Magical Girls Exposed! Chapter 4

(So that means the Demons have already started invading our world!)

The scrolling comments were still discussing the Demons, just like the officers in caps.

Only then did Fang Ming truly breathe a sigh of relief.

It seemed he really had not been exposed. At least, not yet.

Glancing sideways at the officers beside him, Fang Ming saw that their attention, like his own, was fixed on the Sky Screen. They had not noticed him at all, so he relaxed and continued watching the story unfold above.

["Y-You can actually talk?!"

Chen Xiaoxia was clearly startled when the Demon spoke, because she remembered Nino saying that the Demons who had destroyed their homeland were precisely these intelligent creatures capable of speech!

"Heh, is that really the only thing you care about? Forget it. I can't be bothered wasting words on you."

The Demon did not want to waste time talking to Chen Xiaoxia. After making his intentions clear, the horned Demon assumed a running stance, then suddenly charged at Chen Xiaoxia!

The Demon was incredibly fast. Now that he had launched himself forward, he was even faster than when he had sent Yu Muqiu flying earlier!

He became a streak, a black beam of light, arriving before Chen Xiaoxia in the blink of an eye. Just as Chen Xiaoxia raised the longsword in her hand, he kicked her squarely in the waist!

Bang!

Chen Xiaoxia was sent flying again, her body soaring uncontrollably into the air. But the very next second, the Demon appeared behind her flight path once more!

Bang! Bang bang!

Like he was volleying a ball, the Demon kicked Chen Xiaoxia around in the sky as though she were a football.

In the end, the battered Chen Xiaoxia crashed to the ground and could not get up for a long while.

Fortunately, she was a combat-type magical girl, and physical enhancement was one of her spells. That was the only reason she could withstand so many blows from the Demon. Otherwise, even if she had not died, she would have been seriously injured by now!

"What's wrong, what's wrong! Magical girl! Protector of this world! Is this all you've got?! You can't even keep up with my speed!"

The Demon laughed wildly in the air. His laughter was exceptionally grating and exceptionally infuriating.

Chen Xiaoxia barely managed to rise from the ground. Panting, she stared at the Demon in the sky, her fists clenched tight.

This Demon... does it seem like he's only fast?

Despite being beaten around like a ball by the Demon, Chen Xiaoxia was not discouraged. In a short time, she had noticed both the Demon's strengths and weaknesses.

This Demon's magic was probably focused on speed. He was incredibly fast, nearly faster than sound.

But compared to that, his strength was much weaker than that of other Demons.

This was a Demon specialized in speed.

So... as long as she could find a way to seal his speed, there was a chance of winning!]

(Looks like Xiaoxia discovered this Demon's weakness.)

(But what can she do even if she discovered it? He's way too fast!)

(Damn Demon! How dare he beat cute Xiao Xia up like that! Go die!)

(Judging by the timeline, this happened three months ago? And since Xiao Xia and the others are still alive now, that means this Demon is dead, right...?)

(That may be true, but who knows what happened in between...)

Three months ago, Yu Muqiu and the others had been magical girls for less than two months. They were still inexperienced, so when faced with this speed-focused Demon, they could only remain on the defensive for a time.

Fang Ming recalled what had happened back then and compared it with the details on the Sky Screen.

If he remembered correctly, the third magical girl, Murong Xiaochun, should appear next and help Chen Xiaoxia deal with the Demon.

But because the Demon was too fast, none of their attacks would work on him.

Then Yu Muqiu would crawl out of the rubble, and the three of them would attack the Demon together. After that... at the crucial moment when everyone was about to lose, Fang Ming, transformed into a magical girl, would finally appear and use the magic he had just mastered to defeat the Demon.

And the events on the Sky Screen unfolded just as Fang Ming remembered.

[Chen Xiaoxia was thinking about how to deal with the Demon, while the Demon was preparing to deliver a finishing blow. But at that moment, a point of green light appeared on the horizon.

The green light shimmered like a star. After flickering once, it scattered countless motes of light through the sky.

Looking closely, those motes were Arrows made of green energy. The rain of Arrows blanketed the entire sky before raining down upon the Demon!

"Xiao Chun!"

Chen Xiaoxia immediately realized this was an attack from the third magical girl, Murong Xiaochun. Delighted, she looked toward the source of the attack.

On top of a distant high-rise stood a girl in a green gauze dress, wearing a green floral circlet, like a fairy from the woods. She gripped a longbow made from a tree branch, posed as if drawing an arrow.

This was the third magical girl's magic. Her weapon was a bow, and her magic was these Arrows.

Yet the rain of Arrows filling the sky caused no harm to the Demon.

At the Demon's extreme speed, every Arrow merely grazed past him. Not a single one struck him. Instead, Xiao Chun had exposed her position by firing, allowing the Demon to notice her presence.

"There's another one? Hehe... perfect..."

When the Demon saw Xiao Chun, an even uglier smile stretched across his already hideous face.

He assumed his running stance again. With a bang that tore through the air, he crossed over a thousand meters in only two seconds and arrived before Xiao Chun!

The moment Xiao Chun noticed his starting posture, she sensed danger.

Green magic power flashed around her body. Xiao Chun leaped down from the high-rise, intending to evade the Demon's attack, but the Demon was simply too fast. In an instant, he caught up to her.

"Xiao Chun! Watch out!!"

"Die!"

