Chapter 1: Physics Magical Girl!

Super City Duhuang, another peaceful day.

“Good Morning! Good morning! Duhuang City Radio, here to serve you today, your neighbor Haozuo. What a refreshing morning! Let’s play a song perfect for a day like this, starting right now!”

Facing the eight o’clock morning sun, Dongfang Cheng, the notorious delinquent from Class 4, Year 2 of Shenghua Shengai Academy, silently pulled his cap lower.

‘Hope nothing goes wrong today—’

Before he could finish, an orange-red fireball exploded three streets away. The massive shockwave rattled the old, neglected window frames, and the short-sleeved shirt hanging on the balcony flapped wildly like a startled pigeon.

“—Tch,” his brow twitched, his face turning cold. “That’s enough.”

Smoke rose in the distance. He quickened his pace, darting into an alley, his figure vanishing into the morning light.

“Magical girls,” a term that existed only in subculture decades ago, had recently thrust into the public eye. The reason? Monsters, straight out of nightmares, crawled from the darkest corners of human hearts, devouring the daily lives of citizens. The organization claiming responsibility called itself “Ouroboros.”

Thus, chosen girls in Duhuang City gained powers beyond reason, becoming real magical girls—Red, Yellow, Blue, Green, Pink. Five girls with unique powers and personalities, doing their best to protect this disaster-prone city, struggling against Ouroboros’s corruption.

Despite many roster changes, the five-colored magical girls always guarded Duhuang City.

But why did this evil organization never run out of fighters? Could the trope of overpowering a magical girl really be so enticing that people lined up to join?

Of course, these were just idle speculations among Duhuang’s residents. For Dongfang Cheng, the pressing issue was that Station Street near his home was under attack by a monster. By the time he arrived, the battle was nearly decided.

A corner of the shopping street lay in ruins, scattered shelves and broken billboards lamenting the recent violence.

The magical girl known for her cute smile, Pink Sakura Love, now looked utterly tragic.

Her iconic pink battle outfit, adorned with lace and bows, was torn in several long, jagged rips. At her waist and thigh, the thin fabric was completely shredded, exposing her delicate skin. Bruises and fine scratches stood out starkly against her pale, radiant flesh.

Her carefully styled pink twin-tails were a tangled mess, sweaty strands clinging to her flushed cheeks. She knelt weakly on one knee in the middle of the cold asphalt, one hand barely propping herself up, her trembling body threatening to collapse. Her other hand clutched her abdomen, where sharp pain pulsed, her pale fingertips shaking from exertion.

Hovering before her was a grotesque monster, like a mutant octopus from a deep-sea horror game, gloating over the exhausted magical girl. Its slimy, sucker-covered tentacles bore almost no wounds.

“Jie jie jie, Pink Sakura Love, already out of moves? Support-type magical girls are so boring. You’re done after just a few rounds…”

Pink Sakura Love, struggling to maintain her faint pink magical shield to protect the civilians behind her, bit her pale lower lip, trying to make her trembling voice sound defiant. “D-don’t get cocky! S-soon, my sisters will be here! Th-then… we’ll see how you beg!”

As the youngest of the five, she tried to intimidate the monster, but it had little effect.

“Hohahaha! Those four? By the time they arrive, they’ll only see their cute little sister being thoroughly pampered by me!”

Before its words settled, the monster’s bucket-thick, slimy tentacles shot toward the nearly spent Pink Sakura Love.

She poured everything into her shield, shattering a few tentacles, but two of the thickest, dripping with nauseating slime, wrapped tightly around her legs. She lost her balance, yanked into the air.

Her already tattered pink battle outfit tore further under the tentacles’ grip, the fragile fabric ripping audibly, barely covering her anymore. Under the sunlight, the slime on her skin glistened.

“Where are the other magical girls?!”

“Don’t they usually move in a group?”

“Come on, we’re about to see a magical girl tentacle defeat CG!”

“Bro, who are you even cheering for?!”

With her magic nearly depleted, Pink Sakura Love struggled against the tentacles’ overwhelming strength, unable to resist as the monster’s leering “face” drew closer.

“Hee hee, the boss said a seeded magical girl can’t transform anymore. Today, I’ll test that in front of the citizens you protect!!”

With the monster’s shrill laughter, the tentacles around her ankles began slithering up her pale legs, their dark red skin secreting slime that dissolved her magical outfit.

“No, stop, let me go… I can’t break free… my magic’s almost gone… ugh, Captain… save me…”

“Gwah, so intense! A legit tentacle overpower play!”

