Chapter 53 : Things That Shouldn’t Be Touched (7) Part-1

The room I returned to after a long time became a mess because of me.

I tried not to kill.

I had a weapon in my hand that could kill someone in an instant.

For the monsters, hitting them with this only results in injuries, but for an ordinary person, just having it fall on them would cause some part of their body to break off.

The fire coming from the propulsion system could probably burn down to the bone.

Although I didn’t think of the fire as the same one I knew, the wire that fell above my head could at least melt, right?

There were two reasons why I tried not to kill.

One was because I didn’t want to become a murderer.

I’m not a good person.

Haven’t I come this far for the most emotional reasons, even at crucial moments?

Even though I knew Noir Corporation was the villainous group from reading webtoons, I still worked with them, and when my life was in danger, I didn’t care about the well-being of my enemies and rampaged.

But I still didn’t want to kill anyone.

That was a form of kindness.

I might eventually cross that line.

If the current president of Noir Corporation was in front of me, I might have killed him.

But no matter how much I lost my mind, not in front of wisdom.

No, I didn’t want to do that.

So I stiffened my face and punched each of their gas masks, one by one.

Crash.

It wasn’t just the gas masks that broke.

The gas mask, not like a military one with two small eye holes, but an industrial one made of one large transparent plastic that provided a clearer view, wasn’t strong enough to fully protect the face beneath it from my punch.

Blood splattered.

My fist was covered in blood.

Of course, it wasn’t my blood.

The humans who inhaled the gas after their masks broke fell one by one.

They weren’t dead, but to the people watching the scene, it seemed like they were.

After all, seeing someone with plastic fragments embedded in their face while unconscious might make it look like they were dead with a crushed face.

Some ran away, while others charged towards Ji-hye.

Both were useless.

I grabbed the neck of the one running away and yanked him back, punching him in the face.

The man, who was about a head taller than me, fell to the ground, hitting his head on the floor as the gas mask broke.

The one who was charging towards Ji-hye… probably tried to take her as a hostage.

I kicked him in the waist.

He flew spectacularly and crashed into my desk.

The CDs and player I had gathered crashed onto the man’s body and fell to the floor with a loud noise.

In just a few seconds, the room was in disarray, and I stood there for a moment, blankly staring.

It was a mess.

Blood was everywhere, and the desk was in chaos…

I didn’t know what to do.

Should I just disappear?

First, I broke one of each of the men’s legs who had entered the room.

Their faces and legs could heal at the treatment center.

I thought it would be more certain than just tying them up carelessly.

Then I dragged them outside.

The children and teachers were all unconscious.

There was some strange equipment in the hallway.

It looked like an oxygen tank used in hospitals for critically ill patients with various machinery attached.

The circuit was running.

Maybe, I felt a much deeper despair than when I was rampaging inside the building.

………..Everything was ruined.

Because of me.

Even the place I thought of as home.

How would the children here see me now?

The teachers?

Would I ever be able to come back here?

A black dot appeared in the air.

I let go of the people I had been holding.

I didn’t know where they were going, but the people disappeared.

At least, those who had forced their way in were no longer here.

And the device was gone.

Could the unconscious people wake up?

How long would it take for them to wake up?

I didn’t know.

I didn’t know anything.

My mind wasn’t working properly.

I opened the window and felt the slightly stale air being ventilated…

But I ran to the director’s office.

The director was also unconscious, lying on the desk.

I picked up the receiver and called 119.

Please, please, please.

I hope everyone is safe.

I hope everyone is okay.

There are too many monsters.

Even though the magical girls are strong, they are not invincible.

It depends on the monster, but generally, to subdue one monster, several magical girls would have to attack at once.

Monsters that lose their rationality don’t care if the people around them get hurt, or even die.

There is a big gap between fighting while being careful of those around you and fighting without regard

for anyone else.

Moreover, magical girls must subdue the monsters without killing them.

To return the monsters to their original state, they must be sent back to space, far away from Earth.

Once they return to their original form, the monsters forget all the memories of their monstrous state.

No matter how many people get hurt or die, no blame is assigned.

Of course, the situation here was different.

Though I didn’t need to worry about how much the surroundings were destroyed, there were simply too many of them to subdue without killing.

Rose’s gauntlet hit the face of a large dog-shaped monster.

Though it looked like a dog, it was actually walking on two legs, resembling a werewolf in armor.

“Ugh…!”

