Tokyo – Subway Station
There was no way the magical girls would retreat in this direction. This was the most densely populated area in the city, and if a gas leak actually happened here, the resulting public disaster would be enormous.
But considering the sheer lack of a lower bound when it came to magical familiars…
The monster leader, Square Gentleman, personally stationed himself here. After all, a good number of the organization's members were salarymen. If a subway gas leak disrupted operations, the organization's budget would take a direct hit.
This time, the target was the magical familiar who had assassinated Ratty: Pela.
At her side was Pure White, someone powerful enough to turn the tide of battle all on her own.
That said, the calculating Auntie, Madame Phosphor, seemed to have already made her move against the magical girl Pure White. She had mobilized the power of fans, claiming it would stall Pure White for at least half an hour.
As for the magical familiar, it would be dealt with by the formation and Rooster.
The stage for hunting the magical familiar had already been set. Now all that remained was to wait quietly. As the leader, his responsibility was simply to hold the line here and provide backup for the monsters inside the venue.
And then—
A blinding flash of light erupted. Several fan-type monsters teleported in front of the leader through the emergency teleportation array left behind by Ratty.
"?"
The monster leader, who had been killing time on his phone, typed out a question mark. The concert was not even halfway through yet. Why had the emergency evacuation array been activated already? Had Auntie's plan started ahead of schedule?
"What's going on inside? Did Auntie's plan get exposed?"
"Impossible. Auntie's plan was flawless. There's no way it leaked. It's just that this time, luck happened to be on the magical familiar's side. Long story short, there was a real gas leak at the Sumimi concert venue!"
"…That said, the venue technically has gas lines, but they're usually shut off, right? The daughter of the monster leader Barrel plays in a girl band too. I picked up some details while drinking."
Silence.
If measured by human standards, Square Gentleman was already in his late fifties, pushing sixty, a relic of the Showa era. Logically speaking, he should not have known anything about modern girl bands.
That was why the fan monsters had carefully agreed on a cover story beforehand. And yet the leader unexpectedly knew his stuff, even backstage details.
"Uh…"
The monsters who had caused the gas leak were subordinates brought in by the executive Rooster. Strictly speaking, they were not under the leader's direct command. Still, lying to the leader right in front of him was extremely dangerous.
The fan monsters instantly broke into a cold sweat.
Square Gentleman swept his gaze over them, catching a whiff of deception. His expression turned dangerous. If a leader could be fooled by low-ranking monsters, he would not survive long in this line of work.
Just as he was about to expose the lie and interrogate them, a presence belonging to an unknown magical girl surged through the subway station.
"Ahhhhh!"
A pink-haired girl charged forward at full speed. Her hair whipped wildly under the impact of magic, and in the blink of an eye she appeared in front of Square Gentleman.
The moment she sensed the aura of a leader-class monster, the pink little milk dragon froze. The monster presence at the incident site had only been low-level grunts. Who would have expected a leader to be lying in wait here?!
And one she had never seen in London, no less.
A Tokyo local?
Square Gentleman's expression was just as complicated. No matter how airtight Ratty's schemes were, none of them included a contingency for "what if a magical girl suddenly shows up."
The fact that this magical girl appeared here meant the magical familiar had most likely already regrouped. On their side, there was only one leader-class combatant: himself. Their plan risked collapsing.
The magical girl in front of him was weaker than he was, but magical girls were the kind of beings who could shout about friendship and bonds and somehow turn one plus one into more than two.
"In that case, I'll be taking my leave—"
Square Gentleman waved a hand, preparing to depart. But the pink magical girl flash-stepped right in front of him.
"Hah, like I'd let you leave that easily!"
The pink milk dragon's face hardened with resolve.
Even though the leader radiated danger, she had nowhere left to retreat. She absolutely could not let news of "Magical Girl Scarlet Sakura appearing in Tokyo" reach the London monster circles.
Square Gentleman's expression darkened.
As the magical girl and the monster leader clashed—Chicken Crest
Inside the so-called Ratty Formation, officially titled "Ratty's 108 Posthumous Schemes, the Formation That Will Ensure the Magical Familiar's Total Defeat," the executive monster Rooster Crest, guarding the core of the array, felt a wave of dizziness.
"Ugh…"
He struggled to steady his breathing.
What intense rain… Ever since becoming a monster, he had not felt like this in ages. He had actually caught a cold.
It reminded him of the glory days, before he became a monster, before Ratty did too.
Iron Mountain Shoulder, White Discharge, Crow Sits on the Plane, Hand-Rubbed Rasengan, Cover-the-Crotch Style, Restless Urge. Back then, when videos on Ratty's website had driven him into a rage-induced stupor, it had felt exactly like this.
At the very least—
At the very least, he had to hold on until the magical familiar was dealt with.
