Give children a little self-destruction shock to their worldview.

Because she was quite close, she could hear the creaking and scraping sounds coming from the elevator. Even though there was absolutely no sound when she got off.

Takajo Yuri turned around and saw that in just a few seconds, the floor display had already approached the top floor.

...How can the elevator move so fast!?

I only had time to think that before the floor display briefly paused on the top floor, and then I heard the sound of the elevator whistling as it descended.

After a loud bang, Takajo Yuri's head was buzzing and her blood suddenly went cold.

Main Text: Chapter Thirteen: A Calamity from Another World

"what happened!?"

"That startled me! What was that sound?"

"It sounds like it's coming from the elevator. Is the elevator malfunctioning?"

"Oh my god! There's someone in there! It's a girl!"

"Help! Help that child! Come downstairs quickly!"

"Where's the doctor? Where is the doctor?"

--what happened?

—Mayumi got on the elevator, and then the elevator…

—Did it fall?

Clearly, it wasn't just a simple case of the elevator stopping in mid-air. The loud thud as it crashed to the ground indicated the situation inside the elevator.

Mayumi is still inside...

When Yuri Takajo realized this, her mind went blank. All the sounds around her seemed to rumble away, leaving only a dizzying sensation, and the world seemed to consist only of that tightly closed elevator door.

Her steps seemed to weigh a ton; she had only taken two steps toward the elevator when she stopped, somewhat timidly.

However, misfortune never comes singly. Just as she was losing her composure, a terrified scream suddenly rang out behind her.

As everyone's attention was drawn to the elevator accident in the hospital lobby, chaos and fear inevitably spread. And all of this provided endless sustenance for the birth of monsters.

These unusual magical beasts began to emerge from their cocoons, as if they had timed it perfectly.

Like zombies in a nursery, they gasped in pain, their lungs like broken bellows, drool dripping onto the clean floor, reflecting the bewildered faces of the unsuspecting ordinary people around them, unaware of what awaited them.

In the hall, the seedbed, clad in a tattered trench coat, began to convulse, drawing stares from those around him. A few seconds later, his skin turned purple, and he looked utterly pained.

Something emerged from his body, its deformed and ugly appearance causing the woman next to him to scream in terror.

"Aaaaaahhhhh—a monster—"

That monster was completely different from anything we usually see.

To put it more simply, the art style has become "more detailed and grotesque." While the original monsters were ferocious, they weren't this grotesque, and even if humans were used as breeding grounds, they wouldn't appear in such a terrifying form.

It's just like the alien from the movie, with a hard exoskeleton covering a fragile and soft body, its face almost entirely occupied by a huge mouth, no eyes, and an exceptionally sensitive sense of smell.

The terrifying sight, unlike anything they had ever seen before, threw everyone into a panic.

The monster leaped out of the seedbed's mouth, letting out a shrill howl that made one's ears ache.

Just as it was about to leap onto the woman next to it who was screaming with her mouth wide open, a beam of golden light shot out from the side and hit it directly!

When the musket magic struck it, the magic bullet exploded, but instead of sparks, it bloomed into iris flowers in mid-air, instantly forming a cage that trapped it firmly.

Magical girl Iris raised her hand to straighten her top hat, a signature gentle smile on her face, but a closer look revealed a hint of coldness in her eyes.

Strangely, this time Magical Girl Iris did not speak up to comfort the frightened crowd, but instead immediately launched a series of attacks.

The musket hovering beside her fired several shots in quick succession, the magical bullets with automatic target-finding capabilities scattering and following the aura of the strange monster.

As is customary, the purifying function of Magical Girl Iris's musket magic is capable of eliminating all monsters within the cage.

This time she was in a hurry, so she didn't pay attention to what happened next and hurriedly turned around to look for her friend who was in the elevator accident.

Mayumi-kun! You absolutely must stay alive!

She didn't notice that the monsters behind her, controlled by the iris cage, weren't being quickly purified and disappeared as usual.

Although the monster was under control, the magic's purification function had no effect on it. It struggled fiercely, and the physically fragile iris cage emitted a pitiful sound as it succumbed to the strain.

