Chapter 67

Dark, cold, heavy, eerie, and horrifying—

A sensation that makes you want to scream involuntarily.

The tingling sensation rising from the tips of your fingers made your mouth shut on its own.

A feeling you can never get used to, no matter how much you know it.

Despair, akin to death itself, that has accompanied the end of every magical girl.

“Ugh, damn it…”

Despite it being daytime just moments ago, the world had turned pitch black.

A darkness so thick you couldn’t see an inch ahead.

In the abyss so deep that you couldn’t even be sure if your own body was moving—

A pair of red eyes opened.

“…Apo, calypse.”

Calling out that name.

The enemy of the world, the nemesis of all magical girls. That name.

Yet, the monster didn’t respond.

As if it wasn’t its name.

It simply stood still, observing the prey that had tried to harm it.

‘No, I prepared for this. From the moment I got a second chance, I decided to see it through no matter what…’

But Ruby didn’t despair.

She had already felt this sensation more than enough times.

A second chance.

That fact alone was enough to hold onto hope.

And surely, she wasn’t the only one.

“Sapphire—!!”

In the abyss, hope began to ignite.

Like stars shining in the black night sky, a familiar face emerged from the mass of hope filling the despair.

Sapphire.

A comrade who had fought alongside her, entrusting their lives to each other.

As one hope became two, the darkness began to lift, and the world filled with light.

“Finally showing your true colors, Apocalypse!”

“…”

“Huh, suddenly clamming up, are we?”

Seeing the opponent, who had been silent unlike before, brought back memories of the past.

No, it wasn’t just memories—it felt like she had returned to the past.

The monster named Apocalypse never spoke human words.

“Ruby.”

“You remembered, Sapphire.”

Seeing Sapphire nod slightly, Ruby’s lips curled into a smile.

That makes two.

If only Emerald could join, making it three again, but Emerald had already fallen deep for that monster.

Seeing that, she thought she’d come to her senses.

Gripping the hilt of her sword tightly, Ruby muttered to herself.

“Die…!!”

There was no warning.

She had no intention of showing such courtesy to a monster, nor did she have the luxury to hesitate with Apocalypse before her.

The sharp blade of hope aimed at the enemy before her, finally reaching—

No, just before it could strike.

“Ugh…?!”

“Ruby!”

A black spike pierced through Ruby’s abdomen, breaking through the defensive magic.

How, exactly?

Gritting her teeth, she tried to stop the bleeding.

More important than the blood flowing from the wound was the despair invading her body through it.

‘Damn it… I definitely didn’t let my guard down…’

Could it be that her long battle experience had backfired?

Knowing too well how long Sapphire’s defensive magic could hold against Apocalypse’s attacks had led to this mistake.

“Tch…”

Seeing Ruby like this, the monster tilted its head.

As if asking, isn’t this what you wanted?

***

When she opened her eyes, she was in a dark room.

A room with nothing but darkness.

No, perhaps not entirely nothing.

Turning her gaze, she saw a sofa that looked undeniably plush and an old analog TV with a protruding back.

Were they keeping her here to watch TV?

‘By the way, why am I here?’

In the midst of her confusion, her memories were hazy.

She remembered asking Emerald for despair, but…

Did she give hope instead of despair?

Well, considering the expression she last saw, it didn’t seem likely.

‘Maybe I was captured by a research facility or something…’

She sluggishly moved to the sofa and flopped down.

Ah, what a bother. Why do these magical girls keep tormenting me?

She wriggled her body and rested her head on the sofa’s armrest.

As she did, the TV, which had been showing static, finally displayed a proper image.

[Apocalypse!!!!]

“Oh, they’re fighting well.”

The screen showed none other than Ruby.

Dodging and deflecting the despair spikes coming from all directions, she charged forward.

The attacks from the sides were deflected by Sapphire’s defensive magic, while Ruby herself rushed toward Apocalypse with all her might.

It was like a moth flying into a flame.

