Transformation or Death

Chapter 186

Training (8)

The night air is cool. The spring wind still carries the cold of winter. That chill clings to the skin, making the body rigid. The merciless wind carries the flower fragrance and gently inserts a faint hope into the stiffening body.

That night passes too, and now dawn is approaching. The flower fragrance changes to the smell of dew, evoking a damp sensibility. Melancholy. The time of stillness transforms into a time of emotion.

Inhaling that emotion deep into his lungs, Han Jae-jung organized his thoughts.

He already knew that there were many victims of the Scorpion. If the human group with the highest contact rate with the Scorpion is magical girls, then the ratio of victims would be even higher. Moreover, the Scorpion was originally known to inhabit Japan.

Even if Silver Luna is one of those victims, there’s nothing particularly strange about that.

“I see… You too….”

It would be a lie to say he feels no compassion. Even hearing news of a robbery happening to a stranger can make people sad, so the loss of someone you admire and are fond of naturally brings proportionate sorrow.

“I understand your circumstances.”

“However, do I need to understand those circumstances?”

He too has his own circumstances. Moreover, it’s a matter of life and death. Even if the other party is a magical girl, desperation remains unchanged.

Choosing not to negotiate and simply yielding is not kindness, but foolishness. Han Jae-jung has his own life, and there are not just one or two people connected to  he trajectory of that life.

“From what you just said, it doesn’t seem to be a matter of life and death, so just retreat.”

Disregarding one’s own life now is no different from being discourteous to all those who love and care for him.

“Do I really need to listen to the words of a villain?”

“What are you saying? Are you talking back?”

Swish. Odette appears in front of the Watcher, blocking Silver Luna.

“…You!”

Before she could say anything more, her figure vanished. The power of the butterfly was conveniently able to remove someone without any context.

“Brother, I’m sorry, but I think I’ll have to catch the Scorpion alone now.”

Though the moonlight disappeared, the starlight did not. Colorful flashes of light began to fill that empty space.

It would be strange for Silver Luna to move while other magical girls remain still. It would be easier to assume her actions have already been exposed.

Just as expected, several magical girls appeared.

“Like a comet in your heart!”

“I will strike you down, receiving the starlight!”

“In the name of the stars, a blood punishment!”

Odette brought her palms together. Wind began to stir within them. The butterfly’s wingbeat brings a typhoon. The wind spread like a typhoon, blowing most of them far away. That wind contained no flower fragrance or dew, only will.

“This is a matter of life and death, you damn bastards!! Don’t interfere and get lost!!”

Most are familiar faces. That’s why it feels even more cold and detached. There would be no small number of people hurt by his death.

Especially one person who skillfully blocked Butterfly’s attack.

“Hurry before you regret it.”

“Where would I regret the death of a villain?”

Blue Sirius. She doesn’t understand why the Japanese magical girl or the villain in front of her is so obsessed with the Scorpion.

However, she is not unaware of the Scorpion’s poison. The poison of loss. From the context of the recent conversation, she guessed that either the Japanese magical girl or these villains have lost something to the Scorpion.

Perhaps on the villain’s side, it’s related to life.

What remains questionable is their obsession with the Scorpion. She understands the anger about loss. She understands the revenge. But the emotions they’ve shown go beyond mere anger or vengeance.

The thought keeps recurring that they want to seize something.

“Isn’t what was taken away impossible to recover? I’m saying don’t interfere with revenge?”

Blue Sirius subtly asks this question.

“Revenge? We don’t have time for that. Our goal is recovery, not revenge! So get lost! You’ll truly regret it later!”

Indeed. It seems they can recover what was lost by defeating the Scorpion. Moreover, judging by their aversion to cooperation, the reward is winner-takes-all.

Listening to Odette’s response, Blue Sirius understood.

“What, this was a fight of understanding gain and loss.”

A feeling of deflation washed over her. Were the safety of citizens, justice, and respect for seniors merely pretexts? A fight for compensation, not revenge.

In the end, we were nothing more than a device to drain the Scorpion’s power, and they intended to secure their own necks.

‘…Should I go back?’

Suddenly, she missed Jae-jung. Living to see political maneuvering between villains and magical girls. What kind of suffering is this? What emerges is a sense of tedium. She wanted to be held in his embrace and lament everything.

Looking at how urgent things are now, the Scorpion hunt will likely end tonight. Even if these villains fail to finish it, the distinguished Japanese magical girls will surely take care of it.

Like blowing one’s nose without getting involved. There’s no need for her to run around actively claiming she’ll catch the Scorpion.

Blue Sirius finished her thoughts and deliberately accepted the butterfly Odette had sent, not batting it away. Like melting ice, her figure dissolved into the empty air.

‘Fuck, thank you… I’ll give you service at the Cafe later.’

Odette also noticed that Blue Sirius had intentionally taken the hit and let out a sigh of relief. It was something to be grateful for, having eliminated one formidable opponent.

With this, she had successfully removed most of the Korean magical girls.

“What remains…..”

Two long-range snipers, Helios, and one person slow to give up.

