“The Tenth Apostle.”
Urese.
Urese has three unique characteristics.
[Miniaturization][Sturdiness][High-Speed Movement]
It zooms around with its tiny, tough body. Its speed is so insane, it feels like a bolt of lightning.
That’s my definition of Urese.
As soon as Urese appeared, Sharine sacrificed her staff and activated magic.
Sharine had also seen Urese while Iris’s team was fighting. That’s why she prepared massive magic from the start to finish it off.
Crash!
As the white flames engulfed everything, trying to burn Urese to a crisp, its figure vanished.
Boom!
With a thunderous sound echoing in the ears, Urese reappeared right in front of Sharine. It spun violently, aiming to pierce through her.
Crash!
But before it could touch her, a soaring shadow blocked Urese’s attack. Urese nearly reached Sharine, stretching its shadow, just stopping short.
What blocked Urese was Card’s shadow magic.
“Hoorah!”
Card twirled the staffs in both hands as if dancing. In that instant, Urese bounced back thanks to the elasticity of the shadow.
Sharine’s eyes twisted in frustration.
Even when trying to aim her magic, she realized Urese was faster than she could ever anticipate.
Urese dodged at the slightest hint of Sharine preparing to cast magic. No matter how powerful her magic was, evading it at the moment of casting made it impossible to hit.
Moreover, Urese’s sturdy feature provided it with absurd defense. It had withstood dozens of Iris’s relentless attacks.
Even Sharine’s magic wouldn’t take it down unless it was a perfect match.
Crack-
Meanwhile, time was flowing. What was barely 3 minutes had already crept close to 2 minutes.
“It’s too fast!”
Seron, who had been chasing Urese, groaned. Despite swinging her axe like a wild person, she couldn’t land a hit on Urese at all.
“Gah!”
Seron ended up getting knocked around by Urese, rolling on the ground. If Grantoni hadn’t made the bone armor in time for defense, she would have been knocked out cold in one hit.
Everyone started to feel impatient.
Urese was an opponent we could definitely catch with time on our side. However, the time constraints made everyone restless.
Card summoned shadows. Grantoni activated soul magic. Seron’s axe was building up energy. Sharine was drawing magic again.
But even so,
3 minutes wasn’t enough to capture Urese.
That’s why,
I had prepared for today.
My head tilted towards the sky.
“Sharine, activate the defense magic with everyone.”
My warning spread quietly.
Card noticed something and swung the shadows.
“Eekk?!”
Seron got wrapped in shadows and was pulled over next to Card, Sharine, and Grantoni. As this happened, Sharine’s defense magic activated.
Noticing something odd, Urese flew zig-zag with a thunderous sound.
Urese moved so fast it was nearly invisible.
In that battlefield, I lifted my hand above my head.
On that hand was a ring.
Clack-
In the silence stretching through time, dark clouds suddenly began to gather in the sky.
People who noticed something began to look up at the heavens. The sky started to darken as if it were going to rain.
Urese was certainly fast enough that I couldn’t keep up, either.
However, no matter how fast it was, Urese was an illusion created by the arena’s magic.
Its wings were trapped within the cage of the arena.
This meant it couldn’t escape outside the arena.
Boom!
And this means,
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!
That if it sweeps through this entire battleground, it won’t be able to avoid it.
This was my last move prepared for this moment.
“Come.”
Lightning Call
Flash-
A flash of blue light engulfed everything above the arena.
In the midst of the blinding light, the defense magic that had blocked the view shattered as stunned faces rushed by.
But amidst the shock, someone was staring wide-eyed at this spectacle.
The storm of the blue lightning swept over the arena.
―――――――――――!
Everything around turned a vivid blue. The pressure of the current flowing over my steel skin pressed down on me.
It felt like my mind was about to fly away from the tension, yet,
Clack-
The passing time still held my consciousness against its will.
Inside the world painted blue, I saw Urese, swept away by the storm of lightning. Urese, paralyzed and unable to move, was stuck in the sky.
Despite its name, Urese didn’t have powers related to lightning. Instead, to catch it, I had to use strength moving at the same speed.
Iris solved it with brute force, but I relied on the powers of the Lightning Call.
Still, thanks to Urese’s sturdiness, it survived the lightning strike.
Thud!
In the storm of electricity, my feet lunged forward.
The letters embroidered on my steel skin began to shine.
I reached out my hand above my head.
The current flowing over my steel skin was forcefully pulled into my grasp.
Accordingly, a spear of blue lightning formed in my hand.
Magic Seal: Lightning Hunter
The blue lightning of the goddess was now in my grasp.
To breach the sturdiness required two things.
A powerful attack capable of ignoring sturdiness or penetration that could pierce right through it.
That’s why I prepared.
The ultimate spear that could pierce anything.
The current strongly pulled on my steel skin.
As the mystery and magic seal manifested simultaneously, the magic seal’s power amplified.
Thud-
With my foot stomping the ground, the strength flowed into my waist.
Crack!
The act of wielding lightning twisted my shoulder. Then, I pushed even more strength into it.
The magic seal engraved on my elbow activated once again.
Boom!
The explosion initiated from my elbow swung my arm at full force. The blue flash that left my hand raced towards the sky, hitting Urese.
Crash, crash, crash, crash, crash, crash, crash!
The spear of lightning pierced Urese, sending it flying to the end of the arena.
