Chapter 46

“It seems there are a lot of bank robbers these days…”

“Looks like it!”

The place we’re at now is just an ordinary bank.

Coincidentally, while passing by, a superhuman was robbing the bank, so I ended up killing them.

But this guy, where did he even get a handgun from?

“It’s a bit crude, but since there are no seams, maybe it’s related to metal manipulation…”

“If it’s a metal-related ability, there’s no need to make a gun… Why would he do that?”

“Probably just an idiot who couldn’t think beyond that. Anyway, since I killed him, now…”

“Please give us an interview!!”

“…Oh.”

Even though I just killed a superhuman, they still rush at me like it’s nothing…

Honestly, their persistence after chasing me for nearly 10 years is impressive.

Well, I still have no intention of giving an interview, though.

“Let’s go, Chubby.”

“Yep!”

Then, I’ll just open a [Gate] and escape.

I’m really glad I learned how to use [Gate].

It lets me escape in an instant like this.

Even if I didn’t know how, Chubby could probably open it, but if I hadn’t learned it, I’d probably keep forgetting it exists.

“Next is… here.”

“Seems like incidents are popping up one after another today!”

Here’s another superhuman… Is this the time when superhumans are explosively emerging onto the scene?

If they just stayed quiet, it wouldn’t be a problem, but why do they think becoming a superhuman gives them the right to commit crimes?

Wait, that guy hasn’t even done anything yet.

“You, if you take one more step… I’ll kill you on the spot.”

“…A Magical Girl, huh?”

“Yeah. Either die or stay home, pick one.”

“……”

…Huh? Is that… a Medal?

Don’t tell me they’re trying to transform into a monster… Well, fine.

This is a good chance to test my intuition.

“Don’t mess with me… With this… Magical Girls like you are nothing!!”

“Rampage-san? Aren’t you going to stop them?”

Wait, you can absorb the Medal without even breaking it?

And who spread that method around?

Things are already annoying enough as it is…

“Hmm… So that’s how it works.”

Anyway, it’s true that transforming into a monster gives you a huge power boost.

Your appearance also changes to look just like a monster.

But… that’s it.

Does that mean the Demon Realm spread these to weaken Magical Girls while causing global chaos to make their invasion easier?

And with the timing of the Returning Hero’s group causing a surge in superhumans, it’s working out pretty well for them.

No, maybe they foresaw this clash and planned it all along.

After all, they’re beings capable of moving between dimensions.

But one thing I don’t get is why they waited for this.

Or maybe it just happened to turn out this way…?

…Ah, whatever.

“Are you done?”

“Hehe… You’ll regret waiting for me…!!”

“Nothing worth seeing here.”

“…?!”

Anyway, since I cut them in half, they’ll die soon.

Even if they transformed into a monster, they’re not tough enough to regenerate from being sliced in half.

Monsters die pretty quickly if you cut them like that.

“Let’s go, Chubby.”

“Death confirmed!”

Monster transformation… not that impressive.

Whether it’s the monster’s personality or whatever, in the end, their appearance and power are no different from regular monsters, so you can just treat them like monsters.

But the problem is… Magical Girls transforming into monsters, huh…

“Superhumans transforming into monsters are no different from regular monsters.”

“That’s right. Honestly… I couldn’t find any difference!”

“…What do you mean?”

“I mean… there’s no way to distinguish between a superhuman who transformed into a monster and a regular monster!”

“Really?”

Chubby’s words are a bit strange.

Isn’t it weird that there’s no difference between monsters from the Demon Realm and superhumans who transformed into monsters?

There should be some difference, right?

After all, monster transformation is based on humans.

“Then, should I completely incapacitate a monster and send it to the lab?”

“Huh? Sure! We have plenty of data on monsters!”

“Then should I capture some superhumans who transformed into monsters and send them over?”

“…That sounds good! Let’s kidnap a few!”

“Let’s do it.”

Since all the reported superhumans who transformed into monsters have been killed… I’ll have to wait for more to show up.

There’ll always be idiots who find Medals and try to transform.

…But where are they even getting these Medals?

“Chubby. The Fairy Queen might already be on it, but for now, investigate where everyone is getting these Medals.”

“Yep!”

Magical Girls are supposed to hunt demons and monsters, so it’s weird that superhumans have Medals.

My guess is that monsters are bringing them and spreading them, or they’re being sold somewhere.

That’s usually how these things spread.

“They’ve already captured a lot of superhumans who transformed into monsters! And the route investigation is also in progress!”

“Really? That’s incredibly fast… The Fairy Queen really is something else.”

“That’s right!”

Then I guess I don’t need to go see the Fairy Queen.

Besides, this isn’t the time to be leisurely playing games, so I don’t need to bring a game console either.

Now’s the time to work hard.

“Big sis~!”

“…Pretty Heart? Are you on your way back from hunting demons?”

“Yes! For some reason, Baron-Class demons have been running rampant, so I’m on my way back after dealing with them.”

