“Ahh, ahhh…!”
The tattered hero, Frey, leaned against an alley wall, staggering with each step. Unceasing heavy breaths escaped her lips.
“Guh… Ugh…”
Plop- Thud. A trail of white saliva dripped from Frey’s lips onto the ground. Breathing heavily, she managed to lift her foot.
Her right hand gripped the wall to keep from falling, while her left remained pressed against her abdomen. Every time her hand brushed her stomach, Frey let out a pained groan.
‘Hurry… I need to get away. While Heavenly Hero is buying time… Joker got hit! Damn it!’
Even injured, seeking help in broad daylight wasn’t an option. Showing up at the hospital as a wounded hero would cause a panic in the empire, and visiting underground info brokers could lead to being tracked.
‘Joker… Now that it’s confirmed he’s Evans, even Heavenly Hero can’t guarantee safety. If Joker really wants to kill Hero… Even if Hero comes for me after leaving Joker alone, I can’t let him see me like this… Urgh!’
The deep bruise throbbed painfully. Each step felt like breaking bones for Frey.
“Ah, ah… It’s bad… My insides are seriously hurt…”
‘Where should I go? Considering Joker already saw half my face, he might be guessing my identity… If I don’t show up at the academy tomorrow, they’ll suspect something about me…’
Squelch-
The battle between two powerful figures had devastated the street. Instead of crossing the wide road, Frey slipped into dark alleys, heading toward Eden Academy.
Her breath caught in her throat, and her cracked ribs stabbed her lungs with every breath. Still, Frey didn’t stop walking.
Her steps weren’t just hers.
Giving up? That short word meant nothing to Frey.
Hero.
Lord’s Sword.
The sword that wields the grave power of slaughter must only target injustice.
A hero carrying the lives of the continent’s people doesn’t own her own life.
Squelch-
Knowing this better than anyone, Frey climbed over walls without leaving an outing record, moving toward the academy despite the gut-wrenching pain.
At Eden Academy finally, Frey scaled the wall barehanded and barely made it over the fence.
“Huff… Ugh…”
Frey changed into an intact school uniform in her dormitory first. The uniform hid her painful wounds.
Trying not to limp too obviously, Frey arrived at Maria’s dormitory. After taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door three times.
Knock knock knock-
“Maria… Are you there?”
While speaking, her consciousness began to blur. Dizziness overtook her, making her stagger once.
The door opened quickly, revealing a girl with snow-white hair and a gentle smile.
“Hero? What brings you here?”
The moment Frey saw the girl, she sighed in relief and collapsed into her arms.
Thud-
Eventually reaching Eden Academy by moving step after step…
Having sneaked out without recording her departure, Frey climbed the wall again with bare hands and barely made it back over the academy fence.
“Huff… Ugh…”
Frey first returned to her own dormitory to change into an intact school uniform. The uniform concealed her painful injuries.
Walking as steadily as possible, Frey arrived at Maria’s dormitory. After adjusting her breathing, she knocked on the door three times.
“Maria… Are you there?”
While speaking, her consciousness began to blur. Dizziness overtook her, making her stagger once.
The door opened quickly. A girl with snow-white hair and a warm smile appeared.
“Hero? What is the matter?”
The moment Frey saw the girl, she sighed in relief and collapsed into her arms.
Thud-
—
“Damn it… What have I done…!”
Stella’s pale face contorted with self-loathing as she froze in front of an alley.
Until moments ago, a masked thug had been beating someone while choking them there.
“Aah, ah…”
There was no one there now. Not even the hooded citizen who should have been crouching there recovering.
Stella clenched her teeth tightly, suppressing a sigh of frustration, and knelt on one knee to examine the area closely.
Vomit-like traces and footprints were visible. However, the footprints disappeared after a certain distance.
That person should definitely have been there. Their disappearance led Stella to one conclusion.
The words the masked thug had shouted at her earlier contributed to her deduction.
“Since you were distracted by my command… Did he go to kill that girl while you were looking this way? Hahaha!”
