Ch.42Chapter 8. Weapons (3)

I’ve mastered the transformation method somewhat, and I’m starting to understand when my abilities activate.

Though the opportunity to actually use those abilities hasn’t come easily.

“We can’t always make the first move,” James said.

“The more you move, the easier it is to leave a trail. When a problem occurs, your response time, the direction you appear from—everything can be a clue. Our goal is ‘sudden appearance.’ We need to emerge from an unexpected direction when chaos breaks out.”

“But we’re using black holes to move around. Is it really that easy to track? Direction or whatever, it should be practically random, right?”

“…”

James fell silent at my question.

Why does he still see me as his subordinate?

Despite appearances, we’re equals now. Equal in the sense that we’re both parasites living in the single-room apartment of some poor worker from an outer planet, far from power and money.

…That thought made me a bit depressed, but I tried to hide my expression.

James’s face twisted into something rather fierce, but he’s still just a hamster. Even if he bit me, I’d only bleed a little. And he’s not even a wild hamster, so there’s no risk of disease.

As I looked down at James with what even I recognized as baseless confidence, he spoke with an expression of barely contained frustration.

“Anyway, you haven’t actually used this weapon yet, and you’re not perfect at utilizing your various abilities. It’s important to find appropriate opponents to practice against while waiting for the right opportunity. The entities we need to face are far more massive than you imagine.”

Regardless of the opponent, mastering my abilities was certainly important.

However—

“Do you really think such opportunities come easily?” I asked, tilting my head.

“Let me ask you something. Do you normally keep up with the news?” James stared at me pointedly.

His expression was somewhat irritating, but if I took issue with every little facial expression, our conversation would never progress. So I pretended to think for a moment before answering.

“No.”

If I were to be precise, I heard news more often from Jihye checking her smartphone than from actively seeking it out myself.

Most of it was entertainment news. There were stories about Magical Girls too, but news about actors and idols was much more common.

I wasn’t particularly interested, so I mostly let it go in one ear and out the other.

And since the “news” James was asking about probably wasn’t that kind, I shook my head.

“Were you completely uninterested in what’s happening in the world? If you had a Magical Girl as a friend, wouldn’t it be normal to at least periodically check related news?”

“…”

“Well, fine. Since you don’t seem to know much, I’ll have to explain.”

James cleared his throat with a smug “ahem” and continued.

“Our target is a Kaijin.”

“A Kaijin.”

“Yes. A Kaijin. An individual with no organization behind them, but extremely difficult for the people of this planet to subdue. They can be subdued, of course, but without ‘Magical Girls,’ the damage would be severe.”

Deaths are rare in the process of subduing Kaijin.

But “rare” doesn’t mean nonexistent.

They’re aliens from other planets who, for whatever reason, lose their minds and transform into monsters while on Earth.

They appeared in webtoons occasionally. Up to the part I read, their true nature was never clearly explained.

“The intervals aren’t consistent, but you won’t have to wait too long. There’s a reason the government of this country allows the Galactic Federation’s Magical Girls to run wild. Those Magical Girls are the most reliable means of subduing the ‘inevitably appearing Kaijin’ with minimal damage.”

Right, that was the setting.

I wonder why they don’t just prohibit aliens from entering in the first place, but some countries on Earth have already joined the Galactic Federation.

With the space industry already turned upside down, they can’t completely refuse aliens if they want to secure technology without losing face or suffering interference in internal affairs. When alien corporations establish headquarters here, naturally their employees and families come to live in this country.

Accepting tourists is for similar reasons. Even if aliens come with their families, they need places where they can feel culturally at home on Earth.

There are quite a few restaurants in Seoul’s busy districts that serve food “inedible to humans but edible to aliens.” This isn’t a matter of rights but biology.

Some see minerals as food, or mix tetrodotoxin with liquid as a beverage.

And from what I’m hearing now, as the number of aliens increases, a certain percentage inevitably become Kaijin.

Well, that makes sense—it creates a justification for Magical Girls to be active.

“So we wait until an incident occurs?”

“Yes. And after waiting for the Magical Girls to respond, we appear and take care of it instead.”

