Mary, claiming to be Santa, was sending a message to Shiyeon at that moment.
In a spaceship in the middle of the universe, entirely unrelated to the changing seasons or the atmosphere of the holidays.
The Maker of the Monster Research and Development Room, his shift in thinking.
Contrary to what he had said over the long period of twenty Setre, that he couldn’t guarantee the development of a new monster, progress was being made quickly.
There was no need to create a monster that could withstand the heat of the sun.
It was simply a matter of creating a monster that possessed equal capabilities from one to ten.
Even if it couldn’t win against the original in a fight, what if it could be replicated similarly?
That alone would already be an incredible achievement.
When it came to data regarding Sun’s battles, it was piled up to the point of exhaustion inside the spaceship.
Now, it was simply a matter of synthesizing appropriate organisms found throughout the universe and teaching them the prepared data.
‘With this guy and that guy….’
Excited by how quickly he was getting closer to the results than expected, he was humming joyfully while working, letting emotions show through his mechanical arm.
During this time, the door to the Monster Research and Development Room opened with a hissing sound like steam escaping.
What monster was here to disrupt his joyful work?
Determined to scold a monster that was of lower standing than himself, the Maker turned around.
However, what appeared beyond the door was Medik Tenkl.
Not a lower-ranking monster, but of a similar level, and even a close friend.
The rage that quickly covered his head began to cool just as swiftly.
“How’s the progress going?”
“You came at a good time.”
It wasn’t easy to gauge time, but Medik Tenkl had been coming in and out of the Monster Research and Development Room multiple times within a human day.
After hearing reports that results were coming in, he truly was making frequent visits as if appropriate for the saying “a day in the life.”
It was also true that the workload in the recovery room had drastically reduced after negotiations with Sun.
If the recovery device was functioning properly, there was realistically nothing to do; that was the job of the recovery room staff.
While the Maker muttered such complaints and jealousy inwardly, he fiddled with the seed that would bring destruction to the spaceship.
Of course, the Maker had no idea that the organism he was fiddling with was a seed of despair.
Who would have thought that the blade meant to strike the enemy would twist inward?
It was probably something that no monster aboard that spaceship, including him, could have imagined.
“Well then, I’ll start making it right away; the synchronization rate with the data is almost a perfect match, so it’ll be similar in appearance too.”
“Oh.”
At the Maker’s words that it would be made similarly, Medik Tenkl let out a short admiration.
A transparent and enormous metal cylinder, where the synthesized and completed monster would appear.
The steps of the two monsters came to a halt in front of the cylinder, to check the completed product.
The writhing organism began to coalesce like a slimy clay, starting to take on the shape of a human.
Its body was composed of a single silver color, cold as metal.
Unlike the Maker, who had not faced the real thing, Medik Tenkl had seen it directly.
Excluding the color, he was facing a being that looked exactly like the one who had calmly said she would kill him.
At the terrifying level of similarity of that appearance, Medik Tenkl shuddered slightly, feeling a chill that she was right in front of him.
Shaking his head to rid himself of the fear engulfing him, he opened his mouth to praise the Maker for the situation right before his eyes.
“What an incredible achievement; plus, it was completed much faster than scheduled.”
“I also didn’t think it would be this easy; I brought all the data related to Sun that was on the spaceship… it should be pretty strong for a synthesized monster.”
The reassurance that accompanied the Maker’s explanation.
Medik Tenkl gently caressed the cylinder containing her replication with his tentacles.
“…Hmm.”
At the sight that chillingly resembled her, Medik Tenkl let out a short groan at the moment.
The closed eyelids of her replica flickered for a brief instant, as if reacting to the unfamiliar sounds from the surroundings.
Its monochromatic, metallic-like retina was far from human.
As the cold sensation of an unresponsive gaze pierced through him, Medik Tenkl tentatively asked the Maker.
Surely, it didn’t seem that way, but it was clear that the eye within the cylinder was scanning its surroundings.
Feeling a creeping sense of foreboding, Medik Tenkl took a step back.
Could it be, no way.
Hoping desperately that the ominous feeling was wrong, he subtly questioned the Maker, who had peered into the cylinder.
“Maker, you said you put all of Sun’s data from the spaceship in, right?”
“Of course, without missing a single detail.”
Without missing a single detail.
Hearing that answer, Medik Tenkl, though not showing it outwardly, began to once again feel a sense of despair along with conviction.
With a trembling voice, he opened his mouth to ask once again the fact he had denied until the very end.
“Did you also include the memory data presumed to be hostile towards the monster?”
“Ah.”
In that moment, the Maker’s short sigh reached Tenkl.
The memory data of Sun, speculated from the monster’s perspective.
