Remember the End (1)
The doctor's claim that he would fix my rotten mind into a properly monstrous one was right on the money.
The scene unfolding before my eyes would have looked plenty gruesome to any ordinary person.
"A Monster Girl short on despair never made sense to begin with. Heh heh, with this, even you won't be able to defy me!"
He's got a point...
The place the doctor had brought me to was, quite literally, somewhere I could never defy him.
A human floated inside a large tank-like container — more precisely, a magical girl. From a helmet-like device strapped to her head, thick Despair Energy was being drawn out in rolling, syrupy waves.
"Looking at this has piqued your interest, hasn't it? Of course it has. For you — for a monster — a magical girl's despair is the finest delicacy there is!"
With a grand flourish of his arms, the doctor suddenly looked magnificent. Yes, this was it. Whether human or monster, you only start doing anything once your stomach is full.
"You'll come to understand why you must listen to me, Monster Girl."
"Ohh..."
Inside the beaker he held up with such pride, the sticky despair of the magical girl churned and bubbled. Freshly extracted despair. I'd thought the despair I'd felt at the Shelter was pretty decent, but after seeing this, my opinion flipped completely.
Anyone can see that one's top-grade.
If I had to compare, it was the difference between a pebble rolling by the roadside and a diamond. My Despair Circuit hummed insistently, demanding the despair at once, so I politely extended both hands.
"Please give it to me."
"...Hmm. Still quite insolent, aren't you."
The doctor, who had seemed about to hand me the beaker, suddenly thrust his arm high. Don't tell me he was going to throw that precious thing away? But I had no humanity left in me. It wouldn't look pretty, but I was confident I could devour every last drop of despair spilled on the ground without leaving a single one behind. Even if I looked human on the outside, I was a monster through and through.
Gulp— gulp— gulp—
"Huuuuh... good, so good."
"..."
Just as I was preparing to lick up the despair scattered across the floor, the doctor bent his raised arm and brought the mouth of the beaker to his own. Then he downed it in one shot. Seeing that, I had no choice but to straighten my hunched-over waist.
Th-that precious stuff... into the doctor's mouth...!
"Heh heh, how about it? Want a drink? Then now you'll listen to me— hmm? Still that insolent look in your eyes, Monster Girl."
What was he going to do about insolence? I felt ashamed of myself for thinking the doctor was cool even for a moment. A parent snatching a child's baby food? Beyond disqualified as a parent — the absolute worst of the worst.
Thud— thud—
"Wh-what are you doing?!"
"Kidnapping a magical girl and turning her into this must take quite a bit of work, right?"
"W-what are you suddenly talking about..."
What am I talking about? This, of course. I lightly swung my hand and tapped the tank containing the magical girl with a couple of solid thuds, the sound echoing through the room. How about it? Finally getting a sense of the situation?
"If someone were to obediently hand over the magical girl's despair, this tank probably wouldn't get broken. What do you think, Doctor?"
"..."
Silence could mean affirmation or denial, but this one was a different flavor entirely. It felt like he'd shut his mouth automatically because the whole thing was just too absurd. Yes — now are you starting to realize how ridiculous what you did was?
"Perhaps you don't understand human speech?"
Thud—
Another punch, just to snap him out of it. I'd already confirmed he could take a light swing, so this one should also hold up just f—
Craaack—
"Huh."
It didn't hold. Like a laptop screen bitten by a cat, the shattered tank began to wobble with an unsettling sound. ...I hadn't meant to break it. Well, sorry about that.
"Wh-wh-wh-what have you done?!?!!?!!"
Craaackle— smash—!!!!
Ah, that last bit probably wasn't me. If the doctor hadn't screamed, it wouldn't have shattered so spectacularly. Definitely. Probably. Maybe. Hmm.
"D-do you have any idea how much work went into building this facility, and you've ruined it like this...!"
Even looking like a drowned rat, the doctor wouldn't stop despairing. Hmm, a monster's despair. A bit novel — might not be bad. Definitely not a flavor I'd eat regularly, though.
"T-take responsibility! D-do you even know what you've done?!"
"What did I do?"
"Ha, haha... hahaha!"
