Chapter 130 : Fragments of Greed (4)

Attacks by magical girls with identical faces.

This eyewitness news, reported while clearing small rifts that occurred in Europe, China, and Korea, was conveyed to the Grand Council through representatives of the European Union, Bright Moon, and White Wing Unit respectively.

Chloe, the magical girl of [Penetration].

Li Na, the magical girl of [Memorization].

Lee Minseul, the magical girl of [Shooting].

Combat magical girls who have strengthened to awakened 2-star through numerous person-to-person battles and real combat since last winter.

It was a report that they were attacked by someone with an identical face to themselves, who had shown excellent combat sense that was hard to distinguish even compared to born 2-star magical girls.

‘The observatory said it was similar to the energy of demons, not magical girls…’

As soon as I heard the news, I was sitting with Li Na, who had come to report this fact last, listening to the details.

“But it’s strange.”

“In what way?”

Li Na seemed to be recalling her memories while constantly twirling one side of her twin tails with her hand. Her face as she recalled the memory was unpleasant.

‘Subduing an unidentified opponent with the same face as herself must have been an unpleasant memory for her too.’

Li Na, who organized her vague discomfort into words while recalling it, continued talking slowly.

“As soon as she saw me, she went wild saying she was going to her mom, and mentioned things like where our house is or the clothing store my mom runs. I wondered if she was really another me, but.”

As I listened to those words, I felt my hands and feet growing cold at the thought that perhaps demons were imitating magical girls and even reading their minds.

“Among the things that one said. She kept muttering things I don’t really know about, like being deceived by the country, being deceived and sent to America as soon as demons came, and that America she arrived at was even more hellish… something like that?”

“What? America? Why America all of a sudden?”

America is currently a problem-free land guarded alternately by Hecate, the Free Magical Girl Alliance, and Elysion’s golden magical girls.

“I don’t know. And that one was incredibly strange. While making mistakes that a complete novice who just came out to a friendly match would make, it was chilling how she had no hesitation in trying to kill people.”

As I listened to Li Na’s words, I recalled magical girls with familiar appearances I had seen somewhere, and a certain world.

Magical girls not adept at handling starlight.

China helplessly defeated by demons.

Accustomed to killing people.

That world was the original world of <Magical Girl HAZARD>.

“…No way.”

“Hm? Do you know something?”

“Ah, no. Just in case.”

“Okay.”

“By any chance, did the other Li Na try to take the glass star?”

“Yes! That’s right. I wondered what she was trying to do by taking it. Magical girls benefit much more from helping others and blooming their own dreams anyway.”

“…”

“Whew… anyway. It felt a bit creepy. I miss my mom…”

“I see. I’m sorry for keeping you for so long.”

“It’s okay.”

I forced a smile on my face while thanking and seeing off Li Na, and Li Na returned to China through the warp gate.

“…”

I calmed my slightly pounding heart and returned to the conference room. Back in the conference room, representative magical girls from each country were talking with serious faces.

“Just a kind of demon that reads thoughts and imitates appearances… a doppelganger? Isn’t it something like that?”

“Hmm, are they aiming for psychological shock by bringing up hometown or family stories in common?”

“Then that would explain why they imitated the magical girls who were in charge of the combat teams.”

“That’s right. After all, they would have to imitate the strongest and most influential person to cause agitation.”

“Rather, they could go in the direction of evoking sympathy by choosing the face of the weakest companion, so we should note precautions in the manual separately.”

Dorim, Himari, and Sumire were calmly analyzing without agitation, thoroughly considering the opponent as a demon with indifferent faces. It seemed that they, who were originally rational, thought that unknown opponents called demons could attack in this way.

“Hmm, so they said they had weaker capabilities than the one they imitated?”

“That’s right. The platoon members said their use of starlight was clumsy, almost at the level of untrained new recruits.”

“What, they’re seriously pathetic. Demons that can only do psychological attacks?”

“We can’t take them too lightly either. There might be personalities that are vulnerable to such attacks.”

“Well, their methods are a bit dirty.”

