An Exorcist Magical Girl!

There was perfect silence, not even the sound of a grasshopper.

 

I waited impatiently.

 

Soon, Seo Jun spoke up, coldly.

 

“That’s right. It was supposed to be a scouting mission.” “You tricked me, you bastard?”

 

I jumped up, grabbed Seo Jun by the scruff of the neck, and shook her.

 

“Seo Jun, you lying, cheating bastard!” “Sorry.” “Oh, never mind that. Why did you do that? I want to know why.” “I didn’t want anyone else to get that mission, so I lied and said it was an exorcism mission, because scouting missions are popular.”

Seo Jun tried to explain.

 “So why did you trick me?” “…….”  “You’re not telling me?!”

 

I let go of Seo Jun and pointed my pincers to her..

 

“Because I don’t want you to ask me to go back after just “scouting”. I need your strength, you’re a genius.” “You think I’m going to let you off the hook for flattery?!”

 

The words were spoken, but the hand holding the pincers was steadily descending.

 

“It wasn’t flattery.” “Never mind, keep talking.”

I demanded.

 “I thought they were missing, caught in an anomaly like we are now.” “You thought Exit 9 was just an anomaly?” “Yeah. I was almost certain, but I was wrong.” “Based on what?” “CCTV footage.” “What?” “Think about it. If the Rose Tunnel we just went through had CCTV, what would have been the last image of us on it?”

 

Ah. The moment we stepped into this space, we would have appeared to disappear in the video.

 

Just like the last images of the missing people captured on CCTV at the Rapid Transit Station.

 

“Imagine my surprise when I realized it was a man-eating ghost in disguise.”

Seo Jun muttered in a low voice.

 

“You said it yourself, Seon -yeo. Seo Jun does act like this isn’t about the mission.”

I mumbled to myself.

 “It’s just a rumor, and you think I wouldn’t know it? Well, you’re right. I’m not about the mission, I’m about closing the door to this space.” “The original rumor was that it was all about the thrill, but whatever. What do you mean you wanted my help? Do you need me to close this space?” “Yes. All I can do is temporarily seal the portal so it can’t be opened. To completely close it and make it disappear, I’d need at least S-rank power.”

 

I grabbed Seo Jun’s arm for the second time.

 

“Aahh! so why didn’t you tell me that from the start, you uselessly secretive bastard!” “Because I didn’t want to get involved with you any more than necessary.”

 

Seo Jun snapped back, her face grim.

 

“Oh, so you were going to use me for your own good and then throw me away?” “Yeah.” “Man, you’re a real kick in the ass. You’re so confident, I don’t know what to say.”

 

I wasn’t even angry because she was so nonchalant. If she’d pretended to see through me now, I’d have been even more pissed off, but I like that she was consistent.

 “I wanted to get you involved just enough to keep you out of harm’s way, because I’d be scared to end up like that again.”

 

When she said she didn’t want to get involved more than necessary, she meant she wanted to get involved just enough to not put me in danger.

 

And by

“like that time”

, does she mean the time Yin Charang almost died?

 

I decided it was now or never, so I dropped the subject.

 

“Is it your fault, Seo Jun, that he ended up like that?” 

Seo Jun answered immediately.

“My fault.” 

 

The unapologetic attitude!

 

What a ridiculous, yet gratifying feeling.

 

“Did you stab him?”

I asked again.

 “No, I didn’t.” “Then what?” “I dragged you into this… thing without realizing it was so dangerous.” “You’re saying you didn’t mean to hurt him?”

 

Seo Jun chews her lip and nods.

 

“I’m sorry, for you, and for Yin-charang.”

 

“Of course you are.”

 

As if my apology hadn’t fallen on deaf ears, Seo Jun quietly mumbles,

“I mean it when I say I’m sorry.” 

I could see the guilt in her eyes as she slowly looked down, so I softened my tone.

 

“Dude, what do you think you’re going to do if we can get out of here? You’ve been exposed, and now me and the team won’t be able to…” “It would be a bit of a hassle, but you could transfer to another branch’s training center. They have S-ranks in other branches.”

  

“If you’re so intent on taking advantage of others, why do you want to remove the door to this room?” “You want to know?” “Uh. I wonder.”

 

Seo Jun blinked slowly, as if choosing her words.

 

Then she spat out the story like a sigh.

 

“…my friend.” “Uh-huh…” “My friend got trapped in this space and died.” *** 

 

What? For a moment, I felt like I’d been hit over the head.

 “I think I was wrong to use you for my own ends, but I’d do the same thing again and again to close this space.”

 

Seo Jun added in a low voice.

 

“Because to me, it’s a greater sin to leave a portal that kills people open, never knowing when it might open again.”

 

I get it now.

 

Why didn’t I hate this crazy bastard? Even though she had the nerve to tell me she lied to me and used me.

 

It’s because I see the old me.

 

Of course, I didn’t play her like a pawn.

 

“But I never meant to put you in danger, even then, I just—” “Hey!”

I shouted, cutting Seo Jun off.

“Don’t even think about making me transfer to another training center, just keep teaming up with me, you’re going to have your way with this shit!”

 

Seo Jun stared at me wide-eyed in surprise.

 

The rotten hero mentality creeped in.

 

“When you asked me to let you pick the next mission, you meant to pick something related to this space, didn’t you? Yeah. Pick your own. I don’t care.” 

—“You don’t want to be some kind of hero, do you?” 

 

I suddenly remembered the question Seo Jun had scribbled in the corner of her textbook.

 

The way she looked at me now, she was asking the same question she had then.

