Chapter 14
Chapter 14
Magical Girl (6)
The moment I opened my eyes, I felt the unfamiliar cold touch of metal.
“Hm.”
I sat up from the soft hotel bed and fiddled with the explosive collar around my neck.
Honestly, I wouldn’t mind dying if it blew up.
But having something like this hanging around my neck was definitely uncomfortable.
Because of it, I had slept poorly and woken up early.
Could I destroy just the inside of the collar using internal energy?
The thought crossed my mind, but there was no need to test it right now.
I got up and headed to the bathroom.
A quick cold shower.
Then I returned to the bed, sat cross-legged, and closed my eyes.
I regulated my breathing and sank my consciousness inward.
Beyond the sinking awareness, I could see a flame quietly burning in the middle dantian of my heart.
The world’s greatest martial art, Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
One of its seven gates, the first stage: Il-dan-gong, Sacred Flame.
The essence of Il-dan-gong was Yeonsin-seop-gi, the greedy absorption of external energy to strengthen the body and lay its foundation.
It had grown quite a lot.
Since clearing that school ghost incident on the first floor and everything after, the Sacred Flame had never gone out.
If I continued refining it and forged essence into energy, I would eventually reach Yeonjeong-hwa-gi, the stage of refining essence into qi.
From there, I could ignite the second stage of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art: Up-hwa, the Flame of Karma.
The true demonic flame that carries the meaning of breaking the heavens.
Only upon reaching Up-hwa could one be said to have truly entered the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
Of course.
I had not even reached the threshold yet.
It was still far away.
But if I kept training, I would get there someday.
How much time had passed?
“Hoo…”
I exhaled slowly and contained the Sacred Flame within my dantian.
I opened my eyes.
The heat that had spread through my body had completely erased my fatigue.
Peak condition.
I was ready.
Buzz—
The tablet on the table vibrated briefly.
[Chief, Loberia has taken over Gwanghwamun. I’m heading there. Please wait a moment.]
Park Seong-chan’s message.
And then—
[It is time to fulfill the agreement, Chief Kim Mu-han.]
The director’s message.
Both arrived at the same time.
I changed into a clean suit and strapped my sword to my waist.
Finally.
The final act.
Time to reset this damned world.
Bang bang bang!
A frantic knocking that sounded like the door was about to break followed.
“Chief! It’s Park Seong-chan!”
I opened the door, and there he was, panting heavily.
“You’re here.”
“Huff… huff… the director ordered a helicopter on the rooftop.”
Not only a collar, but even a helicopter?
VIP treatment, indeed.
“Let’s go.”
Guided by Park Seong-chan, I headed to the hotel rooftop.
The moment we stepped out, the deafening roar of rotor blades and strong wind hit us.
Tatatatatata—
A black helicopter with the Management Bureau logo clearly marked was waiting.
Armed special agents stood guard around it.
As we approached, the side door opened.
“Board immediately!”
A soldier inside shouted.
The moment we got in, the helicopter tilted violently and shot into the sky.
“How’s Loberia?”
I asked Park Seong-chan while putting on my headset.
He manipulated his tablet and held it out to me.
“She’s currently engaging other magical girls at Gwanghwamun Square.”
“Already?”
“Yes. The Management Bureau is located in Jongno, so the director’s emergency order gathered all active magical girls there. We responded immediately.”
On the live feed, magical girls were flying through the air, unleashing colorful spells.
But all of it was meaningless.
Loberia’s void barrier kept expanding.
Those who tried to attack were dragged into the barrier, screaming.
As the helicopter flew between skyscrapers, Gwanghwamun came into view.
Buildings around the square had been reduced to ruins by magical attacks.
Above the statue of King Sejong at the center—
A massive black dome that swallowed light covered the sky.
It resembled Marigold’s barrier, but far more ominous.
Even combat helicopters in the sky looked like tiny insects.
Beep! Beep!
A sharp alarm rang inside the cockpit.
“If we get any closer, we’ll be sucked into the barrier! We’re dropping you here!”
The pilot shouted urgently.
I opened the helicopter door.
The wind howled violently.
“Park, you’ve had a tough time babysitting a rookie chief. See you in the next life.”
Park Seong-chan’s eyes widened as he tried to shout something, but I had already removed my headset.
Ten meters to the ground.
I jumped without hesitation.
The wind tore at my body as I fell freely.
As the ground rushed closer, I channeled the Sacred Flame into my legs.
I stepped on the air as if it were solid ground.
