76 - New form

*

Taneda mulled over Sariel's words for a moment, pulling up her hood to cover her face. She turned around to get a good look at the tree, she was right to assume she wouldn't be attacked even after turning her back to these 2. Sariel's priority was to convince her rather than fight, after all. Unfortunately, she wasn't successful. Taneda wouldn't resort to an ambush here, at least not to those who are on the white side.

"Potential danger is still danger. Matters regarding magic are never guaranteed. It's the whole purpose for my existence, after all it was because magical girls are just girls, painfully mundane and lawful individuals chosen via evolution of the human race.

You guys are unpredictable like every other person out there, you are the basis for my job. Lastia is. "(Taneda)

Her expression was pained, her brows furrowed and eyelid partially closed. Her gaze focused on the ground, as if unable to face Lastia's companion for a short moment. She spoke with a weighted tone, as if choking herself out to enunciate to the best of her ability. Regrettable, that easily summed up her sentiments on this matter.

" Arin, we're fighting. " (Sariel)

" Haah?! Are you crazy? " (Arin)

For reasons undisclosed, Arin could sense and accurately gauge that Taneda was two ranks above her. Her voice grew higher in protest before reeling in from being out of breath. A sharp pin in her throat, her thoughts raced to rationalise her friend's actions. To survive, she would have to use {Barter} at full output to match Sariel's base speed, and then put all her effort into dodging attacks. Suffice to say she wouldn't be able to contribute anything substantial. Even so...

"Damn it... Why did I let myself get convinced? You better have a plan, it's the least we need to survive and see Lastia again." (Arin)

She walks forward to match Sariel's distance from Taneda, standing at Sariel's side as she raised and folded her arms. Her eyes were now trained onto Taneda, carefully preparing countermeasures.

"That's fine. At the very least, Lastia will live to see another day." (Sariel)

Taneda phased out of sight, reappreaing a metre away from Sariel. Her sword was drawn ready and raised high into the sky for a heavy downward slash.

" {Swap} " (Sariel)

Similarly, she teleported forward. Not more than 10 cm away, they felt each other's breath as Sariel's fist blanketed her vision.

"Auto-Atta-" (Taneda)

Sariel's fist smashes into her nose and throws her body along the numerous cracks in the ground. The speed of her attack has surpassed the autonomy of Taneda's magic. While her fist and bones were definitely crushed due to Taneda's immense dursbility, it presented them with another level of opportunities. It actually looked possible to save Lastia now.

"H-how?! How did you do that?" (Arin)

That was before she noticed dark scarlet light wrapped around Sariel's fist like a thick web, it moved as she did and wouldn't separate from her body. She turned around to face Taneda, frustration radiates out of her tightly gritted teeth even if her hood obscures the top half of her face. She was momentarily surprised as well.

"This is the power stored in that tree, world vein simulation, yggdrasil. Lastia can lend out {Feed} to anyone she approves of. Though she can no longer move from that spot, she can help any magical girl in need.

{Feed} increased my capabilities by a rank. It felt underwhelming coming from her, but she was just that week. Now that it was used to enhance someone who was slightly stronger from the start... " (Sariel)

Activating {Swap}, she flashed forward with her fist by her side. Taneda read her attack and swung her sword to meet her knuckles. At the point of collision, shock waves were released into the surroundings, vaporising the streets before the next wave of debris, ash and radiation arrived. Sariel swung her other fist and began to rain a barrage of blows. Taneda relentlessly turned her sword, slashing each and every attack thrown at her.

Sariel was just a A rank, there weren't many A ranks around but there weren't very little of them as well. Why was she so confident? Did she not feel Taneda's immense power from a distance away? One by one these questions came crashing down in Evaria's heart as she witnessed the ridiculous spectacle in front of her. Sariel had long surpassed her limits with Lastia's help, she took extra time to arrive here because she was busy talking to Lastia.

They noticed the threat quite a while ago after Sariel and Arin had finished their fight. Sariel teleported into the tree and spoke to Lastia, and they came to a compromise.

***

"I don't want to move out of here, but I don't want to die either. I'll give you my power, that's all you need out of me, right?" (Lastia)

"Tch! What sense did it make to have your power but not you? But... You're right. We're running out of time. Once I defeat her, I'm coming back for you. That's why... Don't die." (Sariel)

Her figure vanished, as transient as the moment she arrived within simulated world vein, Yggdrasil. Just like the moment Lastia woke up in this world.

"Ugh. Who wants you to save who? Aargh!! Nevermind!" (Lastia)

Sariel came and went by in a flash, yet Lastia got oddly passionate in that short amount of time. Her face flushed in a miserable frown. She glared at her palms, closing them in irritation.

" Spiritual terminal set up. Ready to grant access." (Lastia)

The tree had developed quite a bit since they last met. It was now ready to perform these intricate tasks that go beyond the scope of her skill. Since Yggdrasil could absorb and store magical energy ready for use in root like structures, it also begun to deviate into doing other tasks autonomously, like calculations. Large amounts of computing power is needed to deal with magic through trial and error, she developed a magic structure capable of computation. Accelerating evolution.

It was still primitive and required heavy lifting from Lastia herself, but it was ready to lend power to anyone within the culture mini zone. As long as Lastia herself granted access permission.

***

"Once you save her, Yggdrasil won't be around to help out other magical girls!" (Taneda)

"Sorry, that wasn't meant to convince you. It was an explanation, a threat!" (Sariel)

"Empty threats won't work on me!" (Taneda)

"That's why I'm here! To show you you're wrong!" (Sariel)

*BOOM!!!*

A loud impact against metal resounded nearby. Taneda had raised her sword to block a bullet, and facing it was Arin. She conjured a gun with {Barter}, got closed before anyone noticed and fired.