The impact landed precisely on the face, shattering its helmet and exposing the inside, but the monster still swung its hand.

The claws at the end were sharp.

Kiiick!

I blocked it with the gauntlet, but the claws left a chilling scratch and passed by.

Wham!

But then something heavy hit Rose’s back.

It was a foot.

A tall, thin figure with long arms kicked her waist.

“Rose, get down!”

Delphinium shouted.

Rose, stumbling, just threw herself to the ground.

As she lay flat, she felt something hot pass over her back.

Boom!

The oxygen ignited, and the air rushed in with a deafening sound.

The two monsters fell to the ground.

Dahlia quickly cast spells to prevent the injured monsters from getting up.

Thanks to her, not just the two who were knocked out but another one couldn’t rise again.

Tatat!

On the other side, Iris was shooting her gun.

The long rifle she usually used had already been discarded on the floor.

It was useless now.

After all, with the monsters so close, aiming and shooting from a distance was nearly impossible.

She was using a short submachine gun and swinging her sword, keeping behind Hayoon.

When I glanced back, pink streaks of light were dancing.

She swiftly dodged under the thick hand swinging towards her, and quickly stepped forward, turning her body.

Screech.

Hayoon’s circuits were turning rapidly.

The glowing pink blade pierced the monster’s armpit and came out the other side.

Even with the beast’s agonizing scream, Hayoon didn’t flinch, drawing her sword out and grabbing the monster’s back.

She stepped on the belt of the monster’s armor and jumped up, stabbing again at the opposite shoulder.

BOOM!

With a small explosion, something erupted.

Although my arm didn’t fall off, a device on my right shoulder exploded, revealing the burned arm beneath it.

Circuit.

While fighting the monsters, the magical girls worked hard to figure out the location of the circuit.

But the exact position of the circuit was different for each monster.

It was easier to find on those with a silhouette similar to humans.

Usually, it was located behind the left or right shoulder, possibly to channel energy directly into the joints.

However, when fighting monsters with multiple limbs or quadrupedal forms, it was a different story.

Still, Hayoon calmly took down one monster after another.

THUD!

“Ugh!?!”

When the circuit was destroyed, the monster went wild.

Without the power assist, its body might have weakened, but on the other hand, the suit that had been suppressing its movements now allowed it to move freely.

The monster jumped up and slammed into the wall, and Hayoon was forced to hit the wall as well.

Gunshots rang out again, and a monster that had been hit in the head by Iris’ bullets fell limply.

Then, two monsters charged toward Iris.

The battle continued.

Already, the number of monsters that had fallen was in double digits.

Had there always been this many monsters?

The magical girls had dealt with many monsters before, but the number here seemed far too great for one place.

Could they somehow create more monsters?

Everyone was thinking the same thing when—

“No!”

A monster that had thrown Rose aside came rushing toward them.

It was unclear whether it was trying to enter the broadcasting room, as it couldn’t make decisions or issue orders.

But even being near it was dangerous.

The surrounding walls were already heavily damaged from the battle.

If something entered the already destroyed broadcasting room, it would be uncontrollable.

Hayoon charged at the monster and collided with it.

A groan escaped her lips.

It felt like crashing into a massive boulder.

Something inside her might have broken, but she didn’t let go of her staff.

…Perhaps Jieun had gone through even worse.

No, Hayoon thought, Jieun was likely suffering much more.

Right now, Hayoon was fighting with hope, but Jieun hadn’t been able to do that.

“…Argh!”

She yelled and took a step forward.

Swinging her staff, she struck at the monster’s legs and thrust it into its shoulder.

This time, there was no circuit there.

The monster grabbed her and threw her aside.

She was almost sent into the broadcasting room but managed to stop herself by grabbing the wall.

Her fingers made a cracking sound, but she ignored it.

“I can still fight.”

Hayoon got back up.

Gunfire and magic flew in from the side.

While Dahlia and Iris launched simultaneous attacks, the monster staggered.

But the support didn’t last long.

Both of them soon had to face the approaching monsters themselves.

Bright light surrounded the monster for a moment, and its movements froze.

As the monster wavered from the quick spell cast by Delphinium, Hayoon swiftly moved behind it and struck its back.

With a small explosion, the monster fell.

“Hah, hah… Hah.”

Hayoon stood her ground, her eyes wide open.

When she bared her teeth and looked at the monsters, their movements slowed for a moment.

The monsters, driven by instincts, seemed to feel a bit of fear.