Chapter 63 – Light and Darkness (3)
What is the truth, and what is justice?
Chaos shook her values. Until now, she thought she wasn’t a hero from a superhero movie. However, Rene denied that.
“Neither truth nor justice. It’s just about believing in your power.”
Noticing Aria’s confusion, Rene smiled faintly.
“Can’t you trust yourself? Do you think the power you wield is incomplete? That’s natural. There’s nothing perfect in this world. What I’m asserting isn’t to become a perfect being. But if you’re really uneasy…”
Rene reached out her hand to Aria. The intent was clear, causing Aria’s eyes to tremble sharply.
“Let’s create it together. With the other magical girls, a new order and a new world.”
“Y-you want to work together?”
Aria staggered. She never imagined Rene would make such a suggestion to her.
She didn’t even realize how grand the ideology Rene held was. Lulu, the mascot, was left speechless with her mouth agape.
“I want to enlighten the magical girls first. Why are you being swayed by the Fairy Company? The true owners of the power are you. Wield that power with conviction and will. You are heroes, not mere mercenaries.”
“Don’t be ridiculous!”
“Damn it! I think so too!”
Following Rene’s words, Lulu finally snapped out of her stunned state and bounced around excitedly. Fluffy, who was at Rene’s feet, echoed Lulu’s reaction by thumping its chest.
However, Rene paid no attention to their antics. They were merely mascots. Most magical girls followed the words of their mentors and guides, but that didn’t apply to Rene.
“Is living as a pawn for the Management Bureau truly your goal, Aria? If you can’t fully utilize the power given to you, then it’s meaningless.”
“I…”
Aria bit her lip.
In her not-so-long life, she had never experienced such conflict and agony since the day she became a magical girl.
“No.”
Aria shook her head. In that fleeting moment, memories from the past surfaced.
The day she became a magical girl. The day she lost everything. The day she stabbed and killed someone—her father.
“If you want to live, beg. Ask for power.”
The once authoritative and haughty mascot, Lulu, had suddenly appeared before her that day, unlike the current version that had been beaten down.
“Please… save me.”
With eyes barely open, Han Eun-seo managed to utter a word through her broken teeth. At that moment, she could feel a surge of power filling her body.
“Defeat them with that power! The monsters trying to harm you!”
Lulu encouraged her heightened spirit. The girl, pushed to her limits, couldn’t help but be swayed by those words.
She pushed her father, who had been pressing against her, and grabbed the knife he had used to stab her mother. Then, she plunged it deep into her bewildered father’s abdomen. Thus, she killed her own father, who was assaulting and trying to rape her.
“Remember that sensation forever. And unleash it. Become a magical girl.”
Shortly after, Lulu sent her to Yggdrasil, where she returned to reality as Magical Girl Aria.
The burning passion at that time soon turned into rage, and the fighter wielding the knuckles became a slaughterer.
If she hadn’t met Oh Yoon-seo, Aria might have become another Code Red, spewing her suppressed anger.
“I thought he deserved to die, but I’ve always regretted that moment when I stabbed my father. I discovered how pathetic and haphazard the Magical Girl System is. The ones who saved me from my despair and rage were the director and the system of this society.”
“…I see.”
“So, I won’t join you.”
Aria, clenching her eyes tight and gritting her teeth, shook her head and opened her eyes again. Now, those eyes were unwavering.
“You’re right. It’s wrong to compromise and settle with reality, having this kind of power. But even if there are things that need changing, I’m going to be with them. That is my justice.”
At this moment, Aria firmly decided on her path. Rene played a significant role in this. She realized that she couldn’t realize her desired justice through the current method.
But that path differed from what Rene wanted. To Aria, the people of this world were companions to be together with, not subjects to be ruled over.
“I respect your thoughts. From the first meeting, your conviction was firm. However, I have no intention of bending my will.”
“What…!”
Having somewhat anticipated this outcome, Rene snapped her fingers and simultaneously cast two spells.
Multi-Layered Illusion Convergence.
Rene quickly trapped Aria in a layered illusion, dozens of versions of her overlapping. No matter how strong Aria’s power was, she was trapped in something she had never faced before, making it a long time before she could escape.
In the meantime, she just had to do what she had to.
“Ugh… AAAAAH!”
“Please… please save me!!”
She waved several chains that she had in her hand. The people hanging from the chains cried out with screams.
Seeing this, Rene looked towards the crowd gathered below and leaned off the railing.
“What do you plan to do now?”
“I will awaken the magical girls. To become true magical girls.”
Fluffy, unable to intervene, watched her in tension. Rene conjured a large blue magic circle in front of her.
[I will convey this to everyone]
It was a sort of loudspeaker. Her calm voice rang not only in the area but also reached the ears of the magical girls who bore magic within.
*
“This snowball I rolled is getting way too big. But then again, you brought this upon yourselves.”
“No, we…”
I muttered along with Ren, looking out the window toward Rene. It was class time, but the atmosphere was chaotic. Even the art teacher was watching breaking news on a cellphone with the students.
She already knew what was happening.
[For too long, the magical girls of this land have been walking the wrong path. Our duty is not to conform and submit to order. It is to create and enforce order. That is the true magical girl Yggdrasil desires.]
There was no need to watch it broadcast; her calm voice echoed in my ears, revealing her conviction and determination. It was a sort of manifesto directed not at ordinary people, but at the magical girls of this world.
[Look at these people. Is this the justice of this world? The justice of this world is incomplete. While making empty promises to care for everyone, they operate under entirely different yardsticks and criteria based on their targets. Perhaps this is natural. Humanity is as wicked as it is weak, and craftier as it gets weak. So, it is our duty to change that.]
Rene pointed at the hanging victims and spoke.
[Surely, there are magical girls who want to realize true justice, even in this reality. Come to me. We will unite and become a single collective. Together we will change this world. No one can stop us. Fear not the mascots, the Fairy Company, nor the society you belong to. I assure you, they cannot suppress your convictions. What you need to transform this society is precisely your power, so we want the true you who has awakened from long slumber.]
“…Smart thinking.”
Honestly, I was a bit impressed.
No matter how you looked at it, I never expected her to stir up such a ruckus on her own. She had pinpointed the gaps and timing of this world precisely since she hadn’t been here long.
While the Fairy Companies were too engrossed in competing among themselves to unite, and while threats to magical girls continued to emerge, my existence stirred things up and increased people’s interest rapidly.
She made a grand appearance, holding hostages who were essentially bundles of justification, drawing as much attention as possible to push the situation forward.
Honestly, it was baffling to think how someone so clever got overshadowed by her brother. The human emperor had a reputation for being a political monster.
“There has never been anything like this in history. It’s all your fault.”
Ren, looking panicked, poked my arm. Her words were accurate. It was I who had broken the existing order and turned Rene into a magical girl.
“What does it matter? You all have been aimlessly competing for results anyway, so you might as well do some real work this time.”
I chuckled while playfully crumpling Ren’s side. At this point, it was quite enjoyable to watch how things unfolded. It was enough to serve as seasoning in my otherwise serious life.
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