Chapter 10 : Tentacle Monster

The meeting room is packed with people.

The Magical Girl Support Team is briefing government officials from major agencies about the events that occurred in the past few days.

“Why has the Support Team failed to properly detect the appearance of the monsters? What’s going on?”

It was the Q&A session.

A man sitting in the middle of the table asked in an accusatory tone.

“According to our inspection, there were no issues with the detection system. We are currently considering several possibilities, but we have not reached a clear conclusion yet.”

The person responding was a member of the Magical Girl Support Team. He was a man known as a ‘supporter’.

When a gate opens, there are signs.

Detecting these signs in advance is the main task of the Support Team.

The strength of the signal varies depending on the grade of the monster, and the corresponding response method is determined accordingly.

However, there have been frequent errors recently.

There have been several incidents where a low-grade monster was identified, but an S-class monster actually appeared.

“Are you just going to do nothing about this? You need to come up with a solution. Isn’t that what the Support Team is supposed to do?”

A sharp reprimand.

Among those gathered in the room, there were high-ranking officials, including ministers.

The atmosphere was cold, as the public’s anxiety was growing in these times.

“We will work on improving it as soon as possible.”

It was a standard answer, but it was the best response.

“Is this related to Scarlet Lily? I heard she appeared around the same time as the large-scale gate incident.”

At that, the meeting room murmured.

It seemed that everyone was thinking the same thing.

“Scarlet Lily has denied the suspicion. She said that she only stepped in because she judged it was the right time for her to do so.”

“What exactly is her identity? How can it be that even the Support Team doesn’t know?”

“Her identity investigation was temporarily suspended at her request. However, she will continue to act as a magical girl, so there is no need to worry about that.”

Magical girls are originally volunteers.

Though registration is encouraged for efficient support, it cannot be forced.

“Still, shouldn’t we know about it?”

Many participants agreed, but the supporter calmly responded.

“I disagree. If it gets out that we’ve been investigating her, things might spiral out of control. It would be wise to avoid doing anything that might upset Scarlet Lily.”

The presentation screen changed.

A picture of a monster, seemingly taken from a helicopter, appeared.

“The lab has completed the analysis. Based on previous S-class monsters, this ‘dinosaur’ monster has the potential to…”

Next slide.

The letters SSS were written in large font.

“It’s Triple S.”

The room became eerily quiet.

“…What does that mean?”

Someone cautiously asked.

“If Scarlet Lily gets upset and quits being a magical girl, and a monster of similar caliber appears, there will be nothing we can do.”

The grading system ends at S-class.

It refers to a level that is as uncontrollable as a natural disaster by human power.

The term SSS implied a monster beyond the realm of common understanding.

The supporter continued in a calm voice.

“Scarlet Lily is a righteous magical girl. That’s enough. Sometimes, not knowing can be a blessing. As an expert in this field, I recommend maintaining the status quo.”

Making a change comes with responsibility.

The meeting room was filled with the participants’ troubled sighs.

When I get home, I feel better.

My own space.

My own hideout.

When I returned from the demon world, I had nowhere to go and was in a pitiful state, but somehow things turned out well.

“It’s good to be alive!”

After taking a shower, I changed into indoor clothes.

Not long ago, my closet was empty, but now it is packed with a variety of clothes.

From neutral, simple clothes to bright ones that I’ve never worn before.

They are neatly folded and stacked.

I didn’t pick them out myself.

Last time, Yucia came shopping with me, and she filled the cart with everything she thought would suit me.

“I told you, you didn’t have to buy so much.”

Yucia insisted on paying, but I strongly refused.

I had received a large donation of 3 million won.

Even though she’s a rich girl, I felt like I’d be in trouble if I took more from her.

Instead, I asked her to pick the clothes.

I used the excuse that I didn’t know what’s in style now, after returning to the civilized world after 10 years.

“In the past, I could have asked Stella or Spica.”

Men’s and women’s fashion senses are inherently different, so this can often be tricky.

It feels a bit wrong to take advantage of my junior, but she seemed to enjoy it, so it was a win-win situation.

“Wait.”

While lying on the bed, my smartphone vibrated.

It was a call from the supporter.

Yucia had told me it would be a good idea to save her contact info, so I had saved her number.

“Is this Scarlet Lily?”

“It is.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Kim Taehyun from the Magical Girl Support Team. I got your number from Frozen Princess and wanted to contact you.”

It was the voice of a young man.

Did Yucia give him my number?

“What’s this about?”

“I wanted to inform you that a monster has appeared.”

“Oh.”

I focused my attention and scanned the surrounding magic.

