“Ugh… Uuuuuuugh!!”
In agony, Iris gritted her teeth and continued to move forward.
“Left!”
“QQQ!”
While dodging the searing beams tearing through space, she advanced toward the bright star. Every time it twinkled, every time she narrowly avoided being struck, cold sweat drenched her.
Even a mere graze from that would send her plummeting.
She had to dodge, teeth clenched tight.
“O-Over there! To the left, the left!”
“Ugh…!!”
“This time, to the right!”
“A…AAAH!!”
“AAAAHHHHH!!!”
“QQQ! Stop pulling my hair!!”
It felt like being a chef controlled by a rat.
Though I understand the fear, I’m worried I might go bald if this keeps up. It’s appreciated that they’re using magic to detect directions…
“Gradually…it’s getting more complicated. Ah, above!”
“That kind…you don’t have to tell me, ugh! I know!”
While evading the beams, she continued to soar toward the essence.
‘Are you alright over there!? It’s really bad here!’
‘It’s the same on this side! Hard to approach-Ah! Dodge properly! My body!!’
It seems the other side isn’t having an easy time either.
You can tell just by the commotion heard through the communicator.
“Faster…even faster…”
Whoosh! Releasing magic power, Iris accelerated. Her expression slightly contorted under the strain—this was the first time she’d ever accelerated to this extent.
Still, at this speed, she should be able to evade. That’s what she thought in that moment.
“…No-Noah! Slow down a bit!”
“What?! No way! Can’t slow down! How am I supposed to slow down now!”
The sudden words from QQQ were confusing.
To decelerate right after accelerating? What are they supposed to do if they get hit by a beam?
“…Ah.”
Thinking that, Iris soon understood the reason.
A wall.
A massive wall.
An impossibly large magical barrier that couldn’t be avoided.
So that’s why QQQ was causing such a fuss earlier.
“What do we do!?”
“…It’s too late. At this point, it’s all about whether we succeed or fail.”
“E-E-What are we going to do!”
“QQQ! Get inside my pocket! If you don’t want to get hurt!”
“Q…Quu…”
Seeing QQQ enter her pocket, Iris gritted her teeth.
‘Full power collision!’
It was a reckless plan. She might get injured as badly as if she collided with a truck.
In the worst-case scenario, she might get hurt or even die.
But it had to be done. No, it must be done.
For him waiting below!
‘I can do it…’
She accelerated.
‘I can do it.’
She accelerated.
Accelerated.
Accelerated.
“I can do it!!”
Faster.
Stronger.
Like a single meteor cutting through the night sky.
If she failed, it would ultimately mean defeat.
Ultimately, it would mean the end.
As she gathered the stars of the galaxy, concentrated the scorching magic within her body, and shaped her hand into the form of a rock,
‘Not yet! A little more, a little stronger and hotter!’
For her friends fighting alongside her. For him who always sacrificed and smiled for her!
‘Stella! Yul!’
“What is it!?”
“Yes!”
“I will definitely succeed! So don’t you give up either! Find some way out!”
She conveyed her message to her friends.
‘Uncle, please hold on just a little longer!’
She made a wish for him.
Eventually.
Crackle!!
Sparks appeared at the tip of her fist.
Had she surpassed her limits? Such things didn’t matter anymore.
She could break it. That was enough.
That detestable wall—she would shatter it.
“HAAAAAAAAAAA!!”
She threw her punch.
With all her might, she hurled a beam-like punch. It fell like the hammer of judgment.
“Meteor!!!”
Light erupted.
From the surface of the wall, a light so blinding it could make one go blind exploded.
The light began spreading, gradually expanding its territory like ripples from the center of the wall. Wherever it touched, cracks began to appear.
Finally, when the entire wall was consumed by the light,
“Don’t block my path!”
The flash completely erased the wall from existence—as if it had never existed in the first place.
With the wall cleared away, the essence revealed itself. The massive circular object resembled a planet.
Iris landed atop it, gasping for breath as she prepared to cast Meteor once again.
“Ugh…”
“Q…Quu…Noah, you’ve used too much magic!”
QQQ flapped its wings while pointing at Iris’s fingers. The tips of the girl’s fingers began turning black and rotting away.
Excessive use of magic.
A typical symptom.
Not surprising. Big Bang and Meteor.
Two high-cost spells had been cast.
But she couldn’t stop.
“No, I can do it one more time.”
“It’s too much!”
“I can do it! I will succeed! Otherwise Uncle…”
Her tightly clenched teeth spoke volumes. She had to succeed. Otherwise…
“If I fail here, I won’t have the face to see Uncle…”
She clenched her fist again.
As she concentrated her magic, blood gushed out—a sign of internal organ damage.
With a small shout, her raised fist emitted the same brilliant starlight as before.
‘My body doesn’t feel like mine.’
Blessedly, she couldn’t feel the pain due to the overload on her brain. The extreme squeezing of all her magic into just her hand.
To put it metaphorically, it was like squeezing water from sand.
