Chapter 159 – Evolving Justice (9)
“What’s going on?”
“…I just thought it was time to take action since it seems connected to the kidnapping case involving our countrymen.”
Aria easily divulged what was clearly supposed to be confidential information. I was a bit surprised, though I expected it.
A kidnapping case involving Koreans. It felt oddly familiar.
“They’re safe. Everyone has been rescued.”
“H-How do you know that?”
Aria’s eyes shook in surprise at my casual smile. She probably didn’t think I’d gotten involved directly.
“You guys, and others too, seem to be under the impression that I always stay within Korean territory because I hate annoying things. But you’re all wrong. I do whatever I want.”
I smirked and boldly declared, pointing at myself. This startled Aria, and even the Saint who was keeping an eye on me behind her flinched.
“So I can go anywhere and do anything.”
“…Yeah. You’re right. You’ve always been like that.”
“Quite an unexpected reaction.”
To my surprise, Aria nodded instead of denying my words. She had grown, now able to accept what needed to be accepted and reject what she needed to reject.
“Thanks for saving our lives. But since you’re here, help us one more time.”
Yet her stubbornness and beliefs remained intact. The qualities of a hero. The qualifications of a warrior. She was determined to uphold her belief in protecting people and this world’s justice and order, no matter how impossible the reality seemed.
Even if that meant asking me for help.
“I don’t want to. Sorry, but I’m kinda fed up now, and I just want to take a break.”
I crossed my arms and shook my head with a scoff.
It might seem childish to others, but there was a reason: to guide these people to protect themselves.
All my actions, including ignoring disasters and provoking other Magical Girls, aimed at this. It would make my stay here more comfortable.
“If you just go home like this, it’s clear it’ll be a lot more annoying in the future.”
“That’s not something to think about right now.”
Aria tried to persuade me. However, I wouldn’t budge and pointed at Shia behind her.
“Think about your partner too. You seem pretty strong, yet you’re a newbie. Aren’t you going to greet the senior?”
I purposely poked at the Saint. Seeing her so cautious, it was clear she didn’t know my true identity. To be fair, if the Saint had completely hidden her Holy Power, I wouldn’t have known either. That’s how perfectly Yggdrasil created the bodies of Magical Girls.
“Takilas.”
“Yeah?”
“Why are you… Takilas?”
However, the Saint’s reaction was a bit different than I expected. I froze for a moment.
“…Takilas is just my alias. There’s another name.”
“The weight carried by that name is not light.”
“Weight? I just made it up as I pleased!”
“It signifies the ruler of the Demon Realm!”
Since I didn’t take her seriously, the Saint frowned and raised her voice. I clicked my tongue internally; it was fine to reveal a bit, but I wondered if she even thought about hiding her identity as someone from another world.
“The ruler of the Demon Realm… a Demon King?”
“A horrible and cruel monarch, nothing like you.”
I shrugged my shoulders, and the Saint nodded with a serious expression. By the way, the description of being horrible and cruel was quite shocking. I wanted to seem intellectual at one point, so I used to wear big glasses, after all.
“You must be a different existence, but be careful. Names have power. I’ve heard plenty of rumors about you… What you pursue, what kind of beliefs you hold. Just because people call you a Demon King, don’t act like one. A true Demon King is beyond your reach.”
“…That’s quite good advice. You seem to have played a lot of games.”
Even as I sneered and ridiculed her, Shia, glancing up at the large black horns sprouting from my head, looked incredibly serious. There was a palpable fear in her attitude. And that fear stemmed from none other than the Demon King Takilas.
It was somewhat refreshing. The Saint, who should detest and hate the Demon King, was genuinely afraid of him, which ironically meant she held a high regard for him.
“So, what will you do now, junior of the Silver Knights?”
Respecting that assessment, I shifted my attitude to a more serious tone.
“An unknown evil is growing uncontrollably in a twisted state. The dozen Magical Girls that just ambushed us are proof of this. They’re getting stronger and covering their weaknesses.”
“Cut to the chase. Are you saying you’re going to fight now?”
“Yeah. That is… my mission.”
The Saint is indeed a Saint. Evil is absolutely unacceptable to her. Expecting normal common sense from a crazy group that believes they can throw their lives into danger is unrealistic.
“You’d better choose wisely. Your choice now affects not just your life, but your partner’s as well.”
“…!”
I glanced at Aria, and Shia’s eyes shook slightly. The Saint’s role was to support and nurture the hero. Destroying evil was as important as that.
Thus, leading the hero to destruction was something a Saint could never do.
“I will fight.”
It was then that Aria opened her mouth. I felt a bit taken aback. I never expected the cool-headed Aria to make such seemingly foolish moves.
“But, Takilas, you have to come with me.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not fighting.”
“I’ll do anything. Please.”
Aria pointed at me. I snorted in disbelief and then lowered my head entirely. Staring at her bowed head, I was momentarily speechless.
“Do you have no pride, senior?”
“…If I can save and protect people, I’ll do anything.”
Aria was composed. Indeed, she was the kind of person who once bent the knee to Rene for the sake of a few delinquent kids. A true warrior.
“I acknowledge that you’re someone whose compulsion doesn’t work.”
Then, Shia clinked her armor and made a loud noise as she kneeled as well, as if not to let just the warrior suffer humiliation.
“Help us annihilate evil.”
“You should have done this from the start.”
I bitterly smiled and briefly pondered. Saying you would do anything… they would regret saying that to me.
“Both of you, get up. There’s a condition. If you can meet that condition, I’ll agree to help you fight this time.”
“What is it?”
“You two must capture their leader. Prove at least a minimal qualification. Just having flashy beliefs and ideals means nothing. You need to demonstrate to give justification to your choices.”
I laid down the condition. It was clearly the most difficult request: capturing the boss of those guys together. I had no intention of volunteering, so they needed results.
“If you can’t even do that…”
“No, we’ll do it.”
Aria accepted my proposal. Shia did as well. Watching them, I thought if they could at least prove their strength this time, it would be an advantage.
As I had said before, if they grew stronger, it would make my future much easier. An investment. I kept telling myself this was an investment.
“Follow me.”
I lifted my body into the air. Both Shia and Aria followed behind. Beneath the high sky, where the wind was howling and my hair and skirt were fluttering, there were countless ominous energies that felt off.
It wasn’t just the evil detected by the Magical Girls. It was that murky power, twisted and grotesquely combined.
“I don’t know what forces they’re hiding, but that’s not my concern. I’m heading straight to the place where the most disgusting energy flows, so just follow me.”
And determined my destination, I rushed toward it.
Now that I set out like this, I didn’t want to waste any time. I planned to open the path quickly and leave the rest to the two of them.
*
“Code… Code Red! Red!”
“Emergency! Emergency!”
The scene turned into chaos in an instant. The blaring siren indicated a code red. Code red originally referred to a Magical Girl committing murder.
However, recently, someone had taken that word and replaced it with their name, and they were coming here.
“It’s Takilas!”
Someone’s shout echoed through the base. Thus, the already panicking base became even more chaotic.
Those who shouldn’t be here were now coming to this place.
“Chairperson!”
“Deploy all resources. This is an opponent we must face.”
Chairperson Zhao Zhirin, whose meticulously prepared clones of Seirin were all wiped out, was shaking, but surprisingly calm otherwise.
“Mobilize every available force. It might not matter against that uncontrollable beast, but put pressure on the Korean government too.”
Grinding his teeth, he contacted the ruler of this land, who was probably still asleep. It was a life-and-death competition that would not leave any means untried.
Their final fight, with nowhere to escape, was now just around the corner.
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