The Bounty Hunter

May 1st, 2090

It has been a month since Pandemonium’s April Fool’s Joke from Hell and its subsequent defeat.  After Dante’s death, the remaining demons were found and eradicated personally by me.  All 666 members are dead, something I verified repeatedly by extracting memories from every member I came across.  The Sino faction has been thwarted and dissolved, with China losing its position on the Council of Nine due to its sudden decline in national power.  This was in no small part due to me and the girls.  After securing Tokyo, we rapidly appeared throughout the country to eliminate the invaders alongside the JSDF and US reinforcements.  China was completely crippled as a result.  The various small countries were quickly defeated without China’s support and World War 4 thus lasted for less than a month, although the unrest in Zaire continues.

Nevertheless, casualty estimates put the number of dead in Japan at 2.1 million.  This was over a single night.  The country was devastated by the death toll, although it’s recovering thanks to the influx of foreign aid.  Casualties from the rest of the Sino faction’s uprising was estimated to be around 1 million total.  This included the decimation of China’s military during its invasion.  Speaking of which, initial Council of Eight investigations have revealed that the ruling party and military of China was completely brainwashed by Pandemonium.  They were very thorough, working their way from the Secretary himself down to the lowliest private.  It was likely a project they were working on since the beginning of their inception.  With the majority of the military dead and the entire political establishment compromised, democratic advocates quickly took control of China. 

Pandemonium’s secret take-over of China caused the world to revise their view of them.  The strong resentment due to China’s involvement in the Cyber Plague dissipated, and they were no longer isolated from the global community.  With the notable exception of Japan, for obvious reasons.  The new government of China was quick to agree to large reparations to Japan for the damage they caused, but that was nowhere near enough for the Japanese to forgive them.  Sure, they were controlled by Pandemonium, but the wound was still too fresh for public opinion in Japan to be anything but unfriendly and hostile towards China.

Magic has been irreversibly revealed to the world at large, with an endless amount of personal video recorded of the Battle for Tokyo in addition to footage from various spy satellites.  Fortunately, when Dante turned into a Demon King his aura was potent enough to passively interfere with those same spy satellites, meaning that my identity as Rin Yamamoto is still safe.  Kira, Veronica, and Hikari were all caught on camera.  My decision for them to turn off their illusion artifacts actually worked in their favor, since no one recognized them.  Hikari may be asked about it, but the differences between her old and new form are prominent enough that she can say it’s a coincidence.

Irene and Rin were also caught on camera, which wasn’t a problem either.  I gave Irene an illusion artifact, and Rin was never seen in her human form.  She also gained her fifth tail during the battle, much to her delight.  The real problem was Reiji.  Irene was the first to find him after the battle, since her crash site was near where he had passed out.  The idiot had thrown himself into the battle in order to rescue whoever he could while openly using magic to do so. 

And if that wasn’t enough, he somehow came into possession of Liberator and the 5 Chains of Adligo.  Or should I say Chain of Adligo, since the 5 chains apparently fused and were in fact Liberator’s sheathe.  The sword Liberator seemed to remember me, given how it flared up in dislike as I approached it.  If it weren’t for its new owner being best friends with me, I was worried the blade would have attacked me.

I did my best to destroy any recorded evidence the onlookers gathered, but they were still a couple of blurry videos on the internet that showed Reiji’s heroic last stand against the demons and Jumbo.  Thankfully/amusingly, everyone is convinced that Reiji is a girl based on those videos.  I gave Reiji an illusion artifact just in case someone ever recognized him.  At least the fool got our parents out of harm’s way.  I retrieved them before they woke up, and they were none the wiser.  Miraculously, I managed to keep everyone from getting exposed as magic users, fantasy species, etc.  Only Princess Vivian and King William knew I was involved, and I put a curse of secrecy on them both.  So even if they try to reveal my existence, they physically won’t be able to.  I also removed the knowledge that I was Rin from their minds, finally discovering a better way to alter memories. 

That’s not to say the Council of Eight and the rest of the world are not frantically searching for the “Magical Girls of Tokyo”.  Yes, that was the name that stuck, much to Reiji’s and my dismay and everyone else’s amusement.  Research has also begun into magic, although I doubt anything will come of it.  There have been public outcries for and against magic, a debate which has become extremely divisive.  Some, like the otaku population, are delighted.  They believe that it will launch a new era in human history.  Others are horrified, some to the point where they’d be happy to lead an Inquisition level witch hunt and eliminate the threat of magic users from the world at large.

School has been cancelled for the rest of the year, meaning summer break has come early for us.  I am relishing in this newfound peace, relieved to no longer be concerned about Pandemonium at last.  I can enjoy naughty time with my harem, train Reiji in swordplay, and just relax.  My worries are all gone, and unlike last time, there are no potential loose ends.  I will finally be able to enjoy a normal high school life.  Well, normal for me at least.  A familiar golden summoning circle appeared beneath me as I was headed to bed.  Considering that each of my previous two visits resulted in me gaining payment that either saved my life or someone else’s, I answered the summons eagerly.  Surely nothing crazy is going to happen on this summoning, right?

END OF ARC 2:  RISE OF PANDEMONIUM