Chapter 29: The Offensive

The fog that had been blocking the view of our Fox Squad and Sugar Squad finally cleared.

Apparently, something had happened on the Calamity God's side that left it with no room to spare for dealing with us.

Just like the scenario.

Just as I had predicted.

I had believed this would happen.

And yet, deep down, I was more relieved than anyone.

When we headed toward the source of the roar echoing throughout the area, we soon caught sight of them.

The Protagonist was tending to Victoria, who had collapsed and was covered in blood.

When he noticed us, he shouted in a ridiculously cheerful voice.

"—Raika!"

"Idiot, why are you looking like we've already won?! Nothing's over yet!"

Following my reprimand, he turned his attention forward.

It looked like something straight out of a Hollywood movie where a giant monster suddenly appears.

The Calamity God, with a body rivaling an office building in size, was thrashing about violently.

The asphalt beneath its massive body trembled as it was trampled underfoot.

The Calamity God's claws swung wildly, producing terrifying whooshing sounds as they tried to slice Hibari in half while she flew around it.

Hibari continued flying at incredible speed like a fighter jet, narrowly dodging each attack.

"Hibari! You've distracted it enough. Fall back!"

When my voice echoed between the buildings, Hibari slipped past another claw attack and retreated toward us.

She landed and rejoined the group.

"Hibari, that wound?!"

"Huh? It only grazed me. I'm fine!"

When he asked her about it, Hibari smiled brightly and brushed it off as though it were nothing.

Fresh blood was running down the arm extending from the sleeve of her adorable frilled outfit.

And when I looked closely, she had other injuries as well.

Blood had seeped through various parts of the magical-girl outfit.

Seeing her condition, Victoria pushed herself upright, her expression clouding over.

"...Hi-chan, I'm sorry. Because I couldn't defeat that thing, you got hurt..."

Victoria's weak voice trailed off.

Hibari had walked over to her and gently placed a finger against her lips, silencing her.

"No sad faces, Ree-chan. I'm not here to make you look like that."

With a small smile, Hibari declared proudly,

"I'm the magical girl of justice entrusted with everyone's hopes. So don't worry, Ree-chan. Leave it to me."

"B-but that's a lie I forced onto you, Hi-chan..."

Hearing Victoria's words, Hibari raised her index finger and brought it to her own lips.

"It's okay. Even if it's a lie, even if it's something far removed from the real me, I'm okay with it. Because I realized there's someone who will accept me anyway."

For just a moment, Hibari looked toward him and gave a captivating smile.

It was the first time I'd ever seen Hibari make an expression like that, and I couldn't help but stare in admiration myself.

"So, Ree-chan, get some rest for a little while. You've been pushing yourself way too hard, you know? Both now and in the past."

"............Yeah."

Seeing Hibari's straightforward smile, Victoria gave a small nod after a brief silence.

Once she saw that, Hibari turned around toward me.

"Raika-chan, give me some orders. Right now, I feel like I can do anything!"

"Very well. It's my job to push a dreamer's back."

I smiled as I spoke the words from the bottom of my heart.

All the pieces were already in place.

All that remained was to move everything forward correctly and seize the ending we were meant to reach.

"Everyone, approach the Calamity God while carrying out suppressive attacks. ...Mana. You're up."

"Command accepted. Limited armament deployment."

Even at a time like this, Mana's calm voice was endlessly reassuring.

A mechanical arm covered her slender arm. The machine gun mounted on its upper section aimed directly at the Calamity God's enormous body.

"Target acquired. Beginning suppressive fire."

As Mana's voice rang out, the heavy sound of gunfire echoed through the area.

It was a barrage of large-caliber rounds powerful enough to pulverize concrete.

The Calamity God, which had been approaching us in pursuit of Hibari, shook its body in annoyance.

Small wounds opened across its torso, wings, and legs, but they barely seemed to damage it.

Even Mana's high-powered attacks amounted to little more than a distraction against the Calamity God.

However, a shadow was rapidly approaching the Calamity God's feet while it was distracted by the bullets.

"Illusion Style—Headlong Charge!"

Hadzuki leaped like a missile and drove her sword into the Calamity God's massive body.

Blood reeking of decay began flowing from its black skin.

Normally, this would have been the point where she unleashed a relentless barrage of attacks.

But no matter how far Hadzuki had mastered the sword, moving through the air without solid footing was impossible.

"■■■!"

The Calamity God roared angrily and thrashed violently, casually tossing Hadzuki's body away.

As she was thrown into the air, its tail came after her.

She barely managed to block the whip-like strike with her sword, but the impact sent her flying a great distance according to its momentum.

Perhaps the sight reminded him of Victoria covered in blood.

He shouted loudly.

"H-Hadzuki!"

"—Face forward, idiot! There's no way she'd die from something like that!"

After I shouted at him, he gritted his teeth and turned his attention forward.

His concern for others was one of his good qualities, but there was no need to worry about Hadzuki right now.

I approached the Calamity God alongside him.

The stronger the killing intent radiating from the Calamity God became, the stronger the stench of decay seemed to grow.

