Magical Girl Pretty Advent

Ten years ago on a certain night, the rural town of Kokkuri was completely destroyed. The sight of ruin can be seen in every corner of the small town, leaving almost nothing but rubbles of what were once houses, shops, and several countable tall buildings. Some of the more stern buildings had their wall cracked and their windows shattered. What once was a town prospering in agriculture section had been engulfed in looming wall of flame.

Among the ruins, a young girl by the name of Haruka Kudo stood still on a certain road in the formerly shopping district. Her eyes gazed at the horror unfolding before her. She could do nothing but stare helplessly at the ruin of her beloved town. Occasionally, her b.a.r.e feet stepped on the pebbles of the ruined buildings, yet she kept walking as if there was no more hope in her. Sometimes the girl wished that she would be awake to figure out it was all merely a nightmare, but the wound all over her body constantly reminded her that everything around her is as real as the pain she felt both in her body and her mind.

A ghastly wail came from the sky, and the girl turned her attention toward it.

Her scarlet eyes meet the crimson eyes of what could only be defined as an abominable monstrosity. The sky formed a gigantic dark vortex as if it tore through the atmosphere itself, and from said vortex emerged a monstrous being. The beast is shrouded by the dark cloud around it, but the lightning which flashed around it allows the girl to discern its form from the dark sky. It took the form of a humongous humanoid being. Its eyes are maliciously shining in blood red and a pair of devilish horn stretched from its head. She also noticed another humanoid figure on the beast's head, yet she could not figure out anything out of it other than the fact that said figure is standing on the beast's head between its horns, with both her hands chained to the horns.

The girl did not let go of the eye contact as a familiar fear engulfed her body. She could feel her body shivered and her legs weakened.

Haruka knew that she was going to die.

A strong gust of wind forebodes the Armageddon the horned beast about to bring. The wind twist around the young girl as the beast opened its mouth. From the mouth, a gigantic orb of energy formed, causing lightning to shot out from it.

One gaze of it and Haruka could see her end incoming.

And yet that end did not come. A gigantic lance made out of gold pierced through the beast's head before it even managed to release its power. The lance exploded in a bright gold light, sending a shockwave throughout the sky. The shockwave even reached the girl eleven kilometers away from the epicenter of the explosion.

That one strike sent the beast to its demise.

Haruka, wounded and tattered, silently watched the dark cloud slowly dissipate and reveal the full moon once more. Yet she did not get to enjoy the view as fatigue finally took a toll on her.

The last thing she saw was a red-haired angel-like woman in brilliant golden armor landed before her as if she had descended from heaven itself.

"Mother…"

It was Haruka's last word before her vision went black as her body collapsed.

---

Exactly ten years later on a certain morning within a certain house in Kokkuri, Haruka woke up in sweat as the alarm in her clock ringed in a loud and disturbing noise.

Haruka, now a fine teenager in her early high school age, immediately slammed her clock to turn the alarm off. Her head was dizzy from the sudden awakening and she tried her best to calm her headache down.

"What was that even…" Haruka mumbled, trying her best to remember her dream. The scene of destruction in her dream was similar to that of Kokkuri's shopping district, but she couldn't recall any event of destruction ever occurred there, let alone a supernatural one. The weirdest of all is the fact that she saw her mother in that dream.

Perhaps it isn't a memory, but an omen? Haruka briefly considered that option.

In any case, Haruka got up from her bed and took a glance toward a mirror by her wardrobe. Her tomboyish hair was ruined by the bad sleep.

"Ugh, so much for trying to keep my hair tidy." Haruka muttered in frustration as she gazed at the reflection of her bright red hair, "And I wasted a lot of money for this too…"

Haruka decided to ignore it for now and get out of the room. She was about to head to the bathroom before she smelled something nice from the kitchen.

"Omelet!"

As Haruka peeked toward the kitchen, she can see that her mother was indeed making two omelets for both of them.

"Haruka, good morning." Greeted Haruka's mother, Natsuko Kudo, before she quickly turned back to her cooking. "Oops, almost ruined it."

Haruka only chuckled at her mother's antic.

"Mine is without green pepper, right?" Asked Haruka.

"Of course." Answered Natsuko cheerfully just as she finished her cooking.

"Got it." Haruka was about to leave, but then she turned back to her mother, "By the way, I might come home a little bit late today."

"Why is that?" Asked Natsuko.

"Touji-san had just moved to this town yesterday, and she wanted to have a tour around this city."

"Touji-san… as in Maru Touji-san, Haruka-chan's online friend?"

"Yes, that one." Confirmed Haruka before she looked at the clock in the family room, "Anyway, I'm going to cleanse myself first if you don't mind."

"Sure, go ahead." Said Natsuko.

Haruka merely nodded at her mother's reply before she left the kitchen, once again leaving the middle-aged woman by herself.

Natsuko sighed as she turned her attention back to her cooking. Despite her initial impression of gentleness, her face clearly showed some sort of concern. As she cooked the two omelets, Natsuko occasionally glanced at a golden ring with a ruby on it which she wore on the ring finger of her right hand.

"It's been ten years…" Natsuko muttered before she flipped the omelets and noticed that both of them had been cooked to perfection. "Ah, just about time."

---

It took Haruka about five minutes to wash her face and another ten minutes to change her pajama into her high school uniform. To her surprise, she still had time to have breakfast with her mother.

Haruka quickly headed toward the dining room, tempted by the delicious smell of her mother's omelets.

"Ah, Haruka-chan. Breakfast's ready." Natsuko greeted with a smile before her expression turned into a concern, "Are you sure you won't be late, having breakfast at home and all?"

