I Became a New Magical Girl Priest

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To summarize the situation,

Those guys have set up traps here just like last time.

Additionally, they’ve added their own secret weapons to ensure a certain kill, which are presumably created by utilizing Earthlings… or something along those lines.

It’s been five years since the Federation contacted Earth. No matter how much they started development right after, a regular growth rate wouldn’t allow a human to grow that much.

If they utilized technology that was decided as unusable on humans…

“Was their plan to extract combat data?”

“More than that, they were probably just thinking of wrapping things up neatly. The chairman wouldn’t think that deeply.”

“And now, because I can’t use my powers properly, that plan has gone awry.”

“Well, they can’t look into your emotions over there. Thanks to that, that robot and those artificial aliens probably can’t utilize their full power either. The human riding that robot likely didn’t see this situation coming either. That’s why they’ve been stalling with such nonsense.”

“…You predicted we would be in danger.”

“More accurately, I predicted there wouldn’t be an explosion. And it’s indeed safe, isn’t it?”

I could somewhat understand being thrust into danger. Of course, that doesn’t mean I forgive them. I just think that if necessary, they might not be able to do anything about it.

However, I can’t stand the thought of Ha-yoon being in danger. I dislike the idea of anyone else getting caught up in this, but especially Ha-yoon.

Yeah, I know it’s a contradictory feeling. I used to think that I wanted to fight and win against Ha-yoon myself.

That’s why I felt extremely bad.

Even if he had turned into a hamster, James was still James. He retained the dirty personality and poor tastes from back in the day.

I can’t just leave him be.

Whether through re-education or starving him out, I have to somehow return his mindset to normal.

At the very least, I have to change that tone of voice. Even just fixing the way he irritates people could make him much more likable.

“Ha, haha!”

Mohican chuckled.

“So you guys are like mice caught in a trap! Even if the bomb doesn’t explode, with those aliens around—Gack!?”

Before Mohican could ramble on, I swung my hammer at his head.

Even before the hammer connected with the floor, Mohican immediately shut his mouth and fell silent. His face had turned pale.

“To think you could speak so defiantly even in a disadvantageous situation, I respect that—”

“Shut up.”

I said to the chattering James.

“If you provoke me further, I’ll smash you too.”

James wisely closed his mouth.

“…So.”

I said with simmering anger.

The circuits were still running, but they weren’t generating as intense energy as before.

Sadly, it seemed I didn’t have a mindset fit to be a hero after all. Even looking at the ‘victims’ in front of me, I was thinking ‘how to escape?’

We should just go back now. If I make a mistake and the bomb goes off, it really could mean the end for everyone.

That Ha-yoon is a bomb that ‘Blossom’ had lost consciousness for a while. If it explodes right beneath us—

“…I can’t just leave those people behind.”

Ha-yoon said.

“That… is too….”

She couldn’t finish her sentence, but I could tell that she was serious.

I looked around at the other kids.

Everyone’s faces were stiff, but there weren’t any signs of them wanting to run away.

Ha-yoon, the other kids—they were all magical girls. Regardless of whatever background they had, even if the writer had slapped on some realistic high school girl setting as a joke. Even if there’s a political background to that setting.

They wouldn’t back down in front of someone they think is wrong.

Though they may not be entirely righteous, they were kids who always looked towards justice and refused to give up on a glimmer of hope.

Perhaps that was the difference between me and those kids.

“…Alright.”

At my answer, James looked at me with surprise.

He must think that I’ve already captured all of this situation on the drone. He probably thinks he can just go outside and splash it everywhere. The reason the enemy planted bombs all over the place is likely for that exact reason. The best way to ensure we don’t share the secret with others is to wipe it off the face of the earth.

“But I can’t guarantee how long it’ll be okay. I can’t promise that.”

“Can we break through the wall?”

Rose asked.

“I think Delphinium will… struggle with that. For now, we need to focus on tackling that side.”

“I’ll give it a shot.”

“I’ll help.”

