Her Final Words Were Both Curse and Blessing
CLCK
Snow White (Remaining time: 36 hours 22 minutes)
Hardcore Alice’s blood splattered across Snow White’s face.
Magical-Loid44 stared at the sight with an expressionless gaze, slowly stepping forward.
“Hey~ Looks like I ended up helping you after all.”
She continued with a light laugh.
“I don’t know who lives there, but I’ve seen that chat a few times. Magical-Loid44.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa~ The tool worked well enough. Lucky for me.”
Her fingertips moved subtly.
Four invisible threads stretched out, slicing through the air.
They cut the container box clean in half.
KUNG.
The severed structure collapsed, burying the surroundings in smoke and dust.
From the gap, Snow White’s figure vanished.
“…Killing other magical girls…”
Magical-Loid44 murmured, gazing into the smoke.
“I thought Excalibur would rush in.”
She paused for a moment, then added,
“Just a physiological distaste, huh.”
She continued talking without even noticing that Snow White had already slipped out of sight.
“With this much, I can go ahead and kill you as planned.”
“One person is better than two for that crazy killer.”
At that moment—
THWACK.
A light dagger flew in and pierced her arm.
“…What?”
Magical-Loid44 tilted her head, unable to understand the situation.
“…I don’t want to kill anyone for no reason.”
From beyond the smoke, Snow White’s voice rang out.
“Even if you were trying to kill me.”
At that instant, a fleeting image flashed through her mind.
After La Pucelle disappeared, the despairing version of herself from the past.
“I don’t want to… I don’t want to die…”
The retreating, crumbling form of Snow White.
But
That was the past.
Just a possibility.
A future that would never happen.
“…Even with a robot-like costume, the weapon worked, huh.”
Snow White said quietly.
“If it hadn’t, I would have been in trouble.”
(I have to come up with an excuse… I went in looking weak to provoke them, but I picked the wrong opponent… For now, I’ll pretend to give up and look for an opening.)
Her inner thoughts were clearly heard.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa~”
She smiled as if nothing was wrong.
“I targeted you to gain credit too… I didn’t expect you to be this strong.”
“How about it?”
“Won’t you team up with me and my group?”
Snow White didn’t answer.
She already knew everything.
Even her inner thoughts.
And slowly, she stepped forward one step at a time.
“…Then first—”
She cut her sentence short and continued coldly.
“Drop your weapon… and surrender.”
“I want to do that too.”
Magical-Loid44 said with a smile.
“But if you still have that dagger stuck in me… I have an instinct to survive, after all.”
(She’s not letting go yet… The moment she does, I can kill Snow White and gain credit.)
Her inner thoughts came through clearly.
Snow White deliberately turned her back.
Fully letting her guard down.
“Okay…”
A short reply.
At that instant, the corner of Magical-Loid44’s mouth lifted.
It was the perfect opportunity.
Right now, I can kill her.
But
“You don’t seem to intend to cooperate.”
Snow White’s voice dripped with chill.
Then
Another ‘sound’ arrived.
(Danger… If I keep going, the white magical girl will die… I have to help her…)
It was Hardcore Alice’s heart.
Snow White knew.
She was kind to the weak and the kind.
But she didn’t have to be kind to everyone.
…Back then and now.
Even if Snow White didn’t move this instant, the outcome had already been decided.
TUK.
The body of Hardcore Alice, whose neck had been severed, twitched and rose.
Without hesitation, she reached out her hand.
PUCK.
It pierced straight through Magical-Loid44’s torso.
Her breath caught. Her body collapsed powerlessly.
The result remained unchanged.
(…Did she turn even her heart into a robot…)
Magical-Loid44’s voice rang out.
Only one difference this time.
Snow White had been granted a rule.
And
By reading her mind, she could roughly grasp the flow of the rule.
Nevertheless
Just watching someone die… was truly the worst of the worst.
…Guilt tore into Snow White’s chest.
The fact that she had ultimately used Hardcore Alice, whom she had trusted, refused to leave her mind.
If this trial hadn’t happened
No one might have died.
The robot’s appearance vanished, leaving only the corpse of a teenage girl on the cold floor.
Walking through a pool of blood, Snow White’s white costume gradually turned red.
She was no longer the ‘white’ magical girl.
If someone saw her now, they might think she was the red magical girl.
Snow White slowly continued walking.
Toward the increasingly recovered Alice.
At that moment, the Magical Phone rang.
