Chapter 8: Remember The Ending

The doctor’s words that he would fix my rotten mind into a monster-like mind were right. The sight before my eyes was quite horrifying to an ordinary person.

“It didn’t make sense that the monster girl lacked despair. Hehe, with this, you won’t be able to defy me either!”

“Definitely…”

The place the doctor brought me to was literally a place I could never defy. A human—a magical girl, to be exact—was contained in a large tank. From the helmet-like thing on the magical girl’s head, a thick energy of despair was gushing out.

“Does this pique your interest? Of course it does. To you, a monster—the despair of a magical girl is like the ultimate delicacy!”

The doctor, who was waving his arm, suddenly looked cool. Yes, this is it. Whether human or monster, they do whatever they want only after their stomachs are full.

“You’ll realize why you have to listen to me, monster girl.”

“Oh.”

The beaker she held up proudly was swaying with the sticky despair of a magical girl. Fresh despair, just pulled out. I thought the despair I felt in the shelter was pretty good, but seeing that completely changed my mind.

‘Anyone can see that that one is the best. If I were to compare, it would be like the difference between a rock rolling on the side of the road and a diamond.’

I politely extended both hands to the despair circuit that was humming as if it was asking for despair quickly.

“Please.”

“_Hmm, you’re still quite arrogant.”

The doctor, who had been acting as if he was going to hand me the beaker, suddenly raised his arms.

Could it be that he was going to throw that precious thing away?

But I had no humanity left in me. It might not look so good, but I was confident that I could eat up every last drop of despair that was strewn on the ground.

Even though I looked human, I was still a monster.

Gulp—Gulp—Gulp—

“Hoooooo…. Good, good.”

“_”

The moment I was preparing to lick the despair scattered on the ground, the doctor broke the hand he had raised high and put his snout to the beaker’s snout. And then, in one shot.

Seeing that sight, I had no choice but to straighten my hunched back.

‘That, that precious thing in the doctor’s mouth…’

“Hehe, what do you think? You want to drink it? Then now you’ll listen to me—Hmm? Your eyes are still cocky, monster girl.”

What can I do if you’re cocky?

For a moment, I felt sorry for myself for having seen the doctor as cool. A parent who steals their child’s baby food? They were not only disqualified parents; they were the worst of the worst.

Thump-thump—

“Wha, what are you doing?!”

“Kidnapping a magical girl and turning her into something like this would be quite a lot of work, right?”

“T, what are you talking about all of a sudden…”

What are you talking about? That’s what I meant. He swung his hand lightly and slammed the tank containing the magical girl down, causing a thud to echo.

How is it, are you finally getting a grasp of the situation?

“If someone were to simply surrender the despair of the magical girl, I don’t think this tank would break. What do you think, Doctor?”

“_”

Silence could mean both affirmation and denial, but this time it was a little different. It was as if he had shut his mouth on his own because it was literally so absurd.

So, are you finally starting to realize how absurd what you did was?

“Do you not understand human speech?”

Thud—

He swung his fist again to bring her to her senses. He had confirmed that he could withstand light swings, so this one should be able to withstand it too—

Thud—

“Huh.”

It couldn’t. The broken tank began to shake with an uneasy sound, like a laptop screen bitten by a cat… I didn’t mean to break it. Uh, I’m sorry.

“Wh, wh, wh, what are you doing?!?!!?!! Tsk tsk tsk—crunch!”

Ah, I don’t think I broke that thing just now. If the doctor hadn’t yelled, it wouldn’t have been shattered like that.

Sure. Maybe. Maybe. Hmm.

“Oh, how did they make this equipment like this?”

The doctor didn’t stop despairing even though he looked like a drowned rat. Well, the despair of a monster. Maybe it wasn’t bad because it was a little different. It wasn’t something I would eat often, though.

“Chas, take responsibility! Do you know what you’ve done?”

“What did you do?”

“Ha, haha… hahaha!”

When I tilted my head because I really didn’t know, the doctor burst into laughter and hit his forehead with his palm. Did he have some kind of brilliant idea? Well, the doctor, the best brain among monsters, could easily fix something like a magical girl despair extraction machine. As expected, the doctor. The doctor is the best.

