Transformation or Death

Chapter 61

Memory Recovery (7)

There is one who flies above the jumper.

There is a great gap between those who can move freely in the sky and those who cannot.

Fortunately, this time I was able to use Hong Ik-o as a foothold to jump around, but even so, the limit was clear. 

Virgo momentarily eliminated the flock of birds adorning the sky, removing any place for me to step on. Those who only cling to the ground can only descend.

This caused me to momentarily lose sight of Virgo. It was a huge failure.

[Quest Appears. Please save Pink Deneb.]

There was no need to specify it as a quest. It was something that had to be done, of course.

I increased the speed of my jumps. Fortunately, the starlight was still easily detectable. Virgo’s location was clear.

While chasing, I compressed starlight at the tip of my feet. It was preparation for the Big Dipper Strike.

To speak coldly, all of Watcher’s skills are not limited to imitating the skills learned from Belt.

When Belt observes the most effective way to use starlight, I follow that path.

But this alone is not enough. 

All the skills first conveyed are based on the Big Dipper. 

Limiting itself to only seven stars, it focuses on using them most effectively.

I had already taken far more than seven steps. Yet at the tip of my feet, green starlight like a firefly continued to gather, increasing the size of the halo.

I intuitively felt that I had surpassed the existing skills.

Kwadeuk! Wherever I stepped, the pressure couldn’t be contained and the ground was scratched.

My beginning is the Big Dipper, but that doesn’t mean it’s the end. It’s only my beginning. It’s just the starting line of the path that guides me.

Now I’ve finally stepped out of that line.

The stars I’ve collected and the experiences I’ve accumulated. The increased power and proficiency. All of these organically interlocked to create one change.

Transcending the limit. 

The beginning of a journey towards a new constellation.

In my two eyes, a magical girl and one who used to be a magical girl came into view.

Pink Deneb was covered in injuries. I felt a lump in my throat. Even though I had taken on Watcher’s body, it was unavoidable to feel anger at the injuries of an acquaintance.

The past came back to me again.

Her, the junior I first met under Seol-hwa. When we first met, I didn’t know it then, but she had various bruises under her clothes.

The scars all over her body, even smaller than she is now, came back to me.

Yet I felt no anger. My mind was calm. I just silently did what had to be done.

Virgo fired a beam from the tip of her finger. The violet beam bloomed hazily like a sunset, destroying everything in its trajectory.

That beam was clearly aimed at Pink Deneb. I stomped on the ground even harder.  

Everything in this world seemed to slow down. Sound followed behind my movements. Was it because of the starlight gathered in these legs, or the power of the Big Dipper? I didn’t know, but it was a good thing now.

It was a speed I had never experienced before. Catching up to the wind and competing with light in speed. The speed of the Megrez form had long since been surpassed. It was a movement akin to lightning. In an instant, just as lightning touches the ground from the sky, I succeeded in reaching my goal with just one step.

It was a way of moving far removed from delicacy. Like the lightning drawing multiple streaks across the sky, it was a rough and primal movement.

Still, I did not miss my target. 

I managed to envelop Pink Deneb’s body even before the beam arrived. I slowed down appropriately and set her down next to where the beam would land.

Her dazed expression looking at me was quite impressive.

“You, you…”

“I’ll listen to your objections later.”

I immediately turned my head and moved my body again.

Fortunately, Hong Ik-o was still running on Virgo’s back.

It was a good foothold.

It cannot be denied that she has suffered as a magical girl.

But all those circumstances do not serve as an excuse for her.

What Virgo has committed now is clearly an evil act. As someone who is supposed to protect magical girls, I cannot turn a blind eye.

There was no pity.

“As I thought, it’s difficult for me to chase them. They disappear from my sight in an instant.”

In the darkened sky, a pillar of light faintly revealed itself.

It glowed brilliantly like glass containing heat, perilously as if it would melt at any moment, and yet was beautiful.

It was a dreamlike light. The green light that had been like a firefly now shone like a jewel.

That light gathered in my legs.

The look on Virgo’s face as she looked at me was full of consternation.

Our eyes met. No special emotion welled up. 

I did not feel anger towards one who committed an act worthy of anger. I could not feel any malice.

Still, my body moved. To do what had to be done.  

It resembled mechanically walking a path.

“Thanks to that, I have far surpassed the seven steps.”

I moved the Big Dipper Strike towards Virgo’s head. The transcended strike enveloped her.

