Regarding the fact that my best friend is a magical girl

Another water gun came, still targeting Seruno. This strange woman seemed to know she couldn't hit me, and didn't waste any effort to stop me.

The water gun was extremely fast, and Seruno, unable to dodge in time, had her protective shield shattered. However, she still raised her ruby ​​wand, a symbol of magical girls, and summoned countless closely packed air cushions on the water's surface.

I see. Since a single membrane covering the water surface is easily broken, we can distribute the damage by creating a large number of membranes. However, the cost is... Seruno was already a little overwhelmed after just this one move.

"Serno, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, please go and stop her, Miss Miluno!"

"Ah."

Looking towards the center of the lake, there is only a huge membrane there, blocking the cocoon from the water's surface.

"time-freeze".

Everything around was almost still. I climbed over the fence on the lake shore and rushed towards the giant cocoon on Seruno's air cushion.

I have to deal with her before she finishes evolving. This troublesome guy gives me a bad feeling; she's stronger than any monster I've ever encountered.

Fortunately, having a foothold, she lost the means to prevent me from getting close.

Stepping on the soft air cushion, I rushed in front of her, my dark gold short sword piercing into the churning iron curtain of chains.

If it weren't for the air cushion, I would have fallen into the lake by now.

“mahou-shoujoslash!”

(Note: This reference is from Ultraman.)

In an instant, he broke through the tenfold limit of his time flow. The short sword tore through the monster's protective shield like a hot knife through butter, the chains were shattered, and he also caught a glimpse of the evolving female monster.

The oversized and ugly witch's hat had vanished without a trace, and I finally caught a glimpse of her clear features. Silver-blue scales covered only her lower jaw, and apart from her shark-like sharp teeth, her facial features were indistinguishable from those of a human, even exquisite. Emerald green lake water formed her long hair, flowing slowly behind her as time seemed to stand still...

This strange woman is actually quite pretty.

But I have no intention of showing her any mercy. I will end her life in the blink of an eye before she can even react. This will be my final act of kindness towards the weirdo.

Having made up my mind, I thrust my short sword into the throat covered with slanted scales.

……wrong.

Sensing something was wrong, I retreated like a shrimp.

The next second, the chains, water curtain, and even the short swords that made up the cocoon all shot out in a certain direction like shattered blades.

The target isn't me, but what's behind me... Seruno?!

She sat exhausted on the lakeshore, without any protective shield, and even if she had, it might not have been able to withstand the strange man's desperate gamble.

Seemingly convinced that her desperate gamble was about to succeed, the strange woman was grinning.

Tsk.

Even if you kill her now, it won't stop the barrage of comments.

I turned and ran towards Seruno on the shore, but the chaotic barrage of attacks was incredibly fast, as if she had been preparing for this attack for a long time inside her cocoon.

If ten times isn't enough, then thirteen... fifteen times!

The moment I accelerated again, the burden on my body became even heavier, my bones felt like they were about to fall apart, every step I took felt like I was moving through cement slurry, and even breathing became difficult...

Fifteen times is too much of a stretch.

But I have to protect that idiot.

In the excessively quiet moment, I bypassed the overwhelming barrage of comments.

I crashed through the railing on the riverbank and stopped in front of Seruno.

I felt dizzy from lack of oxygen, but I couldn't touch her directly yet.

At fifteen times the current flow rate, even slight contact will cause her great harm, let alone pushing her out of the attack range.

I turned around again, gripped my short sword tightly, and prepared to face the ensuing "Itano Circus"...

However, you have to hide in the real circus.

And I had no choice but to accept it.

I swung my sword to block the first water blade. The water that struck my short sword shattered into smaller needles, but I didn't have time to deal with those, because this was just the beginning; there were still more dangerous chains and blade fragments to come.

The density is extremely high. Even at 15x speed, I couldn't possibly catch all the bullets. Just like the movie scene where a samurai sword cuts through bullets is indeed cool, but I didn't see the director arrange for several machine guns, because it's simply impossible according to common sense!

More importantly, I don't have much time left.

The physical strain and lack of oxygen from traveling at 15 times the speed would kill me, even if it only took a few seconds in reality.

But I can't dodge it either; Seruno, whose physical abilities are worse than mine, couldn't possibly withstand it... but I might be able to.

Having made up my mind, I faced Seruno, opened my arms, restored the flow of my time to normal, and prepared to take everything on my back.

...I never imagined I would struggle to this extent.

