Chapter 100
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 100
Chapter Title: Magical Ikusa Battle (3)
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Seiki felt like she was going insane.
'Fuck!'
A normal person—no, a mere man like Kim Siyul knew how to use magic?
No.
Of course, it was surprising that Kim Siyul could use magic.
Especially since it wasn't even simple spells.
Stacking spells, wide-area spells, multi-attribute spells, mana concentration spells, and even Magical Phase Shifts.
Not even most Magical Girls had that level of variety. They usually maxed out at three and made the most of them.
But.
That alone wasn't enough to drive Seiki mad. It was just pretty shocking, nothing more.
So, was it because she was getting one-sidedly pummeled by Kim Siyul?
No.
It pissed her off, but not to the point of insanity. One of the win conditions was breaking the opponent's weapon, after all.
No matter how many hits she took, it didn't matter. If she could seize that massive fortune, she could endure even greater humiliation.
So, why was Seiki losing her mind?
It was because of Kim Siyul's remarks.
The ones about Magical Vocaloid.
Of course, Seiki didn't react to every little comment about Magical Vocaloid.
"The mechanical voice is too weird?"
"Magical VTubers' covers are better?"
"Isn't it the same as Magical VTubers?"
"Magical Vocaloid covered a Magical VTuber song without permission again?"
She could brush off stuff like that. Hell, she could even laugh it off heartily.
It was the mindset of a die-hard Magical Vocaloid fan like Seiki, who'd been in the fandom for years.
But.
'That motherfucker, fuck.'
'Roots' was something she just couldn't let slide.
Not just Seiki—even hardcore Magical Vocaloid fans with deep Magical otaku hearts rarely uttered the word 'roots' lightly.
It was a sacred realm you didn't touch.
Mentioning 'roots' was practically taboo.
And yet.
How dare some punk who knew nothing about Magical Vocaloid spout off about 'roots'?
That must've been why. For a split second, she forgot about smashing the Magical Iron Pipe and cast a spell instead.
"Die!!!"
But something felt a bit off.
Her body felt strangely light, and her spell output had skyrocketed.
The chantless spell she'd just cast was stronger than her usual chanted ones. If that was the case, it was no wonder.
At the same time, her thoughts kept veering to extremes. She couldn't rein herself in.
It was a sudden change.
Like she'd turned into a runaway Magical Locomotive.
But Seiki didn't care.
Nothing mattered more than punishing Kim Siyul for defiling Magical Vocaloid's 'roots'.
He had to be turned into Magical Negitoro mush.
"Got you!!!!!!"
The massive Magical Shield she'd manifested at full size came crashing down from above like a guillotine.
Then came Kim Siyul's mutter.
"Hidden Moon."
And.
- KABOOOM!!!
The shield slammed into the ground, sending a thunderous roar echoing out.
Kim Siyul had said something, but Seiki dismissed it as meaningless.
The spell's impact zone was enormous. And it'd been cast faster than usual.
Not even a typical Magical Girl could dodge that.
Getting hit was the only option.
Taishi and Muyong apparently agreed, as they started yelling heatedly.
"No! This wasn't necessary at all!"
"Hey! Are you insane? No matter how fierce the fight, you don't kill!"
Of course, Seiki ignored their chatter completely. She simply dispelled the Magical Shield with a sinister grin.
"Time to check~!"
Kim Siyul wasn't a Magical Girl.
So, surviving that spell would've been tough. Even if he somehow did, he wouldn't be unscathed.
Literally, he should've been Magical Negitoro mush—
"Huh...?"
—but he wasn't.
"...What the hell."
He was gone.
No Magical Negitoro, not even a scrap of flesh. Just debris from the shattered ground where he'd been.
The surrounding Magical Girls, expecting a gruesome sight, voiced their confusion.
"What? Where'd he go?"
"And how'd he dodge that?"
"He wasn't as fast as us earlier—how?"
But instead of questioning like the others, Seiki's mind raced.
From what she'd experienced earlier, Kim Siyul could perform Magical Phase Shifts.
'He appeared from midair last time.'
So, probably the same this time.
Seiki immediately looked up.
Preparing an intercept spell.
But.
"Not here either...?"
Contrary to her certainty, Kim Siyul was nowhere.
An unexpected Magical phenomenon.
Her head throbbed.
Where the hell did he go? Had he gotten scared and fled now?
'Doesn't seem like his type...'
But expecting him to charge in seemed too unlikely.
Kim Siyul was unarmed. His Magical Iron Pipe was behind Seiki.
A puzzle that wouldn't solve itself.
Seiki tilted her head and grumbled.
"Seriously, where the fuck did that bastard—"
"Shadow Moon."
At that moment, Kim Siyul's voice rang out.
"Huh?!"
From behind her.
Kim Siyul appeared behind Seiki, surpassing her perception.
Like the moon suddenly rising.
'How the hell.'
He'd moved behind her. Seiki whipped around.
"Ah."
