Chapter 299 – Episode 282 Magical Girl of Justice, Witch of Malice

The middle of the library, filled with the smell of unvolatilized ink and stiff paper. There is a pile of fluttering paper.

A grave made of paper. A man is lying on the soul’s resting place of knowledge and information.

“… “Wow!”

There, Joo Hyuk suddenly opened his eyes.

Even after opening his eyes, Joo-hyuk could not move for a long time. This is because the sight reflected in our eyes was something we could not easily believe.

In front of Joo-hyuk, who is lying on his back on the opened and torn bookshelves, is a library stretching up to the ceiling like the peak of the Mountains of Madness.

That… It cannot be compared to the two-story university library that I mainly visited for materials. Would it be like this if we gathered human culture, history, development and technology in one place?

“… Well, what happened… ?!”

Joo Hyuk looked at this unrealistic space with a dizzy expression.

This is not just a statement made because one cannot accept the current situation.

Until he fell here and lost his mind, Joo-hyuk did not understand what he had experienced.

From Naru’s shocking transformation to her declaration that she would gang-rape Umi and turn her into a public toilet…

“This place…”

When Joo-hyuk gets up, the papers weighed down on his back fall like leaves.

The horrifying feeling of the ground giving way and falling into thin air still remains.

The reason he survived from the edge of death may have been because the books he laid down on him protected him like fall prevention cloth.

Of course, it is not without blows.

When I stand up, my back hurts like it’s going to fall off. It feels like I’m being eaten by a small monster, starting from my tailbone.

But I’m glad it’s over with this. If I had fallen from that height and been slammed to the ground, I would not have escaped death like Naru’s last words said.

I can’t even tell how much time has passed. I looked in my pocket and found that my cell phone was turned off and wouldn’t turn on, perhaps due to shock.

“This place…”

I remember something I once heard from Umi.

Ara’s Eye Library.

Because of Ara’s lack of magical power, he went there with Umihol, and it was a place where he got a big hint about Azoth.

And the location of her external memory storage, which Ara directly mentioned when dealing with her past events.

The description of the Eye Library that he heard directly from Woo-mi was a very abstract and mysterious image, but only now that he has seen it with his own eyes does Joo-hyuk understand his lack of vocabulary.

But even so, it is not easy to understand.

Why can Naru use Ara’s Eye Library, which is not even hers?

Joo-hyuk did his best to recall Naru’s words in his head.

Naru’s shocking declaration is stuck in my head like a piece of iron.

Numerous questions and question marks swirl around in my head, but what’s more important right now is the meaning or intent of the words…

These are various words Naru mentioned to put that into practice.

“[Magical reverse engineering]… [God’s logic, human magic]… These aren’t all the magic Naru used. She uses magic that other magical girls use. If you ask her why she can use magic like that, she might…”

Joo-hyuk realizes that beyond that lies a truth that is difficult to accept.

“Ara too… Did you get hit by Naru? ?”

No matter how much you think about it, the only possibility remains.

The fact that Naru, not Ara, can freely open and close this place, which is a more personal space than anywhere else.

The only conclusion that can be drawn is that they took away Ara’s heart stone, which was the source of her magic, and disposed of her.

“… But … What the heck… ?”

It was a possibility that wasn’t even considered.

That’s right, didn’t Naru even cooperate to help Su-ah, who almost attacked her church just a few days ago?

“Why betrayal… ? No. No.”

Joo Hyuk shook his head.

It’s not betrayal. If it’s Ara, you’ve definitely found out something.

The fundamental reason why Naru did this… !

But.

“…”

Even if you realize that fact, nothing will change the current situation.

Not only do I not know how to escape from here right away, I also don’t know why Naru is doing such a thing.

We can’t even stop Naru’s future atrocities that will break Umi’s wings.

Naru spoke clearly.

Joo-hyuk himself, [I will bring you out at the most suitable time to crush the post-uterine senior].

Overwhelming helplessness.

Are we going to be stuck in the forest of the study and just suck on her fingers and wait like this, without knowing what will happen to Umi?

“Ugh… !”

But since he couldn’t just sit still, Joo-hyuk was about to stand up from his seat, drooling.

“… What. Joo-hyuk, why are you here?”

A soft, yet gentle voice that never seems to take the current situation lightly.

A stocky shadow is cast next to the bookshelf where Joo-hyuk is standing.

“That voice… ?!”

“… Ha. In the end, it looks like we are heading towards the worst situation.”

The deep part of the eye library that no one thought existed.

“Arabic… “Are you alive?”

Joo Hyuk’s eyes widened at the unexpected meeting.

* * *

Is it a blessing among misfortunes?

Such was the appearance of Ara, who thought she had been victimized by Naru.

