Chapter 118 – The Unyielding Flower (8)
“I’ve always said it. If you want to stop me, prove it.”
As I prepared my scripted line, I glanced at Lina, who flew in at the promised timing. Her shaky appearance was quite realistic, though her delivery seemed like something straight out of a bad drama.
“I-I won’t back down!”
Lina, sticking to the plan, boldly challenged me.
My job here was to keep her at bay and then repel her. Although Lina would lose, I wanted to show that I wasn’t as strong as before, planting the bait effectively.
“Ugh… UAAAH!”
Lina, trembling, let out a bizarre battle cry and aimed her twin pistols at me.
At that moment, I leaped off the ground, launching myself towards her.
The sparkling bullets that Lina fired hit and grazed my body, but of course, this level of attack wouldn’t faze me.
“Don’t hold back, come at me! Rene sent you because she believes in you!”
“Uh…”
As our faces came close in the heat of battle, I chuckled at her.
With that, our intense duel officially commenced.
“Ridiculous. We’re actually fighting!”
“This is dangerous!”
As soon as we collided, the startled Special Task Force shouted from below. It seemed the plan was a success.
Everyone watching believed that we were fighting with our utmost sincerity.
“This is it. Now, unleash your best attack.”
“Ugh, take this!”
With her pink hair flowing, Lina sent concentrated light into the barrels of her guns, preparing to fire the strongest magical bullet she could muster.
Immediately after, two beams of light shot towards me.
In response, I swung my left arm, fist shrouded in shadows, towards them.
“…!”
Her beams, overwhelmed by the punch’s shockwave, were dispersed, and the resulting blast wave engulfed Lina.
Compared to her lines, which sounded like reading from a textbook, Lina’s action was commendable as she flew back. However, in reality, the shockwave that hit her weakened significantly and felt more like a gentle breeze. Right now, it wasn’t about her, but rather about me.
While Lina was blown backward and incapacitated, the beam she discharged didn’t completely vanish; it grazed my shoulder.
My outfit tore, and blood splattered from the wound.
While I was actually fine, the atmosphere felt as if my breath had been taken away.
“I’ve been injured! Takilas has!”
“Is it true that losing an arm has made him weak?!”
The reactions pouring from them were exactly what I wanted. Now, I had to put on a look of panic and hurriedly leave.
Even though I had subdued Lina, I held my bleeding shoulder and left with a grim expression, abandoning the incapacitated monster.
It felt a bit wasteful to leave her behind, but I couldn’t let one little fish ruin my plan.
“Seriously, what a hassle.”
“Shut up.”
Ren, who was on top of my cap, grumbled unnecessarily. He seemed to not understand why I was going through this trouble.
“Thank you for your efforts.”
“You’re fast at getting the news. The internet is buzzing because of me.”
In our secluded meeting place, Rene, who had cast a barrier just in case, was waiting for me.
I used my phone to check the results of the seeds I had sown. Indeed, it was the Fourth Revolution and the Internet Age. The videos of my battle with Lina were already spreading like wildfire.
“I have one question.”
“What is it?”
“If there are those who attack you, Takilas, but are a bit tricky to deal with, what are you planning to do?”
But just as I was about to move for the next plan, Rene shot a sharp question at me.
“Tricky to deal with?”
“You seem hesitant to target the forces that operate this society. For example, some political factions allied with The One Road.”
“…You hit the nail on the head.”
She got it spot on. That was true. I didn’t want to get involved with politics if I could help it.
The reason was simple. It was an incredibly annoying mess.
Those guys were like dirty muck before they were evil. Even if I could annihilate them in an instant, my own hands would still get dirty.
So, I preferred to stay away and just hoped that the Frontier battling those scumbags would manage just fine.
“Your influence cannot be ignored by them at this point. They will surely take some kind of action.”
“You see well, Rene. It’s not entirely wrong. I just plan to continue ignoring them. If it’s just a matter of talking, then that’s all it is.”
