I Became a New Magical Girl Priest

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As Ha-yoon’s hesitating mood returned, this time the issue was with Jua.

For some reason, Jua, who had been trying to hold my hand lately, seemed to have a strange vibe now that there hadn’t been any opportunity for that last night.

If you asked me exactly what was strange, I wouldn’t have a precise answer, but at a glance, she looked a bit disheartened.

The problem was that I couldn’t snap Jua back to reality the same way I had with Ha-yoon.

That’s just common sense, right?

I could judge that Jua clinging to me meant she was friendly, but whether we were “that” close or not was something I couldn’t quite tell.

Both being girls didn’t seem to matter, but Jua was from a different class.

It wasn’t like I was some delinquent, going out of my way to drag her along and make trouble for her.

“…”

And since I had expressed my grievances to Ha-yoon by shoving my face into hers, Ha-yoon had been sticking close to my arm ever since.

It seemed that, after witnessing that, Jua felt even more distant. She had clung to me without any hesitation until now.

Though, it did seem like other girls from the same class were also feeling a little distant after seeing Ha-yoon and me together.

I wondered if they were regretting looking down on me now. That thought was oddly satisfying.

As I spaced out during the boring school lectures, I noticed my mood was sinking and gradually becoming calmer.

I had never wished to come back to school. Nothing but bad things awaited me here.

But then again, doing nothing and rotting away seemed worse. At least here, there was something to do.

Plus, I didn’t mind returning home either.

While Ji-hye was fine, it seemed I really liked that orphanage. The fact that it was the place I had spent my childhood in was undeniable, and I had no memories of any abuse there, so that made sense.

Just when I was waiting for the tedious time to end—

BEEP BEEP BEEP—

A sudden loud sound startled me, making my shoulders jump.

Ha-yoon was just as surprised.

It was the call device.

Even though class was still in session, I ignored the gazes of the teacher and students and answered right away.

“What’s going on?”

[We found it!]

A voice came through the call device. Ha-yoon’s device was also connected, so we heard the message simultaneously.

Jua, Rose, Dalia, and Delphinium must have heard it at the same time too.

[There was an explosion at the warp point! Some people are fighting to take control! We’ve been asked for the help of the Magical Girls!]

Ah, I see.

In this situation, there was only one reason to attack the warp point.

They were probably thinking to occupy it, even if just for a moment, to escape.

…Thank goodness that they hadn’t gone toward the front lines.

“Got it.”

I said that and looked over at Ha-yoon.

She had also jumped up, since she had occasionally rushed out from school before. Though I hadn’t always followed her each time, I hadn’t seen how she transformed.

However, I remembered she jumped up to the rooftop to transform in the webtoon.

Just like in my thoughts, Ha-yoon stood up at once.

“Ji-eun, this way!”

Nodding at Ha-yoon’s words, I followed her lead as we ran.

*

It was easy to hop up to the rooftop and transform.

Getting my weapon out was simple too.

I wondered what color my transformation would be in this emotional state, and this time it was black.

I hadn’t heard an accurate briefing, but I realized why Cherry was calling us. It was obviously because of Pang-pang.

And that meant I would have to face my wrongdoings over there.

Even though I had a feeling Pang-pang would say “it’s alright,” that was merely a hope.

“It’s going to take a while if we fly.”

Rose stated firmly.

Where Cherry was directing us would probably take quite some time to get to, even if we flew. I couldn’t pinpoint the exact time since I had never been there before.

If it was the usual situation, it would have been close to Seoul. No matter how huge the Noir Corporation was, all the main facilities were concentrated in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, and what the company desired was all in the Seoul area—reconstruction and redevelopment types of things.

However, for this time, we couldn’t afford to mess up in Seoul. Even if we packed lightly, we would still need a ‘minimum’ amount of materials to set up a base. And trying to cross through the bustling city with all that would be glaringly obvious. We would have had to move to another area.

Considering Pang-pang still hadn’t been found, they must be keeping her hidden—

“…”

I clenched my fist.

I closed my eyes, concentrating to gather the power of despair. Flying would take too long. So right now—

“Ji-eun.”

Suddenly, a soft hand landed on my cheek, startling me enough to open my eyes.

There was Ha-yoon’s face.

It seemed she had made up her mind about something and was staring at me directly.

“You don’t need to. You don’t have to wear yourself out like that.”

“What do you mean?”

We have to fight.

I needed to get there and smash the Chairman’s head with my hammer right now—

“You have other powers. If it’s a strong power, I can give it to you. The power of hope that won’t lose to anyone.”

“Eh?”

What was she saying in this situation—

But I couldn’t complete my thoughts.

“I said you could do what you want, right?”

Ha-yoon whispered.

Then her face suddenly moved closer to mine, and they overlapped.

It was just a brief moment, but I couldn’t judge what was happening. Was this what I thought it was? Had she come a bit closer than last time?

Was Ha-yoon doing what I had abruptly tried to do earlier?

Was it even her own will?

Why?

