After the enemies of the world retreated from H City, it was revealed that the city had been using these enemies to hypnotize and brainwash its citizens en masse. The magical girls could not easily escape blame for this.

It turned out that the enemies of the world and the magical girls were somehow linked. The fact that no new magical girls had appeared since the previous enemies retreated, and that spirits were no longer connected to the spirit realm, was evidence of this.

Amid all this, the reason the magical girls were not subjected to a full-blown witch hunt by the public was because Aile had created new enemies of the world and attacked the city. Some magical girls even prioritized their exam studies over their magical girl duties for this reason.

“The evil magical girl showed up again? …But she doesn’t bother the citizens, does she? Can’t we just leave her alone?”

“Well… now the enemies of the world are so cute that they’re being sold as mascot plushies. Do we really need to deal with them?”

The evil magical girl may harass the magical girls, but she doesn’t harm the citizens. The enemies of the world, far from driving people mad, are adored for their unique cuteness.

Because of this, the importance of magical girl activities had dwindled even more. It was now considered better to debut in variety shows or just hide the fact that one was a magical girl and focus on studying.

The citizens of H City no longer viewed magical girls as heroes who saved their lives but more as performers in an entertainment show.

In this environment, the news of Flame receiving a duel challenge from the evil magical girl became a huge sensation.

More precisely, someone made it a sensation.

[Flame! Is it true!?]

“What the hell… why are you calling me all of a sudden?”

[Is it true that you’re going to duel the evil magical girl!?]

Flame, having taken the red potion sent by the evil magical girl and slept soundly through the night, frowned as if wondering how they knew about that.

The duel invitation had only arrived the night before, and she hadn’t told anyone about it. How could this be?

But the Association Head clarified that it wasn’t just her who knew. The entire city knew.

[It’s all over the internet! It says you’re going to fight the evil magical girl!]

“Well, yeah, it’s true that I’m going to fight… but what’s this post about?”

[Check for yourself! Hurry!]

Hearing the Association Head’s panicked voice, Flame pulled out her smartphone and connected to the internet. She didn’t even need to search—right on the front page, there was a headline about her upcoming duel with the evil magical girl.

Flame, dumbfounded, clicked on the news and couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh as she looked at the poster that appeared.

It was a dramatic image, like something you’d see before a major fight between famous martial artists, showing her and the evil magical girl glaring at each other as if they were out for blood. The date and location of the fight were listed, and even tickets to watch the fight in person were being sold!

“Hah… this crazy woman.”

[So is it true or not!? Are you really going to fight!?]

“It’s true… it’s just…”

Flame hadn’t expected the duel to be promoted so openly, let alone that they would charge money for tickets.

She checked the ticket prices and quickly calculated how much money this event would rake in. It would easily bring in millions of dollars.

Yet she wouldn’t see a single cent of it, and that quickly killed any desire she had to participate in the duel.

“No one said anything about me getting paid.”

[Paid? The evil magical girl won’t get paid either.]

“Then why are they charging for tickets?”

[Read the fine print at the bottom.]

“The fine print…?”

Flame scrolled to the bottom of the poster and let out another laugh when she saw the large text.

※ All proceeds from this event will be donated to children suffering from incurable diseases and underprivileged children.

What kind of villain donates to charity? Flame felt embarrassed at herself for even considering rejecting the duel over money.

“This crazy woman…”

Flame muttered to herself. After that, she ignored all the media outlets that bombarded her daily with questions and didn’t make any statements about whether she would participate in the duel.

The day of the duel arrived.

 

Crowds of spectators poured into the stadium. As nearly 90,000 people filled the seats, Eight discreetly took his place among them, gazing down at the arena.

He had arranged the duel for Aile, who had wanted revenge against the magical girl. Surely, she wouldn’t lose here… Eight thought, waiting patiently for the battle to begin.

“Um…”

“Hm?”

“Hello…”

Just as he was waiting for the duel to start, a woman he’d never seen before approached him. He tilted his head in confusion, unsure of who she was, until a small creature poked its head out from between her chest.

Seeing the creature’s face, Eight immediately recognized the woman and nodded politely.

─Meow! Long time no see, evil scientist!

“Mew…! Don’t shout like that!”

─What’s the big deal, meow? No one but this guy can understand me anyway.

