Chapter 55: False Truth (2)

“…That’s because—”

Madness.

All magical girls fall to madness.

There was not a single exception.

Not even Ianna could resist it—it was a universal reality.

Whenever she felt like she was staring off into some faraway place…

Whenever it felt like someone from afar was watching her…

Whenever her desires became too overwhelming to contain—

She surrendered to instinct.

It was an irresistible temptation for magical girls.

To wealth, fame, pleasure—and everything they’d ever wanted.

They willingly submitted to ether energy, offering up both body and mind.

Whenever her brain would spark and send waves of pleasure—

By then, it was already too late.

That’s when the rampage began.

Once a magical girl began to rampage, unless she possessed tremendous mental fortitude, there was no turning back.

They became addicted to pleasure.

They developed sadism, lusted for blood, craved the lives of the living.

Regardless of their original intentions, the end for all of them led to the same conclusion—

Slaughter.

Murder for pleasure.

No one knew why.

Was it the long-term exposure to ether that rewired the brain toward sadism and violence?

Or some invisible force controlling the brain, whispering that everything must die?

No one—not even the victims—could explain it.

They simply killed and killed with rapturous expressions… until they met a miserable end.

That was the fate of magical girls.

For millennia, none had escaped the grip of madness.

The power of magical girls—Lemegeton—was always a double-edged sword.

The cosmic ether energy grotesquely twisted their minds.

They were cursed to bear this tragic destiny—great power for the sake of species survival.

It was through their one-sided sacrifices that unstable peace had lasted thousands of years.

To submit to fate and embrace death—

That was the first of the magical girls’ Great Doctrines.

(TL NOTE: Great Doctrine refers to the foundational creeds all magical girls are taught to accept.)

‘…’

That Ianna had broken this principle—it didn’t make sense.

Did she want to avoid a miserable end consumed by madness?

No.

Hojoon’s words couldn’t be true.

They must not be true.

For Ianna’s sake.

“Why is it that only you survived, for decades, unscathed?”

Yet—

There was no trace of a lie in Hojoon’s voice.

“…I don’t know either.”

She shook her head.

“Do you remember?”

“…Remember what?”

Hojoon hesitated, then raised his voice, agitated—

“The summer of ’94 was scorching hot, Teacher.”

1994.

That summer had been historically brutal.

Asphalt melted.

Heatwaves and sleepless tropical nights lasted over a month.

Even schools extended their summer breaks.

In her hometown in the countryside, under the fading twilight of a starry sky, Ianna had endured the tail end of the heatwave.

That childhood summer—

For Hojoon too, it had become an unforgettable memory.

It was around that time—

That he first met Ianna.

“…So you do remember.”

That fall, Ianna’s mission logs showed a three-month gap.

She couldn’t deny it.

She had a long-standing connection with Hojoon—whatever the nature of it may have been.

“You took in someone like me with nowhere to go. You taught me everything you knew. Helped me slip into the Bureau’s underbelly. You gave me a dream of great purpose.”

Even if that was true—

What Hojoon claimed to have seen that day…

It couldn’t be true.

It must not be.

“You struggled to escape madness. And you found a method, didn’t you?”

“…Stop it.”

“You started with corpses. But when that didn’t work, you slowly began dissecting the living—and swallowing them down, bit by bit.”

“I said STOP!!!”

She couldn’t keep her composure.

Her expression twisted violently as she screamed at him.

No more.

He had to stop.

This wasn’t something that should be said.

“Let me ask again. Madness comes for all magical girls. Whether they want it or not. So why—how—were you the only one to survive, intact, for decades?”

“I… I don’t know…”

Her heart sank.

“Bleeagh—!”

She vomited, violently.

The kind that tore at her stomach lining.

Nausea surged from the depths. She wanted to rip out her insides.

“Why did you try so hard to drive magical girls to madness?”

“Please… I’m begging you… stop…”

“I don’t understand. But you do, don’t you? You know exactly what you’ve done.”

“Uuugh…”

She had licked her lips while staring at the corpse of a berserk magical girl.

And Ianna, alone, among all magical girls, had never succumbed to Lemegeton’s madness.

Perhaps—

The method Ianna had sought all this time… her “cure for madness”…

“It couldn’t be helped. They’ll understand. It was for the greater good. If I hadn’t done it, no one would’ve survived. So please, understand me, Hojoon.”

