A Magical Girl? I Was Tricked into It!

The next moment, she was pulled directly into the Void World.

Why is it this again?!

The sudden sense of oppression made her recite her transformation spell without a moment's hesitation.

Magic power poured out of her body, forming a protective barrier around her as she transformed.

The next instant, Ando Meiko felt something crash into her magic power, and the foreign object was flung away with a sound like static electricity.

Only after she had finished transforming and her magic power had withdrawn back into her body did Ando Meiko see what had ambushed her.

A dog.

But this dog was far larger than an ordinary one—larger even than the Void Wolf she had encountered last time.

After transforming, the uncomfortable feeling of being squeezed by the dense magic power upon entering the Void had vanished. Clearly, this area had also been contaminated by the magic aether of the Void Beast before her.

After climbing to its feet, the Void Dog sprang forward with its hind legs, shooting toward Ando Meiko like an arrow. The instantaneous acceleration unleashed by its explosive power exceeded the girl's imagination.

There was no time for her to freeze up. The distance the Void Beast closed in an instant left her scrambling and rolling away rather than properly dodging.

Master, this Void Dog is nothing like the Void Wolf from last time.

You don't need to tell me that!

Master, watch out!

The Void Dog actually adjusted its direction the instant it landed. Less than a second passed between Ando Meiko dodging sideways to open up distance and the Void Dog's second attack. She did not even have a chance to catch her breath.

Her dodge had already been hasty, and that brief instant only gave Ando Meiko enough time to thrust the magic wand in her hand forward.

"Master! Don't use me to block attacks, aaaaaahhh!! I'm going to die! I'm going to die! I'm really going to die!!!"

Volume One: How I Was Tricked into Becoming a Magical Girl: Chapter Twenty-Eight: An Indescribable Rod-Shaped Object

"Anything is fine! Turn into the hardest thing possible!"

Imagine something? What kind of joke was that? The dog's claws were already hanging over her head. Right now, there was more mush than thoughts in Ando Meiko's brain.

How could she possibly think of anything in this state?

Not knowing what else to do, she could only keep pouring magic power into the wand. At the very moment the dog's head was about to strike it, the wand turned into red magic power and shifted into another form.

Then an indescribable rod-shaped object appeared in Ando Meiko's hand... and it did indeed feel hard. Hard as a rock.

The dog slammed heavily into whatever the magic wand had turned into. The force of its charge pushed Ando Meiko sliding backward until she crashed into a utility pole behind her.

The pain in her back made her blood churn. Even while transformed, even with her combat outfit blocking much of the damage, a streak of vivid red still ran from the corner of her mouth.

Master, Master, are you okay? Master?!

The wet sensation made Ando Meiko instinctively wipe her lips. The crimson staining the back of her hand made her heart sink.

She was injured. Perhaps because most of her body had already been converted into an Ether Body, even internal bleeding did not hurt as badly as she had imagined.

"I'm fine... It doesn't hurt that much."

She took a moment to look at what the magic wand had become. It was a frying pan, and the rod-shaped object she was gripping was precisely the frying pan's handle.

Driven by her sudden survival instinct, the magic wand she had filled with power seemed to have become the thing in her subconscious that most resembled a shield.

Looking at the frying pan in her hand, a different question came to mind.

If my body were completely converted into aether, would that mean I wouldn't feel pain at all? If that were true, how would I be any different from a combat machine that had been manufactured?

At that thought, Ando Meiko gritted her teeth and glared furiously at the Void Dog, which was staring back at her.

The pain from earlier had successfully ignited her fighting spirit.

"Not being human anymore or whatever... How could I possibly accept that?!"

A frying pan was a frying pan. Who said kitchenware could not be used as a weapon?

She continuously poured magic power into the frying pan. As the amount of magic increased, the pan gradually grew larger, until its handle became long enough for her to grip with both hands. Only then did the flow of magic finally stop.

