episode_0096

“Stab—stab—stab again—. Cutting things up— feels good—.”

The corpses of a middle-level knight and several low-level knights were lying around Kuen, who was singing an unidentified song.

“Now, a strong guy will come~?”

The place where Kuen is located is in the middle of the forest, a little away from Paradise Bridge.

When she first appeared, lower-level knights came.

Kuen trampled them as if it was natural, and also destroyed the intermediate knights who came later.

Zeke told Kuen that if he quickly kills the first guys that come, a very strong guy will come next.

“Jikneun- I told you to run away, but wait a minute, wouldn’t it be okay?”

The instructions Kuen received was to run away as much as possible and waste time.

Although we had been warned not to fight head-on, I thought it would be possible to compete for a few matches.

But her thoughts changed when she saw an enormous energy coming from afar.

“Uraaa–? This is a mistake and I might die…?”

Kuen got up from his seat and immediately went into acceleration mode.

*

Kwaang–!

I barely avoided a spear that came flying from afar.

The spear stuck into the ground, destroying the surrounding area as if a bomb had exploded.

Even though I dodged it from quite a distance, I still feel a tingling pain in my arm.

If you touch it, you die, but even if you avoid it, you have to stay at least 1 meter away to be safe.

In a situation where more than a dozen such brutal attacks are flying each second.

‘It feels like fighting the army.’

I remembered my previous experience of fighting with a small army.

A regrettable memory of having to give up and retreat because we couldn’t close the distance due to indiscriminate bombing.

‘It’s more difficult now than it was then.’

At that time, it was difficult to approach the enemies, but avoiding them was not a problem.

But now, even avoiding it is quite difficult.

100%. Even at maximum acceleration, the flying spear was still fast.

If you avoid one, the next one will fly by.

Even if you dodge that one, the next one will fly by again.

A state where indiscriminate attacks last for hours, leaving no time to catch your breath.

‘It may only be a few minutes for that guy.’

It already consumes a lot of stamina due to maximum acceleration, but it is even more tiring because you have to make large movements.

Zeke told me to take as much time as possible, so I’ll try my best for now.

‘Honestly, it’s the limit now.’

My vision is already blurry and my body is creaking.

“Ah–.”

I was so distracted that my foot got tangled up.

I managed to dodge the spear by flying my body, but if this continues, I will die from the next attack.

‘There are a lot of toys I haven’t been able to play with yet. There were a lot of things I wanted to do with Zeke.’

Various regrets appeared in my mind instead.

Afterwards, I closed my eyes and waited for the next attack.

“…Huh?”

No matter how long I wait, the attack won’t come.

“That’s strange—.”

I eased off the gas and looked around.

The pursuer who was chasing him was nowhere to be seen.

Could it be that it failed?

I intentionally tried not to stray too far from Paradise Church.

“Heheheu—. Failure—.”

Even thinking about it to myself, I laughed because it was so absurd.

Zeke failed.

That doesn’t make sense.

All of this is according to Zeke’s calculations.

You probably expected that I could just drag on this far.

“As expected, Zeke is amazing—.”

How can you make such a meticulous plan?

Even 10 lives wouldn’t be enough.

Sometimes, Zeke acts as if his life is infinite.

*

*

“Phew… . Phew… .”

Leon is breathing heavily.

She is at the back of Paradise Bridge dealing with the knights who came out of the building.

The majority of mid-level knights are suppressed by Lily.

Therefore, there is only one high-ranking knight dealing with Leon.

Although he too was oppressed by Lily’s Gift, he was still competing with Rion.

It’s not so fast that you can’t follow it with your eyes.

Rather, the knight has been slowed down by Lily’s gift.

The power is not overwhelmingly strong.

Rather, the power gap is tilted towards Leon.

Just one room.

If you hit a high-ranking knight with even one blow, the high-ranking knight will die.

However, because Rion’s attack was missed every time, that single blow did not reach him.

This kind of battle was Leon’s first time.

Until now, victory or defeat has been determined by the difference in power.

However, the senior knight in front of me came out of nowhere with a ‘skill’.

Because of this, situations in which no effective hits were made were repeated over and over again.

Leon was not impatient.

This is because Zeke told her, ‘If you take your time, the red tentacle will take care of everything.’

The senior knight was also not impatient.

