Fwoosh!
There was a sound coming from the circuit.
Black smoke was rising, but it looked a bit different from when the other circuits had malfunctioned.
Unlike the previous circuits that had exploded from the top, this one seemed to have been designed with that in mind.
The circuit panel lifted slightly upward, emitting the smoke in a controlled manner.
The people who had been clinging to me, after inhaling the smoke, grimaced and covered their faces or grabbed their throats, struggling to breathe.
Could it be some kind of toxic smoke that shouldn’t be inhaled directly?
As for me, I was fine.
Clenching my teeth and letting out a rough grunt, I pushed past the people who were sprawled over me and stood up.
My body was fine. I was slightly out of breath, but at least it was better than when the circuit wasn’t functioning.
The circuit James gave me was real.
I had no idea what principle it operated on.
Without a helmet or anything, I couldn’t even see the numbers that were displayed on the circuit.
All I could see was the needle, which was displayed digitally, spinning counterclockwise.
Or maybe not.
The clock’s movement might have exceeded the screen’s refresh rate, so it just flickered as it changed positions at regular intervals.
…I should ask James when I see him again.
If I see him again.
Bullets flew toward me, but before they could hit my body, they curved off in strange directions and flew away.
I heard the sharp sound of something hitting the floor and the walls.
When I looked toward the direction the shots came from, the men holding guns hurriedly hid behind the pillars.
Are you scared, pointing a gun at a high school girl?
Well, the people trying to arrest me must have seen the footage for some reason.
They must have seen me fighting the magical girl.
If an ordinary person in normal clothes had been there, they would’ve literally been crushed to death.
I staggered.
I hadn’t eaten anything since waking up.
There was a drink that Ji-hye had left on the bed over there. I should’ve taken that and come out.
I should have eaten something while talking…
I set that as my short-term goal and walked.
As soon as I stepped outside the door,
“…Ah.”
A blinding light hit my eyes.
No, it wasn’t just my eyes.
A massive number of headlights turned on, and people waiting there shone lights in my direction.
Was it warrant to put all this effort for just a single girl?
It seemed like they had already surrounded the area outside the lobby doors. Shadows of people flickered beyond the headlights.
[Jeong Jieun, please remove the circuit and lie down on the floor.]
Surprisingly, the warning wasn’t all that scary. It was a woman’s voice, and she didn’t sound much older than me.
It seemed like she considered the fact that I was a high school girl.
[If you don’t resist, no one will get hurt. We’re here to protect you, Jieun.]
“If you’re here to protect me, then why are you holding guns?”
I asked, genuinely curious.
I wasn’t talking about the people inside the hospital.
The people beyond those lights, they were all holding long objects in their hands.
Probably guns. Or something else that could be a weapon.
[Jeong Jieun.]
“…I didn’t do it.”
I said.
“The explosion there, it wasn’t my fault.”
But there was no response to my words.
If they had at least said something reassuring, even if it was a lie, things might have been a little different.
But the person on the other side of the loudspeaker didn’t seem willing to do even that.
Unless, perhaps, there was a legal issue involved?
Maybe if they gave me a false statement, it could hurt them in court?
“I didn’t do it!”
I shouted.
My voice cracked as I yelled.
[Jeong Jieun.]
What was so frustrating was how calm that voice sounded.
[Everything can end peacefully. If you don’t resist-]
“Then where are you going to take me?”
I shouted back.
“Are you planning to throw me in prison?”
[Not prison, but a hospital─]
“What kind of hospital!? You brought all these people just to catch me, and now you’re talking about a hospital!?”
I couldn’t believe it.
The circuit trembled.
Black smoke slowly began to take shape.
[Jeong Jieun!]
The voice became more urgent, as if they could see the smoke.
[Stop it right now!]
As if I could stop.
It was the only thing protecting my body.
If I was going to protect myself from the people who had surrounded me with guns, I had no choice.
What would happen if I took the circuit out and got shot?
I’d probably end up with at least one broken bone.
There could be blood.
In fact, the spots where I’d been hit while the circuit was active still hurt.
I’m done with pain.
They had no intention of listening to me.
In that case, I had nothing left to say.
I heard the voice through the loudspeaker, but I ignored it.
Gunshots rang out. Bullets flew from all directions.
Whether they were rubber bullets or not didn’t matter anymore, so I chose not to worry about it.
I ran.
*
Gunfire echoed in the heart of Seoul.
Hayoon could immediately understand what that meant.
Maybe… Jieun.
“Hayoon.”
Cherry, who had been perched on her shoulder, called out to Hayoon, clearly frightened.
“I know.”
Hayoon tried to force herself to calm her racing heart as she turned toward the direction of the sound.
Please, please, please, let that gunshot not have been aimed at Jieun.
She knew it was unlikely, but she still thought it.
Positive thoughts keep the hope circuit running.
Even in the worst situations, thinking positively is what keeps the hope circuit going.
“Ugh!”
But Hayoon’s body faltered slightly and dropped.
While flying through the air, Hayoon knew she shouldn’t be thinking like this, but Jieun’s image, bleeding, kept flashing through her mind.
At least, she wasn’t falling out of the sky, and she could head toward the sound.
…But to keep from losing hope, the thought that came to mind was that Jieun must have been using her circuit to resist, and that was the sound she heard.
That thought alone made Hayoon’s heart race.
*
Boom!
I smashed through the barricade.
Was that a sound from a bystander or a scream?
Boom! The sound of a heavy object dropping to the ground and the screeching of metal bending followed.
Shouting and then another gunshot.
The bullets didn’t hit me.
The ricocheted bullets scattered in all directions, creating a horrifying sound.
Another scream followed.
My left arm was completely covered in black substance.
It was the same crustacean-like arm I had seen last time.
It looked just like a monster.
It was one of those inexplicable phenomena that extraterrestrials often experience when they visit Earth.
Usually, they don’t lose their rationality, so I thought I was similar.
I quickly ran forward and grabbed the gun of the person in front of me, crushing it. In the meantime, the gun fired once more, and I heard a scream.
When I turned around, it seemed another police officer had been hit by the crossfire, rolling on the floor.
It didn’t look like it was a lead bullet; there was no blood.
I threw the gun aside and ran with all my strength.
The magical girl would come, right?
I had to escape in the meantime.
As far away as possible.
I wasn’t sure where I should go.
And then… and then…
What should I do?
At least, I hoped I wouldn’t run into Hayoon during all of this, and so I kept running.
Ah, somehow, I felt like I was about to cry.
Why do I have to be doing this?
Really, I just want to give up and quit everything right now.
Even if I said that now, it wouldn’t make a difference.
That fact made me feel even more miserable.
From afar, the sound of police cars grew louder.
It seemed like more people had been dispatched.
And in the sky, far in the distance, I saw a pink light coming toward me.
…So, we will meet after all.
Feeling like I was on the verge of collapsing, I kept running.
Because there was nothing else I could do.