Congratulations on Your Magical Girl Duties

17 – Magical Initiation Ceremony (3)

A familiar sound echoed in my ears.

The sound of flesh tearing, blood and brain matter splattering, bone cracking.

A sound I had to endure every moment of my ten years living in this other world, even when I didn’t want to.

It was the sound of a life extinguished.

“God damn it, you startled me, you little shit.”

Of course, the sound hadn’t come from me.

It had resonated from the grotesque thing.

More precisely, from the grotesque thing’s shattered head.

Meanwhile, the two people who had been so urgently warning me moments ago, their reactions diverged into two paths.

“Hey, Darkie, you alright? Okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“That’s a relief.”

Whitey’s concern was surprisingly genuine.

“Senior, are you completely insane?”

“No, I’m perfectly normal.”

“You have no conscience, do you? Seriously?”

Sora’s words were a nagging stream laced with disbelief.

Then, suddenly, I remembered something I needed to do quickly and called out to Sora.

“Ah, right. Sora, come here a second.”

“I wasn’t finished talking yet, you know?”

“There’s something even more important. Please, I’m begging you.”

“Fine, what is it?”

Sora, seemingly unable to win, let out a small sigh and trudged over to me.

It truly was a stroke of luck.

“I need to borrow your clothes.”

“You crazy Senior, you!!!”

Now, I could wipe away the grotesque thing’s debris.

Even though Sora’s magical girl outfit didn’t have much fabric to begin with, even that was mostly adorned with the creature’s blood and gore.

Thanks to that, Sora glared at me as if she wanted to murder me.

“And here I thought you had something important to say!!!”

But I couldn’t help it.

It was too filthy to stay like this.

Besides, a magical girl’s outfit will return to normal if she dispels the transformation and transforms again, right?

“If it feels icky, just transform again.”

“Do you even *know* it takes time to undo a transformation and then transform *again*? That’s why I can’t undo it until all this is over!”

That was news to me.

I felt a pang of sympathy, really.

“Oh? Didn’t know that. Hang in there.”

Well, it wasn’t *my* problem, after all.

The real problem was only having two sets of clothes.

Now it was down to just one decent outfit.

This is screwed, truly.

“And hey, don’t get too close. I’m a little grimy.”

“Oh, you little—! Ugh! Seriously! Ugh!”

“Akka.”

“Darkie, I know this one. Murasaki.”

“Seriously, *please* both of you just shut *up*!!!”

Having unleashed a full-throated shriek, Sora seemed to regain some composure, addressing me in a calmer voice.

Though her eyes were a little dead, regardless.

“So, senpai.”

I guess my earlier answer hadn’t been satisfactory. Unlike Snow White, who’d let it slide, Sora was starting to pick apart everything.

“Are you seriously insane? Who in the world *wouldn’t* run away from that, and instead tries to fight back?”

“Me.”

“That’s not what I’m asking!”

Sora was practically having a seizure now.

Really, magical girls had to have some level of mental instability. Otherwise, there’s no way she’d react like that to a single word.

“So what, though.”

Separately, I understood it to some extent.

It was a pretty far cry from normal behavior, honestly.

I guess no one here would have even considered it.

Shoving a magic wand down a monster’s gullet.

“As long as you live, right? Isn’t that right?”

But I couldn’t help it.

My body reacted before I could even think.

This, too, was thanks to my experiences in this other world.

What I’d just done was one of the most effective ways to inflict a fatal wound on those beastly things trying to tear me apart.

Especially when you couldn’t inflict any damage on their outer shell, it was practically the only method.

Because there’s no creature that can train their internal organs, you see.

At least, not among the ones I’ve met and killed.

So, I acted on instinct without even realizing it, I suppose.

“Honestly, you were lucky that freak was impaled because of his own strength and speed. Otherwise, what were you going to do?”

“Probably have my arm torn right off, right? Or die?”

I answered blandly.

Sora sighed, as if at a loss.

“Seriously, why do you talk about it so casually?”

“Well…”

I smiled wryly at Sora’s rebuke.

Could I even bring myself to make a fuss about it now?

After being torn apart and put back together hundreds of times.

