33. Regret, Ruin, Obsession, Salvation
Myohwa Serin began slamming her head down onto her own vomit.
Thud. Thud. Thump. Thud. Bang. Boom. Crash. Bang.
The force grew stronger by the second until it started carving a groove into the floor.
- Die, die, I have to die!
- Trash like me needs to die and repent.
- It's a sin I can't repent even in death, so at least with death...
"What the hell? Why are you doing this? Hey, Myohwa Serin, snap out of it!"
"I have no reason to stay alive. Please kill me. Punish me. Please, please, please, please."
Did messing with her corruption rate really change her this much?
"I'm sorry. Please kill me. I'm a murderer. Trash. Please kill me painfully."
Myohwa Serin suddenly drew a dagger. Lumia shoved me aside and blocked her in an instant.
But she thrust the dagger toward her own throat. Just before it pierced her skin, Lumia grabbed her wrist.
"Hoo."
'Corruption rate adjusted to 50%.'
I hurriedly tweaked the corruption rate.
And then...
"Hic... sob... heuk."
Myohwa Serin's reaction shifted. She suddenly burst into tears.
"I'll... I'll clean it up. Sorry for the trouble."
- My vomit is disgusting.
- Han Siwoo's house reeks of that foul smell.
- I'm crazy, insane—why did I do something like that?
- I have to clean it.
- Clean it...
What the...? In an instant, it was like her personality flipped completely.
"Gives me chills."
That was Lumia's take on the whole scene. I felt the same.
This was...
Straight-up creepy.
Adjusting human emotions. How was I supposed to process this?
After cleaning up the splattered vomit from the floor, Myohwa Serin went off to wash up. Lumia and I, having witnessed the entire ordeal, were pretty shaken.
"Do all fallen ones end up like that? Scary."
"Yeah... It felt like I could even tweak Myohwa Serin's very perception of reality with my own hands."
Would you like to adjust the Cognition Alteration trait?
Cognition alteration.
Exactly as it sounded: altering every bit of common sense and perception tied to how one views society.
This...
It didn't feel human anymore. More like a game piece. Or something similar.
Being able to adjust cognition alteration meant I could revert it too, right?
"Can you revert the cognition alteration to normal?"
Yes, possible. However, doing so may cause the entity to display hostility.
Honestly, leaving her like this would make for a useful pawn.
I knew that.
I could just keep her as is, use her to protect me, or turn her into an extension of myself with various commands.
But.
Was that really okay?
What if I woke her up instead, let her face her sins head-on? I had no idea how she'd take it. She might even resent the day I corrupted her. From here on, it'd be entirely Myohwa Serin's choice.
And I needed to test the limits of this power anyway.
If I wanted to heal more magical girls ahead, some gambles were necessary. "Lumia, I'm going to release the cognition alteration on Myohwa Serin. Can you watch over us?"
"Yeah, got it!"
'Release the cognition alteration.'
Releasing System Cognition Alteration.
This procedure requires sufficient time.
Progress: 2%
- Urk, what is this?
- Something's wrong...
"It hurts."
"Hurts, hurts, hurts."
- It hurts so much.
- Feels like I'm gonna die!
The moment the word "pain" escaped her lips, her mind flooded with agony.
Myohwa Serin writhed in torment. No, she thrashed wildly.
- I want to live.
- Please stop, stop!!
Her nails broke as she clawed, her head smashed into the floor drawing blood. Yet she didn't stop, descending into self-harm.
But inside her head...
- Feels like it's eating my brain.
- Please, it hurts too much, I'm gonna die.
- Please kill me, kill, kill me!
She was pushed to the brink by the pain.
"Lumia, help! Stop her from hurting herself!"
Lumia pinned her legs to keep her from flailing and pressed down on her body. I grabbed both her arms.
- Uwaaaaaah!!!!
The banging and struggling quieted bit by bit.
- Hurts... aaa...
Then, suddenly, her thoughts cut off.
Just like that, she went rigid, showing no resistance or reaction.
"Huh? What? Lumia, is this okay?"
"Probably entered protection mode. Let's watch."
