The Original Confronts the Clone
The tip of the magic wand clutched by Innocent Heart shot upward, its blade gleaming with razor sharpness. Her right arm was sheathed in a firm gauntlet and armor plating.
“Magic Missile!”
Countless spheres of mana materialized behind her, then slammed forward in a barrage of pink light toward Dark Blue.
—Boom! Kwahwaak!
“Hmph. I didn’t expect to find a bothersome intruder here.”
Dark Blue clicked her tongue lightly, irritation clear in the sound, then brushed the soot-stained cuff of her sleeve with her free hand.
“You must be her, then. The pink-haired girl of radiant hope.”
“…Healing.”
Warm mana surged from Innocent Heart’s body and poured into Purifier Blue’s form. The wounds began to knit. Her pallid complexion slowly regained its color, and she tightened her grip on the weapon once more, ready to fight.
“Haa… thank you, Heart…”
“Blue. What in the world is that Demon King Army…?”
“I don’t know either. But there is one thing I’m certain of…”
—Clang…!
Strong pressure flooded Purifier Blue’s grip on the staff.
“That bastard is definitely my clone.”
“What…?”
“Exactly as I said.”
Dark Blue swept her blade lightly with her fingertips, then stared hard at Innocent Heart and Purifier Blue.
Even through the visor, the eyes remained hidden, yet the hazy mana aura radiating from them was enough to make both girls’ bodies tremble.
“Purifier Blue is my original. I am the clone Dark Blue, crafted from her mana. But my performance is far superior to hers.”
“That’s… impossible.”
Innocent Heart began to speak, then clamped her mouth shut as her expression hardened. No, the moment a magical girl appeared as a Demon King Army executive, all common sense had to be thrown away.
The Demon King Army’s information was still a mystery, and everything known was mere speculation anyway.
But they had created clones using a magical girl’s mana?
And worse, like Harin, it wasn’t even an original body—it was an artificial one, stuffed with two completely opposing forces.
…No. Now was not the time to think about that.
What I had to do was simple.
Defeat that clone.
—Fzzzzzzt!
Mana flooded the blade, and pink lightning crackled around them.
“Let’s go, Blue!”
Innocent Heart leaped forward first, sword raised for the strike.
Dark Blue simply blocked it with her own blade.
—Kwaaaang!
The clash of sharp metal rang through the alley, stabbing straight into Innocent Heart’s eardrum.
“Ghk…!”
Yoo Seoyeon let out a short groan.
It felt as though she had punched a solid steel block with everything she had—pain radiating all the way to her bones.
Not even a mana barrier, yet it had that kind of force…
But there was no time to hesitate.
Blocking an attack meant the same as taking a fatal blow. The offensive threat was proven.
Even though it had been blocked, it was still enough to keep going all day.
“Blue!”
“I know!”
The instant Innocent Heart attacked and distracted Dark Blue, Purifier Blue seized her staff again.
She poured mana into her arms and legs once more, then thrust forward with explosive speed.
—Whoosh.
Dark Blue simply leaped high into the air, easily avoiding the strike.
“Kuh!”
She had been dodging everything I threw at her all along…
Purifier Blue ground her teeth, swallowing deep frustration.
“No matter how much I think about it, the staff really is an inefficient weapon. A sword would be far better, wouldn’t it?”
“Shut up! This is romance!”
“Chasing such useless romance is exactly why I, the clone, am beating the original. You.”
“Grrrr…”
Purifier Blue could not refute a single word.
Every time she heard it, she wanted to shout back, to deny it, but nothing came out.
Losing to her own clone… and failing to fulfill the true role of a magical girl…
What could she even do?
Again and again, the same thought.
—Crunch.
Something inside her heart shattered.
But Purifier Blue could never give up.
A hero could never surrender to evil or accept defeat.
Even if her body was ruined, she had to fight until the end.
“…Blue. Can you buy me a little time?”
“…Got it.”
Purifier Blue nodded at Innocent Heart’s words, adjusted her grip on the staff, and stepped forward two paces.
