Hagakure Sakura Does Not Lament
chapter-46

The Devil's Whisper

Translated by LyraDhani

Edited by LyraDhani

At a trotting pace, Tsugumi followed Suzushiro. The maze’s paths were wide enough for people to pass each other, but they were intricate in their own way, it would be easy to get lost if one got a little distracted.

As he ran, Tsugumi observed the rearview. Suzushiro’s physique was more slender than Chidori’s, and she didn’t look like someone who usually found themselves in the middle of a battle. Thinking so, Tsugumi felt sorry for himself.

–In the end, I am useless.

Tsugumi’s sub-skill was not very useful in this situation. In fact, because of the side effects, using the skill could be a drag. The reason he didn’t tell the girls he was a Magical Girl was more than to hide the identity of Hagakure Sakura. If he couldn’t use the skills properly, he thought it would be better not to count on them.

But watching girls his age fighting to the bitter end, he began to feel a sense of guilt. It felt like cheating alone.

“Go to the left at the next end and go straight for a while! When you get to the last set of stairs, grab the bucket next to you and stand by! Sprinkle the water when the Demonic Beast comes up!”

Suzushiro shouted this in the middle of the road. Apparently, the target point was close.

“I understand. What should I do after that?”

“Hold on to my left hand. If I feel lightheaded when I use my skill, hold it tightly. That way you can reduce the side effects of the skill. Oh, and you have to put up with a bloody hand. You’re a boy, right?”

“But that hand still hurts pretty bad, doesn’t it? Is it okay if I hold it?”

Suzushiro said to hold it lightly, but an injury to the fingertips was considerably more painful than other parts of the body. As she ran and her body temperature raised, the current pain must be considerable. If he stimulated it, it might cause extreme pain close to torture.

When Tsugumi asked, Suzushiro replied.

“Of course, I’m going to put up with it. This is the first time I’ve been injured in a long time, I’m about to cry. …Ha, for what it’s worth, I’m glad you were there. I was a little nervous about being alone after all.”

“…I thought about it when I saw Mibu-san, but no matter how much of a ‘Rikka’ you guys are, you don’t have to go to such lengths. If you wanted, you could have decided to ignore it for the protection of the general public. And if one Magical Girl died because of that, it’s not your fault.”

…If the two Rikka had not been here, Tsugumi would have abandoned the dying Magical Girl for sure. It was simply because he knew his own limit. Tsugumi didn’t think he could defeat the Demonic Beast alone. At best, he would have to run around and buy time. Either way, he wouldn’t have been able to save the Magical Girl.

When Tsugumi said this, Suzushiro glanced back and opened her mouth.

“Well, I thought about it, too. Because it’s not worth it.”

“Then, why?”

“Because it wouldn’t look good if I ran away. I don’t want my God to see me looking that bad.”

Suzushiro said this and began to walk up the stairs, giggling. Tsugumi fastened his pace and followed her lead. They were almost at the place they had set their sights on.

“–I have a goal.”

“A goal?”

When they reached the top of the stairs, Suzushiro spoke abruptly. Tsugumi listened to her voice as he held a bucket of water and peeked down the stairs. Suzushiro continued, paying no attention to Tsugumi.

“My contract God is a God that has been written off as having never existed in history. So he’s not very powerful in general, and he’s not very well known because he hates people and doesn’t want his name to be mentioned. I want to do something to that kind of God, somehow.”

Listening to Suzushiro’s story, Tsugumi was reminded of Bell. Bell was also an old God forgotten by the works of humankind. Perhaps she had a lot in common with Suzushiro’s contract God.

“Does that mean he wants to regain the authority of a God?”

“I wonder? If I work hard and defeat the Demonic Beasts, my God’s power will increase and the other Gods won’t make fun of us for being weak. And you know what, one day I’ll get permission to build a temple! Then, even if I quit being Magical Girls, we can be together forever, right?”

Saying this, Suzushiro smiled like a little kid talking about her dreams. As she said these words, Tsugumi looked at the beast that had begun to climb the stairs. –If they were going to splash water, now would be the right time to do it.

“I am sure it will come true. –But first, we have to get out of here alive.”

Tsugumi pulled back the bucket, stood up, and took Suzushiro’s hand. The beast roared like mad and swung its golden club, but its deadly blade did not reach the top of the stairs.

The moment she finally saw the face of the Ogre that had run up the stairs, Suzushiro activated her skill.

“–I am the one who rejects truth and affirms falsehood.”

