Chapter 8: Towards Death (2)

“…We’ve confirmed Beta Ether levels in Sector 79 have dropped to 2.7%. Requesting clearance to lift the yellow alert.”

“Proceed.”

The harsh yellow light illuminating the control room softened into a muted red glow.

The low-pitched alarm ceased entirely.

“All instruments and communication systems are operational. Signals from the three, including Stellar, are steadily approaching the Bureau.”

“We’ve informed all dispatched units that the situation has been resolved. The evacuation order for nearby regions is being lifted.”

“Currently analyzing the damage report for the affected area. No major reports so far. The impact appears minimal.”

Agents moved briskly, initiating the debriefing procedures.

Hojoon, unfazed, managed the post-mission protocols with practiced ease.

Before long, the situation was officially resolved.

Everyone who had been anxiously running about finally let out a collective sigh of relief.

I simply sat there like a marionette, watching Hojoon.

I couldn’t do anything.

‘…Not that there’s anything I need to do.’

I couldn’t afford to draw unnecessary suspicion anymore.

If Hojoon began to suspect me, things could turn disastrous.

My true identity might be exposed.

“Vice Director…”

“Yes, Director.”

So I just held my aide’s hand in silence.

My body temperature was unnaturally low.

Where the average human temperature sits around 35 degrees Celsius, mine barely hovered between 29 and 30—a range that would kill an ordinary person from hypothermia.

This was because several of my internal organs had been replaced with synthetic alternatives that had to be kept cool at all times.

If exposed to regular human body temperature, these artificial organs would deteriorate within a day.

To prevent this, a thermal regulator—a cooler of sorts—was implanted to maintain a stable low temperature.

Humans typically have a constant “core temperature” in vital organs like the heart, liver, and lungs.

Most people interpret this as their body temperature.

But my body was different.

Transformed into a living testbed of cutting-edge biotechnology, each of my internal organs now had a different temperature range.

Thanks to advanced science, the side effects were minimal.

I had antibodies for most diseases, never suffered from true hypothermia or loss of consciousness.

Sluggish metabolism, frequent drowsiness requiring over 12 hours of sleep, shivering spells, slow speech—these were trivial inconveniences.

Blurred consciousness, occasional internal bleeding when overly agitated, mandatory weekly check-ups to avoid comas—those were more serious, but still manageable.

Left alone, I grew cold.

Childhood memories of emotional neglect had conditioned my body to crave warmth—human contact.

Strangely, holding the aide’s hand brought some measure of comfort.

‘…The aide.’

They were barely mentioned in the original novel.

I didn’t even know their name.

As the protagonist was “Libra the Magical Girl,” the story paid little attention to a mid-game, pseudo-villain like Ianna.

I always figured the aide was assigned by the Bureau’s upper ranks to monitor me.

Maybe not. Who knows?

One thing was clear: I had no allies.

Magical girls resented me, and the Bureau saw me as a tool, a puppet.

There was no one I could truly call a friend.

Even when her mind had begun to unravel, Ianna kept smiling, convinced she was still protecting everyone.

Still a magical girl. Still holding on.

Even as drug treatments eroded her identity, she kept smiling.

Only to be thoroughly exploited.

Still… even if she had no allies, she had a friend.

Oksana, who believed in her until the end and died to an entity.

And the ragged white teddy bear she’d cherished since childhood—more than her own life.

Ianna used to sleep holding that bear every night.

Filthy and worn, covered in soot and dust, it had turned a dull gray.

She cried herself to sleep holding it.

She would remember her golden past, reflect on a path that could no longer be retraced, and desperately try not to fall apart.

That ruined little bear was the only one she could open her heart to.

Ianna was an orphan.

Technically, she had parents, but neither wanted her.

They divorced before she turned one, and her mother got saddled with custody.

Neglect.

That was Ianna’s childhood in a word.

She was found half-dead in a garbage pile.

A miracle, really.

And then she was chosen by Lemegaton.

No one knew why.

Call it divine intervention, a miracle.

But it changed her life forever.

As “Janwol the Magical Girl,” Ianna bore witness to countless deaths.

Her sister-like partner’s.

Horrific casualties among civilians.

Other magical girls dying meaningless deaths to entities.

Through it all, only the bear remained by her side.

She used to have comrades. Magical girls who stood beside her.

