Chapter 11: Towards Death (5)

“…Father.”

“Call me Deputy Director, Magical Girl of Starlight.”

The Magical Girl of Starlight glared at Hojoon.

Hojoon paid no attention to her reaction.

His gaze remained fixed on the two people slumped over her back.

They were on the brink of death.

Their bodies were covered in countless wounds.

Phantom had completely lost consciousness, and Libra was barely hanging on, breathing raggedly, clinging to what little sanity remained.

Hojoon, realizing the floor was soaked with blood from Phantom’s body, immediately snatched the two off Starlight’s back.

“They’re critically injured. We must get them to the infirmary immediately.”

“Understood!”

The waiting medics placed them on stretchers and rushed off.

Starlight shot a cold glare at Hojoon.

Hojoon returned her gaze, staring down at her with eyes starkly different from those he showed Ianna.

There was no affection in them.

Only coldness.

Hojoon and Starlight shared many similarities—pitch-black hair, flawless skin, sharp noses, and large eyes.

As if to assert their father-daughter relationship.

If not for the slight difference in jawlines, they could be mistaken for clones.

While Hojoon radiated a clean-cut, intellectual aura with his robust physique, Starlight exuded an elegant beauty as she swept her long black hair back.

There was something strange and pure about her—an uncanny atmosphere that set her apart even from other magical girls.

Not only Hojoon, but everyone present sensed the dissonance in her presence.

“She’s not one of us.”

A primal, exclusionary instinct ingrained in humanity since the prehistoric age was on full display.

Everyone present felt a visceral sense of revulsion and rejection toward Starlight.

All humans fear the dark.

It’s a primal instinct, encoded into their genes.

For Hojoon and the others, accepting Starlight was impossible.

She was too steeped in darkness.

Darker than the abyss.

That was the only way to describe her.

Beautiful, but terrifying.

That was Hojoon’s impression of his daughter.

“Was this your doing?”

“What was?”

“Putting those two in danger.”

Starlight slowly approached him as she responded.

The tension in the room spiked, and the Bureau agents subconsciously swallowed dryly.

“It wasn’t me.”

“Liar…!”

Her jet-black eyes began to burn.

“The sacrifice of a magical girl.”

It wasn’t rare, but recently the deaths had become far too frequent.

Ever since Hojoon and Ianna seized control of the Eastern Division of the Magical Girl Regulation and Oversight Bureau.

Father.

Han Hojoon was a piece of trash.

She had only lived with him during her childhood, but even that brief time was enough to see his true nature.

That man had risen to the position of Deputy Director, wielding immense power.

Too many things didn’t add up.

“It wasn’t me. The Director gave the order. I advocated for reinforcement.”

“…Janwol?”

“Yes. So please… retract the Ramegeton aimed at me.”

Taken aback by Hojoon’s uncharacteristically submissive response, Starlight was momentarily stunned.

Hojoon had never been one to dodge responsibility or blame others for his failures.

He had always faced things head-on with sheer authority.

“…Is that true?”

She turned her eyes toward the Bureau agent behind Hojoon.

“Y-Yes, it’s true. The Deputy Director requested backup, but the Director said, ‘Let’s trust the two of them,’ and refused.”

Trust them?

A lie Ianna was known to spew.

Ianna had become a lapdog to the Bureau, doing whatever it took to survive.

An utterly disgraceful magical girl.

No pride, no honour, nothing but a pawn.

Up to now, Starlight had thought Hojoon was using Ianna, but now she saw the truth.

They were cooperating closely.

Ianna would bear the fallout from the controversy and outrage caused by Phantom, Libra, and the synthetic magical girl’s deaths.

Hojoon, though one of the youngest leaders of the global regulatory bodies, was still a normal human.

The backlash from announcing a magical girl’s death could be devastating—even make him a target.

So they would use the well-known Ianna as a human shield.

“…A wicked person.”

Ianna seemed kind on the surface, but inside, she was just as vile and scheming as Hojoon.

If she was trying to protect that human garbage Hojoon, she must be the same kind of scum.

Whatever they were planning—it wouldn’t work.

Because she would stop them.

Looking back, it made no sense.

Sending a relatively weak first-generation synthetic magical girl against a class like Multus, with only one inexperienced newbie alongside?

(TL NOTE: Multus is a rank or classification for powerful entities.)

If what Hojoon said was true and Janwol gave the order—

Then this blade should be aimed at Janwol.

