I Became a New Magical Girl Priest

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One day, we’ll have to go back together.

Ha-yoon still held onto that hope.

Even while acting as a combatant in a company run by a clear villain, she was still thinking about taking me, someone who had deceived her for a long time and got caught up in terrorism, back to school.

Perhaps that’s the driving force behind Ha-yoon’s fight.

But—

In the end, I committed a crime.

Whether I had a reason or not, I rebelled against those who were detaining me and escaped. I still didn’t know if I was really headed to another hospital or being dragged off to some research facility. But I was sure I had escaped from people who were moving legally.

In the process, I probably hurt several police officers. Not to the point of death, nor enough to leave lifelong repercussions, but—

I also broke a lot of police equipment and snuck into the company facility to steal important gear.

It was likely impossible for all those crimes to just disappear.

There’s often a discrepancy between what I believe is justifiable and what is deemed legal or illegal.

Yet—

“…Should I just go in and sleep?”

Even though she must know all this—

How could Ha-yoon still smile at me like that?

Ha-yoon, holding my hand, moved slowly.

Even if I just stood there like I was pinned down, I could surely shake off her gentle grip. It was just a light hold, after all.

But, for some reason, I didn’t want to.

I didn’t want to lose the hope that flickered in front of me.

In the end, I kept my mouth shut and let myself be drawn back by Ha-yoon’s feather-like strength.

Could it be that Ha-yoon intends to return me to school this way?

How?

I pondered a few times on the way back, but ultimately didn’t come to a conclusion.

Hope might just be like that.

Even with no logic, you can almost be certain it won’t turn out that way.

In the end, you come to believe that it will be there.

The circuit was still trembling slightly.

*

The last time there were only me, Ha-yoon, and Iris among the combatants. James came along too, but if you’re talking about the three people who would actually fight, it included me. James was primarily there to support us.

While he wasn’t entirely unhelpful in the battle, it wouldn’t make sense for him to take on the monsters alone.

The place we went last time wasn’t so high-ranking in terms of scale or importance, so I thought it would be enough to handle that much.

But this time was different.

I had no idea how complicated the inside of the research institute was. But no matter how wide or narrow it was, being outnumbered would put us at a disadvantage. I couldn’t know how many monsters were there, but if they’d come rushing to hit us in a chaotic mix with the combatants, we’d quickly be cornered.

So this time, we all decided to go together.

No one stayed behind. Even Cherry decided to go with Ha-yoon.

If even one or two people stayed and the others couldn’t return, wouldn’t they just end up waiting indefinitely? After all, it would be troublesome to prepare for unforeseen circumstances with only a few people.

It would be better to share the situation fairly among everyone.

“Is there really no way to appear from the inside? There are troops at the entrance, after all.”

“That’s not an easy task,” James said.

“We’re still researching the magic wielded by magical girls, but there’s a reason all the large warp point devices are installed outside. Just in case someone gets trapped in a place they can’t possibly get out of, or if they merge with objects at their new location, it would be problematic.”

“…Is there really a chance of that happening?”

“Up until now, there haven’t been any ‘confirmed’ cases. In fact, there can’t be. All magic involves the imagination of the person using it. And of course, there are parts they instinctively fear. The reason magic doesn’t harm the user is precisely because of that. At least for those in the ‘creation’ position, they can’t get hurt by their own magic.”

The fire behind the hammer I wield was hot enough to melt iron.

But just because it was like that didn’t mean I had experienced burns. There might be magic at work protecting my body, but according to James, that too was only possible because he thought it was ‘obviously true.’

If I were to trace the cause, it would probably be because I was thinking too… loosely about the concept of magic.

“So, are you suggesting that people wanting to harm themselves can?”

“As I mentioned, there haven’t been any cases yet. Whether those who imagined such things ended up moving to a star and thus we couldn’t find their bodies, or if they derived pleasure from pain or wished for their own deaths, we can’t know if they couldn’t escape from their deepest instincts,” he said.

Well, even if it were possible, if they ended up moving somewhere underground, we wouldn’t be able to find them. Unless we intentionally dug to uncover geological layers millions of years later.

“Having very profound knowledge about that place might make this possible. However, every object at the location you’re aiming to move to, like chairs or desks, has to be in the exact remembered position. If there’s an overlapping object where you’re trying to emerge, it might enter the ‘danger’ condition and not activate.”

“…But I’ve jumped directly into a building before.”

“Who knows? Your magic could be a little different from others. Warp points and black holes… they certainly look differently on the outside. Or maybe your mind is more stable now. Don’t you think you don’t want to take risks? In fact, it’s almost unheard of for a single person to open a warp point by sheer effort.”

No, wait.

That means, James proposed that knowing I could potentially merge with a wall or something when I last did that.

I narrowed my eyes and glared at him, but James was already engrossed in the drone, so his expression was hidden.

