Chapter 16
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Fed Up Now
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Shwaaaaa…!
The drizzle that had been falling drop by drop in an instant swelled into a downpour, sweeping away the surrounding silence like a curtain along with the rising dust.
"Keh, cough…!"
And separate from the pouring rain… there was a man who spat out a clump of dark red blood with a wet splat.
"Uh… uhh…."
Gurgle, grrrgle. Even as he tried to say something, all that came out was the bubbling sound of blood frothing in his throat.
"……."
Staring blankly at the greatsword piercing his chest, the man ultimately passed without leaving a single word behind… At the sight of him, it finally dawned on the onlookers that this was reality.
"A magic… magical girl… killed a person…."
"Kyaaah! Murder! It's murder!"
Someone screamed and collapsed to the ground, someone else numbly pulled out their phone from their pocket to film the scene, and others began herding those people away to flee.
"……."
But the magical girl who was practically the cause of all this—Seriel—
Kwachik!
Remained calmer than anyone else there, stabbing the greatsword she had used to impale the man straight into the ground like a taxidermied trophy.
"Senior."
Letting go of the bloodstained silver greatsword, Seriel ignored the voice of another magical girl calling her from behind—Yu-na—and quietly bowed her head to gaze at the corpse before her, murmuring softly.
"…Help me."
Who was that plea directed to? At the very least, it wasn't meant for her. The blue-haired magical girl, Yu-na… approached Seriel slowly with a face full of confusion on the verge of tears.
Pajik…!
But faster than she could reach Seriel's side, a surge of black lightning erupted, erecting an impenetrable wall between them.
"Senior… that's not you…! There has to be some reason, some reason you did this…!"
It was clearly meant to block her, but Yu-na… refused to accept reality, pounding on the wall of black lightning without a care for her own hand charring black.
"Senior! Please! Say something!"
Glancing sideways at her tiny, precious junior who soon collapsed, legs giving out, and began to sob.
"It's not too late yet. Shall I really help you?"
Seriel turned her gaze to the man who had naturally positioned himself by her side at some point, politely holding up his suit coat to shield her from the downpour.
"……."
Meeting the eerie red eyes staring straight at her as if asking if he was really coming over here, she thought quietly.
"I…."
She wanted to protect magical girls. She wanted to create a world without magical girls.
—Come on… can't you move a little faster?
What surfaced were the faces of people who vented their complaints at her day after day.
—Ahaha, sorry.
It was true her abilities were lacking. She told herself it must just be her getting this treatment. She desperately averted her eyes from reality.
"……."
She knew. She knew this wasn't limited to just her. After all, in this era, magical girls were simply a given to the people living in it. It was only natural for them to throw themselves into the fray for everyone else's comfortable lives.
"I…."
It's fine. I can endure this much. If I just try a little harder, it'll make things easier for the other magical girls too. So it's fine. She repeated it to herself dozens of times a day to hold on.
—Is that all?
But people still weren't satisfied. They were figuring out even more ways to exploit magical girls, pondering how to squeeze them drier. Nothing but that on their minds.
—Sweetie, are you okay?
It was laughable. All that had changed was her appearance. Yet the world, which had been so cold to her after losing her parents, now showered her with the kindest touches and endless words of concern.
—You should've just held out a little longer.
She endured. All this time. As the magical girl Seriel, and as the ordinary Ryu Ha-yul. How much more was she supposed to endure? No matter how much she did, the world showed no sign of changing on its own.
—Since it's a rare occasion, I'll make that junior you care about just like you.
She knew not everyone was like that. What she saw and experienced was just a fraction, and for every ugly person… no, there were even more kind and good ones. Of course she knew.
"…I'm sick of it now."
She wanted to protect magical girls. But no matter how she thought about it… this world didn't deserve to have them.
"Then I guess I have to change."
The world needed to learn. What it meant for magical girls to protect them. They needed to realize they were stealing children's futures to enjoy their peace.
