“Pen!” Chris chimed in. Following my instructions, Glass put the shikigami on her shoulder and charged toward Miyaji and Armor.

“You think we’ll let you through?!” Miyaji said.

“No escape!” Armor yelled.

“I’m going to let them through. Like this!” I said. I proceeded to use the Way of the Dragon Vein to activate the magic in the gemstone on the scabbard of Raphtalia’s katana. She had a scabbard that could activate Filo’s Haikuikku. I wasn’t sure if it would activate or not, but I just had to hope that Dragon Vein could activate it. I could feel something like intent from the gemstone on the scabbard, but unlike Therese, I couldn’t hear what it wanted to say. I could just tell it wanted to help me. It was hard for me to reach for the magic, but the scabbard gemstone was reaching out for me.

The puzzle that appeared was the same as for the Way of the Dragon Vein. I knew how to handle it, so I activated it at once. The magic was assembled.

Now! Just for a moment! Please, lend me your power!

“Jewel High Speed!” I shouted. The support magic flew toward Glass and accelerated her just for a moment. She was already pretty quick, and that instantly sent her around and behind Miyaji. I confirmed that she had scattered his women and made it through the door at the back of the chamber.

“No! Wait!” a woman shouted. Three of Miyaji’s women chased off after her.

“Guwaaah!” Armor bellowed. Hah, Glass had left Armor with a parting gift too—a quick attack. He was roaring and writhing in pain.

“Well, well, well, this is most disappointing. Allowing someone to escape, are we?” the moron woman spat at Miyaji.

“Not at all! Dear Hidemasa, you just need to bring more power to bear! You’ve got this, I’m sure of it!” Witch told him. She was looking to earn some points of her own perhaps, because she was only saying nice stuff. Her eyes looked cold and dead, however.

“Boosted Mirror Fragments,” I said. Sharp pieces of what looked like glass flew at Miyaji.

“Don’t forget about me!” Armor was up again, finally seeming to have overcome Raph-chan’s illusions. He smashed the fragments out of the air. He had more dexterity than I’d given him credit for.

“Don’t underestimate me! Without all this interference, I am clearly the strongest here!” Miyaji shouted. He proceeded to turn his musical instrument into a piano and then started to play like some crazy virtuoso. Itsuki continued to impede the magic with his own grass playing—but it activated anyway. I guess there’s a limit to how much you can do with a blade of grass.

“Hero’s Melody!” Some kind of magic went out to Miyaji’s allies. “Now go!” he shouted.