On the last day of the friendly match, the audience and the 1-Star Magical Girls were shivering.
The excitement that had reached its peak due to the intense battles of the 1-Star girls was surpassed.
“…”
“…”
The fights of the Born 2-Star Magical Girls weren’t just about fighting well; the scale of their powers and light was on another level.
“Is that… the power of 2-Stars…?”
Just imagining a way to stop it felt bleak; it was a grand display of overwhelming power.
“What the heck is [Flame] doing in this fight?!”
The Magical Girls were chilled by the mere fact that the Born 1-Star [Flame] was fighting evenly with them.
A battle between a yellow giant and a golden angel.
A sky-blue warrior and dozens of beasts draped in autumn leaves.
Red flames soaring through the dark blue fortress.
A green storm and a deep green fog.
Ten minutes felt like an eternity, and they were completely overwhelmed by the power emanating from them, unable to say anything.
The golden angel swung a shining saw and defeated the giant.
The sky-blue warrior smashed all the leaf-clad beasts.
The red flames burned brilliantly within the dark blue fortress.
The newly bloomed deep green fog swept away beneath the green storm.
It wasn’t just a performance for show.
It wasn’t an artificially created scene from a movie.
The girls fought seriously, unleashing powers that sent shivers down their spines just by watching.
They finally witnessed the true power of the Magical Girls.
“W-woah, amazing…”
“Are those girls really just hanging around traffic lights and paying at convenience stores?”
“If [Start] hadn’t deployed this territory, those girls would have been causing chaos, huh?”
“Amazing things happened in Kabukicho more than I expected…!”
“Himari looks so cool! So beautiful! So thrilling!”
“That green rogue is impressive too!”
“[Flame] is a god!!!”
“This is what a Magical Girl is…!”
Waaaaaaaah!
The overwhelming power became an object of awe just by existing.
Although it was slightly less than [Start], which is treated like a natural phenomenon, the fight of the 2-Star girls was more beautiful than any drama.
And then the fights continued.
The angel was burned by the flames.
The warrior was driven back by the storm.
Now, only the two strongest girls remained among the 64 1-Star Magical Girls and 7 2-Star Magical Girls.
One of these girls stood here with a singular purpose.
＊
“You’re really amazing. Are you really a Born 1-Star? Even Sato’s little brat can’t do that.”
Ichika looked at Yuki with truly admiring eyes. Her combat capability was one thing, but her adept coping skills and analytical skills were something Ichika wanted to learn.
Fidget
Actually, Yuki, who received the compliment, was restless and couldn’t make eye contact with Ichika.
‘T-the terrorist leader is complimenting me…’
Yuki fumbled for quite some time, feeling awkward.
“What’s up? You were all tough during the fight, and now you’re a shy one?”
“W-well, are you not bringing out the flag?”
“The flag? What flag?”
“The orange flag you always pull out when you fight… don’t you have it?”
“I don’t.”
Ichika said while holding her fists up, smiling brightly at Yuki.
“This is my weapon.”
“W-whoa…”
That’s strange.
The first thing that comes to mind when thinking of the leader of a rebel faction is the orange flag used as a weapon.
‘It was terrifying running around with my comrades’ names engraved on it, all bloody…’
Yuki quietly accepted that something must have changed.
After all, in this altered past, Fujimoto had become a fool regarding the issues concerning Magical Girls, and the faction known as FLAG never existed in the first place.
Yuki calmly gathered her thoughts.
The fight to meet [Start].
Until she gets noticed.
Until she comes looking for me.
I’ll fight with everything I’ve got.
Waaaaaaaah!
The crowd’s cheers.
The special arena prepared for the final battle was not a space with a marble floor decorated with roses but rather a circular arena made of rainbow-colored glass.
Thud
Ichika patted Yuki’s back.
Not caring about the outcome, she had a fighting spirit that still wanted to win.
