Chapter 10: The Ever-Positive Angel Is in Charge of the Magical Girl's Mental Care

How a Mascot Denies Her

Weeeooo—!!!

"There it goes again… I’m heading out."

"Ah, wait! Let me come—!"

She was already gone.

"She could’ve waited a second…"

With a deep sigh, I sat down on the edge of the bed and turned on the TV.

The news was showing live footage of the city under attack.

[Once again, a monster has appeared! All citizens in the area, please evacuate immediately—ah, look over there! The monster is on the move!!]

The anchor, reporting from a helicopter, pointed toward a twisted, monstrous bear roaming the city.

"Another animal-type…"

Every time Yoo Seo-ah goes out to fight, one question keeps nagging at me—

Where are these monsters even coming from? They appear almost everyday, 8 out of 10 days.

It’s a horrifying thought, but… are they being made by grinding people into raw material?

Or maybe they’re actual animals, twisted and modified somehow?

You’d think I’d know, since I’ve supposedly read the entire novel, right?

…But I don’t.

Not because I forgot—because the novel never explained it.

From the beginning, that damned author was so obsessed with turning magical girls into tragedy porn that he dropped a mountain of foreshadowing and never picked any of it back up.

If you broke down this novel into 100 parts, 99 would be emotional suffering and 1 would be actual plot.

Which means all the critical information—the source of the monsters, who’s creating them, the identity of the shadowy evil organization teased throughout the story—

It’s all up to me to figure out.

And even if I do figure it out, I can’t just charge in and wreck everything myself.

— A noble being cannot interfere in human affairs!

All because of that cursed rule the author shackled me with, to keep me bound.

"Haa…"

That’s why I keep trying to go with Yoo Seo-ah to the scenes of the attacks.

Even just showing up on site might give me some clues, some trail to follow.

But every time she senses I’m about to tag along, she immediately bolts.

And not just quietly, either—she always leaves behind a sonic boom that turns the entire room into a disaster zone.

At first, I thought it was just an accident.

But by now? I’m sure it’s on purpose.

She always gets back just in time for me to be done cleaning up.

A 100% intentional.

"Does she really hate the idea of me going out that much…?"

I told her it was okay and hugged her.

But I guess it wasn’t enough.

For a girl who’s so starved of affection she forgot what it feels like…

Of course that wasn’t enough.

Still, finding out where the monsters come from is important too.

And that evil organization? I need to keep an eye on that.

Not to mention… there are two other magical girls beside Yoo Seo-ah in this story.

Well, two confirmed in the plot, anyway.

Including all the loose threads and hints, we’re probably looking at five total.

"Ugh… One thing at a time."

There’s just too much to do right now.

I don’t even know where to start.

"No helping it, then."

I’ll just have to deal with what’s in front of me first.

And what’s in front of me is…

[Look over there! It’s Magical Girl Black! Once again, Black has come to save us!!]

…Yeah. It’s Yoo Seo-ah.

***

Once again, I go out to kill a monster.

There’s no hesitation. No second-guessing.

Because there’s an angel waiting for me back home.

Because there’s an angel who truly understands me.

That’s why I go out again today, to kill.

So I can return to her side as soon as possible.

"Seo-ah-myoong! Get a hold of yourself-myon!"

On my way to the site of the attack, Myoa suddenly popped out and started yelling, as usual.

'Here we go again.'

Ever since I started living with the angel, Myoa’s made a habit of bursting out every time I head into battle.

Not that popping out is anything new—it’s what comes out of her mouth that’s the problem. To the point it started to really annoy me.

What does she mean, “get a hold of yourself”?

I am holding it together.

Why is she treating me like I’ve gone crazy?

…Well, to be fair, maybe I am crazy.

I’ve killed so many living things.

Every day, I come home soaked in blood and guts.

No one could go through that and stay sane.

I gave a bitter smile and glanced over at her.

"I'm fine."

"No! Seo-ah-myon, you’re not fine-myoong! Think about who you’re really fighting for-myon!"

Ah. Here it comes.

She’s trying to bring up the angel again.

"If you’re just going to keep running your mouth, go back inside. Don’t get in my way."

"Seo-ah-myon is a magical girl who fights for the people, not for an angel, myooong!"

And there it is—she said it outright.

She’s been trying to pick this fight for days now.

"You always said magical girls exist to protect the weak and powerless, right? Well, the angel is weak and powerless too. So what’s the difference?"

"It’s not the same-myon! Magical girls exist for ‘everyone’, myoong!! A magical girl who fights for only one person is…!"

