Ch.165165. Right Before Entry

Somehow, somehow, I’ve completed the preparations.

Somehow, somehow, Ellie, now free from Yuri’s embrace, moves her body around to check everything.

“What’s the plan this time?”

“…Good question? I’ve fought with you many times, but this is the first time we’re executing an operation together.”

“Technically, it’s not exactly the first time.”

“Well… we’ve had temporary collaborations before. But aside from those, isn’t this the first time I’m truly fighting alongside you from the beginning?”

“Well, if you put it that way, I suppose you’re right.”

“Geez… wasn’t that also a really long time ago?”

“At most, some villains suddenly barged in trying to ruin my plans, so I had no choice but to cooperate with you.”

“Seems like you don’t remember how much trouble those ‘some villains’ gave us.”

“…Well, it was bad enough that I had to cooperate with you.”

“But you were the one who reached out first, weren’t you?”

“If I hadn’t, my plans would have been thwarted by some strange minor villain who wasn’t even you. I simply couldn’t tolerate that. Eden’s activities being blocked by a villain who wasn’t even a magical girl… Ah. Sigh… Yes. Back then, I believed Eden’s activities were righteous.”

“Well… I think it’s still okay to think that way.”

“A magical girl shouldn’t say such dangerous things. Please don’t sympathize with me.”

What is Blanc saying?

Eden is…

Sigh.

Really.

“Why? We’re going to find out today. Actually… I think that truth is probably correct.”

“…Blanc.”

“I think of it as final confirmation. Actually… more than that, our main objective is to defeat the boss. Someone who has already invaded multiple worlds… in that way.”

Blanc glances at Ellie.

“…”

Sensing that gaze, Ellie quietly brushes herself off and goes to prepare.

“Sigh. Really… why did I ever…”

“Well… you just followed what you thought was right and correct. Same for me, same for you. It’s just that… yeah, the situation was bad.”

“…Blanc, I—”

“For someone claiming to be a hypocrite who wanted to sacrifice everyone for an illusory ideal and their own benefit, your excuse was worth listening to.”

“An illusory ideal… an unreachable ideal. Yes… because you yourself didn’t move toward such an ideal, it couldn’t be achieved…”

“…Let’s talk more about that later.”

“Yes…”

Sigh.

…It wasn’t a topic I wanted to think about.

Well, it will be settled today.

Today… after today.

Would it be ideal for everyone if I were locked up in Marina?

All the evil deeds I committed.

All justified as minor sacrifices for the greater good.

I convinced myself they weren’t just evil acts but necessary evils to create an ideal world, that if I gathered negative energy in advance, everyone could live happily.

When I heard that the energy gained from causing negative emotions in others was efficient, I understood it as reaching an ideal world faster.

I, I…

By my own hands.

“You did it because you liked people, right? You did it to save people.”

“…I hated people. I despised humans.”

“I see… Let’s go now.”

Before I could finish speaking, we flew to the operation area.

Everyone participating in the operation was heavily armed.

Some might wonder what “heavily armed” means for magical girls.

They must have brought out their maximum power.

Blanc was already prepared to enter in her final awakened form that I had seen before.

Arin was holding the new weapon I saw yesterday.

A double-bladed scythe.

…I asked if it wouldn’t be better to fight with her familiar weapon, but she said this one was easier for manipulating magical power.

If she likes it, what can I do?

In contrast, I…

To be frank, it’s hard to say I look good.

Just… casual clothes, I guess.

Since I can’t wear magical girl clothes.

And wearing Eden’s uniform…

Or those flashy clothes that only elementary school kids would like, which I wore before my memories returned.

I had gotten rid of those overly flashy clothes because they hindered movement. Wearing them again would be absurd.

So I tried to grab a hoodie for comfort.

But Blanc and Yuri told me that wouldn’t do either.

…

So what I ended up wearing was neat clothing.

A dark blazer with a white shirt. And a dark skirt.

Black stockings and black loafers.

Looking at it, it gives the impression of a school uniform from somewhere, yet doesn’t quite look like one.

I asked Blanc why she made me wear that unnecessary red ribbon.

She said it was the accent point.

