Chapter 193 – Performance Competition (3)
[Die already… You pathetic insects that don’t even possess a fragment of a soul.]
Michael furrowed his brows and pointed his hand, unleashing a torrent of hellfire that exploded beneath his feet.
The flames engulfed the rushing Razak’s legion soldiers, incinerating them all, and continued to spread along the road, eventually covering part of the city entirely.
[Is this enough of a performance?]
“Uh, well, you see, it’s hard to assess these monsters so highly…”
Seeing this, Michael smiled satisfactorily and looked to the side. The winged cat-like mascot, appearing stiff and trembling, opened its mouth with a shaky voice.
[Why is that? You’ve burned hundreds of enemies to death by now.]
“Well, they’re just puppets following orders, you know… It’s hard to consider them as targets of evil in the first place.”
The mascot finally answered Michael, who couldn’t grasp the situation. Soon, Michael understood the meaning behind those words and clicked his tongue, turning his head away.
[In other words, catching these small fries is meaningless.]
Instantly losing interest, Michael soared back into the air. He then started to ignore the other legion soldiers entirely, displaying a clear intent not to engage if it didn’t count as a performance.
‘What’s with this…’
For the mascot, who had been pressing the magical girls for results, this was a familiar, perhaps desirable behavior. However, even the mascot, in front of Michael, couldn’t shake off the feeling of exhaustion at what they had done.
“What? Is it already over?”
[Cease your meaningless actions. No matter how many of them you capture, it won’t affect your performance.]
Michael soon flew over to Sandalphon, who was dealing with legion soldiers in a different city. Sandalphon chuckled at Michael’s words.
“Of course, you’re right. But we can’t disregard it.”
[Why choose such inefficiency?]
“This is the real method to win. Make sure to pay the minimum price to your allies.”
Sandalphon shook his head. It was one thing before, but now, they couldn’t act freely. They had established a cooperation agreement with the local forces.
[Why should I? Paying a price is only for equal relationships…]
“Right. You can think that way. I’ll handle that part myself.”
When Michael sincerely showed confusion, Sandalphon simply sighed.
‘Takilas has already solidified part of the local forces as his allies. But… not everyone likes Takilas or wants to associate with him.’
While not as radical and rough as Michael, Sandalphon was genuinely serious about this competition.
Wanting to win sincerely, he assessed the situation coldly and devised a responsive plan. The allies formed as a consequence of Michael’s dictatorship were on the same page. To stand against Takilas, Sandalphon realized they also needed local allies.
“From now on, Michael will ignore the legion soldiers and focus solely on searching. I’ll take care of the rest while you keep feeding me information.”
“Of course, Sandalphon.”
Through a communications device disguised as an ear ornament, Sandalphon contacted someone.
The identity of the allies, who provided him information and the current situation in exchange for power, was none other than the intelligence department of the United States.
Awash with a sense of crisis about the presence of Takilas, who had become a significant force for the Korean faction at critical moments, they finally forged an alliance with free-spirited SSS-class magical girls known as their equals.
Moreover, unlike Takilas, who was difficult to control without winning their hearts, Sandalphon, who acted purely on a transactional basis, was a more suitable partner in business.
“Wait, it seems there are survivors in this city.”
[Is that a performance?]
Their senses detected something from somewhere in the city. Michael, pleased by the mention of a performance, was the first to dart towards that direction.
[Over there! I see them, sinners burdened by sin!]
Without further ado, Michael blasted flames of retribution towards two people crawling out of a sewer as the sounds of battle echoed.
“Stop.”
Sandalphon’s green lightning blazed across to intercept and nullify it. Michael turned to him, baffled.
[What are you doing?]
“Why not take a closer look? They may seem like villains, but they’re also just kids who haven’t fully grown up yet.”
Sandalphon, catching up to Michael, clicked his tongue and glanced down at the two trembling children lying on the ground. They appeared to be teenagers in their mid to late teens, still quite youthful.
[What does that matter? Can the weight of sins be lessened or exaggerated by age? Is it justice to pardon them simply because they are young? And by human standards, these kids are not even infants!]
“That may not be wrong, but you need to consider it from a different perspective. Think like these kids, not like you, the Seraph.”
Sandalphon turned away with a bitter smile. The boy and girl, a pair of siblings, couldn’t hide their wide eyes as they gawked at the heavenly figures appearing from the sky.
“I’ll ask you. There’s enough malice built up in each of you for at least murder, so I need explanations. Tell me your story.”
As Sandalphon landed on the ground, he looked up at them, trying to be as gentle as possible.
“W-We…”
And what came out was not far off from Sandalphon’s expectations.
“See, Michael? The world is too complex, and simple measures of evil cannot encompass everything.”
[Useless fools. You can’t even filter that out?]
Michael, crossing his arms as he sighed in response to Sandalphon’s words, turned away.
The two children who survived in the heart of the territory occupied by Razak’s soldiers were siblings. The malice accumulated stemmed from the moment they killed another survivor who attempted to rape the younger sister.
Michael verified the truth of their words through insight, and ultimately softened his stance. Justifiable defense was something even angels recognized as utterly reasonable.
“You will be rescued by others, so wait here. I’ll clear out all the monsters around here anyway, so it’ll be fine.”
Sandalphon quickly communicated through his device to call helicopters to take the children away and smiled before turning back.
“T-Thank you, magical g…”
“You can call us whatever you like.”
Seeing their confusion, Sandalphon chuckled again and flew back into the sky. For those two, the sight of Sandalphon and Michael descending from the heavens to slay their enemies and save them seemed like true angels.
“Do you see, Michael? There’s no need to yell or force anything. Many are yearning for your help. If we can embrace them, that becomes our strength.”
[…Impressive.]
‘This is my way. So what will you, Demon King Takilas, do in situations like this?’
While ignoring Michael’s sarcasm, Sandalphon smiled faintly as he thought of Takilas, genuinely curious about how the Demon King, an individual who despised the weak more than anyone, would treat those who were weak when all he had ever done was kill until now.
*
“I caught wind of the U.S. military line moving covertly but busily. At the same time, ‘they’ seem to be operating in sync with those movements. Honestly, it seems they aren’t even trying to hide it.”
“…Of all times to ally with the U.S. This won’t be easy.”
Lee Min-hyung looked tired as he delivered his information to me. By the way, whose bright idea was this? It’s clearly Sandalphon pulling a fast one on me.
There’s no way that simpleton, Michael, could have devised such a plan.
“So, please just tell me what’s happening. What’s going on between you and them?”
“Even if you know, it doesn’t really mean much. This is our job, and it’s all good for them anyway.”
He asked me to inform him about the competition, but I shook my head. I could provide hints, but I didn’t want him to know the whole truth.
“Performance… is it for some kind of performance?”
“You’re sharp. But judging by what I see, that’s probably not all there is to it.”
He was close to the answer. However, it wasn’t the complete truth.
For performance, one literally had to become a magical girl themselves.
But no matter how much I thought about it, I realized that was impossible. I’m ultimately a being that kills and destroys; I cannot be someone who protects and nurtures.
“Not just me, but even Rene, Shia, and Aria. Please cooperate as much as possible. They are true heroes and magical girls who can do the things I cannot.”
“So what exactly do you plan to do?”
“…It’s always the same. Trampling and killing those who dare challenge me.”
I intended to leave the intricate details to others. Instead, I would eliminate culprits like Razak without mercy.
“Sounds like a popular path you’ve chosen.”
Suddenly, I let out a bitter laugh at the realization that I had turned into prey eyed by angels, as well as myself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
