Chapter 127

Chapter 127

Romantic Death Incident (7)

[An attack occurs at the Magical Girl Headquarters. Watcher, go to that location and protect Blue Sirius. However, even if you don’t help, no one will die.]

[Do you accept?]

[There is no consequence for refusal.]

A quest with no consequences whether accepted or not. A story that could be passed off as an everyday commotion where no one dies.

“...I accept.”

“Brother?”

But Han Jae-jung accepted.

The reason is simple.

Just because he can step up.

“Ah-yoon, then... Shall we go together?”

Even if not limited to life, there are more than enough important values.

Whatever judgment happens in the future.

Who can be sure that no misfortune will occur if this quest is refused?

Even if the result turns out to be meaningless, it doesn’t matter.

Now, he’s just making the choice he’ll regret the least.

“It’s time to transform.”

Therefore, Han Jae-jung thought he wouldn’t regret this decision.

***

Ippotranslation

***

Han Jae-jung looked at Sagittarius as if dumbfounded. Sagittarius’s face was still confident.

“I wondered what nonsense you were spouting.”

To him, Sagittarius was just a strange person he was seeing for the first time. Seeing an unfamiliar person confidently shouting as if they knew everything was exasperating. He sensed that feeling again, the one he felt when he first encountered the dilemma.

“Talk nonsense in moderation.”

“Nonsense? Can you really dismiss it as simply nonsense?”

Ignoring Sagittarius’s words, Han Jae-jung looked around. The speed of the lightning must have been considerable, as despite this short movement, the Magical Girl Headquarters building felt far away.

He felt a recoil matching that speed. Han Jae-jung felt a dizzying pain as if his head was spinning. If he hadn’t transformed, his nose would have bled again.

His left eye also throbbed more than usual.

‘What did you do to me, Red Spica....’

Whether Virgo’s last treatment was inadequate, or it was just mistaken for Virgo’s fault because it happened on the day of Ursa Major’s awakening. Whatever the cause, the result that appeared to him now was certainly not good.

‘How come already....’

The strain on his body was coming too quickly. This had never happened before. At least if he felt extreme fatigue after the transformation was released, it would be understandable, but during transformation? This way, he can’t do anything.

“You’re quite a suspicious guy. Are all kids these days like this? Tsk, isn’t it standard to believe anything shocking, even if it’s from the enemy?!”

“You’re the one who lacks suspicion. Where did you hear this to be spouting it so confidently? Is it information from a trustworthy person? Or is there any basis for those words? If you don’t know well, it’s best to stay quiet. Don’t do stupid things like spreading unnecessary rumors and causing trouble for others.”

Sagittarius was momentarily flustered by his rebuke but didn’t back down.

“I-I’m the villain, why should I care about others’ harm? You’re the stupid one! You beast-headed bastard!”

Hearing this, Han Jae-jung nodded as it was also correct.

“But wait, are you really not terminally ill? Don’t you feel like your lifespan is being shaved off...? Ah shit, this is weird....”

Sagittarius asked Han Jae-jung as if to confirm.

“Why aren’t you answering? You’re making me anxious for no reason.”

From that reaction, it seemed that Sagittarius also lacked confidence in that information. Even while watching that ridiculous sight of quickly losing confidence after being so sure, Han Jae-jung couldn’t laugh.

“Hey! Do you really not know? Your body is getting fucked up, you know?!”

Although he denied it, Han Jae-jung couldn’t completely dismiss Sagittarius’s words as nonsense.

Rather, there were too many points that resonated.

If the fatigue he had felt so far wasn’t just simple tiredness but a warning signal to his body.

If the reason he felt dizzy from using lightning now was a signal that his body couldn’t handle it.

If he had reached the limit of his life after continuing excessive contact without refining starlight.

Recalling the image of drug addicts he had seen in the news when he could still access media, Han Jae-jung frowned.

The image of body parts grotesquely changing and most brain cells being destroyed, unable to move and slowly sinking into death.

