Chapter: 122
Swishhhhhhhh──!!
Raindrops streaked across the world diagonally.
When droplets hit the puddles forming on the dark asphalt, ripples scattered alongside the streetlights, appearing like noise at first glance.
Roderus stood still, lost in a vortex of thoughts that penetrated deep within him, much like a muted TV after a broadcast had ended.
So much had happened.
He had made friends and experienced, for the first time, what a mundane daily life tasted like.
Like a fox blaming the sour grapes as an excuse for his sloth and laziness, he now realized the value of a peaceful life where everyone either lived or died together.
Building normal relationships with others in a dream world, exchanging joy, and the brainwashing imprinted in Roderus’ mind was slowly fading. He now understood that everything about Duke Redburn was… wrong.
He was aware of his position. He was not the Duke’s right-hand man but merely one of the many hunting dogs. He understood that the “recognition” given by the Duke was merely directed towards tools.
Sitting down for a meal with friends on a seemingly ordinary evening, without worrying about etiquette or the order of knives… simply embracing the comforting weight of a bowl of doenjang jjigae.
And that’s why.
That’s why Roderus’ feet wouldn’t move, not because he feared the final showdown or because writing a “fable” could mean his death, nor was it due to dread of combat.
It was a fear of loss.
Roderus knew it all too well. Every time he awoke in his cold prison each night, he wept silently, feeling the warmth dissipate like a mirage.
Yet, at some point, he had begun harboring an amount of hope roughly equivalent to his sense of loss. The dream continued. It felt like it would go on forever. So, there was no reason to be sad.
While enduring the painful hours of reality, he planned in his heart. If he entered the dream again, he’d try a different dessert this time. He’d be less brusque with Kim Lulu. And this time…
That made reality bearable. The sting from the whip, the humiliation of licking the moss-covered walls, the crushing loneliness of black darkness—it was all okay. There was light.
But as he stepped out of this place.
As he tossed himself into the storm to help the Magical Girls…
“Now, it’s not just going to be the transformation device, it’ll become your body.”
He had a premonition that he would lose everything.
If he died in the dream, he would never meet them again. After that… only the “Nightmare of the Wizard”, Roderus, would remain in his hands.
Rumble rumble rumble-!!
Thunder roared, and the shadows of monsters flickered in the sky beyond. He could feel the immense Impure Energy coursing forth from that side.
“…………….”
He was scared.
Scared of parting. The future of sharing meals, holding hands, and laughing together felt like it could be pulled up by the roots.
But when he thought of the likelihood that, with such immense Impure Energy, the Magical Girls had almost no chance of victory, and when the injured Oh Hye-in and Kim Lulu came to mind…
“Damn it…!!”
Without realizing, his feet propelled him forward.
Roderus sprinted through the downpour. Chasing after the faintly felt Pure Energy of the Magical Girls, still unable to decide anything.
===============================================================
In the sky, at the center of the gathering black clouds spiraling, a massive amount of Impure Energy was coalescing.
Citizens screamed and trembled in fear at the sudden natural disaster, and the whirlpool increased in size as it absorbed their negative emotions.
Before the vortex stood four ominous shadows. They were the Four Heavenly Kings of the evil organization.
And before them, the Magical Girls appeared.
“Magical Girl ‘Pure Rodeo’ has arrived!!”
“The brilliant light that saves everyone── ‘Pure Light’!”
“Finally, you’ve shown your faces… Magical Girls!!”
“What are you plotting, you guys-!!”
The atmosphere felt markedly different this time. The expressions of the Four Heavenly Kings were devoid of any playfulness, instead bearing a disdainful coldness, and the malice reflected in their eyes was clear despite the raging winds and rain.
Espowar de Eternal Dark grinned, revealing her fangs. Wasn’t this the awaited moment? She spread her arms wide and boasted.
“I’m summoning the Demon Lord to this realm. The moment he descends… it’s all over. Have you ever imagined the end of everything? If not, you will soon.”
“We’ll stop you. We won’t let you run wild, Eternal Dark!”
“Hahahahaha──!! It’s already too late, far too late! Haven’t you ever thought it was strange? Really?”
“………What do you mean?”
Eternal Dark giggled, her eyes curling mischievously as she kindly explained. Taking pleasure in articulating how the doomed lamb would die before its destruction.
From her shadow emerged dozens of mouths, speaking together in various voices.
“Why haven’t we killed you? Why haven’t all four Heavenly Kings dispatched to wipe you out in one go? The opportunities were piled high!”
“…………….”
“That’s because there must be hope for there to be despair. Because with you around, the supply of Impure Energy increases! We acted like clueless fools who didn’t know how to kill people… while secretly stockpiling Impure Energy bit by bit. Leading you to waste your Pure Energy!”
