There Is No Right Answer (9)

There Is No Right Answer (9)

“What, what is this…”

Director Lee Min-hyung barely managed to gather his wits. It had been several minutes since he was caught up in Smalilian’s attack through his avatar and was thrown about, injuring his body here and there.

But he didn’t die. It was because the final warriors who endured until the very end fought against the enemy to the last.

There was no time to pay attention to the phone flooding with messages saying Seoul was trapped in a dome and that they didn’t know what was happening inside.

‘I should have brought Aria too. But, did it work anyway…!’

He gritted his teeth while trying to move his legs that wouldn’t move well. When he managed to stand up.

Smalilian, who had lost a considerable amount of magical power to Jeon So-hyeon’s strength, was collapsing his massive body after taking Karin’s strike and Renée’s magic on top of that.

“Is he, dead?!”

Karin panted, wiping the sticky blood flowing from her head to her face. Renée, clutching her bleeding arm, silently glared at Smalilian’s fallen corpse.

“He’s dead. For sure.”

Jeon So-hyeon, scratched all over, spat out while holding her sprained ankle. However, contrary to Jeon So-hyeon’s words, Smalilian’s body still contained ominous magical power.

“No, it’s not certain. I’ll finish him off, you two…”

René raised her staff with her left hand to finish.

However, at that moment, Smalilian’s corpse suddenly crumbled and began to scatter as black vapor.

All that remained was a red ore about the size of a tennis ball in the ashes, and as Imin-hyung’s phone lit up, the dome that had appeared in Seoul disappeared, and that’s when news started pouring in about what had happened.

“He’s dead.”

Gabi, who had been hiding her appearance, punctuated this by speaking to Jeon So-hyeon.

“And despite being just an avatar, he left behind this level of inner core. It’s created by condensing strong power. His essence is gathered in that inner core. Be very careful in handling it. It would be right to destroy it, but it’s a bit of a waste. If you purify it periodically, the evil energy will disappear, and only pure magic will remain. If you consume that, you can gain considerable power.”

Moreover, Gabi also explained what the red ore left behind by Smalilian was.

“Did you really just watch? Your disciple almost died from a hole in her stomach.”

“My duty is only to save your life. Surviving a hole in your stomach isn’t a common opportunity, is it?”

Jeon So-hyeon, covered in sweat, blood, and dust, grumbled while holding her still throbbing ankle, but Gabi just smiled faintly.

Finally, the fed-up Jeon So-hyeon trudged towards the inner core.

“What is that? Isn’t it dangerous?”

“It is dangerous. Personally, I’d like to destroy it here, but I’m too exhausted right now.”

Karin, not knowing its identity, didn’t show much interest in the inner core.

René was different. The moment she saw it, she knew it was a type of magic stone and immediately felt greedy. After all, if used well, a magic stone can be a formidable weapon for a magician.

But René wasn’t foolish.

The power contained in that inner core now was not something she could handle alone. So she just kept her mouth shut.

“Our Management Bureau will keep it. You can come by regularly to purify it.”

“…I’ll trust you.”

Jeon So-hyeon hesitated for a moment but then decided to hand it over to Imin-hyung for now.

Maybe if it had been just yesterday, I wouldn’t have believed him. But today, after seeing them get hurt and risk their lives to complete the mission, I changed my mind and decided to trust them a little.

“I’m sorry for making kids like you step up and get hurt like this. It’s all… because of our incompetence.”

He mumbled absentmindedly, wrapping his suit jacket around the undershirt with Parma’s hastily written talisman attached.

It was close to a sigh, tinged with deep emptiness, guilt, and exhaustion.

“It’s just that we all have different roles.”

“You think so?”

“…I used to think that way too. So don’t be too disappointed. Seeking power out of helplessness can easily change you.”

Jeon So-hyeon’s unexpected consolation made Lee Min-hyung’s eyes widen.

Those who sought power out of helplessness, and eventually changed and fell. For a moment, the image of the Special Forces flashed through their minds.

“You’re right. We all have different jobs to do. So you guys better not go to Seoul for now. Seoul is a complete mess right now.”

“…What?”

“What do you mean?”

“Then what about my work?!”

All three people who were unaware of the news from Seoul reacted dramatically to his shocking words.

“Smalilian’s main body appeared, and as a result, the entire population of Seoul was affected. Everyone except for a very small number of magical girls or special forces fainted and woke up in a weakened state. For now, the reported victims alone exceed 100,000… but everything is already paralyzed, so we don’t know what will happen next. Both the police and emergency services are paralyzed.”

