Ch.83Chapter 14. Chaos (6)

It was a bit strange.

Even when Hayun was able to use her full power, I’d never seen her circuit spinning so intensely.

Could it be that intense because she truly saw hope at the edge of despair?

If she could exert such power just because she was with me, she should have been able to defeat enemies easily much earlier.

Click.

A sound came from the robot’s direction.

The robot’s arm, which was pointed toward us, opened with a clicking sound.

What emerged from the arm—too thick to be called human—was some kind of missile.

I thought this was dangerous.

No matter how strong a magical girl’s power might be, it couldn’t perfectly block all modern weapons. I had bled after being shot even with mana protection, and Hayun had lost consciousness from explosives before.

Besides, even if you shoot down a missile mid-flight, it could still explode. A physically thick armor might actually be more effective.

“Don’t you understand why we let you come this far?” Mohican said.

“Because in here, you can go wild all you want. This area has been a no-filming zone for quite some time, so no videos or photos would have leaked.”

There were no windows to see outside. Ventilation probably relied entirely on the ventilation system.

“So, you’re planning to kill us all in here?” Rose asked with an incredulous laugh.

“Last time, your operation failed simply because it was poorly executed. You’re the ones who lost control of public opinion that you had so carefully managed. And your solution is to kill magical girls?”

“Whoa, whoa, calm down. I didn’t say that much.”

Mohican spoke as if he was trying to provoke us.

“I’m just trying to… persuade you a little.”

“Persuade?”

I couldn’t help but ask.

“Persuade? At this point?”

“Yes, if you don’t like the word persuade, let’s call it negotiation. Hey, James.”

James didn’t bother to respond. The front of the drone lifted slightly, as if nodding.

“Think about it. This research facility is still intact, right? We cleared out the upper floors for the fight, but most of your equipment is still on the lower floors.”

“Hooo.”

James made a sound as if genuinely interested.

“So, if you want, you can come back here and continue your research. Company policy has changed a bit, so your research won’t be the main focus, but we’ll support you if you want to continue.”

“Creating circuits seems harder than expected,” James said incredulously.

“If that’s what you wanted, you should have just said you wanted to talk from the beginning.”

“Hey, how could we contact you when we had no way to reach you?”

“We’ve met before, haven’t we? If you had come instead of sending a kaijin, we could have had something resembling a conversation.”

“Should I be honest? Back then, we thought we had the upper hand.”

That was before public opinion had completely turned.

“And after that, you tried to kill us.”

“To be precise, we weren’t trying to kill you.”

Just trying to destroy us socially.

Though they would have killed us if they could.

“You realize that every word you’re saying makes no sense, right? Normally, if someone wants to negotiate, they don’t point missiles at you while talking. And they don’t station kaijin or combatants upstairs.”

“We need safety measures too. We need evidence that you came in and fought so we can explain to others, don’t we?”

“And you can’t be sure these girls will accept your negotiation. You can’t completely abandon the public opinion battle, so you still need to maintain the terrorist image. Isn’t that right?”

“Yeah, yeah, that’s right. So just listen. Honestly, you guys can easily handle this much, right? You’re not even hurt.”

Says the man still pointing missiles at us.

I found Mohican’s words confusing. Attacking while claiming to negotiate, threatening while talking about a deal. Is the company’s direction not unified? Is that why the command chain is tangled, causing this situation?

No, maybe the confusing attitude itself is part of the strategy.

As I frowned, Mohican cleared his throat with a “Ahem.”

“You there, Jeong Jieun, was it?”

“You—”

“Hayun.”

As Hayun tried to step forward, I moved slightly ahead to block her.

“Let’s hear what he has to say first.”

“Right. As expected from someone with corporate experience, you’re reasonable.”

“…”

“I want to hire you as one of our magical girls. If you join us, it’ll be easier for the other magical girls to return to the Federation. Why not forget everything we’ve fought over and cooperate? I can pay whatever you ask. Well, I can’t give you 100% of the company shares, but since you’ve worked before, you understand, right?”

