Chapter 3: Original Story Begins

Original Story Begins

There's something missing from my life that should have been there.

I've always had this vague feeling.

"Koharu! Shield!"

Kaoru-chan shouted, so I hastily deployed my [Magical Tool].

A large shield decorated with a wing motif appeared and blocked the demon's attack.

That was close. I was in a daze for a moment.

I shook my head to drive away the inexplicable sense of absence that constantly tormented me.

"Nice, Koharu!"

It feels like we're doing some kind of club activity, and it makes me want to laugh a little.

However, we are currently in the middle of a battle with a demon, so we must not let our guard down.

Demons have inorganic shapes that look like a combination of triangles, squares, and other shapes.

Although it doesn't look like a living thing, it's clear that it has a clear will.

Hostility.

With that much hostility radiating, anyone would be unable to help but sense a will behind it.

I've been hit by countless rays for a while now. Kaoru-chan is agile, so she can usually avoid them, and if necessary, I can block the attacks with my shield, so nothing serious has happened. But if even one of those rays hits me... I don't even want to imagine what would happen next.

"Now!"

After a shout, Kaoru-chan approached the demon and swung her sword. The sword was Kaoru-chan's magical tool. A one-handed sword with a short blade. No unnecessary decorations, just a cold lump of iron that seemed to exist solely for slicing down enemies.

The attack I had blocked earlier was one of the demon's powerful moves, and once it was unleashed, it created a brief gap. Kaoru-chan didn't miss that moment and launched a killing attack, ripping the demon's body apart.

Circle, triangle, square. The various shapes that made up the demon broke apart and scattered all around.

Kaoru-chan gave me a refreshing smile.

Freed from the tension, I knelt there and...

"Not yet!"

Rococo's, my [Agent], voice rang out.

I looked up and saw part of the scattered shape... the tip of a triangle heading straight for me.

Kaoru's expression was frozen, a stark change from the smile she had earlier.

"Ah...!"

I tried to raise my shield, but my mind was panicking and my body couldn't keep up.

--Ah, it's too late.

Preparing to die, I shut my eyes tightly.

But the pain never came.

I cautiously opened my eyes and saw the part of the demon that had been trying to pierce me lying on the ground in the shape of a dice.

Before I could even comprehend what had happened, the demon fragments disappeared without a sound.

"Koharu!"

Kaoru-chan rushed over and put her hands on both my shoulders.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Did Kaoru-chan help me?"

"It wasn't me. It fell apart on its own."　

So why am I safe?　

"Demons don't leave behind corpses. Conversely, that means you shouldn't let your guard down until they're completely gone. Like I said before."

"Sorry, Rococo..."

"This time, Kaoru's attack was probably a fatal blow. He mustered all his strength and made a suicide attack, prepared to die, but ran out of steam halfway through. That's probably it."

"That's probably true. But from my perspective, it didn't seem like he ran out of steam."

I offered a few ideas, but in the end, I couldn't come up with a satisfactory answer.

At that moment.

Sensing a presence, I looked up to the sky. There were a number of multi-tenant buildings surrounding the area, and I felt as if I could sense someone's gaze on me from the rooftop.

"What's wrong, Koharu?"　

Kaoru looks at me with a worried look on her face.

"No, nothing."

Maybe it was just my imagination. There was no one there to see.

◇◆◇◆

"We're all compatriots. Why don't you say hello to them?"

"No, I'm a mysterious heroine, all alone and helpless, after all."

"Why not just say that you were the one who saved her? She'll be grateful. Ultimately, you just want to be thanked, don't you?"

"Well, that's true in the end. There are many kinds of gratitude, and in my case, I want to be thanked apologetically."

"I don't really get it... It's been a while, and I still can't understand what you're saying..."　

Time really does fly by when you look at it.

After all that had happened, two years had passed since I signed the contract with Roy.

I went on to junior high school and am now 14 years old.

Over the past two years, I have singlehandedly defeated many demons and steadily improved my skills.

I'm also beginning to understand the appropriate amount of [Compensation Magic] that I was worried about, and most demons can be dealt with just using my magical tool, the wires, without even needing to invoke my unique magic.

