NOVEL WEB Chapter 12
A magical girl is being guided.
(This is Haruna. I seek backup.)
‘This is a Demon. It’s impossible, give up on melons.’
I hate melons, you know…
Most likely, my mistake this time was running to build stamina during the weekday daytime after buying and drinking a beverage from a vending machine.
No, it might be because the first week went without any problems, so I let my guard down.
“Where’s your school? Aren’t your parents nearby?”
I never thought I’d get caught by a police officer while drinking longer than usual at a vending machine…
I’ve been questioned by the police a few times before, but anyway, if I continue like this, I’ll end up being taken in for questioning.
‘Saying that I’m a magical girl would probably sort things out, but since I’d be asked for ID, that won’t work.’
“I don’t go to school. As for home… there isn’t one.”
For now, I’ll buy some time. If an opportunity to escape arises, I can manage somehow.
The policeman scratches his head in confusion and takes out a communication device. If things continue like this, it will be revealed that I have no registered address.
(Akuma-san? Can you revert it?)
‘I decline any response outside of contract fulfillment. If Haruna turns back into a boy, I’ll kill you and then myself.’
Even though I can’t see him, I can picture Akuma giving me a thumbs-up with a smile. Really, this guy always seems to be having fun…
Looks like there’s nothing left to do but get detained and try to escape from somewhere like the restroom.
As I resign myself to this and look up at the refreshing sky, an alarm echoes around us.
The policeman who was making a call in front of me appears to understand the meaning of the alarm and takes on a serious expression.
One of the technologies provided by the Fairy Realm. An emergency rapid alert for monster disasters.
Without this, it would have been difficult to prepare beforehand for monsters, and humanity’s recovery would have been significantly delayed.
However, usually, Akuma notifies us before the monster alerts come through, so what happened this time?
‘Oh, I was off-duty and checking my mentions, so I didn’t notice.’
At first, I thought he was playing the strong character role, but this guy really is quite clumsy.
“You! We’re evacuating, so come with me!”
After finishing the call, the policeman grabbed my hand anxiously and led me to the patrol car. Well, there’s nothing else to do. A regular police officer can’t do much against a monster, after all.
‘Here’s some bad news. The rank of the monster expected to appear is S Rank, and today’s standby ranker is Thalagong.’
Harry! Officer! Please take me with you quickly!
It’s only been two days since then, but the flag recovery is happening too fast.
Afterwards, I watched the video of the battle with Thalagong, and I almost threw up just watching myself.
Indeed, the way I feel when analyzing calmly is different from when I’m hyped up.
The impact of arms and legs exploding was quite significant…
Sitting in the back seat of the patrol car, I pray we arrive at the shelter soon.
As I relax watching the scenery pass by, the world begins to change shape as if repainted.
‘And here’s even more bad news. The enemy is a special individual that handles barriers. Three magical girls from the North Kanto Branch, Thalagong, and including us, dozens of civilians are trapped inside the barrier.’
“Headquarters! Headquarters, respond! Shit! What’s going on?”
The barrier erected by the monster seems to block radio waves, just like the fairy’s barrier. You panic when the scenery suddenly changes and communication is cut off.
Unfortunately, the area inside the monster’s barrier is desolate, and despite trying to drive the patrol car, debris gets in the way, preventing us from moving forward.
Getting out with the policeman to check our surroundings, there’s no sound of battle for now.
“You, whatever happens, I’ll protect you, so don’t worry.”
The policeman encourages me with a pale face, but first, I want to tell him to calm down.
Since policemen must have more knowledge about monsters than the average person, perhaps recognizing that we’re inside a barrier has filled him with despair?
Civilians caught in a barrier rarely survive unless they’re extremely lucky.
(What should we do? Thalagong isn’t alone, so there probably won’t be a wide-area attack, but anything could happen.)
‘It’s partly due to my negligence, but it’s fine if you transform in the worst case?’
It’s understandable that magical girls might fall, but involving civilians is unacceptable.
Magical girls are necessary for the world. But civilians are necessary too.
I don’t intend to wave a trite sense of justice around, but if we can help, it’s only right to do so. Though, if it looks like we’re losing, I’ll run away.
(How’s the surrounding situation?)
