I Became a New Magical Girl Priest

---

I feel terrible.

The shame of having shown my embarrassing side.

And the fact that I met Ha-yoon again.

When everything was fine, I never thought Ha-yoon would be uncomfortable.

I have harbored negative feelings towards other magical girls. I chose that path myself, but even so, it’s tough not to feel anything about getting beaten up.

I’m an emotional person, and no matter how hard I try, I just can’t change it. Logically speaking, I would be in the wrong, but all I could see was my own perspective.

…That’s why I’m scared of having negative feelings towards Ha-yoon.

Logically, a person’s happiness isn’t determined by money.

But emotions are definitely influenced by money. After all, those who have money never feel the pressure of lacking it.

Even though I saw how much Ha-yoon was emotionally burdened, and how uncomfortable being a magical girl must be, I still felt jealous of her.

Clearly, I must be the one who’s wronged.

If I start kicking off, the magical girls are probably going to come and subdue me. And then I’ll be taken away somewhere.

Since things have gotten this messy, they might not openly use me as an experimental subject. But I don’t want to be trapped for something I didn’t do. I don’t want to be put on trial either. Such things shouldn’t have happened in the first place.

…Ha-yoon wouldn’t have such things.

I don’t want Ha-yoon to think of me as the villain.

But for that, I have to explain everything. In the end, I’ll have to explain my feelings too.

I don’t want to.

I just want Ha-yoon to remain as the best person in my memories. If we can’t restore our relationship, it’s better to leave it as it is. Even knowing that it can’t last forever, I still think that way.

I came to my senses and realized the environment had changed.

“Got it! It’s done!”

James shouted out from my shoulder.

“So shame can be a good material too! Next time I adjust the circuit, I’ll have to check that properly. How about dressing slightly more embarrassingly? The feeling of shame weakens the more you’re used to it, so I can’t use it too often, but if it helps in combat, it wouldn’t be a problem.”

“…”

On the side, James was saying things I didn’t want to hear in an unnecessarily cheerful voice.

“…”

I stared at James, but he blurted out again without a clue.

“Is that possible?”

“…”

I wondered what rat meat might taste like. Considering nutria is surprisingly edible, hamster meat could also be quite fine.

Seeing me tilt my head towards my shoulder, James shut his mouth.

“So, what’s the location?”

Feeling like my mood had already hit rock bottom, I wanted to finish things quickly before it could get any worse.

“This is… Ah.”

James chuckled.

Finally, I properly glanced around.

Despite it being midnight, lights were brightly lit inside the building. Well, it makes sense. After all, it’s a Noir Corporation building.

It’s only natural that a place with a receiver that can always monitor magical girls has personnel stationed 24/7.

By now, the device would be pointing to this very area.

The surroundings were a complete mess.

It seems that this black hole isn’t a ‘real’ black hole. At least, no one has died here yet. While black holes do emit radiation, I’m not sure if radiation from a black hole this size could kill a person.

At the very least, considering there wasn’t any mention of any strange happenings from the last incident, this place should be fine too.

It seems like as a black hole, it only has capabilities to suck in and spit out things, but that was more than enough to wreak havoc around. Papers were scattered everywhere, as if someone had piled them up. Desks and chairs around where I popped out were shoved out of place chaotically.

Having me at the center, everything nearby formed a circle as if it had been forced out.

There were no people rolling around, but—

“…Looks like there was a night shift.”

In the distance, someone was staring blankly at me with their mouth agape.

Holding a mug in their hand, they looked like they’d just been struck by lightning.

Or rather, did they get struck by lightning?

“Is there military personnel here?”

“Yes, but at least on this floor, there aren’t any. You’re quite talented to find the right floor even before I could tell you.”

“…”

It was because you were shouting like a madman and making it hard for me to think.

Honestly, I was just eager to get away.

I was just hoping for any way out of this building, so I might have ended up right in the middle of it.

“The servers are five floors above this.”

No sooner had he said that than the alarm on the wall started blaring.

It looked like a fire alarm at first glance, but the light was red.

[Emergency! Emergency! An intruder has invaded! Repeat! An intruder has invaded! Multiple magical girls! Location—What? Where should we go? Rooftop? 25th floor?]

Since there were magical girls on either side, it seemed to cause a lot of confusion.

“By the way, most of the military personnel are concentrated on the first and top floors.”

If magical girls penetrate here, it would probably be one of the two scenarios.

“Since they can fly, they could also infiltrate from the middle, right?”

