Chapter 79: Aegis

The suddenly flashing light formed a long, straight line in the air, finally attracting the attention of passersby below.

Not only that, but the people who had been in confusion and panic after the office building was attacked finally noticed the commotion in the sky, and subsequently realized that what they had encountered was not an earthquake.

"What's going on? Is it thunder?"

"There's a chunk missing from the edge of that building over there. Is it a Remnant Beast?"

"I don't see a Remnant Beast. It must have been wiped out already, right?"

On the street below, the passing crowd gathered together, discussing the matter in a cacophony of voices.

Although no one knew exactly what had happened, when there was no obvious visible threat to the naked eye, people's instinct for curiosity would lead them to choose to watch rather than flee.

What they did not know was that at this very moment, high above, the threat still existed.

"Hey, hey, hey? Still responsive? It wouldn't be just this level, would it?"

After the black and yellow light dissipated, Sparrow lowered her hand, a somewhat bored expression appearing on her face: "If you get taken out just like this, I'll have to have a serious debate with your fans later about whether you're all reputation and no substance."

It should be known that before this trip, she had actually been full of interest in this former Flower Card named "Cornflower."

According to the intelligence she possessed, although this former Flower Card's current state was likely not great, she should have been able to have a satisfying fight with her.

As one of the rare lifetime magical girls in the Magical Kingdom, the name Cornflower was the hottest legend during the time she had just become a magical girl.

Every magical girl who fancied herself a genius had to face the name "Cornflower" before talking about how excellent her own talent was.

Achieving the Bud-level in two years, making major contributions in the "Garden" defense battle, obtaining both the Flower Card and lifetime magical girl honors, and even being summoned by the big shots in the Rose Palace at that time—in terms of reputation, Cornflower was truly unrivaled.

With the addition of reputation, talent, strength, and image... under the blessing of many factors, during that period, many new-generation magical girls claimed to be fans of Cornflower.

It was just that the duration of this legend was not long; only three years after her debut, Cornflower abruptly disappeared from the kingdom and from the public eye.

Some said she sacrificed herself in a battle against an extremely powerful Remnant Beast; others said she retired and married a certain royal in the Rose Palace; there were even rumors that Cornflower was a fake identity and there was someone else behind it...

However, a few days ago, Sparrow had heard another version.

That version was that Cornflower was actually in the "Garden" defense battle—

—"Masterpiece, Number Four, Aegis of Protection."

A cold and indifferent voice interrupted Sparrow's thoughts.

A hazy, clear light lit up, also attracting her gaze.

Where Cornflower had been floating before, there now appeared a huge circular shield made of interwoven threads of azure magic, resembling a hollowed-out sculpture.

This was Cornflower's "Masterpiece."

Woven from threads and solidified through entanglement to create special weaponry, this was an advanced application of Cornflower's thread magic equipment.

Because the composition of the magic equipment contained the power of soul and will in addition to magic power, it could still withstand the attack when facing the kind of power Sparrow had that could corrupt magic barriers.

Even though the surface was pitted and eroded, this Masterpiece faithfully completed its task, protecting its master.

The petite blue-haired girl stood behind the shield unscathed, her expression changing from its previous coldness to become quite calm.

"This is the first time I've seen magic power with such corrosive properties."

Releasing her tense fingers, the thread shield in front of her collapsed instantly, and Cornflower changed her hand gesture, pushing away the threads that still lingered by her side: "Is this your special reliance? Or do all of you so-called Claw Marks have such dangerous magic power?"

Based on her past combat experience, such properties were extremely unfamiliar.

Most people's magic power in the world was non-characteristic; she had seen one person whose magic power carried special properties, and such people were generally called "Deflectors" by the kingdom, but the manifestation was completely different from this magical girl before her.

Now she suspected that this highly corrosive magic power was likely a unique technique of this organization named "Claw Marks."

"The intent to fish for information is too obvious, old hag."

Seeing that her attack didn't seem to have worked, Sparrow regained some interest, but still said: "It's no wonder you know nothing about the current situation of the world while hiding in such a remote city to retire, but what reason would I have to tell you?"

Earth-yellow magic power condensed into a magic wand in her hand; she raised it and pointed it straight at Cornflower's face: "Win against me first, then consider the matter of fishing for information!"

The tip of the magic wand flashed with light, and then, a magic beam with even greater power than before shot out toward Cornflower again.

This time, the prepared Cornflower tapped her toes, simply floating sideways for several meters to dodge the attack.

She turned back, returned two magic beams in kind, forced Sparrow to move toward the intended area, and then hooked the threads around her, attempting to use her magic equipment to restrain her opponent.

On the other side, Sparrow had already investigated what abilities this former Flower Card's magic equipment had before coming, and although the performance of instantly weaving weapons was a bit unexpected, the combat style of using threads to bind enemies was no different. She knew she couldn't fight her within her network of threads, as it would be easy to fall into the opponent's rhythm, so she quickly put distance between herself and Cornflower, moving toward a space with fewer buildings.

Cornflower's magic threads were not things without support; to borrow force, there had to be flat surfaces nearby to fix the ends.

Therefore, for her, the best combat scenarios were indoors, in caves, on the ground, or at the very least among a cluster of buildings, so she could better weave her network.

Besides that, if she encountered a high-speed moving target, it would become very difficult to control the opponent; Cornflower herself was very clear about this point.

So when she saw the opponent moving toward a more open location, she had to ponder and make a choice in her heart. After weighing the pros and cons, she felt that catching this evil magical girl was a very important matter, so she put away her magic equipment and followed closely.

The high altitude was not suitable for using magic equipment, so it turned into pure aerial combat.

Blue and yellow magic power clashed fiercely in the air; countless magic bullets and magic beams appeared from different directions, only to be annihilated after shooting off into nowhere. The two magical girls kept flying at high speeds while trying to shoot each other down with their own magic bullets.

Sparrow's total magic power seemed to be superior to Cornflower's, so she kept squandering her magic power, constantly pressuring Cornflower's movement route with more rapid displacements.

Cornflower was more precise and frugal in her use of magic power, never performing useless maneuvers or accelerations; even when facing the opponent's frequent shooting, she only shifted at a small angle to graze past the trajectory.

She tried to lure Sparrow back to the office building complex, but the opponent clearly didn't fall for it, instead fully exerting her initiative and aggressively closing in on Cornflower.

Until the distance between her and Cornflower in the air was reduced to less than ten meters, she suddenly laughed.

Then, her words reached Cornflower's ears through the sound of the "whooshing" airflow:

"Sparrow, Magic Construct Precipitation."