Chapter 111 – Unyielding Flower (1)
“Honestly, there was a lot of talk about Takilas, but unless she comes out hostile first, it was agreed to hold off, wasn’t it?”
“That was the case. Until today.”
“Until today…”
Right before Aria, completely shaken and her mindset changed after the Smalillian incident, was about to move more violently.
Having avoided the hit due to being near Seoul, Lee Jong-pil lit a cigarette, receiving a phone call and wearing a serious expression.
“Takilas’s actions were consistent. She didn’t move even though she clearly knew our intentions. It’s likely that the only thing that can make Takilas move is her own will.”
“Then why on earth did they bring up ‘slaying the Demon King’? Especially from upper management.”
“Isn’t that obvious? Regardless of her own will, Takilas has grown too big for us. To be frank, they were shocked by this too. It’s true that she’s an unprecedentedly strong Magical Girl.”
The person on the other end of the phone scoffed at Lee Jong-pil’s words, as if questioning why he would ask something so obvious.
“But we had no choice but to get to this point. Do you think we want to fight against such a monster? But if we bend the knee and start looking over our shoulders at her, we’ll be stuck in a cycle of fear, unable to do anything, crushed under her weight. We must achieve great things, under no circumstances can that be allowed.”
“So… you’re saying you’ll catch that girl Takilas? Is that even possible?”
Even though they were technically on the same side, Lee Jong-pil scoffed internally at the other person.
While he had allied with them for the sake of desire, he found it absurd to think about killing Takilas, who was undeniably a citizen of his country.
Most importantly, he couldn’t believe there was actually a way to combat the overwhelming monstrous presence Takilas had shown.
“Nothing is impossible. Absolutely.”
‘Hmm, I really can’t understand what’s happening deep in that continent. It feels like there’s something to trust, but we’ve seen many bite the dust by messing with that crazy kid.’
Seeing the other person’s bold demeanor without hesitation made Lee Jong-pil click his tongue. In fact, he only had this option.
Since ‘they,’ essentially his other self, had decided to face Takilas head-on, he had no choice but to cooperate.
This was basically a competition among apex predators over territory and prey.
With Takilas’s presence having grown so significant, it was naturally impossible for any other predator eyeing the status quo to ignore her.
To suggest they give up their advantages was akin to asking them to commit suicide. It was far more reasonable to think that fighting and dying was the right choice.
“So, what can I do for you?”
“It’s nothing much. We just need to borrow the facilities of the Special Task Force that’s already established in Korea. We’re already heading there.”
The counterpart’s response was quick.
Without knowing all the details, Lee Jong-pil had to send his son, Lee Soo-chan, to find out just what they were planning.
“I’m glad you arrived safely. But could these be?!”
“…Proud Continental Magical Girls.”
And both Lee Soo-chan and Lee Jong-pil were horrified to discover what they had planned after crossing the sea.
*
“Is this even possible?! The Special Task Force is supposed to operate alongside Magical Girls?!”
“Shh! This is classified, only for team leaders as priority confidential information. Moving forward, some teams of the Special Task Force will undertake special missions with them. So your team’s workload is going to increase a bit.”
Special Task Force Team Leader Park Soo-hyun, one of the few Koreans holding a pivotal role in the Special Task Force, was flustered by the orders from above.
Specifically, it was the command that certain teams would cooperate with Magical Girls on special missions.
However, for him, who had enlisted in the Special Task Force inspired by the belief in the authority of the rightful society, the collaboration with the oppositional Magical Girls was incomprehensible.
After all, the Special Task Force was created to gradually replace the role of Magical Girls completely.
‘The upper echelons must have entirely different intentions behind operating the Special Task Force.’
Once the staff designated to guide him left, he sighed and slumped down into his seat. After the Smalillian incident, he was feeling the weight of powerlessness and despair all too keenly.
Being a former special forces soldier, he had joined the rare ranks of Special Task Force members driven by a sense of mission to protect society and justice.
That was why he willingly agreed to undergo human experiments on himself and became an Awakened.
But facing enemies with bizarrely overwhelming power and insubordinate internal members who were as dark as night was like hitting a brick wall.
“Hey, Antonio.”
“Yeah?”
After contemplating while momentarily lowering his head, he grabbed a passing team member. The foreigner belonged to a different team, but they were on friendly terms after knowing each other for a while.
“Your team is going on that top-secret mission, right?”
“What? You knew about it too?”
With a smile that suggested it wasn’t a big deal, Park Soo-hyun nonchalantly brought it up, to which Antonio responded with a chuckle, seemingly unconcerned.
