I Became a New Magical Girl Priest

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And then, after a while.

We received another mission.

Seeing that everyone was mobilized this time, it didn’t seem like a simple task at all.

“Facility protection.”

Cherry said.

“That’s what we have to do this time.”

“Facility protection? What kind of place is it?”

“Well…”

Cherry hesitated for a moment before answering.

“It’s a generator.”

“A generator?”

When I asked again, Cherry nodded and continued to explain.

“Think about the circuits you have on you. You can do a lot with the energy generated from your personal emotions. And that energy is definitely very powerful. You might even be able to launch a spaceship with just your individual strength.”

We looked at each other.

The other kids looked completely clueless.

On the other hand, I actually knew something about it to some extent. I just didn’t expect this mission to be related to that.

So, the generator is a device that generates energy from the emotions we feel.

So far, a properly functioning one has never been created.

The circuit is like having a crank attached where a motor runs.

If you grab that crank and turn it hard, you can produce electricity, but usually, that effort wouldn’t yield any meaningful energy.

And the power coming from the circuits we use is like a little light bulb connected to the wire’s end connected to that motor.

Our strength in turning the crank is much stronger than others. It’s something that could be considered ‘meaningful’ if quantified. It’s like having a gifted person with incredibly strong muscles.

The Federation has made magical girls and, furthermore, heroes from other countries, distributing circuits not just to uphold justice on this planet.

If they could create a generator that can withstand that immense energy and operate at peak efficiency, the value of this planet would become limitless.

… Of course, in reality, the power of magical girls is needed to develop those generators—who knows, if things go wrong, the Federation might force us into ‘slave labor.’

I knew this because it was described in the original work. Of course, after mentioning that such a device existed, they brushed it aside and didn’t reveal it again for the sake of progressing the story.

As long as Cherry is with us from the Federation, I doubt they’ll make us do anything weird.

Well, that’s something we’ll know when the time comes.

“There’s also the circuit, right?”

Seo-hee asked.

“… The circuit lets out too much emotion. Otherwise, it breaks down.”

Chae-yeon explained to Seo-hee.

“You can’t say the efficiency is great.”

“Are you saying it’s producing this much power despite the low efficiency?”

“Look at Jua.”

I chimed in.

“If all of your power comes out as-is, the gun malfunctions. So we use a fuse to direct it and only let a certain amount out. I also check my wand periodically.”

After explaining that and looking at Jua, she nodded vigorously.

She still had the same hairstyle as mine. Her face was much brighter—and above all, the wand Jua used didn’t shoot ‘warp shots’ like in the webtoon. Instead, it took a much straighter form, firing energy directly towards the enemy in one go.

Of course, we are doing separate research on warp technology, but it has definitely changed in many ways from what I once knew.

“So, this time the Noir Corporation is planning to invade the facility that has the generator, right?”

Ha-yoon asked.

“Yeah, that’s right. Whether they’re coming to destroy or steal it, we have to stop them.”

Cherry said.

… If we get picky about it, that facility could also be called a ‘illegal facility.’ After all, it’s a generator. If it’s successfully made, it’ll produce immense energy.

The government knows and turns a blind eye, but technically, it’s like building a nuclear fusion reactor in the basement of Seoul without any permits.

“Okay, got it.”

I nodded.

“Let’s go check it out.”

*

Though it’s said to be a facility using the energy of magical girls, it doesn’t really give off a massive sense of that.

It wasn’t all that bright and colorful like some cartoon settings… Well, it was still clean, but at least it wasn’t dazzling like what you would find in a manga sometimes.

And the generator was larger than we imagined.

It was definitely too big to simply steal.

Just because we were by its side didn’t mean the generator was working or anything. It wasn’t completed yet.

Boom.

“Did you hear that? It sounds like a pretty intense fight outside.”

Seo-hee said.

“Yeah. It seems they’re using explosives or something.”

Ha-yoon, who had been near the door, nodded and said.

“… But what on earth does the Noir Corporation want with this?”

“Isn’t it obvious? They’re here for the various benefits this country offers, and ultimately, their goal is to make money. With a generator like this, they can obviously make a lot more cash.”

