Chapter 11 : Trying to Change the Genre of This Novel

Warehouse No. 5 of Fujimoto Heavy Industries was empty.

As the underground warehouse connected to it had been hastily converted into a research facility to prevent security leaks, they strictly controlled employees’ access except for a minimal number of personnel and guards, using the excuse that it was under repair externally.

“I’m here to change shifts.”

“Oh, there’s nothing unusual.”

“Yes, sir!”

Inside the huge space that was used to store equipment dozens of meters in size for heavy machinery or ships.

Employees of Fujimoto Security, who handle tasks that can’t be shown externally and guarding for the Fujimoto Group, were maintaining iron-clad security concentrated near the passage leading to the underground warehouse.

Flicker

Flicker

“…”

The evening glow had already faded and it had become completely dark, and they had cut off the connection to the central power plant under the pretext of repairs. Inside the warehouse, only temporary lighting was on.

“Is it flickering because of the wind?”

“Probably.”

Flicker

Flicker

Because it was a facility hastily modified in a short period and equipment brought in secretly avoiding official routes, there were quite a few defective items.

“Oh, this one’s completely gone out.”

“HQ, this is SP-3 team. The lights went out due to the wind. Please replace.”

[Received, stand by.]

“Roger.”

The guard member put the radio back on his waist and turned on the flashlight issued to special security teams.

Silver.

A girl wearing a mask.

The moment he turned on the flashlight, a silver-haired girl appeared in front of him.

“What?!”

The guard member hurriedly drew the pistol from his waist and fired.

Bang bang!

* * *

Bang bang-

“Mmm…!”

“Whoa! Isn’t that gunfire?”

As the battle was happening right in front of the entrance, it was faintly audible even in the girls’ quarters located in the farthest corner of the underground research facility.

“Kyoko, then let’s slowly get out now.”

“Understood, boss!”

As all the girls in the room stood up at once, a voice flowed from the speaker installed on the ceiling of the quarters.

[Stop! What are you doing! Sit down right now!]

[One person? Only one person broke in?]

[Find out which company they’re from!]

Perhaps because the situation control room was also in disarray due to the battle that had just occurred, the broadcast of the controller in charge of monitoring the quarters was mixed with shouting voices and various noises in a chaotic atmosphere.

“Eat this!”

Kyoko raised her fist and waved it at each of the four cameras in the quarters. She grinned, showing her canine teeth, seemingly happy about finally getting out.

“Kyoko! Stop doing useless things and come out!”

“Ah, yes…”

“Everyone, I’ll help you. Let’s get out quickly!”

“Yes! Boss!”

“Th-Thank you, boss.”

Kyoko, who had been laughing until just now, seemed to have regained her sense of reality at Ichika’s words and started to feel tense.

Gulp

After forcibly shaking off her anxiety.

They ran out.

* * *

As I confirmed that the girls who had been test subjects were moving, I detached my consciousness again and moved it to the clone fighting at the main entrance.

Bang bang bang bang bang!

The light illuminating the dark warehouse flickered at the muzzle of the gun, blinking in time with the gunshots.

The urgent footsteps of the guard members heard as the light passes.

‘I don’t want to kill ordinary people who are just following orders.’

Although I attacked with the lights off, apart from knocking out one guard member with my fist at first, there was no gain. I tried hand-to-hand combat, thinking that if I used psychic power on an ordinary person, I might rip their neck off like a cork…

Bang bang bang bang bang!

…but the remaining 5 members, having confirmed that one was attacked, all spread out and opened fire at once.

‘I hesitated to drive them out with illusions because it seemed like I couldn’t control the variables.’

It seems this was rather a bad move. Thinking this, I spread out a wide and solid rainbow-colored light like a shield with my hand.

Bang bang bang bang bang!

Clink

Bullets flattened and fell, blocked by the curtain. While blocking the bullets with the curtain, I ran towards the nearest member.

Tap

The distance between me and the member closing instantly as I lightly kicked off the ground.

Panicked breathing.

Trembling eyes.

“Ugh!”

The member, having confirmed that bullets were useless against the curtain emitting light like a prism, seemed to aim for my posture to collapse, rushing in with his shoulder thrust forward.

