Chapter 11
Night OF School
The strategy for defeating Void, the boss of ăNight OF Schoolă, was actually quite simple.
Find the core hidden within the shadows and destroy it.
The problem was that the shadow’s area of influence was enormous, and the core was constantly protected by those shadows.
On top of that, the core never stayed in one place. It moved continuously.
In the original story, the supporting magical girl, Rania, solved this by erecting a special wall of ice that nothing could pass through, trapping both the core and the shadows before shattering them all at once.
But with Rania absent, that method was impossible.
“We should fall back for now!”
Dodging Void’s relentless attacks with her trademark agility, Unibel shouted.
“No! It’s fine! Just hold on a little longer!”
The moment I realized Rania wouldn’t be coming, only one solution had occurred to me.
Burn the entire rooftop.
With Unibel’s help lifting me into the air, she would unleash magic over the rooftop in every direction, carpet-bombing the entire area.
When you couldn’t pinpoint the enemy’s location, it was the most straightforward approach.
However, there were several problems with that plan.
The first was that Unibel wasn’t a magical girl who specialized in overwhelming firepower.
As anyone who had seen her fight the Harvester and now Void could tell, Unibel’s style revolved around overwhelming her opponents with speed before exploiting an opening with precise bursts of magic.
In the original story, she possessed the greatest magical talent among all the protagonists, eventually growing into an all-rounder with S-rank firepower by the latter half of the story.
But that was still a long way off.
Could the current Unibel produce enough magical power to incinerate an entire rooftop?
The answer was… uncertain.
The second problem was that she wasn’t in peak condition.
According to the original plan, Unibel was supposed to have plenty of time to recover.
But Void’s unexpected ambush had ruined that.
As a result, she was now forced to fight while already exhausted.
The risk is too high.
Even a fully rested Unibel would have struggled to guarantee success.
Expecting the current, fatigued Unibel to pull it off without incident was asking far too much.
Since the plan relied on overwhelming firepower for a quick victory, failure wasn’t an option.
Let’s test a theory.
At that moment, countless crimson dots danced across my vision.
Every one of them was a warning sign of Void’s incoming attacks.
For some reason, my eyes could perceive them.
If I could see the flow of the attacks…
Then I could infer where the real body was.
If I could identify its true location, there would be no need to gamble on such a risky strategy.
“Buy me a little more time!”
“Yes! I can do that!”
Launching herself backward as though bouncing through the air, Unibel narrowly avoided the shadow spikes erupting from the floor before giving me a firm nod.
Most of Void’s attacks were directed at Unibel rather than me.
Which meant Void considered her the greater threat.
Thanks to that, I had enough breathing room to calmly analyze its attack patterns.
I stared at the crimson lights rippling like waves.
There were dozens of them now.
At first glance, they seemed completely random.
But in reality, there was a clear pattern.
It would distract its target with multiple tentacles attacking from the front…
Then silently launch a surprise attack from the sides and rear.
Or it would pin its opponent in place by making countless spikes erupt from the ground ahead…
Only to strike from directly beneath them a moment later.
Every single attack had been carefully designed to be as difficult to evade as possible.
“Ha!”
Though, honestly…
The more unbelievable thing was Unibel.
She was calmly dodging that relentless, multidirectional assault without even relying on reinforcement magic.
Even for a magical girl, wasn’t that level of physical ability just completely broken?
Right flank.
Just then, I noticed something amidst the sea of crimson dots.
One area remained strangely calm.
Amid the torrents of attacks coming from every direction…
Only that section had noticeably fewer crimson warning signs.
I couldn’t be certain that was where the real body was.
But this wasn’t the time to hesitate simply because I lacked certainty.
Even now, Unibel’s stamina was draining away with every passing second.
The instant I made my decision, I broke into a sprint.
At the same time, the crimson dots that had been focused on Unibel gradually began converging on me instead.
There was definitely something over there.
Watching Yunibel, I had already figured out the shadows’ attack pattern.
They drew your attention from the front, then attacked immediately from the sides and rear.
Just before the crimson lights in front of me reached their brightest point, I accelerated.
Before the shadow in front could even distract me, I slipped through the encirclement.
“Teacher!”
By then, I heard Yunibel cry out in panic.
She was so flustered that she’d unconsciously reverted to calling me “Teacher.”
“Don’t worry about me! Stay where you are!”
If Yunibel came to my position, Void’s scattered attacks would all converge in one place.
And unlike a magical girl, I only had an ordinary human body. Once that happened, dodging Void’s attacks the way I was now would become impossible.
“A little farther back…”
I clicked my tongue.
While I’d been blocked by the shadows, the location of what I believed to be the main body had changed.
As if it had instinctively sensed the danger, more and more crimson lights were now rushing toward me.
That wasn’t all.
“So retreating is already out of the question.”
A shadow’s hand, approaching from outside my field of vision, wrapped around my leg and restricted my movement.
I’d relied too much on my eyesight.
This was the price for it.
I let out a slow breath.
I couldn’t count on Yunibel to save me.
The longer I hesitated, the more crimson lights gathered, and the farther away the core drifted.
Then there was only one option.
Forward.
I poured strength into my legs.
With a tearing sound, the sticky shadow hand snapped apart.
