Chapter 182 – Magical Girls in the Sky (2)
“…Are they finally going to come out? Those crazy pigeons.”
“It looks like it’s in complete chaos. It’s like everything’s turned upside down. Why do we have to face these trials in our company?”
As I stared dumbfounded at the sky, Ren next to me sighed heavily and began to grumble. I glared at him but couldn’t bring myself to take action. After all, I was the cause of all this mess.
“You might want to prepare yourself. The monsters are at a level where Shia would look cute in comparison.”
I said it to Ren, but honestly, it was also a reminder for myself. It sounded like expecting ordinary magical girls to show up was wishful thinking.
They were just pretending to be magical girls to face me, but they had the audacity to choose angelic names for their aliases.
“Competing with those lunatics for results? You have no chance of winning. You’re lazy and unmotivated after all!”
“It’s not that I’m lazy and unmotivated; I’m just not interested. And this was unavoidable. Accepting this childish competition is better than waging a great war over the fate of the world.”
I felt stung by Ren’s words, so I slapped him and bit my lip. I had to admit that Asmael had laid this out perfectly. He had figured out what I wanted and what the angel faction seeking war desired, and came up with a brilliant compromise.
Honestly, it was nothing compared to when Shia, the saint, came to visit. There were absolutely no records of angels fighting the Demon King except for the very first records of creation.
“What are you doing here?”
Just then, the rooftop door opened, and Jeon So-hyun appeared.
“You’re not planning something suspicious, are you?”
“Like secretly smoking a cigarette, just like you?”
“I-I don’t smoke anymore.”
With her short tracksuit, she naturally closed the door and walked over, smirking at my words, which startled her and made her shake her head.
“I just came up to get some fresh air. Why do you ask?”
“Cough, is there a problem?”
When I asked her about her purpose, she cleared her throat nervously while glancing at me as if to suggest she had something to say.
But seeing her like that ignited my stubbornness. We both knew but pretended not to. I figured eventually she’d spill it first if we continued this charade.
“There’s not exactly nothing wrong, but…”
“Are you supposed to go somewhere?”
Looking away awkwardly, she outright stated it. Surprised, I let out a laugh and shook my head.
“Not going anywhere. Where would I go? We’ve both experienced how hard it is to find a place to live.”
“Oh, so you’re not going?”
“…Yeah.”
I could see her eyes widen in surprise at my answer. It wasn’t wrong, though. After all, I wasn’t going back to the demon realm.
“That’s good news. I came because I just heard that Takilas might not leave after all.”
“Well, that’s some impressive news.”
In this bizarre conversation where there’s no one being deceived and everyone’s just deceiving, things came to a sudden end the moment I announced I was leaving the rooftop to return to my room.
“The monster Razak is still alive and well, but that’s all. Once that incident is resolved, there shouldn’t be any monsters left, right? Takilas will just return to normal, right?”
“…No one knows. Who knows if something worse might show up?”
I wondered what kind of havoc the angels, who had never left Heaven, would wreak. I stiffened in front of the rooftop door.
“Don’t worry too much.”
However, So-hyun’s words stopped my feet as I tried to walk away.
“If something happens, I’ll help Takilas. Even if it’s a weak power!”
“…Why would you do that for me?”
I couldn’t help but chuckle at her outburst. That wasn’t the intention when I first taught her how to harness her powers.
*
‘…Something is definitely going to happen.’
On the rooftop, in the solitude of the evening, Jeon So-hyun glared at the back of the girl in slippers as she descended the stairs, clenching her fists.
To the casual observer, she was just a girl a head shorter than herself, with simple black hair, a basic t-shirt, and black dolphin pants. But inside, she was the ‘Demon King Girl,’ reigning as the most powerful and dreadful magical girl to this day.
Despite the many rumors about her, So-hyun already considered herself one of her fervent supporters. She knew what the real her was like.
‘I have to help. As far as I can.’
So-hyun genuinely believed in Takilas. That rough first impression during their first meeting was just a strong shock that corrected her own wayward path.
Ever since, Takilas had merely been her benefactor. She awakened her powers and systematically defeated the powerful foes that sought to harm people, saving the life of her precious friend.
‘Could it be because of the situation in China? Should I ask Ha Eun-seo to take me along when she goes?’
