232 – People and Heroes (9)
The simultaneous attack of Libra and her alter ego.
If it were normal times, this level of confusion would not have occurred.
The order of evacuation was disrupted, and some people took advantage of the chaos to commit crimes. The number of deaths was higher than usual.
The timing was bad, but it was too bad.
“Why now….”
Orange Altair gritted his teeth.
The number of magical girls who can act is absolutely insufficient.
Too many people were mobilized in the process of arresting White Davich and Odette.
It was the result of some preparation. This became a handshake.
Excluding the magical girls who were incapable of fighting, there were many people conducting investigations far outside the city, so it took time to arrive at the scene.
It was impossible to respond quickly to Libra’s sabotage.
In normal times, even if people actively fighting were excluded, there was a magic girl who took the lead in controlling the evacuation order.
I don’t really care even if a battle with a low-level monster happens right next to me. You can go about your daily life without any problems.
But no matter what, I had to run away from a monster that could destroy a building with a single wave of its hand.
Citizens were evacuated several times, so there were no tragedies such as a stampede, but the chaos itself could not be avoided.
Everyone is equal in front of the instinct for survival.
“People who can be active now….”
Orange Altair quickly rolled her eyes and checked the number of people currently remaining.
The time it takes for those who have gone to the countryside to return, the number of people to be deployed for evacuation, and the number of people to be deployed to battle.
After calculating all of that….
“…It’s not enough.”
Not enough.
In particular, there is a shortage of personnel who can be deployed in battle.
Each of the six monsters that have appeared is close to divinity. Even if a few magical girls attack, they will only end up dead.
Even if Blue Sirius participates in the war, it is still not enough. The opponents are numerous.
Orange Altair rolled her head.
“What should I do? How should….”
“I can hear the sound of heads rolling all the way from here.”
“…!”
I turned around at the sound I heard unexpectedly.
There was a Sagittarius monster that I had dealt with in the past.
“W-how can we get here…!”
“There is nothing I can’t find.”
“There is a barrier installed by Sky Polaris at the headquarters, so monsters will not be able to break in!”
She is on the rooftop of the Magical Girl Headquarters. The highest point in the center of the city.
“Oh, you idiot. That’s about it, you just have to break in from the inside.”
“…Ah.”
Orange Altair thought of his collaborator. Odette, if she had the strength, she could easily let him in.
“What is the purpose…?!”
“What is the purpose? “It’s not a big deal, I have something to rip off from that guy.”
Amundsen drew his bow.
“That guy made a promise and then ran away. “I have to return that karma.”
Piyung! An arrow cut through the clouds and crossed the sky. Soon his arrow struck Libra’s forehead, whose entire body was covered in oil-like starlight.
However, it only made him wince for a moment and did not stop him from breathing.
“Tsk, I’m not dead… Anyway, it’s a temporary alliance.”
Amundsen once again drew his bowstring.
“Don’t think too badly. “I will pay my own price.”
Orange Altair looked at Amundsen’s posture, the amount of starlight she gave to her arrow, and the shape and angle of her fingers holding the arrow, and she too drew her bowstring.
“I will pass on everything to you.”
While looking sideways at his archery skills, I looked at the view provided by the feathers of the bird of prey.
Odette’s butterflies flew all over the city.
At the place where Libra was running wild, magical girls inside her began to gather.
“I need to finish it quickly and go see my benefactor.”
Silver Luna.
“Babies, trust me and follow me. “I will save everyone and bring them back home.”
Magenta Helios and a few other magical girls who can still act.
“You’re so tough, you bastard. Okay, let’s end it today.”
Odette.
“…I will protect everything!”
Red Vega.
“I won’t let you follow in Jaejoong’s footsteps.”
To Blue Sirius.
They stuck to the five distributed Libras and dealt with them individually.
“And the last one… We deal with.”
“….”
“Are you dissatisfied with being taught by a monster?”
“…No, that can’t be possible.”
It’s just scary.
“Fix your shaking hands. “What are you afraid of from this distance?”
“Ha, I’m not scared at all?!”
“Yes, it’s normal to be scared when you see a monster like that.”
“Listen!”
“Okay then…”
Amundsen lightly ignored her words, and once again she fired an arrow.
“The adventure begins!”
Orange Altair also hurriedly fired an arrow at the signal.
**
White Davich flew at the maximum speed she could achieve. Blue Sirius told him to run, so he did as he was told.
“Now, wait! “It’s a day!”
“Why is that?”
“You said you were going to the battlefield, right? Wouldn’t it be better to go back then? That’s where the story is helped. There is no need to go somewhere else…”
“Are you crazy? If you fight in that narrow alley, you will die! How are you going to avoid the attacks coming from that narrow alley? “You can’t even fly!”