I stared at Mohican’s robot for a while.

“So, you’re saying you can give me what I want? As long as it’s not shares?”

“Noir Corporation is originally… by Earth standards, an outer planetary company, right? Its scale is incomparably larger than Earth-based companies. If you ask for money, we can pretty much give you whatever you want.”

Though they’d probably negotiate if I asked for a national budget-level sum.

But I found this whole conversation strange. A company that had been quite consistent in its approach wouldn’t suddenly talk about negotiating with me. Frankly, as Mohican said, since no one could see us here, it would be more convincing if they just blew us all up.

But, well. Maybe they really could give me what I want.

If this is truly a negotiation, I do have something I want.

“Then, I have a request.”

“Oh, what is it? Tell me.”

“I’d like the chairman’s right wrist.”

“…”

Silence fell around us.

Not just Mohican, but all the magical girls around me seemed equally surprised.

“Ah, I want to be the one to smash it with a hammer, and I don’t want any legal issues. I can do it right here. At this point, I’ll settle for the wrist instead of the head.”

“…Are you serious?”

“What do you think I’m fighting for? If it was literally about clearing my name and fighting for justice, I would have gone to some human rights organization from the start.”

“…”

“Not possible? Then I’m not interested in negotiating. Did you really think I’d talk with people who openly tried to harm those who are practically my family? Is what happened with Jihye just supposed to be forgotten?”

“That’s…”

“See, you can’t even admit you did it. Coming to someone who’s already furious and saying ‘I’ll give you money, let’s make peace’—”

I turned my head to look at Hayun and the other magical girls.

“What do you think?”

“…The part about blowing off his wrist is something I’d need to think about,” Hayun said carefully, choosing her words.

“But I agree the chairman needs to be punished properly. Jieun isn’t fighting just for money.”

Hayun softened my demand a bit. Well, realistically speaking, that would be the best outcome.

If we could just bring back the former chairman, we could make him regret his actions without killing him, but let’s put that aside for now.

“Ha, haha.”

Mohican laughed.

“Well, I guess words won’t work after all.”

“Did you really think they would?” Rose asked incredulously.

“No, isn’t it obvious? If we had really intended to negotiate with you, we wouldn’t have… stationed people upstairs to buy time!”

As Mohican shouted, the ground shook slightly.

“…!”

All the magical girls, including myself, immediately took defensive positions.

The first thing fired was Mohican’s missile.

Three missiles were launched toward us—

One of them was immediately intercepted by Iris’s beam.

“Huh?”

Before Mohican could react, the missile’s position changed.

The direction it was flying remained the same.

But now it was right behind Mohican’s robot.

Bang!

Whether the missile hit Mohican’s robot and exploded, or whether it was the impact of the beam, Mohican’s robot staggered forward.

But the robot couldn’t fall. Rose rushed in at a speed almost invisible to the eye and delivered an uppercut to the robot’s head.

There was a cracking sound—clearly the robot breaking—that was strangely chilling, and the robot involuntarily stood back up.

“They’re coming from all directions! Everyone stay alert!” Dalia shouted.

As Dalia said, part of the ceiling had opened. Small missiles poured out from there too.

If a normal person were hit, they literally wouldn’t be able to gather their bones. They’d be reduced to tiny pieces mixed with flesh.

But.

When Dalia swung her staff, small orb-like objects—similar to what she had thrown at the combatants earlier—flew in all directions.

They didn’t directly hit each missile, but these small orbs exploded around the missiles like proximity fuses. The missiles were caught in these explosions and detonated in mid-air, scattering before they could reach us.

None of the fragments reached us. Transparent walls made of mana had already been erected all around, and the fragments embedded in these walls looked as if they were floating in mid-air.

There was also a faint smell of gasoline. It was more like some kind of gas being sprayed, but none of it affected anyone present.

The magical girls were protected by their intensely spinning circuits. Magic was literally like cheating, completely blocking any threats to the user’s body.

