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I guess I wasn’t really good at thinking, “It doesn’t matter.”

Having a good friend meant I should feel content, yet I worked at Noir Corporation, and even with the existence of Magical Girls and the concept of Magic, living in a world where environmental issues were significantly resolved, I was still filled with dissatisfaction.

To just overlook all of that raised a huge question about the entity that threw me into this world.

What am I even capable of in this world? What do I need to do to prove myself?

What can I do to become a better person than the protagonist of this world?

“……”

Only now do I slowly realize that those thoughts were truly inconsequential.

I’ve never been a better person. I can’t become one, either. Compared to the reasons these Magical Girls fight, my reasons are purely personal and emotional.

But.

“Is this a hassle?”

I gripped the Hammer tightly.

The back of the hammerhead splintered, and a surge of power scattered. It wasn’t quite the power of that energy sphere over there, but still, my energy wasn’t something easily ignored either.

“Probably you’re the one with the hassle.”

I could hear the wind within the spaceship.

It wasn’t the wind coming from outside. That gust was generated by my movement.

The Chairman, who was far away, suddenly came closer. A dazzling light consumed my vision—

Thud.

My hammer suddenly stopped midway.

It seems the Chairman wasn’t a fake as he was on the bridge earlier. If he were, there would have been no reason for him to block my hammer.

“You’re foolish.”

Anger was evident in the Chairman’s voice.

“Do you think I’d engage with you without any preparation? That’s a bit disappointing.”

Even using all my strength to push the hammer forward, it was slowly being pushed back. As though it were being blocked by something solid but invisible.

It was the flow of light.

It was too bright to say it was made by refining Despair.

Countless beams of light were streaming out of that light mass.

Among those shimmering beams, one slender column of light was caught on my hammer, pushing it backward.

“You guys… Yeah. Killing you would be troublesome. Your energy is quite intriguing, after all. If you had just been a dog of the Federation without knowing anything, I wouldn’t have bothered you, but now the Federation is pulling back as if to distance itself. You must be wondering which side will win and whose energy is superior.”

The Chairman seemed to reach out to me, just below my chin—

Crunch.

And the tip of his finger went straight into my mouth.

“What!?”

Perhaps he didn’t think I would do such a thing; the Chairman quickly tried to pull his hand back, but my grip was already too tight.

Crack.

A weird sound echoed from between my bones.

“Ugh, ugh!?”

In the end, I couldn’t sever the Chairman’s finger. But the finger forcibly pulled out from my mouth was stained bright red. No blood flowed; it was just for a moment.

Or maybe it was just because his skin was red, so it didn’t show properly. Well, at least I couldn’t feel blood in my mouth.

Spit.

Even so, having someone else’s body part in my mouth was far from a pleasant experience.

As I spat it out, my vision flipped.

Air rushed out from my lungs, preventing me from screaming. Something large and heavy seemed to jam into my stomach, sending me sprawling back onto the floor.

What followed was a barrage of light.

Like something I had thought about after watching our—Magical Girls fight several times, the magic Jua used fell down like rain. Ji-hye hurriedly interjected through us to deflect the magic.

“This has gotten way more complicated than I thought.”

Rose clicked her tongue and rushed forward.

The Chairman clearly had no intention of fighting alone. The floor opened up, and walls split apart. It wasn’t that monsters were pouring out, but something from within those structures came bursting out.

The cascades of light raining down were all emerging from cannon-like shapes.

As Jua shot at them, covering us, Dalia and Delphinium blew up the obstacles near the leading Rose.

“Ugh…”

I forced myself up to survey the situation.

“Ji-eun!?”

As I managed to raise myself a bit, Ha-yoon rushed over, shouting. With her help, I got on my feet—

“…That’s it.”

“It’s Magic. A magic utilizing overwhelming energy. If each of you exerts the strength of a single person, what kind of power could a being that extracts this much energy from Earthlings wield?”

James spoke.

“Hmph.”

The Chairman’s body was clad in armor.

At a glance, it looked like a design of plate armor, but seeing that enormous energy and the way it seemed to weave like silk freshly spun by a cocoon, it was clear that it wasn’t just a single plate; it was intricately woven.

Armor made purely from magical power.

Thinking of how the magic enveloping our bodies absorbs shocks, it’s hard to even imagine just how formidable that armor could be.

“Ugh.”

Moreover, I knew for sure we had just received some punches. The reason to be cautious of the Chairman now wasn’t just the armor.

Like the armor was made purely from magical power and thus formidable, whatever attacks he had—though I didn’t know what they were—were strong as well.

“Ji-eun…”

Ha-yoon looked at me with worry in her eyes.

I gazed at Ha-yoon’s face intently for a moment.

“…Ji-eun?”

Ha-yoon asked, confused.

I reached out with one hand and hugged her waist.

“Ah.”

Ha-yoon let out a little sound as she was pulled closer to me. Adorable.

Pink hair with pink eyes. If I had seen someone like that in the world I lived in, I would have thought they were dressed too fancily.

But the Ha-yoon I met in this world wasn’t like that. It was hard to believe there was any part of her that seemed overly extravagant; she was almost perfect.

