Chapter 3: Concealing the Truth

The Azure Cavalier commanded the World Tree Technology mercenaries, standing guard at the entrance to the sewers, prepared for any technology thief who might try to break through.

He was tall and imposing, clad in a sharp, blue exoskeleton that radiated a high-tech aura. The matte, sandblasted metal armor bore a sleek “Σ” emblem, and beneath his highly reflective visor, a honeycomb pattern of fluorescent light flickered.

This was the signature design style of the Sigma Hero Company.

According to the mercenaries who had fled the sewers, the enemy seemed to be using a stolen, cutting-edge Drive Unit from World Tree Technology. Although the user was just a small fry, they had displayed enough power to defeat Magical Girl Kamui, so heightened vigilance was necessary.

He did not recklessly charge into the Black Mist.

The Azure Cavalier represented the image of the Sigma Hero Company, while his opponent was just an obscure, low-level Monster. He could not afford to suffer defeat here—it would tarnish the company’s reputation.

So, caution was essential…

Yet, after waiting for a long time, he still saw no sign of the enemy.

The sight-blocking Black Mist showed no sign of dissipating. The target clearly hadn’t left the sewers, but inside, all was deathly silent…

Could they have escaped through another sewer exit?

“Miss Kamui? Are you alright?”

He tried to contact his temporary teammate through the comms channel, but there was no response.

But when he looked up, he saw her rushing out of the Black Mist.

“Cough, cough, cough, I’m over here!”

Judging by appearance, Kamui was in better shape than expected. Her deep red dress showed not a single tear, though her steps were unsteady, and she looked quite weak.

“What happened inside?” the Azure Cavalier asked.

Kamui shot him an annoyed glare and replied, “I… I got knocked flying by that guy! Do I really have to repeat it again?!”

“Where’s your comm device?” the Azure Cavalier pointed at his ear.

“I lost it in there and couldn’t find it! The enemy’s ability is a pain, so you’d better not go in recklessly. You can’t see anything in that fog… I’ll leave the rest to you, hiss, I need to rest for a bit!”

The petite Kamui patted his arm and, clutching her stomach, prepared to leave the scene.

But this casual gesture sparked suspicion in the Azure Cavalier.

The two weren’t very familiar—just temporary partners for this incident. In previous encounters, Kamui, as a Magical Girl, had always avoided such physical contact, maintaining a deliberate distance. Now, that distance had vanished.

“Wait, Miss Kamui.”

So, he called out to Kamui.

“Huh? Wh-What is it?”

She hesitated, turning around with an unnatural expression.

“Please allow me to check your injuries.”

The Azure Cavalier suspected that the Kamui before him was not the real one.

“Check?”

Kamui’s expression froze for a split second, then shifted to blatant disgust.

“You’re not thinking of using some X-ray to see through my body, are you? Pervert!”

Even faced with Kamui’s fierce resistance, the Azure Cavalier was undeterred.

“Sorry, but this is a necessary precaution.”

A scanning device projected a laser through his helmet visor, sweeping down Kamui’s body. She immediately hugged her chest and glared at him in outrage, but didn’t say another word, tensely awaiting the scan results.

“Information comparison complete. You are indeed the real Kamui. Please allow me to apologize for my rude behavior. Your abdominal injury needs immediate attention. Please withdraw to the rear.”

The scan confirmed she was Kamui, and that she had a severe penetrating wound to her waist and abdomen.

This result let Kamui sigh in relief, but after exhaling, she put on a stern face again.

“Hmph, you really are an odd one!”

She snapped at the Azure Cavalier, then clutched her stomach and leaned against the wall, leaving the sewer entrance.

But not long after Kamui left, the lingering Black Mist in the sewers gradually faded away, and then…

Another Kamui, unconscious and covered in black grime, was carried out of the sewers by mercenaries—still wearing her comm device.

The Azure Cavalier realized he’d been tricked.

Yes, it was Squill who had left the scene as “Kamui.”

Relying on the Nyx Drive Unit’s functions, not only could she recolor the blackened dress back to red, but she could also hide the Drive Unit inside the Combat Body and create a non-functional Magic Bracelet.

