Congratulations on Your Magical Girl Duties

97 – Magical Ikusa Battle (1)

The start was a careless word.

“Red Moon.”

What followed was a briefly surfacing, blood-red moon.

A splat, the sound of blood spraying.

And.

“Ah, this *fuck*!!!”

It was Guidu’s scream.

Could no one have foreseen this situation?

A heavy silence descended abruptly.

In that moment, one magical girl’s questioning voice carefully scraped away at the silence.

“That… could that possibly be magic…?”

Starting with that, the surrounding magical girls began to murmur amongst themselves.

“W-Wait a minute! How can a guy use magic?!”

“What kind of attribute is that? Looks like fire, but it’s not fire! Never seen anything like it!”

“And that’s without a magic wand?”

“Plus, something feels off, doesn’t it? Is that even proper magic? Why’s it leaving behind this… painted effect?”

Everyone seemed to find it utterly unbelievable.

Even Whitedog, Octopus, and Les were gaping, dumbfounded.

Meanwhile, Gwiddu clutched his bleeding left eye, glaring at me with the remaining one, a look that could kill.

Seeing Gwiddu like that, I gave a faint smile.

“Gave you a circumcision, huh? Aren’t you grateful?”

But truthfully, deep down, I wasn’t smiling at all. Honestly, I was feeling a little anxious.

It was shallow.

Of course, I wasn’t without excuses. Gwiddu was a magic girl specialized in defense, so she was tough. And ‘this’ Crimson Moon wasn’t yet complete.

But even considering all that, it was too shallow.

I suspected the reason.

It had to be because of this steel pipe I was holding.

I’d only cast a simple spell, just in case, but already I could feel the weapon in my hand creaking.

Even if the steel pipe was decently sturdy, it was nothing compared to the Moonlit Sword. A basic magic wand would have been a little better, but alas.

At this rate, I’d be lucky to cast a few more spells before it shattered into pieces.

Randomly unleashing attack magic was something I needed to avoid. At the very least, I had to completely avoid direct contact.

This was definitely an unfavorable fight.

I couldn’t use certain spells.

I also had to be careful the weapon didn’t break.

Still, what else could I do?

This wasn’t the first time I’d fought an uphill battle. I’d fought battles with far worse odds. Compared to those times, this was much better.

Besides, if you really thought about it, the situation wasn’t bad. I felt like I was already at three-quarters of my peak power.

I’d faintly heard the sound of chains unlocking a little while ago, and it seemed to have helped me regain even more strength.

At this point, even if it wasn’t quite the physical strength of a magic girl, I could still enhance my body somewhat. I could also infuse magic into objects other than the Moonlit Sword.

Well, whatever.

I swept away all the complicated thoughts, leaving only two simple ones.

To protect: the mere chunk of metal in my hand.

To discard: everything else, including my own body.

That ought to do it.

“You cowardly b*stard, ambushing me like that?!”

“Idiot, you’re allowed one ambush, that’s how it is.”

Truly, that woman’s brain functions like a festering wound.

If she didn’t want to be ambushed, she should have offered her greetings first. To complain about it now…

And what a joke.

“Since when did ‘cowardice’ have any place in a fight?”

“Ha, you son of a b*tch. Your mouth runs like a river.”

Where does she get off talking about fairness?

She abandoned all pretense of that a long time ago.

Still, having ambushed her, it’s only proper to offer my greetings now.

“Do-mo, Gwiddu=san. Tsukiyo no Senshi de-“

“Shield Charge!”

In that instant, Gwiddu appeared before my very eyes. A massive shield, conjured from magic, held before him.

In that brief moment, he’d closed a considerable distance, rushing forward with incredible speed.

It was as if a colossal wall had materialized from thin air.

“What kind of Magical Villainy is this! Attacking during a sacred Magical Aisatsu is a Magical End-of-Days act, it is!”

“Acceleration!!!”

Even with Nakji’s scolding, his momentum did not falter.

On the contrary, it only intensified.

Evading to the side was impossible. Deflecting it was out of the question.

Which meant…

“Seungwol (Rising Moon).”

From behind Gwiddu’s head, a moon ascended.

And my body shifted to its position.

“Eh?! Hey, is that Magical Phase Shift, for real?”

“Just what kind of guy is that?!”

Ignoring the voices around me, I rapidly accelerated my thoughts in this altered perspective.

Nakwol requires direct contact with a weapon, sealed away.

The remaining, colored moons, put on hold for now.

Only one choice remained.

The moment the decision was made, she kicked where Guidu’s occiput might be, with her heel.

“Ack!”

Guidu, thrown off balance, sprawled inelegantly. Thanks to that, her rear was left completely exposed.

An opening.

Gathering momentum, rotating a half circle.

Inverted in the air.

Drawing a sharp moon.

“New Moon.”

A thin line appeared across Guidu’s back, who was trying to stand. One, impossibly thin line.

Too bad to end it here.

Therefore, once more.

“Crescent Moon.”

Etching the same line again, in the very same spot.

This time, a bit deeper, more vividly.

However, Guidu wasn’t just going to passively take it.

“Did you really think that pathetic attack would work on me!”

By the time I landed, Guidu had already regained her composure and was striding purposefully forward.

Then, Guidu took a step, brandishing her wand in a wide arc.

“Shell Bash!”

Following the trajectory of the swinging wand, a mint-colored shield materialized, surging forward with a concussive blast.

