Magical Girl Snow: A Cafe Near Jongno
A cafe near Jongno.
"Huuu...."
A girl with her black hair neatly tied back slumped over the table, letting out a deep sigh. It was late morning after the office workers had swept through, so the cafe was filled with the fragrant aroma of fresh coffee beans and a pleasantly quiet atmosphere.
"Hang in there, Snow! You can do it, po!"
In that peaceful setting, a little plush toy-like creature buzzed around the girl's side, cheering her on. It looked soft and fluffy like cotton candy.
"Ugh, Lupo.... You're so noisy, I can't focus!"
The girl called Snow—Ha Rang—furrowed her brow deeply and shoved the doll away.
"Po.... I just wanted you to cheer up, po...."
As Lupo sulked off to the corner, Ha Rang scratched the back of her head and dropped her gaze to the table.
"Ugh, I thought becoming a magical girl would mean cool stuff like in the comics happens all the time. But reality just means more stuff to study...."
In front of her lay a thick, well-worn book: the Magical Girl Compendium. Despite its childish title, it was packed with flashy spell names and unnecessarily complex methods for handling magic power.
"Ugh, my eyes hurt."
She hadn't even been reading for long, but Ha Rang pouted as she barely glanced at the pages.
"No helping it, po! Just knowing how the previous magical girls used their magic power will be a huge, super huge help in real battles, po!"
"I know. That's why I'm stuck here studying it...."
Ha Rang sighed and propped her chin on her hand.
"Ugh, vacation's almost over, and now midterms are right around the corner. If I get another 60 in math, Mom's seriously gonna kill me...."
"You can do it, Snow, po! Conquer magic and exams, po!"
"Ugggh.... Okay, fine. I'll try harder. Thanks, Lupo."
Lupo's bright, innocent cheering brought a small smile to Ha Rang's previously deadpan face.
"Alright. Let's buck up and read through it one more time?"
"Po!"
Just as she steeled herself and turned back to the compendium—
BAM—!
A massive boom shook the cafe's glass windows, rattling them fiercely.
"Kyaaah! Monster! A monster's appeared!"
Screams from outside mixed with the screech of tires skidding in panic.
Ha Rang's weary eyes sharpened in an instant.
"Lupo....!"
"Yeah, I sense a strong monster reaction, po! Real close, po!"
"Let's go! People are in danger!"
Ha Rang stuffed the compendium into her bag in a flash and jumped up from her seat. She darted to the bathroom to avoid prying eyes. With everyone's attention on the chaos outside, no one noticed her slip away.
"Lupo, transform!"
"Got it, po!"
She threw herself into a stall and shouted. Lupo looped around her in a wide circle. A dazzling white light erupted at the same time.
Her ordinary school uniform shattered into particles of light, replaced by layers of frilly white dress.
"Transformation complete!"
Bursting out of the bathroom door was no longer the student Ha Rang—but the magical girl Tier Snow.
"Hurry, po!"
Tier Snow leaped through the shattered cafe window straight into the street.
"Kieeeek—!"
"Kyaaaaah!"
By the time she stepped outside, Jongno's main street was pure pandemonium. Amid the screaming crowds fleeing in the opposite direction, she boldly planted herself in front of the monster.
Towering in the city center was a massive beast encased in steel-like armor. Every swing of its claws crumpled streetlights like twigs and crushed parked cars like paper.
"Kieeeek!"
The monster's hideous cry echoed out. Staring at the giant silhouette, Tier Snow muttered without thinking.
"...Lobster?"
"Po? Lobster? That's a proper crustacean-type monster, po!"
Lupo protested from the side, but to her eyes, it looked exactly like the ones at the fish market.
"No, the king crab on TV looked just like that."
"This isn't the time for jokes, po! One hit from those claws and who knows what happens, po!"
"Eeeh...."
Honestly thinking it was just a giant lobster, Tier Snow still clenched her jaw and prepared for battle, gripping her staff tight.
"Let's go, Lupo!"
"Leave it to me, po!"
She kicked off the ground and soared into the air. The hem of her white dress fluttered like petals.
