Chapter 39: The Witch’s Silence (2)

Hojoon thought calmly.

There was no room for hesitation.

He couldn’t afford to show even a hint of inner turmoil.

He couldn’t make any move that might cause discomfort to Aeweon’s magical girl.

Sacrifice.

If Aeweon’s magical girl demanded a sacrifice — demanded that a human be offered — there was no choice but to comply.

The Bureau only managed the Russian Far East, the Korean Peninsula, Japan, and Taiwan.

Even among the governing organizations, it was relatively small in scale, with the least amount of resources available.

The only reason this Bureau could exercise an equal vote at the “Governing Organization Council” alongside the other, much larger entities, was because of one thing.

Because of Aeweon’s existence.

Aeweon, the most powerful among the Twelve Seats, possessed abilities incomparable to anyone else.

Because she at least appeared to obey the Bureau, a semblance of authority could be maintained.

It was authority — and respect — born of fear.

Of course, the reality was quite the opposite.

Although Aeweon had voluntarily confined herself deep within the seabed of Hokkaido after a certain incident with Ianna, her political position within the Bureau remained formidable.

Even the Tribunal had assigned Aeweon a seat — a seat that even Hojoon himself had yet to obtain.

Aeweon was the only magical girl who could influence decision-making within the governing body she was affiliated with.

…And that was why.

Clenching his fists tightly, Hojoon reaffirmed his resolve.

‘I will bring Aeweon down. No matter what…’

To Hojoon, magical girls were uncontrollable clusters of madness.

Even his own daughter was viewed as a potential ticking time bomb.

Aeweon was an enemy who absolutely had to be brought down.

For the sake of his noble cause, for the future of all mankind, he had to use every means at his disposal to destroy Aeweon.

He had vaguely sensed it already.

Right now, no one but him was feeling any sense of discomfort.

Everyone was simply staring at Aeweon on the monitor, looking tense but otherwise normal.

Sacrifice.

Even though a magical girl — whose very purpose should have been to protect human life — was openly demanding a human offering, no one pointed out how wrong this was.

Even Sorim, known for her strong mental fortitude, nodded at Aeweon as if it were natural.

This was clearly wrong. It was a situation that should never, ever have been allowed to happen.

No matter how rotten the Bureau had become, offering humans as sacrifices to a monster should have been utterly unacceptable.

They had already used orphans, criminals, and volunteers — turning them into artificial girls, using and discarding them like tools.

They had trampled on the rights of wounded magical girls, leaving them neither dead nor alive.

And now, after all that, they were about to hand over humans as sacrifices.

Hojoon himself had no right to criticize.

He was the one who had wielded the blade of purges against magical girls who had devoted their lives to humanity until the bitter end.

Pointing it out now would be nothing but hypocrisy. The decisions had already been made. There was no turning back.

All that was left was to carry everything on his own shoulders.

That was how Hojoon thought.

Simply, it was another evil karma added to his burden.

A sin that could never be forgiven, and never should be.

Ironically, at that moment, what came to Hojoon’s mind was none other than Ianna.

If it were Ianna, she might have found an alternative to sacrificing humans.

No.

If Ianna had remained whole, none of this would have happened in the first place.

If it were Ianna, the magical girl of Janwol, she would have hunted down the evolved entities without anyone’s help.

But.

The water had already been spilled. Hojoon had already committed an unforgivable act against Ianna.

That was all there was to it.

There was no need for excuses. Everything was painfully clear.

And then.

Aeweon, watching Hojoon, smiled faintly at him.

“Please choose whomever you wish to offer. I will accept anything.”

[Hmm, is that really so…?]

“Of course. We have received far too much grace from you.
If there is anything you require, we will gladly offer it.
You have the right to be compensated for your devotion.”

Hojoon forced himself to kill his emotions and put on a facade of kindness.

‘The right to be compensated’

Of course, such a right did not exist.

Once magical girls outlived their usefulness, they were mercilessly discarded.

Magical girls were granted no rights whatsoever.

Much less Aeweon.

It was a cruel reality.

There was no dream or hope attached to the title of “magical girl.”

Only an endless cycle of suffering repeated itself.

