Ch.46Chapter 8. Weapons (7)

Have I ever seen Jieun get angry?

She’s shown irritation before. I’ve seen her cry during sad movies. I’ve seen her laugh.

Having spent so much time together, it would be stranger if I hadn’t seen her emotional side.

And yet, despite all that.

I’ve never seen Jieun truly angry.

When we were very young, Jihye once touched Jieun’s things without permission. It was a time when the concept of personal property wasn’t easily understood since we shared a room.

Jieun didn’t get angry. She just wore an expression that seemed like she was holding something back.

Even at that young age, it was still intimidating.

As we got to know each other better, we adjusted to each other. What initially seemed cold and scary was just a first impression. Living together revealed she was actually quite understanding and somewhat mature for her age.

Perhaps that’s why. Jihye had never seen Jieun angry like this before.

She looked like a child.

Like someone suddenly releasing everything that had built up inside.

Like a child who didn’t know how to be angry properly, so she moved her limbs more wildly than she intended—that kind of appearance.

But the result didn’t look like a child throwing a tantrum.

The ground around her cracked, explosion-like sounds echoed repeatedly, and the seemingly sturdy armored vehicle crumpled like paper.

Jieun’s screams sounded painful.

Today, no matter how you looked at it, what Jieun did couldn’t be called wrong.

She rescued Jihye who had been taken hostage, cooperated with the magical girls to defeat the rampaging kaijin. She didn’t hurt any police officers and didn’t show any particular hostility.

If anyone among all these people had tried to talk to Jieun, she would have willingly engaged in conversation.

On the surface, she might seem a bit cold, awkward, and blunt, but she was definitely not a bad person.

BOOM!

With a downward strike, the armored vehicle’s midsection collapsed. A large crack formed in the ground. The middle of the vehicle caved in, becoming embedded in the earth.

Perhaps frightened of Jieun, the people surrounding her couldn’t bring themselves to attack.

Light was flowing from the sky.

I can’t be afraid.

With everyone around me terrified, I of all people couldn’t be.

Because that person over there is Jieun.

No matter what form she takes, she’s still Jieun. The one I’ve been searching for.

But in the end, Jihye sank to the ground.

It wasn’t purely out of fear. If I had to explain, it was a mixture of many reasons. My legs gave out from tension, and I couldn’t fully comprehend what was happening. It was the first time I’d seen a kaijin so close. It was also the first time I’d nearly died.

I just lost my strength, that’s all. I’d been through too much today to handle everything.

The ground rumbled, and something like a scream—an inhuman cry—echoed.

“…”

Jieun looked up at the sky.

What was she seeing beyond it?

What was that black hole? Did Jieun create that too?

After staring at the sky for a while, Jieun turned to look at Jihye.

There was nothing left on her expression.

Not a single tear. Her face was completely empty, as if she had purged everything inside and left nothing behind.

She opened her mouth, but no words came out.

I tried to stand up, but my legs wouldn’t cooperate.

I have to catch her.

If I don’t catch her now, I felt like I never would.

But Jieun didn’t wait for anything.

She simply disappeared.

I only blinked once, and there was no trace of Jieun left.

The light flowing in the sky, the black hole that seemed to suck everything in—all gone.

There was only a completely destroyed armored vehicle and ground torn up everywhere.

“…”

For a long time, no one spoke.

*

Hayun only started running after Jieun began to move.

“Wait!”

Hayun shouted at her colleagues who were rushing toward Jieun.

Were they going to try to capture Jieun? Were they planning to hurt her again?

She tried to move quickly.

But it wasn’t easy because of the black hole in the sky. If she tried to fly up, she might get sucked in.

No. It’s still okay.

She had enough magical power. The circuit was still functioning properly.

Just as she ran forward with all her might, trying to reach Jieun—

Jieun disappeared.

Again?

—No, the black hole was still there. Not all magic disappears simultaneously when the caster vanishes, but Jieun’s magic had always worked that way.

