What is Right (8)

What is Right (8)

‘It would be impossible to kill them.’

Renée inwardly clicked her tongue as she looked at them. The Lee Jong-pil she saw was literally an old snake, an old raccoon dog.

Renée, with her political experience, had already seen many of his kind. The former chancellor who had joined hands with the current emperor was like that, and so was the court official who had led her impeachment.

From her perspective, it was a type she couldn’t help but despise, but she also knew how cunning they were.

“Ha. Then what are you going to do? Are you going to kill me like Taquilas, you little girl?”

“You’re all talk. I can clearly see that you fear death.”

“No. You would never act like that.”

Rene narrowed her eyes with her arms crossed, but Lee Jong-pil, despite sweating, continued to speak. His son, Lee Su-chan, was so overwhelmed by the aura between the two that he couldn’t even make a sound and could only watch nervously.

“I’ve figured out what kind of people you are, or rather, what kind of person you are. You too! You’re fundamentally no different from people like me. You wet-behind-the-ears girl, do you really think I wouldn’t notice when you act so blatantly?”

“…”

Rene’s brow twitched at Lee Jong-pil’s words. It’s said that it takes one to know one. Lee Jong-pil had vaguely understood her intentions as he watched her manipulate Casilena.

“Inciting followers and manipulating public opinion. So, were you satisfied after wielding power as you wished for a while? I’ll acknowledge your talent. You’re a far superior con artist than those mediocre ronin overflowing in Yeouido.”

“Your confidence is impressive. Then speak once more. Why do you think I’m here now?”

“Seeing that you’ve joined hands with those who were fighting and opposing each other to the point of blowing up an entire city district, you must have been uneasy. Were you afraid of losing that power you hold in your hands?”

Lee Jong-pil was confident. As long as he believed Rene to be a political schemer like himself, it was easy to predict her actions.

“You’re not Taquilas. You only move according to carefully calculated political actions. You who preached about justice, are you going to kill us here? If you do, you’ll lose. The Magical Girls will be finished!”

That’s why he judged that she wouldn’t harm him.

And that judgment wasn’t wrong. The reason Rene came wasn’t to kill them.

“That’s correct. I didn’t come here to kill you.”

“Ha.”

“But it’s true that I came to obtain something.”

Rene admitted it readily, and Lee Jong-pil let out a hollow laugh. But that wasn’t the end. She nodded slightly and flicked her hand, taking something out of her subspace.

“Do you know what this potion is? It’s a deadly poison that seeps into the internal organs of those who ingest it and burns them. The terrible pain felt during this process is enough to make even a strong knight scream and beg to be killed. However, only this drug burns away, and it even erases memories… so the body of the subject after the torture is over is actually unharmed.”

“You, you bitch, surely not…”

“It would be best to confess as quickly as possible. Also, remember this. Unlike your clever mind, you seem to be under a misunderstanding, but power needs a foundation to be exercised. I have strength as my foundation. What foundation do you have for the power you’re so casually flaunting at this moment?”

“You bitch!!”

The chains of magical power that rushed from the magic circle she unfolded completely wrapped around and restrained Lee Jong-pil and Lee Su-chan.

The enraged Lee Jong-pil struggled, but it was impossible to break chains that even heavy machinery couldn’t break with his aged body.

The two facts he overlooked came back as fatal blades.

One was that Renee was a magical girl. The other was that she had grown up roughly in a place where torture was commonplace.

Of course, it was understandable to overlook. The period magical girls had appeared was shorter than the time he had been in politics, and Renee was close to being an irregular in the first place.

“That’s far enough.”

But at that moment.

Even Renee didn’t expect those who burst onto the scene.

“Hmm.”

Renee countered the fireballs that rushed at her by creating a barrier after they broke through the window.

But the fireballs kept coming, and eventually she withdrew her chains and took a step back.

“We were slightly delayed finding a way to enter. Are you alright?”

“You are…”

Lee Jong-pil was taken aback seeing the man floating in the air outside the shattered terrace window.

Dressed in a suit, he was aiming at Renee with fire surrounding both hands, while others similarly dressed in suits entered the terrace and rescued Lee Jong-pil and Lee Su-chan.

