Tokyo: Magical Girl Shatters My Dream of Going Public

"Ouch, that hurts!" Chinatsu rubbed her sore bottom and complained softly, "That's so mean, they just kicked me down like that..."

Inside the safe house.

The six people stared at each other, their faces filled with disbelief.

It wasn't a monster that came down from the vent, but a high school girl.

They should have breathed a sigh of relief, but instead they became increasingly tense.

The fact that a high school girl appears in a test base that has been overrun by monsters is terrifying enough in itself.

"Don't move! Hands up!"

Kanzaki gripped his rifle tightly, his finger on the trigger, aiming intently at Chinatsu in front of him.

He would not hesitate to shoot immediately if the girl in front of him dared to make any unusual move.

Several rifles stood in a row, pointing directly at him.

It was only then that Chika belatedly realized that there were actually people down there.

When she used the flashlight beam from the other person's gun to see clearly what these people were wearing, her mind went blank for a moment.

She lived a very proper life, and she only dared to think about skipping class.

Unexpectedly, while infiltrating the classified facility, they were caught red-handed, and by someone who was clearly someone not to be trifled with...

You idiot, the president is such a big idiot!

They kept saying there was no one inside, but then they kicked me right in front of the police.

It's over, it's over.

Is this where my life is going to end?

What should I do about my younger sister?

She raised her hands high, her posture so perfect she could be a model for surrendering.

Then, remembering something, she shouted in a tearful voice towards the rustling ventilation duct above her head:

"Club president! Don't come down! I've been caught! Run!"

After shouting, she seemed resigned to her fate and hurriedly added more liquid into the pipe:

"President! Please, if I can't get out... please, please take care of my sister!"

His cowardly demeanor was completely unlike any pretense, and his hasty pronouncements about "what to do after his death" were quite telling.

The six special forces members inside the safe house, who had experienced life and death and were on edge, felt a deeper sense of confusion and unease.

What exactly is going on?

Before they could even sort things out...

Inside the ventilation duct, a figure nimbly leaped down from the gap and landed silently beside the girl, standing precisely at the intersection of the flashlight beams.

The bright light illuminated him completely.

A black, crisp, well-tailored suit.

It's not a formal dress style, but rather a simple design closer to tactical clothing, with the fabric having a subtle sheen under the light, unlike ordinary fabrics.

He had a sheathed katana hanging on each side of his waist, with the hilts wrapped in dark, non-slip straps.

What is most striking is his face.

A black breathing mask covering his mouth and nose obscured most of his face.

A cylindrical device hung from his lower back, shimmering with a faint blue light. Judging from its structure and the subtle flow of energy, it was not just a decoration.

It was only then that the team members noticed that the high school girl who was slumped on the ground, almost crying from fright, was also wearing a breathing mask on her face, and she also had an identical device on her lower back.

A strange man dressed in a suit, carrying a cold weapon and unknown equipment.

A female high school student wearing a school uniform, but equipped with similar gear.

This extremely discordant combination makes one's scalp tingle even more.

In an instant, all the gun barrels, with even greater force, lowered an inch, aiming more steadily at Kurokawa's vitals.

Kurokawa looked down at Chika, who was utterly spineless and had surrendered before the battle even began, practically ready to write her will on the spot. He was furious.

He reached out his left hand, grabbed the iconic ahoge (cowlick) on Chika's head, and pulled it up without any hesitation.

"Ouch—! Ouch, ouch, ouch! President!"

Chika winced in pain as she was abruptly pulled up from the ground in this utterly unkind manner, her eyes brimming with tears.

"What are you afraid of?" Kurokawa scolded irritably. "We're not here to do anything bad."

His movements were so natural that it was as if the dark gun barrels in front of him didn't exist.

Kanzaki's gun remained motionless, his finger still on the trigger guard.

The injury to his left eye and the excruciating pain in his leg caused cold sweat to bead on his forehead, but he stared intently at the strange man in the suit.

"Who are you? State your identities and your unit. Immediately."

Kurokawa then shifted his gaze from Chinatsu to Kanzaki.

"Relax, Captain."

He comforted her in a calm tone.

"We are not the enemy. To be precise, we are 'experts' here to deal with the 'anomalies' happening here."

"An expert on anomalies...?" Kanzaki murmured, savoring the phrase. "You're from [Yagi Heavy Industries]?"

Only large corporations with close ties to the government and the Ministry of Magic would use such ambiguous yet professional terminology, and would employ such oddly dressed "experts."

Kurokawa shook his head, making no attempt to hide his feelings, and said, "No."

He could, of course, disguise himself as a combatant from Yagi Heavy Industries.

But this makes no sense at all.

Because these people will immediately realize they've been lying to the other party as soon as they go out to check the accounts.

And how could this special forces captain not know whether they had consulted experts or not?

Lying will only make cooperation between the two parties difficult to continue.

He desperately needs intelligence!

This is one of the reasons why he insisted on coming to find the other person after hearing the voice.

He paused, then added, "We just happened to be passing by the 'experts' and noticed a strong vengeful energy reaction here, so we came to see if we could help."

Kanzaki's brow furrowed even more.

Just passing by?

Is this a secret observation post deep in the mountains and forests?

Detecting an energy reaction?

Each word is absurd, and when put together, they are extremely bizarre.

This coincidence is so coincidental that it's chilling.

Just as Kanzaki's suspicions were about to reach their peak, Kurokawa's gaze swept over the standard rifles tightly gripped in the hands of the six men, and he spoke again.

A polite piece of advice:

"Furthermore, I suggest you refrain from pointing this weapon at us."

He raised his right hand, making a gesture in front of him as if pointing at the gun barrels.

