On the side of justice that defeats evil.
A strong and beautiful warrior.
A magical girl was a familiar yet mysterious existence.
After saving people from monsters, she would leave with a refreshing smile.
I think that image was universal.
At least for my generation, it was.
“Corrupted. Totally corrupted…”
A cost-effective business hotel.
I was lying on the bed, fiddling with my smartphone.
Watching the behavior of modern magical girls through an online streaming platform left me devastated.
For reference, I paid for the smartphone in full and activated it.
I had left some money in my bank account, and while I was away in the demon world, it had gained a decent amount of interest.
“Back in my day, we kept our distance from this kind of materialistic content.”
Looking back, these days magical girls seem to be tied up with the government.
Meaning, they probably handed over personal information and such.
That’s probably why they can stream so freely.
In the past, no one but comrades knew their identities.
Feeling bitter, I closed the stream.
Next, I looked through the news.
[Breaking News] Government officially announces, “Scarlet is not 6th generation.” Classified as an unregistered magical girl, further investigation launched.
It was an article about the commotion that happened yesterday.
“They even did an interview…?”
This was something unimaginable in my time.
Although it troubled me, I decided to be generous about it.
“Well, I guess… as long as they do their job properly.”
You can’t forget the essence of it all.
And I have no right to force them to stick to mysticism.
“Let’s see how many juniors I have now.”
There was a lot of talk in the community and the news about which generation did what.
It seemed like the number of members had increased quite a bit.
“20 in the 5th generation…?”
That’s nearly 7 times more than the 1st generation, which only had 3.
It was more than I expected.
The number increased with each new generation.
At this point, all members of the 1st generation are either dead or retired.
All but one from the 2nd generation have ceased activity.
From the 3rd generation onward, most are still active.
Apparently, the reason the 1st and 2nd generations had so few was because the peak lasted only about 5 to 6 years.
“Maybe I was able to keep growing because I’m a special case.”
I had gotten stronger for over 10 years.
I understood why people couldn’t believe I was Scarlet.
No wonder people were talking about a 6th generation.
“The only ones who knew I was a guy were Stella and Spica.”
That’s the secret of the special case.
Magical girls can only be female.
But I was chosen as an exception.
As a side effect, I couldn’t undo the transformation, but maybe that’s what helped.
I had more magic than my comrades.
The reason was simple.
To maintain this form, I had to continuously use magic, and I couldn’t revert.
Normally, I would’ve run out of magic, reverted, or died.
But my body uniquely adapted to that state.
I became able to produce more magic.
I was recovering more than I was using.
But I couldn’t live like this forever.
“I can finally retire.”
I lifted a small glass bottle.
Inside was a clear liquid.
An elixir I had acquired in the demon world, saved for the day I might return to Earth.
Its effect was to purify and amplify magic.
Drinking it could create a miracle.
It would allow me to undo the transformation.
“Still, I kinda wanted to make a retirement announcement.”
I had a change of heart.
I could prove I was Scarlet if I explained it properly, but I decided not to cling to that.
If peace could be maintained without me, that was enough.
It wasn’t something I started because I wanted to be famous anyway.
“Huh.”
Suddenly, a loud alarm rang from my smartphone.
An emergency disaster alert.
A road cleared under police control.
A girl with mint green ponytails held a smartphone in one hand, streaming live.
“Alola~! The magical girl who crushes evil with dazzling light, Aurora Lora makes a fabulous entrance!”
She made a V-sign toward the camera.
As she cheerfully greeted, the chat exploded with comments.
– Alola~
– Alola
– Whoa, that hammer’s freaking huge lol
– Lora-chan is here!
– Why ‘Alola’?
– It’s a mix of Aloha and Lora
– Alola~
– The monster slaughterer is here
Viewers quickly passed 500 and were steadily rising.
A mix of regular Aurora Lora fans and newcomers.
“Have you all been well? Wow, I’m so happy so many came just to see Lora~.”
– How many monsters are you turning into minced meat today?
– Where are the other team members?
– Isn’t it a little too calm for a live battleground?
– She seems excited to fight
– Is the massacre show about to begin?
“You’re all so mean! What kind of prejudice do you have? I’m just a normal magical girl!”
– Normal…? lololol
– No one’s falling for that anymore, Lora…
– Maybe move that scary hammer in the back before saying that
Aurora Lora glanced at the upside-down hammer behind her.
“Hammer? You mean this? It’s my magic wand! Like a toy mallet for exterminating monsters. Totally not a weapon~.”
– Have you ever actually seen what a toy mallet looks like?
– Magic wand (for physical combat)
– Even actual weapons aren’t that deadly
– At least lie a little more believably lololol
– Let’s gooo, monster extermination time
“Ah, for those here for the first time, I don’t broadcast massacre shows. But I do sometimes show scenes of purifying evil~.”
