July 6th
[Notification from Elysion Observatory! Signs of a crimson sky have been confirmed!]
[The Thread of Destiny Protocol is activated… Stabilization confirmed. The operator in charge, please check the status of the warp gates.]
[Status of all warp gates confirmed stable. No abnormalities at all modern locations.]
[Confirmed. Please ensure each ship is on standby in their designated positions.]
– Sirius, standby!
– Vega, standby.
– Pollux, standby.
[Deployment confirmed. All combatants stationed across each location will be informed in real-time of any changes to the Thread of Destiny activation! First… ]
“… ….”
Bzzzt
The radio buzzes incessantly in my ears.
The sea breeze blowing under the hot summer sun.
Crash
Crash
Unlike the first trial in Tokyo, there was no tension that felt ready to explode at any moment.
The magical girls had gained experience fighting monsters while traveling the world for the past month and had gained confidence equal to their perfect first victory. They were simply waiting for the upcoming battle after evacuating all civilians.
– Elysion Observatory, evacuation of refugees confirmed.
– All governments of nations where small fissures were detected have confirmed completion of evacuation orders from coastlines and fissure sites.
I had already issued evacuation orders to citizens in areas adjacent to the English Channel and Dover Strait two weeks ago.
[Messages have come in from the UK, France, and the Netherlands confirming evacuation is complete.]
“[Hope]’s Magical Girl, confirmed.”
As the leader of the magical girls, the first evacuation order for Tokyo was hurriedly drawn up, using every threat and inducement, but unlike that, the evacuation order for the European coast, where the trial’s existence was already known, went smoothly.
I confirmed that the designated ships and combat units were positioned on the dozens of white makeshift fortresses floating in the English Channel. I then descended from the sky and approached the response team waiting on the coast.
Three magical girls stood on the beach in full combat readiness.
“Is everyone ready?”
“Yeah! Hikari! We can go anytime!”
“Yes! Of course!”
“I-I’m ready.”
The ocean’s Magical Girl Na-yeon, whose face was pale, fluttered a ribbon shaped like fish scales over her blue magical girl outfit, reminiscent of sea fairies.
Awakened 2-Star [Flame] Magical Girl Yuki
Born 2-Star [Lightning] Magical Girl Lee Hua
Born 2-Star [Sea] Magical Girl Hong Na-yeon
I formed a combination that could project maximum firepower to face the massive sea serpent.
‘This is quite an intimidating combination.’
At sea battles and instant firepower, this combination was superior to all born 3-Star magical girls, excluding me and Animus.
The three of them had been practicing their synergy for days leading up to the trial day, exploding water, regulating sea temperature, and enhancing destructive power.
And now, as the second trial approached.
Na-yeon was sweating profusely, taking deep breaths non-stop. Seeing Na-yeon like this, Lee Hua tilted her head in puzzlement.
“Phew… Phew…”
“Hmm? Are you still so tense?”
“Aren’t you supposed to be tense…?”
“Isn’t it simple? The opponent is evil! We are justice! We just need to defeat them!”
Punch
Na-yeon waved her hand, signaling for Lee Hua to stop talking with an exasperated expression.
“……..”
I was a bit surprised by Na-yeon’s nervousness.
Based on the original depiction of the Busan guardian and her confident demeanor before blooming, I figured she had a bold personality.
‘She was so confident in Busan. Does she get weaker if it’s not a familiar place?’
Even though Na-yeon was fighting in the sea, where she was most advantageous among us three born 2-star magical girls, her tension remained high. As we stood there for a moment, an urgent radio call came in.
[Five minutes until the trial time!]
I had to respond to the situation from the sky just before the battle began.
“Then I’ll be watching from above.”
“Yeah! You got this!”
“Let’s all do our best to defeat the trial monsters!”
“Ugh… I feel so nervous I might throw up.”
Eventually, Na-yeon used magic to draw the seawater and created a small trench where she lay down.
“……..”
After emptying her stomach a bit in the trench, Na-yeon came back with a relaxed expression.
“… I’ll count on you, Na-yeon.”
“Yeah. Hikari, you too!”
For Li Hua and Yuki to fight effectively in the sea, they desperately needed Na-yeon’s power. I entrusted her care to Yuki, the most experienced in fighting among the three. With that, we exchanged encouraging words with the response team again, and I ascended to the sky to observe all situations.
Hundreds of magical girls on dozens of white platforms.
Messages from magical girls stationed in regions experiencing fissure reactions worldwide.
Silver ships hovering in the sky, monitoring the situation.
Galatea, the divine doll assigned to each ship.
Preparations were complete.
[The time for the trial is approaching! Countdown begins!]
[59… 58… 57…!]
Crash
Crash
The relentless, intense sound of crashing waves.
Above the summer sea, where all ships and people had evacuated, only the sound of waves echoed mindlessly.
[3… 2… 1!]
The time for the trial had come.
GROOOOAAAAW――
In an instant, the sky turned crimson.
