Chapter 125
Chapter 125
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 125
Chapter Title: Chapter 125
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 125
Chapter Title: S2.5. Does the Butterfly Dream of Being a Magical Girl? -7
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Hope.
A blue magical girl leaped onto the stage just before the finale. She was a delicate flower that seemed like it would snap in a single gust of wind, but one look at her blazing eyes would change your mind.
It wasn't bravado vowing victory in any situation, nor a sense of duty demanding she push through no matter what. The flames reshaping into light were a vivid expression of her will.
That gaze turned her impression upside down. Her slender wrists, fragile as if they'd shatter, gripped a rapier like a warrior's, and her frilly, ornate dress was the garb of a knight.
Pure Knight Roderus haughtily lifted her chin.
Even if it was just a shell, nobility was nobility—she knew hundreds of ways to captivate attention. Grace infused even the flick of her hand, dignity her every step.
All eyes turned to her. Pure energy poured toward the glittering girl.
The citizens should have despaired. They mustn't harbor hope now. As the blue light sharpened around Roderus, Jekniel hurriedly spoke up.
"...Magical girl, what nonsense. You've lost. Everyone's already seen you get beaten. No matter how much you struggle alone—"
"Those guys were the weakest of the magical girls."
"I know you're not unscathed either, magical girl. Covered in blood like that—"
"This isn't my blood, you lowly scum. Open your eyes wide and look."
Shhh...
The red blood coating Roderus's skin evaporated into steam. Not healed—it was being boiled away with mana in real time, erased on the spot.
To Jekniel, it looked like she was bluffing through her ragged state, but to the watching citizens, her words rang true. The magical girl stood flawless, without a single wound.
Hope built up. If she stepped forward so boldly, maybe she really could resolve this whole mess...
Jekniel ground his teeth.
"You stupid, idiotic humans...!!"
"Couldn't spare a thought for the shell?"
"The Demon King is moments from descending, and only one magical girl remains! Why cling to hope, you brainless humans?!"
"Raising your voice like that is pathetic. Behold, commoners. The fiend you feared is nothing but a screaming child. And now, look at me."
Ching!
A blue galaxy swirled around the rapier resembling a magic wand. It was breathtakingly beautiful, radiating power enough to pierce a storm.
To put it bluntly, it was a flashy waste of energy with no lethality. But in this situation where others' faith converted to power, the showmanship drew even more energy.
She spread her feet shoulder-width, drew back her arm, shouted the technique name, and thrust.
『Starlight Stinger』
[Thrust with galactic mana surge]
"...!!"
Fwaaah—!!
A torrent of stars poured forth. Cute effects like giant hearts, stars, and notes exploded everywhere. Beneath those flashy visuals, the assassin's sinister technique unfolded.
Invisible dark currents targeted Jekniel's vital points: eyes, groin, temples, throat. Ruthless strikes that would make viewers shudder.
Who wants to see a magical girl singing of hope gouge out an enemy's eyes? So she hid it. Jekniel barely blocked her tricky assault with Impure Energy.
Kiiik.
Opting for defense, Jekniel was pushed back three steps by the Pure Energy pressure. Drip. A thin scratch marred his cheek, black fluid leaking out.
Shururuk.
Jekniel's wound vanished perfectly with time. He seemed to have self-regeneration.
Roderus raised both hands dramatically, striking a pose.
"How about it? Believe in my victory now?"
"Bluffing like...!!"
It looked like a solid hit, but Jekniel held the advantage. Roderus had attacked wastefully, while he minimized consumption to block. His total energy reserves were higher too.
He'd defended meticulously out of surprise at the vicious move—no way his durability dropped enough for one hit to kill.
Yet to the citizens, it appeared the monster reeled from Pure Knight's mighty blow.
Could she really win this?!
Fwaaah.
Pure Energy surged like a tide. The deepening blue light, too dense for more to pass through, undulated like wings behind Roderus.
Jekniel sensed danger in losing momentum further. He was ahead, but if she kept charging energy bit by bit...
Unease sprouted. Roderus's shell smirking as if it were nothing fanned his anxiety.
Above all, those eyes fueled the "what if."
Those eyes brimming with certainty!
Jekniel roared, gathering Impure Energy for 『Dark Star Realm』.
"Magical girl—!!"
"Hmph."
Crack. Creak.
An ominous sound reached only Roderus's ears. The clash of Pure Energy and Metamorphosis accelerated, widening cracks across her body.
The citizens' cheers empowered her, but hastened her death too.
A metallic tang rose in her mouth. Roderus swallowed blood, maintaining her facade. She couldn't show weakness.
