Chapter 129 : Fragments of Greed (3)

July 29

A small rift rose in the sky, writhing with red and black magic power. As usual, black lion demons and snake demons were falling to the ground from there.

Like a shower falling under black storm clouds, magical girls were dispatched to clear the demons pouring down to invade the space where humans live.

“■■■■!!”

The now familiar terrible howls of demons.

“Go!! Go!!”

“Let’s depart!!”

Magical girls flying through the sky, scattering their respective starlight colors after descending from silver ships.

Girls emitting brilliant light were descending and moving on the land dyed with ominous light.

“Chloe!! I’ll guide them that way!”

“Okay! Leave it to me!”

Chloe, the awakened 2-star magical girl of [Penetration], confidently displayed her combat skills honed through numerous battle experiences, and advanced towards the demons gathered by magical girls who volunteered as beaters.

“Haah!!”

A shout of fighting spirit.

Burning starlight.

The emerald-colored starlight flowing into the tip of her thin rapier never betrayed her.

Flash―!

Chloe’s dazzling blonde hair shot towards the demons, drawing a straight line with the advancing starlight.

The magical girl of [Penetration], a knight who stakes everything on a single strike that penetrates and pierces through the target.

Swoosh—!!

“■■■■―!!”

“■■■■―!!”

The blonde female knight’s attack didn’t end with a single charge, but continued advancing, aiming for the weak points of numerous demons.

“■■■■―!!”

“■■■■―!!”

At the end of each swing, one demon inevitably disappears with an unclean death cry.

No demon could stop the blonde female knight’s charge among hundreds of demons.

“So many have crawled out! Disappear!”

“■■■■―!!”

Another demon disappeared. With that one as the end, judging they could no longer win against them, the demons scattered and were hurriedly trying to escape, hiding their bodies under the rocky valley.

[Demons are scattering below the valley. I’ll send you the current pursuit situation via video.]

“Okay. Check if there are any escaping to residential areas.”

[Understood. This operator will notify you immediately if an emergency situation occurs.]

“Thank you!”

As soon as the radio ended, Chloe elegantly flipped her long hair back once, and looked at the demons hurriedly escaping with their backs turned. And her tremendous footsteps, faster than track athletes despite being in light infantry armor, chased after the shadows of the demons.

Tap tap tap

“Where are you escaping to!”

“Let’s completely surround them with a fire net!”

“No! Just tie up the demons’ feet from opposite me! If we surround them clumsily, we’ll lose them all!”

“Got it, Chloe!”

They deployed magic according to the words of their friend most accustomed to fighting among them.

Boooom!!

Colorful magic pouring down on demons trying to scatter around.

Following the orders of the observation ship watching the operation situation from above and the instructions of squad leader Chloe, the beater magical girls deployed unique skills that could attack a wider range than Chloe, though with less destructive power, to tie up the demons.

Boooom!!

The ground overturned along with a brilliant explosion of starlight.

The demons, with their escape routes blocked, momentarily hesitated and stopped in place.

“■■■?!”

The emerald-colored rapier rushed at the hesitating demons, and the demons, confused by attacks from both sides, moved around erratically before being gradually cleared.

Demons gradually decreased. Magical girls were certain of victory.

There, the magical girls except Chloe were feeling elation on the battlefield they had stepped onto for the first time.

“Good, it’s going very well…!”

[No demons have left the scene! Please annihilate them as is!]

“Got it!”

In the vanished history where humanity failed to realize the power of starlight, they were just toyed with by demons, but in the world where magical girls are active now, demons were just dew melting under a single ray of starlight.

Chloe quietly watched the situation among the demons who had completely disappeared like ice melting under sunlight.

‘Just like friendly matches between magical girls, battles always change to the next phase when they seem to be over…’

Her intuition, honed through numerous friendly matches, training, and actual combat, was still sharp.

[The demons have completely fallen silent. Good work.]

“Whew! This job was tough too… my starlight is running low and I want to rest.”

“Why don’t you just go straight to Elysion through the Threads of Fate and rest for a night?”

“No… even if I’m late due to standby, I want to go home by warp and shower.”

Along with the operator magical girl’s voice announcing the end of the situation, chatty conversation continued. But Chloe was still quietly watching the situation with her rapier slightly lowered.

“Hm? What are you doing, Chloe?”

“Just a moment.”

“Ah, okay…”

If nothing happens after 5 minutes, Chloe will truly let go of her final tension.

“…”

Her magical girl friends who had died by Scavenger and woken up months later teased Chloe for being overly sensitive, but Chloe, who had experienced more fights than anyone among magical girls, was convinced this was the right mindset to have on the battlefield.

‘I can’t let my friends and comrades die anymore.’

Eventually, Chloe discovered an anomaly.

“Everyone, don’t let your guard down.”

“Hm? Wh-what’s wrong?”

“The rift is strange.”

“Huh? It still hasn’t closed?”