He also thought that if he took the time, Gordon, who had left to chase down other intruders, would come back.

Because they trust each other, neither side does anything reckless.

Therefore, the battle increased even more.

But unfortunately, time was on Leon’s side.

A large number of red tentacles protruding through the Paradise Bridge building.

“Lily! Now is the time!”

As soon as he checked them, Leon shouted to Lily.

“Twist!”

Lily took the cue and raised her magic wand to the sky.

As a result, the bodies of the intermediate knights quickly soared into the sky.

The senior knight was also affected by the gravity reversal, but held on to the ground.

but,

bang-!

Lion shattered the ground, and along with the broken pieces, the senior knight also soared into the sky.

Red tentacles attack the rising knights.

Intermediate knights being torn apart helplessly.

A high-ranking knight who tried to resist but was eventually eaten.

“Is this the end..?”

Leon muttered softly as he looked at the situation.

However, he soon crossed his arms and took a defensive stance at the sight of a quickly approaching figure.

A dull sound rang out, and Leon was blown away by the shock into the forest.

“…Vampire?”

Gordon, who hurried back after feeling a strong energy, sighed without realizing it as he saw the red tentacles in front of him.

A vampire, a monster with red tentacles described in legend.

Is there something wrong with my consciousness, or is that vampire the Lord of Death?

Although Gordan was helping Aslen, he could not understand the situation because he did not know the details.

While Gordan was preoccupied with Karjen, Lily quietly took refuge in the sky.

I took the bed I had prepared in advance and the woman tied to it.

A bunch of tentacles attacked Gordon.

Gordan cut off the approaching tentacles and threw the spear towards the center of the powerful energy.

The window was blocked by a red wall of condensed blood, and the Paradise Bridge building collapsed, revealing Karjen.

“Phew–. You look quite delicious.”

“……”

Gordon was more worried about the safety of Aslen, who was hiding in the basement.

The building of the Church of Paradise shattered into pieces, and the believers brutally eaten.

Whoever the red-haired woman in front of him was, Gordan recognized that she clearly had ‘hostility’ and decided to deal with her.

*

*

Ariel opened her eyes to the cold night air.

“……I finally woke up!”

What welcomed her was a night sky full of stars and a blue-haired girl in a fancy dress, Lily.

Lily removed the towel covering Ariel’s mouth.

“Ah… . My jaw hurts. For sure… . Was it Miss Lily?”

“Okay. Magical girl Lily has captured the evil brainwasher again.”

“Hehehe… . okay. The night air is cold. I guess I’m in the sky again this time, right?”

“That’s right. Because if you stay here, you can’t do anything.”

Ariel’s powers don’t work on Lily.

Therefore, when Zeke captured Ariel, he received Lily’s help.

In the process, the way Lily neutralized Ariel was by floating her into the sky.

Ariel’s control is possible only when she is within a certain distance from the target.

Also, in order to give orders, you have to communicate.

Therefore, if she is high in the sky like now, so high that not even her voice can reach her, Ariel will be unable to do anything.

“Miss Lily, what are you doing, Zeke?”

“I don’t know. Even if I know, I have no intention of telling you.”

“Oops, it looks like the ugly hair is stuck firmly.”

“You are a villain. Normally it would be the death penalty, but since Zeke told me not to kill him, I just tolerate it.”

“I’m so glad.”

Ariel slightly smiles at Lily, who is glaring at her.

After briefly thinking about a way to resolve the situation, she slowly opened her mouth.

“But why did Zeke tell you not to kill me?”

“……”

In response to Ariel’s question, Lily kept her mouth shut.

For Lily, who believes that the only punishment for villains is death, it is incomprehensible to keep Ariel, who is clearly a villain, alive.

“Miss Lily, you are being deceived by Zeke.”

“…What?”

“Zeek doesn’t mean he’s bad. It just means that the management station you know and the actual management station are different.”

“……”

Ariel smiled her characteristic relaxed smile.

“It’s the Magical Girl Management Bureau… . It’s really a skit. Miss Lily, the real name of the Bureau is the Pixie Bureau. It is not an organization that manages magical girls who enforce justice.”

“Are you trying to break up now?”

“Hehehe. I’m just telling the truth. The job of the Pixie Management Bureau is to isolate and manage ‘pixies’, who are very dangerous beings, from society. It’s me, Lily. Just like you.”