“So, this is venting my anger.”

Han Jae-jung pinned down Sagittarius’s leg before he could struggle, preventing movement. One leg and one arm were restrained. It was a sufficient angle to beat this person like chopping firewood.

“Can’t you stop with that fucking way of talking?”

Sagittarius grinned. Han Jae-jung obliged his request and shut his mouth. He swung the axe.

The axe stuck into the solid torso with a crack. It was more like hammering than chopping. Even though he could have cut the waist in half with a single strike, Han Jae-jung didn’t.

He didn’t know if it was because he had unconsciously become wary of overusing starlight, or if it was just venting his anger as he had just said.

He swung the axe dozens of times per second. Not just hitting one spot because that would be boring, but multiple areas simultaneously. Cracks gradually appeared in the previously plain red armor.

Only then could Han Jae-jung observe Sagittarius in detail.

Red armor covering the entire body. The helmet was uniquely shaped like an insect. Especially the eyes. Lenses with hexagonal patterns like compound eyes. The waist had a belt with a metal ball in the center. This metal ball was particularly annoying as it was difficult to hit with the axe.

He didn’t know the name or what constellation it was, but he judged it to be Sagittarius since it was holding a bow.

Come to think of it, he remembered that Sagittarius was the constellation that contained the Southern Cross, opposite to the Big Dipper in the Northern Sky.

As this fact wasn’t important right now, Han Jae-jung continued venting his anger.

“You bastard...”

Sagittarius painfully opened his mouth again. Han Jae-jung shifted his gaze to where the voice came from. Sagittarius’s helmet was cracked.

“Hit me harder like the master... This won’t kill me or make me despair... You unromantic bastard...”

Han Jae-jung doubted his eyes for a moment. Through that cracked helmet, between the lenses.

“...You. What are you?”

Human eyes were visible. There was no life in them. Dry and decayed eyes, like those of a mummy. But they were clearly human eyes.

“What do you mean what? I told you earlier. Oh, did I not?”

At that moment, a butterfly fluttered. Just before it touched the villain, Han Jae-jung could hear the rest of his words.

“I’m Sagittarius, the former Southern Cross Sagittarius.”

And then the scenery changed. The sky spread out vastly.

“Sorry, brother. I came right away because you weren’t answering.”

“...”

“I tried to keep the magical girls from approaching as you said... But senior was extraordinary. As a temporary measure, I retrieved you first.”

Following Odette’s gaze, he looked at where he had just been. Blue Sirius had arrived, though it wasn’t clear when. Where she had come from, an icy road had formed like a tail, and her gaze was colder than the ice as she glared this way.

“He escaped with a doppelganger just before the butterfly touched him. How did he already figure out how to break it when it hasn’t been long since he saw it... No, why does he keep getting stronger as time passes? I don’t understand.”

Understanding that gaze didn’t make it any less painful. After glaring this way for a while, Blue Sirius turned her gaze towards Sagittarius.

“So, brother, what are you going to do? Do you want to move that strange person too and finish this? Or...”

Joo Ah-yoon sighed deeply and shouted.

“Brother!”

“Huh? Oh, oh...”

“What’s wrong. Oh, you’ve already undone your transformation?! Is it over for today?”

“...Yeah, let’s do that.”

The end was also declared at the place where he had just been. Sagittarius had already started moving between buildings again with his chain bow. Blue Sirius sighed and chased after his escape route. Sagittarius would probably succeed in escaping suddenly.

As he stared vacantly at that chase, Joo Ah-yoon asked again.

“What’s wrong, brother? Did something happen?”

Han Jae-jung pondered how to answer, and finally opened his mouth.

“...Nothing particularly happened.”

The body that regained life through a contract with a star is now dying again because of the star. What a contradiction.

A body that would face death if it failed to fulfill its duty now died as it fulfilled that duty.

Is it a dream or life?

Is it a mission or a lifespan?

Romance and death.

An incident has occurred where I now have to choose between the two.

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