“The main body appeared and stole energy from nearly 10 million people. Then who on earth defeated that insane monster that’s beyond common sense…?”

Karin asked incredulously. Of course, midway through speaking, Karin trailed off as if recalling someone.

For a moment, the ‘true terror’ that had sent Karin away with a single blow flickered in her mind.

“Takillas revealed her horns. This is the third time those horns, presumed to be a stage of her armament, have been revealed, and once again, her opponent was killed in one hit. In the final moment, Smalilian’s power was estimated at SSS rank. Perhaps a new rank will be created just for Takillas alone.”

Lee Min-hyung nodded as if confirming Karin’s guess was correct.

***

“Estimated rank SSS. I wonder if Tequilas is aiming even higher than this.”

“How’s the director doing? What’s the situation there?”

“It’s a complete mess. At least that area wasn’t affected by the dome, so the system is still functioning.”

While Lee Min-hyung was dealing with the aftermath in an area unaffected by the dome, here in a hospital in the heart of Seoul, Oh Yun-seo sat down with a pale face and muttered.

Similarly involved, Dr. Heo Seung-hoon, a specialist in magical girls and a physician, was reviewing medical records with a groaning voice.

“Even the magical girls couldn’t respond. That so-called special task force? They were in chaos too. In the midst of all this, Tequilas was the only one who moved. Damn, this is harder than working consecutive night shifts.”

Heo Seung-hoon, with exhausted eyes, didn’t rest. If he, as a doctor, took a break because he was tired, the incoming patients would die.

“Even the renowned Mammoth was defeated by her. SS-rank Karin, acknowledged as the strongest in the country, lost too. Even SSS-rank Smalilian lost. Throughout this, Tequilas barely faltered. Perhaps the biggest blow to her was when she scuffled with Aria early on, resulting in Aria’s broken arm.”

“Aria…”

“Of course, in Aria’s case, it seemed like Tequilas was just toying with her. Come to think of it, Tequilas seems particularly favorable towards Aria.”

Heo Seung-hoon sighed heavily as he collapsed into his chair.

From the perspective of a magical girl researcher, Tequilas was a mutation in herself. Renée, who was said to be Tequilas’ successor, was also suspicious, but compared to Tequilas, it was nothing.

“Just what is her true identity?”

“A magical girl. A legendary magical girl.”

“A girl, you say? Oh, Director, I know how much you think of magical girls. But you need to speak properly. The most controversial aspect of Tequilas’ evaluation is her mentality.”

Heo Seung-hoon grimaced.

It’s possible to gain overwhelming power at a young age with exceptional talent. In fact, such geniuses have changed this world.

But such talent and mental growth were separate matters.

Without perfect mental stability, it was common to be swayed by one’s own talent and surrounding environment. That’s why young and powerful magical girls have always been treated like ticking bombs.

“She may be a crazy psychopathic killer magical girl, but that’s only from our perspective. From her point of view, she already has a perfect belief system. The doctrine of absolute power… it’s a belief that truly suits her. After all, if she wanted to, she could become a dictator and rule this country, no, this world.”

He didn’t think his thoughts had gone too far.

He was convinced that Tequila’s behavior and beliefs, which sometimes revealed sincerity despite her moody and impulsive nature, were suitable for ruling a large group, and this thought was somewhat correct.

Therefore, he was certain that Tequila could never be shaken mentally. The evidence was that with her belief in being able to do everything with power, she only punished villains who went against her will when she actually appeared.

“It’s a hero movie cliché. People admire and fear heroes with overwhelming power. Thanks to today’s events where she essentially saved 10 million lives single-handedly, her fame will skyrocket even more. It’s troublesome that groups of followers will emerge, as well as fools who fear her and might get massacred for doing stupid things.”

“Hmm…”

Oh Yun-seo couldn’t refute. In fact, a video of Tequila finishing off Smalilian, filmed by a magical girl who managed to stay conscious and anonymously uploaded to the internet, had reached hundreds of millions of views in just a few hours.

Moreover, the title of that video was “Hero.”

It meant that more and more people were already being strongly influenced.

“By the way, what’s Aria up to? Is she okay?”

“Probably… I think so.”

Oh Yun-seo nodded with a bitter smile at Heo Seung-hoon’s words as he changed the subject to talk about Aria.