She must still be nearby.

Just as Hayun was about to search around—

BOOM!

A sound like that echoed.

Far away, in the middle of the police officers, Jieun was moving.

It was a side of Jieun that Hayun had never seen before.

She was raging with anger.

Jieun was.

“…Jieun?”

She thought it wouldn’t be heard from here, but she murmured it anyway.

“…Ah.”

That must be it. She must have had a lot built up inside. Being human, it would be impossible not to.

She had become a nationally wanted fugitive for something she didn’t do. And not just as someone who caused an accident, but as a terrorist who killed people.

She must resent everything in the world. And she had been holding it in until now.

A scream was heard.

It was Jieun’s scream.

A voice filled with terrible pain.

Hayun’s body froze.

If only the situation had been different. If Jieun had attacked first, things might have been different. In that case, the justification might have been on their side.

But Jieun had been shot as payment for saving someone from danger.

Before that, they had even thrown a net over her head as if they were going to capture her.

When you treat someone who showed goodwill like that—

At some point, the screaming stopped.

After a brief silence, suddenly everything returned to normal.

The black hole that seemed about to suck everything in was gone, and the light flowing in the sky had disappeared.

Hayun instinctively knew that Jieun had vanished.

She hadn’t even been able to speak to her yet.

She had finally thought they could talk.

But it ended before that could happen.

“…”

Why?

Why, why do they interfere like that?

Is it such a problem to just exchange a few words?

Hayun slowly walked toward where people were gathered.

As Hayun approached, people looked at her and quickly stepped aside. Walking through the path they made, she went to where Jieun had been just moments ago.

There was a devastated vehicle there. A vehicle so damaged it was hard to recognize what it had originally been.

All eyes turned to Hayun.

Why?

Did she look like she wanted to say something? Did they think she was going to chase after Jieun right now?

Were they expecting Hayun to catch that mysterious magical girl for them?

“…Blossom.”

Iris cautiously addressed her.

Hayun looked at Iris.

Iris had a perplexed expression. She also looked worried.

She seemed about to say something, her lips moving slightly, but in the end, Iris couldn’t say anything to Hayun.

Was she going to say it wasn’t Hayun’s fault?

But it was Hayun’s fault.

From the beginning, she should have thought properly.

As a magical girl, her job was to protect people.

She had been approaching everything with a black-and-white view of good and evil, trying to solve everything with violence.

It was too late to regret after seeing Jieun caught up in it as a victim.

…Now that things had turned out this way.

After staring blankly at the destroyed armored vehicle, Hayun turned her head again.

This time, her eyes met with Jihye, who was sitting on the ground in the distance.

*

“Jieun?”

The Earthaboo approached me in alarm as soon as I collapsed upon returning to the room.

Seeing the blood flowing from my left shoulder, she quickly opened the first aid kit and took out bandages.

“…”

James, who had been on my shoulder, came down and sat on the floor.

I collapsed onto the floor.

Blood stained the floor mat, but there was nothing I could do. I had absolutely no strength left in my body.

The pain that I’d forgotten due to the excitement of battle now came rushing back.

“I… messed everything up.”

I muttered.

I hadn’t been able to show off by rescuing Jihye more impressively than the magical girls.

I did manage to show some cooperation, but that was it. People showed no trust in me.

I even lost my temper with the police officer who shot me. The armored vehicle, which must have been state property, was rendered completely unusable.

That road probably won’t be usable for quite a while. I destroyed a lot while fighting, and then again during my outburst at the end. Plus, the black hole caused objects to fly everywhere, making the damage far worse than what I directly destroyed.

I wonder if windows in nearby buildings were broken too.

After today, those hunting me will be much more vigilant. Now that they’ve confirmed the danger of the weapons I possess, they’ll search for me with even more determination.

If they encounter me, they’ll probably shoot.

“…Sorry.”

I apologized, though not to anyone in particular.

