The Demon King's Vessel
“Ulbr Ulvia being here means these are the Monster Association, right?”
“Seems like it. I thought they'd scattered and disbanded, but they've been operating smoothly in the shadows.”
Shining and Aurora swept their sharp gazes over the monsters.
“Oh ho. What a spectacle. To think I'd live to see so many magical girls gathered in one place again. Feels like a class reunion.”
“Watch your mouth. Where are the girls here? It's just a chicken coop.”
Pluto cautiously raised her hand.
“Um, excuse me... I'm still a girl, y'know...”
“Didn't ask.”
Pluto shrank with a whimper and burrowed into the shadows.
Anyway, it was true that Seika's brow furrowed deeply at Aurora's arrival.
With Bella and Shining already there, and now Aurora joining the fray, the once-favorable battlefield had evened out—and was on the verge of flipping against them.
Aurora in particular was a true veteran among veterans, having fought on the front lines during the Great War.
If she went all out, she could mop the floor with two or three of the A-rank monsters here without breaking a sweat.
And their presence meant the other magical girls were probably converging on this spot too.
'Time to bail.'
As monsters, there was zero shame in legging it. Seika mentally patted herself on the back for her cool-headed field assessment.
Aurora asked in a low, steady voice,
“Why are you targeting Neff?”
The monsters fell silent as one, then slyly averted their eyes like they'd rehearsed it.
'Yeah, good question...'
Truth was, most of the monsters gathered here had never targeted Neff at all. Only Per and Mer had come for her.
Kargos had gotten himself captured like an idiot, and the rest were just minders cleaning up after those three morons.
As every monster's gaze locked onto Per and Mer, the twins broke out in cold sweats.
Some monsters, like Ulbr, relished the razor-edge thrill of one-on-one duels with the strong.
Others were bully types who got their kicks tormenting weak, easy newbies to boost their egos. Per and Mer were textbook cases.
Their unique magic, Devil Twins, was easy for veterans to see through—but a nightmare matchup for inexperienced rookies.
The problem? Five years ago, after Bella, the flow of new magical girls had dried up completely.
Only battle-hardened veterans remained, so taking down even one meant risking your life. No way the cowards would step up.
They'd spent those five years twiddling their thumbs—until Neff burst onto the scene like a comet!
Position pinpointed, still just C-rank level, easy pickings. A heaven-sent chance to shatter every magical girl's morale by offing one newbie.
So they'd charged in cockily, figuring it'd be sweet.
Then Kargos that troll bastard ruined everything.
But admitting in this situation that they'd just come to bully her for fun?
The Association crumbles, society crumbles, their pride crumbles. Unthinkable for those self-proclaimed lone wolves.
Seika's brutal fact-check turned Per and Mer's faces ashen.
Already treated like the weakest execs and ignored—couldn't take this humiliation in front of everyone.
The twins exchanged glances.
'This is our chance...''Time to leave a deep impression on all these losers!'
Per cleared her throat and stepped forward boldly.
“Heh heh heh. Why target her? Isn't it obvious?”
The moment all eyes focused—Mer flung her arms wide and spouted her bullshit.
“To use that kid as a sacrifice—a vessel to revive our great Demon King!”
“……!!”
The magical girls' faces twisted viciously in an instant.
Demon King revival. To them, that phrase was a forbidden reverse scale.
And simultaneously—the monsters' faces twisted too.
The monsters' mental group chat flooded with question marks.
Of course it was news to them. Per and Mer had just improvised it on the spot.
Figured they needed some grand scheme for justification—to save face.
“......Demon King revival?”
Aurora and Frost's eyes chilled to an unprecedented degree.
They were living witnesses among those present who'd actually seen the Demon King.
Frost in particular still had nightmares from a mere glimpse as a total newbie.
The weight of that name hit different for them.
And 'vessel'? The word choice alone was ominous as hell.
Whatever it was, they clearly planned something awful with Neff.
Monsters had tried reviving the Demon King before—way too many times, in the shadow world and reality alike.
They'd whip up rituals left and right like it was their schtick.
Problem was, no matter what nonsense they pulled, the Demon King never showed signs of reviving.
At first, magical girls would swarm to stop every 'ritual spotted!' alert.
Later, they'd fizzle out anyway, so they'd just let 'em be: 'Eh, it'll be fine.'
Hell, it was the key reason the Monster Association split into moderates and hardliners.
Moderates: 'Even if he revives, world conquest? Nah, be real.'
Hardliners: 'Your faith sucks! Demon King awaken!'
But Per and Mer's sudden claim led the magical girls to a chilling hypothesis.
One that disturbingly made sense: using Neff as a vessel to revive the Demon King.
Everyone here had met or fought Neff firsthand. The Prima mana radiating from her body, plus Prima's signature magic they all knew—if twisted just right, revival seemed plausible.
At that moment, thick tears began gushing from Kargos's eye sockets.
“Waaah......!”
Robert Bernstein blinked.
'......Huh? Can tears even come from there?'
But Kargos's sobs were genuine. He cried out in感動,
“Y-You guys......! I dismissed you as moderate nerds! And all this time, you've been plotting something this grand!”
Kargos was a hardliner dispatch, not invited to the moderates' mental group chat.
No way he'd know Per and Mer's bullshit was just to dodge embarrassment.
“Kuhahaha! Excellent! Then I can't just stand by!”
Kargos surged forward with a dramatic stride.
“Hear me! I am Kargos, executive of the Monster Association! I'll use that arrogant Neff as a vessel and drop this world into the hands of our great Demon King!”
“……!”
“Half-wrecking this building? That was our declaration of war—to show our power!”
The moderates blanched at his bold proclamation. War? Really?
But the dice were cast. Thanks to Kargos's trolling, the situation escalated into a full Monster Association invasion.
