Chapter 441: The Beginning of Change (2)
Chapter 441: The Beginning of Change (2)
Geuk, whom I had barely managed to defeat through a series of coincidences I didn't even understand, had been resurrected.
That alone was shocking enough.
But then there was The Enemy who triggered absolute trauma.
Nautilus Head—GM was standing right here.
Damn it.
I don't think I can win this.
I had a rough grasp of Geuk’s combat capabilities, so even if GM joined the fray, I was confident I wouldn't lose outright.
However, the thought that I could actually win vanished just as quickly.
GM’s abilities were notoriously troublesome.
Anyway, what the hell were the spirits doing? Setting aside the fact that GM’s seal was broken, they apparently couldn't even stop that thing from crawling all the way here.
Fine, let’s say Geuk and GM are one thing.
Then what the hell is that?
A fluffy, Pink Bat.
Looking at its appearance, it seemed to be a Magical Girl mascot, but…
Why is a creature like that here?
As I was scrutinizing the three entities with that thought—
“Hmm. You. You’re a Magical Girl, right?”
The Pink Bat spoke to me.
“…”
I saw no reason to answer, so I kept my mouth shut.
“Your vibe is really strange, though… You are a Magical Girl, aren't you?”
The Pink Bat kept prattling on whether I answered or not.
In the meantime, I continued to assess the bat’s combat power.
Total power output: Not that high.
Physical movement: Nothing special detected.
Roughly speaking… even at a generous estimate, it was around Brigadier General Un-ho’s level.
In that case.
No problem.
“I’ll start with an introduction. My name is Cyan. I’m a mascot dispatched from the Magic Kingdom.”
While I was observing The Enemy, the Pink Bat calling itself Cyan continued to wag its tongue.
The moment those useless words ended.
I charged toward The Enemy.
Regardless of whether that thing was a mascot or whatever, no normal creature would be moving alongside those two.
It was obviously a corrupted mascot.
Actually, considering the personality of their master, The Queen, and the true nature of these creatures, it would be more accurate to say it was an entity that couldn't overcome its own nature rather than being "corrupted."
Either way, it meant it was an entity appearing as our enemy.
Therefore, I didn't hesitate to swing my hammer at the Pink Bat.
At the same time, I was on high alert, ready to react to any special abilities that might interfere with my actions.
It was obvious that GM’s dice or Geuk’s negation would manifest.
Despite my heightened senses as I reached the bat and began to bring my hammer down, there was no reaction.
Geuk seemed to be incompletely resurrected, clutching his chest and coughing up blood.
GM stood stiffly in a fixed posture, not even looking at me, staring only at Geuk’s face.
It was as if they had no interest in the life or death of the fairy calling itself Cyan.
Their behavior could mean one of two things.
Either the entity known as Cyan had no value to them at all.
Or Cyan was so overwhelmingly strong that there was no need to worry.
The latter couldn't be true.
I had capped Cyan’s combat power at Un-ho’s level. At that level, I could easily neutralize it.
And so, I swung The Hammer.
Cyan, floating in the air and watching my attack with interest, opened its mouth.
“Heh. How peculiar. For a mere human, your required capacity is so high that even a Commander-class wouldn't be enough.”
Thud.
With those words, the sound of an impact erupted.
The sound of my attack being blocked.
What blocked my attack was a slender Magic Staff.
A Magic Staff emerging from a black hole in the air, smeared with a foul, Black Shadow like sludge.
The original design of the Magic Staff seemed to be a conductor's baton made of silver metal with several thin gold rings.
However, perhaps because the black liquid on the surface had corroded the metal, the staff was rotting away, turning into green rust in places with its connections severed, exuding a heavy, ominous aura.
What amplified that ominousness even further was the hand holding the rusted Magic Staff.
A human-shaped shadow emerging from The Hole, gripping the staff.
No way.
It can't be.
As that thought crossed my mind—
“Come out, Silver Conductor.”
At the bat’s voice, a black hole opened.
Gurgle.
With the sound of pouring filth, the owner of the Magic Staff spilled out.
A Magical Girl wearing a frilly dress typical of her kind, holding a Magic Staff.
