"Well, duh? To the place where the bad guy we saw on TV is. We got a request from a friend," she says breezily as she puts on her coat.
"Huh!?!"
Scott's eyes widen in shock at Dorothy's casual reply.
"Wait a minute! What are you going to do with a guy like that!?"
"First, we talk. If that doesn't work, we'll have to quiet him down," Dorothy says with a mischievous grin, taking two magic wands and spell pouches loaded into a black leather holster from Maria.
"..."
"Ah, sorry. Did that scare you? Well, you and Luna can stay here until I'm done with work. You won't be able to go outside until I get back," she adds.
"...I can't go out?"
"Nope. Can't risk losing my new recruit."
"Why do you care so much about someone like me..."
"Hmm, good question."
Dorothy puts a hand to her mouth, pondering Scott's question.
"Maybe it's because I felt something different when I saw you..."
Finding an answer that satisfies her, she tosses it out without much thought.
"What does that mean..."
"It might be love at first sight," she jokes.
"Huh!?"
Dorothy flashes a smile at Scott, who has turned beet red, and turns to leave the room.
But she stopped in front of the door, still facing away from him, and said quietly, "Well, if you hate it that much, there's nothing we can do about it. I'll just escort you halfway."
"…"
"There might still be other places that need you, who knows?"
A feeling he had never experienced before stirred within Scott. He had never been welcomed this warmly by anyone before. He rarely saw such bright smiles directed at him. He couldn't understand why she liked him so much.
"If you take me along, I won't be any help at all. It might even get worse…"
So he became curious. He wanted to know why she liked someone like him.
"You wouldn't understand, but there's a demon inside me."
"Is that so? I didn't notice at all."
"…You'll see soon enough. When it awakens, even you will be afraid of me. You'll call me a demon."
"…Hehe, you say the funniest things."
Hearing his response, Dorothy cheerfully opened the door...
"Actually, that makes me want you even more."
Beyond the open door lay a brightly lit garage where the old butler was warming up the car engine.
"Is there anything more wonderful than having a demon join the family? Demons never betray their partners until they die, you know?"
"Wait, what?"
"Didn't you know? Demons don't break promises. Only humans do that."
Bathed in the car lights, Dorothy's unexpected words, said with a smile, left Scott speechless.
"Uh... well... um..."
"Have a good trip, Miss. Now, you should get in the car too."
"..."
"You're possessed by a demon, right? If so, I'd appreciate your help supporting the miss. Arthur alone makes me nervous."
Though Scott had suggested it himself, he hadn't expected to be accepted so readily, leaving him bewildered.
(...What is going on with these people? This possession is really serious! What if it acts up again...!)
As a newcomer to this town, he didn't know who he was dealing with.
"If you're embarrassed, I can take back my earlier comment. I'll pretend I never heard it."
"!!!"
"So, are you coming with me? Or staying behind?"
"I'm coming! I'm coming! I'll show you just how serious this possession is!!"
"Haha, great! Excellent, Scott. Hop in the car. We need to hurry before your dear friend gets taken away by an angel."
Little did he know that this blonde girl was one of the world's most powerful mages and even the top-notch agents of the Paranormal Control Bureau couldn't handle her...
Among the countless psychics, she is the most difficult to control and possesses immense power, known as an S-Class Esper.
"Well, what will happen now?" Maria murmured as she watched the car carrying Dorothy drive away.
"Are you worried?"
"Not at all. Since Miss chose him, I truly expect great things from him."
"Hehe, yes. It's been a while since I've seen Dolly so excited."
Luna, who had been watching the car drive away behind Maria, said with satisfaction.
"By the way, madam, how far could you see this time?"
"Just up to where that child meets Dolly in the room, and then when they wreak havoc in the city."
"Oh, did he really have a demon possessing him?"
"I'm not sure if it was a demon, but..."
Luna's blue eyes sparkled as she flashed a mischievous smile at Maria.
"That child has an incredible monster inside them. Hehe, even beyond Dolly's imagination."
Hearing this, Maria also laughed with delight.
"Hehe, wouldn't that put Miss in danger?"
"It might, but that child needs someone a little dangerous... we can't shelter our cute daughter too much."
"You really have a nasty personality, madam."
"Hehe, yes. Wonder whose trait it resembles."
The two of them laughed suspiciously as they returned to the room, and a girl in her underwear descended the stairs from the back.
"… mmmph."
"Oh, good morning. You overslept again, Alma."
"… mm… good morning… Luna, you're still an early bird, huh…"
The girl yawned widely, her black rabbit ears twitching, and tears welled up in her sleepy, gem-like crimson eyes.
"Tsk, how unladylike of you, Lady Alma."
"Shut up, who cares? The only guy around is Gramps, so it's fine. I don't mind if he sees me."
"Hehehe, that's true... until now."
"Wait, where did Dolly go? And Gramps?"
Alma, still in her underwear, looked around the room frantically.
"Huh? Where's Dolly? Sister's feeling lonely here! Where's my good morning kiss?"
She was wearing a black camisole and black lace panties, a rather provocative sight. The girl with white, slightly curly short bob hair searched for Dolly with the clumsy movements of a hungover middle-aged man.
"Dol-lee! It's Sister Alma! Where are you?"
"Dolly went out in the car with a cute boy."
"... Huh?"
