However, the witch’s assault on Clara was halted.
Two slender but sturdy steel cables wrapped around the witch’s scaled arm from behind, attempting to pull her backward.
The other end of the cables was held by Pure White Storm.
Injured badly, with his exoskeleton armor damaged and the winged thrusters weakened due to insufficient energy, he failed to successfully drag the witch away.
Fortunately, the witch’s strength wasn’t overwhelming, so her attempt to get closer to Clara was temporarily stopped.
Pure White Storm, still holding onto the witch, shouted toward Clara:
“Run!”
Without the Shadow Soldiers surrounding them, the ordinary bystanders had long since fled.
Clara naturally pushed Lucia forward, urging her to leave the half-ruined exhibition hall as quickly as possible…
Yet Pure White Storm kept yelling.
“Clara, you should leave too!”
“Huh?”
Is this… going to abandon the battlefield?
Running away wasn’t something Clara hadn’t considered. If she were still the squid-like monster, Squire, she probably would have retreated long ago.
But now, playing the hero, she couldn’t leave so easily.
Though they operated in the same industry, “monsters” and “heroes” were different.
This was the debut battle of Magical Girl Clara, and drones from Sky Media were still filming. Running away now would…
“Her goal is revenge, so all the more reason for you to leave! Go now!”
Pure White Storm rarely shouted so loudly. The witch, however, was unhurried at this moment, motionless despite being pulled, as if waiting for the right opportunity.
Clara hesitated briefly but then mounted her broom, picked up Lucia, and turned to leave.
While she restrained the witch, the other heroes nearby didn’t miss the chance. But wary of the witch’s elusive black needles, they simultaneously unleashed their own long-range attacks…
The witch did not move, standing firm to absorb all attacks. Even as her body was battered, broken, and distorted, as long as the core inside remained intact, these injuries were ineffective.
Then came the counterattack.
The witch smiled slyly, flicking out her serpent tongue. While the heroes braced for her retaliation, the next black needles appeared in the shadows of each hero.
At the same time, countless sharp needles protruded from the shadows on the battlefield.
“Damn it…”
Many heroes’ shadows were in their blind spots and couldn’t avoid this wide-ranging deadly attack. Even those who avoided fatal strikes were left unable to continue fighting.
This was the witch’s magic.
Pure White Storm fared slightly better due to his excellent reflexes. The black needles emerging from the shadows only grazed his waist armor, but still left a gruesome wound. He collapsed, too weak to move.
The witch had no interest in communication but was by no means without intelligence.
“…Clara.”
She glanced expressionlessly at the heroes on the ground, barely acknowledging them, merely chewing over a single name as she strode swiftly toward Clara’s retreating direction.
Clara slowly descended from her flying broom, removed her gas mask and glasses, then glanced back at the half-ruined exhibition hall.
Since it was already this damaged, continuing the “Radiant Hero Festival” was clearly impossible. Even the holding area outside the gates had been evacuated, and a police cordon was in place.
“Where are the reinforcements? The Hero Association’s efficiency is really terrible!”
Clara grumbled, but Lucia gently patted her head.
“Today, Senior Clara did your best~”
“Don’t treat me like a kid… The heroes on site probably can’t hold that thing back. We’ll need support from a S-class hero…”
Clara didn’t believe the heroes present could take down the witch.
Monsters from the Dark Domain had near-immortal regeneration. As long as the core inside remained intact, they could resurrect infinitely.
Born from the fusion of numerous Shadow Soldiers, the witch could easily pierce even the heavy steel plates of a mech. None of the heroes present could likely withstand her attacks.
“Don’t be so pessimistic, Clara.”
Fran tried to reassure her. “Even if it’s not an S-class hero, there’s a way to defeat her.”
“…Really?” Clara asked skeptically.
“Though her regeneration is powerful, she has obvious weaknesses too. According to the data Nyx sent over, you just need to destroy two of her cores simultaneously.”
“That sounds too easy…”
Clara muttered in disbelief.
“You don’t mean to say you want me to pierce her core with a finisher attack directly, right?”
“Finding the right angle shouldn’t be hard. You’ve got high-performance AI assistance. Your spells should be more precise than an ordinary magical girl’s~”
“Yes.” Nyx echoed this in Clara’s mind.
Fran saw this as a chance to cement the “Dream Witch” brand, Nyx was eager for Clara to become a hero, and Lucia simply wanted to see Clara shine…
Clara felt like she was being roasted alive by their expectations.
“You make it sound so simple. It’s not like there’s some perfect angle! She’s human-sized and agile, and my ultimate needs charging—if I miss, I’m the one who’ll die!”
Nyx fulfilled her role and continued strategizing.
“If that’s the case, how about firing multiple beams simultaneously? Execute a scalpel-style plan?”
“Multiple beams?”
“Use your touch… Watch out, Clara!”
Nyx suddenly changed her tone, but could only speak in Clara’s mind.
Lucia reacted more directly, throwing herself onto Clara.
But her back was slashed by the high-speed black needles, carving a diagonal wound that looked like a chunk of flesh had been ripped off…
Blood stained her clothes.
And stained Clara’s hands as well.
“Lu-Lucia?”
Realizing what had happened, Clara fell into panic and guilt.
“Senior Clara, are you okay?”
The wound was gruesome, but Lucia could still speak, so she was likely not in immediate danger.
“Don’t talk, just stay still.”
Clara swallowed hard, controlling her emotions, and gently patted Lucia’s head.
“I’m sorry. From now on… I will protect you.”
This sudden turn of events ignited her mind.
But her thoughts grew clearer.
The heroes inside the exhibition hall were all defeated.
They lasted less time than expected, and even Pure White Storm had met misfortune…
This witch was absurdly powerful, and by comparison, Clara was very weak.
Clara had always known she was the weaker one, but even the weak had their limits. When those limits were trampled on, they could unleash anger beyond fear.
“Nyx, what was that plan you mentioned earlier?”
Clara’s Ink-Stained Staff returned to its original form from broom mode as she steadied herself with it.
The failed witch slowly walked out of the exhibition hall, expressionless, locking eyes with Clara.
“Just blew up your wormhole device, huh? You sure hold grudges…”
Clara knew there was no one else left to help her.
She glared fiercely at the witch who had harmed her loved ones and put her gas mask back on.
“But I hold grudges too.”
Confirmed, releasing this Saturday…
Counting chapters, it’s right at the end of Volume One?