Aiko Minazuki was, by all appearances and personality, a normal six-year-old girl. She loved playing with dolls, wearing dresses, pretending to be a princess, and playing characters that involved funny-looking characters. She would also fool around with her big brother, Yūto Minazuki, by either drawing on his face with a marker while he slept or putting glitter on his figurines. Aiko was normal, at least until the Day of the Stars.

This day was etched throughout the world, the day when two witches dressed in robes of white fought against a strange black missile. With their powerful magic, they unleashed an attack that destroyed the missile, saving thousands of lives, but also unleashing a strange effect on the world. The magic unleashed spread across the planet like a storm, and for some people, it ushered in a strange effect.

Aiko Minazuki was one of those people. The once normal six-year-old girl suddenly attained the ability to move things without even touching them. It was a sudden revelation that was discovered when the Minazuki family was having dinner. Yūto, Aiko’s big brother, asked his little sister to pass him the salt. However, instead of her small, chubby fingers grabbing the salt bottle, it just began to levitate over to the Yūto.

The reaction of the family was a pretty basic one. Yūto fell out of his chair while his mother and father screamed in complete panic. Even Aiko sat frozen in her seat—completely taken aback that she could perform such a trick. 

The Minazuki’s were a normal family that had absolutely no connections to witches, wizards, or anything of the sort. So when they found out that their child could use magic to such a degree, well, they had no idea how to handle it. They took her to counseling, doctors, or some sort of magical medium, but as it was stated before, this was nothing new. The sudden appearance of people who originally could not use magic but then suddenly obtained it had become frequent ever since the day the Noir Missile was destroyed.

The parents were concerned and frightened for their daughter. Her magical powers seemed unnatural and uncontrollable. Whenever she would get frustrated or was scared, things in the house would levitate or bend. It would cause a lot of destruction of property within the Minazuki Household, and also fear of what could happen. 

Aiko was not blind to her family’s uneasiness towards her to the point that she felt alienated. Even her classmates at her school started to stay away from her. She was the only one in her class who had magic, and word came out that she could use magic. Whispers of horrible rumors began to spread about the poor girl. After that, the kids called her a monster and distanced themselves from her, while others decided to take the time to mock her and call her a freak.

Aiko would go back home, dirty after being pelted with mud by her bullies and roughed up after a physical confrontation. The family was concerned, but they had no idea how to react, and in the end, Aiko felt like she could not depend on anyone in her own home due to the fact that she seemed to be afraid. 

“I don’t want to deal with this anymore…”

That is what Aiko said to herself as she walked out of her home on a foggy day. She sat down on a bench in the nearly empty park, blowing cold mist from her breath. Her dark blue hair flowed in the wind, and her cheeks flushed from the unbearable cold. Coming up close to her on the bench was a small white rabbit. Aiko smiled softly at the creature and petted it. After one stroke, it hopped away and fell into the push vanishing.

“Aw~! Where are you going, little guy~?”

Aiko got up and walked over to the push. She parted the leaves, hoping to see the bunny, but her guard was completely thrown off as she saw something other than the small animal she expected.

Sitting inside the push with a smile plastered on their face was a little girl who looked no older than her. She had short light green hair, a strange dark green hat, golden yellow eyes, and wore strange dark green and white clothes.

Aiko screamed in fright and fell backwards. The strange girl hopped out of the push and appeared before Aiko with the same unchanging smile.

“Hey there, Aiko!”

“H-huh? Who are you? How do you know my name?”

“Well, of course, I know your name is silly! I know all my friends’ names!”

“Friends? A-are we friends? I-I’m sorry, I don’t remember you…”

“No, no, no, you misunderstand Aiko! We’re friends because what connects us is the flow of magic!”

“T-the flow of magic?”

“Yes! Can you use magic correctly?”

“I-I can…”

“I knew it! That’s why we’re friends! We’re birds of a feather!”

“W-who are you? What’s your name?”

“Hm? Did I not say my name? I apologize!”

The strange girl took a white wand out of her pocket and did a fancy twirl while releasing pretty glowing particles. She then bowed and pointed the tip of the wand at Aiko’s face, which then suddenly sprouted a gorgeous white flower. Aiko smelt the flower whose nice fragrance instantly melted away her nerves.

“My name is Monica! Monica the Gnome! I’m a Traveling Magician!”

“You’re…a magician?”

“Yes! Just like you, Aiko!”

“I’m no magician…I don’t want to be a magician!”

Aiko huffed as she turned away from Monica. 

“Hm? Why not?” Monica asked. “You have the talent to be a great magician! That is not a gift to squander!”

“But ever since I got these powers, nothing has gone right for me!” Aiko yelled. “My parents are scared of me, my big brother doesn’t talk to me, and I’m being bullied at school! Everybody thinks I’m some sort of monster!”

“Aw~! That’s not nice~! I’m so very sorry to hear that…”

Monica knelt down to Aiko and held out her hand. 

“But those people just don’t understand the beauty of magic! You can use it for great things, and I can teach them to you!”

“Y-you can?”

“Absolutely! Take my hand and I’ll teach you a very successful spell!”

Aiko looked at the hand of Monica which was so small—almost like the one from a doll. She grabbed it and instantly felt a warm sensation. Monica then gently helped Aiko to her feet.

“The spell I’m going to teach you is going to make all those bullies leave you alone! So whenever they gather again to bother you, just close your eyes and repeat these words…Torqueo.”

“T-Tortquillo?”

“No, silly!” Monica giggled. “Torqueo! Say it with me—Torqueo!”

“T-Torqueo?”

“Torqueo!”

“Torqueo?”

