episode_0025

What… what happened?

I heard there’s an explosive.

I don’t know why it’s inside the pillar. I just heard that there are researchers inside the pillar.

Could it be those with extraterrestrial technology? It wouldn’t be difficult for them to create a hidden room inside the pillar. Even without extraterrestrial technology, it’s something that could be done.

A pillar responsible for supporting a huge building. Even if there’s a small research facility inside, the pillar is thick enough to be believable.

How devastating would it be if the inside of such a structure were filled with explosives?

And what would happen if this massive pillar were to explode?

The entire complex wouldn’t collapse just because one pillar fell. There would be negative effects, of course.

But what if the pillar “explodes”?

Simply collapsing and exploding are different. Shrapnel would fly in all directions, shockwaves would spread everywhere. Such an explosion would significantly impact neighboring pillars, walls, and the ceiling.

And if there wasn’t just one pillar with explosives.

Beep beep beep beep beep—!

It felt like my ears were about to burst. The sound was spinning dangerously, as if the circuit was going into overload.

I tried to get up but collapsed once. I blinked several times. My vision was red. Blood was flowing from one eye.

10

The number indicating the despair level on the screen. 10 percent? Did I faint? It’s possible. Everything was covered in dust. The view was hazy due to the dust.

I heard someone shouting.

Struggling to get up, I grabbed the hammer. It didn’t seem like a situation for combat or anything, but still.

I staggered outside.

People were running around here and there. The buildings, previously dark, now had bright lights on. The sight of light shining through the smoke was somewhat surreal.

Also, the flickering orange light beyond.

It felt like my ears were about to burst, but upon reconsideration, the sound I heard wasn’t just coming from my helmet.

The entire complex was shaking. The lights above were twinkling and spinning. They weren’t decorative lights. They were fire alarm lights.

Soon, water poured from the sky. With the sound of rain pouring down, the smoke began to dissipate rapidly.

What was visible was a chaotic scene. The massive pillar had broken from the base and was scattered all around. There were fires here and there, but they weren’t extensive.

The most crucial thing was that the adjacent pillars, and the ones next to them, had also collapsed.

Part of the ceiling had caved inwards. There were places where holes appeared, revealing the sky.

Creaking, ominous sounds were heard.

“Everyone, take cover!”

Someone shouted.

When I turned around, Blossom was evacuating people. I saw Iris pulling out fallen soldiers from the ground. She was using her warp technique to help each soldier. It was not for combat, but for Iris’s personal record.

Dahlia and Delphinium were pulling people out from the broken debris. Rose was doing the same. They were lifting the debris, setting it aside, and gathering the injured.

Everyone seemed busy.

They all moved as if they had forgotten about the fight. Both soldiers and magical girls were running to save people.

“Ugh….”

I heard a groan nearby.

I ran over there.

I lifted the debris, stood it up, and propped it with the head of a mallet.

When I pulled out the trapped person, it was an Earthling.

“You’re in trouble again.”

“…Just stay still.”

I held the Earthling’s hand and put it over my shoulder. Then I stood up and went towards the magical girls.

“Hey, wait!”

The Earthling shouted in great confusion.

“Your leg seems better than I thought.”

I said that, thinking the Earthling was in pain. In reality, it didn’t look good. The part that was trapped was bent at a strange angle.

Even so, if taken to the treatment center, it would heal quickly. Even completely crushed things can be fixed there, and something just broken will be easily mended. It might take longer than other injuries, but it will heal. The Earthling has been through this a couple of times.

“No, that’s not it!”

But the Earthling forcibly tried to pull away, saying, “It’s not about the injured—It’s your face…!”

My helmet screen still displayed the number.

10 percent—no.

It simply said 10.

There was nothing after that.

“…Huh?”

Unconsciously, I reached out and touched that part.

Normally, my hand would have touched the hard surface of the helmet before reaching my face. But my hand went straight in.

And then I touched my face. A face covered in blood.

“Oh, no….”

The helmet was cracked.

The upper part of my right face was fully exposed.

I tried to turn around hastily, but the Earthling was on my arm. I couldn’t just throw the injured person. No matter what, if something really went wrong, it would be a big problem.

Could it be that I didn’t see it?

I got a little closer to the magical girl while dragging the Earthling, but still—

“….”

However, that hope was immediately shattered.

Iris was looking at me.

Iris has good eyes. It’s a natural thing. Her specialty is hitting distant targets with precise shooting.

Iris, who had been warping the fallen soldiers with Rose, stopped moving and looked at Na with wide eyes.

Beep beep beep—

A warning sound rang in her ears.

I see.

If it was originally 10 percent, there would be no reason for such a sound to ring. It wasn’t dangerous enough to warrant a warning.

Her left wrist was vibrating. The circuit was spinning too fast, and it seemed like the circuit itself couldn’t withstand the speed of its rotation.

Seeing Iris stop, Blossom turned to look in this direction.

