Transformation or Death

Like Family (3)  

A quest aimed at protecting the villain, not exterminating them. I didn’t even want to carry it out, but from the beginning, I couldn’t carry it out either.

The moment the rampage begins, my axe will strike Virgo’s neck. The only lightning bolt meant to kill the villain will mercilessly pierce that frail body.

“Long time no see. Have you been well? How long has it been since we last met… Over 3 years?”

Virgo was still babbling incomprehensible words. But I couldn’t ignore her entirely. I was convinced that Virgo and I had some kind of connection.

“What brings you here? Did you miss me? Or did you come to find something you left behind? Oh~ You’ve become more glamorous! Looking good! I love sparkling things like that!”

The principle behind quests is simple. Solely for the purpose of accomplishing the goal.

This is the leash given to me, who gained strong purposefulness as the price of escaping death, and the cruel whip that drives me forward.

Without considering ethics or norms, it is a command presented solely to stubbornly accomplish the goal.

The meaningless quest that just came out can be similarly inferred.

“Huh? But wait…. You’re Jae-jung, right? Why are you standing like that? Huh? How could I not know it’s you? Wh-, could it be you’re mistaking me for someone else?! Ahhhh! How embarrassing!”

The implication now is that if I keep her alive, I can get closer to the goal of protecting the protectors.

“If you’re not Jaej-ung, then who are you…? Why, why aren’t you saying anything…? If I was mistaken, I’d appreciate it if you tell me I was mistaken….”

crunch! Virgo put more force into the leg trampling the corpse, and the head underneath burst like a watermelon being smashed.

The face, crushed beyond recognition, completely ended the life whose expression at death could no longer be discerned.

“It’s, it’s scary… Why aren’t you saying anything…? I should be going now….”

What’s in front of me is no longer a magical girl. It’s a villain without any hesitation in killing people.

The quest likely didn’t judge her as a magical girl I should protect either. Otherwise, it would have presented a quest to restrain me every time I tried to fight her to the death.

So, this is a gamble.

I don’t know what connection Virgo and I have, the only reason to keep her alive for now is the compulsion of the quest, and the opponent is even a villain suffering from mania.

“It’s really, really scary… Why aren’t you saying anything… Hic, hic! Th-, that axe, what is it…? Are you planning to attack me with it… If, if that’s the case, I won’t just stand by either… I’ll, I’ll fight back! Really painfully!”

I let out a deep sigh and put my hand on my belt. 

The only way to not kill her right now is this.

“Stop it.”

Light particles scattered from my body like water droplets, and the lightning devouring my body flickered and disappeared naturally for a moment. I gradually regained a human appearance.

Transformation release.

It’s an insane act to disarm in front of a villain, but there was no other suitable option to try.

Virgo might regain her senses at any moment and try to kill me. If that happens, I won’t be able to resist and will just die.

Offering my neck to save an enemy.

That’s why it’s a gamble.

“If you hit me once, I’ll just die.”

It was a conversation I had to have sooner or later. Without knowing how we were connected, why she fell into depravity, if I just killed her, it would weigh on me.

Ignorance may be bliss, but choosing to remain ignorant when you can know is a sin.

“Huh? What! It is Jae-jung!”

“You seem to know me quite well.”

“Then don’t you know me? Why, I’m so disappointed!”

Virgo chuckled and patted my shoulder. I thought my bones would break. She doesn’t seem to know how to control her strength.

“You said you were a middle school dropout, but you can’t even remember people’s faces? Ah, you’re not a dropout anymore, are you? You took the GED, right? Wow Jae-jung, then you’re a high school graduate~ I’m jealous. I only finished elementary school. Ah, sorry sorry. Did I kill the mood too much? It’s been so long since I saw you.”

Her friendly attitude only left me perplexed. What kind of relationship did we have for her to treat me so affectionately? Even at our last reunion, her attitude was more hostile than this.

Come to think of it, her tone and manner of speaking would drastically change at times.

The tone of constantly laughing and mocking from being consumed by madness, and the self-deprecating, desolate-sounding tone. The way she’s speaking now was different from both….

Since understanding crazy people was always difficult, I just went with it.

