I Became a New Magical Girl Priest

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Looking at the circuit spinning in the opposite direction, I was hit with a flood of thoughts.

Among all those thoughts, the one that struck me the most was, of course, the simple ‘Why?’

Why? How come?

James had clearly said that this circuit couldn’t be made in the Federation.

The basic principles were similar, but how the circuit operated changed depending on the emotions used, which is why even the clever Iris, who could create various devices from scratch in an empty environment, couldn’t fully decipher its principles.

If merely changing emotions could alter the circuit’s function, that would have been discovered long ago. Despair is a universal emotion after all; anyone can experience it at least once.

Or could this also be due to ‘magic’?

Was it because I thought that “it could be done” with this circuit?

The pain I was feeling gradually faded away. My hazy vision became clearer, almost overly so.

Even though my head was still in a mess, what remained after the ‘pain’ had vanished was just the certainty that I could move.

I stood up from my seat.

I grasped a hammer in my hand.

The generator of the hammer—

Indeed, it was burning brightly. Just like my circuit. Just like Ha-yoon’s circuit over there.

But it wasn’t flaring up wildly as usual, though describing it in that way might sound less impressive; it looked like a bright flash had been turned on.

Of course, it was a little more mystical than an actual flash being on. If my previous creation had resembled a black hole, the light shining from behind the hammer looked like a star rising.

It didn’t burn anything. It only wrapped the surroundings in warmth.

Maybe it was because of the light. My clothes also appeared somewhat white. Had my appearance… changed? Well, I didn’t have time to worry about such things.

Whether it was hope that was truly moving my body now, or despair that was just taking a weird turn, I knew Ha-yoon was fighting right in front of me.

I couldn’t just collapse alone.

By the time I realized that, I was already running forward.

“…Ji-eun?”

Ha-yoon called my name.

Her expression and voice showed she was just as baffled, if not more, by the situation than I was.

But at least, Ha-yoon was much quicker and sharper in assessing the situation than I was.

Without showing any further confusion about me stepping forward, she simply joined beside me.

I wondered how we must have looked to the others watching us.

Did we look like steadfast comrades, standing shoulder to shoulder?

I couldn’t help but find it funny that I was thinking such things, even in a situation like this.

The one who dashed forward first was me. I lifted the hammer and charged ahead. With only my strength, without any external propulsion.

Power surged into my feet as they made contact with the ground.

Whoosh!

The sound of the dual-handed hammer slicing through the wind was intimidating.

The alien dodged that attack, but—

“…!”

As the hammer’s white light touched its body, it leaped back in surprise, watching the black liquid that had caked its exterior evaporate.

Could that be the refined despair?

But I wasn’t fighting alone.

By the time I charged ahead, Ha-yoon, who had already flown into the air, gracefully spun and fell behind the alien as if tumbling.

A pink blade shining brightly—far more than usual—dropped down towards the alien’s crown.

The alien had been able to block by wedging the black blade between its head and the blade, but—

Clang!

It seemed to be impossible to deflect it to the side.

It appeared that hope didn’t affect the despair circuit itself. After all, a circuit is influenced by the user’s emotions. Even if Ha-yoon expressed intense hope beside me, if I wasn’t feeling hopeful, my circuit would continue to spiral into despair.

So, if that alien had begun to weaken after witnessing our combined power, it meant that it too was feeling an emotion distant from despair.

The alien was also an Earthling. I didn’t know exactly what was inside it. If it was a being forcibly created, there might be something else in place of its organs.

But—

—What if?

If other aliens could be taken far away from Earth and returned to their original forms through diligent treatment, and if this being in front of me was indeed an Earthling, there might be hope for restoring it to its true state. No matter what that ‘original’ appearance looked like.

The white light blazed even more fiercely, as if under its influence, Ha-yoon’s circuit also began to shine fervently.

The pink and white lights blended together. To be honest, it looked a little deliriously beautiful.

Crunch.

In the end, a sound similar to cracking could be heard from the black blade as it suffered damage.

It was the sound of my hope overcoming the opponent’s despair.

Bang!

The white light hit the alien’s head, sending it tumbling to the ground.

“Haah!”

Ha-yoon immediately thrust her blade into the alien’s chest.

The blade, which left no marks on the human body, oddly inflicted wounds only on the material it desired, penetrating the alien’s circuit.

There was… no explosion.

As if being swept away by Ha-yoon’s blade of hope, the black light pouring out diminished and vanished instantaneously.

Just like a beam of light shining into a pitch-black room, Ha-yoon’s hope extinguished that despair.

As the brilliant light began to recede a little, what remained was an alien who had fainted and collapsed.

It hadn’t returned to its original state yet, and was hardly gasping for breath.

But still, it was alive.

As long as it was alive, yes, there was hope for recovery.

“…”

The battle wasn’t over yet.

The other kids were still fighting, and there were still many aliens that hadn’t fallen.

But I found myself unable to remain dazed for long.

As the tension eased, my brain struggled to process the overwhelming amount of information about the surrounding situation.

I was wearing white clothes, unlike usual.

The head of the hammer was still glowing brightly.

And Ha-yoon was gazing at me intently.

“…Ah.”

I could feel my face heating up.

Oh God, a white dress!

Well, of course, it’s not like there’s only one or two white dresses in the world. Among them, there must be outfits that could be worn casually but could still be called ‘dresses’.

But no matter how I thought about it, what I was wearing seemed much more extravagant than that.

The design when I wore black was much more plain. Although it was not exactly daily wear, it was somewhat cosplaying—an outfit so inappropriate for everyday use, with a strangely exposed chest area, but still, I would say it was pretty ordinary compared to others.

The design itself remained similar, but—every part that had contained color was now bleach-white, without a single blemish.

Even the formerly translucent back skirt had turned into an opaque white silk, adorned with a large ribbon.

Because of that ribbon, that part stuck out quite noticeably.

So, if I looked at the outfit as a whole—

It wouldn’t be odd to say it resembled a wedding dress.

Though honestly, there were so many parts that would raise questioning if it was an actual wedding dress, still, if one squinted at it, they might think it could pass for one.

Why?

Once again, my mind was filled with thoughts and questions.

Could it be that despair and hope are personified in black and white clothing? Am I in my right mind? Whose idea was this?

It wouldn’t be too surprising to think that it was probably my idea. While I had never thought about wearing such an outfit, this binary thinking of ‘despair is black, hope is white’ was exactly my style.

Clenching my teeth, I soared into the sky.

I fought to hide the embarrassing feeling. And surprisingly, even in such a situation, my circuit was revving more robustly than ever.

More than at any other time.

To escape from the many gazes of people circling me, I flew off to help the others.

 

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