“This building has thorough defenses in many ways. It’s impossible to break through without any gear. It would be difficult for you to break through that thick glass unless you have a very violent method. Besides, doing so would spell disaster for any civilians passing below.”

They must have thought ahead to create such designs.

Somehow, I felt like James had a hand in this building’s construction, but I decided not to dwell on it.

“Where do we need to go?”

Seeing the barricade starting to lower, I hurriedly started running.

“Just go up about eight more floors. The internal structure of this building is… quite unique.”

With those words, I leaped under the barricade.

Thud.

Even though there were people inside, the barricade closed shut.

“You don’t need to worry. The ventilation system is fully equipped for situations where prolonged sieges are necessary.”

Did they build a fortress in the middle of the city?

I suppressed that thought while running through the hallway.

*

As I ascended the upper floors, my anxiety grew.

Initially, I considered creating another black hole or even crashing through the ceiling, but I didn’t want to run into Ha-yoon again.

Moreover, according to James, this building is perfectly designed for earthquakes.

That means substantial amounts of rebar must have been used inside. A magical explosion in one room wouldn’t cause a floor collapse.

In the end, I had to go up through the stairs.

Bang!

And, as expected, military personnel began flooding up to where I was.

Breaking things like CCTV wouldn’t mean anything. Since I showed up, they all had to have been informed when the alarm rang.

And the folks here probably had a good idea of why I intruded into this building. After all, there was James perched on my shoulder.

“You didn’t have to come up here?”

After taking down a group of heavily armed guards and catching my breath, I remarked, to which James snorted as if he were amused.

“Knowing that I’m alive means they’ll be on guard over there.”

“Isn’t the problem that they’re on guard now!?”

If someone started chasing after me, it would be a hassle!

“Regardless, the people chasing you are a mountain of them. My importance is way lower than yours. So, having them a tad irked shouldn’t be a problem. Moreover, even if you came alone, you’d probably be lost.”

It was frustratingly true.

The elevator had been entirely blocked off from my floor to the upper floors. James told me right after I started running that it wouldn’t work even if I pressed the button.

But the elevator would arrive at the floor transporting the troops. It must be regulated from the central control point.

In other words, if I went up one floor, more troops could come up via the elevator.

Of course, this big building wouldn’t just have one elevator, so some must be hauling troops up towards the rooftop. Naturally, pressing the button wouldn’t stop it.

“By the way, the doors are as thick as a bomb shelter’s. It would be faster to dash through than to break down the door. Right now, you can’t fully use your strength anyway, can you?”

…That was what James said.

True to his words, the blade I created couldn’t slice through the walls as cleanly as Ha-yoon’s wand.

Because of that, I had to ascend level by level through this maze that seemed like it was intentionally designed to be that way. What was particularly infuriating was that the stairs weren’t clustered together but seemed to have been scattered randomly throughout.

According to James, up to a certain level, it’s simply an ordinary building. This measure was meant to protect critical facilities.

“…I did cut through the wires that were covering me, yet…!”

“The government hardly ever needs to deal with magical girls.”

As I mumbled in frustration while running, James explained.

“They’ve captured monsters before but never magical girls. The thing is, to become a magical girl, you need that Hope Circuit.”

“…”

“So, generally speaking, any attacks using ‘circuits’ are inherently weak against magic girls. While you or some combatants could open thick doors in federal facilities, once a magical girl shows up, they’re captured. So you can see what a troubling existence you are for the federation, right?”

Just by existing, I could dismantle most of the federally constructed facilities.

“Then, what about today…?”

“On the contrary, if it’s possible to breach the company’s facilities, there’s no reason for them to be hostile. Who knows? They might extend a hand for negotiations at some point.”

He really is a guy whose head works indefinitely in that direction, and it’s irritating.

“Now, we have about three floors left. But don’t you have any weapons? All magical girls handle weapons.”

“Didn’t you not make any for me?”

“Isn’t every magical girl’s weapon in their hands when they transform?”

“…”

I was left speechless by that remark.

Surely, unless they were weaponry designed like Iris, everything was purely magical constructs. The magical wands, books, or gauntlets were all similar.

Becoming the being I dreamed of as a child.

Even if it were a webtoon that satirized that setting, it seemed absurd that it still adhered to the basic settings just for satire.

Me, on the other hand…

What was I even thinking to end up transforming in this way?

I thought I just vaguely wanted to become a magical girl and ended up like this? It’s ridiculous.

If that were the case, at least hand me a ‘typical’ magical girl wand.

