Chapter 102

Magical Girl Marin confronts a monster.

“You’re back. Looks like you managed to escape properly.”

The witch welcomes Lockwert and Orneas, who have fled back after being assaulted by Inie.

The place they fled to wasn’t Linne’s usual room but rather Lockwert’s own room.

To be precise, it was a room prepared for the purpose of transferal and also served as a lounge.

The witch drinks her tea and motions for the two to sit down.

“Seemed like you were enhanced somehow, but do you know the cause?”

Every time Lockwert encounters Inie, Inie changes form.

First, she appeared as a White Mage. Then, in her second form, she fell into darkness. There was also her appearance during the Shengxi battle, and now this.

It’s uncommon for a magical girl’s form to change like that.

If it happens at all, it’s usually when they enter an Enhanced Form.

Inie’s repeated transformations were eerie.

“I have a suspicion,”

When the witch snaps her fingers, projections of the Arcana information for both appear.

“Demon and Fool. The Fool is Inie… I see, it’s due to the influence of having absorbed the Arcana.”

Orneas traces the Fool’s information with her finger and nods.

While the witch could be said to know almost everything about the Arcana, this was the first time encountering a case like this.

“There’s no other explanation. Her staff changed when she was white, so I think it’s the same principle here.”

The barrier the witch uses has a function similar to what fairies use—it records images.

The witch had confirmed both Blue Colette’s battles and the recent fight involving Lockwert.

It hasn’t even been half a year since the witch first met Inie.

To the witch, Inie was merely an extra from the runaway Arcana—nothing more than that.

But now, she considers Inie her finest toy and final opponent.

By granting power to the Demon, the remaining Arcana number only four.

As always, only the Demon maintains a contract, while the whereabouts of the others remain unknown.

Have they given up? Or are they plotting something?

Regardless, Inie is the only current contractor.

While playing with her toys, the witch advances her plans.

“That wasn’t an Enhanced Form, was it?”

“Yes. That was merely another form of Inie. She hasn’t unleashed the power of the Arcana; it’s her raw state.”

“So I lost…”

Even fighting together, Orneas, despite entering her Enhanced Form, couldn’t land a single blow.

If that form were considered Inie’s Enhanced Form, it would be understandable, but she’s just a regular magical girl.

Orneas is stronger than an average ranker, and Lockwert ranks high among magical girls.

This is proven by their ability to nearly corner Nightmare, ranked eighth in Russia.

“Well, that form seems specialized for magical girls, so losing isn’t surprising. Hmm… perhaps we should distribute monsters to everyone?”

“I’d prefer to win alone, but there’s nothing else for it.”

With a sigh, Orneas waves her hand and takes a sip of tea.

Ideally, she’d like to kill Inie herself, but considering the plan, she can’t die yet.

If she does die, she’ll use the special drug.

“Then, please distribute these to everyone.”

The witch hands Lockwert a crystal for summoning monsters.

“Understood.”

“And let them know I want a meeting the day after tomorrow. Keep pushing forward!”

Normally, the witch would disappear in a magic circle, but today, unusually, she exits the room normally.

Lockwert tilts her head at the witch’s rare behavior but doesn’t dwell on it, considering the witch an enigmatic creature.

“I’m not tired, so I’ll leave as is. What about you, Orneas?”

“I’m reviewing the data the witch prepared. Maybe we’ll find some weakness.”

Having witnessed overwhelming power, Orneas decides to search for any possible vulnerabilities.

For the witch, it doesn’t matter if the destructionists all die or if Inie falls before completing her mission.

That said, Orneas isn’t content to keep losing.

(I’ll be the one to kill you, Inie.)

Thus, another person wishing to kill Inie emerged within the destructionist group.

Leaving Orneas to her thoughts, Lockwert enters a dimensional rift and departs the room.

1

“Hmm. It’s strange, isn’t it?”

Marin ponders why Star Nail suddenly asked about Inie.

Their interaction dates back to M·D·W.

Months have passed since then, so Marin wonders why the question arises now.

Moreover, while Inie’s transformation elicited ordinary reactions, mentioning Haruna before the transformation prompted a distinctly different response.

She knows something.

Marin concludes this but doesn’t know what exactly.

“Wasn’t she living near Mount Haruna?”

Marin pulls up a map on her terminal to confirm Tamake’s address, who is Star Nail.

The address was listed in the emergency contact list for North Kanto Branch’s magical girls, which she checks.

Traveling by normal means would take considerable time, but transforming into a magical girl would significantly reduce it.

Using a teleportation device could further cut down the time.