To the Earthaboo who was bandaging my shoulder. After all, I was basically living in her home for free and now I’d made a mess.

And to James, who had made plans and weapons for me. Well, I’m not entirely grateful to him, but still, I was the one who messed up this time.

But James didn’t scold me.

He just seemed deep in thought with one hand under his chin, then said,

“The weapon is gone.”

“…What?!”

I was startled and tried to get up, but lay back down.

My shoulder hurt too much. The bullet hadn’t gone through, but I’d still taken enough damage to bleed. The circuit was still running, but my clothes had already changed from magical girl attire back to what I’d been wearing when I went out.

Did I leave it behind?

“No need to worry too much. You probably instinctively placed it in subspace.”

James explained.

“I confirmed that you were holding it until the very end.”

“…”

Well, that’s thorough of you.

But I didn’t want to think about that right now.

More precisely, I didn’t want to think about anything. Everything just sucks. My situation.

I really feel like crying.

I did my… best.

Even if it doesn’t look that way to others, I really did my best. Though that choice might have been wrong.

“…This isn’t a good atmosphere for conversation right now. Let’s continue another time. Today was more productive than expected.”

You were cursing when you almost got shot, and now you’re acting like everything’s fine?

“Should I lay out the bedding for you?”

The Earthaboo asked.

I couldn’t get angry at that question.

I got up from my spot. My left shoulder still throbbed with pain, but I couldn’t get into bed in this state.

It’s not even my bedding.

…No, actually the bedding is mine. I bought it with money from my part-time job.

Still, I can’t sleep covered in dust.

The Earthaboo looked at me with a somewhat worried expression as I staggered toward the bathroom, but I had to take care of business, so I just went in to wash up.

*

After barely managing to wash myself and change out of my tattered clothes, I collapsed onto the floor mat.

I woke up because of a delicious smell that tickled my nose.

“Oh, you’re awake.”

The Earthaboo put down the ramen she had just picked up with her chopsticks.

“There’s still water in the kettle, so you can boil it right away and eat.”

“…Thanks.”

I was starving to death.

Looking at the window that was almost at ground level, it was completely dark outside. It seemed I hadn’t slept that long.

“How long did I sleep?”

As I looked around for a clock, the Earthaboo swallowed her ramen and answered.

“A day and a half.”

“…Huh?”

I looked at the Earthaboo and asked again.

“Honestly, I thought it might be dangerous, but when I shook you, you mumbled something in response. So I left you alone.”

“I see.”

Well, I’m in no position to go to the hospital. That must be why I’m so hungry.

I touched my left shoulder. The bandage was still there, but it didn’t hurt as much as when I was injured. During that time, some magical effect must have helped my body heal.

I boiled water again and made cup ramen with the bubbling kettle.

It smelled delicious already. I lost my self-control and put some not-fully-cooked noodles in my mouth. They were still a bit stiff and crunchy, but tasty.

Like someone possessed, I slurped down the entire cup of ramen, then mixed in the cold rice the Earthaboo offered and swept every last drop of soup into my stomach.

I felt a bit more alive.

“Phew.”

I can’t resist my instincts either.

The Earthaboo, who had been staring at me eating like a possessed person, shrugged.

“I’m glad you seem okay.”

“…Huh?”

“I saw it on the news. It wasn’t live, but traces of your fight were on the news.”

“Ah.”

The happiness of having filled my stomach instantly vanished.

“What… did they say?”

“…It’s not particularly good news for you.”

Thinking I should know anyway, the Earthaboo showed me the content on her smartphone.

I silently took the smartphone and read.

[Magical Girl Attacks Police]

That was the gist of the article.

The photo showed the armored vehicle shattered into pieces, barely recognizable, along with the rifle I had bent.

The ground I had smashed several times during the fight was also visible.

Of course, the article wasn’t criticizing “magical girls.”

That is, the Galactic Federation’s magical girls. The provocative title was probably just to increase views.