Han Jaejoong had nothing to refute. These words were not uttered with a very rational judgment in the first place.
Leaves Seolhwa Yoon alone in a dangerous situation. It was a persuasion that bordered on a struggle, formed out of a desire to reject that situation.
Han Jaejoong could not understand his own feelings.
‘…You’ve done well so far.’
At least in his memory, when a monster came out, it was normal for him to evacuate and for Yun Seol-hwa to deal with the monster.
Even if he stays there and holds on, he becomes nothing more than a burden. The right choice is to leave the place so that Yun Seol-hwa can fight smoothly.
Of course, as a result, she is left alone with an opponent who could kill her, and she must face that danger alone.
It is something that cannot be helped.
That’s her job, and Han Jaejoong is an ordinary person with a weak body.
The monster was something to be feared beyond hatred. If he were hit by that huge hand, his body would be shattered into pieces.
Running away is the wisest decision.
“You’re saying that because you don’t know Blue Senpai’s skills in the first place. “I will kill such a monster in one blow!”
“That’s… Right.”
Han Jaejoong nodded his head. He had the belief that Blue Sirius, who was probably stronger than he remembered, would be able to take down any monster in one go.
As we have done, let’s believe and wait.
Han Jaejoong concluded that.
“Or did you even think of a way to transform again?!”
In response to Haru’s question, Han Jaejoong frowned as if he had seen a flash of light.
‘Ah, yes, it was a problem that could all be solved as long as it wasn’t for the weak.’
If she can fight, he won’t have to send her into danger alone.
‘So did I become a monster?’
Did you want to be a hero?
‘That’s not…’
Han Jaejoong concluded that it was not.
For him, a hero was ‘a person who sacrifices.’
Sacrifice was a solution used only when no solution could be found. He only felt pity for those who had to make such sacrifices as if it were their duty, but never yearned for them.
‘It’s like an old man….’
Pretending to be noble, but acting like a novice.
It may be possible to solve a problem through sacrifice, but it can never be a good answer.
I thoroughly realized that self-sacrifice is not the answer due to the damage I suffered from running away from home for several years.
Compared to that time, quite a bit of time has passed, but not for the current Han Jaejoong. The time when he lost his memory was still close to the runaway, and the aftereffects were vividly felt.
Acting to take responsibility in his own way only ended up causing irreparable harm to both Yoon Seol-hwa and Han Jae-joong.
Sacrifice leaves scars.
‘Heroes protect citizens. He always has danger on his side because he has to. ‘Someone’s well-being is based on their sacrifices.’
So, people who sacrifice are not enough.
‘If a hero protects the citizens. ‘Who should protect that hero?’
Han Jaejoong remembered a somewhat familiar phrase.
“…This is it.”
“Why are you muttering and making such a fuss?”
“No, something comes to mind.”
“Huh?! Are you really remembering this? Mutter more! Indulge in flashbacks and monologues! “Like a social misfit!”
“You were begging me not to remember you earlier, so why are you here now?”
“That was then and now is now! Don’t you think you can fight only when you remember your memories?!”
“It’s nice to be honest.”
“I like you too! “As expected, we kind of get along!”
Han Jaejoong smiled and stroked Haru’s head. He smiled brightly and accepted the hand.
“Don’t worry. You just have to think a little more. “I think everything will come to mind if I just do a little more, but…”
“Why do you trail off? “So f*cking uneasy.”
“I feel like it’s a little lacking.”
If a hero protects citizens. Who should protect that hero?
Perhaps Han Jaejoong of the past chose himself as the answer to this question.
He would have considered himself the guardian of the magical girls who protect the citizens.
However, this is not a perfect answer.
‘In the end, it is self-sacrifice.’
It is contradictory.
I feel pity for their sacrifice and am sacrificing myself.
It is a kind of self-contradiction.
In fact, wasn’t it said that Han Jae-joong lived a terminally ill life as a result?
Memory is the self. As memories accumulate, a person’s personality, behavior, speech, and essence are determined. The soul changes depending on how it grows.
Recovering lost memories is no different from the process of restoring part of the soul.
Reformation of self.
At the last step of the process, Han Jaejoong deliberately stopped.
“But just a little… I’ll think about it a little more.”
It was to fill in the last piece of self.
“Is that so? You’re so damn indecisive! “I’m going to search because I’m frustrated!”
“Are you talking about indecisiveness?”
“They call it that too! Anyway, there must be a reason for doing that damn thing, so I won’t get into it! Of course, you have to explain everything after it’s over!”
Haru said.
“But there’s no need to think about it!”
She smiled confidently and began her descent.