 

“Yes, I do and I know.” 

Exorcists are not heroes.

 

The same spirit of sacrifice doesn’t suit them.

 

It’s a concept that’s been drilled into my head from the moment I chose the life of an exorcist.

 

Perhaps not so much in her heart.

 

“Let me help you, Seo Jun.”

 

I hadn’t been able to cut off the ugly wish I’d harbored since I was a magical girl.

 

And I’m so sick and tired of being a magical girl.

 

I know it well.

 

I know it’s just heroism for self-gratification under the guise of helping others.

 

And yet, I wanted to be that damn hero so badly.

 

A deep sense of defeat and accomplishment washed over me.

 

Maybe I was the one who was crazy for the real thrill.

 

“…but I lied to you” “Then don’t do it again.” “I used you.” “Uh, from now on, I’m the one being used, and I’m grateful.” “…Thank you.”

Seo Jun hesitantly thanked me.

 

“Now let’s find a way out, or if that doesn’t work, a way to contact the outside world.”

 

 

***

 

I shouted with purposeful exuberance as I looked around at the eerie silence that surrounded us.

 

It had all started because I didn’t see any hope in the first place.

 

It was a bit desperate to realize that after that long conversation, there was still no way out.

 

So I needed to be more energetic.

 

“You think you can get out of here?”

Seo Jun asked, sounding a little unsure.

 “I should think so.” “I thought you were going to tell me the last good thing to hear.”

 

Oh, so she just thought my team declaration was the last consolation I’d give her before she died?

 

“Whoa, I was serious there you know.”

I said it grumpily, but it wasn’t like I didn’t understand Seo Jun’s feelings.

 

Her friend had died in this place. She’s human, too, so how could she be so positive?

 

I pressed and held the call button on my clunky cell phone.

 

Of course, there was no signal.

 

This space.

 

The only other space I’m familiar with is the gate, which has nothing to do with my current situation.

 

Since I can’t use my cell phone inside the gate, I use the makeshift contact circle I drew earlier as a substitute.

 

I can’t use it either because my magical girl talent has been removed and my magic power has returned to normal levels.

 

To use an analogy, If I deleted an Athlete talent, I would lose all of the physical strength and stamina that I’d built up and return to the level of a weaker normal person.

 

The only difference is that the average person’s stamina and strength are not zero, but the average person’s magic power is usually zero.

 

Still, it was the only thing I knew how to do, so with trembling fingertips, I drew and drew and drew magic circles in the air.

 

I’d heard that, on rare occasions, an elaborately drawn magic circle could trigger itself by drawing on the trace amounts of magic from nearby objects and nature.

 

It was the only thing I could believe.

 

It was then that I remember seeing a pop-up in my status bar that was so full of errors I couldn’t even read it.

 

❰▒▒▒▒▒▒ is the spirit of ▒▒▒▒▒❱

 

At the same time, a blurry outline of a magic circle appeared in the air where I had been wiggling my fingers for a while.

 

The magic had worked, and the circle had been activated.

 

“It works!”

 

I hastily manipulated the circle so that anyone outside could hear me.

 

“Ah, ah, do you hear me, is there anyone out there?”

 

Seo Jun jumped to her feet and approached, unable to hide her surprise.

 

“It worked?” “I think so.”

 

And again, and again, and again, and again—

 

The familiar ringing of the magic circle’s call connection sounded.

 

Soon, a voice came through on the other end.

 

“─Baek Iri? Is that you? Baek Iri?!”

 

It was Seon-yeo’s voice.

 “Hey, I’m alive! We connected!”

 

I exclaimed, throwing my arms around Seo Jun.

 

On the other side of the magic circle, Seon-yeo shouted in panic.

 “─Where are you guys? I can hear you, but I can’t see you! Where are you?! Hey, Yin Charang, call the teachers!”

 

After finally calming Yeo Seon-yeo, who seemed to be more panicked than us, I briefly explained that we were trapped in this space.

 

“Anyway, that’s how it happened-, ugh!”

 

Suddenly, the dirt floor right next to my feet caved in and dust rose.

 

“─What’s wrong? What’s going on? Answer me!” “It’s nothing, it’s just a sudden blast of dirt.” “─Well, on our side I suddenly kicked the ground, is that why?─ What are you going to do? You scared us! …What? Annoyed? What’s there to be annoyed about? What’s wrong with you, In-sung?” 

With the buzzing voice of the woman behind us, Seo Jun and I exchanged glances.

 

The soil was too hard to dig out with tongs.

 

“Seon-yeo, do you see the flower bed on the right as soon as you enter the garden?” “─Uh, uh! Yes, it is. Why?” “I want you to pluck one flower and throw it on the ground.” “─What? Just one flower?” “Yes, please.” “─One, two, three, pluck!”

 

After Seon-yeo’s short countdown, an orange flower snapped and fell from the flower bed in the reversed position.

 

This made it clear. This space changes to reflect what happens in the real world.

 

Like a real mirror.

 

It made sense now that it hadn’t even flinched at our physical blows. A mirror only reflects reality as it is. It’s like how a mirror can’t change its reflection while reality remains still.

 

By the time I realized this, the magic circle had worn off.

 

“Oh, they must be screaming outside because they can’t hear you.”

 

I explained the situation, and they called the teachers.

 

I’m sure the teachers or the association will know what to do.

 

Now I just need to relax and wait.

 

Just then, Seo Jun taps me on the shoulder.

 “Ugh, why?” “Maybe…”

Seo Jun said, sounding confident for bringing up the subject with such words.

“Maybe we can get out on our own.”