But I couldn’t fully articulate my questions.

Before I could, my vision faded to white.

For a fleeting moment, I thought I might just embarrassingly faint. Until now—even during that lunch hour, I had pressured Ha-yoon so much, and to actually align our lips now felt too pathetic.

But I definitely felt it.

The gentle touch of Ha-yoon’s hands cradling my cheeks.

The soft and moist sensation that brushed against my lips.

Once Ha-yoon’s lips lightly detached from mine, the surrounding scenery changed.

To be exact, it felt like the world, washed in white, had returned to its original colors.

I could smell something burning.

The noises from all around. People shouting.

Such things could be heard from afar, while strangely enough, it was eerily quiet in this vicinity.

“…Ugh!”

Only after a moment did I grasp the situation and look around. There was Jua, covering her face.

And while her face was bright red, Rose was looking this way with an expression that seemed to both find this exciting and thrilling, while Dalia and Delphinium were gazing at us with their mouths agape.

Also, I noticed some Combatants staring at us with similarly vacant expressions.

The aliens were still causing chaos, so it was naturally loud.

“…”

Looking down, I noticed my clothes, which were supposed to be an ordinary outfit, had turned completely white, as if I were wearing a wedding dress.

Ha-yoon took a step back and said, “Looks like Ji-eun suits the name Lily.”

“Is that really what you should be saying right now?!”

I couldn’t help but throw some comical sarcasm back at her.

And then I soared up in excitement.

“Ah, my skirt—!”

Jua seemed to have shouted that out of nowhere, but regrettably, I didn’t have the mood to pay attention right now.

*

Was it embarrassing after my first kiss?

Was my first kiss the last of it?

Was it going to be like this for the first kiss?!

Even I felt intensely embarrassed. Frankly, I could only think that it was wildly ridiculous. No, of course, it was natural to feel good when kissing someone you liked, especially if they initiated it.

No matter how much I thought about it, Ha-yoon wouldn’t be someone who didn’t know the meaning of a kiss. Right? That’s why last time she kissed me on my cheek, close to my lips.

But this time it was on the lips?

Logically speaking, maybe that wasn’t a totally wrong choice; a thought brushed through my mind along with the air that brushed past my face.

Because people become accustomed to stimulation.

When I fell deeper into despair after experiencing more despair upon despair, I had to endure an even more intense despair to gain energy.

Honestly, I hadn’t sought it, but the circumstances had treated me that way.

Then, of course, hope should be the same. At first, just Ha-yoon hugging me overflowed me with energy, but as time went by, my body had shamelessly started to accept that as natural.

That was probably why Ha-yoon kissed me on the cheek. She knew that. After all, she also fought with the hope of it.

So, choosing to kiss me on the lips was logically correct. Such a level of stimulation wouldn’t be easy to adapt to.

Ha-yoon had used that fact.

No, was I being used?

And if I were to ask if that bothered me, that wasn’t the case.

I might not be the heroine of a romance manga who would know better than this, but truthfully, I should be grateful that the girl I liked was hugging me and then kissing me. At least appearance-wise, she was a girl, and the chances of a girl liking another girl was somewhat low.

Biological ratios aside, when arguing about societal preferences, I could assume there would be overwhelmingly fewer homosexuals than heterosexuals… No, what am I even saying?

By the way, my first kiss. My first kiss. I was incredibly surprised that I had never kissed anyone in my previous life or this life, so honestly, I didn’t have any fantasies about this either… No, why am I thinking this?

I gripped the hammer tightly in both hands.

So, yeah.

This was all the Chairman’s fault. I decided to think that way.

I had no idea why I was in a situation where I should be mad that I kissed Ha-yoon, but I just decided to think that way.

I looked down.

Had I climbed too high?

I’d come this far while running away, but thankfully, other Magical Girls weren’t chasing me up.

Looking down, I saw five colorful dots already beginning to move. They were probably dealing with the Combatants and aliens that the Chairman had brought along.

“…Phew.”

Alright.

I flipped the hammer around.

The white light was sticking out in front like a big spike.

Let’s smash everything.

After all, that’s what Ha-yoon had given me power for.

I decided to think about my first kiss later.

With that thought, I—no, should I call it a pickaxe now?

In any case, holding whatever had transpired above my head, I dropped down.

*

For the Combatants, this was nothing less than a disaster.

The white mass that plummeted down from the sky seemed like some kind of meteor; it crashed down on the aliens as if pushing an old car into a junkyard.

Thanks to the alien’s resilience, they didn’t die, nor did they end up crushed like a junk vehicle.

However, the circuits embedded in their chests shattered with a crunch.

The once intensely thrashing aliens.

“Eh?”

One of the Combatants let out that sound.

Swoosh.

Not every Combatant’s circuit made that sound, but several of them released a soft puff of black smoke from their circuits.

The needles that had been intensely spinning began to droop, halt, or get caught in small explosions and drop.

“…”

The Combatants stared voidly at the broken circuits.

