Chapter 14: Ruthless Power: No Room for Mercy

If she makes that stomping noise again, I’ll repay her with a 10-hour video in return.

…or so I thought, but all of that seemed pointless. Ever since the next day, when the lady from upstairs came down to our floor, the noise noticeably decreased.

The subwoofer I had bought with such determination… I carefully removed it from the ceiling and placed it next to the monitor in gratitude for its service.

The two pairs of earplugs I had bought from Daiso were now useless, but…

What’s done is done. What’s the difference now?

Just thinking about how I made her uncomfortable with her shameless face gave me a satisfying feeling, as if the food that had risen to my throat was now going straight down to my stomach.

“How do I search for it?”

“Just type the title you’re looking for here, and then press this big button…”

Now that the noise-terror computer had lost its job, it had settled in the corner of our apartment, being used for its original purpose.

What we’re doing now is searching for the anime Siyeon likes to watch on YouTube.

Her clumsy fingers pecked at the keyboard, typing one letter at a time.

Watching her reminded me of when I first learned to use a computer, and I saw a bit of myself in Siyeon.

Come to think of it, this is about the age when you first encounter computers.

‘A magical girl searching for a magical girl anime…’

I thought absentmindedly as I watched Siyeon struggle to type on the keyboard.

Maybe it’s because there are so many scenes that seem more magical-girl-like than the actual magical girl.

“Ah, here it is!”

“Now just move the mouse and click the left button.”

After a flurry of pink-filled scenes, the magical girl anime began.

Since we got the computer, the TV has naturally become neglected.

Even though the apartment felt empty before, the cheerful sound of the anime, no matter how childish, filled the room. It made me not feel the need to turn on the TV.

I mean, what’s the point? The TV mostly just talks about bad news anyway.

Even if the content is childish, while lying sideways on the floor and watching the anime…

“Siyeon?”

“Mari?”

The mascots called out to us almost simultaneously.

If they’re calling first, it can only mean one thing.

Anticipating the task, I grabbed a black mask from the closet, just in case, and asked.

“Is it a monster?”

“Yes.”

Her firm answer didn’t deviate one bit from my expectations.

Sometimes, I wish this prediction would be wrong.

“It can’t be helped, right, Siyeon?”

“Siyeon?”

With no response, I called her again.

It seemed my voice had been drowned out by the video playing.

It was only after I raised my voice a second time that I heard a response.

“Oh, yeah!”

“When you click the screen, it pauses, so let’s take care of it quickly and come back to watch more.”

As we left the house, I noticed Siyeon’s gaze linger on the computer for a moment.

It’s never pleasant to have something you’re engrossed in abruptly interrupted.

Fully understanding that feeling, I walked ahead, quickening my pace.

“Moon Power, Transform!”

“Sun.”

In the shadowy alley between buildings where no one could see them, they recited the transformation spell and took off into the air.

Following the gaze of the mascot-like creatures, which served as something like a monster navigation system, they flew towards their destination.

A curious question came from Siyeon, who tilted her head as if puzzled.

“Sun, why do monsters in cartoons always have so many henchmen?”

“Henchmen? Ah…”

At first, Sun was confused by the question, but after thinking about it, it made sense.

Those full-body tights-wearing lackeys whose eyes you couldn’t even see.

Those speechless guys, that’s who Siyeon meant, right?

“Hmm…”

Hearing the question made Sun reflect on it as well. Even while flying, she crossed her arms in the sky and let out a short sigh.

Henchmen, what’s the purpose of henchmen?

In terms of story settings, maybe it’s to drain the magical girls’ power, or maybe each monster has a quota of useless henchmen.

Still, if you think about it realistically…

“It’s to pad the runtime.”

“Pad…the runtime?”

That expression clearly showed she didn’t fully understand.

Thinking it might have been too difficult for a young elementary schooler to understand, Sun decided to explain it more simply.

After the monster alert went off in their designated area, Moon and Sun would usually take care of the monster in under five minutes on average.

“See, monsters… they’re weaker than you’d think, right?”

If they made an anime where they fought like that, it would end up as a shorts anime.

If that pattern kept repeating, kids would quickly lose interest.

Of course, in reality, the quicker the monster is dealt with, the better.

“Is that so…?”

“You can’t fight all day long, so you need these helpful extras to fill the time until the episode ends.”

“Helpful…”

Siyeon seemed conflicted.

She had always thought of those henchmen as villains who only served to drain the magical girls’ power, but now it seemed like they played a big role in keeping the show running.

