Chapter 17
Chapter 17
Translator: penny
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: The Second Magical Girl
March 3rd.
After giving herself a final check in the mirror, A-ri slipped out of her studio apartment.
Today was her university entrance ceremony.
"Phew... College life should be fine, right...?"
[You chugged booze like a champ at orientation and now you're nervous? Nyaang.]
"...Sorry about that time."
[Forget it, nyaang. Mascots are supposed to help magical girls anyway. Quit with the useless talk and get to school already, nyaang.]
"...Yeah!"
Buoyed by Aste's encouragement, A-ri headed to her university.
Today's goal... Make one friend!
She'd already gotten friendly with tons of people during orientation, but after getting blackout drunk and stumbling home with Aste's help, she hadn't exchanged numbers with anyone.
On top of that, her university was the top one in Korea, so she didn't know a single soul from high school here either.
A-ri's resolve burned brighter.
The moment she reached the university gates...
-Zzzt... Zzzt...
"Kyaaah!"
"M-Monster!"
"Why today of all days!!"
"Run!"
The sky above the university buildings crackled with static, then split open in a massive rift.
And this was a sight A-ri knew better than anyone.
"...Why today, of all days."
[Nyaaaaah! Th-this is bad, nyaang!]
The trigger for her awakening as a magical girl.
A living catastrophe.
[A giant beast has appeared, nyaang!]
A giant beast emergence.
-Woooong...
Something the size of an apartment building slowly emerged from beyond the rift.
Its texture resembled a rhino's hide.
It was the giant beast's leg.
-Thud!
Thud!
The giant beast planted its leg in the heart of Seoul.
Soon, its full body came into view.
-RAAAAAWR!
A gray tyrannosaurus-like beast roared toward the sky.
High-rises crumbled from the shockwave alone.
A 30-story apartment, reaching the giant beast's shoulder height, collapsed entirely.
A-ri's university had long since been pulverized under its foot.
"...Aste."
[Perception block is up, so transform right away, nyaang.]
"Heart linked from the comet! Transform! Magical Comet!"
⟨ Transformation ⟩
The instant her transformation completed, Comet soared into the sky.
Giant beasts don't have special abilities.
Unlike monsters who commit crimes with powers, giant beasts lack any standout abilities.
Instead, their bodies are so tough that normal human attacks bounce right off.
Breathing fire from their mouths, ironclad skin, regeneration even when sliced—these are giant beast "abilities."
Monsters transform from the energy released when giant beasts appear, but monsters can't beat giant beasts.
Their powers originate from giant beasts.
They just don't work.
So Clok can't do anything this time either.
Clok always popped up out of nowhere, as if to cheer her on.
Fine against monsters, but useless against giant beasts.
This time, it's just me.
Giant beasts had appeared in Korea only twice so far.
Once—the trigger for her becoming a magical girl, felled by her hand.
The other—Comet fought alone and barely defeated it with her immature Return of the Light.
The first was a bipedal bull the size of a 30-story building.
The second, a legendary kraken-like beast.
This one looked far more vicious by comparison.
"Like a comet in your heart! Magical Comet arrives!"
Yet refusing to back down, fighting on—that's what makes a magical girl.
Comet flew up to the giant beast's face.
"Giant Beast! Go back to where you came from right n—"
-Fwoooosh!
"Kyaaak!"
The giant beast spewed a blob of unknown searing heat from its maw.
Comet barely dodged, gritted her teeth, and gripped her wand.
Giant beasts really don't listen...
She'd tried telling them to leave every time, but they never understood a word—like beasts true to their looks.
Fighting was inevitable.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡
Magical Blast
As always against giant beasts, she opened with Magical Blast.
A navy beam slammed into the giant beast's face.
Tiny compared to its bulk, but effective.
The giant beast squeezed its eye shut where the beam hit, growling.
Smoke rose from the impact; it gaped its jaws.
-RAAAAWR!
Purple energy gathered at its mouth.
Its eyes glowed purple too, unleashing a purple heatwave.
-Fwoooooosh!
"!!"
Comet rolled in midair to evade the heatwave.
-Sizzle...!
Her quick reflexes let her dodge by the skin of her teeth, but not perfectly.
Her left shoulder and one pigtail grazed it and burned away.
"Ugh!"
Over half her pigtail gone, left shoulder badly scorched.
Comet clutched her shoulder in agony.
The most dangerous giant beast yet...!