"It's alright. The school isn't that far anyway." Haruka assured as she sat on one of the chairs.

"That's good." Said Natsuko, sitting on the chair at the opposite end of Haruka's chair. She proceeded to clap her hands in praying motion. "In any case, thank you for the meal!"

"Thank you for the meal!" Haruka followed before she took the first bite.

While at first glance the breakfast seemed like it's going to be peaceful, something nagged Haruka's mind in the middle of the feast. Her mind briefly wondered about her father which she had never seen since her childhood.

And when she finished her breakfast, Haruka decided to ask her mother about it.

"Mom, what kind of person father is?"

"Huh? Where did that come from?" Natsuko asked back just as she finished her meal.

"I don't know. It just came to my head all of the sudden." The young girl shrugged.

"Well, he is a great man for one." Natsuko closed her eyes, recalling the memories of her youth. "You know, the type of man that every woman d.e.s.i.r.e."

"Hmm… was he really that charming?" Haruka smirked as she rested her head on her right hand.

Natsuko's first response was blushing while shaking with excitement.

"You really should see him when he was in the high school's swimming club!" Said Natsuko in the middle of her excitement.

Haruka immediately sweatdropped at the response.

"Yeah, I'm not going to imagine that." Said Haruka before she decided to continue the topic, "So, what happened to him? I remember mom said something along the line of 'he'll return someday' or something like that when I was younger, but…"

Haruka briefly lowered her head as she thought of the words that she would speak before looking back at her mother.

"What I'm trying to say is, where did he go, and when will he return?"

Natsuko merely gazed at her daughter with a gentle stare for a while. Looking at Haruka like this reminded her of the old times when the girl before her was younger and much more innocent. Even back then, Haruka would often ask about her father's whereabouts. Back then, if Haruka asked such question all Natsuko could say is merely a reassurance that her father will return to them.

However, looking at the present Haruka, the mother realized that such answer would not satisfy her.

"I'm sorry, Haruka. To be honest, not even mom know where is he right now."

"What do you mean?" Asked Haruka in confusion.

"Your father is the kind of person who enjoys taking a journey to unknown places." Natsuko said before she sighed in irritation, "I'm surprised he actually managed to conceive me before he went on his journey."

"I-I see…" Haruka responded to her mother's answer, although it sounded more like she was just trying to respond half-heartedly.

"Oh well. He might be an adventurous one, but he is by no means a bad person." Natsuko muttered as if she was talking to herself. "At most, he only failed as a father."

Haruka cannot even reply to that comment. In fact, she wasn't sure what her mother just implied. For her, it sounded like Natsuko tried to convince her daughter not to think ill of her father.

Honestly, Haruka could care less. She had never met her father anyway.

"Anyway, isn't it about time for you to head to school, Haruka?"

"Oh, right!" Haruka quickly responded and stood from her chair. She turned her head toward Natsuko once more before leaving.

"Let's save the conversation for another time, mom." Said the redhead teenager before she rushed toward her room.

"Anytime you want, Haruka." Answered Natsuko slightly shouting.

---

"I'll be going!"

The morning was cold. It was cold enough that dews had formed on Haruka's bicycle. Even so, Haruka still rode the bicycle barehanded, with her having been immune to the cold weather Kokkuri town offered every morning at any season.

As Haruka went down the steep hill, Natsuko watched from her house with a slightly concerned face. It's not that Haruka had often caused trouble in her school. Her grades back in middle school were above average, her body is fit enough thanks to her constant indulgence in sports, and her friends said that Haruka is a sociable person. What's more, the high school she had chosen to attend is Shintei High School, which Natsuko herself used to attend when she was as young as Haruka and one of the best school in the town.

Natsuko was concerned for something completely different.

Still, as the sight of the youngster in bicycle slowly disappeared from her eyes, Natsuko could only wish Haruka the best. She cannot protect her forever, but Natsuko believed in her sole daughter that she'd be able to solve the incoming problems by herself.

Unaware of the gaze that her mother gave to her from far away, Haruka lunged on the road, skillfully maneuvered the road if necessary.

That is until she stopped by a railway. A train was about to pass through from the north.

"Train? At times like these?" Haruka wondered as she observed the train. It was rare for a train coming from the north to come in morning, or anytime before 9 AM to be broad about it.

As Haruka waited for the train to pass by, a rather luxurious car stopped by her. It was a metallic black car, but the window is completely see through. Granted, Haruka didn't feel like she should peek on the car and its owner, so she merely avoided gazing at it as best as she could.

Eventually, the train passed by safely. Haruka quietly sighed in relief before she was about to ride her bicycle again.

Before she could continue her journey toward her new school, however, something strange occured. The bright, comfortable surrounding around her turned into an eerie sight. The sky turned green, and the lighting around her radiated ominous purple lights.

Haruka quickly closed her eyes and shook her head, thinking that she was merely daydreaming or it was all her imagination. She soon learned that everything around her was very real.

Standing on the other side of the railway is a young woman, seemingly in her mid-twenties. She has a long black hair in hime cut and wore dominantly violet dress. Her eyes are crimson-colored with a sharp gaze. Both her hands carried a dark purple parasol.

Despite the gaze the woman in violet gave her, Haruka merely responded her gaze with another fearless stare.

"Umm, excuse me?" Haruka asked, not sure what the woman wanted. However, the moment she finished her question, the black-haired woman grinned blissfully. It was as if the woman had finally found something she had been looking for eternity.

"Hello, young girl." Said the woman as she extended her arms toward Haruka.

"My name is Fuyu, and I bid you welcome to the True World."

Haruka's face twisted in confusion at her greetings.