Chapter 62 – Light and Darkness (2)
“This, this is…”
Arrogance, carelessness, and delusion.
The spear glimmering like ice or crystal shattered on its own, driving fragments deep into his insides and flesh. It was only in that moment, as his breath faded, that he realized his mistake.
Rene’s eyes, looking down at his fallen form, showed no hesitation. After experiencing fierce political intrigue and the trials of her training, she had witnessed enough death.
“Her insides are different from an ordinary high school student on Earth.”
“Ah…”
No one dared to speak when the cold corpse fell, blood spilling onto the floor. After all, the Code Red magical girls were the stuff of legends. There was no one present accustomed to death.
“Why are you all so shocked? If you intend to kill others, you must be prepared to die yourself; that is the truth of the world.”
“AAH!”
Rene broke through the thin ice and shoved those she hadn’t yet taken into the spatial void. As Principal Kim Chan-seok and the others, their faces pale with horror, completely disappeared, she turned away.
She intended to go to the rooftop. There, those captured would face judgment.
“Wait a moment.”
“…Who are you?”
“Just a minor researcher. I’m also a colleague of the person you just killed. I only have one question: what exactly are you trying to do?”
It was he, a researcher from The One Road, who caught her steps for the last time, his slightly nervous face finally breaking the silence.
“What a magical girl does.”
“Don’t talk nonsense. Magical girls are…”
“Don’t you dare delude yourself. Compromising with reality, conforming to society, and submitting to evil are things that a magical girl should never do.”
“…”
He fell silent, taken aback by Rene’s outburst. In contrast, Rene had not a shred of doubt or hesitation about her convictions.
Magical girls are transcendental beings. She firmly believed that using that power to change the limits of reality was meaningless the moment one compromises.
‘…So come, Aria. I want to hear your thoughts.’
Alone on the rooftop, Rene looked up at the clear sky.
In the playground, police, the management bureau, and broadcasting vehicles had already arrived urgently, but the person Rene was waiting for had yet to show up.
“Some, something is happening on the rooftop. What that rookie magical girl, whose alias hasn’t been revealed yet, is trying to do…”
The urgently dispatched reporter nervously spoke into the camera, live from the scene.
The police and management bureau staff, already on high alert due to Takilas’ appearance, were also intently watching Rene’s actions.
“We have to stop this. She’s definitely going to kill them.”
The management bureau’s Oh Yoon-seo felt the same way.
With a ghostly expression, she bit her lip while staring at the rooftop. Rene began pulling out those she had captured from the spatial void one by one, binding them with chains of magical power and precariously hanging them over the railing.
“Damn it! Why are there so many crazy people sprouting up lately?”
“This is quite a performance. What on earth is she doing?”
Rene’s actions were clearly alarming those around her.
High-ranking police officials and other team leaders who accompanied Oh Yoon-seo were equally horrified, cursing Rene. Some murmured that it would have been better for her to kill cleanly like Takilas instead of this nonsense, questioning if she was a psychopath.
‘A performance. That’s right. This girl is putting on a show. A show for everyone to see. What could her intention possibly be?’
However, Oh Yoon-seo, who had been researching magical girls for a long time, somewhat grasped Rene’s intent. Just as she suspected, Rene was waiting for more people to gather.
“Hena. I’m sorry, but you have to stop her. She’s definitely going to kill those people. We can talk afterward.”
Frowning, Oh Yoon-seo turned to the magical girl beside her, who was holding a large spear.
She was determined to save as many people as possible first.
“…No. I’m sorry, but I can’t get involved.”
“What?”
“I’m surprised too, but… she’s supposedly affiliated with Takilas. And it seems she’s not unfamiliar with Takilas. I don’t want to face retribution.”
However, magical girl Hena shook her head with a bitter smile. It was because the mascot firmly intervened.
“Takilas…!”
Oh Yoon-seo flinched at hearing the name.
Once that name came up, asking for anything became impossible. An unfathomable disaster that shatters reason and cannot be stopped by any means.
The weight of that name hung heavy.
‘Eun-seo.’
After Hena walked away, Oh Yoon-seo clenched her phone. On the phone screen, it displayed the number of magical girl Aria and Han Eun-seo, who kept refusing to answer calls.
“It seems you have a lot on your mind. Are you worried that that young magical girl might kill them?”
“Uh, of course, that’s a given.”
Oh Yoon-seo wasn’t the only one being tormented. The head of the information team at the management bureau, despite the chaos, frowned upon seeing those who had approached secretly.
“It’s already a Code Red. What are we waiting for?”
“Don’t speak so easily. The opponent hasn’t even been properly assessed, and I still haven’t accurately heard their intentions.”
The person who had approached him was from The One Road, and he instinctively felt a sense of wariness. He knew well what kind of organization The One Road was as a management bureau official.
“But if we let this go on, another dreadful troublemaker will emerge.”
“Are you suggesting you have some kind of method?”
“I’ll say there’s a possibility.”
The One Road researcher smirked while glancing back. In the eyes of the bewildered head of the information team, several people, already equipped for combat, were checking their gear and standing by.
“You may not know this, but one of our team members was killed by that girl… I mean, the magical girl. With approval from the Korean government, we can step in and try to subdue her. We are also familiar with combat against magical girls.”
Their intentions were blatant. For a moment, the head of the information team hesitated. He couldn’t trust them, but still, they were certainly a valuable asset.
“…No. Please wait a moment.”
However, he ultimately declined their offer.
“That girl is, after all, a citizen of this country.”
“Hmph, you’ll regret not making a decision…”
The researcher with a stiff expression spoke mockingly, but at that moment, he was not looking at the researcher’s face.
Everyone turned their heads toward the same direction.
“Aria.”
There she was. Perhaps the only magical girl in this land unafraid of the name Takilas.
*
“Just as I expected, you came.”
“…You were waiting for me?”
Soaring through the air and landing with a fierce surge of magical power, Aria smashed through the barrier Rene had created and stepped onto the rooftop.
Rene merely smiled faintly while Aria’s eyes continued to tremble.
“I wanted to hear your thoughts. So, tell me, do you still stand firm in your beliefs despite witnessing these outcomes? Should we settle for reality?”
“Ugh…”
Aria flinched at Rene’s question.
In fact, she herself had been the most shocked by the outcome. She desperately wished and prayed that her beliefs and sense of justice, which she sought to protect, were right.
Yet that faith was betrayed by those who sought to suppress the incident and those who refused to reflect.
“There have always been unjust victims in this world. There is no such thing as perfection. But we have continually progressed, corrected our mistakes, and improved. We are here to assist in that…”
“…What do you think a magical girl is?”
Rene watched Aria speechlessly mumble and gave a wry smile. At the same time, Aria found herself at a loss for words.
“The will of magical girls that I have seen, heard, and inherited from Yggdrasil is not that weak. It is pure and powerful passion and hope to change the world, to twist reality. That is… our reason for existence.”
Why do magical girls exist? The fairies and mascots, steeped in earthly concerns, had long forgotten this fundamental truth.
Ironically, it was a wizard from another land who instantly pierced through that truth.
“It wouldn’t have mattered if they weren’t magical girls. Whether they are magical girls, knights, or heroic groups, what matters is the need for a new system and strength for innovation. To me, magical girls must become such beings.”
Rene’s eyes sparkled—focused on something distant and greater. For her, magical girls were an opportunity to bring change to her homeland.
“So tell me your thoughts. Why must we compromise with the existing reality? Is there no reason to enlighten the weak and ignorant with this power?”
Her calm words pierced Aria’s heart. Trembling lips kept Aria from speaking easily.
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