134 – Life of Fall (7)
Red Vega stared at Han Jaejoong blankly for a moment. An urgent situation where you don’t know when a new arrow will strike. Every second was a rush, but she didn’t have time to grasp reality.
“…Yes?”
All she could do now was ask back with an awkward smile.
“Oh, no, what do you mean by that all of a sudden? Don’t say weird things. “Now it’s like that… Something like that….”
It’s not important. Red Vega was about to say that but closed her mouth.
Han Jaejoong has now admitted that he is terminally ill. This means that the life left for him is not very long. If you watch him now, he will die in vain one day.
It was said that he would turn into a monster the moment he lost his life. Normally, I would have dismissed it as nonsense, but since he was so suspicious, it somehow seemed possible.
I can’t even be sure that I can protect him now in the first place. The enemy is attacking from a very long distance. There is only one need to defend against a one-sided attack.
There is no choice but to wait for the other side to get tired or for his comrades to find the enemy and stop the attack.
But both seem remote. There is a high chance that one side will fail before the other side gets tired, and since the other colleagues are also going through similar hardships, assistance will only be possible after a considerable amount of time has passed.
It is impossible to gamble by waiting for the appearance of two strange monsters to help the magical girls. It’s not that Red Vega doesn’t want to rely on them personally. That’s the reality.
The appearance of the Watcher is virtually impossible, and Odette, a monster in the constellation Cassiopeia, is probably also like that.
The monster’s instantaneous movement ability is excellent, but it also has a fatal flaw. The ability to move can only be attempted through the use of a star called a butterfly.
In other words, if you can cover the existence of that butterfly, you can somehow change its movement and block it.
Red Vega saw a large number of lines being quickly drawn like rain toward somewhere near him. Although his power was insignificant, his speed was definitely as strong as one. The star’s arrow, which easily surpasses the speed of sound, will perfectly block the butterfly.
‘It would probably take quite a bit of waste to get here.’
Red Vega’s prediction was accurate.
[Oppa! Please answer me! Brother! Where did you sell the butterflies I gave you earlier… Holy sh*t! Hey, why are you chewing my words! What did I do wrong?! Well, I’ll apologize if something like that happens… Please contact me…! Huh? Please… Let me help you with something….]
Jo Ayun’s impatient voice was connected through Han Jae-joong’s belt. However, the belt in sleep mode was only connected to other belts and did not transmit power. Communication was connected, but the status was no different from that of a phone that was on mute.
[Answer me please… I’m so anxious I’m going crazy…!]
Jo Ayun’s voice became more desperate. The voice did not reach this time either.
Han Jae-joong himself could hear voices by operating the belt, but he did not have time to think about that right now. In the first place, he didn’t even realize that Jo Ayun was talking to him.
Red Vega fell into a needless crisis because of himself. Even in the midst of this, he became disillusioned with himself as he hesitated to transform.
You never know when you will die. This fact itself is no problem. This is probably the same situation that all living things experience. Death is equal. An unclear ending that comes without warning.
However, the moment ‘close’ is added to this fact, the situation changes in an instant.
You never know when you will die. But death is close.
At this moment, a faint reality appears in the unclear death. The reality is like a dark labyrinth, giving the despair that escape is impossible, and at the same time giving impatience and anxiety about having to get out of this place.
Dreams that cannot be achieved, relationships that are not properly tied and broken, tasks that cannot be completed and marks that must be left behind. All of that bothered Han Jaejoong.
You never know when death will strike you. Moreover, terrible deeds are predicted even after death.
“Quick, run away.”
That is why Han Jaejoong said this to Red Vega.
Don’t waste time on someone who will die soon and won’t be able to help you after death.
Red Vega didn’t know that either. He couldn’t have known the intention behind his words to run away. As always, the truth is painful.
He did that when he had to admit his weakness, he did that when he had to admit his arrogance, and he did that when he had to realize that he had no choice but to take a different path from Sky Polaris.
It was still like that.
A person I have known for less than half a year. There is still not enough time to say that the relationship is deep, but the events are too great to say that the relationship is shallow. From now on, all that’s left is to fill the time.
There was a lot left to show in the future, and there was a lot left that I wanted to try.
The truth was that it would be a bit difficult.
A line was drawn in the sky once again. Crimson Trail. A single shot that was similar in power to her best special move. The difference in power is so great that it feels absurd.
Even if you protect it now, it will die someday soon. I can’t think of any great way to overcome the present. All I can do is hold on, but even holding on is not easy. The situation is truly close to despair.
Red Vega faced the truth.
“…I don’t know Jaejoong very well. To be honest, I don’t even want to know. I’m curious about Jaejoong’s mind, but I don’t want to know about the world surrounding him. I’m scared that the truth will hurt me. “I’m scared that the truth will hurt you.”
