Chapter 5: Shadows of the Moon- A Night of Monsters

I was never blinded like this even in my past life.

After experiencing the blinding light, I prepared a fitting punishment for the bear.

Do you know about insect collection boxes, by any chance?

The ones with just enough holes for air at the top, and a transparent plastic bottom.

I filled it to the brim with water, just enough for it to slosh around, and laid the bear straight in the narrow part.

All it had to do was hold on and not let itself get soaked.

“If you come back and find yourself wet, you’re dead. Got it?”

To prevent it from slipping out and pretending to hold on again, I sealed the lid tightly with tape.

“Raaaah—!”

“It’s done. Let’s go.”

With a satisfied scream echoing, I dusted off my hands, grabbed my mask and staff, and headed out.

Stepping out of the apartment, I found a secluded spot away from prying eyes, and together with Siyeon, recited the transformation spell.

“Moon Power—! Transform!”

“Sun.”

Siyeon’s incantation was at least somewhat respectable, whereas mine was concise to the point of seeming insincere.

I didn’t want to utter some cringe-worthy transformation spell, so it was the best I could do.

Since I left the monster radar bear behind as punishment, I had to rely on Siyeon’s mascot for detection.

Following the snake that led the way, we arrived at the rooftop of an apartment building.

There, I spotted a dark figure, about 170 cm tall.

“In the name of love and justice, I will not forgive you!”

Siyeon spoke up before the monster could, eager to deliver her line first.

Hearing her, the figure turned its head sharply toward us without moving its body.

In the darkness, two bright yellow eyes gleamed.

Eyes I’ve seen often in videos.

Ah, right, it’s a bird of prey.

“Hoo-hoo.”

Instead of a monster’s voice, all we heard was the hooting of an owl.

“Eek?!”

Siyeon, seeing the monster’s head turn completely around, freaked out.

Seeing a bird the size of a human with its head turning 180 degrees—yeah, it’s understandable to be scared.

“Hoho—is that all it takes to scare you? If so, I’m disappointed….”

Anger welled up inside me as I realized this monster had no idea what it was doing wrong.

Do you know how it feels to be dragged out in the middle of the night before you can even get scared?

Some might be fueled by a sense of duty, but all I feel is pure rage.

I let the anger build up and turned it into words.

“You’re causing chaos on land, sea, and now air, huh?”

“Hoo?”

A couple of times ago, it was a land beast.

Last time, it was a sea creature.

This time, it’s an air monster.

“This is like some kind of three-flavored jjamppong*!”

“Hoo-hoo?”

If I chop it all up and sell it to a Chinese restaurant, I could probably get a few servings of three-flavor jjamppong.

“Hoo-hoo-hoo, my ass! God, I’m so pissed off.”

The creature’s irritating voice just made me rub my forehead in frustration.

Just when I thought I wouldn’t have to listen to that shitty voice anymore, now even the monsters are acting up.

Anyway, I’ve thought of a method to relieve some stress…

Since my wand’s light is too conspicuous at night, I looked at Siyeon and said,

“Moon, use that Shining-whatever or Flash spell.”

“Huh? Oh… okay…”

Siyeon did as instructed, lifting her wand and pointing it at the owl monster.

“Hohoho! Do you think I’ll just stand here and watch?”

The monster wasn’t one to stay still. It quickly took to the sky, diving down like a bird of prey searching for its next meal.

These monsters are simple-minded, with no concept of retreat.

Their behavior patterns are too easy to predict, so every fight is devoid of tension.

“Yeah, come as close as you can.”

“Moonlight!”

“Wh-What?!”

Unlike us, who had slightly closed our eyes in advance, the owl monster took the moonlight directly into its wide-open eyes.

So, it wasn’t Shining or Flash… Not even close.

The monster, unable to see properly due to the light, charged forward and nearly fell off the apartment roof. I grabbed it just in time.

“Gotcha.”

With a short grunt, I gently laid the still-flapping, blindfolded owl monster on the ground.

Siyeon—no, Moon—didn’t look too thrilled, but I had to be firm.

“Sun, do we really have to do this…?”

“Trauma is important, Moon… It prevents them from coming back.”

“H-Hoo? W-What are you planning to do…?”

I gently stroked the belly of the owl monster, feeling the texture.

The smoothness of bird feathers, like all living creatures, offers a unique sensation.

