A Rather Close Lesson
A head-on clash? Ruuuumble! The flames unleashed by Red and the icicles shot by Harang tangled together. Soon, the two magical forces merged into a massive, spiraling torrent, spinning and rapidly accelerating.
"Take thiiis!" Along with Red's shout, the launched attack swallowed the white-haired girl in an instant. It was a direct hit over a wide area. Just when they were certain they had finally landed a blow, long, snow-white hair fluttered beyond the billowing smoke. Her skin was still smooth, without a single scratch.
"Tch!" Did she dodge this too? Since she never expected to settle the score with that monster in a single blow anyway, Red burned with even greater fighting spirit.
"Snow! Don't stop, keep pressing her!" As if refusing to give her even a moment's breathing room, the two poured their respective magic in all directions, unleashing another fierce barrage of attacks.
*Boom! Bang!* "...Ugh?!" Red's vision suddenly blurred in the middle of her barrage. *Poke, poke-poke.* "Not this again...?!" It was because the girl was once again poking and prodding her cheek with her index finger.
"Red, the way you use your magic is too simple and brute-force."
"Do... do you really want to die?!"
"You have incredible firepower, but you just blast it out in a wide area in front of you." *Whoosh!* With effortless movements, the girl lightly tilted her head back, easily dodging the magic wand Red frantically swung at her.
"Why not try focusing it on a single point? That would be much more powerful."
"You...!"
"N-Now's our chance!" In that brief moment while the girl's attention was focused on Red, Snow did not miss her cue. Five massive spears made of ice materialized in midair and shot forward fiercely, aiming to impale the girl.
"Hmm." *Crash!* The girl didn't dodge. She merely made a light flick of her hand in the air. Instantly, the magic radiating from her fingertips shattered the ice spears head-on.
"Snow. That attack just now was dangerous. Red could have gotten hurt."
"W-What?!"
"You still seem inexperienced with long-range magic. Close-quarters combat seems like it would suit you much better." The girl playfully picked up one of the shattered ice fragments and offered a bright smile.
"What are you talking about!" Her face flushed red with rage, Red shrieked in anger and suddenly leaped into the air. Giving unsolicited advice to her junior under the guise of lecturing them—what on earth was she trying to do?
"Die!!" The magic wand, brimming with flames, traced the shape of a massive pillar of fire and slammed down mercilessly toward the girl's head. It was a strike delivered with all of Red's might, unleashed with the determination to burn that sly face off once and for all.
However. "H-How...?" Red's eyes widened so much they looked ready to pop out. The massive pillar of fire that had poured down with a rumbling roar was stopped dead, balanced on the tip of a single finger the girl had lightly raised.
"Damn it." Red took a few steps back, panting heavily. Looking at Red's shock-filled eyes, the girl blew a soft breath—*phew*—to disperse the lingering heat on her fingertip.
"I told you, Red." The girl smiled, her ruby-like eyes narrowing. "Focus on a single point."
"Ugh...!"
"Ah, and also."
"...Ugh?!" Red's vision blurred once again, and long white hair fluttered softly before her eyes. This time, right in front of me...?! It was the third time. Unlike before, the girl had closed the distance head-on, pressing right up to Red's nose. Along with the sweet scent of milk came the soft touch of fingers. *Poke, poke.*
"I told you not to use bad words." This time, it was both sides. The girl extended both of her index fingers simultaneously, pinching Red's cheeks. *Squeeze, squeeze.* Caught off guard with both cheeks pinched, Red's mouth was stretched into a silly, wide grin.
"Whad?" Looking at Red, who was glaring with thoroughly grumpy eyes, the girl whispered in a gentle, soothing voice, as if comforting a child. "See? You look so pretty when you smile. Try saying nice things with a face like this."
"Go away...!" Red let out a groaning shout and hastily scrambled backward. Cupping her flushed cheeks with both hands, there was no trace of Red's usual charismatic demeanor left.
"Is she seriously playing with me...!" By this point, she could finally realize it clearly. No, anyone who couldn't see it in this situation was a fool. The girl wasn't taking this seriously at all. No matter how she looked at it, it felt like... a lesson. An act akin to a sparring match where she observed their capabilities and corrected them step by step.
"Are you looking down on me?!" Red shrieked in a surge of humiliation. She was putting her life on the line, yet her opponent treated this like a mere game. What could be more insulting than this?
"Hmm." But despite Red's shouting, the white-haired girl merely shrugged. It was a carefree attitude that drained the energy out of even being angry. Red, her blood boiling, gritted her teeth. However, Red was a veteran magical girl who never lost her cool judgment under any circumstances. Clinging desperately to her reason amidst the painful humiliation, the voice the girl had left behind rang in her ears.
'Focus on a single point... she said.' Even if she was being fooled—no, if she could put even a single scratch on that obnoxious face, she was more than willing to play along. Red took a deep breath and began to gather the magic she usually dispersed throughout her body into a single point.
