Transformation or Death

Chapter 15 – 

A Lot Has Changed, But Nothing Has Changed

“I must have disappointed you quite a bit by coming here.”

Libra spoke to me politely with a demure smile. Right behind her was a shelter, so the moment I move away from here, that freak will massacre the civilians. 

Endure. I clearly understood the quest’s instructions.

I was already feeling down after meeting my ex-girlfriend, and encountering this psycho made me feel even worse. But I was grateful she at least gave me an excuse to flee the scene.

Even so, I could not condone the deeds of that psycho. On my way here, I had Belt detect villains, and she sent additional ones to several locations besides this place and the hospital.  

Most of them were places that absolutely could not be ignored.

“Certainly, the purpose of this attack was to see what sacrifices the magical girls would choose. What would they consider the minimum sacrifice? The elderly who are already ill and have little time left? Children who can be easily reproduced? Or capital? Hmm…yes, your arrival here has certainly disrupted my plans.”

“But disappointment, you say? Surely not!”

Libra spread her arms wide in delight.

“On the contrary, how intriguing! What results will your sacrifice lead to? A psycho’s sacrifice will amount to far less sorrow than a magical girl’s sacrifice. It is a justified sacrifice for the greatest happiness of the majority. That is my view…”

A viscous, oily lump gushed forth from her golden palm. It continually spouted and splashed onto the floor. From the spilled oil, metal soldiers emerged.

“But originally, no one knows the future, do they? Whether the outcome will be a justified sacrifice that harms no one, or irreversible damage due to the butterfly effect. Which way will the scales tip? Truly fascinating.”  

She’s still obsessed with sacrifices.

“I hope you will be the answer.”

The scale decoration connecting her two shoulders tilted to one side, following her back.

Did she pay the price for creating villains?

Libra’s most representative ability is trade. 

By paying a certain price, she can bring about a miracle commensurate with that price.

The originally equal price and miracle has changed due to Libra’s pursuit of thorough efficiency.

Maximum profit for minimum cost.  

Both the Paradox and this freak align perfectly with their purposes and abilities.

I placed my hand on Belt.

“Sacrifice? What nonsense. I’m not dying here. So without any sacrifice…no, it will end with just the loss of your time and effort, you freak.”

[MERAK]  

Merak.

The second star of the Big Dipper, located at the bear’s waist.   

Another name for it is the Gate Star.

The star that welcomes someone paradoxically possesses the power to reject them more than anyone else.

My body took on a strong golden hue akin to those bronze villains, like a 19th century machine. A gate-like decoration appeared on my shoulders. In my hand was a long rifle.  

Open Gate.

That is this rifle’s name.  

I pointed it forward. The golden barrel glittering in the sunlight was beautiful.

“The gate is open.”  

Within that barrel, a flame that could shatter even the brilliance of day gathered.  

“Come if you can.”

Firing.

Fire burst forth. The meteor-like flames drew lines in the air as if using starlight as a pen.  

Those lines crisscrossed as if sketching a constellation with a single brushstroke. The iron bodies in their trajectories crumpled, exploded, sparked and collapsed.

“What’s wrong? Weren’t you trying to come here? Why can’t you come?”

Shuu. Smoke and wind burst from Open Gate due to the aftereffects of firing.

“The gate is always open.”  

I fired again. This time, not a single shot, but full auto.  

Kwagwagwang!

The bullets tracing the Big Dipper could control an immense range.   

Wind blew from the muzzle as if opening a door, and fireworks burst all around as if celebrating the arrival of an outsider.

It was a spectacular sight.  

“Come. I’ll be waiting inside the gate.” 

“Huhruh?”

“…?!”

What I saw was a comet.

In other words, a killing star. The ominous crimson starlight tearing through the sky descended as if to slay everything on this land.  

A killing star, a star of killing.

Kwang!

Finally, that starlight struck the ground. At the same time, the various existences on the ground were pushed upwards. 

Floor tiles, soil, dust, even the villains. After a brief moment of levitation, they fell back to the ground.

And were shredded to death by the starlight.

A force sharp as a blade left markings on the ground as if it had been pounded rather than forming a crater.  

Amidst that gruesome scene, a woman stood up. Clad in a somber dress of only black and purple hues. The gem on the central ribbon shone purple, and her eyes were devoid of whites, completely blacked out.

Her near-black, purple bob cut hair whipping around, she stood proudly on the earth.

The fallen magical girl, Virgo.

“Ahaha! Knock knock! Can I come in now?”

“The gate just closed. You should leave.”

“Huh? But you said it was open earlier! Ah, was it because of these guys?”

Damn it.

I felt that way the moment I saw her.

