Magical Girl Impersonation Incident (4) - Die.
The impostor thrust her dagger toward Kim Dohee, but Dohee twisted her body reflexively and dodged it.
A razor-edge moment. If she'd been even a split second slower, it would've gone right in.
Bang—
Right away, Kim Doa's bullet came flying straight at the impostor's head.
The impostor casually tilted her head aside and evaded it.
The missed shot buried itself in the ground, sending chunks of concrete scattering everywhere.
"She dodged Kim Doa's sniper shot?"
No one except 1st-grade dolls had ever dodged Kim Doa's sniping before.
Just what the hell is this thing?
The impostor readjusted her grip on the dagger and turned back to Kim Dohee, looking ready to strike at any second.
Yeah, this wasn't the time for questions. I'd figure out what it was after pounding it into the dirt.
"Keter, barrier."
"Y-yes, miss."
Keter snapped out of it and deployed the barrier. A small circular field enveloped the alley. No escaping for the impostor now.
At the same time, I transformed into my magical girl form and equipped my artefact on my right arm. Flames flickered and rose from the gauntlet.
I kicked off the ground and drove my fist straight at the impostor.
She stepped back once more, effortlessly slipping past my attack.
"Figures it wouldn't land. This is getting annoying."
I clicked my tongue.
A quick glance sideways—Kim Dohee had collapsed to the ground.
Did she trip because of me? Can't be helped.
"Stay back if you don't wanna get swept up."
With that, I poured more power into the gem on my gauntlet and unleashed a shockwave at the impostor.
The barrier shook violently from within.
The shockwave tore through, cracking the earth and kicking up dust clouds wherever it passed. Beyond them, the impostor's silhouette emerged.
Floating there, utterly unfazed.
"Dodged that too?"
I readied my next attack without pause.
"You're a magical girl too?"
The impostor looked down at me.
"Yeah. The original. You monster bitch."
I leaped into the air, gauntlet spewing fire toward her.
She dodged the flames as if it were nothing, like always.
Then she pulled a handful of daggers from her clothes and hurled them my way.
Whoosh—
A wall of fire erupted in front of me.
The daggers hit it and detonated in a massive blast.
Fragments of the shattered blades wriggled into the ground like worms, eroding the area around them. Crimson-black mist began to rise from the spots.
"This thing's been wandering around Seoul all this time…"
If we'd been even a little later finding it, who knows what would've happened.
Bang—bang—
Kim Doa's bullets targeted the impostor's head in rapid succession, but they kept missing.
The impostor brushed off both Doa's shots and my attacks with ease.
It was like she could read every move before we even made it.
"It's Malkuth's unique ability, miss."
Keter shouted from behind me.
"What?"
"Malkuth can observe the future."
So that's how.
Elder mascots like Keter or Tiphereth each had their own unique powers. They supported their contracted magical girls with those abilities, like Keter's barriers.
But something was off about this.
Mascots couldn't spam their powers indefinitely like that.
Even Keter could only deploy a limited number of barriers at once. Overuse strained the body.
"Isn't that weird? She's using her power non-stop."
I incinerated an incoming dagger and fired off more shockwaves.
They missed, of course.
"It is unusual. Future sight burdens the body more than most abilities. Something's wrong. Please be careful, miss."
"Got it."
I knocked aside the barrage of daggers.
Truth be told, she was just dodging well—no real threat.
The erosion spreading around us was the real problem, but that was it.
Compared to strong dolls, her power and style were laughably weak.
Swift.
I accelerated myself.
Whoosh—
In an instant, I closed the gap between me and the impostor.
"What the hell are you?"
"I'm your original sin."
The impostor sneered at my question.
"We didn't do anything wrong, though."
I slammed my fist into the ground, launching her into the air.
Her attack patterns had felt simple from the start.
Dodge when attacked, throw weak daggers when evading.
Just a neighborhood punk relying solely on future sight.
And against that, there was only one answer.
Overwhelm her so hard she couldn't dodge.
"How long do you think you can keep dodging?"
I batted away the scattering daggers and thrust my fist at her.
Kim Doa's bullet took care of the one I missed. One more step—Swift.
I kept the pressure on. I had confidence in a drawn-out fight.
"Let's see who tires out first."
Shockwaves erupted from the ground in sequence.
Fist to the left—miss.
Right this time—miss again.
I launched a flame-infused shockwave skyward.
It veered off, but the edge grazed her, singeing her clothes.
Her movements were definitely slowing. She was getting worn down.
"Didn't think it'd come to this."
Having to go all out on some small-time crook like this.
The gem embedded in my gauntlet blazed brighter than before.
I closed in too fast for reaction and drove a shockwave straight into her solar plexus.
