— “Magical Girl Demon Core” - A dumb story concept I came up with yesterday, 23 January 2024.

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When the hero slayed the demon king in his own throne room, his disintegrating body dropped an unusual set of items: a screwdriver, a metal ball, and two halves of an outer casing that seemed to fit perfectly around it.

Conventional wisdom dictated that one shouldn’t mindlessly experiment with items of unknown effects dropped from the body of the demon king. On the other hand, human nature dictated that if something slotted perfectly into another thing, then by God they shall be slotted together.

The hero knelt down and picked up these items. She put the ball in one half of the casing, but nothing happened. It was when she held the second half of the casing that her dear friend and smarter half, the Great Mage All-star Revenant, finally took notice of the dumb shit going on here.

Revenant’s hand stretched out as far as it could go, and her legs carried her forward as fast as they could carry her. “Wait! Evelyn!” she shouted. Alas, she was too painfully slow, and worse still, Evelyn already had that particular playful, childish expression on her face, the one that hopelessly announced to the world that, whatever she was doing, it was too late—for everyone else, that is.

Both halves of the Demon Core’s tamper met, and the room flashed blue.

***

The hero party’s heroic return was somber. Where two had set out to defeat the demon king, only one returned. The people of the city lined the streets, ready to throw grains in celebration, but as they watched only a single person return all alone without her best friend, they found themselves not knowing what to do. No one cheered; no one uttered even a single word.

The person who returned made her procession with her head bowed down, a hood covering her head. The only reason why anyone knew they were one of the hero party was because of the Hero’s sword hanging from her waist and the Great Mage’s staff strapped across her back. It was otherwise difficult to confirm the face under the hood, but those who were much closer confirmed it through hushed whispers. The person who returned was certainly the hero, Evelyn Hope, but why was she donning the Great Mage’s robes?

Grief, anyone who saw her reasoned. It was normally an insult to don a mage’s robes for oneself, an offense against the purity of the white cloth and the gaudy gold trimmings—real gold—that spoke of the wearer’s nobility and renown.

Even so, the court mages and knights who waited at the foot of the royal palace’s One Thousand Steps easily excused Evelyn for wearing All-star’s robes. They all knew just how close the two were.

Evelyn marched up the steps, a procession of mages and knights following her. The city’s silence haunted the air.

The trumpets didn’t sound when the throne hall’s doors opened and received their Hero. The nobles on either side of the red carpet ceased their bickering as Evelyn walked down the aisle, their hopes and ambitions dashed as the one thing chaining Evelyn to the kingdom was no doubt dead.

The king and queen at the end of the carpet couldn’t believe their eyes. Their daughter, 13-year-old Alessandra, was already on her knees and crying on her mother’s lap. Evelyn and All-star had promised her tales of heroism and magic once the demon king had been defeated, but who would tell those stories, now?

Evelyn knelt before the king. If he didn’t need to put on a show, he wouldn’t be having her do this. Not like this.

“Your Majesty,” Evelyn said, “Evelyn Hope and All-star Revenant have returned. We have vanquished the demon king.”

Evelyn Hope and All-star Revenant have returned — one couldn’t help but give a pitying gaze upon the staff on Evelyn’s back at those words. Even the nobles who had lived all their lives with frozen hearts found themselves thawing, completely at the mercy of humanity’s sympathetic nature.

“My heartfelt sympathies,” the king said. “The kingdom will do what it can to honor the memory of the greatest mage the world has ever seen—the Great Mage, All-star Revenant!”

The nobles gave applause and the knights gave cheers. The king thought he was doing a decent job moderating the mood.

The reality of the situation, however, couldn’t be farther from the perceived truth. What the king had done was causing great stress for Not-Evelyn. They would have to make a grand, coordinated effort with the Church of the Three-Spear Light to fake the resurrection of All-star in the near future.

Evelyn shook her head. Okay, okay, damage control! Damage control, girl, you got this! “Your Majesty,” she said more sternly. “May I speak.”

The king saw that Evelyn wore a serious face. He raised his hand, quieting the crowd. “Of course.”

“The demon king’s dropped loot…” She paused, letting her words hang in the air as she discreetly looked over her shoulder, letting her nervousness be known to the king. “It is a dire matter, Your Majesty.”

The king considered her behavior for a moment. “All except Arwin and Lewenstein,” he announced, “leave.”

It was a grave order to give, considering all that had happened. Nevertheless, the nobles, the mages, and the knights obliged. Even the queen and their daughter had to leave.

Now, it was just Evelyn, King Nonwise, his minister and confidant, Arwin, and the Captain of the Royal Guard, Lewenstein.

