Chapter 61: Goodbye, Blue Sky

Move.

Move, move!

Along with the pain in my chest, my right arm, the blood that constitutes my arm, pulses.

I detonated the magic surrounding the surface of my right arm.

Dust swirled into my face and eyes, pinned to the ground by the weight.

My whole body creaked from the shockwave of magic spreading across the floor.

Horrible pain surged endlessly from my right arm, its surface torn to shreds, exposing the raw flesh of dark red clumps of blood and magic.

But, in exchange for the pain, I succeeded in creating a slight opening in Yu Ji-hye’s magic.

The stones and dirt around my right arm were blown away by the magic explosion, creating a small empty space.

As I moved my right arm, I could feel the crushing weight lessen.

At this rate, I can move little by little.

Kwagagagak!

I dragged my crushed right arm along the ground, scraping the floor from top to bottom with my claws and the body of my arm.

Each sharp claw, larger than a fist, dug into the park’s paving blocks, and the dirt and grassroots beneath, pushing them away while continuously detonating the magic on the surface.

Thud.

With the violet dagger just a few steps away, I rolled to the right, pushing my body, which was stuck to the floor under the immense pressure, into the small space created along the trajectory of my right arm.

“Huuughk…!”

As I inhaled, I felt a sharp pain, as if a blade was stabbing my chest, my lungs.

The right side of my body, touching the dug-out ground, was freed from the pressure, but my left side was still being crushed.

And due to that distortion, my ribs shattered and pierced my lung.

But I had escaped Yu Ji-hye’s restraint.

It seems her magic applied immense weight only within a specific, narrow area around me, as I was able to escape just by randomly moving my right arm to create space and pulling my body to the right.

But the pain, the agony, has reached its limit.

It hurts.

I could endure and ignore the injuries and pain from the fights with Glacia Azure and Bistour Blanc.

But now, the pain stabs my left lung, tightening my very breath.

Death approaches.

The accumulated blood loss, the choked breath, and the ringing in my ears tell me that my life is fading, that the boundary I cannot cross to return to her is drawing near.

Staggering, I managed to stand in a half-crouched position by planting my blade in the ground and digging the claws of my right arm into a stone.

But with every breath, I feel the pain, the sensation of my ribs tearing through my lungs and filling my chest with blood.

“…If you had given up and accepted death, you wouldn’t have had to suffer like this.”

The enemy before me spouts nonsense while fiddling with her violet dagger.

As if I could possibly accept death now.

Hold me, find me, save me.

Yujin.

Hold me.

Kiss me.

Caress me.

Whisper words of love and make me forget the pain.

Her back turns away from me.

A blurry image is obscured by the blood covering my eyes.

“Still, the opportunity to subdue you is…”

An opportunity.

I don’t know what you want from me, what you’re aiming for, but as long as you’re off guard, there’s still a chance for me to kill you.

I clenched my teeth.

I raised the claws of my right arm, brought them to the side of my left chest, and raked my left ribcage.

“Kkeueeuuughk…!”

Deep wounds were carved between my ribs, and blood gushed out.

It’s probably deep enough to see the broken ribs, the lung, through the open wounds.

I’m dizzy.

I feel like I’m going to collapse.

A ringing in my ears, as if the whole world is screaming.

But strength returns.

The tumor pulses, and magic spreads throughout my body.

I think I can understand the pulsation of the tumor now.

The black mass attached to my chest, which was just a grotesque, pulsating lump, now feels like a complete part of my body.

The blood filling my lungs and the bleeding from the new wound gush out, climbing up my left armpit, down my left arm, covering my left hand and the blade held in it, imbuing it with magic.

Looking forward, the enemy had already made her dagger disappear and was floating orbs of violet magic on both palms.

And the night sky was dyed violet.

Hundreds, thousands of violet orbs and magic circles filled the sky behind Yu Ji-hye.

Above my head, to the sides, and behind, thousands of magic circles, each holding a bullet of magic, shone like the Milky Way in a planetarium, obscuring the stars, clouds, and the entire night sky.

***

The power of each individual magic bullet is clearly weaker, but the number is sufficient.

Unleashing thousands of magic bullets at once would be enough firepower to kill Sanguine Obsidia instantly before she could even attempt to flee, but in order to steal her knowledge and power with my unique magic, I need to approach her myself and make contact with her magic organ while she is still alive.

I couldn’t miss that chance.

Considering how much I, and we, have lost today, the math just doesn’t add up unless I can at least analyze and replicate her spirit form.

“Monster.”

The word escaped my lips unconsciously.

But how else could one describe a beast with a right arm like a giant animal, clawing at its own body with that arm, tearing its flesh, smearing its own blood all over itself, and only preparing to charge in a crouched position?

And killing monsters has always been the role of a magical girl.

I move my hand.

Like the conductor of an orchestra, I lower my fingers from top to bottom, pouring dozens of magic bullets around Sanguine Obsidia.

Kwagwagwagwagwa!!!