Dalia said.

“Even if I can’t create an explosion as grand as Delphinium, I’ll definitely be of help in breaking it.”

I bit my lip again.

I still couldn’t grasp what I truly wanted to do. Did I want to help the magical girls and become a hero? Or was I just making this decision as I was swept along by the situation?

But one thing I could definitely know was that at the very least—this choice wasn’t completely wrong.

Ha-yoon’s circuits and the other kids’ circuits.

They shone brightly.

Everyone seemed a bit taken aback and looked at their circuits.

“Then, let’s get started.”

As I muttered that, the kids forgot their confusion and moved immediately.

And the opponents began to move as well.

I jumped towards the wall with all my strength, not caring about anyone else.

Maybe thinking the risk was more on my end, the robot’s arm targeted me.

Sure, they must think that revealing my appearance inside here is extremely dangerous.

The sound of missiles tearing through the air could be heard, but they didn’t reach me.

Bang, boom!

Though they couldn’t tear into my body, the missiles exploded with the force that could rupture my eardrums. They shattered into the air where they had flown in haste.

Dalia, who had been close behind me, cast magic at the missiles to make them explode mid-air.

The gale following the explosion threw me off balance, but on my hammer was a large propellant attached.

Everything I had fought through wasn’t for nothing. I adjusted the position of the hammer and regained my balance.

The ceiling opened, and missile heads popped out, but Dalia, having seen that situation once before, swung her wand again. Though it wasn’t large, it seemed several smaller shrapnels slipped through the gap to detonate the extra missiles inside. Luckily, those didn’t get thrown back towards us since they hit the inside of the ceiling.

The ceiling wasn’t breaking. Maybe the missiles were designed for anti-personnel use and not powerful enough, or perhaps the ceiling was abnormally durable.

Well, if they blew up their own missiles and exposed the situation inside their own building, it would definitely be problematic. At least, the designer seems to be a smart one.

While enduring the explosions bursting all around, I finally reached the spot where there was a wall.

Fortunately, it was the floor with the hangar for that robot, thus the area was long and extended toward the hangar. In other words, that meant there was a wall dividing the research institute from the outside, rather than just separating rooms.

Bang!

I struck the wall with the hammer at maximum propulsion.

And right away, I faced the obvious predicament.

My strike didn’t budge the wall an inch.

While the outer concrete cracked a bit, revealing the rebar inside.

Simultaneously, Dalia also shot the largest projectile she could launch right then, but it also barely made a dent; the inner rebar showed no signs of bending inward. Just how tightly packed in there could it be?

The reason for that quickly came to mind.

It’s not just because the confidential stuff inside is dangerous. From the moment they built it as a shopping mall, it must have been made to withstand a considerable amount of weight.

To support the weight of all the crowds inside, it has to be sturdy enough.

That said, it wouldn’t be a story that you couldn’t pierce through with some equipment—

“Hey.”

As I stepped back to raise the hammer high above my head, Dalia called out a little flustered.

Ignoring her call, I swung the hammer down with all my might.

Bang, bang, bang.

And then—

“Ha.”

Just as I thought.

The floor wasn’t as thick as the wall.

Shopping malls naturally have a lot of space between the floor and ceiling. They have to put various items in there for people to come and see.

So, it wouldn’t be difficult to make a false floor below.

Not to mention, if it’s a space too small for even one person to stand in.

… I just saw those aliens that seemed to be modifications made from humans rise up from below the floor. No matter how enhanced by circuits they are, it’s impossible for them to completely break through a wall that thick.

That means, they must’ve made another layer below that we wouldn’t notice.

This research facility was already being used for that purpose since the moment the current chairman sunk his teeth into it.

A research facility built to secretly store soldiers and if necessary, easily crush them.

Bang! Bang!

Even now, there were sounds of kids fighting. The noise of the aliens forcibly rising up from the floor.

And in the place I was in—

I found it.

“What’s this?”

Dalia gasped seeing what I revealed as I brushed off the dust.

