Transformation or Death

Chapter 185

Training (7)

“Today! We will defeat the enemy of humanity that we have longed for and wished for!”

Silver Luna stood confidently in the center of the conference room and shouted.

“Waaaaaah!!”

“It seems like the one person you’ve been longing for isn’t humanity, but that individual….”

Only Yellow Castor was intoxicated by that declaration, while the rest responded indifferently.

Magenta Helios, young in physical age, even yawned due to the difficulty of staying up late.

“Hey kid, are you sleepy? Leave this to your older sisters and go to sleep.”

“….”

Being called a kid by a senior who has easily passed several years,

‘Is this junior crazy?’

Hold it in, hold it in. What would a kid like this know?

She hadn’t even explained the circumstances in the first place. It would be impossible for her to understand the bitter sorrow of losing years fighting the most heinous beast, so she could only endure.

Because she looks like a child on the surface.

“Hm? Are you sleepy, kid?”

‘Hold it in, hold it in….’

Following White Davi, Red Vega also joined in treating her like a child. Though her anger was rising, she endured it with steely patience.

‘At least this is better than when I was sucking on milk.’

It was much better than the humiliation she experienced as a newborn.

“Um, excuse me! Can’t we leave Helios out? It’s so late….

Red Vega’s consideration was overflowing to an excessive degree.

“What in the….”

“Oh, don’t underestimate our magical girl! Magenta Helios is a magical girl, a proud warrior, before being a child!”

Though she was about to lose her temper at the suggestion of being removed from the mission, Silver Luna’s quick intervention calmed her anger.

Hohoho. Silver Luna exhaled arrogantly while smiling. But only for a moment. She slightly opened her eyes while smiling, beginning to gauge Helios’s reaction.

Though she spoke confidently, she couldn’t help but be worried inside.

“…You’re okay?”

“Yes, of course I’m okay.”

Now even you are treating me like a child. Feeling she couldn’t bear it anymore, Helios spoke up.

“I must capture the Scorpion.”

She would reclaim her past glory. For this, she had once again set foot in this foreign land.

If she were to be excluded from the mission for being treated like a child, she would not have come to this land in the first place.

She would definitely regain her past strength and overcome her current self, who has become a remnant only reminiscing about her past.

“Since you say so~ Then it’s decided that no one will be left out?”

Yellow Castor looked around at everyone gathered in the room. No answer came back. In this situation, silence was almost equivalent to agreement.

But some silences were uncomfortable.

This was not due to guilt about moving a child at this hour.

Their current purpose was not simply about one Scorpion.

The massive starlight battle detected by Yellow Castor – the battle between Watcher, Odette, and the Scorpion. Using this as a clue, the magical girls plan to intervene.

Paradox and Botis were not detected.

In other words, in this enemy territory, the villains they would meet, besides the Scorpion, were only those two.

‘Do I have to fight Watcher… Why is Ah-yoon fighting tonight?’

‘What am I thinking… Well, now is not the time to worry about others. I should focus on myself first.’

Watcher and Odette. Collision with those two was also unavoidable.

“The wisdom of using competitors to strike the enemy! This is a golden opportunity to simultaneously eliminate both the enemy and the competitors!”

“That’s not wisdom, it’s despicable….”

“Hmm~ Can’t hear you? The voice of the weak who haven’t even obtained divinity is inaudible~”

Considering they started the battle before the appearance of Paradox and Botis, they seem to have the ability to locate the Scorpion.

Everyone is exhausted from consecutive battles with the avatars.

If they continue to be toyed with by Paradox and Botis, they might run out of stamina before even facing the main body.

Divinity is a powerful force, but it also brings significant burden. Though she didn’t show it, the fatigue accumulated in Silver Luna was at a level where sleeping for three days straight wouldn’t be strange.

At this rate, there’s no end in sight. They must not be manipulated by the villain’s tricks and must see the end directly!

“It has been confirmed that the competitor accidentally discovered the Scorpion first and is attacking, so let’s use them as detection dogs to find the Scorpion and we’ll finish it ourselves.”

This was Silver Luna’s conclusion.

It seems quite reasonable. Although it involves using the competitor to steal the final blow, the weak have their own circumstances.

A magical girl protecting not just herself but tens of millions of citizens sometimes has to become ruthless.

“B-but do we really need to eliminate the competitors completely…? Since discovering the Scorpion was coincidental, couldn’t we first cooperate with them and then strike at the right moment….”

Orange Altair cautiously raised her hand. Having once received kindness from them, she felt significant resistance to using and antagonizing them.

“Stop talking nonsense!”

Silver Luna sharply denied it. Unlike moments before, her tone was serious and heavy.

The word ‘cooperation’ changed Silver Luna’s atmosphere.

“We must absolutely be the ones to take the Scorpion’s final moment! Me, Magenta, or even other magical girls! We can never hand it over to the villains! Especially after the last two defeats were so shameful…!”

Her voice was almost obsessive. There was serious anger. A genuine sense of shame. Her reaction to the word ‘cooperation’ was extreme.

“I, I see.”

“Don’t you dare casually mention cooperation with villains for magical girls! Have you no sense of shame!”

