Mr. Magical Girl

Chapter: 125. Maus.

In the dark night. A time when everyone is asleep.

Quietly sneaking out, I moved my body into the thick darkness of the sewer.

Could it be the temperature has dropped since it’s night?

The air in the sewer, which had been strangely sticky in the morning, had become a level of discomfort that hindered action.

If I fell into the slime flowing in the center of the sewer, would this be what it feels like?

Like swimming in water, every action was met with resistance and discomfort.

The sticky slime felt like it was wrapping around my entire body.

Not trying to shake off that sticky sensation, I burrowed deeper into it.

As I moved forward bit by bit, everything around me was swallowed by darkness.

Even the noise from the upper layers that ruled the sewer.

The vibrations of the space twisting the ground.

The light that had shone through tiny cracks.

The movements of creatures that had their backs turned underground.

All were consumed by the darkness of the mud.

What remained was only the heat and pulse I had created.

As the absence of surroundings grew larger, the sound of my pulse also grew louder.

And that sound illuminated the area like a lantern.

In this darkness where I couldn’t feel anything, the only means to prove my existence was my consciousness.

In this self-referential proof of my own existence, I continued to move forward.

For what purpose?

I felt like I had experienced this somewhere before.

Moving forward was my will.

My consciousness was drifting away.

As if endless sleep were calling upon my ego.

Just like a body tired from fatigue fleeing into slumber.

That was an essential component necessary to maintain oneself. An obvious action.

However, this was different.

My body wasn’t tired.

My consciousness didn’t crave rest.

In the forcibly drawn darkness.

Endless slumber.

The slumber of consciousness.

Even the pulse that illuminated the darkness was swallowed by the night, moving towards the darkness where I would lose myself.

I fell asleep.

As my head leaned against the wall, I woke up.

Drowsing.

I had planned not to sleep tonight because I had business to attend to, but it seems I fell asleep after all.

How long did I sleep, I wonder?

I took out my phone to check the time, and the screen flickered.

2 AM.

I hadn’t slept that long.

As I thought I could still head out from now, I got up from my sleeping place and looked around.

The silence in the room felt like the chaos of last night was just a lie.

What filled the quiet room was nothing but a faint sound of breathing.

The breathing I could hear was steady, and the pulse I felt through my senses was also stable, so they must be asleep for sure, but just to be safe, I moved to the next bed and quietly looked down.

Eyes narrowed tightly shut.

The rise and fall of a chest beneath the thin blanket.

Maybe they’re dreaming happily; a faint smile was etched on their lips.

The three observations were the same for Baek Sihyeon and Han Abin.

One difference, however, was that Baek Sihyeon appeared overly stiff.

While Han Abin had kicked the blanket off, perhaps due to the itching, Baek Sihyeon lay still with her hands neatly placed over her chest.

“Would be great if she was this calm usually.”

I let that comment slip from my mouth and quietly left the room.

I didn’t get a guarantee that they’re really sleeping, but if my students have improved their skills to the point of controlling their heart rates, it would be prudent to take it as a good indication.

While passing the assigned room, I unknowingly saw the children sleeping.

They seemed cold, pulling each other close to find warmth.

Even from afar, I could sense their breathing and heartbeats weren’t completely steady.

•••Come to think of it, it’s the first time I’m seeing them like this.

Ever since coming here, for some reason, I kept going to sleep early, so I had never witnessed this scene.

•••I think I need to buy more blankets.

Preferably ones filled with cotton.

I wondered where I could find such things in a junkyard, and bringing them to this hideout would take considerable effort, but watching the kids like this made me think it might be necessary.

With that thought planted in my mind, I stepped out of the hideout.

Pong.

As I stepped out, the sound I heard was the bubbles rising and popping from the wastewater in the center.

In the morning, it would have been drowned out by the vibrations made by the ground and the undulations passing through the pipes, but now, with all sound swallowed by the darkness of the night, only the noise of sloshy wastewater filled the sewer.

Even in a junkyard, most people would be asleep by 2 AM. After all, they’re humans living in the slums.

Pondering this, I walked along the sewer.

Pong. Thump. Pong. Thump.

As I walked, a peculiar harmony began to form.

Between the sounds of my boots, the bubbles burst, and the bubble sounds mixed with the boot sounds.

Of course, the speed at which the bubbles burst wasn’t steady, but it was enough to enjoy a sense of rhythm.

