Shark Princess Witch

(Bai Ziye)

Without warning, the wormhole alarm suddenly sounded. The enormous mall fell into "orderly chaos." Although people had developed good evacuation habits, they still got nervous when it was time to be nervous.

After storing Ceruno's "spoils" in an electronic locker in the mall, I took off my mask and changed into my Battle Dress.

"After a large Monster, was it a small Monster this time?"

The wormhole's three-minute opening time was far too fast. This had never happened before.

The idiot in the lingerie store's fitting room and the woman who looked a lot like Luer had yet to come out. At their speed, they probably wouldn't make it in time.

Luer had shown me Ceruno's physical data. It wasn't particularly outstanding for a Magical Girl. I vaguely remembered there were active Magical Girls in the C4 Area too, but this wormhole was opening far too quickly. To be safe, I should get there first and assess the situation. If no one arrived by the time it opened, I would take over.

Having made up my mind, I adjusted my personal time flow to triple speed, rushed out of the mall into the scorching heat, and looked up for the holographic marker in the sky.

"Tch, five hundred meters away?"

That wasn't particularly far for me. I vaguely recalled there being a city park in that direction.

The wormhole's opening speed depended on the Monster's size. Most of the time, a Monster's size was linked to its strength, but there were exceptions. Small External Invaders with especially troublesome abilities appeared often enough. They generally weren't strong, but their abilities could inflict tremendous casualties on civilians who failed to evacuate in time... poison gas, for example.

When I reached the park entrance, civilians were still trickling out, and even the armed police had only just assembled.

"She's here! Miss Miluno, thank goodness you're here!"

Noticing my approach, the lead male officer called out to me.

"Officer, why did the warning only begin with three minutes left? Was there an oversight on the airship's end?"

"No, this wormhole really is much smaller this time."

Bzzzz—

The low-frequency hum of the wormhole opening rang out. The three minutes were up.

"I'm going in. Everyone's evacuated, right?"

"Yes. May fortune favor you in battle."

I didn't like being flattered, but I still nodded at the officer.

The wormhole was located in the middle of the park's scenic lake. A blue pillar of light shot into the sky, already connected to the world on the other side, while the other Magical Girls still hadn't made it in time.

Looks like I could only rely on myself this time.

I rolled my arms, then drew the twin short swords at my waist and braced myself.

Something descended along the pillar of light, passed through the blue ring, and stood before me.

"...What was this? Was this even a Monster?"

It was a humanoid figure twisted like a wrung-out towel, though I could barely make out that it was female. She wore a pointed witch's hat that covered the upper half of her face, leaving only her scale-covered jaw exposed.

"A woman?"

Because her body was small, the Phase Wormhole that allowed her passage could open within three minutes.

...Could it be that there weren't enough male Monsters left over there because too many had died?

The witch-like female Monster held two daggers, their hilts connected to chains. The slender chains wound around her twisted, wrung-out-looking arms, which were covered in silver-blue scales. Most unscientific of all... she stood steadily in the center of the scenic lake, as though the water's surface were solid ground.

The pressure she gave off was stronger than any Monster I had encountered so far.

I could walk on water too, if that was all it was. By accelerating my time flow, not only did the air become heavier, but the water's surface also approached solidity. Still, there was a risk of falling in, since I couldn't afford to stop moving.

She noticed me. Even though her hat covered her eyes completely, the chains around her arms loosened. The daggers dropped into the water, forming two churning whirlpools on the lake's surface.

What was this, a twin-tub washing machine?

Just as I was considering her attack methods, the chained daggers shot up from the water, carrying tornadoes dozens of meters long as they pincer-attacked me from both sides of the shore.

The attack was immensely powerful. Even trees were sliced in half, as if a typhoon had swept through.

But it was still too slow!

I swung my short sword down, accurately knocking away the dagger coming from the left. The waterspout around its chain scattered with it... yet a faint sting ran across my face.

Tch, spray.

The splashing water from the tornado was sharp, tiny, and impossible to notice. Crashing into those scattered "water blades" at ten times the speed, even I could be injured.

The daggers were only a feint. The churning waterspouts were the true source of damage—an annoying ability for someone like me, who excelled in speed.

She looked like a physical fighter, but fought like a mage, standing in the middle of the lake far from shore and launching ranged attacks. Were those daggers actually wands?

Having suffered a loss against the first dagger, I didn't dare take the second one head-on. I used my speed advantage to slip around its path.

Should I try rushing in and beheading her? If she had some sort of close-range defense, I'd be throwing myself onto a bed of spikes...

An Association drone flew over.

"Miss Miluno! This is the Tactical Division. We are draining the scenic lake. It will take approximately ten minutes. Please keep it occupied until then!"

I see. What city park would have a natural lake? This scenic lake was artificial—in plain terms, it was just a reservoir. Without the waterspouts wrapped around its chains, this Monster would be nothing to fear.

But...

"Ten minutes is too long."

I had been a Magical Girl for a year, and I had never fought for more than five minutes.

"Uh, draining the water takes time. It's such a large lake, after all..."

The Tactical Division officer's overly respectful attitude made me uncomfortable.

"I'll think of something."

The female Monster's first wave of attacks had missed. She pulled her daggers back into the lake and began building up a second set of whirlpools.

Don't think standing in the center of the lake means you can rest easy. I had ranged attacks too—though they were a little undignified.

I grabbed a chunk of broken stone from the roadside and hurled it at the Monster in the center of the lake. Without even a sound of breaking air, it struck the Monster's witch's hat, leaving behind a fiery red streak.

"Ugh!"

The taciturn Monster let out a muffled groan.

It seemed effective. I began looking for stones suitable for throwing. Thanks to the female Monster's first area attack, the shattered lakeshore was full of handy "weapons."

My magic could also "accelerate" projectiles.

Accelerated stones were not only difficult to track, but their power increased geometrically. If I didn't use too much force and let air friction grind the stones away, I could have made them even more destructive.

The female Monster threw back her head and roared in fury. I could even make out the razor-sharp shark teeth in her mouth... They looked terrifying.

However, the second flying stone was actually knocked aside by her chains.

What kind of reaction speed was that?

"Roar!!!"

Not only that, she began swinging her arms. The high-speed rotating chains, far too long and moving in a way that defied physics, dragged the daggers around her body. Mixed with lake water, they formed a circular iron curtain of defense.

Like an egg.

Or rather... a cocoon.