Ch.110Chapter 18. A Certain Emotion (6)

Clang!

I was a bit taken aback by the sound that came from the truck I had just struck with my hammer.

Until now, there hadn’t been a single metal plate that this hammer couldn’t smash through. And right now, it wasn’t even in hammer form but shaped like a pickaxe.

Regardless of the trailer remaining intact, the driver seemed terrified.

The distinctive artificial whirring sound of an electric vehicle filled the air, and the truck moved forward. I widened my stance slightly to maintain my balance on the swaying trailer.

That’s right.

I suppose if they had something important inside, they’d naturally do their best to protect it. That makes sense.

The truck was heading toward the warp point, of course.

That area was still completely unsecured. Both from our perspective and theirs.

In the distance, about 200 meters away, stood a building that looked like an airport terminal. It wasn’t as massive as Incheon International Airport, probably because there was no need for airplanes, but it was still quite elegantly constructed.

However, the trailer wasn’t heading toward the main entrance of that building.

The warp point wasn’t just for people to pass through. The Chairman specifically chose this location because it could transport large quantities at once.

Naturally, the building was C-shaped with one side completely open to allow numerous trucks and heavy equipment to pass through.

I’m not sure how they managed to drive this enormous truck all the way to that opening, but it was already charging in that direction.

This world had soldiers and police since it doubled as an international airport, but—

“Ahhh!?”

“Stop that truck! Where are our vehicles!?”

“They’ve already been cut in half, sir!”

…neither soldiers nor police can stop a magical girl with ordinary equipment.

While I hesitated to call them magical “girls” for various reasons, their fighting style was the same as ours. Each one attached circuits and fought by releasing that energy, so from an opponent’s perspective, it must feel like facing a flying tank battalion.

And there wasn’t just one truck.

Another truck had its trailer section open. It had something like a small stage attached to the back, similar to what politicians use during election campaigns, but naturally, there wasn’t a politician with a microphone inside.

Gunshots echoed from all directions. The Chairman had brought not only “Earth Kaijin” but also monsters made from aliens from other planets.

Literally, they had committed to an all-out battle at this location.

It seemed they couldn’t even consider tactics like attacking one place to draw attention while faking elsewhere.

I suppose it made sense—they needed to extract the equipment itself, and since this was treated as an international airport, breaking through with just one truck would have been impossible.

And now they were on the verge of success.

I jumped across the top of the truck. Though it was moving forward, I pushed off with all my strength and managed to reach the driver’s cab.

There, I confirmed that thick metal plates surrounded the windows as well.

“…Impressive.”

They might as well have used an armored vehicle.

If it had been bulletproof glass, I might have tried hitting it with my hammer, but this wasn’t much different from the trailer in the back. Moreover, I couldn’t get into a proper stance.

Several beams of light streaked through the air ahead. Ju-a was trying to stop the truck from above.

Whether the truck was being driven by a human or AI, her efforts had some effect.

The tires didn’t burst. I’m not sure what she did, but the beams couldn’t immediately puncture the tires.

Ju-a seemed to notice this and focused instead on creating obstacles in front of the truck. She drove Kaijin to move in front of the vehicle and—

“Hey, wait!?”

Crash!

The truck jolted violently as an armored Kaijin crashed into its front. I had to lower my body and struggle to maintain my balance to avoid falling off.

Additionally, Ju-a used magic to make the road bumpy and sent all sorts of stone fragments flying, causing the truck to shake severely even without running over Kaijin.

What’s going on?

Does she have some grudge against me?

I thought we’d gotten quite close until recently. I mean, she slept with her forehead against my back. Yesterday, she couldn’t take the spot right next to me because Jihye was there too, but if Ju-a had lain beside me, she probably would have used me as a pillow to hug.

Or could it be…?

In the original story, Ju-a was close with Hayun. Though she sometimes bickered and opposed what Hayun did, those feelings were never malicious.

In the comments section before the official serialization, many interpreted Ju-a’s relationship with Hayun as “love-hate.” Some even went further to suggest she actually liked her.

So… hmm.

Maybe she felt envious or jealous after seeing Hayun kiss me.

The truck jolted again.

I grabbed onto the truck tightly to steady myself. It wasn’t enough to throw me off. Since we didn’t know what equipment might be inside, or if there might be someone we needed to rescue, it seemed she wasn’t trying to completely overturn it.

It must be my imagination, right?

As I regained my balance and straightened up, Ju-a, who had been flying through the sky, gracefully landed beside me.

“…It won’t be easy to stop the truck. In this situation, it’ll take some time to reach our destination, but there’s nothing substantial enough to block it ahead.”

True to her words, all the police and military vehicles had been completely destroyed. The scene ahead resembled a battlefield. I hoped there weren’t many casualties, but that wasn’t something I could control.

