Mr. Magical Girl

Chapter 80: The Song of the Faceless(4)

Sitting on a stone, I watched Han Abin and Irha distributing supplies to the people.

“I wish I could give you more, but there’s nothing left! I’ll come again, so you can take some then!”

“Oh, I’m sorry for taking so much. I’ll gratefully accept it.”

Why could it be? Despite seeing the unique appearances of the ruined residents, Han Abin remained calm and did not show any discomfort. Is it because she used to be a nurse? At least the first time she saw them, she showed some surprise. Now her expression management is perfect. Her hands tremble slightly, but that’s something only someone like me would notice.

Canned goods, clean water, and durable clothes from the Otherworld. Common items to find outside the walls, but smiles appeared on the faces of those receiving them.

United Nations support. With just that, I felt confident that people could survive even in the polluted areas.

“You’ve been here all along.”

A strangely sticky, overly sweet voice. I already knew who it was, but I turned my head to look at her.

“Al|Shirin.”

Despite having a broken neck and a crack on her forehead, she approached with a beaming smile, showing no hostility.

“How’s your neck?”

“Those who follow the stars are strong. Even if their brains explode or their hearts burst, they can survive.”

– So you mean that even if you annoy the octopus guy, he won’t die? That’s good to hear, but that neck brace is quite concerning.

Perhaps she sensed my gaze. “Are you referring to the brace? I broke it so neatly that if I take off the cast, my head won’t stay upright, so I ask for your understanding.”

With a laugh that sounded like she was about to vomit what was on her neck, her skin turned pink.

What a fascinating species. I thought the octopus-headed Al’shel was strange, but it seems the entire race looks like that. Always positively crazy, unable to hide their true feelings.

“Can you use magic that prevents sound from escaping outside?”

“I can, but may I ask why you want to know?”

– I guess I need to hear this.

“I want to know about the beings at the end of the story.”

The moment I spoke those words, her skin, which had been pink, turned black in an instant. Is talking about it that frightening?

Even with that reaction, she gracefully moved her tentacles, quickly spreading the Otherworld’s Power and coloring the air around us.

“What specifically are you curious about?”

“It’s impossible to know how much knowledge I have compared to you and Han, so even if you say everything…”

“Our world does not have knowledge of the beings at the end of the story.”

There’s no way they wouldn’t know such crucial information. They’ve been collecting the knowledge of countless enemies and listening to their stories. Yet, they lacked this information. But that octopus claimed it was the most basic information.

Then it means the costs are different.

“You said that information should have been known before the first invasion began.”

“Exactly. Were you the invader, or was your world invaded like Earth?”

Her skin turned a mysterious color. Like a polluted river, her skin shifted colors. I just watched the spectacle of her colors changing vibrantly.

To give her time to gather her thoughts.

“It was an invaded world.”

“And the end result?”

The changing color of her skin halted. Black.

“We could not resist the waves of the Otherworld, and eventually, a hole opened up, absorbing all worlds into the Otherworld.”

Indeed. Is she one of the survivors? Surprisingly, the octopus might also be a survivor.

“I have one question.”

“What is it?”

“What happened to the remaining survivors?”

I threw a question that hadn’t been answered for a long time. Even if the world is polluted, humans don’t just drop dead suddenly.

Humans die only when clearing obstacles during invasions. So what happens when the whole world gets sucked into the Otherworld? With no samples, this subject is always a topic of debate within the Association.

– A cruel question in front of that survivor.

“Thanks for the compliment.”

When it comes to extracting information from the enemy, being cruel is just praise. I wonder if my calmness surprised her.

She opened her mouth with a bewildered expression, forcing a smile.

“People like me become unwilling invaders. The world also becomes a factory that produces such invader weapons.”

Invader, huh.

“Since you say you don’t want it, it sounds forced.”

“Yes. What emerges from there is the dominance of the beings at the end of the story that I mentioned earlier. Even if we don’t want it, we become soldiers to expand the Otherworld.”

