Seeing the floor collapse, Shiquier rushed straight into the swirling dust and rained blows down on the Gorilla Monster who was trying to crawl out.
She made full use of the Combat Theory of Striking the Weak, and with the power of the Squid-Gorilla Power Gauntlets, those wild, uncoordinated punches managed to beat the Gorilla Monster beneath the rubble until he couldn’t get up, all the way until…
Unconsciousness.
“Uncle, stop! He’s already out cold!”
It wasn’t until Fran advised her that Shiquier finally stopped her mechanical swinging, not even realizing what she was doing, as if she had entered a state of “no-self” in martial arts.
In reality, it was just an overreaction from being too tense.
Whew, did I win?
Victory was a rather unfamiliar word to a small fry monster like Shiquier.
Even with the facts right in front of her, she still couldn’t believe it, staring blankly at the tentacled gauntlets on her hands and the Gorilla Monster sprawled on the ground in an X-eyed daze.
I survived.
Yet compared to the joy of victory, what she felt even more was the relief of surviving a disaster…
A squad of muscle-bound men rushed into the collapsed Reconstruction Ward.
“Security Division on the scene.”
Only then did Fuerte, head of the Security Division, lead his team in, suppressing the rampaging monsters fleeing the ward. They were like police in movies and TV dramas—always a beat too late.
“You guys are way too slow! And the toughest one’s already been dealt with!”
Fran was still stomping her foot, hands on her hips, complaining to the bald, muscle-bound robot division head, even speculating with a hint of malice:
“Wait, could it be the Technical Division is deliberately stalling?”
Those muscleman-style security robots were all “Products” of the Technical Division, so the Security Division was basically a subordinate department.
Fuerte rubbed his egg-like bald head and explained with some innocence:
“Doctor Fran, we got here a while ago, but we had to clear the other sectors first, right?”
Though he said that, apart from the area where Shiquier and Fran were, the other sectors were in pretty decent shape, and the damage wasn’t nearly as bad.
There weren’t many monsters undergoing reconstruction, and not all of them were as tough and strong as the Gorilla Monster. The security robots could still handle the others.
Next up was cleaning up the scene.
“So, it’s all over now, right?”
Shiquier sat in the Rest Room inside the safe house, holding an ice pack to the bruise on her face.
The Gorilla Monster’s huge paws had left her little face swollen, and now that she’d relaxed, the pain was almost unbearable. She could even see purplish bruises on her body.
After such an intense fight, it was only natural to feel drained and exhausted, and she slumped in her chair, with no intention of moving at all, just like an overworked office worker coming home after a long day…
“Hiss!”
Shiquier let out a pained groan.
“You girl, don’t you have any feminine gentleness?”
“Sorry, I’m not very good at controlling my strength.”
Fran, sitting next to Shiquier with a Medical Kit on her lap, was using tweezers to apply medicine to her wounds.
The two of them were sitting very close, close enough to smell the sweat from their exertions.
Without her lab coat, Fran’s upper body was rather revealing.
Her cool, short-sleeved shirt was tied up under her chest, exposing her slim waist and belly. Through the two undone buttons at her collar, Shiquier could even see the round fullness beneath…
The stimulation from all sides was a bit much. Fran noticed Shiquier’s gaze but didn’t care.
She just said, “But Uncle~ you were really cool just now!”
“C-cool? I was just fighting for my life, that’s all.”
Shiquier wasn’t used to being praised, nor could she accept it calmly. She could only respond with embarrassment, being modest to cover up the fact that she really had tried to look cool.
But Fran persisted.
“Really! The way you stood in front of me looked just like a real Hero!”
In a way, that was exactly the ideal Hero Shiquier had always imagined.
A Hero from a comic book, the protagonist of the story she wanted to create…
She even wanted to go home and start writing now, inspiration flooding out like a broken dam.
“It wasn’t as amazing as you make it sound. At most, it was just a Hero imitation act. I was scared to death just now—thinking back, I can’t stop trembling… hiss!”
The metal part of the tweezers touched her bruise again, making Shiquier suck in a cold breath.
“I don’t think it was an act! I’m almost falling for you, Uncle!”
Faced with Fran’s half-joking words, Shiquier just gave a bitter, self-deprecating smile.
“Come on, I’m just a monster. How could I ever really become a Hero?”
Whether it was an act or not, she knew best herself.
A fake Hero, borrowed courage—none of it was truly hers.
“Are you two all right?”
A familiar voice.
Looking toward the sound, Secretary Maya was briskly approaching in her high heels, click-clack, click-clack.
Shiquier pointed at her swollen cheek and asked in return, “Do I look all right to you, Miss Maya? If possible, I’d like to apply for work injury leave…”
“No problem. The Boss agrees as well.”
“Eh? Really?”
Shiquier was startled by how easy it was to get leave.
Maya explained, “In your current state, it definitely counts as a work injury. And with the Magical Girl appearance, you can’t work in the Operations Division unless you want to wear the Combatant Uniform.”