“Um~ Ah! Then you don’t remember this either? When I was crying here, you suddenly ran into me. Over there in that shaded area! You said you were running away from a villain with your face all pale and catching your breath over there. We both got startled and just froze… Heheh, I remember that time.” 

Virgo pointed somewhere, then folded her finger back.

“Huh? Wasn’t it over there? Ah, no it wasn’t. Hahaha, how embarrassing~ There are just so many similar areas around here.”

“Wait, where is this place anyway?”

“Why are you like this… Don’t pull that prank now. It’s not funny.”

Virgo frowned in displeasure.

“This is the Dark Matter, isn’t it? Where I live. Didn’t you come to see me?”

A purple glow gathered at Virgo’s fingertips. If I said the wrong thing, she’d shoot a beam straight into my heart.

I started a staring contest with that ball of light. I tried my best to ponder what the right thing to say was.

But since understanding crazy people was impossible, I obviously couldn’t find the answer.

“Hahaha, why are you being so tense and frozen again? Smile, smile. The Red Spica who brings everyone’s laughter is right in front of you, isn’t she?”

Virgo laughed and waved her finger. After casually extinguishing the high-temperature beam like a candle flame, she abruptly stopped laughing.

“…Ah, you really don’t know, do you? It’s okay! That can happen!”

Then she laughed again.

“I’m an idiot too, I often forget things~ Actually, I don’t even know why I’m here. Hehe, we’re both airheads, aren’t we?” 

“Then the dead person here is….”

“I don’t know! Do I need to know?”

Normally, you should know. Murder is a serious matter.

But unfortunately, there seemed to be a considerable gap between her common sense and mine.

“…Wait, did you say the Dark Matter? This place is?”

That’s a bit tricky.

I’m someone who snuck away while escaping on the villains controlled by White Davi. If I can’t return by morning, I’ll obviously be suspected of various things.

No matter how close the Dark Matter is to my home, it’s not walking distance.

‘…Well, from the moment I decided to talk to Virgo, it was over anyway.’

I should come up with some excuses.

Anyway, the biggest problem right now is the woman in front of me.

“What? Scared? It’s funny that someone who infiltrated the Dark Matter due to misanthropy is scared. It’s okay, it’s okay~!”

Virgo jumped and wrapped her arms around my body.

“The guardian of love and peace~ Former Red Spica, current Dilemma executive, is here!”

I couldn’t laugh at her words.

Red Spica. An uncommon magical girl who had been one even before elementary school.

It was reported that she died fighting a villain at one point, but a few years later, she appeared as a monstrified being and attacked the city, killing nearly 100 civilians and two magical girls. 

It was quite rare for a magical girl to be brainwashed and monsterized by a villain, but it wasn’t unprecedented either. However, Virgo’s case was unusual.

She acts independently without following any particular villain. In other words, she became a villain of her own will.

The problem is that no one knows why she did so.

People could only vaguely speculate that she fell into monsterization because her activities as a magical girl were too strenuous.

“This is my area. No one who comes across me gets away! Well… the other Dilemma kids might come to steal my territory, but that has nothing to do with you, right?”

Virgo stared intently into my eyes and asked worriedly, “Oh, are you sleepy, Jae-jung?”

It was late dawn when the day would soon break. It couldn’t be helped that I looked tired since I hadn’t slept until this hour.

“…Suddenly?”

“No, Jae-jung. You have to sleep properly. Otherwise, people get hurt.”

“I got it.”

“Thanks for understanding. Then Jae-jung. Sleep.”

“…What?”

In this state of being shoulder to shoulder with a villain?

“Why? Sleep?” 

“Well, it’s a bit… I can’t just sleep with a villain in front of me. Let’s talk first and sleep later…”

“Jae-jung!”

Virgo’s hand moved to grab my neck.

“You have to sleep… Properly… Why are you like this? Do you really want to go crazy? Want to become a zombie?! I said it’s bad for your health! Why don’t you listen to me? Are you ignoring me? I’ve worked so hard! I’ve made so much effort!”

“No, that’s not…”

It’s suffocating. My breathing and body movements gradually became stuck.

