episode_0020

After all ten Great Demons of Clefort were killed.

Everyone thought that there would no longer be any ‘corrupted’ individuals in this world, but that expectation was completely wrong.

Corrupted ones.

Although the ways they are referred to vary by country or institution, such as malignant-energy spread by Clefort’s demon, the breath of a demon, chaos mana, contaminated Sephira, and so on, most monsters, beasts, and creatures refer to those tainted by corruption.

Humans are easily corrupted.

Just as the religious community mentions the seven deadly sins and says that one must abandon arrogance and delusion to reach enlightenment, humans become monsters as they get closer to negative emotions.

Melancholy.

Stress.

Rage.

Mental illness.

Lust.

Jealousy.

Desire.

Due to various factors that cannot be briefly mentioned, those who succumb to the whispers of demons become corrupted individuals, and in the past, these individuals were called ‘slaves of Clefort.’

Well, titles change every time, so it’s not important.

What is important is that once a person becomes corrupted in the sense of Clefort, they can never return to being human.

Right now, like the monster rampaging on the scene.

“Keeheehee!!”

The monster leaps.

Its original human form is nowhere to be seen, transforming into a dinosaur about 4 meters tall, spewing flames wildly around.

“Burn it all down! This damn city!”

As heard from its mouth, the nature emanating from the monster is destruction and annihilation.

If the target is said to be this city, there must have been some significant negative emotions directed towards it.

“That monster…”

“Stop right there, right now!!”

As Misaki and I rushed down from the apartment to the scene, a red light landed boldly in front of the dinosaur monster, leaping from the sky – actually jumping from the apartment rooftop – blocking its path.

“Oh, you’ve appeared!! Magical Girl Seiya!!”

Upon seeing Seiya, the dinosaur monster immediately bared its sharp teeth and assumed a threatening posture.

“If only you had reached Class A!”

“What are you talking about…”

“If only you hadn’t betrayed our team and joined the Special Forces! If only you had reached perfection!!”

“No way…”

“I never got cut off!!”

As the dinosaur monster, breathing fire while tearing its own head, turns a rotten blue color, containing hatred and anger towards someone, the fundamental emotion of corruption is likely ‘regret.’

“Misaki, Captain. That individual seems to be the former head of the Monster Countermeasures Department.”

“…Minamoto Daisuke?”

“Was that the name?”

While I couldn’t remember the name, Misaki seemed to recall the name accurately, probably because he was the former captain of the same team.

“Kwaaaaahhh!!”

Now Minamotosaurus, the monster that should be named as such, began to rampage with a “Kwaaah.”

“Die too, Seiya! Disappear with this Neodongtan!”

Cursing, Minamotosaurus – the former head of the Monster Countermeasures Department – spews flames from its mouth.

“Where!”

Seiya swings something large, deflecting the flames.

Kkaaang!

The fireball that had sprung from Minamotosaurus’s mouth hits something held by Seiya, flying off to the side, and Seiya precisely aims the weapon at Minamotosaurus’s head.

“A bat…?”

“Mr. Minamoto! I won’t say anything else! Becoming a monster is your responsibility, isn’t it?!”

Seiya, aiming a baseball bat tinged with red and mixed with a hint of pink, began shouting loudly.

“Putting everything else aside, you were the one who did wrong!”

“Ku, Kwaaaa!!”

“If you did wrong, admit it quietly and apologize, or leave here and live quietly somewhere else!!”

Strictly speaking, he wasn’t fired.

But practically, it was a resignation, ending his life as a public servant on his own terms.

“That’s it, Seiya.”

The words of the monster are all like ‘whispers of the devil.’

What is the original existence of the devil?

It is a being that whispers plausible words to humans, seduces them, or collapses their minds so that they cannot make proper judgments, destroying humans.

“You just fell for Clefort’s temptation! You were someone who was only filled with thoughts of destroying and breaking this city, this world, without thinking about rising again in another city!”

“T-This guy!!”

Is it because I came to Japan?

As always, the ‘Kitsama’ on the mainland definitely feels different.

“I will condemn you! As someone who was once your teammate!”

“If only you had reached Class A!!”

“I’ve said it many times!!”

Perhaps there have been similar disputes before.

“Make demands that match reality!! I am not even Class A or complete yet!”

Seiya’s shout gradually reveals his sincerity.

“My overall combat power is Class B and still immature!!”

Crash!

