Magical Girl with Demonic Time Magic-Chapter 53: Motivation

Chapter 53: Motivation
Ayane and I are standing in a more open area in a city square while we wait. This open space is an area where I believe neither of us will have an advantage.
Now that Ayane has time and courage, she summons her staff to help in the fight as we wait, after we decided how we will fight, with me attacking and Ayane staying further back to support me with barriers.
"..." Soon a monster appears, it is strange the upper part resembles a human, but the lower part are some twisted reddish tentacles.
I point my weapon at it while behind me Ayane prepares for the fight, but I believe it won’t be that easy.
’This thing seems pretty strong.’ I’m not good at evaluating, but with everything we’ve gone through to get here while it followed us even at high speed, it’s already enough for me to judge it as strong.
"Can I know why you’re chasing Ayane?" I question, certain that this thing is specifically following Ayane, after all, if the level of threat to Ayane’s life has increased because I went back in time, then this thing has appeared to get Ayane.
Ironically, if my weakness is the cause and effect, and I went back years in the past to save Ayane, I believe I have automatically made any rescue more difficult at least once, even in going back 24 hours to the past.
"It’s because she’s an interesting newcomer," the monster speaks in a strange, twisted voice that honestly hurts just to hear.
"You know that the talent of a magical girl is practically laid bare in her body from the beginning. This girl behind you has quite a bit of magic, so I got interested."
"But it’s a bit disappointing to know that she’s a support... However, you’re also quite interesting for someone who claims to be a support." He speaks as if he knows more than he should.
"Do you think it’s worth the risk of fighting and dying? If you retreat now, we won’t go after you," I bluff, not sure if I can win.
"An interesting proposal, but unfortunately I’ll have to decline," he speaks with a strange politeness.
"Are you a parasite?" I question.
"Oh? You noticed? May I know what gave me away?"
"Your body is human-like on top, but the bottom part obviously isn’t." I’m not sure, but he’s clearly different from the first monster I encountered, which was very human-like.
This monster gives off a strange feeling of being false or something like that, and that’s why I deduced that he’s some kind of parasite.
"I understand, unfortunately I need to show my body if I want to use my powers, thank you for informing me of my flaw," he thanks while taking a step forward. Ayane tenses up while I also step forward.
"You’re quite smart," I say, not as a compliment, just trying to stall as much time as possible until that girl with the sword finishes her fight and comes to help.
"Yes, I’m intelligent and have excellent self-control, something that unfortunately many monsters lack."
’Tsk...’ The situation is bad. If he’s this smart, it means his type and class probably coincide with those that are quite strong.
"You’re not afraid of me even though you’re a newcomer... that’s curious."
"How do you know Ayane and I are new to this? Ayane may have the posture of a newcomer, but I don’t show that." I use his own words to reveal things.
"..." He falls silent, knowing I already know the answer. Someone from the base is passing information to the monsters. I knew there would be traitors, but I didn’t imagine they were already inside.
’The world really isn’t waiting for me.’
"Know that I have excellent focus. If I’ve decided to protect Ayane and promised that, I’ll fulfill it to the best of my ability. I believe this fight will be detrimental to both of us."
"Is it really worth the risk?" I question, trying to make him leave. It’s a fact that I don’t know if I can win. If I could use those bullets full of my obsession, I might be able to win, but without them, I really don’t know.
"I believe it’s worth the risk. If I win, I’ll have two magical girls to enjoy for a while or sell to other monsters. There are no gains without risks, don’t you agree?" He speaks, taking another cautious step.
"You’re absolutely right... but those truly wise know how to measure whether the risk is really worth it or if it’s just a boat about to sink." The best option would be to flee, but this monster would easily follow us.
He has shown himself to be very fast and good at hiding. It would be terrible to take him to places we shouldn’t or fall into a trap.
’The magical girl base has addresses, names, regular jobs, and other personal information. I know most of it is completely locked down and only people like Ophelia can have such information... but it would be terrible if monsters got hold of that.’ I think about the bad possibilities.
