Chapter 68 – Light and Darkness (8)
“Are you imitating me?”
Looking up at her, the eyes of the one filled with devotion and admiration were drenched in earnestness. As Rene gazed into those eyes, the words of Takilas flashed through her mind.
“That’s right. I talked about justice and all that, but fundamentally… I couldn’t let go of my lingering desires.”
She had no choice but to acknowledge it.
At this moment, it felt as if the deep-seated longing she had buried in her heart was being fulfilled. The people in front of her who praised her, the organization running on the system she had created, and the transformations and reforms she was spearheading—it was all what she had desired from birth.
“I wanted to become an Emperor. That hasn’t changed.”
Following her father cautiously, her eyes sank deeply.
Her ambition was no less than her brother’s. In fact, it intensified as she grew older. She was the only one among her siblings to fiercely engage in political struggles over succession rights with the current Emperor, who was merely a year older than her.
There was just a slight difference that determined victory or defeat.
Rene was undoubtedly an exceptional magician. However, the Emperor was a knight who had reached an extraordinary level. Both had brilliant minds capable of mastering various disciplines and equally matched in their leadership and influence over others.
The thing that distinguished these two similar individuals was nothing but the customs and laws of a bygone era.
While Rene’s ambition for the throne was for the development and prosperity of the Empire, the current Emperor did not share that sentiment. He willingly made the archaic remnants that needed reform his own for the sake of the throne.
From that moment, Rene grew to loathe the Emperor, whom she had once admired as a great rival, considering him no better than a beastly piece of trash.
“Therefore, I can promise this: I will never compromise.”
“Ah…”
As Rene entered the room behind her father, he managed to turn his head away, lost for words.
“It wasn’t even a trivial dispute. It was unilateral terrorism and assault.”
The father and son together testified to Rene about that day. It wasn’t difficult; after all, they had complained about it to the police and courts for the past two years.
The incident itself stemmed from an all-too-common case of school violence in this era.
“But the perpetrators ultimately faced no punishment. All because they were 14 and 12 years old.”
“At least you’re not lying.”
Rene observed the state of the subjects subtly, using a spell to detect falsehoods as she determined the truth of their testimony.
In fact, there was no need to discern the truth. The incident that had occurred two years ago had clear evidence, and the perpetrators themselves did not deny their actions.
“The hardest part was that those bastards didn’t even show a hint of remorse or apologetic words after causing such an incident.”
“They will be judged.”
Rene nodded at her father’s trembling voice as he recalled that day.
Then, the look in their eyes changed. It was no longer the gaze hardened by distrust towards the world etched into their bones.
The presence standing before them was not someone who would be thwarted by the wall of reality, but rather a magical girl capable of summoning miracles if she simply set her mind to it. Though that was the tricky part, Rene was fundamentally different from the other magical girls.
“…It’s true.”
Rene nodded, gazing at the eyes watching her from the bed.
For her, this matter was no longer just a simple experiment or an insignificant whim. It was her unfulfilled dream, her desire, and her ambition.
The magical girls who followed her were her vassals, and the father standing before her was her subject.
“What you must do is shed the past, move forward, and also not forget.”
With that, Rene left the room and soared into the night sky once more.
“This is an opportunity I cannot miss.”
She floated through the air with a faint smile.
The small chance granted to her by Takilas was now an opportunity to fulfill her lifelong wish. This opportunity—she had no intention of letting it slip away. No matter what obstacles came her way.
Already, having tasted defeat once, she was in a state of readiness for failure. This was the darkness she harbored inside, but so what if it wasn’t as clean and pure as others thought it to be?
Even drenched in desire and ambition, the outcome of her actions would remain the same.
*
“Crazy…”
“They really killed someone. A magical girl!”
At a certain middle school on the outskirts of the city, students were chattering and playing together since the morning they arrived at school.
Amidst the excitement, some voices stood out louder than the others. They were engrossed in reports about magical girls online, with the hot topic being Casilena, who had finally begun her activities.
Videos of Casilena’s inquisitor “executing” people in broad daylight had already spread like wildfire, without a care for a Code Red.
