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

"Well, not long..." The little bear, who seemed somewhat timid by nature, spoke softly, not daring to reveal his human identity at this moment, and tried to answer only what he could say, "We were friends..."

"You seem really attached to Mayumi." Hitomi Tono could tell from the way Kuma was paying attention to the person leaning against the wall with her eyes closed, not far away, and suddenly asked directly, "Why?"

Magical Girl Crimson often appears a bit silly, after all, she's straightforward and never beats around the bush.

But in this situation, it's rather frightening that she didn't hesitate to tell her hidden rival her thoughts.

...A love rival?

Actually, she didn't think it counted.

Although Mayumi would risk her life to help the little bear, and the two of them developed a connection that even she was unaware of, it was as if Tohno Hitomi had successfully stolen his home.

But if it were her, she would actually lend a helping hand if a strange person came to her for help.

Rather than harboring resentment over the bear incident, she preferred to believe in Mayumi Haga's upright character.

After all, Mayumi is someone who... probably has a hard time liking other people.

Therefore, both Hitomi Tono herself and the little bear who just clung to Mayumi Haga were on the same side.

If Mayumi Haga's girlish infatuation is the prize they are vying for, then at least this prize must actually exist for this rivalry to be valid.

Both Hitomi Tono and Kuma are fools who fall for someone who won't reciprocate their feelings.

Thinking of this, Tono Hitomi's gaze fell on Haga Mayumi, her hand supporting her chin, her cheeks puffed out.

It would be extremely difficult to break through the wall of Mayumi Haga's heart.

The little bear then answered the question of why a strange person would stick to a human: "Because, because Mayumi is always very sad."

Hitomi Tono suddenly realized.

Among eccentric people, there are also those who are nosy. Although these eccentric people usually cause minor troubles, it is undeniable that they can also do good deeds.

The sad bear was drawn to Mayumi Haga's sadness... This is a perfectly reasonable reason.

Like Hitomi Tono, Koguru didn't want Mayumi to show such a lonely expression again, and didn't want to witness that intense sadness again, so he clumsily dealt with Mayumi Haga's outward emotions.

But Hitomi Tono also knew that if the problem wasn't addressed at its root, Mayumi Haga would eventually become trapped in her own world and spend the rest of her life in more pain than anyone else.

To solve this problem at its root, we must open the heart of Mayumi Haga.

Ultimately, Hitomi Tono and Kuma's goals are the same.

Since we share the same goal, let's form an alliance.

Hitomi Tono temporarily accepted the teddy bear in her heart, but she was completely unaware that the timid little teddy bear in front of her, who always had tears in her eyes, had a voice and tone of voice that were somewhat similar to her classmate.

Completely unaware.

The efficiency of two people replenishing Mayumi Haga's magic power is naturally higher than that of only Tono Hitomi holding Mayumi Haga's hand.

Mayumi Haga's complexion looked better, and Hitomi Tono finally relaxed.

Once I relaxed, I noticed Mayumi Haga's lips.

Actually, it's kind of sweet...

Taking advantage of Mayumi Haga's weakened state and lack of resistance, Hitomi Tono, under the guise of doing what was best for Mayumi Haga's health, quickly kissed her again, her face flushed.

The little bear next to him widened its eyes: "Wait! How could you do this at a time like this..."

You can replenish mana like this...?

The little bear's pure heart was moved by what it saw.

She never expected there would be such a way to replenish mana.

But isn't this something that only couples do...?

She was puzzled, but Mayumi Haga, who hadn't made much noise earlier, sensed something and suddenly moved.

The dark figure moved with incredible speed, completely different from its previous half-dead state, to put the bear into its backpack and then pounced on Tono Hitomi, pinning her to the ground.

In that instant, a beam of light three meters in diameter grazed her back. The intense heat scorched her back, emitting a foul, burnt smell. This only lasted for a moment, and no one could see the exposed bones in that instant. Yuga Mayumi felt as if she were surrounded by a white light.

When I opened my eyes again, I was in a different body, and my lifespan had been visibly shortened.