“That way!”

I heard a voice from the front this time.

I summoned blades in both hands.

It looked slightly odd. Previously, when I summoned the blade, it flowed out from the wide hole in my suit’s sleeve, but now it just floated in the air.

Yet it didn’t veer off into some weird direction or anything.

Gunshots were deafening.

Those guys have been firing live rounds for a while now. They must be using special ammunition since they’d break apart without leaving a trace when they hit.

Maybe it was so they wouldn’t end up shooting each other by ricocheting inside.

But just because they’re breakable doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.

Raising one arm, I transformed the blade into a shield and charged forward.

Oddly enough, while there was no air resistance, the bullets coming towards me were definitely stopped by the magic.

“Ugh!”

As I dashed in front of me, the initially somewhat coordinated marksman suddenly gripped the trigger tightly.

Tat, tat, tat!

The ear-splitting noise rang out consecutively. Peei— a soft breath escaped.

I swung my right-hand blade roughly.

The guns held by the soldier and the one carried by the soldier beside them.

The helmet on his head. And his headset, which likely looked military-grade.

Everything was cleanly sliced through and fell straight down.

Boom!

Then I brought my hand down and struck the soldier’s head. The trooper staggered and fell sideways.

As a piece of the rifle flew towards my face, I held my chin with my hand.

When I glared at the soldier who was wide-eyed while swinging the gun, his face went pale. He didn’t have any wounds on his face. I must have subdued the blade’s power somewhat. That’s possibly because the energy from the suit offset it. Just like how Ha-yoon doesn’t die even when cut by her own sword.

Since the suit is damaged, it must be hard to exert its full strength. There’s no one like me who would overuse circuits to the point of an overflow.

I ended up giving his head a decent whack.

He didn’t faint, but he fell over, clutching his head. I jumped over his body without stopping.

“…”

I felt a twinge of guilt.

Well, I mean, they did shoot at me, but still, these folks are combatants too. They have jobs similar to mine.

If Earth Buddy had been around, he probably would’ve been summoned too.

Actually, that’s not quite right. The people here would be above typical combatants.

The outfit Earth Buddy wore was just a skin-tight suit. He wasn’t even Earthling, so circuits wouldn’t charge for him. It was meaningless to drive a car.

But everyone here was a proper Earthling.

They were strapped with circuits and donned tight-fitting suits, but they wore leather jackets on top.

Just like the clothes James gave me after taking new circuits.

But no one dared wield a blade against me. Did they think it’d be ineffective?

Pushing the soldier in front of me aside with all my strength, I dashed forward.

While I’m doing the same as the magical girls did, ironically, I feel anger towards them.

If someone asked if there was another way, I wouldn’t have any answer.

“Everyone move aside!”

I shouted.

“If you try to block me, things won’t end well! As long as you don’t obstruct me, I won’t touch you!”

It seemed my words held some meaning; some jumped back in surprise and moved to the side. Though many still charged at me, it seemed like my blade caused hesitation each time it cut through their gear.

That must be how it was in real fights with magical girls.

Regardless of the gear and how well-trained the combatants were, the same would apply.

Despair is a precarious emotion. Just crossing a line slightly can lead to ‘giving up.’

No matter how thick the doors are or how great the facilities are, completely blocking magical girls is impossible. As long as there’s even a glimmer of hope, energy is generated to push through.

“You better hurry, or it’ll become a much bigger problem.”

James urged.

“Our goal is to break down the facilities, not to get captured.”

That’s so irritating.

What kind of person speaks like that while clinging to my shoulder?

Anyway, he’s really managing to hang on.

“Our species only began to achieve significant progress just over 10,000 years ago. For until then, we were just picking trees. Our descendants can certainly handle hanging on. Yes, this path, just go straight ahead. You just need to pass through that door.”

“…”

Seeing James speak as if he understood exactly what I was thinking, I decided to keep my mouth shut.

Thud.

I lightly jabbed my fist into the solar plexus of a person shooting at me, incapacitating him, then slammed my body into the door, breaking it down.

If there’s a fire escape here, it’d probably be impossible to escape, I grumbled to myself. It must be one of the many illegal acts committed by Noir Corporation—

While I was grumbling internally, I gasped and looked up at the scene before me.

It was a huge hole.

A building as tall as a 50-story in Seoul isn’t uncommon. In fact, there’s quite a few. Several luxurious apartment complexes exceed 50 stories. Particularly in this worldview, there are many buildings that were raised using overwhelming technology from aliens. Gangnam, with many establishments brought in from outside Earth.

