The Proud Magical Girl Becomes the Mad Scientist's Target (1)
[Well, that's how it ended up with me being tied up in the bathroom and abandoned.]
“Wow... That must have been a disaster, unnie. So what happened?”
[I managed to escape somehow before people came. I never thought I'd experience something straight out of a lewd manga with my own body.]
“Do you watch those too?”
[Uh... Don't girls watch that kind of stuff?]
“Eek, no, that's... Well. No, more than that, you sound like you're not a girl, unnie?”
[.......]
“Unnie?”
[No, nothing. Haha. Hahaha. Right. I'm a girl. A girl. A female. Yeah!]
“You're acting weird....”
[Ah, anyway! Yura, if you ever run into that trash Lupin wearing a mask, make sure to contact me. I'll fly over right away no matter where you are. Got it!]
“Yes, I understand. But your voice sounds bright for someone who went through something so harsh?”
[That guy left behind the Witch Girl goods he promised after abandoning me like that. He said it was a gift! Maybe he's not such a bad guy after all! Though I won't forgive him!]
[.......]
[Anyway, that's roughly what happened. More importantly, be careful too, Yura. Whether it's Lupin or other dangerous guys, you never know when or where they'll pop up.]
“Thanks for worrying, but I'm fine, unnie. Those monsters are no big deal.”
[Even though you got caught last time. Brainwashed by Peter too.]
“That was just because the situation was bad. Now I'm completely invincible. I won't lose no matter what. Bring it on, you pathetic monsters. I won't lose to the likes of you.”
[Well, okay, got it....]
“Yes, then I'll hang up now.”
[Ah, by the way.]
“Yes?”
[...You really don't watch lewd stuff?]
[.......]
[No, Witch Girl is 19+ to begin with. More than that, for your chest to get that big, isn't it because of all the female hormones? You do a lot of lewd things usually, right? Ah, or maybe you have tons of boyfriends――]
“......I'm hanging up.”
* * *
Click. After hanging up, Yura let out a sigh.
Good grief, how embarrassing to ask something like that.
......Though she did watch that sort of thing every once in a while....
And she'd never had a boyfriend either.
“...Haa.......”
It wasn't as if she'd never received confessions, but whenever she considered actually dating someone, nothing ever felt right.
Something was always missing.
In the end, despite being a bright, fresh-faced college student, she had no boyfriend and spent every day either attending lectures, writing reports, or hunting monsters. She went out with friends sometimes, but still.
It felt like a waste in more ways than one.
Of course, nothing paid tuition and living expenses better than this....
“M-Magical girl...!”
Thud!
Crack!
“Ghh......!”
The tip of a heavy club pressed down on the trembling hand of the monster sprawled at Yura's feet. The sensation of bones shattering rather than merely breaking made the grotesque creature groan in agony.
Every other monster that had been here had already been reduced to ash by Yura alone. Only this one remained.
“Honestly, dealing with trash like this every single day... Is this really how my life is supposed to be? Hm? What do you think? Care to share your opinion?”
Yura spoke as if lamenting, then kicked the monster whose hand had been crushed, flipping it over. She drove the tip of her thick heel straight into its groin.
The monster's limbs were already broken, leaving it unable to resist or fight back.
“Khh...! Hahk... S-Spare...!”
“Aha, haha, hahaha, ahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Does it hurt? Does it hurt? Are you suffering? Hehe, ahaha!”
Yura laughed like a witch.
The monster groaned in pain, but Yura only tormented it further, testing how much more agony she could inflict. A sadistic smile, like that of a dokkaebi, spread across her beautiful face that carried an alluring, otherworldly charm.
It was fun.
She was enjoying herself.
Crushing pathetic, worthless monsters and watching them crawl on the ground while she tormented them sent shivers down her spine far more than any ordinary boyfriend ever could.
She wished stronger, easier-to-break monsters would show up.
She wanted to see them groveling on the ground in even more miserable fashion.
She wanted to see even more pathetic displays.
She wanted to hear even more desperate screams.