While there were still some Combatants in a condition to fight—

“Eek…!”

The white mass gradually took on a human form.

What they held was a menacing pickaxe that looked dangerous just by looking at it. Anyone struck by that terrifyingly large pickaxe could end up with a hole in their head, no doubt about it.

More than that, the white Magical Girl seemed unable to control her emotions, as the white portion at the end would expand and then shrink, shifting forms in an unstable manner, shaking wildly.

Her expression was blank, but I could see ecstasy and rage mixing, flowing onto the surface of her face.

Naturally, the Combatants immediately turned to flee, bolting away.

That was only expected.

The Chairman had promised them an outrageous amount of money, stating he’d add extra to their overdue retirement funds, commanding them to stall as much time as possible.

The aliens were going to attack the Magical Girl anyway, and if they just kept a reasonable distance and fought, it wouldn’t be a huge problem… that’s what the Chairman had said.

But telling them to fight against a being like that was unreasonable.

Thud.

However, the escape route was blocked at that very moment.

The Magical Girl had landed between them and their escape, crushing the aliens below her. Once again, black smoke had risen from the aliens’ chests with a pft sound.

It looked like they might have suffered several attacks already. There were wounds on their faces, and the formerly white clothes were stained with black substances and red blood.

Yet, she still didn’t seem the slightest bit worn out.

“Hey there.”

The white lily opened her mouth.

That lily was undoubtedly poisonous. Her voice sounded as if she wanted to pour out all her emotions in a flood of rage onto someone, preventing the Combatants from moving.

“Stay right there.”

“…”

“Running away won’t do you any good. I can chase you down if I want. Should I make it impossible for you to escape?”

“Ah, no, ma’am.”

“Who’s ‘ma’am’?”

As if finding it ridiculous, she flew back up to the sky.

The Combatants barely managed to glance at that, hastily looking down. Something told them that if they kept watching, they wouldn’t be forgiven later.

They hadn’t even considered fleeing at this point.

Suddenly appearing from nothing, the white light had quickly tidied up anyone who stood in her way, making it impossible to think about escaping.

Instead, the Combatants decided to sit a bit further away, waiting so as not to get caught up in the battle.

*

I was overflowing with power.

It wasn’t just overflowing; I could barely control the tingle and stimulation rushing through me. I was thrashing about, lost in what to do, like some teenage girl going through puberty.

Or not.

In this world, I was still young.

And though I had “technically” passed my teenage years, if I were in my teens, wouldn’t my emotions swing much more than adults?

So, uh, that’s just how it goes.

Moreover, it was my first time with everything.

Thinking it over again made me a bit angry.

It was my first kiss, after all. I was sure this would have been Ha-yoon’s first kiss too. I had never considered the possibility that Ha-yoon had a boyfriend until now, especially since, in the webtoon, Magical Girls often complained about not being able to date boyfriends.

Yet, using our first kiss like that for a friend power-up?

That was outrageous.

Was I not enough? Did that mean if another Magical Girl could power up, they’d be used in that way? If they really needed their kisses to protect the world, would they resort to that?

I felt like Ha-yoon would genuinely do something like that, and it riled me up a bit.

Yet, at the same time, I felt a sinister thought that I was fortunate that it was with me.

Even as I entertained such thoughts, the circuits continued to whirr powerfully. My goodness.

This feeling was something I couldn’t tell anyone about. Not even Ha-yoon herself, because how could I say: “I’m so glad the random girl who kissed me was you”?

So, I chose to run amok instead.

Fortunately, my strength was overflowing. I felt like my body had gained several times its normal energy.

My vision was much clearer and sharper. I was someone who usually didn’t wear glasses, but I realized for the first time that I could see better than that.

A loud clang sounded as two solid objects collided. But I ignored it, raised the hammer repeatedly, and repeated the same action until it was nailed down to the ground. After tearing off the circuits with my hands, I confronted the three entities that charged at me.

“…”

Slowly, my reason began to return. Imagining what kinds of beings they were brought my anxiety down a bit.

And simultaneously, I came to think of whom to use this energy against.

Holding the bag horizontally, I blocked their attacks and pushed them away.

“Huff!”

Ha-yoon intervened in that moment to slice through two aliens with her sword simultaneously.

As soon as Ha-yoon entered my view, that awkward feeling began to rise again, but I did my utmost to suppress it.

“Towards the warp point.”

“Okay.”

Once I said that, Ha-yoon nodded immediately.

She even turned to look back at me.

On her face was what looked like nothing but a bright smile, without a hint of disappointment or regret.

And then there was the white light spilling out from Ha-yoon’s wrist.

Seeing that, I wasn’t sure what emotion I should feel, so I quickly looked away.

There were several trucks with trailers parked near the warp point.

Would the Chairman and Pang-pang be in there? I couldn’t be sure—but—

At the very least, the aliens soaring nearby the trucks were as numerous as every alien I had fought so far.

Then there was nothing other than to smash them all.

I judged, hearing the wind whistle past my ears.

 

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