Give children a little self-destruction shock to their worldview.

Humans are also protected by magical rules, so they are not easily affected, injured, or killed.

But that monster that used humans as a breeding ground... or rather, that calamity.

It is not bound by the rules of magic.

They can harm humans with impunity, their decaying surrounding plants will never recover, they can devour magical fields, and they are completely out of place in this world.

Ordinary magical barriers cannot restrain these calamities, so other means must be adopted.

For example, create a reflection space large enough to encompass all enemies in the city, within which enemies and magical girls can wreak havoc as they please. Although it won't be repaired afterward, it won't harm ordinary people outside the space.

The only problem is that this reflection space needs to be built on a foundation within the spiritual vein, and the only doctor with the relevant knowledge is not qualified to enter the spiritual vein.

Fortunately, the senior Sugiyama Rika was able to take over. Although she didn't have much knowledge of terrain, as long as the doctor marked the locations for her, she was able to complete the preliminary preparations for setting up the barrier.

To prevent a surprise attack from the enemy, the doctor and Sugiyama Rika have been working day and night for the past few days and finally got everything ready today.

Just ten minutes before Sugiyama Rika finished her preparations, a giant dragon, its body dripping with filthy pus, appeared in the clouds. The intense aura of calamity was so palpable that even the doctor, who was at the heart of the formation, could clearly sense it.

Because Sugiyama Rikka is in the spiritual vein, she cannot communicate telepathically with the doctor in the mortal world, and therefore the information in the spiritual vein cannot be transmitted.

She heard the dragon's deafening roar and saw a deep red magical flash above the clouds. Despite her immense worry, she was unable to go and help.

She cannot leave this place until the reflection space is formed.

Fortunately, Sugiyama Rika, as the strongest magic user in the city at present, or rather, the strongest existing magic user in the magic world, and a former legend, is still quite reliable.

Just as the dragon was about to swoop down on the ground, causing massive casualties, the doctor finally felt the last piece of the puzzle being put back in place.

Her deep purple magic surged, and although it was just a simple gesture, it felt incredibly powerful.

She exhausted all her magic power when she first activated this magical barrier, which was large enough to encompass the entire city.

The doctor was a bit of a know-it-all, but she didn't possess the exaggerated magical power of someone like Sugiyama Rika. After pouring all her magic into the massive barrier and activating it, she finally heard the tacit approval from the "gods."

To say it was "heard" is actually a form of recognition of a law. It's like stamping the seal on the barrier created by the doctor, from then on, this barrier can become part of the city's rules for fighting against calamities, operated by the spiritual veins.

Then, the previously extremely sluggish barrier finally began to function smoothly.

The doctor finally breathed a sigh of relief, and when she came to her senses, she realized that she was drenched in cold sweat.

The dragon's figure gradually disappeared from the real world, and in her perception, the magical girl's magical energy fluctuations also followed the dragon into the reflection space.

Although the reflection space can restrict enemies, if they are not defeated within a certain time, there is still a risk of them breaking free of the barrier and returning to the real world.

"I'm leaving it to you... my lovely juniors." The doctor returned to her computer chair, feeling as if she had no bones, and slumped into the chair, not wanting to move at all. "Good luck."

Anyway, she can't use magic for a while, and she can't squeeze out any magic power.

Let the younger generation, with their greater potential, defeat the dragon, rescue their imprisoned elders, and resolve the city's crisis.

It's been a long time since I assisted Sugiyama Rika with logistical work; it's something I really miss.

Perhaps recalling some pleasant memory, the doctor, unusually childish, kicked the floor with her foot, causing the chair to spin around.

"Being a reliable adult is also very hard."

Whether she was talking to herself or to someone who wasn't there, the doctor's eyes crinkled with amusement.

.................................................. .................................................. .

On the other side...

As a magical girl facing a dragon head-on, Crimson Magical Girl could sense the dragon's oppressive aura.

If it were just a beautiful silver-purple dragon, she wouldn't be so stunned. But the problem is that a large part of the dragon's head and body is covered with a blackish-red, unidentified fluid that looks like a tumor, and it rises and falls with its breathing. The worms crawling and wriggling on it look extremely disgusting, almost triggering her trypophobia.

How disgusting... How terrifying...

Instinctively, a magical petal shield flickered in front of the magical girl Crimson. Her biological instincts made her feel very uneasy, and she wanted to avoid the sharp edge first.

At least, let's put down the real bow that looks really wrong.

