Chapter 20
Hong-ryeon flew through the sky, following the Black Knight, and thought to herself,
“Why am I doing this?”
Isn’t it strange? Of course, it’s true that she couldn’t fight the Black Knight right now, but that doesn’t mean it’s okay for a monster and a magical girl to accompany each other.
She clutched her throbbing forehead and continued to fly. The Black Knight looked back at her and said,
[“Follow closely. If you lose focus, you might fall behind.”]
In disbelief, Hong-ryeon let out a small laugh.
“Are you ordering me around, a monster? That’s ridiculous. I don’t even have a reason to follow you, so do you really think I’d listen to your orders?”
At that, the Black Knight spoke in a chilling voice.
[“So, are you going to fight?”]
Hong-ryeon couldn’t respond at all to that. If she said yes, it felt like the Black Knight would pounce on her at any moment. If she said no, it would hurt her pride.
The Black Knight then turned his head away from Hong-ryeon and continued moving forward.
[“Either way, it won’t be a bad thing for you.”]
“So, what exactly is the reason you want to take me along? It’s not common for a monster to want to take a magical girl. There must be some reason behind it. Oh, are you perhaps trying to trap Hong-ryeon, the A-rank number one?”
[“Traps are for the weak. I have no reason to trap you. Is there really a need for me to go that far?”]
Hong-ryeon almost snapped at that. How dare a monster disregard her like that…! However, there was nothing she could do about it. In the end, she gripped her staff tightly and suppressed her anger.
…That way of speaking that gets under your skin, it feels like I’ve heard it from someone before.
“Stop babbling and just tell me where you’re taking me.”
[“The large-scale advance of monsters has been increasing, hasn’t it?”]
“Eh?”
Why is this topic coming out of the Black Knight’s mouth? For the record, it’s true. The large-scale advance of monsters has been increasing, and the scale of it has also grown. But how would the Black Knight, who had been rampaging in the rear, know that?
“…Did you plan this? Answer me.”
If that’s the case, the Black Knight must be eliminated as a top priority. Even if it means a large-scale massacre of magical girls, it had to be a priority.
The Black Knight shrugged his shoulders and said,
[“You’re deceiving yourself while lacking the courage to fight. I advise you that such behavior will eventually consume you.”]
“What…!”
Her face burned. Did she have to hear that from a monster? She already had someone else saying similar things to her.
[“So, to answer your question, no, I’m not. In fact, I’m trying to stop it. Right now, I’m looking for the cause.”]
“What?”
This is even more absurd. A monster trying to stop a large-scale monster invasion? What nonsense is this? Does he think he’s a magical girl?
“Don’t say something ridiculous. Why would you?”
The Black Knight replied to Hong-ryeon’s question as if it were a foolish inquiry.
[“Do you think all monsters are on the same side? That’s nonsense. Monsters are beings who have made a pact with the Seed of Darkness to act according to their own desires. There’s no way they all have the same purpose.”]
…It’s true that she had carelessly thought of monsters as being on the same side. That’s only natural, considering that magical girls are on the opposite side of monsters. The magical girls are also beings aligned with the state and society, so she had just assumed that monsters would be the same.
However, listening to the Black Knight’s words, it’s clear that wasn’t the case. Terrorists or extremists also choose violence as a means to assert their ideology, but in the end, their ideologies are not the same. If what the Black Knight said is true, then it wouldn’t be strange if he were opposed to whatever triggered this situation.
However, what worries me is the reason for this hostility.
“So, does that mean you’re saying the one causing this mess is your enemy? Why? There’s no reason for monsters to be on the same side, but there’s also no reason for them to be hostile.”
[Do you hold hands with bugs?]
“What?”
What does that even mean? My brain froze for a moment, unable to comprehend it. But the Black Knight spoke as if explaining something obvious.
[If bugs are buzzing around, isn’t it only natural to sweep them away? The one who caused this incident just got on my nerves. That’s all.]
Unbelievable. The Black Knight referred to the mastermind behind this large-scale incident as merely a “bug.” It was utterly arrogant, but considering that Hong-ryeon had experienced a fraction of the Black Knight’s power, it wasn’t entirely incomprehensible.
