LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 24
The feeling of those watching the combatant’s movements was one of ‘confusion’.
This was not just a simple combatant’s movement.
The being that fought head-on against the magical girls’ attacks was enough to instill fear not only in the magical girls attacking her but also in the combatants fighting alongside her.
Moreover, the combatant wore a helmet, obscuring her expression. While I couldn’t know what kind of expression she wore inside, at least her outward appearance seemed like a machine fighting without any visible change in expression.
In fact, Iris was beginning to doubt if she really wasn’t a machine.
Robots already existed. They weren’t exactly the same as humans, but the Eun-ha Federation had been known to use them for combat. If Noir Corporation had successfully created such a robot…
However, there were circuits on the combatant’s wrists. Circuits that spun around at an incredibly high speed.
Circuits move based on emotions. They aren’t just fueled by one emotion such as joy or sadness but are driven by the complex interplay of various emotions felt from different sources.
For the magical girls, that interplay was ‘hope’. The intertwining of positive feelings that they experience when looking at hope helps magical girls harness tremendous power.
But then, what could the combatant possibly be moving for?
Her fingertips trembled slightly.
Until now, no combatant had been able to deal effective damage to a magical girl. Since the battle had begun against the Noir Corporation’s combatants, this being would be the first.
I believed that her gaze toward hope hadn’t changed.
But somehow, seeing that being rising again and again after falling, I felt a flicker of doubt in my confidence.
It had been like this for a long time. Even before the combat suit had changed, I felt it bit by bit. Among all the combatants, she was the only one standing until the end, searching for any means possible, never giving up despite multiple failures.
Why?
What had happened at Noir Corporation that such a being was here?
Iris couldn’t comprehend it at all.
But at this rate, she would fail again.
The consequences of their previous failure in combat had led them to this point. The Eun-ha Federation had barely managed to find a hidden researcher and make time for all the magical girls to move here.
If they failed here, they would lose face.
She aimed her gun.
The bolt-action rifle was damaged, and the amount of energy used at once was considerable. Moreover, each shot was extremely important, so the risk of missing was far too great.
…Furthermore, the circuits were not operating perfectly right now. It would be better to manage the energy appropriately.
With a series of quick shots, she pulled the trigger while closely controlling the recoil. She heard the sound of small fuses dropping.
The combatant, who had been knocked back by Dalia’s attack, quickly crossed her arms in front of her face. All the warp shots had hit inside, but it was futile.
Again, the black sparks flew, and the combatant rose from the ground.
Where had it all gone wrong?
Iris pondered as she reloaded her magazine.
She spun around, reacting to several combatants rushing from behind her, firing her weapon. One warp shot was enough to move a combatant far away. This shot wouldn’t travel far, but for now, it would serve to push them outside. The energy of the shot alone would be enough to neutralize them.
Five combatants disappeared from sight in an instant.
Feeling a sensation behind her, she rolled forward and quickly turned around to aim and shoot.
Bang!
The combatant had appeared right where Iris had been standing moments ago, fist planted into the ground.
Was that mimicry of the stance Blossom had just shown?
Unlike Blossom’s clean cut, there was a fist-sized dent where Iris had stood.
…Are they trying to kill me?
Was that what the opponent was moving with in mind?
Iris shot again at the combatant. The combatant’s body staggered.
She wasn’t invincible. The black sparks definitely didn’t perfectly block every attack.
Iris held on to hope. She felt the circuits spinning faster. Energy circulated through her body, and her weapon’s magical power supply stabilized more reliably.
And the more that happened, the stronger the force of her shots became.
The combatant raised her arms slightly and then brought them down forcefully. It seemed she was trying to strike the air, but following that motion, long blades appeared from her arms.
The combatant charged at Iris just after she emptied her magazine.
Bang!
But stepping in front of her was Blossom.
Inserting a sword blazing with intense pink light between herself and the combatant, Blossom stared straight at the helmet.
Even with the light shining, the inside of the visor was not visible.
Iris heard the sound of reloading as she ran to the side.
