“Eh?”
Sophie was taken aback.
The girl before her lowered her gaze, looking at her own empty hands, as if the heat and passion of the battle she had just transformed for had burned out her inner emotions.
“I don’t remember anything.”
“When I woke up, I was here, and I’ve been fighting ever since.”
Sophie’s eyes widened.
Amnesia?
In this “The Boundary” filled with monsters, she had forgotten everything, left only with this reflexive combat instinct and extreme vigilance toward the outside world, fighting all alone until now?
“How could…”
“Momoka.” The girl slowly raised her head, looking at Sophie and Ellyse, “Magical Girl Momoka.”
“The only memory this body has left.”
…
Looking at Sophie, whose face was full of shock and heartache, and Ellyse, who had remained silent but whose eyes flickered with changing expressions, Alex Morgan felt slightly reassured.
The language the two people before her were speaking was not any she had ever heard before, yet the existence of the Soul Link allowed her to unearth common knowledge called language from this body, enabling her to understand what they were saying without any obstacles, and even speak this language herself after a brief adjustment.
They likely weren’t monsters, but beings she could communicate with, and they had even shown her kindness.
But at this moment, Alex Morgan’s condition was truly terrible, so she did not let her guard down.
The torrent of fire released by her recent incantation and emotional resonance was beyond imagination, but as a price, the magic power within her body had been almost completely exhausted.
That one shot had completely drained her.
Admittedly, this did give Alex Morgan new inspiration and direction, meaning that even after a successful transformation, she could still exert a powerful influence on her strength by relying on the manipulation of words and emotions.
But in terms of strategy, this was actually a rather dangerous mistake; after all, she hadn’t originally intended to waste all her magic power on that Head Maid.
Magic power seemed to be linked to physical strength, energy, and the like.
While running out of magic wouldn’t cause injury or disaster, it would result in the loss of all combat capability.
Alex Morgan now felt her spirit was quite scattered, as if she couldn’t muster the energy for anything.
However, relying on an outrageously strong willpower, she was still forcing herself to think rapidly.
——Last time she entered the game, before she died of exhaustion, she seemed to have felt someone approaching.
Was it them?
It seemed a bit stupid to keep banging her head against these enemies; it appeared that asking them for help from the beginning would have been an easier path. New chapters come out on novelping.com first.
But…
if she hadn’t collided with them, burning herself out with all her might, whether they would have discovered her was also an unknown.
However, encountering other Magical Girls was indeed something to be expected.
The background and situation of this trial were still shrouded in mystery.
Therefore, Alex Morgan had long since prepared a plan for when she encountered someone she could communicate with, as well as the complete logic for her identity.
——The trial required her to play the role of Momoka and not be identified as an outsider, but it hadn’t provided any memories.
This was undoubtedly fatal; after all, dying here wasn’t scary, but being identified meant an immediate declaration of trial failure and a direct settlement.
And judging from her own situation, the senses of a Magical Girl were always sharp, so it wasn’t impossible for them to detect emotional fluctuations or the like.
The most perfect plan she could execute was to tell the truth.
Since the four words “I don’t remember” were the truth, they should be enough to handle most situations.
For her, an identity with amnesia was the best cover; she wouldn’t need to explain why she appeared here, and it could also cover up her lack of common knowledge about this world.
The most important point was that she wouldn’t be exposed after meeting acquaintances of the original person.
And at this moment, Momoka’s cherry-red eyes had already looked into Ellyse’s eyes.
——Judging from the gaze that had been shifting and filled with various complex emotions just now…
She knew her.
Had they crossed paths before?
As if they shared a telepathic connection, Ellyse also snapped out of it at this moment, looked at her, and nodded.
“That’s right, you are indeed Momoka.”
She spoke with a firm tone, seriously saying, “You are a member of the Magical Girl Association, a ‘Boundary Investigator’ just like me.”
Sophie’s eyes widened: “Eh? Senior Ellyse actually knows Momoka-senpai?”
This time, Ellyse shook her head.
“I wouldn’t say I know her.”
“I wasn’t really close with the past you, but at least I’ve seen you, recognized your face, and what you look like after transformation.”
“Ah, this is a good thing!”
Sophie let out a long sigh: “At least after we go back to town, as long as Senior returns to the Association with us, we can quickly find acquaintances!”
But her expression was still somewhat worried; she looked at Ellyse and asked, “Then why does Momoka-senpai have amnesia?”
“There are too many possibilities. After all, this is ‘The Boundary’, a disaster zone formed by the erosion of reality by abyssal power. The contamination is very severe, so it wouldn’t be strange for anything to happen.”
Ellyse explained: “So the risk of having one’s sanity affected or even experiencing memory confusion certainly exists… There are even ordinary people who end up lying in hospitals for their entire lives.”
“But honestly, as long as you can survive, everything else is manageable.”
The girl named Momoka blinked expressionlessly, lowered her head again, and looked at her own body, as if she had accepted this setting: “Is that so…”
“I understand.”
She nodded and said nothing more.
Every sentence was short, lacking any warmth, filled only with a guarded sense of unfamiliarity and alienation, as well as a faint sense of confusion.
This made the pity in Sophie’s eyes deepen.
——Senior really doesn’t remember anything other than transforming and fighting…
Just like embers that have burned out completely, with only residual warmth left.
“Let’s leave this place first.” Ellyse didn’t explain much more, gave her a deep look, “This is not the place to talk.”
…
The terrain of this black fog forest was outrageously complex.
All around were identical withered ancient trees and lingering black fog; there were no clear landmarks or reference points, and the rotting soil underfoot covered the original path, so one would get lost if not careful.
But Ellyse, walking at the very front, moved with unusual ease.
She didn’t check any maps, nor did she use any magic to scout the path; she just walked through the dense forest with her hands in the pockets of her tactical jacket, strolling leisurely.
Where to turn, where to avoid tangled tree roots—it was as if she knew it all by heart.
That level of proficiency gave the impression that she had walked this path alone thousands of times.
It was precisely under Ellyse’s precise guidance that the return journey was surprisingly smooth, without any trouble.
“We’re here.”
Ellyse, leading the way in front, stopped.
Alex Morgan looked up and, through the gradually thinning black fog, saw the so-called exit.
It was a sight sufficient to trigger megalophobia in anyone.