Back on the outskirts of the abandoned building.


    Rea charged at them without hesitation. She immediately aimed a punch at Nozomi''s face.


    Thankfully, Nozomi had recovered from her surprise at how fast Rea moved. She reacted quickly enough to block the delinquent''s punch, just as Rudabaugh had taught her.


    Not so thankfully though, was that Rea''s punch had been way stronger than Nozomi expected. The point was that the latter lost her balance and flew a couple of meters away from the former. She rolled around a bit once she hit the ground.


    "Nozo-!" Yoshino couldn''t finish that sentence. She immediately had to block a left kick from Rea with her baseball bat lest she risked taking the full blow. She held the bat with her two hands and focused her dark magic on her bat and upper body, particularly her wrists, elbows, and shoulder joints.


    Strong!


    Yoshino thought right before she was flung away herself. She landed near Nozomi.


    Rea crossed her arms. Disappointment was clear on her face at Nozomi and Yoshino. "Come on, is this serious all it takes for you guys?! And to think I assumed you guys would give me a worthy fight, tch."


    As Nozomi and Yoshino slowly got up from the ground, panting loudly, they exchanged glances. They silently decided between each other to attack Rea simultaneously, with Yoshino going by Rea''s right while Nozomi attacked from the left.


    Immediately realizing what they were doing, Rea smirked as she readied herself for them.


    Although their teamwork was admirable, Rea could immediately tell there was a brief window of opportunity between the attacks nearing her body. The difference in speed and reach between Nozomi''s punch and Yoshino''s swing of her bat was all the brash delinquent needed to win.


    Rea easily grabbed Yoshino''s bat mid-swing. She pulled it to herself with force, bringing the brunette along with it.


    Before Yoshino could think of releasing the bat and getting away, she was hit right in the face by Nozomi''s punch with full force.


    Nozomi''s eyes widened in horror at the realization of what she had just done. However, she didn''t have the luxury to process it as Rea pushed Yoshino aside with enough force to push her down on the floor. She let go of the baseball bat before grabbing Nozomi by the head with her two hands and hitting her right in the face with a knee at full force four times. Each hit felt to the magical girl as if she had been hit point-blank in the face by a cannonball. "Pathetic." Rea whispered into Nozomi''s ear before releasing her grip on her head and letting her fall face-first to the ground. Nozomi trembled and cried from the pain, drooling a little from the mouth.


    Did you really need to go as far as to call her that? Tsujin mentally asked with concern at Rea. The latter took a few steps back from Nozomi so they wouldn''t grab her legs while on the ground.


    Hmm...probably not. Rea admitted. I was trying to provoke them to take this fight seriously. I mean, you heard the cowboy cosplayer. If magical girls like her are supposed to be half as strong as he says, she should be able to give me a real challenge the moment she stops holding back.


    And yet, the only thing you managed to do was make her cry... Tsujin scoffed, clearly bothered by Nozomi''s current state.


    Rea shrugged. Eh, this just means I''ll need to try a different method.


    Unaware of Rea and Tsujin, who were distracted by their private conversation, Yoshino pulled the pin on the flashbang and threw it at Rea, but not before calling for her attention. "Hey!"


    Rea and Tsujin turned to Yoshino just in time to be blinded by an object thrown in their direction. "Wha-, uarrgh, FUCK!" Rea exclaimed before getting hit in multiple parts of her body in rapid succession by Yoshino''s baseball bat. Rea would''ve continued to take hits if it wasn''t for Tsujin''s mental warning. Your left, face!


    Immediately understanding what the spectral existence haunting her meant, Rea turned to her left. She opened her mouth and caught the middle of the dark magic-enhanced bat with her teeth before breaking it in one strong bite.


    Yoshino''s eyes widened in surprise at such an absurd feat. "What the-" Yoshino was cut off by Rea, who had recovered enough of her vision to see Yoshino''s blurry silhouette. She spat the splinters of wood in her mouth at their forehead and went to grab them while they were distracted.


    "Gotcha!" Rea exclaimed as she grabbed Yoshino by the collar and pushed her down on the ground.


    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Now, on top of her, after rolling around away from Nozomi, Rea felt like a compliment was due to Yoshino''s performance, even if it was all for nothing in the delinquent''s head. "I''ll give you that. You''ve just proved to be more fun than I expected — certainly more so than your friend."


    "Oh, yeah?" As she stared down at the delinquent on top of her, Yoshino took a few tired breaths to recover just a little of her stamina. "How''s this for fun!?"


    Before Rea could question what Yoshino meant when saying that, the former felt electricity coursing through her neck to the rest of her body. Yoshino had snuck up a surprise taser attack on Rea''s neck. "ARE YOU STILL HAVING FUN?!" Yoshino exclaimed with a desperate smile as she further pressed the taser on Rea''s neck, increasing its electric charge with her magic.


    "YES!" Rea finally answered through gritted teeth and a demented smile. She powered through the pain and shock caused by the taser.


    Yoshino''s smile vanished. It was immediately replaced with horror. Before she could react, Rea grabbed the arm holding the taser and twisted it hard enough to break it in one swift motion.


