An actress in our midst! (web version)

Jessica was stunned.

Really, what even was there to say?

Apparently, the demon lord and the first Pretty Flame had a kid together. She had gone through pregnancy and childbirth while in a magical coma… somehow. And that kid was Hecate, who now acted as one of the demon generals.

Apparently, the title princess knight was quite literal.

“Right… So… You still haven’t explained about your true goal and the whole end of the world thing,” Jessica prodded after recovering from her shock.

The demon lord simply nodded.

“Since that day, I have done a lot of research. I didn’t want to believe it at first, but everything pointed to one thing.” He looked down and his armored fists clenched. “Trish… is the fifth weapon now.”

“The hell?” the other guy – Jessica’s fucking dad – exclaimed. Her own reaction wasn’t any different though.

“It’s the reason why she can’t wake up and why she has to be protected at all cost.”

Obviously, he also wanted to protect her because she was his girlfriend. But he didn’t say it out loud. He didn’t need to. Jessica could read between the lines.

“There are still demons who blame me for the first apocalypse. I can’t really argue with them, but…” He sighed. “They want to get revenge now.”

The so-called rogue demons the magical girls had mentioned.

“Just like you did?” Jessica challenged.

He hung his head. One could really see that he wasn’t prideful royalty at all.

“Yes. I had moved on from and forgotten about revenge after meeting Trish, but them? They won’t ever give it up. They think that if they sacrifice all five magical girl weapons, they can resurrect themselves and restore the old empire.”

“Can they do that?”

“It’s… possible. But the act of sacrificing the weapons attuned to Earth’s energies will be disastrous for Earth. And I can’t imagine the effects will be any better for the demon realm if they perform the sacrifice here.” He shook his head before whispering. “Not to mention… Since Trish is the fifth weapon, she would die for sure.”

“Alright, just one more question then.”

“Yes?”

“Why the fuck haven’t you told the magical girls about any of this? If they are meant to be your allies, then why the hell are they out of the loop? And don’t you dare say that you’re too embarrassed to talk to them after you had that fight or something!”

“That’s… part of it…” he muttered. “No, but there is a good reason for that.”

“Which is…?”

“I already told the magical girls.”

…

“Err… What?”

“The second generation Pretty Bloom, Spark, and Flame. They know everything. I told them. Personally.”

The hell? The second generation?

“Then–”

“And a few weeks after I told them, they all lost their attunement to the weapons and ceased to be magical girls.”

Jessica stared.

“They… lost their attunement?” the asshole standing next to her asked.

“I still haven’t pinpointed what causes it exactly. All I know is that learning or experiencing… something is what causes their attunement to their magical weapons to weaken and eventually get cut off entirely. What that something is… That’s what I’m still not quite sure about.”

“And when that happens,” Jessica continued for him. “When one loses their attunement, they have to pass the weapon onto someone else to be the new magical girl. And before the new magical girl can learn how to use the weapon, there’s a danger of them stealing it… Right?”

“Exactly.” He nodded.

“Okay… Then why haven’t you confiscated the weapons and hidden them somewhere safe? Why let teenagers run around with world-ending devices in their pockets?”

He let out a deep sigh.

“That’s the other problem,” he said, sounding tired. “Even though the weapons were created in the demon realm, they belong on Earth in the hands of humans. Keeping them locked away would also spell trouble.”

“Right… But Trish…”

“Is the reason why we are running out of time. I don’t know how much longer before the magic inside her stops being relatively stable.”

What a complicated situation.

Honestly… All the demon lord wanted was to save his girlfriend… who just happened to be the first magical girl. Apparently.

Jessica wasn’t sure whether to cry or laugh at the irony.

“So what are we supposed to do as the generals? How do we help you save your girlfriend?”

“My g–” he sputtered before swiftly recovering. “Nothing. Your role is exactly what you expected. Lead the minions in attacks against the magical girls. The only difference is that now you know not to actually seriously hurt anyone.”

“And your girlfriend…?”

“Helping Trish is my own problem,” he stated firmly.

Wow. He was that kind of guy, huh?

Jessica clicked her tongue.

“Are you kidding me? You tell us all of this and then you expect us to ignore most of it? Don’t give me that shit!”

“I didn’t sign up for this,” the person-shaped shitbag next to Jessica finally spoke. “I was promised revenge on the magical girls. The entire world being in danger is just…”

“Too much to handle for a coward like you. Yeah, we get it.” Jessica glared at him. “Blah, blah, blah. You can fuck off and leave everything to me.” She growled. “Like you already did.”

The man startled at the amount of venom Jessica poured into her words.

“Jessica–”

“Fuck off. Don’t care. Like I said, you can just leave now. Everyone will be much happier!”

Everyone went silent after her outburst. She merely crossed her arms and continued to glare daggers at her dad.

“Either way…” the demon lord continued. “Your job is to be a demon general. Leave solving Trish’s situation to me.”

Jessica scoffed and stepped closer to the demon lord.

“Oh, I’ll be the best demon general the world has ever seen! But that doesn’t mean I’m just gonna forget about a literal living nuclear bomb in the shape of a person.” She stabbed a finger into his chest. “You probably already know, but I’ve been doing my own research into the fifth weapon and its workings. And I’m not about to throw all my progress out of the window and forget about it.”

With how little the demon lord was saying, Jessica would have thought he was timid or something.

“That…”

“Nothing. You’ll let me help or I’ll continue the research behind your back,” Jessica declared. “Now what’s the deal with the trial?”

Obviously, Jessica knew they could just erase her memories and dump her back on Earth to stop her from meddling, but this was a calculated risk. She knew Nomed valued her presence a fair bit, and more help wasn’t something the demon lord wanted to refuse, right?

Finally, after a moment of silence, he let out a tired sigh.

“Fine then. If you pass the trials, I’ll let you help.” He then turned around. “As for the trial… Follow me.”

Jessica did.

So did her dad, surprisingly, despite his earlier protests.

Jessica eyed him warily, but he didn’t say anything. He simply set his jaw and walked forward.

Well, whatever. She hated his guts, but she wasn’t going to call him out on a change of heart now.

They finally entered the volcano.

At last, the trials began.