Transformation or Death

A Little Money and a Place to Live Tomorrow is Enough (19)

It was a good day.

The sky was blue and the cool wind cleared the mind. It made you realize spring was coming. It was the kind of day where the lingering chill pleasantly seeped into your skin.

[1.17]

The timer passed 1 second.

With each sprint, broken ice fragments sparkled like diamonds.

A massive axe the size of a human body flashed with lightning. That lightning wasn’t hot, but cool. It was a flame that burned cold.

Lightning that contradicted its original nature blazed magnificently, laying a new layer of chill over the ice.

Pure flames flickered beside that lightning fire. Red Vega soared like a rocket, wrapped in red flames from head to toe.

November ignored those rushing at him and turned to jump towards the river. Now that the water had turned to ice, he couldn’t control it. No matter how much he raised the temperature, the wave that had become an iceberg showed no signs of melting.

November had only one instinct left: to rampage.

Therefore, he headed to the river to find a weapon.

November’s ability wasn’t creation and manipulation, but just manipulation.

He could only use his ability where there was water. His biggest weakness from before his rampage was repeating itself here now.

But the moment he touches the river while rampaging in a pseudo-divine state without worrying about starlight consumption, the city will end. Not just half-destruction. All the tall buildings would collapse and sink underwater.

They had to stop November’s advance.

During these 10 seconds.

It’s essentially no different from gambling. The difference lies in whether Blue Sirius can control divinity within this short time or not.

If she fails to control it, the city will crumble from Blue Sirius’s magic, and she herself will suffer great damage.

Han Jae-jung didn’t bother turning to look at Blue Sirius. He decided to trust and wait. Anyone can have patience for just a few seconds.

Even if it’s a friend who often collapsed due to a weak heart since long ago, he could avoid looking.

“Kuk!”

Using Ursa Major’s power after so long, he could clearly tell. This barbaric energy isn’t something a normal person’s body should endure. If he’d been in his right mind, he would have realized it long ago, but he’d been too blind to sense it. He just thought it was normal overload.

The burden that must naturally be borne as the price for using power. This power is so ridiculous that it makes one think this pain is natural. Rather, it seemed like a fair trade. Han Jae-jung resisted the urge to clutch his heart and instead gripped the axe tighter.

The axe blade drew a long line across November’s neck and body. Lightning savagely tore through along that line. All of this came first.

Seogeok!

The sound came afterward.

[1.76]

Not even one second had passed yet. He intended to hold out for the remaining 9 seconds like this. He raised the axe again.

And then he slashed at the legs, arms, shoulders, stomach, chest, knees, ankles, wrists, everything visible. The starlight armor that should have been solid was cut more softly than tofu.

Chwak! Chwaak! Countless brutal marks like animal claws appeared on the ice. His blood poured over them. Soon it was burned by lightning.

[2.07]

2 seconds had passed. The enemy hasn’t even regenerated yet. Would it be okay if he just minced him up like this? Without even catching his breath, he raised the axe once more.

That’s when something bound his wrist. It was black and red thread.

The realization that he had let his guard down followed.

The ability to control water. He hadn’t thought about how far that ability’s range extended. Until just now, he had controlled muddy water too. If he could control water even with impurities mixed in, of course he could control his own blood!

The thread wrapped around his wrist was blood. The blood that had just flowed from that body, he thought it had all evaporated from the lightning, but unfortunately it seems it hadn’t.

Tch, clicking his tongue, he broke the blood thread with force. The thread that broke so feebly was burned by white lightning.

[2.87]

A very brief delay that hadn’t even lasted one second. But that was enough. A body had already grown from November’s scattered head. He had completed regeneration.

“There’s no point in cutting.”

As soon as he landed on the ground, he ran towards the river. His body was smaller than before but was sparkling more brightly.

He had sacrificed parts of his body to increase starlight.

November gathered starlight at his feet and propelled himself. A foolish and crude use without utilizing his ability. It was an unimaginable waste.

However, it was quite an effective method for him in his pseudo-divine state. Unlike other villains, he wasn’t in a position to worry about wasting starlight. Though it would drain his stamina and put considerable strain on his body, that didn’t matter to him in his unconscious state.