Orange Altair’s reaction was exaggerated to the point of embarrassment.

“Why are you making such a fuss… Who cares who wins. Isn’t it just about taking down the Scorpion?”

“White, you’re the one who needs to understand shame. What right do you have to say anything to us?”

“What do I have to be ashamed of?”

When White Davi leaned against her chair and interjected, Yellow Castor looked at her with displeasure.

“You really don’t know? You who killed….”

“Yellow, that’s enough. Those words are unrelated to the current situation.”

“…I’m sorry, princess.”

“White, you should also correct that manner of speaking. It’s rude.”

Before the atmosphere could become more hostile, Silver Luna mediated between them.

“I apologize. We have a bit of a hot-tempered nature. I’m sorry for being noisy. But everything said earlier was sincere. Cooperating with villains to take down the Scorpion? Never mention such terrible words again.”

The strong have their own spirit of confidence. This is confidence in the power they’ve accumulated, and the ease of knowing they can handle any enemy. That confidence and ease creates a spirit of being higher than others and untouchable.

Conversely, that spirit has the power to make those below follow the strong.

Silver Luna, who always showed playful arrogance, was different now.

“I’ll say it again. Taking down the Scorpion must be done by us alone.”

A strong declaration of will. She proclaimed it strongly, as if chewing each letter, showing she would never allow any objection.

Silence fell in the room again. This time, it was mostly an uncomfortable silence.

Red Vega raised her hand and asked a question.

“…Is there any specific reason why Japanese magical girls must take the final moment of the Scorpion?”

Silver Luna trembled slightly and laughed awkwardly.

“W-what are you talking about? When I say ‘us’, I mean all the magical girls here? Not just Japanese magical girls….”

“Another lie.”

White Davi challenged Silver Luna’s response.

“You still have many things to hide, senior.”

The air grew cold. Yellow Castor’s face was distorted to the point of not being able to stand up, and Silver Luna’s expression also slightly twisted. This time there was no anger. Instead, she was flustered.

Looking as if her most sensitive point had been touched, she trembled with sad eyes and quivering lips.

“N-no, it’s not like that….”

“It’s just because our former senior was attacked by the Scorpion, and we want to take its neck in revenge.”

Helios sighed, seeing that the atmosphere wasn’t calming down, and added,

“And I’m sure our princess has already noticed that she’s feeling shy. She’s just slightly psychologically resistant to calling you ‘us’ because she’s embarrassed.”

“N-No, that’s not true!”

“Right?”

As Silver Luna blushed and let out a screech, Helios deliberately nodded.

“There’s no great significance. I just wish our side could strike the Scorpion’s neck, but it’s not absolutely necessary, so don’t worry about it.”

Anyone could clearly see that he was hiding something. However, it didn’t seem necessary to probe into that secret.

If it were a truly important fact, he would have certainly revealed it, so Red Vega didn’t dig any further.

But there was something that bothered her.

‘…So why is the Watcher so obsessed with the Scorpion?’

Simply because it’s a threat to the magical girl? Of course, that might be part of the reason, but it didn’t seem to be the whole story.

Everyone has something they’re hiding. Facts they don’t want to reveal to others.

‘I’m the same way.’

Everyone has secrets. Red Vega stopped worrying about it and became engrossed in a new topic.

Right now, the divine awakening was more important.

She hoped to gain some clues from this fight.

“So what’s the current situation, Yellow?”

“They’ve just finished the second fight and are now moving positions~”

“Ick! Already? We can’t keep being pushed back!”

Silver Luna jumped up and ran out.

“Come on, everyone, follow me! Me, the strongest magical girl!”

Led by Silver Luna, who particularly emphasized her strength, the magical girls drew starlight across the night sky.

***

Ippotranslation 

***

[ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATION.]

A familiar transformation sound rings in the ears.

[I obey my fate.]

A phrase meaning to comply with one’s fate.

Looking at the constellation and saying one complies with fate, it’s truly meaningful.

Isn’t it like looking at a dream and saying one will follow it?

The passivity from the word ‘cooperation’ instantly became active.

Han Jae-jung will certainly approach death today, but this is not for approaching death, but for life.

To comply with the dream, and simultaneously to carry out that dream.

[URSA MAJOR.]

There were no further words.

There are no time limits.

The Watcher raised the axe. Lightning roared powerfully, and he ran in sync with its roar.

“Let’s gooooo!!”

Odette followed powerfully behind. White cold lightning was surrounded by butterflies.

The butterflies carried the lightning and flew towards the scorpion. The trajectory drawn was as beautiful as a fairy’s fan dance.

Crack! Boom!

As the axe struck the scorpion’s back, white lightning erupted like a volcanic eruption. The butterfly sat on the Scorpion’s joint and directly struck the lightning.

For a moment, the Scorpion’s movement stalled. The Watcher didn’t miss that gap and jumped high into the sky.

[SET. Celestial Falling Bird’s Foot.]

Spinning like a circular saw blade, and falling downward with that centrifugal force. The target was the back just wounded by the axe.

The raised heel tore open the wound and unleashed lightning. Thunder like an angry beast’s roar vibrated the sky and earth.

