Let There Be Light!
"Light!!!!!"
"What the fuck? Where's my hostage?"
"It's me."
I wanted to watch her fight up close, but I couldn't accept the idea that she wasn't going all out just because of some hostage. So I warped the captured kid to the shelter.
I felt pretty strong resistance when I warped him—must be what they call magic resistance. If it had been about a month ago, I might not have been able to pull it off.
Anyway, that was that, and I still had work to do.
"Who are you!?"
In response to the kaijin's bewildered shout, I answered.
"I'm the magical girl Pronesis."
"Huh!? Pronesis-nim?!?!?!"
This time, a reaction came from the other side.
Lumina Betaris.
I turned to check her out. Her amber eyes were wide as saucers, and her body was trembling like crazy with tension.
"…?"
Was she hurt or something?
"Y-y-you…!"
"Lumina Betaris won't drop that easily."
I stood on tiptoes and pressed down hard on her shoulder to calm her, but it backfired spectacularly.
"Eek, eek, eekekek!!!! Pronesis-nim touched my shoulder…!!!!"
The trembling traveling through her shoulder into my hand felt even worse than before.
Right then.
"Opening!"
Spotting us chatting as our blind spot, the kaijin charged straight at us. I was about to warp-dodge the rapidly closing distance when—
—Clang!
Sword met gauntlet, sparks flying in a brilliant burst. In that split-second clash, the sword came out on top.
"Guh!"
The impact must've been worse than expected—the kaijin dropped to a knee, groaning.
Definitely B-rank magical girl material.
"How dare you try to harm Pronesis-nim's divine form!?"
?
"Pronesis-nim!!! I'll take this guy down right now!!!"
"Do you need any help…?"
"Nooooo!!!!!!!!! I can handle it myself!!!!"
Hmm.
She could definitely handle it no problem. No point in me butting in, so I warped up to the school rooftop to watch the fight.
Wish I had some popcorn at home…
Ah, I'd already eaten it all.
"Tch."
In the end, I watched with an empty mouth.
"Heehee…."
She was trying to hide it, but her face lit up with obvious excitement. Still, her swings at the kaijin were brutally vicious—total opposite of her grin.
—!
Without the hostage holding her back, she was attacking way more aggressively now.
'Never seen a magical girl like this around here—who is she?'
That's when Sofia asked about Lumina Betaris.
"She's Lumina Betaris. Used to handle some rural area."
I could guess why she'd come here, but at least it meant more magical girls I could spectate. Good news.
'You sure it's okay not to jump in?'
So much worrying.
"It's fine."
A B-rank magical girl against a hostage-free C-rank kaijin? No contest.
Ah, looks like she's getting serious now.
"You bastard, Lumina Betaris!!!!!"
The kaijin, taking her fierce barrage, yelled her name in a heated voice. But
"Heehee…."
She just kept grinning goofily while unleashing hell on him.
Not liking that one bit, the mask that passed for his face twisted grotesquely.
So that's his actual face, not a mask.
At that moment, I sensed magic gathering in his fist.
Looks like he's planning something.
"Hm?"
She noticed it too, dropping her grin and sharpening her assault. But at the same time, the kaijin swung his fist at her, not caring if it wrecked his own body.
It was such a straight-line attack that she dodged it effortlessly.
"…? Weren't you about to—"
────────!!!!!!
A massive boom hit, and I clamped my hands over my ears on reflex.
Riiiing—
Even through the ringing tinnitus, I peered back at the scene. Every window in the school had shattered, birds plummeting from the sky to huddle trembling on the ground.
But oddly, the site itself showed no major damage.
"Ugh… What the hell was that attack…?"
She clutched her ears, demanding answers from the kaijin. But
"You think a third-rate villain like me spills his tricks!?"
Weird. In manga and cartoons, they always blab about their powers and weaknesses.
"Close, but no cigar…."
"Hahaha! How was the might of my—"
—Slash!
"Gaaah!!!!!"
Seizing the opening mid-monologue, she charged and slashed horizontally across his body. Blood sprayed from the deep gash.
"Y-you witch! Interrupting me while I'm talking!?"
It would've been fatal for a human, but the kaijin raged on like it was nothing.
"Huh? But there's no rule saying I can't attack while you're talking, right?"
"Basic manners say you don't interrupt people! What did your parents teach you!?"
"I don't have parents?"
"Oh."
Oops.
Even the kaijin hadn't seen that pad lip coming.
"Anyway! While I'm talking—"
—!
"Hah!?"
Another slash—he barely dodged.
"You bastard!!!"
Finally snapping, the kaijin got back into fighting stance, magic surging in both fists like he meant business this time. He swung.
───!!!
───!!!
Each punch boomed like thunder. Smaller than before, but still loud as hell.
Just as I was getting a read on his power.
"Oh, you're a sound attacker, huh?"
"What!?"
She nailed it right away. His reaction confirmed it, so she smirked confidently and ramped up the pressure.
"Guh…."
He was getting steamrolled, no chance to gather magic. But
"Hmm…."
That was it. The wound from earlier was already regenerating, new flesh bubbling up. Grotesque sight, but she didn't even blink.
"Was gonna wrap this up easy, but you're more annoying than I thought."
Figuring it wasn't ending quick, she started gathering her own magic.
Sensing it, the kaijin sounded thrilled.
"Finally using your magic, magical girl!"
To a magical girl, magic is their identity. Without it, they're just a girl. He'd been fighting a "girl" until now, so he was pumped. But
"W-wait… That magic output…."
He didn't know one key fact.
She was a B-rank magical girl.
A C-rank kaijin facing a B-rank? Like pitting a pro fighter against an amateur.
"Lately kaijin and magic beasts have been popping up everywhere, so I was trying to conserve magic…."
"Damn you!"
Terror twisting his face, he swung wildly.
───!!!
───!!!
Whooshes with every punch, but she slipped them all while building magic in her hand.
"What the hell, magical girl! What's with that mana level!?"
A tiny light sparked in her palm, swelling into a miniature sun.
Then she cried out.
"Light!!!!!!"
Unique Magic: Light.
Brighter than the sun, it allowed no shadows, blanketing the world in pure white.
Good thing I'd put on sunglasses ahead of time.
Almost went blind there.
The world faded back to normal. The kaijin's torso now sported a massive hole, surrounding flesh charred like it'd touched molten metal.
"C-cough…."
And wouldn't you know, regeneration kicked in almost immediately.
Pretty tough for a C-rank. Measurement error?
That'd be a serious issue. But anyway, just finish him quick—
"Ugh! Regenerating again…? I'm out of mana now…."
Ah.
She'd collapsed, mana exhaustion hitting hard. Her "Light" was flashy and romantic, but always left her drained like this.
"Hey! Where're you—"
Seizing the gap, the kaijin bolted for the building interior.
Time for me to step in.
I stood to warp-block him—
───!!!!
A window-shattering whoosh, and a spear speared clean through the kaijin. His body dissolved into light, dead on the spot.
"Who the…."
"What kinda mess is a B-rank magical girl making?"
"Ehehe… Sorry…."
English Lavender, the magical girl.
Third time seeing her now.
"Phew…."
Luck was on my side today. Not just the hard-to-spot Lumina Betaris from out of town, but English Lavender too.
"…And you."
She glanced my way, giving me a weird look.
"Come down here."
…? What was this about?
I dropped down to the field as told, and immediately felt something familiar.
A chill prickling all my senses—
"Mind if I pet your head?"