Chapter 45 : Weapons (6) Part-2

All the magical girls knew the situation between Hayoon and Jieun.

Naturally, it didn’t seem like they intended to attack Jieun right in front of her.

The reason Delphinium said it was dangerous was probably because Jieun ended up within that range.

So maybe they threw it a bit earlier.

Hayoon looked toward Jieun.

Jieun wasn’t looking at Hayoon.

She was just watching Ji-hye, who was waving her hand from afar.

……

I suppose.

It was a coincidence, but since Ji-hye was taken hostage, if I worry more, it would naturally be right to worry about her.

It’s okay.

Because something like that happened.

A lot must have built up until now.

If Jieun questions it, I should definitely apologize.

I’ll repay her to the extent I can.

Even if she doesn’t forgive me, there’s nothing I can do… but still.

Still, there was hope.

Jieun helped me even while fighting against magical girls.

There was no malice in that.

That means at least some friendly feelings remain, doesn’t it?

She even helped just a moment ago.

If she truly despised me, she wouldn’t have done that.

Hayoon looked down at the circuit.

It was running vigorously.

Even that small bit of hope was enough.

“I’ll be back in a moment,” Hayoon said.

The other magical girls looked at each other, then back at Hayoon.

“Alright, good luck.”

Rose patted her on the shoulder.

“If we go, it might just backfire.”

Hayoon nodded.

Iris looked a bit uneasy, but she didn’t stop Hayoon.

Jieun looked exhausted.

She was injured, but at least from what Hayoon could see, it wasn’t life threatening, which was a relief.

They could bring her to a medical center, let her rest thoroughly, and then talk things through slowly.

They should bring her friend along, too.

After all, from what Hayoon learned after Jieun disappeared, Ji-hye was like family to Jieun.

It would put her more at ease.

Thought about hope and despair for 9 seconds.

Hayoon was thinking those thoughts as she turned to look at Jieun again and took a single step forward.

At that moment, a gunshot rang out.

Jieun looked exhausted.

Her clothes were torn and scorched in places, and blood was flowing from her wounds.

On top of those wounds, there was an unknown liquid splattered.

Could it cause an infection?

Isn’t it dangerous to leave her like this?

I’d never heard of a magical girl’s life being endangered by something like that, but I was still worried.

I wished someone would call an ambulance right now. I thought we needed to get her to a treatment facility.

Just as I was thinking that and starting to turn my head—

A loud gunshot rang out.

Jieun’s shoulder jerked backward.

She began to fall, wearing an expression that showed she couldn’t quite grasp what had just happened.

I’d heard that magical girls could even deflect bullets with their magic.

Yet, blood was spraying from Jieun’s shoulder.

A scream escaped from Ji-hye’s mouth.

Shot.

My first thought was of James, who had been perched on my left shoulder.

“James!?”

I shouted as I reached up with my right hand to touch my shoulder.

Blood smeared onto my hand.

My heart pounded violently. Could it be…?

But fortunately, I heard a slightly weak-sounding squeak. And then—

“You almost got me killed, you crazy bastards!”

A thunderous shout came from over my shoulder. I jerked my head to the side for a moment.

He’s safe? Thank goodness.

…No, not exactly “thank goodness.”

I looked down at my shoulder, and there was red blood.

Had the bullet passed through me? It didn’t seem like it.

My left arm still moved fine.

Given the location, if the bullet had gone through, it would’ve shattered my shoulder bone.

I wouldn’t even be able to clench a fist; my arm would hang limply.

Did I deflect it with magic?

But then why am I injured—

Ah.

I looked down at the hammer.

As I did, the hammer started emitting a faint “keeeing” sound again.

If the generator had stopped, it meant I must have felt some measure of hope.

I’d seen Ji-hye unharmed, and I’d seen Hayoon regain her strength.

A very slight, almost imperceptible sliver of hope.

And that hope hadn’t lasted long.

As my thoughts continued, other worries piled on top of it.

But still—

“Jeong Jieun-ssi?”

“H, hahahahaha!”

Unbelievable, really.

I clutched my stomach with my left hand and laughed.

