Chapter 10: The Announced Day

The Announced Day

Since my encounter with Nemuri, I hav been constantly on guard even in my daily life, but fortunately, I haven't had any encounters with other magical girls since then.

Was that encounter a coincidence?

I'd like to think so, but we've never had a near miss before, and when I think about the odds of us accidentally running into each other in a fairly large city... it seems like it's something I can't really ignore.

Could it be that my location was discovered?

How?

Well, if my whereabouts are known, we would have been fighting since a long time ago, so it must be a coincidence... Ah, no, wait a minute. Maybe it's the distribution?

This is a hypothesis that just occurred to me, but what if magical girls are spread out so that their ranges of activity don't overlap? And if Raika and the other seven realize this, reveal their areas of activity to each other, and find a blank area where no one is active... then they'll probably decide that's where I am.　

I don't know anything about the distribution of magical girls. There was no mention of that in the anime either...

However, if there's any way to pinpoint my location, it would be to bring up the "Magical Girls' Activity Areas Are Different" theory and identify the blank areas...

Well, the announced day has finally arrived, so there's no need to worry about that anymore.

Almost at the same time as the date changed, I headed towards the Sousei Dome Tower.

Getting to the basement is not that difficult. First, enter the tower. The best time to go is at night. At night, the only light source in the room is moonlight and the candles hanging on the wall. Once you extinguish all the candles, you will see a faint light leaking from the ground in a certain area. Touching it will reveal a staircase to the basement.　

Well, if you were to sleep in the tower, you'd probably notice, but almost no one does that, so the only people who know how to get to the basement are the Tengai family members.

However, the Tengai family has suffered the misfortune of having all of their family members and relatives killed by Nemuri.

I mean, I'm the only one who knows now.

Well, it's true that Nemuri was homeless and would have slept in the tower at times, so she might have noticed too. But even if she had noticed the existence of the underground, she wouldn't have been the type to make it known... so in the end, it's the same as if no one knew.

I move deeper into the tower, as if being sucked into a huge, pitch-black hole.

"I guess it would be best to reveal the true identity of the 'Eighth Person' after all..."

"You're still saying that? As I said, that's impossible."

"Of course, I understand that the information obtained through 'Compensation Magic' is not sufficient evidence. But, is it possible to work backwards from the true identity of the 'Eighth Person' and come up with a way to prove it?"

Let me think about it for a moment.

"Hmm. I guess that's still impossible after all. The 'Eighth' was deployed with the goal of eliminating magical girls, so strictly speaking she's not a magical girl. In other words, she's more of an 'anti-magical girl' existence..."

Now, can I explain this without going into the story of "Magical Girl of Creation" or "Genesis-chan"?　

"How should I put it, the principle of her power is the same as that of magical girls. She make a contract through 'Agent' and gain power in exchange for making her wish come true. See, it's the same, right? That's why the 'Eighth' can blend in with the magical girls and act like one, and no matter how much we tried to expose her, her surroundings is too clean, she won't be exposed."

"The principle is the same...? What does that mean...?"

In other words, the "Magical Girl of Creation", our God is mean.

"There's no need for you to know that much. Anyway, that's why it's impossible to prove."

"Hmm alright……"　

It seems he was convinced.

To tell the truth, while I was explaining, I came up with a way to prove there was an "Eighth Person," but I didn't mention it because it had nothing to do with my plan.

Well.

How many people are waiting inside the tower?

It would be troublesome if everyone was waiting for me. Nemuri and Yuzuki's unique magic would be tricky and difficult to use.

Especially Nemuri's. Her unique magic is troublesome.

"Time Magic"――The ability to return any target, including oneself, to five seconds to the past.

This ability also has a pretty good backstory...

Nemuri was originally the youngest of five sisters.

The eldest, second, to fourth sisters were born a year apart, and Nemuri was the only one born alone, but the five sisters were close.

The four sisters received emotional education from a young age as users of "Barrier Magic'' and possessed the personality to be worthy of obtaining "Barrier Magic.''

Thanks to this, Nemuri was the only one who was raised freely without the burden of the mission of becoming the next "Magical Girl of Barrier." Her four older sisters loved her purely, without any jealousy.

It's not just "Barrier Bagic" but acquiring abilities specialized in protecting something is extremely difficult. Since magical girls are tasked with fighting demons, magical girls without offensive means are, so to speak, the exception.

Only kind-hearted, altruistic girls can obtain unique defensive magic and magical tools.

