Chapter 4

“Maybe the Magical Girl already took care of the monster.”

“If that were the case, the door would’ve already opened.”

“Considering how quiet it is, maybe everything’s been handled?”

“What if the monster’s just waiting right outside the door?!”

In this dark, clockless space, my sense of time has gotten a bit weird.

How long have we been here?

10 minutes? 30? Or maybe an hour?

*Growl~*

“Mom, I’m hungry…”

“Just hold on a little longer. Soon, the Magical Girl will show up and save us with a *ta-da~*! Then we’ll go get something delicious, Aya.”

“Okay…”

As the child’s stomach growled, my mouth watered.

The hope that came from meeting Mom was turning into despair from hunger, and it had a surprisingly tangy flavor.

A child’s despair tasted so much better than an ordinary adult’s despair.

‘What would others say? It’s like the taste of ordinary despair.’

If I were a regular monster, despair-flavored kibble would’ve been enough, but sadly, my palate has become so refined that I won’t settle for anything less than premium tuna cans.

Well, I’d eat it, but I’d spit it out right away. Or maybe I’d eat it but not digest it properly…

“But isn’t it too quiet?”

“Quiet? What do you mean?”

“Outside! If people were safe, they’d have come up from the 5th floor by now, but there’s no news at all!”

People were starting to catch on.

The only humans left in this shelter were those from the 5th floor.

The rest had unfortunately become snacks for the monsters.

‘Apocalypse can eat despair without directly consuming it, but that’s because Apocalypse is a Monster Girl.’

The way monsters devour human despair is simple.

They drive humans to despair, then consume them to create even greater despair.

And then they savor and digest that ultimate despair.

It’s a savage, beastly way of eating, but it’s also a universal form of dining.

“Now that you mention it…”

“Is it really dangerous outside?”

“Maybe it’s better to stay here.”

“But how long are we supposed to stay here?”

“I’m hungry…”

The 5th-floor bunker was built sturdier than the others, so communication was terrible.

Phones were dead, messages and the internet—all dead.

I wondered why there was no screen here, but it seemed the difficulty with communication was the main reason.

‘Everyone’s despair is growing bigger and bigger.’

The idea that being together made things better was already an old story.

This kind of despair only multiplies when shared.

If I were an ordinary person, I might’ve joined that despair festival, but here, I felt more like a judge than a participant.

‘This concentrated despair might actually be pretty good.’

Honestly, at first, I thought, “What kind of flavor could despair even have?” But now, I can really taste its unique depth.

If ordinary people’s despair tastes like this, I wonder what a Magical Girl’s despair would taste like.

Just imagining it makes my mouth water.

*Groan~*

And my Despair Circuit started running too.

“…Did you hear that just now?”

“What? Why are you making weird noises again?”

“No, it’s just… I thought I heard something like a phone vibrating—”

*BOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!*

—The door was shattered.

Completely obliterated.

***

[Peridot! A monster’s appeared at the shelter! You need to hurry!]

“At the shelter? But monsters can’t enter shelters, right?”

[That only applies to monsters below Gamma-level!]

“But the monster I just defeated was Beta-level…?”

The green Magical Girl—Peridot—tilted her head as she looked at her mascot, which matched her color perfectly.

The shelter was supposed to be a place monsters couldn’t invade.

Even back when she was an ordinary child without Magical Girl powers, shelters were considered absolutely safe from monsters.

But now, a monster was inside?

‘…How?’

According to her partner, the monster had broken through the shelter’s door and entered, something Peridot couldn’t even imagine.

The monster she’d defeated was only Beta-level.

Even a monster the size of a small building couldn’t destroy a shelter, but this one had broken the door and entered?

[Despair energy output detected! Estimated despair level: Beta or higher—at least Gamma-level, Peridot!]

“Gamma-level?!”

Gamma-level monsters were something she’d only heard about in stories from her seniors.

Her seniors said Gamma-level monsters were as big as mountains.

They said Gamma-level monsters could speak human language, and so on.

All the bizarre stories about monsters always centered around Gamma-level monsters, and Peridot had grown up hearing those stories like fairy tales.

[Yes! It’s rare for a Gamma-level monster to appear in the city, but… if it’s really a Gamma-level, it’s a big deal!]

“Okay! I’m on my way!”

[Be careful, Peridot! I’ve contacted headquarters, so other Magical Girls should be arriving soon!]

But she didn’t want to run away.

Magical Girls exist to defeat monsters and save people.

To fulfill the wish she made as a child, Peridot couldn’t run away.

No, she couldn’t afford to be late.

‘Just a little faster. Just a little, faster!’

She’d used up a lot of hope energy fighting the Beta-level monster, but she could at least buy some time.

For the sake of the people, she’d squeeze out every last bit of strength and hold on—

[Peridot, this is…]

“…Ah.”

—That’s what she thought just moments ago.

Yes, it hadn’t even been 10 seconds since she’d had that thought.

*Squelch~*

[Ho, hope energy depleted… No, not even a shred of despair energy left. No, it’s like life energy itself is—]

“Ugh…”

She didn’t need to be told.

The red that filled the room.

The flesh-like something stuck to the floor—what used to be people.

“Uwaaaahhh…!!”

The moment she saw the carnage before her, Peridot couldn’t help but vomit everything inside her.

Why, why did this happen?

Why?

[Peridot, snap out of it! Peridot!]

“Th, the shelter was supposed to be safe… Ugh, hack…”

She curled up defensively, clutching her head.

The despair that filled Peridot’s heart, which had been full of hope just moments ago, came in an instant.

“No, no, why? Why? Is this a dream?”

[Snap out of it, Peridot! Despair is growing in your heart! If this continues, the monster will devour your despair!]

Monster? Right, there was a monster.

That’s why she came.

To the shelter, for the monster.

“Ah, ahaha…”

She let out a broken laugh, bowing her head and closing her eyes.

This must be a dream, right?

There’s no way a Gamma-level monster would appear in this small city.

When I was scared of monster stories, my seniors said, “You’ll never see a Gamma-level monster here, so don’t worry!”

“This must be a dream. A nightmare from hearing scary stories yesterday. So if I open my eyes, surely—”

*Growl~*

“Ugh?!”

Despair approaches silently.

Feeling the despair closing in, her body instinctively raised the wand in her hand.

Compared to her half-lost state just moments ago, she managed to steady herself.

Whether it was her heart trying to defeat the monster or her body’s reflexive movement to survive—

—In the end, Magical Girl Peridot finally took a fighting stance.

Like a Magical Girl should.

[Enemy despair level estimated at Gamma or higher! If you don’t snap out of it, you’ll lose, Peridot! You need to replenish your hope energy now!]

“How, how?”

But all Peridot could do was barely hold on.

If there were no people to give her hope by seeing her as a Magical Girl, she couldn’t replenish her hope energy.

In that case, the only way to replenish hope energy was through the Magical Girl herself.

‘Someone, help me. Mom, Dad, where are you? It’s lonely being alone, please, someone—’

Her mental state was no different from when she was a child, crouched in a corner of the shelter, crying her eyes out before becoming a Magical Girl.

Like back then, she clutched her wand tightly, praying for something magical to happen, but despite her prayers, the monster in front of her was slowly approaching.

Bit by bit.

As if savoring the despair within her, slowly.

[Peridot!!!!]

*Growl~!!!*

And finally, the moment the Magical Girl’s despair was perfectly ripe, a thousand fangs flew toward Peridot.

With black, black teeth of despair, to tear the green hope to shreds.

For a brutal, meaningless end.

Like that.