Barely breathing, almost blending into the greenery, Rooster Crest lay in wait for the final battle. At the very center of the formation, no matter which direction the magical familiar tried to break through, he would be able to intercept.
"Huff… huff… I'm exhausted!"
Hearing the sound, Kun-kun snapped his eyes open.
He looked in that direction, saw no human figure, then lowered his gaze and spotted a strange creature clumsily trudging through the grass.
It had been drenched in torrential rain for half an hour.
Between the post-rain mist and the dizziness from his cold, Rooster Crest could not clearly make out the creature's appearance. But—
Pink. Plump.
Every feature matched the magical familiar he had previously witnessed, the one that had assassinated Ratty.
(Last time it was a pink pig-cat. This time it was a pink milk-dragon magical familiar. Going blind twice in a row or what.)
"Heh. They say magical familiars are incredibly sly, but honestly, they're not that impressive. Look at this, I caught one all alone. What luck."
Rooster Crest grinned from the bushes.
The magical familiar stiffened in shock and stared toward the roadside greenery. The figure there had a middle-part hairstyle, wore overalls, cradled a basketball in one arm, and was covered head to toe in mud, flowers, and weeds.
"A Tokyo local monster…?"
He had called out its identity directly. Clearly, this was a prepared ambush. Even so, the chicken-headed monster's aura was absurdly weak.
Chaotic breathing. A faint heartbeat.
It was so bad that the magical familiar genuinely felt that if this guy tripped over a pebble, he might die on the spot.
The floppy-eared rabbit flashed a smug grin. If this were a powerful monster, it would have immediately called for magical girl backup. But bullying the weak was its specialty.
"Heh."
Under the orange streetlights after the rain, a bizarre transformation effect unfolded. When it ended, standing there was a pink, fur-covered rabbit mascot over two meters tall, rolling its tire-like shoulders.
"In theory, magical familiars aren't good at fighting, but if we really throw down, I'm confident I won't lose to anyone—"
The cool finishing line never made it out.
The massive magical familiar was sent flying. It did not even register when the monster had struck. All it felt was a tremendous impact to its chest. When it focused—
A spinning basketball.
Magical Familiar: What even is this?!
Kun-Style Dribble.
A skill developed by the executive monster Rooster Crest over two and a half years of practice. His arm had practically become one with the basketball, turning it into a devastating long-range attack.
That… was impossible.
The magical familiar, Friss, was shaken to the core.
The opponent's physical condition was clearly terrible, yet it had not even had time to react. There was only one conclusion: the gap in their strength was enormous.
This was close to leader-class power.
Even if Friss got a second chance, even without underestimating this frail monster and giving it full focus, it would still not be able to dodge that bizarre basketball.
The techniques were just too strange.
Friss had seen plenty of humans play basketball, but never anything so illogical. Amateur-level fundamentals combined with near leader-class stats produced an effect similar to hidden weapons.
Telepathy.
Realizing things had gone south, the magical familiar immediately contacted Scarlet Sakura.
Scarlet Sakura was also facing a leader-class opponent, but speed was her specialty. She had once darted in and out of a London cinema seven times in a row with Friss in tow. If she wanted to leave, a normal leader could never hold her.
"Hello—"
The moment the magical girl and magical familiar connected—
Kun-Style Iron Mountain Shoulder.
On the surface, it was an attack. In reality, it was Friss trying to create distance and seize a window to contact Scarlet Sakura.
This was supposed to be its escape route.
But it never expected the middle-parted monster to close the gap instantly the moment it spoke.
The monster grabbed the magical familiar's arm and, with a posture even stranger than throwing a basketball, smashed its shoulder into it.
"Gah—!"
The magical familiar was sent flying, crashing to its knees. It looked unharmed on the outside, but the internal damage was severe. Movement had become extremely difficult.
"How… is this possible?"
Friss realized something terrifying.
The monster in front of it was also a speed-type. If one ignored the flashy wind-up motions, his burst speed might even surpass that of Magical Girl Scarlet Sakura.
After all, he was close to leader-class. His growth potential might be lower than a magical girl's, but his base stats alone created a crushing gap.
In other words.
Even if Friss successfully contacted Scarlet Sakura, escaping together from this middle-parted monster's pursuit would be extremely difficult.
Kun-Style Crow Sits on the Plane.
Kun-Style White Discharge. (T/N: sus)
Kun-Style Cover-the-Crotch Style.
Enduring the debuffs from his cold, Rooster Crest unleashed one ultimate move after another on the magical familiar that had assassinated Ratty, or so he believed. When the magical familiar finally stopped moving…
Perhaps because witnessing the magical familiar's fall had loosened him up, the aftereffects of being soaked in rain for half an hour surged all at once. The mysterious middle-parted man collapsed to the ground as well.
"Ratty, already in hell… rejoice. Your schemes finally succeeded."
The executive monster Rooster Crest lost consciousness.
…
Tokyo – Above the City
The magical familiar Friss had fallen.
