Bathed in the moonlight, the Magical Girl Scarlet Moon gripped her Magic Wand and flew rapidly toward the rooftop of the building across from her.
As she flew, Scarlet Moon swept her gaze over the surroundings.
Among the 100 households in the entire residential complex, not a single light was on.
Some residents, baffled by the sudden blackout, had gathered in groups of three or five to complain.
Clearly, there was a problem with the entire complex’s power supply system, and the source of the trouble was likely on the rooftop of the building right in front of Scarlet Moon.
The substation for the complex was located there.
As long as she resolved the issue there, power would be fully restored to the area.
Of course, if the culprit behind the substation’s failure really was a Witch, Scarlet Moon—with her current strength—would have no way to face her head-on.
After all, Scarlet Moon was currently just a weak, bottom-tier C-rank, a literal nobody among the many Magical Girls.
Ever since she became a Magical Girl, she had been working hard to raise her level.
Unfortunately, she was not skilled at long-range attacks.
Every time she went on a mission, she tried to solve the problem with aggressive melee combat.
However, before she could even charge toward her target, another Magical Girl would usually obliterate it with a Magic Cannon.
She was left to grind experience by hacking away at weak small fry.
As a result, after an entire mission, her accumulated experience points barely even reached double digits.
This was why she remained at the absolute bottom despite working hard for one month.
‘Well, even though my ranged attacks are total garbage, my flying speed is one of the best among Magical Girls of the same rank. If something unexpected happens, I can make a clean getaway.’
Scarlet Moon had a clear understanding of her own abilities.
This trip was not meant for a direct confrontation with a troublemaking Witch; instead, she was acting as a Moving Ward to report the situation to the Magical Girl Headquarters.
Although providing intelligence would grant her experience points, the increase was nowhere near as significant as direct combat.
‘If it’s possible, I really want to chop a Witch with my own hands to collect a massive wave of experience!’
‘Wait. Maybe after I get back, I should just chop that Witch who swallowed my brother!’
Even though that girl had not had time to cause any destruction yet, she was still a fledgling Witch.
Killing her would surely provide enough experience to successfully rank up to B-rank.
If that happened, she could properly show off to everyone else.
While fantasizing about her future, Scarlet Moon increased her altitude and quickly reached the air above the building’s rooftop.
As she expected, the substation lines had been severed.
Countless electrical sparks crackled and flashed at the cuts in the wires.
However, to her surprise, the one destroying the wires was not a Witch, but a silver-blue Hajimi.
This Hajimi was covered in flickering electrical arcs as if it were the incarnation of lightning itself.
Although the creature looked cute, its physique was a size larger than a tiger’s.
It was like a smiling tiger with the bulk of a bull; it was hard to imagine what it had eaten to grow so large.
Seeing this grease-slicked electric Hajimi gnawing on the substation wires like a common rat, Scarlet Moon froze for a moment.
Then, as if realizing something, she suddenly slapped her own face.
This world was frequently attacked by unknown creatures called Witches.
Whenever a Witch appeared, the Magic Power Fluctuation they released would immediately destroy everything around them, causing widespread damage to the city.
After the Magical Girls finished subjugating a Witch, they also had to handle the aftermath.
Not only did they have to restore the damaged city to its original state, but they also had to completely eliminate the residual magic power left behind by the Witch.
Otherwise, it would trigger an Anomaly, causing plants, animals, or even humans to undergo physical mutations.
Just like the large Hajimi in front of her.
The reason this Hajimi had turned out like this was entirely because she had forgotten to clear the residual magic power when she abducted that Witch who swallowed her brother and brought her home.
This had caused the unlucky Hajimi to suffer a sudden mutation and start slurping up the electricity from the substation like milk tea.
In other words, this blackout was entirely her own fault.
“It can’t be helped. I don’t know whose cat you are, but for the peace of the entire complex, I have no choice but to take you down, even if it hurts! I didn’t fail you; the world failed you!”
As Scarlet Moon said this, she brandished her Magic Wand, looking righteous and ready for battle like a hero.
Since the cause of the disaster was not a Witch but just an accidentally mutated Hajimi, there was no need for her to act as a mere Moving Ward.
A monster of this level was something she could easily handle in two or three strikes.
“Limited Release: Sword!”
After landing on the rooftop, Scarlet Moon performed a brief chant.
The Magic Wand in her hand transformed into two long swords—one red and one blue—which she gripped firmly. She intended to use her best skill, melee combat, to take down the large Hajimi.
After all, her ranged attacks were pathetic, and the area near the large Hajimi was a substation that was still mostly intact.
If she accidentally missed with a magic bullet and blew up the transformer box, the consequences would be unthinkable.
“Witness the Two-Sword Style I’ve trained so hard for! Behold, my Seventeen Slashes in Two Seconds!”
Faster than the eye could see, Scarlet Moon’s figure moved like a bolt of lightning.
In the blink of an eye, she charged in front of the large Hajimi, swinging her twin swords in a relentless flurry of cuts.
The Hajimi let out pained yowls.
It was like a punching bag, stuck in place and left to her mercy.
“The final blow!”
Scarlet Moon leaped into the air, her body spinning rapidly like a small top as she hacked down heavily toward the Hajimi’s neck.
Although the scene looked a bit like animal cruelty, it was all to restore power to the residents.
They would surely be grateful to her.
Once she dealt with this large Hajimi, everything would return to its proper track.
Then she could have her final battle with the Witch who swallowed her brother and kill her to use as a stepping stone for her rank-up.
The thought of being watched with admiration by other Magical Girls once she became a B-rank Magical Girl made her feel ecstatic.
However, reality ruthlessly slapped her in the face.
To her surprise, her final strike failed to take off the Hajimi’s head; she didn’t even manage to cut through its skin.
On the contrary, her series of maneuvers caused the Hajimi’s anger to skyrocket.
After a deafening hiss, countless bolts of lightning suddenly descended from the sky, striking toward Scarlet Moon.
Unable to comprehend why her strongest attack had dealt zero damage, Scarlet Moon didn’t have time to think.
She hurriedly jumped back away from the large Hajimi, desperately dodging the falling lightning.
If she were unlucky enough to be hit by a bolt, it would be disastrous; her Magical Girl combat suit was not insulated at all.
However, while she was dodging, Scarlet Moon accidentally tripped over a bundle of wires.
She lost her balance and fell backward.
Seeing their opening, the numerous lightning bolts concentrated their fire and slammed down toward her.
Unable to react in time, Scarlet Moon screamed internally. ‘Oh no!’
But at that critical moment, a water-based shield suddenly enveloped her.
When the lightning bolts hit the shield, they were instantly absorbed.
After a brief silence, the lightning was discharged back out from the shield, crackling as it struck the large Hajimi nearby.
The creature was instantly fried to a crisp, falling to the ground dead.
“Huh?”
Sitting on the ground, Scarlet Moon stared blankly at the scene.
Suddenly, sensing someone approaching, she jerked her head back to look.
She was shocked to find the silver-haired Witch who had swallowed her brother standing at the nearby stairwell, staring at her with a doubtful expression.
“Sister, are you really that incompetent? How can you not even handle a little scrub like this?”