“Is it because you couldn’t hear such stories from other monsters that they are not survivors like you?”

“Yes. They’ve existed as beings of the Otherworld since birth. They live and die for the beings at the end of the story.”

She said that, then briefly closed her mouth, as if trying to correct her words.

– No, that’s a bit different. They don’t even perceive the beings at the end of the story. They simply live that way because they were born into that life.

I understand what she means.

It suggests that regardless of a certain being’s dominion, they behave this way simply because they were born and raised in such a society. But then, something strange appeared in the content of her words.

“Then why did you stop attacking and choose to protect these people? Wasn’t it forced domination?”

“May I ask one thing before answering your question?”

“Is it really true that you don’t know the beings at the end of the story? They must have told you they’re the beings at the end of the story when the hole opened up.”

White spots appeared on her black skin. Tiny spots. Outwardly it should be quite disgusting, but instead, it looked beautiful. As if trying to rise from despair.

“Yeah. We know nothing about such beings. We don’t even know why this incident is happening.”

“Could it be that you’re too young to know? From what I’ve seen of the people from this world, you seem quite young.”

– I shouldn’t get angry.

“Though I may appear this way, I’m over 40. I’ve been awake and fighting since the day the invasion began, so I’m the oldest. If I don’t know, then it’s likely no one from this world does.”

The white spots that had emerged on her skin covered the black, changing its color.

“Oh heavenly stars! Finally! Finally, such a world exists!”

The white octopus flailed its tentacles, expressing joy with its whole body.

Tentacles scattering everywhere. Fluttering black clothes. Sticky mucus splattering toward me.

“No wonder when I entered this world, my reason returned! I thought the connection had become weird! To truly think it would be a world they couldn’t observe!”

Isn’t it a bit too much joy? Because of all the mucus you’re happy to spray, my head is now covered in green slime.

“This isn’t the time for this. We should establish peace with the people of this world immediately! We can’t let those worthless bastards take over this sanctuary!”

“Worthless bastards? Aren’t you pretty similar to them?”

Seeing her so excited, I didn’t feel the need to hold back.

“That’s a toned-down version. We have a curse in our world, and that’s about it!”

I’m not sure what that means, but the tone alone doesn’t seem to suggest anything good.

“‘What’s your meaning?’”

“A child with a slimy head who would never see tentacles in their life.”

A certain octopus head popped into my mind, probably due to sheer racial familiarity.

I had been watching for a moment, but the happiness dance kept going and didn’t look like it would end, so I took her sticky hand to halt her movements.

“What is it?”

“I still have questions left.”

“Go ahead and ask. At this point, I feel I could even tell you about my skin spots.”

I’m not interested in that kind of thing.

“The beings at the end of the story. What do they do? And how can we reach them?”

Thirty years. I finally reached this point. The key to end all these situations. Please give me an answer.

“I don’t know.”

What the hell?

“Just a moment ago, you acted like you knew everything. What? You don’t know?”

“I only know that such beings exist. You know that there are those we know exist but know nothing about? They’re like that.”

I’m speechless.

It felt like I was about to grasp something, but it quickly vanished again. At least I should be grateful that I found a new direction to aim for.

My head is unnecessarily complicated.

Justice must be set right.

Training a student.

Now, it’s the beings at the end of the story, and… Oh, there’s also the Thunder God.

Clearing my tangled head, I watched the bizarre dance unfolding before me.

The octopus dancing, swinging its tentacles and scattering mucus.

It was a chaotic dance without any rhythm, yet in the confusion, I sensed a strange regularity. Should I call it beauty? If you look closely, that scattering mucus looks a bit like stars.

“The Maid of the Stars. If I had to give it a name, that would be it.”

“Huh? How did you know my title?”

It was just a casual mumble. Was she really that being?

It seems quite valuable upon closer inspection. She communicates well, and it seems she has various abilities.

Perhaps it’s just because I have the octopus head to compare her with, but it feels more so.

