Magical Girl Rain had faced countless villains in her time.
There were monsters with hideous visages, titans the size of mountains, and aberrations that had long since shed their humanity. Each and every one of them had been a formidable adversary.
Yet, the creature standing before her now was the simplest she had ever encountered. He didn't lack human proportions, nor did he possess a massive frame. Compared to his predecessors, he almost looked plain.
And yet, the pressure radiating from him was greater than all those past foes combined. It was an overwhelming presence that felt as if it were physically crushing her. Every hair on Sora’s body stood on end as the alarms in her head blared without ceasing.
Faced with an enemy unlike any she had ever known, Sora activated the communication device on her right ear.
"Command Center, come in."
"I hear you, Rain-kun," a calm, elderly voice replied.
"Issue an immediate evacuation order for a hundred-kilometer radius. Ensure not a single soul approaches this area."
"That’s insane! The sensors are malfunctioning just trying to measure this enemy! You can't fight that... We need to send reinforcements!"
The younger woman’s protest was perfectly logical. However, Sora had no other cards to play.
"There are no heroes nearby capable of standing with me. If we bring in more people, I won't be able to fight at full strength. It's better if I face him alone."
"Rain-kun... surely you don't intend to throw your life away."
"Of course not. I always intend to win. Just make sure you record every bit of combat data."
Sora switched off the communication device and looked ahead.
Standing before her was me—the Kaijin.
"You know, you’re allowed to run away."
Escaping from Sora when she was being this serious would be a massive headache. Since I couldn't be certain of the outcome, it would be far more convenient for me if she just left.
"If I run away, who will stand before you?"
Magical Girl Rain didn't have the option of retreating from a Kaijin. Where would one find a hero who ran from a monster? Not because she bore the title of the strongest, but as a single hero, Sora stood her ground. Even if the light of her life were to be extinguished, she would do it to pass the baton of today’s struggle to the next person.
(Ah, how...)
How incredible she was.
This wasn't reckless bravado born from ignorance. It was the courage to face me while fully understanding the gap in our strength. Though she called herself a hero, she was still just a girl. No matter how much power she possessed, standing before a monster like this should have been terrifying.
Yet, the eyes fixed on me were shining with a powerful light.
Her current figure was the very image of the hero I admired. In that case, I couldn't simply run away and treat her resolve with contempt. I had exposed my form as a Kaijin. For now, as a monster, I would play my part for the hero until the end.
"Hail!!!!"
Two-meter chunks of ice rained down from above. They plummeted toward me in a massive swarm, like a meteor shower. Until moments ago, I would have had no choice but to dodge, but things were different now.
"Factor Release."
Among our kind, there are those known as High-tier Kaijin. In human form, the burden of using their abilities is too great to bear. However, now that I was in my Kaijin Form, all restrictions were lifted.
"Gravity Kaijin Grey Hole."
With the ability to manipulate gravity, I exerted a crushing force on the ice. Every single block was slammed into the pavement before it could reach me. There was not a single exception.
"Lightning!!"
"Factor Release: Household Appliance Kaijin All-Denkaan."
A bolt of lightning cut through the air. An ordinary Kaijin would have been fried, but unfortunately for her, I was a special case. I wasn't so naive as to miss the omens of an attack I’d already seen once. Faster than Sora's ability could discharge, my own ability coursed through my body.
The heavenly sword meant to incinerate the monster was easily absorbed as I raised my left hand to the sky.
"Hail, Tempest!!!!"
"Factor Release: Gale Kaijin Tatsumaki x Flame Kaijin Hellflame."
Against the tornado carrying blades of ice, I unleashed a counter-cyclone infused with fire. My output in this Kaijin Form far exceeded my human state. Unlike before, when I would have been crushed in a head-on clash, I now had the power to negate her efforts with ease.
The tornadoes of ice and fire consumed one another, vanishing entirely upon collision.
"Ugh...!!"
One after another, every spell Sora cast was dismantled.
It was more than just the increased output or the variety of abilities. The truly terrifying part was the judgment—the way the Kaijin analyzed her movements and inserted the perfect counter-move. It wasn't violence born of bloodlust, but power wielded with cold reason. Despite the massive gap in strength, Sora felt no arrogance or negligence from the monster before her.
"Tempest...!!"
Judging that she had no chance in a simple clash of power, Sora wreathed her body in wind and charged. She swung her umbrella like a blade. Last time, even hardening my arm hadn't been enough to stop it.
"Come."
But I was different now.
The black umbrella swept in a horizontal arc. I caught the flexing, heavy strike with a single arm, without even using an ability. The body of End Kaijin End, exerting its full power, didn't budge an inch.
"Not yet...!!"
The sensation of striking a massive block of solid metal traveled up Sora’s arms. That blow hadn't dealt even a sliver of damage. If that was the case, she would simply keep attacking until it did. Accelerating with the wind, Sora flew around me at high speed, unleashing a flurry of strikes.
