Chapter 58 : What You Can Do (5)

The opponent’s weakness was simpler than expected.

Its eyes split like a crab’s, its head soft and unidentifiable in terms of where the mouth might be, but it always spat in one direction.

There were creatures charging in with terrifying close-range weapons on either side, others shooting lasers from a distance, and in between, massive chunks of magic hurtling through the gaps.

Far in the distance, Delphinium stood poised, creating a large magic orb above its head.

“!”

Rose landed a punch directly on the monster’s face.

The creature spat at her hand, but Rose’s circuits, synchronized with Hayoon’s magic, moved swiftly.

Her gauntlets were thickly coated in magic.

It wasn’t visible, but before the spit could touch her fist, it was crushed and evaporated.

At this close range, it tried spraying its spit like a mist, as it had done to us, but it proved equally ineffective.

Rose’s punches were fast—not just one heavy blow, but a flurry of strikes in an instant.

Each punch left small whirlwinds in its wake.

A magical storm.

The magic, powerful enough to block bullets that could pierce through limbs, scattered the mist-like spit particles into oblivion.

It was an awe-inspiring sight.

Was I really fighting alongside something like that?

Honestly, it made me a little proud of myself.

Back then, I didn’t even have the combat suit I have now.

Not that the monster could do much about it either.

Even if it managed to escape the front, Delphinium’s magic orb would soon fly at it.

The only reason it hadn’t yet was simple: it would obviously hit its ally.

That alone served as a warning.

Any attempt to flee would result in a collision with that orb and unconsciousness.

Though, it wouldn’t kill them.

The monster stretched its limbs, resembling a spider or crab, but those elongated legs were severed by Hayoon’s blade.

Whether it was because we had faced so many monsters before or because we were fighting together,

Hayoon’s expression was noticeably brighter.

The pink magic extending from her staff was radiant, and somehow, I didn’t like that.

As I frowned, the monster’s hand flew toward me.

Whoosh.

But I wasn’t going down easily.

Once you spot a weak point, the only thing left is to keep hitting it.

“Graaaah!”

Both arms fell simultaneously—one cut, the other snapped.

The monster’s body crashed to the ground.

In a last-ditch effort, its head turned toward Rose, spitting a long stream of saliva—

But Rose caught its face with her gauntlet, her grip unyielding.

Sizzle.

The sound of the gauntlet surface melting echoed, but Rose didn’t seem to care.

Perhaps because of its glove-like design?

Looking closely, it seemed the gauntlet’s surface and the monster’s skin weren’t entirely in contact.

It couldn’t last long, but it seemed to be enough to avoid injury.

Not like me.

I had a question.

My body could also be infused with magic, effectively blocking most attacks.

That ability had saved me many times.

But enveloping my weapon with magic was still difficult.

The magic did cover my weapon, but not enough to shield it.

Despite the intense generator inside me, the energy just didn’t seem to carry over.

Was it because I burned through all my energy for propulsion?

Or was it because the type of energy I used was different?

Or perhaps it was simply because I was only a “half-baked” magical girl.

Rose, gripping the monster’s head with one hand, clenched her left fist tightly.

Then, she struck the monster’s head hard.

For something that wasn’t supposed to be lethal, it looked brutal, but there was no choice.

As long as the monster was conscious, it would keep rampaging.

It was almost like a living circuit.

Though the exact mechanisms of their glowing phenomena were unclear, the fact that it only happened on Earth suggested it was tied to human emotions.

So the only options were to disable all its limbs so it couldn’t move or hit its head hard enough to knock it out.

In this era, with excellent healers, regrowing limbs was relatively simple.

That’s why I could go to school the day after breaking my bones.

But cutting off someone’s arms and legs was another matter.

Still… that’s… a bit much.

Breaking bones is one thing.

The monster went limp after the blow to its head, its arms and legs dangling uselessly.

Rose stared at its face for a moment before carefully placing it on the ground.

There was still a sizzling sound, as if something was melting, but at least it didn’t sink deeper.

“Alright.”

Rose muttered and lifted her head.

Then, she looked at me.

No, not just Rose.

All the magical girls were looking at me.

Hmm.

In the end, it seemed like they had taken over.

On the surface, it looked like cooperation, but it ended with six of them subduing the monster I had been fighting alone.

Moreover, this situation… wasn’t it quite dangerous for me?

“We should retreat now,” James said.

“We’ve shown them enough. The fact that magical girls appeared during the fight probably means they see your actions as a threat.”

I nodded at James’ words and cautiously stepped back.

“Wait!”

As I prepared to create a black hole, Hayoon urgently stretched out a hand and shouted.

