After being injured by the magical girl Phantom Wind, Blue Dream Apostle went dormant for many years, while the organization's public face was managed by its new executive, Sha Qina.
In secret, Blue Dream Apostle had been preparing all along to make a comeback.
She gathered a large number of former Monsters who had been fired by Sha Qina and rebuilt her own forces, naming them the Dream Creation Beast Corps. They had been working in secret to bring back the Demon King.
At last, all her efforts had paid off. The Demon King had partially awakened.
Although the resurrection was still incomplete, offering up more Magic Crystals—especially those of the same kind—would allow the Demon King to quickly recover to full strength.
That was why bird-type Monsters had been unusually active in Maple Plain City lately.
With her astonishing wisdom, she quickly came up with a way to make the Monsters wreak widespread destruction.
That was why the Crow Monster appeared at night.
She had thought this would be a foolproof, brilliant plan, but something unexpected had still happened.
A magical girl she had never seen before had appeared.
No... was she really a magical girl?
Blue Dream Apostle had even felt the same oppressive presence that only the Demon Kings had ever made her feel.
But why had such a powerful magical girl never appeared before? And why had she shown up at night?
What a terrifying woman...
As cautious as ever, Blue Dream Apostle had quickly retreated. Afterward, she had seen the utterly destroyed street—a Hell Scroll that even a Monster in Perfect Form could not have created.
Even though the ruined street had been restored not long afterward, Blue Dream Apostle still shuddered at the memory.
Perhaps only the Demon King could deal with such a terrifying being...
She quickly returned to her ordinary appearance and blended into the crowd.
This time, she had not even dared to retrieve the Crow Monster's crystal.
It was past ten, so almost everyone on the street was an adult. And since this was a suburb some distance from the city center, there were plenty of drunks passed out by the roadside.
She walked along the night streets in her usual clothes, looking a little out of place.
Every so often, some tipsy drunk would strike up a conversation with her:
"Hey, little miss... Are you a high schooler? How about going for a drink?"
Blue Dream Apostle simply shook her head and hurried away.
After walking for a while, she accidentally bumped into someone. The other person seemed rather tall, and she could smell alcohol on them.
Blue Dream Apostle's first instinct was to look up.
"Sorry..."
Then she saw the person she had bumped into. It was a woman.
A tall woman in a black dress, with a gloomy air and a cool expression. She looked at Blue Dream Apostle calmly, then suddenly seemed to fall into thought.
So cool...
That was Blue Dream Apostle's first thought.
The cool, aloof older woman in black made her heart pound.
The only other woman who had ever made her feel this way was her Chinese teacher in her first year of high school.
Cool, restrained, elegant—these were the villainess ideals she had always strived for, and the woman before her seemed like their very embodiment.
This kind of cold, villainous charm left her utterly enthralled.
For some reason, Blue Dream Apostle thought the woman looked familiar.
She took another careful look and froze.
"...Teacher Haihara?"
After saying goodbye to Ms. Suzuki, Haihara had planned to walk home at a leisurely pace. Not long after setting off, she bumped into someone.
On closer inspection, it seemed to be a girl—a very young one.
There before her stood a girl with a white side ponytail and clear, bright, sea-blue eyes. She had a pretty face and a figure much like Sakaki Chika's, but gave off a calm, composed impression.
"I remember... Qingchuan, right?"
Haihara quickly recalled who the girl was.
Qingchuan Lan was a student she had taught a few years ago.
She had been in the same class as Kiriori, and her grades had been excellent. As Haihara recalled, she had always ranked second in her year.
Kiriori had always been first.
Since the girl had recognized her, Haihara supposed she should at least greet her.
"Yes, Teacher..."
Qingchuan Lan looked a little flustered.
Haihara remembered her fairly well.
That girl had once been the Problem Child in Haihara's class.
But Haihara hadn't been her homeroom teacher back then, so it hadn't really been her concern.
Come to think of it, it was already quite late...
What was a third-year high school student doing around here at this hour?
Well, what did it matter to her?
"It's late. Be careful."
She gave a casual, cool reminder, then didn't bother speaking to her again. She simply walked off on her own.
Left alone where she stood, Qingchuan Lan covered her mouth with one small hand, her eyes sparkling.
"So cool..."
There was no doubt about it: today's date had fallen through.
