The Sumimi Concert Gas Leak Incident.
Without question,
Chihaya Anon, who had just returned to the country with her magical familiar; Misumi Uika, who had just been pierced by the Arrow; the Donut Lady, who was in deep distress after losing her magical pet; and a first-time gas leak–encountering girl caretaker and her pink pig kitty, all sprang into action at once.
Concert Backstage – Central Control Room
This was a dedicated facility found in any large-scale building. Fire suppression, power supply, surveillance systems. Everything was routed here. Take control of this room, and the entire venue could be shut down.
When the pink-haired girl in her magical girl form arrived, what she saw was grim.
Staff members lay unconscious on the floor. The surveillance and power systems had been destroyed by an explosion. And etched into the floor was a fading magic circle that still radiated the unmistakable aura of a monster.
"Tch… was I too late?" Anon crouched down and checked the unconscious staff with her magic, then let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness they are okay. Just scared into passing out. I am relieved, but also… this feels weird! Did those monsters come specifically to sabotage Sumimi's concert?!"
The pink baby dragon rarely showed an expression like this: (╰_╯).
Unpleasant memories surfaced.
Back when she was studying abroad in London, monsters basically spawned wherever she went.
Take the subway, London monsters attacked the subway.
Watch a movie, London monsters attacked the theater.
She even tried to buy a balloon once, only for a lurking monster to pop it with a flying weapon.
It was like she had been targeted by an entire monster syndicate.
That peak incarceration experience made Anon flee London in just a few short weeks, lasting even less time than in the original MyGO story. And now, this scene in front of her triggered all the wrong associations.
What if the London monster group had followed her to Tokyo?
Cold sweat began to drip down her back.
Facing enemies head-on was not scary. But London monsters specialized in torment.
She was fast enough to catch troublemaking monsters, but they operated with discipline and coordination. They retreated in groups, and if retreat was impossible, someone always stayed behind to cover the others.
She could never land a decisive blow. Only endless suffering.
Her mind spiraled.
She had escaped London back to Tokyo, and now the monsters had followed her again. She could not become a Tokyo deserter too, right? But the problem was, there was nowhere left to run.
"Calm down, calm down, Crimson Sakura."
The magical familiar, Fries, who had signed an extremely flashy magical girl contract in London and antagonized countless monsters there, tried to comfort her.
"This teleportation is indeed the work of the monster executive Lady Phosphor Powder. But based on my analysis, the main force of the London monsters has not arrived yet. This is just a scout. If we eliminate it, your presence here will not be exposed."
At least on this point, the familiar and Anon shared the same stance. The monster army led by that auntie was highly trained, and before new magical girls were discovered, it did not want Anon's whereabouts revealed.
"…" The pink baby dragon's expression turned ash-gray, like it had already burned to cinders.
"You are right. I have to go. I have to stop this future from happening…"
Magical Girl Crimson Sakura vanished in a flash.
Magical Familiar: (╯⊙?⊙╰)
Wait, hold on, I am not even on the ride yet! And what was that expression?! Are you still the Chihaya Anon I know?!
Magical familiars were extremely sensitive to emotions. Fries keenly sensed the shift in Anon's mental state. Though her emotions were heading in a bad direction, such negativity was nourishment to a being like Fries.
Delight.
"Hehehe… things are getting more and more interesting."
The familiar's voice carried the heavy undertone of a scheming villain. It could not wait to see what would happen next.
The evolution of a magical girl.
The downfall of a magical girl.
The corruption of a magical girl.
Any ending was fine. Even its own life was irrelevant. It only wanted to witness and harvest those sweet human emotions born under extreme pressure.
Fries concealed crucial information.
Yes, the teleportation circle was Lady Phosphor Powder's work, but the other side did not lead to that frail old auntie.
It led to a true boss-level enemy.
Monster Executive Square Gentleman. That was the name of the one in charge of Tokyo, right? If a magical girl rushed in recklessly, she would inevitably encounter the monster boss.
Fries immediately went into spirit form and followed.
It looked like a floppy-eared rabbit, but its movement speed was not fast at all, even slower than a wild rabbit. In truth, it was not a speed-type or support-type familiar, but a genuine power-type.
Similar to the magical familiar Luer, it was meant to assist magical girls in combat. Though so far, it had not assisted at all.
"Tch, what is Crimson Sakura running so fast for?! Has she ever considered the feelings of her magical familiar?! Hurry up, hurry up! If I get there and miss everything, that would be a huge loss!"
