episode_0013

The Magical Girl Association executives are famous for gaining enormous profits due to their position, despite doing nothing.

Inside an office much wider than an average mansion, a middle-aged man with a face full of greed spoke with a smirk.

“Whew…. Guess I should get some exercise. Don’t know if my belly fat is growing again.”

After drinking an enormous amount of whiskey worth millions of won per bottle. Puffing out cigar smoke that he’d lit as a snack, Oh Tae-hyun leaned back in his chair arrogantly.

“Didn’t you overdo it a bit?”

“Well, I guess you’re right. When I was young, I could drink several bottles and be fine. Time is truly unforgiving.”

Completely bald, he puffed out cigar smoke and leaned back comfortably in the office chair.

“Chief Secretary? What about the matter we discussed before?”

“Are you referring to the reception?”

Magical Girls, for whatever reason, all possess beautiful appearances.

Furthermore, even their cells are protected by magic, so aging doesn’t occur.

For that reason, there are often those who take a sexual interest in them.

The more dangerous a flower is, the more they want to keep it.

Of course, that hasn’t happened until now. The executive was confident.

“First, I have selected a few lists as you instructed. But if Pink Star-nim were to learn of this fact.”

“That woman’s been in hiding for a long time! And who the hell would know about this anyway?”

“Understood. However, negotiations have been continuously settled….”

“Threats and negotiations aren’t that different! And she’s just a girl anyway, isn’t she? If I just give her this medicine and make her fall…. Hehehehehe.”

It was an utterly vulgar way of speaking. But because it was always the same routine, the secretary wasn’t surprised and just let it pass.

“Isn’t that right? Miss Angelo.”

“I wouldn’t know.”

“Ah…. really? You’re stiff, anyway.”

Watching the escort Magical Girl who didn’t bat an eye at the dirty talk, the executive clicked his tongue.

‘I need to replace her with someone who has more of a feminine taste. It seems impossible to make this one fall.’

Even when handed the alcohol mixed with medicine, Angelo didn’t accept the drink at all. It was because the intuition befitting a Team 3 Magical Girl had issued a warning.

“…!”

And that intuition manifested without warning.

“Director! Quick, evacuate!”

“Hmm? Evacuate? What is this…. With you here. Is there anything to be afraid of?”

“This is off-limits…. Ugh!”

CRASH!

The office door shattered. It was a sturdy steel door, strong enough to withstand a Titan’s attack. But it crumbled uselessly.

‘Are all the defensive forces taken care of?’

The Magical Girl quickly made a judgment and did what she was supposed to do. Not rashly stepping forward, but standing beside the person she was escorting.

“Wh-What the hell?! Could it be Blackberry?! Shoot!”

Beyond the broken door, the bodyguards stationed inside the office drew their guns and began to fire wildly.

The Magical Girl Association bodyguards are armed with automatic assault rifles as their main weapon. Thus, hundreds of rounds per second were sprayed out.

[Query: Why do humans use inefficient gunpowder weapons?]

[Enjoyment: Loaded the Artein Photo Cannon using 872 bullets as material.]

What emerged through the barrage of bullets was a robot. It was a figure that could only be thought of as such.

It looked like something out of a tokusatsu show. It was wearing silver, sparkling armor. Its face was covered by a strange mask.

“Is it a Titan…? Tsk! Useless things! Wasting bullets on such a small one!”

Because its height was similar to that of an average man, Oh Tae-hyun underestimated the opponent.

“I think it would be better if you ran away right now.”

“What are you talking about?”

“That entity is strong.”

A Titan’s danger is not determined by its size. There are often cases where the rank is high even if they are small.

Knowing that fact, she quietly pressed a button for support. In just a little while, Eyes would….

‘Why isn’t it working? Come to think of it, the alarm didn’t ring even when there was a disturbance in the hallway….’

Ziiing! Smoke flowed from Antikythera’s body. It had deployed a weapon stored inside its body.

[Learning: Enemy location confirmed based on bullet trajectories.]

[Output 15%: Permanent disability.]

[Output 21%: Certain death.]

[Output 43%: Meat chunks.]

Hyun-sung didn’t wish for such things. Sensing its master’s will, Antikythera recalculated the optimal course of action through arithmetic.

[Output 3%: Stun]

“Approved.”

THUMP—!