"Come on!" Ando Meiko shouted, trying to bolster her trembling heart, but to the Void Dog, it became a signal of provocation.

The Void Dog also let out an angry roar at Ando Meiko. With a kick of its hind legs and its claws swinging, it burst forth with astonishing speed once again.

Unlike the previous two sudden attacks, this time, she was fully prepared.

She swung the frying pan heavily as if batting a baseball. The pan slammed sideways into the dog's body with a sound nearly like metal colliding.

The Void Dog was instantly sent flying, and when it climbed back up, it was clearly dazed by the blow.

Instead of rushing to tear its prey in half as it had before, it took several steps back and cautiously stared at Ando Meiko and... the dark, sturdy circular object in her hand.

The vibration traveling through the handle made Ando Meiko's hands ache. Not daring to make any unnecessary movements, she could only shake them lightly twice to ease the numbness in her wrists.

What was that? This dog was not as strong as she had imagined.

Master is amazing! Though your fighting style isn't elegant at all.

Any cat that catches mice is a good cat. Who cares how I fight? As long as I can beat it up, that's enough.

She rested the frying pan on her shoulder and made a taunting gesture with her left hand at the Void Dog, which had become much more timid. "Where did all that swagger go? Come at me!"

Void Beasts did not possess humanlike intelligence. The beast before her could only sense a provocative aura of magic from Ando Meiko, but that was enough to enrage it.

Good, it took the bait.

When enraged, beasts attacked more wildly, but they often lost what little reason they had left...

That was the experience Ando Meiko had gained from playing games, and it was why she had acted this way.

She sidestepped slightly to evade the Void Dog's attack, holding the frying pan pointed diagonally at the ground as she waited for it to turn back.

Hah!

Having grown used to the Void Beast's fighting style, she was already becoming impatient with this dog that only knew how to pounce around.

"Here's my chance! Up you go!" Seizing the brief opening after the Void Dog attacked, she swung the frying pan upward and smashed it into its chin, sending its entire body flying into the air.

No matter how fast the dog was, with no foothold or point of leverage in midair, it could not dodge Ando Meiko's next attack.

Though surprised that she possessed such strength, Ando Meiko did not want to think too deeply about it right now.

What she needed to do was focus as much as possible and imagine her next move...

"Take this!" The frying pan voluntarily transformed back into a magic wand as she swung it, and Ando Meiko poured nearly all of her magic power into it.

At that moment, specks of light appeared around her body as magic power gathered.

This was the result of her firearm training: imagining magic power as individual bullets, then firing a whole volley at once!

As for the name of this move, she had long since decided on one!

"Take this! Its range is probably only twenty meters, and I have no idea how powerful it'll be... Ruby Splash!"

Dozens of light particles shot through the air like bullets at high speed. As they struck the Void Beast, they also pierced through its body.

The Void Beast that fell from the air never got back up. Its lifeless body dissolved into magic aether and scattered through the Void World.

That finishing attack was so cool! I'm falling for you! No! I already love Master the most!

"Phew."

Ignoring Ruby's nonsense, Ando Meiko was about to leave when the magic aether lingering in the air suddenly turned into a band of black light and shot toward her.

But the black band of light was not targeting Ando Meiko. It was targeting the magic wand in her hand... Ruby.

The instant it touched the magic wand, the bands of black light were directly absorbed by it before Ando Meiko's stunned eyes, like water being flushed down a toilet.

Huh? What's going on, Ruby?

I... I don't know either, but it came toward me on its own. My body seemed to absorb it directly, and there doesn't seem to be any unusual reaction. It should be fine, right?

In any case, once Ruby absorbed all the magic aether, the contaminated area around them disappeared as well.

But after such a battle, the lingering fatigue was already close to drowning her consciousness.

"Huh? A magical girl I've never seen before. Is she a newcomer to this area? Still, that was quite an interesting fighting style."

Ando Meiko set off for home through the Void World, while somewhere beyond her notice...

