Chapter 18
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Double Betrayal (2)
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The abandoned factory in the Third District on the city's outskirts.
This place, once a munitions factory during the Magic Wars, now stood eerily abandoned, its skeletal steel frame exposed to the elements.
Red moonlight filtered through the torn ceiling, illuminating the rusted machinery below.
I arrived thirty minutes ahead of schedule.
The pre-installed 'Mana Detection Tattoo' tingled faintly on the inside of my wrist.
A sign that someone with mana was approaching within a hundred-meter radius.
I stood in the center of the wide open space at the factory's heart, gazing up at the night sky.
The reddened moon gazed back down at me.
'Hey, partner. It's that woman. She's coming.'
Nipple whispered.
'Her mana signature's super faint. She's probably using stealth magic. Oh, and her hair's green now!'
I pretended not to notice and pulled out a cigarette, lighting it up. The Zippo's flame flickered in the darkness.
"Hoo."
As I exhaled a long plume of smoke, the air flow shifted subtly.
Five meters ahead of me, space rippled, and a woman materialized.
Her long green hair fluttered in the wind. The hair color was different, but she was the same pure beauty I'd seen on the subway.
But her eyes now were cold and sharp, nothing like before.
"You keep good time."
Her voice was clear but devoid of warmth.
I ground out the cigarette on the floor and looked at her.
"Basic courtesy for an invitation. So, who are you?"
She approached slowly. Her footsteps made no sound, like a ghost.
"I'm Shin Sea. They call me 'Emerald' in the Resistance."
Emerald.
I'd heard of her.
A veteran magical girl in the Resistance, expert at intelligence gathering and infiltration.
"I'd like to invite you to join our Resistance, Kang Jinwoo."
Her eyes bored into me.
An invitation.
It sounded nice, but it was an offer I couldn't refuse.
"What if I say no?"
A smile crept across her lips at my question.
"Then death is your only option. No mercy for a betrayer of humanity."
Green mana bubbled up from her fingertips, signaling she was ready to strike at any moment.
Shin Sea thought to herself.
Threaten him like this, and he'd cave eventually. A cowardly human who'd served as a front for the demons would beg for his life and cooperate in the face of death.
She figured one word would do it. "I'll cooperate." Once that came out, context didn't matter.
Just report that one phrase to Lord Berial, and he'd handle the rest.
"Our Resistance knows what you did to Prism Pink. But we've judged your abilities could be useful to us. You're the only key to dismantling the demons' system from the inside."
She recited her prepared lines flawlessly.
Humanity's greater good, justice, freedom.
Her speech was eloquent but rang hollow somehow.
It sounded like a recording, devoid of emotion.
'Hey, partner, this woman reeks of Berial.'
Nipple chimed in abruptly.
'Berial? That demon of deception?'
'Yeah. I can feel his signature sticky, creepy mana wave. It's emanating from deep inside her.'
My eyes narrowed for a split second.
Emerald connected to Berial?
Did that mean she wasn't real Resistance, but a spy he'd planted? Or a puppet under his control?
"This woman's seriously suspicious."
Nipple said.
'Yeah? Let's take her down first.'
I steeled my resolve.
No matter who she was, I had to treat her as an enemy like I'd decided last night. Crush her.
"Choose, Kang Jinwoo. Will you join us, or die like a dog right here?"
She pressed me.
I let out a scoff.
"Actually, I've got a confession to make."
"What is it?"
Her eyes sparkled.
She must've thought I'd finally bitten.
"This."
I snapped my fingers.
Snap!
With a crisp sound, red eyes gleamed from the darkness surrounding the factory.
Dozens of demons emerged. Orcs, goblins, and massive gargoyles with bat wings encircled the factory.
And from behind them, high demons in black robes stepped forward slowly.
"You betrayer! What is this?!"
Emerald's face went pale. She looked around in panic.
"I was tracking your mana signature. Monitoring your every move. How?!"
She couldn't comprehend it. Her magic was perfect. There'd been no sign he'd lured demons here.
How had he hidden so many troops?
And what did this massive force even mean?
Bring an army like this the very next day after she made contact?
This human betrayer didn't think like normal people.
"Haha, human trainer. Jackpot. Jackpot. A magical girl, and all alone. Hahaha."
A man stepped from the shadows, chuckling wickedly.
Pale skin, sharp fangs: the vampire demon Gedric, commander of Camilla's reinforcements.
"Your parlor tricks are nothing to us, Emerald bitch."
Gedric extended his hand, and red mana lashed out like a whip toward Emerald.
"Ngh!"
She dodged nimbly.
Her body glowed green as she transformed into her magical girl battle attire in an instant.
A short skirt, a corset top that accentuated her chest, thigh-high boots. In her hand, a dagger embedded with an emerald gem.
"I'll kill you!"
She screamed and swung her dagger.
A green blade wind howled forth.
The two orcs at the front shrieked as they were cleaved in half. Blood sprayed like a fountain, soaking the factory floor.
"Not bad, huh?"
Gedric clicked his tongue.
"All units, attack! Capture her alive! Don't kill her!"
The demons charged en masse.
Emerald moved like she was dancing. Her motions were swift and precise.
Every swing of her dagger severed demon limbs. She used illusion magic to create clones, sowing chaos among the enemy.
Dozens of demons floundered, unable to catch a single girl.
But she couldn't overcome the numbers.
Gedric seized an opening and struck from behind.
"Gotcha!"
His claws grazed her shoulder.
"Aaaagh!"
She staggered. Blood flowed from her shoulder.
The other high demons didn't miss the moment, unleashing their magic.
Flames, ice, and lightning engulfed her.
"Kyaaaaagh!"
She screamed and collapsed to the floor.
Her clothes were torn, her body covered in wounds.
The demons closed in around her.
Gedric grabbed her by the hair and hoisted her up.
"Humanity's betrayer!"
Bloodied face glaring at me, she screamed.
Hatred blazed in her eyes.
Unaware of Berial's scent wafting from her, she cursed me with utter sincerity.
I approached her.
My reflection stared back from her pupils.
A cold villain behind an emotionless mask.
"Betrayer."
I sneered, lips curling.
"Not sure who's calling whom the betrayer."
Her eyes flickered uncertainly at my words.
Gedric fastened a mana-suppression collar around her neck.
Click.
Her mana was sealed. No more transformations.
"Good work, Jinwoo. I see why Camilla favors you."
Gedric clapped my shoulder.
"We'll take this one. Lady Catriana's gonna love her."
The demons dragged Emerald away.
Silence returned to the empty factory.
Only the scattered demon corpses and the stench of blood proved the fierce battle that had raged here.
I looked up at the sky.
The red moon still watched me.
"Hey, partner. What now? That Emerald chick headed to our training center? Gotta be, right? Under Catriana and all."
Nipple asked.
'Probably. And... I need to use that Magical Pure girl too.'
I sighed, pulling a cigarette from my pocket and lighting it.
My hands trembled faintly.
Emerald's eyes. The way they'd burned with conviction in her justice as she cursed me. I couldn't shake them.
Was she a victim too...?
But I couldn't save her now.
To find the light, I had to plunge deeper into the darkness.
"Let's go..."
I walked into the shadows.
My shadow stretched long, blanketing the factory ruins.