Episode 29 – Public Enemy (9)
“Ah…”
Aria’s body collapsed.
She instinctively sensed that what was spreading through her was highly toxic, but it was already too late. Her body had started to lose its strength and didn’t move as she intended.
“Ugh.”
Mamute grabbed her by the hair and lifted her up. Her legs, now off the ground, trembled pitifully.
‘I expected I wouldn’t win. I need to buy more time.’
She grimaced in pain, glaring at Mamute’s face as he approached her.
Her only goal was to stall for time. There’s no way she would recklessly confront an SS-rank monster alone. That would just be suicide.
“Are you waiting for help?”
“If you’re so confident, keep waiting, you idiot…”
“Kuhuhuh.”
Mamute quickly caught on to her intentions and chuckled.
Aria flinched at that mocking sound but tried her best to keep her emotions in check.
Mamute’s purpose was chaos and slaughter itself. If she just scratched the surface a little, he would willingly waste time.
“Today, I guess you’ll have to suffice, Aria.”
“…What?”
“What!”
However, Mamute’s reaction as he began to open his mouth was completely unexpected.
Both Aria and LuLu, who was frantically flying around her, were taken aback.
Mamute, as if he had another purpose in mind, suddenly attempted to bite down on Aria’s head… but couldn’t.
“Ahk…”
She flopped down on the ground.
A shockwave erupted as Mamute was sent flying, bouncing off the asphalt several times before crashing into a city bus.
Amidst the heat from the explosion of the gas used for heating, Aria glared upwards while laying on the ground, squinting her eyes.
“Shuri! Sena…!”
“Serves you right, rookie.”
“If we don’t treat this poison quickly, we might have to amputate your leg.”
There were two magical girls who had burst onto the scene. Aria, who usually sparred with them, shouted without realizing it.
In their mid to late teens, they held a spear and a bow, respectively. Both were famous magical girls of S-rank with over ten years of experience, just like Aria.
“I didn’t think they’d show up in Seoul. Used up all my energy flying from Jeju.”
“I might need to take a day off tomorrow. By the way, there were no traces at all, right? What’s going on?”
They blocked Aria’s path, glaring at Mamute, who was rising from the flaming bus.
Even though there were two S-ranked girls, they didn’t feel optimistic. No, they didn’t even think they could win.
Like Aria, Shuri and Sena were only trying to buy time.
“Just hold out a little longer. ‘That person’ will probably make a move.”
“…If that woman doesn’t make a move, we won’t be able to win.”
There was a glimmer of hope. Someone known as the strongest magical girl on this land who could face SS-ranked monsters alone.
“Ah, no. Mamute right now…”
Hearing their strategy, Aria gasped in surprise.
But it was too late. Mamute, adjusting his hat, stomped the ground and disappeared in an instant.
“On! Huh?!”
“What the?! Why is he running away?!”
Shuri and Sena, flustered, looked around, but there was no sign of the monster Mamute anywhere.
What remained was the chaotic street and people still running wild. And lying around, defeated by Mamute, were the magical girls, including Aria.
“This is insane. Mamute is running away?”
“Are you really seeing this clearly? Does that look like he’s running away?!”
Shuri clicked her tongue at her mascot, who was making such ridiculous comments.
“He was just messing around. His goals are different. It’s driving me crazy; I have to go to work tomorrow.”
Shuri, sweating coldly, sighed.
Up until now, it was known that when Mamute showed up, it was usually the end for whoever was there.
Only chaos that satisfied him could put an end to his indiscriminate and violent behavior.
But today, Mamute just played around and left.
The demons he unleashed remained in place.
Nothing had been gained. Realizing that, Aria clenched her fists against the asphalt, her body still unmoving.
“…Are you satisfied?”
Even though it was past midnight, the entire city—no, the whole world—was noisy. Sirens could still be heard.
“It wasn’t bad. It surely needs more effort.”
The one responsible for all this chaos, Mamute, was now watching the scene from a rooftop with a few others.
It was a sight that magical girls, fairies, and mascots would gasp at.
Mamute, since arriving on Earth, was showing a completely different side than what he had displayed before.
