Magical Girl of Chaos: Magical Rampage

The location of the last witch to defeat is in Africa.

Upon arriving there through the [Gate], all that was visible were traces of an explosion.

It felt incredibly strange to see a clean crater, as if only a single explosion had occurred.

“Here again…”

“Welcome, Rampage.”

“…Greeted as soon as I arrive.”

“Hmm. Mere monsters wouldn’t even scratch you, let alone drain your stamina.”

“You know me well.”

That witch… doesn’t even use monsters or demons as detectors.

Moreover, she knew my location the moment I appeared. Impressive.

More than that… armor and a shield?

An outfit that includes grayish armor, and… a massive shield of an indescribable, dark color.

There’s a sword as a weapon, but… well, that’s about it.

“…Forgive me. With this, there will be no trials for a while. Whether you win or lose… either way.”

“So if I kill you, I can rest easy for a few years… is that it?”

“If you can.”

“Then die.”

The small talk is about to end.

So, wrapping up the conversation, I made the first move.

To gauge her level, I simply enhanced my body and struck down.

But… something strange happened.

“…Hmm!”

“Huh…?!”

Despite clearly striking with force, there was no sign of impact on her.

No matter how strong, there should be at least a slight vibration upon receiving force.

But this one only made the shield vibrate loudly, with no vibration in her body.

“You… have the ability to reflect?”

“…Think what you will.”

Moreover… it seems she can reflect that force back.

Without doing anything, the force I struck with returned to me.

But what’s the gimmick?

The shield seems to absorb, and… I didn’t see clearly what just happened.

It doesn’t seem like the shield does everything; if it did, the sword in her other hand would be a meaningless decoration.

…First, I need to test a bit.

Come to think of it, she’s been holding the shield forward and keeping the sword slightly behind it.

With the blade facing inward, which is an impossible stance if the sword were a weapon.

To defend and slash, the blade should face outward; that’s the norm.

So, is there something about the sword?

So, I lightly fired an unnamed 「Ether Blast」.

Sure enough, the shield reflected the full force of the 「Ether Blast」 back at me. Anticipating this, I handled the reflected force and observed her movements.

After repeating this 2-3 times… I roughly figured it out.

Because clearly, each time she reflected, the sword slightly… moved forward to strike the shield.

“…Seems you’ve caught on.”

“Does it look that way?”

“You attacked as if testing. How does it look to you?”

“…The shield absorbs, and the sword reflects attacks? Honestly, it seems like the shield does everything, with the sword assisting, but somehow that feels like a fake too.”

“Hmph… You even noticed that. Fine. It’s late, but let me introduce myself. The Witch of Protection, Night. Call me that.”

At first, I thought the reflection gimmick was activated through the sword, but it seems the sword itself holds the power of reflection.

So, the absorbing shield, the reflecting sword… she uses these two to pressure her opponent.

Very simple, but that’s what makes it annoying.

Unlike those who collapse when their weak points are slightly severed, she just needs to block with the shield to ensure power, with no risk.

Moreover, these abilities aren’t just bestowed upon the weapons; her body likely possesses the talent, so it’s highly possible it doesn’t end with just empowering the shield and sword.

The worst-case scenario would be her body handling both absorption and reflection simultaneously.

In that case, the only option would be to bombard her with techniques until the absorption limit is reached.

To the point where the reflected force can’t keep up…

First, I’ll keep that in mind.

Always preparing for the worst is the most important basic in combat.

Though, being too cautious can backfire, so caution is needed.

“Pass this trial, and you’ll be granted qualification. Do your best.”

“Shut up. I hate being manipulated by you.”

“Then show me something even Pandora couldn’t anticipate.”

“「Ether Blast」.”

“Useless.”

…Judging by her movements, she’s very accustomed to reflecting with the sword.

But don’t let your guard down.

Surely, the sword isn’t the only thing that reflects, and the shield isn’t the only thing that absorbs.

However, since those are weapons formed by transforming a magic staff, their efficiency is much better.

So, if I target the less efficient parts…

…No, attacking the shield should be avoided as much as possible… but she knows I’ll try to avoid the shield and strike, so she’ll respond accordingly.

Whatever the case, the conclusion is to avoid attacking the shield.

Of course, there’s also the option of a head-on battle to destroy the shield and kill her, but her strength hasn’t been measured yet…

Moreover, that sword is sharper than I thought.

It accurately compresses and reflects the force back at the opponent.

…Wait, compression?

……This is worth checking properly.

“…I’m quick to catch on too, but your perception is frighteningly fast. Did you notice something else?”

“Yeah. Your sword.”

“…As expected, just as Sis and Clock Hands said.”

“…You, that name…”

“Hmph, I have no intention of telling you now. If you defeat me, you’ll naturally find out. They’re watching now.”

“…I’ll kill you.”

This bastard… suddenly bringing up those names…!

Regardless of the possibility that they became witches, I’ll kill her quickly.

