Magical Girl (1)
In this world, I'm the only one who can resolve Magical Girl's Birth. That's what the devil said. And devils don't lie.
Which means I can solve it with the power of the Cute Girl Mod.
That's how I felt hearing it. Like being told I could stop an earthquake with the Cute Girl Mod... Does that even make sense? That was my first thought.
But since the devil's words are always true, there must be some breakthrough I haven't figured out yet.
"So that means you know how to solve it. Tell me the method."
"Have you forgotten? I am a Muksi Saengmyeongche who deals in equivalent exchanges. To provide you with information, I have no choice but to demand payment of equal value."
"Unbelievable..."
It means no debts can linger between us. The devil always collects one way or another. If you don't have enough money, it'll rip out your organs—or even pawn your soul if necessary.
It's not just because the devil has the personality of a moneygrubber. As a Muksi Saengmyeongche, it follows those rules; that's its very identity. Lose that identity, and its life as a Muksi Saengmyeongche ends.
For example, if the devil gave me free info right here, it might drop dead on the spot.
"It's quite expensive information. You're better off not knowing."
With it putting it that way, I decided not to press.
Let me sum things up. Magical Girl's Birth has hit Suwon, and if things continue, it'll turn the city into a wasteland. Right now, I'm the only one who can resolve it. If I do, the devil promised payment of equivalent value.
So, two things bugged me.
"Why do you want to resolve Magical Girl's Birth? Whether Suwon gets trashed or not has nothing to do with you, right?"
"If it had nothing to do with me, I wouldn't have come with this request. My principles are always the same. Resolving Magical Girl's Birth is good for my business."
"What kind of business could that be?"
The devil said no more. Guess I had to pay up for anything else.
No choice—I asked something different. "You said you'd pay me a request fee equivalent to resolving this incident... How much exactly?"
It's a Rank 5 threat, after all. Paying off my debts sounds tempting, but coldly calculating, does it even balance out? I'm basically saving Suwon. If it's money, I should demand more.
As if reading my mind, it replied, "How about I help you with an Apocalypse-rank resolution?"
"What...?"
"I can't offer a ton of help, but there will come a moment when you need my assistance."
How about it? The devil smiled as it proposed.
After that, the devil left. I prepared to head to Suwon.
Farewell, my shut-in life. Farewell, my shut-in seclusion training. Off to Suwon we go. Ririri Detective Agency, service commencing.
"You're really going, sis?"
"Gotta save lives first..."
That's what I told Nao. Not entirely a lie. The devil's a powerful Muksi Saengmyeongche. Owe it a favor, and I could use it someday.
Apocalypse rank...
Apocalypse rank means a Rank 6 threat. In other words, help with the true ending. Pretty damn enticing.
Setting that aside, I'd end up going to Suwon sooner or later anyway.
The Foundation's in Suwon, right...
The Foundation's the group that's given me multiple requests before. They might ask me to handle this Magical Girl's Birth soon enough. If I have to step up anyway, better to do it early.
Upon arriving in Suwon, we... spent three days messing around at the hotel.
"Sis, didn't you say you were saving lives?"
"Yeah, I did."
"And this is okay...?"
"...No choice."
I have no idea where the magical girl is. So we're just waiting at the hotel the Foundation recommended. Suwon's a big city—not Seoul-level, but still. How do you find a magical girl in all this?
Come to think of it, our scouting skills suck.
Lisa, who slices through anything. Ari, who distorts perception. Nao, who won't die. Against monsters with physical form, we're the ultimate party.
...Which means we're screwed against formless ones.
And we only realized how bad our scouting was after coming to Suwon. Truth is, we never needed it before. I had some 'original game knowledge,' so no need to investigate monsters. They hunt humans; humans rarely chase them.
But this anomaly? We're the ones chasing. It's a headache for me, the Foundation, and the Special Task Force alike. All we can do is wait for the magical girl to show.
"If Magical Girl's Birth just fizzles out without appearing, that'd be great..."
Too optimistic? Still, no solution for Magical Girl's Birth came to mind. Can the Cute Girl Mod really handle it? What power of mine? Bond Effects? Cute girl punches? Is the devil wrong?
As I pondered, laughter echoed. Giggle giggle—from inside my nails.
