About Becoming a Magical Girl

An agent's physical abilities were enhanced by Order Force, granting them capabilities far beyond those of ordinary people. Improved vision was one such enhancement, though the degree of physical enhancement varied from person to person. Fifina alone possessed an extreme long-range reconnaissance ability that specialized in maximizing her eyesight. With Fifina's help, Efnir had been able to maintain control of the battle across such a vast combat zone.

Honestly, if anything really happened to Fifina, Efnir would be placed in a difficult position.

The core agents led by Qinglan were absent. The agents present were all relatively inexperienced, just like Fifina. Asking these juniors to handle a Special-A Erosion Disaster was far too much. The combat strength they could muster was desperately stretched thin, and the prolonged high-intensity fighting had pushed both their bodies and minds to their limits. If anything went wrong now, even during the cleanup phase, there might still be casualties. That was an outcome Efnir did not want to see.

"Is that so? Good... You've worked hard. Hold on a little longer, and I'll be counting on you for what comes next."

"It would be my honor, Master! Shiyin will complete the mission no matter what!"

Fengling Shiyin—that was Fifina's real name.

"Talking with you is always so easy and pleasant... but it's about time I got back to work."

"I also... really like... talking with Master..."

Fifina's intermittent voice came through the earpiece.

Efnir grinned. Without dwelling on it, she used her spear for support and forced herself back to her feet.

"That is enough rest. Tell the remaining people to hold on a little longer. We're launching a counterattack. Also, have Elincia gather people and prepare to evacuate the building and rendezvous with us."

Efnir took a deep breath and gave the order.

At West Capital Tower.

The high-altitude wind was bitterly cold, and from here, one could see the scenery of more than half of Xijing City.

At that moment, Fifina lay slumped against the top of the tower, utterly powerless. Half her body was drenched in blood. The sleeve of her right arm had vanished from the shoulder down, leaving only a horrifying severed wound, extensive bloodstains, and crude bandaging.

Red blood pooled beneath her.

She weakly lowered the communicator in her left hand, breathing shakily. Her face had turned pale from blood loss.

If anyone was in the worst condition in this battle, it was undoubtedly Fifina. She excelled at support and reconnaissance; her fighting style had always relied on guerrilla tactics and maneuvering. But with so few people available during this Erosion Disaster, she had been forced to stand at the very front of the defensive line and fight against the charge of countless Erosion Entities.

Before Efnir had even contacted her, she had already lost her right hand and nearly been surrounded by Erosion Entities. If Efnir had not come here and dealt with the massive Erosion Entity in the sky, Fifina would undoubtedly have died here.

Unable to fight, the only thing she could still do was become the person Efnir's strategy needed.

So she came here.

But she did not tell Efnir about her condition.

Because the situation no longer allowed her to make any other choice. Everything was a mess, and Efnir needed someone who could serve as the "eyes" of her command. That person could only be Fifina, whose vision possessed the extreme enhancement trait.

If she did not do it, then once the defensive line collapsed, thousands of lives would be devoured by the Erosion Entities.

Between her own life and the lives of thousands, she no longer had any room to choose.

Now that she had lost one hand, even bandaging herself was extremely difficult. There was neither emergency equipment nor medical staff beside her. The only thing she could do was apply crude emergency measures to stop the bleeding, but such hasty treatment could not stop her body heat from fading away.

Even an agent could not ignore injuries this severe.

"Master..."

Her vision had gradually begun to blur. Looking into the distance, she murmured to herself.

The cleanup operation went smoothly.

After the Whale disappeared, Erosion Entities no longer kept appearing endlessly in the streets. By evening, the agents had cleared away all the Erosion Entities and Dregs.

With that, this disaster was over.

Efnir stood atop a stretch of collapsed ruins, looking at the half-collapsed headquarters building of the Orderkeepers in the distance.

Leaning on her spear, she panted as her body cried out in protest.

She was exhausted, her strength nearly spent, and blood loss had pushed her body to the brink of danger. The agents who had taken part in the final encirclement operation were likewise sitting where they were, panting as they rested.

Their combat power had been severely lacking, but no matter what, they had finally pulled through this time.

Only...

Fifina had not said another word for several minutes, no matter how Efnir called for her.

That left her deeply unsettled, anxiety rapidly growing in her heart. Now that the final encirclement operation had been completed successfully, Efnir's greatest concern had shifted from the Erosion Disaster to her direct junior. Efnir looked toward the other nearby agents. These juniors had been worn out by the final battle. Several had even been unable to stop themselves from releasing Exile Form and collapsing to the ground. Very few still retained full mobility. In a battle under such intense pressure, having no fatalities was already a miracle, but nearly everyone had been injured.

Efnir looked at a young agent nearby.

"Lily, I'm going to check on Fifina. If anything happens, contact me through the communicator."

"Eh? O-Okay..."

After casually dumping the work on a junior, Efnir raised her head and looked at the distant sky. Gritting her teeth, she dragged her spear along and ran toward West Capital Tower.

From West Capital Tower, one could see the scenery of most of Xijing City. The cold high-altitude wind was like a blade, scraping across her cheeks.

The wind howled.

Efnir suppressed the unease in her heart and climbed upward.

She reached the top of the tower.

Her unease became reality.

The girl's figure lay right before her.

It was Fifina.

Or rather, Fengling Shiyin.

Her entire right arm was gone. Synchronization had been released, and her school uniform was filthy. Blood had dyed half her body bright red, dripping from its edges and scattering into the wind.