“She thought she had the upper hand in My Place…” She said. Funny thing is, I ended up getting screwed. Going one step further, I never thought Naru would use this magic to trap others.”

Joo-hyuk smiled bitterly and looked at Ara sitting down in her chair covered with her books.

Ara, who lost the Heart Stone and returned to her original form, is so young that her honorifics are meaningless.

That’s what Ara is wearing… Even if she says she is wearing them, her casual clothes look very familiar.

“… Did you end up suffering that day?”

“… ? Ah. That’s right. Some time must have passed outside.”

He can’t help but be like that. The clothes Ara is wearing are the same clothes she saw that day when she met Umi in her bathhouse to save her from entering her men’s bathhouse.

“From my perspective, it’s like you came in not long after being attacked by Naru. Because it is a space where principles similar to the flow of human memory apply… Anyway. So how much time has passed since that day?”

“Not much. Tomorrow is Tuesday, so about 2–3 days have passed.”

“… I guess so.”

Looking at Ara nodding her head, Joo-hyuk felt a sense of déjà vu.

Her left eye doesn’t move. She doesn’t even look at Joo-hyuk.

No, it seems she can’t even sense light in the first place.

“Those eyes… !”

“Ah… Are you okay? Because it’s cheap compared to the price of her life. “It’s about one eye.”

Ara muttered, covering her eyes with her long hair.

“It’s a bigger deal than that. The fact that Naru started acting out her behavior so openly… It means that her body and mind were completely consumed by Azot.”

“What happened… ? It’s full of things I don’t understand from start to finish. The reason why Naru did such a thing… The reason you are here… “I have no idea.”

“… Well, it’s long… In conclusion, that’s it.”

Ara smiled bitterly at Joo-hyuk’s question.

“That girl was the exact opposite of Umi, who was like a magical girl from ‘Justice’ who looked like she came out of a cartoon. Then… Okay. Should we say she is an ‘evil’ witch?”

Justice and Malice.

The opposite path.

“The witch of ‘malice’…”

Umiwa became a more righteous magical girl than anyone else, following in the footsteps of her brother who sacrificed his life on her behalf in his final moments.

Naru, who was criticized until her last moment, threw herself in and became a witch with malice towards the world.

As if they were standing at opposite poles, these two people were completely opposite in personality, body shape, values ​​about life, and even the fate of becoming magical girls.

That’s why.

Therefore, her malice may have accelerated even further.

Ara’s explanation only ended with the reasoning related to the whole incident of Umi entering the men’s bathhouse that day and the circumstances of how she came to be here.

“I never thought Naru-san was involved in the bathhouse incident… No. If you think about it, what happened back then was like that…”

Joo Hyuk looked like he had something to point out.

Considering that Umi, who was on her period, naturally walked into the men’s bathhouse and came close to being raped, the intention seems clear.

Just as she became a magical girl, she was able to recreate something that went beyond what happened that night.

The malicious intention to destroy Umi from her fundamental spirit… !

“But why to Umi…” ? Even if Umi didn’t want to hear it, the person she followed like that was a senior who had lost her husband… Why… !!”

“I don’t understand either, but… Because that’s how malice works. Malice is extremely addictive and contagious, and it can easily change its message to infiltrate various places.”

Ara rested her chin and continued her words.

“That’s why she was the perfect horse for Azoth’s target. “She is even more so when she takes her own life and becomes a ‘magical girl’ and a ‘witch’ by ​​killing herself.”

She tried to prevent Su-ah from becoming a witch, but she seemed to be unaware of the existence of the most fearsome witch. That was the biggest mistake.

After hearing Ara’s story, Joo-hyuk stood up, dusting himself off.

I’ve heard stories like this, and I can’t stay still.

If things continue like this, time will pass without movement outside, and Umi will be attacked by Naru without even knowing what’s going on.

“… “Is there no way to get out of here?”

“If there was a way like that, I wouldn’t be stuck here, right~? Unless there is a heartstone, opening and closing this space is not under my jurisdiction. All we can do is wait for Naru to open the entrance.”

“Damn…”

The situation is not good.

“But… “You can’t just sit there doing nothing.”

Nevertheless, we must do what we can.

“Arabic. “So this library is the only space that is less affected by changes in the world, right?”

“Hmm… “I think so, considering that there was a version of the [Astrology murder case], Which was the truth that Azot was trying to cover up.”

If only to raise even a glimmer of hope to stop Naru’s plan.

Ramen to protect Umi’s womb.

“Then that is enough.”

“What is enough?”

“Ara, even if you weren’t interested in idols, you probably saw an idol’s performance on TV at least once or twice. If that’s the case—”

“… ! Aha,~. Is that so?”

Even if the task is like finding a needle in a sandy beach, you must do as much as you can in this open, closed room.

“We have to find it. Something that could put Naru’s malice to rest… Memories related to her past.”