Transformation or Death

Let’s Be Close Friends (3)

I arrived home, dragging my tattered body. It had been a while, but I didn’t feel particularly homesick. The sticky yellow linoleum was slightly raised. Mold, the live-in roommate, was playing king of the hill on the walls, and the fluorescent lights flickered, creating a seedy atmosphere.

After the hospital that reeked of medicine, this room reeked of mold inside and a faint blood smell outside the window. It really made me feel like I was living life to the fullest.

-Aaaaaah!!! I’m doomed!!!

The neighbor was shouting loudly. Given the poor safety of the neighborhood, the neighbors were probably not the best either.

It wasn’t just poor safety, this was a neighborhood with a high frequency of villain appearances. If you live in a place like this, it means you’re either abnormally poor or insane, with no other options.

If you’re poor, you end up going insane, so it ultimately boils down to one or the other.

The name of this area is G-34.

Awkwardly, most area names in this world are in this format, English letters or Korean characters combined with numbers.

After going through the past where villains appeared, triggering an apocalypse, all administrative districts were completely reorganized.

Since most buildings had to be rebuilt anyway, and there was a need to distinguish areas with high villain activity, they adopted this naming convention.

Some areas were even designated as inaccessible and effectively ceded to the villains.

The names were designed to remove symbolic meaning and prioritize convenience, thoroughly fragmenting the areas.

That’s how names like G-34 came about. As someone with memories of a different world, these local names feel a bit foreign to me.

Through the window, I saw a villain flapping its bug-like wings. I’ll have to deal with that someday.

-Aaaargh!!! You damn thing!!! If you had a brain, you’d think, wouldn’t you?! Should I rip off your fingers?!

I want to get rid of that neighbor too. The vibrations suggest they’re trying the shotgun-like method of banging on the desk.

“What a crazy neighborhood…”

I’ve heard that people who value their lives would rather live as homeless in the safe city center than in a place like this.

This world is more screwed up than I imagined. In a way, it’s only natural for a post-apocalyptic setting, but the problem is that even the city center is no longer safe.

‘They said an S-grade villain has become active.’

If that’s true, the dilemmas will start to emerge in earnest now.

The natural disasters that used to occur once or twice a year will start to ravage the land throughout the year.

‘And I’ll be one of them…’

A slight smile crept up on my lips. I plan to continue keeping my identity hidden.

There’s the trauma issue, and the positioning of the magical girls.

The male demographic that has been craving male heroes might needlessly idolize the Watcher and use it as a tool for comparison and confrontation, causing gender issues. Conversely, some might resent me just for being closer to a magical girl.

Human psychology is truly complex. The term ‘love-hate’ can openly exist. Emotions are not rational or logical.

They may feel gratitude for having their lives protected, while simultaneously thinking the magical girls’ powers are rights to be envious of. They may admire them, yet fail to tolerate behaviors that deviate from their own ideals.

Rationally, it makes no sense. It’s like demolishing the fence that protects them from beasts, or spitting on a work of art to keep it from getting dirty.

Of course, most ordinary people are favorable towards the magical girls. But just as a stain on a blank canvas stands out more, malice spread over the canvas of goodwill appears even more hideous.

What’s worse, it can spread and infect others.

That’s why I don’t need the title of a heroic villain. It risks pushing the magical girls into danger, rather than protecting them. The public is honest, they won’t hide their desires and will bite into public opinion.

Clearly, there will be many conflicts. Until a proper alternative emerges, I’ll remain as the peculiar villain.

But I don’t simply intend to just protect the magical girls either. Even the strongest individual has limits. It’s not realistic for me to step in every time the numerous magical girls fall into crisis.

There’s nothing more hollow than justice without alternatives.

For the hungry, it’s right to teach them not just how to fish, but how to catch fish.

Going beyond just guarding the magical girls, I need to guide their growth.

‘The problem is that I need to grow stronger myself…’

Justice without power is as hollow as justice without alternatives. How futile is justice that exists only in words, not in action.

To achieve great dreams, greater strength is needed.

Realizing this ideal also made me painfully aware of my own inadequacy.

While ensuring the safety and growth of the magical girls remains the top priority, the fact that I need to strengthen myself to put this into practice is also unchanging.

At this point when the dilemmas are about to unfold, completing the Great Bear constellation has become urgent.

The perfected power beyond the Big Dipper. I must attain that.

There are not only lofty reasons, but also slightly more personal ones.

“Seol-hwa… How should I look at you?”

It’s not just about gaining the strength to realize the ideal, but also about establishing a relationship with others.

“Phew…” A sigh escaped involuntarily. The path is clear, but the bridge to walk it is not reassuring.

[A quest has been triggered.]

But I can still move forward, and that alone is enough. Stowing away the sigh, I gripped the belt.

[Assault the Red Vega.]

“What the fuck?”

***

Ippotranslation

***

“Haaaaah…” Baek Ah-hee let out a long sigh, her complicated feelings making her chest heave deeply. The stimulation caused her injured area to throb painfully, and she clutched her side.

“Ouch…”

When transformed, she is Red Vega. 

Now, with her transformation released, she is just an ordinary girl without the magical girl’s robust durability. The aftereffects of the battle are seeping into her soft, vulnerable flesh mercilessly.