Whoosh! A sound like a missile cutting through the wind sharply shook her ears. The sight was like the moon’s descent. Though a descent, its majesty was so great that the fall could be seen as the moon’s arrival.

Joo Ah-yoon knows that light.

It’s the light of divinity.

A deserted street with no people. The road is so wide it’s like an empty lot. This great radiance will fill the emptiness. It’s getting closer and closer.

She swallowed a dry gulp.

Can she handle this? Can she block so many people alone? Her movement is just a temporary measure. Even if Blue Sirius is gone, Red Vega might return. The same goes for White Davi.

‘Wait, why did she even come?’

She wasn’t originally part of this hunt. Did she just join because it looked interesting? That’s entirely possible.

With just one divine being overwhelming her, each additional enemy increases the burden dozens of times. Moreover, her magical power and physical strength are already quite depleted.

No allies. She must do this alone.

“…Can you do this?” Han Jae-jung asked anxiously from behind.

“I have to do it.”

Joo Ah-yoon raised the corners of her mouth inside her mask, preparing to face the approaching moon. An enemy so massive she can barely handle.

“I’ve always done this.”

Nothing new. She’s always fought such battles. Has she become arrogant, thinking she’s gotten a bit stronger recently? The world is wide, and the top is high. There are countless people more remarkable than her.

She’s heard about awakening divinity, but honestly, she hasn’t even grasped a sense of it yet. To begin with, she didn’t even have time to think. When she’s too busy rushing forward without seeing an inch ahead, thinking about getting stronger is a luxury.

So, she’s weak. From a weak position, she must challenge the impossible.

No inferiority complex. It’s just a fact.

She has a sense of duty. She just has to. Because it’s the right thing to do.

Because she’s always been like this, she’s ready.

“When I’m about to do something like this, isn’t it impossible for you to leave trusting me?”

There was no answer. Instead, lightning roared. The person she wanted to protect left to seize their own life.

How beautiful is the back of someone who knows when to leave and departs.

One shouldn’t sprinkle ash on such a path.

She’ll sprinkle flowers on their path. She’ll gather the butterflies that collect there. So that no one can block their way.

A tiny insect flew towards the approaching massive celestial body.

***

Ippotranslation 

***

I woke up.

Was it because of the sound of grass brushing against my body, or the loud crickets on the night path’s meadow, or because someone was making a sound of getting up? I don’t know the reason. Anyway, the Archer woke up from sleep.

Because his waist was injured, he was curled up like a fetus. The Archer awakened from that primordial posture and supported himself with both legs.

The first thing visible was Botis preparing to go somewhere, putting various weapons into her embrace.

“Oh, you’re awake?”

Our eyes met, and she waved her hand with a smile. Since she wasn’t wearing a hood, her smile was clearly visible in the night.

“Where are you going?”

“To do something. That’s why I was about to wake you up too.”

It means guarding the Scorpion.

Right after waking up, there’s work to do. For the former wanderer Archer, it was incredibly annoying.

“Why the hell are they telling us to guard it? Damn, why don’t they guard it themselves? It doesn’t even seem like they particularly care.”

Seeing them casually sending them to the magical girl, it was clear they didn’t really want to guard the Scorpion.

“It’s for preparing for the impending disaster, and training is necessary. If we solve things step by step, clues will appear even for massive tasks. Our interference with their hunt is also part of that training process.”

Perhaps because the Archer was in a bad mood, it wasn’t a proper explanation.

“Then why are you going along with it? Didn’t Jason get eliminated? Now you have no reason to help, right? If you want to find your memories so badly, why don’t you hunt the Scorpion with them?”

“….”

Botis smiled silently.

“Damn, say something….”

“Because we cannot avoid the disaster.”

Botis spoke before the Archer could get angry.

“Therefore, that training is absolutely necessary.”

What does she mean by disaster? There were so many hidden things that the Archer felt suffocated.

“So… Whose side are you on?”

“I’m always on the side of the villain.”

“No, that’s not what I meant… Ugh, forget it.”

He wouldn’t answer properly anyway.

“Well, this time… Are we on the side of stopping that disaster? If my skills allowed, I’d want to obstruct Paradox’s plan, but unfortunately, I can’t stop him. It’s not something that can be stopped by trying to stop it, and it was something that would explode sometime.”

“What the hell are you talking about… Damn! You always speak in a way only you understand. Is that a characteristic of villains?”

The Archer still didn’t understand his true intentions. He couldn’t know because nothing was explained to him.

“…What about you?”

Botis redirected the question.

“Do you still have a reason to help Paradox?”

“Yes. Because I need to kill those two fake humans.”

“Huh, really? But isn’t it strange? You don’t necessarily need to achieve this by cooperating with us. Why don’t you do it independently?”

“Because it’s obviously more convenient to have someone cooperating.”

Tsk. The Archer clicked his tongue.

“Don’t try to reprimand me, you messed-up girl. You have no right to say anything to me.”

“I wasn’t trying to scold you… Oh, right. Have you made a decision?”

“What?”

“About your friend. That guy also doesn’t meet your standards….”

“Shut up!”

The Archer cut him off sharply.

