episode_0029

Where should I go?

I started running, but my mind is still in confusion.

Perhaps because it’s late, there weren’t many people in the lobby. If there were others mixed in here and there… Well, it would have been difficult for me to escape as well, just like it would have been hard for them to approach me.

Which side is the opponent from?

Judging by the fact that they are not combatants, they don’t seem to be from Noir Corporation.

The output of Noir Corporation’s circuits is different from that of magical girls.

The output of the Despair Circuit is much weaker than that of the Hope Circuit. To receive support from that energy, a path was needed for the energy spreading out from the circuit to reach all parts of the body.

That’s why I put on the suit.

The circuit I received had an overwhelmingly better output than what other combatants use, but still, it wasn’t as good as using the Hope as an energy source, so the suit came with it.

No, in a sense, the efficiency seemed better in some ways…

Anyway, because of that, the person without a circuit on their wrist and not wearing a suit is probably not from Noir Corporation.

If not, they might be disguising themselves to avoid being noticed. Or they know something.

The circuit was spinning like crazy.

I don’t know how to use it. So far, all the circuits I’ve used were attached to the suit and automatically supplied energy to the suit.

I don’t feel that way at all now, though—

Three people blocked my path.

They looked like they were at least 20cm taller than me. They looked like they could knock someone out with one punch if they wanted to.

Maybe they were considering the fact that we were in a hospital, they didn’t outright swing their fists at me.

“….Huh?”

But even knowing that they were genuinely trying to hit me, it felt somewhat slow somewhere.

Was it because the presence that had been aiming punches at me until now wasn’t an ordinary person?

As the person who was about to grab me spread their arms and rushed towards me, I squatted down under them. The person also tried to grab me by lowering their body, but my fist was already swinging.

I lightly hit the center of their chest. There was no sensation of anything breaking, but the person who was hit in the solar plexus staggered back, clutching their chest, and fell backward.

After making that person stumble, I jumped over them.

My body feels… light.

The pain I felt a moment ago was almost gone. I don’t know why. Could it be that the effects of the medicine I took while unconscious are being felt now?

But as soon as I held onto that subtle hope, I felt my body getting a little tired. My breath quickened, and my leg strength waned. The pain in the soles of my feet touching the ground also intensified a bit.

Ah, I see.

It must be because of the circuit.

I couldn’t figure out what principle it was, but the circuit was supplying energy to me.

Unlike what I usually use, the circuit with an electronic display was still making a whirring sound.

Knowing that this wasn’t my full ability, I could feel some of my strength returning. Despair circuits are truly despair circuits.

This is ridiculous.

Feeling disappointed and upset is at the core of energy, truly, having bad taste is just too terrible.

Bam!

The opponent was trying to move in a way to “capture” me, but my goal is to escape one way or another.

I have no intention of sincerely dealing with an opponent without a suit, not even a magical girl state. It’s already unfair, and I wouldn’t mind turning it into a murder charge.

In the end, unable to bear it, the person who swung their fist at me, upon seeing our fists collide precisely, grabbed their hand and fell down.

How much do these people know?

Like combatants who knew nothing, as if these people were coming to capture me knowing nothing… Seeing them dressed unmistakably as medical personnel or in attire similar to hospital security, I didn’t think they would know anything, but for me, it was an unknown situation.

Bang!

“Ugh!?”

Gunshots were heard from behind, and there was a heavy blow to my back. As I was running forward, I fell over and slid smoothly on the polished hospital marble floor. The circuit could endure the damage done to the body, but it seemed unable to completely erase the pain; the areas hit by the bullet and the marble hurt terribly.

Fortunately, before falling, I was able to protect my face with my hands. It doesn’t seem like any bones are broken—ah.

I hurriedly touched my stomach and back, but it didn’t feel like anything had penetrated. It just hurt terribly.

Rubber bullets?

Non-lethal rounds used for riot control?

Could regular company employees use such things? Considering confidently using a circuit like that, it might be possible, but using firearms seems to be another issue altogether.

“Ah…!”

In the meantime, something felt like it was snagging at my ankle.

Turning to look down, something like a snare was caught on my left ankle. This wasn’t unfamiliar equipment.

I haven’t experienced it, but it was similar to what police use to apprehend rampaging giants. A form of snare fired from a gun.

At the end, like a fishing rod, a gun was attached, reeling in the line automatically.

As soon as I broke it, I quickly began to slide across the marble floor. As I expected, the length of the line connected to the gun was rapidly decreasing.

I tried to somehow deal with the strap by lifting my upper body, but—

Snap.

“Eek!?”

As soon as I touched it, I screamed at the sensation.

It’s not just the hand. I felt a similar sensation on the bridge connected to that line. For a moment, my senses became numb and my spine straightened out.

Electricity?

Am I using the line as a conduit for electricity right now?

Ah, yes. I know there is such a function. It’s not something made to capture extraterrestrial giants much stronger than humans.

