V6: Chapter 74: So, the Feast is Over Now?

Chapter 74: So, the Feast is Over Now?

Everyone was frozen, waiting to see what would happen next.

One side was triumphant, while the others trembled with rage.

Amidst all this, only Satellite calmly began to move.

"I see, so that's your trump card..."

["As a kind-hearted Magical Girl, Satellite simply cannot ignore them, right? For now, let's focus on taking care of the remaining two, shall we?"]

The wedding dress, burnt in places, was far from pure... it was a sight that stirred the desires of those who saw it.

But as Satellite slowly began to walk forward, she possessed a certain undeniable elegance.

["Alright. Next, that hateful succubus...!"]

"[Charm]"

That's why for a moment, he couldn't tell whose voice it was. 

["Huh...? Wait, wait, wait a minute? Why are you using it? Satellite... agh...!"]

"Oh, so I really can do it if I try?"　

Those eerily glowing eyes that catch the illusion.

He never expected that that voice, that Magic, is emanating from Satellite.

"Well, you're quite good for your first time, aren't you?" (Lux)

"Right?" (Satellite)

Of course. A being so immensely powerful that she could grow a fox's tail and ears just from draining the magical energy of Shirayuri-sama, the Fox.

After a year of having the Lust Mark branded upon her and the same magic cast upon her repeatedly... and after all that exchange of magical energy... it's impossible that she couldn't use even one of those spells.

"I was scared, you know, to use magic that I wasn't even sure would succeed... in a situation where the hostages were unknown. I was worried that you might have planted a bomb inside my mother or something. If I let you escape here, you would target them again, right?"

["...Huh? 'Hostages unknown'... What are you talking about, Satellite? There are 227 innocent girls in the demon world!"]

"Haha, even so, I think the people around me are more important."

["You're being controlled by her Charm's effect, aren't you!? Agh, gah... I'll deactivate it now...!"]

"[Charm]"

["Stop it, Satellite! Don't use those filthy sluts' Magic... Ah, I see now. It's Gracia's Magic, right? It's showing me nasty hallucinations..."]

"Ice Mirror can't mimic voices, you know?"

["So, you were planning to abandon those girls just because they weren't blood relatives or family? No way, that can't be true..."]

"That's what I meant to say..."

I can't risk him becoming desperate at this moment, so I'm treating him as coldly as possible. It's true I weighed my own safety against theirs, but I certainly don't think they're completely unimportant.

["It's impossible, it mustn't be possible!"]

"What you're seeing is only the surface of... Magical Girl Satellite."

["Satellite is... the ideal Magical Girl...! Abandoning these injured girls is unthinkable...!"]

"If you had the capacity to accept that, I might have been a little tempted to join you... but what a shame."

Using my immense magical power, I continue to cast a [Charm] spell on him, even though he's not here.

The Third Demon King is desperately using some kind of spell to dispel the charm on himself, but...

["No, I'm... I'm the Third Demon King... Trattlung..."]

The power of [Charm] magic is proportional to how attractive the caster is to the target.

"[Charm] You like me, don't you?"

["Stop it..."]

Even without being physically present...

My gaze, my fragrance, my voice... my appearance....

Everything I emit is a poison that melts the reason of any intelligent being.

"[Charm] You wanted to see me in a wedding dress, didn't you?"

["Stop it..."]

Especially if she's wearing the outfit he desperately wanted to see me in.　

"[Charm] With me supporting the power you lack, with a strategy only you possessed... it was fun, wasn't it?"

["Don't defile the Satellite I longed for any further!?"]

If you thought I was fighting for you in that form, all the more reason.　

["Think! Think harder, me! How to get out of this situation, to resist this charm... ohhh!?"]

"I think you'd better stop that... ah, I guess you can't hear me anymore."　

The more you think, the more my poison invades your brain.

The more you think, the more you get trapped in a crucible, robbing your intelligent being of its ability to think.

That's why I deliberately wore that cumbersome wedding dress and engaged in such a fierce battle.

The effect was immediate.

"Demon King, you'll come over here... right?"

["Uh... yes..."]

After years, even decades of contemplation, this being, now practically a shell of its former self, opened the gate with vacant eyes.

Thinking had become its undoing; the Third Demon King's fate was... one that showed not a shred of intelligence.

★

With the Third Demon King now within reach, Lux nodded with satisfaction.