Ichika was purely asking Park Saebyeok out of curiosity, and Park Saebyeok was explaining calmly but firmly.

Among the magical girls talking about the opponent mainly in terms of strategy and combat.

Li Meilin looked at me with a heavy expression.

“There’s something… that bothers me.”

“…”

When Li Meilin, who usually dozed off or slacked during meetings, raised her hand and spoke seriously, everyone focused on her. Li Meilin looked at me with trembling eyes, and I guessed what discomfort she had.

Perhaps I thought I would never have to tell them in my lifetime.

“Among the things the fake magical girl imitating Li Na said… I heard that an operation the Chinese government had planned to do a long time ago was carried out.”

“The one about evacuating Chinese and Korean magical girls to America if there’s a problem?”

Dorim, who had stopped President Yang from trying to carry out that operation last fall with me, understood what Li Meilin said faster than anyone.

An operation to guarantee the safety of high-ranking government officials and at the same time send magical girls to America to isolate them in a controllable environment in case China and Korea face a crisis. And to quickly incorporate their transcendent healing abilities under the control of the joint US-China-Korea government.

“W-we almost carried it out last year because of the Scavengers. But the fake Li Na said that China was about to be destroyed by demons this year, and they evacuated to America with high-ranking government officials.”

“…Come to think of it, Platoon Leader Lee Minseul said something similar.”

“Chloe said her other self was desperately looking for her friends.”

Park Saebyeok and Laura agreed with Li Meilin’s words, and the magical girl representatives gathered in the conference room sensed that these testimonies were coming together and trying to move in some new direction.

“L-looking at those statements, somehow what they’re saying seems very different from the facts we know.”

“That’s right.”

“But it’s also an assumption that could have happened.”

“…That’s true.”

“And there’s information that only they themselves would know.”

“…”

Li Meilin presented one possibly terrifying assumption.

Some terrible situation that Li Na, Minseul, and Chloe might have committed without knowing well.

“Maybe… just maybe.”

“…”

“It’s a really nonsensical imagination, but could the fake magical girls who came out of the rifts be… some kind of… themselves… from a different history…?”

“…”

“…Ah, maybe not. It could have just been random talk.”

Killing another self from elsewhere.

In some sense, another method of suicide.

A fact that could be shocking to magical girls who had already subdued fake magical girls for the safety of other magical girls and the removal of rifts. As that expectation came to mind and a suffocating silence was gradually falling over the conference room, a voice was heard.

“That probably isn’t the case.”

“Hecate?”

Hecate, who had finished her outside work and entered the conference room at some point, quietly sat down next to me and continued speaking.

“Even if they came from that history, I’m certain they are not themselves.”

“Why?”

“…”

Hecate looked at me, sending a gaze seeking agreement.

Should we tell them the story of the already destroyed world?

Should we explain that I am protecting this world by twisting the original history to save them?

Such questions were contained in Hecate’s faintly glowing red eyes.

‘Looking at it this way, we might look like sisters.’

Similar red eyes to mine.

The original Hecate would have unilaterally informed the facts without even asking me, but warmth began to fill the eyes of Hecate, who was learning how to communicate while interacting with numerous people.

Warm red. Those eyes were now becoming similar to mine.

“…”

And the magical girls gathered here were also firmly moving forward with solid beliefs built through their own thoughts, experiences, and trust.

They were no longer fragile girls I had to protect unilaterally.

Equal comrades to me.

“This world has already been destroyed once.”

“Destroyed? Is this a story from the past? Related to the goddess of [Beginning]…”

I shook my head at Sumire’s words.

“The time of this world has already been reversed once, and I know the original history of this world that was destroyed. I am a foreign substance that did not exist in that history.”

“Time was reversed? You mean we’ve already gone back to the past once…?!”

“Yes, that’s why I’ve known the time of destruction in advance and led magical girls through dreams until now.”

“The time of destruction… you’re talking about a history different from now?”

“Yes.”

I talked about the past history that I thought I might never need to tell them.

“Everyone from there… magical girls in that other history, except for you and the apostles, all died.”