– Crushing something with a hammer isn’t usually called purification
– Might cause trauma, minors beware
– I have nightmares every day because of Lora
“That’s why I only show wholesome stuff~!”
Aurora Rora exaggeratedly pretended to be sulking, bouncing around dramatically.
Once the mood was lively enough, she got to the main point.
“Alright, we’re heading to the site where the monster appeared now—”
“You were streaming again?”
When Aurora Lora arrived, Frozen Princess gave her a disapproving look.
“It was just for a little while, seriously.”
“Try not to do it outside.”
“It was a public safety announcement, to help protect people!”
“No exceptions.”
“But the evacuation ended early this time, so it’s fine~. Plus, a bunch of our juniors are here—did we really even need to show up? Right?”
“The 5th generation girls are still inexperienced. We need to keep an eye on them for a while.”
“That’s true… Ah! Come to think of it, there’s a really good restaurant nearby. Wanna stop by afterward?”
She dodged the topic with a sheepish smile.
“We’ll see.”
Frozen Princess reluctantly dropped her pursuit.
Since she couldn’t fight while holding a camera, Aurora Lora usually ended her broadcasts right before battle.
She didn’t push her limits either and kept clear boundaries.
And as she said, today’s job seemed relatively easy.
It looked like it would end without much trouble.
“Do you think she’ll show up too?”
“Who?”
“Scarlet, of course.”
The mysterious girl who claimed to be a 1st-generation magical girl.
The whole country had been buzzing about her for days.
“Whether she shows up or not, our job is just to defeat the monster.”
“There you go again, being all stiff. Don’t tell me you’re not curious too?”
“You mean whether it’s really her?”
“Yeah! I think it’s about 50/50.”
“Why?”
“Because she’s strong! And the techniques she uses are exactly the same.”
“But Scarlet’s dead.”
That’s what Spica, her classmate, had testified.
“But there was never any news about finding her body.”
“Same difference. She’s been missing for ten years.”
“It’s not the same! Maybe she went underground to surprise everyone later!”
“Why would anyone do that?”
“Well… because it’d be fun?”
A deep sigh.
Hiding for ten years just to play a prank?
As far as Frozen Princess knew, Scarlet wasn’t the type to do that.
While they chatted and walked, someone ran up from ahead.
It was Parfait Alpha, a 5th-generation magical girl.
“Senpai!”
With snow-white skin typical of Nordic people, the exotically beautiful girl bent over, catching her breath.
“Senpai, it’s bad! Really bad! We were fighting, and then this huge monster just appeared out of nowhere—!”
“Whoa, whoa, calm down.”
Aurora Lora lightly patted her shoulder.
“No honorifics between magical girls.”
“Ah, right! I mean, right…”
“Honorifics are for when we’re not transformed. Okay? You can talk to me casually anytime.”
“Got it! But seriously, it’s bad!”
Parfait Alpha furrowed her brows.
“An S-class monster is rampaging! If this keeps up, the country might be doomed!”
In slightly awkward Korean, she conveyed the gravity of the situation.
“S-class? I didn’t hear anything about that.”
“It just showed up!”
“From a gate?”
“Yeah! We can’t waste time standing here. Everything’s going to be wrecked…!”
Parfait Alpha grabbed her arm and tugged urgently.
“Hey now, magical girls shouldn’t use such coarse language.”
“Oh, come on…! Anyway, we have to hurry!”
Frozen Princess followed closely behind.
“Was the rank assigned by a Supporter?”
Supporters are government-dispatched agents.
They don’t take part in battles but assist magical girls and report back to HQ with intel.
“Yeah, I overheard them on the radio! If we don’t act, we might all be wiped out…!”
The 5th generation were rookies with little experience.
It was hard to expect sound judgment, but the situation did seem urgent.
“Got it. Let’s move.”
At the scene Parfait Alpha led them to, a few 5th-generation magical girls had already arrived and were locked in a fierce battle.
“Whoa… that thing looks intense…”
Aurora Lora let out an astonished gasp.
The enemy was an abnormal monster.
Humanoid, but much taller and with pale skin.
Its upper body was grotesquely muscular, with broad shoulders.
Its arms were so long they touched the ground, resembling an ape infected with a zombie virus.
As they watched, a dazzling flash erupted.
“Ah! That thing again—watch out!”
Just as Parfait Alpha warned—
BOOOOM!
A beam of light shot out from the monster’s mouth.
Buildings collapsed in a straight line, as if sliced clean through.
Concrete debris scattered in all directions.
Dust billowed into the air.
Coughing, Frozen Princess called out urgently:
“Lora, call every magical girl you can reach!”