I hummed a tune and stepped forward.

Weirdly, I felt refreshed.

As if this place was blessing me with a strange audacity. Enjoying that feeling, I delved deeper into the sewer.

Searching for a place where no one is around. A place where no one would dare enter.

When things go awry, a place where my hammer wouldn’t hit anyone.

The person I’m about to meet is that dangerous.

I hadn’t expected to meet them this quickly.

“Well, it can’t be helped. I need to wrap this up quickly.”

Pushing things back wouldn’t resolve anything, so I had no choice.

I don’t know why I came here, but with Yumil being here, it’s clear that Baek Sihyeon and the other side are destined to collide.

It’s better to set things straight in advance to minimize the collision.

Simple villain extermination, and while taking my students on a field trip to the shadow world, how did this end up getting so tangled?

With the association, junkyard residents, villain organization, and a traitor from the Association. Just one of these would give me a headache, and now I have this mess.

Pong. Thump. Pong. Thump.

What was calming my racing mind was the continuous sound of droplets.

They say natural sounds that match the rhythm are good for mental health.

I tried proving that with the rain and artillery fire from the past, but all I ended up getting was muddy rainfall and a terrible ringing in my ears, so I didn’t believe it.

Now, experiencing that theory in real time, it was clear that there was a significant problem with my past experiments.

Was it the artillery that was the issue?

With the surroundings quieting down, such futile thoughts swirled in my mind.

My legs had already moved in accordance with the rhythm of the droplets, and other stimuli were consumed and vanished into the darkness of the sewer.

What remained was only my mental contemplation.

So, it was only natural for my mind to drift with random thoughts.

Isn’t it a relief that my thoughts aren’t leaning towards negativity?

“Maybe I should have the students study for their academic tests.”

How long had it been since I moved my legs? Just as my thoughts turned towards the students’ grades.

The sound of bubbles bursting ceased, and the shadows in front of me began to move as if alive.

They’ve arrived.

I halted my legs, thinking that what I’d been waiting for had come.

“Queph. Don’t hide and come out.”

I thought I spoke quite loudly, but the sound that came out was a tiny whisper akin to a mosquito.

Then, I waited for about 2-3 seconds. Clearly, that guy wasn’t here, but he was undoubtedly somewhere close.

With an air vibrating, as if a string were humming.

“Greetings. Responding to summons. Queph has arrived. Savior. Purpose?”

Just like me, the little creature who spoke with a voice like a mosquito appeared in front of me.

Holding a sword breaker in reverse in both hands, draped in a black robe—a typical assassin’s look one would find in a fantasy novel.

He turned his head slightly towards me from the shadows, and his eyes glowed with a green light directed at me.

That green light shone brightly in the darkness, but it didn’t escape from underneath the hood.

What broke free of that green light was merely the jagged beak with broken front teeth.

If one were to encounter such a creature in the darkness, they’d be frightened out of their wits. However, the thoughts swirling in my head were entirely different.

•••Why is his speech like that?

“Wasn’t his brain fixed?”

I had definitely siphoned the magical blood of Oxymoron to fix that, hadn’t I?

“Language abilities unable to recover. Degradation judgment.”

What a load of nonsense.

“So how are we supposed to work together now?”

Hmph.

With a sound like a string vibrating, he vanished before my eyes.

Simultaneously, I felt the cold touch of a blade against my neck.

Queph, who caught me from behind at an incomprehensible speed, held a dagger against my throat.

Not like a divine being with its incredible speed.

Nor was it like the nurses of Oxymoron moving through space.

Queph had been there from the beginning.

A trait unique to the 0-Rank assassin monster Queph, discovered through countless sacrifices made by humanity’s upper echelons in the past.

As long as a shadow of human size existed, Queph exists in every location.

At first glance, it sounds like teleportation or similar properties to an infinite-dimensional otherworld, but it is an entirely different power.

If an enemy can teleport, they can attack over the entire range they can move. Somewhere in there, they’re bound to shift.

However, even if one strikes at every potential location where shadows exist, Queph never really takes damage. Queph is there while not being there.

With all that talk about quantum mechanics and observer effects and parallel universes… the research team said so.

But this is how I understood it.

As long as a shadow exists, Queph can never be present in a place where he would come out worse.

The solution was simpler than expected. However, the combat power of Queph was also extraordinary, so even recognizing the solution put my neck in danger.

