Episode 122 – The Essence of the Magical Girl (2)
“Are you sure about that?”
“…What do you mean?”
“I mean, do you have the confidence to deal with the aftermath?”
Having somewhat made up my mind, I asked him about the aftermath. Even if I pushed them down once, would they really just let it go?
If they lay down flat, that would be enough for me, but they would definitely seek revenge to make up for their losses.
Of course, they wouldn’t dare to challenge me again, but it’s obvious they would make all sorts of excuses to reveal their ambitions publicly. They would know that if they stirred things up too much, I’d be reluctant to step in.
So, if I attacked first, it wouldn’t mean much if the Frontier, which would confront those guys, collapsed.
“I can’t be certain. But we won’t back down. We’ll fight till the end.”
“You better keep that promise. This time we just happened to agree; fundamentally, I’m not on your side.”
He nodded firmly in response, and I scoffed at the sight. It’s not that I didn’t trust him, but I still couldn’t be sure if their abilities were sufficient.
“Hmm. It feels like something’s been passed.”
“So, are you really going to attack them?!”
Turning my body, I tilted my head in confusion. A panicked Ren frantically tapped on my hat.
“Anyway, it’s true that they laid hands on me first, and it’s also a fact that they keep doing annoying things while staying one step ahead.”
Thanks to my appearance and actions, the balance had been disrupted in several places, and I felt I had to apply a balance patch to prevent even more troublesome matters from arising. Moreover, since they crossed the line during that process, it was only right to punish them.
“…I’ll finish it before the sun rises.”
There were still a few hours left until sunrise. I soared through the dim dawn sky, heading directly towards my target.
The destination was none other than the Korean Branch of The One Road, which also served as the headquarters for the Special Task Force. Naturally, that place was already in emergency mode before I even approached.
*
“Emergency! Emergency!”
“Takilas is continuing to approach. The direction is… it’s definitely here. This was an event we expected to happen! Code x!!”
The entire facility was in chaos, at least for those few who knew the situation. The initial panic stemmed from Mei’s failed operation, which had been expected to succeed.
Of course, those who were unaware were left horrified and confused by the sudden highest-level emergency alarm.
“W-What is going on?! Why is Takilas after us?!”
“Isn’t there something you know?!”
Ignoring the complaints of the Korean leaders who had just woken up, the head researcher of the branch, Adele, shoved it over to Lee Jong-pil.
“Can you at least give us an explanation? You must know something!”
“I don’t know.”
“…What?”
“I have nothing to answer. Can’t you understand?”
Adele had decided to be brazen about it. The mere attempt on Takilas’s life was an act that utterly ignored all justification and laws.
Since it had failed, the only way was to trample it down and deny it entirely.
“W-What do you mean…”
“I’ve already taken all the necessary measures. Let’s watch together how that brutal Magical Girl, who ruthlessly obliterated another Magical Girl in the middle of the street, will go off the rails.”
Chuckling ominously, Adele patted the shoulder of the completely unaware Korean head of research.
Whether they knew the situation or not, everyone in the facility was practically hostages. Given the circumstances, they intended to stick with Takilas and thoroughly turn her into a villain, aiming to significantly damage that image.
“All cameras are ready.”
“The Broadcasting Station is urgently dispatching a filming team.”
“Good. Start the livestream on the internet right away. Let’s see how that one-armed girl will act towards innocent people.”
They had instead escalated the situation.
Even if they were cursed for being petty and treacherous, they didn’t care. The initiators, including Adele, recognized themselves as the underdogs and deployed every means and method.
“Oh. Here she comes.”
Not long after, Takilas, who had been pursued from the sky, was now flying straight toward them.
All personnel, even those dragged out against their will, waited for her outside. Naturally, they trembled in fear.
After all, the police chief had been killed by her with a single blow inside the police headquarters.
It was already well-known that Takilas didn’t care about public opinion or scrutiny.
“This is a state secret facility, Takilas. You can’t enter here.”
Adele grabbed a megaphone and directed her voice towards the descending Takilas.
“Of course, you probably don’t care about that. For a cocky little brat like you, laws and rules mean nothing. Just because people consider you a hero, do you think you’re actually a hero?”
