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—Tsutrail: Near the Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky Headquarters—
"Guh! You’re nothing but a discarded test subject...! Minotaur, hurry up and crush her already!"
A man wearing a deep red robe shouted in a fit of irritation, directing his command at a Minotaur that had grown to nearly twice its normal size.
Obeying the man's order, the Minotaur raised its clasped fists high above its head.
"Carol!" Sophia called out, her voice sharp with warning.
"No problem! Something that slow is never going to catch me!"
Caroline activated the earring-type magic tool she had received from her siblings in Daluane. Immediately, glowing magic circles surfaced in her eyes, and a flickering, viridescent aura—resembling emerald flames—erupted from her entire body.
The Minotaur brought its massive, joined fists down toward her.
To the current Caroline, whose five senses and dynamic vision were honed to a razor's edge, the attack was practically moving in slow motion. She evaded the strike by a hair's breadth, sliding through the beast’s legs.
As they passed, she lashed out with the daggers in both hands, slicing through the Minotaur's Achilles tendons. She used the momentum to roll clear and spring away.
As the Minotaur collapsed, unable to support its own weight, Sophia’s magic struck without a moment’s delay.
"—[Explode]!"
The concussive blast rocked the area.
"Tch, you little brats—!?"
The man in red spat out a curse, but as he moved to make his next play, he realized his body wouldn't budge. At the same moment she had launched her attack on the Minotaur, Sophia had used [Psychokinesis] to pin him in place.
"—[Reflective Wall]."
Caroline, who had already put distance between herself and the beast, activated her own magic. She kicked off the translucent, viridescent wall that appeared behind her, using the recoil to close the gap with the robed man in a heartbeat.
"Kuh!"
He fired several [Thunder Spears] at the incoming Caroline. However, she evaded them all with fluid, preternatural movements, as if she could see the trajectory of the lightning before it even left his hands.
"...I'll tell you one thing. I'm not a test subject! I am Caroline Inglot of the Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky!"
She shouted her name, stowing her daggers and clenching her fist. With a precise strike, she drove her knuckles deep into the man's solar plexus.
"Carol, are you okay?" Sophia asked, hurrying over with concern.
Caroline, having finished binding the now-unconscious man, turned back with her usual cheerful smile.
"I’m totally fine! Thanks for worrying about me, though. ...But seriously, why did people from the Cult suddenly jump us?"
Since today was their day off, Sophia and Caroline had been enjoying a stroll through Tsutrail. That peaceful afternoon had been shattered when they received the state of emergency declaration from Selma via telepathy.
They had immediately headed for the Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky headquarters to rendezvous with Logan and Luna, but they had been ambushed by a trio in red robes along the way. Now, they had repelled the threat by themselves.
A year ago, during their guided exploration, Sophia had been at her limit just activating advanced magic. Now, she was capable of wielding special-grade spells, and her innate ability was on a completely different level of mastery compared to when it first manifested.
Caroline, too, had significantly bolstered her combat prowess, combining her Ki-based physical enhancement with the power of the magic tools her siblings had gifted her.
"The attack on the Guild and the stampede... that’s the Empire, right?" Sophia asked.
"Hmm, I've been a bit suspicious about the Empire causing the stampede for a while now. The methods they're using feel more like the Cult's style. ...Maybe the Empire is actually working with them?"
"Wait, if that's true, isn't this situation incredibly dangerous...?"
"It's just a guess. Anyway, more importantly, we need to get back to headquarters, find Log, and help evacuate the rest of the clan!"
As a rule, B-Rank and higher Explorers in Tsutrail were expected to mobilize against magic beasts coming from the labyrinths. As an A-Rank party, Twilight Moonbow was among those tasked with the defense, but their specific role in this crisis was to lead the evacuation of non-combatant clan members.
"Right! I hope Big Sis Ruu made it back to headquarters too."
"She mentioned having some urgent business earlier~. If she’s outside the city, meeting up might be difficult."
"I wonder where she is. I just hope she's safe."
"Big Sis Ruu will be fine. She’s an S-Rank Explorer, after all!"
"Yeah, you're right—Wait, what is that...?"
As they hurried toward their destination, Sophia’s voice trailed off into bewilderment.
"Huh? What’s wrong—Wait, what!?"
Caroline followed Sophia’s gaze and let out a cry of shock.
The Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky headquarters was in sight. However, it was now encased in a massive, dome-shaped barrier that looked like red, translucent glass.
"That... that wasn't there a minute ago, was it!?"
"No way. It’s too big to miss."
"Anyway, let's move!"
Pushed by a growing sense of unease, the two sprinted toward the headquarters.
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"Log!?" Caroline shouted.
As they reached the edge of the barrier, they found Logan fighting a swarm of magic beasts alone. He was utilizing his ability, [Shadow Manipulation], to manifest a diverse menagerie—shadowy dogs, birds, and even massive elephants and bears.
Faced with a horde that would have overwhelmed even a senior explorer through sheer numbers, Logan hadn't retreated an inch. If anything, he seemed to be holding the advantage.
"Let’s back him up, Carol!"
"You got it! —[Viridescent]!"
Caroline responded to Sophia’s call by re-activating her earrings. Magic circles flickered in her eyes, and the emerald flame-like aura once again enveloped her body. She charged headlong into the fray.
"—[Fire Javelin]!"
Sophia cast her spell in tandem, and countless spears of flame streaked through the air alongside Caroline.
"You two!"
Logan, whose expression had been grim until then, brightened the moment he saw his teammates. With the three of them working together, the swarm was annihilated in seconds.
"Extermination complete!"
As the last of the magic beasts dissolved into black mist, Caroline took a moment to stretch.
"Thanks, I owe you two."
"We're a team, Log. Of course we’d come. ...More importantly, what is this glass-like thing?" Sophia asked, staring up at the red barrier covering the Silver Rabbit grounds.
"...I don't know. It appeared out of nowhere."
"Hmm, I really don't like the feel of this. Hey, Log, are the non-combatant members still inside?"
"Yeah, most of them. My [Shadow Leap] seems to work for getting in and out, so the plan was to clear the immediate area of beasts and then start moving everyone out."
"In that case, we should hurry—"
"—Now that you mention it, you did possess the [Shadow Manipulation] ability, didn't you? It was such trivial information that I’d forgotten all about it."
As Caroline started to speak, a different man's voice cut her off.
"「「「—!?」」」"
Even while talking, the three had kept most of their focus on their surroundings. To hear a voice from someone who had slipped through their guard so completely sent a jolt of shock through them.
But Orun and Luna's training had been drilled into their very bones. Their bodies reacted instinctively. They kicked off the ground, leaping in the opposite direction of the voice to put distance between themselves and the intruder.
"Still, I expected him to show himself immediately if I made this much of a mess. Could it be that Orun Doura is not in Tsutrail after all?"
Once they had reset their positions, the three turned their eyes toward the source of the voice.
There stood a man with a refined, aristocratic air—the "Rasetsu," Stieg Strom. He lingered there with his usual soft, deceptively innocent expression.