The voices in Mayumi Haga's ears appeared intermittently, and at other times there was only desolation. She managed to stand up, and only with the magic power she had just absorbed did she regain some strength.

Urzana's blessing could be used again after its cooldown was over. When she realized that the magic cannon was approaching, Mayumi Haga immediately used it three times in quick succession, and then used her own body as a cushion to barely protect Hitomi Tono, who had not transformed due to a momentary lapse in attention.

My brain is buzzing.

Mayumi Haga stood up, only able to see the mage standing in mid-air, looking down at her. A corner of the mage's robe was burned away, revealing slippers underneath, which looked somewhat comical.

But it was this seemingly relaxed and carefree magician who easily found himself, and...

...It seems that all the obstacles on the road have been overcome.

Mayumi Haga saw the other person's mouth opening and closing, and from lip reading, she could tell it meant: "Found you."

They found me.

Mayumi Haga remained silent, her slightly dusty golden eyes calmly meeting the magician's gaze, her expression so serene that nothing could be discerned.

In fact, her current situation is not very favorable.

Perhaps the calamity gradually eroded the core, and the soul, which should have been able to control the body completely, has now become distorted, losing some of its five senses, as if the soul is imprisoned in a poorly fitting cell.

But her fighting instincts were still there, and the jolt she felt when a crisis struck was still there, which allowed her to react to the current crisis as if by conditioned reflex.

it's a pity.

It was grazed by the magic cannon just now, and it seems fine, but in a daze, it has already been resurrected once.

But this time, it seems even more lives have been lost.

At this rate, the number of times he can be resurrected should not exceed ten.

We must succeed today, no matter what.

This is the last chance.

Mayumi Haga had never imagined her body would decay so quickly; the corrosive power of the calamity far exceeded her expectations. It seemed there was a reason why her predecessors had succumbed so swiftly.

If she were in a similar situation to her senior Urzana, she wouldn't have been able to hold on for long either.

However, there was still half an hour before sunrise.

Mayumi Haga wasn't sure if she could hold out that long.

The magician was secretly rejoicing.

Although she was delayed by the strange man on the way... well, quite a bit. The explosive power of the angry strange man who came from behind was truly unexpected. Under the influence of [rage], he almost successfully clouded her mind, causing her to be delayed for a long time.

Fortunately, there is still time.

The desperate monster and his accomplices here are probably waiting for a certain moment. Although the magician cannot deduce their plan, judging from their stalling tactics, a swift victory is the best course of action.

Whatever the plan, she wouldn't give Mayumi Haga a chance.

The magician stopped talking and with a flick of her wrist, a small magic wand, as thin as a pencil, appeared in her palm. She held it as if she were conducting a deathly silent concert.

She waved her magic wand at Mayumi Haga.

Six wings suddenly unfurled behind him, almost obscuring half the sky. But this phantom only existed for a moment; the wings vanished as tiny particles of light formed at the tip of the mage's staff.

Those tiny light particles were only the size of a soybean. The enormous magical power was compressed into a small point of considerable power, and it even began to devour the surrounding light and distort space.

Once touched, one will be trapped in a sealed space with no end, and will be unable to return to the human world until the seal is broken.

"Mayumi, get out of the way!" Tono Hitomi tried to activate her Mystic Code transformation again, but she was a step too slow. As the crimson magic spread across her body, she tried to open her shield, but the particle of light had already approached Mayumi Haga.

The latter stood silently in front of the magician, unable to hear the voices of others due to partial hearing loss.

Neither the friend's heart-wrenching screams nor the sobs coming from the backpack could be heard.

In that instant, before anyone could even react, something appeared in Mayumi Haga's hand.

It was a shield.

A simple wooden shield with half a broken arrow embedded in it, looking like it could be shattered with a casual attack.

Despite being called a shield, its defensive capabilities are not much different from those of a pot lid.

—Why a shield?

—What exactly is Mayumi trying to do?

Before the doubts about this scene could even take shape in their minds, a scene powerful enough to shatter the worldview of magic users suddenly appeared before everyone.

