Three-Way Confrontation
“What...?”
Tier Red doubted her own ears for a moment. It was far too out-of-place and ominous a question to toss at a magical girl who'd just been beating monsters to a pulp.
“Don't you want to quit? Being a magical girl, I mean.”
As if assuming she hadn't heard, the girl repeated it in a languid tone.
“Ha, what the hell...? You pop out of nowhere and hit me with that? What's your angle?”
Red gripped her staff tighter and snapped back, but the girl offered no reply. She simply stared at Red with an expressionless face.
“What the hell are you?!”
Still no answer. Red kept firing questions, pressing harder, but the girl kept her lips pressed tight in silence.
“Hmph.”
Maybe Red's relentless questioning was getting on her nerves. The girl dropped her gaze to the ground for a moment. Then she slowly lifted her head and locked eyes with Red once more.
“Answer my question first.”
“...?!”
In that instant, an overwhelming pressure crushed down on the park, sweeping through the air. It was raw, primal intimidation—instinct-stirring fear that seemed impossible to emanate from the mana-less body of this girl.
“I'll ask again. Magical girl—gonna quit?”
Red stumbled back without realizing it. This was a different league entirely. The gap between her and this girl was too vast to even look up at.
Her legs trembled as she squeezed out every ounce of veteran pride to force the words out. “L-Like hell I would!”
“Oh?”
With the girl's short reply...
Rumble—!
Red's vision began to shake.
“Wh-What the—?!”
A massive vibration was engulfing the park. The ground cracked open with sharp splits, and from the fissures, a shadow as tall as a streetlamp slowly emerged.
It was a mantis monster. Its signature green exoskeleton gleamed, its scythe-like forelimbs flashing in the sunlight.
“Kieeeek!”
The thing let out a grotesque screech and swung its forelimb. A nearby streetlamp sliced clean in half like paper.
“...!!”
Red's face drained of color at the sudden appearance of such a massive monster. She'd just finished a fight, her stamina scraping bottom—how could another one show up so soon?
Can she summon monsters too...?
The situation spiraled toward despair. Red clenched her teeth hard, fighting to hold onto her reason.
“You—what the hell are you?! What's your goal—?!”
Just as Red started questioning again.
“Tier Red! I came to help!”
A clear, bright voice cut in from behind her. With a dazzling trail of mana, a girl landed lightly beside Red. Long black hair and a pure white dress made her striking.
Red's eyes widened. “...Snow?”
She was the newbie making waves in the community forums lately. Red had secretly hoped for a grizzled veteran backup, but beggars couldn't be choosers—this would help.
Red flashed a grin. “You made it, newbie.”
“Sorry, academy ran late...”
“Still, thanks for coming.”
“Yep! Whoa, that's one huge mantis! Is that the monster this time?”
Snow looked up at the giant monster with innocent awe, as if oblivious to the gravity.
“But Tier Red, who's that up front? A civilian who hasn't evacuated...?”
Mid-sentence, Snow's eyes narrowed on the girl. A strange sense of familiarity crept into her expression as she stared.
“...Nah, doesn't seem like it. But... something feels familiar...”
She couldn't tear her gaze away, as if entranced.
Red smirked at the reaction. Does the newbie have some inkling about this weirdo kid? Whatever—later. She shouted at the girl again.
“My turn to ask now, right? What's your deal? What's your goal? How's that monster connected to you?”
But the girl stayed silent. Backlit by the sunset glow, she just looked down at the two magical girls with blank eyes.
Soon, her gaze shifted away disinterestedly, and she spoke indifferently. “...I'm out.”
Bored without the answer she wanted, perhaps. She ignored Red's questions entirely and turned to leave.
“Hope I get a different answer next time, Red.”
Just as she turned her back.
“Kieeeek—!”
The mantis monster screeched grotesquely and swung its massive scythe at the girl right in front of it.
Whoosh—
“...Dodge.”
Thud.
In an instant, the hulking mantis floated into the air. The girl casually flicked her finger downward, and it slammed into the ground.
Boom!
The earth cratered amid a cloud of dust. The mantis, so ferocious moments ago, convulsed briefly before going still.
“Holy shit...”
Red stood frozen, dumbfounded by the surreal scene.
How the hell do you beat a monster like that?
Red scowled deeply and peered through the dust cloud where the girl had been.
But she was gone.
Where'd she—?
Poke.
“...!”
A warm sensation, and Red's soft cheek—still youthful despite her rough edges—squished under pressure.
Whipping her head around, she saw the white-haired girl from before.
“No badmouthing.”
Like scolding a whiny kid, the girl prodded Red's cheek gently with one index finger. Poke, poke.
When did she—?!
Fear gripped Red. No mana flow detected, yet she'd slipped into her blind spot and closed to touching distance.
Overwhelming terror blanketed her in that moment. The world seemed to slow to a standstill in Red's eyes. Her survival instinct screamed: Do something now, or die.
“G-Get off me!”
Red swung her staff with a shriek, unleashing every last drop of mana in a fiery explosion.
Boom!
“Such a wild kid these days.”
But the girl dodged the all-out attack like it was nothing.
“What the—?!”
It made no sense. How'd she evade that? Before Red could backpedal in shock.
“I'll back you up! Tier Red, fall back!”
Snow's shout came with a barrage of pure white ice spikes hurtling at the girl.
Of course, not one grazed her clothes.
“...”
The girl elegantly brushed dust from her slightly rumpled sleeve, straightening her outfit with slow, deliberate motions.
She glanced between Snow and Red.
“I'm out.”
“Huh? W-Wait—”
She gave a casual farewell and vanished, leaving behind eyes that somehow seemed a touch disappointed.
*
“...What the hell was that?”
Red stared blankly at the spot where the girl had disappeared.
Hiding mana completely was near impossible. Like how even high-performance engines or computers make noise, using mana always left a trace.
But she'd wielded that insane power without a single hint.
An overwhelming powerhouse, huh...
Cold sweat chilled down her spine.
If the girl had wanted them dead from the start, what would have happened by now? Was sparing them just a whim, or really just to ask her question?
Questions piled up, but one thing was certain.
“Whew. We lived.”
She'd survived. Tension released, and her legs buckled. Red leaned on her staff, gasping ragged breaths.
Her magical girl gigs usually had weird moments, but today took the cake—from the variant slime to the mystery girl who appeared and vanished.
“Tier Red, you okay?”
Snow approached cautiously, supporting her shoulder.
Red gazed blankly at the crater where the mantis had been embedded. It was gone now—vanquished.
“...Gotta report this to the Magical Girl Association ASAP. Something dangerous showed up.”
“By the way, Tier Red, that white-haired kid earlier... scary aside, wasn't she super cute?”
“What?”
Red turned to Snow with a baffled look. Cute? After that monster? Was the newbie still processing?
“Cute? You in your right mind? She smashed a monster into the ground with one finger! When she got close, I thought my heart was gonna stop...”
Mid-rant, Red recalled the moment the girl poked her cheek. That faint, sweet scent brushing her nose—floral, like cool dawn air. Body fragrance, or something.
“...Well, her scent was nice, yeah.”
And cute, too.
“Ah, no. What am I even saying...”
Red clapped a hand over her mouth, startled by her own words.
“Snap out of it, Tier Red!”