Chapter 14: The Mad Hunt

What sensation does a magical girl experience when devoid of magical power?

It is somewhat akin to being half-asleep and half-awake, with consciousness drifting vaguely amidst scattered thoughts.

Unable to think of anything, incapable of processing any thoughts, one can only maintain simple instinctual responses and muscle memory; even the awareness of one’s own actions ceases to exist.

Chao Wu was intimately familiar with this sensation, having experienced it herself after bouts of excessive training.

She recalled feeling as though she had simply blacked out for several hours, unable to recall anything she might have done during that time, and her captain had never elaborated on her state back then.

Only today did she finally comprehend the true nature of her condition during those instances.

—”Let go of me! Don’t rub your face on my hand; it’s so warm and… weird…”

She was witnessing an incredibly rare spectacle.

Ling Xing, who was perpetually arrogant and self-satisfied, always ready to stand with hands on hips and mock everyone, was actually…

Whining softly, she gently swayed her small hand in a plea.

“……No.”

It was rather different from what she had imagined; she had expected a feeling of agony or distress.

Yet, from an outsider’s perspective, it actually seemed…

A little… adorable?

Her pouty, aggrieved expression stirred a mischievous urge within Chao Wu to tease her.

It was no longer merely an impulse; it had become a tangible action.

Following her heart, Chao Wu mischievously gripped Ling Xing’s frail, powerless hand, slowly pulling her petite form closer.

Watching Ling Xing’s usually spirited face flush faintly like a helpless little girl’s, as she shook her head in bewilderment…

“Of course not! I’m speaking with utmost seriousness! I’m an elite combatant; magical girls are merely trivial matters I can resolve with ease—”

Gone was her usual seasoned demeanor; the current Ling Xing felt more like…

A startled kitten, puffing herself up to appear taller and larger, as if such a display could intimidate her opponent.

She seemed even more adorable, and teasing such a Ling Xing evoked a wicked sense of transgression.

‘Well, it wasn’t as if she was deliberately bullying her; replenishing magic inherently required a fluid exchange, after all…’

Chao Wu subtly pressed her lips together.

Then…

Ling Xing’s slender fingertips pressed against the corner of her lips.

“…Someone’s here.”

“……!”

She felt it.

A faint yet synchronized sound emanated from the ground.

Fully armed, the Magical Science Corps stormed into the campus, weapons loaded, without a single notification to the school or its students.

Their ranks were perfectly aligned, their footsteps drawing nearer.

“Are these people… insane? There are so many innocent students here, and they just barge in without even evacuating anyone, even if there really is a dark organization…”

‘…Tch.’

Even reaffirming the utterly unscrupulous nature of these individuals held no meaning at this moment.

Having wasted a little time, the two still stood idly at the entrance of the academic building.

No… perhaps it was fortunate that they had been delayed by this unexpected turn of events, for if they had been walking the streets with a magic-depleted Ling Xing, they might not have even had a chance to prepare.

A magic-depleted Ling Xing possessed no combat capability, and at this moment, Chao Wu was merely an ordinary girl unable to transform.

Facing the fully armed Magical Science Corps’ encirclement and search, now…

Could they possibly win?

“Seal off the campus immediately! Team One, proceed to the principal’s office to secure the magical girl. Teams Two and Three, blockade and search floor by floor via the stairwells. Fire upon any suspicious signs immediately! There is no collateral damage standard!”

“Understood!” “Yes, sir!” “Roger!”

With no time for deliberation, the Magical Science Corps members swiftly coordinated their orders.

From the perspective of ordinary humans, they were elite soldiers, though compared to magical girls, even the most elite ordinary person held little significance.

Yet, with both Ling Xing and Chao Wu unable to unleash their magical girl powers, the two were undoubtedly—

“Reporting, Squad Leader! D-rank Magical Girl Hane Kuonji’s identification has been found at the entrance!”

“What?!”

A squad of fully armed Magical Science Corps members, rifles at the ready, jogged into the academic building’s entrance.

They immediately spotted the scattered identification and wallet on the ground.

Forming a tactical array, they scanned their surroundings, yet saw no other individuals.

‘—Direct confrontation was unequivocally impossible.’

Draping Ling Xing’s weak hand over her shoulder, Chao Wu urgently pulled her along, haphazardly bursting into the nearest unoccupied room to avoid a direct encounter with the Magical Science Corps.

But it wasn’t enough, not nearly enough.

“Report to Hane-sama immediately! The target’s magic is depleted; they couldn’t have gone far and are most likely still nearby! You all search the vicinity at once, while I proceed directly to retrieve surveillance footage!”

“Understood!”

The Magical Science Corps members responded in unison.

In an instant, their probable location had been pinpointed.

Chao Wu gasped softly, her gaze sweeping across the room.

The room they were in was cluttered with musical instruments and miscellaneous items, with discarded boxes and cabinets strewn everywhere.

The Magical Science Corps wielded heavy assault rifles specially designed for engaging anomalies; against such weaponry, even thin walls offered no defense, let alone these mere obstacles.

Consequently, they couldn’t even find proper cover.

Even attempting to escape through a window was futile, as they were thoroughly blocked by debris, making a silent clearance impossible.

‘Ugh… there’s nowhere to hide at all…’

The unthinking girl had, in a single day, stumbled into a place where neither concealment nor escape was possible.

The moment she realized this, footsteps, growing steadily closer, echoed from beyond the door.

The door to the adjacent room was violently kicked open.

“Huh? What’s going on? I just took a quick nap, why—”

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat—

“Guh-wah—!”

Gunfire erupted.

Without a word, a stranger, who had merely been slacking off in the storage room, was engulfed by a hail of bullets, exploding into fragments.

The gunfire triggered a wave of screams, and the entire building was instantly gripped by the terrifying commotion—shrieks and panic.

Yet all of it ultimately dissolved into a single, dismissive remark…

“Room 3 engaged, one female neutralized, non-target, collateral damage.”

“Continue advancing. Do not hesitate to open fire; Mashiro-sama has authorized an unlimited collateral damage standard for us. All casualties will be attributed to the Dark Organization.”

‘Insane… these people were utterly mad, causing such a commotion in a school, wantonly trampling on the lives of ordinary people.’

However, no matter how furious or indignant she felt, the current Chao Wu could find no solution.

‘To think, to think they had even dealt with powerful magical girl seniors, and yet, yet here they were, about to be cornered by the Magical Science Corps…’

Chao Wu suppressed the resentment and indignation simmering in her words.

As it turned out, she had never accomplished anything on her own, not until now.

Driven by pure fervor, she had blundered about without a plan, only to achieve nothing in the end.

Every single time, she had relied on the strength of others, on Ling Xing’s abilities.

Chao Wu bit her lip hard, her gaze instinctively falling upon Ling Xing beside her…

Meeting Ling Xing’s nearly unconscious, hazy eyes.

“Continue advancing, check your magazines, ensure sufficient ammunition to neutralize the target!”

“Understood!”

Heavy military boots strode past the doorway.

The subtle clicks and clacks of gun bolts and magazines, the metallic sounds of firearms being checked and readied, grew audible.

Through the gap beneath the door, the reflective gleam of laser sights could already be seen, painting the floor crimson.

‘—Ling Xing, tell me.’

‘If it were you, Ling Xing, what would you do?’