The Hunted Magical Girls (2)
"As expected, you heroes are… foolish and weak. I can't possibly lose to you, can I? Hehehe…♥"
Despite being bound and immobilized by Seraphina's massive thorny vines, the villain who should have been bisected by Aquamarine's colossal water slash was somehow still standing.
"You're telling me? Kyahahahaha!!"
Chae-ryeong and Rui-lin, clad in pitch-black bodysuits, stood behind the two exhausted magical girls, laughing at them without a single scratch on their bodies.
Thud… Thud…
"From the looks of it, neither of you can even lift a finger. Why don't you just surrender to us nicely?"
Chae-ryeong and Rui-lin stepped in front of the two magical girls, extending their hands and urging them to give up.
"Don't make me laugh…! I'd rather die than surrender to villains like you…!"
Yet the two magical girls rejected the dark temptation, slapping the offered hands away and showing their unwavering resolve to never submit.
Their dream of becoming cute and adorable magical girls, and their desire to protect people. These two girls had endured countless hardships that their frail, delicate bodies should never have been able to withstand, all because they had decided to become "Hero Magical Girls."
'This much hardship…'
'Means nothing…'
No matter how exhausted or pained they were, magical girls always showed a bright face, and no matter how tired or worn down they became, heroes never gave up and kept fighting.
'We can do this… We're… Hero Magical Girls…!'
Their unshakable hearts forced their bodies, which had seemed ready to collapse, back onto their feet.
"Oh my… It seems you still have some strength left to stand?"
"We won't fall… until we've taken you both down…!"
Aquamarine and Seraphina brushed the bloodstains and dust from their knees and faces, then picked up their magic wands that had been discarded on the ground as if they would never be lifted again.
"Hero Magical Girl… Magical Aquamarine!"
"Hero Magical Girl… Magical Seraphina!"
"In the name of heroes and magical girls, two forces of justice… we will judge you villains!"
Tap-tap-tap-tap—!!!!
"Take this! Aqua… Hyper Blast…!!!!"
Aquamarine charged toward the two villains first, thrusting her magic wand forward. A powerful wave surged from its tip.
Pop—! Chae-ryeong grabbed Rui-lin and clapped her hands, swapping positions with a nearby clone to swiftly evade the attack.
"Haaah! Seraphina Expert Strike!"
Whiririririririr—!!!!
Seraphina quickly confirmed their new position and extended her thorny vines, instantly reaching Chae-ryeong and Rui-lin to seize them.
"Not a chance… Khehehe…!!"
Click—Ku-gu-gu-gu-gu-boom—!!!!
However, Rui-lin's hand, still unbound, touched the vines. Only the interior of the vines, now turned into bombs, exploded, allowing them to escape with ease.
"Hehehehe…!!"
Then, a portion of the vine stems that had been binding the two villains transformed into bombs and were hurled toward the two magical girls at tremendous speed.
"Aqua Bubble Barrier…!!"
Aquamarine quickly deployed a protective shield before the bomb-vines could reach them.
Ku-gu-gu-gu-gu-boom—!!!!
"Kghhh…!! The explosion… is too strong…!"
Even though the barrier was thicker and sturdier than usual, the force and shockwave of the blast were powerful enough to crack it.
"Kuh…! Kehk…."
The bomb attacks didn't end with a single blast. They kept exploding in a chain reaction. Perhaps because she had raised the output of her ability to maintain the barrier against the chain explosions, blood kept pouring from Aquamarine's mouth.
"Aquamarine…!"
"I'm fine… Focus on them, not me…!"
Seraphina felt a surge of emotion upon seeing Aquamarine's pained expression, but Aquamarine instead patted her shoulder.
'Right. Just feeling sad… won't get us through this situation…!'
Aquamarine's desperate resolve reached Seraphina. She dashed forward without looking ahead, closing in on the two villains who were now farther away, giggling to themselves.
Click—
"Kyaa?!"
Something caught Seraphina's foot with a sound as she ran, sending her tumbling to the ground. It was clearly part of the thorny vines that had tripped her. Yet it made a metallic, mechanical click sound, as if touching metal or machinery.
"Haaah…!!!"
Seraphina instantly realized the vine wrapped around her foot was a bomb. Just as Aquamarine had protected herself with a barrier, Seraphina quickly wrapped herself in thick thorny vines to shield her body from the blast.
Ku-gu-gu-gu-gu-boom—!!!!
