Chapter 114 – The Unbending Flower (4)
The truth is, I was intrigued the moment I first laid eyes on her.
As I followed her actions subsequently, that intrigue only grew stronger. She had clearly tasted a fear of a different caliber, yet she stood in my way, boldly declaring she would reform me.
Seeing such a warrior-like figure, I thought of her as the seed of a hero.
Excluding the angels of the Celestial Realm who hesitate to step forward, she was the only being capable of battling with me here and the true adversary who could help me grow further.
If a hero were to emerge from this continent, it would be one thing, but if a hero appeared on this Earth, I would truly have been overjoyed.
We could have fought without hesitation, growing stronger together.
That’s why I sometimes spared her life and sometimes left her be. No matter what she experienced with Rene, what storms she faced around her, or what despair she suffered because of me.
If challenging the Demon King and engaging in struggle are essential virtues, then heroes must face trials to temper their insides.
But in the end, Aria could not overcome her trials and was broken.
“Are you satisfied?”
Aria looked at me and smiled. Honestly, it was hard to tell whether it was a smile or tears of blood flowing down her cheeks.
“No, not at all.”
Draped in a crimson aura, she glanced at her black-tipped hands and murmured.
“Strength is always lacking. I want a stronger power.”
“And what will you use that strength for?”
“You said it yourself. Strength is justice, strength is the standard! So I must become as strong as possible. Otherwise, I can’t become my own justice!”
With a twisted smile, Aria pointed at me and shouted.
“I agree. Just as you say, the belief that strength is everything is ‘my belief’.”
I glanced at Jeon So-hyun, who was collapsed on the floor. The employees of the Management Bureau trembled as they looked at us.
“But you must surely have had ‘your own belief’.”
Jeon So-hyun and the employees likely tried to block Aria because they held their own beliefs. I didn’t think they were wrong. There are no absolutes in beliefs.
“…I’ve been thinking wrongly all this time. That’s all it is. You are the proof of that.”
“I never once forced you to believe in my beliefs. Simply, those who sought to hinder or obstruct me were not strong enough to shatter my beliefs. Are you really agreeing to follow my beliefs?”
Sighing, I shook my head. I didn’t think Aria, already invaded by the thoughts of a Smalillian, could think the same way as before.
My heart ached slightly. The disappointment was as great as the shattered expectations. She was not the makings of a hero, but merely a child.
“So what do you plan to do now?”
“I must qualify. And if I qualify, I’ll sweep everything away. All the trash, pests, and vermin.”
Aria smirked as she boldly declared her intentions.
“I’ve trained hard, pushing my body to its limits every single day, thinking of how to contribute to the world. That was a misguided thought. This rotten world is filthy and cunning, and it won’t listen to words. It must be trampled and crushed.”
“That’s quite a mindset, similar to that Smalillian brat who wanted to reign over everything.”
Madness flickered in her eyes.
What she went through, what wounds she bore, and what thoughts she had—honestly, that wasn’t important to me.
But I blocked her path.
“What are you doing? Step aside!”
“Just because you agree with my ideology doesn’t mean I’m on your side. Rather, since you’ve come into my belief, it reflects the same in our relationship.”
I laughed at Aria, who wore a stiff expression. She seemed flustered by my unexpected response.
“You know, don’t you? The strong are always right. If you think you’re right, you just need to be stronger than me.”
“You, why… I… I thought you were my…”
“This is more of an opportunity. A last chance to prove that a true warrior once shone and that you have not broken.”
I raised a finger slightly. Aria’s body trembled in fury.
“Come at me with all your heart, senior. Out of the affection we shared, I’ll grant you a death as a magical girl, not as a monster.”
Whether Aria went out and caused chaos or killed those she held a grudge against was beyond my concern.
I merely granted her a chance, one she once brought to me with hope.
At least if she died at my hands here, the Magical Girl Aria could remain just a magical girl, not a fallen traitor turned monster.
“Why… why are you standing in my way too!”
Finally, unable to contain her rage, Aria charged at me in a frenzy.
*
“Ugh… cough.”
“Hyun-ah, are you okay?”
“Aria… what about her?”
Jeon So-hyun barely opened her eyes. The sharp tremors and roaring sounds made her do so. In her hazy field of vision, Oh Yoon-seo looked down at her with a worried expression, holding So-hyun’s head on her lap.
