If You Can't Block It, They Die
“Did it hurt?”
“……Yeah.”
“Sorry.”
Got totally wrecked.
I knew you knew I knew—we all knew I could transform into Prism Neff. Shining had snapped a pic and posted it in the group chat, and there were tons of witnesses when I fought that fake. It even made the news.
Anyway, I did as Sword told me and transformed into Prism Neff. It'd been since the fake fight, though. I'd sealed this form away because turning it on gave me killer muscle pain.
But say what you will, this was the ultimate form that one-shot the fake. I figured even unarmed Sword couldn't handle it.
“Let's start.”
“Okay.”
I kicked off the ground right away and charged at Sword, aiming for a magical girl finisher kick.
But mid-air, a worry flashed through my head. Uh oh. If I go full power, won't Sword turn into So/d? Gotta treat monsters one way, people another.
In the end, I went with a kitty punch instead.
With an arrogant mindset of going easy on her, I threw the punch with barely any power. Still, my transformation speed made it way faster than a normal person.
Whoosh.
“Huh?”
Sword dodged my kitty punch with just a tilt of her head, then slipped right into my guard and hugged me.
And just like that,
1. She lifted me up, and 9. She set me down.
I don't remember what happened from 2 to 8, but I do recall there being a cushion on my back, so it was soft.
Then splat on the floor.
“Done.”
“???”
Did she just pin me?
Sword wagged her finger at my dumbfounded self.
“Next, draw your weapon.”
I did as she said again and pulled out Druruk, aiming it at her. The second I stepped on the pedal and swung threads and needles through the air—
Thud.
“?”
In the blink of an eye, Sword snatched my wrist. I felt faint mana from her grip.
“S-Senior? I thought you didn't use mana…?”
“? When did I say that?”
True. I'd thought she couldn't use mana untransformed, but here she was, using it just fine.
“You can use mana without transforming. Haven't you ever sensed mana, Ha-rin?”
Right. Come to think of it, sensing mana was using it too. If you could sense, you could obviously reinforce your body with it. Never crossed my mind.
But even accounting for that, this didn't make sense. Magical girls have a world of difference between civilian and transformed specs. Even if she could use mana, how was she suppressing transformed me this easily?
No matter how easy it is to crush a kid's wrist, I never thought I'd be the kid.
“Again.”
“……”
My pride was already shredded to bits. But I couldn't just leave it like that. Time to patch it up.
So this time, I charged with Druruk loaded with Bella's flames and Aurora's winds.
I even mixed in a feint. Pretend an overhead swing, then trip her with a low thread. I thought I was being clever.
Sword read my steps, sidestepped one pace, and hooked her foot out.
Crash!
“Kyaang!”
I ate dirt unceremoniously.
With my enhanced physique, I flew way past the ring and slammed into the gym wall.
As I rubbed the bump on my forehead, Sword caught the Druruk I'd dropped.
“Huh.”
She swung it, and a net of threads instantly formed overhead, trapping me like a fish on a line.
“Did it hurt?”
“……Yeah.”
“Sorry.”
Sword's face was full of genuine remorse. But it looked like theater to me. Neff's dying.
I stared up at her blankly. More precisely, at the Druruk in her hands.
I'd never even thought of using Druruk like that. It was my weapon—why was she better at it?
Sword seemed to say, 'Your weapon's awesome.' Druruk seemed to say, 'I like this lady better than my old master now. Don't need you anymore.'
Just send me a mystery videotape in a couple months and it'd be perfect.
Sniff.
Tears of injustice streamed down. I loved it first. It's mine.
Of course, I knew Sword was top-tier with weapons, a total pro. But stealing my core identity—my sewing machine? Never saw that coming.
Sword crouched down to meet my eyes.
“Prism Neff's physical abilities are top-notch. At least C-rank, maybe even scrap with B-rank if you're lucky.”
“……”
“But your head can't keep up.”
Was she calling me dumb?! No way.
I'm top of the school! Nailed the finals—almost perfect, just one mistake, but that was a fluke…
“Should I study harder then…?”
“No. You need imagination.”
Sword untied the threads holding me as she replied flatly.
“What matters is what you can do with it.”
