A sudden wave of nostalgia washed over me. Looking back, it was exactly a year ago, during the same sweltering summer heat, that I first encountered these creatures. A full year had passed, and I could feel how much I'd grown. I had received combat training from Masaomi, Sacred Gear instruction from Professor Azazel, magical tutoring from Mephisto and Lavinia, and lessons in conceptual manipulation from Ajuka. I had been taught by the absolute best the world had to offer.
Because my mentors were so far above my level, and because I had no peers or rivals to measure myself against, I hadn't really felt like I was getting stronger. But now, having the chance to compare my current self to the me of a year ago, a slow surge of joy welled up in my chest, pulling my lips into a grin. I quickly shook it off, though—if I got too caught up in the moment, Tannin would start scolding me for being lax.
Focusing back on the present, I dodged a fireball hurtling toward me and simultaneously used a simple magic barrier to deflect a silver claw swiping from my flank. The extended claw slammed into the barrier, harmlessly gouging a crater into the dirt beside me.
"Hey, watch it!" I shouted at my attacker. "If that had hit, I'd be in the hospital!"
I was holding my own, but my opponent's stamina was in a different league. If I mismanaged my energy, I'd be cornered in seconds. I put more distance between us to keep my options open.
"Partner," I whispered.
The Sacred Gear in my hand pulsed with a crimson light. A blast of flame surged from behind me—perfectly timed—but thanks to the aura-sensing of my pseudo-Senjutsu, I knew it was coming. I coated the spear in the power of Erasure and swept the fire aside. At the same time, I asked my Partner to perform a conceptual analysis of the phenomenon. He sent back a mental ping: he needed two or three more data points.
I decided to stop dodging. I stood my ground, using Erasure to delete the incoming fireballs as they arrived. My opponent, seemingly annoyed, unleashed a rapid-fire volley.
Perfect. Everything is ready.
"Delete: Vector."
I thrust my spear into one of the fireballs, coating the Gear in magical energy and physically halting the flame's momentum. The fireball froze in mid-air right before my eyes. I suppressed a smirk at the shocked looks from the onlookers. If I left it like this, the fire would just flicker out, but I had other plans. I funneled my magic through the spear and into the stalled sphere of heat. I erased its original nature, neutralized any resistance to external mana, and forced the world to recognize this flame as mine.
"Rewrite."
I claimed the enemy's fire as my own. The dying embers roared back to life, dancing and swirling according to my will. I leveled the stolen fireball at my stunned opponent and fired it back as a proper "thank you." He frantically tried to fire another blast to cancel it out, but I used my magic to arc the fireball upward into the sky before dropping it straight onto his head.
"Gah! Ow! It's in my eyes! It burns!"
"It's your own fire," I noted. "You dragons have fire resistance anyway, so hitting you normally is a waste of time. I have to aim for the sensitive spots."
"Ugh... you monster! You Devil!"
Lately, everyone's been calling me a Devil. People, I am a frail, innocent human. In a world where literal Devils exist, why am I the one being insulted like this? And usually, it's the literal Devils doing the insulting! For the sake of my reputation, I really want to return that title.
"Fine! Then we'll just drown you in numbers!"
"…Ah. Bad move."
Once I've used Erasure to analyze a power and successfully performed a Rewrite, that ability is effectively useless against me. As a volley of fireballs surged forward, I simply swept my spear in a wide arc, letting the tip graze the air. There was no need to waste time on a phenomenon I already understood.
The Gear's ability efficiently deleted the necessary conceptual anchors, and my magic seized control of the fire instantly. Since the form and power were already provided by the original caster, I only had to provide a tiny amount of mana to maintain them. The cost to me was practically zero.
The result: over twenty fireballs were now orbiting me like loyal pets. The little dragons surrounding me began to growl and back away. Seeing their own techniques stolen and turned against them was clearly a massive psychological blow. I wasn't actually going to fire them—I didn't want to hurt the kids—but the message was sent.