‘Due to the barrier itself being quite large and the fairy side’s barrier covering the monster’s barrier, the detection accuracy is poor. I’m analyzing, so please wait a moment.’
If someone like Thalagong were to take care of it, we’d be saved, but given my rotten luck, something will likely go wrong.
While the policeman busily guards the surroundings, I lean against the patrol car and sit down.
The clear sky darkens, leaving me worried about what’s ahead.
Why am I even a magical girl… Ah, it’s because I almost got killed by one. Although, technically, I did die…
In situations like this, I wish I could drink some coffee…
I feel a distortion of magic around me, and something collides with the patrol car, sending it flying along with whatever hit it.
Since I was leaning against the patrol car, I fell to the ground, hurting my back subtly.
‘Now that I understood the distortion, this barrier is a multi-layered one. Even though there are reactions around us, it’s strange that we can’t sense sound or heat sources.’
(In other words, what does that mean?)
‘There are at least as many monsters as there are barriers. Due to the barrier, we can’t escape. Moreover, simply defeating the main one will cause serious trouble.’
Summarizing: If we defeat the S Rank monster, the monster’s barrier will disappear, but since the fairy’s barrier remains, we’ll have to fight a large number of monsters while protecting civilians.
There’s a time limit until Thalagong defeats the S Rank monster, within which time, the four of us need to defeat the S Rank monster’s underlings, right?
(Isn’t this too unreasonable a game?)
‘By the way, the thing that just flew over seems to be a magical girl. Monsters will appear soon based on that distortion.’
With one already defeated, our luck is really bad.
The policeman steadies his trembling hand on his pistol and fires at the slowly emerging monster from the distortion.
“Hurry up and run! I’ll buy you some time!”
Please don’t look at me like that with such determination. While I may be a girl right now, in this era, girls can often be stronger.
(There’s nothing else to do, so I guess I’ll give it a shot.)
As the policeman reloads his gun, I stand in front of him. He’s surprised by my move, but I would be too if I were in his position.
“Please help the magical girl who was blown away earlier. I’ll handle the monster.”
‘Good job~. There are inconveniences, but I don’t dislike developments like this.’
(Stop talking nonsense and hurry up.)
‘It’s your first transformation in front of people, so let’s make it flashy! Come on, fake magical girl. Are you ready?’
“(Something like that doesn’t exist for me.) Transformation”
As the wind swirls and I’m enveloped in light, I transform into a white robe-clad figure. Of course, I don’t forget to pull up my hood.
I grab the staff that appears before me with my right hand, spin it around, and thrust it into the ground.
Magical Girl Inny Flowering, reporting for duty.
In about 10 seconds, the monster will fully approach us. It’s unwise to recklessly destroy the distortion since we don’t know what might happen, so for now, we just have to wait. However, preparations are possible.
“Alright, leave that side to you.”
“The gentleman… Understood, I’ll leave this place to you, and the magical girl to you.”
Immediately, the policeman runs off, allowing me to catch my breath.
(What’s the order for this mission?)
‘The survival of all civilians. And eliminating all vanguard forces before the S Rank is defeated. Assume there are over 12 A Ranks and numerous B Ranks or lower monsters.’
You always give me unreasonable requests, but it slightly motivates me.
A flashy spell with not too wide coverage…
“Earth, become pillars.”
Surrounding the near-complete distortion with six pillars, I draw a hexagram using them as starting points. Then, simultaneously as the monster fully emerges, I unleash a powerful blast.
Like last time, this hexagram is both for damage control and to assist the magic.
“Flame of Light, destroy the enemies before me.”
From above, noisy beams of heat rain down, incinerating the monsters. Since the opponent seems to regenerate, this turned out to be the perfect magic.
Though the heat was blocked by the hexagram, quite a strong wind blows through.
‘The ground is melting, huh?’
Monsters are best dealt with by overkill. There are still more enemies this time, so speed is key.
As I defeat the monster, the surroundings change from ruins to a grassland. Defeating them leads to the next stage; losing means game over. What a fun world this is.
“To think you could defeat that monster in one hit… Truly impressive.”
Personally, I find the policeman far more impressive for challenging such a creature as a civilian. Even if it was just stubbornness.
“Bring that child over here.”
The policeman sets down the magical girl he carried over for treatment. However, seeing her brings up a whirlpool of dark emotions I can’t shake.
