『Espoir de Eternal Dark』, known simply as Eternal Dark, extended her hand and declared."I don’t even need to exert myself to defeat you── arise!”
"⋯⋯⋯⋯."
"Fu⋯⋯I mean, a-arise from the abyss, my 『Servant of Darkness』! 『Eternal Dark Wave』!!"
Piyoyoyong!
Despite the comical sound effects and the absurd incantation, the power of Eternal Dark, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, was formidable. When the pitch-black energy from her hand touched the ground, a large hound emerged from a shadowy puddle.
"T-that is! A monster conjured by the Organization of Darkness using Impure Energy mong! You have to use Pure Energy to purify it, mong!"
"You're really dragging out the call to use magic to beat it up⋯⋯."
"It's not like that mong! Magical Girls only become powerful when they draw Pure Energy from positive emotions mong!"
Grrrrrrck! Kuaaaa!!
The shadow hound took a step forward. It then lunged forward with its mouth wide open. Oh Hye-in, the Magical Girl, raised her wand to shield Roderus."『Brave Shield』!"
“Kyaaack!”
Boom-!!
A dazzling golden shield materialized, intercepting the hound’s attacks. But there was a clear difference in power. With each blow from the hound, the shield was pushed back along with Oh Hye-in.
“Ueuet⋯⋯!!"
Eternal Dark, who was observing the battle from a distance, received a transmission and recited her lines.
"Yes, it's your defeat for entering a hill at night, Magical Girl! Here, the only source of emotional energy we could extract is that unlucky man⋯⋯and he, is full of negative emotions!"
"Roderus, quickly think of happy times! Hye-in will lose at this rate!"
"What does that have to do with⋯⋯."
A realization struck Roderus. Is the magic of this world… Different?!
He had found it strange that his mana had disappeared. What was even more peculiar was that his ability to detect mana remained.
It made sense if the characteristics of mana itself were different. According to their explanation, magic here was derived from human emotions.
The Organization of Darkness gained Impure Energy from negative emotions.
Magical Girls gained Pure Energy from positive emotions.
And the only person present in this hill was⋯⋯ Roderus, aside from Oh Hye-in who was fighting
“Kuwaaack!!”
“Uet, ueuet⋯⋯!!"
"S-She’ll lose at this rate, mong! Roderus, think of positive thoughts ⋯⋯!!"
"⋯⋯⋯⋯."
Positive thoughts.
Happy, beautiful, exciting, heartwarming thoughts.
Roderus' mind went blank. Reflecting on his past, there was no such thing.
Aside from the ignoble satisfaction of trampling on others and the sense of superiority that bolstered his ego, there were no bright emotions. All that came to his mind was anxiety.
Even when he completed Duke Redburn's orders, the only feeling he experienced was relief at having avoided punishment.
“I-i was⋯⋯."
"Kuooaaaaa──!!"
Negative emotions surged from Roderus. The shadow hound received the full amount of Impure Energy, grew even larger.
Its front leg, the size of a human, swung with force.
Booom-!!
“Kkeug⋯⋯!!"
The shield shattered, and the Magical Girl was thrown back. Oh Hye-in flew past Roderus, crashing into a tree and collapsing.
Paaat.
Oh Hye-in's body was covered in light, then her loose dress vanished, leaving her in a plain school uniform. The transformation had worn off.
Drop.
She seemed to have lost consciousness. A circular hand mirror fell from her hand. Roderus watched the scene unfold and then focused on the shadow hound.
The monster was getting bigger and bigger as it consumed Roderus’ dark emotions.
"Hye-in, Hye-in-! Get a hold of yourself, mong! Wake up, mong!"
"⋯⋯Silence, spirit.”
He was thinking right now.
He needed mana. To fend off the hound, he urgently needed mana he could immediately use.
Yet, he could no longer sense the mana that once flowed through him.
had been channeling her mana moments ago. But now, there was no trace of it. That meant, there was a high probability that she had used an artifact.
That was it.
The hand mirror that had a bunch of gems on it near Oh Hye-in. That must be the artifact!
Grab.
Roderus grabbed the hand mirror, feeling its lingering warmth.
“W-Wait! That 『Transformation Device (Dreaming Mirror)』 is Hye-in’s, mong!”
"Silence, spirit! Just tell me how to use this artifact! Oh Ae-in will die if you keep delaying!"
