For them, it would be their first mission.
They had just recently signed contracts to become magical girls and had only been staying here for a short while.
What should we do?
“What do you mean? I’m not going to do anything.”
This is purely for the sake of gaining real combat experience.
If things get dangerous, I’ll step in, but only if it’s truly life-threatening.
Otherwise, I plan to let them fight on their own.
“From what I can see, this monster seems relatively safe. Perfect timing, really.”
Well, that’s true…The alarm had sounded a while ago, so most of the people in the area had likely evacuated by now.
With no civilians at risk of getting hurt, this is the perfect opportunity for our rookie friends to go all out and gain some experience.
Though, just in case, I’ll keep an eye out for any civilians who might still need help.
Even though the process of defeating the monster and restoring the world involves reviving and resetting the memories of any civilians who might have been sacrificed, I still don’t want to see anyone die.
Over there.
We arrived in the heart of Seoul.
It was fortunate that the location was close by.
If it had been farther away, getting there would have been a hassle, so this was a relief.
“Hey… Hayul-nim?”
While flying, Blaze suddenly called out to me.
I turned to look at her, and she asked with a curious expression.
“What kind of monster are we dealing with this time? Since it’s our first real mission, I want to be as prepared as possible.”
Blaze seemed genuinely serious.
“Do you know what kind of monster it is?”
Come to think of it, I only heard that it was an upper-mid E-rank monster, but I didn’t get the specifics.
Of course, an upper-mid E-rank monster isn’t entirely unpredictable, but you never know.
This time, it might be a bit tough.
From the energy I’m sensing, it’s another beast-type monster, but it’s not very large.
Instead, there are multiple of them.
So, it’s a pack of beasts…Unlike the usual giant-sized monsters that cause massive civilian casualties, if it’s a wolf-type, it could be quite troublesome.
Usually, when there are multiple smaller monsters, each one is a bit tricky to deal with.
They’re not as big as the building-sized monsters, but they’re still several meters tall, making them harder to hit.
“How many are there?”
“Hmm… three.”
“Three of them, and upper-mid E-rank? It must be those guys.”
Normally, they roam separately, but when they encounter a strong enemy, they merge into one.
A modern-day Cerberus.
When they merge, they literally become a three-headed monster, making the name Cerberus even more fitting.
“This might be a bit challenging. They’re beast-type monsters. Code name: Cerberus.”
They’re dangerous if handled poorly.
Unlike other mindless monsters that flail around, Cerberus is quite cunning, making them difficult to deal with.
It’s like they instinctively know how to fight opponents with overwhelming power.
Back in the day, when I was still inexperienced, I got bitten by them a few times and got hurt.
“Let me remind you again, this is purely for combat experience, so don’t push yourselves too hard. If things get dangerous, I’ll step in, so don’t be too scared.”
After reassuring them once more that they’d be safe,-We’ve arrived.
With Gomteng’s words, we arrived at the location where the monster had appeared.
‘No immediate casualties in sight, but…?There might still be people hiding.’
I pulled out my magic wand.
Swoosh.
A heart-shaped symbol appeared in the air and began floating around, causing everyone to look at me with puzzled expressions.
“W-what is that?”
“It’s something to help me keep an eye on you all.”
I said that and then descended below.
Now, there was really nothing more for me to do.
I couldn’t stand by their side and tell them how to fight every step of the way.
In the end, gaining experience from real combat was their responsibility.
I just did my part.
***
Blaze, who had been watching Hayul descend with a troubled expression, turned to Icicle and Leaf.
‘They don’t seem too nervous’…Unlike herself, who was anxious and unsure what to do, Icicle and Leaf seemed perfectly fine.
“Are you two okay?”
“Not really scared. There’s no reason to be scared of something like this.”
“Well, unni is watching over us, so there’s no need to be scared.”
Then, Icicle suddenly stepped forward.
Everyone turned to look, and Icicle pointed in a direction instead of answering.
“One over there, one over there, and the last one is over there.”
In the directions Icicle pointed, there were indeed wolf-like monsters.
They were quite large for wolves, but for monsters, they weren’t that big—just awkwardly sized wolf monsters prowling around for prey.
Normally, they would have torn apart any living beings in sight, but since the alarm had already gone off, everyone had fled, and no one was left.
There might still be a few civilians who hadn’t managed to escape, but once the alarm sounded, the option to flee was practically sealed, so they were thoroughly hidden.
After decades of monster attacks, the response protocol was clear.
“Is this the right way…?”
Blaze muttered with a complicated expression.
Following Icicle’s suggestion, they had decided to each target one monster.
Of course, the reason they were rated as upper-mid E-rank was because they could merge into one.
The combined power of the three was what made them upper-mid E-rank, so individually, they were only about one-third as strong.
As long as they didn’t make any mistakes, they could handle it.
But that was only if the battle went well…“Hey, snap out of it…!”
Min Hayul is a legend among magical girls.
There aren’t many stories about her, but she’s been active since before the Magical Girl Corps was established, and the Ministry of National Defense often expresses gratitude for her role in maintaining Korea’s peace.
Recently, her contributions have been taken for granted, and people seem to have forgotten how much they owe her, but at least Blaze didn’t think that way.
She believed that the reason they were entrusted with this mission was because Hayul believed they could win.
“I’ll do it..!”
Blaze spewed fire and quickly landed on the ground.
Growl.
The monster, noticing the sudden prey, opened its eyes wide and stared at Blaze.
“M-magical Girl Blaze, making her appearance!”
She wouldn’t betray their expectations.
That was the only thought in her mind.
.
.
.
“Are you okay?”
“Th-thank you… Thank you so much…!”
We rescued the people hiding between the buildings.
This time, since the monster wasn’t as large, the damage to buildings and civilians was minimal, but the surrounding buildings were still slashed or crushed by the monster’s strength.
For small buildings, a wolf with the strength of an elephant was a disaster.
“Is that… Min Hayul?”
“The legendary magical girl, right?”
“Wow, I can’t believe she actually showed up..!!”
Oh, what’s this?
Surprisingly, some people recognized me.
Maybe it’s because I’m in my magical girl outfit, which is different from usual.
A cute dress with heart-shaped accessories dangling all over, the kind of outfit a child would wear.
“…”
Looking like this, I’m the epitome of innocence.
I forced a bitter smile.
“Thank you for recognizing me.”
“C-can I get your autograph?!”
“Mr. Kim! How can you think about autographs at a time like this?!”
“B-but it’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet her!”
An autograph is a bit…”Looks like the lower levels are packed.”
Everyone nodded in response to my question.
“Those guys… they wouldn’t open the door because it’s full inside…”
“Damn it! They only care about their own lives..!”
Hmm.
There had been enough time to escape, but once you’re inside a building, getting out isn’t easy.
Most buildings are required to have underground shelters, but building one large enough to accommodate everyone isn’t simple, so there are often people stuck outside, unable to get in.
Even if they die, as long as the monster is defeated, they’ll be revived, so it might seem pointless, but magical girls always have to prepare for the worst.
“At this point, they probably won’t die.”
I casually cast a protective spell.
“Th-thank you. But what about the monster…”
“Don’t worry. We’ll take care of it soon.”
“Ah, okay. Thank you…”
“Thank you!”
Well, it’s not me who’s going to defeat it, but my students.
‘They’re doing well.’
It seems the combat experience they gained with me wasn’t entirely useless.
I did push them pretty hard back then.
I chuckled softly as I watched my students fight.
Behind me, the civilians continued to chat among themselves.