The Cocoon’s Gambit

(Bai Ziye)

The round cocoon formed by the female monster shimmered with an emerald light, continuously absorbing water from the artificial lake below.

This was evolution. Some External Invaders could unleash a second—or even multiple—forms during battle, and evolution was almost always accompanied by a massive power boost. By sending a smaller female monster through a phase wormhole to evolve locally, they could execute a devastating surprise attack.

An unknown tactical officer’s voice crackled through the comms. “Please be careful, Miss Miluno. That sphere is accumulating massive power inside.”

“I can see that,” I snapped.

“I think it’s better to wait until the lake is drained—”

A high-speed water jet unexpectedly pierced the hexacopter drone, and the tactical officer’s voice cut off in a burst of static.

If we waited for the lake to drain, the monster would already be finished evolving. That Association tactical officer was useless. It seemed I had to come up with a plan myself, but I lacked a way to close the distance across the water. If this were on land, I would have ended the fight minutes ago.

It seemed I had to use that move.

I gripped my dual short swords in a reverse hold and crouched low, ready to sprint—when suddenly…

“M-Miss Miluno!”

A small, pink figure came running over from the park entrance.

“…Sailuno?”

She ran up to me and smiled, her eyes squinting behind her mask. “Oh! I’m so honored that you actually know my name!”

Just knowing her name makes her this excited?

Another water jet shot over. It seemed this was the monster’s only defense during its evolution. Sailuno didn’t dodge; instead, she let her protective membrane take the hit head-on. The water jet’s power wasn’t overwhelming—it was something Sailuno could withstand for now.

“I have a way for you to get over there, Miss Miluno.”

“How?”

“My magic can create a series of air cushions covering the water’s surface. It’ll let you run across, and it’ll stop her from absorbing more lake water to evolve.”

She only just arrived, but she’s already figured out the situation?

I didn’t want to reveal my own trump card if I didn’t have to, so Sailuno’s proposal was perfect. “How many water jets can your cushions take?”

“Based on that last one, maybe two at most. But I can reinforce them with my shield. If she can’t fire continuously, she’s no threat to me.”

“Can you let the water jet pass through the cushions?”

“No… I can’t imagine a reality where the cushion blocks the lake water but lets a water jet through… But I have another idea. Miss Miluno, get ready to run!”

Another water jet came, still aimed at Sailuno. The monster seemed to realize it couldn’t hit me, so it didn’t bother wasting the effort. The jet was extremely fast. Sailuno couldn’t dodge in time, and her protective membrane shattered under the pressure. But she still raised her ruby wand, summoning countless tightly-packed air cushions across the water’s surface.

I saw her plan. Since a single membrane covering the water could be easily broken, she had created dozens of small ones to distribute the impact damage. But the cost was steep—after just this one spell, Sailuno was already gasping for air.

“Sailuno, are you okay?”

“I’m fine! Please, go stop her, Miss Miluno!”

“Mm.”

I looked toward the center of the lake. A single large membrane now sat there, cutting off the connection between the cocoon and the water supply.

“Time-Freeze.”

Everything around me slowed to a near-halt. I vaulted over the lakeshore railing and sprinted across Sailuno’s cushions toward the giant cocoon. I had to take the monster down before she finished her evolution. This troublesome opponent gave me a terrible feeling—she felt stronger than any monster I’d ever faced.

Fortunately, now that I had a foothold, she had lost her means of keeping me away. Stepping on the soft cushions, I charged right up to her and thrust my dark-gold short sword into the swirling iron curtain of chains. Without the cushions, I would have fallen into the lake long ago.

“Magical Girl Slash!”

In an instant, I forced my personal time flow to exceed my safe limit of ten times. The short sword tore through the monster’s barrier like a hot knife through butter. The chains shattered, and I caught a glimpse of the creature mid-evolution.

That wide, ugly witch hat had vanished completely. Now I could see her features: silver-blue scales only covered her jaw. Aside from a mouthful of shark-like teeth, her face was almost human—even delicate. Emerald lake water formed long hair that flowed slowly in the nearly frozen time…

This monster was actually quite beautiful.

But I wasn’t about to go easy on her. Ending her life in an instant when she couldn’t even react was my final mercy. I thrust my short sword at her throat, aiming for the gap in her scales.

…Wait.

Something felt off. I jerked back instinctively, my body coiling like a spring.

The next second, the chains, water curtains, and blade fragments forming the cocoon all exploded outward in a directed, high-velocity barrage.

The target wasn’t me—it was behind me. Sailuno?!

She was sitting exhausted on the lakeshore, her protective membrane already gone. Even if she had managed to recast it, it wouldn’t have withstood a desperate, all-out attack like this. The monster was grinning; she knew her gamble was going to pay off.

Tch.

Even if I killed her now, I couldn’t stop that barrage. I turned and ran toward Sailuno on the shore, but the “Itano Circus” style barrage was incredibly fast. The creature had been preparing this single, focused strike inside the cocoon all along.

Ten times wasn’t enough. I pushed harder. Thirteen… fifteen times!

The moment I accelerated again, the burden on my body became crushing. My bones felt like they were splintering; every step felt like wading through thick cement. Even breathing became a struggle. Fifteen times was far beyond my limit.

But I had to protect that idiot.

In the unnervingly quiet, frozen world, I raced to outrun the barrage. I crashed through the railing on the shore and slid to a stop in front of Sailuno.

Dizziness from oxygen deprivation hit me like a physical blow. I couldn’t touch her directly—at fifteen times speed, even slight contact would cause her serious internal injury, and trying to push her out of the way would be like hitting her with a truck.

I turned around again, gripping my short sword tightly, ready to meet the incoming storm… but a barrage like this was meant to be dodged, not parried. I couldn’t block it all.

The density of the projectiles was too high. Even at fifteen times speed, I couldn’t catch every blade fragment and chain link. My time was running out. The physical strain would kill me even if only a few seconds passed in real time.

But I couldn’t dodge. Sailuno would never survive it.

I made my decision. I turned to face Sailuno and spread my arms, returning my personal time flow to normal. I would take the entire barrage on my back.

…I never thought I’d be fighting this hard.

In a split second, the dense barrage slammed into me, throwing me back into Sailuno.