Chapter 35 – The Line That Must Be Protected (5)
“Here! Over here!”
“What the hell are these crazy people!”
Within just a few minutes of being in the test tube, a faint siren could be heard as people poured in.
As expected, the rescue team, upon seeing the girls submerged alive in the tank, was shocked enough to think I was making a fuss and began moving frantically.
Soon, I could hear the sounds of one by one being taken out. The test tube I was in opened its previously sealed lid, and soon I was pulled out by careful hands.
“Chief. Right now…”
“Hurry and save them! How do we know what those bastards have done to their bodies!”
As I kept my eyes closed, a firefighter who was wiping my body and checking my pulse and breathing yelled, scolding a subordinate.
Then my eyes were forcibly opened, and a bright light flooded in.
“Are you… okay…?”
Startled, he gently tapped my shoulder and cautiously began to speak. It was frustrating, but even I didn’t possess the ability to control my eye movements.
As I lightly nodded, he removed the respirator from my mouth and hastily wrapped a towel around my torso.
“Just wait a little. I’ll go save the other friends and come back.”
“Check the basement.”
“What do you mean by that…?”
“Some of the girls were dragged into the basement earlier.”
As he was about to head toward the other kids, I pretended to be a poor girl and gave him a hint. His eyes widened at the mention of more people being pulled deeper underground, and he hurriedly grabbed his radio to dispatch orders to go to the basement.
“Lie down and wait. Everything is fine now.”
And he left for another location. As I gazed after him, I let all my strength go and slumped down.
“So, did it all turn out the way you wanted?”
“…Yeah. Now all that’s left is to take care of that egghead Mamute.”
“You say that so easily. But somehow, I feel like you can do it, and that scares me.”
Ren, sitting next to my lying form, flapped his big ears and shook his head.
After lying there for a while, I gingerly went through ID checks and was wrapped in a blanket, cradled in a rescue worker’s arms as I was loaded onto an emergency vehicle.
*
“Eun-seo… Eun-seo!”
“No! Don’t grab me. This time, I must catch him.”
Following Mamute, yet another shocking news hit the Republic of Korea.
Illegal villain organizations were common in this era, but the fact that those bastards carried out biological experiments on dozens of girls kidnapped from across the country near the capital city was clearly something that would go down in history.
“Let’s move with the police, Eun-seo. They definitely have a connection to Mamute. It’s dangerous to go alone!”
“…The police?”
At the urgent words of Chief Oh Yoon-seo, she, the Magical Girl Aria and high school student Han Eun-seo, shook her head after a moment of contemplation.
Oh Yoon-seo’s expression certainly wasn’t good either.
Things had felt strange lately. Until recently, she had confidence in her strength, her sense of justice, and her beliefs. She never doubted that what she was doing was right.
But that certainty and confidence began to falter at some point, and she already suspected when that turning point was.
“Takilas. What the hell are you…”
Clenching her teeth, a vision of a girl with black hair fluttering and deep crimson eyes filled her mind.
All these cracks had begun the day she first met that girl. Ever since that moment when she herself got injured and broke that girl’s arm, every time she encountered Takilas, she had to face some bitter trials.
“We don’t have time. Plus, moving with the police won’t really help this case.”
“Eun, Eun-seo…”
Oh Yoon-seo was taken aback by her own words, surprised enough to stutter. The magical girl Aria, who had cooperated steadily with the authorities until now, was suddenly filled with doubts for the first time.
Even with that influence, the enigmatic and most dangerous magical girl Takilas still lingered.
“I was surprised. I didn’t think you’d contact me first, Aria.”
“Are the others gathered?”
“Yep.”
Aria looked at her fellow magical girls gathered on the locked rooftop of the Management Bureau. Since they all belonged to the same organization, there was no fear of possible betrayal.
“Even if we split it, the results are enormous. We absolutely have to catch them.”
“…The point to note is that they have, in the end, successfully carried out that horrific experiment.”
Keeping her composure in response to her enthusiastic comrade’s words, she reminded them of the information.
At that moment, all their faces stiffened. They already knew what kind of horrific experiment Aria was referring to.
