Aile had a tough childhood. Not that her parents were violent or constantly drunk, hurling insults at her every day; she was born with a disability, and that was enough.

Incompetent person.

As Eight realized just half a day after landing in this world, the prejudice and discrimination against incompetents here is worse than that faced by disabled people. Honestly, it would almost be better to be missing a limb or two.

Born without abilities, Aile was treated almost like a non-human by her superpowered parents. They provided food and a place to sleep, but the most crucial thing—their love—was completely absent.

It’s no surprise she didn’t receive love at home; she certainly wasn’t getting any from society. She was what some would call a target for bullying.

Puk-!

“Ugh, bleeeehhk-!”
“Ugh, you fucking loser!”

After getting punched in the abdomen, Aile spilled her guts onto the floor. A girl whose shoes got splattered by her vomit cursed her out while kicking in her direction.

With her face in the dirt and being stomped on from behind, Aile desperately endured the pain. She wanted to resist, but they were superpowered kids, and while their powers weren’t as strong as a hero’s or villain’s, they could easily overpower someone like her.

“P-please, stop…”

“What the hell are you saying, you freak?”
“Who’s gonna kill you?”
“Well, you should’ve brought some cash then.”

The girls bullying her giggled as they tormented her. At least they weren’t particularly malicious—if they were as cruel as villains, they might have forced her into prostitution or sold her as an experiment to some bad guys.

In that case, Aile’s life would have hit an all-time low, but they wouldn’t have gotten away with it. Heroes would have swooped in and arrested them as villains.

So instead, Aile was just moderately bullied, moderately beaten, and moderately extorted for cash. It was all at a level that adults could shrug off and dismiss as “just kids being kids.”

“Hey, next time, bring real money! Or I’ll strip you down and toss you to the boys in a bag.”
“Not that…!”

“Did you understand, or didn’t you—?”
“I-I get it already…”

Her mouth was raw. She couldn’t even pronounce the words properly with her shreds of flesh. Aile prayed and prayed just to survive that day.

The next day, however, her mom didn’t give her enough allowance, and she was called back to the construction site again.

“Ugh-!?”
“Damn loser! I told you to bring cash!”

While she was getting beat up yet again, something strange happened.

Alarms blared.

[─The World’s Evil has appeared. Residents of the city are advised to seek immediate shelter.]

The kids who had been mercilessly beating Aile froze at the sound of the alarm. They paused their torment and listened.

“Hey, shouldn’t we run?”
“Don’t worry. It won’t come this way.”
“But still…”

The kids snickered and shrugged off the warning, embodying the typical teenage arrogance. They figured the odds of running into a monster were low enough to justify their casual demeanor.

The chances of encountering a monster were probably slim.

But odds are just numbers, and astronomically rare events can still happen.

─gRtxæ?

“O-uhh-?”
“Is that a monster…?”
“Shit……”

A creature revealed itself before them, a lifeform evolved solely to shatter human bodies and minds. An abomination so horrific, it’d never make it onto  TV or newspapers, only existing on the deep web.

The cosmic horror, capable of bringing down any punk who prided himself on bullying powerless kids, set its eerie gaze upon them.

“AAAAHHHH-!”
“R-run away!”
“Fuuuuuuck−!”

The girls, finally realizing the situation, fled in absolute panic. They could run fast enough that they could have easily escaped, yet the monster remained still.

The creature remained halted before Aile: the foolish human who stood there, incapable of moving.

“Uh, uh-… aaah…”

Having been beaten mercilessly moments before, Aile crawled along the ground, limping. Perhaps it was a result of her injuries or her weak mental state, but she couldn’t muster any strength in her legs.

Aile wailed, tears and snot streaming down her face as she clawed at the ground, slowly dragging herself away from the monster.

Seeing her futile attempts, the monster sneered and took a single step closer, making Aile’s struggling feel meaningless.

“Ah- uh…”

They say that when terrified enough, you can feel nothing at all. Aile was experiencing just that; instead of crying or wetting herself, she was left dumbfounded, staring feebly at the monster.

Recognizing that Aile had reached her limit, the creature no longer found it entertaining and opened its jaws wide.

─!Zx#Cv$Bn^

Just as its wide-open mouth was about to swallow Aile, a brilliant ray of white light streaked down from above. The light sliced through the monster’s head and vanished below.

