Chapter 3: The Resurgence of Memory: Ila’s Twisted Past

“Mona, from today onwards, your brother will protect you for all eternity.”

“Gungnir? The Sacred Relic chose me? But I’m a man! Never mind, I won’t think about it too much. Transform!”

“Dragon Auntie, I will become the strongest Magical Girl!”

“Haiwen, don’t worry. In this battle, I won’t let a single person die.”

“Moyue, I’m sorry for keeping it from you all this time. Actually, your brother is White Rose. It’s a promise: once this battle is over, your brother will take you to a hot spring to atone…”

“Dark Demon Princess, I will never forgive what you’ve done. Atone for your actions!”

Whose memories were these?

Ila’s eyes widened as a torrent of memories surged into her mind from the Sacred Relic. The ashes that had been completely incinerated now rekindled, blazing back to life.

The magical runes on her body flickered, slowly but surely, until they completely reabsorbed into her skin.

Beads of fragrant sweat streamed down her bare body, erasing the magical runes from Ila’s skin as if by an eraser. Clasping Gungnir’s Sacred Relic, Ila remembered everything.

She recalled all that she had experienced as Magical Girl White Rose, and how she had been forced to merge with the black sludge, falling into depravity as Dark Princess, to allow her comrades to retreat.

“I, I…”

Ila gasped for breath, her face flushing crimson. She then gnashed her teeth, glaring at the framed photo of Leila and herself hanging by the bed.

“Dark Demon Princess! You demon!”

She was no second master of the Black Sludge Syndicate, no sister of the Dark Demon Princess. She was a Magical Girl, Magical Girl White Rose, fighting for justice!

The headache gradually subsided, and the five years she had spent with Leila also flooded back into Ila’s memory.

With a crimson blush, Ila inwardly cursed Leila’s shamelessness and lack of principles, all while frantically searching for suitable clothes to escape this perilous abyss.

The brainwashing Leila had inflicted upon her included the suggestion that ‘everything Big Sister says is true.’ This twisted command had led Ila to perform the utterly shameless act of warming her sister’s bed nude for five years.

Now, with her magical runes almost gone, she could no longer conjure clothes from black sludge as she once could.

When Ila opened the bedroom wardrobe, it was completely empty, as if it were merely a prop.

Ahhh!

Could such a large bedroom not even have a single piece of clothing she could wear?

She dared not venture out directly. If the Dark Demon Princess discovered she had regained her memories with Gungnir’s help, the brainwashing awaiting her might be far more complex than it had been five years ago.

As a righteous Magical Girl, she absolutely could not fall and turn evil, becoming the wicked Dark Princess.

Eventually, with no other choice, Ila’s eyes welled with tears of humiliation. Her face flushed red as she looked at the large scarlet bedsheet on the bed.

According to an anonymous skeletal beast from the Black Sludge Syndicate, that night the Second Master was seen wrapped in a red bedsheet, heartbroken, fleeing towards the surface world.

Shocking! To ensure the Dark Princess procreated, the Great Master of the Black Sludge Syndicate committed such an atrocious act against her own sister.

Astounding! Lady Dark Demon Princess stayed awake all night, loudly calling out a certain name. What kind of humanity is this…

Another five years passed.

Having finished a busy day, Ila, the owner of a small convenience store, was meticulously tallying the day’s inventory.

Her beautiful black hair was coiled into a bun on top of her head. With the diligence of a seasoned shopkeeper, she took out a pen and paper, carefully comparing each item sold.

Her store was too remote for sophisticated items like mobile POS systems, so she had to count and record everything by hand.

Fortunately, she mainly sold drinks and snacks, with a few cleverly crafted trinkets at most.

The counting was not particularly troublesome.

One, two, three.

Eh?

Why was there one less cola and one less bag of chips?

Ila blinked her purple eyes, then stepped onto a stool to specifically count the colas on top of the refrigerator.

No matter how many times she counted, there was always one missing.

Could that little bat, Yaya, have stolen another snack?

“Sister Ila, what are you doing?” At that moment, a vibrant young woman pushed open the door and entered the store.

Two long, white twin ponytails were tied with blue, wing-shaped hair accessories. Her long hair, which reached her heels, had blue highlights at the tips. Her grey-blue eyes sparkled with vitality, and a Bluetooth headset hung around her neck.

A white, chest-baring sports top and black sports shorts gave the girl a dynamic look. White athletic socks peeked out from her black high-top sneakers, and her long, exposed legs captivated attention. Most strikingly, two white parrots circled around her before finally settling on her head.

Ila had her back to the young woman, her expression somewhat stiff.

Even after five years, she still struggled to face her current landlady, who was also her younger sister—Mona.

Five years ago, after escaping the abyss, she had instinctively fled to the doorstep of her old rural home in Clear Spirit Town, where she was found by her sister, Mona.

Ila didn’t want her sister to know that the brother she had once been so proud of had now fallen into depravity as the shameless Dark Princess.