“…”
At Jeon So-hyun’s question about Aria, Oh Yoon-seo couldn’t speak and simply shed tears.
“The one responsible has come. And the insubordinate brat who doesn’t know her place will be executed by that person.”
“Ah, no.”
Responding coldly, Gabi made Jeon So-hyun suppress her abdominal pain and rise.
The deafening sound and tremors waking her were caused by a battle. A fierce battle where powerful strikes shook the entire underground facility dozens of times a second.
“Takilas!”
Breathless, Jeon So-hyun was startled to see Takilas, who had appeared while she was unconscious. But she was even more horrified after seeing her opponent, who was currently engaged in a bloody brawl with Takilas.
“You foolish thing. You absorbed thoughts beyond your capacity and ended up consumed by them.”
“There must be a way to reverse this, right?!”
At Gabi’s scoff, Jeon So-hyun grabbed her pant leg. Gabi, who was flinching from the pleading look in So-hyun’s eyes, could not bring herself to push him away.
“… At the very least, I don’t know. Whether to kill or save that brat is all up to that person’s wishes.”
Taking a puff from her pipe, Gabi shook her head. Despairing at that statement, So-hyun looked back toward the fray.
Once a monstrous ghost, Aria was now wildly unleashing punches and kicks, and Takilas was responding with a determined expression.
‘How is Takilas dealing with it that way.’
Even Jeon So-hyun, who had woken in the midst of chaos, quickly realized the anomaly. Takilas was facing Aria while employing only pure physical combat, swinging punches and kicks.
No Shadow, no weapon like a whip. Instead, she was absorbing the shockwaves to prevent bystanders from getting hurt.
“Why!”
The sound of Aria’s knuckles collided with Takilas’ hand, cracking the concrete floor. Yet, Takilas didn’t move an inch.
“Why are you stopping me? You’re a murderer too. You’re enforcing justice with your strength as well, Code Red!”
“As I said, I want you to remain a magical girl. Half-hearted strength is merely violence and barbarism.”
Takilas quietly replied to the ranting Aria.
“I hope no one gets hurt or killed because of you.”
Takilas’ hold on Aria’s knuckles began to crack. Finally, she completely crushed Aria’s knuckles.
“Think carefully. What kind of belief must you have to genuinely become stronger? If you simply follow me, you will never defeat me.”
“Ugh!”
Takilas brutally kicked Aria’s belly. Bleeding, she charged again with a kick, but Takilas stood her ground, absorbing the blow to her face without flinching.
In fact, it was Aria’s shin that cracked and rebounded from meeting Takilas’ small face.
“I… I’ve tried everything. I’ve done it all. And yet I still failed…!”
Suppressing the pain in her legs, Aria was barely holding back tears. Even in her madness, a steadfast wall unlike any other dropped any will to fight, sapping her strength further.
“… I’ve already given you hints and opportunities to spare. Figure it out. If you can’t think, you’ll die here.”
As Aria, now mad from corruption, showed signs of her mental breakdown, Takilas, who had only been defending so far, finally took an offensive stance.
“Ugh… stop… urgh…”
What followed was merciless beating.
Clearly, Aria had superior techniques in martial arts and combat, but the fundamental disparity in strength was clear.
Takilas struck Aria with a heartfelt intent.
When Aria raised her guard, Takilas shattered it and punched her in the face. She relentlessly targeted Aria’s injured legs, breaking and twisting them.
It was an unmerciful assault beyond what she could endure with her extraordinary regeneration.
‘I’m going to die.’
From the murderous intent radiating from Takilas, Aria sensed her impending death. There was never any intention of sparing her.
Takilas was an entity that could do anything. Killing her was nothing of concern.
‘… Director. Because of me.’
On the brink of death, Aria captured the image of Oh Yoon-seo who was crying with her mouth covered. Ironically, as her breath began to fade and her consciousness blurred, her mind felt clearer.
What she truly wanted, what actions she had taken, and so forth.
“Farewell, Magical Girl Aria.”
And as she faced Takilas, who was about to end her life, she realized what she truly needed to do to pay back.
The fact that Takilas had mentioned her following her was merely a pale imitation became a hint.
At the moment the final blow was about to fall, Aria’s momentum shifted slightly.
‘The way to die as a Magical Girl.’
Knowing it was futile, Aria gathered all her remaining strength and sprang into action.
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