Chapter 13: A Minion’s Fury and a Stroller’s Escape

Deep within the factory, piercing roars and explosive energy blasts echoed.

Xia Yue wielded her crystalline ice sword, and wherever its light swept, the lunging Shadow Beasts instantly froze, then shattered into a flurry of icy dust, their very roars silenced in their throats.

Her fighting style was precise, efficient, and imbued with an undeniable, absolute zero-like chill.

On the other side, Lin Wan presented an entirely different spectacle.

Her figure darted erratically through the horde of Shadow Beasts, her energy gun spewing forth searing white arcs of electricity.

Lacking Xia Yue’s elegant, one-hit takedowns, she instead unleashed a barrage of ferocious firepower, her energy blasts raining down like a tempest, forcing the Shadow Beasts to shriek and retreat as their bodies disintegrated and vanished in successive explosions.

Her combat was infused with a cathartic, violent beauty, punctuated by excited, short shouts accompanying each attack.

A fierce symphony of ice and electricity raged in the darkness, the two magical girls cutting through the Shadow Beasts like tigers amidst a flock of sheep, utterly unstoppable.

Kazami Jin, safely ensconced in the “secure transport unit” at the rear, watched in stunned silence, her heart thrumming uncontrollably to the rhythm of the battle.

Envy, an almost unbearable envy, coiled around her heart like a creeping vine.

This was power… true power, to be unleashed freely, to dictate the course of battle.

Compared to her own paltry magic, which required furtive practice and barely managed to conjure a marble-sized orb of light, the difference was like heaven and earth.

If only she possessed such power, she wouldn’t be confined to this ridiculous “stroller,” nor would she be subjected to the constant “coercion” of those two.

Just then, her gaze snagged on a stray.

Whether blasted away by Xia Yue’s ice ring or driven back by Lin Wan’s stray shots, a relatively small Shadow Beast, seemingly a mere minion, stumbled away from the main battlefield and, by an unfortunate coincidence, slid directly towards her, barely a dozen meters distant.

It shook its indistinct head, appearing disoriented and oblivious to Jin, who was hidden in the corner of the transport unit.

A daring idea ignited within Jin’s mind.

‘Hadn’t her magic improved?’

‘A marble-sized orb of light, while incomparable to the destructive power of those two, was certainly stronger than a firefly, wasn’t it?’

‘Against this seemingly foolish, isolated minion, perhaps… it could work?’

‘Just try it! What if it actually worked?’

‘She could experience the thrill of personally defeating an enemy!’

‘Proving that she, Kazami Jin, wasn’t entirely at the mercy of others!’

Driven by envy and an inexplicable impulse, Jin almost forgot her fear.

She took a deep breath, painstakingly marshaling the meager magical energy within her, concentrating all her intent on her fingertip.

A faint violet glow reappeared, and the marble-sized orb, with its swirling internal nebula, materialized unsteadily at the tip of her index finger.

This time, she felt it coalesce more smoothly than ever before; her magic seemed to have solidified, if only by a fraction.

‘Now!’

While the Shadow Beast minion was still shaking its head, Jin aimed for its indistinct, presumably head-like, area, and with all her might, launched the “strongest spell” that embodied all her current hope and courage—the Violet Marble!

*Whoosh—*

The orb arced in a faint trajectory, not particularly fast, yet its path was steady, accurately—striking the Shadow Beast minion’s… shoulder?

Or perhaps some other insignificant part of its side.

*Pffft.*

A muffled thud, so faint it was almost imperceptible.

Where the orb struck, the Shadow Beast minion’s body merely dented slightly before the light sphere silently vanished, like a drop of water dissolving into the ocean.

Not even a spark was generated.

The Shadow Beast minion froze.

It seemed perplexed, and very, very slowly, it turned its indistinct, presumably frontal, area towards the source of the attack—Kazami Jin, and the conspicuous metal “stroller” she was in.

It tilted its “head.”

Its posture suggested not that it had been attacked, but rather that it was pondering: ‘Did something just… tickle me?’

One second, two seconds…

Then, a profound silence.

And then—

“ROAR—!!!”

A shriek, far sharper than any before, filled with the absolute fury of an ant-provoked beast, erupted explosively from the Shadow Beast minion!

The previously dim shadows clinging to its form instantly thickened to an inky black, its body seemingly swelling by a full size, and crimson pinpricks of light abruptly flared on its “face,” locking onto Jin in her transport unit.

Without a moment’s hesitation, this thoroughly enraged minion transformed into a furious black lightning bolt, tearing through the air with a malevolent gust as it lunged directly towards Kazami Jin and her “baby carriage”!

Its ferocity clearly indicated an intent to rip apart this detestable little thing, who dared to offend it, along with her “iron shell.”

“!!!”

The color drained instantly from Kazami Jin’s face, her mind utterly blank.

‘It worked… she had successfully attracted the enemy’s attention! And the most berserk kind, at that!’

“Heeelp—!!!”

A piercing scream tore through the factory.

The primal instinct for survival overwhelmed everything; Jin didn’t even have time to think, clutching desperately at the “stroller’s” cold inner wall, her feet instinctively flailing against the ground.

Perhaps extreme fear had unlocked her potential, or perhaps the specially designed “secure transport unit” itself possessed some form of assisted mobility; in any case, just as the Shadow Beast minion’s sharp claws were about to connect with the vehicle—

*Screech—!*

With a grating screech of friction, the heavy metal transport unit actually slid violently backward under Jin’s frantic kicking! And at no small speed!

“Waaahhh—!” Jin screamed, her eyes squeezed shut, her feet pedaling furiously as if on a pair of fire wheels, maneuvering (or rather, being dragged by) the “stroller” across the ground strewn with gravel and discarded parts, performing an utterly chaotic and undignified “speed” drift!

She slid around pillars, crashed through empty oil drums blocking her path, and threaded precariously through narrow gaps.

Behind her, the relentless Shadow Beast minion gave chase, its angry roars incessant, its sharp claws carving deep gouges into the ground.

Ahead, Xia Yue and Lin Wan were still locked in fierce combat with the main horde of Shadow Beasts, momentarily unable to spare a thought for anything else.

“Jin?!”

“Jin!”

Xia Yue and Lin Wan had clearly noticed the sudden turn of events on this side, but they were entangled with an even greater number of Shadow Beasts, unable to disengage.

Lin Wan frantically tried to rush over, but several exceptionally strong Shadow Beasts blocked her path.

Thus, on this chaotic battlefield, a truly bizarre scene unfolded:

While the magical girls battled the Shadow Beast army in a dazzling display of light and shadow, a ‘weakling’ witch, navigating her personal “stroller,” was staging a desperate, high-speed escape, pursued by a thoroughly enraged Shadow Beast minion, driven berserk by her “strongest spell.”