July 29th
A small rift writhing with red and black magic, floating in the sky. As always, black lion monsters and snake monsters were falling to the ground.
Like a downpour from dark clouds, magical girls were dispatched to clean up the monsters invading the realm of humans.
“■■■■!!”
The now-familiar dreadful howls of the monsters.
“Strong!! Strong!!”
“Let’s go!!”
Magical girls swirling with starlight colors flew down from the silver ship.
Girls radiating brilliant light descended onto the ominous land, shining bright.
“Chloe!! I’ll lead them that way!”
“Okay! Leave it to me!”
Awakened 2-Star [Pierce] magical girl Chloe, bursting with confidence from her combat experience, moved towards the gathered monsters, treated like prey by the other magical girls.
“Haah!!”
Hyaaah!
The fiery starlight flowed into her slender sword’s tip, never betraying her.
Thwack—!
Chloe’s dazzling blonde hair soared in a straight line toward the monsters.
The magical girl of [Pierce], counting everything on her penetrating strike.
Swoooosh—!!
“■■■■—!!”
“■■■■—!!”
The blonde knight’s attack didn’t end with one charge, but kept advancing, targeting numerous monsters’ weak spots.
“■■■■—!!”
“■■■■—!!”
At the end of a single swing, one monster would certainly disappear, uttering its filthy last breath.
Among hundreds of monsters, none existed that could halt the blonde knight’s charge.
“Wow, they really crawled out a lot! Disappear!”
“■■■■—!!”
Another monster vanished. Judging that they could no longer win, the remaining monsters scattered and sought to hide in the rocky valley, fleeing hastily.
[The monsters are scattering towards the valley below. I’ll send a video of the current tracking status.]
“Okay. Check if any of them are escaping to the villages.”
[Understood. I will inform you immediately if an emergency occurs.]
“Thanks!”
As soon as the communication ended, Chloe elegantly swept her long hair back, turning to watch the fleeing monsters. With steps faster than land athletes, she chased after their shadows.
Pat pat pat
“Where do you think you’re running?!”
“Let’s surround them completely!”
“No! Just bind the monsters’ feet from my side! If we surround them carelessly, we’ll miss all of them!”
“Got it, Chloe!”
Following the words of her most battle-hardened friend, magical spells were unleashed.
Boom!!
A barrage of multicolored spells rained upon the monsters trying to scatter.
With the orders from the observation ship keeping watch over the operational situation, and under Chloe’s directive, the hunting magical girls deployed their unique skills to bind the monsters, using less destructive force in a wider area.
Boom!!
With brilliant starlight exploding, the earth rolled over.
The monsters, now trapped with nowhere to escape, momentarily panicked and froze in place.
“■■■?!”
Emerald-colored bladed swords charged at the dazed monsters, and they began to be systematically taken down as they flailed around in confusion against the dual incoming attacks.
The number of monsters dwindled slowly.
The magical girls confidently expected victory.
There, aside from Chloe, the magical girls experienced the thrill of their first real battlefield.
“Great, everything’s going smoothly…!”
[There are no monsters that have escaped the site! Please annihilate them!]
“Okay!”
In a history that had forgotten the power of starlight, humanity had merely been toyed with by monsters, but in the world where magical girls were active, the monsters were nothing more than dew melting away beneath a beam of starlight.
Among the monsters that completely vanished like ice melting under sunlight, Chloe quietly observed the situation.
‘Friend vs. friend battles, and always, when the fight seems to conclude, the next phase begins…’
Her instincts, sharpened through numerous friendly matches, training, and actual battles, were still very keen.
[The monsters have completely silenced. Thank you for your hard work.]
“Phew! That was tough… I’m feeling a bit drained on starlight, I want to rest.”
“How about just wandering off to Elysion and relaxing for a night?”
“No… I want to get home and shower even if it’s late due to waiting.”
The operator magical girl’s voice signaling the situation’s conclusion was met with chattering conversation. However, Chloe still kept her sword slightly lowered, silently watching the situation.
“Huh? Chloe, what are you doing?”
“Just a moment.”
“Oh, right…”
If nothing happened after five minutes, Chloe would truly ease her last tension.
“……”
Her friends, who had died and awoken months later, teased Chloe for her hypersensitivity, but Chloe, enduring countless battles more than anyone among magical girls, believed that this was the right mindset to have on the battlefield.
‘I can’t let my friends and comrades die anymore.’
Eventually, Chloe noticed an abnormal occurrence.
“Everyone, don’t lower your guard.”
“Huh? Wh-what is it?”
“The rift looks strange.”
“Eh? It’s still open?”
“……”
The crimson rift in the sky had yet to close.
Usually, it vanished like mist after all the monsters were taken care of, but even now, it ominously remained, clearly visible in the sky.
