episode_0057

James’ swearing – mainly ‘chikchik’ – is one thing, but unfortunately, my attack method didn’t turn out to be a complete solution.

The monster’s movements were slow, but its body was slippery overall, making it not easy to penetrate even when hit.

Furthermore, everything nearby is made of metal materials. I thought about breaking the ground and hurling rocks, but that seemed a bit risky. I’m not sure if I can control the power properly.

“Stay still.”

I created the sixth iron bead and pondered.

There were not only wires nearby but also numerous lead bullets rolling around.

In terms of energy, bullets would definitely be stronger than the iron beads I shoot. Since my body, imbued with magic, can withstand impacts.

Moreover, for a slippery opponent like this, it would be more effective to be vulnerable to ‘penetration’ rather than ‘impact.’

There is a gel-like substance used to see how bullet trajectories move.

It’s quite slippery material, so just hitting it won’t crush the gel or change its shape easily, but bullets usually embed or penetrate.

It’s natural. The easier way to cut flesh with the same force is by pushing with a knife at the end of your finger rather than just pushing with your finger.

“…Or maybe I’m thinking wrong.”

Yeah.

What if it’s the opposite?

If there’s nothing inside the gel. And no matter how good its restoration ability is, if a hole is created, it can’t be restored.

But if it’s a creature with such a ‘body,’ the story could be different.

I looked straight at the monster’s head.

It looks so slippery that it almost seems like liquid is maintaining its form.

There’s almost no mouth visible. There seems to be something like internal organs, but that ‘spit’ seems to be fired directly from the head itself.

If it’s about blowing off parts of its own body, it can’t sustain such attacks continuously.

Just like continuously breaking off tiny pieces from a clod of earth, if the head size keeps shrinking, it will weaken.

But it’s also a living being.

If it became a monster and its recovery speed increased. I don’t know exactly what that thing maintaining the head is, but if it can quickly mend what has shrunk.

It wouldn’t care about ‘gradually falling apart.’ A bullet that can cleanly penetrate might be better.

Considering the rotation force of the bullet or the force pushing it away, it doesn’t seem plausible, but for now, since that thing is standing there.

That’s what I mean.

I swung and sent the iron bead flying.

The monster took the bead on its head. The bead that touched its body melted instantly and fell back out.

But at least, I clearly saw that the shape changed for a moment when the bead hit its head.

Several ‘spits’ also bounced off to the side. Of course, it wasn’t something the monster spat out on purpose.

It was inevitable, like when you get hit by a light hook in a boxing match and your spit flies out of your mouth.

“That’s right.”

Muttering to myself like that, I immediately moved.

“Just a little more time, hold on!”

“Chikchik!”

I’m sure of it again. That’s swearing.

Maybe deliberately not putting swear words in the translation so that others can freely ‘chikchik’ in front of people.

I turned away from the monster.

The police officers who met my gaze and flinched, backing away, were blocked by the officers behind them.

You guys aren’t interested.

A few more casualties won’t ease my mind. It’s just as meaningless as fighting against Noir Corporation’s combatants.

If you’re going to crush someone, you should step on those at the top carefully.

“I found it.”

Muttering to myself, I transformed the hammer.

I activated the propulsion device and leaped up—

I struck the object in the shape of an old cannon among the police officers with the hammer.

Bang!

The people around me recoiled in fear.

In my opinion, this wasn’t a bomb. The sound when it detonated wasn’t like the sound of a shell being fired.

Moreover, if I had actually fired a shell, I would have been torn apart by the projectile. Even if it was a “non-lethal” weapon, they wouldn’t have put that much firepower into it.

I heard a sound as if something was exploding, but I ignored it and swung the hammer around.

The equipment itself was larger than I expected. It was almost the size of a car, with wire meshes neatly rolled up next to it.

They must have been incredibly expensive.

I unfolded the propulsion device in all directions.

Some parts of the equipment turned red due to the extreme heat.

Normally, it wouldn’t be easy to melt iron, but there was a generator inside, and above all, I was the one handling this weapon.

If it was despair, I had enough of it last night.

I was trying to get some sleep in the tent, but I had been waking people up since dawn.

Come to think of it, I hadn’t even had a proper breakfast.

Well, calling it breakfast would be an overstatement, as there was only leftover canned food.

And there wasn’t much left.

“….”

There was a reason why I was dealing with this situation so calmly while the circuits kept running.

I sighed and raised the hammer.

It was a mess. James would probably be shocked if he saw this.

Pieces of iron were melted and stuck together near the hammer. I mainly used wire. The iron wire, which was processed to be thin enough for even a giant to melt easily, but heavy enough to crush a human body, was perfect for me to handle.

Above all, there were several iron wires rolled up like a coil, so by turning on the propulsion device and repeatedly hitting them up and down, they could easily stick to the hammer.

Raising the hammer head, which had doubled in size compared to usual, all the police officers around me retreated. Even though they saw that I wasn’t harming the police, it seemed that the image was still important.

It’s too late to come and take care of it now.

I turned around.

The hammer was heavy. Although the propulsion device was turned off, the surface attached to it was still glowing red.

