NOVEL NEXT Chapter 204 – Change or Corruption (4)
Fights between transcendent beings rarely happen. They hardly ever get a chance to reveal their full strength.
The battle between the hero and the demon king is merely a miracle showcased by the hero, who has received all the investments for that purpose.
But now, it was possible. Now, the Cherubim and the demon king, who had only been observing from within the Celestial Realm, could finally clash head-on.
“Are you really planning to sit back and watch?!”
[It does not violate regulations. Michael has fallen and is no longer affiliated with the Celestial Realm, so fighting the demon king is permissible. It is, in fact, a battle between a monster and a magical girl.]
Shia shouted at Asmael in panic, but Asmael, unusually, made it clear that he had no intention of stopping the fight.
“We have no choice. Now that it has come to this, we must see it through to the end.”
Rene comforted Shia, appearing as if she had somewhat anticipated this outcome.
“Considering the fight itself is one thing, but I worry about what will happen if that person loses.”
Shia bit her lip at Rene’s comforting words. She couldn’t believe she was worried about the demon king, but according to her beliefs, their ally was undoubtedly Takilas.
“…He won’t lose.”
Rene’s eyes shook at the mention of defeat. What was Takilas to her?
Initially, he was just a terrifying tentacle monster, forcibly made to marry her. But now, he was the benefactor who helped her fulfill her desires and uphold her beliefs, and a cute spouse she wanted to hug and pet.
“Because he’s the demon king.”
And he was a demon king. For the demon king, defeat was sin. Therefore, Rene firmly believed that Takilas would surely emerge victorious.
“Then what can we do to assist the demon king?”
“Stop the power Michael has scattered. Before it causes greater harm.”
When the panicking Shia asked, this time Sandalphon, who was cradled in her arms, spat blood and struggled to speak.
“Michael has shared his power with his followers and created his own army. It’s not that you have to watch over every corner of the world. The magical girls and humans of those places will hold them off. You must protect this land where the demon king lives as a magical girl.”
Sandalphon pointed with trembling hands at the city beyond. It was then that screams and shouts began to echo.
Instinctively turning her head, Shia froze at the sight of a rampaging monster, covered in black tattoos on its face and body.
“Don’t bother helping Takilas! Fight them instead! That’s your job! Go now!”
With his trembling body, Sandalphon urged the two magical girls. Rene reflexively moved her body and grabbed Shia’s hand, pulling her along.
“Casilena, from now on, we need to stop Michael’s… the monsters’ soldiers with all our might. They are the true enemies trying to destroy the order, beliefs, and daily lives we wanted to protect.”
As she ordered the organization Casilena, which bore the same seal as her, to stand and fight.
“Unidentified monsters have appeared in northern Seoul! In the Gyeongbuk region too!”
“In Japan, in the United States… they are popping up globally right now!”
And it wasn’t only them who began to fight. There were also the local residents, who fought to protect the world, which meant everything to them.
“It’s a national emergency. Share this information with all magical girls we can reach immediately. We must strike the enemies quickly and prevent them from gathering!”
Frontier Director Lee Min-hyung grit his teeth, leading people, as if he knew this day would come.
Chaotic rampages began appearing all around, with people destroying their surroundings, a pattern frighteningly familiar. Their past experiences of barely pushing back enemies while being beaten by high-level monsters became a powerful asset, giving them willpower and the strength to overcome in this moment.
“The police and military will move to maintain order. Make sure there is absolutely no conflict with the magical girls!”
“Director! We’ll fight too!”
In the busy control room, he heard voices from the outside, pleading to fight alongside him.
“Awakened ones.”
He frowned at their mention. It was the time when the One Road’s schemes, which Takilas had uncovered, even broke the storages he relied on.
After that, the awakened ones became slightly reckless. While many remained, there wasn’t really any team willing to invest resources for them.
“Th-this can’t be! One of the monsters is heading straight this way!”
