Evil Organization

[Leave your brain here]

[No established romantic pairing in the main story]

"If I'm getting paid anyway, I ought to slack off."

A man with dyed blond hair and a suit sat at the main desk in his private office, a ferocious dragon tattoo coiled around his neck.

Looking every bit like a delinquent, he lounged lazily in his executive chair.

There was no work software open on his computer screen, only the recently relaunched "Classic Farm." Relaxation was the name of the game.

Ye Qing. That was the blond man's name.

He was one of the Evil Organization's five executives, the head of the Hypnosis Department.

Knock, knock...

"Come in." Ye Qing calmly switched windows, sat upright, and called toward the door.

"Boss, the big boss wants you at a meeting."

The person who pushed the door open was a genuine minotaur, with two curved horns on his head and the nervous tone unique to subordinates.

"Boss" meant Ye Qing. "Big boss" meant Ye Qing's superior, the Evil Organization's BOSS.

As a competent, legitimate evil enterprise, weekly meetings were a must.

"Got it." Ye Qing waved his minotaur subordinate away.

Once the door closed, the room became his private sanctuary again.

Ye Qing gathered the work report he had generated with AI ahead of time and opened the door.

The previously quiet office area immediately grew livelier.

The subordinates diligently carrying out their miscellaneous tasks looked up and greeted him respectfully as their boss.

"Boss, got something to take care of? Need me to handle it?" A ratman approached soundlessly, rubbing his hands together like a fly as he spoke ingratiatingly.

"No need. Just a meeting." Ye Qing declined the offer.

"Boss, why does your tattoo look so much lighter than yesterday?"

The sharp-eyed ratman had noticed that the dragon tattoo coiled around Ye Qing's neck had faded considerably, losing its original luster.

"Ahem." Ye Qing cleared his throat.

"It just faded after a shower. Get back to your desk. I've got a meeting."

Ignoring that little incident, Ye Qing headed straight to the executives' meeting room.

Anything involving his livelihood could not be delayed.

"Good morning, Director Ye."

A sweet voice called to Ye Qing in the corridor leading to the meeting room. He stopped and turned toward it.

The speaker was a mature, alluring woman dressed in revealing clothing.

It barely qualified as clothing, really-just a few scraps of fabric covering the important parts.

Her perfectly proportioned body was on display, her ample cleavage drawing the eye like an abyss.

Translucent black wings spread behind her, and the tip of her tail was shaped like a heart.

Succubus Karina, another of the Evil Organization's five executives and the head of the Human Resources Department.

Holding a square cardboard box, she jogged over to Ye Qing.

As she drew closer, Ye Qing could see what was inside.

"Holy crap! Magical girl figures!" Ye Qing blurted out in surprise.

As a longtime magical girl fan, he could hardly help getting excited at the sight of an entire box of merchandise.

"Figures of the Magical Girl Ten-Color Squad and the Magical Girl Detective Squad! And figures of our city's popular local magical girls!" Ye Qing exclaimed excitedly.

"Pretty great, right? Right?" Karina's vanity was thoroughly satisfied, and she declared generously:

"Pick any one you like! It's yours! They're all official, limited editions!"

"Please give me a Sensen Luya! I'm begging you!" Ye Qing pleaded reverently.

"Luya from the Detective Squad? No problem." Karina rummaged through the box with her tail, hooked the Luya figure, and generously held it out.

It depicted an adorable blond magical girl in an elaborate, billowing black dress accented with pale gold.

"I'd love to take it right now, but let's go to the meeting first. I'll come find you afterward." Ye Qing forced himself to speak calmly, suppressing his excitement.

"Right, right." Karina put the figure back in the box.

Abyss Return was the abbreviated name of the Evil Organization Ye Qing belonged to.

Its full name was "Abyssal Echo," signifying control over "repetition" and "cycles." Its objective was to keep causing trouble for magical girls.

Located in District 28, Abyss Return was the district's largest, best-known, and most powerful villainous Evil Organization.

At that moment, three executives sat in a meeting room deep inside its underground base.

