Once again, Hikari soared.

Eve had seen her use the technique before, and was ready for her speed. But even so, the monstergirl barely had time to raise her arms before the hammer slammed into her, the weapon meeting toughened skin and muscle with a sharp crack, the sound of a hard slap magnified ten thousand times over. Eve shuddered, gritting her teeth, but held firm.

The ground beneath her, in contrast, immediately cratered from the impact. Even with the Archetype taking the brunt of the blow, enough force had been transmitted through her to register on the Richter scale. Several meters away, Tokiko stumbled, momentarily losing her balance as the floor seemed to tremble under her feet.

[i]Whaaaat?![/i] She grinned wide, even as she struggled to find her feet. [i]That technique… it’s not bad![/i] Even if Hikari was still lacking in experience, her raw power was definitely higher than average.

Maybe she wasn’t such a hopeless case after all?

However, Tokiko herself was no slouch when it came to power, even if her focus was different. Having blocked the heavy blow, the Archetype quickly recovered, shoving the hammer to one side and then pushing off the ruined ground with her legs, swinging a hard uppercut towards Hikari’s chin. Even if she was a bit of a crybaby, Eve’s durability was something else!

At the same time, Tokiko found her footing, and raised her Tesla Cannon device, aiming it at Hikari again. This time, though, she held off from firing. Her goal wasn’t to beat down the newbie Magical Girl, but to make her stronger. Rather than actually attacking, she wanted to see whether Hikari noticed the threat of a ranged attack, and to see how she responded.

[@VitaVitaAR]