“Watching this in first-person is quite refreshing.”

[You will fall here!!]

Is this what they call the omniscient demon lord perspective?

Apparently, this place was inside Apocalypse—no, my inner self.

I had a hunch before, but who knew Apocalypse’s personality—or rather, its monster aspect—was still here.

And it even seems to have memories.

“Then, is this the ending…?”

The magical girls returned to the past to defeat the monster they couldn’t defeat before, but ultimately failed—that kind of ending.

Even with Emerald joining the fight, they still lost. With just those two, there’s no chance of winning.

Why did they provoke a monster that was just sitting there, tsk.

[Gasp, pant… sob…]

[Ruby, it’s dangerous!]

They were putting up a fight, but that didn’t mean they were winning.

The light wasn’t enough to illuminate the vast darkness.

Not even close.

Thump, thump, thump—

“You’re enjoying this…”

The joy of being able to eliminate the most annoying of the magical girls, those pests, was transmitted to me.

In the original story, Apocalypse was portrayed as emotionless.

Maybe it was just a great poker face.

Or maybe—

‘—it learned emotions from me.’

Just as I learned the ways of the monster from Apocalypse, perhaps Apocalypse also learned human traits from me.

Though in my case, it was more like my body moved on its own, driven by instinct.

It enjoyed devouring the despair of humans and magical girls.

But it wasn’t the despair itself that was enjoyable—it was the process of satisfying its hunger.

That’s why, once the Despair Circuit was complete, it lost all interest and secluded itself on a deserted island.

With the Despair Circuit active, there was no need to roam for despair, and even if it did, the satisfaction wasn’t that great.

[…Do you remember?]

“Pfft…”

Isn’t it a bit too slow to realize?

They probably didn’t expect it.

Did they ever imagine that Apocalypse, like them, would have memories of the previous world?

Apocalypse dodged Ruby’s attacks as if familiar with them and easily broke through Sapphire’s defensive magic.

Being familiar with the opponent’s attacks wasn’t exclusive to the magical girls.

“At this rate, I can’t even cheer them on.”

I stretched while pressing my cheek against the armrest.

There’s no point in watching anymore.

Whether they win or lose, it seems I won’t be getting out of here.

Why did they force out the beast we had locked inside?

‘Maybe I’ll take a nap…’

The most entertaining way to watch magical girls fight Apocalypse was in third-person.

First-person felt like bullying kids, not my thing.

I’d rather watch Apocalypse destroy the world.

Wake me up when the world’s about to end.

Just as I closed my eyes—

[Akari…!!]

A voice called out.

[…Akari, are you there?!]

A voice desperately calling for me.

“…Sigh.”

I opened my eyes with a sigh, and the screen was filled with the face of the magical girl I’d seen the most recently.

I thought she had lost consciousness from despair.

[Akari!!!!!]

Looking at Emerald desperately calling my name, I shook my head.

Her situational awareness is so slow, it’s useless.

What’s in front of Emerald now isn’t me—it’s Apocalypse.

Yet, she’s standing there so defenselessly. Does she want to die?

[Can you hear me!? Akari!!]

“Yes, yes, I can hear you loud and clear. Could you keep it down?”

This TV doesn’t have a volume control, so it’s deafening.

If I were Apocalypse, I’d have turned it down a bit. Or muted it.

The only way would be… physically?

Anyway, Emerald’s incessant shouting is making it impossible to sleep.

[Akari. Please, answer me…]

“I told you, even if you say that, I can’t answer.”

Ah, really. What a foolish thing to do.

Seeing Emerald act so stupidly made me feel like I was becoming a fool too.

‘…Really, what can I do?’

I sluggishly got up and walked over to the TV, crouching down in front of it.

Her face was a mess from tears, her eyes desperate, and her hands clasped in front of her chest.

Staring at the foolish sight of Emerald, I reached out toward the TV’s power button.

It’s only proper to tease her directly.

Yeah, that’s how it should be.