Cooperation (2)

The Fish Men they’d fought before varied in size, but all fell within a similar range. This one, however, was clearly abnormal.

Even hunched over, it stood nearly two meters tall. Its skin was a sickly purple-blue, its massive muscles laced with visible veins.

It glared up at the three floating magical girls, jaw working as its jagged teeth scraped together with a chilling click-click-click.

From a behavioral standpoint, this was likely a warning—a display meant to intimidate and scare off intruders.

“That one’s bad…”

Huangxing instinctively took two steps back.

“So big… at least four times bigger? No, even more.” She swallowed hard.

“Oh? You can feel it?”

Tidal turned to look at Huangxing.

Her expression remained cold, but her eyes held a flicker of approval.

When they fought the Shadow Hunter earlier, Lao Lin had explained to Raging Flame the simplest way to judge an aberration’s strength: observe the scale of its magic particles.

Experienced magical girls often relied more on magical sense than on rank classifications. By sensing the “size” of the magic construct, they could gauge the enemy’s true power.

For example, this Fish Man was technically a D-rank—classified as the weakest tier. But in Tidal’s perception, its magic particles were on par with a C-rank. She concluded this was likely the group’s leader—or a mutated individual.

“Haha, are you joking?” Raging Flame laughed. “Four times bigger? That’s exaggerated. It’s just a bit larger.”

“She didn’t mean physical size.”

Tidal shot her a look. “She meant the scale of magic particles. This Fish Man has strength comparable to a C-rank.”

This was only Huangxing’s second day as a magical girl. With no formal training or real combat experience, she’d already sensed this subtle difference. She truly had a natural talent… at least more than her own niece.

Tidal sighed quietly. “Let’s call it the Fish Man Leader for now.”

“Senior, what should we do?” Huangxing asked.

“…”

Tidal didn’t answer. Instead, she locked eyes with each of them, then tilted her chin forward—go.

“Both of us together?” Huangxing gasped.

“What? You don’t want to? Then just watch.”

Without hesitation, Raging Flame dove down. Her relentless fighting spirit and quick action were the only things Tidal found reassuring at the moment.

A trail of fire cut through the air as she rocketed toward the Fish Man Leader like a missile.

“Be careful. Try not to damage the equipment.”

Tidal called out.

This was a critical infrastructure hub. If their battle caused collateral damage, the consequences could be widespread. While magical girls weren’t held accountable for destruction, they were here to solve problems, not create new ones.

“…!”

Heeding the warning, Raging Flame pulled back on her magic output. The flames swirling around her dimmed by a third.

—Boom!

The impact cracked the dusty concrete floor into a spiderweb of fissures. Dust exploded upward, filling the air like thick fog.

Blinded by the haze, Raging Flame couldn’t see her target. Reacting instantly, she raised her greatsword vertically and used its broad back like a fan, slashing through the air to disperse the dust.

As the cloud cleared, she realized her attack had missed.

At the last moment, the Fish Man Leader had retreated to safety. Now, it clutched its bone spear, eyes locked on the magical girl with wary hostility.

—Hyaah!

Without hesitation, Raging Flame charged again. But in that same instant, she heard Huangxing’s panicked scream from above.

“Move!”

Instinctively, Raging Flame braked mid-air.

—…?!

Just before she came to a complete stop, she felt something slice through the air behind her head. A few strands of her fiery red hair drifted into her vision.

—It was Huangxing’s arrow.

Realizing this, Raging Flame spun around, furious.

“Are you trying to kill me?!”

The arrow had flown along the exact path she’d been charging. If she hadn’t stopped, she would’ve been the one impaled.

Huangxing, too, looked stunned, frozen in midair with her bow clutched to her chest.

Of course, she hadn’t meant to attack her teammate. Even if she didn’t like Raging Flame—or rather, You Xi.

But the moment she fired, Raging Flame had lunged forward. By terrible coincidence, their attack paths had overlapped.

“…B-but how was I supposed to know you’d suddenly rush in?!”

Huangxing shot back, flustered—both at her teammate and at herself.

“Don’t you play games?!”

“W-what does that have to do with anything?!”

“Ranged attackers pick their spot and don’t interfere with melee! You idiot!”

“Idiot?! Do you have to be so harsh?!” Huangxing’s voice trembled. “I didn’t mean to…!”

Watching their “perfectly synchronized” teamwork, Tidal rubbed her forehead.

So this was what “one plus one equals less than one” looked like. Today, she’d finally seen it with her own eyes.

“Enough. Stop blaming each other. It’s your first time working together. It’s normal to be clumsy.”

Tidal stepped in.

Seeing Huangxing on the verge of tears, Tidal gently patted her head, trying to calm her.

Through her hair, she could feel Huangxing’s scalp burning—damp with sweat.

Her body temperature had clearly spiked from the stress and anxiety.

“Alright, don’t be scared or guilty. Breathe. Stay calm.” Her voice softened.

“O-okay… I understand, Senior…”

The head-pat seemed to work. Huangxing felt her stiff muscles relax.

By now, Raging Flame had already charged the Fish Man Leader again. Sword clashed with spear—close-quarters combat had begun.

“Calm… calm…”

Huangxing whispered to herself, as if casting a spell. Slowly, she formed another magic arrow in her hand.

“…This time, I can’t mess up.”

She nocked the arrow, aiming down at the battlefield below.