"For everyone?"

Everyone…?

I let out a sharp breath—half a laugh, half a scoff.

"Ha."

"S-Seo-ah-myoong…?"

I frowned at Myoa’s bewildered blinking.

― Remember why you became a magical girl in the first place, Seo-ah-myon.

"Yes, you certainly said that."

Telling me to remember why I became a magical girl.

Telling me to dig up that old memory I’ve been trying so hard to forget.

―――…

Just thinking about that day for a second made me wince.

The old me would’ve lit a cigarette the moment that memory came up.

But not now.

‘I can overcome it.’

Because now, there’s someone who believes in me.

I took a slow, deep breath and opened my mouth.

"I became a magical girl… because I didn’t want to lose anyone."

"That’s it, myooong! No more loss! Isn't that what you wanted-myon!?"

"…Not anymore."

Not losing anyone—that’s naturally impossible.

Saving everyone is an ideal you can’t achieve.

And I realized that obvious fact… far too late.

No, maybe it wasn’t that I was late to realize it.

Maybe I just didn’t know what I really wanted until now.

But now, I do.

"From now on, I’ll fight to protect the people I care about."

My family, my friends—everyone was someone I cherished.

But back then, I was too young to know better. I naively thought I didn’t want to lose anyone.

I couldn’t stand to see the people I loved vanish right before my eyes.

I couldn’t bear to watch those who remained cry over the loved ones they’d lost.

If I didn’t lose anyone, then neither my loved ones nor the people they loved would ever disappear.

So I tried to save everyone.

And in the end, I lost everyone.

It was because I tried to save everyone that I lost them all.

"It was arrogance, born of desperation. A burden far too heavy for me to carry. So I’m not making the same mistake again."

"Seo-ah-myoong…"

"If you understand, just shut up and go back inside! Stop yapping next to me!"

I shouted that and accelerated through the sky.

Following the unpleasant feeling that was irritating me, I arrived at the usual place: the center of the city.

This time, a bear-shaped monster was rampaging.

Thankfully, no one was hurt yet—

"Kuwroooaaah!!"

"Ughaagghhh!!"

Crunch!

…yet?

"Kyaaaaah!"

"Please! Somebody save meeee!!"

Crunch, snap, squelch…

"My leg… my leg is…! Ugh… gahhh—!"

"Where the hell is the magical girl!?"

…What… what is this?

No…! This isn’t the time to be shocked!!

"Lance Charging Mode!!"

I instantly increased my speed and launched forward, piercing through the monster’s body.

Just like always, the soft flesh of the creature couldn’t withstand the weapon of a magical girl and exploded almost instantly.

Squelch—splatter!

Its blood and guts splattered across the ground, as they always did.

Something pressed heavily against my shoulder, and when I gave it a shrug—

A severed arm hit the ground with a thud.

"Dad!! Daddyyyy!!"

"Bleughhk—Huaaarrgghh!!"

"Ugh…!"

"Kuughh!! Wh-what the hell is this!? What is this!!?"

I turned around slowly, drenched in blood from head to toe.

People were vomiting as they stared at the shredded remains of others—victims who’d been torn apart and eaten alive.

No one was looking at me.

There were no cheers or praises like before.

All I could hear and see was a scene of utter chaos.

Like Cinderella’s magic fading at midnight, the illusion was gone.

The magic that had blinded them had worn off.

‘Why… why did it turn out like this?’

"This is your fault! Why were you so late…?! Because of you, my dad…!!"

"Sob… mommy… uaaahhh! Mommyyyy!!"

Even though the monster was dead, the streets weren’t filled with hope, but with despair.

Even though I’d slain the monster, the eyes looking at me didn’t hold admiration or relief.

Only blame. Only resentment.

Thudududu―…

I slowly raised my head at the sound of helicopter blades coming from above.

A camera from a broadcast chopper was pointing directly on me.

"…"

My mouth wouldn't open.

The words I always said—the lines I had repeated so many times—I couldn’t say them.

It’s natural because the situation wasn’t the same as before.

It's natural because I've changed from the old me.

Unable to say anything, I flew up into the sky.

I soared as fast as I could, trying to outrun the blame, trying to shake off all the gazes that seemed to be chasing me.

Faster than sound. So that I couldn't here them anymore.

No more rebukes. No more screaming.

No more voices… except one.

"I told you, didn’t I, myooong? Magical girls exist to fight for ‘everyone,’ myon."

Only the voice of Myoa, condemning the choice I made.

Next Chapter