Surprise Gift and Magical Girl Makeover
Great Demon... no, Demon Suppressor Yeom Hana! …………… The battle had settled into a strange stalemate.
Yeom Hana was resting her hands on her knees, catching her breath. Her breathing was steadying bit by bit, but her heart rate was still over 180 beats per minute. Lactic acid had built up to its limit. I could tell from the way her muscles were twitching faintly.
Tera Chad wasn't rushing her at all. He was just periodically switching poses. He was definitely giving her time to recover. What a polite guy.
Now's my chance.
I tottered up silently behind Yeom Hana, who was panting heavily, taking advantage of this brief moment of peace. I extended my finger and poked the butt beneath her sweat-soaked shorts—
Squish.
Whoa, what insane elasticity. The surface was so soft it made me wonder if there were even any bones inside, but the densely packed glute muscles pushed back against my palm. All those thousands of squats had paid off. The bounce told me she still had plenty of fight left in her after transforming. Good.
"Eek—!?"
Yeom Hana leaped up like a cat with a cucumber on its back. She must've jumped at least a meter. Surprise, anger, and confusion flashed across her face in sequence as she whipped around.
"W-what the—? Outer God, why are you here!?"
Why am I here? To deliver a surprise gift, obviously. I couldn't say it out loud, so instead, I pulled an item from my subspace and thrust it right in front of her eyes.
A choker set against a black velvet cloth, with a gleaming red gem embedded in the center. Its original form was armor—thick at the shoulders and legs, thin and semi-transparent at vital areas, letting everything show through. I'd had my Thoughts reinforce it with neutronium and increase its density.
Once they handed me the finished product, I decided it wouldn't do in that shape. Why? You can't walk around in full-body armor all the time.
The solution to this major flaw came from Yi Gyu-rin's comic book. Magical girls carry their transformation gear small and cute. As brooches or necklaces. And when needed, they expand to envelop the whole body.
Imitation is the mother of creation, right? So I ordered my Thoughts to do the same: Compress the entire suit into a small accessory. The result was this choker. The full mass of the neutronium-reinforced armor squeezed into a single gem.
I held the choker out to Yeom Hana. Take it.
"...This is."
Her pupils shook as her fingers brushed the gem's surface.
"Transformation gear... right?"
Oh, she's quick on the uptake. Guessing its purpose right away. I nodded vigorously. At the same time, I sent my will. Stronger than usual. With all my might, so she'd definitely get it.
Transform.
"—!"
Her eyes widened. My intent must've gotten through. She could handle this vague kind of communication. Not exact words, but the direction of my intention. Probably because I swallowed her once.
Yeom Hana took the choker with a dazed look.
"Transform with this? Just like that? You think this'll let me win?"
Win? Of course. I nodded again. Once more.
Her gaze darted between three things: the choker in her palm, me, and Tera Chad striking a side triceps pose in the distance.
A brief conflict flickered across her face. Then her eyes sharpened, as if she'd made up her mind.
"...Fine. I don't know why you're giving me this, but...."
The choker's black band wrapped around Yeom Hana's neck. As the clasp clicked shut, the gem pulsed brightly once.
"If it means I can protect people—I'll take the devil's hand!"
Huh? The mood got super dramatic all of a sudden. Was she that desperate to transform? I get it. The middle-school boy magical girl in Yi Gyu-rin's comic powered up huge after transforming.
Yeom Hana spread her legs shoulder-width apart. Right arm over left shoulder, left arm over right. She crossed her arms in front of her chest. Her red hair whipped wildly in the airflow, her blazing will igniting like flames.
And finally, the choker's gem began to glow red.
A bit tokusatsu show vibes. I think I saw something like this on TV last time.
Yeom Hana bellowed at the top of her lungs.
"Masked Warrior—transform!!"
The gem erupted with light. ……………
Masked Warrior?
I tilted my head without thinking at the words Yeom Hana had just shouted.
