The first beauty revealed by the goddess from the chaos of stars was the sky and the earth.
The ground we stand on is solid and kindly supports us, while the sky above our heads rises vast and freely guides us.
Humans live upon the earth, following the will of the sky.
Stars and humans coexist.
We live together.
From the moment humans called the land their possession and foolishly judged it, and called the sky their destiny and worshipped it, they forgot the first beauty. That was the truth which the Goddess of Start deemed the most beautiful and the first ritual of humans becoming equal to the gods.
A world living with stars.
A world that vanished due to wounds created by humanity’s desire for death.
A perfect world lost due to imperfection.
Surely, the current world has drifted far from the complete happiness desired by the Goddess of Start.
“…Even so.”
I turned around.
All those who had believed in me, loved me, and followed me were gathered in front of the white ark. Behind them, tens of thousands of people had come together to watch the last battle of the magical girls, hoping to have faith in me one last time.
“We will move toward tomorrow.”
“We love this imperfect world.”
“Because it’s imperfect, tomorrow exists.”
The time it takes for the earth to make one full rotation.
A time where darkness and light merely switch places.
The time our star, where we stand, swims through the cosmos.
The world is imperfectly divided, filled with countless times, splitting into many worlds.
“So,”
For the sake of the tomorrow of the world I came to love.
For the stories of the people I cherish.
“I’ll definitely win and come back.”
When the Master heard those words, he chuckled and nodded.
He was unwaveringly supporting me.
Sato and his wife cheered for Hana and me as we headed into a great battle.
They were affirming our light.
Among them was a girl approaching us.
A plain girl with messy brown hair tied into braids and wearing glasses.
She handed me a comic book.
Within it was a story she created filled with her thoughts, even if it wasn’t expertly drawn like a professional manga artist.
<Legend of Magical Girl Hikari>
-A Story of Love and Friendship-
On the cover of the comic was a beautiful girl with squinty eyes and a suspicious vibe, dressed like a wizard, adorned with countless starlights, smiling brightly. Beside her were cute mascot characters resembling a cat, crow, and dog.
It contained one girl’s interpretation of magical girls.
Because of being the reincarnation of the Goddess of Start, who plucked out her own eyes, it wasn’t out of influence but rather to illustrate her sinister personality that aimed to prank the dirty adults from within the darkness through squinty eyes.
Not to defend against the will of the stars and the monsters, but a magic that contains the dreams of a girl who shines on her own.
Not the apostles who gave up on themselves or fought against the world in a distorted fate, but cute mascots leading magical girls on the right path.
“Shirogane-san.”
“Busujima-san.”
“It’s been a while.”
“Yes, really… It has been a while.”
Seeing Haruko after such a long time, she seemed more mature than last year.
Her expression was no longer one of nervousness and timidity, but sparkling eyes recalling shining stories. It was the talent of a storyteller who had shed hesitation and shyness in unfolding her own tale.
The growth of a human.
The girl who once called herself worthless had finally bloomed completely from within her inner sparkle.
“Legend of Magical Girls… Isn’t that a bit exaggerated?”
“Shirogane-san is a goddess, so originally I was going to say ‘Myth of Magical Girls,’ but I changed it.”
“A myth, you say…”
“Because our story isn’t about gods.”
The sparkle had some light different from the earthy color of Haruko’s glass star.
“It’s a story believing in the sparkles of human magical girls, dreaming of tomorrow.”
“……”
“A story of girls’ hope and dreams.”
Haruko firmly held my hands.
“I’m going to continue to draw the beautiful stories you left behind, Shirogane-san.”
“Beautiful… stories.”
“Yes.”
Magical Girls
Dream
Hope
Love
Faith
Friendship
Trust
Responsibility
“Even if someone says it’s a childish and simple story, the sparkle I saw…”
Haruko’s eyes seemed to evoke the dream of roses I once saw at the Odaiba Broadcasting Station and the bright Yokohama sky.
Because I too was recalling our beginning while looking at her face.
We briefly met and passed each other.
Thanks to Haruko, I took the first step to start all stories.
Haruko wanted to write the stories of sparkling magical girls because of me.
“…It held the most precious value above all.”
“…I’m glad I met Busujima-san that day.”
“Hehe, so even if I run out of material while drawing the comic, please be sure to win.”
I carefully opened the comic and then returned it to Haruko.
‘A story of girls’ dreams and hopes.’
The composition was somewhat clumsy like an amateur’s, the flow was choppy, and filled with childish dialogues. But that work felt like it was affirming my life, and I couldn’t help but smile.