"Everyone, get back!"
She shouted briefly to the evacuating civilians, then drew up her magic power. Moisture in the air gathered around her as she prepared the incantation. It was her strongest attack—and the only offensive spell a novice magical girl like her could use.
"Blizzard Storm!"
She swung her staff, and thousands of ice spears materialized, raining down on the monster. Just as she thought she'd gotten it with its shell starting to freeze—
"Kieeeek....!"
"Po?! The attack didn't work, po!"
Crack.
Dozens of ice spears lodged in the shell shattered harmlessly. Not a single scratch on the tough armor.
Shaaak— Instead, the broken ice shards flew back at her like shrapnel. One sharp fragment grazed her cheek.
"Ngh....!"
Her enhanced magical girl body didn't bleed, but the sharp pain made her wince instinctively.
"The shell's too tough for a head-on fight, po! Aim for weak spots, po!"
Lupo yelled urgently, but the situation didn't wait. The monster had already lost interest in her and turned its head. Its red eyes fixed on somewhere else.
"No....!"
She couldn't let civilians get hurt! Tier Snow ignored the pain and kicked off the air.
No time to find weak points. She had to draw its attention, no matter what.
"Your opponent's meeeee!"
She poured every last drop of magic power into her staff and hurled herself at the monster's face.
"Hyaaah!"
Clang!
Blue magic power burst from the staff's tip, slamming into the giant crustacean's head with a deafening crash.
"Ugh...."
A dull recoil shot through her wrist, like striking solid metal. At that exact moment, as the monster's head whipped back from the impact, Tier Snow saw it.
Between the head and arm sections where the armor met. Exposed red flesh unprotected by shell.
Its weak point.
"Found it—your weak spot!"
She twisted midair and dove into the claw's inner side.
"Hit....!"
She thrust her hand out with all her might. Her staff barely grazed the joint. Tier Snow focused all her remaining magic power into one point. Blue light swelled massively around the staff.
"Hyaaaaah—!"
BOOM!
Cold exploded from within, shattering the massive joint to pieces. The soft flesh froze solid, cracks spiderwebbing across the shell like a web before it collapsed in a heap.
"Kieee.... ek....!"
The beast's body soon crumbled into black ash, scattering into the air.
Monster exterminated.
"Haa, haa...."
Tier Snow leaned on her staff, breathing raggedly. Her fingertips trembled from exhausting her magic power, but seeing the civilians safely fleeing in the distance eased her tension.
"You did it, po!"
Lupo buzzed happily around her head, tail wagging. For just her second battle since debuting, it showered her with extra enthusiastic praise.
Tier Snow blushed a bit but gazed at the dispersing monster remains.
"Time to head back? Still got a ton of homework."
"Po!"
Just as she sighed in relief and relaxed—
Her shoulders twitched. A chill ran up her nape.
...What was that?
Tier Snow slowly turned her head. Her gaze stopped at the rooftop of an office building beside the battlefield, its walls covered in glass.
There. At the edge of the railing, someone was sitting.
Backlit by the sun, only a silhouette was visible, but it seemed to be dangling its legs casually, looking down leisurely.
What the...?
She swallowed hard without realizing. A pressure utterly unlike a monster's. Like a massive predator watching its prey play. Her grip tightened on her staff instinctively.
Some maintenance guy? But it looked too small, and the hair fluttering in the wind seemed pretty long.
"Hmm...."
Staying up there so high without evacuating, just watching calmly in this danger. Couldn't be a magical girl— she'd have gotten help right away if so.
"Snow, what's wrong, po? You look spaced out all of a sudden, po."
Lupo waved its paws in front of her face, snapping her back to reality.
"Ah, nothing."
She glanced up at the rooftop again. Empty.
"...Just my imagination, maybe."
Her senses were probably on edge after the fight. Tier Snow shook her head vigorously to clear the stray thoughts.
Right now, mysterious onlookers could wait—her homework was the real priority.
"Let's hurry, Lupo. Gotta get home before Mom does."
"Got it, po! Let's go, po!"