“Plus, think about it,” James said, smirking.

“At that time, weren’t you very bewildered upon seeing the magical girls? Sometimes, the thought of wanting to flee far away can rise even above survival, right?”

It was really frustrating hearing James refer to the ‘magical girls’ while glancing at Ha-yoon. Seeing her face turn slightly pale, I decided not to continue the conversation.

The more we talked, the more it would just highlight how miserable and cornered I was before joining the magical girls.

“You don’t need to worry too much.”

Maybe because he read that thought of mine, or perhaps he just thought my anxiety wasn’t necessary, Iris opened the communication.

“At least the police seem to look at us neutrally. Well, you can’t say everyone thinks alike, of course.”

According to what I heard through the radio, that seemed to be the case.

At the very least, they hadn’t directly attacked their own people, and perhaps due to almost dying to save us, public opinion toward us was favorable.

If, by any chance, there were similar bombs inside the research facility that could lead to the same incident, this time people probably wouldn’t be easily deceived by the government and media.

“Alright, then.”

I said that.

“…I hope those people set up some decent bait in the research institute. We need them to think we’re headed there multiple times.”

The kids nodded.

I took a deep breath.

To avoid looking at Ha-yoon’s face, I intentionally closed my eyes.

At the very least, the circuit was running well enough for me to fight. And—

I could still create black holes.

“…Let’s go.”

As I said that, the kids jumped one by one through the black hole.

None of them showed even a hint of skepticism. If it were me, I’d be thinking it was suspicious every time I leaped through.

Is that why they’re magical girls? Is it trust with ‘friends’?

Friends… am I also a friend, I wonder?

Or is it simply that neither of us can be sure?

I didn’t know.

Ever since I started to be conscious of Ha-yoon, things had become so unclear.

…For now, let’s just focus.

I thought that and plunged into the black hole, eyes tightly shut.

On the other side, there stood a large building.

It was a simple structure, akin to a complex, but smaller than that complex. Yet, at least on the outside, the building seemed sturdily built.

In my world, there used to be a department store like that. So, if I compared it to that department store building, it made sense as a place.

And at every entrance, there were people dressed in black standing guard.

Police buses lined the road like a wall.

Once again, it floated in the air below the building.

Ha-yoon and I slowly descended. Unsurprisingly, there were police on the roof too. There weren’t that many. The police with bored expressions at the roof’s edge rested their rifles against the wall, and those guarding the rooftop entrance held guns in their hands like soldiers in front of a regiment.

As Iris said, when we came down, there weren’t any police shooting at us.

Everyone just watched us with wide eyes.

“…”

What to do now?

Now that we’re here, I was starting to worry a little.

Last time I had at least been somewhat active, but still, my relationship with the police wasn’t that great. Just considering the value of the police equipment I had wrecked, that wasn’t something I could just pay back easily.

As I was worrying like that, Ha-yoon gracefully approached a police officer standing on guard on the roof.

“Excuse me, could you step aside a bit?”

“Huh?”

The officer made a baffled sound in response to Ha-yoon’s outrageous request.

“We’re not here to fight with you guys.”

In a way, this conversation might be the first we’ve had with the police since we escaped.

Until now, we had only made unilateral demands towards each other. Asking them to lay down their arms, surrender, or bring us food.

…

Like a group demanding to occupy a building… no, honestly, it seemed far more serious. To put it straightforwardly, it resembled the actions of hostage-taking terrorists.

In truth, there were no hostages, and negotiations had failed because of that.

“We… have something we need to do. We need to resolve our grievances. People must know the truth. Wasn’t the last broadcast insufficient?”

The two police officers at the rooftop exit exchanged glances.

“There’s no need to worry too much,” Ha-yoon stated.

“Because nobody knows.”

“…”

But the police didn’t easily step aside.

They didn’t want to fight with us, but still, it seemed they felt that this was their duty.

“Sorry, but we also have our circumstances…”

The gaze of the officer who said that drifted to the body cam attached to him.

Right, they have to be careful because evidence remains. Even merely talking with Ha-yoon might be a heavy burden for them.

…Is it my turn now?

As I walked forward, the police flinched slightly, appearing surprised, unlike when Ha-yoon spoke to them.

“Step aside.”

“We’re—”

Before the officer could finish his response, I slammed my hammer down onto the floor.

Crack.

The concrete cracked. It wouldn’t cause the building to collapse, but even if it didn’t, it could easily ruin human skeletons.

“…”

Ha-yoon smiled slightly at my move.

Yeah, I wasn’t about to hold back from here. Fighting with the police would be harmful to us too. It would waste time, and above all, getting shot would hurt.

As I charged toward the police, they quickly stepped back.

And before me, a door appeared.

I kicked that door open with all my strength.

The two police officers, and those on the rooftop, all stared at me with mouths agape.

“Is this how it’s done?”

One of the police officers quickly nodded.