That instant—
“Apologies, but we have no intention of starting a war.”
Rainbow mana swirled around Aurora.
“Because you're all going to perish right here.”
She extended her hand, overlaying a new mana curtain atop Frost's encroaching tundra, her Mental Theme on the verge of unfolding.
“In the end, it's all out in the open. Indeed.”
Robert smiled leisurely and began his performance. Kargos gazed at him with感動, but Robert studiously ignored the stare.
“We meant to secure the vessel discreetly... but your persistent interference has derailed the plan.”
“So now that it's derailed, you'll settle it here?”
“No. Quite the opposite.”
Robert tapped the floor with his cane.
“As you see, this place is on the brink of collapse. What happens if we clash at full power?”
“……”
“The ground for blocks will cave in. Countless civilians who couldn't evacuate will be buried alive.”
It wasn't empty bluster.
Massive mana was emanating from Goliath, rumbling ominously.
One stomp from him, and the surrounding earth would crumble—it was obvious.
“Above all... the precious vessel you're desperate to protect won't survive unscathed. Can you bear that?”
Neff was off escorting evacuees somewhere—exact position unknown.
With the 'Demon King's vessel' bait dropped in that context, securing Neff jumped to top priority over exterminating monsters.
What if the building collapsed mid-fight, injuring Neff—or the monsters snatched her in the chaos?
“Allow me a proposal.”
Robert pointed his cane at the floor.
“We'll withdraw here. Don't pursue. Goliath stops vibrating, and everyone stays safe.”
“You want us to just watch the monsters flee?”
Ignis growled. Shining looked ready to unleash her beasts any second.
But Aurora blocked their path.
“Very well.”
“Aurora!”
“Right now, building safety and civilian rescue come first. And Neff's well-being too.”
“Wise judgment. As expected, we can talk with you.”
Robert took a step back, and the monsters pivoted toward the shadow world gate like they'd been waiting.
Goliath lifted his foot, halting the vibrations—the teetering ground steadied.
“Let's go. Per, Mer. You two have lots to answer for.”
“Eek......!”
Seika snatched them by the napes, dragging the screaming twins along.
As the monsters vanished into the gate's darkness one by one, Ulbr lingered last, turning to stare at the magical girls.
She hadn't uttered a word amid all the chaos she'd caused.
Because she hated every bit of this mess.
Ulbr had clashed with Neff directly too. She knew Per and Mer's nonsense rang unsettlingly true.
'Neff as the Demon King's vessel.'
She was a wolf beastkin. She didn't want anyone hijacking her hard-won prey.
Demon King or not.
“......My apologies.”
“?”
With that alone, Ulbr hurled herself into the gate.
And so, the Monster Association executives—all gathered for the first time in ages—held an emergency meeting.
First order of business, naturally: 'So what the hell is the Demon King's vessel?'
Once the monsters' presences fully vanished—
All that remained was the trashed parking lot and the magical girls' heavy expressions.
“......Demon King revival.”
Frost murmured as she retracted her theme.
“This is blowing up bigger than we thought.”
“Report to the Magic Castle immediately. Bump Neff's protection level to maximum too.”
Everyone nodded at Ignis's words.
“But where's the girl in question?”
All eyes turned to Pluto at Aurora's question.
She'd blanketed the whole building in her mana, so she'd know Neff's position best.
Pluto pointed to the upper levels of a still-intact section of the building.
“Up there... around the 7th-floor emergency stairs. I sense my mana. Neff's there too.”
“She's safe?”
“Yeeah. Doesn't look hurt. And... luckily, no death signatures in the building. Neff protected everyone well.”
The magical girls sighed in relief at Pluto's report.
Neff safe, no civilian casualties. She could just come down and regroup.
“But why hasn't she come down?”
Shining tilted her head.
Monsters gone, vibrations stopped. Crisis over—yet no sign of Neff descending.
Bella's eyes narrowed sharply.
She'd just recalled the promise she'd made with Neff earlier.
'Only come once you've confirmed everyone's safe.'
But Neff hadn't shown. Not during the fight, not even now.
Bella's face hardened. Neff not coming meant only two possibilities.
She hadn't confirmed everyone's safety yet.
Or 'everyone' wasn't safe.
The vibrations stopped. Looked like the fight was over.
“W-We survived......!”
“It stopped! The collapsing stopped!”
People clinging to railings climbed down one by one.
“Neff! Thank you!”
“We'd all be dead without Neff! Thank you! Thank you!”
“Woooah! Long live magical girl Neff!”
“Neff's a hero!”
The crowd surrounded me, roaring cheers. Applause erupted from all sides.
But.
“……”
To my ears, every sound was muffled, like I was underwater.
The cheering faces blurred, as if run through a filter.
My gaze was fixed on one spot.
The severed railing I'd reached for moments ago—beyond it.
'Couldn't save her.'
The sensation lingered in my fingertips.
The weight of snatching five people—and the hollow lightness of dropping one.
'Gold Luli......'
That final moment.
No resentment, no scream.
Just blankly staring at me as she plummeted into the dark.
Eyes open or shut, the afterimage burned into my retinas, refusing to fade.
“Neff? You hurt? Neff?”
Team Leader noticed something off and gently shook my shoulder.
I slowly looked up at him.
He was smiling. Joy at surviving, delusion that no one died.
Yeah. To you, no one died. Because I chose. Chose to save you—and abandon that kid.
I stared down at my hands.
Palm filthy with dust and scrapes, trembling uncontrollably.
Are these hands that save people? Or ones that weigh lives and kill?
I'm a magical girl. Guardian of people's dreams and hopes.
But today, I shoved one dream straight to the ground.
The cheers morphed into screams pounding my ears.
The world turned ashen.
