The skeletons had proven surprisingly fragile—about as strong as human bones, perhaps. They broke from Magical Daisy’s kicks and shattered under her punches. This sort of violence stirred a visceral disgust within her, but she was what you’d call a veteran. She would have quit long ago if this were enough to break her.
“Daisy Punch!”
It was just a normal punch.
“Daisy Kick!”
It was just a regular kick.
Yet Magical Daisy felt that naming her moves made them stronger, so she’d named her ordinary punches and kicks as if they were special attacks. She believed that there had to be power, or something, in saying it out loud.
“Daisy Beam!”
It was just a normal beam—well, obviously not.
The Daisy Beam was her killer move—and not in the figurative sense. This move was literally guaranteed to kill. In addition to supernaturally enhanced physical strength, girls chosen by the Magical Kingdom were each given a unique magical ability. This was what made them “magical” girls. Daisy’s ability was the Daisy Beam. By pointing her finger, she could shoot a light ray around four inches in diameter. It instantly vaporized anything it touched, though she didn’t understand how it worked. Palette had explained that it disassembled the target on a molecular level, causing it to quickly disintegrate and disperse into the air. She could, of course, vary the beam. If she spread her hand wide, it would shoot a light ray about a foot and a half in diameter, a much wider attack area.
She had never used this move to kill anyone. It was for eliminating waste and obstacles. She’d once suggested to the Magical Kingdom that it might be helpful to the world to use her beam to clear industrial or atomic waste, but she’d received the notice that magical girls were not permitted to influence trade or industry in the human world. It felt like they’d warned her, Keep the showboating to a minimum! as if they’d seen a narcissism in her that she didn’t realize she had. This hadn’t done her self-esteem any favors.
On a personal level, Daisy considered using the beam on living things to be the deepest of taboos, and the Magical Kingdom and its mascots also heavily restricted its use. But when assaulted by monsters that were clearly not alive—and thanks to the video game–like message Five skeletons have appeared—she’d fired in the moment, without hesitation. One shot of her beam had blown the skeletons away, along with her pent-up stress. But at the same time, it gave her second thoughts. She’d gotten carried away.
“So, uh, where am I?” As usual, she was talking to herself, but she really meant it this time. She’d read that the game had begun, and a second later, she’d been transformed into her magical-girl form and transported into the middle of this wasteland, all alone. Then the skeletons had attacked her.
The land was flat in every direction as far as Magical Daisy could see. She’d never been to Mexico or Africa, but she imagined the sun here was just as hot. She’d probably be suffering some burns if not for her enhanced skin. The only other thing in her field of vision besides the sun and wasteland were some dilapidated buildings. Daisy checked her magical phone. She couldn’t access her profile page anymore, and there was a message on her screen. It read:
The tutorial has ended.
You earned 5 magical candies.
Magical candy. That reminded Daisy—the phone had said something about that, right before the skeletons had appeared. She also felt like she’d heard that phrase before somewhere. Where had it been?
Please head to town.
Town? She saw only wasteland around her. But maybe if she traveled higher, she might be able to see around a little more. Daisy dashed over to the high-rise buildings. Up close, she could see the full extent of their dilapidation, their walls stained brown from the dust clouds. The amount of chips, cracks, and general signs of erosion led her to believe that these buildings had been there for a long time, not just a few years. One building was leaning to the side, with everything above the tenth floor entirely crumpled. It was about as tall as the other buildings.
Taking care not to cause the whole thing to collapse, Daisy quickly scaled the building. With her magically enhanced strength, running up the wall was nothing. Upon reaching the top, she surveyed her surroundings. The wind gusted harder up here, so she held her skirt down. Even the sun seemed to be stronger here, possibly because she was closer to it. As she’d expected, though, the view was much clearer. Her left hand to her forehead to block out the light, she looked off into the distance. Her abnormally powerful eyes meant she could see farther than any other living creature.
“Hmm… Is that it?” In the distance, she could see a cluster of buildings. It was the only thing in view that could pass for anything like a town. The rest of the wasteland was dotted with more ruins like the one she was currently standing on. She examined everything around her, checking each and every one of the buildings. They were all exactly the same, right down to the angle of their tilt and the patterns of broken glass in the windows, just like in a video game. One building in particular caught her eye—atop it was a figure.
Daisy jumped back as soon as she caught sight of the figure in the distance. A crack had appeared in the building’s roof right under where she’d been standing—and it was no natural fissure. Something extremely sharp had sliced through the concrete like butter. She looked at the faraway shape again. Did the attack come from over there?