I Became a Demon Queen

Code Red (1)

“Impo…”
“Everyone withdraw! Quickly! You’ll be in big trouble if you get caught up in this!”
The police began clearing out on their own.
I didn’t particularly plan to avoid it. The only annoying thing was Ren, who kept clinging to my skirt and screaming since earlier.
“Aria is a three-year S-rank magical girl. You can’t win! Can’t win! Moreover, her agency is a major…”
“Shut up!”
I finally kicked him away, sending him flying toward the police.
To ordinary people who can’t see Ren, I must look crazy.
“You treat your mascot quite roughly.”
“You know too, senior. Whether mascots or fairies, you have to beat their perverted personalities to make them know their place.”
Her eyes widened slightly, so I answered with a smirk.
“Such insolence! How dare… kieek!”
“I agree with that too.”
Of course the winged bun-like mascot of hers shouted in anger, but what surprised me wasn’t that.
It was because she punched her mascot away without even looking at it beside her, without the slightest hesitation.
“They’re ones who deceive and trick depressed children into making contracts.”
“…Wow, you’re quite a proper senior.”
I clapped sincerely. Perhaps I’d found someone I liked for the first time since coming to this Earth.
“But that’s that. And you’re you.”
“Fine. Come at m…”
M. After saying exactly “m”, I couldn’t say the rest “e”.
BOOM
An intense impact accompanied by a thunderous sound.
Along with throbbing pain. Air tearing and exploding sound, dirt scattering.
“…A gut punch without warning, isn’t that too much?”
“Kuk.”
Though I didn’t step back even one step, she had approached close range with just one step and struck my abdomen with full force. This was really meant to hurt.
It was enough of an impact to make me frown. This hurt more than when I collided with the car earlier.
Aria, face contorted, tried to hit my side with a two-hit combo in one breath. A true warrior. She’d pass even by demon realm standards. The more I saw, the more I liked her.
“Good eye. Quick decisions too.”
“What are you… kyaaak!”
I wrapped her body in shadows and threw her away. To her trying to regain her stance and charge again, I grinned and bombarded her with exploding shadows.
Since she passed mentally, now I wanted to see her combat skill level.
“You’ll have to move those limbs hard!”
Shadows that could become blades, needles, scissors, clamps, and chains were just like my tentacles.
The attacks rushing from all directions up, down, left and right must feel like fighting dozens of opponents simultaneously.
“Amazing?”
And Aria was really using all her techniques to deal with it. I had to acknowledge this. Mere talent alone wouldn’t be enough.
She had something beyond talent. Whether bone-grinding effort, or matching mental strength.
In my view, probably both.
“Hiek! What now!”
Ren, who had returned at some point, panicked. In the end, Aria endured all my offensives.
“Haa… haa…”
“Amazing, senior. With a bit more refinement, you could be at the level of the youngest legion commander.”
She was breathing heavily.
In the chaos where roads, ground, and trees were all torn and shredded, Aria stood with a bloodied and battered body trembling.
“But, shadows don’t get injured.”
I shot out shadows again, lifting my body into the sky.
I heard the watching police gasp in shock. There were occasionally some earnestly cheering for Aria.
Somehow this makes me look like the villain.
“Not… over yet..”
“Huh?”
However, Aria hadn’t given up yet. She gripped the knuckles on her hands and clashed them together with a thud.
“Second armament. Aria has already completed her second awakening, she’s a veteran!”
“What? I didn’t hear about that!”
No, did I hear it? Honestly, I let everything they explained go in one ear and out the other so my memory’s fuzzy. And in that time, Aria completed her transformation.
It was worth waiting according to the standard rules.
“I was asked to arrest you no matter what.”
“Nice outfit, senior.”
“Seems I’ll have to break an arm or leg or two after all.”
Healing her wounds, Aria emitted burning red energy from her entire body. And her flowing hair was burning red too.
The shadow blades I shot out, she destroyed with one punch.
“Draw your armament too.”
“…I prefer this better.”
“Then can’t be helped.”
She who smiled faintly disappeared. No, not disappeared but appeared behind me.
“Hu…”
Crashed into the ground with a thunderous sound, I had one arm grabbed by Aria who was stepping on my head, crushing my body beneath her.
