The Savior Has Disappeared
The moment Gaku Shinomiya activated Gyeonghwasuwol—his entropy-freezing magic that froze the surrounding entropy to absolute zero—he witnessed Ripple's soul refusing to let go of her physical body.
……Among the mages of the Magical Kingdom, each has a specialty. Mana-senpai studied pharmacy, so I had asked her once, half-jokingly, whether there was such a thing as surgery.
I was surprised to hear that there was. Apparently there was a magic used for artificial heart transplants, but no one had ever learned it.
……What a piece of luck. The sound of a heartbeat filled the room. Was I in the hospital?
His awareness began to fade.
“……It’s over, isn’t it?…… Kano.”
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◇ Gaku Shinomiya
The world around him collapsed.
The ceiling was no longer a ceiling. It was melting, white paint blurring and flowing like water.
Even the faces of people were unrecognizable. The positions of eyes and mouths had twisted together into something monstrous.
Machine-like beeps echoed.
Beep—— beep—— beep——
It was just a simple heartbeat monitor, but to Gaku it sounded like a scream tearing at his ears.
His breath caught. He tried to move his body, but it wouldn’t obey. The sensation in his fingertips felt distant, as if belonging to someone else.
He barely managed to lift one arm, but his hand shook violently in the air.
His legs were the same. He had forgotten how to use strength; his limbs barely twitched.
“……Ah……”
He opened his mouth, but what came out was not human language. Only meaningless breaths and broken groans.
At that moment, a voice spoke.
“……Consciousness has returned.”
“……Really?”
“However, the condition is extremely serious.”
The voice sounded oddly clear. The doctor flipped through a chart and continued.
“The patient has sustained widespread brain damage.”
“……”
“Particularly, damage to the language center is fatal. He appears to be in a severe state of aphasia.”
“Aphasia……?”
“Yes. There is a slight chance he can understand parts of what others say, but normal language production is almost impossible.”
Silence fell. The doctor went on.
“Cognitive functions have also been severely impaired.”
“Cognitive…… functions?”
“He cannot recognize human faces or the shapes of objects normally. There is also visual distortion.”
“……Is there any chance of recovery?”
The doctor paused, then spoke cautiously.
“To be honest…… it’s difficult.”
The air grew heavy.
“Under the current circumstances, normal social reintegration is practically impossible.”
“……”
“Walking ability has also been badly damaged. Even with rehabilitation, the chance of walking alone is high.”
“……To that extent?”
“Yes. The probability of remaining disabled for life is very high.”
Someone swallowed hard. Gaku stared blankly at the ceiling.
It was strange. All the words were audible.
Too clear. But the body would not move. Mouth, hands, legs—all broken.
At that moment, a faint memory surfaced.
The moment he had used every trick to stitch together Ripple’s pierced heart.
The soul he had almost lost. And the life he had forcibly held onto. After activating Gyeonghwasuwol, he had forcibly twisted the synchronization of mana to use it.
Normally, it was a chain of spells no single human could bear. The price Gaku Shinomiya had paid was burning half of the “luck” he possessed.
But no one knew. Not even the doctors. They only recorded it as.
Unexplained brain damage.
Unexplained neural collapse.
Unexplained functional paralysis.
And now, lying in the hospital bed, Gaku Shinomiya understood for the first time.
He could never live like before again.
But he did not regret flailing his body desperately for someone.
He had given half his luck to Kano Sazanami. He hoped she had at least survived.
Thanks to Swim Swim’s weapon, she had suffered fatal damage—not only to her eyes but to her brain as well. Still, her hearing remained intact.
“……Shinomiya-san.”
It wasn’t Kano who had spoken all this time. He had heard Kurei’s voice too, but this was a woman’s. Snow White’s voice. Had Himekawa Koyuki come here?
“That’s not it.”
(……Had I been able to speak with my mind……?)
“Only when transformed.”
(……I’m sorry. The game where I wore the Magical Girl Selection Exam suit still couldn’t be stopped in the end. What about you? Snow White……)
“You don’t need to apologize. On the contrary, I should apologize to you. From the moment I knew the outline of the incident, I left many people to die. I am the worst magical girl there is. The worst…… worse than you. Perhaps I’ve already been disqualified from being a magical girl.”
(Ha…… do you really think that?!)
“There were many victims. Even unrelated people got caught up, and we knew this was going to happen……”
(It was because Calamity had attacked earlier than planned, wasn’t it? Nothing always works out. Do you know what a butterfly effect is? The phrase is mostly used in fiction, but change a single moment and the price is an unexpected storm. That’s it. Don’t dwell on it too much. Really, she’s a scarred soul.)
“Even so.”
(Even if your choice was the worst, there are people who received salvation because of you. So don’t say such things to them. Betraying those who believed in you is unforgivable.)
“……I know.”
Snow White turned and walked away.
“But I’ve been feeling like I’m getting farther and farther from being a magical girl……”
(Snow White! Your feats are popular even on the fan sites. So cheer up. As long as you’re here, the magical girls of this town will not disappear.)
Snow White smiled sadly, as if recalling something.
“So you heard that too. I had no idea you’d heard that line twice……”
(And there’s one personal favor I’d like to ask.)
“What favor?”
(It’s so boring being like this all the time. Could you come every day and bring some random novel and read it to me?)
“That’s not possible……”
(……Dammit…… I’ve become a disabled person for life, and the only one I can talk to is you? I’m still young. No, don’t complain.)
“All the words are audible……”
(……This magic that lets you hear mind-speak is a bit rude in many ways.)
◇ Cranberry, the Musician of the Forest
Cranberry, the Musician of the Forest, heard Fav speak with great delight.
“Master! Master! The audit division business from the Magical Kingdom is something we no longer need to worry about, pong. In the explosion incident caused by Calamity Mary this time, that mage was severely injured and is now disabled. We can relax now that we’re restarting activities, pong!”
Cranberry answered flatly.
“That is quite fortunate.”
“That means one fewer person to interfere with the exam. We no longer need to watch the audit division’s eyes. More importantly, did Swim Swim defeat Ves Winterprison?”
“That’s right, pong!”
“Eleven remain now. Nemuring, Magicaloid 44, Yunael, Ves Winterprison, Ripple…… and so on, pong.”
Cranberry fell silent for a moment, then spoke.
“More importantly, has the next target been designated?”
“While sorting things out, it seems Swim Swim still can’t decide, pong. Well, until they’re designated, the magical girls can do whatever they like, pong. After all, they’ll die soon enough, pong!”
“More importantly, Master, are you just going to abandon that blue-haired magical girl?”
Cranberry’s eyes grew cold.
“Yes. After all, she was just an insignificant rookie magical girl. Not talented either.”
“If Master thinks so, then that’s how it is, pong!”
◇ Kano Sazanami
“……?”
The ceiling of the hospital room came into view. A strange medicine smell and silence.
Clearly Kano Sazanami had been pierced through the heart by Swim Swim and should have died.
That fact was undeniable, and it was her last memory.
How many days had passed……?
Moving her body was extremely difficult, yet somehow she had moved.
The left side of her chest near her heart itched slightly. Cautiously reaching out, she found a strange knotted scar there.
“……I…… survived?”
She had never felt lucky even once in her life. Yet here she was, alive after being pierced through the heart. It was something that defied common sense.
Was Top Speed safe?
Was Snow White…… safe?
As long as she could still transform into a magical girl, she could walk normally with this heavy body.
But when she looked around the hospital room, she couldn’t find her Magical Phone.
……Had she returned to a normal everyday life?
Clenching and unclenching her fist, she no longer felt the sensation of transforming into Ripple.