“…But what if it’s not just talk?”
“Does that mean they would challenge me?”
I chuckled at Rene’s words. Once she saw my smile, she flinched for a moment before nodding, as if saying she understood without needing to hear more.
“I actually hope they make such a poor choice.”
“Why is that?”
“Because I want to see you indiscriminately clean them up. Honestly, they’re too pathetic and despicable to even bother fighting against.”
Rene clicked her tongue with genuine disdain. It seemed the political realm, whether it’s under imperial aristocracy or Korean democracy, was something even someone who had grown up in a fierce environment like her found repulsive.
Given this, it was clear that the lack of political squabbles in the Demon Realm was a great advantage. Anyone with complaints would just challenge me, and the results of that duel would decide everything.
“…Let’s watch calmly for a bit. Though it’s unintentional, this opportunity may help distinguish true allies from future enemies.”
Even with the notoriety, my fame had grown, allowing me to do many things. Feeling like I was conducting an amusing social experiment, I awaited the reactions of society as my bait lingered.
*
“No way! Takilas will recover soon. They say magical girls heal quickly!”
“That may be true, but the experts said we must capture her while she’s weak.”
“The news said the public opinion will sway. They said this is the perfect time to talk to Takilas. But what’s public opinion?”
The middle school classroom, much like a small society, was buzzing with excitement. The kids were, of course, discussing the hottest topic on the internet: Takilas, the magical girl.
“Definitely a major incident. But, can magical girls really recover even with an arm missing?”
Park Tae-jun, who was quietly watching Kim Soo-jung raise her voice to defend Takilas, whispered to Lee Jin-ah beside him.
“…No. It’s impossible. Not through ordinary means.”
‘What could the Demon King possibly see in such a little brat?’
The truth was, Plesea, who was disguised as Lee Jin-ah, was feeling miserable. It was tough enough being among humans, but these were energetic 14-year-olds. Even a grown adult would find it exhausting to deal with them.
“So what should Takilas do? Isn’t it dangerous?”
“Right. A being that has everything through strength loses everything the moment they lose that strength. That’s just how the world works.”
‘For a brat, he certainly has a keen eye.’
Plesea found herself slightly intrigued by Park Tae-jun’s musings.
If one disregarded the fact that she was in the company of humans, she thought the predicament of her master, Demon King Takilas, was quite amusing.
‘In the Demon Realm, a weakened king would be immediately ousted. But what about humans? How would they handle a hero who saved their lives, yet at the same time is a source of fear and chaos?’
Plesea understood Takilas, the magical girl, as a kind of hero.
Indeed, Takilas’s actions recently mirrored that of heroes, having rescued countless lives from the clutches of a massive villain.
However, unlike traditional heroes, Takilas refused to conform to any orders or laws.
‘Given the brazen arrogance and selfishness typical of their kind, humans would never let this go smoothly.’
In this situation, Plesea predicted that humans would turn against Takilas. This judgment was a cold calculation based on actual historical records of heroes being forsaken by their own kind.
“What do you think? Takilas saved the world, but is no longer as strong. How should they be treated?”
“Even if there are some extreme aspects, Takilas only ever killed villains. Plus, he saved my life. That makes him a hero. He deserves to be treated like one.”
In response to Plesea’s playful question, Park Tae-jun replied seriously.
Plesea couldn’t help but smile at his answer.
“It seems the adults don’t share the same sentiment.”
And just as Park Tae-jun suspected, there were plenty of others who thought differently, as began to be seen on the news.
“We must contain Takilas. That is the path for everyone’s sake. To her, who might be watching this scene, I say this: Please stop wandering and earnestly wish for a dialogue with us.”
The president had personally made the declaration.
By all accounts, the justification was that of embracing a wounded, wandering young girl—something utterly reasonable and logical, considering modern societal norms.
However, apart from a few, the true intentions behind it remained a mystery.
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