It wasn’t a laugh of joy.

Nor was it because I actually found anything funny.

Why was I laughing? I didn’t know. The laughter just came out.

Maybe “because it’s so absurd” is the best way to put it?

I raised my head.

I could hear someone shouting “No, don’t!” and voices of protest.

But more overwhelming than those distant sounds was what I saw with my own eyes.

I saw a net.

A net like the kind fishermen cast into the sea, greedily hauling up hundreds or thousands of fish at once from below.

Because I was looking against the light, I only saw its silhouette in that shape.

In reality, it was much more vicious than a simple net.

Thick and heavy, it would slam into the ground beneath, leaving whatever it trapped lying helplessly so it couldn’t stand again.

Unbelievable.

After all that fighting…

I looked to the side.

The magical girls were moving.

They were rushing toward me.

Why?

Only Hayoon seemed unable to comprehend the situation, her eyes wide and mouth agape.

Really, truly…this is so absurd.

If only they had politely asked me to come with them,

I might have given it serious consideration.

If James had suggested that one of them approach me carefully—

Who knows, maybe I would have listened?

But this is what it’s come to.

I also worked hard, really hard.

I thought I’d worked just as hard as anyone else.

Am I different from others?

Did I come here just to suffer?

Is that why no matter how hard I try, things turn out like this?

Sure, I’m not saying I’ve never done anything wrong.

But they said it was allowed.

They said it wasn’t illegal.

If we’re pointing fingers, those other guys are villains too, right?

Both sides are scum using Hayoon and exploiting Earth.

So why only me?

Why do they only do this to me?

Is it all because I left one lousy comment?

Really?

I wasn’t the only one who did that.

Fucking bastards.

In front of me, where the net had been, a black dot appeared.

That dot hungrily devoured the net.

Not just the net—

Everything there was consumed.

The air, the light, all of it.

Light bent as it was sucked into that black dot, like a twisted, glowing border.

The surrounding space warped like a reflection in a concave mirror.

Even sound seemed to be swallowed up; I couldn’t hear anything.

I took one step, then another, toward that hole.

Then I tilted my head.

I haven’t done anything wrong, so why should I run away?

If they’re the police, shouldn’t they know?

They must have investigated the scene.

If so, there should be a mountain of evidence that I’m not the one responsible.

I lowered my gaze.

Something sparkled inside that contorted space.

On top of a large armored vehicle, I saw a person lying prone.

That person was holding a long metal rod.

A gun.

Even now, he was stubbornly aiming at me.

My foot lifted off the ground.

Slowly, I rose into the air—

Skipping the in-between steps, I suddenly stood before him.

“Uh—”

Before he could say anything, I grabbed the muzzle of his gun.

The long weapon bent easily.

I brought the bent barrel up close to the man’s face, and he began to sweat profusely.

I heard a chattering sound—he was clacking his teeth together.

It wasn’t that cold out here.

I stomped my foot.

The center of the armored vehicle crumpled like tin foil.

The people inside scrambled out in a panic.

I shoved the man aside and unleashed my frustrations on the armored vehicle, pounding it again and again.

I stomped it with my foot, slammed it with my hammer, punched it with my fists.

Windows shattered, the sides tore open, wheels burst, got crushed, popped off, and fuel gushed out.

During all this, no one tried to stop me.

Or maybe they just couldn’t. Why?

A moment ago, they fired guns and dropped nets on me without hesitation.

But now?

Before long, the vehicle lay completely flattened.

I had destroyed it so thoroughly that breaking it further was pointless.

I panted and looked around.

Every person whose eyes met mine recoiled, stepping back.

A huge circle had formed around me as its center.

Now I could barely see.

The blue sky had turned as dark as night.

The streams of light that had flowed across the sky had been beautiful, but now the sky—

Dark as night, twisting with strange lights—

It all felt so empty.

“……”

I stared blankly up at that sky for a long time, then lowered my gaze.

Our eyes met—Ji-hye’s and mine.

Ji-hye was sitting on the ground, pale-faced, looking at me.

For some reason, I wanted to cry.

So I simply vanished.