That’s why that monster is still alive.

Though I wouldn’t lose.

Clank.

The sound of my hammer colliding with the dagger in close combat.

The dagger flew at me without a delay, yet I instinctively deflected it.

“Hm? Apologies. My Lord. No hostile intention.”

Hmm. I hadn’t intended to deflect it either.

Ah, sorry. It was just instinctually.

Thanks to having drilled into my body through numerous conditioning exercises, I automatically react whenever I hear that starting sound.

This action is a countermeasure found out by me and Cheonha Ilgyeom, both close combat specialists.

I have a few more tricks up my sleeve, and if I’m a top-tier hero, I won’t lose my head to Queph.

But that’s all on the back burner. I’m not here to fight Queph right now…

“Is there time to talk?”

“Possible.”

Thank goodness.

I leaned against a nearby wall and continued the conversation.

“First off, let me ask this: Why are you here?”

“Question. Understanding impossible.”

“I’m asking why you came to the junkyard with Yumil. No, let’s put Yumil aside. Why did you crawl your way here immediately after recovery, Queph?”

Yumil’s presence was one thing, but why was the executive Queph here?

“Objective. Kidnap Taejoon Kim and rehabilitation exercise.”

Queph spoke as though he didn’t feel the need to hide anything.

Rehabilitation exercise is one thing, but it was indeed Taejoon Kim.

After all, Old Man Ri had mentioned that Taejoon was being targeted, so this didn’t come as much of a surprise.

“What do you plan to do with him once he’s kidnapped?”

“Taejoon Kim. High-ranking official in the Association. Abundant information. Benefit for the organization. Yumil’s side. Attacking the upper echelon of the Association with that information.”

Something sounded off there.

“Yumil was acting independently from the organization?”

“Positive. Yumil. Proposal submitted. Alliance suggested.”

“The organization had no initial intention?”

“Indeed…”

Upon hearing those words, I placed a hand on my chin and fell into thought.

So this is how it is. Yumil had planned to kidnap Taejoon Kim to shake the upper echelon, much like I had done long ago.

However, it couldn’t have been possible for Yumil alone to kidnap Taejoon, so they reached out to the organization, which deemed it beneficial. They dispatched the top 13.

-Thinking back, it wasn’t just a delusion to think Taejoon was targeted by Black Marauder.

Hearing the entire situation, it seemed like a decent plan.

With this, I would have the information to shake the upper echelon of the Association. Plus, with Queph involved, there shouldn’t be any chance for a mission failure.

Except for one thing.

“Why are you intercepting the information I requested… the securing of Taejoon is based on information I had requested from the organization.”

That sounded rather troublesome…

Had Queph heard my musings?

“Savior. Proposal.”

Queph spoke up.

“Commission from the Association. Mandatory?”

“No, it’s not a must. But if possible, it would be good to succeed.”

Because money and results are at stake.

Not for me, but for the students.

“Suggesting the organization’s 13 seats.”

Hmm? A proposal, you say?

“Let me hear it.”

As I replied thus, Queph said, “Please wait.”

Queph said that and put away his weapon.

Instead, he pulled out a small, shining green plastic rod.

Clutching it in his right hand, Queph brought the rod to his neck.

And with that, he punctured his own neck with the rod.

Simultaneously, the green light intensified.

“Duration: 7 minutes and 53 seconds. Let’s talk quickly, Savior.”

Suddenly, Queph’s speech became normal.

Could it be some sort of healing potion with a spell in it?

“You go first.”

I had no thoughts at the moment.

“Then, the proposal. We can cut off just enough of the profit from us. How about your end?”

Is that a proposal or a scam?

“Do you actually think it makes sense?”

“Yes, it doesn’t work for me either, just a momentary joke.”

Didn’t you just say you didn’t have time?

That retort slipped out of my mouth faster than I had thought.

“Then, I have a question. Savior. Which is more important: establishing justice or carrying out this mission?”

Well, you don’t even need to ask.

“Establishing justice.”

That is my principle.

“Then, please pass over to our side. We would repay with that much information, even if it means grinding profit.”

“What about the mission? Do you think you can just casually fail, and the Association will just say, ‘Ah, I see.’?”

“We’ll create enough reasons for it to be justified for the mission’s failure.”

Ho ho.

Now we’re finally communicating.

“Tell me more in detail.”

Smiling, I looked at Queph.

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