Tokyo: Magical Girl Shatters My Dream of Going Public

Just as Kanzaki was facing the enemy head-on.

Inside the factory, Kurokawa was slowly taking a box of instant noodles out of his locker.

Hearing Kanzaki's report through his earpiece, he unpacked the package while glancing at the live feed from the drone on the screen next to him.

On the rooftop, the bizarre figure, composed of letter paper wings, a long neck, and a single eye, was clearly visible.

In the corner, something seemed to flash by. Upon closer inspection, Kurokawa realized it was a plastic bag.

He didn't take it to heart, tore open the seasoning packet, and said leisurely.

"A new species I've never seen before. But it looks like it's only F-level, so its threat level is probably only [Medium Risk], at most [High Risk]."

As Kurokawa opened the cup noodles and filled a water bottle, he continued into the microphone:

"Wraiths are divided into four categories: resentment type, object spirit type, legend type, and otherworld type. The fleshy person we encountered last time, like the high-speed granny, belongs to the legend type, which grows from ghost stories."

"Judging from its appearance—paper wings, enormous eyeballs, and a 'preferential' view of women—this one in front of us is a typical vengeful spirit. It's the obsession of an extreme stalker or obsessive fan, nurtured by magical energy, that has transformed into this vengeful spirit." Kurokawa paused, "It's a typical vengeful spirit."

Kanzaki remained in a fighting stance on the rooftop, his dark blue tentacles swaying slowly behind him.

He listened to the analysis through his earpiece, his brow furrowing slightly: "Understanding the categories, is that helpful now?"

"Categories point to the origin of birth, and the origin often determines its 'rules'." Kurokawa added while waiting for the water to boil. "If you don't understand the rules, you'll be locked on by the smell of blood, like when facing a flesh-and-blood person, or you'll be manipulated as soon as you look away from a geisha doll, like when facing a geisha doll."

Kanzaki's eyes narrowed.

"So," he stared at the long-necked, single-eyed creature that swayed slowly, "the rules of this thing... are related to 'line of sight'?"

"Smart," Kurokawa praised, but his tone was flat. "However, it's not specific enough. Think about it, what are the most obsessive fans and stalkers obsessed with? What are they most afraid of?"

"Is it about 'being seen' or 'not being seen'? Is it about 'chasing' or 'recording'?"

As if to confirm Kurokawa's speculation, the vengeful spirit with the letter's wings seemed to feel threatened after being "witnessed" by Kanzaki and having a brief standoff.

Its wings, made of countless sheets of paper, flapped suddenly, making an even louder "whoosh" sound. Its long neck snapped back, and its entire body seemed to want to glide away into the night outside the building!

"Trying to run away?"

Kanzaki reacted extremely quickly.

Four eerie blue tentacles shot out from behind him instantly!

The tips of the tentacles hardened and deformed as they shot out, transforming into barbed claws that fiercely grabbed at the vengeful spirit's relatively fragile, outstretched letter-shaped wings, one on the left and one on the right!

Sizzle—!

A piercing tearing sound rang out.

Tentacles and claws embedded themselves deeply into the paper wings, halting its momentum as it was about to take off.

The vengeful spirit let out a sharp cry.

The sound was like a hissing sound composed of countless whispers.

Its long neck suddenly spun around, and the huge eyeball at the top stared intently at Kanzaki, its pupils contracting, making the moonlight reflected in them seem distorted.

Kanzaki's tentacles gripped the vengeful spirit's paper wings tightly.

But the next second, a tremendous force came!

His body suddenly leaned forward, his feet plowing two shallow marks into the roof's waterproofing layer, and he was uncontrollably pulled toward the edge of the building!

He let out a low growl, his leg muscles bulged, the soles of his shoes pressed firmly against the edge of the parapet, his back arched, and he struggled against the dragging force.

The dark blue tentacles were taut and emitted a faint buzzing sound.

"No!" Kanzaki gritted his teeth, his breathing heavy beneath his mask. "This power... isn't the performance of this combat suit too low?!"