She guided the cracks inward, not to the surface. When organs ruptured and muscles tore, she'd forcibly stitch with Pure Energy to keep moving.
Jekniel saw through it.
"Moving around like a zombie, magical girl!"
"Ever seen a zombie this beautiful and elegant? If you want to belittle me as desperate, try a more convincing slander."
"I'll strip off that flimsy shell—『Dark Star Realm』—!!
"That's an attack I've faced before."
Jet-black cosmos, condensed starlight, crashing waves of darkness. Against the light-devouring murk, Roderus angled her rapier, biding her time.
Evoking a structure with sharp corners.
"Metamorphosis - 『Mana Hardening』."
⟨ Shield Formation ⟩
Shwaaaah—!!
She hardened part of the encroaching murk into a shield wall. Waves split around the angled edges, and Roderus cleaved straight through the center.
Pah—!!
Crack.
The blue flash split the murk. Simultaneously, blood surged up her throat. Roderus instantly wrapped herself in flashy effects and charged.
The mana swirling around Pure Knight spun into an umbrella shape, whirling forward. She hid beneath it, wiping her mouth with her sleeve.
Shwaaaah—!!
The umbrella-wielding magical girl pierced the dark torrent. It was like a flower blooming in the shadows.
『Blooming Umbrella』!
[High-speed rotating mana drill disguised as umbrella]
Flying stars, ribbons, and frills made it seem like an umbrella, but it was closer to a high-speed mana drill. Distance to the magical girl closed rapidly.
Jekniel's instincts screamed not to let her approach. He dispelled the radial 『Dark Star Realm』 and prepared magic to strip her umbrella.
"You bastard...!! 『Dark Mana Bullet』, take this—!!"
Jekniel conjured dark orbs in both hands, firing wildly. Three shots per second in a barrage. Even amid the downpour, Roderus stayed calm.
Pure Knight launched her protective mana umbrella skyward. Then raised her rapier before the incoming mana bullets.
"A name I've erased, but I'll tell you. What I was once called."
She deflected.
A light wrist twist, using joint elasticity.
Tang. Bang.
Calculating trajectories, swinging the rapier efficiently in sequence. Dodge what she could, parry the rest.
Clang, clatter, clatterclatter—!!
Sounds of ricochets echoed, space clearing instantly. Her swordplay against the rain made it cease.
In the silence, Roderus murmured softly.
"As if you—!!"
Flutter!
The airborne umbrella unfurled into a swirling curtain. To block the spectators' view. Petals scattered, illuminating everything.
And within the flashy barrier, red eyes gleamed coldly.
Roderus poured everything in. Energy density heated the rapier red-hot; blinding blue light seared the eyes.
Give a mage time, and you lose. A lesson learned with arrows in her head. This time, finish decisively!
"Die like trash, monster—!!"
Thrusts rained down.
Slicing the throat mid-incantation.
Dismantling nerves from hands forming seals, up the forearms.
Piercing from the jaw, bursting eyes. If it regenerated, again.
Shredshredshred—!!
Black fluid sprayed everywhere. Jekniel's core seemed slime-like, akin to Yunaris—severed parts clumping to heal.
But her rapier moved faster. Dismemberment outpaced regeneration. Roderus forced her creaking body onward, denying any gap!
Even as he was shredded into formless goo, Jekniel spoke.
"Why... go this far, magical girl—! What reason do you have to ignore our offer and risk your life...?!"
"..."
Reasons abounded.
She acknowledged morality's necessity and benefits. A world where none killed each other was sweet, cozy.
Influenced by her friends' justice too. Their efforts for people seemed beautiful, sparkling.
Revenge as well. She wanted to rip apart those who'd driven Kim Lulu to death, shredded Oh Hyein.
Past regrets, doubts, losses—countless plausible motives. Roderus condensed them into one sentence.
"Because I want to."
"Our plans ruined by mere... whimsy...!!"
She found the core.
Pfuk—!!
Pure Knight Roderus plunged her rapier into Jekniel's nucleus. He tried to speak, but dissolved into fluid with a splat.
"The moment you dismissed this as 'mere whimsy,' you lost. Halfwits."
Do what you want.
How many years had she wandered to utter that simple phrase? In the end, that was the truth within the shell.
Roderus turned from the corpse and walked on.
A shadow fell over the prone Oh Hyein. Oh Daesoo.
"...Daesoo oppa."
"Oh Hyein, your wounds aren't fatal. Lie still so bones don't shift—ER will handle it. Just rest."
"What a mess... I told you not to."
"Nobles ignore plebs. Jungle ignores nobles too."
Roderus smirked, hands on hips. She tilted her head back, gazing at the sky. The black vortex still birthed the Demon King's hand.
Drip. Drip drip.