"Kghhh…!!!"
The tremendous force of the explosion tore and shredded the vines enveloping Seraphina, but because the vines had been so thick, the blast's aftereffects barely reached her.
"My body… won't move…!"
Just like Aquamarine, Seraphina had expended too much energy defending against the explosion. Her condition continued to worsen. She had been coughing up blood since earlier, and the blood vessels in her eyes and face were swollen as if they might burst.
Wheeeeeeeng—
Before long, the city streets were filled with smoke from the explosions, making it hard to see ahead. As the thirty-minute battle showed no sign of ending, the emergency siren blared once more. The siren signaled an emergency, warning citizens to evacuate, and also indicated that support forces would soon arrive at the scene.
But Aquamarine and Seraphina couldn't afford to wait for reinforcements. If they simply waited for other heroes to arrive, they would have to keep blocking bombs that could come flying from anywhere. Even if those heroes arrived quickly, there was no guarantee they could defeat this villain duo with their absurd combination of teleportation and explosions.
After all, these two Hero Magical Girls were the pinnacle of the Hero Alliance's ability research technology and ranked among the highest-tier A-rank heroes.
'They must be getting tired too by now. That's probably why the explosions are getting stronger.'
Abilities varied greatly in strength and utility, but the more powerful and useful they were, the greater the physical burden each use placed on the body. Given that even Aquamarine and Seraphina, who had undergone countless enhancement procedures, were this exhausted, there was no way the villains weren't feeling the strain as well.
'Just one more time… If that technique lands even once more…'
The vines of a flower that was more beautiful than any other, yet possessed dangerous thorns. If they hit, they could inflict fatal wounds that would leave the target unable to even breathe, and their power had already been proven in the joint attack with Aquamarine.
'Arms and legs… Please, move…!'
Seraphina begged and begged her body to move.
Click—
Just as she managed to lift and plant her foot, something clicked at the end of it. The heavens were not on Seraphina's side.
Ku-gu-gu-gu-gu-gu-gu-boom—!!!!!
"Kyaaaaaaaah!!!!"
Unable to even properly stand, defending against the explosion was nearly impossible. Seraphina was caught directly in the blast.
"Seraphina…?!!!!?!"
Aquamarine realized the explosion and scream had come from Seraphina's direction. But with no strength left to move, she could only cry out pitifully from where she stood.
"Ehehehe…♥ Finally, that annoying condom-like barrier…♥ is gone…♥♥"
Rui-lin fiddled with her crotch over the bodysuit, growing even more excited at the fact that her bombing attack had finally landed.
"You didn't kill the green-haired magical girl, did you?"
"Of course not! Don't worry… Hehehe…♥"
Rui-lin's ability, "Bombification," turned anything she touched into a bomb and detonated it. The key point of her ability was that it didn't just turn things into bombs—it allowed her to finely control the intensity and range of the explosion.
Whoosh—!!!!
A stream of water burst forth from the smoke covering the entire street. It poured down on Chae-ryeong and Rui-lin, who had been wondering about Seraphina's fate.
Pop—! Chae-ryeong grabbed Rui-lin and swapped positions with a clone once more to evade the water stream.
"If we'd reacted even a moment later… we might have been sliced clean off by that water."
The force of the stream was so powerful that it cleared all the smoke in front of them. And standing there, staggering but glaring sharply at the two villains, was Aquamarine. However, despite her sharp gaze, her body was already in tatters. She kept coughing up blood and could barely stand, swaying unsteadily.
"To think you're still in your right mind."
Chae-ryeong slowly walked toward Aquamarine, who looked ready to faint.
"Why don't you just give up now?"
"I… can't… give… up…."
Aquamarine swung her fist at Chae-ryeong's extended hand, but the punch carried no strength and failed to push the palm away even slightly.
Thud—
Finally, having exhausted all her strength, Aquamarine collapsed on the spot.
Wheeeeeeeng—!!!Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap—
Before long, the siren and footsteps grew louder, signaling that support forces were already nearing the scene.
"Those annoying pests are about to arrive. Rui-lin?"
"Aah…♥ Is it time to go now?"
Chae-ryeong and Rui-lin took the hands of the incapacitated Seraphina and Aquamarine.
"Of course. We need to hurry and present these new females… to our great Master, don't we?"
Pop—!
As Chae-ryeong clapped both hands together, a popping sound rang out, and the two villains and two Hero Magical Girls vanished without a trace.