This building appeared to be so on the surface. It seemed rather short next to the building beside it that was higher.

The exterior looked as straightforward as a rectangular box with a few stacked boxes, but here, from the 33rd floor upwards, it was hollowed out completely.

It looked almost like a vast square pillar had been excavated to create space.

And in the center, there was one gigantic tower. It was a large structure, coming close to the size of a ten-floor building.

Unlike anything I could have imagined, it was a sleekly designed piece resembling something from an SF movie.

“How do we open the door?”

Snapped back to reality by James’s voice, I turned around to the broken door I had come through and closed the door with the handle that had been shattered.

Knocking echoed from the other side of the door.

Stretching the blade long, I stabbed repeatedly at the wall around the door.

Just as James had said, the inner wall packed with thick rebar didn’t collapse entirely, but at least the thick concrete on the exterior and the marble used for the finish tore away.

As the massive rubble piled at the bottom of the door, it barely held without needing my support.

I made the area messier to create more debris and turned back to look at the sculpture.

“…How do we deal with this?”

“I have a plan. Sadly, your weapon is in blade form, but that can’t be helped. We need to resolve this gradually while the magical girls tie down their troops above.”

I exhaled deeply.

And pulling my aching body, I headed towards that sculpture—the satellite receiver.

*

Thump!

Crunch.

I just swung my hand as usual.

But a combatant’s arm bent in a strange direction.

Then I heard a scream. The scream coming through the helmet was distorted in a weird way, and Blossom flinched at the sound.

The sensation of hitting a person’s body.

The feeling of solidness breaking beneath.

Surely, healing could be done. Magic is advanced, and paying a not so exorbitant amount in the healing centers could easily remedy fractures.

However, that didn’t mean it wouldn’t hurt.

Blossom’s heart raced wildly.

Her breath became labored.

Even though there was nothing drastically different than usual—

The screams echoed around her.

It’s clear, those ‘ordinary times’ are screams that I had probably constantly heard before.

Among the voices drowned out, Ji-eun’s voice must’ve been mixed in too.

Until now, I had repeatedly not realized it—I was able to inflict as much pain on ordinary people as Ha-yoon could. If I had seen the other person’s expression, could I have remained so unfazed?

If I faced Ji-eun today, what would I—

“Blossom!”

I heard Rose’s voice.

“Snap out of it!”

At those words, I barely managed to move and dodged the blade swinging towards my head.

But still, the fear wouldn’t go away.

Now that I realize…

…It’s true.

Blossom raised her gaze to see the hordes of combatants rushing at this side.

Those who were charging this way with all their might—

Suddenly stopped their bodies in panic.

Before the magical girls could react, the soldiers began looking around, as if to make eye contact with one another.

Then they stumbled and turned towards the building to sprint away.

“What’s going on?”

Iris mumbled.

The reason magical girls were fighting here without warping is that it takes a considerable amount of energy to use warp.

Iris has plenty of magic, but there are limits to how many times she can use it, and it takes even more energy to reach a more precise location.

If the circuits were ‘charged’ as normal, she might have tried, but there’s a reason she couldn’t.

…Ha-yoon’s energy wasn’t received as normal.

This applied to the other magical girls as well.

“Let’s go!”

While lost in contemplation, Ha-yoon began to run at Rose’s shout.

Where exactly she was heading, her destination was uncertain.

But something must be occurring inside, leading to this situation.

And the high possibility was that Ji-eun was the cause.

Earlier, when I met Ji-eun, it felt good.

I thought we could talk again.

Yet, Ji-eun’s expression looked at Ha-yoon with fear.

And soon after, the look on her face was one of shame.

That wasn’t the usual expression Ji-eun would show.

I couldn’t hear because of the noise from Ji-eun’s magic surging and the distinctive sound of her circuit functioning, but on Ji-eun’s shoulder was an alien that looked like Cherry—one of those squeaky adults.

Shouting something at Ji-eun with a fierce expression.

“…”

Several thoughts came to mind. I was filled with uncertainties.

But one thing was for sure.

Ji-eun doesn’t seem to be fond of looking at me.

No, actually, it could be more than just that…

I know I shouldn’t be thinking such things at this moment.

Yet, I couldn’t shake it off.

…When I meet Ji-eun—if I have to fight her, what am I supposed to do?

Ha-yoon had to run despite feeling like her heart was racing too fast, as if she couldn’t catch her breath.

 

---