“Oh, Blackie! Amazing!”

Snowy, bless her heart, didn’t seem to grasp the mood and was just expressing pure admiration.

It was a perfect fit for a magical girl named Golden Retriever, that one. Or maybe she just wasn’t all that bright.

Still, this was infinitely better.

At least she wasn’t plotting anything.

The fact that she didn’t needlessly bother me was a bonus.

Dogs really are man’s best friend. Meaning this Snowy could become a friend, too, if I played my cards right.

Though that’s probably not going to happen, but still.

Meanwhile, Sora was still glaring at me, her eyes full of discontent.

“No, seriously, what were you thinking when you did that?”

“I figured the magic wand would be sturdy. Even a beginner’s magic wand is really tough, just like you said.”

“Oh, magic wand! Amazing!”

Snowy praised the magic wand at my words.

Sora, however, was a little more persistent in her questions.

“So, the magic wand’s just…sturdy, is it? Isn’t there a proper reason?”

“Then it must be because of my experience with another world, I guess.”

“Oh, another world! Bullshit.”

The white-haired guy, who had been overflowing with admiration just a moment ago, suddenly turned serious.

His sudden change in attitude made me bristle, and I swung my gaze to him.

“What’s wrong? Why aren’t you calling it amazing?”

“There’s no way a place like that actually exists in this world.”

I was about to snap back, but I held it in. He was the type who wouldn’t believe me even if I explained it. Or, maybe he just couldn’t comprehend it.

Well, what could I do?

A sane person has to be the one to hold back.

I am the Hero, after all.

“You didn’t even know that? You’re dumber than me?”

“Are you crazy? Come on, you b*stard.”

No, this time I couldn’t hold back.

This piece of trash dared to call me dumb?

He’s asking to die, for real.

“Forget about that stuff and focus, everyone! The monsters are coming!”

Certainly, Sora was right.

The situation wasn’t good enough to be playing around.

Before we knew it, monsters were swarming towards us. A lot of them.

“Sora, why are so many of them coming? Weren’t the magical girls supposed to have wiped them all out?”

“Looks like the front lines were breached! Anyway, let’s worry about that later! For now, let’s figure out what to do!”

At that moment, the white-haired guy pulled out his magic wand.

“Dark hair, you just watch from the back.”

To be precise, a magic wand shaped like a double-barreled shotgun.

“I’ll show you the power of an American Magical Girl.”

And then, the white-haired guy pulled the trigger twice.

“Twin Star!”

– *Ta-aang!*

– *Ta-aang!*

Two gunshots.

But it wasn’t just two grotesque figures who fell.

A whole section of the approaching horde of grotesqueries simply vanished.

Then, Whitey drew a revolver from his waistband, aimed it at the monster leading the charge, and fired.

“Fanning Star!”

Two bullets in the gut.

One in the head.

It sounded like a single shot, but the creature now sported three new holes.

Literal quick-draw.

Honestly impressive.

Turns out, he was good for more than just casual racism.

“Heh, easy peasy.”

That revolver was probably some kind of magic wand. No ordinary weapon would be effective against those things.

“Hey Darkie, see that?”

Whitey ejected the spent casings from his gun-shaped magic wand, loaded fresh rounds, and gave me a sidelong glance.

“This is my Magical Superconductor.”

I met his gaze.

“Magical my ass, that’s Tactical.”

“If it kills monsters, it’s magical.”

Nothing about him fit the “magical girl” archetype. This place really was just full of lunatics.

But.

That aside, Whitey had good reason to be so puffed up.

It was simple, but powerful magic. To achieve that kind of result with just two spells…

Power-wise, putting aside everything else, he was on a whole different level than that green b*tch who’d bombarded me with spells during therapy.

Still, it wasn’t flawless magic.

Using magic like that meant imbuing bullets with magical energy and detonating them. I knew the drill, having done something similar myself in that other world a few times.

Which meant you needed a physical object to contain the magic.

Fine as a sidearm, maybe, but if your main weapon worked like that, there’d be a long gap between attacks.

Whatever the case, he’d need to prepare before his next attack.

In other words, he’d be vulnerable to counter-attacks more often.

“Focus on what’s ahead for now, will you?”