Only crude, almost makeshift strips of cloth were tied around her severed right shoulder.

She lay motionless atop the cold platform, still clutching the communicator in her left hand.

Efnir froze.

Beacon

Night fell, and rain began to fall from the sky.

After a day of uproar, Xijing City gradually fell silent beneath the night sky. The Special Disaster Response Department sealed off a vast area, including the Orderkeepers headquarters building. The flashing lights of fire trucks filled the darkness, helicopters roared overhead, and beneath the illumination, countless rescue workers and medical personnel threw themselves into post-disaster operations.

At that moment, inside a temporary medical tent—

The lights were bright and glaring, while the air carried an unpleasant, pungent medicinal smell mixed with a faint scent of blood. The curtain was lifted, and a nurse hurried out carrying bloodstained gauze.

Efnir pursed her lips and sat outside the operating room.

Thick gauze was wrapped around her waist. She sat silently outside the intensive care ward, her head lowered.

The air was hot and damp, and irritating noise filled every corner. Before long, the curtain was lifted and a figure in a white coat stepped out.

She was a young woman with beautiful blue eyes, a doctor transferred from overseas by the higher organization specifically to care for agents. Her name was Nishizaki Yuki, and even before joining the organization, she had earned considerable acclaim in the medical field.

She was a friend Efnir got along well with.

Nishizaki Yuki looked somewhat weary. She did not notice Efnir sitting in the corner. While speaking to the nurse behind her, she removed her gloves and mask, pulled a thin cigarette from her pocket, lit it, and placed it between her lips.

She liked smoking, but she only ever chose this one kind: cheap, slim cigarettes with a distinctive herbal scent.

"Yuki!"

The moment she saw her, Efnir immediately rose and approached.

"Efnir...?"

Nishizaki Yuki was somewhat surprised to see Efnir.

"Sorry, I didn't see that you were here too..."

"Don't worry about it... I didn't come here to be noticed by anyone..."

Efnir forced a smile, though the exhaustion in her eyes remained impossible to hide. Nishizaki Yuki looked at Efnir's waist and skirt, both soaked in blood, and her gaze flickered slightly.

She let out a soft sigh, exhaled a faint plume of smoke, and looked away.

"Today's Erosion Disaster was the first of its kind I've seen since coming to this city. If it weren't for your efforts, there probably would have been terrible casualties in the end. You've all worked hard. On behalf of those who survived, I thank you... Also, are your injuries any better?"

"Thank you for asking. I'm fine..."

Efnir pursed her lips and looked past Nishizaki Yuki, toward the room behind her.

"More importantly, Fifina is inside, right? How... how is she now...?"

"Fifina... So you came for her."

Nishizaki Yuki softly repeated the name of the girl Efnir was worried about. She bit down on her cigarette hesitantly and took a deep drag.

"She is your junior... no wonder. Well... among the agents admitted this time, her injuries are the most severe. We've provided emergency treatment and assigned people to monitor her at all times. In any case, she has barely held on to her life."

"So she's going to be okay?"

Efnir stubbornly clung to that last sliver of hope, only for it to be shattered at once.

"I can't say that..."

Nishizaki Yuki shook her head and sighed softly. Looking at Efnir's haggard, pale face, she carefully considered her expression.

With the cigarette between her lips, she took a report from her pocket.

"You know how serious Fifina's injuries are... Though it seems she performed the best emergency hemostasis she could, she only had one hand left, and the wound was far too severe. By the time you brought her here, excessive blood loss had already caused damage to her brain cells. She remains unconscious. At present, we cannot accurately assess the extent of the damage to her brain function or the consequences it may cause..."

"Brain cell damage...? If it's serious... what will happen...?"

"A deep coma... in other words, she could become vegetative. Besides that, memory loss, cognitive impairment... things like that..."

Nishizaki Yuki picked at her fingernails.

"In short... she absolutely needs quiet rest before her condition fully stabilizes. This is not a situation where we can let our guard down. The facilities in this temporary medical ward are incomplete, and it is too noisy here. I'm preparing to apply to have Fifina transferred elsewhere."

"If... if it becomes like that, then there's no saving her...?"

"It will be very difficult for her to recover."

"I see..."

Efnir stared blankly.

Nishizaki Yuki glanced at Efnir.

In Nishizaki Yuki's impression, Efnir had never shown such a dejected appearance.

Perhaps Fifina was important to her. Yet it was precisely someone like that whom she had no choice but to send into battle with her own hands.

But there were very few suitable candidates. There was nothing to be done about it. Even a girl like Fifina, whose adaptability was not particularly high, had to fight for humanity's future.

What could one call it... irony?

With a sigh, Nishizaki Yuki took a deep drag from her cigarette and turned to look into the distance.

Beyond the curtain of rain, rescue workers and agents hurried busily past.

Efnir stood silently where she was.

An odd silence suddenly settled between them, lasting until Nishizaki Yuki tossed aside the nearly spent cigarette butt.

Efnir broke the silence.

"Can I see her?"

"You can, but... Well, forget it. It's nothing... She's inside. Go on."

"Thank you."

Efnir slowly made her way inside.

Nishizaki Yuki watched Efnir's back. As she felt around in her pocket for another cigarette, her fingers touched something cold and hard.

She suddenly remembered something and immediately called out to Efnir.

"Efnir! Sorry, wait a moment..."

Efnir stopped and looked back.