About Becoming a Magical Girl Chapter 25

Efnir narrowed her eyes slightly, leveled the spear in her hand, then swung it sideways and thrust. A blinding, scorching explosion of light swelled before her eyes.

The venue's structure trembled faintly amid the violent blast, and the glass shattered into powder.

Yukina followed behind Canary, staring nervously at the white glow several hundred meters away. Her palms were drenched in sweat, her fingers clenched tightly together.

The center of the venue was the battlefield.

In an instant, the white light swallowed the spot where Efnir stood, its piercing explosions howling through the air.

The dazzling light was almost too bright to look at.

The indiscriminate bombardment had continued for nearly half a minute. From beginning to end, Efnir had been defending unilaterally, with every advance and retreat completely blocked off.

Though there were only two people on the battlefield, it felt as though countless artillery strikes were raining down. The ground had been pulverized by immense energy, while the scorching shockwaves pressed down so heavily that it was hard to breathe.

That was the power of an "Apostle."

That was Efnir's battle.

The scene was like hell roaring, terrifying enough to rob one of the courage to even look at it.

"Miss Efnir... please, don't let anything happen to you..."

Yukina clasped her hands together, closed her eyes tightly, and prayed for Efnir.

Canary also stopped walking and watched the battle in the arena. Listening to the chaotic static in her earpiece, her expression was unreadable.

In the arena.

After the explosion of white light came acrid smoke and dust.

The Apostle girl remained in a one-handed pressing stance. The bombarded area looked as if it had been scorched by blazing flames, white mist rising from it.

The girl impassively withdrew her hand and stared into the white smoke.

For her, work like this was always the same and held no challenge. But if there was anything special about today, it was probably "anticipation."

If you are forced to face Efnir, be extremely cautious.

Because she had been told that, she had used nearly her strongest offensive methods from the very beginning, with no intention of giving Efnir even a moment to catch her breath.

If she could defeat Efnir, she could prove her worth. And if that happened, the thing she needed would probably finally be within reach. She had waited so long for this day.

But...

Something was strange.

The girl frowned slightly.

This kind of attack had continued several times already, yet she had never once felt that she had successfully hit her target.

Though Efnir had been suppressed by her all this time, she knew very well that Efnir was not injured. She had merely been waiting for an opportunity to counterattack.

Her attacks were actually having no effect at all. That bizarre sense of discomfort made her click her tongue.

Her "power" was clearly overwhelming against Agents, yet it had not achieved the expected effect. It was like punching cotton; every one of her attacks had been wasted effort.

The girl impatiently waved her hand again. White light drifted down, then exploded.

Even she had to admit that Efnir was indeed somewhat stronger than the other Agents.

But that was all.

"Is this all the so-called strongest Agent can do? Are you trying to wear down my energy to win?... Give me a break. Are you looking down on me with such petty tricks?"

She simply withdrew her hand, stopped attacking, and raised her voice in open provocation.

"A half-baked fraud like you calls herself a 'hero'? How shameless!"

The girl turned toward the outside of the arena.

That was the direction Shiomi Yukina, the target of this operation, had left in.

The girl bared her teeth in a grin.

If attacking did not work, then waiting for the prey to come to her was not a bad and efficient approach.

"Then, do you want to try?"

Just as she took a step forward, an ethereal voice suddenly rang out, seeming to come from every direction.

It sounded right beside her ear, yet also as though it came from the other side of the world.

"Hm?"

The girl frowned, alarm abruptly rising in her heart. She warily looked to her side, but saw no one.

When she turned back, Efnir emerged from the white mist twenty meters in front of her.

At the same time, a faint glimmer appeared at the edge of her vision.

The surging sense of danger made the girl shift her gaze toward that strange light.

"That just now was..."

The stillness in the air lasted less than a second before a tearing sound erupted. A sonic boom shredded the smoke and dust like a tornado, and the spear flashed with silver light, reaching the girl in an instant.

The girl reacted quickly, waving her hand as white light surged around her. Like drifting petals and falling leaves, it clung to her body, forming indigo skirt armor in the blink of an eye.

This was her complete form.

Almost at the same time, she raised her hand and thrust out a massive sphere of white light.

The white light collided violently with the silver meteor. The terrifying shockwave ripped up the grass-covered ground entirely, gouging out a hole as large as a car.

The explosion was too close. The recoil abruptly sent the girl flying, and she twisted her body in midair, barely managing to steady herself.

At the same time, grass clippings swirled through the sky, and Efnir's figure suddenly burst from them, attacking from a direction completely opposite the spear.

"A so-called 'hero'... resorting to such cheap tricks?"

"You should save your nonsense. You only had the advantage because of your overwhelming firepower. The moment you stopped, you had already lost."