“Wait… just wait.”

I stopped, hesitating briefly.

Rationally, it wasn’t the best decision.

I still remembered being shot last time because I was a little late.

I could hear footsteps behind me.

Not many, just a few people walking at intervals.

Probably magical girls, not the police.

Iris, Delphinium, Dahlia.

All three were long-range specialists.

If they were targeting me, they might attack the moment I fled.

Not that I knew what they could do against someone like me disappearing through a black hole.

Speaking of which, Delphinium never unleashed her magic, did she? In that case, it was probably still floating in the sky.

“Interesting.”

James made an intrigued sound as he observed the situation.

Why?

Does it seem entertaining because I’m about to clash with them again?

What a needlessly twisted personality.

If I had the time, I’d look up a recipe for roasted rat and stick it in his tent.

Maybe I’d skewer it from tail to mouth and roast it.

“I… I know you don’t trust me,” Hayoon said.

I narrowed my eyes slightly.

Of course, I couldn’t fully trust her.

While part of me still believed in Hayoon, trusting the magical girls entirely in this situation would be foolish.

Even if Hayoon personally didn’t intend to harm me, the other four magical girls surrounding me, along with countless police officers, likely felt otherwise.

Civil servants follow orders.

I get it.

They can’t refuse a direct command from above.

But as someone on the receiving end, it’s hard not to feel anger.

While I don’t intend to assault any police officers, I’d appreciate it if they understood why I might smash a piece of equipment or two.

I reasoned with myself, so shouldn’t they also think rationally and understand?

“I… all this time…”

Hayoon started but then stopped, looking at me with a pained expression.

“All this time?”

I asked, trying to keep my voice as calm as possible.

She couldn’t bring herself to continue, so I waited for a moment before creating a small hole behind me.

The dust scattered messily on the ground swirled around the hole, and the area behind me grew brighter as the black hole absorbed the light.

“Jieun, wait!” Hayon shouted.

“Wait, and then what?”

I asked.

If I stayed here, reinforcements would only arrive.

I was already a target of the country’s three largest forces.

No, it wasn’t just this country.

Governments worldwide were likely keeping an eye on me, considering the possibility that similar events could happen in their own lands.

“Staying here does me no good,” I said coldly.

I didn’t want to say harsh words.

But they spilled out of me anyway.

It wasn’t something I could control.

Deep down, I’d been thinking this all along, keeping it suppressed.

After my despair circuits overflowed that one time, I couldn’t manage my emotions anymore.

Or maybe it was because I no longer needed to.

Hiding myself in front of others didn’t bring any benefit anymore.

I was already broken and couldn’t return to how I was before, so I simply lived like this.

Even if it was pathetic, I didn’t care.

Caring wouldn’t change anything.

In fact, I felt more at ease inside an abandoned building than in that suffocating school.

I didn’t like it, and I’d probably never grow to like it.

Looking up at the ceiling or lying in the cramped tent filled me with a deep sense of misery.

After coming to a whole new world, I had nothing to my name.

But even so, that was it.

I no longer had to deal with the rich brats at school who, jealous of the one thing I had—Hayoon—lashed out at me.

I didn’t have to study like a madwoman at the start of every semester to convince myself I deserved to be by Hayoon’s side.

I didn’t have to constantly worry about people finding out I lived in an orphanage, or stress out whenever

Hayoon subtly expressed interest in visiting my home.

The future felt bleak and hopeless, but that was all.

In truth, I had never forgotten that feeling since coming to this world.

And because I was someone who could only harbor such miserable thoughts, all the words I hadn’t spoken piled up deep inside me.

To the point where they spilled out the moment I opened my mouth.

I didn’t like it—this situation, Hayoon trying to say something to me, or even myself.

Whatever Hayoon said, I would rebel against it.

But in the end, no matter what she said, I would be persuaded by her.

I hated all of it.

“Are you going to tell me to go back?”

Even so, I asked again.

Why did I carefully choose my words and ask for an explanation?

Maybe it was because, in the end, I couldn’t completely leave Hayoon—or didn’t want to.

Maybe I wasn’t any different from the insignificant trash who hovered around her.

If Hayoon hadn’t been the heroine, would I have stayed by her side?

Would I have endured all the scrutiny and continued to hold on?

I wanted to believe the answer was no.

So, as if to deny her words, I spoke harshly again.

“Are you going to suggest I go back to school now? Or return to that orphanage?”

School would only be filled with enemies.

Only people who disliked me.

At best, Hayoon would be the only one on my side, and I had no desire to return to such a place.

The orphanage…

I hated it for a different reason.

It scared me.

