Chapter 24: Public Enemy (5)
"Really, nothing happened?"
"What she wants is just childish pranks."
"Then... what exactly are you trying to get by hanging out with them?"
"The various things we can't obtain while we're locked up here?"
It was late in the evening. Kim Su-jeong sat on the edge of my bed, still scrolling through her phone, but she couldn't shake off her gloomy expression.
Every time I saw her like this, I had no choice but to draw the line even further. I didn't mind just being friends, but I hated the idea of her depending on me.
"Sleep well..."
In the end, she climbed onto the top bunk with a voice that sounded completely drained.
Knowing it in my head but not in my heart, I clicked my tongue and moved my mana to help her sleep soundly when she finally dozed off.
"If I get deeply entangled with you, it'll be tiring for both of us."
"Is that really the reason? It's not like I just want to mess around badly... ugh."
"Would I do something so childish as gambling with those kids?"
I grabbed Ren, who was spouting nonsense, and squeezed him tightly. Originally, the bunch of brats like Park Tae-joon didn't see me as their equal.
I was just Park Tae-joon's trophy, a tool that had to move according to his whims.
Though it was kids' pranks, these days' kids were really scary. They were even more political and cunning than some old bastards who strutted around claiming to be politicians without any abilities.
"It's not like they're going to wear out. I'll play along with them for a bit and then smash them one day."
Drawing the line was clear. The only important thing was when and how.
That night passed quietly.
I didn't bother transforming and going out. Time flew by while playing on my phone, and since I had already drawn too much aggro yesterday, I didn't want to show my face for nothing.
"What is this?"
"A gift?"
The next day at school, as soon as I entered the classroom before the kids had even filled half the class, Park Tae-joon approached with a smug grin, eyes meeting mine.
A gift? The thing he gave me was a bracelet. The problem was that this bracelet wasn't some kids' toy, but a really valuable item.
I instantly recalled his background. But no matter how much money his family had, he was still a kid.
"It looks expensive?"
"I bought it a long time ago, and I received it as a gift too. I just give it to someone I get along with."
"Cool."
I smiled faintly and accepted the bracelet. There was no reason to refuse when he offered to give money.
I knew the meaning of this gift was to make it a shackle, but I didn't care about that. When he saw me accepting the expensive item without hesitation, he seemed surprised.
"Do you like it?"
"Jewels are just jewels. If we evaluate them purely by their own beauty, that's enough. Pretty, right?"
"Hmm...?"
"But you."
Still wearing the bracelet, I didn't understand my words and smiled faintly at the suddenly flustered boy.
'Where did he pick up such a creepy and evil guy?'
"It's fine. It's nothing."
I swallowed the last part inwardly. But a weird thing that even Park Tae-joon and the other kids couldn't notice, something invisible to the eyes of ordinary humans, got caught in my twisted shadow.
An evil spirit.
Clearly, ordinary humans would call this thing an evil spirit. The thing that had been clinging to Park Tae-joon's body was pulled straight into my shadow.
"I prepared what you wanted."
"Oh, really?"
"You wanted beer, right? ...I just grabbed something from my father's display cabinet. It was good liquor."
Perhaps realizing himself, the guy smiled again and pointed outside to me. His momentum or ability was at least something to acknowledge.
To be precise, I wasn't particularly craving alcohol, but I just wanted to try getting drunk on alcohol after a long time. Originally, even when I was human, I wasn't the type who enjoyed drinking.
"...Where?"
"It might sound strange."
But I slowly passed by him and headed to the window.
"It might be better to be careful for a while."
I clicked my tongue while looking outside. The evil spirit that had been sucked into my shadow just now? A bunch of similar guys were crossing the sky.
"W-what the... Emergency! Emergency!!"
It was then that Ren suddenly started freaking out. I grabbed him by his hair and shook him wildly, then threw him towards the wall.
"You, are you okay..."
"Hah, now go sit down."
I glared at Park Tae-joon, who didn't have time to deal with me, with sincerity. The guy quickly hardened and slunk back to his seat, and I retrieved the wriggling Ren from the floor.
Why suddenly freaking out?
Akaeong Mammut. The news that that guy appeared has been shared among the fairy companies.
During class, with my eyes fixed only on the blackboard, I conversed with Ren.
What kind of guy is that?
An S-rank estimated aberration-class kaijin. His ability is to command evil spirits that corrupt humans. The one you just erased was an evil spirit.
So many weird things around...
...Guys like Mammut are the remnants of worlds where we failed to care for them.
Ren muttered in a dark voice.
Clearly, the fight between fairies and primordial kaijin was said to be the origin of magical girls.
