Chapter 63

[Magical Girl Association dispatches investigation team to explore the inside of the black cloud!]

[List of the investigation team members revealed.]

[The team includes famous magical girls. Names like Emerald from the Central Division and Sapphire from the Northern Division are also on the list.]

[What kind of monster could be inside the black cloud? Let’s hear from the experts.]

[Signs of the world’s end. Prophets have been predicting this for over 100 years.]

[Investigation team’s departure ceremony! They vow, ‘We will definitely uncover the secrets of the black cloud!’]

“…Hmm.”

I always knew this day would come, but now that it’s here, it feels a bit strange.

Couldn’t they have given me just a little more time?

Clicking my tongue, I tossed the newspaper into the shadows.

‘If I had just a bit more time, I might have been able to stop it…’

Unable to shake off the regret, even when I tried to focus, the Despair Circuit only slowed down for a moment before starting to spin again.

Where on earth did the Doctor go at a time like this?

I knew he wouldn’t be cooperative, but I never imagined he’d disappear without a trace like this.

I didn’t think parents who abandon their children twice could actually exist.

Ah, but maybe it’s natural for monsters to abandon their offspring.

Grrr…

“What do you mean, ‘what should I do’? I have to stop it somehow.”

Grr, grr…

“Will you help me? Ha, you owe me for all the free meals you’ve had so far. Don’t you think?”

Grumbling about despair and not wanting to do any work…

I sighed and waved my hand dismissively.

If you’ve enjoyed my despair so far, it’s time to pay up, you jobless monster.

Keeeek…

“You’re asking if you can eat the magical girls who come looking for me? Sure, sure, go ahead if you can.”

Half-resigned, I spoke, and the monsters around me started making all sorts of noises.

“The magical girls are mine!” or “I’ll devour all the despair of the magical girls!”

Did I really upset them that much by telling them not to eat the magical girls?

I was just looking out for them, but they took it the wrong way. It’s a bit disappointing.

“Don’t even think about calling me if something happens.”

Keeeek!!

“Don’t come crying to me if you get caught eating a magical girl. Seriously.”

Are these the same monsters who were too scared to get close to that magical girl?

I have no idea where they got all this confidence.

Their role was just to buy time until the magical girls reached me.

You might think I’m treating my own kind like disposable tools, but I did everything I could for them.

‘I gave them despair, a safe place to live, and even advised them not to mess with magical girls…’

Anyway, as of today, the Monster Shelter is officially closed.

From now on, it’s time for everyone to be independent and work hard in society, okay?

Clap twice if you’re ready to be an adult now.

Grrrr!!!

“It looks like they’re about to arrive.”

Still, the sight of a horde of monsters filling the horizon was quite a spectacle.

With this many, even Emerald and Sapphire might have a hard time breaking through.

If I’m lucky, I might be able to stop the Despair Circuit before those two arrive.

Of course, it didn’t take long for me to realize that all of that was just useless hope.

Flash!

Keeeeek!!!

Grrrr…

‘They’re fighting better than I expected.’

The clash between the magical girls’ hope energy and the monsters’ despair energy was quite a sight.

Seeing the lightning flash inside the dark clouds made me feel like a survivor witnessing the end of the world.

With so many monsters, it would take at least half a day for them to reach me.

Maybe even longer.

‘…Or so I thought, just a moment ago.’

Disappointment comes from having expectations, they say.

Ignoring my expectation that they’d hold out for at least half a day, a massive surge of hope energy approached, making me reflexively frown.

After devouring so much despair, they couldn’t even properly stop a magical girl?

Even if Emerald is an exception, this is too much!

‘…Maybe it’s because monsters like us have no business holding onto hope.’

“Akari!!”

“…Sigh, what am I going to do with these useless creatures?”

Seeing Emerald waving at me happily, I couldn’t help but sigh.

I thought it would take at least half a day, but it didn’t even take an hour for the two of them to break through the despair.

At least I didn’t see any other magical girls, so maybe the rest are being held back.

That’s a small consolation.

“Akari, are you okay? Nothing’s wrong, right?!”

“Didn’t you hear about me from Sapphire?”

“Even so! You must have been so lonely all by yourself…”

I frowned as Emerald checked me over for injuries.

It’s not like I’m some lost pet you just found, why are you so worked up?

While Emerald was frantically moving around, Sapphire was quite calm.

She was just like the first time I met her.

No, maybe not exactly the same?

‘Her eyes seem a bit sharper, or maybe not…’

It felt like the gaze of someone who had heard about me—or rather, about the Apocalypse.

Did Emerald really talk about the Apocalypse?

But Emerald’s expression was way too bright for that.

This hopelessly cheerful magical girl wouldn’t badmouth me, would she?

“What exactly do you plan to do by barging in like this? I was so close to getting rid of this damn halo, tsk…”

“Well, I did think of a way…”

“…A way? What kind of way?”

Hearing something intriguing, Emerald seemed to change a bit.

Could it be that she was thinking of a way to stop the Despair Circuit for me?

Wait, is that why she came looking for me so quickly?

If that’s true, then maybe, just maybe, I’m a little touched.

“Maybe if we pour in a lot of hope, it’ll neutralize and disappear?”

“…”

But what came out of Emerald’s mouth didn’t live up to my expectations at all.

What? ‘Pour in a lot of hope and it’ll neutralize and disappear’? Is that even a plan?

It must have been a conclusion she reached after much thought, but to me, a monster, it just seemed like a half-baked idea—no, not even an idea.

Pouring hope into the Despair Circuit…

‘…Ugh.’

Just imagining it was horrifying. So much so that I never want to think about it again.

In fact, with the Despair Circuit running, just picturing it made me nauseous.

Ugh, I hate hope.

“…I’m not sorry at all, but just stay 100km away from me, please.”

“Akari?!”

“I was a fool to expect anything from you. Well, you’re a magical girl, so I guess all you care about is beating up monsters.”

“N-no, that’s not it!”

This time, I wasn’t even expecting anything, but I still felt betrayed.

Actually, it’s more accurate to say I felt betrayed because I didn’t expect anything from her.

I’d rather she kept her mouth shut like Sapphire.

Just standing still would have been half the battle, tsk.

“But you can’t stay here alone forever.”

“I’d rather stay alone than eat hope.”

For me, hope isn’t just tasteless food—it’s practically poison.

Of course, the Apocalypse’s body wouldn’t die so easily, but just because you won’t die doesn’t mean you should do things that make you suffer.

“…It won’t be long before the magical girls, protected by Sapphire’s defensive magic, start arriving here one by one.”

“…”

If it’s Sapphire’s defensive magic, at least they won’t die to the monsters.

For some reason, after feeding on my despair, Sapphire was radiating a different level of hope.

…This might get even more annoying.

“If that happens, it’s all over. It might be fine with me and Sapphire, but if the other magical girls see you, you’ll definitely be hunted for the rest of your life.”

“Are you threatening me now? If I don’t want to be hunted for life, I should listen to you?”

Honestly, it pissed me off.

It’s true that I wanted to cling to Emerald to avoid the hassle, but I never wanted to do it while being talked to like this.

Hunted for life? By who? Me?

That’s not something a magical girl who’s been hunted by the Apocalypse her whole life should say.

‘Of course, she didn’t mean it that way…’

I took a deep breath and tried to clear my head.

Calm down, Akari.

Facing Emerald’s hope after so long, and with the Despair Circuit running, must have made me snap.

“No, I’m saying this because I trust in your kindness.”

“Kindness? What kindness…”

What kind of monster is as kind as me?

Emerald, who I hadn’t seen in so long, was just spouting nonsense.