I can’t use the propulsion device, but—well, it doesn’t matter. After all, that guy is slow too.

As the police officers moved aside, the situation turned into a confrontation between the giant and me.

The giant, who had been chasing after James, flying around like a mosquito and shooting lasers, turned back towards me and looked at the hammer I was holding.

For a moment, the eye that popped out seemed to waver.

I ran forward.

Towards me, saliva sprayed out like a mist as it did before.

I extended the enlarged hammer head forward to block the saliva. The saliva, which had shrunk particle by particle, couldn’t melt the giant chunk of metal all at once.

Thud!

I pushed the giant with the hammer as if it were a bulldozer.

The giant rose slightly and then rolled on the ground.

It seems like its body isn’t completely liquid?

If poking it with a needle doesn’t work, the next step is the tonkatsu hammer.

Sizzle.

The surface of the hammer melted a bit, but it still had a long way to go to penetrate the core. The round iron beads were all crumpled up on the surface of the hammer.

The giant staggered to its feet and looked up at me.

If my thoughts are correct—

The expression on the monster’s face must be one of ‘despair.’

*

“You seem to be in a hurry all of a sudden.”

As Rose spoke in a casual manner, the government official’s face turned pale blue.

“Ah, yes, well, it’s just that the situation seems to be unfolding a bit differently…”

“When we asked you to do something earlier, you didn’t seem so rushed.”

“Well, this is just the most important task…”

“It was just a task back then, so it didn’t bother me, but now?”

“… ”

“What will happen if Anna can’t make it due to personal reasons?”

“Then… the circuit…”

“Are you saying they might come to collect it permanently from your end? Can you confirm that speculation from your position?”

“… Seo-hee unni.”

As Ha-yoon gently grabbed Rose’s arm and spoke, Rose took a long breath.

Then, the government official took out the circuit from the box he offered and strapped it to his wrist.

“May I ask how the situation is unfolding?”

When Ha-yoon asked with a slightly apologetic expression, the official let out a small sigh of relief.

“Well…”

“Is there something serious going on?”

Joo-ah, or Iris, said with a nonchalant tone as she put the circuit on her wrist.

“Maybe that person is better at fighting than we thought. The monster is something we have to deal with, and that’s why authority is involved. If that person solves it alone, then the authority will crumble from that point on.”

“… There are many who already believe in that person. If they think they can replace the magical girls…”

“… ”

As Delphinium added to Iris’s words, Dalia’s expression darkened.

But, surprisingly, Ha-yoon’s face sparkled.

Click.

She strapped the circuit to her wrist and confirmed that it was spinning.

The circuit was spinning vigorously.

“Ha-yoon…”

Cherry responded with a slightly confused expression, but Ha-yoon just smiled at her.

“… ”

Iris looked at Ha-yoon with a complicated expression as she saw the circuit spinning on her wrist.

“Joo-ah, can you warp by any chance?”

“… Yes. If it’s just this much. Besides, we can’t afford to let the monster be warped somewhere else.”

At Ha-yoon’s words, implying that it wouldn’t matter even if they couldn’t warp back after arriving, she smiled happily.

“Then, may I ask for your help?”

After thinking for a moment, Iris finally nodded.

Iris closed her eyes.

Ha-yoon and the other magical girls also closed their eyes.

And they felt the moving magic.

While the circuits of the other girls were not spinning as vigorously as before, Ha-yoon’s circuit was spinning vigorously.

The situation was completely reversed from right after Ji-eun disappeared.

However, the energy was different from back then.

The energy emanating from Ha-yoon’s circuit was sufficient to resonate with the circuits of the other girls.

The energy flowed out from Ha-yoon’s circuit and towards the girls.

The girls slowly moved to form a circle, with Iris in the center.

“I’ll go.”

Iris said so.

Immediately after that, a storm of powerful magic swept through, strong enough for even ordinary people with low sensitivity to magic to feel.

And in the next moment, the air that Ha-yoon felt changed.

When she opened her eyes, the surroundings were a mess. Dust was flying everywhere, and broken pieces were rolling on the ground.

The police officers were much further back than last time.

Looking at the melted equipment, the situation didn’t seem easy at all, but—

Thud.

Near Ha-yoon, a person descended.

The sound of the ground breaking was heard, and the person’s legs were slightly buried inside.

What they were holding was much larger than usual. The surface was covered with something that looked like melted iron.

Was it temporarily modified?

After barely stopping, the girl raised her head and made eye contact with Ha-yoon.

The smile that had been there just a moment ago disappeared, as if it had been wiped away.

“Oh, you’re here.”

“….”

Ha-yoon couldn’t think of what to say for a moment.

“Uh, yeah….”

She gave a vague answer.

“Are you here to help? It’s awkward if you just stand there like that.”

Before Ha-yoon could respond to that, a sharp sound was heard.

The magical girls quickly scattered.

“It’s fast at times like this.”

“We’ve been training for quite a while, though.”

“You were late coming here.”

Rose had no words to refute that and remained silent.

“Do you plan to cooperate, or did you come to steal the orb?”

“I came to help.”

