Transformation or Death

Symbol of Peace (16)

Orange Altair stared at him blankly. She had been acknowledged. By an enemy, not someone to protect or a comrade.

‘Is he… Mocking me?’

No, it doesn’t seem that way. If he wanted to mock or humiliate her, there were simpler ways. There was no need to be so roundabout to embarrass her.

‘Then…’

She had truly been acknowledged. Acknowledged by the villain currently receiving the most attention, the one that even top-tier magical girls and S-class monsters trembled before.

No one had ever paid attention to her. In the end, even she had given up on herself. But in the whole world, only one person – the enemy she had to kill – acknowledged her.

Her heart began to race. All the doubt she had cultivated until now had vanished, leaving her feeling almost naive.

Could she really become a star, as he said? Could she become a hero?

The wind blew endlessly, growing stronger. The Watcher tapped his shoulder with his axe as he allowed the wind to blow.

“But to see the stars, you must lift your head towards the sky yourself. If you still can’t see them, you need to get closer to a higher place. If clouds obscure your view, you must make the effort to clear away even the clouds.”

After a brief pause, he turned his head slightly to look at Orange Altair.

“You get what I’m saying now, right?”

“What?”

“From now on, you must challenge yourself endlessly.”

“…What did you say?”

“By the way, this isn’t a suggestion, it’s a threat. Follow me.”

“What… What nonsense…”

He didn’t give her time to object. Without hesitation, he raised his axe and plunged it into the ground.

“Did you say immortal?”

“Huh?”

“That guy over there. Immortal, you said? Now that you mention it, I’m curious.”

Boom! Thunder rolled from the axe deeply embedded in the ground. The earth undulated like waves, and between the cracks, pure white lightning rose high into the sky, intertwining like roots. 𝙍ἈNÔ𝐁ÈꞨ

“Is he immortal because he can’t be wounded, or because he doesn’t die even if killed? I’ll have to test it out first.”

The lightning that overturned the earth finally reached the sea. The seawater that had been rising with the wind mixed with the lightning. The storm soon became a thundercloud. The white lightning enveloped the entire body of seawater, roaring with thunder.

It was truly earth-shattering. The ground and sky shook together. The seawater, infused with cold lightning, froze as if scalded.

Most of the sea evaporated instantly upon contact with the lightning, and the seawater that survived the evaporation turned to ice.

It was a disaster that surpassed natural calamities.

October, who was at the center of it all, didn’t fare well either.

In an instant, his body was roasted by lightning and completely frozen. He fell to the ground like a fly fried in an electric fly swatter.

“Brother!!”

“Wow… Trulyimpressive.”

“You idiot! Is this the time to be impressed?! Our brother is…”

November trembled in fear, Jason marveled, and Orange Altair was shocked.

“What… Is this…”

He evaporated and froze this vast sea at the same time. A miracle that even Red Vega and Blue Sirius together might barely achieve, he accomplished alone. And with just one swing of his axe.

It was overwhelming.

What help could she possibly be to such an opponent? Was it all just a joke? Her self-esteem was once again chipped away.

“Tsk.”

But the one who performed this miracle didn’t seem very satisfied. The reason became clear soon enough.

October, who had been dying like an insignificant insect just moments ago, rose again. The wounds that had been so vivid earlier had vanished without a trace.

“…Brother?”

As November inquired about his well-being again, October stretched out both hands, staggering.

There were no words, no roars. There was no sound. A vortex arose from that silent movement. The vortex, too small to be seen or felt, swelled instantly.

Once again, the wind burst forth. It was a typhoon, stronger than before. Now the ground could not withstand it. The earth’s crust shook, and sand scattered in the wind with the force of a shotgun blast.

“Oh my, it seems he’s properly angry now.”

“What, what did you do?!”

“It looks like we’ll need your help after all, Altair.”

“…You know. My name…?”

“Of course I do. I even know your entrance line.”

He spoke while deflecting all the winds that could pose a direct threat to Orange Altair. It was clearly a friendly action.

Villains are enemies. They should be doubted and guarded against. Even humans shouldn’t be easily trusted once they’re involved with villains. Didn’t she aim her arrow even at civilians because she knew this all too well?

“An arrow that pierces the end of the sky, wasn’t it?”

You can’t trust the words of a villain. But for some reason…

“I’ll let you prove those words.”