“Dat… Test subject! Prepare to escape! Move quickly, quickly!”

Grumbled.

At the doctor’s urgent shout, the monster outside sauntered into the lab. It was a gesture that anyone could tell was annoying. However, since his body was moving diligently here and there, it seemed like the situation was urgent. Why on earth are they both doing this?

“Damnit, it’s coming! I didn’t plan on fighting it right now, ha!”

“Who the hell is coming—”

BOOM—

The lab began to shake with a tremendous noise. For a moment, it swayed from the vibration that felt like an earthquake.

“Emergency escape, test subject!”

Get!

The doctor entered the monster’s body as if he were riding an escape spaceship. And then, as if the ground were water, he began to sink, and I couldn’t help but claim in admiration as if he were diving into the shadows.

What is that? I want to ride it too. A monster swimming underground, I can’t stand it—senses—

“_Huh.”

I tilted my head at the two sounds that disappeared in an instant.

What the heck, why did they disappear all of a sudden?

Hey, no?

“You didn’t just leave me behind?”

I felt like I’d been hit in the back of the head. A monster is a monster after all. How can someone you trusted betray you so easily? No matter how much of an accident I’ve caused, if you’re going to run away, you should at least take me with you, not leave me behind!

“Anyway, you’re still breathing.”

I stared blankly at the magical girl who had spilled out as the doctor’s tank was destroyed.

Clothes like mine. And the despair that was seeping out.

It was a shame that I couldn’t drink the despair extract that the doctor was holding, but I wasn’t particularly dissatisfied because I could drink the aftertaste of despair.

“Excuse me. I think we’re in big trouble right now; you shouldn’t be lying down here.”

I crouched down and pressed my fingers against the magical girl’s chest, feeling her faint breath.

What the heck, it was a mal chest. I also thought that the doctor had attached a special pouch to better extract the despair energy.

My body, in comparison… Poor, poor!

But whatever, it didn’t matter. It was weirder for a magical girl to have something like this attached to them in the first place. Anyone could tell that she wasn’t just a girl.

“…Ugh.”

“Oh.”

Was it because I kept poking her? I let out a short exclamation as the magical girl began to groan and flutter her eyelids.

I don’t know who you are, but I’m your savior. By the way, a magical girl who was saved by a monster? Even though she saved him by mistake, wouldn’t it be a lifelong shame if the truth were to be known?

Anyway, that’s not what’s important.

“Wh—”

“Hello?”

The pupils of the magical girl’s eyes were completely open, and no light was shining. There was no hope whatsoever—the exact state that a monster would like. To use a metaphor, it was like looking at the eyes of a dried-up fish.

“Ahhh, ahhhh!”

However, the moment my image was reflected in those eyes, life began to fill them.

The revival of a tree that I thought was dead. The despair that I thought could not be washed away was instantly dyed with hope.

Was waiting for nothing? Those rainbow-colored eyes were really pretty, but the level of hope that was rising was too much to let out an exclamation of admiration for the eyes.

Ugh, it’s because I haven’t eaten anything. If I had been even a little full, I would have definitely thrown up everything.

Did she drink the despair essence after considering this situation? Was she really a genius, Doctor?

“Thank you. Thank you~ Kasang!”

Oh, nice timing. If I had received thanks from a magical girl, my whole body would have twisted, but thanks to her, I survived, even though I didn’t know who she was.

The thick concentration of hope mixed in among the dust clouds that stole my vision. It was enough that I could tell she was a magical girl even without looking.

“You, you, you can’t.”

Alberthe dust clouds cleared, I suddenly raised my head at the faint voice that resonated.

This voice, you can’t—

“Wh—”

The green hope energy that filled my vision and the face that I felt like I had seen before.

At first, I was surprised, then happy, and then curious—why is she here?

Emerald must have been a magical girl who only worked in the center, Apocalypse.

Then, the words that came out of her mouth were enough to make my stopped heart beat again.

How does she know me now?

In a word, something ridiculous had happened.