“……”

Lily, who was listening to Ariel’s words, seemed confused in many ways.

Ariel, who was watching this, continued speaking with a satisfied expression.

“Miss Lily, you are not a magical girl. To Zeke, you are just a ‘pixie’. They are just objects that need to be isolated from society and managed. In the end, being a magical girl is just a ‘setting game’ to manage you effectively. The Bureau is not an agency that administers justice.”

After Ariel finished speaking, Lily looked at her.

“Hehehe. Why did Zeke hide the truth? Isn’t it because they treat you as a time bomb that must be controlled?”

“Wrong.”

“You’re wrong. This is the truth. No matter how hard you try to look away, it is an undeniable truth. Otherwise, there’s no reason for me to be alive, right?”

chuck-.

Lily aimed her magic wand at Ariel.

“You’re annoying.”

Wood-duk-.

“Uuuu..!”

Ariel checked her foot due to sudden pain.

Her left foot was completely crushed and unrecognizable.

“Click, snap, it’s so noisy it’s killing me!”

“Keuuk… . It’s like this… . The truth doesn’t disappear… .”

“Shut up!”

Lily gritted her teeth and glared at Ariel as if she were going to kill her.

“Truth and all, it’s noisy! What are you!? Who are you to discuss the truth!? You have to know the topic! I am justice! You are evil! I am right! You are wrong! This is the truth!!”

“Ugh–!!”

A brief but powerful pain, tears of blood flowing down, and the vision on the left side disappeared.

Ariel’s left eye was completely crushed.

“I’m not a magical girl!? What are you? Why do you decide that!? I am a magical girl! I decided! I ‘defined’ myself! On the topic of villains! Are you trying to deny my justice!? Cheeky! You’re so cocky!”

“Keuuu… .”

Ariel felt a strong pressure on her body.

If Lily had increased her output just a little more, she would have been compressed by such an intense force that it was crushing her.

Ariel smiled.

Even in the midst of pain, things were going as she expected.

She thought it wasn’t that Zeke wouldn’t kill her, it was that he shouldn’t.

That’s why Ariel treats even her own death as a means to resist Zeke.

Lily is mentally unstable, cannot control her anger, and hates evil.

Therefore, at the slightest provocation, she will try to kill Ariel.

And this idea turned out to be correct.

Only for a very short time.

The intense pressure felt on Ariel’s body disappeared at some point.

“…You’re not going to kill me? All villains should be executed… Wasn’t it Miss Lily’s ‘justice’?”

“A villain gets the death penalty. There are no exceptions.”

“Now then, please execute me quickly. Is there any need to hesitate? You are justice and truth.”

“You have already been executed.”

Ariel couldn’t understand the words that came out of Lily’s mouth.

He’s already been executed.

Could it be that he just didn’t notice and was already dead?

Or is he treating himself as a dead person in Lily’s strange mental world?

Many such questions came to mind, but Lily simply gave me the answer.

“Zeke said. There are different types of death penalty. It is the death penalty not only to kill someone, but also to be imprisoned forever until death. So, you are no different from having already been ‘executed’.”

“What kind of sophistry is that? Life imprisonment. Isn’t that the death penalty?”

“Shut up! Don’t deny what Zeke said! Zeke is justice! When my sense of justice was wavering, Zeke set me straight. So Zeke’s definition is my definition. Zeke’s words are truth and law!”

Lily once again corrected the most important truth in her head, and a refreshing smile appeared on her face, which had been distorted with anger just a moment ago.

“Ah… . That’s too bad. There’s no way I wouldn’t have prepared.”

Ariel expressed her regrets, but deep down, she thought there was no way such an obvious tactic would work since her opponent was Zeke.

And as she expected, Zeke was prepared to prevent Lily from killing him.

The Lily I met before was a crazy person who was difficult to control, but the Lily I met now was closer to a fanatic who blindly trusted Zeke in the name of justice.

A fanatic who just believes whatever Zeke says, no matter how many sophistications he tells.

“Huhuhuhu… . After all, you deserve to be the best ruler… .”

She thought.

Maybe this time, I will be ruled by the real Zeke.

He might even destroy the last resort he had kept hidden away.

Ariel’s body began to heat up.