Orange Altair found she could believe his words.

Each of his words exuded immense trust. It felt like he would even vouch for her if pushed a little more.

Behind Orange Altair, who was nodding blankly, the Watcher addressed someone who had been listening to this entire conversation.

“You heard it all, right?”

***

Ippotranslation 

***

“Oh, yes. I heard everything, but…”

Joo Ah-yoon sighed deeply and smiled bitterly at the voice that came through the belt.

His thoughts were all too obvious.

An arrow that pierces the sky? Why allow such a thing to be realized? There might be easier ways.

Why show mercy even to the opponent who pushed him?

“Are you a sucker? You seem ready to give your liver and gall to someone who doubted you.”

[Our work is fundamentally a loss. Isn’t it too late to talk about being a sucker now that we’ve come this far?]

“Yes, yes. I know that too. Thanks for the advice.”

Joo Ah-yoon shook her head as if fed up and cut off the communication.

“Why state the obvious? If I’m not a sucker, why am I doing this crap?”

She knows it too.

This is a job that doesn’t earn money, fame, or power. It’s more foolish to think of profiting from such work.

That’s why she didn’t want to lose money in her side job at least…

“Damn bastards.”

She had expected that customers wouldn’t flock in moderately, but she hadn’t thought it would fail this spectacularly.

Even if they were going to cause trouble, they should have done it moderately. What kind of act is a mass disappearance incident?

Joo Ah-yoon sighed again, but for a different reason this time.

While she wasn’t in a position to worry about money, Han Jae-jung was different. He needed a stable income. A moderate amount of money creates leeway for people. What he urgently needed now was money he could use freely without mental burden. Leeway that would allow him to look back on himself and take care of himself.

Even if one says they’re not in need of money, it doesn’t mean they don’t mind losses. No one wants to do work without reward.

Profit is reward.

Yes, reward.

This is why Joo Ah-yoon ended up like this.

Because she found reward in something other than profit.

She even wondered if she could have provided this help if it weren’t for this loss. 

In the end, she thought it might be okay even if there were no customers in the cafe, and if it just served as a place for them to rest briefly.

“I must be crazy…”

Joo Ah-yoon sighed for who knows how many times and looked around.

The scenery of the dying island was tedious. The beautifully and harmoniously created landscape of the island was fading, and only disaster remained, wandering the sea and land.

The wind blew fiercely. At this point, it would be more accurate to say that the atmosphere had a will of its own and was shaking the world. It wasn’t an attention seeker, but it was spewing its ability in all directions, which was no small trouble.

But the most troubled were the people living on this island. Poor people who were swept up by the villains and suffering.

When she first arrived here and flew up, what she saw was the landscape of the village densely gathered on the island. Later, she learned about the situation on the island roughly through a communication from Han Jae-jung.

There were more people in the villain’s sea than she had imagined.

Slaves and voluntarily following subordinates. Probably people who had gone missing not only from D5 city but from various other cities as well.

With magical girls added to that, this space was the villains’ space, but the number of humans was far greater.

She felt emptiness rather than anger.

The fact that there were people to protect even in the villains’ space, the fact that it endlessly imposed trials on those who were already overwhelmed just fighting villains.

“…Is this the last one?”

Joo Ah-yoon threw a butterfly. The wind was strong, but not strong enough to resist. It was a butterfly that could leap over and move forward no matter what wall there was. A stepping stone that could connect all ends to ends in an instant.

A throwing star shaped like a butterfly but somewhat resembling a swan’s feather. It floated away towards someone.

It was a middle-aged woman trembling in fear.

Their bodies and minds were too weak to stay in the middle of a battlefield where stars were flying. It couldn’t be helped. From the perspective of the weak, the only thing they could give to this world was fear.

“Uh, uh…”

“Don’t be afraid.”

The butterfly touched her shoulder and the person disappeared.

“You’ll be safe now.”

This is the end.

She succeeded in evacuating all the people. The villain’s subordinates in the building, these poor people here, she sent them all out of the island without missing a single one. It was fortunate that she had released a few butterflies into reality in advance.

Now others no longer needed to sweat to protect people. In a situation where it’s difficult to save even oneself, the need to look at others and get hurt has disappeared.

But no one would know. No one would appreciate Joo Ah-yoon’s efforts. Even those who were saved themselves.

“Ah, there might be one.”