They were the heads of the Hypnosis Department, the Human Resources Department, and the Armed Machinery Department.

The three directors sat around a square conference table. The seat at its head was empty, with only an LCD screen there.

A jumble of electronic static crackled, followed by the muffled electronic voice of the BOSS, who never showed their face.

"Everyone here? Let's begin!" the BOSS ordered.

"Human Resources, report first."

Why had the meeting begun with only three of the five directors? Because the BOSS had sent the other two to oversee branch offices.

They would be unable to attend the weekly meetings for quite some time.

Karina responded, "I've recruited 114 like-minded technical staff, along with 514 external personnel available for deployment at any time."

The BOSS asked, "What have you arranged for their pay and benefits?"

"They said they just wanted a chance to interact with magical girls." Karina's voice suddenly grew quieter, sounding a little guilty.

Apparently, it was because her scam-no, her recruitment pitch-had been somewhat unusual.

"Approved. Put them on odd jobs when the time comes." The BOSS sounded quite satisfied, then continued:

"Next, the Hypnosis Department. Have you made any progress in your recent research?"

"Some progress." Ye Qing feigned confidence as he answered:

"I've now mastered a deeper form of hypnosis. It can alter magical girls' common sense to a certain degree, making those arrogant girls work for us."

That was a lie.

The Hypnosis Department was also the Common Sense Alteration Department.

Its usual work involved modifying magical girls' common sense to gain control over them.

Sounded impressive, didn't it?

But Ye Qing knew absolutely nothing about hypnosis or common sense alteration.

He had simply decided to give it a shot and made up his abilities out of thin air.

As a result, the BOSS had taken a liking to him, and he had been lucky enough to join the organization.

To stay in the organization longer and enjoy a better life, he used AI every week to fabricate his research results.

"What's the success rate?" the BOSS's electronic voice sounded again.

"Eighty percent!" Ye Qing bragged without hesitation.

"But we'll need to capture a magical girl and conduct experiments. The final success rate will decrease accordingly."

"Good. We'll discuss the magical girl matter later. There will be opportunities. Keep researching," the BOSS praised him.

"Understood!" Ye Qing answered happily.

That meant that, as long as he wasn't exposed, he could keep stealing a salary for a good long while.

He wasn't worried at all.

Because the chances of exposure were extremely low.

Magical girls were powerful beings who maintained the world's order. How could an Evil Organization just snatch one away so easily?

This wasn't some depraved adult work. Magical girls weren't going to get captured for some bizarre reason.

"Armed Machinery Department, your turn." The BOSS prompted the final director present.

The Armed Machinery Department handled mechanical armaments and logistical repairs.

Usually, attacks on magical girls were carried out by the high-tech robots developed by the Armed Machinery Department.

"Hehehe, take a look, BOSS! The secret weapon I painstakingly prepared for the magical girls!"

The last director let out an unsettling laugh. She wore a white lab coat, crisply pressed, with its front pushed high by her chest.

There were pronounced dark circles beneath the eyes on her delicate face, giving her the unnerving look of someone with little time left to live.

She had remained calm throughout the meeting, but now she was exceptionally excited.

There probably wasn't anyone in Abyss Return who could stay calm when discussing matters related to magical girls.

Zhao Xueshan operated her phone, and the screen behind the head seat lit up, displaying a tall, impressive mecha.

"The Super-Electromagnetic Trap Prototype Type II Mecha, designed specifically for capture. At full discharge, its voltage is sufficient to paralyze a magical girl."

She explained as the screen cycled through demonstration footage of the mecha.

The next moment, the scene switched from the space housing the mecha to an open area in the city.

The enormous mecha, several meters tall, stood like a terrifying beast, radiating an oppressive presence. The nearby civilians had long since scattered and fled.

"Now watch closely as I capture a magical girl with ease!"

Zhao Xueshan spoke with extraordinary excitement, clenching both fists as she eagerly watched the screen, awaiting the moment her creation took down a magical girl.

Three beautiful young magical girls flew into view and stopped in front of the mechanical beast. Their lovely voices rang out.

"Magical girl Crimson Flame!"

