Chapter 17: Malice (2)

If the hospital was a buffet of despair, the national cemetery felt more like a restaurant of despair.

Hmm, this fragrant scent of despair.

I suppressed the corners of my mouth that were about to burst into laughter and slowly walked.

‘Despair that comes from losing someone precious.

I felt the same way at the hospital, but it was a much darker and more intense despair than the one I felt at the hospital.

If you ask which one I prefer, of course I liked this one much better.

The despair of magical girls was much darker than this to begin with.

“Oh my, oh my.

Why, why did that girl have to die…

Why on earth…”

“Ugh, I almost laughed out loud for a moment…”

It was a place that was as dangerous as it was delicious.

Mainly socially.

Even though it was a monster, I didn’t want to get my hair pulled or get hit with a raw egg—

…Let’s move.

If I stay longer, I’ll be treated as a crazy person.

I wanted to see a little more, but I was a monster who knew restraint.

Anyway, I walked around the cemetery like that and devoured the despair of the humans.

It felt like you could eat as much despair as you wanted at a despair restaurant.

Woof—

“Huh?”

I tilted my head at the despair circuit that suddenly started to ring.

Was this the extent of human despair?

No, it wasn’t.

It was a despair that felt so familiar…

‘So… this is it?”

As I moved my body beyond the large tombstone, a familiar face came into view.

Magical girl Peridot.

It was the mouth-watering magical girl who had first tasted delicious despair.

‘Oh, it’s nice to see you like this.”

“Hello.”

“Hee, hee…”

What is this, her reaction is strange.

Shouldn’t she be happy if she was captured by a monster and returned?

She’s disqualified as a magical girl, hey.

A person finally came back alive!

I teased her a little too much… but it wasn’t that bad, right?

It’s a simple prank that people imagine at least once.

It’s too much to have such a reaction just because she pulled a prank like that once.

Even though I was a monster, my emotions were close to human ones, so I couldn’t help but get hurt.

Hurt, hurt.

My weak monster heart.

“Are you avoiding me?”

“I, I didn’t avoid, ugh… ugh…”

Peridot started to vomit, so I tilted my head, then suddenly realized something and slammed my fist into my palm.

Didn’t you overeat yesterday?

I also ate despair too much and threw up hope in my mouth a while ago.

I didn’t want to feel like I had anything in common with magical girls in this regard, but…

“I can understand why you’re doing that.”

“”

“It’s embarrassing to tell others, right?”

“”

“In a way, it’s probably the last bit of pride you have left.”

I didn’t want to let out a halo in a crowded place, so I tried my best to calm her down as much as possible.

This is what it means to be an adult.

Even though I don’t have a heart.

Anyway, Peridot listened quietly, perhaps because my words impressed her.

That’s unexpected.

I heard that kids these days aren’t good at just sitting still and listening.

Woof—

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry…

It was my fault…”

“Huh?”

I wasn’t listening?

Peridot’s despair circuit began to tense because she had become panicked on her own.

“Okay, just a sec…

If this keeps up, I’ll get out… Ugh.”

She crouched down to suppress her pounding heart.

Calm down.

Slowly take a deep breath and count to the prime numbers.

So at first—

Woof—

“Ah.”

But despite my desperate efforts, I couldn’t stop the halo from rising above my head.

Tch, I’ve thought about wanting to taste Peridot’s despair again, but I didn’t say I wanted to in this situation!

Once the despair circuit was activated, it opened its mouth wide and began to suck in the despair around it.

“If you stop despairing, I’ll try to stop it somehow…”

“Ahhh.”

I sighed as I looked at Peridot, who was sitting on the floor in despair.

Seriously, how could all the magical girls be so unhelpful to my monster life?

I guess it’s fortunate that Tamako is here.

If it weren’t for Tamako, the only conscience among the magical girls, the magical girls would have been nothing more than a violent group that harassed innocent monsters…

More importantly, there are too many humans.

I just realized something now.

I don’t know when it started, but other humans were gradually gathering around me.

They all looked at me with unfocused eyes, groaning with distorted faces.

They’re not even zombies.

There was a scene in the original where Apocalypse made the humans around him despair, but I never imagined it would be this bad.

