NOVEL NEXT Chapter 25 – Public Enemy (6)
“Uaaahh!”
In an instant, that crazy guy lunged at me.
Park Tae-jun fled in terror. Not that his presence was needed; he would just be a distraction anyway.
I swung my sword, dodged the approaching fool with a slight tilt of my body, and unleashed a feeble magical wind that hit him squarely.
“Guh!”
With a noise that sounded like he was about to hurl, the guy rolled on the floor. The demon that bounced off my body was instantly obliterated by my warped shadow.
“Ugh, demons have weak defense. It’s not that easy to shake off until they fully possess someone… but how are you doing this?! You’re not even a medium?!”
“Idiot. Spirit powers are basically the same as magic.”
I clucked my tongue and kicked the sword out of the staggering guy’s hand.
According to the explanation, even if he was possessed by a demon, it wouldn’t matter if there wasn’t a trigger in his heart.
In other words, swinging a sword in a wild frenzy was the true nature of this scumbag lying on the ground.
“Y-you’re not going to kill me, right?”
“I’m measuring it now.”
As I put my hand into the pocket of my skirt, I stepped over the fallen guy and approached Kang Jin-soo.
Kang Jin-soo had been watching everything unfold.
“W-what did you do?”
“What do you mean, what did I do?”
“D-don’t lie! The moment you just tapped him, that guy went down!”
“He just tripped and fell.”
I said nonchalantly, putting on a poker face. There was no evidence and no way to prove anything anyway.
Maybe realizing that, Kang Jin-soo’s wavering eyes slowly settled.
“People will be here soon, so let’s get up?”
“Ah, okay. Just… move back a bit.”
Kang Jin-soo, looking up at me, winced and looked down.
I clicked my tongue and grabbed my skirt. Ever since transforming, just running around has made it hard to act modestly.
“Soo-young…”
“Start explaining. What the heck happened?”
At that moment, someone I had temporarily forgotten appeared.
Hong Soo-young, who had fallen through the window of an empty classroom, staggered into the hallway with her arm clutching herself.
“It’s nothing special. I bumped into that guy in the hallway, and he was rambling nonsense from the morning as usual, but it was… different.”
“Different how?”
“He crossed the line. The surrounding gang jumped in to stop him but ended up falling over!”
Kang Jin-soo scratched his head, his testimony sounding just like a witness account of someone possessed by a demon.
It felt like some form of anger management issue, or maybe a truth serum that made people speak honestly.
“What in the world is this…”
“Honestly, it doesn’t seem like a normal situation.”
Both of them seemed to have some kind of past, as they pondered this matter more seriously.
And their questions seemed to hit the mark.
“Well, anyway, this is not going to end easily. A weapon frenzy, huh?”
“… Hmph, is that so?”
As Hong Soo-young examined Kang Jin-soo’s injuries, she scoffed.
No matter how much demonic interference was involved, the fact that it had not been publicly disclosed suggested that this matter was definitely not going to be brushed aside lightly, but it seemed her thoughts were otherwise.
“Do you think they’ll just sweep it under the rug? This was a weapon frenzy! Blood was shed!”
“I’m sure of it. I’m on friendly terms with the English teacher, so I heard everything. Besides, that monster girl Soo-young jumped in too.”
That afternoon, Park Tae-jun subtly looked around and spoke up.
“Of course, Oh Jong-soo is someone the school would love to kick out, but they definitely wouldn’t want this to escalate. They’ll definitely cover it up.”
“I just can’t wrap my head around it. There are dozens of kids who saw the scene; doesn’t that sound insane?”
“What if they saw? What are they going to do? Write an article? Even if they get criticized, do you think people would even bat an eye?”
Park Tae-jun chuckled and shook his head. My face hardened instinctively. It felt like my common sense was failing me yet again.
“I hope you don’t take this too weirdly. You should be careful. After all, you’re…”
“Know your place?”
“Exactly. You honestly don’t have anything behind you, unlike those guys.”
Seeing my stiff expression, Park Tae-jun misunderstood something and regained his confidence, nodding vigorously.
‘This world is insane.’
I laughed, looking past his face at the scenery outside the window. I couldn’t tell if this world was uniquely deranged or if my past self was just a naive frog in a well, oblivious to its depths. Honestly, the Demon Realm seemed better.
