Chapter 97

“Is this the place?”

“Seems like it.”

Me and Hatred have just arrived above the Mariana Trench. There were a lot of mascots gathered there, discussing something. I have no idea why their discussion is taking so long. Is there some reason for it? Well, I guess I’ll find out if I go talk to the mascot who seems to be in charge.

“Hello? Magical Rampage and Magical Hatred.”

“Yeah.”

“Get to the point.”

Hey, Hatred… It’s not like we’re in a rush, you could’ve just listened. Do you really have to cut them off right from the start?

“Yes. What we’re discussing right now is secondary. What you two need to do is infiltrate the structure at the bottom of the Mariana Trench and destroy everything. That’s all.”

“…Huh?”

Wait… what? Our job is just to destroy everything? Really? Then what’s with all this discussion? What happened to the investigation we were supposed to do?

“Good. I’ll go in right now and smash everything to pieces.”

“Please wait a moment. Both of you are so powerful that if you go all out, the Earth itself might be destroyed. Your powers affect such a wide range that you need to control your strength.”

“Control my strength? Why bother?”

“Please, just the bare minimum. Otherwise, even if the core isn’t affected, the damage from earthquakes or tsunamis could be significant. Especially you, Rampage.”

“Ah~ Got it.”

“Hmph, I already knew that without you telling me.”

Honestly, I’m not sure, but I guess they’re saying not to unleash too much power? Well, I’ve always been controlling my strength, so it’s not a problem for me, but Hatred is the issue… That girl, when she gets serious, her emotions go wild and she just goes berserk.

“By the way, what’s with all that discussion?”

“We’re discussing how to infiltrate and destroy everything without leaving a single trace. We don’t want even one person to escape.”

“Oh… But isn’t it just a matter of cutting them down so fast they don’t even have time to run?”

“Exactly. If you wipe them out before they can run, that’s it. I don’t understand why they’re even discussing it.”

“Well, it’s still better to block all the exits beforehand, right?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

So, do you have some kind of plan for the infiltration route and what to do first? Ah, here it is. ……Wait, why is this so complicated? Just charge in, smash everything, and kill them all. That’s it.

“…You guys, all that discussion was pointless.”

“Huh?”

“Shut up, just charge in and smash everything. Looks like there are a few monsters and some human traitors. Just wipe them out and cut off their heads, right?”

“…Right?”

“Then that’s what we’ll do.”

If it were other magical girls, this strategy would’ve been quite effective, but not for us. We have overwhelming power, so why bother with such detailed planning? And we’re not the type to think too much while fighting.

“Alright, it’s settled then, let’s go. Hatred?”

“I was getting tired of waiting.”

Hatred is so eager to go… I shouldn’t keep her waiting any longer, so let’s hurry. We can’t blow things up here, after all.

So, me and Hatred immediately arrived in front of the structure at the bottom of the Mariana Trench through the [Gate] the mascots had opened. Until now, we had perfectly concealed our magical energy while investigating, so no one noticed us. But as soon as we came through the [Gate], they must’ve sensed us because a faint alarm sounded from inside. Right now, me and Hatred aren’t controlling the magical energy leaking out at all, so they must’ve been shocked.

“…Should I go first?”

Well, first… I should start by destroying things. Stealth? We don’t need that. Just one [Energy Blast] and we can wipe everything out.

“[Energy Blast].”

I unleashed my First Ability and fired an [Energy Blast] with a raging light sword. I could see the multiple layers of barriers that automatically deployed as soon as we arrived being torn apart. Judging by the level of the barriers, they were at least Emperor-Class, but the fact that I tore through multiple layers so easily means I’ve gotten a lot stronger. Seeing the results of my training like this is really motivating.

“Alright, now it’s your turn.”

“Huhu… Hahahahaha!!!”

“…It’s already started.”

Actually, I made a promise with Hatred yesterday. She said she’d go berserk on her own, so I shouldn’t touch her prey. So, I thought about the situation and decided that it’s probably fine to leave everything to Hatred. Then I’ll just watch and block any escape routes? …No, since her rampage has such a wide range, it’s probably unnecessary.

By the way, creating a space without water in such a high-pressure place… It must be possible because of the cooperation of the monsters. The monsters can probably use basic fairy magic. But they don’t seem to be able to create [Gates]. I don’t know why, but I’ve never seen a monster use a [Gate] in battle.

“Is this all you’ve got?! Don’t run away!! Fight me!! Burn to death!!”

“……”

Hatred’s talent… 「Hatred」. By exploding her emotions of hatred, she creates flames and explosions all around her, but she has no intention of controlling it. The temperature around her has already reached hundreds of thousands of degrees in an instant, annihilating all the humans inside the structure, and giant fireballs are forming and falling everywhere, causing explosions comparable to nuclear bombs. And this is just her First Ability, with her emotions of hatred moderately exploding.

