Transformation or De Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Chapter 15 –

A Lot Has Changed, But Nothing Has Changed

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

Libra spoke to

politely with a demure smile. Right behind her was a shelter, so the mont 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 eting my ex-girlfriend, and encountering this psycho made

feel even worse. But I was grateful she at least gave

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 ti left? Children who can be easily reproduced? Or capital? Hmm…yes, your arrival here has certainly disrupted my plans.”

The places she attacked were only where the weak or important resources were located. Insidious.

“But disappointnt, 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, tal soldiers erged.

“But originally, no one knows the future, do they? Whether the outco 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 comnsurate 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 ti and effort, you freak.”

[RAK]

rak.

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

Another na for it is the Gate Star.

The star that welcos soone 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 na.

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

“The gate is open.”

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

“Co if you can.”

Firing.

Fire burst forth. The teor-like flas 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 co here? Why can’t you co?”

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

“The gate is always open.”

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

Kwagwagwang!

The bullets tracing the Big Dipper could control an imnse 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.

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

“Huhruh?”

“…?!”

What I saw was a cot.

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 sa ti, the various existences on the ground were pushed upwards.

Floor tiles, soil, dust, even the villains. After a brief mont 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 grueso 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 co 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 mont I saw her.

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

“The uninvited guests include you…”

“Kehahaha! Here I goooo!”

Ignoring my words, Virgo moved. With a single movent 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, fragnts 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 tallic sound rang out.

“Can I co 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 mont, 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

to stay here. In fact, rushing at them would be more likely to get

killed.

However.

There’s a shelter behind

and an S-grade villain in front of .

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

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

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

Resentnt is sothing the villain should receive.

Not all the people the hero failed to protect cannot beco 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.

“Co. I’m waiting here for you.”

“Okay~!”

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

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 . 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 troubleso to move outside of her interest.

While keeping her gaze focused on , 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 so minor abrasions.

“Ugh~ It hurts!”

Huk. The wind blew. The direction was right beside . 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 so kind of genius!?”

Libra is still beside . 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 beca a shape that seed 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 ramd into

was felt in my chest. Extre 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 becos 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 forrly 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 beca calm.

“It reminds

of the old days! Right? You got hit by

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

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 fragnt that had been hidden in a corner of my mind.

mories surfaced.

A night of shining stars.

desperately fleeing, wildly flailing my arms and legs.

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

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

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 rember? Actually, I had forgotten too. I thought I had seen you sowhere before, but I guess it was back then.”

Virgo muttered nonchalantly.

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

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

“So you were a villain?”

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

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

I was Han Jae-jung who had beco a villain and lost his mories?

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

My na 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 co right in front of

and bent down to stroke my head.

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

She had tried to kill

before and ignored , but now she’s saying this nonsense.

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

“Jae-jung, beco 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 ford on Virgo’s lips, without any distortion.

Why was Dilemma able to find

so quickly, when I had only been active for a short ti?

They didn’t find .

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 ca to this world.

Already four days.

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

I can still discern right from wrong.

[THE BIG DIPPER.]

Whether I beco 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 .

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 ti 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 sa 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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