Give children a little self-destruction shock to their worldview.

Page 155

If you get caught up in the competition like this, and other participants target you, it's easy to lose.

Rie Nagai couldn't guarantee that every contestant was a good person, and she was afraid that Yukari Hachiya would be harmed in this competition—for example, the third eliminated contestant, "Iwashita Yasushi," was crippled today by an unknown fantasy entity.

I heard that he lost a leg and his fantasy body was blown to pieces.

So Rie Nagai decided to test Yukari Hachiya's illusionary form a little. While her neighbor's younger sister was sleeping, she sent out the "Mystery of the Haunted House" to shroud the place, trying to scare the magical girl away.

Her fantasy form, "The Mystery of the Haunted House," is not strictly speaking a humanoid fantasy form, but rather a "house shrouded in bizarre events," a kind of strangeness within the mansion, capable of transforming a fixed location into her own domain.

Anyone who steps inside and is affected by this terrifying atmosphere, even experiencing the slightest fear, will have their mind dominated.

【The Mystery of the Haunted House】is Rie Nagai’s favorite collection of horror manga short stories. After transforming into a fantasy form, this ability is indeed quite overpowered.

Putting aside the mental fortitude of the fantastical beings, even the contestants themselves are not immune to being affected by the eerie atmosphere.

Rie Nagai is a huge fan of horror comics. Her room is filled with bookshelves full of horror comics, and she has also bought a lot of decorations that look creepy and feel incredibly realistic to hang in her home.

Whenever you talk to her about horror movies, comics, or novels, she knows them all by heart and talks on and on.

This is quite a contrast to her seemingly ordinary appearance.

Perhaps because of this fervent love, the fantasy form she summoned did not lose much of its power, but rather basically retained its original setting.

Don't underestimate this basic setting. In the original work, this haunted house has devoured countless lives that dared to step into it over the past thousand years, and has become a demon god.

Just like the clown in Stephen King's "It," he is an existence that cannot be killed by ordinary human abilities.

It can be said that if Mayumi Haga had even the slightest bit of fear, she would have been completely consumed.

But to everyone's surprise, Mayumi Haga's spirit far exceeded expectations, and she was no ordinary magical girl.

Wait, so what exactly did Yukari Hachiya summon?

What magical girl would blow her own brain up?

Realizing that this fantasy entity might pose a threat to Yukari Hachiya, Rie Nagai impulsively rushed over.

In fact, the fantasy entity can attack the contestants.

This key point was learned by Rie Nagai from a participant in the previous Desire Fantasy Contest.

If the summoner's spirit cannot suppress the illusion, the illusion risks going out of control.

Rie Nagai was able to suppress the mystery of the haunted house with her fervor for horror elements, but Yukari Hachiya was still young and was clearly being controlled by Mayumi Haga.

That does not work.

Rie Nagai came to remind Yukari Hachiya of this issue, but she didn't expect it to be Mayumi Haga who opened the door.

Mayumi Haga's expressionless, downcast gaze was truly enough to send chills down one's spine.

At least Rie Nagai was suppressed.

What should we do...? If we send the "Mystery of the Haunted House" to do it now, will it scare Yukari?

In short, I'll take Yukari to my place first.

But before Rie Nagai could speak, Yukari Hachiya's voice came from inside: "What's wrong? Why are you standing frozen at the door?"

Rie Nagai saw that Mayumi Haga's expression was calm, but her tone was gentle, completely different from the coldness she had imagined: "Yukari, it seems to be someone you know."

Text: 242. Justice and Punishment!

Mayumi Haga could naturally tell that Rie Nagai in front of her was no ordinary person; she was probably not just anyone, but also a participant in this contest of desire and fantasy.

Her observation and perception abilities are stronger than those of ordinary people. As a fantasy entity, she can also sense the strong, strange aura behind Nagai Rie.

She had only just grasped that eerie aura; Haga Mayumi hadn't forgotten it yet.

So, as she stepped aside to let Nagai Rie into the room, Haga Mayumi said, "Don't try to test me like that again next time."

Rie Nagai broke out in a cold sweat.

If Yukari Hachiya summons another character instead of Mayumi Haga, either she will be eliminated immediately, or Rie Nagai and the "Mystery of the Haunted House" will be in trouble.

If it weren't for Mayumi Haga's stable mental state and calm personality, Rie Nagai wouldn't be able to stand here and have a proper conversation with Yukari Hachiya right now.