After all, he was the strongest monster she had ever encountered. Hong-ryeon had only met an S-rank monster once, but the aura emanating from the Black Knight was even more intense than what she had felt back then.
It made her wonder if it wasn’t that Bing Seol Hwa had failed to stop that monster, but rather that even she couldn’t face such a creature.
It was a being she absolutely had to defeat, but the gap in power was stark. At her current level, she couldn’t even dare to approach it.
She bit her lip, dark emotions welling up in her eyes. Just then, the Black Knight stopped his steps.
[We’re almost there.]
“What? There’s nothing here.”
[Use magic detection. Don’t just look at what’s visible to your eyes.]
“Hmm…”
Hong-ryeon began to sense the magic around her. What she felt nearby was her own aura, the intentionally weakened presence of the Black Knight, and…
“Wait. That over there—”
[Right.]
Kugugugugu.
The mountain peak began to move. It was unbelievable. The mere existence of something that size was absurd.
The source of the movement was a pig-like monster. No, she wasn’t even sure if it could be called a monster. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to label it as a beast.
This was because, on the back of the pig-like monster, there was—
—one of the mountain peaks hanging on it.
“What in the world is that!?”
Hong-ryeon shouted in surprise at the Black Knight.
[Before unification, it was the leader of North Korea. It made a pact with the Seed of Darkness and lost its intellect, becoming a ‘beast,’ and as a result, it became a powerful entity that all North Korean monsters fear.]
“Wh-what…”
She was aware of the term “beast.” However, since there had been almost no occurrences of such things in South Korea, she hadn’t really given it much thought. Most of the monsters that appeared in South Korea were between B-rank and A-rank.
But this was different. This was undoubtedly an S-rank monster. If such a powerful monster had lost its intellect, it was closer to a natural disaster than something that had once been human.
The “Dragon King,” known as the strongest monster in the world, would likely be a similar case to this—immensely massive and holding S-rank magical power. And the fact that it had become an intellect-less beast made it even more alarming.
Realizing she was contemplating such things, the Black Knight spoke.
[At this level, it could probably inflict some damage even against the ‘Dragon King.’ Indeed, it’s a rare case of a monster even on a global scale.]
With his relaxed voice, Hong-ryeon shouted at the Black Knight.
“It looks like it noticed us! Move quickly, you fool! Don’t just mumble there!”
The ‘Supreme Leader’ began to move. Whether it realized the presence of Hong-ryeon and the Black Knight, it started to approach them. Its movements seemed slow, but given its size, the speed was unbelievable.
This is bad. At this rate, both the Black Knight and I might get taken out at once.
Of course, if the two of us joined forces, there might be a chance to bring it down, but even so, if we exhausted our magic, our chances of survival would drastically decrease. If someone like me created a gap in our power, the frontline could collapse entirely.
Knowing that, Hong-ryeon tried to evade the ‘Supreme Leader’ in any way possible.
However, the Black Knight still stood there, casually with his arms crossed.
“Hey, you idiot—”
At that very moment.
A deep scar marked the front leg of the ‘Supreme Leader.’
[——————!]
Watching the Supreme Leader let out a deafening cry, the Black Knight spoke softly.
[Hmm, I thought I’d cut it in one strike. It’s tougher than I expected.]
“—What?”
Only then did Hong-ryeon realize.
The Black Knight was not just a simple monster.
Perhaps even if all the magical girls in South Korea rushed in—
[Still, the sensation of cutting is not bad. Not bad at all.]
The Black Knight, calmly speaking in front of such a monster, made Hong-ryeon feel despair for the first time.
However, the Black Knight opened his mouth again, seemingly uninterested in Hong-ryeon’s state.
[At this level, it’s not necessary to deal with it right now.]
“What?”
Hong-ryeon’s panicked voice echoed.
—
Read More at – GENZNOVEL.COM!!
-> MAKE ACCOUNT AND GET [50] COINS FREE!!
PLEASE JOIN OUR DISCORD AND SUBSCRIBE THE ROLE TO RECEIVE LATEST NOTIFICATIONS!!
Comment