With the single word "Change," cracks spider-webbed through the air around Alice.
With a sound like a mirror shattering, the cracks burst into fragments, and Alice’s appearance transformed completely.
"It’s a bit embarrassing to introduce myself like this at my age," he muttered.
The drab suit and lab coat were gone. In their place was a sleek, jet-black outfit with white tights. Atop his head sat a pair of mechanical bunny ears that couldn't have been more conspicuous.
The costume was a bit too seductive to be called a traditional Magical Girl’s outfit; it was a fusion of a bunny girl suit and a formal tailcoat.
"Magical Girl Fairy, arriving on the scene."
Before the Kaijin encased in steel, the fairy-tale rabbit stood his ground.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!"
The steel Kaijin locked onto Alice as his target and charged straight ahead.
It was a simple tackle, but a body of solid steel was a lethal threat. Combined with the brute strength of a Kaijin, the impact carried enough power to punch through a skyscraper.
"I see. So this is Steel Kaijin Iron."
A large frame covered in reinforced steel. This was a copy of a Kaijin defeated in the past, and Alice suspected someone was using a Kaijin Genome to replicate its powers.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!"
As Alice observed him with clinical detail, Iron closed the distance. The steel behemoth was right before his eyes. At this range, evasion should have been impossible.
"Wonder."
Then, the impossible happened.
Just an instant before Iron’s attack connected, Alice spoke the incantation, and his form dissolved into thin air. It wasn't a mere optical illusion; Iron’s charge passed right through the space where Alice had been standing.
"Over here."
"Aaaaaaaaaaaa!?"
Iron spun around toward the voice. There stood Alice, who should have been crushed just moments ago.
"Wonder."
Alice spoke the word again.
Suddenly, the ground at Iron’s feet—previously covered in nothing but rubble—was filled with apple-shaped objects.
"BOM."
Alice snapped his fingers. The apples released a brilliant blue light and detonated.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaa!?"
Even with a body made of steel, the damage was impossible to ignore. The Kaijin let out a guttural cry of agony.
This was the magic of Magical Girl Fairy.
He could manifest nursery rhymes and fairy tales as physical phenomena. It was a whimsical, quintessentially "Magical Girl" Ability—one that seemed entirely ill-suited for a weary scientist like Alice.
"Wonder."
Countless illusions descended upon the monster.
Within the SSC, Alice was a powerhouse second only to Sora. His rank as the Association’s No. 2 was no exaggeration. Iron was toyed with by a series of spells that were as innocent as a child's dream and twice as cruel.
"Looks like things are under control over there."
He was a true pro. He was handling the surprise attack perfectly. I had been ready to jump in if things went south, but there was clearly no need to worry.
I shifted my gaze to the opposite side of the site, where Mika Himatsuri was locked in combat with the other monster.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!"
Her opponent was an Armored Warrior Kaijin, a two-meter giant swinging a massive odachi with reckless abandon, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.
"What insane strength!"
The blade whistled through the air, driven by the Kaijin’s monstrous muscles.
A single hit would be fatal. Mika was managing to parry the blows, but she couldn't find a single opening to counterattack.
"Tch! No choice, then...!"
Mika leaped back to dodge a wide, horizontal swing. She slowly leveled her blade and took a deep, steadying breath.
"Drawing: Onikagura."
The air grew heavy. A sudden chill swept through the area, cold enough to make one wonder if the temperature had plummeted. From behind Mika, something wavered into existence.
It was a kimono patterned with cherry blossoms, fluttering in a phantom wind. It had arms reaching through its sleeves, but no feet to touch the earth.
In its right hand, it gripped a katana identical to Mika’s. Where its head should have been, an oni mask hovered in the air. The Japanese specter drifted through the sky, completely unbound by gravity.
"Go."
"◼︎◼︎◼︎◼︎◼︎◼︎◼︎"
"Aaaaaaaaaaaa!!"
The Armored Warrior Kaijin and the oni apparition clashed.
Their blades met, sending a shower of sparks into the air.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaa!!"
"◼︎◼︎◼︎◼︎◼︎◼︎◼︎"
With every strike, the Kaijin was forced back a step. In terms of raw power, the oni apparition completely overwhelmed the monster.
"Blow him away, Onikagura!"
"◼︎◼︎◼︎◼︎◼︎◼︎◼︎"
A full-force strike from the apparition sent the Kaijin’s heavy blade spinning into the distance. The monster’s massive frame was left wide open.
"Finish it, Onikagura!"
"◼︎◼︎◼︎◼︎◼︎◼︎◼︎"
Despite losing its weapon, the opponent was still a Kaijin, protected by layers of steel armor.
But the oni apparition surpassed those defenses. With a fluid return strike, it sliced through the Kaijin as if the steel were paper.
"Aa... aaa..."
That single blow pushed the Kaijin past its breaking point. Its body shriveled, returning to the form of an ordinary human, and he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
"What in the world is that?" I wondered aloud.
A floating specter with an oni mask and a blade. It was clearly an Ability, but it was unlike any type I had ever seen.
"That is Onikagura. It is an Ability left behind by the previous leader, Kagura Himatsuri."