James was in his drone, and Cherry had at least minimal equipment on, so they wouldn’t pass out from the gas.

“What is this?”

Mohican said that while quickly regaining his posture.

Click, click. Missile heads peeked out from the robot’s arms and legs, and they were already being fired before I could even warn anyone.

Rose caught one of those missiles in mid-air.

A missile that was about to hit her face was now struggling in Rose’s hand. It only looked that way because of the flames coming from the propulsion system, but it resembled someone catching a fish—strangely lacking tension.

Rose turned her hand and released the missile.

Flying in the completely opposite direction, the missile hit Mohican’s robot. The white armor turned black with soot.

Before the missile smoke cleared, Hayun dove through it—

Slash.

She cut down the opponent with a perfect stance.

Sizzle.

Sparks flew where the brightly glowing blade had passed. Shortly after, small explosions could be heard from inside.

“Ugh, urgh!?”

The robot’s chest split open at the cut, and Mohican, his tall hair on fire, tumbled out frantically, only to be struck by Rose’s hand and sprawl on the floor.

Click.

Iris aimed her gun at the fallen Mohican.

“W-w-wait! I surrender, I surrender!”

Mohican shouted, raising both hands.

“Now you say that?” Hayun blinked.

“It’s ironic to hear that from someone who just tried to blow us all up with missiles.”

“No, that’s not it. Honestly, I had to do that much to neutralize you.”

“Let’s just knock him out. He might be trying to buy time again.”

Rose said, stepping forward.

As Mohican made a squeaking sound and backed away, James’s drone moved forward.

“This is strange,” James said.

“If they were using the resonance device properly, they wouldn’t need to buy time like this. Also, it’s strange they didn’t prepare bombs like last time. Regardless of whether executives are here, the current chairman would have gladly tried to blow up this place to kill or neutralize all the magical girls.”

“If they did that, the Federation would—”

“He’s not the type to care about such ‘relationships.’ Money comes first and second for him. He’d think it’s fine as long as he can prove his theory and sell his products.”

“Theory?”

“…”

James deliberately didn’t answer my question.

“If they needed to buy time, the goal wasn’t simply to fire missiles. That much energy wouldn’t be needed to operate their equipment with your energy.”

“W-what are you talking about, huh!?”

“It seems you weren’t properly informed either,” James said in an intentionally kind voice.

“I’m saying there are probably plenty of bombs here similar to the ones that nearly blew up the former chairman’s mansion last time.”

“…”

Ah.

I see.

That makes some sense.

If they planned to blow us all up at once, they’d need time for my energy to overload the bombs.

And if they put an executive inside, we wouldn’t think there would be such bombs.

“You knew that and still suggested we come here?”

“I thought the possibility was very low. Besides… well, I judged that I would be safe enough. Don’t you remember that I’m always monitoring your circuit?”

With that statement, I had nothing to say.

So he’s saying we were actually safe because I couldn’t properly exert my power.

My shoulders slumped a bit. It felt… empty.

“Well, no need to be too disappointed. This is ultimately a necessary process to achieve what the magical girls want, isn’t it?”

“…You’re one to talk, considering how important you think my circuit is.”

“The theoretical foundation exists, and since you exist, I can continue researching the energy. Besides, the immediate goal is to oust the chairman and recover research assets, so you don’t need to exert yourself that much. There are other magical girls around you, aren’t there?”

“…”

My left wrist trembled slightly.

Having noticed this, James let out a small snort.

I stood there without saying anything for a while. Hayun, whose expression had been good recently, saw my state and seemed to think she shouldn’t say anything more.

The atmosphere suddenly became heavy.

Is this because of me too?

“…Let’s go,” I sighed deeply.

“There’s nothing more to gain here.”

“It would be nice if we could take that robot,” James said.

I stared at James.

He knows what he’s saying. He knows I don’t have the strength to move something that big right now.

Though the drone didn’t show any expression, I could easily imagine James mocking me behind it.

I gritted my teeth.