The Combatant Uniform was a black, full-body suit with a mask, providing some protection and enhanced physical abilities. Even an ordinary person would become a bit stronger wearing it.
“No, I don’t want to.”
But Shiquier definitely didn’t want to wear that kind of outfit as a little girl.
A Hero wouldn’t wear that, right?
Maya smiled and continued, “So, go home and rest for a few days. If you still can’t undo the transformation, we’ll have to transfer you to another Department…”
Shiquier knew there was a risk of never being able to undo her transformation.
“But I don’t have experience working in other Departments.”
Shiquier said this, but Fran suddenly cut in.
“Ah! Miss Maya! Can you transfer Uncle to the Reconstruction Division and let her be my Assistant?”
Maya stroked her chin and nodded.
“Hmm, that’s not impossible.”
When it came to the Reconstruction Division, Shiquier couldn’t help but complain.
“By the way, why did the Reconstruction Division have to wait for the Security Division to clean up their mess? Where’s the Reconstruction Division Head? With such a big problem in their own Department, and not even showing up, this…”
That sounded like serious dereliction of duty.
Of course, Shiquier didn’t dare to say the second half out loud. She wasn’t brave enough to criticize a Division Head, but her meaning was clear enough for Maya.
In response, the secretary looked at the black-haired, blue-eyed young doctor beside her.
“Doctor Fran, you haven’t told her yet?”
Fran showed an awkward smile and explained quietly:
“Uncle, actually… the Gorilla Monster you beat was our Reconstruction Division Head.”
“Eh?”
It took Shiquier several seconds to process what Fran meant.
“You—you mean, I beat a Division Head?”
Though Shiquier tried to restrain herself to maintain the composure of an adult, there was still an irrepressible excitement in her voice.
Having always been at the bottom of the industry, a lower-tier monster who couldn’t beat any Hero, Shiquier had just achieved her highest career record…
She’d taken down a company executive.
All the Division Heads of Nitemare were chosen from among the Senior Monsters. While the selection was based on compatibility with their roles, not pure strength, the title “Senior Monster” was synonymous with power.
Each of them had completed dozens of successful missions, even defeating Heroes of A-rank or higher—they were the elite among monsters.
Although beating up a superior sounded like a firing offense, in an evil organization, strength was everything. The power Shiquier had shown would certainly be valued, at least enough to change her long-standing stagnant position.
By the way, her previous highest achievement had been this afternoon’s Magical Girl Kamui.
The Nyx Driver really had changed her fate…
Maya added, “By defeating the rampaging Reconstruction Division Head, you minimized the company’s property loss… I’ll apply for a bonus for you based on your performance.”
Hearing about a bonus, the fatigue on Shiquier’s face lessened a bit.
“But, the Technical Division will be busy repairing the Reconstruction Division’s equipment for a while, so keep that Driver safe… Shiquier, don’t let those World Tree Technology people steal it back.”
“No problem, I can hide this belt under my Combat Body.”
To demonstrate, she tucked the Nyx Driver beneath her waist and abdomen.
“And you, Doctor Fran.”
Maya nodded and looked at Fran, who shivered as she realized what was coming.
“This incident was caused because you forcibly connected an unknown Driver to the Reconstruction Division’s internal network. I only asked you to check her condition—the research on that Driver should have been the Technical Division’s job.”
Fran hung her head, looking just like a child who’d been caught making trouble.
“Sorry, I was too eager to outdo the Technical Division.”
Both the Reconstruction Division and the Technical Division were important parts of Nitemare, and there seemed to be some rivalry between them.
“In the end, the Technical Division is still cleaning up the Reconstruction Division’s mess. When are you going to fix your careless habits? Administrative penalties are unavoidable, and your bonus will be docked. Prepare your self-criticism!”
“Ugh, oh…”
Fran didn’t dare lift her head in front of Maya, while Shiquier cautiously raised her hand.
“Um, you two go ahead and talk, can I go back now?”
She was exhausted and just wanted to get off work.
“Yes, go home and rest for a few days, recover well… But we might call you in for a checkup.”
“Thank you, Miss Maya.”
Relieved, Shiquier dragged her tired body toward the Reconstruction Division elevator.
“Wait!”
She was stopped by Fran, who was rummaging through her pockets as she hurried after her.
“Oh no, my card holder and phone are in my lab coat… Uncle, can I borrow your phone?”
Though she couldn’t undo her transformation, Shiquier could still pull her phone out from under her Combat Body.
Fran snatched the unlocked phone and quickly created a new contact, then handed it back.
“Here~ this is my number.”
[Doctor Fran Livka]
“And, how about this for a name… Clara? After all, you’re a gun-squid too!”
“Huh? Clara?”
“Yeah, Magical Girl Clara! How about it?”
Shiquier suddenly remembered she’d asked Fran to come up with a Hero name.
“Isn’t… isn’t that a little too cute?”
It felt a bit unsuited to her.
But Fran gave her an ambiguous look and patted Shiquier’s head.
“But Uncle, you’re really cute right now!”