Congratulations on Your Magical Girl Duties

78 – Moonrise and Moonset

Here, there is a magical girl named Raina.

The magical girl’s name is Yellow Lion.

Her rank is Magical Corporal.

She had never, in her life, been truly surprised.

Not when the monstrous beings appeared, not when she abruptly awakened as a magical girl, not even when she accidentally drifted to Korea and continued her duties as a magical girl.

Raina did not waver.

She only briefly expressed a sense of wonder. Her very nature was simply that way.

Even now, she wasn’t surprised.

‘What… the…?’

No, she should have been.

It was utterly incomprehensible. That a person on the verge of death could become whole again was peculiar, yes, but understandable. Among the monsters, there were sometimes such beings.

But, what in the world was that just now?

For a fleeting moment, her consciousness flickered.

She remembered nothing.

Only, from the belated, throbbing pain emanating from her entire body, she could barely surmise…

‘Stabbed? No, was I… sliced?’

Something sharp must have brushed past Raina faster than she could perceive.

From below, upwards.

‘But… how?’

It made no sense.

Raina was closing the distance to Kim Siyul, but she wasn’t within striking range.

And, did Kim Siyul even draw a sword?

No. He was empty-handed.

Then, by what means could he have launched such an attack on Raina from afar?

‘…Wait a minute.’

In that instant, a thought flashed through Raina’s mind.

It was important to know how Kim Siyul had attacked, but there was something even more crucial.

Raina was, in terms of raw physicality, the second most powerful magical girl here.

Only a hair’s breadth below Brown Horse, the magical girl who wielded blunt instruments.

And yet.

If even *she* could lose consciousness for a moment, how could the other magical girls possibly be alright?

For example, Elemental Squirrel, the most physically vulnerable of them all.

“The others?!”

Raina whipped her head around.

“Ah…”

A sigh escaped her lips.

Elemental Squirrel, who had been providing magical support from mid-range, was sprawled out pathetically.

Blood gushing from the densely packed, irregularly spaced wounds.

Clearly a fatal blow. Being a magical girl, she wouldn’t die, but recovery would take a long time. Practically removed from the fight.

The fact that she hadn’t lost consciousness was admirable, but not a good choice.

Losing consciousness would have been far better.

“──! ────!!! ───!”

What came out of her mouth was…strange. Not a scream, not elements of language, not even an animalistic wail.

Just the desperate, empty breathing of a speechless creature expressing its pain at death’s door.

A truly wretched sight.

Worse than death itself.

Even Indigo Hawk, who had collapsed first, had suffered similar injuries. But at least she was unconscious, making it comparatively better.

Meanwhile, Brown Horse was remarkably unscathed compared to Raina and the others, but that fact offered Raina little comfort.

“You son of a b*tch!!!”

Already difficult to control due to her aggressive nature, the unexpected injuries had driven her half out of her mind.

In that state, she wouldn’t listen to anything Raina said.

“You! I’m gonna kill you!!!”

As if to confirm that prediction, Brown Horse charged forward recklessly.

“W-wait! Please wait─!”

“I’m gonna kill you!!!”

Cutting off Raina’s desperate cry, she charged blindly towards Kim Si-yul.

At that moment, Brown Horse swiftly aimed her bludgeon at Kim Si-yul with precision.

“Ski-dat-chi (Pure love of horse)!”

The red line extending from the bludgeon connected with Kim Si-yul. Precisely at his forehead.

‘A relief.’

Laina breathed an inward sigh.

Even if Magical Girl Brown Horse couldn’t think straight, at least enough reason remained to cast magic properly.

The incantation alone sounded absurd.

But its effect was anything but.

Because it was a spell that guaranteed the next spell cast by Magical Girl Brown Horse would hit.

Though it could only target one opponent, devoured a vast amount of mana, and forced the caster to faint a few seconds later, regardless of their will.

‘Unusable in a magical melee like before.’

Still, this time it was an effective spell.

Just one hit, that’s all she needed.

Then, what magic would follow?

‘Surely…’

There could only be one spell.

A spell Laina knew all too well.

“Uma Pyoi (Mating of horse)!!!”

A swing focused on a single point, the most primal of attacks.

But it wasn’t a simple swing. Its power increased exponentially, proportional to the distance and speed of the caster’s run.

Even with a moderate distance covered, other magical girls, even Laina herself, found Magical Girl Brown Horse’s ultimate magic difficult to withstand.

And now.

Magical Girl Brown Horse was about to unleash magic with a power exceeding even what Laina had previously been unable to endure.

Of course, the spell wasn’t without its flaws. Difficult to land, vulnerable until the swing.

A spell that virtually disregarded defense.

If cast without moving, simply punching would be far more powerful – a fatal drawback.

But.

All these weaknesses had been completely nullified by the previous spell.

Perfect. To beat Kim Si-yul to a pulp.

‘Surely it’s perfect…’

Even so, Laina couldn’t easily suppress the rising unease.

She didn’t know the exact reason. Only that, even as her mind registered it was fine, her gut kept sounding the alarm.

‘Something…’

Seemed like I missed something. That feeling flickered, just barely.

Then, as blood trickled down her arm, soaking her palm, Raina abruptly understood.

She didn’t know what Kim Si-yul’s attack had been just now, but she could, at least a little, guess what he’d used and from which direction it came.

The means: several sharp blades.

