Chapter 24

If you ask if there’s a way, there is one.

If you ask if there’s a plan, there is one.

I clenched my left hand hidden under my coat. This is all I can rely on.

My unique weapon.

A unique weapon whose name I don’t even know.

A half-baked magical girl with no unique spell, just an absurd amount of magic power, optimized for churning out minions as the Mother-Body.

But that doesn’t mean there’s no situation where I have to fight.

I don’t have much combat experience, and I’ve only fought Priqu once, but I gained something from that fight.

One: A body tough enough to take no damage from Priqu’s attacks. In other words, durability.

Two: The destructive power of my unique weapon, which knocked out Priqu in one hit. In other words, attack power.

Three: A method I learned from Keru. In other words, a sub-skill.

Combining these three, I judge that I have both offense and defense. The only question is whether it’s always active or not.

“Hey, clear the table.”

Women in suits rushed out and cleared the table. The table, perhaps a magical item, disappeared smoothly as they worked on it. The chairs did the same. In an instant, the meeting room transformed into a spacious hall.

“Mother-Body, are you okay?”

Eve approached and asked. I don’t know if I’ll be okay or not. Maybe I will?

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

“Should I cast a mental defense buff on you?”

I thought for a moment but then shook my head.

I need to win purely with my own strength.

Otherwise, even if I win, I’ll make excuses like “I won because of Eve” or something, and my victory won’t be properly rewarded.

“If I win, you’re buying dinner. Treat the kids to a feast.”

“Fine. I’ll buy you beef. Just win.”

“Leave it to me.”

As Eve stepped back, Dusik approached.

“Boss.”

“Yeah? What, you gonna chant a victory spell for me?”

“Don’t say weird things. I came to cheer you on to win.”

“Alright. I’ll win anyway, but if I do, I’ll say 10% of it was thanks to your cheers.”

“Isn’t that a bit low?”

“Any higher would be weird, right?”

“…I believe you’ll win. I just hope you don’t get hurt.”

“Yeah.”

I patted Dusik’s shoulder and took a few steps forward. My gaze was fixed on Prilly.

Prilly’s face was red, unable to hide her excitement. In contrast, I remained calm.

“Prilly, you were all fired up to fight Eve, but are you scared now?”

“Mother-Body, this sister is just a bit excited, okay? Can you understand?”

I really hate this. No matter what, treating people like toys is something I wish you’d stop.

The magical girls surrounded us.

“Someone set up a colosseum.”

At someone’s voice, Eve raised her hand slightly and chanted a spell.

“Endless plain. Right there, in the Colosseum.”

Whoosh—

The already spacious meeting room expanded even further.

Like a colosseum, only Prilly and I stood in the arena, while the other magical girls were hidden behind a transparent barrier.

“That’s the spectator seats, huh.”

Eve and Dusik were also beyond the spectator seats, so no one answered my muttering.

Is this magic? Convenient.

In the arena, Prilly and I stood facing each other at a distance.

Prilly was dressed in black slacks and a beige shirt. Somehow, it looked more like a magical lady outfit than a magical girl’s, but considering her age, she’s more of a magical lady anyway.

Anyway, Prilly, with her red short hair fluttering, glared at me. In contrast, I stood there casually in my usual transformation form.

I felt my coat fluttering. For some reason, even though it was only half on, it didn’t slip off or fall. And my left hand, hidden under that coat.

If you ask if there’s a plan, there is one.

If you ask if I can win, I don’t know.

If you ask if I might lose, the possibility is high.

But even if it seems that way, there are times when you have to fight.

If I win, that’s great.

If I lose, I’ll bow my head and grow stronger again. A terrible future might await me, but the loser has no right to speak, even with ten mouths. I’ll bow my head and grow stronger again.

“Ready?”

Facing Prilly, who couldn’t hide her grin, I smiled back.

“I’ve been ready. How about you?”

“Yeah. Then, let’s begin. Умные поля.”

Darkness enveloped the battlefield.

Magical Girl Prilly. She became a magical girl at 19. The fourth magical girl after Eve, Priqu, and Aquamarine. Specializes in mind control and cognitive interference magic.

Her main combat style involves manipulating minions to fight each other or casting cognitive interference to make magical girls recognize her as an ally.

Additionally, she enjoys beating enemies to death with her one-handed staff, often seen laughing maniacally while covered in blood, earning her the nickname “Mad Dog Princess.”

But this time, she’s not planning to do that. She can’t hurt such a perfect ideal.

In all her life, has she ever met such a flawless ideal?

As soon as the battle began, she deployed a mind field covering the entire arena. Her unique spell, Mind Field. A spell so mastered she can deploy it just by chanting its name.

Darkness covered the battlefield.

Once inside Prilly’s Mind Field, the Mother-Body is now in her hands.

“It’s dark. Did something happen?”

The Mother-Body’s gaze was fixed directly on Prilly. An illusion? No, that can’t be.

“Well, I can see fine, so it doesn’t matter.”

The Mother-Body was staring straight at Prilly. The darkness covering the battlefield was so thick that a normal human wouldn’t be able to see anything.

Prilly was certain. The Mother-Body is unaffected by the Mind Field!

Tap, tadak, tap-tap-tap…

With the sound of footsteps, the Mother-Body charged toward Prilly. At the edge of her vision was Prilly.

Prilly was flustered.

Her specialty is starting battles with mind control or cognitive interference, which lowers her combat power if the enemy gets close.

But a magical girl is still a magical girl.

Even with lowered combat power, her strength is not to be underestimated.

She didn’t expect the Mother-Body, unaffected by the Mind Field, to charge at her like this.

