Transformation or Death

A Little Money and a Place to Live Tomorrow is Enough (18).

After Blue Sirius was swept away by the waves and contact was lost, the Magical Girl Headquarters quickly issued a warning about the mission’s failure.

The moment their response slows even slightly, it’s over. The residents living near the river had long been evacuated, thanks to Red Vega and Blue Sirius’s desperate efforts to slow the progression.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Even though the villains hadn’t reached the river yet, it was already flooding. Probably just being nearby was enough to be within range of its ability. While not quite tsunami-level waves, the flooding was enough to cause serious damage.

If it’s this powerful even now, what kind of disaster would occur if it reaches the river… Unicorn didn’t even want to imagine.

But now there was no choice.

Even if it meant abandoning the river and the surrounding land, preventing casualties was the top priority now. That included the magical girls.

[Red Vega, you need to get out too! Quickly!]

“J-just a moment!”

Her eyes quickly scanned the water’s surface. The poor water quality made it difficult to see what was beneath.

“Please… Please…”

The golden time hadn’t passed yet. With her magic power level, external injuries should be quite protected. The problem was breathing. She needed to save her before she lost consciousness from lack of air.

“…Huh?”

Soon, light burst forth from the silver-reflecting surface like a milky way pouring down. Streams of blue light spread widely across the muddy water that was no better than sewage, as if painting a wall.

The water flow, which had been stronger than a waterfall, slowly began to decrease. The scene was like time flowing slowly. What was flowing gradually became fixed.

“What is this…?”

Red Vega tilted her head as she watched the scene. In the center of the wave that had swept away Blue Sirius, starlight was erupting majestically like a volcano.

From that center, cracking sounds could be heard. The sound of water freezing. As the water turned azure blue, the waterway became an ice path.

The azure water spray didn’t just stay in that area but spread far and wide.

It was truly an explosion. A cold explosion that froze everything it touched. The waterway, which could have rivaled molten iron in a furnace, froze instantly. Even the water right below Red Vega’s flying feet turned to ice.

Not only that, but frost began forming on Red Vega’s legs.

“Eek!”

At this rate, she’d become a frozen magical girl. Red Vega immediately increased her flight altitude. The wider view made the world’s transformation even more apparent.

“What is happening…?”

Ice spread rapidly from beneath the water’s surface where stars were gushing like from a cornucopia. Its speed outpaced the waves and the ice looked harder than steel. A cold that could freeze even fire.

Finally, most of the flooded areas froze over. This cold even stopped the villain’s advance toward the river. Its legs were caught in the ice, unable to move.

Though surprising, this was an opportunity.

When everything seemed lost, the greatest hope bloomed.

Red Vega quickly descended. She surrounded herself with flames to prevent freezing. Even with flames raised just short of burning her own flesh, she could feel the cold. Some sparks fell to the ground as frost flowers.

But strangely, the cold decreased as she approached where the starlight was erupting. It was as if someone had artificially reduced the magic’s power in just this area.

After slightly reducing her flames’ power, she dropped into the starlight pit. About 3 meters in, she suddenly found an ice-enclosed cavity.

She found Blue Sirius at its center. Red Vega immediately ran to support her. Though standing, she seemed dazed. Like a body forced to stand just before fainting.

“Si-sister! Are you okay? Sister!”

Blue Sirius seemed to be in poor condition, breathing heavily. Her body temperature was extremely cold.

Something was strange. There were many odd things about her appearance. The magical girl outfit was different from usual.

The magical girl uniform that had looked like a knight’s formal wear was completely saturated with light, making its form barely visible.

Her hair was the same. The starlight was so strong that rather than human body parts, it looked more like masses of energy. As if her hair was drawn with neon signs.

Her whole body was a mass of starlight.

“…Can’t you control the starlight?”

She looked like the rampaging villain outside. Unable to control her own power. At this rate, she might even go berserk….

Red Vega’s hand touching her skin gradually froze. She ignited flames again to melt the ice and warm Blue Sirius’s body. Red Vega was sincerely grateful that her ability was fire.