Only then did the Maker, realizing the seriousness of the situation through the continuous questions, finally turn his gaze back into the metal cylinder.
The hollow eyes oscillated back and forth before they eventually locked onto the two monsters.
Like a human facing a wild beast who does not turn around to flee, the two monsters began to slowly take a step back, their gaze locked onto that empty eye.
However, that was merely a method of dealing with an apex predator encountered through biological instincts.
What had been thoroughly learned from a human perspective did not apply here.
“This is a serious problem…”
With the sound of the metal cylinder being squashed, the Maker was speaking as it crumpled against the wall, leaving a sticky trace behind.
It had occurred in the blink of an eye due to its sheer physical strength.
Simultaneously, an unforgettable signal of despair rang throughout the spaceship.
Without knowing what had occurred, Medik Tenkl turned his gaze towards it.
The tentacles, now limply extended, thoroughly indicated that this situation was entirely unexpected.
The empty gaze looked at him indifferently, before it immediately swung a fist.
That was the end of his consciousness.
“Gah!”
“Cough!”
The two monsters regained consciousness in the recovery room nearly simultaneously.
The monsters in the recovery room tilted their heads in confusion.
Surely, they were not two monsters heading towards Earth; why had they been forcibly transferred to the recovery device and regained consciousness?
Was there a fight among the higher-ups?
The questions from the recovery room monsters were rendered meaningless as the two monsters roared almost in unison.
“Prepare to broadcast across the entire spaceship! Immediately!”
“Quickly! If that gets here…!”
“Yes? Ah, yes…”
The recovery room monsters had no idea what the two higher-ups were about to say.
In the frenzied urgency that felt like the end of the world was approaching, they only adjusted to ensure that their voices could be heard throughout the entire spaceship.
“Ahh, we alert all monsters in the fleet.”
The crackling broadcast tone echoed briefly through the spaceship, followed by a short notification.
For the monsters who had briefly forgotten the threat posed by Sun and were savoring happiness, it was indeed a signal announcing despair.
“The replica of Magical Girl Sun, which was under research in the Monster Research and Development Room, has escaped and is now roaming the spaceship…”
No sooner had that brief notification rang out than the commotion on the spaceship grew to a level that could be felt even in the recovery room.
The clatter of things falling, as if something had toppled over from a bed, was loud enough to be heard in the recovery room.
Only then did the recovery room monsters realize why the two higher-ups had appeared so suddenly flustered, and they opened their eyes wide to look at each other.
“What?!”
“Ahhh!!!”
“Save me! Ahhh!”
The screams and panicked chaos of monsters were audible even in the recovery room.
Medik Tenkl did not fail to understand that feeling.
Yelling the screams of a female, he too wanted to escape the recovery room immediately.
However, if the recovery device in this room was damaged, it would mean the end for the spaceship.
Wasn’t the reason he had just narrowly escaped with his life because of this spaceship’s recovery device?
Gathering the trembling mass of his tentacles, Medik Tenkl calmly conveyed via broadcast.
“Monster brethren, that has just escaped from the Monster Research and Development Room. Ensure to lure it as far away from the recovery room as possible, even if it means serving as bait! If the recovery room cannot function, we all meet our end!”
Thump thump thump, heavy footsteps filled the corridor.
If the recovery device was functioning properly, the monsters could survive in some way.
It was a march toward death, but at the same time, a struggle to survive.
Numerous monsters aboard the spaceship became entangled in chaos.
Some monsters, following the faithful order to become bait, returned to the recovery room in droves.
Fortunately, the overwhelming strength of the spaceship, where the monsters’ stronghold lay, ensured that the detailed tortures coded within the data were not enacted, allowing the monsters to return to the front lines immediately.
Yet, an infinite war was not something that could exist.
In the end, it was a war of attrition.
“Maker, is there no way?”
Medik Tenkl asked the Maker with a heavy expression.
As the one who had caused the incident, he should have some clue on how to solve it.
“Even if the synchronization rate with the replica is high, ultimately, it’s just a hastily synthesized organism… then.”
“Then what?”
“Fight it until it collapses, no matter what…”
“Damn it, that means there’s no sharp solution.”
With Medik Tenkl’s sigh, dozens of hours passed aboard the spaceship.
An unforgettable nightmarish time mixed with countless deaths among the monsters.
Only after that could they finally suppress and eliminate Sun’s replica.
Though it had been a torturous time that would likely leave trauma, somehow managing to solve the issue had lifted their spirits, thinking they might be able to face the original too.
However, the wolf-headed monster, who had been sane even when facing Sun directly, said this.
Compared to the original, it was simply a fake that bore only a resemblance in strength.
