"W-we should flee!" Armstrong trembled at the sight of the nine aberrant-class Anathema before him. His words were met with silence, as his staff were all frozen in fear. Armstrong felt as though humanity had been on the brink of destruction for the past ten years, and now, this was the final blow. Nine aberrants, each capable of giving his S-ranked Magical Girls a severe challenge, had spawned all at once. The hopelessness of the battle ahead weighed heavily on him.

  "Hey, old man. You said we have to destroy the gate, right?" Issen asked.

  "But if you guys die, humanity will—" Armstrong debated.

  "RAAAGH!!!" Issen roared. For once, the typically easygoing Issen wore a serious expression, something so rare that it captured everyone's attention.

  "If we don't destroy the gate, humanity will perish! That gate can spawn hundreds more of these foul beasts. Do you want to die cowering on Sanctuary Island? Do you want to die in fear? We are Magical Guardians, defenders of humanity! Are you all cowards?" Issen shouted, dispelling the fear that had gripped the staff aboard Agneya. However, Armstrong remained level-headed. He realized that if they continued like this, it would be a repeat of the disasters at New Hill and New Lake.

  "Issen…"

  "General Armstrong, remember—our objective is to destroy the gate, not to defeat these nine Anathema," Pink Heart interrupted. Armstrong was puzzled by her words but then glanced back at the tunnel they had spent four days digging. They had found the gate—it was only a few hundred meters away. If only they had one more day...

  "All rank A Guardians and below will finish the tunnel. Blast through the stone with magic if you must. Agneya and the rest of us will handle the aberrants," Pink Heart commanded. Then, with the trademark words of the Pink Guardians, she rallied the team: "Everyone, please give us your strength. Together, we will dispel the darkness from this world!"

  "Yeah!!!"

  "General Armstrong?" Haneya and Shish turned to me, their eyes expectant. I nodded.

  "Do it." With the official command from me, the Guardians sprang into action. Stonewall leaped off Agneya on his flying scooter, while Issen ran through the air, engaging the aberrants.

  A few B-ranked Guardians who could fly headed toward the recently made cave, carrying A-ranked and C-ranked Guardians with them.

  "Energy wave detected! It's the same as before—high probability of another teleportation spell," one of our staff shouted. As the ground darkened, thousands of Anathema poured out from the black miasma beneath their feet. They were but mere distractions.

  "Haneya, Shish! Support our S-ranks with the cannon," I ordered.

  "Yes, sir. Preparing to fire in one minute," Haneya replied.

  "Attention, passengers. Agneya will now conduct a high-speed maneuver. Please be prepared. This is not a drill," Shish announced, controlling the steering wheel, gas pedal, brake pedal, and ailerons with his five limbs. Following his advice, Armstrong fastened his belt and prayed silently. There were Guardians on Agneya's deck, but there was no time for them to make it to the barracks and strap into seatbelts. He could only hope they reached Agneya's door to the inner cabin before being thrown off. Even if they fell, their aura should protect them. But the Anathema on the ground could finish them off...

  The aberrants closed in quickly. The knights, now resembling fallen angels, approached Pink Heart. Her small figure looked like a speck of dust before the twenty-meter-tall knight.

  "Charge!" Pink Heart activated her armament. Her staff transformed into a spear, and she unleashed mana beams at the knights. As one knight swung its sword, Pink Heart darted around it, leading it on a chaotic aerial chase.

  Meanwhile, Issen faced the monster blob. Its many heads swarmed around him, but the moment they drew near, they were sliced to pieces. Then, Issen vanished, only to reappear behind the blob. As he sheathed his sword, one of the monster blobs split in two. Armstrong almost raised his hand in victory, but the celebration was cut short as the blobs fused back together. Issen clicked his tongue and shifted to a more defensive stance. Hundreds of Anathema poured into him, but Issen was a melee specialist. No matter how many low-level Anathema swarmed him, it was of no use.

  Meanwhile, Stonewall summoned his mech. Like a hound, the three Behemoths surrounded him in no time. Like a knight, Stonewall drew his shield and sword, dueling the monsters like a gladiator against Hyenas. Pieces of his armor chipped away each time the Behemoths bit into it. But it wasn't a one-sided battle—black ichor sprayed onto the ground with each swing of his sword.

  "The monster blob seems to have regenerative defenses, the knights have armor, and the Behemoths have potent cannon attacks," said the teddy bear, one of Zenith's assistants left behind as a bonus to Agneya, analyzing the opponents.

  "Arcoplasma cannon will be ready in twenty seconds. General, which one do we shoot?" Haneya asked.

  "The Behemoths. Their cannons are the biggest threat."

  "Roger. Target locked on Behemoth."

  Rattle.

