Transformation or Death

Symbol of Peace (15)

In the end, he disappeared without taking any responsibility. Abandoning his colleagues who couldn’t flee here, abandoning the slaves, and abandoning the brothers he had ranked in his own way.

It means he’s just talking big but wants to run away because he doesn’t want to take losses here.

“N-No way… Brother… Brother….”

“Is that guy originally the type to only take care of newcomers?”

“I don’t know either. I’m a newcomer too….”

At their feet, November murmured about the one who had left so emptily, and Jason blinked with a dazed attitude. To be precise, the visor part was closing and opening again. It was the first time I learned that visor had a closing function. I don’t have one.

Belt, which analyzed the situation in real-time, announced the lifespan of the building.

[It will completely collapse in 3 minutes.]

That’s enough. I touched Belt and responded to someone.

“You heard everything, right?”

[Yeah.]

A voice much different from Belt’s inorganic one, rougher and more vibrant, was heard.

“Then you probably know what proposal I’m going to make.”

[Ha, of course.]

It’s really reassuring. Personally, I’d like to live peacefully, but I have to follow what they want.

[Then let’s see each other alive.]

“No, that’s slightly wrong. At times like this, we should say it like this.”

[What?]

At times like this, not for our well-being, but…

“Let’s see each other by keeping everyone alive.”

We should pray for everyone’s well-being.

[Hahah, that’s right too. Yes, that’s the right thing to say. Okay….]

Fortunately, understanding this meaning, laughter and a farewell greeting came back from beyond Belt.

[Let’s see each other by keeping everyone alive.]

***

Ippotranslation 

***

“Wh-What’s this?”

While catching their breath, the building started to shake. This wasn’t a temporary vibration. It was a rough tremor that seemed like it would continue for a long time, like an earthquake.

“I-It’s shaking! It’s shaking terribly!”

“Could it be that villain rampaging?”

White Davi clung to Red Vega, while Red Vega patted White Davi’s back, expressing bewilderment at this vibration.

“Would it be like this if it were rampaging! This place is about to collapse!”

“…”

No one denied it. The might that villain had shown was enough to demolish a building like this in an instant.

“Now that I think about it, I think it’s possible too!”

White Davi quickly agreed. Of course, agreeing didn’t change any facts.

The magic power left in them was meager, and even if they survived in the collapsing building, the fact remained that they had insufficient magic power to escape this island.

“Then what do we do now? It seems like it’s going to collapse soon!”

“W-We should at least escape by ourselves….”

“What? What are you saying!”

As Orange Altair was about to lift her body with flying magic, Red Vega objected.

“There aren’t just us here. Even though they’re trash who were swayed by the villain, there are people….”

“Vega, are you crazy?!”

“Davi is right. Are you insane? Are we in a position to take care of others?”

Red Vega became dejected after being strongly rejected when she thought she would receive support. It was her own realistic suggestion.

The seniors would be able to survive on their own, and Han Jae-jung, whose whereabouts were unknown, would be able to take care of his own life well enough. Even if he gets hurt, it’s a good thing because there’s an excuse to tease him while nursing him.

“Those who rose with villains will fall with villains!!! It’s a good death for such guys to be crushed under this building!”

“They might have been brainwashed or something!”

“No! It must have been voluntary participation! Didn’t you see those guys using starlight in the first place?! Even if it’s crappy starlight inhaled through drugs or something, their hearts are needed to use it! A heart that sincerely wants to use it!”

There was nothing wrong with White Davi’s words. Even for the high-grade drug circulating among civilians, which supposedly allows one to use starlight for a few seconds when consumed, certain conditions are necessary.

Just as it is for magical girls and villains, a heart is needed to use starlight.

This doesn’t change even for drug addicts or those using it through irregular methods. The purposefulness of what one wants to achieve with this starlight. Some desire must follow, whether good or evil.

Stars don’t shine for those who don’t wish for it.

