Who Dares Bully Our Little Chick?
Who dares bully our little chick? "There are too many, nyang…!" Crack!Crunch—crunch crunch!
Monsters kept pouring out of the rift. And everything was swallowed up by the shadows. The whole process repeated itself.
"Nyang… At this rate, I'll get a stomachache tomorrow, nyang…."
Her predation ability had its limits. A mascot's power grew alongside their contracted magical girl. Since the previous contractor had been a pretty talented magical girl, it was still holding up fine.
But.
"…Why isn't the rift shrinking, nyang?"
She'd devoured hundreds already. Normally, the rift should have been gradually closing by now, but for some reason, its size stayed the same.
…No. It even seemed to be growing.
—No way?
An uneasy premonition flashed through her mind at the sight. But she quickly shoved it aside. Now wasn't the time to worry about that.
"When are the Association magical girls getting here, nyang?! We're all gonna die at this rate, nyang!"
Boom! Speak of the tiger, and he appears.
"We're here for backup!"
"Everyone, prioritize evacuating the civilians!"
"…What the hell are these black things?!"
The rear grew noisy. Glancing back, Association magical girls had arrived right on time. Since it was a 2nd Grade rift, there were quite a few high-level ones.
The magical girls prioritized the civilians who hadn't evacuated due to injuries. And they started taking down the monsters emerging from the rift one by one.
Watching them, she finally let out a sigh of relief.
"…That should be enough, nyang."
Not the most satisfying response, but.
—Or so she thought, sharing a sentiment eerily similar to her owner's.
At that moment.
Craaaack—!!
The rift was shattering. There was no other way to describe it. Or you could say another rift had formed over the existing one.
"…What the…?!"
"A double rift?!"
"Contact the Association quick! We need more backup—"
The magical girls panicked. But they stayed relatively calm beyond that.
…Guess they had some experience after all, nyang.
"So it was a double rift after all, nyang. …Size looks the same, and thankfully not a 1st Grade one, nyang."
Double rifts were extremely rare. A new rift overlaying an existing one—a very uncommon case. The original rift sealed shut with the new one's appearance.
That sounded fine so far. But usually, the new rift that followed was higher ranked than the original.
If it was the same rank like this time—
"…Normally just one comes out, nyang."
And it was always a very powerful single entity.
Shatter—!
Finally, the rift fully shattered. The door had opened.
At the same time, incredibly thick demonic energy poured out from within.
…
Thud.
Something was emerging from the rift.
Over two meters tall, standing on two legs like a human. A grotesque black figure with a face and hands shaped like blades.
—Kik?
The creature that had entered this world tilted its head. Sensing novel sensations throughout its body, it turned its gaze.
Far off, it spotted the magical girls watching it warily.
…Fear was written on all their faces.
Monsters operated on instinct alone. Slaughtering such beings mercilessly was their given purpose.
Tap.
In an instant. It closed the distance to right in front of them in one step. And swung.
Its arm.
Indifferently. Ruthlessly.
Slash—!
It simply swung and sliced. At the same time, the buildings beyond them were bisected horizontally and collapsed.
—Kiik…?
The monster tilted its head again. It felt like slicing through water.
Only black shadows remained where the magical girls had stood.
—Kiik….
It quickly shook off the disappointment. It still sensed human presences nearby.
Swish— It turned its head toward a half-destroyed building.
…
Inside the shadow the monster had passed through.
—Thud!
"…Nyang. Owner… once this is over, we'll all get rewarded, nyang…!"
She'd squeezed out every last bit of power to evacuate them to safety. She couldn't use her abilities anymore.
But monsters still remained. And that kid was still back there too.
"Hurry… come already, nyang… Owner, nyang…."
Only the urgent ring of a cellphone echoed through the shadow.
The rift that appeared out of nowhere was being cleared surprisingly easily.
Something unknown was devouring the monsters. And other magical girls from the Association had joined in.
"Judging by the mana… that shadow seems like magic too."
Was some other magical girl secretly helping out?
…No idea.
"Hanbyeol, let's go too."
"…No. You go first, unnie. I'll stay here."