And strangely enough, despite being so perfect, she had parts that were entirely lacking, yet she couldn’t possibly abandon me.

“Ji-eun…”

Even though she realized what I was thinking, Ha-yoon didn’t run away. Instead, she pulled her dog closer and blushed.

“Is it okay?”

Strength.

I needed strength.

Although I still had no idea what kind of strength it was, I couldn’t be sure even after hearing Ha-yoon and Ji-hye talk, but anyway—my strength flared fiercely every time I matched lips with the other girls.

Whether it was purely for the ugly desire or because of the love that Ha-yoon proclaimed, I couldn’t tell.

Still, even if it were because of love, that didn’t mean I would be able to be just a good person.

While pulling Ha-yoon strongly toward me, I pressed my lips against hers.

Even in this situation, and even after all those experiences, the feeling of kissing was painfully vivid. So vivid, it felt like it was completely detached from the surrounding situation.

I quickly pulled back and took a step back.

I could feel my heart racing like crazy. We had been friends for so long, yet it felt like this. Ha-yoon seemed to be in a similar state, her face very flushed.

But that face was smiling. Brightly.

The wand in Ha-yoon’s hand glimmered. The pink light of the blade was burning dangerously bright.

“…Let’s go.”

“Okay!”

Ha-yoon cheerfully exclaimed in response to my words.

In this situation, too.

It must be because she doesn’t know my thoughts. Later, after everything is over and when we talk about it, I couldn’t tell what expression Ha-yoon would make.

But for now, I guess it really doesn’t matter.

For the time being, winning is the most important thing.

If there’s no stage for the ensuing complex human relationships to unfold, then it really wouldn’t matter.

Let’s do what Magical Girls must do.

Here, protecting the Earth was what a Magical Girl was supposed to do.

*

Ha-yoon always bore unease in her heart.

She was anxious that the person she loved might not love her back as much as she loved him.

Anyone could think such things, but not everyone could completely rid themselves of those thoughts.

Ha-yoon loved being with Ji-eun. She had a good time with other friends, that is, her fellow Magical Girls, but it wasn’t the kind of feeling she could get when she was with Ji-eun.

Just having her by her side was comforting, and for some reason, she felt everything would be all right; that, it would all turn out fine.

Whenever they met outside of school, it was always a delight, and as they played together like that, she dreadfully didn’t want to return home.

Perhaps because of that, recently, Ha-yoon held onto bad thoughts.

She wished that the time spent living in the same place would continue indefinitely.

And that wish was nothing less than wishing this situation wouldn’t end.

Surely, Ha-yoon’s parents must be worried back home too. Although she hardly contacted them due to being cautious, Ha-yoon knew her parents loved her in their own way.

Yet still, Ha-yoon’s desire was always for Ji-eun.

In her very early years, it was as a friend. Always playing together, longing for a friend to play with one-on-one.

And after realizing her feelings—

That’s why, when Ji-eun hugged her waist, Ha-yoon’s heart nearly leaped out of her chest.

Though they had kissed several times already, Ji-eun rarely took the initiative to come closer.

Thus, she felt just happy beyond measure, regardless of the situation.

It seemed Ji-eun accepted the situation and acknowledged that it gave her power.

Once this was over, it felt like they would be able to maintain such a relationship from now on.

“…I see.”

Ha-yoon murmured softly to herself.

So, this situation must lead to a ‘happy ending.’

Everyone must be able to return safely for the story afterward to continue.

Hope was so close, it felt like she could touch it.

*

Lights traced trajectories.

Both the Magical Girls and the entity wielding the power of Despair used light as a force.

White and white, along with numerous other colors.

Among them, if there was a color that stood out the most, it was the pink light.

It wasn’t merely a standout color. The pink light also followed up with white light.

Compared to the white sphere in the center of the vast space, it was a white light, fresh like the first snow that no one had stepped on. If the colored lights following the white light weren’t visible, that would be the real oddity.

“Ugh!?”

The opponent, who had been confident until just a little while ago, was barely managing to deflect attacks, looking perplexed about how to respond to the intense movements.

“You’ve never learned how to fight until now, have you?”

The girl with black hair asked incredulously.

“You…!”

“Well, I suppose it makes sense, considering you’ve never been to the bottom. Judging from the way you’re concocting production plans, you’ve never cared about or empathized with the thoughts of those below you.”

“What’s the problem with that?”

Clang.

As I struck the hammer against her sword, the Chairman shouted out.

“It’s only natural for a few to suffer a little if the rest can live wonderfully!”

“If that few can’t hold weapons and fight, then what’s the issue? I’ll admit that.”

This world isn’t perfect.

Even if there’s a concept of justice, it doesn’t reach everyone.

But.

“If you want to talk about pigs and hogs, go ahead.”

The girl with black hair, Ji-eun, said with a smile.

Her eyes were darkened from fatigue, and her skin bore various bumps and scratches from impacts. Her white dress was similarly stained in reds and blacks, making it hard to even call her a magical girl from a girls’ comic.

