Ch.43Chapter 8. Weapons (4)

Even if searching around seemed meaningless, Jihye felt she needed to do something.

She couldn’t identify exactly what emotion drove this feeling. Was it anxiety over her friend’s sudden disappearance after sharing a room for practically their entire lives?

No, it was somewhat different. Not simply anxiety.

Though that’s not to say she felt no anxiety at all.

To Jihye, Jieun was her closest friend, like a sister.

They knew quite a lot about each other’s personal matters. They understood each other’s worries. Though they didn’t know much about each other’s other friends, that was probably true for most siblings too.

So Jihye had unconsciously thought that she knew Jieun better than anyone else.

And that was arrogant of her.

When listening to Jieun’s stories, the name that came up most often was Hayun. Not just because they were close, but because Jieun didn’t actually have many friends.

Even at the orphanage, the only person she was truly close with was Jihye, who shared her room. While she didn’t completely avoid talking with the teachers, she rarely engaged in friendly conversations like the other children did.

Seeing that girl who always seemed to exist in her own world, young Jihye had become determined. She kept talking to the girl who wouldn’t speak a word to her despite sharing a room, and it took quite a long time to finally break down that wall.

But she eventually succeeded.

Jieun wasn’t particularly talkative, but perhaps because of that, they could share various concerns with each other.

Jieun never repeated concerns she’d heard to others, which made it possible for Jihye to confide in her about certain worries that might seem trivial to others but were quite serious to her personally.

Thinking about it, though Jieun had a somewhat unique way of thinking and wouldn’t speak unless spoken to first, perhaps she was just an ordinary girl with many inner worries.

Jihye hadn’t listened to those worries.

At some point, she had simply started treating Jieun as someone she was comfortable with.

Thinking she knew Jieun better than anyone, she had assumed Jieun was coming home late simply because she’d found a boyfriend or something similar.

She should have asked more.

Though Jieun probably wouldn’t have answered easily, if Jihye had kept asking, she might have eventually responded.

…Wouldn’t she?

That’s why Jihye went out again today.

Instead of returning to the orphanage right after school, she wanted to look for Jieun. Though she knew it would likely be fruitless, she felt she had to do it.

It seemed like the only way to ease her guilt a little.

She had already visited the bookstore Jieun frequented several times, but found nothing.

Though the chances were much lower, Jihye ultimately chose other places she and Jieun had visited together. Places that stood out in her memory.

Choosing such places seemed somewhat strange even to herself. They might have been places that meant nothing special to Jieun, despite being memorable to her.

Yet she stubbornly continued, ultimately to create an excuse for herself.

I tried my best.

I didn’t do nothing.

An excuse for herself who had done nothing.

An empty excuse.

*

A few years ago, she and Jieun had impulsively gone out together. She couldn’t quite remember why they specifically chose Chungmuro Station. Perhaps because it was a word that often came up whenever Korean films were discussed.

Since it wasn’t too far by bus, the two had headed there without much thought on a weekend.

While there were some tourist attractions in the area, they didn’t really feel like there were many places related to “film” as they had expected.

After briefly looking at a shop selling used vintage cameras, the two decided they should just move somewhere else rather than lingering there.

They entered the station and happened to discover a gallery inside.

Whether it was run by Seoul City or the district, she wasn’t sure, but there was a gallery with “film” as its theme.

In one corner, there was a space where you could borrow DVDs for free and watch them on TVs installed there.

The two of them watched a movie there.

It was a not particularly funny comedy, but somehow the situation itself seemed so absurd and amusing that they had to stifle their laughter.

“…”

Despite having visited just once.

Of course, Jieun wasn’t there.

What had she expected?

Did she think Jieun would be sitting alone here reminiscing, just because they had visited once together?

…

Perhaps Jihye herself might have done that.

Because despite having other friends, her relationship with Jieun, whom she’d grown up with, was different.

She sighed deeply and went back upstairs. Since the subway didn’t reach her neighborhood anyway, taking the bus would be much faster.

It wasn’t yet quitting time for office workers, so the streets were quite empty.

Looking up at the clear blue sky after a long time, she thought it would be nice if Jieun, having become a magical girl, suddenly fell from the sky.

That was just as absurd as hoping to meet her at the subway station earlier.

As she walked toward the bus stop,

“Eek!?”

She heard someone scream.

Looking in that direction, she saw someone had collapsed. They didn’t appear to be human.

A few people nearby asked if they were okay, but the fallen person just writhed on the ground while making strange noises.

Only then did some of the bystanders seem to realize the seriousness of the situation.

Jihye knew too. She’d heard about it several times at school. She was just seeing it in person for the first time.

She hesitated briefly.

Though she’d heard about it, this was her first time seeing it in person, so maybe this person had genuinely collapsed from illness.

With their appearance so different from humans, it was impossible to tell what might be wrong. Even their voice sounded nothing like a human’s.

But the foam at their mouth made the situation look extremely serious.