“Yeah, I’ll definitely win.”
I finished my farewells and took one last look around.
The magical girls challenging the final battle had to be incredibly strong, for they could never return to the battlefield after death, and they needed the ability to help other magical girls in the strange space known as the moon.
‘And we need magical girls to protect the people from the endless onslaught of monsters too.’
I left Himari, who had to lead the cheerleading team, Dorim, who was like an unstoppable force against small monsters, and Alisha, who needed to care for the dead magical girls.
Those gathered here were the magical girls heading to the final battlefield.
Ichika was fist-bumping with Kyoko, laughing boisterously like always.
Sumire was quietly saying she would be back soon while hugging the salon members and Kaede.
Hana was making a strong resolution among the golden girls, free from her parents.
Yuki was comforting her sobbing father, gently patting his head.
Laura, Ella, Lee Meirin, and Lina exchanged encouraging words with the approaching magical girls.
“Well then, I’ll be off.”
“Yes, Hecate-sama.”
Hecate left a very brief farewell to Iris before trying to return to me.
But—
However, Hecate turned back again, starting to remove her hood in front of Iris. Her silver hair gradually swayed out as the hood was slowly pulled away, leaving Iris stunned by Hecate’s sudden action.
“Hecate-sama?! What’s that?!”
“Take this.”
Swish
Swish
Hecate was draping the hood she had always worn around the magical girl Iris of Wings.
I felt like I understood its significance.
Since she was born as a goddess, her lifelong duty to conceal her identity required the hood she had worn.
Iris’s eyes began to well with tears.
“…No.”
“There’s no one else.”
“Don’t say that. Please!”
“No, I spilled grape juice on the hood, and it smells. Please wash it for me.”
“Like it’s sacrifice… What?”
“I accidentally spilled it while playing a game… Please do the laundry, Iris.”
Indeed, there was a clear purple stain left inside the dazzling white hood.
“Hecate-sama!!”
“Well then, I must take my leave.”
With a relieved expression, Hecate finally approached me, while Iris gazed at the stain on the hood, pouting and then suddenly starting to giggle.
‘Is this Hecate’s kind of consideration?’
I prepared to board the white ark, weaving through the voices of magical girls still saying their goodbyes.
“…I’m really passing this on, right?”
“Shh! They’ll hear. I judged we should prepare for any possibility.”
“You did well.”
We would definitely win.
But I also had preparations to make for those left behind.
‘It’s contradictory, but there’s no helping it.’
Once farewells were over, we boarded the ark. Inside were already seated the Lightning Magical Girl Lee Hua and the Navigation Magical Girl Natalia, ready for departure.
“Preparation for departure is complete.”
[This is Elysion Observatory. Please come back victorious!]
“Of course.”
Not the last ark, but a great ship that would lead us across the dark sea to the land of the gods.
For our final battle, for our first and last counterattack.
All the magical girls participating in this operation took their seats.
As I entered the engine section centrally located in the body,
My white starlight absorbed into the giant white body, slowly illuminating it.
Vrooosh—!!
[From the Pollux: Keep it up, Hikari!!!]
[From Myungwol: Lee Meirin!! Don’t be scared!!]
[From the European Union!! Laura, do your best!!!]
[From the Supernatural Ability Response Team: Come back for sure, sis!!]
[From the Russian Relief Team: You must return safely. Alisha says to send her regards.]
[From the Cheerleading Team: We will definitely protect the Earth. Please come back safely.]
Messages of hope and faith from all magical girls were pouring in.
The dazzling white essence filled our seats while flowing into all the circuits etched on the propulsion systems and surface.
-Delivers from the thread of fate. Magical girls from all domains cheer you on.
-Support from all over the world continues through broadcasting stations.
“Can you deliver a message?”
-Yes?
“I’ll definitely win and come back. Please believe in the Goddess of Hope.”
Pwaaaash—!!
The giant white ark was shining like a lighthouse, slowly ascending into the sky.
Let’s begin.
Our tomorrow.
A story filled with hope.
＊
The sight resembled the sun rising above the red sky.
It burst through the ominous twilight, shining like the sun heralding the morning of hope.
The people in the shelter couldn’t take their eyes off the screen broadcasting this sight.
A dazzling light cutting through the sky and earth.
“…Win.”
“Please come back victorious.”
The whisper of someone within the shelter gradually spread through the crowd. Holding back a rising emotion, one heart bloomed within them.
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