“Let’s have a fun fight and give it our all!”
A fun fight…
To Yuki, that phrase felt as awkward as cold hot chocolate.
For her, a fight was just painful and lonely.
But now she slightly understood the meaning of that phrase.
“Yes.”
Yuki quietly nodded.
Watch over me.
‘[Start]…!’
The two entered the shining arena.
Waaaaaaaah!
“Yes!! Finally!! It’s the finale!! Among the awe-inspiring 2-Star Magical Girls, the one who has survived is [Freedom]!! And her opponent is none other than!!”
Waaaaaaaah!
“The undefeated champion rising from the bottom!! The hero of 1-Star!! The legend of flames marching through the battlefield!! The Magical Girl [Flame]!!!”
[Flame]!!
[Freedom]!!
[Flame]!!
[Flame]!!
[Flame]!!
There were quite a few voices cheering for Ichika, who had shown the legend of the green rogue and overwhelming skill, but above all, people cheered for Yuki, who had risen from the bottom.
“Hey, if I beat you, I’ll be treated like a total villain, right?”
Ichika laughed for a moment, then suddenly stopped.
Grrr…
A green aura.
The expressionless Ichika felt the green storm unfold around her.
She would simply analyze her opponent and win.
The enhancement abilities of the [Freedom] Magical Girl were simple yet powerful.
Feeling Ichika’s fighting instinct scanning everything, Yuki gathered her strength.
Waaaaaah!
[Flame]!!
The hearts gathered to cheer for Yuki were absorbed into a red star.
Although it was not enough to raise one light, it was just barely half a step shy of producing 2-Star level output.
She always trailed two or three steps behind others.
For her, closing that gap felt almost like being ahead.
[Flame]’s Unique Skill
Red Flame Spark
Whaaaaaat!
Facing the green storm, red flames erupted from the ground. Though their size was insignificant, they firmly controlled the area.
Boom!
Dodging the incoming green fist, Yuki rapidly created the Flame Scale.
Mimicking the [Plague].
She couldn’t replicate even a speck of her power, but since Yuki’s elemental magic was a free-release type, she could apply its principles.
Crack
The Flame Scale mimicking the Scale of Greed moved, absorbing the green storm little by little and converting it into red flames. Though slow, the area under Yuki’s control was gradually expanding.
Swaaaaaang
“Ugh!”
Just barely avoiding it, a green punch filled with energy grazed past Yuki’s head, causing her to bleed from the cheek.
No matter how much future knowledge she brought into play, she couldn’t overcome the absolute difference in output.
“Still, I have to buy time!”
Ichika flashed her green aura and dashed straight toward Yuki.
Yuki raised her flame sword and engaged in a relentless battle with Ichika.
Bang bang bang bang
With every clash of sword and fist, the explosion sound echoed, and pure physical force and heat spread out.
‘There’s no killing intent! Is this just a test?!’
The fist charging at her moved faster than her eyes could follow, and she could only rely on her experience to anticipate Ichika’s fighting path and bring up her sword.
BANG!
“Gah?! Huh…!”
Even that hardly worked against Ichika, who was already accustomed to battles even before becoming a Magical Girl. Ichika deflected Yuki’s flame sword without effort and threw a light punch.
Whoosh!
Yuki grit her teeth and tried to deflect it with a barrier.
SWISH!
What was once a harmless punch transformed into a killing blow directed at Yuki’s head.
Death.
Yuki sensed the moment of death, feeling bored with her [Resurrection] alias. At that moment, she managed to enact her command on the scale just in time.
Letting go of her sword with her hands, she strained her neck with telekinesis to the max.
THUD!
Ichika’s powerful punch struck Yuki’s head.
Silence.
“…”
Three seconds.
Her head was taken off. The fighting instinct told her the fight was over, but something felt off.
Yuki, who had avoided every attack until now, took a hit.
Two seconds.
‘Did I just get caught off guard by a harmless punch?’