Though she did not die, it did not mean she was unharmed. Her body was quite tattered from the consecutive battles with Libra and the Watcher.

Even as a magical girl whose external injuries heal quickly, fully recovering all her wounds in a single day was unrealistic.

Dragging her battered body, she arrived at the hospital.

But she did not come here to heal her injuries.

“…You really came.”

“Yes, I’m here!”

Baek Ah-hee beamed brightly at the somber-faced Golden Aldebaran.

“Wouldn’t it be better for you to rest as well? In your condition, a hospital visit is a bit…”

Golden Aldebaran looked at the girl cheerfully smiling with bandages wrapped all over, visiting for something other than treatment, and rubbed her head, unable to understand this behavior within her own frame of reference.

“I’m fine! I’m perfectly okay… Ouch!”

Poking her own body with her finger, Baek Ah-hee yelped and plopped down. Seeing this, Golden Aldebaran heaved a deep sigh.

“I can’t really tell you to go back now that you’re here… Follow me.”

“Yes!”

Baek Ah-hee responded enthusiastically and sprang up. Her spirit was still remarkably high.

This recent S-grade villain incident was essentially judged as a victory for the monsters. The casualties were low, and the abducted people were successfully rescued. However, all the magical girls had been defeated by the villains.

Of course, Red Vega had claimed victory over the Watcher. But looking closely, there was the shameful fact that she had been openly spared.

It was a painful evidence that the defenders’ power was lacking compared to the invaders. That night when little blood was shed foreshadowed the countless lives that would be lost going forward.

Many people were gripped by anxiety.

Baek Ah-hee was one of them. The dark circles around her eyes were not only due to the aftereffects of the battle, but also this anxiety weighing on her.

It was time to prepare to stake her life.

But the Watcher’s words from last night were completely contrary to the mission of the defenders.

‘Cherish your life, and be afraid…’

Does that mean weaklings should just cower according to their meager strength? Red Vega was displeased.

At the same time, Baek Ah-hee found it intriguing.

Those words of the Watcher, beyond simply arrogance, seemed to hold a sense of concern and consideration.

What was the intent behind those words?

Baek Ah-hee was curious. That’s why she was heading to the person she trusted most.

Blue Sirius, a senior magical girl with a career long enough to be called a senior.

Hearing the news that she had been defeated and lost consciousness worried Baek Ah-hee greatly, but the subsequent report that she had regained consciousness in less than 24 hours brought relief.

If she had regained consciousness, she would be able to talk!

Baek Ah-hee acted, intending to check on her well-being and also consult her about the concerns she had. The injuries from the previous day were still quite painful, but since she was going to a hospital anyway, she thought she could get treatment there if it got worse.

How thoughtless.

As soon as the elevator reached the floor used by the magical girls, Golden Aldebaran quickly opened the door. Apparently, sometimes the automatic door didn’t even recognize her presence, so she had to knock.

At first, Baek Ah-hee thought it was an exaggeration, but seeing the door not recognizing Golden Aldebaran, she believed it.

Clack. The sliding door opened, and the scene of the hospital room came into view. There was Pink Deneb still sleeping (she had said she fell asleep again right after waking up) and an empty bed.

But Blue Sirius was not there.

“This is the room where the seniors are staying… Huh? Where did she go?”

“Maybe she went to the restroom or something?”

“That’s possible, but still…”

Something seemed to click in Golden Aldebaran’s mind, and she rushed out of the room. Baek Ah-hee followed after her. They stopped in front of the nearby hospital room.

Golden Aldebaran knocked on the door. From inside, a serene yet icy voice was heard. Baek Ah-hee startled, recognizing the voice.

When the door opened, a woman was seen sitting on the bed, running her fingers along the bed’s metal frame. Her long limbs and voluptuous figure, her slightly melancholy gaze, and the blue-gray hair that fell softly over her eyes.

It was Yoon Seol-hwa, Blue Sirius.

“Why are you here… Didn’t I say you should still be resting?”

“I’m sorry. I just wanted to get some air, even if just a little.”

“How are you going to get any air in the hospital room?”

“You wouldn’t understand.”

“I’m afraid I’ll end up like you if I understand.”

“This air is something you breathe with the heart.”

“I’m getting dizzy…”

Once again, Golden Aldebaran pinched the bridge of her nose and left the room. Baek Ah-hee remained, observing Blue Sirius.

She must be thinking about the person who had been staying here.

The traces of the previous occupant were still evident, the fresh flowers in the vase, the fruit basket beside the bed. Based on this, the previous patient had likely been discharged not too long ago.

That person must have been attacked by the villains.

But Baek Ah-hee couldn’t fathom the heavy responsibility weighing on that slender back.

‘She’s probably feeling burdened, thinking about the civilians she failed to protect…’

She could understand that, as she felt the same way.

Recalling the sense of mission that heroes carry, the burden that Blue Sirius had accumulated over the years, Baek Ah-hee’s shoulders involuntarily slumped.

To have such a hero’s responsibility weighing on her, Baek Ah-hee had been prattling about the villain’s words.

She felt ashamed of herself.

Red Vega also remained in the hospital room, pondering about the person who had stayed here.

Clearly, an innocent victim attacked by the villains…

She vowed that she would no longer allow such victims to be created.

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