Lord of Despair and Hatred (6)

Lord of Despair and Hatred (6)

“A challenge, huh.”

Somewhere, at the moment when a magical girl boldly set out to infiltrate society.

He too was standing in the middle of that society. Since he had no home, wandering the streets like this was his job and how he spent his time.

This massive society that keeps rolling on no matter what happened the night before. He was busy enjoying it.

‘What do you all mean? Can all of you, this entire country, dare to defeat me if you come at me?’

His mind was still vivid with what he had seen and heard last night.

A magical girl who has recently been spreading quite a big influence in this society he liked. He was certain that the arrogant declaration of that magical girl was also meant for him.

“No reason to refuse.”

He grinned under his hood. He had no intention of backing down from such a provocation.

Of course, he wasn’t planning to charge in head-on like a madman. He hadn’t even fully regained his powers yet.

Instead, he could employ plenty of other methods.

After all, his approach was to slowly infiltrate from the bottom up.

No matter how powerful the opponent is, they can’t exist alone. There are many ways to deal with them if you take away and change everything around them.

“Takilas, is it too much even for the Sun to handle?”

“It seems we can’t stop it right now. But there’s no need to worry. As a Magical Girl, she will surely act to save this world, so attacking this world will soon become the way to catch her.”

“Then.”

“We’ll proceed as planned. We were challenged, so we’re willing to accept it.”

“Y-Yes, we will do so. Great Sun, Lord Smalilian.”

The man, who was his loyal servant and fervent fanatic, nodded repeatedly upon hearing his words.

“Master. What does He say?”

“The Sun says there are no changes to the plan. No matter what Takilas says, we continue what we’ve been doing.”

The man who had met with the mysterious figure, Smalilian, got into the car where the driver was waiting. The vehicle naturally started and began heading towards its destination.

“Both the Magical Girls and the Special Forces will fall someday. The hypocrites and the incompetent are unworthy.”

He muttered, staring blankly at the city outside the window.

His name was Heo Jun-su. Once, he was a middle-aged pastor with sincere faith and the owner of a medium-sized church located in an outer city.

But such a life of his changed completely not long ago.

In the endless pit of despair, during those days of hatred when even the God he called out to didn’t help, he met someone.

Smalilian, the mysterious figure of Nevaros and the dark sun that grows on despair and hatred.

Smalilian fulfilled his wishes that neither the God he believed in, nor this country, nor the Magical Girls could hear.

“Master. The ‘Martyrs’ are all prepared. If there are no changes to the plan, shall we send them all out?”

“Let them see my face once. They are proud ones, after all.”

An employee who had been waiting approached him as he got out of the car.

Now it was a church only in appearance, with most of its members being comrades who shared his vision, and they no longer sought God.

The god they believed in was already with them.

“This way.”

He followed the guide to the church basement.

In the room there, several people of all ages stood with solemn expressions, holding black daggers in their hands.

“Proud martyrs.”

Heo Jun-su’s voice trembled severely as he spoke.

“None of you need to be afraid at all.”

Heo Jun-su smiled faintly at them. His trembling voice was not due to fear or nervousness. It was simply filled with ecstasy.

He could hardly imagine the events to come and their repercussions.

“This is neither terrorism nor an evil act. It is a cry and a revolution for powerless people like us to make our voices heard in the world.”

He encouraged them. He appealed to the righteousness of their actions to ensure they wouldn’t hesitate.

“We, who have been abandoned by society and even magical girls, are no longer weak. We are not obsolete. Now! We have power!”

“Power..!”

“The leader is right!”

Those moved by Heo Jun-su’s words once again ignited their resolve.

They had originally stood here of their own will. To inflict wounds on the world, using their despair and hatred as energy.

“Then go. Go and show that power, and let the hypocrites and incompetent ones know the reality.”

He sent the martyrs he had swayed to their respective positions. The power the martyrs received was a stronger power different from before.

However, they will carry out their mission with that power, fueled by their own hatred.

“Director Kang.”

“Yes, leader.”

