Chapter 61: In Bed (1)
Chapter 61: In Bed (1)
How did it come to this?
The moonlight, once hidden by clouds, began to spill across the bed.
Perhaps it was because the owner of the house had no interest in cleaning, but the glass skylight in the ceiling was covered in layers of mysterious dust. Dust that should have been washed away by rain or snow sat there in thick strata. The moonlight couldn't pierce through it, instead casting shadows with bizarre patterns onto the duvet.
As the moon shifted and the wind blew, the shadows began to writhe.
They crept toward the woman beside me—the woman currently hugging a gun and rubbing her face against it.
The shadows took on a monstrous form, stretching their maws toward her. A black beast with razor-sharp teeth. This beast, coveting her innocence, manifested as a squirming shadow and began to devour her.
It was a hallucination.
A mere trick of the mind.
The movement of moonlight doesn't change that quickly. It was true that dust had settled on the window, but it wasn't enough to cast such deep shadows. Even if they were formed by chance, they couldn't move like that.
And yet, I saw it.
A dark, man-eating beast born from swallowing starlight with its back to the moon. A writhing black predator. A wolf of the dark night, jaws agape, seeking to prey upon a steadfast soul.
This was exactly why I never wanted to share a bed with anyone.
The one who had forced me into this bed was Yumil. When I said I would sleep on the sofa, she blocked me so I couldn't escape.
‘You can't make a Hero of the old era sleep on the sofa, can you? Right?’
‘Ah? Yes! Of course. The bed is big anyway, so if you sleep together…’
‘But it weighs on my conscience…’
‘Then we’ll sleep on the sofa! You take the bed!’
Even I wasn't shameless enough to make the homeowner sleep on the sofa. Caught in Yumil’s trap, I was dragged into the bedroom.
That led to the current situation.
Three women lying in a single bed.
Yumil to my left.
So-rim to my right.
The large bed was wide enough that we didn't intrude on each other's space, but that wasn't the point. First, I hated sharing my sleeping space with others. Second, there was a young woman right next to me.
Wait, not two. One of them looks exactly like me, so how am I supposed to think of that as a woman?
And so, unable to close my eyes, the night ticked away.
The illusory shadow monster bit at its prey, but unable to exert any real influence, it simply continued its endless assault. Over and over. Again and again.
How much time had passed?
"You're awake, aren't you?"
"Shut up."
The culprit behind this whole mess spoke.
"Since you teased the innocent Chong So-rim, surely I'm allowed this much?"
Look at her smirking.
She must have known from the start that I hate sharing a bed. Forcing this was nothing but her being spiteful toward me.
"Let's talk."
"I'm going to sleep now."
"Your basic physical abilities are similar to mine. You're at a level where staying up for a few nights doesn't matter."
"Tsk."
It felt like Yumil was clicking her tongue more than usual today. She wrapped the duvet tightly around herself and rolled closer to me.
The plush bed didn't vibrate even when someone rolled around, but the thin blanket gathered toward her.
"Mmm... Yumil... I told you not to take the blanket... don't stick to me..."
In the midst of this, Chong So-rim began talking in her sleep. As the blanket was pulled away, her pajamas—which I had been trying my best to ignore—came into view.
Thin, tight-fitting pajamas. They weren't as skin-tight as a motorcycle suit, but they were more than enough to reveal the lines of her well-developed physique. Since it was rude to stare at another woman's body, I quickly looked the other way.
Instead, I was met with my own dark face.
"Hehe."
She bared her teeth in a mischievous grin.
This brat.
She was doing this on purpose. She clearly enjoyed seeing me flustered.
Meanwhile, So-rim, perhaps wanting to reclaim the stolen blanket, flailed her arm—the one not holding the gun—but when she couldn't find it, she hugged her gun tighter and curled into a ball.
For the sake of her honor, I didn't look back. I was merely sensing her through my other five senses.
Why did my senses have to paint such a vivid image at a time like this? They could afford to slack off a bit.
Did she find my discomfort that amusing? The face before me grew even more mischievous. Her eyes narrowed, her mouth curved wider, revealing her glistening white teeth.
I never realized having an enemy with my own memories would be this difficult. I didn't know it would be so painful to be attacked exactly where I was weakest.
Nothing for it, then.
"There's a reporter named Kim Hyun-sae at Weekly Hero."
"What?"
I calmed my mind and spoke to regain the initiative. I refused to be toyed with by someone hundreds of times younger than me.
"Go find him and do an interview as Black Marauder. Don't mention So-rim's identity. Do it alone."
"You want me to keep it a secret from So-rim?"
"That's for you to decide. Everyone will find out once the interview is published anyway, so I'd recommend not hiding it."
"And why go alone?"
She must have read my thoughts to some extent, so why was she asking?
"Because the fact that there's a connection between Black Marauder and Chong So-rim must not be known. You know this well, don't you? From now on, it's best if you don't move around with her if possible."
There was no way she didn't know. If she had my memories, she would know how dangerous such actions were.
"Up until now, we might have been able to make excuses, but from here on, So-rim will be appearing in the media frequently. We need to prevent potential problems in advance..."
"You don't need to worry about that, though."
"What do you mean?"
"I've been moving with So-rim while hijacking radio waves, and she hasn't been caught once. Didn't you think that was strange?"
I hadn't given it much thought. With my techniques, one could move while staying hidden, and frankly, if I just threw So-rim over my shoulder and ran, most people wouldn't even be able to keep up.
Was there another way?
Seeing me lost in thought, she opened her mouth and laughed.
"I'll show you myself."
The moment she said that, I felt mana gathering inside her body. The blanket wrapped around her turned black and exploded. The black fabric fluttered away, creating a dark puddle, in the center of which Yumil stood.
Then, a mysterious mist enveloped her. A glowing figure within the dark fog, leaving only a silhouette.