The instant the attack landed on the shield, Haga Mayumi swung the shield violently!

A strange sound rang out, and the world seemed to slow down at that moment. All that could be seen was that the miniature magic cannon, which even Tono Hitomi at her peak had no confidence in, was shattered with a "bang" on Haga Mayumi's fragile shield, turning into a flash of light on the shield's surface!

Then, it actually reformed and shot off in the direction it came from!

--Varied?!

The magician was speechless.

The instant her attack was neutralized by Mayumi Haga, she could clearly feel her body suddenly stiffen and become unable to move, just like the stiffness that comes from being interrupted by the opponent while performing a combo in a game.

At that moment, she was backfired by her own attack, barely managing to shatter five layers of magical shields, and was sent flying backward half a meter before she could barely regain her footing.

What kind of technique is this...?

All that could be seen was the white-haired guardian with dim eyes, still standing in place holding her shield. She breathed slowly, and although her eyes were unfocused, she was still able to keenly detect any attacks coming from all directions and defend herself with the small shield in her hand.

This is a highly difficult combat technique that requires using the shield to deflect enemy attacks at just the right moment, and even to deflect them back. It is a skill that Mayumi Haga has not used for a long time, and is still ingrained in her muscles.

The guardians call it—

—Shield counter.

Main Text: Chapter 142 The Last Survivor, Mayumi Haga

Haga Mayumi's shield parry technique wasn't actually that good.

Compared to other guardians who use shield reactions with ease, Mayumi Haga often makes mistakes in normal conditions. Her success rate is actually higher when her vital signs are weakening and her body is about to reach its limit.

Because she didn't have enough "nervousness".

Although Urzana repeatedly forbade Mayumi Haga from relying too much on her self-healing and self-destruct abilities, even so, Mayumi Haga rarely felt the urgency of facing life-or-death threats in battle.

The requirements for shield parrying are quite strict.

For the previous Haga Mayumi, painstakingly parrying once or twice before turning the tables and killing the opponent was too inefficient. It was better to abandon defense and rely solely on offense to defeat the enemy.

But things are different now.

Her attack methods are not very effective in this world, and her current body does not allow her to act recklessly based on her self-healing speed.

It was a rare opportunity to use shield parry to repel an enemy attack, and the effect was unexpectedly outstanding.

Mayumi Haga was quite surprised to see that the worst shield she had randomly picked up easily deflected the magic cannon.

It was actually a lucky accident.

Previously, Mayumi Haga had tried using shield parrying in battles in this world, but it had no effect whatsoever.

The reason is simple: very few people actually use miniature magic cannons like those used by magicians.

The shield parry can interrupt an enemy's attack at any time, reflecting the attack back without damaging the shield too much.

But the prerequisite is that the attack must be one that the shield can withstand and that is traceable.

For example, a regular laser cannon can be blocked, but if a mountain collapses, there is absolutely no possibility of a successful shield counter.

Although it is called an "ordinary laser cannon", it is actually not ordinary at all.

In this world, it would mean that Mayumi Haga wouldn't be able to escape unscathed from a large-caliber magic cannon.

After all, the shield could only cover part of her front, not her whole body.

This miniature magic cannon attack was an accident; the opponent deliberately reduced the attack range, after all, they clearly saw that Tono Hitomi was right behind Haga Mayumi.

Rather, when the magician realized that the unfortunate Tohno Hitomi hadn't transformed and was with the despairing monster Haga Mayumi, and that she had almost taken Tohno Hitomi away with a single shot, she was already sweating profusely.

I'm still not very familiar with the current rules of magic...sigh.

The old-fashioned magician sighed inwardly.

She had grown accustomed to the power of her previous magical output, and the magical girls and monsters of today were far too fragile for her, so fragile that she sometimes had to handle them with extreme care. She had intended to give this creature, masquerading as a desperate monster, a warning, but she hadn't realized that the magical girl herself lacked even the ability to protect herself.

Then we need to find a way to separate the two of them.