Not long after the Monster appeared, they had lost their appetites for dinner, so the two of them had parted ways with little fuss and headed home.
The atmosphere had been so nice tonight, too.
Haihara sighed, feeling a little disappointed.
Still, she had spent the whole day out shopping and was a bit tired. She had been about ready to go home and rest anyway.
She had never been much of a shopper.
But that Monster who had appeared tonight had really evolved into Perfect Form.
Was it usually so easy to reach Perfect Form?
She didn't know much about how Monsters evolved, but she remembered some information about it.
When a Demon King was resurrected, Monsters of the corresponding type became more active and powerful. Naturally, evolution also became much easier.
According to recent TV news reports, quite a few bird-type Monsters had appeared in Maple Plain City.
So, the Demon King Sha Qina had mentioned a few days ago had partially resurrected?
Haihara recalled what she knew about the Demon Kings.
The Black Devil Kings, the King of Monsters, the source of Magic Crystals, and the magical girls' natural enemies.
Naturally, they were in a completely different league from ordinary Monsters.
A Demon King at full strength was the kind of being that even a magical girl Queen had to give her all to face.
And there were four Monsters that powerful.
Even the magical girl from Haihara's memories had to...
Uh, actually, that didn't seem like a big deal.
Anyway, Demon Kings were powerful beings. At the very least, the magical girls in Maple Plain City probably couldn't beat one at this stage.
But the Demon King probably hadn't come back at full strength.
In fact, it would almost certainly have less than a tenth of its power.
It was probably even possessing an ordinary person with magical potential.
In other words, an ordinary person with the potential to become a magical girl.
People like that were exceedingly rare.
In a place as large as Maple Plain City, the only ordinary person with the potential to become a magical girl was Kirishima Ai.
Pretty much everyone else was connected to R'lyeh.
While Haihara was lost in thought, she had unknowingly arrived at her front door.
It was quiet inside. Sakaki Chika was probably asleep by now.
Haihara took out her key and quickly unlocked the door, then gently pulled it open—
For some reason, the moment she stepped into the living room, she sensed a chilly atmosphere.
Then she saw the suitcase.
The suitcase with the dog pattern looked familiar.
It seemed to belong to her precious daughter.
Filial Piety
At night, the lights were still on in the living room of the Haihara home. Haihara sat at the dining table, waiting quietly, while a bubbling sound came from the kitchen, as if something were simmering.
Haihara quietly read a book. At this time of night, she sometimes read paper books. She didn't have a particular favorite; she simply liked passing the time that way.
After a while, a black-haired girl wearing an apron came out of the kitchen and set a steaming cup of hot cocoa in front of Haihara.
The mug held a chocolate-colored drink, with dark cocoa powder drifting over the top. A rich aroma rose with the steam.
The kitchen window was still open at this hour, so it was a little chilly. Haihara reached out and gently picked up the cup, feeling its faint warmth.
"When did you get back?"
Blowing on the steam, Haihara looked at Kazama Kiriori in her apron.
"This morning."
Kazama Kiriori sat beside Haihara, holding a cup of hot cocoa of her own and blowing on it.
"Is that girl asleep already?"
She meant Sakaki Chika.
She remembered that the girl went to bed fairly early, so she was probably asleep by now.
"Yeah. About half an hour ago. She seemed like she wanted to wait up for you... Ouch, it's hot."
Kazama Kiriori took a small sip of her hot cocoa, but it seemed to burn her. She reached out and touched her mouth.
Haihara calmly blew on her cocoa, watching her daughter.
Honestly, she was a little surprised to see Kazama Kiriori suddenly come home.
But it seemed that nothing had gone wrong between the two girls while she was away.
"Does she do nothing at home?"
High school girls usually wanted to go out on weekends, and everyone had some interest or hobby in their free time. But while living with Sakaki Chika these past few days, Haihara hadn't noticed her having any particular interests.
Kazama Kiriori thought for a moment.
"After finishing her homework, she did a little cleaning and made dinner. She didn't wait up for you, though. Other than that, she just sat on the sofa daydreaming..."
When Haihara was home, Sakaki Chika was more or less the same. Apart from doing homework and studying, she basically just sat there daydreaming.
She hadn't shown any other unusual behavior so far, but it was still a little worrying.
Before you continue