Chapter 7: Towards Death (1)

That was close, seriously… If we messed up, we both would’ve died.”

“Y-Yeah… not exactly a normal experience.”

The dimensional rift in Chumikan had vanished without a trace.

(TL NOTE: Chumikan is a real location in Russia’s Far East)

Both girls, completely drained, collapsed weakly into the marsh surrounding the river.

Illusion’s blonde hair was caked with mud and dust, tangled into a wild mess.

Her arms were riddled with cuts, blood still dripping from each one.

“Kehh…”

Illusion gagged and vomited up mud.

Libra patted her back with trembling hands.

“That was… cough… unheard of… what kind of entity self-destructs…?”

“…That was terrifying.”

Libra’s pupils trembled slightly.

At the final moment—when Libra’s Lemegaton had cut through the void.

More precisely, when the magic concentrated in the scythe-shaped Lemegaton had engulfed both Illusion and the entity.

The entity swallowed all the Beta Ether particles it had gathered above its hand in one massive gulp.

It happened in a blink.

Had it not been for Illusion’s sharp instincts, both girls would have been disintegrated at the atomic level and drifted between dimensions forever.

Just before the entity could go berserk from absorbing the Beta Ether, Illusion gathered all her strength, clutched Libra tightly, and escaped the rift.

Illusion’s power was awe-inspiring—capable of turning nothing into something, or reality into illusion.

At the cost of some mental instability, anything she imagined could become reality.

Reviving the dead was impossible, but healing someone on the brink of death? That she could do.

She had even restored Libra’s ruptured internal organs.

Her ability could convert unwanted things, futures, and existences into “illusions.”

Events that truly happened could be rewritten as lies.

The reverse was also true.

Though it consumed an immense amount of magic, Illusion had trained for three years, amassing a vast pool of magical energy rivaling any living magical girl.

A power that warped space-time and altered reality to her will.

That was Illusion.

And that was how they escaped—by turning the fact that she had run out of magic into a “lie.”

Even Illusion herself could hardly believe it. With some luck, her powers might even rival Ae-won, the strongest magical girl of all.

But—

“Kuhhh…” “Are you okay, Harsa?”

“R-Right now… call me Illusion…”

Her body had taken a massive toll.

Some organs seemed to have literally burst.

A sharp pain stabbed through her stomach like needles.

Still, since she was alive, it didn’t seem like any critical organs were destroyed.

If they could get treatment quickly, she’d recover.

“How are we supposed to get back?”

“…Let’s wait for backup. Someone will come.”

Chumikan was a remote village in Russia’s Far East, home to barely a thousand people.

There wasn’t even proper infrastructure.

Libra looked around, but there was nothing but endless swamp.

No sign of humanity.

No roads. Not even a streetlamp.

The sun was setting.

Once the red twilight faded, darkness would take over. There was no artificial light anywhere.

They’d have to move through the marsh using only faint moonlight—while carrying an injured Illusion, no less.

But they had no idea where they even were.

‘Danger…’

Libra, who had been perfectly composed even when punched in the gut by the entity, suddenly turned pale.

“…Illusion.”

“Don’t look at me like that… keh… I-I can’t use my powers anymore… probably not for a while…”

Illusion couldn’t activate her abilities.

Normally, she could rewrite the fact that they were here and materialize them elsewhere.

Libra slumped in resignation.

Her stomach growled.

Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t eaten anything since morning.

Sssssss…

The sound of sizzling meat.

Their transformations began to fade.

The magic protecting their outer appearances dissolved.

Libra’s uniform vanished into stardust.

More accurately, it crumbled into dust, disappearing piece by piece until nothing was left.

“I-I told you to wear underwear… kuh…”

“…I forgot.”

Illusion—Harsa—coughed blood and managed a small laugh.

Her own sky-blue and violet dress had also vanished, but she wasn’t completely naked.

She wore underwear—an oversized bra and mature-looking panties that clearly didn’t fit.

On the other hand—

Illusion was now completely nude.

Her pale skin, dusted with dirt and glistening with sweat, was covered in bruises.

Her clean, milk-white body was now exposed to Harsa’s gaze.

The first thing she noticed was her chest.

Though both were around 160 cm tall, the difference in bust size was stark.

Illusion’s chest was average for a woman—maybe slightly large.

Libra’s was, frankly, huge.

Harsa couldn’t help but feel a bit of inferiority.

And jealousy.

…Because of breasts.

“What do you even eat to grow bigger than me…?”

“Milk. Morning and night.”

A perfectly logical answer.

Harsa gave up trying to argue and buried her face in Libra’s lap.

As the two quietly waited for help—

Bzzzzzz—

A small buzzing object zipped around them.

“Harsa… it’s a mosquito…”

“G-Get your Lemegaton… swing it! Now!”

It was a mosquito.

A Siberian mosquito, no less—infamously vicious.

Normally, they wouldn’t appear until mid-summer.

But due to extreme weather melting the polar ice faster than usual, the eggs hidden in the glaciers had hatched early.

These swarms traveled south, eventually arriving in Chumikan—and now, they had found an unusual target: one nearly naked, one fully naked magical girl.

“If I swing it, you’ll get caught too.”