“What are you doing! Hurry up! If you’re a hero, act like one and save the citizen! Leaving citizens behind while throwing punches makes you a gangster thug!”
The thug claimed his feline accomplice was targeting the citizen. And now, Stella felt utterly disheartened.
“I was too complacent… So foolish…”
“I should have protected the citizen before following that guy… I never thought he’d last so long. It’s as if I killed him myself. Me!”
Swoosh-
Her tall, slender figure stood up. Intense anger surged within her. First, at her own incompetence and complacency, and second, at the thug who had toyed with her like a puppet.
Crunch – Her tightly clenched fists made grinding sounds as bone met bone. Suppressing her blazing anger, Stella judged rationally.
The only key, or clue, to resolving the current situation.
Bang!
Stella leaped back onto the road where the intense battle had taken place moments ago. Car horns blared as she stood in the middle of the large road.
Smoke rose from the road, with a large crater at its center – the crater where Stella and the thug had fought.
“Shit… There’s nothing here. He escaped already.”
Stella carefully examined the area, hoping to find some clue the thug might have left behind. The vanished citizen’s image – likely abducted – lingered in her mind, but Stella steeled herself.
This year, Stella turned twenty, essentially a rookie in society. Despite being exceptionally talented and known to citizens as “Heavenly Hero,” she still had a youthful heart.
Clap clap!
“Snap out of it…! The calmer I am in situations like this, the better!”
After slapping her own cheeks, Stella regained her focus. Her sharp eyes meticulously scanned the battlefield.
There were almost no significant clues. Still, refusing to give up, Stella’s golden eyes continued searching.
“Hmm?”
Something small glinted faintly in the darkness. Picking it up, it turned out to be a tiny button.
Though it seemed unlikely such a small button could be much of a clue, it was all she had for now. Carefully placing it in her pocket, Stella left the crater, which revealed no more useful information.
By the time she noticed, a Pantera crewmember had called out to her.
“Captain! What happened? I heard gunshots and saw you rush out! What’s going on here?”
“Yeah, there was a powerful thug. Did you report it to the police?”
“Uh, yeah! I reported it right away when you flew off, thinking you’d hold the thug down! Where is he?”
The crewmember named Iris looked around, searching for the culprit that Stella should have captured.
“I lost him.”
“Oh, I see. Then we’ll just hand it over to the police when they arrive… Wait, what did you say?”
“I lost him. He was strong. Look at my face.”
Stella pointed to her face with her hand. The dried blood clearly showed she’d been through a fierce battle.
“Captain’s face looks like that…? No way, what kind of guy suddenly appeared…?”
“That’s what we need to investigate next. What I do know is that he wore a mask. A white mask with a smiling expression… Tch.”
“Got it… Understood. We’ll tell the police the details. Uh… Captain, what’s that on your chin?”
The crewmember awkwardly pointed to Stella’s chin. Unable to see her own chin, Stella wondered what was wrong and touched it with her hand.
“Hm?”
She felt an unusual texture. Like something thin between paper and plastic.
Rip – Without hesitation, Stella tore off whatever was stuck to her chin. Her golden eyes widened in surprise upon recognizing it.
“A band-aid…?”
Then she recalled the thug’s mocking whisper during the fight.
“Does your jaw feel numb? Look at your beautiful skin getting torn. Should I put a band-aid on it for you? Of course… if you’re still alive!”
Could it be? Did he apply a band-aid while they were fighting?
‘Did he really take the time to pull out a band-aid and stick it on my chin during that chaos…?’
Her head felt numb instead of her jaw. What kind of bizarre villain was this? Applying a band-aid to his opponent just to keep his promise.
Though her brain felt foggy, one thing was clear. Stella swallowed dryly.
An unprecedented and strange villain had appeared.
![[TS] The End of Magical Girls Has Come](https://i3.wp.com/darkmtl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1737407792-8993-TS-The-end-of-magical-girls-has-come.png?resize=85,105 "[TS] The End of Magical Girls Has Come")