“I said you have no right to say anything to me. I know that. I also know that guy is messed up. I’ll kill those two guys first, and then kill him, so don’t mention it.”

He raised his middle finger and pointed it at her.

“Of course, I’ll kill you too. So clean your neck and wait.”

The Archer declared this and then muttered curses as he walked away.

“…He’s still just a kid after all.”

Botis gave a bitter smile watching his back.

“Yes, maybe this is also training.”

The path to dreams always involves numerous contemplations and wanderings. Perhaps this is the training to find the answer.

Thinking this, Botis followed him.

Hoping that one day he would see what his eyes needed to see.

***

Ippotranslation 

***

Kwazik!! The boldly launched kick pierced the Scorpion’s back. The Scorpion, burning and frozen all over, suddenly exploded, scattering starlight.

At this point, I’m certain. The truly important things are all gathered in the main body, and the clones only have starlight.

Unless I catch the main body, I won’t be able to reclaim my lifespan.

“…This is troublesome.”

Three of them are left.

Finding the main body still seems far-fetched.

If I can’t hide the main body among the remaining two, it’s a direct path to disaster.

“I’ll have to hope for good luck.”

Whew, he breathed roughly. His stamina had significantly depleted. He was in a state where he could collapse like a puppet with broken strings at any moment.

Fortunately, every time he used starlight, he absorbed the Scorpion’s starlight, so he didn’t lack the strength to continue hunting.

Now he barely had any sensation in his body, but his body, accustomed to hunting, skillfully handled the opponent.

What he needed now was mental strength. He just needed to keep his two legs standing without falling. He still had that much mental strength.

In other words, he had no mental capacity to worry about anything other than the Scorpion.

That’s why this intrusion was fatal.

“The messed-up guy is even shaking his legs.”

Swish! A stake-like arrow flew, targeting his leg. He woke his numbed body and knocked away the arrow with an axe.

Sword strikes then rushed in. Tearing through the air and slicing the ground like tofu, it was clear these strikes would easily tear his body apart.

Watcher forcibly twisted the axe’s direction to deflect even those sword strikes.

“Hello.”

The Archer and Botis too. Each one was a formidable opponent, and in a situation like this, it was incredibly inconvenient.

“Indiscriminate hunting causes chaos in the ecosystem. We’ll play police for a moment.”

“Shut up.”

Watcher gritted his teeth and looked around. No gaps were visible. It wasn’t good news that the Archer, who should be sniping, had come so close.

If he tries to approach, Botis will block him, and if he attacks Botis, arrows will fly from behind. A desperate situation. They had completed a perfect collaboration that complemented each other.

‘Because of this group, I can’t use future prediction…!’

Future prediction requires considerable starlight and stamina equal to its cheat-like nature. Naturally, it also takes away lifespan. He’s been restraining himself since knowing his limited time.

But isn’t this the time to use it? Without prediction, can he possibly get through this situation?

‘…How long can I live right now?’

This was a necessary hesitation.

It had been quite some time since he activated the Big Dipper constellation. His heart was painful. His breathing was even more painful. If he pushes further, he might die right here. If he tries to overcome this crisis and instead encounters another crisis, it would be completely counterproductive. A foolish act of an idiot.

“You’ve run wild enough today. Quit and go back. You’ve reached your limit.”

“What are you talking about! This is the best opportunity! I’ll kill them here! Where the hell are you going, you bastard!”

“I’m going crazy….”

The other side doesn’t seem willing to easily allow the Scorpion hunt.

I guess I have no choice but to kill.

Just as Watcher was about to put his hand on his belt.

Swish! An arrow flew.

Not from the front, but from behind.

An orange, brilliant arrow. Watcher knew its owner.

“Ha, is this even an arrow?”

The Archer snorted and deflected the arrow. It lacked both power and skill. It couldn’t match his Archery.

“An arrow is… Shot like this!”

He drew the bowstring powerfully and shot. Pang! The sound of the arrow tearing through the air was comparable to a cannon shell. The level was different. Any amateur would notice that.

The arrow shot high into the sky passed Watcher and hit a building.

Kwang! A massive explosion occurred, and someone standing on that building helplessly fell. Their trajectory naturally headed toward the scene where three villains were confronting each other.

“Kyak!”

Too weak a scream for a magical girl. The orange girl was insufficient to become the dawn.

“Ugh!!”

She complained of pain from falling bottom-first.

“Oooh…..”

The fact that she was barely injured after a free fall from a building was proof that she was a magical girl.

Orange Altair. One of the magical girls Watcher had once helped.

“Ah… Hic!”

She let out a frightened hiccup while looking at the people in front of her.

“This is… Troublesome….”

She lacked courage. She lacked skills.

“Why are you here….”

“I couldn’t ignore that Watcher was in trouble!”

But she knew about loyalty.

“P-please let me help too!”

Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you would like to support me or read up to 20 chapters ahead, you can do so via Buy Me a Coffee OR by unlocking chapters.

Please consider leaving a good rating and review of Transformation or Death @ Novel Update to show your support if you like the series. It will encourage me to work on more chapters and bring in more readers.

Schedule: [Thur, Fri, Sat]