NOVEL NEXT Chapter 5 – Becoming a Magical Girl (3)
“Why are you fighting? Your Magical Girls… no, the fairies attached to you know nothing at all.”
“???”
“You’re new, so you probably look young. Wake up. The mascot or fairy by your side is definitely not justice.”
“Well, I do agree with that.”
Absolute justice? That kind of thing doesn’t even exist. If you win, that’s justice right there.
I felt Ren sharply hit my ankle, so I kicked back hard.
“…We’re not justice either. But we are trying to take a step closer to that opportunity this time. So, Magical Girl, please step back.”
“Good effort.”
This one knew quite a bit about Magical Girls. Protecting ordinary people is the priority. So maybe there’s nothing I can do here.
But that’s just the nature of the Magical Girls, right?
“But I’m not like that.”
“!”
My shadow exploded outward. The guy fired bullets, but my shadow covering the hostage was quicker. I sliced through the air with my hand, launching shadow blades that severed his arm.
“You hesitated. For a whole second.”
“What… do you not care whether the hostage lives or dies?!”
“It’s not that I don’t care; I can see everything, you rookie. You’ve probably never even killed anyone before.”
Those who have done it make it look easy. Those who have fought are better at fighting. Those who have killed are better at killing.
The number of demon challengers I’ve taken out is in the thousands. Those with true murderous intent are all visible.
“This can’t be… We have a greater cause…”
I split the babbling guy’s head in half. I had no intention of listening to some third-rate villain’s nonsense philosophy. Now there were no more villains left in this building.
Instead, the police SWAT team entering the building was steadily increasing in number.
“This is over, right, Ren?”
“Y-yeah, but…”
“I’m leaving now.”
I smashed through a window and leaped out. At the last moment, I locked eyes with the kid who was held hostage and just smiled.
“Phew, you seem to need some education. No! For now, put your fists down!”
“What education? I’m going to be busy from now on.”
With the blaring sirens echoing, I perched on the rooftop of the building next door and looked down.
“I can tell what your disposition is like. But information about Magical Girls is already widespread in this world. Code Red, meaning no one will like a serial killer Magical Girl like you!”
“What does that matter?”
“…Your mental state might be treated like a monster, but you’ll be monitored. That’s the biggest problem.”
Surprisingly, the tone was serious. Is this really a huge issue? Come to think of it, this Earth isn’t the one I know.
While it’s now a reality, isn’t this also ultimately a creation of someone’s imagination? There must be many differences and many distortions here.
“Explain one by one. I’ll listen.”
“I don’t like your attitude, but it’s nice to see some normal responses from you.”
Even if I didn’t want to, I should at least listen and understand. After all, if I’m going to enjoy myself here from now on…
“As I said earlier, it’s been some time since we, the Magical Girls, appeared in this land.”
“For how long?”
“20 years.”
20 years, huh? It’s a rather ambiguous duration. Long enough to get used to, yet also not.
“The accomplishments of Magical Girls in this world over the past 20 years are considerable, but it’s also true that there has been a backlash. Especially, there are several problematic groups.”
Before I knew it, Ren’s eyes glowed intensely, and a screen appeared in the air. He began this presentation with fervor.
“Let’s say about 10 years ago… Ahem, we’ll save this history lesson for later. Aren’t they not teaching it in elementary schools nowadays?”
“Stop babbling and tell me the important stuff.”
“The biggest problem is the traitorous Magical Girls.”
Ren nodded seriously. I was unmoved. Given what these guys do, it was clear they’d face backlash.
“But how did they betray? The moment they break the contract, Yggdrasil retrieves all their powers.”
“They succeeded in retrieving the power, but… the problem was the memories they retained. Back then, there were no measures to erase their memories.”
“I see.”
The traitorous Magical Girls provided all the information about Magical Girls to humanity. As a result, people now know everything about their ecology and objectives.
“On top of that, with the busy existing workload, many Magical Girls who were swept up in humans’ religious and political machinations were hunted down as demons or terrorists… Moreover, the extracted biological data from those hunted has created an even bigger backlash.”
“And you guys refuse to admit that the main culprit is you!”
“W-we are not the reason!”