A black-haired magical girl in a combat outfit dominated by yellow and accented with black sat on the rooftop of a building, watching the red-haired girl quietly depart with great interest. A taiji symbol hung from her chest.

Though calling it a magical girl's combat outfit was perhaps inaccurate—it looked more like a Daoist robe.

"Three Purities, that girl is mine. Don't you dare get any ideas about her."

"Xiphias, is it really all right for you to walk around here so openly? Don't forget your identity."

"What does it matter? It's not like I interfere with any of you."

The samurai-shaped figure stood quietly behind Xiphias. Though they spoke as if making casual conversation, the atmosphere was like a pile of gunpowder that could explode at any moment.

Seeing that Three Purities said nothing more, Xiphias smiled and turned, vanishing into the darkness.

"What a troublesome woman. I have no idea what Xiphias is planning, but I should keep an eye on this newcomer for now, lest she get eaten by that woman."

Volume One: How I Was Tricked into Becoming a Magical Girl: Chapter Twenty-Nine: At Least Look Like a Person

She swayed as she opened the front door. The moment Ando Meiko stepped into the entryway, her body gave out and she collapsed.

"Huh? Is Meiko back? Meiko?" Hearing the sound from the entryway, Fuko rushed over at once.

When she saw her childhood friend lying in the entryway, she forgot everything else. Dropping what she was holding, she hurried over to check on her.

"Big Sister Fuko? Is Big Sister Meiko back?" Nanako saw Ando Meiko in Fuko's arms and ran over to them anxiously.

"What happened to Big Sister Meiko? Is she okay?"

"I don't know." Fuko answered Nanako while carrying Ando Meiko to the sofa in the living room.

When she saw the lingering scrapes and bruises on Ando Meiko's back, along with the dried blood at the corner of her mouth, Fuko felt as if someone had gripped her heart tightly.

Other than that incident when they were children, this was the first time she had felt so helpless...

Master... Master, wake up, Master!

Who knew how long had passed? Only when Ruby's voice appeared in her consciousness did Ando Meiko regain her senses, like someone who had just awakened from sleep.

You're so noisy, Ruby.

Master? That's great, Master! You're finally awake. Sob, sob, I was worried sick about you.

Ando Meiko frowned. She could not help worrying that something might be wrong with her body... After all, Ruby sounded as though she had just gone through a life-or-death separation.

What happened to me?

Her memories only went as far as arriving home. Then she had lost consciousness.

Come to think of it, being able to make it home and undo her transformation in that condition was already quite an impressive feat.

You forcibly poured magic power into me, randomly changed my form without using your imagination, unleashed a huge number of magic bullets with your last breath, and then ran home while transformed. No one could handle that.

Ruby's tone carried a hint of anger, as though she was blaming her for her reckless actions.

Besides, Master, your Ether Body is still unstable. Even if the combat outfit absorbs much of the force from outside, the damage you take will still be directly reflected onto your physical body.

"That's why I said I didn't want to fight." She opened her eyes and let out a helpless sigh. Everything familiar before her told her that she was in her own room.

Because her body possessed aether-like properties after transforming into a magical girl, the pain from injuries inflicted by Void Beasts had not felt quite as intense.

But now that she had undone her transformation and the damage had fed back into her body, even the slightest movement was enough to make her grit her teeth in pain.

Yet that agonizing pain made her truly feel her own existence. It made her feel that her body was still flesh and blood. Even though she had become a girl, at the very least, she could still live as a human being.

"I'm exhausted. Running out of magic power feels terrible. Looks like I need to control how much magic power I put out a little better."

Whether it had been the Void Wolf or the Void Dog, the amount of magic power she had used in both battles had been excessive.

Though she had used both moves for the first time in battle, the power of Silver Impact and Ruby Splash would have been more than enough even if she had cut their output in half.

"I'm surprisingly hungry today."

"You went through two battles, after all. And the magic recovery speed of a Half-Aether Body is much slower than that of an ordinary magical girl. Most of the energy can only be replenished through eating."