Extra - Kamimura Maika
Maika held onto her weapon tightly as heat waves concentrated inside the barrel.
"Hyaahhh!"
With a battle cry, she pulled the trigger to let out all the energy. Fire Art unleashed, one scorching ball shot out and burned through the enemies. Maika observed the result of her growing potential with a smirk, the battlefield before her was completely cleared up in a short time span.
Another horde came from her left flank, she switched the bazooka over the shoulders and opened fire. The next shot obliterated multiple enemies in a row.
"Oraahh! Orrahhh! I'm not done yet!"
Not having enough, Maika charged straight at the next wave of enemies. Taima particles grew dense around her, lit a fierce color of her hair.
"Take this!"
Explosions rocked the surrounding, so much it caused a glitch in the environment.
[Maika! Oi, Maika! Can you hear me?!]
Kotaro's urgent voice came through the earpiece. Maika heard it, but she won't let that stop her excitement.
[Control your Ninja Art! We're testing the stability of the New Simulator after the maintenance, not breaking it further!]
"Doesn't that mean they haven't done enough work for it? Gotta let them know where to fix next."
[Go easy on this, will you? If you break the facility, it won't end up with just a scolding.]
Maika groaned.
"Alright, fine! Fine! Bring out the final boss, Fuuma. I'll blast it off."
[Coming right up.]
Alerts blared, a large shadow appeared behind the thick smoke. Maika had a wild grin when the ear-piercing roar shredded through all things that hindered her aiming. Before her, the giant serpent crawled about, extinguishing the fire sparks Maika left on the ground. It was one of the wooden abominations simulated by the data retrieved from the Ashen Tree incident.
Feeling eager to crush it with the strongest technique at her disposal, Maika activated the Art once more. Accumulated energy reached its peak, she jumped high, avoiding a quick bite in the way. That snap from the serpent did nothing to subdue her exhilaration. Its fangs bared, going for another attack.
Maika had the scope aligned with the target in mid-air. Heat burned, building up a giant fireball. The serpent couldn't break through it, its head shot backward, flinching by the burns.
"Not yet."
The fireball continued to grow bigger, surging with intense vibrations.
The new facility failed to keep up, simulated battle stage repeatedly glitched out, reversing back to the real training room. White ceiling and floor mixed into the grass and trees, the forest which was used in the background began to fade except for the last challenge Maika was facing. The serpent didn't vanish, the program that created the monster persisted.
[Temperature is about to reach boiling points! Maika, I said go easy!]
"Quiet, Fuuma! I'm almost done!"
The heat waves conjured further, raging livid. Maika was not done yet, she'd keep going until the size of this fireball surpassed the one she saw at the top of the Great Ashen Tree. Such a sight had burned deeply into her memory. A simple Fire Art technique that exceeded the highest levels, she would make it happen!
"I'll take down this thing in one shot!"
Crack!
A single crack appeared on Meido Bazooka. The built up energy for this technique was too much for its endurance.
[It's going to blow!] Kotaro warned.
"Damn it!"
Her weapon couldn't take it, Maika was forced to pull the trigger. The full release of her Fire Art scorched the serpent to ashes.
Boom!
However, against her better judgement, the fireball exploded sooner than expected. The shockwave shot Maika across the room, her very own strength backfired. She gritted her teeth, eyes closed and braced herself for the painful impact.
"..."
She felt a gentle touch on her back. Gravity shields must have been deployed right on time to prevent her injury.
When Maika opened her eyes, the left eye was staring into hers.
"Eh? Fuuma? How did you...?"
The wall was still a few meters away. It was Kotaro who had caught her.
"Phew! I made it in time."
But how? Maika was confused. The new Simulation Room was the size of Gosha track field and the control room was far off in the distance. How could he shorten the gap in such a short time?
"You're okay?"
"I-I'm fine!"
She quickly stood up straight, cheeks started turning red against her will. She has a soft spot for him for a long time, what happened now was just the right opportunity for it to show. That touch feels good!...No way! She can't blush now, not in front of him!
Maika hurriedly retrieved the bazooka before he took notice of her reaction.
"Tch! Guess I'll go fix this!"
"Wait! You're going now?! That explosion busted the equipment! What am I going to tell the staff?!"
"Come up with a reason, Fuuma! Anyway, I'm off to take care of my weapon!"
"Maika? Maika?!"
For now, Maika needed to calm down the blush on her face. Kotaro could stay behind and whined for the sake of both of them. She would treat him to something nice as an apology.