“Stand up, Evelyn, you’re making me feel bad,” King Nonwise said with a sigh. As Evelyn stood, he continued, “I’m truly saddened for your loss. It always hurts me to see someone lose one they are so fond of.”

Instead of the dark expression he expected, Evelyn seemed more…nervous. “Erm, Your Majesty.”

What could this possibly be? Had they actually lost, and she was the demon king in disguise all along?!… No, no, that would be weird.

“It would be easier to show than to tell,” Evelyn said. Before anyone could say anything, she swiftly took out a screwdriver and stabbed herself in the neck.

“Gods! Evelyn!” King Nonwise exclaimed in horror, shooting up to his feet.

The horror intensified as Evelyn pried the screwdriver upwards. Instead of a shower of blood, however, there was a piercing flash of light.

It took a few moments for everyone’s eyesight to readjust to the throne hall’s ambient levels, but when they did, King Nonwise, his right-hand man, Arwin, and even Captain Lewenstein were left agape.

Where there used to be Evelyn in a mage robe, there was now just the Hero Evelyn in her dirty armor…and the Great Mage All-star standing beside her.

“What’s the meaning of this!” Nonwise pointed at Evelyn, and then at All-star, then back to Evelyn again…then back to All-star again, as it dawned on him just what hassles he’d cursed himself with.

Indeed, he had just declared the Great Mage dead a few minutes ago. Try explaining that to the public! “Hey guys, so that was a lie, but there were circumstances”—no, he’d have to say goodbye to his dignity if he ever said that.

Not that it was that terrible. This wouldn’t be the kingdom’s first cover-up, after all. Still, he waited impatiently for an explanation, sitting down in a hurry and tapping at the throne’s arm rest.

Evelyn would speak, but she was completely tapped out from the ordeal. She looked to All-star and pleaded with her eyes for her bestie to take over.

“Your Majesty,” All-star said after a sigh. “Please, may we all blame this thing for our predicament.”

On the floor between All-star and Evelyn were the metal sphere and the two halves of its casing. All-star was holding onto the screwdriver, using it to point at the object.

King Nonwise took one look at the accursed thing, and he instantly knew it could have only been dropped from the demon king. He shared a knowing look with Arwin, who was standing beside him—but that was all it was: a knowing look. He still didn’t know what it really was.

“The loot from the demon king, I presume,” he said.

All-star nodded. “Precisely, Your Majesty. It identifies itself as ‘Demon Core.’ Despite its claims, I believe it to be an intelligent weapon of sorts.”

King Nonwise looked at it, then turned to Arwin, sharing a knowing look with his adviser once more.

“An intelligent weapon, you say,” he said in a low, grave voice. He rested his head on his hands…and closed his eyes.

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The Hero and Great Mage have heard of this, and they restrained their glee as they got to witness one of the king’s rumored “wisdom attacks.” It was said that whenever the king emerged from a wisdom attack, he would start to move in strange ways that, although initially insane, ended up with everyone feeling like mere pieces on the king’s board game.

Right now, he must have been cross-processing a thousand national secrets per second in his head, weighing them against the threat—or benefit—that the claimed ‘intelligent’ device possessed. More than that, he must have instantly evaluated the potential dangers of the device that moment he even heard its name. Such was the weight of the crown upon the king’s head, and such were the brain-abs he cultivated to hold it up.

Indeed, the things that went through his head exceeded what mortal minds could comprehend.

…False. All of it. Utter lies. A wise king? He was no such thing. He took the throne thinking he just had to keep it warm, throwing all the actual work at his subordinates. The person who sat on the throne was nothing but an impostor filled with idle thoughts of painting his next somewhat-okay masterpiece.

He wasn’t even trying. There wasn’t some grand master plan; there never was! Yet, for some inscrutable reason, everyone around him were happy enough to fan the flames of a larger-than-life image of a king who could do one million calculations per second on dimensions beyond even the demon realm itself!

But, what would happen if his image fell apart? Obviously, he would be deposed—killed!

He had no choice but to keep up his image. He had to at least try.

…Well, that’s how he hyped himself up. No matter how much hype he injected into his veins, the Demon Core remained as some mysterious metal ball in his eyes. Strain his brain as he might, it’s just a metal ball—but hey! If the Great Mage said it was intelligent, then that was the case! No need to think about it!

He opened his eyes. There was only strategy he could use to survive this interaction: to ride the waves of fate.

…Damn, he really couldn’t think of anything! The stress was already getting to him. The silence was dragging on. Gods, stress isn’t good for me!

For a fleeting moment, he looked at All-star’s direction—and the Great Mage flinched!

He closed his eyes again. That was rude of him. Perhaps he should just fake another ‘wisdom attack’ —that’s what they called it, right?