[Celestial Falling Bird’s Foot manifestation successful. Reproduction rate 100%]

The Scorpion’s body had no intact parts and couldn’t move, but it was still breathing.

“Tough bastard… Your body is really sturdy.”

He needed to accumulate enough wounds to kill with this blow. This time, it seemed that wasn’t enough.

“Anyway, it’s as good as dead. End it quickly. We need to go catch the next one.”

“You should hope there’s no next. Anyway… This leaves 10 remaining.”

As he raised the axe for the final blow while checking the remaining quests, the moon approached.

“…?!”

No, it was an illusion that the moon approached. The moonlight was so close that the brain momentarily mistook it for the moon descending.

If only it had been the moon. There was no kindness in that moonlight, only sharpness and desolation.

Swish! A fist, feeling heavier than a celestial body, crushed the scorpion’s head. Crash! The fist not only destroyed the villain but also shattered the asphalt beneath.

Immediately after, an explosion occurred from the Scorpion’s corpse.

A beast met its death.

The floating quest window remained unchanged. This meant he had again faced a clone.

Someone walked out of the smoke from the explosion. Despite being covered in embers and dust, their appearance was elegant and beautiful. Their steps were unwavering, and their eyes were filled with murderous intent.

One could feel a chill down their spine without even trying.

Like the light wrapped around her body, she was a person resembling the night.

“Good evening, villain?”

“This side isn’t so good.”

An elegant, beautiful, and secretive woman.

“Hehe, that’s unfortunate. But for me, it’s very good.”

Silver Luna looked at the Watcher, smiled slyly, and floated up into the sky.

“I hope you continue to make my mood pleasant.”

With those words, Silver Luna flew at high speed and disappeared.

“…I stepped in shit. What the hell was that?”

“Calm down. Hmm… Let’s find the next target. I’ll share the location. Can you move?”

“Of course. What do you take me for? Just grab my hand.”

It was an entrance and exit that was concerning in many ways, but now they were busy with other matters. Without time to even guess the meaning of the last words, the Watcher immediately headed to the next Scorpion’s location.

He would understand the meaning of those last words soon enough.

The next Scorpion too…

“Ohohoho! I’ll take it well!”

The next Scorpion too…

“Ohohoho!! I’ll take care of this one too, please!”

The next one too…

“Ohohohoho!!!”

Each time, the final blow was stolen.

Silver Luna’s words about making herself happy meant guiding him to the Scorpion’s and passing over the final blow.

“Ohohoho! So, what are you doing? We need to find the next target. Or are you tired already?”

“This f*cking…”

He almost forgot the concept of the villain and was about to curse vulgarly. He wanted to hit Silver Luna’s happily smiling face hard.

That laugh contained something that scratched at one’s nerves.

The only fortunate thing was that among the Scorpion Silver Luna had stolen the final blow from, none were the main body.

‘No, that’s not even fortunate.’

It meant all the targets so far had been decoys.

“What the hell is this…?”

“What the hell, you bitch!! Is there something special for this crazy bitch to steal the final blow? Even a beggar wouldn’t do this shit!!”

Joo Ah-yoon cursed on his behalf. It was a level of profanity that would normally have been stopped, but given the situation, Han Jae-jung didn’t stop her. In fact, he hoped she would continue.

“What do you mean? We’re hunting Scorpions.”

“You’re doing our job, and yet you mock us instead of thanking us? Not that we need thanks. You can just rest easy. Now go away. Please.”

Really, please.

But as if ignoring those wishes, Silver Luna laughed again.

“Ohohoho! That’s an impossible request.”

“Does this look like a suggestion? Next time, we might attack you. We both want to avoid bloodshed, right?”

Of course, that wasn’t really true. Attacking magical girls was sufficient in the early transformation stage.

“We absolutely must catch the Scorpions here. Just stop…”

“What’s that?”

“What?”

“I’m asking what that is.”

He never thought she would ask back. They were strangers after all. With something to hide, they weren’t close, so Han Jae-jung answered honestly.

“My life. I’ve bet my life on this hunt.”

If one knew the characteristics of the Scorpions, they could interpret this well. Silver Luna heard this and smiled.

“What a coincidence.”

“…?!”

“I’ve also bet my life on this hunt. Oh, probably for a different reason than yours.”

This is troublesome.

Han Jae-jung frowned. Though hidden behind the mask and invisible, his expression would be distorted with perplexity and confusion.

This was an indirect explanation of why Silver Luna was so obsessed with the Scorpions.

‘This wasn’t in the original work.’

The poison of loss. Its victims were not just Han Jae-jung, Jason, and Botis. Many people had been damaged by this extreme poison.

Among the magical girls was Magenta Helios. What she lost was time. This could be considered relatively mild.

Starting life over from the beginning would be inconvenient, but at least she was pushed back to the starting line, not pushed off a cliff.

But here and now, it seemed someone might have lost something even worse.

“I feel sympathy, but I won’t back down. Because what I’ve walked is what I’ve walked.”

Silver Luna was also someone who had lost something, and she was fighting to fill that loss.

“…I’m going crazy.”

He’s really going crazy.

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