I had a long dream.
I was lost, wandering through the mountains.
The stars that had adorned the sky were all gone.
The sky, the ground, the trees—everything was in shades of gray, adding to the surreal nature of the landscape.
And through the gaps, a red full moon ominously illuminated the world. No, the light only shone around me. I was entirely under a red spotlight.
I ran down the mountain without thinking.
Strangely, I didn’t feel any sense of danger at all.
I stumbled over rocks and fell from cliffs, but each time, I found myself back at the mountain’s peak.
When I was about to give up and sit down, suddenly a door appeared at the top of the mountain.
Overcome by curiosity, my hand was drawn to the doorknob like a magnet.
The emotions that had raced through me were dispelled as the door creaked open easily.
Beyond the door, I saw a familiar landscape.
My room, which I longed to return to.
It was my private room, where no one would ever think to look for me.
A dark room with no walls or windows, not a single ray of light could enter, and it was connected to the place I was in by some unknown passage.
I wondered for a moment how I could see inside this room without electricity or mana.
But then, I noticed a child curled up in the corner of the room.
I hadn’t seen or heard them, but something in me clearly indicated that there was a child there.
The moment I recognized the child, the room was brightly lit.
But in the dream, I coldly ignored the crying child and slowly admired the room.
Vivid photographs, as if alive, replaced the wallpaper.
I plucked one tangled photo off the wall and stared at it blankly.
A girl with red hair wearing a pointed hat beamed widely, while the brown-haired boy next to her looked clearly flustered.
This time, another photo album flew into my hands, as if demanding to be seen as well.
I called it a photo album because it contained not just one but many pictures.
I randomly opened the middle of the fairly thick photo album.
A man with a jawline that looked like it had been carved by a craftsman using a sharp knife, and deep shadows beneath long eyelashes, was enough to evoke admiration.
As I turned the page with my left thumb, the boy gradually appeared younger, and as I turned the page with my right thumb, the boy aged, and depth was added to his gaze.
What caught my eye was a photo of him as a child.
A girl with similar curly hair was always playing by his side. It felt like a painting, and one could clearly sense that without each other, they were incomplete.
Tap—
The child in the corner suddenly grabbed my hand and slammed the photo album shut, stopping any further appreciation.
Shaking her head—
She vigorously shook her head, her golden hair whipping against my arm sharply.
Amused by her innocent appearance, I called out her name.
“Long time no see, my jealousy.”
Nodding—
She replaced her greeting with a single nod up and down.
How cold.
[Activation: Cerebral Cortex Reconstruction]
[Upper Activation: Activation of the Lateral Septum]
[Decryption: Neurotensin Receptor 1]
[Unique Magic – Esteria Ryu Second Style – Schadenfreude]
—
“What’s the deal with this filthy tentacle? Turns out it was just a mass of tar?”
I couldn’t understand all the emotions of the monster, but at least I could clearly read the feeling of confusion in its eyes.
“Why? Feeling upset because you lost what you were using? Getting angry and all? I hope so.”
[Replication: ■■■■■& %^$#$ Professor Cronicle]
Black tentacles identical to the monster’s erupted from my back.
I erased the flailing octopus legs one by one with my tentacles.
Bang!
Bang!
Each time one of its weapons was driven into the ground, it screamed like fingernails scraping on a chalkboard.
“Or how about this?”
[Replication: ■■■■■& %^$#$ Professor Cronicle]
The sound of a ticking clock echoed in my ears like a hallucination.
Tick-tock.
As a crushing pressure condensed into one point pressing down on me, suddenly—
Knock—
Clack-clack—
Tick-tock-tick-tock—
Whirring—
The magic he had cast in his lifetime returned to him in the same manner.
A beam of blue light quickly formed a massive column that pierced through the monster’s abdomen.
I slowly walked toward the monster that had been propelled far away by the shockwave.
Witnessing a massive hole gouged in its belly, I felt a rush of ecstasy. My shoulders couldn’t contain their exhilaration.
“%$@%^$^%$^”
“No! It’s not enough! More!”
How inadequate.
The bottom of the emotional barrel was completely cracked, and a waterfall of despair was needed.
[Replication: Remilia Acephite]
[Activation: Hellfire]
[system: The magic currently cannot be cast with laurel. It is replaced by the lower magic of heat transfer.]
A red flower bloomed in the dark sky.
The fully opened petals fell like rain, spreading sparks, and those sparks acted as a catalyst, dyeing the land red.
When the black liquid caught fire, only then did a sound worth listening to emerge.
“Wait…! Mortal… let’s talk!”
“Yes! That’s how you should come out!”
Watch how he pretends to be mute and climbs up when he’s in crisis.
