Chapter 22 – Descent (3)

Ｒｅａｄ​ ｏｎ ​Ｋａ​ｔＲｅａｄｉｎｇＣａ​ｆｅ

For Radiant White, it was beyond absurd—it was such an arrogant statement that it momentarily shook her fighting spirit.

There had been plenty of monsters who claimed they would rule the world, but this was the first time she had encountered one who spoke as if everything was already theirs, and they were simply driving out unruly intruders.

Radiant White knew all too well that monsters were, without exception, a lawless bunch. But even for her, she couldn’t help but feel momentarily drained.

In her five years as a magical girl, she had never encountered a monster this self-centered.

She found herself wondering if she really had to take this thing seriously, but at the same time, she was relieved that it was so arrogant.

She might be pure, but she wasn’t foolish. She was fully aware that the creature was holding back in their fight.

If it had stopped playing around and fought in earnest, she wouldn’t have stood a chance—not even to survive.

“…What’s the situation elsewhere?”

She asked Pegasus for a report on the battlefield. Pegasus relayed the information through the earpiece:

[The special-class monster in Nowon District is being handled by Blazing Red, and the one in Songpa District is being handled by Sparkling Blue. It’s neck and neck in both fights, so it won’t be an easy victory.]

“I see. What about the civilian rescue efforts?”

[The magical girls and even the military are involved, but it’s still tough.]

Hearing this, Radiant White steadied her breathing and braced herself.

The being before her was a special-class monster—just like the ones her fellow magical girls were struggling against.

No matter how neutral its attitude seemed, no matter how strangely amicable it acted, it was still a monster. It had to be defeated here. Radiant White resolved herself.

Even if she couldn’t defeat it, she had to at least keep it tied down so her seniors and juniors could fight more freely. She was just about to unleash the power of the constellations—

“Oh? I see. So the ringleaders of the rabble are there. That saves me the trouble of searching. I appreciate the information.”

The special-class monster, which had been calmly watching her with its arms crossed, finally spoke.

What was it talking about? As Radiant White struggled to grasp the situation, Pegasus calmly shared its analysis.

[This monster likely possesses an abnormal level of hearing… or perhaps even the ability to read thoughts.]

“What…?”

“Don’t worry. No matter how powerful I am, I can’t read someone’s mind… Or can I? Hmm, maybe I could?”

The monster grinned, as if eager to see her reaction, but Radiant White didn’t respond.

Because at that moment, only one thought occupied her mind:

If this thing were to join forces with the other special-class monsters, the consequences would be catastrophic.

Right now, it wasn’t doing much—but if it suddenly changed its mind, things would spiral out of control fast.

Radiant White knew she had to keep it occupied, no matter what.

“W-wait! You—what’s your name?!”

That’s why she shouted at the monster, which was just about to take off into the sky.

She didn’t actually care about its name. In fact, she was hoping it would take offense and turn hostile.

But for some reason, the monster seemed almost as if it had been waiting for this question. It smirked and, without hesitation, began introducing itself.

“I am your ruler and your judge. Engrave my name in your memory—and fear it. My name is…”

The monster paused dramatically, then suddenly rose into the air, releasing blood from its body and suspending it around itself.

“…Hemorrhagia.”

The monster, now calling itself Hemorrhagia, absorbed the blood back into its body, looking oddly pleased with itself.

Even Pegasus was at a loss for words. But Radiant White, determined to provoke an attack, threw out the first thing that came to mind.

“What’s your origin?! How do you work?!”

“Do I owe you an explanation? You speak as if I were entrusted to you.”

Finally, she had earned the monster’s hostility—she could tell. Just as she was about to release the full power of the constellations, Hemorrhagia snapped its fingers and spoke.

“Then, let’s do this. We’ll fight for three minutes. If, in that time, you manage to satisfy me, I’ll answer your questions. If not, I’ll do as I please. Over and over—until you collapse. How about it? A fair deal, wouldn’t you say?”

The offer was strangely generous, almost like an older sibling humoring a younger one.

And oddly enough, Hemorrhagia even felt somewhat familiar—like someone she was searching for.

For a brief moment, she questioned whether this thing was truly an enemy.

But she quickly shook off the thought, telling herself that the monster was mocking her.

Resolving herself once more, she decided to play along with its game.

“…Fine! I accept!”

Three minutes was more than enough time to show it the best she had.

 

Radiant White had already been shining, but now, she was glowing so intensely that it was almost painful to look at.

Not only was she emitting light, but she was also shaping part of that radiance into weapons or wrapping it around herself like armor.

To an uninformed observer, she wouldn’t look like a magical girl but rather a warrior of light.

“Haaaaah!!!”

I tried to block the light-infused sword she had swung by wedging it between the spikes of my spear, but the overwhelming output of power made it impossible to stop completely.

As expected of a heroine’s ultimate move. It was quite a threat, making it hard to take the fight lightly.

Armory of Perseus.

This was one of Radiant White’s early-stage ultimate techniques, a skill that replicated the armaments of the legendary hero Perseus, the very constellation with which she had made a contract.

Once activated, her entire body became enveloped in starlight, greatly enhancing her physical abilities, and granting her access to various weapons and armor with unique properties.

“Haaaaaah!!!”

Of course, these weren’t exact copies of what Perseus himself had used; they were adjusted to suit the abilities of a magical girl.

“Impressive.”

I swung my lance forcefully to push her away, but she stepped off thin air and leaped back toward me, slashing with her sword, which was brimming with light.

If I kept clashing with that sword for too long, even my spear—crafted by my own hands—would eventually be sliced in half. So this time, I deflected her sword to the side.