In an instant, I was slammed into Seruno by the dense barrage of bullets behind me.

Chapter Twenty-Three: What Should Be Protected

(Sun Yao)

Everything happened within half a minute.

Miluno broke through the monster's defenses.

Then they saw the strange man fire a barrage of bullets in their direction.

When I came to my senses, I only had time to support her not-so-strong body. Although it was just a blur, I could imagine what she had done. The protective barrier I had put on was torn apart in an instant, and a barrage of bullets rained down on her back. Each heavy blow was transmitted to me through her body.

She seemed to have lost consciousness.

His not-so-strong back was riddled with several fragments and countless lacerations, even his battle armor was shattered.

Miss Milno, who has never been defeated and can finish off any monster in five minutes, is practically invincible. Yet, she did it to protect... to save someone like me...

"……Why?"

"Serno! Pull yourself together!"

The earpiece carried Ms. Kagerou's exasperated scolding.

"Miluno isn't dead, and that weirdo isn't dead either! There's no time for you to be depressed!"

Raise your head.

In the distance, the distorted female monster conjured a new water gun from the lake.

The brighter the emerald light, the greater its power.

Unlike the "Thunder God's" steel spikes that need to grow before they can be fired, the water gun doesn't have a fixed shape, so it's difficult for me to cover it with bubbles. Besides, as long as there's water, it has a continuous supply of ammunition, while I don't have that much magic left to intercept every single water gun.

Even if we intercept it, so what?

I have no means to retaliate. Should I drown the other party again?

This strange creature can definitely breathe underwater, after all, it looks like a shark.

"Even Miluno is helpless, what can I do..."

"Coward! Stand up! You only chose the name Seruno because you like Miluno! She fell down to save you, and you're here crying?"

Ms. Kagerou roared into her headphones.

But she was absolutely right; I really am a loser.

The magical girl's demeanor is all an act, and her feminine behavior is just a clumsy imitation. The real me is just a disgusting fat otaku to Kagerou-san.

After Harirou was seriously injured and hospitalized, even her idol collapsed before her eyes... I don't deserve to be a magical girl, do I?

“Miss Seruno, please calm down and listen to me. This is Spica, the head of the Tactics Division of the Magical Girl Association. Now that Miss Seruno has fallen, I need you to take over this operation.”

The person on the other end of the headset has changed.

Unlike Ms. Kagerou, this officer named Spica had a cold, emotionless voice.

I sighed, "...What else can I do?"

"Keep the target occupied. Other magical girls are on their way to provide support. I need you to protect yourself and the unconscious Milno... Also, I will be involved in this operation as well. Please hold on for another three minutes."

As she spoke, a familiar phase wormhole appeared overhead.

However, the ring is pure white.

"...Another weirdo is coming?"

"No, that's wormhole technology being tested by the association."

Does the association also possess wormhole technology?

"...So, is Miss Spica also a magical girl?"

"I used to be, but I've been retired for a long time. Let me reintroduce myself. My code name as a magical girl is Spica, or you can call me Virgo."

"Virgo?!"

Spica, one of the original seven magical girls.

In contrast to the "God of War" Fomalhaut, she was a strategist known as the "Sage of Strategy"... It turns out that she was the one who established the Tactical Division.

During the conversation, the monster's water gun attacked again. I raised an air bubble to shield Miluno, but it was easily pierced through. I was also knocked down by the weakened water gun and soaked all over.

It really hurts so much.

Even though the water gun had been dulled by the bubbles, it still felt like a strong man's fist when it hit me. I lay on my back on the ground in pain, wiping the liquid on my face that I couldn't tell if it was lake water or tears.

"See? I can't even withstand a single shot. Star Crystal chose the wrong person. I simply don't have the qualifications."

spica……

Virgo said, "Serno, your Star Crystal once belonged to my comrade-in-arms, the Vega star known as the Celestial Fortress. More memorable than her powerful destructive force was her dedication to 'protection'... Perhaps the forms are different, but I knew from the first glance at your magic that you also obtained this power for 'protecting' something."

She was saying encouraging words, but I was knocked down by the water gun again, and my magic was almost depleted.

That weird woman's water gun, with its twisted sense of humor, always targets Miluno who's lying on the ground. Picking on the weak seems to be her habit. She knows I won't dodge, and she knows I can't stop her... But if this continues, I'll die.

"What can these fragile bubbles protect?"

"That's a question you need to ask yourself."