Ha-yoon replied to Ji-eun’s question. It was a hesitant voice.

Because, of course, it wasn’t a lie, but the mission itself was indeed to subdue Ji-eun as she transformed into a monster, take the orb, and hand Ji-eun over to the federation.

“….”

She never had the intention to do that.

Staring at Ha-yoon, Ji-eun looked at her closely.

And then—

“Hey, you guys! How long are you going to stand there like that! If you’re here, come and help! Help!”

Amidst the chirping sound, a drone was seen shouting intermittently.

“That drone is so annoying.”

“It’s melting…! It’s melting!”

“Let’s go, then.”

Ji-eun took a deep breath and rushed towards the direction of the drone.

*

There is nothing easy in this world.

When the monster was struck, its form changed.

But that doesn’t mean it was entirely negative. Dodging my attack meant that my attack style was effective in a way.

Previously, the monster had been human-like, but in an instant, it transformed into a huge, grotesque figure.

Its clothes were torn off, revealing a semi-transparent body.

Although it had armor pieces attached here and there, even those armor pieces were cracking, with transparent flesh protruding through the gaps.

Was the flowing substance inside its body blood?

Creak, creak.

Every time it hit the ground, it made a gurgling sound, which was quite grotesque.

The hammer didn’t melt easily, but unfortunately, my body was made of material that melted easily. Even if I blocked it with magic, there might be a limit.

If that huge body swallowed me whole…

I panicked and jumped back.

James flew up and grabbed the drone from below. The propulsion by magic was as hot as melting steel, but it couldn’t burn my body, which was protected by the same magic.

Listening to James cursing, I let go of it and fell to the ground.

And then, I met the eyes of the magical girls.

…Well, they came at the right time.

Honestly, if it changed to that extent, I wondered what to do next.

With a body that had liquid-like properties, it could possibly expand to make the body larger.

If Gangsan-seong’s liquid lightly touched the body… just thinking about it was dreadful.

At the same time, I felt a bit annoyed.

It was good that they came at a dangerous time, but honestly, the timing was a bit off. It took time to come here after receiving the circuit, and for some reason, the timing seemed to be similar to when I found a solution.

Well, if it’s a situation where I can’t do anything without them, I can’t help it.

So, after deliberately making a few unpleasant noises, I jumped forward.

And next to me—

A pink trail passed by quickly. It was Ha-yoon. She was tightly holding a brightly shining magic wand in her hand.

“The enemy’s body is Gangsan-seong!”

I shouted in panic.

“Yeah!”

…Somehow, the returning voice sounded bright.

Maybe it’s a misunderstanding. We’re not fighting, are we? If I keep answering while running, the voice might sound a bit excited.

The monster swung its hand towards Hayoon.

That thin, wide hand—it looked like seeing a transparent candy. Why, isn’t there a candy in the shape of a palm?

The problem was that the jelly-like substance was going to be as hard as a rock.

If I block it with magic, I won’t receive a fatal blow, but still.

I ran with all my might, aiming to strike with my hammer before it could touch Hayoon’s body—

—But before I could strike, Hayoon moved first.

Even though it was a thin hand, it looked like jelly. Beyond the transparent body, Hayoon’s silhouette could be seen. It was distorted like looking through a lens, but the distortion disappeared in an instant.

Swish!

The sharp pink blade cut through the center of that hand.

Although it looked like a liquid, the hand, which was not a complete liquid, immediately turned into liquid and splattered as it was cut.

Hayoon didn’t dodge.

Instead, she moved the sword even faster.

Thanks to the expanded senses from receiving magic, I could clearly see Hayoon smoothly cutting through each water droplet that flew towards her.

Rather than cutting them with restraint, it was more like she was drawing a picture in the air, smoothly connecting each line like a dance.

The liquid substance that met the staff in mid-air instantly vaporized hotter than boiling acid, creating a beautiful scene as the smoke rose and the sword cut through it.

The atmosphere was different from when I swung the hammer fiercely or threw something heavy.

Yes, that’s right.

That’s why Hayoon was so frightening.

She resolved everything gracefully, too smoothly. Even I, who was in a losing position, admired how beautiful it was.

Who’s worrying about whom?

But still, the hammer I swung down in mid-air hesitated for a moment, so I just struck it down with all my might.

My arm crumpled in the middle.

Although some liquid splattered, I shook the hammer vigorously in all directions, burying it halfway into the ground. Dust scattered around, and the liquid absorbed the dry dust. Reacting with other objects before causing harm to my body. That was the solution I had in mind.

The author smiled at me.

Did she think we cooperated?

But this was just a coincidence. It wasn’t like we each handled one arm separately, we just inefficiently swung one arm together.

It would be more fitting to say that I cooperated more with Iris, who was restraining me by shooting from behind.

Intentionally turning my gaze away, I turned in a circle and ran to the side.

Hayoon ran in the opposite direction.

The monster seemed to be confused about which one of us to attack first, moving its head vigorously from side to side.

…

It’s not cooperation.

Anyway, it’s not. It just happened to turn out this way.

Thinking like that, I moved the hammer as Hayoon swung her sword.