The foul odor, like several kinds of exhaust fumes mixed together, was enough to make me nauseous.

"■■■!"

Sparks began crackling around the Calamity God's jaws as it let out a roar.

"Raika, its breath is coming!"

"—Kanon!"

At my shout, Salvation Kanon immediately understood what I intended.

"May my hands protect all living beings from every calamity...! 『Pure Land of This World』"

Light emitted from the Kannon statue standing behind Kanon enveloped everyone around us in a dome-like barrier.

The next instant, a beam of heat erupted from the Calamity God's jaws.

The dome deployed by Kanon collided with the heat beam, producing a tremendous flash of light.

Our vision, protected by the dome of light, was swallowed by flames.

The Calamity God's enraged breath was a devastating attack that seemed to carry the intent to pierce through its enemies along with the protective barrier itself.

"Ugh..."

Kanon, maintaining the shield, broke into a sweat and let out a strained breath.

Even for her, holding back an attack from the Calamity God was apparently no easy task.

After what felt like an eternity of clashing forces, the flames finally ceased.

Kanon, who had maintained the protective barrier, breathed heavily.

I didn't let the opening pass.

"Sugar Squad, deploy at three o'clock! Fox Squad, charge straight in with me at the front!"

The signal for our counterattack had been raised.

The Calamity God, having unleashed its breath, was emitting black smoke from its jaws and had stopped moving for just a moment.

Powerful breath attacks consumed a great deal of energy and created an opening. Just like the original scenario.

"Hibari!"

"Leave it to me!"

Hibari answered my call with determination and flew toward the Calamity God's chest at tremendous speed.

She raised the wand with its deployed blade and shouted.

"Blade, extended deployment... AAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Her blade, fueled by her rising excitement, grew to roughly three times its normal length.

Her target was a universal biological weak point: the eye.

"■■■!"

Hibari's blade pierced the Calamity God's right eye.

The Calamity God groaned in pain and began thrashing wildly.

Hibari was caught by one of its swinging claws and sent flying, crashing into an office building.

"Hibari?!"

"I'm fine! No problem!"

Hibari had clearly taken a serious hit, but she immediately used her flight magic and rejoined us.

Looking closely, I could see blood trickling down from her forehead.

But her eyes were blazing with the light of hope.

"Raika-chan, I'm going in again!"

The moment she said it, Hibari charged toward the Calamity God once more.

Her figure looked like a shooting star streaking through the sky, destined to make a wish come true.

Yeah. We can do this.

I realized it almost instinctively and shifted into a position to support her.

"Just because you're young doesn't mean you can go throwing yourself into danger like that...!"

I cursed under my breath as I summoned a sniper rifle.

I lay prone and looked through the scope, getting a clear view of Hibari flying through the sky at the edge of my vision.

The moment her shadow approached the Calamity God, I pulled the trigger.

"—!"

The bullet struck its head, and the Calamity God let out a pained cry.

Hibari didn't let that opening slip by.

"Blade, maximum hardness... HAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

It was like a drill boring through a tunnel.

Maintaining all the momentum of her charge, Hibari drove her blade straight through the Calamity God's abdomen.

The blade pierced completely through the massive body.

The glowing edge broke through the black scales and cleanly tore through the flesh inside.

"■■■■■■!"

The Calamity God let out a scream as a massive hole was torn through its abdomen.

Black blood gushed out, spilling onto the concrete and spreading the stench of decay.

"...Hadzuki! Now!"

Hadzuki, who had supposedly been blown away, suddenly came charging in from behind.

Moving at top speed, she tore across the battlefield like a gust of wind.

Approaching in a low stance, Hadzuki drew the sword resting at her waist.

"Ultimate Technique of the Illusion Style—Evil-Breaker."

It was the strongest form of Iaijutsu wielded by Hadzuki, a master swordswoman.

Accelerating inside the sheath, the blade was drawn at a speed too fast for the human eye to perceive.

"■■■!"

The blade, aimed at severing its head, gouged deeply into the Calamity God's neck.

The Calamity God pulled itself back at the last possible moment, leaving its head literally hanging by a thread.

But the battlefield was already practically checkmate.

The Calamity God was bleeding black blood from its entire body. Hibari was preparing to strike a second time. Mana had finished reloading. The Sugar Squad was attacking its flank.

It seemed like we were about to accomplish the slaying of a god.

"■■■... OOOOOOOOO!"

The roaring Calamity God beat its wings violently.

A gale resembling a typhoon swept over us.

"...!"

Everyone preparing to deliver the finishing blow staggered backward.

When I barely managed to keep my footing and looked toward it, a new change had come over the Calamity God's body.

Purple flames erupted from its entire body.

The flames were a color that did not exist in nature, burning brilliantly as they engulfed the Calamity God's body.

"OOOOOOOOOO!"

The Calamity God's roar sounded almost like a cry of resentment.

A horrifying growl that seemed to echo from the depths of hell, as though all its hatred for this world had been condensed into a single voice.

"—Looks like we're entering Round Two."

In game terms, it was a gauge break.

In many cases, that meant the enemy was about to become even more powerful.