According to the law derived by the Tengai family, the probability of obtaining "Barrier Magic" increases significantly if you withhold your wish when making the contract. In order to show your altruism, you must appear selfless.

The four sisters met these strict requirements. The succession issue was secure. Nemuri grew up as a "normal girl."

However, an accident occurred and the four sisters were killed.

The Tengai family quickly groomed Nemuri to be the next "Magical Girl of Barrier" and imposed strict discipline on her that was not even mentioned in any previous manuals.

The death of her beloved sisters, her strict family, and the sudden imposition of a great mission.

As she took on the distortions of the world's system, an intense desire for destruction grew within her - and Nemuri was unable to obtain the "Barrier Magic.''

Nemuri used the magical tool to blow up her disappointed and angry family, then erased all of her memories using her reserved "wish.''

Is "Time Magic" a manifestation of a desire to return to that happier times?

If Kisaragi Koharu had been born into the Tengai family, everything would have been fine. Koharu naturally possessed the unparalleled qualities to be a user of "Barrier Magic." A kind heart and an altruistic spirit. A selflessness that led to the withholding of "wish."

Because she was not born into the Tengai family, she was unable to acquire "Barrier Magic," but the fact that she has acquired "Recovery Magic" and the defensive ability of a shield suggests that she has the qualities to become a "Magical Girl of Barrier."

Ugh, what a nasty anime that's all based on irony.

Well, I'll give it a happy ending.

In exchange for your clouding!

•

•

The depths of the tower were dark.

All the candles had gone out.

A surprise attack in the dark?

At that moment, I heard the sound of wind and sensed something flying towards me, so I quickly dodged it. However, I wasn't able to avoid it completely, and a pain ran through my calf.

Ouch!

"What a shame!"

The voice was Kaoru's.

It wasn't until I got this close that I could see her face. I then looked further down towards the ground and saw Koharu.

There was no sign of anyone else there. It seemed that Koharu and Kaoru had come alone.

Well, there aren't many actors, but that's okay. I can't back out now that I've already announced it.

I had only just arrived, but that person had been hiding in the darkness this whole time, so they had good night vision. In other words, I was at a disadvantage in terms of visibility.　

When it comes to taking advantage of the darkness, there are few weapons that are more effective than my own.

I stretched out a wire to intercept Kaoru as she charged forward again.

But my plan was seen through. Kaoru broke through the wire with the very simple method of swinging her sword wildly forward. Furthermore, just before dodging the slash, she enveloped the blade of her sword in flames, extending the reach of her attack. My side was seared by the flames.

Hot!

Come to think of it, her unique magic is "Fire Magic."

I became a little angry and became aggressive, whipping Kaoru with the wire, but Koharu blocked it with her shield.

Ugh. It's frustrating, but it's a good teamwork.

Kaoru may be inexperienced, but she has naturally high physical abilities. She has studied martial arts such as karate, judo, and aikido, and constantly hones her natural physique. In addition to her specialized attack abilities, her "wish" to become stronger gives her a superior sense of simple combat than anyone else, so once she gains experience, she could become quite a formidable presence even on her own.

If Kaoru is paired with Koharu, who has the strongest defensive abilities, then she's like a tiger with iron armors. She can put up a shield anywhere within her line of sight, so it must be pretty nasty to be on the receiving end of that.

Then there was no resolution for a long time.

Kaoru launches a fatal strike, so I dodge. At first, I managed to get back at her and graze her with some underhanded tricks, but now I seem to have run out of options and can only using simple attack. But even if I attack, she can just avoid them or block them with Koharu shield.

This continued over and over, and neither side was able to make a decisive move.

Now, what should I do? I'm starting to get tired.

As I was thinking that, Kaoru spoke to me.

"Why are you trying to destroy the barrier? Are you an enemy or an ally?"

"I'm just doing what I have to do. Whether I'm an ally or an enemy is up to you to decide based on your own interpretation."

"What you should do? Is ruining everyone your job?"

"Ruin? No, this is salvation."

"It doesn't make sense!"

She readied her sword and prepared to charge.

"It's like you are a final boss trying to destroy the world for a noble purpose, right?"

A monotonous rush.

Hehe, do I look like the type of villain who would say, "Death is salvation"?

Too bad, I really just want to save everyone.

Kaoru's sword strike is approaching. I'm used to seeing it now.

I dodged the sword that was slashed to the side with all my might by stepping back――　

I can't!?　