"B-but men are⋯⋯ Uught, I don't know, mong!"
The cloud-shaped spirit fluttered anxiously, then confessed the activation phrase for the artifact.
"The emergency transformation code is,『Pure pure fluffy fluffy the cutest in the universe, here I come!』 mong⋯⋯⋯!!"
"⋯⋯Are you kidding me?”
"Does it seem like I'm joking in this situation, mong? It's a backdoor in case the standard transformation command fails, so I chose something that someone would never say even by the slightest chance, mong! That 『Transformation Device(Dreaming Mirror)』 belonged to Hye-in in the first place, mong!"
It was a reasonable explanation. To transfer ownership of an artifact bonded to someone, a more complex method was typically required.
If there had to be a secret command that bypassed this procedure, it needed to be something that no one would ever say.
It was a reasonable explanation, but⋯⋯ did it have to be such a sentence? Could this actually be the Crazy Wizard applying mana stimulation on his brain?
“Pure pure⋯⋯ keuk!"
Roderus wanted to bite his tongue off. He clenched his teeth, overwhelmed by an unprecedented level of shame. How could a grown man⋯⋯!!
But Roderus was an elite who was trained as an assassin. Thanks to his solid spirit conditioned by training close to torture, he managed to suppress his embarrassment and shout the activation word.
"Pure pure fluffy fluffy, I, the cutest in the universe, have arrived⋯⋯⋯!!"
Pikang!
Pirong Pirong Pirong ♬
A five-colored light enveloped Roderus' body. His prison uniform vanished as the mysterious light took its place.
“W-What. What the?!”
Sharararararang!!
"What the fuck is this!”
And the hound was just watching all of that.
With dramatic sound effects, stars burst forth and the light began to alter Roderus' form. His height diminished, and the mass was redistributed to his chest and hips.
His hair lengthened and turned light blue, with blue ribbons at his wrists and ankles. White gloves, drawers called pumpkin pants, and a tunic covering a rounded chest also appeared.
On top of that, a feathered hat and cape reminiscent of the ‘Three Musketeers’ appeared, complemented by a skirt that fluttered above his thighs. A rapier now hung at his waist.
Roderus' mouth moved on its own.
"Magical Girl, Pure Knight── has arrived!!"
Booom.
"⋯⋯⋯⋯."
Roderus' mind went blank for a moment. What in the. Why am I a female, why is the artifact like this in the first place, why did my mouth go out of control?
It didn’t matter.
Roderus shook his head.
In truth, it really didn’t matter. The one who cares loses ⋯⋯! He channeled all his embarrassment into anger.
"I'll educate you, mongrel!"
Despite being a mere fraction of his original mana, it was enough.
Roderus had a sophisticated technique that Oh Hye-in didn’t have.
Charang-!
Roderus drew his rapie⋯⋯.
"⋯⋯⋯⋯."
Although it was in the form of a rapier, it looked more like a toy⋯⋯ adorned with pastel-toned ornaments and decorations. The blade, it was sharp but ⋯⋯!
"⋯⋯Die!!”
Roderus attacked as he shouted angrily.
He swung the rapier, its blade shimmering as he swung it with precision. The eyes, joints, hinges. The sword lights pouring down at the vulnerable spots was like a meteor shower.
Shashashashasha!!
"Kyaaaaa!!"
The disheveled shadow screeched and snapped its massive mouth at him.
But Roderus was already gone. He had already slid out, wrapping his legs around the hound’s neck and driving the rapier towards its throat.
"Be silent, insignificant creature!"
Staab.
The shadow hound swelled like a balloon before bursting. Roderus maintained his stance, and glared at Eternal Dark.
Bugrrrrr! Ggigigick. Crack
Eternal Dark wasn’t pleased about her hound being killed, and prepared to summon another monster in her anger.
"Alright, let’s see if you can defeat the next one too. 『Darkness of』⋯⋯ huh? Retreat? Why now⋯⋯ keut, fine!"
"Are you chickening out?"
"Think what you will! But remember, you're still at the mercy of our Demon King! You'll be the one who's going to lose and scream in pain! Heung⋯⋯!"
Eternal Dark opened the dimension gate and vanished into the dark void. He didn’t know why she stepped away without finishing, but it was a fortune.
"⋯⋯Heung, they were nothing."
Roderus sheathed his rapier with pretentious words. With no further enemies in sight, the battle seemed over.