Still, I'd stolen the fire on a whim. Now what? Just deleting it seemed like a waste of mana. I thought for a second, then compressed all twenty fireballs into a single, massive orb of heat above me, like a miniature sun. I used the Gear to erase my own gravity and leaped above the fireball, looking down at the wide-eyed hatchlings below.
"I'm going to count to ten, then I'm dropping this on the ground! If you don't want to get blown away, you better start running!"
"Wait, what!?"
"He's a literal Devil!"
"Using a loophole in the 'don't attack us' rule... I can't believe this!"
"The one being chased is now chasing the taggers!?"
They grumbled and complained, but they all turned tail and sprinted away at full speed. I'm being careful not to hurt them, I thought with a sigh, but the 'Devil' nickname is really starting to stick. It was weird; I was just being efficient, exactly like my teachers taught me. Though I had to admit, when the "hider" is the one bombarding the "seekers," it isn't really a game of tag anymore.
"Last year, I was the one running and crying," I whispered.
I'd have to give them some sweets later to make up for the scare. I funneled my magic into the fireball and slammed it into the ground. A deafening roar and a massive shockwave engulfed the area. Using the rising smoke as cover, I erased my presence and aura, slipping away with Senjutsu to a spot where the hatchlings couldn't find me.
The game of tag against twelve dragon hatchlings had provided me with a very clear sense of my own progress.
***
"You're a meanie, Kanata!"
"Kanata is an ogre!"
"Kanata, you jerk!"
"Oh, come on. Look at this—high-end Underworld sweets, courtesy of Diehauser."
"YAY!"
Yep. Sweets always work on kids. Diehauser had visited these ruins before, and when he heard I was heading back here, he'd given me several boxes of gifts as a thank-you to the dragons for hosting us last year. As expected of the Emperor, his attention to detail was flawless. I laughed as the hatchlings immediately forgot their anger and began stuffing their faces.
After the mock battle with Tannin and a short break, I'd promised to play with the little dragons. Lavinia was still resting; operating a Longinus took a lot out of her. Of course, the "play" was part of the training. The rules were the same as last year: three hours of tag. At first, seeing a group of dragons that were now taller than me was a bit intimidating, but Masaomi was faster than them, and I'd just finished fighting a fifteen-meter giant, so I didn't panic.
Mephisto, our chaperone, had healed Lavinia's stamina with magic. After a quick chat and a "Good luck, children," he had teleported back to the Association. I felt a bit lonely seeing the only person capable of reigning in a reckless Dragon King and an over-eager Fallen Angel leave, but he was a busy man.
Once the game was over, Tannin—now in his small dragon form—joined us in the human-sized living area. The conversation naturally turned to the ability I'd just displayed.
"That move... it's the signature of Ajuka Beelzebub," Tannin noted. "To think you can apply it not just to magic circles, but to a dragon's natural fire... you've reached a level where you can use it in a real fight."
"Well, as long as the target is within range of my Partner's effect," I clarified. "If I had to face multiple high-level opponents, I'd be in trouble. It's hard to pull off as perfectly as I did just now."
My training with Ajuka had involved more than just magic circles; he'd taught me how to apply the principles to various phenomena in the world. However, stealing an ability has strict requirements. I have to use my Partner to analyze the phenomenon while simultaneously erasing it, which usually requires taking a few hits to gather data. I can't use it on anything I can't survive or fully erase.
Also, it's less effective against opponents with multiple options. If I analyze Lavinia's fire magic, she can just switch to water, ice, wind, or even a different fire formula. I don't have the mental capacity to analyze multiple things at once yet, so a versatile opponent could easily shut me down. If only I could interfere as effortlessly as Ajuka, I thought.
"But Kanata," Lavinia asked, "Lord Beelzebub's Kankara Formula works because he can manipulate every phenomenon in existence through mathematical equations. Magic is built on equations, so I understand that part—but analyzing natural phenomena or unique racial abilities seems like it would be incredibly difficult, wouldn't it?"