She had only hesitated for a moment. She wasn’t planning to do anything.

That was the problem.

*

‘Use magic somehow.’

Easier said than done.

Even if magic develops according to what I believe or think, making it concrete is another matter entirely.

Moreover, deep-rooted prejudices or stereotypes seem to be vividly reflected in magic, which is why I still can’t fly easily through the sky like other magical girls.

Still, there were some workarounds.

In this world, there’s a “stereotype” that “magic is convenient.” Well, considering there were aliens who flew through the sky and pioneered space long before humans developed much, the very concept of magic must have been quite shocking to Earth people.

Thanks to that, I could more or less imitate the common uses of magic seen in daily life.

For example, shock absorption.

Boom!

The ground cracked loudly where my two legs landed.

The cracking sound didn’t just come from beneath my feet. It also came from the opponent’s arm.

It seems they couldn’t react rationally to my speed after I jumped down from a tall building without warning. That was fortunate. If the opponent had “rationally” responded by holding out Jihye instead of their arm, it would have been very bad for me in many ways.

Crack.

The kaijin’s arm was surprisingly sturdy. Or perhaps it was because I had wrapped magic around my legs. Since I reduced the energy enough to prevent my legs from breaking, I might have reduced the impact of the swung weapon by the same amount.

Still, I could see cracks in the shell.

The opponent was a kaijin that looked like a giant lobster.

It was probably originally seafood-shaped. There are quite a few “king crab in a suit” type aliens on Earth too. Usually just their heads are shaped that way though.

With arms turned black and bumpy like rocks, the giant lobster’s body was draped in tattered clothes.

A pair of large pincers, four pairs of thin legs, and a shirt with ten short sleeves was honestly a bit funny. But that was probably normal for them.

Clang!

It swung its large pincer, deflecting my hammer. Its strength was formidable too. Being a kaijin, that was expected.

No, maybe it wasn’t so obvious.

If the problem was that I’d made the hammer too light, then of course it could easily deflect a deceptively light iron hammer.

I changed my thinking as my stance momentarily faltered.

Rather than making the hammer lighter, I should become stronger. Yes, like when I’m working my part-time job.

I spread my legs wide, gripped the hammer just below the head with my right hand, and held it firmly with my hands spaced apart.

Then I swung upward like an uppercut.

The pincer coming down toward me hit the hammer again with a thud. Crack. Something split again, and fluid-like substance flowed through the gap.

I turned my gaze. Jihye’s waist was precariously caught in the pincer.

It was indeed the “Jihye” I knew. One of the children I’d wondered about after I ran away.

How worried she must have been.

Judging by her expression, she was far from okay. She looked somewhat pale, though that might be due to the current situation.

Thinking that might be my fault made my heart feel constricted.

In this world, if there’s anyone I could consider family, it would only be Jihye.

Gritting my teeth, I looked at the kaijin again.

“What are you…!”

The kaijin shouted.

“Magical girl…!”

The words didn’t continue.

Weren’t kaijin supposed to be beings that lost their reason and went berserk? Words probably wouldn’t resolve this.

The police were waiting for a magical girl, they said.

“Hngh!”

A groan escaped Jihye’s lips. The pincer gripping her waist was tightening.

Thud!

As soon as I was distracted, something large and heavy struck my waist forcefully.

I flew sideways, bouncing off the ground several times like a skipping stone.

That really hurt.

But still, this was a body transformed by Overflow. Perhaps because I’d been wrapped in magical power since earlier, I wasn’t having trouble breathing like when I experienced something similar before.

Stay calm.

Though the kaijin had lost its reason, it wasn’t completely incapable of judgment. Taking a hostage proved that. Knowing it had Jihye in one hand also explained why the police couldn’t easily respond.

My left wrist grew hot.

So did my heart. My blood was circulating so fast that my head felt dizzy.

What should I do? How can I rescue Jihye without problems?

The hand gripping Jihye’s waist loosened slightly.

Perhaps it had unconsciously tightened its grip on Jihye’s waist while moving.

The fact that it took a “hostage” meant it hadn’t forgotten that if the hostage died, it would be in danger.

Jihye’s legs hung limply, swaying pathetically. Though she was still alive, I thought she could be in serious danger if this continued.

All at once?

Could I crush its head in a short enough time that it couldn’t use both hands?

Keeeeng—

A sound different from the circuit spinning on my left wrist was heard.

It was coming from the “generator” inside the hammer.

Right, this wasn’t just a simple iron hammer. There must be some mechanism inside. Whether it used magic or simply utilized energy.

“What’s in the hammer?”

Having forgotten that James was on my shoulder, I asked, and James finally caught his breath before speaking.

“An output device.”

“How do I use it?”

“I set it to learn from your actions. Striking enemies or jumping. After repeating several times, it will determine what ‘action’ is needed and move accordingly.”

“…So I can’t use it all at once.”

