Episode 116 – The Unyielding Flower (6)
“It’s a top secret. Call Dr. Heo right now. Hurry!”
“Y-Yeah, maybe going to the hospital is…”
“No. It’s better if this remains unknown outside. We’ll handle it within this building. There’s no other choice.”
Lee Min-hyung managed to maintain some composure amidst the chaos. To be honest, he didn’t quite understand the situation.
Their headquarters was just wrecked by Aria, who had fallen into corruption, and it was Takilas who intervened. And now, the great Takilas was in a seriously injured state.
‘Of course, security isn’t going to be maintained by just doing this. But somehow…!’
Takilas hadn’t spoken a word yet, but he was showing what he believed to be his best response.
Keeping this matter as hidden as possible and executing things in secrecy. The reasoning was simple. Takilas was well aware that he was a sort of suppressor.
If rumors spread that the suppressor was rendered ineffective, everything that had been suppressed would explode.
“We need security. Call Karin immediately.”
“U-Um, I’m in the middle of something, and the person I’m talking to is cursing at me, saying they want to tear their hair out over this phone call.”
“I’ll compensate them somehow, so let them take leave or sick days or whatever!”
To prepare for any unexpected events, he called his most trusted and powerful bodyguard. Anyone who didn’t know would think someone was trying to harm the incapacitated Takilas.
“You’re a smart kid, so you know. There are many people in this land who would love to hear you’ve fallen. And those people don’t play by the rules. For their own purposes, they would mercilessly kill a helpless child like you.”
While lying in bed, he explained the current situation to Takilas, who was staring blankly at him. What he had done and why, and so on.
The goal was simply to prevent any misunderstandings on Takilas’ part.
“Hmm…?”
Thanks to this, he flinched when he saw her faintly lifting the corners of her mouth.
[You seem to act as if you’re on my side.]
“W-What is this?!”
Lee Min-hyung was taken aback by the voice of Takilas echoing in his head.
“I-Is everything alright?!”
[My brain function is partially damaged, but it’s just a problem moving my body.]
“What the hell…”
[What’s important isn’t that.]
Unaware that Takilas had a “real brain” elsewhere, Lee Min-hyung could only shake his head at her seemingly carefree demeanor as if having a scratch on a finger.
[What do you think about me? Why did you take the lead in creating the Frontier?]
“That’s quite an unexpected question.”
He wiped the cold sweat from his brow and looked down at Takilas. Looking down like this, she was just a small girl, but given all the things he had seen from her, he couldn’t let his guard down.
“As the world changes, many have jumped into the sea of change just like the old Europeans who set sail to find a frozen utopia. The government of this country, which established the Management Bureau, and the criminal organizations that have dabbled in horrific crimes, and those who are producing super-soldiers claiming to replace magical girls. But we, as merely a ship, have lost our essence amidst the storms we encounter.”
[So you’re saying that storm is me?]
She scoffed at his words, indicating the storm, but his serious expression remained unchanged.
“Our purpose has always been one. To control the change brought by the appearance of magical girls for the sake of this country and its people, to work for justice. Creating the Frontier was part of that. Magical girls are, after all, the citizens we must protect, and the true justice to be pursued is to protect as many people as possible. That’s the duty of someone in government in this country.”
[So it’s all about protecting the magical girls, huh? Your conviction seems solid. I… like it.]
Takilas’s voice showed interest at the unwavering determination in his eyes.
“Therefore, now that I have this opportunity, I dare to ask you, Takilas.”
His voice, which had been steady while revealing his beliefs, had now quivered. It was a clear sign that he had made a great decision.
[Are you asking me to join the Frontier? Unfortunately, I’ll have to decline.]
“What… Why?!”
[…You don’t know me. Is that all you think of me? A storm that appeared in the ocean of magical girls?]
Lee Min-hyung noticed that she was mocking him despite only moving her eyes.
At the same time, he once again recalled Takilas. A peculiar being who possessed tremendous power but could not be predicted. The only clearly stated belief was that she sought power and believed it to be justice.