But at the same time.

Her face, which was ridiculously smiling with pride, was oddly illuminated.

“But sadly, they can’t negotiate with us, can they? Moreover, it seems like nowadays they are seeking animal rights, or whatever. Above all—”

The girl raised her hammer.

With a stance that seemed to say she could smash everything to pieces and believing that she could, her confidence overflowed.

“—They can’t be Magical Girls.”

Just before she swung down the hammer, the girl tilted her head slightly to the side.

“Oh, thinking about it, it seems that you can’t either.”

Then laughing joyously, she swung the hammer down with all her might.

Bang!

Once again, the hammer failed to break that white armor, halting in mid-air.

But it appeared that she was aware of this as well, raising and slamming the hammer repeatedly. As if she were inexhaustible.

Crack, crick.

And the common sense that the being clad in that white armor had begun to crumble little by little.

“I—I can’t believe this!”

“Of course, this is possible.”

Ji-eun said.

“What do you think is the reason that those monsters are so heavily loaded here?”

Bang.

“And you’ve released all those monsters.”

Bang.

“Of course, the power that should have originally belonged to this ship cannot be intact.”

“And besides, you’ve made that armor out of that power.”

The vivid pink light that had been following the bright light emerged.

On her face, there was a bright smile, as if she couldn’t comprehend how good this was.

The pink sword advanced slowly.

“Wait…!”

The Chairman shouted as he tried to rise, but what fell above him was a gigantic hammer.

Thud!

“Ugh!?”

The Chairman fell back to the floor again as the sword moved in between.

Tap.

The thread that connected the Chairman’s armor and the energy sphere broke one by one, like a thin silk thread.

It produced a beautiful sound as if an instrument made of fine threads were being played.

With each strand broken, the light from the Chairman’s armor slowly faded.

Bang!

Clutch crunch.

And as that line disappeared, the scratches on the Chairman’s body grew larger.

Bang!

And once again, as the hammer struck down with force—

“Ugh!?”

Blood gushed from the Chairman’s mouth, completely different from the previous finger incident, a bright red.

“Trying to do that with someone else’s power leads to this.”

Ji-eun said.

“This energy and this spaceship—none of it truly belongs to you, does it? Honestly, you were probably planning to research it a bit more, weren’t you? The circuits and the spaceship—you wanted to research it and dig up the data to definitively claim it as your own.”

Ji-eun teased, as the Chairman glared at her, grinding his teeth and bleeding.

The surrounding situation began to untangle.

The purple Magical Girl calmly sniped one long-range weapon after another, while mechanical arms rushing from all sides were being blocked by the green Magical Girl.

The other Magical Girls were the same. The sound of machinery breaking filled the area.

“…Give up. At least you won’t die.”

“Nonsense.”

I could tolerate any other comment.

Even the foot trampling down on him. Compared to what the Chairman had experienced until now, it was nothing.

The condescending words were the same. I had heard that sort of thing many times before.

But still, I couldn’t tolerate the words asking me to give up.

How had we come this far?

How had we waited through all this time to get here—

—Right, in the end, it’s because of that girl.

Suddenly jumping out to extract the efficiency of the Despair circuit all alone, altering the way the Chairman conducted his research because of her.

The Federation became overly wary of the existence of Magical Girls and began to hesitate in purchasing the technology.

It led to the complete ending of trade relations with countries they had previously exchanged with.

So.

“…Yeah, it’s all your fault.”

“Hmm?”

At the suddenly calm tone of the Chairman, Ji-eun, the girl with black hair, blinked.

“So yeah. I must definitely kill you. Since you’ve already failed anyway.”

The Chairman smiled and slashed at his own body with the sword he held.

At the very spot Ji-eun was standing on.

*

“Wait, hey, hold on!?”

I swung my hammer wildly in a hurry, but the Chairman’s lower body had already cleanly sliced off.

Blood didn’t gush out. Was it the sword giving off that level of heat?

The upper half that separated from the lower half twitched and moved as if it wouldn’t be strange for it to shock to death from the pain.

No matter how the Magical Girls fought, it was impossible to remain unfazed at such a horrific sight.

In that instant, the Chairman moved something.

“…Ah!”

An eerie sensation like falling hit me, and my feet lifted into the air.

“Did you turn off the gravity module!?”

Cherry shouted.

Before I could even steady my balance, the Chairman pushed both hands onto the floor.

And with force, almost as if pulling himself, he raised his arms.

Ha-yoon and I reacted too late.

Before we could do anything, the Chairman had already entered that glowing sphere, as if being swallowed by it.

In that moment, the first thought that crossed my mind was.

Monsters.

Right. They were monsters.

I didn’t know how to create Earthling monsters.

But at least, there was already a theory about why aliens become monsters.

Those who have had their bodies transformed by overwhelming magical power, they say.

So, what if an alien, which is itself a mass of magical power, were to get inside?

What kind of conclusion would it reach—

Before I could come to any conclusion in my head, the black ink suddenly entered the white sphere.

In that instant, the lights in the room flickered.

Something horrifying seemed to be emerging from beyond.

 

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