Is This How You Use a Self-Destruct Switch?!-Chapter 4 : Blood Mist

"Ruby! What is... happening...?"
Tsuan looked around left and right, trying to find the rabbit familiar that had just helped her complete her transformation and should have belonged to Luna. Although her heart had prepared for the worst-case scenario, a glimmer of hope still struggled within.
Maybe... Ruby just made a mistake?
Those clear, water-like red eyes carefully scanned the surroundings, finally extinguishing all hope completely. Ruby had vanished like vapor, and no matter how she called out, she received not even the slightest response.
No accompanying familiar, no cute magical outfit, no brilliant magic, no useful tools.
Tsuan found it hard to accept—that she had become such... a magical girl who couldn't be "called a magical girl."
'Could it be that I just fell asleep in the classroom?'
Right, right? I must be dreaming... I must be!
Tsuan let out a dry laugh and stretched. She prepared to find somewhere to sleep until she woke up.
However, a light "pat" sound mercilessly shattered her fantasy—an object slipped from her pocket and fell onto the grass. That red switch lay there quietly, its cold, smooth surface seeming to carry a hint of mockery as it gazed at its owner.
When she bent down to pick it up, those explanatory words appeared once again: 'Suicide switch, press to die, then revive in a safe place.'
Her red eyes, like a startled rabbit, blinked blankly. She raised her free hand and, with the last hope of proving "this is a dream," pinched her cheek hard.
"Uu... so painful!!!"
Tears instantly welled up in her eyes. Tsuan knelt on the ground and frantically rubbed her smooth long hair as if venting her frustration.
'So... I really became a magical girl? But, but why…'
She closed her eyes tearfully, and that "magic" belonging to her surfaced in her mind once again.
The glaring characters 'Death Rattle' still hung prominently above.
There must... there must be other ways, right? Besides dying...
Perhaps... after transforming, my strength became particularly great? Even without using magic...
She opened her eyes unwillingly and, imitating magical girl Amber's style, carefully swung her fist to strike the stone beside her.
"Uu... damn!"
Fortunately, she had subconsciously accepted the reality of "having no power," so she didn't hurt herself badly from using too much force and roll around on the ground. She just rubbed her reddened fingers and silently accepted this cruel proof.
"Ruby...?"
She placed her last hope on the mysteriously disappeared familiar rabbit, but... the surroundings were eerily quiet, as if only she existed as a living being.
Finally giving up completely, Tsuan reached out to pinch her cheek and barely mustered her spirits.
After all, Ruby is Magical Girl Luna's familiar, not mine.
I have no magical outfit, no familiar, no magic. But I am still a magical girl...
She took out her only tool, that red button.
Suicide switch.
"Press to die, then revive in a safe place."
The girl's soft voice read word by word the explanation she saw.
Will revive... so if I press the button, I'll die... then activate that 'Death Rattle' and detonate all remaining magic power in my body?
This at least proves I do have magic power in my body... but I don't know how to use any magic at all. What's the point of just having magic power...
Moreover... if I explode in a crowded place, wouldn't that cause big trouble for others?
She imagined the scene of herself suddenly exploding in front of everyone's eyes.
'Uwaa! That would definitely scare people to death!'
And... what about my "body"? It would trouble the janitor!
Her warm, soft fingertips unconsciously caressed the cold, smooth button surface, thinking about how to deal with her own "remains" after using this "magic."
As if sensing her distress, a brief explanation appeared at just the right time:
'After revival, the remaining body will transform into harmless, pollution-free tomatoes.'
After reading this, Tsuan swallowed lightly and breathed a sigh of relief—trying hard to ignore the glaring word 'death,' she finally understood the meaning.
'So basically... after pressing the button, it won't cause trouble for others?'
And... after dying, my body will become tomatoes! My favorite vegetable and fruit... I wonder what they taste like?
The fear of death was actually diluted by more than half by this absurd fact of "becoming my favorite food."
Right... why would Ruby leave Luna to find me?