  The ship shook as stray bullets from the Anathema pounded our shields. Feeling concerned, Armstrong asked Shish to push the shield into overdrive.

  "Shish, can we turn up the shields more?"

  "Turning the shields to overdrive will reduce our engine's operational time. We'll have barely two hours before it overheats."

  "Do you think the regular shields can withstand the aberrants' attacks?" Armstrong pressed.

  "Turning shields to overdrive…"

  "Arcoplasma cannon ready. Countdown: 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Fire!" Agneya fired its cannon at one of the Behemoths. A burst of light shot out, piercing the beast right through its flank. The Behemoth squirmed as a hole formed in its stomach. The arcoplasma, a weapon designed specifically for Anathema, didn't just penetrate—it corroded the inner structure, like a poison seeping through its body.

  The Behemoth began to melt, starting from the hole the Arcoplasma cannon left. It roared in agony before finally exploding, spraying its black ichor onto Stonewall's mech.

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  "YES! Hooray!" the staff cheered.

  "Prepare the next shot!"

  But the celebration was short-lived. The remaining beasts halted their assault on the S-ranked Guardians when they saw Agneya slay a Behemoth. Dread filled Agneya's crew as they realized all the beasts were now focused entirely on the ship.

  "Hurry up, they're coming!" Armstrong pleaded.

  "Two minutes. The cannon needs time to cool down!"

  "Energy waves detected. That Behemoth is about to fire its cannon." One of the Behemoths pulled away from Stonewall and began glowing with a purple light.

  "Evasive maneuvers! Trish, I'm counting on you! Dodge it!" Armstrong shouted. It was asking a lot for a carrier-sized airship to dodge a laser cannon shot from a Behemoth, but it had to be done. Pink Heart and Issen were occupied with six aberrant-class Anathema, and Stonewall was too slow to intercept the Behemoth.

  "Calm down... you got this... display the monitor," Trish whispered to himself, gripping the steering wheel tighter. The airship stopped, and just before the Behemoth fired, Trish rolled the airship. As the massive ship performed a barrel roll, the cannon blast shot past it, clipping the shield extended around Agneya.

  The cannon beam chased after Agneya, but Trish's unpredictable maneuver saved the day. Trish rolled Agneya to the side and jinked it to the ground. Right before the upper part of Agneya slammed into the ground, Trish managed to gain altitude before rolling back to normal. As the beam dissipated, Agneya remained afloat. Armstrong and the S-rank Guardians battling the Behemoth breathed a collective sigh of relief.

  "Energy is down to thirty percent. We might have enough for two more shots at most," Haneya reported.

  "Is there any way to get more power from the engine? The mana generator could give more power, but the issue is heat, right?"

  "No. Even if we sent an ice mage to cool the engine, it wouldn't be enough. The materials comprising the engine and generator would become fragile if hit by ice magic," Haneya sighed. "If we reduce the shield power... we might be able to fire one more round."

  "No, we can't do that. Without the shield, Agneya would be destroyed by even a glancing blow from these Behemoths," Armstrong said, frustrated. "Team B, progress?"

  "We're halfway there!"

  "Do your best..." Armstrong sighed. There was no way around this predicament. Even if they managed to destroy the gate, the Behemoths would chase them to the ends of the Earth. They had to kill them all after destroying the gate.

  "The winged knights are chasing us!" one of the staff shouted as a dark knight broke off, deciding two of them were enough to keep Pink Heart at bay.

  "Chance! Maintain course! Pinky, instruct them!" Pink Heart interrupted. Armstrong was flabbergasted. Was Pink Heart planning to use Agneya as bait? She had never done anything like this before. She never condoned sacrificing others, even for the greater good. But he chose to trust her. Right now, Agneya is Pink Heart's partner. Not baggage.

  "Do as she says," Armstrong instructed Trish. When he looked at the 3D map, He realized what Pink Heart was planning, and it scared him a bit. Agneya's shield and armor weren't immune to a Magical Girl's attack. If Trish failed, Agneya could suffer irreparable damage.

  "Whew. You're all slave drivers," Trish grumbled, taking a deep breath before exhaling. "Roger! Agneya is ready. Pink Heart, on your mark!"

  "Ready, now! Plow through them with divine power! Divine Charge!" Pink Heart readied her lance and activated her signature move. Like a falling star, she charged at one of the black knights. Then, toward Agneya. However, she swerved a little, hitting the other knights who were chasing Agneya. The two fallen angels and slammed them into the ground. The explosion was so massive that it rippled through Agneya's shield. The wave of magical energy from her S-rank ultimate move was awe-inspiring.

  "How reckless…" Armstrong muttered. Pink Heart's Signature should be a shot similar to that of Shining Arrow or other Ranged Guardians. But right now, she shot it point blank at the enemy, trying to increase its power.

