The Weight of Guilt and a Captain’s Embrace

“Chloe! Are you alright?”

Chloe, kneeling on the ground and utterly drained of energy, slowly lifted her head. Before her stood a familiar figure.

“How did you end up here alone? This area is incredibly dangerous; an inexplicably massive horde of demons has appeared! You need to leave immediately… no, wait, I’ll escort you out. There are simply too many of them.” Night Moon, in addition to her green magical girl dress, was adorned with numerous other items, including a thick band of the same bombs she had just tossed into the demon’s maw wrapped around her waist.

“I…”

Chloe was about to explain why she had kept her identity as a magical girl a secret from Night Moon, but upon meeting Night Moon’s calm gaze, she abruptly realized her energy depletion had caused her magical dress to retract. Now, she appeared merely as a pitiful, helpless little girl.

“Just so you know, it’s not dead yet.” Night Moon then turned, holding a distinctively styled grenade. Its sharp black metal claws were clearly an additional, specialized weapon, designed to elevate its combat power even further under the augmentation of her magic.

“Alright…”

Chloe responded with an almost imperceptible nod, then staggered unsteadily to a corner, where she slowly slid down the wall and collapsed weakly onto the ground.

“Are you okay…?”

Another voice, tinged with weakness, suddenly drifted from beside her. Turning her head, Chloe saw Nelly, her face pale, approaching while clutching a searing wound on her arm. Nelly then settled beside Chloe.

“That person…”

“She turned to ash, scattered by the wind.”

“I’m sorry.”

Nelly sighed, reaching out to gently stroke the girl’s bowed head. Inadvertently, however, she brushed against her own wound, wincing in pain as a few tears escaped the corners of her eyes. She had to switch hands, awkwardly caressing the mass of golden hair.

A heavy silence settled between them, broken only by the concussive blasts emanating from Night Moon’s battle with the dying demon nearby. The darkened street was intermittently illuminated by the phosphorescent green glow of the specialized grenades, and the ground vibrated with each successive impact.

Nelly turned her head, observing the unfolding battle. Both she and Night Moon were agile magical girls; however, Nelly specialized in explosive, single-strike attacks, while Night Moon consistently engaged her opponents in prolonged skirmishes, relying on her superior speed and reflexes. Comparatively, Night Moon’s fighting style was more stable and reliable, though it demanded a higher level of physical prowess.

Although the precise details of the battle remained obscured, the nimble figure, a blur of green light, moved with practiced ease, creating a stark contrast to the demon’s increasingly sluggish form. The demon had sustained severe damage from the explosions, and its formidable regenerative capabilities were struggling to function effectively amidst the continuous onslaught. Soon, it would be utterly spent.

As Nelly stared blankly at the fierce struggle, she suddenly felt a poke at her waist.

“Captain, what was that girl’s name?” Chloe remained with her head bowed, her long hair disheveled.

In the low visibility of the night, her expression was indiscernible. Only the occasional green luminescence flickering from the distant battle offered a fleeting glimpse of her lost, vacant eyes.

Nelly paused, reflecting for a moment, then shook her head. “I found that child by chance. Her entire family was killed by demons, and if I hadn’t arrived in time, she would have suffered the same fate. She was too terrified to speak then, so I don’t know her name.”

“Where was her home? I’ll ask the neighbors later; they surely wouldn’t know…”

“No.”

Nelly’s hand, previously stroking Chloe’s hair, moved down to cover her eyes. A faint, moist warmth emanated from her fingertips. “Don’t dwell on this any longer. It’s my fault; I failed to place you somewhere safer. I will handle this, Chloe. You have no need to blame yourself.”

Her fingers shifted slightly, wiping away the moisture near Chloe’s eyes.

“If it weren’t for me! She wouldn’t have died, would she! It’s all my fault for doing something so pointless!” Chloe’s lips trembled, a mournful cry escaping them. “Captain, scold me! I’m just a jinx who only brings death to others! I don’t deserve to be a magical girl at all!”

Her pale teeth bit her lower lip until it bled, and her delicate fingers twitched uncontrollably as if jolted by electricity—a peculiar psychological reaction to profound grief.

Witnessing this, Nelly’s brows furrowed deeply. Her hand continued its descent, moving from Chloe’s eyes to her mouth.

“Mmph—”

Those swollen, red eyes reappeared, their pupils filled with a haze of confusion and sorrow.

“Stop talking! If that bear hears you, it’ll come over and eat you!”

“Mmph—mmph!”

‘Let it eat me, what does it matter? It’s just… in the world of the dead, I wouldn’t know how to face all those I inadvertently caused to die.’

‘The Captain must be at a loss for words, resorting to such childish threats. I almost wished it were true.’

‘Selfishly, I thought, if only I died, I wouldn’t have to bear the anxiety of all these lives on my conscience.’

‘Or perhaps…’

‘What if I simply became a villain? Villains can kill countless people without a shred of worry. If someone died by their hand, the only ones who needed to blame themselves were those who had failed to adequately protect the victims. Killing one or a hundred, it made no difference to a villain. How liberating!’

These strange thoughts surged into Chloe’s mind. Her eyelids fluttered faintly, and the color of her pupils suddenly became erratic.

Nelly simply pulled Chloe into a tight embrace, the girl’s small, fragile frame stirring an immense desire to protect within her.

Was the death of that girl truly unrelated to Chloe? Objectively, of course, there was a connection. This was, after all, an unnecessary casualty resulting from a magical girl’s unprofessional and reckless solo operation, which, by rights, should incur a certain penalty and psychological monitoring.

Yet, when confronted by those pitiful, pleading eyes, Nelly admitted to harboring a strong personal bias. She didn’t want this pain to become a lifelong shadow for the girl, even if Chloe had made a mistake.

Nelly believed that as a magical girl dedicated to protecting human lives, she ought to mete out impartial punishment for such an incident. However, having served as a squad captain for a long time, she had already developed profound emotional attachments to her team members. Their bond transcended mere professional ties; through shared life and death, an undeniable connection of life was forged.

Magical girls themselves were the most outstanding embodiments of humanity’s better nature; most of them were exceptionally kind and lovely young women. In that sense, they too deserved to be cherished.

“It’ll be alright… it’ll be alright…”

Gently patting the girl’s back, Nelly gazed at the night sky. Now, few “shooting stars” remained; instead, streaks of vibrant, multicolored light painted the firmament—a clear sign of the arriving magical girl reinforcements.

This meant that support had arrived.

Yet, on a nearby rooftop, Nelly’s sharp gaze caught sight of a wisp of black mist.

‘A witch?’