The identity of the sense of discomfort is akin to a pact with a monster that once was severed.
While someone is retracing hazy memories, others are forgetting it.
For a certain ship adjacent to Earth, it was a harsh reality looming right in front of them.
The recovery room, transmission room, and regular cabins.
As the promised time approached, the tension only escalated, eventually enveloping the ship in a huge wave of anxiety.
The greatest contributor to the pact was the Medic Tentacle.
He wasn’t particularly involved in the transmission-related tasks, but some monsters even came to ask Medic Tentacle, hinting at their concerns.
“What do we do? Are we really sending it?”
“…For now, we have to proceed as planned.”
For now, as planned.
Since he wasn’t the one handling the usual transmission tasks, there wasn’t much that Medic Tentacle could explain.
Determining whether we go or not ultimately rested in the hands of the commanding officer.
However, from the perspective of ordinary soldiers, orders from higher-ups were to be followed, even if they weren’t absolute.
Medic Tentacle’s “as planned” sent ripples through the regular cabins.
A monster returned to the cabin with a grim expression.
He had just eavesdropped on the conversation of two monsters while staying in the recovery room where Medic Tentacle was.
To the visibly distressed monster, another one asked, knowing the results.
“What did they say?”
“They’re going.”
The somber-faced monster frankly revealed his feelings.
Another monster whose expression had darkened along with him frowned and spat out a curse.
“Damn it….”
The mission to the black area, which had been more or less forgotten, was now resurfacing.
As 20 sectors passed, some new faces among the monsters hadn’t been seen before.
They were like chicks in an egg, hearing only spoken tales about Magical Girl Sun from the monsters already on the ship.
How different could they really be from each other?
Having fought against magical girls several times, they couldn’t truly grasp how terrifying Magical Girl Sun was, as the senior monsters feared her.
“Well then, I’ll go!”
Don’t do what you’re unsure about; if you think you should, then go ahead.
In the monsters’ ship, trends akin to those found within an army on Earth similarly existed, so one brave monster raised his fin-like arm.
Yet regarding this matter, it seemed that they didn’t apply that rule, as they waved their three webbed fingers dismissively and shook their heads.
“Forget it, forget it. You just don’t realize how scary it is yet.”
A monster reclining on the upper bunk while sipping a drink spoke.
He was one of the 6,127 monsters deployed in the operation against the copy of Sun.
With so many monsters participating, his presence felt vague, but without them, the ship would’ve been a piece of cosmic debris floating around.
The 6,127 monsters.
What’s the reason behind such a grand yet unremarkable nickname?
Right after the operation against the copy of Sun, the monsters vowed to take down the maker of the monster development room, regardless of rank.
They briefly reveled in the victory before their anger over the unannounced mass slaughter inflicted by the copy of Sun coalesced into a vengeful rage, leading thousands of monsters into the development room.
Feeling his life was in danger, the maker assured ample retirement funds to all participating monsters to save his skin that day.
“I’ll never let something like this happen again! Absolutely!”
He was a tycoon by monster standards and had become a ranking official purely out of amusement, so funds were abundant.
Since that incident, the monster development room remained shut down.
Monsters who participated in that battle are treated and respected.
The nickname “6,127 monsters” came about as a badge of pride to instill a sense of self-respect.
Although I’m not sure about pride, the maker was able to avoid being launched into space thanks to the outrageously high bounty.
The title of the 6,127 monsters was akin to a check for receiving bounties.
Meanwhile, the maker, barred from the development room, is now dispatched to another ship, focusing on conquering other planets.
Of course, monsters had no reason to care about the minor updates among the officers.
Among them, even though they bore heroic titles, the prospect of entering the region where Sun resided remained daunting.
“Huh… is it time to use that? Listen up, everyone.”
“Yes? What is it?”
“This is our ambition of the 6,000 monsters.”
Gate Keeper, the officer of the transmission room.
The ceasefire with the black area had, in a way, been severed due to the Evil Croaker.
If Sun brings that up, he planned to deny any connection as thoroughly as possible while counting down the days until the ceasefire would officially end.
