Lord of Despair and Hatred (10)

Lord of Despair and Hatred (10)

“Has it begun?”

At the scene where cleanup was still in progress. Among the people gathered in front of the police line, she was there too. The Magical Girl Rene, who had come out into society directly.

Thanks to the unidentified hero, it was resolved well before she had to step in, but the problem wasn’t just here.

The ‘Seeds’ that had already begun to reveal their presence before had spread nationwide and started to rampage continuously.

Fortunately, they had anticipated this and prepared in advance, so in most cases, they were able to resolve issues before they escalated further.

‘There must be a central point. A connection that deceives and corrupts people.’

Rene also noticed the part that Taquilas had predicted.

Those who became Seeds were clearly just ordinary people. The fact that such individuals became monsters capable of overwhelming Magical Girls and the superhuman Special Forces was due to their hatred and despair manifesting as magical power.

‘Finding those with deep emotional wounds, persuading them, making them go berserk, and scattering them to designated locations… This is definitely not something that can be done alone.’

Rene assumed the existence of a collaborator working with the monster. It didn’t matter whether it was a fellow monster or a brainwashed local.

Anyway, if there was a collaborator well-versed in this society, they just needed to find them somehow.

“I’m not sure if this will work, but…”

Lost in thought, she manifested a magic that others couldn’t see. It was a magic she designed herself, a kind of detection magic that might be able to find clues.

The principle behind it was magic that tracked negative magical energy. Naturally, natural negative energy existing in nature began to be detected from all directions.

But Rene modified it to apply this magic to people.

The amount of magical energy in an ordinary person’s body is negligible, almost non-existent. Of course, whether positive or negative, it wouldn’t be detected, but Rene believed it would be different now.

“…I can see it.”

With one eye faintly glowing, Rene first looked around her surroundings. The range of this detection magic was only a few dozen meters at most.

But Rene didn’t mind. If she could just somehow grab one connection, it wouldn’t be difficult to reach the main body.

“She’s trying hard. As expected, she’s smart.”

“What’s going on?”

And there were people watching this scene from across the street. Park Tae-jun, who was next to her, scratched his head as he saw Lee Jin-ah chuckling to herself.

“It looks like things are going to get bigger.”

“These days, the world is becoming… scarier.”

The children across the street also saw the accident scene, just like Rene.

The children who had been playing happily realized what had happened during the few hours they were in the karaoke room and were overcome with fear.

“So, shall we go home now?”

So they agreed to end it here and return to their respective homes. Soon, only Kim Su-jung, Lee Jin-ah, and Park Tae-jun, who had to go in the same direction, were left on this street.

“While monsters running wild has become common, if you listen to these incidents, there’s one clear commonality.”

“Huh?”

“It means their inner state is unstable. And not in a good way.”

At that moment, Lee Jin-ah spoke up bluntly. Park Tae-jun gave her a look in response to her bold statement about the incident. Kim Su-jung, who was next to them, also looked at her, implying “Do you know you’re a magical girl?”

She answered with her characteristic smirk. The simple-minded Kim Su-jung didn’t particularly suspect anything Jin-ah said, as she had always shown the same demeanor since they first met.

“They said they’re turning normal people into monsters. So…”

“You should be careful too. People can always harbor negative energy inside. That’s how emotions work. Especially in today’s complex and massive society. Those bastards are cunning enough to target that.”

Jin-ah advised the worried Kim Su-jung and Park Tae-jun to be cautious of people for the time being. Now was not the time to endure and suppress unfair treatment.

“Of course, they’ll have to consider efficiency, so ordinary emotions won’t be enough. Anyway, those parasites who have been using others as emotional trash cans will be buried in the backflow of those trash cans that have stopped tolerating it.”

She chuckled, her eyes fixed on Ren’s busy back.

Unless there was a direct threat, she had no intention of getting involved personally. Instead, as she had subtly advised Jeon So-hyeon, she encouraged them to solve this problem on their own, whether it was the magical girls led by Ren or Jeon So-hyeon, whom she had personally trained.

Following her own belief that those who become obsolete are not worth living, she planned to train them in a situation where they didn’t know what kind of enemy might appear next.