“Vega…?”

“Oh, sister! Are you coming to your senses?”

“…Where’s Han Jae-jung?”

“What?”

“Ah, he was here until just now… Han Jae-jung was here…”

Blue Sirius mumbled while shaking her head. Her body swayed as if she was dizzy. Red Vega tried to support her, but Blue Sirius rejected her help.

“…No, it’s fine. I must have seen a hallucination.”

She pressed her throbbing head and asked Red Vega.

“What’s the situation outside?”

“R-right now, you should rest first….”

“Answer.”

Blue Sirius pressed firmly. She knew that if she didn’t do this, Red Vega wouldn’t follow her words.

“…Your magic stopped the advance. But we don’t know when they’ll move again….”

“That’s enough.”

Maybe it was because of her heart that had always been weak. Whether it was due to the burns and holding her breath underwater for so long, her condition wasn’t very good. If she let go of her tension even a little, she would collapse right there.

Yes, she would collapse. This was as good as confirmed. She had already exhausted most of her strength, and her starlight was being wasted like a broken faucet. In a few minutes, her body would become something she couldn’t maintain with willpower alone.

But it didn’t matter.

She would collapse, but not right now.

“Let’s go end this now.”

To end this commotion, and return to his side.

***

Ippotranslation 

***

Jason used his ability the moment he saw water leaking from the cracked walls and ceiling. It might have been a hasty response, but safety came first now.

This was the best solution to move both the detransformed magical girl and the untransformed Han Jae-jung simultaneously.

He didn’t know where they would end up, but he had to use it anyway.

He just hoped they wouldn’t end up underwater.

Fortunately, they arrived on the rooftop of a tall building.

“Ugh, huff, huff… I, I thought I was going to die…”

Jason, having consumed considerable strength and starlight as payment for using his ability, bent his head down and caught his breath. Then, surprised cries came simultaneously from both Han Jae-jung and White Davi.

“W-what!”

“Ahhh!”

“What now…?”

When he turned his head, there was the familiar face of a villain. A peculiar villain who used Deneb despite being from the Cassiopeia constellation. She had called herself Odette, if he remembered correctly.

Jason was relieved that she wasn’t an enemy.

“Thank goodness….”

“W-what’s so thankful! villains are my enemies! Don’t feel relieved! Mr. Park! But… What happened suddenly?”

Odette looked at Jason as if in disbelief.

“W-we just happened to come here while running away. B-but since this seems like fate… Won’t you help us?”

“With what?”

“Please help save my brother.”

“…Brother?”

Odette pointed to one spot with her finger. It was a villain standing at the top of a huge wave. It was clearly visible even from afar due to the dark starlight enveloping its entire body.

“Don’t tell me you mean that?”

“Y-yes, that’s right! That’s my brother….”

Jason felt puzzled the moment he looked at the scenery.

“…Why is it all an ice sea? Did I perhaps end up in Antarctica…?”

“How could that be possible?”

“Then why has the world become like this?”

“Wow! Greenland! So cool!”

White Davi cheered excitedly and raised her hands. But lacking the strength to get up, she remained collapsed on the ground.

The ability she used after a long time. That power which possessed other magical girls’ powers in her body severely strained it.

It was enough to make her detransform after one use. It was a miracle she even had strength left to speak.

“Blue Sirius entered Divine.”

It was Han Jae-jung who answered. For some unknown reason, unlike the other two who moved with him, snow was piled up on his head, and he was shivering from the cold.

Also, he was strangely glaring at Jason. It was like a reproach asking why he hadn’t used his ability properly.

“That’s the effect.”

“Di… vine? What’s that?”

Jason was puzzled while White Davi and Odette were shocked.

“Divine?! Sister?”

“Does this mean senior Blue has become super strong?!”

White Davi suddenly turned her head to look at Odette.

“Who are you to call senior ‘sister’?”

Han Jae-jung ignored her words and continued.

