Chapter 179: Forced to Escape

Alcohol was truly a formidable weapon.

Even cadre-level monsters, whom even heroes had no chance of defeating in a one-on-one, could be toppled by drink. Klara was quite pleased.

‘Hey, if I wasn’t here, would she have just bathed, drank, and hummed her way back to Central City?’

**[We can throw her back into the water after extraction. That way, no one will know.]**

‘No, that’s still…’

The righteous Hero Driver always managed to make terrifying suggestions.

However, even if she was passed out, she remained transparent. Thus, Psycho—who was also currently transparent—still couldn’t be seen by Klara.

**[Generating… D.M Extractor… Completed.]**

An invisible arm donned an invisible syringe. Roughly confirming the distance, Klara thrust the extractor toward Psycho.

**[Updating data entry… Ps-Monster Psycho… Completed.]**

Great, it worked!

Next was to tie up this dangerous woman—

Huh?

In the blink of an eye, Psycho was gone from the bathtub.

No, to be more accurate… the entire bathtub had disappeared.

“Stay—”

**[She hasn’t blacked out yet. What kind of physical stats does she have?]**

Klara couldn’t make a sound.

She was definitely still nearby. If Klara scanned for her, she would also be exposed.

However, Klara didn’t dare move. If she retreated to the bedroom, her footprints on the wool carpet would give her away. But standing in the bathroom would reveal her location due to the steam.

‘…?!’

Just then, something large and soft pressed against the back of Klara’s head. Klara knew what it was, but she couldn’t say it out loud.

Then, she was grabbed by the neck by a single hand.

“Hmph, looks like I caught a little brat, didn’t I?”

‘…!!’

“Hmph, do you think I don’t know you’re there just because you’re staying quiet?”

‘…’

‘Did this woman pretend to be passed out?’

Just as Klara thought that, Psycho’s legs seemed to go weak. Holding onto Klara, she collapsed back into the invisible bathtub.

Even then, she didn’t let go, locking Klara’s throat in a death grip with her arm.

But the contact on her back was even more lethal. Because she couldn’t see anything, her sense of touch became even sharper!?

“Actually, I had my doubts before, but this confirms it… A Magical Girl who can copy others’ powers…” A wave of lethal alcohol breath hit Klara as Psycho spoke. “No, perhaps even your Magical Girl powers are copied?”

‘She figured it out?! Is this woman actually the brainy type?’

Klara panicked. Was she refusing to give her a quick end just to say all this?

Psycho continued with a barrage of questions. “So, were you originally a monster too? Which company’s monster are you? What technology do you use? Modification factors? A chameleon?”

She was even trying to fish for trade secrets.

Klara wanted to speak, but the arm pressing against her throat, increasing in pressure, made it impossible…

Forget speaking, she was about to report to the Abyss due to suffocation.

In the end, it was just the drunk Psycho failing to control her strength. The Magical Girl barrier didn’t seem to have a good defense against such soft, flexible attacks.

Klara struggled in the tub.

‘I’m going to die.’

**[She is indeed dying.]**

The drunkard Psycho didn’t notice at all.

She continued to herself, “Hmph, still won’t talk? Then I’ll tell you one more thing. I’ve already withdrawn from this operation. In theory, as long as you don’t take the initiative to provoke me, I won’t interfere in this matter again. I’m only staying here because I have no way to leave. So stay out of my business. I’ll stay here until the solar storm ends, understand? Otherwise, I’ll send you back to Central City right now…”

Klara’s body went limp. She passed out.

**[Klara?]**

—

‘Am I dead?’

Klara’s consciousness kept falling and sinking in a world of darkness.

She couldn’t feel Nyx’s presence or hear her voice.

Was this the process of heading to the Abyss?

‘Ha, I actually got squeezed to death by Psycho’s arm muscles. And she didn’t even do it on purpose… What a way to die.’

But just then, a distant call echoed in her empty ears.

“Klara, open your eyes! It’s me, Sista!”

‘Sista?’

Klara’s consciousness began to surface rapidly until a beam of light hit her pupils, stinging the nerves in her eyes.

“Phew, are you finally awake?”

Fran, who was performing first aid, breathed a sigh of relief. She continued, “Your little Moon Rabbit suddenly stopped moving. Then we received Nyx’s distress signal and coordinates. Sista flies fast, so she rushed over and brought you back…”

Sista added, “When I got there, I saw you lying unconscious on the bed in the spare guest room. The room was soaking wet, and there was a heavy smell of alcohol.”

“Where’s Psycho? Didn’t you see her?” Klara asked.

“Psycho? No, I didn’t see her.”

Mentioning that terrifying stalker made Sista’s expression turn sour. It was highly likely not that she “didn’t see her,” but that she “couldn’t see her.”

Fran asked, “Were you attacked by her?”

“No, rather than being attacked, I’d say I was outsmarted.”

‘Still, that woman didn’t kill me?’

This was an unexpected result. Psycho clearly hated her, yet she didn’t finish the job. Was it because she had truly withdrawn from the operation?

‘Are there internal conflicts within the Fourth Calamity?’

Klara was lying on a sofa in the hangar, being cared for by a white, soft medical robot. As for why she was in the hangar instead of an infirmary, it was because Fran Lifka had completely converted the infirmary into a personal laboratory.

‘Nyx, did you get “that”?’ Klara asked in her mind.

**[Judging by the data alone, I can’t be sure if it’s effective yet.]**

‘Right, I’ll have to test it on a Moon Rabbit later… But for today, I’ll rest!’

After thinking about it, she hadn’t eaten anything all day. Not only was she hungry, but she also needed plenty of sleep to recover from her mental exhaustion.

“Did everyone else go back to the resort?” Klara asked.

“Oh, they all went to eat,” Fran replied.

Aside from Sista, there were no members of the Sigma Heroes left in the hangar.

‘Is this considered being off the clock?’

“I’ve been the one running around all day, but those guys really have no sense of urgency. What would they do if they were attacked by a Moon Rabbit?”

Lucia answered Klara’s question. “We still have Miss Sista, don’t we?”

If Klara hadn’t woken up and the hangar was attacked by Moon Rabbits, Sista alone certainly wouldn’t have been able to protect everyone.

Fortunately, there were no “ifs,” and none of that happened.

“Well, I won’t think about that anymore!”

Klara climbed off the sofa and waved. “Come on, let’s eat first!”

**[You don’t have much of a sense of urgency either.]**