I’ve learned my own ways to transform, and I think I’m starting to understand when my abilities activate.
Although, the moment to actually use those abilities hasn’t come easily.
‘We can’t always take the initiative,’ James said.
‘The more you move, the more likely you are to be caught. When problems arise, the time to respond, the direction they appear from—everything can be a clue. Our goal is for things to happen ‘suddenly.’ It’s about showing up in the least expected direction when chaos breaks out.’
‘But we’re using a black hole to travel. Isn’t it basically random? How can you even figure that out?’
James fell silent for a moment.
Why do I still feel like you’re still seeing me as one of your subordinates?
Despite how things seem, we’re equals now.
We’re both far from power and money, just pitiful laborers from outer planets, living in a cramped, one-room apartment like parasites…
…Thinking like that makes me a little depressed, but I hid the expression and spoke.
James’s face twisted a bit in irritation, but it was still just a hamster’s face.
Even if it bit me, it would only result in a little blood.
Plus, it’s not a wild hamster, so there’s no worry about diseases in its mouth.
With the unjustified confidence of looking down on James, I continued thinking.
James spoke again, his expression full of restraint.
‘Anyway, you’ve never actually used this weapon, and you’re not perfect at using your abilities either.
It’s important to find a more appropriate opponent to practice with and wait for the right opportunity.
The beings we’ll face are far greater than you imagine.’
Regardless of the opponent, using my abilities properly was indeed an important task.
But—
‘…Do you really think such an opportunity will come so easily?’
I tilted my head and asked.
‘Let me ask you something. Do you usually watch the news?’
James stared at me before asking back.
His face looked a bit annoyed, but if I reacted to every one of his expressions, there wouldn’t be any conversation between us.
So, I pretended to think for a moment and then answered.
‘No.’
To be honest, I get the news more often when Jiguppa touches her smartphone and lets me know.
Most of it is celebrity gossip.
There’s some talk about magical girls, but there’s much more about actors or idols.
I don’t really care about that, so I just half-listen.
And since I didn’t think the ‘news’ James was referring to was about that, I shook my head.
‘You don’t pay attention to world events? If you have a magical girl as a friend, wouldn’t it be normal to at least follow the related news?’
‘Well, alright. Since you don’t seem to know much about it, I’ll have to explain.’
James cleared his throat as if to show off.
‘The beings we’re targeting are monsters.’
‘Monsters.’
‘Yes, monsters. They’re individuals with no organization behind them, but they’re incredibly difficult to subdue by the people of this planet. Of course, it’s not impossible to subdue them, but if they’re not magical girls, there are usually significant casualties.’
It’s rare for someone to die while trying to subdue a monster.
But “rare” doesn’t mean it never happens.
A creature that’s not from Earth, but an alien from another planet, loses its sanity and becomes a monster for some reason here on Earth.
It’s something that often appears in webtoons.
Though by the part I’ve read, its true identity hasn’t been revealed clearly.
‘The intervals aren’t fixed, but you won’t have to wait terribly long. There’s a reason the Galactic Federation’s magical girls are allowed to run rampant by the government here. These magical girls are the most reliable means to deal with ‘inevitable’ monsters that appear, minimizing damage.’
Right, that was the setup.
If that’s the case, why not just forbid the entry of aliens?
But Earth already has countries that are members of the Galactic Federation.
Even with the space industry in upheaval, it’s impossible not to accept aliens if they want to keep the technology while maintaining sovereignty and avoiding interference.
When an alien corporation opens a headquarters, people from that company and their families end up living here as well.
It’s similar with tourists.
Even if they come with family, certain places are necessary for aliens to feel cultural affinity.
In busy areas of Seoul, there are restaurants that sell food that ‘humans can’t eat, but aliens can.’
It’s not a matter of rights, but of biology.
Some aliens might see minerals as food or drink something like tetrodotoxin mixed in liquid.
And from what I hear, the more aliens there are, the more likely some of them will turn into monsters.
Well, that’s how the necessity for magical girls to act comes into play.
‘So, we wait for an incident to happen?’
‘Yes. Then we wait for the magical girls to respond, and once they do, we step in and take care of it.’
‘Help the magical girls?’
‘It will look like that to others. But in reality, it’ll be more of an interference. Right now, the magical girls’ powers are very weak. If you keep taking their work away and finishing it instead, the public will start distrusting the magical girls.’
For now, I’ll put aside the fact that I’m wearing a magical girl outfit.