“Great insults from a big mouth.”
She mocked Adele’s provocation. Even though she clearly knew she wouldn’t be stopped, seeing the people sprawled out in front of her and the continuously rolling cameras, it was obvious what her intentions were.
“You just killed an innocent Magical Girl just hours ago, you despicable…”
“I heard the intelligence agency has gathered evidence. About what secret experiments you’re all conducting. What kind of horrible things you were planning with those experiments.”
“!!?”
Adele, who had slowly begun to start her planned public opinion warfare, froze at Takilas’s unexpected words. This was a completely unforeseen response.
It was unimaginable that the arrogant, unyielding entity would borrow words from another faction; this too was a failure to grasp the essence of Takilas just like the U.S. government did.
“I heard you are collaborating with monsters to modify Magical Girls and use them as assassins.”
“W-Where did you hear such crazy lies?!”
“Take it or leave it. If you’re wronged, take it up with the Americans. I just heard it.”
Takilas brazenly declared that she was one step ahead.
Seeing the mixed reactions from the crowd, Adele felt a chill run down her spine. She cursed herself for thinking it would be too easy.
“You’re starting to understand, right? I’m here to punish the villains who dared to challenge me, so you can’t possibly be wronged.”
“P-Plan B! Call Shuiran right now!”
As Takilas, who was at risk of being labeled a mass murderer, split the opinion in half, she yelled urgently.
And almost simultaneously, with the explosive shockwave that erupted, the entire area was thrown into chaos.
“What’s happening?! A Magical Girl experiment?!”
“I-I don’t know! Just take cover!”
The scene fell into complete disarray as control was lost in an instant.
Those who didn’t know what was happening panicked and ducked for cover, while those who did understand found themselves too frightened to jump into the fray, looking only for a chance to escape.
‘Certainly, that Takilas girl is not an ordinary Magical Girl.’
Among them, there were those who began to grasp Takilas’s essence. O Insun, a researcher from The One Road, desperately ducked for cover but couldn’t take her eyes off the scene.
“Look. We have proof right here.”
Takilas smirked at the unidentified Magical Girl who had blocked her attack.
After ripping off the needles attached to her body, the Magical Girl Shuiran exploded with a murky aura. She was the top success of the Korean branch, enhanced based on Mei’s successful examples.
Her grade would surely qualify as SS-level.
“Ugh…”
“That’s impossible!”
However, even such a being was no match for the one-armed Takilas.
As Shuiran fiercely swung her massive halberd, Takilas smashed it in half with a shadowy blade the size of a large truck, sending Shuiran crashing into the ground with a sound like thunder.
“I gave you plenty of chances. I spared you while you were being cocky. The ones who crossed the line are you.”
Hovering within a pit that was smashed deep enough to burst pipes, Takilas floated above Shuiran’s body, which was spilling blood from shattered bones, and smiled faintly.
“Did you think I couldn’t show up? That just because you’re a massive group, and there’s a bigger group behind you, I was limited?”
Takilas maneuvered her floating body closer to the frozen Adele.
“You don’t know your place. Neither you nor the idiots behind you.”
Her red eyes glinted, and she slowly lifted her arm shrouded in black shadows.
“This is really… nothing special.”
And with that, she swung it, neatly severing the necks of Adele and several others who couldn’t manage to flee.
Multiple heads flew through the air, splattering blood.
Simultaneously, the connector on her finger shimmered as proof that she had accumulated all the results she needed to fix her arm.
‘Is there truly no answer to this?’
Takilas vanished from sight. While not everyone had been slaughtered, the majority of The One Road’s core had been killed. Hiding and defying orders, O Insun quietly sighed at the scene.
Of course, it could also have been due to the hasty move in response to the news that Takilas had weakened, even though preparations weren’t yet perfect.
But unlike Adele, O Insun struggled to see the essence.
‘With the power of a mere human group, there’s nothing one can do against such a being. No matter how many members come together to pool their strength, they scatter like grains of sand in front of her—Takilas is the very predator of humanity itself. That… is the true magic.’
That sense of fear and awe provided assistance.
The problem was how the higher-ups, who were sure to be enraged by this, would react.
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