Chapter 128: Magical Girl: Kaede Akino

'Who... am I?'

Unsurprisingly, the soul inside the Soul Gem woke up from her slumber. Though, her long-term 'sleep' made her memories blurry, to the point that she couldn't even remember about herself.

When she first opened her 'eyes', she saw a blinding red light. It's too bright that she subconsciousness closed her 'eyes'.

'Where am I..?'

It didn't take long for her to 'smell' the rusty and old scent of the factory. She caught wind of another smell, however—it's very attractive to her. It didn't seem like the scent of a perfume or a cologne, but something natural instead.

'It feels warm.'

Soon, she felt the existence when the natural scent originated. She found it very comfortable, making her relax just by being here. It served to calm down her tense nerves and stop her from panicking.

That is, until, her memories came flooding at her.

'I... I'm a Magical Girl?'

Her first meeting with the cute white fox called Kyuubey.

A tall building for future apartments was suddenly being constructed right in front of her house, which would've threatened her family's garden due to lack of sunlight. Their pets became more wary, too. This made her, a 14 year old, resentful towards it.

"Do you want your wish to come true?"

The white fox appeared right in front of their house.

"Yes!"

"You'll have to become a special existence, a Magical Girl to make it come true. Are you willing?"

Believing that this is some kind of joke, or her imagination perhaps, she declared:

"I wish for the construction of those apartments... I wish it never started!"

Suddenly, the white fox disappeared on the spot, leaving with a "Your wish is granted."

The next day, she was surprised to find out that the construction of the apartments really stopped, with it being demolished slowly. She found it very surreal and dreamy at first until she sensed something that she can summon, and that is her Soul Gem.

'Am I still dreaming?'

She believed that everything's fine, but she found out that she can see the supernaturals of her world, the Witches. It's also the time when Kyuubey reappeared besides her and told that she has to fight those Witches as a Magical Girl.

"...What if... What if I don't fight?" She asked it.

"It will only make the spread of the Impurities slower. Even in a disabled state, you are still a Magical Girl. That's why Magical Girls has to fight against those who spread despair."

"It benefits them, too." Kyuubey added.

As a rookie Magical Girl who didn't have any teachers except Kyuubey who occasionally gave out information, she made many mistakes during her first battle.

If not for the fact that her Magical Girl Ability is [Plant Manipulation] that allowed her to fight from the distance along with her barriers, her life would've been claimed during that time.

Still, she sustained an injury that broke her arm due to a moment's carelessness. She didn't know about shutting off her pain receptors at that time, forcing her to suffer in silence. Even when she healed it using [Healing Magic], the pain that she experienced is engraved in her mind.

Fortunately, she met new friends who are also Magical Girls, thus cancelling out some of the despair that she's constantly feeling.

"Until when would this dream continue?"

Although, it only allowed her to cope with it better—the state of mind had barely improved. By being in a brighter persona, which is something suggested by her friends, she managed to prolong her fall.

Six months had passed since then, and her family decided to go on a vacation. In it, they visited Mitakihara City which led to her meeting Tomoe Mami and Kyoko Sakura.

They became a Magical Girl more than half a year before her, but she discovered that the two are faring better than her—better than her friends, even.

Seeing them, she realized the disparity between them, and the only end of someone weak like her. As if waiting for it, her darkness within her resurfaced.

Slowly, it consumed her until she could no longer wake up...

"AHHHH!"

A girl's scream originated from the red Soul Gem before a sudden change happened. The unblemished red gem swiftly became filled with darkness. Despair, which is the origin of it, is experienced by her once more.

Add to that fact her confusion from before, she would soon turn into a Witch once more.

Fortunately, the person who can handle mental problems is here.

[Mental Placation]!

[Mental Placation]!

[Mental Placation]!

[Mental Placation]!

[Mental Placation]!

...

In the span of 10 seconds, Shiro spammed [Mental Placation] by reabsorbing the mana from the environment. Along with his max-level control is [Six Eyes], his ability that helped him control the world's energies even better.

This resulted in him being able to regenerate his entire mana reserves in a span of a second.

'It should work.'

[Mental Placation]

Details: A spell created by the Supreme Magus, the Librarian of the End, in his early days. It calms down the target and inhibits their movements. While this spell is casted, the target would have a clearer mind suited for rational thoughts.

Duration: 5 seconds

Note: The spells can be overlapped with each other to have a stronger effect and longer duration.

When he became a Circle Magician, he unlocked a huge bank of magic spells, each made out of runes that he used in the prior stage. Thanks to the help of his enormous Wisdom stat, he managed to read through everything in less than a week. This made his combat power even stronger than before.

Add to that his ability to spam such spells for a long time, Shiro became someone suited for both short and long battles, covering most of his weaknesses.

Right now, he casted a total of 52 [Mental Placation] spells, which showed its effect immediately. Albeit pale, he focused on the Soul Gem that almost got corrupted.

The spread of the impurities came to a halt while the soul inside of the gem gained serenity.

She 'saw' the outside world once more, but her attention went to the man who's at the epitome of handsomeness. His amber-like pupils were revealed once he took off his blindfold during those 10 seconds—showing her a pair of mystifying eyes that can capture anyone's heart.

"Looks like I disturbed your sleep." He said while smiling. "But you wouldn't mind it, right?"

"N-no."

Unsurprisingly, she got dazed by his smile, making her momentarily forget the fiasco she's in.

Meanwhile, Shiro wrapped her Soul Gem in his [Hell Flames Ignition], ridding the impurities that were slowly spreading every single second.

'It's not like impurities are caused by anything bad in the environment. Mami, despite having a clear mind, also has those. Then, this should be a rule.' Shiro thought. 'Whenever a Magical Girl spends her magical power, impurities would appear. It's closer to a law, but why would Kyuubey and the Incubators do this?'

When he thought about this, some doubts were cleared. But, more doubts replaced them, one of them being the reason behind this law. If they assist Magical Girls, then why create something detrimental to them?

Ding-!

[Investigation—Universal Truth: 30/40]

Thanks to their investigation for more than 8 days, this Universal Truth rose up to 15. Though, it surprised Shiro that discovering this hidden aspect behind Impurities caused it to jump by more than 15.

"Before we talk more, care to tell about your name?" He asked.

"My name... My name is Kaede Akino. You can call me Kaede."

*****

A/N: No fun fact for today since I'm too tired to think of one...