However, in that moment, my eyes widened.
The spear of lightning had certainly struck Urese. Urese couldn’t withstand it and would eventually perish.
Clack!
But I noticed time in my view was already down to about 5 seconds.
The lightning spread, and Urese began to shatter slowly. However, there wasn’t enough time to finish it off completely.
No energy was left in my body. Naturally, I couldn’t hold myself together anymore. I just had to hope Urese died quickly.
Right in front of Urese, stood someone holding an axe.
In the blue flash, a head with red hair fluttered. The forehead exposed beneath her hair shone brightly.
Seron Parmia.
She was there.
When did she get there?
Seron, who leapt out of Sharine’s defense magic, was covered in shadows and bones.
Seron must have reached there with the support of Card and Grantoni.
At that moment, I realized.
It wasn’t just me who wanted to be first; everyone did.
An explosion enveloped her descending axe.
“Smash it!”
We all, including myself, shouted in our hearts as we watched.
And just like that, Seron’s axe struck Urese, which was already shattering.
Craaaash!
With the explosion, the flash of lightning dimmed, and smoke began to rise.
I fell, still in the pose of swinging my spear, gasping for breath. Having been struck by lightning and holding onto it, dark smoke flowed from my mouth and body.
With the magic dispelled by the lightning, the outside spectators and students were revealed. But none of them spoke a word.
The arena was filled with silence.
In my dazed state, I was solely focused on one point.
As the surrounding smoke began to clear, Seron charged toward me, throwing down her axe.
“Hanon!”
She was the first to call my name properly and rushed over to hug me.
She jumped up and down while holding onto me.
Realizing this, I lifted my head just in time.
31 minutes 20 seconds.
Just barely over 1 second remained as the halted time came into my view.
I gasped in disbelief.
Seron’s final axe, supported by everyone, had finished off the dying Urese.
“Ha, haha.”
Laughter flowed from my mouth uncontrollably.
We had defeated Iris’s team.
“Cough, Wang Non!”
“Phew, I can’t stand the tension!”
Card rushed over, ruffling my hair, while Grantoni and Sharine trudged over this way.
Because everyone was there, it was a victory we could hold tightly. Something swelling inside my heart felt overwhelmingly good.
“Hehe, it’s time for a raise in allowance.”
Seeing Seron grinning widely, I couldn’t help but feel a chill again.
In the distance, familiar faces came into view.
The lazy genius nodded as expected.
Isabel seemed pumped up, her fists clenched, possibly spurred by competitive spirit.
Aisha and Poara, both 1st years, celebrated our achievement.
And then I caught sight of Iris.
The members of her team looked at us as if they couldn’t believe their eyes, but Iris watched me with unreadable eyes.
Lastly, I noticed the living history of the Empire, Whitewood Duke, springing to life from his seat.
All that had to be shown had been shown.
The remaining question was how they would respond.
“Hanon Team, 31 minutes 20 seconds.”
In that moment, Professor Veganon’s voice resonated through the arena to announce the results.
“Currently, 1st place in the 2nd year.”
It was the moment our victory was confirmed.
＊＊＊
Immediately after our team’s group competition ended, I just flopped down.
I wasn’t unconscious; I simply had no strength left in my body, forced into the infirmary.
Considering how I’d fought every step before reaching the Seventh Apostle and had absorbed lightning with my body afterward, it was a miracle I could still move.
Afterward, Isabel’s team struggled quite a bit, but ended up third after Iris’s team.
No one else came close to overturning our score.
Thus, our team comfortably secured 1st place.
Laid on the infirmary bed, I quietly gazed at the ceiling.
A bit ago, Professor Veganon had scolded me.
No matter how it’s a test, he said I overexerted myself again, just like the last time.
To me, once was the best it could get, so I had no other option.
‘Plus, I barely made it even with all that preparation.’
I had meticulously planned my approach, intending to win outright, utilizing all the knowledge I had. Yet, it had only resulted in just over a second’s worth of lead time.
This was due to differences between games and real life. And it was those very differences that brought unexpected help from everyone.
‘I had to prepare even more.’
The scenario was merely entering its mid-stage.
As there were still plenty of paths ahead, I had to accomplish more than Lucas ever did.
I propped myself up from the bed.
Because I thought it was finally time to move on.
Knock, knock-
As expected, a knocking sound echoed.
“Come in.”
Along with my response, the door creaked open. Standing there was a massive man wearing a monocle.
And walking in front of him was a woman with flowing white hair, having an almost sculptural figure that could easily pass for someone in their twenties.
However, in reality, she was a senior who had lived her life together with the Empire.
Clap!
She stood tall in the infirmary, her cloak billowing.
“Glad to meet you, boy.”
Whitewood Duke.
Raxid Annevesia.
“Didn’t inform you in advance.”
With that, the corners of Whitewood Duke’s mouth crept up ominously.
With it came a pressure that filled this space.
Just facing her made my shoulders feel heavy.
It felt as if my knees were instinctively forced to kneel.
“Embracing mystery is punishable by death under the Niflheim Empire law 253.”
What?
![[TS] The End of Magical Girls Has Come](https://i3.wp.com/darkmtl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1737407792-8993-TS-The-end-of-magical-girls-has-come.png?resize=85,105 "[TS] The End of Magical Girls Has Come")
