Chapter 429

When they arrived at Teacher Haihara's house, just as the weather forecast had predicted, a massive blizzard had begun, and the streets outside were filled with the sounds of car horns.

Several Problem Child remain unanswered. Some are sitting on the sofa, some are gathered around a low table with a heater, and some are playing with Teacher Haihara's dog.

"Luckily, school was closed today, otherwise I would have had to sleep in the classroom."

Kirishima Ai has been having trouble sleeping lately, so she's feeling especially tired right now.

On the other side, Kuroki Yuka also looked lifeless, lying flat on her back.

"Although my lifestyle habits haven't been very good, not getting enough sleep will definitely make my skin worse."

Kuroki Yuka pinched her cheek in frustration, checking if her skin still had any elasticity:

"I don't want to be criticized like Kirishima, who died from overwork."

Kirishima Ai, standing to the side, wasn't in the mood to make any sarcastic remarks today.

That joke is long gone.

Of course, everyone was there today except for President Kazama, Takanashi and Magical Puppy were also present.

Sakaki Chika thoughtfully and skillfully prepared tea in Teacher Haihara's kettle and poured a cup of hot tea for the other three people.

It's worth mentioning that, for some reason, Takanashi poured half of her tea into Teacher Haihara's dog's bowl, as if she wanted the dog to drink it too.

Takanashi and the others gathered together, it wasn't simply to have tea together.

After confirming that Kirishima Ai and Kuroki Yuka had both perked up somewhat, Takanashi raised his head and coughed twice:

"So, although it wasn't very formal, we don't know which operational meeting it was before it started?"

This scene was quite familiar to Kuroki Yuka.

A while ago, it seems there was another woman in this house who held a strategic meeting with her dog.

The others nodded in agreement.

Simply put, they gathered together to discuss the upcoming battle.

Although they've been aimlessly cleaning up Monster lately, they know very well that it's pointless.

This time, the enemy is the Flower Demon King.

For this Demon King who has already been resurrected, creating a Monster at its Perfect Form potential requires almost no cost.

While they were expending their energy each day fighting Monster, the Demon King was probably constantly recovering from his injuries and creating far more Monster than they had managed to eliminate.

So simply responding to calls like this every day is not enough.

To solve the root of the problem, they should storm the enemy's lair and eliminate the Demon King and her minions.

That is, to break into the enemy's headquarters.

"This situation is different from any other."

Takanashi somehow acquired a pair of glasses just like Teacher Haihara's, along with a small pointer.

Taking advantage of the whiteboard in Teacher Haihara's house, she began to write and draw on it with markers.

"In the past, due to a lack of intelligence, we knew nothing about the enemy's headquarters and could only remain passive."

"Black Death Cult, Chameleon, Belial —it's all the same."

Even now, with the combat power to easily annihilate the Black Death Cult, they still haven't been able to completely eliminate Black Death Cult.

Because they didn't know the group's base, they couldn't actively find them.

But this time is different.

As the Takanashi talked, it drew many small buildings and a giant tree on the whiteboard.

This is undoubtedly the world where Sakaki Chika was imprisoned.

Although it is exactly the same as Maple Plain City, there is a very conspicuous giant magic tree in the center.

This world was referred to as "World Apart" by the Black Death Cult's leaders.

"This time, we finally know the enemy's base."

"Right now, the Flower Demon King and her minions are hiding in this space, using it as a lair to cultivate Monster. But through some experiments, we've found a way to actively enter that place."

This is the result of Takanashi's later research on Magic Spell with Sakaki Chika.

That's why I say this time is different.

In other words, the Magic girls nowadays can actually launch an attack there at any time and engage in a final battle with the Demon King and her minions to end it all.

Unlike before, we no longer have to passively await the Monster created and thrown out by the enemy.

Moreover, they had already clashed with this Demon King once before.

The conclusion is that this time the difference in strength was not as vast as it was when they encountered the Bird-Type Devil King, a difference that was so immense as to be utterly hopeless.

The Flower Demon King's true form is now so weak that they can be defeated by their sheer strength.

At that moment, Kuroki Yuka earnestly raised her hand---

"Takanashi member, I have a question!"

Just like in class, Takanashi pointed at Kuroki Yuka was actively asking questions:

"Excuse me."

"Then why don't we, the righteous Magic girl quintuplets, just storm into that alternate dimension now, deliver a heavy blow to the Monster forces, and bring evil to justice?"

Kuroki Yuka asked a question humbly and sincerely.

Everyone had gotten used to Kuroki Yuka's unconventional style and automatically ignored the nickname "Magic Girl Gorangers".

Only the puppy barked curiously.

Who are the five in the Five-in-a-Row?

Takanashi adjusted his glasses.

"Good question."

At this moment, her pointer pointed to the giant magical tree that she had drawn on the whiteboard, a tree that existed in "World Apart".

No one could ignore this strange tree, so clearly visible in that alternate dimension.

At that time, this magic tree not only provided the Demon King with a continuous source of Magic Power, but also nurtured many "Prison Flower".

"Aside from Kuroki Yuka, you should all remember my mission when I came to Earth, right?"

For some reason, she started a new topic.

Apart from Kuroki Yuka, the other two both wore thoughtful expressions.

