-30 minutes until we reach the surface of the Moon.
Natalia’s tense voice.
“……”
“……”
The distance between them and the fateful thread connecting to the entire Earth felt dangerously thin.
Inside the ark, glowing with beautiful white starlight, the magical girls were captivated by the screen that Navigation Magical Girl Natalia was gazing at.
The Moon observed through the power of the Magical Girl of Hope.
The surface of the Moon
Pale plains
A throne made of cold stone was visible on the gray plains stretched out over the dark expanse. The exile of the gods that has existed since ancient times loomed over the rugged craters of the gray plain.
Four massive thrones, carved from a gigantic rock, had no gaps whatsoever.
This was where the four goddesses, once exiled by humanity, had been imprisoned.
Now, no goddess sat on that cold throne.
Yuki recalled the stairs she once climbed, filled with despair.
The miraculous stairs from which the three goddesses had descended after humanity’s demise seemed to suck her into darkness with each step, ultimately leading to the Throne of Nihility, where only the fragments of their discarded physical forms remained as they returned to the flow of the stars.
Returning to a year before the time of destruction,
Yuki had come back to this place once more.
With shining hope, she fought against every darkness in a form nearly perfect beyond ideals. Holding onto humanity and the magical girls she safeguarded, they cheered for the girls riding the ark below as they battled the worst trials.
‘I’m back, I’ve finally returned here.’
Not in a vain attempt to retrace the path of destruction, but to resolve its cause.
She returned not through resurrection, but through love.
“I have a bad feeling about this.”
“…I see.”
“When Ichika speaks, something always happens.”
“No harm in preparing.”
“……”
Ichika, who had been sitting quietly with her eyes closed, suddenly murmured. Following her cue, Sumire, Hana, Li Hua, and Hecate quietly rose from their seats, drawing out their unique gear or summoning starlight.
Whenever Ichika, possessing near prophetic insight in battle situations, warned them, unexpected circumstances would always arise or an attack would come that they wouldn’t have been able to evade without preparation.
“It’s best if everyone gets ready.”
“I already am!”
The three, having realized the importance of her murmuring through countless battles and trials, calmly prepared for any situation that could occur.
“Meirin, stay behind me.”
“Yes, yes…!”
Though the combat abilities of the Magical Girl Lee Meirin and the Magical Girl Laura of Harmony were minimal, they could help the magical girls maintain their vitality in the unfamiliar setting of the Moon. They rose from their seats, escorted by the Magical Girl of Memorization and the Magical Girl in Heavy Armor.
Something was approaching at high speed.
-Prepare for emergency landing!! The Destruction Dragon is approaching!!
-I will set emergency landing mode.
As soon as the voice of the Magical Girl of Hope from the engine room finished, Natalia maneuvered the ark, and a massive whisper echoed throughout the shaking ark.
[Restore, those who live on the surface of the stars.]
A vibration, like a thunderous roar in their heads, made the ark sway violently as the voice of the dragon reached them.
For a brief moment, it felt as if everything would be lost in the chaos of the curse.
Gooooo――!!
A massive black monster brushed past, its presence shaking everything around.
The entity, surpassing the realm of living creatures, felt like a terrain unto itself.
The black dragon.
The mountains of darkness.
It wrapped around the ark, with thousands of eyes shining on its scales, emanating a light of chaos.
Rumble――!!
The ceiling and floor shook, and the white starlight flared up in an attempt to defend.
Kabooom!!
Collision
Inside the ark, shaking like an earthquake, the magical girls summoned starlight, bracing for the impact. Amidst it all, Natalia struggled to pilot the ark, trying to navigate the long body of the Destruction Dragon that was closing in.
“Ugh!! I can’t evade it!!”
The gigantic white oval-shaped vessel was being enveloped by the dragon’s elongated body, and eerie sounds echoed as scars were left on its pristine white surface. Though the white starlight provided protection, they could still lose the ark if they did nothing.
-If we keep this up, the ark will…!
-I will hold it back!
Watching the situation from the power room, Hikari sent out Galateas to stall for time, but as she endured the attacks blessed with the White Star and inverse causality, the Destruction Dragon persistently obstructed the ark’s voyage.
＊
Boom!!
Suddenly, the Destruction Dragon burst forth from the Moon’s surface to attack the ark.
The goddess who loved humanity called it a ‘trial’ to be overcome, while the star that sought to absorb humanity referred to it as ‘restoration,’ a monster tasked with being the final gatekeeper of this consciousness approached.
The dragon’s actions, charging at the ark while leaving the throne on the barren Moon’s surface and the entrance connected to the will of the stars wide open, were enough to momentarily catch me off guard.
‘This won’t stop everything, though.’
No matter how mighty the Destruction Dragon may be, it couldn’t withstand the combined force of Galatea and the blooming magical girls, and if I descended to block the flow of the star’s will, this world would belong entirely to humanity.
It was impossible for it not to know that.
