A scorching, dense red barrage poured from the helicopter in an instant, hammering the ground like a raging storm.

The lanky Demon stared blankly at the judgment descending from the sky. By instinct, it tried to flee into a nearby building.

“Open fire!”

At the captain’s command, the special ops members hiding inside the building pulled their triggers at the same time.

That weak level of firepower could only slow the Demon a little. But that brief instant was already enough.

In that split second, the blood-red iron rain covered its entire body. The heavy-caliber rounds hit with such force that they pinned it to the ground like a stapler.

Very quickly, a huge crater was blasted into the asphalt road, dirt spraying everywhere.

No matter how airheaded Yukieda was, even she knew this was the moment.

She gathered all the magic power in her body into her right hand. Warm magic glowing white spiraled inward, pouring into the musket. Her snow-white hair stirred without wind, and the white lace at her cuffs snapped loudly in the air.

And yet, the terrifying part was this.

The pitch-black figure struggled slowly, as if it had a mountain strapped to its back. That Demon was actually forcing itself up under the nonstop barrage of modern gunfire. It was trying to crawl out of the pit.

No way.

The special ops captain closest to it saw everything clearly. He instinctively reached for his waist.

“I’m out of grenades...”

“Hey! Anyone still got grenades?!”

“No! No!”

They were a unit assigned to escort civilians during evacuation. They hadn’t prepared for a direct engagement at all. Naturally, they weren’t carrying much equipment.

Worst of all, the submachine gun magazines in their hands were almost empty too.

The squad leader could already tell that the moment their fire stopped, that monster would seize the chance and crawl out of the pit.

But what were they supposed to do?

It wasn’t just him. Mai, who was operating the drones, had noticed the same outcome. He tried to keep his voice steady, but a trace of urgency still slipped through.

“How much longer, Yukieda? How much longer?!”

No reply came through the headset.

At that moment, Yukieda recalled the fear that had once ruled her student days: long-distance running.

She had drawn out every last bit of magic in her body. She was so exhausted she couldn’t say a single word. She couldn’t even manage to listen to others speaking.

Her mind was a blur. Only one belief remained.

I have to reach the finish line.

The Demon naturally noticed the growing sphere of magic too. Instinctive fear made it want to dodge, so its struggle became even more frantic. It was actually about to stand up!

No... no good. I don’t have a single drop left.

Yukieda collapsed flat on the rooftop like an emptied tube of ointment. Her limp right hand could no longer hold anything. As the musket fell, it turned into a cluster of white phosphorescence and vanished with a pop.

And in front of her, a massive sphere of light flew straight at the Demon.

The energy packed inside it was so excessive that it even glowed with a warm yellow tint.

Click. Click.

The last submachine gun was out of ammo too!

The crazed Demon immediately lurched toward the edge of the pit, like a zombie fresh out of a coffin.

Aside from Yukieda, whose mind was blank and face vacant, everyone’s expression turned grim.

In the next moment, every drone still functioning slammed into the Demon.

All the drone observation windows in front of Mai turned to static. Then the screens went black, leaving only a single line of text.

“off line.”

“How is it, Mr. Kenji?!”

With the live view gone and Yukieda giving no response, Mai could only contact Kenji.

“It worked.”

Mai rubbed his head hard with both hands, then stood up.

He was going to the scene. There was no point in staying here any longer.

Meanwhile, on the helicopter—

The instant the magic exploded, the whole sky lit up like day. The monster was swallowed by smoke once again.

Even so, Kenji didn’t dare relax. There was no joy on his face. He simply kept firing in silence, emptying the mounted machine gun down to the very last round.

He had seen too many people start celebrating at halftime. Because of that, he firmly believed the world had certain hidden rules. The moment you got too full of yourself, the god called reality would smash you over the head.

The helicopter slowly approached and switched on its searchlight.

The smoke cleared. The Demon in the pit was motionless. Most of its body tissue was already gone. Only its signature pair of long claws remained.

Whoosh. A rope was dropped.

Kenji quickly took his rifle and slid down the rope.

He walked to the edge of the pit, then jumped in. The soil under his feet was soft and scorching hot.

He inspected the remains carefully. Then the corner of his mouth lifted slightly, and he switched his earpiece to the public channel.

“Hah... confirmed dead.”

Ignoring the faint cheers coming through the earpiece, Kenji let out a long breath and looked up at the night sky. He wanted a cigarette, but after patting his pockets, he found nothing.

Climbing out of the crater, he figured the next thing to do was pick up Yukieda.

Magical Girls had extremely tough physiques. They looked delicate, but as long as they didn’t die on the spot, they usually recovered.

Because of that, Kenji had heard that some twisted rich people liked playing strange games with them. And some Magical Girls under heavy psychological stress would choose similar methods to vent.

After receiving word that the area was safe, the helicopter landed as well. It was loading the wounded, while the special ops members gathered together and talked among themselves.

The cleanup from here would naturally be handled by people more specialized.

Two Demons had appeared in the Shiratsuru district in less than ten days. A frequency that high could only mean one thing—

There was a Witch in the Shiratsuru district.

Just thinking about it was a headache. One Demon had already been this hard to deal with, let alone its superior unit, a Witch.

It should be around here.

Kenji looked up and moved through the deserted residential area.

He remembered Yukieda hadn’t been far from the Demon, though she should’ve been on a rooftop.

Muttering a quick apology in his heart, he kicked open the front door of a house. He didn’t take off his shoes and stepped straight onto the clean wooden floor. He planned to climb up and get a look from the roof.

The moment Kenji climbed onto the rooftop, a sudden shiver ran through him.

And not just him. Everyone in the Shiratsuru district felt it.

As if by unspoken agreement, they all turned to look in the same direction.

In a sea of darkness, the faintest candlelight draws the eye the most.

So what if it were the reverse?

Moonlight spilled over the Ryosan Third District. On a red rooftop, what stood there was pure chill and pure evil.

A Witch!

Kenji immediately braced his rifle against his shoulder, ready to fire!

Then he noticed Yukieda, her neck gripped in someone’s hand. She wasn’t struggling. He couldn’t tell whether she was dead or merely unconscious.

With sheer force of will, he restrained the hand itching to pull the trigger. He could feel his heart pounding wildly.

Chaotic voices erupted through the earpiece.

Suddenly, every hair on Kenji’s body stood on end, as if a venomous snake had locked onto him.

He blinked once, and the Witch was already standing right in front of him.

Now Kenji saw clearly. His teeth ground together with a sharp clatter.

“You’ve got a gun? Then why aren’t you firing?”

The Witch before him strolled leisurely across the rooftop, as if she were taking a walk through her own garden. Only, in her hand, she dragged the unconscious Yukieda.

She glanced at Yukieda, limp like a broken doll, then let out a sweet little laugh.

“You humans are always like this. You care about this, care about that, and get timid over every little thing.”

“And in the end, you fail to protect anything.”

Kenji clenched his teeth and glared at the Witch with naked hatred.

“So it was you. It was you all along. Borel!”

The muzzle of Kenji’s rifle tracked the Witch’s movements.

At this distance, he was one hundred percent certain he could hit.

“Hm? You know me?”

In the next instant, the Witch flashed to Kenji’s side. Her pitch-black eyes studied his face, as if she were trying hard to remember something.

The Witch’s face looked no different from that of an ordinary girl. It could even be called beautiful.

After all, they once had been—

Magical Girls.