“It seems your earlier strength wasn’t enough. Or do you have something on your mind? Perhaps you haven’t fully sorted out your feelings to fully activate your circuit?”

“No, it’s more likely they prepared for this.”

I was quite surprised by Ju-a’s seemingly sarcastic remarks.

More than feeling offended, I was confused about why she was suddenly acting this way.

Isn’t it strange? Even if I did get physical with Hayun, is this really the time to bring that up in such a busy situation?

Well, she never actually said anything like that, so maybe I’m just being paranoid.

“You’re right. They probably prepared thoroughly based on our usual fighting level. We don’t know how many Kaijin might be inside. They’re likely using every method at their disposal.”

Ju-a’s tone was puzzling.

Her face seemed somewhat angry, yet her words were logical. The analysis itself made sense, didn’t it?

With one circuit, they could create a defensive barrier that could withstand a magical girl’s attack, so conversely, installing several circuits could potentially protect an entire truck.

Since they’re crazy enough to modify people to make them run circuits, they might have found other methods too. Like specific ways to run circuits.

“Clearly, there’s no complete solution for us right now.”

I seriously wondered why she was saying this while the floor beneath us was shaking.

Couldn’t we just bring other obstacles to try and stop the truck? Thinking about it again, couldn’t we move some armored vehicle wreckage?

“So, you need more power.”

“Huh?”

For a moment, I didn’t understand what Ju-a meant.

And as if taking advantage of my confusion, Ju-a placed her hand on my cheek.

Wait.

This gesture seemed familiar somehow.

It felt like something I’d seen today.

To be precise, it was exactly the same gesture Hayun had made toward me.

Oh, no way.

“I don’t know how much help I’ll be, but based on past experience, it’s clear you’re the kind of pervert who needs this sort of action.”

“Wait, hold on—”

Before I could say anything, Ju-a was already standing on her tiptoes.

Her face came close, and there was a soft smacking sound.

As would be natural in this situation—well, “natural” might not be the right word—I felt something soft and warm touch near my lips… actually, somewhere on my cheek.

…

No, what’s natural about this?

Is kissing in this situation sane? Huh?

I don’t understand what’s going on with both Hayun and Ju-a. Do they see me as some weird person who gets powered up by kissing women?

Well, I’m not upset about it. I liked Hayun from the beginning, and Ju-a… I don’t dislike her. As she herself said before, if I had to choose between liking or disliking her as a friend, I’d obviously say I like her. We’re friends because I like her—how could we be friends if I disliked her?

If I disliked her, I would have objected to her tightly holding my hand while sleeping or clinging to my back.

Okay, rationally speaking, even if Hayun and Ju-a don’t know about my past life, they probably know that I gain strength from such actions.

After all, when Hayun hugged me tightly before, and when Jihye embraced me, I did spin my hope circuit at full power and used that energy.

Logically, that’s the only conclusion I can draw. Ju-a would have been even more aware of this.

But even so, only someone as full of self-sacrifice as Hayun would think of kissing a friend on the lips openly. Ju-a probably couldn’t bring herself to go that far.

She probably doesn’t have a boyfriend, so this would be her first kiss. If someone had asked me to have my first kiss with a man in my past life, I would have been horrified.

The fact that she kissed near my lips is already an enormous sacrifice. Especially between people of the same gender.

Indeed, Ju-a’s face was bright red, about to burst. Her hands holding my cheeks were trembling. Seeing her eyebrows raised as if in anger, it seemed this truly was a sacrifice for her.

But.

But you know what.

I had something to say too.

“In the middle of a fight?”

When I asked in confusion,

“W-what else can I do?! Hayun is fighting far away, and there’s only you and me here! We have no choice but to draw out your power somehow and smash through!”

Well, if she’s far away, we could try calling her first… Actually, the fact that she called her “Hayun” instead of “Blossom” during combat shows she’s flustered too.

Right. It must have been that urgent. In that case, I guess we have to use whatever means available.

I should blame myself for having my hope circuit activated when the girls hug me.

“…Alright, can’t be helped.”

As I said this, I gently placed my hand on Ju-a’s head. She startled and stepped back, almost falling off the truck.

Wait, she clings to me at night, tightly holds my hand when sleeping, but dislikes me touching her head?

Even after doing something like a kiss just now?

As I looked at her somewhat incredulously,

“L-let’s just destroy the truck already! If we delay any longer!”

Ju-a’s words brought me back to my senses.

Right, that makes sense.

We don’t know if Pang Pang is in this truck, but we came here to find her.

If the Chairman is here, we’ll make him pay for complicating things so much, but Pang Pang is our immediate concern.

Plus, bullets were raining down above our heads, and other magical girls were running around buying us time. We don’t have time to worry about such things in this situation.

