Transformation or Death

Chapter 45

Bonus Chapter thanks to Kizu Hana sub to Dual star @BuymeaBeer

Like a Comet in Your Heart (6)

The two looked at each other. 

One resented the many forgotten past days.

One resented the things that caused all the regrets because they could not forget.

It was a pleasant time of shared delusions.

Watcher had already activated one of the stars in advance, in the cold severe enough to feel pain just from breathing.

Alios.

The power to control flames by wielding the power of frost.

“Come at me… you too… like this….”

The one who actually used this magic looked quite exhausted.

The consumption of physical strength due to excessive use of magical power.

It resembled Watcher’s appearance when he excessively created clones and unleashed a deadly barrage.

On top of using several huge ice spells to kill the turtle villain he tried a new technique for the first time.

This backlash was unavoidable. He might even suffer a fever after the transformation was undone.

Watcher approached her, holding a red triple-bladed claw-like sword in one hand.

“Rest.”

He swung the sword and sheath it. Heat flowed through my hard body.

“I’ve said it many times, but I don’t want to talk or fight with you.”

It was none other than the mouth of the villain.

Whoosh! Flames erupted. The previously frozen body was charred by the intense heat. No matter how hard the outer shell, the insides are fragile. The villain’s body, with all its internal organs destroyed, gradually contorted.

“What are you doing?”

“Confirming the kill. Since it didn’t explode, it must still be alive.”

“So what’s in it for you!”

“It’ll be good for you.”

Watcher kicked the corpse away with his foot. The corpse, decorated in the sky as it flew away, erupted like fireworks.

Under the romantic fireworks, former lovers met.

One was awkward from lost memories, the other awkward from not knowing their identity. 

It wasn’t a meeting that either of them really wanted.

The sparks created by the exploding villain hit the ground.

Blue Sirius moved first.

The chilling triple blade came toward him. It seemed like his whole body would freeze just from being touched by the coldness it contained.

Watcher dodged it with a slight tilt of his head. He grabbed her wrist with his right hand. It wasn’t as sharp as before. Not because her hatred and strength had diminished, but because the timing was off.

Right after defeating the villain and excessively depleting her magical power and stamina.

“Stop it. You’re too exhausted right now. Fall back.”

“It might be easy for you all to make that decision.”

“Blue Sirius.”

“But not for us.”

Blue Sirius gritted her teeth as she answered.

“Today, Red Vega ran away for the first time. We fought for our lives every day, but only now could she run away. You can only run away when you’re that scared. When you’re so terrified that you’ve lost all reason.”

Watcher didn’t show it outwardly, but he was quite surprised.

Red Vega ran away?

It was undoubtedly due to fear.  

His expectations were correct.

Soon, she would face a great danger, one he could not reach.

That’s why she needed the fear to protect herself.

The deed he committed that day bore fruit.

But he felt no relief or sense of achievement.

Only a bitter sense of guilt and regret filled his mouth.

Simply gaining fear is nothing but stagnation.  

Even if she saved her life thanks to that fear, it could become a problem later.

They were still suffering many hardships.

And he was the cause.  

No one could justify it. It shouldn’t be done.

Blue Sirius let out a sigh that scattered into ice. Her resentment took form as a cold magic that colored the world.  

It was magic born from countless years of fatigue and anger.

Her wrist trembled uncontrollably.

“We are not allowed to rest… because you villains run rampant every day.”

Watcher silently listened to her resentment and hatred.  

“Did you think I’d be happy if you killed the villains? Don’t be mistaken. To us, you all must be killed. Just your existence is enough to piss us off, you villains!”

Blue Sirius mocked and shouted.

“If you want to do something good for me, then die here.”  

She simply found the villain before her repulsion.

The villain, who covers the magical girl’s starlight and only brings suffering, was acting hypocritically kind.

“If you’re so worried about me suffering, then die here.”

Even against a villain in a depleted state, she felt no fear.

Sufficient hatred and anger were enough to erase fear.

“Stab that annoying mouth of yours with your fancy sword and die. Or slit your throat or belly and die. That would be the most helpful thing for me.”

Unfortunately, she had already tried suicide. 

Failed, but tried.

It was an intriguing topic whether she’d be happy or sad to hear that.  

“Don’t act kind, you villain!”

Blue Sirius freed the arm that was grabbed. As she retreated, she thrust her foot into Watcher’s abdomen.

“…Kuk.”

It was painful, but he humbly accepted it. Even with a hundred mouths, he had nothing to say. It was true. That hatred was justified.  

The anger a magical girl holds towards a villain is always right.

Blue Sirius followed up by stabbing her triple blade straight in. From the tip of the blade, countless icy thorns poured out.

Seolhwail-ro (Snow Flower Path).

It was weaker than when he first saw it due to her current condition, but still threatening nonetheless. 

Watcher did not dodge.

He accepted all those attacks as punishment for himself.

He was covered in large and small scars, his body temperature dropped rapidly, and even his heartbeat slowed. The pain of contracting muscles.

From within that, Watcher barely opened his mouth. 

“…But I cannot die here.”

It might help relieve her mood for now.

But he could not abandon the future and possibilities for just that.

As Han Jae-jung, he already knew the consequences his death would bring.

That’s why he could not move towards death any further.

One who cannot cherish their own life would also find it ridiculous to cherish others.

One must always fear death.

