The magical girl was let off.
With Inny’s help, Marin was somehow able to defeat the Doppel.
Before Inny arrived, Marin had struggled hard to defeat the Doppel but was unable to break its defenses, and her magical power only dwindled away.
If only the opponent had been an A-Rank Doppel, perhaps even Marin could have managed it.
However, the opponent was S-Rank…
Had Marin been in perfect condition, there might have been a chance of victory.
But in her haste to defeat the Doppel quickly, the rain and mud mercilessly drained her stamina.
She had already defeated a fair number of monsters, and her magical power had been reduced from the start.
In such a state, victory was impossible.
As a desperate measure, Marin transformed into her Enhanced Form to battle the Doppel, but the Doppel also transformed into its Enhanced Form, leaving Marin at a disadvantage due to her depleted magical power.
Finally, when her foot was caught in the mud, the Doppel blew her sword away, putting her in a life-threatening situation.
Though she managed to regain her footing, the Doppel stood before her, sword raised high.
Just as Marin prepared to meet her end without closing her eyes, she was struck and blown away.
It was Inny, who had pushed Marin aside with her left hand, staining her robe crimson.
For a moment, Marin felt as if time had stopped.
Inny extending her arm to push Marin away… herself slowly flying backward. The Doppel’s sword descending…
And then, the sword swung toward Inny’s arm.
Amidst the rain, red blood spread, accompanied by the sound of splashing mud, and something fell to the ground.
Marin’s eyes widened as she looked at what had fallen and at Inny.
Blood flowed profusely from Inny’s left shoulder, and for a brief moment, her face contorted in pain.
There on the ground lay Inny’s left arm.
“Inny! Inny!”
“O Flame!”
Overcome by the event, Marin screamed, but Inny, holding her staff in her right hand, cast a fire spell that blew the Doppel away.
Marin immediately stood up and rushed to Inny’s side.
“Senior. Please fetch the sword quickly. Hurry!”
Although Inny’s expression remained unchanged, there was little vitality in her face.
On her way here, Inny had defeated her own Doppel and repelled Shengxi.
Afterward, she provided support to Arongante, helped Prizes, and defeated all the other students’ Doppels.
From one continuous battle to another, her physical strength and magical power were almost entirely depleted.
Moreover, during the fight with Shengxi, she had overexerted herself, coughing up blood, and her health wasn’t good.
She was essentially already a walking corpse.
In such a state, having lost an arm, blood continued to flow uncontrollably.
That she could still stand without losing consciousness was nothing short of miraculous.
“But, Inny…”
“If you don’t stay strong, we’ll both die. Let’s defeat the Doppel first.”
Marin ran to retrieve the sword but, due to her unstable mental state, her Enhanced Form dissolved.
Upon picking up the sword, Marin quickly returned to Inny.
“Senior, please listen carefully. We’ll do what we always practice. You go forward while I provide support. However, the final move will be mine, so please focus on keeping the Doppel occupied.”
“I… understood. Inny… your arm?”
With a pale face, Marin spoke to Inny, who gave instructions with unfocused eyes.
Not wanting to waste any more time, Inny raised her voice unusually.
“It’s fine… go!”
Marin, reprimanded by Inny, faced the Doppel again, but a new sense of urgency slowed her movements.
Because of this, Marin began to accumulate more injuries than before.
(In my fault… because of me…)
While defending against the Doppel’s fierce attacks, scenes from moments ago replayed repeatedly in Marin’s mind.
The severed arm, the spurting blood.
Inny’s pale face…
It wasn’t that Marin was at fault, but if Inny had come to help her sooner, things might not have turned out this way.
Or if they had been closer…
The Doppel swung its sword, and Marin barely avoided it by a hair.
If she took a direct hit from the sword, she would surely be overwhelmed.
Marin was in her normal form, but the Doppel remained in its Enhanced Form.
Marin could hear Inny’s incantation.
Despite its usual monotone, to Marin, it sounded like a painful cry.
Marin had worked hard to be able to fight alongside Inny, but once again, she ended up being saved.
This was the third time… As if following a proverb, Marin had been rescued.
If there were ever a fourth time…
A shadow fell over Marin’s heart, which had been in high spirits upon reuniting with Inny.
As cuts increased and blood seeped through, Marin wanted to scream from the pain in her heart rather than her body, but now was not the time.
“Stay back!”
Inny shouted, snapping Marin back to reality. With all her strength, Marin distanced herself from the Doppel.
“Devil’s Tears”
Black, ominous icicles rained down on the Doppel, one of them pinning its leg to the ground.
Six more icicles surrounded the Doppel, forming a hexagram.
At the sight of the trapped Doppel, Marin envisioned her own future.
Perhaps she too would be killed by someone someday… Such thoughts crossed Marin’s mind.
Determined to grow stronger to fight alongside Inny, Marin realized that this dream might never come true.
Above the hexagram, an eye-like shape appeared, and a black droplet fell, striking the Doppel and forming a block of black ice.
Seemingly showing off its grandeur for a moment, the ice shattered into pieces, snapping Marin back to reality, prompting her to rush to Inny’s side.
Inny pulled out her staff embedded in the ground and nearly collapsed, but Marin managed to catch her just in time, startled by how cold her body was.
“Inny! Hold on! No… it’s getting so cold…”
“It’s… alright. More importantly, are you okay?”
Leaning on Marin, Inny showed concern for her despite her condition.
