NOVEL NEXT Chapter 9 – I Became a Noteworthy Magical Girl (4)
“There…”
“…”
I flew across the night sky towards the distant harbor.
Ren, hanging on my shoulder, tried to say a few words but quickly shut up. I soon landed on the rooftop of a tall building in the center of the city.
“Ha. Thanks to you, I wasted the whole day.”
“Cough.”
A cool breeze from the sea seemed to cool my heat. At that moment, Ren, who had been watching carefully, stealthily approached me.
“Well, since things have come to this, I’ll tell you.”
“Tell me what.”
“We’re screwed.”
“…”
No beating around the bush; Ren really said that. Considering the unusual atmosphere, it seemed he was serious.
“Where do you see that?”
“I won’t blame you… But what Retina said is true. It’s my fault. First, let me tell you the reality. You may act on your own, but you’re not an idiot, right?”
His voice was serious from start to finish.
With a stiffened face, I plopped down. Ren was shocked to see me sit cross-legged in my short skirt, but I didn’t care.
“Speak. I’ll listen.”
“The mascot you attacked, Retina, and the Magical Girl, Keni, are part of Candystorm.”
With that name, I snorted and nodded.
“Candystorm is a competitor in Northeast Asia, including Korea, against our Rana Land. However, to say ‘competition’ is an understatement; they are a much larger mid-sized company than us.”
“And?”
“They might retaliate. Although corporate retaliation is prohibited, you’re different.”
“It’s my personal business. I don’t need the company’s help.”
I firmly stated my opinion. Relying on them would only increase my vulnerabilities.
“But it’s a group! You’ll never win alone!”
“… Ren, I thought you knew me best.”
Turning to the panicking Ren, I gave a sly smile. Even though he was a doll, I could almost see his expression.
“You really think I can’t win? Me?”
My red eyes sparkled. He unconsciously shook his head.
“Who the hell are you?”
“Disappointing, isn’t it, mascot? I’m just a Magical Girl.”
At Ren’s trembling murmurs, I chuckled.
The wind grew colder. I loosened my uniform to cover myself. It seemed I was going to have to sleep here tonight.
“A Magical Girl sleeping outdoors? How fascinating.”
It seemed I needed to come up with a different plan to find a place to stay.
“So, what are we going to do now?”
“What do you mean? First, I’ll clean up the trash that dared to lay a hand on my royal self!”
The next morning.
I woke up to the building manager gasping in shock as he opened the door to the rooftop, promptly taking off to the sky.
Shadows cast from my uniform transformed into gigantic wings.
Ignoring everything else, I shot across the clouds like a bullet towards my destination. The target was the orphanage run by the crazy idiots who had trafficked the poor me, turning me into a victim.
How dare they deceive, insult, and humiliate the Demon King? As the representative and ruler of the Demon Realm, I could not allow this to stand.
“Ugh, AAAH!”
“It’s a Magical Girl!!”
I landed on the orphanage’s playground with a tremendous crash, causing a huge noise.
The culprits, already on edge, panicked and started convulsing upon seeing me.
“Wait…”
“I’m nobody…”
No time for dialogue. I had no mental space to waste on trash. I swiftly took down the throats of the two fleeing staff. Blood sprayed, glistening in the sunlight.
“Ah, it’s been a while, Teacher Park? Just two days, right?”
“Ugh, Aaaah…”
“How unfortunate, isn’t it? The walls and fences you erected to keep the kids from running away are now trapping you.”
“Please… save me.. I did nothing wrong!”
A woman dragged from the fleeing employees screamed tearfully as Teacher Park, grasped by shadow tentacles, was hung upside down to match my height.
This woman was sobbing and begging while not knowing what was happening.
“Did you not do anything wrong? That can’t be true.”
I chuckled, removing my uniform cap and leaning in close to her face.
“Who was it that injected me?”
“Ah…?”
Only then did she seem to realize, her eyes going wide.
At the same moment, blood splattered everywhere.
Blood.
So familiar.
So delicious.
Grabbing her by the ankles with shadows, I tore her body in half and threw it carelessly away.
“Isn’t that a bit excessive?!”
“Regulations.”
Ren silenced me with a single remark. In reality, a Magical Girl’s ‘judgment’ was entirely up to their discretion. Most would spare them or hand them over to the police.
Of course, with the mindset ingrained in me that leaving them alive could lead to trouble, I meticulously proceeded with the finishing blow.