Their eyes met. Or did they? She hurriedly raised her hand to cover the broken part of her helmet, but she wasn’t sure if Hayoon had seen it or not.

Earth pushed me away and fell to the side.

I took a few steps back.

My head was too confused. I felt nauseous and thought I might vomit soon.

Crackle, crackle, sparks flew from the circuit.

I covered my face with both hands and wanted to escape somehow, but for some reason, I couldn’t muster any strength in my legs.

10

It wasn’t 10.

It was 100.

From the part indicating the last 0 to above, it was completely shattered. Blood was flowing over my right eye, limiting my vision, and I was so disoriented that I didn’t notice it.

Breathing was difficult.

“Wait! What are you doing there!?”

Someone who didn’t know the situation shouted. Whose voice was it? If I thought about it being a woman’s voice, it must have been one of the magical girls.

Did they think I was trying to start a fight?

Black substance dripped from my body.

“Ugh.”

I vomited the black substance. It was painful to wear the helmet.

But I couldn’t take it off. There was no way I could.

Even from the part I covered with my hand, the black liquid flowed out vigorously.

It was distorting the area around my body. Along with the sound of thumping, the armor covering my arms slowly became pointed.

No.

I’m not trying to fight.

I am,

I am—

……

What was I trying to do?

Clearly, I came all the way here to avoid being caught. I tried to end the battle with the magical girl as well as possible and then hide and come back.

I glanced around.

People from other floors were looking in this direction. Someone looked like they were holding a smartphone.

But such calmness didn’t last long.

Bang!

The building began to collapse.

The already inwardly bent ceiling collapsed. People screamed and scattered wildly.

Whose doing is this anyway?

No matter how much it’s called Nuar Corporation, they wouldn’t go this far.

They demolished the entire apartment complex, putting the minors inside at risk. The company had unethical aspects, but at least they managed their image to some extent.

To deceive the magical girl?

I don’t know.

One thing I know for sure is that whatever I was trying to do, it’s over here and now.

I heard someone running towards this side.

I felt a hand on my shoulder.

I lifted my gaze to the uncovered direction.

I saw Blosum’s face behind the helmet.

Her face was pale.

Blosum spoke with a trembling voice.

“Ji-eun…?”

“Ah…”

“Why?”

The expression on her face was perplexity.

Why am I here? Why am I dressed like this? Why did I fight against myself?

It was an expression filled with all those questions.

The mark “10” that was barely visible on the helmet disappeared.

My circuit exploded with a loud noise.

And—

“Blosum! Subdue that guy!”

“Huh? Why?”

“Why—just look at the person in front of you right now!”

“Wait, wait, no, no, Rose!”

Blosum tried to say something to stop it.

Crack, a sound came from beside my head, as if something was breaking.

My vision floated in mid-air and then fell down.

Thud.

I was thrown away by the impact from the side.

“…!”

I heard Blosum scream. It was a scream that couldn’t become words.

The percentage still didn’t show up.

Despair.

It was supposed to be the end if I gave up. Why is my vision being covered by that liquid?

This is—

Ah, this is, could it be despair about the possibility?

Just because of a trivial pride, wanting to defeat a much better person than me. Is this the result of a choice made with a twisted heart?

I thought it didn’t matter where I was, that I could just use it for good things. Is this the result of such a careless thought?

My vision turns dark, pitch black.

The nature beyond reason constantly flows out and envelops my body.

I felt my body rising.

It’s hard to think.

I just want it to be over, that was my final thought.

*

“Blosum!”

Hayoon regained her senses after hearing that shout.

When she came to her senses, she realized she was rushing towards Rose. She tried to grab her arms, and even swung her staff.

“What are you doing right now!?”

Almost reaching the point of slapping her cheek, Hayoon finally looked ahead.

“Do you know her?”

Rose asked.

Hayoon couldn’t answer. She didn’t know why Ji-eun reacted like that.

No, she didn’t know why they fought so fiercely. Weren’t they just running with all their strength a moment ago?

Holding a hammer, as if trying to destroy everything.

Why?

“I won’t say anything about whatever relationship you have, but still, look over there.”

Rose looked at the place.

There was a black lump there.

“I don’t know what that is,” Rose said. “I don’t even know how dangerous the thing inside is. But at least we know we can’t just leave it be.”

That’s right.

It was an instinctive aversion.

No one knows what kind of energy Nuarc Corporation uses. But magical girls almost instinctively knew that the results of using that energy would not be good.

“But, I…”

“Fine,” Rose said. “If we can’t help it, you stay out of it. Don’t interfere. Let’s clean that up first, get people out, make it safe, and then talk about it again.”

Rose ran in that direction without listening to Hayoon’s response.

Iris followed behind, looking back at Hayoon.

Their eyes met. Both of them looked puzzled.

But Iris turned her head without saying a word and ran forward, aiming her gun ahead.

Dahlia and Delphinium’s magic flew.