Each time a magic bullet explodes, a small crater is formed, and rock fragments and shredded plants fly, and a shockwave spreads.

And with each gesture of my hand, about a hundred such magic bullets explode.

Sanguine Obsidia blocks the magic bullets with her right arm, bleeding, and moves to find a place where the barrage is thinner, gradually getting closer to me.

But this time, too, her movements are within the expected range, and she is flowing in the direction I am guiding her.

I don’t know how much magic she can recover, but she can’t produce a higher output than me, so I just need to repeat the situation until she is completely subdued, chipping away at her strength.

“Aha, ha, ha.”

The chilling smile on her blood-splattered face remains, but it seems even laughing is difficult for Sanguine Obsidia now, as if it’s hard for her to even breathe.

When I wave my hand, the stars hanging in the magic circles in the sky fall.

If Sanguine Obsidia dodges the hundred pouring magic bullets, I drop another hundred.

I had planned to thoroughly restrain her so she couldn’t escape if she got a little closer, but it seems she has no intention of moving as I intend either.

“Rosio Atritas.”

A spell that erodes and nullifies magic.

To think she would use it for the third time today.

Sanguine Obsidia had never used that spell up to three times before, and I had speculated that there would be a price she couldn’t handle if she used it multiple times.

If so, this must mean this is almost her final gamble.

Sanguine Obsidia threw herself into the pouring magic bullets.

A black mist appeared, enveloping her body, swallowing all the magic bullets.

Like darkness swallowing the stars, the magic bullets melted and disappeared.

I dropped another barrage of dozens of magic bullets, and as if she couldn’t maintain it for long, the black mist disappeared.

Yet Sanguine Obsidia laughed, charging at me, taking the magic bullets with her right arm, her magic barrier, and her bare body.

With her blade raised, straight for me, for my heart.

Chwararararak-

The tip of the blade, a jet-black, thin blade that doesn’t reflect even a single ray of light, is visible before my eyes.

More precisely, it has stopped right in front of my eyes, trembling violently as if expressing its anger and rage.

Kikigigik, the sound of chains scraping, of the blade and the rough, sharp claws scratching and twisting, trying to break the magic chains.

What I see before me is the jet-black blade and, behind it, Sanguine Obsidia’s face, soaked in blood and stained crimson, and her two eyes, emitting a red glow of anger.

Chains of violet magic are wrapped around her neck, her left arm, the hilt of her sword, the blade, her two legs and torso, and her massive right arm.

I tried to make them similar to the magic chains Sanguine Obsidia often uses, but the number is dozens of times greater, and they bind her body without the slightest gap.

It wasn’t intentionally staged, but the sight of her, holding a blade to my face yet utterly unable to move, struggling desperately, was almost comical.

Yet she still didn’t seem to have given up.

“Aaaaaah, aaaaaaaaah!”

Sensing an immense amount of magic boiling up, I flew back and dodged.

A self-destruct, heedless of the damage to herself.

Sanguine Obsidia detonated the blood in her entire body, burning and severing the magic chains.

“Oh.”

Dark red palms and sharp claws filled my vision.

I feel a dull pain strike my entire body.

I blocked Sanguine Obsidia’s right arm, which was lunging for my upper body, with a magic barrier, but the impact sent me flying backward, my back slamming hard against a tree.

Fortunately, it wasn’t a severe injury, just a few broken ribs, but I think I was too careless, allowing the opponent’s attack to land.

Sanguine Obsidia doesn’t lose her momentum, and now, as if she has burned away even the little reason and intellect she had left, she is charging with her right arm leading the way.

Drawing a straight, honest trajectory.

Confirming that my magic organ was functioning normally and my body was moving satisfactorily, I created a magic sword with a shining violet blade and gripped it with both hands.

And then, I charged toward the oncoming Sanguine Obsidia, swinging the sword in a large upward arc from below.

“Huh?”

Squelch.

At the sound of blood splattering and a lump of flesh collapsing, Sanguine Obsidia turned to her right, a look of bewilderment on her face as she seemed to realize that her severed right arm was lying on the dirt floor in front of her.

I flicked the blood off the violet magic sword.

It was a magic sword made even sharper, longer, and heavier than the one I used to subdue Vera Velastra.

It was more than enough to easily cut through a flimsy arm made of coagulated blood.

Summoning clanking violet magic chains into the air, I used the momentum from severing her right arm to spin around, trip Sanguine Obsidia’s legs, and grab her face with the intent to crush it.

Kwang, with my magic-infused right arm, I slammed Sanguine Obsidia’s face into the ground as I held it, and then bound her again with chains.

The fiend, finally out of energy, is only letting out faint breaths.

“Finally.”

Finally, this dreadful time is over, and I can put an end to Sanguine Obsidia’s infamy.

Finally, I can take the first step toward a new world.

I grip the hilt of the magic sword with both hands, in a reverse grip.

I aim the tip of the sword at the center of Sanguine Obsidia’s chest, who is lying spread-eagled and bound.

And brought it down.