“─Here comes the warrior of jewels who emerges with light! Twinkle Claire-note has arrived!”

The magical girl, appearing from the white light, scanned the area for any remaining threats before cautiously landing next to Aile.

“Are you okay?”

“Y-yeah, huh…?”

“Hehe, you look fine! Yep, I’ll get people to help you in no time. But why are you here alone at this hour? Is something wrong…?”

That day, Aile couldn’t recall much of what happened afterward. However, there was one thing she remembered: she had survived and met a magical girl.

And that memory became one she would never forget.

“Ehehe…”

Whether at home or school, Aile found herself blissfully reminiscing about that intense moment. She met a magical girl. The magical girl came to save her. The magical girl reached out to her…

Caught in this heap of happiness, Aile accidentally forgot about the dire situation she was in. She was jolted back to reality by the loud sound of her desk being pounded.

“─Hey, you! Get out here!”

“Aah…!”

A wake-up call.

Aile was dragged off by the girls and, as she’d come to expect, brutally beaten and interrogated.

“Hey, you were with that magical girl yesterday, right? You didn’t tell her about us, did ya?”

“N-no… I didn’t say anything…”

“Oh really? You were clever to keep your mouth shut… Good job. But don’t think about having a separate meeting with her again.”

That moment changed everything. Aile glared fiercely at the girls who were attempting to sever her connection with the magical girl, who was her dream, her light, her hope.

Perhaps they didn’t like the look in her eyes, for more than usual brutal punches and kicks were sent her way. Regardless…

She couldn’t give up.

No way she was letting go of her magical girl over mere bullying. She wouldn’t throw away her hope, not even if it cost her life. Determined, she decided to end this long-standing rivalry.

The next day.

“─You little shit! That look in your eyes! You little brat-!”

“Ugh, gack-!”

“Hey, enough! You’ll kill her!”

“Right… Something’s off about you today.”

The violence aimed at her was harsher than ever, to the point where other kids began to intervene, saying it was too much. But Aile kept her glare unwavering on the girl responsible.

Eventually, the girl, exhausted after swinging her fists for ages, started to pant. An opening. Aile whipped out the hidden kitchen knife.

The knife’s blade sliced through the girl’s arm, causing blood to spurt everywhere.

“U-uhhh-?”
“AAAAHHHH-!”
“B-blood! Call 911, 911!”

Seeing the girls panic and grasp at their wounds made Aile chuckle to herself. She had endured more pain than this. How could they not handle such minor injuries?

Weren’t they just lowly beings?

“─The magical girl is mine. My very own… I’ll never let it be taken from me….”

“Wha- what are you talking about, crazy girl?”
“I said I won’t let it go—!”

With that, Aile charged toward them, knife extended, while they froze, totally flabbergasted they could be attacked.

Just before her knife could pierce a body, a familiar beam of light descended from the sky, breaking the blade she held.

‘…Huh?’

“─Now, now, that won’t do. You can’t play with something dangerous like that.”

The magical girl descended from the sky. The very same one, her light, her hope.

The warrior of light had come.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I’m fine… Is that really the magical girl…?”

“Yep, I’m the real deal.”

The magical girl then worried about the girl she had injured. Aile’s heart darkened as she watched this unfold. Why hadn’t she shown up when Aile was attacked?

As Aile pondered this, the magical girl turned toward her and slowly approached.

“Now, why don’t you hand over that dangerous thing, and we can head to the police station together…”

“Why are you helping someone like her?!”

“Huh? What do you mean by ‘someone like her’?”

“I’m not talking about me! Why help her?!”

“Then what do you mean… iw-”

The magical girl tilted her head, looking utterly confused. The girls standing behind her began to taunt Aile, labeling her a madwoman or crazy.

Real crazy? Who’s really the bad one here?

But even amidst her rising rage, a deeper fear bloomed within her heart. Aile carefully opened her mouth with trembles coursing through her voice.

“D-do you remember who I am?”

“Hm…?”

“Do you… remember me…?”

This wasn’t long ago.

For her, it was a day she could never forget.

So surely, the magical girl would also remember…

“I’m sorry, who are you?”

“─Ah.”

It was a letdown. To the magical girl, saving her had been just another mundane day, nothing special at all.

