Chapter 14
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: How to Anger a Magical Girl
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I headed out to the city today as well, right on schedule, to collect negative emotions.
"Hetairoi, advance!"
"Kiiiiiik!"
Dozens of Hetairoi resembling small monkeys leaped about, screeching like fingernails on a chalkboard.
Every time their razor-sharp claws struck, a member of the Urban Defense Force had their throat torn out in an instant.
For the unlucky ones whose arms or legs were merely grazed, it meant a slow death from a poison no modern medicine could cure.
"Damn it! Here they come again. Fire!"
Tang tang tang tang tang tang!
As the Urban Defense Force opened fire in unison, the nimble monkey Hetairoi couldn't withstand the barrage and began collapsing.
A few tougher specimens endured some hits, but they were soon shattered by incoming anti-tank rounds.
And just like that, they were wiped out. All because of the Defense Force's firepower.
"Did we get 'em?"
"Shut your mouth! I told you not to jinx it..."
Kkieeeek!
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the monkeys charged again.
There were far more this time—easily over three hundred. The overwhelming numbers left the Defense Force speechless.
"I told you to send the tanks, you fucking idiots!"
Tang tang tang tang!
The Defense Force reformed their firing line, but the sheer numbers were too much.
A shot or two wasn't enough to stop the Hetairoi, and as the corpses piled up, they provided cover, making hits even harder.
In the end, the monkeys reached the defensive line. There was no way the Defense Force could win in close quarters—they were annihilated.
"Argh! You bastards! Where the hell is backup?!"
"Kkurararak, kkurururung!"
A gorilla-shaped Hetairoi the size of a building slowly extended its hand.
Suddenly, a shadow fell over them, and the Defense Force looked up at the sky.
Despair etched across their faces. Despite its massive bulk, it hadn't made a sound.
"Kkururung."
It was slow. But its hand was so enormous that the reach was vast, flattening the entire Defense Force squad like pancakes in one swipe.
That was the moment the hard-won blockade crumbled into nothing.
"Better than I expected. Worth staying up all night modifying it."
Enhanced strength and stealth, plus the ability to spawn minions from eggs on its back.
Very powerful. Strong enough to easily crush an amateur Mana Soldier.
'Still not enough to beat a Magical Girl, though.'
Back then... the Hetairoi that had pushed Magical Girls to the brink were made from far superior materials. Nothing to be done about it.
That said, I had prepared one weapon to catch them off guard...
"Perfect timing... here she comes."
A red figure racing toward me, flames wreathing her entire body.
Magical Girl Red. Does this woman have no brain at all? After all those insults, she's still charging in alone.
"Burning passion!"
Whoosh! A vortex of flames erupted, turning the monkeys to ash in seconds.
A few scattered in perfect formation, but the flames pursued like living things, incinerating every last one.
Overwhelming firepower, as always. And this was just her first transformation.
"Isiwoos! Instead of atoning for the lives you've taken, you're still committing these atrocities without a care? Are you prepared to pay the price?"
"Screw you guys... Gorilla! Crush her!"
At my command, the gorilla raised its hand high.
Still sluggish in its movements, but the range was insane.
"Hup!"
Bam! Red wrapped her foot in flames and kicked the gorilla's palm.
Incredibly, the massive hand was flung upward. And with a crunch, several fingers snapped.
'Losing in raw power.'
This thing could shove over an apartment building with one hand...
Who knew a Magical Girl's strength was this formidable.
"Kkururururung!"
The gorilla, enraged, lifted its leg. Boom! Instead of smashing Red directly, it pounded the ground nearby.
The earth shattered, carving a massive crater in the city center in an instant. Red was sucked into it and tumbled over.
"Ack!"
Then a fist came crashing straight down toward the fallen Red.
"You ugly bastard! Burning passion, envelop it!"
Roar! Blazing flames wrapped around the gorilla's entire body.
Like an anaconda, the fire constricted around its lower half.
