The elderly director looked to be around sixty years old, with well-defined features, sharp eyes, and a few wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and cheeks. Despite her stern appearance, there was a touch of warmth in her expression.
She wore a deep brown woolen coat, and her graying blonde hair was neatly combed back, giving her a sharp and capable look. At this mont, she was watching Lin Yun with a slight smile.
A Westerner?
The thought crossed Lin Yun’s mind, but he didn’t voice it. Instead, he nodded calmly in greeting. “Hello, Director. How should I address you?”
“Just call Mors. Titles are nothing but formalities.”
The woman spoke in an even tone. “Please, have a seat. I believe we have much to discuss.”
Lin Yun followed her lead and sat in the chair across from the desk, exhaling softly before looking up. “I’m not here today for anything else. I need the truth.”
“The Counterasure Bureau holds many truths unknown to the public. Which one are you looking for?”
Mors gestured with one hand in an inviting manner. “Perhaps we should start by discussing your situation?”
“You should already have a good understanding of my situation, so I won’t waste ti on unnecessary details.”
Lin Yun nodded, deliberately allowing a hint of tension in his voice before getting straight to the point. “Two years ago, at a funeral, I t a young woman who told that my wife was actually a Magical Girl.”
“After that, I started going through my wife’s belongings and found a secret journal. It confird that she had been a Magical Girl. And, according to what she wrote in it, she had already sensed so hidden danger before she died.”
What he had just said was only thirty percent true and seventy percent fabricated. The information he had was real, but the way he claid to have obtained it was entirely made up. To avoid suspicion, Lin Yun made sure his tone and expressions matched his words, keeping his gaze locked with Mors’ to emphasize his sincerity.
“I’m just an ordinary person. When faced with beings like this, there’s nothing I can do. I could only accept it as a tragic accident. Even when I realized there was more to her death, I was powerless to investigate.”
“All I could do in the end was honor her last wishes and raise our child properly.”
His eyes bore into Mors’. “But… you already know. I accidentally stumbled upon sothing. And now, even my daughter has beco a Magical Girl.”
“My wife died because she was a Magical Girl. What about my daughter? I can’t predict what will happen to her next. If she ends up suffering the sa fate… I’m sorry, but just thinking about that future is suffocating.”
“That’s why I need to ask you—I believe I have the right to know. Who was the killer? And… can you protect my daughter?”
After finishing his speech, Lin Yun exhaled deeply and lowered his gaze. “Sorry, I might’ve gotten too emotional.”
He never intended to deceive her completely with lies. Most of what he said ca from genuine emotions. The only difference was that, deep down, he didn’t believe the Counterasure Bureau could protect his daughter. He had already made up his mind to take matters into his own hands.
“...I’m sorry to make you revisit such painful mories.”
Mors closed her eyes, silently contemplating before she finally spoke. “As for the person who killed your wife… that is precisely why I wanted to et with you alone, Mr. Lin Yun.”
“Why?” Lin Yun picked up on sothing unusual in her words.
Mors remained with her eyes closed, her expression serious. “Because this is just my personal theory, sothing I cannot openly express outside of private conversations. Especially within the Counterasure Bureau—what I’m about to say goes directly against our core principles and beliefs.”
“What do you an?” Lin Yun’s gaze sharpened.
Opening her eyes, Mors clasped her hands together on the desk, fingers interlocked.
“Mr. Lin Yun, do you believe that all Magical Girls stand for justice? That they fight solely to protect the people?”
“…Isn’t that the case?”
Lin Yun was montarily stunned by her question, an instinctive wariness rising within him. “If Magical Girls didn’t stand up to fight, ordinary people wouldn’t be able to live as peacefully as they do now.”
Though he voiced his rebuttal, deep down, he had a different answer. But Lin Yun wasn’t supposed to know that.
“I’d like to believe that too. The Counterasure Bureau was established for that very reason. But unfortunately, reality is far more complicated.”
Mors studied him intently. “Magical Girls fight to protect others, mainly because of the emotional ties they have in the real world. More importantly, they are regulated and restrained by The Kingdom. But in truth… if a Magical Girl were to abandon her morals and conscience, and if she dared to oppose The Kingdom, she could easily turn that destructive power against humanity—or even against her own kind.”
“…That’s hard to believe,” Lin Yun said, playing along.
“Yes, hard to believe—but entirely logical.”
Mors nodded. “Because of this, there have been rebels among Magical Girls. So have even gone so far as to defect.”
“Once they escape The Magic Kingdom’s control, they use their powers to commit cris, harm others, steal power, and act without restraint. These kinds of Magical Girls do exist.”
“In recent years, an entire group of such Magical Girls has erged. They oppose The Kingdom from the shadows while scheming toward their own goals. And for so reason… they can even move alongside Ravagers.”
“No—they are even more dangerous than the Ravagers. They are an existence that must be avoided at all costs.”
“And based on certain traits they exhibit and the na they’ve given themselves, this group of defected Magical Girls is known as—‘Claw Mark.’”
That statent genuinely surprised Lin Yun.
Most of what Mors had just said, he already knew. It was true that so Magical Girls had defected from The Magic Kingdom, and those who did were marked as fugitives, relentlessly pursued by The Kingdom’s investigation teams. Rarely did anyone succeed in escaping.
But for their numbers to be great enough to form an organization—one that even worked alongside Ravagers—that was unheard of.
“‘Claw Mark’…?” Lin Yun repeated, showing just the right amount of confusion before pressing further. “My wife’s journal never ntioned that na.”
Mors shook her head. “Because their ergence is a recent developnt. I only found out about them due to a stroke of luck. It’s not surprising that Miss Sakura’s earlier journals wouldn’t ntion them.”
“You’re saying… my wife’s death might be related to them?” Lin Yun frowned.
“I believe so,” Mors said. “According to her contacts, Miss Sakura was an experienced Magical Girl with formidable strength. Theoretically, if a Ravager appeared that even she couldn’t defeat, then such a Ravager would’ve already destroyed Fangting City.”
What Mors was suggesting, Lin Yun understood perfectly.
Aya had been an exceptionally strong Magical Girl. She could eliminate ordinary Ravagers with ease and often carried out missions alone. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to protect Fangting City for over twenty years without issue.
And if the strange occurrences in Fangting City were truly caused by this “Claw Mark” group of Magical Girls… then everything made sense.
But there were still things Lin Yun didn’t understand. For example, this very mont.
“Then… why are you telling all this?”
Lin Yun’s voice was calm as he stared at Mors. “If this information is so sensitive, why tell an ordinary person like ?”
“...I told you, we have much in common. Because when I look at you, I can’t help but rember my past self.”
Mors’ face remained gentle, but there was an unmistakable loneliness in her voice.
“My daughter… when she was still alive, she too was a Magical Girl.”
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