Magical Girl: Thousand Blades

Chen Qianqian woke to the cold.

The chill of the concrete seeped through the chair and into her bones.

She tried to move, but her wrists were tied behind the chair. Coarse hemp rope bit into her flesh, and she couldn't break free.

She tried to shout, but the tape over her mouth forced the sound back down her throat. All that came out was a muffled "Mmph, mmph."

Then she heard voices.

Several men were talking beyond an iron door, their words drifting in and out.

"...You think the kid will really come?"

"He will." Another man laughed. "Didn't you read his file? His parents died in a Fallen Beast's jaws seven years ago. All he has left are his childhood friend and his aunt and uncle. People like him value other people's lives more than their own. We call that 'prime stock.'"

"The brighter someone shines, the sweeter it is when their hope shatters."

"As long as either one of them falls into despair, the crystal will get a huge boost."

Chen Qianqian went cold all over.

They hadn't taken her for money or anything else. They were using her as bait.

They were with the Liberation Faction!

Chen Qianqian thrashed wildly, the chair legs scraping across the concrete with an ear-splitting screech.

The men from the Liberation Faction heard her and smiled in satisfaction.

"Good. She's awake."

When the iron door swung open, Chen Qianqian stopped struggling.

The last rays of sunset spilled in from outside. A familiar figure stood silhouetted in the doorway, his baseball cap pulled low.

"I'm here."

Yang Chen spoke.

"Let her go."

"Mmph!! Mmph, mmph—!!"

Chen Qianqian shook her head frantically, tears spilling out at once.

Run!!

She threw every ounce of strength she had against the tape, but the sounds trapped behind it would not form the word "run."

But deep down, she knew.

She knew better than anyone.

Seven years ago, a Fallen Beast attack had taken Yang Chen's parents.

The wound it had left in his heart was not one that could easily heal.

Expecting Yang Chen to abandon someone he cared about and save himself?

He would sooner die.

So she could only watch him walk inside, watch the iron door close behind him, and watch that fool step, one pace at a time, into the grave they had dug for him.

"Punctual. Very good."

Five men emerged from the depths of the factory.

The one in front wore a gray suit. His leather shoes tapped against the concrete at an unhurried pace, as though he were arriving at a dinner party.

The other four spread out behind him, quietly sealing off every exit.

Yang Chen's gaze swept across the room.

Five. All ordinary people. No Magic Power signatures.

Qianqian's at ten o'clock. Chair, tape, no visible wounds—she isn't hurt.

And...

His gaze settled on the far end of the factory.

A huge iron cage stood there beneath a black cloth. Something under the covering was breathing slowly and heavily.

"Allow me to introduce myself." Gray Suit gave a slight bow. "Liberation Faction. This city's 'harvester.'"

"Mr. Yang, we've been watching you for a long time. That day in the park, you risked your life to save someone from beneath a Fallen Beast's feet, even though you were an ordinary person. How brave."

"If you weren't a man, I imagine you'd already be one of those shining on the stage."

"But what a shame..."

As he spoke, Gray Suit strolled over to Chen Qianqian.

Yang Chen looked at Chen Qianqian, deep apology in his eyes.

Sorry. You'll have to put up with this a little longer...

But no one here seemed especially high-ranking. That made him more confident.

At least he had a fallback.

His transformation took only an instant. If things went wrong, he would transform right in front of Chen Qianqian and take these men down.

As for afterward... he could always hide somewhere else.

Hopefully this goes the way I planned... Let "Yang Chen" die here for good, then have Magical Girl Love appear.

Yang Chen lowered his head, the brim of his cap hiding his eyes.

No one could see his expression.

Gray Suit clapped his hands.

One of his subordinates stepped forward and yanked the black cloth off the iron cage.

Inside, a hyena-like Fallen Beast raised its head. Its murky eyes instantly locked onto the only "prey" in the factory, drool dripping from its fangs.

First rank.

But that was enough to tear any ordinary person to pieces.

Yang Chen gave a wry smile.

"Don't worry. It's trained. It won't bite you to death." Gray Suit opened the cage himself, his tone as considerate as if he were introducing a friend. "It'll just play with you—nice and slow."

"Remember, if you dodge or fight back"—he pointed at Chen Qianqian—"the knife goes a little deeper."

Another subordinate walked over to Chen Qianqian and pressed a sharp knife against her neck.

The next twenty minutes were the longest of Chen Qianqian's life.

The first time the Fallen Beast lunged, Yang Chen didn't dodge.

Its claws raked across his back, tearing four bloody gashes through his school uniform and flesh. He grunted and was knocked to the ground.

"Mmph—!!"

Chen Qianqian's scream hit the tape and broke into a strangled sob.

Yang Chen braced a hand against the floor and staggered back to his feet.

The second time, the Fallen Beast sent him flying. His back struck the bars of the iron cage with a sickening thud. He slid to the ground and coughed up blood.

He got up again.

A third time. A fourth...

He shielded his head and face, protected his vital points, and gave up every other inch of flesh.

Blood dripped from his fingertips, pooling in a small dark patch on the concrete.

Each time, he took longer to stand.

But each time, he stood.

Gray Suit watched, entranced.

"Such strength... Is this what it means to have light in your heart?"

"But what's the point of holding on like this?"

"It only means more pain."

Chen Qianqian had stopped crying.

She couldn't cry anymore.

She watched the person she had grown up with, just ten meters away, get torn apart again and again.

She watched the person she most wanted to protect suffer wound after wound because of her.

It was exactly the nightmare she had feared most.

She struggled violently, the hemp rope grinding her wrists raw. But that pain was nothing compared to the knife in her heart.

If only I had power.

The wish she had made downstairs once before now burned like a wildfire.

If I had power, I could have pulled him back that day.

If I had power, I could cut these ropes today and stand in front of him.

If I—

Had power!!!

"Don't... hurt him anymore!"

The cry in her heart could no longer be held back.

Light came.

Not from the windows. Not from the door.

It poured from the girl bound to the chair.

A powerful surge of Magic Power burst from her.

Golden light exploded outward with her at its center. The hemp rope crumbled to ash, and the tape vanished without a trace.

The man behind her had no time even to scream before the shock wave hurled him away. His knife hit the floor with a clang ten meters off.

The entire dark factory lit up like daylight.

The rapture on Gray Suit's face cracked, giving way to sheer horror. "What... is this...?"

At the center of the light, Chen Qianqian slowly rose to her feet.

Tears still clung to her face, but her eyes shone with a startling brightness.

Countless points of light gathered around her, stretching and taking shape. They became gleaming silver blades, one after another, hovering behind her in dense, overlapping ranks.

"Magical Girl: Thousand Blades has arrived!"

In a pool of blood, the battered boy gripped the bars of the iron cage and slowly straightened.

In truth, he had been using Magic Power to protect his vital organs the whole time. He looked terrible, but nothing was seriously wrong.

He had only been waiting for one last blow. Then he could fake his death and have Love appear.

But now...

He stared at the figure standing amid a thousand blades. For a moment he was stunned; then his mouth twitched into a smile uglier than tears.

"...I'm screwed."

He spoke under his breath.

"Now the whole plan's really gone off the rails."