Chapter 3: Magical Girl of the Crescent Moon (3)

To compensate for the lack of manpower, artificially created magical girls were developed.

Except for the brain and spinal cord, most of their organs had been replaced with artificial organs and machinery.

On the surface, they looked no different from ordinary girls.

But in reality, they were nothing more than biomechanical machines wearing human skin.

They had become beings too ambiguous to be called human.

Naturally, they couldn’t bear children.

And after undergoing customization, some were even presented as ‘offerings’ to influential politicians or high-ranking members of major institutions for “entertainment” purposes.

Their average lifespan was 25 years.

The power of a magical girl was simply too much for a human body to endure.

Even after full-body modifications, these artificial girls could not withstand that power.

Some vanished without a trace due to magical overload, some were devoured by unidentified entities leaving no corpses behind, others collapsed and were disposed of, and some lost their sense of self and went on a rampage before being subdued and killed by other magical girls.

In any case, intact corpses were rare.

The artificial girls who were close to Ianna had mostly met such ends.

Their appearances, personalities, preferences, and names… all of it remains vivid in her memory.

There was nothing Ianna could do except help them die quickly to reduce their suffering.

The older generation of artificial girls who fought alongside her died trembling in fear right before her eyes.

Guilt.

It is the emotion that most dominates Ianna’s heart.

She is overwhelmed by the guilt of having failed to protect the magical girls who were artificially created.

Even now, as her body has become more machine than flesh, and her consciousness blurs due to the control chip implanted in her brain—

That guilt remains, unwavering.

‘…’

The massive monitor directly in front of the control room synced with Spes-3’s line of sight.

Just as most of her organs had been replaced by machinery or synthetic substitutes, both her eyes had been replaced with miniature cameras.

And then—

Crunch—

Spes-3’s blood-soaked body appeared on the monitor.

Her spinal cord had been ripped out first, followed by the machinery and artificial organs that made up her body.

There was nothing above her neck.

It was as if nothing had ever existed there.

Her severed head had sprayed blood in all directions.

A space filled with darkness on all sides.

In this place that served as a junction between two dimensions—created to prevent the manifestation of an unidentified entity—

Spes-3 met the most miserable end.

A pale violet skin tone came into view.

It was a humanoid unidentified entity, roughly 3 meters tall.

This entity possessed no organs besides its mouth.

Apart from a massive maw filled with saw-like teeth, its pale and grotesque skin was lined with writhing tendrils.

Slick—

The entity transformed its hand into a sharp blade and cleanly severed Spes-3’s neck.

All in an instant.

The monitor’s camera, still transmitting, captured Spes-3’s head rolling across the dimension’s rocky surface as the humanoid entity began devouring her body.

[…I’m sorry…]

Spes-3’s life signs vanished completely.

“…”

Everyone in the control room fell silent.

No one looked away from the monitor.

They simply stared as the entity munched on Spes-3’s lifeless body.

Even I had never seen a magical girl die in person before—aside from Ianna’s memories.

For a moment, no one could speak.

The death of a magical girl carried more weight than anyone could have imagined.

Perhaps not for everyone, but—

“…A moment of silence.”

The deputy director rose from his seat and spoke softly.

“Deputy Director…?”

“Everyone, please bow your heads. Spes-3 chose a sacred and noble sacrifice to buy us a little more time. Let us honor her soul with a moment of silence.”

“…”

The deputy director, now wearing the black glasses he had taken off earlier.

He and the agents bowed their heads for a brief moment, then resumed assessing the situation.

“…Beta ether levels have exceeded 40.2%. The unidentified entity has absorbed Spes-3’s intelligence and strength and continues to grow. Confirmed as medium-class.”

Medium-class.

It would take at least ten artificial magical girls working together just to subdue it.

The story was unfolding just as it had in the original novel.

“Issue a summoning order to all magical girls who are currently unassigned. No matter what, we must not allow another nightmare like Beirut to happen.”

“Understood!”

Just as agents began relaying the summons to the magical girls—

[You bastards!!! I warned you, didn’t I?! I told you Oksana wasn’t in any condition to fight! What the hell have you done?!]

The screen displayed a middle-aged man who had been with Spes-3.

His veins bulged, and he was trembling with fury.

He glared at us as if he could kill us through the screen, denouncing us for Spes-3’s death.

“Spes-3 chose this path herself.”

[Chose it herself, my ass! You knew Oksana’s personality—how could you let her go like that?! Damn it, Anna, how could you do this to her?!]