The cafe's front entrance was blocked by the earlier earthquake. Now that it had stopped, all the other customers had evacuated through the back door once the magical girls arrived.
Now it was just Sua unnie and me left.
"…You don't have to stay here, do you?"
"I'm a magical girl too."
Earlier, I'd just dithered like an idiot. Worried I'd die if I stepped up. Feeling pathetic as a half-baked magical girl without a mascot—what could I even do?
"…I wanted to become a magical girl to save people like that…."
Back in my childhood. My parents dying helplessly before my eyes to a monster. I never wanted to see that scene again.
Watching the magical girl who saved me, left all alone. I wanted to become a cool magical girl like her too.
This inaction… wasn't magical girl-like at all.
"I need to act like a magical girl now, at least."
…I didn't even have an official license yet. But the heart mattered most, right?
I wanted to help the other magical girls outside evacuate the remaining civilians.
"Don't worry about me, unnie. And if I mess up, it's not your fault."
"……."
"Go on, unnie."
"…Sorry, Hanbyeol."
Saying that, unnie left through the back door. And for some reason, she apologized to me.
…Maybe for not staying with me.
"Anyway, I'll go out and help with the evacua—"
I froze.
Something was off. The sounds of fighting outside had vanished.
At the same time, the demonic energy grew even thicker.
—Slash!
Kaboom!
A chilling whoosh rang out. Through the window, I saw several buildings collapsing.
"What the…."
Someone was standing there.
…No. That was probably a monster.
"What kind of demonic energy is that…!"
Where did the other magical girls go? I looked around, but aside from the monster, no one was there.
Only black wisps rose from the ground.
Swish—
"……!!"
My eyes met the monster's.
What now? My head couldn't keep up with the sudden situation.
"If I stay here, I'm dead."
My instincts screamed. With them, I bolted for the back door.
—Slash.
I sensed something eerie and twisted my body aside.
Scraaaape!
The back door I'd been heading for was neatly sliced. The whole building split in half.
Looking back, the monster was already right in front of me.
—Kik?
A grotesquely bizarre voice.
Crunch!
"…Ngh!"
It raised its arm and smashed down. I rolled aside to dodge again.
Instinct-driven monsters had honest emotions leaking out. That's how I barely predicted and evaded its attack path….
—Kiikikik?
"…Cough!"
My breath caught. Up close, I was fully exposed to its thick demonic energy.
For a low-level girl like me without transformation purification, it was pure poison.
My vision blurred gradually, sensation leaving my legs.
"…Wh-what do I do? L-like this…."
—Kikikikikik.
Was it mocking me? The monster raised its arm.
"M-move…! Please…!"
But cruelly, my body wouldn't obey anymore.
…This one's impossible to dodge.
I squeezed my eyes shut. Bracing for the horrific pain to come.
…
"…Hey."
—Kik?
—Boom!
Wind whipped up. Something crashed far away.
"Who dares bully our little chick, you bastard."
"……?"
A familiar voice. I struggled to lift my heavy eyelids.
…A familiar figure. The black hoodie-clad back was someone I knew.
"Seol-hyun unnie?"
"……."
"…Seol-hyun sunbaenim?"
"Yeah. It's me."
Sunbaenim grinned and patted my head. That leisure put me so at ease.
"…Looks like you're still not quite ready to awaken yet."
Sunbaenim muttered something. …Too quietly to hear.
"…Anyway! Your condition's bad from the demonic energy, so rest up."
"Th-thank you…."
"Nureong-i. Can you watch her for a bit?"
"Mwoof!"
Poof! A puppy appeared out of thin air. Adorably cute.
It trotted over, licking my cheek as I lay collapsed.
"…This kid."
Breathing got easier. The murky energy in my body was being purged.
"A mascot…? No, but… how can a mascot affect someone other than their contractor…."
Questions swirled. But before they cleared, a warm energy filled me.
Drowsiness hit hard.
"Seol-hyun sun, baenim…."
"Sleep easy, junior. It'll be over quick."
"…Yesss."
…For a moment, I thought of my parents. Sunbaenim kept stroking my head. Until I fell asleep. Until the kid could rest assured. …Until she wouldn't have to witness the one-sided, brutal beatdown ahead.