An actress in our midst! (web version)

So this was the demon lord…

Pretty Flame couldn’t help but feel apprehensive in his presence. His armored form from head to toe, his tall frame, and most importantly, the seemingly bottomless well of magic that even Flame, the worst magical sensor in their group, could sense.

Regardless of the intimidation factor, however, all four of them stood tall, facing the man with a neutral expression. Sure, they might technically be allies, but after all the years of fighting his forces in earnest, they couldn’t help but feel alert when finally meeting the man.

“Can you two stop? We have work to do,” Salem said, looking at Hecate still clinging to Jessica’s form in tears.

“Shut up, you! I thought you killed her!” the crying girl bit back.

“Yeah, I also thought I was gonna die. But don’t worry, I’m fine,” Jessica said as she patted Hecate’s shoulder.

It still felt really strange to see them being so friendly with each other, even though Flame knew they had to at least be acquaintances as fellow demon generals.

“Why are the magical girls here…?” the demon lord broke in, his deep voice reverberating in the small room they were in.

Even though there was no bite in his voice, Flame still tensed, ready for a fight. From the corner of the eye, she saw Jessica going stiff as well as she eyed the man.

Flame could only imagine what was going through her head at the moment. After all, he had ripped away her demonic spirit and subjected her to a lot of pain. Even if it had been for the sake of keeping up the act in front of the other demons, Flame didn’t doubt Jessica still held a grudge against the demon lord.

Flame sure as heck did and she was usually pretty forgiving.

“That’s because we need them,” Jessica finally answered as she finally untangled herself from Hecate.

“For the ritual, you mean…?” There was a hint of accusation in his tone. “Is it really going to be safe?”

“Right…” she nodded to herself. “I guess I should explain everything. Fill everyone in on the details.” She turned to the magical girls. “You remember the story Frost heard from her moms right?”

The four nodded.

“So you know about Trish falling into a coma and the fifth weapon prototype going out of control as your predecessors escaped the demon realm?”

Another nod.

“Well, here’s the kicker,” Jessica began as she walked further back into the room, Flame just now realizing that there was a bed with an unconscious girl back there. “Initially, the prototype was a pseudo-fifth weapon and Trish became its wielder… which just so happened to coincide with her beginning to lose her attunement to the Cinder Blade.” She motioned to the sword Flame was holding.

“Initially?”

Jessica hummed as she stood in front of the comatose girl. “Back then, the prototype still wasn’t fully usable, that was why Baugh and the first gen didn’t know she was actually swapping attunement rather than losing it completely. So they had the idea of recharging Trish’s magic using the prototype. First once in a while, and eventually everyday.”

She turned to them, her expression grim. “But the magical weapons and their attuned individuals are actually pretty similar in nature. The weapons are just… more, I guess,” Jessica waved her hand in the air, failing to come up with the right word. “And as Trish transferred more of its magic into herself… well…”

“She became the fifth weapon, and the weapon became her wielder,” the demon lord finished to which Jessica nodded.

Flame’s eyes widened. A person became the weapon?

“But the weapons are special. You probably noticed that they never get scratched, never get stained, and can never break. They are… you could almost say, eternal.”

Frost let out a gasp. “That’s why she fell into a coma? And why she’s never aged?”

“Being the weapon is overwhelming for the mind, that’s why the coma. And she hasn’t aged because she’s the weapon.” Jessica shrugged. “That’s our running theory, at least.”

“And when the disaster happened–” the demon lord said, his voice but a whisper. “-- the prototype was destroyed and both me and Hecate were made into wielders.”

The room went silent as the group took that in.

“Wait but… you said that you would try to make yourself into the fifth weapon. Wouldn’t that just make you fall into an eternal coma instead?” Flame asked, concern creeping into her tone.

“Yup, that’s the danger.” Her friend gave her a wry smile. “But I think I found a workaround.” She turned around to look at Trish again. “You see, while the weapons are… eternal, so to speak, the wielders are the opposite. They represent change, in a way.”

“You mean our transformation?” Spark asked. “Or the way the wielders change?”

Jessica hummed thoughtfully. “Maybe that too, but I was more thinking about how you magical girls transform the magic to do your bidding.” She looked up, straight into Baugh’s eyes. “Anyway, the workaround I was talking about? I need to become both the weapon and its wielder. That way, they might cancel each other out and I might not fall into a coma.”

“Might?!” Hecate asked in alarm.

Jessica shrugged again. “It might not work. I don’t know. It’s our best bet, though.”

Flame clenched her fists. Of course, Jessica had mentioned dangers to herself for performing the ritual. But that didn’t mean she had to like it.

Hecate also seemed to be torn. It couldn’t be easy having to choose between her friend and her own mom.

“I… see,” the demon lord slowly said. “That still doesn’t explain why the magical girls are here, however.”

“I was getting to that.” She rolled her eyes. “Now… Let’s talk about the magical girl weapons now.” She pointed at them. “As you know, Earth traditionally has only four seasons.” She tilted her head. “Well, some regions have different numbers of them and even different seasons entirely… but all those are actually incorporated into the four main streams of energy when it comes to the weapons.”

“Oh, yeah,” Bloom spoke up. “My wand mainly represents Spring, but it also includes the rainy and wet seasons.” She looked at Spark. “And your bow is mainly Autumn, but also covers the hurricane and tornado seasons.”

“Huh? There’s more seasons on Earth?” Hecate asked, surprised.

“That’s right. Other parts of the world have different seasons, but all of them are represented within the four weapons,” Jessica explained before tilting her head. “So, what the heck is the fifth weapon supposed to represent?”

Jessica dramatically paused as the magical girls exchanged a thoughtful look.

“Well… I don’t know, actually,” Jessica finally said. “I do have three theories right now, however.” She raised her hand and stuck out her index finger. “One, it represents the void. Also known as… the season that came before Earth’s existence.”

“What do you… Wait, you mean like… the ‘season’ of outer space?!” Spark shrieked. “That’s insane!”

Jessica shrugged. “It’s also a time period just like the other seasons and it was in effect while none of the others were. And also, it being void would explain its tendency to suck and absorb magic from everything.”

Spark blinked as her mouth hung open. “... huh.”

“... and your other theories?” Flame tried.

Jessica sighed. “My second theory is that it represents the demon world’s seasons, and, along with the rest of the weapons, is supposed to serve as a connection between the two worlds. That would explain why it’s so different and so powerful, because it’s the power of all the demon world’s seasons crammed into one weapon.”

“Those were the two theories we were considering,” the demon lord said before giving Jessica a meaningful look. “What’s your last theory then?”

“The third theory is that the fifth weapon serves as a sort of… hub, or maybe a manager of sorts for the other four weapons.” She shrugged. “That’s why, even though technically Baugh and Hecate are the wielders, they can’t actually draw on the power and transform like you. It would also explain why the magical girls’ attunements keep fading – because there’s something wrong with the thing that’s supposed to manage the weapons.”

The demon lord hummed.

“And that’s why they are here then? To test this third theory?”

“Well, that too I guess..” Jessica shrugged. “It’s mostly because two of the three theories say that the fifth weapon is connected to the four in some way, so having them here for the ritual is probably a good idea.”

“I see…” The demon lord gave a slow nod. “Then… Are we ready to go through with the ritual?” He looked around, meeting the eyes of everyone in the room, before his gaze landed back on Jessica.

Jessica took a deep breath and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, they held a hint of fatigue and resignation.

“Let’s fucking do it, I guess.”