The valueless, useless, and meaningless existence of a magical girl.
“This… was unexpected.”
NigoShiro laughed weakly while watching TV.
To him, Haruna was a possibility and hope.
No, he didn’t have such gentle emotions.
She was just a line to give up on. An existence no more than a final desperate attempt.
When he met Haruna, he said alluring things, but there was only one Arcana, one magical girl; he couldn’t believe she could win against a witch.
The turning point was foolishness and Mastidizaya, a so-called S-Rank irregularity.
Back then, no matter how much Haruna struggled, she had no chance.
Even NigoShiro sighed thinking it wouldn’t work.
Despite bursting flesh and spilling lethal amounts of blood, Haruna rose up to challenge Mastidizaya.
If this continued… That’s when Fool acted.
Let me clarify; NigoShiro had a reason he couldn’t save Akuma.
Akuma abandoned most of their abilities and fled by choice.
Even if they promised to properly fight later, NigoShiro couldn’t extend a helping hand.
It was a contract.
By exploiting that loophole, NigoShiro could provide some assistance to Haruna, but it had its limits.
But when Fools transferred everything to Akuma, they could reconnect with the link to NigoShiro.
As a result, they lost one Arcana but gained a magic girl possessing the abilities of two Arcanas for the first time.
However, just before Haruna almost died, she remained unchanged.
Her colorless white hair, her dark, murky eyes, and her unchanging expression.
Due to her looks, some found pressure in her gaze uncomfortable, yet strangely captivating.
Her sole wish was to keep fighting until death.
Despite claiming to defeat witches along the way, Haruna was among the weaker historical Arcana contractors.
It wasn’t unreasonable of NigoShiro not to have expected much from her.
Regardless of other unique traits, what mattered was power.
Without it, there was no future…
But ignorant of NigoShiro’s expectations, Haruna continued fighting as she originally intended.
Even with arms blown off or body pierced, she kept going.
Even when people tried to stop her, even when vomiting blood…
Perhaps, they had started to hope that she might pull through.
But then, Haruna died.
During the battle with Shengxi, Inie’s heart stopped from overexertion, and she collapsed.
At that moment, NigoShiro closed his eyes, thinking it was all over.
If Haruna were gone, only the missing Sun and her lover and High Priestess would remain.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the world’s fate had been decided.
NigoShiro summoned Eve and showed her the fallen Haruna.
Eve hadn’t thought Haruna stood a chance either, saying simply “it’s over”.
Akuma called out desperately, but Haruna didn’t move.
It was over…
Yet…
“That’s ridiculous! To say it’s over when she’s still alive…”
“But that’s strange, isn’t it? If she dies, the contract should end, right?”
Under normal circumstances, after dying, the connection between Arcana and magic girl breaks immediately.
But Haruna-Akuma’s contract hadn’t ceased.
Just then, Marin appeared, starting to defend Haruna.
Monsters had already emerged in various parts of Australia, trampling over humans.
The odds were already set. Even if Haruna came back to life, with just the power of one magic girl with Arcana powers, she could do nothing.
Five minutes was not enough time.
“What will you do? Sit and wait here? Or will you report?”
“Oh, what to do…”
Marin got cornered, and monsters seemed ready to attack both Haruna and Akuma.
Suddenly, Haruna was enveloped in a light cocoon, her wounds healing instantly.
The astonishment didn’t end there.
“That’s impossible…”
NigoShiro was visibly shaken, staring intently at the awakening Haruna.
“What’s going on?”
Seeing NigoShiro’s panic, Eve became worried.
“There’s… Hermes there… And they’ve made a contract…”
“Is that the Marin who’s a magic girl?”
With Haruna’s current inability, Marin battling Hermes was reasonable.
But NigoShiro shook his head.
“No— it’s with Haruna.”
“Impossible. She’s already contracted with Akuma, and using Fool’s power too? How can someone dead make a contract?”
“I don’t know… this confounds me too.”
What’s happening?
The fact that Akuma inherited Fool’s ability aside, contracts typically are one-to-one.
Magic girls’ bodies cannot stand the strain, and the burden with non-human Arcana is too great.
Having three times the load made it unfeasible.
Not only that, it remained unclear how Hermes, missing and presumed dead, had reunited with Haruna.
Finally, Haruna stood up, still expressionless, decimating surrounding monsters effortlessly.
Her state was unchanged since before her intense battle with Shengxi; no sign of earlier blood loss, silently standing there.
Her conversation with Marin didn’t show any signs of dueling contract ailments.
At that moment, NigoShiro was truly beginning to understand how alien a presence Haruna was.
Certainly not the strongest as a magic girl, her uniqueness meant similar entities might never exist again.
However, even coming back to life didn’t seem sufficient to save present-day Australia.
“Jester.0. Devil.15. Simultaneous release.”
“Foolish! To die!”
simultaneous release.
The restriction timer limit for a single ability is lifted.
Truly, suicide.
NigoShiro believed it meant death from the process of acquiring the abilities.
But ignoring NigoShiro’s concern, Haruna completed the release and assumed an appearance like the combined strength of Jester and Devil.
Her power was astounding – a recovery spell covering an entire city and eradicating massive irregulars with a single blow, without time to properly charge.
This power surpassed anything NigoShiro or upper-tier forces had anticipated.
— It matched witch-level power.
“Is this possible? How are you still alive…”
“Ignorance was my ally. If by miracle she survived, she surely shouldn’t be able to move. Right, Eve, you’ve seen that many die…”
Restricted time Arcana abilities; exceeding those limits means death.
Miserable deaths, due to mind and body failing to endure.
Yet, Haruna never died; instead, defeating monsters endlessly.
Their sheer number made counting pointless; if measured by time, she probably tops all worlds in monster casualties.
Both stared in shock as all monsters fell.
“Is she really capable of winning?”
Ib didn’t need to specify against whom.
That irrational, supreme strength bore resemblance to witches.
“I don’t know. But, I’m starting to grasp a bit of that evaluation SYSTEM spoke of.”
“What do you mean?”
“On the day Akuma forcefully used their powers, SYSTEM talked to them.”
SYSTEM was a collective entity of the world’s will, created to make Arcanas to fight witches.
Created by combining multi-dimensional overseers’ power, SYSTEM has individual thoughts primarily existing to destroy witches.
It provides mana supply, enables inter-world movement, and tackles post-apocalyptic restoration after witch invasions.
NigoShiro was a mid-level manager and directed strategies, yet now merely observed.
“Evaluation… did she foresee this?”
“I don’t know. But, I think we need to reassess her again. With her and the promise, I’ll go now.”
“Yeah… Being nearby helps for immediate response.”
“But don’t quarrel.”
“Yeah yeah…”
With that farewell, Ib left NigoShiro’s side.
Immediately after,
Reverting to her childlike form, Haruna shrunk.
“That… was unexpected.”
NigoShiro laughed feebly, ready to act.