She seemed to be thinking of breaking my arm by twisting it.
“Surrender.”
“Hah. What if I refuse?”
“…What’s your name? Your activity name.”
She added force to her hand as if giving a final warning.
“My name is Takiras.”
“Alright. Takiras. Please surren…”
“I told you surrender is absolutely impossible?”
She keeps demanding surrender from a king. An absolutely impossible act for the king of the demon realm.
“Ahahat…”
Indeed she had no mercy. With cracking sounds, my captured and twisted arm bones began breaking into pieces.
The disadvantage of getting this body is that the durability is lower than when in my original form.
Plus the fact that I feel pain. I wasn’t a masochist who enjoyed being hurt.
“You…”
“It was good data, senior.”
I exploded shadows to blow her away and got up. Though my grotesquely twisted arm dangled with extreme pain, I wasn’t in a bad mood.
How long has it been since a challenger left a scratch on my body?
“How on earth…”
“Well, the way of enduring pain. You seem familiar with it too.”
Aria’s eyes wavered. Maybe because I wasn’t crying and making a fuss?
“That won’t work anymore.”
She activated high-speed movement once again. But this time my tentacles were faster.
The shadows completely wrapping my entire body automatically found and blocked her attacks.
“This is payback.”
Immediately, I shot shadow tentacles from my chest toward her exposed abs as she grabbed my arm.
Ah, this refreshing sound of bones breaking and internal organs bursting. Unable to even scream, Aria coughed blood as she was sent flying far away and crawled on the ground.
No matter how firm her mental strength, with muscles and organs all torn, she probably physically can’t get up.
“Still, shall we call this a draw?”
“Are, are you okay?!”
With a bitter smile, I picked up Ren and flew into the sky. Soon the gathered police looked like specks of beans.
I hid my body in the clouds.
“Your arm! What happened to your arm!”
“Why are you making such a fuss?”
After flying aimlessly through the sky, I returned to Seoul seeing the tallest building. Landing on a nearby building’s rooftop, I smacked the fussing Ren.
“Don’t touch it, it hurts.”
“Th-this is too serious an injury. First…”
Despite being hit, Ren was flustered trying to examine my wound. Slightly touching. At least he cares when I’m hurt.
“If injuries exceed self-healing range and can’t be treated or leave permanent disability, your magical girl qualification will be revoked!”
“I knew you’d say that. Get lost!”
Face contorted, I threw Ren away and concentrated magic power on my ragged arm. Just that local part untransformed becoming tentacles, then transformed back into a human arm.
The regeneration was already perfectly complete.
“H-how…”
“Stop talking nonsense and let’s find a place to sleep today. I absolutely refuse to be homeless.”
I pressed the connector to undo the transformation. Right now, my biggest problems were food to eat today and a place to sleep. It was infuriating being a penniless beggar after finally returning to Earth.
“Money… ha, where do I earn money. Can’t even do manual labor with room and board with this body.”
Leaving the building, I started walking aimlessly with Ren perched on my head.

“We must conduct a large-scale search and capture her!”
“But…”
“Director! This is our chance. The opportunity Aria created while taking heavy injuries!”
She, Policy Office Chief Oh Yun-seo, pounded the desk as if frustrated. Overwhelmed by her force, the Management Bureau Director was just dripping with sweat.
“That child, Code Red Takiras is injured too. Estimated age 12-14, height 145-155! A girl with more than fracture injury to one arm! With just this we can find her! Just contacting all elementary and middle schools nationwide…”
“And if we find her? What will you do? She’s mentally ill! Didn’t you hear the police testimony? A murderer who tears people apart without blinking! The number of people she’s killed is already in double digits!”
This time the Director fought back.
Yun-seo bit her lip. Because she understood his intention.
“So you’re going to wait until other magical girls kill that injured child?”
“We have no duty to legally protect those who decided to step outside the bounds of law themselves.”
Though his eyes wavered, the Director remained firm until the end. In the end, Yun-seo left the Director’s office without results.
“Are you okay, senior?”
“…Let’s look into it ourselves at least, Hyung-chan. We absolutely can’t give up. There might be innocent victims, and that child might get hurt…”
However, she didn’t give up.