It was Fav’s notification.
“Confirmed the death of Magical-Loid44-pong.
Please designate the next magical girl to be killed-pong.”
“…I’m sorry, Alice.”
The red-stained Snow White felt foreign to Alice.
Why apologize?
She couldn’t understand.
“Grace period is one hour-pong.
If you don’t decide within that time, Fav will randomly select-pong.”
Snow White pulled out the lucky rabbit foot and offered it to Alice again.
But Alice slowly shook her head.
“…No… this is… your… item.”
“As I thought.”
Snow White smiled faintly.
“Can we talk for a bit?”
If Hardcore Alice hadn’t become a magical girl and hadn’t killed Magical-Loid44, Snow White would be the one dead right now.
That much, Alice was precious to her.
Alice nodded quietly.
“……”
“There are so many things I want to say… but I can’t put them into words, Alice.”
Her shoulders trembled at those words.
Her costume was scary-looking, and she often received misunderstandings because of it.
“…How… did you know?”
Snow White closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them.
“…I have one question to ask…”
(Why… did you apologize to me?)
Alice’s heart reached out.
But before Alice could finish speaking, Snow White opened her mouth first.
“Why did you say you were sorry…?”
She paused, then shook her head slightly.
“…That’s…”
“As expected… I can’t say it. But… I want to hear about your past.”
Snow White spoke quietly.
“How Alice became a magical girl.”
“……”
“It… probably won’t be very fun to listen to.”
Hardcore Alice said, lowering her head a little.
Snow White shook her head.
“No.”
She smiled bitterly and carefully took Alice’s hand.
“I want to hear it.”
Alice was momentarily speechless.
She admired Snow White.
She knew everything about Snow White; she was a fan.
“…Please tell me.”
Snow White’s voice was gentle.
Because the past version of herself had done too much to Alice.
She wanted to get closer somehow.
Not through mind reading,
But to hear it directly from the girl’s mouth.
“……I am… like you… same… same…”
Alice’s words cut off.
Her mind was overloaded, like a machine with a short circuit.
Smoke seemed to rise faintly above her head.
“It’s okay. We don’t have to rush. Take your time.”
Snow White said softly.
Why Snow White had kept fighting as a magical girl.
It was
Because of the last words Hardcore Alice left.
“If you’re there…
Magical girls in this city won’t disappear…
I wanted to say that…”
That one sentence was both a curse and a blessing at the same time.
Because of those words, Snow White had decided to remain a magical girl in this city to the very end.
“……Actually…”
Alice’s voice trembled slightly.
“Before I met you… I was trying to die.”
Snow White was momentarily speechless.
She hadn’t known that.
Nothing about Alice’s past.
“Why… were you trying to die?”
Snow White asked carefully.
“If I… lived… it would just be a nuisance…”
“A nuisance…?”
Alice hesitated, then spoke with difficulty.
“……My father… killed my mother… The news came out… In school… everyone… avoided me…”
Her voice grew quieter.
“So… I secretly collected my uncle’s sleeping pills…”
“……I’m sorry.”
Snow White bowed her head.
“I asked something unnecessary…”
“No…”
Hardcore Alice slowly shook her head.
“Now… I’ve made a friend I can trust…”
She added softly, yet clearly.
“Because of you…”
Alice’s tone was still awkward and stiff,
But the meaning came through clearly.
“……If I become a magical girl…”
“I might become… a necessary person…”
“Is there someone somewhere who… needs me…”
She took a deep breath and finished.
“That’s why I thought…”
“In the end… I found it…”
Snow White couldn’t continue for a moment.
“…I see.”
“…Why… are you crying…?”
Only then did she realize.
Tears were falling from her eyes.
TUK. TUK.
They fell without stopping.
Past memories flashed through her mind.
The moment she had pushed this girl away.
“There are no magical girls in this city!”
She had said that and run away—Snow White herself.
The version of her when she was desperately trying to stop being a magical girl…
How cruel those words had been.
To this girl,
What she had done.
“…I was… crying?”
“…Yeah… I was… crying…”
From when?
She hadn’t even noticed that her own emotions were returning—
She had just been standing there blankly.
Then
An familiar silhouette appeared before her eyes.
The childhood friend she had lost when her fate changed and she disappeared.
“Running away alone again!”
A bright, familiar voice.
“We promised to walk together from now on!”
“Are you hurt anywhere? Snow White.”
Snow White couldn’t say anything and slowly nodded her head.