“This place is more stable and has more prey than any world I’ve been to.”
He licked his lips, revealing his sharp teeth.
The Earth, the first place a chaos-loving madman stepped, was absurdly stable. Too peaceful.
“That can’t be allowed.”
To Mamute, this was like looking at a pristine white canvas, or a snowfield untouched by anyone.
Wasn’t it only natural to corrupt such things? That was Mamute’s logic.
“A beautiful world where one can freely express their emotions, discard pretenses, and act on instinct and nature.”
“You’ll surely see it if you join us.”
A middle-aged man standing behind Mamute grinned and bowed his head.
Mamute didn’t kill him; instead, he actively sought his help to gather information about this world and was strategically unleashing demons.
“There are plenty of strong magical girls.”
Mamute chuckled as he awkwardly glanced at his phone.
Then, he started licking his lips while watching videos and pictures of famous magical girls.
“Estimated rank S or higher, estimated ranking, third place… Code Red, Takilas.”
Among them, one figure in particular caught his eye.
A magical girl who had caused as much chaos in the world as he had, despite being a magical girl.
*
“Thank goodness nothing happened. That’s the biggest relief.”
At 3 AM, I returned to the facility in a car driven by the director, who was caring for Park Tae-jun. There were no nagging words.
Whether it was luck or not, I was told that no one had caused a ruckus inside the facility. Or perhaps Mamute had let the demons rampage in that area only.
“Ha…”
With mounting mental fatigue, I sighed as I opened the door and entered the room.
Putting aside everything else, it was hardest to calm down Park Tae-jun, who was trembling in fear.
“What’s up?”
However, the moment I entered the room, I was startled. Kim Soo-jung, who I thought would be asleep, was standing by the window, turned away from the door.
“Why aren’t you asleep?”
“Wait, doesn’t something feel off?”
This time, Ren noticed the anomaly before I did.
Only then did I realize the subtle traces of magic wriggling around Kim Soo-jung’s body.
There was no other explanation. That was definitely a demon.
“Where in the world did you pick that up?”
“It’s your fault.”
“…What?”
She slowly turned her body around.
Seeing her murky eyes, I clicked my tongue. Those eyes were just like the possessed people who lost their sanity and attacked the police.
“You betrayed me and hung out with bad kids.”
“…What are you planning to do with that tool in your hand?”
I glanced at the wrench she was holding, wondering where she got it.
“I’m going to knock you out and tie you up so you can never leave my side again. I don’t want to be abandoned.”
She grinned menacingly, holding duct tape in her other hand.
I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh at the absurdity. Those possessed by demons lost their internal control and revealed their amplified and twisted natures.
It was childish and ridiculous, but right now, Kim Soo-jung’s obsession was also her hidden true nature.
“Do you think you’d be happy keeping me by your side like that?”
“Don’t act all high and mighty compared to me!”
Kim Soo-jung, losing her reason, awkwardly swung the wrench.
I just let it hit me. With a thud, at the same moment, her face twisted, and she dropped the wrench.
She seemed to have hurt her hand, clutching it tightly.
“For now, just sleep quietly.”
I frowned, ringing in my head, and lightly tapped her on the solar plexus.
With a gasp, she widened her eyes, and then her eyes rolled back, collapsing as she fainted.
“This is way too late. There’s no way to extract it.”
“Interesting. So there are things you can’t do… This must go to a medium.”
“This is a real mess.”
I placed Kim Soo-jung onto the bed.
There was no way to remove the demon from her body right now. The bond had already become so strong that extracting it roughly would risk injuring her.
“I can’t even drink properly. I can’t have any fun. Just making strange excuses… Ugh, I really want a cigarette.”
Sitting on the bed, unable to even think about changing my dust-covered clothes, I scratched my head.
No matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t shake the suspicion that the world was forcing me to bare my soul.
It seemed only natural that the king of the demon realm was playing the role of a little girl.
“Ha…”
In the end, that day, I couldn’t even get a wink of sleep because of mental exhaustion.
With the sound of chirping sparrows that didn’t know any better, dawn began to break outside the window.
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