Not that Hojoon, who had let her mother die, would be forgiven.

Starlight withdrew the Ramegeton she had aimed at Hojoon’s throat.

A cross-shaped blade, no larger than a fingernail, slipped out from his suit and returned to her hand.

No one but Hojoon had noticed it—it was too small to be seen with the naked eye.

This was the Ramegeton she’d possessed since birth.

A blade whose size she could freely control.

Its true nature wasn’t for slaying monsters, but for killing humans.

Anyone stabbed by it would go mad in an instant.

Even Starlight didn’t know exactly what it did.

She’d never stabbed anyone with it.

But in just one second, everything would be over.

The stabbed would lose their minds, becoming empty husks.

Then, from the stress and agony, their hair would turn white, their bodies would rapidly age, and they would die on the spot.

“…How did you know?”

“We’re blood. I know what you’re plotting, Starlight.”

“You told me not to call you that.”

“Haha, just this once, call me Father.”

Hojoon laughed coldly.

Perhaps because he’d just escaped death, he seemed somewhat gentler.

If necessary, Starlight wouldn’t hesitate to kill him.

She even wanted to see him scream as he paid for his sins.

But now wasn’t the time.

She couldn’t take on all magical girls alone.

Too many still pledged allegiance to the Bureau.

For now, she had to observe and reduce casualties.

“Han Byeolhwa, you disobeyed the Bureau’s orders and entered the field.”

“…And I got results! The two are alive thanks to me!!!”

“Results don’t justify everything. Abandon the notion that truth lies in results alone. You trampled the Bureau’s authority.”

Byeolhwa clenched her teeth.

(TL NOTE: “Byeolhwa” refers to the real name of the magical girl codenamed “Starlight”)

“So what now? Are you going to kill me, Father? Like the others? Is your goal to purge the magical girls under Ianna’s skirts…?!”

She shouted, spitting with fury. She wanted to drive the Ramegeton into everyone present.

“B-Byeolhwa… such insolence to the Deputy Director…”

“…It’s fine. Byeolhwa, you’re sentenced to solitary confinement for one week. We must uphold the Bureau’s authority.”

Hojoon was smiling.

He was clearly mocking her.

“…And if I refuse?”

At that moment—

Byeolhwa’s Ramegeton hovered at the necks of everyone present, except Hojoon. Its size was barely that of a sewing needle, but enough to draw blood.

“If you refuse, there’s nothing we can do. We can’t force you. We’re just ordinary people. Instead, I’ll dock your pay.” “…”

Hojoon raised his hands in resignation.

Byeolhwa, speechless from sheer absurdity, silently withdrew her blade.

“Now, choose. Pay cut or a week in solitary.”

“…Solitary.”

“Understood. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. We incorporated plenty of magical girl feedback. Let me know if you need anything.”

“That won’t happen.”

Hojoon personally escorted her.

Byeolhwa followed without a word.

They exchanged no more words.

It was the closest thing to affection they could muster.

They passed by several synthetic magical girls in the corridor.

Third-generation.

The last mass-produced batch before the project was scrapped.

They walked in strict formation, eyes vacant.

Groups of six or so, heading somewhere.

They looked young—visibly so. Their heights resembled Ianna’s.

“…No way.”

Ramegeton was most efficient when acquired at a young age.

There was a biological limit to its potential.

Even artificial Ramegetons were no exception.

As memories resurfaced, Byeolhwa dry-heaved from a wave of disgust.

Hojoon walked on, unaffected.

Byeolhwa’s legs gave out, and she collapsed.

When creating synthetic girls, they matched the body to the brain and spine size.

As a result, their appearances remained childlike.

Most looked no older than elementary students—some even younger.

“…”

Disgusting.

There was no other word.

She felt like she was rotting from the stench of this corruption.

The same humans who painted themselves as benevolent victims used children as tools to survive.

Yes.

Tools.

The most accurate way to describe magical girls.

Tools to be used and discarded.

Tools that could be rebuilt over and over.

Tools with limitless materials.

Despite being pathetic insects, they saw her kind as mere tools.

Hatred surged in Byeolhwa’s eyes.

The fuse was lit.

“…What are you doing?”

Hojoon’s voice rang out.

Byeolhwa silently rose.

And began walking.

Into the unknown.

Her aide reported through the intercom from beyond the glass.

Lying in a white bed, Ianna trembled and answered weakly.

Two chocolates sat neatly on a shelf beside her.