Chapter 8
Ayle had a rough childhood.
It wasn’t like her parents were beating her and hurling insults at her while inebriated every single day. No, it was simply because she was born disabled.
The incompetent.
As Eight realized in barely half a day after arriving in this world, the prejudice and discrimination against the incompetent here was far worse than what the disabled experienced. Frankly, it would’ve been better if she was missing a limb or two.
Born without powers to superhero parents, Ayle was treated like she was virtually non-existent. She was provided food and a place to sleep, but the one thing that mattered most—love—was completely withheld from her.
Naturally, if she wasn’t receiving love at home, there was no way she was going to get any in society. She was what you’d commonly call the “victim.”
Bam—!
“Gah, uuurgh—!”
“Ugh, you bitch!”
Ayle, who had just been punched in the stomach, collapsed on the ground and began vomiting violently. A girl whose shoes got splattered with her vomit spat curses and kicked at her.
Even as she was trampled on the ground, Ayle gritted her teeth and endured the pain. Though she wanted to resist, doing so was impossible. They were all superpowered, and even if their abilities weren’t as lofty as a hero’s or a villain’s, they were more than enough to subdue an incompetent like her.
“P-Pity, please…!”
“Crazy bitch, what are you blabbering about?”
“Who said we were going to kill you?”
“You should’ve brought some money then, stupid.”
The girls tormenting her laughed and teased her. In a strange twist of fate—whether good or bad—they weren’t as malicious as true villains. Had they been as wicked as actual villains, they could have sold her body into prostitution or handed her over to villains as an experimental subject.
If that had happened, Ayle’s life would have hit rock bottom, but those girls wouldn’t have come out unscathed either. The heroes would have swooped in and apprehended them as villains.
So, Ayle was subjected to just the right amount of bullying, hit just enough, and extorted for just enough money—at a level that adults could easily dismiss with a “Oh, it’s just kids having fun.”
“─Hey, next time, actually bring money, or we’ll strip you and throw you at the boys with a bag on your head.”
“N-No, please… don’t!”
“Did you hear me or not—?!”
“Y-Y-Yeah, I heard…!”
Her mouth felt bitter. Her thoroughly bruised mouth ached so much that she could hardly pronounce her words. Ayle managed to hold on by begging desperately to survive just one more day.
The next day, since Mom hadn’t given her proper allowance, she was dragged back to the construction site again.
Uuugh—!?
“Damn it, I told you to bring money!”
Then, one day while she was getting pummeled again, an unexpected event unfolded.
An alarm blared.
[─An enemy of the world has appeared. Citizens of the city are advised to evacuate to the nearest shelter…]
Even the kids who were bullying Ayle momentarily stopped their aggression upon hearing the alarm. They paused to listen to the warning.
“Hey, shouldn’t we get out of here?”
“Don’t worry. It won’t come here.”
“Still…”
However, the girls chuckled dismissively and ignored the alarm. The typical arrogance of adolescence paired with an extremely low probability of encountering a monster justified their attitudes.
In reality, it was indeed unlikely they would come across a monster.
But probability is just a number.
Even astronomical odds can eventually become a reality.
─gRtxæ?
“W-Whoa—?!”
“A m-monster…?!”
“No way…!”
A monster manifested before them. It was a creature evolved solely to destroy human bodies and minds. A creature so horrifying that it couldn’t be shown on TV or in newspapers—only visible in the dark web.
With the mindset of brats who were just tormenting an incompetent peer, they had no chance whatsoever of resisting the cosmic horror gazing down upon them.
“Gyaah, kyaaaaah—!”
“R-Run!”
“Shit—!”
The girls, finally grasping the situation, began to flee like mad. Though they weren’t running that fast—easily catchable—the monster remained still.
After all, there was a foolish human standing frozen in place, not running away while everyone else took flight.
“A-Aah— Aaaaaaah…!”
Ayle, who had just been thoroughly beaten, was crawling on the ground, dragging her injured leg. Whether it was due to a poorly placed blow or her weak mental state, her legs wouldn’t cooperate.
Tears and snot flooded her face as she clawed frantically at the ground. Her nails broke, and her fingers bled as she slowly, step by step, distanced herself from the monster.
Seeing this, the monster chuckled lightly and took a casual step forward, rendering Ayle’s meager resistance pointless.
“Aah— Uuugh…!”
They say that when fear becomes too overwhelming, it paralyzes you completely. Ayle was experiencing precisely that. Instead of crying or peeing herself, she merely groaned, staring blankly at the monster.
Upon realizing Ayle had hit her mental limit, the monster opened its mouth wide, recognizing that it no longer found the game amusing.
─!Zx#Cv$Bn^
Just as its gaping maw was about to swallow Ayle whole, a beam of white light descended from the sky. The light severed the monster’s head and vanished underground.
“─Behold! The warrior of jewels who appears with light! Twinkle Clairenote is here!”
The magical girl who appeared with the white light surveyed the surroundings to confirm that no enemies remained then cautiously descended next to Ayle.
“Are you okay?”
“Y-Yes, uh…?”
“Hehe, you look alright! I’ll call for help right away. But why are you alone here at this hour? Is there a problem─?”
That day, Ayle didn’t recall what had happened afterward. However, she remembered one thing vividly. She survived and met a magical girl.
And that became a memory that would never fade from her mind.
“Ehehe…”
At home and school, Ayle sat with a wide grin, savoring that intense memory. She had met a magical girl. A magical girl had come to save her. A magical girl had reached out her hand to her…
Wrapped in this blissful memory, she momentarily forgot the dire situation she was in. Just then, she heard a loud bang as someone slammed their fist on her desk, startling her and causing her to look up.