“…”

The dark red rift floating in the sky still hadn’t closed.

The rift that always disappeared like mist when all demons were cleared, but even now after defeating all demons, it was clearly not hiding its ominous appearance in the sky.

“Can you see it, Observatory?”

[…It’s an anomaly. Even after searching several times with magic and help from Elysion Observatory, it shows that all demons in the area have been cleared.]

Twang!!

A flash of dull light came towards Chloe from inside the rift.

“Attack!! It’s a demon attack!! Everyone mustn’t let their guard down!!”

Chloe shouted at almost instinctive speed at the anomaly that occurred and fought against the approaching flash. The flash of dull light charged towards Chloe at tremendous speed.

Swoosh―

Clang—!

As Chloe didn’t lower her guard and blocked the attack with her rapier, the light attack stopped with a clear sound.

“Th-this!?”

Chloe, who was blocking the enemy’s attack while wrapped in brilliant emerald starlight, couldn’t believe it.

[Give it… back!]

What was scattering dull emerald-colored starlight on the opposite side of the rapier she was blocking with was herself. ‘Chloe’, with a face as pale as a corpse and black energy shining like blood vessels, muttered with dull and empty eyes.

[Friends… comrades…!]

“M-me?!”

[I… I want to… go back too…!]

“Kugh!”

Though startled by the enemy’s appearance and hesitating for a moment, the other self that jumped out of the rift was very weak.

To be precise, at the level of just awakening from born 1-star.

But the sticky killing intent she emitted overwhelmed the current Chloe.

An aspect not of a magical girl but just a butcher.

An atmosphere somehow reminiscent of Scavenger.

‘Scavenger…!!!’

Feeling that, Chloe shouted with rising nausea and disgust.

“Get lost!! Don’t think about touching my friends!!”

[Give it back…!! Your place…!]

Clang!

After clashing blades once more, the one who fell was the other Chloe. She couldn’t respond to the awakened 2-star magical girl’s attack and fell helplessly with her chest pierced.

[Next… time… surely.]

“…”

“Wh-what is this.”

The other ‘Chloe’ who suddenly appeared and attacked Chloe left a futile death cry and disappeared, leaving dull emerald-colored starlight. Finally, no hostile presence remained at the scene, and the rift quietly disappeared like mist.

“…”

“…”

But only a chilling silence filled the scene.

* * *

[Ho-home… I want to go home!!]

“Hmm.”

Rattle rattle

Lee Minseul, the awakened 2-star magical girl of [Shooting], calmly observed ‘another self’ grasping her rifle. Pale face, black blood vessels, and a magical girl outfit completely torn and worn out.

In a situation where two girls with identical faces were facing each other, the 1st platoon of the White Wing Unit forgot their usual strict military discipline and was shocked.

“Platoon leader?!”

“Shh. Quiet.”

Let’s hear what she’s babbling about.

Minseul was thinking this while not immediately subduing her other self.

‘She’s weak. She’d lose even fighting last year’s me.’

A clumsy use of starlight that could be believed to be a magical girl who had just awakened her power now. But the killing intent in her eyes was similar to that of a butcher who had killed several people.

More precisely, like Alex, the magical girl of [Bombing].

In a word, it was unpleasant.

“Tch.”

[Mom…! Dad…! Aah…!! Saebyeok!! Don’t go to America!! I want to go back…!!]

“Why are you looking for our mom and dad. Get lost, you crazy bitch.”

[Give it back!! I’m going back!!]

Crack!

The other Minseul broke the rifle with telekinesis, then took out a pistol from the holster under her skirt and aimed it, and as soon as Minseul saw that, she took out a magazine from the tactical pouch on her chest and threw it.

Ting!

While the pale Minseul momentarily hesitated, surprised by the thrown object to her head, Minseul rushed in, kicked her legs, grabbed one arm and completely twisted it.

Crack

With an eerie sound, white arm bone protruding outside the skin.

“Did you receive training completely like shit, you really can’t fight worth a damn.”

[Kugh?!]

“Where did you come from.”

[Let go!! I’m going back!!]

“…”

The other Minseul resisted while floundering emitting sticky killing intent.

Minseul was silent for a moment, then took out the bayonet she had kept in her tactical pouch and stabbed it into the other self’s back.

Stab―!

[Ah… aaah…!!]

“…”

A clumsy appearance completely unprepared for pain.

A White Wing Unit member, not a new recruit, wouldn’t lose their mind and collapse from just this much attack.

A clumsy combat attitude that would only be shown before meeting Hikari, the magical girl of [Beginning]… [Hope] last year.

Everything was clumsy, but only the killing intent was real.

“Hmm.”

[Ne-next time…]

“Oh, can you come again?”

[…]

“Say more.”

Silence

Minseul ended the fake’s life as she fell silent, and the other self disappeared leaving only black fragments.

Beep

Minseul turned on the radio and contacted Park Saebyeok.

“This is 1st Platoon leader. I have an urgent report.”