Chapter 53: Unwelcomed Guests (4)

It wasn’t that far from the city, and I knew that both Emerald and Ruby were in the city.

But I had turned the despair circuit like this…

It was literally like shouting, “Apocalypse is here, so come here, magical girls!”

“Should I run away?”

“Don’t even think about running away, Apocalypse! No, you weren’t even thinking about running away, were you? I have to eat up the despair of magical girls!”

“What on earth did I do wrong to be able to say that…?”

I stopped moving because Ruby was preventing me from running away with just one word.

I shouldn’t have attacked first.

If I had attacked, I would have been treated like Apocalypse in the original, right?

“Wait a minute! This guy is an ally!”

“Huh?”

But even I had salvation.

Garnet’s back, blocking Ruby’s path, looked so reassuring that if the circumstances were different, I would have hugged her.

I guess I’ll forgive her for poking a hole in my stomach with this.

“What are you talking about? You’re a magical girl, and you can’t even sense the despair that guy has?”

“Don’t you think that he’s talking even though you feel it?”

Similar colors started to growl and argue in a similar way.

Oh, what should I do now?

I couldn’t pick one person and attack them, and it was a situation where I couldn’t just sit still.

“Akari, are you okay?”

“Yes, well.”

“You said, you said…?”

Ruby’s eyes widened as she answered Garnet’s words in a small voice, who was speaking with a strange force.

It was as if she had seen a Tyrannosaurus appearing in the modern era suddenly start talking to people.

Of course, I would have reacted the same way if I were Ruby.

“What’s wrong with that thing on top of my head? It’s causing misunderstandings.”

“What can I do when it doesn’t turn off?”

Garnet reflexively pouted at her rebuke.

She didn’t really know what the situation was, but she was stepping forward.

However, since Garnet’s actions were all helpful right now, it was a bit awkward to say anything.

“Anyway, when is this going to turn off?”

She glanced at the halo floating above her head and looked around.

Look, her face didn’t look like she understood.

As I slowly walked and hid behind Garnet, Ruby made a face that seemed bewildered.

“By the way, Akari…?”

“It’s true that it’s an unsuitable name, but it’s also possible that she didn’t want to be like this.”

Since it was a conversation between someone who knew about Apocalypse and someone who didn’t, there were some parts that were a little different than I expected.

Right, Ruby.

The doctor said it didn’t suit her either.

It wasn’t a name that was created with that meaning in mind, but it was something I couldn’t explain by saying, “Actually, I was going to say Apocalypse, but I twisted it and said Akari.”

“Oh, right. The doctor? Where’s the doctor?!”

“Oh.”

“The doctor’s here too?”

Ruby, I’m sorry, but the doctor Garnet is talking about isn’t the doctor you’re thinking of.

Anyway, what was important right now wasn’t clearing up such a minor misunderstanding.

What was important was the fact that Curse disappeared while we—or more precisely, Ruby—were fighting.

No, how many magical girls are here that you missed Curse escaping?

“It seems like the professor ran away after all.”

“Haa, I came to catch that guy, but I missed him while doing something useless… Um, whose fault do you think this is?”

“Why are you looking at me?”

Garnet glared at Ruby, and Ruby glared at Garnet.

Oh, is this going to be a second round where magical girls fight each other?

It would’ve been perfect if there was popcorn, but all there was in this lab was the remains of a monster and a faint sense of despair.

Well, it’s a little funny to be clingy to a situation that’s about to end soon.

“Akari!!”

“Emerald.”

Ruby’s arrival also meant Emerald’s arrival, you know.

Despite the halo floating above my head, Emerald still came over to me.

“Are you okay?! You’re not hurt?!”

“Yeah, well… If they were hurt more than me, then they were, right?”

“You…”

Emerald looked at Garnet, and Gamet quietly averted her gaze.

Why are you reacting like you’ve committed a crime?

Did something happen?

When she tilted her head, the halo floating above her head also tilted slightly to match the tilt of her head.

What the heck, they were synchronized like this.

I turned my head here and there, amazed at the halo moving in sync with my head.

“Wait a minute, what’s going on? Emerald, did you know that Apocalypse was here? Or were we already acquainted in the first place?”

“I, I’ll explain everything.”

“This isn’t something that can be solved with an explanation!!”

If only the halo above her head would disappear.

Looking at it like this, she looks like Ruby trying to stop Emerald from being brainwashed by Apocalypse.

Originally, it was supposed to be a picture of Emerald protecting a normal human who looks like Apocalypse, and Ruby getting angry at seeing Emerald like that…

“Can’t you see that thing above your head?! Even if you speak human language, Apocalypse is Apocalypse!”

“It’s not the apocalypse!!”

“What?”

“Akari, it’s not the apocalypse.”

But one thing that’s fortunate is that the efforts up until now weren’t in vain.

Even though the despair circuit was running in real time, seeing Emerald blocking my path for me gave me a new feeling.

Alright!

You’re doing great, Emerald!

Keep pushing like that!

The monster who cheers for the magical girl was right here.