She’s the counterpart of the magical girl who killed me, Magical Girl Star Nail.
It’s not about revenge, but just looking at her makes me uncomfortable.
‘Stay calm! Stay calm, Haruna. Getting emotional is dangerous.’
(I know that. I won’t misplace my priorities.)
We need every helping hand we can get right now, so I’ll swallow my pride and endure.
Her injuries seem limited to a broken arm, with no bleeding wounds.
“Hurry up and heal.”
Thankfully, I have healing magic. Without it, I’d have had to do everything alone.
The broken arm healed successfully, so I’ll leave her until she wakes up to the policeman.
“We’re moving. Please follow while carrying that child.”
From now on, it’s a race against time. We don’t know how Thalagong and the other two are doing, and we need to rescue civilians quickly.
The policeman nods silently and carries the magical girl without complaint.
His understanding without unnecessary objections is appreciated.
There’s no point staying here, and he seems to understand the significance of the changed landscape.
“Where are we heading?”
(Which way should we go?)
‘What a shame, it was such a cool moment. Just keep going straight. There are two monsters and probably two people here.’
“We’ll proceed straight. It seems there are monsters and people here.”
Detecting targets is best left to Akuma. If I tried to detect them, it would be auxiliary magic, weakening my offensive power.
Even in this expansive grassland, there are enough trees around to obstruct our vision. Ideally, I’d move alone, but I can’t leave the policeman behind.
‘Radar detects something. There are people a kilometer ahead. Fortunately, they don’t seem to be attacked by monsters yet.’
(That’s good. Let’s hurry just in case.)
‘Wait, Haruna! There’s a magical distortion right in front of you!’
Why does trouble always arise when I let my guard down even a little?!
Were they using a person as bait to lure others in!?
“Stay back! It’s a monster!”
“Damn it! Got it!”
The policeman quickly moved away, but I wasn’t prepared.
Unlike before, it seems they won’t give me time to prepare.
‘Two A Ranks. One is resistant to magic, so be careful.’
(Acknowledged.)
Though I responded confidently, I’m caught off-guard.
One of the monsters resembles a wolf, clearly a melee type judging by its appearance.
The other looks elf-like, humanoid, and uses ranged magic.
Moreover, their teamwork is unnecessarily good…
If I had more time, I could probably outlast them, but time is precious.
I counter magic with magic and dodge the wolf’s claws and bites with sheer effort.
Even getting hit once would put me at a significant disadvantage.
‘Not much physical strength helps, but at least your endurance came in handy.’
(True! Ah, these guys are working together way too well!)
I want to seize the opportunity to counterattack, but it’s hard to find the right moment.
Worse still, I’m becoming physically disadvantaged.
When I cast spells, the elf casts them too, and whenever I try to prepare a big move, the wolf interferes.
In the worst-case scenario, I have the option of self-destruction signaled by a weak start sound, but first, there’s my usual trick.
Counterattack. Dodge, charge forward… Haaah!
To create distance, I thrust my staff into the mouth of the wolf that opened wide to bite, then withdraw.
Although my magic becomes weaker without my staff, I still have some tricks up my sleeve.
Above all, this is the decisive moment while they’re momentarily stunned.
“Rise forth, magical energy!”
I use materialized magical energy to knock the elf off balance at their feet.
Taking advantage of this opening, I touch the staff stuck in the wolf.
“Shatter into pieces!”
I infuse the staff with magical energy, causing the wolf to explode. Thankfully, the staff didn’t get chewed up since it wasn’t solid enough.
Only the annoying elf remains, but there’s no way I’d lose in a one-on-one magical duel.
“Break. Scatter. Freeze and sleep.”
Despite putting up some resistance, the elf crumbles into dust in the blink of an eye.
I don’t sense the strength worthy of being called A Rank, but maybe there’s something more?
‘The reaction is definitely A Rank, but something feels off?’
The monster that defeated Star Nail also felt strangely off, and this is starting to smell fishy.
There are concerns, but rescuing lives comes first now. We managed here, but it’s unclear how things are going elsewhere.
‘Your wounds are shallow but numerous, so recover before regrouping.’
“Sure thing.”
Just in case, I’ll heal using a low mana-consuming spell. We have a long road ahead.
Well then, let’s push forward for the mission.