REAPER SCANS

Mr. Magical Girl

[Translator –  Kuro]

[Proofreader – ilafy]

Chapter 42: Light of the Earth—23:59:59—

Far in the distance, beyond the horizon, gigantic crustacean monsters approached the wall.

It was the main force of invaders—the one I had fought when the boss-class monster first emerged from the depths.

The creatures, dozens of times larger than the enemies that had attacked the fortification until then, dyed the world gray in their advance.

"They sure are huge." I never fully realized how massive they were when I first faced them alongside their bigger boss. Standing atop the wall, their gigantic silhouettes broke all sense of perspective.

‘They seem to be about 50 meters tall.’ To be frank, I questioned whether the wall would even stand a chance against such huge creatures.

If they were that big, then how gigantic was the boss monster that made them look puny in comparison?

‘Let’s see… One of its fangs was larger than my body, so…’

‘…I’ve got no clue.’

Well, it didn’t matter anyway. We had to eliminate every single one of them for humanity’s survival. Size didn’t matter to us—it was all about life and death.

‘Break time’s over.’ I had been sitting down, scratching various itches over my body, but it was time to stop.

I handed Unho over to the evacuation team and sent them back, which left me alone on the barricade.

There were probably other combatants still on different sections of the giant wall for the final operation, but I was at least the only one in that area.

"Green Green, was it…?" The words somehow slipped out since I knew nobody could hear me anyway.

Ever since I heard her hero name, countless thoughts swirled in my mind.

Those heroes, who chose to enact justice in the face of imminent hardship, could easily have deserted and escaped if they abandoned the wounded soldiers.

No one would’ve blamed them.

The wounded would’ve perished beneath the monster assault, and the four heroes would have only had to keep quiet. They had to protect and maintain their reputations, after all.

No one would willingly reveal their most shameful act to the world, and they could’ve easily found believable excuses after returning to the secondary assembly point for having disobeyed orders.

Even if their superiors didn’t believe their excuses, they would’ve voluntarily returned to battle, so their punishment would likely have been a light sentence.

In the end, they chose a different path and pushed the wounded to a safe place while using their own bodies as meat shields.

They’d thrown their lives into the line of fire, believing they could save the soldiers.

How had they made such a decision? Their actions surely would not have been rewarded.

If I hadn’t helped, there would’ve been nothing left of them but smears of blood, and their actions would have amounted to nothing more than senseless deaths.

Still, they acted to save others over themselves, just like the heroes of old.

Rather than clowns, they were heroes who could shine at any moment. If they were given the opportunity… If they were given the option to choose justice over their own lives…

They would choose justice. They would become true heroes.

Had I made a wrong decision from the start?

Boom—

I swung my hammer at the massive claw descending toward me.

The hammer, drawing a graceful arc, collided with the giant claw in a tremendous roar. Unable to withstand my strength, the monster’s claw flew backward.

Splash—

The giant crustacean toppled backward and sank into the sea.

Its claw hadn’t even shattered, so it was unlikely that it’d die from that. It simply toppled over into the ocean, unable to fully absorb the force of my hammer.

A similarly large claw swung toward me.

Having finally recognized me as a dangerous opponent, the giant creatures focused their attack on me.

Countless claws shot out, striking the wall and myself, and smaller crustaceans climbed onto the bigger creatures' bodies, shooting spikes at me.

The wall, which had been holding off tens of thousands of crustaceans thus far, was shattered by a single claw, and the dust from the collapse engulfed the surroundings.

A haze engulfed the battlefield, and I swung my hammer instinctively.

I wasn’t actively trying to kill the enemies. The mission was to hold them; keep them occupied… All I wanted was for them to concentrate on me.

Instead of focusing on the battle, I continued to let my mind wander.

Were my activities as the Black Marauder wrong?

Boom—

A claw bounced off my hammer.

Had I failed to recognize the potential of heroes and, with my narrow judgment, criticized them as clowns?

Green Green was my first victim—a single hero whose arms and legs shattered beneath my feet.

I knew nothing about her abilities, experiences, or personality. All I remembered were her voice—pleading for her life—and her expression, frozen in terror.

