NOVEL NEXT Episode 41 – Demon King Girl (1)
“Senpai, that broadcast of the experiment victims we sent out last time…”
“Hey, hey, do we really have time to be worrying about that right now? Can’t you see there’s more urgent stuff piled up?”
Two men hurriedly crossed the corridor of the broadcasting station. One of them, clearly a senior, scolded his younger subordinate who seemed to be quite flustered.
“But the families of the victims are protesting vigorously. If we broadcast without confirmed details, it could lead to major trouble.”
“Eui-seong, you’ve been in this for thirteen years, haven’t you? Why are you acting like a rookie? I’ve checked everything.”
“You checked? So it’s true that the experiment used a virus, and there are side effects or transmission risks?”
“Ugh, this kid…”
He touched his neatly groomed beard, astonished by the reaction of his junior, and stopped, chuckling incredulously.
“These are underground organizations deeply connected to international mafias. What do you expect to find out about their insane experiments?”
“But you just checked…”
“I did check. I got all the personal information and backgrounds of the victims. We were lucky, though. The one with the most influence was just some local magistrate’s girl.”
He spoke as if mocking the situation, but his junior, Eui-seong, couldn’t hide his widening eyes as he started to tremble.
“Even if a bunch of weaklings cry out their injustice, no one cares these days. People are too busy worrying about where that monster Mamute will show up next or whether the horrible crime syndicate has finally left Korea. It was buried even before, so what can we do? Have people forgotten how quickly their attention wavers?”
He quietly patted Eui-seong’s shoulder.
“Just ignore the noise. It’ll eventually be buried. Instead, focus on how to play nice with Member of Parliament Park, who we’re meeting right now.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Let’s do our best. You know Park is a recently appointed member from China, so he’ll be climbing the ranks here soon. We just need to stick close to him as per our boss’s directives.”
As he quietly whispered this into Eui-seong’s ear, a chill ran down his junior’s spine, and he hurriedly nodded. Any faint sense of conscience? That was buried long ago.
‘…I need to earn. I need to earn money. That’s all that matters in this world.’
Junior Jeon Eui-seong followed behind, glancing at the phone wallpaper he had just pulled out.
His wallpaper featured a picture of his daughter, who had just entered middle school, and his son, who had just started elementary school. He felt guilt over the victims of the biological experiments because of his own children.
But ironically, Jeon Eui-seong had to bury this incident for the sake of his kids.
“What’s going on? Is something happening?”
But the moment they arrived at the broadcasting station’s lobby, they saw a crowd gathered, buzzing with noise.
Eui-seong swore under his breath, looking down to see what had happened on the first floor.
“I can’t believe it…”
“This… is nonsense!”
And the two couldn’t help but stand there in shock.
“Back off! If you’re not authorized…”
“Is that the best excuse you can come up with?”
The girl with black hair and red eyes, Takilas, scoffed. She confidently marched into the broadcasting station, unfazed by the security guards blocking her. Not even a hint of fear showed at the sight of their tasers.
“My demands haven’t changed.”
Seemingly enjoying the attention from the many gazes, she demanded something from the gathered crowd as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Bring me all the news editors and producers… especially those responsible for broadcasting the illegal biological experiments that just occurred, from the staff to the heads.”
“What the hell are you talking about…?”
“Moving myself is too much of a hassle. I won’t wait long.”
Despite the obvious shock at her demands, Takilas remained unfazed; her infamous reputation loomed large. Where she appeared, it was always as if a mountain of corpses followed.
“Why do you want those people?! How do you intend to deal with them?”
Amidst the paralysis of fear, the one who finally spoke up was a young security guard standing in front of her.
“Where are the managers… No, the director? They were just here!”
“I don’t know! They aren’t answering their phones…”
“Damn it, those old pigs must have fled…”
The crowd that had gathered, completely oblivious, now stood frozen, scanning their surroundings in desperation. Could it be coordinated? No one in charge appeared to be there.
“You can run if you want. You might survive for now. But if you do, then I have my work to do. The work of a magical girl.”
Takilas reveled in their chaos. As she smiled and spoke, the murmurs among the people grew louder.
“The work of a magical girl?”
“Obviously, it means dealing with villains. What’s there to fear? If you’re pure and innocent, you have nothing to worry about. I’m a magical girl, and I won’t harm the innocent. But look… as I scan this room.”
Slowly murmuring, she pointed a finger at the young security guard blocking her path.
“Aside from you, thankfully, everyone else is above the threshold. Should I just snap all of their necks? You filthy villains.”
“Hurry, contact the news station!”
“Weren’t they the ones who fled already?!”
Her malice suddenly rippled throughout the entire first-floor lobby. The panicked people began to frantically search the area.
“Over there! There are the news chief Park A-jun and PD Jeon Eui-seong! They’re the ones responsible for this debacle!”
At that moment, someone pointed toward the two men observing from the second floor, and naturally, the moment their eyes were drawn to them, they immediately turned to flee.
“What the hell! Run!”
As the terror radiating from Takilas quickly directed the fearful, panicking people, Park A-jun immediately turned to escape.
His pale-faced junior Jeon Eui-seong followed suit.
“Looks like they feel guilty. They’re running for their lives.”
“Ahhhhh!”
In midair, Takilas leaped over the railing, striding toward them. Though she threatened the crowd, she actually didn’t intend to kill many people.
She simply planned to behead a handful of responsible individuals as an example for daring to harm her.
“Where do you think you’re going?!”
“How the hell would I know?!”
Of course, Park A-jun had no clue about her intentions as his heart pounded against his chest while he ran for his life.
His mind raced faster than it ever had in his life, desperately seeking the most viable escape route.
Should he slip out the back into downtown or make for the parking garage and grab a car? But nothing seemed feasible.
“This way!”
He dashed into a room that wasn’t the exit but rather the waiting room where Member of Parliament Park Sang-myeon was awaiting him. His aides could do nothing to stop him.
Oblivious to the chaos outside, Park Sang-myeon calmly sipped coffee with his legs crossed on the table when he suddenly spat it out upon his unexpected intrusion.
“Are you out of your mind? More importantly, why is it so loud outside?”
“S-Save me, Senator!”
Park A-jun knelt, trembling, and glanced back, leaving Park Sang-myeon stunned and unable to respond.
“This is absurd. Are you crazy?”
At that moment, Takilas appeared at the waiting room door. She surveyed the inside and sighed, stunned by the absurdity.
“Uh… um, magic…”
“Yeah. Acting like a parasite until the very end, are you? Is the last host this moronic bald man?”
She shook her head at the astonished Park Sang-myeon, but Park A-jun, who burst in, wasn’t in his right mind.
He believed until the end that he had made the right choice. Surely the Member of Parliament would protect him.
“Don’t move!”
And as if confirming his prediction, Park Sang-myeon shouted, halting her advance into the room.
“Why would I? Why should I listen to you? You’re nothing but a biological waste that can barely function anymore.”
“I-I’m a Member of Parliament in this country! If you lay a finger on me, you’re declaring war against this nation!”
He yelled out, panic-stricken. There was no stopping the absurdity bubbling up from his own political party that he needed to keep secret. Of course, it was pointless.
“And to think you’d dare lay a hand on one chosen by a great power…”
Ultimately, Park Sang-myeon couldn’t finish his sentence.
Park A-jun snapped back to reality as blood sprayed over his face from the Member of Parliament’s severed neck in mid-air.