Now that the magical girls are starting to get a feel for it, it finally feels like the original story is starting to move forward.

That's because recently we've been seeing more and more of our protagonist, Kisaragi Koharu, and her childhood friend, Akabane Kaoru, in action.

Needless to say, I was excited to witness these two, who I'd only ever seen on screen, fighting demons.

Just like in the original story, the two seemed to be working together.

Kaoru is on the offensive, and Koharu is on the defensive. They make a good team with a good balance of offense and defense.

However, the two are still new to their careers as magical girls, and sometimes they get into dangerous situations, so I help them out behind the scenes like this. This is also part of the role-playing.

We're approaching the start of the original story, so now is the time to earn points for 'actually being helped during the battle with the demon.'

•

•

•

I head back to the apartment I currently live in, brushing off Roy's nagging.

The room is bleak, with no sign of life, making it hard to believe that there is someone lived in this place.

After the fire two years ago, my parents seemed afraid of owning anything.

Well, it makes sense considering this is the apartment of a mysterious heroine.

Unlike my parents, I do have a hobby.

I go out to the balcony and pick up a watering can. I fill it with water and water the flower beds that fill the balcony.

My hobby is gardening.

Watching the flowers and plants growing healthily in my hands is soothing to the soul.

However, I didn't start growing them just for decoration, it also has a practical purpose.

Plants that are grown with love and effort are perfect for [Compensation Magic].

At first, it was just a hobby I started to use for [Compensation Magic], but as I developed it, I grew attached to it.

Right now, I'm afraid that someday these plants will fall victim to [Compensation Magic] and be lost.

I returned to my room.

"Hey, you said before that this town is surrounded by a barrier to ward off demons, right? I thought the name Sousei Dome City came from the dome-shaped barrier. Is that true?"

The border of Sousei Dome City forms a perfect circle, and along that circle is a barrier that prevents demons from invading. It's not perfect, though; powerful demons can break through the barrier. When this happens, the nearby magical girls are notified of the demon's intrusion through a sixth sense, though I'm not sure how.

"I don't know the origin of the city's name, but I think that's quite possible. In that case, the 'Sousei' part probably comes from the 'Magical Girl of Creation'."

The Magical Girl of Creation is the first being who created this world.

In short, she is a god.

The Magical Girl of Creation created the world and placed her heart at the center of the world.

That place was the Sousei Dome Tower.

The reason why the demons invade Sousei Dome City is that they are aiming solely at the heart of the world.

Apparently, once they reach the heart of the world, something incredibly dangerous will happen and the world will be in terrible trouble.

That's why we magical girls have to fight demons.

"The Magical Girl of Creation, huh? I wonder if she's still alive?"

"In my opinion, she is still alive as part of the system of this world."

"So Roy might also be a part of the Magical Girl of Creation."

Ah, I want to spoil it.

When talking about this kind of setting, I usually have the advantage in terms of knowledge, so I feel a surge of desire to tell him and want to spoil everything.

But if I did that, it would lead to complicated discussions like "How do you know that?" so I refrain from doing so.

But maybe it's okay now...

Roy is my perfect ally. I've already revealed everything to him. Wouldn't it be a bit fishy to continue hiding the details of my reincarnation at this point?

That's right, I'll just say it.

It was getting to be a hassle to keep such a secret.　

"Well, actually, I--"

At that moment, my sixth sense warned me of something.

It was similar to the feeling I get when a demon invades the city, but the source of the sensation was different than usual.

"That's ridiculous!"

Roy yelled, a rare sight.

The source of the warning was the Sousei Dome Tower.

A demon appeared in the tower?

That's impossible. For the demons to reach the tower, they must break the barrier. If the barrier is broken, they will be detected by the magical girl. There is no way they could be overlooked.

That means...

Suddenly, goosebumps spread all over my body.

It wasn't from fear that a demon had invaded the tower, but from joy.

It was finally here!

A message came from the Sousei Dome Tower - an emergency call!

The original story had finally begun.

