15

If I ran over there, my chances of escaping were—

—Probably almost zero.

84%.

But, that didn't really matter to me.

Even if the angry Iris fired a chunk of pure magic at me, I could block it once with the battery.

And if I used Warp Point Magic, it would be better to take the hit and be ejected.

If I dodged or blocked it and got inside, I would find a fallen officer.

If I freed the officer, at least I could claim that I was acting for the magical girl's sake.

82%.

I had delayed too long.

My emotions were slowly stabilizing.

Mental calmness tends to speed up with time.

I couldn't wait any longer.

I had to make a decision now.

Alright.

I closed my eyes for a brief moment to focus, then made up my mind.

After all, even if I ran alone, I didn't think I could make it to the exit.

No more hesitation.

I leaped out without thinking, launching myself forward.

"Over there!"

Iris fired her gun at me.

I rolled across the floor with all my might.

I could feel a hot wave right beside me.

Click.

I heard the sound of a fuse dropping on the floor.

Had she finished reloading while I was hiding?

Iris immediately pointed her rifle at me.

Using the energy stored in the suit, I dashed forward with full force.

At the same time, I consumed battery energy to create a shield and scatter the laser.

The wrist battery shot out.

I saw a door ahead.

68%.

The energy used by the suit, along with a faint glimmer of hope, made the percentage drop slightly.

Once it started dropping, the rate of decrease sped up.

I just need to make it to there.

Just to there.

Ahead, I saw a door that had been forced open.

It was almost identical to the one I opened earlier, and it had been opened in a similar way.

Beyond it, a tied-up officer lay on the ground.

He was face down but struggling to lift his head, his body wriggling toward me.

61%.

I formed a blade on my arm.

I heard the faint sound of the next fuse being loaded into the rifle behind me.

I was about to touch the door—

Before I could, I saw something pink from the inside.

The girl with pink hair was glaring at me.

At first glance, she didn't seem to be angry, as though she had forgotten how to get angry.

But I knew.

After spending so many years with her, I had learned well.

This was the expression Blossom wore when she was truly, deeply angry.

I had faced magical girls many times, but Blossom had never shown this kind of expression until now.

…Was it because I had entered their base without permission?

Beep beep beep beep beep!

I turned my gaze.

There was something that was about to be destroyed.

I had seen this in a webtoon.

In the webtoon, the company had come in to destroy it but failed.

The ultimate goal of this operation was to destroy the generator.

It was clearly an illegal installation, and the country had already identified the facility.

However, they didn't try to demolish it for a reason.

It was a breeding ground for twisted utilitarianism and the ultimate goal of the "magical girl" existence.

"Quick, quick, help me!"

The officer cried out.

Well, the company wasn't trying to destroy it for the reason of cutting off the absurd utilitarianism.

Rather than that, they probably just want to show that their way is more efficient.

The way of the Galactic Federation is much more complicated.

If even one thing breaks, there's no solution until it's remade.

… Why are you doing this?

Are you trying to destroy what little hope we have left?" Blossom said.

As she spoke, magic energy was rising in the weapon she was holding.

Blossom was holding a 'magical girl' staff.

You know, those kinds of things?

It was about the size of a 'wand,' and it had stars, hearts, and other shapes at the end.

It looked much more like something a magical girl would carry than a gun or gauntlet.

And that made it extremely dangerous.

The staff had a flower-shaped end, which, at first glance, looked like a bouquet.

No, the design was definitely modeled after a bouquet.

Bzzt, bzzt, bzzt!

93 %.

… Unbelievable.

Just by meeting Blossom's gaze, I felt this way.

It wasn't just that the numbers were rising.

My heart was pounding as if it would explode.

I was scared.

I was scared of Blossom.

I was afraid that her attack would break my helmet, revealing my face underneath.

And at the same time, I was feeling another negative emotion.

… That negative emotion was growing into even more negative emotions, and just like when I find my mental peace, it felt like everything was spiraling downward exponentially.

"Hey!"

The officer shouted.

Fighting Blossom here was hopeless. In that case, there was only one choice.

I immediately crouched down and grabbed the officer.

"What!?"

Then, I used the officer like a shield and ran toward Iris, who was approaching from behind.

"Ah, wait!?"

Perhaps she was about to say something, but Blossom, enveloped in magic, shouted, but it was already too late.

The circuit values had surpassed 90 percent.

Even without the battery, the suit could exert explosive power.

"Ugh!?"

The officer, his face distorted from the winds hitting him, screamed.

"What!?"

Iris, probably thinking I was a trapped rat, had been rushing toward me but froze when she saw me running toward her with the officer.

I threw the officer at Iris with all my might.

"What are you doing!?"

The officer flew through the air with a scream.

"Kyaaah!?"

Thank goodness the officer was ugly.

The officer was flying fast, directly targeting Iris's face.

What was Iris thinking when she saw the officer's face coming at her?

Iris always acted cool, but the reason she did that was because she couldn't remain calm.

In a panic, Iris raised her gun.

"Iris, wait!!"

Blossom called out from behind, but it was already too late.

Iris had already started firing at me and had loaded the next fuse.

Iris's rifle fired.

I jumped into the beam.

The officer and I were hit by the beam side by side.

A painful sensation, like being hit all over my body, surged through me, and then—

—Success.

I sighed in relief as the scene in front of me changed.

Then, I rolled on the ground.

"Cough! Cough! Thud! Ugh!"

The officer made strange noises as he rolled on the ground.

But I was relieved that I was much better than that.

In the end, since I had grabbed the officer by the neck, we fell to the same place.

"What… what is this? Throwing an officer in front of a magical girl? Are you some kind of useless idiot!?"

I looked up, and when I saw that we had successfully escaped from the chaotic situation, I was at a loss for words.

"…Is this your first time fighting a magical girl?"

I asked, drawing a blade from my wrist.

The rope binding the officer was strengthened with magic.

It couldn't be easily cut with a regular cutter.

"Uh, uh…"

Yeah, I figured.

It was his first appearance in the webtoon, and even though he was captured, there wasn't much useful information from him.

He was probably a throwaway pawn sent to gather information about the internal structure.

Even officers have their roles.

James might look that way, but in terms of combat, he held a pretty high position.

Even if he loses, his goal is to fulfill it as much as possible, and he never allows himself to be captured.

He's involved in both technical and management strategies.

Generally, he doesn't get along with other officers.

Just like the evil officer in a special effects show, some people might try to show off their skills, thinking they're better than James, and end up getting beaten and ridiculed by him.

When I released the glowing rope, the officer got up and looked at me with an awkward expression.

Then, he scratched his head.

"Uh, thanks?"

"No need."

Honestly, I had mostly used him to escape.

I brushed myself off with my hands.

I was in better shape than expected.

Unlike the last fight, it didn't seem like anything was broken.

This was impressive.

40 %.

Maybe because I felt a little better for the first time in a while, the despair value dropped a bit.

"Hey, hey! Where are you going?"

"Going home."

"Like that?"

"I'll either walk or run. One of those."

I said in an oddly refreshed tone.

Yeah. I didn't win this time either.

I didn't win, but I did manage to land a hit.

Iris was definitely flustered.

Seeing Blossom's face was a bit of a critical blow, though.

Yeah, I probably felt jealousy after seeing that face.

Isn't she the protagonist of this world?

Unlike me, an extra who doesn't even appear in the main story.

"Well, I'll be going now."

"Uh, uh… okay?"

I gave the still confused officer a small bow and then ran off.

This time, it was the mountains.

At least it's still in Seoul, so that's a relief.

…It's a bit dark, but this suit should keep me alive even if I roll down a hill.