“Torqueo!”

“Torqueo!”

“Yeah—that’s it! Torqueo! Now to practice—“

Monica waved her wand, which conjured a dark mist to surround her and Aiko. Emerging from the mist were the very same classmates of Aiko who bullied her, but their skin was pale, and they looked like zombies. Aiko screamed in fright and tried to run, but Monica placed her hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t worry, Monica, they’re just illusions that I made! They can’t hurt you. But I want to show you what the spell can do…”

Aiko gulped.

“A-are you sure?”

“Absolutely! Come on, don’t be afraid! Close your eyes and say the magic words!”

Aiko shut her eyes tightly and shouted at the top of her lungs.

“Torqueo!”

“…”

“…Okay, open your eyes now.”

Aiko opened her eyes to see that the dark mist and the scary-looking bullies were gone. The blue-haired girl let out a sigh of relief and turned to Monica, who continued to smile.

“See? The spell worked! Now you should only use it when you really—and I mean REALLY want your bullies to leave you alone! But remember, you can only use it once, and when you do…well, we can play some more and I can teach you more spells!”

“Promise?” Aiko said to Monica.

Monica giggled and tapped the top of her hat with her wand. A silly little flower sprouted on her head and began to talk with an awkward manly voice.

“I absolutely, positively, most definitely, will keep my promise, Aiko!”

Aiko burst out laughing. Monica looked at the girl, satisfied but her response. 

“See you soon, Aiko!”

Monica then jumped backwards, disappearing into the push. Aiko ran over to see that Monica was gone as if she had never been there to begin with.

Then, on the next day, as Aiko was at school enjoying indoor PE, the group of bullies cornered her again and dragged her to an empty classroom. They started spilling milk on her and pushing her to the floor.

“S-stop it! Leave me alone!”

Aiko cried, but the bullies did not stop. They laughed at the sight of Aiko’s pain and continued to mistreat her.

“Why should we leave alone an evil witch like you?”

“Yeah! You probably plan to lay a curse on us!“

“Your evil last time you made my backpack fly up in the air and placed it on a tree!”

Aiko sniffled as she tried her best to wipe away her tears.

“I-I didn’t mean to do that! I-I can’t control this ability!”

“Nuh uh! You did it on purpose because you’re an evil witch!”

“Evil witch! Evil witch! Evil witch! Evil witch!”

Aiko felt cornered as her tormentors refused to give her a chance to breathe. She clutched her head and simply prayed for it to be over and hoped that it would pass. But in that moment, she remembered the new friend she had made and the spell she had said to use.

“M-Monica…”

Aiko took a deep breath.

“…”

And then screamed!

“TORQUEO!!!!”

Instantly, the violent sound of something being crushed and squished echoed throughout the classroom. Aiko even felt something wet splash against her face.

“H-huh?”

Aiko opened her eyes and saw that all her bullies had become crushed up corpses. Crunched up and twisted like messed-up empty soda cans. Their organs were scattered across the floor, and their blood was all over the walls. 

Aiko’s eyes were left open in disbelief; she had killed them.

“W-what…?”

Aiko then unleashed a deafening scream of terror as she clutched her head. Her eyes scanned across the entire room, which was soaked in her bullies’ blood, unable to fully process the reality of what she was seeing. The smell was also too intense to the point that Aiko wanted to vomit, but she did not get the chance as the sound of a very happy voice rang out behind her.

“Good job!”

Suddenly appearing from Aiko’s right and clapping was Monica. She skipped over to the traumatized girl while still smiling.

“You did the spell just right! Good job, Aiko!”

“T-that…”

“Hm?”

“THAT ISN’T WHAT I WANTED TO HAPPEN!!”

“I told you, Aiko, that the spell makes those bullies go away…”

“I DIDN’T THINK YOU MEANT TO KILL THEM! I DIDN’T WANT TO KILL ANYBODY!!!”

Monica hummed.

“Well, too bad~! That’s what you did, now you gotta keep your promise~!”

“M-my promise!?”

“Yep!”

Monica’s head suddenly tilted to the side, her neck seemingly breaking. Her skin turned suddenly pale, her sclera pitch black as her eyes flashed dangerously. Her hair became wild while the room itself became incredibly dark. And worst of all, Monica’s smile had turned from sweet to sinister as her teeth showcased intense sharpness—as if they could easily crush metal. 

Aiko’s heart sank as an overwhelming fear overcame her.

“The second lesson you must know is that magic is a double-edged sword! The use of dark magic equals the result!”

Monica snapped her fingers, and suddenly a white flower sprouted out of Aiko’s eye. The young girl screamed in pain as the vines pierced through her nerves and caused blood to spring up. Aiko rolled around on the ground, seizing as the flower continued to expand. 

“It consumes and then takes it all with it! With that, Aiko Minazuki, you will come be with me in the Roots of the Earth! Where you will suffer unimaginable pain and eternal rest with MEEE!!!!”

Monica’s head then grew to the size of a truck, her mouth wide open, revealing rows of teeth. Aiko screamed, but she was quickly silenced due to the unnaturally loud roar of Monica as she bent down and chomped on Aiko's body. 

All that was left were Aiko’s feet, her sneakers stained with blood. 

Monica finished chewing and then swallowed. After doing so, she let out a small burp and giggled.

“Oopsie~! That was very unladylike~!”

Monica then put up the remaining feet of Aiko and walked out of the bloody classroom with the happiest smile in the world.

“You tasted the best, Aiko! You tasted the best…”

Aiko Minazuki

Monica the Gnome

Original drawings done by Yoh Yoshinari can be found in his Deadwood Design Sketchbook!