This time, the Monster had some very distinct features.
It looked as though someone had put on a pterosaur costume. The Monster had a pair of pterosaur wings and rough skin covered in fine patterns.
A pale human face mask extended from the mouth of its pterosaur head.
Magical Girl Silver Feather lay on the ground, panting as she watched the thing.
What the hell was this thing now?
It had wings. Was it some kind of bird Monster?
But she was a bird-themed Magical Girl herself. There was no way she wouldn't sense the power of a bird. The other thing did have an aura similar to that of a bird, but...
A Magic Crystal on her body began to shine. It was the dark green Magic Crystal from before.
Was this a snake, too?
"Magical Girl Silver Feather, I've finally lived to see this day! Now, etch the name of the Monster who defeated you into your memory forever! I am the new snake-type Monster—Pterosaur Monster!"
The Pterosaur Monster spread its wings and cackled.
So it really was a pterosaur.
But... what did pterosaurs have to do with snakes?
She hadn't read much, but she wasn't stupid.
Magical Girl Silver Feather tried to get up and continue fighting, but this Monster really was on a completely different level from the ones before.
It was probably even stronger than Thorn Monster.
As soon as she got to her feet, she sensed a familiar aura of magic.
She turned around, and Silver Feather saw a small figure appear in a corner of the amusement park.
Sakaki Chika.
You finally made it...
Silver Feather breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hmm... There's another Magical Girl here? Which one is this time?"
Seeing Sakaki Chika in her ordinary clothes, the Pterosaur Monster figured it could take on two at once.
"S-sorry I'm late."
Sakaki Chika walked over in small steps and took a deep breath. Then she slowly raised the object she'd been holding all along.
It was an ornate wand shaped like a microphone. Its design was elaborate and flamboyant, and its tip was pure white, like a flower bud waiting to bloom.
This was her transformation device, called the "Magician."
She gently brought her lips close to the microphone.
"M-microphone check."
At her soft call, the flower bud at the tip of the wand suddenly bloomed, revealing two gemstones inside, one red and one green. In the very center of the petals was a slot—
"Activation confirmed..."
Then she took off the Pendulum she'd been wearing around her neck and fitted it into the very center of the wand—
"—Iris."
She was using Iris, a flower-type crystal.
Once the Magic Crystal was fitted into place, the wand shone. Its light transformed into a phantom flower bud that enveloped her whole body.
"Transform..."
Sakaki Chika said it in an extremely quiet voice.
Dreamlike, rainbow-colored light scattered like petals. Within the flower bud, the girl's figure gradually grew taller, her shape becoming more dazzling and distinct.
Her silhouette grew taller and more graceful. Layers of gorgeous, petal-like skirts draped over her, like an elaborate flower in full bloom, and her hair turned a dreamlike shade of pink.
"Entertainment! Smiles! Dreams!"
Compared to Silver Feather's transformation, this Magical Girl's transformation call was much more cheerful.
When the transformation was complete, the final petals fell away, and a fantastical Magical Girl emerged.
After stepping out, the girl gently raised a hand and snapped her fingers—
"—Snap!"
"Magical Girl—Star Flower!"
At the sound of the snap, the light broke into petals and fell from the sky like a dazzling shower of fireworks. The girl standing amid the rain of petals looked almost too extravagant.
Once transformed, she was no longer Sakaki Chika. She was Magical Girl Star Flower.
She lightly twirled the wand, now elongated in her hand. It was as if she were imitating a conductor, though she looked more like an elegant magician—
"The magical girl of the century makes her dazzling debut~"
She was like a completely different person from before, wearing a playful smile.
Magical Girl Star Flower was a flower magician who specialized in all kinds of dazzling magic.
Though she had transformed from Sakaki Chika, her personality was completely different from when she was an ordinary person.
She looked at Silver Feather and smiled.
"Little Ai, let's finish this quickly. We don't want to make adorable Teacher Haihara angry."
After all, she was a Magical Girl who brought smiles to everyone—especially all the adorable girls.
"...Huh?"
Silver Feather was stunned.
Could the words adorable and Teacher Haihara really go together?
Magical Girl Star Flower raised her wand and pointed it at the Pterosaur Monster.
"Now then, let's cast a miracle spell that will make everyone smile."
After class, Haihara had remained silent, staring blankly at her phone screen.
Only Takanashi Shiori, apparently oblivious to danger, had curiously come over to look at the screen.
