LIGHTNOVELONLINE At that moment, back on Earth.
Despite his inflated confidence, the squid was easily subdued.
Whatever it was, I couldn’t fall for the same trick again like last time.
That desperate struggle began to move the frozen tentacles connected to my face.
“Hey, there’s a trick.”
The pressure from the foot made the desperate thrashing meaningless, crushing the squid’s body.
To the monster’s eye, the girl in the suspicious mask sounded just like a familiar voice echoed through space.
The orange glow of her eyes, faintly visible through the holes in the mask.
Those eyes, akin to the surface of the sun, and the volume and shape of hair that even the mask could not cover.
It was the magical girl who had turned me into rags with a single blow last time.
It left no doubt that she was the same person.
Even as I felt a chilling cold that made my mind hazy, I, self-proclaimed Baron Squid, chose to believe my fellow monsters’ words over the situation in front of me. I spoke sadly.
“T-this cub! I don’t know what you did to me last time…!”
“Yeah, sounds about right.”
Sun coolly twisted the joint of her staff.
Click, click.
With each ominous sound of something clicking in the staff, its shape changed drastically.
Once to the left.
A sharp blade too foreign to belong on a staff shot out from the heart-shaped decoration’s edge.
Once more to the left, click.
The blade retreated back inside the decoration, replaced by a round cylindrical barrel that looked like a ship’s cannon.
That thing, which looked more accurately like a muzzle, slowly revealed itself from deep within the heart decoration of the staff.
‘Is that a staff?’
The seemingly countless functions of that staff left the squid in shock.
Just how many weapons could fit into that staff?
Is that even possible?
Now, would flames and projectiles shoot out from that muzzle, piercing through my head?
…However, the expectations turned even worse.
If death were to arrive at the end of a fleeting flame and flash, how happy would that be?
The rough sound of wind whooshed from what I thought was the muzzle.
A scent of gas, often found aboard ships.
“Do you know what a torch is?”
“To…?”
Whether the monster knew what a torch was had become irrelevant to Sun.
If he knew, he would be despairing in fear and hopelessness.
And if he didn’t, it would merely become a time to slowly grasp the sensation of his flesh burning away.
A red flame signaling an unforgettable despair for the squid now.
That flame was emitted.
“Gahhh!”
“Oh? I definitely smell something grilling squid.”
The 108 Torture Magical Girl staff, in the form of a torch.
The tentacles sprouting from the squid monster’s whiskers were supported by the torch, curling inward as a delicious smell began to rise.
From the undersides of the curling tentacles of the monster, ink flowed forth.
The reaction was entirely different from when I induced paralysis; a smile crept unconsciously onto my face.
The writhing body of the monster, from which the ink continuously poured, confirmed the pain and suffering indirectly.
Siyeon, catching that intense scent of grilled squid, wrinkled her nose.
“What a delicious smell!”
“Right? Let’s order some spicy grilled squid when we get back.”
“Yeah!”
I smiled as I discussed what we would eat when we got home with Siyeon, who no longer seemed inclined to stop.
The squid monster, beautifully grilled on its surface, was savoring a moment of respite.
But do not let your guard down.
It was merely a brief pause before an even greater pain.
“Ugh, cough… cough.”
The cub was in no position to move, gasping and leaking nothing but ink.
Even with leisure movements, he could no longer escape.
Turning the staff’s joint twice to the left, four times to the right.
The sound of gears meshing rang out four times in succession.
The staff transformed into the shape of a brand, one of the forms of the 108 Tortures.
Its appearance was no different than usual, but the heart decoration attached at the end had become extremely hot!
What would I do with that heated decoration?
Under normal circumstances, I would likely leave a heart-shaped brand in some visible spot.
However, this one was a significant second-time visitor.
I wouldn’t want to send him back lightly, like the first-time guests.
Resolving not to disappoint, I positioned myself appropriately on the squid monster’s chest.
“You should fully enjoy your re-visit bonus, right?”
Smiling brightly, I brought the handle of the torture staff close to his face, so he would clearly see.
The black ink dampening the floor.
The ink still dripping from the squid monster’s mouth.
The legs that had been stuck to his face curled around the torch, revealing a lovely hole.
