The magical girl pleads,
“I’m glad we set up the net beforehand.”
I asked a demon to track the locations of some high-ranking individuals, but one of the signals disappeared unnaturally.
When I transferred to the scene, a witch’s barrier was already in place, so the demon opened a hole in the barrier for us to infiltrate through.
“Never thought we’d get caught so early.”
However, it does take time to break into a witch’s barrier.
It’s quite inconvenient…
“(I need) everyone’s information, please.”
“One of them, let her be. The other one is Orneas, an archer. And the target is Russia’s eighth-ranked magical girl, Nightmare, who excels in dual swords and dark attribute magic.”
“(Thanks for the info.)”
“Your help is appreciated, but who are you?”
Ah, since I’ve transformed into my second form, they don’t recognize me as Inny Flowering.
Though, since the opponent probably knows who I am, it might not matter much.
“Ignore me… It’s been a while, hasn’t it, Lockwert?”
“You’re changing forms again. Really, just when I was about to finish things off, you had to interfere.”
“(Even though the barrier erosion is progressing, having Lockwert around makes it kind of meaningless.)”
Even if I were to take control of the barrier from this side, Lockwert could escape using their own magic.
“Hmph. So you’re Inny Flowering. You don’t match the intel. I am…”
“Orneas… right?”
An interesting bow with blades on both ends.
Seems like she can handle close combat too.
“–Huh. This is intriguing.”
I’ll prioritize the recovery of Nightmare later. Anyway, she can’t use healing magic in this state.
“Are you Inie? But your appearance is… completely different.”
“That’s the opponent’s bluff. Do I look like someone who can use magic?”
Right now, I only have my sword.
I doubt I appear to be a magic-focused magical girl.
So stop staring at me like that.
While we were exchanging words, I noticed Orneas’ hand moving slightly, so I lunged.
Orneas didn’t seem particularly surprised, stepping back and nocking an arrow.
Lockwert moves in to protect Orneas, but there’s no need to fight them head-on.
Illusion.
A technique made possible by the Fool’s power after the demon reached its complete form.
Using the demon’s ability to create soul residues, I can produce illusions indistinguishable from reality.
I send the illusion toward Lockwert, leap over them, and dive straight into Orneas’ range.
“What?! An illusion!”
I aim for a thrust to the heart.
Orneas leans back, deflecting my sword with the end of her bow, then fires the arrow she had nocked.
I quickly dodge the arrow, but she continues firing rapidly, forcing me to knock them down.
(Thought I could exploit an opening, but no dice.)
“If only we could deal with her before she uses medicine or escapes, but Lockwert’s in the way.”
I flow a large amount of mana into my sword, which begins emitting an ominous light.
Orneas notices the change in my sword, her eyes widen, and her outfit starts transforming.
She seems to have entered Enhanced Form, but can she withstand this attack?
Let’s call it….
“Devil’s Scythe”
I release a crescent-shaped, or rather scythe-like, black slash toward Orneas.
Magic arrows materialize around Orneas, all pointing toward me.
“Comet Arrow!”
Orneas fires an arrow upward, and meteor-like arrows rain down.
They look dangerous, but I’ll counter before they hit.
“80% control established. Orneas alone can’t escape now.”
(Good timing.)
I channel a massive amount of mana into my sword, causing it to emit an ominous light.
Orneas notices the transformation and begins shifting into Enhanced Form.
Will she be able to withstand this blow?
Let’s name it…
“Devil’s Scythe”
I release a crescent-shaped, or rather scythe-like, black slash toward Orneas.
Magic arrows surround Orneas, all turning toward me.
“Ultimate Arrow!”
Beams of arrows fly toward me, originating from the ones Orneas fired.
However, the Devil’s Scythe absorbs everything and continues forward.
This form seems more advantageous against magical girls.
Just as I thought I could tear through Orneas, cracks appear beneath her feet and she falls through.
What bad timing.
“Sky Slash – Hawk Slash”
I send a normal slash toward Lockwert.
But they must’ve anticipated my attack. Lockwert opens a large dimensional rift in front of them.
It seems to be at the limit of what they can endure, as Lockwert grits their teeth.
Then, behind Lockwert, Orneas reappears.
She appears quite irritated, likely still bothered by how ineffective her Enhanced Form was against me.
“–You’ve gotten stronger again.”
“Fortunately, the demon has fully recovered. As you can see.”
Well, this form isn’t really related to the demon, but it’s not a lie.
Lockwert readies their sword, and Orneas aims her bow and the floating arrows at me.
Ah. This is fun…
Our previous battle with Shengxi was unsatisfying, so I’m thoroughly enjoying this serious fight.
Ideally, I’d like to defeat both of them here…
Lockwert’s lips move, saying something to Orneas.
Orneas looks even more disgruntled.
Once again, Orneas fires a barrage of arrows, which I deflect with a barrier.
I try to close the distance, but Lockwert creates a rift, and both of them fall through it to escape.
(Figures, having Lockwert around is troublesome.)
We have no means to pursue the escaped Lockwert.
Given enough time, Lockwert can escape immediately.
“Looks like Lockwert was doing something while escaping, so there’s no trace left. Let’s be happy we managed to save one magical girl for now.”