“Huh?”

Right at this moment.

While Huingi was still loading the last bullet, one of the slender, grotesque creatures had already approached.

The monster’s sharpened fingernails dove toward Huingi’s eyes with a savage lunge.

“Ah!”

But it didn’t end in disaster.

“Unni! I told you to concentrate!”

Sora, quick as a whip, had assisted Huingi just before the attack landed.

“Fire wishes ashes!”

Sora conjured a blue flame with her wand, incinerating the approaching creature.

“Why don’t you ever listen!”

Chastising Huingi in the process was just an added bonus, it seemed.

“S-sorry.”

“Just be better, then!”

As Huingi visibly shrunk under Sora’s reprimand, the creature engulfed in flames couldn’t even manage a death cry, becoming nothing more than a pile of ash.

“I’ll need you to take over for a bit. That last one drained me more than I expected.”

“Got it! Leave it to me!”

While Sora caught her breath, Huingi, having finished reloading, swept away the remaining creatures.

A display of complementing each other’s weaknesses.

So this was the cooperation between magical girls.

It seemed… not bad, and at the same time, I felt a twinge of envy.

Because I’d always had to bear everything alone.

“Sunbae.”

At that moment, Sora looked at me with a smile in her eyes.

“So, how was I?”

Certainly, the magical girl title Blue Fox was a perfect fit.

The wand’s shape suited Sora’s blue miko (shrine maiden) outfit. It was a ceremonial tool used by miko, called a gohei or something like that.

Moreover, the magic she just used was a blue flame, probably manifesting the magic in the form of a foxfire.

As a magical girl with a fox miko concept, she was flawless. The slightly bewitching look in her eyes made me think that even more.

Honestly, compared to Heuindung, Sora was a true magic girl. That one, no matter how you looked at it, was more tactical than magical.

Still, I didn’t bother to say any of that.

“Oh, black.”

Instead, I just pointed something else out.

“Huh?! W-Wait a second! Don’t look!”

Sora, startled, her face bright red, frantically patted here and there on her skirt.

Not that it was doing much good.

“Just guessed, but it is black.”

“This damn senior, seriously, since earlier! Ugh!”

While Sora was shouting next to me, her voice filled with resentment, Heuindung, who had been cautiously watching until now, looked at me and grinned fiercely.

“Darkie, you can’t do stuff like that, can you?”

Annoying, but undeniably true.

In the end, I reluctantly nodded.

“Nope.”

“Senior, don’t be too disappointed, okay! This kind of thing is something men can’t usually do! What happened a little while ago was the strange thing!”

Belatedly, Sora tried to say this and that, but it didn’t offer much comfort.

‘Usually’ can’t do it, she said.

If it was ‘usually’, maybe I could have…

“Ha, goddamn.”

I realized once again how powerless I was compared to before.

With a heavy heart, I quietly muttered a lament.

“If only I had my Moonlight Sword…”

Moonlight Sword (月光劍).

The lunar hero’s one and only weapon.

A sword forged in moonlight.

An all-purpose weapon that could be anything.

And…

“Moonlight Sword? What’s that?”

“Senior, what are you talking about? Is it another isekai thing?”

“…No, it’s nothing. Just ignore it.”

No.

There’s no need to dwell on it any further.

Clinging to this regret won’t bring back the Moonlight Sword that vanished because of me.

Ultimately, it’s a consequence I have to accept.

Meanwhile, Sora and Heendungi must have found the term “Moonlight Sword” rather unfamiliar. They each reacted in their own way.

“Senior, do you perhaps have a mental illness? This is serious. The Magical Medical Hospital can fix lost limbs, but mental illnesses are a whole different story.”

“Hey, you little…”

Sora, pretending to be worried, playfully mocked me.

“Darkie, are you hurting somewhere? Well, Korea has Magical Medical Insurance, so you’ll be fine.”

“Oh, you don’t have that there?”

“They used to have Magical Care, but it got abolished.”

Heendungi seemed genuinely concerned in his own way.

“Anyway, let’s all get going quickly!”

Sora’s words signaled the end of our short break. Time to move on again.

Towards the approaching monsters in the distance.