The Unbreakable Flower (4)

The Unbreakable Flower (4)

It’s true that I became interested the moment I first saw her.

Every time I saw her actions afterwards, that interest grew stronger. Despite clearly experiencing a different level of fear, she stood in my way and dared to declare that she would reform me.

Seeing such a warrior-like appearance, I thought she was the seed of a hero.

Excluding the angels of the celestial realm who are reluctant to take direct action, she was the only being who could compete with me who had risen to this position, and the true opponent who could make me grow further here.

If a hero were to emerge from a continent maintaining an unstable peace, I might understand, but if a hero like this were to appear on Earth, I would have been truly delighted.

Because we could have fought each other without hesitation, becoming stronger and growing more.

That’s why I spared her life and left her alone at times. Whatever she went through with Ren, whatever turmoil she experienced around her, whatever despair she faced because of me.

If challenge and struggle are essential virtues for a Demon King, then trials to temper the inner self are absolutely necessary for a hero.

However, Aria ultimately failed to overcome her trials and broke.

“Satisfied, you ask?”

Aria looked at me and smiled. In fact, with the tears of blood flowing, it’s hard to tell if it’s a smile or a cry.

“No, not at all.”

Surrounded by a dark red aura, she looked down at her own hands with black nails sprouting and muttered.

“Power is always lacking. I want even stronger power.”

“What do you intend to do with the power you’ve gained?”

“You said it yourself. Power is justice, power is the standard! So I need to become as strong as possible. That way, I can become justice itself!”

Aria twisted the corner of her mouth and shouted at me, pointing her finger.

“I agree. As you say, the belief that power is everything is indeed ‘my belief’.”

I glanced at Jeon So-hyeon lying on the floor. I also glanced at the Management Bureau employees trembling as they watched us.

“However, you must have had ‘your own beliefs’.”

Jeon So-hyeon and the employees must have tried to stop Aria because they each had their own beliefs. I didn’t think they were wrong. There’s no right answer when it comes to beliefs.

“…I’ve been thinking wrong all this time. That’s all. You’re the proof of that.”

“I never forced anyone to believe in my beliefs. It’s just that those who tried to interfere or stop me weren’t strong enough to break my beliefs. Do you really agree to follow my beliefs?”

I sighed and shook my head. I didn’t think Aria, already consumed by Smalrilian’s thoughts, could think the same as before.

My heart ached a little. The disappointment was as great as the shattered expectations. As I thought, she wasn’t cut out to be a hero, just a mere child.

“So what do you plan to do now?”

“I need to qualify. And once I’m qualified, I’ll sweep them all away. The trash, the pests, all the vermin.”

Aria smirked and boldly declared her purpose.

“I trained hard day and night, pushing my body to its limits, and diligently carried out missions to contribute to the world. That was a mistake. This rotten world is so dirty and vicious that it won’t listen to words. It needs to be trampled and smashed.”

“That’s quite similar to the ideology of that brat Smalrilian who wanted to reign over everything.”

Madness flickered in her eyes.

What she had gone through, what wounds she had received, what thoughts she had come to have – honestly, that wasn’t important to me.

But I stood in her way.

“What are you doing? Get out of my way!”

“Just because you agree with my ideology doesn’t mean I’m on your side. Rather, you’ve entered into my belief system, which means it applies to our relationship as well.”

I sneered at Aria’s frowning face. She seemed flustered, not expecting me to react this way.

“You know, right? The strong are always right. If you think you’re right, just be stronger than me.”

“You, why… I… I…!”

“This is more like an opportunity. It’s your last chance to prove that you, a once-shining true warrior, haven’t been broken.”

I wiggled my finger. Aria’s body trembled with rage.

“Come at me with all you’ve got, senior. Out of consideration for our past, I’ll kill you as a magical girl, not as a monster.”

Whether Aria goes out and causes havoc, or kills all the people she has a grudge against as she intends, it’s not my concern.

I’m just giving a chance to the one who once gave me hope.

At least if she dies here by my hand, Magical Girl Aria will remain just a magical girl, not a traitor who fell and became a monster.

“Even you… why are you standing in my way too!”

Finally unable to contain her anger, Aria charged at me in a frenzy.

***

“Ugh… cough.”

“So-hyeon. Are you okay?”

“What about… Aria?”

Jeon So-hyeon barely opened her eyes. It was because of the violent tremors and loud noises shaking the ground. In her blurry vision, she saw Oh Yun-seo looking at her with worried eyes, her head resting on Yun-seo’s lap.

