Chapter 15
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Contact
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The subway on the way home was packed.
People were crammed in like sardines.
The cityscape under demon rule looked peaceful on the surface.
People were staring at their smartphones or listening to music with earbuds plugged in.
Only the occasional announcement reminded everyone that this was a demon city.
[Citizens, have you had a happy day today under the grace of the Demon King? Tomorrow is the 'Festival of Corruption.' We hope everyone participates and enjoys the time.]
I gripped the handrail and let the rocking train carry my body.
Fatigue washed over me.
The entire day had been one long stretch of tension.
The meeting with Camilla, my first encounter with Magical Pure, and the lies.
All of it was eating away at me.
But I couldn't stop.
I'd already crossed an irreversible river.
"Excuse me."
Someone tapped my arm.
I turned to see a woman standing there.
She had long straight hair and a pure, innocent look. She wore a white blouse.
She smiled shyly and handed me something.
It was a small folded note.
"You dropped this."
Her voice was sweet like a nightingale's song.
I took the note, puzzled.
I hadn't dropped anything. My wallet and phone were deep in my pockets; they couldn't have fallen out.
She gave a gentle eye smile and lightly grasped my hand.
Her fingers tickled my palm.
Then she vanished into the crowd.
Like a mirage.
I stared blankly at her retreating figure.
A faint lilac scent lingered at the tip of my nose.
Without thinking, I unfolded the note.
There was no writing inside.
Instead, there was a geometric pattern.
A triangle and a circle with a small star engraved inside.
It was some kind of cipher.
'This looks like something from the Resistance.'
A chill ran down my spine.
Resistance. The rebel army.
The organization operating underground, defying demon rule.
Why would they approach me?
"Whoa, fuck, dude, you think you're marked or something?"
Nipple freaked out.
"Hey, be careful. Those guys are scarier than demons. They go around executing traitors. You sure you haven't been pegged?"
'No way. Me, who's spent ten years kissing demon ass?'
I tried to stay calm.
Very few people knew I was Instructor Kang Jinwoo at the correction facility.
Officially, I was just a city hall sewage treatment worker.
Maybe... because of the Prism Pink incident?
Had word already leaked that I was the one who corrupted her?
But that was a live show for demons only.
And the details had spread this fast?
Demon security was that lax?
Or the opposite—had they figured out I was trying to save her?
Either way, it was dangerous.
If it was the former, I was top priority for assassination.
If the latter, they'd try to recruit me.
But that was even more perilous. Contacting them would slip through demon surveillance nets, and my head would roll first.
I crumpled the note and shoved it in my pocket.
My heart pounded.
[This station is New Seoul City Hall, City Hall Station. Exit on the right.]
The doors opened, and people poured out.
I got swept along with them.
The cold platform air hit my face.
I fiddled with the note in my pocket as I walked.
New Seoul outskirts
The deepest part of an abandoned factory.
Damp moisture seeped from the moldy concrete walls, and the old fluorescent lights hanging from the ceiling buzzed noisily, flickering irregularly due to unstable voltage.
This was a blind spot beyond the demons' magic detection nets—the central headquarters of the human Resistance's Korean branch, 'Bunker 09.'
The space called the meeting room had once been a substation.
In the center stood a massive table pieced together from scrap materials, covered haphazardly with a map of New Seoul.
Red X marks and blue circles dotted the map everywhere, but the red overwhelmingly outnumbered the blue.
"Those bastards..."
Resistance Chief of Staff Kim Section Chief slammed his fist on the table.
With a bang, the stale coffee in the paper cup on the table rippled and splashed.
His eyes were bloodshot from days without sleep, and angry breaths escaped through his unkempt beard.
On the screen mounted on the wall, footage from the recent 'Public Training Show' played on repeat.
The quality was poor, but the content was enough to crush the Resistance's morale.
Prism Pink, Han Yeri.
The scene of her kneeling voluntarily and pledging obedience. And the words 'complete corruption' from her mouth.
"We're used to the demons' antics, but... for a human, another human, to reduce a magical girl to that state."
Kim Section Chief ground his teeth.
The image on screen of Kang Jinwoo gripping Han Yeri's hair ignited hatred in everyone gathered.
