Chapter 419: smorz(3)
Chapter 419: smorz(3)
In the short time before the sun rose, I was lost in thought.
The question of whether I could truly be someone’s pillar of support.
And the question of whether I could be a role model for another.
My answer to both was a negative.
Of course, I have experience in parenting, having once taken Linshua in as my daughter.
But that was only because the circumstances surrounding Linshua were so extraordinary that I felt compelled to make that choice.
I am not someone grand enough to raise another human being.
If I were truly a great person, I would never have let Linshua leave my side in the first place. I wouldn't be groaning in the pain of having lost so much, and I probably would have found a way to teach her more about human society.
So that even if her fundamental nature was different from ours, she could look at the world through the same eyes.
But that was beyond my capabilities.
I need to look at myself objectively.
Strip away the fact that I’m a Hero.
What’s left is just a short-tempered, impatient man.
The kind of person who knows how to do nothing but hit and destroy things.
Someone who missed their chance to learn how to live because they were shackled by the title of 'Hero' before they could even enter society.
An adult who doesn't even have money in his bank account.
What kind of future would a child draw after growing up watching an adult like that?
The moment my thoughts reached that point—
Creeak.
I twisted the metal rod I had been clenching between my teeth once more.
Why am I even thinking about taking in a child again?
Unlike Linshua, Chloe is a human child who can grow up normally.
Even without me, there’s the Management Bureau.
Though parts of the Bureau belong to the shadows, from a general perspective, they are a group close to light and goodness.
Such an organization wouldn't just cast aside a victim of an Otherworld-related incident.
She even has the 'Hero' label attached to her now.
So, she should grow up in the bright, honest environment of the Bureau, not in my twisted, unworthy arms.
Chloe seeking me out is simply because she hasn't found anyone else to lean on yet; I was just the only option available.
She’s blindly clinging to the one who reached out to her in the dark.
Once she composes herself and moves forward, she’ll find another home. And soon, she’ll forget me.
Yes. It’s just that kind of fleeting relationship.
However, I can leave her with at least one thing.
The emotion she feels for me.
The memory of a Hero who reached out to her. I intend to leave her with that.
Just as I nurtured my own dreams of being a Magical Girl while watching them on the CRT screen.
Even if I eventually learned that those dreams become illusions once they touch reality.
Because those girls behind the screen never reached reality and stayed within the glass, they remained stainless fantasies depicting beautiful stories.
They remained as distant, unreachable ideals, and thus could serve as a pillar for someone.
Even if one denies everything in those stories and says they couldn't possibly exist.
They are fantasies beyond the screen whose status as a pillar of support cannot be denied.
That is why.
I will become the Magical Girl on the screen for Chloe.
Even if we never meet again for the rest of our lives, the image of the Magical Girl—the Hero who saved her—will remain in her memories.
Until the day she learns the truth and realizes the Magical Girl in her memories is a monstrosity entirely different from what she remembers, I can be her support.
Yes, so.
Until the moment I send her off to Ultimate today, I will play the part.
Even if the acting is so grueling it takes a toll on my mind, it won't be as painful as the suffering of a child who lost her parents.
Now then. Let’s remember this.
When I feed my relationships to the tentacles, I must ensure this one relationship isn't consumed.
For the next few years.
Until that child grows up and no longer needs a pillar.
Ten years... should be enough.
Despite using the tentacles to be forgotten by the world, I’ve gone and added another connection.
Well, whatever.
It’s what I have to do.
It’s not for me. It’s for Chloe.
Persuading myself thus, I opened the door and took The Child’s hand.
“Magical Girl Big Sister!”
Beyond the door, Chloe lunged into my arms with a smile, as if she had been waiting for me.
I looked down at her, smiling with a mouth that had just been stuffed with a metal rod.
Meanwhile, Svetlana looked at me with an expression that said she was seeing something she shouldn't have, but I’ll let that slide.
* * *
“How was Grandpa Brantley?”
“…He was… kind?”
Why was that a question?
While walking under the sunlight with a bright smile, I was trying my absolute best not to give Chloe a bad impression.
My facial muscles felt like they were going to cramp from smiling so long, but I’m sure it was just my imagination.
Actually, the facial expression was the easy part.
I was currently controlling my gait, my arm movements, and every other minor action.
To look as much like a refined lady as possible, I didn't stomp my feet or swing my arms wildly.
Naturally, I didn't scratch my stomach or my head either.
For a girl my age, I was so well-behaved it felt unnatural.
But what could I do?
The girls on the screen aren't realistic to begin with.
And seeing as I wasn't suspected back when I did similar things during my spy days, it seems such well-behaved girls do exist somewhere.
