LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 39
The hatch was thick.
The antenna itself was made of quite thin iron plates overall, but there seemed to be something very thick nearby.
Of course, the blade couldn’t penetrate easily either.
“Push it in harder!”
And really annoyingly, James, who had conveniently hung on my shoulder, shouted that.
Do you think I’m some kind of heavy equipment that operates based on commands?
It looks like a hamster, and there’s a bit of cuteness to it. It felt soft and squishy when I touched it with my hands. If it were really my pet hamster, I might have wanted to handle it every day.
But no matter how cute it looked, bad manners would naturally just gain disdain. That’s how I felt right now.
However, it was even more irritating that I couldn’t think of any other way to get out of this situation.
“Why don’t other magical girls have weapons!? If you’re going to transform, do it properly!”
…….
Well, if you put it that way, didn’t you also fail to research my transformation properly?
Thinking back, it had always been like that.
Even when I was a combatant, we were always denied information because we couldn’t let any secrets slip out.
Sometimes, I didn’t even have information to give because I didn’t know it from the start.
In the end, it’s the combatants who have to go to the front lines.
Plus, there were many times when officers, those idiots, would run around claiming to command on site, which meant I had to directly block charging magical girls.
We didn’t start fights because we could win; there were plenty of times we started fights just to have a fight.
“……”
Thinking about it, it’s frustrating.
Do they even know who is actually suffering right now, talking so hard like that?
As I thought like that, the blade turned an even darker shade of black.
It seemed to protrude even more.
“Yeah! That’s it, that is!”
Receiving praise from you doesn’t make me happy at all. It’s been like that since I worked in the company.
To put it bluntly, we just grabbed hands out of desperation. Both of us had no intention of truly trusting each other.
I grabbed the right blade with my left hand.
“—What’s happening—”
Before James could finish what he was saying, I broke that blade with my hands.
“……”
Why?
Anyway, isn’t that power created from the energy that comes from my body?
Moreover, by the nature of cutting something, it should definitely obey the laws of physics.
Magic is so conveniently subjective. The way it’s used changes completely depending on what the user thinks.
Holding onto that blade tightly with both hands,
Bang!
I swung it down with all my might.
Was this how primitive cavemen used stone axes?
With the pointed end of the blade facing down, I struck the hatch lock multiple times with all my strength.
Clang! Clang!
After hearing the horridly ignorant sounds several times,
Ping!
With a slightly anticlimactic sound, the blade plunged inside. I heard the metallic bouncing sound.
I didn’t completely break the hatch, but it seemed that one of the crucial components inside had broken after being hit several times.
After pulling the blade out and carelessly tossing it aside, its color slowly lightened. It seemed that the energy that had been far from my body was gradually disappearing.
Without taking the blade out of my right arm, I shoved my hand into the hole I made in the hatch and opened it.
Just like in the movies, a tremendously thick iron door opened, revealing a space barely large enough for a fist to fit inside.
“Oooh!”
James, who had been quietly holding back stress, shouted in excitement upon seeing what was inside.
“Is this it?”
“Correct!”
“Can I touch it with my bare hands?”
“The energy flowing inside the device is magical energy, so it won’t harm your body, especially someone like you.”
I cautiously reached my hand out.
Surprisingly, it didn’t carry any electricity or heat. It didn’t feel like anything too grand was functioning either.
It looked a bit complex, too mechanical to be called decorative, yet too quiet to be a machine.
However, as soon as I examined it, I quickly realized what it was.
“……A generator?”
“How do you know that?”
As I muttered it, James asked directly. His eyes were filled with immense suspicion.
“……I’ve seen a generator before.”
I quickly made up that excuse.
Yeah. I’ve seen something similar. It looked a little different and much larger, though.
To be honest, what I had seen was something that could barely be called a sphere. With a lot of wires connected from top to bottom, it would just have looked like a pillar if you didn’t look closely.
But that sort of personal judgment didn’t matter. After all, James wouldn’t know until he got into my shoes.
At least, the fact that it had hit my helmet was true.
That’s right. I had seen this before during a raid on the Eun-ha Federation facilities.
If Blossom hadn’t been beside me then, it could have been my first successful mission.
Well, it didn’t make much sense for there to be no magical girl in a place like that, so that assumption was meaningless anyway.
“You have a good eye. That’s right. Generators generally share the fundamental principles and look similar. However, this one is much more advanced. It’s better than what the federation possesses by far. The energy on that side is much larger, making it harder to control like this.”
The energy emitted by each magical girl is significantly less efficient than the energy squeezed out by the company’s combatants. But that is the issue.
Electronic devices become more fragile the more delicate they are, increasing the risk of breaking under some load. Of course, if that electronic device is something important, various safety devices would be put in place before it broke. But for magical girls, no matter how much they tried, the output was too great, forcing the generator size to grow.
On the other hand, it’s different for us. Both the minimum and the maximum are incredibly low, so we had time to study circuits starting from small energies. Moreover, we’ve been utilizing energy for quite some time.