The Mother-Body’s eyes glowed.

Her vertically contracted pupils were now so thin they looked like lines drawn vertically across her eyes.

“Танцуй, марионетка. Твое тело, как я хочу.”

Prilly chanted a spell and crossed her hands. The magic circles drawn on her fingertips glowed. The two magic circles merged into one large magic circle as her hands came together.

The Mother-Body was smiling. As she charged, her face became clearer, wearing a triumphant smile. The magic circle at Prilly’s fingertips finally glowed, shooting a beam of light straight ahead.

And that beam undoubtedly hit the Mother-Body. With a loud bang, the beam exploded, covering the Mother-Body’s figure and scattering in all directions.

“Without a unique spell, you know.”

The Mother-Body, surrounded by a dark aura, grinned.

“Can’t I just use magic power to handle everything? It’s overflowing anyway.”

“What…?”

She’s never seen this kind of usage before. Even Eve, who has the maximum single magic power capacity, doesn’t use magic power like this.

Using a mass of magic power as a shield. Scattering the wide mass of magic power she had deployed, the Mother-Body tore off a black aura continuously flowing from the glove on her left hand with her right hand.

The flickering black aura, a fragment of magic power, writhed in the Mother-Body’s hand.

“Like this.”

A wind-up pose. Simultaneously, the Mother-Body hurled the magic fragment at Prilly.

“Tsk!”

Prilly hastily deflected the incoming magic fragment with her one-handed staff. The fragment, changing trajectory, flew to the side and scattered, returning to the Mother-Body.

“I don’t have much combat experience like you guys. Don’t call this cheesy, okay?”

Two, three, four. Magic fragments flew at Prilly one after another. And in between, the Mother-Body charged at Prilly.

No combat experience.

The only possible option is close combat.

The one clean hit that took down Priqu was a fluke.

That’s what Prilly thought.

But now, at this moment, seeing the Mother-Body’s pale face and her bright red eyes charging right at her, Prilly had to revise her thoughts.

I underestimated her— she thought.

I once consulted Keru about this.

If I don’t have a unique spell, can’t I just fight using magic power?

That’s the method I learned from Keru. It’s still clumsy, just tearing off magic fragments and throwing them.

But it was enough to fluster Prilly, who had underestimated the Mother-Body’s combat power.

Prilly backpedaled, dodging the Mother-Body’s punches and kicks while continuously chanting mind control spells.

“Откройте два глаза и посмотрите вперед. Вперед – твой товарищ, и ты с радостью поможешь ему.”

The Mother-Body’s eyes flashed. Her gaze remained the same, so the spell didn’t work.

Then, she changed tactics. From mind control to cognitive interference.

“Не нападайте на своих товарищей. Он твой коллега, так что отступай сам.”

Again, the Mother-Body’s eyes flashed. This didn’t work either.

“This crazy bitch…!”

Neither of her two specialty spells worked.

Finally, a scream erupted from Prilly. A blue magic circle appeared at her feet, and a brilliant light enveloped her entire body.

Prilly’s full-body summoning unique spell, 「Puppet’s Dance」, began its activation.

“Prilly, no!”

With a shout, Eve rushed into the battlefield. The full-body summoning unique spell shouldn’t be unleashed here. Although the colosseum was created with magic, this place is based on the reception hall. Using the full-body summoning unique spell here would lead to collapse. It’s not a spell to be used in a place without a Dark Realm barrier.

Eve’s intervention and the Mother-Body’s charge happened simultaneously. The Mother-Body’s fist was overflowing with dark magic power.

The Mother-Body was smiling the whole time. She had the upper hand. Whatever that girl was doing, she’s defenseless now.

Then, this is the attack timing. Still, considering my bond with Eve, I’ll aim for a less painful spot—

“Rocket Punch!”

I raised my left fist, overflowing with dark magic power.

The dark magic power flowed down my arm, past my elbow, and erupted.

The fist, charging at explosive speed, shattered the protective barrier of the full-body summoning unique spell and struck Prilly’s abdomen.

Boom!!!

The battlefield shook with a loud noise as Prilly was sent flying and crashed into a corner of the arena.

Coughing up blood, Prilly tried to get up but soon fell silent, her head drooping.

Crash!

With a sound like shattering glass, the darkness broke into pieces and scattered. As Prilly, the caster, fell unconscious, her unique spell, Mind Field, also collapsed, and the dark colosseum brightened again.

Silence filled the spectator seats.

Prilly, unconscious in the corner.

The Mother-Body, standing unscathed in the center of the battlefield.

The outcome completely overturned the magical girls’ expectations.

I won.

I won again.

I won.

The impact of the Rocket Punch hitting Prilly’s abdomen confirmed my victory.

I aimed for her stomach to save Eve’s face. Hitting her head or side would’ve hurt more, right? The stomach has more flesh, so it should hurt less. Or not?

As Prilly lay unconscious, the colosseum brightened. Only then did I look around. The magical girls in the spectator seats were staring at me with their mouths agape.

I don’t like this. Tch.

“What are you all staring at? I won. Aren’t you going to clap?”

Annoyed, I spoke up, and faint clapping sounds started.

“Louder, you idiots!”

Clap-clap-clap, slightly louder applause.

“Cheer louder!!”

Much louder applause. Yeah, that’s more like it.

“Mother-Body, good job.”

It was Eve. Even she looked a bit dazed, but she was clapping too.

“Anyway, I won, so it’s fine. Hey, you’re treating the kids to dinner tonight. Got it?”

“Y-Yeah.”

Kids, rejoice. Your captain just earned you a feast.