NOVEL NEXT Chapter 99
March 28th
“So, I’m going to be an older sister, Hikari-chan!”
“Congratulations, Hana-chan!”
Sato Hana had gained many friends, including me, and since December of last year, she had been going back and forth between a shabby apartment, Kyoko’s house, and Elysion on adventures. During that time, Sato and her husband were able to spend quality time together and ultimately gained a second life.
Upon hearing the news, Hana leaped through the warp gate and came to tell me about it.
“I still don’t know if it’s a girl or a boy.”
For some reason, Hana seemed convinced that what was in her mother’s womb was a younger sister.
Even if a younger brother were to be born, I didn’t think Hana would be disappointed. But listening to Hana talk with such strong certainty made me think that maybe, just maybe, it was destined for her to have a younger sister.
Since awakening as a 2-Star after receiving countless dreams, Hana was bursting with joy, her eyes shining brightly like a yellow star, even without transforming.
Around her, three golden-haired girls who had begun to follow her like a leader were celebrating.
“Congratulations, Hana!”
“Congratulations!”
“You’re going to be an older sister now!”
“Hmph! Thank you!”
“But how are babies made?”
“It’s made by the goddess of [Start] carving starlight, you silly Sylph!”
“Oh, I see.”
The magical girls gathered around Hana, spreading golden energy and blessing her.
Echo, Daphne, and Sylph.
The magical girl of [Resonance] who controls sound.
The magical girl of [Vitality] who breathes life into others.
The magical girl of [Wind] who controls the flow of air.
They were all powerful 2-Star magical girls born from the island.
“……”
Dozens of golden magical girls sealed on the island were mostly gentle and friendly, but among them, especially the ones from [Swiftness] like Hana and [Nursing] like Himari treated her like a fellow countrywoman.
I wondered why the last survivors of humanity felt so close to them.
Curious, I asked Iris, the magical girl representing the island girls, but even she didn’t know.
– All I can say is that… a familiar starlight flows through them.
In the end, I was able to hear the full story only after going to the goddess who was regenerating by drinking grape juice with a hose in her mouth.
– The goddess’s remains… It’s weaker than a heart and smaller than an apostle, but it received the closest fragment to the goddess’s essence.
Love for others,
Admiration from others,
Transforming others.
It was understandable for the magical girl of [Nursing], Himari, in particular.
Before long, she absorbed magical girls from other countries and became the head of the massive rescue organization, the Cheerleading Team, showing tremendous power herself.
Excluding Dorim and Ichika, who bloomed dramatically in extreme situations, she was one of the two girls closest to full bloom.
Himari had now established herself as a huge presence, receiving dignitary-level treatment wherever she went.
“But what about Hana…”
A glass star that was less bright than the golden ones.
What kind of fate had she endured as she had hurt herself chasing a butterfly down the stairs in her childhood, leaving her unable to use her lower body and spending her entire youth lying at home?
“……”
A thought flickered across my mind.
Among the curses of the three goddesses was “to twist the fate of the girl with a dream.”
Indeed, there were girls like the members of the Salon who followed Sumire, whose original dreams were far removed from their current situations.
What if…
Just what if…
Years ago, when the goddess of [Start] threw herself into the fray,
In that past where the curses of the three goddesses had flowed in together,
If Sato Hana, who should have shone as brightly as Himari now, had completely lost her dreams because of that curse…
If the remnants of her dreams had been trampled and broken by the three goddesses, yet remained dazzlingly brilliant, from which Hana’s starlight began shining so radiantly…
“……”
“So, listen! Hikari-chan!”
“Huh, yes?”
Thud!
Warm hands pulled me from my chilling imagination.
“I want to go home with Echo, Daphne, and Sylph and throw a celebration party!”
“…I see.”
“Can I take you along?”
“Yeah. Go have fun.”
I smiled and nodded at the three girls, who looked at me with eager eyes.
As soon as I gave my permission, the golden-haired girls cheered, holding each other’s hands and bouncing around.
‘They can freely come and go through the warp gate, yet they ask for my permission every time.’
Just then, Elysion was flying over the Pacific towards Asia for the “Moirai Project,” and magical girls and civilians were hurriedly packing their bags.
