Mr. Magical Girl

Chapter 29: The Past

_Her purple cosmos shone upon me._

Just like back then, her eyes sparkled positively. They held no negative emotions, only the joy of reunion mixed with the remnants of an endless longing. Despite the fact that my daughter was a different kind, her emotions were so easy to read.

It was as if I were looking into a purple mirror reflecting my own conflicting feelings.

“Dad!”

A little girl, brightly smiling, rushed towards me.

That wasn’t the kind of reaction you’d expect from a child abandoned by their parents for so many years.

So, I had to show her a parent-worthy side of myself. I opened my arms wide as Linshua approached me.

The soft touch and warmth pressed against my body.

Before I knew it, my daughter had grown taller than me, yet she still seemed to want to act like a little girl.

In the past, I would have grazed her horns, but now it was just a risky stroke on her head since she barely reached my hands.

Did I even deserve to feel such warmth?

Everything was my fault.

Leaving my daughter alone. Not being able to abandon everything for her sake.

Linshua had fallen into this situation because it was a result of choices I couldn’t control.

I couldn’t remain a hero, nor could I turn my back on heroism for my daughter.

“I’m sorry.”

“What for?”

Still, Linshua only seemed truly joyous that we were meeting again, showing nothing but an innocent smile.

After a brief hug, she looked around and spoke up.

“Where’s Unho?”

“They didn’t come today. I’ll bring them later.”

“_O t_”

I held the gift for Linshua tightly in my left hand.

Let’s give her something else instead of Unho.

“What’s this?”

“A birthday gift. I’m sorry it’s late.”

The seed was transferred into my daughter’s hands. A black gem contrasting against her pale skin. When Linshua received the gem, she lifted it, her tiny hands awkwardly holding the large gem that floated between the light from the ceiling and her purple eyes.

I couldn’t understand what significance this held.

The light didn’t pierce through the seed to reach her pupils, nor did the color of the seed change.

However, there must have been something I couldn’t comprehend within those eyes.

“I’m glad.”

“Yay! Dad! I have something to show you too!”

Linshua transferred the seed to her left hand and gripped my sleeve with her right, pulling me toward her.

It was a familiar gesture I had seen countless times—her way of showing me her creations.

Even though her size had changed, her eagerness remained the same, and I pretended to be powerless against her strength.

Thus, I faced the black statue.

The muddy statue she had just been working on.

Something that looked precisely like me in both size and features.

If it hadn’t been the color of dirt, I would have mistaken it for looking into a mirror.

“I made it because you needed it!”

Those words pierced my heart.

Then, I contemplated turning Al’sel’s head into an octopus.

I had passed the monster-making responsibility onto my daughter, hadn’t I?

That guy had shifted the duties he was supposed to handle onto his organization’s leader, my daughter Linshua.

What a way to pass the buck to a superior!

In the midst of deliberating how I should sculpt that guy’s head, Linshua’s left hand swung toward the sculpture.

As her hand hit the statue, the seed in her other hand slowly began to get absorbed.

“Can you really use that? With it, you could create a new friend.”

Suggesting what felt like a refreshing idea, I softly scolded her.

“It’s okay because it’s a gift from me to Dad! And this isn’t a friend, it’s a monster! The monster uncle told me to name it that!”

“Well learned.”

Even though I purposely didn’t teach her about the Otherworld, it was only natural she would find out about it the moment I passed her off to the organization.

I worked so hard to keep her away from the Otherworld, but it was inevitable.

This was the only way to save her as she could no longer live in the human world.

No. That statement wasn’t entirely accurate.

If I had truly thought of my daughter.

If I was prepared to abandon everything.

Hiding my painful feelings, I pointed at the sculpture.

“You did well, but can it transform into something else?”

“Transform? Why would I need that?”

_Sigh._ Work management is a disaster. Did I not convey the right information? That guy must be insufficient even with an octopus head.

As I thought about twisting his head into a sea cucumber, I gripped a hammer in my hand.

From my body, black particles surged, darkening my vision and everything around me.

After a brief transformation, I dispersed black particles around, revealing my new form to my daughter.

“I should be able to transform like this.”

“Dad, that’s amazing!”

Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she clung to my new appearance. Her face reflected pure curiosity and joy.

“Dad’s hair color is the same as mine now. It’s the same black!”

“Right.”

Black hair… Linshua had once asked why she didn’t look like me.

“Then, can this form also…”

The purple cosmos entered my vision.

Starlight whispered to me.

_Why are you here? Isn’t it inappropriate to exist through sorcery? I have never created something like this. What will this new existence prove? Can power not be felt through that extremely subtle existence? Through which Otherworld did it come? Despite combining strength, it didn’t alter the essence of the body…_

_Bow down, and I will reveal…_

_Because time moves._

_Harsh whispers echoed in my ears._

“Dad?”

What was that just now?

Those letters sliced through my mind.

Incomprehensible strings of text.

Meaningless combinations that had already vanished from memory.

I looked into Linshua’s eyes again, but no similar reaction occurred.

___I don’t know anything.___ Can I make this form also transform?

_It’s easy since I look just like Dad. Just the clothes are a bit different!_

Linshua said that and began working again.

