Chapter 51
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: The Power of Magical Pure Love
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"Stop! Please stop!"
"Calm down! No bite!"
"Mmph! Mmmph! Mmmmmmph!"
The hostage's self-harm finally ceased only after the White Devil and Sora jammed their fingers into her mouth.
"Ah?! Aaaah! Ah! Aaaah!"
"Uh…… her jaw's dislocated……."
Then, with a sudden clunk, the hostage's jaw popped out—a minor mishap.
Still, the crisis didn't last long.
Thanks to the White Devil's prompt medical intervention.
"It's fine! I'm a pro at this!"
The White Devil harnessed a Magical Girl's superhuman strength to the max, jamming the hostage's jaw back into place.
Grind─!
The joint screamed as it was forced back, and against that backdrop, the hostage began convulsing.
"Mmph! Mmmmmmph!!!"
Probably her way of expressing heartfelt gratitude. Of course, with her mouth still blocked, this was the only way she could show it.
What a beautiful sight.
I couldn't help but smile warmly.
Even under the curse of hatred, her gratitude endured.
How long did the hostage thrash about?
She caressed her creaking jaw and glared at me fiercely.
"You wanna die, you fucker?"
Ptooey. The hostage spat on the floor and continued.
"Even if you were the last person alive on earth, I'd never date you!"
The curse was indeed severe.
To inspire such extreme loathing for humanity.
"Oh yeah? Even if I were the last person on earth, you'd really never date me?"
"Duh! You're not my type to begin with! There's no way I'd date you! I like 'em hairy!"
Well, from her words, she seemed fine with everything except humans.
The curse of hatred was as powerful as ever.
But that was okay.
I could overcome hatred like that anytime.
"If there's no one else left in the world, who would stop me then? You couldn't."
As long as I had the power of pure love.
"Uh……."
For a moment, the hostage trailed off.
A good sign.
The precursor to the curse lifting.
But maybe it wasn't an ordinary curse after all.
"If that happened, I'd just kill myself!!!"
The curse on the hostage hadn't fully lifted. Her loathing for people proved its roots ran deep.
How tragic.
"See? You could never date me now!"
"No problem."
"Huh……? No, I said I'd kill myself? I'd just be a Magical corpse……."
In that case, there was only one way.
The most effective counter to a curse of extreme human hatred was……
To unleash an even stronger pure love.
"She'd still be warm."
"Eh……?"
This time, the hostage fell silent.
Excellent reaction.
Just one final step left.
I scanned her reaction closely, letting my gaze travel slowly upward from her legs.
By the time it reached her face, I nodded with a bright smile.
"Even if she's cold, it should be fine."
"……."
Now the hostage wasn't even blinking, let alone breathing.
But even this didn't last.
"Hic……."
A faint sob broke the dam of her emotions.
"Hic……, eu-hic……."
Look.
She's crying.
Those were tears—the strongest proof the curse had lifted.
"Mooooommmmy……."
After my tireless efforts, the curse on the hostage was finally gone.
I couldn't help but chuckle.
Pure love triumphs over hatred, after all.
Incredible, the power of pure love.
Now I understood why the Battalion Commander sent us here. It must have been to awaken the power of pure love.
She was a deeper thinker than she let on.
A truly grateful Magical Girl.
Meanwhile, the hostage—still reeling from the curse's aftereffects—clung to the White Devil, shedding a few tears.
"Mooooommmmy……."
"You calling me mommy? I haven't died yet—I'm still alive and kicking!"
"MOOOOOMMMMYYYY!!!!!!!"
Okay, more than a few.
Anyway.
With the curse fully shaken off, the hostage wiped her tears and fixed her clear gaze on me.
"Hic! Sniff! You! What's your Magical Girl name!"
"Me?"
"Yeah! You!"
As thanks for lifting the curse, she seemed eager to express her gratitude to me.
But I couldn't accept it.
The Magical Girl who arranged for us to come this far deserved it.
So I named her.
"Magical Girl Pale Crow."
"Got it? I'll remember that! You better watch your back—this isn't over!!!"
"Of course. Looking forward to it."
Shower her with all that gratitude.
She's a truly grateful Magical Girl, after all.
The hostage muttered the name I'd given her a few times under her breath, then followed the White Devil's lead out of the building.
"Just follow the girl. It might feel unfamiliar, but it'll be okay."
"As long as I'm not with that bastard."
"Uh…… got it."
The moment the hostage left, Sora shot me a glare.
"Sunbae."
"Yeah?"
Her sharp amber eyes reflected my image.
"What were you thinking, suddenly asking her out like that?"
"To break the curse with the power of pure love."
I answered plainly.
Sora's gaze grew even colder.
"What kind of fucked-up pure love is it when someone would rather kill herself and become a Magical corpse than date you—and you say you'd fuck her corpse anyway?"
"Rude. It is pure love."
What even is pure love, anyway?
The ultimate, selfless love that nothing in the world can obstruct.
Thus, pure love overcomes anything—except harems.
Time-spanning pure love conquering mortality.
Incestuous pure love defying societal scorn.
Bestiality and interspecies pure love transcending racial barriers.
Kidnapping, confinement, hypnosis, rape pure love overpowering consent.
All documented on N○pia.
"This is pure love transcending life and death."
