Chapter 15

“Heartbeat is all over the place! I keep vomiting blood… and my body temperature keeps fluctuating!”

“Darn it, I can’t figure out what’s going on, so I can’t even administer any medication…”

“I’ll move you to the operating room for now!”

Ugh, so noisy.

I feel like I want to jump up and say it’s nothing, but right now, just managing the despair flowing into my body is overwhelming.

‘Emerald went outside the hospital room, and I hastily consumed despair… that was the problem.’

I should’ve waited a bit longer before consuming it. I got too excited and gulped it down the moment it disappeared, and that was my downfall.

Who would’ve thought? That Emerald would be waiting right outside the hospital room!

‘…She definitely did it on purpose. No matter how I think about it, she did it on purpose, that girl.’

Otherwise, there’s no way she would’ve emitted so much hope energy the moment I consumed Tamako’s despair.

Of all times, she had to spread hope energy while I had the Despair Circuit wide open.

Is she trying to kill the monster or what?

“Ugh, cough, cough…”

But all of this was a step back for the sake of moving forward.

Look, pretending to be sick while vomiting blood is making the despair energy pour out, isn’t it?

Though it was quite unexpected that Emerald would despair seeing me vomit blood.

‘If I keep vomiting blood once a day, will my despair worries be over…?’

I thought Tamako, who’s deep in sleep, was the only despair fountain, but it seems I need to add ‘Emerald seeing me vomit blood’ to that list.

Maybe she’s scared of blood or something.

Seeing Apocalypse, the arch-enemy, despair the moment I vomit blood, it seems she’s definitely scared of blood.

‘In the original, there wasn’t any description of her being scared of blood…’

But maybe it developed over time.

If you see humans being torn apart and magical girls dismembered all day, anyone would develop a fear of blood.

“…Vital signs are returning to normal.”

“…Can we really consider this normal?”

“Well, this was the reading during the initial physical exam, so we’ll have to consider this normal…”

Ah, what a shame. It felt like a despair fever time, and it was so good.

Thinking it’s about time to open my eyes, I slowly lifted my eyelids to see the doctors all having serious expressions and discussing something.

“…Excuse me.”

“Ah!? You scared me…”

“…Weren’t you unconscious?”

Their reaction was as if they’d seen a dead body rise.

The sound of my pounding heart was so clear that I couldn’t help but laugh inside.

A dying person can suddenly get up, so why are they so surprised?

.

.

.

“Th-thank you, please be careful!”

“…Are you sure you don’t need an escort to your room?”

“I don’t know. You’re walking fine on your own, so I’ll let you go. I’m scared. What if I get bitten and infected or something?”

Hey, I can hear you from back here.

Treating me like a zombie, how rude.

I’m not a zombie, I’m a monster, a monster!

‘Anyway, I look terrible.’

Vomiting blood has left my clothes in a complete mess.

I don’t have any spare clothes now, so it looks like I’ll have to wear a hospital gown.

‘More than that, I’m drawing too much attention.’

A blood-stained girl walking out of the emergency room… anyone would be shocked.

I guess there’s no helping it.

I’d love to go back to my room and take a nap, but if I wander around like this, rumors might spread throughout the hospital.

I’ll be stuck here for a while, so I can’t let strange rumors spread, right?

“Are you sure you’re okay to go back alone?”

“I’m fine. I just vomited a little blood.”

“…It didn’t seem like just a little.”

I went back to the emergency room and borrowed a hospital gown from the doctors who were shocked to see me again.

I could’ve borrowed from a nurse outside, but I just wanted to see their panicked reactions one more time.

Why? Just because it’s fun.

‘Akari, Akari! Are you okay!? Akari!’

“…Making a fuss over a little blood.”

Walking back to my room in an oversized hospital gown and slippers, Emerald’s expression popped into my head.

Just looking at her face, you’d think her best friend was dying.

Actually, it’s the complete opposite.

‘Ah, where can I find some fresh despair…’

Having just vomited all the despair I had stored up because of Emerald’s hope, I was starving.

This world is too harsh on a newborn like me.

How could my mother be the Doctor?

What kind of parent doesn’t feed their baby and even orders them to kill?