“You can pour out as much resentment or tantrums as you want. But I still have things to do. The same as your goal. To kill the villains. So I cannot die here, not now.”

Moving his hand trembling from the cold, he grabbed his belt. 

“When everything is over someday, I will gladly die by your hand.”

Of course, the chances of dying before then are quite high too.  

But he had to try not to, for that purpose.

Han Jae-jung turned the belt in his blurring vision.

[ALKAID.]

Alkaid’s signature smoke spread out. It slightly blocked the onslaught of sharp ice shards.

“I will pray for the day you can rest in peace to come.”  

The ice storm and smoke overlapped, obstructing each other’s view. The starlight was nowhere to be seen.  

He wanted to see her face one last time before leaving, but could not.

***

Ippotranslation

***

Three days had passed since then. 

Botis walked through the dark underground. 

It was a place that had been used as a subway station before the villains appeared.

Of course, now there were no more subways, only a place where villains lurked, with no humans in sight.

He went there to find a particular villain.

It wouldn’t take long. All he had to do was follow the sound of someone crying.

“P-Please spare me… Please, I beg you…”

Near that villain, a shabby-looking person was kneeling down and begging fervently. 

From their appearance, they seemed to be a drug addict, a gambling addict, or both.

The villain casually ignored the pleading person and snapped one of their fingers.

“Arghhhh!!!”  

“Don’t forget to respect the deadline.”

The scream of pain that flowed out. 

The aura of negation.

Botis felt the aura emanating from the villain grow even larger.

“Libra.”

“Ah, it’s you, Botis. Wait a moment.”

“Ple-please, spare me…”  

Crunch!

The villain lightly crushed the person’s head under his foot, killing them instantly.

Before a villain’s power, a human body was as soft as a ripe plum.

“Still gathering starlight?”

“I lost quite a bit from our last duel… But I have no regrets. Starlight can be regathered. More importantly, I’ve found something far more precious. It was a fair sacrifice.”

Libra smiled contentedly.

She had found the most righteous sacrifice, the true practice of justice that could extract the greatest happiness from the smallest loss.

The path of a hero donning the mask of evil.

What an alluring sacrificial lamb.

“How long will you be stuck like this?”

“I haven’t completed all the constellations yet… But this should be enough for now. I think it’s time I started moving. So Botis, I have a request for you.”

“…Like before?”

“You catch on quick, make things easy.”

Botis pondered.

He recalled the conversation he had a few days ago with someone who was neither human nor villain.  

A peculiar individual who displayed qualities of both an enlightened villain and a wandering human.

The conversation with them had been quite enjoyable.  

He got to see relics from the past, which made him reminisce about people from those times.  

But most of all, conversing with someone lost was always a pleasure.

That day’s chat had been immensely satisfying, but in the end he couldn’t decide if they were a lamb or a wolf.

They claimed to be human and ended the conversation, leaving the Goldilocks Zone.  

However, Botis still hadn’t made up his mind about them. 

He felt he needed to observe them further.

Libra’s current request was simple.

He wanted Botis to provide containment while he tested someone – not a magical girl this time.

It would benefit both the villain seeking righteous sacrifice and the one who wanted to kill villains.

Botis had no reason to refuse.

“Alright. I’ll help.”

He smiled faintly. The muffled voice behind his hood still sounded cheery.

Like a child frolicking on a mountain path.

***

Ippotranslation

***

Upon waking from her dream, Red Vega let out a deep sigh.

She felt conflicted.

“Guhhhhh…”

She grumbled irritably, kicking and thrashing her blanket with her legs.

She had dreamed of her childhood, before becoming a magical girl.

Such dreams always helped trigger her Attunement by reminding her of the admiration she once felt.

But for the past few days, the meaning had changed.

“Daaaammmmiiiitttt…..”

She sighed heavily. If her past self could see her current self, what would she think?  

How pathetic would she find herself?

The fear she felt that day had dissipated and drifted away, but the fact that she had fled remained.

As a result, she forgot the need to flee that day, and was only ruled by the shame of having run away.  

“Aaaarrrggghhh!!!”

[Guardian, stop making noise.]

“I knoooowww…..”

She often jokingly called herself unfit to be a magical girl, but this was a genuine grounds for disqualification without exaggeration.

Red Vega got up from her bed, trying to put aside these dreadful feelings for now.  

There was something else she needed to worry about immediately.

She carelessly strewed her pajamas across the room and headed for the shower.

With the addition of more crumpled clothes scattered about, the messiness of the room increased further.

It was a room that had been neglected and uncleaned for a while.

Her body was damp with sweat from sleep, and the dirty air of the room soiled her skin.  

Her current mental turmoil was also not something she could show others.  

She needed to wash off some of her depression, fatigue, and impurities with hot water.

Standing under the shower spray, Red Vega sighed again. 

“*sigh*…”

Today was the day for suicide counseling.  

A day when she had to be a source of strength for someone struggling with depression.

Honestly, she would have preferred to reschedule it for another day and meet them later.

However, this counseling session had already been postponed once. A second time would be unacceptable.

Leaning her forehead against the tiled wall, she exhaled a hot breath.

While the physical grime might wash off, her depression did not.

Apparently, the type of depression she was experiencing now was not easily rinsed away.

She wondered if she was even qualified to be a mentor to someone right now.  

Could she become a guiding star for someone?

The answer that came back to her silent question was silence itself.

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