MGRP Limited Ch 5

Chapter 5: Showdown


☆Maou Pam (18 hours and 14 minutes remaining)

The enemy had been too careless. They had probably become lax after fighting off their pursuers earlier. Or perhaps the opposition had decided that they could defeat them through numbers and fighting strength? That was the type which Maou Pam hated the most. Even if she thought she could win easily, she would still fight with all her might. There was no such thing in this world as a battle one could be 100% sure of winning.
敌人太过大意了。想必是曾经击退过追兵才会松懈吧。抑或是对方判断能够通过人数上的优势与战力打败她们？这是魔王帕姆最讨厌的类型。就算认为自己能够轻松获胜，也必须全力以赴。这个世界上绝对不存在着百分之百能够获胜的战斗。

While the car was moving as Mana’s magic wand directed, Maou Pam had spotted the enemy from where she was maintaining a lookout in the air. There were the forms of what looked to be Magical Girls talking on the roof of an old apartment building.
汽车跟着麻奈的魔法杖的指示前进，在上空戒备的魔王帕姆发现了敌人的身影。老旧的公寓顶楼，有数名看似魔法少女的人影正在对话。

On the battlefield, the first to discover the enemy had an advantage.
战场上，率先发现对手的人占有优势。

Maou Pam instantly informed the team leader, and let her determine the battle strategy. 7753 and Mana would be standing by at a safe location, while Hana would attack through the apartment main gate, Ripple would attack from the apartment roof and Maou Pam would attack from the air for a three-pronged assault.
魔王帕姆立刻通知主力部队，由主力部队拟定作战策略。7753与麻奈于安全地点待机，羽菜从公寓入口、莉普儿从公寓顶楼，魔王帕姆则是从上空发动攻击，进行三方夹击。

Maou Pam’s Magical Phone rang. That was the signal to attack. She looked down upon the surface from the sky, waiting for the right moment, anticipating her enemy’s pre-emptive strike when she made her own attack. Even when Maou Pam’s consciousness was fully concentrated on something else, she would never lower her guard. She had also heard that the enemy possessed a flying member. Maou Pam nimbly avoided the attack from below -- a head-on attack launched by an enemy who flew like the wind -- seized the moment, and counterattacked. She shaped a wing into a massive fist and punched the enemy. Since she was trying to avoid killing them, she held back a little.
魔王帕姆的魔法终端设备响起。这是下令攻击的暗号。她在高空俯瞰地面，计算好时机，正打算进攻时遭到敌人先发制人。魔王帕姆即使是全神贯注于某件事情时，也绝对不会松懈。她也听说敌方有能够飞行的人。魔王帕姆灵活地避开从下方仿佛风般迎面飞来的敌人所发出的攻击，抓准空隙一鼓作气反击回去。将翅膀变形成巨大的拳头后，揍向敌人。为了避免杀死敌人，她有手下留情。

She did not expect the fist to pass straight through the enemy’s face, like it was just scraping past. Maou Pam’ knitted her brows. She had held back, after all, and her fist had not encountered any resistance. The indented face gradually regenerated.
想不到拳头仿佛擦过去般贯穿敌人的脸部，魔王帕姆的眉头不禁一皱。她确实有手下留情，更何况她的拳头根本没有感受到任何阻力。被拳头揍凹的脸，逐渐再生。

It looked like an Arabian dancer, but she could vaguely make out the scenery through the other side of her body.
外貌看来是走阿拉伯风格的舞者，只不过，似乎隐隐约约能够看到身体另一侧的景色。

--This person seemed very strong.
——这个人似乎很强。

Maou Pam felt delight welling up within her heart, and hastily waved it away. Now was not the time to play around.
魔王帕姆感受到一股喜悦涌上心头，急忙挥开这份情绪。现在可不是在这里欢天喜地的时候。

The enemy launched something at her. Maou Pam shaped one of her wings into a shield and blocked it at an oblique angle. It appeared to have been a mass of air. It was not strong, and it would not have been fatal even if she had been hit by it. Could it be that the enemy was holding back on her? As she thought about that, a thrill of joy reared up within her like a serpent.
敌人射出来某样东西。魔王帕姆将其中一片翅膀变化成盾牌后，以倾斜的角度挡掉攻击。破空飞来的似乎是空气团块。威力不强，即使被击中，也不至于丢掉性命。难不成是对方对她手下留情吗？一思及此，一股高亢的喜悦之情，仿佛扬起脖子的蛇般高高窜起。

The mass, the size and the number of the air chunks increased as they flew at her. Maou Pam increased the thickness, strength and size of the shield as well, orbiting the enemy as she deflected its attacks. The enemy did not fall behind either, flying freely through the air, extending its body and then detaching its arms, pursuing Maou Pam with extremely unusual movements.
增加质量、重量与数量的空气团块陆续飞来。魔王帕姆也增加盾的厚度、强度与大小，一边抵抗攻击一边在敌人四周盘旋。敌人也不落人后，自由自在地飞翔，一下子伸长身体一下子切割自己的手臂，以极为异常的行动紧追在魔王帕姆身后。

Maou Pam’s Magical Skill was  “the ability to freely control four wings”. Maou Pam’s wings did not exist merely for flying. Be it size, color, shape, speed, hardness and so on, she could “freely control” all of them. She could also detach her wings from her body and have them act independently.
魔王帕姆能够使用“自由自在地操控四片翅膀”的魔法。魔王帕姆的翅膀并非只为了飞行而存在。无论是大小、颜色、形状、速度、硬度等所有的一切，她都能够“自由自在地操控”，也能够让翅膀与身体分离，独自行动。

As Maou Pam fought the enemy, she detached two wings. She ordered one of them to fly to the apartment grounds in order to assist her allies and attack her enemies. While it was only one of her four wings, it had high sustained combat power. It was slower and less precise operating alone than when directly controlled by Mao, but even so, it ought to be enough to crush the average group of Magical Girls. It should be able to support Ripple and Hana.
魔王帕姆一面与敌人交战，一面分离两片翅膀。命令其中一片朝地面的公寓飞去，支援我军、攻击敌军。虽然只是四片翅膀中的一片，但续战能力极高。自主行动时的速度与精准度比直接受魔王帕姆控制时低，即使如此，就算对上程度一般的魔法少女团体，也能够击溃对方。应该能够支援莉普儿与羽菜。

She formed the other wing into a gigantic, winged eyeball and ordered it to search for nearby enemies. The eyeball-wing had eyesight that rivalled most telescopes, and it could accurately observe conditions on the surface. This wing could see 7753 and Mana’s vehicle. At the same time, she ordered this wing to immediately counterattack if the vehicle was attacked, but to protect the main body of their forces as its number 1 priority. She did not know how the battle would develop, but it would be best to keep the wing close to their own positions.
她将另一片变成长有翅膀的巨大眼珠，命令它搜索周围的敌人。由翅膀变化而成的眼珠，视力媲美望远镜，能够仔细地观察地面情况。这片翅膀能够目视到7753与麻奈的轻型旅行车。同时，她也对这片翅膀下达命令，当汽车遭到敌人攻击时必须立刻赶到并进行反击，但以保卫主力部队为第一优先。虽然她也考虑过一开始就让翅膀守在轻型旅行车旁，但自主行动时的翅膀知能度不高。既然她也不知道战况会如何变化，最好还是让翅膀尽量待在自己的位置。

As Maou Pam ordered those two wings off on independent operations, she continued attacking her enemy. She shaped the remaining wing into a sharp blade to hack and slash, into a spiral rotor to stir up the air, and she even improved its stickiness, seeking to seize the enemy. However, though the enemy’s exterior briefly collapsed, it could return to normal immediately. Her attacks were useless.
魔王帕姆在控制两片翅膀分头行动的期间，也持续对敌人发动攻击。她将剩下的翅膀变化成利刃又砍又杀，再变化成螺旋桨大肆搅动，甚至还增加翅膀表面的黏性，打算一举擒住敌人。然而，尽管敌人的外貌会暂时崩解，却能够立刻恢复原状。她的攻击起不了作用。

This enemy was very strong. It made the corner of her mouth curl up.
敌人很强。令她的嘴角忍不住上扬。

She turned a wing gigantic, into a ten meter wide sphere, and then directly attacked her enemy.
将翅膀巨大化后，弄成直径十公尺的球状，直击敌人。

She even made a wing shine, seeking to blind her foe’s eyes with piercing radiance.
她甚至让羽翼发光，打算通过刺眼的光芒闪瞎敌人的眼睛。

All these moves were useless, and her opponent evaded all her otherwise-fatal attacks. On the other hand, the air masses that her opponent was firing at her were as sharp as blades. The enemy’s attack grew steadily more ferocious, and even when she wove through the gaps in the air blades, seeking to close in on her foe, she met fierce resistance.
这些招式完全不管用，致命攻击全都被对方躲过。另一方面，敌人发射过来的空气团块具备利刃般的锐利度。敌人的攻势有越发激烈的趋势，就算她钻过空气利刃间的空隙，想借此接近敌人，也都遭到敌人激烈反抗。

Maou Pam gradually understood the situation -- her enemy was the air. No matter how she tried to cut or crush it her opponent, it did not work. Her foe could nimbly fly through the air like the wind, and nobody could seize it.
魔王帕姆逐渐地摸清楚状况——敌人就是空气。不管她想砍断或痛殴对方，都行不通。对方能够如风般自由且敏捷地飞翔于空中，任何人都抓不住。

The dancer’s expression did not change. She did not seem interested or the slightest bit afraid, but simply took Maou Pam’s attacks with a blank look on her face and launched attacks of her own. That attitude was precisely to Maou Pam’s taste.
舞者的表情完全没有变化。既不像是觉得很有意思，也不见一丝胆怯，仅仅只是态度淡然地承受攻击，并对她发动攻击。这种态度正适合魔王帕姆的口味。

Her enemy was very strong, but it was not as though she had no chance of victory.
敌人果然很强大，但自己并非毫无胜算。

Maou Pam expanded the wing she was using as a shield, using it to cover her body. From the outside, she looked like a completely black person. Then, she vastly expanded the remaining wing above her head, covering a radius of about 50 meters. However, it had no attack power.
魔王帕姆张开变成盾牌的翅膀，将自己全身上下包覆住。从外侧看来就像是个全黑的人。接着，将剩下的翅膀大大地展开于头顶上方，笼罩住四周直径约五十公尺的范围。但没有任何攻击能力。

The enemy’s attacks were growing more and more intense. Without anything to obstruct them, the air blades continuously cut apart Maou Pam’s wing-coat. Maou Pam regenerated the coat as she took the attacks. All she needed was to be able to resist them. The wing-coat served two purposes: one, it blocked attacks and bought time, and two, it kept herself warm. Within her wing-coat, Maou Pam intoned:
敌人的攻势越来越激烈。没有阻碍物的空气利刃，持续不断地割开魔王帕姆身上的翅膀外衣。魔王帕姆一边承受攻击一边不断地再生翅膀外衣，勉强挡住攻势。只要抵挡得住攻势就够了。翅膀外衣的用途有二，阻挡攻击以拖延时间，再来就是保暖。魔王帕姆在翅膀外衣里低喃:

“[Frozen Nadir - Cocytus].”
“悲叹之河——冰封地狱最底层。”

The enemy’s attacks slowed down, and her emotionless face began to change. While she was not quite showing pain, Maou Pam could sense that something was wrong with her opponent. Her flying speed slowed down, her air blades grew dull, and by the time her wing-coat was completely frosted over, her foe suddenly broke off the attack and rapidly ascended.
敌人的攻击变迟钝了，面无表情的脸部产生变化。虽然不至于面露痛苦，但能够感受到对方出现不对劲。飞翔于空中的速度变慢，空气利刃的锐利度也变弱，当翅膀外衣被整片的冰霜覆盖时，敌人突然停止攻击并急速上升。

--Did you finally realize it? But it’s too late.
——终于察觉到了吗？但为时已晚。

The enemy could use the air. That being the case, all she had to do was make her opponent incapable of using the air. Therefore, Maou Pam deployed a wing which could lower the density of the surrounding air, thus lowering the surrounding temperature. Without the crucial element of “temperature”, gases could not remain gaseous.
敌人能够利用空气。既然如此，只要创造出无法利用的情景就行了。于是，魔王帕姆展开能够减低周围空气密度的翅膀，并让翅膀表面呈现超低温，慢慢降低四周气温。只要夺走温度这个要素，气体就无法维持气体的状态。

Maou Pam chased her fleeing adversary, soaring into the sky.
魔王帕姆追赶着逃跑的敌人，飞升至上空。

☆Toko (18 hours and 13 minutes remaining)

Things should not have been like this. Toko spat on the ground.
事情不应该是这个样子的。多可朝地板唾了一口口水。

Those Magical Girls had proudly declared that they would prepare themselves and build their teamwork, but the fact was that they were simply enjoying their power as Magical Girls. Drunk on the sudden gift of overwhelming power, thinking they had the measure of their opponents’ strength after just one fight, they had grown careless.
虽然那群魔法少女嘴上冠冕堂皇地表示，需要进行准备与强化团队默契，实际上不过是在享受魔法少女的力量而已。一心沉醉于意外获得的压倒性力量，自以为了解曾经交战过的敌人实力，因而轻忽大意。

