Hate in the Pouring Rain
I hate it. Patter-patter-pour. It was raining.
The downpour that had started in the morning suddenly turned torrential, as if the sky had a hole ripped right through it.
"Haa... haa..."
It's cold.
"Not even now... having second thoughts?"
Every time, that kaijin's sweet temptation nearly made me nod along without thinking.
"...No."
I know.
I know it all too well.
I could never beat this thing. Not ever.
My unique magic was just Warp. Nothing more.
A power like that could never take down a monster like him.
'Why couldn't it have been something a little better?'
'Shut up and focus on the fight.'
Ha.
She's too much, seriously.
I glanced at his hand, which had grown even larger from my last reply. How big could it get?
The kaijin's hand sucked in everything around it like a disaster frozen in time.
I considered warping it away a few times, but the intense resistance made me give up.
Waiting for backup was impossible too. Once the shadow realm unfolded, nothing could come in or out freely—not from outside, and not even through my Warp ability.
At that moment, the kaijin suddenly halted his attack and cried out in an excited voice.
"Ah!!!! My beloved daughter!!!!! Where on earth have you been!!!!!"
I scanned the surroundings, puzzled by his reaction.
"Long time no see. ■■."
...Huh? What did she just say?
Something felt off about her words, like static noise was mixed in, but I moved to her side first and checked her condition.
"Are you okay now?"
But Magical Girl English Lavender fell silent at my question.
Or more precisely...
"I have to kill ■■...."
She stared blankly at the kaijin with empty eyes, as if she couldn't even register me standing right in front of her.
I looked at the spear gripped in her hand. It used to be silver at her debut, but now it had turned pitch black, absorbing even light itself.
Just like the kaijin's right arm.
Something told me this wasn't good.
"...You should rest a bit more—"
I opened my mouth to stop her, but she was already charging at the kaijin.
Bam!
She gathered mana and hurled her spear, piercing straight through the kaijin's hand.
"Hahaha!!!!!! It's been so long since I last tasted my daughter's love!!!"
The kaijin enlarged his arm again and bellowed at English Lavender.
"Look! Daddy's love is this huge!!!!"
He swung that arm down at Lavender.
—!
She took it head-on without even screaming and flew back toward me.
Even so, she staggered to her feet.
Clear killing intent burned in her eyes as she glared at the massive kaijin.
"I have to... kill ■■...."
This...
This was wrong.
Something was off. Her condition wasn't normal.
She charged at the kaijin again, and the exact same thing happened.
Yet she rose once more.
Like a berserker.
Even as her legs trembled uncontrollably, she tried to stand again.
That's when I warped us both far away.
"Where are you!!!! My beloved daughter!!!!!"
The kaijin's voice echoed from afar, searching for English Lavender.
The moment we warped to a distant spot, she collapsed, her stamina apparently spent.
"..."
Soon her transformation unraveled, and English Lavender reverted to Yun Seoyeon's normal form.
...Not that I particularly wanted to see this.
It felt like being force-fed a red pill I had no appetite for.
"Haa..."
I let out a sigh so deep it could have sunk into the earth and surveyed our surroundings.
It looked like we'd landed in an ordinary family home, right in the middle of a cheerful dinner for three.
A kid eating with a magical girl doll in hand, clearly a fan, and parents smiling warmly at their daughter.
They were all frozen in place.
Anyone without mana, like non-magical girls, gets paused like this when pulled into the shadow realm.
On the table: doenjang jjigae, white rice, and neatly arranged side dishes.
Gurgle.
...Ah.
Come to think of it, it's been quite a while since I entered the shadow realm.
Might as well eat while I'm here.
I grabbed a kid-sized chair from what seemed to be the child's room and sat at the table.
Nom nom.
The doenjang jjigae tasted like perfectly ordinary doenjang jjigae.
What more could you want from a regular family kitchen?
If it tastes exactly like you expect, without any frills, that's what makes it delicious.
I made sure to sample untouched sides like seasoned radish and stir-fried zucchini too.
"Mm..."
That's when Seoyeon, whom I'd laid on the bed, opened her eyes.
I was ready to cast a spell just in case, but...
"Where... is this?"
Fortunately, she didn't seem to remember the recent events clearly.
"You're awake."
She took in the situation and let out a hollow laugh.
"Eating dinner in a mess like this...?"
Too much.
"Meals are important."
I offered her a spoon as if to say, want some? but...
"I'm not eating."
She huddled on the bed, mumbling to herself.
"I have to kill ■■...."
Ah.
Her body shuddered as she muttered it, and vivid killing intent still lingered in her eyes.
...Hmm.
I quietly approached and shoved a spoonful into her mouth.
"Mmph!?"
She jerked her head back in surprise but soon accepted it, chewing slowly.
"...Tastes good."
"Right?"
Sometimes you just have to force-feed them.
"Ah~"
I mixed some doenjang jjigae into a bowl of rice and held it out; she started eating what I fed her in a daze.
"..."
She's eating well.
We didn't talk while she ate. No need to risk indigestion with heavy topics during mealtime.
When only one last spoonful remained, she suddenly spoke up.
"Hey."
"Yeah?"
"Why didn't you run away?"
"Dunno."
I popped the last bite into my mouth and thought—
Bam!
Ah.
I'd forgotten for a moment, but this was the shadow realm.
A single lapse in focus...
Could cost your life.
In the kaijin's domain.
"Our lovely daughter... so you were here!!!!"
The kaijin's massive arm smashed through the outer wall, sending me flying far away.
Ha.
They say when humans feel extreme pain, they can't even scream.
I never wanted to experience that firsthand.
Pronesis went flying.
Ah.
Why do these tragedies always happen to me?
I thought I'd finally made a good magical girl friend.
I hadn't asked for help because I didn't want to be betrayed again.
Yet she came to me anyway.
And this is the result.
"Pronesis!!!!!!!!"
I transformed immediately and rushed to where she'd been thrown.
"You okay!?"
But Pronesis didn't even twitch at my words.
She was in mortal danger because of me.
'All your fault.'
If only I'd held back a little.
'If you'd killed ■■ faster.'
If only I hadn't refused Pronesis's food and left the house sooner.
'You had to kill ■■.'
Countless regrets flooded in, and the resentment buried deep in my heart began to resurface.
Why?
Why do I always have to suffer?
Why?
Why do the people around me always leave?
Why?
Why won't ■■ just die?
Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?
'Don't you hate your ■■?'
I hate.
'Don't you hate the ones who abandoned you?'
I hate.
'Don't you hate the world?'
I hate.
I hate everything in this world.
■■, the ones who left me behind, and all the people oblivious to it.
I hate it all so much.
'Then...'
'Don't you want to kill them?'
I want to kill.
But how?
'Pick up the black spear.'
I gripped my staff—the spear—and black emotions crawled up my arm from it.
'Look at Daddy.'
"Yes!!!! That's the expression, my daughter!!! Finally!!!! You've learned the right kind of love from Daddy!!!!!!!!!!"
'■■'s heart.'
I reversed my grip on the spear.
"Show this Daddy your love!!!!"
'Thrust your spear in.'
Kill.
The instant I was about to drive the sharpened spear into the evil before my eyes—
Tap.
A warm sensation touched the back of my hand, which had been turning black.
"Magical Girl English Lavender..."
A clear, bell-like voice brushed past my ear, melting away the lump in my heart like snow in the sun.
"...doesn't make that face."
Before I knew it, I was cradled in Pronesis's arms.