Chapter 4: Liar

“You’ve got an unpleasant look.”

I swung the blade of magic and sliced through the tentacle.

The blood it spurted formed dozens of small blades that shredded the creature’s main body into ribbons.

The monster perished in an instant.

A massive eyeball with multiple large tentacles attached—really?

They say monsters reflect human fears, so who in the world imagined this one into existence?

It’s the kind of repulsive creature you’d expect to find in the deep sea.

Still, I feel good.

From the disintegrating corpse, fading into gray and black mana, I picked up a small orb.

“Oh.”

Perfectly round and clear—a high-quality mana stone.

I have no use for it, but it’s nice to look at.

“Maybe this is a reward for doing a good deed.”

But… the response is underwhelming.

I crushed the mana stone out of annoyance.

A slight absorption of magic—strangely subtle.

Spooky, glancing about, was surveying the surroundings.

Far from home, in a relatively populated alley of a bustling district.

Monsters prefer places with just the right number of people—this one fit the bill.

Was Spooky on guard against another monster?

He wasn’t looking into the alley’s darkness, but at the bright light of the main road.

I looked that way too.

Against the pitch-black backdrop, a thin line of light.

A cross-section of life, glimpsed between buildings, full of people and activity.

From time to time, people flickered into and out of view.

Unaware, they live within the last remaining sliver of peace, basking in the light, while magical girls dwell in the shadows with monsters.

Poetic, isn’t it?

Spooky didn’t answer, but that didn’t matter.

What mattered was that I’d expressed something human.

Maybe it’s growth through adversity.

Until now, I hadn’t thought this way—I’d only been focused on taking lives, one per day, to kill time.

But after surviving that rough night, the world looked a little more beautiful.

My heart doesn’t ache.

No horrible impulses, no headaches.

Just that fact alone is enough for a person to keep living.

So I feel good.

I talk more, naturally.

Conversation stems from emotion, and emotion is born of language.

Whenever someone passed through the crack in the alley, Spooky flinched.

“I’m not going to kill them.”

At least not today.

I won’t kill anyone today.

I’m a magical girl.

I’m normal.

I’ll stay normal.

So neither I nor you need to worry.

The tumor in my chest still pulses in time with my heartbeat.

Just like always.

I headed deeper into the alley, away from the busy district.

Ramshackle low-rise buildings clustered randomly—looked like a slum abandoned twenty years ago.

A place like any other.

Even the streetlamps were all shattered, leaving it pitch dark.

Though spring hadn’t fully passed, the night air was cold and a chilly wind flowed through the alleys.

“Aaaaaah!”

After a while, I heard a girl’s scream deeper inside.

I sensed strong monster magic and pure magical girl energy.

Interesting.

“It hurts…”

Like a blood-red version of Alice in Wonderland.

Red hair, red dress, crisp white apron.

Twelve, maybe?

Small in stature.

You can’t judge age by looks with magical girls, though.

Clutching what was likely a Spirit Weapon—a large red pair of scissors—the girl panted for breath.

Facing her was a faceless silver mannequin.

One arm looked like a sharp lance.

That’d hurt if it pierced.

A humanoid monster?

Tracing the magic flow, I saw threads extending from behind the mannequin.

Likely linked to the real body.

Fascinating.

[You’re not going to help her? Didn’t you say you’d live like a magical girl?]

“This is helping.”

She’s probably a newbie, but she won’t die right away.

Leaving the red magical girl behind, I turned a few corners and arrived.

A massive shape appeared.

A gigantic silver sphere glistening under moonlight.

Like a mercury droplet, grown to the size of a house.

Squinting, I spotted silver lines extending from the bottom of the mass, leading to the mannequin facing off against the girl.

A projection?

A recon probe?

Or maybe just toying with the girl?

If this kind of monster stormed the city, there’d be real casualties.

Whatever it is, it’s not my problem.

Still, would a normal magical girl try to take it down?

Ah, the threads aren’t just one or two.

About ten extend outward, each leading to a faceless mannequin armed with a different weapon.

And those mannequins are charging a single little girl.

It’s like a scene from an old, cheap robot movie.

I don’t like it.

Let’s watch and see what happens.

I spotted a water tank on a nearby rooftop and leapt up.

Great view of both the red girl and the mannequins.

[She’s going to die. So now you’re just letting her die instead of killing her yourself?]

“Magical girls don’t die that easily. You know that.”

You’ve seen it enough by now.

To kill a magical girl outright, you have to destroy the brain, heart, and the magic organ near the solar plexus simultaneously.

Most magical girls die with just one of the three, but still.

I lit a cigarette from my pocket.

One drag calms the nerves.

Ahh, beautiful.

Who knew nightscapes could be this gorgeous?

From atop the water tank, looking down at the unlit alley,

the city looked like a massive corpse—painfully beautiful.

And that girl fighting below?

Radiant.

One mannequin slashed with twin blades.

The red girl parried with her massive scissors and countered, slicing the next one in half at the waist.

Another mannequin jumped down, slamming a huge spiked iron ball.