I stepped inside the rooftop and slowly walked down the stairs.

“Very considerate of you.”

Ha-yoon said with a smile as she followed behind.

“Considerate? Hardly.”

“That’s just so they don’t get into trouble.”

“Do you think they’d let me pass without any repercussions?”

I replied with a slightly bewildered expression.

We can’t just chat back and forth here. Moreover, they didn’t fire at us, so any penalties would be inevitable regardless.

Wait, would it change the story if I said I was scared?

I had never heard of the police receiving major disadvantages just because they hadn’t shot at ‘monsters.’

It’s a bit uncomfortable to think that I’ve been placed in the position of a ‘monster,’ to be honest.

If there truly were a friendly atmosphere forming toward me, the police wouldn’t be worried.

I had managed on my own until now; the police must just be hoping to manage things on their own too.

*

So, about the research institute we aimed for—

“Ugh!”

Rose said, bouncing back as if she were repelled.

Her arm shook after blocking the punch of a monster.

It was indeed there.

This time, it was like a walking elephant. I mean, can we even call it a person? Well, all aliens in this world are technically ‘people,’ but still.

An elephant and a rhinoceros.

If they were real animals, the rhinoceros would be far smaller compared to the elephant, but I guess that’s not the case when it comes to monsters.

“Well, it’s here after all,” I muttered.

“What should we do? Fight a bit and retreat? Or should we hand the monsters over to the police?”

Though Rose asked that in a surprisingly straightforward manner, there wasn’t much time to think over it right now.

There were only two of us, but the armor was stronger than before.

The monsters we encountered at the broadcast station before varied in size. Accordingly, the difficulty in taking them down also changed. Generally, smaller ones were easier to defeat.

And I might start to figure out the reason.

Smaller ones are usually quick, but many lack strength.

In other words, the gloves they can wear are thinner, and the resonance devices they can fit are smaller. Hence, it’s comparatively easier to deal with them.

On the other hand, if they take the form of an elephant, rhinoceros, or bear, the thickness of the armor would be enormous. They can endure better as a result.

Plus, their circuits are massive.

Bang!

When I struck the rhinoceros monster’s head with my hammer, it only made a sound like that and then glared at me as if it were angrier.

Honestly, I felt a bit scared at that moment.

While the circuit was still running, it wasn’t enough to claim stability. It was already strong enough as an opponent.

“…Let’s just fight moderately and pull back.”

In the end, I could only respond that way.

“Alright, then…!”

Rose, who had been leaning against me, charged forward and struck the elephant before her.

“Oh.”

And with a somewhat impressed tone, she said, “Has the technology on that side decreased a bit? Was it such a significant issue with the loss of one technician, like last time?”

“…”

No.

I think it’s probably because the total amount of my energy has decreased.

Even while fighting the two monsters, James was scanning the surroundings confidently.

He seemed to think that it would be great if he could find something, even though he had assumed there would be nothing.

Boom!

“Graaah!”

As an explosion broke out from its right arm, the elephant monster yelled.

The explosion itself wasn’t that large. At least it wasn’t comparable to when a monster had exploded last time. In fact, this time, it didn’t even blow off the gloves completely.

Thanks to Iris and Dalia hitting their shoulders one after another.

Since my energy was low, the barrier must have grown thinner.

Seeing that, my circuit became stable again. Moreover, just like that, the monsters’ clothes turned tight like they were stored away.

“…”

The thought that we could win continued to affect me.

Since the circuit wasn’t backing me up anymore, the monsters had to endure attacks without dodging due to the stiff joints of their outfits, much like when they were ‘stored away’—

And with a swish, Ha-yoon swung her knife, smashing into the circuits of the corners, and the rhinoceros crumpled down.

It flopped to the ground, struggling to get back up.

“…This will probably be checked by the police, right?”

“They can just move it to a good spot before leaving. You still have power left, don’t you?”

“…”

Looking at the confident magical girls, I was engulfed in unease.

Is this really alright?

The circuit was still running, but the enemies were about to fall. Is it enough to just leave it as it is?

I knew it was a good situation. However, at the same time, I had never experienced such a situation before.

I was encountering the term ‘leeway’ after so long.

Is this enough to be okay?

If so, then perhaps I shouldn’t have existed from the very beginning—

“Ji-eun.”

Ha-yoon nudged my shoulder and called me.

“Good job.”

“…”

Did I do well?

I still wasn’t sure.

“You seem to be more relaxed than expected.”

Although Iris said that in a truly careful voice, it wasn’t as sharp as during fights.

“Well, shall we take a look around? It’s still the main research institute of Noir Corporation, after all.”

Saying that, everyone dispersed.

Only I stood there blankly, not knowing what to do.

“Ji-eun, let’s go.”

Once I heard Ha-yoon saying that a few steps ahead, I hurriedly followed her from behind.

 

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