Amid the cheers of the people as a backdrop, the two girls prepared their respective magic. Stella, the magical girl with blue hair, was rather flustered by the current situation.
The pink-haired magical girl spoke first.
“My name is Iris. And you?”
“I am called Stella. Thank you for saving me earlier.”
“Nah, it was nothing.”
Stella acknowledged her own inadequacies while marveling at Iris’s skills. To achieve victory—or rather, to survive—they would need to rely on her leadership in battle.
Her role…
“I will provide support. Please fight to your heart’s content.”
“Alright. I’ll leave the minions and the people’s protection to you.”
“Yes. Leave it to me.”
“Great! Shall we give it a try then!”
Understanding her role, Stella took to the air and fired the Arrow of Stars, which made Iris’s expression turn serious.
The Orcs dared not come near due to the barrage of arrows.
“Ugh… wench…”
Except for one Demon, Bag.
Iris’s pink diamond-like eyes locked onto Bag. Her gaze thoroughly scanned his body.
It was a robust physique. Tree-trunk-like legs and arms that resembled a hammer. A direct hit from him would surely break something.
Iris had to take a deep breath.
There was no point in getting excited or scared. This was the lesson she’d learned over the past year.
Her breathing calmed down, her heartbeat steadied, and she assumed her stance, ready to spring into action at any moment.
However, it was Bag who charged forward instead. In an agitated state, he swiftly closed the distance with nimble footwork.
The speed coming from such a massive body was unbelievable. Before the giant axe could decapitate Iris, she ducked to avoid it.
“An opening.”
Taking advantage of the momentum from bending down, she threw a punch.
A loud “Pwoooosh!” sounded as Bag staggered.
“This son of a…”
“Ow… my hand hurts.”
It felt like hitting iron. He was strong, solid, and fast—probably the best physical opponent she’d ever faced.
With a roar, Bag charged again, driven by pure rage. His attacks were simple, lacking any technique.
However, even a glancing blow from him would be fatal. Iris had no choice but to focus on dodging.
Whenever there was an opportunity to dodge, she countered. It was a familiar style to Noah.
‘It’s similar to fighting the Kraken!’
Dodging relentless attacks and looking for fleeting openings. Thinking about it this way, dealing with Bag seemed simpler.
Bag only had his axe and kicks, whereas the Kraken wielded dozens of tentacles.
“You rat bastard!”
“There’s no way you’ll hit me with such slow attacks!”
But there was something Iris overlooked. It happened when she landed her fifth counterattack.
This time too, Iris avoided the attack and struck Bag in the chest.
She enhanced her leg strength with magic and delivered a powerful blow. Bag groaned, showing signs of damage, but…
“I’ve got you.”
“…!”
Whoosh!!
“Aaaargh…!!”
Noah’s body was thrown and embedded into the ground, creating a small crater.
“Dangerous!”
Thanks to Stella’s assistance, she managed to evade the following attack, though it still left her body shaken.
“Geez… so tough… damn it.”
Spitting out blood mixed with curses, Iris cursed under her breath.
Rougan Goltan (Flesh Sever Bone Break).
Sacrifice flesh to take bone. Bag intended to use this tactic.
“…Smart for a brute. Damn Orc.”
His intentions were clear. Since he had the upper hand physically, it didn’t matter if he took some damage; he just needed to keep attacking.
In other words, a counter to her counters.
Wouldn’t prolonging the fight put them at a disadvantage since more heroes might arrive? But Iris soon realized why.
“…Haa… haa…”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m… fine… How about you, Iris?”
“More or less. Actually, I’m a bit tired…”
Stella clearly showed signs of exhaustion. It wasn’t excessive. She flew around firing starlight arrows.
Attacking the minions, keeping them from reaching Iris, and also protecting the students who hadn’t escaped yet—all three tasks simultaneously.
It was bound to be exhausting trying to do all three. If this continued, Stella’s stamina would run out, leaving Iris vulnerable to the Orcs’ combined attacks.
“Don’t think about resting!”
“Even if you drag this out, you’ll die too, right!?”
“I don’t care! First, I’ll eliminate you, the dangerous element. That’s my top priority!”
“What a lunatic…”
“I’ll cut you down before you grow into something big!”
Bag didn’t give Iris much time to think. Another reckless charge came his way.
Rolling to the side to evade, Noah realized she had to counterattack again.
“…Tch!”
“Why are you hesitating? Not going to attack?”
“Shut up!”
Ultimately, engaging would result in significant losses for her side.
Here lay the difference between Bag and the Kraken.
The Kraken prioritized defense techniques and tactics despite its relatively weak main body—not the brute force approach like this.
“If that’s the case, I’ll make the move!”
Dodging another storm of attacks, realizing she couldn’t land a counter, the assault grew fiercer.
Avoiding the fierce slashing attacks, Noah pondered.
‘…Should I use it?’
One technique remained, reserved for the battle against the Kraken.
However…
‘I’m not sure it’ll work.’
If used on the Kraken, this technique would undoubtedly result in instant death. It was that powerful.
But where there’s light, there’s shadow.
‘It’s over if it doesn’t knock him out in one hit.’
It was a self-destructive move.
From the few experiments Iris conducted, this technique had a very simple mechanism.
Concentrating all her mana into one hand for a single devastating strike. The backlash would leave just enough mana to maintain her transformation, but her arm would break.
In short, win or lose.
‘Really do it?’
Of course, hesitation was natural. What kind of crazy technique misses and ends everything?
