Strings Wrapped Around A Bone

That's Unfair! I'm A Support Class

A small opening, a direct path towards the veiled magical human.

Time seemed to slow; an attack of this level would not cause serious harm. Alas, why had Shiori behaved like a deer in headlights?

Though what happened next halted her brain's neurons. Like the referee in a boxing ring, a poorly constructed dirt rift was erected from the ground, blocking an attack from her opponent. A convergent tonic shift was the best description Shiroi could make with her limited knowledge of the geological field.

As for who cast that magnitudinal spell, the root of the mana residual leads to... Nemu-chan?

"GAZE - UPON - THE - POWER - OF - BIJOU - SAMA - CREATION -YOU - LOWLY - SCUM!!!"

The villagers took it as a sign to hide behind the multitudes of golems lying about across the battle, some nicked by embers that sparked about.

The deafening sound of spells cast and the repercussion of those effects left Shiori's ears to ring, although in truth, she's not sure if it was actually the explosion or just Ningyo's yell.

The flames burn strongly, akin to the "Burning of Witches" in old media. Even as Shiori was shielded by nature's flesh, beads of sweat still formed on her forehead. The echo of electronic boom from her mischievous, and definitely angry, summon serves as a background noise, drowning out the sizzling of burning goop.

The remains of the King Slime were shot outwards, before the original area-wide shield intercepted the said blighted sludge. As the flames rushed past, separated by the Earth's divide, Shiori turned back.

Out of the corner of her eye, Shiori can make out that Suzu, on top of the main barrier, had conjured another, smaller one inside. Although it was barely of any use, the purple muck simply slid down the first barrier like a puff of pancake batter at the side of a bowl.

"BIJOU-SAMA!" The screech akin to a boom of a music box appeared at her side, and not a moment later, barrages of ...-tier spells conjured above her.

As the sphere of fast-moving fireball met their target, the remnants of what was once the slime king disintegrated into ashes.

A little body of cloth flew in front of her, "MY - LADY! ARE - YOU - HURT - ANYWHERE?" Her creation zips around her like electricity, "MY - DEEPEST - SORRIES - FOR - BEING - UNABLE - TO - RAISE - A - SHIELD - FOR - BIJOU-SAMA."

The rest of Ningyo's ramblings were background noise to Shiori, her attention placed somewhere else. Inside the erected barrier since the beginning of this unexpected ambush, the older sister cradled the younger one's tear-stained cheeks. Smaller hands gripping the older like a lifeline.

Two older figures made their way into her line of sight, sensing that the two meant no harm, the floating healer immediately broke down the singular blockade and sped towards where she was standing. Stopping a distance from her, the summon started.

"We, as your dutiful servants, must apologize for our inadequacy... Please punish us however you see fit, Bijou-sama." Suzu bowed her head and lowered to the ground, her voice solemn.

"Wha-What makes you say that? From what I saw and know, you two didn't do anything wrong...?" She couldn't help but end the sentence with an unsure tone.

"WE-FAILED-IN-OUR-DUTIES!" The flying cannon blurted out in a splurge.

As if sensing that her master is even more confused, Suzu added to Ningyo's declaration, "Our lack of vigilance has caused you distress. If we had been more thorough with our work, the slime king would not have been able to escape the shield I have positioned."

"No, you don't understand. No one could have expected, or well, we ourselves couldn't- but that's besides the point. The point is that you did your best as per my lacking directives, so don't go blaming yourself," The master paused for a moment, mowing over her next words, "Moreover, I should have been on guard, not place everything on the shoulders' of the two of you," Shiori inhales a large quantity of oxygen, her head a bit lightheaded, "So don't blame yourself."

She thought that her speech was pretty good, the two of them seemed to be quiet, they looked at each other before turning to her, "But-"

"No 'buts"

"Yes, Bijou-sama," "YES - BIJOU - SAMA," Their voices synchronized.

"Good! Now that we've got that settled. Let's go see how the villagers are holding up. Some of them were injured during the slight scuffle, so I want to make sure they're alright."

Shiroi smiled, "Also, it was Nemu-chan who conjured that dirt rift, yeah?" It was a rhetorical question, yes, but she couldn't help but want to ask.

"Yes, you are indeed correct-" The bell was growing annoyed with her compatriot's interruption. "WE - SHOULD - INDUCT - THE - SMALL - HUMAN - INTO - YOUR - SERVITUDE!"

"Hold that thought, Ninin-chan. I'm not planning on enslaving anyone today or any day, for that matter." The master massaged her temples, "I don't think there's any point in having you two in hiding anymore, so I would like for Suzu to help with healing the villagers back to health. And Ningyo, you direct the ones with minor wounds to me."

She added before walking away, "I'll go talk with Nemu and Enri, I hope they aren't too freaked out."

Now that she's closer to the sisters, a feeling of dread makes her hands sweaty. She can't possibly imagine they'd like to see her, given how she butted in and almost got Nemu hurt. Alas, she had to make things right.