Swept up by my own emotions and prejudice, I had aimed my crowbar at a future hero. In my arrogance, I had believed that I could bring them hardship and almost ended her life right then and there.

Crack—

For the first time, a crack formed in the enemy’s claw after it collided with my hammer.

I must have hit it dozens of times, yet only then did it begin to crack. It was a pretty tough claw.

The battle grew fiercer, and my thoughts continued to flow.

No, was it because I gave her hardship that she was able to find her calling as a hero? Was it because I swung my weapon at her?

Boom—

‘Did the claw explode?’ For the first time, I felt the sensation of a claw shattering, but when I glanced over, it had transferred the damage elsewhere.

The explosion had come from the smaller crustaceans; the giant creature’s claw had only cracked, and it still swung it menacingly.

The battle raged on, and my thoughts became even more intense and rapid.

Green Green’s actions could be explained by her experience with Black Marauder.

She had endured hardship and faced an enemy that destroyed all her limbs, so maybe she empathized with the wounded soldiers and moved to save them.

All those factors might have made her a hero, but then, what about the other three heroes by her side? 

I hadn’t attacked any of them. They hadn’t been baptized in hardship by my hand.

They already had seeds of heroism within themselves. The hardships of the battlefield ended up watering those seeds, and they were given fertilizer—the option to go save the wounded soldiers. Once they made the correct choice, their seeds of heroism sprouted.

Boom—

Two claws swung at me simultaneously.

‘Foolish creatures. If you’re going to challenge me, at least bring your boss.’

Splash splash—

The two giant creatures toppled and fell into the sea in a big splash, followed by the clear sound of pitter-pattering water from droplets flying up and falling back down.

Their massive bodies sank, and the seawater spread apart and rushed back to the center, splashing again and creating large ripples.

Small droplets of water flew from the ripples, creating yet another series of tiny ripples.

That gave me an epiphany.

* * *

Reaper Scans

Translator - Kuro

Proofreader - ilafy

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* * *

Right. That hardship was insufficient. The Black Marauder on its own wasn’t a strong enough ripple to change all of society.

Take the giant crustaceans falling into the ocean, for example. The splashes formed countless droplets, and as those droplets fell, they made countless new ripples.

We needed something else. 

I wasn’t a strong enough ripple on my own.

We needed a hardship so massive, so intense, that it would splash and shake society, nay, humanity as a whole.

The hardship would have to be imposed on all the heroes in the Association, and that enormous hardship would create new hardships in turn.

Thus, those who carried the seeds of heroism would sprout and shine as heroes while the unnecessary, rotten, and fake ‘heroes’ would be filtered out,

Since all they knew was how to live as clowns, I would make sure they couldn’t pose as heroes any longer.

I even had an example in mind—the hero in charge of evacuating the wounded who’d run away. That piece of trash didn’t deserve to be called a hero.

"Yes. This is it. This is what’s been missing!" I laughed, finally realizing how foolish and bizarre my actions had been.

‘Well, let’s make a plan… A way to plunge this world into chaos again.’

I needed to ensure civilians weren’t harmed and that humanity wouldn’t collapse. It was all about exploiting the heroes, after all.

To remake the world, it had to be broken.

* * *

Night fell again.

I heard a voice from the telepathy magic Unho had left behind.

—Is everyone still alive?

“Do you think something like this could kill me?

—Agreed.

—Their attacks are so weak they couldn’t even break through my defense. Stupid fucking crabs.

—Shouldn’t you sit back and relax, Infinite Castellan? You don’t want to hurt your back…

—I’ve never strained my back, you science nerd.

Everyone chuckled energetically over the telepathic line.

Had the time come? The giant creatures were still swinging their claws like crazy, but they couldn't hurt me.

In exchange, the wall was a tattered mess with holes and breaches everywhere, but it didn’t matter since we weren’t going to use it anymore.

48 hours… The objective of holding the enemies back for 48 hours at the first defense line was complete.

—I see that everyone’s still alive.

—Why are you saying something so obvious, Commander Macbeth?

—When you get old, you start worrying about everything, kid.

—Does Infinite Castellan even have any worries, though?