However, back when I was undercover, I moved with a sharp, cold precision, as if a dagger were pressed against my skin, so I didn't feel much emotion about it.
Now, it feels completely different.
It feels as if something soft and drowsy, like sunlight, is surrounding me, whispering that it would be so much easier if I just acted normally.
Is it because of The Child’s warmth transmitted through our hands, or the warmth of the sun as we walk this bright path?
Even so, I didn't stop acting.
“Did you see Montague too?”
“Who?”
“The… black… African American.”
Sorry, Montague. I almost committed a massive hate crime there.
It was the same when I talked to Linshua, but my brain seems to short-circuit whenever I talk to children.
“Ah. The black oppa. He gave me candy.”
…Don’t call him black….
That was exactly what I was trying so hard not to say.
Anyway, it seems that guy didn't act weird in front of The Kid either.
Just as I was mentally stamping a '0.1-time assault pardon' for Montague in the trash can of my mind—
“Is everyone a Magical Girl?”
An abrupt, contextless question popped out of The Child’s mouth.
“…No, they are Heroes.”
Setting aside the question of whether those twisted bastards are fit for the word 'Hero,' that is their professional classification.
“Is it different?”
“It is. They aren't all young girls, are they?”
Just imagine it.
What kind of catastrophe would occur if Montague transformed into a Magical Girl, or if Brantley transformed?
Magical Muscle Montague.
Magical Grandpa Brantley.
…I feel like throwing up. Dammit.
“Don’t they change when they transform? They get smaller, or bigger.”
Uh… hmm.
Come to think of it, there were quite a few Magical Girl shows for kids where they grew into adults or, conversely, adults became little girls.
I thought a Young Girl would have fixed ideas about Magical Girls, but she seems to have fewer prejudices than I do.
“Well, no. Those people are ordinary Heroes, so they can’t transform.”
No, stop making me imagine it.
It’s horrific just thinking about it.
Just as I was trying to suppress a literal gag—
“Then, can you do it, Unnie? Show me!”
A bomb dropped.
Uh… transform?
The last time I did that… was over fifteen years ago….
“No. Well. I’m… a bit of a special case….”
I started rambling, even I could tell.
I was barely maintaining my posture, but my Magical Girl persona had flown out the window.
“Aren't Magical Girls supposed to be able to transform?”
An innocent, curious gaze typical of a child was fixed on me.
I mean, you’re right.
You’re right, but.
Dammit, what a mess.
“No, you see, this Unnie is….”
Just as I was trying to scramble for an excuse.
A chilling cold ran down my neck.
The moment I sensed it—
“Chloe.”
I called her name and, at the same time, let go of her hand to pull her into a protective embrace while scanning our surroundings.
…There’s no one here.
It was a bizarre phenomenon.
No matter how much of a slum Detroit is, it was morning and the sun was up. It was a time when people who made a decent living would be out on the main streets, and Heroes roaming the city would be met with suspicious glares.
Yet, not a single person was out on the street, and I couldn't feel a single gaze directed at us.
It hadn't been like this from the start.
Just moments ago, those ordinary sensations had been reaching me, but now it felt as if all of it had been an illusion.
Tsk. An ambush?
The moment I clicked my tongue in my mind—
Glug.
I heard the sound of overflowing water.
The sound was so loud and clear that I didn't even need enhanced senses to hear it.
Glug. Glug. Glug.
The sound began to echo from all directions.
The sources were the sewer drains located everywhere.
The noise coming from them grew incessantly louder.
“…A… ahhh.”
As the sound intensified, The Child in my arms began to wail.
Tears streamed from her eyes, and she clutched her head with both arms.
“Chloe. What’s wrong? Chloe!”
I reacted immediately, calling her name as gently as possible.
“Villains…. The villains are coming….”
Chloe, who had been bright just a moment ago, was now wailing in a panic.
It was as if even my presence beside her wasn't enough to dispel her terror.
“Chloe. It’s okay. I’m here. The Magical Girl.”
I stroked her hair while staring at the sewers where water was backflowing.
“Magical… Girl….”
“That’s right. Magical Girls never lose to villains, right?”
As I said that, I summoned my hammer and struck the ground.
There was no 'thud.'
What erupted was an explosion like a firework.
A little trick using fire.
I’d love to emit stars or rainbows, but I don’t have that kind of power.
“Yeah….”
Perhaps the performance helped.
Chloe’s panic subsided, but the dark shadow looming over her hadn't disappeared yet.
Holding the trembling Chloe close, I finally saw the true form of The Enemy.
Holy shit. So that’s how it is.
Flesh-colored liquid backflowing from the sewers clumped together to form flesh-colored humans.
No, they weren't human.
They were things that looked like humans.
They were about 180cm tall.