At this level, if Hatred were to unleash her Third Ability and fight, we absolutely cannot let her fight on Earth. If she could control it, it might be fine, but she has no intention of controlling it, and she’s so strong that she could become a fairy magical girl. If she unleashes her Third Ability and does this… All life on Earth would surely disappear as if swallowed by the sun.

“Ugh…! What kind of insane magical girl is this…!”

“Hahaha… Hahahahahaha!!!”

…Anyone watching would think it’s the laughter of madness, but it’s clearly laughter born from the emotion of hatred. It might seem unbelievable. But she’s doing it right in front of me. It’s an endless hatred stemming from experiences far more horrifying than mine, and she’s trying to hide it, so it’s transformed into this form. If she didn’t laugh like this, she wouldn’t be able to handle her emotions and her mind would break. Sigh~… The Fairy Queen really acknowledged someone like her as a fairy magical girl…

“Who… are you?”

“No need to know!!”

“Ugh…?!”

By the way, that monster… Is it an Emperor-Class monster? It seems exceptionally strong even among the Emperor-Class monsters I’ve seen so far. But the fact that it’s being pushed back by Hatred in her weakest state means Hatred has gotten a lot stronger too.

“Damn it…! My ice ability isn’t putting it out! What kind of flames are these?!”

“Monsters… just shut up and die!! Stop yapping!!”

“Gah!!”

Of course, mere ice abilities won’t put it out. It’s at an incredibly high temperature and causing explosions, but… The essence of Hatred’s talent, 「Hatred」, is the manifestation of 「Hatred」. Due to an incident in Hatred’s past, it coincidentally took the form of flames. So, while it has the properties of flames, it can’t be extinguished. Except by a few special methods.

“Is this all you’ve got?! Huh?!”

It seems the fight is already over, as Hatred kicks the Emperor-Class monster that can’t move properly. She kicks it, chases it as it flies away, punches its stomach to blow it up, pulls out its guts, and burns them with her flames of hatred. Then she crushes its limbs, grabs its neck, and lifts it up, staring at its face.

“……”

…Ah, if I don’t stop her, it’s going to be a disaster. If she does that here, it’s definitely going to cause a massive earthquake and tsunami…!

“Hey, Hatred. Stop.”

“Don’t get in my way, Rampage. If you do, I’ll kill you too.”

“Can you kill me? More importantly, if you do that here, people will get hurt. Finish it properly.”

“……Hmph, it’s gone cold. You can deal with this trash however you want.”

Really… What’s gone cold? You hesitated when I said people would get hurt and held back. Anyway, this monster isn’t dead yet, so I’ll finish it off.

And… Ah, there’s still something left here. Huh? How thick is it that even after melting so much, the inside is still hollow? I’ll cut it open and check inside. ……This is an empty crystal stone and a medal. There’s a lot of these…

“……”

It’s probably better to leave this behind, but… The mascots must’ve already infiltrated and investigated everything. That’s why they told us to destroy everything without leaving a trace. So, they knew we’d smash everything? Then let’s just destroy this.

“Hatred. Stop hanging your head there, let’s go back. You can eat as much chocolate bread as you want.”

“…Tch.”

Sigh… Taking care of her is the hardest… Ah, before we go back, we need to report, so let’s take the [Gate] we came through. If we just go back, she’s going to complain a lot.

“We’re back. We cleaned everything up.”

“You’re back! But what did you do?! There were earthquakes everywhere, it was a complete disaster!!”

“…Really?”

“Fortunately, they were low-magnitude earthquakes, but they lasted quite a while, so it was total chaos!”

“Ah~… Sorry. I let Hatred go berserk.”

“……”

“Ah, but she only used her First Ability, right? That’s why it ended like this. I told her to only use her First Ability, so you should be thankful?”

“…Sigh~… Well, let’s just leave it at that…”

It seems Hatred’s rampage had some effects. But it’s a good thing it was only low-magnitude earthquakes. If I hadn’t stopped her… There would’ve been significant damage.

Then… Let’s go home. …Now that the trench mission is over, is Hatred going back to Italy? Then I should tell Chubby to make dinner a bit more extravagant.

“I’m back.”

“Welcome back! The earthquakes stopped, so I thought you’d be back soon!”

“Is that so? By the way, make dinner a bit more luxurious today. She’s going back home soon.”

“Understood!”

By the way, what’s Gravity doing now… …She’s in Diamond Dust’s room, eating snacks and watching dramas together. When did they get so close? Well, if I can leave her to someone, it’s convenient, so it’s fine…