Masked Warrior. Masked Warrior... Sounds like it refers to an S-rank Awakener. Was Yeom Hana the Masked Warrior? Or did she admire him and want to transform into one?
Hold on. Before I swallowed and spat out Yeom Hana, I peeked into her memories, right? Let me think.
...Nothing's coming up.
Maybe it wasn't important info. Well, who cares about the past anyway? We're living in the present.
Right?
[...You really don't remember? It's that this Homo sapiens—]
Glasses-wearing Thought cautiously chimed in. Don't remember? What are you talking about? I perfectly remember that Yeom Hana's chest was huge and her face was gorgeous. My memory's excellent.
[......]
Glasses-wearing Thought gaped in disbelief, then huddled with the lab-coat-wearing Thought beside it, whispering.
Whispering like that in this crucial moment. I'll just ignore them.
Unlike Yeom Hana's expectations—sorry, but the armor I made isn't Masked Warrior gear. The gem spewed light and flames like an explosion, soon enveloping her body. As the light faded, the armor bloomed into existence.
Starting from the choker at her neck, red metal flowed along her collarbone to both shoulders. Neutronium crystallized into pauldrons, rivets and buckles clicking into place as it extended into vambraces up her forearms.
The gaps between plates at her chest, navel, and groin were filled with semi-transparent mesh. Neutronium fibers spun to extreme thinness. The lower body—mesh barely covered the essentials, leaving hips and thighs exposed. Plates resumed from greaves below the knees.
Ooh, majestic. Exposure level's pretty high, though. Still, the helicopter cameraman filming from the sky had his heart rate spike, so the design must be a hit.
"Yes! Masked Warrior transformation success—"
Yeom Hana's cheering cut off abruptly. Her head tilted downward, looking at her own body.
"—this isn't success!! What is this!?"
She crossed her arms over her chest and groin, hopping mad.
What else? It's Demon Suppressor gear. It means a human who subdues threats—demons, basically. A fantastic name I agonized over in bed forever to come up with. Once she grasps its profound meaning, she'll definitely shed tears of感動.
Too bad I can't tell her this awesome name.
"This isn't Masked Warrior—!"
Yeom Hana seemed like she had more to say, but couldn't find the words, her face turning even redder. After fidgeting and groping at the armor here and there for a while, she finally stomped her foot in frustration.
Boom.
Asphalt cracked around her foot like she'd stepped on pop rocks. Just a light stomp.
"...W-what? What is this power?"
She clenched and unclenched her fists a few times, and red waves like heat haze rippled over the Neutronium Suit's surface.
"Don't tell me... it's the suit?"
Of course it is. Who made it? Strength enhancement is basic.
...Hold on. That's weird. Why's she stronger? I didn't add that function. Neutronium boosts defense, so it's tough, sure.
Someone explain.
Function?
Physical Output = Wearer's Base Strength × Mental Coefficient
× (Multiplication)
The original 'that guy's' Masked Warrior suit had a fixed output cap from the armor specs. No matter the will, there was a ceiling!
But the Neutronium Suit factors in willpower via multiplication. Theoretically no upper limit. The only limit is the human brain burning out first.
Wow, impressive. No idea who 'that guy' is, but they made something way better than I ordered. I gave enthusiastic applause in my mental world.
Clap clap clap.
The lab-coat Thought grinned and scratched its head.
What? What was that last part?
Eh, whatever. It worked out fine, so let's call it good. The result is more perfect than I imagined. Cute, tough, and strong. Yeom Hana won't go dying on me anywhere now.
They nailed the job, so time to give them the next one. Make a magical girl brooch for Han Min-seo next.
[...Huh!?]
Why the surprise? Gotta repay the snack guy, and it'd suit Han Min-seo's looks perfectly as a magical girl transformation.
The Thoughts looked like they wanted to say more, but my attention was already back elsewhere.
To the showdown between Neutronium-suited Yeom Hana and Tera Chad.