Chapter 40: I’ll take all your attacks.

“Why are you trying to kill me?”

I had a hunch, but I asked for formality’s sake.

“This might explain it better.”

Silent Eve pulled a small object from her pocket and placed it on her palm.

A Magical Gem.

Not as black as the one I saw before, but its meaning was clear.

“You’re part of their organization too.”
“Yup.”

It wasn’t a hammer-to-the-head shock.
Even during missions or her stream donations, her motives were hard to read.

“Give me a reason. Why become a magical girl and do this?”

Even if it’s for wealth or fame, living honestly would be better.
Streaming or selling merch would do.

I couldn’t see the benefit of joining their group.

“I just want to get close to magical girls.”
“Close? By betraying them?”

That’s all I could see, but she thought differently.

“Being an enemy earns hatred, but it builds deeper bonds. We were barely acquaintances, but through resentment, we’re tightly linked. And you’ll remember me forever. Until the moment you die.”

Now the hammer-to-the-head shock hit.

Her mindset was twisted beyond reason.
Talking her out of it felt impossible.

“So you want me to remember you?”

Not the answer she wanted, but I understood Silent Eve better now.

She was making a fatal mistake, though.

“I’m planning to remember allies longer than enemies.”

Leaving a mark by being a persistent nuisance?
Not a bad strategy.

But it only works if you can overpower your target.

“Scarlet Beam!”

I fired a low-power beam, but it refracted mid-air, smashing nearby structures.
Debris flew, and dust clouded the air.

“Sorry, that won’t work.”

A massive prism had formed in front of Silent Eve.

“Isn’t that Mirage Illusion’s magic?”
“Stored in the Magical Gem.”
“That’s possible?”

A feature original Magical Gems don’t have.

“So that’s an artifact.”
“You knew…?”

Her eyes widened, confirming my guess.

“Found out recently.”
“No wonder Mirage Illusion warned about you. You’re amazing.”

Silent Eve gripped another Magical Gem.

“Blank World.”

Suddenly, my strength drained.
I lost balance and dropped to one knee.

“Heh heh heh…”

Silent Eve looked down at me, chuckling softly.
A sinister yet elegant laugh.

“What did you do?”

It wasn’t her sound-nullifying magic.
I could hear my own voice clearly.

“The Blank World I just cast evaporates magic in the area. And with the Magical Gem, I amplified the effect several times.”
“That’s possible?”

Not a direct attack, but a debuff.
Vicious.
Only someone purely sadistic could wield this.

“That expression is a masterpiece.”

Silent Eve, no longer hiding her true colors, wore a look of intoxicated ecstasy.

“No rest for the weary!”

Aurora Lora swung her hammer, venting her frustration.

One hit, one monster.
They flew or got crushed flat.

She steadily thinned their numbers.

“Where’s everyone else?”
“Silent Eve gave them tickets to some idol concert or something,” Gamma said.
“Today of all days… on purpose?”

All the juniors were conveniently far away.
Too perfect for a coincidence.

“Could be,” Frozen Princess said.
“Got a hunch?”
“Lily mentioned it when inviting me to the festival. Silent Eve handed out tickets to the fifth-gens, and Aqua’s suspicious.”
“Aqua…”

Extra tickets are odd enough, but ones tailored to fifth-gens’ tastes? Unlikely.

Why?

The logical answer: Silent Eve knew Scarlet Lily was attending the festival.

She schemed to cut off Lily’s backup.

It all adds up.

“She might already be with Silent Eve. Let’s hurry.”
“Lily’d probably be fine without help,” Aurora Lora said.

Frozen Princess agreed.
Scarlet Lily inspires that kind of confidence.

Clearing monsters faster is the best way to help her.

“Didn’t expect a third wheel with you two,” Mirage Illusion said, strolling up casually.

“How are you fine?” Aurora Lora growled, eyebrows twitching.

She’d landed a direct hit with her giant gauntlet.
A blow strong enough to send someone flying kilometers.
No way she walked that off.