Meanwhile, All-star’s thoughts were running away…into a dangerous direction. What does he want from me? Such wisdom and intelligence, focused into a laser beam aimed straight at her… Could it be, he’s already figured it out, and he just wants to see if I can live up to his expectations?!

Classic hyper-competent subordinate behavior.

“Your Majesty,” she started, “as you’ve seen, the primary ability of the Demon Core is to merge two people together. Prior to arriving here, myself and Evelyn ascertained our combined power, and it is indeed as you suspect: our combined power exceeds our powers separated.”

He didn’t suspect a thing. Nice to know, though. He nodded, and All-star continued.

“There doesn’t seem to be a time limit, but it is still not without drawbacks. First, the only method to separate all involved people is by using this implement”—All-star held up the screwdriver—“upon the combined body’s neck. We have confirmed that random weapons or tools will not produce this effect. Second…”

All-star hesitated on this point. “Continue,” King Nonwise said.

“The person in control of the body…is the Demon Core.”

Even King Nonwise could tell that getting mashed into a composite body that you didn’t have any control over couldn’t possibly be a good experience. Oh, and the national security concerns etc.

“She’s a pain to deal with,” Evelyn said. “I have a lot of younger sisters, though, so no problem!”

There were a lot of logical leaps in her statement, but King Nonwise, a younger sibling, himself, knew exactly what she was talking about. Certainly, with Evelyn at the helm, it would be no problem!

“Your Majesty, if I may,” Arwin spoke up.

“Of course, Arwin, your input is always appreciated,” King Nonwise said. He truly meant it.

“I propose that the kingdom should keep the Demon Core under lock-and-key. The…‘deactivation key,’ as well, should be placed in the care of the Captain of the Royal Guard.”

Arwin’s words rang true from the perspective of the kingdom. The Hero and the Great Mage were already powerful in their own right, but the kingdom needn’t worry about their loyalties. Them, their families, their hobbies, and their bank accounts all found their home in this kingdom.

The Demon Core, on the other hand, seemed to be an intelligent device. They were yet to gleam any details of its personality from the Hero and the Great Mage, but the fact that it couldn’t possibly have any mortal attachments was enough to call its intentions into question.

“You can’t!” Evelyn cried out. “She’s a good girl!”

“I-I wouldn’t use such language,” All-star added, “but I cannot find it in myself to think that the Demon Core poses a real threat if cared for by competent hands and minds.”

“How can we be sure that you aren’t already under the influence of its magic?” Arwin reasoned. “It seems to be a powerful device. There’s no reason for it to cling to human morals, either.”

That was where he was wrong.

The Demon Core rattled once, and when everyone looked at it, it rattled twice. Both halves of its casing smashed together to encase the Core, and once more, a blue light flashed, engulfing the room in the accursed magic…of a magical girl combi-transformation.

In an instant, Lewenstein was already in front of Nonwise. Arwin had already grabbed onto Nonwise’s arm, already yanking at him to get out of his seat.

That figure of Evelyn and All-star combined softly landed on her feet. “Please wait!” she shouted. “I don’t want to fight!”

“I’ve seen this trick eleven times!” Lewenstein replied. That said, he wasn’t stupid enough to make the first move and attack the combined-and-multiplied powers of both the Hero and the Great Mage.

“That’s way too specific!” the Demon Core girl remarked. Lewenstein showed his teeth and raised his sword, ready to intercept any possible attack.

Aghh! Is there a way out of this! She’d triggered the transformation on her own on a hair trigger. Arwin’s earlier suggestion had made her panic.

After being killed as collateral damage between a magical girl and the forces of darkness, she had found herself reincarnated as Los Alamos’ infamous Demon Core—now with weird magical properties!

She’d been bewildered, but after exploring her System, she realized something.

At first, it had been a speck—a dream—but in this second life, her dream might just become a reality! What dream, you ask?

—To become a magical girl, of course!

Any young girl idolized their sparkly protectors, and such had been the case for her, as well.

The fact that this world also had forces of darkness was a big plus!… Well, not for the villagers, but hey!

Arwin’s earlier suggestion was essentially a prison sentence for her, and she just wouldn’t stand for that! She just got a second chance, and the first thing that happens is a prison sentence? Nah, fam, hard pass.

That said, how will she convince the king that she wasn’t a threat? She’d just reeled in Evelyn and All-star out of nowhere…which was basically equal to rebellion, wasn’t it?! Aw man, she’s messed it up, now!