"Let's go, Roy!"

"Of course."

"Henshin!"

I quickly transformed into a magical girl and once again left the house I had just returned from.

◇◆◇◆

Something that was meant to be in my life.

Maybe it wasn't "something" but "someone."

Kaoru-chan is always next to me. But it feels like there should be someone next to me other than her.

Having Kaoru-chan beside me fills my heart that much. But the more I feel fulfilled, the more the hollowness becomes apparent. The closer I get to perfection, the more I can't tolerate imperfection.

My thirst grows stronger.

Who exactly are you?

"--Ru! Koharu!"

"Eh?"　

Kaoru shook my shoulder and I came to my senses.

"Are you okay? You seemed a bit spacey."

"Ah, yeah."

"You felt it too, Koharu? A demon had invaded the tower."

"Yeah"

"If we don't hurry, we'll be in big trouble!"

Kaoru and I transformed into magical girls again and headed towards the Sousei Dome Tower.

On the way, Rococo speaks in a calm tone.　

"There is no way for a demon to get around the barrier and reach the tower. Perhaps this signal is similar to, but not the same as, that of a demon invading?"

"Similar but not the same... If that's the case, then what is it?"

"It may simply be for the purpose of gathering the magical girls. There have been examples of this in the past."

Even so, it's definitely better to hurry.

The Sousei Dome Tower has no roof and its entire structure resembles a giant chimney.

There is no entrance on the ground, so the only way to enter the tower is to rise high into the sky and jump into the hole from the top.

As I became horizontal with the tower and descended further and further towards the ground, I felt as if I was walking through a tunnel with no exit.

Eventually I reach the bottom of the tower.　

It was a huge room, the only source of light was sunlight, and at night it was illuminated by lamps attached to the walls.

There is a round table in the room with seven chairs.

There were five other people there.

"Are you the last?"

A green-haired woman who seemed to be the oldest said.

I looked and saw that there were two empty seats.

Are all the people gathered here magical girls?

Seven chairs. Only seven magical girls existed at the same time. It was only circumstantial evidence, but it was enough to make that assumption.

"What is this?"

"I don't know. I'd like to know too. I sensed the presence of a demon and rushed over, but the only people who showed up were those in the same line of work."

The orange haired girl asked, to which the green haired woman replied with a shrug.

Then Kaoru-chan interjects.

"May I speak? The 'agent' there said earlier that magical girls sometimes receive an emergency summons from the tower. If there are no demons here, then that's probably why."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Rococo nodded.

The blonde girl then barked.

"Then there's nothing to do. Can I go home?"

"If there's a summons, then there must be some agenda. I think we should wait a little longer."

The purple-haired girl gently stopped him.

The only ones among us who hadn't spoken yet were me and the white-haired girl.

The white-haired girl was sitting in a chair, staring blankly into space. It didn't seem like she had a grasp of the situation.

"Waiting for what exactly?"

"Well then... Shall we introduce ourselves first?"　

The green-haired woman suggested, when we sensed a new presence in the sky above.

Everyone present, except for the white-haired girl, prepared for battle.

"A demon!"　

All the magical girls are here.

If someone new were to appear in this situation, it would be none other than a demon.

We gazed at the sky, waiting for "it" to appear.

Soon, a shadow appears in the distance.

The shadow grew larger little by little, its outline becoming clearer as it approached us.

Just a brief stalemate.

Kaoru-chan was the first to move, making a sword appear out of nowhere and charging towards the shadow.

--But...

Just before coming into contact with the shadow, blood spurted from her entire body and she fell to the ground.

"Kaoru-chan!"

"That's quite a barbaric greeting."

When "it" reached the ground, everyone looked shocked.

It's no wonder we're surprised.

"It" - no, "she" - had a different appearance from the demons, who were primarily deformed... she was a proper human with long black hair, a jet black dress, and the face of a beautiful girl.

But the shock I received was different.

--There's something missing in my life that should have been there.

I always had that vague feeling.

But now, I felt like a missing piece in my life had finally been filled.

--This girl....

She was the person I had been looking for all this time.