Chapter 76

Invader II

The aircraft carrier boasted by the Magical Girl Association (40 tons, equipped with kitchen and rest facilities, formerly used as a fishing cleaning ship before commissioning as an aircraft carrier in 1996) arrived at the target waters in less than two hours.

The Magical Girls immediately took their positions and started fishing. They had the skills of seasoned fishermen.

“Wow—just when we were starting to run low on food, I was thinking about going fishing.”

“By the way, Undateikeo. I heard rumors that there are awakeners in Korea with the ability to foresee the future. Is that true? You're moving with such certainty that an anomaly will appear at sea this time too.”

I shrugged.

“That’s a secret. But at least this time, it wasn’t a prophet. It was a constellation that told me.”

“A constellation...? Oh, those gods that only exist in Korea.”

The Magical Girl nodded in understanding.

It might be surprising, but the awakeners from Japan didn’t question why Constellations were so active only in Korea. They considered them a kind of local deity.

Even though they were now obsessed with their strange Magical Girl cosplay, before the void burst forth, they were all people with strong ‘spiritual senses.’ Mediums, shamans, and the like.

“...!”

While they were enjoying fishing, a quiet Magical Girl perked up her ears and pointed to the sky.

“Nya? What’s wrong, Ciel?”

“Hmm?”

The people aboard the aircraft carrier looked up. Their eyes widened.

A UFO was falling from the sky.

“Nyaaa?! Wh-What is that?”

“...Good grief.”

Boom!

The UFO tore through the Earth's fragile atmosphere as it fell. But from about 600 meters above the ground, its speed slowed dramatically. As if welcoming the alien visitor, the sea’s waves surged violently.

With a roaring sound, the UFO landed, no, splashed down into the sea.

The tsunami caused by the UFO shook our aircraft carrier.

“Nya! Somebody save me!”

“Decelerate—stabilize—defend.”

The ship, which almost capsized, regained its balance thanks to the crew’s magic.

As the water spray slowly cleared, the enormous UFO gradually floated up on the water's surface.

“Unbelievable. Undateikeo was right. An anomaly really came from the sky.”

“...! ...!”

“Amazing. Evidence for the hypothesis that the origin of anomalies might be space. We need to prepare a paper.”

“Even if you publish a paper, there’s no society to review it! Besides, is it even an anomaly? Maybe it's a real alien?”

Wiping the seawater from my face, I calmly spoke.

“Prepare for combat. Whether they're friendly or hostile aliens, we’re about to find out.”

“Hmm.”

“Right. Good idea.”

Shock gave way to caution. I and the others quickly assumed defensive positions.

“Warning. Detecting a presence.”

The blind Magical Girl, specialized in scouting and detection, muttered as steam hissed from the UFO.

Unlike in the previous cycle, where all the aliens inside had been slaughtered, this time there were clear signs of life.

“......”

“......”

Everyone held their breath at the moment that might lead to humanity’s first contact with intelligent extraterrestrial life.

A shadow loomed from beyond the steam and mist.

A whiff of gasoline hit our faces.

The blind Magical Girl muttered.

“Approaching.”

Thud!

As soon as she finished speaking, the figure leapt from the steam and landed on the aircraft carrier.

Such tremendous jumping power. And if the figure intended to engage in friendly conversation, it was certainly not the right approach.

“Enemy!”

“It’s a hostile alien!”

The creature, presumed to be an alien, extended its arms on the violently rocking ship.

Shriek!

Perhaps it was trying to say, ‘Hug me,’ by spreading its arms wide.

However, the alien had not two, but eight arms, and instead of hands, each arm ended in a one-meter-long scythe. Hardly suitable for a friendly embrace.

My subsequent judgment was hardly an overreaction.

“Engage in combat!”

Clang!

I met the eight swinging scythes of the alien with my blade. More accurately, I tried to meet them carefully.

‘What kind of strength is this?’

A heavy blow. Despite expecting it to be at most on par with the Ten Legs, my sword almost flew out of my hand from just one scythe strike.

The strength wasn’t the only surprising thing.

‘No matter how many cycles it takes, no matter how many decades or centuries, I’ll annihilate it completely!’

As I steeled myself for a life-or-death struggle,

Shriek...