“You’re being disrespectful, Dr. Mikhail.”

The doctor’s fury was aimed squarely at me.

I was the one who gave Oksana the autonomy to walk into her own demise.

Once the deputy director realized the anger had shifted away from him, he stopped making excuses and simply observed the situation.

“…I’m sorry.”

[You shouldn’t have! You, of all people, shouldn’t have betrayed Oksana! Didn’t you fight together? Oksana once saved your life! And yet… You… you repay her with betrayal?!]

“…”

There was nothing I could say.

Everything he said was true.

Chosen at a young age to become a magical girl, Ianna’s body had stopped aging.

Oksana, who had volunteered for the artificial magical girl project, was part of the first generation.

The two had fought countless enemies together.

Even during the ‘Magic Crusade,’ the novel’s opening backdrop, where magical girls sealed massive dimensional rifts by slaying hordes of unidentified entities, the two had fought back to back, trusting each other deeply.

Though Ianna had far superior strength.

Oksana had also risked everything to rescue Ianna when she was captured and tortured by a hostile faction.

That mission left Oksana gravely injured—

And dead.

“…”

My eyes met the doctor’s burning gaze, and a cold sweat ran down my back.

Except for my adjutant, I had difficulty making eye contact with others.

Perhaps it was a lingering trauma from the torture.

The doctor’s stare was sharper and more violent than anything else.

Even through the screen, I could feel his killing intent and hatred.

“Ugh…”

I quickly averted my eyes.

I gripped my adjutant’s sleeve with trembling fingers, seeking cover.

It was a plea to shield me.

My adjutant immediately stepped forward and blocked the monitor with their body.

“Spes-3’s death is tragic, but there’s nothing we can do now. We must focus on countermeasures.”

[It’s not ‘Spes-3.’ It’s Oksana. Oksana Ivanova. She wasn’t a weapon, a tool, or a test subject. She was a human being. She had a name.]

I could still faintly see the monitor over my adjutant’s shoulder.

Dr. Mikhail, overcome with emotion, clenched both fists and continued in a trembling voice.

“Beta ether levels have reached 45%… The medium-class entity has yet to fully manifest…”

“We’ve received a response from the Hokkaido temporary dispatch unit… Ae, Ae-won says she’ll mobilize…”

The deputy director smiled faintly and issued the next order.

“Good. Dispatch Ae-won’s magical girl, and send nearby magical girls with her.”

“But… Ae-won’s mental state is…”

“Unstable. That’s why we’re sending others along. We’ll need monitoring and control.”

“…Understood.”

The agents seemed to tense up at the mention of ‘Ae-won.’

Ae-won (contestátĭo)’s magical girl.

She would later become the worst villain and strongest magical girl—responsible for the annihilation of a third of humanity.

The deputy director’s concern wasn’t misplaced.

When Ae-won lost her sense of self and went mad, she manifested as a magical girl and slaughtered most of mankind.

[…Hojun.]

“Dr. Mikhail, now is not the time. Another magical girl will be dispatched soon. Please be patient.”

[Do you not possess a shred of humanity? Ae-won can’t distinguish friend from foe. Her psych eval was the worst among all magical girls. Just how much more blood are you planning to spill?!]

The atmosphere turned hostile.

Hojun adjusted his glasses, clasped his hands together, and spoke.

“Doctor.”

[To you, magical girls are nothing but tools. Tools to use and discard. You have no compassion. Whatever you’re plotting, it won’t end well.]

“Watch your mouth. We know everything from here in the control room. We know what your son and daughter-in-law had for lunch. We know who your grandson Danilo is hanging out with. We know it all.”

[You f*cking bastard…!!!]

Dr. Mikhail’s face turned even redder.

Hojun shrugged off his coat, revealing his imposing frame as raised voices filled the room.

“D-Deputy…”

“It’s alright, Director.”

I was terrified.

Memories of the torture Ianna endured came flooding back.

Her tattered, mutilated body.

The horrific times I’ll never forget.

I curled up in my seat, covering my ears.

‘Tranquilizer…’

I needed a tranquilizer.

Shivering wouldn’t solve anything.

“Adjutant, I… I need a tranquilizer…”

“Understood…”

Just as my adjutant was about to inject the tranquilizer into my neck—

[Ah, ahh—Control room, can you hear me? We’re coming. Don’t send anyone else.]

The protagonist had begun to appear.