The Weight of a Soul
The ground crunched and cracked as a massive boulder buried in the dirt was yanked free, wrapped tightly in threads. It came out with considerable effort. No—effort shouldn’t even be necessary.
“So this is about the limit…? That’s it? Seriously?”
Roughly the size of an adult’s upper body. Yeah. The performance matched the original story exactly. Lifting something this heavy seemed to be the ceiling of my current ability.
Performance test complete. Xena’s power was pathetic.
A human struck by a rock this big would die instantly, no question. But since it meant nothing to a magical girl, it couldn’t even land a meaningful hit on one. Sure, I could dominate ordinary humans, but against magical girls? This power was useless.
…Were there magical girls who couldn’t even dominate humans?
It didn’t seem to have any cutting power like the superpowered characters you see in comics or novels. The threads were just tough and durable. That was it.
“Then what about this?”
I summoned five strands of magical thread from my fingertips. As the loosened threads coiled around my hand, I slammed my fist into the ground.
It hurt. They didn’t even cushion the impact properly. Completely unsuitable for defense. And I was supposed to fight magical girls with this?
Maybe the threads weren’t meant for direct attacks. There had to be some other use. Otherwise, there was no way this ability would have a danger rating of 1.6.
I couldn’t even guarantee a win against Pania, let alone Gem. The resolve I had forged back in the slums began to blur.
I let out a sigh and perched on the boulder.
‘Right. My butt’s getting dirty.’
The fact that disgust welled up even in that moment told me my mind was already being influenced by the original Xena to some degree.
Let’s organize this.
First goal: Gem. In the original story, Gem had a rather rough personality, but she was a magical girl who carried out her will more proudly than anyone. The type who would break before she bent.
But the Gem now? She was nothing more than a loyal dog who would die for anything Serafina said.
“Clinging to Serafina like a tick on a dog’s fur and groveling like that. ‘If the Association President says die, then you die,’ huh? Who the hell are you talking about?”
My mouth started running on its own. This had appeared in the original too—the way Xena looked down on others and sneered. It seemed I really was being influenced by her.
A villainess who was as fastidious as she was arrogant, who thought everyone except herself was trash. There was nothing good about being influenced by someone like that. I needed to shut it down to some extent.
The moment that thought crossed my mind, a violent backlash surged inside my head. It must have been Xena’s narcissistic tendencies… The girl refused to acknowledge or tolerate any criticism of herself. Even if the critic was herself.
Truly the very definition of a villainess with zero capacity for self-reflection.
“Ugh… my head…”
I crouched on the dirt floor and clutched my skull.
…Anyway. I had to turn Gem into a true magical girl. I needed to become her trial. Magical girls grow through trials. That was the conclusion I had reached.
Maybe Gem could become the ideal magical girl I was looking for?
Of course, I had absolutely no personal feelings about it. You know how it is. The dark hero who plays the villain while protecting the world’s order from the shadows. The noble hero who bears the stigma of being a villain and sacrifices everything for others.
That was the role I would play.
> [Porim...? I'm contacting you because your return is delayed. Are you safe?]
A magical communication window floated up. Inside it, a plump old woman was looking me over. It was Matriarch. Since I hadn’t contacted her despite promising to return today, she must have been worried that I had been killed by Serafina.
“Matriarch.”
I answered in a voice that still felt unfamiliar. For now, I would talk with her. Maybe I could get some advice. She needed to know about the current situation too.
> [Who are you? And where has Porim gone?]
“I am Porim. This is what I look like after accepting a magical girl’s soul.”
> [ ...... ]
For the length of time it took the wasteland’s sandy wind to slap my face five times, Matriarch remained silent. After a moment—
> [I never imagined a fairy’s body could accept a magical girl’s soul… More importantly, what are you thinking?]
I had expected a scolding, but Matriarch asked for the situation in a surprisingly calm tone. I needed to stay composed. I had to explain my position clearly.
“You once told me that my role was to guide the magical girls so they could walk the right path. That’s exactly what I’m doing. I won’t be returning. I realized there’s still work left for me. This is absolutely necessary to create the ideal magical girl.”
I had meant to calmly persuade her, but it came out rambling. Facing Matriarch made my emotions run high. Why were my words getting so tangled? It sounded like I was making excuses.
But unlike me, Matriarch remained perfectly calm.
> [So you’re saying you can restore the fallen magical girls to their original state? I’d like to hear an explanation.]
“Yes, yes! First, let me correct something. The magical girls aren’t fallen. They were never fallen to begin with. They’re still in the middle of growing! I thought about it, you see? The magical girls never faced any trials. Maybe that’s why. Struggling against enemies and growing both in power and character is a cliché of magical girl stories, right? But they won too easily and couldn’t grow! That’s what happened…! What do you think!”
Matriarch frowned. She looked like she had a lot to say. My voice grew increasingly desperate.
“I’ll become a magical girl and serve as their trial! Once they overcome the trials, they’ll become ideal magical girls! If an ideal magical girl is born, everything will be resolved!!”
The words I wanted to say tumbled out in a mess, but my mind was spinning sharply. If an ideal magical girl was born, she would solve everything. That was the kind of being an ideal magical girl was.
Of course, both power and character had to be perfect. If power was lacking, you got Pania. If character was lacking, you got Serafina. Neither could be compromised.
> [ ...It sounds a bit far-fetched, but I understand the situation. You must have gone through a lot.]
Only then could I finally calm down. I nodded slowly.