The only colleague who would probably appreciate it. Thinking of that person, a smile bloomed on her tired body to the point of nausea.

“I’m so tired, shit…”

But soon fatigue overcame that joy.

This teleportation consumes starlight in proportion to the distance. This is clearly a barrier separated from reality. Regrettably, it’s treated as long-distance because it needs to cross dimensions. That’s how she moved about a hundred people. Of course, she had to consume most of her stamina and starlight.

“Whew…”

The remaining number of moves is at most twelve. It’s a lot if you think it’s a lot, and little if you think it’s little. In the end, it’s all about how you use it and how you think about it.

Everything is all about how you think about it.

It was the same now.

“You.”

If you receive a resentful gaze from a beloved person, is it evidence that you’ve fallen?

Or is it evidence that there’s a belief that must be adhered to even at the cost of bearing that resentment?

Of course, the essence is not like that.

“You… How are you using that starlight? How can you use Deneb’s starlight when you’re not even the villain of Cygnus…”

Blue Sirius. She was in tatters, probably severely injured. Most of the scars on her were covered with frost fragments. It was quite impressive that a person who uses ice magic was injured by ice.

That wind was quite strong, so it could even deflect magic. Moreover, there were probably comrades around her. She must have sacrificed herself to protect her comrades from her own reflected magic.

She knows Yoon Seol-hwa. Just from those wounds, she can easily guess what kind of battle she went through.

“Who are you? What’s your purpose? Where did you send all the people!”

But Yoon Seol-hwa doesn’t know her. Joo Ah-yoon didn’t grieve over this.

She was getting used to that hatred. As she removed that hatred, she began to understand a little about how she was standing here.

She saved all humans except Orange Altair and the villains from the fall of the building. That’s why she knows where Blue Sirius was. It’s quite far from here.

There was only one reason for moving her painful body through the wind. To save. To save more people.

And the reason for this obsession with Deneb’s starlight is because she cared so much for the original owner of this light.

Various emotions coexisted within the hatred.

“What… What happened to Jae-jung…? Did you move him… Like you did to those people just now… Like you did to us… Where? Where?!”

Her tired body lost its composure and gradually became sensitive and irritable.

Joo Ah-yoon admired her on one hand and pitied her on the other. She hoped there would be no misfortune in front of those who always prioritize their dreams over their own bodies.

She didn’t want to admit it until now, but now she had to.

Joo Ah-yoon feels satisfied helping others.

Even if there’s no reward or recognition for this act and all that comes back is insult, it doesn’t change the fact that she did the right thing. That’s why she can be proud of herself.

The role of helping someone achieve their dream. Even if it’s not a prominent role, this is enough.

She removed all the hostages that could hold them back in the battle against villains. There’s no need to waste energy on these trivial matters. They just need to focus on their dreams.

“Where else but the safe, safe reality.”

A thin butterfly fell from Joo Ah-yoon as if a feather was falling.

“Don’t worry. All the innocent people have gone outside. The only ones left here are you guys.”

The butterfly rode the wind and floated up into the sky. Its speed was so fast that it reminded one of a rocket.

The world endlessly shook with the wind. The sky cracked and the earth split. It was like buildings collapsing. No matter how much it imitated the world, in the end it was an artificial barrier. A space that had lost its owner, lost its people, and even lost its reason for existence. It would simply shatter when subjected to a strong impact.

Gradually, this space itself began to crumble.

“…You, what’s your name?”

Come to think of it, I hadn’t decided on a name yet. Neither a name for this form, nor a name for the cafe.

Speaking of the cafe, I remembered a thought I had before.

Since proper customers wouldn’t be coming for a while anyway, let’s use it as a resting place for these dreamers.

As a peaceful space where one can stay briefly and let go of everything.

As a space that is like a symbol of peace.

Thinking of peace brought to mind pure white, and thinking of pure white…

‘Parrot.’

[I’m not a parrot, I’m a swan!]

Right, it was always like this.

Despite being a swan, because of the mascot’s colorful appearance, I carelessly called it a parrot from our first meeting.

No matter how many times I called it a parrot, its essence remained unchanged.

Joo Ah-yoon smiled under the mask and answered.

“Odette.”

She recited the name of the princess who turned into a swan.

Some might feel that this beast’s form is nothing more than a curse, but to her, this beast’s form only felt graceful.

