Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku - Volume 1 - Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

THE DEMONIC GIRL

Two days had passed since Hardgore Alice’s death.

The Musician of the Forest, Cranberry, had accepted their offer to meet, but her tone had been so flippant that Swim Swim half suspected a trap. But if they could lay an ambush without being caught in one themselves, there was nothing to worry about.

Each of them received one energy pill. The effects only lasted for thirty minutes, so they would wait for Swim Swim’s command before taking their pills and attacking Cranberry.

The meeting would take place on N City’s second-tallest mountain after Mount Takanami, Mount Funaga. The entrance was a short ways from Koujimadai Station, following the road counterclockwise and up a hill. Unlike on Mount Takanami, there were no abandoned structures from failed development projects. There was equipment to turn it into a skiing area, and in the winter tourists from all over came to ski and snowboard.

But that was the mountain’s southern side. On the northern side, there was no such thing as a tourism season. Trees and grass grew wild, untouched by man. The unpaved mountain road and various animal trails formed the only paths, such as they were. For a human, climbing the steep northern side required specialized knowledge. But for a magical girl, the ascent was a breeze.

Swim Swim’s chosen meeting spot was a mountain cabin halfway up Mount Funaga. Thanks to a landslide after a great storm some years ago, the cabin was now half-buried in earth. No one would think to come here, no matter how eccentric or crazy they might be.

Minael and Tama moved to their places while Swim Swim waited for Cranberry inside the cabin alone. She could tell Minael was emotionally unstable, which was making Tama uneasy, too. But a leader must remain calm, and so Swim Swim was unaffected. She would need to figure out what to do if the others messed up their parts of the plan.

It was already late at night. From inside the cabin, she could hear the occasional hooting of owls and the endless buzzing of insects. Tired of the moldy air inside the broken-down cabin, she stuck her head out and checked the area, but all she could see were trees and flowering plants shivering in the wind.

To her powerful eyes, the mountainside at night was as clear as day. But it smelled damp compared to when they’d come during the day to scope out the place. Maybe the smell was different at night, or maybe rain clouds were approaching. Swim Swim pulled her head back in and waited some more. In a corner of the cabin was a spiderweb with no spider. Maybe it had gotten tired of waiting and moved on.

Her magical phone rang with an incoming call. She’s almost here.

Cranberry would be there soon, and then they would take her out three-on-one. Soon. Until then, she could only wait. Swim Swim swallowed the energy medicine. The pill was large, but it went down easily. She could feel power welling within her.

What’s taking so long? Did she need to wait even more? At that moment, she heard what sounded like a startled shriek, or a dog being kicked. It was Tama.

It had already begun. Swim Swim slipped into the ground with a soft splash.

Musician of the Forest, Cranberry, had excellent hearing far surpassing that of the average magical girl. She’d noticed the flapping of angels’ wings before she even set foot on the mountain, and as she hiked upward, the footsteps, breathing, and rustling coming from her invisible stalker were all too obvious. The invisibility cloak was a powerful item, but it had many weaknesses. If the wearer had any personal troubles, Snow White could hear them, and it was useless against someone like Cranberry, who could track an opponent just by sound.

She picked up a fist-sized rock from the ground, rolled it around in her fingers, tossed it up and caught it about two times, then flung it at her stalker. The rock bounced off what was supposedly air, eliciting a doglike yelp. Something swiped at the ground, opening a hole a few feet wide. The magical girl fled into this endlessly extending tunnel.

Cranberry had thrown with the intent to kill, but it seemed this one was strong enough to escape with her life. She had most likely blocked it with her arm, but she still must have sustained heavy damage and lost her desire to fight. That would explain why she’d fled.

Creating a yard-wide hole and escaping underground—that was Tama’s handiwork. Cranberry knew the extent of her abilities. Normally, her reflexes wouldn’t be enough to react to a shot from Cranberry. Her reaction speed was being abnormally enhanced. Clearly, she was under the effects of the energy pills.

Cranberry could hear her traveling through the ground but made no attempt to follow. She had bigger fish to fry than a beaten dog. The flapping wings above her were gone, too. She proceeded cautiously, taking care to make her gait natural so she didn’t seem wary. She avoided the great moss-covered trees, crushed the saplings under her feet, and climbed up the ivy on the cliffs. She was getting close. Her heart pounded with just the right level of tension. She’d need to account for the energy pill when attacking. Wading casually through the underbrush, she randomly plunged her right hand into a human-sized boulder, lifted it, then slammed it against the ground.

