Chapter 103 – There Is No Answer (3)
“What… what is this?”
“Why is a Magical Girl here!”
They were all taken aback. It was a situation they couldn’t even imagine, and the fierce momentum with which Rene barged in was overwhelming.
It felt almost like they were under attack.
“It seems there’s a misunderstanding here, Magical Girl.”
In the midst of it all, Oh Hyun-sook smiled at Rene with a composure that was far from that of the others.
“…You seem quite certain. Do you really think someone like me wouldn’t come to find you? Do you truly believe that?”
“Of course.”
Rene glared, but Oh Hyun-sook nodded without hesitation. That reaction made Rene flinch slightly. It was a display of absolute confidence and conviction.
At the very least, it suggested she wasn’t acting with malicious intent.
“This place is meant to help those who are in need. All of us have gathered here, finding joy in doing so. Helping the weak is our duty, right? So… there’s no reason for the leader of the Magical Girl Group that punishes villains to seek us out.”
Oh Hyun-sook spoke with a bright smile. Yet, Rene didn’t smile back at all.
“Do you truly think you are the absolute good? Not at all. You have caused great harm to someone and ignored it. This is the proof. I can punish you at any time.”
“Wh-what!”
Rene spoke quietly as she stirred her magic.
People shrank back in horror at the colorful magic circles that sprang up around them, all pointed at them.
“Lies! We are people who help others! That can’t be true!”
“If you caused harm to someone in the process of helping others, can that truly be called good? No, was your intent even right from the beginning?”
Oh Hyun-sook, genuinely shocked, was met with a sigh from Rene, who then offered a hint. Oh Hyun-sook’s face hardened as if she suddenly remembered something.
There was an incident led by the human rights organization Pure Green, where several groups intervened to defend a rapist-murderer simply because he was disabled.
“Ha.”
Having read Rene’s mood and having gained some certainty, Oh Hyun-sook soon chuckled dryly.
Seeing that, the corners of Rene’s eyes twitched.
“So that’s what this is all about?”
“Just that. Do you even care about the heart of the single mother who was hurt by your actions?”
“That person was… someone who was hurting!?”
At Rene’s words, Oh Hyun-sook’s face turned red with indignation while contorting in disbelief.
“Of course, that was a very tragic event. But we had to think outside the norm. What was the true cause? The truth was that this society had problems. Lack of consideration and understanding. People like us have a duty to care for and help those who are hurting.”
“So you’re saying the root cause of that horrifying incident was the environment? The unstable perpetrator isn’t at fault at all? Then the victims were merely swept up in a disaster.”
“Hmm, do you understand a little now? If you’re going around claiming to want to help people, you should at least know this much. If you don’t know, go study. You little child.”
Oh Hyun-sook replied with a snicker. And from her attitude and tone, Rene picked up on something. Beneath the facade of firm justice and conviction was a kind of self-righteousness that lifted her spirits.
It was a rather harsh form of exceptionalism.
“…From my perspective, at least you don’t see the essence of the world. You believe you are its center. Therefore, your acts of helping others seem like nothing more than a form of self-defense.”
“What did you just say?”
“Moreover, you see your actions as self-comforting. That frail self-esteem, filled to the brim with insincerity and hypocrisy, does it satisfy you?”
“Wh-what are you saying…?”
Rene furrowed her brows as severe words poured out without reservation. However, her words pierced like arrows. Oh Hyun-sook, who had unknowingly fallen prey to her, trembled, her face paling as she spoke.
“Of course, I won’t concern myself with it anymore. No matter what conviction you have and how right you believe it to be, I won’t say it’s wrong. But the same goes for you. Don’t disregard my sense of justice. Prove what is right with power.”
“No! This can’t be happening! J, Director Lee! Su-yeon!”
The sharp magic lances, with their pointed ends revealed from the magic circle, were aimed at Oh Hyun-sook.
Realizing the unimaginable situation she was finally grasping, Oh Hyun-sook screamed in terror, urging those around her, but the others merely watched in silence, keeping their mouths shut.
“This is ridiculous! That crazy Takilas kept quiet, and who the hell do you think you are to do this!?”
“…Don’t mention that name. It is not a name that will help you. If she had seen you, you would never have escaped unscathed.”
While shaking her head furiously and backing against the wall, Oh Hyun-sook burst into tears.
But mentioning Takilas’s name to Rene was a big mistake.
Takilas was not the type to actively create chaos. To her, slaughter was merely a means to an end.
But Rene was different now. Based on her own standards, she wouldn’t hesitate to dismiss even brutal killings. It was all for the purpose of judgment.
“Pierce through.”
“I only did what was right! Spare me… noooo!”
Oh Hyun-sook screamed as she jumped at the sight of Rene’s pointing finger, but there was no mercy from the incoming magic lances.
The lances crushed through her flesh and embedded themselves in the wall, splattering blood everywhere.
Oh Hyun-sook, pierced through completely, fell lifelessly to the ground as the lances vanished, and only silent screams filled the air.
“Justice and conviction. It is something that cannot be upheld simply by words, as I myself have only recently realized. You all should think carefully in this final moment.”
“Ahh, ahhh!”
As Rene turned to leave, only then did the people begin to run away in a frenzy.
*
“If the public sees this, they will misunderstand greatly. Why would you commit such acts at a time when public opinion is crucial?! Charging into a perfectly good citizen group and killing people! You’re in a code red situation with no way out now!”
“As I’ve said, I’m merely realizing my definition of justice through my power.”
On a nearby building rooftop, Rene stared blankly at the scene where paramedics and police were gathering, pulling her phone away from her ear at the shout of Director Lee Min-hyung.
“But right now!”
“You better think hard if you truly want to help people. Is your essence about gaining a political advantage against The One Road and the Special Task Force? Or is it about saving people?”
Rene calmly interrupted Lee Min-hyung’s rant. There was no way she could ignore what she had realized through this incident.
“Chaos and hatred are undoubtedly seeds that this world originally harbored. They have merely borne fruit. And now, monsters that provoke them have also appeared.”
Not just a simple Magical Girl, but a master of power seeking to claim the emperor’s throne and a lord dreaming of ruling the populace—she engraved everything happening right now deep into her heart.
The darkness and despair of society, and all the hatred.
“Ha, this is really driving me crazy. Of course, there’s no lack of justification. But… I can’t help but wonder if this is truly the right thing to do.”
“There is no right or wrong. So I have faith in myself. If others claim to have their way, they must fight me, subdue me, and make me understand.”
“That’s really the same logic as Takilas.”
Sighing, Lee Min-hyung shook his head. Despite his words of protest, his body was already gearing up for a long battle.
“It’ll all work out somehow. If the past events are re-examined, we’ll also have something to say. After all… you were once the crazy ones.”
He had managed to calculate the political implications. For someone unfamiliar, it might seem like the Magical Girl had gone insane, but if the truth were to be revealed, there would be plenty of citizens willing to support Rene’s actions, no matter the laws or regulations.
Most importantly, Rene had already displayed enough madness to sever the limbs of perfectly normal middle school students in the name of judgment.
“So, is that it?”
“There are still plenty of selected individuals. In the end, we just continue doing what we were doing. Becoming a new form of justice.”
“Ugh. This is going to be a nightmare. And Aria is on shaky ground as well.”
Lee Min-hyung muttered tiredly, rubbing his forehead.
It wasn’t just Rene who was on the brink of rampage.
Even at this moment, a brutal political landscape devoid of blood or tears was fiercely clawing and tearing at each other, seeking opportunities.
One solitary Magical Girl bursting into that fray with rage was just as precarious, never knowing when she might cross the line.
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