"Magical girl Yuyan!"

"Magical girl Yalin!"

"Reporting for duty!" ×3

Following their usual routine, the magical girls announced their names with soaring confidence.

The magical girl leading them, Feiyan, with her pale red hair, declared her intent to vanquish the enemy.

"Abyss Return, you Evil Organization! Destroying the city and harming civilians-your crimes are unforgivable! I'll crush every last scheme you hide in the shadows! Attack!"

There was no point wasting words on a mecha. Feiyan attacked first, while the other two magical girls stood ready to respond as needed.

Incidentally, a huge logo was printed on the mecha's center. The magical girls had dealt with Abyss Return for so long that they naturally recognized it at a glance.

Despite Zhao Xueshan's extravagant boasts, her carefully tuned mecha began venting smoke and malfunctioning before it lasted three rounds against the three magical girls.

The dream was beautiful. Reality was brutally stark.

Her expression grew increasingly strained. Unable to stop herself from biting her thumb, she activated a control on her phone.

The Prototype Type II Mecha began discharging massive currents in every direction, indiscriminately destroying everything around it. The electricity tore the ground apart, and the impenetrable electrical net struck the magical girls.

But contrary to her expectations, the magical girls weren't stunned. They only felt a little pain.

The next moment, the feed caught Yuyan charging forward and smashing the embedded transmission equipment with a single punch.

Chaotic static echoed through the meeting room. The image on the screen distorted and went dark, proving that the new prototype mecha had been defeated.

"Damn magical girls. Damn them," Zhao Xueshan muttered angrily.

The BOSS's electronic voice delivered a warning:

"Director Zhao, you did a very poor job this time."

"I'm sorry! I didn't account for the magical girl Feiyan. If I equipped the mecha with..." After apologizing, Zhao Xueshan quickly began analyzing what had happened.

"That's not the issue." The BOSS interrupted and corrected her:

"I've repeatedly stressed that Abyss Return only targets the authorities and magical girls. Damage to the city and its civilians is forbidden.

Look at that final electrical discharge. The park's grounds are torn apart. How much financial damage will that cause?"

"I'm sorry..." Zhao Xueshan lowered her head.

That was right. Abyss Return was an evil villainous organization, but it didn't destroy city buildings or randomly attack spectators.

The accusations of "destroying the city and harming civilians" from the magical girl Feiyan were completely baseless.

The civilians they hurt were their own people, and the damage to the city came from the magical girls' wide-area attacks.

This time, however, Zhao Xueshan really did have to take responsibility for damaging the city.

"Don't let it happen again. Meeting adjourned."

Far away, in the city park where the battle had taken place.

Feiyan and Yuyan stood beside the mecha, inspecting the damaged machine.

The remaining magical girl, Yalin, held back the magical girl fans trying to approach Feiyan.

After all, the threat posed by the mecha had not been completely eliminated. It was a lethal danger to ordinary people.

"Yuyan, did you know?" Feiyan stared at the mecha as she spoke.

"Every mecha Abyss Return sends is recovered by covert personnel."

"Hm?" Yuyan tilted her head in confusion.

"Then why don't we get to it first and take it back to the Magical Girl Association?"

"No, no, no. You've only been a magical girl for six months. You haven't dealt with Abyss Return much. They'll do whatever it takes to recover their mecha," Feiyan explained, raising a hand and clenching it into a fist.

"What I mean is, we can use this chance to take down all of Abyss Return in one fell swoop!"

They would let the mecha be recovered and lie in wait to ambush the collectors.

"Wouldn't that be too dangerous?" Yuyan asked uneasily.

"I'm about to advance to the next magical girl rank. I don't want to spend ages stuck where I am. I need merit!" Feiyan held out her hand in invitation.

"Yuyan, this isn't just about getting better benefits and status for ourselves. It's about keeping civilians safe and wiping out the Evil Organization for good!"

Merit also meant money.

Yuyan remembered her meager bonuses over the past six months and her childhood friend's worried questions. Gritting her teeth, she took her senior's hand.

With Feiyan here, things should be fine, right? she thought.