– The more pieces on the board, the better.

“What do you plan to do?”

“There’s an organization called the Association, affiliated with the United Nations outside the walls, right? Since they haven’t been defeated yet, they must be a competent organization. I plan to delegate to them…

Though I don’t recommend that.”

“If you want to live your life without using your power and like a commoner, then go ahead.”

The moment I said that, her movement stiffened.

As the dance stopped, the stars that had been scattered in the air turned back into the sticky substance, soiling the ground.

“What do you mean?”

As expected, she is part of that octopus race. Living peacefully would be impossible. Even now, her fighting spirit is raging.

“What do you think happens to the monsters who entrusted themselves to the Association?”

“You mentioned you have friends, right? They surely must implement a policy of integration and…”

“Head and heart.”

“They wear machines to block the Otherworld’s Power and blend into society.”

She slowly moved her hand to caress her chest.

“You probably find that difficult too. No matter how much you hide it with clothing, you’re bound to be recognized as something other than human.”

“Maybe. Living in the Association’s underground and giving advice or drawing magic….”

Her skin turned bright red. Each tentacle gripped a glowing staff, and her two human hands grabbed my collar.

I could feel an endless fighting spirit emanating from her.

I don’t know how long this creature’s lifespan is, but the resentment built over a long time is about to ignite. But then, it was forcibly suppressed.

Where would that emotion go, then?

“I want to fight.”

A blazing rage. In the midst of being consumed by that emotion, it seems she doesn’t even know who she’s attacking right now.

“So, if I create a battlefield and position, can you fight?”

My mouth splits into a grin.

Wider. Even wider. Darker. Even darker.

“If I can ignite this anger, then it doesn’t matter who.”

Turns out she’s easier than I thought. Is her essence the same as that octopus?

“Even if it means being antagonistic to humanity?”

Her head tilted slightly.

Her face leaned to the right, breaking the cast around her neck.

“Are we betraying the world?”

“No. We protect the world in our own way.”

“And the people of the residence?”

How nice. Even in this situation, she cares about the residents of the place.

“Make a place where they can live.”

I have enough money for that.

“Alright. If it’s a place where I can unleash my anger, then anywhere will do. I swear on the stars and my mother.”

Nice. Very nice.

Her emotions reach out, grasping the unseen hammer in the air.

Her anger, the Power she had expressed from the Otherworld, was drawn in.

Her red anger transformed into a black dress, staining the space within her slender protective barrier black.

“Linshua. Come out.”

With a small splash sound, a cute daughter rose from the shadow.

With her ebony hair fluttering, she fused with my dark particles and opened her mouth beside me.

“When did you know?”

“You’re quite clumsy at hiding your presence. Since the moment we set off, I knew.”

“Then I didn’t hide at all!”

Did she know I had been watching even before that?

“Oh, ugh. Ahhhh.”

Amid the celebration of meeting my daughter after so long, a rough voice emerged.

Al|Shirin’s voice, lost in the presence from which she had been robbed of the Otherworld’s Power.

“Let me introduce you. This is my daughter Linshua, the leader of the organization that protects the world.”

Though she insists it’s conquest.

“My name is Linshua! Nice to meet you, octopus friend!”

Matching my introduction, the black daughter dashed out and reached out her hand to the octopus.

“Uh. Ah? Huh? Nice to meet you?”

She held the hand she had desperately wanted to avoid—the hand of her dominator.

“Sorry. I thought you were an unintelligent one like the others! I should have said that beforehand.”

“Oh. No, it’s okay. You have really pretty eyes…”

Is she genuinely being subservient or showing her true feelings? In that moment, I threw today’s last question at her, who suddenly turned more harmless.

“Is my daughter one of the beings at the end of the story?”

“Um… it seems a bit different. Now that we’re facing each other, I feel more inclined to befriend rather than control…”

That’s a relief.

It seems I won’t have to press Linshua hard. Feeling relieved, I smiled at her. Linshua also responded with a smile.

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