And the one who had, in a very technical sense, killed the magical familiar that assassinated Ratty was now standing at an absolutely safe, hidden vantage point, watching the battle between the magical girl and the monster leader.
Square Gentleman did not want a subway gas leak affecting the organization's finances. The magical girl did not want to fight in a crowded area either. With unspoken agreement, they had taken the battle to the skies above the city.
"Wow, her moves are so flashy, meow. And she's pink, just like me. That magical girl is really…"
"So magical-girl-like, meow!"
Elysia Cat meowed in admiration, glancing around afterward. Good thing her beautiful owner had not followed. Otherwise, she would definitely get mocked again for being uneducated.
Watching this, Elysia felt a twinge of envy for her owner's world. If these were Herrschers from Honkai…
They would never avoid crowded areas.
Yet this not-very-nice-looking monster executive, reeking of the same money-grubbing aura as certain high-ranking figures from the Previous Era, was actually avoiding populated areas by mutual understanding when fighting a magical girl.
Even so.
Despite rapidly growing stronger as the fight went on, the pink-haired magical girl was still at an overwhelming disadvantage.
"Heh, little girl, are you giving me a massage? You don't seriously think attacks at this level can hurt me, do you? Are all out-of-town magical girls this delusional?"
"Tch…"
The pink milk dragon let out an irritated huff. Her total magic reserves were enormous, but her output could not keep up. All she could do was stall the monster leader without dealing any real damage.
If this dragged on, she would lose. One hundred percent.
Retreat?
She had no room to retreat. If this monster leader spread information about "Magical Girl Scarlet Sakura appearing in Tokyo" back to London, she would be hunted relentlessly.
"Heh. Looks like the timing's about right."
Square Gentleman tilted his head toward the starry sky, smiling. He had just received Rooster Crest's message: Tokyo's greatest hidden threat, the magical familiar who had assassinated Ratty, Pela, had been eliminated.
Which meant—
His job was done. He did not know why this magical girl had come looking for him, but he had successfully tied her down. At his age, moving around was good exercise. Overdoing it, however, could have side effects.
The leader opened a portal, preparing to leave.
"You! Are! Not! Allowed! To! Go!"
The magical girl shouted and launched her final charge. But the leader's casting was faster. The teleportation completed. His retreat was inevitable.
Yet just before he stepped through—
Something even faster struck.
A pink arrow adorned with dreamlike energy hit the monster leader in a flash. In an instant, chaotic, rampaging energy slammed into his signature defensive magic, Square Barrier, hundreds upon hundreds of times. The shield that could block all of Scarlet Sakura's attacks was torn open with ease, and the arrow struck Square Gentleman's knee.
"Hm? Bullying such a cute girl and thinking you can just leave? You should pay a tiny little price first."
Elysia Cat let out a soft meow. Because the leader had avoided populated areas as a battlefield, her perception of monsters had shifted slightly. This was not unlike some of the upper echelons of Fire Moth, after all.
In the end, she did not deal a killing blow.
Ahh. She had attended Inori-chan's music party, meaning being fed little cakes by a beautiful girl, watched an idol concert, and then spectated a battle between a magical girl and a monster executive.
Completely satisfied, Elysia Cat hopped over to the magical girl, who lay sprawled on a rooftop, motionless and hollow-eyed.
"Ahh… it's over. My life is probably going to be nothing but being chased by monsters from now on. Sigh. I guess I'll have to quit the band tomorrow. I can't drag everyone else into this…"
The magical girl muttered incoherently.
"Hey, don't be so down. That fight just now was super cool. My heart was pounding watching it!"
Elysia Cat greeted her cheerfully.
"You're—" the magical girl turned her head toward the cat. "The cat in Kiyono's arms. That crystal arrow just now, was that…"
Kiyono's magic?
The magical familiar had mentioned that Kiyono had incredible magical girl potential, which was why it encouraged her to befriend her. But now it seemed Kiyono was already a magical girl.
Bad news: the monsters had obtained her information and might launch revenge operations against her.
Good news: she had found an organization. With Kiyono around, maybe the monsters' pursuit was not such a big problem after all?
Elysia Cat stared blankly.
This magical girl thought she was Kiyono's magical familiar. A misunderstanding, a total misunderstanding. But… it did kind of fit. Lately, her beautiful owner had been using Fairy Magic too.
If she had not taught her, yet her owner learned Fairy Magic from scratch, then—
Wouldn't that mean she could not be Dr. Elysia, but might secretly be a genius Professor Elysia instead? Yay!
Yeah, no way.
The pink pig-cat had been thinking about this recently. Had her beautiful owner done something weird to her? But after being reminded by the pink-haired magical girl, she suddenly realized—
Oh.
Could it be…
That she really was some kind of magical familiar?
…
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Let me know if I got a name wrong. I know basically nothing about MyGO.