episode_0015

Occasionally, there were such cases.

When I was active while hiding my identity, there were times when I doubted that the ‘real me’ wasn’t present at the scene.

Exactly at the timing when I entered the bathroom, Sandalphon appeared, and after Sandalphon disappeared, there was a magical girl who questioned me coming out of the bathroom.

It was because of her that I developed this technique.

Doppelganger.

When I infused mana into my hair and projected a doppelganger based on my genetic information, she looked at me with eyes that said ‘unbelievable.’

What about Team Leader Misaki?

“Seriously, a polar bear…!”

Just the fact that a polar bear appeared seemed to surprise him.

“Is it fortunate… or is it a situation dire enough for that guy to appear…!”

While quickly making judgments, he maintained his composure.

‘Shrewd, isn’t he?’

The polar bear stepped forward.

The hidden magical girl revealed herself, a sight not usually seen.

What does that mean?

‘It means things just got serious.’

[Kekekekeke!!]

The demon laughs wildly.

Gradually shifting from a tentacled monster to a form where muscles wriggle, it begins to transform into a new shape.

“I’ve been waiting for this, the strongest!”

In an instant, my whole body trembled.

Although one voice was heard simultaneously from two different places through the doppelganger, I could only react sensitively to each word.

‘Could it be that Sandalphon has been exposed-‘

“Sucking up those petty magical girls is like sucking the honey from a bee’s hive! You’ve come, my honey pot!!”

Its appearance changes.

From a petrified gargoyle, a tentacled monster spewing rib bones, it now transforms into something that seems to exceed 9 meters in size.

“I, Nue Momokami-Yormungandr’s prey!!”

“……”

A white snake with bat wings on either side of its head.

While likely mixed with other elements, it seems to have absorbed the concept of a demon species that existed in the past.

‘Was it a Nue species?’

Having taken on the forms of gargoyles or tentacles, it probably absorbed information about demons encountered through the internet world.

‘I’ll have to figure out how it absorbed Yormungandr’s nature later-‘

“What, what…! A Nue?!”

Team Leader Misaki exclaimed, lifting the microphone installed in the car.

“Inform all magical girls in the RGB and current area! Don’t listen to the nonsense, take it down quickly before the ‘declaration’!”

At Team Leader Misaki’s shout, the magical girls rushed forward.

“Charge!!”

Whether it’s a polar bear or anything else, the assault-type magical girls, including Seiya, are filled with urgency and desperation in their eyes.

“We need to buy time until the citizens flee!”

“Aaaahhhhh!!”

Citizens fleeing to the left and right upon arriving at the scene.

Even dropping their smartphones while recording videos, people continued to run without bothering to pick them up.

“Meimei!”

Team Leader Misaki pointed outside, undoing the seatbelt on the passenger side.

“Run, quickly!”

“What about you, Team Leader?”

“I’m in charge here!”

Although moved, it was futile.

“…The other team leaders seem to be running away.”

“Wha…?”

Just then, a team leader was seen fleeing beside the window.

“He’s gone mad!!”

“A Nue?! I didn’t hear anything like that!! Nue, Nue!!”

“Minamoto, this crazy bastard!!”

“Nue, he’s the one at the ultimate moment!!”

Ultimate moment.

In other words, the complete form.

“Why did he flow in from Shibuya to here?!”

“The reason isn’t important, this bastard…! He ran-”

Boom!!

With an explosion, something collided with the car.

“…”

Masaki, the team leader, instinctively tried to protect me by throwing her body forward, but I wrapped her up and pulled her down instead.

Ku-woong!

Crushed with a strong impact from the car.

The glass didn’t break, but something human-like appeared on the ceiling of the car.

“What….”

“Kuh, kugh…!”

[Hehehe! It seems like you’ve been chasing me all the way from Shibuya, but it’s useless! Scarlet Viper!!]

A red magical girl falls onto our car.

The emergency response from a neighboring city.

However, she was blown away by Nue’s attack.

“You are strong. But it seems like the other side is stronger than you after all.”

Nue Momokami looks at the Polar Bear rather than Scarlet Viper.

“But thanks to you, I was able to take a step further. See, my majesty.”

A crater forms around Nue, and magical girls are all bounced off by Nue’s explosion, hitting the walls and rolling on the ground.

Not only the RGB team but also the complete magical girls who flew in from the neighboring city.

“Although we haven’t reached the extreme, we can exert power similar to it. See, my ‘miracle’!”

Nue Momokami sticks out her tongue towards me accurately.

“I declare this Neo-Dongtan as my ‘territory’!!”

Her wings flutter widely.

“To my ‘world’!”

In an instant.

The world stopped.

Everything lost its color, turned gray, and froze as it was.

“Hehehe.”

The world turned gray and froze.

The only thing moving is a monster that proudly considers its own world while crawling around, leaving marks on the ground.

“Hehehe…. Is this the extent I can unfold without reaching the ultimate?”

