Chapter 38

Once upon a time, I saw a land soaked in blood.

Screaming, crying, begging for mercy, but disappearing into a pool of blood.

From the moment I witnessed that scene, Magical Girl Emerald—I could no longer live normally.

Every time I closed my eyes, that scene flickered before me, and waking up screaming was considered lucky.

[Emerald, snap out of it! Emerald! The Hope Circuit is being eroded by despair energy!]

“Aka, ri… Akari… Ugh…”

Despair flows out.

A magical girl who spreads fatal hope to monsters.

The most fatal thing for such a magical girl was, of course, despair itself.

Especially if it was her own despair.

“Cough, ugh… Kehk…”

On a pool of crimson, another red was layered.

No, it was more like death, painting the red world black.

[Vital signs are dropping! Snap out of it, Emerald!!!!]

“I, I—”

Maybe I could have easily overcome a slight despair.

But the despair I feel now is on a whole different level.

A deep despair that gnaws at my own life.

Such despair was being created from my heart, running through my body via the Hope Circuit.

‘My body feels like it’s burning…’

A sensation as if acid, not blood, was flowing through my veins.

I curled up in pain so intense that my vision turned white.

I can’t breathe…

[Emerald!!!]

“Ah, huh…”

I tried to breathe at May’s shout, but my body, already stiff, couldn’t even perform the act of breathing.

Snap out of it. Snap out of it, Emerald. Remember why you came back to the past.

You came back to stop the Apocalypse, right?

In fact, it’s good. The Apocalypse is gone now—

‘—No, no.’

She, Akari, is not the Apocalypse.

A special bond I met in this world.

She looks exactly like the Apocalypse, surely the same person, but definitely not the Apocalypse.

‘There is no Apocalypse in this world.’

That was the conclusion I—Magical Girl Emerald—came to after spending a few days with Akari.

Who wouldn’t grieve over the death of a friend, a precious person?

Even magical girls are human.

Perhaps, I was hiding my weak inner self behind the mask of hope.

[Emerald—!!!]

“…!!”

My body, frozen by the sudden despair energy, began to move again.

The despair that had been swirling inside me vanished in an instant, filling the void with hope.

As I gasped for air, my blurred vision gradually became clear.

[E, Emerald—just now…!!]

“…Ugh.”

A familiar situation. And familiar despair.

Though it subsided quickly, the memory engraved in my mind forced my body to move.

…I have to go.

‘Why?’

Why am I trying to go there?

To defeat the Apocalypse?

No, no. The one emitting that despair now is not the Apocalypse.

‘What if it is the Apocalypse?’

Then, what should I do?

Was I fooled by the Apocalypse pretending to be human? Or was it just my own delusion?

My head was spinning.

Akari and the Apocalypse overlapped, scattered, merged, and tore apart repeatedly.

“Akari…”

[She’ll be fine, Emerald! Please, take care of yourself first!]

I clutched my head at May’s shout.

The pain, as if a needle was piercing my brain, made my mouth open involuntarily.

No. Don’t say that. Never say that—

“…Why? Because she’s a monster?”

[…Huh?]

“……”

My mind froze at the words that came out without thought.

So you knew, May.

Or maybe I knew subconsciously too.

‘Akari is—’

A colder body than others, a slower heartbeat, and even a reaction as if she had eaten something disgusting despite eating delicious food.

I wanted to believe she was human. To be precise, I thought she was human.

The Apocalypse was much less human-like than the current Akari.

‘—She’s not the Apocalypse.’

But she wasn’t the Apocalypse.

She proved it herself, and I vouched for her.

That’s why I had to go to where that despair was felt.

To keep her, whom I vouched for, as a human.

‘I won’t let Akari become the Apocalypse.’

If she had been a monster from the start, I wouldn’t have hesitated.

But the Akari I first met was closer to a human than a monster like the Apocalypse.

That’s why I had to believe.

Not the monster Apocalypse, but the human Apocalypse.

[I don’t recommend going to meet her, Emerald.]

“…May.”

[But, she didn’t seem that bad…]

May was always like this.

Saying no but eventually giving in to me.

I raised my trembling hand and tapped May’s forehead.

“Let’s go save Akari, May.”

I won’t let you become the Apocalypse.

So I will definitely save you.

Definitely.

***

‘Ugh, I suddenly feel chills…’

Could I have caught a cold? Nah, no way.

The moment I imagined the impossible, a reflexive laugh escaped.

The Apocalypse catching a cold? Even Ruby passing by would laugh.

“Hey, is this the way to the exit? Right?”

“Are we taking too long?”

“Yeah! We’ve been walking forever and still haven’t arrived!”

You hit the nail on the head.

Actually, the exit was just straight ahead.

But why am I circling the lab? Because I wanted to suck up the despair of the humans behind me.

‘For a moment, it smelled really good…’

It was similar to the despair Tamako emitted while sleeping.

To put it in terms, it was like mixing human and magical girl despair in a 1:1 ratio and then halving it.

Anyway.

“What if the Doctor comes looking for us…!!”

“I hate being sick…”

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”

The fact that they worry about the Doctor first shows how vile that human is.

How can all humans with the title of Doctor be so mean?

“Just a little further.”

So what can you do?

I smiled happily, sucking up the despair from the humans.

It was good that the humans were following me; if they saw my face, they might have run away immediately.

“…I can’t believe it! No matter how I think about it, we’re going in circles!”

“We had to find a path without monsters.”

“But this is too much!”

“Hey, if you shout like that, a monster might appear!”

What reaction would they show if a real monster appeared before the anxious humans?

Just imagining it made my heart race.

Alright, let’s bring out one~

Grrr—

“Eek…?!”

“A, a monster…”

“It’s all because you shouted!”

“It’s not my fault! That thing kept going in circles…!!”

Their reactions were quite delicious, probably because they were young.

They were too busy blaming each other to think of running, which amused me.

The despair I felt from them seemed like they were just panicking in fear.

‘If I stay still, it’ll be suspicious, so I’ll force them to run.’

Kyaaa—

At times like this, one person’s sacrifice is crucial.

The monster, slowly approaching, started charging at full speed upon my signal.

‘Which one will you choose, guess~’

Well, there’s only one answer here.

Despite the monster charging, I stood in front of the humans and spread my arms wide.

Thud—

“Kyaaah?!!”

“Wha, what…”

My vision spun as my body slammed into the wall.

It felt like riding a roller coaster, which was kind of fun.

I opened my eyes slightly and looked up to see the humans staring at me in shock.

Now, just one word—

“Everyone, run…”

“Ah, ahhh!!”

The barely audible words seemed to snap the humans out of their daze.

As soon as I finished speaking, they turned and started running.

Humans running in the opposite direction of the exit in a panic…

It was like a scene from a movie, making me laugh.