Tsuan scratched her smooth long hair in confusion. Ruby leaving Luna... this had never happened before...
A familiar voice suddenly interrupted her thoughts.
"Amber! Amber! Can you hear me?! I'm trapped here! Come save me quickly!"
It was Luna's voice! She was using the "rescue magic" mentioned in interviews—transmitting information to distant companions through magic power.
Tsuan, who had been depressed about not being able to use magic normally, instantly bit her lip excitedly.
She could hear this! This meant... she had become Luna's 'companion'!
The question deeply buried in her heart about whether she truly counted as a magical girl found its answer at this moment. She was about to cheer, but suddenly realized—Luna was calling for help!
And... Luna was imprisoned?
But she's so strong, how could she possibly be imprisoned? Could there be some monster powerful enough to defeat Luna?
Then I... I definitely have to go save her!
"Magical girls will never abandon their companions!"
The newly appointed miss magical girl, somewhat excitedly shouting out one of the magical girl principles, prepared to go to the location Luna had just sent to rescue her companion.
Even though her companion didn't know her yet, even though... she couldn't fly at all and could only run there on foot or take the train...
But no matter what, today, tomorrow, or even longer! I am a magical girl!
Moreover, after becoming a magical girl, couldn't she directly contact Luna or other magical girls? Wouldn't that end her life as an 'invisible person'?
"This is my duty as a magical girl! Whether it's saving companions or stopping monsters from harming civilians, these are all magical girl duties!"
Tsuan, who seemed completely absorbed in this, patted her cheeks, then followed at the end of the queue to board the tram.
However, even if there were seats on the tram, she didn't dare sit down easily, since others might very well ignore her and sit directly on top of her.
This was also why she didn't like taking trams, but she couldn't worry about such things now...
Standing in a corner to avoid being stepped on, Tsuan heard Luna's voice again.
"Uu... Amber, why aren't you responding? Don't tell me you fell asleep during class again? If you don't come save me soon, I won't have time to do my homework tonight!"
Since she felt it would be rude to suddenly interrupt Luna and Amber's conversation, she remained silent. But Amber's continued offline status gave her a bit of courage.
A precious bit of courage.
"I'll be there soon... Luna?"
According to reason, she should also be able to communicate through the exclusive magic frequency between magical girls, so she tried to convey what she wanted to say to Luna.
But she failed. That sentence without any magic power slowly dissipated into the air.
However, since Tsuan had already failed too many times today, she didn't feel regret and somewhat numbly followed the crowd off the train.
After carefully avoiding several adults who might step on her, she crossed the crosswalk. Finally, following the address, she stood in front of a building marked with a purple moon, with even a donation box and wooden sign placed outside the door.
"The Dark Moon Society and monsters thank you for your contribution!"
The address Luna sent... was this place. Not only because this small villa marked with the Dark Moon Society logo was the most suspicious building in the area, but also because she could faintly 'see' wisps of light blue magic power floating in the air.
'So besides those terrible "magics," I have new abilities! Like... sensing the magic power fluctuations of other magical girls?'
The magical girl facing "battle" for the first time had her heart pounding. She took another deep breath and stepped through that unguarded door, following the light blue magic threads up the stairs.
The expected guards didn't appear, and she safely reached the second floor.
No one guarding?
A glimmer of hope that "maybe I won't need to fight" flashed through her mind. She carefully poked her head out from the stairway.
Hmm... there's only one masked silver-haired girl as an enemy, and a... black cat playing with a ball of yarn?
That black cat seemed to sense something and suddenly looked up, its sharp gaze shooting toward Tsuan's direction. It caught a trace of weak magic power fluctuation, but after repeated investigation, confirmed there was nothing there.
"Amber doesn't seem to know invisibility, meow."
It nuzzled Reiko's cheek.
"Amber would probably just charge in and smash the door," the executive miss put away her homework and stood up, patting her skirt. "Even if she knew invisibility, she'd probably be too lazy to use it."
She prepared to take out her phone to rest a bit and check if the Cream Monster had caused any trouble.
