Chapter 51

The feeling of the wind isn’t good.

Even though the cold wind blows through the tall buildings, the sticky moisture in the air makes it feel like the wind is licking my entire body, creating an unpleasant sensation.

“Mom, this feels bad.”

“Yeah.”

I put down Kabe, who I was holding, and entrusted her to the minions for a moment.

Looking at the map, Sohee is in the middle of fighting Priqu, and Dusik is also fighting Evangelin.

Sohee’s stamina seemed almost depleted, but then she suddenly recovered, which surprised me.

I’ll have to ask about that later. Dusik’s stamina seems to be almost fully intact.

Then, it would be best for me to quickly take down Aquamarine and join Sohee to support Dusik.

I instructed the minions and Kabe to hide in the underbrush and summoned Bedel.

“Hmm, this profound scent of the battlefield… It feels like the chamber is about to explode.”

“Stop talking nonsense. Just load it.”

“It’s already loaded. Just fire whenever you’re ready.”

The dark magic power flowing from the glove on my left hand was already being absorbed by Bedel.

I don’t know if it’s okay to keep pouring it in like this… But now’s not the time to worry about that.

Aquamarine’s position on the map hasn’t changed at all since the battle started.

In fact, that makes me even more uneasy. The map can’t be wrong, so does that mean Aquamarine hasn’t moved an inch from her starting position…? Is it a decoy or something?

Dusik mentioned she’s the vice-chairman.

She must be strong if she holds that position.

While I was lost in thought, I got a message from Sohee.

“Older Sister, it’s over here. I’m going to support Dusik.”

“Already?!”

What’s with this speed? Looking at the map, Sohee’s stamina is almost full.

What’s going on? Is Sohee this strong? Against Priqu?

“She wasn’t much of an opponent.”

At that moment, I noticed Aquamarine’s marker had disappeared from the map.

And then, the marker reappeared…

“Found. You.”

A voice that strangely cuts in and out.

“Yeah, hurry to Dusik… Ah, Aquamarine…!”

Looking up at the sky, I saw a girl with aqua-colored hair in a sailor uniform looking down at me.

“Yep! I’m Aquamarine. Nice to meet you?”

“Hey. Aquamarine.”

“Huh?”

“If you’re going to say ‘nice to meet you,’ you should come down and say it face to face. Didn’t your mom teach you that?”

I poked her a little.

Just by looking, I can tell she’s the type with a lot of pride.

Not a haughty queen, but more of a princess type. I thought she might lose her cool if I provoked her, but it seems not.

“My, my, the boss of the organization has such a sharp tongue?”

She’s calm even when insulted.

She’s a hard-to-read character.

“That’s a gun.”

I was lost in thought and had let Bedel hang loose, and she noticed.

“Yeah. This is a gun. A magical gun. It hurts if you get hit.”

“Pfft. A magical gun, huh? I’ve seen plenty. They’re all trash.”

“Mother-Body, shoot now. This is the timing.”

Hold on, you.

“Yeah? Then how about taking one shot? Whether it’s trash or not, I haven’t tested it myself.”

Aquamarine’s face was filled with a smile.

“Yeah? You got a weapon and didn’t even test it? Are you stupid or just thoughtless? Or both? Well, rotting in that place your whole life, it’s no wonder you lack common sense.”

What?

What are you talking about, all of a sudden?

Seeing me flinch, Aquamarine must have thought she hit a nerve and continued with a smile.

“I know your past. I know all about your past, trapped in that hellish place.”

H… Hellish place?

Does she know about when I was a man?

How?

“You, uh, how do you know that…?”

“You thought I wouldn’t know? How little do you think of me? I know all about how you’ve been treated less than human because of the government.”

“Wait, wait…”

Where did she find that out? No, how did she find out? What?

Keru, that idiot, really messed up…!

“Stop it! Don’t talk about that!”

We’re live right now!

Donations are probably coming in, and if they find out I used to be a man, it’ll be a disaster!

“Shut your mouth! Shut it! Don’t say anything!”

I have to shut that mouth.

I don’t know how she found out, but I have to kill her.

She’s too dangerous to let live knowing my secret.

I raised Vesprede and aimed.

“Don’t say another word. Or else, it’s going to hurt a lot.”

“Shoot. Let’s see if it really hurts—”

BANG!!!!

A deafening noise shook the ground.

The impact felt like my shoulder was blown off, and I was pushed back a few steps.

But what was more surprising was the sudden emptiness in my lower abdomen.

It quickly refilled, but… I could clearly feel the magic power consumed by Vesprede’s shot.

It’s terrifyingly draining.

Even if it’s just for a moment, the amount consumed is enough to feel the void.

