Chapter 88: Sacrificial Rite (2)

‘…There’s no way an unidentified entity could be in a place like this.’
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Ianna wanted to deny reality.

She wanted to thoroughly deny the sight of the unidentified entity reflected in her eyes.
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Thinking rationally, there was no way an unidentified entity could appear in a place like this.
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The Bureau had established a surveillance network like a spiderweb, densely covering every corner of the world.

It was impossible not to know of an unidentified entity’s appearance in advance.
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Or so she had thought.
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‘…Baalzebul.’
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Ianna recalled the latter part of the novel.
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‘That thing can appear anywhere….’
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The fact that it had a name meant it was powerful enough that it could by no means be ignored.
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‘Just how many magical girls has that thing devoured…?’

Ianna thought to herself.
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“T-Time….”
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Somehow.

She had to get at least the adjutant to escape and contact the Bureau.
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Underground.

If they could just hold out a little, just a little longer, the Bureau’s reinforcements would arrive.
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She was certain.
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[Girl]
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The creature’s voice resonated clearly in her head.

Ianna instinctively covered her ears.
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‘I mustn’t listen….’
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The creature’s voice, and its giant eye which was practically its body, had a hypnotic effect.
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“Don’t listen….”
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“I understand….”
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Just a moment.

A moment is all it would take.
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If she could just buy a fleeting moment, she and the adjutant could be safe.

Because the Bureau still needed them.
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Because Hojoon wouldn’t abandon them.
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“…What.”
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Ianna opened her mouth, her voice trembling.
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“What, do you want?”
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[You]
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“Me…?”
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[Your body]
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“…”
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The moment Baalzebul finished speaking, the adjutant, her eyes bloodshot, stepped in front of Ianna.

Then, she began to glare at Baalzebul with eyes full of murderous intent.
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“Absolutely not. Demanding your body. I cannot accept it.”
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“…W-Wait a minute.”
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‘For what purpose is it after my body…?’
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Ianna suddenly began to think about her own body.
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Tattered, covered in wounds, a fragile body that wouldn’t be strange if it died at any moment.
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A body that held no value to an unidentified entity other than as nourishment.

…And.
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Half of Ianna’s body was made of biomechanical parts.

It was by no means a body that could be called fully human.
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[A deal]
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“…A deal?”
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[Offer your body, and I shall return]
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“…”
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‘No way.’

Never before had an unidentified entity demanded a deal.
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In the first place, unidentified entities were creatures with no discernible intelligence.
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Ianna agonized with extreme nervousness.

‘Right now, if I run away.’
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‘Couldn’t at least the adjutant survive?’
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Leaving her, a hindrance, behind, if only the adjutant ran with all her might and entered the Bureau.

The adjutant might be able to survive.
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Even in this situation, Ianna considered the adjutant first.
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“I know it’s absolutely impossible……”
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“Wait a minute… Adjutant…….”
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Ianna feigned a tearful expression.

As if, she was frightened.
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[Girl, have you made your decision?]
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“…Tell me its use.”
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[What is the meaning of that?]
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“My body… what are you going to use it for… tell me…….”
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The unidentified entity, as if surprised, blinked its giant body a couple of times, then floated in the air and approached Ianna.

The adjutant was about to draw her gun and shoot at any moment, and Ianna stepped in front of her.
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‘This isn’t an opponent that can be dealt with by a mere gun…….’
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Ianna, gave a slight wink towards the adjutant.

As if telling her to trust only her.
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Forcibly hiding her trembling hands, Ianna stepped forward in front of the unidentified entity.
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[Your name is]
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“Janwol….”
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[You have cut down countless of my brethren]
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“…Yes.”
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The unidentified entity, Baalzebul’s giant eye, split open vertically with a creaking sound.

And a hand emerged from within.
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Baalzebul’s chillingly damp hand fumbled with Ianna’s face.

Ianna endured it, though she frowned.
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[Janwol, I shall tell you]
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Keoheok
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Baalzebul thrust its arm deep into its eye, then pulled out a crystal ball and handed it to Ianna.
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[Do you see?]
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The adjutant, instead of Ianna, widened her eyes and examined the crystal ball, but she saw nothing.

Ianna, with trembling hands, stared blankly at the crystal ball and pursed her lips.
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“Th-This person…….”
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[Person, not human. Anymore]
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Baalzebul, having confirmed Ianna’s reaction, who was trembling all over.