In fact, little was known about what she wanted or what kind of being she was.
“Right. What is it you want? Who even are you?”
[I’m an ordinary magical girl. Don’t expect too much from me. If I step in, I could smash everything annoying to pieces. The One Road? The various countries behind them? Even if I were to destroy all of those with my own hands, what would remain for you and me?]
Takilas narrowed her eyes and spoke in a reprimanding tone.
Although the details couldn’t be shared, Lee Min-hyung managed to read something from her manner of speaking.
“You’re acting as if you’re an outsider. Even though this world is undeniably the world you’ll be living in, it seems irrelevant to you whether your influence grows.”
“I’ve always said this to you.”
“…!”
“You need to become stronger, on your own.”
Though Takilas’s mouth moved haltingly, proper words emerged. It was thanks to her self-regeneration, which slowly mended her physical wounds.
“I’m not going to directly help you. You all need to grow stronger on your own from now on. But I will cheer for you. Those bastards are slimy and disgusting, and it’s annoying.”
“Really… are you not going to step in?”
“Who knows? If they directly ‘challenge’ me, or if they try to harm my ‘main body’ that’s quietly living…”
As her speech patterns improved rapidly, Takilas faintly smiled.
‘Couldn’t say that I enjoyed all the calls coming in while I was on leave.’
Of course, there were still things left unsaid.
*
“Well, well, this is quite something.”
“No need to poke at it. It’s going to heal soon anyway.”
“That might be true. You are an extraordinary being after all, kid. But it seems your right arm isn’t coming back.”
The doctor, who introduced himself as Heo Seung-hoon, had brought in strange machines and was examining my body under the pretense of treatment.
After all, it was just a standard magical girl’s body. There really wouldn’t be anything special about it. However, it surprisingly had its sharp corners.
“A teenage girl with a severed right arm overnight… wouldn’t it be more strange if you couldn’t find anything?”
“That’s not something for you to worry about.”
As I swung my legs, I got off the bed. All my injuries were healed except for the completely gone right arm.
“The Director might have told you, but there are many who could target you. No matter how strong a magical girl you are, in a non-transformed state…”
“That’s not it. New types of super soldiers called the Special Task Force are appearing without using serum or pills, and you can’t grasp that? It’s not physically impossible for magical girls to use their powers without transforming. It’s just a concept difference.”
“Wait, so you can use your powers even in a non-transformed state?!”
“Yeah.”
His eyes widened in surprise. It seemed he still hadn’t grasped the concept of magical power.
Above all, I had never intended to reveal my true form.
“Plesea.”
“M-Most esteemed Demon King!”
Having left the Management Bureau, I summoned Plesea in a deserted area. She gasped at my wretched appearance.
“What kind of monster did this to you?!”
“Transform into my appearance right now. Make sure your arm is intact. And since I had to ditch in the middle of school, go get punished in my stead.”
“Where are you going?”
“I need to fix my arm.”
In a hurry, I was going to use Plesea to patch up my true form while I thought of how to restore my arm.
“Y-You mean it’s impossible?! What kind of nonsense is that?!”
“It’s not a lie, Your Majesty.”
But as I pried my way into the connection with Yggdrasil, it casually dropped a horrible statement from my perspective.
“To put it bluntly, the results are insufficient. To heal your body, the achievements you’ve obtained must be used as energy, but there was not enough from the Smalillian you captured recently to heal your body to suit your standing. In fact, constructing a magical girl’s body isn’t efficient relative to the power invested.”
“Dammit.”
I had no choice. After all, Yggdrasil was the root and origin of the magical girl.
Running out, I looked down at the city with fiery determination.
For the first time since becoming a magical girl, I sought out villains for my achievements. Luckily, this world was overflowing with villains. One finger, and it would all be gone…
“Hah.”
“Calm down. It won’t take long anyway.”
Caught up in my frightening thoughts, I finally regained my senses. Ren, who was keeping an eye on me, was right to say that. After all, with villains overflowing, it wasn’t going to be hard to take them down.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