If she’s lying about that…

…No, bringing up those names at this point is tantamount to provoking me.

Then… I’ll make her pay the ‘price’ for provoking me.

“…!!!”

“You brought up those names, right? From now on, you’re nothing to me. I’ll kill you at top speed.”

I thought it couldn’t be, absolutely couldn’t be, their names.

But hearing them from the witch’s side must be true.

Certainly, when they died… I heard the mascots couldn’t recover the crystal stones.

I vaguely heard about occasional disappearances, so it’s highly likely… the witches stole them.

So, I’ll kill her now, confirm those two, and… kill them.

Even if they were my closest comrades, since they’ve sided with the witches, all I can do is kill them.

“…What’s with that sword? The light’s almost gone.”

“It’s the sword that will split your shield.”

First… I’ll go full Rampage, compress it to the max, and strike with a light sword.

Of course, she’ll block with the shield, but I’ll just destroy it.

Slash, and slash again.

If she tries to counterattack, I’ll Rampage that too, making it my power.

And wrap it around the light sword… and strike down again.

“Kuh…!!”

“I told you. I’ll split it.”

“You’re… insane…!!”

What I’m doing now is simple.

Destroy the shield with maximum force, and if she counterattacks, I’ll Rampage that too, making it mine, and layer it to strike down again, destroying the shield.

A truly simple tactic.

And the Witch of Protection, the victim of this simple tactic… you’ll pay for shaking my heart.

If you knew my talent, you shouldn’t have done that.

“…This is the limit.”

“Ugh…!!”

“Shut up and die.”

Before I knew it, cracks started appearing on the Witch of Protection’s shield, but since I’m aiming to destroy it, I keep attacking the shield.

After striking it several more times… I finally shattered the cracked shield completely.

It’s your fault for not absorbing properly, and even failing to release the absorbed forces as reflections.

“What… the…”

The Witch of Protection, looking utterly bewildered.

In a situation where she could only defend, her counterattacks kept getting reflected back, so her bewilderment must be immense.

But that’s none of my concern.

She’s destined to die in the next attack anyway.

So… die.

“「Eth…□□□ Blast」.”

「Ether Blast」… no, transformed into an unknown sound, a massive energy blade tore through the Witch of Protection’s body.

Not the usual purple, but a dark, blackish-purple color.

But that’s not important now.

I was quite bewildered, but now I need to find Sis and Clock Hands.

…No, maybe not.

“…You guys. I know you’re there, come out now.”

“…See, we got caught.”

“Not my fault.”

Sis… Clock Hands… seeing your faces, I get it.

It really… really was you.

Having to kill former comrades… it’s the worst feeling.

“…Sorry, Rampage. But we have our reasons. We just came to say hello today.”

“Yeah. So… next time we meet, please sharpen your sword as much as possible. We hope you’re the last in Pandora’s plan.”

“……”

No, what… why are you apologizing all of a sudden?

And what’s this plan? Why aren’t you telling me?

And just saying hello…? You came just to say hello?

…Don’t mess with me.

You guys… you bastards…! …You have to die here.

You’re witches, my enemies, humanity’s enemies, remnants of the past that taint my feelings.

So, die here.

“…Impatient.”

“Kuh…!”

“Well, against the current Rampage, even binding with time won’t last long, so let’s go back now, Sis.”

“…Sorry, Rampage. It’s too early for us to die now. Besides… we don’t want to cause harm while fighting.”

“Wait… wait…!!”

All you do is… bind my movements with time stop and run away…!!

You… you bastards…!! Betraying me, us…!!! Playing such cunning tricks!!!

“See you later, Rampage. Oh, a message from Pandora. In five years, she’ll open the door.”

“From the Demon Realm you’ll eventually come to, we’ll meet again.”

“Stop right now!! Die here!!! Stay there!!”

…! Good, Clock Hands’ binding is undone!

Then… 「Eth..□□…!!

“…That’s enough, Rampage.”

“…Are you stopping me, Fairy Queen?”

“Yes. It’s true they’ve become witches, but I can’t let you rampage here now. More importantly… the signs have already begun.”

“Shut up. That’s not important now.”

“Even so, I have to stop you. In your current state, using that… could annihilate the human realm. You saw the power earlier, right? If you hadn’t aimed it upwards…”

“……”

“Calm down. I understand you’re excited by the changed appearance of your former comrades, but for the sake of the human realm… it’s best to hold back that power now.”

……The Fairy Queen is right.

Just because of a personal issue, getting emotionally shaken and destroying Earth would render everything I’ve done meaningless.

It’s frustrating, but… I’ll follow the Fairy Queen’s advice.

“…Let’s go, Fairy Queen.”

“Yes, Rampage. Let’s go back and start with a physical examination.”

Still… next time, it’s over.

Next time we meet… I’ll definitely, surely, kill you.

And Pandora… I’ll make you pay for playing with my former comrades.

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