Kidnapping
“Drumming...”
A sound that echoed through the entire apartment. They'd called in a crew to smash through the wall and install a door.
“Hehe, now we're officially 'living together,' right?”
“Lumia, you sound just like some old geezer.”
“Wha—old geezer? That hurts my feelings!”
Seeing her pretend to wipe away tears made my heart sink. Had I gone too far? Still, calling a magical girl an old geezer? She was nuts!
“N-no, I didn't mean it like that!”
“Pfft, I'm just teasing.”
“But aren't those workers from the Association too?”
“Of course. No one's allowed inside the protected zone except authorized personnel, you know?”
“Huh? But I live here.”
“Yeah? How'd you end up living here, Siwoo?”
It was the place my dad had given me. Registered under his name. He'd called it a villa close to work. A rundown apartment wasn't much of a villa, though.
“Eh, whatever. Not important, right?”
Lumia brushed it off casually, but I was still puzzled. I'd have to call Dad later and ask.
“Speaking of the Association, shall we get down to business?”
“Sure, let's sit and talk.”
To restore Lumia's body to normal, we decided to theorize about my ability. If I could pin it down exactly, I might save even more people.
“You said healing requires building trust in you, right?”
“Yeah. That dimensional AI told me.”
“Huh? That's weird. I already trust you 100%...”
“Haha, just knowing that makes me happy.”
“I'd give you everything! We've even taken each other's virginities, haven't we?”
“Kek? *Cough cough*... Anyway, maybe it means we need even deeper trust?”
“Yeah, trust... It's not something you just grab hold of easily. No other hints?”
There had been that line about making her submit. But I didn't want to tell Lumia that.
I had no intention of forcing her to submit in the first place.
“Oh yeah, I could see a status window for Myohwa Seorin too.”
“She was definitely a Survivor, right? Even that Heresy Inquisitor?”
“Yeah. How'd you know?”
“No normal magical girl would touch that job. Heresy Inquisition stuff.”
“Why not? Protecting people from the shadows sounds cool.”
“Magical girls chase honor by nature. Without that pride in your heart, the seed won't even take root in your body.”
That made sense. Magical girls were soldiers on the front lines. You needed a strong, upright spirit to endure it.
“Inquisitors kill civilians showing corruption symptoms before they turn into villains... Who'd want a job where you have to murder people?”
“Ah...”
Now that I thought about it, yeah. Magical girls valued life more than anyone. They felt emotions dozens of times stronger than normals. Could they really handle killing?
“Most Inquisitor magical girls are Survivors. And few are in their right minds.”
“Sounds rough.”
I'd just figured her for a psycho bitch, but it was more complicated than that.
“But she really tried to kill me, and I'm just a regular civilian.”
“That's... I'll tell you later. It's kinda dark.”
Lumia's expression darkened sharply.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, just reminded me of some internal Association dispute from before.”
I didn't want to push a topic that'd upset her. She'd have said if it was important.
“Hm? Got a text? Huh?”
“What's up? What'd it say?”
I'd submitted my resignation by email for sure. But it got rejected?
“What kinda nonsense is this...”
It was suspicious. They had my number and contact info. One call to verify, done.
Identity confirmation? Come in person to submit?
“This is way too obvious.”
“Yeah...”
What if I ignored it? Legally, I'd win eventually.
Who could stop me from quitting?
But lawsuits meant going outside either way. Sooner or later, I'd have to face it head-on.
“If they're trying to lure me out, they played it smart.”
Whoever it was, they were terrifyingly thorough. Didn't expect them to reach into my company.
“If you go, I'll stick right by your side. No worries.”
“Huh? But with your condition...”
“Ha? You joking? Send my man—er, husband—into obvious danger and just watch? No way.”
“But last time, you were struggling...”
“I'm fine now. Anywhere in Seoul, I can fly home in two minutes.”
“Two minutes?”
Come to think of it, she'd flown crazy fast when carrying me before. Too dazed to time it exactly.
“And I'm way better than then. Thanks to you fixing me up personally. If I don't use this body for you, I'll really get mad?”
“A-alright. We'll go together.”
I threw up my hands. No arguing—she was dead set.
“Hehe, great. Construction's dusty and loud anyway. Let's knock this out quick. I'll drive—my car's faster.”
A shiny yellow sports car in the underground lot.
“Sports Car 910 series. Pretty yellow, right? Sponsorship perk. Retired now, though...”
“Not retired—a break. You'll be back soon.”
“Haha, yeah. Feels like a dream. So you gotta protect my dream, okay?”
With a heavy engine roar, we headed to the company.
“You're coming inside the company with me?”
“Duh! You think it's safe for you right now?”
“Well...”
“Don't worry. Got these cognitive dissonance caps for situations like this.”
“If you say so...”
Then a friend's voice called from afar.
“Whoa, you ghost the office and score a babe like that?”
“Uh, yeah.”
She wouldn't get made for Lumia, right? Looked like he just saw a hot normal girl.
“Hey, nice to meet ya. I'm Moo Jicheol, this guy's friend.”
“Dude, quit hitting on her. Shoo shoo.”
“Man, you never even introduced a girlfriend before.”
Lumia popped forward.
“Hi! I'm Mia, Siwoo's girlfriend.”
“No way, a Lumia-obsessed otaku lands this?”
“Lumia fanboy? You mean Lumia Star?”
“Oh, you know her? Guy's such an otaku...”
“Mia, let's go.”
I grabbed Lumia's hand and hurried off.
“Yeah! Catch you later.”
“Dude! You suck as a friend!”
“Sorry, dinner's on me next time!”
Pulled her away before more weird slips.
“Haha... sorry, didn't expect to run into him here.”
“Nah, it's fine. New info—you're a Lumia fanboy.”
Lumia grinned back, holding my hand. So damn cute.
“Anyway... let's submit quick and head home.”
We filed the resignation fast. No issues.
“Having you glued to my side made it smooth sailing.”
“Hehe, of course. Who do you think I am?”
We turned to head home, reaching the lot. Circling to the passenger side—
Thwump.
My body flew into the air, spinning wildly.
Vision whirling dizzily.
For a split second, I glimpsed Lumia rushing over. But—
Krunch.
Something blocked her path.
“Siwoo!!”
Lumia's desperate scream. Her voice fading fast.
“Luna Pixie Yuna, Glacia Noel, Flora Miyu. Why are you blocking me?”
“Sorry. We had no choice.”
“Forgive us, Senior.”
“...”
Why?!
This was downtown. Magical girls couldn't just use powers without permission. No monster outbreak either. A kidnapping couldn't threaten innocent lives.
So. No powers.
“Move.”
“We're sorry.”
“If you don't, I might kill you all. Can't even promise I won't.”
Didn't care. Rage consumed her mind.
Why? She just wanted peace. That psycho Myohwa Seorin had to be behind it.
Should've killed her then.
Thoughts spiraling darker.
“We have reasons we can't yield either. Senior, please just let it go?”
“Three seconds. Move, or stake your lives.”
Killing intent crushed down, pinning the three magical girls.
Don't move, and die. For real.
That dominated her head. But.
“Three.”
Among them, the one who'd reached 1st Class. Luna Pixie Yuna.
She alone stood to block Lumia.
“Please, just this once.”
Survivors from enemies. They fell to corruption sometimes. This girl in front looked half-corrupted already.
“Two.”
Chilling intent enveloped her. Heavy mana boiled, filling the lot. Yuna realized something was wrong. She's stronger than her prime?)
“One.”
The final ultimatum of three seconds ticked down.