About Becoming a Magical Girl

The sound of something tearing through the air split the sky. A silver gleam shot straight across the heavens and plunged into the giant monster's body. One of the three floating islands in the sky let out an ear-piercing wail beneath the blow, then slowly descended, dissolving into faint starlight before it reached the ground.

On top of a building, Fifina stared blankly at the scene.

Her pale little face was smeared haphazardly with blood and dust. Her right arm had vanished completely, leaving only a bloody, torn sleeve and crude bandaging—she had lost an arm, and with only one hand, she could no longer perform proper emergency treatment. With every passing moment, her blood continued to drain away.

"Master..."

She looked at that meteor-like, radiant figure, the longing and adoration in her eyes entirely undisguised.

That was her master, magical girl Efnir—the brightest meteor in this city, and the person she respected and admired most.

She took a deep breath, gritted her teeth, turned, and ran toward West Capital Tower.

Unable to Connect

Youcheng Girls' Academy.

Among Xijing City's dozen or so high schools, Youcheng Girls' Academy was considered one of the best.

This was the school Shiomi Yukina attended. It was now 3:40 in the afternoon, and the academy was deserted. The traffic jam that had clogged the school gates for a full hour had completely cleared in just half an hour.

"A Class-A Corruption disaster has suddenly occurred in the city center, and the situation is currently out of control. Therefore, all classes and school activities are canceled today. Students, parents, and teachers, please leave campus in an orderly manner and proceed to evacuation facilities for shelter."

The evacuation warning played over and over through the broadcast system.

At first, students and teachers found it strange that a disaster in another district, so far away from them, required them to evacuate. Then they learned that the Orderkeepers Organization Headquarters building had reportedly been attacked by Corruption. What had initially been an ordinary localized Corruption disaster now appeared to have become an uncontrollable incident, so evacuations had been organized in preparation for the disaster that might spread their way.

For that reason, the first-year parent-teacher meeting had naturally been canceled as well.

The originally planned meeting had turned into an emergency evacuation, with parents coming to the school to take their children to underground shelters.

At the end of her sight, the sunlight was scorching and dazzling. An unpleasant smell of sweat and pungent smoke hung in the air.

Shiomi Yukina clutched her school bag tightly and drifted aimlessly along with the crowd.

Her gaze was lowered, and a chibi plush of "Magical Girl Efnir" hung from the side of her bag.

Around her were people her own age traveling with their families, along with teachers and parents.

A noisy crowd.

The cries, shouting, panic, and tension squeezed the breath from her lungs.

"Don't be afraid. Mom and Dad are right here."

Other people's parents said things like that to comfort them, while Yukina had always been alone.

The only "family" she had in this city—her older brother—had not come.

Just like at graduation ceremonies, school festivals, sports days, opening ceremonies, birthdays, and when she was sick.

When she had been caught up in a Corruption disaster, her brother had not even called. It was the same in everyday life. No matter how unwilling she was to admit it, she had gradually realized a fact: her brother was deliberately distancing himself from her, and that distance had become complete and absolute.

If Efnir had not appeared in time during that disaster and nearly risked her life to save her, Yukina would surely have died long ago, right?

Her brother would no longer appear by her side. He had changed and left. She had tried to hold on to him, but failed. Now their relationship was like that of strangers.

The figure she yearned for and had awaited countless times had never appeared before her. He was utterly unlike the gentle figure from her memories. Her brother was now far too distant from her.

No matter how outstanding she was at school, she did not even have anyone with whom she could share her happiness.

When she was little, she had always chased after her brother.

How she wished her brother would chase after her too, just once, and come to her.

Even if he only patted her head like he had when they were children.

But he did not.

Even when it was time for the meeting to begin, she still did not see her brother.

She held her phone. Because of the Corruption attack, the network and communication signals had been completely cut off. Slowly, she entered his number on the keypad, then deleted it.

She had lost count of how many times she had done that.

Before she knew it, her vision had blurred.

She bit her lower lip and stubbornly raised her sleeve to wipe away her tears.

The more she expected, the greater the disappointment. She should have gotten used to this by now.

But...

Where was her brother, and what was he doing?

"Notification from the Xijing Special Disaster Response Mobile Division."

"A special incident is occurring in the northwestern district, centered around the Orderkeeper Headquarters building and plaza."

"The disaster is spreading."

"Non-combat personnel in the vicinity, evacuate immediately."

"Personnel remaining at the scene, follow instructions and evacuate in an orderly manner."

"Repeating..."

The evacuation broadcast echoed through the empty streets.

Water sprayed from damaged fire hydrants, filtering the sunlight as it scattered.

All around were blaring alarms, vehicles, and the security alarms of nearby businesses.

A girl ran frantically through the rubble, breathing hard and glancing back from time to time.

Several Dregs, along with a huge Erosion Entity that resembled both a spider and a mantis, were relentlessly pursuing her.

She was a student who had come with her club to tour a nearby shopping plaza at noon. When the disaster struck, she was separated from the others. A collapsed passage had trapped her in a stairwell, and by the time she found tools to break through the reinforced window, the streets had already been occupied by Erosion Entities and Dregs.

With no other choice, she could only keep hiding and wait for rescue.