He clearly remembered that night in the underground base.

The "young bird" kicks away the fleshy man with brute force, while the "president" cleaves everything in a crimson blade.

In comparison, his own power at this moment seemed to be shackled.

Inside the factory, Kurokawa was waiting for the water to boil. Amidst the rising steam, he calmly said, "Breathe."

"What?"

"Magical girls are born with the ability to manipulate magic. Battle suits are different. They're tools that 'pump' atomized magical energy into your body. To make them more obedient and exert more power..."

"Why not think about your strongest combat style? Adjust your breathing rhythm and control the speed and path of energy flow. Give it a try; it might have a surprising effect."

Kanzaki's eyes narrowed.

Breathing... control...

He immediately cleared his mind of all distractions.

The rhythm of his chest heaving suddenly changed, from rapid and confrontational to deep, steady, and with a unique cadence.

That was the breathing technique he used countless times before life-or-death sniping situations, adjusting his heartbeat to align with the crosshairs of his scope.

As the breath changes, the cool energy flowing into the body seems to be guided by an invisible hand, rushing more evenly and efficiently to every part of the body.

Om-!

The four eerie blue tentacles behind him suddenly glowed brightly!

It seems to have expanded in size!

The data on Kanzaki's watch is synchronized with the data displayed on the factory screen.

liberation rate

31%

35%

39%

46%

51%!

strength!

He clearly felt the increase in power!

"Drink it—!"

Kanzaki's core waist and abdomen erupted with tremendous force, like twisting a rope, combined with the full force of the tentacles behind him pulling back!

The vengeful spirit let out a piercing cry, the wings of the letter were torn and deformed, and its entire body, like a heavy bag of garbage, was swung up and slashed through the air before crashing heavily onto the hardened ground in the center of the roof with a loud bang!

Paper scraps flew everywhere.

This caused quite a commotion.

"Captain," Kurokawa's voice came through, "you might need to hurry. Some residents have turned on their lights."

Kanzaki stood up, panting, and looked at the vengeful spirit that struggled to its feet, its single eye filled with even more intense resentment.

"Received." He said in a deep voice, and with a backhand, he drew a dull black tactical dagger.

With the dagger in hand, he stepped forward and charged straight at the core of the writhing, contracting body of the vengeful spirit.

However, the vengeful spirit moved with unusual slipperiness.

Its body twisted at an illogical angle, the letter's wings suddenly trembled, causing its entire body to slide sideways, and the dagger narrowly grazed past, only shaving off a few pieces of paper.

Kanzaki changed his move swiftly, slashing horizontally with his dagger while his tentacles simultaneously flanked him from the side.

But the vengeful spirit seemed to anticipate his movements and always managed to dodge them by the slightest margin.

Its evasion speed seems to be increasing as the battle continues...?

Kanzaki's gaze was fixed on that enormous eyeball.

The eyeballs were always "staring" at him, the pupils contracting, reflecting his every tiny adjustment in posture.

"Perspective..."

A sudden inspiration struck Kanzaki, and he whispered into his headset.

"Its rule seems to be that when someone is 'watched' by it, their movements can be predicted, and their own evasion ability is enhanced!"

However, before he could finish speaking, the vengeful spirit suddenly retaliated!

The long, gray-white neck shot out like lightning and coiled around it!

It bypassed the tentacles with a strange arc and instantly wrapped around Kanzaki's waist and right arm holding the knife!

shrink!

A terrifying force surged forth, causing the combat suit fibers to groan under the strain.

Kanzaki groaned, feeling as if his ribs were about to be broken.

"It seems it's not just about prediction and dodging..." Kurokawa's voice remained calm, as if he were explaining, "It should be about seeing through weaknesses, seizing vulnerabilities, and defeating the 'enemy' in one strike, typical stalker thinking."

Is there a solution?