There were several massive explosions.

The black sphere greedily absorbed all of that magic.

The sphere grew larger, and something inside, a crouched figure, emerged.

“…Everyone, run! Take the people!”

Delphinium shouted.

“I’ll do what I can…”

Delphinium said as she raised her wand and opened her spellbook.

And started to recite something.

“I will stay.”

Iris said.

“Because someone needs to see people off until the end.”

Then she flew into the air.

“Blosum.”

Rose said.

Blosum, with a vacant expression, looked at Rose and nodded.

There was work to be done.

But, the creator—

Blosum gritted their teeth and ran.

Right now, saving people came first. Dahlia and Iris would manage somehow. Blosum’s power wouldn’t be meaningful right now.

No, maybe it would be meaningful.

For the first time, Blosum made excuses and ran away.

They didn’t want to think about anything right now.

*

Another massive explosion occurred.

Delphinium’s magic caused a white explosion. The black substance, which had been slowly expanding, lost its form for a moment and some of it flew away.

Iris did not miss the opportunity and shot towards the person inside. She poured all the power she could muster.

Perhaps, if the mind had remained, it would have been very painful. They would have been injured.

But at that moment, this was the only hope.

That hope worked.

Perhaps because the being inside had lost consciousness, it was possible to warp it with Iris’s shooting.

Maybe because the main body had disappeared. The black sphere slowly, weakly collapsed.

There was no time to examine what it was.

Due to another shock, the building began to collapse rapidly. Was it just an impact on the entire structure?

Delphinium knelt with a newly bluish face.

Iris placed her hand on Delphinium’s shoulder.

They disappeared.

The remaining traces were buried as the building collapsed.

After the battle.

The surroundings were chaotic.

A large building had collapsed. It wasn’t a complete collapse, but the middle part where the pillars were had caved in.

But since the center had collapsed, the rest couldn’t be completely unscathed.

Miraculously, there were very few casualties.

Nouveau Corporation had prepared excellent contingency plans. Thanks to the hour-long evacuation training given to the students who were staying for the first time today, the staff were able to respond quickly and evacuate everyone. Fortunately, the students were all located on the outskirts, and they were the first to evacuate.

There are many injured. Still being tallied. Even among them, they were tallying minor and severe injuries.

Even though the evacuation manual was well-prepared, there were many staff inside the building. People stumbled and collided while running, and unfortunately, many were injured from the battle inside with the magical girls.

It was not enough to handle all these people at once in the medical facility. They were temporarily admitted to a nearby general hospital, and once their treatment was completed, they were transferred back to the medical facility for further treatment of their wounds.

However, some of them were not recovering quickly.

Ha-yoon sat blankly next to Ji-eun’s bed.

At first, other kids tried to come and comfort her. But when Ha-yoon continued to remain silent, they eventually gave up and left.

Only Iris remained, attempting to say something. She eventually went outside without saying anything.

Why did they fight, why were they hostile to the magical girls.

Such thoughts crossed her mind.

But soon, she realized something far more shocking than those thoughts.

Ha-yoon had tormented Ji-eun several times.

It had been two years since Ha-yoon became a magical girl. That meant that for two years, she had been in constant combat, and Ji-eun was mixed in with that.

When you suppress combatants, naturally, they get hurt.

There are times when broken bones are clearly visible. Blood flows down from under the helmet, and sometimes the combat uniform is torn, exposing the skin.

Iris had explained that if hit by her warp-tan, ribs could easily break.

Dahlia’s staff is sturdy. The magic emanating from that staff is equally powerful.

If hit by Rose’s gauntlet, it doesn’t just end with pain.

They say Delphinium’s magic creates an illusion that feels like burning one’s body.

How many years has she lived like this? How many times has Ji-eun faced Hayoon?

… How many times has Hayoon broken Ji-eun’s bones?

Broken, torn, twisted.

Thrown away, stabbed, collided.

There were times when it was slashed with a knife.

It’s not the power of evil. They never die. That’s how they control it.

Receiving treatment at the clinic made it possible to heal cleanly without any scars.

—Ji-eun, that’s why.

After being beaten by Hayoon last night, she went to the clinic for treatment and smiled casually every time they met at school.

Her hands trembled.

Something bitter rose from below her throat.

Covering her mouth with her hand, Hayoon looked down at the floor.

Even though she was in front of Ji-eun, she couldn’t look directly at her face.

Yes.

Hayoon thought of her opponent as the power of evil.

Although she thought she might be able to have a conversation, she ultimately chose to quickly neutralize it.

And among them, Ji-eun was mixed in.

Even behind the expressionless helmet, there could be Ji-eun.

No matter how much she tried to understand that it was inevitable, no matter how much she tried to think that Noir Corporation was a bad existence.

Right now, Ji-eun was lying on the bed.

“Why?”

Hayoon murmured.

“Ji-eun, why on earth…?”

But there was no answer.