“……”
Even when she tried to talk a moment before, it didn’t seem like there was any willingness to respond.
Then—
“Hmph!”
Blossom infused strength into her sword.
Clang!
Where the lights met, crimson sparks began to fly. It felt like intense flames slicing through steel, but Blossom never looked away.
As the combatant, who had been blocking Blossom’s weapon with both blades, was pushed back.
Bang!
And just then, Dalia’s magical shot flew toward that combatant.
This time, it didn’t fly away.
As if determined not to fall for the same thing twice, the combatant was shielding her head with one arm. A barrier had appeared around that combatant’s body. A long S-shaped mark had been imprinted in the ground.
Clank.
The combatant’s circuits opened up, and something blackened and burnt, resembling a battery, bounced out.
“Rose!”
“Got it!”
At Blossom’s shout, Rose rushed in. Just as the combatant tried to evade, Iris’s well-aimed shot flew in.
The combatant, who was about to block the ray coming toward her head with her arm, couldn’t defend against Rose’s fist.
Thud!
A not-so-nice sound rang out, sending the combatant flying in a straight line opposite to Rose’s direction.
Bang, bang, she broke through several walls. The hole the combatant created was dark and gloomy. It was still evening, and only the fire inside was barely flickering.
“Delphinium……!”
“……I know.”
Starshine danced around Delphinium. It looked as if the appearance extending from the inside of the mantle replicating the night sky captivated even the combatants rushing toward her. Of course, those combatants all fell one by one from Dalia’s staff striking them.
Delphinium, who had been closing her eyes, opened them.
Lifting her wand into the air, the starlight drifting around gathered at the tip of her wand.
The white starlight gathered together—
“D-Delphinium’s attack!”
“Everyone evade! Take cover!”
Screams from terrified combatants rang in, and the ‘Leaders’ were yelling at their teammates.
“……Fools.”
Delphinium muttered that.
After all, the magic she was about to use wasn’t an attack spell.
Well, anyone who had been on the receiving end of Delphinium’s area attack till now would be justified to be terrified. If they’re not careful, they could find themselves in a hospital.
Delphinium swung her wand.
The gathered starlight, once clustered in one place, split into tiny lights and scattered everywhere.
An action that seemed to gather the irregular light and spread it uniformly again.
It was indeed a spell aimed at such a purpose.
“……”
Delphinium closed her eyes again, focusing.
She could feel numerous combatants around her. Most of them were just shivering, watching the lights falling from above.
Seeing such a sight, Delphinium smirked as she quickly followed the flow of magic.
And—
“……What?”
“Delphinium?”
At Delphinium’s muttering, Blossom asked.
“Wait, this is……!”
Usually, Delphinium wore a languid expression as if she viewed everything as a hassle, but now she was wearing a look of shock.
It wasn’t only Blossom and the other magical girls who sensed something was wrong upon seeing that.
The combatants hiding here and there, observing the situation, also felt something unusual seeing the suddenly panicked magical girls.
Just as Delphinium was about to shout something to the other magical girls—
Bang!
A tremendous noise sounded from where a combatant had just been sent flying.
*
My head hurts.
The more I fought, the more my concentration slipped away.
That was natural. Whenever one works, they crave it to end faster.
Especially when it’s not a job with a fixed amount of labor time, it becomes even more tiresome. It was genuinely getting old.
When I managed to rise, the surroundings looked like a construction site.
Rather than an ordinary construction site, it seemed something was set up to change the structure of a room. Did they plan to demolish walls or something? There was a large hammer lying around.
“……”
I bent down and picked up that hammer.
Yeah. Magical girls use items infused with magic as their weapons. Iris uses the firearm she designed herself, and other girls use their most treasured objects or items designed by themselves or commissioned with a slightly different method than Iris.
Among those, the most unique was Blossom’s weapon.
That flower bouquet was a ‘real’ bouquet of flowers. It had manifested at the moment Ha-yoon received sincere praise from her parents for winning a competition.