"Oh, about that. I thought it was impossible at first, too... but it worked out because Ajuka and I share a hobby."
"A hobby? ...Wait. Do you mean video games?"
"Hahaha! Bingo."
I scratched my cheek, realizing I'd made the "riddle" way too easy. It might be too early for this era, but in my previous life, I knew about MMORPGs and "Full Dive" VR technology from novels. I understood the concept of an avatar moving according to one's will in a digital space.
Because I could wrap my head around that, I could accept the "Game World" logic.
"In the Rating Games, the players enter a game world to compete," I explained. "Because it's a digital space, you can achieve things that are impossible in the real world. Ajuka used that principle to show me 'The World as he sees it,' but formatted as a game."
"The world as Beelzebub sees it?" Tannin asked, intrigued.
"Yes. If I saw the world exactly as a Satan does, my brain would probably melt. So... he showed it to me as a puzzle game."
If someone showed me a wall of complex equations, I'd be lost. But when it was represented as a visual puzzle, I could move the pieces, delete blocks, and slowly understand the underlying laws.
For example, if that fire appeared in the "Game World," I would stab it with my spear. The "Puzzle" that makes up the fire would become visible, and I'd use my magic to solve it according to the rules. In the real world, the puzzle is invisible, but the logic for rewriting it is the same. I'm learning the "feel" of it.
"Ajuka also gave me a magical item to help with the Rewrite," I added, pointing to the device on my ear.
"So for anyone with a single, specialized ability, the moment you steal it, they're finished," Tannin summarized. "Against an opponent who doesn't know your bag of tricks, it's a total lockout."
True. It is a bit of a 'cheese' strategy, I thought. I think I've cleared up to Stage 4 in Ajuka's puzzle world. He built the environment specifically for me, allowing me to study Concept Nullification while feeling like a pro gamer. Honestly, it was the most fun I've ever had studying.
And playing co-op with a Satan was an experience in itself. Watching him solve high-level puzzles in a millisecond was terrifying. But the best part was that every time I started to get bored, he'd release a "New Content Update." My respect for Ajuka was through the roof.
"Hmph. I don't understand 'puzzle games,' but I suppose if you can interfere with concepts, it makes sense," Tannin said.
"Oh, come on, Tannin! You should try it. You can do it in that small form, can't you?"
"I have no taste for such trivialities."
Too bad. I remembered the Sprite Dragon from the books who used to fly around playing handheld games, so I thought dragons might be into it. But everyone has their own preferences. Games are meant to be enjoyed, after all.
"Kanata! Can I play the puzzle game if I'm small?" one of the hatchlings asked.
"Eh? Oh... well, the console I have is designed for human hands. Your fingers... claws? Whatever. You wouldn't be able to press the buttons."
"Hmph."
The hatchling looking down at me had been munching on sweets. The younger generation of dragons seemed very sensitive to new technology; they were fascinated by the TV earlier too. I didn't know of any games designed for full-sized dragons. Maybe I should ask Ajuka to develop a Dragon PC, I mused.
"Then I'll get small!"
"Right, but you kids can't shrink like Tannin, so it's... wait, WHAT?"
I expected a sigh of resignation, but the answer was a curveball. I turned around to see a crimson light identical to the one Tannin used for his transformation. The dragon, who had been taller than me, began to shrink. With a soft pop, a plushie-sized red dragon was suddenly hovering in the air.
I blinked in shock. Dragons can shrink that easily? Tannin had mentioned that high-level Reincarnated Devils could use magic to change their form. Other than Tiamat or Crom Cruach, I hadn't heard of many "humanoid" or "mini" dragons. I was officially confused.
"Ho. You've gotten much better at that," Tannin noted.
"I practiced! Being small means I can eat more sweets!"
"That's your reason?! No, wait... can all the dragons here do that?"
"Nope! Just me! I'm a 'Flame Child'!"
