Chapter 79
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: Moonrise and Moon Crossing
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There was a Magical Girl named Raina here.
Her Magical Girl name was Yellow Lion.
Her rank was Magical Corporal.
She had never been truly shocked in her life.
Not when the Monsters first appeared, not when she suddenly awakened as a Magical Girl, and not even when she happened to drift into Korea and continued her duties there.
Raina never faltered.
She merely expressed a fleeting sense of wonder. It was simply in her Magical nature.
Even now, she wasn't surprised.
'What... the...?'
No, she should have been.
She simply couldn't comprehend it. Seeing someone on the brink of death suddenly recover was curious, but understandable. There were occasional Monsters like that.
But what on earth had just happened?
For a split second, her consciousness had flickered.
She remembered nothing.
Judging only by the dull pain that belatedly spread through her entire body...
'Stabbed? No, sliced?'
Something sharp must have grazed past her faster than she could perceive.
From below, upward.
'How in the world...?'
It was utterly incomprehensible.
She had been closing in on Kim Siyul, but she hadn't even entered his range.
And Kim Siyul hadn't drawn his sword either.
He was just bare-handed.
So how could he have attacked her like that from a distance?
'...Hold on.'
In that moment, a thought flashed through Raina's mind.
Knowing how Kim Siyul had attacked was important, but there was something even more crucial.
Among the Magical Girls here, Raina had the second-strongest physical body.
She was just a hair below the bludgeon-wielding Magical Girl Brown Horse.
Yet even she had lost consciousness for an instant. What about the others?
For instance, the physically frailest one here, Magical Girl Elemental Squirrel.
'What about everyone else?!'
Raina whipped her head around.
"Ah..."
A sigh escaped her lips.
Magical Girl Elemental Squirrel, who had been providing mid-range Magical support, lay collapsed in a pitiful heap.
From the irregular, densely carved slashes, blood gushed out in spurts.
It was unmistakably a critical Magical wound.
She wouldn't die thanks to her Magical Girl physiology, but recovery would take a long time.
She was effectively out of the fight.
The fact that she hadn't lost consciousness was commendable, but not a good choice.
It would have been far better if she had passed out.
"──! ────!!! ───!"
What came from her mouth was something eerie.
Not a scream, not linguistic elements, not even an animal-like cry.
It was the hollow, desperate breathing of a speechless creature expressing agony on death's doorstep.
A truly wretched sight.
A state worse than death.
Even the Magical Girl Indigo Hawk, who had fallen first, bore similar wounds. At least she had the mercy of unconsciousness.
Meanwhile, Magical Girl Brown Horse seemed far more intact than Raina or anyone else, but that offered Raina little comfort.
"You fucking bastard!!!"
Her already aggressive personality was hard to control at the best of times, and now, having taken an unexpected hit, she had half-lost her reason.
In that state, she wouldn't listen to a word Raina said.
"I'm seriously going to kill you!!!"
As if confirming Raina's fears, Magical Girl Brown Horse charged forward recklessly.
"W-Wait! Please hold on─!"
"I'm going to kill you!!!"
She cut off Raina's desperate cry mid-sentence and barreled blindly toward Kim Siyul.
In that instant, Magical Girl Brown Horse swiftly aimed her bludgeon squarely at Kim Siyul.
"Pure Love of Horse!"
A red line extends from the bludgeon, locking onto the target's forehead.
A red line shot from the bludgeon and struck Kim Siyul. Precisely on his forehead.
'Good.'
Raina inwardly sighed in relief.
It meant that even if Brown Horse wasn't thinking straight, she still had enough Magical intellect to cast the right spell.
The incantation sounded ridiculous at first glance.
But its effect was anything but.
It guaranteed the next spell would hit its mark.
Though it had drawbacks: only one target, massive mana drain, and forced knockout a few seconds later, regardless of will.
'Can't use it in chaotic Magical melees like before.'
But perfect for this situation.
Just land one solid hit.
Then the follow-up spell would be...
'Undoubtedly...'
There was only one possibility.
And Raina knew it well.
"Mating of Horse!!!"
A primal swing targeting the Magical core. Power scales exponentially with charge distance and speed.
A Magical core-targeting primal swing.
But no mere swing.
Its power surged exponentially with the distance and speed of her charge.
Brown Horse's ultimate spell—even Raina struggled to block it from moderate range, let alone the others.
And now.
Brown Horse was charging up a version even stronger than what Raina had barely endured before.
Of course, it wasn't flawless. Hard to land, fully exposed until release.
It ignored defense entirely.
And casting without charging made a normal hit stronger—a fatal flaw.