It was a bewildering sight to see a goalkeeper running into the opponent’s territory with the goal left wide open.
‘I thought it would guard the Throne of Nihility until the end…?’
However, from the actions exhibited by the Destruction Dragon, I could still sense the presence of a being on the Moon’s surface, emanating chaotic starlight.
The true gatekeeper of the will of the stars was the divinity appearing wrapped in that chaotic starlight.
“……”
So this is how it ends.
Drumroll――!!
[What difference is there between living on the surface of the stars and returning to the flow of the stars?]
“Don’t mumble on without any understanding…”
[Restore. Cease these meaningless actions and return to the embrace of the stars.]
“If it’s meaningless, why struggle so desperately to block it? I reject that.”
The curse of the monsters
Denying the very process of human life itself, those entranced by nihilism who observed everything from the stars had been hearing news of people being drawn into the wounds of the stars since then. Each time I heard that chilling murmuring, anger surged within me.
“Entrancing those who know nothing.”
Suddenly, six trial monsters appeared.
They advanced solely to harvest human souls, splitting and resurrecting repeatedly no matter how many times they were defeated.
[This is a notification from the Elysion Observatory. Currently, it is estimated that approximately 160 million victims have arisen from cities devastated by the six beasts appearing on each continent.]
“……”
[The deceased have all transformed into golden starlight and vanished into the unknown, while utilizing every thread of fate to barely stabilize the front line…!]
The world, where countless people cried and laughed in unison, began to rapidly vanish with just a single tremor. The power that felt like it could even fend off the gods twisted amusingly and led humanity toward destruction.
It felt as if all our efforts were crumbling to dust.
Even if we gathered all our strength to save just one life, tens of millions of lives were vanishing absurdly.
Despair
Pain
Powerlessness
The fate originally bestowed upon this world was such. So when striving to lead toward something opposite, it resisted with all its might, and even the slightest touch toward destruction would send it tumbling like a breeze.
I knew this, but…
As I felt the diminishing starlight alongside the restoration of the people, my heart felt like it was shattering, yet…
I barely held it together.
“…Not yet.”
-Leader! It seems Galatea is hanging on precariously…?!
“Ichika, hold off the Destruction Dragon with everyone. I’ll head to the Moon first.”
-Got it!!
Kabooooom――!!
Ichika and the magical girls, adorned with the blessings of Harmony and Accord, began their battle against the Destruction Dragon, which had started earlier than expected, on top of the ark as they balanced for emergency landing.
The Destruction Dragon blocked the ark’s progress, so it couldn’t escape, but the same held true for the magical girls. Even so, if they unleashed an honest firepower duel, the magical girls would undoubtedly overwhelm it swiftly.
“Natacha, do we have enough starlight to land on the Moon?”
-Yes…! If there are no interruptions, we can do so immediately…!
“No need to push yourself. Please keep the ark safe from the Destruction Dragon as much as possible.”
-Are you planning to descend first?
“…Yes.”
-Understood.
Though it was an indifferent response, it carried Natacha’s faith.
A sailor never says goodbye.
The words Nayeon and Natacha had learned from their memories of parents who never returned from their voyages.
We believe.
We will overcome it all like a miracle.
It’s about not heading toward destruction, but toward tomorrow.
We will fight until the end.
For a slightly better tomorrow.
I left the engine room of the ark and flew toward the surface of the Moon, shrouded in white starlight.
――――!!
Silence
Vacuum
What I felt was darkness.
The realm of darkness was cold and painful, and without starlight, even magical girls couldn’t endure long.
I flew forward, leaving behind the magical girls on the ark, who were fiercely battling within the realm of Harmony and Accord.
Like a streak of light.
[Deception] Magical Girl Unique Skill
Inverse Causality
Boom!
A successful landing.
I felt the somewhat jarring impact of the gray plains beneath my feet.
Normally, I would have traveled a long distance through space to correct my trajectory, but I crossed that distance in an instant using inverse causality.
“……”
I could see Earth beyond.
Normally a blue sphere from the sea, it was now wrapped in a red and black aura, evoking the imagery of hell. It was an even more unfamiliar and chilling form, seen from looking up at the sky.
It appeared like a lump formed from droplets of blood.
It felt like numerous people were being sucked into the wounds of the star from a planet that seemed to be small enough to cover with a hand.
[Welcome. The reincarnation left by the first daughter.]
“……”
Yuki
A girl with a warm heart.
The deity of chaos was mimicking her face.
When in the form of a magical girl, her warm white was akin to a blazing white flame; as an ordinary girl, her lovely appearance sported short brown hair. When she smiled, her cheeks shyly hidden behind her bob and her kind, softly curved eye expressions were imitated.
The color of chaos
The kind colors Yuki possessed seemingly couldn’t be imitated, marked by a confusing hair color that looked like all colors were poured together.
[I am the last magical girl. The Magical Girl of the Stars.]
“……”
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