186 – Magical Girls in the Sky (6)
[Dealing with humans isn’t difficult. As long as their desires are visible to me, and I hold the power to fulfill them, they will inevitably submit.]
Michael’s insight was remarkably accurate, as he had been observing the human species for over thousands of years.
Even though the environment, conditions, and civilizations may differ, the fact that most humans ultimately live and die by their desires remains unchanged.
[But, Michael. The humans here may not admire you, but instead fear and resent you.]
[I don’t know nothing about this world. Uriel, you are not wrong, but humans are simple and treacherous. I originally disliked their duality, but right now, I can compromise.]
The corners of Michael’s mouth curled up slightly.
And that smile was filled with confidence. It was the assurance that things would unfold according to his will.
[I will give what many humans desire. It’s not difficult. I merely eliminate the evil that must be eliminated.]
Michael distinctly remembered the day he burned to death that greedy sinner who was resented by countless people.
Naturally, numerous gazes were directed at him. However, Michael’s insight pierced through the true feelings hidden within those gazes.
Beneath the apparent fear and confusion, or the wariness, was a feeling they themselves couldn’t even recognize—the essence of ‘pleasure.’
As the long-resented being vanished at Michael’s hands, the individuals experienced a fundamental pleasure from the absence of that which hindered them.
[Takilas, that cunning fellow, was a proper Demon King who knew how to dominate and subjugate. For some reason, he simply hadn’t actively utilized that ability.]
Michael focused on why Takilas’s followers chose to follow him.
[They longed for a being who could release their pent-up resentment and anger through overwhelming force, destruction, and dictatorship, all while living under the order they created among themselves. Humans, by nature, are a species that crawls beneath the strong, mistaking that power as their own and feeling vicarious satisfaction. Takilas had the power and ability to dominate all these decaying inferior beings, yet he acted on a whim. I am different.]
Since transcending, this was Michael’s first descent to Earth, and he didn’t come here for a vacation. He had no intention of playing around or living the mundane life of an average girl attending school.
Active involvement in the world’s affairs was exactly the position Michael aimed for, abandoning laziness and recklessness.
“Angel… Angel Magical Girl!”
“What?! The one from the subway station?!”
It had been two days since the Magical Girls in the Sky had appeared, and while they had become quite accustomed to such occurrences, they were still astonished.
This was a military base in northern Gyeonggi-do.
Ignoring all laws, a loud siren began to wail as Michael approached the chaos above the military base, looking down at the panicked faces with a satisfied smile.
[Uriel. Ensure they cannot escape.]
[Understood.]
Michael commanded Uriel to seal off this military base and the surrounding area. As Uriel’s eyes sparkled and she spread her wings, a translucent energy dome ignited in golden flames, completely isolating the inside from the outside.
“What is this?! I can’t—I’m trapped!”
“I am the captain of the 30th battalion. The Magical Girls have suddenly appeared…”
The people trapped inside fell into a panic. Some banged against the golden walls, while the commanding officer contacted superior units to report the situation and request reinforcements.
[It’s time. Let’s go.]
Amidst the chaos, Michael and Uriel began descending to the ground, right near the cluster of people at the guardhouse.
[Do you know why we have come?]
Michael smiled at the people there, particularly at the middle-aged taxi driver in a windbreaker.
“Ugh, uh…”
Faced with the burning crimson glow emanating from Michael’s shadowed face, the taxi driver stumbled and collapsed onto the ground without realizing it.
[I sense the anger and resentment of many here. I have merely followed it. And that resentment is directed towards you. Just like the greedy cripple I judged yesterday!]
As Michael looked down at him, she spread her arms and smiled. With her piercing gaze upon them, the soldiers surrounding the taxi driver recoiled in alarm.
[Speak. Is the resentment and anger you are facing misplaced? Is it unfair? Recite your actions. I see everything contained within your insignificant soul.]
“AAAH!”
As Michael snapped her fingers, Uriel waved her hand. At that moment, a golden flash erupted from her hand and enveloped the taxi driver, Woo Hyun-chun.
“Wh-What’s happening… Ugh?”