The direction: from below, upwards.

Then.

‘Wait a minute!’

Where would those implements be now, exactly?

Raina didn’t raise her head. More accurately, she didn’t have the luxury to.

She had to warn them, right now.

“The ceiling!”

“Huh?”

Startled by Raina’s uncharacteristic informality, Magical Girl Brown Horse, who had been charging forward with fervor, finally showed a proper reaction.

But, it wasn’t exactly cause for celebration.

“Watch out for the ceiling!!!”

“Captain, I already hit the magical gacha ceiling, though?”

Even with Raina’s urgent shout, Magical Girl Brown Horse only looked bewildered, and continued to run.

Her face seemed to say, *why are you suddenly talking about something so out of left field, when this one attack will end it all?*

But.

“It’s falling!!!”

Hearing Raina’s next words, Magical Girl Brown Horse couldn’t help but turn her head.

Upwards, from directly facing Kim Si-yul.

“What in the world is on the ceiling that’s falling─!”

And, Magical Girl Brown Horse saw it.

“……Ah?”

Countless swords lined up on the ceiling.

She couldn’t even begin to guess how many there were. For a fleeting moment, she wondered if the Magical Training Grounds’ ceiling had always been that color.

“I’ve seen the moon rise.”

At that moment, Kim Si-yul, who had been silent until now, slowly opened his mouth and declared.

“Shouldn’t I go see the moon set, too?”

The moon, commencing its descent.

“Moonfall.”

A rain of swords begins to fall.

Without a sound.

Yet more violently than a summer downpour.

Laina swiftly moved to the corner, ducking low beneath her longsword to avoid the blade-rain. Though undignified, she couldn’t simply endure it.

Impacts reverberated from beyond the longsword. On parts of her body she hadn’t managed to shield, wounds began to etch themselves, one by one.

And yet, precisely because of this, there was no sound at all.

‘What kind of trickery is this!’

Laina gritted her teeth, inwardly aghast.

Magic, by its very nature, possessed a sound. This was a law from which anything utilizing mana could not escape.

Preparation, manifestation, aftermath, and so on. At some point, magic invariably accompanied sounds, large or small. At least, according to Laina’s knowledge, it did.

However, this was far too different.

No sound whatsoever.

Only the result of its presence existed.

Like a moon rising before one could even notice.

How much time had passed? No more impacts resonated from beyond the longsword.

The sword-rain had ceased.

Laina, the moment she removed the longsword, rapidly moved her head. She sought to ascertain the well-being of Magical Girl Brown Horse.

“Ah…”

A sigh, similar to before, yet even more profound, burst from Laina’s lips.

It was a gruesome sight.

Magical Girl Brown Horse’s body was completely lacerated. Incomparable to even when facing that exceedingly dangerous aberration before.

No, even the word “lacerated” was insufficient.

It was simply the most fitting expression.

The damage was that severe.

No matter how robust her physique might be, even she was helpless against an attack suffered in an unguarded state.

Even a spell of certain hit and certain kill was useless.

As she had collapsed before she could even land it.

A small mercy, perhaps, was that her head remained unharmed. Though even then, joining the fight now was impossible.

“However, there’s a chance of victory.”

Perhaps it was her inherently unshaken nature. Rina was able to quickly assess the situation even from this gruesome scene.

That the attack just used, she wouldn’t be able to use it twice.

It was a guess, but half-certain. Generally, wide-area magic devoured mana at an alarming rate. Especially when the density was as high as it was now.

Indeed, Kim Shi-yul’s complexion was even worse than a moment ago. It must mean he overdid it.

The decision was swift.

“Lion Step.”

Yellow mana enveloped Rina’s feet.

“Acceleration.”

Soon, Rina’s body moved at high speed. Leaving behind residual mana in the form of lion paw prints with every move.

Originally, it was magic used to launch a preemptive strike from beyond perception or to escape from challenging monsters.

But now, its purpose was different.

Rina deliberately made a loud noise, imprinting footprints in every location inside the Magical Training Room.

Not just the floor, but all four walls, and even the ceiling, were densely covered.

She wasn’t just moving aimlessly. It was an action taken for two purposes.

First, to disrupt the senses.

It was mana-intensive, but unavoidable. Kim Shi-yul’s reflexes were superior to Rina’s.

There was no guarantee that a quick attack wouldn’t be blocked. Even less guarantee that she wouldn’t be counterattacked.

‘In fact, it’s almost certain I’ll be counterattacked.’

If that was the case, it was better to steadily gnaw at his nerves and wait for an opening.

And, the second purpose was…

‘Close combat wouldn’t be wise.’

To create as much distance as possible at the right moment.

Kim Shi-yul’s range was close to mid-range. Getting into extremely close range might be doable, but narrowing that distance alone in her current situation was difficult.

Frankly, even when she was facing him alone earlier, he was already frustratingly challenging.

‘I’d probably get eaten alive if I recklessly closed the distance.’

If that was the case, she’d rather attack from afar.

Fortunately, Rina had a way.

Transforming her longsword into a Sword Spear and throwing it like a javelin, a crude but certain method.

Just in time, the transformation into the Sword Spear was complete. Now, all she had to do was find an opening and cast the spell.

‘It can only be used once, but…’

Worth the risk. That’s what she thought.

“Seungwol (Ascending Moon).”

Until a single moon soared into view.