Light and Darkness (3)

Light and Darkness (3)

What indeed is truth, and what is justice?

Chaos shook her values. Until now, she had always thought she wasn’t the hero of a hero movie. But Rene denied that.

“It’s neither truth nor justice. Just believe in your power.”

Rene, noticing Aria’s confusion, smiled faintly.

“Can’t you believe in yourself? Do you think the power you wield is imperfect? That’s natural. There’s nothing perfect in this world, after all. What I’m advocating is not for you to become such a perfect being. But if you’re really uneasy.”

Rene reached out her hand to Aria. Her intention was clear, causing Aria’s eyes to shake violently.

“Let’s create it together. With other magical girls, a new order and a new world.”

“To… gether?”

Aria staggered. She never imagined Rene would make such a proposal to her.

She didn’t even know that Rene harbored such grand ideas. Even the mascot Lulu was frozen with her mouth wide open.

“I want to enlighten the magical girls first. Why be swayed by the fairy company? You are the masters of power. Act with that power with conviction and will. You are heroes, not mere mercenaries.”

“Im… impossible!”

“Damn it! I think so too!”

Finally breaking out of her stunned state, Lulu appeared and jumped up and down at Rene’s words. Fluffy, who was at Rene’s feet, sympathized with Lulu’s reaction and pounded his chest.

However, Rene paid no attention to their behavior. They were just mascots after all. Most magical girls follow the words of these teachers and guides, but this didn’t apply to Rene.

“Is living as a lapdog of the Management Bureau truly your goal, Aria? If you can’t fully use the power given to you, it’s a meaningless act.”

“I…”

Aria bit her lip.

In her not-so-long life, it was the first time since becoming a magical girl that she experienced such conflict and anguish.

‘No.’

Aria shook her head. For a fleeting moment, memories of the past surfaced.

The day she became a magical girl. The day she lost everything. The memory of that day when she first stabbed and killed a person, her own father.

“If you want to live, beg. Ask for power.”

Unlike now, when her formality had crumbled from being beaten so much by her, Lulu, the mascot who still maintained an authoritative and lofty demeanor, had suddenly appeared before her that day.

“Save… me.”

Han Eun-seo barely uttered a word through her eyes that wouldn’t open properly and between her broken teeth. And at that moment, she could feel the power filling her body abundantly.

“Use that power to defeat it. The monster trying to harm you!”

Lulu encouraged her exhilaration. Pushed to the extreme, the young girl had no choice but to be swayed by those words.

She pushed away her father who was on top of her, knocking him down, and grabbed the knife he had used to stab her mother. And with it, she deeply stabbed her surprised father in the stomach. That’s how she killed her father who had been assaulting her and trying to rape her with her own hands.

“Remember that sensation forever from now on. And unleash it. As a magical girl.”

Lulu sent her to Yggdrasil right after that, and she returned to reality as Aria, the magical girl.

At that time, the burning passion was soon anger, and the fighter wielding her knuckles was a slaughterer.

If she hadn’t met Oh Yun-seo, Aria might have become another Code Red, spewing out her pent-up anger in that state.

“I thought he deserved to die, but I’ve always regretted the moment I stabbed my father. I also learned how shoddy and slipshod the magical girl system is. What saved me from my despair and anger-driven madness was the Director and this society’s system.”

“…I see.”

“So, I will not be with you.”

Aria closed her eyes tightly and gritted her teeth, then shook her head and opened her eyes again. Now those eyes were no longer wavering.

“You’re right. It’s not right to compromise and settle with reality when you have such power. But even if there are things that need to be changed and fixed, I will stand with them. That is my justice.”

At this moment, Aria had clearly decided her path. Ren’s role in this was significant. She realized that she couldn’t achieve the justice she wanted with the current methods.

However, that path was different from what Ren wanted. For Aria, the people of this world were companions to work with, not subjects to rule and govern.

“I respect your thoughts. From our first meeting, you’ve always had firm beliefs. However, I have no intention of bending my will either.”

“What…!”

Ren, who had somewhat anticipated this outcome, snapped her fingers and cast two spells simultaneously.

Multi-layered Illusion Resonance Formation.

In an instant, Ren trapped Aria in dozens of overlapping illusions. No matter how strong Aria was, it would take ages for her to escape from this unfamiliar situation.

In the meantime, she just had to do what she needed to do.

“Ugh… Aaargh!”

“Please… Please save us!”

She swung the multiple chains she was holding in one hand. The people dangling from the chains all screamed and wailed in unison.

Ren looked at this, then turned towards the railing and looked down at the crowd of people gathered below.

“What, what are you planning to do now?”

“I will awaken the magical girls. So they can become true magical girls.”

Fluffy, who had no room to act, watched her tensely. Ren conjured a large blue magic circle in front of her body.

[I will convey this to everyone]

It was a kind of amplifier. Her calm, measured voice penetrated not only the ears of the people in the area but also the magical girls who harbored magical power within them.

*

“This snowball I rolled is getting too big. But you guys brought this upon yourselves in the first place.”

“No, we…”

I muttered along with Ren, looking out the window in the direction where Renée was. It was class time, but the atmosphere was chaotic. Even the art teacher who was supposed to be teaching was watching breaking news on their phone along with the students.

I already knew what she was doing.

[Until now, the magical girls of this land have been walking the wrong path. Our job is not to conform and submit to order. Creating and enforcing order – that is the true magical girl that Yggdrasil desires]

Even without needing to watch the broadcast, her calm voice resonating faintly in my ears clearly revealed her conviction and determination. It was a kind of manifesto sent to the magical girls of this world, not to ordinary people.

[Look at these people. Is this the justice of this world? The justice of this world is imperfect. It claims to care for everyone, but behind the scenes, it operates with completely different standards and criteria depending on the subject. Perhaps it’s only natural. The weaker humans are, the more wicked and cunning they become. So it is our duty to change that]

Renée said, pointing to the hanging victims.

[There must be magical girls who want to realize true justice even in the current reality. Come to me. We will unite and become one group. As a group, we will change this world. No one can stop us. Don’t fear your mascot, the fairy company, or the society you belong to. I assure you, they cannot stop your convictions. Your power is what’s needed to transform this society, so now we want the true you who has awakened from a long sleep]

“…She’s smart.”

I was honestly a bit impressed.

I didn’t expect what kind of things she would do on her own, but she had precisely targeted the gaps and timing of this world in such a short time since coming here.

When fairy companies were too engrossed in competing among themselves to unite, when those threatening the position of magical girls continued to emerge, and when people’s interest had sharply increased thanks to my appearance and stirring things up once.

She appeared spectacularly, took hostages who were justifications in themselves, and proceeded with her plan while drawing maximum attention.

Honestly, thinking about it, I wondered how someone with such a brain could have been pushed aside by her own brother. I heard that the Emperor of the Human Empire was called a political monster, but still.

“This… has never happened in history. This is all because of you.”

Ren, looking flustered, hit my arm for no reason. What he said was true though. It was me who cracked the existing order and made Renée a magical girl.

“So what? You guys have been competing meaninglessly for performance all this time. Now’s your chance to do some real work.”

I crumpled Ren up and smirked. At this point, things were flowing quite interestingly, so it was fun to watch. It would be enough to add some spice to this other life of mine that I was starting to genuinely enjoy.