I sat on the floor, staring blankly at Druruk. Traitor. It was vibrating more cheerfully than when I touched it. Imagination?
“Remember what I said in the chat?”
What was it…
“You said as long as I'm happy…”
“'Follow your heart,' yeah.”
I did.
“I also said the sewing machine was just a buffer. You picked it yourself.”
“Did I pick the wrong weapon?”
“No. Anything inside was fine. Or something outside.”
Sword pointed at Druruk.
“What's the true value of your weapon?”
“……Swing threads… shoot needles… make clothes…”
“No.”
Sword shook her head firmly.
“Watch.”
She put her foot on the pedal, and a thin, transparent thread spooled out from the nozzle.
She strung it casually between two gym pillars like a clothesline.
“Whatcha doing…”
Bang!
She flicked a finger, and the thread snapped taut, slicing through space.
Grrrrrind.
A stack of sandbags in the corner split clean at the waist. Sand poured out.
“……”
I swallowed hard. No time to worry about So/d. If that'd been my neck, I'd be Ne/ph now.
“This too, probably.”
She fired a needle into the wall, then threaded the line through its eye.
Whoosh!
She yanked, ripping the wall chunk out needle and all. I'd tried something similar, but only by wrapping it tight.
“And this.”
She hooked a thread to my costume. Lifted her finger—
“Huh…?”
My hand rose against my will, stuck mid-air like a puppet.
I broke free with mana, but transformed Sword probably could've held it.
She demoed countless more: walking air paths of woven threads like tightropes, setting thread traps to sense vibrations, and beyond.
“Just what I came up with off the top.”
“Whoa.”
Clap clap clap clap. I couldn't help it. I'd never dreamed of that stuff.
“With needles and the sewing machine, the possibilities are endless. Plus, you can use other girls' mana.”
Sword eyed me.
“Basically Prima-level potential.”
“……Uh, doesn't feel that way.”
Prima's a goddess; I'm just a newbie.
But Sword said it with conviction.
“No. It's true. Work hard, and you could stand at the peak of all magical girls.”
“Eh?”
That peak?
With that, she handed Druruk back. It'd wandered off for a sec, but now back in my hands. That weird after-feel? Just my imagination.
“A magical girl's power source is imagination.”
I got what she meant. Not that I was dumb—my tool use was just one-dimensional.
Swing threads, shoot needles, bash with the machine. That was it.
She's right…
Sword patted my seriously pondering head. Felt nicer than expected.
“It'll be hard at first. But take it slow. I'll watch you while you're here.”
“……Senior.”
“One condition.”
“……Huh?”
“Call me Si-hyeon-unnie from now on.”
Sword smiled faintly. Another unnie, huh.
“Si-hyeon-unnie.”
Nod nod.
Didn't even feel weird anymore.
And so began hellish boot camp.
Busan: city of romance, city of the sea. To me, it was a boot camp.
6 AM wake-up. 3km run untransformed on an empty stomach. Breakfast, then 1 hour mana curtain practice. Lunch, sparring. Dinner, theory and movies.
Bam!
“Again.”
“Kyaaang!”
“Threads are loose. Maintain mana.”
“B-But… can't focus…”
“Don't focus. Feel it.”
Easier said than done. This unnie's a genius; her explanations sucked. Like, 'Just zip and slice—why can't you?'
But I learned through my body. Getting hit made it stick.
By day 3, I finally fixed needles in mid-air with mana. Not invisible traps like Sword, but I could string a clothesline at least.
Day 4: Delayed Sword's moves by 0.1 seconds with threads. Got suplexed and stared at the ceiling right after, though.
Day 5. Haeundae Beach after rain. Sword and I stood side by side, gazing at the night sea.
I didn't feel super strong, but proud. Definitely way tougher than when I first hit Busan.
“Final lesson.”
Sword pulled a metal thing from her pocket.
A pistol?
Not a toy—real deal.
“……Unnie? That's illegal…”
“Confiscated. Reported it.”
She tossed it to me.
I caught it reflexively. Cold. Never thought I'd hold a pistol—let alone as a magical girl.
“Shoot.”
“Huh? At the sea?”
“No. At me.”