“To help the Magical Girls?”

“That’s how it will appear to others. But in effect, it will be interference. The Magical Girls’ power has weakened considerably. If you repeatedly show up and take their work from them, citizens will begin to distrust the existence of Magical Girls.”

Let’s set aside for now the fact that I’m also wearing Magical Girl clothes.

“And what do I gain from this?”

“Right now, you’re being pursued by the Federation, the corporation, and the government. Coincidentally, all three have the same reason—they can’t prove their competence unless they catch you. So, you need to prove that you’re more competent than all three.”

James pulled up the corners of his mouth.

Despite only eating seeds, when he smiles like this, he reminds me of a carnivore.

Though he still looks like he’d eat mealworms at most.

“At the very least, the government won’t pursue you. The main cause of this situation lies in the government’s negligence. To put it more simply, they won’t move against you for the same reason they haven’t interfered with Magical Girls until now.”

As an entity that resolves problems if left alone.

“With luck, one of the other two organizations might try to recruit you. That’s why ‘image’ is important. Even if we reconsider the possibility of things going that way later, you need at least enough of an image for people who support you to form a ‘group.'”

“So, we have to wait until something happens first,” I sighed as I spoke.

“Um… about that,” the Earthaboo, who had been listening to our conversation from a distance, interjected.

“I don’t think we’ll have to wait that long.”

“Huh?”

When I turned my head, I saw the smartphone in the Earthaboo’s hand. It was an older model but surprisingly well-maintained.

And there was a text message on the screen.

[A Kaijin has been confirmed to be causing a disturbance in the Chungmuro Station area of Jung-gu, Seoul. Police, firefighters, and other relevant public officials have been dispatched to the area. Please follow instructions and act calmly. Additional text messages will be sent as the situation develops.]

I’d received such messages before.

Not that I’d ever been caught up in such incidents. Usually, even when they say “Chungmuro area,” it doesn’t engulf the entire Chungmuro district. My escape was truly an exceptional case; normally, Kaijin are subdued before they can cause serious damage.

Those who become Kaijin first collapse in extreme pain and convulse. The moment someone calls 119, it’s already treated as a precursor to “Kaijinization,” and both paramedics and police are dispatched.

If they can’t capture them on site, things get very complicated, but many Kaijin report themselves, so at least in this country, incidents haven’t escalated into “large-scale terrorism.”

“Excellent,” James said.

I frowned at his response.

No matter how you look at it, saying “excellent” when a Kaijin might be hurting people seemed inappropriate.

Catching my gaze, James shrugged and said, “Let’s go take a look first. We’ll decide whether to intervene based on the situation.”

*

Getting to the scene presented a few minor problems.

First, how to carry the hammer.

James said I could “just hide it in subspace,” but I didn’t know how to use that ability yet.

Fortunately, this remained a “minor” problem because James had thought ahead.

The hammer could be disassembled into head and handle parts.

It used a deep, thick screw thread system, with a locking mechanism to secure it firmly after screwing it all the way in. The handle itself was divided into three sections, all connected by the same screw thread system.

“Won’t this create durability issues at the joints?”

“We’ll have to use magic somehow. Just believe that ‘it won’t break.'”

What a half-hearted answer.

He suggested stealing a generator, but I wonder if it even matters. Maybe he just enjoys causing trouble for the company?

Whatever the reason, thanks to this design, I could pack the hammer into a duffel bag. The shoulder strap dug into my flesh when I wore it on my back, but with the circuit, it wasn’t a major problem.

I don’t plan to use the black hole right away.

Though it doesn’t emit radiation like a real black hole, it’s still inevitably noisy. Is it different from what people generally think of as warp points?

Oddly enough, it’s noisy when “entering” but not particularly loud when “exiting.”

When I asked James about it, he just replied, “If you don’t know, how would I?” leaving me speechless.

…Let’s just say my subconscious imagination is lacking. It makes sense if I can imagine what happens in front of me but not what comes after.

Going directly to Chungmuro is actually quite risky. Even with my face masked, if I keep showing up wherever Kaijin appear, and each time a black Magical Girl appears, it would make identifying me too easy.

