The Water Queen's Stage

The wind didn't feel right.

Even as the alley gusts swept through the gaps between the high-rises, the clammy humidity clinging to them made it feel as though the wind itself were licking across her entire body — a thoroughly unpleasant sensation.

"Mom, I've got a bad feeling."

"Yeah."

I set Kabe down and left her with the Mains for a moment. According to the map, Sohee was in the thick of a fight with Prilly, and Dusick was likewise locked in combat with Evangeline. Sohee's stamina had looked ready to bottom out, then suddenly recovered — that had given me a start. I'd have to ask her about that later. Dusick's stamina, on the other hand, was almost completely intact.

In that case, the best move would be to take Aquamarine down fast, link up with Sohee, and then support Dusick.

I ordered the Mains — and Kabe along with them — to conceal themselves in the undergrowth, then summoned Bespredel.

"Mm. This rich fragrance of the battlefield... I feel as though my chamber might burst."

"Don't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠say weird shit. Load up."

"I am already loaded. You need only pull the trigger whenever you wish."

The dark magic flowing from the glove on my left hand was already being drawn into Bespredel in a continuous stream. I wasn't sure whether it was all right to keep pouring it in like this... but this wasn't the time to worry about that.

Aquamarine's marker on the map hadn't moved an inch since the battle began. If anything, that made it worse. The map couldn't be wrong, which meant she really hadn't budged from her starting position... Could it be a decoy?

Dusick had said she was the Vice President. She wouldn't hold that title for nothing. The only safe assumption was that she was strong.

I was still turning it over when a call came in from Sohee.

"Unni, this place is finished. I shall go to support Dusick."

"Already?!"

How was she that fast? I checked the map. Sohee's stamina was almost completely full. What? Is Sohee this strong? Against Prilly?

"She was no opponent of consequence."

That was the exact moment I noticed Aquamarine's marker vanish from the map.

And the place it reappeared...

A strangely clipped, staccato voice.

"Right, hurry over to Dusick— ah, Aquamarine...!"

I looked up. What I saw was a girl with water-blue hair in a sailor uniform, gazing down at me from the sky.

"That's right! I'm Aquamarine. Nice to meet you — or is it?"

"Hey. Aquamarine."

"Hm?"

"If you're gonna say nice to meet you, come down here and say it to my face. Didn't your mom teach you that?"

I gave her a little jab. Just looking at her, she was the type with enormous self-esteem — the haughty queen type... no, more like a princess. I'd thought poking her once might make her lose her composure, but apparently not.

"My, my. Is that any way for a young lady who's supposed to be an organization's boss to talk?"

Unfazed even by the mom-insult. Hard to get a read on this one.

"A gun, huh."

I'd been dangling Bespredel at my side while I thought, and she'd noticed.

"Yeah. This is what's called a gun. A magic gun. It hurts if it hits you."

"Pfft. That's a magic gun. I've seen plenty. Every last one of them was garbage."

"Mother, fire. This is the moment."

Hold it, you.

"That so? Then how about you take just one shot for me? Honestly, I haven't tested whether it's garbage or not myself."

A smile bloomed across Aquamarine's entire face.

"Really? You got yourself a weapon and didn't even test it? Are you stupid, or do you just not think? Both? Well, I suppose after rotting away in a place like that your whole life, it's no wonder you have no common sense."

What?

What the hell was she talking about, all of a sudden.

I flinched, and Aquamarine — apparently deciding she'd struck a nerve — pressed on with that same smile still in place.

"I know your past. I know all about that past of yours, locked away in that hellish place."

H... a hellish place? Don't tell me she knows about when I was a man? How?

"You— h-how do you...?"

"Did you think I wouldn't know? Just how much of an idiot did you take me for? I know all about how you've lived this whole time without even being treated like a human being, thanks to the government."

"W-wait..."

Where the hell did she find that out? No — before that, how did she find out? What is this? Keru, you bastard. You incompetent bastard. Your work is seriously...!

"Stop. Stop it! Don't talk about that!"

We're live on broadcast right now! Donations are probably coming in too — if she says I used to be a man, we're screwed!

"Shut that mouth! Shut it! Don't you say another word!"

I had to stop that mouth. I didn't know how she'd found out, but I had to kill her. Leaving this woman alive while she knew my secret was far too dangerous.

I raised Bespredel and took aim.

"Don't say another word. Otherwise, this is going to hurt. A lot."

"Go ahead and shoot. Let's see if it really hur—"

BANG!!!!

A roar went up as though the earth itself had been shaken. The shock hit me like my shoulder had been blown clean off, and even I staggered back several steps.

But more ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠startling than that was the sudden hollow emptiness in my lower abdomen. It filled back in almost immediately... but I could tell well enough that this was the firing cost of Bespredel's magic. It drank it down something fierce. The consumption was so great that even for an instant, I could feel the space it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had left behind.