The Demon formed his right hand into a blade and thrust it toward Xiao Chun, intending to pierce through her body.

At that critical moment between life and death, countless pink lights emerged from beneath the rubble. They formed a thick pink Light Cannon that reached the Demon faster than he could move and struck him in an instant!

"What do you think... you're doing to my friend!!!"

Yu Muqiu rose from beneath the rubble. She held a wand in her hand, and although she looked disheveled, an aura erupted from her body that made even the Demon tremble in fear.]

"As expected of the protagonist..."

Seeing this, Fang Ming could not help sighing inwardly.

At the time, he had been pouring all his effort into raising his proficiency in the "magic power" attribute, so he had not seen Yu Muqiu's outburst.

But now, watching this scene through the Sky Screen, Fang Ming realized that Yu Muqiu was the true child of destiny in this world.

This sort of sudden power-up, where someone unleashed strength greater than before, was truly a classic to the extreme.

Unfortunately, Yu Muqiu's outburst was only temporary. The magical girls currently had no way to deal with something moving at high speed.

At the end of the day, they were just ordinary people. They had no experience fighting others in their daily lives. When facing enemies far stronger than themselves, they either defeated them through temporary breakthroughs and flashes of insight.

Or... they relied on outside help.

And now that even Yu Muqiu's sudden power-up was useless, they could only rely on outside help.

Combined with Fang Ming's transformed appearance appearing in the opening, Fang Ming reasonably guessed that he would be the one to save the day next.

And the timing of his appearance should be right near the end of the episode.

After all, twenty minutes had already passed. If he did not show up soon, this episode would be over.

[It happened in the blink of an eye.

That was not quite accurate. In any case, Yu Muqiu's outburst did not change the situation. Against the Demon's speed, neither Yu Muqiu's Light Magic, Chen Xiaoxia's greatsword, nor Xiao Chun's Arrows could touch him in the slightest.

Of all martial arts under heaven, speed alone was unbeatable. The same applied to magic.

If you were fast enough, then even weak attacks could wear someone to death through sheer persistence, let alone when this Demon was not weak at all.

Therefore, the defeat of Yu Muqiu and the other two had become inevitable.

"Hahahaha! I thought magical girls would be impressive, but this is all you are! Once I kill you, this world will be mine! I will become the Wang of this world!!"

The Demon stood before the battered Yu Muqiu and the others, laughing maniacally.

Yet the three girls did not give up. They exchanged a glance, already prepared to fight the Demon to the death.

But just as the three were about to engage the Demon in a final battle, a cold, mocking voice rang out behind him:

"Oh? Is that so?"

"!?"

"!!!!"

At that voice, both the Demon and Yu Muqiu's group were startled.

The Demon's eyes widened as well. He had never expected someone to approach him without making a sound.

Almost instinctively, the Demon turned to flee, but in the next instant, he discovered that his hands and feet had somehow been bound by Chains.

There was nowhere left for him to run!

"W-Who is it!?"

The Demon shouted in shock and fury, but the person who had spoken had no intention of answering him.

A sharp flash of blade-light swept past. The world spun before the Demon's eyes, and amid that spinning world, he saw the figure behind him.

Silver hair, crimson eyes, a black trench coat, knee-high leather boots, and a long-handled scythe in hand. The Chains behind the scythe extended into the void, binding the Demon's body completely.

A magical girl!

A magical girl just like Yu Muqiu and the others!

And the fourth magical girl in this world!

The image froze at that moment, with Yu Muqiu and the other two staring at the fourth magical girl in astonishment.

Then...

The ED began.]

ED and Support Website

(Gai—A—)

(You cut it off there?! You cut it off there!!?)

(Who taught you to end it like that!!!! Production team, come out and die!!)

(There is no production team for this anime...)

(Gai—A—!!!!)

(Sigh, another seven years of waiting...)

As the image transitioned into the ED, the scrolling comments began wailing in anguish.

The heart Fang Ming had been holding deep inside finally dropped heavily back into place.

Thank goodness, thank goodness!

He had not been exposed in this episode yet!

Even if the next episode began focusing mainly on him, Fang Ming would at least have a week to work with!

He could use that week to figure out an escape route!

After spending the entire episode on edge, Fang Ming finally had the leisure to appreciate the ED above.

Like the OP, the ED was animated in an anime style.

And its presentation was almost identical.

At the beginning of the ED, Yu Muqiu walked alone from the left side of the screen toward the right. Then, accompanied by gentle, melodious music, Nino, the little calico cat, walked alongside her.

In the ED of the first episode, Yu Muqiu had been alone from beginning to end.

But by the second episode, after Chen Xiaoxia joined them, Chen Xiaoxia would occasionally frolic beside Yu Muqiu.

By the third episode, Murong Xiaochun had been added as well, watching them gently from the roadside before joining the group.

Now that it was the fourth episode, Fang Ming was rather curious whether he would appear in the ED.

The earlier scenes were the same as in the previous three episodes. Even when the ED reached its middle, Fang Ming's magical girl form had not appeared.

It was not until the end, when the music reached its final notes and Yu Muqiu stopped walking, that Fang Ming finally saw himself on the screen.

In the previous three episodes, there had been a Swing gently swaying where the image froze after Yu Muqiu stopped.

No one sat on the Swing. Yu Muqiu and the others merely looked at the empty seat upon it.