For What Do You Fight? -2

“What…? What do you mean…”

Noah had a shocked expression.

“You’re Kraken…?”

“Well, that’s how it is.”

Noah’s expression twisted upon hearing my words.

“H-hey, what kind of joke is that?”

“It’s not a joke.”

“Please stop it. It’s not funny.”

My head hurt.

Noah swallowed hard as she looked at me.

“Mister, you really aren’t feeling well… Just get in. We’ll figure something out.”

This conversation again. The dialogue keeps going in circles without any sign of ending.

I sighed and turned around.

“W-where are you going, mister…!”

“To buy time.”

“Mister, you’re in shock right now! You’re not feeling well! That’s why… that’s why you’re saying strange things like you’re Kraken!”

I demonstratively pulled out tentacles from my hand and swung them.

A monster coming down the stairs turned into chunks of meat.

“…Huh?”

Noah made a dazed sound.

Then she rubbed her eyes and her pupils trembled.

“It’s… a lie.”

It seems Noah recognized it too. Whose tentacles these were, and which villain’s technique it was.

After all, she had seen it countless times over the past year.

I wish I could have talked with her longer. But those creatures didn’t seem willing to allow that.

“They’re coming! We need to leave now!”

It was Seo Jin-ah shouting.

Just as she said, monsters were pouring down the stairs.

“…Disgusting.”

There was no more time to waste. I called out to Kkomul-i, and we began our transformation.

I always feel uncomfortable when becoming a villain. But never as uncomfortable as now.

I completed my transformation while feeling the gazes of the magical girls.

Villain Kraken, wearing a long black coat, a gas mask on my face, and tentacles writhing at my feet.

“…No way…”

Dazed.

Noah couldn’t take her eyes off me.

I kicked the car that was just standing there stupidly.

“Get going. I can’t guarantee how long I can hold out.”

“Ah… okay. We’re leaving! Everyone, hold on tight!”

VROOM!!

With a rough exhaust sound, the car sped away.

I could see Noah inside the receding car. She kept staring back with blank eyes.

The frustration in my heart didn’t last long. Hearing growling sounds, I violently swung my tentacles.

Like watermelons hit with a bat, the chunks of meat shattered with surprising ease.

However.

“There are fucking many of them.”

Many. Ridiculously many.

So many that there seemed to be no end to them no matter how many I destroyed.

SWOOSH!

I swung my tentacles widely, pulverizing everything nearby. Slimy flesh chunks rolled and flew about. Yet they continued to rush at me.

This is why brainless monsters are troublesome.

They don’t feel fear. They only act blindly according to instinct or orders.

“There are too many!”

“I have to hold out until they escape.”

“And then what?”

“…I don’t know, I haven’t thought about it.”

My head throbbed.

“I don’t know what to say to Noah either… No, I don’t even know how to deal with that monster in the first place…”

Meanwhile, it was expanding its range. I may be here now, but soon it will start tracking.

To be honest.

“This is driving me crazy.”

Even as I clear my mind and strike with my tentacles, I keep remembering Noah’s eyes, filled with despair at being betrayed by someone she trusted.

I wanted to go to Noah right away, but that wasn’t possible either.

“There are too many!”

“Let’s hold out a little longer!”

Despite slaughtering over hundreds of monsters already, there wasn’t even a fragment of the main body to be seen.

That was natural. Lust was originally a raid boss.

While Iris, who is at my level, went to attack the main body, the remaining magical girls were supposed to buy time.

It was naturally hard doing alone what was meant for four people.

‘I might really die at this rate.’

This is beyond just being difficult.

For the first time since starting this, I felt my life was in danger.

My own death aside.

‘I need to buy more time.’

The problem is the magical girls. They probably haven’t gotten far enough away yet.

They have to avoid the monsters, and traffic won’t be easy either.

“…Tsk… another way…”

My mind raced. There must be a way. A way to defeat Lust.

A weakness or a strategy point for Lust…

“…There isn’t one.”

I let out a hollow laugh.

There’s nothing. Nothing exists.

No way for me alone to defeat Lust.

I can’t deliver a powerful strike like Iris, and mind control doesn’t work on it. At best, I might be able to restrict its movement.

Gulp. Kkomul-i swallowed.

“What should we do now? Monsters are everywhere. It looks difficult to escape too.”

“…”

“Should we try to take down the main body somehow? Shin Hyun?”

“There’s no way to defeat the main body. That’s the truth. Our attack power isn’t enough.”

Kkomul-i gasped.

It must have been quite a shocking statement. Well, it’s essentially saying we have no choice but to die.

“So this is the end.”

