Chapter 5
“Why… why was I summoned here…?”
“As I just mentioned, Ms. Reina, this is about the ‘Black Knight.'”
The moment she heard the name Black Knight, Reina felt like her mind had gone blank. Why were they asking her about him? And why did the Monster Prevention Association (KMPA) summon her personally for this?
“I thought I already told you everything I know… And don’t you have the video footage too?”
“Yes, Ms. Reina, we have all of that. However, what the Association wants to discuss with you now is slightly different.”
Reina’s mind filled with questions. She had already told them everything she knew—her impressions, the situation, and the strength of the Black Knight. But despite that, they still had more to talk about. What could it be?
“As you know, the Black Knight is an extremely dangerous monster.”
“…I know that better than anyone. I faced him directly.”
“No, I don’t think you fully understand just how dangerous he is.”
Such a firm denial. Reina felt a wave of disbelief. How could they know better than her, someone who had met the Black Knight face to face? What could they possibly know that she didn’t?
“The Black Knight has not caused any casualties thus far. You’re aware of this, correct?”
Reina swallowed her words and answered the KMPA agent’s question.
“Yes, I’m aware.”
“The important part here isn’t that he ‘hasn’t caused casualties,’ but rather that it’s been ‘so far.'”
“What?”
“Most ordinary people aren’t overly afraid of the Black Knight. He hasn’t killed anyone, and he hasn’t been involved in any major incidents. Of course, we’ve tried to downplay the reports in the media, but there’s a huge gap between how the public sees him and how the Association views him.”
“What do you mean?”
“While people see the Black Knight as a ‘peculiar monster that hasn’t harmed anyone,’ the Association sees him as a monster with ‘no discernible motives, no pattern of behavior, and no way to track him.’ Frankly speaking, he could change his mind at any moment and kill thousands.”
Reina was shocked. She had assumed the Black Knight simply wasn’t interested in harming people, but had there been such a huge discrepancy in perception?
“How… how is that possible? Aren’t there other magical girls—”
“Magical girls with tracking magic have tried numerous times to locate the Black Knight. The result? Not even the smallest clue has been found. The only thing we’ve learned is that we cannot track him.”
That can’t be right.
Anyone with magical power is traceable by magical girls’ tracking spells. Not being able to track him at all—this was unprecedented.
“The Black Knight can completely hide his magical power. Leaving him unchecked is like sleeping with a ticking time bomb. Do you understand?”
“Y-yes.”
“Good, then. The Black Knight must be eliminated, as soon as possible.”
“But why are you telling me this…?”
“Regrettably, the Association hasn’t been able to figure out what the Black Knight wants. However, we’ve noticed one consistent factor: every time he appears, you, Ms. Reina, are there.”
“W-what?”
“We’ve interpreted this as the Black Knight having an unexplained fixation on Magical Girl Reina. This means, Ms. Reina, you could serve as bait for him.”
“Bait? Me?”
“Please. The Black Knight is now unquestionably ‘the greatest threat to South Korea.’ We ask for your help in ridding our nation of this crisis.”
Reina pondered for a moment before reluctantly opening her mouth.
“Even if I help… there’s no way I can go up against the Black Knight… He’s an A-rank monster.”
“Technically, he’s an A-rank ‘and above’ monster. But don’t worry. We’re not asking you to defeat the Black Knight yourself. That role… will be handled by this person.”
At the staff member’s words, the door creaked open, and someone stepped inside. As soon as Reina saw who it was, her eyes widened in surprise.
“The next time he shows himself will be the Black Knight’s end.”
***
These days, Reina—no, Su-hui—has been acting strange.
Of course, it’s not like I know everything about her. After all, we’ve only just met recently. But compared to the version of her that I saw in Matseu-An, there’s something off about her behavior now.
“Is something going on with you lately?”
If I’m curious, I should just ask directly.
Su-hui, who had been sipping her coffee, suddenly snapped out of her thoughts when I asked her the question.
“N-no! Nothing at all!”
…Su-hui, there’s no way I’m buying that.
Realizing that her lie had been caught immediately, Su-hui awkwardly tapped her index finger on the table before finally speaking up in a small voice.
“It’s just… there’s a mission. A classified mission that I can’t tell outsiders about.”
A mission? Was there anything like that in the original story?
After thinking about it for a moment, I decided not to press further. After all, my relationship with her is simply that of a magical girl and a fan. Digging any deeper would only make her feel uncomfortable.
“A mission… Sounds cool. You’ll tell me all about your success once it’s over, right?”
This level of comment should be appropriate for a fan.
“Ah, yes, that much I can definitely share.”
Reina smiled as she said this, but then she suddenly stood up after receiving a call.
“Oh, I’ve got to go! There’s a monster attack.”
At those words, I made a small sound of acknowledgment.
As soon as Reina left, I expanded my senses to search for any nearby magical energy.
…What is this?
Reina was heading toward a B-rank monster’s location.
“Damn it.”
Does the Association think Reina’s a B-rank magical girl just because she defeated a B-rank monster once? Luckily, my shift had just ended. I quickly rushed out of the café and headed for a secluded area.
“Transformation.”
***
Magical energy wrapped around my body, and I melded with the armor formed by the magic. When I came to, my body had already transformed into the Black Knight.
I immediately dashed in the direction Reina had flown off to.
After a few minutes, I arrived at the scene where Reina was battling the B-rank monster.
…But something was off.
The civilians had already been evacuated, and Reina seemed to be blocking or dodging the monster’s attacks rather half-heartedly. She wasn’t making any serious attempts to subdue it.
Just as I felt something was wrong—
“I found you!”
Reina shouted as she locked eyes with me.
Suddenly, a powerful magical energy exploded nearby.
Crash!
The B-rank monster was no match from the start, instantly reduced to a pile of meat by a massive block of ice, while a barrier formed as if to seal off the entire area.
[Oh no.]
A sudden chill swept through, and ‘someone’ blocked my path.
“It’s just as the Association planned. I don’t know what they’re after by targeting Reina, but… it doesn’t matter. She’ll die anyway.”
Pure white. That was my first impression of her.
White. Her hair, her skin, her magical girl outfit—all white.
The only thing that wasn’t white was her strikingly blue eyes. Seeing that, I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.
After all, it was a sight I had seen countless times.
The figure I recognized from the webtoon The Magical Girl Won’t Fall—the only S-rank magical girl in Korea. People praised her unanimously as the “strongest magical girl.”
The “ultimate weapon,” magical girl Bing Seol Hwa, was glaring at me.
So, that’s why she’s called the “white flower of the snow.”
The magical power and presence radiating from her were enough to leave anyone in awe.
“Does she still not understand the situation? Is she looking at me like that because she doesn’t know what will happen to her from now on?”
Certainly, I could feel a tingling sensation in the skin beneath my armor. If she’s this strong, it’s no wonder even A-rank monsters fall easily to her.
Boom!
A massive chunk of ice was hurled toward me. I took it head-on.
“That was easier than I expected.”
I could hear Bing Seol Hwa’s voice. Does she think I’ll die from one hit?
I brushed off the ice shards from my body and stepped forward.
[Is she under some kind of illusion?]
Yeah, she’s definitely strong. Strong enough that A-rank monsters wouldn’t stand a chance against her. But… that doesn’t mean she’s stronger than me, does it?
[Do you really think you can win?]
The expression on Bing Seol Hwa’s face changed to a faint smile.
“Good, it’s nice to see you have that much confidence.”
A cold wind began to whip through the street.
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