Frankly speaking, Toko had no patience for their carelessness. She had received news that the enemy had lost their searching capabilities. And indeed, for several hours after the barrier had gone up, no enemies had approached them. Therefore, she felt that rather than act rashly, it would be better to hide, and so she had fuelled their indecisiveness about launching an attack of their own.
真要说起来，在轻忽大意这方面，多可也不逞多让。它收到敌人失去搜索能力的情报。实际上，张设结界之后数小时内，确实没有任何敌人接近。因此，它才会认为与其鲁莽行动，倒不如潜藏起来，所以才会在煽动魔法少女们主动攻击时犹豫了。

A scream came from the roof. The sound of a fierce collision came from below. The enemy was launching a pincer attack on them from two sides. That being the case, all she had to do was flee along an open escape route. Currently, she was in one of the rooms on the second floor of this three-storey apartment block. Naturally, there was a window there. Thus, she used her full bodyweight to turn the window’s locking lever, and then used her full strength to slide the window open. The frame looked a little rusted, but in the end it slowly opened. The first thing she had done when she had first come here was to verify that there was a line of retreat.
从顶楼传来尖叫声。楼下也穿出物体激烈碰撞的声响。敌人从两面包夹而来，既然如此，只要从能够逃跑的路径逃跑就行了。它位于三层楼公寓的二楼其中一室，这里当然有窗户。于是，它用全身的重量转开窗户的月牙锁，同样再以全身重量滑开窗户。虽然窗框有生锈的情形，最终还是勉勉强强打开了。刚来到这里的时候，它就事先确认过逃跑动线。

Toko poked her body out of the window, and paused to think.
多可将身体探出窗外，稍微思考了一下。

Perhaps she ought to contact her partner. However, the disturbance outside was so great that her partner should have already sensed the enemy’s arrival. Even if she did get through to her partner, said partner would probably not have the time to entertain her. If she was free enough to do that, she should probably do something else which was more useful. While Toko felt uneasy about fleeing by herself, rashly remaining on the battlefield would only handicap her partner. That was the worst-case scenario. Her partner knew well how to survive in even the narrowest of gaps, so as long as she made appropriate use of those mooks and disposed of them once they were useless, she would be able to escape these dire straits.
也许它应该联络搭档。但是，骚动闹得这么大，想必搭档也已经察觉到敌人来袭。就算联络搭档，她也没有闲情逸致理会它吧。如果有这种闲情的话，倒不如用来做其他更有用的事情。虽然要多可自行逃跑内心有点不安，但要是它轻率地留在战场，也许反而会扯后腿。这是最糟糕的情况。它的搭档深知如何在夹缝中求生存，只要适当利用那些小喽啰，没用之后再抛弃掉，一定能够脱离险境。

It was decided. She would not contact her partner. There were less than 20 hours left on the barrier’s lifespan. First she would focus herself, and then escape with all her strength. Once she made it into the air, there ought to be few Magical Girls who could continue pursuing her.
决定了。它不联络搭档。结界的期限剩下不到二十小时，先集中精神，以全力逃跑为目标。只要逃到空中去，能追赶上来的魔法少女应该相当有限。

When Toko jumped from the window and ascended into the air with the sky as her objective, her eyes met those of the ninja who had jumped off the eaves of the apartment block.
当多可从窗户跳出去，身体朝上并以飞向空中为目标时，与从公寓屋檐跳下来的忍者四目相接。

Toko’s eyes went wide with shock as she took in the opposition. Her single arm and her eye closed by a wound made for a tremendously impactful appearance. It would be hard to forget anyone like this if she had seen them even once before, but she had no impression of her. She had not been present during the previous street fight. It would seem she was an external supporter.
多可吃惊地瞪大双眼望着对方。独臂加上因左脸伤痕而紧闭的眼睛，极具冲击性的外表。只要看过一遍绝对永生难忘，但它对这个人没有印象。之前在街上打斗时，这个人并不在其中。看来她是外派来的支援人员。

And then, in stark contrast with Toko’s twisted expression, the ninja did not seem surprised at all. She simply reached out calmly at Toko. Toko twisted out of the way of her hand, but the ninja’s little finger hooked the belt of her skirt and she lost her balance in mid-air. The ninja’s hand turned and seized Toko’s body -- but before her hand could close up, she was stopped by someone from the side.
然后，忍者与表情扭曲的多可形成强烈对比，她并没有流露出任何惊讶之情，只是以平淡的态度朝多可伸出手。多可扭动身体鼻孔她的手，但裙子的腰带被对方的小指指甲勾住，在半空中失去平衡。忍者的手腕一转，一把抓住多可的身体——在她的手掌即将合上前，被人从旁阻挠。

A girl who bore a beautiful, shining rainbow on her back even in the darkness seized Toko and sprinted away along a rainbow. Toko shouted:
即使在黑夜里也背着美丽耀眼彩虹的魔法少女，抓住多可后在彩虹上奔跑。多可大喊:

“Rain Pou!”
“梦幻彩虹！”

☆Rain Pou (18 hours and 12 minutes remaining)

As Rain Pou’s appearance suggested, she could use a Magical Skill which created rainbows. While they were called rainbows, they were obviously not ordinary rainbows. Anyone would surely have seen children’s books or anime where characters would run on rainbows.
如同梦幻彩虹的外表般，她能够使用创造彩虹的魔法。虽说是彩虹，想当然耳不会是普通的彩虹。无论是谁，想必都曾经在绘本或儿童取向的动画中看过，故事里的人物走在彩虹桥上的身影吧。

Rain Pou could not only create rainbows, but give them a certain hardness, enough for someone to walk upon. One could say it was a very magical Magical Skill.
梦幻彩虹不仅能够创造出彩虹，还能给予一定的强度，供人在上面行走。可以说是相当有魔法风格的魔法。

The rainbow bridge shining faintly under the moonless, starless night was completely different from it beauty and vitality under the sun. It radiated a ghostly, fantastic and dangerous beauty. The rainbow did not flex and it was very sturdy. It did not budge even under the prodigious leg-strength of a Magical Girl treading wildly. The rainbow bridge was one and a half meters wide. A Magical Girl could run at full speed along this width no matter how high she was above the ground.
在无月也无繁星的漆黑中散发淡淡光芒的彩虹桥，与在太阳底下所见的活力美完全相反，正飘散着一股充满幽玄与幻想元素的危险之美。彩虹没有任何弹性，相当坚硬稳固。即使是以魔法少女的惊人腿力大肆踩踏，也纹风不动。彩虹桥宽约一公尺半。如果是魔法少女的话，只要有这样的宽度，无论距离地面多高都能够全速奔跑。

B City was most definitely not a big city. Outside the commercial district there were only a few faint, scattered lights, and it was hardly interesting when viewed from above. The rainbow passed over the terraced houses, avoided the radio tower, and continued forward.
B市绝对称不上是大都会，商圈以外的地区只有三三两两的微弱灯火，从上空眺望一点也不有趣。彩虹越过白铁屋顶相连的民宅，避开广播电台大楼，不断向前延伸而去。

The rainbow created by Rain Pou traced a continuous path forward.
梦幻彩虹制造出彩虹桥，沿着不断向前延伸的前端一路前行。

Postarie ran nervously behind her. Although there was no need for Postarie to come along, they had happened to be together when the enemy had attacked. Since Postarie was scared of going alone, she had ended up becoming the rear guard. Naturally, the ninja was chasing them from behind. Since Postarie could not run anywhere else, she could only sprint madly along the path.
波斯塔丽战战兢兢地跟在她后头奔跑。虽然波斯塔丽没必要硬跟过来，但敌人来袭时她们正好在一起，如果分头走波斯塔丽会害怕，所以才会变成波斯塔丽负责断后。想当然耳，在那之后忍者势必会追赶在后。如今波斯塔丽也不可能逃往别的方向，只能拼命地一路狂奔。

“Rain Pou! You’re too slow! Faster! Faster faster!”
“梦幻彩虹！你跑的很慢耶！再快一点！快点快点！”

“You’re distracting me! Shut up, Toko!”
“你会害我分心！多可给我闭嘴！”

She shoved Toko into her breast pocket. Perhaps it was because she had inserted Toko head first, but a painful groan came from somewhere near her chest. It might be uncomfortable, but given the present circumstances, having her stay there would be safer.
她将多可按进怀里。也许是头上脚下倒进去的关系，从她的胸口附近传来痛苦的呻吟声。虽然会有点难受，但从现在的情况看来，让它待在里面比较安全。

The ninja stuck closely to their backs, even gaining on them. What had originally been a separation of 20 meters had been narrowed to 15 meters. The reason for that was obvious. It was not so much that the ninja was fast, but that Postarie’s pace was too slow. However, it would probably be impossible to have Postarie run faster. The sounds of panting came from behind Rain Pou’s back.
忍者锲而不舍地紧追在后，甚至逐渐接近中。原本拉开至二十公尺的距离，已经被逼近到剩下十五公尺。原因再明显不过。与其说是忍者脚程快，倒不如说是波斯塔丽的脚程太慢。但是要波斯塔丽以更快的速度奔跑，恐怕是不可能的。波斯塔丽已经使出全力了。从梦幻彩虹的背后传来上气不接下气的喘息。

As Rain Pou shifted her attention to Postarie, something flew at her from the front. Because her attention had been shifted behind her, she was caught off guard and could not evade in time. However, Rain Pou had not slowed down, and by the narrowest of margins she managed to kick away the object that was coming at her. Judging by the sound and the contact she felt through her boot, it was metallic in nature.
当梦幻彩虹将注意力放在波斯塔丽身上时，突然有东西从前面飞来。由于她的注意力集中在身后，因此措手不及，根本来不及避开。但梦幻彩虹并没有放慢奔跑的速度，在千钧一发之际踢落朝她飞来的物体。透过靴子传来的触感与声音，看来是某种金属。

After that there was another, and then a third object streaking through the air at her. Rain Pou finally understood what those flying objects were. They were ninja weapons -- kunai. The ninja running behind them was throwing kunai as she ran, which flew past Postarie and Rain Pou, and then turned a big circle to fly at her from the front.
接着又有第二发、第三发破空而来。梦幻彩虹终于理解，飞来的是何种物体。这是忍者使用的武器——苦无。追赶在身后的忍者一边奔跑一边掷出的苦无，越过波斯塔丽与梦幻彩虹，转了一大圈后，从前方飞来。

She kicked away the second kunai, and just as she was about to evade the third, it turned suddenly, changing its trajectory to seek Rain Pou’s leg and cut open her flesh. Rain Pou’s pace seized up, but she absolutely could not fall here, and neither could she lower her speed. She grit her teeth and continued running on the rainbow.
同样踢开第二把苦无后，正要闪开第三把时，苦无却突然急转弯，改变轨道后追上梦幻彩虹的脚，割开她的肉。梦幻彩虹的脚步不禁踉跄了一下，但绝对不能在这里倒下，当然也不能减慢速度。她咬紧牙关，继续奔驰于彩虹之上。

“Are, are you alright?”
“没、没事吧？”

“I’m fine!:
“不用担心！”

The kunai continued coming, streaking through the air one after the other. She could not dodge, so all she could do was thinking of a way to bring down the kunai. Since the kunai were all locked onto her feet, she could not sweep them away with her hands. She was forced to take down every single kunai without missing a single one.
苦无接二连三地破空而来，无法闪避，只能想办法击落苦无。由于苦无全部都是锁定她的脚，因此无法用手扫开，她被迫一发不漏地击落全部的苦无。然而，苦无的威力与速度随着每一发逐渐增加。

All of them were aimed at Rain Pou. Her enemy did not intend to kill her, but was observing her abilities and working out how to cripple her movements. The enemy was harrying them at a leisurely pace.
全部都瞄准了梦幻彩虹。敌人并不打算杀她，而是一边观察她的能力，一边打算瘫痪她的行动。敌人在如此游刃有余的情况下，追赶着她们。

Rain Pou glanced beneath her feet. There were no other sources of light there besides the evenly-spaced streetlamps. The road was a two-lane single carriageway, but there were very few cars on it. Rain Pou was about 30 meters off the ground. Given a Magical Girl’s physical attributes, she could survive a fall from this height. The enemy had probably taken that into account too.
梦幻彩虹将视线投向脚下。除了以等间隔发光的路灯之外，没有其他光源。路面是同一方向有双线道的道路，但通行车辆相当稀少。彩虹距离地面三十公尺左右。如果具备魔法少女的体能，即使坠地也不会死。看来敌人也将这考量在内。

Should she dispel her rainbow and descend to the surface? Unlike on the rainbow, she would not be progressing forward in a straight line, and there would be a lot of cover, making it easy to avoid attacks… no, that was not the case. The enemy’s attacks had tracking capabilities, she they were aiming for her. If possible, she would like to reach her destination from the air. On the surface, she would have to make detours, and the enemy might attack her in her vulnerable moments while she was climbing a building. She was almost at her destination. All she had to do was buy a little more time.
要解除彩虹，降落到地面上吗？地面上与彩虹上不同，不是直线前进，还有许多遮蔽物，容易躲避攻击……不，并非如此。敌人的攻击拥有追踪功能，并且瞄准了她。一个不小心，武器有可能会从她看不到的死角飞来。更何况，她们现在正朝向某个场所前进，可以的话，她希望能够从空中抵达目的地。在地面上不仅得绕道，而且敌人有可能抓住她爬上建筑物的空隙，发动攻击。只差一点点就能够抵达目的地，只要拖延一点时间就够了。