Drawing in the heat that had been mindlessly scattered in all directions, she forced it into the tip of the magic wand held in her right hand. It was her first time attempting this, but her past magic practice had not been in vain, and she succeeded almost immediately.
"Snow! Cover me!"
"Yes, Senior!"
*Bam!* Harang slammed her wand down. The concrete floor froze over in an instant, and at the same moment, Red leaped forward. *Swish!*
...?! She was fast. Incredibly fast. So fast that even Red, the one who had leaped, was astonished by her own speed. It was on a completely different level from her usual method of gaining propulsion by scattering flames in all directions. The scenery blurred past her, and the white-haired girl's blank face rushed right up to her nose in an instant.
I can reach her...! The moment the girl's ruby-like eyes widened ever so slightly, Red thrust the flame forward.
"..." It was a success. The very edge of the girl's eyebrow. It was an incredibly tiny scratch, but a faint red line appeared, and a single strand of her eyebrow hair was sliced off.
Finally...! She had broken through. The distant sky that had seemed completely unreachable. She had finally breached that stubborn, solid wall of despair with her own strength.
Although only a single strand of eyebrow hair had been cut, the significance of it was by no means small. The endless sense of helplessness and the absolute gap in power she had felt when they first met. She could now harbor hope of reaching even a fraction of that monstrous strength she had once thought completely untouchable.
"Oh?" The girl lightly brushed the edge of her eyebrow with her slender index finger. Staring quietly at the tiny hair on her fingertip, she soon smiled, her ruby-like eyes sparkling.
"You're a quick study. See? You can do it if you try."
"Ha! I'm not happy to be praised by you at all, okay?! Don't get the wrong idea, next time I'll pierce that face of yours head-on!"
*Heh.* The girl lightly covered her mouth with her hand and let out a playful chuckle.
"That's a total tsundere cliché."
"...W-What? Tsun... what?"
"It's nothing. Hehe." Gently sweeping her long white hair back, she turned her head.
"Now then, is Snow next?"
"Eh, m-me?!" As the spotlight was suddenly turned on her, Snow parted her lips and widened her eyes. In truth, she had been completely captivated by the attack Red had just shown, lost in dazed admiration. Although she saw her senior's magic every day, the strike just now was on an entirely different level.
"You still remember the advice I gave you earlier, right?" Standing in place, the girl beckoned with her index finger toward Harang. At that provoking gesture, Harang gripped her wand tightly and pulled herself together.
'That's right, I can't remain a junior who only hides behind Red's back and gets protected forever.' Even if her opponent was an out-of-bounds monster. She had absolutely no intention of giving up easily, not when her name as a magical girl was on the line.
Harang steadied her trembling voice and shouted boldly at the white-haired girl.
"I-I don't really understand, but...! I'm a magical girl too! I have absolutely no intention of losing just because you're looking down on me!"
"Hmm, nice spirit."
'Just like Red did earlier... I shouldn't scatter my magic in all directions, but make it flow differently. If long-range really doesn't suit me like she said...!' Instead of creating ice to shoot into the air, Harang began to stretch the magic gathering around her wand into a long, thick shape. A form that was incredibly solid and heavy enough to shatter anything.
'A sword... I'll make a massive ice greatsword!' A terrifying chill swirled around her wand. Frost spread across the ground, and the faint silhouette of a massive greatsword began to take shape in the air. It seemed like she was about to succeed, but...
*Shatter!* The massive ice greatsword, which had barely begun to take structure, shattered into pieces in an instant.
"Ugh...?!" Why? She had clearly visualized it just as she was told, and her magic was sufficient. So why? Why did it break so helplessly before it could even hold its shape? It was at that moment of confusion, unable to understand the cause of her failure.
*Rustle.* "Your magic control is still clumsy, Snow."
"...?!?!?!" Along with a low voice tickling her ear, the sweet scent of milk brushed past the tip of her nose.
W-What—! Closing the distance in the blink of an eye, the white-haired girl was already pressed tightly against Harang's back. Gently wrapping her arms around Harang in what was practically a back hug, the girl overlapped her own soft, white hand over Harang's small one. The smooth sensation of their fingers intertwining caused Harang's thoughts to grind to a complete halt.
"Now, don't try to force it together. Look at my fingertips. Relax like this..."
"Ah, ahhh?! Ah...!" Her entire body froze. S-She's too close...!!! With the girl's long white hair brushing against her cheek and the soft warmth radiating from behind her, Harang felt like her heart was about to explode.
Even if she was an enemy to be wary of—well, actually, it wasn't completely confirmed that she was a villain yet—but even taking that into account, this was way too close. Seriously, dangerously close!
"Don't be so tense. You'll be able to do it this time."
"Ah, ahwaaa..." Seriously, she was too close!!