Protecting Neff (3)
Magical Girl Team: 49 vs Monster Team: 51.
It was just a 2% difference, but losing to some mystery kid had left a nasty scratch on my psyche.
"With so many idiots like this among humans."
"M-Magical girls prove it with results!"
"Do whatever you want! A single finger from me is more than enough for the likes of you!"
I ground my teeth and kicked off the first round.
The event was the ultimate classic: whack-a-mole. The staff dragged over a machine scaled to my size and set it up for me.
I gripped the toy mallet and stared at it solemnly. How many of those Hanwol Elementary brats' wrists had I twisted with this thing?
A fair, physical showdown? No way I could lose that.
"Begin!"
Beep! The moles popped up, and I swung the mallet at light speed.
Thwack! Thwack! Splat!
Honestly, if I used mana, I'd crush it, but winning by too overwhelming a margin would kill the fun, right? It's all about the WWE factor.
So I held back a bit. Still, my score was damn near perfect.
"Phew."
I slung the mallet over my shoulder and shot Gold Luli a triumphant grin. Your wrist is mine.
"Next up, Luli!"
"Whack-a-mole as a competition? Pathetic."
"Begin!"
And then—
Kaboom! Crash! Boom boom boom boom boom!
"?"
Gold Luli's arm blurred with afterimages, smashing the moles back into the machine before they could even peek out.
"Wha—?!"
What the hell? My wrist was supposed to be the one getting twisted!
"Hmph. Not even a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of our previous bout."
"Th-The score's not that far off, though...?"
"Does that mean you won?"
First round: my utter defeat. Giftcon sets for bugger meals rained down on 50 viewers who'd bet on Gold Luli's team.
"......L-Let's move to the next game."
Second game: punching machine. The result was obvious.
KABOOM!
A miracle the machine didn't shatter. Gold Luli's landslide victory. Score: 2:0. Another 50 giftcons for her team's voters.
At this rate, I was really gonna lose? The chat was already a Gold Luli worship fest.
I glanced over. Gold Luli had her arms crossed, snorting derisively.
"Hmph. Magical girl or not, that's all you've got?"
"......"
"Monsters are supreme, after all." Scratch.
I could take a lot, but trash-talking magical girls and hyping monsters right in front of me? No way in hell.
Then one chat caught my eye.
No.
Win this.
Events like this were just handouts for viewers anyway. Classic training camp meta.
"Final round: quiz showdown! Worth a whopping 3 points! Win this, and it's a comeback!"
"Hah? Does that even make sense? What about my 2-point lead?"
Lose the first two, but the finale's 3 points! Total bullshit rules made for me to win the endgame!
Team Leader Kim had rigged it that way from the start—time to cash in. "Whatever. I'll win anyway."
"We'll see who's short and who's long!"
"Yours and mine are both short."
True that.
Staff set buzzers in front of us. Bella, my bodyguard, was on question duty.
Chat exploded again at Bella's entrance.
"First question! The trendy elementary school snack: fruit coated in sugar—what is it?"
Bzzz!
Gold Luli slammed hers before the question even finished. Insane reflexes.
"Great! Gold Luli, your answer?"
"......"
"......Luli?"
"......Don't know."
"Pardon?"
"Never tried it."
Bzzz! I buzzed in.
"Tanghulu!"
"Correct!"
"Hmph. Such a thing exists? I'll have my folks buy some when I get home."
Whoever her parents were, my condolences in advance.
The rest were the same.
"Correct! Mala tang!"
"Correct! Roblox!"
"Correct! TikTok!"
Gold Luli mashed the buzzer with her freakish speed but whiffed every answer. Anime characters, viral memes, school trivia—she knew nothing.
Before long, score was 10:0. Quiz: my crushing win.
"Wooo! Magical Girl Team wins!"
Clap clap clap. Everyone applauded while Gold Luli fumed, looking hard done by.
She hit all the buzzers, I took all the points—fair split, right?
I leaned toward Gold Luli and whispered off-mic, super quiet.
"You're trash."
Then—
Wham!
"......?"
Stars burst, vision spun. Warm liquid trickled from my nose.
＊＊＊
A black head rose from the shadows, morphing into an elegant gentleman in a suit.
Bandages wrapped from head to toe, topped with a fancy tailcoat. One hand held a silver cane, the other a bowler hat. A bizarre sight.
Robert Bernstein, moderate faction exec of the Monster Association and A-rank monster. The Bandage Gentleman.