The pulse she’d heard from within the boulder stopped. The boulder faded, transforming into an angel with a great hole in her chest, then a young girl. Not a bad idea to transform into an object to ambush people, but it was pointless against Cranberry.

Winterprison’s killers were such petty creatures, she thought with a sigh.

Five minutes after leaving the cabin, Swim Swim ran into Tama as she was escaping underground.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! She just… she just suddenly threw this rock, and my arm… my arm…”

Now was not the time to listen and sympathize. Ordering Tama to follow behind her, Swim Swim poked her head out of the ground and carefully searched for the enemy. Minael could be fighting at that very moment. If they could find wherever that was, they could trap Cranberry in a pincer attack.

It wasn’t long before she found what looked like the remains of a fight. Several small trees were broken—more like they’d been trampled underfoot than hit in an attack. In other words, their enemy had almost definitely gone this way. As she turned to follow the trail, the ground shook.

What happened?

She ran, relying on sound to guide her, and came upon the corpse of a young girl. She looked just like Yunael after she’d detransformed, and it didn’t take long for Swim Swim to piece together the situation. Tama dropped to her knees, holding her head, but Swim Swim grabbed her and forced her up. They couldn’t grieve just yet.

Ruler would have yelled at her a bit, too. Swim Swim had opened her mouth to speak when she noticed a silhouette among the trees ten feet behind Tama. Colorful flowers not native to this area covered her. No, she was the Musician of the Forest, so that wasn’t strange. Swim Swim leaned close to Tama’s ear and spoke softly.

“Cranberry is behind you. Let’s attack her from both sides.”

She slipped beneath the ground.

Swim Swim was gone before Cranberry could attack. A wise choice. So far she’d killed three people, far and away the best score among the candidates. Plus, her magic was top-tier compared to the others’. Her ability to stay calm and efficient was also a good thing. She’d had an inkling before the game began that Swim Swim might be the last one alive.

Cranberry’s greatest wish was to struggle and suffer against strong opponents, yet still manage to bring them to their knees. Victory would be hers, though just barely. Eliminating the powerful was in direct conflict with her goal of discovering the strongest candidate, but it was their fault for being so foolish as to challenge her without even realizing they were outmatched. If they couldn’t figure out when someone could beat them, then the fools weren’t worthy of being chosen.

Cranberry smiled bitterly.

No magical girl in N City could take her down in a fight to the death. Obviously, that included Swim Swim as well. While at first glance her ability to pass through matter seemed insurmountable, it did indeed have a weak point. Some things she couldn’t pass through.

For example, light. The fact that she was visible meant she still reflected it. And there was one more thing she couldn’t pass through.

Tama was approaching, moving from the shadow of one tree to another. Did she think she was hiding? Cranberry could even tell where Swim Swim was in the ground. She couldn’t eliminate the sound of her pulse, after all, and a surprisingly calm heartbeat echoed from the earth.

While Tama circled around counterclockwise, Swim Swim moved clockwise, slowly spiraling toward Cranberry. Were they going to attack at the same time? The best course of action would be to take out one of them first—who should she prioritize? Between Tama and Swim Swim, the latter was more of a nuisance. Swim Swim was nearly thirty feet away, beneath the ground at a depth of… maybe a foot from the surface, measuring from her head.

Cranberry leaped back without warning. At the same time, the upper half of Swim Swim’s body rose out of the ground, and a moment later Tama dashed forward. A great weapon materialized in Swim Swim’s hands, and she swung as Cranberry stretched out her right hand.

Swim Swim could sink into matter while she talked, which meant sound did not go through her. She could pass through neither light nor sound.

So Cranberry attacked with sound.

The blow ripped up the surrounding grass and sent the trees behind her flying like toothpicks. The boom slammed into Swim Swim and flung her through the air. The destructive sound wave was focused in one direction, meaning its power was particularly concentrated. It packed quite a punch.

Memories of long ago surfaced. This was how she had repelled the demon in that basement. The pleasure she’d felt in that moment had never left her mind, and that was precisely what drove her now.

Swim Swim landed hard, and she could hear bones breaking. For a second, she thought she’d finished her with one hit, but the pulse and breathing hadn’t failed. The girl was quite sturdy. As for Tama, she seemed to be watching from the side. Cranberry decided to prioritize Swim Swim and make sure she never took another breath.