But.
All those weaknesses were nullified by the previous spell.
Perfect. For smashing Kim Siyul.
'It should be perfect...'
Yet Raina couldn't shake the rising unease.
She didn't know exactly why. Her mind said it was fine, but her instincts kept ringing alarms.
'Something...'
Like she'd overlooked something.
Then, as blood trickled from her arm to wet her palm, realization struck.
Whatever Kim Siyul's attack was, she could vaguely guess the method and direction.
Multiple sharp blades.
From below, upward.
Then.
'Hold on!'
Where were those blades now?
Raina didn't look up. More accurately, she had no time to.
She had to warn them now.
"Ceiling!"
"H-Huh?"
Startled by Raina's uncharacteristic casual tone, Brown Horse finally reacted properly mid-charge.
But it wasn't enough to call fortunate.
"Watch the ceiling!!!"
"Captain, I already pulled Magical Gacha on the ceiling?"
Brown Horse just looked puzzled at Raina's frantic shout and kept running.
As if wondering why she was spouting nonsense when one hit would end it.
But.
"It's falling!!!"
The moment she heard Raina's next words, Brown Horse had no choice but to look up.
From facing Kim Siyul head-on, upward.
"What's on the ceiling that's falling─?!"
And then, Magical Girl Brown Horse saw it.
"...Ah?"
The countless swords arrayed on the ceiling.
So many she couldn't even count. It made her question if the training room ceiling had ever been that color.
"I saw the moonrise."
In that moment, the hitherto silent Kim Siyul slowly spoke.
"Now I have to go see the moon crossing too, right?"
The beginning of the moon's descent.
"Moonset."
The rain of swords began to fall.
Silently.
Yet fiercer than a summer downpour.
Raina quickly darted to a corner, huddling under her longsword to evade the sword rain. She couldn't just take it standing.
Shocks transmitted beyond the blade. Uncovered body parts began accumulating Magical wounds one by one.
And yet, no sound at all.
'What the hell is this?!'
Raina gritted her teeth, inwardly aghast.
Magic inherently produced sound. An inescapable law for anything using mana.
Preparation, activation, aftermath.
Magic always came with noises great or small. At least by Raina's Magical knowledge.
But this was too different.
No sound whatsoever.
Just the result, as if it had always been there.
Like the moon suddenly noticed in the sky.
How much time passed? The shocks from beyond the blade ceased.
The sword rain had stopped.
Raina shoved her sword aside and quickly looked around. To check Brown Horse's Magical status.
"Ah..."
A sigh like before, but thicker, burst from her lips.
It was gruesome.
Brown Horse's body was utterly shredded. Far worse than when facing that extremely dangerous Monster earlier.
A true Magical negito.
Even with her sturdy frame, she couldn't withstand an unguarded assault.
Not even her sure-hit ultimate.
She fell before landing it.
At least her head was unscathed. But joining the fight now was impossible.
'Still, we have a Magical chance.'
Was it her unflappable Magical nature? Raina swiftly judged even in this horror.
He couldn't use that attack twice.
A guess, but near-certain. Wide-area magic devoured mana terrifyingly. Especially at this density.
Indeed, Kim Siyul's complexion had worsened. He'd overexerted.
Decision was swift.
"Lion Step."
Yellow mana enveloped Raina's feet.
"Acceleration."
Soon, Raina's body shot forward at high speed.
At every spot she moved, every step she took, lion paw prints of mana lingered belatedly.
'Didn't plan to use it.'
Originally for blind-siding tricky Monsters or escaping.
'No choice.'
But now, its purpose differed.
Raina deliberately made noise, stamping paw prints everywhere in the Magical simulation room.
Floor, four walls, even the ceiling—packed densely.
Not random movement. Two goals.
First: sensory disruption.
Mana-intensive, but necessary. Kim Siyul's Magical reflexes outstripped hers.
Even a Magical ambush from a blind spot offered no guarantee of success. Counterattack was almost certain.
'Basically, assume I'll get countered.'
Better to keep chipping at his nerves and strike an opening.
Second goal.
'Closing in isn't wise.'
Maximize distance at the right moment.
Kim Siyul's range: short to mid. Up close might work, but alone, narrowing that gap was tough.
Even solo earlier, he'd been a handful.
'Get too close and I'll be devoured.'
So attack from afar.
Fortunately, Raina had a method.
Convert longsword to sword spear and hurl it—a crude but reliable tactic.
Conveniently, the conversion finished. Now, just time the cast.
'Only once...'
Still worth it, she thought.
"Rising Moon."
Until one moon soared skyward.