Episode 27: Invasion
[Thought] is forbidden.
One must not [Think].
And so, the only time they were free was while working. Only during those few hours of flight when the [Incantation] released their thought locks.
“…Therefore, thou art without sin.”
The pink dress fluttered.
Black twin tails turned pink.
In eyes clouded by blackness, pink stars flickered open.
Beneath the skies over Chiba City, in the heart of the slum’s illegal buildings, surrounded by panicked civilians fleeing in every direction, [Strawberry Pink] breathed out in the exhilaration of a freedom she had not felt for some time.
Dirty. Smelly. Dark.
She didn’t want to stay here long.
[Strawberry Pink] accepted the freedom to [Think] her disgust.
This is [Thought].
Something normally restricted.
Her honest feelings.
Which meant her surgery had gone well. Her emotions had been excised, her thoughts restricted. She couldn’t possibly think about things so freely.
She wasn’t a defective product.
She was a magical girl.
A magical girl who protected Japan’s tranquillity.
“From [Chihuahua Yellow] to Senior [Strawberry Pink]! I let the [Witch of Gemini] get away!”
“Oh dear.”
“I’m sooorry…!”
“It’s all right.”
[Strawberry Pink] answered the voice transmitted through thought communication in a friendly, easygoing tone.
She was in an exceptionally good mood.
That was right.
Everything was just a minor misunderstanding.
[Chihuahua Yellow] would surely become just like her before long…
Closing her long eyelashes, humming softly through her nose, [Strawberry Pink] reached out and drew upon the M-particles.
A single thread, wreathed in a faint pink phosphorescence.
A [Monofilament Whip].
She opened her eyes.
“I found it over here.”
Pink stars flickered in her gaze.
They looked out over the slums of Chiba City.
In the shadows cast by the illegal buildings, a web of luminous threads lay spread across the streets.
In every direction, like a spider’s web, the strands of [Strawberry ♥ Whip] were stretched throughout the area. Anything they touched was detected, converted into [Thought], and delivered to [Strawberry Pink]’s brain.
Threads that cut whatever touched them.
Threads that vibrated when touched.
Among the slum’s residents, who were fleeing in terror at the appearance of the magical-girl monster, [Strawberry Pink] had clearly detected the black phosphorescence of M-particles.
The presence of the fleeing [Witch of Gemini].
The presence of the approaching [Witch of Cancer].
Converting [Thought] into information, [Strawberry Pink] entered the real-time positions of the detected presences into their shared virtual map.
“Can you see them, Yellow?”
“Ah…! Y-yes! You’re amazing, Senior!”
“Right, then. That’s that.”
*
The threads were severed.
*
Long black hair fluttered.
Long limbs. A tall, slender figure.
A black dress that tore through the threads, closing in on her before flaring out.
A grotesque pair of arms. Steel arms sprouting countless scissors.
A jet-black mask concealing her expression, and a heart, the Magus Engine, emitting an operating noise like a girl’s scream.
“I’ll handle [Cancer]. You take care of your side, but don’t push yourself too hard.”
“Yes! Goooood luuuck!”
A strike aimed at reaping her head. [Strawberry Pink] easily evaded it by quietly leaning her upper body to one side.
“■■■■■■■■■■■■!”
“As expected, a close-combat type. Just like the data says.”
The Japanese government still possessed data on the twelve Witches.
Naturally.
During the Battle of Hakodate, they too had been magical girls serving on Japan’s side. Every aspect of their combat performance had been recorded and shared without the slightest omission.
On one side, an obsolete machine, twenty years old and deteriorated further since then.
On the other, a new-model weapon, a magical girl that received regular maintenance and repeated upgrades.
In modern warfare, ruled by information and science, the outcome of a battle was decided before it even began.
“■■■■■■ ORANGE EDGE!”
*
A torrent of black phosphorescent M-particles.
Both arms spread wide. Enormous blades concealed within the steel limbs.
Twin blades, each more than two metres long, surged towards her, boosted by M-particles.
“Strawberry ♥ Whip.”
The [Monofilament Whip] sliced them into fragments.
“…!”
“Even the [Witch of Pisces] put up more of a fight than you.”
The clash between the current-model Strawberry Pink and the obsolete Topaz Orange.
The inevitable outcome was now being etched unmistakably into the [Witch of Cancer]’s field of vision.
Yes. It had to be this way. It had to be.
They were sending children onto the battlefield.
They had to be absolutely, absolutely certain of victory.
An overwhelming win was only to be expected, against an enemy whose capabilities were already known.
The magical threads of the [Monofilament Whip] pursued her.
Black M-particles concentrated on defence. The Witch caught the threads, endured their cutting force, and still…
The [Witch of Cancer] was blown away.
The illegal buildings were swept aside.
The sky was laid bare.
A black sky.
Rain poured down.
[Strawberry Pink] approached the fallen [Witch of Cancer].
“Fuhih…! Fuhehohiho! Fuhehohohohihiiiii!”
A strange, shrieking voice leaked from beneath the shattered mask.
Empty eye sockets, exposed beneath the broken fragments, glared at [Strawberry Pink].
“[Pink]! [Pink], [Pink], [Pink]!”
“…Your language centres are contaminated, aren’t they? You don’t have to force yourself to speak.”
“It’s fun! It’s fun, it’s fun, it’s fun, isn’t it? Say it’s fun! Fun, enjoyable, fun, fuuuuuun, fuuuuuuuuuuuun!”
A broken doll.
The [Witch of Cancer] rose with the same stiff, awkward movements one might expect from one.
Her tall frame creaked and groaned as she stood upright. Then she spoke.
“…My heart is here! My! Our! Myyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy…”
“I know.”
*
A metallic clang.
*
The magical cyberdeck staff plunged deep into the [Witch of Cancer]’s chest.
Pink phosphorescence overflowed.
Black phosphorescence began to be consumed.
The heart-shaped ornament shone brilliantly.
“…Sleep well, [Witch of Cancer].”
The hacking began.
The Witch’s death began.
But…
*
“I won.”
*
It was the [Witch of Cancer] who whispered those words.