Yeon-woo said while looking up at the generator again.

“No, but still… why are they coming when they also use circuits? No matter what the source of those emotions is.”

“Maybe that’s why they’re coming after it? If they could find a generator design, it would be an incredible help for that company.”

“Hmmm.”

Seo-hee tilted her head.

“… Well,”

Since I knew some of the story details, I interrupted.

“Regardless, we can’t let the Noir Corporation do as they please. We need to wait a bit longer and if we win the fight in the next room, we’ll be fine.”

The energy used by Noir Corporation to generate power is despair.

They promote it as ‘courage’ to the general public. Surprisingly, it’s a pretty convincing story.

As you endure while being scared, you can draw energy. They call it despair energy, but you can’t get it from those who have completely given up. Those who have given up will not struggle anymore, just quietly waiting for results.

It’s almost like it brings them peace of mind.

… I almost ended up that way once.

Boom.

Once again, a rather loud noise was heard.

“Okay, let’s go.”

I said.

The door was slowly opened.

There was still no one in the hallway beyond.

We all stepped outside together and stood there.

“…”

“Ha-yoon?”

Feeling like someone was missing, I turned around to see Ha-yoon gazing up at the generator with a complicated expression.

“Ah, yeah.”

Ha-yoon quickly stepped out at my question.

“What’s wrong? Do you see something strange about the generator?”

“No, it’s nothing like that.”

Ha-yoon hesitated for a moment before speaking quietly to me.

“I’ll tell you after it’s all over.”

“Hmm? Yeah, what?”

Although I tilted my head at Ha-yoon’s words, I decided to just accept it.

After all, isn’t Ha-yoon someone whose brain works well? It must be a pretty important matter.

Thinking that, I held my wand tightly with both hands.

*

As always, we won.

But we didn’t win as easily as usual.

“… What the heck is this?”

Yeon-woo said, looking down at the wreckage of the enemy’s equipment.

“It looks like something that runs on circuits. Look here.”

Ha-yoon showed the broken wrist section of the equipment.

It looked like a thick iron rod, but inside, there was space for a person’s hand. Contrary to its very simply designed exterior, the inside was rather complex with various circuits intertwined.

There was a space where something like a wristwatch could fit around the wrist area.

There’s a famous old movie where people die meeting an alien monster in space.

In that movie, the main character came out wearing something like an industrial power suit, and this equipment looked somewhat similar.

It seemed sturdier, as the torso section had armor, and it lacked complex hydraulic systems, with just a metal club at the fingertip, but it was still much more threatening than the combatants we had seen before.

It would be almost impossible for them to injure us, but they could launch us around and stall for time. Judging by their ability to withstand a blow from my hammer, they must have put a good amount of effort into creating it.

…

I assume it’s equipment designed specifically to target me.

“…”

Still, there were far more combatants that came with just their bodies.

The alien combatant that always stayed until the end was still there.

A being that couldn’t rely on a suit like that.

I don’t understand why they would persist until the very end like that. If they just came to fight for money, then they should just run away instead of holding on.

After all, they know they’re going to lose, and the Noir Corporation will give them their due money anyway.

“Ji-eun.”

Lost in thought, Ha-yoon poked my side.

“Yeah?”

“That generator from earlier…”

Ha-yoon glanced at the other kids.

She checked that the other newcomers were absorbed in examining equipment we had never seen before, and then quietly spoke to me.

“That generator, does that mean… we’re going to have to operate it?”

“…”

Well.

It was ‘possible’ that this was mentioned in the webtoon.

To be honest, I thought that wouldn’t be an easy task for us. Our power is ‘hope’, isn’t it?

Are we supposed to live our whole lives next to that generator feeling ‘hope’? How would that even be possible?

If you think about it logically, we’d obviously be getting jobs that would take away our time.

But… who knows.

If it was like that, it wouldn’t have been described that way in the webtoon.

“Don’t worry too much.”

I said.

“Cherry is here too.”

Right.

If such a thing were to happen—

Then, when the time comes, I can just smash it to pieces.

“… Okay.”

Ha-yoon smiled at my chuckle and nodded.

 

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