Swallowing bitterness, fear, and helplessness, she roared.
“Haaaah!”
She charged forward with a battle cry.
—Kwaaaang!
The tip of the staff and the edge of the blade met, sending a sharp metallic screech echoing through the air.
But it still wasn’t enough.
They had to press the advantage further.
She could not lose to a clone, especially not one made as a combatant by the Demon King Army from her own mana.
—Ka-gaaang!
Sparks flew from the staff as it grazed the blade, blocking their vision.
Right then.
“Now!”
Hearing Innocent Heart’s sharp voice from behind her, she swung the staff sideways and leaped backward to create distance.
“Heart, Shining!”
Pink mana gathered on the blade that rose high into the sky, and lightning flashed across the ground.
“Strike!”
A pink slash raced toward Dark Blue.
Then.
—Kwaaaaang!
The collision erupted, and thick smoke billowed out.
A faint, almost imperceptible smile touched the lips of both Innocent Heart and Purifier Blue.
But.
“…How interesting.”
—Fzzzzzzt…
“That…!”
Dark Blue caught a piece of the blade in one hand, the mana swirling and compressing inside her palm. Innocent Heart could only stare in shock.
Her mana was completely the opposite attribute from the Demon King Army’s.
How had she endured such a blow and remained standing?
“Shall we test this as well?”
Dark Blue readjusted the sword in her left hand, then shoved the compressed mana from Innocent Heart toward the blade with her right.
—Uuuung…
Pink mana spread across the blade. At the same time, Dark Blue gripped the hilt with both hands and lifted it overhead beyond her left shoulder.
“Purifier Stun.”
Contrary to Innocent Heart, no—exactly as Purifier Blue had done to her moments earlier.
Dark Blue swung the sword sideways.
Black-purple mana and pink mana swirled together, speeding straight toward Innocent Heart and Purifier Blue.
“Protection!”
She cast a rapid defense spell.
But—
—Kwaaaang!
The defensive magic was nowhere near enough to block the fierce slash.
“Ghk…!”
A bitter metallic taste flooded her mouth.
Dark Blue had already closed in, looking down at them.
Right then.
“…Command confirmed.”
—Klang!
The sword split into two staffs, and the ones in her hands vanished into the air with a deep whine.
“Dark Blue. Returning.”
“You… what…!”
“It is Lady Nightmare’s order. Return without killing.”
Turning her back with no hesitation, she walked away from the destroyed street that now lay in ruins.
“…See you next time, Original.”
As she spoke, Dark Blue leaped into the thick darkness pooling on the ground and disappeared.
*****
That evening.
After returning home somehow, battered from the battle’s aftermath despite trying to hide, she finally stepped inside.
Class President and Kim Mina had barely healed their bodies with magic and were forced to part ways to report.
“…Why is your condition so bad again?”
Lee Harin, sitting casually on the sofa, studied Siwoo’s face, then approached with a grim expression.
“Who did you fight? The magical girls? Who? Pink hair or blue head?”
“N-not that…”
Before Siwoo could explain, Harin stopped right in front of him and scanned his body.
She grabbed the collar of his shirt, yanked him close, and kept staring.
“Demon King Army executive mana is coming off you. And this…”
Harin muttered something under her breath, shock clear on her face, then collapsed onto the sofa with a defeated sigh.
“Shit. Even one magical girl would have given me a headache. Now there are two executives…”
“Was the one from last time… a different executive?”
“…Yeah. Nightmare. She’s the worst of the executives.”
The one who had caused chaos near the café last time must have been another. Grimoire, maybe? The name had sounded familiar.
The clone who had introduced herself as Dark Blue was the one who had spoken of Nightmare’s name.
“How long…”
Harin glanced at Siwoo’s mumble, then scratched her head and continued.
“I can’t figure out what Grimoire is thinking. I… just enjoyed the destruction. I didn’t even know why.”
“So what about Nightmare?”
“…That one…”
A brief silence fell.
Harin opened her mouth again.
“She loves making people have nightmares.”
Her cruelty matched her name exactly.