Sakaki Chika still remembers Takanashi's mission;

"I remember... it was about finding the lost Magic Armament of the Overlord, wasn't it?"

Although she hasn't seen a trace of it yet...?

For some reason, she inexplicably thought of the aura she sensed inside the demonic tree before it went berserk.

At that time, under the Demon King's manipulation, something seemed to awaken within the Demon Tree and began to crave Magic Power immensely.

On the other side, Kirishima Ai seemed to have a slight sense that since Takanashi had brought up this topic, it was most likely related to this.

"Based on the information I obtained from the Doctor, and my previous private discussions with Kuroki, I had a hunch that many of the urban legends that have recently occurred in the city, including Teacher Haihara's situation, might be related to that Magic Armament."

Because the information was incomplete and there was no conclusive evidence, and even if they knew, there was no immediate solution, Takanashi didn't tell Kirishima Ai and the others to avoid adding to their stress and worries.

However, it can now be basically confirmed.

"So, the culprit that turned Teacher Haihara into this is that Overlord's Magic Armament?"

Kirishima Ai looked surprised, yet also somewhat angry.

Although she didn't dislike the teacher's current state, she still couldn't accept that the thing had dragged the teacher into a dangerous situation.

"But... why?"

Why a teacher?

"According to legend, that Magic Armament will arbitrarily activate its abilities when no one is controlling it, such as changing day and night, reversing time, causing torrential rain, and occasionally turning people into dogs."

Considering that Teacher Haihara was not the only one to encounter such an accident, and there are many other urban legends with similar strange occurrences, it can only be concluded that Teacher Haihara was unfortunately caught up in it.

"Um..."

Kirishima Ai pondered for a moment, then continued to ask:

"So, how does this relate to what we're talking about now regarding the Demon King's headquarters?"

"Previously, this demonic tree showed an extreme thirst for Snake-Type Magic. In fact, including myself, Kirishima, and Kuroki, we all probably experienced it. In that alternate dimension, our Magic Power was almost completely drained by something within that demonic tree."

"In R'lyeh's textbook, the Flower Demon King is very skilled at creating various giant magic trees as her fortresses and nests. These magic trees have their own functions: some create Monster, some are mobile fortresses, and some are used to replenish her Magic Power."

"One of them is capable of forcibly absorbing the Magic Power of Flower Magic girls."

This absorption refers to the fact that the Flower Magic girl herself was forcibly absorbed by the magic tree until Magic Power transformation was canceled, even before she was defeated.

So much so that back then, even casting "Flower Above" on the Flower Demon King was an extremely difficult task.

However, this was the first time Takanashi had ever heard of a magical tree that could absorb Snake-Type Magic.

"Generally speaking, Flower Demon King wouldn't have such strong control over Snake-Type Magic that he could absorb the Magic Power of Snake-Type Magical Girl of our level out of thin air."

In the past, the Flower Demon King could only exert this level of control over Magic Power of his own type. Ordinary magic trees could not treat other types of Sacred Domain Magic girls in this way.

Otherwise, the Flower Demon King would have ruled R'lyeh long ago.

"So, something helped the Flower Demon King?" Kirishima Ai crossed her arms.

"Um."

Takanashi Shiori nodded.

"I suspect that it was the Flower Demon King who was able to do this by controlling the Overlord's Magic Armament, and the Overlord's Magic Armament itself should also crave Snake-Type Magic."

Furthermore, other information she and the Doctor collected corroborated the speculation that the Flower Demon King possessed Overlord's Magic Artifact.

At this moment, Sakaki Chika recalled the scene from that day:

"That day, I did indeed sense something terrifying deep within that tree."

Perhaps, deep within the Demon Tree, lies the Overlord's Magic Armament.

Of course, it could also be something else, something even worse.

After explaining these situations to everyone, Takanashi then brought together the divergent topics and turned them back into answers.

"Therefore, the problem we are facing now— the Demon King, Teacher Haihara's problem, and the urban legends happening in various parts of Maple Plain City —is very likely the same problem in essence. Only by solving that Demon King can we solve the root cause."

"And because of that demonic tree, if Kirishima Kuroki, and I get close to it, our Magic Power will likely be drained again until we can no longer transform."

"Therefore, we still haven't been able to directly attack the Demon King's stronghold."

Because the three of them, Serpent System, were at a significant disadvantage when facing this enemy.

Until this problem is resolved, the only force that can be used as combat power is...

"Then, the only ones who can fight are Little Chika and Senpai Kazama."

Kuroki Yuka also drew a conclusion.

Currently, only Sakaki Chika is a pure Flower Magic girl.

Even as Wind System Magic girl, the student council president is capable of fighting even without using her Serpent System form.

With such combat power, there is a possibility of victory against the Demon King in a one-on-one battle.

But the Flower Demon King also has many Black Death Cult- level minions...

That's a recipe for disaster; you can't possibly win. You're just going to your death.

That's right.

Takanashi nodded.

It seems that the explanation has been largely completed.

"So, Doctor has been researching lately is a way to prevent us from having our transformations reverted, or a way to stop the magic tree from absorbing our Magic Power?"

Kirishima Ai mentioned that the Doctor seems to be researching some new invention for their attack on the Demon King's lair.