"Yes, while you were sleeping, a new boy arrived. He had big, beautiful blue eyes—a shy one, really."
"Dolly went out with a guy?"
Alma's half-open eyes widened suddenly, her ears perking up as she ran to Luna like a hungry little rabbit.
"Ha ha, the city sure is bustling today," Dorothy says from the passenger seat of a car speeding down the main road in District 13, watching panicked civilians scatter.
"This car—where are we even going!?"
"It's still District 13. See, you can hear the loud noises coming from nearby."
"Not that! Why are we suddenly in the middle of the city!?"
Scott, in the backseat, is utterly confused by the sudden change in scenery. Just moments ago, the car was driving through what seemed like an endless garage filled with dozens of luxury vehicles. As they cruised through the massive, abnormal space, they were enveloped in blinding light and then found themselves on the city streets.
"There's nothing to be surprised about. It's just a simple application of the spatial connection system."
"S-spatial... connection!?"
"Haha, Scott, you shouldn't be so surprised at this level."
"T-this level!?"
"The important thing about living in this city is to throw away all your previous common sense. If you miss it so much, I recommend packing up and leaving quickly."
The old butler's words, said with a laugh, tell the whole story. Scott sees a mix of charming old brick houses intertwined with futuristic structures of unknown purpose. One of these buildings takes off like a giant rocket, engulfing nearby residences in flames. The fleeing civilians are a bizarre mix of animals, plants, inanimate objects, and even ghostly figures, with ordinary humans like Scott being few and far between. Looking ahead, he sees golden rays streaking across the sky.
"Wow, it's beautiful. It would have looked even better at night," she said.
"Indeed it would," came the reply.
"…"
As a beam of energy mercilessly shattered a futuristic structure, Scott regretted getting into the car.
"Um, can I ask you something?"
"What is it?"
"Dorothy, why did you hire me?"
"Because after hearing such a passionate speech, who wouldn't say yes?"
"...I'm serious here."
"I am serious!"
Turning toward Scott, Dorothy continued, her excitement evident.
"I thought a new recruit would come by during lunch—Smiley, the one Ryoko introduced. So I planned to take a bath with Luna and sip tea while waiting for the newcomer to arrive... but then you showed up out of nowhere."
"I-I'm sorry."
Scott couldn't help but blush at the flashback of a towel-clad Dorothy, his gaze dropping to the floor.
"So, I guess it means having you join our family is a better outcome for me," she explained.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Just what I said. I think it's a sign that God believes having you, Scott, around will lead to something wonderful, even more than if Smiley was here."
"...So, um, what happened to Smiley?"
"It seems they got chilled out in the New Thames River," Dorothy said with a refreshing smile, causing Scott to cover his face with both hands.
"Perish! Perish! Perish!" The dark monster repeated, firing strange beams from its hands, showing no signs of intelligence whatsoever.
"...Look at the city...!"
"Damn it, that bastard! He's just tearing everything apart...!!"
The police officers glared angrily as they watched the destruction of District 13 unfold before their eyes.
"Just to confirm, did you contact the Anomaly Management Bureau?"
"I've called them three times already! But there's no sign of them coming!"
"Figures they'd put off dealing with the District 13 mess... Damn it! I knew it would happen, but it still pisses me off!"
"Why?! Isn't the Anomaly Management Bureau supposed to maintain order in this city?!"
"District 13 is different. It's full of cases that even the bureau finds hard to handle, and there are an unusually high number of interdimensional incidents..."
Chief Alex spoke with utter exasperation.
"So, District 13 is really that bad?"
"To put it mildly, it's the first circle of hell. In Limbo City, it's the ultimate nightmare."
"Then why did we come here in the first place?!"
"We're the police! When we get a call, we have to respond, don't we?!"
Caw, caw, caw!
Zoom, zoom, zoom!
Luke fell silent as he heard Chief Alex's proud words against the backdrop of the city being destroyed. Then he understood why he had been advised to prepare a will right after his transfer.
"So, does this mean... are we already—"
"…No, we're still okay."
"No, I'm ready. Just be honest: it's time for the will, right? I get it!"
Just as Luke raised his voice, a white light streaked overhead.
"Wipe out...!"
The light hit the demon, causing a glowing white emblem to appear on its body.
*Boom*——*ROOOOOAR*
As the emblem flared brightly, the demon's body was engulfed in an explosive flame, accompanied by a deafening blast.
"
The floating demon plummeted, wrapped in flames.
"…Huh?"
"Finally, that wicked witch has shown up!"
"Huh? What just happened? What was that?"
"Duh, it's magic... that despicable witch's blasted spell!"
Chief Alex slapped Luke hard on the shoulder and pointed in a direction.
"Oh, that's...!"
In the distance, a sleek black luxury car sped down the road at breakneck speed. Leaning out the window, wielding a silver wand, was a blonde girl with hair that bounced like an antenna.
"Nice shot. Well done, Dorothy," said the president.
"Flattery won't get you anywhere, Arthur," she replied.
"Wh-what?! What did you do!?"
"All I did was help a friend and give a little greeting to an overconfident fool," Dorothy pulled herself back into the car, blowing away the wisps of white smoke from her cane.
"Not that, I mean—!"
"Oh, it's your first time seeing magic, isn't it? That was an attack spell; it causes a huge explosion when it hits."
"Are you a magician, President!?"