Cut Marks (10)
Cut Marks (10)
Two lights burst forth as if detonating. A pure, flawless beam and a murky, dingy radiance shoved against each other.
“What are you doing?!”
“Wow, seriously....”
The light swiftly drew back into its sources and coalesced into distinct forms. Fluttering fabric and solid armor.
From within the shimmering corona of light, a girl sprang forth with confidence.
“In the name of the stars, the Hammer of Light upon you!”
She was pure white. A white dress wrapped in a white cape. A large white butterfly-shaped ribbon at the center, decorated with a diamond-like gem. Even the knee-length skirt was filled with something akin to cotton, giving it a warm appearance. Her hair, the same color and with a slight curl, billowed in the air. It felt like looking at a white Santa Claus.
“White Dabih has arrived! Ta-da!”
Within the smoke, another figure was revealed.
“Today as well, so that my dress may become an akai dress... oh?”
“I see. I look forward to it as well.”
A striking armor of intermingled red and blue planes. A chaotic appearance reminiscent of a Mondrian artwork. The being notorious among magical girls, second only to Virgo....
“Yabe. We’re fucked.”
The Scutum monster, Scutum. Commonly called Contradiction.
White Dabih broke into a cold sweat and waved her hand. A horn-trumpet materialized in the empty air. Swinging it like a blunt weapon, she struck Contradiction.
Smack!
A crisp sound reverberated through the venue.
-Kyaaak!
A commotion erupted right after.
“Mm... that hurts. Quite impressive.”
“Eh?! That half-and-half chicken was the guy from before?! Yabe~! I think we’re fucked!”
Contradiction laughed heartily, as if amused.
“Did you charge in without knowing who it was?”
“Ehtto... if it’s a monster bastard, you gotta smash first, right...? Can we undo?”
“Impossible. Since the fight has already started, I have no intention of avoiding it.”
An identical horn-trumpet appeared in Contradiction’s hand.
“Do not be too uneasy. If a reasonable possibility is observed, you may keep your life.”
“That’s not comforting at all, you know?! Aaack!”
Smack!
Contradiction immediately reproduced the attack just received. Struck by the horn-trumpet, White Dabih flew across the shop interior, shattered a window, and was hurled outside.
“Not a particularly good weapon. As expected, using it outside its original purpose....”
A sharp arrow flew at Contradiction, who was examining the horn-trumpet. Quickly deflecting it upward, Contradiction stepped back slightly.
“Don’t ignore me.”
It was Orange Altair. She had launched the arrow in the brief gap in visibility created when White Dabih was sent flying.
A bow rested in her hand. A bow resembling an eagle. She drew the bowstring again, and an arrow of light nocked itself upon it.
“Red Vega, evacuate the customers. That idiot White will find her way back fine on her own.”
She issued instructions with natural ease. Baek A-hee, like the others, hurriedly began her transformation.
“Ah, yes! Dress Up!”
In tandem, Yoon Seol-hwa moved as well.
“I can’t live like this... Jae-jung, don’t leave my side!”
Yoon Seol-hwa immediately snatched the mascot flying nearby. The husky-doll-shaped mascot transformed into a ribbon in the blink of an eye, and starlight adorned her.
“Dress Up.”
[Dress up your star!]
Two more magical girls made their entrance. Crimson flames and blue ice set the air vibrating fiercely.
“Gah, Senpai?”
“Sirius-unnie?! Why are you here...?”
“That’s not important right now.”
The senior, having heaved a deep sigh, soon swept the surroundings with cold pupils. People fleeing in panic and Contradiction, who maintained a leisurely attitude. Fortunately, Han Jae-jung was behind her.
What must be prioritized above all else was Han Jae-jung’s life. This was a given.
‘While those kids draw Contradiction’s attention, I’ll evacuate Jae-jung to a safe place....’
Yoon Seol-hwa felt a gaze upon her.
“...Ah.”
The past came flooding back. An incident several years ago now, yet one she could never forget.
She had prioritized rescuing her lover. She recalled the moment when everything began to go awry, starting from that single reason.
Yoon Seol-hwa looked at Han Jae-jung once more. He was also looking at her. It was the same direction of gaze, but not the same expression. When their eyes met, Han Jae-jung smiled kindly.
She bit her trembling, anxious lip and murmured quietly.
“...Not today.”
She would not do that today.
A snowstorm raged.
“Red Vega! As Altair said, evacuate the civilians first! Altair, fall back to the rear and snipe! While you’re at it, tell Dabih to handle herself! And I....”
She stepped lightly down onto the floor. From that spot, a terrifying cold surged upward.
“I’ll face that one.”
Kwaaaaang!
A pillar of ice shot up. The ice pillar lightly lifted Contradiction and carried them upward. Breaking through the shop’s roof and walls, up, and further up.
She would not repeat the mistakes of the past. Her mistake then had been because she was weak. So weak that she had to set an order when protecting someone.
If something to protect is near, simply blast it so far away it can’t even be harmed. If there is something doing the harming, simply kill it before it can ever harm anyone.
“Jae-jung, stay somewhere safe. I’ll come find you. Okay?”
After waving to Han Jae-jung, Blue Sirius climbed the newly formed ice pillar.
“Wow....”
Her firepower was certainly among the very best even among magical girls. Han Jae-jung let out an exclamation of admiration at the ice tower, a size that easily surpassed most buildings.
“Everyone, this way! Quickly!”
Red Vega guided the evacuation according to Blue Sirius’s orders. As Han Jae-jung tried to naturally blend into the crowd of citizens rushing out and exit the shop, he was grabbed by the back of the neck.