Cranberry walked over to where Swim Swim lay and lifted her foot. She would crush her head and stamp out her existence. But she didn’t. Swim Swim wasn’t there. What lay there wasn’t even a magical girl, but a young human in about first grade, possibly second.

She quickly realized this was Swim Swim’s pre-transformation form. She must have lost consciousness from the impact and detransformed.

Cranberry was no shining example of humanity, and she knew it. She would kill anyone, magical girl and human alike, if need be. Whether they were in elementary school, kindergarten, or even a baby. Savior, lover, parent, sister, brother—she’d kill them all. Age didn’t matter one bit.

But for one moment, not even a half of a half of a tenth of a second, she hesitated. She loved battles and cared immensely about the strength and abilities of her opponents, but gave no thought to their true forms. This had turned out to be a mistake. Cranberry wondered how such a young girl could be the rival she’d rated so highly.

She’d paused for only a moment, but her hesitation because of her victim’s youth confused her. Her mind raced. As a result, she couldn’t fully dodge a blow she might otherwise have laughed off—Tama, approaching from behind, slashed into her back.

In truth, only her jacket had been torn to shreds. Cranberry herself suffered nothing but minor abrasions. She wasn’t even bleeding. The marks on her skin were too slight to be called welts. Naturally, she’d sustained no damage. At least, she wouldn’t have—if she’d been attacked by anyone other than Tama.

Cranberry knew of Tama’s magic. She could dig holes. If she dug in even the slightest, it would create a yard-wide hole. This included ground, concrete, steel, even humans—she could expand any opening she dug to three feet wide.

Regret was the first thing to pop into her head, then disbelief. Before she could think any more, Tama’s magic activated. Cranberry’s back twisted, then ripped apart. Her torso and head vanished; her arms and flowers dropped to the ground; her vines wilted; and her lower body fell back, spilling guts.

Covered from head to toe in Cranberry’s blood, her knees buckled. Remembering the horrifying death she’d witnessed and how her own magic had caused it, Tama vomited up everything in her stomach. She nearly collapsed then and there, but she managed, just barely, to hold herself together. She still had things to do.

“Swim!”

Was it really Swim Swim? The girl lying there appeared to be in early elementary school.

“Swim! Swim!”

She cried out desperately, but to no avail. She wondered if she should shake the body, then took it in her arms. The girl’s eyelids twitched slightly. She was still alive.

“Swim!”

Her eyelids fluttered, then slowly opened.

“Swim?”

“Yeah.”

The girl got up.

“Oh, thank goodness… You’re okay. And I’m so surprised! You’re just a kid.”

She’d always assumed the leader was older. After Ruler’s death, Swim Swim had taken the reins. She gave orders, but despite Tama’s many screwups, she never yelled like Ruler had, never abandoned her. She’d let her stay. She’d seemed like a kind adult.

The girl clung to Tama for support while she struggled to her feet. She pressed down on her side and grimaced, wobbled, regained her balance with help from Tama, and finally stood. By then, she was no longer a little child, but the transformed Swim Swim.

Swim Swim summoned her weapon into her hands, then swung it to the side. Something burned in Tama’s throat, and she felt something spraying from her. The warmth drained from her body instantly. Her legs struggled to support her, and she collapsed. Her consciousness melted into darkness before she could understand what had happened.

It had to be done. Ruler had said they must kill anyone who learned their true identity, so she had to kill Tama. She was a companion, and it was cute how her ears and tail drooped when she screwed up, but Ruler’s orders were final.

“Hey! New master! Can you hear me, pon?”

A voice sounded from her magical phone.

“There’s a lot we need to discuss. Is now okay? You must have questions, too, pon. Like what exactly is Magical Girl Raising Project, or who exactly I am, pon.”

Swim Swim wiped away the tears streaming down her face with her wrist.

“Hey, are you listening, pon? We need to work together as one now, you know. If we can’t communicate, there’ll be nothing but trouble, pon. You’re not going to say you don’t want to be a master, are you, pon?”

“What’s a master?”

“A very important magical girl, pon!”

“Then I’ll become one.”

“Thank you for accepting, pon. So, we’ll be working together from now on—“

“No.”

She turned the phone off.

Ruler stood at the top. Ruler wouldn’t work together with someone else.