Something one wouldn’t do in their right mind.
The ultimate attack of her life.
“One more time…Burn brightly!!”
And she unleashed it here once again—
“Unfortunately.”
“Eh-”
“I won’t let you do that. Unlike you, I’m not some fool obsessed with justice and passion.”
“Kuhk!?”
Thrown off balance by a hand striking the back of her neck.
“Luckily for you, the deaths of my subordinates turned out to be your luck.”
“A…Augh…”
“Now, dream sweet dreams. Live a sweet daily life. Enjoy a happy reality. At least until this dream breaks. Meanwhile, I’ll take good care of your body.”
“How…How could you…You’re Uncle…”
“Oh, you mean that guy? This is a decoy, that man. He’s stubbornly clinging on.”
“Aaah…”
“Anyway…Sleep well. Raising you as a kind and ordinary child was truly a good choice. Who would’ve thought you’d be so easy to manipulate!”
Hahaha!
Mocking laughter rang out as Noah’s consciousness slipped into deep slumber.
+++++
“Noah.”
“Mm…”
“Noah!”
“Mmm…I’m tired…”
“Nanoha! Wake up! We have to go to school!”
“Five more minutes…”
Auugh…Why does mom keep waking me up when I’m so sleepy…
‘Hm?’
Wait, mom?
“Why is mom talking to me? Wait…Did I even have a mom…or did I not…?”
Slowly sitting up in bed, she blinked her eyes.
She was confident in her vision.
So the sight before her now was difficult to comprehend.
Someone who looked like her. But there was a feeling of kindness and overflowing maternal love.
This person…
“Uh…my head…”
This person…this person…
“Mom…?”
Mom…
“Yes, it’s me, your mom.”
“…”
“Hmm. Are you okay, Noah?”
“Ugh…Uuuugh…?”
“Let me check…You have a slight fever. Are you okay? Do you want to skip school?”
“Th-That…”
As she hesitated, the woman embraced her.
Warmth seeped into her body, and tears welled up.
“Did our Noah have a scary dream?”
“Is this really mom?”
“Of course. I’m the one who loves our Noah the most in the world.”
“Mom…I missed you.”
“Me too, I missed seeing Noah.”
It was just a dream.
When I woke up, it was just a strange dream I barely remembered.
“…Where’s dad?”
The word “dad” was slightly unpleasant to Noah, but the sight of a man waiting in the living room dispelled that feeling.
“Come on, Noah, we’ll be late. Hurry up and eat and get ready.”
The apron-clad man cooking in the kitchen seemed domestic. As a cute bonus, the egg in the toast was decorated with heart-shaped ketchup.
“Dad…”
“What is it, our princess?”
“…Nothing.”
Drip drip. For some reason, tears flowed.
Why? Why were tears flowing when everything was so happy?
‘Ahhh…’
She realized.
Because she couldn’t have it.
Because she hadn’t had this happiness.
Because her fate was to not have even these small everyday moments.
“…I have to go.”
“Where? Where to?”
“I have to wake up from this dream.”
“Dream?”
“Yes, this is just a dream, isn’t it? No matter how happy, no matter how joyful…Mom and Dad too. They’re all fake, aren’t they?”
“…”
“Therefore, I’m leaving. I have to hurry and go save him—”
Swoosh.
“Feel this.”
“Ah…”
“Does this feel fake to you?”
As she placed her head against the woman’s chest, she could hear the heartbeat. Warmth and reassuring sounds.
“…I don’t know.”
Was it called Ho Chieh Chi Mong?
Was it a dream where I became a butterfly?
Or was it a dream where the butterfly became me?
Is this present me real?
Or is my form as a magical girl real?
Is this place a dream?
Or is it reality?
“Noah.”
“…”
“This is a happy place. Anything can be done for you, and anyone can love you.”
“…That’s…”
“Tsk.”
The woman gently covered Noah’s lips.
“Our poor Noah.”
“…”
“Young children fighting dangerous demons and experiencing so many hardships.”
“That was…”
“You must have been lonely.”
Gentle strokes behind the ear and warmth.
A kind of love the girl had never experienced in her lifetime, maternal love. Absolute and something that could soften anyone’s heart.
Especially Noah, who had never felt maternal love in her life, weakened her heart for just a moment.
“…I…I…”
“Was it hard?”
“…Yes.”
Before she knew it, she admitted it.
“Rest well. And may you eventually find happiness.”
As the woman’s hand caressed her, Noah slowly closed her eyes, completely unaware of the magic contained within that touch.
“The breeze feels nice…the sun is warm…”
A gentle breeze blew as if by magic.
The wind became a hand stroking Noah’s hair, and the spring sunlight became a blanket covering the girl’s cold body.
“Seems like you like having your knees as a pillow.”
“…Mmm…”
“Sleep well. You don’t have to be in pain anymore.”
Deeply penetrating and ultimately addictive.
It was a sweet poison to a seventeen-year-old girl longing for parental love.