The familiar ran with all its might.
At that moment, another pink streak of light shot across the starry sky, even faster than Magical Girl Crimson Sakura. But it moved too fast to be noticed.
Concert Hall – Main Venue
"So fast…!"
The girl could not help but marvel.
So the pink pig kitty had been acting all this time. If Ellie actually used this speed during their usual roughhousing, there was no way she could keep up. With that strength gap too, if she did not pull the pink pig kitty into the Emperor's Scepter, she would be pinned and thoroughly rubbed without mercy.
If Ellie stopped holding back, then when things got unbearable, she would just drag her into the Emperor's Scepter and counterkill, right?
The Emperor's Scepter QQ Space Project was officially approved.
If the previous two Emperors knew about Kiyono Inori's project, they would probably claw their way out of their coffins in rage.
Also, that pink baby dragon was pretty fast too…
What is with pink-haired people having such absurd speed stats?! Is this some cross-world pink-hair racial trait?!
Kiyono Inori complained internally.
Should she go check on the magical girl first, or the Stand user? As she pondered, a blurry figure materialized in the audience seats.
Only a gray silhouette was visible, with no discernible face or clothing, but she could tell it was a tall woman.
"Wait… there is still someone here?"
In her own world, she used the Emperor's Scepter with extreme restraint. In the Star Rail world, someone could clean up after her messes. But in her home world, there was no such safety net.
So the Emperor's Scepter only covered herself and did not interfere with reality. Naturally, it could not obtain information beyond her direct line of sight.
"Mana-chan Mana-chan Mana-chan Mana-chan Mana-chan! Who dared interrupt Sumimi's concert?! I will never forgive you!"
The silhouette took shape while delivering lines eerily similar to Misumi Hatsune from the original Mujica.
It was a monster.
Dressed flamboyantly, covered in fur and wing decorations, with two insect-like wings on its back. Its inhuman appearance reminded Kiyono Inori of a giant fluttering moth you would see in the wild.
Command: Scan.
Without interfering with reality, the Emperor's Scepter activated once the monster entered her field of vision.
After an extended analysis process, the conclusion was returned.
Conclusion: This unit possesses traits of Lepidoptera and Homo sapiens. It is likely a byproduct of biological genetic science. A small amount of unknown energy detected. Structural durability is low.
Hypothesis: Bright light may attract its attention. There is a 99.46 percent probability that its wings carry hallucinogenic or corrosive phosphor powder. Warning issued to ID: Niebelungen.
Kiyono Inori made a wide-eyed face.
She had been planning to run around looking for the magical girl, but now that a monster was here, the other magical girl would likely come rushing over. She just needed to make one trip to the Stand user afterward.
Nice. Half the distance saved.
"Well, well. You humans who are clueless and thick-skinned really do show up everywhere, huh?"
The auntie monster smiled teasingly.
Kiyono Inori directly synced with the Emperor's Scepter. The Absolute Safety Equation activated, preventing the auntie from seeing her top-tier potential, just like how magical familiars could not.
"I usually do not bother attacking ordinary people, but I am in a terrible mood today. Ah, poor girl. Could you keep me company for a little game? Make sure your screams are extra tragic."
The giant moth leapt high, reaching her in about 1.7 seconds. Inori jumped back as the magical attack struck the audience seats instead.
From the impact point, the ground, seats, and stairs shattered in wide swaths.
Using the opening revealed by Star Opening, Inori widened the distance between them. The attack power was no joke. Taking that head-on without blessings or buffs would mean an instant rematch from the revive screen.
Roughly on par with a standard Jarilo-VI automated soldier.
Data acquired for unit: Lepido001.
The Emperor's Scepter ran at full capacity. With sufficient data, it could recreate the unit within the scepter, a trick Inori learned during the Cocolia boss fight.
"What? Not an ordinary human, yet no trace of magic. Is it something like the ripple qi techniques from the Xianzhou? Auntie here has seen plenty, you know!"
The giant moth muttered as it kept attacking, but none of its strikes landed.
Just a little off. Every time, just a little off.
Finally, the auntie realized something was wrong. This kid was toying with her.
Corrosive Phosphor Powder.
Lady Phosphor Powder was not suited for direct combat. This move was her lifeline among monsters. With a flap of her wings, hallucinogenic powder would fill the air.
