Metis's End
My current threat level reading was 2.3. Based on the original Metis's actions and abilities, she should have been at least my equal, if not stronger. The author's setting book had clearly listed her as upper-middle rank among mid-tier magical girls! So why was it showing 1.1? A 1.1 was the level of those magical girls I'd just pulled out! Why had she regressed from the original?!
Cold sweat trickled down my spine, making my dress cling uncomfortably to my back. A powerful wave of disgust followed right after. I couldn't tell whether it came from that clammy sensation or from my shattered expectations.
This can't be right. This is seriously not it.
Metis leaned against her shield planted firmly in the floor, arms crossed. Unlike my troubled heart, she still looked completely relaxed. Strangely, that easy confidence actually brought me a flicker of relief. Maybe she really did have something up her sleeve.
The threat level was supposed to represent the scope of influence her abilities could exert. Even if the raw power was weak, it could be overcome with skill. I clung to that hope like a lifeline and desperately scanned Metis's status window again.
Ability: Barrier Generation
Fuck...
The only ability listed in her window was barrier generation. If she possessed some incredible technique capable of overcoming a 1.1 threat level, it should have shown something like Metis-style shield arts. Instead, there was just that single lonely line: barrier generation.
"Ha... haha..."
A hollow laugh burst out of me. Exhaustion crashed over me like a wave. I slumped into my seat and clutched my head.
Metis gestured into the air. One of the bandits respectfully offered her a cigarette pack and lighter. Click, click. The lighter sparked, and Metis exhaled a lazy plume of smoke.
"As expected, even you can't handle Lady Metis."
"She looks completely broken before the fight even started. Just look at her cowering there."
The bandits' lips began to curl upward at the sight.
"Magical girl...! U-um, shouldn't we help her...?"
In complete contrast to their reactions, the man's face had gone deathly pale. When he turned to look at Fania, the person standing beside him simply waved him off.
"Leave her. You know how much of a sly fox that woman is? Scared? As if. She's probably just lost in her own weird thoughts again."
That bastard! I'm not a sly fox, I'm being rational and cool-headed! But even the strength to argue had drained out of me. My lips felt too heavy to move. I stayed slumped in my seat, watching Metis smoke her cigarette.
This can't be everything. There has to be something she's hiding... there has to be...
This time I checked her ability details.
"Barrier Generation: Creates a barrier around the user. The range and strength of the barrier are proportional to the amount of magic power consumed."
"A spell born from pride in oneself. Its source is a narrow worldview trapped in narrow-mindedness, and she will become the Holy Mother who embraces all magical girls. This is the price of the contract and must be fulfilled."
Narrow-minded... so that's what it meant by a narrow worldview trapped in narrow-mindedness...
Looking at the ability description, I finally understood why things had turned out this way. Pride and self-confidence. Metis certainly had pride and confidence in her power. But it was all fake, built on bullying humans weaker than herself. Everything about her was counterfeit. She was nothing but trash who had shown off her strength among children, grown satisfied with it, and closed off any possibility of moving forward. A frog in a well, buried in memories of being worshipped in her own little kingdom, still believing she was the best.
The reason she had been so confident was simple. She'd spent so long strutting among humans that she'd forgotten reality. She might have fought demons, but she'd never once fought another magical girl. So instead of growing stronger, she'd actually regressed? In combat technique, ability, and even mindset?
Metis grinned and pulled her shield free from the floor. I looked at her face and smiled back. It was closer to a hollow laugh born of disbelief, but still. Things had turned out very differently from what I'd expected, but I still had a job to do... Though I wasn't feeling particularly motivated. Did someone like this even have any potential for growth?
I crossed my legs while leaning back in my chair. This wasn't a fight I needed to take seriously. Hell, calling it a fight felt generous. I raised my left hand slightly and moved just two fingers to manipulate the threads. This level should be about right for the current Metis. It felt like playing exhibition soccer...
Metis charged forward fiercely, shield raised against the threads. The entire train car began to shake violently. It was a full-power shield charge. Chairs grazed by her shield turned to powder and scattered through the air. Deep footprints were left wherever her plated boots struck the floor. The bandits erupted in cheers at the imposing sight.