But the dragon charged straight at them, completely ignoring the magical girl's crimson cherry blossom shield.

Magical girl Crimson sensed something was wrong and was about to increase her magic output when she heard the sound of her shield shattering the next second.

The dragon actually used brute force to break through her shield?!

In that moment of shock, the world began to turn upside down.

At that very moment, the weight of Mayumi Haga in her arms suddenly vanished.

Main text: Chapter 50 Mayumi Ahh ...

Mayumi Haga was eighteen years old when she first saw the Dragon of Wisdom.

Even after becoming a Guardian, her body doesn't completely stop growing. She continues to grow until she reaches her physical peak, and her bodily functions increase to several times that of an ordinary human over time.

Eighteen-year-old Mayumi Haga had fully recovered to a normal level and was no longer as fragile as before. In fact, she was quite strong and, after proper preparation, was capable of enduring long journeys in extreme environments.

So, Senior Urzana decided to take her to broaden her horizons.

“In the Skull Valley in the far north, there is a wizard who can make gliders for the guardians… or rather, a craftsman,” Senior Urzana told her. “As long as you bring the materials there, that craftsman will tailor-make the finest glider for you.”

Unlike Urzana, who gains power from touching the ground with her feet, Mayumi Haga needs some necessary items in addition to her own power to become stronger.

Urzana possesses superhuman jumping ability and leg strength, and her skin is exceptionally tough; her body is so sturdy that it wouldn't easily shatter even if she fell from a great height. Her tribe is even considered by some to be giant stone monsters of the desert.

Plus, she's quite heavy... so paragliding isn't a necessity for her.

She could roll down the mountain like a ball and not get hurt at all, but it's different for Mayumi Haga.

The little feather is so light and brittle; it would be better for her to land lightly on a paraglider than to roll like a boulder like herself.

Realizing that Yuga Mayumi's mobility was limited, Urzana decided to take her to obtain the necessary items.

Before visiting the craftsman, you must gather all the necessary materials.

“You need to find the scales of the Dragon of Wisdom.” Ulzana didn’t intend to help Mayumi Haga obtain the materials; it was better for the young man to handle this himself. She smiled and winked at Mayumi Haga. “Go to the frozen lake over there and wait until morning; the dragon will fly out of it.”

Mayumi Haga nodded blankly in agreement, and was about to turn around and leave when she was stopped by Senior Urzana: "Mayumi."

Haga Mayumi turned her head: "Senpai?"

“Remember, don’t blink,” Urzana told her.

Although Mayumi Haga didn't understand why, she still followed Urzana's instructions and did as she was told.

She found a cave by the frozen lake where she could escape the cold wind, lit a fire at the entrance of the cave, and huddled there until morning.

Then, in a half-dream, half-awake state, Mayumi Haga felt the ground beneath her feet tremble.

She was suddenly awakened, grabbed the Bow of One Heart that was beside her, and rushed out of the cave.

The moment she saw the dragon of wisdom emerge from the water, she couldn't look away; all thoughts in her mind were swept away by the awe-inspiring scene.

—It's really beautiful.

Yuga Mayumi saw its crystal-clear, golden vertical pupils, in which she saw her own reflection, as well as the smooth, open sky behind her.

Seeing it soar upwards, hearing its roar, its colors domineeringly and aggressively dominate all vision.

They are the spirits of the world, the masters of the sky.

Coming to her senses, Haga Mayumi quickly raised her bow and arrow, aiming at the tail of the dragon of wisdom.

The wise dragon didn't care about Mayumi Haga's offense; its scales fell off easily and were even transported to Mayumi Haga by the air currents.

Yuga Mayumi didn't rush to pick it up. She simply watched the other person walk away until that excessively beautiful figure disappeared into the clouds before she looked away.

My heart was beating at an unusually high rate, and my hands and feet slowly warmed up after a brief period of coldness. Goosebumps only belatedly appeared at that moment.

Dragons... such powerful and beautiful creatures.

Mayumi Haga had thought she would never see such a creature again.

Unexpectedly, the Dragon of Wisdom reappeared before her in such a corrupted form.

As the dragon crashed down, Mayumi Haga deliberately broke free of Hitomi Tono's cloak and let herself fall.

Because she was in a hurry and didn't dodge in time, the dragon's claws almost ripped open her stomach... or rather, they had already ripped it open. Blood gushed out, staining the fabric of her nightgown's chest and abdomen red. Her intestines were about to spill out, so she pressed them back down with her hands.