I then spun my body, attempting to strike her with my tail, but she blocked it with her shield.

Not only did my tail get stopped, but it even rebounded as if it had struck something solid.

I barely avoided getting kicked in the back by forcefully stomping down, sending White flying instead. But just like before, she kicked off the air and shot back toward me at high speed.

Her abilities were seriously annoying.

Her physical prowess was one thing, but her special abilities were even more frustrating.

Her shield absorbed attacks and reflected them. Her shoes boosted her speed and allowed her to step through the air. Her sword was practically a lightsaber, burning and melting everything it touched.

On top of that, her tiara could unleash bursts of blinding light, making it nearly impossible to keep my eyes open.

“Haa… haa…”

Of course, her powers weren’t without drawbacks. Radiant White was already notorious for her poor energy efficiency, and this ultimate technique was an absolute gas guzzler.

The blinding light pouring out of her was actually just wasted starlight.

The biggest reason was that she was forcing herself to replicate her sister’s ultimate move, despite it not suiting her at all.

Shining White could simply solidify the surrounding light to create weapons, but Radiant White had to constantly emit starlight to maintain her armaments…

‘It doesn’t suit her.’

“…Three minutes have passed. You’ve managed to entertain me five times over. Honestly, I’m impressed. I didn’t expect you to last this long.”

“Haa… haa… I didn’t train this technique just to be acknowledged by the likes of you…!”

Of course. You trained it because you wanted to be like your sister. Even though she’s standing right in front of you.

Luckily, at least in my monstrous form, I didn’t seem to resemble Shining White.

“Very well. I’ll allow you to ask your question.”

No matter what she said, a promise was a promise. I withdrew my spear and crossed my arms, inviting her to ask whatever she wanted.

“…Were you the monster scattering starlight across Romania?”

“Romania… Ah, yes. That was me. Unless another one of us has defected.”

“Haa… haha. So, you weren’t a magical girl after all…”

As White struggled to catch her breath, I was about to tell her to pick up her weapon and continue fighting.

“…Then, do you know a woman named Sung Mina?”

…

…Ah, right. I had made up some excuse about a Bloodletting Club back then. Why did I even lie like that?

“One question at a time. If you want to find out, come at me again!”

“Phew… so that’s how you’re playing it…! Armory of… Perseus.…!”

She tried to summon the power of the stars once more, but the starlight that had started to surge from her quickly fizzled out.

“Urgh…”

Looks like she doesn’t have enough starlight left to transform.

I had played with her for fifteen minutes, hoping that some of Shining White’s memories might resurface, but nothing seemed to come back. So, it was about time I stopped holding back.

“Hm? What’s wrong? Are you out of starlight already? If that’s the case… you can no longer satisfy me.”

“No… not yet… ugh…”

She clutched her head and staggered, seemingly suffering from the side effects of forcing herself to squeeze out more starlight. It was almost pitiful to watch.

Was it because of the lingering presence of Shining White within me? Or was it simply because I didn’t like seeing a character I once admired in such pain?

I wasn’t sure.

Either way, it didn’t matter.

Right now, I needed to break her down so that she could become a magical girl strong enough never to be broken in the future.

“There’s nothing more to see.”

With that, I took off, flying across Seoul—everywhere except for Songpa-gu and Nowon-gu.

I had people save the humans, defeated magical girls right before her eyes, and repeated the process over and over again.

If she ended up joining forces with the high-ranking monsters, it could change the flow of future events, so I left the special-class ones to their own devices.

“Hmph, I suppose that takes care of all the sea creatures. I’ll be off now.”

I kept her running in circles until her eyes were bloodshot with rage, then suddenly declared my departure.

Normally, at this point, the high-ranking monsters would retreat, leaving her to collapse at Suhyeok’s house. But really, what did it matter whether they did it or I did?

Enraged beyond reason, Radiant White clenched her teeth and, despite being on the verge of running out of starlight, forced herself to chase after me.

‘Too emotional.’

She wasn’t even trying to engage in aerial combat—just blindly pursuing me—so I reached Incheon’s airspace without any fear of being attacked from behind.

Now, let’s see… Suhyeok’s house should be somewhere around here.

“…After trampling us like that, where do you think you’re going…!”

She was visibly fading, yet she still pointed her magical staff at me, its light burning dim but stubbornly persistent.

As I looked down at her, a memory suddenly surfaced.

A white-haired girl holding a slightly smaller girl in her arms, reading a fairy tale together.

…This was, without a doubt, Shining White’s memory.

So tormenting Radiant White hadn’t been completely meaningless after all.

“A spear for beasts. A sword for men.”

“…How do you… know those words?”

Radiant White’s eyes widened like a startled rabbit. Then, she let out a furious cry and lunged at me.

Whoa, that was scary. Especially with those bloodshot eyes.

“I acknowledge you.”

Instead of a lance, I created a greatsword of blood.

I had only glimpsed Shining White’s childhood memories. I didn’t know what those words truly meant or why I had made a sword instead of a lance.

There had to be some meaning behind it, but I didn’t know what it was.

To find out, I needed to keep getting involved with her.

But for now, it was time for us to part ways.

“We will meet again. Until then… make sure you become even more entertaining.”

As she charged at me, blinded by rage, I swung my greatsword with all my might.

She was sent hurtling toward the ground, crashing straight into Suhyeok’s house.

Alright, Suhyeok. From here on, it’s your job.

As much as I wanted to see it for myself, I couldn’t risk ruining the original story.

Imagining their reunion, I turned and left.