“Tacchan! Please use that move!”
“小达！麻烦你施展那招！”

“O-o-okay!
“了、了、了解！”

While she stumbled over the “okay”, Postarie did not fumble with her movements. She took off her cap, and hammers immediately fell from it.
虽然“了解”说得结巴，但波斯塔丽的行动并不马虎。当她一摘下帽子，榔头立刻从中哗啦哗啦地掉出。

Postarie’s Magical Skill was to send the mail. As long as she held an object and used her Magical Skill, the object would grow a pair of wings. Those pure white wings resembled those of a waterbird, clean and beautiful in appearance, making one think of angels from religious artwork. The smaller the object she held, the smaller the wings would be, and the larger the object, the larger the wings would be. The object would float into the air, flapping its wings and flying towards its original owner. Once it reached its owner, the wings would vanish. Postarie could also control the speed at which the mailed item flew. She could choose between regular or express mail.
波斯塔丽的魔法是递送邮件。只要她拿着物品并施展魔法，那个东西就会长出一对翅膀。与水鸟翅膀相似的纯白羽翼，外观简洁美丽，令人联想到宗教画里的天使。拿在手上的物品越小，翅膀就越小，物品体积越大，翅膀就越大。那榔头漂浮于空中，大大地振翅朝原本的持有者飞去。一旦抵达持有人身边，翅膀就会散开并消失不见。波斯塔丽能够操控邮件的飞行速度。普通邮件或快捷，二择一。

Regular mail floated gently away. A running human could catch up with its speed. Even fragile objects like vases and bottles and dangerous and flammable objects would reach their destination safely. Express mail had the articles fly off with a whoosh, with a speed that even a Magical Girl -- let alone a human -- would be hard-pressed to match on foot, in order to swiftly and surely return to its owner’s hands. There was no chance that the mail would be delayed or lost, and neither was there any restriction on the weight nor the amount of items that could be mailed.
普通邮件轻飘飘地飞离。以人类奔跑便能追上的速度飞行，即使是易碎物品、瓶瓶罐罐、危险易燃物等也能够安全送达。快捷则会咻的一声迅速飞离。以“人类当然不用说，甚至连魔法少女的脚程也难以追上”的高速飞行，将邮件迅速且确实地送至持有者手上。绝对不会有投递延误或邮件遗失的意外，也没有任何重量限制，更没有数量上的限制。

The hammers which fell out of Postarie’s hat sprouted wings one after the other. Captain Grace had bought these hammers from a hardware store and left them in Postarie’s keeping. By using her Magical Skill, the hammers would fly to their owner, Captain Grace. Because they had been running in a straight line along the rainbow, the hammers would naturally fly directly behind Rain Pou. And Postarie’s Magical Skill would not carefully avoid any intervening obstacles.
从波斯塔丽的帽子里掉出来的榔头，一把接着一把地长出翅膀。这个榔头是葛蕾丝船长在五金店购买，寄放于波斯塔丽这里的。只要施下魔法，榔头就会朝身为物主的葛蕾丝船长飞去。由于她们一直在彩虹上直线逃跑，所以榔头飞去的方向势必是梦幻彩虹的正后方。而波斯塔丽的魔法，并不会细心到避开中途的障碍物。

The sound of metal colliding came from behind them. The ninja was intercepting the hammers flying at it. Thanks to that, the kunai attacks had stopped. Judging by the sound of metallic impacts, they should have opened up some distance between them. This was their only chance to act. Rain Pou turned around to pick up Postarie in a princess carry, and ran along the rainbow at top speed in this position. This was much faster than matching Postarie’s running pace.
身后传来金属互相碰撞的声音。忍者正在迎击朝自己飞来的榔头。多亏如此，苦无的攻击停止了。根据金属声响判断，她们应该有稍微拉开距离。要行动的话只能趁现在。梦幻彩虹一边转过头，一边以公主抱抱起波斯塔丽，维持这个姿势在彩虹上全力奔驰。比起配合波斯塔丽的脚程奔跑，这个方式绝对快上许多。

They were only a few hundred meters away from their destination. Rain Pou ran with all her might along the rainbow, and at the same instant she reached the building’s roof, she dispelled her rainbow bridge. Rain Pou leisurely kicked away the kunai thrown by the plummeting ninja, and then they tore through the blue tarpaulin which shrouded the building in one go.
距离目的地只剩下数百公尺。梦幻彩虹使出全力在彩虹上飞奔，在抵达建筑物顶楼的同时，解除了彩虹桥的魔法。梦幻彩虹一派从容地踢开朝地面坠落而去的忍者在最后掷出的苦无，接着，一鼓作气撕开罩在建筑物上的蓝色塑胶布。

This was an uninteresting, long-abandoned building. The only people who set foot here were the caretakers and the crows. One could say there was no better place to hide things.
这里是长久以来乏人问津的废弃大楼顶楼。会涉足这里的，只有进行定期维护的人员与乌鸦而已。如果要藏匿东西，可以说是再适合不过的地点。

After their first battle, she and Postarie had worked together to move the vehicle abandoned by the enemy to the roof of this abandoned building. So long as Postarie used her Magical Skill, the vehicle would fly to its owner.
爆发第一次的战斗之后，她与波斯塔丽两人齐心协力，将逃跑的敌人抛弃的旅行车搬到废弃大楼的屋顶上藏好。只要波斯塔丽施展魔法，这辆车就会飞至持有者的身边。

They were taking a gamble here by betting on the identity of the vehicle’s owner. However, it was not likely that they were one of the combatants in this ambush. In any case, as long as they could leave the site of this intense battle, the rest of the details did not matter. If this worked out as well, they might be able to launch a sneak attack upon an unwary enemy.
旅行车的主人是谁，是一种赌注。但是，这次发动突袭的战斗干员为持有者的可能性相当低。总而言之，只要能够离开爆发激烈战斗的地点，其他的细节一点都不重要。顺利的话，也许能够顺势偷袭松懈的敌人。

Rain Pou hugged Postarie tightly to herself, and then held onto the station wagon’s rear bumper.
梦幻彩虹将波斯塔丽抱在怀里，牢牢抓住旅行车的后保险杆。

“Tacchan, if you don’t mind!”
“小达，麻烦你了！”

“Got, got it!”
“了、了解！”

Postarie used her Magical Skill on the station wagon. Its windows shattered, deep footprints appeared on the roof, and the almost-moribund station wagon took off with a roar, large wings sprouting from its sides.
波斯塔丽对旅行车施展魔法。车窗碎裂，车顶被印下深深脚印，快作古的旅行车——两侧长出大大的翅膀，发出轰隆声飞了起来。

☆Kurukuru-hime (18 hours and 10 minutes remaining)

Kurukuru-hime extended her ribbons, and bunny ears nimbly evaded them. All her other ribbons also swarmed the enemy, but all they could do was pin down her opponent. She did not intend to fight head-on. Kurukuru-hime did not think that she alone could handle an opponent who had required several others to barely defeat.
转转姬伸长缎带，兔耳则是灵巧地下腰进行闪避。其他的缎带也全数朝敌人而去，但这些招式仅限于牵制敌人的行动。她并不打算正面应战。转转姬不认为只凭自己一个人就能够应付，必须动员好几人才能勉强分出高下的敌人。

“Settle down! If you stop resisting, I won’t kick or punch you!”
“安分一点！只要你放弃抵抗的话，我就不会踢你或揍你！”

Kicking and punching -- the way she went into detail like that did not sound so much like persuasion as intimidation. Therefore, Kurukuru-hime ran. If she had friends nearby, she ought to be able to take care of the enemy… right?
又踢又揍——如此具备一定程度的具体说明，与其说是劝服，听起来更像恐吓。因此，转转姬逃跑了。如果身边有伙伴的话，至少还有办法解决敌人……吧。

She wrapped a ribbon around a utility pole and pulled hard as she kicked off the ground. Then, she switched the ribbon from the utility pole to the emergency escape ladder behind the apartment block, then pulled herself in and kicked off the utility pole at the same time. The combination of the ribbon and her leg-strength was faster and could cover more vertical distance than ordinary jumping or bouncing. However...
她用缎带缠绕住电线杆，踢向地面的同时用力一拉。接着，将缎带从电线杆移向设置于公寓后方的紧急逃生梯，在用力拉的同时也朝电线杆一踢。通过缎带与自己的腿力互相配合，能够以更胜于普通跳跃或弹跳的速度与立体性进行移动，然而……

“Running’s just a waste of effort! I suggest you surrender now!”
“逃跑也只是白费力气！劝你快快投降！”

Bunny ears was hot on her heels, even without the assistance of the ribbons. Her opponent’s stride and reflexes were both superior to those of Kurukuru-hime’s. That being the case, there was no way she could flee.
兔耳在没有缎带辅助的状态下，紧跟在后。不管是脚程或是反射神经的敏锐度，对方的实力都在转转姬之上。这么一来，她根本逃不掉。

In any event, she had to link up with the others. Kurukuru-hime shifted from the emergency ladder to the utility pole, then from the utility pole to the outer wall of the apartment, then from the outer wall to the roof of the terrace houses, and finally from the terrace houses to the roof of the apartments. While she had tied ribbons between the two utility poles and thought to use them to pin down her opponent, her foe had twirled neatly in mid-air and dodged past them.
总而言之，必须与其他人会合才行。转转姬从紧急逃生梯移向电线杆，再从电线杆移至公寓外墙，接着从公寓外墙移动到民宅屋顶，最后从民宅屋顶朝公寓顶楼移动。虽然在两根电线杆之间绑上细缎带，想借此牵制敌人，却被敌人以利落的空中旋转一圈干脆地闪过。

The two of them faced each other on the apartment block’s roof. The roof was about 20 meters square, and due to the lack of maintenance, it was in such terrible shape that it hardly bore looking at. Everything was run down, there were cracks everywhere, and weeds grew from the cracks.
两人在公寓的屋顶上对峙。顶楼面积约有二十公尺平方，由于没有任何保养的关系，状态糟到惨不忍睹的地步，到处都破破烂烂、裂痕遍布，从裂缝处长出一堆杂草。

There, she found the friend she had been looking for, but said friend was not in the state she had been hoping for. Wedin was spreadeagled on the roof, her sleeves, skirt and bridal gown nailed down by what looked like tent pegs. She looked like she had been staked out for slow slicing, and she was so thoroughly immobilized that she could not move.
那里有她引颈期盼的伙伴，但伙伴并不处于她期盼的状态。誓约薇汀呈现大字型趴在顶楼上，她的袖子、裙子、新娘礼服到处都被类似木椿的东西钉住，有如遭到凌迟的碟刑般，整个人被钉死在地面动弹不得。

“Kurukuru-hime! You’ve come at last! Don’t look at me like that, I did my best to fight them off! That fucking ninja! She used her kunai to pin me down! In any case, hurry up and save me!
“转转姬！你终于来了！别看我这样子，好歹我也用尽全力迎击了！可恶，那个混账忍者！竟然用苦无封住我全身的行动！不管怎么说，先把我救出去吧！”

Fortunately, Wedin did not seem hurt. However, Wedin’s appearance had not helped her at all. In fact, it had only handicapped her.
幸好誓约薇汀没有大碍。然而，誓约薇汀的出现根本帮不上忙，反倒是扯自己的后腿。

Bunny ears cheerfully told Wedin:
兔耳瞥向誓约薇汀一脸愉快地道:

“I’ll save you, so be a good girl and surrender.”
“我会救你的，所以你就乖乖投降吧。”

“Eh? Who’s that? Is there someone else? Is it an enemy?”
“咦？谁啊？还有其他人吗？是敌人吗？”

“Alright, give yourself up too, ribbon girl. I trust you dislike pain too, right?”
“好了，也请那边的缎带小姐乖乖束手就擒吧。你们也讨厌疼痛吧。”

Captain Grace had once said that when she got near bunny ears, her wound had been abnormally painful. In fact, it had been downright agonizing. However, they still had no concrete idea of the true identity of their opponent’s Magical Skill. Was there really a way to defeat such a powerful opponent by herself.
葛蕾丝船长曾经主张，当她接近兔耳时，伤口感受到异常的疼痛，那是令人痛不欲生的痛楚。然而，具体来说，直到如今她们仍然未掌握对方魔法的真面目。独自面对如此强大的敌人，真的有办法战胜对方吗？

“Surely there ought to be terms for a surrender, right?”
“就算是劝降应该也会有条件吧？”

Wedin spoke out loudly from where she was nailed to the ground.
誓约薇汀维持着被钉死在地面的状态，高声询问。

“There are such things as unconditional surrenders, you know.”
“也有所谓的无条件投降哟。”

“Will you guarantee the safety of our lives?”
“你能够保证我们的生命安全吗？”