It overflowed from under my nails and suddenly turned into a girl.
Ash-gray hair. Silvery in the moonlight. And twitching fox ears.
Ma Yeoul.
Her sudden appearance shocked me. Nao was even more freaked.
"Wh-what?! A person...? No, animal ears?!"
Right—Nao hadn't met Yeoul. None of the agency members had, except maybe Taemi.
Only Taemi entered the dream with me during the 'Fox Possession' incident.
Ari, munching midnight snacks, stared. Lisa eyed her warily.
I jumped up. "Y-Yeoul... What's up so suddenly?"
Don't want Lisa swinging her knife. I quickly addressed her.
"Saw an acquaintance passing by. Couldn't help popping out."
"Acquaintance...?"
Yeoul raised her index finger—pointing out the window.
Our high-floor room overlooked the street. Glowing signs at night. Suwon citizens below. Among them, the man she indicated.
Looking around suspiciously, but otherwise an average guy. Not famous, at least.
"Who's that?"
"Dunno. Don't know his name."
"You don't know his name...?"
"Don't know his age either. Just recognize the face."
"I've seen him at the cult."
Yeoul said.
"Cult? He's a cultist...?"
"Bingo. Our Mayuri's a genius~."
Yeoul's teasing grin. But no time for that.
I'd heard the cult took the first hit from Magical Girl's Birth. Thought they'd fled, but remnants lingered in Suwon? Why stick around?
No, doesn't matter...
From 'Eight-Foot Ghost' to 'Possession' and more cult schemes. Leave them be, who knows what terrorism they'll pull. Better nip it early.
I grabbed my phone.
Obviously, the High Sea Cult is a secretive group. With their terrorism and crimes, they're humanity's public enemy. They have to stay hidden.
Not being accepted by the world is regrettable, but isn't it a trial for their sacred mission?
The Foundation wants to wipe them out in one go, but avoid that, and they can keep going. So splitting into branches is natural.
That's why they had a hidden base in Suwon. But 'it was far more powerful than expected.'
The man clicked his tongue.
The cult discovered Magical Girl's Birth first. Well, the kaijin it spawned.
They thought they'd captured and isolated it, but it escaped easily. Many brothers and sisters lost to the anomaly.
Worse, despite the sacrifices, they learned little. Is the kaijin the core, or the magical girl? The cult scattered without answers.
Gathering survivors is best for now. He walked toward the hideout where remnants gathered.
After the Suwon base fell to Magical Girl's Birth, survivors hastily made this spot. Meet up, discuss next steps: recapture or retreat?
To the cult, Magical Girl's Birth was appealing. Uncontrollable, sure—but tame it, and it'd boost their cause immensely. They desperately wanted it, but could they?
Cultists gladly sacrifice, but how many to claim it?
Such worries became moot. As he neared the hideout, people approached.
"Brother, you can't come here!"
Cultists from the hideout rushed—not toward him, but fleeing this way.
"What happened?"
"The entity... in the hideout... Anomaly outbreak...!"
"What?!"
"Magical Girl's Birth appeared—aaagh!!"
As the man panicked, something dropped on the female cultist's head.
At first, he thought water from a window. But viscous. Black slime.
It touched her—and she melted.
"Wh-what the..."
As he reeled, the melted cultist writhed. Even liquid, alive—merging with black slime. No flesh left, just an eyeball floating inside.
Like a slime from fantasy novels or games.
"──Conquer humanity."
A voice echoed from within.
Slimes engulfed cultists one by one. Touch, melt, become slime.
"──Turn all humanity into my kin and conquer them."
With a quiet voice appeared a humanoid slime. 2 meters tall, human-shaped. But where eyes, nose, mouth should be—a single giant eyeball.
Ridiculous. Like from a hero manga, sentai show. Or a magical girl anime kaijin.
"──Conquer humanity."
The kaijin chanted again. Slime lunged at the man. Fingertip touch—his arm melted.
"N-no! At least let me die human! Aaaagh!!"
The man screamed.
#MAGICAL GIRL'S BIRTH
Kaijin spawned by Magical Girl's Birth correspond to threat levels 2~4.
Damage inflicted by kaijin cannot be healed through natural recovery and persists as permanent damage without external intervention.