Chapter 76
Chapter 76
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 76
Chapter Title: Invader II
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Shin Noah
The aircraft carrier (40 tons, equipped with a kitchen and lounge facilities; prior to commissioning as a carrier, it served as a fishing boat purifying nets, launched in 1996) boasted by the Magical Girl Council arrived at the target waters in less than two hours.
The magical girls immediately took their positions and began fishing. Their skills were those of seasoned fishermen.
“Whew— we were just running low on food, so I was thinking of going fishing anyway, nyang.”
“By the way, Undertaker. I’ve heard rumors that there’s an Awakener in Korea with prophecy abilities. Is that true? You’re moving with such confidence that an anomaly will appear out here at sea this time too.”
I shrugged.
“That’s a secret. But at least this one was tipped off by a Constellation, not a prophet.”
“Constellation…? Oh, those gods that only exist on the Korean Peninsula.”
The magical girl nodded as if she understood.
It might come as a surprise, but Japanese Awakeners didn’t harbor much doubt about why Constellations were so active only on the Korean Peninsula. They seemed to view them as some kind of local land spirits.
Sure, they were now decked out in bizarre outfits, lost in a magical girl cosplay trance, but before anomalies fully erupted, they’d all been people with strong ‘spiritual senses.’ Shamans or spirit mediums.
“……!”
In the midst of enjoying the fishing, the quiet magical girl perked up her ears and pointed at the sky.
“Nyang? What’s up, Ciel?”
“Hm?”
Everyone aboard the carrier looked up. It didn’t take long for all their eyes to widen.
A UFO was falling from the sky.
“Nyaang?! W-what is that, nyang?!”
“…My god.”
Rumble rumble rumble!
The UFO tore through Earth’s fragile atmosphere as it plummeted. But from 600 meters up, its speed slowed dramatically. As if welcoming an alien visitor, waves churned violently on the sea.
With a massive splash— the UFO landed on the ocean. No, it water-landed.
The tsunami it kicked up rocked even our carrier.
“NyaAAAAAANG! Save the kitty, nyang!”
“Deceleration—balance—defense.”
Creak—
The hull, which had nearly capsized, regained its balance thanks to the group’s magic.
As the spray obscured vision completely, the UFO’s massive form slowly bobbed to the surface.
“My god. Undertaker was right. An anomaly really came down from the sky.”
“……! ……!”
“Astonishing. Evidence for the hypothesis that anomalies originate from space. Necessary. Prepare paper.”
“Who’s gonna review your paper anyway, nyang! Or rather, question is whether that’s really an anomaly, nyang. What if it’s actual aliens, nyang?”
I wiped seawater from my face and spoke coolly.
“Prepare for combat first. Whether they’re good aliens or bad ones, we’ll find out soon enough.”
“Mm.”
“Yeah, that makes sense, nyang.”
The shock was brief. I and the others quickly assumed alert postures.
“Warning. Presence detected.”
The moment the blind magical girl, specialized in scouting and detection, murmured—
Pssshhhh—
Steam vented from the UFO.
Unlike the previous loop where all the aliens inside had already been slaughtered, this time there was a clear presence.
“…….”
“…….”
Humanity’s first potential contact with intelligent extraterrestrial life. Everyone held their breath.
Shadows flickered beyond the steam and mist.
The smell of gasoline suddenly wafted in, clinging to our faces.
The blind magical girl murmured.
“Approaching.”
Boom!
The instant she spoke, the foe beyond the steam leaped into the sky and landed on the carrier.
Immense jumping power. And if they’d intended friendly conversation, it was hardly the approach to take.
“Enemy!”
“B-bad aliens, nyang!”
On the wildly rocking hull, the presumed alien extended its arms.
-KyaAAAAA!
Perhaps in alien terms, it was ‘hug me’ with arms spread wide.
But it had eight arms, not two, and where fingers should be were one-meter sickles. Plenty of flaws for a friendly embrace.
So my judgment wasn’t an overreaction.
“Engage!”
Clang! My blade carefully met the eight sweeping sickles. Or rather, tried to.
‘What the hell kind of strength is this?’
A heavy blow. I’d assumed Ten Tribes level at worst, but one sickle swing nearly sent my sword flying.
Strength wasn’t the only surprise.
-KyaAAAAA!
The eight innate scythes on its eight arms unleashed a flashy, rapid barrage. Hard to pinpoint the exact technique, but a highly developed martial system was unmistakably embedded in those swings.
One, two, three. Just as I blocked one, another came from the side. I even drew up aura to sever an arm, but it didn’t land.
“Damn, insane.”
Drawing such an exclamation from 99th-loop me wasn’t easy.
The alien was clearly stronger than Ten Tribes. Not just a bit—six, seven times, no, incalculably more.
“U-Undertaker? You okay, nyang?”
“Not okay at all! This bastard’s strong!”
“Grave. Ciel, turn the ship. We retreat and call for reinforcements. I’ll join Undertaker—.”
The magical girls’ judgment was spot-on, but the world doesn’t bend to your correctness.
Thud! Thud thud, boom!
Aliens rained down from the UFO onto the carrier like a squall. The hull shook uncontrollably, waves crashing from all sides.
-KyaAAAAA! Kyak!
Seven in my sight alone. Their skin melted like candle wax. From that oozing flesh poured the gasoline stench.
“Fuck.”
Cold sweat, rare even after dozens of loops, beaded on my trained neck. One was tough enough—now seven more?
But cold sweat didn’t capture the urgency. Suddenly, the 98th-loop memory of the UFO’s corridors flashed—bodies everywhere.