“I have no intention of killing you.”
“我并不打算杀你们。”

“Can we continue being Magical Girls?”
“我们能够继续当魔法少女吗？”

“That depends from person to person.”
“这一点会因人而异吧。”

“If you don’t explain this clearly, I won’t surrender.”
“如果不把这件事说清楚讲明白，我绝对不会投降。”

“How can you talk so much when you can’t even move?”
“你明明一副动弹不得的模样，竟然还好意思信口开河呀。”

Wedin and bunny ears continued their meaningless dialogue. That was when Kurukuru-hime realized it. Wedin… Musubiya Mine did not enjoy idle chit chat, even if she did give off the air of an otaku as she babbled on about her interests. Apart from that, she prefered simple and quick dialogues compared to non stop chattering.
誓约薇汀与兔耳持续着无意义的对话。于是，转转姬察觉到了。誓约薇汀……结屋美祢并不喜欢闲话家常，尽管她表达自己喜欢的事物、发表主张时，会散发出一股口若悬河的御宅族气息，除此之外，比起喋喋不休的长舌，她更偏好简洁明了的对话。

“Does my condition have anything to do with the surrender conditions? I might be in this state, but my colleagues are all fine, you know.”
“我的状态与投降的条件有关联吗？即使我现在沦落到这个地步，但我的伙伴们全部都没事喔。”

“Aren’t we discussing your surrender?”
“我们不是在讨论你的投降条件吗？”

“I am the team leader, so it is my duty to speak on behalf of all my team members.”
“因为我是队长，我有义务也有权利替全体的伙伴发声。”

“A self-declared team leader, I’ll bet.”
“是自称队长吧。”

“How rude. I am a democratically-elected, official team leader.”
“真没礼貌。我是根据民主原则遴选出来的正式队长。”

Bunny ears shrugged unhappily. Thus, Wedin continued talking to bunny ears with more passion. She was doing her best to stall for time. When Kurukuru-hime realised Wedin’s plan, she began doing her part. She lightly undid the thin ribbons on her back, then joined one ribbon to another to increase their length. She was very careful about it to avoid her enemy noticing, and then she extended the ribbon from beside her feet. The roof was thoroughly broken down and there were cracks everywhere. She burrowed the ribbon into the cracks, and approached bunny ears from underground.
兔耳一脸不屑地耸了耸肩。于是，誓约薇汀灌注更多的热情与兔耳进行对话。她正试图拖延。
转转姬察觉出誓约薇汀的企图后，开始着手自己的分内工作。她轻手轻脚地解开背后的细缎带，将缎带与缎带系在一起，借此加长缎带的长度。为了避免被敌人发现，她小心翼翼地进行，并将变长的缎带从脚边延伸出去。顶楼破烂无比，到处都是龟裂走纹。她把缎带钻入裂缝中，从地面下朝兔耳前进。

“Therefore, if I surrender, all of us will surrender. So why not try and persuade me? For instance, compensating us with money for stripping us of the right to be Magical Girls. If those were your intentions, do you not think we would surrender readily?”
“所以说，只要我投降的话，我们全部的人都会一并投降。也请你稍微加把劲，好好说服我吧。举例来说，如果剥夺我们成为魔法少女的权利，将会有金钱方面的补偿之类的。如果你们有这个心意的话，我们不就能够心甘情愿地投降吗？”

“Given our situation, we can’t promise any financial compensation.”
“以我们的立场，实在无法答应金钱方面的补偿。”

“Then, why don’t you contact your superiors right now? A big case like this means that the leaders should be talking to each other and solving problems, right?”
“那么，你不能现在立刻联络上级吗？这么重大的案子，应该要领导人彼此对话、解决问题吧。”

“No -- but -- er --”
“不——但是——唔——”

“I’m sure we can all come to terms.”
“我们一定能够找出彼此都能接受的条件。”

The ribbon penetrated under the concrete and reached the side of bunny ears’ feet. It emerged from a crack in the ground and wrapped around bunny ears’ feet, breaking her balance. Bunny ears waved aside the first ribbon and dodged the second, but even so, Kurukuru-hime continued casting forth a third, a fourth ribbon, tangling up bunny ears’ arms, tying down her legs, steadily sending out more and more ribbons to strip bunny ears of her freedom to move. As bunny ears’ arms legs and body were slowly drowned in ribbons, bunny ears forcefully pulled on the ribbons, pulling Kurukuru-hime towards her in one swift motion.
缎带在水泥下穿梭，来到兔耳的脚边。兔耳的脚被从裂缝中窜出的缎带缠住，一口气拉近距离。第一条缎带遭到兔耳挥开，第二条缎带又被躲开，即使如此，转转姬还是接二连三地释放出第三条、第四条缎带，缠住兔耳的手臂、绑住兔耳的脚，陆续释出缎带剥夺兔耳的行动自由。当兔耳的手臂、脚、身体逐渐被缎带淹没时，兔耳奋力地拉扯缎带，迫使转转姬一口气接近兔耳。

Bunny ears might be able to use a Magical Skill that enhanced pain. If that were the case, even a slight injury might spell defeat. Kurukuru-hime had never been confident of her ability to endure unnaturally strong pain, and she had to defend against her enemy’s attack no matter what.
兔耳也许是使用能够增强痛觉的魔法。真是如此的话，即使受一点小伤也会导致落败。转转姬原本就没有能够忍耐异常强烈痛楚的自信，无论如何绝对要防止敌人攻击。

Kurukuru-hime undid her Magical Girl costume, and while they did not look like ribbons, the truth was that Kurukuru-hime’s clothes were all made of ribbons. The ballet shoes beneath her feet unravelled, her ballet costume came apart, and even the crown on her head was undone.
转转姬解开魔法少女的服装，虽然乍看之下不像缎带，但转转姬的服装其实全都是由缎带构成。她脚下的芭蕾舞鞋解开、身上的芭蕾舞衣解开，甚至连头顶上的皇冠也被解开。

The wind blew directly on her bare skin, and as Kurukuru-hime felt the cold November wind, she moved her ribbons. Without decreasing the number of ribbons she was using to attack, she used the ribbons to enhance her defense, building a high wall between herself and the enemy with her ribbons. Finally, she extended ribbons to the apartment block’s steel railing and seized hold of them. This would lock her in place.
风直接吹上她的肌肤，转转姬一边感受着十一月的寒冷，一边舞动缎带。在不减少攻击用缎带的同时，也加强防御用缎带。她用缎带在自己与敌人之间筑起一道高墙。最后，朝公寓的铁栏杆伸出缎带，仅仅缠住。牢牢巩固自己目前的所在位置。

Bunny ears paid the walls no heed, only increased the force with which she was pulling. Several of the ribbons tangled around the railing snapped loudly. Kurukuru-hime used both legs to stand firm, but she could not resist. The distance between them was shrinking, but there was a wall between them, and the wall had extended roots into the roof, resisting bunny ears’ strength. Even so, Kurukuru-hime was being dragged over step by step, but her opponent could not just pull her over in one go.
兔耳对墙壁视若无睹，持续加重拉扯的力道。几条缠住铁栏杆的缎带应声断裂。转转姬双腿用力站稳，却无法抵挡。距离逐渐缩短，但两人之间隔着一道墙，墙壁稳稳地在顶楼扎根，对抗兔耳的拉力。即使如此，转转姬仍然一步一步地被拉过去，不过对方无法一口气将她拉近。

Even as Kurukuru-hime was being slowly but surely dragged in, she was still controlling her ribbons. Once she had wrapped her opponent in layer upon layer of ribbons and bound her opponent securely, something happened to her body. The smell of vehicle exhaust reached her nose, inducing an intense feeling of nausea. Her vision was not quite right; objects suddenly seemed far and then close by and this repeated over and over again, until she had no idea what was going on. The sound of an explosion rocked her eardrums, and the impact of the sound scrambled her brain.
在转转姬一点一滴地被拉过去的期间，依旧持续操控着缎带。当她将敌人层层裹住，束缚敌人的行动时，身体发生了异状。汽车排放的废气味窜入她的鼻腔，涌起一股强烈的恶心感。她的视线也不太对劲，物体一下远在天边一下近在眼前，如此不断重复，导致她完全分辨不清周遭事物。爆炸声轰炸着她的鼓膜，声音的冲击波剧烈地晃动她的脑袋。

Kurukuru-hime fell to her knees. Unable to bear the impact, she screamed and fell forward. Waves of piercing pain spread from her knees, and that pain filled her from head to toe.
转转姬双膝跪地，无法承受这股冲击大声尖叫，并倒向地上。膝盖传来一阵阵的刺痛，那股痛楚从头顶一路贯穿至脚尖。

“Unfortunately, you entered my effective range…”
“真遗憾，你进到作用范围内了……”

That was what she heard bunny ears say before she lost consciousness.
在她即将失去意识前，听到兔耳如此说。

☆Captain Grace (18 hours and 10 minutes remaining)

The sound of fighting came from the roof and the ground floor, followed by a scream. Should they head to the roof, or the ground floor? Captain Grace chose the first floor and ran downstairs. Funny Trick followed closely behind her.
顶楼与一楼传来激烈的打斗声，接着便听到惨叫声。到底该前往顶楼，还是一楼？葛蕾丝船长选择了一楼，飞奔下楼。惊喜魔技的脚步声紧跟在后。

After vaulting 10 steps at once and reach the apartment block’s entrance, they stopped. There was nobody here.
当她一次跨越十级阶梯，来到公寓入口处时，停下了脚步。这里空无一人。

“Hang on, Kayo.”
“喂，佳代。”

“What?”
“怎么了？”

“There’s nobody here. What’s going on?”
“根本没有人啊。这是怎么一回事？”

“Er, I can’t tell you even if you ask me.”
“呃，就算你这么问我也不清楚啊。”

Captain Grace put her hand to her ears. She seemed to be concentrating on listening, and the sound of fighting continued.
葛蕾丝船长双掌摊开，抵在两耳旁边。她正在集中精神倾听，打斗声仍然持续着。

“Alright, let’s go to the roof--”
“好吧！去顶楼——”

Halfway through her words, Captain Grace looked to the sky. The sound of fighting was interspersed with the quiet beating of wings, which seemed to be heading here from somewhere. Captain Grace focused on the darkness before her and discovered that compared to the tense sounds of battle, there was something far more bizarre flying leisurely over. She thought it was a rookie Magical Girl from somewhere, but that was not the case. It was a sphere, one meter across and completely jet black, looking like it was made of some kind of rubber. The spherical object had a pair of bat-like wings, and it flew through the air.
话说到一半的葛蕾丝船长，抬头望着上空。打斗声中夹杂着些微的振翅声，似乎正从某处朝这里飞来。葛蕾丝船长凝视着眼前的漆黑，发现了与紧张的打斗声比较起来，相对悠哉地飞来的奇妙物体。原本以为是哪里来的菜鸟魔法少女，事实并非如此。那是整体呈现漆黑、直径约一公尺左右的球体，看起来似乎带着橡胶般的质感。那颗球体摆动着一对蝙蝠般的翅膀，在空中飞翔。

“...What is that?”
“……那是什么？”

“...I have no idea.”
“……我也不知道。”

She did not recognize this object. It could move, but it was not like a living creature, and it looked very suspicious. The black-colored orb flew until it was five meters overhead and stopped, hovering in mid-air. Captain Grace observed the orb’s movements. It seemed to be suspended in mid-air. She could not help but think it was somehow magical.
她不认识这个东西。虽然会动，却不像生物，感觉相当可疑。黑色的球体飞至上空五公尺处便停住了，停滞于半空中。葛蕾丝船长观察球体的动作，那颗球体是以悬浮的方式停滞空中。无论怎么看都与魔法脱不了关系。

After hovering in mid-air for a while, the sphere moved upwards. Was it going to the roof? Captain Grace had the feeling that she was being ignored, and she was furious.
球体在空中滞留好一会儿后，动了起来，朝上方移动。它是要往屋顶去吗？葛蕾丝船长有一种自己遭到忽视的感觉，不由得火冒三丈。

“Oi! How dare you ignore me!”
“喂！竟然敢忽视我！”

She picked up a chunk of concrete debris and threw it hard at the sphere. The sphere moved like a balloon being blown by the wind, neatly avoiding the chunk. Unlike its clumsy appearance, its movements were agile and nimble.
她捡起掉落在脚边的水泥碎片，朝球体奋力一掷。球体仿佛被风吹拂的气球般，轻飘飘地避开水泥碎片。与看似迟钝笨拙的外观相反，动作显得极为轻盈灵巧。

The concrete chunk tumbled end over end on the road several times. The sphere stopped rising, and it changed in shape. Funny Trick could not hold back a scream, while Captain Grace felt herself filling with a sense of excitement. An eyeball appeared on the sphere. No, it was not that it appeared, but rather, something like an eyelid opened up on its surface. The sphere’s huge eyeball looked down upon them from above.
水泥碎片在马路上滚了好几圈，球体停止上升，模样有了变化。惊喜魔技忍不住尖叫出声，葛蕾丝船长则是感觉到一股兴奋之情从心底深处涌出。球体上浮现出一颗眼珠。不对，与其说是浮现，正确说起来是裂开一道眼皮的缝隙。相衬于巨大球体的大眼，居高临下地睥睨着两人。