Fortunately, Magical Girl Iris bought them some time, and the evacuation of the world's inhabitants, which has become a daily routine, is now halfway complete. Although there are still a dozen or so people in the hall, the situation is much better than before.

Magical girl Iris didn't care about anything else. She used her magical strength to pry open the elevator door and looked down into the dark elevator shaft.

This is the first floor, but there are two more floors below. The elevator has also dropped to the parking lot on the second basement level.

Magical Iris could only vaguely see the slightly distorted elevator ceiling and had no idea what was happening inside. Her palms were ice-cold.

Just as I was about to peek out to check the situation, I heard a rustling sound coming from above the elevator shaft.

As if by reflex, Magical Girl Iris only had time to retract her protruding head before—

She saw the arrows bathed in a shimmering blue light, and those incredibly focused, piercing golden eyes.

The arrow's shimmering blue light grazed past the magical girl Iris's face. Because the archer was strong enough, the arrow's trajectory was a straight line in the air, striking the giant insect that had already torn apart the magical cage and was about to pounce on the magical girl Iris's back.

The sound of the arrow piercing the insect's head wasn't crisp; the accompanying spurting of fluid finally brought the magical girl Iris back to her senses.

The stranger who jumped from the height unfolded his paraglider the very next second after putting away his bow and arrow, abruptly stopping his descent, his arm making an ominous sound as a result.

After all, it's a leap from the highest floor. Even guardians with superhuman physical abilities can get injured from falling from such a height.

She managed to deploy her paraglider in the cramped space to dissipate the force of her landing, and then jumped to the first floor.

“You…” Magical girl Iris opened her mouth, wanting to say something.

The man coldly replied, "Get out of the way."

Unlike the always glamorous magical girls, the Guardian's clothes are always excessively dark in color, and her equipment has accumulated a lot of wear and tear over the years, creating a striking contrast.

Not to mention her deep, hoarse voice and the huge scar across her face.

The magical girl Iris, who was shorter than the Guardian, was pushed away. After a moment of surprise, she turned her head to the insect monster that the Guardian had killed.

The purification magic had no effect on the insect, but the Guardian's arrow pierced its body. Dark purple blood gushed out, leaving large stains even on the ceiling.

……strangeness.

Monsters don't leave behind corpses; most of them are elemental creatures born from the dark side of magic and can be easily dealt with by magic users.

This one isn't exactly a pure monster; rather, it seems to be some kind of insect.

A terrible calamity from another world.

The Guardian's breathing seemed to become heavy for a moment.

Main text: Chapter Fourteen - A Small Shock

The moment Mayumi Haga stepped into the elevator, she finally realized where the anomaly she had been sensing came from.

That was the familiar feeling of being watched by death, like a thorn in one's back.

Being targeted by death is like living in an endless Final Destination movie. You'll always encounter various coincidental, low-probability accidents, and you'll always get injured or die as a result.

Fortunately, Mayumi Haga is no ordinary person; even if she accidentally falls victim to a spell, she can revive again and again.

But in her original world, others were not so lucky.

Those who are deluded by death choose to end their own lives to remain clear-headed, while those targeted by death meet a violent end.

Her resurrection ability was stronger than the other guardians, and she was also the luckiest, which is why she was able to survive to the end.

During this long period of time, Mayumi Haga became exceptionally sensitive to the aura of death, to the point that she developed a sixth sense to avoid disaster.

I thought that after coming to this world, I would never encounter those damned bugs again, so why do I smell bugs in this hospital...?

While pondering, Mayumi Haga used the brief illusory state of her projection guardian form to pass through the top of the elevator, drew her sword, and stuck it into the elevator door to stabilize herself.

With a slight adjustment, he locked onto the scent of his mortal enemy and leaped down!

When leaping from a height and using a bow and arrow, Mayumi Haga is able to enter bullet time, where everyone around him is in slow motion, thanks to his superhuman mental fortitude honed through his own training.

Therefore, she was able to aim at the bug behind Magical Girl Iris during her descent and clearly see the bug's shape.

For a moment, Mayumi Haga couldn't care less about anything else.

