Transformation or Death

Symbol of Peace (10)

Gunfire in a city where public safety had rapidly deteriorated wasn’t particularly unusual. Even civilians could easily obtain illegally modified weapons for villains defense if they were determined enough.

The reason the gunshot caused bewilderment wasn’t simply because a gun had been fired. The context was important. No one had expected an attempt at immediate execution upon meeting face-to-face.

Han Jae-jung himself hadn’t expected it either.

“Wow, really…”

After the ear-splitting noise, smoke spread. In the darkness, an indistinct line wavered, overlaying blackness. The acrid smell of gunpowder stung the nose, and silence once again dyed the night.

“That startled me.”

There was no sticky bloodstain in that silence. Surprised, he picked up the earpiece he had dropped and reconnected the signal.

[Are you alright?!]

The voice from the earpiece and the actual voice overlapped. The identity of the voice was easy to guess.

The bullet that should have pierced Han Jae-jung’s body had stopped in mid-air, spinning uselessly before falling to the ground. It was as if there was an invisible wall there.

In reality, something invisible did exist there. This identity was also easy to guess.

“…Did you follow me?”

“‘Follow’ is a bit harsh. It’s an escort.”

Han Jae-jung grinned as he looked at the invisible woman.

Golden Aldebaran. A magical girl with invisibility ability.

Well, she’s the most suitable magical girl for escort duty.

Fearing that the operation might be discovered, the magical girls hadn’t communicated their standby positions to avoid any awkwardness in Han Jae-jung’s gaze or behavior.

Come to think of it, given the nature of the operation, it was natural that at least one of them would be closely attached for protection.

[A-are you okay?! What was that sound just now?!]

[It was gunfire! Gunfire rang out! Gunfire rang out! Our seniors, let’s run quickly!]

[Wow, shit, that’s intense.]

[The operation was a success~ Let’s go deal with that subversive element~]

[Jae-jung, run away quickly! You shouldn’t stay in such a dangerous place for long!]

Before he could calm his startled heart, voices of several magical girls came through the earpiece, expressing their concern.

[That’s why I opposed this!! Exposing a civilian to danger, are you all out of your minds?!]

[Come on, sis. Calm down, calm down~ No one got hurt. The first priority is restraint.]

[It’s not over yet! We mustn’t let our guard down!]

[That’s right, Vega! Therefore!] “Therefore!”

The distinctive distorted voice from the speaker overlapped with the live voice.

“In the name of the stars, I bring you the mace of light! White Davi appears, to dye the pure white with your blood!”

Having confirmed the attack, naturally they would turn the tables. Surprisingly, White Davi was the first to arrive.

“You’ve arrived well. The suppression is complete.”

“Eek!”

“Like a red comet in your heart! Red Vega appears!”

“Vega, our turn is over, they say!”

“Jae-jung, are you okay?!”

Almost simultaneously with White Davi’s arrival, Red Vega and Blue Sirius rushed in from opposite directions. One left a long tail of red flames, while the other glided across an ice sheet, each choosing their own method of rapid arrival.

Blue Sirius immediately came to Han Jae-jung and examined his condition. Fortunately, there wasn’t a single scratch visible.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks for worrying.”

Apart from being slightly startled, he hadn’t suffered any harm. Golden Aldebaran had blocked the bullet, and by the time he had become dazed, the suppression was already complete.

“Um, are you hurt anywhere…?”

“I said I’m fine. Do your job.”

As other magical girls arrived one after another, all members from earlier in the day except Orange Altair had gathered.

Golden Aldebaran returned her transparent body to its original state. Her entire body shimmered faintly in the darkness as she revealed herself.

“Shall we proceed with the interrogation now?”

“W-what! You guys!”

“As you can see, we are magical girls practicing peace and love.”

Given that they were a group of superhumanly strong individuals surrounding a vulnerable person, her words lost their persuasiveness. Unfortunately, she was merely stating the truth.

“Interrogation? Are you going to torture me?!”

“There’s no way we’d do that.”

Red Vega stopped White Davi, who was excitedly pulling out a horn. As magical girls emitting starlight gathered in the night that had been full of shadows, it became noticeably brighter than before. Thanks to this, the attacker’s face was clearly visible.

“But who is this person? Handsome brother, do you know him?”

“I don’t know. To begin with, is this person even a ‘person’?”

“From what I can see, he’s just a human. It’s strange. If he were a villain, there would be a sense of discomfort.”

“That’s right…? If it were a villain in disguise, it should be noticeable?”

As Red Vega said, there was no trace of any villain visible on him. A villain‘s disguise is fundamentally an act that confuses human perception. But if one possesses a star, that perceptual interference doesn’t work, allowing them to see the original uncanny appearance.

“…Could he be an ordinary person?”

“That’s not the case, Vega.”

White Davi cut through their confusion.

“I sense starlight from this kusoyaro (damn bastard). It’s a very faint starlight that others can’t see, but I definitely saw it!”

“Any evidence?”

“Of course, it’s my intuition!”

Although White Davi often spoke nonsense, her intuition was sometimes sharp. The possibility of an ordinary person shooting at a stranger without provocation was low.

“An ordinary person…? Don’t make me laugh! I am a proud member of the Argo Family!”

When the man shouted this, the expressions of those gathered here hardened. Only Blue Sirius was carefully feeling Han Jae-jung’s body and face, saying she was checking if he was injured.

A suffocating silence fell again. The sight of a human claiming to be an ally of a villain’s was as rare as magical girls abandoning ethics and involving civilians in operations. It was also dangerous.

It meant they weren’t in their right mind.

There were occasionally people who used or were used by villains as trading partners, but there were no cases of directly claiming to be comrades.

“…What?”

“I am a member of the Argo Family!”

