The Line to Protect (9)

The Line to Protect (9)

Being weak is a sin. In the end, when everyone is pushed to the extreme, no one will protect me. Naturally, if you want peace, you must prepare for war.

So that no one can touch me. Isn’t this just common sense?

“Argh!”

“Wh-what’s happening!”

A strong shockwave erupted, sending everything flying and tumbling across the floor. The same happened to the two experimental girls who were clinging to my body. This wasn’t an attack I intended; it was just my power naturally bursting out.

“You, you finally armed…”

While others couldn’t properly get up from the floor, Ren looked at me in shock. As Ren said, I had finally brought out my armament as a magical girl, which had been engraved on my lower abdomen and never used before.

I didn’t have any grand thoughts; I just needed a way to break through this situation.

“How fascinating. A weapon made from a part of my magical power.”

“…A Magical Girl’s armament also reflects her own tendencies.”

“Then it seems to have reflected properly.”

I lightly flicked the handle in my hand. With just a slight movement, the violently writhing whip made a thunderous sound, leaving long scars on the concrete floor and ceiling.

This steel thorn whip, moving freely like my tentacles, was a long whip densely covered with sharp, glistening thorns in reverse direction.

“Armament… Kuhuck.”

I slightly moved this whip to split the head of the researcher who had just stood up, separating the lower and upper jaw.

“But! It’s still the same that you can’t touch those kids!”

“I just took it out for a moment.”

At Ren’s shout, I frowned. The experimental girls staggering to their feet and lunging at me again. I didn’t take this out to use on them in the first place.

My shadow writhed, instantly destroying a nearby pillar and pulling out the rebar inside.

“..!”

Two who were next to the pillar had their necks and bodies entangled by the rebar that sprang out, restraining them on the spot.

The remaining one threw a punch towards my face, and I caught that fist and flipped her over.

“Wait…”

“Hold on…”

These 3 seconds of time I gained. 3 seconds is enough. I swung the whip in my hand widely horizontally.

The whip, filled with magical power, destroyed everything in its path, creating dust, corpses with body parts split in half, and fountains of blood.

“Where do you think you’re running?”

Immediately after moving my shadow, I grabbed the nape of the fleeing bald researcher. Seeing that he survived by hiding behind his subordinates, it seemed this foreigner was indeed the boss.

“Kuhiit… It’s already too late. The experiment was successful, and that data has already been sent to headquarters. From now on, stronger test subjects will hunt you Magical Girls.”

“…Really? Then it’ll take a few decades.”

Fortunately, they didn’t kill me right away. It was so satisfying to see their brow twitch in annoyance at my mockery.

“Look. Even if hundreds of thousands of these kids come at me, they can’t beat me.”

“You bitch…”

I smirked. Even if the experimental girl I just tossed aside suddenly got up, ran towards me, and hit my head with all her might, or kicked my stomach or legs, it wouldn’t be me whose bones would break and bleed.

“You can’t succeed. Because you lack the ability.”

I roughly gauged his personality and carelessly spat out words that would likely irritate him.

A simple bald guy, trying hard to maintain a calm expression, but unable to hide his face and empty scalp turning bright red.

“Don’t be so arrogant. It’s not over yet.”

But the guy who had been fuming soon grinned. This time, my expression stiffened slightly.

“W-What?!”

As Ren shouted, I cut off both of the guy’s legs and threw him screaming onto the nearby floor.

“The magical power is going berserk. With an S-class magical girl’s power, this whole area might completely vaporize.”

Magical power has its own attributes and affinities. Forcibly combining them naturally causes repulsion. It was a fairly common sight in the Demon Realm.

“Y-You have an eye for this! But it’s already over! You absolutely can’t stop it!”

The guy on the floor whimpered and twitched before bursting into laughter. Of course, it was a big deal.

But I couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of him acting as if making Aria’s magical power go berserk was some kind of unstoppable ultimate weapon.

“What…”

“You stupid baldy. Of course, for those who can’t handle magical power, a magical power rampage would be a terrible disaster, but not for me.”

I am the Demon King. The pinnacle and incarnation of demons. Magical power is under my control. Especially if it has a thick, negative nature like yin energy.

