NOVEL NEXT Chapter 78
“I can see your panties, hey.”
“I-it’s not panties…!”
Ayle, her face flushed bright red from the Flame’s magical girl’s mental attack, seemed to think it best to ignore her words altogether. She sighed, Hoo- and fluttered the hem of her skirt, which had turned into wings.
Regardless of whether what was seen below was really underwear or not, her appearance didn’t seem vulgar at all; instead, it radiated a sacred reverence.
Just as it didn’t matter to the sheep on the ground whether an angel flying in the sky wore underwear or not—there were no impious beings distracted by underwear before the descent of the fallen angel.
“─Let me show you. Ms. Flame’s Magical Girl.”
Evil Magical Girl
Fallen Angel Mode.
“What true despair is.”
Ayle revealed her clearly evolved form and flapped her wings. The AI embedded in her magical girl outfit read her thoughts and moved accordingly.
With each flap of her wings, black feathers made of magical power plunged down onto the ground, resembling bombs pouring out of a heavy bomber to the spectators below.
Flame, who was on the ground, thought the same. This wasn’t something that could simply be blocked.
“Damn it, she’s evolved all by herself!”
Rolling on the ground and spewing flames for high-speed maneuvering, Flame realized that Ayle wasn’t moving an inch from her spot except for shooting feathers.
Wondering if she couldn’t move while attacking like that, she deftly shot fire, only to find out that wasn’t the case. Ayle’s lack of movement was for another reason.
“All magical girls are entertainers, right?”
Ayle, with her wings spread flamboyantly, flashed a grin. Her smile and the fluttering of her wings were captured by cameras set up throughout the arena, prominently displayed on screens.
“Can you believe how many people are here to enjoy your show? Why don’t you entertain us?”
For the sake of entertainment.
Ayle had no intention of stopping this show that would be watched by 90,000 spectators and hundreds of thousands online.
Until she avenged the humiliation of her first defeat.
The show must go on.
“─That damn girl.”
Flame, having read Ayle’s thoughts, muttered a curse.
There was only one thing she could do.
Just like she had done until now.
To simply struggle.
Flame swung her fist at the fallen angel floating above. Believing that someday her punch would land, even if it didn’t now.
That was what it meant to be a magical girl.
* * *
“Dad—! When’s the next one?”
“I don’t know if there will be a next…”
The fight was over.
Unsurprisingly, it was a crushing victory for Evil’s Magical Girl.
Even though the Flame’s Magical Girl had miraculously won against Ayle, she never really had the skill to take the upper hand. It was mostly about luck. Against the powered-up Ayle, she was utterly defenseless.
Just like how an elementary student could win against a high schooler by sheer luck, winning against a world champion was impossible.
When the skill gap reaches its extreme, there’s no room for other factors to interfere.
“Damn it—I bet the Flame’s Magical Girl would win…”
“You crazy? The odds were nearly 100 to 1; why would you want to bet on that?”
“Isn’t it foolish not to bet on 100 to 1?”
“That just means your chances of losing are 100 to 1.”
“Is that how it works…?”
After the duel ended, the audience began to trickle out, having enjoyed the splendid magic of the magical girls.
Some enthusiastic fans even barged into the arena, claiming they had become fans of Evil’s Magical Girl after this match, demanding autographs and photos from Ayle.
“Sister—! I’m a fan!”
“Just one photo, please!”
“Can I see the exposed underwear like earlier…?”
Harried by countless spectators, Ayle only managed to free herself after giving autographs and taking pictures with them all. Having escaped to the staff-only area, she paused upon seeing Eight waiting in her waiting room.
“Whoa… I thought my fans were waiting here too.”
“Fans? You’ve got quite a popularity, huh?”
“Haha— I didn’t think I’d become this popular…”
Ayle scratched her cheek as she spoke. She seemed lost in a vague feeling of disbelief at her explosive newfound popularity and cast a troubled glance at Eight.
After looking at her for a moment, as if asking what was wrong, Ayle cautiously opened her mouth.
“C-can you please step out for a moment, Scientist?”
“Why?”
“I-I want to change clothes because I’m all sweaty… I can’t do that if you’re here…”
“Ah.”