Its self-healing ability can keep up perfectly.

With only faint pinkish-white scratches remaining on her abdomen after healing, Mayumi Haga was finally able to free her hands to adjust her posture and take out her paraglider... Hmm?!

Contrary to what Mayumi Haga had expected, the dragon did not ignore her. Instead, it launched an attack on her.

Caught off guard, Mayumi Haga was pierced by the sharp spikes on the dragon's snout, right at her heart. She looked shocked.

“…!” A mouthful of blood containing fragments of internal organs gushed from his mouth, and his bones also gave terrible feedback. Yuga Mayumi felt as if her body was about to be torn apart.

The black-haired girl's gaze met the calamity insects parasitizing the dragon of wisdom in front of her, and for a moment she was somewhat dazed.

If it weren't for the Guardian's extraordinary physique and the fact that she deliberately conserved some of her strength, the Dragon of Wisdom's full-force attack would have completely crushed her into mincemeat.

Is this considered toying with the prey?

Although the heads of those death worms showed no emotion whatsoever, Mayumi Haga realized the mockery of the wise dragon from its actions.

"..." Her physical senses were completely negligible. Yuga Mayumi felt no anger at being mocked. She forcefully pulled herself off the spikes, and as she fell, a hint of seriousness appeared on her pale face. "It actually corroded the dragon..."

It's worse than I imagined.

Faced with such a massive creature, her "An Eye for an Eye" ability failed to lock onto its target.

In her world, dragons are invincible spirits. Even the blessings of guardians cannot harm them.

However, dragons are enormous, and their destructive power is beyond imagination; they can easily pierce through magical shields. Now, they also possess death worms, whose corrosive effect on magic is as troublesome as poison.

Magical girl Crimson tried to get closer, but was blocked and knocked away by the dragon's body.

Almost as if watching helplessly, the magical girl Crimson watched that slender figure descend without hesitation and disappear into the buildings, her mind going completely blank.

The magical girl's mournful cry pierced the sky above the barrier.

Chapter Fifty-One: Like the Sun

The moment Mayumi Haga fell, Hitomi Tono felt her heart skip a beat.

Her blood seemed to freeze, her ears were ringing, she couldn't hear anything, and the last moment of her friend's fall seemed to linger before her eyes.

Then, that moment, in the span of a single breath, cycled through her mind dozens of times.

Real, real bow ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...? !

Though a mournful cry was clearly emanating from within, it was as if the mouth was nailed shut, and only broken sounds could be uttered.

Her body instinctively wanted to get to Mayumi's side; she couldn't care about anything else, and everything around her lost its color.

At this moment, Hitomi Tono overlooked the fact that Mayumi Haga might possess extraordinary self-healing abilities, and perhaps she was not... dead.

Just thinking about that word made her heart ache.

Magical girl Crimson isn't unaware of the concept of death, but death has always been far removed from her life.

To die means never seeing each other again.

I had just made up my mind to be honest with Mayumi and wanted to take our relationship to the next level... I knew that if I just got through tonight, we could...

Why this particular time?

Hitomi Tono didn't understand.

Her mind was filled with incomprehensible noise, so sharp it threatened to pierce her reason.

Unbeknownst to her, the gem-like hairpin on her forehead, which restricted her magical output, suddenly emitted a blinding light.

Her magical girl battle armor seemed to burst into flames, the magic power exceeding all limits making it unbearable for the armor. The fabric partially melted, turning into dazzling light that clung to her body.

Hitomi Tono felt nothing; all she felt at that moment was endless sorrow and anger.

Her weapon of war—her brass knuckles—transformed into gauntlets that covered her fists, but were much larger than usual, almost half her height. At the end of the gauntlets, flames were ignited, providing the propulsion for her lunge.

"Get out of my way—!" The all-out punch, accompanied by the magical girl's meteoric acceleration, landed on the head of the dragon of wisdom like a meteorite.

A brief silence.

A blinding flash of light erupted from the point of attack, illuminating the entire reflection space as bright as day, and the shockwave from the explosion swept away the surrounding buildings in half.

The first thing Mayumi Haga sensed was light.

The intense light almost blinded her; everything in front of her was a white blur, and her eyes briefly lost sensation.

Then comes the heat.

In a daze, she saw steel melting, asphalt boiling, and everything collapsing in this direction, like a melting chocolate castle.