*
"Damn. This will take a long time to heal even with blood techniques... She shouldn't know my address.... Shit! My subordinates!" (Agrian)
Fiddling with his old looking hands, he searched with a heavy tremble as his fingle fondled his pocket for his trusty item. The magic communication device. Grabbing it with both his hands so that a single hand wouldn't drop it by accident, he bends his elbows and brings it near to his ear.
"Everyone! Close up!!! And don't engage! Just run if you see a girl! She's likely a magical girl." (Agrian)
His trusty aide, Lucas replied to his frantic fervour with due haste. However what he said brought an indescribable relief to his heart.
" Boss! No one has come here yet, it's only us. We were just about to wrap up after completing the final bits of work." (Lucas)
".... Thank god.... You guys are still alive... Alright, guys, put down your work and retire for today." (Agrian)
" Huh?! Boss, did you hit your head after you left? "(Lucas)
His temples twitched a little before he gave a reply. His smile went crooked and his cheeks stretched out of anger.
"... No, I got my waist impaled by a magical girl!! Now hurry up before something worse happens to you! "(Agrian)
" Yes sir... "(Lucas)
Not bothering to ask how he had survived such a calamity, his subordinate made haste to following his orders. Taking all the valuable items, they exit that run done building in groups that walked towards the main street. After some time everyone had successfully escaped. Of course, this was one of the more well disciplined groups in the organisation.
There was also the possibility of informing the leader in charge of this region of Central. Such a person was usually an A grade magical girl or 2 sent by the cult's upper echelons. Such a person would undoubtedly defeat whatever was hunting them around this area, but was it really necessary?
After all, that magical girl will be 2 ranks above his own. He was a manager of a small area, his own manager coordinates between around 20 people of his position to handle a large area, and after that was the magical girl who handled everything. They were an extremely busy business after all.
That was not to say he would fight her on his own. That was suicide. He was one of the rare existences within the organisation as a witch, he could detect and survive magical girl attacks for a small duration of time. But his well is that of a normal human's. So no matter what he did, he would run out of magic and die if he was ever in battle with an actual magical girl.
"Damn.... An actual 8 year old got to awaken before I did.... This really sucks.". (Agrian)
Even at the lowest E grade, they would be 50 times as strong or skilled as humans. It has been said that their existence is meant to curb the population of monsters. Then, are monsters also this absurdly strong? At the moment there was a clear shift of balance in the favour of magical girls. After The Great Disaster, despite the increase in numbers of monsters beyond any record there was before, the increase in magical girls skewed the balance so heavily that monsters were nearly extinct. Now they merely exist in meagre populations outside borders or in the monster nation occupying a large portion of West Africa.
The Grundo Alliance and the Illnoia Administration realised there were too many powerful magical girls who settled in the Sanctuary, the war wasn't progressing at all other than few pushbacks every once in a while, ending in favour of the Sanctuary. It became a stale war and a pointless waste of resources, so they had made a treaty and sent an absurd number of envoys.
It was obvious that they wanted to assassinate the leaders, and killing the envoys would lead to another conflict. But there were always forces present in the territories of the Sanctuary, forces like the Rising Knight Order. They weren't official or legal military organisations by any means, but that didn't stop them from hiring these forces to kill the envoys. They can claim innocence as these forces were more akin to terrorist organisations.
***
"Tch, they got away... This... Power has also given me a slight boost in intelligence, but not enough huh.... It only pertains to battle, I wasted too much time looking for that guy when I should have went straight for the base!" (?)
The illusory 8 year old girl dispersed into faint white mist into the night, before a slightly older girl twice her age but not that much taller in height appeared. She was initially around 130 cm, but she only grew up to 156 when she transformed.
"It feels a little weird on the legs and spine everytime, but what the hell? I was above average before I transform, now my height is below..." (?)
Sour groans escape her throat as she complained, while she didn't grow too much in height she did grow quite a bit in a certain area. No longer would she be a washboard but... She didn't particularly care about its size except for the back pain that came with it.
"Ugh, all the disadvantages of growing older in an instant, but not much of the advantages..." (?)
She had a black buttoned blouse and pleated skirt on, but above all of that was a French maid apron that encircled her shoulders with white straps and went under voluptuous chest with pure white fabric. The apron had 2 further straps that tied around her waist, causing the blouse to puff up above the strap secured area, then it extended downward like a large bib with black frills lining the edge, along with a black inner outline that followed the shape of the edge.
Above that was a medium sized pocket surrounded by curving patterns akin to crescent sculpture stacked atop one another. Above her black pleated skirt was a white extension attached below her apron that spread out with a translucent texture. It looked like snowflakes vaguely resting atop her black pleated skirt. But at least someone of this age was less likely to get kidnapped, since a kid was significantly easier to subdue. Plus, her magical girl Strength could allow her to fight off strangers if they tried to kidnap her.
