Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: Why My House?
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The moment the transformation completed.
Even though I definitely hadn't pulled out Druruk, a rainbow-colored thread burst from my fingertips. It was as if I'd turned into a silkworm.
In the meantime, Nunu glowed with rainbow light, mixing and swirling and blending the six types of mana flowing through its body.
A new set of instructions for the outfit floated into my mind at the same time.
'I can freely wield the power of the six fabrics I fed into the kaleidoscope.'
That meant I no longer had to change outfits every time I wanted to use a different spell.
And "freely" meant I could even combine two different types of mana.
I immediately glared at Zapf.
Right on cue.
"......What the hell are you?"
"What else? This is..."
Truth be told, I had no idea either. What the heck was this?
I'd been getting my ass handed to me when some weird voice echoed in my head, and then this happened.
But I already couldn't remember what it said. No way my memory's regressing to an 8-year-old's, right? That would suck. I still need to stay number one.
What did it say again? Uh... Oh!
Was it that? You know, that saying—if you truly wish for something hard enough, the universe will step in to help.
Yeah. Had to be it. The voice of the universe reached me for sure. The whole universe loves Neph, no doubt about it.
I lightly clenched my fist and then opened it, flames and frost mingling in my palm to spew violet steam.
"It's the protagonist buff."
Fwoosh!
I immediately kicked off the ground.
"Gahhh?!"
At a speed on a whole other level, I closed the distance to Zapf's face in an instant, like I'd teleported.
A massive shockwave roared behind me.
"Kyaaah!"
"Th-the wind?!"
No, why hadn't they dodged yet? Man, if I don't get used to this fast, I'm in trouble. No control whatsoever.
"Eek!"
Zapf freaked out and fired Aurora's lightning at me.
Bzzzzt!
This time, instead of dodging or blocking, I grabbed the bolt with my left hand.
"Pluto."
Black darkness swallowed the lightning whole.
And at the same time.
"Bella."
Red flames erupted from within the darkness.
BOOM!
"Kyaaah!"
The shockwave sent Zapf screaming backward.
I glanced down at my hand, mana still swirling violently. Oh, right—gotta do the taunt.
"Kyaaah~? How cute."
"Wh-what is this?!"
I threw its own words back at it, and Zapf ground its teeth. See? You're pissed too.
But it calmly rolled across the ground, quickly erecting Frost's ice wall.
"Stay back! I said stay back!"
Layers of ice walls piled up. Pretty thick, but useless against super-awakened Neph.
I raised my right hand, merging Bella's flames with Aurora's wind.
The two attributes twisted into a spiral, forming a vortex of fire.
Whoosh!
The fire whirlwind slammed into the ice wall.
Crack! Sizzle!
The intense heat melted the ice wall in seconds, and Zapf, hiding behind it, ended up steamed like a dumpling in a pot amid the hot vapor.
"H-hot! So hoooot!"
Zapf flailed, clutching its face.
Its skin flushed red, maid outfit tattered. Perfectly steamed.
"Where'd all that bravado go?"
As I slowly approached, it desperately sprayed threads and needles. The pedals of its Zapruk stomped madly.
I casually flicked my hand toward it.
Rainbow threads poured out, slicing through the threads and needles in one go.
"You've got an audience—why not give the fans a better show?"
It wasn't empty bravado. I genuinely felt like I could block it even if it suddenly attacked the civilians.
"Y-you monster...!"
"Monster? That's you. I'm Neph."
Black mana exploded from Zapf's enraged shout.
Huh? That's not my mana. Probably the doppelganger's innate power.
Classic monster trope—self-destruct? Last-ditch effort? Whatever.
Zapf poured all its mana into a massive orb of darkness, radiating a vicious aura that seemed to suck in all nearby light.
But.
"Druruk."
My halo flashed, and Druruk dropped from thin air above.
I placed my foot on the pedal.
"Die! Die, all of you!!"
Zapf bellowed, hurling the dark orb.
The mana blob flew, devouring air in its path. The old me would've been better off writing a will than trying to block it.
"Time to mend."
I indifferently pressed the pedal.
Drurruk!
With the cheerful whir of the sewing machine, rainbow thread spewed from the nozzle.
Shwaaa!
The cascade of rainbow threads engulfed the incoming orb head-on.
"Huh...?"
Zapf's dumb voice.
Instead of piercing or exploding it, the threads wrapped it up like a spiderweb.
Bella's flames burned it, Frost's chill froze it, Pluto's darkness turned on its kin and absorbed it.
Sizzle. Sizzle.
Every time the threads tightened, the massive orb deflated like a punctured balloon.
"Impossible... Lady Neph's power...!"
"Nothing's impossible."
Jealous? Pull your own magical beast. Oh wait, you're a monster—no gacha for you. Tough luck.
Finally, the darkness compressed to ping-pong ball size and flew into my hand.
I crushed it effortlessly.
"Eek...!"
Zapf stumbled back in terror.
All its earlier swagger gone, just a frightened mutt left.
"W-wait a sec! Let's talk this out? Yeah? Same face and all..."
"Same face?"
I smirked.
"I'm the cuter one."
"Y-you...!"
"Oh, let me return your words, verbatim."
I aimed Druruk's nozzle at Zapf.
"'See you next time, loser' or something?"
[Squish!]
Nunu mustered its last strength, glowing fiercely.
Anger-infused mana gathered at Druruk's needle tip like never before.
"No next times for you, lo~ser♥"
KABOOM!!
I floored the pedal, unleashing a rainbow laser beam from the nozzle.
A torrent of light—thousands of threads fused, piercing and shredding everything in its path.
"Kyaaaaah!!"
The intense flash storm swallowed Zapf, sweeping through the heart of the bustling street.
A moment later.