Was she wrapping up? Her touch had become increasingly detailed.

Her tiny fingertips traversed through the mud, crafting patterns for the clothing and drawing human expressions.

As Linshua’s hands moved faster, the hands that had been on the face were soon making the wrinkles of the clothes, and as the wrinkles completed, new muscular movements were etched onto the face.

She was quicker than before.

A culmination of effort to create a friend.

It seemed Linshua was absorbed in the idea that to create new life, one must pour in everything they possess.

I absorbed the nostalgic sight before me, recalling the meaningless mixture of letters that had lodged into my mind.

Those strange characters did not form coherent sentences, so I couldn’t think of them normally.

From the atmosphere, it seemed like someone might have looked at me and formed an opinion about me.

During all the time living with Linshua, such incidents never occurred before—why today?

Was it because I had become a monster? Was there a special effect applicable to monsters?

Could it be a measure to prevent the lifeforms Linshua creates from rebelling against their creator?

The newborn lifeforms would see Linshua, so this assumption also seemed logical.

As I considered this and thought about the potential mental manipulation, I recalled the knowledge lodged in my mind.

_Key Code 158426._

_Your home is 158426; my home is 158426._

_I am 158426; you are 158426._

_My actions are 158426; my thoughts are 158426._

_The current location is 158426; the current time is 158426._

Mental manipulation devices didn’t reveal any errors regarding the implanted self-test.

I tried running the brain test with different sentences repeatedly, but the results remained the same.

When thinking of thoughts that statistically experienced the most mental attacks, the linked code emerged.

If thoughts were manipulated, the relevant code would also slightly change in number, allowing for quick detection. But in this instance, the numbers matched the key code.

Was it not mental manipulation? Then what meaning did that string of characters possess?

There were remnants of memory left.

The last letters.

Something that could at least form a coherent sentence.

_Time moves._

Isn’t that a given?

There’s no reason for time to stand still.

I just happened to reunite with my daughter, but now a new question arose.

Like something was awaiting my movements, explosive events began to churn vividly.

Did something start moving in a place I wasn’t aware of?

That thought process got interrupted by Linshua’s words.

“Dad, it’s distracting, so go away.”

The first time I’d heard such sharp words. Was this rebellion?

Was my mere presence standing next to her so bothersome?

“Why? Is it hard to concentrate?”

“I actually like it when Dad watches. That’s not the issue!”

Instead of answering, she tugged at my black dress.

“I couldn’t create the seed because of your clothes. You’re in the way.”

Since she was little, there were times I couldn’t understand what she said.

Was it because, as a different species from me, her feelings were different?

Could this statement be an extension of that?

“Is it because of this outfit that bothers you? Is the design bad?”

Maybe because she inherited the artist’s blood, she instinctively had a large interest in such things.

Thanks to that, Unho had a lot of trouble, but that’s another story.

Linshua shook her head to express that what she wanted to convey wasn’t like that.

“It’s because that outfit steals the power of the Otherworld I need, making it hard to create.”

What did she just say?

I gripped Linshua’s shoulders and immediately fired off a question.

“Linshua. This is important, so tell me clearly. Does that outfit absorb the power of the surrounding Otherworld? Is everything you’re using from it?”

The power Linshua possessed as a monster involved consuming the nearby Otherworld’s power and converting it into stable seeds for existence. Thus, it was instinctive for her to be extremely sensitive to the power of the Otherworld.

If she felt something similar to the powers she had within her outfit…

Would it absorb anything without accounting for its nature, including my own powers?

Something to purify?

Could it be something that absorbed the power of the Otherworld, something humanity dearly wished for?

_What’s the critical point at which the outfit will collapse?_

I needed to decipher all this information right now.

Because Linshua instinctively absorbs the powers of the Otherworld, she would certainly provide more reliable information than any expert.

“What’s the critical point?”

“When will it break and release the power around?”

“Um…”

_Tomorrow?_

What a ridiculous statement!

Tomorrow it’s going to explode and release power?

Am I a walking bomb?

“_O_”

“I don’t know. Why doesn’t it break? If that piece of clothing is like a seed, it should’ve burst long ago.”

She tugged at my black dress, expressing her doubts.

Please don’t be foreboding.

Well, upon reflecting, there have been hints from the beginning. The power absorption Unho mentioned.

I had thought it was just absorbing the power of the Otherworld I emitted…

But rather, my very body seemed to have become a thing that devours the power of the surrounding Otherworld.

There were too many things to think about now.

Should I declare this power? Did I quit being a Black Marauder because of this?

What methods can ensure that I purify the world and establish justice?

What are the limits of the powers retained in these threads?

“Dad?”

“Oh, continue with your work.”

Grabbing the hammer, I returned to my original form. Once the hindrance to the work disappeared, Linshua began to move her hands busily again.

I’m glad I came here today.

While my reunion with Linshua wasn’t bad, the information I gained held immense value.

I considered enduring turning Al’sel’s head from a sea cucumber to an octopus and savored the current atmosphere.

Though it felt a bit like an unsatisfactory reunion without properly apologizing to Linshua, for now, that would suffice.

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