"What the hell!?"
Amber, who had been about to shower the dark-haired girl with more coquettish words and drown her in affection, immediately shot to her feet and dashed toward the railing.
Through the wire mesh, she took in the scene unfolding on the sports field.
Dozens of black, sludge-like circles had appeared all over the grounds at some unknown time.
From that muck, various monsters were continuously emerging, chasing the students who were in the middle of training.
The only small mercy was that this was the Valkyrie Department's field. While the students lacked Stigmata, their bodies were honed by constant training.
But that wasn't entirely an advantage.
Amber could already see many students not running away, but instead turning back to fight the monsters, only to be sent flying by a single swipe of a beastly paw.
At that age, their thinking was naturally immature.
After joining the Valkyrie Department, wanting to prove their strength by fighting monsters was perfectly normal.
Their bravery and fearlessness were real, but without the power and sense to back it up, such courage would only end up hurting them.
"Dammit!"
Amber felt utterly useless. How had she failed to foresee this attack?
Was it because she'd been too focused on Black Amber?
Though she blamed herself, the problem at hand still needed solving.
Without a moment's hesitation, Amber vaulted over the barbed wire fence and, to Sakiko's shocked cry, leaped down from the rooftop.
"Come and get me if you dare, you monsters!"
The white figure descending from the sky still managed to draw everyone's eyes, even in this chaos, especially since she was loudly announcing her presence.
The fleeing students were the first to notice the white-haired girl.
The teachers also realized something was wrong.
Throwing open windows, they followed Amber's example and jumped down from the building.
"Kiana! You handle the ones on the field! All other students, assemble at the main entrance of the teaching building!" one teacher shouted, taking command.
"Miss Kiana!? Where's Miss Mei!?"
Ando-sensei came running out of the building as well. Seeing only the white-haired girl, she asked urgently.
The Valkyrie Department didn't discriminate by age or experience. Here, strength was everything.
Kiana and Mei were acknowledged as powerful, even more so than the teachers who possessed Stigmata.
In an emergency like this, there was no room for notions like 'students just need to be protected.'
"Mei's still on the roof!"
Amber called back, catching the baseball bat Andou had brought out with her. Without looking back, she sprinted toward the field.
The few loud exchanges had helped steady the panicked students' nerves. They immediately began running toward the teachers.
The sports field was the most chaotic area, likely being the origin point of the monsters. Most of the creatures were there, engaged in a chase with the students.
With a solid thwack, Kiana sent a giant charging rat splattering back into black sludge.
She glanced at a panting classmate. "Are you okay?!"
"Kiana-san! Thanks! I'm heading to safety now!"
The classmate knew her own limits. Not wanting to be a burden or waste time, she immediately ran off the field.
--+--
Up on the roof.
Black Amber discreetly observed Wakaba Mutsumi's expression.
When neither she nor Amber had noticed the magical fluctuations earlier, Mutsumi had been the first to react. Why?
For both her and Amber to only sense something was wrong the moment it happened meant this wasn't an attack launched on-site.
It had been 'teleported' here. In that case, no one should have been able to predict it beforehand.
"Monsters... Is an Evil Organization attacking Tsukinomori!?"
Sakiko had also seen the situation below, her face showing panic.
Then, remembering something, she immediately turned to Black Amber. "Is the attack only targeting the Valkyrie Department area this time?"
"From the looks of it, yes."
The view from up high was excellent. As Black Amber scanned the area, the other side of Tsukinomori remained as peaceful as ever.
But judging by how students were being quickly evacuated everywhere, word of the situation here had already spread.
While the two were talking, Wakaba Mutsumi kept her head lowered, her eyes unfocused, as if stunned by what was happening.
Seeing this, Sakiko immediately ran to her side, gently patting the girl's shoulder while taking her hand.
"Mutsumi, it's okay. Mei-senpai is here, and those monsters are all on the ground. The teachers will keep them outside the building. We're safe."
"...Mhm."
Mutsumi gave a slight shiver, then glanced at Sakiko, nodding softly in agreement.
The situation on the ground was roughly under control.
Amber and the teachers' rescue had been swift. There were no fatalities among the students.
Though some had minor injuries, they'd heal in a week or two at most. This sudden, inexplicable crisis seemed resolved.
Just as everyone was starting to think that, a transparent black blotch suddenly appeared in the sky.
At first, it was inconspicuous. But within mere seconds, it expanded to envelop the entire Tsukinomori campus.
Unsure what to make of this transparent barrier, which was like a 'Curtain,' Amber frowned, watching the development closely.
"Is Mei-san not planning to come down?"
Seeing this, Ando grew even more anxious.
"Mei is protecting our friends," Amber explained. "From the General Studies course."
In other words, young ladies with no combat ability whatsoever, who would have trouble even running away and could easily be psychologically traumatized by the scare.
Ando nodded. It was true—having a powerful Valkyrie by their side would be the only way to reassure those young ladies.
"Your little performance... I'll acknowledge it for now."
As soon as their conversation ended, a figure clad in the long black coat so favored by Evil Organization executives slowly appeared—in mid-air, another favorite spot of said executives.
"Who are you!?"
A teacher on the ground immediately shouted the question.
"Attacking Tsukinomori publicly, and the Valkyrie Department of Tsukinomori at that! Do you wish to make an enemy of Schicksal!?"
While this world advocated for equality and scorned nepotism, such connections objectively existed.
It was just like when the Evil Organization attacked Shibuya—no one had issued threats like 'Do you want to make an enemy of Schicksal?'
Although both places were under Schicksal's protection, the Valkyrie Departments of various schools clearly had deeper ties with Schicksal, since the teachers here were all Valkyries.
In most cases, this threat was effective.
It was common knowledge that Schicksal's Valkyries weren't as powerful as Magical Girls. But just as there were crocodiles under one meter long and others over seven meters, Valkyries also had their strong and weak.
Many A-rank Valkyries together were a match for a Magical Girl.
Add to that Schicksal's greatest abundance: personnel and intelligence.
Once targeted by Schicksal, you'd have nowhere to hide in all of Japan, facing constant pursuit from both Valkyries and Magical Girls.
However, the Evil Organization never lacked for audacity and madmen.
'I'll just finish this job and not stick around in this world afterwards.'
The woman draped in the black coat sneered.
"You're nothing but monkeys who can't even use magic. I have no interest in targeting you. I have only one purpose here. Fulfill it, and I'll spare your lives."
As she spoke, she raised a hand, pointing at the white-haired girl within the crowd.
A dangerous smile spread across her face.
"Hand over Kiana and Raiden Mei."
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.