After that with Mizuki, I left to prepare for tonight, Ayane and I have planned to go to the magical girls' base together to try to form a team with each other.
I decided not to care about what Mizuki did, she must have felt bold because I caused a small problem and probably thought I wouldn't care, although I clearly care a little.
'Hunting monsters...' I'm curious about this, going out with my sister to hunt monsters will be useful to increase our friendship and to earn some money, but what's strangest is knowing that these things are hidden.
It's amazing how they manage to stay hidden even though they exist so blatantly.
"Are you thinking about something, Setsuna?" Hexael questions, appearing by my side out of nowhere as I walk down the street to Ayane's house so we can both go to the magical girls' base.
"Monsters, they are really strange beings" Knowing more about the monsters will be useful, both to kill the worst of them and protect my sister, and to not fall for the tricks they do.
"Yes, they are also very fun beings" Hexael says with a mischievous smile.
"...Hexael, I need something that can hide me like the magical girls, I don't want cameras or normal people to be able to detect me..."
"Hmmm hihihihi, are you willing to pay for that?"
'...I'm getting more and more in debt...' I already have several of these debts, each favor he does for me, I'm charged for it.
"I won't kill people" I make it clear to him, killing people is something I'll only do when necessary, I won't be tricked by this demon again to do things under his influence.
"Of course, of course, don't worry this time I'll do it for free" When Hexael says this, it seems a bit shocking, he's not charging anything? This malicious demon will do something so useful completely for free?
'What's the game now? Being discovered has made him more cautious?' I don't know what the trick is this time, but I think I'll accept it.
"Okay" Since it's free, I should take advantage of the moment, but this won't do anything to make me trust him.
"You know, Setsuna, your outfit already has a part that does that, think of it as a power of your outfit, a small transparent mask that only covers the upper part around the eyes" Hexael says.
'My outfit?'
"Can my outfit be modified?" I ask, curious about this.
"No, it's part of your outfit, they're just parts you don't normally use, in addition to the mask, it also has a pair of white gloves for use."
"..."
"Don't you trust me? You can try, close your eyes and just imagine the missing part and it should appear, it's similar to summoning your weapon" Hexael says confidently.
'Why does he know so much about my outfit?' He knows something that's a little suspicious, don't normal magical girls also have extra parts in their outfits? I don't know, my knowledge is limited.
I decide to try it, closing my eyes and imagining that my face is covered, then I open my eyes and put my hands on my face, feeling a relatively thin piece of fabric.
I go to the nearest window to observe my face, and what I see is kind of "funny", because it doesn't hide my face, it's like those masquerade masks that only cover the eyes, but don't cover the forehead or below the nose.
Also, the mask is white and a little transparent, and there's nothing in front of the eyes, having a visual that literally doesn't hide my face.
"You know...it's the same as being without a mask" I say, looking at Hexael.
"Yes, I also thought it would cover more, but what you want is just the ability to go unnoticed like the magical girls, and with this you can, just use the mask when you're actively being a magical girl in public."
"..." He's right, I don't need other magical girls or monsters not to know that I'm just by looking at my face, and maybe there's an extra?
"I know what you're thinking, and the answer is no, Setsuna, your uniform can't change, the mask is something that was there from the beginning, it just doesn't appear automatically."
"So every time you use your uniform, you have to manually add the mask, which is a bit inconvenient if you forget to use it, but think of the bright side, you can take it off at any time."
"Why didn't you tell me I had this?" He could have told me much earlier the first time I used the outfit.
"Because I didn't want to, simple as that."
"Demon..."
"Yes, yes, I'm a demon, but hey, I solved your problem" He says as I remove the mask since I won't use it now.
'Actually...this was kind of revealed before...' I already knew I could remove parts of my uniform and make them come back, like the wings on my head.
I just never imagined I'd have two other hidden pieces of clothing that I could add and remove at any time, maybe there are even more of them that I don't know about.
"Aren't you going to thank me, Setsuna?" Hexael asks.
"No..."
"You were trying to follow a stupid moral code you created because you're not kind and don't thank for the favors done to you? Is it that... you just can't help being evil even if you try?"Hexael says with false shock.
"..."
"Thank you" He's really trying to use what I did against me. It seems he's really decided to change his tactics.
But at least I can really take full advantage of this mask without running too many risks or having to ask for favors to be invisible.
"Why are you smiling like that?" I ask, looking at how Hexael seems to have a smile on his face.
"I just find it funny how you try to cling to human morality even without understanding it."
"I have my reasons" I say as I start walking.
"It's fear" Hexael speaks as if he were absolutely certain of my scarce feelings.
"I'm not afraid" I deny it, I don't know why he thinks I'm afraid of something, the only thing that would scare me would be losing my sister.
"Oh, you are, all living beings are for a reason, because fear goes beyond a mere emotion, it is an instinct that is deeply rooted in all living beings."
"You don't do bad things not because you don't like being bad, you don't do bad things precisely because you fear being bad" He completes with so much conviction as if it were a truth I don't know.
"Is that so? And why do you think I would be afraid of being bad?" I speak with irony, not paying attention to the ravings of this demon.
"Because you fear more than anything that your sister will hate you."
"..."
"Does that hurt? Did I touch a nerve? It's the truth and you know it, you're afraid of everything that could distance you from your beloved sister, even if you hide that fear deeply, it still exists."
"That's why you can't be bad, and when you found out I was messing with you, you decided to create a moral code to follow, because in the end you don't trust yourself to discern right from wrong."
"Or rather, you don't even know what is really right and wrong, for you, wrong is what your sister judges as wrong and right is what your sister judges as right."
"Your sister is like a god and you are a blind worshiper who doesn't question anything you know about her and makes everything about her your absolute truth, but that's where your fear comes in."
"Because you just have to do what your sister judges as wrong to protect her, so you limit yourself from doing things for fear of your sister as much as you love her."
"..."
"Why aren't you saying anything? No irony? No sarcasm? You know what I said is right and can't refute it, but one day, Setsuna, the morality you believe in so much and are trying to maintain will break."
"And on that day, you won't care anymore what your sister thinks, so I wonder how long it will take until you're the one who killed your sister just to get what you want" Hexael speaks with pure malice.
Bang Bang
"HihihihihiHAHAHAHAHA"
"..." I fire two shots with the pistol at the demon, who disappears in a black mist, leaving only his laughter echoing through the air like an echo that shouldn't exist, but is still here.
I feel a tightness in my heart, I've never felt this way before, I wonder what it is, why was it so uncomfortable to hear him say those things? Why does it give me this strange feeling?
I had heard once long ago, when I was still a child, that demons are very good at reading people's hearts, I had never understood that phrase.
The heart is just an organ of the body, what would there be to discover and read in it? Of course, as I grew up, I understood that this phrase was about people's feelings, it was obviously just a saying.
It's not like people know or have proof of the existence of demons, but it seems this phrase is true.
Hexael can say exactly what he needs to shake me in a way I don't understand.
'Am I really bad by nature?' I wonder with momentary doubt. I don't understand, I wish I could feel things like everyone else, but I lost a lot of my feelings very early in childhood, and with that I abandoned any chance of understanding these things.
"...Damn demon..." I murmur to nothing, the more I hear him, the worse it gets, and it's only been a few days since I went back in time.
'I should ignore this, he's wrong, I just need to go see my sister and protect her...' I won't believe him, I'm not evil or as afraid as he said, I'm just someone who doesn't understand things well when it comes to feelings.
I'll prove to this demon that without his influence I would never be evil, and even with his influence I will continue not to cross the line.