“There are children here!”
“I know. That’s why I blocked off all exits so they can’t see.”
“Ugh…”
Even within, trash kept pouring out. I dealt with those using the kids as excuses swiftly, while the one taking a child hostage got a hole drilled into his head.
“Hey, go inside. Clean up the blood.”
“I… ugh…”
I sent the child covered in the hostage-taker’s blood into a room. It would be a shocking experience, but if I spared them, they had to deal with the aftermath.
Only one more person was left that caught my senses. I broke through the nearby window and shot up into the sky.
“Where are you going?”
“Hieek!”
With a deafening sound and a crash, I descended from the sky, blocking a speeding car with my body.
As my feet slid a bit on the ground, the front windshield of the crumpled vehicle shattered, sending a pig-like woman flying out.
I used shadows to snatch her from the air, wrapped in a fur coat.
“Director. The wonderful director who took in and sold unfortunate children.”
“Please, please!”
“Why the scared expression? If you’re going to gamble, you should’ve been prepared to lose. Is there really a smooth road in this world?”
“Ugh, ahhh…”
Binding her in shadows and bringing her face close to mine, I flashed a grin. The expression of a human experiencing extreme terror, completely mentally shattered.
But then again, having lived as a demon for a hundred years, perhaps it was to be expected.
I found this broken face incredibly satisfying.
“Don’t worry. I’ll make it quick. But it’ll hurt just as much. Every bone in your body will snap as you speak.”
“Kahak…”
Grinning, I punched her in the face. Among the falling teeth soaked in crimson, there was even a gold one.
“Ugh!!”
After that, I slowly started to tighten the shadow binding, crushing her bones.
I wondered if this wasn’t too humane a method of execution, but she didn’t even lay hands on me.
“Stop! That’s enough, Magical Girl!”
But then, from afar, police officers started to rush towards me, having gotten out of their car, quickly surrounding me.
“Release her now and step back! I don’t know the reason, but you should already have enough results by now!”
One cop who looked like a chief was shouting into a megaphone.
The other officers were all aiming their guns at me with tense expressions.
“We are the Police of the Republic of Korea, and the woman you’re holding is also a citizen of this country. Justice will be served by the law of this land!! Let go now!!!”
I frowned.
Their deafening shouting was irritating. However, according to regulations, I couldn’t touch innocent civilians. Most importantly, I didn’t want to escalate the situation.
“If you feel wronged, negotiate with the government of this country formally. No matter what, murder isn’t allowed. Don’t ignore the law!”
The officer at the back shouted desperately. Now that I looked closely, he seemed quite desperate. Was this pig of a woman that valuable?
No, that certainly couldn’t be it.
“Why not just hand her over to those guys? You’ve already accomplished your objectives anyway.”
Ren gently nudged my ankle, whispering.
“Please let go… you’re still young. Don’t further soil your hands with blood. Please, don’t kill anyone.”
“…”
His pleas had turned quite earnest. Only then did I realize his intent. While I appreciated his genuine concern, it was refreshing and grateful.
“No!!!”
Without hesitation, I crushed the director.
In front of them all, I compressed tightly, squeezing out blood, turning her into an unrecognizable lump of meat, and dropped it to the ground.
“The law?”
I scoffed.
“I’m a being that cannot be ordered by anyone.”
Their horrified faces all turned to me. I wasn’t lying.
Even wearing the guise of a Magical Girl, I was still the Demon King. A being that must not be weak.
If I fell, the Demon Realm would fall.
“You’re quite brazen, aren’t you?”
And at that moment, someone appeared behind me.
“Oh, Aria.”
“Do you know her?”
Ren recognized her this time too.
I was slightly surprised. The first shock was that she possessed a mature figure, having already completed her secondary sexual characteristics with vivid red as her personal color.
“Can we have a little chat, senior?”
The second was the fact I was dealing with a significant fighter. She was the strongest opponent I had met since I arrived here.
“I was just following the regulations.”
“Of course. But kid, before anything, we are also members of this society.”
She furrowed her brows and glared at me. Her attire wasn’t cute dresses or elegant outfits.
It was a tank top, short shorts, an exposed muscled abdomen, gloves, and knuckles.
A typical fighter’s attire.
“You seem overly confident, senior. Then I hope you can hold it together.”
I grinned and shifted my stance. I didn’t particularly want to fight, but I wouldn’t shy away from a fight that came my way.