Tentacle Queen (7)

Esther ignored Rapid completely and came flying straight at me. I flashed a mad grin as I watched her approach, but a chill ran down my spine—not just that, but every hair on my body stood on end.

"Space Folding!"

In that instant, Rapid overtook Esther, who had launched herself at me first, and appeared right in front of me in a flash. No, it wasn't overtaking; it was like she'd been closer all along, materializing there in a heartbeat. It felt like the distance itself had shrunk between us in that moment. My perception and understanding couldn't keep up with reality.

"Barrier!"

"Ah ha."

Rapid stood in front of me, her back to me, thrusting out her hips just a bit in a way that accentuated her slim waist and plump ass. She extended both hands forward, erecting a circular barrier around us. It was the spell she used most often—the simplest magic for protection, yet also the sturdiest defensive spell.

Esther locked eyes with me through the transparently rippling barrier right in front of Rapid's hands. She froze for a moment, then twisted her lips into a grotesque smile and merged the fiery swords in her hands into one massive greatsword. With that, she swung it down like a giant axe cleaving through the air.

"Rapid!! Block it good! Until you've burned through every last drop of your mana!!"

"Hnnngh!!"

"Hold on, hold on, hold out!! You've gotta protect the civilians, right? That's what a magical girl does! Ahahahaha!!"

Whoosh, whoosh—every time the massive flaming sword ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠slammed into the barrier, searing heat leaked inside. I could hear the sizzle of Rapid's hands burning, and sweat poured from my body in an instant. Even in this situation, Rapid turned back to look at me with a smile.

The moment our eyes met, her sweat-drenched, pained smile shifted to one of surprise, then bloomed into a full grin.

"D-did you go to the hospital? N-nothing happened... right?"

"What...?"

She remembered. She remembered me, someone she'd only met once on the street. She remembered casting that stealth spell on me, asking in that worried voice to reassure me, all while grimacing in agony and screaming from the pain of her hands blistering like they were on fire.

"Aaaahhh!!"

"Getting hot? Running low on mana already? Careful! Wouldn't want the civilian getting hurt!"

The barrier shook. I could clearly see—even with my civilian eyes—the massive surge of mana Rapid poured into it with outstretched hands, reinforcing it to rock-solid strength. But it was only temporary. Rapid was dumping mana into small barriers to fend off the tentacle monsters' attacks and the massive one against Esther's strikes. No one, not even Rapid, could hold out forever like this.

The wall superimposed in midair grew steadily more transparent.

"Rapid, if it gets too tough, just say you surrender! Here, repeat after me! 'I surrender. I'll become Esther's ally!'"

"I-It's fine...! I c-can protect you...!"

Even now, Rapid was smiling reassuringly at me. The smell of burning flesh wafted from her hands pressed against the barrier. Her palms were charring black. Even as the color drained from her hands, even as the stench of searing meat filled the air, she didn't pull them away.

I knew full well that dropping the barrier, abandoning me, and dodging around to fight Esther would give her a far better shot at winning—but she didn't budge. All to protect me from Esther. But Esther had always beaten Rapid in close-quarters combat, even before her defeat and infection by the Negatives, when she couldn't be rescued. Rapid might win in a long-range battle with constant movement and no breaks... but in a war of attrition like this, the outcome was already decided.

This was dangerous. Really... unsettling. Rapid was definitely going to lose at this rate. Against an opponent she might have beaten by kiting with quick, fluid long-range spells and evasion. She was losing for my sake. Losing to protect a total stranger. In the blink of an eye, the fact that one unprotected person was nearby had plunged her into crisis.

This was the side of Rapid that had captivated me... the reason everyone called her a saint. But now that I was in the thick of it, I understood. Rapid shouldn't fight like this. This wasn't right.

"Haaah..."

Then, amid the tension, came a sigh that didn't fit the dire situation at all.

"Rapid... how many times have I told you not to fight like that?"

Clang, clang—metallic echoes rang out. Razor-sharp high heels struck the ground with a gleam.

The moment that weary voice sounded, Esther's hand—mid-swing at the barrier—halted and began to tremble violently.

"Rod, number 8."

A magical girl with ash-gray silver hair in loose waves approached. Her ornate dress shimmered with glowing dust, dissolving into motes that reformed into battle attire similar to Rapid's but far sharper. From her signature magical orb, the Rod extended in her hand... slowly... slowly... a red glow of death emanated.

"Everyone, run!! Hurry!"

At Esther's frantic shout, the tentacle monsters scattered with astonishing speed, fleeing into the dimensional gate. Searing heat leaked out, scorching the surroundings as the red glow shifted to blue, then white, compressing and gathering. A shadow stood motionless, watching countless tentacle beasts dive in during those mere 8 seconds. Once they passed, she slowly raised her now white-hot blade.

"Acceleration assist."

Tentacle monsters constantly oozed slick fluids from their gelatinous tentacles, inducing powerful anesthetic and aphrodisiac effects just from proximity. Severing them sprayed those fluids, and they could eject them at will. Simply being near put everyone in their influence. To take zero damage from them... you had to incinerate even the drifting scent in the air. It sounded impossible, but theoretically, it was real.

"Adonis."

In an instant, the area ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠drowned in red light. When it faded, the air reeked like grilling scallops and squid at once. The ultra-high-temperature light blade had slashed countless times through the void, not as lines but filling entire spaces, burning them away.

"Haaah..."

Luminescent streaks scribbled wildly across the sky, incinerating every drop of the blade-tentacles' fluids without trace. Those tentacle monsters that hadn't escaped in 8 seconds sizzled and burned, unable to regenerate or even spray their fluids as they vanished into the air. The lewd aroma dispersing mingled with a smoky char from the intense heat.