“─Come out for a sec?”
“Uh…”
The dream shattered.
Ayle was once again dragged off by the girls, and just as before, she took a beating and faced their interrogation.
“You were hanging out with a magical girl yesterday, weren’t you? You didn’t say anything about us, right?”
“Uh, uhh—? I didn’t say anything…!”
“Really? Lucky you didn’t… Well done! Don’t think about meeting her again.”
That was the trigger. For the first time in her life, Ayle shot a fierce glare at the girl who wanted to sever her connection to this magical girl, who represented her first dream, her light, her hope.
That dangerous glint in her eyes apparently didn’t sit well with the girl, for she sent a more intense punch and kick than usual flying Ayle’s way, but regardless…
She absolutely could not give up.
She couldn’t abandon the magical girl due to this minor violence. She could sacrifice her life, but she wouldn’t toss away her hope. Ultimately, she resolved to end this long-standing curse.
The next day.
“─You little! That look! You bastard—!”
“Ugh, ugh—!”
“Hey, hey—! Stop this! You’re going to kill her!”
“Yeah… You’re acting strange today.”
The violence reached new heights, even shocking the surrounding kids, who usually turned a blind eye to intervene. However, Ayle maintained an unwavering glare at the girl responsible for all her suffering.
At long last, the girl throwing punches at her began to exhaust herself, panting heavily. There it was—an opening. Ayle stealthily pulled out a kitchen knife she’d been hiding and swung it.
With a swift slice, the knife cut through the girl’s forearm, blood gushing out in torrents.
“W-What…?”
“Gyaah—!”
“Blood, blood! Call 911, call 911!”
Seeing the girls in a panic, clutching their wounds, Ayle let out a bitter laugh. They couldn’t handle this level of pain? I had endured far worse than this!
How audacious of them to think they could rob me of my light!
“─The magical girl is mine. She’s only mine… I won’t let anyone take her from me…!”
“What are you going on about, you crazy girl!”
“I’m not letting her go—!”
Ayle thrust the knife forward and charged. The girls stood frozen, too stunned to even think of using their powers to defend themselves.
Just as the knife was about to stab, a familiar beam of light descended from the sky, breaking Ayle’s blade in two.
“…Huh?”
“─Oh dear, you shouldn’t play with dangerous things like that.”
A magical girl descended from the sky.
Her companion, her light, her hope.
The magical girl of light.
“Are you alright where you’re hurt?”
“I-It’s fine… Are you really a magical girl…?”
“Yup, I’m the real deal.”
The magical girl expressed concern for the girl who had been stabbed. Watching this, Ayle’s heart filled with bitterness. Why—why had she never shown up when I was the one getting hurt, only to appear now?
Just as Ayle was confused and caught off guard, the magical girl turned her head towards Ayle and slowly approached her.
“Now, hand over that dangerous thing, and let’s go to the police…”
“…Why—why are you saving someone like her—?!”
“Hm? Someone like her? What do you mean?”
“I’m not the one—! Why save her—?!”
“I don’t really understand what you’re saying… Hmm—”
The magical girl tilted her head, perplexed. The girls standing behind her gestured wildly towards Ayle, hurling insults calling her crazy and out of her mind.
Who’s really the crazy one here? Who’s the real bad one—?!
But just then, amidst that chaos, a new fear sprouted in her heart. Ayle cautiously opened her trembling lips.
“D-Do you… remember who I am?”
“Hm—?”
“Do you remember… me…?”
This was only a few days ago.
For her, it was an event she could never forget.
So surely, the magical girl too must remember—.
“I’m sorry, who are you?”
“─Ah.”
To her dismay, her guess was right. For the magical girl, rescuing Ayle that day was nothing more than a routine occurrence; it wasn’t special at all.
Unable to accept this fact, Ayle lunged at the magical girl in a fit of rage. The magical girl looked at her with a puzzled expression.
Just like before, the specifics of what happened next remained hazy.
All she knew was that she survived and met a magical girl.
And that fact would forever remain an unforgettable memory.
*
Though the incident with Ayle wielding a knife against the girls and the magical girl ended in a warning, she couldn’t just show her face at school like nothing happened. Ayle quit school altogether.
She was also kicked out of her home. Apparently, they didn’t need a disabled child who had committed a crime. Their attitude was laughably absurd as if they had just been waiting for her to mess up.
After that, she was picked up by Regalia and entered an evil organization. She truly believed she would never return to this city.
But she did come back.
As an evil magical girl.
“─Shall we begin?”
The evil organization adheres to the principle of not harming civilians. So, Ayle did just that. Using her magic, she engulfed the entire city in darkness, letting the magical girls know of her existence.
Whether the approach worked or not was up for debate, but the magical girls soon flew towards her location in a flash.
“What’s going on—!? All of a sudden!”
“A magical girl…? No, if you use magic like that, you’ll lose your power—?!”
“Are you nuts!? Turn on the lights!”
Among the magical girls who rushed over was the very light magical girl Ayle had longed to see. Ayle smiled at the magical girl of light, their eyes locking.
“Nice to meet you, magical girls.”
The magical girls she had long admired turned their attention to her in unison. This electric thrill. This sensation that felt unforgettable.
Ayle strained to suppress the smile threatening to expand across her face as she spoke.
“─Do you know who I am?”
“…What are you talking about?”
“How could we know?”
“Who are you?!”
A barrage of different reactions came all at once. Even the magical girl of light reacted to her like the others did. Seeing this, Ayle smiled and lifted the hem of her dress.
You don’t know who I am?
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
And this would become something you could never forget.
Now—this is the debut of the evil magical girl.
Let’s sing a rendezvous that won’t be forgotten.