When kaijin fled to other worlds to escape fairies, the fairies converted the local potential into real-world power and created pure girls as warriors who could fight.
"Anyway, that guy is strong. Not only strong, but also difficult. All the magical girls in this region have already raised their tentacles. Until he reveals his true form!"
So?
"You, you need to be on edge too. That guy is a crazy monster who enjoys capturing and torturing magical girls!"
Ren trembled in fear. In truth, I didn't react much. Hearing the story, it wasn't something I needed to get involved in.
"What are you talking about! If our company's strongest doesn't step in..."
Think about my image. No one will welcome me, no one will ask for my help. Instead, when they gather, won't they try to eliminate me too? In that case, it's better to just stay quiet.
I had already stacked enough merit points and had no interest.
Ren was at a loss for words, as if my words were perfectly on point. Right now, stepping in would only complicate things.
Originally, I had wanted to do exactly that.
"...Then be careful with your body. Evil spirits target those with dark hearts or deep wounds. They fan the flames of desire, dig into wounds, and drive people mad until they fall into pleasure."
Why are there only such people around me?
I clicked my tongue quietly. Wounds, loneliness, desire, and so on.
Actually, I felt a slight chill. I seemed to match a part of it. Especially the part related to desire. Could it really be hooking onto me?
"..."
"Taejun seems completely smitten with Jin-ah."
"Have you seen Su-han's face? She was terrifying."
During break time, more friends gathered around Kim Su-jeong. They naturally brought up Lee Jin-ah as the topic of conversation.
Kim Su-jeong couldn't bring herself to say anything. All through class, Jin-ah had been frowning, and the moment break started, she had left the classroom with Park Tae-joon.
'Clearly, he's targeting her. He said he was doing it on purpose.'
She forced herself to calm down. After school, they could talk again, just the two of them.
They slept together too.
'But if that's not the case...?'
However, her face quickly paled. In her mind, the image of Jin-ah smiling while wearing the bracelet Park Tae-joon had given her flashed by.
"Ugh..."
My chest ached. This feeling was one she was all too familiar with.
When her mother passed away, when she was abused by her father, when she was bullied in elementary school, when she was abused in the runaway fam, and so on.
The fear and terror of being alone. At that moment, something like black smoke slowly seeped into her body.
While no one around her noticed.
"Su-jeong, are you okay..."
"Kyaaah! Blood! Blood!"
"Hey, Kim Chan-seong!"
At that moment, a friend who had seen her pale face and was asking if she was alright let out a piercing scream that echoed down the hallway.
"What's going on?"
"Let's get out of here!"
"I, I'm scared..."
The friends' opinions diverged. But Kim Su-jeong, who had suddenly stood up, along with a few other friends, left the classroom and ran down the hallway.
The hallway was already packed with people.
"Damn... damn monster... how dare..."
She watched the scene as she pushed through the crowd.
A second-year male student lay in a white school uniform, blood splattered everywhere.
The perpetrator was a third-year senior above him. The attacker had a face flushed red, veins bulging, holding a cutter knife and trembling.
'Senior. Senior Gang Jin-su.'
Kim Su-jeong frowned and recognized the face of the victim.
Just that morning, the senior Gang Jin-su who had commuted to school with her, a fellow facility resident.
When she first saw the horn protruding from Gang Jin-su's forehead, she was startled.
"Hey! Are you crazy?!"
At that moment, someone forcefully pushed through the crowd and rushed forward. Hong Soo-young, another fellow facility resident.
From her gloved hand, sharp nails sprouted, grabbed the attacker's hand holding the knife, and slammed him to the ground.
"What's going on! How dare you in this sacred school..."
Only then did the student council director arrive, shaking his wobbling belly as he walked leisurely.
"Kyaaah!"
"Uwaaah!"
But at that moment, Hong Soo-young's body flew into the air, passed the director, shattered the glass window, and fell into the classroom across the way.
The student who had thrown Hong Soo-young with one hand rose up, body twisting wildly.
Black smoke invisible to them poured from his mouth, and his eyes were bloodshot and rolled back.
"Die... kill... kill... kill..."
The foaming mouth looked like a zombie from a zombie movie.
The director had already abandoned everything and fled, and the gathered students finally realized the severity of the situation and began backing away.
"What are you doing! Hurry up! Why is Jong-su suddenly..."
And among them were Park Tae-joon, who had been passing by, and Lee Jin-ah.
Park Tae-joon, who was trying to pull Lee Jin-ah's hand, panicked at the strength that didn't budge and let go.
"...You've already poured it all out. You haven't eaten even one bite yet."
Lee Jin-ah's lips curled up as she looked at the bread that had fallen to the floor.