The Evaluation
“…Huh?”
I must have dozed off.
I wasn’t… I wasn’t just… no! That’s not the point. Wait, this is the dream world?
Not just any dream, but the one where that Eye appears.
It’s dark, pitch black. But why am I here…
The familiar Eye slowly opened in the pitch-black void, followed by its familiar greeting.
But wait, I need an Abyss Fragment to meet this thing, don't I?
“Uh… did you call me here?”
I asked just in case, but it seemed the Eye didn't quite grasp my question this time.
“I mean, I don’t have any fragments right now. It’s just a little strange that I’m here…”
“R-really? Tell me. What is it?”
That was a long time ago, wasn't it? Almost at the beginning… back when I complained about the side effects of these dreams.
“I remember.”
“But… I can’t trade without a fragment anyway. Does this even mean anything?”
The Eye’s words were ominous, yet they lightly piqued my curiosity.
“Tell me. What does it mean?”
“Uh… no?”
I’ve never thought, “Oh, I’m going to die like this.” Most of the time, the ending is just me passing out because my body or mind couldn't take it anymore.
“…So?”
It’s a bit hard to explain, but I get the gist. Everything I’ve experienced in my dreams so far was how I get defeated. This is about what happens after I’m defeated. But if their goal is to corrupt me, does that mean I’ll end up like Vega?
For a split second, I pictured myself smiling as softly and elegantly as she does. Ugh… gross. It feels so wrong. I can’t even imagine it.
“U-um, okay. Then what about the rewards? Is it the same as when I have a fragment?”
“Oh? So if I endure longer, you give me more power?”
Isn’t this way better for me? When I experience a defeat, the reward is fixed from the start. But this way, if I just hold on and endure, I can get tons of power. And if I lose early, there’s no loss.
“Well, okay! I’ll keep that in mind. I just have to tell you when I feel like it, right?”
As it finished speaking, the giant Eye slowly closed.
It just says what it wants and leaves. It’s so petty, unlike how it looks. Still, I got something out of it, so I’m satisfied!
“Ugh, ughhh… ahh.”
I stretched my arms out wide as I woke up. It was a refreshing, pleasant morning for the first time in a while.
“Right, that thing from yesterday… oh, ohhh!”
The cup I’d left by the bed. Before I went to sleep, it had been filled with liquid from an embarrassing source… but now, only a sparkling pink gem remained.
“It really all got absorbed. Thanks to Deneb-sunbae for teaching me this method.”
The heavy, knotted feeling deep in my chest was gone, and the lingering sensation that kept tickling my lower abdomen and the inside of my uterus had vanished too. How long had it been since I’d had such a perfect morning without any dream-related hangovers?
“Hehehe… plus, I don’t even have morning classes today.”
I guess after completely ruining yesterday, my luck is going to be pretty good today.
It was 10:00 AM. I’d slept in a little, but I still had plenty of time before my next class. But now that I had all this free time, I didn’t know what to do with it.
“Sirius still hasn’t given me permission to go handle cracks… hmm, ugh… what should I do?”
What did I used to do with my time before I became a magical girl?
Vrrr- vrrr-
My phone on the bed vibrated. The name on the screen was Sirius.
I grabbed the phone and answered immediately.
“Unnie!”
‘Come out. XX Building, XX District.’
“R-right now?”
‘Why, can’t you?’
“Oh… no. I’m coming, right now!”
Beep-
My hard-earned free time just vanished. But I didn’t feel disappointed or sad at all. A magical girl who grumbles while transforming to rush out to an emergency, even when she’s resting or playing…!
“That’s me, Spica… hehehe…”
It felt like I’d stepped into a scene from a cartoon I watched when I was little, which was kind of fun. I should hurry. Sirius-unnie is waiting.
“…Who told you to transform before coming?”
“Eh? I-isn’t this for handling a crack?”
Sirius, who was waiting at the meeting spot, was in her usual form, not transformed. She looked like a neat office woman in a crisp business suit… it really suited her.
“If it were for handling a crack, I would have handled it myself. Detransform.”
Sirius let out a light sigh, but… detransforming was a little difficult right now.
“U-unnie… I transformed at home while only wearing my u-underwear…”
“……”
Sirius looked at me with pity. Hey, that can happen, can’t it? I had just woken up!
