Chapter 124
Chapter 124
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 124
Chapter Title: S2.5. Does the Butterfly Dream of the Magical Girl? -6
-----------------------------------------------------------------
My head feels completely empty.
Or maybe it just seems that way because it's too tangled and complicated to even begin to sort out.
I think maybe I could have saved her if I'd hesitated just a little less.
Or perhaps, if I'd properly held onto Kim Lulu from the start and taught her how to fight.
Or if I had still been a magical girl myself.
If only that had been the case...
"...I'm not sad."
Roderus took a few steps before leaning against the wall and dry-heaving. Nothing came up but stomach acid.
His reflection stared back at him from a puddle filled with falling rain. His face was distorted, crushed under the weight of sorrow, self-recrimination, and every negative emotion imaginable. The raindrops felt heavy.
People with wounded hearts choose one of two paths. They either deceive themselves into thinking they were never hurt in the first place and turn away, or they accept the wound and move forward.
The younger Roderus of before had chosen the first.
Submitting to the pain, he had ended up wrapped in the shell called 『Magician's Nightmare』. He once thought that was fine...
But now he knew better.
"She was always unlikeable from the start. Noisy, disobedient... that damn girl. And stupid to boot."
No matter how much you flip the shell over your head and plaster it with feathers from other birds, no matter how much you lie to yourself and look away, the wound doesn't vanish.
"So, some lowly commoner like her dying? No reason for me to be sad about that. Just another corpse, like I've always seen..."
Even as he insisted he hated her, no matter how much black ink he smeared over the canvas of his heart. It was raining now, after all.
"......"
The overlaid black washed away in the downpour, revealing Lulu's brightly smiling face from his memories. No matter how many times he whittled her down, it was the same.
Roderus had felt friendship toward Kim Lulu. He couldn't deny that fact.
He and she were friends.
"...You've even taken away my ability to lie, you idiot..."
Crack.
A fracture ran through 『Magician's Nightmare』. The shell the duke had overlaid on his face shattered and fell away between his fingers. The cold assassin who looked down on others was gone.
All that remained was a single human, stripped of his thick armor and shivering in the cold.
Roderus staggered onward.
『Zekniel』 hovered in the sky, gazing down at the ground. As the final sentinel guarding the vortex for the Demon King's descent, intercepting the magical girls was the job of his subordinates.
Thus, on the ground below, a fierce clash unfolded between 『Pure Light』 and 『Yuri Frostlover』.
"Get out of my way...!!"
"I cannot allow passage. This is also in His Majesty's presence. Hold your tongue."
A magical girl blasting light from both hands clashed against an executive wrapped head to toe in plant vines launching her assaults.
But there was a vast gap between a magical girl from a peaceful world and an executive prepared to kill. On top of that, Oh Hyein was the one racing against time. That impatience subtly shifted the flow of battle.
"Your side is open."
"Ugh...!!"
Damage accumulating.
Built on solid defense, every time Oh Hyein exposed a gap, a fist flew toward her vitals. The short, sharp strikes steadily piled on the harm.
"『Hopelessness Arrow』!"
Oh Hyein fired a glowing arrow. Yuri Frostlover raised her arm to block it, and the arrow burned only the plant vines coiled around her arm before fizzling out.
Shurrruk. The vines regenerated in an instant.
Insufficient attack power.
No power to pierce defenses, no skill to fend off counters. All Oh Hyein had left was courage. The sense of duty that she alone could save everyone.
"But not everyone desperate succeeds. The world has... things like force majeure."
"...There is no such thing!"
"Your stats are balanced. Well-rounded with no weaknesses means you're lacking to pierce through like a spike."
As if proving her words, Yuri Frostlover held the advantage throughout. Like towering castle walls. Yet the magical girl didn't give up.
Win or lose didn't matter. It was something she had to do.
As Oh Hyein steadied herself for another clash.
"Oh? Do come in. You who are neither mage nor girl."
Flash.
A gleam cut through the darkness, a rapier hurtling toward Yuri's head. Yuri tilted her head as if expecting it and dodged.
"A gift."
"Eut...?!"
Grabbing Oh Hyein's wrist, she hurled her toward the attack's origin, blocking the follow-up.
Roderus, who had ambushed from the shadows, halted his strike and caught the incoming Oh Hyein.
"...Daesu oppa?!"
"You looked like you were struggling."
"Wait, Daesu oppa's hand..."
Blood soaked the bandages wrapping his entire right arm. Roderus had used 『Metamorphosis』 to form a rapier with mana, and the recoil had shredded his arm.
Oh Hyein widened her eyes and shouted.
"You'll die if you use it?!"
"I controlled it enough not to. She's not someone I can beat unarmed..."
"That's why! Leave this to me and go!"
Roderus met the worried gaze of Oh Hyein looking up at him, brushed the sadness from his eyelids, and quietly said,
"...Lulu's dead."
