Chapter 14
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Kidnapping
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A little rewind in time.
Ten years. A bit more than that... Yeah. It was toward the end of what people commonly called the Great Chaos era, when the world still couldn't exactly be called peaceful.
There was a family. Nothing special about them—just two parents and their one young child, going about their everyday lives.
The mother was the type who loved looking out for others. Thanks to that, practically everyone in the neighborhood knew her.
The father was the same, always eager to help those in need. The only real difference from his wife was that his job as a detective kept him running around nonstop every day, so he rarely spent time at home or around the neighborhood.
The kid? Well... what kind of standout traits does an eight-year-old-or-so have? Just a child who liked his parents a bit more than most.
...
It was just bad luck. There was no other way to describe what happened to that family back then.
I remember the picnic we took to the outskirts for one of my father's rare days off. The weather was clear, the breeze perfect, and all I recall is grinning from ear to ear.
Then a Demonic Beast appeared. Coming right at the tail end of the Great Chaos, everyone had let their guard down. What was rare even then—a red alert, a Ruby-level Demonic Beast—showed up out of nowhere.
I can still see my mother helping up people who'd fallen amid the chaos of the escape. My father's back as he rounded up the panicked crowd and led them felt so reassuring. I figured we'd make it out just fine.
...
In the end, a lot of lives were saved that day.
But not two of them.
My mother got shoved down by the very person she'd just rescued and was crushed under the giant Demonic Beast's foot.
My father charged out at the last to draw its attention and save someone else. He threw himself into the fray completely, buying time until the Magical Girl arrived without letting anyone else die.
That day, through the swarm of panicking people who'd abandoned me to flee, I still clearly remember the Magical Girl's back as she stood there.
She looked so small. Blocking the Demonic Beast's path like it was the most natural thing in the world to protect us, she seemed incredibly fragile.
I couldn't understand it. There were all these adults around—why did this little girl have to fight something so terrifying? It made no sense.
I still remember those ugly adults who'd played hero protecting citizens until the Magical Girl showed up. The ones who shoved me to the front and snapped photos nonstop while laughing their heads off.
I still remember the filthy opportunists who banged on our door day after day, pretending to be my uncle or aunt just to cash in on my parents' names.
I... still remember the trembling hand of that nameless Magical Girl. She was just a middle schooler at best—around Yu-na's age now. Yet she stood tall, shaking with fear but determined to protect everyone.
That's why I made a vow. Someday, I'd create a world where Magical Girls never had to fight again. A world where vile adults couldn't turn them into sacrificial pawns.
A world without Magical Girls. That was all I wanted.
"Boss. Looks like the kid's awake."
Yeah. This was exactly the kind of scum leeching off Magical Girls that made me despise this world.
"..."
I remembered getting grabbed by someone in an alley on the way home... but everything after that was fuzzy. Had I smacked the back of my head? My vision was still blurry as I blinked awake with a throbbing headache, and there they were—three or four obvious lowlifes surrounding me, grinning like idiots.
"...What the hell are you?"
I tried to move, but with my hands and feet bound behind me while strapped to a chair, it was hopeless. Even Magical Girls were just ordinary people before transforming. I'd trained my body regularly, so I wouldn't normally get caught by trash like this... but right now was a different story.
"What? Figured you'd wake up bawling and screaming. Kid's got some spine, huh?"
"Better than some sniveling brat, right?"
I was probing for their identities, ready to transform even if it blew my cover. But they just kept chatting among themselves, not even glancing my way.
...Abandoned building.
Stealing a subtle look around without making it obvious, I could tell it was the gutted interior of some long-forgotten structure, holes everywhere. The sky outside was overcast but still tinged reddish, so it hadn't been long since they'd grabbed me.
Crunch...!
"Ugh...!"
"This little shit's casually scoping the place out."
A rough hand stormed over with an angry grunt, yanking my hair hard enough to make me lift my head in pain.
"Long time no see, kid."
It was one of the faces I'd seen recently—the creep whose arm I'd snapped after he tried upskirting Yu-na. He greeted me with a savage scowl.
"...Who the hell are you?"
No way he recognized me like this, untransformed. Best to play dumb for now.
"Don't play coy. You see this? You did this to me, you damn bitch."
But something was off with how this was going. He nodded at the cast on his right arm, words hinting he knew I was Seriel, then kept talking.
"Wonder if you get how much I shelled out to uncover your identity. Ha... Thought some middle-aged hag was possessing it, not some pint-sized brat."
I swallowed the dumb question of how. Magical Girls were affiliated with designated companies in each city—it was common knowledge. If someone dug deep enough on purpose, it wasn't impossible.
"...A rich asshole like you, desperate to snap pics up a little girl's skirt?"
Instead, I rubbed it in—how pathetic it was for someone with his resources to stoop that low.
"You little...!"
Thankfully, he took the bait and flew into a rage, so I pressed on, feeling a bit satisfied.
"By the way, where's your buddy? Oh, wait—no need. Guy seemed to have half a brain from his face that day. Probably told you not to pull something this stupid."
If he already knew who I was, no point holding back.
"This won't end with a slap on the wrist. —Transformation."
That was the moment I tried shifting to Seriel to personally deliver these bastards straight to jail.
"...?"
For some reason, nothing happened. Despite willing it, I stayed stuck in this frail black-haired girl's body.
"Ha... ku, hahahaha! Transformation! You actually say it out loud! Hahahaha!"
The thug—who'd been swallowing nervously just moments ago—lost it, laughing so hard even his buddy stared in shock.
"...What did you do to me?"
I could tell instinctively he'd done something. I schooled my expression to hide the cold sweat and asked.
"Shut your trap, you damn brat!"
"Ugh...!"
Unfortunately, his answer was a fist to my throat, slamming me to the floor.
"Those cuffs on you? Magical Girl restraints. Heh, didn't realize the Villain Alliance had cooked up shit like this."
From what he was saying... looked like the Villain Alliance was involved, those backstabbing parasites always scheming against Magical Girls.
...This is bad.
I was in deep shit. My original body might've handled them, but not like this—I had zero ways to fight back.
Crunch.
"Ugh... you bastard, hands off!"
He slammed my already sore head into the ground again, straddled me, and groped my oversized chest with a nauseating leer.
"Body's kid-sized, but these? Pretty impressive."
"...Get your hands off. Or die."
"Go ahead, try it. All talk when you're this helpless."
His filthy expression—licking his lips like some predator—made me understand in a flash why some women hated men.
"Guy who sold me the cuffs said whatever state you're in doesn't matter. Bring you alive, and he'll refund what I paid plus extras."
Grit...!
"No one's coming here, so scream your lungs out. Turns me on more."
No intention of giving him the satisfaction of tears or begging. I just gritted my teeth and glared.
"Yeah. Let's see how long that tough face lasts."
I was prepared. Fine. Wasn't a real woman anyway— it'd feel gross, but better than dying. If he wasted time fumbling down there, the Boss would notice something was wrong and come looking. A missing Magical Girl case? These clowns would be rounded up in under a day.
"Ugh...!"
That's when it happened—the creep panting hot in my face, his hand reaching for my clothes.
-Having some trouble? Need a hand?
A voice I'd heard before echoed in my head, clear as if spoken right into my mind.