"Heh...!!"
As I parried the dance-like barrage, I was once again impressed by her. The sharpness of each blow, the speed of her follow-ups, her improvisational skill—her close-quarters combat ability was remarkably high. She wasn't just relying on her supernatural gifts; this was genuine strength backed by countless battles.
However, it still wasn't enough to bring me down.
"Tempest!!"
"I’ve already seen that. Factor Release."
She struck with an umbrella wreathed in wind. If it touched, the compressed air would explode, throwing me off balance. But having seen it before, I wreathed my own arm in wind to match hers. I didn't just cancel the blow; I sent Sora flying back with the recoil.
"Even so!!"
"It's useless!"
Sora accelerated even further for another charge. However, I had the overwhelming advantage in a melee. A linear attack like that would never work. I met her with a counter-fist wreathed in wind.
"Kyaa!!!!"
Though she guarded with her umbrella, the raw impact and the exploding wind sent her tumbling across the ground. She collapsed into the mud but immediately forced herself back up, gritting her teeth. Her beautiful hair and clothes were ruined, soaked in rain and filth. She was a shadow of her former self.
And yet, her inner radiance hadn't dimmed in the slightest.
"You're still standing, Hero?"
"Of course...!!"
I had shown her the gap. I had crushed and surpassed every single one of her attacks. It would have been reasonable for her to fall into despair. It would have been understandable if she ran. It would have been natural to lose the will to fight. But the light in Sora’s eyes hadn't died. Even covered in mud, she was still looking toward victory.
"I’ve grasped the extent of your power. You don't have any moves left."
I had a handle on most of her magic. Her control over the weather was formidable, boasting incredible variety, range, and power, but it couldn't reach me. If there were another hero of her caliber here, perhaps they might have stood a chance, but "what ifs" don't change reality.
"If it’s a move... I still have one...!!"
Almost all her magic had failed, but Sora did have one final trump card. She pointed the tip of her umbrella toward the heavens. Following her gaze, I looked up to see a titanic mass of water floating in the sky.
"So the close-quarters combat was just a distraction?!"
"Even if I've shown it to you before, you won't be able to dodge this!!!!"
She had used the initial aerial attacks and the subsequent melee to draw my focus away from the sky. Everything had been a setup for this one moment.
"Maelstrom!!!!!!!!"
The finishing move of Magical Girl Rain. It was a mass attack that manipulated and concentrated rain, but there was no limit to the volume of water she could control. As long as it rained, her available ammunition grew. Theoretically, her firepower would increase toward infinity over time.
The deluge pouring down was like a flood from ancient myth. It was the most massive attack I had ever seen. I'll admit it—her fangs could actually reach me.
But not today.
"Factor, Release."
She had virtually infinite mana and theoretically infinite firepower. A sharpened ability and polished combat skills—she truly deserved the title of the strongest.
However, I held that title as well.
As the massive torrent threatened to swallow the entire district, I clenched my right fist and roused the abilities dormant within me.
"Superstrength Kaijin Muscular x Steel Kaijin Iron x Flame Kaijin Hellflame x Bomb Kaijin Dynamine x Gale Kaijin Tatsumaki x Music Kaijin Mike Jackhorn x Lion Kaijin Leold x Magic Wolf Kaijin Wolf x Rock Kaijin Gunrock x Electric Kaijin Denking x Machine Kaijin Androbod x Dinosaur Kaijin Dynado x Fierce Bull Kaijin Buffman x Magic Dragon Kaijin Dragunov x Cursed Sword Kaijin Zamurai x Knight Kaijin Nighthors x Giant Shark Kaijin Sharkjaw x Four Beasts Kaijin Suzaku x Four Beasts Kaijin Byakko x Bloodsucking Kaijin Vanbad x Youkai Kaijin Ayakashi x White Light Kaijin Holy x Black Darkness Kaijin Darkness."
I manifested the abilities of twenty-three Kaijin and concentrated them all into my right arm. A load this heavy required time to focus, but since the target was a massive deluge coming straight for me, I couldn't possibly miss. There was no need for fine-tuning. I didn't mix or weave them; I simply stacked the destructive power and unleashed it with my fist.
"Rain doesn't suit you."
The collision happened in an instant. When my fist met the falling torrent, the concentrated destruction surged upward. The resulting storm of energy evaporated the water, obliterating the flood until only a fine mist remained. Everything else was wiped from existence.
"No way..."
Even after erasing Magical Girl Rain's ultimate technique, my strike didn't lose its momentum. The shockwave pierced through the remains of the water and punched straight into the sky, gouging the heavens.
A massive hole opened in the heavy gray clouds, revealing the blue sky beyond. From high above Sora, who stood soaked in the dark, the warm light of the sun began to pour down.