V6: Chapter 66: Charge! Beyond the Gate… But What?

Chapter 66: Charge! Beyond the Gate… But What?

The raging scorching wind had finally subsided, and I stepped forward to check inside the gate. I didn't know what was there, but there was no point in being here if I didn't go inside.

"Well then, I'll take the first star☆!"

Several ice mirrors were thrown into the gate, and I was the first to step inside. Objectively speaking, I was the one with the best adaptability and overall capabilities.

"If anything unusual happens, turn back immediately." (Gracia)

"I know, I'll call you if it seems okay."

As I stepped into the gate—the moment the world changed—a burning heat brushed against my cheek.

It wasn't just hot, it was scorching.

The inside of the gate was… like a building.

The reason it's described as "a place like a building" is because the walls, floors, and ceilings are so badly burnt and charred that it's impossible to even tell if the building materials were stone. It's probably only barely discernible that it was once a building.

And on the floor, there was ash and... something that looked like bone.

The metallic-looking substance that had liquefied and stuck to the floor spoke volumes about the destructive power of the attack that had occurred here.

However, the hostile forces were annihilated, and aside from this environment, there didn't seem to be any particular problems.

After returning and calling for reinforcements, Gracia frowned the moment she entered the gate.

"Haa... um... couldn't you have held back a little?"

"Haa... haa... If not here, when else would I fire my ultimate attack!? This is my moment to shine!"

Bradia, breathing heavily, was a little quieter than usual.

Apparently, the way to silence her is to squeeze her as hard as you can. That might be good to know.

The world beyond the gate... even in this otherworldly space, I can feel gravity.

That means this world also operates according to some kind of law... or rather, it's exactly the same as Earth's, right?

"It's like changing channels, I guess. The demon world is just one of the countless channels within the same object called Earth."

"Oh, really?"

Lux popped her head out from outside the gate and answered my question, but... I was terrified of what would happen if the gate closed in this state, so I immediately pushed her back. Besides, a head sticking out of a purple gate is a little creepy.

Come to think of it, I didn't have any trouble with zero gravity when I went to the Succubus city either.

If that's how it works, then it's a convenient place for me.　

"It's wider than I imagined. It would have been nice if it was inside a cave or something..."

"Ah... thankfully, it looks like they came to us?"　

Noticing the Magical Girls invading the demon world by passing through the gate one after another, or perhaps suspicious of the large flames that rose, demons... no, 'External Enemies' began to appear one after another. We were unsure where to go, but...　

"Towards the direction with the most enemies! If we defeat them all!! We'll surely see the leader!!!"

"Hahaha, that might be true, don't you think?"　

A ball of fire swirled before her, and the External Enemies, who had likely been watching the fire from a distance, took a step back. Their morale didn't seem particularly low, but being intimidated by what they had just seen... was a natural reaction for any living creature.　

But that's a fatal reaction in the midst of combat. 　

"Crush them, [Ice Mirror]."

A crunching sound could be heard even from here. They stopped in their tracks, making them easy targets. Gracia's figure, reducing the enemy's numbers with precision and accuracy, was incredibly reassuring.

She was surely shattering their heads with the ice mirrors she generated.

She had always manipulated the ice mirrors with extraordinary precision, but today it felt like her precision had increased even more.

With her being this reliable, perhaps there's no role for me.

Or rather, from beside Gracia, all I can do is throw rubble.

"Just so you know..." (Gracia)

"I know, I won't charge ahead." (Satellite)

The sad thing is, I can't charge into the enemy because I don't want to break formation. 

My magic has a range of 1 meter...

Even though I can do more things now, this rule never changed.

It's probably due to my own consciousness, or perhaps the fundamental reason behind my Magic.

"Sorry, one went that way!"

"Leave it to me~♪"

A pink heart flew towards a wolf-like beast that jumped out... and its form transformed into candy. With its chocolate-colored fur, it changed its posture. With candy-like claws, it attacked the enemies around it.

I knew Flamma had good movements, but of course, the other Magical Girls' movements are also refined. As expected of the hand-picked Magical Girls. It's rather unfortunate that girls this age are so experienced in combat.

Even so, that's some amazing magic. She's definitely a Magical Girl with the same type of rules as me.

Despite their fairytale-like and fancy appearance, what they do is quite brutal.

These Magical Girls annihilate the external enemies approaching the gate at a speed that could be described as ravaging.

As the number of approaching enemies thins out, I look around to observe where I am.

A purple sky, a desolate, barren wasteland.

And the place where the gate opened—the ruins of some kind…presumably an important building.

And amidst all this unfamiliar scenery…a familiar sun.

There's no way to tell if it's real, but it's certainly useful for not losing my bearings in this vast wasteland.

"There were a lot of enemies coming from that direction...but that's about the only clue we have."

"We'll allocate a certain number of people to each direction...but for now, we have no choice but to head that way."

