Episode 64 – Light and Darkness (4)
“This is…”
Aria staggered unknowingly. At least she had the memory of having been ‘subjected’ to something, so she realized that this was not reality.
“Aria, over there!”
In a space filled with bizarre and writhing objects, Lulu shouted as she discovered something.
Turning around, Aria clenched her teeth and widened her eyes. It was a truly dreadful illusion created for battle, infused with Rene’s personal taste and creativity.
“Dad…”
She spat it out, grimacing. From afar in this space of illusion, her father was stumbling forward, covered in blood. He moaned like a zombie and pulled out the knife that was buried in his belly.
“You dare… to call me father…”
“Don’t listen, Aria! It’s a trap!”
As he started mumbling with the blood-stained knife in his hand, Lulu shouted desperately. Just as she said, this was digging up the subject’s traumas and launching a mental attack.
But the human heart is always fluid. Even the strongest person cannot be free of vulnerabilities. To manage one trauma or emotion, one would need to be a century-old supreme being who has seen it all.
Aria trembled with a pale, terrified face.
Lulu’s urgent cry went unheard. Before she knew it, the transformation was undone, and Aria, or rather Han Eun-seo, had returned to that time three years ago.
A 15-year-old girl who had matured only on the outside. A helpless and weak victim who could do nothing.
“Ah!”
Her father had come close and slapped her hard, just like that day. Unable to resist, she fell to the ground from the strong impact.
He mounted her fallen body and began to choke her.
“Doesn’t feel like anything, does it? You’re a murderer who killed a person. Even after becoming an S-rank magical girl, you end up like this. You’re still so weak.”
“Ugh…”
This monster, resembling her father, hurled insults at her. As her gradually weakening voice struggled, she realized that his words were what she used to tell herself in the past.
“Learn how to use your power correctly.”
Through tears blurring her vision, she fumbled next to her and grasped the blood-stained knife that had fallen beside her. If she stabbed him with this, surely she could break through this crisis.
“No… way.”
However, she soon dropped the knife.
“I need to change.”
As she was on the brink of passing out, she clenched her teeth. She had resolved, after hearing Rene’s words, to realize her justice through different means than now.
The biggest premise for that was to change herself. To grow stronger both externally and internally.
If she hadn’t met Rene, she would not have been able to escape this self-deprecating trap.
“Who are you?”
The choking figure of her father asked, grinning. Her glaring eyes, her hair gradually turning crimson.
“Aria.”
Aria stated her name. With that, a powerful force erupted, and she transformed once again into Magical Girl Aria.
Like the burning flames of her changed mindset.
“Aria!”
“I don’t have time to be held back by the ghosts of the past!”
With Lulu’s excited cry, she swung her knuckles with all her might.
The massive and powerful shockwave shattered the mirrors alongside the illusion of her father, breaking apart this void space.
But this illusion was multilayered. It wasn’t just one single entity. She grabbed Lulu and exploded her energy, charging forward madly.
She pushed away the most dreadful trauma of having killed her father. Now, with no restraints, she began simply smashing her way through dozens of illusions.
“Yikes! That guy is—”
“Oh, delicate senior. You’re late again. Thanks to you, everyone is dead.”
Now, only the last illusion remained.
The moment she saw it, Lulu froze in horror and her brow twitched.
A city stained with blood, a horrendous slaughter scene where no one survived. A smiling girl with black hair and red eyes stood maliciously, trampling over the awful corpses.
The entity that had most recently shattered her beliefs. The murderous Magical Girl Takilas, who had provided the allure to be swayed by Rene’s words.
“…I don’t care. Even if it’s you.”
But Aria did not slow down.
Smirking, she kicked off the ground, spreading huge shadowy wings as she soared towards Takilas like a blazing meteor.
“Hah!”
Moments from collision, she planted her fist wholeheartedly into the still-smirking face of Takilas without a moment’s hesitation. The illusion of Takilas had her head blown apart, and immediately the space cracked, bursting forth blinding sunlight as it shattered.
“…Amazing.”
With the sound of shattering glass, Aria broke through the space and emerged back on the school rooftop. Seeing her, Rene sincerely admired her.
Aria had escaped in a tenth of the time she anticipated, and the aura she exhibited was distinctly different than before.
“Thanks to the time you so generously afforded me, I’ve done all I needed to do. Now… only the execution remains.”
Rene waved the chains in her hand. But the gaze of Aria, who glared at Rene, showed no signs of wavering.
“You’ve shed your childishness and now possess unwavering conviction and strength. So, will you fight me with that strength? Do you resent me for showing you those terrible memories you wished to forget?”
Rene noticed her growth and let out a bitter laugh. After all, thanks to her magic, Aria had taken a step forward.
“No. I don’t really think that at all. In fact, I’m sincerely grateful. Even if it was just an illusion, the final moment was exhilarating.”
“The final moment?”
But Aria shook her head with a smile. The memory of plunging her fist into the annoying face of Takilas was still vivid. Rene, not knowing this fact, felt slightly flustered.
“And I won’t fight you. Just a request.”
“Oh, Aria…”
“Give us, no, me once more, one last chance.”
Her following action was even more bewildering. Lulu was left speechless, and even Rene, who was always calm, showed signs of faltering.
“Is that your true intention? How surprising. Does a noble warrior have to go to such lengths to save these vermin?”
“Just like you said, I’ll stop at nothing. I will make my belief a reality.”
Rene looked down at Aria, kneeling on the ground, chuckling, but Aria knelt proudly.
In truth, she had no intention of backing down. Offering her knees in exchange for delaying the fight with Rene until the very last moment was something she could accept for her pride.
“That’s nonsense…”
“Aria is kneeling. Is she seriously asking to save those people?”
Naturally, all of this was broadcasted live on cameras and drones, leaving it in the eyes of the public.
At the same time, Rene’s gaze narrowed slightly.
‘This was unexpected.’
With Aria suddenly kneeling, the appearance had become awkward. Rene, who had planned to gather the magical girls and establish a new order, needed to be mindful of public sentiment.
In other words, if her oppression went overboard, it wouldn’t instill refreshment in the people but rather fear and animosity.
“Go ahead and try it. Foolish swines, a noble warrior has made a great sacrifice for you.”
Ultimately, Rene pulled the chains to hoist the people who were hanging upside down right in front of Aria. Persons who were screaming and exhausted from crying, widened their eyes at the sight of Aria kneeling on the ground.
“…Anyway, I’ve achieved everything I wanted.”
Now completely indifferent, Rene turned her gaze to the sky, muttering.
Before long, one by one, the magical girls began to gather here. Magical girls, oppressed and determined to overcome their fear to realize true justice, resonating with Rene’s intentions.
“Just as you said, this is your last chance, so do your best. If not, we will execute you immediately.”
“…That won’t happen.”
Having released her shield, Rene floated up to join the gathered magical girls.
As the chains disappeared, Aria, having struck Principal Kim Chan-seok’s solar plexus and knocked him out, bit her lip watching them retreat.
“Is it… over?”
“Are you crazy, Lulu?”
As Lulu let out a sigh of relief after seeing the crowd gathering below, Aria scoffed at her.
“You’re all gonna have to work really hard now. You know, mascots and fairies. This whole situation, is it even legal?”
“Yikes!”
Remembering the fact she had almost forgotten, Lulu screamed.
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