Kwaaaang!

[Seven Step Bogak reproduction successful. Reproduction rate 101%.]

Like a comet, Virgo fell down. Not a descent, but a clear plummet. A massive explosion occurred where she fell.

After that, I fell down as well. The landing was safe. Of course, since I did not lose my balance. Looking at the explosion, I quietly realized.

This power that has transcended limits is certainly that of the Big Dipper.

A fragment of the power I have yet to possess. A power that can shake heaven and earth like a natural disaster.

A speed and power of a different dimension than before.

At the same time as realizing the authority of the power I want to have, I realized the side effects. 

“….”

This power brings me closer to being a monster than I am now.

The moment I transcended the limit, my emotions disappeared. 

Unable to get angry at what I should be angry about, unable to feel compassion for what I should feel compassion for, unable to feel resentment towards those I should resent.

Even so, what needs to be done does not stop. 

No, it tries to finish more elaborately and surely.

I just tried to crush her head and tear that part from her body without any hesitation.

Even though I didn’t know exactly what Virgo and I had gone through in the past, I tried to kill her without hesitation. 

The appearance of throwing away all human values for a purpose. That is truly monstrous.

“…A rampage?”

Yes, it feels like I’ve caused a rampage by pursuing power and becoming a villain. 

Fortunately, the power I used this time was small and short, or else. If I had fully awakened the power of the Big Dipper, what would have happened? Just imagining it makes me shudder.

The power of the Big Dipper should not be used hastily all at once, but slowly made to become familiar with the body. Like taming a wild animal, carefully and delicately.

“Hey! You! Your purpose…”

“Wait a minute.”

Even after Virgo fell to the ground, the voice for quest completion did not ring out. The reason was soon revealed.

“You’re quite tenacious too.”

I wrapped Pink Deneb and remained lying on the ground. A bright flash passed over.

A crimson roar flashed from where the explosion had occurred. It was closer to a pillar than a line in thickness.  

If I hadn’t been prepared in advance, I could have been cut in half and died right there. It was fortunate that I had developed the habit of not being careless after Libra.

My back and waist melted a little, but it’s a wound that will heal after applying some ointment and sleeping for a few nights. There was no problem. It hurt like hell though.

“Yeah…That’s right!”

Virgo staggered up. Her mouth was full of laughter. Thick blood flowed down the side of her raised lip corners.

She covered her left eye with her left hand. Blood gushed out like a flood through the gaps in that hand. Did she lose her eye from that last attack?

“You guys have someone to protect you? Thanks to me! Be grateful!”

With the other hand not covering her face, she pointed at Ah-yoon.

“Be very…Grateful! Today I won’t aim for world destruction! Be grateful!”

She smiled complacently and put the few remaining Hong-ik-o on her back again. Blood dripped heavily under Virgo’s rising feet. Soon it shot up into the sky. An incredibly fast flight that the eyes could not follow. A clear ascension technique. The skill of folding the sky to fly.

[Quest Complete.]

I slowly got up. The expression of Ah-yoon, who had been lying under me, was not so good.

“It’s fortunate. No one died, at least.”

I threw out some kind words to lighten the mood.

“What are you?”

Unfortunately, I did not get a good response.

“What’s your purpose that you help me even at the cost of getting hurt?! If you’re a villain, please just act like a villain? Why are you bewitching me…”

Her gaze was on the area around my right waist. My tattered armor and protruding fragments. Blood and melted skin coming out of the slight cracks.

“….Are you really Han Jae-jung? My brother? Stop being so evasive! Stop beating around the bush! Give me a proper explanation!”

After grumbling for a while, Ah-yoon brushed her bangs aside as if she had a headache.

“I’m grateful you helped me! But still! Say something! I’m so frustrated I could die!”

Seeing her express gratitude properly made me feel gratified for some reason. Her personality didn’t seem to have gotten warped even though she swore a bit more.

“Are you prepared?”

“Prepared for what?”

“To know the truth.”

Her response came without hesitation. 

“I don’t care about that! I’ll just prepare when the situation arises! Hurry up and say it!”

“Then you are not yet ready to know me.”

Not yet.  

It is too soon to reveal my identity. Doubts are allowed. Hostility is allowed.

Ignorance is frightening but at least not painful.  

I know Ah-yoon’s sincerity.

When she learns that someone she knows is a monster, she will agonize over whether to kill me or not. It will be quite painful.

