The Monster’s Gaze

In Nelly’s estimation, while demons were undeniably an unforgivable evil, they typically resembled skilled hunters or ruthless murderers, rather than the frenzied creatures currently before her. Devoid of skill, they were driven solely by the raw instinct to kill. Lacking any strategy, they merely tore apart everything in their path with rabid ferocity.

Three adult corpses lay sprawled across the opulent hall. Nelly couldn’t discern their identities or even their genders, for their bodies had been ravaged and torn to shreds by the demons that had streamed in, leaving behind only glistening white bones intertwined with scraps of pinkish flesh.

What purpose could such demonic entities possibly serve in this world? They hunted neither for sustenance nor for sport, as their rudimentary minds precluded such emotions; only an eternally burning fire of rage consumed them, a fury that would only be extinguished upon a magical girl’s death.

Nelly plunged mercilessly into the horde of demons, her shortswords flashing. Though she was more adept at stealthily ambushing individual foes, dealing with these low-intelligence, Tier-Three and below creatures en masse proved effortless.

The sheer number of invading demons was overwhelming. Following the survivor’s cries, Nelly carved a bloody path through them like a meat grinder. The once elegant corridor was now adorned with scattered fragments and charred, unidentifiable matter, while her body, enveloped in sparkling magical energy, remained unsullied by the enemies’ gore.

At the end of the corridor lay a room. Outside its door, a demon ferociously clawed and tore at the fragile wooden frame with its sharp, metallic talons. The young girl’s cries emanated from within.

Stepping forward swiftly, Nelly plunged her shortsword deep into the demon’s spine. The hard bone offered some resistance, but with a slight twist of the silver blade, the demon’s body was cleaved in two at the waist. There were no internal organs, only amorphous black fragments and the dark aura that imbued the demon with its power.

The door was already largely destroyed. Nelly kicked open the remaining frame, revealing a young girl clad in pajamas, huddled in the corner, trembling violently and clutching her head. Beneath her, a puddle of clear liquid emanated a distinct odor.

“It’s safe now. Come with me.”

Nelly found herself at a loss for words. After all, most ordinary people knew nothing of these matters; demons, phenomena utterly beyond human comprehension, were like living nightmares, making it difficult to think rationally in the immediate aftermath. The existence of magical girls was equally obscure.

Ordinarily, the Watchtower would dispatch specialists to erase the memories of ordinary people who were inadvertently caught up in magical incidents. For now, however, her priority was to get the girl to safety, as the entire area remained perilous.

Nelly cast a sympathetic glance at the girl, who remained motionless, consumed by fear. She mused that erasing this girl’s memories would likely be no simple task; the corpses outside the door were probably of people very important to her, perhaps her parents.

Nelly was unsure how the relevant personnel managed those who, even after memory erasure, could not return to a normal life. She had only heard that the Watchtower seemed to recruit individuals with certain qualifications, integrating them as members; their current supreme commander, for instance, reportedly came from such a background.

The girl, utterly distraught, lifted her head to glance at Nelly. She took Nelly’s outstretched hand and began to force her fear-paralyzed body to stand, allowing Nelly to lead her away without a word.

Stepping out of the room, Nelly shielded the girl behind her, simultaneously clearing the path of any obstructing demons. As sharp roars echoed in her ears and the horrific scene of flesh flying through the air unfolded, the girl felt her legs turn to jelly. Looking down, she discovered that she was treading on lumps of unidentified fleshy matter; with each step, black and crimson fluids splattered.

Remarkably, the fragments splattering towards them seemed to be halted by an invisible barrier, granting her the courage to observe the hellish scene more closely. Yet, after a few glances, she grew numb to it all.

‘Could this be heaven’s punishment for my usual misdeeds?’

‘But I had never committed any heinous acts! Why had I been cast into such a hellish realm?’

As the two continued forward, the girl watched her familiar home transform into an alien and terrifying spectacle; it was no longer recognizable.

Then, an inadvertent glance made her eyes widen instantly, her pupils sharply contracting, and her breath nearly seizing. She recognized the living room, but not the three corpses.

‘Ha ha ha…’

‘How could I not recognize them? Besides myself, who else would be here?’

Though she had understood the inevitable end the moment she heard the screams from outside the room, seeing it with her own eyes was what truly shattered her self-deception. Home was no longer home, and family was no longer family.

“Are you alright?” Feeling the violent trembling behind her, Nelly couldn’t help but ask. She, too, had seen the three corpses again, and the girl’s reaction confirmed her suspicion.

Just as they were about to reach the entrance, the sound of shattering walls exploded once more. Another wall was breached, accompanied by a spray of rubble and dust, from which Nelly sensed a potent aura of menace.

A pair of blood-red eyes emerged from the settling dust.

‘It was that Tier-Four demon…’

This creature had initially been Nelly’s primary target. However, with an ordinary girl in tow, and not being adept at protection, she would find it difficult to manage both.

‘We have to retreat!’

With a decisive stride, Nelly took a powerful step, instantly shattering the wooden floor beneath her. Her entire body surged with restless magical energy. Clutching the girl, she shot forward like a bullet, tearing through the remaining scattered demons in her path, leaving a trail of sparkling starlight as she burst out of the house.

Nelly darted through the streets. Just as she was about to breathe a sigh of relief, she suddenly felt a formidable power rapidly approaching from her side. Instantly, she plunged her shortsword into the ground, sparking countless embers as she skidded to a halt.

The poor girl she carried, jostled by the sudden stop, immediately vomited.

‘Ugh…’

Having skipped dinner, the girl had little left in her stomach. After a few brief retches, she lifted her gaze and saw a colossal, yet familiar, figure standing in their path.

‘It was the demon from school!’

‘It had truly come for me!’

“It’s here… for me, isn’t it…”

“What are you saying?” Nelly didn’t understand the girl’s words, but she clearly felt the Tier-Four demon’s gaze fixed upon the ordinary girl behind her. “You’ve seen it before?”

“Yes…”

Then it wasn’t hard to understand. Demons were incredibly sensitive to the scent of their prey and possessed exceptionally keen memories in this regard. If they failed a hunt for any reason, they would choose to bide their time, only to hunt the same target again.

What remained unclear was how this girl had managed to escape the Tier-Four demon’s clutches the first time.

“Hide yourself well…”

Nelly pulled her shortsword, now glowing red from friction, from the ground. A surge of abundant magical energy re-enveloped the blade, restoring its lustrous, moon-silver sheen.

“I’ll take care of it…”