I was terrified of what the people there might think of me.

Even if the whole world hated me, I didn’t want the people from the orphanage—at least those who spent my childhood with me—to hate or fear me.

Especially Ji-hye.

I hoped Ji-hye wouldn’t despise or be afraid of me.

Even after causing all this, I still thought that way.

“It’s too late,” I murmured.

“I’ve come too far.”

To go back.

At my words, Hayoon’s expression crumbled.

She looked as if she might cry at any moment.

It was a face I had seen a few times before.

Except back then, the roles were reversed.

Whenever the world hurt Hayoon, I would be by her side, comforting her.

Sometimes with completely irrelevant distractions, other times by forcing something sweet into her mouth to cheer her up.

Now, I had become one of those who hurt her.

The worst feeling.

The wind grew stronger, howling fiercely.

My circuits vibrated more intensely.

At some point, I stopped paying attention to the percentages.

Whether it was 100% or more, I didn’t care.

I transformed effortlessly, summoning a black hole with the same ease.

Which meant that my circuits had likely been running at over 100% all this time.

I was still in despair.

No matter how I felt on the surface, deep inside, despair lingered continuously.

Unlike Hayoon, who seemed to find hope every time she looked at me.

“That’s why—”

“…No!”

As I took another step back, Hayoon shouted with all her might.

Even in the small storm whipping around us, Hayoon kept walking toward me, step by step.

“That’s not it!”

Tears streamed down her face, her expression completely broken.

Had I ever seen Hayoon cry like this before?

I caused this, and yet I was the one who stopped in my tracks.

“I’m not asking you to come back. I’m not asking you to stay close, either,” Hayoon said.

“I know everything that’s happened so far has been too much… too cruel. I know a simple apology isn’t enough to ask for forgiveness.”

This time, it was me who couldn’t respond.

“So… so just let me do one thing,” she said.

“One thing?”

“Yeah, just one.”

I didn’t say anything.

I didn’t agree, at least not verbally.

But my feet didn’t move.

My head and heart screamed at me to walk away, but somewhere deep inside, my soul begged me to stay.

It was as if something had grabbed my ankles.

At some point, Hayoon was only a few steps away from me.

How long had I been waiting?

Claiming I would leave, thinking I didn’t want her to come any closer.

And yet—

A determined expression appeared on Hayoon’s face.

It was an expression I might even call resolute.

It was then that I realized I had misunderstood something.

I tried to turn, to move quickly.

But Hayoon was faster.

Maybe she had been thinking about this ever since she arrived, ever since we started fighting together.

That must be why she could hold on to hope the entire time we were fighting.

Hayoon wrapped her arms tightly around my waist from behind, holding me close.

But she didn’t stop me from leaving.

“It’s not like that,” she had shouted at me earlier.

“Just one thing.”

Her voice whispered in my ear.

The tremor from her crying was gone, and it didn’t quite match the resolute expression I’d seen before.

It was simply Hayoon’s usual voice—the one I’d heard countless times.

Her arms tightened around my waist. Gentle but firm.

The warmth of her body against my back was soft.

And it was warm.

How long had it been…

“Let me go with you,” Hayoon whispered softly.

As if afraid someone might hear, just like we used to—leaning close to talk quietly so the other kids in class wouldn’t overhear.

Unfair.

It was unfair.

Clinging so tightly, pressing her body against mine.

Whispering in my ear like that.

For someone like me, who had been alone for so long, it was all unfair.

Did Hayoon know what she was doing?

Or was she just acting the same way she always did?

I wasn’t sure.

If it were the latter, then to me, Hayoon herself was simply unfair.

What kind of sense does that make?

It’s too much.

Too much…

Really…

For a moment, the black hole flared violently, as if it would swallow everything nearby.

It absorbed the surrounding light and even small objects on the ground.

The first to be pulled in were the black magical girl and Blossom, who had been standing close by.

Blossom tried to grab the black magical girl with all her might, but was it the overwhelming force of the black hole?

Or was it simply that they couldn’t withstand its powerful pull?

They disappeared into it.

The magical girls surrounding the black magical girl followed suit, leaping into the black hole, perhaps attempting to rescue their leader.

Once all the figures had vanished into the glowing void, the black hole, which had floated with an overwhelming presence, disappeared without a trace, as if it had never been there.

What remained were the intense traces of battle—

And the police officers who had been surrounding the area.

Despite their numbers, no one made a sound for a while.

“…We’re screwed,” someone muttered after several tens of seconds.

No one verbally agreed with the statement for a long time afterward, but many shared the sentiment in their hearts.

Something had gone terribly wrong.