"Teacher, what are you watching?"
Haihara replied in a voice as cold as ice—
"Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V."
Regarding the Demon King's News
"Croak! That woman knocked Big Sis Sha Qina to her knees. Is she gonna drag her back and make her work in the stars or something?"
"Goddammit, you caterpillar! Why the hell is your imagination so good?"
At the Black Death Cult's headquarters, the villainous executive Sha Qina was kneeling in apology.
Haihara sat in a chair, lost in thought.
Today, the new Monster they had created had been brutally beaten by a righteous mob of Magical Girls and met its heroic end.
Naturally, Haihara's teaching career had taken another nosedive.
She patted the table, gesturing for Sha Qina to sit down.
Sha Qina obediently took a seat in the other chair.
"Even so, it was only a Mature Form Monster. It has trouble dealing with more than two Magical Girls?"
Haihara propped her chin on one hand and began to ponder.
As mentioned before, Monsters had three stages: Sprout Form, Mature Form, and Perfect Form. Sprout Form Monsters were only a little stronger than ordinary people, and most of the Monsters the Magical Girls had fought so far had been Mature Form.
As for Perfect Form, none had appeared in this city since three years ago.
The memories Haihara had acquired from the Magical Girl did include Perfect Form Monsters.
In that Magical Girl's memories, a Perfect Form Monster was strong enough to take on five opponents at once. Only high-ranking Magical Girls who had entered the "Holy Domain" could handle one with ease.
High-ranking Magical Girls were those who had entered the Holy Domain of the Royal Family, been granted an audience with the Queen, and received a "High-Level Magic Crystal" from her.
They were more or less the nobles and mentors of the Magical Girl world.
If she thought of it in terms of tokusatsu shows, they'd need to buy another Bandai power-up item to win.
"But Perfect Form Monsters aren't easy to make, you know. It's really hard."
Sha Qina shrugged.
"Is it?"
Haihara really had no idea how Perfect Form Monsters came to be.
After all, the Magical Girl in her memories had casually created Monsters that were already at Perfect Form.
"Mm."
Sha Qina nodded.
"Monsters are born from people's negative emotions and impure wishes—in other words, their desires."
"Monsters are born from greed that can't be satisfied, and then they act to fill that void."
She then readily explained how Perfect Form Monsters came into being.
"And a Monster that manages to fulfill its desire becomes a Perfect Form."
That alone made the process difficult.
In this day and age, few Monsters could fulfill their desires and achieve that final evolution while targeted by Magical Girls.
And if their desires were too trivial, they couldn't build up enough greed to create a powerful Monster.
"What about the executives? The Perfect Form Monsters from a few years ago must have evolved with the executives' help, right?"
Haihara remembered the Villain Organization from a few years ago. Back then, there had still been villainous executives active on television and wanted nationwide. But so far, the only one she'd seen was Sha Qina.
"Magical Girl Phantom Wind was active back then, you know. She beat up both of our organization's executives, and they still haven't recovered."
A few years ago, the strongest Magical Girl in Maple Plain City, Magical Girl Phantom Wind, had been on an entirely different level from the Magical Girls around now.
Even now, those executives of the Black Death Cult were still hiding in the shadows, recovering from their injuries while making Monsters.
Haihara looked at Sha Qina.
"What about you?"
This woman was an executive too, wasn't she?
"Me? I'm afraid of pain. I'm not a Magical Girl or a Monster, so it hurts when I get hit."
Sha Qina blinked.
Besides, she'd only joined the organization two years ago. This job paid less than her IT job—only a few tens of thousands of yen. Why should she risk her life for it?
"..."
Seeing Haihara's expression turn cold again, Sha Qina realized she'd said the wrong thing. She hurriedly tried to choose her words carefully.
"Uh... Besides, my only real goal is to revive the Demon King. Defeating the Magical Girls isn't really necessary for that."
As a villainous executive, all she needed was the Magic Crystals left behind when Monsters were defeated, which would provide power for the Demon King's resurrection. In a way, she and the Magical Girls even had a mutually beneficial relationship.
"By the way, Ms. Haihara, are you a Magical Girl, too?"
She'd heard about Haihara from Thorn Monster.
Normally, she could hardly sense any magic from Haihara, but she could feel a terrifying, oppressive aura.
It was just like the feeling she got when facing the Demon Kings.
"...I suppose you could say that."
That depended on how you defined a Magical Girl.
Before you continue