Chapter 92
Like Family (3)
A quest aid at protecting the villain, not exterminating them. I didn’t even want to carry it out, but from the beginning, I couldn’t carry it out either.
The mont the rampage begins, my axe will strike Virgo’s neck. The only lightning bolt ant to kill the villain will rcilessly pierce that frail body.
“Long ti no see. Have you been well? How long has it been since we last t… Over 3 years?”
Virgo was still babbling incomprehensible words. But I couldn’t ignore her entirely. I was convinced that Virgo and I had so kind of connection.
“What brings you here? Did you miss ? Or did you co to find sothing you left behind? Oh~ You’ve beco more glamorous! Looking good! I love sparkling things like that!”
The principle behind quests is simple. Solely for the purpose of accomplishing the goal.
This is the leash given to , who gained strong purposefulness as the price of escaping death, and the cruel whip that drives
forward.
Without considering ethics or norms, it is a command presented solely to stubbornly accomplish the goal.
The aningless quest that just ca out can be similarly inferred.
“Huh? But wait…. You’re Jae-jung, right? Why are you standing like that? Huh? How could I not know it’s you? Wh-, could it be you’re mistaking
for soone else?! Ahhhh! How embarrassing!”
The implication now is that if I keep her alive, I can get closer to the goal of protecting the protectors.
“If you’re not Jaej-ung, then who are you…? Why, why aren’t you saying anything…? If I was mistaken, I’d appreciate it if you tell
I was mistaken….”
crunch! Virgo put more force into the leg trampling the corpse, and the head underneath burst like a waterlon being smashed.
The face, crushed beyond recognition, completely ended the life whose expression at death could no longer be discerned.
“It’s, it’s scary… Why aren’t you saying anything…? I should be going now….”
What’s in front of
is no longer a magical girl. It’s a villain without any hesitation in killing people.
The quest likely didn’t judge her as a magical girl I should protect either. Otherwise, it would have presented a quest to restrain
every ti I tried to fight her to the death.
So, this is a gamble.
I don’t know what connection Virgo and I have, the only reason to keep her alive for now is the compulsion of the quest, and the opponent is even a villain suffering from mania.
“It’s really, really scary… Why aren’t you saying anything… Hic, hic! Th-, that axe, what is it…? Are you planning to attack
with it… If, if that’s the case, I won’t just stand by either… I’ll, I’ll fight back! Really painfully!”
I let out a deep sigh and put my hand on my belt.
The only way to not kill her right now is this.
“Stop it.”
Light particles scattered from my body like water droplets, and the lightning devouring my body flickered and disappeared naturally for a mont. I gradually regained a human appearance.
Transformation release.
It’s an insane act to disarm in front of a villain, but there was no other suitable option to try.
Virgo might regain her senses at any mont and try to kill . If that happens, I won’t be able to resist and will just die.
Offering my neck to save an enemy.
That’s why it’s a gamble.
“If you hit
once, I’ll just die.”
It was a conversation I had to have sooner or later. Without knowing how we were connected, why she fell into depravity, if I just killed her, it would weigh on .
Ignorance may be bliss, but choosing to remain ignorant when you can know is a sin.
“Huh? What! It is Jae-jung!”
“You seem to know
quite well.”
“Then don’t you know ? Why, I’m so disappointed!”
Virgo chuckled and patted my shoulder. I thought my bones would break. She doesn’t seem to know how to control her strength.
“You said you were a middle school dropout, but you can’t even rember people’s faces? Ah, you’re not a dropout anymore, are you? You took the GED, right? Wow Jae-jung, then you’re a high school graduate~ I’m jealous. I only finished elentary school. Ah, sorry sorry. Did I kill the mood too much? It’s been so long since I saw you.”
Her friendly attitude only left
perplexed. What kind of relationship did we have for her to treat
so affectionately? Even at our last reunion, her attitude was more hostile than this.
Co to think of it, her tone and manner of speaking would drastically change at tis.
The tone of constantly laughing and mocking from being consud by madness, and the self-deprecating, desolate-sounding tone. The way she’s speaking now was different from both….
Since understanding crazy people was always difficult, I just went with it.
