Chapter 24 : Location (3) Part-1

The feeling that those watching the movements of the soldier felt was one of “bewilderment.”

It wasn’t just the simple movement of a soldier.

In fact, the being that was fighting while directly blocking the attacks of the magical girls was enough to leave both the magical girls attacking her and the soldiers fighting alongside her in awe.

Moreover, the soldier was wearing a helmet, making it impossible to see her expression.

While it was impossible to know what kind of expression she had inside, the outward appearance showed no change in expression at all, as if she were a machine.

In fact, Iris was beginning to doubt whether she wasn’t actually a machine.

Robots already existed.

While they weren’t exactly identical to humans, the Galactic Federation was known to use them in combat.

If Noir Corporation had succeeded in creating such robots, it would explain this existence.

However, there were circuits on the soldier’s wrist.

Circuits that spun at an extremely fast rate.

Circuits are driven by emotions.

They aren’t just one single emotion like joy or sadness, but rather a device that produces energy from the complex interaction of various feelings experienced from other sources.

For the magical girls, this interaction was hope.

The intertwining of positive emotions felt when they see hope helps the magical girls unleash tremendous power.

But then, what is it that this soldier sees and moves by?

Her fingertips trembled slightly.

Up until now, no soldier had been able to land a successful blow on a magical girl.

Since the fight with the Noir Corporation’s soldiers began, this existence would be the first.

She believed that her gaze directed toward hope hadn’t changed.

Yet, for some reason, seeing that existence repeatedly get up despite being knocked down made her confidence waver a little.

It had been like this for a while. Even before the combat suit changed, she had felt this way.

The only soldier among them who, no matter how many times they failed, kept standing and searching for a way to win, never giving up.

Why?

What happened with Noir Corporation that led to this being being here?

Iris had no idea.

But one thing was certain: she knew that if this continued, they would fail again.

The results of their failure in the previous battle had led them here.

The Galactic Federation had barely managed to locate the hidden research facility, and they had somehow created a window of time for all the magical girls to move and stand here.

If they failed here, there would be no face left to show.

She aimed her rifle.

The bolt-action rifle had broken down at one point, and the energy consumption per shot was high.

Moreover, each shot was crucial, and the risk of missing was too great.

…Moreover, the output of the circuits wasn’t as perfect as it had been before.

It was better to divide the energy properly for now.

Thud-thud-thud, she controlled the recoil by pressing the rifle tight against her body, pulling the trigger with all her strength.

The sound of small fuses falling out could be heard.

The soldier, who had been knocked back by Dahlia’s attack, quickly crossed her arms in front of her face.

All of the warp rounds hit, but it was useless.

Another black spark flew out, and the soldier got back up.

Where did it go wrong?

Iris pondered as she reloaded the rifle.

She spun around quickly and fired at several soldiers rushing from behind her.

A single warp round was enough to send a soldier flying to a distant place.

It wouldn’t travel too far, but it was enough to knock them out for the moment.

The energy in the rounds was enough to incapacitate them.

Five soldiers disappeared from her view in an instant.

A strange chill crept up behind her, and she quickly rolled forward, getting to her feet and adopting a sitting shooting position facing backward.

Bang!

The soldier had punched into the ground where Iris had been standing just moments ago.

Had she copied the move Blossom had shown earlier?

Unlike Blossom’s sword, which left a clean mark, there was just a fist-shaped indentation where Iris had been.

Is she trying to kill me?

Was that the intention behind the soldier’s actions?

Iris shot again, and the soldier staggered.

She wasn’t invincible.

The black sparks didn’t perfectly block the attack.

Iris held onto hope.

She could feel the circuits spinning faster.

Energy flowed through her body, and the magical energy supply to the rifle became more stable.

And the more this happened, the stronger the shots became.

The soldier raised both arms slightly, then swung them down.

It seemed like she was trying to strike the air, but following the movement of her arms, long blades appeared on both of her arms.

The soldier charged toward Iris.

Just after she had emptied her magazine.

Bang!

But just as she did, Blossom dashed in front of Iris.

Inserting a blazing pink sword of light between her and the soldier, Blossom stared directly at the soldier’s helmet.

Even though the light was shining, the visor inside couldn’t be seen.

Iris could hear the sound of reloading as she ran to the side.

“…”

It seemed that the soldier had no intention of answering when spoken to.

Then—

“Ha!”

Blossom infused her sword with power.

Klang! Klang!

Where the lights met, sparks of red flew.

It was a fierce flame that seemed to slice through steel, but Blossom didn’t avert her eyes.

The soldier, who had been blocking the attack with crossed arms and two blades, was pushed back.