—Keep talking and I’ll plant a steel H-beam in your house as decoration.

Those energetic fools’ voices rang in my ears,

Commander Macbeth ignored them and gave his next order. —Everyone, retreat to your designated positions. The bombardment will commence in two minutes.

—Confirmed.

"Confirmed."

The attack I had proposed would soon start.

I cut off the telepathy and looked over the gray army looming before me.

‘Let’s land one final, grand, hit.’ I gathered my mana and created a massive hammer. It was slightly smaller than the giant creature ahead but still enormous.

"Fuck off, you pieces of trash." I swung the hammer with all my strength.

Boom—

The giant hammer shattered what remained of the wall and swept through the gray army.

Splat splat splat splat—

Instead of the giant creature, the sound of numerous smaller gray crustaceans exploding echoed.

The damage was transferred to maintain the swarm at peak power, making their injuries minimal compared to the energy placed behind the attack.

That didn’t matter to me. After all, the goal was to tie them down and keep them in place.

The crustaceans the hammer collided with were sent flying, disappearing into the depths of the sea. In their place stood an open path.

I shrank the hammer and sprinted down the path. 

"Take care, you dumbasses."

I had no intention of dying with them and turned my head to witness their final moments.

Dozens of sparks were streaking through the dark night sky. Some could mistake them for shooting stars, but I knew exactly what they were…

They were the booster flames of the thermonuclear weapons I had requested.

Many people would surely criticize my request, asking why I was using ancient weapons that had been sealed away.

Why would I utilize the worst weapon humanity had ever created from the minerals it dug up from the earth?

The ancient weapons had erased parts of Europe from the world map and brought about countless suffering in the old days.

Why would I bring them out again, making people recall those painful memories?

They’d ask if there was any reason to launch dozens of those missiles onto the battlefield when we had only fired one at a time before.

Nevertheless, we knew the truth…

The weapons weren’t sealed away because of their dangerous and destructive nature. Rather, they were sealed because those who utilized them were the real danger.

People like Commander Macbeth or Infinite Castellan—people who understood the nuances of strategies, risks, and calculations—would get it.

Simply put, it was the best way to reduce casualties and bring the war to a quick end.

Many would criticize the Association’s decision, but that was our answer.

Thermonuclear weapons…

Hydrogen bombs…

Nuclear fusion bombs…

All such names referred to the same type of weapon. The most powerful weapon ever created by humanity in the past, before they knew of the Otherworld.

Those weapons fell upon the battlefield.

An atomic bomb inside a hydrogen bomb triggered, and the substance contained within the metal prepared to unleash its energy.

I quickly turned my face away.

Even though I closed my eyes and faced away, the overwhelming light behind my back still blinded me.

The intense heat wrapped around my skin, and the shockwave sent me flying through the air, powerful enough to lift my small body off the ground.

It was the light of the earth—created by humanity, who was born and raised on that planet.

The weapons wielded by the old rulers fell upon our enemies.

The mushroom cloud grew exponentially into the sky, and the shockwave engulfed my body.

As the light from the fusion bombs faded, I focused mana into my eyes to witness the destruction.

Massive shadows swayed inside the mushroom cloud.

The giant monsters were alive, injured but moving still despite everything. 

Their leader had finally shown itself.

“Vwooooom—” Once again, its horn-like cry resonated.

Was it mourning its comrades?

They started moving again, howling together.

“Tsk. They sure are tough monsters.”

Even an O-Rank giant monster was reduced to mush after taking a few missiles previously, yet those guys were still moving.

Even if they specialized in tanking wide-ranged attacks, it was unbelievable. They needed to be nerfed.

Other than the boss monsters, most of the giant creatures had lost their claws or had their exoskeletons destroyed, but the fact that they were still moving was shocking.

Still, the operation was a success.

The smaller monsters had mostly been wiped out, and I saw no sign of their movement.

With that, the numerous shields protecting the leader were dismantled.

All that was left were a few giant monsters and their boss. There might have still been some smaller crustaceans that survived, but they were no longer a concern.

The light of humanity, illuminating the sea, had fulfilled its purpose.

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