The ten bodyguards standing in different directions collapsed simultaneously. Not even those who had taken cover and poured out bullets were an exception.

At what happened in an instant, Oh Tae-hyun’s mouth dropped open, and he was completely stunned.

‘A difficult opponent.’

Angelo could instinctively tell that the Titan before her eyes was top-tier. And also, that she couldn’t win with her own abilities.

‘Am I going to die here?’

Thinking that, Angelo still drew her sword from its sheath.

‘To have to die while escorting someone like this.’

It was unavoidable to get into Eyes. Looking back now, it was something to regret.

First Technique, Illusion Sword Wind. It was named as such because the trajectory of the sword seemed like seeing auditory hallucinations as it scattered.

Soon, Angelo’s instant was split into 10. She crammed various techniques into that time.

[Simulation: 63% probability of suffering fatal injury if attack is allowed.]

Antikythera doesn’t have powerful defenses like Behemoth.

Nor is it as fast as Garuda.

[Helper System activating.]

Antikythera’s advantage is its ability to have flexible countermeasures for all situations.

Attacks that Hyun-sung couldn’t perceive all missed. The sword strikes that split the instant only sliced and thrust into empty air.

Hyun-sung was slightly surprised that his body moved on its own, but Antikythera soon reassured him.

[Apology: This entity briefly borrowed User-nim’s sensory organs.]

‘…Really? Doesn’t matter.’

[Profound Emotion: Thank you for your understanding!]

Antikythera felt infinite emotion that its master was satisfied with the service. After all, a tool only truly shines when its master needs it.

‘Avoided all attacks….’

Without a moment to be surprised, Antikythera’s counterattack began.

[Obvious Scoff: Analysis of organism ‘Angelo’s Illusion Storm complete.]

SWISH—! Hyun-sung’s right arm transformed into a sharp sword.

[Explanation for the pitiful organism: This sword is one of 61 weapons created by the ‘Hephaestus’ system.]

[Intellectual Vanity: This weapon is named an Aratinyum Alloy Monomolecular Cutter, and upon contact, the arm will be severed.]

He couldn’t let that happen. His enemy was the executive trying to escape, not the Magical Girl in front of him.

‘Antikythera?’

[Response: Yes, User Park Hyun-sung-nim.]

Antikythera waited for its master’s praise.

Behemoth and Garuda were unfaithful beings who dared to make their master move.

A true servant should be able to solve everything even while the master remains still.

It believed that only itself fulfilled that condition and that through this, they could share true communion.

‘Just shut up. You’ve been talking too much since earlier.’

[Slight Resentment: Yes, understood.]

Of course, that wasn’t it.

‘Change your arm. To something non-lethal. Don’t kill that person.’

[Difficulty: The Hephaestus system has—]

‘Just do it and shut up.’

Finally, after Hyun-sung yelled, the monomolecular cutter transformed into a blunt hammer. Even that weighed several tons, enough to turn a normal person into a lump of meat if they were merely grazed.

‘A turtle and a bird. This time a robot? They’re all top-tier Titans. For things like this to appear one after another. It’s really driving me crazy.’

Despite that, the Magical Girl charged forward without breaking her will.

Again, the instant split. And sword strikes permeated brilliantly between the split instants.

[Annoyance: Movement pattern has already been grasped. Recommend surrendering quietly.]

Hundreds of movements were all ineffective.

Each sword strike that could cleave an enemy in two merely scattered in vain.

The more that happened, the more she gritted her teeth and swung. She even mixed in feints and moved. She tried to slash somehow using techniques from other schools, but.

[Scoff: Organism, Angelo movement evaluation.]

[Objective Score: If ranked, Skill C, Strength B, Speed C]

[Laughter: All are merely second-rate, third-rate. Recommend retiring, getting married, and having children.]

[Recommendation: The most excellent and superior male in this world is….]

Angelo, who had maintained her composure until then, distorted her expression at those words.

“Stop blabbering—”

[Certainty: Victory.]

The moment the Magical Girl raised her blade above her head, the blunt hammer swung, cleaving the air. The arm extended far, and the attack was attempted outside of Angelo’s expected range.

CRACK—! With the sound of ribs breaking, Angelo was thrown out through the office window.

‘That….’

[Reassurance: Calculated organism, Angelo’s physical strength and adjusted the impact force.]

