The car headlights were blinding. Clara hurriedly shut her eyes and pressed a badge prop—one of those distributed by Okamoto Daruma—onto Ps·ycho’s chest.
Her figure blurred again, but this time, not like a mosaic.
“Hmph, at least you have a bit of a conscience.”
Even though Clara had seen everything, Ps·ycho’s face showed not a trace of embarrassment. She still gripped Clara and said, “Your ability is troublesome, but on the flip side… if I get rid of you here, the rest won’t be able to do anything to me, right?”
Ps·ycho raised her sharp claws.
Magical protection could only absorb so much damage. Focused at a single point, those razor-sharp talons could pierce it. She tried to stab a gaping hole in Clara’s throat.
Even a magical girl would die if her windpipe were cut.
But just then, out of the corner of her eye, Ps·ycho glimpsed a black-haired girl with blue highlights crawling out of the wardrobe. The girl aimed a strangely shaped white handgun right at her.
So, I had a rat in my room?
With this thought, Ps·ycho frowned. Fran had already pulled the trigger.
“Sweet dreams, Miss Pervert~”
Bang—
What shot out wasn’t a bullet, but a syringe the size of an ampoule.
Poison? Or anesthetic?
It didn’t matter.
…
Ps·ycho suddenly bent over, lowering her head. Her glowing purple horn deflected the syringe, and at the same time, a laser beam shot from her horn, aimed at Verdant Remnant, who’d tried to ambush her from behind…
This hero, known for his playboy persona, was a master of words, always quick with his tongue. He seemed fond of flirting, but at the sight of Ps·ycho’s bare back, he couldn’t move a muscle. Only now, obscured by the badge’s blur effect, did he dare charge forward—only to be struck by the laser the moment he leapt.
“I’ve been hit! I’m dying!”
With an exaggerated wail, Verdant Remnant was blasted to pieces by the laser.
“Ha, just kidding~”
But then, from the cloud of smoke, another Verdant Remnant burst forth, gripping a dagger in reverse, stabbing at the back of Ps·ycho’s neck.
Even for a cadre-level monster, getting your windpipe severed would mean death.
But Ps·ycho caught the blade single-handedly.
“Going straight for the vital spot—are you really trying to kill a lady?”
“Big sis, with your strength, does ‘lady’ even apply?”
Such was the strength of a top-tier evil organization’s cadre-level monster.
Next, Ps·ycho flung Clara toward Fran.
“Wah?!”
She’d used considerable force to break free of those tentacles. If Clara crashed into Fran like that, even if Clara was fine, Fran would be badly hurt.
To prevent this, she summoned her Squid Broom and used it to generate a force in the opposite direction. Though she still knocked over Fran in the end, neither of them was injured.
“Well then, shall we start round two?”
Having shaken off Clara, Ps·ycho dusted off her hands, the purple glow on her horns growing brighter.
Her stealth ability had been disrupted by Nyx. She seemed unable to use it for now. Since she was already exposed, Azure Cavalier no longer had a reason to keep the fallout shelter sealed.
He deactivated the electric grid and charged into the shelter alongside Crimson Star General.
“Surrender, and we’ll even let you put on some clothes.”
Azure Cavalier pressed the bridge of his helmet and shouted.
“Oh my, if I don’t surrender, are you going to keep me naked forever?”
At this moment, Ps·ycho’s entire body was blurry, as if she were behind frosted glass, but a hint of bare skin could still be seen, just like those shower doors in cheap hotels.
This haziness only made the scene more provocative.
Azure Cavalier didn’t answer her, only demanded, “Who are your accomplices? What exactly is your goal?”
“Where’s Lord Pure White Storm?” Ps·ycho shot back.
“…She’s still outside.” Blue.
The low ceiling of the fallout shelter wasn’t suitable for Pure White Storm, so Azure Cavalier had stationed her outside as lookout.
Of course.