“Let’s find out about the next martyrs.”

Heo Jun-su didn’t stop there. He immediately looked for the next target to create the next round.

Those who despair and hate someone are already widespread in this society.

Heo Jun-su sincerely didn’t think what he was doing was wrong, as he was allowing such people to resolve their issues.

***

“Hmm, it seems they’ve taken a big hit. Well, it’s about time they realized their place. Their lives are at stake after all.”

“You seem to be in a strangely good mood. Are you on Taquilas’ side after all?”

During what should have been an ordinary lunch break, Park Tae-jun spoke in a serious voice as he watched me looking at the news on my phone, especially the news from the political world that was in an uproar but dared not mention me.

“That’s an interesting perspective. Why do you think so?”

I snorted and asked back. This guy who only knew I was a magical girl was strangely favorable towards ‘Taquilas’. Perhaps it’s because Taquilas saved him.

“Well, it’s both the way you usually talk and how you seem to like the ripple effects of what Taquilas has done. As if you’ve been hoping for it.”

“…You’re quite perceptive.”

However, what Park Tae-jun presented as evidence wasn’t based on mere feelings or simple suspicions. It’s clear that my thoughts have deepened since that day.

“I don’t think badly of it either. From what I hear, thanks to Taquilas’ extreme actions, more than a few problems have been resolved.”

“There are many people who don’t think that way. They say Taquilas is chaos itself, too dangerous and arrogant. They’re not wrong, from their perspective.”

“…But there will be people who see Taquilas’ actions as salvation. For those people who have been ignored by society and even by magical girls, Taquilas, who shatters the entire system, will be their hope.”

“Who are these people?”

I, who had simply thought I had adequately relieved my annoying feelings, nodded at Park Tae-jun’s words, which were more serious than I expected.

“People who have nothing to lose. People who hate the world. The weak who wish for everything to be destroyed. Although Taquilas seems to terribly dislike the weak, it’s precisely because of this that those people would like Taquilas.”

“You know a lot. Too much, in fact.”

I removed the smile from my face. In response, Park Tae-jun smiled instead and waved his hands dismissively.

“For a moment, I fell into that kind of thinking. I mean, when I first came to my senses after that day. Not anymore. I know I still have a lot to hold onto.”

The guy blushed and lowered his head.

It didn’t seem like a lie. However, Park Tae-jun’s words might not be wrong.

This vast society was destined to have so many problems from the beginning, and the Magical Girls are neither capable nor numerous enough to solve all of those problems.

Even at this moment, there are those who are marginalized. They are surely many.

And they will likely become easy prey for someone else soon.

“Ahem, um, Lee Jin-ah.”

“What is it? Oh… Park Ha-young.”

My response came out a bit cold due to my momentarily complicated thoughts.

The girl from the same class who came up to me and spoke first was shocked to see me glancing at her name tag, realizing that I hadn’t memorized her name even though half of the first semester had passed. Her mouth fell open.

“Su-jung seems to want to go with you guys, I mean, with you, so I’m telling you this.”

“Go out for fun? I don’t particularly mind.”

The message Park Ha-young, one of Kim Su-jung’s close friends, came to deliver was an invitation to go out together.

And that included Park Tae-jun, with whom I had no connection at all.

“Even if we go together, you guys can just hang out among yourselves.”

“Ah, I see.”

It was a proposal with a subtle arrangement to take care of her close friend’s feelings while keeping a distance from those she was reluctant about.

“Will it be okay? Given the current situation. We almost got into big trouble when we went out recently.”

“The teacher said to reduce outside activities as much as possible… but we can’t just repeat home, school, and academy forever, can we?”

Park Ha-young bit her lip and shook her head.

The frequency of monster appearances is increasing, leading to more cautionary education and warnings, but people haven’t stopped their activities.

They had to work to make a living, and above all, they couldn’t live confined by that single possibility.

“Well, that’s fine. You.”

“Me, I’m always okay.”

In the end, it was decided that Park Tae-jun and I would go together.