I didn’t understand. What switch was flipped for her to show such a violent reaction? Did she become a villain from lack of sleep? Does she have some kind of sleep disorder? A persecution complex?

If so, she should just beat herself up, why is she going off on me.

I waved my hands trying to grab the steel ball. It’s a countermeasure when words don’t get through.

“Sorry, I’ll sleep so… Let go of my neck now…”

“Really? Thank you! You really are so kind!”

Despite saying thanks, her grip didn’t loosen at all. 

Virgo’s eyes were clearer than the rising morning sun, and her mouth was bright. Without a hint of hesitation, she increased the force squeezing my neck.

“Now sleep!”

No way, this girl can’t be…

“I’ll put you to sleep!”

Indeed, you can’t reason with a lunatic. It never gets through from the start.

I grabbed the steel ball in my hand. I immediately reached for my belt.

“Huh? Sleep?”

She swatted away the belt I was grabbing with her other hand. A human’s hand was too frail against a villain’s, and as a few of my fingers broke, the belt flew far away again.

But it’s okay. The belt has a function to automatically attach back to the waist….

‘Oh shit.’

Before that, my consciousness faded.

As my vision blurred like I had opened my eyes underwater, Virgo was smiling brightly while strangling my neck.

In the final moment, a voice came from the belt.

[Replaying memories.]

***

Ippotranslation

***

“Haha, is this really going to kill me?” 

I foolishly came in. Feeling regretful, I vigorously moved my legs. I couldn’t rest at all. If I slowed down even a bit, I would be caught and devoured by the villain behind me.

“If you die, they probably won’t even be able to find your body! That’s a good thing!” 

One year since I ran away from home was enough to fully charge my hatred towards humanity. It was enough time to drive a person insane.

I decided to run away from running away. To be precise, an escape from society. If I had to put it into words, it was a societal departure.

Now it seemed like I was about to depart from this world, but this was also part of my plan.

I decided to go somewhere near human society, but not actually in it. 

The villain-ruled area. The restricted area. Commonly known as the Dark Matter.

There, there were no human rules or gazes, and I wouldn’t have to worry about rumors or being tracked.

The problem was that I disliked villains just as much as humans. Even if I went to the Dark Matter, I wouldn’t be happy.

If I was going to hate wherever I was to the point of death, maybe it would be better to just die. A very creative thought occurred to me.

What if, within the Dark Matter, I pushed out human life by killing the villains, like some folklore magic girl who doesn’t let them suffer?

So I went to the Dark Matter.

The problem was that I faced a life-threatening situation just 30 minutes after entering.

Since I at least wanted to kill one before dying, I desperately fled. I had to find a safe place to regroup, then kill at least one weak villain.

Fortunately, I saw a suspicious, darkly shaded place up ahead. It was perfect for hiding my body.

After entrusting myself there, I watched the movements of the villain that had been chasing me.

“Uueeuuu… Mommy… Mommy…”

Luckily, it didn’t seem to know where I went and soon left after looking around.

“I don’t like this… I’m scared… Why am I in this situation…”

“Phew, it’s gone.” 

“Mommy… Mommeeeee…”

I sat down on the ground in relief. Soon after, I noticed someone else had arrived before me.

“Mommyyyyy… Kyaaaaahhhh!!!!”

“Aaaaahhhh! What!”

A girl was curled up and crying, wiping tears and mucus.

That was my first meeting with Virgo and Red Spica.

***

Ippotranslation

***

It was true. 

What Virgo had been babbling about earlier was true.

“Ugh geez…” 

As soon as I woke up, I raised my body.  

The surfacing memories made my head throb painfully, my drowsy neck hurt, my broken fingers hurt. Essentially my whole body was in pain.

“Oh, did you sleep well?”

“Yeah, thanks to you I slept really damn well.”

“That’s right! No need to thank me. Sleeping like that is good for your health.”  

“Why would I thank you…”

Behind Virgo, facing away from the sun, was a mountain piled high with the corpses of villains.

“…did you?”

“Hm? Yeah!”

When I gestured toward it, Virgo calmly nodded her head.

I recalled the memories again.

Virgo was my bodyguard, protecting me in the Dark Matter.

“Why are you acting so surprised!”

Just like now.

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