Chapter 161 – The Meaning of Strength (1)
The villain approaches. A really bad villain. A wicked evil that kills people indiscriminately, harms valiant warriors, and threatens the homeland.
She heard it like that. She learned it like that. She believed it like that.
“You can do it, right? Unfortunately, all means of resistance have been neutralized. By that wicked villain. Now, all that remains is your purity, Lin.”
“Yes. I can do it.”
With a solemn face, she nodded at the researcher who urged her on. Her eyes burned with a sense of mission. There was not a crack in her resolve. Because she was being completely sincere at this moment.
She had to become the last hope and stop the wicked villain, the terrible foreign invader, Magical Girl Takilas.
‘Is it even possible?’
O Insun, a researcher from The One Road, watched this scene with a grim face from a step back. Having barely escaped the massacre by Takilas at the Korean Branch, she rejoined the organization. Even though the appearance of Razak turned The One Road into a sinking ship, she bore no resentment and actively collaborated with Razak instead.
And now, she had to fight against Takilas, who was not yet fully realized in her potential.
But O Insun was still skeptical. Even with Razak’s power, she wondered if it was really possible to stop Takilas.
“Don’t worry too much. Takilas. That monster girl won’t be able to touch you. She’s a Magical Girl who can’t harm good people.”
“Then why is the Magical Girl who captures bad people attacking us?”
“She’s probably a bad Magical Girl. I heard she’s referred to as the Demon King Girl.”
The researcher who had been taking care of Lin chuckled while mumbling at the words of Lin. To her pure heart, Takilas had to be simply evil.
Words about interests, pros and cons, ethics, and diplomatic issues held no importance whatsoever to them. To them, Takilas was merely an invader.
“Put on your suit, Lin! It seems our allies are being pushed back!”
“…Yes!”
The innocent girl. Lin activated the device hanging around her neck with a determined expression. A thick liquid began to gush from the necklace, covering her body until it transformed into a solid black armor.
This was their last weapon prepared for this situation.
A secret weapon created by mixing two data points that Takilas struggled against the most. It was designed to fight with powers equivalent to that of a Magical Girl, given to a good person untouched by Magical Girls.
‘Can this really work…?’
It was a simple and utterly absurd thought. O Insun couldn’t bring herself to trust this ludicrous strategy, even though there were grounds for it.
“What if we fail? How do we handle that anger?”
“Fail? It doesn’t really matter. If we fight it out, we will win.”
O Insun hinted at the researcher in charge of Lin but found it hard to receive a constructive answer. They were just as mistaken about the situation.
O Insun wanted to ask if they had time to war of attrition, but she kept her mouth shut. The die had already been cast, and this competition was getting closer to a death game that would continue until one side was defeated.
*
“See? It’s easier than expected.”
Whether it’s a modified Magical Girl or an awakened experiment subject, none of that matters. As long as we can take out the target with a single breakthrough before they gather their strength, we can win this battle against a nation.
“B-but it’s more than I thought. If the number of these monsters keeps increasing, there won’t be a place for Magical Girls…”
“Are you going to just watch that happen?”
Ren was flustered, seeing the enemies, but I just sneered. Even if it’s a war, our goal isn’t to destroy this nation or slaughter countless people.
We just need to kill that monster who’s worked with the enemy leadership. It looks like they rely heavily on that monster’s power.
And this process must be wrapped up before tonight ends.
“So, you both go kill that monster. Surely you can manage that?”
“…Of course.”
I clearly laid out the objective to Aria and Shia behind me. I’ll take care of the irritating obstacles along the way, so they just need to focus on capturing the monster.
It is perfectly reasonable for a Magical Girl to capture a monster. As long as everything goes well, there’s no way we can’t win in terms of justification.
“That’s!”
But reality never flows as expected. Just when we thought we had broken through most of the defenses they had prepared, it seemed there was still something left.
And it was something really annoying and unpleasant.
While Shia and Aria gasped in shock, I turned to see what it was.
“Takilas!!”
It was one girl. She wore a black suit similar to Shia’s full armor, but she wasn’t a Magical Girl, flying in the sky holding a large weapon.
“Kid… this isn’t a place for someone like you.”
“No, this is the place I belong! The teacher said I’m the only one who can stop you!”