“Divine, the highest stage a magical girl can reach. It’s a term referring to a state where starlight becomes as bright as if it’s exploding every moment. The power is so overwhelmingly greater than their previous power that it’s appropriate to say they’ve been reborn, hence the name.”

The villain at the top of the wave was desperately twisting its body to move its legs trapped in ice.

“The most notable characteristic is that quality starlight bursts out from their entire body like that. Up close, you’d have to be prepared to go blind from the brightness. That thing’s state over there could be considered pseudo-divine.”

One of the characteristics of high-rank villains, villains who have completed their constellations, is that an aura in the shape of their constellation flows from their body. Every time they use their ability, their constellation faintly remains as an afterimage.

But what’s visible from that villain is just one starlight. And it’s an incredibly bright starlight at that. It’s as good as confirmed that Libra is involved in this. Probably that villain is also using pseudo-divine.

Han Jae-jung was convinced of this.

“Jason, don’t the executives in your Argo family have regenerative abilities?”

Even if it’s just a fake pseudo-divine, divine is still divine. They’ll probably break free soon.

“Y-yes. But why…?”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think we can save your brother.”

There’s no answer in the current situation. The method to completely suppress a rampaging pseudo-divine that has lost consciousness and stop its rampage…

“…Really?”

Jason asked in a disappointed tone. Han Jae-jung nodded.

“Right now, that is.”

“What do you mean…?”

“Even if we can’t save them right now, we might find an answer if we postpone it.”

There’s only one answer right now.

“Let’s put them in cryogenic sleep as they are.”

It’s Blue Sirius.

***

Ippotranslation 

***

Blue Sirius’s heart had been weak since long ago. From what she heard, she was born with weaker heart muscles than others.

Because of this, her heart was uniquely slower and quieter compared to others. Even slight stimulation could cause oxygen deficiency in her brain and make her collapse.

Intense exercise was forbidden, and even raising her voice was prohibited.

Perhaps because of this, her surroundings always required calmness and grace. External stimulation needed to be blocked as much as possible to prevent stress. There was no TV at home, and most entertainment consisted of books and puzzles.

At most, she would occasionally talk with peers brought by her parents’ friends.

Fortunately, having inherited the blood of parents who enjoyed quiet hobbies, she preferred reading books to playing with others. While playing with peers was enjoyable, calmness suited her constitution even more.

In that sense, Han Jae-jung’s appearance was extremely foreign. A decision hard to believe was made by parents who always prioritized their child. An invitation of an outsider who seemed to be a collection of external stimuli.

From their first meeting until now, Han Jae-jung had always been Yoon Seol-hwa’s stimulus.

A deviation from pastoral days of just reading books, the culprit who always made her improperly beating heart race faster. While quite harmful, it made her even happier.

-…Seol-hwa?

It happened just now too. When starlight was pouring into Yoon Seol-hwa uncontrollably and she couldn’t handle it herself, she saw his figure.

-That Jason guy… Isn’t here. Did I come alone? Should I be grateful or curse…

Han Jae-jung mumbled something in a small voice as he gradually approached her.

-I believed in you. That you could become a star.

He approached her regardless of becoming covered in ice and getting frostbite, hugged her, and calmed her down.

-So I’ll believe the second time too. Come back. Without fail.

It was a very short time, but that was enough. It was enough stimulus to prevent her from collapsing yet.

‘That was probably my delusion.’

Han Jae-jung’s appearance was likely a hallucination she saw because she missed him too much. But that was fine. It was perfect as motivation.

‘I just need to hold on a little longer….’

The consumption of starlight was the consumption of strength and overexertion of the body. While entering the divine state greatly increased the amount of starlight, it was depleting even faster. She couldn’t control it.

It felt like a newly licensed driver suddenly driving a race car. The sudden acquisition of great power came with an even greater burden. Is this what the villain’s rampage feels like?

Her heart, which had been fine until recently, started creaking again from the burden of using excessive power.

It’s hard to breathe. It’s painful. Each particle of light feels like her life. Even with willpower, it’s hard to maintain consciousness.

“… Sister?”