Red Vega woke up.
“But you have to make a choice the moment you already know. “I think it will be difficult to look away as skillfully as I did before.”
Red Vega laughed.
From noble mtl dot com
“You did that before, right? Fear is hope. So, wouldn’t it be wise to recognize the fear and move forward as they say? “How are you? Aren’t you a good disciple?”
“…Aheeya.”
“No, I am now Red Vega. “For now, I will forgive you even if you call me Mr. Vega.”
He planted his feet firmly on the ground and circulated his magical energy from his heart to his entire body.
“I don’t run away.”
As always.
[Guardian….]
“I’m fine.”
The body imbued with magical power has become stronger and more efficient at emitting starlight. Her magic was manifested through her magical energy flowing from her entire body.
“I feel like I’m going to die, but I’m not dead yet, right? My arms and legs are fine… Look. Even magic.”
Flame.
Although unstable, the grace that always brightens the darkness and melts the cold.
The heat that can be created while lighting the way.
“There is no way a hero would run away and leave someone behind. Of course, you may still think that I am a half-baby and half-hearted person… But I can’t run away.”
“I will soon….”
“What does it have to do with the time limit! To put it bluntly, what is the difference between the current Jaejoong and the old man? If someone is going to die soon, can I abandon them? Wow, that must have been a really good solution for an aging society back in the day, right? “You crazy murderer!”
“No, I didn’t say that much….”
“That’s it, really!”
The flame did not waver with the wind but moved with her touch. The fire was polished by the touch and gradually became harder.
“I’m not swayed by words like that.”
The flames spread wide like a veil. It was a solid mass of flame that did not waver in the slightest.
“I… Could become a monster? Truly, your enemy…”
“It doesn’t matter?!”
The wall of flames resembled the Milky Way.
“I won’t die here. Of course, Jaejoong does the same.”
There was confidence in her words. Her light became stronger.
“For love and peace! I survived here too, I survived, I survived! “I will continue to get stronger!”
If you can’t break through with your current self, all you have to do is overcome your current self. Red Vega stretched himself to his limit and erected a huge wall of flames in front of him.
It was a beautiful condensation of light that could not even be compared to the shield from before.
“Becoming stronger, stronger, stronger! Someday! “It’s gotten to the point where it doesn’t matter whether it’s a brown bear or the number of stars, so any monster will be able to beat any opponent!”
“…”
“So it’s okay!”
Red Vega turned her head and showed her own smile.
“Someday….”
“….”
“When the mouth that smiled at me blasphemes the death of a person, when the arms that held me embrace the blood, and when the eyes that looked into mine become cold. I will lift up your head and shout out your glory.”
But perhaps she was unable to control her emotions properly, or perhaps she had not yet let go of the rich imagination typical of adolescence, her eyes could not smile properly.
A few tears flowed from her eyes.
“You said to be afraid of death, right? Also. “Fear is hope.”
Soon the tears are evaporated by the flame and erased.
“I will be your hope.”
Her eyes burned bigger than the flame.
“So, don’t be afraid.”
As soon as Red Vega finished speaking, her roar rang out. Jaejoong Han was so caught up in her gaze that he didn’t even notice the number of lines she was approaching.
Kwaang!! When the arrow was blocked by the flames, a huge explosion occurred. The explosion was so intense that Han Jae-joong, who was behind the veil, could not breathe properly for a moment.
But there was not just one explosion blocked by the wall.
“Ugh…!”
Following the one arrow she had just exploded, her new attack came at her.
One, two, three, four…. The explosions, which would have easily destroyed a building, overlapped and overlapped, promoting even stronger explosions.
“uuut…!”
There were a total of twelve explosions. The twelve explosions went off in succession as if they happened all at once.
An explosion equal to the number of stars in Sagittarius.
The archer, who felt a sense of crisis as he saw the veil unfolded by Red Vega, fired a new attack following the arrow he had previously fired.
It was an attack containing the maximum firepower he could fire at the same time.
Gaeseilsa (蓋世一射).
A shot with the meaning of a blow large enough to cover the world.
No matter how much stronger Red Vega’s light became, Sagittarius’ attack would not be easily blocked.
An attack from a distance is overwhelming even among monsters.
“aaah!”
The veil that Red Vega desperately spread broke at the same time as the last attack. Red Vega, who was right behind him, fell backwards, completely affected by the explosion.
At the same time, the accumulated damage to Red Vega reached its limit, and Red Vega’s transformation was released.
“Not yet…!”
Red Vega, coughing up blood, tried to get up somehow. But it didn’t work out for him. It was difficult for him to breathe, perhaps because his ribs were shattered from the damage he had just suffered.
Every time I moved, there was tremendous pain. It felt like fire was flowing through his whole body. Hot. But I couldn’t give up like this.