“Even if they were threatened or brainwashed, if they used starlight to attack us, it’s proof that they had the heart to do so! Moreover, seeing how effective it was, it’s probably not drugs! They are not innocent civilians….”

White Davi stopped speaking. Because at that moment, she thought of one civilian.

“…Civilian, Aniki?!”

Her already pale face turned even whiter.

“Wh-What should we do! We need to save Aniki!”

“Ah, th-that, Jae-jung is….”

“Wh-Why did I forget?! A person I shouldn’t forget, a person I don’t want to forgeeeeet!!!”

“C-Calm down.”

“Calm down? Does this look like a situation to be calm?! A civilian who participated in the operation is in danger of dying! Rather, why are you so calm, Vega!”

Meanwhile, the vibrations were getting even fiercer.

“Ah, no, that’s… That… Jae-jung is… Special…?”

“Special? Are you saying Jae-jung is a special person to you, Vega?! That’s an enviable fact! But what does that have to do with survival!”

Orange Altair felt that her thoughts and flow had changed. She wanted to escape from this wretched place right away.

A building that could collapse at any moment, an immortal-like villain roaming around, and even the humans here are not on our side.

“Well, everyone get up! Let’s go!”

White Davi seemed to have already confirmed that Han Jae-jung existed in this building.

Boom! Once again, the building shook greatly. Something was seen landing firmly on the floor that was swaying like a pendulum.

A villain with an appearance like a pot-bellied ghost. Whirlwinds raged around his body, and all sorts of dust was swept up in that wind, giving color to the wind.

It was a persistent obsession. Despite being the one who destroyed the stairs, it flew all the way here. Boom! Perhaps due to the impact that just shook the building, the floor tilted even more.

At a point where they could no longer maintain their balance, all the magical girls began to fly. White Davi immediately turned her body and glided in the opposite direction of the villain.

“…Let’s go!!!”

“…! Y-Yes. Okay! Let’s find him!”

“At a time like this?!”

They’re all crazy. They’re not in their right minds. To prioritize rescue at a time when they should be escaping as quickly as possible, to save someone who attacked them, to find someone who may or may not be there.

‘Is this right?’

Orange Altair watched their backs with eyes that were shaking like this building.

No. There’s no way that could be right. It can’t be sane to care for others in a situation where it’s difficult to preserve one’s own life.

‘A-Anyway, Han Jae-jung is a suspicious civilian! What’s so good about someone who cooperated with these villains! We should survive now and oppose that villain……’

Orange Altair suddenly realized.

There’s no fundamental difference between White Davi searching for someone who may or may not be there, Red Vega looking for circumstances that may or may not exist for a criminal, and herself who judged based on suspicion without knowing whether a crime was committed or not.

The madness of approaching something uncertain.

If there’s any difference to be found, it’s that the two have courage. She only had the desire to flee.

She was about to abandon someone to death due to suspicion. When nothing has been revealed yet.

Even if she survives, would she be able to defeat that villain? Would she be able to protect those people on the island?

When a crisis actually hits, she’d probably find excuses to run away again.

“…Why.”

How did she fall so miserably?

The wind blew. A wind that shattered her wishes blew. In an instant, she lost balance and flapped like a fish pulled out of water.

“Kyaaaaaah!”

“Kuaaaaaaah!!!”

The dull gray building finally collapsed. The tall building crumbled like a sand castle. Everything collapsed as if the space that had been there until now was an illusion. Her body still hadn’t regained balance.

How did she end up falling like this?

Is it because she doubted, because she was jealous? Or is it because she forcibly stayed in a place where she shouldn’t have been?

She’s always overshadowed and not noticed. But she doesn’t have the courage to step forward either. She has no conviction.

‘Joo Ah-yoon, how could you endure it?’

Although she dressed up as a hero, nothing had changed. She’s weak and vile.

‘How could you be so normal? How could you sacrifice so much? While being weaker than me! While receiving much more criticism! How could you! While being in more unfavorable conditions than me!’

She knows too.

In fact, doubt was just an excuse. She just wanted Joo Ah-yoon to be like her.