"Still... you think she'll be fine?"
"She's a magical girl, so yeah."
We left the frozen Myohwa Serin in the living room and went about our usual routine. Cooked dinner together, ate, did the dishes, showered, chatted until the wee hours. She still hadn't woken.
"What the heck is going on?"
"Magical girls go rigid like this as a self-defense mechanism when they take a big shock."
Hmm. Got it.
"But Siwoo, why'd you revert Myohwa Serin?"
"'Cause she's a magical girl?"
"What?"
"I told you before. I'm gonna revert all magical girls."
"Oh... right."
At least, I wanted to give her a chance to rise again.
As that thought crossed my mind, Myohwa Serin suddenly stirred.
"Whoa, you okay?"
Myohwa Serin walked straight toward me, step by step. Lumia jumped up to block me, but right there, she dropped to her knees.
"Han Siwoo-nim."
Her voice was hoarse with a metallic rasp, but strangely resolute.
"I deserve death."
What the hell was this all of a sudden?
"I've killed countless people. Even tried to kill you."
True, but something felt off. Her speech pattern had changed too... What? I nearly blurted out if she'd eaten something bad.
"You've returned my life to me. I want to atone to you for the rest of it."
"Myohwa Serin, nothing went wrong during the cognition alteration release, right?"
"I merely awoke from a long dream."
"I won't ask for your love or affection. So please, collar me like a dog."
"Is this real? Your true will, chosen freely?"
"Yes."
Myohwa Serin's face was deadly serious. No clue what wind blew this change, but honestly, more allies were always better. So I fastened the collar she offered around her neck.
"I want to keep saving magical girls from now on. Will you help me?"
"I will serve you as my master for life."
Somehow, collaring Myohwa Serin felt kinda off, but if this was what she wanted...
A long dream. Myohwa Serin had been trapped in a long dream.
In the dream, she was a villain.
She screamed for it to stop. Shouted madly.
But she killed people. Defiled their corpses in unspeakable ways.
Tears of blood streamed down. She pounded the transparent mirror wall.
It wouldn't break. She could only gaze endlessly at the barrier.
Ah...
She even tried to murder Han Siwoo, who wasn't a villain. She'd reached a level no different from a fallen one.
For a lifetime, she screamed inside that mirror. Begged the madness to stop.
But her words twisted upon delivery. She gave up everything.
All she'd built as a magical girl.
Justice. Pride. Honor.
They shattered and crumbled until she couldn't even remember their original form.
And then.
As she lay in surrender, one man appeared.
Han Siwoo.
After he entered her world, she changed.
She had committed unforgivable sins against that man.
Tried to murder him twice. Tried to rape his corpse twice.
Yes. She wasn't even human anymore.
And he saved such a wretch as her.
She was captivated by his beauty. His radiance.
Fell in love. A first love deeper than anything, one she'd never escape. A venomous love eternal.
But...
She realized her filthy hands were too stained to speak of love. And so.
She had to atone. Quietly, she rose and approached the man.
"I've killed countless people. Even tried to kill you."
She confessed her sins. Dared not beg forgiveness.
"You've returned life to me. I want to atone to you forever."
Han Siwoo's expression turned puzzled. Understandable—who wouldn't be if someone changed this drastically? But she had simply awakened from an old dream.
"Myohwa Serin, nothing went wrong during the cognition alteration release, right?"
"I merely awoke from a long dream."
Her path was stained with blood. Honor, justice, pride—all worn away and gone. Her eyes blinded.
So to her dearest first love, she vowed.
Hoping he would use her. Her only wish was one.
"I won't ask for your love or affection. So please, collar my neck."
"Is this real? Your true will, chosen freely?"
A chance to atone and devote herself forever. A chance too good for one laden with so many sins. She could only be grateful.
"Yes." Her master personally collared her, and she accepted it joyfully.
And she kissed the back of his hand that bound her, pledging her loyalty. Her master answered with a smile.
"I want to keep saving magical girls from now on. Will you help me?"
"Yes, I will serve you as my master for life."
For the beloved master who saved her. She would dedicate her remaining life to him.