Chapter 52 : Things That Shouldn’t Be Touched (6) Part-2

Iris shouted.

Clenching my teeth, I turned away.

I couldn’t understand why the magical girls suddenly acted that way.

While the thoughts of the other three were hard to read, at least Hayeon and Iris seemed to be on my side.

Why?

I didn’t know.

For now, I focused on finishing the task at hand.

Once that was done, I’d figure out what to do next—be it a conversation or something else.

That’s what I thought as I ran.

When doing something, at least I didn’t have to think about other things.

When breaking something with all my strength or fighting, I didn’t.

As I sent a few monsters flying with my hammer, I ran into the broadcasting room through the broken door.

“Are the monsters left outside going to be okay?”

“Those women will sacrifice themselves, so it’ll be fine.”

I looked at the drone.

“Why are you looking at me?”

Bang!

Something flew toward the door.

Judging by the red trajectory, it might’ve been Rose.

Was she aiming for something?

Was there something I should worry about once I started broadcasting?

“There’s no need to worry too much—”

James began but stopped mid-sentence.

The drone’s head was pointed somewhere.

“Wait, Jieun…!”

As I turned my gaze, James shouted.

But I had already turned around.

There was a screen.

A tablet?

It seemed deliberately placed there.

Or perhaps someone here had been using it.

Every room probably had one.

This was, after all, an important building with critical facilities.

And connected to the intranet or something similar.

Whatever the reason, the screen showed—Ji-hye.

[Couldn’t you have thought of this?]

The tablet played her voice.

[Whenever you do something, you should always have some insurance.]

The surroundings of Ji-hye were familiar.

The Room I Shared with Ji-Hye

The room where Ji-Hye and I used to stay.

[“You don’t have a family, but you have someone close enough to call one, and yet you recklessly act like this? Ridiculous. You should’ve helped her escape far away.”]

Stop it.

Stop.

Someone approached Ji-Hye, who was limp on the floor as if she had fainted.

[“If there’s something you want to do, go ahead. But the longer you delay… well, you know what that means.”]

The screen went dark.

“Miss Jieun! You can’t!”

James’s voice rang out.

I knew it.

Neither option would work.

I was well aware that going there was a mistake.

If I went to the broadcasting room, the enemy might realize something.

Then they’d devise another plan.

Should I destroy the broadcasting room? Cut off the internet entirely so it couldn’t reconnect in any way?

If there was ever a chance, it was now.

Having come this far, there might not be another opportunity.

I didn’t know how much longer the magical girls could hold on—or if they even intended to.

Perhaps they had targeted this place all along.

That’s likely why James was shouting “no.”

Yes, I understood.

No, I couldn’t abandon Ji-Hye.

She was family.

The only family-like presence in my otherwise empty life.

“Jieun.”

I turned to the voice calling my name.

Hayoon stood there.

Her clothes were torn, and blood dripped from her body.

Was the overwhelming number of monsters too much, even for a magical girl?

Her face was pale.

“Go.”

Hayoon spoke again.

“I’ll… stay here.”

I gaped at her, dumbfounded.

“No!”

James shouted, but my vision had already flipped.

I kicked open my door.

The door flew inward like a cannonball.

No one got hit and died, thankfully.

Humans.

There were men and women, but they were all humans.

They wore ragged clothing and gas masks over their faces.

Unemployment had skyrocketed.

Aliens far outnumbered humans now.

They all looked destitute.

After the full-fledged space era began, aliens proved stronger, faster, and more capable for the tougher jobs.

So, that’s how it was.

They were the type of humans who would do anything for money.

Humans like me.

“…Still not too late.”

No combat gear.

Of course not.

Maybe they’d clean up the gas after the job was done.

If they got caught, they’d just cut their losses and move on.

They were probably well-paid for this.

Ji-Hye was still okay.

She was lying on the floor as if asleep.

Her usual clothes weren’t stripped, and there weren’t any visible injuries.

A faint smell lingered in the air.

It might’ve been gas designed to knock out humans.

Apparently, it didn’t work on me.

I looked at the humans.

One of them, the nearest, dashed toward me—either to pass by or knock me over to escape.

Smack!

But the gas mask shattered, and the person collapsed to the floor.

They belatedly realized the mask had broken and tried covering their face with their hands, but it didn’t help.

The man slumped unconscious.

“So that’s how it is.”

I couldn’t use my hammer.

But I wasn’t planning to kill them.

Yet.

The black hole swallowed Jieun in an instant.

She vanished before my eyes, and papers on the desk scattered around like leaves caught in a storm.