“Hey, stupid,” All-star’s voice resonated within her. It could’ve been a nice background voice whispering for her to believe in herself, thereby unlocking ever greater power. If only the voice were nicer…

“You got yourself into this, don’t blame me.” As a voice in her head, All-star had direct access to all of the Demon Core girl’s thoughts as well. “Listen, tell the king exactly what I’m about to say. Got it?”

O-oh. Okay. Wait, wasn’t this an important part of being a magical girl, too? Relying on one’s friends? W-woohoo!

“Whatever. Now, listen…”

The Demon Core girl seemed like such a terrifying force in the eyes of Lewenstein. Has the king escaped yet? He looked over his shoulder. He hasn’t…but why?

In true delulu subordinate fashion, he came up with some mental acrobatics that made the king seem a lot more courageous than he really was. Look, the point was, the king was actually just frozen on his feet. He didn’t know left from right, and yet, for some inexplicable reason, they were all still alive. There had to be a reason for that, right?

Against all their expectations, the Demon Core girl…clumsily curtsied. It was obvious she wasn’t used to this.

Indeed, All-star was coaching her on how to do it right on the spot.

“M-my name is… Ah, what’s my name?” the girl muttered…then she hit upon a bright idea! “Magical Girl Demon Core! Here to fight the forces of darkness with love!”

It was a terrible name, fit for a naive child reincarnated with way too much starting firepower and even more growth potential. Along with the name, she also struck a terrible pose.

…A pose which radiated a large amount of dark mana, unconsciously released through her intense belief that magical girls needed flashy background effects for their openings.

With such terrible swirls of dark energy around her, was she really here to defeat the forces of darkness? Really?

Lewenstein’s legs finally gave out, unable to withstand the passive assault on his senses. Arwin wanted to argue back with very reasonable arguments, but his fear resistance was a lot lower than Lewenstein’s; he’d been useless since a while ago already.

All the king’s men were down for the count, but the king himself just sat down on his seat…and chuckled.

His fear resistance was baseline. Absolutely normal. However, there was one passive skill which, if played right, nullified all fear-based effects: [Impostor Syndrome]. The ability to sacrifice one’s self-esteem in order to act with stats beyond one’s own shouldn’t ever be underestimated.

“You have much to learn, Lady Demon Core,” he said.

“L-lady?” The honorific-coded language sent Demon Core stumbling back. At this point, even Evelyn and All-star were made shocked and quiet at the sheer kingly aura that Nonwise was radiating.

“It seems you like our Evelyn and All-star. The kingdom is very proud of them, don’t you know?”

“R-right, they helped me out when I first came to this world… I like them a lot.” She could feel her cheeks warm up by a touch. Because of the duo, she hadn’t ever felt lonely for even a second in her new life. Of all the cheats she could ever ask for, being never lonely was the cheatiest of them all.

The king had absolutely no idea what that first part of what she said was on about, but he replied with an amused, confident chuckle as if he knew all along. “In that case, I can think of an arrangement that will satisfy the both of us.”

“What…what is it?”

“For a long five years, the Hero and the Great Sage have worked for the kingdom, and finally, they’ve vanquished the demon king. I believe it’s high time for the kingdom to work for the Hero and the Great Sage in turn—give them a nice, long vacation. I believe that you, as well, should do the same, and help the Hero and Great Sage just as they have helped you.”

“But…the forces of darkness…”

“My kingdom’s army can deal with them in the meantime. I’m sure they won’t lose to a pack of wolves.” He smiled affably. “What do you say?”

King Nonwise-ese translation: Hero, Great Sage, she’s your problem now.

Demon Core thought hard about it for a moment. “I’m always going to stay with them, no matter what! Okay?”

“No matter what,” Nonwise parroted. She’s 100% your problem now.

Demon Core deactivated herself (with the screwdriver; I don’t want to describe the neck-stabbing thing every single time), and she fell into Evelyn’s hands, while the screwdriver fell into All-star’s.

Nonwise sank back into his chair. The storm was finally over.

“Oh no, you poor thing,” Evelyn said to the metal ball, wiping it with a cloth. “Was it scary? It must have been scary, oh nooo.”

All-star gripped the screwdriver in her hand. Five years of fighting had led up to this moment. “Your Majesty…” She looked up at him. “Did you mean it?”

Her calling out to him sent him scrambling back to a more kingly posture. “O-oh, why, the vacation, of course.” He laughed. He’d just completely made all that up on the spot. “Talk to Arwin for the details.”

Thus were the beginning circumstances of Magical Girl Demon Core and the vacationing hero party.

***

Arwin could only praise His Majesty in his mind; he had once again done what was best for the kingdom with what little he had. Still, he shuddered to think just what would have happened had they shown any resistance against the Demon Core whatsoever. Magical Girl Demon Core…should never be contained.