"That guy, Kang Jinwoo? He's not just some brainwashed human scum. He's worse than a demon. Look at Prism Pink's eyes. Does that look like someone forced? No. She's utterly broken. Her soul's been stripped bare."
"Calm down, Section Chief. Getting angry won't solve it."
A woman spoke quietly from the shadows in the corner of the meeting room.
She wore a deep hood, but her green hair peeked out, faintly glowing even in the dark.
Magical Girl 'Emerald'.
Emerald's voice was excessively calm. Like tossing a stone into a still lake with no ripples—her tone created an odd dissonance in the heated atmosphere.
She stepped slowly toward the table.
Her slender figure.
Her face, revealed under the light, was pale and delicate.
The green eyes beneath her long lashes were clear like transparent gems, yet seemed endlessly void, impossible to fathom.
"What do we do with that bastard? We should send an assassination squad right now and take his head! Letting him live means they'll make second, third Prism Pinks."
Another executive, Park Captain, who led the armed struggle, toyed with the pistol at his waist. The worn leather smell from his jacket seemed to embody his rough nature.
"Don't worry. I've already cast the bait."
Emerald's thin lips curved into a slight smile. A tiny spark of magic flickered at her fingertips.
"Bait?"
Kim Section Chief asked, puzzled.
"Yes. That guy, Kang Jinwoo, is just a pawn on the demons' chessboard anyway. But as a human amid demons, he's constantly anxious because of his inherent limitations. I approached him on the subway. Gave him a note with the Resistance cipher."
Her explanation was smooth.
"He'll bite. Even if brainwashed, the more unstable his position, the more traitors want to hedge bets on both sides. The moment he unfolds the note, the micro magic tracker activates. His movements are in the palm of my hand now."
Emerald's eyes sparkled. Like an actress reciting a well-scripted line.
"Good, Emerald. That's our girl. Well done."
Kim Section Chief leaned back in his chair with a sigh of relief.
He pulled out a cigarette, then put it away upon noticing the stale air.
"But... there's still an unresolved issue."
His gaze fixed on a point on the map, marked with a large red X.
It was one of the Resistance safehouses raided and annihilated days ago.
"What the hell happened to Magical Pure, Agent Lee Sua?"
The meeting room air grew heavy again.
Magical Pure.
She was a symbol of the Resistance. Possessing the strongest holy power, driven by unyielding sense of duty—a true warrior.
For such a woman to be captured so pointlessly. From what was thought to be the safest hideout.
"How did the demons track her movements? Our Resistance facilities are hidden so well even magical girls couldn't find them blindfolded! She wore a magic-blocking cloak when moving, turned off comms too."
Park Captain pounded the table with his fists.
"There's definitely a spy inside. No other way they'd hit that timing, right on Pure's room."
Kim Section Chief's sharp gaze swept over everyone in the room.
Where suspicion took root, trust had no place. They eyed each other sidelong.
"Emerald."
Kim Section Chief called her name lowly.
"Yes, Section Chief."
"You were closest to her. You were the last one exchanging messages."
There was weight to his words.
Emerald and Pure had been like sisters. Roaming battlefields together, sharing meals, entrusting each other's backs—partners.
Emerald tilted her head slightly. Her green eyes met Kim Section Chief's. They were so clear and pure, it was hard to imagine any deceit hidden within.
"I... don't know either. How this could happen."
Her voice trembled faintly.
It carried the grief of losing a friend, suppressed sorrow.
Emerald wiped a tear from her eye with her finger. The motion was utterly natural.
"If I'd... been more careful... When Pure was moving, I should've checked more thoroughly for any residual magic traces..."
She bowed her head in self-reproach. Her shoulders shook faintly.
Seeing this, Park Captain's expression softened.
"It's not your fault, Emerald. Don't blame yourself. The bastards are just that cunning. They might've developed some new detection magic we don't know about."
Park Captain patted her shoulder comfortingly.
"Right. What's important now isn't blame. It's rescuing Pure and executing the bastard Kang Jinwoo who reduced Prism Pink to that."
Kim Section Chief summarized.
"Emerald, keep surveilling Kang Jinwoo. If he deciphers the note's code and shows at the rendezvous, that's our chance. Kidnap him, extract info, and if needed... dispose of him."
"Understood."
Emerald raised her head. Her tear-streaked eyes gleamed with renewed resolve.