Matriarch let out a deep sigh before speaking again.
> [So… Porim. You’re saying you will fight them in the body of a magical girl, because once trials appear, the magical girls will grow as people… Is that what you’re trying to say?]
“Exactly!”
> [There doesn’t seem to be any causal relationship between the two…]
Causal relationship? What nonsense was she spouting? I had reread the story of Magical Girl Serafina dozens of times, dissected not only the official setting book but the author’s entire past history down to the initial drafts, devoured every magical girl manga and novel I could find, joined every related fan site, and bought all the merch. And she was telling me there was no causal relationship?
What had she ever done? Besides sitting in that stupid window and giving orders? I was different. I had given direct instructions to the magical girls in the field, always thought about what magical tools they might need, obtained them, and delivered them. And that wasn’t all.
I had created three awakened magical girls that never existed in the original story. No, four if you included Pania. I had done what even she couldn’t. She hadn’t created a single awakened magical girl. I no longer felt the need to continue this conversation.
That single exchange allowed me to regain complete composure.
“If that’s what you think, I’ll hang up. I’ll handle it myself.”
> [Wait. There’s something you might be interested in.]
Something I might be interested in. Matriarch always threw out bait like this in that annoying way right before making an unreasonable demand. Was this more of the same?
> [To be honest, I can’t understand it, but I will respect your intention. That said, this is also a request I’m making of you.]
I knew it. Still, if it was something that would interest me, I might as well listen.
“Go ahead.”
> [The strongest magical girl who existed in ancient times. I want you to retrieve her soul.]
“An ancient magical girl?”
Matriarch had dropped a story that made my eyes light up. A magical girl I didn’t know about?
> [Yes. For convenience, let’s call her the Primordial Magical Girl. Her power is so overwhelming that even if every existing magical girl combined their strength, they couldn’t match her. If that soul falls into the hands of the Magical Girl Association, it’s all over.]
The Primordial Magical Girl. Usually, if there was a major setting like this, wouldn’t they have dropped at least some foreshadowing? The author hadn’t been this sloppy with the story. Magical Girl Serafina had gone on hiatus after the first part ended, so even if it was meant for part two, this felt too sudden.
> [Originally, I planned to ask all the magical girls, with Serafina at the lead. But now they no longer follow my orders. In fact, they will try to kill me for trying to control them. That is why I am asking you, Porim. And this is also a story for your sake.]
Honestly, I had a lot of complaints about Matriarch. Even though she was the one ultimately responsible for managing the magical girls, she had seemed completely unconcerned about the severity of the current situation. I had thought she was just taking it easy.
So she had her own plans after all. I wasn’t the only one who had lost my voice after clashing with reality. Feeling a bittersweet sense of kinship with her, I asked about the part where she said it was for my sake.
“What do you mean?”
> [I believe the Primordial Magical Girl may be the ideal magical girl you are looking for.]
I shook my head at that. Just because someone was the strongest didn’t mean they were the best.
“Having power doesn’t automatically make someone the ideal magical girl. If we’re only talking about power, Serafina would already qualify as ideal.”
> [She is different.]
“How?”
> [The Primordial Magical Girl faced the strongest enemy with nothing but the noble will to save everyone, and she perished together with it. She is a being who is complete in character. She is undoubtedly the ideal magical girl you seek. I plan to recover the Primordial Soul and pass it on to a suitable successor who will carry on her will.]
It certainly sounded right. But a strange sense of unease was rising. It felt like all these suddenly appearing settings were being forcibly stitched together.
“Who is this strongest enemy? And even if someone accepts the Primordial Soul, that doesn’t mean they’ll inherit her personality, right? Just because they take in the Primordial Soul doesn’t automatically make them the ideal magical girl.”
Matriarch let out another sigh.
> [Let’s stop with the unnecessary talk. In the end, the only thing that matters to you is that it is the soul of an ideal magical girl. If you can find no flaws in what I’ve said, will you accept it?]
“......”
It seemed she was right. This conversation was unnecessary. Let’s drop it.
Anyway, the Primordial Magical Girl… A being far stronger than even an awakened magical girl. What did she look like? What kind of power did she use? Could she really be the ideal magical girl I was searching for?
My heart began to pound violently.
“Where can I find her? What does she look like?”
> [There are places where clues can be found. The sanctuaries left behind by the ancient magical girls for their descendants. There are several sanctuaries, and they will contain plenty of the magical tools they once used. As for the Primordial Soul… you will recognize it the moment you see it. The power condensed within it is so immense that even a human could sense it.]
Sanctuaries. This was information I already knew. Back when they fought the demons, there had been unidentified old bunkers in several cities that couldn’t be breached no matter what was done to them. So those were the sanctuaries.
This wasn’t an unreasonable request. I was planning to travel to every city anyway, confronting magical girls along the way. Stopping by the sanctuaries at the same time wouldn’t be a problem. There was no issue with the route.
Besides, if the Primordial Soul was that powerful? And I could obtain magical tools as well? There was no need to think any further.
“Alright. I’ll accept that request.”
> [Thank you. Contact me anytime if you need help. Then, Porim, I’m counting on you.]
With those final words, the transmission cut off. At the same time, I stood up from the boulder. My objectives were set.
To become a trial for the current magical girls and help them grow. And to find the sanctuaries of the ancient magical girls scattered across the land.
Time to go.
With that resolve, I pushed through the sandstorm for several hours until the city gate came into view. In front of the checkpoint stood familiar faces. They were the thugs under Gem’s command.