"You bastard, are you capable of nothing but arrogance?! Tch..."

The girl clicked her tongue and simply shut her mouth.

The sudden reversal of offense and defense left her no time to spare. With a deep frown, she rapidly pushed out two spheres of light, blocking Efnir's path forward.

Efnir neither dodged nor retreated. Silver light flared beneath her feet as she borrowed force from the Stairway. With a decisive turn, she narrowly avoided the light spheres without any real danger.

It looked like a close call, but she was actually in complete control.

"!?"

In the blink of an eye, Efnir had closed in before the girl, who had no way to immediately gather power for another attack.

The girl's expression finally changed.

"You! Don't get too full of yourself!"

A curved blade appeared in her right hand, and she could only hurriedly slash with it.

Efnir stepped to the side and leaned forward, lightly evading the blade. At the same time, she lowered her body and drew back her fist at her waist.

It all happened in an instant.

"—So fast! She's on a completely different level from before!"

The girl's eyes widened as shock spread through her heart. The instant she met those crimson eyes, the pressure nearly took her breath away.

She could not make any further evasive moves.

Now, offense and defense had reversed.

Bang—

A heavy explosion erupted beneath their feet. Stardust-like debris was blown apart like a hurricane, and the ground beneath Efnir suddenly caved in, cracks spreading like a spiderweb.

Her fist tore through the air and slammed fiercely into the girl's abdomen.

The shockwave swept through the venue like a tsunami, blasting countless fragments away.

The girl's body flew backward like a wooden paddle snapped by a giant wave, crashing straight into the spectator stand. The elevated platform collapsed with a thunderous roar, kicking up a great cloud of dust.

30, Doubts

The venue after the battle was a complete mess. The green field and rubber track had become uneven and pitted after being caught in the bombardment.

The enormous stadium looked as if something had smashed it to pieces, and even its sturdy steel framework let out groans as though it were about to collapse.

Efnir stood in the center of the shattered ruins, spear in hand.

"Senior Efnir! Did you win?"

Canary's voice came through the earpiece.

Once the Apostle girl had stopped her bombardment, their connection through the earpieces had resumed.

"I think so, probably. That girl isn't simple. I've never seen an attack method like manipulating energy that way, so I can't jump to conclusions with her. Ayse, how are things on your end?"

"No problem! I can keep an eye on the Whale, so please don't worry, Senior!"

"I see... then I'll leave it to you."

"Um... Senior... you aren't hurt, are you?"

"No."

"That's amazing... As expected, you really are different from us... By the way, what exactly were those white balls of light?"

"I'm curious about that too,"

Efnir said.

"It is likely an application of Order Force that we have not encountered until now... According to headquarters' analysis of the target's energy wavelength, she is also an Agent."

Shinomiyami Nami's solemn voice came through the earpiece.

"She's an Agent too?"

"In theory, she is indeed an Agent, but she does not belong to the same branch as you... As you know, the Beacon is the culmination of technology born from the Human Alliance's long-term analysis of relic technology. Yet even so, our understanding of Order Force remains at a very rudimentary and superficial stage. Theoretically, Order Force may be capable of transforming and compressing matter and energy, even creating and annihilating them. That is where the name 'Order' comes from."

Shinomiyami Nami continued.

"As for those spheres of light used by the girl calling herself an Apostle... if headquarters' survey and analysis were not mistaken, then we can be certain that those white light spheres are also a form of Order Force. Put simply, the weapons and combat suits created by Agents are themselves methods of materializing energy. Your battles with Erosion Entities, void-born creatures existing between energy and matter, as well as the way Erosion Entities turn into drifting energy and dissipate after being 'banished,' are fundamentally manifestations of matter and energy transforming into one another."

"If that's the case... then couldn't we do the same as her... use energy to..."

"It probably isn't something simple..."

Efnir spoke.

"During my battle with the target, I could clearly sense that her way of using Order Force was different from ours. And... doesn't it seem strange? If she is an existence like us, then her total amount of Order Force is far too immense."

"It is indeed worth investigating... Efnir, if circumstances permit, please capture the target alive. That is an order from headquarters."

"If she's still alive..."

Efnir looked toward the collapsed spectator stand.

"In any case, it's not time to let our guard down. I'll go check the situation first."

Beneath the collapsed spectator stand, the girl struggled to push away the chunk of concrete before her. Dragging her body, which felt as though it were about to break apart, she crawled out from the fallen ruins.

She was covered in dust, with blood spilling from the corner of her mouth and spreading across the front of her clothes.

She looked bedraggled and weak.

Protected by her skirt armor, the rest of her body had not suffered many abrasions. The only intense pain throughout her body came from her abdomen.

"Cough, cough..."

She coughed, and blood foam with a metallic stench filled her mouth, leaving her tongue sticky and slick.