Whether or not the girl was saved doesn’t matter to me, but complaining would just annoy the demon, so I stay silent.
Still, compared to the previous battle with Shengxi, these two weren’t nearly as strong.
Is Shengxi exceptionally powerful among the doomsday faction, or is Orneas just weak?
Well, if the battle had started with some distance between us, it might’ve been more complicated.
“Thank you for saving me. What’s your name?”
Nightmare approaches despite her severe injuries, her steps betraying none of her pain.
Her pitch-black hair and eyes remind me somewhat of Marin.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll be going now.”
While this form is advantageous against magical girls, it consumes a lot of mana.
Even if I could recover mana with some time, I’d need a rest period.
Let’s leave the barrier and prepare for the next encounter.
As I attempt to exit the barrier using the demon’s abilities, Nightmare grabs my clothes.
“…What is it?”
“Would you consider coming to Russia?”
What nonsense is this?
“Stop being ridiculous and go back to get treated.”
When I try to shake her off, her eyes start tearing up.
“Please. We’ve lost many rankers, and things are getting tough. If we keep getting attacked like this, everyone will be killed.”
“Even as a ranker, you’re being awfully pessimistic. If you need help, you should work harder yourselves instead of relying on others.”
Rank 8–in Japan, that would be equivalent to Jeanne, though Jeanne is in a special category.
Rankers represent their country’s top magical girls.
To put it simply, they’re like Olympic athletes.
Heroes to the public shouldn’t be asking for help from unknown magical girls…
“I don’t want to ask for help either… But if we keep going like this, the country will be devastated by those people and monsters!”
“Even if I joined, it wouldn’t make a difference. Besides, it’s not just your country that’s struggling.”
Yesterday, I dealt with hundreds after interrupting Marin’s rescue mission.
Today, I’ve already handled a similar number.
Roughly speaking, I’ve done the work of dozens of regular magical girls on my own.
Although I haven’t been able to touch B-rank or higher due to barriers being deployed, I’ve surely been helping somewhat.
When I try to brush her off and teleport away, she clings to my leg.
Does this person have no pride as a ranker?
“Please! Even just for a day! You can do whatever you want with my body!”
(…What should I do?)
“Haruna has probably started moving because of this incident, so we might have a bit more time?”
Fine. Though today won’t work, I’ll accompany her for a day tomorrow.
I could ignore her, but if I get falsely accused, it’ll be troublesome… Maybe I shouldn’t have helped her in the first place.
“–Alright. Today won’t work, but I’ll spend a day with you tomorrow. Please go home now.”
Nightmare finally lets go of my leg, smiling as she stands up.
She reminds me somewhat of Sweep. That one was pretty emotionally volatile too.
“Really? If you’re lying, I’ll spread rumors about you! …Oh, by the way, what’s your name?”
“Since I’m not officially registered on any site, I don’t have a name. Call me Ayame.”
Didn’t think I’d end up using that alias again.
Though it’s an alias to me, it’s a deeply familiar and unforgettable name of a magical girl.
“Ayame, huh. I’ll back off today, but you absolutely have to come tomorrow! Please come!”
“Alright, please stand up.”
Haven’t seen such a deep bow in a while.
She’s quite unsettling.
She’s a ranker, so she should be of a certain age, yet her reactions feel young.
No, maybe it’s just that I’m older. I’m in my late twenties, turning 27 this year.
“And, since I can’t enter the fairy realm… How about Peterhof Palace? Would 18 hours from now work?”
I don’t want to show myself in this form publicly, but with a tourist spot, there should be enough people around that I won’t stand out too much.
“Thank you!”
“And if there are any other magical girls present, I’ll leave. Make sure to come alone.”
“Understood. Oh, my name is…”
“You’re Russia’s eighth-ranked magical girl, Nightmare, right?”
“Our board suggests she’s quite the problem child? Also an exemplary student? Around 20 years old.”
She’s younger than me, but still an adult.
“Yes. I almost lost because it was two against one, but one-on-one, I would’ve been fine. Still, thank you so much for helping me.”
She clenches her fists regretfully, turns her head away, then flashes a radiant smile.
She’s beautiful, but after seeing her earlier behavior, I feel nothing.
“Is that so? Well then, until tomorrow.”
I step out of the barrier and dissolve it since the demon has full control now.
I revert my transformation to recover mana through the demon.
(How’s the analysis of the barrier going?)
“Nope. Even using two people’s resources, tracking the barrier is impossible. Plus, each barrier is like a one-time password, making it hard to penetrate faster. Searching for the barriers themselves also seems difficult. We’d only find them if a tracked magical girl gets attacked like last time or today.”
Even these barriers are disposable, with individual protections…
Who exactly is this witch? Her level of technology and magic usage is far too advanced.
“So, is it impossible to learn the witch’s identity?”
“Sorry, it hits a restriction, so I can’t say.”
(I see. Well, I just asked, so don’t worry about it.)
With my mana somewhat recovered, shall I continue hunting?
“Transformation”
I clothe myself in a white robe and hold a staff.
Time to hunt.
–By the way, in my second form, I can barely fight monsters… Well, I’ll figure it out somehow.