“Speaking of which, I have a favor to ask.”
“What is it?”
“Let’s go hang out together.”
Maybe trying to change the mood, he shifted the topic.
It was a request, but based on the conversation we just had, I couldn’t refuse. Who was I to dare?
*
“Cases suspected to be caused by Mamute’s demons are increasing. Already thirty cases today… or maybe even more.”
“Director, should we propose to the President to publicly inform the citizens?”
“That probably won’t happen.”
In the underground Management Bureau, the director sat with his head held in frustration.
The demons spread by Mamute were causing numerous issues nationwide. Although police forces were mobilized in droves to address it, neither the dispatched officers nor the citizens knew the root cause yet.
“Consider this: invisible demons are roaming around, driving people mad. But don’t worry! Magical Girls are working hard to resolve this… Is this really what the government should be saying?”
The director shook his head with a wry smile.
In reality, he believed it was right to disclose the information, but no politician would want to admit they were just helplessly chasing after the tails of Magical Girls in front of the public.
“There’s still hope, isn’t there? Oh, Manager! What’s the current situation?!”
“We’re still tracking them!”
In the control room, Oh Yoon-seo reported progress.
Right now, two groups of Magical Girls were conducting search operations for Mamute.
The first group comprised Aria and her affiliated Magical Girls, working closely with the Management Bureau in their search.
The second group was a sort of company alliance. They were conducting their search among themselves, not collaborating with the Bureau.
However, no matter who found it first, this was not the time to be concerned about results.
“But Manager, with this approach, it’ll take at least a few days to find anything.”
“There’s no choice. It would be great if all the Magical Girls actively cooperated with us, but…”
Sighing, Oh Yoon-seo rubbed her tired eyes. It seemed she would have to pull an all-nighter again today.
“Here too, just demons. No signs of Mamute.”
“… There are too many demons.”
“Well, this entertainment district is oozing with your human desires, pleasures, and dark ambitions. For the demons, it’s a buffet of hosts.”
While speaking with Oh Yoon-seo, Magical Girl Aria, along with the mascot Lulu, crossed the late afternoon entertainment district.
They had discovered and eliminated only three demons, but they had no idea how many innocent people were possessed already.
“How are the others?”
“Just like here. Only faint traces of Mamute are left hidden among the demons, but not a single significant lead. Honestly, this is strange!”
Lulu bounced on top of her head.
“Strange how?”
“There’s way too little evidence. This doesn’t really add up. How could they spread demons like this and then erase all traces? That’s not Mamute’s style.”
“…”
At that moment, with a grim expression, she ignored Lulu’s complaints and moved toward a certain place.
A demon was just sneaking inside a building, climbing up the wall. She hurried her steps.
“A convenience store?”
The floor had a few customers in the convenience store. She carefully opened the door and entered.
“Hmm?”
“You…”
But then she bumped into someone completely unexpected. Jeon So-hyun, who was fiddling with the register, widened her eyes in shock upon seeing her.
“What are you doing here…?”
“Part-time job. I’m working the register.”
However, they couldn’t immediately acknowledge each other because a large middle-aged man interjected, dumping his items onto the counter.
Clucking her tongue, Aria turned to investigate inside the convenience store.
“Why are you doing this?!”
“Oh! It’s because you look like a daughter! I can’t help but worry about my hardworking daughter!”
But in that moment, chaos erupted at the counter.
Aria dashed over in an instant. The customer was violently gripping and dragging the stunned Jeon So-hyun by the hand.
“Lulu…!”
“It’s too late. She’s already possessed. A medium with spirit powers has to come!”
Aria quickly kicked the back of the man’s knee, knocking him down, and desperately tried to wrench his grip away.
There was no way to dispel the possession. To prevent creating a casualty, she had to restrain him until her comrades arrived.
“Uaaah!”
At that moment, sparks flew from the hands that were clutched together.
The grip on Jeon So-hyun loosened, and with a loud crash, she fell behind the counter, while Aria inhaled sharply at the demon that burst out from the man’s body.
“Grab it now!”
“Ahhh!”
Ignoring the startled other customers, Aria propelled herself toward the demon, sending out her wind blade.
The defenseless demon was shredded to pieces by the force of her attack.