A guaranteed hit that would crush space itself.

A manifestation of her will to not even allow the Moonrise dodge from before.

But, that didn’t mean it was impossible to avoid.

“Frost Moon.”

She drew a frigid frost moon on the ground.

More precisely, on the exact spot where Guidu was about to plant her foot.

“Huh?!”

Guidu, stepping onto the frosted ground, lost her balance and slipped.

As a result, a mere two steps were enough to evade Guidu’s attack.

— *Pwaaang!*

Ignoring the shockwave that grazed my head, I prepared to draw the moon.

It wasn’t like he was unskilled, though; even as he fell, Gwiddu managed to manifest a shield.

He even had the gall to wear a faint, bitter smile.

“Try it, then!!!”

A crimson shield.

The exact same color as the Red Moon.

Probably, after one attack landed, he could put up a defense that was close to complete immunity.

Well, not that it mattered much.

“Blue Moon.”

All I had to do was draw a different moon this time.

The blue moon completely negated the red shield. The term ‘devoured’ might be more accurate.

Watching his shield vanish so futilely, Gwiddu wore an expression even more futile.

“…What the fuck is this?”

Paying him no mind, I drew a moon towards Gwiddu’s exposed body.

“Crescent Moon.”

Following the path of the swinging iron pipe, a forlorn crescent moon materialized.

“Shit, fuck!”

“With a dick for a head, does ‘fuck’ even make sense?”

Gwiddu, regaining his senses, quickly pulled his body back, but a part of him, just barely within the range, was sheared off.

And, I moved that much closer as well.

Taking three steps forward.

Steadying my breath on the final step.

“Full Moon.”

A radiant full moon manifested.

“E, Emergency protection!”

In accordance with Gwiddu’s chant, numerous small shields *chararak* formed, surrounding her entire body. It was a sight like armor made of shields.

Soon, the radiant full moon and the shields collided.

—!

A flash of light, accompanied by a shockwave and a deafening roar.

A sickening *creak* echoed, the sound of fracturing arriving a beat too late.

Two distinct points of failure.

One, the shield that had met Manwol head-on.

The other, that cheap, mass-produced wand of Gwidou’s.

It meant that his defense magic hadn’t completely negated Manwol’s output.

The force of the two magics shoved me back a touch, while Gwidou went sprawling in the distance.

I watched him land with a *thud*, and a grin stretched across my face.

“Your condom broke, you dumbass.”

Then, I casually slung the iron pipe over my shoulder.

“Just like when you were born.”

Of course, things weren’t exactly peachy on my end either.

Even with the power adjusted, Manwol was still Manwol. It put a considerable strain on the weapon.

I hadn’t even unleashed Janwol, Manwol’s follow-up, and already the iron pipe was trembling.

I’d decided against Janwol, fearing the need for direct contact. If I *had* used it, the pipe surely would have shattered.

Yeah, keeping distance was the right call after all.

Get too close, and who knew what would happen.

Meanwhile, starting from the points of fracture, the shields that had been enveloping Gwidou’s body slid away. He gnashed his teeth, the dissolving shields revealing his fury.

“Just because I’m holdin’ back, this punk…”

“What’re you gonna do if I don’t?”

“This, you son of a b*tch!”

Gwidou slammed the wand into the ground with brutal force.

“Spread.”

Instantly, a multitude of shields flooded the space.

They filled Gwidou’s surroundings, and even packed in tightly behind me.

“Arrange.”

Each shield *clicked* softly, pivoting to present a sharp edge towards me. The sequential alignment, the *shik shik shik*, was like watching an army form. A Shield army.

In that instant, Gwidou leveled the wand at me.

“Set.”

And finally, he uttered the last word.

“Chase!!!”

To the rhythm of His Knobness’ chant, the shields surged toward me in unison.

Area-of-effect battle, then.

Costly, but unavoidable, I suppose.

“Lunar Ascent.”

In a fleeting instant, swords densely arrayed rose fiercely from the earth, intercepting the incoming shields.

Those that still flew true, I dodged with ease or stomped down hard with my heel.

The aftermath of the two area spells spread.

The magical girls watching grew agitated, widening the distance between us, and fragments of the lighting shattered, casting shadows here and there.

His Knobness, bathed in the broken light, cast a long shadow behind him and let out a shriek.

“Agh, for reallllll!!!”

It seemed he was royally pissed that his magic had been so easily thwarted.

“Since earlier, this b*stard is so goddamn─!”

“Lunar Descent.”

But His Knobness’ cry was swallowed by the sudden onslaught of swords.

Like a scream lost in a torrential downpour on a dark night.

Only then did His Knobness frantically gather the remaining shields to protect his head. And, still not reassured, he huddled down, hugging his head.

And, I dashed through the rain of swords.

Just then, a shield appeared before me. It seemed Lunar Ascent and Descent had failed to take them all out.

No matter. All the better.

I kicked it straight on, obscuring His Knobness’ view.

But, as the shield drew near His Knobness, it abruptly halted in the air, blocking my path, as if to protect its ugly, crouching master.

Didn’t think of that, but it wasn’t a major obstacle. It’s her magic, after all, so she should be able to control it.

Wanting to brush aside the shield, I concentrated magic in my empty hand, grabbed an edge and forcefully wrenched it away.

“Ah, that’s dangerous!”

At that moment, Les’s sharp voice rang out.