Seeing her stand up, Tsuan in the corner instantly tensed up, her palm holding the button breaking out in sweat. Luna's continuous chatter and urging in the "channel" invisibly added enormous pressure on her.
"Uu... Amber, why aren't you responding? Don't tell me you fell asleep in class again? If you don't come save me, I won't finish my homework tonight!"
It's okay, wait a bit more... when that girl leaves, I'll...
Her fingertips gently caressed that only "weapon."
'Press to die.'
Will die.
It's okay, I'll revive. The feeling of death... is probably like taking a nap?
She tried to hypnotize herself, anxiously watching the executive who started playing on her phone.
Why isn't she leaving yet? This bad guy finishes homework then plays on her phone?!
Maybe... I should just escape? Wait for Amber...
But if I go... I'll die...
Will die.
The fear of death and the impulse to save her companion fought fiercely. A few seconds later, the latter prevailed.
...It's okay!
I am... a magical girl!
Never abandon companions!
She finally convinced herself and, taking advantage of this hard-won courage that was rapidly fading, decided to act!
Confirming the plan one last time: walk to the door, press the button, use the magic explosion to blast open the door, and save Luna!
Tsuan took a sharp breath, left her cover, and walked straight toward the black cat and executive.
"Hmm...?" Reiko seemed to sense something and looked up in confusion.
But it was already too late.
The crimson button was pressed hard by her fingertip. In an instant, Tsuan appeared out of thin air before them.
—Boom!!!
A deafening roar tore through the air. The massive magic power in Tsuan's body was frantically extracted, compressed, and then released all at once.
The explosion's shockwave first slammed hard into the tightly closed door. The specially made solid anti-magic door panel twisted and shattered like paper! The metal parts of the door lock scattered with clanging sounds.
Reiko, who was closest to her, only felt an irresistible tremendous force rushing toward her face. The mask on her face shattered immediately, revealing the handsome but instantly bloodless face beneath.
Warm, sticky liquid with a strange sweet metallic smell splashed all over her. A blinding crimson completely covered her entire field of vision.
"What...?!"
She instinctively raised her hand to wipe, trying to see what had happened.
But her palm touched the sticky substance on her face—soft, slippery, warm.
She instinctively shook her hand, and a crimson, vaguely shaped "thing" fell with a "pat" onto the expensive carpet at her feet.
The neat carpet was quickly soaked and stained by large patches of crimson. The white wallpaper was splattered with indescribable pinkish substances.
Her brain went completely blank. Bodily instincts took over everything, her legs became heavy and weak as if filled with lead. She didn't want to think, didn't dare think about what those splattered things everywhere were. But her thoughts uncontrollably slid toward that terrifying answer.
The sense of time disappeared.
A few seconds? Or a few minutes? The executive miss futilely tried to move her feet to escape this hell, but her weak legs simply wouldn't obey.
Thud!
In her panic, her clean little leather shoes tripped over a somewhat long, cylindrical object with some kind of fractured curve. She lost her balance completely and fell heavily to the ground—landing squarely in a pool of warm, sticky crimson chunks that gave off a rich sweet metallic smell!
"Ah!" The ultimate terror nearly suffocated her. Get up! Must get up!
The wet, slippery ground made her feel like she was trapped in a swamp. Her hands flailed wildly, desperately trying to grab something solid as a support point.
She had no time to think about what could still serve as a "support point" at this moment.
Finally, on the verge of complete breakdown, her fingers touched something cold, round, with a bone-like texture...
Like grasping a lifeline, she used all her strength, using all four limbs to struggle and crawl up from that terrifying crimson pool, stumbling backward until her back hit the cold wall before stopping. In her gasping breath after surviving the ordeal, a trace of rationality returned with difficulty.
However, just when she thought the most terrifying moment had passed, she unconsciously looked at her right hand covered in sticky liquid—
In her palm, she was firmly gripping a round object with hollow eye sockets.
It was a head.
And on it, two eyeballs that had lost their life's luster, with dilated pupils, making "eye contact" with her.!