Chapter 20: The Arrival of Great Aum

When the colossal roar erupted, the Magical Girls immediately sprang into action.Ink Crystal perceived a “trajectory.”

As Teacher Lin had explained, when the distance was vast enough, the field of vision wide enough, and an opponent’s single movement couldn’t escape one’s sight, it ceased to be teleportation.

“Ink Crystal: Hornet Sting!”

She transformed into a streak of inky black light, colliding with a masked figure who had just reached their operational limit.

Yet, unlike the sensation of piercing the Sheep Mask earlier, Ink Crystal acutely realized her sword had struck nothing but air.

‘But how could this be?’

‘Didn’t these monsters enter a state of rigidity after their burst of power? Why, why had she missed?’

She observed the monster before her, its face adorned with a Snake Mask.

A woman…

She noticed the figure’s curvaceous form, which perfectly matched the common perception of a “snake woman,” with what one might call a “water snake waist.”

However, this was not the crucial detail.

Because—

The opponent hadn’t evaded her attack by moving, but rather by contorting their body into an exaggerated arc, as if utterly devoid of bones.

She knew some girls online enjoyed showcasing their yoga prowess. ‘Could this be a similar phenomenon?’

‘In other words, the rigidity these monsters experienced wasn’t absolute. They could still move within a small range, just not unleash a burst of speed?’

‘Right, after its high-speed movement earlier, it had still managed to kick Amethyst away. It wasn’t truly incapacitated.’

‘A miscalculation.’

The moment she realized her attack had missed, she knew something was terribly wrong.

She immediately spun, ready to cleave at her opponent.

Yet, even accounting for this, did she possess any other offensive methods? None.

Ink Crystal profoundly felt the inadequacy of her own techniques.

Even if she were to directly attack this monster head-on, the opponent could likely evade her blows with their astonishing flexibility, even without serious effort.

‘Area-of-effect attack skills…’

She realized she desperately needed such an ability.

Her Hornet Sting was not swift enough to allow her to vanish from an opponent’s line of sight at close range, as this foe could.

‘If faced with such a monster…’

In the very next instant, the Snake Mask appeared behind her.

Knowing these creatures favored such tactics, her sword was already arcing backward in a thrust the moment the opponent materialized.

“Oh my~ That’s not the reaction one would expect from a fledgling girl. I thought the newly born Ink Crystal would be an easy target.”

Her sword struck empty air. Ink Crystal knew the opponent had once again evaded her thrust with that uncanny flexibility.

‘How utterly disgusting.’

‘Could a purely physical enemy be this formidable?’

‘Or was she simply too weak?’

A second Ink Crystal sword materialized abruptly in her hand.

Wielding two swords should allow her to restrict the opponent’s movements to some extent.

However, she was not proficient in dual-wielding, nor did she possess anything that could truly be called swordsmanship.

She merely attempted to restrict the opponent’s range of motion based on her own intuition.

“While I’d love to fight you and eliminate you, I’m afraid, Magical Girl Ink Crystal, I don’t have the time or resources to spare. I must depart.”

“Don’t go!”

In the next instant, the opponent vanished from her sight.

She directly shattered the Ink Crystal barrier Ink Crystal had conjured, then disappeared completely.

‘She couldn’t keep up.’

She had failed to inflict any damage while the opponent was in a rigid state, proving herself utterly outmatched by the Snake Mask.

Her survival was solely due to the coordinated actions of the numerous Magical Girls, forcing her opponent into a hasty retreat.

‘Absurd.’

‘To let someone escape just like that?’

‘If so, this entire operation would be compromised because of her…’

Suddenly, a figure came hurtling back.

Ink Crystal froze.

She saw the Snake Mask, struggling to crawl on the ground, attempting to rise.

‘Huh?’

‘What just happened?’

“Kamen Rider! Great Aum!”

‘What?’

Ink Crystal was utterly dumbfounded, rooted to the spot.

‘Kamen Rider?’

‘Great Aum?’

‘Great… Creator?’

Years of reading novels had taught her the meaning behind the letters “Aum.” A represented birth, U transformation, and M destruction.

Birth, transformation, destruction—symbolizing a Creator beyond time.

‘No, wait, buddy, this is a Magical Girl, Monster, and Demonic Beast setting! Where did you, a Kamen Rider, even come from? I’ve never heard of such a thing!’

Just like in the Kamen Rider shows Ink Crystal had watched, the figure was clad in inexplicably cool white armor, emblazoned with a large capital “A.”

Its helmet vaguely resembled an insect’s head, yet it was not at all grotesque; the prominent red eyes were particularly striking.

‘What in the world was this thing?’

Ink Crystal couldn’t discern the Kamen Rider’s true nature, but she observed the Snake Mask’s agonizing state. Even with regenerative abilities, she seemed to have sustained severe injuries from that last attack.

“Damn it! What in the world are you?!”

The Snake Mask appeared far more flustered than Ink Crystal.

She had clearly broken through the Magical Girls’ blockade and chosen Ink Crystal as a theoretically easy opponent. So why?

