Chapter 51

The Struggle of the Magical Girls

After Arongante and Inie took flight, Marin and the other students in the novice class were struggling hard.

Initially, Prizes was issuing commands, but when Doppel started launching area-of-effect attacks, Prizes distanced himself from Marin and the others.

Among the novice students, the abilities of Tsumehime and Simon tended to spread over wide areas, so as time passed, everyone began keeping their distance.

Their opponent was an S-Rank monster, but since its power depended on the transformed counterpart, Marin and her group were managing to fight back, though the situation was far from good.

Even so, it was difficult for them to battle against creatures that looked just like themselves.

Unlike Inie who could let go and break down or Arongante who could cut losses, the novice students couldn’t bring themselves to do such things.

Exhaustion from the battle. The muddy footing due to the rain. The barren wilderness with no cover.

Not a single condition favored Marin and her group.

Among the novice students, the one with the most issues was the magical girl known either as Alice or El by the others.

Her weapon being a rifle meant there was always a risk of friendly fire even at a distance.

Realizing this danger soon after starting the fight against the Dopplegangers, Prizes had sent her far away, yet stray bullets occasionally flew toward the students.

Thus, while battling their own Dopplegangers, the students had to constantly be aware of their surroundings.

Marin stepped into the muddy ground and swung her sword down at the Doppleganger.

The Doppleganger blocked it with its own sword, leaped backward, switched to a bow, and fired an arrow.

Marin tried to dodge by sidestepping, but considering the possibility of other students behind her, she cut the arrow down with her sword instead.

In a one-on-one fight, Marin would typically use the bow to keep her opponent at bay before closing in with the sword.

However, because battles were happening all around, ranged weapons and magic had to be handled carefully.

Thinking it wouldn’t do to let the Doppleganger continue using its bow, Marin went on the offensive.

Having challenged Inie earlier, she at least wanted to be the first among the students to defeat her Doppleganger.

But the opponent was her strongest self.

With fatigue affecting Marin’s side, the disadvantage was clear.

As a last resort, there was the Enhanced Form, but if she used it and still failed to defeat the Doppleganger, Marin would be left without any magic power and unable to act.

Moreover, she had to consider what would happen after defeating the Doppleganger, so she couldn’t afford to give it her all right now.

Unlike Marin, Mika had already given up on defeating her Doppleganger.

…Or rather, she had no choice but to give up.

While Mika’s Chakram excelled in both offense and defense, it leaned more toward the latter.

At first, Mika had been influenced by Marin and aimed to quickly defeat her Doppleganger, but as the fight progressed, she realized something important…

—She didn’t possess magic or techniques powerful enough to pierce through her own defenses.

(Oh dear, I’m in trouble.)

Fortunately, thanks to her special training with Inie, she had become relatively skilled at dodging and defending.

She thought about helping someone else, but her lightning-based magic carried the risk of electrocution.

Though she had consumed some magic power, she still had plenty left.

Covered in mud splattered on her face, Mika could only wait for help from Marin or Inie while in such an unfavorable position.

Unlike Marin, who had no choice but to attack despite the disadvantage, and Mika, who could no longer attack, Prizes’ aerial battle was nothing short of spectacular.

Prizes’ magic belonged to the summoning category, allowing him to instantly summon objects from specified locations.

While officially he could designate places for summoning, he naturally had his own secret technique.

Just because he became a magical girl by chance doesn’t mean he maintained his 21st place ranking for nothing.

Prizes’ secret technique was…

“Summon! Arongante!”

A railgun appeared on Prizes’ right arm, which he then fired.

After firing, the railgun disappeared, and Prizes immediately took evasive action.

An explosion erupted where Prizes had been standing moments ago, caused by magic unleashed by the Doppleganger.

Prizes could temporarily use other magical girls’ spells or weapons through his summoning ability.

Of course, such powerful magic came with drawbacks.

It consumed far more magic power than usual summoning and halved the power of the summoned magic or weapon.

Nevertheless, Prizes used this ability to aim for a quick resolution.

