Chapter 47

“Kwaaaa!!”

“Shut up…”

I can’t tell if it’s because they can’t control their power, or if they’re just weak, or maybe they haven’t fully taken over the body yet, but even if it’s Grand Duke-Class power, it’s nothing special.

If this is all, I can easily buy some time.

The rest is just finding a way to bring them back to their senses…

“Chubby! How much longer?!”

“Uh, well… I contacted them! They said they’ve developed a temporary suppressant, so they want us to subdue and bring them back!”

“Really? Then I’ll go subdue them, so get ready.”

“Got it!”

By the way, fighting in the middle of the sea is pretty convenient. No need to worry about anything.

Just dodge casually, attack casually…

It’s so much easier when you’ve already evacuated everyone beforehand.

“……”

…More than that, they’re weak.

Way too weak.

Maybe I’ve gotten stronger, but compared to the Grand Duke-Class I know, they’re much weaker.

I’d believe it if they were just Duke-Class.

Could it be… they’re still resisting from the inside?

“…Chubby.”

“Yes?”

“If I use [Energy Blast] in this state, what do you think will happen?”

“Hmm… Well, Rampage-san, since your wand is focused on energy output… Even if you use it without going into Rampage mode, it’d probably be a one-shot kill, right?”

“…Right?”

I just want to drain their power while fighting, but this is getting awkward…

Well, no choice then.

Guess I’ll just have to beat them up bare-handed.

“Hup!”

“Guh…?!”

“…Huh, punching bare-handed does feel kinda hard.”

“Ugh…!!”

Three hits to the solar plexus, one to the face, a slap to the cheek, and an uppercut to the chin.

Then a spinning kick, chase them as they fly, and finish with a knee strike.

It’s hard to see the pained expression on this junior of mine, but if I want to drain their power, they’ll have to suffer this much. No choice.

“Your movements are still sloppy. Don’t you train? Or are you just into dual swords?”

“Guh…!”

“Well, you can’t even talk properly, so I doubt you’ll understand.”

Probably, the reason their movements are sloppy and they can’t speak properly is because they haven’t been fully taken over yet.

If that’s the case, there’s a chance they can be brought back after being subdued.

Though, the chance of them resisting and overcoming it on their own is zero.

Sigh… If only they could balance the power of a monster and a magical girl, that’d be a great power-up event… But yeah, probably too hard.

Well, I’m not doing it anyway.

Even though I’ve become a fairy magical girl, I’m not doing any shady stuff like that.

“Ram… Rampage…!!”

“Pathetic…”

I jabbed the tip of my wand into Diamond Dust’s chin as she charged again, then spun her around and slammed her back into the sea.

If she were still human, this would’ve blown a hole through her chin and killed her, but thanks to the monster transformation, she’s become ridiculously tough, so she’s barely safe.

What a ridiculous power-up.

If we could purify this and use it as a one-time power-up without side effects, it’d be a huge boost for magical girls.

But whether that’s possible is another story.

“…! Rampage-san!”

“What?”

“Some of the monsterized magical girls in the experiment have regained their sanity!!”

“…Really?”

“Yes!”

Even if it’s just some, there’s still a possibility…

Then this is something we can’t ignore.

I’ll stop draining their power and finish this quickly.

“Graaa…!!”

“…Second Ability, 「Physical Rampage」.”

“?!?!”

Using the Second Ability is the best way to fully subdue them.

Since I can just cut off their power based on their physical state without naming it, it’s not too hard.

[Named Physical Rampage] is too dangerous even at its lowest setting, so I can’t use it.

Other than that, there’s [Collapse], which rampages all matter and crushes it to atoms, and the enhanced [Chaotic Frenzy]…

Thinking about it, I only have seriously dangerous techniques.

I really made them with the mindset of utterly destroying the enemy…

“Subdued.”

“As expected of Rampage-san!”

“Di… Diamond Dust~!”

Then I’ll have Katanu take her away.

I don’t want to waste time going there myself.

…But I’m curious, so maybe I’ll check it out.

“Open the [Gate].”

“Got it!”

Even though she’s subdued, Diamond Dust is pretty messed up, so I took her straight to the mascots’ research lab.

Following the instructions of the researcher mascots, I laid her down in a capsule-like thing and closed the glass lid.

It’s surprisingly sci-fi… Feels fresh.

“Are all these monsterized magical girls?”

“Yes. By the way, zones 3 and 4 over there are for monsterized superhumans and monsterized ordinary people.”

“…Ordinary people too?”

“Unfortunately, yes. And according to the tests so far, there’s no difference between monsterized superhumans and ordinary people. They’re perfect monsters. They devour the bodies of the corrupted and recreate their own original bodies. The only difference is that when they corrupt a superhuman, they gain that power and become even stronger.”

“What about their minds?”

“Except for magical girls… There haven’t been any cases of them regaining their sanity. Their personalities, everything… It’s like they’ve been erased.”

“I see…”

Except for magical girls, huh… Then Diamond Dust still has hope.

But why only magical girls?