What drove Inny to act this way was known only to her.
But thanks to Inny’s efforts, no one had died.
That much was certain.
“Yes… yes, I’m fine. Now, don’t sleep. We’re moving you.”
“There’s no need to rush… please head in that direction.”
Marin carried the frigid Inny, whose body was unnaturally light for a girl her age.
Just as she was about to head in the direction Inny had indicated, applause echoed through the rain.
“My, my, I didn’t expect no one to die. Even Shengxi was defeated, and it was quite entertaining.”
A rift opened in space, revealing Rinne and Lockwert.
Upon seeing Rinne, Inny tried to get down from Marin, but Marin wouldn’t allow it.
Inny grimaced slightly but, realizing she couldn’t do anything anyway, gave up on getting down.
“…Are we continuing?”
“No, let’s call it a day for now. But if I change my mind, know that I’ll always be waiting for you.”
Rinne smiled contentedly and disappeared back into the rift.
Lockwert turned to leave into the rift but paused briefly to look back at Marin.
“…Pathetic.”
With those words, he disappeared into the rift.
His gaze was icy and pierced Marin’s heart.
She couldn’t tell what Lockwert meant by those words, but it sounded as if he pitied her current state as a magical girl needing to be saved by another.
As the rift disappeared, the scenery warped, transforming into the Indian wilderness.
The rain had stopped, but their soaked clothes remained drenched.
Puddles of red blood mixed with rainwater spread across the ground.
Arongante and the other students, who had been far away, gathered nearby as the barrier completely vanished.
When some of the students saw Inny and Marin, they screamed.
“Inny!”
“This is Arongante. Emergency situation. Request immediate assistance from qualified magical girls at the Japanese branch of the Magical Girl Academy. Urgent.”
Shaken, the students scrambled around as Arongante swiftly issued commands via his recovered device.
Among them, only Prizes possessed healing magic, but he had no spare capacity to use it.
Grinding his teeth tightly, Prizes lamented his own inadequacy.
“That’s fine… no need to panic… this time… I managed to… protect…”
Muttering fragmented words, Inny lost consciousness.
Relieved that the battle was over, she had reached her limits both physically and magically.
Her condition was worse than after the M·D·W incident, though slightly better.
Her left arm had disappeared along with the barrier, and blood still dripped from the wound.
After concluding communications, Arongante called everyone together.
“We’ve been through a lot, but let’s head back to the academy first. Marin, please let me carry Inny.”
Seeing Marin’s state, Arongante offered to take Inny, but Marin shook her head in refusal.
Marin’s state was highly unstable, her wet black hair adding to the unsettling sight.
She didn’t want anyone else to take the dying Inny from her.
“At least let me handle her until treatment begins…”
“Understood. Please be careful. Let’s teleport.”
A light enveloped Arongante and the others, returning them to the academy’s teleportation chamber.
Despite the short time since Arongante’s communication, several magical girls had already arrived.
Among them was Jeanne, and upon seeing her, Arongante silently expressed gratitude.
With Jeanne present, survival was assured unless death had already occurred.
But Arongante recalled Rinne’s words once more.
(Recovery magic skills exist only in those who wished to destroy the world.)
It seemed as if Arongante heard such a voice.
“Oh dear. Everyone’s covered in mud and blood. Is it alright if I take charge of Inny?”
“Ah! Yes, please. Is Kaede in her office?”
“Yes, she returned immediately after receiving the information about the lost communication. I was about to leave myself, but she told me not to go anywhere.”
Shaking her head while muttering “Oh dear,” Jeanne approached Marin.
“Well, can you hand Inny over to me?”
“…Please take care of Inny.”
Without worrying about dirtying her clothes, Jeanne took Inny from Marin, noticing how much lighter she had become.
(Inny has lost too much blood. Her heart is weak but still beating. She’s better than before, but she’s pushed herself too hard again.)
“Take care of the other magical girls.”
Jeanne cradled Inny in a princess carry, instructed the waiting magical girls and fairies, and left the teleportation chamber.
Prizes, who was next in line with severe injuries, requested to prioritize treating the students.
Ironically, Mika was the least injured.
She had minor scratches but was practically unscathed.
Thus, the tumultuous rookie training came to an end.
No one had died, making it an optimal outcome.
However, deep scars were left in the hearts of several rookies.
Particularly Marin embraced a different kind of darkness compared to the M·D·W incident.
Furthermore, Inny’s ranking skyrocketed…
Extracted from the official website:
Magical Girl Name: Inny Flowering
(Japan) Ranking: 21st (after rookie group training)
Age: 11 years old
Weapon: Staff
Abilities: Magic + Healing (Capable of entering barriers)
Kill Count:
SS+: 0
S: 11
A: 0
B: 5
C: 50
D: 20
E and below: 0
Notes:
Once thought to be dead, she mysteriously re-registered as a magical girl.
Her monster elimination speed has decreased, yet she continues to surpass average magical girls in numbers of creatures slain.
She has recently been spotted in the Fairy Realm, occasionally seen with her white hood down.
Few have seen Inny’s face directly.
She is often seen entering and exiting the academy, and reports indicate that some enthusiasts attempting unauthorized entry have been caught.
Her beautiful blue hair evokes images of a blue bird, and rumors claim those who see her face find happiness.
Additionally, records at the Fairy Bureau indicate she became Thalagong’s sister, causing a temporary uproar on the bulletin boards.