    Yoshino was shocked for one second before it was replaced by the overpowering feeling of pain from such an injury. "UARRGHH, AUARGFG!" Yoshino screeched incoherently in pain. Tears soon fell from her face.


    W-what in the actual fuck!? Tsujin raised both hands to grab her head. WHY DID YOU DO THAT!? Tsujin mentally screamed at Rea with a mix of surprise and anger loud enough that the latter reflexively winced. When the delinquent''s humanity kneeled down to check on Yoshino, they immediately turned to face said delinquent with a scowl. WHY IN OUR AUNT''S NAME ARE YOU STILL HOLDING HER ARM!? LET IT GO ALREADY!


    Ok, ok, I''m letting go, jeez, it''s not my fault if they ruined the control I had over my strength! Rea mentally shouted back, trying to justify her actions.


    As Rea let Yoshino''s currently limp arm go, standing up to give the defeated opponent some space, she soon felt a cold chill run down her spine. Hmm?


    Turning around, she saw Nozomi, who had stood up while Rea was occupied with Yoshino.


    The entire air surrounding the magical girl felt cold. It was a clear contrast to the harmless presence she previously had just a while ago. Her once-lustrous, long, white hair, now messy and covered with dirt, covered most of her face, leaving only her eyes for Rea to see.


    If looks could kill, Nozomi''s glare directed at Rea would''ve instantly done so.


    Rea wondered for a moment what could''ve caused this sudden change before the cries of pain from Yoshino answered her question. Oh. The conflict junkie girl''s eyes widened in realization. So THAT was the trigger... She smiled, whatever feeling of guilt and regret she had replaced with excitement over a good fight. "Bring it on." She muttered in eager anticipation.


    Unbeknownst to Rea, for a split second, her smile reminded Nozomi of the first darkspawn she had encountered. The enraged magical girl''s glare soon intensified.


    Unable to wait further, Rea charged at Nozomi, with the latter soon doing the same. Nozomi readied her left fist while Rea readied her right one. When they were finally close enough to each other, their fists collided against the other person''s face.


    As Rea backed away a little, feeling the sting of pain from Nozomi''s punch, she couldn''t help but giggle in excitement. Yes... She turned to Nozomi, who still had a glare that wished death upon her. "THIS IS THE FIGHT I WAS LOOKING FOR!" The delinquent girl declared excitedly before throwing a left hook at the enraged magical girl''s face.


    Surprisingly, Nozomi stood her ground, only flinching a little before somehow throwing a stronger punch at Rea''s chest. "Ack!" Rea exhaled as the air was forcibly expelled from her lungs.


    Rea gritted her teeth before trying to grapple Nozomi by grabbing her shoulders. However, to the former''s surprise, the latter had a similar idea as the delinquent but took a step further and lifted the much taller and heavier girl from the ground by grabbing her by the waist. Wait, what-


    Rea''s thoughts were interrupted when Nozomi charged straight into the farthest tree the problem student could see from her position. She crashed it with enough force, speed, and momentum to knock it down in one go. "Augh-!" Rea grunted in pain as she and Nozomi fell to the ground, with the latter pinning the former down. The magical girl''s glowing finger was aimed at Rea''s head, ready to release its energy.


    I''m going to die.


    It was the one single realization that crossed Rea''s mind as she took in the death glare Nozomi had as she was about to kill her right then and there. Closing her eyes, Rea smiled in acceptance. She felt satisfied with her life as it reached her assumed peak.


    But just as she had come to terms with her demise, Rea felt something wet fall on her face. Frowning, she opened her eyes to see Nozomi, trying and failing to hold back her tears. The light on her finger flickered on and off as her resolve wavered.


    Uh? Rea''s expression turned from surprise to confusion once she realized that Nozomi''s glare was gone. It was replaced by a pitiful mess of an expression. Why are you crying? Shouldn''t you be happy to be winning? The fighting-lover girl asked, utterly baffled at her opponent''s behavior who had her dead to rights.


    "Hey." Rudabaugh placed a hand on Nozomi''s shoulder, who blinked a few times before turning to look at Rudabaugh. He had reached their position while they weren''t looking. "The fight is over, Nozomi. You won, isn''t that right, Heiwa-san?" The outlaw turned to look at the delinquent, waiting for their response.


    Rea frowned at Rudabaugh before sighing. The delinquent COULD put up more of a fight, but at this point, there would be no satisfaction in continuing. All the satisfaction she had seen up to this point was gone in smoke. "Fine. I give up. I''ll help you guys."


    The moment Rea spoke those words, the emotional dam within Nozomi finally broke. She immediately let all the tears fall from her face, covering said face with both hands. It was mostly a quiet cry, filled with shame, regret, and self-hate at what she had almost done. The magical light coming from her fingers vanished without a fuzz. "Idiot...stupid..." The magical girl in white mumbled between sobs, berating herself.


    Happy now?! Tsujin asked, outraged at how far Rea had taken this fight and ashamed that she was convinced to agree with such a thing. If the body from the delinquent''s humanity had been physical, Rea would have fought right there and then.


    As Rea watched Nozomi bawling her eyes out over having almost killed her, the rude girl looked up at the sky and sighed in resignation. "Pain in the ass..." Rea muttered to herself.