Chapter 39 : Living Under The Same Roof (8) Part-2

“So as long as we don’t hand this over to them, we can stop the gap from widening. While we’re at it, why not use it to our heart’s content? How about making weapons with this?”

Don’t start talking like a mad scientist now when you were just berating me for not having weapons.

No, wait—maybe he really is a mad scientist.

Either way, what he’s saying is that this thing is going to be pretty important to us.

If we take it, both the company and the Federation will be furious and come after us.

But they’re already doing that anyway.

The moment I grabbed it and got up from my seat—

“Look over there!”

Someone shouted from below.

It wasn’t directed at me.

But when I lifted my head, my eyes happened to land exactly on that spot.

No, actually, it was inevitable.

The place was loud with explosions and gunfire.

The noise was coming from an upper floor, far from the soldiers chasing me.

That meant the magical girls had finally entered the building.

And from that spot—

I saw someone falling.

Before I even had time to worry, Blossom lunged toward them.

She grabbed onto their arms with all her strength.

The fall stopped.

But it was far from a safe situation.

For some reason, Blossom couldn’t fly upward like she usually did.

Instead, she kept descending.

If that were all, it wouldn’t be too bad.

At least the person wouldn’t crash headfirst into the ground.

I needed to escape before the magical girls reached this place.

I had no idea how to escape.

I hadn’t even considered going back the way I came.

If I was going to run, I’d have to break through the upper levels or create another black hole.

And then—

I met Hayoon’s eyes.

It was probably just a coincidence.

She had been looking around, and I just happened to be caught in her line of sight.

Then again, the only thing worth looking at here was this massive antenna.

And I, standing in the middle of it, must have been impossible to miss.

Then—

They both fell.

“Huh?”

I let out a sound before I could stop myself.

And then—before I could think—my body moved.

“Wait!? What are you doing!?”

James shouted in horror beside me.

By then, I had already jumped off the antenna.

“Ah.”

I just remembered—I can’t fly.

But strangely enough, I didn’t feel that floating sensation typical of falling.

No shivers running up my back.

Instead, my gaze was still fixed upward.

Was I flying?

No.

Definitely not.

Instead—

BOOM!

A loud crash sounded behind me.

People screamed.

“Get out of the way!” or something like that.

I didn’t have time to turn my head, but I could hear something collapsing behind me.

BZZZZZT—

A strange noise came from my hand.

“T-The generator…!?”

James’s panicked voice reached my ears.

But my eyes were still locked on the sky.

Hayoon, even as she fell, never let go of that man’s hand.

She grimaced as if she was trying to rise again.

Her face was pale.

Right.

She didn’t drop him on purpose.

There must have been a reason.

But the moment she saw me—

Fear rushed over her face.

The situation must have been confusing for the magical girls.

They came here for the generator in my hands.

James had probably leaked that information.

So maybe Hayoon thought we’d have to fight.

I didn’t want that.

I didn’t want to hurt her.

That wasn’t what I wanted.

…No.

Maybe it was.

I struggled to suppress the emotions creeping up from deep inside my mind.

I wanted to win.

Ever since I found out Hayoon was the protagonist, I always felt that way.

Even though I had a whole year’s head start, I couldn’t catch up to her.

It frustrated me so much I lost sleep over it.

I had thought— She has everything.

I couldn’t deny it.

But at the same time, I also didn’t want to hurt her.

Conflicting emotions crashed inside me.

I reached out my hand.

Hayoon still looked at me, her face pale as a sheet.

A face filled with fear.

Was it because she was falling?

Because she couldn’t accept the situation?

Or because she was afraid of me?

I didn’t know.

There was no time to ask.

Even after all this time, I still didn’t understand her.

Or myself.

For just a moment—

I felt a thrill.

Right now, at this very moment—

I was above Hayoon.

The one who always got beaten down was now the one reaching out to save her.

But that thought vanished in an instant.

…

How?

I don’t even know how to fly.

“…Ah.”

Right.

I had launched myself into the air with all my strength.

But I hadn’t thought about how to land.

And I had jumped from an already high place.

Now I understood.

Since I had leaped even higher than that—

I was actually falling from an even greater height than before.

The floating sensation I hadn’t noticed before suddenly rushed over me, like that moment on a drop tower ride.

Chills ran through my entire body.

I flailed in the air.