Dark clouds began to gather slowly.
It was not a warm hue like the sunset but a chilling color as if blood was spilling out.
The dark clouds gathered, emitting eerie sounds, spreading like roots in the now crimson sky.
SSSSSSSSSS–
A massive fissure began to unravel.
Out of the void, filled with chaos and darkness, a snake fell.
Its writhing black body twisted as it emerged from the void. From a distance over the vast sea, it merely looked like a falling snake, but once it splashed onto the surface of the water, the sound was as thunderous as its enormous body.
KWA-BOOM――
The descending black snake roared as it slowly raised its head from the water.
“……..”
Its body emerging above the water was a surreal sight, like a colossal waterspout, with shining red eyes glaring at us.
No,
To be precise, it was staring at me.
– Observation team from Sector 1. Confirmation of a giant monster’s appearance.
– Observation team from Sector 2. Giant monster’s appearance confirmed!
– Sector 3’s observation team has confirmed it as well.
Reports were swiftly coming in from the observation teams of aerial fortresses installed every 10km apart, culminating in the final observation team’s report from the furthest platform.
It was of a size so immense it could be seen dozens of kilometers away.
A giant black lighthouse, hundreds of meters tall, growing above the waves of the perpetually crashing English Channel.
[Notification from Elysion Observatory! The enemy’s estimated size is approximately 1… 1 km!]
As I faced the colossal sea serpent, I contacted Yuki.
“Yuki, how does it look?”
[It’s just like the memories from the other trials.]
“What about the enemy’s level?”
[I can’t say for certain… but aside from the Destruction Dragon, there’s not much difference in atmosphere from other trial monsters.]
“……..”
The original trial.
The trial in which Yuki participated began with the third trial against the wild boar, but I had decided to be informed of any differences compared to the process of the originally corrupt trial due to Animus starting off the original trial.
‘No changes…?’
If that was truly the case, then I could join the response team and proceed with the sea serpent hunt, issuing small monster alerts in each area. But Yuki and I simultaneously felt an intense sense of discomfort and fell silent.
Perhaps the other magical girls were beginning to feel this discomfort too, murmuring.
“Wait, why haven’t the smaller monsters appeared?”
“Right? Why is that?”
[…Sister, nothing’s happening in Korea. Is the fissure really open right now?]
[Leader! Here in China, the sky has turned red, but nothing’s happening.]
[Hikari-chan! Nothing’s happening at the Middle Eastern fissure! What should we do?]
*[The cheerleading team informs the Magical Girl of Hope. Currently, there’s no change at the African fissure.]
*[The council informs us. Currently, there’s no change at the Japanese fissure.]
As reports flooded in from 3-star magical girls stationed at each fissure site, an intense suspicion grew stronger.
‘… There are no small monsters.’
I contacted Alisa and the Goddess stationed in Russia and the USA.
“Alisa, how is it in Russia?”
[Nothing’s happening.]
“Goddess, what about the USA?”
[…Nothing is happening. This is an obvious abnormal situation.]
“Observatory! Report if there are any unusual situations!”
As the sea serpent’s silence stared me down, the longer this calm persisted, the deeper my anxiety became.
[No unusual situations. The crimson atmosphere remains stable, but nothing is happening.]
“……..”
[Ah!! An unusual situation has occurred!]
“Where did it happen?!”
[It’s in the scene of the trial monster’s appearance! Hundreds of small flying objects presumed to be magical girls are rapidly approaching from tens of kilometers away!!]
“What about other locations?!”
[Currently, apart from the scene, there’s nothing found!]
The strong starlight approaching was becoming more apparent.
However, I hadn’t deployed any magical girls there.
Simultaneously, my sense of discomfort grew stronger.
“Grrr!”
I quickly ascended far above the aerial fortress’s platform.
WHOOOSH――!
“Divine Manifestation! Galatea!”
Puff
Puff
Puff
The arriving Galateas all wore serious expressions, silently dispersing to protect their designated white aerial fortresses.
‘We’ did not need to discuss opinions to execute something.
At that moment, the black sea serpent opened its jaw wide enough to seem to swallow the sun, howling skyward.
■■■■■■■――!!!
Underneath the ominous crimson sky, the waves quivered, and a whirlpool surged.
I now distinctly understood the growing sense of discomfort.
‘The starlight is being rapidly sucked into somewhere!’
Although the infinite starlight I possessed was instantly recharged, rendering it meaningless, it would interfere with the other magical girls present.
[Reports are coming in from each combat unit that starlight is rapidly depleting!!]
“Ha ha ha ha!! Freedom!! Freedom!!”
“This is the true world!!”
“It’s our world!!”
“It’s the world promised by the Goddess!!”
Born 3-Star [Plague]’s Magical Girl
Hundreds of ‘her’ with joyful expressions appeared from the sky, wrapped only in black bandages.
The curse of birthing.
[Apostles of Plague, the endlessly splitting souls of yours will now be reborn, not in human bodies but within the bodies of monsters.]
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