“Oof.”
“Hello, Jae-jung.”
“Ah, yeah.”
“...A date?”
“Something like that....”
“Hmm....”
Red Vega scrutinized Han Jae-jung as if appraising him.
“You’ve dressed up nicely... Mm, pass.”
“What is?”
“If it’s a date with Sirius-unnie, you need to be at least this well-dressed. There, there, get going.”
She nudged his backside with her hand, like someone shooing along a horse or a cow.
“Ah, what are you doing.”
“What, it’s better than getting kicked in the shin, isn’t it?”
When Han Jae-jung grimaced, she brought out her signature move as she always did, effectively shutting him up. As he shot her a disgruntled look, Red Vega winked at him with a laugh.
“Like a comet into your heart! I’ll protect you, so evacuate without worry!”
“Thanks for the fan service.”
“You really do need to evacuate!”
She urged him in a much calmer voice.
“...I don’t want to deal with more than one monster in a single day.”
After briefly surveying the crowd of citizens spread out before her, she floated upward. Amidst the echoing screams and the confusion that covered the city, the light that tore the sky brought a sense of stability to their hearts.
“Everyone, please remain calm! The monster has been moved far away! Blue Sirius is engaging it! Please evacuate quickly to the nearest underground shelter....”
Red Vega expertly directed people and guided a safe evacuation to prevent unnecessary injuries from the crowd getting tangled up.
Orange Altair, who had been in the shop moments ago, had already moved atop a building and was glaring fiercely at a single spot.
And White Dabih was....
“Ueeck! Kimoi... that thing actually copied my ability...! It feels disgusting! I definitely can’t forgive this!”
She was brushing off debris, having apparently been slammed into a corner of a building. Perhaps because he stared too openly, Han Jae-jung suddenly found himself meeting her eyes.
“Eh.”
White Dabih’s eyes went wide with surprise.
“Hmm... someone I’ve seen a lot before... Ah, this is not the time!”
White Dabih slapped her own cheeks a couple of times. The cheeks turned red. Soon, a voice tinged with disappointment burst out.
“I thought it was just a monster in disguise... I didn’t think something like that would show up... Yabe... maji yabai... I’m definitely gonna get a written reprimand later....”
She grabbed her horn-trumpet and put her lips to its end.
Bwoooooo─! A trumpet sound, as if heralding war, spread far and wide. The sound of an instrument blaring amid screams. It shook the air and, for a moment, covered the world in its single note.
“But the mess I made, I have to clean it up myself! Death to monster bastards! Minagoroshi!”
After the air shook, the ground shook. A tremor like a great army beginning its march. The vibration originated from beneath the earth.
Crash! The ground where White Dabih stood shattered, and a massive beast, presumably a monster, emerged from below. She naturally climbed onto the monster’s back and shouted.
“Ora!!! Ikuzo!!!!”
The beast monster charged forward. Following it, multiple monsters began emerging from underground. They were mostly skeletal soldiers, small like children.
“It really is no different from the original.”
White Dabih was Han Jae-jung’s most beloved character when he read the webtoon. Her unique speech and adorable appearance had been enough to capture his heart. But that’s only a good thing when enjoyed in fiction.
‘Charging at any monster without a plan... that’s a bit much after all.’
If she had just stayed quiet, this whole incident might not even have started.
His moment of reflection was brief. Another massive explosion erupted from the top of the ice tower. By now, a fierce battle must be raging up there. Someone might even die any moment. It would be best if the fatality was a monster, but such luck was rarely easy to come by.
In that instant, he felt a giant shadow pass over his head. It wasn’t a cloud. As if spellbound, Han Jae-jung looked up.
A giant bird was flying. Han Jae-jung knew what it was.
The Aquila monster, Aquila.
“Sorry, A-hee, Seol-hwa.”
Just as magical girls have their duty, Han Jae-jung also has a duty.
Contradiction was a considerably tricky enemy. And now one more enemy had been added to the mix.
There was nowhere any reason for him, someone who protects magical girls, not to step forward.
“I’ll just go right now... huh?”
He spotted a human figure clutched in the feet of the currently flying monster. Han Jae-jung narrowed his eyes and scrutinized the figure more closely. Familiar clothes. No doubt about it. It was the outfit he had seen as she left the house this morning.
“...Ah-yoon?”
Jo Ah-yoon was captured.
Han Jae-jung felt the blood in his body run cold.
**
“What the fuck is this....”
Jo Ah-yoon did her absolute best not to look down. She had always looked at the world from a low gaze, but now, uncharacteristically, she was looking at it from a high gaze. It would have been great if it had only risen by a few centimeters, but the problem was it had risen by a few hundred meters.
“Down! P-put me down! Fuck! No, don’t put me down! Put me down somewhere safe!”
She had definitely just stepped out to look at a real estate listing. In the middle of that, a giant bird had suddenly snatched her up and flown into the sky.
It felt like a bolt from the blue. A sudden kidnapping.
“What the fuck is going on!!! Help me!!!”
She squeezed her eyes shut and screamed at the top of her lungs, but at this height, she doubted her voice would even carry properly.
By now, the oxygen was getting thin. The unique cold temperature of high places and the low oxygen level pressed in on her.
That was when it happened.
Boom! The bird’s wings beat large, and the shock was transmitted all the way to Jo Ah-yoon’s back.
“Aaack!”
Something had landed on this monster’s back. It wasn’t difficult to guess as much.
The identity of that something was lightning.
White streaks lashed through the sky. Sharp lightning flashed again and again across the heavens. The flickering repeated.
Truly, a bolt had come from the clear blue sky.