Hojoon wanted to break that cycle.

He wanted to end the generational curse.

Even if he had to walk a road paved with corpses, it didn’t matter.

Even if the entire world came to hate him, he would still walk forward proudly.

His hesitation had long since died — the day his wife left him.

Hojoon’s expression was radiant.

Just as it had been when he faced Ianna, he wore a warm and kind smile as he looked at the monitor.

There was almost no tremor in his voice.

He completely hid the fear he felt, because he knew he must not show any weakness to Aeweon.

Despite her eyes being sealed under restraints, Aeweon seemed to have a complete grasp of the situation in the Bureau.

Naturally, Hojoon dared not lower his guard.

However.

For some reason, Aeweon smiled meaningfully.

[…Then, how about this?]

He must not be deceived by the witch’s tongue.

Whatever happened, he must end this with the least sacrifice possible.

Even if it meant offering up his daughter, Byeolmuri.

Of course, Aeweon had said that Byeolmuri was not to her taste.

Still, Hojoon’s resolve was firm enough to sacrifice even Byeolmuri if needed.

However.

[Just for a single day… Could you allow me to be alone with Janwol?]

Aeweon’s slow voice, flowing from either the speakers or directly into his mind, was completely unexpected.

At the same time, it sent a chill down his spine.

[Answer me.]

When Hojoon showed the slightest hint of hesitation, Aeweon pressed him without mercy.

“Of course. A single day is… nothing….”

Without realizing it, Hojoon voiced his consent.

It was a promise he could not afford to make.

Releasing Aeweon — even within the Bureau — was like unleashing a starving lion into a rabbit hutch.

[Hojoon, you’d better keep that promise. For your own good.]

“Naturally. I do not lie to you.”

A stream of cold sweat trickled down Hojoon’s back.

[Could everyone close their eyes for a moment? It’s quite embarrassing to show myself naked.]

Restraints.

Without lifting even a finger, Aeweon deactivated the restraints covering her eyes.

She spoke shyly as if embarrassed.

Hojoon immediately blacked out the main monitor located at the center of the control room.

He was more tense than he had ever been before.

His pupils quivered uncontrollably.

Unable to maintain even a composed expression, Hojoon slumped into his seat.

‘…I made a mistake.’

Aeweon could have broken free of her restraints and escaped the deep sea at any time.

She simply had the ability to do so.

Until now, she had voluntarily stayed confined, out of respect for a certain ‘covenant’ she made with Ianna long ago.

Why Aeweon honored such a covenant, without any force binding her, was unknown.

But if Aeweon were ever to meet Ianna again, and if that covenant were broken—

Something utterly uncontrollable would happen.

Aeweon was not wearing restraints for no reason.

Aeweon was—

The magical girl who had killed the most people in history.

And she had done so purely for amusement.

March 11, 2011.

It had been “by coincidence” that Aeweon was stationed at the Ibaraki branch in the Tohoku region of Japan.

‘…’

The apple the witch offered was surely a poisoned one.

An apple filled with deadly poison that must never be eaten.

Aeweon would surely offer that poisoned apple to Ianna.

Hojoon’s instincts told him this with certainty.

And so.

‘I cannot allow them to meet…’

Bzzzt—

At that moment, the screen began to broadcast Aeweon’s full figure.

The mismatched colors of Aeweon’s eyes gleamed.

Faint dark circles shadowed her eyes.

Her violet hair, clearly unkempt, still shimmered brilliantly.

Her beauty was overwhelming — to the point that no one, not even Hojoon, could look at her directly.

Aeweon wore a sheer, revealing slit dress — exposing so much skin that the dress seemed almost nonexistent.

Her chest was far too large for such a dress to conceal properly, making the monitor display a somewhat embarrassing scene.

Her side breasts were clearly visible.

[Keep your promise.]

“Of course….”

With Aeweon’s final words, the communication was cut off.

The Witch.

Aeweon had begun to move.

And only then could Hojoon finally breathe a sigh of relief.

***

“Wa-wait a moment…! Headquarters, Headquarters…!!!”

At the sudden upheaval in the field, Sora began screaming into the radio, howling like a cornered beast.

It was a rather pitiful sight.