"Kkurururung?!"
The gorilla tried to rip off the fiery whip scorching its body with intense heat, but it was pointless.
The flames exerted enough physical force to squeeze its body. But when it grabbed them, only its hands burned.
'Unreasonable torture magic. Who invents crap like that? What kind of Magical Girl is she?'
For a Magical Girl of justice, it was a brutally vicious attack method.
In any case, the gorilla was half-crippled. The flames kept raging, and half its upper body was already burned beyond use.
But the fight wasn't over.
"Huh? Why is it still moving?!"
I'd specially modified it so I could control it.
Its muscles had melted away, so it couldn't unleash full power. But its bones alone were enough to damage a Magical Girl.
I'd reinforced the skeleton's durability and weight to handle the load.
"Kkirururuk!"
Several monkeys burst from the ground, grabbing Red all at once.
She tried to pull her arm free, but the monkeys held her fast.
"Aaaah! To go down like this?!"
The gorilla's skeletal hand slammed down on Red.
If not for the sudden freezing magic that encased it.
"Red! I told you not to go ahead without me."
"Blue... Always showing up a step late but great at ruining things."
A bit disappointing. I wanted to test if even this Hetairoi could take down a Magical Girl.
Still, I'd achieved all my initial goals. Weekly quota filled, too.
Maybe taunt them a little more before leaving?
"Isiwoos! Pay for your crimes quietly!"
"You pay your age dues first, Blue! Thirty years old and still wearing a little girl's dress?"
"W-what?!"
Oh, got a reaction.
A Magical Girl's mana-charged negative emotions are my power source. Means Blue is worth poking.
"Thirty years old... If you had a kid at twenty, your daughter could be an active Magical Girl by now, right?"
"Why bring that up?!"
"Just pointing out your age is excessively high, Blue."
Blue lunged at me but froze in place. Like she'd been hit by her own power.
"Don't touch Blue sis's age, you rude jerk!"
"Red..."
"Sis is a bit older than us, sure... but she's still young! Young!"
"R-Red?"
"Women are like wine—they get more mature with age, y'know? Don't act like you know everything!"
"Red!"
Red, still in her twenties, tried to comfort her. But it didn't seem to help.
If anything, the consolation hit Blue even harder.
"Oh yeah? Great to be so old, huh."
"Urgh!"
"Shut up! You guys wouldn't get it, but sis is a fine woman at her age? High school girls hit on her on the street!"
"R-Red, stop... That's enough."
"Amazing! Even that old hag gets hit on."
"Hmph! You rookies just don't get Blue sis's charm. Right, sis?"
Red was hard to pin as ally or enemy.
Wasn't she backfiring?
Anyway, Blue's face twisted more at Red's words than mine.
"Never even dated once at that age and 'hit on' my ass."
"...You!!! Yoooou!!!"
She finally snapped.
Red flinched at the sudden yell and looked at Blue.
"Y-You! A man daring to spout such nonsense at a woman?!"
But Blue's rage was hilariously outdated. Straight to sexist insults at me.
Clearly had a complex about men.
"Because of you! I've reached this age without even getting married... You cocky bastard, I swear..."
"How's that my fault..."
"If you're not gonna take responsibility, shut up, shut up, SHUT UP! I'll throw you on the bed and fuck you like a dog..."
"Sis! What kind of vulgar talk is that..."
"You shut up too! Red! I'm fucking serious right now."
Magical Girls each have their own stress triggers. Green's is her looks, this one's age?
Might be good to poke at her age when targeting her later.
For now, time to rile her up more.
"Okay, okay. Calm down, Blue... I get how you feel. I went too far. You'll forgive me, right?"
"Ugh! You arrogant little shit, I oughta..."
"Just let me say one last thing."
I took a deep breath in and out.
Holding back laughter with all my might.
"Auntie."
I spat it out and bolted at top speed.
Whether because of me or Blue, the city's temperature reportedly dropped to -20°C that day.