I jumped slightly as a voice came from behind me. I turned to see Alice in his transformed state, looking at me with a tired sigh.
The battle on his side was over as well, and the other Heroes were busy neutralizing the remaining Machine Soldiers.
"Good grief. I thought I told you to run."
"Sorry, sir. I just... I got worried," I said, trying to sound apologetic.
"Well, you’re safe, so I’ll let it go for today. But make sure you actually run next time."
"Understood, sir. I'll be more careful."
I had stayed behind to watch over things in case they went wrong, but Alice had seen right through me. To steer the conversation away from my disobedience, I quickly asked about the spirit.
"So, what exactly is Onikagura? How can it be an Ability from a previous leader?"
"The late Kagura Himatsuri possessed an Ability to create puppets using objects as a medium. She referred to them as Tsukumogami."
It was a power to manifest and manipulate puppets through physical anchors. The older the object, the more powerful the puppet it produced. She could only manifest one at a time, and she had always used the Onikagura—a family heirloom katana—as the base for her puppet.
"Wait, but I thought she passed away."
"She did. And that is the problem. Kagura is gone, but her Ability remains anchored within that katana."
Worse yet, that lingering power could be wielded by anyone who could hold the sword. Just as Mika was doing now.
"Listen to me. The reason I told you to stay away from the Himatsuri-gumi isn't just because they’re a rough crowd."
As long as you held that sword, it didn't matter if you were powerless or had an Ability of your own—you could wield that strength. And its effectiveness had been proven by a legend.
"Right now, multiple factions are moving behind the scenes to seize that blade. It’s no place for a civilian. If you get caught in the crossfire, you'll end up with more than just a few burns."
In an age where Ability Crime was rampant, every organization was desperate for a weapon that could turn anyone into a top-tier combatant.
Moreover, that sword was the symbol of the Himatsuri-gumi's leadership. Anyone who took it could effectively usurp Mika and claim the top spot for themselves.
"Is the SSC after it too?" I asked.
"Not us. If anything, I'm just worried about Mika."
Leaving me with that, Alice walked toward the young leader.
Mika was surrounded by her men in black suits, who had finished clearing out the Machine Soldiers. They were already deep in an argument.
"Young Lady, I’ve told you countless times that you shouldn't draw that thing in public!"
"Give it a rest, Sako. If we show what we can do in a place like this, our reputation will improve," Uryu cut in, defending her.
"Uryu is right," Mika said. "We need to defeat as many enemies as possible right now to show everyone what the Himatsuri-gumi is made of."
"That is exactly why I'm telling you this isn't the time for showing off!" Sako roared.
Mika was flanked by the two men. Sako was a stern, veteran member who looked about twenty years older than her, while Uryu was a handsome young man who had recently risen to her inner circle.
They were her top two aides, but they represented the internal rift of the group—the traditionalist Sako who frequently clashed with Mika, and the ambitious Uryu who encouraged her.
"Are you saying I should have just ignored the monster?" Mika snapped.
"There were plenty of Heroes here! You should have left it to them! We have more important things to focus on!"
"Sorry to interrupt your meeting. Do you have a moment?" Alice said, stepping into the middle of the heated debate without a hint of hesitation.
"Huh? What does a Hero want?" Uryu asked, his eyes narrowing.
"Hand over custody of that Kaijin to me."
Alice pointed at the unconscious man who had been rampaging as the Armored Warrior.
Uryu immediately bristled. "No way. We need to squeeze some information out of this guy ourselves."
"Shut up, Uryu! Fine, Hero. Take him. We’re handing him over to you."
"What?! Sako, you can't just decide that!"
"I said shut up! Is that acceptable, Young Lady?"
"…Do whatever you want," Mika muttered.
The commands were a mess, shifting back and forth. The powerful factions within the organization were too busy fighting each other to maintain any real order.
As Mika turned to lead her disorganized crew away, Alice called out to her one last time.
"Mika Himatsuri."
"…What now?"
"I’ve said this before, but you don't belong there."
"And I’ve told you before—this is exactly where I belong."
"You can't hold the Himatsuri-gumi together. Look at them. Even now—"
"Shut up! This has nothing to do with you! Let's go, move out!"
Cutting Alice off, Mika stormed away with her men.
A Hero approached Alice to give him a brief report, after which he walked back over to me.
"Owari-kun, today's work has been called off."
"Is it because of the attack, sir?"
"Yes. There might be a specific target involved, so we need to sweep the entire area. We’ve called in more Heroes to step up patrols, so you should be fine, but head straight home just in case."
After we exchanged contact information so I could alert him if anything happened, I started my walk home much earlier than expected.
I saw Heroes and men in black suits patrolling the streets, but I made it back to my apartment without any trouble.
Later that evening, Alice stood at the scene of the attack, listening to a final report with a deep frown.
"Both of the attackers have suffered severe neural damage. They lacked the aptitude for the transformation and likely won't regain consciousness. But with Machine Soldiers involved, the Syndicate is definitely behind this. What were they after?"
Was it this location? A specific person? A Hero? Or perhaps... something else entirely?