Chapter 4 : Pulitzer Prize of the Year

The news that an S-rank monster had broken through the gate spread like wildfire across the fields.

• How big is it this time?
• It looks like it’s about 5 meters tall.
• Breaking news: all magic girls are on standby.
• Another big one. Has this happened before?
• As soon as I saw the news, I ran to the store and bought some ramen.

Many comments expressed concern for the people in the area, but some raised questions.

• You caught a dinosaur, so surely a monkey is a piece of cake, right?
• That was an event monster.
• The second Scarlet is the real monster; the others aren’t.
• I heard the dinosaur was a hologram.
• Hologram, haha, are you serious?

For some, it was a matter of watching from afar, but their thoughts were similar.

• Is Scarlet coming too?
• If not, we’re screwed…
• It seems like they can’t be reached. Are they even part of the same team?

Attention was focused on one person with extraordinary power, but expectations for the existing members were also high.

• Two members of the trusted third generation have joined. Looks like almost ten people gathered to catch a monkey.
• Wow, a large-scale raid. It’s been ages since we’ve had one like this, haha.
• During the dinosaur incident, everyone was scattered, but now we’re finally fighting together.
• At this point, we might have a shot.

The third generation of trusted members. Their combat abilities were exceptional enough to be called that. Even an S-rank monster would likely be handled.

That was the prevailing opinion, though in reality, they were struggling.

“Ugh… We can’t win this.”

Aurora Lora was panting heavily. Despite doing their best, they were soundly defeated. Half of their team had already retreated, and the rest were nearing their limits.

The reason their tactics of massing forces were failing was because most of the people there were from the fifth generation.

Only Aurora Lora and Frozen Princess could be considered veterans.

Since the fourth generation had been divided into specific areas for emergency response, they couldn’t immediately assist.

Today, they even struggled to detect the size of the dimensional rift, or the gate, leading to the demon world.

“When do you think the other members will arrive?” “Hold on… It’ll take at least 30 minutes, and the departure was delayed this time, so it’ll take a while.”

Aurora Lora answered while looking at her smartphone.

They couldn’t rely on outside help. They had to manage with only the people here.

“Can you attract some attention for a moment?”

“What are you planning?”

“We can’t let the juniors get into danger.”

Frozen Princess swung her sword and created an ice wall in front of them.

It was thick and sturdy, but it was no match for an S-rank monster.

Crash! With a single punch, the wall shattered, and ice shards flew in all directions.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Aurora Lora joined the fight. Spreading particles of light, she unleashed a hammer crush!

She swung it with the force to send the monster flying over the horizon, but all it did was stagger its legs.

In return, she was punched and sent sprawling on the ground.

“Can you get up?”

“This is nothing! I’ve got this.”

True to her tough nature, she quickly stood up and regained her stance.

“We need to retreat the juniors. The two of us should slowly fall back and buy time.”

“Are you just going to let the city get destroyed?” Frozen Princess nodded.

“If we keep dragging this out, we won’t be able to defeat it. It’s better than someone dying.” Aurora Laura agreed.

Before the experienced magic girls arrived, it didn’t look like they had a chance of winning.

“Alright, let’s show what we’ve got after a long time.”

She swung her hammer, loosening up her body.

“Everyone retreat! The rest of you focus on evacuating the people, Frozen Princess and I will manage somehow!”

She shouted loudly toward the juniors.

“We can still fight! Two of you won’t be enough!”

Parfait Alpha tried to stop them.

“You’re just trying to stall for time. We need to divide our roles. The rest should focus on getting the people to safety!”

Though reluctant, there was no better option.

The fifth-generation magic girls helped each other and withdrew from the battlefield.

“Now, just as we wanted, it’s down to the two of us.”

“If you don’t want to stay, you can leave.”

“Stop saying nonsense. I still have some pride, you know?”

The two exchanged a brief, knowing smile.

“Even if we don’t strictly follow seniority, as senior magic girls, we have to set an example.”

“That’s right.”

The second round began.

Frozen Princess froze the ground, creating a sheet of ice, and the monster slipped.

“Ugh!”

Aurora Lora leapt high into the air and slammed her hammer down hard.

Clang!

“What’s so tough about this!?”

Even though the hammer struck the monster’s torso directly, it remained unscathed.

It quickly retreated and re-established its stance.

“Don’t be greedy. Just think about surviving.”

“I know!”

The monster, shaped like a monkey, specialized in powerful attacks with its highly developed arms.

It used its long reach to throw punches and sometimes hurled debris from destroyed buildings.

The battle was a tense back-and-forth, like walking a tightrope.

The teamwork between the two friends and comrades was flawless, but an unexpected situation arose.

“Hey, there’s someone over there!”

Aurora Lora was the first to notice.

Someone emerged from a building that should have been empty.

It was a woman in a suit.