What was in my hand was a ‘circuit’ which was spinning ominously, radiating a dreadful color.

It looked extremely unstable. Its size was smaller than the one I saw at the chairman’s house last time. It wasn’t the one-meter-sized circuit I had seen there, but it wasn’t small either. With a diameter of around 30 cm, I’d say.

They might have thought a one-meter circuit was overpowered to bury us. There must be a ton of these stashed below. Even below the ground I just broke, several were visible at the edge.

“Help me for a second.”

“What are you planning to do?”

Dalia said with a pale face.

“This one won’t break down the wall by itself.”

Of course, that was a given.

While they may want to bury us, if the situation inside leaked out, it would be troublesome. The federation might protest, but the fact that the company they wanted to ally with did this can’t be allowed to slip out. Otherwise, they would incur the resentment of the Earthlings.

“…You’re trying to blow it up?”

Dalia immediately grasped the situation upon hearing my words.

“Yeah.”

I said with glowing eyes.

“I intend to make a huge hole right next to this.”

Well, it could be dangerous.

But has there ever been a time when a magical girl wasn’t in danger?

Especially for me, that’s definitely true.

I flung the circuit toward the wall.

“If it’s just a throw, it won’t explode! Just throw it and it’ll be fine until I detonate it!”

Right after I said that, I deflected a missile flying towards us with my hammer.

The missile, hit on the side, veered off and crashed into the hangar, exploding there.

What was inside were, for some reason, unmoving robots.

Originally, those were supposed to move too.

If I were to detonate the bomb, they might start moving then.

I glanced back.

The magical girls were still holding their ground quite well.

The aliens were strong, healing from wounds rapidly. Besides, the fact that they still seemed to be operating circuits directly in the guise of ‘Earthlings’ too.

In truth, I couldn’t muster enough energy just to sustain such strength.

My plan running through my mind was straightforward. I wouldn’t think of only facing them inside here.

Break through the wall, go outside, and make them follow us out.

At least out there, we could use all the energy available to fight.

Dalia had a pale face but was still moving according to my orders. She was blocking incoming attacks with magic while piling circuits that broke through the floor toward the wall.

“How many do we need to stack before it works!?”

“Not sure.”

When I looked at the wall after saying that, it was already piled with more than ten.

It seemed the circuits were thrown around haphazardly, and their instability was easily noticeable.

“…This should do it.”

And then despair struck.

What would I need to do to find despair within me?

What could make my despair outweigh Ha-yoon, my hope?

Ha-yoon and the other magical girls were fighting too well.

Still, I didn’t want to betray those kids. That would… feel like it would inflict too permanent a damage on me.

… Fine.

When have I ever been someone who thought deeply and acted?

Just like any other day, I could just move like a piece of junk.

“Hey, where are you going!?”

“To fight.”

“What!?”

Maybe my overly simple answer surprised Dalia and she shouted anxiously.

“I have no choice. If I wanna break down the wall, that’s the fastest path.”

Besides, there were circuits lying all over the floor down where the magical girls were fighting.

Bigger and seemingly more unstable circuits than before.

Maybe they became unstable due to the impact from earlier. Or perhaps it’s my despair circuits that are starting to turn again.

I’m not quite sure, but—yeah, those should help too.

I tightened my grip on the hammer and charged at the enemies.

The battlefield was incomparably more chaotic than where we were breaking the floor. The concrete dust breaking and swirling didn’t have enough ventilation, making it reminiscent of a war zone.

Darting in, I picked up a circuit from the ground and threw it toward the wall with all my might—

Thud.

I was kicked to the side from a blow coming at me.

It hurt. I wasn’t even hit by anything like a boot or combat boots, yet the moment I got hit, stars seemed to appear in front of my eyes from the pain. Could it be that they were wrapped in magic on the outside?

I swung my hammer at the alien.

Bang!

The alien raised its hand and blocked my hit.

No, it caught it.

