82 – Loss, Preparation (4)
My heart stopped.
Generally, it meant death.
Of course, simply having your heart stop does not mean you immediately fall into a state of death. If you can receive appropriate first aid, there is a good chance of survival.
But that is only limited to when the heart stops.
If the heart was completely gone, all first aid tips would be ridiculous.
The hole in the center of the chest fell away cleanly, as if it had never existed in the first place. The two holes drilled slightly below were also identical. It was pierced cleanly without even a drop of blood.
Three holes created in a body surrounded by lightning. A cold wind passed through there.
It was a miserable sight.
“You think I’m dead because I just separated my head from my body?”
The head floating in the sky burst into laughter. It was a bizarre scene.
Aquila’s head breathed without a respiratory organ, gained color without a heart, and spoke without a vocal organ. Originally, it was impossible. So it was a miracle.
Miraculous starlight grew little by little from his head. It was a brilliant golden starlight. It was starlight as cold as metal and as sharp as lightning.
The starlight grew jaggedly and stretched down my neck. Gradually, it began to take on a certain shape. It looked similar to a human body. The starlight stretched out into the shape of hands and feet and became his limbs.
“You underestimated me too much.”
Aquila sneered proudly.
“I admire the spirit that dared to rebel against me. “I’ll take at least your ashes.”
Numerous eagles that had lost their senses and wandered have regained their original form. It was a movement reminiscent of the orbit of a planet. Numerous planets orbit around Aquila as their sun.
Hundreds of thousands of wings fell from the spinning eagles. The wings became light and dispersed before they touched the ground. The light was golden, like the one that now makes up Aquila’s body.
The bodies of the spinning eagles scattered and began to come together into one mass. Gray puffs of smoke.
“Look. Now this is the divine punishment that will burn you.”
The eagles became clouds.
It became a dark cloud that was enough to send lightning down on the world.
Aquila’s power did not stop at controlling the eagle. This thunderbolt was the power that symbolized him.
Kugung, a thunderstorm resembling the majesty of Zeus struck.
The Watcher just stood there holding the axe and didn’t move at all.
“…Oppa.”
Zhao Yun was overwhelmed and his body stiffened. Fortunately or unfortunately, she was not in Aquila’s gaze at all. She was so angry at Han Jae-joong for cutting her head that she was revealing the power she had hidden until now.
It is said that people who are about to get into a traffic accident often freeze up. Just as a frog stiffens when seeing a snake, rational judgment is lost due to fear and embarrassment that cannot be handled.
However, the pressure that Jo Ayun experienced was a little different from that. He was not overwhelmed by the enemy, but by the situation.
I looked at him quietly as his vital activity stopped and he froze in an instant. He held the large ax in his right hand and did not move the slightest thing. The lightning still enveloped his body, but he did not speak or move.
The lens was stained black with no focus or life, and the crackling sound of lightning was the only sound he made.
“Oppa…?”
I didn’t know if what was contained in the title that came out of my mouth was a question or sadness. Zhao Yun stretched out his hand. The thunderbolt struck her hand and crushed her fingers.
Without even having time to feel her pain, Jo A-yoon muttered again.
“Oppa….”
Is this really the end? So vain?
“Why do you have to protect me… Something like me…?”
They say a dream is the protection of a guardian, but why was it that the one who protected it was not only the guardian, but also the person who was anxious to even preserve his own life?
There was no reason for this person to die so easily.
There was no reason for my heart to pierce while protecting myself.
“I can’t… I can’t… If I really die like this…”
Jo Ayun’s voice was full of moisture. Her eyes were filled with tears, and large teardrops ran down her cheeks.
“Don’t go, brother… please… don’t go… don’t go like this…”
Death is truly scary. It’s not just your own death. I am also afraid of the other person’s death. Sometimes, you are more afraid of others dying than of your own death. Jo Ayun was like that now. She would have just felt happier about dying.
“Why me… It was much better for you to live than for me, who has no dreams and no future…”
I grabbed his arm, not paying any attention to my palm being burned by the lightning. A pitiful drop of water fell on the back of my hand, which had ugly burn marks.