“I can’t collapse here. I must, must return….”

Blue Sirius recalled her determination through blurring vision. She couldn’t hear any sounds. Neither Red Vega’s worry nor the mascot’s concern. A very dangerous state. But her goal was clear.

A villain struggling atop the wave.

“If I could just defeat that thing…”

Blue Sirius held up her three swords. They too were covered in starlight, making their form hard to discern. They were heavy.

How many people could she save with this one attack?

How many people would disappear if this attack failed?

Of all times, she was incredibly annoyed at her malfunctioning heart.

The starlight blew more fiercely. Red Vega beside her fell, unable to withstand the cold.

“Just you…”

Instead of pulling its body from the ice, the villain seemed to decide to cut off its frozen legs, swinging its hand like a blade. It cut off its entire lower body.

It dropped its body onto the frozen wave. During that fall time, its severed lower body completely regenerated.

“If only you would disappear…!”

She could save Han Jae-jung.

It didn’t matter if this body was torn to pieces. If she didn’t do it now while she could maintain consciousness…

Blue Sirius was about to release the starlight gathered in her three swords.

“Stop.”

But someone grabbed and pulled her arm. When she turned her head, she saw a villain wearing green armor.

Watcher.

One of her greatest objects of hatred.

“You…?!”

“If you fire that, it won’t just destroy that thing, but the entire city.”

Blue Sirius was startled and looked behind the villain. The still-intact city was there. Just from contact with starlight, the waterways had completely frozen.

If she were to release it, it probably wouldn’t end with just half the city being destroyed.

“Even if you’ve incorporated divinity, it doesn’t mean you can control it. Yes, it’s a perfectly natural thing. But right now, that’s problematic.”

“What…?”

The Watcher continued speaking even as Blue Sirius was bewildered.

“I know you don’t like me. But listen.”

His hand was being consumed by the ice, but he didn’t let go of her.

“I’ll teach you how to control your power.”

“…!”

“Originally, we should have waited for you to figure it out on your own… But unfortunately, we don’t have time right now.”

It’s a shortcut, but there’s no choice.

It was the same in the original.

When the magical girl first obtained divinity, she failed to control it and caused great achievements but also damage. Then she collapsed and remained unconscious for a while.

Seeing that, Red Vega later learned to control divinity, but unfortunately now isn’t the time for such consideration.

Let’s have her find the joy of learning on her own in another way later.

“When you first became a magical girl, didn’t you create a transformation tool to transform? Do it exactly the same way as then. Look at your current state. Isn’t it similar to when you wrap starlight around your body just before transforming?”

“…Ah.”

“That should be enough for you to figure it out.”

Only then did the Watcher release his hand.

“I’ll hold out until you can control it. After all, that thing is an enemy I need to defeat too.”

He stepped forward. Showing only his back, he continued speaking.

“How many minutes do you need?”

“…I don’t even need minutes.”

Blue Sirius immediately gathered starlight in her hand and refined its form.

“Ten seconds is enough.”

“Alright then”

There was no word from the Belt. That must mean it’s allowing it.

The Watcher replaced parts of the Belt. A bumpy focus adjuster was attached, and a bear-shaped decoration appeared on the center lens.

[I obey my fate.]

Now that the Belt is awake, crude adjustments like before are unnecessary.

This applies not just to the existing form but also to the enhanced power.

Though there’s the drawback of shortened lifespan, the effect is certain. Power that dies the more it’s used means it’s fine if used just a little.

As the Belt puts a limit on that, it draws out the power of Ursa Major until just before it becomes a burden on the lifespan.

“I’ll play along for just ten seconds.”

[URSA MAJOR.]

Thus white lightning wrapped around his entire body. Inside the Belt’s central lens, a timer started.

[START UP.]

[0.01]

As he took his first step. Butterflies flew around him.

“Let’s go!”

“Here we go!”

“Brother, I’m coming!”

Odette, Red Vega, and Jason charged towards the villain beside him.

The time given was ten seconds. Hold the villain until then.

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