep voice.

She paused, looking at Emma's profile.

"Sakura, don't be sad. Although we can't undo it, we can try our best to save it."

Sherry and Marg, who were standing to the side, nodded.

Marg sneered inwardly: In the end, Emma Sakura is still a kind-hearted rookie magical girl.

Even though Emma Sakura deliberately tried to hide her emotions with a blank expression, Marg could still see the pity in her eyes.

Yang Wen, standing in front of the screen, pointed to himself.

Huh? Feeling unwell? Me?

I'm not familiar with those NPCs.

Moreover, isn't it a good thing that cold and unkillable neutral NPCs can be turned into warm red-name experience points?

To fit Emma's character, Yang Wen didn't let her say that aloud.

At the same time, a pop-up window appeared:

[Side Quest Access: Become a Blue-Rank Magical Girl!]

Within the two hours before the Eclipse event ends, please complete the following mission objectives: 1. Gain the approval of Nanoha Kurobe. 2. Defeat 5 White-rank Remains or Familiars. 3. Defeat one Blue-rank Remains.

[Complete the mission and reach level 30 to obtain the Blue-Rank Magical Girl qualification from the Magic Bureau, benefits, and shop access!]

The mission to become a Blue-rank magical girl has finally arrived!

Yang Wen immediately understood: Was this eclipse actually a reward level?

Seeing the pop-up window, he asked Emma to respond.

"Yes, I am very sad."

Upon hearing this, the three girls, including Emma, ​​thought to themselves: "Just as I thought."

Kurobe Nanoha also noticed the sorrow in Emma's eyes.

As a rookie magical girl, seeing this must be very upsetting.

But this is a step that Emma Sakuraba had no choice but to take.

All Nanoha Kaori can do is try her best to protect Sakura Emma on her magical girl journey.

This time, her teaming up with Emma Sakura was at Nikaido Hiro's request.

As a rookie white-rank magical girl, Emma Sakuraba faces her first Eclipse in her magical girl career, and her lack of combat experience will undoubtedly pose a very high risk.

"Everyone! We've received the Demon Bureau's orders!"

Sherry raised her voice to say goodbye to them, and then parted ways with Marg.

Before leaving, Nanoha noticed that Sherry gave her a thoughtful look.