And then, Han Jae-joong’s arm, which Jo Ayun was holding, began to move.
“…Oppa?”
But the emotion that arose in Jo Ayun was not one of joy. I was anxious. Instinct sounded the horn. What he felt was not the heat of life, but only the coldness of a pure white snowy field.
A white thunderbolt struck and filled the empty hole in my chest. Holes in two other vital areas were also filled by lightning.
He grabbed the ax that had been lying down with his right hand, and his drooping head was lifted stiffly.
No emotions were felt through the pitch black lens.
He looked at Aquila. Aquila also looked at him.
“Hoo. Are you a monster too? “That’s fun.”
Thunder and lightning were still rumbling in the sky to roast the Watcher.
“Now, wait! Oppa, for now… Wow!”
The lightning that shook the sky was followed by the lightning that shook the ground. From none other than the Watcher.
He jumped. A white straight line appeared in the sky that was once filled with gold. An ear-splitting thunder followed his path.
The golden thunderbolt in the sky began to intercept. Dozens of beams of light came down and the Watcher raised his axe.
Kugugung! Two thunderbolts struck. The surrounding buildings were easily reduced to dust.
The Watcher was unable to withstand the impact of the lightning and fell down. However, using the building as a stepping stone, he approached Aquila again. He is struck again by golden lightning and ends up falling, this time using another building as a springboard to run.
I repeated that countless times.
Ayun Jo watched endlessly as he ran wild.
“…Oppa.”
That is not escape from death. It was just a mechanical device that kept working unreasonably to get its job done. A machine that has no humanity or emotions left and operates solely to fulfill its purpose.
Was the dream come true in that way? Was it out of resentment that I would cut off the other person’s neck and drink their blood without even thinking about my own body?
“This is….”
The consumption of starlight was unusual. If you spend that much, you won’t be able to last long in battle. The movement towards Aquila was extremely efficient, but its efficiency was only for killing the enemy, not for protecting oneself.
I recalled the scene of the magical girls rushing towards Mo-cheol, taking all their attacks. A self-destructive fighting style that doesn’t even think about how to behave.
“This… Isn’t right.”
I didn’t pay attention to my surroundings either. Civilians ran away screaming and the aftermath of the lightning striking each other easily collapsed the structure.
Lightning struck Jo Ayun’s feet. The asphalt road was melting, creating potholes, and a terrible smell was rising.
“Why is my brother like that….”
Ayoon Jo knows.
“…Because of me.”
In order to protect himself, he took risks and transformed himself, even risking death, sacrificing his body to protect himself. Even when his life was at greatest risk, he ran forward without stopping to defeat the enemy.
Also, Jo Ayun knows. He said he couldn’t achieve his dream that way.
The person who disturbed the dreamer was none other than Jo Ayun. Deep down, she supported and respected his dreams more than anyone else.
“Because of me….”
Jo Ayun knew again.
This has happened before.
I was kidnapped by a monster in the past. He doesn’t remember what kind of star power he was. He remembers that from what the media has said, he is a class A monster. He also remembers its terrible appearance. A bizarre appearance with a human face and crow’s wings on the body of a cockroach.
It was a time when Blue Sirius was not that strong yet. At that time, her skills were barely enough to defeat a Class A monster on her own.
On the day she was kidnapped, Jo Ayun had a big fight with Han Jae-joong and Yoon Seol-hwa. He doesn’t remember the trigger, but he felt left out and expressed his frustration. The outsider was himself, and that was a very pathetic reason.
Thanks to her walking down the street late at night, no one noticed her disappearance. Han Jae-joong was at home, and Yoon Seol-hwa was busy with work.
Jo Ayun was prepared to die. He could easily die here. He was so determined.
But she did not die. Just because she couldn’t be contacted, Han Jae-joong, who was busy running around without paying any attention to the threat of her night street, found her, and Yoon Seol-hwa dealt with her monster.
As soon as she found her relatives, Jo Ayun relaxed and tears poured out endlessly from her eyes. He then shouted loudly.
“Why did you come! It’s dangerous! “I just let him die… Let him die…”
If I think about it now, it really makes my ears burn. He reacted harshly to the person who came to save him just because he was trying to act strong.