“Do you see the observation post?”
[…It’s an irregular situation. Despite numerous investigation spells and assistance from the Elysion observation post, the nearby monsters have all been accounted for.]
Whirr!!
A dull light approached Chloe from inside the rift.
“Ambush!! A monster ambush!! Everyone, stay alert!!”
Chloe screamed in a nearly instinctual fashion, preparing to fight against the oncoming flash. The dull light charged toward her at incredible speed.
Whoosh—
Clang—!
Thanks to Chloe not lowering her guard, the attacking beam of light halted with a clear sound as she blocked it with her sword.
“This, this is!?”
Enveloped in vivid emerald starlight, Chloe, who was blocking the enemy’s attack, could hardly believe it.
[Let…me go!]
The one scattering dull emerald starlight on the other side of her sword was herself. The ‘Chloe’ with a corpse-like pale face gleamed with black energy like veins, murmured with hollow eyes.
[Friends…comrades…!]
“Me? Me?!”
[I… I want to go back…!]
“Ugh!”
Surprised by the enemy’s appearance, she faltered, but the other version of herself that sprang out from the rift was disturbingly weak.
To be precise, she was at the very beginning of awakening from Born 1-Star.
But the thick killing intent that emanated from her was overwhelming compared to Chloe now.
Not as a magical girl but as a mere butcher.
Her aura reminded Chloe of scavengers.
‘Scavenger…!!!’
Realizing this, Chloe felt a wave of nausea and disgust wash over her as she shouted.
“Get lost!! Don’t lay a finger on my friends!!”
[Give it to me…!! Your place…!]
Clang!
After another clash of swords, it was the other Chloe who fell, unable to counter the attack from the awakened 2-Star magical girl, collapsing with a hollow piercing through her chest.
[Next…next time…for sure.]
“……”
“What’s this.”
The suddenly appearing, attacking other Chloe left behind a hollow last breath, vanishing while scattering dull emerald starlight. Finally, there was no longer any hostile presence on site, and the rift quietly dissipated like mist.
“……”
“……”
But only a chilling silence remained at the scene.
＊
[Home, I want to go back!!]
“Huh.”
Drip drip drip
Awakened 2-Star [Shooting] magical girl Lee Min-seul calmly observed the ‘other self’ holding her rifle. A pale face, black veins, and a overly ripped and tattered magical girl outfit.
In a situation where two girls with identical faces faced each other, the White Wing Unit 1st Squad forgot their usual strict military discipline and was aghast.
“Squad leader?!”
“Shh. Let’s listen.”
Let’s hear what she has to say.
Lee Min-seul thought as she chose not to immediately subdue the other self.
‘She’s weak. She wouldn’t win if she fought last year’s me.’
Even if she just awakened her powers now, the clumsy handling of starlight was enough to believe she was no threat. But the murderous intent in her eyes resembled that of a butcher killing many people.
To be precise, [Bombardment] magical girl Alex.
Displeased in one word.
“Ugh.”
[Mom…! Dad…! Aaaah…!! Saebyeok!! Don’t go to the USA…!! I want to go back…!!]
“Our mom and dad? Why look for them? Get lost, you crazy girl.”
[Let me go!! I will go back!!]
Crack!
The other Lee Min-seul bent her rifle with telekinesis, pulled out a pistol from beneath her skirt, and when Lee Min-seul immediately tossed a magazine from her tactical pocket,
Ping!
While the pale Lee Min-seul was momentarily startled by the object thrown at her head, Lee Min-seul lunged in, kicked her legs out, and took one arm, completely breaking it.
Crack!
With a gruesome sound, white bone protruded out of the skin.
“Did you train like a complete fool? You fight like garbage.”
[Ugh?!]
“Where did you come from?”
[Let me go!! I will go back!!]
“……”
The other Lee Min-seul struggled, emitting a thick aura of killing intent.
Lee Min-seul paused briefly, then drew out the great sword from her tactical pocket and drove it straight into the back of her other self.
Thwomp—!
[Aah…Aaaah…!!]
“……”
An incompletely prepared demeanor for pain.
If she were a member of the White Wing Unit, she wouldn’t lose her sanity and collapse from such a weak attack.
It was more like the clumsiness she would show before meeting [Start]… [Hope]’s magical girl Hikari last year.
Everything was clumsy but the killing intent was real.
“Huh.”
[Next time…]
“Oh, will you be able to come again?”
[…….]
“Say more.”
Silence.
Lee Min-seul choked off the breath of the silent fake, and the other self vanished, leaving behind only black fragments.
Beep!
Lee Min-seul turned on the radio to contact Park Saebyeok.
“This is 1st squad leader. I have an urgent report.”
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