“You guys jump into contracts, give no care, and act like you don’t know when things go wrong… even with that?”
“We gave you lowly beings the power to fight!”
As I openly mocked them, Ren was visibly flustered for the first time.
Seeing him huff and puff, it seemed they really believed their actions were righteous… Their sense of superiority was comically transparent.
“I-I’ll say this with a chance of being punched. You shouldn’t act so arrogantly. Even with transformation granting you great power, in the end, you’re just an inexperienced human girl!”
He pointed a finger at me. I didn’t bother to rebut; I couldn’t reveal my identity anyway.
“…Anyway, amidst all this chaos, we’re continuing our mission. I won’t preach about justice or dreams to someone like you. But I must warn you: reality is cruel. Don’t act so arrogant; there’s no one easy to handle these days.”
“That’s just common sense.”
It was time to move. I stood up from my seat, pressed the connector on my ring to undo the transformation. It didn’t mean I was turning back into my original form, just that my outfit changed into a regular shirt and shorts.
My hair also turned into a bob. Short hair suited me better anyway.
“Are you going home?”
“What are you talking about? I have no home.”
Since I couldn’t fly, I opened the door and descended the stairs. A person who seemed to be an office worker looked surprised when he saw me emerge from the locked rooftop door.
*
“Has the information summary concluded?”
“Yes, Director.”
“Start quickly. The President might call soon.”
As senior officials piled into the meeting room, the woman who prepared this presentation took a deep breath, visibly nervous, and began her presentation calmly.
“The name has not yet been disclosed.”
She displayed a large photograph on the screen.
It featured a girl with flowing black hair and red eyes. Instantly, the room buzzed with murmurs.
“The code is Red. Likely a newbie, so her transformation age should be similar to her current age… considering that…”
The murmurs grew louder.
“In less than 30 seconds since appearing, she killed six people and exterminated one monster. After that, she entered the building and ended up killing an additional twelve culprits. Finally, the ringleader, Kim Jun-hyuk, who was holding a hostage, also died at her hands.”
“…I’ve only been in office as Director for less than a year.”
The Director adjusted his glasses with slightly trembling hands. Both his hands and voice were shaking a little.
“By comparing all the records, this seems to be a bombshell of historic proportions.”
“That’s right.”
The woman nodded at the Director’s words and moved on to the next slide.
“The symbolic color is an unprecedented black. Her ability is shadow manipulation, but the unique thing is that she didn’t even use any of her weapons.”
The murmurs quieted down to an eerie silence. They all realized the gravity of the situation.
“The estimated level is…”
“At least an S, but it’s possible even higher.”
Another shock overshadowed the room. Among the Magical Girls currently in Korea, the strongest exists at level SS. Considering that the subject is a first-generation Magical Girl and a 20-year veteran, the current situation is unprecedented for them and anyone else.
“Is collaboration possible?”
“B-but Director, a Red-level Magical Girl…”
“I know it’s dangerous. But are we just going to sit idly by? At the very least, we should attempt to talk.”
Even the Director, who was now flustered, let out a half-laugh, half-sigh, realizing how odd his words were.
In reality, speaking with a Magical Girl holds no real meaning. Even if that cooperation were to happen, they wouldn’t hesitate to attack once they deemed us enemies.
And those judgments, it’s understood by those who know, are determined by the powers behind the scenes, making the idea of cooperating with a Magical Girl infinitely terrifying.
“We’ll have to at least confirm that.”
“Director is correct.”
With agreement from those around him, the Director swiftly set a course of action. He planned to explain a state-led cooperation system and seek collaboration from her.
“Then it’s clear the only way is to send out another Magical Girl.”
“Indeed, that individual…”
“No, that woman would probably get angry if summoned for this kind of thing. But I heard there’s an S-class martial arts Magical Girl who works closely with our agency.”
The Director suggested, recalling the data he had seen. Everyone around him nodded in agreement. It wasn’t just because he was the boss, but because it was a genuinely good idea.
“Then, I’ll reach out to someone with the activity name Aria. To arrange a meeting with the new Magical Girl that just appeared and our Management Bureau.”
A hint of tension present, she nodded after swallowing hard.