It was really difficult to understand at the time. She was an outcast, had a bad personality, and was short. How could she be so fond of her?
But they had a reason.
“Because it’s you. Ah, Yuna. It was you who saved me. No matter how you judge yourself, I want to save you. I want to protect the people who are precious to me. I want to become a person who can do that. That’s my dream. So, no matter how dangerous I become, I will not abandon you.”
Yun Seol-hwa was serious.
“Ayoon, I have a dream. In the future, I will open a small store with you guys and live in peace. But what if you die now? “There is no such disappointment.”
Han Jaejoong was a bit playful.
Despite the conflicting attitudes, they were no different. They both had a dream. The person I want to become and the future I hope for. Jo Ayun felt ashamed of herself for a moment.
They have a dream. But I don’t have it. I don’t think this is unfortunate. On the contrary, if you have a dream, you become unhappy.
That’s what Jo Yoon truly thought after realizing that his parents ran away in the middle of the night the day before Christmas and that there was no Santa.
Dreamers are unhappy. At the same time, it is shining. They are courageous people who do not stop their steps even though they know that they will face countless hardships throughout their lives. These are people who confidently walk a path that they themselves would not dare to take because they are afraid.
That’s why Jo Ayun admired their courage.
He admired their innocence and innocence in being able to make decisions that he could not.
Zhao Yun slightly lowered his head and looked broadly at the city. Some civilians were leading the evacuation while taking care of others, some were trying to save their children, some were saving their parents, and some were trying to save their lovers.
Outside the lightning, magical girls were injured and helped them escape. Beautiful, colorful starlight. Brilliant clusters of lights that cannot be seen even in the night sky. Each of those countless star lights contains a dream.
But now, those countless dreams are shaking.
Countless lives are being shaken.
Not just Han Jaejoong’s dream, but the dream of countless people here.
Jo Ayun has no dream. But that didn’t mean we didn’t support their dreams. I didn’t mean to interfere with their dreams.
I did not want my existence to become a wall on the path to their dreams.
“…Yes, that’s right.”
I was finally able to remember.
“That’s what it was.”
The day he was kidnapped, the day Yoon Seol-hwa and Han Jae-joong came to rescue him, something similar happened.
It was revealed that the kidnapped monster was not an individual but a colony, and that more than a dozen monsters were located underground. When one was defeated, all the monsters underground appeared in the world, and it became a night like a nightmare.
Human-sized cockroaches that fly in the sky and crawl on the ground. Everyone screamed in disgust and fear. Dealing with them, who were all A-class monsters, was quite a difficult task for Blue Sirius, who was still inexperienced.
So, Jo Ayun.
“I was a magical girl.”
I became a magical girl.
“I never had a dream.”
What was there was not a dream, but will.
“So… I forgot it so easily.”
The night she stopped being a magical girl, she saw a scene with her belt.
The scenery shown by the belt is a world that could have existed.
We looked into Jo Ayun’s life in a world where she was not kidnapped and could not become a magical girl.
He looked happy. So much so that he wants to continue living like that. So Jo Ayun forgot. Because that is my wish.
“…Parrot.”
[You won’t regret it, right?]
A familiar voice leaked out of an iron ball floating in the air.
[You know a life without fighting. I know a little more about your happy life. Still, you still want to fight again?]
“I realized something again.”
Deneb’s mascot. The voice of my partner who has been with me ever since the day I became a magical girl.
“I guess she didn’t need to fight to be happy. “It was okay to fight for others, not for myself.”
The voice of the iron worker had not been heard until now. From the beginning he was active. If you sincerely wanted him, he was ready to respond at any time.
“I’m sorry I forgot until now, parrot.”
[…Okay, I understand.]
I remembered everything. So now what to do was clear.
Jo Ayun caught the iron ball.
Crash. With a cool mechanical sound, the iron ball unfolded and took the shape of a belt buckle. A buckle that resembles a bird with its wings spread out, different from the one currently attached to the Watcher’s waist.
Jo Ayun proudly put the buckle on her waist and muttered.
“Transformation.”
At a time when colorful starlight and lightning were flying, a ray of light cut through all the light.
