Dream (3)
Maybe it was because I'd taken a nap, but it was quite dark outside. Still, darkness wasn't something a magical girl needed to fear. Illuminating the night with starlight, streaking across the night sky like a shooting star... fighting to protect the city's peace while everyone else slept! "This is actually... good. Yeah, I'm not scared."
My legs were trembling, but I tried to act like I wasn't afraid. The reason I was shaking like this wasn't because I was scared of fighting. It was because the rift had appeared a bit higher up... The rooftop was narrower than last time, but way higher up. Still, I deserved praise for flying here without falling midway.
"So... now it's time to fight."
Sweat slicked my gloved hands. I readjusted my grip on the magic wand in my right hand and walked across the empty rooftop. The black rift at its center grew closer, bit by bit. And wriggling out from the gap... those long tentacles.
"Ugh, why does it have to be those again...! Slime would've been better..."
Memories I didn't want to recall crept up on me. Ah... no. Actually, this might be for the best. Sirius had taught me how to deal with them. Keep my distance so they couldn't grab me, and use my skills. Good, I hadn't forgotten a thing. All set. Now to smash those squid legs... and go meet that giant eyeball. Let's go, Yuseong-ah. No—Magical Girl Spica.
With my internal pep talk done, I aimed my magic wand straight at the writhing tentacles.
I remembered the skill name I'd come up with, too. ...It was a little embarrassing, but I could always change it later, right?
"Shining Spica Beam!"
Two visible tentacles. Better to take them out one by one instead of both at once. I fired the beam at the nearer one. A blinding white light shot straight out, hitting it dead-on. Boom!—with purple smoke. Success.
"G-Good... one down...!"
The real trouble started now. That first attack had been a surprise preemptive strike, easy to land... but the remaining tentacle would target me now. Right away, just like...!
"Eek—!"
I barely ducked my head in time to dodge the insanely fast incoming tentacle.
"Keep... distance. Sirius said so."
Don't just stand there like an idiot. I kicked off the rooftop floor and leaped into the air. Dodging the tentacle reaching to grab me, I floated lightly.
"A-Again. Good, plenty of distance..."
Floating in the sky, I aimed at the tentacle that hadn't closed in yet. Stay calm, Spica. One more hit and it's done. Calming my mind was no problem, but my body... wobble.
My inexperienced body shook badly in flight.
"Kyaaah! I'm f-falling—!"
Off-balance, I plummeted fast, the rooftop rushing up. Too panicked to try flying again, I squeezed my eyes shut... but
"..."
No impact came. Instead, something gripped my ankle.
"...S-Squid leg...?"
What? Did this tentacle just... save me? Still wriggling, it held me and slowly retreated back into the rift. Yes, dangling me in the air like a swing.
"No way that's happening! Shining Spica Beam! Spica Beam!"
I couldn't let it drag me off like this. I fired skills wildly. Of course, without aiming properly, none hit. The tentacle coiled around my ankle climbed to my calf, then toward my thigh. No, that slimy, sticky feeling... ugh... I could feel the rift getting closer, too. Amid the chaos in my head, the tentacle's sticky texture on my leg stood out vividly. The goo coating its surface seemed to seep through my skin. This wrapping sensation, this alien slime soaking in... Seeping...?
Ah... no. That was a dream. The dream where I lost. And now, I was...
"N-No—! Sh-Sh-Shining Spica Beam!!"
A chill ran down my spine. In a last desperate burst, I gripped the wand with both hands and fired at the tentacle. Did my desperation reach the stars? A brighter, more dazzling beam burst from the jewel. It cleanly burst the tentacle dragging me toward the rift.
"Kyaaah—!" Thud.
With the tentacle gone, I dropped naturally onto the rooftop. Not too high, so it didn't hurt much. More importantly, the tentacle and rift's status.
"The... rift! Gotta close it quick."
Who knew what else might come out. I staggered to my feet and wobbled toward the rift. Pressing my magic wand to the long, torn black tear, I squeezed my eyes shut and focused.
"..."
It's... working? A bit more.
"..."
Should be closed now? Just to be safe, one more minute...?
"..."
"What are you doing?"
"Kyaaaaah—!"