Bang!

Then, Dahlia’s magic bullet came flying.

This time, it didn’t fly away.

It seemed like the soldier wasn’t going to be hit by the same attack twice.

She shielded her head with one arm, and around her, a barrier appeared.

A long S-shaped mark was left on the ground.

Clunk.

The soldier’s circuits opened, and something blackened, resembling a burnt-out battery, was ejected.

“Rose!”

“Got it!”

At Blossom’s shout, Rose dashed in.

As the soldier tried to dodge, Iris fired again, her rifle fully reloaded.

The beams, aimed precisely at the head, were blocked by the soldier’s raised arm, but the soldier couldn’t block Rose’s punch.

Thwack!

A sickening sound echoed, and the soldier flew in the opposite direction Rose came from.

Crash, crash, the soldier broke through several walls.

Inside the hole the soldier created, it was dim, as the night was already setting in, and the inside lights had almost gone out.

“Delfinium…!”

“…I know.”

Around Delphinium, starlight danced.

The scene, which seemed to expand outward from the inside of her cloak, almost like the night sky itself, was enough to capture the attention of even the soldiers who had been rushing toward her.

Of course, those soldiers all lost consciousness one by one from the impact of Dahlia’s staff.

Delphinium, who had been with her eyes closed, suddenly opened them.

Lifting her staff high into the air, the starlight floating around gathered toward the tip of her staff.

The white starlight gathered together—

“D-Delphinium is attacking!”

“Everyone, avoid it! Take cover!”

The sounds of soldiers shouting in panic, and the commanders yelling at their teams could be heard.

“…Fools.”

Delphinium muttered softly.

The magic she was about to cast wasn’t even a combat spell.

Though, considering those who had experienced Delphinium’s area-of-effect attacks up until now, it was no surprise they were filled with fear.

After all, a single mistake could land them in the hospital.

Delphinium swung her staff.

The starlight that had been gathered in one spot split back into smaller pieces, scattering in all directions.

It was as if she was gathering the irregular light and then distributing it evenly again.

In reality, it was magic with such a purpose.

“……”

Delphinium closed her eyes again, concentrating.

She could feel the presence of numerous soldiers around her.

Most of them were trembling, staring at the falling starlight above them.

Delphinium chuckled at their response and quickly followed the flow of magic.

And then—

“…What?”

“Delphinium?”

Blossom asked as she noticed Delphinium muttering in surprise.

“Wait, this is…!”

Delphinium, who usually wore a drowsy expression as if everything was a bother, now looked utterly horrified.

Seeing this, it wasn’t just the magical girls, including Blossom, who felt something was wrong.

The soldiers hiding around the area, watching the panicked magical girls, also sensed that something was off.

Just as Delphinium was about to shout something toward the other magical girls—

Bang!

A deafening explosion erupted from the spot where a combatant had just been sent flying.

*

My head hurt.

The more she fought, the more I focus was slipping.

It was only natural.

When you keep working, you eventually just wish for it to be over.

Especially when it’s an open-ended task, not one with a fixed time.

It was just so tiresome.

Stumbling to my feet, I found myself surrounded by what looked like a construction site.

Well, not a real construction site—more like someone had been in the middle of rearranging a room.

Judging by the large hammer lying around, they must have been planning to tear down a wall.

“……”

I bent down and picked up the hammer.

Right.

Magical girls use items imbued with magic as their weapons.

Iris uses the firearms she designed herself, and the other girls use objects that are either personally significant to them or designed by them in some way.

The most unusual of these was Blossom’s weapon.

Her bouquet was a real bouquet of flowers.

It was something that had manifested when Hayoon won a prize at a competition and received heartfelt praise from her parents.

For magical girls, the power of an item is enhanced if it is tied to their memories.

When they recall those memories, they can feel the emotion of hope, and the more complex the feelings, the stronger the magic.

…Well, this sledgehammer I just found obviously doesn’t carry any sentimental weight.

91%.

The moment I was surrounded by magical girls, my circuits had already heated up to the point of nearly melting.

Of course, that was just how it felt—in reality, they were holding up far better than that. But my wrist burned with an unpleasant heat.

Let’s just end this quickly and get some sleep.

Thinking that, I gripped the hammer tightly.

Then I lunged forward.

Bang!

As I crashed through several walls, leaping with all my might, the ground beneath me caved in with a loud crash.

The magical girls in the distance turned to look at me.

They all looked a little startled.

For some reason, the soldiers had scattered, taking cover.

The reason was—

Ah, right.

It was because of Delphinium.

She had cast a spell.