36: A Vampire's mockery

When Momoka heard about the revelation revealed by the vampire, pure bewilderment sought discord on her expression as she now glanced at my right direction.

"Sensei… what does he mean?" Momoka questioned, wanting to get some answers straight from my mouth.

This time, I could not bring myself to look straight at her eyes, the feeling of shame and failure now taking over me.

"I…"

As I was about to answer her inquiry, the vampire beat me to a punch and responded with a sadistic look, all too wickedly happy with the pained expression that I'm displaying.

"You don't know!? Ah the pain and guilt in one's eyes, always a joy to see." The vampire smirked, "You see, Nightingale, this pet cat of yours, foolishly allowed a villain to live, which gave him the opportunity to kill the Magical Girl and even escaped. It is her incompetence and gullible sense of her so-called justice that cost her poor Magical Girl's life."

"Is, is that true, sensei?" Momoka was at disbelief, "Please tell me he is lying, sensei."

"It's… it's the truth." I conceded and wallowed in grief, "Remember the mistakes that we talked about? This is one of them, a sin so grave that even I became a target of vengeance for the girl's friend who also witnessed her death."

"Poor, poor, Aegis. Aegis was her name, yes?" Silence was what the vampire got, and it was the confirmation he needed, "As I recall from Azareth, the poor girl even let go of her hatred and trusted you, but alas, her faith was misplaced, and I'm sure she felt betrayed in the end."

"No… I…"

If his tactic was to bring me to a slump, then it effectively worked. I realized how weak I was in spirit, and tears fell from both of my eyes. His mockery brought up the clear memories of the moments before Aegis' final moments while I look at her face muttering my pathetic self with a look of confusion, pain, and… yes… betrayal.

I brought myself down to the ground, succumbing to darkness. Perhaps this was fitting for someone pitiful like me, and I wouldn't even mind if someone would end me right here now, whether it's from Umbrina's dark magic, the Diabli horde ripping me to pieces, or a strike of true justice coming from Momoka's blade.

Momoka seemed to be in deep thought, as if contemplating on my fate while eyeing me critically. Without warning, she conjured a handgun from her magic and slowly pointed it at me.

The vampire and the other Diabli was no doubt enjoying this drama, as I could hear cheers and screaming, with their different chanting to kill me.

"Kill the cat!!!"

"Fuck that pussy!!!!"

"Skin her fur!!!!"

Those were a few of the many disgusting chants being targeted towards me, undeniable proof of how depraved the Diabli truly were.

Well, I suppose this worked too. With my death, Aegis' death will be avenged and perhaps Umbrina would stop threading on her dark path.

I closed my eyes for the inevitable, waiting for my fateful punishment.

*BANG!!*

The sound of gunshot was heard, and I braced myself for the pain.

1, 2, 3, 4….

Strange, the pain never came as my eyes were still closed. Perhaps my death came instantly? If I open my eyes, maybe the sight of the afterlife is what I'm going to see.

But when I open my eyes, I was instead greeted by Momoka who was actually pointing her gun to the direction of the Diabli. Quickly turning my head to the Diabli above, her bullet aimed true, resulting with a clean headshot at the vampire who had hole in his forehead.

"And in three, two…"

Before I could even wander as to why Momoka started counting, a massive explosion burst forth from the vampire's head where the bullet pierced, affecting every Diabli who were glued together in a group.

An explosion like that at point blank range? Nope, no one is surviving that.

Shock, confusion, flabbergasted, those were the emotions that I'm feeling in no particular order.

"Exploding rounds." Momoka clarified my uncertainty as she cooly blow the tip of her pistol, "And not just any exploding rounds, but magical delayed exploding rounds. Before making my way here, I commissioned different types of bullets for my gun from none other than the infamous Magical Girl: Murica herself."

Murica? Ah, so that explained it. If I remember correctly, Murica is the Magical Girl who not only specializes in guns but is also abnormally obsessed with them. She treated guns as if they were her babies, and heck, she would even talk to them like a deranged maniac, giggling to herself crazily while mumbling sweet whispers. One time, I even saw her tucking a sniper rifle… A freaking sniper rifle to bed!! The crazy girl even named her gun, calling it Mr. Remington with a loving and motherly voice.

Now that the Diabli horde had been dealt with, it's perhaps the right moment to address the elephant in the room.

Momoka eyed me with a deep look, her cold eyes gazing forth as if piercing right at my very soul.

I took it upon myself to initiate the conversation, to explain my situation to her.

"Momoka, I…"

My words were cut short when Momoka raised her right hand to stop me. Her cold expression somewhat softened as it was replaced by sympathy.

"We all make mistakes, sensei." Momoka leaned down and patted my head gently, "I'm sure you only did what you thought was right, and I do not blame you for that."

"But at what cost?" I was still in tears, lamenting over my sin, "Aegis, she died because of me!! All because of my stubbornness to uphold my pathetic morals!! I watched her face filled with betrayal as she perished right into my arms!! It's all my fault!!"

"No, sensei." Momoka denied with conviction and pulled me to a hug, "It's not your fault. You simply wanted to do the right thing. If it's anyone's fault, it's the Diablus who took advantage of your chivalry. Scum like him does not deserve a second, much less a third chance. I'm 100% confident that Aegis felt the same way and she in no way do not hate you for it. After all, she put her full trust in you when you gave the order, even letting go of her hatred. It is a clear indication of the bond you both share and a testament of what an amazing sensei you truly are."

"Momoka…"

It was touching for her, really, to comfort me while I drown in sorrow. Momoka sure knew how to say the right words, and I find myself drawn to her comforting presence.

"Thank you, Momoka."

"A pleasure, sen...."

Terror immediately took over as the nightmare of the past happened right before my very eyes.

Momoka… a blade was pierced right at her left chest, only missing me by a dangerously small margin.

"MOMOKA!!!!!"

Behind her was the culprit himself, the vampire who we thought had perished.