What does that even mean…

If I really couldn’t understand, she said to think of it as a substitute for the choker I can’t wear now.

Geez…

Ellie put on the dress she wore every day.

It’s just an operation, but Blanc and Yuri, really.

We arrived at another mountain location.

This time…

They didn’t even properly hide the door.

Perhaps they decided it was better to reinforce the interior rather than waste time on disguises.

From what Blanc told me that day, they escaped with the boss’s core.

With the doctor’s technology, reconstructing the boss’s body would be easy.

But how much energy would be needed to regenerate that body?

The overwhelming power produced by that body comes not just from the boss’s core but from the physical form itself.

So if I were to ask whether it would be weakened, the answer is no.

We don’t know what the doctor might have done.

We can’t predict the doctor’s technological capabilities.

It’s not just about how much they’ve restored.

We might see an even more enhanced version of the boss, more powerful combat units.

That’s why I couldn’t bring back that tail.

That tail… connected to the spine device, who knows what it would do to my body.

Plus, this is enemy territory.

Sigh… to think the day would come when I’d call Eden enemy territory.

Standing on the side of magical girls, calling Eden hostile. Playing the role of stabbing the boss in the back.

How should I put it.

This is really…

A feeling I never want to experience again.

“We’re going in now.”

“…So, how are we dividing up?”

“Arin and the others. Seohyun and Yuri unnie. You two help Arin. And Bineh, Elise, Hyewon. You three follow me. And…”

She assigns roles not just to the magical girls from the dormitory but to other magical girls as well.

The magical girls who flinch and startle at my presence beside her…

Well, magical girls whose names I don’t remember…

More precisely, magical girls whose names weren’t worth remembering are here now.

I can see several magical girls I gave nicknames to.

I can also see the girl who used to charge at me with gritted teeth…

Though she doesn’t seem likely to rush at me now.

…Ugh.

That magical girl, such an annoying one.

That magical girl, one who went down in one hit.

These memories surface one by one.

…They were all so weak.

Well… magical girls who were strong back then would be well past retirement age by now.

So… if they’ve grown since then, I suppose it’s possible…

“Blanc… I hate to say this, but are you sure about your personnel selection?”

“Yes. I picked them, didn’t I?”

“Hmm… I’m not sure about their level. That purple-haired one and the brown-haired one, in my memory, they were magical girls who didn’t even earn nicknames…”

“Ah, those two…? They’re at least as strong as Seohyun, aren’t they? Definitely stronger than Arin.”

Arin agrees with Blanc’s assessment.

“That’s right… I learned so much from those unnies. How to behave as a magical girl, basic monster tactics… how to use the association’s training facilities… I learned so much. They’re magical girl unnies I really respect!”

“…Those weaklings?”

“Weaklings?! Those unnies are so strong!”

“Well… that’s Arin’s impression… In my memory, they’re just pathetic figures who retired after getting hit by my stray attack that Blanc deflected during our fight…”

“What…?”

“They were much… hmm. The more I recall, the more pitiful they seem. They were so weak back then, even weaker than current Arin, that they didn’t earn nicknames. Our little chick is at a cute level?”

When I call Arin by her new nickname, her reaction is:

“I-I’m not a little chick!”

“Pfft… Right. It was ‘baby chick,’ wasn’t it? ‘Little chick’ sounds good too. How about being the first magical girl with multiple nicknames? You’re my first, Arin.”

Even in this situation, I couldn’t resist Arin’s cuteness.

I had to tease her a little.

The reactions of those magical girls watching me interact with Arin are quite amusing.

How can someone like me be so friendly with the little sister they adore?

Well… if they’re seeing this in person, I guess that’s how they’d feel.

But…

Well, teasing Arin is more important right now.

We need to relieve the tension.

Both me and Arin.

“Really…!”

“Well… now… with Eden’s name about to disappear. These are just the regretful words of a former villain. An ex-convict.”

“Unnie!”

“Haha… So, Blanc. Shall we get moving now?”

“Well… time isn’t an issue. Let’s go in. Let’s finish this quickly and… get some rest.”

The magical girls respond.

Finally, we’re going in.