“…Baron-Class?”

If it’s Baron-Class… Diamond Dust usually handles those.

That means something might have happened to Diamond Dust.

Either it’s related to the Medals, or she’s just being lazy.

Either way, it’s a big problem… Tch.

This is getting annoying.

“Contact Diamond Dust’s mascot.”

“You mean Katanu? Got it!”

“That fat cat’s name is Katanu?”

Honestly, I hope it’s not too late, but I have a feeling it already is…

My bad premonitions always seem to come true.

“By the way, big sis, are you done with work?”

“Yeah. But why are you here?”

“I saw you on my way back! Let’s go back together!”

“Uh, sure…”

She’s smiling so brightly, I can’t just reject her…

Man… Why am I so weak when it comes to Pretty Heart…

“…Rampage-san!”

“What? Did something happen?”

“They’re heading somewhere with a Medal!”

“With a Medal…? Why?”

“They didn’t say anything, so I don’t know, but it’s better to stop them quickly!”

“…Alright, got it.”

Sigh… So they’re planning to cause trouble after all…

I really don’t understand why they’d mess with something like that.

Don’t they realize that gaining power so easily always has a catch?

And they’ve already heard about the monster transformation thing.

Don’t tell me… they think they can overcome the monster’s personality?

…Seriously?

“…Stop.”

“Huh? Ah… Diamond Dust, big sis…?”

“……”

Diamond Dust… She showed up out of nowhere.

The Medal… is already being absorbed, huh.

Katanu noticed us and immediately hid behind us… There’s no choice but to kill or subdue her.

Persuasion was never an option, so this is just annoying.

“Pretty Heart. Go back first.”

“Y-yes…!”

The Medal is still being absorbed, and her expression is blank.

I’ll prepare to kill her, but just in case, I should check.

There’s always an exception.

Well, I don’t expect it to happen, though.

But… the increase in power is unusual.

It’s surpassing Earl-Class… Marquis-Class… No, even higher?

…If that’s the case, I’ll open a [Gate] and throw her into the sea.

If she grows beyond Grand Duke-Class, fighting here could cause massive casualties.

“…Senior.”

“What.”

“Why… did you ignore me?”

“Ignore? I don’t remember ignoring you.”

“Oh, really…? Then why haven’t you given me any advice or anything since then?”

“…? You only have about two years left, and you have no motivation. Who’s going to pay attention to you? Magical Girls are warriors who protect the human world. If you’re not even putting in the effort, and you’re planning to quit in a few years, I can’t waste time on you.”

“Then… if I get stronger with this, will you pay attention to me?”

“Maybe? If you can truly overcome the monster’s personality and stay sane.”

The conversation feels a bit off…

Anyway, whether it’s just girls being emotional or if she’s just weird, she’s really annoying.

To think she’d go this far just to get my attention… It’s ridiculous.

If she wanted my attention so badly, she could’ve just come to me for advice.

But she didn’t…

…Anyway, her power keeps increasing beyond Duke-Class.

According to the senior, it usually increases by about two stages, but there’s individual variation.

Or maybe she’s special.

It could also depend on the type of Medal.

Whatever the case, if she can’t maintain her sanity…

“……”

“Are you done?”

Still no response.

Maybe there’s some internal struggle between personalities, but it’s best to wait and see.

And if I sense any sudden changes in her first reaction… I’ll throw her into the sea immediately.

“I didn’t expect her to grow to Grand Duke-Class. So…”

“…Grr…!!”

“…You’ve been consumed.”

Diamond Dust, who seems to have been consumed by the monster’s personality, immediately lunges at me.

But even if she’s Grand Duke-Class, it’s nothing.

I grab her face, open a [Gate], and throw her into the sea.

Then I follow through the [Gate] and blast her with an explosive [Energy Blast].

“Her body’s already adapted to the power…”

“Ra, Rampage-san…? So this is what happens when a Magical Girl transforms into a monster…”

“Yeah. It’s proof she’s been consumed.”

There’s not much difference between a superhuman who transformed into a monster and this.

But in the case of Magical Girls, the physical changes are less drastic.

Most importantly, she still retains her girl-like appearance.

Of course, the monster traits like weird-colored skin and horns are there, but… it’s still no different from a monster.

“Oh, she attacks with a spear.”

“I’ll kill you…!”

Her main weapon is a spear, and her attack style involves creating crystals around her to attack.

Even as a monster, she’s fighting the way I taught her.

…I can’t just kill her right away.

“Chubby. This time, I can handle her level, so while I keep her busy, do something useful.”

“Huh? Me?”

“Find a way to revert her to her original personality. I’ll buy you some time, so go ahead and make some calls. You’ve been researching this, right? Or should I just kill her?”

“Y-yes…!”

Sigh… I’m not just weak to Pretty Heart, but to all Magical Girls…

But if there’s no other way, I’ll still kill her.

Well, for now, I’ll keep her occupied.