Chapter 95 – The Lord of Despair and Hatred (5)
It’s definitely a cringe-worthy and overly sentimental thing to say. Like, can all of you really win? Or that I’m stronger than the whole country?
But the only time it’s mocked and ridiculed is when it’s an utter lie.
If that is accepted as an undeniable truth, however, then that laughter quickly turns into overwhelming fear.
“Protect me! I need protecting!”
In a panic, Moon Seok-yong, who seemed to have had some faith in the Special Task Force or thought I’d be cautious given the current situation, collapsed and shouted in tears.
“Ah…”
Yet, no one stepped forward. No one could. Obviously, stepping up now meant challenging me.
“Know your place. All of you.”
“Please! I-I was just following orders! I swear! Please, save me…”
I clearly sent a message to those watching this scene, swinging my hand and firing a shadow blade.
The head of the Chief of Police, blood spattering all around, was severed cleanly, while his body crumpled pitifully and began to convulse.
“What I warned you about the monster’s great invasion was for a reason. It wasn’t anything more than telling you to stick to the basics and do your jobs.”
In this silence-filled, cold space, I spoke to the people who could only look at me, unable to utter a word.
Not sweeping them all away and making this plea was, for me, an awkward approach.
“Don’t even think about calculating your way out of this. Don’t try to predict when and how I might reappear.”
My goal was to engrave in the real ones watching this scene that their survival was merely due to luck.
At the very least, I wanted to make sure they wouldn’t act recklessly, understanding what truly mattered.
It should make them a bit more compliant when fear is instilled like this.
“I thought you’d kill more, but you’re holding back here?”
“This is enough. Besides, doing more would get frustrating quickly. Like I’ve said a few times, I’m not here to work.”
Ren asked, bewildered, but I clicked my tongue.
If I went on a rampage, killing everyone, I’d end up having to clean up the mess. After all, this is my turf now.
So the best option was to let them take care of each other, allowing natural order to restore itself.
“You have to grow strong.”
Above all, I detested spoon-feeding them.
*
“What a mess.”
“It’s not the first time, but this blatant and merciless approach? It’s a first.”
Last night’s events rocked the peninsula, and then some, sending shockwaves worldwide.
Those in the Management Bureau, whose functions had mostly been disabled recently due to concentrated suppression, were in the same boat—currently operating as a covert organization called ‘Frontier.’
“Ultimately, Takilas hit and ran at just the right moment. Almost as if it was intentional.”
Director Lee Min-hyung chuckled bitterly, toying with his scruffy beard.
The ripple effect created by Takilas was just as expected.
Most people were in shock, but after all, Takilas was just acting as it always did.
In fact, it incited fury knowing the police had intentionally omitted information, processing innocent victims as monsters for the sake of results.
With Takilas rampaging in such a flamboyant manner, the media couldn’t just remain silent.
“Plus, the incompetence of the Special Task Force is now apparent.”
While the SS-rank Karin or the S-rank Aria were said to have fought Takilas, the team leader of the Special Task Force, who was killed in one hit last night, had raised sufficient doubts about their combat prowess.
“Should I inform the kids to start moving according to plan?”
“That sounds good. I reckon the political side has taken a significant hit. They might be wondering when Takilas might barge into their homes next. Plus, having a completely nonsensical crack like this on our side is just too convenient.”
At the mention from Oh Yoon-seo, he chuckled. All concerns and worries had shattered overnight, crushed by overwhelming power, leaving no room for anything but laughter.
Though that laughter was tinged with self-deprecation and resignation.
“Oh, Director. Up until now, the balance was roughly maintained. Even superhumans like the Magical Girls had their limits. Even the strongest, Karin. But this Takilas, what the heck is that? Wielding such immense power without a hint of hesitation.”
No matter how he thought about it, it felt otherworldly. Takilas’s strength and the way it wielded that strength were absurdly beyond conventional understanding.
Having known a little about the struggles Karin, once proclaimed the strongest, went through in her youth confirmed that even more.
“It’s as if it’s not of this world.”
