Chapter 17: The Ever-Positive Angel Is in Charge of the Magical Girl's Mental Care

Binary Choice

Yoo Seo-ah is a strong magical girl.

This isn’t about her physical strength.

Of course, she’s quite powerful in that regard too, but what’s truly strong is her heart.

How many people could willingly step forward to protect others while suffering from horrific trauma?

How many people could endure nightmares that torment them every night, yet still quietly do what must be done?

That alone is already extraordinary.

But what truly shocked me was something else entirely.

It was that day—the day the spell clouding her eyes was lifted and she came face to face with her long-standing nightmares and despair.

Even in a situation where it wouldn't be strange for her to give up due to helplessness and have her heart broken, she didn't run away or pretend not to see it, as she had done before.

Instead, she faced it head-on, accepted it, and tried to solve the problem in her own way.

A magical girl with such a strong heart…

Why was it that she clung so desperately to just a single cigarette?

Because she had nothing else to rely on.

Because she needed to forget painful memories.

Because she couldn’t sleep without it.

Honestly, those are all understandable reasons.

But… I don’t think that’s the whole picture.

She had nothing else to rely on except cigarettes?

She couldn’t sleep without them?

Then what about before?

If she was 13 eight years ago, that makes her 21 now.

She said she didn’t smoke while underage, which means she only started smoking at most two years ago.

So what kept her going for the six years before that?

What did she rely on, and how did she fall asleep?

Exactly.

She didn’t rely on anything.

She survived it all by sheer effort alone.

She endured, bearing her sins, training so hard it nearly killed her, to make sure she’d never repeat her mistakes again.

Until she earned the title of the strongest.

She didn’t smoke to forget the pain.

The reason she trained to become stronger, the reason she tried to save people.

It wasn't to forget the painful memories, but because she didn't want to relive the nightmare of that day.

She fought to avoid repeating the nightmare. That’s what drove her forward.

So then…

Why did someone like her become so dependent on smoking?

— I’ve decided to quit smoking.

If she put her mind to it, she could quit smoking anytime.

So why didn’t she?

…I do have one suspect.

“The Evil Organization.”

Until now, there was no need to suspect them.

After all, they never actually appeared in the original story—only teased as vague foreshadowing.

But today, while heading to dinner with Yoo Seo-ah, I encountered someone suspicious, someone who may well be from that “evil organization.”

— I hope you succeed in quitting.

That man, smiling ever so naturally while handing a child a candy infused with some unidentifiable black substance.

That’s why I came here tonight.

If that man really is with the evil organization, then I need to stop him, whatever it takes.

Because once I’m gone, I don’t want Yoo Seo-ah getting caught up in something like this ever again.

“There he is.”

Perched on the rooftop of a building, I looked down at the convenience store below.

I figured the shift would’ve changed by now since so much time had passed, but to my surprise, the same clerk from earlier was still working inside the convenience store.

‘That guy’s still working the counter…?’

Yoo Seo-ah usually goes out to buy cigarettes during the day, around 2 to 3 in the afternoon.

Given that she’s familiar with that part-timer, it means he’s also there at that time.

We went out to dinner at 5 PM, and now it's 3 in the morning.

‘At least 12 hours…’

What kind of part-timer in the world works at the same convenience store for over six years, more than 12 hours a day?

Even the store owner wouldn’t work that much.

‘Definitely suspicious.’

As I furrowed my brows and watched the part-timer, he stepped outside.

He pulled a cigarette from his pocket and put it in his mouth.

Looking closely, it was the same cigarette he had tried to give to Seo-ah earlier.

He lit it and took a deep inhale.

The cigarette burned more than halfway down in an instant.

I frowned at the smoking style that felt strangely familiar from somewhere.

But he didn’t stop there, he drew even deeper.

Soon, the cigarette burned all the way to the filter.

The part-timer tossed the butt to the ground, then raised his head and looked directly at me.

It wasn’t my imagination.

He was definitely looking straight at me—and with a smirk, he exhaled.

The smoke he blew out was pitch-black, like soot.

It looked just like the black smoke that came out of that candy.

‘Bold provocation, huh.’

Fine. I wasn’t planning to hide, anyway.

I spread my wings and slowly descended in front of him.

“Lovely night, isn’t it, Angela? Or was it Engela? Or… shall I just call you ‘angel’?”

“…You already figured it out.”

“Haha. How could I not when you showed your wings and halo so brazenly?”

The man answered with a cheerful laugh.

“So… what brings the angel here at this hour? Midnight snacks are bad for your health.”

“It’s you, isn’t it? You’re the one behind all of this.”

I went straight to the point. No point in subtlety with someone like this, and he didn't seem to have any intention of hiding it anyway.

Maybe he hadn’t expected me to be so direct—he blinked, then burst into laughter.

“Pffft… Pahahaha! Oh wow, I was wondering if you'd catch on. But to be this blunt about it, I really didn’t see that coming.”

“Answer me.”

“My, so impatient. But do you really think rushing me will make me answer obediently?”

He smirked and lit another cigarette as he continued.

“Yes. That’s right. I did all of it. I was the one who infused her cigarettes with trace amounts of magic, so every time she smoked, her mascot would absorb that magic, corrupting it. I also filled her cigarettes with magic that gave nightmares and induced insomnia. I summoned monsters every day for her to kill, fueling her trauma. It was all me.”