“Mmm, soft to the touch…”

My hand, which had been stroking its belly, stopped at one spot, and I grabbed a handful of its thick feathers.

Realizing the severity of the situation, the owl monster’s pupils shrank to the size of beads.

“Y-You’re not…”

“It’s grooming time.”

Rrrrrip. A handful of feathers came loose in my grip.

“Hoooorrrrrrrrk?!”

I plucked out a fistful of feathers, then discarded them.

Plucked them out, discarded them again.

I repeated the process until its body was as smooth as a plucked chicken.

“Huh? What’s this?”

In the middle of it all, the screaming stopped, and the owl monster began to dissipate like magical dust.

Siyeon’s face showed pity as she looked at the monster, which now had its tongue hanging out.

“It seems to have died already…”

“I haven’t even left a mark yet…”

Before it completely disappeared, I slightly twisted the shaft of my magic wand to imbue it with the power of the sun.

Sssss…

I regretfully pressed the barely heated heart part of the wand against the spot where I’d plucked the most feathers, leaving a faint mark.

The smell of roasting bird filled the night air, making me crave chicken.

After flying back near our home, not our apartment but the roof of a nearby building…

“Transformation, undo.”

“Release.”

The lingering scent of the owl monster in my nose was calling for chicken.

Hoping Siyeon might join me on this journey, I pointed my thumb toward the convenience store behind the building and asked,

“I’m going to stop by the convenience store and grab some frozen chicken. What about you, Siyeon?”

“I’m good….”

She replied in a tired voice, seemingly exhausted, as she headed down from the rooftop ahead of me.

Is she not hungry? How could she not crave chicken after smelling that?

I followed her down to the first floor. Siyeon headed home, while I turned towards the convenience store.

A measly 200g of frozen chicken for 5,800 won.

The value was screaming in protest, but reheating that pepper-covered spicy fried chicken in the microwave late at night—it was just too delicious.

For a moment of pleasure, I added an 1,100 won can of soda, disregarding its cost-effectiveness as well.

This is world peace.

“That was good.”

Patting my barely full, still-growing stomach, I returned to the apartment.

Siyeon, seemingly worn out, was already lying in bed.

As I was about to head to the top bunk, I heard a groan, close to a painful moan.

“Ughhh…!”

The little bear cub had somehow managed not to fall off the top of the insect collection box.

Oh, right, I had forgotten about it.

The bear, trembling in the collection box, turned its head towards me. It didn’t have a face that would belong in a magical girl anime.

“Can I… be released now!?”

“Sorry about that, I forgot.”

“Ugh!”

A desperate question met with a deflating answer.

Plop, the bear plunged its body into the water in the insect collection box, making a light splashing sound.

It must have been so drained of energy that its limbs had gone limp.

The anger from the eye-popping delight of the frozen chicken and soda had long faded.

As I peeled off the tape that had been keeping it trapped, the tape made a peeling sound, and I opened the lid to take out the soaked bear.

I squeezed out the water right there so it wouldn’t splash everywhere.

“Ughhhhh—”

The bear let out a pained moan as the water was wrung out of it.

It sounded like one of those squeaky toys that make noise when you squeeze them.

I casually tossed the bear aside and climbed up to the top bunk to sleep.

Having woken up in the middle of the night, hunted a monster, enjoyed some pleasure, and devoured a bag of chicken and a can of soda, I lay back down.

Naturally, there was no way I could fall asleep easily.

‘Guess I’m done with sleep for the night.’

I eventually shifted from lying down to lying on my stomach and turned on my smartphone.

In the meantime, I heard a soft, shuffling sound.

The light rustling of a blanket being stepped on—it could only be the bear cub.

Without even turning to look in that direction, I spoke while staring at my bright phone screen.

“If you ever wake me up like that again, you’re dead.”

“Then how should I wake you up?”

“Just shake them a few times and whisper in their ear, they’ll wake up. Shining a light in their eyes makes you seem like a real psycho.”

“I see.”

Hearing the bear cub’s words and continuing to look at my smartphone, a question came to mind.

How do other magical girls wake up when monsters appear at night?

“Hey.”

“Yes?”

“How do other magical girls handle it? When monsters show up at night.”

The cub responded with a puzzled expression, as if wondering why I was asking such an obvious question.

“Usually, an alarm goes off.”

“Man, this is really an extreme job…”

The reality of the magical girl’s work environment suddenly hit me, and I let out a curse.

They really don’t hold back with these kids.