Why did everyone around me have to scare me like this? The silver lining: it wasn't an unfamiliar voice.
"S-Sirius-unnie!"
"I came because I sensed a rift... but you've already handled it."
"I... I almost died! The tentacle, it... grabbed my leg...!"
"You're alive. The rift... is closed."
Sirius stared at where the rift had been. So... cool... but she came because she was worried about the rift.
"See you next time."
Whoosh.
"...Unnie?"
Confirming the rift sealed, Sirius flew off.
"Ah... the Abyss! The dream! I should've asked!"
Too late to shout at the blue streak crossing the distant night sky.
"...Next time, ask for her phone number."
Regret mixing with pride, I looked down at the black shards on the ground. They slowly flowed toward the jewel embedded in my necklace.
"Anyway... it's done."
My first solo fight, and figuring out how to reach that eyeball.
There were close calls, but I did it alone, right? Kinda proud? One... sticky thing, though: the slime left on my legs. From my calf to right under my skirt, all gooey...
"Huh?"
Looking down again, the slime was gone.
"...It seeped in?"
That was worse... Whatever. Pretend it just wiped off. With the fight over, my pounding heart finally calmed. On the way back, be more careful not to fall while flying. And... time to dream. Wait right there, eyeball.
You don't look happy, Spica.
"Of course not! Y-You lied to me!"
There were no lies in our deal conversation. What, brazenly not even blinking? ...Well, you only have one eye anyway.
Can you tell me why you feel I lied?
Calmer than I expected? M-Maybe a misunderstanding?
"O-Okay. Listen up."
Maybe I judged too hastily, so I explained everything. The unease in my chest when I first woke from the dream. The eerie overlap between the dream and reality at school today.
"The dream isn't just a dream!"
Hm... I see. And I can guess why.
Oh, what? There was another reason?
"Wh-What is it? The reason."
The giant eye blinked.
Spica. Since becoming a magical girl, has another voice echoed in your mind?
"Y-Yes! How did you know? Whose voice is it?"
The day I became a magical girl. I'd told Altair-unnie, and she looked a bit scared... I'd forgotten.
That voice belongs to Spica. The magical girl called Spica before you became her.
"...?"
The previous... Spica? At our first meeting, Altair said: '...Spica's seat is empty...' So what happened to the original Spica...?
You have exceptional aptitude as a magical girl, Spica. But a side effect akin to that aptitude follows like a curse of fortune. You grow strong easily, but you can be infiltrated just as easily.
"Infiltrated... how?"
What you felt. Those sensations. Pleasure. Defeat. Compared to other magical girls, you accept me more readily. That is your aptitude as a magical girl. The potential to grow even stronger.
"If I accept you more easily..."
Yes. You grow fast, but must bear the backlash. Echoes in reality. Diminished recreations. From now on, too... every time you grow stronger, you'll feel those things.
It felt a bit iffy, honestly, but I'd heard something more important.
"...Got it. First, tell me about that other Spica—not me."
The urgent, lewd voice I'd heard... it felt dangerous. She dreamed, lost... and vanished? Does that mean she couldn't wake from the dream? And could I...?
Then allow me to propose a special deal just for you. For each time you face a possibility of defeat and return, I'll answer one question about the previous Spica.
Couldn't I just ask the other magical girls? The thought crossed my mind... but I remembered Altair's reaction and expression. Like I'd asked something I shouldn't.
I had to get stronger anyway, trading with this eyeball—so why not get this as a bonus...? The idea that dream effects might linger after waking didn't sit well. But with my aptitude... I could grow stronger faster. Above all, that previous Spica... I wanted to know if I could save her.
"...Okay."
Excellent. The giant eye closed, darkness swelling. The black Abyss fragments had already left my jewel, flowing toward the eye. Its voice echoed in the dark.
No need to ponder questions ahead of time. You won't have the luxury for stray thoughts in this defeat.
Wh-What did that mean...? Ominous. Losing, and the lingering effects bleeding a bit into reality. Fine. I could handle a hot, itchy feeling. More than that, I'd uncover what happened to Spica. Even if I'd never met her, if I could help... In a dream, even if scary... I could lose as many times as needed.