I don’t exactly know how the hope circuit works.
“There is a circuit that operates on hope,” and “its development efficiency is overwhelmingly higher than circuits that use despair.”
Those were the only two things I knew.
I had read the webtoon, but the settings weren’t detailed.
Instead, it mostly focused on power struggles between government agencies or companies.
Moreover, it wasn’t that there were many detailed settings; it was more of a gag comic with subtle black comedy woven into the daily lives of magical girls.
When it was being serialized appropriately on the blog, I could just watch it and laugh, but after it was officially serialized and the run lengthened—consuming content equivalent to several dozen blog chapters—it became more serious and the genre shifted.
So, that’s what it is.
I know quite a few settings in my own way, but since coming here, I’ve actually learned more.
Because of that, I don’t know why Hayoon’s staff suddenly ignited.
I only knew that it had become a great help to Hayoon.
The creature, as if it would never give up, swung its arms toward the magical girls.
It seemed even more violent than when it took hostages.
Perhaps because there was nothing to worry about each other.
Its white left arm sliced through the air as it surged toward Hayoon.
While I planted my foot on the ground to slow down, the attack had already reached Hayoon.
To be precise, it hit Hayoon’s ‘staff.’
So far, the creature, which had been emitting sounds somewhat like a human voice, this time made a sound that didn’t even resemble a human voice.
A white flesh mass flew toward the sky.
It was in the shape of a claw.
More precisely, it looked like the inside of a claw would appear if there was flesh there.
It’s terrifying when you see it in person.
It wasn’t Hayoon in her best condition.
I couldn’t see her usual appearance when she was opposing me.
But that pink sword was a sword that literally slashed everything.
The power that I could barely muster by jumping high and forcefully slamming down, Hayoon could produce with a single swing of her staff.
Whack!
Then, the end part of the charging armor was cut off.
The tip of the strongest claw on its right arm flew off before it could reach Hayoon’s body.
When I was young, I saw movies filled with people wielding lightsabers, and it felt like watching those battle scenes.
A pink lightsaber swung around swiftly, protecting Hayoon’s body.
At first glance, it looked like she was swinging it rapidly, but upon closer inspection, she was just slicing minimally to block the enemy’s accelerated attacks before they could hit her body.
After all, these magical girls would restrain the enemy’s movements even if it meant breaking their limbs, but they didn’t kill them.
“You bastards…………!”
The creature shouted like that and flattened its body onto the ground.
Then it lifted its tail armor high upwards.
The end of that armor was sharp.
Perhaps the reason it hadn’t been used until now was because it had two claws.
Well, using the tail required turning its body.
It didn’t seem very flexible.
Crack.
But before it could swing its tail toward Hayoon’s neck, the tail’s armor was ridiculously broken.
“Eeeek!?”
The creature tried to shout and thrash around, but the hammer was pressing down on its tail, making it impossible to move properly.
Although it was broken, the flesh inside was not severed yet.
The hammer pressing down as if it had rocket thrusters attached to its back made it unable to escape or flee unless it tore the flesh apart.
Bang! Bang!
The creature tried to turn toward the back but staggered after being hit by a bullet flying from the side.
Even if it tried to look the other way—
Bark!
Its face just hit the magic-enhanced gauntlet.
From the sky, Dallia’s magic fell like hailstones.
Its body descended slightly under the heavy impact.
“Uuuhhhh!”
But soon, as if to overcome all of that, the creature mustered all its strength.
“Ugh!?”
The hammer that was pressing down wobbled.
Whether it was squeezing out its last strength or reawakening, the body under the armor quivered as if it were about to shed its skin.
But—
“Ugh!?”
“Flee quickly! What are you doing? Are you planning to die together!?”
A massive lump of magical power was flying toward us, as much as James clinging to my shoulder had shouted.
It was Delphinium’s magic.
Knowing the pain it causes when hit by that magic, my knees weakened.
I forcibly twisted my upper body to change the direction of the hammer.
As soon as the hammer rolled to the side, my body was also turned sideways, pushed by the energy being released outward from the generator.
I spun like a top, about four wheels.
Or maybe it’s better to call it a centrifuge.
The energy source was immense, so that might be more accurate.
But thanks to that, I was able to escape.
Planting my foot on the ground again to stop, I looked toward the creature with the hammer’s head pointing downward.
Is that thing not going to die?
Have I survived getting hit by something like that until now?
It’s a moment, but I realize how amazing human vitality is.
Or maybe, even if it looks like that, it might be a controlled magic in its own way.
The surroundings were burning white.
The creature appeared black within it.
It danced and burned within the white magic.
And in an instant, that light disappeared.
As if it had never existed in the world from the start.
The creature stood still for a very brief moment.
The white flesh part was no longer there.
The creature took a step forward,
Then it collapsed.
Thud, the sound was considerably louder than expected.
It must have been because the surroundings were so quiet.
I quickly turned my head to look for people.
“Jieun!”
I heard someone calling me.
Ji-hye was far away.
It seemed like she was trying to run toward me, but the police standing beside her were stopping her.
Perhaps to consider the girl Ji-hye, the people they had caught from both sides were female officers.
There was a sound like something hot metal entering cold water.
And there was a slight smell of burning.
When I looked over, there was smoke coming from the hammer.
My heart sank for a moment. I thought maybe the internal circuits had burned because of the smoke and smell.
But before I could worry any more seriously,
Clink.
With such a sound, the previously open back part of the hammer closed step by step.
The extremely delicately and precisely crafted metal pieces interlocked, leaving no trace that it had been opened.
Perhaps because seeing Ji-hye safe calmed my mind.
I looked up again and glanced toward Ji-hye.
Our eyes met.
Ji-hye, who had been waving her hand and shouting towards me, slightly flinched when our eyes actually met.
I looked down at my body.
There were scorch marks everywhere.
It was natural, having fiercely swung a hammer that was heated and even equipped with a thruster at the back.
There was a bit of blood flowing, and more importantly, thick bodily fluids of a dark, reddish-brown color were smeared all over.
The sight was, to say the least, horrifying.
No, it wasn’t just the appearance that was the problem.
I was…
Ah, I see.
In front of Ji-hye, I had broken someone’s arm completely.
Now that I think about it, there were traces of that on Ji-hye’s body as well.
And then…
What if Ji-hye thinks that she was taken hostage because of me?
What if she believes that I caused her to be taken as a hostage?
The creature wasn’t in a condition to speak properly, but just by looking at the situation, it was easy to misunderstand.
Am I overthinking it?
Yes, I’m definitely overthinking it.
Even if I try to talk a little now—
But as I took a step toward her,
Bang!
Along with that sound, my left shoulder was pushed back.
“Wham!?”
A sound like that escaped from James’ mouth.
I had defeated the creature.
I hadn’t defeated the creature solely with Hayoon’s power.
In fact, that was a good thing because I had combined forces with the other kids and Jieun.
Moreover, Jieun even helped me when she was being attacked by the creature.
At least that meant she didn’t hold any strong negative feelings towards me,
Did she?
In the final moment, hope surged.
Perhaps thanks to that.
“…Ah.”
Only after defeating everything did Iris open her eyes wide and look down at her circuit.
Though it was very faint hope, it was enough to restore some of Hayoon’s energy.
And with just that “somewhat,” the circuit’s energy was full and could provide power to the surrounding magical girls.
“That was dangerous,”
Delphinium said with a slightly pale expression.
“It almost got out of control.”
“……”
“Did too much magic come in the middle?”
When Hayoon asked, Delphinium nodded.
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