Chapter 17: When Despair Strikes (5)

“Bark that you’re sorry. Apologize to the comrades who died.”

“…”

“You still haven’t come to your senses.”

Ianna, her limbs completely restrained by Libra, stared at Heosang with lifeless eyes.

To Heosang, it looked almost comical.

Ianna’s eyes were filled with defiance—but her body told a different story.

It had already grown accustomed to violence.

Broken into submission.

Every time Heosang raised her fist, Ianna would instinctively wet herself and clutch her bruised belly in pain.

She looked like a ragged doll, utterly wrecked.

“Fifty-five.”

Thud!

Heosang’s fist struck Ianna’s abdomen once more.

Her eyes couldn’t even track the blow.

She lost consciousness before she could even register the punch.

There was no pain.

After repeated torture and healing, Ianna’s body had begun to react abnormally.

Without proper intervention, she would die—possibly even today.

Her artificial organs were deteriorating.

Heosang had no idea what was inside Ianna’s body.

She just did what she always did.

She healed her, assuming she was a normal human.

But it was a stopgap at best.

Ianna’s delicate, artificial organs required specialized maintenance—far beyond Heosang’s ability.

Her pale abdomen—no, her bruised, blood-blotched belly—was mangled beyond recognition.

It was a miracle she was still alive.

Her organs had been ruptured by blunt trauma, some were necrotizing from lack of blood, others were melting from her body’s inability to maintain a stable temperature.

Her body was on the verge of collapse.

She was surviving solely thanks to post-care support from the Bureau.

A body already shattered.

And now Heosang had delivered the fatal blow.

Whether intentional or not.

Ianna had no idea what was happening inside her own body.

Each time she lost consciousness, her memory grew hazier.

All she could recall now was that after her lieutenant’s death, she’d been mercilessly trampled by the two.

“Harsa, can I put her down now?”

“Yeah. Lay her down gently.”

Libra, looking thoroughly bored, dropped Ianna in the middle of the room.

“Hurry up. This is getting boring.”

“Wait. It’ll be over soon.”

Heosang walked toward Ianna, who lay on the floor trembling feebly.

“Janwol.”

“…He… Heosang.”

Ianna’s eyes were lifeless.

Only despair remained on her face.

And yet, she glared up at Heosang with eyes filled with hate, as if to show her will was unbroken.

Crack!

Heosang stomped on Ianna’s head.

She put all her strength into it, making sure Ianna would never look up at her again.

The marble floor cracked under the force of Ianna’s jaw slamming into it.

Her skull.

Ianna’s skull shattered in an instant.

And just as she lost consciousness, Heosang used her power to heal her.

Heosang didn’t want her to die. Not anymore.

“A… ah… ah…”

Ianna, whose jaw had been pulverized on the marble, now reached up with wide eyes to feel her face.

“How about now? Still don’t feel like apologizing? Think about Oksana—the one you killed. Think about your friend.”

“…Friend…”

Ianna clutched her head and collapsed, her face twisted in panic.

“F-Friend… Friend… I’m sorry, I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”

She began trembling violently, like a leaf in the wind.

The blow to her skull had triggered a temporary bout of severe regression.

Ianna had endured for so long.

She’d done her best.

She’d tried everything to reason with them—but nothing worked.

Misunderstanding bred more misunderstanding until it all collapsed into tragedy.

And Heosang and Libra reveled in it.

Solely for their own satisfaction.

They weren’t listening to a word Ianna said.

They only cared about their own twisted desires—not about dialogue.

They were consumed by a magical girl’s inherent sadism.

Madness and instinct.

No magical girl could ever escape them—except Ianna.

Their original personalities twisted together with the madness and cruelty of magical girls, all their rage and hate focused on her.

Ianna’s vision began to blur.

Death was right in front of her.

In her final moments, her regressed mind was overwhelmed by terror, stress… and the joy of seeing her dear friends one last time.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”

“I can’t hear you.”

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”

As Ianna lost herself and wept apologies, Heosang finally felt satisfied.

Ianna writhed on the floor like an insect.

Her body had no strength left.

She didn’t want to show them such a pathetic state, not when they’d come to see her.

She wanted to stand, to face them properly.

But her body had already served its purpose.

Heosang had ensured that.

Her fate was sealed.

Ianna knew it instinctively.

This was the end.

In her final moments, she didn’t feel hatred, or fear, or anxiety.

Only longing. Desperation. Loneliness filled her cooling body.

And then.

With her final strength, she looked up at the two standing over her—and smiled.

She thought they were there to send her off.

That they, at least, had come to see her out of this world.

She died smiling.

No resentment.

She remembered nothing, deliberately tried to forget, refused to blame them.

“Hey, hey…”

Her body felt strangely light. There was no pain. No dizziness.

“Take… this…”

What she offered was chocolate.

With trembling arms, she handed over two pieces resting on a small table.

Smack!

Heosang swatted Ianna’s hand away, knocking the chocolates to the floor.

“……”

Ianna didn’t react.

She could no longer see.

Darkness stretched out endlessly before her.

But in that darkness, faint light flickered.

She thought she saw her comrades.

There was so much to say.

One month wouldn’t be enough to pour out all the things bottled up over the decades.

She pondered what to start with…

‘…Right.’

She’d begin with the magical girl she’d partnered with years before her death, the one she’d met in a slum.

Her name was Heosang.

She was smart, kind, and willing to do anything for her comrades. A warmhearted girl.

The days with Heosang’s magical girl, Harsa, had been lively and joyful. They’d broken the monotony of her life.

She cherished her like a little sister.

Ianna silently prayed that Heosang was doing well.

And slowly closed her eyes.

As if setting out for the mythical realm of magical girls—a place she’d never return from.

***

“Heosang… hey.”

“W-Wait… wait…”

Heosang’s face had gone pale.

Only after seeing Ianna completely unresponsive did she realize what she’d done.

Swept up in a magical girl’s madness, she had brought Ianna to the brink of death.

She was still alive.

It wasn’t over yet.

She could still be saved.

She hadn’t died—not yet. Heosang told herself that.

“Sh*t…”

That hadn’t been the plan.

It started with anger, then turned into a game.

Killing her had never been the intention.

She just wanted to play a little.

Just break her body and spirit.

In Heosang’s mind, that was reasonable. Rational, even.

Affection.

Heosang felt twisted affection for Ianna.

The woman who raised her like a mentor. Her idol.

She wanted to break her, bring her to her knees.

That was all…

“…What do we do?”

“J-Just wait…”

Libra looked visibly shaken too.

‘I never signed up for killing her…’

No matter how they framed her—as the Bureau’s puppet who threw her comrades into hell—she was still the Director.

This was treason. Clear and simple.

Treason.

If news spread of a magical girl’s rebellion or breakdown, the Bureau would raise a red alert.

Every active magical girl would be summoned.

In short, the Bureau’s entire magical girl force would hunt them down.

Maybe even Aeon…

As the two stood in stunned silence, staring at each other—

Clang!

“What the Deputy Director said… it was true. You two, carry Janwol immediately.”

The magical girl of Star Cluster entered Ianna’s room.