Chapter 28: The Silent Gathering

After the school field trip ended in chaos caused by the giant hornets, what subtly lingered in Mari’s mind was… the monster alert that had not sounded from Sunday to Monday.

It was as if it were checking on the atmosphere between the two people.

Still, she thought to herself, “It’s better if they don’t show up,” and let the day pass without much thought. Of course, there’s no such thing as an inexplicable anomaly.

Meanwhile, the story shifts to the monsters’ ship.

Inside one of the rooms on the ship, which was completely devoid of bright colors, many monsters of various sizes and unique appearances gathered in a shabby circle, exuding a gloomy atmosphere.

“So, this is the 142nd session…”

What could these always belligerent beings, who determine their hierarchy through combat, be discussing so seriously while gathering their limited intellect?

The meeting, established quite recently in monster terms, had a purpose and ultimate goal.

The main topic of discussion and core subject of the meeting was…

“Surviving wisely against Sun, we will hold a meeting.”

Surviving wisely against Sun.

More precisely, it meant dying comfortably without suffering.

To the monsters, both interpretations held the same significance.

In a gigantic room where approximately three hundred monsters had gathered, the weakened roars of the monsters resonated like in a school classroom.

“Uwooo….”

“Where did Giant Hornet and Mantis go?”

The host, a snail-like monster, stretched out one of its peach-colored tentacles from within its body to point at an empty seat.

During the headcount, it pointed out the vacant spot, which was different from the last time.

The monster sitting next to it bowed its three heads low.

The central head remained silent as if reluctant to speak, but the left head blurted out the truth in a thin voice.

“That guy was… done by Sun….”

“What…!”

At the shocking revelation from the left head, all three hundred monsters present began to stir restlessly.

The once-valiant fists and beautifully shining sturdy shells had been exemplary for everyone present. Now, he had become a former monster who could never return to that place.

From the opposite side of the host snail, another tentacle sprang forth, bringing its hands together.

“Let us all take a moment of silence to pray for the well-being and recovery of him, who was our shield and spear with his heavy fists and shell….”

Following the host’s words, all the monsters in the room bowed, bent, or stood with their heads lowered according to the etiquette of their home planets.

They expressed their sincerity, aware that any one of them could be next to occupy that empty seat.

“Now…….”

The host’s quiet voice, ringing out slowly, brought the monsters’ heads back up.

“So, let’s move on to the intelligence transmitted from Earth….”

As the host’s words and actions continued, a mechanical sound echoed through the large room: beeping.

One wall began to inscribe their language as news from Earth was conveyed to the monsters.

Naturally, the main content was about the magical girls.

Among these, in accordance with the meeting’s theme, were news regarding Sun.

In the newly reported news, the monsters carefully engraved them in their eyes.

“Is there a monster that held out for 27 minutes against that guy?!”

“Not in a mask, but with a bare face!”

“I can’t believe it. That face could do such terrible and cruel things!”

The bare face of Sun, which has caused quite a stir on Earth.

And recently, the news of the monster being defeated after 27 minutes has left even the monsters in shock.

After a commotion, they began to gather and share their ideas, each voicing the countermeasures they had prepared in theory.

“How about preparing for self-detonation?”

“End it before we suffer? Hmm… that might not be a bad idea.”

“Who will prepare all those bombs and detonation buttons?”

“Isn’t it possible that it could expose weaknesses to other magical girls?”

“That should only be given to those heading to the ‘Black Area’.”

“I think it’s worth considering positively. Let’s hold off and hear the next opinion.”

Following the gentle guidance of the moderator, the monsters actively exchanged ideas.

Unlike the forced meetings held in schools, the monsters were lively and animated.

And it made sense; the anxiety of not knowing when one would head to the ‘Black Area’ loomed over them.

So, until their turn to head to the ‘Black Area’ came, they needed at least one useful suggestion to emerge!

For their own safety, that is.

“Then, what about this?”

Amidst the discussions, one monster stretched its coral-like arm toward the sky.

This monster was known as the most foolish of all species.

Thus, the moderator didn’t expect much, but still thought it was a valuable opinion and granted permission after a moment of silence.

“…Go ahead.”

“Let’s save transmission energy and send seven or eight monsters to the ‘Black Area’ all at once!”

The bold suggestion was presented with a tightly clenched coral-like palm.

As soon as those words ended, the monsters began to bombard him with criticism as if they had been waiting for the nonsense to end.

“You’ll just die together, you idiot!”

“Do you think you can survive as a group?!”

“Seriously, the Het race… Are you still trying to beat that crazy girl?!”

“Okay, calm down, everyone.”

In response to the jeers, the moderator worked to cool down the heated atmosphere along with the monsters.

“He only came up with the best he could think of. If we just criticize and ridicule each other, really good ideas might be buried and never come out.”

In the now calmer room, one of the monsters, a Brain species, was attentively listening to the Het race’s suggestion.

He thought the idea thrown out by the Het race wasn’t that bad and was visualizing the monsters heading to the ‘Black Area’ in his mind.

Why do humans focus on the time it takes for a monster to be defeated?

The news from Earth was the same.

On the ship, they send one monster to Earth every time the transmission energy is charged.

Is there really a need for that?

He knew that transmitting organic matter requires a lot of energy.

Still, he thought he could at least charge enough energy to send two or three at a time.

After finishing his thoughts, he stretched his blue spine toward the sky.

“Then, how about sending this opinion to the transmission room?”

The opinion presented by the Brain species, known for their intelligence.

The host also showed enthusiasm at the spine rising into the sky and urged him to speak quickly.

“Oh, please go ahead.”

“Send them in succession during a single invasion, but to different locations in the black area.”

According to him, for some reason, many people on Earth were focused on the time it took to deal with the monsters.

When he explained this point, the monsters that had mocked the Het species were about to mock him as well but were soon persuaded.

The monsters head to the black area in succession at once. The magical girl deals with the appearing monsters and must quickly move on to the next. If this repeats five or six times, since it’s uncertain when the next monster will appear, even the last monster could meet its end without torture and pain.

The more they listened, the more plausible it sounded.

‘Maybe this is possible?’

The monsters present hoped for a hopeful death in response to that opinion.

Hopeful death—no matter how foolish the monsters were, they could not miss the unnaturalness of those two words combined.

However, within the confines of the black area, a death that comes without torture and pain felt like a glimmer of hope.

“Uwooo!! Let’s go with this!”

“Let’s hurry to the transmission room and tell them!”

The 142nd session of the “Wise Survival Group” from Sun began with a few words from a foolish monster, ultimately reaching a significant opinion that felt like much-needed rain in a drought.

In the end, would a hopeful death await the monsters as they expected? Or would it be the pent-up rage of a magical girl sharpening her blade for revenge?

That was something they would have to wait and see.

The story returns to Sun.

“Yawn…”

It had been several days since the monster alert rang.

At this point, no news was unsettling, but in contrast to such anxiety, his body was enjoying comfort.

He lay sprawled out, letting out a long yawn.

Had they finally given up on sending monsters to this area?

‘It makes sense.’

Nodding while lying down, she organized his thoughts.

If they had any sense, they wouldn’t want to come here.

“…Mrs Mari?”

she shouldn’t have even thought that.

she slowly raised her upper body at the voice calling her, which seemed to have something to desire

And that day was different somehow.

“Uh, uh-oh?”

“What’s wrong?”

The bear’s voice was stained with confusion.

While preparing his mask, she thought it must not be a big deal and asked what was wrong.

However, the bear’s voice was conveying that it was, of course, a big deal.

“One, two, three… is the reaction not just one?”

“What the hell?”