The former magical girl White Fang chuckled awkwardly as she stuffed her companion spirit back into her chest.

Eight, surprised to see White Fang’s face, which he hadn’t seen even during his research days, couldn’t help but express his astonishment.

“You have such a nice face; why did you hide it?”

“Huh? Oh, haha, well… I just prefer it if no one recognizes me.”

“I can understand that. I feel the same way.”

Like other magical girls, White Fang was a beauty. It was almost a shame she’d hidden her face and figure all this time.

Now that she no longer needed to be a magical girl, she had likely made enough money to retire comfortably, buy a few buildings, and live off the rent.

“So, what brings you here…?”

“Me?”

“Yes. Since you’re a scientist, shouldn’t you be down there with the others instead of sitting here?”

White Fang asked, and Eight replied that he was here for the same reason as her. If he went down there, he’d be pestered by people curious about his identity, so he came up here instead.

Hearing that, White Fang chuckled, clearly understanding his reasoning. They continued chatting until the duel was about to begin, making small talk about what had happened since her forced research assignment in H City and what she’d been up to lately.

As they talked, the appointed time finally arrived.

Darkness fell over the world.

“Oh, is it starting…?”

“Dad! I want the evil magical girl to win!”

“The evil magical girl is the bad one, sweetie…”

“Don’t care! The evil magical girl is cooler!”

Hearing the chatter from the crowd, Eight realized that a surprising number of people were rooting for the evil magical girl. He smiled subtly as Aile slowly descended into the arena.

From the sky to the ground.

She descended as gracefully as an angel under the moonlight, taking in the crowd with a soft smile before delicately lifting the hem of her dress.

Her refined movements and elegant demeanor enchanted the audience. At the same time, the magical girl with fiery red hair appeared at the entrance to the stadium.

Unlike Aile, her entrance was neither grand nor graceful. Flame swaggered in, looking more like a thug than a heroine, not even bothering to glance around at the crowd. Her gaze was fixed solely on the evil magical girl.

[Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to today’s duel between the evil magical girl and the fire magical girl, Flame! We guarantee you won’t regret coming today…!]

“─Shut up.”

Whoosh─!

The loudspeakers broadcasting the announcer’s voice burst into flames as Flame unleashed her fiery power.

She had no intention of playing along with this little charade. She was already doing them a favor by showing up, and she wasn’t going to put up with any more nonsense.

The crowd, seeing this, began to boo. They had come to watch a proper duel, not a brawl.

As boos rained down, Flame raised her middle finger at the audience, showing she didn’t care at all.

“You have no sense of professionalism.”

“Professionalism, my ass. Why does a magical girl need that?”

“Well, magical girls are supposed to be righteous defenders of the citizens, aren’t they?”

Hearing this reprimand from the evil magical girl, Flame let out a hollow laugh. Righteous defenders of the citizens—sure, that was true.

But it was better to win and protect the citizens than to die upholding some misguided sense of righteousness.

True justice was something only the strong could deliver. Nothing was more hollow than the justice of the weak.

“Fine. As a magical girl of justice, I’ll beat the crap out of you and go home. How’s that?”

“Hehe, I won’t go down so easily today.”

“Oh yeah? Last time you went down because you wanted to, huh? Are you some kind of masochist?”

“Of course not. Let me show you… my second transformation!”

As Aile spoke, she flew into the air, and her dress, which had been covering her lower body, suddenly spread out like wings.

The dark wings that unfolded from her waist flapped majestically, making her look like a fallen angel descending from the sky.

However, both Flame and the audience remained silent, stunned by the sight.

“Y-you… you… that…”

“Hehe, are you scared now? In this mode, I’m stronger than ever—a super evil magical girl…”

“No, I can see your panties. You good with that?”

Just as Flame pointed out, the moment Aile’s dress transformed into wings, her underwear became fully exposed, with nothing left to the imagination.

Hearing Flame’s remark, Aile froze for a moment, then forced herself to laugh.

“Ha… haha… it’s fine! These aren’t panties!”

“They sure look like panties to me…”

“They’re not panties, so it’s not embarrassing!”

Eight, the only person in the audience who understood the reference, quietly clapped from his seat, while parents hastily covered their children’s eyes and turned their heads.

Before the duel even began, Aile had already caused a major incident. She flew through the air, tears welling up in her eyes without even realizing it.