“This is a brilliant outcome of the company’s technology. Although our circuit technology can’t be said to be better than that of the federation, at least with this generator technology, we can say we are a step ahead, if not a few steps.”
Is it really that ambiguous to say we are ahead?
“So if we don’t pass this on to the other side, we can halt that gap. While we’re at it, let’s use it to our advantage! How about making weapons with this?”
Don’t act like a mad scientist now when you just mocked that we don’t have weapons earlier.
Or is it that you’re a mad scientist, hence you’re saying this? Anyway.
In the end, that means it’s going to be quite an important item for us. If we take this, both the company and the federation will be hopping mad trying to chase after me, but they’re already doing that anyway.
Just as I was about to get up with that in hand.
“Look over there!”
Someone shouted that from below.
It wasn’t directed at me.
In my line of sight, I happened to see that place clearly.
No, it was actually hard not to see it. The place was noisy with explosions and gunfire. The sound was coming from an area much higher than the combatants chasing after me, signaling that a magical girl had finally entered the building.
And there, I could see someone falling.
In less time than I could worry, Blossom dove towards that person. Blossom grabbed that person’s arm with both hands, putting all her effort into it.
The fall stopped. But it was definitely not a situation to feel at ease.
For some reason, Blossom couldn’t fly up powerfully like usual.
Instead, she continued to descend.
Given that much, it might have been alright. After all, there was no way that person would fall headfirst to the ground with that weight.
Even before the magical girls came over here, the situation was already going poorly.
I had no idea how to escape. I never even considered going back the way I came. To flee, I’d have to either break through above or make another black hole.
I locked eyes with Ha-yoon.
It was probably a coincidence. She raised her head as if trying to look around, and I just happened to be in the middle of her line of sight. Of course, the only noteworthy thing here was this huge antenna. I must have stood out immensely in her view.
And then, the two fell.
“Huh?”
I involuntarily let out such a sound.
Then, without intention, my body was moving.
“Dodge!? Wait!?”
Just as James beside me screamed in shock, I had already jumped off the antenna.
“Ah.”
I didn’t think I could fly.
But strangely, I didn’t feel that sense of weightlessness unique to falling. There was no chill crawling up my back.
If anything, my gaze was directed upwards.
Did I fly? No. That wasn’t it.
Instead.
Bang!
I heard that sound from behind. I also heard people yelling, “Get down!” That was probably what they were saying.
I didn’t have time to look back, but it sounded like something was colliding from the back.
Squeak—
I heard a sound from my hand.
“Th-The generator…!?”
I heard James shouting in shock.
But my gaze was still fixed on the sky.
Ha-yoon didn’t let go of that uncle’s hand even while falling. She seemed to be struggling to rise again towards the sky. Her face was pale.
Yeah. She probably didn’t intentionally drop him. There had to have been some reason.
But as soon as Ha-yoon saw me again, another wave of fear rushed over her.
The current situation was causing confusion amongst the magical girls.
The reason they were coming this way must be to grab the generator I was holding. James must have already leaked such information.
So, maybe when they met me, they’d have to fight.
I didn’t want that.
I didn’t want to hurt Ha-yoon.
That wasn’t what I wanted.
……No. Maybe not.
As I fought against the feelings rising from deep within my mind, I thought.
I wanted to win.
Ever since I realized Ha-yoon was the protagonist, that was how I’ve felt. I felt jealous every night seeing you moving a year earlier than me.
‘While having everything,’ I thought.
I couldn’t deny it.
But at the same time, it was true that I didn’t want to hurt her.
Two opposing feelings were crashing against each other.
I extended my hand forward.
Ha-yoon looked at me with a pale, shocked face.
A face terrified.
Was she scared because she was falling? Or because she couldn’t accept the situation?
Or was it because I was scary?
I didn’t know. There wasn’t time to talk about it. Even having known each other for so long, I still didn’t know.
Ha-yoon’s feelings. My thoughts.
Just a little, but I felt a thrill in this situation.
At this moment, I was on higher ground compared to Ha-yoon. The one who had always been beaten up was now charging in to save Ha-yoon.
However, that thought soon vanished without a trace moments later.
……How?
I didn’t know how.
“……Ah.”
That’s right.
I had jumped up with all my might but hadn’t thought at all about landing. The place I went up was already high.
Now, I was starting to grasp the situation a bit.
Since I had jumped towards a place much higher than that, I was effectively falling from a much greater height than just dropping down.
The sensation of weightlessness that I hadn’t felt before, like riding on a falling amusement park ride, washed over me.
Goosebumps spread all over my body. I flailed around.
But unfortunately, I couldn’t float in the sky like when I transformed.
Beside me, the rat squeaked like crazy. Was the translator even able to process those cries?
Ha-yoon too, and that nameless combatant was the same.
Screams and shouts continued to echo from below.
“Dodge!?”
I grabbed James.
And hurled him upwards.
James screamed some half-formed words as he shot up vertically.
Then, I extended my hand and grabbed Ha-yoon’s hand.