Its gaze seemed to be asking: Are you enemies? That being the case, Captain Grace did not hesitate in replying:
它以眼神询问:你们是敌人吗？既然如此，葛蕾丝船长也不客气地回答:

“Hurry up and bring it on!”
“只管放马过来吧！”

The gigantic eyelid closed, and what had been the marks of an eye vanished without a trace. The black sphere stopped fluttering and descended in freefall. The lower it got, the smaller its wings got, and its exterior began changing shape as well. By the time it touched down, it had a humanoid outline. It had not just changed shape, but become bigger. Its body looked smooth and shiny, with no particular distinguishing features.
巨大的眼睑闭上，原本是眼睛的痕迹如融化般消失不见。黑色球体停止振翅的动作，以自由落体向下坠，随着它的高度越低，翅膀就变得越小，外形也跟着产生变化。当它降落地面时，已经有着人类的外形。不只是变形，明显还增加了体积。整体看来相当光滑，没有任何称得上特色的特征。

Captain Grace drew her sword, and the black humanoid ran at her.
葛蕾丝船长拔出刀，黑色人形朝她跑来。

She swung, breaking through its defense, and cleaving open the black humanoid’s body. No, that was not the case! She had not cut up her opponent’s body; a gigantic mouth had opened up and its neat rows of teeth bit firmly onto the blade. She could not pull it free or thrust it deeper; its bite strength surpassed Captain Grace’s arm-strength.
她挥出剑，突破防守，砍断黑色人形的身体。不，不对！对方的身体并没有被砍断，长在那里的大嘴巴正张开口，以上下排的的牙齿紧紧咬住刀。没办法抽拉，也无法推得更深。这东西的咬合力胜过葛蕾丝船长的臂力。

Captain Grace discarded her sword and thought to back off, but her opponent chose to attack then. She planned to take it on her shinbone, but her opponent’s leg went soft and wrapped around Captain Grace’s calf, so she hurriedly swept it off her leg. The enemy switched freely between attack modes. A fist it threw became a whip, sweeping at her back; a kick she thought to black with her shoulder became a blade, cutting her shoulder and sending fresh blood spurting into the air. And then there was the way that her foe’s arms, legs and squid- or octopus-like tentacles erupted from its black-colored body, launching wave after wave of attacks at Captain Grace.
葛蕾丝船长丢下刀，打算退后，敌人却在此时发动攻击。她原本打算以小腿骨承受下段踢，但敌人的腿竟然软趴趴地一扭，企图缠住葛蕾丝船长的小腿，因此她赶紧踢腿扫开。对方的所有攻击都能够变换自如。对方揍过来的拳头变成鞭子般，甩向她的背部;打算用肩膀挡住的前踢竟然变幻成刀刃，割伤她的肩膀，溅出鲜血。更别提对方的手与脚以及仿佛章鱼或鱿鱼的触手源源不断地从黑色身体冒出，对葛蕾丝船长展开一波又一波的攻击。

Captain Grace’s attention went solely to dodging, and dodging eventually turned to running. Captain Grace was forced to run along the road, fending off attacks as she went.
葛蕾丝船长只能全心全意躲避，躲到最后变成逃跑。葛蕾丝船长被迫一边勉强格开攻击，一边在马路上奔跑。

Her original plan had been to finish the battle quickly and go to where bunny ears was, to defeat her. However, what had unexpectedly appeared could not be said to be a mook to serve as a warmup for bunny ears, and she could not take it out easily.
她原本打算速战速决后立刻前往兔耳的所在位置，击退兔耳。却意外出现不能说是来替兔耳暖场的小喽啰，无法轻松解决。

Captain Grace’s plan had fallen apart with a single setback.
葛蕾丝船长的计划不堪一击地崩塌。

She ran and dodged with all her strength, blocking and parrying and sweeping away attacks. However, an attack she saw was about to shift unexpectedly changed course yet again. One of the tentacles knocked aside Captain Grace’s sword and surged in, and despite her best efforts to twist away from it, she could not avoid the other blows, and she took a wound on the back of her leg.
她拼命地躲避、挡下、击落与扫开攻击，然而，眼看着就要偏移的攻击竟然又变换轨道。其中一只触手架开葛蕾丝船长的刀，朝内一伸，尽管她立刻转动身体避开攻击，仍然避免不了其他攻击，脚背因此负伤。

She shouted at Funny Trick, who was running over with her magic wand.
她喊住一边握着魔术手杖一边跑过来的惊喜魔技。

“Don’t come here! You’ve got other things to do!”
“别过来这里！你有其他的任务！”

The black humanoid was only attacking Captain Grace. Its attack density was very high, and it was only targeting Captain Grace, completely ignoring Funny Trick. There was no way to learn anything from this thing’s attacks, besides a strong sense that it was launching automatic attacks. She could not sense anything like the adventurous desire to fight one-on-one with her, and at the same time, she could not feel any logical imperative to crush the stronger foe first or anything like that.
黑色人形只集中攻击葛蕾丝船长一人。攻击密度很高，而且只瞄准葛蕾丝船长一人，完全无视惊喜魔技的存在。无法从这东西的攻击中读取到任何情绪，散发出强烈的自动攻击气息。她也完全无法从这东西身上感受到寻求一对一战斗的冒险情怀，同样的，也感觉不出对方秉持着先击溃强者的逻辑性。

Captain Grace thought: perhaps this thing only recognizes people who attacks it as its enemy. To this creature, Captain Grace was an enemy, but Funny Trick had not yet been classified as an enemy. In that case, Funny trick should be able to move freely. While Captain Grace took the attacks of the enemy by herself, Funny Trick had her own objectives to complete.
葛蕾丝船长如此心想，也许这东西只会把攻击自己的对手视为敌人。对现在的这东西而言，葛蕾丝船长是敌人，但惊喜魔技尚未包括在敌人的范畴内。既然如此，惊喜魔技应该能够自由行动。在葛蕾丝船长独自承受敌人攻击的期间，惊喜魔技有她的任务要完成。

Funny Trick seemed to have sensed Captain Grace’s plan, and she turned on her heel and ran back to the apartment block. “It should be fine now,” Captain Grace muttered.
惊喜魔技似乎是察觉到葛蕾丝船长的企图，只见她旋过脚跟返回公寓里。这样一来就没问题了，葛蕾丝船长自言自语地说。

Her opponent was a powerful foe. Of all the enemies which Captain Grace -- Shihabara Umi -- had fought to date, it was the strongest, the least vulnerable, the swiftest and most unpredictable of them all.
对方是强敌。对方是葛蕾丝船长——芝原海截至目前为止，对战过的敌人之中最强大、最毫无空隙、动作最迅速、最难以预测攻击模式的对象。

And so she dodged, endured, and blocked its attacks, and the number of wounds she had taken from not being able to evade them in time steadily increased. None of the attacks she made had any effect. There was a vast disparity between the quality and the quantity of their attacks. If she did not focus on defense, she would be hit, but when she focused on defense, obviously she could not launch an attack in turn. Her opponent not only had a size advantage, but it launched a nonstop series of blistering attacks. Her left bicep was cut, and when she bent back, a tentacle curled around the meat of her left calf. The tentacle grew barbs which looked looked like a fish-hook, which pierced deeply into Captain Grace’s leg.
她就这样躲避、承受、挡下攻击，身上的伤口因闪避不及的攻击而逐渐增加。她发动的攻击完全不管用。双方攻击手段的质与量相差一大截。她不专心躲避攻击就会中招，但专心躲避攻击理所当然地无法发动攻击。敌人不仅占尽体型上的优势，还不断展开激烈攻击。左手的二头肌被砍到，当她身体向后弯时，一只触手缠上左腿的小腿肚。触手长出仿佛钓钩般的倒钩，深深刺入葛蕾丝船长的脚。

Captain Grace suppressed the urge to cry out in pain. She was bleeding heavily, but she could still move. However, that was as much as she could do. From now on, she could only fight with one leg crippled.
葛蕾丝船长硬是压下呻吟声。虽然大量流血，但还能动作，但充其量就是“还能动作”而已。从现在开始，她只能在一脚行动不便的状态下继续战斗。

An unprecedented feeling began oozing slowly out of her gut.
一股前所未有的感觉，从她的腹部深处慢慢渗出。

--An unprecedented feeling?
——前所未有的感觉？

No, she had felt this before. The memory was too old, so she had forgotten what that feeling was. Captain Grace searched her memories, and went all the way back to her experience when she had met a stray dog in the mountains when she was three.
不，她曾经体会过这种感觉。由于记忆太过古老，才使她忘记那是何种感觉而已。葛蕾丝船长搜寻起脑袋里的记忆，一路追溯到三岁时在山里碰上流浪狗的经历。

So this was what they called fear. Captain Grace did not feel insulted by this discovery. Instead, her spirits soared.
原来这种感觉就是所谓的恐惧呀。葛蕾丝船长并没有因为这个发现而感到屈辱，她的情绪反而升华成喜悦。

Captain Grace was a champion at anything she did. Bunny ears was nimble prey. She was hard to deal with, but ultimately prey. She was excellent prey that had used her Magical Skill to ultimately evade Captain Grace, but prey did not have the right to challenge a champion.
葛蕾丝船长不管做任何事都是冠军。兔耳是动作敏捷的猎物，虽然不好对付，但终究是猎物。虽然使用魔法，最后成功地从葛蕾丝船长手上逃脱的兔耳是绝佳的猎物，但猎物并没有资格挑战冠军。

What stood before her now was not a challenger. Captain Grace herself was the challenger. The sense of fear she had missed for the past decade was transmuted into a sense of intoxication, spreading through Captain Grace’s body, letting her draw her dagger.
如今在她眼前的并非挑战者。挑战者是葛蕾丝船长本身。暌违十年所感受到的恐惧感，升华成陶醉之情，在葛蕾丝船长的体内四处奔波，让她拔出小剑。

She was in extreme danger now, and she could be killed by her enemy at any moment. Her enemy’s combination attacks were very fast, and it was even faster than bunny ears. She used all her strength, released all her senses, focused all her attention, and met it head on.
她正处于极度的危机之中，随时随地都有可能被敌人杀死。敌人施展的连打速度很快，攻击速度胜于兔耳。她使出全部的力气、释放所有的感性、集中一切的注意力，正面迎战。

She easily cut down her enemy’s thrusts, and after judging her opponent’s movements she made to close in, but her foe had already stepped in first, which she responded to with a headbutt. Captain Grace’s neck was turned aside, and so the headbutt struck her opponent’s shoulder. She opened her mouth to try and chew out the enemy’s throat, but her enemy would not let her and pushed her away. After that, she aimed at her enemy’s foot, using her heel to kick it away and using the opportunity to get in close and swing, but she was knocked to the ground by bladed tentacles and her attack was stopped.
轻轻松松地将敌人的突刺打落，预测出敌人的动作后主动接近，却遭到敌人抢先一步逼近，她反以头锤伺候。葛蕾丝船长的脖子被敌人扭向一旁，头锤因此命中对方肩膀，她张大嘴巴想顺势咬住敌人的喉咙，被不愿让她得逞的敌人推开。接着，面对敌人瞄准脚的一击，她则是用鞋子的脚后跟踢开，并趁着她靠近敌人身体的同时挥剑，却被变化成刃状的触手压倒在地，攻击遭到阻止。

Through her back and forth with her enemy, she began to understand the details of her foe. Her machine-like opponent was not only able to respond to her movements, but it would analyze any incoming attack before acting. In other words, it could see through her feints.
与敌人一来一往地进行攻防战的期间，她也逐渐摸清对手底细。犹如机器般的对手，不仅能够对她的动作产生反应，也能对任何攻击进行某种程度的预测后再行动。换句话说，即使她使出假动作，对方也能够看穿。

Captain Grace looked over to the apartment building. The third window on the second floor opened, and she could see Funny Trick sticking her head out, with perfect timing. Captain Grace shouted:
葛蕾丝船长将视线投向公寓。二楼靠马路这边的第三扇窗户开着，从那里可以看到惊喜魔技探出头来，时机点相当完美。葛蕾丝船长大叫:

“Funny Trick!”
“惊喜魔技！”

Captain Grace withdrew the Captain Hook-style hook hand and threw it at her enemy’s chest, and covered up her dagger with her cape, facing her back to the enemy. The enemy swatted aside the hook with its tentacle, and then, wary of the dagger’s movements, it hesitated for a moment and frozen.
葛蕾丝船长以左手抽出挂在腰间的虎克船长铁钩，扔向敌人的胸口处，并将右手的小剑以披风覆盖，面对敌人。以触手弹开铁钩的对手，因为戒备小剑的动静，产生一瞬间的迟疑而停下脚步。

The interior of the cape sank down heavily, and Captain Grace had to use some strength to steady her feet. The dagger in her right hand had become a huge fixed cannon, with timing that could only be described as “the best”. This was her secret weapon.
披风内侧的重量变得沉甸甸的，葛蕾丝船长用力站稳脚步。右手的小剑在转瞬间变成固定式大炮，时机可以说是分秒不差。这就是她“特地留一手的对策”。

