Starlight Dream

Chapter 27

"Please, I have a family! I'll do anything you say. Just let them live, please!"

Haruko watched the man's pleading with the utmost indifference, disgusted that such filth would dare stain her with his mere presence. From his skeletal frame and dirt-stained rags, it was clear he'd lived in utter poverty his entire life.

"Please!" The man reached out to grasp her skirts, and she smirked as his arms exploded into bloody chunks. Serves him right for daring to try to touch his better.

"Husband!" His wife ran to his side, trying her best to staunch the bleeding. Blood further strained her already soiled apron, soaking it through. Besides her, her daughter bawled her eyes out. She cried for her papa, pleading for him to be alright. From the fading life in his eyes, her wish would go unfulfilled.

"Monster! Magical girls are meant to help people!" The mother said, gently placing her dead husband down on the dirt road.

"No, we are the arbitrators of doom," Haruko replied, indifferent to her tears. "That other magical girl was only an aberration."

Haruko gave the matter some further consideration. "No, she performed her job as a true magical girl quite nicely. She gave you false hope, fooling you into thinking your pitiful lives could change. It makes the despair so much sweeter now that you realized it'd all been lies."

"You!" Enraged, the woman tossed a rock at Haruko's head. It rebound blowing her head into bloody chunks was amusing.

"Mama! Mama!" The little girl tugged at her mother's coattails, trying to awaken a corpse. It made Haruko smile, a perfect demonstration of misery. She abandoned the girl to her grief, knowing she'd remained broken for the rest of her pitiful life.

"We should thank the rebel." Her partner, Kion, said. "The hopelessness on their faces when they realize the magical girl's true nature was priceless!"

"Yes, I doubt they'll be in any shape to recover now," Haruko said, looking up towards the impaled head of the country's former president. From what she'd heard, Umi had installed him herself to improve the lives of the common folk. What a laugh.

"Things are looking up! Sector 8 will soon be a cesspool of despair!"

Of the worlds they'd checked, they'd yet to locate their target. But Takako was a minor concern compared to a magical girl's proper task. Haruko considered breaking a populous' will a pleasant aspect of her job. It was fun watching the outraged citizenry fight back, only for it to spell their own doom instead.

"This world's finished. Let's..." Haruko froze, her brow furrowing. She sensed another magical girl's presence, faint but clear.

"You think it's her?" Kion asked, not hiding her eagerness.

"It's Takako, alright." She'd recognize that magic anywhere, recalling its unique taste back in their academy days.

Takako had finished last in their class, showing a pitiful amount of promise. The girl seemed to defy convention, free-spirited even amongst magical girls. Instead of doing her job, Takako preferred to instead lounge away eternity. The girl's betrayal hadn't been much of a surprise.

Mei Inouye gives us magical girls too much freedom. Haruko thought with distaste, though the higher-ups were cracking the whip harder these days. With luck, future magical girls wouldn't be as pathetic as the current lot.

In fact, the rebels did Starlight Dream a favor by destroying those useless magical girls too weak to survive. Once she became a Devil Princess, her magical girl army would be marvelous.

"Aren't you getting ahead of yourself, Haruko?" Kion asked, amused. As usual, her fairy read her mind with ease.

"Right." Haruko coughed into her fist. As usual, she'd allowed her enthusiasm run wild. But Haruko loved being a magical girl. It allowed her a freedom few possess. It gave her the power to rule and dominate, to be untouchable. Which was why she always won. Nothing could touch her and nothing ever would. The Devil Princesses were a tricky opponent, but even they wouldn't prevail against Haruko in the end.