“It’s nothing much; I just wanted to know what it was all about. They only mentioned working with a Magical Girl but didn’t tell us who or what they would be doing.”
“Ah, yeah. Same here. Suddenly my team leader contacted me out of the blue.”
“So about that, can I take a look at your body cam footage?”
With a grin at Antonio’s seemingly indifferent reaction, Park Soo-hyun pointed to the body cam attached to his suit. If he used that, he would at least figure out what was going on.
“You’re curious about everything, huh? Then… will you be buying drinks this time?”
“Can’t say I won’t.”
Antonio, without suspicion, readily agreed.
Ultimately, that night, Park Soo-hyun successfully obtained a copy of the body cam footage. Antonio, who handed it over, only looked a bit worn out, but there was nothing particularly strange about him.
‘A battle against an unknown monster? Sure, if a monster appears while everyone’s struggling after a disaster, Magical Girls and everyone would have to fight together.’
Seated, he leisurely sipped coffee while watching the footage. Up until this moment, he felt nothing amiss.
“…Huh?”
But as the fast-forwarded footage progressed and transitioned to a dim abandoned factory outside the city, he found himself unable to believe his own eyes. The enemies they were fighting were neither monsters nor criminal organizations.
It was a familiar-faced Magical Girl, being collectively lynched by them, with flames bursting out of her flaming hair.
“Aha-ha!!”
One of the assailants facing her was another Magical Girl, rampaging like a madwoman.
‘Why is Aria here?’
The face of Lee Soo-chan, who accompanied Antonio but didn’t actively participate in the battle, wasn’t shown. In truth, the entire situation was incomprehensible to him.
“I won’t… lose.”
First and foremost, Aria was strong.
Even while facing multiple opponents, she threw punches, scattering flames. She was the one with overwhelming real-life experience.
As the punches that distorted even steel suits knocked the Special Task Force members down one by one, it only proved the fact that the research on Awakeneds was still at the early stages and that suppressing S-class or above Magical Girls was impossible.
[3rd Awakening · 3rd Armament Upgrade]
A gigantic wave of power erupted from Aria’s extended fist, releasing flames. She really was pushing everyone back all on her own.
“Cough…”
“Even in this situation, she’s managing her strength. She’s completely hopeless.”
However, there was one thing—she couldn’t easily dominate another Magical Girl like herself.
While suppressing the Special Task Force, Aria staggered when struck hard in the abdomen by a blow from her opponent, who wielded a tonfa glowing with thick green flames.
“Ar, Aria!”
Just as the mascot Lulu’s scream echoed, before Aria could raise her guard, a ruthless flurry of blows showered her entire body.
‘…It’s strong. Is she an S-class? Or maybe even higher?’
Ultimately, with one knee buckling, Aria spat out a mouthful of blood. Her body, arms, and legs were broken and strained, with her skin torn and bruised.
“Surprised, are you? I’m stronger than you think. But actually, I’m just a B-class.”
Looking down upon Aria, the girl swung her tonfa gleefully, sneering at Aria.
“Your eyes widened. Surprised? Don’t worry too much. It’s not that you’ve gotten weaker. Actually, I’ve just gotten stronger in ways you couldn’t even imagine.”
Watching Aria’s wavering eyes, she raised her tonfa high, bracing herself to smash Aria’s head down.
Nobody stopped her from killing Aria, who was clearly in her line of sight.
“You’re being cocky while dying. If you’d fought with the resolve to kill, maybe you could’ve held out longer. I hear you’ve been beating up corrupt pigs, ignoring laws and public order. Yet in a crucial moment, you throttle back because you don’t want to kill. What a coward.”
Coward. That word penetrated deep into Aria’s heart, whose eyes were only half open from the blood flowing down. At the same time, she gritted her teeth.
And the tonfa, overladen with burning magical power, came crashing down.
“Wha…?”
Bones rattled, muscles tore, and blood burst forth. Yet, Aria still moved her body.
She felt her own tonfa being blocked by Aria’s knuckles, which momentarily surprised her.
“How can you move with all your limbs broken…?”
She couldn’t finish her sentence. Push away the tonfa; at that brief moment, Aria’s fist, striking the ground, tore the air and slammed against her cheek.
Aria’s own fingers broke, and a sensation of shattering her jaw was conveyed. A deafening boom exploded, and a shockwave erupted.
“C-Catch her!”
“It’s already too late. Mei! Are you okay?!”
The girl whose jaw and half her face had been smashed, unable to scream, was sent flying and crashed to the ground, spraying blood. Meanwhile, Aria, suppressing her pain, leaped out, shattering the windows of the abandoned factory and barely escaping outside.
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