And pulled her towards me. Thankfully, the circuit worked properly and the force was operating. It was possible to pull both of them in at once.
“Ji-eun…!”
As Ha-yoon called my name, the sound of the circuit traveling around grew louder.
With my remaining left arm, I hugged the generator to my chest.
And focused my energy. If possible, I wanted it to concentrate on my back. I didn’t really understand how to do it.
How much time passed? I didn’t know well.
I strained my ears to listen. Amidst Ha-yoon calling my name, I could also hear people shouting.
I recalled my memory. At what height could a combatant fall and still survive?
“……”
I figured about five meters was alright. The suit looked fine.
Relying on my senses, I aimed to get as close to the ground as possible before kicking both of them up.
“Ji-eun!?”
Ha-yoon called my name, then shot up. The circuit wasn’t functioning properly, so as I pulled back, she couldn’t hold on completely.
The two shot upwards.
Due to the falling speed, they didn’t rise too high. Thank goodness. Still, I could halt both their descents.
And I—
Boom.
I exhaled as the shock nearly made me lose consciousness.
But I could withstand it. My body wasn’t breaking apart. The magic protected me.
Moreover, there was no time to rest.
I got up from my position, not even able to stabilize my form, and jumped back up into the sky.
I heard the sounds of Ha-yoon and the combatant crashing into the ground below, but hearing their groans, it seemed they weren’t dead. Even if they were injured, the magical girls would treat them at their healing facility. The same went for the combatant.
Looking below, I noticed that people were gathering in that direction.
“Dodge!”
I turned my body towards James, who was still falling. I did well to throw him vertically. Thankfully, I managed to time it right.
“Y-You’ll die! I’m going to die…”
James was shouting while covering his eyes with both hands.
It seemed he didn’t even notice he was grabbed.
Bang!
Once again, I landed back on the ground. This time, I was able to stand on two feet instead of landing on my back.
“……Hah.”
After barely enduring the pain, I let out a long breath.
……I survived. All of them.
“What the hell are you doing!? Why did you do that!? Were you trying to die!?”
Even after realizing that I had just saved myself, the first words that came were not words of thanks.
Well, this time, it was my fault. Throwing someone into the sky was a bit much. It was an unexpected mistake, but I almost failed to catch him. James had narrowly avoided becoming a mouse flattened under a car.
After taking a breath, I was finally able to see the situation properly.
……The antenna was tilting to one side.
It hadn’t completely collapsed. But it seemed like it would soon.
If it collapsed, it wouldn’t mean the building would fall. It was probably built structurally to prevent that. The outer part of the antenna being oddly soft must have been for that reason.
However, even if the collapsed antenna bent and crushed against the wall, there was no way the people caught inside would survive being crushed by the antenna.
I turned my gaze.
Above, the magical girls were hastily descending. They were heading towards where the combatants were gathered, shouting something.
The people below who had been caught in the chaos were running away in terror.
Sparks were flying from the ground.
That was due to the wires I had cut earlier getting wet. What fools. They seemed too busy focusing on just one thing that they couldn’t think about anything else.
If they were in combat suits, they wouldn’t die—but who knows.
Squeak—
The generator wrapped in my arms was still spinning vigorously.
……And it seemed to be giving me its power. Just from jumping, the antenna was bending down.
Alright. Then for a warning.
I drew the blade out.
Then, I roughly cut through the nearby concrete, creating a rather large piece and dragged it with one hand.
With all my might, I leaped up and plunged it into one of the puddles sparking with electricity.
Thud!
With a loud sound, one of the sparks stopped. It was just a massive piece blocking the way, but.
And because of that sound, all eyes turned towards me.
“……”
By the way, James was shaking, gripping onto my shoulder tightly. Although he was still wet, he wasn’t trembling from the cold.
“Everyone, get away!”
I shouted.
“That’s going to collapse soon. It’ll probably be dangerous if you’re inside there!”
I raised the generator.
“It’s already over. You’ve failed. Don’t stake your lives on something that’s already failed and get out.”
The magical girls who had been supporting Ha-yoon turned their eyes towards me.
……Ugh.
At least Ha-yoon didn’t think about being scared, but the others showed immediate weak fear as soon as they saw me. They had fought me several times before, and although they had some strange pride, it didn’t matter—
Well, while they could somehow manage to fight, if they lose this, there was no meaning.
The combatants began to back away, then quickly took off running. They probably didn’t even think of shooting at me. That was smart. Better to get away before the antenna collapses.
Rose turned her body towards me.
Seeing that made my heart race.
James shrieked, gripping my shoulder tightly.
The sound of the generator spinning loudly filled the air again—
And once more, I felt a wind blowing behind me.
A wind that was sucking me in.
Ah, so this is the sensation.
Feeling that sense of being drawn in once more just like before, I thought again.
When I desperately wished to run away.
When I intensely feared something.
It felt like this power was activated each and every time.
……Hah.
It’s the complete opposite of magical girls’ powers.
The last thing I saw was Ha-yoon’s face, looking pale and staring this way.