After she clearly saw the shape of the insect, her blood seemed to freeze at that moment, and a chilling coldness crept up her spine, gripping her heart and making it almost impossible for her to breathe.

Ignoring the dull pain in her heart caused by her turbulent emotions, Mayumi Haga's face was ashen, and she had to forcefully purse her lips to stop her body from trembling uncontrollably.

How could this be...?!

How did this thing even get into this world?!

This caused her to lose everything, even her mortal enemy, the culprit behind all her misfortunes, whose very self had been rotten to the core.

—A great calamity known as the Death Worm.

Although the power was not as strong as it was in her original world, and its appearance was also different, much weaker... just from this putrid, corpse-like death aura, she was certain that this was the disaster that had once spread in her world.

The shadow that had never been eliminated in her heart was awakened once again. Even the magical girl Iris next to her could sense it. The aura of the Guardian suddenly turned gloomy and filled with hostility, like a hedgehog with its sharp quills raised.

If the Guardian, who is still relatively calm, only bares her fangs at enemies, she is still someone who can communicate normally.

So, just the sheer amount of violent aura emanating from the Guardian makes one feel that she might launch an indiscriminate attack at any moment.

Magical girl Iris was momentarily stunned, but she also realized that the monster was special, and that the person in front of her must know something.

This was the first time she had encountered a non-magical enemy, and to be honest, the aftermath of the battle wasn't pleasant. Even though it was just a single arrow to the head, the splattered blood still made the magical girl Iris feel uncomfortable.

The smell is too strong.

Even though magic was filtering out the foul smell, magical girl Iris could still faintly detect it.

But even this small amount made her stomach churn.

"Don't come any closer!" the guardian shouted in a deep voice, her tone harsh due to her urgency. She frowned, "Are you looking for death?"

Magical girl Iris's impression of this stranger began to turn sour.

Although he is a kind person who helps me, he is really difficult to get along with and is not polite.

But she remained calm, knowing that she couldn't label people immediately, and that the complexity of the matter was beyond her expectations.

"Miss, may I ask what this is?" she asked.

The stranger, whose face was covered by a hood, did not speak, but silently drew a frighteningly sharp one-handed sword from behind his back.

Strange, when did that sword appear? Wasn't it just carrying an empty scabbard?

From the perspective of magical girl Iris, you can see the other person's taut jawline, the downward corners of their lips, and their tense, alert posture.

“This is not something you can handle,” the Guardian simply said in a low, menacing tone. “Get out of here.”

Mayumi Haga had a vague idea in her mind.

This monster uprising is likely related to the Death Worms.

While eavesdropping on Sugiyama Rika and the others' conversation, she mentioned that for some reason, two branches of the city's spiritual veins had begun to decline.

Perhaps their lifespan had come to an end, or perhaps it was simply the natural order of things; the magic users didn't seem to care much.

However, the abnormality of the spiritual veins is what causes the large-scale appearance of demons. Therefore, the spiritual veins are the biggest reason for the demon tide.

Mayumi Haga knew very little about the magic of this world, and she had only learned about things like spirit veins last night.

This has a similar nature to the "River of Life" in her original world.

In her world, the invasion of the Death Worms began... from the moment the river of life was gnawed away.

As a guardian, after signing a contract with the world's consciousness, she was given the responsibility of watching over the river of life.

After death, the life on that continent returns to the river of life, following the streams to end its long journey, washing away the filth and memories it has accumulated in the mortal world, and then being born as new life.

But the Death Worm disrupted that order, forcibly plundering life and causing the river of life to dry up.

When the last drop of her life was gone, Mayumi Haga came into this world.

The death worm in front of her looked different from the worms in her world, probably because it had absorbed the spiritual veins of this world.

Its dense aura of death and decay relentlessly devours life force, but in this world, almost everyone possesses magic that can replace life force in being eroded, thus slowing down the rate of death.

Even so, we can't just leave it here and let it have a negative impact on ordinary people.

I have to deal with it myself.

Mayumi Haga drew her one-handed sword and, under the astonished gaze of the magical girl Iris, used the tip of the sword to lift her up.