Chapter 10
WEEEE-OOO―――!!!
"There it goes again…. I'll be back."
"Ah, wait, I'll come with you…!"
She's already gone.
"She could've waited just a little…."
I let out a deep sigh, sat on the edge of the bed, and turned on the TV.
The news was showing a city where a monster had appeared.
[A monster has appeared again today!! Everyone in the area, evacuate to the shelters immediately――Ah, look over there! The monster is moving!!]
At the spot the anchor aboard the helicopter pointed toward, a grotesquely twisted bear was wandering around.
"Is it an animal again…."
There was something I always wondered whenever Yoo Seo-ah went out to hunt monsters.
Where did the monsters that appeared almost every day—eight days out of ten—come from?
It was a truly horrifying thought, but were they made by grinding people up as ingredients?
Or were they made by modifying real beasts?
If I'd read the whole novel, shouldn't I know?
…I don't. It's not that I don't remember; I genuinely don't know.
From the beginning, that damn author only threw out hints while indulging in misery porn with magical girls, and never paid off a single one.
If I divided this novel into plot progression and misery by percentage, it would be ninety-nine percent misery and one percent plot—it barely progressed at all.
In other words, why monsters appear, who makes them, information about the evil organization that was only hinted at in the original, and so on—all of it is something I have to figure out.
And even if I figure it all out, that doesn't mean I can go out and smash everything to pieces myself.
―Noble beings cannot interfere in human affairs!
The damn restriction the author imposed has me bound.
"Haa…."
This is why I want to accompany Yoo Seo-ah to the scene.
Because I feel like I might be able to find either a trace or a clue if I go there.
But whenever Yoo Seo-ah sees any sign that I'm about to head to the scene, she immediately takes off.
And she doesn't just take off—she leaves a shockwave in her wake, turning the room upside down.
At first, I thought it was an accident, but now I know it was deliberate.
The fact that she kills the monster and comes back while I'm tidying the room proves it one hundred percent.
"Do you really hate letting me go out that much?"
I'd told her it was all right and hugged her, but that didn't seem to be enough.
I suppose that wasn't enough for a girl who had been so starved for affection that she'd forgotten affection even existed.
This matters too, but I also have to find out where the monsters are coming from and think about the evil organization.
And as if that weren't enough, there are two other magical girls besides Yoo Seo-ah.
Of course, only two of them appeared in the work, but counting the magical girls who were merely hinted at, there are actually five, including Yoo Seo-ah.
"Ugh…. I should leave this for later."
I have far too much to do right now.
I don't even have the slightest idea where to begin.
"It can't be helped."
So for now, let's deal with the problem at hand first.
And that problem is….
[Look over there! It's Magical Girl Black!! Black has come to save us again today!!]
That's right—Yoo Seo-ah.
* * *
Today, too, I go out to kill a monster.
I don't hesitate. I don't waver.
Because an angel is waiting for me at home.
Because I now have an angel who understands me.
That's why I go out to kill a monster today, too.
To return to the angel's side as quickly as possible.
"Seo-ah, myong! Come to your senses, myong!"
While flying toward the monster's location, Myo-a popped out and started making a racket.
'Here we go again.'
Ever since I started living with the angel, Myo-a had started appearing whenever I went out to kill a monster.
No, Myo-a always came out, so that part wasn't unusual.
But it was extremely annoying that she made those strange remarks every time she appeared.
More to the point, what did she mean by telling me to come to my senses?
I was perfectly sane, so why was this thing treating me like I was crazy?
…No, she wasn't wrong. I was.
After killing so many living creatures and getting covered in blood and guts every day, there was no way I could be in my right mind.
I gave Myo-a a bitter smile, glanced at her, and answered.
"I'm in my right mind."
"No! Seo-ah isn't in her right mind, myong! Think about who Seo-ah is fighting for right now, myong!"
Myo-a subtly brought up the angel.
"If you're going to say something pointless, stay inside quietly. Don't get in my way."
"Seo-ah is a magical girl who fights for the citizens, not for the angel, myong!"
In the end, Myo-a couldn't hold back and mentioned the angel outright.
I had lost track of how many days it had been.
"Didn't you say that magical girls protect weak and powerless beings? The angel is weak and powerless too. So what's the difference?"
