Chapter 93 – The Lord of Despair and Hatred (3)
“Ha, what in the world is going on?”
It was late at night, but the thought of going home was far from his mind. Chief Kang Chan-ho raked his fingers roughly through his hair.
As if things couldn’t get worse, he had come to deal with one incident, but now another one had popped up.
“Have you found the body?”
“Yes. They said it was discovered in the underground parking lot of a nearby building… But the strange thing is that all the cameras and cars in that parking lot have gone haywire.”
“What does that matter? We found it. Isn’t that what counts?”
Kang Chan-ho openly fumed, tapping his fingers irritably. He had every right to be upset; it was a miracle he wasn’t dead himself.
“Retrieve the body. Let’s start wrapping this up.”
“Um, but the body that was found is also a bit unusual. It has transformed into a monster just like Lee Hee-chan, but unlike Hee-chan, who maintained that form even in death, his brother looks perfectly human,” the subordinate reported.
“So?”
“Is there any clue…”
“Mind your own business.”
“W-What? But, Chief…”
The subordinate flinched at Kang Chan-ho’s attitude. Yet, the furrowed brow of Kang Chan-ho showed no sign of relaxing.
“Jin-young. Does this seem like an ordinary and simple investigation to you? Absolutely not. This is something cooked up by the higher-ups that’s seriously involved. The important thing is to increase our results as per orders.”
He shook his head, muttering in disbelief.
“We do what we are told. We are public servants. We work as we are directed and move as instructed. That’s how it is. The case ends here. Due to the rampage of the two monster brothers.”
With a sigh, Kang Chan-ho acted in line with his beliefs. He had no lofty ideals about why he became a cop.
Considering himself an ordinary citizen, he acted with utmost caution and safety.
He followed orders, didn’t rebel, and worked diligently.
“Does that even make sense?”
“Ugh.”
But just as he was about to withdraw…
Someone grabbed his ankle.
“Hey, ma’am.”
“I heard you! Seung-chan didn’t harm people even after becoming a monster!”
The voice that screeched was that of Lee Hee-chan and Lee Seung-chan’s mother, who had lost her two sons overnight. She was completely out of her mind.
To make matters worse, her sons had been classified as monsters. She had been stripped of her rights and had no idea why it was happening.
At least it was lucky that she hadn’t witnessed Seung-chan transforming into a monster and fainted before that.
“Listen, we’ve already concluded the case. Of course, Seung-chan fled the moment he became a monster. But during that process, people got hurt.”
“That was due to your badly aimed bullets!”
Kang Chan-ho scoffed, but she didn’t back down. In fact, a scared cop’s stray shot had hit an innocent passerby, who was now in the hospital.
Despite becoming a monster out of hatred and resentment, Seung-chan could not bring himself to harm anyone, thanks to his innate kindness.
“Investigate properly! My children were wronged! I don’t know what happened, but they…”
“Seriously, you’re so loud.”
“L-Let us handle this, ma’am, please calm down. This is obstructing public duty.”
Eventually, others who were watching Kang Chan-ho stepped in.
They tried to soothe and gently drag her away.
“Today’s events will be counted as an achievement by the Awakened Special Task Force, right? Wouldn’t they be delighted to have another achievement to show off?”
“I don’t care. Come on, everyone, let’s get ready and go!”
Kang Chan-ho directed the other officers to prepare to leave the scene. His mind was already overcomplicated with thoughts of what to report to the higher-ups.
“Is the performance really that good?”
But at that very moment.
A figure cut through the dark night sky.
“Please return inside. If you do not comply with the police directive, legally…”
“Look over there!”
The officers pushing her inside paused, their eyes following the dumbfounded woman’s gaze towards the sky. Other officers nearby were equally transfixed.
“T-Taki…”
Suddenly, the atmosphere shifted dramatically. The being that had just appeared carried an overwhelming presence. Just by showing up and being gazed upon, onlookers froze in place.
“Takilas!”
Someone finally managed to utter the name no one dared vocalize.