If Pure White Storm were to go up against Ps·ycho, that would just be rewarding her.
“Not here? Then I’ve got nothing to worry about~”
Ps·ycho’s horns began to charge with energy.
Crimson Star General moved in to subdue her, but Ps·ycho deflected every move. The purple light on her horns grew even fiercer.
“Wait, she isn’t trying to self-destruct, is she?!”
Clara spoke, shielding Fran and Lucia behind her, although with her build…
If Ps·ycho really did blow herself up, she wouldn’t be able to block much of the damage.
With the appearance of the Divine Abyss, death now came with a price. An explosion in this sealed space would multiply the destructive force exponentially. If killing herself could take out four heroes, to someone as crazy as Ps·ycho…
Maybe it wasn’t so unthinkable?
That was Clara’s guess, but Ps·ycho herself denied it.
“Ha, as if~”
Twin beams erupted from her horns, blasting a hole in the floor.
With a contemptuous tone, she said, “Let’s not even talk about Lord Pure White Storm—you guys aren’t worth my life.”
“Tch! You planning to run?”
Crimson Star General barked, but the other woman just stood at the hole as if she were waiting for something.
Then, rustling sounds drifted up from the blasted hole.
Pew—
A fluffy white ball of something leapt out from the hole.
“Huh! A little rabbit?”
Lucia poked her head out from behind Clara, but Fran held her back, saying:
“…Don’t get close, that’s a Moon Rabbit.”
“Ah?!”
A lunar creature that shouldn’t have survived under the dome now stood there, perfectly fine…
Then, it stood up like a person.
The round furball stretched into a slender furry shape.
It opened its three-lobed rabbit lips, baring sharp teeth, and lunged at Verdant Remnant, who was closest to the hole. But mid-air, Azure Cavalier shot it to bits with his Gauss rifle.
Next—
Pew—
Pew—
Pew, pew, pew, pew—
One after another, more rabbits poured out of the hole, all turning their backs on Ps·ycho and staring at everyone with pairs of red eyes…
And then, they swarmed forward.
“Hmph, I didn’t bring that many this time, so you can have fun playing with them~”
Ps·ycho calmly picked up the computer and clothes from the table, turned, and leapt into the rabbit hole.
But no one had the time to chase her now. Even after she’d left, more and more rabbit balls kept crawling out of the hole.
“Tch, let’s get out first!”
In her usual style, Clara grabbed Lucia and Fran and ran for the exit.
The three Sigma brothers would naturally stay behind to cover their retreat. If they didn’t handle these rabbits here, the entire resort would be gnawed bare by these omnivorous creatures.
Before leaving, Fran warned, “Hey, you all be careful. Those things’ teeth can bite through your exoskeletons!”
Everyone had heard of these rabbits’ reputation. No one dared let their guard down.
In the fallout shelter, they couldn’t use weapons with too much firepower, but the trio’s combined arsenal was enough to keep the rabbits at bay. As long as they killed all the rabbits before they ran out of ammo and energy, they’d be fine.
According to Ps·ycho, the rabbits should be limited in number?
“So, the Fourth Calamity has bred Moon Rabbits that can survive on Earth, filling the gap where there were no Moon Rabbits before?”
Once out of the shelter, Fran stroked her chin and muttered.
“If these things get out, they could cause the end of the world.”
Lucia, who’d only just arrived on the moon, didn’t quite understand.
“Uh, no matter how ferocious, they’re just rabbits, right?”
“The worst thing about those rabbits isn’t their teeth, it’s their cockroach-like breeding rate. On the way here, you saw the Moon Rabbits eating sandworms, didn’t you?”
Clara remembered the massive tide of Moon Rabbits that swept in—if the solar storm hadn’t come early, the moon bus might have been eaten down to the frame by those rabbits.
“So, the Fourth Calamity’s plan, could it be…”
An act of sabotage against the resort run by ‘Nightmare’?
Corporate warfare?
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Who even made those things.