Lee Jong-pil’s eyes widened as he realized they were the Awakened Special Forces jointly established by The War Lord and the Korean government.

“A-actually, I contacted them in advance. I thought we might need special protection…”

Lee Su-chan spoke up nervously. Frightened by the night’s events, he had secretly contacted them without consulting his father, Lee Jong-pil.

“Well done.”

Of course, Lee Jong-pil didn’t scold her and just mumbled blankly. Meanwhile, the man floating in the air entered the house and blocked Ren’s path along with his colleagues.

“I’m Jang Jin-seok, leader of Special Forces Team 5. Step back, Magical Girl.”

“…You handle magic in a unique way. It feels like I’m seeing a living magical tool, more sophisticated than before.”

Ren looked at the Special Forces and discerned their identity. At the same time, she twitched her hand. In fact, to her, one of the top magicians in the human empire, the Special Forces didn’t seem like much.

If she wanted to, it didn’t seem impossible to defeat them all.

However, if she did that, she would be the one losing.

“I don’t think your justice is wrong. It’s just that your justice collides with mine, so you try to confront and crush me. But I think I know this for sure. Do you think these pathetic bio-dolls can protect you in a moment of true crisis?”

“How dare you!”

Ren spoke to Lee Jong-pil, jumping over the Special Forces. Of course, the insulted Special Forces gritted their teeth in anger, but she ignored them cleanly.

“Stupid girl… as if I care about such things.”

Lee Jong-pil quietly muttered in response to her words, mocking her.

Whether the Special Forces project succeeded or not, whether they drove out the Magical Girls and the results were good or bad. In fact, that wasn’t what was important.

Lee Jong-pil just wanted to monopolize the power in this land for himself, and that would be enough.

“We will prove it with results, Magical Girl!”

But before Lee Jong-pil could properly open his mouth, Special Forces team leader Jang Jin-seok shouted first.

“Prove it with results?”

“That’s right. Proof that we are more necessary to this world than the likes of you.”

Ren’s gaze finally turned to him. With a hardened face, he pointed at her and declared confidently.

“Proof, you say.”

And seeing that finger, Ren smiled. She slightly twisted the corners of her mouth.

“Can you handle it? If you fail to prove your usefulness, it’s you who will be pushed out, and the people of this land will no longer welcome you.”

“We won’t be pushed aside by the likes of young girls like you.”

He shook his head and snorted, unaware that he had fallen into Renée’s trap.

To begin with, Jang Jin-seok was a Chinese national fluent in Korean. The magical girls he had seen in his home country were merely pawns of the party, so he firmly believed that now that they could handle magical power, they wouldn’t be pushed aside by magical girls.

“Then the verdict will be out. People will judge which ones are more needed in this chaotic new world.”

Renée left immediately after that. It was the beginning of a full-fledged competition between the Awakened Special Forces, a special unit meant to replace magical girls, and the magical girls themselves.

***

“Did you see the news? Gasp! They’re expanding the Awakened Special Forces this time!”

After dinner, during free time, Kim Su-jung naturally crawled onto my bed and lay down right next to me as I was looking at my phone.

What I was watching was the news channel. I was searching through almost all news channels, including public broadcasts.

“Are you looking for something?”

“Yeah. Hey, did you hear about magical girls catching corrupt politicians today?”

“No… I don’t think I heard about that. Did that really happen?”

I asked just in case, but the answer was as expected. It was only briefly mentioned in online articles, but the media didn’t cover what happened last night.

It was the same with the news about Renée’s attack and the ensuing clash.

In the end, they had decided their stance. Once again, crawling on the ground like dogs, showing their bellies to their masters. The police higher-ups were the same.

Instead, the media outlets focused intensively on news about The One Road and the Awakened Special Forces, gritting their teeth and ignoring news about magical girls.

“Hmm. They’ll regret it.”

“?”

I smirked and put down my phone, whether Kim Su-jung was puzzled or not.

Right now, things might be calm because the monsters are quiet, but what if they start to act in earnest?

I guarantee that in such a chaotic situation, they won’t be able to win. After all, those with ulterior motives won’t be able to focus.