They had controlled the damage so the Magical Girls wouldn’t become too serious, instilling fear into the citizens to prompt them to expend Pure Energy while being saved.
Instead of killing them outright with tentacles tying them up and snapping their necks, they leisurely toyed with them, extracting energy.
And now that the Impure Energy had amassed enough to summon the Demon Lord…
“There’s no reason not to kill you. Once the Demon Lord descends, all humans will fall into a hypnotic state, reliving the worst dreams repeatedly. They’ll transform into factories for producing Impure Energy. Therefore, Magical Girls will no longer be necessary.”
“…………….”
“This was a contest of conservation between you and us-!! Instead of getting swept away by the meaningless task of saving people, we stacked up Pure Energy by deceiving and sacrificing them!”
Gugugugugu-!!
As the center of the vortex slowly opened, a massive eye appeared. It peeked into the world from beyond the hole, then extended its hand, starting to pry open the entrance with its fingers.
Foop foop foop-!!
The dimensional gateway made of Impure Energy widened gradually. Once that door fully opened, the Demon Lord would descend upon the world. Oh Hye-in spoke.
“…Lulu, even though they’re talking like that, the dimensional door isn’t fully open yet. If we act now, we can close it.”
“That means we have to take down all the Four Heavenly Kings, right?”
“Exactly.”
“Damn it… I was enjoying the idea of not killing each other.”
Kim Lulu scratched her head in frustration and clenched her fists.
Those Four Heavenly Kings, particularly that Eternal Dark, seemed filled with murderous intent.
That couldn’t happen.
If Oh Hye-in died, there would be hell to pay. It would be incredibly sad too.
If their plan succeeded and the entire world turned dreary, she imagined her classmates would suffer, and Oh Dae-su would be left crying in pain, causing her chest to ache.
That couldn’t be allowed. She wanted him to be happy.
There was no sense of duty in protecting the capital of the Empire. With no family or friends, there was no real reason to protect it, and the only person she had any attachment to was a strong old man who didn’t need Lulu’s help to survive.
So right now… Lulu found herself harboring the resolve to protect someone for the first time.
“Hye-in. Let’s protect our friends!!”
“…Yeah!”
Facing the resolution of the Magical Girls,
Zechneil, ranked first among the Four Heavenly Kings, stretched out his hand and solemnly declared.
“We are betting everything now, and we will win and take it all.”
The curtain rose for the final showdown.
===============================================================
Intent to kill.
The prickling sensation all over, the sharpness of the intent surged in, making his heart throb painfully.
Kim Lulu hurriedly raised her guard at the warning of instinct. Oh Dae-su’s voice flashed through her mind. The priority was to block critical points. The line running through the center of her body.
Just above that, Eternal Dark’s powerful punch infused with sticky shadows unleashed.
“Eternal Impact-!!”
“…………….!!”
BANG──!!
Kim Lulu’s small body was flung away. After flying for quite a while, she crash-landed into an alleyway. She smashed against a signboard with her back and tumbled three times on the pavement.
“Ugh, damn… Aaaaah!!”
“Die-!!”
As Kim Lulu frantically prepared to counterattack, she rolled again in desperation since Eternal Dark had leaped down with a shadow spear poised.
CRACK──!!
A black spear lodged itself into the spot where Kim Lulu had just been.
And Eternal Dark relentlessly pressed forward. She swung the spear imbedded in the ground, demolishing the asphalt and cleaving through it.
Whoosh──!!
“Ugh…!!”
Kim Lulu leaped to avoid the attack just in time. As she floated in mid-air, Eternal Dark readied the spear for a throw. There was nowhere to evade in the air.
“That’s why Dae-su warned me to avoid jumping recklessly…!!”
So that’s why he seemed so insistent on not jumping.
However, there was a way. Kim Lulu burst Pure Energy upward just as the shadow spear was hurled. The reaction propelled her downward as if she had used some sort of gravitational technique.
SWISH!
A few strands of hair were caught and sliced away by the spear.
While it was a wasteful and somewhat reckless maneuver, she survived. Lulu pushed off the ground forcefully, attempting a tackle.
THUD.
With nearly all her strength, she slammed her entire weight into Eternal Dark’s lower body, but she didn’t budge or stagger.
As she looked down, dark shadows were binding Eternal Dark’s legs firmly to the ground. No matter how hard she tried to knock her down, it was futile.
She lacked both cunning techniques and immense strength.
“You fool.”
Eternal Dark clasped her hands together and brought them crashing down on Lulu’s back. Thud. Lulu barely managed to stifle a scream as pain sang through her entire body.
“…Ugh!”