Is this what happened because I just injected some water into the despair circuit?

Seeing everyone, including Peridot, forming a circle around me and collapsing, sobbing, I felt like I had become a cult leader.

“Ah, ahhhh…!!”

“Ahhhhhhh…!”

“Ah, eeeeeeek…!!”

The performance was good, but it was visually quite painful to look at.

It would have been better if there had been one or two, but when they did this in a group, it was extremely painful to the eyes.

It would have been different if only pretty girls like Peridot were sobbing.

“My mind is happy, but my eyes are not happy at all.

There’s a monster captured here.

Someone save the poor monster here!”

But no one came to help despite those desperate cries.

Of course, that is, if it were a person.

Gmmmmmm—

“Monster?”

Under the shadow of the tombstone.

The monster that appeared as if it had always been there was staring at me, dripping sticky saliva.

I thought it would rush in and eat the humans, but it didn’t seem like that would happen when I saw it sitting quietly and waiting.

‘Wait, you’re a well-trained monster.’

Rather, wouldn’t you please not continue to despair and just focus on your main job?

I sighed as I looked at Peridot, who had now lost focus to the same extent as other humans.

I didn’t want to resort to this method, but I had no choice.

“Whew…”

Take a deep breath—

AAAAAH!

“Uh, ah…?”

“Come to your senses, Peridot.”

“Ah, ah…?”

As expected, humans need shock to come to their senses.

As soon as I slapped her cheek, Peridot regained focus slightly, grabbed my cheek, and opened her eyes wide.

The thing in those eyes was none other than me.

“Hey, you’re not going to attack me, are you?”

I felt uneasy for no reason, so I quickly pointed at the monster with my index finger.

Okay, there’s a monster over there.

If I’m a magical girl, I have to take care of it, right?

Peridot, who had moved her gaze to the tips of my fingers, let out a silent sigh.

Oh, is she finally coming to her senses?

“You can do it now, Peridot.”

“You can…”

“This is another chance to protect everyone?”

“Everyone,” Peridot’s head dropped with a thud.

Oh, oh, oh… Why are you suddenly like this?

Weren’t you coming to your senses?

She was momentarily flustered by that reaction.

‘Ugh… The taste of eating raw sprouted potatoes.’

Peridot’s hope flowed in through the despair circuit.

Hmm, won’t you close it quickly?

You don’t want hope inside you, do you?

As she half-begged, the despair circuit’s rotation slowly began to slow down.

Uuuuung.

“Whew…”

Thank goodness.

I almost vomited blood again and got my clothes dirty.

The blood stains weren’t completely erased, so I can’t get them dirty again, right?

Then, fighting—

Peridot’s vision no longer contained my figure.

The only thing in it was the monster.

Watching the monster that felt her hope raise its body, she hid itself under the shadow.

I don’t know who it is, but I’d like to borrow your shadow, Tombstone Master.

“Transformation…”

Wow, this is the first time I’ve seen a magical girl transform.

I looked at Peridot, smiling brightly like a child who received a Christmas present.

Although my body felt uncomfortable because of the hope that prickled my skin, I could endure it all because my eyes were happy.

“Magical girl Peridot, sortie!”

Gmmmmmmm!!!!

Along with the magical girl’s declaration, the monster began to grow in size by eating the despair of the surrounding humans.

It was a somewhat royal development.

That’s why it was even more fun.

“Hey, why am I here…”

“More importantly, isn’t that a monster?”

“Peridot’s here too!”

“Monster, why is a monster here…”

As Peridot’s hope was scattered, the humans who had been sitting like corpses began to come to their senses one by one.

As soon as they came to their senses, they saw the battle between the magical girl and the monster.

Isn’t it amazing to see in real life the scenes that we’ve only seen on screen or broadcast?

‘By the way, you’re doing a good job protecting humans while running around here and there!

Onlookers usually don’t think they’re going to die.

To think that you’re paying attention to those suicidal people even in the middle of battle…

For a magical girl who doesn’t appear in the original work, you’re quite capable.

‘If only I had some popcorn…”

“Cheer up, Peridot! You can do it!”

“Cheer up, Peridot!”

No, cancel.

If I had, I’m sure I would’ve been eating popcorn that tasted like hope.