Judging by her height, was she about sixteen?
She wore clothes adorned with musical note-shaped accessories, suggesting her abilities were related to music or song.
She stood up unsteadily, consumed by the shadows of the black sludge.
“Ugh. Ah. Uh?”
As if she had lost her reason, she let out a grotesque cry that didn't sound like human speech.
“Aah-hee.”
Black shadows poured from her eyes, where the eyeballs had vanished.
With black stains spreading across her skin like tattoos, she wavered and pointed her Magic Staff at me.
“Hmm. This isn't enough. Come out, Hello Halloween, Twin Angel, Miracle Showtime.”
Gurgle. Gurgle. Gurgle.
Every time the bat raised its voice, they spilled out along with the filth.
An adult woman in a witch’s outfit based in orange.
Two young girls dressed in contrasting red and blue, tightly holding each other's hands.
A teenage girl wearing clothes closer to a tailcoat than a dress, topped with a silk hat.
These individuals, stained in blackness.
Showing the black marks spreading across their skin.
They rose with movements that were hard to believe were human.
Because such a sight—shocking even to me—unfolded before my eyes.
“…You. What are you?”
I finally spoke.
I had seen many mascots who betrayed their partners.
However, even if those bastards abandoned their Magical Girls, they never did anything this atrocious.
The most "conscientious" case I knew was one who just stole the power and ran away.
The worst I knew was one who stole the power of its partner while she was flying, laughing as it watched her fall to her death.
And now, that "worst" had been surpassed by a staggering margin.
By the Pink Bat standing before me.
By the creature calling itself Cyan.
“What do you mean? I’m a mascot dispatched from the Magic Kingdom.”
It said that and waved its hand.
As if that were a signal, the Magical Girls began to move.
Magical Girls who were alive, but showed not even a glimmer of reason.
Following their master’s command, they began to act.
Magic poured out.
Shockwaves descending with a song.
Lasers intertwined in red and blue.
Summoned creatures whose essence was designed to evoke fear, like ghosts or skeletons, yet decorated so intricately they almost seemed cute.
Knives and playing cards flying from all directions.
And rabbits.
All that magic, contaminated by black energy, drew grotesque patterns as it rained down on me.
I parried, dodged, or crushed every single spell to neutralize them.
The power of the attacks was strong, and their coordination was excellent.
However, the power wasn't strong enough to take me down.
Nor was the coordination so perfect that it could stop my advance.
If it were me, I could charge in right now and crush them one by one.
But I couldn't do that.
…Damn it.
Because they were alive.
Because their hearts were beating.
I didn't know if you could truly call that "living," but—
To my senses, they were alive.
Perhaps there was a way to return them to normal.
That thought took hold of me, preventing me from going on the offensive.
After a brief moment of purely defensive action.
I soon made a decision.
Boom.
I kicked off the ground and charged forward at high speed.
Ignoring all the magic pouring toward me, I simply ran.
My flesh and internal organs were shredded by sounds resonating infinitely from within, using my skin as a drum.
Humorous horrors clung to my body, tearing away my flesh.
Red and blue beams pierced me, applying numerous magical effects.
Knives severed my muscles, and playing cards peeled away my skin to hinder my regeneration.
And a rabbit aimed for my throat.
Black darkness seeped into the wounds.
They whispered.
To kneel.
To stop.
To accept their rule.
I shook off the whispers.
I ran forward, accompanied by the particles of light that signified my regeneration.
Toward the source of all this.
Toward the Pink Bat, Cyan.
My body was a mess.
The body that Geuk had once restored was in shambles again.
The mascot Cyan watched me with interest, pulling out even more Magical Girls.
Just how many Magical Girls had it turned into that state?
Furious at the thought.
Shifting into a higher gear.
“Die, you piece of trash!”
With my body further accelerated, I swung my hammer at Cyan.
Boom.
Not the sound of The Hammer’s impact, but the destructive noise of my foot stomping the ground to attack echoed out, and the space around Cyan began to splinter.
Cyan accepted the attack without doing anything.
As a result, Cyan shattered.