Not anymore.

Now, she had nothing left. No one but that bear.

The one being she could still trust.

She couldn’t sleep without it.

She feared the dark—not seeing anything, being utterly blind.

It reminded her of torture.

Of when her eyes were ripped out.

That pain left her mind shattered.

No matter how she tried, she couldn’t forget.

She needed sedatives, the bear, and sleeping pills to rest.

Without them, she dreamt in nightmares—twisting labyrinths with no exit.

She might not remember the details, but she always woke feeling miserable.

So…

Lately, I’d started sleeping with the bear too.

Just to rest. Nothing more.

…

Now all I had to do was wait for the two to return.

Even if I couldn’t see them immediately, the chance would come.

Even if I couldn’t win them over entirely, I had to maintain at least a neutral relationship.

To survive.

…In that case.

I needed to prepare.

To win their trust. To turn them into allies.

“Um, excuse me…”

I mustered my courage and called out to Hojoon.

My voice was so quiet, I worried he might not have heard.

“Yes?”

“…Would it be alright… if I went now?”

“…Yes, of course. You did well today, Director.”

“Mm…”

At Hojoon’s nod, the aide helped me into my wheelchair.

click click

Leaving behind the suffocating control room, I began down the broad underground corridor.

“…Am I heavy?”

“Not at all, Director.”

The aide smiled gently.

Compared to the oppressive atmosphere of the control room, the air here felt lighter.

Even within the Bureau, and across other magical girl oversight organizations worldwide, shady plots were always brewing.

The story’s central conspiracy—the “Pest Extermination Plan”—was well underway.

Still, not everyone was part of it.

Most agents genuinely believed they were protecting humanity and doing their best.

The control room staff were no exception.

A serious tone had to be maintained.

The aide didn’t seem accustomed to that.

click clack click clack

Bright lights illuminated the wide hallway.

Frosted glass walls revealed several Bureau facilities.

First came the medical wing.

I visited often.

When craving something sweet, I’d stop by and scoop up the magical girl-only candies or chocolates laid out on the table.

Well.

Not me. Ianna.

The doctors were kind.

I could get all the sedatives and sleeping pills I wanted.

It was the only place Ianna felt remotely safe.

Past the infirmary were high-security areas I couldn’t enter: labs, the morgue, manufacturing units, interrogation rooms.

click click click clack

Further along, we reached a vending area with assorted snacks and drinks.

The Magical Girl Project was top secret.

Its public exposure—and the illegal creation of artificial magical girls, not to mention the taboo of human experimentation—would cause global outrage.

Only a tiny number of people were aware.

Even top government officials often didn’t know.

Those who tried to uncover the truth? Silenced without mercy.

So naturally, civilian amenities like a PX didn’t exist.

click

The wheelchair came to a halt in front of the vending machines.

“Director, would you like something?”

The aide pointed to the machines filled with chocolates, chips, and drinks.

“…I don’t have money.”

“I’ll pay. Don’t worry.”

I had nothing. Not even a cent.

My records had been deleted long ago.

“Ianna” had ceased to exist the moment she became a magical girl.

To the Bureau, I was just a disposable tool.

No wages, no rights.

Not even a magical girl anymore.

“Then… chocolate, please…”

“Alright.”

This facility was buried deep in Gangwon-do’s remote mountains—a place so isolated, it rivaled an island.

The nearest paved road was unreachable except by helicopter.

Even then, resupplying luxuries like snacks wasn’t easy.

Each oversight organization was funded by its host nation.

And in this country, the Bureau received the least funding of them all.

“…Isn’t it expensive?”

“Don’t worry.”

The aide inserted their ID card.

“Um…”

“Yes?”

“Two more… please.”

Libra and Illusion were still magical girls.

Given how Ether affects them, they surely loved sweets.

As I remembered… Illusion would eat anything offered by her senpai with a big smile.

Ianna found that adorable.

She often brought snacks for her.

Maybe… just maybe, invoking those memories could help us reconnect.

“…Too many sweets will rot your teeth.”

“N-No… they’re not for me…”

The aide’s mildly scolding tone made me flinch.

“Then who are the extras for?”

The aide understood me deeply.

They stepped back slightly, giving me space, speaking kindly.

So I told them honestly.

“For them… a gift… They worked so hard today…”