“…”

Oh Yun-seo couldn’t speak at So-hyeon’s question about Aria’s whereabouts as soon as she opened her eyes, and only shed tears.

“He has arrived. And that arrogant youngster who doesn’t know her place will be executed by His hand.”

“Ah, no.”

At Gabi’s cold voice beside her, Jeon So-hyeon suppressed the pain in her abdomen and raised her body.

The thunderous noise and vibration that woke her up were caused by combat. It was an intense battle with powerful blows repeating dozens of times per second, shaking the entire underground facility.

“Tachylas!”

Jeon So-hyeon, gasping for breath, was surprised to see Tachylas who had appeared while she was unconscious. But what shocked her more was seeing the opponent engaged in a bloody hand-to-hand combat with Tachylas.

“Foolish one. Thanks to absorbing thoughts that don’t fit her capacity, she’s finally been consumed by them.”

“Is there a way, a way to reverse this?!”

At Gabi’s snort, Jeon So-hyeon grabbed the hem of Gabi’s pants. Gabi’s eye twitched, unable to shake off her desperate gaze.

“…At least I don’t know. Whether that youngster will die or live. All of that is according to His will.”

Gabi took his mouth off the pipe, shaking his head while exhaling smoke. Despairing at those words, Jeon So-hyeon looked at them again.

Aria, who had become a demon, was frantically throwing punches and kicks, and Tachylas was receiving them with a stern face.

‘Why is Tachylas doing it like that?’

Even Jeon So-hyeon, who had woken up midway, quickly noticed the anomaly. Tachylas, who was facing Aria, was purely using his body, swinging his fists and feet.

No characteristic shadows, no whip weapon. Rather, he was using his power to offset the shockwaves to prevent people from getting hurt.

“Why!”

Aria’s knuckles collided with Tachylas’s hands, cracking the concrete floor. However, Tachylas didn’t move a single step.

“Why are you stopping me? You’re a killer too. You’re also Code Red, enforcing justice with power!”

“As I said, I want you to remain a magical girl, senior. Because half-baked power is just violence and barbarism.”

Tachylas quietly spoke to Aria, who was shouting in a frenzy.

“I hope no one gets hurt or dies because of you.”

The knuckles of Aria that Tachylas gripped began to crack and split. Finally, Tachylas completely shattered Aria’s knuckles.

“Think carefully. What beliefs you need to have to become truly strong. You’re imitating me? Then you will never be able to beat me.”

“Kuhak!”

Taquilas kicked Aria hard in the stomach, catching her off guard. She coughed up blood but lunged forward again with a kick, yet Taquilas didn’t budge even when her foot connected with his face.

Instead, it was Aria’s shin that cracked and recoiled from striking his small face.

“I… I’ve tried everything. I’ve tried everything and still failed…!”

Aria, suppressing the pain in her leg, was now almost on the verge of tears. The insurmountable wall before her, far beyond even a fallen magical girl consumed by madness, was draining her fighting spirit rather than fueling it.

“…I’ve already given you hints and chances aplenty. Think. If you can’t figure it out, senior, you’ll die here.”

As Aria, fallen and maddened, showed signs of mental collapse and reached her limit, Taquilas, who had been only defending until now, took an offensive stance for the first time.

“Ugh… S-stop… Kaak..”

What followed was a merciless beating.

Though Aria was clearly superior in martial arts and techniques using arms and legs, the fundamental difference in strength was evident.

Taquilas beat Aria with deadly seriousness.

When she raised her guard, he broke through it and planted his fist in her face. He relentlessly attacked her injured leg, breaking and twisting it.

It was a ruthless assault beyond what even her newly acquired transcendent regenerative abilities could handle.

‘I’m going to die.’

Aria sensed her own death in the merciless killing intent emanating from Taquilas. He never had any intention of sparing her life.

Taquilas was a being who could do anything. Killing her would be effortless for such an existence.

‘…Director. Because of me.’

On the threshold of death, Aria’s eyes captured the image of Oh Yun-seo, covering her mouth and sobbing. Ironically, as her breath was fading and consciousness dimming, her mind seemed to clear a little.

What she truly wanted, what she had done…

“Farewell, Magical Girl Aria.”

And now, what should be done to really give Takilas, who is trying to kill her, a taste of his own medicine.

Takilas’s words about her being merely a degraded copy if she tried to imitate him became a hint.

At the moment the final blow was about to fall, Aria’s aura changed slightly.

‘How to die as a Magical Girl.’

Knowing it might not work, Aria gathered her last remaining strength and took action.