Like a magical girl, if it’s an item related to one’s memories, it gains more power. If one can recall that memory and find feelings of hope.
And if that feeling of hope is something complexly intertwined, even more so.
…Well, there’s no way that this hammer I just found has a story like that.
91 percent.
The moment I was surrounded by magical girls, the circuits were already heating up to the point of nearly melting. Though that’s just my perception, and in reality, it was holding up far better, it felt uncomfortable having my wrist so warm.
Let’s finish this and get some sleep.
That was my thought as I lifted the hammer.
And I charged forward.
Bang!
After breaking through several walls, as I jumped up with all my might, the ground beneath me caved in, making a loud noise.
The magical girls far away stared at me. They all looked a bit flustered.
For some reason, the surrounding combatants were scattered, hiding. The reason was—
Ah, right. It must be because of Delphinium.
She must have cast a spell. Judging by the surroundings not being devastated, it likely wasn’t an attack spell.
What kind of magic it was, I had no idea, but clearly it wouldn’t be beneficial to us.
Then, it was time to deal with that being first.
The suit was using the energy of the despair circuit that was spinning madly to its full potential, just as James had promised.
While I couldn’t gracefully glide like Iris or warp instantly, I could still release magical energy from beneath my feet with all my might.
Adjusting the angle toward Delphinium, I held the hammer tightly with both hands, raising it above my head.
I felt magical energy flowing from my hands.
A sticky substance felt like it was trickling down my arms. The thick jumpsuit felt like it was soaking in an instant.
What happened to the hammer, I couldn’t tell well.
But—
Bang!
Just before I swung the hammer, Delphinium hurriedly rolled away.
Witnessing Delphinium, who had always seemed to just dully direct our struggles, hastily rolling away as if my attack bored her was a little gratifying.
90 percent.
Just a slight smile made the measurement drop, so it seemed clearly, this circuitry was fundamentally flawed.
Isn’t this a circuit made just to survive?
91 percent.
I wasn’t trying to provoke her.
The area I struck was left with a viscous black substance.
Bang!
The substance exploded late. There was no way I would be caught in the explosion. More at the point where the black substance covered my jumpsuit, apart from it adhering to my body more and more.
“……W-wait. You—”
I don’t want to listen.
I swung the hammer toward Delphinium.
The head of the hammer was grotesquely coated in black substance. With every swing I made, the material that had trickled down the handle slowly morphed. At first, it was just slowly growing larger, but later, spikes began to protrude from it.
By the time it looked like something that should be avoided at all costs, Dalia rushed in to save Delphinium.
It’s a staff that usually made my bones shatter just by swinging it. I remember hearing it was made from a tree from some distant planet. The wood was much harder than Earth’s, and at the same time, it transmitted magical power well, so that planet had long flown through the skies with wooden sailing ships exploring space, I think it was mentioned in a webtoon.
But that’s not particularly relevant.
Clang.
“Ah!?”
A sound as if I struck something came from the part of the wood that touched the end of my hammer.
And when the hammer hit the ground, the portion of the staff wedged between the hammer and the ground shattered.
I swung my hammer toward Delphinium, whose face was in shock.
Thud!
The hammer’s head connected with Delphinium’s head. I didn’t feel the slightest bit of breaking or shattering. My helmet protected me just as much as the powerful magical energy guarding my body. That’s why Blossom can safely wield her sword that can tear up her own body.
Bang!
But it was impossible to solely neutralize pure momentum.
“Dalia!”
Rose shouted.
Dalia, lying on the ground, was sent flying sideways.
As Rose sprinted toward me, I raised the hammer again and gripped it tightly with both hands.
Then, I quickly spun around and swung it at Rose, who was rushing at me.
Clang!
Rose’s gauntlet blocked the hammer, but she couldn’t simply negate the energy from the weight.
Taking advantage of the moment her body staggered, I jabbed the hammer’s end into her abdomen.
Yet, Rose, being from the martial arts faction, didn’t easily step back, even while weakened after taking a hit. Despite being in a vulnerable state, she struck hard at my helmet with her fist. I heard something crack, and a fissure appeared in the visor. But it didn’t break.
