Magical Girls Exposed!

Shiori's eyes were red as she shouted to Kazama Reiko.

The orange-haired girl almost stopped breathing. Looking at her friend's anxious face, her gaze drifted involuntarily to her legs, both of which were missing their lower halves.

"Are you... are you asking me to abandon you?" Reiko's voice trembled. "Something like that... I could never..."

"Didn't we promise?!" Tottori Shiori suddenly cut Reiko off, raising her voice to drown out hers.

She reached up, rested a hand on Reiko's head, and forced a smile as she said:

"...We promised. If we ever faced danger, I would protect you. No matter what happened, you had to live... didn't we promise that a long time ago?"

This time, Shiori's voice turned gentle.

She hugged her friend, turned to look at the "void" eating away at their surroundings and annihilating everything, and said lightly:

"See? I don't know what this guy is doing, but obviously... I can't escape. But you still can. I know you still have your own 'trump card,' so rather than both of us dying here, one of us might as well get out.

"That way, at least someone will be able to avenge me someday, right?"

Tottori Shiori smiled at Reiko.

Kazama Reiko didn't answer. She merely stared blankly at Shiori, feeling the hand resting on her head, feeling her friend's body trembling just as hers was.

Shiori was afraid.

Reiko could tell.

No one could claim they could face death calmly, and Shiori was no exception.

But to put Reiko at ease, to let Reiko live, Tottori Shiori would rather force a smile in front of her than let her see the vulnerability deep inside her heart.

Because Shiori had to protect Reiko.

She had always protected Reiko.

Back when they were ordinary people, after they became magical