A blood-red afterimage scattered, slowing my descent.
Thud.
A light impact as I landed.
It worked.
“Screeeech!”
A scream pierced the air.
A magical girl was being dragged into the void barrier like a whip had wrapped around her.
Blood Shadow Step.
Splitting the Sea.
Blood Demon Movement combined with Heavenly Demon’s Third Sword.
I closed the distance in an instant, leaving behind a crimson trail.
I swung my sword toward the translucent whip.
Swaeak!
The blade cut through the void whip binding the girl.
As expected.
A sword infused with Sacred Flame works even against Loberia, said to be the strongest among magical girls.
“Cough… haah… haah…”
The freed girl collapsed on the asphalt, gasping for breath.
“Are you alright?”
“Wh-who…?”
She looked like a high schooler, still youthful and confused.
“I’m the Management Bureau operations chief. This area is under my control. Retreat.”
“But…”
She hesitated, trembling.
Even as fear shook her legs, she still tried to stay.
Even though she knew she couldn’t win.
So this is how they use them as expendable tools.
I felt disgust toward this world again.
Sink-path world.
It wasn’t called a world heading toward destruction for nothing.
“Fall back, regroup, and fight again. That is an order.”
I spoke coldly on purpose.
“…Yes.”
As she retreated, I stepped forward.
A massive black dome that swallowed everything.
Dozens of magical girls had already vanished without a trace.
Unlike Marigold’s elegant barrier, this one was pure malice.
I raised my sword with both hands.
The Sacred Flame erupted like a volcano in response to my will.
As it surged through my meridians, I stepped into the void barrier.
The moment I entered, all light and sound vanished.
A pitch-black world.
Only a heavy, empty force existed here.
Dark mana prickled against my skin.
But the Sacred Flame roared even stronger, rejecting the intrusion.
A directionless void.
I walked toward where the Sacred Flame reacted most strongly.
How long I walked, whether it was moments or eternity, I didn’t know.
Then I saw her.
A faintly glowing figure.
A small girl with silver hair and black wings curled around her.
“Loberia.”
She did not respond.
Unlike the other magical girls I had met, she was different.
Only instinct remained.
Her unfocused eyes stared into nothing.
The moment I stepped closer—
Her black wings twitched.
Void spears rained down from all directions.
Blood Demon Movement.
I dodged swiftly.
Blood Meridian Opening Technique.
I opened the Ren meridian.
Innate qi erupted and fused with the Sacred Flame.
Flames burst along the blade, illuminating the darkness.
Heavenly Demon Third Sword.
Breaking Mountain.
A single slash shattered the incoming spears.
The path opened.
I dashed forward, leaving afterimages, reaching Loberia instantly.
We met eyes.
Then I lowered my sword—
Clang.
And let it fall to the ground.
I reached out and gently touched her head.
Her silver hair was softer than expected.
The corrupted mana recoiled against the Sacred Flame, but with the Ren meridian open, I was different.
Even I was surprised at how easily I suppressed it.
The Sacred Flame slowly restored the strands of her hair to their original color.
Loberia’s red eyes trembled slightly.
A faint ripple appeared in her expression—
Then—
Thump.
The core embedded in her chest violently resisted.
As if refusing my interference.
Paaaat!
A massive surge of mana blasted me away.
My Blood Meridian technique was already fading.
I had no strength left to resist and was thrown back helplessly.
Loberia rose into the air.
The void barrier disappeared, and all the dispersed mana returned to her.
Her lips moved mechanically.
“Desperatio.”
Her consciousness faded.
That must be the activation word.
I had seen it in the database.
Magical girls awaken a personal trigger phrase during transformation.
There are only two times it appears.
The first is during transformation.
And the second—
When belief turns out to be deception.
When love becomes hatred.
Incantations.
Typical middle-school edge phase, I guess…
Even as I thought that, my mind drifted.
From the abyss, a flower blooms.
In her palm, void energy compressed into the shape of a bud.
Loberia.
The black bud blossoms.
Fall of petals.
Void petals scatter.
Tens of thousands of petals erase everything they touch, bringing the world to an end.
I watched it calmly.
This life’s purpose was already fulfilled.
The origin of the magical girl tragedy.
The truth of the Management Bureau.
And I had witnessed the powers of Rosemary, Primrose, Marigold, and now Loberia.
As my body dissolved at the molecular level in unbearable agony, I smiled.
[You have died.]
[Returning to the waiting room.]
Time to begin again.