Banished from the waiting room, Eight stood awkwardly in the hallway. Perhaps due to the soundproofing, he heard no noise coming from within as Ayle changed clothes.
How long would it take for her to change?—he thought, passing the time when he spotted a red-haired woman walking down the hallway.
The Flame’s Magical Girl, who had just battled Ayle today, was approaching.
As she came closer, she met Eight’s gaze and slightly frowned.
“That girl in there, right?”
“…That girl?”
“The Evil’s Magical Girl.”
Was she coming for revenge now that the duel was over? Eight shook his head, blocking the door.
“You can’t go in right now.”
“What? Why?”
“She’s changing clothes…”
“Damn—what kind of pervert flashes her underwear in front of everyone…?”
Even while expressing her dissatisfaction like that, Flame calmly leaned against the wall, waiting for Ayle to change.
But perhaps she was growing restless just idling around; Flame suddenly looked at Eight and asked.
“By the way, what’s your role here? Manager?”
“Well, something like that.”
“Damn these suit-wearing bastards. Are they trying to reach out to Evil’s Magical Girl now? You know she’s a villain, right? That she’s in league with the enemy of the world?”
At that, Eight shrugged. She must’ve mistaken him for some typical manager or producer connected with other magical girls.
It wasn’t because they were both villains; even as a working individual, he thought having a producer for Evil’s Magical Girl wasn’t a problem at all. In business, there’s no good or evil—only goods that earn money and those that don’t.
And it was easy to see what inferiority complex this girl had, having been treated as a worthless commodity by those suit-wearing bastards.
“In that case, magical girls are the same. There’s a saying that the enemy of the world is actually a figure summoned by the mayor of City H and the CEOs of major corporations. If that’s true, all the activities of magical girls are just farces—”
“Shut your mouth about farces, you piece of shit—!”
But perhaps digging too deep, Eight coldly looked down at the hand Flame had on his collar.
“That wasn’t a farce! We genuinely risked our lives to protect people! Why can’t you remember all those who died!? Why do we who fought risking our lives have to take the abuse!?”
Her voice filled with rage. Whether it was loud enough to break through the thick soundproof walls, Ayle, who had been changing clothes, carefully opened the door and poked her head out, curious about the commotion.
The moment she peeked out, Ayle saw Eight being grabbed by Flame and hurriedly stepped forward.
“S-stop—!”
“…You.”
“Stop it! I won’t let you bully the Scientist!”
Ayle, positioning herself between Eight and Flame, glared at Flame with trembling eyes. Flame stepped back, looking at her in disbelief.
“Evil’s Magical Girl? You, the Evil’s Magical Girl?”
“Y-yeah… Is there something you need…?”
“…No. Forget it. Just forget it.”
Having seen a girl who had lost any hint of the charisma and elegance she should display as Evil’s Magical Girl, Flame muttered that she couldn’t be the Evil’s Magical Girl and walked away.
As Flame stepped away, Eight threw something at her.
Whoosh-!Thinking it was an attack, Flame caught whatever came flying and frowned upon seeing the red potion in her hand.
“Take this. Looks like you’re pretty hurt.”
“…Thanks. And, uh—sorry for grabbing you.”
“No, I feel like I said something unnecessary.”
As Flame waved her hand lightly and disappeared, Eight entered Ayle’s waiting room, turning over the words Flame had just said in his mind.
The desperate lament of why no one remembered that magical girls had died fighting.
“—Ayle.”
“Y-yes—!”
“Have any magical girls died?”
“Well, I’m not sure… As far as I know, none have… They all retire perfectly fine…”
“Right, that’s what you say.”
The fact that Ayle, a recognized magical girl otaku, couldn’t recall any incidents meant that either it had never happened or at least wasn’t known.
And there existed a magical girl who remembers an event that no one else did.
Two people were making opposing claims. One of them must be lying.
‘No, perhaps it’s also possible that neither is lying.’
Eight recalled the Fairy Queen he banished from this world. The being who had summoned magical girls by sharing her power.
─If there’s a secret she’s hiding…
‘A technology that affects the perception of all things in the world… World-scale perception alteration?’
It was indeed a tempting technology.
How on earth had it been implemented—he had an urge to dissect and understand it completely.