“Uwaah!”

Even as the well-trained giant tackled me, my sharpened senses showed the current situation as clearly as if watching in slow motion.

Whoosh

I even heard the sound of the air shaking due to the giant flying to grab me.

Around the giant’s approaching limbs, I could see others aiming their guns at me cautiously.

“It’s useless!”

“Ugh!”

I shook off the guard member with minimal steps as I passed by, and my surroundings became clear again.

The guard member passing by futilely.

Beyond him, other members who had secured cover.

Before they could fire, I put an illusion curtain that looked like a fishbowl over their faces. The guard members, surrounded by spherical curtains like astronauts, struggled to take them off.

“Aah! What is this!”

“It won’t come off!”

“Check! Check them!”

Bang bang bang bang bang!

The members who had fallen into temporary panic due to their vision being blocked by an unknown force fired their bullets as much as they could.

Clink

In the invisible field of view.

Bullets that succeeded in hitting by chance nonetheless.

But they fell as flattened lead pieces, blocked by the curtain.

Click! Click! Click!

When I heard the sound of all the bullets dropping, I approached each of the members trying to reload instinctively despite losing their vision and pushed them.

“Hah?!”

“Damn it!!”

The members who instinctively flailed their arms as their posture collapsed and ended up dropping their magazines cursed.

Clatter!

The members who were anxious to pick up the magazines that fell with a heavy sound due to the live ammunition inside soon gave up on firing and rushed in blindly, relying on footsteps.

“Whoa?! The magazine!!”

“Bullets are useless! Tackle!”

“Block!”

“Block!!”

The members rushing in all at once like detectives trying to arrest a criminal, giving up on firing.

I cast Blink while watching them.

Flash!

The distance closed instantly again.

As I barely slipped through the shadow created under the members, they all tumbled down at once, and I lightly slapped each of them once with my palm.

Slap

“Ugh?!”

“Damn it!”

“Uuu…”

…It seems I failed to control my strength a bit, as they were trembling all over in pain and unable to move.

Even with the transcendental physical abilities and reflexes of a 3-star magical girl, it took longer than expected to subdue non-lethally using my ability. However, I could confuse the enemies with irregular ability use and illusions.

Even if I tried to lure them with illusions, it was obvious that the guards at the entrance wouldn’t move.

Unable to think of a subject that would make them all move at once seeing an illusion, I rushed in hastily, but to think this would be a worse move.

‘No, the real problem is my immaturity in not being able to boldly execute methods to subdue the enemy…’

I thought I had been prepared to kill since the day I came to this world.

But when it came to indiscriminately massacring guards who weren’t much of a threat, I felt reluctant. Thanks to that, this meaningless battle became longer than expected.

‘On top of that, trying to control 7 clones simultaneously is driving me crazy. I can’t even pay attention to surveillance cameras.’

It felt like a truly evil level of difficulty to grasp the situation while watching 6 fluctuating stock charts, when it would be insufficient even sitting down properly and concentrating.

Taking advantage of the momentary lull in the fight, I detached my consciousness to check the situation of the clones.

Ichika’s group was flustered when the guard blocking the stairs fired his gun.

Bang bang bang bang bang!

Clink

But it was blocked by the curtain spread by one of my clones. After that, Ichika boldly used psychic power towards the guard member who fired the gun, and the guard who lost his balance rolled down the stairs.

Whenever they encountered guard members in the corridor, one of my clones would spread a curtain and Ichika would subdue them.

Sometimes through movements applying martial arts techniques.

Sometimes by jumping off the wall and distracting their attention.

That’s how they subdued their opponents and advanced.

‘They fight well.’

For her, the guard members were enemies she had to confront desperately, so her response was bold and swift. Rather, because the battles ended quickly due to such bold responses, they could reduce casualties more.

“…”

Bold action is better than clumsy hesitation.

That was the lesson I learned from my first fight.

Lamenting my own immaturity, I moved my consciousness to another side.

The side preparing to draw attention when taking everyone out of the warehouse.

Far away, about hundreds of meters outside, dozens of guard members armed with submachine guns were boarding vehicles and rushing at full speed from what appeared to be the security headquarters.

