Despair's Beginning
"...Huh?"
"As I said."
As I stood there in stunned silence, Nightmare took another slow sip of her coffee and continued.
"Join the Demon King's Army. To put it simply... I'm offering you a scout position."
She smiled.
"...Why?"
"Just like that."
The question I had asked while so tense that it felt pointless now received an answer far too casual, almost as if there had never been any real reason at all.
I, an ordinary boy who couldn't even cast basic magic, was asking why I would be asked to join a monster army.
"More precisely, the reason is simple: to make things more interesting."
"Interesting?"
"Yes. You've already entangled yourself with several magical girls who are hard to connect with, haven't you? And now you want to go so far as to join the Demon King's Army."
Nightmare smiled again.
"Where else but here could one find such a thrilling story?"
...
It was impossible to understand what she was saying.
For some reason, the ordinary guy I was had been handed a ridiculous offer.
"I can't even use magic, you know."
"That won't be a problem at all."
She took another sip of her espresso.
"Using our demonic magic, we can transform male individuals into users of magic at a certain level. Just like we did with Starlight Purple."
...
The name that had appeared from Nightmare's mouth, still unfamiliar but now definitely known, was Starlight Purple.
And right after that came the word 'transformation' — something that couldn't possibly be overlooked.
"Could it be that you're..."
"Correct. I personally performed the brainwashing and transformation on her. Instead of relying on the magical girl's power, we can let her body serve pure, instinctive destruction."
...
No more words came out.
A burning sensation filled my chest.
How much torture had Harin endured? I couldn't even imagine it.
"How much pain she went through because of you..."
"Yes, I know perfectly. I heard her screaming right in front of me. I told her to stop, and she screamed back to stop thinking about it."
—Hee hee.
Her lips curved into a smile as she spoke of something so horrifying without any hesitation.
"Fun, wasn't it?"
As if recalling some pleasant memory or story.
In my mind, scenes of Harin suffering played out automatically.
Even if I didn't want to remember, it was too vivid.
It was because of this Nightmare executive right in front of me, giggling.
"...I'm declining the scout offer."
I tried to stand up after answering, but...
"Oh my, do you think you have the right to refuse?"
For some reason, my hips felt glued to the chair, unable to move.
I couldn't lift the chair or push it away either; it felt as if the entire floor had rooted me in place.
It was as if some kind of magic had already taken hold.
"...Damn it."
A curse slipped out instinctively.
"Hehe. You thought you could run away?"
"...Save me."
"Don't worry. I'm very kind to people I like, unlike other Demon King's Army executives."
She smiled sweetly, raising one hand.
It was a smile different from before — natural, almost kind.
—Click!
Her finger snapped, and the chair shot backward.
I had tensed my legs, so I barely leaned forward to keep from falling.
"...Too sudden. Your head must be spinning. Take a little time to think. One week should be enough. Come back then."
Nightmare gave me a week of grace period and showed that same mysterious smile.
I nearly laughed out loud, wondering what about this situation was so funny.
"...If you come back next time and I refuse..."
I stared into Nightmare's eyes and asked.
"...What happens then?"
"Of course, it's obvious."
Nightmare stood up and brushed past me on her way out.
I turned my head and watched her walk away.
"I will grant you a terrible nightmare."
—Tap, tap.
Nightmare took steps toward the exit, then stopped as if she had forgotten something and glanced back at me.
"Ah, and don't tell the other magical girls or Destroy that you met me, all right?"
"...I won't. Why? Should I?"
"No, you're doing great. Keep this secret between just the two of us. Hehe. Well then."
She raised her hand lightly.
"Ciao."
—Swoosh...
Nightmare vanished into the shadows.
I sat there in a daze on the chair, staring blankly at the spot where she had disappeared.
Only when the cafe staff approached to ask if I was okay did I finally stand up and walk home in a daze.
*****
"Kyahaha!"
The ground was torn open, the void stretched vast and empty across the Demon King's Army world.
On a floating island in that hellish realm, a young girl's sharp laughter echoed through the air.