An experiment subject subdued by Takilas. Able to wield magic with a perfectly fine body, yet, without orders, it remained limp like a doll with no sense of self, doing nothing and thinking nothing.
“Those bastards…”
“The experiment subjects are ultimately innocent girls, beings that magical girls cannot touch. So please keep that in mind, and if we end up fighting, we have no choice but to subdue them like Takilas.”
“That cocky brat claims she’ll take down Mamute, doesn’t she?”
As Aria mentioned Takilas, one magical girl with a big witch hat grumbled with a pout.
Aria could tell that all of the magical girls gathered here were hostile towards Takilas. But not her, not now.
“Let’s go. If we achieve results, perhaps even that girl Takilas might change.”
As she recalled her bet with Takilas, Aria soared into the sky leading the charge.
The other magical girls followed suit.
The clues to track down were demons. Testimonies indicated that victims were possessed by demons, forcing local girls to be kidnapped. Those testimonies had already started flooding in.
…
“What could this be?”
In the usual school. The atmosphere was still uneasy, likely due to the series of recent events, including Mamute.
Jeon So-hyun, who had been consistently attending school, stood at an angle at the doorway of someone’s classroom, clicking her tongue at the empty seat.
That seat belonged to her friend Han Eun-seo, who had said some nonsensical things about developing her innate power and suggested they go out together when they parted ways.
The problem was that Han Eun-seo, who was now a magical girl Aria, had been absent for three days due to taking sick leave.
‘Something must be happening for sure.’
Finally turning her back, she crossed the hallway, biting her lip. Honestly, if viewed objectively, it was a ridiculous story. She wasn’t a magical girl, and having a special ability?
However, Jeon So-hyun, due to her nature, couldn’t easily dismiss this issue and was anxiously waiting for Han Eun-seo because she had evidence.
That day, the power resembling a blue lightning bolt had manifested in her to free herself from being possessed by a demon.
Ever since that day, she had opened her eyes to spiritual energy and was now seeing what others couldn’t, touching what others couldn’t, and hearing what others couldn’t.
‘I want to confirm it a little more.’
She shook off the intangible specter that was clinging to her ankle and let out a sigh.
Honestly, she knew nothing about this kind of stuff, so she had no choice but to cling more to Han Eun-seo, her only clue.
‘Speaking of which, I heard there were some kids in the middle school facility who got caught up in this. Could Soo-jung be one of them?’
While she was stuck in her thoughts about her abilities, she successfully recalled an incident from two days ago.
Living in a separate space from middle school since high school and working a part-time job, she hadn’t been able to notice until now the two girls connected to her.
Knowing that this incident was related to demons, she decided to take the time to visit the middle school.
“…Soo-jung?”
“Soo-hyun unnie. It’s been a while.”
But when she visited later that afternoon and met Kim Soo-jung, she couldn’t believe her eyes.
“Jin-ah… Did Lee Jin-ah get caught up in that? The… biological experiment?”
“Yeah. So they say she’s in the research lab. They’re doing tests. So… it’s been two whole days since I’ve seen her face.”
Maintaining her calm, Jeon So-hyun followed Kim Soo-jung into the room.
As soon as she saw the scenario in that room, she gulped her dry throat and gently closed the door.
“I can’t imagine Jin-ah would want to plaster her pictures all over her room with her personality.”
“But if I don’t make it clear how much I like her, she might leave me.”
The tone of Kim Soo-jung, who had her back turned, suddenly changed.
Cold sweat streamed down Jeon So-hyun as she stealthily picked up a wrench hidden between the books on the shelf nearby.
“Who are you?”
And she declared it. Kim Soo-jung, cloaked in a sluggish darkness, turned around with eyes now a deep shade of black.
“I am the one, showing that I’m your enemy. A meddler, breaking apart, you and Jin-ah.”
“Oh no… Aah!”
Though she might have been deeply possessed by a demon, she hesitated to swing the wrench at her close friend rushing at her.
With a loud crash, the two bodies collided and rolled on the floor.
While Jeon So-hyun, hit hard in the abdomen, was heaving and retching, she struggled to hold onto Kim Soo-jung’s arm as it tried to strangle her neck, desperately trying to hold on.
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