Its hand was trembling, and while its outer skin tore, it was still enduring my hammer strike.

No matter how much propulsion I applied, I couldn’t send the alien flying away—

Thud.

And then a knee jabbed into my stomach.

For a moment, I couldn’t breathe. Pain bent my body forward.

Ha, haha.

I’ve experienced this before. It’s strange how I couldn’t remember it well. How can I just forget so easily even after things had started getting somewhat better?

No, has it really gotten better? Not sure at all. In truth, my circumstances are so bad that it feels embarrassing to even call it a mix of good and bad.

It was only when I turned into a magical girl that it was good at all.

The bent waist allowed me to see those circuits again.

I grabbed the circuit and threw it, and I too got thrown to the side.

I rolled on the floor. It hurt more than I expected but—

Whirr.

The circuit was spinning. Good.

No, should I say that’s not good?

The more I despair, the stronger the aliens become. Though weakly, they’re drawing energy from me since they were running their circuits by themselves.

What a useless ally. In this situation, giving strength to the enemy.

The circuits trembled harder.

The magical girls—especially Ha-yoon, looked surprised.

Seeing me getting hit while I fought the aliens seemed to make them want to rush to my aid, but because I had plunged deep into the midst of the aliens, they couldn’t reach me.

It felt like Ha-yoon’s circuit had grown dimmer than before.

Was it just me feeling that way?

Thud.

It hurt.

This time I managed to block the attack, but my arm felt heavy and shook.

That alien was about to kick me again, but it lost its balance due to the magic coming in sideways and staggering its stance.

Dalia.

Plus support fire from Iris. If the beam didn’t send it flying outward, then the alien must be wrapped in magic.

Bang!

My hammer flew to the alien’s side that was thrown off balance, smashing it away. Thanks to the alien sliding across the floor with its shoulder down, I caught sight of those circuits again.

I picked it up and threw it again.

Dalia must have known what I was trying to do as she quickly came to grab the circuit and toss it.

Finally, the aliens’ heads turned.

And only then did I notice that the circuits were stacked up heavily on one side.

What should I do? Will the aliens head that way too?

No. They didn’t.

Maybe because they turned Earthlings into aliens, they’ve locked onto one target firmly. Magical girls, including me. Not one of them moved toward Mohican huddled in the corner.

However, that’s all. They still seem unable to comprehend complex orders. They didn’t seem to know that this was ‘danger.’

An alien’s hand swung down. It was different from what had flown before. When I shook my head and looked, there were two circuits lying side by side before me.

I tossed them.

The circuits were far more unstable than before.

It’s like they need to be hit to work. What kind of setting is this?

“Ji-eun!”

Ha-yoon called out for me anxiously.

The magical girls were still holding their ground, but it was clear their weapons were weakening compared to the beginning.

Was it because their hope wavered a little?

Or maybe my hope—

“Everyone, run!”

I said.

We can do this now.

A black hole appeared in the air. It started as the size of a fist, but gradually began to absorb the surrounding light as it grew larger.

And the circuits on that wall screamed out in unison.

With the circuits having become perilously unstable, the black hole began sucking in everything around it like a final strike. The aliens struggled, but—

Under my armpit, arms suddenly shot in.

“Is this just you thinking you could do it alone!?”

Dalia scolded me as she flew up. Using all her might while the aliens were busy adjusting their stances, she let out a scream and plunged into the black hole just when the booming sound began to resonate.

I tumbled hard against the floor. Well, at least I didn’t crash into broken concrete this time.

It was asphalt instead.

Before I could stand back up—

There was a loud noise.

I heard screams around, and I could hear police shouting something as well.

I raised my head.

A massive explosion was happening above the building.

Above it, there was already a black hole hovering that I had no memory of making. No, did I initially create two of them? Honestly, I’m so out of it from being beaten up that I can’t even remember.

But I did it. There were no fragments falling down below. They may have been carelessly tossed into the sea somewhere.

A large hole had opened in the research facility.

That for sure was evident.

 

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