Charlotte

  ***

  “Evelyn!” I shouted.

  It wasn’t just me. Our other friends called out to her, but she kept punching the already dead wolf. As for The Twin Regent’s group and the group of commoners led by that Nissia girl, they were too stunned to move. I didn’t want to watch, but I couldn’t bring myself to turn away. I wanted to run away, but I felt that any movement that I made would be life threatening. Her clothes, which she bragged about being enchanted with the clean spell, were stained in blood. The cw marks on her back and the blood of the two wolves that she killed covered her hands, body, and boots. Frost stubbornly clung to her, cracking along her sleeves and freezing parts of her blood stained hair. Although I couldn’t see her face, I couldn’t imagine it being clean.

  “““““Evelyn!””””” We called out to her.

  We kept calling, but she didn’t react to us. Our voices overpped and swore that I could hear someone else calling out to her. A woman. Maybe two?

  “Ev- Evelyn!” I called out, more than a little scared.

  She kept punching the ground. Her gloves were torn and I could see deep cuts where the shattered bone dug into her fists.

  “Evelyn!” I gathered the courage and managed to run to her side.

  Shaking as she did so, I put my hands on Evelyn and tried to pull her away from the gore she very clearly hated.

  “!?” Being interrupted, Evelyn very quickly towered over me and raised her fists to me.

  Seeing the hatred and anger and madness in her eyes, I couldn’t help but be shocked. Falling on my behind with wide eyes, I cowered in fear. This wasn’t the Evelyn that I knew. This wasn’t the Evelyn that any of us knew. This girl… When had she changed?

  Moments before the fight began, we heard them before we saw them. Evelyn, who was previously annoyed with dealing with the fifth prince, was the first to notice. At the moment I couldn’t see her face. But when I heard her voice I knew that something was wrong. Seeing the wolves I grew fearful, but not from the wolves. Being near Evelyn was somehow worse than seeing those demons. It felt that at any moment, my heart would stop.

  Seeing her like this, I couldn’t help but remember what my parents told me. From what they heard, what attacked her parent’s carriage were demonic wolves. At the time I hadn’t thought much about the specifics. Myself and many others suspected that she would have a fear of all demons like anyone else. However, that wasn’t the case. Being so near demons for the past few days, I thought that she had gotten over that fear. Especially given how enthusiastically she hunted. But wolves. These demonic wolves were different.

  This wasn’t fear that had taken her over. It was anger. A deep, primal rage that I didn’t think was possible from anyone, let alone her. Even after she had run out of magic she kept attacking. I wished to go help her, but my body refused to move. None of us could. All we could do was watch. Even now, with all that rage directed at me, I couldn’t help but freeze in pce. Never before have I been afraid for my life. Never had I thought I would. But now… With Evelyn looking at me like that, I couldn’t help but feel that fear.

  “Ah…” Evelyn seemed to snap out of it.

  Breathing heavily, she stumbled back. Looking at herself, she seemed surprised by the blood on her hands. She tried to wipe them off on her clothes, but to no avail. Taking in all the gore, she shook her head and smiled a broken smile.

  “It’s okay. They’re gone. We’re safe.” Evelyn said, reaching out to me as if trying to reassure me.

  “…” All I could do was stare bnkly at her bloodied hand.

  “Come on. We should head back now.” Evelyn said, desperate for a response. “It’ll get dark before you know it.”

  With my body resisting every step of the way, I hesitantly reached out, my hand and entire body shaking. Not waiting for me to reach even half way, Evelyn reached in and pulled to me to my feet. Her eyes, hollowed with madness, looked at me with an emotion I couldn’t describe.

  “N-no!” I said.

  What? That wasn’t me.

  “Stay away!” I said, pulling hand from her grip and backing away.

  “Charlotte?” Evelyn asked.

  What’s going on? Why can’t I move? Why can’t I speak?

  “No! You’re evil!” pointed at her. “She’s evil!”

  “What are you talking about?” Evelyn asked, confused.