The article was describing me.

It said I fought the kaijin, then ignored the police’s attempt to take me in and instead threatened them by destroying an armored vehicle.

“Ha.”

The direction of the article was so predictable that it made me laugh.

So they’re saying they’ll chase me no matter what. Branding me as a criminal.

Making people unjustly…

Well, crime is crime.

It’s true that I refused to be taken in. I did move through downtown Seoul, throwing aside police who tried to stop me, and destroying cars and barriers.

I also infiltrated a company and ran away with their most important component.

And when I reappeared, I boldly destroyed city property, threatened the police, and ran away.

But there’s nothing written about why I did those things. That’s to be expected.

“Maybe I should become a real villain.”

I muttered.

Should I just kill everyone without caring about human life?

Perhaps that’s what the author wants. If the world I live in is being serialized as another work, then I’ve at least moved beyond being just a side character.

A good protagonist who has to kill their friend who’s gone berserk and fallen—isn’t that the picture the author wants?

“…”

I imagined Hayun killing me.

The one who would be hurt is probably Hayun, not me. I would rather be at peace…

Ha.

A world where I can’t even die as I wish. How pathetic.

I handed the smartphone back to the Earthaboo. Perhaps because of what I said, she was staring at me with wide eyes.

“…Don’t worry, that won’t happen.”

I feel so wronged that I want to roll on the ground, but becoming a real villain now wouldn’t resolve that injustice.

Well, in their eyes, I’m already a villain.

At the end, I recalled the magical girls rushing toward me. At least Hayun didn’t rush in, which was fortunate.

…Is it fortunate? I’m not really sure.

Something was still boiling deep down in my heart.

While thinking this situation is unfair, at the same time, somewhere… there’s a feeling that it might be for the best.

A thought so absurd it surprises even me—that since things have come to this, I want to smash everything.

It’s ridiculous, but isn’t it true?

If this “author” actually exists and is responsible for putting me here.

Isn’t it natural to want to completely destroy and collapse the very foundation of the work?

“…”

But at the same time, I feel that I shouldn’t do such a thing.

Hayun’s face comes to mind. She would look very distressed fighting me. Until now, she could face me because I had my face covered.

If I fought with my face revealed, Hayun would definitely not be able to use her full power.

And such a fight would be meaningless. The “Blossom” I want to defeat is not a weakened, hesitant being. Winning that way would have no meaning in this world.

With my power, I need to completely defeat Blossom at her full strength—only then could it be called proper revenge.

…Revenge against this world, using Hayun.

“Ha, haha…”

I laughed weakly.

The Earthaboo looked at me with concern.

I sighed deeply and looked around again.

“James is over there.”

Looking where she pointed, I saw James sleeping.

I had made a separate place for James to sleep, as there was a risk of him being crushed if I rolled over while sleeping on the same floor mat.

I had made a nest using my torn old clothes, with heat packs underneath. Since one heat pack stays warm all day, it was a fairly decent spot.

James was curled up and lying there.

Next to him was some unfinished mechanical device.

Is that another weapon for me? It seems small for that.

I’ll ask when he wakes up.

I reviewed the events I had experienced.

It’s not all negative. While public perception of me continues to worsen, I have gained some things.

My potential.

Although it only happens when I’m under extreme stress, I can create a black hole that turns everything around me into chaos just by existing.

It’s literally a black hole, even distorting light.

I come out the opposite way after going in, but other things that get sucked in haven’t come out yet. Not even my weapon.

Maybe I can retrieve and use it again.

There might be components in there that James could use.

Let’s use all of that as my weapon.

Since things have come to this, I need to become dangerous enough that they can’t ignore me. Dangerous enough that they can’t treat me like a cornered rat.

I know I don’t have a chance of winning. But it’s too frustrating to give up.

That’s why my circuit keeps running.

Perhaps that fact itself is the most powerful weapon I possess.