‘So at least 120 of these bastards?’
Then screams from the magical girls.
“AaaaaAAAH!”
Side-glancing: they were helpless against the aliens’ onslaught.
A sickle fiesta. The girl with the ‘nyang’ speech lost limbs, soaring with her black umbrella.
“Damn,”
“……!”
Even in death, the girls stayed cool. Sparks flew, magic flew wild. But every 3, 5, 7 seconds, bodies were hacked apart, spraying blood.
[Undertaker, run—.]
Thud! The blind girl, last survivor trying telepathy, got a tail through her torso mid-sentence. Blood gushed from the sharp tail.
Total wipeout: 11 seconds flat.
We hadn’t slacked on alert. They weren’t low-level Awakeners.
Not like regressor me, but Council elites, veterans surviving Japan’s hellscape.
Yet annihilated. In 11 seconds.
“Goddamn—.”
Rough curses poured from my mouth after ages. Familiar sensation. Unwelcome. That octopus-headed Ten Tribes bullshit from old days flooded my capillaries, filling my mouth.
“You fuckers!”
I maxed aura, swinging wildly. With allies gone, one more second meant encirclement. Kill the one in front.
-KyaAAAK!
I crammed aura into the blade. Boom! More brute force than slash—it exploded the alien into chunks.
-Kyak?
-KyaAAAAK!
Did kin-slaying shock them? Dozens on deck turned to me.
Clear wariness.
They slowly… very slowly encircled me, herding prey.
Slither.
I backpedaled, keeping encirclement under 180 degrees.
They snorted “Kyak” “KyaAA” in displeasure but didn’t charge. I’d bought a move.
-…….
Waves whispered quietly. We held distance, ignoring four girl corpses and one alien carcass. Tense silence.
“…….”
I could retreat.
They were strong, fast. But couldn’t match my speed. Probably why the girls said [run].
However.
‘Can’t let 120 monstrosities loose on the world.’
Grip.
I tightened on the hilt. Readjusted stance. One word looped in my head.
Mutual destruction.
‘Gather max intel this loop, aim next.’
Crucial: something slaughtered these 120 powerhouses.
‘Must ID that face. Traits, abilities if possible!’
Their queen? Another? No intel yet.
Lucky to detect this S-tier anomaly now. Past loops, it crashed East Sea then vanished, lurking unknown.
Continent-class minimum, likely ocean-class threat.
Unimaginable civilian/Awakener deaths unseen.
‘Dozens, hundreds loops, centuries— I’ll slaughter it!’
As I steeled—
-KyaAAAK…….
-Kya, kyak. Kyak……?
Halt.
Aliens faltered, not from my aura.
Eight arms trembled, tails whipped wildly.
Like deer, necks craned skyward “Kyak! KyaAAK!”, or twisted scratching skin raw.
Like…
‘…They’re suffering?’
Flop. One flipped, rubbing whole body on deck like a bear on a tree.
Unlike bear: screaming in agony.
-KyaAAAAA!
-KyaAK! Kyak, kyaAAAAK!
Others thrashed. Some slammed bridge, others sliced skin with own sickles.
“What the…?”
From apex predators to this?
I lowered blade, confused. Prodded one’s belly—no reaction, limp.
“Eugh…….”
Look close: wax-melt skin now chocolate fountain.
Flesh streamed. Like doused in acid, skin literally melting.
-Ky, AAAA……!
Twisting, wailing— accelerated. Muscles exposed, bones (four times thicker) bared, guts naked.
All melted too.
After 2 minutes, deck held only black slime puddles.
“Euuugh…….”
Checked UFO interior— no twist. Fewer, but corridors littered with alien corpses like 98th.
Mightiest space race? All… dead.
Humanity hadn’t lifted a finger.
“…….”
Splash.
Test: scooped seawater, splashed semi-intact corpse.
Skin melted instantly.
“Eeeeeugh…….”
Test two: carrier bottled water, splash.
Same. Skin, bones, organs to goo.
“Ah…….”
Realization: why they wiped. Why no-show past loops.
“These fuckers’ weakness is ‘water’……?”
Don’t come to Earth then, crazies.
5
I dubbed them ‘Warrior Race’. Post-99th, ignored East Sea UFOs/Warrior Race.
No matter how strong—even I struggled—irrelevant.
Weakness: water.
Earth’s surface 71% water. Rain falls—sometimes days.
Dunno, aliens? This is ‘summer monsoon’—.
‘How’s water a weakness?’
Bizarre, but water’s rare in universe—maybe we’re the weird ones.
“Ah, G-Guild Leader! Look! Shooting star……!”
“Hm.”
Some loops spotted Meteor Showers near East Sea, but I gazed skyward with hollow eyes.
Prey-turned-predator irony: loop after loop, diving East Sea to mass-suicide. Odd feeling.
‘…But if Warrior Race aren’t anomaly, real aliens?’
Tiny scout ship. Main force elsewhere?
Realize water weakness, tech-raincoats, invade sealed?
Humanity/anomalies unite, wiped by Warrior invasion?
“W-wish. Make a wish quick, Guild Leader. It comes true if before it falls!”
Sim A-ryeon’s special skill tantrum—I surrendered, hands up.
“Fine, whatever. Let’s wish.”
Worst case full invasion? Loop more, film space war.
Praying no such mess, I clasped hands politely.
‘Just skip Earth, alien pals. Wherever home, bet less fucked than here.’
Twinkle—
Like accepting my wish, 9th-year East Sea shooting star twinkled.
- Invader. End.