The Magical Girl Believes in the Power of Bonds (7)

The massive light wave fired by the bull-headed giant collided with the translucent barrier Cookie had thrown up in front of us. The two forces pushed against each other in a violent contest of strength. Sparks flew wildly, and the beam’s glow lit up Cookie’s gritted teeth and determined face as he refused to yield.

But that standoff lasted only a moment.

“Uwaaaaaaaaaah!”

“Kyaaaaaaaaaah!”

With a sharp, ringing crack! the barrier shattered into countless pieces. The giant’s light wave swallowed Cookie whole, then engulfed the rest of us.

My vision bleached pure white.

“Ah… ugh.”

A groan reached my ears. In my spinning vision I realized we were in a corridor of Mera Studio. The terrifyingly high-energy beam had not only swept us up but had also pulverized the pile of rubble that had been blocking the passage behind us.

“Hey, hey, you okay?”

“…Alpha?”

Alpha had come right up beside me and was slapping my cheeks without mercy. Ow. My head was spinning.

“……We’re not dead, huh.”

Yura and Blue were sprawled out like discarded trash, but they were still twitching, clearly alive. Alpha showed me a pocket watch displaying the number 8.

“We survived thanks to Cookie’s noble sacrifice. We transformed at the last possible second.”

“I see. I won’t forget Cookie’s sacrifice… for about two days.”

“Impressive. I’m pretty sure I’ll forget the moment I buy the limited-edition Witch Girl merch.”

“You two, seriously…”

Yura, who had been lying there, stood up with a groan. She reached out and plucked Cookie from the nearby debris. The little fairy was in terrible shape—half its body scorched black, one arm completely torn off. It didn’t move at all, as if it were truly dead.

Still, it had survived being impaled through the stomach last time. It probably wouldn’t die from something like this. I wanted to believe that.

Just in case, I pressed my palms together and offered a moment of silence. Thank you, Cookie. We lived because of you. Farewell. I didn’t know whether it could reach heaven, but I would pray for it. Though honestly it could just fall straight into hell. No, I shouldn’t think that.

“What now?”

“With Cookie like this, running away won’t be easy~.”

Navigating the maze-like dungeon to reach the surface would probably take longer than the giants simply collapsing the entire place. I stroked the tattered little body in Yura’s hand once more. The headaches, the hypnosis, the question of why the fairy was helping us… Cookie had clearly been hiding something. From the very beginning, the reason I had started working as a magical girl was Cookie’s absurd blackmail, so I already resented it plenty.

At the same time, I didn’t have any real complaints about the magical-girl job itself. It provided income, and it wasn’t as if I could never turn back into a man. I had no idea what Cookie was concealing or how it planned to use us, but I wasn’t childish enough to whine about it.

『Buooooooooooooooooooo!』

『Gwoooooooooooooooooooo!』

Beyond the debris, inside the main studio, the giants’ roars and the thunder of their wild rampage continued. The desperate light-wave defense we had mounted and the sickeningly heavy violence now crumbling the dungeon did nothing to tire them. The vibrations from their rampage went on and on.

If we stayed here, the dungeon’s collapse was only a matter of time. Yet once the giants escaped the rubble they would rampage through the village and across the Earth. When Yura looked at me with eyes that asked what we were going to do, I let out a long sigh.

“What about you, Alpha?”

“Me? Hmm… I’ll do whatever you decide. But let’s get out of here fast. Before the shop closes—no, before all the merch sells out.”

“…Honestly, I don’t really like Cookie.”

I muttered as if I had no choice.

“But just taking hits and running away doesn’t suit my personality. ――To be honest, I’m a little pissed off.”

“Do whatever you want. As long as we get back quickly. The Blue Moon merch is popular and sells out first, you know.”

The headache that had tormented me earlier was gone. The urge to suspect Cookie and the fairies had vanished with it. Once we dealt with that giant and had time to laze around, I could ask then, just to pass the time. A cool guy doesn’t tie himself down worrying about trivial matters. A cool girl carries heavy secrets but never lets them darken her.

And.

A man repays what he receives. A woman returns it tenfold.

So I would teach those giants a lesson they’d never forget.

“Wait………”

As if she had read our hearts, Yura blinked rapidly, then shouted in disbelief.

“Hold on!? What are you saying?! Are you insane?! How are you going to do anything about that thing?! The fairy sacrificed itself to protect us, and you still want to charge in?!”

“Yura, it can’t be helped. There are times when a man must not run away.”

“What are you even talking about?! And since when are you two men?!”

“Well, there are times when a woman must not back down… or so they say?”

“Stop playing with words!”

“Hic, I got scolded. Comfort me, Alpha.”

“There, there. Come here, let big sister hug you.”

“You two are the worst~~~~~~~~~~~~!”