(Still, I’ll meet her tomorrow, so knowing the location is enough.)

The location is confirmed.

In case anything happens, she can visit immediately.

However, if Marin—Kahlia—knew the current lives of Tamake and Haruna, she wouldn’t be thinking so leisurely.

Thinking that Tamake merely possesses some information proved to be her downfall.

After registering the address on the terminal’s map, she tries to put it away when the call tone rings.

The screen displays “Shirokigawa.”

“Glad you answered. Could you possibly take care of an extermination request for me?”

Requests usually come from the operator, but since Marin left the North Kanto Branch, direct calls from operators are impossible.

Additionally, while Arongante’s organization is operational, Marin and Star Nail belong to separate jurisdictions.

“Sure, what’s the monster’s rank?”

“It’s an S-Rank Beast Type. It’ll appear in about ten minutes. I’ll send you the coordinates. And please use the fairy realm for teleportation since the expenses will be covered.”

Ending the call, Marin checks the sent coordinates.

The location: Nasu-Shiobara City, Tochigi Prefecture.

Though technically a rookie, Marin’s strength already rivals those ranked around tenth place.

However, due to lack of experience, defeating higher-ranked magical girls would be difficult.

Nevertheless, handling an S-Rank monster won’t be challenging.

Marin contacts Shirokigawa via her terminal and requests a barrier.

The designated area was once mountainous terrain but became a large crater due to a certain incident.

Although the crater was filled and leveled, restoring the mountain was impossible.

Once the barrier is set, the snowy landscape transforms into a cityscape-like environment.

The scenery inside the barrier changes randomly each time, but considering the monster, this is a good draw.

There’s enough space to swing a sword, but buildings might obstruct the monster if it moves recklessly.

Unless the monster is large enough to crush houses, its defeat is inevitable.

Marin leaps onto a nearby rooftop and surveys the surroundings.

If spotted immediately, it’s large. If not, it’s medium-sized or smaller.

And currently, there’s no visible monster within sight.

(Signal… it’s over there.)

Detecting the monster’s presence, Marin quietly and swiftly begins moving.

Against a B-Rank, she could close the distance and strike it down instantly, but against an S-Rank, that’s impossible.

Even if it’s just strong, it’s manageable, but there’s a possibility it has special abilities.

Damage reduction, magic reflection, invalidating attacks beyond a certain distance—all sorts of things.

Some top-tier rankers ignore such factors and defeat monsters regardless.

Monsters possess magical power, using it for abilities and magic.

Thus, delivering an attack exceeding their capacity nullifies the issue.

Though theoretically possible, it’s rarely done.

Still operating within normal parameters, Marin stops near the detected signal and surveys the area.

She hears the sound of something hard being scraped.

(Definitely a beast type, but it’s Cerberus. Let’s finish this quickly.)

Cerberus is house-sized, small for its kind, but appearances don’t necessarily correlate with strength.

Marin transforms into her Enhanced Form and charges forward.

“First Slash: Moon Flash”

Descending from above, she aims to sever one of its heads.

However, just before impact, Cerberus senses her and raises its head to dodge.

Landing, Marin swings her blade upward.

Attempting to retreat and evade, it’s blocked by her blade infused with magic, extending it.

“One head down.”

The severed head turns to dust and vanishes.

Enraged by losing one of its three heads, Cerberus spews fireballs from its mouths.

A single hit could turn her to ashes, but Marin effortlessly slashes through them.

Dodging alternating fireballs from the two remaining heads, Marin closes the distance.

As one head begins charging, she leaps into the air, merging her two blades into one massive greatsword.

“Ultimate Blade: Dream”

She swings the colossal sword down towards Cerberus.

The charged head releases a fireball several times larger than before, aimed at Marin.

However, upon hitting her sword, the fireball dissipates instantly.

Swallowing Cerberus whole, the attack leaves a massive claw mark on the ground.

Marin lands and cancels her Enhanced Form.

“Well, that’s about it.”

Sheathing her sword, she waits for the barrier to dissolve.

The urban wasteland littered with rubble reverts to a snowy landscape.

Her terminal rings again, and Marin answers.

“Good work. Sorry for the sudden task. By the way, could you and Nails come to the base tomorrow if possible? Goodnight.”

After stating her business, Shirokigawa ends the call.

Marin sighs and sends a message to Star Nail.

Receiving an immediate reply, they decide on a meeting place and time.

Having finished her tasks, Marin returns home.

Thinking about what she’ll ask Star Nail tomorrow, she drifts off to sleep.