Tentacle Bombs and Explosive Payback
Annoying splat! "Eek...!"
A massive chunk of severed tentacle thudded down beside me.
It kept wriggling creepily, so I jumped straight into physical therapy.
Poke! Poke! Poke!
After a thorough drrr-luck massage, it finally settled down. Should've done that from the start.
That fragment had flown off during Sword and Kraken's fierce exchange.
Sword was slicing through most of the incoming tentacles like the veteran she was. Wow. How the hell does she do that? She's not human.
Even in the heat of battle, she was firing her gun to adjust fragment trajectories and keep civilians safe. Man, I've really got a long way to go.
But Kraken's tentacles just kept regenerating no matter how many times they were cut. I'd heard that's exactly why Sword couldn't finish her off completely in the past.
The silver lining? If a hundred fragments flew out, Sword dismantled about ninety percent of them.
The problem was the remaining ten percent—the ones she let slip or deliberately nudged toward the beach.
And the real headache was dealing with unsuppressed ones like this.
Wriggle, wriggle.
The fallen tentacle jiggled like jelly across the ground.
Splat!
It burst into black ink, which clumped together into pitch-dark soccer-ball-sized bombs.
Tick-tock-tick-tock-tick!
A deafening chorus of timers buzzing like a swarm of cicadas. That was the bombs' true nature.
I was dismantling the visible ones, but for every one I took out, ten more rained from the sky. Infinite refills, no joke.
"These probably explode if I slice 'em, right?"
I asked Furry, who was grunting and straining against my threads.
"Obviously."
Yeah. Figured as much. Duh.
"And sinking the ground means..."
"One bomb's worth of power. Obviously."
Okay, that's not obvious.
"What happens to the bombs stuck to you if I take you down?"
"They explode. Obviously. Linked to my heartbeat."
"..."
"What're you staring at? It sucks for me too."
"...Tough break."
"Oh, and one goes off? Chain reaction for the rest."
"Oh, joy."
Tch. So even a single detonation turns this whole area into a wasteland.
Splat!
Another tentacle chunk drops in the meantime. Boss lady's being way too generous.
I could tell Sword was struggling to focus on the fight with all these tentacles veering our way.
Whirr~ Whirr~
Then came the buzzing from above.
Drone cams. Reporters on nearby rooftops and cyber Rexxers streaming personal broadcasts.
A-rank monsters don't pop up every day. Especially not a tentacled beauty towering dozens of meters tall—super rare.
Just filming it guarantees views. Gotta respect the hustle of folks risking their lives for the job... or maybe it reminded me of Hasol-a. Perks and penalties of being a magical girl. After a few rounds, it doesn't even faze me anymore.
What now?
I glanced at Furry. Still grunting away. I had an idea or two, but the catch was untying those threads binding her.
Alright. First, defuse the bombs on her back. Then smack Furry down. Then handle the ground bombs. Yeah. Harin's smart...
...So I approached Furry to punch in the code.
"Sorry, but the password on my bombs is different from the others."
"Why the hell?"
"Think I don't know what you're plotting, kiddo?"
Furry grinned, baring her gums.
"This is my lifeline."
Damn, quick-witted furries are the worst.
Can't defuse without killing her. Kill her? Bombs blow, and civilians who haven't evacuated yet get hurt or worse.
And this Furry knew it all too well.
"No choice, then."
I yanked the threads binding her, planning to drag her out and let her pop with the squid.
BOOM!
But Furry slammed her feet into the ground, channeling mana through her legs to assimilate with the concrete.
I strained to pull her out, grunting away, but she was rooted like a tree in cement—immovable.
"You live here now. Neff's outta here."
"Yup. Not budging. Making this my home."
I could restrain her fine, but dragging? With her flopping around like that, no dice.
Either her clothes rip on the way or a bomb goes off first.
"Why go this far? Can't you just die nicely?"
"What monster wants to die? I didn't come here to kick the bucket!"
As we tussled, Furry sneaked a glance and proposed a deal.
"Untie me. I'll leave nice and quiet."
"As if."
Like I'd release a monster. You ever see cops catch a robber and just say "go home"?
But Furry kept yapping shamelessly.
"Monsters come in all kinds—good ones, bad ones, smart ones, crazies. Full spectrum."
What? Dog breed makes the bullshit flow easy?