Shriek, shriek... shriek...?

The alien creatures, which had seemed ready to pounce at any moment, suddenly hesitated. They weren’t afraid of my aura... no, that wasn’t it.

All eight of their arms were trembling, and their tails were flailing wildly from side to side.

They stretched their necks out like deer, looked up, and shrieked at the sky. They twisted their limbs and scratched their skin furiously.

It looked like they were...

‘...In pain?’

One of the aliens flipped over and started writhing on the ground, rubbing its body against the deck of the aircraft carrier like a bear scratching its back against a tree.

The difference was that the bear was in agonizing pain while doing so.

Shriek! Shriek! Shriek!

The other aliens followed suit, each writhing and scratching itself in apparent agony. One even crashed into the control room, while another used its own scythe-arms to peel its skin off.

“What in the world...?”

Just moments ago, these creatures had seemed like the ultimate lifeforms. Why were they suddenly acting like this?

I lowered my sword in confusion. Approaching one of the aliens, I stabbed it in the belly, but it didn’t react at all and simply slumped over.

“Ugh...”

On closer inspection, the skin that had been melting like wax earlier was now literally pouring off like chocolate in a fountain.

The flesh was disintegrating. It looked as if they had been doused with acid, as their skin melted away.

Shriek! Shriek!

They writhed in agony, but the melting process only accelerated. Muscles were exposed, thick bones jutted out, and strange organs spilled out.

All of it melted away.

Within just two minutes, the deck of the aircraft carrier was littered with black, slimy remains.

“Gross...”

I went inside the UFO to check, but there was no twist. Just fewer numbers this time, but the corridors were still filled with alien corpses, just like in the 98th cycle.

These creatures, which might have been the strongest species in the universe, were all dead.

And humanity hadn’t even done anything yet.

“......”

I scooped some seawater into my palm and poured it over one of the relatively intact bodies.

A remarkable thing happened. The alien’s skin instantly melted away.

“Ugh...”

I tested it again, this time with fresh water from the aircraft carrier, and the result was the same. The alien’s skin, bones, and organs turned into a sticky liquid.

“Oh...”

I realized why these powerful creatures had been annihilated and why they hadn’t appeared in previous cycles.

“Their weakness is ‘water’...?”

They should have avoided Earth. Idiots.

I named these alien creatures the 'Warrior Race.' From the 99th cycle onward, I paid no attention to UFOs or the Warrior Race that fell into the East Sea.

No matter how strong the Warrior Race was, no matter how tough they were—even for me, a regressor—it didn’t matter.

Their weakness was water.

As obvious as it sounds, 71% of the Earth’s surface is covered in water. And, amusingly enough, on Earth, H2O often falls from the sky. Sometimes it rains for days on end.

Oh, don’t you know? Aliens, this is called ‘summer monsoon’—

‘How can a creature’s weakness be water?’

It was bizarre, but considering how rare water is in the universe, it might be that Earth’s inhabitants and its life forms are the strange ones.

“Hey, guild leader! Look over there! A shooting star...!”

“Hmm.”

In some cycles, I saw meteor showers over the East Sea, but I simply watched the night sky with a bittersweet feeling.

The idea that these anomalies, potentially my greatest foes, were diving into the East Sea and dying every cycle was... a bit strange.

‘What if the Warrior Race isn’t actually an anomaly but real aliens?’

What if the UFO was just a small reconnaissance ship and the main force was elsewhere?

What if they realized their weakness was water, developed high-tech waterproof suits, and came back for another invasion?

And if humanity and anomalies alike were wiped out by the Warrior Race’s invasion?

“Wish. Make a wish quickly, guild leader/ If you make it before the star falls, it will come true!”

With Sim Ah-ryeon’s special skill of whining, I raised my hands in surrender.

“Alright, fine. Let’s make a wish.”

If the aliens launch a full-scale invasion, what can I do? I’ll just keep resetting the cycles and deal with it then.

Praying that such a disaster wouldn’t happen, I clasped my hands together.

‘Please give up on Earth. Aliens. No matter where your home planet is, I guarantee it’s less of a hellhole than ours.’

Twinkle—

As if acknowledging my wish, a shooting star twinkled over the East Sea in the 9th year.

Footnotes:

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