“Argh!”

I easily dodged Aria’s fist as she lunged at me in a frenzy, and placed my hand on her stomach, which was completely bruised and purple from countless blows.

“This, this can’t be. This is impossible!? How did you get such power… It’s inconceivable!”

“You stupid insect. Your ignorance doesn’t define the limits of this world.”

Mocking him, I grabbed the struggling Aria and absorbed all the negative magic that had seeped into her body. A moment later, when I removed my hand that had turned black from being enveloped in shadows, Aria lost consciousness and collapsed to the floor.

The source of this magic was the same as the magic residing in the experimental girl’s body. It was a considerably cold and heavy power, but to me, it was like dipping my hand in boiling acid.

“…What exactly are you? A monster like you can’t possibly be an ordinary magical girl. Are you even human?!”

“How curious. What good will it do for someone who’s about to die?”

I moved the shadows to behead the man who was now barely breathing. Now I was the only sane person here. Except for the groans of the incapacitated experimental girls, the surrounding air suddenly became silent.

“There are other magical girls outside, so it should be fine. Let’s go back.”

“Wait a minute. Why did you come here? Is it okay to leave like this?”

“…?”

As I sighed from fatigue and was about to leave, I finally realized why I came here after hearing Ren’s words.

“Oh, crap…”

Information about Mammoth. But I had killed them all without even hearing it.

Feeling a pain as if my brain was being pulled out, I clutched my frowning face. To make such a fatal mistake.

“Dawn is breaking soon. For now, it’s better to return for our daily lives… Ugh!”

“You should have told me that earlier!”

In the end, I kicked Ren, who was chattering on the floor, with full force.

*

‘No.’

I shouted with all my might. But no voice came out. Soon, the beautiful black-haired girl swung her silver, shining steel thorn whip with a grinning face.

A single breath, and human bodies are shattered and split, arms and legs flying, intestines, heads, fountains of blood.

She clearly saw Taquilas’s red eyes glimmering with ecstasy. It’s always the same. Once again, she failed to stop Taquilas’s slaughter.

At that moment, Aria finally lost consciousness.

‘Kill me.’

However, Aria’s consciousness hadn’t completely disappeared.

She could see what her rampaging body was doing, and what would happen next. So without hesitation, she cried out once more. To kill her before an even greater tragedy occurred.

“What you know isn’t all there is to the world.”

But the moment she heard those words, Aria suddenly regained consciousness with a feeling of clarity.

In that split second when Taquilas placed his hand on her stomach and absorbed all the negative magic that contrasted with her passionate magic, their eyes met.

‘It’s different.’

And at that moment, she sensed it. The aura in those red eyes looking up at her was completely different at that instant.

The eyes of an unpredictable, inscrutable evil brat had somehow transformed into the eyes of a ruler with a heavy and immense pressure.

“Haa…!”

“Eun-seo!”

Even when her memories faded and nothing remained, that pair of red eyes continued to stare at her. In that moment of continued pressure that made even breathing difficult, Aria exhaled deeply, opened her eyes wide, and sat up.

“I-It’s okay now! You’re in the hospital!”

“That’s right! You’re safe now!”

The mascot Lulu flew to her chest, trembling. Aria, who had been staring at Manager Oh Yun-seo with wide eyes, could finally take in her surroundings.

This wasn’t a dark underground facility, but a hospital room with bright sunlight shining through the window.

Only then did she realize that she still hadn’t undone her transformation.

“What happened?”

“…The magical girls who went with you reported it, so we were able to rescue you.”

“W-what about Taquilath?”

The name automatically came out of Aria’s mouth. However, Director Oh Yun-seo shook her head while looking down.

“At the scene, there were 69 horrific corpses, 4 experiment victims, and you. Almost all the data had been destroyed.”

“That can’t be… I only knocked out the ones outside!”

Aria shouted in disbelief. But she already knew. The Code Red magical girls who had followed her wouldn’t have left a single one alive.

“When we arrived, there was no trace of Taquilath. After needlessly killing an innocent YouTuber, he went straight there and his whereabouts became unclear.”

Oh Yun-seo muttered in a dark voice.