“People are about to land.”
“Hana! Let’s get the gifts before we get stuck!”
“We can ask Iris, so can’t we just take our time?”
“You silly Sylph! Don’t bother Iris.”
“Well then, I’ll take off, Hikari-chan!”
I waved goodbye to Hana as she left.
The four girls, including Sato Hana, set off energetically towards the center of Elysion to choose gifts for the celebration party.
“……”
The 2-Star magical girl of [Swiftness].
A girl who carved her own starlight.
A girl blessed by helping countless people.
Right now, Hana was anything but shabby.
I was perhaps prouder of the path Hana had forged than of the grand fate she might have been given.
“Sister.”
“Dorim.”
When I turned around at the voice of Dorim coming from behind, the magical girls who had been planning the Moirai Project were approaching together.
“Sister, we’re all set.”
“…Yeah.”
“You’re going to meet that guy soon, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Be careful on your trip.”
“Of course.”
The Moirai Project.
Like the names of the three goddesses weaving the threads of fate, the domains created by the three apostles spread thinly across the world like a ribbon.
The silver structures that Elysion and the Pollux ship had launched across the globe during the past few months had formed a massive ribbon encircling the Earth like a fence.
Rose Garden.
Gray Glass Castle.
Bamboo Forest.
Wheat Field.
My domain, reflected through the minds of a grand council of magical girls.
The domains of the goddess spread throughout major cities in the USA.
The domains of Alisa spread throughout major cities in Russia.
Once their domains were combined with those expanded by the two blooming girls, we had finally reached the minimum scale needed to surround the silver structures with a thin realm and complete the massive ribbon.
We spread it as a colossal thread covering the human world, not the ground.
Like a scaffolding wrapping around a globe, connected by a vast ring that links not the earth but the sky, allowing magical girls to escape the bonds of location and protect each other.
This was the first rebellion that interpreted the rules of [Magical Girl HAZARD] in human ways and was recognized worldwide because of the myriad miracles the magical girls wielded.
Now, regardless of what [War] would do or when the monsters would flood the world…
The apostles would safeguard the magical girls not on the ground, but in the dome of heaven.
“Are we properly connected to Elysion’s kaleidoscope?”
“Yep. Now we can see the landscapes of the whole world and deploy at any time.”
“Thank goodness.”
The eyes of the goddess left behind by the three successors.
A fence created by the three apostles who could not originally meet.
Now, the spatial constraints for magical girls were meaningless.
“Reviving from death consumes quite a bit of mental power, but… isn’t this like an invincible army? A superhuman army that springs forth infinitely from a mobile fortress with boundless resources.”
“Dorim, don’t say that. I don’t want to conquer others.”
“Yeah, I figured you wouldn’t.”
It wasn’t a flawless preparation, but at least it was no longer in a state of being helpless against [War].
An infinite army.
Endless summoning of heroes.
Her power is formidable.
While waiting for her to arrive with the first trial, we could have everything perfectly ready.
– It would be a good idea to have a conversation with the brown cat.
The last advice left by the dark blue crow.
I made preparations for all threats to put it into action.
“Is Captain Oh not coming to Elysion?”
“Yeah, he seems to just want to stay in Korea.”
“Right. Please take good care of Korea.”
Dorim chuckled at that, rolling her eyes and resting her slender arm on her waist.
“It’s been my hometown all along, you know? I’ve turned it into an invulnerable fortress while progressing the Moirai project.”
“Thanks.”
“Oh, by the way, the magical girl of [Sea] sent you a letter from the training camp.”
“Uh? Na-yeon? Why? Wasn’t she supposed to be in training?”
Rustle
A short-haired devil giving a thumbs-up was drawn on the corner of the paper Dorim handed me.
When I unfolded the letter, it was filled with something that had been roughly crossed out, leaving only three words.
-Save me.
Training under Captain Lee Min-seul before commissioning as a second lieutenant, Hong Na-yeon was undergoing tough training. I heard she joined the Baek Ik Company thanks to the business card I gave her.
“What’s she talking about?”
“She’s doing fine.”
“I see.”
I tucked that letter away and began to go around checking everything in Elysion before our last conversation.