This was a Magical Girl transformation.
Though slightly strange, I could immediately tell what it was. I didn't know if it was the mascots' preference, but all Magical Girls had transformation sequences like this. The only major difference was that darkness and shadows appeared instead of light. Now, the mist would gather to form her clothes...
Crunch. Snap. Crackle.
Wait, what?
Shadows bit into Yumil’s body as she was submerged in the puddle. Unlike my hallucinations, these shadows possessed actual physical force.
Yumil’s arm was torn off. No blood flowed, but the severed surface clearly told me her arm had been bitten off.
While I stood there, stunned and speechless, countless beast heads erupted from the puddle. From small, snake-like creatures to large, wolf-like beasts. Numerous shadow beasts devoured Yumil’s body, and she was swallowed into the dark puddle along with her remaining flesh.
What the hell is this?
As if the previous scene had been nothing, the bedroom fell silent again. All that remained was the black puddle.
What on earth just happened?
Pop.
A small sound reached my ears as I stood there in shock. A tiny sound coming from the puddle that used to be the blanket. Looking closely, it was the sound of air bubbles rising from the puddle and bursting.
Then, the bubbles began to rise incessantly.
Pop. Pop. Pop-pop-pop.
And then.
Bang!
The puddle exploded, and she appeared.
She stood there, clad in her black Magical Girl outfit.
"Ugh. Why is my transformation like this?"
"How should I know?"
Good grief. If there were ever a video featuring Yumil as the protagonist, that sequence should never be aired. Where in the world is there a Magical Girl transformation where you're dismembered into corpse parts and then reconstructed?
No matter how much the world craved stimulation, that was crossing the line. If children saw that, they’d run to their parents in terror. It would be a lifelong trauma.
Even my transformation—and I'm the ultimate exception among Magical Girls—was normal. What was wrong with Yumil that hers turned out like that?
"Now. Watch closely."
Mana began to gather again in Yumil’s transformed body. What was she trying to do now?
After a short wait, I felt the mana inside her being consumed. The manifestation of magic. And simultaneously...
Slurp.
Yumil’s face melted.
Not metaphorically, but literally. Her face flowed down like liquid. Before I could even process the shock, her face began to reconstruct immediately. It squelched like someone working with clay. Yumil’s face gradually began to turn human.
Finally, I understood what she was trying to tell me.
"So. How's this?"
Yellow hair cut into a bob that reached her shoulders. The face of a woman with a neutral atmosphere, as if she hadn't fully matured. Eyes with blurred focus, where the pupils didn't quite reflect light.
"...Transformation magic?"
"Technically, it's shape manipulation magic. It's a useless spell that only works on my own body and can't increase my volume."
It seemed she had awakened this magic upon becoming a Magical Girl. Unlike me, she appeared to have a talent for magic. It looked like her original transformation ability and her magic as a Magical Girl had merged into this.
"So you've been moving around with a different face. No wonder you weren't caught."
"Did you really think I was just wandering around as I was?"
She burst into laughter.
Don't laugh with that face.
"So, I can keep going around with So-rim now, right?"
Don't plead with that face, either.
"Fine. Just don't take her to the interview."
"I know that much, obviously."
She laughed again. Was she keeping that face just to test my patience?
"Change your face back."
"Why? Because she's an old flame?"
This brat, seriously.
And she wasn't an "old flame."
"I've been patient, but even I have a limit—"
"I found the location."
Ah, well, that changes things. I had been meaning to look into it, but incidents kept popping up one after another, so I hadn't had the chance.
"I heard they're in Hokkaido, Japan."
"That's a Contaminated Zone."
"There's a Restricted Area at the edge for the Management Bureau’s landings. It's been confirmed they built a house and are living there."
I see. I'll have to take my disciples and go.
Seeing that my mood had softened, she let her face melt again and returned to her original form. Then, having undone her transformation, she wrapped herself in the blanket again and started rolling around the bed.
"Is that reporter you mentioned trustworthy?"
"I wouldn't know."
"...Then why are you telling me to do an interview with him?"
Just do it if I tell you to; what's there to complain about? Those words rose to my lips, but I suppressed them. One must be kind to Sentient Beings. Besides, hadn't she just brought me the information I was looking for?
"If he has the guts to criticize and shout at the United Nations in front of a Management Bureau spokesperson, he won't bury or refuse the interview."
"Ah. That reporter! I remember him now."
He was the one who had passionately demanded to know why I wasn't designated as an O-Rank during the Black Marauder public interview. If the Black Marauder herself came to him for an interview, he’d surely find a way to get it published.
"I can do the interview however I want, right? Any requirements?"
"Just wing it."
She had my memories, so she’d figure it out.
As I continued talking to Yumil while she rolled around the bed, an unexpected accident occurred.
"Cold."
Slap.
Something soft pressed against my back.
"...Yumil?"
"What."
"What is this behind my back?"
"That's So-rim. The gun was cold, so she tossed it aside and found another sacrifice. Do as you please."
Her tone was strange. Flat, as if she had known this would happen.
"Does she always sleep like this?"
"Usually? Every day I wake up, she's drooling on my face."
I'd been tricked. I should have questioned the arrangement from the start. Why was I in the middle? Why wasn't Yumil in the middle and I in the corner? Why had she intentionally wrapped herself in the blanket?
"Yumil?"
"Goodnight."
"Yumil?"
"Grrrr..."
Instead of an answer, Yumil began to grind her teeth as she fell asleep. She grinds her teeth too?
"Yumil?"
There was no further response. Instead, the soft warmth pressed against my back only grew more pronounced.
I recalled a line I read in a manga a long time ago.
There is no paradise for those who run away.
The place I had fled to, escaping my disciples, was just another battlefield.
Help me.