“Um~ Ah! Then you don’t rember this either? When I was crying here, you suddenly ran into . Over there in that shaded area! You said you were running away from a villain with your face all pale and catching your breath over there. We both got startled and just froze… Heheh, I rember that ti.”
Virgo pointed sowhere, then folded her finger back.
“Huh? Wasn’t it over there? Ah, no it wasn’t. Hahaha, how embarrassing~ There are just so many similar areas around here.”
“Wait, where is this place anyway?”
“Why are you like this… Don’t pull that prank now. It’s not funny.”
Virgo frowned in displeasure.
“This is the Dark Matter, isn’t it? Where I live. Didn’t you co to see ?”
A purple glow gathered at Virgo’s fingertips. If I said the wrong thing, she’d shoot a beam straight into my heart.
I started a staring contest with that ball of light. I tried my best to ponder what the right thing to say was.
But since understanding crazy people was impossible, I obviously couldn’t find the answer.
“Hahaha, why are you being so tense and frozen again? Smile, smile. The Red Spica who brings everyone’s laughter is right in front of you, isn’t she?”
Virgo laughed and waved her finger. After casually extinguishing the high-temperature beam like a candle fla, she abruptly stopped laughing.
“…Ah, you really don’t know, do you? It’s okay! That can happen!”
Then she laughed again.
“I’m an idiot too, I often forget things~ Actually, I don’t even know why I’m here. Hehe, we’re both airheads, aren’t we?”
“Then the dead person here is….”
“I don’t know! Do I need to know?”
Normally, you should know. Murder is a serious matter.
But unfortunately, there seed to be a considerable gap between her common sense and mine.
“…Wait, did you say the Dark Matter? This place is?”
That’s a bit tricky.
I’m soone who snuck away while escaping on the villains controlled by White Davi. If I can’t return by morning, I’ll obviously be suspected of various things.
No matter how close the Dark Matter is to my ho, it’s not walking distance.
‘…Well, from the mont I decided to talk to Virgo, it was over anyway.’
I should co up with so excuses.
Anyway, the biggest problem right now is the woman in front of .
“What? Scared? It’s funny that soone who infiltrated the Dark Matter due to misanthropy is scared. It’s okay, it’s okay~!”
Virgo jumped and wrapped her arms around my body.
“The guardian of love and peace~ Forr Red Spica, current Dilemma executive, is here!”
I couldn’t laugh at her words.
Red Spica. An uncommon magical girl who had been one even before elentary school.
It was reported that she died fighting a villain at one point, but a few years later, she appeared as a monstrified being and attacked the city, killing nearly 100 civilians and two magical girls.
It was quite rare for a magical girl to be brainwashed and monsterized by a villain, but it wasn’t unprecedented either. However, Virgo’s case was unusual.
She acts independently without following any particular villain. In other words, she beca a villain of her own will.
The problem is that no one knows why she did so.
People could only vaguely speculate that she fell into monsterization because her activities as a magical girl were too strenuous.
“This is my area. No one who cos across
gets away! Well… the other Dilemma kids might co to steal my territory, but that has nothing to do with you, right?”
Virgo stared intently into my eyes and asked worriedly, “Oh, are you sleepy, Jae-jung?”
It was late dawn when the day would soon break. It couldn’t be helped that I looked tired since I hadn’t slept until this hour.
“…Suddenly?”
“No, Jae-jung. You have to sleep properly. Otherwise, people get hurt.”
“I got it.”
“Thanks for understanding. Then Jae-jung. Sleep.”
“…What?”
In this state of being shoulder to shoulder with a villain?
“Why? Sleep?”
“Well, it’s a bit… I can’t just sleep with a villain in front of . Let’s talk first and sleep later…”
“Jae-jung!”
Virgo’s hand moved to grab my neck.
“You have to sleep… Properly… Why are you like this? Do you really want to go crazy? Want to beco a zombie?! I said it’s bad for your health! Why don’t you listen to ? Are you ignoring ? I’ve worked so hard! I’ve made so much effort!”
“No, that’s not…”
It’s suffocating. My breathing and body movents gradually beca stuck.
