Chapter 743 - Nonomi-na (Ri-na) Radio
"——Aaaand we're back! This is everyone's Mi-na-chan, who was just burned to a crisp without a trace!!"
"………………"
"Hey, hey, I know you're super tired, but try to say hello! Annnd go!"
"…Ri-na, here."
"Yay! Ready, Nono-chan? Aaaand…!"
""Ri-na-chan is soooo cuuuute! Yaaaay!!""
"…You're too loud. How do you have so much energy after all that?"
"Well, you know, I gotta vent the frustration of having the match snatched away from me before I knew what was happening! By showering the camera with as much cuteness as I can, of course!!!"
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Well, you see, I finally got a chance to hang out with Mi-chan and Ri-chan, which didn't happen last time, so this big sis is getting a little excited, you know? Ehehe, dehehehe…"
"That's creepy."
"You say that, but…"
"We big sisters love how you always play along, Ri-chan!"
"………………I'm not doing it anymore. You two can talk."
""And with that, let's head into the final segment! Let's dote on our tired Ri-na-chan while we're at it! It's the still-energetic Nonomi-na Radiooo!!!""
"…………………………………………Sigh…"
"Alright, first, let's quickly get to the question on everyone's mind here. We'll set aside the giant monster war in the middle for now, but that last part… didn't you just say something about not knowing what was going on?"
"I did. I mean, I'm pretty sure he did something… but one moment Hina-chan's flames suddenly flared up, the next our wind was thrown into disarray, and before we could even think 'huh?', we were blasted through and went sizzle. Two beautiful girls, not just roasted, but completely vaporized."
"I see… Well, we'll ask them about that later… Ah, what about your choice of finisher? Why did you go with wind?"
"Hmm? That was just process of elimination."
"Process of elimination?"
"Hina-chan challenged us to a showdown and waited for our incantation. I'm pretty sure it wasn't because she wanted to set up a clash of ultimate moves that boys love so much."
"Meaning?"
"If she had fired before we agreed to the clash, her loss would have been almost certain. We still had one defensive measure left, and if we combined that with putting everything into heat-resistant defenses, I think we could have barely survived. And then, Hina-chan would have been out of commission. What's left would be…"
"Even if your defense was gone, you two would still be able to move, plus Haru-san and Repra-chan… I see, if it came to that, even I can see how the match would have ended."
"Oh, but we didn't take her on just because we were feeling cocky or anything. I mean, come on, you don't expect someone to just charge straight into a super trump card designed specifically to counter the [Acrobat], do you? With a huge smile on his face, no less."
"I don't think he even realizes he's making that face."
"No, that's what's so scary. I was desperately trying to keep a smug poker face myself."
"'Smug poker face'…"
"So yeah. We were also in a pretty tight spot, no joke, so we went with the stable option… or at least, we intended to. We really got done in. Grrr."
"Oh? Are you calling a beam battle with your big sister the 'stable option'?"
"You bet I am. I was confident we hadn't been surpassed yet, and we were totally overwhelming her until he pulled something, right? And well, choosing Emerald was a process of elimination because we had to take them both down in one shot."
"Right, right."
"First, we needed to get both of them in the area of effect, which narrowed it down to Diamond, Aquamarine, or Emerald. The ground-sweeping Diamond would have been dodged by them flying away at top speed, and Aquamarine isn't designed for pure firepower, so we wouldn't win a clash with Hina-chan. That automatically left Emerald, which could also keep him in check with its aftershock from the moment we fired."
"I see~!"
"And it actually worked pretty well against him, don't you think? That guy's VIT is paper-thin, so he's super weak to shockwaves and stuff. He got plastered flat against the wall."
"That he did."
"Though I saw him manage to get a hit in from that position and thought, 'Is he an idiot?'"
"I thought so too. I'm pretty sure everyone in the audience did as well."
"So yeah… if it weren't for that something at the end, we totally would have won."
"Confident Mi-chan is cute too."
"I've got the track record to back it up!"
"Anyway—"
"Why are you moving on? Praise me more!"
"Anyway! A little while ago, you said something about a 'trump card specifically for the [Acrobat]'?"
"I did say that. Well, the Princess is in a special category as always, so we figured the [Acrobat] was the one we had the highest chance of losing to."
"Ooh, you were really wary of your junior, huh?"
"Of course we were. With that Sakura of his and all, he's got nothing but elements that are our natural enemies."
"…………………………I couldn't predict what he would do. He was the scariest."
"As Ri-na-chan says. So, as her seniors, we worked our butts off together to create that, so we wouldn't embarrass ourselves. We call it… 'Solo Dance.'"
"Solo Dance???"
"Yup. Well, I say we made it together, but it was a skill that mostly relied on Ri-na-chan."
"Umm… can I ask how it works?"
"Sure, why not. It was a one-time-use toy from the start, and it only works on him, anyway. Now that we've shown it, it won't work on him a second time. Right?"
"………………"
"And with that, Ri-na-chan, please explain! And don't you dare look so annoyed!"
"……In simple terms, that was a magic of misdirection. It's not something that can freely summon a ridiculous enemy like Rep=La Nobody (Black Stain That Slays All)."
"Hmm-hmm…?"
"In other words, we weren't the ones who summoned it. He did it himself."
"Hmm?"
"What I drew was the very first [Chosen Stone Doll]… and then the [Dusty Worm, Great Serpent of Dust], and [Angalta, God-Wedge Sword-King]. After I created the flow, everything after that was something he drew."
"Wha-wha-whaaat…? Wait, huh, so, umm…"
"That's a magic that makes the opponent imagine. We made the activation conditions and functional path so ridiculously difficult that it normally wouldn't even activate properly, which allowed us to forcibly boost its theoretical specs."
"………………Are you saying what I think you're saying?"
"She is. It's a skill that won't even activate unless the target is like a certain someone with a 'Memory' gift, someone who can instantly and vividly picture a powerful enemy in perfect detail. On top of that, we had to guide his thoughts by drawing past powerful enemies in sequence to make him imagine it correctly."
"I'm glad it worked. As expected of him. I could never draw something like that."
"By the way, the activation condition is that the target must have received a power transfer from Ri-na-chan's [Anhelmia] at least once to have a path established. We had a little opportunity for that before the Four Pillar War."
"Uh, ah, umm………… To sum it up, it's a magic that only works on a superhuman you're good friends with?"
"Ahaha, that's hilarious, Nono-chan, I'm stealing that. How 'bout that, big bro, you punk! My Ri-na-chan is amazing, isn't she! Are you impressed!? Hahahaha!!!"
"…We were the ones who were impressed (beaten), though."
"Wait, hold on, you said the first three were drawn by Ri-chan, right? That's incredible. Could it be you can use Quick Change just like Haru-san?"
"I've never tried, so I don't know."
"Ehh… Man, you two are amazing. I'm genuinely moved to see my juniors become so ridiculously accomplished—whoa, whoa, WHOA!!! Crap, the time, crap!!!!!"
"Wah, you scared me—!? W-What is it, the time, eh, what!?"
"N-N-No, sorry, sorry, I was so engrossed I was totally ignoring the staff's messages! Um, uh, and now, as scheduled, we move on to our next program!"
"It's not 'as scheduled' if we're already over time."
"Ri-na-chan, shush…! Don't wound Nono-chan's professional pride…!"
"I can hear you!!! I'm so sorry, next up please!!!!!"