But what was even more surprising was Aquamarine, who landed on the ground with her shoulder area dyed red.

Her face, once full of composure, was now twisted in anger.

“You, you told me to shoot.”

My hands are sweating.

But now that Aquamarine is injured and on the ground, I can’t miss this chance.

Holding Vesprede, I ran towards Aquamarine.

Dark magic power rose from my left hand.

As Aquamarine got closer, I switched Vesprede to my right hand.

Clenching my left hand tightly, I prepared for the finishing blow.

Drops of water began to form in Aquamarine’s hand.

And at the same time, raindrops started hitting my face.

Rain…?

It’s going to rain…?

“Rain of Swords!”

Aquamarine’s voice, like a scream, echoed.

One drop, two drops, three drops, the raindrops grew thicker and began to pierce the ground.

Like blades, the large raindrops began to pierce the ground, showing their sharpness.

And those blades began to pour down on my head.

In an instant, pain surged through my entire body—

“Mom!”

Someone grabbed the back of my neck.

A floating sensation, and then my body was placed on something soft.

“Ugh…”

As the pain quickly subsided, I could finally assess my current state.

“Kabe’s transformation into a divine beast has been confirmed, and Vesprede’s one-handed gun form has been added!”

Kabe, who had transformed into a divine beast.

And me, riding on Kabe.

“Mom, let’s retreat for now!”

“Yeah, okay.”

Galloping away from the battlefield on Kabe, I gripped the fur on her neck.

The pain doesn’t matter.

The torn and tattered uniform doesn’t matter.

Only the rising excitement in my chest is making me soar.

The Vesprede rifle in my left hand seems to whisper, urging me to shoot.

In front of the galloping Kabe, bubbles suddenly appeared in the air.

From the boiling bubbles, Aquamarine’s voice could be heard.

“Trying to run away?”

Aquamarine, emerging from the bubbles.

“Mom, hold on tight!”

I was already doing that.

Kabe leaped with all her might.

As Kabe landed, part of the bridge we were on collapsed from the impact.

“Running away? Right?”

Aquamarine was flying after us.

I turned my upper body and aimed Vesprede at Aquamarine again—

BANG!

Missed.

BANG!

Missed.

BANG!

Hit.

Even though her wrist was clearly blown off, Aquamarine didn’t seem to care.

No, she was even smiling.

“You guys don’t realize I deliberately herded you this way, do you?”

“What…?”

Aquamarine pointed with her chin towards the river.

“Water, obey your queen’s command. Hear my voice, and imprison my enemies.”

As Aquamarine’s clear voice echoed, the river rose.

More accurately, the river water rose. It’s a strange expression, but there’s no better way to describe the sight of the river water, which had been flowing along the ground, separating from the ground and surging into the sky.

And then, that river water came crashing down towards us.

“Mom! It’s dangerous!”

Kabe twisted her body and bit me.

Thrown by Kabe, I rolled on the ground several times before barely managing to get up.

“Kabe, Kabe!”

The river water that was crashing down towards us had become an underwater prison, trapping Kabe.

Bubbles of oxygen kept rising from Kabe’s mouth, and it was clear she was in pain.

No, no…!

“Let Kabe go!”

“Oh, I don’t think so.”

Her blown-off wrist had already regenerated, and her blood-stained sailor uniform had returned to its original aqua color.

“Wherever there’s water, it’s my stage. You stupidly chose the wrong battlefield, you idiot. Against a water-attribute magical girl like me, magic attacks are useless.”

A scathing rebuke.

But I have something to say too.

“You didn’t expect me to come out, did you? Damn you. You know all about us, but I don’t know anything about you.”

Just because you know everything, you think I know everything too?

How selfish.

When I shot back, Aquamarine seemed to realize her mistake and scratched her cheek.

“True. Sorry for the insult.”

“Let Kabe go. This time, I’ll blow your head off.”

“No way. I’m going to tame her. A noble magical girl riding a silver wolf across the battlefield… Just thinking about it is so cool. And that wolf is the divine beast from legends!”

“Shut your mouth! You’re treating someone else’s daughter like a mount?! Can’t you let her go?!”

“So, what are you going to do about it? Try attacking me? Your rocket punch or whatever is magic-based, right? It won’t work on me, those little tricks.”

“Fine. Got it.”

So, as long as it’s not a magic attack, it’s fine.

“Kabe, wait. Mom will save you.”

I’ve practiced a lot with throwing weapons like spears and arrows from the martial arts manuals.

Planting my left foot firmly.

Holding Vesprede upside down.

With all my strength, I threw it at Aquamarine.

“This is physical, but it’s still magic, so you can’t dodge, you damn bitch!”

---