The Combat Body generated from Kamui’s data was a fake, but in reality, it was indistinguishable from the real one—so the Azure Cavalier’s scan naturally found nothing amiss.

Of course, Squill’s imitation of Kamui’s brash personality also helped fool the Azure Cavalier.

“Hmph, my acting isn’t bad at all, is it?”

There were police lines all around the sewer, but Squill left without a hitch. Her destination was the headquarters of the criminal organization Neitmeir in Central City—a skyscraper in the city center… with an Underground Base.

It was a long way, but Central City’s excellent underground transit network meant she could get there quickly by high-speed subway.

However, the Magical Girl appearance was too conspicuous, so Squill changed in a subway restroom stall.

[Request accepted.]

[Regenerating Combat Body… Complete.]

The Nyx Drive Unit could alter the Combat Body’s appearance by modifying and refreshing data to some extent. Her deep red dress turned black again, she created a hairband to tie her hair into a ponytail, and she tended to her abdominal wound.

Just as the Azure Cavalier’s scan showed, her abdomen was indeed injured.

Though the Nyx Drive Unit, now wrapped beneath the Combat Body, was just like her original body, the two holes drilled into her real body were mirrored on the Combat Body as well.

This gave Squill further insight into the Nyx Drive Unit’s rules.

Wounds—the Nyx Drive Unit could not heal them.

If the Combat Body was injured, the real body would be affected. Likewise, if the real body inside was injured, the Combat Body would reflect that as well.

The two wounds were deep, but thanks to the Squid Monster’s “that level” of regeneration, they could slowly heal. As for the pain…

Getting beaten up by Heroes was part of her daily job, so this level of pain was nothing.

She just needed to stop the bleeding for now.

“Huh? Ah!!”

Leaving the restroom stall, Squill realized she’d entered the men’s room and, like a startled schoolgirl, hurriedly ran out.

“Wait, I’m not really a woman, so why am I panicking?!”

Thinking this, she boarded the subway.

Central City’s subway had a top speed close to 300 kilometers per hour—stopping took longer than running, so she arrived at the city center in no time. After a short walk, Squill arrived at Neitmeir’s headquarters building.

But unlike usual, people’s gazes felt a bit odd.

She entered the maintenance elevator, took out her employee card marked “D-class Monster – Squill,” and the elevator, which normally only went down to the second basement level, began to descend rapidly and smoothly—clearly going far deeper than usual.

Squill was used to this.

After all, this was one of the ways to enter Neitmeir’s Underground Base.

When the elevator stopped, she even yawned before the doors opened. But as she stepped out…

“Huh?”

The Security Division Chief of “Neitmeir,” known as Iron Wall Fort, an upper-level mechanical Monster, was standing in front of the elevator with arms crossed.

He looked like a bald, dark-skinned hulk, and behind him stood a squad of Security Division Biomorphic Robots—all muscle-bound men in brightly colored briefs. The visual impact alone was unbearable.

“M-Mr. Fort, may I ask what’s going on…”

“Pretty bold, aren’t you, black Magical Girl! You’re the first Hero in three years to dare invade ‘Neitmeir’ headquarters!”

Though he was a robot, Fort’s personality was rather boisterous. He even flexed his bulging bionic biceps as he spoke.

“No, I’m not—”

Squill tried to protest, but Fort had a bad habit of not listening to others.

“As a sign of respect! Before we fight, I’ll allow you to declare your name here! Feel honored!”

Even as he said this, he kept approaching. At over two meters tall, he was truly intimidating to the 1.5-meter-tall Squill.

“I’m telling you, I’m not—”

Frightened by this over-the-top display, Squill tried to retreat into the elevator, but this only angered the Security Division Chief.

“Still trying to run at a time like this? Coward!”

“I can’t even be a coward now, can I? Nyx, cancel transformation!”

[Error—Unknown error encountered, please try again later.]

“Huh?”

It was only now that Squill remembered…

Nyx was a “faulty” experimental unit.

“H-Help!”

“Hei ha! Hei ho!” x10

Squill wailed, but the Security Division’s “muscle men” immediately swarmed her, drowning her out with bizarre shouts.