The gate circuit aimed at a specific location on Earth had been inactive for 20 sectors.
Immediately after reactivating it, the Gate Keeper tilted his entire body and neck upon hearing cheers from outside the transmission room.
“What’s all this commotion…?”
The door to the transmission room doesn’t open unless it’s a special duty or a specific time when monsters are deployed.
Since the ruckus was substantial, the Gate Keeper opened the transmission room door to discern the source of the noise.
What he encountered beyond the door was a frantic message written in various monster languages: “Oppose with everything!”
The letters inscribed on some piece of space junk, the source of which was unknown, exuded a sense of determination.
As the Gate Keeper blinked blankly at the chaos, he was bombarded with shouts.
“Oppose the black area, no matter what!”
“Wahm, crazy.”
Not just insurrection-level but rather a coup-scale gathering of monsters.
Ultimately, the matter had to be taken seriously, and the plan for transmission to the black area was postponed.
The people of Earth, clueless about what was transpiring on the ship.
Even though the ceasefire period had clearly ended, the monster alarm in Incheon showed no signs of ringing.
Those most sensitive to the news were the reporters who eagerly awaited monster appearances and those involved in the situation.
In the midst of everyone remaining alert.
Mari, who had long forgotten what might happen, received a restricted call.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Mari?”
“What now?”
“Wasn’t it true that the ceasefire with the monsters was supposed to end just yesterday?”
‘Ceasefire?’
Tilting her head for a moment, she tried to logically sort through what the Minister was saying.
It was then that she realized the identity of the discomfort she had forgotten.
“Oh, that.”
In February of fifth grade, a day had clearly been predicted for the end of the pact with the monsters.
As a sigh of realization escaped her, after a brief silence, a voice from the Minister came through, sounding incredulous.
“…Did you forget?”
“Haha, no way, isn’t it better if they don’t show up?”
“If it’s quiet, I get more anxious… Anyway, should we expect the monsters to appear again from today?”
After a few direct calls, the Minister began to lay bare his concerns.
Although it was a matter related to magical girls, given that he was essentially in charge of the whole country, it must be challenging to focus solely on this aspect.
“Probably, but when have monsters ever announced exactly what minute and second they would show up?”
Casually said to the Minister, who seemed somewhat anxious, that monsters appear regardless of day or night.
Though he didn’t accept it, he seemed to understand, leaving behind a few words of caution.
“Got it. Make sure you’re well prepared.”
“Yes.”
After a half-hearted reply, the call ended with a weak tone.
The moment she hung up, Siyeon, who had paused her video, resumed the animation and asked.
Siyeon had been growing more perceptive and articulate, spending more time with her friends and adjusting well.
She even knew to lower the volume while answering the phone, showing remarkable development.
“What was the call about?”
“Minister called, said monsters might show up from today.”
“Really?”
As Mari filled her in on the previous conversation, Siyeon responded with a tilt of her head, as if it were someone else’s concern.
The days of lounging around without tension abruptly came to a close, resembling a summer vacation.
However, “They will appear” and “They could appear” are certainly not the same…
In stark contrast to the tension creeping back into their everyday lives, the monsters showed no signs of debuting, even after several days.
Moreover, they seemed to appear in other regions but remained absent in their area.
Did the ceasefire somehow get extended without them knowing?
Additionally, how they found out about it, the most vigilant groups regarding this situation were eagerly posting various things online.
[On the day of the promise, monsters did not appear… Blessing or curse?]
[‘Why aren’t the monsters coming out?’ The absurd twist of the 27th]
[‘Wasted my vacation….’ Disheartened office workers]
[The rumor of monsters appearing on the 27th turns out to be ‘fake’]
From the titles published as articles, it seemed they had actually hoped for monsters to show up.
Such consistent behavior from those reporter scumbags.
While it was true that the ceasefire ended that day, an invasion is another story.
Anyway, with a thought to stay away from the dirtiness of society, she started to gather her clothing.
Today, following Ji-eun’s message, was the day to go to the hospital.
It was a blessed event that Siyeon, who had been acting separately lately, tagged along.
Their destination was a gynecology clinic five bus stops away.
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