Chapter 269: Breaking Out of the Cage

Five minutes is enough for two magical girls whose abilities have blossomed to Leaf grade or higher to fly dozens of miles.

Although limited by total mana reserves, few magical girls would actually do this, but with the beast attack imminent, Cornflower and Ink Lotus still rushed to the scene at their maximum possible speed.

Laid out before them was a district that could still be considered relatively intact, and in the center of the district, a massive beast trapped within a mana "cage."

This mana cage was the Rune-Nore city lockdown technique, applicable to many emergency evacuation situations; one of its main purposes was to restrict the movement range of beasts when they appeared, preventing further destruction within the city. But at the same time, such a large-scale, high-intensity technique could not be maintained for too long, so when Cornflower arrived, the surface of this mana cage was already covered in cracks, almost ready to shatter at any moment.

However, having seen this technique too many times, Cornflower did not focus her attention on the technique itself.

She gazed at the beast, which made no move, remaining as still as a statue in its original spot, and her pupils contracted slightly.

"S-so big a cocoon."

Nina, who had descended from behind Cornflower and was breathing slightly heavily due to high mana consumption, looked at the beast and instinctively shrank her shoulders: "L-look, it looks a bit scary, and it's even more disgusting than ordinary beasts."

The fact that a magical girl could use the adjective "scary" was enough to prove just how unpleasant the appearance of a beast could be.

This beast, curled up inside the cage, was entirely gray-black, with very obvious and hard lines and grooves on its body. It had a body and limbs resembling a human, but the proportions were slightly distorted; its limbs were somewhat too long compared to its torso, while its head was too small.

Its body was covered in slime of unknown composition. Even at this very moment, it continued to flow down its epidermis. The yellowish-brown liquid even stained the ground around it, turning the originally stone-paved road into a patch of scorched black.

The magical girls were staring at the beast, and the beast was also staring at the magical girls.

Its head, looking like a rotting, corrupted watermelon, turned slightly. The single eye it possessed released a gaze of considerable aggression, constantly sweeping back and forth over the two magical girls before it. It slightly opened the mouth on its chest, and Cornflower could see saliva dripping from that huge maw.

It was very hungry.

The beast's behavior revealed this information.

So the beast extended its long arm, its human-like hand covering the inner wall of that mana cage. Its fingers constantly groped and probed, finding the few cracks that had already appeared.

Click, click.

As if scratching at the scab on a wound, it used the joints on its claws to constantly pick at those few cracks. A grating sound continuously came from within, making Nina, whose strength was slightly weaker, turn pale.

It was the sound of someone throwing a puddle of broken glass shards on the ground, then repeatedly crushing those glass shards with some heavy object. The grating sound, the shattering sound, and the clashing sound mixed together. This sound grew louder and louder, until finally, it became a short, sharp sound of breaking.

The beast's claw extended out from the cage.

Cornflower shielded Nina behind her.

"That is not a cocoon," she said.

Although beasts of the same class vary in size, generally speaking, each class of beast has a corresponding size limit. For pupa-stage beasts, this size limit is often around 20 meters in length.

The beast before them had obviously long exceeded this range; in fact, its length should have already reached 30 meters.

"N-no, not a cocoon?"

Nina's heart skipped a beat. The truth corresponding to Cornflower's words had almost surfaced in her mind, but she still asked, unwilling to give up: "S-so, does that mean it could also be a looper..."

"This is a half-molt."

Cornflower's voice shattered the last of Nina's illusions.

And at that same moment, what shattered was not just Nina's illusions, but also the lockdown technique, which had long been at the end of its tether.

Crack.

Along the cracks picked out by the claws, the entire mana barrier was torn apart. The beast staggered to its feet from its original spot, slime splashing everywhere. It slightly shook its limbs, as if stretching its body, its movements as ridiculous as could be.

But this ridiculousness did not make Cornflower and Nina relax even a fraction, because from start to finish, the beast's single eye had been fixed on them, like a magnet being attracted, never leaving.

It waved its arms, completely destroying the mana cage around it. It moved its legs, using both hands and feet, crawling out of the broken technique cage like an amphibian. It squatted on the ground, its four claws gathered together, and like a frog, it quietly watched the two magical girls for a while in place.

Then, it suddenly jumped up.

"Weave Fate!"

"H-hold now!"

Almost at the same time, the two magical girls each manifested their magic armor.

There was no time to think about why a half-molt had appeared here, because that answer was not important to the two of them at this moment. Staying alive, killing this beast, was the top priority.

Typically, according to the beast suppression recommendation standards issued by the Research Institute, one half-molt requires three Rose-grade magical girls, plus the cooperation of five or more Leaf-grade magical girls to suppress. And at this very moment, standing here was only one Rose-grade and one Leaf-grade.

So there was no need, nor was it possible, to hold back. For these two magical girls, this was a powerful enemy that required their full strength to confront.

"Can you control the beast's movements?"

While retreating, Cornflower looked at Nina beside her and shouted loudly: "It doesn't need to be completely immobilized. Simply restraining its movement, can you do that?"

"I-I can't do it!"

Nina was so scared tears were about to fall: "I'm sorry, its size is too big, and its mana volume is greater than mine. Even controlling the air around it, my output isn't enough!"

"What about body parts?"

Senior Cuique continued to shout loudly: "Can't you freeze its hand? Can't you immobilize it with just one part?"

"I-I-I-I'll try!"

Nina reached out in extreme panic, trying to grab the beast's arm. This action seemed to really cause the beast's movement to pause, but very quickly, Nina's hand, along with the magic armor on it, bounced away as if struck by electricity.

"N-n-n-no, it's output is much stronger than mine!" Nina cried out.

"Can't you do it?"

But Cornflower did not blame her.

The beast's pounce arrived almost instantly. While dragging Nina away from the beast with threads, she murmured thoughtfully: "In that case, then it must be me."

The drifting threads turned into a vortex with her words. As if trying to take something out, Cornflower reached her hand into the vortex and, in the process of constantly retreating, pulled out a small ruler.

"Ink Lotus."

Amidst the scenery of the street rushing forward, Cornflower's slightly calm voice reached Nina's ears:

"I will count to three, and then, remember to lower your head."