16: Finding Peace

System Unlocked: Flaws

"Not everyone is perfect, and Magical Girls are of no exception. Each individual possesses an imperfection or weakness in her character, and such quality most of the time, do more harm than good. During the course of her journey, some of the Magical Girl's choices, whether right or wrong, may constitute a deep-rooted darkness within her and bring out the natural fear that never thought she actually has."

Flaws:

Guilt-Driven – Doubles the penalty of failed Attribute Checks in certain scenarios that involved the harm or murder of innocents. In addition, when failing to save an innocent or loved one's life, the Mind crumbles at the weight of your failure, granting a permanent -10 Mind. However you may recover by saving another person's life, which restores 5 Mind. The faces of the victims you failed to save are etched into the bowels of your minds forever and as a result, Nightmares of the dead shall haunt you for every single night, thus inflicting restless sleep and you may only recover 60% of your Mana. Despite such debilitating weaknesses, your drive to save the innocent shall push you to your very limit. During rescue or self-sacrificing scenarios, your Attributes are doubled.

Quote: "Feelings of remorse and self-judgement cloud a good person's soul, eating them on the inside and serving as a grim reminder of the failures of their past."

***

"Defolta, here some Mana potion."

"Thanks, Nekowa."

Receiving the blue liquid, Defolta quickly gulped it down ravenously to steel her resolve for the grave sin of murder that she was currently taking part of. The fickle Mind failed in her every attempt to resist as she suffered the consequence for it.

It was her 4th kill so far, and the Magical Girl's mind crumbled under the sheer guilt of her ongoing action. She watched with a stoic but conflicted look as the boy fall to his own pool of warm blood.

Each kill, a murder of the innocent, meant a part of her soul was being consumed. Even if it was a circumstance that perhaps deem right, an act of mercy for the children, the guilt was nevertheless unforgiving and made no exception in her part.

For every child slain, 20 Mana was demanded but the toll of her guilt meant her failures felt like it was doubled. As a result, the price of her murder turned to 40.

Fortunately, a Mana potion recovered 200 Mana in total. But since this scenario deemed as a failure of saving innocent lives, Defolta suffered the negative 10 Mind debuff as she now only has 15 Mind which was 150 Mana in total.

She can at best kill four children before taking another Mana potion. Although the 4th child she killed inflicted her with Dementia since her Mana was at negative. While she could maybe push it further to one more kill, Nekowa discouraged it since they still don't know the repercussions of having too much negative Mana and risking it here was a bad idea.

Four down and five more to go. Despite the corpses of their friends, the rest of the living children show no signs of reaction, as if the atrocity that was happening never even took part for them.

It was truly a testament of Matilda's depravity, turning children into living, motionless dolls who she can toy their body for both her wicked scientific interests and vile pleasures of the flesh.

The other children never acknowledge her presence, even as she held each of them with dear life and took it away with a heavy heart.

Before the final child finally drew his last breath, a glimpse of life perhaps has shown on his dull eyes. A semblance of vitality lingered, and the boy muttered quietly in his final moments.

"Thank you."

For what is worth, the guilt was temporarily subsided, and a tear fell on Defolta's right eye as she gently laid the boy's body down.

When every child now has departed to the peace of the afterlife, Defolta clapped her hands and prayed for them. Even if she's not exactly a religious person, in the previous life and this one, she still believed that a God would greet them in heaven with open arms. He has to believe, all for the children's sake, or everything that he has done was basically for naught.

"May you all find whatever that is at the end of the rainbow."

The deed was finished, and the ordeals of the guilt was finally concluded, for now. Defolta now turned her full attention to the crippled man as she eyed him with disdain.

"It is done." Defolta knew it was a necessary sacrifice, but she still could not help but feel anger to him for suggesting the notion of child murder, "I give them their peace. I supposed it is now your turn to depart."

"Indeed. I'll gladly die by your hand, lass." Conrad smiled, happy that the children's suffering has come to an end.

"Before I kill you." Defolta inquired, "Are there any other prisoners here aside from you?"

"You are going to try saving them?" Conrad eyed the girl like she was a fool, "Forget it, lass. Leave this place while you can. The others were not so fortunate to last as long as I am."

"Even so. I still wanted to verify their fate." Defolta said with a cold expression, "Unlike you, I'm not one to give up that easily."

"You wound me, lass, even in my final crippling moments." Conrad sighed and gave in, "The others are located deep within. Just go straight deep and you'll find another prison room like this, but bigger."

"Got it." Defolta nodded and asked another thing, "Are there anything here that may prove to be a threat? Like monsters or something?"

"Assuming that you killed every last one of Matilda's bandit lackeys, then there are none." Conrad responded, "But I would still be careful if I were you. The flesh may be willing, but the spirit is weak, and even at the mere sight of the horrors can break even the strongest of wills."

"That advice would have been more appreciated before I even set forth here inside." Defolta simply said emotionlessly and took out her dagger, "For what it's worth, may you find peace as well and reunite with the children at the rainbow's end."

"Thank you, lass. I'll be sure to say hello to them for you." Conrad smiled genuinely at peace, welcoming death's captivating arms openly without any more regrets.

Once the dagger plunged at his throat, the deed was done, and the man Conrad was no longer of this world.

But strangely enough, and unlike what transpired with the children, all that Defolta felt was… another thing.

Some kind of hatred mixed with remorse.

Mind Check (15)

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Recalculating….

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Avenger Skill Activated!!

Mind Check (25)

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Success!!

Note: Attribute Bonuses from skills are calculated on base values and independent from Equipment Bonuses