Despite becoming a teacher by accident, Prizes possessed a strong sense of responsibility.

With a fierce expression, he attempted to take down the Doppleganger, but it wasn’t going well.

Flames danced, gunshots rang out, and flashes of light streaked across the battlefield.

Thanks to Prizes’ efforts, he managed to inflict significant injuries on the Doppleganger, but he himself was also wounded.

His once fluffy white wings were soaked with rain and blood, and blood flowed endlessly from his left arm mingling with the rain.

(This is a Doppleganger… I never imagined my own magic could be this troublesome.)

Prizes brushed the wet hair from his face and resorted to his final option.

“Summon! Freezlen Schlaf!”

Prizes summoned the magic of the second-ranked magical girl.

Freezlen Schlaf specialized in freezing everything—not just objects and people but even concepts like space and time.

This freezing magic came at a cost, leaving Freezlen Schlaf often asleep.

Sometimes she slept normally, and sometimes, like during her encounter with Inie in the library tower, she froze herself into sleep.

Had it not been for this cost, she might have ranked first.

That was Freezlen Schlaf.

Why Prizes used Freezlen Schlaf’s magic required no explanation—he aimed to end the battle with its immense power.

Naturally, such potent magic consumed a commensurate amount of magic power.

Given Prizes’ current injuries and depleted magic power, he could sustain it for only a brief moment.

But even that fleeting opportunity to create an opening in the Doppleganger’s defense was enough, Prizes believed.

The Doppleganger’s limbs froze, creating a temporary opening.

Even this small window cost Prizes a significant amount of magic power.

The sudden depletion of magic power made him nearly lose consciousness, but he endured through sheer willpower.

“Summon! Arongante!”

He summoned the railgun again and took aim.

(This is it!)

Just as he placed his finger on the trigger to pull it… both his right arm and the railgun froze solid.

What Prizes could do, the Doppleganger could do as well—a basic fact Prizes had overlooked.

Worse still, the Doppleganger had more magic power than Prizes, enabling it to use stronger magic.

More of Prizes’ limbs and wings froze, causing him to begin falling.

Meanwhile, the Doppleganger’s frozen limbs had already regained movement, and like Prizes had done, it readied a railgun.

(Move! Please move!)

The Doppleganger’s railgun began to glow, entering firing position.

For a fleeting moment, Prizes thought he saw a smile on the Doppleganger’s otherwise expressionless face…

Prizes closed his eyes, bracing for the impending pain, but it never came. Instead, he crashed onto the ground.

Groaning, he rolled on the ground, and at that moment, the ice shattered.

(…What just happened?)

Struggling to rise despite his aching body, he looked up into the sky.

There, he saw Inie descending, having skewered Prizes’ Doppleganger with a staff.

“O flames, consume all!”

Inie used fire magic while skewering the Doppleganger, burning it as she pinned it to the ground.

After a brief struggle, the Doppleganger turned to dust and vanished.

Even though it was the final scene, watching her Doppleganger impaled and burned alive left Prizes with an indescribable feeling.

“Are you alright?”

Inie approached Prizes, her white wings fluttering.

Her robe was stained red, more than what the rain could wash away, shocking Prizes.

“I’m fine. How about you, Inie?”

“Yes. By the way, Arongante is also fine. Shall I heal you?”

“No, please attend to the other students first. I’ve run out of magic power, so there’s nothing more I can do, but you might be able to…”

Though Prizes wished to be healed, his magic power was almost gone, and even if healed, he wouldn’t be able to fight anymore.

Rather than using Inie’s magic on himself in such a state, he preferred it be used elsewhere.

That was Prizes’ wish.

“…Understood. Excuse me then.”

“The students… please look after them.”

With his ever-clouded eyes, Prizes entrusted the students to Inie.

From his gaze and expression, it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

But upon hearing Inie’s reply, he faintly smiled.

And thus, Inie flapped her shining white wings and took flight.

Her luminous wings shimmered, reflecting the raindrops.

“Forgive me, Inie…”

Holding his injured arm, Prizes watched her go.