Salvation and the Fallen Ones

The tentacles poked and toyed with her uterine core, as if they could shatter it at any moment.

"Save... me... pleeeease...."

Drool spilled from her mouth, blood streamed from her nose. Reason had fled, leaving only instinct as her body shuddered uncontrollably.

Her most precious part. The one thing that should never be touched. It was being defiled.

Please....

Kiiiiiik

Something was wrong with the ceiling. It trembled, emitting a bizarre screech.

Crack... craaaack...

Something was breaking, snapping.

Kwachik... craaaack...

The ceiling ripped open entirely. Starlight poured into the pitch-black basement.

Ah....

Cold wind pierced her skin. Anyone... please save me....

She gazed up with that faint hope, only to see Lumia Star standing there. The squad leader muttered darkly at the sight.

"Ha, that monster's one of a kind."

Beside Lumia stood the man she'd tried to kill. Han Siwoo.

Her sin, her crime, stood right before her eyes.

She wanted to beg anyone for salvation. Cling to their pant leg if she had to.

But the man she'd driven to death had appeared. The magical girl she'd mistaken for a Fallen One had appeared.

I....

Begging them for help felt too shameful.

She knew. She'd always known.

How dare I.

I shouldn't. No one should.

But it hurt too much.

This was hell.

The horrific tentacles blooming in her womb toyed with her most sacred core.

So....

Please.

"Save me...."

Her cracked voice barely escaped her lips before scattering into the room.

"Haha, save you? How amusing, Yuna. It's already too late for you."

She knew. If these tentacles crushed her core, it was all over.

Tears welled up.

"Ah...."

"Luna Pixie Yuna!"

Han Siwoo's voice echoed through the chamber.

Why.... Why come to save me? Why?

I....

It made no sense.

He must know.

It was all over the news—what I'd done. He couldn't not know.

I'd tried to kill him. Hell, you could say I'd actually killed him. I'd inflicted wounds that severe.

So how was he here? Could he really have come to rescue me?

A sliver of hope tangled with fear and guilt, her brain a muddled mess.

"Hnnngh... hnnngh...."

"I'll save you for sure. Hang in there! Don't break!"

He said he'd save her. He'd come to save her.

Me....

Me, who'd nearly killed him....

Tears overflowed. But she....

She couldn't even endure that. If only she'd held out a little longer.

If only she hadn't surrendered her precious core.... Ahhh....

She was too weak. She'd wanted to become a star.

Like the dazzling magical girls of her childhood dreams. But....

Even after claiming the title of 1st Rank magical girl, she hadn't shone. She'd only....

Crushed others just to shine herself.

Could someone like me... ever be a magical girl?

Unlike her, that man was different. He shone.

He'd come to save the woman who'd nearly killed him. And told her to endure.

Just like the magical girls she'd idolized long ago as a child.

He glowed brilliantly.

Ahhh....

He shone so brightly, unlike her—like stars embroidered across the night sky.

But she.... She'd already been defiled.

Gazing at that starlight, she finally understood.

She'd never become such a star, no matter how much she devoted her life. She....

"Hahahahaha, what an idiot! Truly an idiot, just like your old man!"

Serena Nightbloom burst into laughter. That laugh terrified her.

Her body shrank back, trembling. Serena smiled tenderly down at her.

"Stay here and watch, dear."

Serena hefted her sickle and strode forward. Ah....

"Looks like we can topple the Korean Association before Japan."

"Miss Lumia, so you're planning to rip the whole Heretic Inquisition Office out?"

Lumia's initial plan was simple: tear the entire facility apart.

"Even I think that's the most efficient strategy. We've already issued evacuation orders for the area."

It felt overwhelming somehow—the scale was just too massive.

"You sure you're okay? You haven't fully recovered yet...."

Even so, she wasn't completely healed. He worried she was pushing too hard.

"Would I put my most beloved Siwoo in danger?"

She rushed into his arms, hugging him tight.

"Siwoo's fully charged me up, so now I'm invincible."

With that, she floated into the sky. Like a brilliant star in the night, Lumia began wrenching the Heretic Inquisition Office free.

"My God...."

Even Yumi Young, who'd watched Lumia's exploits for years, had never seen anything like this. It was beyond specs—that phrase fit perfectly.

The spectacle of the building being torn away left her speechless, staring in awe.

"Want to go up and see for yourself?"

"Huh? Is that okay?"

"I'll protect you. Looks safer next to Lumia than on the ground anyway."

"Yeah, thanks."

The massive structure, church-sized, was yanked free, exposing the basement entirely.

"My God...."

Dozens of rooms laid bare in the basement. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠And crammed inside them....

Horrific dimensional monsters.

"Urk...."

"Myohwa Serin, you okay?"

Myohwa Serin, holding him aloft, retched dryly.

"I'm sorry, Master. Thinking I lived above a place like that...."

It was horrific. Imagining those abominations crawling around beneath her workplace.... No wonder she was heaving.

Magical girls emerged from amid the tentacles.

"My God... are those Fallen Ones?"

One, two, three.... Crazy, how many were there?

Distracted by the surrounding magical girls, Serena Nightbloom swung her sickle through the air.

The whisper echoed in his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mind, sending ripples ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠through space that spread outward. Then.

The sky sealed shut. No—darkness engulfed it.

Everything around them drowned in darkness.

"This is a closed barrier. Made to prevent Fallen Ones from escaping...."

"It's okay, calm down, Myohwa Serin."

He caught a faint trace of fear in her voice.

"It's fine."

That's what he said, but dozens of magical girls surrounded them.

"Lumia, can you break this barrier?"

"No, but if I could land one hit on that squad leader, I might crack it... but right now...."

"Myohwa Serin, got info on those girls?"

"Mostly 2nd to 3rd Rank. But...."

The numbers were insane. Roughly over twenty, by his estimate.

Even Lumia would struggle. Linked attacks from dozens of magical girls could overwhelm a 1st Rank.

"I never imagined so many Fallen Ones.... I'm sorry. My oversight."

"No, it's fine, really. Deep breaths."

Myohwa Serin looked uneasy. He soothed her as best he could, turning his gaze to the encircling magical girls.

"You got this, Miss Lumia?"

"Just believe in me."

Her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠voice trembled slightly despite the words. It was a dire situation.

Having to fight that many foes while carrying dead weight like him?

Whew.

He scanned the surroundings.

....

The status windows went on endlessly.

Every magical girl around him had utterly dismal stats. Not even remotely human.

"Squad Leader Serena, all this your doing?"

The squad leader stared at them blankly, sickle in hand—clearly fallen herself.

What the hell? It was so glitched he could barely read it. A new system window appeared before him.

What?

The system's revelation was shocking.

Fallen without a master? Was that even possible?

And....

He could become their master?

Perfect.

All 31 Fallen Ones turned to him. They stared entranced, drooling.