“Hey, you guys better shut up!”
“Whoa.”
Suddenly, someone yelled in irritation, freezing the atmosphere of the classroom.
The student who shouted with a scrunched-up face was Kwon Do-hyun, a third-year student. The way the others looked toward him indicated his standing in this place.
“Judgment? Yeah, right.”
His heart thumped heavily in his chest.
However, this intense heartbeat wasn’t due to anger. It was fear, the fear that had taken root in his body, hidden behind the bravado he tried to display.
“Hey. Let’s talk for a second.”
Then someone approached from the neighboring class. Kwon Do-hyun sighed upon seeing his classmate’s face and stood up.
“You’re thinking the same thing, right?”
“Dude, stop spouting nonsense. That idiot Lee Chan-sung’s incident was just an accident!”
Cornered with his friend, he raised his voice, clearly displaying his anxiety.
“Do you think they’ll really come? That was over two years ago.”
“Don’t you know that guy’s dad wrote about it online?”
His friend’s trembling words made him roughly scratch his head.
What irked them most was the “justice” proclaimed by the emerging force Casilena. True justice—a judgment of sins.
The values of human rights and constitutions that provided a strong shield meant nothing to them.
“This is insane. I’ve never heard of Takilas killing any minors. Surely…”
“Is this just some shadow boxing? There are plenty of crazy incidents out there, and they’re really going to bother with us?”
Two middle school third-years, unable to do anything without their parents in this society, concluded to comfort themselves.
Their conclusion was simply to reassure themselves with no sound basis. Takilas, renowned as the most feared magical girl, had never touched minors, and indeed, there were worse criminals wandering this land.
“…What?”
However, when they arrived in class just before the lesson began, Kwon Do-hyun was taken aback by the large number of students gathered.
“Magical Girl… Rene!”
“Why is she here?! Who is she after?!”
In the sky above the playground floated a golden-haired magical girl.
Most students were curious yet afraid, some even cheered or expressed delight at her appearance.
“Ah, aahh!”
But some reacted as if they had seen the Grim Reaper. Taking a deep breath, Kwon Do-hyun found himself running down the hallway to escape, completely mindless in his escape.
“Why are you running away?”
“Ahhh!”
Yet as he turned the corner, he froze in shock, stumbling to the ground. Rene was already there, waiting.
“How… how did you…”
“Setting up an illusion is not difficult.”
His face turned pale as he muttered while observing the throngs of students overflowing in the classrooms.
Yet Rene responded calmly.
“Did you expect I wouldn’t come to find you?”
“P-please spare me!”
“I’m not going to kill you. After all, the child you bullied isn’t dead.”
Looking down at his fear-drenched eyes, Rene scoffed. Naturally, the intuition of a magical girl judged him to be a villain. This meant she could take action.
“You had ample opportunities to act according to your will. You hesitated, regretted, and had enough time to think again. But you squandered every one of those chances and ended up committing the deed.”
“It was an accident! A lousy accident! The moment that guy fell… no, Chan-sung hit his head…”
“Had you apologized or at least expressed remorse back then, it might have sufficed. But what did you say at that time? What did your parents say as you ripped apart the opponent’s chest?”
“Ugh… ughh…”
Rene’s eyes remained unwavering. Seeing this, Kwon Do-hyun fell silent. He had made a grave misconception.
Unlike Takilas, who acted according to her whims, avoiding children as long as her mood was off, Rene set clear ideals and standards and acted to realize those.
Regardless of who the opponent was, if they deviated from that standard, she immediately took action.
“I-I don’t want to! Save me! Please… uughh!”
“You don’t need to be melodramatic. I’ve seen younger thieves lose their hands too.”
The chains of magic summoned by Rene wound around Kwon Do-hyun’s limbs and mouth, lifting him into the air. At the same time, she conjured a crackling axe of lightning in her hands.
“There’s nothing to be aggrieved about. You’re merely receiving the return of your own actions. If you resent and hate me for it, feel free. I won’t mind.”
She aimed the vibrating axe at one of his arms and lifted it high.
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