Unable to accept this reality, Aile lunged at the magical girl. The latter looked troubled as she regarded her.

Just like before, Aile didn’t remember much of what happened that day.

All she knew was that she survived and met a magical girl, and that fact became a memory she would never forget.

*

The incident with the girl was settled with a warning, but Aile couldn’t just casually attend school. She dropped out that day.

At home, she was kicked out, too. They no longer wanted a child who was both incompetent and a criminal. They acted like they had been waiting for her to commit a crime, which was rather absurd.

Following that, she was picked up by Regalia and joined the evil organization. She thought she’d never return to this city again.

But she did come back.

Now as an evil magical girl.

“─Shall we get started?”

The evil organization’s motto was to avoid causing harm to civilians. Aile had no intentions of breaking that code. She enveloped the city in darkness with her magic, announcing her presence to the magical girls within.

Whether it worked or not, the magical girls quickly flew toward her position.

“What the…!? All of a sudden!”
“A magical girl…? But using magic like this will make her lose her powers…?”
“Are you out of your mind!? Turn the lights on quickly!”

Among the magical girls flocking to her was the one Aile had wanted to meet most: the warrior of light. Aile locked eyes with her and smiled.

“Hello there, magical girls.”

All the magical girls she had once idolized turned their gazes in unison toward her. This electrifying sensation. One she could never forget.

Aile suppressed her rising smile and spoke.

“─Do you know who I am?”

“…What are you on about?”
“How would we know?”
“Who the hell are you?!”

Different responses bombarded her all at once. The warrior of light didn’t react any differently than anyone else. Seeing this, Aile grinned and lifted the hem of her dress.

You don’t know who I am?

“Soon, you will find out.”

And it will be a memory you will never forget.

This would be her debut as an evil magical girl.

Let’s sing of an unforgettable rendezvous.

*

Upon waking up, I realized the magical girl outfit in the lab was gone, making me jump out of my seat and start searching everywhere. It was then I stumbled upon the discarded garment on the floor and deduced that Aile had vanished with the magical girl suit on.

Sighing in relief, I turned on my smartphone and then froze slightly at the tidal wave of unread messages and missed calls.

Boss – Scientist? I heard you finished Aile’s outfit. Good job. (12:01)
Boss – I’ll give you a few days off. You can enjoy doing what you want… (12:01)
Boss – It’s a well-designed piece with a keen eye for aesthetics. Quite beautiful. If you turn on the  TV now, you might catch Aile’s current appearance. (12:03)
Boss – Wait, Scientist. What have you created? (12:05)
Boss – Scientist? Are you alive? Why aren’t you answering your phone…? (12:06)
Boss – Please pick up. I’m begging you… (12:06)

The time was now 1:10 PM. It had been a full hour since the first message.

After the barrage of messages frightened me a bit, I decided to act professionally and called my boss. As soon as it rang once, he picked it up immediately.

[…Scientist?]

“Yes, Boss. It’s me. What’s going on…?”

[What have you been doing all this time…?]

“I was sleeping, actually. I had just finished up my research….”

[I see… turn on the TV and check the news. Then you’ll understand everything…]

Hearing my boss let out a heavy sigh, I cautiously turned on the TV to check the news. What appeared was an anchor reporting on the newly emerged evil magical girl.

—The magical girl who recently appeared in City H seems to be a villain unlike any other we’ve seen before…Experts suggest she could potentially be an unprecedented adversary…

—Once more, we present the evil magical girl. Viewers, don’t be too shocked…

As the anchor’s words concluded, Aile appeared on the screen, dressed in the magical girl outfit. From head to toe, she exuded darkness, practically the embodiment of evil.

[Aha ha ha ha—! Is this all you’ve got!? A magical girl!?]
[Urggh—! Why is this girl so strong!?]
[Try to struggle a bit more!]

Watching Aile casually beat the daylights out of other magical girls on the screen made me chuckle.

‘…Did I accidentally install a personality-changing device or something?’

I didn’t think I had done that.

But the Aile who was now active  on TV was…

“Eh, maybe it’s time for a vacation.”

I hastily redirected my attention from the TV and began to put my clothes on.

I had just received a vacation from my boss.

This meant that whatever was happening from now on was none of my business.

Right, it didn’t concern me.