In terms of direction, it's the direction where the sun is shining brightly.

Considering the same direction as Earth, there was a caveat: many of the enemies were coming from the east.

There's no guarantee we'll find anything, but with no clues at all right now... it's worth going to check it out. Sending a certain number of people in other directions... we began walking in that direction.

★

Something's wrong.

It's been a little while since we parted ways, maybe about 30 minutes, since we've been traveling through the wilderness.

Thanks to the intermittent appearances of enemies, we're not lacking landmarks, but...　

"Is everyone tired?"

"N-No, we're fine!"

"Really? Just don't overdo it, okay?"　

No matter how many we defeat, no matter how far we advance, the enemy leader shows no sign of appearing.

Even though his subordinates are being whittled down, he shows absolutely no reaction.

He must surely know that we've advanced towards him by now.

But we shouldn't be so optimistic as to think he might not have noticed.　

Until now, both the first and second Demon Kings have appeared with a considerable number of followers.

Does that mean the enemy has a large number of followers?

Even so, in a random battle like this, it doesn't seem like it would be effective...

"Everyone seems to be unharmed."

That's right, in fact, none of us have suffered a single noticeable injury so far.

Honestly, I don't think deploying forces piecemeal is a very wise choice.

The reaction of the hidden gate, and simultaneous attacks on multiple locations.

Would the Third Demon King, who has surely planned this meticulously, really waste troops here without reason? To wear us down? Or is there another reason...

"Gracia, does Bradia ​​still have some energy left?"

"Of course. She's probably the only one going all out without thinking about the consequences."

"Hah... I can't hear... ugh..."

Saying that, I turned my gaze to where Bradia was, unleashing a fireball with all her might, aiming to burn the ground to ashes. Well, it doesn't really seem like she's going all out, though. Otherwise, she wouldn't have had the stamina to last this long.

A growing sense of urgency is building within us. We don't have much time; if the time limit arrives like this... unlike us who are holding the inside of the gate, the enemy invasion will begin in other cities.

That... we want to avoid.

A slow, unpleasant sense of impatience is building up. If we continue as a group and time runs out, half the meaning of coming here will be lost. Therefore, we must make a decision.

"Let's split up the group here to some extent. We're not getting anywhere like this, so let's continue exploring in two-man teams as originally planned."

"...That would be wiser."

That was the original plan, but the situation beyond the gate was different from what we expected, which is why we ended up acting as a group. One reason for forming a two-person team is simply to increase the efficiency of exploration by expanding the areas to explore, but...

"Well then, we'll go ahead, but please don't forget the way back... and don't overdo it, okay?"

"I know it's strange coming from us who are going ahead, but getting back safely is the most important thing. Even after stopping the invasion, the threat of external enemies remains."

That's simply because there's no one who can keep up with my speed.

I activate my magic, my unique magic.

The gravity around me—I negate its laws.

"Well then, Gracia, stay close to me? It's dangerous if you're far away☆"

"As always, your magic is completely crazy..."

I float up gently, intentionally generating only gravity around my feet to stay on the ground. I picked up Gracia ​​in a princess carry, and her beautiful face came very close to mine. Then she turned her face away, looking a little embarrassed.

The friction around me—I won't allow that rule.

Now the shackles that bound us to the ground are gone.

And nothing that would stop our flight will apply anymore.

I looked around, ready to take off…

"[Satellite—"

As I called out, everyone's eyes turned to us… or rather, to me.

…Uh oh...

I tried to attract attention with momentum and enthusiasm, but… I've never thought of a name for a technique when flying, so I don't have one, do I? Of course not. Should I pretend to be thinking and desperately try to come up with one? Um… well… okay.

 "—Leap☆]"　

Along with those words, which were so straightforward, the scenery---blurred.

They quickly disappeared from view, replaced by a constantly changing, uninteresting wasteland.

We soared into the sky, maintaining our speed and moving in a straight line at a constant velocity.

The blurring vision before us, like something out of fast-forward, still showed scattered figures of enemies.　

"Ah, what's that---"　

Ah, damn it. We hit something.

'It' scattered blood, flesh, and guts with a splat, its wings torn off as it fell to the ground...and we continued flying ahead. Glad we had that makeshift barrier up. 　

"H-huh?! Are you really sure it's okay?!"

"Don't worry? Even armor-piercing rounds can't penetrate it... I think... trust me?"

"I do trust you! But that's a completely different matter!"　

Perhaps it was a mistake to be engrossed in such small talk. It must have been a mistake.

We were careless and slow to notice the building that was rapidly approaching us.　

"Ah, dodge... impossible huh? Prepare for impact, okay?"

"Wait a minute? What are we going to hit next...?!"　

The world shook, and silent screams were drowned out by the sound of impact. In the end... with a "thud" that couldn't possibly come from a human body, we crashed into a building that looked exactly like a castle.　

In a way, you could say we achieved our original objective... perhaps.