Rie Nagai wanted to say something more, but under the blank gaze of Yukari Hachiya, who knew nothing, she swallowed her rebuttal.

Rie Nagai actually has many of the problems that most adults have to some extent.

For example, they might make decisions for the child without considering the child's feelings, or arbitrarily do what is "good" for the child in their own way.

She felt that Yukari Hachiya shouldn't get involved in the competition, but she didn't know how to persuade the determined girl to withdraw on her own.

So, he planned to eliminate the illusionary entity in his own way, without Yukari's knowledge, so that Yukari's qualification as a contestant would disappear on its own.

This behavior is actually very similar to parents who don't want their children to have pets, so they secretly give them away or throw them away.

If the mystery of the haunted house were to make its move, it wouldn't leave any trace. Not to mention that since Rie Nagai's illusionary form of the mystery of the haunted house isn't humanoid, it's practically impossible for her to be killed unless forced to reveal her true form.

But she underestimated Mayumi Haga.

Not only was Mayumi Haga not frightened, but her emotions were also frighteningly calm.

The only problem is that Mayumi Haga, as a fantasy entity, is just too mysterious.

The mysterious nature of the mystical entities under their command poses a significant danger to the contestants.

Fortunately, Mayumi Haga doesn't seem to have any ill intentions towards Yukari Hachiya.

I'm afraid she might have some ulterior motive towards Yukari Hachiya...

Rie Nagai wanted to say something, but it wasn't appropriate to say it in front of Mayumi Haga, so she had to keep it to herself.

After all, with the mystery of the haunted house failing to work on Mayumi Haga, Rie Nagai didn't think she could protect Yukari Hachiya from Mayumi's hands.

Taking all of the above into consideration, Rie Nagai's purpose in coming this time was simply to observe Mayumi Haga in person and to inform Yukari Hachiya of some necessary precautions.

Incidentally, she wants to form an alliance with Yukari Hachiya's group.

"Huh? Is Rie-nee also a contestant?" Yukari Hachiya was taken aback.

The Desire Fantasy Contest instills some basic knowledge about the competition into the minds of first-time participants, but it's quite limited. Yukari Hachiya currently only knows that she needs to team up with the Magical Girl to defeat the fantasy entities summoned by others and win the final victory.

However, Yukari Hachiya wasn't really interested in the match; she was more interested in Mayumi Haga, the magical girl herself.

It would be too difficult for a child like her to plan and take the initiative. She didn't have much of a competitive spirit and just wanted to take advantage of the chaos in this competition.

However, in this intense competition, it is impossible to remain indifferent to worldly affairs.

"Your fantasy form..." Nagai Rie choked for a moment before she could finish speaking, having been reminded that Mayumi Haga was a magical girl. She then changed her words and continued, "Miss magical girl, your group has ten points. In the eyes of the other contestants, you are already easy prey."

Participants' initial scores usually fluctuate randomly between five and ten points, and lucky ones will get high scores from the start.

However, if one's own strength is weak, even the best luck cannot save it.

In addition, since Yukari Hachiya is a ten-year-old child with little ability to protect herself, she will definitely be coveted by many contestants.

Compared to the other adult groups, this group does look much weaker, and it would be easy to defeat them if the fantasy entity and the contestant were separated.

If you kill Yukari Hachiya, you can easily get the ten points.

In other words, even if Yukari Hachiya doesn't take the initiative, she will still be constantly plagued by troubles.

You must be mentally prepared.

Rie Nagai's approach to form an alliance wasn't solely motivated by a desire to protect Yukari Hachiya.

While this is the most important reason, she does indeed lack direct means of attack and needs to find an ally to complement her.

The Mystery of the Haunted House is nearly invincible on a mental level; once trapped within its domain, escape is nearly impossible. However, it has too many prerequisites. Once the enemy solves the puzzle, the Mystery of the Haunted House, lacking alternative attack methods, loses its threat.

Therefore, Rie Nagai needed to find an ally, and Mayumi Haga's group could make up for this deficiency very well.

After all, in her impression of magical girl characters, the power of magical cannons always seemed to be not to be underestimated.

However, her serious explanation made Yukari Hachiya feel a little uneasy.

Kids who like magical girls don't actually like this kind of cruel competition atmosphere.

If she were to have the magical girl harm other contestants or those not-so-wicked fantasy entities, it would contradict her inner kindness.

Yukari Hachiya was a little frustrated.

Nagai Rie didn't know how to answer, and just as she was at a loss, Haga Mayumi suddenly spoke up.