“Then, I just won’t cut.”

However, Watcher wasn’t an easy opponent either. He struck the ground with his axe and jumped into the sky from the impact. Looking down at November from a higher position, he held up the back end of the axe rather than the blade. It was as if he were using a spear rather than an axe.

[3.13]

3 seconds had passed.

He placed the axe against November’s back and pressed down with his weight. The fall began without proper resistance. Though he struggled, he couldn’t escape with air resistance below and Watcher pressing from above.

Just before hitting the ice, Watcher grabbed his head to keep it from touching the ice. There was a cracking sound as his spine shattered, but it didn’t matter. At least no blood was spilled.

Bang!

He slammed the held head against the ice without hesitation. Perhaps because it was tough, it didn’t burst. Then he stepped on the axe blade resting on his back and pressed down.

“What, what is this….”

“Press down! Don’t let him move!”

Red Vega rushed over and hurriedly pressed her foot on his neck. Her firepower was also considerable. It was simple enough for her to press down to prevent him from turning his head.

Crack! Once again came the sound of a spine breaking. Red Vega didn’t let her guard down and increased the pressure. She didn’t forget to increase pressure by shooting flames upward like firing a rocket from sky to ground.

[4.00]

4 seconds had passed.

“Keep… Keep going….”

November still couldn’t move an inch.

[5.00]

5 seconds had passed. Hope was visible. Though maintaining this state was exhausting, it also meant there would be no problem if they could just keep it up.

‘Harder than a plank… No, harder than doing a handstand with one finger…!’

Red Vega grimaced. Though the posture itself was stable, the force going through her entire body was on a different level than usual. She couldn’t let her guard down even a little. There had been several unexpected turns until now. The possibility remained for it to happen again.

‘Just a little… More….’

That’s when November tried to move his arm toward his head. Watcher quickly used his other foot to block that movement.

Whatever it was, they couldn’t let him do anything reckless.

‘Whoa.’

That was dangerous. Just as she felt relief, this time he started trying to move the neck she was pressing down on.

“Where do you think!”

Red Vega didn’t reduce her force at all. Crack, his head turned halfway to face the sky. Though the head turned at an impossible angle was grotesque, at least they had stopped his movement.

That was the problem. November turned his head again, completing a full rotation. Crack, his head twisted to its limit and began to separate from his neck.

Crack! His neck broke like a board, and his head dangled. Going all out without letting their guard down had actually been a mistake.

[5.97]

Just before 6 seconds passed, flesh flew from November’s neck.

*Shhhk.* From that flesh, November began to regenerate. However, he hadn’t yet regenerated his entire body.

Watcher went to his blind spot and picked up the axe again. This was fine. He could just press him down again.

But he stopped regenerating halfway, leaving only his upper body. Before there was time to wonder why, blood began flowing from the unregenerated parts.

Watcher tried to sear the bleeding parts with his lightning blade, but first, a few drops splattered into the surrounding.

“Hey! Evaporate right…”

Watcher, who was shouting toward Red Vega, was taken aback. The splattered blood drops headed not for Watcher or Red Vega, but for what had been his own body until just moments ago.

The blood drops became sharp wires that sliced through his body. The body, which looked like it had been patched together with wooden boards, was cut into several pieces, and more blood flowed from those places.

The scattered blood immediately rushed toward somewhere.

Again, it wasn’t heading for Watcher or Red Vega.

It was heading toward Blue Sirius, toward the place she had just departed from.

It would be troublesome if her concentration was disturbed. Watcher jumped in front of the rushing blood drops and swung his axe.

*Swoosh!*

The lightning-imbued blade easily burned and froze the blood drops. Still, just in case. Worried about any blood he might have missed, Watcher turned his head to check.

“…What’s this?”

And he felt something was wrong. Blue Sirius’s condition was strange. Azure starlight was bursting from her like a horn of plenty. She didn’t appear to be suppressing it at all. In her right hand was a form where starlight had clumped together like a snowball.

However, her other hand was clutching her chest. She exhaled painfully. Her eyes were vacant. Even in this cold, sweat was dampening her forehead.

