Chapter 4: Shelter (3)

“Maybe the magical girl has already dealt with the monster.”

“If so, that door would have already opened.”

“Judging by the silence, isn’t it all taken care of?”

“What if there’s a monster waiting in front of the door?”

Maybe because it was a dark space without a clock, my sense of time became a little strange.

How long had I been here?

Ten minutes?

Thirty minutes?

Or maybe an hour?

Gulp.

“Mom, I’m hungry…”

“Just hold on a little longer. The magical girl sister will show up soon and save you. Let’s go eat something delicious then, Aya.”

“Yeah, I get it…”

As soon as the child’s belly clock rang, her mouth began to water.

The hope that came from meeting her mother turned into despair due to hunger, which was more salty than I thought.

The despair of a child was much tastier than that of an ordinary adult.

‘What would other people say? It tastes like ordinary despair.

If I were a normal monster, the despair of the taste of feed would have been enough, but unfortunately, my taste buds have become so sophisticated that I won’t eat anything other than high-quality canned tuna.

No, I should say that I spit it out right away even if I eat it.

Or should I say that I can’t digest it properly even if I eat it…

“But isn’t it too quiet?”

“Quiet, what do you mean?”

“Outside, outside! If the people were safe, they would have definitely come up from the fifth floor, but there’s no news?!”

Now, people were starting to notice.

The humans left in this shelter were all those from the fifth floor.

The rest, unfortunately, would have become nutritional snacks for the monsters.

‘Apocalypse can eat despair without eating it herself, but that’s because Apocalypse is a monster girl.

The method by which the monsters devoured the despair of a human was very simple.

They make the human despair, and put that despairing human in their mouths to create even greater despair.

Then, they savor the ultimate despair created in this way and digest it well.

It was a savage and beastly meal, but it was also a meal with a universal meaning.

“That’s right.”

“Isn’t it really dangerous to go outside?”

“It might be better to stay here.”

“But how long do I have to stay here?”

“I’m hungry…”

The fifth floor bunker was built sturdier than the other floors, so communication was poor.

Phones were down, messages, the internet, etc. were all down.

I wondered why there were no screens here, but it seemed like the biggest problem was communication difficulties.

“Everyone is becoming more and more desperate.

It had long been a thing of the past that it was okay to be with others rather than alone.

This kind of despair multiplied when shared.

If I were a normal person, I might have participated in that festival of despair, but here I felt more like a judge than a participant.

This level of concentrated despair might be okay.

To be honest, at first I was like, ‘What does something like despair taste like?’

But looking back now, I could feel the unique flavor of despair deeply.

If this is the despair of ordinary people, what would the despair of a magical girl taste like?

Just imagining it made my mouth water.

Ooooh.

And my despair circuit was also turning—

“Didn’t you hear something just now?”

“What is it, why are you saying such a strange thing again?”

“No, that… It sounded like a cell phone vibrating—BAM-!!!!!!!!!!!”

The door was shattered.

And it was so refreshing.

[Peridot! They say a monster has appeared in the shelter right now! We have to go quickly!]

“To the shelter? But monsters can’t enter the shelter, right?”

[That only applies to monsters below Gamma-class!]

“But the monster I just defeated was also a Beta-class…?”

Peridot, a green magical girl, tilted her head as she looked at her mascot, whose color was exactly the same as her own.

If it’s a shelter, it should definitely be a place that monsters can’t invade, right?

Even when she was a normal child without the power of a magical girl, she thought that shelters were absolutely safe from monsters.

But a monster in such a place?

How on earth did it end up there?

According to her partner, the monster broke through the door of the shelter, but Peridot couldn’t even imagine that.

Even the monster she defeated was barely a Beta-class.

The shelter was a place where even a monster the size of a small building couldn’t be taken down, and yet she broke down the door and entered?

[Calculating despair energy! Estimated despair level is Beta-class or higher—At least a Gamma-class monster, Peridot!]

“Gamma-class?!”