“No. There’s still one way left.”

“But you said we can’t defeat it?”

“Right. We can’t defeat it. But still…”

There is one method worth trying. The problem is that failure means death.

‘…Should I try it?’

Either way, staying here only means death eventually. Fighting to the end might be less frustrating.

BANG!

After creating a guard with my arm, I dashed forward quickly.

“What, what are you doing!?”

I heard Kkomul-i’s shocked voice. From its perspective, this probably looks like suicide.

“Swing the tentacles!”

“I’m not responsible for whatever happens…!”

Heavy tentacles swung around, pulverizing the meat chunks.

But given the sheer quantity, some occasionally slipped through.

And those ones—

“Ugh…!?”

“Shin Hyun!”

“I’m fine! Just do your part!”

Without exception, they shot out tentacles that pierced my body. Squelch—large holes opened in my arms, legs, and torso.

Still, I couldn’t stop.

Because I was running very fast, it ended with just being pierced by tentacles. If I slowed down even a little, I would be pierced and caught.

If that happened, it would truly be game over.

Ending up as food for those creatures? No thanks.

“Urgh…! AAAAHHHH!!!”

BANG!

The last one blocking the door burst apart, and bright light poured in.

At the same time, a figure caught my eye. A shape closer to a rabbit doll than a person.

“You.”

“Isn’t it Mr. Kraken. My, you’re terribly injured. Are you alright?”

“…Well, thanks to you.”

“Thanks to me? I’m offended. Do you think I’m enjoying this?”

“…”

“Actually. The Demon King and I find you quite entertaining. Your choices are quite interesting.”

I gave a sardonic smile at its words.

That’s it. That’s the way to overcome the current situation.

It’s worth trying, whether it works or not.

Looking at the rabbit creature, I got to the point.

“Hey.”

“Yes? What is it?”

“I came to make a deal.”

+++++

“The tracking has stopped…?”

“That’s good, I’ll press harder on the gas, so hold on tight.”

After that very brief exchange, no one spoke.

Despite the relief of surviving and the joy of getting Noah back. It was probably because of the shock from the unexpected revelation.

Yul fidgeted with her fingers while watching Noah’s expression.

She had remained silent since that man transformed and ran off elsewhere.

“Sister… Noah is…”

“…Let’s leave her be for now.”

Noah sighed.

That villain who had been so annoying. That villain she had hated so much. That villain she had wanted to catch so badly.

That person… she had loved so much.

‘Could it be that mister…’

Was he aiming for this from the start? Being close to observe from the nearest position and play with her heart?

Actually, thinking about it, it was a strange encounter from the beginning. A person approaching a girl alone at a convenience store.

It wouldn’t be strange to think there was some intention from the start. But his face, approaching with a gentle smile, is vivid in her memory.

So much for a kind and cool older brother.

“…Haah…”

That can’t be it.

There must be some circumstance.

She realized she had become quite lenient. In the past, when she followed justice and her father’s will, she wouldn’t have even considered this.

Defending a villain and showing trust in him.

If she were her old self, she would have said, “Villains belong in prison! There are no good villains in the world!”

Putting aside these jumbled thoughts, Noah spoke.

“Mister will…”

“Hmm?”

“Mister will definitely come back.”

Noah clenched her fist tightly.

“And then I’ll definitely ask him. What I am to him.”

“Noah…”

“I need to hear why he approached me too.”

“Kyu… Lady Noah, that’s…”

“Kyukyu. Don’t say anything right now. I want to hear it directly from the mister’s mouth.”

“Kyu… I understand—”

Kyukyu’s response was cut off. Along with a screeching friction sound.

“Unni!? What’s wrong!”

“…It’s blocked.”

Seo Jin-ah looked through the window at what was ahead.

The road was blocked.

“Monsters are forming a line up ahead!”

Somehow, monsters had already made their way here.

“Can we break through?”

“It would be difficult.”

“…”

“…I’ll go out. If I somehow manage to gather my strength—”

Just as Noah was about to transform into Iris.

Growl… growl…

The monsters that had been stationary began to move all at once.

Where were they heading?

They moved off the road, climbed up buildings, and extended long tentacles into the sky.

Then, using the tentacles as ropes, they climbed up.

“What on earth…?”

“Anyway, we survived for now. Everyone sit back down! We’re heading to the Association!”

Arriving at the Association with bewildered feelings, they heard something even more incomprehensible.

“…That monster has disappeared.”

“What…?”

“The giant flesh mass that was dropping monsters from the sky… named Lust. It vanished without a trace at some point.”

The incomprehensible news that the monster had suddenly disappeared.