"......"
"I don't want to lose you too. And... that one's better off as my opponent. I'll wrap this up quick and follow. Go catch the last one."
"...Got it. But I'm saying it again. Don't use it. Don't die."
Roderus nodded lightly. Oh Hyein hesitated a moment before soaring into the air to stop the Demon King's descent.
Left on the ground, Roderus leveled his rapier at Yuri. She assumed her stance as well.
Toe movements, gazes, positions shifting subtly in response to each other. The deadly intent honed to a razor's edge. A battle of experts trained in killing began.
"That stance... 『Pure Knight』, is it? Eternal Dark shared the intel, but I didn't expect you'd come here without even a transformation device."
"One spike's enough to win."
"For someone like that... didn't you get done in by the tentacles too many times? You're no novice, so you must feel I'm three moves ahead."
An exposed nape.
An obvious trap. Stab for it, and a strike from inside out would snap the elbow.
"Why do you fight?"
"To kill you."
"Not a pointless question to rile me. I genuinely don't get it. Aren't you an otherworlder? Even if this place crumbles, you won't die."
Deep cleavage, heart beyond.
The blocking hand was annoying. Nine times out of ten she'd parry with it, and even if it pierced, she'd likely take it on the shoulder.
"To you, all this is a dream. So instead of pointless friendship games... why not chase more pleasure?"
"...How do you know that?"
"Same position. Everyone in 『Legend of Devils』... came from otherworlds. Riding meteors, crossing dreams. From different worlds each."
"......"
Leg exposed beneath the side-slit dress.
Aim for the joint to cripple and wrap her up, but tensed toes visible. Calf muscles taut. Like a loaded gun.
With 『Metamorphosis』, a mana shield would block, but using mana now meant more loss than gain. Too risky.
"We enjoyed it fully. It's a dream, after all. Kill people, cause chaos, but this place is just... illusion. Maybe lighten up a bit?"
"...What nonsense."
"Straight to the point. Join us. Then that magical girl is yours. If you want... I can even gift you a city."
"......"
Roderus gripped the rapier hilt tight. No confidence he could kill no matter where he aimed. But he couldn't dawdle.
Long fights favor the more experienced. Gaze disparity accumulates damage per clash, eventually overwhelming.
Had to be quick. Hit an unexpected spot. One chance.
The Four Heavenly Kings' temptation continued.
"His Majesty will soon dominate all human minds, turning this dream world into our playground. Become its king. Enjoy the peaceful daily life you crave, forever."
"...Forever."
"Yes. A wonderful eternal playground."
Accept, and in a world of puppets, Roderus could manipulate at will. Order them to act peaceful daily lives.
Command love, or to strip. No fear of the dream ending, an eternal heart's refuge.
Fake or not, the shell would love him on command.
Yuri Frostlover smiled.
"What do you say?"
"See, the thing is."
"Yes."
"I learned here that worthless shell means nothing. You lowly scum."
Yuri sighed, shook her head, and summoned vines as Roderus bared his teeth.
"Unfortunately—"
Stab.
In that instant, a rapier pierced her chest. Yuri Frostlover looked down at the blood starting to flow, murmuring.
"...A clone?"
"Yeah. Mana-made... pseudo-golem. Learned the trick from some insane mage."
"Must've clashed with this world's pure energy..."
"......"
Roderus silently withdrew the rapier and turned. His back was a massive fissure, soaked in blood.
Held the conversation while enduring pain, pushing ability to limit. Not bad gamble, she thought admiringly.
Then she knelt and collapsed face-down.
......
After Roderus was far enough. A radio crackled in her ear. The Violet Tower Master's voice.
-Did you really get hit? By that clone?
Pink Ballet, playing dead, replied.
"As if. Knew about the clone ages ago. Just let it happen 'cause it was cute."
-Not reappearing? Coming to the stands?
"Yes. Satisfied. Role's done, time for the actor to exit."
-Got it. Recalling you.
Shhh.
Four Heavenly King Yuri Frostlover's body slowly crumbled to dust and scattered. As she departed, she inwardly wished Roderus luck.
It was detected, but a pretty decent move.
Four Heavenly Kings rank 1, Zekniel, descended to the ground. Before him stood the magical girl 『Pure Light』, glaring with steely eyes.
Zekniel flapped his black-and-white wings and murmured quietly.
"All dead, huh. Just me left."
"...!! Yeah, give up, Zekniel. Another magical girl's heading this way. It's 2-on-1...!"
"I knew. Watched it all. Together with everyone."
"......?"
Cryptic words.
As tense Oh Hyein prepared for battle, he spoke.
"Why do you think we played along with you?"
"...Heard it from Eternal Dark. To extract impure energy, you didn't kill us."
"No... I'm talking about right now. Magical girl, your insight's shallow—even when I spell it out, no progress. You should've wondered why the Four Heavenly Kings didn't attack all at once."