“So if I drive out these uninvited guests, can I come in?”  

“The uninvited guests include you…”

“Kehahaha! Here I goooo!”

Ignoring my words, Virgo moved. With a single movement of hers, several villains were slaughtered.  

Along with the crimson starlight, blood resembling oil was splattered across the floor, and the villains collapsed to the ground, weakly leaking out the remnants of their life force, fragments of small stars, outside their bodies.

A massacre.  

There were no other words to describe it.

‘What is this…?’

Not only Virgo, but why is Libra allowing this too?  

I asked Libra, who had gone behind the wall and was watching from this side.

“Hey. Why are you just watching?”

“…”

“Aren’t those villains you created getting torn to shreds over there? Isn’t that betrayal?”

Libra silently watched the scene, offering no other words.   

That’s right, wherever you go, your goal is achieved, isn’t it?

Damn freaks.

Swallowing my curses, I turned my head back.

“Knock knock.”  

Suddenly, Virgo was rapping my chest with her knuckles. 

A metallic sound rang out.

“Can I come in now?”

“No.”

Tang.

In return, I knocked on Virgo’s chest with a bullet.  

“Ouch!”

Staggering back, Virgo caressed her chest area before grinning slyly.

“So I can go in, right?!”

“What part of what I said did you mishear?”

I too stepped back to recompose myself. At that moment, Belt flashed.

[Quest Complete.]  

What the hell? What did I do to complete it?

‘…Ah.’  

Was enduring Libra’s forces the quest objective?  

So Virgo wiped them all out, hence the completion.

‘I’m screwed…’

Now there’s nothing forcing me to stay here. In fact, rushing at them would be more likely to get me killed.

However.

There’s a shelter behind me and an S-grade villain in front of me.  

I had reasons beyond the quest’s excuse to not retreat.

If harm comes here, the responsibility will once again fall on the magical girls.  

They’ll be hurt again. That can’t happen.

Resentment is something the villain should receive. 

Not all the people the hero failed to protect cannot become the hero’s responsibility.  

I know. 

My role remains unchanged.  

Endure.  

Endure without a single sacrifice. Endure so that you cannot hurt anyone.  

I know.

It’s madness. It violated the most basic survival priority that life should protect. It’s an act of suicide.  

It doesn’t matter.  

I’ve done countless crazy things over these past four days. What difference does adding one more make now?

Grasping the gun, stepping forward.

“The door is open.”   

Once again, light gathered at the muzzle.

“Come. I’m waiting here for you.”

“Okay~!”

Woong. A fierce wind blew. It was the wind caused just by her movement. 

The wind was being led by Virgo’s fist.   

Pak!

I blocked it by aiming the muzzle at her. Without delay, I fired.

Bang! Along with the spark, a silver starlight rushed towards Virgo.   

From the impact, Virgo was thrown up into the sky again. Now’s my chance.

I quickly moved behind Virgo. She’ll only be looking at me. I avoided causing any unnecessary collateral damage in that direction.

I fired again at her back.   

Bang! Once more caught in the waves of the Big Dipper, Virgo drifted forward.

I wanted to put more distance between us, but it wasn’t easy.   

If I got too far away, it would be troublesome to move outside of her interest.

While keeping her gaze focused on me, I had to block and avoid all her attacks.   

Like a satellite orbiting a planet, I circled around Virgo continuously feeding her bullets.

From the outside, it may look like I was dominating. But as one of the combatants in this fight, I could feel it.

‘It’s not working!’

She’s too tough. Despite her pale skin and soft-looking dress enshrouding her, I don’t know what’s making her so durable.    

At most, I could only inflict some minor abrasions.

“Ugh~ It hurts!”

Huk. The wind blew. The direction was right beside me. No, it didn’t blow. It gathered. The air distorted as it congregated in that direction.

“But it’s not enough. Is it because it’s only been four days~? No! If I think about that, you’re actually fighting really well! Are you some kind of genius!?”   

Libra is still beside me. But what is this flow……..   

‘Ah, double star.’  

Spica in Virgo is also a binary star.  

In other words, dual magic is possible.   

At the spot where the wind gathered, a human form gradually wavered into existence. It became a shape that seemed to trace Virgo’s outline.    

Tok. It raised its hand to my chest.  

“Bang!”   

The real Virgo shouted. The clone gathered magic power and fired it. Of course using a magical girl’s powers feels awkward for a villain.   

Bang!!!  

An impact like a large truck had rammed into me was felt in my chest. Extreme heat like a blast furnace accompanied it as well.    

It wasn’t a technique per se. It was just condensing the power of the stars into a beam and firing it.  

