Chapter 2
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Just Reach Out Your Hand, That's All
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No matter what, it had definitely been over a week since the place was last cleaned—a musty dust smell assaulted my nose, mingled with the stench of damp sweat trickling everywhere.
"Urgh..."
Behind the pitch-black blackout curtains blocking the window, a sliver of light seeped through, chance illuminating my eyelids where I'd lost consciousness.
"Urgh... Uwaa?!"
Once external stimuli slowly kickstarted my sense of smell and sight, I snapped awake with a jolt, screaming as I lifted my head.
"Alive... Thank goodness..."
The relief of not dying despite collapsing as limply as if shot washed over me—even though another thought immediately started swirling in my head.
"What time is it?!"
I fumbled my phone out of my pants pocket and hit the power button. The screen informed me I had barely any time left before work started.
Not only had I survived that brush with death, but I wasn't late for work either—a miracle, plain and simple.
No time to marvel at it. On pure instinct, I bolted to the bathroom, stripped off my sweat-soaked clothes, and snatched up the showerhead that had been bone-dry for days.
"Now I'm finally coming to."
After scrubbing my clammy skin and dousing myself head to toe in cold water to clear my head properly, my eyes finally focused straight ahead.
I wasn't so nearsighted that I needed glasses,
but for some reason, my vision felt sharper and cleaner than usual.
"What? Was my body always like this?"
And when I looked in the mirror, my reflection was strikingly different from normal.
I'd always figured I was just a doughy blob with no real merits besides decent height,
but after days without eating and pushing too hard, my body looked seriously lean.
More precisely, not scrawny—lean muscle etched in sharp relief. Even the rough, sallow skin looked healthier now that the sweat was rinsed off.
"Damn... Guess I'm still not fully awake."
I could clearly sense the change from before,
but right now, what mattered wasn't my transformed body—it was how little time I had left before work.
"Where are they... towel and shirt..."
I burst out of the bathroom and hunted for the towel and shirt strewn around the apartment, but with crap littered everywhere, it was a nightmare.
This place I'd busted my ass to afford was great and all, but since I barely used it for anything besides crashing,
even its size and luxury just made moments like this more frustrating.
"No way... Hurry... I'm gonna miss the subway!"
No chance to double-check if I'd grabbed everything. I flew out the front door and sprinted like mad for the train to the office.
"Made it with more time to spare than I thought."
Maybe it was because I'd moved so fast I couldn't even check my condition properly,
but I swiped my employee badge with over twenty minutes to go before clock-in and strolled into the office leisurely.
I usually dragged in slumped like a cow headed to the slaughterhouse,
but today I was brimming with energy, mood weirdly upbeat.
"This is weird..."
It was so suspiciously peak condition that I started mulling over the body I'd glimpsed in the bathroom mirror earlier.
The weirdest part by far: this lean, toned physique.
After nearly two years as a manager, I'd definitely turned into a squishy blob,
yet now my abs were defined, forearms bulging noticeably.
On top of that, my formerly droopy face and frizzy hair looked groomed and tidy,
and even the package between my legs felt way heavier than before.
"You sensed something was off, huh?"
"W-What?!"
As admiration and suspicion swirled over my unrecognizable body, a bizarre voice echoed from somewhere.
It was so eerie I couldn't even pin down its gender, let alone any defining traits.
"No need to find it weird. You're way healthier than before.
Though... I get how the overflowing power might make it feel off instead."
The voice described exactly what I was feeling.
As if it had been watching me from the sidelines since I woke up.
"Who are you! Who is that?!"
Ghost? The thought terrified me, twisting my face, but I forced a strong tone, pretending I wasn't scared, and shouted anyway.
"Curious about that? If you're so curious, I can tell you."
The voice seemed to already know my fear, replying with a creepy little chuckle.
"The being that opposes the magical girl you serve.
The word 'Monster' should make it click easily enough?"
"Mon... Monster?!"
Monsters: those lifeforms that suddenly appeared, threatening humanity and cities.
The monstrous bastards that magical girls like Flora beat down.
"More precisely, I command Monsters as my underlings...,
From a human male's perspective, calling me the 'Evil God' fits best."
"So... you're the one behind the Monsters?"
"I was born from the clumping of human pleasure and wicked desires.
That's why I keep spawning underlings and sending them out."
It called itself the 'Evil God'—literally an evil deity.