"Flame Child?" I tilted my head. I'd been calling them all "Flame Dragons." I didn't realize they had specific titles. Even the adults didn't seem to have individual names.
"Ah, I see," Lavinia said, her eyes lighting up.
"You're slow on the uptake, Kanata," Tannin grumbled. "Did you forget? This village is ruled by one of my subordinates. Here, he is the 'Chief.' Only his children are given titles like 'Flame Child' or 'Water Child' based on their traits to distinguish them from the others."
Understanding finally dawned on me. This little dragon was the child of the village chief. But why could sheshrink when the others couldn't? Wait... if she's the child of one of Tannin's subordinates...
"Is she a half-Devil?"
"She was born between a Reincarnated Dragon-Devil and a pure dragon, so she is mostly dragon," Tannin explained. "However, because her father is a Reincarnated Devil, she possesses a small amount of demonic power. That is why the children of the peerage are given names and have the ability to shift their size."
So that's the deal. The "Flame Child" fluttered her wings and landed firmly on my shoulder. Whoa, she's heavy.I'm not a superhuman; I don't have the strength of a certain Pokémon trainer from Masara Town.
"Hey! Get off! You're still heavy even when you're small. Stop sitting on my shoulder."
"Hmph! Telling a girl she's heavy... Kanata has zero delicacy."
"...Wait. You're a girl?"
She headbutted me. Hard. My eyes watered from the pain. How was I supposed to know!? You all acted exactly the same! You were all ruthless during tag! I only have memories of being dragged around like a ragdoll! There wasn't a single "feminine" trait in the whole bunch!
"Kanata Kuramoto," Tannin said with a smirk. "A male dragon would never perch on the shoulder of a male of another species."
"…I've been treated so roughly for the last year I just assumed you were all boys."
"That is because you were weak. Dragon children do not respect those weaker than themselves. It seems that today's game of tag finally earned you their acknowledgment."
"Kanata, you did good!" the little dragon chirped.
Tannin, are you sure about that? She's still talking down to me. I grabbed the little dragon by the scruff of her neck and moved her to my lap. She didn't struggle; she just settled in with a happy "Ooh." Apparently, she was the only female in the group. Growing up surrounded by rowdy brothers would explain the personality.
Having already secured her share of the sweets, she immediately demanded a game. I pulled out my handheld console and started showing her the controls. She was fascinated by the way the screen changed when she pressed the buttons. Thanks to her Devil blood, she could hear the game audio perfectly. She was a fast learner—when I praised her, she let out a satisfied purr.
"I've noticed since you first came here... you're good with children," Tannin noted. "Dragon young are born with the pride of a superior species. They are usually arrogant toward other races unless they truly take a liking to them. They've run you ragged, haven't they?"
"Well, yeah... but there's no point in getting mad at a kid. I'll scold them if they do something bad, but otherwise, I don't mind."
"Kanata! What do I do here?"
"Yeah, yeah. Hold on..."
Watching me being bossed around by a plushie-sized dragon made everyone else chuckle. Lavinia leaned in too, offering "Pro-Gamer" advice on how to execute combos. We had come to the Underworld for training, but here we were, playing video games. Tannin, being a softie for kids, didn't seem to mind. He just shrugged and watched.
The other hatchlings, exhausted from tag and full of sugar, were starting to drift off into naps. I decided to keep playing until the girl on my lap got bored. Within an hour, she was using both claws to hit the buttons. Even for a dragon, kids' learning speed is terrifying, I thought. I looked up to see a massive red dragon—identical to the chief—watching us with interest.
"Take care of my daughter."
"Oh... er... yes sir."
The father's seal of approval. Your daughter is becoming a hardcore gamer, sir. Are you sure you're okay with that? With Lavinia giving her high-level tactical tips, she was already mastering rapid-fire inputs. I offered a helpless smile and settled in for a peaceful afternoon I never would have expected when summer break began.