‘So, what do I gain from this?’
‘Right now, you’re being pursued by the Federation, the companies, and the government. The reason they’re all after you is the same. If they can’t capture you, they won’t be able to prove you’re capable. So, you need to prove that you’re more capable than all three of them.’
James lifted the corner of his mouth into a smirk.
Despite only eating seeds, when he smiles like that, he reminds me of a carnivore.
Although, I imagine he’s more likely to nibble on mealworms.”
“At least the government won’t be able to chase you. The main cause of this situation is the government’s inaction. To put it more simply, they won’t act, just like they haven’t interfered with the magical girls until now.”
“They’ll just let things resolve on their own,” James added.
“If you’re lucky, one of the other two groups might try to recruit you. That’s why the ‘image’ is important. Even if you consider the possibility that things might go that way later, you need to have an image that would attract support from a ‘group’ by then.”
“So, basically, we wait until something happens?” I sighed heavily.
“Well… about that.”
At that moment, Jiguppa , who had been listening from a little further away, chimed in.
“It seems like you won’t have to wait that long.”
“Hmm?”
I turned my head to see Jiguppa holding a phone.
It was an older model, but surprisingly well-maintained.
There was a text message on the screen.
[Currently, a monster is causing chaos near Chungmuro Station in Seoul. Relevant authorities, including the police and firefighters, have been dispatched. Please follow the instructions and remain calm. Additional updates will be sent based on the situation.]
I had received similar messages before.
That said, I had never actually been caught up in such incidents.
Even when it was mentioned that it was around “Chungmuro,” the chaos usually didn’t spread to the whole area.
My own escape was an exceptionally rare case; usually, any disturbance is suppressed before it escalates into something more serious.
The people who turn into monsters usually collapse first due to extreme pain and convulsions.
Once someone reports it to 119, the transformation is treated as a prelude to becoming a ‘monster,’ and emergency responders, including police, are dispatched immediately.
If the monster isn’t caught at the scene, things can get tricky, but there are cases where the monster reports themselves, so large-scale incidents don’t really happen in this country.
“That’s impressive,” James said as he observed my reaction.
Hearing him say that made me frown.
It’s strange to call this situation impressive, with a monster potentially harming people.
James shrugged when he saw my gaze and said,
“Shall we go? Let’s assess the situation and decide whether or not to intervene.”
*
There were a few minor issues on the way to the scene.
First, how to carry the hammer.
James suggested I hide it in a space, but I didn’t know how to use my abilities for that yet.
Fortunately, that problem ended up being small because James had already considered it.
The hammer could be taken apart, with the head and handle separate.
It had a deep, thick screw mechanism that locked it tightly once it was twisted all the way in.
The handle also separated into three parts, each twisted in a similar manner.
“Won’t the joints become weak?” I asked.
“We’ll manage with magic. Trust that it won’t break,” James replied nonchalantly.
It was a bit of a careless answer, but it worked out.
We were able to pack the hammer into a duffel bag.
The shoulder strap dug into my skin a bit, but it wasn’t a big issue, as the circuits were protected.
I didn’t plan to use the black hole just yet.
While it didn’t emit dangerous radiation like an actual black hole, it was still noisy.
I wondered if it was a different kind of warp point than expected.
It was strange that the entrance made noise, but the exit didn’t.
When I asked James, he just shrugged and said,
“How should I know? You’d know better than me.”
For now, I chose the least risky option.
Going directly to Chungmuro was a bit dangerous.
Even with a mask, if I kept appearing wherever monsters were, the pattern of a “black magical girl” showing up would make it easy for people to pinpoint me.
But there was no other choice.
The sound of the black hole would probably draw attention, or I might get caught by my own tail.
At least I was choosing the lesser of two evils for now.
James’ reasoning for creating an “image” was starting to make sense to me.
Since they said it was around “Chungmuro Station,” it wasn’t the whole area.
Typically, disturbances occur in smaller, confined spaces, not spreading far.
The chaos was happening near the station, so naturally, the area was blocked off.
I had taken the bus here, so it wasn’t a big deal.
It had taken about 20 minutes to get here, but I hadn’t received any text saying the situation was under control, so the monster was still there.
It made sense, though.
The government doesn’t want people filming during monster incidents.
If they can handle things perfectly, it doesn’t matter if a video is taken, but that’s rarely the case.
And, often, they wait for a magical girl to intervene.
Still, no sign of them yet.