I stretched out my hand as much as I could to pick up the cane that had fallen in the process of rolling.
“Not yet…!”
Another line was drawn in the sky, as if mocking her efforts.
“Still like this….”
“You’ve definitely gotten stronger.”
At that time, a voice that was not here was heard. It’s difficult to recognize because of the noise, but the voice is familiar to my ears.
“But it’s still not enough to say you’ll surpass me.”
The owner of her voice hugged her and jumped lightly behind her. An arrow stuck in the spot where she had been just a moment ago. The concrete shattered like glass and the ground beneath it was dug up. A big cloud of dust rose up.
“…Uh, uh, this….”
“I’m sorry. “It’s a little late.”
“Is this… okay?”
Red Vega looked at him in disbelief. She was covered in dust, but it was harder not to recognize her.
Pieces of lightning flashing around her body in pure white armor.
Watcher.
A monster from Ursa Major and the person she is currently targeting to defeat.
Red Vega did not mention the disappearance of someone who was around him just a moment ago, and was worried about his physical condition.
“It’s probably better than your current state.”
“No, that’s… Ugh!”
In fact, Red Vega’s condition was not normal. As soon as he moved a little, he felt pain that made the hair on his body stand up. She grimaced and endured her pain.
The Watcher carefully placed her on the ground and walked into her dust.
“Now, wait a minute…!”
“Please wait a moment.”
Only a shadow remained of his appearance.
“Don’t finish it soon.”
Red Vega’s vision gradually became blurred, and it became difficult to even raise his head. Eventually she lowered her head and placed her body on the floor. She was comfortable, but she didn’t know what he looked like now.
Fortunately, one truth was able to be hidden well.
Inside the dust, the Watcher released his transformation.
“You make a cruel promise.”
If you turn into a monster and go on a rampage, I will kill you. That’s really trustworthy.
“Then you have to believe it first.”
Han Jaejoong felt that his mind became clear. Even though she felt sorry for herself for being encouraged by such a child, she was proud of herself.
After all, a magical girl was a magical girl.
“Well then, what happens now….”
I knew right away with this little change. Maintaining Ursa Major is a huge burden on the body. Activating twenty stars at the same time and controlling dozens of powers was a task that an ordinary person could not withstand.
It was probably after Nam Doo-yuk Seong, the archer, became a monster that he became a Sagittarius.
Even with the same transformation, the load on the body varies depending on the state of transformation.
Then the answer is simple.
Give up Ursa Major.
Instead, gather all the starlight you have obtained so far into one star and transform.
It is the optimal transformation method to not put a burden on the body, and it is a struggle to somehow increase living time.
Fortunately, he had the knowledge to make it possible. The know-how of transforming and handling stars has been accumulated over time.
The reason Ursa Major was forcibly overlaid was because he was unable to completely control the starlight.
Now that he can handle all that starlight, he can go beyond the Big Dipper and even take on the appearance below it.
“My life is so pitiful.”
You’re not fighting to survive, but you’re fighting to somehow achieve results in a state where death is certain.
“But what can we do?”
Han Jaejoong smiled and placed his hand on his belt. A dial-like part that controls focus. I removed the parts of Ursa Major with its sharp dial and beast-like decoration.
Starlight gathered in his hands. The starlight condensed and took on the appearance of a single machine part. A dial with a similar shape to the one used before.
“I saw a star.”
At least, I have to live with her until she can show herself.
We must hold on until all magical girls can achieve their dreams.
From now on, his life has become a process of progressing and holding on at the same time.
It was a desperate and courageous step, like climbing a high snowy mountain wearing only thin clothes.
I read somewhere that holding on to life is no different from slow suicide.
Han Jaejoong completely agreed with this.
I thought this was closer to slow suicide than living.
At the same time, I also thought that how life progressed was more important than where it stopped.
If this is a cliff that cannot be avoided anyway, I should at least let light shine on this path I have walked. It is so brilliant that everyone praises it, but it is so bright that no one can walk down this path.
A path that shines but will never be repeated.
For a life of downfall and a glorious life.
He opened his mouth, as always.
“Transformation.”
[ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATION]
See the stars.
[Focus On]
Focus on just one star, not on a constellation.
[MERAK.]
Activate.
The one to choose is Merak.
The most suitable star to overcome the present.
White starlight flows and surrounds the body, turning into green starlight, and the green starlight begins to take on a brass-colored glow.
Bronze-colored armor is placed on top of the armor that is only slightly made.
Soon, brass-colored starlight gathered in his hands, creating a weapon.
Opening the door.
The only ranged weapon he has.
An old type long gun.
“The door is open.”
Now the possibilities are endless.
What to accept and what to reject is entirely in your own hands.
Watcher picked up the gun and aimed it in the direction from which the line had come.
“If you can, come.”