***

‘There are too many. Maybe I should filter them out.’

Ren’s search continued even after the sun had set. But she couldn’t help but be flustered.

Almost everyone harbored that gloominess in their hearts to some extent.

‘Disappointment, despair, fear. Are the people of the Empire like this too? Even those who bless and praise the Imperial family, do they harbor such emotions inside?’

The sources of these emotions were the antithesis of magical girls who pursue light.

She felt a bitter taste in her mouth as she experienced the darkness of the members coexisting in this enormous city with its dazzling lights, incomparable to her home empire.

It was a moment of realizing that people don’t become happy just because of superficial appearances and technological advancements, and that unwavering strong governance and national prosperity alone are not the complete answer.

“Did Aria already know this and try to fight for it?”

Ren mumbled absentmindedly while awkwardly touching the screen of her phone, looking at news articles about Aria.

Aria became particularly obsessed with absurdity and corruption after her encounter and clash with herself. It was still the case now.

She was openly confronting those who were focused solely on political public opinion battles and power struggles, showing no interest or concern whether monsters were causing havoc or people were dying.

It was also the moment she realized that people’s enthusiasm for the Casilena she created was not simply a vicarious satisfaction for the powerless, but a normalization of the abnormal.

“Hey there, pretty student.”

“…Are you talking to me?”

“That’s right!”

At that moment, someone stopped Renée as she was about to walk away again.

‘She harbors a strange power.’

She was clearly a middle-aged woman with a pleasant appearance. However, Renée’s eyes narrowed for a moment when she saw her.

“Do you have a moment?”

‘I’ve found another one. But this one seems a bit calmer.’

Renée wasn’t the only one who saw something in the other person. The middle-aged woman who had boldly grabbed her arm also adjusted her glasses.

‘A new martyr!’

The woman, smiling and showing her teeth, was convinced when she saw Renée’s reflection in her glasses.

The role of the gifted glasses was none other than to detect negative energy. It was similar to the detection magic Renée was using, and ironically, it mistook Renée’s detection magic for a unique negative energy.

“It’s nothing suspicious. You’re having a hard time now, aren’t you? Auntie knows everything.”

“Hard times, you say. Well, it is tough.”

Renée, still unaware of the other’s identity, cautiously played along to find out who she was.

Of course, her answer about it being tough now was purely because she had been walking for a long time.

“Right? I don’t know what’s going on, but… if I told you I could solve that problem, would you believe me? Those who gave you despair, those humans you hate. If you could tear them apart, kill them all.”

She pulled Rene’s arm and whispered in his ear with a smile. Rene’s body suddenly stiffened.

It was because he had a hunch about something.

‘Was all that legwork worth it?’

“How on earth…”

“Follow me. Nothing bad will happen to you. You can get revenge. You can let it all out, okay?”

Mistaking Rene’s shock, she whispered seductively and almost dragged his arm.

Most ‘seeds’ were already in an abnormal mental state, so they would easily fall for even a little persuasion anyway.

“…Alright.”

Of course, Rene, who had found his target, also started acting, so he appeared to have fallen for it nicely.

The place she took Rene was a van. There were already a few people sitting inside in a dazed state.

“Look at this. We don’t lie. We don’t care what your story is. We’re just giving you a real opportunity.”

Before putting him in the car, she showed Rene something. It was none other than a wriggling black parasite-like thing.

“Don’t be surprised!”

She grabbed Rene’s surprised hand tightly while holding that thing. Soon, Rene bit his lip as he felt it piercing through his palm and crawling into his body.

‘How arrogant.’

Realizing that it was a lump of magic made of negative energy, Rene drew up his magic power and annihilated the thing crawling up his arm.

“That’s proof, right? With that power, that stronger power, you can achieve what you want.”

Unaware of this fact, the woman smirked, thinking Rene was shocked like the others.

“Let’s go! We’re heading to the ‘monastery’ first, not the main base!”

After putting Rene in the car, they soon started the vehicle. Even without deliberately sensing the negative energy, Rene was driven through the night streets and across the city along with other ‘seeds’ whose expressions gave them away.

Of course, the look in her eyes as she gazed outside shone with an emotion completely different from others.