Chapter 4: C4 – The Effect of Magic

"Hmnnnghh..."

My eyes opened slowly as I simultaneously mustered the strength to raise my body. I'm soon attacked by soreness. I start feeling around my body for the wounds that I took yesterday. They haven't completely healed, as expected, not that much progress would be made in a day. But, I can still feel the abnormality of it all: the wounds have been sealed and I can probably walk around even though my bones were crushed. I reconfirm my notion that [Magical Girls] are pretty amazing, well they'd have to be able to defeat those [Curses]. My hands, in the middle of surveying my body's condition, are imbued with a dangerous idea!

"..."

Well, this is my body. I should naturally know how it feels right? I begin fondling, I swear it was nothing weird--it was just curiosity, it was just me confirming various things!

"What are you doing?"

"!?"

Yoru looked down on me from straight above.

"H-hey, Yoru."

"It seems you're awake."

"Yeah, thanks for last night Yoru."

"It was you who defeated the [Curse], why not revel in your glory?"

"Sorry, I'm too hungry for that right now...hehe."

Wait a minute, ah, I messed up.

"This is the 2nd time! I went out of the apartment and came back empty-handed!"

Yoru," Not necessarily, look on the floor."

I look to the floor of my room which was slightly cleared out.

"Did you...Yoru, did you bring them all back for me?"

"It took a few trips but I got all the bags we had after the battle."

"Nice! Thanks!"

I immediately get in the mood to cook something.

"Don't get up too fast, the wounds are still healing."

"Don't worry!"

I shift out of bed and--awckk! It hurts!

"What'd I tell you?"

I sit back down on the soft bed.

"Do I really have to wait for this to heal?"

"Yes. [Magical Girls] from their physical enhancements can heal wounds faster among other effects like improved digestion, reduced aging, more stable mental state, etc."

"I see, wait, I have two bodies don't I Yoru? Can I switch over to 'Akito' and act as if I didn't have these wounds since it's a new body?"

"Hm, I think you're under some kind of misunderstanding. You technically have one body. Your male and female forms, Akito and Aki are still you. All I did was connect them in the vast world of parallel realities. If you take damage in one body it will transfer to the other if you switch. I don't recommend it, since your other body has less vitality and healing ability than this one."

Parallel realities, it's probably related to Yoru's time abilities.

"So, my bodies don't share the [Magical Girl]'s power?"

"Yes, the body in front of me is the [Magical Girl], the only one with the powers. The other one is just that of a normal human, the same as you were for the majority of your life."

"I see...that's too bad. Well, so I know for next time, how do I switch back to my original body?"

"Just say this phrase and I'll activate it for you upon vocal recognition, [Transform]."

I can only use this to switch to one body or the other once a day...

"Alright, noted!"

---

When I felt up for it, I slowly rose up again while bearing the pain and shuffle over to the bags we attained through literal blood and sweat. I pick up some raw ingredients.

"Yoru, I'm going to whip up something right now. Do you feel like anything?"

"I am unable to ingest food."

"Wow, that sucks."

"I am not plagued by many things normal organisms are plagued by. I don't grow hungry and I don't need sleep."

"That's a convenient body for you right there."

---

"..."

"..."

"..."

A nice smell began to permeate the building: oxtail stew.

"Anyways, you did good fighting yesterday huh."

"Oh? Thanks."

"I was surprised, not many could pull off a stunt like that you know. Killing such a [Curse] right after obtaining your powers, you may be one of the only ones who managed that."

"Well, I was super nervous and scared all the way. All I did was mimic what I've seen in movies and anime. My experience with VR games came in handy slightly too."

"It was amazing. But, we could've done better had we had more information."

"More information?"

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"Yes, I think it's about time to tell you."

"Tell me what?"

"...[Magical Girls] don't usually learn about these things. I may be indulging you in knowledge, but I think this is necessary. After all, you and I are slightly different from the rest."

Well, of course, I'm not even a girl qualified to be a [Magical Girl].