Her enemy was the champion, and she was the challenger. She should use every means she could against it. Be it her partner Funny Trick or the ship’s armaments, everything fell within that category.
敌人是冠军，自己是挑战者。能够使用的事物就要全数用上。无论是搭档惊喜魔技、船上的装备，所有的一切都包括在此范围内。

She could feel the enemy’s stunned silence. Under the cover of her cape, Captain Grace fired her magic cannon. As the massive recoil threw her backward, she pulled out her other hook and latched onto the road’s surface. The hook clattered as it gouged out a groove on the ground, and she barely managed to stabilize herself by digging her heels into the fence by the side of the road.
她确实感受到敌人沉默的错愕。葛蕾丝船长在覆盖着披风的状态下，发射魔法大炮。在她被强大的反作用力弹向后方的同时，抽出另一把铁钩，勾入路面。铁钩咯啦咯啦地刨开沥青，她以脚跟抵住路边护栏才好不容易稳住身体。

Captain Grace’s “magic ship” was a pirate ship. When she had tried summoning her pirate ship in the school’s yard, she had checked its equipment and taken several useful things home with her. The cannon was one of them. Funny Trick had covered up the cannon within the apartment and swapped it with the dagger which Captain Grace had been hiding in her cape.
葛蕾丝船长的“魔法船”是海盗船。试着在学校操场召唤出海盗船时，她确认了其中的装备，并将几样似乎能够派上用场的东西带回家。大炮正是其中之一。惊喜魔技将放在公寓里的大炮覆盖住，与葛蕾丝船长用披风覆盖住的小剑对调。

While the magic cannon had incredible recoil, he eardrums had not been broken, and after briefly inspecting her body, she did not have any broken bones. Her right hand was a little numb, but that was an acceptable price to pay.
虽然魔法大炮具备惊人的反作用力，但她的鼓膜并没有被震破，稍微检查了一下身体，也没有骨折。右手多少有些麻痹，但这点程度的代价是值得的。

The thick smoke rose up heavily, and something cut through the thick black smoke which hung in the air and smelled of gunpowder. She saw the black humanoid missing its upper body, taking stumbling steps forward and trying to get close. Even with half its body blown away, it could still move. The pieces which had been blasted away were still writhing, as though trying to return to their original state.
浓烟不断蹿升，有东西划破弥漫着黑色火药味的烟雾后现身。只见失去上半身的黑色人形，踩着蹒跚的步伐，企图靠近她。即使身体有一半被炸飞，仍然能够动作。被炸飞的碎片也蠕动不已，似乎想要恢复原状。

She had not performed any experiments with it, but she had clearly felt the power of the cannonball. Even a Magical Girl would have been reduced to mincemeat if it had taken a direct hit from the magic cannon. However much more resilient than a Magical Girl this foe was, she had still managed to do serious damage to it.
虽然她没有进行实验，但能够确实地感受到炮弹的威力。遭到魔法大炮直接命中的话，即使是魔法少女也会变成绞肉吧。尽管眼前的敌人比魔法少女强韧，她还是成功地对它造成严重损伤。

However, it had not been enough to be fatal. Her opponent’s ability to stretch freely had become a form of immortality, and it was planning to regenerate. Captain Grace did not think she had a chance of victory once her opponent reformed itself. If the fight was to be decided, then it would be decided now. Therefore, Captain Grace dug her hook into the tentacle wrapped around her leg and tore it apart.
但不至于到致人于死的地步。敌人伸缩自如的能力，如今变成不死之身的能力，并打算再生。葛蕾丝船长不认为敌人恢复原状后自己还有胜算。如果要分出高下，只能趁现在。于是，葛蕾丝船长以铁钩刺入缠在她脚上的触手，扯断触手。

Captain Grace kicked off the road, leaping onto a traffic sign about five meters away. If she used it at such close range, even her own life would be in danger.
葛蕾丝船长咚的一声踢向路面，跳至距离五公尺处的交通标志上。若是在近距离使用，连她自己也会有生命危险。

Captain Grace’s Magical Skill was “the ability to summon a magic ship that goes at super high speed across the water”. The ship was about ten meters long. It looked like a sailboat, but it did not need the wind. It had to be used beside a fairly large river.
葛蕾丝船长的魔法是“能够召唤出以超高速航行于水面上的魔法船”。船全长约十公尺。虽然是帆船外形，但不需要借助风力。使用时，当然得在有相当面积的河岸边。

--That is, if one were using it normally.
——如果要正常使用的话。

Captain Grace summoned her magic ship onto the enemy wobbling towards her. An object with overwhelming mass appeared in the air, instantly filling the space where her opponent had been. An impact and sound not unlike an explosion rang out, and Captain Grace held down her captain’s hat before it could be blown away.
葛蕾丝船长对摇摇晃晃地朝这里走来的敌人，召唤出魔法船。具备压倒性质量的物体凭空出现，一口气填满敌人存在的空间。不亚于爆炸的冲击与声响传来，葛蕾丝船长紧紧按住差点被吹飞的船长帽。

What would happen if she summoned her ship in a place that was not empty? Would the ship sink, or be bounced away, or would it be crushed to bits? She did not know the answer then, but she did now. If she summoned the ship in a place which was not empty, which was occupied by an object roughly the size of a human being, the object would be squashed flat by the weight of the ship.
如果不是在空无一物的地方召唤出船，下场会如何？是被船淹没，抑或是被弹开，还是会被压得稀巴烂？她不知道答案。如今，她知道了。不在空旷的地方召唤出船只、存在于当场的是人类大小的物体的话，会因为船的重量而被压得稀巴烂。

There was a sensation in her hand. She might not have directly driven a blade into it or bludgeoned it with her fists, but some feeling remained when one defeated a foe.
手上残留着触感，即使不是通过刃物直接刺入或以拳头痛殴之类的手段，只要打倒敌人就会留下触感。

By the time she dispelled the magic of her ship, the black-colored entity had vanished.
当她一解除船的魔法，黑色的某种物体已经消失不见。

☆7753 (17 hours and 50 minutes remaining)

7753 stood by the car that was parked by the side of the road.
7753站在停在路边的轻型汽车旁。

It was extremely awkward to spend time with someone who was feeling anxious and frustrated. That awkwardness only intensified when that person was of a higher rank than oneself. Mana had never been in a good mood ever since 7753 had laid eyes on her, but that was nothing compared to how she was right now. Even Mana sitting in the back seat and tapping her foot impatiently was violent enough to rock the entire car with her.
与心情焦虑的人的人相处在一起的时间，气氛实在尴尬至极。倘若对方的阶级比自己高，那份尴尬的心情还会加倍。虽然打从7753第一次见到麻奈以来，麻奈的心情从来没有好过，但与此刻相比，简直就是小巫见大巫。即使麻奈坐在后座，不耐烦地抖着的脚，还是剧烈到连车体也跟着摇晃的地步。

7753 had volunteered to stand outside the vehicle as a sentry, but she could feel how strongly Mana was tapping her foot without having to look inside the car window. Instead, that just made it even more frightening
7753以站哨的名义来到车外，但不用探向车窗，她还是能够清清楚楚地感受到麻奈的脚抖到什么程度，反而令人觉得更恐怖。

Ripple, Hana and Maou Pam had launched an attack on the unwary foe. While she was not sure how much of Mana’s nagging them to “take them alive, don’t kill anyone” had sunk in, would they really have the leisure to obey those instructions? There had been no communications from them until now.
莉普儿、羽菜、魔王帕姆三人从三个方向对松懈的敌人发动攻击。虽然不清楚她们将麻奈“不可杀人，活捉对方”的叮咛听进去多少，但她们真的有这种闲情逸致遵守吗？直到现在仍然没有收到任何联系。

Mana’s frustration was not so much due to worrying if they “could capture the criminal alive”, but it also had elements of anger directed at 7753 for “not fighting even though you’re a Magical Girl”. 7753’s persecution fantasies all revolved around Mana being strongly critical of 7753. Even among Magical Girls, there were those who were and were not suited for combat. 7753 was one of those who were not suited for combat. Be it her personality, Magical Skill or physical abilities, none of them made for a combative Magical Girl. Even if 7753 was that way, she still did her best to carry out her duties to the best of her ability. For instance, protecting their leader when all the combatants had been deployed was also a remarkable task. She should have held her head high and been proud of herself.
与其说麻奈的焦虑是因为担忧“她们是否能够顺利逮捕犯人”，不如说掺入了对7753“你明明身为魔法少女怎么没办法战斗”的怒气。7753的被害妄想全归功于麻奈针对7753的强烈批判性。即使是魔法少女也有适合战斗的人与不适合战斗的人，7753就是不适合战斗的人。无论是她的个性或魔法、体能，都跟不上适合战斗的魔法少女。尽管是这样的7753，也会尽可能地执行她能力范围所及之事。例如，保卫战斗人员倾巢而出的主力部队，也是一项了不起的工作。她应该抬头挺胸，为自己感到骄傲。

However, even if she told Mana all that, it might well have been interpreted as “excuses from a coward”, resulting in shouting, disdain and contempt. Therefore, 7753 chose to hold her peace, and serve as Mana’s bodyguard amidst this awkward atmosphere.
然而，即使她告诉麻奈这番话，恐怕也只会被解释成“胆小鬼的借口”，并遭到怒吼、贬低、瞧不起而已吧。因此，7753选择保持沉默，在尴尬的气氛中担任麻奈的保镖。

She looked to the sky and prayed that everything would end safely. The cloud cover was thick, and tomorrow would be cloudy too. There was a chance of rain, and possibly even snow.
她一边仰望天空，一边祈祷事情能够平安落幕。云层很厚，明天也会是阴天，也有可能下雨，搞不好还会降雪。

Just at this moment, a sky-shaking report split the heavens. The violent noise seemed like it was going to forcibly tear apart the silence of the night, and it came from the apartment block where the enemy was hiding. It seemed to be an explosion.
就在此时，一道轰天震响划破天际。仿佛要将夜晚的寂静硬生生撕裂开来的暴力噪音，从敌人躲藏的公寓传来。似乎是爆炸声。

The car door opened, and Mana jumped out.
车门打开，麻奈跳下车。

“What was that noise?”
“刚才的声音是怎么一回事？”

“I, I don’t know.”
“我、我也不知道。”

“Dammit… was it someone’s magic?”
“可恶……是谁的魔法吗？”

Ripple’s Magical Skill had no explosive elements to it, and neither did Hana’s. Maou Pam’s Magical Skill was the most likely, or was that… was that the enemy’s Magical Skill? The parking lot they were in was some distance away from the apartments. Even so, they could clearly hear the report, suggesting that it was no small explosion. It was quite likely that the sleeping residents nearby had been awoken by the noise, while the police and emergency response services would be mobilized in a matter of time. Mana glared at the apartments, and so did 7753. Then, she saw a huge bird flying in the sky, so big that she dared not believe it. Was it a trick of her depth perception? Even if an ostrich could fly at such a height, it should not be that big -- such was its size that she could not help but doubt it.
莉普儿的魔法没有爆炸的元素，羽菜的魔法也是。真要说的话，魔王帕姆的可能最大，还是说……那是敌人的魔法？她们目前的停车位置，与公寓有一段距离。即使如此，还能够清楚听到声响，可见爆炸威力不小。想必已经入睡的附近居民也会被声音吵醒，警察与消防车出动也只是时间早晚的问题吧。麻奈瞪向公寓的方向，7753也看向那边。接着，她发现空中飞着一只巨大的鸟，体积大到令人不敢置信。这是远近感造成的错觉吧？即使是鸵鸟飞到这种距离，应该也不会这么巨大——那个东西就是巨大到会让人忍不住如此怀疑。

“...Hm? What’s that?”
“……嗯？那个是？”

“What? What happened?”
“怎么了？发生什么事情了？”

Could it be that thing isn’t a bird? By the time 7753 thought about that, the winged station wagon was already bearing down on them. 7753 grabbed Mana and jumped aside, and in the next moment it hit the car where Mana had been just moments ago, creating an explosive bang louder than just now.
难道说那个东西并不是鸟？当7753想到这里的时候，那辆长着翅膀的旅行车已经迫近眼前。7753抱住麻奈的身体跳向旁边，下一秒钟立刻撞上麻奈之前所在位置到旅行车，发出超越刚才爆炸的轰隆巨响。



☆Rain Pou (17 hours and 41 minutes remaining)

Rain Pou and Postarie were holding on tight to the station wagon’s rear, and before it hit, they jumped clear. Their faces were distorted by the wind pressure, and they had been travelling so fast that their facial muscles were shuddering uncontrollably. Even an average Magical Girl would not have been able to avoid injury, and for a normal human, jumping off would most likely not just be a matter of injury.
紧紧抓住旅行车车尾的梦幻彩虹与波斯塔丽，在车子坠落前纵身一跃。两人的脸被风挤压到变形，飞行速度快到脸部肌肉抖动不已。如果是程度平平的魔法少女也避免不了受伤的命运，换做人类跳车的话，恐怕不是受个伤就没事了。