"Are you calling me a fool? Funny, very funny, because I know how to weigh the risks well, and I believe you also know how to weigh the risks, which is why you’re stalling."
"You think that girl’s help will arrive soon, but you’re wrong. That girl with the big sword won’t win that fight for a single reason the monster she’s facing cannot be killed by general cuts or impacts with the strength that girl has shown."
"And I can affirm that a mere magic of chains won’t be enough." He speaks as if he’s absolutely certain. I don’t know if this is a bluff or if it’s serious, but if it’s serious, it means the current 1-on-2 situation could turn into 2-on-2, and then we’d lose.
"So answer me something before we start this fight, monster don’t you fear that we might suddenly become stronger, strong enough to kill you?" I question.
"I don’t believe such a miracle would happen," he says sarcastically.
"Really? Because I believe such a thing can happen. After all, we two are complete newcomers who don’t know how to use our powers, but humans are something unique when truly threatened, they can do incredible things, especially if they have enough motivation."
"I swear on my life to defend Ayane. She is all the motivation I need to learn new things." I say this little speech more to help Ayane than for myself.
It’s a fact that I already have the maximum of my current self. I know how to use my weapons, although I don’t know how to use their general abilities correctly.
However, I know that determination alone won’t make me stronger, because I’m different from the magical girls. But I know that Ayane can indeed become stronger, as long as she has the determination for it.
"S-Setsuna, I promise to protect you too!" Ayane speaks behind me, giving me all the motivation I need.
"So let’s stop stalling, monster. Tonight will be the last night you hurt an innocent." I say as I advance directly against him.
The monster also advances towards me while I fire, he dodges my gun shots and tries to punch, but it ends up hitting a small floating barrier.
Using the staff, Ayane is able to use her powers better, and that’s good. I try to remember her diary to give a tip.
"Ayane, swing your staff in the direction you want to move the barrier before moving it. This will help you." I give the tip while kicking the monster, who is holding my feet with the tentacles from the lower part of his body.
He tries to pull me in, but I fire a shot, cutting that part off, and then shoot him more.
"Ayane, steps!" I say only that, and with great synergy with me, Ayane creates small barriers that I use as steps, stepping on them and jumping from one to the other quickly, getting behind the monster to kick and shoot him.
He somehow evades using the leg tentacles for irregular movements while hitting me, but I’m defended by a barrier.
Ayane creates a large barrier and moves the staff down, almost pinning the monster to the ground. Moving the staff may help Ayane, but it makes the location of her attacks obvious.
I shoot the monster numerous times, but unexpectedly the ground rises, making me lose sight of the monster. It takes advantage of this to punch through the ground it raised, hitting my nose and making me bleed almost immediately.
’It’s magic... and it’s earth.’ I think about what he did while jumping back to take distance.
"S-Setsuna..."
"Stay there!" I stop Ayane from running to me.
"I’m fine, it’s just a small injury..." If she approaches me, she will undoubtedly interfere. I need her to keep her distance or I won’t be able to protect her.
The monster uses earth magic to form thorns that he fires like bullets, but Ayane protects me with a barrier. It seems that speaking those things helped boost her determination.
"Ayane, never get distracted in a fight, or the monsters will cowardly attack you. Regardless of my injuries, stay away and just provide support." I say, firing shots at the monster, who dodges.
"See, Ayane, if he goes to the trouble of dodging, it’s because he recognizes the danger. We can win!" I say to her, helping her gain more confidence. I ignore the slight pain in my nose as I advance against the monster.
"Hmm, you’re quite cold, but you know how to motivate others, not bad for a newcomer," the monster speaks, rushing towards me, propelling himself with the leg tentacles.
But he runs straight into Ayane’s barrier, which soon dissipates, giving me the opening I take advantage of, using my flexibility to kick him under the chin while shooting his abdomen, forcing him to retreat backwards.
He removes the upper part of his clothes, throwing it on the ground and revealing a body with strange markings on the vein areas, as he prepares to rush forward.