NOVEL NEXT Chapter 38 – The Line That Must Be Protected (8)
“…You know, I’ve been thinking, why am I even cleaning up after these guys?”
In my line of sight across the sky, I spotted a scene of fierce combat. Or rather, it looked more like one-sided abuse than a real battle.
Several magical girls were rolling on the ground, and a girl, completely naked and engulfed in black flames, was literally beating the crap out of the magical girls who couldn’t even defend themselves.
“Yeah, you came here because you need information, right?”
Ren, who was hanging over my shoulder, mumbled. And with that statement, I had nothing to say. In the end, I had to find this place, the only connection to get information about Mamute.
“So, are you really not going to help?”
“I’ll have to intervene. We need to know where their heads are at.”
I snapped my vision back to normal and increased my speed as I headed downward. Before I knew it, I broke the sound barrier, creating a sonic boom that split the air around me.
I could see it. Their terrified expressions, the fear radiating from their eyes.
And even without a shred of emotion in their gaze. Ignoring the others, I decided to take her down first. Because if I ignored her, she’d keep harassing me.
“What are you doing?! We don’t have anything right now?!”
“There’s always a way!”
With no hesitation, I plummeted to the ground. The magical girls and the enemies alike looked shocked as I landed.
“Aaagh…”
“Cough… cough…”
A massive shockwave erupted from the intentionally empty concrete area of the port, shaking the ground apart.
The tremors sent everyone sprawling to the ground, leaving them dazed. A thick cloud of dust rose, enveloping the area like fog.
“Headquarters… headquarters, this is it.”
One of the fallen organization members groaned, barely holding onto his radio as he murmured.
“Code Red… Takilas. Takilas has appeared.”
With trembling eyes, he slowly turned to look at the girl emerging from the settling dust cloud, her presence easily recognized amidst the chaos.
The magical girl Takilas, rated above SS, was a designated anomaly deemed highly dangerous within the organization. She rested gently atop a massive creator she had conjured, her crimson eyes glowing softly.
Her long black hair flowed elegantly. The frilly short skirt and uniform draped over her shoulders fluttered with the breeze.
The arrogance and sharpness in her gaze were tinged with indifference.
“Tell me where they are if you don’t want to suffer.”
“Ugh…”
The darkness that lay beneath began to ripple ominously across the ground. Tentacles shot forth, wrapping around his neck in a flash.
“W-what are you talking about?”
“Oh? Then just die.”
Pulling back as if it were the most natural thing, he mistakenly chose the wrong opponent.
What returned was a horrifying sound, the cracking of bones echoing without any hesitation from his twisted neck. His lifeless form flew through the air and landed heavily in front of another organization member.
“Wait! I’ll talk!”
“No? I don’t care. Honestly, I think I know where you are.”
“M-move… aargh!”
Another stunned member witnessed the senseless murder with wide eyes. He tried to shout that he would talk but was met only with a charming smile from the beautiful girl, along with a black spike that shot up from the ground and pierced through his heart.
“…It’s underground. Obvious, right?”
With a flick of her wrist, she had wiped out all the organization members standing there. She smirked, setting her sights on the abandoned factory where Aria had entered.
From there, she could distinctly feel the ominous dark magic resonating.
“Watch out from behind!”
But just as she turned her head towards that direction, a sharp cry and the sound of tiny feet kicked off the ground together.
“I got hit…”
The magical girl, Hena, who shouted to alert everyone, wiped away the blood trickling from her head and mumbled in disbelief.
The punch from the black flaming girl struck Takilas squarely on the back of her head. A shockwave erupted, accompanied by the terrible sound of shattering bones. Hena naturally thought Takilas’ skull had been broken.
“Huh?”
But as the scene continued, Hena’s eyes widened in shock. Though her hair flew with the shockwave, Takilas didn’t budge an inch.
Only the wrist of the experiment subject girl hung limply.
“We can’t touch her!”
“I know. I know she hasn’t done anything wrong.”
Turning her head towards the shouting Hena, Takilas grinned. Without a moments hesitation, she launched a kick.
