MHGA Chapter 292 – The Hunters' Preparations
There was Sakura, with her short brown hair. Then Madoka, with pink hair tied up in twin ribbons. Hibiki looked like a perfectly ordinary girl. There was the idol-like Uzuki, seemingly mid-dance, and finally Mamika, dressed entirely in pink with a hairstyle similar to Madoka's...
"They're all young girls! Are you kidding me?!" Joseph's eyes widened. "These just look like normal girls! Are they really gonna be okay fighting as Hunters?"
"They… don't seem like they've been through any battles," Tanjiro also said, a bit perplexed.
Tanjiro himself had fought in the Demon Slayer Corps since a young age, so he didn't mind their age—but the girls on-screen didn't have the aura of people forced to fight. That confused him.
"Magical Girls… what's that? Like Marluxia?" In his fantasy-minded worldview, Laios was completely lost. "Wait—I think I remember now. Are they like that guy Shirou's sister?"
That comment immediately made everyone who didn't know about magical girls turn their eyes toward an awkward Shirou Emiya, their minds drifting to Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya Season One…
"Magical Girls are… stories where they solve problems and the girls all become friends, right?" Joseph scratched his head. "Doesn't sound that dangerous."
"Illya really likes magical girls too…" Shirou muttered, unsure of how to explain that magical girl anime weren't all cute, suggestive, child-safe shows like some people assumed…
"You guys don't understand anything!!!!" shouted Kazuma, the self-declared veteran otaku. "Magical Girls are actually super dangerous!!! They face all kinds of enemies! Like tentacle monsters and slime demons—they're basically natural predators!!!"
"B*st*rd, what kind of magical girls are you watching?" Kairo Retsu exploded, prepared to drag Kazuma into a public trial for otaku heresy.
"Still though…"
Kairo Retsu scratched his head. "There's no denying some of the shady stuff involved."
"No insurance, no pay, tricked by random weird creatures into working without consent, all while risking their lives in battle…" he muttered. "No wonder those mascot animals keep targeting minors. It's child labor wrapped in dreams and glitter."
As Kairo Retsu ranted on, Naofumi Iwatani patted his shoulder, bringing him back to the topic at hand.
"I don't know how familiar you all are with magical girls, but these particular ones… their stories and tone…" Kairo Retsu mumbled as he queued up transformation clips of the five new girls.
Sakura Kinomoto, the classic magical girl who controls Clow Cards with her key staff.
Hibiki Tachibana, a battle-hardened magical girl who fights with her fists through the power of song.
Madoka Kaname, a tragic magical girl burdened with karmic loops, who ultimately becomes the Law of Cycles.
Mamika Kirameki, who crossed into the world of the Creators, only to be slain by the Military Uniform Princess Altair.
And finally Uzuki, a "muscle" magical girl who, upon transforming, wears a pink skirt and gets into shockingly bloody battles.
"These are our new recruits," Kairo Retsu said, putting his hands together. "And according to the quest, the Frenzy Virus has already appeared in each of their worlds. We need to help them—and eradicate the threat."
"Just like… when we helped you?" David asked, raising his hand.
"No. This time, we'll have to try even harder," Kairo Retsu said, inhaling deeply. "Kirin never intended to harm humans. But Gore Magala and Shagaru Magala… just by existing, they're a catastrophe for the ecosystem."
"I've got a question," said Laios, raising his hand. "According to the data, Gore Magala might not be as strong as Kirin, but Shagaru Magala is supposedly even stronger, right?"
"Can we really handle something like that right now?"
"If we don't, then the Frenzy Virus will become a plague for every world it spreads to," Kairo Retsu replied grimly. "These monsters violate the natural order. As a Hunter—and as Guildmaster—I must stand at the front to hunt them down."
"I hope what we face is only Gore Magala… so we have to act fast." He glanced at the screen again. "Because once a Gore Magala completes its final molt…"
"Guildmaster… I'm a little concerned."
Shirou stared at the brief profiles of the magical girls, and naturally, thoughts of Illya came to mind.
Kairo Retsu had already warned him that Illya would face many hardships in the future—and just imagining these girls suffering similar fates made Shirou's protective instincts flare up.
"Some of what they've been through… is too cruel," Shirou said softly. "What can we do to help them?"
"…Hunt."
Kairo Retsu turned and met Shirou's eyes. "The one thing Hunters are best at."
"What we don't need to do is forcefully change their fate or act like saviors. What we do need to do—is hunt!" Kairo Retsu declared. "When I watch magical girl anime, I sometimes get that feeling too."
"Putting all that burden on a bunch of young girls just feels wrong sometimes…" Kairo Retsu grinned. "But now that I've got the chance, this old man's gonna take on the full weight of being a responsible adult!"
"Old man? Please. To them you're basically just a middle-aged uncle…" Kazuma muttered off to the side.
"YOU LITTLE—!!" Frenzy-virus-influenced Kairo Retsu fully unleashed his battle instincts and pounced on Kazuma.
After the two wrestled for a while, Kairo Retsu, now in "berserk Guildmaster mode," lifted Kazuma like a sack of potatoes—still talking to the rest of the Hunters.
"The Palicoes have already been dispatched to investigate each target world. As for us… we'll wait for their intel before taking action."
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