Chapter 61
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Magical Anomaly
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A magic wand swung through the air.
Blue flames trailed its path, greedily devouring everything in ravenous bursts.
The monster Sora had predicted—
"Huh?"
—wasn't the target.
Empty air was.
"That was my last contingency. Good thing I went for it."
At that moment, the monster's voice echoed from a short distance away, thick with exasperation.
"I had my doubts, but you really predicted it."
Sora whipped her head around.
"You're definitely one dangerous bitch."
And then she realized it.
"Ah."
She'd lost the magical tug-of-war.
The monster's arm had stretched out. And that extended arm had planted itself right at the spot Sora had predicted.
In other words, instead of moving there itself, the monster had jabbed the ground with its elongated arm.
For a magical girl, it was like a textbook Magical Feint tactic. And Sora had fallen for it hook, line, and sinker.
A magical blunder born of haste and impatience.
Sora cursed herself.
'Come on, you idiot, you should've thought it through a little more.'
Maybe that's why. Regret under the name of "what if" surged through her mind at breakneck speed.
What if she'd kept the arm-stretching trait in mind.
What if she'd had more magic power left.
What if she'd landed even one solid hit.
What if she'd trusted Kim Siyul a bit more and teamed up with the other magical girls to fight together.
'It would've been different...'
Unfortunately, all regrets in the world lead to the same destination. Sora's was no exception.
Regret.
And a dash of self-loathing.
Right then, the monster appeared before her eyes.
"I'll kill you nice and clean."
Its razor-sharp claws leading the way.
Was it a final desperate struggle before death? Or just the raw instinct to cling to life?
Sora squeezed her eyes shut without thinking, flailing her hands in panic.
"N-Nooo!!!"
Letting out a classic death scream.
What she felt next wasn't the sharp agony of a blade piercing her flesh—
Slap.
"Haaauuuugh!!!"
—but a pitiful wail.
Standing on the brink of death, Sora cautiously opened her eyes at the bizarre sound.
And she saw it.
"......"
"Ugh! Aaah! Hn! Ahn!"
The monster clutching its chest, writhing and twisting its body.
She'd felt a slight squish at her fingertips at the end. Judging by the reaction, she'd probably groped its chest.
'What the...?'
But she couldn't make sense of it.
Why the hell was it reacting like that?
Just a fluke? To test it, Sora slapped the monster's chest with her palm.
A little harder this time.
Slap!
"Hyaaaaaaaang!!!"
The response was immediate.
Like a fish flopped onto dry land, the monster thrashed wildly on the ground, every limb quaking uncontrollably.
Sora's eyes dulled rapidly.
"......"
She got it now.
The monster's earlier words.
Its current reaction.
Those two facts pointed to one conclusion.
"Ha..."
Sensitivity boosted 300 times.
All its stats were 300 times higher, as the monster had bragged earlier. The problem was, its sensitivity—especially sexual sensitivity—seemed boosted too.
"......"
Sora stared at the monster with dead eyes.
The monster, face a total wreck, pleaded desperately with her.
"P-Please, stop—!"
Of course, Sora didn't listen.
She just smacked its ass with all her might.
Crack!!!
"Ogooooooh!!!"
A slick, vulgar moan escaped as the monster's face crumpled even more pathetically.
"......"
Sora's spirit shattered a little more too.
She never imagined the monster that had toyed with her just moments ago would crash this hard. It was utterly humiliating to think she'd struggled against such a pathetic creature.
After that, it was all the same routine.
Sora would smack its erogenous zones with lifeless eyes, and the monster would let out filthy moans while convulsing dramatically.
Thankfully, unlike humans, it lacked genitals down below, so no fluids sprayed. Still, witnessing the scene was torment enough.
What was the word for it?
Hard to pin down exactly, but...
It felt like something precious inside her was wearing away.
Hell, she was seriously contemplating if quitting as a magical girl right now might be better for her mental health.
How many times did it repeat?
Finally, the monster passed out, eyes rolled back, tongue lolling, legs splayed wide.
Even unconscious, aftershocks rippled through it, making its whole body shudder.
The monster that had given her hell was subdued in the most unexpected way. The magical curse on Ray should be fully lifted now too.
But.
"......"
Sora showed no emotion.
"Fuck my life..."
She just muttered curses under her breath.
Of course, she knew magical girls should always watch their language. One slip and you could get a Magical Complaint filed against you.
But this time, it was unavoidable.
If she didn't vent like this, her mind would snap.
"This is such bullshit, really..."
Who could've guessed?
That beating a monster required not powerful magic, but a solid palm slap.
The sensation still lingered on her hand.
She wanted to chop it off.
Suppressing the urge, Sora quietly clutched her head.
"What the hell is today?"
Everything was off.
Nothing made sense.
A monster that talked and even flew.
It powering up out of nowhere in ways she'd never heard of.
Monsters typically lacked genitals or erogenous zones, yet here it was, losing its mind to pleasure.
Common knowledge for any magical girl.
Experience built from countless incidents.
Knowledge drilled in desperately.
All of it denied today.
"Ha."
Sora's heart grew even more troubled.
"Are you alright?!"
At the sudden voice, Sora slowly turned her head.
A group of magical girls stood there.
Probably the ones who'd planned to join Sora and Taisi for support.
One approached Sora with an awkward smile.
"We rushed here with Magical backup as fast as we could... but looks like you've already handled it. Right?"
Sora nodded silently.
Terribly rude behavior.
For a mere Magical Private like her.
The approaching magical girl was a Magical Officer, unlike Sora. It could've been seen as a Magical Etiquette violation.
But.
No one called her out on it.
"I see. No wonder the Magical curse on us vanished so suddenly."
If anything, they tiptoed around her, careful not to offend.
Well, it was unavoidable in a way.
All the magical girls had noticed.
How precarious Sora's state really was.
"Um... are you okay?"
Magic depletion was unravelling her transformation. Proof the fight hadn't been easy.
But.
The fragility they sensed wasn't physical or magical.
It was mental.
She seemed utterly broken. If not for her hair and outfit, they'd swear she was a different magical girl.
Especially her eyes.
Dull and lifeless, devoid of any spark. They instinctively repelled and terrified.
Eyes of someone who'd gazed into hell and returned.
That's what Sora's eyes were now.
A few flinched. A couple even dampened their skirts in shock.
Some tilted their heads, wondering what happened, but none dared ask.
It felt like something they shouldn't touch.
Like it'd be irreversible if they did.
In the end, the Magical Officer simply offered quiet comfort.
"Um... good work out there."
"Yeah..."
Sora replied in a hollow voice.
The magical girl forced a smile.
"We'll handle the Magical cleanup. It won't take long, so please rest."
"Got it..."
Sora nodded and shuffled to a corner to sit, out of the way.
As she settled, the magical girls sprang into action.
Taisi was loaded onto a Magical Stretcher first.
He'd passed out cold, but no fatal Magical wounds. Barring surprises, he'd recover quickly at the Magical Aid Station.
The monster, meanwhile, got a Magical Capture Wand jammed into it before being dragged off.
No accidents or variables, and it'd wrap up smoothly.
"Sis, this guy's on the move, right?"
"No idea, fuck. I didn't see shit."
Minor hiccups, sure.
Anyway.
With one mess resolved, exhaustion crashed over her. Sora's eyes grew heavy.
"Sis..., Senpai..."
As her eyelids drooped heavier, sealing out the world, she called out for Ray and Kim Siyul.
"I've been through too much."
Just before closing her eyes for good, Sora let out a quiet sigh.
"This is rough."
That day, Sora grew up just a little more.