“Haa... This is why I can't quit being a magical girl....”
Crunch!
Finally, Yura swung her jet-black iron club and smashed the monster's head in.
The corpse quickly turned to ash and vanished.
* * *
The next morning.
P University, lecture hall.
“~♪”
“Huh, Yura seems to be in a good mood.”
“Yeah... My part-time job's going well, so I'm feeling great.”
Yura beamed at her close friend's words. She couldn't stop smiling.
Thanks to wiping out all those monsters last night, she'd earned a huge bonus in points. Maybe she'd go shopping this weekend? She wondered if the new Witch Girl Lemon Yellow merchandise had arrived yet~.
“What kind of part-time job is it anyway? You never tell me anything. Come on, spill it~.”
“Ahahaha....”
Yura dodged the question with an awkward laugh.
Being a magical girl at her age wasn't something she could casually talk about in public.
Of course, revealing she was a magical girl could make her a target even in her private life, so it had to stay secret.
When transformed, subtle details like her hair color changed, and an automatic Perception Interference spell kept her safe unless she deliberately exposed herself.
However.
Because Yura was so secretive about her part-time job.
Because she usually worked late at night.
Because she often looked extremely tired in the mornings.
Because she sometimes muttered things like “Last night was intense...” to herself.
Because she'd been radiating an especially seductive aura lately.
All these factors had led her friends and classmates to assume she was doing some “unmentionable part-time job” (like compensated dating or working at a shady establishment). Yura herself had no idea they thought that.
Class began, and Yura spent another ordinary day as usual.
Monsters mostly appeared at night, and magical girl work wasn't mandatory (unlike for Kei or Alpha), so it didn't interfere with her daytime routine.
A boringly normal, fresh, and lively college student's daily life.
Yura jotted down lecture notes, twirling her pen between her fingers.
‘...It's not enough.’
Just moments ago she'd been savoring the afterglow of last night's violence, but the moment she returned to this everyday feeling, that pleasant mood sank instantly.
Of course, daily life was nice.
Peace was nice too.
But still, it wasn't enough.
She was frustrated.
‘I want to find more worthless trash and crush them.’
She wanted to torment them more.
She wanted to hear them cry more.
More, more, more, more...!
The male student sitting one seat over flinched when he saw Yura.
He'd been completely captivated by the seductive smile she'd unconsciously worn.
Yura's dull routine still passed in the blink of an eye.
* * *
“The research facility is suspicious?”
“Yeah. Seems like there's been quite a bit of talk lately.”
Lunchtime. While grabbing a quick meal at the campus cafeteria, a fresh topic of conversation came up.
Rumor had it that one of the research facilities at P University, where Yura attended, was highly suspicious.
“You mean that physics lab? The big one right in front of the main gate.”
“Exactly. Built at such an odd time, way out in the suburbs. Our physics department doesn't even have that many people, no particularly notable achievements, and no rich alumni, yet it's unnecessarily huge....”
According to her friend, faint sounds like women's screams could sometimes be heard near the facility at night.
“My friend's cousin's younger sibling lives on the floor above our dorm. Last night, their roommate supposedly wandered out like they were possessed. They didn't respond when spoken to, so they followed and saw them heading into that research facility.”
“What about the person who followed?”
“They got dragged in too! They're still missing! They obviously couldn't leave any witnesses behind!”
“......If they were captured, how did the rumor spread?”
“Who knows?”
“......”
“.....Maybe they appeared as a ghost?”
Yura decided to focus on the stone pot bibimbap in front of her again.
“No no no no. There are holes in the story, sure, but where there's smoke, there's fire, right?! Just listen properly~~~~!”
“It's way too full of holes....”
Her friend looked ready to cry, upset that Yura wasn't taking her seriously.
“Ah! And and! Someone said they saw what looked like Mekrak monsters going in and out of the facility at night!”
Yura's eyebrows twitched.
“......Can you tell me more about that?”
Thinking Yura was finally listening, her friend launched into an excited explanation.
Yura wore a meaningful smile as she listened, a sadistic gleam of anticipation lighting up her eyes.