“Senior Sirius! Someone even crazier than you has appeared!”

“Sh-shut up.”

The man turned to look at the magical girls with a chuckle.

“Originally, I was planning to just quietly kill that guy and leave… But given how things have turned out, I have no choice.”

A small light leaked from the arm held by Golden Aldebaran. It wasn’t as strong or brilliant as a sunrise, but it sparkled like sand reflecting on a bright summer day.

At that moment, the man succeeded in freeing his captured arm.

“…?!”

He hadn’t transformed into a villain. But his strength was far beyond what could be considered normal for an ordinary person. After the sand-like light enveloped his body, he suddenly became much stronger.

Without a moment’s hesitation, the man lunged at Han Jae-jung, who he had intended to kill today. Having lost his gun during the earlier restraint, he was empty-handed.

But bare hands were enough. His grip held the strength to tear apart steel bars like weeds. If he could just make contact, he could kill.

“You shall pay the price!”

Meeting the man’s gaze, Han Jae-jung realized why he harbored such murderous intent towards him.

‘It’s about that second one.’

This grudge stemmed from October, the villain of the Sail constellation, who had been kidnapped by him and eventually captured by Libra. This was revenge.

‘So my human face is known too.’

Though he had expected it, it was still somewhat shocking. If there were many such humans siding with villains, there was a possibility of being suddenly attacked by anyone while walking down the street.

[There’s no such possibility.]

“Where do you think you’re going!”

Belt and Blue Sirius spoke simultaneously.

The man’s fierce charge came to a halt.

[I’ll warn them in advance to prevent that from happening.]

“Don’t even think about attacking Jae-jung in front of me. Even if you look human, I’ll kill you like a villain.”

Before he knew it, ice had spread beneath the man’s feet, freezing him from his toes to his calves the moment he touched it. Her cold didn’t stop there, aiming for his entire body, and soon most of the man’s body was encased in ice.

Blue Sirius pointed her sword at the man’s neck.

“You can still speak, right? What follows isn’t a question, it’s a threat.”

Her ice-cold gaze made even the other magical girls, who weren’t its target, flinch.

“Tell me why you claim to be an ally of the villains, and how you obtained that strange power.”

***

Ippotranslation

***

“Wh-What…!”

Orange Altair, who had been watching the scene from afar, was taken aback. Everything was unfolding in a way that deviated from what she had anticipated.

The unidentified person who approached Han Jae-jung suddenly fired a gun, and even after being subdued by the magical girl, stubbornly continued to attack Han Jae-jung. It was something that would never be done if they were on the same side.

“Wasn’t that man from the Argo Family? Internal strife? Ah, yes, yes! It must be internal strife….”

Or it could simply be a show to prove Orange Altair’s innocence.

“Y-Yes, it has to be… If not….”

The bowstring slackened. The bow that had been held up proudly now pointed downward like an old man bowing his head.

“…It’s not all over yet.”

However, Orange Altair had not yet bowed her head.

There were still many suspicious aspects about Han Jae-jung. As thought earlier, this could be a staged show, or real internal strife could have occurred. Whatever it was, it was certain that Han Jae-jung had some kind of connection with the mysterious person.

But at the same time, it was true that anxiety had begun to sprout.

What if Han Jae-jung was truly an innocent civilian?

If so, how should she clean up what she had done?

What were those words she heard from the villain then? Is a peaceful future and ordinary life all that remains for Joo Ah-yoon? Am I the only loser?

No.

“I will prove it….”

She must prove it. That she wasn’t wrong. That short Joo Ah-yoon, her unreachable senior Blue Sirius, Red Vega, and all the other geniuses. She will make them acknowledge.

That she deserves to be a hero, that she’s not just trash steeped in defeatism.

“…Proof.”

She suddenly felt envious of Han Jae-jung. Despite being a civilian, he’s close to magical girls and confident. Moreover, because he’s a civilian, he can be protected by magical girls without the burden of having to protect someone. She suddenly envied him, who was protected by all the figures she admired.

How comfortable must a life without being a hero be?

How miserable must a life be after ceasing to be a hero?

These two contradictory emotions swirled within her.

[Sirius, please calm down! You’ll die at this rate!]

[I, I thought I was being quite restrained…]

[Senior, you’re so fierce! I want to try next! I want to put the tip of the horn whistle under the fingernails!]

[Our Japanese friend. You’re too violent. Please restrain yourself.]

[Yes sir!]

“Sigh….”

She calmed her mind for now while listening to the magical girls’ conversation through the earpiece. She’s still on duty. Continue with personal doubts, but don’t forget to maintain her duties. Once again, she raised her bow and continued her vigilance.

And in that focused view, she realized something was approaching near the underpass.

“…Huh?”

It was a villain she had seen before.

“Ah, I remember.”

It’s the villain who was hanging on the Watcher’s shoulder at that time. Just as she identified who it was, that villain began to charge at an incredible speed.

Orange Altair released the bowstring without hesitation, shooting an arrow, and reported over the radio. The villain easily avoided the arrow.

“Hy-Currently a villain is approaching there! Everyone prepare… Ugh!”

For a moment, she felt like her eyes met with that villain. A coincidence? It must be a coincidence. Cold sweat ran down her spine like tears. Unlike her heart pounding greatly with fear, her body skillfully assumed a stance. Ready to shoot an arrow at him at any time.

Just as she finished preparing to shoot another arrow. The villain disappeared from her sight. Instead, a shadow was cast over her own shadow.

“What is this….”

The source of that shadow was the villain she had just seen. As he waved his hand, a wind so strong that it was difficult to keep her eyes open blew.

“Ugh!”

And when she opened her eyes again, what she saw was.

The scenery of an island so bizarre it seemed artificial.

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