Rain Pou made a rainbow bridge in mid-air, and while holding Postarie in one arm after jumping clear, she used her free hand to grab the rainbow bridge, broke her fall, and then they landed safely on the ground with a thump. The station wagon had touched down at the same time… or rather, it had crashed. The mass, the speed, the flight distance, all the parameters of this flight had been quite startling. The energy generated from the crash shook the surroundings. It was loud enough that faint-hearted humans would have fainted upon hearing it, and it had thrown up so much dust and debris that the surroundings were covered in smoke. It was like the view after a bombing.
梦幻彩虹在空中制造出彩虹桥，以单手抱住波斯塔丽跳车后，用空出来的手抓住彩虹桥，阻止坠势，接着咚的一声安全着陆。旅行车也几乎同时着陆……应该说是坠毁。质量、速度、飞行距离等，这趟飞行的所有数值都相当惊人。由于坠落而产生的能量，令周遭晃动不已。声响大到胆小的人类听到会昏厥过去的程度，并扬起滚滚尘埃与沥青粉尘，四周烟雾弥漫。确实是爆炸攻击后的情景。

“Tacchan, are you alright?”
“小达，你没事吧？”

“...Mm.”
“……嗯。”

That did not seem to be the case. Postarie’s eyes were completely unfocused, and her half-open revealed a timid… no, it should be a blank expression.
看起来似乎并非如此。波斯塔丽的眼神完全没有焦点，在嘴巴半张的状态下露出一副胆怯……不，应该说是一脸茫然无神的模样。

Postarie had never been strong-willed to begin with, and one could even call her a coward. Even though becoming a Magical Girl strengthened one’s mental faculties, there was no way one could avoid being affected by one’s personality from before transformation. Toko’s line about, “having the courage to face any enemy” was probably an exaggeration. At the very most, it was more like “an amateur who had no idea they’d be fighting until yesterday would not be so tense that they could do nothing but sweat and be completely useless”.
波斯塔丽原本的个性就不强势，甚至可以说是胆小鬼。虽然听说成为魔法少女的话，精神层面也会随之增强，但再怎么说，也不可能完全不受变身前的个性影响吧。多可的“能够拥有面对任何敌人都能挺身而出的勇气”一说，想必是夸大其词。顶多只是“直到昨日为止从没想到自己会参与战斗的门外汉，并不至于紧张到汗流不止、完全派不上用场的地步”而已吧。

Bring attacked by the enemy, being chased by the ninja, sprinting along a rainbow, riding a flying car, just these frightening experiences alone were enough to rival ten amusement parks full of scream-inducing rides.
遭到敌人攻击、被忍者追赶、在彩虹上狂奔、坐上飞翔于空中的汽车，光是这些惊险的体验，就足以媲美十座会令人尖叫连连的的游乐设施。

In any case, I have to be more mindful of Postarie’s condition. Just as Rain Pou thought that, a voice came from her breast, telling her:
总之，要多加注意波斯塔丽的状况。就在梦幻彩虹如此暗忖时，一道声音从怀里传来，并对她说:

“Hey hey..”
“喂喂。”

“Hm? What is it?”
“嗯？什么事？”

“Say, look over there.”
“喏，你看那边。”

Toko had poked half her body out of Rain Pou’s breast pocket and was pointing in a certain direction. There were people rolling around in the dust clouds. In the direction she was pointing, they could see two people who had originally been on the ground about to climb back up. One of them had the other’s arm around their shoulder, lifting them up, and they were running forward with all their might.
从梦幻彩虹的胸口处探出半个身子的多可，以手指指着某个方向。有人影在滚滚烟尘中晃动。从它指的方向，可以看见两个原本倒在地上的人影正要爬起来。其中一人将手搭在另一人的肩膀上，扛起对方，一股脑儿地向前奔跑。

“It’ll be bad if they escape!”
“被她们逃掉就不妙啦！”

Just as Rain Pou was about to give chase, she immediately halted in her tracks. “Something” had obscured their vision. The dust particles slowly settled, and although they could clearly see the other party, they could only call it “something”. It was a completely black orb that had sprouted fluttering, bat-like wings, and it hovered in the air.
梦幻彩虹刚要追上去，却立刻停下脚步。有“某个东西”遮蔽住她的视线。粉尘缓缓散去，虽然能够清楚地掌握对方的样貌，却仍然只能以“某个东西”称之。全黑加上圆滚滚的本体，长着有如蝙蝠翅膀的物体，啪唦啪唦地振动翅膀，滞留于空中。

“What… is this? Is it a mascot like you, Toko?”
“这个……是什么啊？跟多可你一样的吉祥物吗？”

“How could that be? I have no idea what it is. Although, it doesn’t look like a Magical Girl.”
“怎么可能嘛。我也不知道这是什么。不过，似乎不是魔法少女。”

“Is it a living creature?”
“这是活生生的生物吗？”

“I have no idea.”
“我也不知道。”

Toko glared at the black sphere and exploded with a short, sharp curse.
多可瞪着黑色球体，爆出简短的咒骂。

“In any case, if we don’t take this thing out, we won’t be able to chase down those two people running away, right? If we catch them, we can use them to negotiate. If we can negotiate, we win.”
“不管怎么说，不把这鬼东西解决掉的话，就没办法追赶逃掉的那两人吧？抓到她们两个的话，就能用来当交涉条件，只要能够进行交涉，胜利就是我们的了。”

Rain Pou seized the bumper of the station wagon, broke it off, and then swung it at the black sphere. However, the orb evaded it with surprising dexterity.
梦幻彩虹抓住旅行车的保险杠，硬是扳断后，朝黑色球体奋力挥去，却被对方以意料之外的敏捷动作避开。

“That thing moves pretty fast. Say, Toko, are you really sure it’s not a Magical Girl?”
“那东西动作还真快。喂，多可，它真的不是魔法少女吗？”

“How could there be a Magical Girl who looks like this?”
“怎么可能会有长这样的魔法少女嘛。”

The sphere changed shape like an amoeba. Rain Pou swung the bumper even harder, inducing the enemy to evade, and after predicting the movements of her opponent, she changed over to a direct thrust. The bumper pierced into the black “something” -- no, the body of the black “something” transformed, and actually held onto the bumper. The tightly bitten bumper screeched as it twisted and distorted.
球体仿佛变形虫般变形。梦幻彩虹以更强的力道挥出保险杠，刻意诱导敌人闪避，预测对方动作后，这次改正面突刺。保险杠刺入那黑色的“某个东西”——不对，那黑色的“某个东西”的身体变了形，竟然衔住保险杠。被紧紧咬住的保险杠发出叽哩叽哩的声音，逐渐扭曲变形。

Its identity was unknown, its movements were fast, and it was very strong. In addition, its body was very soft, and it could transform itself freely. Given the way it had blocked their pursuit of the two people, it was probably from the enemy side. It would seem this thing would be quite a prickly opponent.
真实身份不明、动作敏捷、力量也很强大。再加上，身体异常柔软、能够自由自在地变形。从对方阻挡她追赶那两个人的去路研判，这东西来自于敌人阵营。看来这个东西会是相当棘手的对手。

“Since it’s not a Magical Girl, and not a mascot… could it be a lifeform?”
“既不是魔法少女，也不是吉祥物……但应该是生物吧？”

“It’s hard to tell just by that. It might not be a living creature, but form aside, this must surely have something to with magic. That should be it.”
“光靠这样实在很难判断。也许这个东西不是生物，但姑且不论形式，这东西一定与魔法有关联。应该不会错。”

Toko had originally poked half her body out, but then she had shrunk back in until only her shoulders and head were visible. Toko could sense this thing’s strength too.
原本探出半个身体的多可，将身体缩回到只剩肩膀以上露在外面。多可也察觉到这东西的强大。

Rain Pou slowly turned around. She was worried that moving too fast would agitate the thing before her eyes. She turned to look at Postarie. She had a frightened look on her face. The fact that she could be afraid suggested that her condition was better than just now. It would seem Postarie had regained her sense of judgement.
梦幻彩虹缓缓地回过头。她担心动作太快的话，会刺激到眼前的这个东西。她回过头去看向波斯塔丽。波斯塔丽的表情相当胆怯，既然会感到害怕，足以说明状况比之前好。看来波斯塔丽的判断能力以及恢复了。

“Tacchan, there’s something I need your help with, is that alright?”
“小达，我有一件事情想要麻烦你，可以吗？”

“Eh… what is it?”
“咦……什么事？”

“Listen to me…”
“听我说……”

After listening to Rain Pou’s request, Postarie had an uncomfortable look on her face. Although Postarie felt it was very scary, and muttered, “I don’t want to, I don’t want to” while begging Rain Pou to let her off with dewy eyes, Toko threatened her with “If you don’t do anything, they’ll kill you in the end”, and eventually, she nodded her agreement.
听完梦幻彩虹的请求后，波斯塔丽露出面有难色的表情。虽然波斯塔丽觉得很恐怖，并重复嚷嚷着我不要、我不要，并泪眼汪汪地拜托梦幻彩虹饶了她，但在多可威胁“如果你什么都不做，到头来还不是会被那帮人干掉”后，总算点头同意。

Postarie slowly, gradually drew close to that black “something”. Her expression looked terribly tragic, and trails of tears were running down her cheeks. Rain Pou had told her to gently touch the sphere without letting it think that she was launching an attack. Postarie’s trembling hand drew close to the black “something”, and touched it.
波斯塔丽缓缓地、慢慢地靠近黑色的“某个东西”。波斯塔丽的表情看起来相当悲壮，脸上流淌着泪水。梦幻彩虹对她下达的指示是，在不被对方以为她是在发动攻击的状态下，温柔地轻轻碰触对方。波斯塔丽以颤抖的手，接近那黑色的“某个东西”，并碰触它。

In the next moment, the black “something” sprouted a pair of swan wings and shot off like a rocket, heedless to how the black wings tried to resist. It would seen that thing had been someone else’s property.
下一瞬间，黑色的“某个东西”立刻长出天鹅的羽翼，无视奋力抵抗的蝙蝠翅膀，如火箭般飞
去。看来那个东西果然是某个人的所有物。

Rain Pou sighed in relief, and she could sense Toko relax in her breast pocket. Postarie turned around and wiped away her tears with her sleeve.
梦幻彩虹吁出一口气，能够感受到胸前的多可也放松下来。波斯塔丽转过头来，以袖口擦拭泪水。

“Ah… I’d like to rest for a bit.”
“那个……我想要休息一下。”

“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing too.”
“是啊，我也有相同的想法。”

Toko did not object. They no longer had the strength to chase down the fleeing pair.
多可并没有出声反对。她们已经无力去追赶逃跑的两人了。

☆7753 (16 hours 25 minutes minutes remaining)

She had barely managed to escape while carrying Mana on her back. Just evading a direct hit from the station wagon had been a miracle, and actually escaping successfully after that was a miracle among miracles. 7753 breathed a sigh of relief from where she was on top of an office building.
背着麻奈，好不容易顺利逃脱。光是能够避掉遭旅行车直接命中的下场，就已经是奇迹了，更别说还能顺利逃脱，简直就是奇迹中的奇迹。7753在大厦顶楼，安心地吁出一口气。

However, the person she had rescued did not seem thankful at all. By the looks of things… Mana was angry. One could also say that this was the explosion after she had banked her anger to the limit. While 7753 did not know the actual age of this mage, she looked 15. The fact that she looked to have been at an age where she might end up doing anything when her passions ran high, and that she was kicking up such a big fuss frightened 7753 to no end.
然而，被救的那个人似乎一点都不感激。看这样子……麻奈是在生气吧。也可以说是怒气忍耐到极限后的大爆发。虽然7753不知道这位魔法师的实际年龄，但外表看起来约十五岁，光是她正处于会在高涨的情绪下做出任何事情的年纪，发这么大的脾气只会让人害怕得不得了。

“Why do you think Magical Girls are so strong?!”
“你以为魔法少女为何会这么强大！”

“Besides, you’re supposed to be my bodyguard! Are you a bodyguard who only exists to run away?! Dumbass!”
“更何况你本来就是保镖耶！你只是为了逃跑而存在的保镖吗？混蛋！”

“If it’s just running away, I could have done it by myself! If I’d known earlier I would have put you on the attack team!”
“如果要逃跑的话，我一个人也办得到！早知道就把你编入袭击部队了！”

She ranted and raved, cursed through gritted teeth and castigated 7753. All 7753 could do was console herself that she was not actually attacking her physically.
咆哮不已的怒吼、咬牙切齿的辱骂、对7753的责难，7753只能在心里安慰自己，幸好不是实际上的物理攻击。

Thus, 7753 tried to tell Mana that at the time, running like mad was the wisest course of action, that having the two of them with the lowest fighting strength stay behind to fight the enemy might have ended up in them being taken hostage, which would have dragged everyone else down. After all, it was not wise to say that her superior had given the order to “don’t force yourself to fight, take Mana and run away with all your strength”. Trapped between a rock and a hard place, all she could do was keep saying, “I’m sorry”, “I sincerely apologize”, “It couldn’t be helped”, “It was the wisest course of action” while repeatedly bowing to Mana in apology.
于是，7753说服麻奈，当时拔腿狂奔是明智之举，就算战斗能力低劣的我们留下来对抗敌人，搞不好会被当成人质，反而会扯大家的后腿也不一定。毕竟她不好明说，上司对自己下达“不需要勉强自己战斗，快带着麻奈全力逃跑”的命令，进退两难的她只能一直说着“对不起”、“我很抱歉”、“这也是没办法的事”、“这是最明智的抉择”不断向麻奈低头道歉。