  What am I saying? I’m not saying this. I recognized this voice as my own, but this isn’t me saying it. Without me wanting to, I backed away.

  “Charlotte, are you okay?” Evelyn asked, stepping towards me.

  No. I’m not okay. Someone please help.

  “S-stay away!” I said.

  My hand moved across my body and pulled out my knife. What am I doing? Put the knife away! What’s going on!? Someone! Anyone! Help me! Ignoring my own desire, I threw the knife at Evelyn. The moment I did so, I felt something odd. My body, which was already out of my control, became paralyzed and I started to fall. Some magic attack, but from where, I can’t tell. Seeing me like this, Evelyn became armed.

  “Charlotte!?” She yelled, btantly ignoring the knife which harmlessly fell to the floor.

  Running to my side, she barely managed to catch me before I hit the floor and looked at me with concern. And started to shake me. Why can’t I move? Why can’t I speak? Wondering this, with Evelyn calling out for me, I felt something odd. It was a strange warmth inside me. Something gentle that, for a moment, put me back in control. Before I could do anything however, something else took over. The warmth inside me grew as did my fear.

  “NOO!!” I shouted.

  A bright light engulfed us and my consciousness faded away.

  Angelica

  ***

  The moment I came to, I was surprised to find that I was in a forest. The st thing I remember was colpsing the moment I got home. Being over worked for weeks it was only a matter of time. Until something like this happened. I suppose I died right there. I wonder how long it will take anyone to notice. My boss might be annoyed by me not answering my phone tomorrow. But that doesn't matter now. Firstly I should introduce myself. I’m Angelica, a poor, wage sve that just worked herself to death.

  Given all the time I spent working, I have no friends and my family is distant. Both physically and emotionally. Even if they were only physically distant, my car was destroyed st week in a monster attack. Luckily the local Magical Girls managed to stop it before it got to my apartment, but the insurance company certainly loves taking their time in providing the service that I paid for… So, I’ve been stuck riding the bus tely. But enough of my earthly troubles.

  During my free time, I pyed video games in my apartment since it would take too long to go anywhere else. Not to mention the price… Recently I’ve been obsessed with an foreign Otome-like game called Saintess Shuffle. Like any other game in the genre, it was a basic game where the heroine would need to navigate school life as a saint, avoid the ire of the viliness, fight demons, and eventually marry the prince or any of the other capture targets. What made this game unique however was that there were actually many saints to choose from that would make the game easier or harder. Some of them were actually impossible to win with. Even worse, there was no warning that the default saint of the game was one of the more difficult ones. If I remember correctly, seven out of ten of the endings with her would be bad ends. Most of them ended with her dying at the viliness’ hands before you even enter the te game.

  Having spent countless nights, and meeting the bad ends multiple times, I finally managed to survive. That’s right, survive, not win. That was yesterday. And today after work I was going to search up how to actually beat the game with her, just to say I won. I don’t care if it’s cheating, I want to win at least once! Or at least that was my pn… As I said before, it looks like I died. Given that I remember dying, why am I in a forest? And what’s going on? With my vision spinning, things slowly came into focus.

  “Ah…” A feminine, child-like voice said.

  Standing in front of me was a girl that I knew all too well. With radiant, bloodstained, golden hair and brilliant, blue, hollow eyes was Evelyn Eytell. The Viliness who would one day end my life. With her breath bored and blood covering her, she was the very definition of evil. Looking at herself, she seemed not to care that bloodied fur and bits of meat fell from her hands. Trying to wipe off her hands all she did was succeed in spreading it across herself. With crazed eyes and a demented smile, she reached out to me.

  “It’s okay. They’re gone. We’re safe.” Evelyn said, reaching out to me as if trying to reassure me.

  “…” All I could do was stare bnkly at her bloodied hand.

  Tearing through her gloves were what looked to be teeth of some creature. Did they not bother her? Does she not feel pain? What sort of monster is she!? My whole body was shaking and I could barely breathe. It was as if I was hopeless prey to some predator, waiting to be sughtered.

