The Fallen Magical Girl

"Hey, did you meet her too?"

Recently, a bizarre rumor had been spreading through the Magical Girl Association. It started as idle chatter among a small group of magical girls who had gathered after returning from a monster subjugation mission.

"Meet who? Oh, you mean that cute girl?"

"Yeah, her."

"I actually ran into her yesterday. She was way shorter than the rumors said!"

The rumor was about a mysterious girl going around, urging magical girls to retire.

Step, step.

Harang walked past the whispering girls with an indifferent expression.

She's still doing that...

She paused for a moment, gazing out the window. From what the other girls were saying, it seemed no one had actually accepted her proposal yet.

If someone actually accepted, what would happen to them?

Of course, magical girls weren't fools; there was no way they would agree to such a thing. But still, there was always a "what if."

Generally, once you contracted to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠become a magical girl, it was nearly impossible to quit. Even if you declared your retirement, traces of magic remained deep within your body.

And to monsters, those residual traces of magic were like the ultimate delicacy—the equivalent of catnip or Churu to a cat.

Rather than retiring and becoming defenseless targets for monsters, most chose to remain active even as they grew older, if only to keep the power to defend themselves.

Of course, since the magical girl and monster phenomenon itself hadn't been around for very long, there weren't actually any truly elderly magical girls. At most, the oldest were the members of the Elders.

Red Senior always called them "obnoxious middle-aged women," but Harang knew they were actually only around college age. Then again, if they had aged that much, they probably weren't active magical girls anymore anyway.

Regardless.

But why...? Harang wondered. Why is she doing this?

No matter how much she racked her brain, she couldn't come up with a plausible theory. There was simply zero useful information about the mysterious girl.

Lost in her spiraling thoughts, Harang turned a corner in the hallway.

"Huh?"

In the distance, a familiar crimson silhouette caught her eye. It was someone radiating a fiery magic power—someone she hadn't seen much of lately because she had been practically living in the archives and training rooms.

It was Red—no, Yeoreum!

"Ah, Senior!" Harang called out, picking up her pace, genuinely glad to see her after so long. She wasn't sure why Yeoreum was standing blankly in the middle of the hallway, but this was her chance.

Harang was determined to finally drag her to that cafe they had put ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠off going to. This was the perfect opportunity to catch her senior, who always escaped with the excuse of being too busy.

"Oh, Snow."

But before Harang could even open her mouth, Yeoreum spotted her and marched over.

"Snow. I'm sorry, but... Ah, never mind. It's nothing." Yeoreum stopped in front of Harang, her lips parting as if to speak, before she let out a heavy sigh and looked away.

"Huh?" Harang tilted her head. It was too strange to just brush off; her senior's behavior was completely different from usual.

"Senior, what's wrong?"

"..."

Instead of answering, Yeoreum glanced around warily, her brow furrowing.

"...Snow."

"Yes, Senior?"

"Are you good at keeping secrets?"

"Excuse me?"

Harang's mind filled with question marks. Why on earth was she suddenly asking that? A ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠flurry of guesses rushed through her mind, but seeing the urgent look in her senior's eyes, Harang quickly nodded.

"Yes... I mean, compared to my friends, I'm definitely on the tight-lipped side."

"Really?"

Even after hearing Harang's answer, Yeoreum seemed to hesitate for a long moment. Finally, she muttered to herself in a barely audible whisper, "If it's Snow, it should be fine... Yeah, she's trustworthy."

Having made up her mind, Yeoreum's expression hardened. She lightly grabbed Harang's wrist and whispered in a low voice, "Follow me. We need to talk. We're leaving the Association."

"Oh! Really? Then how about that cat cafe I mentioned before? I heard their desserts are amazing!"

"...No. Somewhere out of sight. Somewhere with absolutely no one else around. It needs to be secure."

"Oh."

Sensing the gravity in her senior's tone, Harang wiped the playfulness from her face ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and nodded. She didn't know what this was about, but if it was something Yeoreum was this cautious about, an open public cafe was definitely out of the question. But wait, she knew just the place!

"I know a great spot. Let's go there. Hardly anyone is there at this hour."

"Fine. Lead the way."

The place Snow and Red arrived at was a small neighborhood alley cafe where Harang often went to study or spend some quiet time alone.

The interior was cozy and neatly decorated, but unfortunately—and rather sadly for the owner—it was incredibly unpopular.

The two of them sat side-by-side in the innermost, most secluded corner of the shop.

"So, Senior, what did you want to tell me?"

"...Do you know what a Ma-in is?"

"A Ma-in?"

"Take a look at this."

Yeoreum cautiously pulled a worn, old book from her coat and placed it on the table. Harang tilted her head in confusion but read the crude writing on the cover aloud.

"...On Ma-ins?"

Harang's eyes narrowed with curiosity. "What is this, Senior?"

"I found it in the Forbidden Library. I barely managed to smuggle it out of a restricted section those old geezers in the Elders strictly forbade anyone from entering."

"Gasp. Is it really okay for me to look at something like this...?"

"It's fine."

A secret book. Harang felt a sudden wave of tension. Gulping, she carefully turned the page. Her jaw instantly dropped in shock at what was written inside. It was a record she could have never imagined.

What was written was none other than—

"Gasp. Then the First Magical Girl and her companions... in the demon realm..."

"Yeah. It's safe to assume they were defeated."

"Then... could the girl in the recent rumors also be some kind of Ma-in?"

"No, she's different. If you look at the very last page of this book, it explicitly states that Ma-ins cannot cast magic."

"...?" Harang's eyes widened. "They can't cast magic? Even though they possess magic power?"

"Yes. They can use raw magic power to mutate their bodies, but they can't cast structured magic at all. I don't know if it's because they're monsters, but that's what it says."

"Then... does that mean she really is a magical girl?"

"Yeah." Yeoreum tapped the book on the table and nodded.

"But Senior, that doesn't make sense." Harang scratched her head, her voice filled with confusion. "If she really is a magical girl, then why would she..."

"..." Yeoreum kept her mouth shut, offering no answer.

"A magical girl, but siding with the monsters. If that's the case..." Harang muttered hollowly, "We'd have to call her a Fallen Magical Girl."

Yeoreum stared quietly at the old book on the table, then let out a bitter sigh and crossed her arms.

"Senior, what are you going to do now?"

"What do you mean, 'what am I going to do?' The answer is already obvious."

"Huh?"

"My magic attribute is fire. When I have a question, I don't feel right until I burn it away. Besides, I've been training like crazy just to catch her." Yeoreum stood up, tucking the old book back into her coat, and extended a hand to Harang. "Whether the girl in the rumors is a Fallen Magical Girl or whatever... we just need to beat some sense into her. Snow, you're going to help me, right?"

"Of course!" Harang looked into her senior's eyes and grasped her hand.

"First, we need to hear her reasons for doing such a stupid thing."

Beat her up first, then talk. It was a simple yet effective solution, incredibly typical of Red.

Rustle—

At that exact moment, as if on cue, their respective mascots popped out from their clothes.

"Snow! Snow! We have an emergency! A monster! A truly massive monster has appeared!"

"Red... a monster has appeared... and it's giving off an incredibly unpleasant energy nearby..."

Talk about perfect timing.

"How convenient of them to show up right now. The monster, I mean."

"Let's go, Senior."

"Yeah." Yeoreum took large strides toward the cafe door. "Once we drive this monster away, she'll definitely show up."

"Yes, Senior. I know."

So this will be our third meeting, Harang thought. Feeling a lingering tension, she swallowed hard once more and sprang up from her seat.