Kanzaki squeezed out six words through gritted teeth, and his left arm and the tentacles on his back exerted force at the same time. The muscles and energy tentacles cracked and snapped, forcefully breaking the entanglement around his neck!

In a short time, his power will be even greater!

"Yes. Insert the other card, the [Patrol Speed-Up Plugin], into it."

Dual plug-ins?

Used simultaneously?

Kanzaki did not hesitate.

With lightning speed, he pulled out another black card from his waist, and without even looking at it, slammed it into the second slot on the side of the magic battery!

"Click! Sizzle—!"

"Sizzle—!"

Coincidentally, the kettle in the factory had just boiled water.

The two voices overlapped perfectly in that instant!

An even stronger energy surged through my spine.

Buzz—!!!

A violent energy roar exploded within his body!

The four eerie blue tentacles suddenly burst forth with a dazzling blood-red light!

The light, like living blood vessels, instantly spread and covered the entire tentacle!

Dual-plugin resonance, tentacles stained with ferocious crimson.

Features manifest – [Patrol Acceleration] and [Tentacle Regeneration] are combined.

If the opponent accelerates, the tentacles will accelerate in sync!

Kanzaki attacks.

The dagger flashed with a cold light, and blood-red tentacles followed like a shadow.

The vengeful spirit's paper wings fluttered rapidly, its long neck twisted, and it moved with astonishing speed between the blades and tentacles.

Each perfect dodge seemed to increase its speed by a fraction.

But its acceleration immediately became a catalyst for the tentacles!

laugh!

A seemingly successful side slide to dodge the dagger's slash, but the crimson tentacles suddenly exploded with speed again the instant the old force was exhausted and the new force had not yet been generated!

Its tip, like a blood-red spear, instantly pierced through its body, which was formed from countless prying obsessions!

Blackish-green slurry splattered.

"What...?"

Even Kanzaki himself was slightly taken aback.

The tentacles reacted and accelerated so fast that they exceeded the commands transmitted by his nerves, almost like some kind of autonomous fighting instinct!

After a 0.1-second shock.

"catch!"

Kanzaki had a thought.

The four blood-red tentacles transformed into a crimson lightning storm!

It's no longer a single attack, but a comprehensive and deadly net!

The speed was so fast that the giant single eye didn't have time to "see through" it or predict it!

Puff puff!

The sounds of continuous piercing and entanglement!

Its paper wings were torn to shreds, its long neck was tightly strangled, and its torso was pinned to the ground by the tips of several tentacles!

The outcome is decided.

however--

Just as Kanzaki relaxed slightly, preparing to deliver the final blow and then use the containment cage—

An extremely faint, yet ridiculously fast, sound of something cutting through the air came through!

Behind you!

With his senses heightened to the extreme, Kanzaki felt a chill run down his spine; his fighting instincts compelled him to roll to the side without hesitation.

But it was too late.

Bang! ! !

A solid impact!

An unimaginable force slammed into Kanzaki's back!

Its power far exceeded expectations!

The combat suit's protective gear instantly overloaded, emitting a piercing alarm buzz.

However, the impact was not completely absorbed.

Kanzaki felt a sudden darkness before his eyes, as if he had been hit head-on by a speeding motorcycle, his feet leaving the ground, and he was thrown forward completely out of control.

No.

It flew out towards the empty space beyond the parapet, a space forty-five stories high!

The world seemed to spin upside down before my eyes.

The feeling of weightlessness instantly gripped my heart.

In the desperate moment when his body was vaulting over the low wall and beginning its freefall, Kanzaki used the last bit of control he had left to suddenly turn his head and look at the roof.

I caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of my eye.

The attackers did not fall from the sky.

It has always been there.

It was less than three meters behind him.

At this moment, it is slowly emerging from its completely transparent "invisible" state, revealing a blurry outline.

human form.

But at the head are a pair of deep, dark eyes that seem to suck the entire night sky into them.

The second one.

An invisible... spy.

Kanzaki's figure, like a kite with a broken string, plummeted rapidly into the darkness that swallowed everything below.