High heels with razor edges clicked menacingly as they approached. Her legs—overwhelmingly sharp, vicious, elastic, and feral—stomped the ground. She had massive breasts and a slender waist like Rapid, but the vibe was utterly different. This wasn't a magical girl... it was a slaughterer.

"You're hurt?"

"Y-yeah..."

"Hand."

At Ash's words, Rapid extended her scorched, discolored hand. Ash placed her palm over it and cast a spell.

"Adonis."

A healing light lingered over the hand. The blisters and wounds on Rapid's hand rewound, fading away as if time reversed.

"Ash..."

Esther, watching silently, trembled as she gripped her fiery sword, calling out to Ash. But Ash ignored her completely, treating her like she didn't exist, and continued lecturing Rapid like a teacher.

"Combat or rescue—which is more important?"

"C-combat..."

"Why?"

"In a Negative situation, rescue is like bailing water from a tub... combat is turning off the broken faucet..."

"You know that, so why prioritize rescue again?"

The atmosphere felt off. Just moments ago, we'd been tense with fear of death from Esther... now it was like another world, peaceful. But it wasn't without terror. The lingering aphrodisiac effects from the tentacles had my body aroused against my will, but the instant I saw Ash, my blood ran cold, and the excitement vanished.

Just looking at Ash brought back images from her videos, choking me. Had she noticed the hypnosis on Rapid? Was she here to kill me after figuring it out? Ash was a magical girl who protected people. I'd only hypnotized Rapid once—no lasting traces or major harm yet. She must be here to stop Esther, but I felt pure dread staring at Ash.

The image of her turning those tentacle monsters to ash in seconds was burned into my brain. A foreboding premonition hit me: my body wrapped in her blade, dissolving into a red mist.

"Ash!!"

"Esther, shut up."

As Esther aimed her fiery sword and called out again, Ash brushed her off irritably. She treated her like she wasn't worth noticing—like the Negative executive posed no threat at all.

"You're... ignoring me right now?"

Esther bit her lower lip, her body quaking with rage. Her mana reacted to the fury, flames flickering and rising, shifting colors. The crimson mana like fire enveloping her body turned blue, then white.

I knew this spell. Before becoming a Negative, it was iconic of magical girl Esther. She'd explained it on her ViewTube channel: a spell that explosively burst mana for a massive power boost.

"Nova!"

Esther, now a blazing white demon, hoisted her sun-like fiery sword overhead and charged Ash. Heat waves propelled her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at invisible speeds.

"Adonis."

Before I could blink, the vanished Esther reappeared in front of Ash. Somehow, Ash's high heel—now with a razor blade instead of a heel—hovered at Esther's throat.

"Tch!"

Esther twisted and jetted around like she had with Grape, but Ash was already standing everywhere her sword swung. Ash wasn't blocking; Esther was bringing her blade right to where Ash predicted and positioned herself. Fully reading her moves, Ash swung her crystalline, glowing Rod—her signature orb-staff that spewed Hit Blades—erasing the red-hot blade, then muttered something too casual for a spell.

"Number 2."

The form shifted instantly, a humming woooong rising from the blade as it glowed blue and tilted toward the ground. The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tip barely grazed, and the pavement at the end shaved away.

"E-Eclipse!"

Ash swung. Esther, semi-transparent from her spell, took the blade head-on, believing it would phase through harmlessly—like it was natural. But Ash's sword cleaved right through her body.

It wasn't harmless passage. It fully bisected her.

"Kuh...! H-how...?"

Esther spat blood, her face stunned that her magic had failed. Ash ignored her utterly, speaking gently to Rapid like a teacher to a student.

"Rapid, what did I tell you to do if Esther uses Eclipse?"

"It's a technique using dimensional gates to briefly overlap with another dimension to evade... so relentless attacks, or use vibration waves to alter spatial correction faster than her spell computation..."

"How to generate vibration waves without vibration magic?"

"Use Slow Territory to slow space, then layer mana blasts for resonance..."

"H-how do you... know about Eclipse...? It's a spell I just awakened...?"

Esther's eyes widened in shock at Rapid and Ash's exchange. Rapid fidgeted like a scolded student, despite the situation.

Ash gazed down at her, then suddenly smiled warmly.

"Good job, Rapid. You'll get it right next time, yeah?"

"Y-yeah..."

Rapid gripped her magic wand tightly, her voice subdued like she'd lost her spirit.

"Why'd you teleport in?"

"Grape sent a support request... said it was dangerous..."

"And you wasted mana for that?"

"Worrying... is fine... she's a friend..."

"Haaah..."

"Aaaah!!"

As Ash listened to Rapid, she slashed Esther's body rapidly. The white-vibrating blade sank into her gut, black-red blood boiling up and splattering from it. Rapid's face twisted in pain at the scream.

"A-Ash... you... yooou..."

"Esther, you're not fully Negative-ified yet, right?"

"Whaat...?"

"Revive good and hard, keep raiding. Bring wings next time."

"Kah...! Khaak...!"

Ash's sword severed Esther's arm. Turned her legs to mist, stabbed her chest. She unilaterally demolished the powerless Esther.

"See you next time."

With that, Ash reduced Esther to a blood mist. Moments later, an unidentified black light rose from it... and was sucked into the dimensional gate where the tentacle monsters had vanished.

The street was left with only women trembling on the verge of climax from a mere breeze in the wake of the tentacle monsters and Esther's departure.

Ash glanced coldly at them, then turned her back and said to Rapid,

"Rapid, let's go home."