NOVEL NEXT Episode 10 – Code Red (1)
“Mu…”
“Everyone step back! Quickly! If you get caught up in this, it’ll be a big deal!”
The police began to vacate the area on their own.
I had no intention of dodging. The only thing bothering me was Ren, who kept clinging to my skirt and squawking since a while ago.
“Aria is a third-year S-Class Magical Girl. You can’t win! You just can’t! And their agency is a major one…”
“Shut up!”
In the end, I kicked the annoying little thing away toward the police.
To the ordinary people who couldn’t see Ren, I must look crazy.
“You’re treating your mascot quite roughly.”
“You should know this too, senpai. Whether it’s a mascot or a fairy, those with twisted natures need to be put in their place.”
Her eyes widened slightly, and I chuckled in response.
“How dare such a conceited! Aghhh!”
“I agree with that.”
Of course, her winged, chubby mascot shouted back, but what surprised me wasn’t that. It was that she, without any hesitation, punched her mascot away without even looking at it.
“They’re the ones who deceive and entice children in despair into making contracts.”
“…Wow, you really are a proper senpai.”
I clapped my hands sincerely. Perhaps I might have found someone I actually like for the first time since coming to this Earth.
“But that’s that. You are you.”
“Alright. Bring it on…”
Once I said “bring it,” I couldn’t finish the sentence with ‘on,’ as—
Bang—
A loud sound erupted alongside a powerful shockwave.
Not to mention the sharp pain. The air ripped apart, the roar exploded, and dust swirled around.
“…What a ridiculous backstab. Is this really necessary?”
“Cough.”
I didn’t budge an inch, but she managed to powerfully punch my abdomen up close with just one move. She was really serious about this.
The impact furrowed my brow. It hurt more now than when I crashed into that car earlier.
With a grimace, Aria attempted to land a combo punch to my side. A true warrior. She’d pass even by demon realm standards. The more I saw her, the more I liked her.
“You’ve got good vision. And you’re quick to make decisions.”
“What… Kyaaaah!”
I sent her body, cloaked in shadows, flying away. As she tried to regain her balance and charge at me again, I smirked and triggered an explosion of shadows.
Her mental fortitude passed, so this time I wanted to see her martial arts level.
“You better move those arms and legs with purpose!”
Shadows could become blades, spikes, scissors, claws, or chains; they were just like my tentacles.
The attacks sweeping from all directions must feel like facing dozens of opponents at once.
“Impressive!”
And Aria was genuinely using every trick in the book to counter it. I had to admit it. Simple talent wasn’t enough.
She had something beyond just talent. Maybe it was relentless effort, or perhaps the mental fortitude to match that.
To me, they seemed the same.
“Eek! What do I do now?!”
Ren, who had returned, was in shock. Aria had somehow withstood all my assaults.
“Hah… Hah…”
“Impressive, Senpai. If you refine yourself just a bit more, you’ll reach the level of the youngest commander.”
She was gasping for breath.
In the wreckage, stained with blood and debris, Aria trembled, barely standing.
“But the shadow doesn’t get hurt.”
I expelled my shadows once more, lifting my body into the sky.
I could hear the police gasping in shock. Occasionally, there were people fervently cheering for Aria.
Somehow, this felt like I was turning into the villain.
“It’s not over yet…”
“Huh?”
However, Aria hadn’t given up. She clenched her knuckles in her hands and smashed them together.
“This is my second weapon. Aria’s already a veteran who has completed her second awakening!”
“What? I didn’t hear anything like that?!”
Wait, did I? Honestly, I let all the explanations go in one ear and out the other, so my memory is a bit fuzzy. And in that time, Aria finished her transformation.
That appearance was worth the wait according to the rule of the country.
“I’ve been asked to apprehend you, no matter what.”
“Nice outfit, Senpai.”
“Looks like I may have to break an arm or two.”
Healing her wounds, Aria exuded a blazing red aura from her entire body. Her flowing hair had also ignited in red flames.
She shattered the blades of shadow I shot at her with a single punch.
“You pull out your weapon too.”
“…I find this more comfortable.”
“Then I have no choice.”
With a faint smile, she vanished. No, she didn’t vanish; she appeared behind me.
“Whoa…”
With a deafening impact, I was slammed into the ground, my body crushed as Aria stomped on my head, holding one of my arms.
She twisted my arm, preparing a submission hold.
“Give up.”
“Haha. What if I don’t?”
“…What’s your name? Your stage name, I mean.”
She tightened her grip, as if giving her last warning.
“My name is Takilas.”
“Alright, Takilas. Please surrender…”
“Surrender is absolutely out of the question!”
She kept insisting that the king must surrender. An act impossible for the king of the demon realm.
“Ahaha…”
She was merciless. With a cracking sound, my twisted bones began to shatter and break under her hold.
The downside to having this physical form was that my durability was lower than when I was in my original body.
Moreover, the pain I felt was another factor. I wasn’t a masochist who enjoyed being hurt.
“You…”
“It was good data, Senpai.”
I exploded my shadows to send her flying off and stood up. My grotesquely twisted arm ached intensely, yet I didn’t feel bad.
How long has it been since I faced someone who could injure me?
“How are you doing that?”
“Well, you know, getting used to pain. You should be familiar with that.”
Aria’s eyes flickered. Was it because I wasn’t crying or throwing a fit?
“It won’t work anymore.”
She attempted a high-speed attack again. But this time, my tentacles were faster.
The shadows that enveloped my whole body automatically detected and blocked her attacks.
“This is a payback.”
Immediately, I spat out tentacles from my chest toward her abdomen.
Ah, the sweet sound of bones breaking and insides bursting. Aria, who couldn’t scream, coughed blood as she bounced far away and crashed down.
No matter how strong her spirit was, with her muscles and insides severed, she probably wouldn’t be able to get up physically.
“Shall we call it a draw?”
“Are you okay?!”
I chuckled bitterly as I lifted Ren and soared into the sky. By the time I could see all the police clustered together like little beans, I hid in the clouds.
“What’s wrong with your arm?!”
“Why are you making such a fuss?”
Wandering aimlessly through the sky until seeing the tallest building, I returned to this city, Seoul. Landing on a rooftop of a nearby city’s building, I shoved Ren away, who was still panicking.
“It hurts, so don’t touch it.”
“This is too severe a wound. First…”
Even being shoved, Ren fumbled to check my injuries. I was a bit touched. At least she cared since I was hurt.
“If the injury exceeds self-healing capabilities or leaves a permanent disability, you’ll lose your Magical Girl qualification!”
“I knew this would happen. Get lost!”
With a grimace, I tossed Ren aside and concentrated my magic on my ragged arm. Only that part returned to its tentacle state then shifted back to a human arm.
The regeneration was already perfectly complete.
“How…?”
“Quit the nonsense and let’s find a place to sleep. I absolutely refuse to be homeless.”
I pressed the connect button and deactivated my transformation. Right now, the most pressing issues were food and a place to stay. Coming back to Earth only to be a broke vagabond was infuriating.
“Money… Huh, where do I earn money? I can’t work in this body…”
I stepped out of the building, starting to walk the streets aimlessly with Ren resting on my head.