"Nightmare! You couldn't end it after all?"
"U-uu..."
Grimoire circled around Nightmare with a mocking grin, laughing wildly.
Voracious, her subordinate, crouched silently in the corner, forcing back her sobs.
She had only just been released and was staying deathly silent to avoid angering Grimoire.
"So! That's right! Those pathetic clones can't possibly do their job properly! Kyahaha!"
Grimoire stopped in front of Nightmare and burst out laughing again.
Where once there had been a normal person disguised by crossing portals and space-time veils, nothing remained of Nightmare now.
The Nightmare in her usual combat suit and visor scanned Grimoire's movements without a word, then spoke.
"No, rather, you performed your role quite well."
"Kyaha, what!?"
"Your future vision is too frustrating, isn't it?"
—Tap, tap.
Nightmare moved with elegant steps, beginning to walk slowly.
She stopped at the edge of the floating island and looked out over the endless horizon of the void, then spoke.
"What you are chasing... the story and its ending... yes, fine. But the true important part is not the ending. It's the process that fills the space between."
"Wh-what?"
—Hee hee hee.
Grimoire dashed over in a fury of laughter and stopped beside Nightmare.
"So, you planned another interesting development!?"
"Of course."
Nightmare glanced at Grimoire for a moment, then looked toward the distance.
The eyes behind her opaque visor were fixed on...
"H-hic...!?"
Voracious, who had been silently crouched in the corner.
"For that development, a little help is necessary."
"I-I-I...?"
Voracious asked in a trembling voice.
After being released, she had spent the entire day staying silent and hidden to avoid angering Grimoire.
When the attention of both Grimoire and Nightmare focused on her again, her heart pounded and fear overwhelmed her.
Why was she being looked at?
Did needing help mean it involved her?
Was she perhaps being used as a medium for something?
While Voracious trembled and let her imagination run wild with terror...
—Tap, tap, tap.
Ordered footsteps approached slowly from behind her.
Just like the experience she had felt when Dark Blue had appeared earlier, she slowly turned her head behind her, shaking.
There stood...
"Follow my orders."
Dark Blue stood motionless, perfectly healthy and unscarred, waiting silently.
"Kyahaha!? What the hell is this?! There was one more?!"
"Yes."
Nightmare answered briefly.
"Originally created from a magical girl's mana and my demonic mana, they can be made in any number."
"Kyahaha! Amazing! Nightmare, you barely defeated them and now they're back up perfectly! What kind of faces do those girls make!?"
Grimoire laughed heartily and rushed toward Dark Blue with quick steps.
Just as she had done with Nightmare, she circled the clone, examining it closely.
"But I don't see any change?"
However, the only thing Grimoire noticed was...
No difference at all whether she examined it carefully or poured mana into it to study the structure.
It was the same faulty product that would fail just like before.
While Grimoire tilted her head with that suspicion...
"It is obvious. They are identical."
Nightmare spoke.
Grimoire felt a flicker of anger at the ridiculous statement and was about to open her mouth again when...
—Tap, tap, tap.
The footsteps came again.
No, it was the continuous footsteps of someone who never stopped.
"Fear is a powerful thing."
Behind the first Dark Blue that had appeared...
Countless more Dark Blues appeared, their visors flashing with glowing red lines.
Without a single twitch or change in expression, they stood in perfect formation.
"How interesting. One victory is possible. There might not be any guilt for killing someone exactly like yourself. But..."
Nightmare smiled.
"What if that happens dozens, hundreds, thousands of times and the distance is stained red with blood? What kind of expressions, what nightmares would they face?"
"Kyahaha! That's too much, Nightmare?"
"Too much, you say?"
Grimoire's laughter mixed with mockery.
"If they can't win and fail... then they have no reason to remain magical girls anymore, do they?"
Nightmare answered.
"...Kyaha."
For a moment, even Grimoire couldn't finish her laugh because of the coldness in Nightmare's words dripping with killing intent.
—Truly merciless.