The Guardian's tone was calm, but it carried a weighty promise: "Then let's stop the fighting."

She wasn't a magical girl, but she spoke in a completely un-magical tone, saying something rather naive: "People shouldn't have their lives taken away, it's too much, isn't it?"

—To be honest, if it were Kotomi who came, she would probably have spoken more passionately, but when I said it myself, it felt like a threat.

While this line might seem meddlesome, Mayumi Haga was serious.

Anyone who dares to commit excessive killing in this competition will be severely punished by her.

Guardian Girl: ...I'm not a magical girl, whether the contestants live or die is none of my business.

The Guardian Girl afterwards: A magical girl's job is to be a peacemaker; anyone who messes around is disrespecting me.

In fact, Mayumi's mindset has changed somewhat in the children's world. In the past, she really had a hard time taking care of the children's feelings...

But the change in Makoto, who softens his heart and strives to become a hero to his children, is somewhat heartening.

Text: 243. The negative impact on children is immeasurable.

After hearing such a statement, Rie Nagai was beginning to believe that Mayumi Haga was a magical girl.

Although Mayumi Haga's expression and tone did not seem to be genuinely happy about coming up with this method, but rather more like a warning of an iron fist about to descend upon the Desire Fantasy Competition.

However, judging by actions rather than intentions, Mayumi Haga has indeed not done anything bad so far.

If this illusion can maintain the appearance of a magical girl in front of Yukari Hachiya, then Rie Nagai can also regard it as a magical girl in ordinary times.

Moreover, as Rie Nagai sat on the other side of the table and tasted the dishes she had prepared for Yukari Hachiya, her suspicions were greatly dispelled.

...No, this is just too delicious.

Rie Nagai was overwhelmed by the aroma after just one bite.

With such culinary skills, if she's not some cannibalistic type, then she's probably not a villain...

Wait, it could actually be an ogre, eating its own undead or something...

Rie Nagai thought about it carefully.

What followed was a conversation between Yukari Hachiya and Mayumi Haga, which completely dispelled her doubts.

That was a conversation between Yukari Hachiya and Mayumi Haga, stemming from Yukari's curiosity about the unreleased anime "Magical Girl Crimson".

Even though it's the end of the year and there's less than a month until the new anime series airs, who can resist the fun of being spoiled by the characters themselves?

Mayumi Haga definitely has inside information, and she can definitely get more detailed information than what is shown in the anime.

"What?! Yuhe-neechan, you were actually Shen Hong's classmate and best friend?"

"You don't have your own magical girl codename yet? Haven't you joined Crimson's team yet? Huh? Haven't you reached the step of standardizing the name format yet?"

"Crimson, iris, and sky blue...? Iris is yellow? It's a little out of place."

"Wait, there are only one, two, three... including you, there are only four? Or is there another character who hasn't appeared yet? Hmm, there's absolutely no information about it in the PV."

"The team has always consisted of five people, and if your color is black, you're definitely an additional warrior, which means we're still missing two colors..."

"Huh? Your guardian is Sugiyama Rika? She later became an adventurer...?"

"It seems you arrived before the grand finale, and the characters haven't fully appeared yet..."

Yukari Hachiya, drawing on her usual movie-watching perspective, offered a magical girl otaku-style analysis of the information revealed by Mayumi Haga.

From Mayumi Haga's perspective, she has actually been through quite a lot with Hitomi Tono and the others.

However, judging from the typical plot structure of magical girl anime, the story so far is only the early stage of the series, and the protagonist, Hitomi Tono, still has a long way to go.

Rather, before the five-member magical girl team is fully assembled, this can only be considered the beginning of the story.

Moreover, Mayumi Haga strongly suspects that she might not have a very high presence in this anime series.

Magical Girl Crimson is a story that revolves around Hitomi Tono, and this anime series has also been designated as a children's show.

While the camera focuses on Hitomi Tono, Mayumi Haga, as a supporting character, naturally won't have as much screen time as Hitomi Tono.

Moreover, this is a children's anime, and as someone who has a slightly ambiguous relationship with Hitomi Tono, I shouldn't be depicted in a big way in this work.

Just as the Ultraman series doesn't spend too much time writing about the love experiences of the human hosts who become husbands, the love stories in the magical girl series will definitely not take up the majority of the content.

However, considering that the "girl" aspect is just as important as the "magic" element in magical girl stories, the girl's feelings will likely be explored in one or two episodes.