Now that he’s found a possibility, does it mean I—his first research subject who isn’t very cooperative—don’t matter anymore?

I don’t care about being useful to someone like him—

Rumble…

Just then, the floor beneath us shook again.

“Huh?”

“Did you hide something else?” Rose asked Mohican.

“H-hide something?”

Mohican answered with a pale face. So he really doesn’t know.

“James.”

“At least it’s not because of your circuit, so don’t worry.”

James responded quite politely to my call.

“It’s okay,” Hayun said to me.

“Whatever comes out, we’ll… handle it for sure.”

“…”

I was momentarily speechless at her confident smile.

What I really hated was that the trembling in my left hand had stopped.

I hated how it fluctuated with every word.

Because I couldn’t control it.

And proportionally, Hayun’s circuit spun more intensely. I could hear the humming sound again.

Bang!

The floor cracked.

Something from inside seemed to be trying to come out, hitting bang, bang, several times, and what broke through the floor was.

A kaijin.

It was a kaijin, but something was strange.

“…There’s no armor?”

“And that appearance.”

An Earth human?

No, is it really an Earth human? The Earth humans I know don’t grow to 3 meters tall.

But despite the extremely muscular body and enormous height—I had never seen such an alien before. Even the skin color was within the range of Earth human skin tones. Above all, weren’t Earth humans beings that couldn’t become kaijin?

In the chest of such a being, a circuit was embedded. The entire thing.

“…Hooo.”

James made such a sound, surprisingly calm.

“I see. That’s why they could secure so many kaijin.”

No one responded.

But everyone must be thinking the same thing as James.

This company knows “how to artificially create kaijin.”

I don’t know if this is the result of the company’s own research or technology they bought or stole from another company. But one thing is certain: they have the technology to turn Earth humans who can spin circuits—Earth humans who couldn’t use magic on their own—into “kaijin.”

Creak, creak.

The sound of a broken machine creaking was heard.

The robot that had been lying down until just now slowly began to rise again.

The children’s gazes turned to me.

“No,” James immediately said.

“The spinning of that ‘circuit’ is not Jeong Jieun’s issue, at least not here.”

The floor broke again, and more kaijin rose.

Every single one had a circuit embedded in their chest. All the circuits were spinning with a fierce sound.

“Someone seems to be aiming for the commercialization of Earth humans.”

“Why are you so calm?”

“I’ve been working under the assumption that they could create kaijin for some time now. Besides, this company probably intended to blow up this research facility itself to bury the evidence. They would have let the kaijin hold you off, then detonated everything to wipe it all out at once.”

“If they did that—”

“It’s worth it if they can make proper profits. There are still many planets that haven’t joined the Federation in the galaxy, aren’t there? What did you ask me? Ah, yes, you asked how many children we have at once.”

“…”

“Federation technology goes beyond that. Simply ‘growing’ them is entirely possible. Technology related to artificial wombs was developed more than a century ago.”

“So, you’re saying…”

“They’re ‘creating humans,’ ‘turning them into kaijin’ to sell them, or using them as ‘materials to spin circuits.'”

The drone turned toward the kaijin.

“I’m not even sure how old they are.”

“The Federation…!” Hayun shouted, but James’s drone moved side to side as if shaking its head.

“I told you. There are quite a few planets that haven’t joined the Federation. Even if it doesn’t lead to actual war, they’ll covet an ‘enormous energy source.’ If beings on the opposite side of the Federation start using such beings to increase their power… well, I wonder. Wouldn’t the Federation ‘inevitably’ use them too?”

Just like nuclear weapons.

“Above all, I’m curious what basis you have for judging that the Federation wouldn’t have such thoughts.”

Even in this Earth’s advanced countries, experiments using people had already occurred.

What if they don’t consider them their own citizens?

No, what if they don’t even consider them intelligent life forms?

“…”

“Well, thanks to you, we survived. If you really had ‘the same power as before,’ we would have been buried under the ruins of this huge building by now. Isn’t that right?”

I couldn’t respond to James’s words.