However, So-hyun couldn’t guess what problem Takilas was currently facing. She thought it was just about a troublesome monster causing issues.
“I can’t take this anymore!!!”
And perhaps that was the correct mindset.
During that time when the two women were having their secret meeting on the rooftop, Razak roared in his secret base, unleashing his fury.
“Is staying in Korea this long a dare for me not to touch you? Fine! I’ll take a hit, Takilas.”
With anger, Razak began to draw power. Following the giant hive mind he’d built, countless legion soldiers started to move simultaneously.
“But I will end this tiresome war once and for all!!”
Fueled by rage, Razak unleashed all his accumulated resources and troops. Prolonged battles with Ashburn became a blessing in disguise for Razak.
His legion soldiers became more accustomed to battlefields where mana was used, experiencing rapid movements through the ongoing combat with the Undead Army, and that knowledge was shared among their comrades.
“We… evolve without stopping.”
Having grown a step himself, Razak was determined to finish this. It seemed that all his previous confinement was aimed at this one moment, as the legion soldiers burst forth uncontrollably.
“No, they’re coming!”
[…Have they made up their minds?]
The allied forces as well as Ashburn were already shocked and tense at the overwhelming pressure.
“Those things!”
“We need to retreat and reorganize the front lines. But time is running out!”
At the frontline, the allied forces’ base was in chaos as they scrambled to prepare for a retreat, but they were running out of time. Coming from the ruined city, Razak’s legion soldiers carried their fangs and claws, rushing with intent to kill.
“Reinforcements!”
“Artillery fire from our side!”
To save them, the aerial forces began to rain bombs down. As legion soldiers, engulfed in explosions and heat, began to die by the dozens, the alliance’s soldiers cheered at the sight.
“Wait a moment. Those are…special types!”
However, that cheer was short-lived. They were horrified to see specialized legion soldiers cutting through the thick smoke. Dressed in a strong mana barrier covering their bodies, they looked like armored knights, firing jets from their backs and heading straight for the base with their weapons raised.
“Stop them! Aaaah!”
Despite the pouring artillery and bullets to stop them, the fortifications crumbled under their mana-fueled attacks, blowing away equipment. At this rate, it was clearly a massacre waiting to happen.
“Yikes!”
In the midst of the chaos, one soldier who narrowly escaped the damaged machine gun found himself confronted by one of the legion soldiers, brandishing a raised sword.
As the sword came crashing down, ready to chop the soldier in half along with his helmet…
“Ugh, these guys have become tougher than before.”
Something blocked the attack.
Several magical girls streaked across the sky at high speed, descending upon the enemy.
“Jeanne, Retina, Shuri, Shia…! We have SS-ranked and S-ranked magical girls!”
“Everyone, stand back! You’re about to get caught up in it!”
The allied forces were astonished and awed by the appearance of high-ranked magical girls from various nations.
They were hailed as the hope of the allied forces, battling fiercely against the specially crafted monsters that Razak had spent so much effort creating.
‘This is different. This could be it!’
But at the front lines, dealing with two special types simultaneously, Jeanne was sweating profusely as she deflected enemy attacks with her lance.
Their movements and output were on a completely different level compared to before.
“Ugh!”
Eventually, Jeanne was pushed back by the coordinated assault of the enemy that moved as one body.
“Kyaaaaah!”
“They’re too fast…Aaah!”
At the same time, magical girls around her were also overwhelmed, unable to stand against the enemies. They had underestimated how quickly the foes had grown, sending out too small a force to counter.
Realizing it, even the allied forces who had been confident of victory turned pale as they sensed the crisis.
‘We need to retreat. We’ll be annihilated!’
Having narrowly dodged a spear, Jeanne gritted her teeth. With their current strength, they couldn’t hold back the enemies.
“Do you really think you can evade me? I’ll end you for your complacency!”
Rising to the occasion, Razak seized the opportunity and intensified his assault. If he could wipe out the leading magical girls of the allied forces here, he would gain a tremendous advantage.
In fact, the plan seemed to be nearing fruition, as it rendered a considerable number of magical girls combat ineffective.
“…What is this?”
But then, the sky erupted open. Everyone froze, looking up at the brilliant light pouring down, splitting open the dark clouds, revealing barely-visible shapes of wings within.
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