“That child surely bears scars that aren’t evident. If we can embrace those, then surely…”
“Oh Director, you’re too enamored with the Magical Girls. I assure you, no child expert in this world could handle that one.”
While Oh Yoon-seo still viewed Takilas as a rampaging child in need of embracing, Lee Min-hyung saw Takilas as a calamity, observing it as a thoroughly composed and stable entity, surpassing many adults.
“Let’s focus on our work now. We need to seize this game-changing opportunity that Takilas has gifted us.”
If acknowledged, the only option left was to leverage it.
Soon, under his orders, a piece of information was transmitted to all the Magical Girls affiliated with Frontier.
“Have you arrived?”
“…Did you get the message too?”
“Yes. Our Casilena will also act per the plan. However, I will be moving separately.”
Under the bright sun, Renée and Aria met atop a building. They needed to coordinate their actions for efficiency before proceeding.
“You’ll be moving separately?”
“The warning Takilas gave wasn’t just for them.”
Renée nodded, her face tense. Seeing her show any sign of nervousness startled Aria.
“What do you mean by that? It’s just a warning for those who can’t do their job, right?”
“No. That warning includes us as well. The Magical Girls can’t be ignorant of the fact that we’re banding together for collective action.”
Renée felt a chill remembering Takilas’s appearance from yesterday. Although they hadn’t known each other long, the simmering wrath and irritation emanating from those crimson eyes were unlike anything she had ever felt.
‘There’s no way it will let me off easy. Here, we are strangers…’
Knowing Takilas’s true identity, she couldn’t help but feel more anxious. If it ever felt like it, it could burn this land to the ground and conquer it.
That would only be a disadvantage for Renée herself.
“We’re not shrinking back because we want to… No, that child is right. We’ve done bad things. We disregarded justice and order to win.”
“Which means it’s our turn to repay now.”
“I will take care of the people.”
Aria placed her hand on her heart, her face serious, filled with anger.
The time they had been forced to wait, just to capture the narrative. The grotesque, ugly political maneuvers and provocations, slanders, and derelictions of duty committed during that time.
Aria couldn’t tolerate it. The internal parasites threatening the order of reality. It had always been her belief to crush them all.
“Then the rest will focus on the monsters.”
The reason the Magical Girls had avoided clashes with the Special Task Force until now was because of that confidence—assured that the arrogantly rampaging ones would trip over their own feet eventually.
If they could strike at the moment when the bribed media and institutions couldn’t endure any longer, they could solidify public opinion.
It was merely that this moment was hastened by the existence of Takilas.
“Then what will you do?”
“I’ll be tracking the monster Takilas mentioned.”
However, Renée’s attention was also diverted to another matter.
A monster that incites despair and hatred in humans, turning them into monsters. Though the impact was still insufficient, Renée instinctively felt the need to catch it.
“Renée, here’s the item you requested.”
“Thanks, Lina.”
Right after Aria departed, Lina, a Magical Girl close to Renée, approached her.
Lina held a shopping bag in her hand and handed it to Renée.
“But, couldn’t you just remove your transformation?”
“It wouldn’t matter even if I did.”
After receiving the item, Renée faintly smiled and dispelled her transformation.
At that sudden sight, Lina was taken aback and instinctively shut her eyes tight. The true form of a Magical Girl was too crucial.
“…Huh?”
Yet, upon barely opening her eyes, Lina gazed in shock at Renée’s true appearance—the visage of Seria Rene Raose.
“Renée… are you really a foreigner? A white person?”
“So simply removing my transformation is pointless. Instead, I’ll do this.”
In that state, she cast a spell to change her hair to black and her eye color as well. Then, donning the ordinary Earth clothes Lina had brought, she emerged as a mysterious and beautiful girl.
“From now on, I’ll blend in with the people to track down the traces of the monster.”
Renée, now sporting glasses that would change her image, stepped onto the ground of the Earth society she had always stood a step away from.
‘…Will this be okay? A person who can’t even properly use a cellphone. No, my manner of speaking is awkward.’
Lina, observing from behind, made a peculiar expression.
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