“…Why? Why would you do this? What did a magical girl ever do to deserve this?”

“Why, you ask…?”

The part-timer trailed off at the end of his sentence, lit another cigarette, and blinked silently for a while.

It wasn’t that he was stalling to come up with an excuse—

He genuinely looked like someone who didn’t know what to say.

After silently smoking for a long while, the part-timer finally exhaled deeply and opened his mouth.

“…Yeah… why, indeed?”

“…Excuse me?”

“Because I hate magical girls? Nah. That’s not it. I don’t particularly hold a grudge against them. Because I enjoy watching them suffer? Hmm. That sounds too twisted. Who in their right mind enjoys watching someone in pain? For some greater cause? Not really. I don’t even have any grand ambition to achieve something...”

At first, I thought he was deliberately talking like that just to piss me off.

But that wasn’t it.

“To throw the world into chaos? That’s not quite right either. If the world’s in chaos, I’d lose my job too. Revenge for the disaster eight years ago? Hmm. That doesn’t fit either. It’s not like I have any family or friends.”

“…What are you even talking about?”

“Exactly what I said. I don’t even know why I torment them either.”

This lunatic, he was genuinely tormenting magical girls for no reason at all.

“Maybe… it’s just because that’s the kind of being I was created to be?”

As he said this, he exhaled a cloud of pitch-black smoke.

From within the smoke, his twisted face came into view—

Jet-black carapace like a dragon’s scales, and three crimson eyes stared right at me.

I’d never heard the full story from Yoo Seo-ah, but I just knew it instinctively.

This creature was the same one that had plunged Yoo Seo-ah into despair eight years ago.

This was the humanoid monster.

“Monster…!”

The monster, now fully revealing itself, smiled.

“Shhh… This will be our little secret, okay?”

“Don’t be ridiculous! There’s no way I’m keeping this a secret!”

“Oh, I wasn’t joking. I’m being completely serious.”

The monster said that and pointed toward a large apartment complex.

“If you so much as show any sign of telling Yoo Seo-ah about me, I’ll start killing as many humans as I can until she gets here. And since it’s the middle of the night… I’d say I could easily kill a few thousand, wouldn’t you agree?”

“You think I’ll just stand by and let that happen?”

At my words, the monster grinned, baring shark-like fangs.

“Then how about a bet? Let’s see which number ends up higher—the people I kill, or the people you save.”

I clenched my teeth at its mockery.

[A noble being cannot interfere in human affairs!]

[An angel who forgets their role will fall from grace! (It hurts a lot!).]

It hurts a lot, huh…

I wonder how much it’ll hurt.

If I accept those conditions here and back down—

How much more will it hurt Yoo Seo-ah, who’s finally beginning to heal?

Will it break her all over again?

Even if it didn’t break her, what if it led her to fall—blinded by revenge?

Would staying out of this really be the right thing to do for the sake of the magical girls?

‘No.’

When I came into this world, I made a promise.

That I’d bring happiness to the magical girls in place of that damned author.

Yeah, screw it. I’ll take the pain just once.

“…Go ahead. No matter what happens, I won’t let you kill a single soul.”

I summoned all the remaining wings stored within me and faced the monster head-on.

If it came down to it, I was ready to grab it and fly all the way up, so high even the stars looked small.

After a long standoff, the one to back down first was the monster.

“Whew… as expected. A being who has made up their mind is scary. I give up. I’ll retreat for now.”

“Running away?”

“Let’s call it a strategic retreat. Thanks to you, petty little tricks won’t be enough to break her anymore.”

Shrugging, the monster revealed bat-like wings and grinned.

It was openly saying it was going to flee.

“Who said you could leave?”

“Haha. I figured you’d say that. Then, how about this?”

The monster’s hand was suddenly coated in pitch-black scales, and a tremendous amount of energy began to gather.

“What…?!”

“If you don’t stop it, people might die, you know?”

The massive orb of energy shot toward the apartment complex before I could intercept him.

If I didn’t block it, people would die.

Dozens, maybe hundreds.

But if I did block it, I’d lose the monster.

In this situation, I had only one choice.

“You, you evil monster…!!”

“Haha. What a cute insult. Well then, do your best to stop it. I’ll be off now.”

Saying that, the monster flew off in the opposite direction of the orb.

I bit my lip hard and with a powerful flap of my wings, launched myself toward the orb at high speed.

Before it could hit the apartments, I spread my wings wide and caught the energy mass head-on.

――――!!!

A deafening explosion followed, and for a brief moment, a light that made the dawn look like midday burst out.

***

“…Haa… haa… Tch, this is ridiculous, really.”

The monster, Ska, looked down at their trembling hands, forcing a smile.

‘She was only standing there. That’s all it took.’

The Seraph who had unleashed all six of her wings—

The overwhelming pressure that noble being exuded was beyond anything a magical girl could compare to.

‘If she had come at me instead of protecting the humans… I would have definitely died.’

“Kah…!”

Why do I torment magical girls?

I couldn’t answer earlier, but now I think I can.

“Kehehe…”

Because the risk of death in battle is unbearably exhilarating.

Trembling with thrill, Ska grinned as they watched the angel soaring effortlessly through the sky without a single scratch.

“I hope next time we meet… I’ll still be able to smile.”

With those words, Ska vanished into the shadows.

Next Chapter