After squeezing his eyes shut and writhing, Woo Hyun-chun opened his eyes to see his body unharmed. However, he quickly shut his mouth, eyes wide in horror.
“Ah… Ugh!”
He clamped his hands over his mouth, realizing his tongue was moving uncontrollably, forcing him to divulge everything hidden within him.
“I, I charged the soldiers more than triple the taxi fare. But when they refused, I got angry and threatened to report them and forcibly brought them back.”
[In your order, that would be illegal. Why did you do that?]
“Because the soldiers are nothing but weaklings who can’t do anything!”
Ultimately, Woo Hyun-chun publicly confessed all his criminal actions and ugly inner thoughts.
[Your essence is filled with ugly greed, deception, arrogance, and petty malice.]
“P-Please spare me! It doesn’t make sense to die for this! What are you doing? Shoot me or something! You’re soldiers!! Protect the citizens!”
As Michael’s eyes shone ominously, a fearful Woo Hyun-chun instinctively pleaded for help, tears streaming down his face.
However, the fact that anyone would step up was absurd. What’s more, no one had live ammunition.
[Desperately pleading for protection from those you scorned and deceived—I simply cannot understand. Do you see them as warriors?]
“Wait! Wa—AAAH!”
In the end, Woo Hyun-chun received no help whatsoever. Michael summoned hellfire.
It was fueled by Woo Hyun-chun’s sins and misdeeds, burning him alive. The scorching flames, not sparing even a blade of grass, blazed like a hellish inferno, echoing with his screams of agony.
[This is not the end. The ones who colluded with this piece of trash must surely be inside.]
“P-Please spare me!”
“I only ignored the incessant complaints because it was a hassle!”
As the flames subsided, leaving only the ashes of a corpse marked by shoeprints, the desperate whispers of Michael’s murmur startled a few executives into quickly prostrating on the ground.
[I won’t burn you all. But it is true that your insides are pitch black. You may yet… face judgment.]
Michael decided not to kill them outright.
What she desired was to stimulate and provoke the suppressed desires embedded within people, allowing them to express themselves, while gaining their support—not indiscriminately killing them to foster resentment.
[Come, Uriel. What overflows and is about to explode in this world is exactly these things. We must establish a proper order soon.]
Michael took off into the sky once again with Uriel, realizing ten bodies wouldn’t be enough. The world she saw was a mere mass of absurdities. Yet, paradoxically, it made her joyful.
If well-utilized, she could easily achieve her intentions.
*
“They’ve appeared again. This time in northern Seoul. That’s the eighth time today, and there are twelve of them… Hey! Ha Eun-seo!”
“We must stop them.”
“Are you crazy?!”
Transhyoon jerked back from her phone in shock and grabbed Ha Eun-seo’s wrist. However, Ha Eun-seo’s expression was already set in stone.
“How do we stop them? They attacked Takilas the moment they showed up!”
“More dangerous than Takilas!”
The mention of Takilas made both of them grit their teeth.
For Ha Eun-seo, it was an incident that brought back memories of her first encounter with Takilas.
But Ha Eun-seo immediately recognized that the ‘Girls in the Sky’ were fundamentally different from Takilas.
“They’re doing what people subconsciously wanted. Killing heinous criminals who just got out, and eliminating the chaebols causing a stir from abuse! There’s clear intent behind it. Unlike Takilas, who just did whatever he wanted!”
“Like Casilena?”
“Casilena still follows some rules.”
Ha Eun-seo shook her head. While Casilena, led by Rene, had also received criticism for private enforcement, they had recently found a compromise and stopped the indiscriminate killings.
But Michael was different. Just as Takilas overwhelmed any obstruction and fulfilled his goals, Michael crushed everything with power, achieving her objectives with no compromises whatsoever.
And those objectives were precisely aimed at the grievances big and small that people held against the existing order.
“This isn’t ordinary soda. It’s soda being force-fed down our throats. The issue is, no matter how you think about it, there are plenty of people who secretly enjoy this.”
Ha Eun-seo’s eyes trembled. She realized the potential repercussions of Michael’s actions on this society.
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