Unlike previous ones that rampaged with physical attacks, this fired concentrated heat blasts, inflicting massive damage.
Down below, countless people must have died from attacks she couldn't block.
Comet clenched her teeth.
Now... I can't fulfill my role as a magical girl alone anymore.
Even monsters—mere scraps from giant beasts—were stronger than her lately.
She couldn't protect people, the world, by herself anymore.
Magical Blast used to melt giant beast skin; now it just made them blink.
Heck, a clock-headed monster even mocked her weakness and fought in her place.
It's tough...
A hopelessly despairing, pathetic reality.
But.
"...I have to make it work."
A-ri was a magical girl.
The day she resolved to become one, she vowed to protect people and the world, no matter what.
"Even if it kills me."
Her eyes blazed with determination as Comet shouted.
"Return of the Light!!"
⟨ Ultimate Skill ⟩
-KABOOOM!
A blue shockwave burst from Comet.
-RAAAAAGH!
The giant beast jerked back.
It growled weakly in pain.
-Grrrrr...
After the brief agony, it fixed its gaze on Comet.
Her once-blue hair now shimmered sky-blue, her eyes matching.
The ribbon at her waist elongated into a falling comet tail.
-Grrrrng!
Realizing the change, the giant beast bellowed in rage.
Then it gaped wider.
-Woooong...
More cautious now?
Purple energy amassed thicker at its mouth, deepening in hue.
Comet raised her wand and yelled.
"Magic Comet—"
Pling!
Mini comets materialized in the air, glowing the same sky-blue as her eyes.
Their numbers swelled past a hundred.
She swung her wand down at the giant beast.
"Falls!!!"
⟨ Magic Comet Falls ⟩
The comets plummeted viciously toward the giant beast.
-Boom!
BOOM!
Each a heavy hitter.
-Grk, gronk!
RAAAAAWR!
Blood erupted from collision points as the giant beast howled in pain.
Its stubby arms tried to shield, but too weak—they shattered under direct hits.
-RAAAAAAAWR!
Roaring in pain and fury.
Comet staggered from the shockwave, steadied, and locked eyes with it.
"Today, right here... one of us dies."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
While the giant beast and Magical Comet battled above, chaos reigned below among the evacuating crowds.
Yoo Hwa-yeon, a second-year student heading to campus for the first time in ages on her first day back.
She'd just finished her part-time job and felt a rush of nostalgia—until disaster struck out of nowhere.
-Thruuum!
A massive pillar crushed the main university building.
The giant beast's leg.
The sprawling campus, rivaling any in Korea, vanished instantly under its foot wider than a sports field.
"Fuck..."
The sight made curses spill unbidden.
Hwa-yeon sized up the situation and bolted backward at full speed.
"Why today of all days!!"
She'd hoped to save money, gain underclassmen, live a different college life from her first year—shattered now.
School be damned; survival first.
She and countless others fled from the giant beast.
Hwa-yeon frantically pulled up news on her phone.
It showed Magical Girl Comet had arrived.
Just survive...!
With a magical girl there, the giant beast would fall.
Survival was all she thought about.
-Thruuum!
"Uwaaaah!"
The giant beast's foot slammed right beside her.
-Boom!
Boom!
The impact like an explosion hurled her away.
Her body bounced twice on the ground before stopping.
"Ugh, fuck..."
Covered in dust and bleeding.
She forced herself up, thinking only of survival—and spotted her.
"M-Mommy..."
A injured girl crying nearby, unable to stand, leg hurt bad.
Hwa-yeon rushed over and hauled her up.
"Get up! You can't die here!"
"S-Save... me...?"
"Does that matter? Get up now! If you don't wanna die!"
"O-Okay..."
As expected, one leg wounded.
Hwa-yeon supported her, inching forward bit by bit.
But then.
-RAAAAAWR!
A chilling roar from above; the giant beast's foot moved again.
And right at...
"Ah."
Her head.
Just within reach.
"...Live."
No hesitation—she shoved the girl away.
"!! Sis!"
No regret on her face.
The foot wouldn't quite reach, luckily.
Better kids like her survive than trash like me.
Hwa-yeon accepted death with that thought.
[Whoa, you're badass, mung.]
Then time slowed like slo-mo, and a red-furred puppy she'd never seen appeared before her.
"What're you...?"
[Skip the chit-chat. Straight to it, mung.]
"What...?"
[Wanna be a magical girl, mung?]