They had limbs, and their overall shape was humanoid. Their skin was eerily pale, but still within the realm of what could be called a human skin tone.
However, they were not human.
Their featureless faces had only mouths, and there were no sexual characteristics between their legs.
They had muscles and contours like a normal body, so they weren't exactly like mannequins or dolls.
But we do not call things humans when they have mouths that rip open to their ears, with anemone-like tentacles flickering inside.
Thus, these utterly bizarre enemies emerged through the sewers.
At least I gained one piece of information.
Their liquefaction doesn't only happen when they die.
They turn into liquid upon death, but those with power above a certain level, like those Doctors, can likely liquefy at will.
I see why these things weren't seen in Detroit.
They’re moving through the Water Supply Network.
Dammit. It’s hard enough to grind down a whole city; now I have to collapse the entire water system too.
This is going to be a thorough war of extermination that involves overturning the very crust of the earth.
Just as I thought that and leveled my hammer at them—
“Hmm? Not a finished product, I see. I knew you’d come to Detroit, but to meet in a place like this. Forgive my rudeness for greeting you through a cheap connector rather than a proper body.”
Suddenly, a human voice flowed from that inhuman enemy.
“….”
Though the voice was entirely different, that manner of speaking was definitely the Doctor.
“Hmm. I have no intention of fighting you right now. Of course, we will eventually have to fight for the beliefs we each hold, but not today.”
…What the hell is this guy talking about?
If I’m not the target, then why did he show up?
I was about to ask, but knowing that harsh words would fly out the moment I opened my mouth, I kept it shut for Chloe’s sake.
“The girl you’re holding. Ah, genetically she’s my daughter, so I’d like her back. It was quite a headache because the mother hid the daughter away.”
…What?
Daughter?
Startled, I looked at Chloe and then back at the Flesh Monster.
Of course, as the monster said, it wasn't his Main Body, so it didn't look like the Doctor at all, but I could imagine the Doctor standing behind it.
…They don’t look alike at all.
Judging by the voice, this must be that wrestler Doctor, but there isn't even a speck of resemblance.
Even if they did look alike, I had no intention of handing her over.
I pulled Chloe even closer.
“Hah. It seems you have no intention of giving her back. Then I shall ask my daughter.”
The monster before us closed its mouth, formed a ripped smile, and reached out a hand.
“Experiment C. Come with Daddy.”
Experiment C.
Is that a name you give your daughter?
As my rage flared—
“Mommy… Mommy….”
Chloe burrowed even deeper into my embrace.
She wasn't listening to her self-proclaimed father at all.
That movement quelled my rage.
The moment I resolved to coldly exterminate The Enemy—
“She wasn't a disobedient child, but it seems the mother failed in her education.”
The Doctor let out a laugh with those words.
And simultaneously.
“Then. Let’s do this.”
“Chloe. Come here.”
A distorted voice and a woman’s voice rang out at the same time.
A face sprouted from the monster before us.
A woman’s face that looked exactly like Chloe.
And she opened her mouth.
She called for Chloe.
“Mom…my?”
At those words, Chloe reacted.
She turned her head.
And she saw it.
Her mother, protruding from the monster.
“Chloe. Come here.”
The monster speaking with her mother’s voice.
“I suppose it was a good thing I ate her instead of using her as raw material.”
The being that had ceased to be human, announcing the horrific truth.
“…Ah….”
A wail erupted.
From within my arms.
From the Young Girl.
Trash.
Scum.
Filth.
I knew they were beings that had strayed infinitely far from humanity.
But the being before me was truly, utterly beyond redemption.
Enraged, just as I was about to launch an attack—
BOOM.
A black hammer slammed down.
Squelch.
“Chlo—”
The monster, struck by The Hammer, was crushed, its flesh splattering and its voice cut short.
It was a common sight.
A sight I would see whenever I attacked.
But I wasn't the one who did it.
Even though I was filled with rage, I couldn't unleash it because I was protecting Chloe in my arms.
Then, who had delivered such an attack?
There was a black version of me.
A black me, heavily distorted by noise, stepped forward and swung The Hammer.
Like the static of a broken television, this version of me, detached from reality, continued to swing The Hammer at The Enemy.
The monster turned from flesh to liquid.
And melted into the earth.
What the hell. Dammit.
What is that thing?
That isn't my power.
I don’t have power like that.
Of course, I would have acted the same way.
But at the very least, it wasn't me.
The moment I questioned it—
“Mommy…. I’m… sorry….”
With those words, Chloe suddenly lost consciousness and collapsed in my arms.
As I caught her in surprise—
Zzzzt.
With one final burst of static.
The version of me made of noise vanished.
Without leaving a single trace.