  “Come on. We should head back now.” Evelyn said, commanding me to accept her hand. “It’ll get dark before you know it.”

  As if I was under some sort of spell, my body reacted and I resisted. Shaking trying to take control of myself, I felt that bloodied hand pull me to my feet. I was close to her. Too close. There was blood on my hand. It was still warm, and it was all I could smell.

  “N-no!” I said.

  Ah? I’m in control now. I can finally move.

  “Stay away!” I said, pulling hand from her grip and backing away.

  “Charlotte?” Evelyn asked.

  Charlotte? I’m not- No. I am Charlotte. Piecing things together I finally realized that I’ve been reincarnated into that game. I’m now Charlotte, the saint. Remembering this scene, I realized that I’m at a crucial moment. Right here was one of the potential bad ends. Luckily there were multiple ways out of this. One way would be to have enough retionship points with Evelyn to get the option to side with her. Although given how I just reacted, it’s a bit te for that. She’s going to kill me. I could already see her striking me down right now, stabbing me with her spear, ughing as she did so. My goal, first and foremost, is to survive. How do I get out of this situation? Although I was focused on Evelyn, I realized that we weren’t alone. I saw the capture targets and… who are they? They look familiar, is that good? Whatever, I can worry about that ter. The capture targets are my only hope now. I hope that I have high enough favorability with them so they save me.

  “No! You’re evil!” I pointed out the obvious. “She’s evil!”

  “What are you talking about?” Evelyn feigned ignorance.

  Despite saying this, no one seemed to move. The twin’s group were shocked at Evelyn’s appearance and- Other saints! Those girls are some of the optional saints in the game! Surely they can help me? Despite my hopes, they didn’t move. Evelyn’s eyes focused on me and I couldn’t help but shiver from it. Inadvertently I backed away.

  “Charlotte, are you okay?” Evelyn asked, stepping towards me.

  No. She’s going to kill me! Someone please help!

  “S-stay away!” I said, backing away.

  I searched for anything that could help me. Feeling a heavy belt, I quickly pulled out a long heavy thing. Without much thought I threw it. At that moment, my body froze and I saw a knife fly from my hand. A knife? What kind of build uses a knife? Thinking that, I fell.

  “Charlotte!?” Evelyn yelled.

  NO NO NO NO NO! Instantly she was at my side and shaking me in rage. NO I don’t want to die again! Anyone! Anything! Help me! Get her away from me! With that thought, my body became lighter. Something warm radiated out of me that made me feel at ease. What is this? Is this magic? Magic? That’s right. I’m a saint. I can use magic. Holy magic, please get rid of Evelyn! As Evelyn reached for my face I once more felt fear.

  “NOO!!” I shouted.

  A bright light engulfed us and my consciousness faded away.

  38

  ***

  It happened too quickly to do anything. One moment the paralysis spell was in effect, the next, Evelyn and her friend Charlotte were engulfed in a bright light. Far brighter than anything I’ve seen before. Evelyn’s body was sent flying as magic surged through her, breaking her remaining magic tools.

  “Evelyn!” I couldn’t help but yell out.

  Ah? I heard my voice. Looks like this spell’s conditions were met. Finally! This spell, which prevents us from interfering unless our targets’ life is at risk, was now released. Given how I could only now help her, it was seriously defective. I’ll need to report this. Trusting the others to keep the Twin Regents and others safe, I rushed to Evelyn’s side. Having been so close to the source, she was thankfully intact. The enchantments must have taken the brunt of the attack. Trying to push herself up, I quickly grabbed her as another white light shone from Charlotte’s body. Jumping out of the way, the pce we were just at was vaporized, with the very dirt bckened and smoking.

  “38!?” Evelyn looked at me in shock.

  “There’s no time to expin. We need to get you out of here.” I said.