The kick connected perfectly with Hena’s face, yet once again, it seemed Takilas’ perfect nose remained unbroken while Hena’s shin began to swell.
“Oh dear. Now I’ll aim for your eyes. That would be a bit troublesome, and I can’t just keep getting hit.”
The ordered girl, instructed to stop Takilas, aimed a finger to poke out her big eyes, thinking surely they wouldn’t be that tough.
But Takilas caught the hand with a swift movement and slammed the girl down into the ground. Takilas acknowledged that the magical girl’s offense wasn’t valid against her.
“Stay right there.”
At the same time, she moved the shadows on the ground, digging a hole right where the girl lay fallen. Suddenly dropped into a pit just about her height, the experiment subject girl found herself with just her neck sticking out above the mound of dirt that promptly buried her.
It was overwhelming, a display of superiority in both strength and skill. She hadn’t even drawn her weapon, as all the struggling magical girls stood utterly dumbfounded.
“Now go, go underground. Aria went there, but it might be too late!”
At that moment, Hena, who was still unable to move due to the intense pain in her stomach from a strong blow, shouted desperately.
Aria had stormed in alone, and there was still no word from her.
“You’re asking too much. Don’t you think that’s a little shameless? I hardly have any good memories from the senior magical girls so far.”
“Gah…”
But the only response was Takilas looking down at her with derision.
All the other magical girls present were enraged, yet nobody dared to step forward.
“You’re right. We don’t have the right qualifications or authority. But we’re just flailing about. Trying to get something to happen, no matter what.”
“…”
Hena spat blood and glared straight into the scornful gaze of Takilas. In return, Takilas simply smiled, turning her body towards the abandoned factory.
It was where she had to go to get what she wanted, anyway.
“Are you going to be okay?”
“It might not be easy. The energy coming from Aria has been fading in real-time up until just now.”
Takilas confirmed the deaths of the organization members Aria had incapacitated by plunging spikes into their heads and hearts.
Thus, they arrived at the underground facility of the abandoned factory. Here, a thick wave of dark magic continued to seep in.
“Hmm, faster than expected, but you’ve bought some time. Just wait a bit longer, Takilas. The experiment hasn’t finished yet.”
“…What are you talking about, bald guy?”
Thanks to that, she soon came face to face with the core figures of the organization waiting in the underground facility where Aria had entered.
‘Takilas…’
Up ahead. A new magical girl appeared alone at the very spot where she had been subdued.
Aria wanted to scream, but she couldn’t.
“Ugh!”
Once again, a fist wrapped in black flames slammed into her. The electrifying pain surged through her, making her feel like her insides were tearing apart, and a groan escaped her dry throat.
However, the strong hands already firmly gripping her arms prevented her from collapsing or running away.
“Enhance her magic. Keep going.”
“Hah!”
The experiment subject girl, with an expressionless face like a doll, threw another punch into her already battered body.
The red flames that had been burning inside Aria had extinguished long ago.
With each blow she received barehanded, she could feel foreign substances invading her body.
This cold dark magic was invading and tainting her once passionate magic, twisting it further into pain and torment.
‘I can’t hold on much longer…’
Through the mist clouding her vision, she could see her mascot, Lulu, crying as it bit the uniform of the soldier holding her down. It was a meaningless resistance, given that the mascot had no fighting power.
Aria sensed that she was nearing death.
Moreover, she was certain that her tainted magic would go on a rampage. She didn’t know what form it would take, but she was convinced that it would express itself in a way that would help them.
“Do you feel wronged? It’s only natural. The loser in war loses everything. That’s what happened to you, and soon that cocky brat over there will meet the same fate.”
Andrei had found her amidst it all. He was in a good mood, having easily dealt with foes contrary to his expectations.
“…Idiot.”
“What did you say?”
“What I’m worried about is not that girl. It’s your lives.”
But just as Aria managed to wheeze out her words, his face turned rigid.
“!!!”
At that moment, an enormous, horrific, intense, cold power exploded behind them.