Chapter 78 : The Early Kaiju

Around the time that such a question crossed Mari’s mind.

In the pitch-black void, aboard a monster ship drifting in Earth’s orbit at the center of space. In a wide room that served as the monsters’ quarters, restless nights continued without end.

Clang, ka-kak, the irregular sounds of metal clashing against metal echoed.

The noise was enough to grate on the nerves of the monsters, regardless of species, and eventually, one monster couldn’t take it anymore and exploded in frustration.

“Graaagh! I’m losing it!”

“Whoa, that scared me.”

Several monsters who were familiar with the sound were instead startled by the sudden outburst, while the monster who had shouted out voiced his complaint to those around him.

“How can you all stand this noise?!”

The source of the sound battering the ship was space debris. Tiny satellites launched from Earth exploding, tools dropped during operations in space, discarded stages from multi-stage rockets. These fragments still lingered near Earth, constantly pelting the monsters’ quarters with their ship’s broad hull.

The monster who finally snapped was a newcomer to this ship.

“I was like that when I first got here too.”

“You get used to it after a while.”

In stark contrast to the newcomer’s desperate scream, the other monsters reacted indifferently, having already endured it for years — some for several years, others for more than a decade. There wasn’t much time or concern to spare for the complaints of a new recruit, especially during such a busy period on the ship.

In the emptiness of space, what could possibly be keeping them so busy other than plotting how to defeat a magical girl?

Unfortunately, there was something.

Just looking at the quarters made it clear — the monsters were packing their belongings.

“Suddenly being transferred to another ship… I wonder if they’ll be okay?”

“Rumor has it, they’re getting replaced for poor performance…”

Speculations and worries born from vague hearsay. The current ship in Earth’s orbit was about to be withdrawn, with its personnel transferred to smaller ships and the remaining forces consolidated. To prepare for that, the monsters were busy gathering their belongings.

Amidst the monsters busily preparing for relocation, Medic Tentacle was fully occupied with entertaining a particular visitor to the ship.

A monster with rugged skin covered in bony protrusions and teeth crammed together in a long, lipless mouth.

On his own ship, he was called Evil Croaker.

A rank higher than an officer — a Captain.

Unlike the current Earth-orbit fleet, where various officers oversaw their own sections, his ship operated under a strict chain of command centered around him.

Even though each ship technically had its own ranking structure, in simple terms, he outranked Medic Tentacle.

Medic Tentacle was giving him a tour of the ship, both to share insights about Earth and to acquaint him with the general layout.

“…This is the intensive care unit for the monsters defeated by that magical girl.”

“Ugh! T-the light!”

The top priority Medic Tentacle wanted to impress upon him was about the magical girl, Sun.

He had already warned Evil Croaker about her before the visit — his most serious caution.

But despite Tentacle’s earnest warning, Evil Croaker didn’t so much as blink, instead casting a scornful glance at the injured monsters in the intensive care unit.

“Hmph! With mental fortitude that weak, cowards like them don’t belong on the battlefield.”

“Y-yes, I quite agree.”

Somehow, Medic Tentacle was bowing and scraping before him.

However, inwardly, he was barely holding back the resentment he felt toward the high-ranking officer, who was nothing more than a symbol of incompetence.

The so-called “higher-ups” never took the actual situation on the ground into account.

Tentacle had realized this long ago — back when countless requests for a ceasefire with Sun had been rejected.

How long had it taken, just to get permission to send a ceasefire request to the magical girl Sun?

They had to meticulously quantify the benefits that would come to the monster side if they stopped fighting her, prove it with numbers and data — only then did the approval finally come down.

“Well, you’ve managed to keep this ship running with this lot of headaches, huh.”

“H-ha-ha, thank you for noticing.”

At Evil Croaker’s seemingly innocent compliment, Medic Tentacle forced himself to suppress his disgust and gave a short, clipped laugh, tamping down his boiling fury.

At any rate, from this day onward, the executive officers on this ship would be pulled away from Earth operations.

While the continuous defeats and losses were a factor, the decisive blow had been the ‘Black Nightmare’ incident.

The malfunctioning of the ship’s various devices, the disruption of their assigned quotas — it was concluded that the executive officers bore a significant share of responsibility for it.

While the officers were busy trying to clean up the aftermath, official procedures swiftly moved forward on paper, stripping them of Earth-related duties.

For now, the task was to hand over as much intel about Earth as possible to the next in line: Evil Croaker.

Under Medic Tentacle’s guidance, the ship’s internal briefing continued.

The most important location, naturally, was the transmission chamber.

There, he explained the ‘Black Zone’, the powerful magical girl Sun, and the pact regarding the Black Zone:

That for a period equivalent to 400 human days, no monsters would be dispatched there.