Perhaps she had thoroughly vented her anger and finally calmed down, but Mana -- though she was clearly unhappy -- was no longer screaming at her, or frothing at the lips while cursing her out, but instead looking at the ground and spitting, “Fucking countryside.”
也许是彻底发泄怒气后，情绪终于稍微平静下来的关系，麻奈仍一脸不悦，但不会再对她怒吼或口沫横飞地破口大骂，只是望向地面并丢出一句“混账乡下”。

This high-rise building was their designated meeting point in case of emergencies, and it was one of the tallest buildings in the city. Therefore, they could see almost the entire city from the roof. For a building whose biggest feature was the number of “for rent” signboards adorning it, the view from up here was not bad.
被指定为发生紧急情况时的集合地点的这栋大厦，在市内是高度数一数二的建筑物，所以从顶楼几乎可以将整个城市尽收眼底。对于挂满店面出租看板为最大特色的大厦来说，眺望的景致还算不赖。

However, Mana’s heartfelt sentiment of “fucking countryside” was -- very regretfully -- one that 7753 could not help but agree with. Whether it was coming here or the things she had been forced to do ever since she had come here, 7753 had been feeling a textbook depression about coming to the countryside.
然而，麻奈所说的“混账乡下”的感言，非常可悲地，7753也忍不住赞同。无论是7753来到这里，或是来到这里被迫做的事情，都令她感受到一股符合典型的不景气乡下的忧郁情怀。

Mana glanced to the street, then took out her Magical Phone and fiddled with it.
麻奈睥睨着街上，拿出魔法终端设备后启动，操作起来。

“It’s not connecting.”
“联系不上。”

“...What?”
“……什么？”

“What’s going on? Hana’s not answering.”
“到底是怎么一回事？羽菜竟然没接。”

“This… maybe they’re fighting and they can’t answer?”
“这个……也许是正在战斗，没办法接电话吧？”

“That, or the enemy caught them.”
“不然就是已经被敌人捉住了。”

Mana glared at 7753 as she said that. Her eyes seemed to be saying, If Hana got caught, it’s because you ran away.
麻奈瞪着7753这么说。她的眼神仿佛在诉说，羽菜会被敌人捉住，还不是因为你逃跑的关系。

“But, you can’t conclude that just because Hana didn’t pick up…”
“可是，也不能只凭羽菜没接电话就断定……”

“What the hell do you know about Hana?!”
“你又知道羽菜什么了！”

7753 had the feeling that no matter what she said, she would only make Mana more angry, so she decided to keep quiet.
总觉得不管自己说什么，都只会惹对方生气，于是7753噤声不语。

“Shit… God dammit Hana, where are you, what are you doing…”
“可恶……羽菜那混蛋，到底在哪里、在做什么……”

Mana began pacing around the roof, her thoughts in turmoil and unable to calm down.
麻奈开始在顶楼来回走动，思绪混乱无法冷静。

7753 called Ripple, but like Hana, nobody picked up. In any case, all she could do was send a text message to notify them. It was only when she began keying in their meetup location into her Magical Phone that she realised that her finger was trembling.
7753拨电话给莉普儿，跟羽菜一样，无人接听。总之，只能先传简讯通知一下。当她在魔法终端设备打下她们在集合地点的内容时，才察觉到自己的手指颤抖不已。

Ripple and Hana were not answering their phones. She tried calling Maou Pam as well, but got no answer. The three of them had not returned to the meetup point, and they had not sent text messages. A chill ran down her spine, towards her buttocks.
莉普儿与羽菜都没有接电话。她也试着拨电话给魔王帕姆，也没有任何回应。那三个人既没有回到集合地点，也没有发送任何一通简讯。一股冰凉的寒意沿着她的脊椎流向屁股。

After sending the text message to Ripple, 7753 hugged her Magical Phone to her chest.
将传给莉普儿的简讯发送出去后，7753把魔法终端设备抱在胸前。

The Magical Phone still had not received any replies yet. Mana was still pacing around the roof. One round. Two rounds. Three rounds. 7753 counted blankly. After her count reached more than 100, she finally gave up on counting.
魔法终端设备仍然没有收到任何回音。麻奈继续在顶楼来回走动。第一趟、第二趟、第三趟，
7753茫然地数着，直到数字超过一百之后，终于放弃继续数下去。

After that, Mana walked around a few more times, and finally stopped.
在那之后，麻奈继续来回走了好几趟，最后终于停下脚步。

“Why’s nobody coming?”
“为什么没人来？”

“Eh?”
“咦？”

“Why is nobody coming? And there’s no communication either. Why can’t we contact anyone?!”
“为什么都没有人来？也没有任何联络。为什么联络不上任何人！”

Mana suddenly closed in on 7753 and seized her by the lapels. Strictly speaking, since 7753 was taller, it looked like she was being grabbed from below. Since 7753 was standing near the edge of the roof, with no walls or steel fence behind her, she hastily struggled to stand firm. Mana was shoving her with so much force that rather than just pushing her off, Mana might end up falling with her as well. 7753 held onto Mana’s hands.
麻奈突然一举逼近7753，一把抓住她的领口。具体来说，因为7753的身材比较高大，所以是呈现由下往上揪住的姿势。7753站在靠近顶楼边缘处，她身后没有任何墙壁或铁网，因此急急忙忙站稳脚步。麻奈以惊人的气势推她，别说是将她从顶楼推落，一个不小心甚至连麻奈自己也会一起坠楼。7753按住麻奈的手。

“They’re dead, aren’t they?!”
“她们已经死掉了吧！”

“What do you mean, dead, it can’t be…”
“说什么死掉，不会的……”

“If not, why hasn’t anyone come back yet?! And there’s been no communication!”
“要不然为什么都没有人回来！也没有任何联络！”

“There must be some kind of misunderstanding…”
“这其中一定有什么误会……”

“What kind of misunderstanding could there be?!”
“还会有什么误会！”

Hana was a Magical Girl from the Inspection Branch, and she was no stranger to combat. She was strong to the point where “although she was here to catch an assassin, pairing her with Mana, who lacked any combat ability, was more than enough”.
羽菜是对战斗一点都不陌生的资深魔法少女。她的实力强到“明明是来逮捕暗杀者，却被认为只要她一个人搭配毫无战斗能力的麻奈等人即绰绰有余”的地步。

“But, that sort of thing…”
“可是……那种事情……”

“There’s nothing to ‘but’ about!”
“没有什么好可是的！”

“But…”
“可是……”

7753 could not respond with anything, and so Mana shoved her again.
7753说不出任何反驳的话语，于是麻奈用力推她。

“If not, then tell me what happened!”
“要不然你说到底是怎么回事啊！”

7753 reflexively swept Mana’s hands away. Even if she was only a Magical Girl from Human Resources, 7753’s arm-strength was still far in excess of hers. Mana was easily sent flying, coasting parallel to the roof’s surface towards the exit before hitting the door and stopping. There was a back-shaped dent in the door, but Mana immediately stood back up.
7753反射性地扫掉麻奈的手。即使只是人事部的魔法少女，与麻奈相比，7753的臂力仍远远在她之上。轻而易举被打飞的麻奈，与顶楼的地面呈现平行地飞向入口处，撞上门之后停住。门上出现一道背部形状的凹痕，麻奈却立刻站起身。

“I, I’m sorry. You pushed too hard, so I accidentally...:”
“对、对不起。因为你推得太大力了，我一不小心就……”

“Son of a bitch… goddamn sons of bitches!”
“混账……全部都是混账！”

Mana’s eyes were filling up with tears. She looked up so her eyelashes would keep the tears in, but ultimately they overflowed and cascaded down her face. Mana screamed something 7753 could not understand with tears streaming down her cheeks, and 7753 was powerless to help her.
麻奈的眼眶聚积起泪水，抬起头来想借助下眼睫毛挡住泪水，最后还是决堤，眼泪哗啦哗啦地落下。麻奈泪流满面地呐喊着7753听不懂的话，7753也无能为力。

Mana cried, screamed, and then jabbed her index finger at 7753.
麻奈大哭、大叫，以食指指向7753。

“What are you crying for?!”
“你哭什么啊！”

7753 lifted her goggles up and felt the bottoms of her eyes -- they were wet.
7753将护目镜拉至额上，轻轻抚过眼睛下方——是湿的。

“You don’t have the right to cry!”
“你没有哭泣的权利吧！”

Mana charged over and used the momentum to slap 7753 across the face, and then, operating on the principle that “what goes around comes around”, she backhanded 7753’s other cheek. Having been slapped twice, 7753 reflexively returned the favor to Mana’s cheek. Then, as though in a repeat of what had happened just now, Mana once more flew toward the exit and crashed back-first into the door.
麻奈借着冲过来的气势甩了7753一巴掌，并秉持有来有往的原则，以手背扇了7753另一边的脸颊，遭到两次攻击的7753反射性地回敬麻奈的脸颊。接着，仿佛刚才的重播般，麻奈再度飞向入口处，背部撞上门。

Mana stood up against, muttering something that could not be considered a sentence. Before apologizing, 7753 had already rushed before Mana. This time, she punched Mana’s cheekbone, then uppercutted her lower jaw, then slapped down from above, knocking Mana to the ground. Unlike the last two times when she had lashed out by reflex, she had been much more deliberate this time round. Mana lay face down on the ground like a frog in the middle of dissection, trembling uncontrollably. She howled like a beast as she shuddered. 7753 used her goggles to verify that Mana had not been badly hurt. After all, 7753 had not brought her down by striking her vitals.
麻奈嚷嚷着不成句子的话语，站起身来。7753在道歉之前，已率先迅速冲至麻奈面前。这次她以拳头揍向麻奈的颧骨，再揍向下颚，接着从上方一掌拍下去，将麻奈打倒在地。比起前两次反射性的出手，这次下手扎实许多。麻奈以仿佛解剖中的青蛙的姿势，脸部向下趴倒在地颤抖不已。她发出野兽般的呻吟声颤抖着。7753通过护目镜确定麻奈的身体并无大碍。麻奈并不是被7753打到要害而倒下的。

7753 exhaled heavily, and the tears came out with it.
7753深深吐气的同时，眼泪也跟着流出来。

Hana, Ripple and Maou Pam had not yet returned, and there had been no news from them. Even when she called, nobody had answered. Had they been captured? Or… had they been killed? Conjecture after conjecture flooded her heart. As she sniffled, Mana forcefully lifted her head.
羽菜、莉普儿与魔王帕姆都没有回来，也没有任何消息。即使她们拨电话过去，也无人接听。是被抓住了吗？还是……被干掉了呢？许许多多的揣测一个接一个地涌上她的心头。当她吸着鼻子啜泣时，麻奈用力地抬起头来。

“I told you, didn’t I? You don’t have the right to cry!”
“所以我不是说吗！你没有哭泣的权利！”

Mana stood up and headbutted 7753’s jaw, then kicked her in the knee, then punched her square in the chest when her balance wavered. The strength of the blows aside, every single hit had been well struck. While she might have acted like a wilful, unreasonable child, her technique was excellent. 7753 considered simply pinning down Mana, but after seeing her face covered in tears and the blood running from her nose, she abandoned that notion. She simply focused on protecting her head and patiently endured the beating. Just then, the attack stopped.
麻奈站起来便以头锤击向7753的下巴，朝她的膝盖一踢，趁她脚步不稳时，一拳刺向心窝，先不论威力如何，攻击位置却相当刁钻。虽然举动像是不可理喻的任性小孩，唯独技巧相当高明，而原本考虑要压制麻奈的7753，在看到满脸都是泪水与鼻血的麻奈后，她打消了念头。她只能一心一意保护头部，耐心地承受攻击。就在此时，攻势停止了。

She abandoned her defensive posture, and raised her head.
她放开防守的动作，抬起头来。

“...What are you two doing?”
“……你们在干什么啊？”

Upon hearing the sudden question, 7753 unconsciously turned to look at the source of the sound. She saw Ripple grabbing the metal fence and flipping onto the roof, then landing on the concrete. She frowned as she saw the red marks on 7753’s face.
听到突如其来的询问，7753下意识地将脸转向声音来源。只见莉普儿抓住铁栏杆翩然降落于顶楼，在水泥地上着陆，在看到她脸上的红印后眉头一皱。

Mana seemed to have found a new target, and she whirled on Ripple and shouted, “Where the hell were you?!” But then her voice trailed off halfway, because timidly poking her head out from behind Ripple was a ballerina-themed Magical Girl covered in ribbons.
麻奈像是找到了新的箭靶，转而对莉普儿怒吼“你之前到底跑去哪里了！”，但声音到一半就消失了。因为，从莉普儿身后一脸战战兢兢地探出头来的，是一名身上装饰着一堆蝴蝶结的芭蕾舞者风的魔法少女。