Spoke with a smile.
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[The Queen seeks a mother body]
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“…”
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[A most suitable and ‘safe’ task for you to undertake]
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“Safe, you say….”
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[If you become the Queen’s concubine, your life will be guaranteed. You will not be thrown into the breeding chambers. You need only look upon the Queen.]
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The hazy crystal ball emitted a black light.

Ianna unknowingly dropped the crystal ball.
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‘…No way.’
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Ianna had seen the scene reflected in the crystal ball.

A girl with a very familiar impression.
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A girl, her entire body dyed white just like herself, was curled up inside a transparent egg.

Her eyes were wide open, but the positions of the whites and irises were swapped.
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And, a pair of horns was growing on her head.

It was evidence supporting that the girl reflected in the crystal ball was no longer human.
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[Pay homage to the Queen you shall serve]
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“…”
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[Research things that will not bore Her Majesty. If you desperately curry favor and offer your body, you can survive. Girl]
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Ianna could no longer say anything.

It wasn’t just because the girl in the crystal ball resembled her so much.
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‘…It’s overwhelming.’
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‘If ‘that thing’ is completed, no one will be able to handle it.’
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There was no such content in the original novel.

A Queen, never appeared, nor was she created.
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It was the moment she realized something had gone greatly awry.
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‘The only silver lining is….’
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That thing was not yet in its completed stage.

If now, if only she could still concentrate the full power of the Bureau.
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She could prevent the Queen’s birth.
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“…”
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Ianna fell silent for a moment.
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[Is that a sign of affirmation?]
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“Give me… time… to think…….”
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‘…Why my body?’
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Even to Ianna herself, her body was in a wretched state.

A mother body… meaning, it was by no means a body capable of performing such an act too shameful to even mention.
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‘I’ve never even done it….’

Ianna struggled to grasp Baalzebul’s intentions.
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[Time is plentiful. Think slowly. Whether you will come with me, or be dragged by me]
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“…Isn’t that, the same thing?”
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[It is different]
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Baalzebul seemed just like a human.

In that it didn’t devour the person right in front of it even while drooling, it was better than other unidentified entities.
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Though that was all.
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“Absolutely, not.”
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“Adjutant….”
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“No matter what happens, I will never let you go.”
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“…Yes.”
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Ianna, too, had a rough idea.

If she became the mother body of an unidentified entity, an immense pain, enough to make the bullying at the Bureau seem like child’s play, would surely come.
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Magical girls captured by unidentified entities.

Ianna inadvertently thought of them.
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It was a sight where dying would have been a hundred, a thousand times better.
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Ianna clenched her teeth.
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No matter what, she must not be captured.

Rather, she would take her own life.
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[Your answer?]
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“T-Time… you said there was plenty…….”
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[Girl, your answer?]
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“U-Um…….”
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Ianna looked around.

‘Is the Bureau’s salvation not yet here?’

Only the black forest enveloped the adjutant and Ianna.
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“Tell me….”
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[Speak specifically]
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“Why do you need my body?”
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At Ianna’s question, Baalzebul seemed to ponder for a moment, then lightly opened its mouth.
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[It resonated with your genes]
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“…Huh?”
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[Her Majesty, only reacted to your genes]
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It was a story Ianna couldn’t properly understand no matter how much she racked her brain.
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“Specifically… what… are you… planning to do… to me…….”
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[That is for Her Majesty to decide. In what ‘manner’ she will produce offspring, it all depends on Her Majesty’s will]
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Baalzebul smiled faintly.

Then, it spoke as if whispering.
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[Now, your answer?]
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“N-Not yet… time…….”
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And.

At that moment.
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“Dir…….”
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The adjutant, suddenly collapsed.

Right before Ianna’s eyes.
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“Ad-Adjutant…?”
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Ianna unknowingly leaped from her wheelchair and approached the fallen adjutant.

Blood was streaming out.
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From the severed surface of her neck.

The adjutant’s head was, some distance away.
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Rolling, tumbling down a slope.
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“Huh?”
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Ianna couldn’t understand the situation for a moment.

Receiving the adjutant’s gushing blood, which spurted like a fountain, all over her body.
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She just looked around with a dazed expression.
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“Adjutant…?”
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[Your answer?]
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Baalzebul extended its arm and caressed Ianna’s face.

Ianna’s face, stained with the adjutant’s fresh blood.
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Ianna couldn’t say anything.