Wait, did I just ruin her childhood innocence?

“Ha-ha! You’ve come, magical gir—”

Just as Sun was lost in thought for a moment, a faint sound coming from below brushed past her ears.

“Ah, Mari! We passed it! We passed it!”

“Siyeon! Behind us, behind!”

Then the mascots’ urgent shouts reached her ears, letting her know they had flown past the monster.

“Oh.”

“Ah.”

With a short sigh, acknowledging the mistake, they flew a few more meters forward before suddenly braking in midair.

Hurriedly, they spun around and turned toward the direction of the voice.

This is why you shouldn’t get distracted while flying.

Anyway, landing a bit ahead of the others, they finally caught sight of the monster, which had only been a dot in the distance.

Its head had three horns, a combination of a stag beetle and a rhinoceros beetle.

The arms resembled the forelegs of a mantis, perfectly designed to grab things. It was like looking at the ultimate weapon of an insect. Since Siyeon wasn’t as adept at flying as I was and would probably land a bit later, I decided to speak up first.

“Oh, what was it again… something about not forgiving you and all that.”

Scratching the back of my head, I tried to remember what a magical girl should say. My lazy brain filled in the blanks with a vague ‘and all that.’

“You little brats! You ignored me, and one of you is even wearing that weird mask! Are you mocking me?!”

The insect monster, clearly insulted, pointed at me with its mantis-like forelegs, furious.

“That was a mistake, but isn’t it obvious?”

“What did you say…?”

While massaging my shoulder with my staff as if to soothe a sore muscle, I kindly explained to the monster, now expressing a newfound curiosity.

“We’re going to fight you anyway. Why would we bother respecting a destructive menace that only causes trouble for everyone?”

“Well, that’s…”

Now was my chance, with the monster thrown off guard. The moment it stammered out an ‘uh,’ I pushed off with all the strength gathered in my toes and launched myself forward. A magical girl fighting honorably in perfect condition? That kind of stuff is only for TV cartoons. This is real life, and it’s a job. All I wanted was to finish quickly and get back home to rest.

“Hahaha! You’ve fallen right into my trap!”

“?!”

As my magical staff struck the monster’s head armor, a sharp metallic sound rang out, as if blades had clashed. Immediately, the monster’s smug voice and laughter followed, as though it had anticipated this.

The horn on its head, resembling the pincers of a stag beetle, sharpened into jagged spikes and began closing in on my waist.

Siyeon’s panicked shout echoed in my ear.

“Sun!”

“I’ve heard plenty about you from the others!”

The monster’s voice rang out triumphantly, confident in its impending victory. With its stag beetle-like horns blocking my escape upwards and its head in the way, there was no chance of escaping downwards either.

There was no way to dodge.

“Your cruelty, more monstrous than that of the monsters themselves! That brutality! Your legend ends here!”

The stag beetle’s pincers violently closed in, seemingly ready to slice through my waist, but then…

A sharper metallic noise than before filled the air, like the sound my staff made when it hit the monster’s head. The pincers, which were supposed to sever me in two, scraped and ground against my waist like a saw but only produced a sharp, rasping sound.

“Huh?”

The confused voice of the now-baffled monster echoed in front of me. It had tried to pierce me with its sharp, spiked pincers. It must have expected to feel something, right?

“Hey, are you done?”

“N-no, this can’t be… how is this possible…?”

The pincers, trembling with disbelief, withdrew from my waist.

“Where do you think you’re running off to, you bastard?”

I watched the creature’s thin legs as it tried to back away and grabbed something that looked like a beetle horn just above its pincers. What had once been a long horn blocking its escape route now became a handle, trapping it.

That must have been its desperate, last-ditch attack… Instead of boldly coming at me, it was flailing pitifully, even its transparent wings emerging from its shell, fluttering hopelessly in a bid to escape.

“I hear you’ve heard quite a lot about me.”

“W-wait…!”

“Cowardly, more monstrous than actual monsters? Ruthless… ah, I see.”

It seemed to have realized that it stood no chance, its words becoming more frantic, wings flapping even harder with every sentence. The rapid beating of its insect wings kicked up dust around us.

“N-no, I misspoke! I didn’t mean to!”

“No, no, there’s no need to take it back…”

Smiling softly at the insect-like monster, which was trying to retract its words, I waved off its apology, making it clear there was no need. My next words, though, likely weren’t what it wanted to hear.

“Because that’s probably all true.”

The heart-shaped ornament on my now-heated staff glowed with the red hue of despair.

**To be continued…**