Chapter 54

“…Move aside, Emerald.”

“I refuse.”

“No matter who you are, I can’t allow you to block that guy’s path.”

I was casually observing, but the situation was literally on the brink of exploding.

Ruby’s expression, freed from the shock of my words, was downright murderous.

Her face screamed that she would deal with the Apocalypse here and now, no matter what.

…Wait, am I in danger now?

“It’s okay, Akari. No matter what happens, I’ll protect you.”

“…”

Emerald, the more you say that, the worse Ruby’s expression gets.

Now I’m the one feeling uneasy, not someone else.

Did I eat something wrong or something? Huh?

I even started wondering if I had brainwashed Emerald without realizing it.

“Move aside, now!!”

“Guh?!”

The red energy blade aimed at me was blocked by a greenish hope energy.

As the battle seemed about to start in earnest, I slowly backed away, and Garnet quietly approached me.

“…Let’s run.”

“…Yeah, that seems like a good idea.”

After whispering to each other, we prepared to run at full speed.

But before running, I needed to turn off the Despair Circuit, but it just wouldn’t turn off.

I reached out towards the halo floating above my head, but it didn’t disappear or anything.

Ah, seriously. How do I get rid of this thing?!

“Hey, Akari. It’s hard to breathe with that thing on your head. Can’t you really get rid of it?”

“…It’s not like I wanted it to appear in the first place.”

I wasn’t lying.

I never once wished for the Despair Circuit to appear.

Garnet sighed at my grumbling response and started running at full speed, saying there was no other choice.

Of course, I started running after her too.

“Apocalypse! Where do you think you’re running to?!”

“Your opponent is me, Ruby!”

Boom!!!!

Whoa, I’m too scared to look back, it’s terrifying.

The intense hope energy I felt on my back sent shivers down my spine.

Are they really trying to pierce through me with that much hope energy right now?

‘…I’m really glad Emerald is on my side.’

If Emerald had turned against me too, I probably wouldn’t have been able to handle it.

For me—especially with the Despair Circuit activated—hope energy is like feeding a bunch of peaches to someone with a peach allergy.

…I think I understand a bit why Apocalypse went around killing magical girls.

If popping a peach gives you another fruit that suits your taste, wouldn’t you just pop the peach and be done with it?

“Phew…”

“…Haa.”

We ran away, but we couldn’t return to the city.

If we went back to the city in this state, all the normal humans might end up as wrecks.

Really, life—no, monster life is tough, so tough.

I shook my head as I looked at Garnet, who was panting beside me.

‘Staying at Emerald’s place in this state is probably too much to ask.’

Since Ruby knows Emerald’s address, she would definitely come over at any time and start swinging her sword.

I just wanted to comfortably suck up despair, not live every day with my life in danger.

Sorry, Emerald, but it seems our relationship ends here.

“So, what are you going to do now? You can’t go back to the city looking like that.”

“…Well, I guess I’ll have to live somewhere without humans for a while.”

Living without humans means not being exposed to human despair.

Can a monster like me really live without human despair?

Well, of course, I can live.

It’s not like I’ve been living a particularly abundant life until now.

‘But the problem is the future…’

Maybe because I was originally human, I still have some human-like thinking.

Seeing a monster, who should be focused only on devouring despair right in front of it, thinking about the future.

“You should go back first, Garnet.”

“What about you?”

“I’m not human, so I’ll manage somehow.”

“…What’s that supposed to mean?”

Unlike humans who would starve without food, I probably won’t starve to death just because there’s no despair.

Of course, that’s how it is now, but who knows about the future.

Maybe I’ll get so hungry I could die.

I can’t imagine what will happen, though.

“You have the Doctor, so you’ll be fine. And right now, shouldn’t you be worrying about yourself?”

“Me? Why?”

“That magical girl we saw earlier, Ruby. Oh, wasn’t she that famous?”

“Ruby, Ruby… What?! That Ruby?! That girl?!!!?”

Garnet, who had been mulling over the name Ruby, widened her eyes and asked.

What on earth did she hear earlier?

Well, she was probably too distracted by the despair of Apocalypse and the hope of Emerald and Ruby.

“You caught the eye of such a great magical girl? And in a bad way.”

“I don’t care.”

“Why, are you quitting being a magical girl?”

“…How did you know?”

“I can’t feel any hope from you right now.”

Garnet looked fine on the outside, but her body had completely lost its function as a magical girl.

A completely ordinary human with no trace of hope.

If she ever regains hope, she might regain her power, but for now, that’s how it is.

“An ordinary human would find it hard to endure this level of despair, are you okay?”

“…I can manage.”

Maybe because of her experience as a magical girl, she didn’t seem to despair even with my despair right in front of her.

The original Apocalypse would automatically make anyone nearby despair just by being close.

I guess I’m much weaker than the original Apocalypse.

Or maybe I’m unconsciously controlling it.

“You should go, Garnet. Being near me will only have a bad influence on you.”

“Are you really okay?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? I’ve been feasting on despair all day.”

The problem is that the Despair Circuit won’t turn off.

Garnet’s gaze wasn’t that of looking at a monster, but more like looking at a human treated as a monster.

A gaze filled with pity.

‘…I don’t think I’m in a position to be pitied.’

With the Doctor around, I think I’ll manage to solve the issue of despair to feed on.

Of course, even if that’s not the case, I can always ask how to turn off the Despair Circuit.

“By the way, there’s one thing I’m curious about.”

“What is it? You’re my savior, so I’ll answer anything.”

“…Ugh, being called a savior by a magical girl is too creepy.”

“Is that so…”

It’s awkward enough to receive gratitude from ordinary people, but from a magical girl?

From a monster’s perspective, there’s no greater humiliation.

Monsters are supposed to be enemies of magical girls, not their saviors.

“Well, I’m a former magical girl now, so you can think of it more comfortably.”

“…Well, honestly, whether it’s gratitude from a magical girl or an ordinary human, it’s the same.”

Gratitude is just too hopeful for me. I prefer more despairing stories.

Wait, the conversation has gone off track.

After catching my breath, I asked the question I wanted to ask.

A question any fan of the original work would ask.

And that is—

“What moment did you think of when you reached the Hope Threshold?”

“…What?”

The Hope Threshold, which can be seen as a magical girl’s awakening.

I knew that usually, the trigger is recalling the happiest moment of a magical girl’s life.

Emerald—what was it again? A moment with everyone?

Anyway, it was something I couldn’t help but be curious about.

Garnet, a magical girl with that name, didn’t appear in the original work at all.

“If it’s uncomfortable, you don’t have to answer. I was just curious.”

“It’s fine. It’s not like it’s a big secret or anything. It wasn’t even a secret to begin with.”

I thought she wouldn’t tell me, but surprisingly, she answered straightforwardly.

Oh, I thought that kind of thing was a trade secret.

It might seem ironic for a monster to hear a hopeful story, but satisfying my intellectual curiosity was my top priority right now.

If I get goosebumps from hope, so be it.

“There was a senior I had. I thought of the moments I spent with that senior.”

“Your senior?”

“Yeah. Opal, with white hair and rainbow-colored eyes. She’s gone to a place I can never see again.”

“…”

Garnet had a somewhat wistful expression as she spoke.

Like she was remembering a deceased friend—or family member.

‘Wait, that sounds familiar…’

No, it’s not just familiar, it’s downright nostalgic.

As soon as Garnet spoke, a certain person immediately came to mind.

‘White hair and rainbow-colored eyes, then it must be…’

Tamako, the living despair fountain who gave me daily despair.

It seems she was Garnet’s senior.