She stood frozen in front of the monster, casting a huge shadow.

“Get out of the way!”

As they rushed toward her, a massive fist flew toward them.

With a blunt impact sound, Aurora Lora was sent flying dozens of meters away.

Frozen Princess activated her magic.

Spikes made of ice shot up from the ground, but they didn’t cause much damage.

It only seemed to annoy the monster.

“Grrrr!”

The monster roared and fired a beam.

There was no time to evacuate the civilians.

She had no choice but to use her own body as a shield.

The surrounding asphalt shattered and was ripped apart.

Agonizing pain, like her back was burning.

She deployed her shield with all her strength, but it couldn’t block all the damage.

Frozen Princess clenched her teeth and endured.

Eventually, the ear-splitting noise stopped.

“Are you okay…?”

A woman asked with concern.

She didn’t seem to be injured.

It was worth throwing herself in the way.

“Don’t worry about me, just go.”

The woman bowed slightly with a guilty expression.

“Thank you…! Please win!”

Leaving those words behind, she disappeared down the alley.

“This is bad…”

Frozen Princess let out a bitter smile.

Her partner was knocked out, and she herself was in no condition to fight.

Her tattered clothes were soaked in blood, and her trembling legs could barely keep her standing.

The phrase “crisis of life and death” fit perfectly.

“Grrrrrrr!”

A monster with glowing red eyes.

She had no confidence she could block the next attack.

This would probably be her grave.

Frozen Princess quietly closed her eyes.

But the final moment never came.

Bang!

A refreshing gust of wind blew through.

There was no pain.

She wasn’t dead.

When she opened her eyes, an unbelievable sight lay before her.

“I was watching because the timing felt off, but you were pretty cool.”

She was speechless at the surreal sight.

Scarlet was standing there.

Blocking the monster’s fist with one arm, her pink hair flowing in the wind.

“How…?”

“Take a break. I’ll finish this quickly.”

She deflected the monster’s fist and thrust her magic wand forward.

“Scarlet Beam☆”

As if purifying with divine power.

A brilliant light engulfed the monster and wiped it out without a trace.

The long battle was over.

Her legs gave out from relief.

“H-Hey! Get a grip! You can’t die now that we’ve finally won!”

Scarlet shook Frozen Princess by the shoulders.

She had lost too much blood.

Her vision gradually blurred.

“…Thank you.”

The last words squeezed from her throat were gratitude.

The feeling of being protected by someone—it wasn’t so bad.

She had recovered a sense of innocence from before she became a magical girl.

As warmth filled her heart, Frozen Princess lost consciousness.

I was watching the juniors’ battle from afar.

Not because their sloppy fight was entertaining.

Quite the opposite.

I wanted to see if there were any reliable magical girls, so I intentionally stayed out of it.

Giving up my transformation means letting go of the name Scarlet.

I was watching to judge whether I could retire with peace of mind… but I stepped in without thinking.

“Doesn’t look like the ambulance will make it in time.”

Frozen Princess’s breathing was faint, as if it might stop any second.

Magical girls have strong bodies, but the bleeding was severe.

The only way to save her was to replenish her magical energy.

Magic is life force.

But unless it’s restored rapidly, even that holds little hope.

It was time to use an elixir.

“Here, drink this.”

I pried open her mouth and poured the potion in.

Careful not to spill a single drop.

After she drank it all, I waited to see the result.

Nothing happened at first, but soon changes began.

The wounds visible through her torn clothes started healing.

Overflowing magic was restoring her damaged body.

A few seconds later, she opened her eyes.

“You’re awake?”

Frozen Princess quickly sat up and looked around.

“The monster?”

Of all things, that’s what she asked first.

It was ridiculous, but also showed how diligent she was.

“I took care of it.”

“I thought so… was it a dream?”

“It’s not a dream.”

“You’re strong.”

“It’s thanks to experience.”

It was partly due to a special constitution, but let’s go with that.

“Are you still claiming to be Scarlet?”

“Because it’s true.”

“Then what’s in front of me must be a walking corpse?”

“Believe it or not—it’s up to you.”

It’d be nice if she believed, though.

Frozen Princess fell silent, then smiled gently.

“Thank you, Scarlet.”

At that same time.

A photo was going viral on the internet.

[Title: Monkey Subjugation Complete]

(Photo of Scarlet Beam piercing the monster)

Uploaded just now by Aurora Lora.

“Hologram theory, destroyed like garbage!”

• Didn’t she lose before?
• Every time she shows up, the genre changes lol
• One-shot one-kill, daaaamn
• CGI these days is crazy
• Even while knocked out, someone took a picture lmaooo
• This is insane
• Official S-rank. Says it all. Guess it really was Scarlet.
• Not even Scarlet could do that, could she?
• So is she stronger than dinosaurs now?
• Pulitzer Prize of the year