…It’s a little embarrassing.
“Haa… fine. Since I called you out, just handle one crack and go. I’ll watch from the side.”
“Y-yes… hehe.”
Next time, I should ask if I should transform beforehand or just go as I am.
Together with Sirius, who had transformed into a magical girl, I soared high into the sky. My school was visible not too far away.
“This way. It feels like an average-level crack. You can handle this alone, right?”
“Of course! I’ve gotten a lot stronger, you know, ahem.”
“Let’s go.”
This was my chance to show Sirius that I wasn't the same girl who used to struggle against two tentacles. I clenched my fists and followed Sirius as we flew.
We arrived on the roof of a nearby building.
“Alleys or rooftops… do cracks always appear in such isolated places?”
“Almost always. That way, they can transform the people around them before a magical girl notices.”
So that’s why. Well, this is much better than having a crowd around.
“Go ahead, do it.”
“Ah… yes! T-then…”
Just as Sirius said, a crack of average size was rippling in front of me.
“Huu…”
I’ve only been fighting monsters lately, so it’s been a while since I’ve blocked a crack. But this side is much easier. I shouldn’t get nervous for no reason.
As I stepped closer to the crack, a long, familiar-looking squid tentacle popped out. What is this, just one tentacle? Pfft.
It’s pathetic, but I have no reason to go easy on it.
“Starlight Burst—!!”
The blinding light that erupted from the tip of my magic wand hit the tentacle directly, followed by an explosion.
The crack was handled way too easily.
“Hehe, did you see that? This much is a piece of cake now!”
“Indeed. This was so easy that it’s hard to even evaluate…”
Sirius nodded and walked toward me. Then, she suddenly stopped.
“That’s right, Sirius. Your junior is a full-fledged magical girl now… isn’t this a bit too boring?”
A familiar voice. A familiar laugh.
Vega appeared in the sky out of nowhere, waved at me, and landed gracefully on the rooftop.
“You have no right to judge that.”
Sirius didn't seem to have any intention of hiding her hostility. She turned toward Vega to fight immediately, but—
Flash—
For a split second, I thought lightning had struck in broad daylight. It was as brief as a blink, but my vision was filled with bright yellow light.
Kwoooong—!!!
An explosion sounded from Sirius, who was right next to me. It sounded less like an explosion and more like something colliding.
“S-Sirius! Are you okay… w-wait…?”
Sirius was holding a shield made of ice. And a sword made of blinding light was pressing down on it from above. The one holding the sword was the magical girl I’d seen in the photo yesterday. Solar.
“Ugh…”
Sirius let out a pained groan, pushed the shield forward, and leaped into the air. But immediately, flash—, the light flickered, and in the next instant, Solar had already caught up to Sirius. The mid-air clash continued.
“Well, it seems Sirius will be busy for a while.”
Vega seemed more interested in me than the fight happening above.
“Did you like the gift I gave you yesterday, junior?”
“N-not at all.”
“Hehe, what a shame. But it felt good, didn’t it?”
Thud.
A giant monster fell next to Vega. It was about the same size as the one I’d fought at the hotel… it definitely looked strong.
“In place of the busy Sirius, I’ll check how much you’ve grown, junior.”
Vega laughed and gave her hand a light flick, and the monster stepped up to stand beside her.
If I lose here, it won't just end with her checking my growth. Sirius looked like she’d have a hard time helping me right now. I was worried, but I had to do this on my own.
“I-I have to go to school in the afternoon, so I’m going to finish this q-quickly…!”
“Quickly… I like that too, a fast development.”
Vega laughed again and raised her magic wand toward the monster. Purple light bloomed like smoke from the tip of the wand, and the smoke seeped directly into the monster’s body.
The monster, which was already threatening enough without that, began to grow… and grow… bigger.
“Uh… s-stop…”
How much bigger is it going to get?
“Oh, do you like this size, junior?”
Vega lowered her wand. The monster’s growth stopped, but… compared to the start, this was way too excessive.
Plus, it didn’t just get bigger in size; that thing between its legs grew too…!
“N-no… this is a bit…”
“I grew it to suit your tastes. Now then, shall we begin… the evaluation?”
I shouldn’t have said I had to go to school.