* * *
“Hmm....”
The newly built physics research facility at P University.
Constructed at such an odd time, completed in less than a month, and with zero regular students ever having entered it... The place was so suspicious that all sorts of rumors circulated among the students.
Late at night, under the moonlight.
Yura stood right in front of the dubious facility.
She had already transformed. She wore her usual Dokkaebi Costume, a horn on her forehead, and dragged a vicious, thorn-covered black club in one hand. The short traditional-style outfit in white and black suited her well.
“I wasn't paying much attention before, but seeing it up close, it reeks of suspicion....”
Yura muttered as she glanced around the facility.
“Are you really going in?”
“Yes. I can't sit still when it's this itchy.”
“I've suspected this place for a while. There were monster reactions too, so it's definitely a Mekrak-related stronghold. But without knowing the scale, infiltrating alone seems dangerous....”
Floating beside her was a cute cow-doll-like fairy. Proving she was Cookie's counterpart, her name was Biscuit.
“I'll only be investigating, so it should be fine, Fairy.”
“Well, if you say so, then I suppose there's no helping it. I'll leave it to you. Run away if it looks dangerous.”
“Yes, Fairy.”
Yura spun the club in her hand and leaped over the several-meter-high wall in a single bound.
A superhuman jump powered by her high-level Magic Control.
Her body rode the wind and landed softly inside the facility grounds. Even while carrying the heavy club, she made no sound at all, like a legendary grim reaper or dokkaebi.
Staying alert to avoid detection or security cameras, Yura moved forward.
‘Hehe, I wonder how this will go.’
She'd said she was only investigating, but she had no intention of stopping there.
Even if it was just a rumor, if people were being kidnapped... she couldn't just leave it alone.
As a magical girl, she was somewhat aware that someone with power like hers should do something for powerless civilians.
‘Well, that's not the only reason.’
If this really was a monster stronghold.
And if they were hiding something.
If she could thoroughly destroy it right in front of them and make sure it could never be rebuilt, what kind of expression would they make?
Just thinking about it sent shivers of excitement through her, and she couldn't hold back.
“Hmm... I wonder how this will go. I hope there's enough to enjoy....”
Yura stayed on high alert as she began her infiltration, a faint smile on her lips.
* * *
Meanwhile, in one of the facility's rooms.
“Huh...? What's that sound?”
“Ah... Hmm. It's an alarm. Looks like the nanobots we scattered around the grounds detected an intruder.”
“Hotho. What's this, what's this? It only rang for a second, but I get the feeling something fun is about to happen!”
A seductive soprano voice, a raspy elderly voice, and a lively clown-like voice alternated.
Yura didn't know it, but the surveillance network built with Mekrak technology had already clearly detected her intrusion.
“Hmm... This outfit, this magic signature... Looks like a magical girl.”
The facility's director and person in charge, “Doctor,” scratched his thinning hair in annoyance.
A female silhouette approached and peeked at the surveillance footage over the Doctor's shoulder.
“Oh my, is that Yura?”
“You know her?”
“Yeah! Very well, I'd say. She's such a proud, cute girl. It's been a while~.”
“Keh keh keh. Excellent, excellent.”
“What, getting excited in your old age? More importantly, what are we doing? Since she's here, want some help? No, you don't even need to say it, you're going out. You want to play with Yura~.”
“This old man is still active duty over there. Do as you like if you want to play. However, if you capture the magical girl, hand her over to me as research material.”
“Ehhhh.”
“Hotho. I don't mind either way. I can still have a little fun, right?”
The Doctor nodded, saying that much was fine.
“Well then, this old man will teach that arrogant magical girl a lesson or two... Keh keh keh.”
The Doctor chuckled darkly and began operating the facility controls through the panel.
One of the Mekrak executives.
A legendary mad scientist said to have brought Mekrak's science, which far surpassed Earth's, to this level.
Under the gaze of this mad scientist brimming with endless curiosity and malice, Yura on the screen shivered with an inexplicable chill.