“No way…”

Is her heart still in much pain? Well, it’s natural if you think about it. Even Han Jae-jung, who had a normal body when he became Ursa Major, was trembling in pain. For a divine star with much more starlight than him, the burden would be on a different level.

No matter how much she purifies the starlight into magical power, there must be a limit.

[7.02]

7 seconds had passed.

Blue Sirius rose while breathing heavily with difficulty. She was extremely unstable. Her steps were staggering. Starlight condensed in her hand. The form became more distinct.

“I’m… Fine…”

What had been an ordinary spherical shape turned into a heart shape that flickered. It resembled something like a pendant or hand mirror.

“Forget about worrying about me and just fight!”

Fortunately, it seemed she had regained control.

During the moment their attention was diverted, November’s regeneration had completely finished. Watcher had to abandon his hesitation.

“Belt, measure everyone’s heart rates here!”

But he couldn’t completely abandon it. He left it for just a brief moment. Watcher turned his head to look at November.

In his hand was something like a faint mist gathered together. When he swung it, Red Vega, who was nearby, cried out in pain.

“Keck…! Ugh…!”

Something like handprints appeared on her neck. It was as if he was strangling her from a distance. It was strange. That wasn’t water or blood. Then what was it?

“…Ah.”

There’s a saying.

Magical girls grow stronger and faster the stronger the villains become. And the reverse is also true. Villains also become stronger the stronger magical girls become.

It’s a simple story.

November had also grown stronger like Blue Sirius. He had elevated his ability to the next level.

What he’s probably controlling now is water vapor. A resource that would be overflowing in this flooded, extremely humid place.

“Red Vega! Fire…! Ah, damn.”

You can’t evaporate what’s already evaporated. Red Vega’s ability had lost its power now.

There was one option left – freezing it. It would be possible with his lightning, which was lightning of low temperature. But in that case, there was no guarantee that Red Vega wouldn’t get caught up in it.

*Whoosh*, the mist blew, and its direction was toward Blue Sirius.

“There are too many lost things here.”

That’s when Jason muttered.

“This was land. Originally, the waters shouldn’t flow here.”

He placed his hand on his belt. A peculiar buckle shaped like a ferry boat decoration.

“My power isn’t enough to eliminate all of these…”

Space distorts. Things that were here are being rearranged.

“But it can be of help for a moment.”

[8.23]

8 seconds had passed. The mist disappeared. Jason too seemed to have exhausted his power and collapsed on the ice.

“Go… Strong one…”

Watcher leaped once again. Ice fragments scattered flutter-like. He brought his axe down forcefully right in front of November.

November’s entire body was engulfed in lightning.

It had been simple from the start. If he had just seared him with lightning, blood wouldn’t have splattered or moved, but he had overthought it.

[9.45]

Now 9 seconds had passed.

Watcher had to stop the lightning at that moment.

[Yoon Seol-hwa’s heart rate has become 0.]

Then he threw his axe.

The instantly flying axe touched her heart and sent an electrical current through it.

“This might tickle a bit, you fragile one…!”

He forcibly awakened her heart. Her fingertips trembled with a twitch.

[10.00]

10 seconds had passed.

[OVER.]

The time limit was now over. The 10 seconds set by the belt were completely used up, and Ursa Major’s power was released.

*Crackle*. The ground split. More precisely, the ice sheet did. The ice began to move. It probably wasn’t Blue Sirius’s will. Intricate decorations were being engraved on the heart-shaped transformation tool in her hand. She was still focusing all her attention on controlling it.

So this was someone else’s doing.

In a way, it was natural. If one could control water vapor, they should be able to control its solid form, ice, as well.

November had reached a new level.

“I asked you….”

Jason muttered.

The wind blew. Somehow, it seemed like he heard a sarcastic remark like ‘I know, idiot.’ The wind lightly shattered the ice to pieces.

*Swoosh*, an arrow pierced November’s forehead. The moving ice sheet stopped.

And then.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t keep my promise.”

Blue starlight surged.

The power of a divine star.

Pure starlight completely converted into magical power.

“This is the end.”

Ice wrapped around November’s entire body. Like a curse. That ice rose high, high up. As if it would reach the sky. Like suppressed feelings piling up here in liberation.

A tower of ice was erected.

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