  "I don't want to hear that from you, Armstrong. Just like you said, we have to win this!" Pink Heart rose from the dust clouds, her clothes tattered in places, a sign of her weakened shield aura.

  "Status?" Armstrong asked. "Can you support Issen and Stonewall?"

  "On it!" She flew.

  "We need to kill the last flying knights and all the Behemoths. Then we can escape. That grotesque hellspawn seems to focus on regenerative and defensive abilities. Their speed and attacks seemed lackluster," the Zenith teddy bear assessed.

  "Drilling team!" Armstrong called, hoping for progress.

  "Five more minutes! We've already overdriven the drill core!" The loud, reverberating sound of the drill core nearly drowned out the report.

  "Gah! Ten thousand points worth of equipment!" one of the staff winced as he saw the drill status on his screen.

  "You're worrying about points now?" one of the Magical Girls chided him.

  "Faster! Blow the rocks with magic if you have to!" I commanded.

  "We already did!" the MG shouted back.

  "Arcoplasma cannon ready. Which monster should we target?" Haneya asked.

  "The Behemoth. After that, we'll use Issen's signature move on the last flying knight. Then Stonewall and Pink Heart could handle the other Behemoth. Then, after we blow the gate, we can leave!" Pink Heart interrupted.

  "That would be wise," Zenith's teddy bear nodded.

  "Do it," Armstrong agreed.

  "F22! Bring that knight here! Stonewall, you too! I'm not leaving with just one kill!" Issen called to Pink Heart and Stonewall as he dodged another attack from the monster blob's tentacles. The blob had become more versatile—after being cut multiple times, its body had grown more viscous and gel-like. Each time Issen sliced it, the blob reattached itself faster than before.

  Issen believed in his sword and had no other method of attack. He was a superspecialized S-rank Guardian, one whose sword could cut through anything, even regenerative monsters. But he knew this monster was different. No matter how many times he cut it, it would stay alive.

  "Energy reading detected. It's coming from below."

  "The gate has been activated!" the MG assigned to dig the tunnel reported.

  "The energy reading has spiked through the roof. The miasma is thickening."

  "Report: Anathema analysis program suggests an aberrant Anathema of level 700 will emerge from the gate. We must destroy it before it reaches this world," Zenith's teddy bear reported. Armstrong looked at the teddy bear, horror filling his eyes.

  "Such an Anathema exists?"

  "Yes. Such Anathema must be obliterated using a Mana Fission Disintegrator. However, that equipment is not available, and using it on Earth would cause irreparable damage," the Zenith teddy bear explained.

  "Arcoplasma cannon ready. Countdown: 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Fire!" Haneya fired another round at the Behemoth. As Pink Heart dove into Stonewall's mecha, bringing the flying knight, Issen was already in position, readying his signature move.

  "Issen! (One Slash)" The world seemed to pause as Issen drew his sword and sheathed it in a single fluid motion. A flash of light slashed through the knight, then passed through Stonewall's arm, which was holding the Behemoth in place, cutting through the Behemoth and finally nicking the mountain a few kilometers behind them.

  A few seconds later, the flying knight was split in two, and the Behemoth's other half slid away from the main body, along with Stonewall's arm. In that fraction of a second, both the Behemoth and the knight were destroyed.

  "Alright! Yeah!" Armstrong and everyone cheered, but their celebration was cut short by the Zenith teddy bear.

  "Hurry up with the cave! We need to destroy the gate!"

  The air seemed to scream and ripple as the cheers faded into silence. Through the eyes of the familiar from the digging team, we saw what was happening. The gate was massive, and a claw emerged from it. A wolf's face, filling half of the circular gate, slowly materialized into our world.

  "Alright! Done! The tunnel is ready. Fire the cannon!" The guardians manning the drill said.

  "Arcoplasma cannon ready. Countdown: 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Fire!" Haneya shouted.

  A beam of light shot down through the tunnel, smashing into the gate. A burst of energy shattered the outer ring of the gate. The Anathema howled as dark clouds scattered under the piercing light of the sun. The Earth trembled as the gate became unstable. Chaos mana swirled violently before the gate exploded, shattering the mountainside. Seeing the gate destroyed, the three remaining aberrants fled in terror.

  "Shit! Pink Heart! Issen! The Guardians in the cave!"

  "They're alive, General. The A-rankers with them protected the lower-ranked Guardians," Pink Heart reported. Armstrong sighed in relief.

  "Good job, everyone! Shish, land us somewhere stable. We need to dig these girls and boys out of that cave. Then, we're going to rescue our stranded Black Magical Girl," Armstrong said, finally feeling the weight lift from his shoulders. He would get a good night's rest tonight.