Inside the squid’s mouth, sharp teeth like a parrot’s beak.
It seemed like the ink-jar had run out, as the teeth wiggled inside and outside, looking almost pathetic.
“Wow, it couldn’t be more perfect.”
Just a hole meant for that heart decoration to fit through.
Staring at that perfectly sized mouth, it was all I could do to express my pure admiration.
Feeling the heated heart decoration just by holding it.
What would the monster be thinking at this moment, as it was about to enter his mouth?
The monster’s chest began to heave more rapidly.
The heart decoration, gliding smoothly without a hitch into the darkness, stopped at just the right depth.
In that extreme tension the monster felt.
Like releasing the staff from mid-air, I gently pressed down on the bottom of its mouth.
“Grrraaahh!”
As if placing a strip of pork belly on a well-heated grill, a clear sizzling sound resonated.
The ensuing cry of the monster mixed in, wrapping up the splendid finale.
The nightmare-like scream that erupted didn’t last long, leaving only the sizzling sound behind, lingering in that spot.
I pulled the staff from the squid’s mouth, which had begun to disintegrate into magic powder.
The seafood smell lingered a bit, but it didn’t matter since it would disappear with the transformation release.
“Let’s go, release.”
Having turned into powder and scattered into the sky, since I was close to home and there were no people around, I immediately undid my transformation.
Instead of releasing her transformation, Siyeon immediately asked.
“By the way, why do you go this far, Sun?”
“I have to go this far to ensure the monsters that come once don’t come back again.”
It was a question I had received not long after starting my magical girl activities.
After answering that question again, I returned with Siyeon, who had undone her transformation.
Recalling the items I needed to order for the picnic, I pulled out my smartphone from my pocket and turned it on.
“Ah.”
The bear cub, pretending to be a clothing accessory, let out a short and distressed sound again.
This was similar to when I confiscated the smartphone before leaving home—a suspicious vibe was in the air.
‘Why is this little guy acting weird today?’
I pushed that aside and swiped to unlock the screen.
Immediately, the reason for the strange sound appeared.
Right before the bear cub had the smartphone snatched away, it hadn’t had the chance to close the internet window, not even clicking the home or back button.
What he had planned to write for the gallery caught my attention.
[Yo] [‥‥‥‥]
[Subject: Issue]
[Did the bare-faced Sun right before her transformation really show up?!!]
An eye-catching title.
A gigantic photo plastered right in the content.
A photo of a toilet bowl.
A picture so dirty it was beyond description, it felt like I had been hit on the head.
My steps halted in disbelief, allowing Siyeon to walk ahead.
My gaze caught the bear cub, who had been pretending to be a clothing accessory.
“Hey.”
As I spat out a short inquiry, a slight tremble could be felt from the hem of my clothing.
The bear was quivering, signaling its distress.
“I will make all humans feel the pain I felt…!”
The bear cub, glowering at me with wide-open eyes from its place in my clothing.
It seemed like it had at least minimal awareness of what it had been doing.
“What’s your last words?”
Saying that, I gently removed it from my clothes and brought it up in front of my face.
Holding its neck and body, I twisted it to break it into two pieces.
“Go on, say something.”
I decided to at least hear its last words for today.
The bear cub struggled and got one arm free from my grip, bringing it to its left chest and slapping it with a bang.
It wore a solemn expression as if facing a noble sacrifice.
“In this life, I will have no regrets or shame…”
“Shut up, you crazy villain piece of shit.”
Crack, I tossed the severed bear cub into the neighborhood apartment’s regular trash bin.
After throwing it away, I let slip the words I usually only muttered under my breath.
“This guy is completely psycho…”
Wondering why it was acting so flustered, I rushed to cleanse the corrupted gallery on the smartphone.
I started to ascend the apartment stairs, barely matching my steps with Siyeon.
Not knowing I had fallen behind, Siyeon turned to look back, tilting her head.
“Uh? Where’s the bear?”
“Tossed it.”
“Ah, I see.”
Though she asked where the bear had gone, she didn’t question why I had thrown it away.
I figured it would find its way back by tomorrow.
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‘Ha…damn it.’
As I tried to erase the lingering image from my mind along with the curse, it wouldn’t go away easily.
I still hadn’t had dinner yet.