Sayaka Wisteria had been through hundreds of battles; her combat experience was growing, but her street smarts hadn’t improved one bit.
She didn’t look stupid, but Hoshino Hara felt she was a total “airhead.”
Faced with such a massive cluster of dark energy, she dared to launch a fierce assault after seeing only a fraction of it.
Was it really that hard to guess if there were ambushes hidden in the areas she couldn’t see?
Then again, if she weren’t so naive, she probably wouldn’t have been swindled by that scumbag in the original plot.
With these thoughts in mind, Hoshino Hara manifested a capsule in his hand and popped it into Sayaka Wisteria’s mouth.
As luck would have it, Sayaka had just regained a sliver of consciousness.
Just as she was about to open her eyes, she felt something being shoved into her mouth.
“Mmph! Mmph!”
Airhead she may be, but her reflexes were sharp.
Realizing something had been forced into her mouth, she began to struggle violently, ignoring the piercing pain wracking her body.
Hoshino Hara, who had been holding her steadily, was caught off guard by her sudden squirming—she was thrashing like a little piglet.
In this world, physical training was effective, and remarkably so.
However, no matter how impressive his results were, Hoshino Hara’s physical stats couldn’t even “touch the hem” of a Magical Girl’s garment.
A Magical Girl in combat mode could leap over ten meters high, practically stomping on Newton’s coffin as they flew through the air.
How could Hoshino Hara, with less than a year of training, possibly compare?
In her frantic struggle, Sayaka landed a punch on Hoshino Hara’s chest.
It nearly sent him coughing up a mouthful of blood, forcing him to let go.
Cough!
Cough!
Cough!
Sayaka sprawled on the ground, coughing incessantly in an attempt to spit the object out.
However, the thing was like cotton candy—it dissolved the moment it touched her tongue.
No matter how hard she tried, it was too late.
It was only then that she saw clearly who was standing beside her.
Nightmare?!
Having been a Magical Girl for so many years, she was naturally familiar with “Dark Eclipse,” the villainous organization that schemed in the shadows.
The person before her was their newly promoted executive, “Nightmare”—a cunning villain who provided strategies for the forces of evil.
Yet, for reasons unknown, this cunning villain had saved her twice before.
Once, after a great battle when her magic was depleted and she couldn’t move a finger, Nightmare had suddenly appeared and stood guard over her.
During that time, he seemed to have driven someone away.
Another time, she had accidentally been poisoned by a magical beast. Nightmare appeared again and gave her the antidote.
Both times, he appeared out of nowhere and left quietly without a single extra word, as if speaking more than two sentences to her would cause the world to end.
She had heard the codename “Nightmare” later.
The black trench coat and the signature black mask covering the upper half of his face belonged to Dark Eclipse’s rising star, renowned for his insidiousness and guile.
Many Magical Girls had fallen into the clutches of Dark Eclipse because of his designs.
So, while it appeared Nightmare had saved her twice, Sayaka Wisteria firmly believed he must have a much grander, more sinister plot.
She knew it—how could a villainous executive be so kindhearted?
Now, his “fox tail” was finally showing.
This guy had secretly drugged her while she was unconscious.
The capsule had dissolved instantly. In a short time, Sayaka felt something was wrong with her body.
Her internal temperature rose so high it felt like her organs were melting.
Her body heat skyrocketed, her heart raced, and her face flushed bright red.
“What did you just feed me?”
Sayaka demanded, dragging her body backward to put distance between herself and Hoshino Hara.
Hoshino Hara thought for a moment and replied, “What I just gave you was X-003, the latest potion developed by the Dark Eclipse Tech Department. It helps a person rapidly recover from internal injuries.”
“Huh?”
Sayaka felt the changes in her body. Indeed, the pain in her internal organs was fading.
The sensation of “melting” wasn’t painful; rather, it was very warm, as if it were proof that her body was being nourished and repaired.
Sayaka was both shocked and furious.
“Are you using me to test your drugs?”
Hoshino Hikaru (Hara): ?
