Chapter 43 : Weapons (4) Part-2

Stay calm.

Though the monster had lost its rationality, it wasn’t completely incapable of making judgments.

It knew it had Ji-hye as a hostage.

The police wouldn’t be able to act easily because of that.

My left wrist grew hot.

My heart raced too.

The blood was circulating so fast that my head was spinning.

What should I do?

How can I save Ji-hye without any problems?

The hand gripping Ji-hye’s waist loosened slightly.

Could it be that in moving, the monster unconsciously relaxed its grip on her waist?

The fact that it had taken a hostage and was still mindful of keeping them alive meant that it knew what would happen if Ji-hye died.

Ji-hye’s legs dangled limply, and her body shook.

Though her life was still intact, I thought that if this continued, she could end up in serious danger.

Can I do it all at once?

Would I be able to crush the head in a short time, before it could react with both hands?

Kiing-!

A different sound came from the circuit around my left wrist.

It was the sound from the “generator” inside my hammer.

Right, this wasn’t just a regular hammer.

It definitely had some kind of mechanism inside.

It could either be a device using magic or just a device that utilizes energy.

“What’s inside the hammer?”

I asked, forgetting that James was on my shoulder, still struggling to catch his breath.

“An… output device.”

“How does it work?”

“It’s been set to learn from your actions. When you hit the enemy or jump, after repeating the actions a few times, it will assess what needs to be done and move accordingly.”

“…So it can’t be used all at once.”

“It’s designed to optimize during combat. I was going to explain it earlier, on the rooftop.”

I see.

With that in mind, I focused on my legs.

I ran as fast as I could and then jumped.

I knew how to jump high, for situations like escaping or when I had jumped off the antenna before.

I took several steps, each jump getting higher.

Then, I swung the hammer down lightly, simultaneously returning its weight to its original form.

Boom!

This time, the monster quickly pulled back.

I think it realized that after a few blocks, its arms wouldn’t be able to hold up.

A large crack was left on the ground.

In the center, there was an imprint of the hammer’s head, and the cracks spread out like lightning.

I pulled the hammer out and looked at the monster again.

And in front of me was Ji-hye.

I froze in place.

Ji-hye had her eyes open.

She still seemed in pain, her body slumped over, her face pale, but when our eyes met,

I wasn’t sure if it was because she had regained consciousness or if it was just a coincidence that our gazes locked at that exact moment.

“…Ji, Ji-eun.”

She muttered.

If it had been the usual Ji-hye, she would have laughed at my outfit.

She would have held her stomach, rolled on the ground, or fallen over while laughing uncontrollably.

She would have asked why I was dressed like that, and whether I wasn’t embarrassed.

But now, Ji-hye’s face was not like that.

Her face was filled with terror, her expression frozen in fear, unable to speak properly due to the shock.

She murmured in a trembling voice, “Sorry.”

I couldn’t understand why she was apologizing.

If anything, I should be the one apologizing.

Because of me, people who had never seen me before had come several times and caused trouble.

No, it wasn’t just that they caused trouble.

Despite being reporters, they had been using formal language, but standing right in front of me with cameras and microphones, shouting loudly, would have definitely been terrifying for anyone.

I couldn’t even give any explanation.

All I had seen that evening was everything I knew.

Now, I was wondering if this situation was my fault too.

I wasn’t sure.

Is there something behind the appearances of these monsters at regular intervals?

Was it just a coincidence that Ji-hye was taken hostage here?

I was about to continue my thoughts when I heard a scream.

It wasn’t mine.

It was Ji-hye’s voice, crying out as she watched me fly away after taking a strong blow to the waist.

This time, I hit the wall.

Maybe because I crashed into it vertically, the impact was different from earlier.

My body slammed into the concrete wall from shoulder to toe, and I was embedded in it.

Thud.

But still, I didn’t fall down.

Was it because I had crashed into the wall?

I hadn’t let go of the hammer.

“Are you okay?”

I asked James.

“If I had hit the other side, I would have died without even being able to scream.”

Why was he clinging to me like this?

Wouldn’t it be better if he stayed a little further away?

Maybe he thought it was safest to stay hidden inside the magical girl’s body, surrounded by swirling

magical power.

“…This sucks.”

I muttered as I twisted my body.

Everything had gone to hell in a situation where I already didn’t like anything.

I didn’t care whether it was fate or coincidence.

I just hated that this situation had come to be.

I had thought I had become somewhat numb over the years.

But I despised the being that had thrown me into this situation and left me without a single word.

Probably the writer, that bastard, I hated him so much.

What should I do?

I wanted to find him and do something.

I wanted to scream and curse, slap him, and beat him until something broke.

But I couldn’t do that.

If there was such a person, he would probably just laugh while watching me suffer here.

“…Jeong Jieun?”

James asked carefully as I muttered to myself.

I didn’t answer.

The circuits were running.

The humming sound was so loud it was bothering my ears.

It felt like the saturation around my body had dropped a little.

I could feel vibrations from the hammer.

Was the generator inside running?

Screech-

There was a nerve-wracking sound, like metal scraping.

Was this also specially designed to wear down my sanity?

I wasn’t sure.

In fact, I didn’t really care.

It was hot.

A hot energy was flowing from the entire hammer, reaching even the handle.

Even the monster staring at me seemed to realize that something was wrong

Although it looked a little silly, still pushing Ji-hye forward, it probably knew something had gone wrong.

If it knew something was wrong, it should have just let go of Ji-hye, and it might have been able to stay in one piece.

Click.

A small sound was heard.

“Impossible! You forced open the propulsion device!?”

James shouted, aghast, his voice dripping with the dramatics of a third-rate villain.

Now he was surprised.

He had told me to imagine anything earlier

Holding the hammer tightly, which was struggling to move forward on its own, I stepped forward.

The giant crab jerked.

It took a step back and pushed the pale Ji-hye toward me.

So, it was coming out like this.

“Wait, Ji-hye.”

I muttered to myself.

Though the loud noise around me would probably drown out my words, I still felt the need to say it.

“I’ll save you now.”

I ran forward.

I pushed with all my might, taking a few steps of momentum before swinging the hammer down.

Finally, I saw the state of the hammer.

The hammer was disassembled.

The back half was completely disassembled, with parts scattered in all directions.

But it didn’t seem like it was broken.

Each part didn’t seem to be working properly.

At least, it wasn’t functioning as James had originally designed it.

But the parts were spread out, looking like the back part of a ‘booster’ opened up.

The components were floating apart, like superconductors, but they weren’t shaking at all, as if invisible components were holding them together.

The generator was half-exposed at the back.

Behind it, blue flames were burning brightly.