‘Why had she been kicked back like that?’

‘Was this even logical?’

‘Hadn’t her physical body been enhanced to an extreme degree? If it were purely a contest of physical strength, Magical Girls shouldn’t be able to contend with them. Yet, why?’

‘With just one kick, all her internal organs shattered, and she was almost snapped in half?’

‘Why did a single kick leave her teetering on the brink of death? If not for her extraordinary regenerative abilities, would she have died instantly?’

‘Was this a power a human being should possess?’

‘Kamen Rider, what in the world is this thing?! Such a being shouldn’t exist in the real world!’

“Damn it!”

She realized she was absolutely no match for this Kamen Rider. With Magical Girl Ink Crystal nearby, being caught in a pincer attack would surely mean her demise today.

‘But retreat?’

The moment they fled the hospital, all of them had witnessed it.

The brutal, instantaneous death of the Dragon Mask at the hands of Magical Girl Rainbow Jade.

It was a display of violence that left no room for retaliation.

The Dragon Mask, supposedly the strongest among them, the very founder of their organization, had not survived ten seconds against Rainbow Jade!

Furthermore, had it not been for the Dragon Mask’s dying struggles, their initial super-high-speed escape might have been cut short, and they would have been impaled by Rainbow Jade.

The suffocating sensation of being locked onto by Rainbow Jade’s spear…

‘Returning was impossible. Rainbow Jade’s spear lock must have a range, and her own movement speed shouldn’t be fast… No, perhaps it was because the Dragon Mask had ordered them to scatter and flee.’

Only then did she finally grasp the Dragon Mask’s painstaking efforts.

‘In other words, Rainbow Jade would remain guarding the hospital. Anyone who turned back would die.’

If she wished to survive, she had to overcome these two beings before her.

Magical Girl Ink Crystal, and this Kamen Rider Great Aum, who had appeared from who knew where!

Cold sweat trickled from her temples, yet she dared not remove her Snake Mask. Once her identity was exposed, she would have nowhere to hide.

‘Who knew where hidden surveillance might be lurking?’

‘At that point, she would face the Magical Girls’ relentless pursuit.’

‘She absolutely had to survive.’

Having fought so hard to overcome cancer, and even resorting to this power for it, she couldn’t possibly die here. She still had so much left to do, so many unfulfilled dreams! How could she fall in a place like this?

She absolutely could not die! She had to live! Strive to, and at any cost, live!

Under these desperate circumstances, in a fleeting second, the Snake Mask made her choice.

She launched an attack at Ink Crystal.

Ink Crystal was not foolish. As the Snake Mask assessed the situation, she too made her own judgment, arriving at almost the same conclusion.

‘Killing Magical Girl Ink Crystal, or taking her hostage, was the only way to survive.’

‘She’ll attack from the front!’

Ink Crystal made this judgment because her previous attack had come from behind.

She thrust her sword directly forward.

The Snake Mask suddenly materialized before her, once again demonstrating her body’s incredible flexibility. She narrowly scraped past Ink Crystal’s sword, evading the attack, which meant this strike, too, had been rendered ineffective.

“How is that possible!”

“You’re thinking a bit too simply, Snake Mask. Your body is indeed flexible, but your mind is surprisingly not as sharp—that seems to be your flaw.”

Ink Crystal merely stated this.

At that very moment, Kamen Rider appeared.

“Great! Flying Kick!”

Ink Crystal didn’t know when he had taken off, but the Flying Kick landed precisely the instant the Snake Mask stiffened.

It tore a gaping hole directly through her body.

Flesh writhed across her body.

Her regenerative abilities immediately began to heal her.

“Mr. Great Aum!” Ink Crystal asked politely, “Is there any way to finish her off for good?”

Great Aum simply shook his head.

It seemed Mr. Kamen Rider wasn’t the talkative type.

Ink Crystal gazed at the regenerating Snake Mask.

“Then, this is the only way…”

Several Ink Crystal swords materialized in Ink Crystal’s hand.

She then plunged them, one by one, into the Snake Mask’s body.

This would cause prolonged blood loss, keeping her in a state of severe injury, unable to fully regenerate.

‘Her regeneration must have a limit. Once that limit was reached, she likely wouldn’t be able to regenerate anymore.’

“This should take care of it…”

She thought to herself.

She was about to inquire further about Mr. Kamen Rider’s situation.

Then, a beetle-headed motorcycle suddenly appeared. Kamen Rider promptly leaped onto it, then sped away.

“Kamen Rider…”

She glanced at the Snake Mask, impaled by her Ink Crystal swords.

‘He shouldn’t leave…’

‘That Kamen Rider—who was he, exactly?’

‘Since he operated under a mask, he clearly didn’t want his true identity known. This was akin to the cognitive interference magic inherent to Magical Girls.’

‘Regardless, he had helped her. If her very first mission had ended in failure, she wouldn’t have known what to do.’

‘If they ever met again, she would certainly have to express her gratitude.’

‘If she offered money, would he even accept it?’