Gamma-class monsters were something you could only hear about in the stories of your seniors.

Your seniors said that Gamma-class monsters were as big as mountains.

Your seniors said that Gamma-class monsters spoke human language, and so on.

At the center of all the strange stories about monsters were always Gamma-class monsters, and Peridot grew up hearing such strange stories like fairy tales.

That’s right! It’s really rare for a Gamma-class monster to appear in a city like this… but if a Gamma-class monster really did appear, it would be a disaster!

“Yeah! I’ll go quickly!”

[Be careful, Peridot! I’ve contacted headquarters, so the other magical girls will be here soon!]

But she didn’t want to run away.

Magical girls exist to defeat monsters and save people.

In order to fulfill the wish she had made as a child, Peridot couldn’t run away.

No, she couldn’t be late.

‘A little faster. A little faster!’

Even though I had used up all my hope energy fighting the Beta-class monster, I should be able to at least buy some time.

For the sake of the people, I would squeeze out every bit of my strength I had and hold on somehow.

[Peridot, this is… “Ah” – That was what I thought just before.

Yes, that’s right, that was what I had thought not even 10 seconds ago.

Slurp.

[Heh, no hope energy left… T-Not even a single piece of despair energy left.

No, it’s just life energy itself—]

“Ugh…”

She could tell without saying anything.

Red filled all directions.

Something that was like flesh stuck to the floor—that had been a person.

“Uwueeeeek..!!”

The moment she saw the disaster unfolding before her eyes, Peridot had no choice but to vomit out everything that was inside her.

Why, why is this happening? Why?

[Peridot, come to your senses! Peridot!]

“T-The shelter will definitely be safe… Ugh, huff…”

She grabbed her head and arched her back defensively.

Peridot’s heart, which had been full of hope until just before, quickly became filled with despair.

“No, no, why? Why? Is this a dream?”

[Wake up, Peridot! Despair is growing in your heart! If you keep this up, a monster will definitely try to eat away at your despair!]

A monster?

Yes, there was a monster.

I came because there was a monster.

A monster, in the shelter.

“Aha, ahaha…”

She let out a broken laugh and lowered her head, closing her eyes.

A dream, right?

There’s no way a Gamma-class monster would show up in such a small town in the first place.

When I got scared by monster stories, my seniors even said, “You’ll never see a Gamma-class monster here, so don’t worry!”

“This must be a dream. A nightmare that I’m having because the story I heard yesterday was too scary.

So when I open my eyes, I’m sure—Grrrrrrrr!

“Huh?!”

Despair approaches without a sound.

Feeling the despair that had come right before my eyes, my body passionately lifted the cane in its hand.

Compared to when I was half-conscious until just before, I was somehow able to find my bearings.

I don’t know if it was because of her desire to defeat the monster, or because it was a reflex movement of her body trying to survive somehow.

As expected of a Magical Girl.

The enemy’s despair level is estimated to be at least Gamma level!

If you don’t come to your senses, you’ll get beat, Peridot!

You have to fill up your hope energy now!]

“How, what?”

But that was all Peridot could do.

If there were no people who saw the Magical Girl and had hope, the Magical Girl couldn’t fill up her hope energy.

In that case, the only way to fill up her hope energy was the Magical Girl herself.

‘Someone, please help me. Mom, Dad, where are you? I’m lonely alone, so please someone.’

Her current mental state was no different from when she was a child, before she became a Magical Girl, when she would crouch down in the corner of the shelter and cry.

Just like back then, she held her staff tightly and prayed for something magical to happen, but despite those prayers, the monster in front of her was getting closer and closer.

Little by little, little by little.

As if savoring the despair within her, slowly.

[Peridot!!!!]

Gr!!!

And finally, at that moment when the magical girl’s despair had ripened to the point where it was delicious, a thousand awls flew towards Peridot.

To tear the light green hope to shreds with the black, black teeth of despair.

For a cruel, meaningless end.

Like that.

But in the end, Magical Girl Peridot ended up getting into a fighting stance.