Jekniel's corpse—the black fluid on the ground—began rising in droplets. Like rain falling upward to the sky.
She knew there was more. Expected it. But no worry. She had an ace up her sleeve.
Defeating a Four Heavenly Kings flooded her with explosive Pure Energy. Mana crystallized on her skin.
Clash of Metamorphosis and Pure Energy.
She'd weaponized it before, turning her transformation device into a grenade to take out Yunaris.
Same principle now. Turn Pure Knight's body into a bomb. Blow away the Demon King, Jekniel's remnants, the amassed Impure Energy overhead.
Oh Hyein draped her forearm over her eyes, muttering.
"...Don't."
"I'm an isekai guy. Not dying—just waking from the dream."
"Lulu's gone, now you... what about me?"
"Make new friends. None quite like me, sure."
Her body was doomed anyway. Successive energy clashes wrecked her internals. Transformation end meant vomiting blood and death.
So, might as well use it for good. She flashed Oh Hyein a light smile.
No true penalty-free ride. Dream and reality shared no body but shared mind. Experiencing death might shatter her Metamorphosis entirely.
Especially exploding as a human grenade from mana clash. It hurt like tears now; explosion would be worse, worrying a bit.
But worth it.
"Thanks to you, had fun... learned tons. I appoint you my friend and left arm."
"...What? And why left arm?"
"Right arm's booked."
Float.
A light push sent Roderus airborne. Surging blue Pure Energy mimicked wings.
Ground receded. Oh Hyein shrank to thumb-size. The massive vortex loomed within reach.
Oh Hyein seemed to say more, but too far to hear.
Roderus gave an awkward smile, cleared her throat.
"Take care."
Her farewell.
...
The cityfolk watched. Blue starlight swallowed into the black vortex. Then, radiant light erasing the darkness.
Grooooar—
Storm clouds scattered; earth-shaking roar echoed. Light swelled, dyeing the sky pure blue.
The magical girl's final light banished night, if only for a moment.
When darkness returned, the ominous vortex was gone. Only twinkling stars and serene moon lit the peaceful world.
He had saved it.
The Redburn Duke's mansion basement held a prison.
Harsh conditions, pitch-black void, yet someone lived there. Enthusiastically, even.
"...One hundred thirty-one, thirty-two."
Push-ups, calorie-conscious.
Moss on walls divided for scheduled hydration. She'd mastered licking it.
Passing bugs caught without fail. Eaten head to toe, bits saved as bait.
He'd woken from the dream but hadn't lost it.
Disappointed days after waking, but overcame. Still moody or teary sometimes, but fine. He had purpose now.
Life went on; alive meant living.
He asked his heart what it wanted, recalling his child's dream. He wanted to "improve" Redburn.
Back then, vaguely "curb excessive competition." Now, he knew exactly how.
He would reform House Redburn.
The transformation device gleamed in the dark.
"You've reflected enough."
"Yes, Father. I won't disappoint again."
"Good. When the time comes, I'll use you again. Until then, recover and handle family chores, son."
"As you command."
Roderus bowed deeply to the duke. Obsequiously so. Satisfied, the duke waved him off. Roderus backed out.
Sun-deprived skin pale, muscles wasted. Balanced meals and rest needed for recovery.
But precisely because, no one'd suspect movement now. Back in his room, devouring the lavish meal, Roderus pondered.
Duke Redburn Maximuth was strong.
His ruthless methods sharp, but his personal prowess overwhelming. Assassination no path; not solvable that way.
Reform the house gradually. Gather people, sabotage plans, hone the blade for the decisive moment.
But this form couldn't evade the duke's eyes. So.
"Transform."
Fwaaah—!!
After the blue flash, a pale-skinned, sickly beautiful girl—Oh Daesoo—stood in Roderus's room.
"...Ugh."
Oh Daesoo reeled from dizziness, collapsing. Male and female forms shared condition. Clutching her head, groaning briefly, she grabbed the fork again.
Eat to live first.
From waking, Roderus could manifest the 『Transformation Device (Dreaming Mirror)』.
Free from family brainwashing, thinking for himself?
Days as magical girl pure bliss?
Final explosion altered consciousness?
No pinpoint cause, but dream time changed him surely. Likely Metamorphosis mutation.
『Mana Hardening』 range and output dropped, but gained transformation device. Felt weird, but undeniably useful.
Once recovered, advance plans with this alias. Goals: Redburn revival, better Crown Hall. Security, etc.
Why fix city security? Hypothesis: Friends might crash here via dreams, like him to isekai.
Slender chance, but better prepare than hang head in shame before them...
Thus.
The justice-wielding magical girl of Crown Hall was born.
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