But there’s no alternative for this.

Either I get discovered because of the noise from creating a black hole, or I leave a trail that gets followed. For now, I’ve chosen the lesser evil.

I think I understand why James wants to create a “faction.”

Though it says “Chungmuro Station area,” it naturally doesn’t mean the entire Chungmuro district.

Disturbances usually occur in one confined location.

Since the situation was unfolding near Chungmuro Station, the station was naturally closed. Since I came by bus anyway, it wasn’t a big issue for me.

It took about 20 minutes to get here, but I still hadn’t received a message saying the Kaijin had been subdued.

It’s natural, but when Kaijin appear, the government also restricts people from filming. If the government could always handle things cleanly, it wouldn’t matter if videos were taken, but things don’t always end neatly.

Plus, there are many times when they control the situation while waiting for Magical Girls.

The Magical Girls must not have arrived yet either.

“Where should I transform?”

I asked, slightly opening the zipper of my bag slung to the side.

In Gangnam, I did it on a building rooftop. That was risky too, I suppose. I went up wearing a mask and took it off, but if someone had checked the CCTV, they would have concluded it was me who went up to the roof.

Of course, the mask I wore wasn’t the same as the one I wear for work. My clothes were different too. I even changed masks in a place without CCTV, so there shouldn’t be a major problem… I hope. At least James was good at identifying such issues.

“I’ve thought about that too,” James said.

He handed me something from inside the bag.

At a glance, it looked like wireless earphones.

I took out the unit and put it in my ear, and I could hear James’s voice.

“Aren’t you curious how you transformed in the middle of Gangnam without getting caught on CCTV?”

James asked.

“Despite appearances, my technology is far superior to that of humans. To control cutting-edge robots with brainwaves, one must be able to utilize even the most minute radio waves. Thankfully, many CCTV cameras in this era are wirelessly connected.”

Ah.

So he hacked and replaced the footage?

“Well, it’s not omnipotent. I can’t do anything about wired connections or those specially made with other planets’ technology for security. However, if we can communicate like this, it’s relatively easy to guide you to places where I ‘can manipulate things.'”

“I see…”

The reason he hadn’t told me until now was probably because he enjoyed watching me panic.

As I pressed my forehead in frustration at James for only now revealing such important information, he excitedly continued.

“Besides, humans still use ‘walkie-talkies’ for police communications. Radio hijacking is easy. I’ll relay the live broadcast to your ear from now on.”

“You seem oddly excited about this.”

“Is there such a thing as being excited or not when working?”

Though he responded seriously to my comment, judging by his voice, he seemed a bit guilty.

Thinking about it again, that translator conveys emotions too enthusiastically. Though I suppose it would be somewhat off-putting if it just read everything in a flat, emotionless tone.

Feeling that sitting still might draw more attention, I walked according to James’s guidance.

Perhaps because it was a weekday, there were scattered people on the streets. Not completely empty, but not crowded either.

“Let’s go up to a building again,” James’s voice came through.

The building James indicated was fairly tall but looked quite old.

In the distance, I could see police cars. I could also hear what sounded like things breaking and people shouting.

Just a bit further, there seemed to be an area controlled by police, making it difficult to get any closer. Is that why he chose this building?

There was a security guard inside, but he didn’t seem to pay attention to me. The lower floors had clinics and restaurants, which might explain why.

I got into the elevator and pressed the button for the highest floor.

Fortunately, no one else got on during the ride.

[The suspect is presumed to be from the second planet of the Arel star system. Nationality is being confirmed. Don’t get too close. Civilian safety is the top priority.]

It was a man’s voice. Perhaps one of the people dispatched there.

Would they be holding guns? Kaijin often chew through non-lethal rounds. So if necessary, they sometimes use live ammunition, like they did when subduing me.

I went up to the top floor and then looked for the stairs.

There was no one in the corridor. The top floor seemed to be empty. Did James know this and direct me to this building?

The door to the roof was locked, but I broke the padlock and went out onto the roof. Of course, I wore gloves when breaking the lock. Anything that could slow down the investigation would help.