‘Now it’s about time to leave.’

I confiscated pistols from the guard members fallen on the floor. Then I threw them away while waiting for Ichika’s group to come up the stairs.

Tap tap tap―

“Huff… huff…”

“Welcome.”

“Huff. Where is this?”

“Tokyo Port. I’ll explain the details later. Let’s get out of here first.”

“Alright. Let’s go!”

* * *

It was the first time in Ichika’s life that she had run at full speed for tens of minutes without stopping once.

The huge port that seemed endless no matter how much they ran.

Dozens of giant cranes.

The night view of Tokyo visible in the distance.

Only after crossing in front of the logistics warehouse and seeing the sign that said Fujimoto could Ichika finally know who had confined her group.

‘Fujimoto…!’

It was only about ten days, but the memory of starving 11 girls while squeezing their strength to the limit in turns seemed like something she would never forget.

Now, all that was left was to escape with her comrades.

It was around the time Ichika was thinking that.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Bang!

“Ugh?!”

“Whoa!”

“Eek!”

Flash.

The blinding light of searchlights that seemed to blind their eyes.

All the searchlights surrounding Warehouse No. 5, which had been dark until just now, emitted light at once and moved around before shooting light toward Ichika’s group.

Rrrrrrrrrring―

A chilling, high-pitched alarm sound that seemed to tear their ears.

All the searchlights, along with the alarm sound, allowed every move of Ichika’s group to be watched. At the same time, the on-site guards who hadn’t been able to find Ichika’s group in the darkness all rushed towards them at once.

Screech!

“HQ support team!”

“Catch them!”

“Subdue them!!”

“Permission to fire granted!!”

Rattle rattle

Far away, about 100 meters outside, armed guard members with the Fujimoto Security mark from over 10 black trucks that could be seen were gradually surrounding and rushing towards Ichika’s group.

“Hey! What are we going to do now!”

“This is bad!!”

While secretly despairing, Ichika thought the fox-eyed girl who had suggested the escape would have a way.

She believed that a perfect girl who could find out the location of the research facility that even she didn’t know, and use abilities on a different level from themselves, would surely find a way.

“Rather than using that… fireworks are no longer needed. The clones won’t be visible because of the light…”

Through the noise made by those trying to capture them at any moment.

The fox-eyed girl shouted to Ichika.

“From now on, I’m going to release my clones, so trust me and keep going! You have to look only at the ground!”

“What?!”

Swoosh

The fox-eyed girl she had been talking to until just now and the clones disguised as comrades disappeared like a dream. She had asked to trust her, but suddenly doing this made anxiety rush in.

“Wh-What should we do, boss?!”

“Run!! There’s no other way!! Run!!”

Ichika ran out just like that.

Light.

Noise.

Shouting.

When everything was dizzily tangled

And they were caught up to the point where even the expressions of the guard members could be seen.

[Deception] Magical Girl’s Unique Skill

Dream World

Giant prism spheres were floating in the sky.

A power that distorts reality.

A grand illusion.

“Wh-What on earth is that?!”

“What is that?!”

Spheres that looked over 5 meters in diameter slowly descended from the sky. And they began to emit rainbow-colored light sources while scattering the light from the searchlights.

Light.

Light fills their vision.

“Aaaagh!!! My eyes!!!”

“I-I can’t see!!”

“Shoot! Shoot! Just shoot!!”

Bang bang bang bang bang!

Rattle rattle rattle!!

Shadows dance.

Flames sing.

People shout.

In the harbor at night.

There, lights of myriad colors showed off their respective colors, confusing human perception.

And the silver girl was smiling.

“HQ! HQ! Cut off the power plant!! Just cut it off without talking back!!!”

Darkness.

The rainbow-colored lights that had been there until just now disappeared simultaneously

And the world was plunged into darkness.

“The fireworks didn’t go to waste!”

The girl shouted.

And light rising again.

A star made of flames.

The prison of light started again.

Whooosh-!

Bang-!

The night sea embroidered with hot stars.

Lights spreading through glass beads.

People dancing amidst dizzying lights.

A girl deceiving everyone’s vision.

Ichika felt like she would never forget this scene for the rest of her life.