As the youngest of Duhuang’s five active magical girls, Pink Sakura Love, only fourteen, faced the leering monster and the bloodthirsty crowd that only watched. Tears streamed uncontrollably from her eyes.

“Delicious! Too bad neither your teammates nor your captain will save you! Enjoy my tentacles, jie jie—huh?”

Just as a tentacle neared the forbidden space between her legs, dozens of writhing tentacles froze, then pointed toward the eastern street.

“What’s wrong? Did the Sect’s gear malfunction? Hey, behave!”

In truth, Ouroboros’s Sect-developed weapon wasn’t faulty. The tentacles’ instincts screamed that something terrifying approached, urging escape.

A black flash streaked across the street. A concrete pole shattered under a single step, followed by a billboard’s steel frame, an air conditioner unit, and finally, the octopus monster under the station sign.

The monster didn’t even see her face. A black flash, and its perspective soared skyward.

The clouds above the station parted with a black streak, followed by the deafening explosion of the monster’s body!

Amid the splattering flesh, a black figure stood on the station roof, holding the unconscious Pink Sakura Love. A girl in a black battle outfit, long hair flowing, her face hidden by a cap’s shadow and a mask.

Good news: the girl in her arms hadn’t untransformed, so no risk of exposing her identity and spiraling into a breakdown from social pressure.

“What happened? Did the monster just explode?”

“Guh, my tentacle play is gone!”

“Look, it’s another magical girl!”

In the distant sky, red, blue, yellow, and green flashes approached.

“Wait, when did someone appear on the roof—holding Pink Sakura Love!?”

“Black outfit? Is she with the evil organization?”

“She’s a magical girl! How out-of-touch are you? That’s the famous Black—”

Amid the crowd’s clamor and the nearing four flashes, the black-clad girl shook her head, setting the magical girl aside.

“Really—annoying as hll.”

A sonic boom drowned out the chatter. The black-clad girl vanished from the rooftop, gone before the other four magical girls could stop her.

*

“Cheng, check this out! So epic! Pink Sakura Love was in deep trouble, then a black magical girl swooped in and one-punched the monster into chunks!”

“Gouda, that’s the third time you’ve mentioned it this morning.”

Dongfang Cheng swatted away his best friend Lin Feng’s phone waving in his face, leaning back and rocking his chair, waiting for the 9:30 class bell.

“Come on, I’m just excited! Plus, I saw my fave, Little Blue’s glorious face, and her cradling Little Pink so tenderly—pure bliss!”

Watching his friend, a hardcore magical girl fanboy, ramble, Dongfang Cheng felt imaginary black lines drooping from his forehead.

“But we didn’t get a clear shot of Little Black’s face again. Such a shame. That’s her fifth appearance, and she’s always got a mask or hat…”

“Maybe she doesn’t want attention.”

“Exactly! That’s Little Black’s charm! An ice queen keeping everyone at arm’s length is the best! Don’t you wonder how soft and sweet she’d be if you melted that ice? Just imagining marrying her and the lovey-dovey scenes makes me—!”

“Don’t get your spit on me!” Dongfang Cheng shoved Lin Feng’s face away.

“Someday, you’ll get why magical girls are awesome.”

The five-minute warning bell rang. Seeing his preaching fail again, Lin Feng shook his head dramatically and returned to his seat. Dongfang Cheng sighed, rubbing his forehead. Every morning, he endured ten minutes of Lin Feng’s magical girl rants, from their colors to favorite foods to estimated measurements.

What’s worse, Lin Feng was the only other guy in Class 4, Year 2, and his childhood friend, always in the same class. If he ditched him, Dongfang Cheng wouldn’t know who to hit the bathroom or cafeteria with.

Their school, Shenghua Shengai Academy, was once a girls’ school. Recent policy changes allowed boys with top grades or deep pockets to enroll. Lin Feng was the latter—rumor was his family donated two buildings.

Despite strict entry requirements, school life was lax, or Lin Feng wouldn’t be shoving his phone in Dongfang Cheng’s face at 9:20.

“By the way, Cheng, where’d you get that watch? Cool design, looks like black crystal.”

“My mom gave it to me. Want it?”

Dongfang Cheng raised a brow. Lin Feng, sensing a potential desk-slamming beatdown, waved his hands.

“Nah, haha, just asking… But the class prez and others are late today, and even the homeroom teacher’s MIA. No morning check-in? Weird.”

“Maybe they’re all off being magical girls.”

“You! Magical girls aren’t that casual!”

Dongfang Cheng blocked Lin Feng’s playful elbow, shrugging inwardly.

He wasn’t lying. If he’d been any slower this morning, they’d have seen him holding Pink Sakura Love.