Of course, that was only imposing by human standards.
I lifted my index finger slightly. The gem mimicked the motion, raising its arm in perfect sync. And then—
—Clang!
The bear doll's single arm completely stopped the charge. Metis's face instantly filled with shock.
Didn't she even consider that her opponent might be able to block it? Why was she just standing there? After the initial disappointment came frustration. Following my raised index finger, I drew a line through the air with my middle finger. The gem's straight punch immediately slammed into the exact center of Metis's shield.
—Booom!
"Ugh...!"
Metis lost her grip on the shield from that single blow. The shield clattered to the floor from her hands. With a heavy metallic clang, Metis staggered backward five full steps. At the same time, the bandits' cheers cut off abruptly.
"Haa..."
Another sigh slipped out at the pathetic display. The original Metis should have easily blocked something like that. She would have pulled her shield back slightly and even attempted a counterattack. This wasn't even the same creature anymore.
I manipulated the gem to kick the shield toward Metis. She clenched her fists and trembled for a moment before bending down to retrieve it.
"This can't be... this can't be happening..."
Metis was still muttering to herself, apparently unable to process the situation. Even after seeing all this, she was still spouting nonsense.
"Don't you dare mock meeee!!"
At the words 'You are not the strongest,' Metis's face flushed bright red as she charged forward swinging her shield. If she had no intention of learning, I'd just have to teach her with her body. I lightly wound the threads around my hand and focused my power. Blue smoke violently erupted from the bear doll's right fist. The gem's finishing move: Strong Fist. If she could block this and still stand on her own two feet, I was willing to acknowledge her potential. If she died, that was that.
In the midst of it, I glanced back. Fania's eyebrows twitched slightly. It was a silent protest asking why I was bothering to use my magic power on this. She'd probably already figured out I could defeat this opponent without using a finishing move, so the complaint was natural. Unlike Metis, Fania had excellent sense of reality. Her personality was just shit, that was the problem.
I tossed the words out casually, then immediately pulled my arm back slightly before thrusting it forward with great force!
Metis hurriedly raised her shield. Within her violently trembling eyes, I could see the desperate will to survive somehow. This was the moment for her to use the best defensive technique available to her.
Oh?
A spark of interest lit in my cooled expectations. The gem's fist, wreathed in blue smoke, shot forward. Metis raised her shield. Two translucent barriers appeared around her.
"......"
That was her finishing move? Calling out two barriers? The spark died out in an instant. The final resolve from the prideful magical girl had produced a truly pathetic result.
That was enough. I had no intention of dragging this out pathetically with something that clearly wasn't working. There was no potential here, and even if she lived, she'd just go back to being a bandit anyway. The gem's Strong Fist finally connected with the center of her shield. The sound that followed wasn't so much an impact as the dull thud of a thick bundle of paper bursting apart. The Strong Fist easily punched through the center of the shield and buried itself squarely in Metis's chest. The fate of the plate armor she wore was no different from the shield. Steel fragments shattered and scattered across the corridor. And above them, her body shot forward like a cannonball and slammed into the wall at the end of the corridor.
—Boom!
I released the threads and walked toward the end of the corridor. The bandits lowered their heads and pressed themselves tightly against the window seats. I gave them a faint smirk before looking down at Metis, who was embedded in the partition door.
"Ah... ah... ugh..."
Metis twitched intermittently, foam bubbling from her mouth. It was almost pitiful to watch her desperately clinging to her fading consciousness. If only she'd lived with this much desperation normally. Anyway, it looked like the situation was over. Time for cleanup.
I released magic threads that wrapped around Metis's body, then detached them from my hand. I held out the end to one of the nearby bandits.
"Y-yes...? Yes...!"
The bandit, who had been standing there in a daze, hurriedly took the threads and tied them tightly to the handle. I grabbed Metis by the hair and opened the window. The wasteland's sandy wind whipped against my face.
I threw the thread-bound Metis out the window. Her limp body sprawled across the tracks below, skipping across the ground like a stone skimming water as it crossed the wasteland.