“It can be resolved without your brother stepping forward! On our side, there are only three people, Shin Seong-man, and there are also your brothers’ colleagues, right? “I can take down that fat pig in no time!”
From noble mtl dot com
The cityscape gradually becomes clearer. The place where Haru went was a ruin with caves in the ground as if a bomb had exploded.
It was clear that the building had originally been raised and that it had been destroyed. It seemed highly likely that the land had been abandoned due to issues such as cost after being destroyed in a fight with a monster.
“Believe in the power of Jiknyeo!”
“You were going to Mr. Vega.”
“Of course! You are the person I trust and like the most! If you combine her power with her, you are invincible! Jiknyeo will solve everything!”
“That’s honey….”
“Shut up! Oh I can see it now! Jiknyeo! Jiknyeo~!”
As we got closer to the ground, the sight inside the ruins became clearer.
“I came….”
“Ahh!”
Just like that, they saw Red Vega rolling on the ground after being hit by Libra’s fist.
“Eh.”
Looking closer, I could see that her body was already covered in wounds.
Even excluding the attack just now, it was clear that a lot of pain had been accumulated before then.
“…Jiknyeo?”
Even though not much time had passed since the fight started, the air was heavy.
A deep air of defeat filled the lungs.
**
Blue Sirius felt embarrassed when the situation turned out differently than expected.
If the original plan had been to go as planned, I would have trapped the monster in unmelting ice and slowly withered away to death…
“You learned something bad? You.”
Blue Sirius smiled bitterly as he swung his rapier. A chilling smoke fills the entire narrow alley. A devilish coldness that freezes even hellfire.
Absolute temperature. Ice that never melts.
The miracle poured into Libra.
However, the cold only made Libra’s movements falter and did not freeze her. It wasn’t the cold that made me hesitate. It was because of the shock wave created when the magic was unleashed.
Not a single frost bloomed on Libra’s body.
Ice at absolute temperature does not work.
“Are you really a Libra monster? My body is thin. And that strange trick… Where did you learn it?”
“….”
“Yeah, I didn’t really expect an answer either. “I’m not disappointed.”
Blue Sirius knows the identity of the flame flowing through that body.
“It would be a bit difficult if I really got my hands on the power of the galaxy…”
Lion’s Mane. It is the same force as the flame flowing through that part.
A miraculous flame that burns all starlight and ignores any miracle.
It was a flame infinitely similar to that of that beast.
To be exact, oil. The flame created by burning the oil-like starlight flowing through that body is creating the same miracle.
“Aha.”
It is a flame that ignores and burns all starlight. Even if I tried to steal that spark using ‘deal’, it would have been useless.
So, that wasn’t stolen.
I created it myself.
“You really risked everything?”
It is a miracle of trading, a miracle created by burning everything I had.
“It’s truly an all-rounder, but that ability is… Such a waste. “It would be really nice to have a refrigerator at home….”
A drop of cold sweat ran down Blue Sirius’ forehead as he spoke leisurely.
“It’s such a waste.”
It was freezing inside.
Blue Sirius’ main tactic is blocking movement using ice. All of these operations have been blocked.
My confidence in surviving against that monster was gradually disappearing.
On the one hand, it was fortunate.
I didn’t have the confidence to protect Han Jaejoong and deal with that monster at all.
**
Red Vega looked back at Haru with despairing eyes.
“Why… Why did you come here…!!”
I only noticed this short confrontation. That’s dangerous.
It was so dangerous that it could not even be compared to the existing Libra, which had attacked using pseudo-divinity.
At least the attack worked at that time. If it makes even a little bit of sense, you can grit your teeth and push forward.
But not for the current Libra. Flame doesn’t work. Even this divine flame turned into ash and disappeared the moment it touched that greasy flame.
It didn’t take much time for Red Vega to be cruelly defeated by Libra.
It only took a few minutes for my whole body to be covered in blood, bruises, and dust.
Red Vega was not confident that he could defeat Libra now. But there was an obligation. The moment he loses to him now, the only thing he will lose will be his life.
“I should have run away….”
She was so overwhelmed with protecting just herself that she had no strength left to protect anyone else.
“Why did you even bring Jaejoong here…!”
Red Vega poured out his anger that had no place to go on Haru.
“Run now! Hurry! Hurry!”
A dark, sticky flash of oil-like color flashed.
While Red Vega was giving them instructions, Libra had already prepared for the next attack. She had no time to prepare for her attack.
Bam!!
A bright light flashes.
One person fell.
“…Huh?”
It was not Red Vega. She was not seriously injured in the attack, only suffering minor burns.
Someone blocked it.
There is someone who accepted the wound on my behalf.
“One day?”
It was White Dabih. She rolled helplessly on the ground, her white clothes and skin stained with her soot and blood.