The girl flipped back, dodged it,

and then a slicing wave from her scissors took off its head.

Some of her unnaturally fast moves—probably a unique magic.

She’s shaking, but she’s got talent.

Maybe her mascot’s giving her coaching.

My own ghost has never offered me advice.

Not once.

[She’s in danger!]

See?

Useless interjections again.

One mannequin slashed her left arm.

She retreated, the mannequin pulled back too—they circled each other uneasily.

Good.

Now—

“Filum Atritas.”

I cast the spell and shot out black chains.

One per mercury mannequin.

Each wrapped around its target, turned black, cracked, and crumbled into dust.

I took another puff and jumped down.

Landed in front of the massive mercury blob.

Casting two spells in a row is taxing, but might as well end it cleanly.

“Logio Atritas.”

I stroked the cold, gelatinous surface of the metal sphere.

Black cracks spread and consumed it.

The entire mercury mass disintegrated.

No racing heart.

No urge rising.

I focused mana in my legs, leapt high, and looked down.

The last mannequin and the girl were still fighting.

I drew my rapier, dropped down, and drove it into the mannequin’s head.

A clean finish.

Saving a junior magical girl.

Might be the first truly “magical girl” thing I’ve done since becoming one.

Feels like I’ve taken a step closer to normal life.

Because I’m a normal person.

“Hoo…”

I exhaled the mana-laced cigarette smoke and flicked away the half-burnt butt.

“Sanguine… Sanguine Obsidia!”

And there, before me, was the trembling little girl.

Her dilated pupils were shaking like crazy.

[Isn’t she scared of you?!]

Of course she is.

“Eek!”

She fell on her butt, backing away.

Seeing her react like this… maybe the Association’s been training rookies properly lately.

Though the direction seems way off.

What do they expect a girl frozen in fear to do?

“Pl-please spare me…”

Now she’s just opening and closing her mouth soundlessly.

I saved your life, and this is the response I get?

[Think about your usual behavior! This is exactly what you deserve!]

“I give you my greetings.”

A soft male voice, out of nowhere.

“My humble name is Viscount Lapin Mercurius. Merely a worthless rabbit. Please, call me Lapin.”

“Lapin…”

A brown rabbit appeared midair.

Top hat, monocle, cane.

Hearing the girl whisper the name, must be her mascot.

“I deeply thank you for saving my contractor’s life. Though I’m ashamed we cannot repay you at once, I beg your forgiveness with all humility.”

Small rabbit, but he talks smooth.

A hundred times more useful than my dumb ghost.

I wish I could just switch mascots.

[Don’t even think about it!]

Spooky vanished, angrily.

Of course, without consent from both magical girl and mascot, their forms can’t be seen by others.

He’s hiding behind that rule.

“Okay.”

What should I say?

“Hi.”

A simple greeting.

Like the neighbor woman once gave me.

“I’m Sanguine Obsidia. What’s your name?”

“…Roza. Roza Alisa…”

Eyes unfocused, the girl finally responded after her rabbit whispered something to her.

“U-um… thank you for saving me.”

She bowed.

Feels good to be appreciated for once.

I used to just kill people, but now I saved a life and received thanks.

My feeble vocabulary and fragile mind probably can’t express even a fraction of how moved I am.

See, Spooky?

Like this.

Just like this…

“Tonight was Alisa’s first solo battle. She was in real danger—thank you again for saving her.”

The rabbit kept thanking me, hat slipping, bowing his head—adorable, really.

“Truly shameless of me to ask more, but please… could you pretend you didn’t see her tonight?”

After a long silence, he finally said it.

Well…

I have killed a few people.

Can’t blame him for being wary.

But still—clinging to past sins won’t help me move forward.

Right, Sanguine Obsidia?

“Alright. Roza Alisa.”

“Y-yes!”

“You and I never met tonight. Go on. It’s nearly midnight.”

I stretched my lips into the widest smile I could manage.

Roza Alisa turned and ran off.

Looking back nervously, again and again.

[Well done. Excellent! See? You can do it! Just keep going like this!]

Hearing all that praise makes me a little embarrassed.

A rush of beautiful emotions I hadn’t felt in ages welled up,

and it was like the world regained its color.

Good.

Today was perfect.

A fantastic day.

I spent it properly, as a decent human being.

A normal life.

Shower.

Conversation.

Walk.

Monster extermination.

I met a fellow magical girl, helped her, even said hi.

A veteran magical girl who saves a rookie in danger—

and takes down a powerful monster in a single strike.

It really feels like I did something magical girl-worthy.

Makes me a little happy.

But something feels… off.

Did I forget something?

Maybe I didn’t finish things properly.

Watching the red girl’s silhouette shrink into the distance jogs my memory.

Ah.

Right.

Now that I think about it… I haven’t killed anyone tonight yet.

Her name was Roza Alisa, wasn’t it?

Let’s kill her real quick and head home.

[Obsidia…!]

Wait.

Something’s wrong.

The girl’s torso—pierced by a black spear.

And a scream.

As the girl collapsed, coughing blood, her face twisted in agony turned toward me with a look of betrayal.