And realized.
How Kim Siyul had flanked her.
He'd used the shadow as a pathway to slip through.
In other words, shadow-mediated movement.
'Is he nuts?'
But Seiki couldn't help being shocked.
Not because shadow teleportation itself was surprising—she'd seen similar spells a few times before.
Magical Teleportation.
It was akin to Magical Phase Shift, though relatively more common.
But the reason for her shock was different.
Magical Teleportation required a Magical Prerequisite: setting a destination.
Most Magical Girls handled this by throwing their magic wand ahead.
Nothing marked a spot as reliably as one infused with mana. Sure, combat viability tanked in the moment, but still.
Kim Siyul, though?
He hadn't used that weird sword from before, or the Magical Iron Pipe.
It was the finger she'd flicked off him earlier.
Infused with mana, he'd used it as his destination marker for Magical Teleportation.
'Psycho bastard...!'
Insane move.
It was gambling with his life.
The less mana in the destination object, the higher the Magical Risk. Mess up, and you'd end up Magical half-cripple.
Magical Teleportation without safety protocols was as dangerous as Magical Phase Shift.
No wonder Magical Girls used wands—they held the most mana.
"Second time in my life seeing Shadow Moon used like this, and I swear a third would kill me."
See?
Kim Siyul spat complaints mixed with blood.
Even he, who handled Magical Phase Shifts fine, had taken damage this time.
But Seiki had no time to dwell.
She'd frozen at his appearance, and in that brief window, he'd grabbed the Magical Iron Pipe and cast.
"Dawn Moon."
Horizontal, once.
"Frost Moon."
Vertical, right after.
The faint dawn moon and icy frost moon crossed, carving wounds into Seiki's back.
Well, it didn't hurt that much.
Just a bit gross from the blood.
Seiki readjusted her stance toward Kim Siyul, flashing a sinister smile.
'Not bad, this'll do.'
This put her halfway to victory.
Among Kim Siyul's spells, the ones effective against her were Half Moon and Full Moon.
Exploding Moon was an exception—purely her Magical blunder.
A total Magical Monkey Dive.
Anyway.
No matter what Kim Siyul did now, he couldn't beat her.
Per her analysis, his were stacking spells. Without the early ones, power spells were impossible.
In other words, no Half or Full Moon.
Try casting now? He'd fall to her spell first.
Dodge with Phase Shift?
His condition made it tough. She'd cast accordingly this time.
'Feels like I can do anything right now.'
Or shadow teleport?
No destination marker. Even if there was, she'd snipe it.
'Dumbass.'
Instead of chaining Dark Moon and New Moon while she hesitated, he cast weird attribute spells. Twice in a row.
'Doesn't even hurt.'
Truly idiotic.
'In that case.'
Time to pay for his stupidity. Seiki's sneer deepened.
She squeezed max mana from her heart, then swung her wand hard.
Countless shields manifested.
Easily surpassing her personal best.
'Nice.'
Similar to before, but not identical.
This time, she'd smash the whole 'plane'.
"Arrange."
Line them up in one direction.
"Set."
Lock the target.
Deep breath, more power into her wand hand, big step forward.
Swing.
"Multi Shell Ba—(Multi Shell Ba—)!"
- Step.
Then, Kim Siyul's footstep.
Side? No.
Behind? No.
Front.
He'd stepped closer, narrowing the gap.
Ridiculous. If he was gonna do it, why not sooner?
A feeble death throe.
Just that.
But.
"Huh...?"
To Seiki, it felt different.
Despite full spell prep, peak condition, one syllable from ending it all...
She was inexplicably terrified.
Her honed Magical Girl instincts screamed for survival.
Reason versus instinct.
Irreconcilable. Choose one.
Seiki chose fast.
"Absolute Protection!!!"
She recalled the razor-edged shields, blocking all around. Then blanketed her body in tiny ones.
Reason still couldn't grasp it.
One attack, one word, and victory was hers. Why?
But.
Attacking felt like it'd backfire fatally. Instinct stabbed her brain sharp.
Not just defeat—maybe death.
So, she trusted instinct.
Only.
In clinging to instinct, she missed one thing...
- Crack!
"Huh?"
Her standard-issue wand would break.
That spell strained even personal wands. The finale especially.
Plus output way above normal.
Yet.
Could a already-damaged standard-issue wand handle it?
Answer: no.
"N-No! Wait!"
Seiki realized too late, screaming desperately. But everything was over.
- CRACKCRACKCRACK!!!
The initial fissure spread across the entire standard-issue wand.
- SHATTER!!!!!!
Finally, the overworked wand crumbled to pieces.
Along with all those shields.
"Ah..."
"Admit it, you dickhead."
Kim Siyul sneered.
"Rabbit Hole is Vocaloid's 'roots'."
Seiki crumpled to her knees, collapsing like her wand.
"If it sold the most, that's the 'roots', right?"
Embracing Kim Siyul's mocking words.