Being somewhat distant from where the situation was unfolding, I couldn’t see clearly from here, but the head of the enlarged Kaijin occasionally popped into view.

I don’t know exactly where the second planet of the Arel star system is. The police probably don’t know either. They’re just preparing according to what experts tell them.

I can see its face but it’s not moving—perhaps they’ve already succeeded in subduing it to some extent?

[What’s the hostage situation?]

[They seem safe for now.]

“…”

Ah, so there’s a hostage.

[Their face looks a bit blue.]

[They’re not being choked, and from here, I can see their chest rising and falling. They don’t seem to be having trouble breathing…]

[If they’re terrified, they might be hyperventilating.]

[Should we try to snipe?]

[Didn’t you hear the orders? Stand by. Our equipment would be meaningless even if we shot. If it goes berserk, that’s when the hostage would really be in danger.]

[Understood… Should we request different equipment?]

[Permission won’t be granted. If the subject has no criminal record, they’re protected by the Galactic Federation. It’s cleanest if a Magical Girl handles it.]

Hmm.

I’m a Magical Girl too, in a way.

“It’s not advisable to go now,” James said.

“You need to show that you can overwhelm the Magical Girls.”

I’m thinking it might be a good approach to resolve the incident before the Magical Girls arrive.

[Why are the Magical Girls taking so long?]

[They’ve departed. They’ll arrive within 10 minutes…]

[Why so late? We’ve been waiting all this time.]

[The hostage’s condition is deteriorating.]

“…”

[That alien’s appearance has changed too much to identify. Has the hostage been identified? We need to inform their family.]

[Ah, yes. We’ve identified them. A student ID was found in a dropped wallet.]

[Student ID? A minor?]

[Yes, the name is… Jeong Jihye…]

“What?”

I couldn’t help but mutter.

If the communication hadn’t been one-way, it would have been a major mistake.

“Wait—” James immediately spoke up seeing my reaction, but

[She has no family. However, there’s an orphanage where she stays. Should we contact them first?]

[Yes, do that. Keep the wallet for now and pass the information to the relevant department. Let’s focus on our job.]

[I hope the hostage can hold out.]

[We’re dealing with someone who won’t negotiate, so we have no choice but to hold out until the Magical Girls arrive. Damn, if only we could shoot to kill…]

“Ms. Jeong Jieun. Please calm down,” James’s voice echoed in my ear.

“In just about 10 minutes—”

“What if something happens before then?”

I replied.

I had already put my bag on the ground and was opening the zipper.

“We have a plan. To achieve the best results, you need to know when to be patient.”

I pulled out the earphones, but I could still hear James speaking from inside the bag.

James was looking up at me with a somewhat angry expression.

“If the plan goes wrong—”

“That plan is only a plan when it benefits both of us. Why should I do something that only causes me harm?”

Though I was trying to speak as calmly as possible, my heart was already racing.

The circuit keeps running. In truth, regardless of whether I want to transform or not, I probably won’t be able to hold out much longer.

And after transforming, I won’t be able to turn back anyway.

James couldn’t respond to my words.

As I assembled the hammer, I said, “I need to handle this first, then think about the next move. With Jihye as the hostage, plans don’t matter anymore. I won’t be able to hold back anyway.”

Is this my fault too?

I know it’s better not to think that way. It’s probably just a coincidence. Jihye was simply outside and happened to be near an alien who was about to become a Kaijin.

But even thinking that way, I can’t help but have this thought lurking in a corner of my mind.

Is it really so?

Can I really say that Kaijin was there “by coincidence”?

Is it truly a coincidence that Jihye, who rarely comes to places like this, is in “this situation of all situations,” and that I’m here?

The circuit whirred as it spun.

Black smoke was already beginning to rise around my wrist.

“…Understood,” James finally said.

“Well, it’s better than not being able to transform at all. I’ll need to adjust the circuit for situations like this.”

“…”

I pretended not to hear his last words.

Because if I start thinking that people around me are being used for my activities, I really won’t be able to hold back.

Black smoke covered my vision.

I felt the floating sensation that I could never get used to.