I turned sideways and jumped back toward the trailer.

Then I raised my pickaxe high above my head.

To be honest, I’m not sure if Ju-a’s kiss had any effect. Maybe because it wasn’t on the lips, it wasn’t as stimulating—I’m not sure.

But it’s true that Ju-a’s action did calm my heart somewhat. The hope felt among friends, and the despair of a friend being captured by the enemy.

If I couldn’t use either, I wouldn’t even qualify as a magical girl.

But at least.

In front of the enemy, I’m not alone.

If I want to save someone, I have friends who will help me. Even if it means risking their lives—and even if it means using outlandish methods like this.

I have friends who will sacrifice themselves to help me without hesitation.

I shouldn’t take that for granted. Sometimes I wonder if it’s okay to feel hope from such things.

But such emotions aren’t something I can control.

So, for now, let me use this power with gratitude.

“Hnngh!”

My pickaxe swung forward powerfully, making a wind-cutting sound. The sound alone was incredibly threatening.

And then—

Thud!

I could see the white stake penetrating from the tip inward, almost in slow motion. The pointed end collided with something solid, and sparks—a chaotic mix of black and white—flew in all directions.

This time, it didn’t bounce back.

Like watching high-speed camera footage of a knife cutting through tofu, it slowly melted through the invisible barrier on the surface.

And finally, it reached the thick metal plate underneath.

The surreal black and white sparks gradually transformed into the orange flames you’d see in welding.

And then.

Crack.

With the sound of metal crumpling, the white blade sank deep inside.

Bang!

The “hammer” part at the back collided with the rest of the metal plate, making a loud noise. The metal plate covering the trailer bent inward pathetically.

Hope, it seemed, was just difficult to grasp initially, but once you found the knack for it, it illuminated the path ahead as if following behind me.

I raised my hammer again.

Through the hole, I could see a small glimpse inside. I couldn’t fully see what was inside yet, but it was much better than not being able to break through at all.

My heart was racing wildly. As much as when I was in deep despair.

But the emotion I’m feeling now is the opposite.

Not that I can’t do anything,

But knowing that I can.

At least this time, I know for certain how to win.

Bang!

I strike down with the pickaxe again. The metal plate breaks. Now there are two holes.

Bang!

Another hole forms between those two, and the three holes connect to form a single gap.

By now, Ju-a had come to my side. She had drawn a blade from the end of her rifle like a bayonet and was inserting it into the broken edge of the barrier, prying it outward.

I didn’t know it had that function.

Maybe she added that because of me. After all, I was one of the few who could rush up to “Happy Iris” and throw a punch.

Ju-a prevented the barrier from closing again, and I continued to strike with my pickaxe—or hammer—several more times.

And then.

“…I can see.”

I could see inside.

It was still midday. The weather was getting warmer, and if it wasn’t cloudy, you might even feel the hot sunlight.

That bright sunlight illuminated the inside.

“…Pang Pang!”

I called out the name of my friend inside.

There was no answer. She had her eyes closed as if asleep.

More precisely, she was inside some kind of capsule.

I knew what it was. I hadn’t seen it in the webtoon, but it was one of the most useful advanced technologies that had come from space.

A capsule used to treat people. Normally used to stabilize critically ill patients on the verge of death.

“There’s nothing to worry about.”

Ju-a spoke as if she had read my thoughts.

“It’s something used even in early space travel. It can be used for people who aren’t critically ill. The function to maintain the body’s condition while keeping someone unconscious for extended periods is a feature even in the latest devices.”

I just nodded vaguely and jumped through the gap.

“Graaah!”

Inside, there were Kaijin all around as if it were a trap.

Bang!

I drove my fist into the solar plexus of one of the Kaijin.

With a blade I used to make as a combatant extended from my wrist.

Were they concerned that the Chairman’s granddaughter might die if I went berserk in here?

Or did they lack the resources to create stronger Kaijin?

Or perhaps it’s because my body is overflowing with energy right now.

The blade embedded in the Kaijin’s chest, destroying the circuit there.

Looking again, I noticed the Kaijin was tied to the large trailer wall. Rather than protecting the inside, it seemed they were meant to move and protect this truck from the beginning.

Ju-a jumped inside after me.

“What should we do?”

After staring blankly at me as I drove my fist or pickaxe into the solar plexus of other Kaijin, Ju-a blinked at my question and said,

“Let’s stop the truck first.”

“Got it.”

With that, I pierced through the front part of the trailer with my blade.

And then through the back of the driver’s cab in front of it.

“Gah!?”

The person sitting in the driver’s seat—probably not an Earthling—turned toward me in terror.

“Stop.”

I told that person.

“Or I’ll stop it for you.”

Gulp.

Even in this chaotic situation, I think I heard that person swallow.