  Gncing to the Twin regents, I saw other shadows grab hold of them, as well as the members of their group. Not only them, but the four saint candidates and Evelyn’s friends were being evacuated as well. Everyone looked understandably armed and confused. After all, a group of armored individuals in all bck suddenly appeared and started carrying them away. Looks like there’s going to have to be some expining ter on. Saving that thought for ter, I picked up Evelyn and quickly ran off into the trees. A moment ter, another burst of light followed, shattering trees and throwing up a cloud of dirt. Emerging from a cloud of dust, I ran.

  “I know you said that there was no time, but what’s going on?” Evelyn asked. “That looks like holy magic. She isn’t one of the Saints is she?”

  “No clue.” I said. She didn’t show any signs of being a saint during the tests, and no hint of holy magic ever appeared. “She must have just manifested the ability.”

  “Isn’t that only supposed to happen in life threatening situations?” She asked.

  “When we get to safety please take a moment to look at yourself and ask why anyone might be afraid if you started thrashing them around.” I said.

  “I was trying to check on her!” She defended herself.

  “I know.” I suppressed a sigh.

  I’m not sure what happened, but it was clear that Charlotte wasn’t acting like herself. Fear could expin her actions, but if it was fear, why did she run up to Evelyn in the first pce? Not only that, but the moment she fell on the floor, her eyes were odd. She looked almost confused. I detected no magic aside from our own. Could this have been a spell from long ago only now taking effect?

  “Do you think she was possessed?” Evelyn asked.

  “Possesed?” I asked.

  What in the world does that mean? Gncing at her, she seems to have calmed down from before. Although her magic tool to disguise her hair and eyes was broken, she looked like her normal, curious, albeit armed self. Looking over my shoulder, she watched the bsts of holy magic speeding towards us. Given the urgent situation, I urged her to continue.

  “Expin.” I said.

  “Ah.” She seemed to understand my confusion. “Basically a spirit or ghost inhabited and took control of her body.”

  Seems like some sort of evil magic.

  “A demon?” I asked.

  “Probably not. It would have needed to be a powerful one and I’ve been through this area twice getting rid of all but the small ones.” She said.

  “You know those wolves were plenty strong.” I pointed out.

  “Not really?” She said. “Anyway it couldn’t have been a demon. We would have noticed if one was nearby.”

  “That much is true.” I said.

  Given how many guards have been around the area, it would be impossible for such a demon to get this close without us noticing. Another point against it being a demon was the fact that Charlotte was using quite the powerful holy magic. Demons have never been seen using holy magic. Then again, no one has ever seen a girl given powers beyond imagining from some outer goddess, yet I’m holding one right now. Another handful of trees exploded not far behind us.

  “What makes you think it’s a spirit?” I asked.

  “Spirits and ghosts can only be detected by special magic and only when you are actively looking for them or when they decide to make themselves known.” She said.

  “Can we thank the Raven for this info?” I asked.

  “Oh, uh, yeah.” She said. “He also told me how to deal with this, but I need to get close to her to do it.”

  “Is it dangerous?” I asked.

  “Nope!” She said.

  With a faint pale light, her body shrunk and I felt the familiar weight of her goddess given form. It’s much easier to run with her like this, but I suppose now that’s not a problem. Floating out of my hands, Evely- no Melody turned to face Charlotte. However, something made the both of us pause.

  …

  That’s odd. Weren’t we just under attack?

  The light that was previously chasing us now headed up in the air and moved about aimlessly. Unlike mere moments ago, it seemed disinterested in us.

  “That’s weird.” Melody said.

  “You’re telling me.” I said, still on edge.

  ““…”” The two of us watched the light slowly circle in the sky.

  “Hey, can you hold this for a moment?” Melody asked, holding out her staff.

  “I don’t like that look on your face.” I said. She’s pnning something dangerous, isn’t she?

  “Just trust me.” She pouted.

  “Right, right.” I took her staff from her. It was heavier than I thought.

  “Okay, just be ready.” She said, that same pale light engulfing her.

  “Ready for-” I started.