Here, the long war between humanity and the external enemy came to a temporary end.

"That was a beautiful Charm, wasn't it? Interested to become a Succubus?" (Lux)

"Haha, I'll think about it."

"Thing..." (Gracia)

"G-Gracia...?

The trembling blonde magical girl's face turned bright red, and her clenched fists trembled.

And then, finally... she snapped.

"Things like that! You should at least say something!! You should tell me beforehand!!!" (Gracia)

"N-no... I'm sorry, I didn't have the right timing...! But I think Lux knew, right?"

"Well, after hearing Squire-chan's instructions, I kind of understood what you wanted to do, I guess?" (Lux)

It was a wise decision to suppress the thought that crossed my mind: "You have a voice as powerful as Bradia's."

That would, of course, only add fuel to the fire.

Of course, I couldn't say something like that out loud; it would only arouse suspicion.

Only Squire, who read my thoughts before she collapsed, understood the intention of this improvisation and gave them instructions. Well, since she collapsed so quickly, it seems she could only give instructions to Lux.

"And then..."

"If I... could read the Demon King's... thoughts... I'll know his location... but..."

"Squire, are you alright?"

"I'm alright, for the most part. Tinkerbell... yes. But... that [Thought acceleration] We're really a bad match..."

Squire, wiping the blood from her nose and barely breathing, looked visibly unwell, but it seemed her life wasn't in danger.

That said, brain damage is serious, so we should send her to a medical facility.

I wouldn't mind literally baring my body to help Squire absorb the magic...

While for Bell, I hit her pretty hard, so I hope Bell doesn't hate me...

"Bell-chan... um, does your stomach hurt?"

"Hehe. Anything I receive from Satellite-sama, whether it's illness or pain, makes me happy..."

"I... I see."

She's fine, but not at all. I said something like, "If only you had the capacity to accept me," to the Demon King.

But to be able to accept it this much is actually a little scary.

"Satellite? There are a lot of things I want to say..." (Gracia)

"...Yes."

"...Welcome back, Shizuku."

When she said those words, I remembered the answer I'd come to this past week.

I wondered if there might come a day when I would hurt them, the girls who had become so important to me.

I can't say for sure that it's absolutely impossible.

Besides, I did hurt Bell-chan this time.

But please accept that side of me too.

If I'm with everyone who tries so hard to stop me when I make a mistake,

I'm sure it's okay for me to be with everyone.

No... I can say with absolute confidence that it's okay.

"Yes... I'm home!"　

So please accept me as I am, and I think it's okay if my fatal flaws change little by little...

After all, I'm now able to enjoy hobbies and preferences that I never would have imagined before.

"By the way, do you remember what I said?"

"Hmm... What are you talking about?"

To be honest, there was so much I talked to Gracia that I don't know what she's talking about now.

But I had a terrible feeling... and yet there was no escape here, and I had no intention of running away.

No matter what happened, I decided I wouldn't run away from them.

"After discussing things, we decided that 'that kind of thing' wouldn't happen until the wedding ceremony."

"Huh? Oh. That night... we did, but...?"

"Wouldn't it be fair to say that the ceremony is over now?"

"No, that's quite tyrannical reach... isn't it an exaggeration?"

The conversation has taken a completely different turn. It wasn't that kind of atmosphere just now, was it?

Absolutely, I'll go home here and hug my mother... and have such a touching ending...

"This incident has made me reconsider. Rather than letting you being kidnapped and taken by someone else... creating a fait accompli might not be so bad."

"Oh my, well then, the two of you young people can enjoy yourselves... right? ♡" (Lux)

There was no way to stop the young lady before me, whose humidity continued to rise. The succubus with shocking pink hair gave a thumbs-up and collected the injured and the Demon King.

All that remained was me and the girl, who, though trying to act bravely... had red, teary eyes.

She must have been at her mental limit. I truly caused her trouble and distress.

So, perhaps this kind of ending... is, in a way, typical of us.

"Close your eyes, Shizuku."

"Mm, I understand..."

In the dilapidated church, her soft lips gently kissed mine.

A faint metallic taste lingered in my mouth, apparently from a cut I'd made without realizing it.

As I watched my pure white wedding dress turn bright red in a certain location... I thought...

I'll never lose to pure love──────

In fact,...

I couldn't win against pure love...