Even if it’s for capturing and not killing—

I tried to force my body to move. Whether it was due to the situation or whether my brain was releasing narcotics wildly, or perhaps because of the circuit, I could move forcibly.

“Ugh… ugh…!”

I grabbed the rope around my ankles with both hands and pulled with all my might. The rope loosened slightly. I ignored the strange sound coming from my hands.

“Ah!”

The person pulling the rope must have thought it was urgent and pulled harder. Sitting down, holding onto the rope, I was dragged over this time. My fingers didn’t easily let go of the rope.

I tried to release my fingers from the rope by force, but this time I fell over being pushed. The man who had been thrown away like a rugby player landed on top of me.

Several people rushed in and grabbed my arms and legs.

Why?

Why are they doing this to me?

Tears fell.

I… Yes, I’m not a good person. To be honest, I’ve been twisted and deviant since I joined Noir Corporation.

But still, I’m not a murderer.

I haven’t killed anyone. I didn’t blow up that pillar. Why should I be sacrificed?

Why should I be turned upside down? Am I just supposed to be used and then discarded by those above?

Oh, I see.

It wasn’t just being used and discarded.

I received money. I didn’t receive it directly, but it was used where I wanted it to be.

Maybe, as an extra who doesn’t even have a proper name or face, I did something weird for no reason.

I should have just lived casually next to the protagonist, flowing along.

Like a character not mentioned in the original work, I should have just lived like that.

…

I don’t want that.

I don’t want to do that.

I don’t want to be the protagonist. I don’t want to be the most important character in some comic.

I just wanted to regain what I lost. Things I achieved in my past life, things I worked hard for, which might seem like nothing to others, all disappeared.

If someone leaves such comments on a comic I drew, it might feel bad.

So, maybe the author deliberately put me in this role in the comic to deny that I am nothing.

I didn’t want to be denied like that.

Even if I lived wandering without any purpose, I did not want to deny the meaning of existence.

Perhaps that’s why I kept hovering around Ha-yoon. Maybe it was because I knew she was the protagonist of a magical girl story.

Maybe I entered the combat unit, and started working a year before Ha-yoon for that reason.

I thought that if I worked hard in my own way, I could even become a villainous executive. I thought I could become a presence that could at least make an appearance in the main story.

So if I appeared in the main story like that, it would be a blow to the author’s face—

Was it because I had such ambition?

“Da….”

Disgusting.

Really.

“Get lost.”

As I muttered, a surprised voice was heard around me.

I put my hand on the floor and got up. About two men who had climbed on my back were pushed away by my strength.

“Remove the circuit! Remove the circuit!”

Someone shouted like that. A hand came towards my wrist.

“Eek!?”

But that hand soon fell.

Fools.

The circuit contains a huge amount of energy. Of course, the heat coming out of there is quite high. It’s designed to be somewhat restrained so that the person using it doesn’t die or get hurt, but it should be like touching a boiling kettle.

…I don’t know why I’m okay right now.

“I said get lost!”

I shouted like that and swung my arms. Some of the men who were clinging to me fell away.

Push-type.

That sound came from the circuit.

Black smoke was rising, but it looked a little different from when other circuits broke.

Unlike the previous circuits where the upper part burst from the inside, it seemed as if it was made with that in mind, as the panel of the circuit rose slightly and emitted smoke stably.

“Snap…!”

The people clinging to me also covered their faces or held their throats with a suffocating expression after inhaling the smoke.

Is it a particularly harmful smoke that shouldn’t be inhaled directly?

I was fine.

Gritting my teeth and groaning, I pushed away the people who were lying on top of me and got up.

My body was fine. My breathing was a bit rough, but at least it was better than when the circuit wasn’t moving.

The circuit James gave me was real.

I have no idea how it works. Since there’s no helmet, I couldn’t see the values displayed on the circuit.

The needle displayed digitally just kept turning counterclockwise.

No, actually, I don’t know. It seemed like the speed of the clock’s movement exceeded the maximum refresh rate of the screen, so it just seemed to blink as it changed position regularly.

…James, I’ll have to ask him again if we meet. I don’t know if I can meet him again.

The bullet aimed towards me flew, but before it could reach me, it veered off in a strange direction and hit the ground and wall, making a sharp noise.

Looking at the direction from which the shot was fired, the men holding the gun hastily hid behind a pillar.

Pointing a gun at a high school girl, are you scared?

Well, the people trying to arrest me must have seen that video for some reason. They probably saw me fighting as a magical girl. If an ordinary person in regular clothes had been there, they would have been physically torn apart and killed.

I staggered.

Since waking up, I hadn’t eaten anything. There were drinks and wisdom on the faraway bed; I should have taken at least one of those with me.

I should have eaten something while just having a conversation.

The circuit immediately gives strength, but it doesn’t replenish the energy inside the body…

Let’s get out of here for now. Let’s go somewhere and eat something.

Setting that as a short-term goal, I stood up.

So I went out of the room,

“…Ah.”