A magical girl with flowing dark hair and contrasting snowy white skin smiled down from above arrogantly with her red eyes, unfazed by the many varied looks from the crowd.
‘Magical Girl, Takilas!’
All the officers, as well as everyone around, raised their guard. The woman who had been grabbed was no exception either.
However, her gaze towards Takilas reflected something different from the other officers’ tense expressions.
It was a flicker of hope that perhaps this little girl could understand her anguish and despair.
“Takilas, why are you here?”
“Well, I see you’re the boss around here.”
Landing gracefully atop a patrol car, Takilas frowned at Kang Chan-ho, who looked up at her.
“Why? Is there a reason I shouldn’t be here?”
“Yeah. You have no business here!”
Kang Chan-ho laughed hollowly while pointing around him.
“Look. Only citizens and police are here. No villains around. They’ve already been dealt with. So this isn’t a place for you.”
“…You’re dumb.”
“What?”
Though Kang Chan-ho yelled back defiantly, Takilas, who had been silently listening, simply laughed at him.
“You.”
She raised a finger, beginning to point at people one by one.
“You, you, and you, not the guy next to you but the one next to him.”
As she pointed, everyone felt as if they had turned to stone, with her finger marking nearly everyone in sight, both cops and citizens.
“Lastly, you.”
Her finger landed on Kang Chan-ho, who gritted his teeth as the thin white finger pointed at his chest.
“No villains? Don’t be so brazen. The ‘evil’ I’m here to catch this time is, in fact, all of you.”
Takilas’s cold voice devoid of laughter echoed in everyone’s ears.
“D-Don’t joke with me!!”
After a brief, chilling silence, Kang Chan-ho screamed.
His heart raced, and gasping for breath, he looked normal but no one dared to speak out against him.
“I am a police officer! I uphold the public authority of this nation and have simply executed my duty as commanded! How can I be evil? How can following orders from above make me evil!?”
He was pouring out words out of desperation. It was understandable; those Takilas had marked as evil had already met their end.
Powerful figures wielding authority, terrifying monsters, repulsive criminals—they had all been put to death. Nothing had succeeded in stopping Takilas.
“Your words imply that you would turn all the police in this land against you! If not, then you should go find the person giving orders!”
“You’re elaborating on how you’re a mutt with no thoughts or beliefs of your own.”
“A-a mutt…”
Takilas laughed scornfully. Kang Chan-ho froze, his mouth agape.
“So following orders unthinkingly makes you a mutt? The obedient lapdog, even if reported by its master, can’t change the fact that you are evil.”
“Ugh, aaaa…”
“And do you think it’s a big deal to turn all the police of this land against you? Is the entire force stronger than me? In fact, the only reason you’ll die is that you’re weaker than me.”
Shadows started creeping from Takilas, enclosing the terrified crowd, beginning to threaten them.
“Do you think this is some bizarre reason? Are you feeling wronged? Calmly consider it. The privilege of the strong, trampled and exploited by the logic of power. Haven’t you taken full advantage of that yourself?”
Takilas’s gaze shifted from Kang Chan-ho to Lee Hee-chan’s mother, still being held by the police.
Finally understanding, Kang Chan-ho choked on his words.
“If you’ve been eating well all this time, then you should’ve been prepared to be eaten yourself. Is only your superior a predator? There are stronger predators in this world.”
“W-Wait…”
The shadow blades shot out from Takilas directly at the horrified Kang Chan-ho.
He scrambled to shout but the command to wait faded, barely audible from his throat.
“This land is where I live. It’s also the place I cherish.”
As Takilas watched the fountain of blood erupt from Kang Chan-ho’s severed neck, she quietly spoke.
“Thus, I will protect and cleanse this world, whether its resident is human, monster, or magical girl. Anyone intending to obstruct me is welcome to challenge me. If they are stronger than me, they can defeat me and do as they please. But if they fail, they will die.”
This wasn’t just a message for those present. It was a warning for the cameras capturing this scene, or for any unseen forces watching from the shadows.
Her declaration, eyes gleaming and teeth bared, was laced with an unfathomable depth of magic, making it clear that no one could dare resist her.
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