"Yeah. I'll change it."
Only she knew. What would happen to this fragile world without magical girls. Only she knew. And so, Seriel—no, Ryu Ha-yul—spoke to the man before her with blazing blue eyes.
"You'll help me?"
"Yes. If that's truly what you wish."
"How?"
"With power. The power you desire… the power you need."
She knew instinctively. The man before her was an enemy. One no magical girl should ever associate with, a clear foe. But right now, it didn't matter.
"What's the price?"
He said he'd help her. But favors without cost weren't to be trusted.
"Become the sharpest sword in the world. For my dream."
Seeing him state the price so boldly… Ha-yul nodded quietly.
"Just one question first—what's this dream of yours?"
It sounded grandiose, but it probably just boiled down to becoming allies.
"World conquest♪"
His response carried a thick layer of playfulness mixed with a faint chuckle.
"……."
It was absurd. World conquest? The dream itself was ridiculous, but was this something you said in such a joking tone right now? Ha-yul stared up at the man with the most baffled expression on her face for a moment.
"…You're serious."
What she saw in his eyes was a pair of red irises gazing straight at her, sparkling with unwavering resolve.
"Fine. World conquest or whatever, have it your way. But at the end of it all, my dream gets fulfilled too."
"Naturally."
In a world that seemed frozen as if time itself had stopped, Ha-yul… slowly clasped the pale hand extended toward her.
Kwaaaa…!
Flowing in through their clasped hands was magic power so ominous it sent chills down her spine. Not because she originally had little—it was vaster than any magical girl she'd ever seen. It didn't surpass the magic from her deal with the stars, but it dwarfed everything she'd possessed until now.
Flaaash—!
The newly infused red magic power… mingled with her innate blue, spewing forth an intensely sinister purple aura all around.
Pang…!
With a sound like glass shattering into pieces, time resumed in the halted world… and Ha-yul revealed her newly born self to the world.
Sarahk….
Her black hair, now infused with purple and glowing faintly with magic, clung to her cheeks amid the wind and rain.
"……."
Looking down at the chill, she saw a dark purple frilled skirt she'd never worn before, overlaid with an asymmetric black layered skirt… and thanks to the corset cinching her waist, a pair of breasts that stood out more prominently than usual. The scant fabric protruding sideways seemed almost indecent at a glance, but the cape draped over her shoulders kept it from being too overt.
Chik.
Gazing for a moment at the sinister, gleaming purple sword now in her hand—in place of the silver greatsword she'd wielded until now, now stained with blood—Ha-yul.
"Se… nior…?"
Did she recognize her transformed appearance at a glance? She silently aimed her sword at her tiny, precious junior who called out in a tearful, quavering voice from where she sat collapsed.
"Get up. Magical girl."
The pair of blue eyes that had always gazed at her so kindly and warmly were gone… In their place, her right eye now burned with an ominously purple glow as Yu-na faced Ha-yul's new form.
"……."
Yu-na slowly rose to her feet, aiming her staff at the betrayer who had once been the senior she loved… but was now her enemy.
Kiiiiing…!
She knew. Her senior now was an enemy. She had betrayed them, betrayed the world. No matter the reason, as a magical girl… no, because she was a magical girl, she had to strike her down.
"Uwaaaah—!!"
Thus, Yu-na unleashed her blue magic power, compressed to its limit, straight at Ha-yul before her.
Seogeuk—!
Along with a purple sword flash that effortlessly bisected the full-power blast.
Chwaaaak!
As her staff-wielding arm and body were torn apart by the instinctively raised slash, wracked with agony on the verge of blacking out… through the scattering blue magic, she caught sight of Ha-yul—wearing a pained expression yet covering the wound on her cheek and curling her lips slightly upward.
'Approved.'
Really, what a terrible senior for treating her junior like this. Even as she lost consciousness, Yu-na vowed that if they ever met again, she would definitely win next time.