“Scarlet Lily thinks I’m half-dead, but my wounds healed already.”
“Got it.”

Satisfying her curiosity, Aurora Lora charged.

Boom!

The ground cratered where her hammer struck.

“What the hell, you psycho!” Mirage Illusion yelled.
“First strike.”
“No manners? I was talking!”
“Got more to say?”

She’d heard enough. Time to fight.
For the tough-as-nails Aurora Lora, it was only natural.

“Frozen Arrow!”

Frozen Princess attacked, but her ice shards passed through thin air.

“A clone…?”
“First time seeing it?”

Dozens of Mirage Illusions appeared, all firing crystal shards.

“Child’s play!”

Aurora Lora used her hammer as a shield, charging through clones to find the real one.

Clones shattered under her hammer or Frozen Princess’s ice magic.

Minutes later, Frozen Princess took out the last clone.

But Mirage Illusion’s real body was gone.

“She bailed. Stalling was her goal,” Frozen Princess said.

Her bold front was a fake.
They should’ve suspected when she faced a 2-on-1 fight.

“Damn it!” Aurora Lora’s scream echoed.

Mirage Illusion had almost no Dark Magical Gems left.

After repeated failures, she’d poured everything into earning her leader’s approval.

Today’s chaos was an all-in revenge gambit.

“Going well?”

Mirage Illusion joined Silent Eve, spotting her barrier.

“Pretty smoothly,” Silent Eve drawled.

They stood side by side, looking down at Scarlet Lily, collapsed on the ground.

She propped herself up with both arms, barely holding on.
Light particles leaked from her body.

Like fairy wings fluttering or a game character’s death effect.

Sadly, her bowed head hid any despairing expression.

“Details.”
“Draining her magic as planned.”
“Obvious. You suck at explaining.”

Blank World is Silent Eve’s signature magic.
It creates a space lacking one element.

Normally, it tweaks physics slightly, but this time was different.

To bring down Scarlet Lily, she turned the area into a “magicless space.”

“Worth using the reserve,” Mirage Illusion said, her lips twisting with glee.

Artifacts hold endless potential.
They used the rarest one.

Like a balloon deflating under pressure, Scarlet Lily’s magic would vanish fast.

Even the so-called strongest magical girl couldn’t overcome this.

“You wanted revenge. Why not face her yourself?” Silent Eve tilted her head.

“We’re a bad match.”

Scarlet Lily’s barrier is too tough.
Clones meant to disorient her failed when attacks bounced off.

Hence, this plan: drain her with unfamiliar barrier magic, then crush her.

“Great job, Silent Eve.”
“Just doing what I love.”
“You’re twisted as hell.”

As the villains celebrated, Scarlet Lily stirred.

“How’s it feel, Scarlet Lily? Too late for regrets. You’ll pay for underestimating me!” Mirage Illusion laughed, ready to humiliate her.

“Who’s regretting?”

Scarlet Lily stood, casually brushing dirt off her skirt.

“What? How are you moving?!”
“My magic recovers fast.”

Whoosh—

With a casual wave of her wand, the barrier vanished with a weak sound effect.

“Hey, what’s wrong with this?!”
“No idea. It shouldn’t be like this…”

They panicked, unprepared for this.

Silent Eve tried to recast the barrier, but without the artifact, she couldn’t trap Scarlet Lily.

“I was testing how much magic I’d lose, but it never ran out.”

Why experiment like that…?

Questions arose, but Mirage Illusion didn’t care.
The reality unfolding was unbelievable.

It was like draining water with a high-pressure pump.

The barrier failing meant Scarlet Lily’s magic capacity was beyond comprehension.

If an average magical girl is a small well, she’s a pond or reservoir.

Maybe even a monster beyond that.
The thought sent chills down Mirage Illusion’s spine.

Scarlet Lily stretched her neck and shoulders, as if loosening up.

“Good thing you showed up uninvited. No escaping today.”