Not some artificial creation or alien,
but birthed from humanity's pleasures and desires, it explained.
The reason the Evil God endlessly spawned Monsters to assault humanity and cities?
That birth origin was its very reason for existing—and its instinct.
"But the power of magical girls was too overwhelming, too lethal.
After endless deliberation, I reached one conclusion.
Rather than unstable, feeble Monsters...,
I'd use a 'human male' who could easily get close to a magical girl."
No human weapon could properly scratch a Monster,
but put a magical girl against one, and she dispatched most without breaking a sweat.
From its perspective, with its creations getting wrecked every time,
trying a new approach was only natural.
"So... after all that searching, you ended up with me?"
"Ding dong daeng! Correct!"
That perky yet nauseating 'ding dong daeng correct' made the back of my skull throb.
If brute force wouldn't work, just concede cleanly or shift goals—
what kind of logic was 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em' and latch on?
"If I hadn't granted you power, you'd have died collapsed right there.
Be grateful I chose you instead."
I was tearing up with gratitude for saving me from overwork death,
but why me, out of all the human males on this planet?
Half the world's population fit the bill,
and the 'easy access to magical girls' criterion alone had candidates everywhere.
Sure, a bunch of magical girl managers had quit recently,
but I wasn't the only one left.
"No, seriously... why pick me specifically?"
"I told you. A human male who can approach magical girls.
Out of them all, you were the only one perfectly suited to my Evil God power."
No amount of Evil God exposition would stop my headache.
So I asked what it actually wanted from me.
"Fine, so what do you want me to do? Transform into a Monster and start killing?"
"If that was it, spawning more Monsters would be way more efficient.
Your job is to rape the magical girl and corrupt her into an evil being.
You stay human—no Monster transformation needed.
Just fuck those beautiful, perky bitches however you want."
Since its own Monsters couldn't beat a magical girl,
have me—the human magical girl manager—subdue her instead.
And with the most primal, lowbrow method: rape and corrupt.
"What if I say I can't do that?"
"I know a magical girl loyalist like you won't cave easily.
But... you won't be able to hold back from doing it."
It mocked my firm resolve not to betray the magical girl,
yet its voice brimmed with unshakable confidence.
-Ssslliiide-
Of all the timing, Flora was just now entering the office.
She was usually thirty minutes late—why today of all days was she early?
"Perfect timing—your magical girl just arrived.
How about testing your new power on her? Sounds fun, doesn't it?"
The Evil God started tempting me to try out the ability on Flora.
"Good morning, Flora-nim."
Flora plopped onto the sofa with her usual slightly pouty expression.
I gave her a casual morning greeting and stayed silent on the temptation.
"Why's your voice so damn loud and rowdy today? Pointlessly."
As always, she sank into her dedicated black, plush sofa,
scowling venomously that my louder-than-usual voice grated on her.
If it were anyone else, maybe, but this wasn't new from her,
so I just let it slide and kept staring at my desk monitor.
"Hey! You ignoring me right now?"
She strode right up to my desk in a huff instead,
kicked my chair, and shoved my shoulder—Flora.
My silence had gotten under her skin.
"Not pissed off? A prickly bitch like that needs raping to make her yours."
As the fuming Flora closed in, the voice returned.
I desperately tried ignoring it by squeezing my eyes shut,
but now it pounded in my skull like a drum.
"Not hard at all. Just reach out your hand.
For a little while... you'll be able to do whatever you want with her."
'Just reach out my hand...?'
Listening to Flora's insults laced with every irritation under the sun,
my temper was boiling over—I kept teetering on giving in to the devil's whisper.
If this thing was right and I really had this power,
I could get instant revenge for every humiliation I'd endured.
And if the Evil God was lying?
Just play it off as an accidental bump.
Worst case, take a slap—it'd sting for a second and be done.
'Just once.'
Dazed by the devil's honeyed temptation, I clenched my eyes shut
and thrust out my open palm right in front of the snarling Flora's face.
"......?"
Something like an unknowable pink glow softly leaked from my hand,
blasting straight into Flora's face opposite my palm.
"........."
After a fleeting purple shimmer passed,
Flora just stood there silently, stock-still.
A weird vibe hit me. I pried open my squeezed-shut eyes and lowered my hand...,
and there Flora stood, utterly vacant-eyed and motionless.