"……."
Sora's amber eyes darkened into silence.
Watching this, the White Devil patted Sora's shoulder.
"Cheer up, Sora. Think of him as not human, like I do, and you'll feel way more comfortable."
Even the White Devil's words didn't help. Sora stayed silent, her eyes still shadowed.
Then she cracked a resigned smile.
"Yeah, you're right, sunbae."
Good.
Sora had finally awakened to the power of pure love.
"Right?"
"Right my ass, you psycho sunbae!"
After a brief outburst, Sora looked at me with conflicted eyes.
"And why'd you have to name her Magical Girl name, of all people? The Magical Battalion Commander."
"Just telling her who to thank. Why?"
Sora let out a heavy sigh.
"That's basically filing a Magical complaint."
"Oh, really?"
I had no idea.
You'd have to receive one to know.
I've never gotten a single complaint in my military days or as a Magical Girl.
I'm an A-rank, more competent than anyone.
"Oh well, can't be helped."
Not my problem anyway.
Whatever happens to her.
Good luck, you bitch Battalion Commander.
Sora sighed deeply again, staring at me with those conflicted eyes.
"Please don't say stuff like that from now on."
Because I named the Battalion Commander?
"Got it. Next time, I'll name someone else."
"No, that's not what I mean."
"Oh?"
Correction.
I don't care what happens to the Battalion Commander.
Sora was pointing out something else.
"Please, just don't go around telling random people you'd date them."
Like the heroine of a pure love story whose misunderstanding is cleared up, Sora sighed heavily.
"Why?"
"Just don't. You scared the hell out of me."
Though she didn't explain the real reason.
Honestly, I couldn't understand it.
Is this how all lesbians are?
Well, thinking of her as a mentally ill person makes it not weird at all.
Anyway.
Mission accomplished: hostage rescued safely, as planned. Time to leave.
Right on cue, the White Devil pointed it out.
"We did rescue the Magical decoy in the end, so let's run already."
"Unnie, even if she is, a Magical hostage isn't just bait."
"She is bait. It worked great in the other world."
"You're making me dizzy—shut up already!"
"Anyway, hurry! Piggyback!"
We hurried toward the exit.
"Yeah?"
Then stopped dead.
"Leaving already?"
A voice had come out of nowhere.
Turning toward it, we saw a Monster in an unremarkable corner of the room.
A bizarre one.
Black from head to toe, details blurred.
A body with feminine curves.
Inhuman features mimicking a human face.
Snake-like hair writhing and hissing.
And.
"Why not stay a bit longer?"
A human smile and clear human speech.
"When the Magical Girls suddenly charged in, I wondered what was up—turns out my hostage had gone over to their side."
Floating in the air, this was surely the Monster that had given the Magical Girls so much trouble earlier.
"All your doing, huh?"
The Monster grinned menacingly.
But the White Devil and Sora weren't surprised it could speak.
They reacted instantly.
"Full Burst!"
"May fire rage!"
Launching their magic.
A single burst of sound, and eight massive beams—two especially huge—crisscrossed the air.
Fierce blue flames filled every gap between them seamlessly.
A space-devouring combo spell.
In this enclosed space, dodging was impossible, and blocking looked tough.
Yet.
"So impatient."
The Monster stayed put leisurely.
Suddenly clutching two neutralized Monsters in its hands.
Then it hurled them at the oncoming magic.
─!
The moment the magic hit, our vision flickered, blinding us briefly.
Followed by the sound of flesh exploding.
Whoosh, flames devouring the remains.
And.
"Well, better than those girls outside, at least."
The Monster's voice, laced with amusement.
"Not that it did much─"
"It did."
"Huh?"
Of course, it didn't last long.
But I'd used that moment to dash forward, and now I was right in front of the Monster.
"A…… man……?"
The Monster stared at me in shock.
It probably hadn't expected me to close in that fast.
"For real……?"
Whatever. Not my concern. With the Monster in front of me, my task was set.
Step forward.
Knee bends.
Draw the moon.
"Ssak─ (New─)"
That instant, my arm halted with a clunk.
Grabbed by the Monster's extending arm.
The Monster smiled at me.
"Aha."
I hadn't anticipated that.
Distance was perfect, but who knew its arm could stretch?
Explained how it grabbed those fallen Monsters.
But fine. This wasn't the end.
Drop the magic wand, snatch it with my free hand.
Reverse grip, draw the moon again.
Bottom to top this time.
Or tried to.
"Just block the swing, huh?"
"……What?"
Before I could process its words.
Human speech I understood.
But Monster words that made no sense.
"Ahahaha! It's real?! I couldn't believe it!"
Now it was muttering nonsense and laughing maniacally.
I couldn't help but speak up.
"Hey, what the hell did you just─?!"
But before I finished, my vision spun half a turn, and the Monster shrank rapidly.
That's when I realized.
It had thrown me.
What followed was a brief floaty sensation, then pain slamming my whole body.
"You okay? Be careful! You're weak!"
"Sunbae! Why'd you charge in like that?! Are you hurt?!"
The White Devil and Sora fretted urgently, but I didn't answer.
Couldn't.
No time.
"Fine. This time, I'll do as I'm told."
The Monster raised both hands toward us.
"Struggle all you want."
Meaning the curse was activating.