However, to make up for the five years of absence, she ultimately chose to stay. Using amnesia from a black sludge attack as an excuse, she changed her name to ‘Yi’ and rented the house her parents had left behind, opening a small convenience store on the ground floor to make a living.

On one hand, this allowed her to live with and care for her sister indirectly. On the other hand, Clear Spirit Town was far from the city, and only three new Magical Girls were stationed there, making it easier for her to hide her identity.

Perhaps because she was once a Magical Girl, or for some other reason, Ila, in her Dark Princess body, was inexplicably able to remain in the surface world for extended periods.

During her five years in the abyss, Ila had gained a deeper understanding of black sludge and other abyssal substances.

All abyssal substances, including the Dark Princesses, instinctively followed the tree roots to the surface world to cause pollution. Due to the world’s rejection of them, they couldn’t remain on the surface for too long, and this included Dark Demon Princess Leila.

Otherwise, the small number of Magical Girls would never have been able to resist the pollution from countless black sludge entities.

But Ila was an exception.

Since arriving in the surface world, she hadn’t felt the discomfort of staying too long, as she once had.

Her Dark Princess body granted her superhuman strength even without transforming. The only peculiar thing was an itching and burning sensation in her body when she slept at night.

Ila jumped down from the stool and walked over to Mona, observing her sister, who was now as tall as she was.

She couldn’t help but sigh inwardly, marveling at how the little girl she once knew had grown into such a young woman.

“Sister Ila, I’m taking a cola.”

Mona casually grabbed a cola from the refrigerator, then settled in front of the counter, taking a satisfying gulp.

“You seem to be in a good mood today.”

Ila continued to record her accounts, adding ‘+7’ next to Yaya’s name, as she smiled and asked Mona. This girl was still the same as she was ten years ago: she liked to drink cola when she was happy and Sprite when she was upset. Ila had told her many times before to cut down on carbonated drinks.

After her refreshing drink, Mona crossed her legs on the chair, revealing her small canine teeth as she chuckled.

“Sister Ila, a senior Magical Girl of Leader rank has agreed to come and be our teacher!”

“Our Sacred Relic Girls team can finally move forward!”

Ila’s pen, which had been recording the ledger, stopped.

Indeed, her sister, Mona, was now a Magical Girl, though she had only been chosen a year ago.

When Ila first heard this news, she immediately wanted to pack her bags and leave. After all, she was now a Dark Princess, no longer a Magical Girl. These two incompatible identities were bound to lead to conflict in the future.

However, due to Clear Spirit Town’s remote location, the Magical Girl headquarters hadn’t assigned any seniors to provide guidance, which had given Ila a sense of false hope.

As long as no Magical Girl above the Captain rank arrived, she could continue to stay by her sister’s side.

There were four ranks of Magical Girls: Novice, Captain, Leader, and Commander. Ten years ago, Ila and her four teammates were all Commander-rank, the strongest in the world at the time.

Ila could guarantee she could mask her Dark Princess and black sludge aura from Novice and Captain-rank Magical Girls, but she wasn’t entirely confident about Leader-rank ones.

If she were exposed, she herself might be fine, but her sister would surely face ostracization, or even human judgment.

‘Then tonight, I’ll pack my things and prepare to say goodbye to my sister,’ Ila thought, pressing her lips together. She had been ready for this eventuality five years ago.

It wouldn’t exactly be a goodbye; she would choose to quietly protect her sister from afar.

“Oh, right, Sister Ila! I asked Teacher Bele about your amnesia to see if she could help you regain your memories, and Teacher Bele actually has a way!”

Mona suddenly remembered something. She rummaged through her pockets, eventually pulling out a photograph from her sports shorts and handing it to Ila.

“Teacher Bele said her constitution is special. As long as you look at her photo, Sister Ila, you’ll be able to recall your past memories.”

‘How could that be possible?’

Leaving aside the fact that her amnesia was merely an excuse, even if she truly had amnesia, it wouldn’t be cured by simply looking at a photograph.

Nevertheless, Ila didn’t want to pour cold water on her sister’s good intentions. Instead, she took the photo, curious to see what the Magical Girl teaching her sister looked like, perhaps even recognizing them from before.

Long black hair was coiled and draped over her left shoulder. Purple eyes behind glasses seemed to pierce through the photograph, looking directly at Ila, a familiar, knowing smile playing on her lips.

Upon closer inspection, one would notice that the woman in the photograph bore a striking seventy percent resemblance to Ila.

The moment Ila saw the photo, memories of her defeat ten years ago, her corruption, transformation, brainwashing, and eventual fall into depravity as the Dark Princess, surged forth once more.

Ila’s hand, holding the photo, trembled slightly. She unconsciously clamped her legs together, rubbing them together in a shy, almost coquettish manner.

She swallowed hard.

This was no Magical Girl at all.

This was Dark Demon Princess Leila, her very own sister!”