***
"…I see. So even King Salmon—one of the finest warriors of the Vortex Bunch—could not reach the Magical Girl..."
"Um, Leader... I believe his name is actually 'Salmon King.' Regardless, he is currently recovering in our medical facility. It will be some time before he can return to the front lines."
On a small, uncharted island in the waters near Japan, an evil organization maintained its secret headquarters. With a history spanning forty years, they had operated in the shadows, committing petty acts of evil and gathering strength for world conquest. They were the proud secret society: the Vortex Bunch.
But now, an unexpected foe had appeared. They had spent decades evading the ICPO, only to be ambushed by a completely different force. As is the law of the universe: where an evil organization exists, an ally of justice must appear. The Magical Girls had stood in their way.
"Honestly," muttered the organization's leader—Kaiser Vortex—as he stared into the distance. "I was worried a sentai team, a rider, or a giant hero might show up. I even prepared for a super robot. But for a 'Magical Girl Heroine' to appear... the relationship between heroes and villains is truly profound..."
Kaiser Vortex looked back on his life with a sense of wonder. He had founded this organization over forty years ago. As a young boy, he had been captivated by the villains on TV. He had spent his youth watching special effects shows, his heart racing with every explosion. He had admired the enemy commanders who, no matter how many times they were sent flying by a bread-headed hero, would always return with a new plan.
He remembered the first time a space monster appeared on screen—he hadn't been able to sleep for a week. When color television arrived and he saw the monsters in all their vibrant glory, he had wept with joy. He had watched every trend—from the yokai boom to the transformation boom—and he had thought deeply about what it meant to be an "Evil Organization." People mocked him at first. But he had a dream. He wanted to see an evil organization shine with his own eyes.
So, he gathered the knowledge and the power. He learned of the Under-world. He faced countless setbacks but never stopped gathering allies. It didn't matter who they were; if they had talent and passion, they were welcome. He had reached out to monsters, beast-men, human psychics, and even the most eccentric animals, fish, and insects. He wanted to gather mutants, unleash magnificent kaiju, and become the center of a vortex of chaos. That was his path.
The combatants gathered in the assembly hall swallowed hard as their leader chuckled. Sitting on a throne decorated with ominous motifs, wearing a helmet shaped like a dragon, the man in his late fifties commanded absolute awe.
There was no weakness in him. His eyes burned with the pure, unclouded intensity of a child who had never forgotten his dream. It was those eyes that had kept his subordinates following him for forty years.
"Very well. I shall acknowledge her. An opponent worthy of standing before our organization has finally arrived."
The leader rose from his throne with dramatic grace, walking to the edge of the dais to look down at his troops. His wicked grin made their hearts race. Kaiser Vortex spread his arms wide, forming a "V" shape toward the ceiling, and shouted.
"HEAR ME, COMRADES! FROM THIS MOMENT FORTH, MAGICAL GIRL MILKY☆CATASTROPHE IS THE ARCH-NEMESIS OF THE VORTEX BUNCH! MY ELITE WARRIORS... WE SHALL MAKE THAT GIRL REGRET THE DAY SHE STOOD AGAINST US!!"
"VORTEX-STRIKE!!"
The roar of the troops shook the base. They were facing an opponent who had defeated Salmon King, one of their strongest. But what of it? Did the villains they admired give up because the hero was strong? Never! They charged forward, unyielding.
In the "evil industry," many mocked their methods as "outdated" or "stuck in the Showa era." But they never wavered. This was the path they loved.
Under the banner of the wicked vortex, the organization was united. Even if the magical girl used "Destructive Fists" instead of magic! Even if she radiated a terrifying aura that felt unearthly! Even if her age, appearance, and... well, everything about her made them want to scream in confusion!
"DEFEAT THE MAGICAL GIRL!" they shouted, striking "V" poses alongside their leader.
And so, the mysterious evil organization began its move. The battle between the Magical Girls and the Vortex Bunch was about to reach a new level of intensity.
***
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