Chapter 28: Magical Girl Magical Isis (2)

Mari headed to the coast of Hetairo Island, where Isis’s subordinates had told her to go.

Waiting for her there was Isis, already in the process of transforming.

“I heard what my servants told you. You need the Heart Gem to save the Academy, right? I need your gem too, to protect my family.”

It seemed they had given her some distorted information.

Mari decided to play along with their narrative.

“I have something I can’t give up either.”

There was no more conversation.

The two immediately assumed their stances and clashed.

Unfortunately for Isis, she was no match for Mari.

Her dagger was threatening, but the wielder’s skills couldn’t compare to Mari’s.

She was being overwhelmed by power.

Just a light one-two punch from Mari was enough to make her stagger greatly—such was the stark difference between the two.

It seemed like Mari’s victory was assured without any twists.

But at that moment…

“Found you! Here you are, magical girl!”

A monster suddenly interrupted their battle.

With the body of a bat, antennae like a butterfly, and the wings of a bee—three pairs of wings in total—it looked similar to the monster bird she had seen before.

Mari put the exhausted Isis at a distance and faced off against the monstrous bat.

“I’ll finish you off right now!”

She immediately tried to cast Stardust Impact.

But it didn’t work on the bat monster.

In fact, this creature was practically a natural enemy to Mari.

With supersonic flight, it toyed with her, inflicting status ailments like hallucinations and paralysis poison while chipping away at her stamina with ultrasonic waves.

The monster’s strategy was a nightmare for Mari, whose only offensive option was close combat.

Even when she managed to close the gap with the monster, it was only a clone.

“No way!”

This time, it wasn’t power but a bad matchup that had pushed Mari into a corner.

Still, she didn’t give up.

“Watch out, Isis!”

When the monster’s attack targeted Isis, Mari shielded her with her own body.

In a strained voice, Isis asked Mari,

“Why…?”

“Because you’re my friend!”

But Mari’s resolve didn’t last long.

Poison spread throughout her body, and she collapsed on the spot.

The monster cackled as it approached to finish her off.

–

The world has always brought me to my knees.

Fate whispered to me to abandon my dreams, gifting me only misery and pain.

Even when my body was shattered and my soul was cast down, reality whispered sweet defeat to me.

When I faced reality, it smiled at me.

In that moment, a blue flash erupted behind her.

The monster and magical girl stopped their fight and focused on the third presence that had suddenly appeared.

–

Ah, but reality, I have realized.

Even as my body crumbled and my soul crawled at the bottom of hell, I still dreamed.

What you whispered to me was not submission, but ascent.

So, world, no matter how many times I fall, I will never stop dreaming.

Fate, I will stand against you until the end.

Reality, I will grasp my dreams with my own hands.

[Dreams, grant me the strength to soar once more. Flying Dream!]

As the light faded, standing there was a completely transformed Isis.

[Chasing my dreams, I’ve arrived here! Magical Isis, take flight!]

The mask that had once covered her entire face now only concealed her lower face.

The sleeves that once covered her arms were gone, exposing her underarms and sides, and the back of her outfit was cut low.

Under her fluttering skirt, you could see what she claimed were spats, and below them, between her knee socks and the shorts, her exposed thighs were… almost sacred.

If that outfit were worn by a ballerina, it would have been praised as art, but on an assassin, it caused cognitive dissonance.

Perhaps, at least, she could certainly kill off any sympathy, so the term “assassin” might be fitting after all.

The newly reborn Isis, holding a dagger like a wedding knife, shouted.

“Monster! I’ll cut you down and seize my happiness!”

“Shaaaak!!”

A weasel sprang from her blue gem, hissing as a bonus.

“Hah! Acting so high and mighty when you’re the weakest council member! Did you really think you could handle the Heart Gem?!”

The monster, which had been threatening Mari, now turned its attention to Isis, just as she’d intended.

The same venom-laden storm that had threatened Mari now engulfed Isis.

But with her mask on, such things had no effect on her.

“Then how about this!”

The monster used illusionary clones.

But as Isis spun gracefully in the air like a figure skater, shurikens rained down in every direction, destroying the clones.

Landing elegantly, Isis smirked at the monster and beckoned with her fingers.

“Got anything else to show?”

“You… you…!!”

The monster used its trump card.

Dozens of clones appeared, all launching ultrasonic attacks simultaneously.

As the sound waves reached Isis, a huge explosion erupted, and her body vanished without a trace.

“Haha! If you underestimate me, that’s what happens—”

“Where are you looking? That was just my clone.”

“Wha—”

When the monster turned around, there were even more copies of Isis, looking down at him, outnumbering the clones he had summoned.

The daggers they held had transformed into rapiers.

“Impossible!”

“Is that all for your last words?”

Every clone tilted their body forward.

As Isis’s main body lowered her hand, all the clones shot forward like arrows.

The monster managed to fend off a few of them, but the onslaught of dozens more shredded him.

Finally, Isis’s true body passed through the monster, slicing him with a fine line, and she muttered,

“<Splendid Execution>!”

“Aieeeeee!!!!!”

With a final scream, the monster exploded and perished.

When it was all over, Isis removed her mask and looked down at Mari.

A bitter smile played across her face.

“What should I do? In the end, I became a magical girl too. Are you going to take my gem?”

Mari shook her head.

Isis was no longer the fragile girl who needed protection.

Mari had realized through this battle as well.

She needed allies.

And so did Isis.

Isis extended her hand and helped Mari to her feet.

The two shook hands against the backdrop of the setting sun, their battle coming to a close—

“But that’s that. We’ve got to see this through, right?”

Isis flashed a warlike smile and glared at Mari.

She already knew what Mari had intended.

But aside from that, the sting of being struck still irked her, and she wanted to settle the score.

Not to mention, now that she had awakened her power as Magical Isis, she wanted to test its full extent.

It might sound strange, but Mari stood up right then and raised her fists.

“Of course.”

Mari was battered and bruised.

But she didn’t care.

The aura rising from her body declared that no injury could break her spirit.

With the sunset as their backdrop, the two clashed once again.

Unlike before, this time their strength was evenly matched.

Earlier, Isis’s dagger couldn’t even pierce Mari’s clothes, but now it was different.

Whenever her frills were grazed by the blade, they were cut as easily as paper.

But Mari wasn’t backing down either.