"T-that's gr-! How can you handle Pure Energy so skillfully, mong!"
"It’s basic. It's weird if you can’t even do this much. Hmm?"
Roderus lifted the artifact that belonged to the girl.
He wondered what the odd cracking sound he had heard during the was, and he found that there was a big crack in the 『Transformation Device (Dreaming Mirror)』.
Maybe it had happened when it collided with his Metamorphosis. It was like trying to connect three Mana Stones to an artifact designed for only one.
There was something more important than that. The question was how long the effect of this funny artifact would last.
"When will this transformation end?"
"It will wear off naturally when the Pure Energy is depleted, mong!"
"Is that so? Then I'll give you back this piece of junk."
Swoosh . Roderus tossed the artifact to the spirit.
"⋯⋯T-The D-Dreaming Mirror is, mong!!!”
"I will not listen to you telling me to pay for the artifact. Just getting me into this mess and making me hunt that mongrel should make you grateful a hundred times over. Now, lead me home, hairball."
"⋯⋯⋯⋯!!"
"You promised to provide food, clothing, and shelter."
Roderus carried the unconscious Oh Hye-in on his back. The spirit was caught between two places, but eventually guided him to her house. She lived in a building she called an apartment.
There were no parents present.
The spirit, introducing itself as 'Munggae,' assigned Roderus a small room, claiming it was the only one left. He thought taking a rest was a top priority, so he fell asleep and⋯⋯.
When he opened his eyes, he was told that even though the transformation costume had disappeared, his body was still a female.
===============================================================
Returning to the present:
At Roderus's command, Munggae and Oh Hye-in emerged from the room.
"It's a bug caused by a collision with your strange abilities, mong."
“Bug⋯⋯?"
"Basically, an error occurred, mong."
“My『Transformation Device (Dreaming Mirror)』 was stolen.”
Roderus raised his eyes furiously and shouted, pointing at the two.
“Change my body back, now!”
"I wish I could, mong! However, the transformation state was disrupted mid-way, so the 『Transformation Device (Dreaming Mirror)』 now technically belongs to you and⋯⋯."
“I’ve lost my magical girl power. Because oppa took it.”
"That’s your problem. Hurry up and find a way!"
He struggled to keep his composure. What kind of man in the entire world would like to have his gender changed overnight? The lower garment felt light and empty.
That sense of loss was escalating into anger in real-time.
And Oh Hye-in only fueled this anger further.
"But, you look much better in that form. No matter how handsome you are, oppa, your hysteria was quite irritating, but now you’re cute."
“YOU-!!’
"Ah, wouldn’t it be Unni instead of Oppa now?"
“Keuk.”
Roderus, now with a more slender form, couldn't manage the surge of blood pressure. Her eyes spun, and she fell backward.
While Roderus was suffering, Oh Hye-in and Munggae had a conversation right next to him.
"This bad-tempered brother, do you have any plans on helping our Magical Girl activities?"
"It takes Pure Energy to repair the 『Transformation Device (Dreaming Mirror)』, and for that, you need to showcase your remarkable ability by defeating the monstrous-human mong. You'll have to do it eventually, even if you don’t like it, mong."
"This oppa’s from another world too, right? So he seems to lack a lot of basic common sense⋯⋯ and social skills too. Since he's now around my age, why don’t we try sending him to school?"
"I'll tell the government agent and prepare his ID card, mong. You’ll need a name, then⋯⋯."
Oh Hye-in and Munggae put their heads together and thought for a long time. They were discussing if they should name him Ro Derus or Scarletti because the color of her hair was scarlet, and then…
"Since your real name is Roderus⋯⋯."
===============================================================
Ding dong deng dong.
The school bell rang, and the homeroom teacher tapped the chalkboard and said.
"Today, we have a new transfer student joining our class. Please introduce yourself."
"I'm⋯⋯ O, Oh Dae-soo. I look forward to studying with you."
Bow . When Roderus bowed his head, his long hair flowed down smoothly. She clenched her teeth, enduring the mental pain.
“Hey, isn’t she hella pretty⋯⋯?”
“It seems like she’s bareface, but she looks like she’s wearing full makeup⋯⋯."
"She probably has a boyfriend, right? How could she not?"
"Dumbass, she’s obviously a trainee. So she probably doesn’t."
Amid the murmur of classroom gossip, Roderus forced a strained smile. He wanted to kill them all.