◆◆◆

Suzushiro Ran’s basic specs without her Magical Girl powers were almost ordinary.

As a child, she was neither good at studying nor athletics, and was an ordinary child with nothing outstanding to show for it. Her parents both worked and were not interested in her, and although she had many friends now, her friends were very few back then, so she had a very lonely childhood.

In the midst of these empty days, Ran was diagnosed as having a very high aptitude for Magical Girl in a hospital examination she underwent by chance. Her parents told her to live her life as a Magical Girl candidate. –But what awaited her there was more pain than ever.

Ran, who did not excel in anything in particular, was by far the worst among the many candidates. She was ridiculed by everyone around her and scorned for her failures at every turn. After about half a year of such a life, her instructor decided that it was useless, and she got expelled from the program.

As a final memorial, she was allowed to enter the “God’s Room,” where various deities came in search of Magical Girls. Of course, it was just for making memories, no one expected Ran to be chosen by a God.

–But there she met her “fate”.

A God, who had been deemed unnecessary and buried from history, chose a girl who was a failure. If it wasn’t fate, what else should she call it?

From that day on, Ran’s life changed dramatically. She became more confident in herself and her friendships widened. Finally, her efforts bore fruit and she was able to rise to the position of Rikka.

For this reason, Ran was always grateful to her God and held respect akin to faith. It was – to the point of risking her life for the sake of God’s goodwill.

“The thing scattered in the maze. It is not water, but a fire that burns everything up!”

Rin’s contract God was the Egyptian god of vanity and chaos. –The name of the God was “Gereg”. He was the opposite of Ma’at, who crowned justice and truth.

The name of the skill inspired by his authority was “Event Alteration”. It was a fearsome ability that rewrite part of the world’s reason.

The water turned into a shimmering blue flame with Ran’s declaration. At the same time, black smoke and the smell of burning wood spread all over the maze, quickly filling the area with flames.

The Ogre, now on fire, tumbled down the stairs, screaming. The fire had spread to the stairs as well, and it was no longer possible to climb them.

Ran’s body tilted. This skill was very powerful, but it consumed a lot of power. Therefore, the side effect quickly took away Ran’s consciousness.

“Ouch, ouch, it hurts.”

Just as she was about to fall completely unconscious, she felt a sharp pain in her left hand.

“Wake up! Let’s get the hell out of here!”

Tsugumi shouted with a look of impatience on his face. Ran looked around vaguely and took stock of the situation. The flames were so intense that both of them might be burned to death if they continued. There was no time to be amazed.

“Ah, that’s right. Let’s run away.”

Saying that, Ran activated another skill. Then, while enduring the drowsiness that struck at the same time by holding Tsugumi’s hand tightly, she took a step into the flames.

“Hey, that’s already on fire–“

Just as he was about to grab Ran by the shoulders and stop her, the sea of fire split in two like a cracked road.

Pulling back the hand of the stunned Tsugumi who looked at the path of fire, Ran smiled, squinting her large shaded eyes.

“My other skill is ‘Good Luck.’ As long as it is activated, this flame can be completely nullified. –But the time I am able to use it is short, so I have to go now!”

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

In the sea of flames, the Ogre struggled with pain all over its body. Its hard blue skin was burning away, and the burning wood was chipping away at the Ogre’s body. It was no longer an Ogre, but a lump of reddish-black flesh.

The Ogre’s head, half dead and half alive, was filled with anger and hatred.

–Just how could this situation happen when the first Magical Girl is already destroyed? It’s all because of those humans.

Thinking of this, the Ogre groaned. It had only a few minutes left to live.

–It got completely shut down, even though the task was simply to eliminate the maximum strength of the Magical Girl and then hunt the humans who were lured in – those with the aptitude for Magical Girls. The lack of decisiveness and the slow pace was the main reasons for the defeat.

However, what it did not expect was those three – the active Magical Girls. If it had not been for them, things would have gone well.

The Ogre roared, feeling frustrated with its gradually charring body.

–Ah! If only I had one more chance, I would definitely kill them!

Just as the Ogre was about to snap out of it, screaming with vindictiveness, a revelation echoed in its head.

≪–I see. Then, once again.”

It was like a whisper from the devil. The flames that had been burning the Ogre’s body turned into a black haze, and its skin became rough and rugged. It was as if the body was being rebuilt.

≪Now go on. –Play your part.”

Guided by a mysterious voice, the black Ogre moved through the collapsing maze. –The figure of the black Ogre was just like a hellish prison guard.