A normal person who gets betrayed by trust and gets hurt and sometimes cries, who likes to show off, who likes to be recognized by others, who has no ambition but doesn’t want to be last.

If there’s even one person like me, then I’m not wrong.

An unheroic, petty thought. Although she’s been avoiding it, she knows.

That she doesn’t have any heroic qualities. That her capacity is too small to be praised by anyone.

‘But still….’

Nevertheless, she hoped. That’s why she hoped even more.

‘I wanted to be recognized…..’

Everything poured down like rain towards the sea. Like babies trying to return to their mother’s embrace, like salmon trying to climb back to their hometown. Everything returned to the sea, the primordial womb. The fragments of the building did so, and so did the people who were in that building.

There was still magic power left, but motivation didn’t follow. Even if she survived this fall, the future seemed bleak.

She tilted her head up and relaxed her body as if slowly sinking into the sea. Numerous sins fell around her. The humans she couldn’t protect fell, screaming.

Fortunately, she didn’t see Han Jae-jung’s face. He might have already turned into a villain, but if he was falling in human form. She didn’t know what face to make. She had no idea how to apologize.

The wind continued to blow. As if to crush everything together.

Amidst this, a butterfly flew. With its fragile wings against the wind, leisurely crossing this commotion.

“…That’s.”

It wasn’t just one butterfly. The sight of several flying simultaneously resembled flower petals. The butterflies, flying like lotus flowers flowing in a river, touched the screaming people.

They disappeared with the butterflies and the wind.

There was no time to be surprised at that sight. Soon after, lightning struck. As her heart pounded at the cry of lightning that always accompanies the storm, that lightning approached her.

“…?!”

I’m really being punished. She closed her eyes in pessimism.

The lightning was not hot but cold. However, although cold, it didn’t constrict. This coldness didn’t cause her body to necrosize. As if cooling the heat that had accumulated too much, it approached her like a comfortable nature. A feeling of being wrapped in the embrace of a villain while receiving sunlight and wind.

Is this death? It’s a strange sensation. She kept her eyes closed with such thoughts, but even after tens of seconds, the situation remained unchanged.

When she opened her tightly closed eyes, a villain with a ferocious expression welcomed her. The villain of Ursa Major, all white with glowing red lenses. The former villain of the Big Dipper, Watcher.

“…Huh?”

“What a strange sleep talk.”

“Wh-Who said I was sleeping… Hiiieek!!!”

Orange Altair immediately fled from his arms. As the support disappeared, the wind began to shake her body. Oxygen and balance began to lack again.

“Yes, why did you…!”

“No need to know. Anyway, now it’s not me but…”

The Watcher turned his gaze away from her. At the end of his gaze was the culprit of this wind.

October, the villain of the Sail constellation. Once the strategist of the Argo family, he had lost his reason and was rampaging.

“Bro, brother! It’s over now! We’re withdrawing! Let’s go back! Brother!”

His younger brother, November, tried hard to persuade him, but it was useless. His wind was indiscriminately slashing both friend and foe.

“Bro, brother… Damn it, you crazy bastard! Why won’t you listen… Argh!!”

Soon that wind swept past even his own brother. A fierce scar was drawn across his chest. The wind that had been trapped inside the building had increased its might after coming outside.

“This is maddening. Did Libra do something to him after all?”

The sea was lifted.

Following the trajectory of the wind, moving like the second hand of a clock, the sea rotated and gradually surged upward. The area of the island increased, and in contrast, the sea decreased. Instead, the sea filled not the land, but the sky. The blue sky was darkened by the sea.

“Brother! Where did you get such power?! I’m here too! And our subordinates! Stop now! Ugh!”

“Brother! Calm your anger and come to your senses! We were about to go rescue our brother too! We just needed a moment to discuss!”

November and Jason tried hard to persuade him, but it was useless. November’s ability to control water was equally ineffective. Even if he drained the water, it would just be swept up by the wind again.