Just as the supporter said, I could sense the monster’s presence not far away.

“You might already know, but the government operates an app exclusively for magical girls. If you install it, you can share real-time on-site information—”

“That’s okay. I can track the location myself.”

I cut him off firmly.

“However, the detection ability of magical girls has limitations.”

“It’s fine. If it’s within the metropolitan area, I can handle it. Plus, I’m just an extra, and there are other magical girls too.”

There was silence on the other end of the line, as if he had lost his words.

“…Will you be responding this time?”

“Yes.”

After taking a shower, I was a bit sluggish, but I can still make it on time unless it’s something extreme.

That’s what experience is for.

“I understand. I will inform the other magical girls.”

It seemed like he wouldn’t press the app suggestion any further.

He accepted it cleanly.

He didn’t seem to be the type to hassle me.

My favorability toward him increased slightly.

“Actually, I should have told you earlier, but I want to thank you for your efforts so far. Thanks to you, many people have been saved. Maybe even our whole country.”

“…”

Though it was unexpected, his words were sincere.

“I support all magical girls. You might find it hard to trust the government, but if you need help, don’t hesitate to rely on us. I will cooperate as much as I can, as far as my power allows.”

She emphasized that she was on their side with a clear, firm tone.

After hanging up the phone, I sat on the bed, staring blankly.

What was that just now?

Her momentum was so strong that I was just listening to her without saying much.

“Oh, right. I need to head out.”

I almost forgot.

“I just finished showering…”

The location isn’t far.

Should I quickly go there?

Parfait Alpha is the only member of the team from abroad.

She is a foreign-born Korean from Russia.

She gained citizenship about a year ago.

Her real name is Sofia Viktorovna Petrova.

When she’s in her transformed state, she’s called Sonya.

Sonya came to Korea with the dream of becoming a K-pop idol, but reality wasn’t kind.

Her choreography was clumsy.

Her pronunciation was awkward.

Her Korean skills were lacking.

Even with hard work, the wall of talent was hard to break.

The idol industry, with fierce competition, was a tough environment.

She faced multiple failures and tasted despair, but a miracle happened.

She made a magical girl contract.

She left her home country, going against her family’s wishes.

She had a big dream, one that could be said to be worth her life, but one day, the devil whispered in Sonya’s ear.

“Isn’t it okay to stay like this?”

Though the direction was different, in a way, magical girls are idols too.

Wouldn’t it be better to use the luck you’ve been given well?

That day, Sonya became a devil worshiper.

Sweet words are sweet because they have merit.

It was a tempting offer she could accept.

No matter which way, it was hard to even get to the starting line, but once there, she was confident she could do well.

And indeed, Sonya had some natural talent.

“Everyone, stay away from the tentacles! Beta and Gamma, maintain the front lines with me! Aqua, provide long-range support!”

At Parfait Alpha’s command, three magical girls moved into action swiftly.

The enemy was a monster that looked like an overturned giant octopus.

Its attacks with tentacles whipped like whips were quite troublesome.

The reach was long, making it hard to counter with close-range weapons.

“Alpha, it seems like we can’t handle this with just the four of us. Should we call for the seniors?”

Gamma spoke weakly.

“We can’t! How can we call ourselves magical girls if we can’t even defeat one monster!”

Parfait Alpha was resolute.

Running away is for monkeys.

She didn’t want to show an ugly side twice in a row.

“Damned thing! Die! Ugly bastard!”

She swung the spear she was holding and sliced off a tentacle.

But the tentacle regenerated like a Hydra’s head and became even stronger.

“Ew! Gross!”

Beta screamed and backed away a few steps.

“Don’t be scared! We’re stronger!”

Parfait Alpha was in the leader position among the fifth-generation members responsible for this area.

The days spent rolling to become a K-pop idol.

Her tenacity, as tough as weeds, had led her to this moment.

This is nothing.

“Can you attack from the sky?” Aqua,

“Leave it to me!”

Aqua, who specialized in long-range attacks, flew high into the air.

“Water Bullet!”

She swung her magic wand, and droplets of water appeared in the air before shooting like bullets toward the monster.

“Well done!”

The monster, now full of holes like a beehive.

It seemed like they won, but the finishing blow was sloppy.

“Yikes!”

“Help me!”

Could this be its last-ditch effort?

The long tentacle wrapped around Beta and Gamma’s legs.

“I’ll save you right away!”

Alpha rushed toward them, but

“Scarlet Beam☆”

Before she could reach them, a pink laser pierced through the monster.

It came from a much higher altitude than Aqua.

S

Lily was waving her hand.

“Did I arrive on time?”