  The moment she returned to her normal form, the light immediately changed direction and shot at us. Having no clue how to use this thing, I could only think of swinging it like some sort of club. I don’t think I did it right as the light exploded, throwing us in separate directions. Fearing another attack, I quickly looked to Evelyn but only saw Melody rising from some bushes. Isn’t her transformation too quick?

  “Okay I think I know how it works.” She said.

  “How exactly?” I asked keeping an eye out for another attack.

  “Whatever took over Charlotte is targeting Evelyn and Evelyn only.” She said. “So as long as I’m like this, we should be safe.”

  “That doesn't make sense, you're the same person.” I said.

  “But she doesn't know that!” She winked. “I’ll be right back.”

  “What are you-” I started.

  Before I could finish speaking, Melody flew off and before I could even shut my mouth, she returned with the unconscious body of Charlotte, who was not so kindly being carried like luggage under one of her arms, and in her other hand was her still bloodied spear, though it no longer seemed to be frozen. Seeing her floating there so care free, I can’t help but sigh.

  “So, what needs to be done?” I asked, ignoring the myriad of compints that came to mind.

  “Well, it depends on what is possessing her.” She said, propping her up against a tree. “The easiest way to find out would be to talk to it.”

  “You’re telling me that you want to talk to the thing that possessed her?” I asked.

  “Yep!” She nodded.

  “That is a terrible idea.” I said. “What if it possesses you?”

  “Unless it’s stronger than the goddess, it can’t.” She said. “And if it was that strong, it would have already become like a poltergeist or wraith or demon lord or something.”

  I’m not even going to bother asking her what those first two things are and simply trust her.

  “Is there anything for me to do?” I asked.

  “Just go invisible and hide behind her.” She said, taking her staff back. “If she does anything weird, just like knock her out or something.”

  “Right right.” I said.

  And here I was thinking that I was thinking that my training would finally be put to use by fighting something dangerous. I suppose I should be gd. Going invisible, I walked behind Charlotte. Let’s hope that this goes smoothly…

  Melody

  ***

  “Hey…” I poked Charlotte with the end of my staff. “Wake up…”

  “Ughh…” Grogilly she opened her eyes. “What?”

  Seeing me, she became wide eyed and then looked around frantically.

  “What’s going on? Where am I? Why is there a Magical Girl here!?” She asked.

  “What's going on indeed.” I smiled. “Um, so let’s get straight to the point. What’s the st thing you remember?”

  “The st thing…?” She paused, seemingly collecting her thoughts. “Well, I was in the forest with my friends and… there was that girl. That evil girl Evelyn.”

  “Evil?” I asked. “How is she evil?”

  “Ah, well this will sound silly, but I had a vision of the future that she’s going to kill me.” She said.

  “Really?” I asked surprised.

  I don’t pn on doing something like that.

  “Yes. She’s jealous of my powers as the saint and will try to kill me.” She said adamantly.

  I could see 38 rolling her eyes behind her. This isn’t the first time I’ve been called evil, so let’s not hold this against her. Not that she seems to be in her right mind anyway.

  “Okay, well that aside, do you mind telling me who you are?” I asked.

  “I’m…” She seemed to hesitate, as if trying to remember something. After a short pause she nodded to herself and said, “Charlotte Lottaway.”

  “I see…” I nodded. She must be trying to take over her identity. “So, you’re Charlotte?”

  “Yes!” She said. “I’m a noble and if you help me I’ll grant you any wish!”

  Both me and 38 raised our eyebrows up. She’s not doing a good job in pretending to be Charlotte…

  “Before that, you were with your friends before. Would you mind telling me your friends' names?” I asked.

  Although I’m confident that this isn’t Charlotte I’m speaking to, I best make sure just in case.

  “Lloyd and Lna.” She said confidently.

  “Thank you.” I nodded. “Just had to make sure.”

  Yep. This isn’t my friend at all. Without even needing to raise my staff, multiple spells went off at once, binding both this spirit and Charlotte on the spot. Now, how should I banish this spirit?

  Grayburne