Chapter 11 – The First Day of Our Journey

We began walking through the forest on our way to the Desert of the Minotaurs.
Only a few minutes had passed since we left, but already the scenery had changed completely. Unlike the city, here the sounds of animals, monsters, and demons echoed one after another. If you weren’t careful, something could attack you from the front—or the back.

But since we were five Magical Girls, we didn’t have to worry too much about regular animals, demons, or monsters.

As we walked, I looked at each of my friends:
Mizu was carefully scanning the surroundings.
Akane was ready to counter any sudden attack.
Mizuki kept her eyes firmly forward.
Kori’s cold gaze made it seem like she had already left the city behind.

Meanwhile, I was lost in my own thoughts. The deeper we went, the more trees surrounded us. Wild creatures filled the area: two squirrels, five birds, a hawk, three turtles, four wild dogs, six orange cats, and four black ones. I could even see fairy lights flickering in the distance, hand-sized insects crawling around, and some Dragon Potatoes sprouting from the ground.

It almost felt like walking inside a video game—but I knew this was real.
I couldn’t help but wonder how dangerous these creatures would be in my world. Most people would probably wet themselves just by looking at them… or worse.

Then Akane suddenly said:
“Wait. I can smell a demon nearby. Rank E. It smells like… it can fly. Be careful.”

Mizu frowned.
“Are you sure? I don’t sense anything.”

“I’m certain,” Akane replied firmly.

Kori’s cold voice cut in:
“All right. Let’s be prepared. Anyone have a plan?”

Mizuki raised her hand.
“I do. We’ll need bait to lure it out, then the rest of us will strike. But we should conserve mana and stamina for the Ogre Demon boss later.”

We all agreed with the strategy. The only problem was—who would act as bait?

Without thinking too much, I spoke up:
“Then… it should be Kori. She’s a year older than us and can handle a demon like this alone. What do you girls think?”

Everyone fell silent, but Kori didn’t seem bothered. In fact, I saw the faint trace of a smile on her lips. I just hoped it wasn’t pride—pride can be dangerous for anyone, even a Magical Girl.

Akane asked gently:
“Kori, are you sure about this? If you don’t want to, I’ll do it.”

Kori shook her head.
“Relax, Akane. I can handle it. Killing a demon like this won’t be difficult.”

“…Fine. Just make sure you stand where it can see you. We’ll hide and wait for the right moment.”

We scattered into position.
Akane climbed into a tree.
Mizu hid inside a bush.
I crouched behind some rocks.
Mizuki perched even higher than Akane in another tree.

And then, the demon appeared.

A serpent with the upper body of a woman slithered into view. She spotted Kori and let out a mocking laugh.

“Oh? Not a man… then you’re useless to me. I can’t reproduce with a girl. If you were a boy, I’d drag you to my den. But since you’re not, I’ll just kill you. Now—any last words?”

That was our cue.

I signaled Akane and Mizuki with a glance. They nodded. We counted down silently—five, four, three, two, one—then I shouted:

“Attack!”

The five of us burst from hiding.

I slashed at her tail with my katana, cutting deep before throwing her into the air.
Akane summoned her Fire Machine Gun and fired at the serpent woman’s head.
Mizuki unleashed ninja stars that pierced her body.
Mizu fired spinning discs of Light Energy that cut through her scales.

The serpent woman shrieked, writhing in pain.

“You brats! I’ll kill all five of you! No one dares defy me! Now you’ll see how truly evil I can be when I’m angry!”

Before our eyes, her wounds closed—she regenerated completely.

Then she spat acid at us.

We scattered, barely dodging the sizzling green liquid. Some nearly hit me—if I had been even a second slower, I’d be melted right now.

“We need to finish this quickly!” I shouted.

Kori stepped forward, her eyes sharp.
“Distract her. I have a plan to finish this.”

The serpent woman laughed.
“Do you really think you can kill me? Don’t make me laugh. You stupid little girls have no chance. I’ll start with the blue-haired one!”

Mizu!?

I couldn’t allow that. Darkness welled inside me, and I shouted back:
“Listen here, you filthy witch! I’ll cut your head into little pieces so you’ll never spit acid again!”

She turned her glare on me.
“Such arrogance, brat… Very well. If you’re so eager to die first, I’ll grant your wish!”

The serpent inhaled, ready to spit more acid—

—but Mizuki dashed in and sliced half her body. Akane followed with blazing blades, severing her hands. The serpent screamed, writhing.

“You pests! I’ll kill every last one of you!”

Then Kori stepped forward, water gathering in her blade.

“Permanent Cuts of Sacred Water—by the name of the Great Goddess Eris, may this strike end you!”

She vanished in a blur. In the blink of an eye, the serpent woman’s head was severed.

“N-no… Impossible… Beaten… by children… The Demon Queen will make you pay for this… remember my words!”

Her body burst into flames and crumbled to ash.

We all stood frozen for a moment, panting heavily.

Kori broke the silence.
“We need to be more careful. This is only the beginning.”

We nodded and resumed walking.

Six hours later, as the sun dipped low, Mizuki finally spoke:
“We should rest here. We’ve only covered thirty percent of the journey, and that fight drained me.”

Kori frowned.
“We can still push a little further—”

I interrupted gently.
“Kori, let’s stop here. We’ll rest, eat, then continue tomorrow at sunrise.”

Akane and Mizu agreed.

“…Fine,” Kori relented. “Set up camp. I’ll hunt for food. Taiyaki, come with me.”

“Got it,” I replied. “Let’s go find some wild foxes. But we stay within a hundred meters, okay?”

She nodded, and together we left the others to prepare camp.