Crackle, crackle.

Creatures colored in gray began to disappear one by one.

Like they were not allowed to exist in this world, magical girls disappeared one by one like mist.

They didn’t actually vanish.

Since they weren’t part of the ‘Another World’ Nue had unfolded, they were just being driven out back to their original world.

Instead, to re-enter this place, they would have to break through the seams of the world.

“Shall we try the main dish then?”

Nue sticks out her tongue towards me.

“Polar Bear. Are you not going to reveal your true identity? Well, it doesn’t matter. This world is a world only for you.”

It might sound truly romantic to hear, but ultimately, it means ‘I will devour you.’

“Hehehe. This world is different from Earth, from the present world. In other words, no matter what you do here, you won’t violate any laws…!”

“Oh, I see.”

As I open the car door and step outside, Nue turns her head in surprise towards me – the ‘original.’

“W-What…!”

“Thank you for unfolding Another World. And sorry for being late; I was scanning to see if there were any other people invited to this world.”

Snap.

I release the clone by flicking my finger.

The mana of the Polar Bear clone turns into mist and flies towards me, wrapping around my hand like a wave of barcodes.

“There have been cases where uninvited guests were detected before, and they continued to pester me later.”

“…Who are you?”

Nue spreads her wings towards me.

With teeth bared like a hissing cat, she crouches down ready to pounce at any moment.

“You are…”

“You have one flaw. If we had met in the real world, I would have had to deal with clones because of other people, but thankfully, you don’t have to worry about that here.”

Saaaah.

Masaki disappears.

Scarlet Viper, which fell on the car, also disappears.

“This world is your unique world. Since only I invited you, there is no one else in this world except me.”

Lightly spreading my legs apart, I strike a pose.

“Enjoy. Here, you can reveal your true self without any worries.”

[……!]

“Transformation.”

Do we really need to put it into words?

One might think so, but transformation is a kind of greeting.

Like a ninja performing Iaiso.

Like a samurai shouting “Jinjo ni Shoubu” before a match.

It’s a kind of light ritual and declaration at the same time.

“From now on, I will defeat you.”

[Ha ha ha!! Sure, give it a try!!]

Is it just showing off?

Or is it confidence in winning?

Nue roared like a beast, baring her fangs and spreading her wings wider.

“No matter who I am, even if a monster like you transforms… I…”

Transformation, complete.

“It’s been a while.”

Formally transforming happens once a year.

I looked up and down at myself reflected in Misaki Team Leader’s side mirror – which was cracked and showed me.

A typical magical girl outfit.

This design, which also looks like a fresh school uniform, is widely known in the world.

But this unique color, Sephira – purple, symbolizing the essence of a magical girl, is a color meant for only one person.

“I’m sorry for the late introduction. I am Sandal-”

Flutter.

“…?”

As soon as Nue saw me, she immediately turned around and started running away.

* * *

That won’t work.

The moment Nue saw the outline of my body revealed by the transformation, she immediately judged.

That’s a monster beyond standards.

It’s the manifestation of the end that breaks the laws of the world and will bring about the end of the world itself.

Malcut’s Archangel, Sandalphon.

The end of monsters.

The destruction of demons.

The villain’s demise.

And the calamity of all demons (Doom).

Demon Slayer.

Regarding her, in the Western regions, Sandalphon has been praised and revered as a special being that cannot be reached even now.

– Remember.

Someone who once gave strength to themselves said such words.

– We do not become stronger because we survived. It is those who survive from Sandalphon who become strong.

[Aaargh!!]

You must survive.

If you survive, just the fact that you survived from Sandalphon can become an urban legend in this industry.

So to survive-

“People!! Here, Sandalphon is here!!”

Human eyes, ears, CCTV, and the media are needed.

But they don’t reach.

This is Nue Momokami’s world, sealed off from the original world.

A world where only she and the polar bear – whom she thought was Sandalphon – exist.

[Aaaah!!]

So, she destroys the unique world.

She steps out of her domain and returns to the world of humans.

Even though she declared Neodongtan as her territory, if such a monster appears in that area, it would be reasonable to abandon it.

Now, just a little more-

“You thought you could escape, didn’t you?”

[……!]

A heavy touch felt from behind.

Boom!

Without a chance to resist, Nue was slammed to the ground just a step away from her domain.

[Aaargh!!]

“Don’t feel wronged. Just…”

The figure reflected in the shimmering boundary of the unique world, like a mirror.

“Because I was here, you will die.”

A magical girl, holding a crimson-stained greatsword in reverse grip, pointed down with one hand.

[This monster…!]

“Curse. That may be the only struggle you can make.”

“What did I do wrong!!”

“You made one mistake.”

Thud.

“You met me.”

Swish.

“And everything else aside.”

The greatsword struck vertically and twisted sideways.

“If you hurt teenage girls… magical girls, you should die.”

In a unique world overlapping with Neodongtan.

One demon died.