"Youcan'tbeatmeWiththepowerShegave…"
She barely dodged, staggering.
"Shut up."
Even faster now.
Over and over, in sync with Doa's bullets, I hammered down fists and cornered her. No room left to throw daggers—she could only flee.
"I've caught trash like you a million times."
She tried dodging every which way, but I was always one step ahead, blocking her path.
"Magical girls can never—"
I fully cornered her and slammed my fist home.
She dodged again.
But this was the end.
Bang—
"Predicting it doesn't mean shit if you can't dodge."
A gunshot rang out.
The impostor crumpled powerlessly to the ground.
I flew over and planted my fist right next to her face.
"Talk. Who turned you into this?"
The impostor laughed maniacally.
Then she pointed at me accusingly.
"You. You made me like this."
Her voice wasn't that eerie distortion anymore. It was just a normal little girl's.
"What?"
"I lost everything. Because of the Great Subjugation."
The impostor strained to swing her dagger at me.
I grabbed her hand.
The dagger clattered to the ground.
"While you played heroes, everyone in my neighborhood died. Everyone but me."
"…"
"My only sister protected me to the end, turning to ash right in front of me. She believed you'd come save us if we just held on a little longer."
The impostor's arm trembled.
"But no one came. I huddled in the closet, shaking, the monsters' laughter echoing louder and louder in my head. No one came to save me."
"We did our best."
We couldn't save everyone.
Regular magical girls were too weak to enter the erosion zones where the Great Subjugation happened.
There were only five of us who could endure that hellish erosion.
"Liar! You're so strong, yet you abandoned us… left us in that hell."
Her voice cracked more and more.
"You're not heroes… You're just bystanders. Bystanders!"
Blood poured from the impostor's body, soaking the ground.
I had nothing to say.
Her rage wasn't justified.
I had no reason to understand it.
We did our duty back then, and we saved the world in the end.
So I had no reason to beg her forgiveness.
"That's why you turned into a monster?"
"Yeah. She whispered to me herself. Told me how to kill you all. Useless mascots included."
The impostor tore the sheep doll off her shoulder.
Tentacle-like things writhed between the doll and her body.
She screamed in agony.
The fallen doll lay motionless.
Just rolling on the ground, unresponsive.
"What did you do?"
I channeled more heat into my gauntlet. The air around it shimmered.
"I didn't do anything. It's been dead for ages."
"Then how'd you contract?"
"You don't need to know. Just kill me already. Like always."
Then, with a whoosh of wind, Kim Doa landed beside me.
She glanced down at the impostor and drew her pistol.
"I'll handle the finish."
She fired at the impostor.
The impostor closed her eyes. The corner of her mouth twitched upward.
She'd begged for death, so she figured it'd go her way.
"Wh-what? What's happening?"
The wound piercing the impostor's body began to heal.
Kim Doa's bullets had various effects.
This one healed wounds.
Magic bullets. That's why she had that nickname.
"Be a good girl and submit to investigation. You didn't think you'd get off easy with death after all that, did you?"
Doa snorted and bound the impostor.
"L-let go!"
"I'm heading straight to the Management Bureau. You coming?"
Doa patted the fully restrained impostor and turned to me.
"Nah. Handle the cleanup."
Keter looked shell-shocked.
I was curious about the full story too, but taking care of her came first.
"Got it. Take Dohee and head back, then."
"Sure."
I left the rest to Doa and turned away.
"I don't think the magical girls did anything wrong."
Kim Dohee said it as she trudged up to me.
"Thanks."
I forced a smile. I knew. No one was at fault.
But still, it was our responsibility for not saving everyone.
If she wanted to resent us, I'd take it.
"Good work, Keter. Let's go home."
"Yes, miss."
Keter's voice was subdued.
I knew the feeling, so I patted her back.
Then.
Riiip—
The sheep doll tore open, and something welled up from inside.
Before I could react, it swallowed the impostor whole.
And the crimson-black mist engulfed me.
I opened my eyes to crimson-black mist everywhere.
No one around. Not Kim Doa, not Kim Dohee, not Keter.
Like I'd been left here alone.
Erosion again.
I clicked my tongue briefly and powered up my gauntlet.
Thud. Thud. Footsteps echoed from somewhere.
A familiar silhouette appeared through the fog.
I didn't want to go. But my body moved on its own.
Something irresistible dragged me forward.
Soon, a woman in white priestess robes stood before me.
"Ahh… We've finally met. My precious child."
She smiled joyfully at me.
"Welcome. To my nest."
I could only stare blankly. Her voice stopped my breath.
The way she gazed at me like a lamb.
My one and only magical girl senior.
The last witch I'd killed with my own hands.