Chapter 157 – Evolving Justice (7)
“Are you really going to continue?! We’ve already been discovered and attacked, and now there’s fighting… who knows what will happen if we go any further!”
“But Shia has a point. We killed China’s number one Magical Girl, Seirin. Plus, if we drag this out any longer, who knows what will happen?”
Meanwhile, in Vietnam, a clueless gang was being wiped out in one swift blow.
Having survived clashes with the enemy, Aria and Shia quietly landed on a deserted beach, discussing future measures with some of the American Magical Girls and agents they rescued from the sea and their warships.
During this process, an American agent was astonished and shook his head at Aria and Shia’s determination to move forward. However, both Aria and Shia had already made up their minds.
“It seems we now have resistance to Holy Power, and as for that horrifically twisted appearance? If we give it more time, it won’t end well.”
Having fought against Seirin and Chinese Magical Girls before, Shia especially insisted on haste. She was convinced they would grow stronger with time.
“We can just destroy the facility!”
“But… let me contact the higher-ups first.”
The agent flinched at their firmness but ultimately asked their Magical Girl for help and contacted their headquarters in America through their mascot.
However, the intentions of Aria and Shia were not particularly important. They had already agreed to act as they wished.
“Orders have come down.”
And in less than 30 minutes, a conclusion was rapidly reached in a meeting held by the higher-ups.
“It’s certain that something larger is at play. We don’t know if we can execute this operation again, so I’m ordering a survey of the inland areas for anyone who wishes to volunteer…”
“Then there’s no need to hesitate.”
Shia, who had healed everyone’s injuries with her Holy Power, urged Aria. Aria nodded, furrowing her brow.
After getting this far and having fought and killed, there was no reason to step back.
“If any strange tricks are played again, we need to uncover the truth and end it.”
They moved their bodies, slightly recovered by the power of Holy Power, towards the branches of the Revolutionary Committee deep in the continent. Having already gathered the information collected by the U.S. intelligence bureaucracy, they dashed through the darkness.
They were no longer reckless. After all, they had managed to eliminate the most threatening Magical Girl, Seirin.
“…What is that?”
However, they were not the only ones monitoring their movements.
As they neared their destination, they encountered a black-haired girl clad in a suit-like body armor.
“No way!”
Both Aria and Shia gasped in shock as the girl resembled the Seirin they had killed.
“It wouldn’t be strange if anything happens now. Our options are to fight or flee.”
Only Shia stably stared at the figure and drew her weapon.
“Right. There’s no point in running.”
Aria regained her fighting spirit as well.
Other Magical Girls felt the same. Gathered together to fight, they were stealthily watching their opponent under the gradually lightening forest.
“She’s coming!”
The lone opponent made the first move. But her strength was not comparable to the weak foes Shia had fought. Aria, pushed back by a strong impact, gritted her teeth.
“Ahh!”
Someone’s stomach was deeply pierced by a swung scythe before it was pulled out. A Magical Girl, bleeding from the hole in her body, died on the spot.
“You bastard…”
Shia’s eyes glowed blue with fury. At the same time, she swung her sword, releasing strong energy towards the opponent.
The girl in black armor was an opponent they had already knocked down once. More importantly, her overall strength was weak compared to the real Seirin.
With the intense power of Holy Power strong enough to wipe out dozens of meters ahead, Seirin’s clone was launched through the air, crashing into the ground.
“…What the hell is that?”
“This can’t be real!”
“We’re surrounded!”
Of course, this was just a one-on-one comparison.
As they all reeled back, unable to believe their eyes, they genuinely fell into panic.
“Could it be…”
“Those are clones of the dead Magical Girl, Seirin.”
Aria grimaced as she glared at the clones who were starting to appear one by one from all directions. There was no trace of emotion on their faces.
Not even a fragment of the original Seirin’s feelings could be felt. They were simply machines or dolls following preset commands.
“Did they just let this slide? How can that be?”
“That’s…”
Amid all this, Aria protested to the Fairy Company and Fairy Council through her mascot, Lulu, because the fairies had remained silent even after the monsters finally encroached on the authority of Yggdrasil and the bodies of the Magical Girls.
*
“Rana!”
“Shut up. Do you even know what’s happening right now?”
“That, that’s…”
“Aren’t the council taking action? Then I, Rana, will take personal measures as a faithful servant following Yggdrasil’s duties.”
Observing the situation, Rana immediately got up and moved, heading towards the office of a council member. Shocked by her sudden appearance, he was even more astonished at her next words.
“Does that look like a Magical Girl? They’re merely the results of our Magical Girls being dissected by a horrific monster down to the cellular level! This is a challenge against Yggdrasil!”
“We want to intervene too. But as you know, we can’t stop the Magical Girls from moving on their own.”
“What does that matter? We may not be able to touch the Magical Girls! But we must stop the shady humans supplying them with more Magical Girls. If we do that, there won’t be any additional Magical Girls.”
Fire sparked in Rana’s eyes. Although she was doing the same thing, she couldn’t bring herself to recognize them as allies.
She believed the companies that monopolized the achievements occurring in China while ignoring the situation to continue cranking out Magical Girls were more vile than the power struggles within the council. This had been ongoing, and now it had exploded.
“There are quite a few council members they’ve seduced as well. But this is certainly an issue we’re going to face head-on. How dare they challenge Yggdrasil’s authority as a monster?”
The council member nodded and agreed to Rana’s demands. Although the fairies couldn’t actively intervene in Earth’s affairs, they could handle their internal matters.
“Director!”
However, that was not the only problem.
“Damn… these bastards are too strong. No, there are too many.”
“There’s no way they could produce soldiers of this caliber without any cost. Just how many sacrifices were made for one of these dolls?”
Aria and Shia, backing each other, gasped for breath.
The clones of Seirin, created by Razak who had put his own power into the analyzed data, were now besieging them in numbers exceeding tens.
Each of their individual powers certainly was not to the level of the fully modified original. However, when it became a collective force, its destructive power could not be ignored.
“They’re coming… again!”
“Avoid it!”
Once more, the clones swung their scythes like windmills from all directions.
Aria and Shia, backing each other, desperately fought. Yet ultimately, the opponent’s variables proved to be too strong.
“Kuhk…”
As Aria was battered down by a swung spear, creating a loud noise as she hit the ground, Shia, who was dealing with five others at once, failed to block with her wings against the five rapid strikes and stumbled, kneeling down in the deeply gouged earth.
It wasn’t just weariness; fighting multiple SS-class Magical Girls with resistance to Holy Power was nearly physically impossible, even for a Saint.
In fact, it was a miracle Shia had endured this much. Thanks to having her back protected by Aria.
‘…A decision is necessary.’
Shia gazed blankly at the approaching clones of Seirin. The hero was in danger. In such cases, all that was needed was a decision, or at least that was what she learned.
“Yes! Yes! Do it! Kill them just like the others!”
Meanwhile, beyond the vision of the clones, the chairwoman Zhao Zhirin, controlling the clones, felt a long-lost sense of accomplishment when she saw Aria and Shia forced to their knees.
All those countless sacrifices invested rushed through her mind. It was certainly time to claim compensation.
‘…The hero must be kept alive.’
In the middle of a land strewn with the corpses of others and torn flesh, Shia bit her lip as she watched the purple-helmeted figure raising a scythe to behead her.
To secure a future, she had to preserve hope.
“…What is this?”
It was at that moment, a strange, explosive power surged rapidly toward them. Both Shia and the clones involuntarily turned their heads toward the distant sky.
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