Chapter 139 – The War of Convictions (9)
“This guy… it’s a monster!”
Tigger screamed. This creature that had ambushed Shia was a being that had long since transcended the boundaries of humans.
Caught off guard by the sudden attack, Shia twisted her waist to evade the swinging sword. However, she took the following kick head-on, crashing down to the ground with a shockwave.
“Are you okay?!”
“Of course.”
Getting ambushed like this didn’t deal her any significant damage. With her armor unscathed, she rose from the deep hole and glared at the sky.
“So unlucky. To run into something like this in a place like this.”
Tigger grumbled about his misfortune, thinking that the monster was just an ordinary one targeting a magical girl.
But Shia instinctively sensed something. It seemed that the opponent’s intentions were not so simple.
“I don’t feel any genuine resolution from it.”
“What does that mean?”
“It feels like it’s moving not from instinct or conviction, but as if it’s acting on orders.”
Frowning, she watched the monster charging at her again and summoned her holy power. The holy energy swirling around her transformed into blades and shot forth, only to be countered by the black sword the monster wielded.
In retaliation, it launched a fierce slash to attack her.
The powerful strike left a scar over ten meters long on the ground. Even Shia, crossing her arms to block it, was pushed back.
“Unbelievable… this thing is at least an S-rank monster. It’s dangerous!”
Taking a rough guess at the monster’s grade, Tigger looked at Shia with anxious eyes. Sure, she had shown overwhelming strength until now, but that was against ordinary people.
For those unaware of her true identity, her power remained a mystery.
“To lose to evil is to commit a sin.”
With a slight smile, Shia drew even more power. Until now, she had merely been holding back. Since her opponent seemed somewhat strong, she unleashed her full power and let loose a torrent of holy energy.
“…!”
The monster raised its defenses upon seeing the massive flash descending upon it. The holy energy transformed into an explosion that wiped out the surrounding area, creating a storm, but the monster managed to hold on by using up all its barriers.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
However, that wasn’t the end. Before the shockwave from the explosion dissipated, the creature charged through it and grabbed Shia by the collar.
Her grin radiated confidence, and despite its struggles, the monster couldn’t escape her grip. Her unyielding sky-blue eyes unnerved the glimmering red eyes of the monster.
“Pitiful minion of evil. Who sent you?”
Injecting her holy power through her grasp, she weakened the monster’s strength and pressed on with her suspicions.
“Did you think I wouldn’t know? Your actions, which should be performed at the cost of your life, show no trace of your earnest will, meaning you are following someone’s orders.”
“…”
In truth, her insight was quite accurate. However, the creature couldn’t respond. It inherently lacked the ability to do so.
“Of course, you don’t need to answer.”
But Shia’s actions were already beyond the realm of expectations.
Seeing that the monster refused to answer, she clenched her fist and swung it down, completely smashing the monster’s head.
“After all, I will eradicate all evil in this world.”
With a chuckle, she tossed aside the monster’s corpse.
Her claim of eradicating all evil, which could easily be deemed arrogant and foolish, was filled with her determination.
There was basis for her belief. The true standard of evil she knew was rooted in the demon realm that had fought the Celestial Realm to consume the world and the Demon King.
Although the current Demon King maintained peace unlike previous ones, historically, the Demon King was always seen as the source of all evil in the world.
Yet, on Earth, there was no clear focal point of evil like a Demon King. There appeared to be no foes that measured up to that standard.
Therefore, there would be no beings to stand in her way. She could spread her conviction across the entire world.
This was the judgment she made before even arriving in Korea.
“…What do you think? As a prototype that hasn’t reached a critical phase, there’s no way we can stop that silver-armored magical girl.”
There were onlookers observing her from the corpse of the fallen monster.
“Her first appearance was on an airplane in the sky. Has no useful information been gathered?”
“Y-yes. No nationality, no identity even after her transformation; she hasn’t revealed her name herself.”
A young man, visibly sweating, replied to a question from someone who seemed higher up the chain.
Since her first appearance, Shia had been capturing attention while crisscrossing nations, her identity and motives still unclear.
Though she possessed immense power, she seemed impossible to control or even approach, making her a real thorn in their sides, even now that she was on their territory.
“Our contact with the Vietnamese gang was crushed by her, and in that process, there’s definitely been a leak of information. It wasn’t long before she shifted her course slightly upward towards the Korean Peninsula after diving into the sea.”
“To think that some naïve rookie would dare oppose us—the ones who have survived countless challenges… What a drag.”
He smirked.
They might not know her identity or goals, but they had a clear understanding of her nature.
She spoke of justice while exterminating evil. He scoffed at that notion since, in his eyes, justice was himself.
“Why are we involved in all this? To create a better world, a stronger nation, and a more evolved humanity. Answer me this: are we the ‘evil’ that rookie speaks of?”
“Absolutely not, Chairman.”
“Let’s send a formal greeting, informing her this land belongs to us and requesting her to leave in a polite manner. If she agrees, that’s enough. Otherwise, we can justify using force to subdue her.”
He opted for the best course of action. Not every matter was settled yet. More time was needed, and he didn’t want to create chaos beforehand.
“Make sure no unnecessary noise reaches the Chairman. Understood? Handle it as quietly as possible.”
“Understood.”
His orders were swiftly carried out.
From their nearest branch, a group of people set out towards Shia, who was currently hovering over the southern rural city.
Leading the group was a magical girl donning a flowing outfit.
“Stop! Halt!”
This magical girl, who had finished her ideological training and empowerment experiments, obediently followed orders.
The magical girl stood in front of Shia, blocking her path.
“Who are you?”
“I am Magical Girl Lawen of the Republic. Additionally, I’ve come in accordance with the party’s orders to find you for party matters.”
Standing confidently, Magical Girl Lawen pointed a finger at Shia. Beside her, a being presumed to be a mascot glanced around nervously.
“This land is ours. You are an unauthorized entity; you’ll have to leave.”
“That’s correct. Foreigners are supposed to seek permission before entering another country.”
Tigger subtly agreed with her words, causing Shia to frown slightly. It wasn’t that she disagreed with the logic of her words.
It was simply that she didn’t like the fact that ‘the opponent’ was saying it.
“Evil is spreading on this land. Not far from here, they were kidnapping magical girls like us and selling them off. Our kind fights against evil. Are you aware of that?”
“…What nonsense are you talking about? I fight for the proud communist party. Those who oppose the party are evil. I don’t care which country you’re from, but opposing a great nation could lead to diplomatic issues due to your audacity.”
Lawen recoiled, denying Shia’s straightforward remarks.
If she didn’t, it would mean shattering her beliefs.
The girls who fell victim to the experiments had to be viewed as more than mere victims; they were noble sacrifices. The powers they obtained through that had to be justified as rights and pride, not as acts of plunder and intimidation.
“You can’t see conviction with those eyes of yours.”
“…?!”
However, the Saint Elysia of the Celestial Church pierced through that facade.
Magical Girl Shia did not recognize her fellow magical girl Lawen as an enemy, but Saint Elysia regarded Lawen as an adversary.
A being corrupted for power, wielding that power to instigate violence. It was similar to the arguments presented by the previous demon-kind before Takilas, who were the worst foes of the past saints.
That was like the Saint’s sore spot. A human acting like a demon was, in essence, a demon itself.
“Don’t try to deny it. The group controlling you and you, their puppet, are both evil. And.”
Shia summoned her power once more. The sheer brutality of her actions against a fellow magical girl, especially in enemy territory, left everyone in shock.
[Let evil be judged!]
The Sacred Sword Radiance was drawn once more from Shia’s body, scattering its brilliant light everywhere.
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