I lowered my head as far as I could.
Blossom lowered the trajectory of her punch midway, but she couldn’t hit me as I slid along the ground, my stomach almost scraping the floor.
I wished I could just keep sliding, but the friction of the floor was too strong.
The distance was too far, and I couldn’t leave my back exposed for too long, with Blossom being the problem.
I felt a chill on the back of my neck and immediately rolled to the side.
A sword blade slammed into the spot where my head had been moments ago.
Blossom had leaped into the air and struck downward.
Hayoon’s body wasn’t that heavy, but Blossom’s magic was something else entirely.
Crack.
I felt a chill when I saw the magical sword’s blade effortlessly carving a hole into the marble where my face had been moments ago.
I stood up.
Stretching the blade in my left hand as far as possible, I swung it at Blossom.
Clang!
But that attack was blocked far too easily.
71 percent.
The circuits were running wildly.
My left wrist was slightly warm, but there was no sign of it about to explode yet.
Hayoon was glaring at me.
Despite being a magical girl, she still had the same face I saw every day, only her hairstyle and outfit had changed.
She was the same Hayoon I knew.
And there she was, glaring at me while swinging her sword.
…Really, I’m such a strange person.
I feel this jealousy, this desire to win, but at the same time, I couldn’t bring myself to attack with the intent to kill at someone I’ve known for so long, someone whose face I’ve seen countless times.
Would Hayoon feel the same if she saw my face?
I leaned my upper body backward, dodging Blossom’s sword as it passed by my abdomen, then I drew my left hand down and thrust my blade upward.
Blossom also stepped back and avoided my sword.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of the circuit.
A black substance was rising from it like steam.
It seemed to be that same unsettling material from last time.
Thud thud thud.
“Ugh!”
A beam of light shot from the side, striking my body.
The beams weren’t as thick as those from a bolt-action rifle, but for some reason, the pain seemed almost proportional.
Was it compressed somehow?
As I saw it hit me, Blossom’s eyes widened slightly in disbelief.
Could it be that each shot was a warp bullet?
Looking over there, I saw that the number of combatants had greatly decreased.
Since they had to fight so many opponents, it seemed they had chosen to simply send one of them away with each shot.
By reducing the total number of opponents, it made things much easier to fight.
Of course, the company knew this, so they had prepared other squads.
The former leader of our team was already running towards us from behind a pillar.
Seeing that I hadn’t disappeared after being hit by the warp bullets, it meant this suit could somehow block them.
But the result of that defense was the immense pain I was feeling.
The principle was unclear, but it was useful.
I activated a shield.
Every time the white beams came toward me, they either bounced off or fractured.
It looked as though a thick spherical glass dome was forming around me.
“You… just what are you—”
Blossom asked, but by then, I was already charging toward Iris.
Iris was glaring at me. She looked like she was gritting her teeth.
I consumed one of the batteries mounted on my left wrist circuit.
Boom!
As I stopped in place, I thrust my left arm forward and released its energy.
Maybe the battery’s capacity had increased—because the blast that shot toward Iris was much larger than before.
“That’s it.”
“Ahh!”
Iris screamed.
Before Iris screamed, I noticed something odd.
Her body flinched slightly.
Iris would never have done that under normal circumstances.
Ah, I see now.
During the last battle, I had headbutted Iris with all my strength.
My head was protected by a helmet, but Iris wasn’t.
It’s common for a boxer, known for attacking relentlessly, to completely lose their composure after being defeated just once.
I had heard that when someone who’s never experienced pain before suddenly feels it, they aren’t prepared for it.
I don’t know if that’s really true, but it certainly seemed to apply to Iris in that moment.
As soon as I released the energy from the battery, I didn’t even get a chance to see Iris’ face before I was knocked backward by the recoil.
My butt and back were a little sore, but I was able to roll with it and minimize the impact.
My head didn’t hit the ground too hard, so I was able to keep my wits about me.
Blossom, who was right behind me, tried to bring her sword down on me again, but I wasn’t about to fall for the same trick twice.
I slid to the side, then grabbed Blossom’s ankle as she slightly touched the ground.
Clang!
Blossom didn’t miss the opportunity—she yanked her sword, which was embedded in the ground, toward me and slashed my arm.
“Ugh!”
I couldn’t hold back a groan.
But I saw the sparks fly as Blossom’s sword struck my suit.
It bounced off and was deflected.
73 percent.
I yanked on Blossom’s ankle with all my strength.
The battery was already burned out, and I hadn’t had a chance to replace it, so I didn’t have much power to release at once.
But it was still enough to pull
Blossom off balance.
Her body swayed.
Taking advantage of the momentum, I grabbed her leg with my right hand and pulled her down, successfully toppling her.
Thud!
Beams of light struck my right shoulder, abdomen, waist, thigh, and foot.
The one that hit the tip of my toe was especially painful. My toenail was probably broken.
…I’ll remember this, Iris.
I’ll make sure you feel the same pain.
But for some reason, perhaps because of the adrenaline rushing through me, I ignored the pain and managed to crawl on top of Blossom.
I gripped tightly around her waist.
Despite Blossom’s knee digging into my back, the range of motion in human joints has limits, and this wasn’t as painful as Iris’ beams.
Clang!
The battery flew out.
But I didn’t have time to insert the next one.
Even though I had her pinned, Blossom wasn’t staying still.
The sword passed by where my face had been.
Her blade wasn’t meant to cut people—but that just meant it cut through everything else instead.
No matter what armor you wear, the sword would cut through the armor and strike the body directly.
Even if you try to hide or cover up, when the enemy hits, it’s as though you’re being struck with a blunt instrument.
The impact can be adjusted, but it’s still dangerous.
As Blossom swung her sword again, I quickly grabbed it with my hand.
Clang!
I heard the sound of metal clashing.
76 percent.
A sharp, tingling pain shot up my right hand, but since I had stopped the blade before it could fully gain momentum, it didn’t seem broken.
A sinister, crackling sound of sparking energy filled the air as my hand burned with searing heat.
I gritted my teeth and held on, then raised my fist.
Hayoon’s face came into my line of sight.
She wasn’t even flustered.
She just stared at me with unwavering determination.
How could Hayoon make a face like that?
Getting hit must hurt.
No matter how much she struggled, people often wouldn’t recognize her efforts.
In the Galactic Federation, magical girls are often treated like tools to be used and discarded.
She probably knows that.
Even if they claim to be growing with the energy of hope, she probably understands better than anyone that the only ones suffering are themselves.
And yet, Hayoon—
That thought crossed my mind in an instant.
But Hayoon didn’t hesitate.
Just like always, she acted according to her beliefs.
Wham!
My helmet shook violently.
Thankfully, it didn’t crack or break.
The mysterious black energy seemed to cushion the impact.
But there was no escaping the fact that my head was spinning.
For a moment, my vision blurred, and my balance faltered.
Hayoon grabbed me by the collar and rolled me to the side.
I struggled and quickly retreated.
Fortunately, I wasn’t crushed under her.
Boom!
Just as I managed to pull away, an explosion went off right next to me.
It was Dahlia.
The magical energy ball Dahlia had prepared earlier shot out and exploded.
I was sent flying to the side, skidding across the ground.
When I managed to get back on my feet and looked up, I saw that most of the magical girls were looking directly at me.
While Blossom and I were fighting, many of the combatants had fallen.
There were still a significant number left, and reinforcements continued to arrive.
But somehow, I had the feeling that, in the end, time was on their side.
The Hope Circuit… I have to admit, its efficiency is impressive.
80 percent.
This circuit is still only at this level.