Magical Mafia (Part One)

On Commercial Street, inside an upscale buffet restaurant.

"Nom, nom, nom..."

"Slow down..."

Zhou Xingxing watched Xu Youyou beside her, caught between laughter and exasperation.

"Mmph, mmph! (No!)"

Xu Youyou shot Zhou Xingxing a fierce glare, then went back to eating her feelings, rapidly clearing the food from the table.

What did she mean, Love had come to the Association and completed her test while Xu Youyou was asleep?

What did she mean, everyone had held a little tea party while Xu Youyou was still asleep, chatting and getting to know one another?

What did she mean, they only remembered someone was still asleep at the Association after they had all reached the restaurant?

She was Magical Girl Ranger! Her ability was Absolute Evasion, not making herself invisible to everyone!

She felt so wronged... She wanted to cry...

"Cough, cough..."

Xu Youyou ate too fast and choked. Clutching her throat, she struggled to ask for help.

Li Qi hurriedly passed her a drink.

Xu Youyou grabbed it and downed it in one gulp, swallowing the food stuck in her throat along with it.

"I'm alive. But I won't forgive you that easily, Senior Li Qi."

That actually made Li Qi feel a little guilty.

They were companions who had lived and fought together for some time, yet Li Qi had taken so long to remember that they had forgotten to wake Xu Youyou.

"Ah, no... That's not what I meant."

"Don't worry, I'm not blaming you, Senior Li Qi... It's all Zhou Xingxing's fault!"

Seeing Li Qi's expression change, Xu Youyou panicked and quickly corrected herself.

She had almost forgotten. Li Qi was earnest and could easily take a joke seriously... Not that Li Qi couldn't take a joke. She simply cared so much about her companions that she took every word they said to heart.

Given the right circumstances, Li Qi could still tell when someone was joking.

But Xu Youyou had said it right after being forgotten, so it was no wonder Li Qi took her seriously.

"Yes, it's all my fault... I wonder who I tried to wake up this morning, only for her to insist on sleeping a little longer and snap at me for it."

Zhou Xingxing poked at the dessert on her plate, looking utterly speechless.

"Hmph!"

Xu Youyou huffed sulkily, then turned her gaze to Yang Cheng.

At the large table, Yang Cheng seemed to be the tallest by far. Most of them hovered around 1.6 meters, while Yang Cheng alone came close to 1.7 meters, followed by Li Qi and Chen Qianqian.

"She really is like a mother."

"Cough, cough..."

Caught off guard by Xu Youyou's outrageous remark, Yang Cheng nearly spat out her mouthful of food.

"What makes you say that?"

Xu Youyou tilted her head and thought for a moment.

"Look... You're always taking care of us, aren't you? Especially Li Qi."

"You healed her mother. Your help was essential to the concert's success, and during the concert, you were the one who guided Li Qi through what was troubling her."

"You've always quietly protected everyone, treated each person gently, and returned the love they gave you."

"Doesn't that make you like a mother?"

"Look..."

Xu Youyou opened a forum thread that had gone wildly viral.

※ Magical Girl Love is a woman who could be my mother! ※

"Commander, when did you get here?"

"What an embarrassment.jpg"

Yang Cheng covered her face in embarrassment as she looked at the thread.

"Ooh, little Chengcheng, you really are popular, aren't you? You've barely appeared, yet you've attracted so much attention."

Beautiful Sound leaned in, her eyes shining.

Her name was Beautiful Sound. Like Ben Xiangmeng, she was an international student from an affiliated nation.

"Yeah. We didn't have nearly that many fans when we debuted."

Electric Sound sounded wistful too.

She hadn't told the others her real name, apparently because it was a little too unusual.

And when they said they hadn't had so many fans before their debut, they meant the period when they had yet to become magical girls and had formed a girl band.

Once they dropped their transformations, the two looked like perfectly well-behaved girls, a stark contrast to their transformed selves.

"By the way, Qianqian, are you two together now?"

Ben Xiangmeng, who had mostly been listening to everyone else chat, suddenly remembered something.

Chen Qianqian, who had stayed pressed against Yang Cheng and said little herself, flushed the instant the question landed on her.

"Ah... Well... I..."

"Of course we are."

Seeing Chen Qianqian grow too shy to speak again, Yang Cheng answered at once.

After all, their relationship was nothing to hide.

Yang Cheng's frank admission made Chen Qianqian even shyer, and she buried her face in Yang Cheng's arms.

In an alley somewhere on Commercial Street.

A bedraggled figure in tattered clothes, looking like a beggar, staggered into the depths of the alley and leaned against the wall.

"Damn magical girls..."

"Every time... Every time I was so close to succeeding. Why did they always show up at the crucial moment to stop me?"

"I can't accept this..."

The Harvester had been captured and was no longer worth rescuing.

The Liberation Faction's leaders were already planning to send someone new to this city, and the new leader certainly wouldn't use any of the old guard.

If he couldn't prove his worth, he would be cast aside.

He couldn't let that happen...

He had worked so hard and given up everything. Was it all just to be cast aside in the end?

He pulled a pitch-black Crystal from inside his clothes.

"I can't give up... Even if there's only a one-percent chance, I have to try. Things have already come this far."

He had only managed to learn that morning that the magical girls had gathered at the Association Branch.

It would take them time to reach Commercial Street.

This time, he wouldn't hold back.

After all, he wasn't following orders this time, trying to lure the magical girls out and defeat them.

This time, he wanted only destruction! Revenge!

The man drew a deep breath and plunged the Crystal in his hand into his chest.

Black mist erupted from the Crystal in an instant. But instead of dispersing, the roiling mist poured into the wound in his chest.

Agony pierced through the man, but he made no sound. He bit down hard on his arm until blood streamed from it.

He had to endure it! Otherwise, someone would notice something was wrong, and the magical girls would arrive early.

It would be over soon... No one on Commercial Street would escape!

His fierce hatred and resentment gradually fused with the Crystal.

At last, the Crystal sank fully into his body.

The man felt his strength grow, while his viewpoint slowly rose higher.

Then the pain vanished.

Brimming with power, the man let out a roar of exhilaration and rage.

"Die, all of you!"

He was... invincible!