Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Limitless Time Stop
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"As if I, a monster, could ever be friends with a magical girl... Just help her grow stronger."
I had no idea what exactly had gotten under my skin, but this incident made it crystal clear.
The monster Clok could never get chummy with Magical Comet.
What I needed to do wasn't pointless socializing. It was to become a monster and push Comet to grow.
'Alright, so the next event is...'
"...maybe I should go take out some monsters first?"
Looking over my notes, there didn't seem to be any major events until Comet's college entrance exam.
Except for the one that blew up right on exam day, of course.
That said, no big events didn't mean things were peaceful.
There was only one magical girl in this country, Magical Comet, but monsters were multiplying every single day.
Her mascot could detect most of them, but it had its limits. If monsters really tried to hide, they were tough to track down.
So, I'd go hunt down the ones in hiding.
"Good thing time's never in short supply."
Time Stop Monster for the win.
-Slash!
"Gaaah! H-how?!"
"You don't need to know."
The day after deciding to hunt monsters, I set out into stopped time to root them out from their hidey-holes.
Sensors, traps, guards—all meaningless in frozen time.
'Glasses Monster—cut.'
'Vegan Monster—cut.'
'Karma Monster—cut.'
'TS Monster—cut.'
The hunts went smoothly, and with each one, I could feel my power steadily growing.
Probably thanks to racking up 'kills'—one of the conditions for monsters to get stronger, alongside 'will' and 'conviction.'
Of course, as a Time Stop Monster, I'd started with cheat-level specs the moment I possessed this body, so the boost wasn't huge. But more power was always better.
And so, I kept hunting monsters in the stopped world.
-Creak... crick-creak...
"Huh?"
A sound like a rusty machine turning echoed from... my 'face.'
I rushed to the bathroom in the monster's lair and checked my reflection.
-Tick. Creak. Tock...
The clock hands were trembling, barely able to move.
"...Am I screwed?"
This had never happened in the novel, and I'd been fine until now. First time for everything.
Figured I couldn't just leave it, so I placed my hand over the hands and tried forcing them to turn.
-Snap. Crack.
"Uh-oh, that made it worse."
The hands let out a weird noise and froze solid.
Then, silence.
'...Is it okay?'
Just as I started to relax since nothing happened...
-Crash!
Something dropped from my face and smashed the sink.
I looked down to see what it was.
'What the hell...'
It was the clock that had been on my face.
...Wait a second.
Then what about my face?
Cold sweat poured down as I slowly lifted my head and looked in the mirror. Staring back was...
"Kyahaaaaah!!"
My skull, right where the clock had been.
"Ugh! So annoying! What does a monster know about me?!"
-Thud thud thud.
It was 6:30 a.m., shortly after sunrise.
Magical Comet—Kim A-ri—had woken up and was furiously pummeling the long body pillow next to her.
Aste watched her pathetic display while licking his front paw.
With a sigh, Aste spoke up.
[Why are you at it again-nyang? You did this for a whole three hours yesterday-nyang! At this rate, that pillow's gonna turn into a monster-nyang!]
"But it's so frustrating! A monster telling me not to sacrifice myself? Sacrifice is just part of being a magical girl!"
[Nyaaang...]
Aste pressed a paw to his forehead and shook his head.
A-ri suddenly glomped him.
"Gotcha!"
[Nyaack?!]
She rubbed her cheek against him furiously. Aste pushed back against her cheek with his paws, as always.
[Nyaack! I told you not to do this-nyang!]
"Heehee... But nothing heals me like this..."
She murmured for just one more as she stroked Aste's blue fur.
Aste read the sadness hidden behind her dopey smile, sighed, and let her pet him.
[This is the last time-nyang.]
"Thanks..."
A-ri kept petting him for a good while.
-A-ri! Come out for breakfast!
"Oh, coming!"
Her bliss ended abruptly thanks to her mom calling from the kitchen.
A-ri hopped out of bed and headed for the door.
Aste floated up behind her and settled on her shoulder.
[Ooh! Breakfast is your fave—Mom's blueberry jam sandwiches-nyang!]
"Really?!"
A-ri, who had been rubbing her eyes sleepily, flashed a huge smile and dashed to the table.
Dad was already seated, watching TV. Mom brought over a plate of blueberry jam sandwiches, just as Aste said.
A-ri clasped her hands together at the sight and declared,
"Itadakimasu!"
"Heehee, eat up."
"Dig in."
Bathed in her parents' warm gazes, A-ri picked up a sandwich with a happy smile.
-Boom!
"Eek?!"
"A-ri!"
"A-ri!"
Suddenly, a massive explosion rocked their apartment.
Her parents ducked down, shielding A-ri.
"D-dear..."
"Don't worry—even if it's a monster, a magical girl will show up soon."
Mom spoke anxiously, but Dad hugged A-ri and Mom, reassuring them.
But A-ri couldn't relax at all.
'I am the magical girl?!'
Sure, a magical girl had appeared.
She was just currently hugged by her parents.
If they found out she was a magical girl, they'd probably say the same thing as Clok—no sacrificing yourself. She was in the most awkward spot imaginable.
'Please don't let it be a monster! Please!'
A-ri squeezed her eyes shut and prayed inwardly. Unfortunately...
[Ny-nyaack! Two monsters showed up-nyang! And they both look super strong-nyang!]
'No...!'
Aste confirmed monsters had appeared.
Two of them.
'Should I just transform?'
A-ri bit her lower lip, debating. Then the TV, which was on, switched to news.
[Breaking news! Two monsters have appeared...]
Emergency broadcast about the monsters.
The family huddled together, glued to the screen. It showed live footage from the scene.
Right in front of A-ri's family's apartment.
There, two monsters were locked in fierce combat.
One had fireworks bundles where its head and hands should be. Its opponent...
"Clok?!"
"Isn't that the clock-headed one that's been popping up a lot lately?"
"Oh no..."
Unlike A-ri, who jumped in shock yelling why are you here, her parents looked utterly depressed.
The firework-headed one seemed to be the cause of the shaking, and next to it was the clock-headed Clok, whose strength was a mystery.
Even to Comet the magical girl, it was hopeless. To her civilian parents, doubly so.
'Clok, is this another setup for your goal?'
No way that suspicious clock-head came here for no reason.
He'd been watching her for ages—did he even know where she lived?
'...Even so, I won't dance to your tune.'
Still, A-ri—no, Magical Comet—had no intention of giving up sacrifice.
She'd use this life, earned through others' sacrifice, without shame.
With that firm resolve in her heart, she waited for the right moment to transform.
"Kiyoooooot! It's party time!!"
-Pew! Pew!
Three fireworks shot from the Fireworks Monster's hands.
Small-time bombs despite the looks—its ability.
I sliced them apart midair with hand chops.
We'd repeated this dance over a dozen times now.
"You show up out of nowhere—what's your deal? Here to take my life, right?!"
"...Yes."
"Then hurry up and show off that fancy clock-head power! Kiyoooooot!"
As fireworks blasted wildly from its arms, I thought,
'This ability is so damn user-unfriendly.'
Time Stop has limits? Why didn't it say so?