That could happen.
One second.
But Ichika felt an unsettling sensation and pulled back her fist for a finishing blow.
Crack
Ichika stiffened, feeling the Flame Scale, which had been quietly absorbing power from behind, move and turned around. At that moment, the Scale absorbed all the space of the Red Flame and vanished.
Rustle
“Ugh…?!”
Ichika’s vision split perfectly in half.
As she turned, she saw Yuki, whose face had completely disappeared, now emitting flames and swinging a scythe.
“Ugh…”
After regenerating her face, Ichika felt the pain that twisted her expression and noticed her eyes bursting with a red aura.
As soon as Ichika was attacked by that scythe, she felt her left half become useless.
‘The attack is shallow, but something’s off about this attack…!’
She was attacked not with a physical sever but something more fundamental.
“Aaaaaaaah!”
“Kyahhhhhh!”
Ichika brought the gathered green energy into an unleashing combo, clashing with Yuki’s flame-made scythe.
BOOOOM
Wooooaaaah!
After the smoke cleared, what was revealed was Ichika with Yuki’s blade lodged in her left chest and Yuki, who was staggering as her two hands flew off.
“A miraculous victory!!! The 1st Friendly Mock Battle of Magical Girls!! The winner is!!! Born 1-Star!! The Magical Girl of [Flame]!!!”
Woosh
With the shake, the two returned to their original forms.
“Hey! What was that! That scythe and scale! That was super cool!”
Ichika asked excitedly about the decisive factor of her surprising defeat, even her fighting instinct failing to interpret it.
“Haha, uh… there’s something like that.”
Yuki mumbled, feeling like Ichika wouldn’t believe her if she told her.
“Interview! Interview!”
From afar, [Coverage] came dashing with sparkly eyes.
“Oh, and there are rewards for those ranked in the top four! Here’s your prize! [Freedom]’s Magical Girl!”
Whoosh!
The large gift box was luxuriously wrapped in purple paper.
“Oh, thank you!”
Rustle
Rustle
Ichika hurriedly opened the box right then and there, ignoring luxury brand clothing, headphones, and cosmetics, desperately searching for what she truly wanted.
It was a smartphone sponsored by an American company aiming to influence Magical Girls through indirect advertising.
“Kyaaaaah! This is it! This is life!!”
Ichika roared to the sky, hugging the gift box and disappearing with an energetic gait.
[Coverage] was flustered by her overly materialistic show, but seeing her so joyfully broadcasted, the company probably felt satisfied.
“Magical Girl [Flame]! You truly achieved a remarkable victory! Maybe everyone from Walpurgis is watching!”
“Really…?”
Even that person?
Would they have let it slide since it was this extravagant?
“I-I don’t know if it’s quite that amazing…”
Yuki scratched her cheek, momentarily lost in thought.
“…”
Did the [Start] that shouted dreams and hope truly know what was to come?
Her movements were meticulously intended to contain Fujimoto and to fend off the ruckus in Korea, China, Europe, and beyond…
Could it be?
Could it be…?
Could it be…!
Thump thump thump thump
Yuki’s heart raced at the sudden thought and fear of being deemed strange by [Start].
“[Flame]?”
Shiver shiver
With a hint of anticipation and a quiver…
She spoke to her.
“I have something to tell the Magical Girl of [Start].”
“…I’ll be waiting at the location of [Alliance]’s [Base].”
＊
As soon as I heard those words, I dashed madly.
The base of the Alliance… that wasn’t a place that existed now; it was something that only appeared in the original story.
Moreover, it would only appear after January of next year.
Could it be?
Could it be…?!
The girl I know is waiting for me.
The girl I know called for me.
Not the 27-year-old Hyeonwoo.
Not the 15-year-old Hikari.
I became the 15-year-old Hyeonwoo who had read [Magical Girl HAZARD] at a second-hand bookstore and ran to her.
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