To add insult to injury, one hulking monster charged towards the command center, almost as if it knew where they were.
“What the hell… Aaaah!”
No bullets could penetrate the monster, which roared as if it had lost its sanity. One guard who took a hit was flung into the air, crashing to the ground.
The overwhelming force and madness made even the highly trained agents flinch and hesitate.
“D-Director!”
“Don’t worry about it! Just keep doing your jobs! I’m fine here!”
In that situation, Lee Min-hyung shouted to suppress the panicking staff. Of course, he wasn’t just bluffing without any intention.
“What kind of monster is this?”
As he passed by the agents pointing their guns at the monster and retreating, a small silver-haired girl stepped forward with a chuckle.
“Magical girl!”
“You can talk? But then why are you doing this?”
Karin clicked her tongue, perplexed at the monster who was growling at her with a rough voice.
“He promised, true paradise! True justice!”
The monster, drooling black saliva while roaring, kicked the ground and charged at Karin. Momentarily startled, Karin swung her large spiked mace, made from her chains, to block its path.
“I’m sick of this. Let’s just do as Takilas said. The winner is right!”
With her superhuman strength, she swung the mace, striking the monster right in the face and sending it crashing through the building’s outer wall.
“It seems this place has definitely become a target. I’d appreciate it.”
“Just promise to make me an official civil servant, okay? I got fired thanks to you guys.”
While watching the incoming monsters, Lee Min-hyung asked Karin to hold the position.
With a sigh, she raised her remaining magic, demanding confirmation about the special hiring he mentioned a few weeks ago.
“I promise. So hurry up now!”
“I know.”
Regardless, she held her ground. Using weak assistance, she began to fend off and defeat the numerous enemies.
‘Will the others manage on their own?’
During the fight, after being struck and crashing into a wall, she dusted herself off and stumbled to her feet, faintly smiling.
She realized this was her role. To protect the command center, bustling below, by dedicating herself and ensuring this position. After all, many were prepared to take on the truly important tasks.
Even when beaten by the countless enemies, even when her strength faded, she would definitely.
“Don’t underestimate me!”
Raising her power, she unleashed an enormous force befitting an SS-rank, pushing back and exploding the monsters. The entire lobby on the first floor, which had only recently been repaired after Aria’s rampage, exploded and shattered.
*
“Get to a shelter or home! Avoid dangerous places!”
“Kids! Go to the basement!”
When the ominous crimson sky suddenly enveloped part of the world.
The threat was coming here as well.
Wherever they were in the world, those who supported and followed Michael would receive his power and be reborn as loyal fallen angels to join the crusade to conquer the world.
Of course, not all of them had desired this outcome, but there was certainly no shortage of individuals who did.
“What are you doing?! Hurry up!”
“B-but Jin-ah…”
Inside the panicking facility, Kim Soo-jung was flustered by her senior Hong Soo-young’s words as she looked at the empty room.
Despite knowing that Lee Jin-ah was a magical girl and that she should step in, she could not muster the courage to move.
“We have no choice. It’s indiscriminate attacks. We have to escape for now.”
Pulling Kim Soo-jung along forcefully, Hong Soo-young ran down the corridor. A shelter had already been set up underground in preparation for emergencies.
“Ah, ahh…”
“Stay calm, just stay…”
However, they couldn’t escape into the shelter in time. In front of them lay a teacher who had collapsed, bleeding, and a monster that had once been their colleague growled with grotesque patterns all over its body.
The monster controlled the children, intimidating them into inaction. Overwhelming fear and terror. Hong Soo-young and Kim Soo-jung trembled without a sound.
“Th-the demon king’s aura…!”
But that standoff did not last long.
As the monster grotesquely twisted its body and suddenly turned to look at them, it shouted. And it was looking dead at Kim Soo-jung.
The monster sensed the lingering essence of Lee Jin-ah in the shirt, pants, and outerwear Kim Soo-jung was wearing, yet no one on the scene was aware of this fact.