Fortunately, the increase in crimson lights actually made it easier to pinpoint the core’s location.
Within a world dyed completely red…
There was a single white point.
This time…
I wasn’t going to lose it.
Leaning my upper body forward, I stared at the blood-red shadows writhing as if they were about to explode.
The moment they launched their attackâ
That was the only instant when the main body couldn’t move.
“Now!”
I forced my body through the forest of rising spikes.
Riiip!
My clothes tore as they scraped against them.
Within the spike-filled view, I spotted a tiny opening and thrust my hand forward.
Something softâalmost like a rubber ballâbrushed against my fingers.
The next instantâ
“SKREEEEEEEEECH!!”
A deafening scream echoed through the battlefield, loud enough to rupture my eardrums.
Ignoring it, I tightened my grip, trying to crush the coreâ
Then my body suddenly floated into the air.
“Teacher!”
It was Yunibel.
When I came to my senses, I realized I was flying through the sky in her arms.
The place where I’d been standing only moments ago had been swallowed by a crimson tide.
Had Yunibel arrived even a second later…
My body would have been torn to shreds before I could escape.
“KIIEEEEEEEK!”
Void let out another agonized shriek.
Unfortunately, it seemed I hadn’t managed to land the finishing blow.
“We should retreat for now.”
“No. We can’t.”
Seeing the ominous signs, Yunibel urged a withdrawal.
I shook my head.
If we retreated now, the core would hide itself even deeper inside the sea of shadows.
This was our only chance to finish it.
“Sorry, but could you lower our altitude a little? I have an idea.”
“…Alright. Please be careful.”
“Thanks.”
From the height of the fifth floor, we descended until we were roughly level with the third.
Apparently the core hated me for threatening it earlier.
The shadows gathered beneath us in response.
“Is… is there anything I can do to help?”
As I watched Void’s movements, Yunibel spoke beside me.
When I glanced over, her expression was set with determination.
Come to think of it…
During this entire battle against Void, Yunibel hadn’t really been able to contribute much.
As someone who always believed a magical girl’s duty was to protect ordinary people…
She must have desperately wanted to overcome this crisis with her own strength.
“I’m sorry. Right now, I need you to focus on keeping us in the air.”
Even understanding how she felt…
I still shook my head.
The crimson lights I could see…
She couldn’t.
The core was constantly changing positions.
To catch it, it was far more reliable for me to make the final move.
“I don’t want to.”
“…What?”
“I don’t want you to be the only one risking your life.”
The answer that came back caught me completely off guard.
“I am a magical girl.”
“I can fly like this.”
“And I can use amazing magic.”
“…”
“So… please rely on me a little more.”
…
I was stunned.
Somewhere along the way…
I’d become so anxious because events were no longer following the original story that I’d started excluding Yunibel from the fight.
Even though…
The protagonist of this world wasn’t me.
It was this absurdly kind-hearted magical girl.
“Was I panicking too?”
I reflected silently.
I’d always hated adults who raised children like flowers in a greenhouse…
Yet before I knew it, I’d been doing exactly the same thing.
Some teacher I am…
“Alright.”
“I’ll explain the plan.”
“Just follow my lead.”
“Yes!”
I explained everythingâ
My current situation.
The existence of Void’s hidden core.
Although my explanation probably sounded unbelievable…
Yunibel listened with complete seriousness.
“So all I have to do is grab that core?”
“Right. But we can’t let it realize we’ve found it. If it hides again, catching it will be almost impossible.”
“Can you do it?”
“Leave it to me!”
She nodded confidently.
“Then hold on tight!”
“So you don’t fall!”
“…Huh?”
The instant she finished speaking…
We plummeted downward at terrifying speed.
Or ratherâ
Yunibel, still holding me, had dived straight toward the ground.
“W-Wait a second?!”
“Which direction is the core?”
“Left! Over there!”
“Got it!”
The scenery spun wildly around us like we were riding a free-fall tower.
Barely managing to point toward the lone white light hidden within the crimson sea…
I shouted.
“Hey! Straight ahead!”
“We’re breaking through!”
A massive wall of shadows rose before us, blocking the path to the core.
Instead of slowing down…
Yunibel accelerated.
I’d thought the same thing when she fought Harvester.
This girl was a lot more reckless than she looked.
“Now!”
I reached out again.
This time…
I wasn’t letting go.
“KIEEEEEEK!”
Void screamed.
For the first time, I saw the core with my own eyes.
It was even softer than I’d expected.
Pitch black.
Just like the shadows it commanded.
At a glance, it looked no different from the countless other shadows we’d seen.
“Let’s finally put an end to this cursed night.”
I squeezed the core with both hands.
Like one of those slime toys I’d played with as a child…
Void’s body stretched upward.
Crack.
Only a few seconds later…
Something inside Void shattered.
“Did we… beat it?”
“…I think so.”
The raging sea of shadows came to an abrupt halt.
As the shadows gradually lost their form and dissolved away…
Yunibel let out a sigh of relief.
That had been far too close.
Even with Yunibel’s help…
Defeating Void like this had been nothing short of a miracle.
“Is it… really over?”
Yet an uneasy feeling lingered in the corner of my heart.
Were the shadows always this slow to disappear…?