A tremendously bright light shone into my eyes.

No, it wasn’t just my eyes. A tremendous number of headlights lit up in this direction. The people waiting there were shining the light towards me.

Just a single girl, it seems too dangerous to say.

It seemed like they had been surrounding the lobby door from the start. The figures of the people beyond the headlights flickered.

“Ms. Jeong Ji-eun, remove the circuit and lie down on the floor, please.”

Surprisingly, the warning wasn’t too frightening. It was the voice of a woman who didn’t seem much older than me. It seemed like they had considered me a high school student.

“If you don’t resist, no one will get hurt. We’re here to protect Ms. Ji-eun—”

“If you’re here to protect me, then why were you carrying a gun?”

I asked, genuinely curious.

I’m not talking about the people inside the hospital.

There was something long in the hands of the people shimmering beyond the light. Probably a gun. Even if it wasn’t a gun, there was a high possibility it was some kind of weapon.

“Ms. Jeong Ji-eun.”

“…I didn’t do it.”

I said.

“It’s not my fault that it exploded over there.”

But there was no response to my words.

If I had said something to make them feel at ease, even if it was a lie, the conversation might have gone differently. The person on the other side of the loudspeaker seemed unwilling to entertain that idea.

If not, could there be legal issues involved?

Could lying to me negatively impact a trial?

“I didn’t do it!”

I shouted. My voice echoed through the room.

“Ms. Jeong Ji-eun.”

Annoyingly, that voice was incredibly calm.

“It can end well for everyone. If you don’t resist—”

“Then where are you taking me?”

I yelled.

“To put me in prison?”

“It’s not a prison, it’s a hospital—”

“What hospital!? Why did you bring so many people just to catch one person? What kind of hospital is this!?”

Unbelievable.

My circuits trembled.

Black smoke slowly took shape and formed a figure.

“Jeong Ji-eun!”

The voice calling my name sounded urgent.

“Stop right now!”

As if I could stop. It’s the only thing that can protect me. If I want to protect myself from the people with guns, I have no choice but to protect myself from them.

But what if I take off the circuit and still get shot? Some part of me will surely break. Blood might spill. In fact, the places where I was hit while wearing the circuit still hurt.

I’m tired of being in pain.

They won’t listen to me over there.

Well then, I had nothing to say either.

I ignored the voice shouting through the loudspeaker.

Gunshots rang out. Bullets flew from all directions. Whether they were real bullets or rubber ones, I decided not to worry about it.

I ran.

*

Gunshots echoed in the heart of Seoul.

Hayoon immediately understood what that meant. Maybe it was Jieun.

“Hayoon.”

Cherry, perched on her shoulder, called out to Hayoon, trembling with fear.

“I know.”

Trying to calm her racing heart, Hayoon turned in the direction of the sound.

Please, please, please.

She hoped that the gunshot wasn’t aimed at Jieun.

Even though she knew it was unlikely, she thought that positive thinking would help. Even in the worst situation, she had to think positively for hope to prevail.

“…Ugh!”

But Hayoon’s body dropped slightly.

Despite knowing that she shouldn’t be thinking such things while flying through the air, Jieun’s image, bleeding, kept coming to her mind.

Still, she managed not to crash in mid-air and could direct herself toward the source of the sound.

…In the meantime, the thought that she must not lose hope, even if it was just a resistance caused by Jieun having a circuit, kept her going.

That’s how urgent Hayoon felt at the moment.

*

Thud!

I threw the barricade away.

Whether it was the sound of people watching or screams, I heard a thud! The heavy object hitting the ground, the sound of something like an iron bar bending.

Shouts followed, then more gunshots.

The bullets didn’t hit their mark. Twisted bullets struck all around, making a fierce noise. More screams followed.

My left arm was completely covered in a black substance.

It was the same kind of arm I saw last time, like an exoskeleton.

Just like a monster.

An unexplained phenomenon experienced by extraterrestrials visiting Earth.

Usually, they don’t lose their senses, so I probably won’t either.

I quickly ran and smashed the gun of the person in front of me. In the meantime, the gun fired again, and a scream was heard. When I turned around, another police officer seemed to have been hit and was rolling on the ground.

I wondered if there were no bullets inside, and there was no blood flowing.

I threw away the gun and ran with all my might.

The magical girl will come, right?

In the meantime, I had to escape. As far as possible. I don’t know where to go.

And, and…

What should I do?

At least, I ran hoping not to meet Hayoon in the meantime.

Ah, it feels like tears are about to fall.

Why do I have to be like this?

Really, I want to just clear everything up right now.

Even though saying that now won’t make any difference.

That fact made me even sadder.

In the distance, the sound of police cars became louder. It seems they have dispatched more people, judging by the overlapping sounds.

And far in the sky.

A pink light flying towards this direction was also seen.

…We’ll eventually meet.

Feeling like I could collapse at any moment, I ran again.

There was nothing else I could do besides that.