“It’s designed to optimize during combat. I was trying to explain on the rooftop earlier.”

I see.

So that’s how it is.

I put strength into my legs.

Then I ran with all my might and jumped.

If there’s one thing I can do well, it’s jumping high. It was useful for escaping, and I’d done it once before when jumping from the antenna.

Like taking a running start, I jumped once, twice, three times—each jump taking me higher.

And as I brought down the hammer I’d made lighter, I simultaneously returned its weight to normal.

Boom!

This time the kaijin hastily moved away. It probably thought its arm wouldn’t survive if it tried to block a few more times.

A large crack remained on the ground. In the center was the cross-section shape of the hammer, and to the left and right were cracks reminiscent of lightning.

I pulled out the hammer and looked toward the kaijin again.

And what was thrust before me was Jihye.

I froze.

Jihye’s eyes were open. She still looked pained, her body limp and her face pale.

Whether she regained consciousness after our eyes met, or whether it was just unfortunate timing that our eyes happened to meet,

“J-Jieun.”

Jihye murmured.

If it had been the usual Jihye, she would have laughed at my outfit.

She would have doubled over laughing, rolling on the ground or collapsing, asking why I was dressed like that, if I wasn’t embarrassed.

But Jihye’s face now was not that face.

A face filled with terror, trembling so much she could barely speak.

That Jihye murmured,

“I’m sorry.”

Why would she apologize?

If anyone should apologize, it should be me.

Because of me, strangers came looking for her multiple times, bothering her. No, not just bothering her. Though the reporters would have used polite language, having cameras and microphones thrust in her face while people shouted loudly must have been frightening.

I couldn’t give her any explanation. All I saw was that evening.

Is this situation also because of me?

I’m not sure.

Is there something behind the fact that kaijin appear at a certain rate?

Is it really a coincidence that Jihye was taken hostage here of all places—

My train of thought was interrupted.

I heard a scream. Not mine.

It was Jihye’s voice, crying out as she watched me get hit hard in the waist and fly away.

This time I hit a wall. Perhaps because I hit it vertically, the impact was different from before. My entire body from shoulder to toe was embedded in the concrete wall, leaving an indentation the size of my body.

Thud.

But I didn’t fall.

Well, that’s natural since I was embedded in the wall.

I didn’t lose my grip on the hammer either.

“Are you okay?”

I asked James.

“If you’d been embedded on the other side, you might have died without even being able to scream.”

Why is he clinging to my body like this? It would be better if he watched from a distance.

Perhaps he judged that hiding in the magical power swirling around a magical girl’s body was safest.

“…This sucks.”

I said, twisting my body.

In a situation where nothing was going well, everything just got worse.

I don’t care about fate or coincidence.

I just hated the cause of all this happening.

I thought I’d become quite numb over the years.

But now I truly hated the entity that pushed me into this place and said nothing—probably the so-called author.

What should I do?

I want to find them and do something. I want to scream and curse at them, slap their face, beat them until something breaks.

But I can’t, can I?

If such a person exists, they’re probably watching me rolling around here, watching me suffer, and laughing.

“…Ms. Jeong Jieun?”

As I muttered to myself, James cautiously asked.

I didn’t bother to answer.

The circuit was spinning.

The humming sound was loud enough to be irritating.

The area around my body seemed to lose some saturation.

I could feel vibration from the hammer. Was the generator inside spinning?

Keeeeng—

A nerve-grating sound like metal being scraped. Was this specially designed to wear down my mental state too?

I wasn’t sure.

Actually, it didn’t matter.

It was hot.

Hot energy flowed from the entire hammer, reaching the handle.

Even the kaijin watching me seemed to notice something was wrong.

Yet it still looked stupid holding Jihye out in front.

If it knew something was wrong, it could have been a bit more intact if it had given up.

Click.

A small sound was heard.

“You forcibly opened the propulsion device?!”

James cried out in shock. That B-movie villain voice again.

Now he’s surprised.

After telling me to imagine anything.

Gripping the hammer tightly as it tried to move forward on its own, I took a step.

The giant lobster flinched. It stepped back while thrusting the pale Jihye toward me.

So that’s how it’s going to be.

“Wait, Jihye.”

I muttered to myself.

She probably couldn’t hear me over the loud noise coming from all over my body.

But somehow I felt I needed to say it.

“I’m coming to save you now.”

I ran forward.

Taking a running start with all my might, several times, I pointed the hammer downward.

Only then could I see what state the hammer was in.

The hammer had disassembled.

About half of the back was completely disassembled, with parts scattered behind it.

But it didn’t seem to be “broken.”

The individual parts don’t seem to be working properly. At least, they’re definitely not working as James initially designed them.

But those parts were spread wide open, like the back part of a “booster.”

The parts were separated from each other, looking like superconductors floating, but at the same time, they didn’t shake at all, as if invisible other parts were connecting them.

The generator was half-exposed through the disassembled back.

Behind it, blue flames were blazing.