About a dozen tornadoes, similar in size to the earlier building, formed and shook the world.

“What did he eat to become so strong? Can’t even ask him, this is driving me crazy.”

The Watcher advanced, wielding his axe, without retreating even in front of those massive whirlwinds. There was not a hint of hesitation in his steps.

“W-wait!”

Orange Altair aimed her bow at him. No matter how much wind was blowing, she was confident she wouldn’t miss at this distance.

“Huh?”

“You can’t beat him anyway!”

However, she wasn’t confident that this attack would be effective.

“W-we tried our best… But it’s impossible! He’s immortal! He recovers from injuries instantly! You’ll just waste your starlight and that’s it? I-if you don’t want to regret, you’d better listen to me.”

The tip of the arrow, which should always be steady, was shaking. Her voice trembled like that arrow. But the bluff didn’t disappear.

‘What are you doing, are you crazy, Ara? What are you doing right now?’

Even she couldn’t understand her own actions. There was no way threats would work against a villain who could move at lightning speed. Yet she did it anyway. It was no different from gambling. No, gambling at least had odds, so it wasn’t an apt comparison.

This was like diving. It was closer to diving off a cliff without a rope or parachute.

“R-rather! That time, h-help us! There are people on that island over there! If you help us evacuate those people… I-I’ll! I’ll fight alongside you!”

This wasn’t even a deal. It wasn’t a threat either. There was no benefit for him. Orange Altair racked her brain as much as she could. She knew that even the slightest misstep would mean her death. Yet she did it anyway.

Because she had promised to save them.

Even if she had to kneel down and lick his feet right here. She wanted to keep that promise at least. Was it because she had died and come back to life? Thinking that it was already a life she had given up, she wasn’t scared.

‘No, I am scared.’

Her teeth were chattering and her weakened legs could barely stand. But she wanted to cling on. For someone like her, who was weak, lacked the courage to confront, and wasn’t even smart, this was all she could do.

He had shown the peculiar behavior of only dealing with villains so far. The only villain she could ask was this one. She knew it was a pathetic act to cling to an enemy. But right now, this was all she had.

The Watcher quietly observed her.

“You’re afraid.”

“…!”

“The tip of your bow is pointed too low, and I don’t sense any composure at all. Anyone can see it’s just forced bravado.”

“Sh-shut up! So what are you going to do? Die making unnecessary trouble? Or will you listen to my proposal?!”

“If you want to say that, at least don’t back away. It’s obvious you’re forcibly suppressing the urge to run away.”

It was true. However, Orange Altair raised her bow instead of lowering it. She stepped forward instead of retreating, and looked straight at him instead of closing her eyes.

A suffocating silence fell. The fear gradually amplified, and regret also enveloped her heart. The bad habit of blurting things out without thinking persisted even now when death was right in front of her.

It was pathetic. This last bluff. This last doubt, this last struggle. It felt like all these ugly postures would turn into bubbles.

Soon, the Watcher’s voice was heard.

“To ask for help while suppressing the desire to run away, and from an enemy at that.”

He turned his back on her again, holding his axe. An arrogant act that didn’t consider her arrow as a threat at all.

‘Ah, it’s over.’

Just ugly, unable to help anyone. As she was feeling dejected like that, the enemy’s voice continued.

“That’s why it’s admirable.”

Orange Altair raised her head. She wondered if she had misheard something.

“The courage to acknowledge your own weakness and ask for help even from an enemy, swallowing your pride. The spirit to do your duty despite wanting to run away. It’s very admirable.”

Am I being acknowledged right now?

“So let’s be a bit more admirable.”

And by an enemy at that?

“You still have potential left. Isn’t it a waste to deem something impossible without even trying?”

The Watcher raised his axe to point at the wind.

“Have you ever seen the stars?”

The wind that seemed like it would blow forever.

“If not, I’ll show you.”

Her wind.

“This time, I’ll ask you the opposite. Cooperate with me. And watch.”

A hero.

“How you can become a star.”

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