She hit the spot where the battery was installed.
The battery burst, sending both Rose and me flying. Still, I clutched tightly to the hammer.
The suit was still fairly intact. The cracked part of the visor remained as is. …Just how solid are those gauntlets?
A ray of light flew toward me, and I ran forward with all my might.
That was in the direction where Blossom was.
Blossom and Iris were already rushing toward me. Rose had also shaken off the daze and was launching herself in my direction.
“……Everyone, stop……!”
I heard someone scream from behind, but I didn’t stop. I didn’t want to. I fired energy toward the direction of that voice. Delphinium, who had been about to shout something, was sent sliding away due to the impact.
92 percent.
Haven’t I been losing every time? Just for once, yes, just once, I wanted to win.
With so many magical girls present, I was still fighting. I hadn’t fallen yet.
91 percent.
As I swung the hammer, Blossom’s face appeared directly in front of me.
Why is it always in a magical girl setting?
If it were a webtoon set against a tokusatsu background, Ha-yoon’s expression wouldn’t have been visible.
In Ha-yoon’s startled eyes, a hint of fear was evident.
Ha-yoon was afraid of me.
With strange ooze all over my body, drenched in that black sticky fluid, wielding a grotesquely transformed construction hammer.
Moreover, she couldn’t possibly understand.
Why was I madly rushing toward her as if I were out of my mind?
In truth, I still didn’t know well.
94 percent.
Eventually, my attack missed. I couldn’t bear to insert the hammer into Ha-yoon’s face. Even if I had, I knew it wouldn’t seriously injure her.
From behind, beams of light flew toward me.
The magical girls surrounding me evaded.
So did Ha-yoon.
She dodged me.
96 percent.
Bang! An explosion rang from behind.
I was too exhausted now. No matter how much energy I encircled my body, if I collapsed from within, it wouldn’t matter at all.
What did I eat today? I hadn’t been able to eat much since I was slightly on edge since morning. It’s hard to go to the bathroom when in a suit……
It’s understandable that Ha-yoon would avoid me. Whenever I approached, I was launching threatening attacks, so there was no choice but to dodge.
But, the school kids never avoided me either. For various reasons.
Yet, at a moment like this. At a moment where I was alone.
I felt pathetic.
Ha-yoon didn’t even know who I was right now.
97 percent.
The circuits were spinning like crazy.
Black smoke billowed even more intensely. Materialized energy was overflowing, sliding down and dripping away like a liquid. I had claimed the suit was perfect, but it seemed I had made another design error.
“Haah, haah, haah……”
Am I just tired? I could not tell. It didn’t seem like it, but I just felt out of breath for a moment. After a brief respite, I felt better.
I raised my head.
Everyone was staring at me with wide eyes.
Oh, I see. Did I just withstand another explosion? I received a larger magical shot than what Iris had fired, so that was expected.
Rose was the first to rush in.
I swung the hammer with one hand.
Rose, who had been coming in with the posture to strike with her fist, hurriedly crossed her arms in front of herself.
Bang!
A groan slipped out from Rose’s arms.
I kicked her arms once more, sending her backward. Then, I swung the hammer toward the rays flying at me. I couldn’t block them all. But the hit parts didn’t hurt.
Her arms had turned solid like a hard-shelled creature. I could feel my body was inside, but—
Blossom rushed in. She blocked my downward strike. The outer shell cracked slightly.
“What are you?”
Blossom asked.
“What exactly are you—”
Blossom gazed at me with a look of disbelief.
Would she say that even after looking at me? Somehow, I had a feeling she would.
99 percent.
Sparks flew from the circuits.
“Everyone, stop!!”
Delphinium’s voice calling cut through the air and echoed in my ears.
“There’s an explosive charge in the pillar! Everyone dodge!”
Turning my gaze, I saw Delphinium crawling along the ground, yelling.
“Iris, hurry—”
But before that line could finish, my vision turned white.