Even more startling, though, was Aquamarine — who had descended to the ground with the area around her shoulder socket dyed a deep, wet red. That face so full of composure was twisted now. Anyone could tell she was furious.

"Y-you told me to shoot."

My palms were sweating. But I couldn't let this moment slip — she was injured and on the ground. Bespredel still in hand, I charged toward her.

Dark magic bloomed from my left hand. Aquamarine drew closer and closer. I shifted Bespredel to my right, clenched my left hand tight, and prepared the finishing blow.

Water droplets began to gather in Aquamarine's palm. And at the same time, raindrops began to patter against my own face.

Rain...? It's raining...?

Aquamarine's voice rang out like a scream.

One drop, two drops, three — the droplets falling like rain began to thicken, and then they started punching into the ground. Massive water droplets, sharp as blades, drove themselves into the earth, flaunting their keenness. And those blades began to pour down over my head.

In an instant, pain raced through my entire body—

"Mom!"

Someone grabbed me by the back of the neck and hauled me up. A sudden sensation of floating through empty air, and then my body settled onto something soft.

"Kh..."

The pain faded rapidly, and only then could I take stock of my condition.

Kabe had already transformed into a Shinsallang. And I was on her back.

"Mom, I'm getting us out of here!"

"Y-yeah."

Atop Kabe as she raced out of the battlefield like a streak, I gripped the fur at her nape. The pain didn't matter. The uniform, torn and shredded in places, didn't matter either. All that mattered was the exaltation surging up from my chest, setting me alight. The Bespredel Rifle in my left hand felt like it was whispering at me to hurry up and shoot.

In front of the galloping Kabe, bubbles suddenly formed in midair. Through the gurgling, boiling froth, Aquamarine's voice came through.

"Trying to run?"

She thrust her upper body out from within the bubbles.

"Mom, hold on tight!"

I already was.

Kabe threw her entire body into a powerful leap. She soared into the sky as if flying, and when she landed, the impact collapsed part of the bridge spanning the river.

"You're running away, aren't you?"

Aquamarine was flying right after us, as if giving chase. I twisted my upper body around to look back at her, raised Bespredel once more, and—

BANG! Missed.

BANG! Missed.

BANG! Hit.

I clearly saw the wrist get blown off, but Aquamarine didn't seem particularly bothered. No — she was smiling, if anything.

"You two don't even realize I herded you this way on purpose."

"What...?"

Where Aquamarine pointed with her chin, there was a river.

As Aquamarine's clear, ringing voice spread, the river rose.

More precisely, the river water rose. "Rose" was a strange way to put it, but there was no better description for the sight of water that had been lying flat against the earth, flowing along, now parting from the ground and surging up into the sky. And that river water came crashing down upon us just like that.

"Mom! Look out!"

Kabe twisted her body and bit down on me. Thrown by her jaws, I tumbled across the ground several times before barely managing to collect myself.

"Kabe! Kabe!"

The river water that had been crashing down on us had become an underwater prison, wrapping around her. Oxygen bubbles kept rising from her mouth, and even at a glance, she was in pain.

No, no...!

"Let Kabe go!"

"Oh my, I'm afraid I can't do that."

Sometime without my noticing, the blown-off wrist had been restored, and the sailor uniform that had been painted in blood had returned to its original water-blue.

"Anywhere there's water is my stage. How stupid can you be, designating an operation zone without even knowing the area? You pathetic bitch. Against a water-attribute magical girl like me, magic attacks don't work at all in a place with water."

A scathing rebuke. But I had something to say about that too.

"How the hell was I supposed to know you'd show up, you goddamn bitch. You already knew all our intel and the operation zone, but I don't know a damn thing about you people."

Just because she knows everything, she thinks I know everything too? Selfish as hell, seriously.

When I snapped back, Aquamarine seemed to realize her slip. She lowered her gaze and scratched her cheek.

"You're right. Sorry for the insult."

"Let Kabe go. This time I'll blow your head off."

"I said no. I'm going to tame her just like this. A noble magical girl riding a silver wolf across the battlefield... just imagining it is so cool. And that wolf is a legendary Shinsallang, of all things!"

"You broken-mouthed bitch — are you treating someone else's daughter like a mount?! Let her go right now!"

"So what are you going to do about it? Go ahead, attack me. Your rocket punch and whatever else — it's all magic-based, isn't it? That little bag of tricks won't work on me."

"Fine. Okay. I got it."

So as long as it isn't a magic ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠attack, huh.

"Kabe, hang on. Mom's coming to get you."

I'd practiced plenty with the throwing weapons from the Six Harmonies Weapon Codex — javelins, arrows, all of it. I stepped forward hard with my left foot, grabbed Bespredel in reverse, and threw it at Aquamarine with everything I had.

"This is physical, but it's magic anyway — no dodging, you fucking bitch!"