When I tilted my head, genuinely not knowing, the doctor let out a hollow laugh and smacked his own forehead with a loud slap of his palm. Had some brilliant idea come to him? Well, if it was the doctor, the greatest brain among monsters, fixing a magical girl despair extraction machine should be easy. As expected of the doctor. Doctor's the best!
"Damn it... Test subject! Prepare for escape! Move, move!"
Grrr!
At the doctor's urgent shout, a monster from outside lumbered into the lab with a sluggish gait. Its whole posture screamed that it couldn't be more annoyed. Yet its body was moving busily this way and that, so it must really be an emergency. Why the hell are both of them like this?
"Damn it, it's coming! I wasn't planning to face them right now, kuh!"
"Who's coming—"
BOOM—!!!!!!!
With a tremendous roar, the laboratory began to shake. I staggered for a moment under vibrations that felt like an earthquake.
"Emergency escape, test subject!"
Grrrr!
As if boarding an escape spaceship, the doctor slipped right into the monster's body. Then he began sinking into the ground as if it were water, looking like he was diving into a shadow, and I couldn't help but marvel. What is that — I want a ride too. A monster that swims through the earth? I can't resis—
Ssssshk—
"...Huh."
I tilted my head at the two presences that had vanished in an instant. What, why did they suddenly disappear? No, wait.
Don't tell me they just left me behind?
I felt like I'd been hit in the back of the head. As expected, monsters are monsters. To betray someone you trusted so easily. Even if I caused an accident, if you're going to run, you should at least take me with you as basic courtesy! Or at least tell me who you're running from!
Anyway, she's still somehow alive.
I stared blankly at the magical girl who had spilled out when the doctor's tank was destroyed. The same clothes as me. And the despair slowly seeping from her body. I was disappointed I didn't get to drink the despair extract the doctor had been holding, but since I could still sip the residual despair, I didn't particularly mind.
"Excuse me. It seems like things are getting serious, so you shouldn't just lie here."
Feeling her faint breath, I squatted down and poked the magical girl's chest with my finger. ...What, those were real breasts. And here I thought they were some special pouches the doctor had attached to extract Despair Energy better.
Compared to that, my body...
Flat. Flat! But well, whatever. It was weirder for someone called a magical "girl" to be sporting those in the first place. Anyone could see she wasn't a girl.
"...Ugh."
"Oh."
Maybe because I'd been poking her a little. I let out a short exclamation as the magical girl began to tremble her eyelids with a soft moan. Whoever you are, I'm your savior.
A magical girl saved by a monster, though...
Even if it was by accident, if she found out the truth, it'd probably be a lifelong shame. Anyway, that wasn't the important part.
"Ah..."
"Hello?"
In the fully opened eyes of the magical girl, not a single light shone. A state with no hope whatsoever — exactly the kind a monster would love. If I had to compare, it was like looking into the eyes of a withered, dried-up fish.
"Aaaah, aaaaah..."
But the moment my figure was reflected in those pupils, vitality began to fill them. The revival of a tree thought dead. The sight of despair that seemed unwashable by anything instantly dyeing itself into hope.
Was it a mistake to wait?
Her rainbow-colored shining eyes were pretty, but the amount of hope surging was far too much for me to voice any admiration. Ugh — if I'd had anything in my stomach, I definitely would have thrown it all up. Did he drink the despair extract himself thinking of even this situation? So you really were a genius, Doctor.
"Thank... thank yo—"
KABOOOOOM—!!
Oh, nice timing. If I'd received thanks from a magical girl, every nerve in my body might have twisted, but whoever you are, thanks for saving me. Thick concentrations of Hope Energy mixed into the dust cloud that stole my vision. Even without looking, I could tell it was a magical girl.
"...You, don't tell me."
After the dust cloud cleared, I abruptly raised my head at the low voice that rang out.
This voice, don't tell me—
"Ah..."
Green-colored Hope Energy filling my vision, and a face that looked familiar. First surprise, then joy, then doubt. ...Why is she here?
Emerald was definitely a magical girl who only operated in the center.
"...Apo, calypse."
The word that came from her mouth afterward was enough to make my stopped heart beat again. ...How does she know me? In short, something absurd was happening.