How could a body with such a high temperature say such “cold” words?
Hoshino Hara said calmly, “This is a finished product. It’s priceless on the market.”
Sayaka clearly didn’t believe him. she pressed further, “Then why did you save me?”
However, his answer was beyond her expectations.
“Does one need a reason to save someone?”
Hoshino Hara countered.
“You only need a reason to hurt someone.”
Sayaka was stunned.
Looking back at the dialogue between them, she felt like she was the one acting like the evil villain.
Staring at the man’s black mask, she began to doubt her worldview.
This new executive seemed different from the ones she had encountered before.
The executives she met in the past were either human-hating sociopaths or physical freaks who barely looked human.
The sudden arrival of someone she could communicate with normally made her feel a bit out of sorts.
No, I can’t be fooled by his disguise.
Nightmare is the most cunning executive of Dark Eclipse.
He’s only said a few sentences and he’s already nearly gained my trust.
Sayaka huffed coldly.
“So, according to you, should I be saying ‘thank you’?”
“There’s no need. Since you are an orphan with no parents, it’s understandable that no one taught you to say ‘thank you’ when receiving help,” Hoshino Hara replied.
“You!”
For the first time in her life, Sayaka was so insulted she couldn’t find a comeback.
Her organs began to ache again—this time from pure rage.
Hoshino Hara moved his feet, pulling the vermilion spear stuck in the ground.
He held it in his hand, observing it, and casually performed a spear flourish.
“Give me back my weapon!”
Seeing him mess around with her spear, Sayaka immediately reacted like a bristling kitten, struggling to scramble up from the ground.
“I have no interest in your spear. I just want to say it’s a pity this spear belongs to you.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Sayaka could tell there was a subtext to his words.
Hoshino Hara still didn’t put the spear down.
Instead, he began to demonstrate basic spear movements.
“The basic offensive moves of a spear are Parrying, Catching, and Piercing.”
“But I’ve watched your battles a few times. Even though you use a spear, you never use these basic moves. Your preferred methods of attack are Cleaving and Swinging.”
“So why are you training with a spear? A staff or a heavy sword would suit you much better.”
Being lectured out of the blue left Sayaka bewildered and even more annoyed.
“What does that have to do with you?”
“It has everything to do with me,” Hoshino Hikaru (Hara) shrugged.
“I’m not just a villainous executive; I’m also an ordinary citizen.”
“Seeing the poor professional performance of you Magical Girls fighting magical beasts, how can I sleep soundly at night?”
“You… you… you…!”
Sayaka had never been so humiliated.
She was fuming (literally), feeling as though her very chest was blocked by anger.
Looking at her furious expression, it seemed she was about to crawl up and risk her life to fight Hoshino Hara.
Hoshino Hara remained perfectly calm, not worried in the slightest that she would attack him.
“As expected, when your emotions spiral out of control, your magic follows suit.”
Sayaka froze as if a paralysis spell had been cast on her, seeing the flames rising from her own body.
“What… what else do you know?”
“What I know isn’t important. What matters is that I have something here that can help you.”
The Nightmare before her opened his palm, manifesting a strange object like a magic trick.
It was a loop of dark-green rope with a small, pink, hollow ball tied in the middle. The ball had many holes in it.
“What is this?”
Hoshino Hara smiled.
“Something that can help you solve your magic instability.”
With that, he placed the item into Sayaka Wisteria’s palm.
Sayaka looked at the strange object in her hand skeptically and was about to ask more when she suddenly heard Hoshino Hikaru’s (the sister’s) voice calling out.
“Senpai—where are you?”
“Senpai—!”
Hoshino Hara, of course, heard his sister’s voice as well.
He absolutely could not let her see him.
As family, they were too familiar with each other; it would be trouble if she recognized him.
“I have to go.”
As soon as he spoke, Hoshino Hara swished his trench coat and vanished on the spot.
Sayaka was dumbfounded.
Before she could even say “Wait,” Nightmare had already ditched her.
At least tell me how to use this thing before you leave!
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