“…Ah… ahh…”

“That’s what you always said.”

Now she understood.

Why Ianna had tried so hard to erase her memories of Hojoon.

“It’s fine. I understand. I respect the choices you made for the greater good, Teacher.”

When Hojoon embraced her and whispered those words into her ear—

She could only grit her teeth.

“…Judging by your reactions, you really are the ‘Teacher,’ aren’t you?”

Hojoon was baiting her—to confirm her identity.

“Then let’s get to the point.”

She hated Han Hojoon.

Not just on a personal level.

Even if all of this was false—she couldn’t forgive how he had shattered her image of Ianna.

She had no way to verify whether he was lying.

But one thing was certain:

Ianna could never be the kind of person Hojoon described.

‘No.’

She repeated it like a mantra.

Hojoon was lying.

All of it was just to confuse her.

It couldn’t be accepted.

It mustn’t be accepted.

The idea that Ianna preserved her sanity by consuming her fellow magical girls—was a lie.

It was a lie.

Absolutely.

Hojoon had said Ianna looked like Ae-won.

But clearly, it was Ae-won who had done those things.

Not Ianna.

It was Ae-won, not Ianna, who had taught Hojoon deception.

Ae-won must have been impersonating Ianna.

It had to be.

She didn’t want to doubt Ianna.

She didn’t want to see ugliness in someone she believed in.

She’d already been betrayed enough.

At the very least, Ianna—Ianna—should have nothing left to hide.

In her pure black eyes that once reflected a starry sky—

There hadn’t been a single trace of evil.

Ianna, who always gave everything for others, would never do something like that just to survive.

Hojoon’s claims were all just a ploy—to identify her.

Hojoon’s eyes, which had been studying her, began to waver.

This was her chance.

The one and only chance to regain control.

At some point, Hojoon had taken off his white band and set it on the desk.

Perhaps he could no longer read her thoughts.

Which meant—

Everything was going as planned.

She had deliberately stalled—so he wouldn’t detect her thoughts.

To deceive Hojoon.

“Hojoon. I am—”

She spoke in a flat, icy voice.

“…I’m your teacher. I know exactly what you’re thinking. You want revenge, don’t you? You want to kill all magical girls.”

She curled her lips into a slight smile.

If the “Ianna” Hojoon remembered really did those things—then he would accept this.

If she was the Ianna who had seized control of the Bureau, skilled at deceit, a master of psychological warfare—

Then she could easily probe his mind.

“…I see.”

That was enough for Hojoon to nod and accept it.

“So the recent behaviour… was just you hiding in plain sight all this time?”

“What do you think?”

She smiled.

Seeing Hojoon struggle gave her the smallest thrill.

But—

The very fact that he was struggling meant—

That everything he said about Ianna’s past might be true.

Her heart crumbled, though she didn’t show it.

“…Just like the sly teacher I remember. Acting innocent, playing dumb, gently manipulating people into doing what you want.”

“Is that so?”

“Your performance was outstanding. Especially wetting the bed and skirt—that was so convincing no one would suspect a thing. Everything went according to your plan. It was just like the old days.”

It wasn’t acting.

She wished it had been, but sadly, her bladder had long since stopped listening to her.

Because of that—

Every time her body went into shock, coolant mixed with waste discharged from her involuntarily.

Like now—

Drip.

“…There was no need to demonstrate that personally.”

“S-sorry…”

Had she fooled Hojoon enough?

Was the word “Teacher” all it took to satisfy him?

What even was the truth about Ianna?

“…To be honest, after your daughter was born, you looked different. As if you’d been freed from madness. But also like a naive girl, full of outdated ideals, who had forgotten all her old cunning.”

…Different?

“Like… a different person.”

That made everything more confusing.

“But now I’m certain. You are undoubtedly ‘Ianna.”

No—he was wrong.

But she said nothing.

It was better to let Hojoon believe what he wanted.

After a short silence—

Hojoon quietly rose from his seat.

A glow lit up in his eyes.

‘What is…’

She realized the mood had shifted.

Just as Hojoon bent down in front of her.

“Hojoon…?”

And then—

He said something she never could’ve anticipated.

“Please—help me. Save all the magical girls.”

‘…Save them?’