Viral Debut and Heroic Doubts
I decided to go out today not as the magical girl Noir, but simply as Baek Yuhee, an ordinary fifteen-year-old girl.
I thought about picking a fake name, but it didn't seem necessary, so I stuck with my real one. It wasn't that weird for a girl's name anyway.
The reason for today's outing was simple. I had nothing to wear.
Luckily, I still had a bit of money saved from my part-time job. It wouldn't get me anything fancy, but it should be enough for some decent clothes.
"But... what am I supposed to wear right now..."
I stopped in front of my little sister's closet.
Her clothes would probably fit my current body best.
When I opened the closet, the first thing that caught my eye was a yellow dress. It was the one she wore on special occasions or when we went out for a nice meal. This was what she wore when meeting friends. That one was for the spring picnic. The more I looked, the more her face came to mind.
I quietly closed the closet.
"...Sorry. I can't wear these."
I threw on the red tracksuit I'd worn back when I was still in school and headed outside.
A department store felt a bit much, so I aimed for a nearby clothing brand known for being cheap. Choosing clothes with a girl's sense of style was harder than I expected. I wasn't sure what would look normal.
"Do I... have to wear a skirt?"
When I transformed into a magical girl I hadn't given it much thought, but actually buying and wearing one myself felt strangely uncomfortable.
"Wouldn't it look cute on you?"
"Hmm... Ryuk, shut up."
"Got it..."
I started by looking for a top. Come to think of it, I'd never gone clothes shopping with my sister. If I'd known this would happen, I would have gone with her more often.
After buying a few coordinated outfits from the mannequins, I ended up spending more than I'd planned. I guess I wasn't used to shopping for clothes; I'd clearly miscalculated the prices.
"Maybe I need to get another part-time job..."
At times like this, being a villainous magical girl was pretty inconvenient. I'd heard that the official magical girls received pensions. But I had no desire to touch the money my sister had earned or the condolence payments that came with her death.
That left a part-time job, but who would hire a fifteen-year-old without proper ID?
"Sigh..."
"Yuhee, sorry, but I don't think you have time to be sighing right now."
"Why? What's going on?"
"There's a monster reaction... and it's pretty close."
I left my bags at a nearby storage locker and pulled out my Magical Revolver.
"Well... might as well kill two birds with one stone. Shall we?"
Following Ryuk's guidance, I arrived at the scene where a knight-like humanoid monster stood motionless, its sword simply planted into the ground. Opposite it, a magical girl was covered in blood, gasping for breath.
"That girl is..."
Her face looked familiar. She was one of the magical girls who'd attended my sister's funeral. Her name was...
"Violet Eye."
She'd shown up at the funeral still in her magical girl form, offered a brief bow, and immediately left to fight monsters. That's why she stuck in my memory. It looked like she was struggling.
"What do you want to do...?"
"Hmm..."
If I helped her now, I'd risk getting caught by the other magical girls or police who would show up as backup. But if I didn't help...
"She'll probably die~"
The fact that she was my sister's friend made it even harder to ignore.
"Sigh... guess I have no choice."
I stepped between the monster and the magical girl, Magical Revolver in hand.
"You...! It's dangerous! You need to evacuate right away—"
"Who's calling who dangerous..."
[Set...!]
"That gun... you're—!"
"Look, I'm not here to fight you today. I'm actually helping you, so can you let it slide just this once? Yeah?"
I pointed the revolver at the motionless monster.
"Transform."
[Turn to Noir...!]
A magic circle appeared between me and the monster. It slowly approached, and as I passed through it, my form gradually changed. I became the dark magical girl, Noir.
"Let's go!"
The monster in front of me seemed to react to my magic and slowly pulled its sword from the ground.
"Just looking at it... this thing seems insanely strong..."
As I prepared to fire, Violet Eye shouted from behind me.
"Long range! Long-range attacks won't work!"
"Huh?"
While I was distracted by Violet Eye behind me, the knight swung its sword. Luckily, before the blade reached me—
[Change Weapon!]
I blocked it with my saber.
"Whew... that was close. So, why won't long-range attacks work?"
"That thing reflects any long-range attack... with its sword!"
Before she even finished speaking, the knight raised its blade as if daring me to attack.
"What about close-range?"
"...Those do work."
"...I really wanted to test out the new core, but oh well."
I raised my saber. The knight in front of me didn't attack first. It simply watched me with noble poise, as if guarding its territory.
From our earlier clashes, I'd already realized I couldn't beat it head-on. In that case...