“Damn, damn.”

The remaining drone shouted in frustration.

“Prepare yourselves.”

The drone turned towards Hayoon.

It spoke with a strange, almost confused tone, as if it hadn’t expected such a situation.

“Didn’t Jieun want to do something when she came back?”

Hayoon asked, turning her back to the drone.

“It’s the broadcasting room.”

Thwack!

Rose struck one of the monsters, knocking it down with a swift blow to the forehead.

Sweat dripped down her face.

Even though Jieun had vanished, the monsters kept moving.

The circuits kept running for a while even after the supply was cut off.

The monsters wouldn’t stop unless someone ended the fight.

“Didn’t she plan to broadcast something? Can’t we do that for her? That was the plan, after all.”

Hayoon swung her sword again.

The light from it blazed even brighter than before.

“No.”

Hayoon responded firmly.

“But in this situation, we can’t let that happen.”

Right.

Jieun had come here with her own intention.

She must have wanted to express her frustration.

She fought so hard because she was desperate, and it had to be that way.

What difference would it make if Jieun revealed the truth here?

The company would deny everything.

The Federation wouldn’t help.

The government would stay neutral.

Maybe if the public rose up, there might be a change.

But likely, the government would reluctantly begin an investigation… and before that investigation was over, Jieun would be erased.

It was foolish to think she could testify in court.

Even if the Federation tried to take her, Hayoon would have stood in her way.

That’s why she had flown out with Cherry, after all.

But was that really what Hayoon wanted?

Was it what she thought would happen?

Jieun was unjustly accused and had to endure pain she didn’t deserve.

She was punished for a crime she didn’t commit.

No matter how much people denied it, or how the truth was twisted, Jieun simply wouldn’t give up.

That’s why she came here.

Even if everything failed and she lost her life, she wanted to voice her injustice.

That was her only reason for doing all of this.

Hayoon clenched her teeth.

It was foolish of her to think everything could revolve around her.

She had thought she could just help, thinking it would be enough.

But Jieun didn’t want help.

She was simply doing what she could, with her own strength, without giving up.

Even in the worst circumstances, she was doing her best.

Hayoon hadn’t realized that.

No, she hadn’t even thought about it.

“Jieun should do it the way she intended.”

Hayoon closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

The circuits began to hum again.

“Why?”

Delphinium asked.

In front of them, a massive ball of magical energy was burning.

Dahlia sent out small bursts of energy, her face covered in sweat.

Iris was firing off rounds from her gun, almost like a machine gun, targeting the alien monkeys coming from the back.

Hayoon was struggling to answer.

It was an emotional reason.

She just felt it had to be this way.

She couldn’t let Jieun’s efforts, all her struggles, be taken away by anyone.

Jieun had fought through this with great difficulty.

She had tried to save others when the factory exploded.

Hayoon had seen it.

But the magical girls got all the praise for it.

They were applauded for stepping up despite the risks, for fighting in dangerous places.

Jieun was blamed when she took the generator, but at the same time, she was defended.

Whether she succeeded or failed, simply being there, fighting against dangerous enemies, was something only magical girls did.

When facing monsters, things were at their worst.

The magical girls were seen as heroes who had defeated the monsters, saving hostages, and driving away the “black magical girls.”

There were photos and videos of it all.

But the voices criticizing the magical girls were always in the minority.

It was difficult because their friend had turned into a villain.

They were betrayed.

That made sense emotionally.

It was hard.

But, it was okay.

In the end, they would rise again and fight for justice.

Because they were magical girls.

They fought for justice.

Always for justice.

And yet, because of that same justice, Jieun had been pushed to this point.

Her efforts, her struggles in despair, had to be respected.

It wasn’t right to take it all away just because it seemed more just and rational.

Rose looked down at her gauntlet.

The gauntlet was glowing.

Hope.

Ironically, Hayoon felt hope in this situation.

If they could hold on and protect this place, and wait for Jieun to arrive…

Maybe they could at least have one conversation with her.

Yes.

At least—

Jieun had listened to Hayoon and left.

She had left those people behind.

So maybe there was still a possibility.

Hayoon didn’t believe she could defeat all the enemies, but she couldn’t let this chance slip away.

“Okay.”

Rose nodded.

“We’ve borrowed a lot to get this far.”

Then, she smiled faintly and readied herself to face the monsters.

The other girls were already engaged in battle.

No, they had been fighting all along.

Hayoon nodded without a word, her mouth pressed shut.

She held up her glowing sword and charged at the monsters.