Chapter 5
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: The Villain's Way of Fighting (1)
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Magical Girls are fundamentally beings that transcend humanity.
Even without undergoing Transformation, they can crumple steel rebar with their bare hands and possess leg strength capable of leaping dozens of meters in a single bound.
These abilities are enhanced dozens of times upon Transformation, and they gain access to the mystical powers bestowed by the Fairy Queen.
Magical Girls who have amassed a certain level of power can undergo an additional transformation, known as Second Transformation.
Currently, only Red, Blue, and Pink are capable of Second Transformation.
The cold dawn air brushed past my body.
The temperature was quite low, so white puffs of breath billowed from my mouth.
It felt like I'd become a human kettle.
"Let's go."
From the top of a skyscraper, I plummeted straight down without any safety gear.
If I kept falling like this, I'd splatter like a tomato. But that wouldn't happen.
"Drop."
A light transformation activation phrase.
A fact many people overlooked: the Empire could transform just like Magical Girls.
Shrrrr! Pure white trump cards swirled around my falling body, enveloping it in a sphere.
Breaking free from the white orb, my form emerged clad in a white cape and tailcoat.
A pure white mask covered my face, concealing my identity even from those who knew me well.
Kuuuung! As the transformation completed, the sound of an explosion echoed from somewhere nearby.
'My friend must have already gotten started.'
I made that judgment and rushed toward the scene of the commotion.
Moving at superhuman speed toward the source of the noise, sure enough, a fierce battle was already underway.
"Urgh! Hold out until the Magical Girls arrive!"
The Urban Defense Force had deployed ahead of time, heavily armed with powerful assault rifles and mortars.
They wore white combat suits made from advanced materials, with armor thick enough to easily deflect 5.56mm bullets.
"Grroooarrr!"
A massive, disheveled-haired monster gripping a giant kitchen knife swung its enormous hand with brutal force.
The car it struck crumpled instantly, reduced to a shapeless heap of scrap metal.
An unlucky Defense Force soldier standing nearby was struck by flying debris, his body torn into chunks of flesh.
"Argh!"
"D-Damn it! Why won't it go down?!"
Bang-bang-bang-bang! A barrage of rifle fire that could pierce steel plates hammered into the monster's flesh, followed by a direct mortar hit.
But such resistance was futile. A Hetairoi wouldn't suffer so much as a scratch from weapons like that.
"Groooarrr!"
The knife-wielding Hetairoi endured the onslaught and swung its blade.
Every swing felled three Defense Force members. Their thick armor could shrug off bullets, but it was powerless against that overwhelming strength.
After about five swings, the front line collapsed completely.
"Front line broken! Fall back!"
"If we retreat now, the shelters will be in danger!"
"Damn it! When do we get heavy weapons clearance?!"
"Shut up and fire!"
Chaos reigned.
These were probably conscripts pressed into service after the Empire's fall.
They'd never faced a Hetairoi before—only seen them in books or videos.
It was only natural for them to panic. Humans always fear the unfamiliar.
And those raw, primal emotions fueled me.
'If things keep going like this, His Majesty's revival won't be far off.'
Human emotions are power.
Inferior humanity relies on fossil fuels for energy, but the Richters Empire can convert even base emotions into Maki.
The fear, anger, and sorrow they felt piled up, flowing toward His Majesty, who slumbered in stasis.
"But now it's about time..."
Kwaang! In that instant, the massive Hetairoi was sent flying backward.
It was a creature mortars and rifles could barely slow, yet it was neutralized in a single blow—an astonishing feat.
"A Hetairoi... still lingering! So the Empire's remnants really are out there."
Footsteps echoed through the thick dust.
I easily identified the owner of those steps.
The Empire's archenemy. My mortal foe. And the one I'd soon entwine myself with.
A Magical Girl.
"That means you're alive too, Madness Isiwoos!"
Whoosh! Searing flames erupted. A pillar of fire as tall as a two-story apartment slammed into where I'd been standing.
I dodged the attack effortlessly and looked at the one who'd so rudely struck first.
"Red..."
Red hair, red dress.
The outfit looked a bit childish. Did someone her age really want to wear that?
Of course, I knew the design was set when they were much younger.
Still... wasn't it a bit pathetic for women in their mid-to-late twenties now?