Ah, could it be…

“Is it because of the unique resistance magical girls have?”

“Exactly. Superhumans and ordinary people have no resistance, so they’re completely devoured, but magical girls have immense resistance, so their personalities aren’t fully consumed and they can resist.”

“Then… It’s a matter of willpower.”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“But is it possible to completely extract the monsterization effects and revert them?”

“…Currently, no. The power of fairies and demons is too similar…”

“Ah, stop there. I get it.”

In short, the similarity makes it impossible to revert, or it’s just too hard to develop such a technique?

If that’s the case, then just regaining their sanity is already a blessing.

They’ll have the stigma of being monsterized and causing trouble, but… Well, it’s their own choice.

“Then, assuming they regain their sanity, what happens when they detransform?”

“Well… The effects of monsterization probably remain even after detransforming. The magical girls who’ve regained their sanity so far still have horns, wings, black eyes… Some parts remain even after detransforming…”

“…That’s a given. It’s sad that you can’t confirm it because there aren’t enough samples.”

“Haha…”

By the way, looking around, everyone’s in a terrible state.

Why did they have to go and monsterize themselves…

Is there really a reason to go that far?

There’s no way magical girls would be pushed to this extent, right?

Well, I’ve heard that overseas, magical girls still form factions and bully each other…

…Do I have to beat up every magical girl in the world to establish order?

That’s way too much work…

“These are the monsterized magical girls…”

“Over here are the ones who’ve regained their sanity and are undergoing rehabilitation.”

“Really?”

“Ah, hello…”

“Hey, how’s your body?”

“I’ve regained some sensation… I can walk now.”

“Hmm… So when your personality is consumed, your senses are blocked too? And when your personality recovers, your senses gradually return…”

“Huh?”

So the physical issues caused by monsterization are slowly recovering?

Then it’ll take quite some time to return to normal activities.

“Well, it’s good that you’ve regained your sanity. But what happened to the monster personality?”

“We’ve been using various drugs in the monsterization treatment room to remove it. The recently developed drug has been quite effective in removing the monster personality, but if their willpower is weak, they still can’t recover… We’re currently developing a more effective new drug.”

“I see… Lastly, what about the power of those who’ve regained their sanity?”

“…It’s the same as when they were monsterized. We have no idea what kind of variable this will be. So for now, all we can do is observe…”

“Right…”

These things can only be confirmed over time.

Unfortunately, those who haven’t regained their sanity will have to wait for the new drug.

And those who have regained their sanity will need to be observed to see how the monster’s power affects them.

Then Diamond Dust will follow the same path…

…So, what happens to their lives…?

“……”

“What’s wrong?”

“…Chubby.”

“Yes?”

“If they wake up thanks to an uncertain new drug, how long do you think it’ll take?”

“…Shortest, a few weeks. Longest, a few years?”

“Right? Then when they return to their daily lives… Can we even call that ‘daily life’ for them?”

“Ah…”

This isn’t like getting injured fighting monsters and taking a break. These kids chose to monsterize themselves.

Even after detransforming, the evidence of monsterization remains, and they’ll lose their precious school years… Nothing could be more unfortunate.

School years are the most precious memories and the foundation of life…

…Well, in the end, it’s their own choice, so they’ll have to bear the responsibility themselves.

“I’m heading back. And if Diamond Dust wakes up, tell her this: If she wants to keep being a magical girl despite that pathetic state, come find me.”

“Understood. If she wakes up, I’ll pass that on.”

I don’t know how much longer the war with the monsters will last, but to invade the Demon Realm and wipe them out, I’ll need to grow stronger.

That’ll take at least 10 more years… Maybe?

By then, Diamond Dust should still have a few years left as a magical girl.

Assuming she still wants to be one, of course.

“Sigh… How many more of these are going to pile up this year…”

“Hang in there, Rampage-san!”

“Do I look like I’m hanging in there? Even I get tired when big things like this keep coming.”

I’m done with more troublesome things piling up.

Plus, both the monsterization and superhuman incidents are things time will solve, which makes it even more annoying.

At least the superhuman incident will be over in about a year, but the monsterization incident has no end in sight.

It might not end until I completely overturn the Demon Realm.

“The superhuman incident is being handled by others, but for the monsterization incident, we’ll have to work hard to cut off the source.”

“That’s true…”

The monsters probably bribed some people to sell them in the shadows, or they’ve disguised themselves and blended in with people to spread medals.

Even though they’re monsters, their intelligence is pretty high.

Then we’ll have to track them down, kill them on sight, and destroy the medals.

The mascots will handle the tracking, so I just need to be ready to move out.

By the way, Diamond Dust… When will she wake up?

I hope she wakes up soon.

After all, she’s my junior in this area.

“……”

“Rampage-san?”

“…I think Diamond Dust will definitely come find me.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah. The fact that she came to me and monsterized herself while venting her frustrations… It’s obvious.”

If she didn’t want to keep being a magical girl, she wouldn’t have gone that far.

Well, that’s a story for after she wakes up.

…I’ll wait patiently, Diamond Dust.