The sword she had swung sideways was heading straight towards me, still pointing sideways. Even if she had let go of the hilt and thrown it, the sword would have flown in a completely different direction and would never have come to me.

But in reality, it was moving mysteriously towards me.

What is this?

Ah, I understand how it works.

It's flames.

It's spitting flames.

It was an acrobatic attack. I understood how it worked, but my body couldn't react immediately.

I had no choice but to use [Compensation Magic]

I teleported behind Kaoru and whipped her whole body. I grabbed her face as she screamed and slammed the back of her head into the wall. I then grind her on the wall halfway around.

Hmm. I didn't want to use it as much as possible because it would be so easy to finish it.

Kaoru seemed to have lost consciousness, and when I let go of her face, she succumbed to gravity and fell to the ground.

"Kaoru-chan!"

Koharu ran over to Kaoru. I headed towards the faint glow on the ground, and Kaoru had fallen directly in line with it.

I confront Koharu.

"Why, why did this happen...!"

Koharu was crying. She was glaring at me with all her might, somehow mustering all the malice and hostility from her whole body, like squeezing out a new bottle of toothpaste.

It doesn't suit her at all and it's just so cute~

However, I acted like I felt guilty, looked down, and answered her question.

"Because... I have no choice..."

"What do you mean you have no choice...?"

"Because you guys are in the way."

Yes.

To be precise, the setting is, "You guys were getting in the way, so I had no choice but to brush off the sparks that were flying at me," but with this vague way of putting it, it's not unreasonable to take it as "Magical girls are in the way, so I'm getting rid of them."

See, Koharu's face darkened.

She's probably been trying to believe in me up until now. "Is she really enemy?" "There must be some reason behind this," she's probably been repeating these words over and over again, desperately fighting the voice of doubt inside her.

I ruined that effort.

Koharu buried her face in Kaoru's chest and cried, her shoulders shaking violently.

I walk over to open the entrance to the basement.

"No!"

Koharu then stood up and spread her arms.

Perhaps thinking that would stop me, I pushed Koharu's small shoulder with my hand, causing her to fall to the ground.

Open the entrance.

A staircase to the basement appeared.

I went down the stairs without looking back at Koharu.

At the bottom of the stairs was a magic circle.

And then there's Kisaragi Koharu.

"Eh……?"

My brain froze.

Why is Koharu here?

Because just now upstairs...

Then I remembered that one girl unique magic.

If so, which one is real?

That's right. Come to think of it, Koharu hadn't used "Recovery Magic" on Kaoru earlier. Besides, the only benefit to doing something like this would be if the Koharu above was a fake. She was probably planning to disguise herself as Koharu, who had no means of attack, and land a blow when Kaoru let her guard down and counterattack me.

The real Koharu had been putting up the shield from underground, but if they installed a surveillance camera above, she might be able to get the shield out with precision.

In other words, this Koharu is the real one.

I moved towards the magic circle and was about to touch it with my hand.

"Sorry about that~"　

Koharu said as she tied me up in chains.

No, this voice isn't Koharu's...

"Hehe, I caught you for the second time~ Did you miss me that much?"

Hearing Yuzuki's voice say this, I realized my error in judgment.

Kaoru appeared from the stairs and charged forward.

A sword was thrust into my stomach.

"Magical Girls Killing Each Others" main characters list:

Black - Tachibana Sumire (MC who want to cloud everyone) - Agent: Ryo - Unique Magic: Compensation Magic - Magical Tool: Wires

Pink - Kisaragi Koharu (The original anime MC, 100% all support stats, no offense) - Agent: Rococo - Unique Magic: Recovery Magic - Magical Tool: Shield

Red - Akabane Kaoru (Koharu's childhood friend) - Agent: Ross - Unique Magic: Fire Magic - Magical Tool: Sword

Green - Mitaka Raika (25 years old biker Onee-san who smoke) - Agent: Rod - Unique Magic: Smoke Magic - Magical Tool: Motorcycle

Blonde - Alice (the pretend rich loli girl) - Agent: Rock - Unique Magic: ??? - Magical Tool: Gun

Orange - Asahina Shio (a real rich girl) - Agent: Loki - Unique Magic: Acceleration Magic - Magical Tool:???

Purple - Yuzuriha Yuzuki (tomboy) - Agent: Romeo - Unique Magic: ??? - Magical Tool: Chain

White - Tengai Nemuri (amnesiac girl) - Agent: Logos - Unique Magic: Time Magic - Magical Tool: Grenades