The light faded, dust clouds cleared, leaving only a long scorch mark on the asphalt.
And at the end.
"Squish squish squish?"
What? It's a squishy too.
A palm-sized gray blob floated limply. The doppelganger's true core, stripped of all mana, just an empty husk.
The moment I aimed Druruk at it, Druruk grew massive and engulfed it.
"Overlock."
Crack!
The orb shattered in one hit. See? Without transformation, it's this easy. All flash, no substance.
Wait. Am I the same?
Anyway. With the finishing blow, the brilliant light enveloping me vanished. Prism Neph deactivated.
I reverted to my original flat-chested magical girl Neph form.
Monster subjugation success!
I was about to soar triumphantly into the sky.
"Hyak?!"
Strength drained from my body, legs turned to jelly.
What? Is this normal? The fuel efficiency sucks. One use and I'm on the verge of collapse.
Ah, whatever—real monster subjugation success!
[Squish...]
Nunu slumped exhausted on my shoulder. Yeah, you did great too. But petting you feels weird right now.
That was when.
"Wooooah!!"
"Neph won!!"
"Insane! Did you record that?"
The citizens finally snapped out of it, cheering and swarming over.
"Which one's the real Neph?"
"Idiot, obviously this one's the real Neph!"
"But that one said 'lo~ser♥' though?"
"Nah, this Neph said it too."
All eyes turned to me suspiciously. So what?
'Ah...'
Even without knowing the monster's identity, people versed in media tropes get it.
When fighting a shapeshifting monster, if one side wins...
Proof is needed. Evidence that I'm the real Neph.
And that proof... Ah.
I swallowed hard. Swallowed tears too.
With no choice, I forced out the shameful line with a cringy face.
"Lo... lo~ser♥"
"Wooooah!!!!"
Why's the cheer louder than when I beat the monster?! Makes me wanna cry. I've cemented the Neph messiah image for good.
"Loser!"
"Loser!"
"Loser!"
A mob of adults chanting "loser" around an 8-year-old kid. Madness.
Somehow Ha Sol-a had joined in too. What's the difference between this and Zapf?
"Masta!"
No. I don't want you as my master.
"Hehe."
Shining smirked from her perch on the rooftop railing. Ruffi rubbed its head against her like a cat.
Among the magical girls, some were overprotective newbies like Bella or Frost, but Shining was different.
She believed in "roll in the mud early to avoid hardship later." Overprotect a kid who can handle herself, and they'll lose independence down the line.
So when Neph declared she'd take on the doppelganger and yaksha solo, Shining was secretly thrilled.
She knew the junior was cute from the first meeting—no, even before—but hadn't expected such spirit.
Then, a woman landed lightly on the rooftop.
"You're here? Sis."
It was Aurora. No surprise how she got there. Probably sniffing out snacks, duh.
Actually, badmouthing each other's weaknesses is taboo among magical girls.
Factions could form from chit-chat, or worse, monsters could take family hostage.
But exceptions exist. Shining and Aurora were exactly that.
Grinding the narrow idol scene, they'd clocked each other with a glance: 'Yup, she's a magical girl too.'
"Seriously, if something like this comes up again, tell me first next time."
"We're not that close. Since when do we report to each other?"
Shining had noticed from the start.
The moment she saw the magical beast egg Neph brought, the faint trace of Aurora's mana on its surface. And the tampering to hasten hatching.
Of course, Aurora hadn't confessed. Not that close, as she said.
No way she'd let Shining, that sly fox, steal her future daughter-in-law after she'd bid first.
"Anyway, what do you think of Neph?"
Shining changed the subject.
She'd talked big about independence, but truth be told, she'd planned to jump in at the first sign of real danger. A newbie's life outweighed all that.
But right when Neph was on the ropes, a massive, familiar mana surged from her.
"You mean Prima's mana?"
"You knew? Didn't it seem weird?"
Aurora's eyes narrowed.
'Definitely.'
She knew Neph's true identity: Seol Ha-rin, in the same class as her son, Seo Jun.
Of course, she'd pulled every string to obtain Ha-rin's family registry and background docs.
But no Prima in the lineage. Plain-citizen parents. No blood ties.
So why Prima's mana from her?
"What if she's some hidden granddaughter?"
"Who knows."
She knew it wasn't, but kept quiet.
Revealing another magical girl's identity was taboo too.
"Hmm."
Shining paused, gazing down at Neph.
"Prima's successor, then?"
"Doesn't matter."
Aurora looked down too.
It truly didn't. To Aurora—no, Jang Won-ju—what mattered was that Neph was Seo Jun's partner.
Time to invite her home again. Wonder what Ha-rin likes.
Jang Won-ju had been bingeing YouXube cooking vids to practice for her future daughter-in-law. Tasted awful, but whatever.
Watching Aurora lost in thought, Shining mused.
'This auntie's at it again with the mushy stuff.'
"Hngh. Hngaaah."
Every step felt like my body was going on strike. Like walking with sandbags strapped tight all over.
Muscle pain insane. Felt just like the morning after my first PT session, when the trainer wrung my soul dry.
'Mix Match... Can't use it recklessly...'
Mana sucked dry too.
Felt like it'd vacuumed every last drop from my body.
In this state, forget F-rank—I'd lose to a random elementary kid. Pathetic.
Dragging my leaden body into the studio apartment hallway.
Sniff sniff.
The whole corridor reeked deliciously of kimchi stew.
Someone's making kimchi jjigae. Deep aged kimchi aroma, fatty pork, and that punchy MSG kick.
'Gulp.'
I drifted toward the smell like a moth to flame.
Body running on fumes—had to shove something in my mouth.
Temptation no kid could resist. Sniffing my way there, I arrived at...
'?'
Why my house?