“I did my best every time a monster appeared!”

Continuing to swing the flaming baton, Seiya steadfastly moves forward step by step.

“If a stronger enemy had appeared, you should have just requested support!!”

“Gah, gahhh!!”

“If the situation is beyond your control, call in a superior to resolve it! Didn’t you learn that during your civil servant training?!”

“Gyaaaah!!”

Perhaps what is tormenting Minamotosaurus right now is not something else –

“Just a 17-year-old!!”

It seems that she is receiving a reprimand named ‘critique’ from a 17-year-old high school girl.

“You feel embarrassed hearing such things at 17?! That’s not it! Even if I were 10 years old, I would have said the same thing!”

“Gyaaaahhh!!”

“You’re an adult!!”

While it may seem superficial to call it a fact bomb, when the word “critique” is used, its weight is different.

“If you’re an adult, act like one and take responsibility for your actions!!”

“If only you were as strong as a polar bear!!”

“Ugh…!”

Seiya is speechless.

“See if you can be as strong as a polar bear! You didn’t get entangled in tentacles at that delivery factory, nor did you waste time against Nue Momokami!”

“That’s…!”

“Are you talking about hindsight?! Don’t be ridiculous! If you were that strong, the mayor would have treated you as a magical girl from Neodongtan long ago! Promote me from team leader to your supervisor!!”

The dissatisfaction and resentment towards former team leader Minamoto must have accumulated, but this issue is probably the most recent trouble for her.

“I discovered you! I brought you here! Not only did you switch to another team abruptly, but you also failed to produce proper results! Because of you, because of you, I failed!!”

“Ah, ah.”

I simply cannot bear to watch.

“Hey. You, dinosaur.”

I borrowed Misaki’s team leader smartphone, switched it to public address mode, and spoke into the microphone.

“E-Even if you’ve fallen so low. Can adults behave so pathetically and shamefully?”

“W-What…!”

“If you’re a member of society, you should act like one. Did your mother not teach you that and send you to work?”

“…….”

Misaki, who was beside me, looked at me with a shocked expression.

Although he hasn’t turned around yet, Seiya probably has a similar expression.

“Why no answer? Oh, is your mother not around?”

“K-Kitsamaaaaa!!”

“Seiya.”

I called Seiya quietly, and he immediately leaped forward.

“H-How dare you!!”

“Before you say ‘how dare you’!!”

As Seiya’s bat emitted light.

“Start by reflecting on yourself!!”

When a red light shot up from below, a rough mana explosion occurred from her bat, covering Minamotosaurus.

“Act like an adult!!”

“Ugh, ughhhhh!!”

As the explosion of light occurred.

“I, I am, an adult–”

Minamoto Saurus was swept away by the explosion of light, beginning to disintegrate at the molecular level.

Fwoosh.

The giant flaming dinosaur disappeared without a trace, and something appeared beneath it.

Someone standing with legs apart, looking up at the sky.

His hair fluttered back as if facing death, and he fainted on the spot.

“……. ”

Seiya turned his head, Misaki headed towards the scene with a stern face, and I aimed forward holding Misaki’s phone.

Click.

“Secure the scene photo.”

One thing.

Among the fallen, occasionally, there is a very ‘random’ chance of returning as a human.

Statistically, that probability is roughly around 0.3%.

Mostly, when magical girls face the fallen who explode or perish, they prepare for ‘murder,’ but there are cases where the corrupted part disappears, and they return as humans.

However.

Returning as a human does not mean that the fabric torn and vanished when they became monsters returns.

Also, since all their power is drained, all the hair remaining on their heads is scattered by the wind and disappears.

And, above all.

Click, click.

When returning as a human in a city like this, one gets captured in numerous surrounding images.

“Such a pity.”

This is Japan.

If it were Korea, they would have mosaic-ed both the top and bottom, but this country takes a more thorough approach to criminal rights, publicly exposing the faces of criminals.

“But they’ll probably be mosaic-ed on TV, right?”

It can’t be helped if it spreads on the internet.

“Congratulations on being reborn, Minamoto Team Leader.”

Although born in Jeolla.

Originally, the fallen vanish.

But due to Sandalphon’s grand magic placed on Earth, those who sincerely ‘repent’ return as humans.

Well.

“It’s enough to have been brought back to life.”

Sandalphon’s magic only brings them back as humans; the rest is up to the individuals involved.