“Hah, is that really necessary? A ceasefire pact with a mere fleshling who won’t even live a handful of decades?”

At Evil Croaker’s grumbling, a chill ran down Medic Tentacle’s spine.

It felt eerily similar to the sensation he’d experienced when standing before her clone.

Judging by those mutterings, it was obvious that Evil Croaker hadn’t taken a single word of his warnings to heart.

Even the stupidest of monsters would at least show a hint of caution when it was explained this plainly… Medic Tentacle thought coldly, glaring at him from behind.

A stupid commander means suffering soldiers.

It was shameless of them, considering they themselves had caused that Sun clone incident not long ago — but Medic Tentacle could only pity the monsters now set to serve under Croaker’s command.

Even if they spoke the same language, there were times it simply didn’t get through.

But still — some things had to be said.

“You really shouldn’t underestimate them.”

That hollow piece of advice, born from an almost pitiful sense of duty, merely drifted past Evil Croaker’s ears.

“Yeah, yeah, got it.”

‘Yeah, he clearly didn’t get it at all.’

Medic Tentacle gave up on persuasion at that point.

For all intents and purposes, it was practically a demotion for the ship’s executive staff.

Despite their poor track record, the higher-ups, out of consideration for their hardships, granted them short vacations back on their home planets.

Looking up at his homeworld’s ink-black sky, he didn’t mind having stepped down from the Earth operations post. But still—

‘Well then, let’s see you get royally screwed.’

With that single hope, Medic Tentacle cursed Evil Croaker.

The kind of curse they’d call a nasty insult on Earth.

In the middle of a brief respite, muttering his curse under his breath, he brought his favorite salty drink to his beak.

Was it that his curse had finally reached the ship as well?
Evil Croker’s decision was, without a doubt, the worst possible option.

“Ha, the Black Zone? A ceasefire? What nonsense…”

Evil Croker belonged to a species whose biological traits included a rather small brain. The only thing he was good at was fighting, so how did someone like him come to sit so confidently in the captain’s chair?
The reason was simple: family connections.

Proving his incompetence all on his own, he arbitrarily adjusted the color of the Black Zone without consulting anyone. Though his brain was small, he did possess a short-term memory. He remembered the zone being black.

Out of sheer, arrogant confidence and a desire to meet someone noteworthy, and to commemorate his first day assigned to Earth, he was preparing to pour the ship’s energy into the transmission chamber.
After all, even if he died, the recovery device would bring him back.

His satisfied laughter filled the captain’s room.

“Kuhahaha! Get ready, Earthlings!”

There was nothing to worry about — at least, nothing more than the clarity of his empty head.
Or maybe, actually, there was a little to be concerned about.

What Evil Croker didn’t know was that day happened to be a major traditional holiday.
It was the start of Seollal, the Lunar New Year.

***

A few days later, on Earth.

During the nationally celebrated holiday, three people were about to set off by car to the customary magical girl holiday gathering spot.

“Huh?”

Suddenly, a single groan from Bear (Gomtaeng) broke the cheerful holiday mood with dissonance.
A rare voice, tinged with genuine confusion.

Finding herself floating voluntarily in midair, she tilted her head and asked Bear:

“What? Why?”

“There’s a kaiju.”

“What? No way — you’re kidding, right?”

On the verge of departing in her sister’s freshly cleaned car, she naturally suspected it was a bad joke.
But then, a long floating mascot figure hovering in the sky brushed away any lingering doubt.

“It’s real. I can feel it too.”

Sea Serpent’s (Bada Snake) firm confirmation added credibility.
And then came the sirens.

It wasn’t just a prank to set the mood — it was a real kaiju attack.

“What the hell? I thought we had another year?”

“I… I’m not sure either… oh for f—”

Abandoning the darkened house where she had just reached the front door, she slipped her shoes off again, went inside, dug deep into the closet, and pulled out a mask she hadn’t touched in years.
Maybe because it had been so long, the eye and mouth holes didn’t quite line up.

The musty smell of the closet clung to the mask — a bonus she hadn’t asked for.

“Siyeon, stay home with me for a bit.”

“I—I wanna go too!”

As she tried to head out alone, Siyeon insisted on coming along.
Had she resolved once again to fight the kaiju?
There was no reason to stop someone whose determination had grown with time.

Grabbing Siyeon’s hand, they hurried outside, finding a suitably deserted back alley.

“Sun.”

“Moon Power, Transform!”

Chanting their transformation spells, they shot up into the cloud-covered sky.
Nobody knew why a kaiju had shown up an entire year early — but as a magical girl, it was the perfect opportunity to teach Siyeon the basics she needed.

At least… in her own opinion.