"I haven't hurt a single civilian. Ulbr just wants your combat data anyway. Me getting owned by you? Fact. Reporting that finishes my job, right?"
Furry wagged her tail.
"You're stronger than me anyway—can always take me down again. Plus, aren't magical girls supposed to protect citizens? Drag this out, and we're all toast."
My brow furrowed on instinct.
Monsters harm humans, period. Why trust her? No guarantee she won't cause bigger trouble later.
But damn it, she had a point. My power wasn't enough to suppress her without risking self-destruct.
And if civilians got caught in a blast during a staring contest? That'd be putting the cart before the horse.
"...Fine."
I gritted my teeth and released the bindings. Furry immediately shoved her back toward me like she'd been waiting.
"Password's 0000."
"?"
Looked close—yep, four zeros.
"Heh heh. Bet you didn't see that coming."
"Should've just mashed random keys then."
Beep.
No lie. Input 0000, and the timer froze.
I shot out threads again to restrain her. Backstab? Monsters don't get that luxury.
But Furry smirked like she'd predicted it and hurled herself backward at full speed.
That instant.
Vrrrrm!
Space warped, and a gate to the back world yawned open.
"Ahh!"
"Catch ya never~"
A blue-furred hand shot out, snagging the flipping Furry by the scruff.
Fangs glinted, eyes calm as the ocean depths.
"Ulbr Ulvia."
"Neff."
The gate snapped shut as Ulbr said curtly.
"Sorry."
"?"
And gone. What the hell is her deal? Apology tour?
Anyway, first time as a magical girl letting a monster escape. Ten thousand IP down the drain. But hey, can't be helped. Citizens first. Sigh.
Annoying...
Heading back to the department store entrance, things were even more of a mess. Bomb count had multiplied.
Outside, Sword and Kraken were still going at it hammer and tongs.
...Hoo.
I steadied my breath and aimed Druluck.
"Drrr-luck!"
Tat-tat-tat-tat!
Dozens of needles blasted from the nozzle.
Infused with Pluto's sticky mana.
The needles—tethered to threads—stuck to the rolling bombs on the ground. Tried piercing at first, but too scared they'd blow.
A tangled web of bombs.
My raw strength couldn't lift that mass at once. Even with mana, no go.
But with Sword's mana...?
Rise.
The threads twitched taut.
Shwooo.
Dozens of black bombs lifted into the air.
＊＊＊
Sword's breath hitched—not from exhaustion, but sheer frustration.
"Die, squid! Die, squid!"
The crazy squid bitch parroted the same line like a myna bird while flailing tentacles everywhere. Intercepting each one individually was driving her insane.
Miss even one, and buildings behind crumbled. Families shattered, society crumbled—and worst, it'd taint her memories with Harin.
"Headless volley, scattershot."
Sword unleashed hundreds of hovering daggers like rain. Plan: mince every incoming tentacle.
Kaboom kaboom kaboom!
But Kraken's regen defied logic, same as always. Sliced? Grows back. Blasted? Reforms.
And the real pain: those ink bombs.
Sword knew Kraken's ink gimmick inside out. Each tentacle held independent life force—like mana-charged cancer cells.
Leave 'em be, and secondary damage hits. Normally just ankle-grabbers, but now evolved into bombs—maybe from her changed form.
She was intercepting max, but even she couldn't cover everywhere. And attrition like this? Bad omen. Monsters usually outlast magical girls in mana reserves.
Victory wasn't pure mana burn, but against near-immortal foes, Sword's magic had bad matchup.
So how to handle Kraken? Blast the main body before regen or split—one-shot.
Need a finisher.
A decisive blow vaporizing the core without recovery time. Veterans don't earn the title lightly—they've got it.
But it needed charge time, and tentacles gave no breather.
"Dream on, squid!"
Kraken sneered, bundling tentacles into a massive drill spinning at breakneck speed.
"Choke on this, squid!"
Then.
Something flew from the department store rooftop.
Harin?
The moment Sword glanced, an unbelievable sight hit her eyes.
Black clumps strung like Vienna sausages hurtling in. Kraken's ink bombs.
"...?"
"...What the— squid?"
Sword dumbfounded. Kraken dumbfounded.
The instant Kraken dumbly looked up, the bomb cluster slammed her face.
And.
BOOOOOOM!
A colossal explosion lit Haeundae's seaside bright as day.