Volume 1 Chapter 51 The Bullet of Sorrow, and to End It All
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Suzu! Aim for Marie's legs!"
"Mm."
While we were out of the fight, Suzu was laying down some serious magic, but it didn't seem to do much damage to Marie.
She's back on her feet, good as new.
Guess we can't hurt her unless we use advanced magic like <Gungnir>.
"...Whoa!"
I grabbed Marie's outstretched right arm, used it to spin around, and kicked her right in the face.
Even this monster, who could bend steel, seemed to take some damage from my blow.
She stumbled and went down on one knee.
I backed off for a moment.
Suzu was about to use her magic.
"Oh great god of magic, grant me a fragment of your power! Give me a way to stop that wretched monster, <Mystletainn>!"
Suzu finished her incantation, and countless black spears rained down from the sky.
Some of the spears were deflected by Marie's claws, but some pierced through and impaled her legs, making her lose her balance again.
I dashed over to Lene while she was distracted.
The fiend can regenerate, and time is running out.
"Mr. Ryuuji, I'm ready."
"Alright, got it."
I put my hands gently on Lene's back as she aimed her alchemical gun at Marie.
Then, I poured in my Magic Power.
"In the name of Ryuuji, become a blade that pierces all, <Sharpness>!"
I cast <Sharpness>, a temporary Enchant magic.
The target is the last bullet.
"...I mean, yeah, Marie ended up doing some pretty crappy stuff to me in the end, but she wasn't always like that, you know?"
Lene began to speak, her aim steady, dropping these words casually.
"When we first teamed up, we were really strapped for cash. There were times we couldn't even afford a place to stay. But once our rank went up, those days were over."
"...Ah."
Lene could handle thieves and the like on her own, but handing over the reins to Marie, who had always been part of the party, was something that gave her pause.
"Maybe that's why Marie started to cling to money. But still, to end up like this, turned into a monster, it's just too much, isn't it?"
"...Yeah, that's why────"
The moving barrel came to a stop, pointing directly at the center of Marie's chest.
"Right, I need to put her out of her misery."
"Yeah."
With my hand still on hers, Lene pulled the trigger.
I don't know what mechanism it used, but the bullet, accompanied by a loud crack, was propelled with great force from the alchemical gun.
The bullet, imbued with Magic Power, corrected its trajectory as it flew, sucked into Marie's chest.
It pierced the Magic Core deep within her chest with a sharp hiss.
"Aa, Aaaaaaaah!"
Perhaps due to the damage to her Magic Core, Marie scratched at her chest fiercely with her own claws, writhing in pain.
She wasn't knocked out, but it was clear that the damage had been done.
"Suzu! Throw her into the burning house behind us!"
"Got it."
My clever younger sister seemed to understand the next move without needing to be told, already prepared to cast her spell.
I guess all those years of crossing dangerous bridges together had taught her well.
"Oh great magic deity, grant me but a fraction of your power, a hammer to smite that wretched abomination, 'Mjolnir.'"
In the moment Suzu's magic unfolded, Marie was blown backward with a force like an invisible hammer striking home, right through the burning wall of the abandoned house.
And she plunged straight into the heart of the blaze.
If only it would burn itself out, but I can't just leave it be.
"...Now, I must make doubly sure Marie doesn't come out."
"...Mr. Ryuuji, are you ready to die?"
After pulling a few magic stones from my magic bag and leaving it on the ground along with my coat, I reached down to pick up the fallen 'Pierce' and prepared to enter the inferno when Lene tossed out those words.
"Not a chance, I'm not dying until my sisters get married."
"...How about living a bit longer?"
"I'll try."
In a rare show of defiance, Suzu furrowed her brow in protest, and I just shrugged in response.
Well, doing this kind of stuff will probably shorten my lifespan, and it's bound to take a toll on my body.
I figure making it to just over 30 is good enough, but if my sister says so, I guess I'll try to stick around a bit longer.
"Lene, take care of Minori. Leave Marie to me."
With that, I waved my hand behind me and stepped into the fire.
To live long, first I've got to take care of what's right in front of me.
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