Landing on the devastated ground, she stood in front of me, pointing her hand at me and boldly shouting. She appeared to be around the same age as me but was filled with resolution and determination in her eyes.
At first glance, it could be mistaken for purity, but it was rather ridiculous that it was directed at me, who wasn’t a monster or corrupt adult.
“Step aside, invader!”
“I see.”
With a loud thud, she placed her weapon on the ground and declared for me to step back. This wasn’t my first experience with this kind of situation. Although she was a Magical Girl, she was blocked by good people who couldn’t touch me.
It seemed they were trying to stop me using data collected at that time.
But unlike then, this girl standing in front of me had considerable power, surpassing that of an ordinary Magical Girl, unlike the unthinking puppets or civilians manipulated before.
“Wrong. It’s not about us being different…”
“Enough! Honestly, how many people do you think we’ve broken and killed just to get here in three hours?”
I interrupted Aria, who was trying to persuade her in panic. Ren mumbled about how it was actually her who broke and killed while being tossed far away.
Judging by her commitment and resolve, it’s clear that someone wouldn’t send out a casual child as a last-ditch effort.
“What’s your name?”
“…My name is Lin.”
“Okay, Lin. I don’t know what the adults beside you have told you, but if you know anything about me, then you should also know this.”
With a faint smile, I started to speak first. Right now, she’s a nuisance that’s a bit bothersome.
“Everyone has their beliefs. Everyone thinks they’re just and right. In a way, that’s correct. There’re no right answers in this world, and fundamentally, it’s just a competition for survival.”
“Wh-what are you talking about?”
“It’s simple. If you become a winner, you become just, and if you’re a loser, you become a villain. It doesn’t matter what the adults tell you about how terrible and evil I am. Because in the end, I will become the winner and become the one in the right. That’s the meaning of strength.”
Lin, the girl, could have received some brainwashing or whatever beliefs from them, but it doesn’t matter. If she doesn’t have the strength to prove that, that’s merely the excuse of a loser.
“You both go seize the monster. I’ll stick around for a bit.”
“Are you really okay with that… No, of course, you will be okay with that. Understood.”
I sent Shia and Aria ahead. Aria almost asked if I was alright but just nodded instead.
“Wh-where are you going?”
“Where are you going? People like them are different from me. They’re purer and cleaner Magical Girls. So there’s no need to worry, you can just play with me.”
As Lin hurriedly turned to stop them, I swiftly closed the distance and blocked her path.
“Hiii!”
Lin, taken aback by my sudden appearance, swung the weapon she held reflexively.
It’s slightly unfair. The magical power I use as a Magical Girl is of no use to her, so I had to let myself take the hit.
“You think of me as a villain, yet when it comes to attacking, you hesitate and fear. That’s only natural. You’re a good person.”
“Ugh, aah…”
“You wield good as a weapon. That’s contradictory. A true good person wouldn’t make themselves into a weapon.”
With a booming shockwave, the weapon resembling a great sword or a mace struck my face. I felt something warm flowing from my head to my face.
Even an SSS-ranked monster capable of wiping out an entire city only barely scratched me, while a mere teenage girl inflicted a wound upon me.
This meant that the penalty for a Magical Girl when targeting a good person was considerable. It was a justifiable measure. After all, Magical Girls are protectors, not fighters.
“Good people trust themselves. But you? You don’t trust yourself. You’re believing in the false ideologies instilled by others.”
“I-I wasn’t trying to do this…”
“That’s the result, Lin. You’ve assaulted people with a wrong belief, and thanks to that, the light in your heart is gradually being tainted by darkness, and your purity becomes soiled. And this is what happens. You are no longer good.”
Having restored the wound on my head, I reached out towards her, who was panicking. I could easily catch or strike, given that there’s no intent to kill.
“No!”
At that moment, with gritted teeth, she swung the mace again, and I restrained it with a tentacle drawn from the shadows.
“You’re the villain. The villain who hurts people and invaded us. Ah, I must defeat the villain!”
As she shook off the shadow, she yelled at herself, repeatedly swinging her mace. Her physical bio-suit must have played a part, as every swing sent out shockwaves and powerful gusts toward me.
I let out my thorn whips and swung them to deflect these clumsy yet deadly attacks.
But that was all there was to it.
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