Chapter 24
A few days passed. Hong-ryeon was training Reina almost every day, and the other magical girls were living through what could only be described as a battlefield every day.
Boom! A massive bullet of light pierced through the world. It was the artillery strike of the magical girl, Artilleri. The barrier shook, and the mass of monsters that had gathered were obliterated, leaving no trace behind.
Artilleri, who had been quietly watching the scene, landed on the ground with a “huff.”
“I just don’t understand how this is even possible.”
It was a fair statement. The idea that countless monsters would move into predetermined positions on their own, only to be trapped within a barrier and slaughtered, was beyond comprehension.
And above all, the fact that such a “structure” even existed was baffling.
But could it really be called a structure?
It was merely a gigantic hole. A massive pit, large enough for countless monsters to crawl inside and still have space to spare.
No one knew what it was built for. Hong-ryeon had only mentioned that she found it somewhere and informed them about the location.
What was even more bizarre was that the monsters seemed to already know about the pit and naturally moved into it. Thanks to this, they could be easily trapped in the barrier and dealt with swiftly.
Artilleri clicked her tongue and wiped her lips. Dealing with such low-level monsters didn’t help her grow at all.
And more than that, eliminating monsters like this didn’t give her any sense of victory. All she had to do was trap them in the barrier and focus all her firepower while they flailed helplessly. It was no different from burning trash.
“I’m an artillery soldier, not a garbage disposal…”
Sure, eliminating lots of monsters was great. Really great, even. But in a corner of her mind, a feeling of doubt lingered, wondering if this was the right way to do things.
And there was someone quietly watching her.
The ‘someone’ who had been watching Artillery and the other magical girls avoided the sharp gaze of the artillery girl and swiftly moved elsewhere.
Where that someone headed was none other than the head of the monster carrying a mountain, ‘Supreme Leader’. On top of that head, a restrained monster with all its limbs severed could be seen.
[Ki… Kill me… please…]
Anyone who knew the identity of that monster would have been shocked. It was Gremlin, an executive of the New Humanity Association. Known for being exceptionally cruel and treacherous, he was now begging for mercy at death’s door.
But the one standing on the monster’s head found Gremlin’s words amusing, letting out a small chuckle.
[What a joke.]
The black armor made a clanking sound. The Black Knight knelt down in front of Gremlin and spoke.
[You’re a tool to move ‘Supreme Leader’. You should be aware of that.]
Indeed, Gremlin was the medium the Black Knight had chosen to control the Supreme Leader. To twist the suggestion placed on the monster to his will, the Black Knight needed a vast amount of magic.
[Don’t be ridiculous! With your magic, you could easily handle this much!]
Gremlin shouted in rage. It was true— the Black Knight’s magical power was immense, far beyond imagination. Naturally, he could easily pay the price to twist the monster’s suggestion.
But Gremlin could not. The suggestion placed on an S-rank monster like Supreme Leader was far too powerful. For Gremlin, who wasn’t even specialized in this field, to use such a tremendous amount of magic to alter it was unthinkable.
Perhaps, if he had been in good condition, he might have been able to endure it. Maybe he could have even twisted it to his will in this broken state. Yes, if only he were “in good condition.”
Unfortunately, Gremlin’s body was in a terrible state.
With his limbs already severed and the Black Knight’s magic constantly suffocating him, his life force was being drained. In such a condition, the idea of enduring or regenerating his body was a distant dream.
[So what? What do you want me to do? I can’t waste my magic on this kind of task.]
With that remark, the Black Knight began to twist the content of the hint once more. Bang! The Supreme Leader changed his destination. The monsters in the area would naturally flee towards the cave where the Black Knight had previously eradicated them during his first reconnaissance of the North Korean region, thanks to the arrangements he had set in place.
And what awaited those monsters was nothing but the artillery fire from the Artilleri. It was a plan to completely root out the monsters in the North Korean area.
As the process unfolded, the Gremlin, the sacrificial pawn, began to scream as his magic was siphoned away by the Black Knight.
[No! Stop! Please!]
Little by little, the body that constituted him began to rot and collapse. Only his upper body remained now. The unfortunate part was that, even in such a state, his life as a monster was still sustaining him.
To witness himself rotting away while still alive was agony even the Gremlin could not endure. Yet the Black Knight simply gazed at the Gremlin’s plight in silence.
No matter how much he screamed, there was not a trace of sympathy left in those eyes. After all, he knew well what the Gremlin had done in the manga “The Magical Girl Doesn’t Fall.”
[You’re noisy.]
Thus, the Black Knight merely offered that commentary.
After a short while, the Black Knight let out a sound of realization and spoke to the Gremlin.
[Hang in there a bit longer. Who knows, maybe your organization… the ‘New Humanity Association’ or whatever it is, might come to save you.]
Yes, there was one more role left for the Gremlin besides moving the Supreme Leader. No, in fact, this could be considered the original purpose.
That purpose was to serve as bait to lure in the executives of the New Humanity Association. The Gremlin had already half-stopped breathing. It was time to aim for a bigger prey.
The Black Knight gazed at the New Humanity Association with the eyes of a hunter.
[Don’t make me laugh. I know those guys. When they see me in this state, they’ll just report that I’m dead and consume me to grow stronger. That’s just the kind of guys they are…]
Even if an executive of the New Humanity Association were to come, the Gremlin thought silently that he would never be able to withstand the Black Knight.
Hearing those words, the Black Knight contemplated.
That was fine. The important thing was that he could reduce the number of monsters from the New Humanity Association, even if it was just one.
Thus, for a moment, the Black Knight stood atop the Supreme Leader’s head before starting to head somewhere. Toward the ‘someone’ he had made an appointment with.
With a light step, he halted, and someone gently landed beside him. That figure was none other than the magical girl, Hong-ryeon. The Black Knight looked at her and spoke.
[Reina?]
“I told you to hold off the monsters for a bit. I can spare some time to meet you. But… that rumor, it seems it was true.”
The rumor that the monster Black Knight was fixated on the magical girl Reina. After being defeated by the Black Knight, Hong-ryeon had searched for all information regarding him, and she found a common opinion among the information—his obsession with the magical girl Reina.
At first, she had been skeptical. After all, it was hard to believe that a powerful monster like him would have any reason to obsess over a C-rank magical girl when he could easily deal with Hong-ryeon and even Bing Seol Hwa. However, asking about Reina as soon as they met seemed to confirm it.
“Why are you so fixated on her?”
Hong-ryeon asked, not expecting an answer. However, the Black Knight opened his mouth as if questioning the very nature of her inquiry.
[Because I know that magical girl will become stronger than anyone. Stronger than you, and stronger than Bing Seol Hwa.]
At that, Hong-ryeon couldn’t help but be taken aback.
“What?”
What could that possibly mean…? No, that would mean that this monster had some basis for that judgment. Hong-ryeon clicked her tongue and turned her head away.
[It’s coming soon. I’ve used the hints to stir up the monsters and handled them, slowing down her descent. However, a hint that has been lodged once cannot be completely overturned. Before long, she will come down.]
And perhaps that time will be the day of the final battle.
[I’m looking forward to it. You all, the magical girls, how much you will grow.]
Upon hearing those words, Hong-ryeon bit her lip.
Though he spoke like that, it was clear that the Black Knight was most looking forward to Reina. The previous exchange had confirmed it.
In a nutshell, using an S-rank monster was nothing more than a task for him to help Reina grow.
Realizing this fact, Hong-ryeon paused for a moment before speaking.
“Yeah, that means he’s looking forward to how much she’ll grow.”
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