But unfortunately, the Erosion Entity still found her.

She ran with all her strength, but the Erosion Entity was faster. Gradually, her stamina gave out. Oxygen deprivation made her head swell, while aching pain dragged at her legs like lead weights.

The Erosion Entity climbed and leaped between the buildings. Its enormous yet agile black shadow pursued her footsteps, inch by inch swallowing her up.

In despair, she lowered her gaze and watched the massive shadow on the ground slowly solidify and expand, devouring her own shadow.

Then, a heavy roar exploded above her head.

She instinctively looked up.

The enormous monster was crawling toward her in a twisted posture, clinging to the buildings. But then the structure beneath it suddenly exploded. Amid countless shards of glass and chunks of rubble, a moonlike flash of bright silver streaked past her eyes.

Her eyes widened.

It was a petite figure holding a silver spear, dressed in gorgeous attire utterly out of place amid this smoke-choked disaster.

Magical Girl Efnir.

There was a severe shortage of personnel. Just allocating enough combat power to intercept the Erosion Entities was already stretching them thin, much less clearing every Erosion Entity from this area. Every agent was suffocated by the massive black shadow overhead and forced into nonstop battle. At one point, the worsening situation had nearly crushed the agents' defensive line. They had only barely held on thanks to Efnir's support as mobile combat power. Now, at last, the battle had been dragged toward its conclusion.

"Lily" among the agents had been injured, and continuing to fight would have been dangerous. So Efnir had taken over the clearing operation in this area for her.

Just then, she received a message from Fifina that someone was being chased by an Erosion Entity on the street directly ahead and needed rescue. That was why Efnir had appeared here.

Dust and rubble danced through the air.

Efnir's gaze swept over the lone girl below. After roughly confirming that she had not turned into a Dreg, Efnir breathed a sigh of relief and looked away.

Light flickered beneath her feet, condensing into a mirror of light like water. Suspended in midair, Efnir twisted and flipped, stepping onto the mirror's surface to propel herself. The next instant, the silver spear in her hand flew from her grasp. Like a cannon shell leaving its barrel, the silver streak utterly pierced through and shattered the giant monster along with the entire patch of ground beneath it.

The Erosion Entity shattered in response, turning into stardust that drifted down.

Efnir descended upon the starlight.

She appeared before the girl, wrapped an arm around her waist, and swiftly carried her away. The next second, broken bricks and rubble came crashing down over the spot where she had just been standing.

A narrow escape, yet handled with effortless ease.

"Phew..."

Efnir set the girl down and breathed lightly. Silver light flashed in her hand, and the spear she had thrown earlier reappeared in her grasp.

She turned around and carefully looked the girl over from head to toe.

There were no obvious wounds, and her school uniform showed no clear damage. It seemed she had not been directly attacked by the Erosion Entity.

The situation had been somewhat urgent, so Efnir had directly chosen the reckless method of smashing through the buildings.

In any case, she had made it in time.

"...Are you all right?"

Efnir asked.

"N-No... I'm fine..."

"It looks like you weren't infected... Thank goodness... I'm so glad I made it in time."

If someone was infected by an Erosion Entity, the mild outcome was the failure of bodily functions. The severe outcome was becoming a Dreg—losing all human emotions and turning into a monster filled with bloodlust and the urge to destroy. For a human being, such an end was far too tragic. That was why people fought with everything they had.

"Th-Thank you..."

Still shaken, the girl could barely speak clearly.

"Don't worry about it. You're safe now. I'll get you out of here."

The girl nodded timidly without saying anything.

It was her first time seeing Efnir from such close range.

Efnir herself really was even prettier than imagined, and far younger than she had expected... But... blood was seeping from the alarming wound beneath Efnir's waist lining, dyeing the hem of her clothes bright red. Blood dripped from her elbow and skirt.

Her idol, her hero, had been seriously injured.

Realizing that, she could not help staring blankly, unable to think of what to say for a moment.

Just then, another girl ran over from behind.

She was also wearing a combat uniform, so she was clearly an agent as well. Blood stained her face, and the fabric over her left shoulder was torn, exposing a smooth, lovely shoulder. But her arm hung from it like a puppet toy with severed strings, while her sleeve was soaked through with blood.

Clutching her shoulder, she dealt with several Dregs chasing after her, then came before Efnir.

"E-Efnir-senior! Thank you so much for coming..."

"Lily."

Efnir greeted the approaching Lily, her gaze falling on the blood-covered arm.

"That's a serious injury... You've worked hard. Leave this area to me from here on."

Efnir glanced at the girl in school uniform again before continuing.

"Also, take this girl back to the headquarters building and rendezvous with Elincia. Wait there for further instructions."

Lily glanced at the still-dazed girl, nodded, then showed a trace of concern.

"Leave her to me. But, Efnir-senior... aren't you coming with me...? Your injury..."

"Don't worry, I'm fine. Compared to me, can you, as an injured person, escort her back to headquarters?"

"Escorting her won't be a problem."

Lily raised her left hand and patted her chest, giving her a serious assurance.

"Then show me you can complete the mission properly."

Efnir smiled gently.

Because I'm a Dependable Senior

Efnir watched Lily lead the girl away until they disappeared from view.