She is different from Red Vega. She does not possess the shamelessness of being so obsessed with an ideal that she disregards everything else. She has gone through too much hardship to have such an innocent heart.

“My answer is the same as last time. Han Jae-jung is not here now.”

[ALKAID.]

Smoke wafted up around my belt. 

“…! That’s because… You’ve lost your memory?”

She asked from between the wisps of smoke. I did not bother to answer. Instead, I left an answer to a different question.

“And my purpose will remain unchanged even if tomorrow comes. Yesterday, today, tomorrow, no matter what day comes, no matter what hardship befalls me, even if you curse at me with that tongue or try to strangle me.”

I answered in my fading vision.

“I will always wish for you to live.”

***

Ippotranslation

***

After arriving home via Alkaid, I fell into a frantic sleep. 

I had gained memories and power, met someone from my past, and even encountered a villain who might be connected to my past. It was an environment where fatigue was bound to build up.

Without any thought of healing the wounds on my waist and back or bathing my body, I lay down on the damp yellow floor mat without even laying out a blanket and begged for sleep. 

Fortunately, I was more tired than in pain, so I was able to fall asleep without issue.

In the midst of this, what woke me up was the sound of a phone ringing. It was the first time it had properly performed its original function since being activated.

“Uhhh… Hello…”

I answered the phone in a dazed state. I should have properly checked who was calling.

“You were sleeping?! You can’t do that! What time is it?! You need to be more diligent! Physical laziness and bad habits will lead to listlessness of the mind…”

“Is It Vega?.”

“Ah, you should call me Ah-hee!”

It was Red Vega.

“What’s going on this early in the morning?”

“11am is not morning! Anyway, have you been doing well?”

I got up weakly and stared at the bloodstains on the floor. It was performance art made from the wounds I got yesterday. 

“Uh… No?”

“I thought so! You haven’t met someone who can brighten your mind like a comet! Why haven’t you contacted me all this time?”

“Isn’t it bad for a counselee to contact their suicide counselor?”

“But we’ve gone beyond just counselor and counselee, we’re friends! Friends who share secrets! Of course we can keep in touch!”

“How unhealthy for a counselor and counselee to have a personal relationship… So, what did you want?”

There was the sound of a gulp from the receiver. A clear sign of tension.

“Uhh… I’m sorry, but you haven’t told me everything.”

“Didn’t we agree we wouldn’t talk about that?”

“No, not that! I mean the old story. Um, let me just ask directly.”  

The bold girl’s voice rang in my ears.

“The reason you were cyberbullied.”

“Ah.”

I was flustered but didn’t show it. Somehow, I had a feeling Ah-yoon was why she suddenly contacted me. Turns out this friend was the reason.

“Did you see the controversy section when you searched my name?”

“No, I heard it from a friend.”

“I see…”

Swallowing the rising sigh, I ran my hand through my hair. Maybe it’s because I just woke up. My mind felt hazy and dizzy.

“So, what did you want to say?”

It was a slightly prickly response. I was surprised after saying it. Apparently I felt more resistance to bringing this up than I thought. Though I had just regained those related memories yesterday. I must have unconsciously become more sensitive. 

I softened my voice to explain.

“What… Did you want to hear from me?”

“Yes, exactly! I was taught by my seniors that if there was an incident, you should listen to both sides! They said it was bullshit for reporters to just go along with the agitators!”

“Ah, I see…” 

“So I came to listen too!”

Knock knock. There was a knocking sound.

“…Vega, surely not.”

“There are some things you can’t know just over the phone, you know.”

Knock knock knock. Bang bang bang! The knocking gradually became more intense. At the same time, noise began interfering with the voice on the phone.

“People really need to talk face-to-face, don’t you think?”  

Come to think of it, there was a space to fill in your address on the counseling form I filled out before.

With an uneasy heart pounding, the knocking blended together, and I walked to the front door and flung it open.

“What are you doing making so much noise for the neighbors?”

“Heheh.”

In front of me was a giggling girl. She had long, glossy black hair hanging down and was wearing a tteokbokki coat wrapped around her. The coat was long enough to cover her skirt. Between the stockings and coat, her bare legs peeked out slightly. Isn’t she cold in winter?

I didn’t particularly want to invite her in. She was unpleasant. 

Poke.

The uninvited guest stretched out her finger and poked my chest.

“Like a red comet in your heart, I have arrived… Heh… Heheh…”

The uninvited guest was a magical girl.

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