"Still alive, huh, Red."
"I remember shoving you into hell that day."
"Hellfire was milder than your flames. So I crawled out."
Red spread her hand, flames igniting at her fingertips.
"It's not fire, Isiwoos."
Fwoom! A bursting wave of flame sent my body tumbling across the ground.
Thankfully, in transformed state, the damage wasn't severe.
"It's the Power of Passion."
"Bullshit! That's fire!"
Red's power stemmed from passion.
Among the seven virtues every Magical Girl must embody, the mightiest—passion—manifested the user's heart.
This crazy redhead was so passionately intense, she could forge an eternally burning hell.
"Eternal passion, blaze forever!"
Whoosh! Flames surged from unpredictable directions.
Left, then right, then suddenly from behind.
"Tch."
Still an annoying ability.
The flames moved like living things, and I barely evaded them.
'That last one would've finished me if it hit. Damn!'
She had no intention of going easy. Fine, then. I'd hit back hard.
"I was just going to say hello, but if you're treating me like this, I have no choice."
I drew a card hidden in my sleeve. The Ace of Spades.
The suit and number meant nothing. I just hurled it with all my strength.
"Urk!?"
The card embedded in the back of Red's hand as she unleashed her flames.
The incoming fire that would've scorched my flesh and bone fizzled out, creating an opening for my counterattack.
"Looks like you left the other six behind. I'll make you regret that arrogance."
Shrrrr! A flurry of trump cards flew at Red all at once.
She deflected them with her staff and flames, summoning a pillar of fire beneath my feet.
But I wouldn't take such sluggish attacks lying down.
"Card Dissolution."
"When did you learn a trick like that?!"
Shrak! My body disintegrated into scattering trump cards in an instant, reforming behind Red.
She whipped around for a counter, but it was too late.
"Scatter Shot."
Fwoom! The clustered cards pierced Red's abdomen effortlessly.
Her entrails spilled from the hole, and she clutched her gut, collapsing to her knees.
"Not even using Second Transformation, challenging me alone out of all seven."
Piiiing! The fatal wound beyond repair shattered her transformation.
Magical Girls can't die while transformed. They simply revert.
Her abdomen healed as the transformation broke, but unable to transform again for a while, Red was effectively helpless.
"What strategy did you all come up with while I was gone, Red?"
In her current state, killing her would be trivial.
Just jam a trump card between those pain-twisted brows.
"Urgh!"
"It wouldn't even take a second to kill you now. You know that, right?"
"You're going to... kill me?"
"No. I won't kill you."
But I wouldn't do that...
It would be far too simple an end compared to the suffering I'd endured.
They needed to hurt more. The Magical Girls who took everything from me... would savor profound agony at my hands.
"Red!"
As I leaned leisurely against the wall, savoring Red's face contorted in pain and humiliation,
a shrill voice echoed from afar.
'Ah, damn. Why'd she have to be the first one here?'
This was Green, who'd tormented me plenty yesterday.
Not even Yellow, but Green first? Did she take a car or something?
Either way, Green's arrival meant the rest would show up soon.
"Magical Girls have really gone past their prime."
"Isiwoos! Since when did you get this strong?! What cowardly trick did you pull, damn it?!"
What a ridiculous question.
Magical Girls wielding Mana should always outclass me, who uses Maki.
Even kids averaging twelve or thirteen had thrashed me thoroughly thanks to Mana's overwhelming growth potential.
Yet this woman, with all that power, slacked off and lost to me.
'If she'd just used Second Transformation, she wouldn't have gotten wrecked like this.'
Meanwhile, after my defeat, I'd trained relentlessly, over and over.
I'd prepared countless counters for Red's Second Transformation... but this proved they were unnecessary.
"Isiwoos! But no matter how strong you've gotten, the Empire can't revive, and you know it!"
"Can't revive? When His Majesty returns, the Empire will rise again."
I brushed off Red's shout and finally faced the newly arrived Magical Girls.
They hadn't changed.
Still clinging to the power from fifteen years ago.
"You've finally arrived, foolish Magical Girls."
Kwak! I crushed Red's head underfoot and boldly proclaimed to the latecomers.
It was time for ten years of effort to bear fruit.
"The Richters Empire now reclaims its throne."
The Empire's revival had begun.