He'd seen the group chat notice and rushed over to join. Straightening his disheveled bandages, he bowed politely to Pluto and Frost.
"My apologies. Traffic was bad, so I took a shortcut."
"If traffic's bad, you should've gone around."
"Kinda hard on the way here."
"Oh, sorry. Poor phrasing. I meant die."
Frost delivered the savage line with an innocent smile.
"Hahaha. Your jokes are as sharp as ever, Lady Frost. Same biting wit from back then."
"Not a joke."
"Come on, on a fine day like this."
Robert chuckled shamelessly, his gaze drifting to the lush fur draped over Frost's shoulder.
A mana-dense artifact. Meant her costume had changed.
"That outfit, though? Ah, do tastes shift after thirty or so...?"
"Don't mention Frost's age."
Chilling air rose behind Frost. Frost crept across the parking lot floor.
Of all people, Robert.
Not every veteran magical girl could solo an A-rank.
The manual recommended 2-3 vets minimum for A-rank intercepts.
Frost knew her limits. She couldn't guarantee victory against an A-rank.
Especially Robert Bernstein. A Monster Association elder.
He'd served the Demon King, fought in the Great War, survived, and now showed up here.
But his real danger? Something else.
Monsters didn't always have human morals, but A-ranks at least considered civilian casualties.
Killing humans didn't help their cause much.
Robert, though? Born from the desire to be noticed—the ultimate attention whore.
The more eyes on him, the stronger he got. For his spotlight, human deaths were less than nothing. A psychopath.
Every appearance meant dozens of civilian casualties minimum. Highest bounty among A-ranks from Magical Castle.
This'll be tricky.
Plus, weekend or not, hundreds of staff inside. Had to protect them too.
"So, what's your business?"
"Here to celebrate Neff's broadcast debut, but quite the cold shoulder."
His goal had shifted to grabbing Kargos, but no need to spill that. "Go empty-handed."
"Brought a gift called 'trial'."
'Cause this is way more fun.'
"What a magical girl needs most is a villain to shine against, no? Happy to play that supporting role."
"Big dreams. You're extra number one."
"Hahaha! Roles are decided on stage."
Robert tapped the floor with his cane.
Shhhk! The bandages writhed like living things.
Thousands uncoiled like maggots, blotting the sky, surging at Frost and Pluto.
"Pluto unnie, keep the barrier up! Frost's got this guy!"
"Y-Yes!"
Frost thrust her hand forward.
"Freeze."
BOOM!
Cold exploded from her palm.
The charging bandages flash-froze white, halting midair.
"Oho. Lady Frost indeed. As chilly as ever."
"Frost is the fairy of cold ice, after all."
Crack!
The frozen strands shattered, raining down. New ones sprouted instantly, rewrapping Robert.
Then—
Rumble!
Vibration from above.
Frost and Robert looked up.
BOOM! Crash!
High-output mana clashing.
"Ah."
Pluto mumbled blankly.
"......Looks like upstairs started too."
Ignis and Aqua vs Per and Mer colliding.
No choice.
Three A-ranks inside. Per-Mer counted as one combined, but still no joke.
Ignis and Aqua were tied up—no backup.
"Pluto unnie. Fetch Bella unnie."
"H-Huh? Bella?"
"I'll hold here. Hurry—upstairs is urgent too."
"O-Okay! Be right back!"
Pluto nodded frantically, diving into shadows.
"Tsk. In such a rush?"
Robert flicked his cane.
Bandages lashed from thin air, snagging at Pluto's ankle.
But—
Snap!
Sliced by sharp ice before touching.
"Your opponent's me. Eyes front."
Frost now held a magic wand adorned with intricate snowflakes. Her signature: Frozen Tear.
Generational lines between 1-2nd and 3-4th gen magical girls were fuzzy.
Folks split by MZ or not.
3-4th prioritized efficiency, cost-performance, utility.
1-2nd? Classic magical girls.
Unlike the weapon versatility of later gens, theirs boiled down to magic wands.
Above all, mana use was brutally crude. "Template"-y.
Modern mana curtains? Tactical tools: block civvie sight, soundproof, buy transform time.
1-2nd gens didn't waste on that. Couldn't, even.
No luxury during Demon King era.
They wielded it beyond attacks: overlaying inner worlds on reality via imagination.
Pre-"signature move" era. Ancient magic from origin girl Prima.
Mental Theme.
The underground lot vanished in an instant.
Only endless snowfields and flesh-cutting blizzards remained.
Frost's world.