I didn’t understand. What switch was flipped for her to show such a violent reaction? Did she beco a villain from lack of sleep? Does she have so kind of sleep disorder? A persecution complex?
If so, she should just beat herself up, why is she going off on .
I waved my hands trying to grab the steel ball. It’s a counterasure when words don’t get through.
“Sorry, I’ll sleep so… Let go of my neck now…”
“Really? Thank you! You really are so kind!”
Despite saying thanks, her grip didn’t loosen at all.
Virgo’s eyes were clearer than the rising morning sun, and her mouth was bright. Without a hint of hesitation, she increased the force squeezing my neck.
“Now sleep!”
No way, this girl can’t be…
“I’ll put you to sleep!”
Indeed, you can’t reason with a lunatic. It never gets through from the start.
I grabbed the steel ball in my hand. I imdiately reached for my belt.
“Huh? Sleep?”
She swatted away the belt I was grabbing with her other hand. A human’s hand was too frail against a villain’s, and as a few of my fingers broke, the belt flew far away again.
But it’s okay. The belt has a function to automatically attach back to the waist….
‘Oh shit.’
Before that, my consciousness faded.
As my vision blurred like I had opened my eyes underwater, Virgo was smiling brightly while strangling my neck.
In the final mont, a voice ca from the belt.
[Replaying mories.]
***
Ippotranslation
***
“Haha, is this really going to kill ?”
I foolishly ca in. Feeling regretful, I vigorously moved my legs. I couldn’t rest at all. If I slowed down even a bit, I would be caught and devoured by the villain behind .
“If you die, they probably won’t even be able to find your body! That’s a good thing!”
One year since I ran away from ho was enough to fully charge my hatred towards humanity. It was enough ti to drive a person insane.
I decided to run away from running away. To be precise, an escape from society. If I had to put it into words, it was a societal departure.
Now it seed like I was about to depart from this world, but this was also part of my plan.
I decided to go sowhere near human society, but not actually in it.
The villain-ruled area. The restricted area. Commonly known as the Dark Matter.
There, there were no human rules or gazes, and I wouldn’t have to worry about rumors or being tracked.
The problem was that I disliked villains just as much as humans. Even if I went to the Dark Matter, I wouldn’t be happy.
If I was going to hate wherever I was to the point of death, maybe it would be better to just die. A very creative thought occurred to .
What if, within the Dark Matter, I pushed out human life by killing the villains, like so folklore magic girl who doesn’t let them suffer?
So I went to the Dark Matter.
The problem was that I faced a life-threatening situation just 30 minutes after entering.
Since I at least wanted to kill one before dying, I desperately fled. I had to find a safe place to regroup, then kill at least one weak villain.
Fortunately, I saw a suspicious, darkly shaded place up ahead. It was perfect for hiding my body.
After entrusting myself there, I watched the movents of the villain that had been chasing .
“Uueeuuu… Mommy… Mommy…”
Luckily, it didn’t seem to know where I went and soon left after looking around.
“I don’t like this… I’m scared… Why am I in this situation…”
“Phew, it’s gone.”
“Mommy… Momeeee…”
I sat down on the ground in relief. Soon after, I noticed soone else had arrived before .
“Mommyyyyy… Kyaaaaahhhh!!!!”
“Aaaaahhhh! What!”
A girl was curled up and crying, wiping tears and mucus.
That was my first eting with Virgo and Red Spica.
***
Ippotranslation
***
It was true.
What Virgo had been babbling about earlier was true.
“Ugh geez…”
As soon as I woke up, I raised my body.
The surfacing mories made my head throb painfully, my drowsy neck hurt, my broken fingers hurt. Essentially my whole body was in pain.
“Oh, did you sleep well?”
“Yeah, thanks to you I slept really damn well.”
“That’s right! No need to thank . Sleeping like that is good for your health.”
“Why would I thank you…”
Behind Virgo, facing away from the sun, was a mountain piled high with the corpses of villains.
“…did you?”
“Hm? Yeah!”
When I gestured toward it, Virgo calmly nodded her head.
I recalled the mories again.
Virgo was my bodyguard, protecting
in the Dark Matter.
“Why are you acting so surprised!”
Just like now.
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/ippostranslations
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