"Conventional kinetic weapons are of limited effectiveness against what we need to deal with, and they are also... not very useful against us."

Kanzaki's heart skipped a beat.

This is not a threat, but rather a statement of an objective fact, as natural as saying "you need to use an umbrella when it rains".

But it was precisely this calm that allowed the chill to creep up the spine.

Lay down your weapons?

Impossible.

This is their only remaining support at this moment, their last dignity and shield as soldiers.

Kanzaki's gun barrel did not lower itself by the slightest.

Kurokawa was not surprised; his gaze quickly swept over each member of Kanzaki's squad.

With just one glance, he could roughly guess what had happened.

To attempt to enter a completely out-of-control facility with these conventional weapons is tantamount to suicide.

"It seems you've already encountered 'it' and suffered considerable losses," Kurokawa stated, then abruptly changed the subject, offering a suggestion that left Kanzaki bewildered: "How about we cooperate?"

"Cooperation?" Kanzaki asked, frowning.

"Yes. I'll help you resolve your troubles outside, or at least take you to a safer place."

"In exchange, I need your information about this facility and the containment items inside. You are a regular force; you should have blueprints, or at least know better than us where we shouldn't go."

He paused for a moment, then turned his gaze to the wounded soldier whose face was growing paler with blood loss, yet who was trying to stay alert.

"This is beneficial to both sides. After all... your team doesn't seem to be able to hold out much longer. And your current equipment is clearly insufficient to deal with the vengeful spirits outside."

Kanzaki clenched his teeth.

he knows.

He knows better than anyone.

Incendiary bombs can only delay the inevitable, bullets are of little use, and the fire purification system in the safe house cannot be activated indefinitely.

Even communication was completely blocked due to the special nature of the facility, cutting off contact with the outside world, and it was unknown when the so-called support would arrive.

Time is passing along with the lives of everyone present.

But who would risk their life on a stranger?

Kurokawa saw through the almost overflowing distrust in the other person's eyes.

He was all too familiar with that look.

The other party will never easily entrust their back to a stranger.

"In that case, let's demonstrate whether we deserve to be called 'experts'."

He beckoned to Kanzaki with his finger, the gesture casual.

"Shoot me with the gun you have."

Inside the safe house, even the suppressed breathing of the wounded seemed to have stopped.

All the team members, including Kanzaki, stared in astonishment at the man in the sharp suit, as if frozen in place.

What...is he saying?!

Kanzaki even wondered if he was experiencing auditory hallucinations due to excessive blood loss.

"I've said it before, conventional weapons are useless against us. Letting you see for yourself is more convincing than any verbal assurance. This will also help us... with possible future cooperation."

He stopped waiting for a response.

Raise your left hand and gently press your fingertips on a hidden spot on the side of the cylindrical device on your lower back.

hum-

Magic Battery activated.

The eerie blue light inside the device instantly became bright and stable, and the energy rapidly spread upwards along the suit.

Immediately afterwards, magical energy was vaporized inside the black breathing mask covering his mouth and nose, and entered Kurokawa's body through his mouth and nose.

In that instant, two clusters of eerie blue sparks seemed to ignite deep within Kurokawa's pupils, which emitted a faint light.

Wherever his gaze fell, the world seemed to slow down, and he could see the dust particles in the air more clearly.

As a combat suit capable of directly confronting vengeful spirits, the suit grants the user superhuman perception and combat abilities.

On his watch, a line of tiny numbers jumped rapidly before finally settling.

[Liberation rate: 63%]!

Kurokawa raised his hand towards Kanzaki again.

"Come on, Captain. Shoot me, don't worry about the consequences."

All the team members turned their attention to Kanzaki.

absurd!

This is the only word that lingers in everyone's mind.

Even if this man looks like a lunatic, he is still a living, breathing human being!

warm bodies!

The captain fired that shot; no matter where it hit, the responsibility would be...

Kanzaki felt conflicted.

More than the endless investigations and reports that might follow, he was concerned about whether he could lead his five teammates out of this hellish place alive.

Whether the man in front of me is telling the truth or lying doesn't matter...

He is willing to take responsibility for this.

Kanzaki took a deep breath, suppressing all distracting thoughts.

He turned his gun around and aimed at the non-lethal area on the outside of Kurokawa's thigh.

"Step back, everyone," he ordered hoarsely.

Kurokawa didn't even adopt a defensive stance; he simply stood quietly in place.

Kanzaki did not hesitate any longer and pulled the trigger.

boom--!

Gunshots rang out in the cramped safe room, deafeningly loud.

The bullet left the barrel, spinning and tearing through the air as it headed straight for its target.

The hearts of all the team members were in their throats.

Chika even instinctively closed her eyes.

however--

Just as the bullet was about to hit Kurokawa.

A faint blue halo, almost imperceptible to the naked eye, appeared out of thin air and clung tightly to Kurokawa's body contours.

The bullet slammed into it!

There were no sparks, no loud noise.

There was only a very faint "sizzle" sound.

Everyone watched as the rifle bullet, powerful enough to pierce steel, spun in front of Kurokawa until it stopped and fell to the ground.

Inside the safe house, there was a deathly silence.

monster!

Kanzaki remained in the position he had just taken after firing, with a faint white light emanating from the muzzle of his gun.

His eyes were fixed on the completely deformed bullet on the ground.

He slowly raised his head and looked at Kurokawa.

The pale blue halo had vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed.

Kurokawa raised his hand and dusted off non-existent dust from his suit.

"Now," he looked at Kanzaki, his voice devoid of any boasting, only carrying the calm indifference of a statement of fact, "can we talk about cooperation?"