Chapter 58: New Title: Kyubey, Spreader of Despair
As the truth that "Magical Girls are Witches" spread like a plague, the chosen "lamb" was brought into sharp focus before the eyes of a desperate humanity.
The silence and incompetence of the authorities extinguished the final embers of hope. The fear and pain festering in people's hearts had nowhere to go. This untethered resentment finally found a "righteous" outlet.
It began with chaotic demonstrations. Soon, these events were laced with accusations against specific individuals. Shoving turned to violence. A few scattered stones were thrown at the accused.
Under the simple logic of "Magical Girl = Witch," anger and fear found a common vent. Jealousy and hatred coalesced into a dark flood. Cloaked in the guise of "justice," it began to sweep across the globe.
They no longer needed evidence. They no longer needed logic. They just needed a target. They needed a scapegoat—someone they could blame for all their misfortunes, a piece of prey that would give them a sense of control in their apocalyptic despair.
Finally, at a dusk stretched to its breaking point, the first gunshot cracked the sky.
The "witch hunt" had begun.
It was more insane than the Middle Ages, more brutal than any inquisition. This was not the ignorant superstition of the past, but a collective hysteria, wrapped in the remnants of modern technology and apocalyptic despair, which made it all the more savage. The driving force was the absolute despair of the end of the world and the deepest darkness of human nature.
The targets were any young girls who could possibly be "Magical Girls."
"That girl! I saw her secretly talking to a rock!"
"Her window glows at night!"
"Get her! Don't let her run!"
An introverted-looking girl, clutching her books, was dragged screaming from her apartment by her neighbors.
"No! Please! My daughter isn't… she's really not…" Her mother cried, trying to protect her, but she was instantly swallowed by the furious mob.
"Shut up, you witch-raising collaborator! Traitor to humanity!"
Clubs fell. Rocks flew. Blood stained the street.
"She's just a kid! Have you all lost your minds?!" a few middle-aged men and women roared, trying to stop the atrocity. They tried to pull the frenzied crowd apart but were quickly beaten to the ground.
"You're defending the witch too? You're traitors!"
Their few voices were quickly silenced by a storm of fists, kicks, and curses. The mob cheered as they hung the bodies of the innocent girl and the man who tried to protect her from a lamppost. It was their trophy of "justice."
…
But true Magical Girls possessed power far beyond the reach of ordinary people. So, the mobs turned their attention to their families.
"Kill her parents! See if she comes out then!"
"Cut off her little brother's fingers and hang them on the door! Let's see how long she can stand it!"
Unimaginable cruelty was enacted in broad daylight.
Finally, a Magical Girl who protected her city, after exhausting her power to drive away Familiars and save the local populace, returned home.
What she saw were the corpses of her family, nailed to her front door.
She just stood there as silent tears streamed down her face, mixing with the ash and blood on her cheeks. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the door. Nailed to it… were her father, her mother, and her little brother, Yuji.
And outside the door… were the very people whose safety she had just traded her life for. They were laughing, shouting, and holding torches.
"Look! The witch is back!"
"Kill her! Avenge the dead!"
Protection? For these people? Why? For what?
The gem on her chest, which once shone with the light of "protection," was instantly and completely corrupted. The encroaching darkness was cold and viscous. Not a single speck of light remained.
BOOM—!!!
A Witch of despair was born.
She didn't scream or rage. Filled only with an absolute hatred for these people and a bottomless despair, she slaughtered the mob and turned the entire city block into a hell of wailing screams.
Similar scenes were replaying themselves all over the world.
…
Elsewhere, on a derelict commercial street, a barricade had been built from burnt-out cars and rubble. A Magical Girl in a blood-stained school uniform gasped for breath, her magic almost gone. She had just finished a brutal fight, repelling a wave of Familiars that had tried to breach her defense line.
Behind her were a dozen civilians she had managed to save. They were still in shock, huddled in a corner, thankful to be alive.
But the next second, a deeper despair descended.
At the far end of the street, the shadows writhed. The aura of a Witch, far more powerful than the Familiars she just fought, was approaching.
There's no escape. This is it. We're going to die.
Panic spread through the survivors. Just then, one of the men looked at the Magical Girl, who was slumped on the ground, too exhausted to even stand. In his desperation, a venomous idea took root in his mind.
He shot a finger at the girl, his voice shrill and tearful, filled with the madness of a final gamble.
"It's her! The jinx! The TV said it, they all turn into monsters eventually!"
"Kill her! Use her as a sacrifice! Maybe… maybe that will appease the monster's anger!"
"Or… use her to block it! Buy us some time!"
The thought instantly ignited the survival instinct of the others.
Yes! Sacrifice her! We might live!
"Get her!"
"Throw her out there!"
Fear overrode everything. Reason and gratitude vanished. Their eyes held only the desire to live and the sight of the "other" who could be sacrificed. She was weak now.
The people picked up nearby bricks, iron pipes, and even broken bottles, and slowly began to surround her.
The girl stared at them in disbelief. At the very people she had just risked her life to protect.
"What… what are you doing?"
"Die, you monster!!"
The man closest to her swung the iron pipe at her head with all his might. The girl instinctively flinched, dodging the blow. The pipe slammed into her shoulder with a dull thud.
There was no pain. Perhaps she had long since stopped thinking of herself as human. But what hurt now, far more than any physical blow, was her heart.
An icy despair seized her.
This… is what I get… for protecting them?
She let out a silent, ghastly smile. The last of the light in her eyes died, replaced by a pure, frenzied killing intent.
She raised her hand. A blinding magical light, radiating destruction, gathered in her palm. No hesitation. No mercy.
The light swept out.
Screams erupted and were instantly silenced. The bricks, pipes, bottles… and the twisted faces holding them, were all turned to dust in the light.
The street fell silent once more. Only the girl was left standing, spattered with blood and dust. She looked down at her own hands.
The powerful Witch aura in the distance seemed to pause at the slaughter, then turned in another direction. But none of that mattered to her anymore.
Her Soul Gem shattered completely.
A burst of black energy.
Another Witch was born, from a cycle of mutual slaughter.
…
Despair created Witches. Witches brought destruction. Destruction deepened despair.
A vicious, endless cycle.
Everywhere, there were the roars of the angry.
Everywhere, there were the wails of the desperate.
Faced with the end of the world, humanity had chosen to tear itself apart.
…
Just then, a long-unheard notification sounded in Kyubey's consciousness. It was the notification from the "Non-Human Chat Group."
[In view of member "Kyubey's" indirect actions, which have significantly accelerated the propagation and intensification of despair within the current civilization and have caused a wide-ranging and profound impact upon this world, the following title is hereby granted: Spreader of Despair.]
[Title Effect: Energy income from livestreaming increased by 10%.]
The notification popped up in Kyubey's mind. But the group chat itself remained silent.
…
All across the world, Kyubeys sat quietly atop tall buildings. It remained indifferent to the escalating self-destruction on this planet, to the repeating cycle of despair and ruin.
"In the face of a survival crisis, prioritizing the elimination of the 'other,' blaming a minority for all problems, and persecuting the weak to vent fear and dissatisfaction…"
"Emotion truly is a mental illness that hinders the rational development of intelligent life."
At that moment, the gazes of all Kyubeys seemed to cross the boundaries of space. They all looked toward Conan, who was sitting beside Ran's body, and at the group of survivors he was with—survivors who, because of the global news and their desperate situation, were beginning to waver…
"Wouldn't you agree… Shinichi… Kudo…"