Chapter 22: Echoes of the Abyss: The Squid Baron’s Folly

“Kuha-ha! Is the magical girl done for?”

Self-proclaimed Squid Baron.

His fellow monsters simply called him Squid.

For some reason, he was filled with confidence, shouting repeatedly.

Unbeknownst to him, his gurgling voice, submerged in water, was bothering an entity above in the sky.

What could possibly be the reason for his overwhelming confidence?

To explain that, we must go back to the story before the monsters were transported to Earth.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“…Cough!”

Startled by the voice of another monster, Squid opened his eyes wide.

In a recovery device of a spaceship that traverses the universe, undetectable by humans,

it was like another eternal heart for the monsters.

As he came to in that place, he saw thick, sticky liquid pouring from his own body,

dark black ink spilling from his mouth and soaking his shirt.

From the hazy memories, only the notion that “something happened” remained.

Could it be that going to Earth was just a long dream?

“Now, fellow monster comrades, how many do you see here?”

Medic Tentacle, the officer in charge of the recovery room,

wiggled his coiled tentacles as if mimicking a human,

gesturing for Squid to count.

It was difficult to accurately count the sharp-tipped tentacles, so Squid glanced around nervously.

“E-eight?”

“Hmm, no abnormalities in the optical function. Language function is also normal, quite rare!”

As soon as he heard Squid’s answer, the wriggling tentacles

shot into the mouth located under his face,

came back out smeared with black ink, and began to record something.

Squid felt a question arise.

The recovery device placed on the invasion ship was truly perfect,

a fragment of the lost technology of their ancestors.

Didn’t it sound like there was a flaw in that device, which could even bring back the dead?

“Rare? Is there a problem?”

He grew uneasy.

The abundant planet, Earth.

He had the opportunity to invade that planet, which had not been conquered for a long time,

hoping to ultimately defeat the magical girl and bask in the glory of invasion.

The reason he could support that without hesitation was that, with the recovery device,

there would be no true death.

But if there was something wrong with that device, he wouldn’t be able to go to Earth with the same sense as before.

Upon hearing a potentially fatal question for the monsters, Medic Tentacle

immediately waved the tentacles, which took the shape of a hand smeared with ink.

“No, no, the recovery device itself is fine.”

“Right, isn’t it?”

A strong denial that sparked doubt.

Soon after, he added an explanation for the reason he called it rare.

“However, the area you went to… that area is the problem.”

Medic Tentacle crossed his arms behind his back and manipulated something in the recovery room.

Not long after that action, right in front of Squid…

A transparent panel appeared, so clear that one could see through to the other side. It served as evidence backing a strong denial that raised suspicion. On a broadly spread flat map of the Earth, various areas were marked in green, blue, and clear colors, along with orange and bright red.

The colors—clear, green, blue, orange, and red—were known to indicate levels of danger. Before the squid could even appreciate these colors, Medic Tentacle pressed down on a small piece of land on the map.

“Can you see it? This is the area you visited.”

“Black…?!”

At the end of an extensive zoom, there was a color so dark it was invisible even beyond the transparent panel, an alien black.

This distinct color stood out amidst the areas marked in orange, blue, and green. It looked deeper than the ink of its own body and even darker than the emptiness of a void without a shining star.

“That’s right, and those who went to this area have, with a probability of about 97%, reported severe psychological stress immediately after their first mission and left the ship right away.”

“Ninety-seven…?!”

“I don’t usually share this much, but as a fellow creature from a similar planet, I’m advising you. There’s nothing physically wrong with you, right?”

“That’s correct. What about the remaining 3 percent?”

After that question, Medic Tentacle glanced absentmindedly at the door behind him.

[Access to recovery room restricted to officials and administrators.]

The squid knew well about that door. It was said to be a place where the sounds of insane laughter and the constant groans of suffering could be heard, a room rumored among the monsters to be a torture chamber.

For just a fleeting moment, Medic Tentacle turned his gaze back to the front. “Let’s just say they’re receiving intensive treatment.”

The squid realized that it wasn’t a torture chamber but an intensive care room. Everyone beyond that door was a victim of a magical girl? He got up from the recovery device and walked down the long corridor of the ship.

His first mission had failed spectacularly, and he didn’t even understand what had happened to him.

“Hey! You there!”

While walking down the corridor, dropping ink from his disappointment, a strange voice called out to the squid.