After patting the shoulder of the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shrieking Yura to calm her down, we stood and began clearing the debris. Alpha comforted her with a reassuring smile.

“Don’t worry, Yura. The Blue Moon of Witch Girl once said, 『Life is the kind of thing that somehow works out if you just go with it.』”

“That only makes me more worried, Alpha…”

“It means to always steady your mind and body, to keep a heart as calm as still water, and to embrace any reality with an immovable spirit… How moving. As expected of Lady Blue Moon…”

“I’m pretty sure that’s not what it means…”

“Alpha, Alpha. By the way, according to the latest sales stats, Ruby’s limited merch actually outsells Blue Moon’s.”

“Whaaaaat~~~~~~?! What did you just say, you little shit?! If you’re going to spout nonsense I’ll kill you!!”

“Where did the immovable spirit go…!”

『Buwoooooooooooooooooooo!!!』

Boom!Crash!Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwa-gwa-gwang!

The giants were smashing the dungeon walls and floor to pieces. The structure, already cracking under the unnatural shaking, looked like a house whose main beams had been ripped out; it could collapse at any second. The giants’ lower bodies were still trapped in the lake. They wanted to break free, but Black’s imperfect control meant their restraints had not fully released. Once the dungeon fell, they would probably be able to escape.

The giants yearned to get outside. They had been created as weapons. Their implanted mission was to invade Earth, repel the magical girls, ravage, plunder, destroy, and rampage as they pleased. Driven by those desires, they rampaged to escape this hated prison as quickly as possible so they could capture and devour the magical girls who would become their raw materials.

While high-energy light waves and massive fists churned up dust and debris, the first to notice the anomaly was the bull-headed giant.

『…………?』

What the ox-headed giant—Uduinshin—saw was two magical girls pushing through the rubble. They wore the skintight dress suits typical of their kind. One had black hair and fierce red eyes; the other had golden hair and golden eyes. The giant had been certain its earlier light wave had annihilated them, yet here they were, battered and dust-covered but very much alive.

The moment the two girls realized they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had been spotted, they accelerated at once. Like arrows leaving the bowstring, like bullets from a gun, they charged straight at the giants.

――Enemy.

――Magical girls.

――Must repel.

――No, let’s devour them.

――Doesn’t matter.

――Destruction is fun.

The giant grinned at the prospect of something to destroy. It was not the programming of a weapon but a pure instinct that could be called a self. Far more satisfying than simply smashing the prison that irritated them was the joy of destroying magical girls—the very reason for their birth.

Blue-and-white particles gathered at the bull-headed giant’s mouth. It refined and compressed the magic power stored inside its body once, then twice, preparing an attack far stronger than before. This time it would completely pulverize the enemy. It might even empty itself with this one strike. The giant poured every ounce of its strength into the coming blow, all for the sole purpose of crushing the magical girls before its eyes.

“Can you really block that thing?!”

“Blue Moon’s wise words! 『A truly cool woman never goes back on her word』! I absolutely won’t let it through, so don’t worry!”

Having said that, Alpha stopped a short distance from the giant. The horse-headed giant’s arms could not reach this far. The bull-headed giant, which had noticed us first, had been motionless for a while, gathering blue light inside its mouth. The radiance was far, far stronger than before. I swallowed hard.

From beneath Alpha’s feet came the deafening sound of wood splitting and cracking. A tree trunk erupted at terrifying speed, growing, spreading, and twisting upward as if time itself had been fast-forwarded.

Alpha’s magic power and the power of the earth fed the tree, which continued to swell to monstrous size. The trunk that rose up around us grew so enormous it blotted out our entire field of vision. Its tip pointed straight at the bull-headed giant—Uduinshin.

“Pierce, branch of the mistletoe——”

The spear that, according to legend, had slain a god of light was now aimed at a weapon that bore the name of a “god.”

“Mistilteinn!!”

The living spear of god-slaying shot forward. At the same moment, an incomparably massive light wave erupted from Uduinshin’s mouth.

――――――――――――――――!

A deafening roar and a blinding flash. Alpha’s all-out spear and the bull-headed giant’s light wave collided, producing a huge explosion of light and flame. The miserable result was revealed almost instantly.

『―――……!』

When the flash and scorching heat cleared, the tip of the wooden trunk had completely obliterated part of Uduinshin’s head and its entire right upper torso. Having lost both its head and a large portion of its body, the bull-headed giant slowly toppled as if its strength had been cut.

Splaaaaaaaash!

The giant’s enormous body fell into the lake, sending a huge column of water skyward. The spray rained down on the main studio like a sudden downpour.

『―――――――――?』

The horse-headed giant—Maduinshin—standing beside it stared at the scene in utter incomprehension. It even stopped its destructive rampage, silently watching the spot where its companion had fallen.

And I—

“……Touch.”