"It's different, myong!! Magical girls exist for 'everyone,' myong!! A magical girl who fights for only one person is…!"
"Everyone?"
Everyone….
Magical girls fight for everyone.
"Ha."
"Se, Seo-ah, myong…?"
I frowned at Myo-a, who blinked in apparent confusion.
―Think again about why Seo-ah wanted to become a magical girl, myong.
"Yes, you definitely said that."
For me, being told to remember why I became a magical girl meant
revisiting the memory of the day I wanted to forget.
―――….
The memory of that day surfaced at the mere thought of it, and I frowned.
If I'd been my old self, I would have put a cigarette to my lips the instant it came to mind, but not anymore.
'I can overcome it.'
Because someone believed in me.
I slowly steadied my breathing and opened my mouth.
"Because I didn't want to lose anyone, I became a magical girl."
"That's it, myong! Don't lose anyone! Wasn't that what you wanted, myong?!"
"Not anymore."
It's impossible not to lose anyone.
Saving everyone is obviously impossible.
I realized that obvious fact far too late.
No, I could only have realized it late.
Until then, I hadn't been able to find what I truly wanted.
But not anymore.
"From now on, I'll fight to protect the people precious to me."
My family and friends were all precious to me.
But when I was young, I naively thought that I didn't want to lose anyone.
I couldn't bear to see the precious people before my eyes disappear.
I couldn't bear to see the precious people who survived shed tears over those they'd lost.
If no one was lost, neither the people precious to me nor the people precious to them would disappear.
So I tried to save everyone.
As a result, I ended up losing everyone.
Because I tried to save everyone, I lost everyone.
"It was an overreaching wish. The burden was too much for me. So I won't make the same mistake again."
"Seo-ah…. myong…."
"If you understand, go inside quietly! Don't keep chattering beside me!"
I shouted, then picked up speed and flew on.
Following the unpleasant sensation that grated on my nerves, I arrived, as always, in the middle of the city.
This time, a bear-shaped monster was rampaging.
The one good thing was that, at least――
"Gwoooar!!"
"Aaaagh!!"
Crack!
Still…?
"Aaaah!!"
"S-save meeee!!"
Crack, crunch, crunch….
"My leg…. My leeeeg…. Guh…. Ggurgle…."
"When is the magical girl getting here already!!"
…What is this, exactly?
No…! This isn't the time…!!
"Lance Charging Mode!!"
I immediately accelerated and pierced through the monster's body.
As always, the monster's soft body burst apart in an instant when struck by the magical girl's weapon.
Patter―…Splatter!
As always, the monster's blood and guts spilled onto the ground.
I shrugged off the strange weight pressing on my shoulder, and someone's severed arm fell to the ground.
"Dad!! Daaad!!"
"Uweeek! Ugh, uweeek!!"
"Ugh…!"
"H-huaaah!! What is this!? What the hell is this…!!"
Covered from head to toe in blood, I slowly turned around.
People were vomiting as they looked at the fragments of those the monster had torn apart and chewed up.
No one was looking at me.
There were no cheers or praise like before.
There was nothing to hear or see but a scene of utter chaos.
Like Cinderella's magic when midnight strikes, the spell that had fooled everyone's eyes had worn off.
'Why did it turn out like this?'
"Why…! Why were you so late…!! Because of you, my dad…!!"
"Sob, sob…. Waaaaah! Mooooom!!"
Even though I'd killed the monster, the street was filled with despair, not hope.
Even though I'd killed the monster, the gazes turned on me were filled with nothing but blame and resentment, not expectation and admiration.
Whup-whup-whup―…
I slowly raised my head toward the sound of the helicopter overhead.
A television station's camera was pointed at me.
"…."
My mouth wouldn't open.
I couldn't say my usual line.
That was only natural; this situation was different from usual.
That was only natural; I was no longer the person I used to be.
Unable to say a word, I flew up into the sky.
I flew at full speed, tearing through the sky, to shake off every gaze that seemed to pursue me.
I outran sound.
I couldn't hear the voices blaming me or the people's screams.
There was only one voice I could hear.
"See? Didn't I tell you, myong? Magical girls are beings who fight for 'everyone,' myong."
It was only Myo-a's voice, reproaching me for the choice I'd made in the past.