“You won’t win just by holding on, you fool!”
Thok-!
Eternal Dark’s knee plunged deep into Lulu’s solar plexus. She gasped, the air forcibly expelled from her lungs. And then the kick came.
Lulu instinctively raised her right arm to block, but Thud. With an ominous sound, she was flung away violently.
“Ugh…!!”
Roll roll.
Lulu rolled across the ground before barely getting back up. Her right forearm was bent at an impossible angle. It seemed broken.
Eternal Dark scoffed at Lulu’s battered form.
“You’re too weak. You’re so weak that it’s not even funny, it’s making me yawn.”
“…I’m actually strong, you know? I’m just letting you have this.”
“I’ll see how long you can keep up that pretense. Once I break every limb, will you still say that?”
“Give it a try!!”
To Lulu, who was roaring, Eternal Dark leisurely plunged her spear.
Lulu also knew. If this continued, she would lose. Not just lose; she would get caught like a dragonfly pinned down by a child.
The reason for her imminent defeat was simple. The enemy had a greater amount of magical power and was a better fighter. In fact, it was closer to saying Lulu was distinctly unskilled. Heavily dependent on her magical prowess to win every battle until now.
If she could bring her real body into the dream world, she could crush them with the flick of her finger.
But that was just a dreamlike notion. Lulu had to overcome an opponent of a higher weight class.
And the accumulation of efforts to bridge that weight class is what people called skill. They didn’t become complacent just because they could shoot magical beams and kill everyone.
But, yeah.
Lulu also had a technique she knew. Something she had unknowingly memorized from Oh Dae-su’s incessant nagging. The punches he insisted she use properly at the very least or this would happen.
He helped her to correct her movements by adjusting her waist here and there while she would purposely take a little more liberty for his sake.
Jab!
“Hahahahaha──!! Die, Magical Girl! Shatter like a bug!”
“Ugh…!!”
The spear came flying. But it wasn’t aimed at a critical spot. It thrust forward to flay her skin, peeling layers off like one would skin an apple to inflict pain.
Her clothes were torn, and her skin was lacerated. Though she tried her utmost to avoid the attacks, she was merely a plaything in Eternal Dark’s hands. In an instant, she was drenched in blood.
He was completely looking down on her. Well, that made sense—she was weak, fighting like a child.
“The only upside to your fighting style is that the opponent will think you’re an idiot. Don’t laugh, that’s not a compliment. I’m telling you to fix it!!”
As Oh Dae-su’s furious voice flitted through her mind, Lulu chuckled even while she was being cut down.
And as if annoyed by that laughter, a hint of irritation surfaced in Eternal Dark’s movements—then, suddenly, a gap emerged. It was the one shot to capitalize on the distraction.
“Heh.”
Now then.
“Which way do you want to hit? Right hand? Then pivot on your left foot. Plant that foot firmly, like driving a nail into the ground.”
Plant it.
“Now, launch your right leg from the ground with force. Naturally, your waist will twist. Twist your waist. No, not front and back. Turn this way, this way—!!”
Yes, she understood. Just a little teasing, Oh Dae-su.
“Now, take that energy flowing from your legs. To your toes, knees, hips, waist, feel the rotation to your shoulders, elbows, wrists, and fist.”
Channeling everything she had.
“With the muscles of your whole body.”
With the muscles of her whole body. Charging her Pure Energy as much as she could.
SMACK──!!
With a shattering sound, Eternal Dark’s head caved in, snapping robustly. She hadn’t expected the strike with her broken right arm. Even if she had, she wouldn’t have anticipated such force behind a blow with a damaged limb.
“Y-You…!!”
WHAM──!!
Lulu finished with a follow-up left straight. It was as if Eternal Dark was made of shadows; once she lost her head, she melted away into a black shadow, scattering into pieces.
“Ugh… Damn, it hurts like hell.”
Her bones and flesh were a mess. She thought she might need a break or soon she might cross the River Jordan.
But still, if she delayed even a moment due to a little pain, Oh Hye-in would have to face the three Heavenly Kings alone.
If that happened, who would protect Oh Dae-su?
“C’mon, Kim Lulu… you’ve got this! Let’s fight just a bit more.”
Lulu wiped away the flowing nosebleed with a tough demeanor and clenched her fist. She wrapped a bandage around her broken arm, which she had fetched from a nearby pharmacy.
And just as Lulu was preparing to set off for the next fight, someone stopped her from behind. It was a girl wearing a pointed hat.
“…Where are you going?”
“…Well, funny enough, I was going to look for you guys.”
Second-ranked among the Four Heavenly Kings, Unaris, the Existence of Infinite Emptiness.
A barrage of battles awaited.
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