Voices reverberate through my skull.

“Worse than mince.”
“Hurry up with the removal. It’ll rot inside.”
“Consciousness level…”
“Confirmed rise in M-particle levels. Particle erosion accelerating.”

My eyelids feel heavy.

“This is hopeless. Rectum, small intestine, kidneys, then the uterus… Honestly, there’s less intact than damaged. The spinal cord’s a bloody mess. Are we seriously replacing them with artificial organs? It’d be better to just let her die like this…”

My stomach hurts.

“Hey! The consciousness level is returning!”
“—Why didn’t you say that sooner?! Increase the anaesthetic! Pump in three times the human dose! Maximum alert for M-particle luminescence!”
“Bloody hell! This is why I hate operating on monster magical girls!”
“Shut up and hurry! Before the Magus Engine activates!”

　Koshū… With that sound, my self dissolved.
A foreign sensation flowed from my neck to my brain.
Unravelling.
Into the depths of sleep.
Peach light.

＊

Strawberry Pink realised she was Strawberry Pink. The twin tails swaying at the edge of her vision were pink, and her clothes were a dress.
　Wearing such a sparkling outfit could only be 【Strawberry Pink】.
Not 【Momoizuki Haruka】.
Wearing beautiful clothes.
Free.
Able to laugh.
That is 【Strawberry Pink】.
That much was certain. And yet —she didn’t understand.

Strawberry Pink didn’t know where she was now.

　――――A warm house.

The fire in the hearth flickered, casting a soft glow over the room.
It was an unfamiliar house.
Yet, it felt strangely nostalgic.
The snow falling outside the window, the plushness of the carpet, the scent of wood, the lingering aroma of stew from the kitchen – everything felt nostalgic.
A familiar sight.
An unfamiliar sight.
　Strawberry Pink stood there, unable to comprehend.

Squeak.
Squeak.

The sound of wood creaking.
It was the sound of a chair.
Slowly, slowly. A chair that tilted under weight. Someone was sitting there. Strawberry Pink found herself calling out to the back of that figure.

“…Sere.”

She looked so much like her.
But she wasn’t.

　Flowing hair, blue, transparent like a sea of stars.
The slender arm resting on the chair’s armrest, white, gentle-looking.
The cheek turning to look back was beautiful, and the eyes gazing this way were azure, like an ice castle.

“I’m sorry. I’m not that girl you like.”
“…Sapphire Blue?”
“Yes.”

Somehow, the words came out.
It was the name of a woman she didn’t know.

“I’m sorry, junior.”

She apologised. Strawberry Pink thought.
Strawberry Pink understood.

“I’m going to drag you into this.”

Black light. Blue hair.
‘Big sister’.
Revenge.
　――――【The Pisces Witch】.

“Yes.”
“The witch I killed?”
“Yes —the light that flowed into you back then is what I am now.”

Pale phosphorescence. Black light magic.
The witch’s memories, flowing back through the M-particles.
Strawberry Pink’s brain began to think clearly.

　M-particles transmit human thoughts.
And thoughts contaminate humans.
Like those with overly potent ideologies influencing and inciting others.
High-concentration M-particles transmit thoughts too strongly. As if one had always thought that way oneself —a common occurrence.

The slain witch appears in dreams.
—That is why magical girls are forbidden to dream.

“What’s happening to me now?”
“Because I forcibly healed your body, the doctors are in a quandary.”
“How awful. You could have just let me die.”
“Then I’d die too.”

Besides, she added.
【Sapphire Blue】…【The Witch’s Dream】 smiled gently.

“Dying. Isn’t that terribly sad?”

“…It’s your fault, isn’t it, 【Pisces Witch】?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll cry.”

The witch’s remnant smiled.
Her eyes were lowered, looking a little sad.

“You taught me sorrow. You went and did something unnecessary… See, I cried when I saw Sere. Why did I become sad?”
“You don’t know that.”
“Yeah, I don’t know.”
“So I can’t tell you.”
“How inconvenient.”
“I understand.”

A soft chuckle.
The remnant of the witch’s smile was, after all, reminiscent of Cele’s.

“From now on, you’ll experience a great deal of sorrow. Your heart might feel as though it’s tearing apart. You’ll be filled with pain, anguish, and a heart-wrenching feeling you can’t control —your thoughts will be completely consumed by it—”
“Honestly, you really are meddling.”
“—Don’t forget. You might never dream of me again—”

The logs in the fireplace crackled and popped.

“It’s alright to cry.
You’re just an ordinary girl, after all.”

The flickering flames painted her vision white.

＊

“Total removal and replacement complete. Procedure concluded.”
“—Hey, this one. How much of her original body is left?”
“At least thirty percent.”