...Yes!"
At her brother's words, in utter earnest, Miyuki nodded with an
indomitable smile.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, master."
Lina, standing next to Yakumo, was making a face as if she had eaten
too much and gotten heartburn.
"Lina as well...I know that was rude, but you don't mind a few
moments right?"
"You're one to talk...no, it's fine."
Replying to the (in her eyes) now utterly indifferent Tatsuya, Lina
answered in her most sarcastic voice.
Miyuki didn't follow behind. It seemed she didn't intend to engage in
close combat.
From Lina's observations so far and in the light of this, Lina
determined that Miyuki was a typical magician deficient in physical
abilities. For the rogue magician executioner 'Sirius', they were the
easiest type of prey.
(I'll end this in one blow!)
There had been no starting signal yet, but Lina had no intention of
waiting for any such thing. There had been nothing in the
arrangements about a signal after all.
Close the gap with self-acceleration magic, neutralise the opponent's
magic with Data Fortification, then eliminate in CQC.
Then while Tatsuya and the other's were distracted by Miyuki's loss,
use high speed magic to make an escape.
That was the plan.
However, she could only let out a silent cry.
One step faster than she could activate magic, a tempest was rushing
in.
The moment Lina leaped aside, a torrent of frozen air flashed past. As
she raised her head, this time she saw a blizzard howling in from the
side. By manipulating air density and creating a wall of vacuum, Lina
was able to weather the storm somehow.
"I guess this much isn't enough."
As Miyuki muttered to herself, the night air began to gather around
her.
Lina clenched her teeth.
In terms of activation speed, Lina wins over Miyuki.
For Miyuki to have made the first move, meant she must have set up
earlier.
Not to mention the two volleys just earlier were sequences designed to
maximise speed at the cost of power.
Lina felt shamed twice over.
Both at her intention to exploit her opponent's naivety, and being
caught off guard in turn.
She had thought she could win even with powered down attacks and,
in fact, she had come dangerously close.
(But now it's my turn!)
The gap was likely in order to cast a stronger magic for the decisive
blow. But that would be fatal, Lina thought. As she did so. she
simultaneously activated self-acceleration and Data Fortification.
By cladding herself in self-acceleration magic which lowered both
gravity and inertia, Lina rushed straight towards Miyuki. Her right
hand grasped what had looked like decorative buttons on her jacket.
She hadn't taken out her gun, but this much should be more than
enough to take out a high school girl.
Then the moment Lina was five metres away, her intuition screamed
for her to halt.
She planted her feet firmly to resist a gale which suddenly threatened
to pull her body in.