Infiltration and Counterattack, Then Discovery: Magical Girl Pure White (Er's Hypnosis Reversal) (1)
A dark night.
In one of the most critical facilities of the 5th Factory City, the military facility.
And in the ultra-high-security zone within it, accessible only to specific individuals, a certain magical girl creeps forward stealthily.
Her snow-white short hair evokes the image of an angel, and her magical girl suit clings tightly, revealing every curve of her body.
Er, the magical girl who has infiltrated the city alongside Black Twilight, is here.
'Good, the infiltration is going smoothly... I think.'
There must have been several security checkpoints blocking intruders up to now, but she passed them all without issue, as if nothing was amiss.
No unnecessary alarms blared, and she didn't run into any guards.
She has ample information on this facility.
Her behind-the-scenes preparations are perfect.
After all, she's almost always been by the side of someone equivalent to the facility's top administrator.
'Cookie said normal methods would never work on a top-priority facility like this.'
'That's why I took the time to prepare thoroughly.'
The person corresponding to the commander overseeing all troops is almost always absent.
He manages forces in other cities as well, and to begin with, he spends most days living in luxury in Central City, not in some experimental city like this.
Weg Vice Commander's dissatisfaction with his position probably stems from being stuck here in the vice commander role, unable to leave the city and enjoying only severely limited privileges.
In any case, Weg Vice Commander is currently the administrator overseeing all troops and the military facility in this city.
And Er has been seducing him, laying the groundwork in various ways up until now.
The result is her reaching this most critical zone of the military facility without any interference.
She's scouted patrol routes and personnel placements.
She's figured out what's in each section inside the facility.
She stole and duplicated Weg Vice Commander's ID card, allowing free access without tripping security.
She's even extracted various classified info from him while at his side, aiding her activities as Pure White.
No matter how cunning Er's methods are, a vice commander shouldn't be that incompetent. He mustn't be.
But his overconfidence from completely dominating Er through the Hypnosis Factory's hypnosis must have clouded his judgment in various ways.
On top of that, the Charm magic she learned from Cookie to toy with opponents likely played a role in dulling his faculties.
Weg Vice Commander's obsessive attachment to Er probably wasn't just because she was his ideal type—it was largely due to that 'Charm magic'.
Giiiing—
The infiltration continues smoothly.
She holds the duplicated card to the reader, and as expected, the door opens without triggering security.
Er glances warily at the cameras nearby and steps through the door.
'Come to think of it, it's been a while since I last saw Black.'
'She hasn't gotten caught, right? ...She's definitely doing fine. She's got low self-esteem, but she's a capable friend.'
Black infiltrated the city as Er's colleague, but Er hasn't seen her for quite some time lately.
Apparently, Black found a new collaborator, who insisted on avoiding meetings with Er as a precaution.
That side probably couldn't be sure they weren't truly the Factory's puppets, so they didn't want the extra risk.
Er was curious about this new collaborator's identity, but she couldn't afford to throw a tantrum over it.
As long as everyone does their part, it doesn't matter.
As a result, Black and her collaborator are currently moving separately to rescue Cookie.
Meanwhile, Er continues her guerrilla activities as Pure White.
"...Let's see..."
She surveys the dark room.
According to the intel she gathered in advance, this place should house a data hub managing secret lines connected to the upper echelons of Central City and other cities.
Unfortunately, even with a magical girl's eyes, distinguishing objects in pitch blackness without a single light is difficult.
She tries the flashlight she brought, but it won't turn on—battery must be dead.
She gives up and gropes along the wall for a switch.
Paat— Paat—
The room's lights flicker on one by one.
Her field of view brightens as desired, but Er's expression is far from pleased.
She hadn't found the light switch yet.
Unless this place has lights that turn on with a thought, someone else turned them on.
Thud... Thud...
"Impressive. Is this the spot you were after? I wondered what drew you to a place with no desserts or clothes that women might like."
Er whips around at the voice from behind, leaping back.
Beyond the open door, down the hallway she just passed through, a wrinkled, shriveled old man approaches with leisurely steps.
Weg Vice Commander.
The main client—target—that Er has been clinging to and toying with up to now.
Though he looks like a withered old stump now, she's well aware it's just temporarily shrunken for convenience, and he can revert to his original muscular body whenever he wants.
She's also aware that when he unleashes his true power, he's stronger than three general-class monsters.
He must have turned on the lights in this room.
Er glares at him in dismay.
"How... are you here...?"
"How? It's my facility—why wouldn't I come and go as I please?"
She'd heard he was away on a business trip.
That's why Er chose today specifically to infiltrate.
—But it's fine. This isn't the worst case yet.
Er touches the mask covering her face as she thinks.
When operating as Pure White, Er wears a special enchanted mask.
This mask is a magic tool from Cookie that conceals her identity simply by wearing it, even without covering her face fully.
In person, she leaves only a vague, blurry impression; cameras and other recording devices capture her as if heavily distorted, failing to record her true appearance.
In other words, there's no risk of her identity being exposed right now.
'First, escape. Even if Weg Vice Commander calls in more troops... I can take them all.'
This is a chance to kill Weg Vice Commander.
Up to now, she'd avoided it to extract more info from him and because killing him might cause unnecessary chaos.
But now that she's gotten enough intel and secured access to the military facility, there's no reason to keep him alive.
"Shine, Sword of Judgment."
Bwoooong—
Er swiftly finishes her calculations and conjures a sword of light in her hand with the incantation.
Wings of light sprout from her back.
——————!!
And then, she charges.
Like flying through the air, Er surges forward like the wind, closing the distance to Weg Vice Commander in an instant.
A distance of a dozen meters vanishes in a heartbeat.
Weg Vice Commander looks mildly surprised.
Yet even with a sword-wielding magical girl bearing down on him, his face shows no sense of imminent death.
Perhaps because he's only dealt with hypnotized, dominated magical girls, he doesn't grasp their true terror.
Er isn't under any hypnosis—and it wouldn't work on her anyway—but he might not realize that.
"Farewell."
With her final greeting, she swings the sword of light.
It looks unremarkable, but packed with condensed mana, it can slice through rock or steel like tofu.
The magically forged blade swings at impossible acceleration—and should sever the withered Weg Vice Commander's body in one stroke.
...It should have.
"...Huh?"
"Whoa, that's vicious. This old man's heart can't take the stimulation."
Weg Vice Commander isn't cut.
Er's sword never even reached him.
The moment it should have connected, it stopped as if blocked by an invisible wall.
Er pulls back briefly, then lunges again, swinging.
But again, it halts just before reaching him.
Pit piit
Pababababababa...!!
Countless thrusts at invisible speeds.
Only trails of white light linger as afterimages; no dodging or blocking is possible, each strike precisely targeting vitals.
Her movements are beautifully dance-like, but still... none connect with the vice commander.
All attacks halt unnaturally before him.
'What...!'
Her arms disobey, refusing to strike Weg Vice Commander as if commanded.
She can't fathom why.
Weg Vice Commander steps forward toward the sword-swinging Er, showing no fear.
Er backs away warily, putting distance between them.
"Hey now, running away? Fight fair and square, won't you? Weren't you trying to kill this body of mine?"
"You... what are you...! Why...?"
"Oh? Curious who I am? You know full well, don't you? Isn't that right—my darling Er."
"...?!"
—How?!
At Weg Vice Commander's sudden declaration, which pierced her identity in one go, Er startles... her eyes widening beneath the mask.