"...What?"
Zekniel raised his index finger, pointing at the air. A translucent screen flickered with static.
Beyond it, magical girls fighting. Lulu smashed by Eternal Dark, meeting her end.
Angle shifted to confronting 『Pure Light』 and Zekniel. Live broadcast.
"This, no way...!"
"Yes, watched with all the citizens. They're spewing energy in more despair than ever at the magical girls' defeats. And you're last."
"......"
"I'll show everyone me tearing you apart, magical girl. That sparks the despair, and the Demon King fully descends."
Bang—!
Bright light burst from thunderclouds, illuminating the magical girl widely. In the pitch-black city, the spotlight center was crystal clear.
People despaired. At the magical girl's defeat.
No, what must be done was set. Inspire courage in people, beat Zekniel, stop the Demon King's descent.
"......"
Deep-breathing Oh Hyein's sight caught Roderus. Quietly approaching behind Zekniel. He'd beaten Yuri Frostlover.
Joy brief.
Red light flashed in Oh Hyein's mind.
If 'watched with everyone,' they knew about Roderus! Oh Hyein reached out, yelling at the preparing Roderus.
"Daesu oppa, don't come—!!"
"......!!"
Zekniel sneered. Then.
"『Dark Star Realm』."
Roooar.
Jet-black empty cosmos unfolded from his hand. Light and dark tangled wildly, condensed starlight exploded. Massive energy shoved surroundings away.
Torrent. Pitch-black dark waves shattering everything blasted outward. Approaching Roderus, warning Oh Hyein—both swept away instantly.
Kuwaaaaa—!!
"Kuh—!!"
"Kyaaaaak!!"
Vision shaking every which way, body slamming somewhere and flying off. After ten seconds like an hour, dark waves lost power and sank to ground.
Roderus and Oh Hyein were combat-incapable.
"Keh, hack..."
"Fool. Had you turned, infinite pleasure awaited. Wrong choices have costs. Watch your ally's death from there."
Zekniel leisurely approached Oh Hyein. Her transformation undone.
Now kill the last magical girl, show everyone. People plunge into endless despair, Demon King descends easily.
Shing.
Zekniel drew his longsword.
Find a way, had to find a method.
Roderus desperately racked his brain. Body wouldn't move. Limbs cooling from extremities.
Powerful attack.
Instant area-wipe wide magic. Zekniel showed no strain. Fitting top Four Heavenly King.
Even risking death with 『Metamorphosis』... he'd die before downing him. And even if free use... win uncertain.
Like this.
Really lose everything like this?
Terrifying. Losing life's refuge, returning to prison scary, but most of all. Friends' efforts to save world for naught, friends dying—utterly terrifying.
Powerless.
『Magician's Nightmare』 couldn't save friends.
Then—
'Isn't it ultimately efficiency? Humans rely heavily on visual shells.'
'Human instincts are honest. Sure, in extreme situations like a collapsing building right in front of you, saving them yields max pure energy (thanks) regardless of looks.'
'So, having cool beauty and lively beauty options... huge help for pure energy collection!'
"......"
If magical girl 『Pure Knight』.
Currently, magical girl fights broadcast to all citizens by Zekniel. Pure energy receivable across the city.
Gather 'pure energy (expectation)' from citizens saved in extreme situations, delay body collapse, confront Zekniel.
"...The shell... doesn't matter."
What matters is.
'Then who's talking to me now! O Daesu, right?'
The heart.
"......"
Crack, crack.
Shatters, reforms. 『Magician's Nightmare』 cracks and falls, mixes with 『Pure Knight』. Still confused, clumsily patched heart.
But now clear where the heart pointed.
Save them. For friends.
At some point, Roderus's right hand held the 『Transformation Device (Dreaming Mirror)』. Bloodied, he raised his arm, took stance.
And shouted loud.
"Dreaming Mirror, reflect my true form—!!"
⟨ [Pure Knight Transformation] ⟩
And there was light.
"Meet your end, magical girl."
Zekniel's longsword arced like a crescent. As the sharp blade sought to sever Oh Hyein's neck.
Clang—!!
It bounced off. Something shot in and deflected the longsword.
Zekniel turned. There stood a magical girl. Sky-blue hair and blue ribbon, pure white gloves and tunic. Feathered hat and cape. Eyes burning with fierce flames.
Shing—!!
The magical girl showered sword flashes with her gleaming rapier and declared her name.
"Sparkling, the shining stroke of victory, 『Pure Knight』!"
"...Another magical girl left?"
"Still a monster hanging around, huh? I took out all the other Four Heavenly Kings!"
Pure Knight—Roderus—looked around. As if saying look at me. Your guarding magical girl is here.
And roared.
"I'll save everyone. So quit trembling in your corners and cheer me on, you commoner scum—!!"
"...You bastard! What have you...!!"
Pure energy... began to gather.