The less viscous monster spread black sludge across the ground with tremendous force.
As if trying to merge its main body with the ground, its feet began to fall apart, gradually losing its shape like a sinking swamp.
[Replication: Klaus Nestro Banaphort]
[Body Enhancement Technique: Gaia’s Embrace]
[system: The current aura skill is incompatible with the level.]
[system: The current magic cannot be cast with laurel. Stat correction will occur as an alternative means.]
[system: error 0x00f402b4]
Time stopped.
It felt as if the air had been imbued with a sticky viscosity, movements slowed, and thoughts, the electrical signals sent from my brain, made the world sluggish like a worm.
My senses sharpened, and physical capabilities were maximized.
Thousands, no, tens of thousands, of punches swung squarely at the monster’s brow.
With a crunching sound, the monster’s body detaches from the ground with a sound akin to a bubble bursting, and the sludge spurted upward.
“Gah!”
“No! It’s not enough! More!”
It was regrettable. It wasn’t enough. I was still thirsty.
Like a runaway locomotive that wouldn’t stop, Schadenfreude endlessly birthed new magic circles.
The magic I was trying to reproduce this time was quite dangerous, but, well, it should be fine.
[Replication: Hiasen Luminus de Kaizen]
[Activation: Le Kaizen Familia]
[system: Unrecognized command.]
[Run-time error ‘492 at 0x00f14ec1]
The 88 magic circles that protected the Kaizen Empire unfolded in parallel.
Normally, due to time constraints, casting them simultaneously on my own was physically impossible, but Schadenfreude made it possible.
Although the restraints of laurel desperately tried to hinder the casting of magic, the permanence and inseparability of “Le Kaizen Familia” unfolded from Schadenfreude sharply contrasted with it.
In that moment, from one magic circle that broke free from the restraints, the opening of a wolf beast’s mouth was summoned wide.
Thousands of sharp teeth, almost impossible to count, chewed through Professor Cronicle’s flesh.
What was chewed was not just the flesh.
Like a whale swallowing krill and plankton, it captures all the surrounding ground in its mouth.
The ground split open, and the trees and buildings at the boundary were broken with a loud crack.
“Demon’s…! The demon’s descent is inevitable!”
“Haah… yes! This is it! So good… everything…!”
The monster’s roaring, busy chewing, gradually reduced in volume.
[■■■■■& %^$#$ Professor Cronicle’s health regeneration increased by 300%.]
[HP: 9471/666666]
[HP: 39720/666666]
[Error]
Occasionally, he attempted to create a surge of magic during the moments when his health had been restored to aim for the magic circle’s nullification.
The last remaining tentacle began its final resistance.
From one tentacle, thousands of branches split off, covering the sky. They seemed eager to swallow the light of streetlights and the glow of the moonlight.
[Replication: Bally Benavons]
[Moonlight Mantra]
Cronicle’s tentacle bounced off like a pigeon hitting a window.
No matter how much it knocked and poked, the intangible circular dome would never break.
If you were going to make a move, at least you should have brought some magic I had never seen before like that woman did.
[■■■■■& %^$#$ Professor Cronicle’s health regeneration increased by ??00%.]
[HP: 8293/666666]
[HP: 59281/666666]
[Error]
The regenerating and destructive sludge had become so mangled that it was no longer appropriate to call it a person.
Each time it squirmed and rose from the ground, I carefully stepped on it.
The sticky tar clung tightly to my shoes and wouldn’t come off.
A chill ran down my spine at the overwhelming resentment trying to devour my flesh, and I momentarily hurled my shoes into a puddle.
Bubbling.
As fierce bubbles rose, my shoes were oxidized.
I settled down at a place not too far from him and began to watch the end unfold.
He was desperately afraid of death. Clinging to the laurel of life, he seemed not to want to let go.
As I slowly savored the emotions flowing out until the end, an overwhelming satisfaction brought a smile to my face.
—
Struggles are always welcomed. The more hope shines, the greater the feeling of despair.
Isn’t that right, Noname?
[■■■■■& %^$#$ Professor Cronicle’s health regeneration has increased by ????%.]
…
…
…
[Defeated Academy Vice President · Professor Cronicle.]
[system: Command already processed.]
[system: Abnormal access.]
[Error]
…
…
…
[Part 1: Rement Academy Invasion Operation END]
[Part 2: Eternity’s Task, the Ballad of the Nocturne]
[The penalty has been reset.]
![[TS] The End of Magical Girls Has Come](https://i3.wp.com/darkmtl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1737407792-8993-TS-The-end-of-magical-girls-has-come.png?resize=85,105 "[TS] The End of Magical Girls Has Come")