Caught in the collapsing space, wearing a bizarre, half-smiling expression.
And then, from between the distorted fragments of space like broken glass—
“You really are capable of killing Geuk. You’re a monster.”
From within the shattered space, the Pink Bat spoke to me.
“But you’ve met a bad match.”
The space did not recover.
It remained like a broken window.
Beyond the bat’s laughter within the fractured space.
From between the glass shards of a world that had shattered and turned black.
Shadows of black sludge erupted and impaled me.
“Cough…”
Blood began to pour from my mouth.
Red, crimson blood.
And as if that weren't enough.
I began to vomit black liquid.
The black darkness that began to drive out the red blood and take its place.
Kneel.
Accept it.
This is your master.
Kneel.
Hurry.
Be at peace.
My brain whispered to me.
It was dangerous.
Recognizing that, I tried to flee, but—
Squeltch.
My body wouldn't move.
The black darkness I had vomited was etched onto my body like a tattoo, and the darkness gathered into a black pool on the ground, pinning me down.
The whispering grew louder.
My ears hurt.
Nevertheless, I forced my body to move.
I was used to auditory hallucinations.
And my will, which was more important than my brain, rejected it.
“…Even though your brain has been consumed, you still resist domination? That’s a bit much. I’m starting to want you even more.”
The Pink Bat, which had returned to normal at some point, perched above my head and prattled on.
At that, my rage flared up again.
“Get lost!”
Wham.
Tearing away the blackness clinging to my arm like a tattoo along with my skin, I struck at the bat above my head.
For the first time, the sensation of actually hitting something reached my hand.
“…I guess it can't be helped. Let’s give up.”
I couldn't turn my head, so I didn't know if my fist had landed properly.
But the Pink Bat that had moved away from my head and returned to my line of sight was half-crushed.
Its lower body was torn away, with intestines dangling from the bottom.
Its upper body was distorted like clay, with the mark of a fist left behind.
…It’s weaker than Un-ho.
If I had hit it just a bit harder, I could have killed it.
In that moment of self-reproach—
“…I feel like I’ve felt the sensation of this fist somewhere before… where was it…”
The Pink Bat muttered to itself, its intestines squelching on the ground.
“The Queen’s aura. Right. You’re an entity recognized by The Queen.”
Soon, it found the answer itself and muttered.
Creeeak.
The area around the Pink Bat distorted.
As the surroundings were dyed black, a black torso appeared behind Cyan.
A mangled giant made of overflowing black darkness.
It looked at me.
“Then you should recognize this too. My code name is UN-51N.”
It laughed, twisting the world.
“Guardian Corps? Why should I protect those weaker than me? When I have this kind of power? I’m going to live however I want.”
The black mud giant’s fist was raised.
“Tell The Queen everything I said after you die. Tell her I have no interest in society, stability, Marchen, or any of that crap.”
The squelching dark shadow above my head poured down.
“Because this is more fun.”
It struck.
Along with the pouring black mud.
My body wouldn't move.
Was it because of the attacks from the many Magical Girls embedded in my body?
Or was it because the black mud scattered all around me was holding me down?
My body wouldn't move.
Even so, I didn't give up.
“Guaaaaaargh!”
Determined to sever the shadows clinging to me, I pulled as if I were ready to tear off my own arms.
I twisted as if I were ready to cut off my own legs.
But the speed at which the black mud fell was faster.
“Ah. Dammit.”
I decorated my final moment with a curse.
Boom.
The fist struck down.
A yellow flash erupted.
A yellow light that brightened the black darkness.
Piercing through the moment of descent, an entity scooped me up from amidst the mud.
“I swear, I can't leave you alone for a second!”
A familiar voice rang in my ear.
In the split second before the fist fell, the entity cut away parts of my hands and feet that were stuck and ran like mad while carrying me.
“Thanks.”
I expressed my gratitude to the one who saved me.
“Thunder God.”
I truly felt relieved.
And then, I looked back at the receding enemies.
The three entities staring blankly this way, as if they didn't have the speed to catch up to the madly sprinting Thunder God.
And I made a vow in my heart.
That I would definitely beat those things to death.
No matter what.