Growl~

‘This is despair, despair…’

Is this how abandoned children feel?

I felt like crying my eyes out.

And to make matters worse, this world is full of vicious magical girls.

If I gorge myself on despair, they’ll surely appear out of nowhere and gang up on me.

‘Do monsters even know what being full feels like?’

This could be a public service announcement for the Monster Education Channel.

Ah, if I had known, I would’ve gone into science.

Then I could’ve made a despair extractor using magical girls like the Doctor.

Wait, what am I thinking?

I’m so hungry I’m not thinking straight.

“…Akari?”

“Hello, Midori.”

“Are, are you okay?”

“Probably.”

I thought she’d be gone by now.

Emerald, who was sitting in a chair outside my room, came running over as soon as she saw me.

“By the way, you’re too close.”

“Ah, sorry.”

“…I’m tired, so can I go in and rest now?”

Seeing me return, she’s at it again.

Her hope energy is poking at every nerve, making me nauseous.

It’s a good thing I closed the Despair Circuit, or I might’ve vomited blood again.

I just changed my clothes, so I really don’t want to get them dirty again.

“Akari.”

“Yes, what is it?”

“I’m sorry for being so cold to you. It’s just that you resemble someone I dislike, so I acted unconsciously.”

“…”

An apology? What brought this on?

Multiple question marks popped up in my head as I tilted it.

What does Emerald have to be sorry for?

I’m Apocalypse, after all.

I should be grateful she didn’t try to kill me on the spot.

“It’s okay. I understand.”

“…Ah.”

“See you tomorrow, Midori.”

Smiling brightly, her expression was priceless.

Squeak~

“Phew…”

I hope she doesn’t follow me in again.

Just leave me alone for a while.

For now, I plan to leisurely enjoy my life as a fire monster, licking up Tamako’s despair.

Seeing her so apologetic, it seems she won’t bother me for a while.

‘Hmm, maybe I’ll close my eyes for a bit.’

I wonder if monsters even sleep—no sooner had I thought that than sleep came pouring over me.

Oh, so I can sleep after all.

Letting my heavy eyelids close, I slowly exhaled.

‘Come to think of it, this is my first time sleeping since I was born…’

With that thought, I fell asleep as if passing out.

Today’s events must’ve left a strong impression, as I dreamed of piling up magical girls’ despair like a mountain and feasting on it.

***

In a dark room where no one seemed to enter.

The enticing scent wafting from afar made it start to move.

A fragrance far superior to the ordinary despair scattered around.

The despair of magical girls, something ordinary monsters could never taste.

Gurgle, gurgle~

The black amorphous mass clinging to the floor began to writhe and slowly expand.

I must eat. That is mine.

A tentacle stretched out from the back of the creature with a canine-like torso and clung to the building’s exterior.

Grrr~

Creak… squelch~

Moving silently to avoid detection, it finally reached the source of despair.

Like a winter breeze slipping through a needle’s eye, it naturally slipped its body through the window crack.

Sss, sss~

“No, please… spare me… sob…”

This is it.

Spreading delicious despair all around.

My prey. I’ll devour it all.

Grrrr…

The mouth, once human-sized, began to expand, large enough to swallow a person whole.

Large enough to swallow the magical girl before me in one bite.

The gaping maw, now large enough to swallow any light, was lined with rows of obsidian-sharp teeth.

Grrr~

How full will I be after eating this?

Imagining it made my appetite surge, and black liquid dripped from my mouth.

Swallow. I must swallow.

This defenseless prey, I’ll devour it whole—

“Hey.”

Grr?

—I couldn’t swallow.

I turned around.

There stood a human.

A human with no trace of hope or despair.

No, that wasn’t a human.

That was definitely…

“Don’t outbid me on the despair I’ve bid for.”

Its vision turned red.

Above the monster in human form, a crimson ring spun fiercely.

Danger.

I must flee.

The overwhelming presence made the magical girl’s despair seem trivial.

Grr…

Feeling its life threatened, it hurriedly moved.

Or tried to.

Thud~

With a dull sound, its body crumbled.

The end of a pitiful creature that fed on despair.