But if that thermal energy is overwhelming, then it becomes an overbearing force that overwhelms a thousand techniques.   

There are 15 stars in Virgo alone. With her experience as a magical girl veteran, she is well-seasoned.    

She is truly the owner of overwhelming physical abilities.  

Red Spica.  

The magical girl who formerly held the Red designation.   

For quite a while after being blown back, I had to withstand the impact of falling on my back.

“Hehehe… How’s that? Feel like dying? Does it hurt!”    

She was really excited. I could only respond with bloody coughs, too pained to speak properly.  

“Yeah. It hurts.”  

Suddenly she became calm.

“It reminds me of the old days! Right? You got hit by me and went tumbling like this before too, didn’t you!”   

Now her energy was high again. Just like when I watched the original work, she’s an erratic villain whose behavior is impossible to predict.

Is she suffering from multiple personalities, or just severe mood swings? They never did properly explain it.    

Wait a minute, what did she just say?   

“What?”

“You talk pretty well, huh? Ah, it’s nothing. Why, you got hit hard by me a few days ago and ended up in that state too, didn’t you?”

“No, what’s that abou…. ugh!”   

As I tried to get up, I hunched over from the pain in my chest. It couldn’t have been a few days ago when Virgo and I first fought.  

The pain that traveled up from my chest reached my head. Virgo’s words pulled out a fragment that had been hidden in a corner of my mind.     

Memories surfaced.  

A night of shining stars.   

Me desperately fleeing, wildly flailing my arms and legs. 

Following behind were villains. Not mere villains, but villains with rationality that made them even more terrifying.   

Villains like Virgo, Pegasus, Gemini, and Compass chased after me. 

Eventually, after getting hit by Virgo’s beam inside a tunnel, I collapsed.  

Reflected in those ripples was my current face…

Han Jae-jung’s face.

“You don’t remember? Actually, I had forgotten too. I thought I had seen you somewhere before, but I guess it was back then.”  

Virgo muttered nonchalantly. 

The memories didn’t stop there, but continued to play.

Through the stinging pain and blurring vision, I saw colorful starlight surrounding me.  

“So you were a villain?”   

No. I’m just an outsider possessing this body.

I’m not a lost child who has forgotten her memories.    

I was Han Jae-jung who had become a villain and lost his memories?   

No. I’m not a character from a webtoon. I had my own life.

My name is…….   

What was it again?

“That’s right. That’s how it was. Poor Jae-jung. You had forgotten everything?”

Virgo approached with seductive steps.  

“Suffering through no choice of your own… You’re so pitiful, Jae-jung. Does it hurt? But it’s okay now.”   

Before I knew it, she had come right in front of me and bent down to stroke my head.  

“If you’re with me, things like that won’t happen.”  

She had tried to kill me before and ignored me, but now she’s saying this nonsense.  

I didn’t understand her current attitude or my situation.

“Jae-jung, become the answer to my question.”   

In an instant, Virgo’s madness disappeared. 

And so did mine.

I reached for my belt.  

And canceled my transformation.

“…!”

A clear smile formed on Virgo’s lips, without any distortion.

Why was Dilemma able to find me so quickly, when I had only been active for a short time? 

They didn’t find me.

They already knew.    

The starlight scattered away from my body in a flash. Even then, I didn’t let go of my belt.

[ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATION.]

Seven stars frolicked and pushed away the nearby Virgo. With her now floating, this was my chance. I advanced, starlight trailing my steps.  

“Why…?”

“Forced de-transformation and re-transforming is dangerous, you see. I have to manually de-transform and re-transform one by one like this.”  

So, will my answer change? Is there anything different about what I have to do?  

Nothing at all.

“A villain? Did you think I’d suffer an identity crisis now and lose my way?”  

It’s only been four days since I came to this world. 

Already four days.  

This is time based on my perception. But even so, I understand.

I can still discern right from wrong.  

[THE BIG DIPPER.]  

Whether I become an outsider or a lost child, the sky remains clear.   

The path pointing north is beautifully starry.

Anguish is a luxury.

Philosophy is just the babbling of the well-fed and comfortable.  

Am I strong enough now to dwell on such musings? Unable to anchor anywhere, how arrogant of me.

Even though I have been through so much, I still haven’t made up my mind.

It’s so confusing.

Don’t be confused. Don’t be confused. Don’t be swayed.

This is an answer that was given a long time ago.

“I’m human. I should have told you this before.”

[SET. Seven Star Bogak.]

“That’s the path I have to take. I don’t walk the same path as you guys.”

Hang in there.

Hold on to protect it.

It’s a quest, it’s my identity, it doesn’t matter.

I just need to push forward with this, honestly.

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