She hesitated because she hadn’t even tried it on the Kraken yet. Using it in actual combat was risky.
But there was no other clever plan either. If they kept dragging this out, they’d eventually be in danger.
Unable to decide, Iris heard a voice.
“Iris! Don’t give up!! If you win, I’ll pamper you a lot!!”
What… pampering? Such an embarrassing word could only come from one man she knew.
Was this an auditory hallucination? Was she hearing his voice because death was near?
Could it be… he was actually here?
“…Ha ha, what nonsense. There’s no way.”
Why would Uncle be here?
No matter how tough things get, you must always hold onto your sanity.
“…Anyway, thanks to you, I feel fully awake now. Thank you, Uncle.”
Iris clenched her fists tightly.
“I have to live.”
She hadn’t completed her bucket list yet.
There were so many things she wanted to do—so many things she wanted to do with Uncle.
And…
“Uncle will surely pamper me a lot when I return safely.”
For the sake of the affectionate pampering she loved so much.
“…Haaa…”
Iris exhaled deeply. The mana flowing through her body began to reverse its flow, gradually concentrating in her right arm, glowing brighter than ever before.
“Something strange again!”
“…Hey, pig.”
“…!?”
“Come at me. I’ll turn you into a roast.”
Iris flicked her fingers—a provocation based on understanding Bag’s simple-minded nature. A brute with sheer strength and dumbness, as Iris perceived him.
Her judgment proved accurate, and Bag charged once more, raising his large axe.
Instinctively, Iris sensed it—she lacked the mana to dodge anymore.
Thus, she stayed rooted to the spot, glaring at Bag until he got closer.
She was afraid—the sheer size charging at her was terrifying—but she endured. Missing this strike meant the death of herself and everyone here.
Meaning she’d never see that person again.
Five steps.
The Orc’s face became visible.
Four steps.
The Orc’s expression became clear.
Three steps.
The Orc’s axe came into view.
Two steps.
The Orc’s axe swung.
One step.
The Orc’s axe was about to slice through the girl.
“…Hiss!”
Whoosh! Blocking the swinging axe with her right arm, thanks to the concentrated mana, it didn’t sever completely…
But drops of blood splattered onto the ground. The axe had cut through her flesh and embedded itself in her bone.
An unbearable pain coursed through her. Clenching her teeth, even splitting her lips wouldn’t alleviate the agony.
But it was a success.
“Eh… eh?”
In that state, swinging her arm forcefully pushed Bag’s axe away. The greater the force applied, the bigger the motion, causing his stance to waver significantly.
It was the perfect chance she’d been waiting for.
Bag’s upper body was completely exposed to Iris’s trajectory.
“…Maybe it’s a strange thing to say.”
“Wh… wait!”
“I’m going to get pampered. I have dinner plans tonight. Eating at a restaurant with Uncle was on my bucket list.”
BOOM!!!
The sound of tearing flesh rang out.
The sound of shattering bones echoed.
Chunks of meat flew everywhere, and the stench of blood filled the air.
“Kraaaagh!?”
A scream was heard.
The girl’s gaze turned forward. There stood an Orc, half his upper body missing.
“Guh… guk…!”
The sight of his body staggering away appeared.
Iris’s eyes blazed with fury. How could he withstand such a blow?
What kind of body was this?
A cockroach-like creature.
“…Can’t chase after him…”
Her legs trembled, barely able to move even a few meters.
There was nothing she could do.
The battle was over.
Turning her head amidst the lingering discomfort of not finishing him off, she saw Stella sitting exhausted.
She had successfully repelled the smaller enemies and was now catching her breath heavily.
“…Did you eliminate them?”
“Sorry, he escaped.”
“Regre…tful… isn’t it…”
“But we achieved our goal.”
“…That’s true. Protecting everyone was our main objective.”
Stella slowly rose to her feet, battered and bruised. Likely, Iris wasn’t in much better shape.
“…Then I’ll go back first.”
“Yes, I should transform back before…”
Exiting through the back door, Stella watched as Iris quickly headed toward a secluded place.
As her transformation wore off, QQQ suddenly appeared.
“You’re seriously injured!!”
“Sorry…”
“QQUU… Complete recovery will take time. Until then, monster hunting is forbidden.”
“That’s harsh.”
“Is it harsh?! Why do you push yourself this far?!”
While scolding her, QQQ continued the treatment. Once she could move slightly, Noah finally responded to QQQ’s earlier question.
“Pampering.”
“Huh?”
“Uncle said he’d pamper me.”
“…That pampering thing is real! Pampering… why is it so good?”
“Um… it’s warm. His hands are warm, his gaze is warm… just…”
Watching QQQ getting heated up, Noah merely smiled weakly.
“Just everything about it is good… what can I do…”
“…I don’t know… just… um… it feels good just imagining Uncle petting my head.”
“Haa… I can’t deal with you, miss… We need to do something soon…”
“Hehehe… I hope evening comes quickly. To see Uncle.”
QQQ sighed and looked at Noah.
It was a warm gaze.
“Ye… Well… It’s not unusual to have a crush at your age.”
“It’s not love though?”
“…Is it?”
“Just… um… casual skinship from someone like an uncle?”
“It doesn’t seem casual… No… Um… Hmph, do as you please.”
“Got it! I’ll enjoy plenty of pampering as I please!”
Noah smiled brightly.
Unaware that the man who promised her pampering was currently up to something elsewhere.
