It's Time for Me to Step Up
The rhythmic beeping of machines drummed against my eardrums.
I pushed up my heavy eyelids, and the first thing that came into view was an excessively sharp, pristine white ceiling.
This wasn't a dream or a hallucination.
Instead of the damp air of the basement, a cool, tidy scent of disinfectant tickled my nose.
"Intensive care unit, huh."
I immediately recognized the familiar scene and knew where I was.
"How long was I out?"
As I tried to move my body slowly, an incredibly unfamiliar sensation washed over me.
I'd been thoroughly ravaged by the villains while soaked in drugs that could melt my brain.
Even if I always came out fine after getting fucked by villains, there should still be lingering aftereffects from the drugs.
But instead of excruciating pain or unpleasant sensations, my body felt light and refreshed, as if decades of chronic fatigue had been washed away in an instant.
"Sigh... haa..."
The breath I exhaled no longer carried that sweet, nauseating aroma.
When I slowly sat up, every muscle moved smoothly, boasting peak condition.
The IV line and electrodes attached to my wrist felt annoyingly in the way amid the overflowing vitality surging through my body.
"Ha-young, you're awake?"
Soon after, the Doctor entered the intensive care unit, opening the door.
She hurriedly manipulated the machines to check my status, shone a penlight into my pupils, and began a simple examination.
"How do you feel? Any dizziness or nausea? Hallucinations, or unusually heightened senses?"
"No, Doctor. My body feels amazingly light. Like I just woke up from a good sleep."
At my response, the Doctor's eyebrow twitched.
She alternated between staring at me and the tablet screen in disbelief.
The screen displayed a chaotic array of my brain's detailed CT scans and various vital data.
"That can't be... The drug you absorbed through your respirator was meant to overload your nervous system and cause permanent damage."
The brain activity shown on the screen she held up was riddled with red zones.
Compared to a normal brain, it looked on the verge of collapse.
Yet my body felt utterly calm, without a hint of side effects.
If anything, my vision was sharper than usual, and my senses were keenly attuned.
"Even if your body could recover to normal, it should take a lot more time."
"Really? But I feel completely fine right now."
"Lie back down for a sec?"
As I lay back on the bed, the Doctor started a detailed scan using various medical devices.
In the meantime, I blinked my eyes slowly, pondering what might have happened while I was out.
Had they caught the twin villains?
If not, were they still searching for them?
Had they learned anything about the "that person" the villains mentioned, or the drugs they got from them?
As various questions swirled in my mind, the examination ended.
"All your neural pathways are abnormally hyperactive. Just two days ago, they were completely wrecked."
Hearing the Doctor's bewildered voice, I quietly placed my hand on my lower abdomen.
It had been vulgarly bloated, filled to the brim with the villains' semen.
I recalled the sensations that had coursed through my pussy, ass, and mouth, backflowing and wrecking me.
For a normal human—or even an ordinary magical girl—that would have been an indelible humiliation and poison.
But I'm Serendipity.
I have this unique constitution that converts villains' semen into mana to fuel my power.
"Ah, so that's it."
A subtle smile crept across my lips.
The massive load from dozens of villains filling me up wasn't just some bodily fluid.
It neutralized the potent drug's components, regenerated my destroyed nerve cells in an instant, and supercharged my mana circuits to their limits—the ultimate fuel.
My body had turned their violent ravaging into a golden opportunity and digested it completely.
Paradoxically, everything they poured into me to break me had reborn me stronger than ever.
"Don't worry, Doctor. My body really is fine. Can you take out the IV?"
"Oh, yeah..."
Since the detailed scan showed no issues, the Doctor trusted my words.
As the IV needle was slowly removed, I swung my feet off the bed.
The sensation of my soles touching the floor felt vividly real.
The overflowing mana coursing through my body tingled all the way to my fingertips.
"I feel like I could take on villains right now. As many as they throw at me, easy!"
The Doctor still looked unconvinced, but after seeing the vitality in my eyes, she closed her mouth.
"Doctor, what happened to those bastards? The twin villains."
At my question, the Doctor's movements paused.
I didn't miss the slight tremble in her fingers as she operated the tablet.
She hesitated for a long time before answering, and the longer the silence stretched, the worse the premonition grew in my chest.
Had they escaped custody? Or something even worse?
"...They're dead."
"Dead?"
It was an unexpected answer.
No matter that we're magical girls, killing villains is strictly illegal.
"Hee-soo did it right there on the scene."
The Doctor's voice was low and subdued.
I know Hee-soo unnie well.
The way she handles villains is nothing like other magical girls.
She ravages them excessively during takedowns, breaks them down into humiliated wrecks, and gets off on it—a total pervert.
That's always why she gets disciplined—for the excessive sexual abuse.
But the Doctor's expression hinted at something much deeper and darker than what I knew.
"Doctor, this isn't the first time Hee-soo unnie's killed a villain, is it?"
At my question, the Doctor hesitated again before slowly nodding.
She manipulated the tablet and brought up part of the scene report for me to see.
"Both the older and younger one's hearts were ruptured."
"What?"
That wasn't something that could happen in a simple takedown accident.
"Actually, this isn't Hee-soo's first time killing a villain. You wouldn't know since it was before you became a magical girl, but some of her disciplines were for brutally killing villains."
I doubted Hee-soo unnie killed them just for pleasure.
There had to be a reason.
"Doctor, did Hee-soo unnie bring back any info?"
"She did get information on how the villains sourced the drug they used on you."
It matched what I'd guessed to some extent.
I figured revenge had driven her to it.
Out of all the magical girls, Hee-soo unnie doted on me the most.
"So, what's happening with Hee-soo unnie now?"
As far as I remembered, she'd already been on the edge with multiple disciplines.
I knew one more incident could mean expulsion from the Special Resource Management Corporation.
Expulsion from the Corporation.
That meant being classified as a "potential villain" under national oversight.
In the worst case, unnie and I might end up pointing weapons at each other.
"Right now, she's in solitary confinement in the internal holding area by the team leader's unilateral decision."
"I see. And the report to the Central Government...?"
"No report went up to the Central Government. The team leader handled all the cleanup."
Relief washed over me at the news that the team leader had covered for her, but my heart grew heavy too.
Hee-soo unnie had crossed the line for my sake.
But what I needed most right now wasn't self-recrimination—it was to show unnie in person that I was okay.
I headed to the holding area, brushing off the Doctor's attempts to stop me.
Thanks to my light steps, I arrived faster than expected.
At the end was the solitary cell holding Hee-soo unnie.
I placed my hand on the fingerprint scanner.
> Fingerprint verified
> LOCK DISENGAGED — *beep!*
The cheerful mechanical chime echoed through the quiet corridor as the lock released.
The heavy iron door slowly opened, revealing a pitch-black space with not a single light on.
In the center of that darkness sat Hee-soo unnie.
Gone was her usual confident demeanor.
She was huddled there, staring blankly at the floor.
As if she'd locked herself away in that deep darkness.
At the sound of the door opening, unnie's head lifted very slowly.
The moment she saw me, her unfocused eyes widened in an instant.
"...Ha-young?"
Her voice, calling my name in disbelief, was hoarse.
She must have been desperately waiting for me to wake up.
I leaned lightly against the doorframe and flashed her a bright smile.
"Hey, dummy unnie. Have you been well?"