[Set...Aigis...!]
"Shield deployment on my side too!"
I wrapped my entire body in a protective barrier.
"Yeah, I can't win from the front. So I'll just block the front with a shield and push in, right?"
The monster took a stance and swung its sword. But my barrier didn't break easily. Our blades cut into each other at the same time.
"Ugh..."
I clutched my bleeding stomach and looked at it. Maybe attacking with a big, slightly delayed motion had been the right call, or maybe my strike had actually hurt it. Either way, it was clutching its chest with the hand that held its shield.
"Hah... looks like we'll settle this next round..."
It took another stance, as if inviting me to come at it. I had an idea too.
"You said it reflects long-range attacks, right?"
"Yes... it bounces them back with that sword..."
"With the sword..."
I flipped the lever and switched my weapon back to revolver form.
"You're going to—!"
"I know. I have my own plan."
I pulled the core from my pocket.
"Blast Core, I'm counting on you!"
[Set...Blast!]
I spun the cylinder twice.
[Double Charge!]
Then I aimed the muzzle not at the monster, but at the sky.
"Hoo..."
I pulled the trigger. A massive magic bullet charged with power shot into the air.
I immediately flipped the lever again, switched back to revolver saber form, and charged the monster once more. Our blades clashed. But the difference in strength gradually showed, and the number of cuts on my body increased.
I used a contest of strength to press its sword down as much as possible. But the power gap soon reversed, and I was the one being pushed back.
"Now... any second...!"
Just before the blade reached my throat, I kicked the monster away. I switched back to revolver form and fired at it. It casually deflected the bullets. I desperately blocked the ones flying back at me while continuing to pull the trigger.
"Why are you using attacks that get reflected—!"
"Just wait... it's coming soon."
I spun the cylinder three times.
[Over Charge!]
I loaded the Blast Core again and aimed at the monster. At that moment, a powerful light descended from the sky.
The knight in front of me instinctively looked up at the sudden light from above. The attack I'd fired into the sky earlier was now falling back down.
Only then did the knight sense danger and charge toward me.
"What, is the knightly act already over?!"
I pulled the trigger at the rushing knight.
[Noir Blast Finish!!]
A massive sphere of magic power flew toward the knight. It raised its sword to reflect it. But...
"Sorry, but this one's a homing shot."
The knight, unaware of the bullet following from behind, was struck and staggered. It couldn't block my final frontal strike. The bullet hit it dead on, and the monster exploded.
Shards of steel armor scattered everywhere. From the knight that had vanished without a trace, only pure magic power flowed out.
"Hmm... what's this?"
I'd obtained a golden core different from the ones before—a Kaiser Core. I slipped it into my pocket for now.
When I turned around, Violet Eye was leaning against a wall, apparently taking a breather. Looking at me, she quietly murmured.
"Thank you, Noir... I would've died without you."
"It was nothing."
"...Are you going to kill me too, like that child?"
"No. You don't seem like someone I need to kill yet."
"Haha... am I that inexperienced?"
That wasn't what I meant...
More importantly.
"Violet Eye... you..."
"Violet is fine..."
"Hmm... then, Violet. Do you know anything about a magical girl named White Lily?"
I asked about my sister, keeping it casual.
"...Why are you suddenly asking about her?"
For a moment, countless emotions flashed through her eyes.
"No reason. I was just curious..."
"That's a strange question..."
"So... do you know her?"
"Of course. She was my friend. She's gone now, but she was a kind and righteous girl. She was practically a model magical girl..."
Even as she spoke, she turned her gaze somewhere distant, as if still thinking of her friend.
"Really? She sounds like she was a good person."
Violet gave a small smile.
"She was. If she'd seen you, she probably would've said something like this: 'Going around picking fights with other magical girls is scary... but...'"
The White Lily that Violet remembered continued.
"'That person must have her reasons. I want to help her.' That's what she would've said."
"...She really was a nosy one, huh."
"Exactly... So instead of her, I'll try to do it. I don't know why you're doing all this, Noir. But... I'll help you."
I stood in front of the collapsed Violet and spoke, gently stroking her black hair.
"It's fine. Instead... help other people in White Lily's place. I'm okay."
With that, I left.
Luckily, a rescue team arrived to help her not long after I departed. I watched Violet disappear into the distance for a moment, then headed home.
Lying in bed, I pictured my sister's face for a while... I really should organize her belongings one of these days.
"Sigh..."
Only then did it hit me.
"Ah... I left the clothes behind..."