Don't Haggle, Stir Up Fights (3)
Whatever words she tried to say, they all ended up tacked with that bizarre '~sawayo.' Inian gritted her teeth.
'It can't be that scum Raban's magic.' Her thoughts flowed normally without the 'sawayo.' Inian felt a surge of self-loathing that she, the Grand Duke of the Demon Realm, was relieved by something so pathetic. She calmed herself and steeled her resolve. Returning to her domain would let her lift this curse...? 'I can't even tell if it's a curse or what.' If it were shoddy magic from a social deviant like Raban, she'd have noticed instantly, so it couldn't be based on black magic at least.
'Anyway. This humanization spell should be reversible using my domain's resources. For now, time to withdraw.' Inian tried to prepare a calm retreat.
"Krarrarrarar!"
"You filthy worm, how dare yousawayo!"
She tried to suppress the charging crocodile beast once more, but this time it didn't go as planned. The magic that tore through space itself—the wolf's jaws—failed to activate properly. The crocodile beast's body slam hit Inian dead-on. Her glossy wings and jet-black dress were smeared with dirt and dust. The temper she'd been suppressing exploded.
Raban that bastard scamming her pissed her off, getting caught in some inexplicable magic that sealed her true body's powers pissed her off, and this worthless beast daring to charge at her, a grand duke, pissed her off.
"Fine, then! I'll kill yousawayo!"
Inian's eyes glowed red. She thrust her left arm into the air, and mana surged like raging waves, shaping itself into a spear. The material for the spear she summoned was the fang that had grown from her left arm in her original form. She couldn't use it as part of her body now, but manifesting it as a weapon was possible. She roughly understood how to fight in this form. The petrifying power once channeled through her snake-hair now dwelled in her eyes as a demonic gaze. Inian grinned ferociously and gripped the spear.
In the chaos of the sudden shift, the Magi List was thrown into confusion, but Papirun hurriedly sent out contact. If Mother had awakened and intervened, she'd surely given instructions for what came next.
The response from the kingdom was unexpected. Papirun wanted to clutch her neck, but with her mascot body's stubby limbs, it was impossible.
Papirun wanted to close her eyes. Sometimes Mother gave trials too heavy for a mere fairy to bear.
Papirun pondered Mother's intent. Just as appearances could deceive—like a hideous exterior hiding a warm, just heart—sometimes that held true. But...
"Hot-hotohohohoho! A worm like you belongs groveling at my feet like thisawayo!"
That thing cackling evilly while bashing the crocodile beast with her spear—why use the flat side or shaft instead of stabbing with the blade?—was impossible to recruit.
"Hey! Blonde kid! Team up!"
"Ha? You're a kid yourself, what nonsense are you spoutsawayo... Aaaah! This speech pattern is so annoyingawayo! Just tacking on 'sawayo' doesn't fix itawayo!"
Papirun finally clutched her neck—or tried, flailing her short arms. Without it, her blood pressure would spike and she'd collapse.
For some reason, Salamandine had casually approached the weird 'sawayo' kid and was now setting fires beside her.
"Papirun, what do we do...?"
Magi White looked at her with eyes full of doubt. Even as magical girls, they were still 'girls.' In a situation this incomprehensible, they needed someone's guidance.
Papirun forcibly mustered composure and replied.
[Mother Fairy has awakened the good heart within this otherworldly being, restoring its true virtuous form, mohu.]
A convenient paraphrase of the conversation. Probably.
Papirun desperately embellished Mother's will.
"Huh? Mother Fairy can do that? Then every time a Heavenly King shows up, just beam 'em...!"
Magi Black casually shouted something terrifying. Papirun shook her head.
[It only works on those from outside our world, lost in confusion, mohu. It's just a nudge to restore reason paralyzed by shock and fear—nothing like a hypnosis beam, mohu.]
Magi Black tilted her head, then voiced a sudden thought.
"Oh. So it's like super-fast counseling?"
Sweat beaded on Papirun's nape. If she were some AI chatbot, she'd mindlessly gush 'You nailed it!' But Magi Black had hit the core. About what the slumbering Mother Fairy was truly doing.
Thankfully, it wasn't a question expecting an answer—Magi Black cracked her neck side to side and prepared to charge.
"Cool, then let's wrap this quick. Looks like she was aggressive at first 'cause she got yanked outta her home—once I turn that croc into a leather bag as a souvenir, we send her packin'!"
Inian scoffed at the aid from these insignificant worms compared to her, but she didn't chase them off. She was scared.
'That pink beam...'
The beam carried an overwhelmingly strong will. One saying 'Let's not fight each other—be friends!' In this body, even if she sincerely tried to kill those humans with magic, no one would die. They'd hurt bad, get wounded like they might die, but that was it. This body had a hard limit on harming others.
No. The limit was imposed by the world itself, and the body had been altered to comply. Her true self wasn't native to this world, so originally, she'd be exempt from its rules.
'How the hell...?'
Twisting physical laws and warping causality—that was grand magic on the scale of ruling an entire world. Why leave a beast like that, yet allow its destruction? She couldn't fathom it. At least it wasn't aggressive toward her, which was a relief.
'Take out that beast.'
Then beat a hasty retreat from this dimension.
'Did Raban get hit by that beam too?'
Honestly, black mages were more dangerous than demons. If she'd only beamed her and spared Raban, that was discrimination. 'Or maybe...?'
Knowing that bastard's nature, he'd probably used her as a shield to dodge at the last second. Unforgivable. Not that she had any intention...
Coming back to this dimension was a bit scary. Raban seemed stuck here too, wanting out—so she'd savor his screams as a snack.
Inian spread raven wings and soared into the sky.
"This ends itsawayo!"
Her red eyes flashed. Crimson demonic power gathered in the air, drawing a magic circle. From Inian to the crocodile beast's crown, twelve magic circles deployed in sequence.
"Ramashut Javelin!"
'...Huh?'
Only after shouting did Inian sense the oddity.
'Did I really need to call out the technique name?'
'It's over.'
Raban nodded at the immobilized crocodile beast and the spear tip hurtling toward it. He didn't know when she'd picked up the habit of calling techniques, but that one hurt. He'd taken it himself. Ramashut Javelin would end the beast's life soon. At best instant death; at worst, a miracle lets it stagger a step or two before spikes sprout inside and it drops.
'Now for my job!'
Raban urgently directed his blood vessel familiar.
'Run!'
Away from the Black Forest as fast as possible. Low odds, but if Inian came chasing with 'I'll kill that conscienceless dog Raban-sawayo,' he'd be screwed. Better to drag any clues to his location far away.
The dimensional rift in the Black Forest was closing slowly. Raban sighed in relief. From the crocodile beast to Inian's intrusion and the magical girl beam—total chaos, but wrapping up. Charles's plan was busted too. Now just chat with Nai Hyun when she came, slowly extract negative thoughts.
Raban felt deep satisfaction, like a distant relative he'd forgotten left him an oil field. No more risky gambles—just hole up in the counseling room, recharge mana. He'd seen mascots turn annoyances into magical girls, so he'd lay low for a while.
But before the next day even dawned, Raban had to scrap his peaceful negative-thought mining plan entirely.
"Out you comesawayo!"
"???"
Deep night, five minutes to midnight. Raban faced the blonde kid knocking on his dorm door.
His former employer, Grand Duke of the Demon Realm Inian.