“B-But I’d rather die than be eaten alive by those things!!!”

Libra’s Lemegaton could kill half the organic beings and half the entities in a small radius.

But it couldn’t target selectively.

It only worked if the number of targets was divisible by two.

For example, it worked on 26 targets, but not 21. 100, yes. 101, no.

Both organic and entity counts had to meet this rule.

It didn’t matter if one type was absent—as long as the numbers aligned.

However—

All living things counted as organic beings.

Grass, river fish, frogs, fireflies, birds—everything in the vicinity.

Even the caster herself.

Her ability was like Russian Roulette.

A 50% chance of death.

That’s why she never used it recklessly without Illusion nearby.

Only close combat.

Illusion’s powers could convert death into a “lie”.

Even her own death could be denied, rendering her immune to Libra’s scythe.

BZZZZZZZ

The mosquito swarm thickened.

Frightened, Libra summoned her Lemegaton instinctively.

Illusion was still within range.

If she swung it now, one of them could die.

As Libra hesitated, hands trembling—

KABOOOOOOM!!!

A thunderous roar cut through the swamp.

A massive off-roader sped toward them like a rocket.

“Get in!!!”

It was the Stellar Magical Girl.

Her black hair glinted under the starlit armor as she drove straight for them.

“W-Wait!!!”

The vehicle skidded to a stop just inches away.

Without hesitation, Stellar hoisted both girls over her shoulders and evacuated the scene.

“We’re returning to HQ now! Whatever you do—don’t open your eyes!”

Abandoning the off-roader, she launched herself into the sky.

The nearly unconscious pair clung to her shoulders.

‘…The Bureau.’

Illusion—Harsa—faded in and out of consciousness, remembering something Janwol once told her.

‘How do you know where the core is?’

Neither she nor Libra had been able to find it, yet Janwol had known immediately.

It didn’t make sense.

Janwol’s Lemegaton had been destroyed.

She was a normal human with no magic.

How could she identify the entity’s core so quickly through a monitor?

Harsa’s sharp instincts flared.

Her suspicion grew.

The entity in Chumikan had been unlike any other.

It seemed intelligent. It adapted.

In the end, it even tried to self-destruct.

Every other entity behaved like a mindless beast.

They charged magical girls head-on.

They would even gorge on corpses flooded with Gamma Ether, willing to die just to eat.

But this one—

While eating Oksana’s corpse—responded to their attacks.

‘…No way.’

If there was a connection between Janwol and the entity—

If Janwol, obsessed with life and terrified of death, had conspired with the Bureau to conduct entity experiments—

No. Not conspired.

She was the Bureau Director.

She controlled everything—research, magical girls, their lives.

‘Janwol controls the Bureau’ is more accurate.

If she was using it for her own plans…

If the entity was a prototype weapon—meant to cull magical girls who had become too numerous…

If it escaped by mistake and appeared in Chumikan…

‘…It all fits.’

‘The Magical Girl of Janwol.’

Harsa’s doubt about Ianna was now at its peak.

No one knew how many magical girls had been sacrificed since Janwol’s promotion.

But it was clear the Bureau wanted to cut them loose.

And Janwol was at the center of it all.

Revulsion and fury churned inside Harsa.

She had once idolized that woman.

‘…Magical girls shouldn’t cling to life.’

That was Janwol’s motto.

That f*cking b*tch… So afraid of dying, now she clings to life like a parasite?

Bargaining with the ruling bodies to eliminate her own kind?

Harsa clenched her teeth.

One day—she would take Janwol’s life with her own hands.

Stellar’s voice echoed through the speaker.

“Stellar has successfully recovered both magical girls!”

“…Thank goodness. Had we stopped her, they’d have suffered worse.”

Hojoon nodded in satisfaction.

These two weren’t to be culled—they were valuable assets.

Apparently, their voices weren’t heard in the control room.

Only their words echoed through all communication lines.

Probably another of Illusion’s abilities.

Exactly how it worked was unclear.

Even the loss of their life signs and the abnormal Beta Ether spike seemed caused by Illusion.

Technicians were working to fix the faulty readings now.

“Director, good work.”

“I-I didn’t do anything… it was all you, Hojoon.”

“…Thank you.”

With a gentle smile, Hojoon patted my head.

Second time today.

It might become a habit.

Honestly, it felt good. Ianna’s body reacted that way.

It had never known affection or care.

So maybe… it was only natural.

…Anyway.

‘…Yes!’

I had avoided ruining my relationship with the two of them.

Illusion, so standoffish, would probably come back blushing and apologizing.

She’d say they only defeated the entity thanks to me.

She’d definitely thank me.

I’d smile and tell her it was nothing.

Maybe invite them to my room, share old stories, and grow closer.

I couldn’t exactly say, ‘I’m being controlled,’ or ‘Hojoon is manipulating me through a chip in my head.’

But if I could just make them notice how strange I was—

They were smart.

They’d put the pieces together.

For now, I had to get close to them.

Especially Illusion.

Close enough that she couldn’t live without me.

Libra might be the one who kills me.

But Illusion… will be the one who pushes her to do it.

Master and student, or maybe something deeper.

Anyway—for now—

All I can do is wait.

I can’t wait to see Illusion’s flustered apology.