“Hmm?”

“Weren’t you the one who went to the ‘black area’ a little while ago?!”

Magical Girl Sun was always the center of attention among the monsters. He prayed that this time he wouldn’t be chosen for the sortie.

Even a monster that didn’t believe in gods would fervently pray to the goddess of luck. For them, returning to their room after just one day in the black area was akin to becoming a heroic figure!

“You’re quite the amazing one, aren’t you?”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, that’s right! I heard that crazy woman captures monsters alive, plays with them as much as she can, inflicting maximum pain before killing them.

“If you got killed by such a lunatic in an instant, then that means you’re something special for being able to use magic like that, right?”

“That crazy masked woman’s territory, you’re going to handle that from now on, right?!”

Magic? Masked woman?

The squid didn’t fully understand the words of the fellow monsters who were speaking to him.

As a revered sacrificial lamb, the mentally exhausted squid found himself easily swayed by the cheers and support around him.

The countless praises showered upon him from all sides, the overwhelming cheers and attention he had never experienced before.

The sweet poison of the atmosphere enveloped him, making him think arrogantly,

‘Maybe I’m actually strong?’

Such presumptuous thoughts crossed his mind.

And so the story returned to the present…

The moment the squid let out a resounding roar.

Sun, seeing the squid brimming with confidence, tilted his head in confusion.

‘What’s up with that idiot?’

Thinking this to himself, Sun wondered if the squid had lost all memory after dying from nerve paralysis last time.

Or maybe it was a different monster that just looked the same?

Even if it was a monster, there seemed to be different species.

In any case, there was no need to confront him directly.

The squid monster, intoxicated by its own confidence and momentum, completely forgot about the previous aerial ambush.

“Let’s go around back and freeze it.”

“Okay, got it.”

Unaware that the red nightmare, akin to his future, was quietly approaching from behind.

“Shh.”

He placed his index finger to his lips, signaling Siyeon to be quiet as he slowly descended from the sky, whispering “Shh.”

A signal so common even kindergarteners would understand.

The best strategy is surprise and assassination.

Whether the opponent is stronger or weaker, it’s always the best method to handle them conveniently.

Slowing down in the air, he spoke to Siyeon, feeling the monster still felt distant.

“Stay quiet, and when I give this signal with my face, that’s when you can use it. Got it?”

“Okay…!”

Siyeon nodded, understanding the signal.

A convenient way to torture involves first taking away freedom of movement.

There are many situations that can be handled alone, but…

Having Siyeon freeze a few spots to keep the monster from thrashing about provides a level of comfort.

Looking at Siyeon, he tilted his chin towards the monster a couple of times.

Cautiously, Siyeon’s magic wand aimed towards the monster, unleashing a spell.

“Squid Shower-!”

“Ughhh?!”

As the cold, deathly hand of torture covered the squid, the mechanical sound of a door clicking echoed through the recovery room.

The one who entered was none other than the eight-armed monster that often appeared in the conference room.

“Is Medic Tentacle here?”

“Oh? Ah, Asura, you’ve come. Is there a place where you’re hurt?”

Medic Tentacle turned at the familiar voice. The sight before him was an unexpected monster, and he welcomed the visitor, who he felt he could talk to comfortably, by spreading his tentacles wide.

“…Has the squid not arrived yet?”

“Yes, is there a problem?”

Medic Tentacle was taken aback that the name of a low-tier monster came out of his mouth. He had thought about how his fellow monster might be on a path to success, but quickly dismissed that thought.

“He’s gone to the black area for the second time this time….”

“Oh, dear.”

A surprised exclamation slipped from his lips. It was a well-known fact among the higher-ups. For monsters heading to the black area, the first visit might be tolerable. Even a 3% chance, as harsh as it is, offers some hope. But the second time?

A monster that has visited that place once, heading back to the black area where Sun resides? There’s no exception or mercy.

Asura’s words, devoid of any humor, filled the atmosphere with a solemnity that confirmed the suspicion.

It had already been enough time since the squid was sent.

“It’s been 5 minutes since the transmission.”

With a heavy expression, Asura reported the passage of time. Medic Tentacle understood the implication behind Asura’s words.

“I’ll check if there’s a vacancy in the intensive care unit….”

“Yes, please.”

Magical Girl Sun. The title used to call her in the ship’s recovery room was… the magical girl who truly kills if seen twice.