No matter how agile the girl was, once hit by this, she would be helpless.
Just as she thought that, she saw a pink longbow appear in the girl's hands. Magic rapidly gathered, forming a shining arrow out of thin air.
"Wait, you are not—!"
Before she could finish saying, You do not have magic, the arrow pierced her wing with pinpoint accuracy. The scatter obliterated the rude monster completely.
Owner Kiyono Inori has defeated Monster Executive Lady Phosphor Powder. Bonus reward: 300 Cat Biscuits.
"Ah… I only meant to interrupt her casting. Did I use too much force? The data collection was not even finished."
Kiyono Inori blinked as she put away Elysia's signature weapon.
Honestly, controlling the output was hard. After all, this was only about the level of a standard Jarilo-VI automaton. One hit per bat swing for Stelle.
Still, the monster had fulfilled its narrative purpose.
She could feel it. Both the magical girl and the Stand user were rushing here. Timing-wise, they were about to arrive.
Click. The backstage door was pushed open.
Kiyono Inori looked over eagerly.
Neatly styled dark brown long hair. Cute brown eyes. A black-and-white dress with a short skirt. Black knee-high socks. A playful little cape on her shoulders fluttered gracefully with her movements.
Kiyono Inori: (╯⊙ ? ⊙╰ )
Do not think I cannot recognize you just because you changed into nicer clothes! Donut Lady! And wait, you are the magical girl?! Are all girl band members magical girls or what?!
Because she had never boxed Sumita Mana with the Emperor's Scepter, Inori's expression wavered slightly.
Sumita Mana: (⊙_⊙)
The Donut Lady was nearly frozen. She had rushed in to save people after sensing a monster, only to witness a monster executive brutally pinned to the wall.
She thought she had stumbled upon infighting among monster executives.
Why, why, why is it Inori?!
Inori is this strong?!
Thankfully, magical girls possessed cognitive interference. Even though her transformed appearance barely changed, most people, even Stand users, could not connect Magical Girl Pure White with Sumita Mana.
"Ahaha…"
Sumita Mana: (⊙▽⊙)
She was not prepared for her identity as Magical Girl Pure White to be discovered by a friend. The gap between Pure White and her usual self was just too large.
Pure White's reputation had reached the point where crying monster kids could be silenced just by saying, Magical Girl Pure White is coming.
Magical girls were cool. Girls adored them.
But at least she wanted to fix that reputation first before Inori found out. Being known as a cry-stopping scarecrow would totally get her labeled as unfeminine. Girls in the Far East cared a lot about that.
Femininity, and all that.
"Uh, hello. The monster executive here has been dealt with, so I will go investigate the others now!" Sumita Mana stiffly blurted out an excuse and tried to leave.
But—
"Mana-neesan, do not think I cannot recognize you just because you changed clothes and darkened your hair a bit! Do not go. Explain to me what magical girls and monster executives are!" Kiyono Inori dashed forward and grabbed the Donut Lady's wrist.
Sumita Mana: (′⊙ω⊙`)
What?! Where is my cognitive interference?! How did Inori recognize me instantly?! Did losing my magical familiar break this ability too?!
Kiyono Inori: (⊙▽⊙)
A real magical girl! Even her arm feels softer than usual. Is that a magical girl effect, or am I imagining it? Emperor's Scepter, quick, analyze the principle behind magical girls!
Just hours ago, the two girls had been playing Cat Feeding Play together. Now they fell into an awkward silence.
Then—
"Weather Report!"
Misumi Uika arrived at the concert hall, one hand resting on her cloud-shaped Stand, which supported her as they rode the wind in.
"Whoa! A magical girl! Inori, when did you start hanging out with magical girls?! Why did you not introduce me?!"
Seeing Kiyono Inori and Sumita Mana in magical girl form, Uika immediately crowded in, completely forgetting that she had come because she heard fighting and was worried about fans getting hurt.
"Huh? Is that not Mana-neesan?"
"Wait, you are saying that is Mana? Hold on, looking closer, their faces are the same! We have a magical girl in Sumimi!"
Inori's reminder shattered the magical girl's cognitive interference.
Uika was already cheering with joy.
Sumita Mana: (⊙_⊙)
A girl who defeated a monster executive with her bare body, a Stand user, and a magical girl.
What exactly is Sumimi?
Some kind of superpower organization?
…
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Let me know if I got a name wrong. I know basically nothing about MyGO.