"I have certain rules that I have to follow. As such, I will probably be unable to use my time powers again for a while--what I did borders on breaking the rules after all. I can't tell you whose rules they are or what they are. Just know that I am limited in my actions."

"So, is giving young girls the powers of [Magical Girls] one of those rules, one of those limitations?"

Thinking logically, it doesn't make sense that only one demographic is capable of handling that power. Even I'm an example of an exemption to that rule.

"Yes, it is a rule imposed on us."

"Us, the [Focals]--so you think of each other as a group?"

"Yes, [Focals] can communicate with one another easily and act as a group in order to defeat [Curses]."

"I see."

"But, most [Focals] are different than I."

"How so?"

"[Focals] usually have a stubborn pride, a tendency to look down on humans. I can't tell you where this sentiment stems from. But, I can tell you that I don't fundamentally ascribe to this idea and thus am more open-minded to sharing what I know and protecting you. Another [Focal] may not have shielded for you or even given you much information leaving you to figure things out alone."

Looks like I got lucky then...

"So, do you have more 'information' you want to tell me?"

"Yes, though it's not confidential info. Also, normally, [Focals] wouldn't be telling this to [Magical Girls]. I'll indulge you though, Aki, because you are worthy of it. Also, it's essential: for survival."

"O-ok."

"Your [Effect] is the power to steal energy from [Curses], that's what I said. But, that's slightly inaccurate."

"Inaccuracy? How so?"

"First I have to explain magic."

"Magic?"

"We've named it such a phenomenon."

"What is this magic?"

"You could say it's another form of matter affected by the will and at the same time something that isn't and doesn't exist in this 3D plane. It's a wave, particle, and concept."

"I still don't really understand."

"Just know that it exists all around you and within you and that you can twist and bend this energy with the power of your mind and willpower."

"Alright, so, what can I do with magic?"

"Create matter, disrupt minds, level buildings--theoretically anything."

That sounds so cool!

"Can I do that right now?"

"Well, that would take an insanely costly amount of magic power, an amount you don't have. What you can manage right now is utilizing magic to power up your body with physical enhancements and manifesting/sharpening that cutlass of yours. These are both examples of the effects of magic formations I implanted onto you during [Magical Girl Conversion]. These magic formations are a way to autonomously capitalize on magic without consciousness, it reduces magic used as well for the product."

"So you're saying my physical enhancements and sword are reliant on magic?"

That makes sense, the internal energy I felt that I could manipulate within me was magic! The more magic power I have, the stronger the effects of the formations, like a function.

"So, how does that tell me about my [Effect]?"

"Well, [Effect]s are fundamentally different from magic. While they can both achieve the same goals of supernatural phenomena that oppose this world's physical systems in real life, magic permeates the universe which causes it to inhabit you. But, [Effects] are different. [Effects] themselves come from you. Like how your weapon is reflective of your heart, the [Effect] is the same but even more so. It is a power only available to intelligent conscious beings. It is a way for them to reflect on the world their own mind, twisting it and distorting it to its own power and will that rejects the logic of all that opposes it. That is the [Effect], the supernatural ability that relies not on magic but on yourself, your will."

"So, this [Effect] doesn't use magic...then how is my energy stealing [Effect] related to magic in any way?"

"Your [Effect] is not to simply steal energy from [Curses], no, I doubt that this ability is limited to that. Your ability is to steal--drain magic or in other words mana from opponents upon defeating them or physical contact. When you stole that bear [Curse]'s mana, the magic power within you increased allowing you to allocate more resources to aid your strength and overpower the monster. It would be fitting to call that [Effect], [Mana Drain]."

"The ability to drain mana..."

An [Effect] that affects the consumption of magic? Isn't this the strongest!

"This probably means we can expect explosive growth when we start seriously hunting [Curses]."

"Yeah!"

This is the start, the start of [Magical Girl Aki]! My rise to power!

"By the way, is it normal Earth culture to wear a naked apron while cooking?"

"Uh..."

---

While enjoying the nicest meal I'd had in a while...

"So, did you name your sword?"

"Yep!"

"What did you call it?"

"[Realizer]!"

"Chuunibyou..."

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