“……”
Has she lost it? Even magical girls get pierced by bullets.
She grabbed my shaky hand, pressing the barrel to her chest.
“You're not shooting.”
“Then?”
“Shoot with your weapon.”
She nodded at Druruk in her other hand.
Summary: Thread the trigger, pull as bullet fires, intercept with thread or needle.
Absurd.
But her eyes said if I didn't shoot, she'd shoot me.
This crossed the line, right? I can't shoot a person. As my hand trembled—
“Can't block it? Then they die.”
“Die…”
“A citizen.”
My mind sank cold.
Can't block, citizen dies?
Now I got it. She wasn't teaching technique—resolve.
Facing a monster means this. Screw up, chicken out, hesitate—it's not your neck flying, but someone behind you.
Can you bear that weight? Me, trembling at one bullet—could I protect anyone from a monster?
Screw that.
Can't block? No.
Block even if I die.
[That's what a magical girl does.]
The shaking stopped.
Sword wasn't Sword anymore. She was an unnamed citizen I had to protect.
The lead slug from the barrel? A monster's claw at her heart.
Not scared. Can't be. Citizens are safe only behind a magical girl.
If I can't block this, a citizen dies. Better—
Die here.
World noise faded. Only heartbeat and taut thread's scream.
I pulled the trigger without hesitation.
Bang!
Muzzle flashed; I stomped the pedal.
Druruk!
Thread lashed out, slicing space.
And.
Ting.
A cheerful metallic ping. Flattened bullet head dropped to the sand.
“……Hahhhh.”
Shrill exhale, but success. Legs buckled; Sword steadied my shoulder.
“Pass.”
One word snapped the tension. Transformation dropped.
“Congrats.”
Her face popped into view over my sprawled starfish on the sand.
“Vacation ends today normally.”
“……?”
“Took tomorrow off too. Annual leave.”
“You sure that's okay?”
“You worked hard these days. Let's hang one last time before you head to Seoul. Movie or something.”
Ooh, great idea. Cop perks? Carrot and stick on point. Had a movie I wanted to see anyway.
“Sounds good!”
“What movie?”
“Animal something. That gazelle's hips were fire.”
'Use normal power, go easy on her.'
'……Same thing, right?'
Smart take: Entertain her. Go light. Don't kill the newbie.
Anyway, C-rank monster High Hyena was in Busan on orders from her direct boss, Ulbr.
Specifically, through a shadow gate Ulbr opened—popped out in Busan. Neff's here, huh.
Goal: Build up (aka train) Neff. Obviously going easy. Like WWE.
Lemme see, Sea World City? Big building. Wreck nearby, pull aggro—maybe she'll come.
Then a high-pitched voice from behind.
“Hey, you. Monster? Squid!”
'Squid?'
Damn, thought I was hidden, but humans spotted me. Gotta clean up… She turned.
The voice came from underwater. A massive woman submerged there, talking to her.
First time seeing this monster type, but instinct from monster cells ID'd her.
“K-Kraken!”
“Right, squid…”
“Wh-Why that form…?”
“What do you care, squid. Not important, squid. You! Call Sword here now, squid!”
Sword? Magical girl Sword, right?
Has this squid lost it? Why drag her here? Do it yourself—why subcontract?
“Why not do it yourself…?”
“Th-This form's embarrassing, squid…”
What a nut. Monsters embarrassed? When you strut naked.
What a pain in the ass.
Kraken wasn't Monster Association like Ulbr. But A-rank. Untouchable exec level for a High Hyena.
Like a rival dept head asking for coffee. Dirty, but orders are orders.
“B-But how…?”
“How?”
Kraken cocked her head blankly, pointing at Sea World City.
“Blow it up with a bomb, squid?”
Uh, that'd turn WWE into UFC. Ulbr said threaten only—wreck a building, and real magical girls go berserk.
…She thought, but Kraken said:
“We're monsters—what's to worry, squid?”
'True, but…'
You ain't the one dying.
To the sullen High Hyena, Kraken tossed a black ink bomb. One hit could sink Sea World City whole—super concentrated.
“Go blow it up, squid. Sword comes, I'll handle her, squid.”