As the plate glass window shattered, Angelo fell endlessly from the 20th floor. A moment later, THUD! a collision sound was heard from the ground.

[Calculation: Estimated time for Magical Girl Angelo’s return will take about four days.]

After breaking her ribs and vomiting blood enough to damage her internal organs. Even after falling from a 20-story building?

Hyun-sung realized anew just how durable Magical Girls truly were.

“You, who are you!”

[Laughter: Organism name Oh Tae-hyun’s possibility of escape 3%.]

Oh Tae-hyun tried to escape taking advantage of the confusion. But Antikythera, after defeating the Magical Girl in mere tens of seconds, turned its head back to him.

“You goddamn useless bastards! You take your money regularly like clockwork, but can’t even buy me time to escape?!”

“Sir, Director, this isn’t the time!”

“Ri-Right! You were here!”

“Me?”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t die here. If I die, the Association is truly finished! If that happens, the entire Magical Girl industry will collapse!”

It was utterly preposterous talk, and it served as an opportunity to further increase Hyun-sung’s anger.

[Suggestion: Recommend using the Antimatter Catapult MK15. It is environmentally friendly and specialized in suppressing the enemy’s regeneration ability.]

‘No, I don’t need that?’

He had committed too many sins to do that. Hyun-sung walked towards the executive step by step.

“Director! What are you….”

“Get lost.”

SMACK! The iron fist struck the secretary’s jaw. Every single tooth fell out, and the bone was crushed, dangling.

‘He’s an accomplice, but there’s no need to kill him, right.’

Therefore, it stopped at the point of creating a permanent disability. Since not just the jaw but also the brain was shaken, he would have to suffer psychological pain as well.

“Do you know who I am?! With a single word from me, first-class Magical Girls like Scarlet or Pink Star will be dispatched and—!”

“You already know, don’t you? That not a single alarm rang even after the situation occurred.”

“…Huh?”

Antikythera had hacked all the security systems as soon as it entered the building. To prevent the troublesome security guards from being dispatched.

“But the sound of gunfire rang out, so—”

[Heartfelt Celebration: Reconfigured the primitive security system, advancing progress by over a thousand years.]

Furthermore, Antikythera didn’t stop at hacking.

After infecting the program controlling the entire building with a virus. It caused all electronic devices to go wild.

As a result, all organisms located near electronic devices were electrocuted and collapsed.

“…So that means there’s no one who will help me, after all.”

Oh Tae-hyun’s body trembled. Was it from fear?

Surprisingly, Hyun-sung’s expectation was missed.

He was becoming detached in the face of death. He was soon accepting the unavoidable fate.

“I may die here, but someday justice will judge you. See you in hell.”

“Heh.”

It was absurd. Did he truly believe he was on the side of justice?

At that moment, with a crunch, the emergency poison capsule tied to Oh Tae-hyun’s molar broke.

‘Hehe…. Stupid guy. That frustrated face is clear as day.’

Soon he would lose consciousness. The potent poison absorbed through the mucous membranes would paralyze the nervous system first.

[Refusal: Organism, Oh Tae-hyun. You do not even have the right to die.]

[Education: The right to kill and spare life belongs only to the strong.]

SWOOSH—!

The plasma tentacle that shot out at super-high speed performed two roles simultaneously.

Severing the part of the body where the poison was seeping in with high heat.

And cauterizing the wound with high heat to stop bleeding.

“Gah! Aaaaaaaagh!”

[Query: User Park Hyun-sung-nim, do you require vocal cords?]

“No?”

[Confirmation: Incising vocal cords.]

Ziiing—! Once again, the laser sliced through. After being excised at a perfect angle and speed. Hyun-sung spoke what he had to say.

“Sexual crimes using your position, embezzlement, violence and verbal abuse against subordinates, forming critical public opinion about retired Magical Girls. You’ve done quite the variety.”

Hyun-sung spat out insults, venting his rage.

“And 17 years ago, the death of Artemis, operating name. The Association was involved, weren’t they?”

“…!”

Mascot Park Hyun-sung’s mother was a Magical Girl. Her operating name, given because her main weapon was a bow, was.

Artemis.

“From now on, I’ll make you pay the price, one by one.”

Hyun-sung disliked cruelty to the point where he couldn’t even watch a horror movie. But at this moment, he felt like it would be truly enjoyable.