The 30-Year-Old Magical Girl - Chapter 42
Compared to the Fish Men they’d encountered earlier…
This one was obviously different.
Although it stood hunched over…
It still measured nearly two meters tall.
Its skin was a sickly bluish-purple.
Bulging muscles stretched beneath it, crisscrossed with thick, swollen veins.
Looking up at the three magical girls hovering above…
It slowly ground its rows of jagged teeth together.
Click.
Click.
Click.
The unsettling sound echoed throughout the underground chamber.
Judging from its behavior…
It was trying to intimidate them.
A warning.
A threat meant to drive intruders away.
“…That one’s dangerous.”
Huangxing instinctively took two steps backward.
“It’s huge…”
“At least four times stronger…”
“No…”
“Maybe even more.”
She swallowed nervously.
“Oh?”
Tidal turned toward her.
“You can tell?”
Although her face remained expressionless…
A trace of approval flickered through her eyes.
When they had fought the Shadow Hunter…
Lao Lin had explained to Raging Flame the simplest method for judging an aberration’s strength—
Observe the scale of its magical particles.
Experienced magical girls relied far more on magical perception than official threat rankings.
By sensing the “size” of an opponent’s magical construct…
They could estimate its true strength.
Take this Fish Man, for example.
Officially…
It was still classified as a D-Rank.
The weakest category.
Yet from Tidal’s perspective…
Its magical energy rivaled that of an ordinary C-Rank aberration.
Most likely…
It was either the leader of the group…
Or a rare mutated individual.
“Haha.”
Raging Flame laughed.
“Four times stronger?”
“That’s way exaggerated.”
“It’s only a little bigger.”
“She isn’t talking about its body.”
Tidal glanced at her.
“She means its magical energy.”
“This Fish Man possesses strength comparable to a C-Rank.”
This was only Huangxing’s second day as a magical girl.
She had received almost no formal instruction.
Barely any real combat experience.
Yet she’d already sensed such subtle differences.
Her talent truly was exceptional.
At the very least…
Far better than her niece’s.
Tidal quietly sighed.
“For now…”
“Let’s call it the Fish Man Leader.”
“Senior.”
Huangxing looked toward her.
“What should we do?”
“…”
Instead of answering…
Tidal looked from Huangxing…
To Raging Flame…
Then simply tilted her chin forward.
Go.
“B-Both of us?”
Huangxing blinked.
“You want us to fight it together?”
“What?”
Raging Flame snorted.
“You don’t want to?”
“Then stay there and watch.”
Without another word…
She shot forward.
Among all of Raging Flame’s shortcomings…
Her willingness to charge fearlessly into battle remained the one quality Tidal genuinely appreciated.
Wrapped in blazing flames…
She streaked through the air like a fiery missile.
“Be careful.”
Tidal calmly reminded them.
“And try not to damage the equipment.”
This underground facility was critical city infrastructure.
If they accidentally destroyed the machinery during combat…
The resulting losses could be enormous.
Magical girls weren’t punished for collateral damage.
But…
Their purpose was to solve problems.
Not create new ones.
“…!”
Remembering Tidal’s warning…
Raging Flame immediately reduced her magical output.
The flames surrounding her body dimmed by nearly one-third.
BOOM!
Her landing shattered the concrete floor beneath her feet.
Cracks spread outward like a spider’s web.
A thick cloud of dust exploded into the air.
For an instant…
Raging Flame completely lost sight of her opponent.
Without hesitation…
She raised her massive greatsword vertically.
Using the broad side of the blade like an oversized fan…
She swung it through the dust.
The powerful gust immediately scattered the haze.
Only then did she realize—
Her attack had missed.
At the very last second…
The Fish Man Leader had retreated.
Now…
It stood several meters away.
Bone spear gripped tightly in its hand.
Its cold eyes remained fixed upon the magical girl before it.
“Hyaah!”
Raging Flame attacked again immediately.
But just as she rushed forward…
A frantic scream echoed from above.
“Move!”
Instinctively…
She slammed on the brakes.
“…?!”
A sharp whistle sliced through the air directly behind her head.
Several strands of crimson hair drifted before her eyes.
It…
Had been Huangxing’s arrow.
Realizing what had nearly happened…
Raging Flame spun around furiously.
“Are you trying to kill me?!”
The arrow had flown exactly along the route she’d charged.
Had she reacted a fraction of a second later…
The one skewered by that arrow…
Would have been her.
Huangxing herself stood frozen in midair.
Still clutching her bow tightly against her chest.
Naturally…
She had never intended to shoot her teammate.
No matter how much she disliked Raging Flame—
Or rather…
You Xi.
But just as she’d released her arrow…
Raging Flame suddenly lunged forward.
By pure coincidence…
Their attack paths had crossed.
“B-But…”
“How was I supposed to know you’d suddenly charge in?!”
Huangxing protested, flustered.
Both angry at Raging Flame…
And angry at herself.
“Have you never played games before?!”
“W-What does gaming have to do with this?!”
“Ranged fighters stay behind the melee!”
“You don’t run into someone else’s firing line!”
“Idiot!”
“Idiot?!”
“You didn’t have to call me that!”
“I didn’t mean to!”
Watching the two girls demonstrate what could only be described as…
Perfectly terrible teamwork…
Tidal quietly rubbed her forehead.
So…
This was what people meant by—
One plus one equals less than one.
She had finally witnessed it firsthand.
“Enough.”
“Stop blaming each other.”
“This is your first mission together.”
“It’s only natural that your coordination isn’t perfect.”
Tidal stepped between them.
Seeing Huangxing’s eyes beginning to redden…
She gently placed a hand atop the girl’s head.
Softly stroking her hair.
The moment her fingers touched Huangxing’s scalp…
She immediately felt how hot it was.
Even beneath her hair…
Sweat had already soaked through.
The pressure and anxiety had clearly driven her body temperature upward.
“It’s alright.”
“Don’t be afraid.”
“And don’t blame yourself.”
“Take a deep breath.”
“Calm down.”
Her voice unconsciously softened.
“O-Okay…”
“I understand…”
“Senior…”
The gentle pat on her head worked surprisingly well.
The tension throughout Huangxing’s body gradually melted away.
Meanwhile…
Raging Flame had already reengaged the Fish Man Leader.
Greatsword collided violently against bone spear.
The battle had entered close-quarters combat.
“…Calm down…”
“Stay calm…”
Huangxing whispered the words to herself…
Like a spell.
Slowly…
She condensed another magical arrow.
“This time…”
“I won’t mess up.”
She drew the bowstring back.
Carefully aiming toward the battlefield unfolding below.
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