Even if the appearance differs from that of humans, the actions would still be noble.

It doesn’t matter how others see it. The essence remains unchanged.

Joo Ah-yoon was a girl. In fact, she still is.

Even if she can’t dream herself, she can protect someone else’s dream.

“Instead of standing there in a daze, why don’t you run? The ground beneath your feet is about to collapse.”

With those words, she disappeared. She didn’t even give time to ask anything back.

The place where she disappeared was so clean. As if there had never been anything there to begin with.

“Hey, sister! Sister Sirius! How is it over there?! Did you find anyone?!”

Blue Sirius shook her head as she looked at the place where the strange masked person had disappeared. She smiled at her adorable junior who had followed her.

“Let’s leave too.”

Saying that, she turned her back on the empty space. As soon as she took a step, the place where she had been standing until just now collapsed.

“Looks like there’s no one left here now.”

***

Ippotranslation 

***

Orange Altair trembled with fear as she grasped the bow. Of course, that fear infected the tip of the arrow, blurring its aim.

“Can you do it?”

“Is this… Right?”

“Of course it is. What else would it be? You don’t have the right to refuse anyway. Just follow.”

“But… But!”

Her gaze was directed towards the sky. Literally, the sky. The sky that had begun to crack as space distorted.

“There’s no way that’s possible… Right?!”

“No, it is possible. You can do it.”

“On what grounds!”

“My words. On what grounds.”

“Eek?!”

Orange Altair was startled by the sudden appearance of a new voice. She was even more surprised when she saw who it was.

‘…Joo Ah-yoon?!’

She clearly remembered the appearance of that masked person before they transformed. What she saw in the blindingly bright light was Joo Ah-yoon’s silhouette.

‘Ah, well. Nothing’s certain yet. Nothing’s certain yet….’

Orange Altair stared blankly at her.

“…? What are you looking at?”

“Ah, nothing. Nothing, nothing. Really nothing… At all.”

She turned her gaze back to the bow. But it didn’t last long before she looked at her again.

“Um, so… Wh-what’s your name…?”

“What’s with this servile attitude? It’s fucking disgusting. My name, you ask. My name is….”

Her words stopped abruptly as she was about to recite her name.

“…Odette.”

“Oh, you decided on a name? Don’t know when you decided, but it suits you well. Except for the fact that you didn’t tell me in advance.”

“Ugh, is that important? I just decided just now! Ah… damn. I hate how my body is trembling.”

Perhaps because the whole world was shaking, her voice had a ridiculous tremor to it. It felt like having a conversation on a trampoline.

Orange Altair’s pupils, who hadn’t said anything, shook the most.

‘That rude way of speaking…! No doubt about it! It’s Joo Ah-yoon!’

Indeed, she hadn’t seen wrong. These eyes were accurate…! That person isn’t even trying to hide it!

While Orange Altair trembled at realizing this tremendous secret, the Watcher explained the plan once again.

“Listen carefully. We probably won’t have many chances. This space will collapse in a few minutes, and if a creature like that is unleashed into reality, the damage would be unimaginable. It would be incomparable to the previous bombing. So we don’t have much time left.”

Orange Altair felt a sense of discomfort at how naturally he assumed the human perspective while briefing, but as he said, there wasn’t much time left, so she immediately agreed. It was actually true.

Feeling a strange sense of unity with the enemy, Orange Altair nodded. Somehow, it felt like it would be okay to follow all of the Watcher’s words. Is it because he’s the benefactor who recognized this body’s value?

“But the enemy is immortal. All attacks will just regenerate. That would only lead to a waste of starlight and magic power. But here, we have an arrow that can pierce through to the end of the sky, and a bridge that can connect anywhere.”

He looked at Orange Altair and Odette respectively. As soon as his gaze touched her, an enormous pressure weighed down on her shoulders.

“The point is simple. We tie a butterfly to the tip of your arrow, and we shoot that butterfly at that fickle bastard.”

How many lives were hanging on these shoulders?

“He will be transported to where your arrow reaches. In other words, the destination of your arrow will be that bastard’s grave. If he’s immortal, we just need to make him repeat death eternally.”

Orange Altair only now realized. That attention means responsibility.

That the risk of failure had grown incomparably larger than before.

“You shoot that arrow to the sun.”

The fact that she was given a chance to demonstrate her abilities was not as pleasant as she had thought.

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