“Okay. Good work.”

I slapped the hand Alpha weakly held out, then dashed toward the lake while the moment was ripe.

To be honest, I had no idea how to handle a monster of that size. Seriously, who in any martial-arts novel ever fought a mountain-sized beast with nothing but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a single sword? Swords and guns were made for people, not for killing giant monsters, right?

Still, I had to do something, so after thinking hard I decided to use the power of capitalism. In other words, I would buy everything I could from the Point Shop.

I had wasted a huge amount of points buying the Scales of Oath because of S, but I poured every remaining point into unlocking new magic and skills. My precious points… my precious bonus…!

If I spent it all here I wouldn’t be able to buy merch, but if I defeated that ridiculously huge giant I was sure to earn far more points than I had spent. I believed that. I had to believe it or I would lose my mind. If it didn’t work, I could always rob a bank… No, that was definitely a bad idea.

Anyway. Among the skills and spells I had frantically unlocked, I finally found one that seemed useful.

『Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!』

The horse-headed giant noticed me shooting toward it like a hummingbird and finally regained its senses. It began to intercept me, swinging its thick, long arms as if swatting a bug.

“Heh…!”

I stepped on a piece of nearby debris and leaped high with beast-like agility, easily dodging the arm. At the same time I slashed with the plain sword in my hand, but the blade simply bounced off as if repelled by something. The giant’s arm remained unscathed.

Was this the barrier Cookie had mentioned? It seemed I would need destructive power great enough to blow away the barrier itself, just like Alpha had done.

Boom!Kwa-gwang!Rumble! ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Kuoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

All six of the giant’s arms swept toward me from every direction. But thanks to the Mind’s Eye Lv. 8 skill I had unlocked at the Point Shop, I could tell exactly where and how each arm would come even with my eyes closed. I knew precisely how to dodge.

I slipped through the giant’s hands like flowing water, steadily closing the distance. Frustrated that it could not catch me, the giant changed tactics. It clasped all six hands together, forming three enormous fists, and slammed them down without mercy.

『Kuoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!』

Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwaaaaaang!!!!!!

An earthquake. The giant’s monstrous strength and weight drove a hammer of violence into the earth. The already-ruined floor cracked and collapsed under the seismic shock. Lake water poured through the breach, revealing the level below. The giant smiled in satisfaction and began to pull its body free of the draining water.

“【Now then, where shall we go next… There are so many pleasures—the mountain of swords where ‘nothingness’ dwells, the flowing currents of a world filled with joy and sorrow.】”

I stepped lightly onto a rock that now protruded before the giant.

The plain sword I held loosely in one hand glowed faintly with my magic power.

“【Knowing men, knowing the taste of wine, knowing the world, knowing joy and sorrow, knowing solitude, knowing companionship—how could any of it fail to be enjoyable?】”

The giant spotted me and roared again, loud enough to split the heavens. Yet before me, standing calmly, that roar grew as quiet as a windless surface of water. The giant’s arm rose, swinging down to crush me once more.

In contrast, I leisurely lowered the tip of my sword, pointing it toward the center of the giant’s mass.

“【I have come to understand that the path of the sword and the path of life are ultimately the same.】”

What I recited was not an incantation but simple self-suggestion. Among all the products I had bought and unlocked at the Point Shop, I had chosen not magic like Alpha’s but a pure skill. With Mana Operation Lv. MAX changing into Swordsmanship Lv. MAX, the hidden skill that opened only when those conditions were met—I prepared it with a tranquil heart.

“【Pouring my heart into a single stroke, my vision into the swing, my very life into what lies beyond—why would I need a second blow?】”

The giant’s fist approached at terrifying speed, yet to my eyes it seemed to move in slow motion, so slow I could yawn. I smiled faintly, ignoring the oncoming fist, and simply swung the plain sword upward.

“【――May a single inch of perfection reside here.】”

The sword swung. Its edge swam gently. Yet that single strike, infused with the pinnacle of Swordsmanship Lv. MAX, moved faster than the giant’s descending fist. With a clear crack, the blade sank in.

It split the giant that had allowed no opening. It split the vast lake. It split the wide floor. It split the dungeon walls, the high ceiling, the levels below, the entire dungeon—and the very space itself—cleanly in two.

Splaaaaaaaaaaaash!

I looked down at the giant’s corpse now lying in the lake that had been split in two and was rapidly draining.

“What the hell, Cookie. You said I couldn’t do anything about it.”

It had been surprisingly easy. As that thought crossed my mind, I saw Yura running toward me, Cookie clutched in her arms.

At any rate, the annoying business at Mera Studio seemed to be settled for now. It was over. Finally.

……I was about to use every ounce of strength I had to escape this place, so I prayed with all my heart that we would not be late for the Witch Girl limited-merch sale.