So she stayed transformed for now, for her safety. She had faintly realised her father was already dead when the middle-aged man she attacked was walking home. She instantly realised, despite enduring all the abuse, nothing had come out of it. She was similar to any other girl you could find on the street. Her carefree demeanour and jubilant expression suggested as such, since at this age children didn't think too much about the cruelties of society and the burden of the society. Her mind was weightless and her footsteps light.
At this point it wasn't even worth mentioning. The Great Disaster had thrown the family into the vortex of unemployment, the cold grips off financial and emotional burden wore down the walls of rationality and tolerance. Her hand stretch on and on, grasping for what didn't exist. Repeatedly, her wrist would be beaten down by her own mother and her gambling habit. Her mother in turn would get slapped and punched by her father for wasting his hard earned cash. It was a reciprocal chain of violence, except that she herself would do nothing but suffer.
In some sick sense, she felt relief in her heart, because with a person missing the chain should stop tightening down her throat. Of course, she would prefer if her father was still alive and everything went back to normal. But nothing could be done anymore. She awakened into a magical girl the day before, she was just as surprised as anyone else but she tested out it's powers to see what she could do.
For now, she only had her first skill [Damsel of distress]. It was a skill that created a specialised fog which could change the form of things. She had wrapped it around herself to make her look like her normal 8 year old form, bringing down the guard of anyone who saw her. It was able to shrink her, enlarge her, or change her into a different species. But in the end it akin to a sculpture made of clouds, so it easily dispersed when contact is made.
"Kgh, I don't feel like dealing with her today.... No, I won't ever deal with her ever again. Why should I put up with it?" (Amony)
The door to her home creaked as it slid open, enlarging a big enough gap for a leg to pass through. The leg was covered in a long grey trouser of Velvety fabric. Her mother sees the leg and steps aside. It was the simplest and most effective method that she employed to deal with her mother, she used her skill to generate a mist that transforms her into her father. She knew it was mean, she knew it was cruel.
The enticing hit of dopamine got to her before she regretted what she was doing. Once she reached a corner where her mother was not around, she detransformed and went back into her room. To say she didn't at least bear a little grudge would be a lie. Her resentment had built up over time and she was considerate enough to hold it back until it dissipated. Her only satisfaction was to scare off her mother with trauma. But it won't last long, since she doesn't hit her mother like her father does, she'll notice something was up with time. It had only been the second time and her mother was already giving her a weird look.
Before anyone had notice, there was a shroud of black mist flowing outside the home in the shape of a general barrier, a dome. While humans generally do not have the ability to perceive magical particles, the house stands out like a sore thumb to those who can. After all, it was a large scale activation of magical particles, anyone with a radar would feel like there was a large hole in their radar mapping.
***(?)
"You guys ready? This may be the last place, though there is a high chance the progenitor will escape." (Gerald)
"She'll escape? How do you know that?"
I look at her with skepticism, the surprise escaping through my tone with ease. As we were all in magical girl form, we were able to do high speed travel comparable to bullet trains just by jumping forward. The surroundings will turn into a blur for anyone who is untrained.
But eventually one would learn how to see at high speeds by building up the power of their vision. Thanks to magical girl transformation, which healed any wounds or sickness that were otherwise incurable, those of us who had weak vision due to electronics had recovered them. It was even possible to train our eyes beyond human ability to see far or see fast. In the end, visual acuity was really important to see enemies at unusual angles so one can prepare for their attack or ambush.
"... If I had to think, the progenitor can recreate the skills of other magical girls. Let's say despite that absurd ability of hers, we surmounted the challenge and beat her up. I think at the last second, she would have a skill ready for escaping. But it's okay. I have a plan for that. "(Gerald)
" I see.... So what will be the general plan then? "
" We'll probably collect information first, then storm in in teams. "(Myuu)
Myuu chimed in, she gave a logical guess as her golden brown twintails flowed smoothly through the air. We were no longer in our casual clothes, and instead everyone had donned their magical girl combat dress. Although a little strange, Gerald's and Myuu's combat dress could still be passed off as normal clothes. While Gerald was wearing all black in colour, it was still a coat over a folded blous, shorts and tights. Meanwhile, Myuu wore a multilayered cloak and a skirt. While the colours stand out quite a bit, they were still normal compared to me and Myuu's dress which looks more like cosplay.
"Hey... What's that." (Paridia)
Her usual monotonous voice filled the air and was able to reach us despite flying way past hypersonic speeds. Well, it was easy to fix that with my power. First I had to form a barrier in the front that drastically reduced air resistance, second I carried the air with us as we ran so it travelled normally relative to us. For external observers, they wouldn't hear a thing. I suppose this was another way to have private conversations.
".... A... Labyrinth?"
It was a storm of black clouds violently swirling and swimming around a small dome. It was likely a barrier made out of that very mist. Just the sight alone was repulsive, but a deeper inate feeling was also disgusted at it. It looked nightmarish like something you would see in a bad horror movie, and worse of all it was the activation of magical particles. It was built by a skill.