Transformation or Death

Holy Power (3)

“Me losing… This is impossible… This can’t be true….”

Behind the despair-stricken Silver Luna, Han Jae-jung checked the discomfort he felt in his body.

Something formless entered his body and became substantial.

Soon, Han Jae-jung identified the true nature of the discomfort.

A mass of loss. It was one of the many things the Scorpion had stolen.

‘Even if it’s an offshoot, it’s part of the Scorpion. Did it have something it had extorted?’

Unfortunately, it wasn’t helpful to his health. There was no need to recall memories or emotions he hadn’t experienced. It wasn’t a thoroughly private possession like lifespan or experience.

What he felt was radiance. Small particles were filling his bloodstream. Though invisible, this was definitely light.

Originally, he would get additional starlight after defeating a villain. This was due to the unique characteristics of the transformation system.

However, the starlight his body was receiving now was beyond that. No matter how strong the opponent, it was difficult to receive this much starlight.

This amount….

“…!”

Suddenly, a sharp pain wrapped around his entire body. Pain as if his entire vascular system was burned. His vision turned white, and he couldn’t even make a sound.

It was already an amount of starlight that a normal human body couldn’t handle. Moreover, an overwhelming amount of starlight was added on top of that.

Moreover, it overlapped with the aftermath of using the Big Dipper. Causing multiple side effects was somewhat inevitable

Han Jae-jung barely regained his breath and assessed the situation.

‘Just now, Paradox said there was starlight equivalent to about 30 stars inside me… So what I just stole from the Scorpion is about 15 stars.’

Though it wasn’t holding lifespan, it was holding quite a lot of starlight, and the harvest was substantial. The next time he used the Big Dipper, he might become faster and more ferocious than now.

‘And the side effects would proportionally intensify.’

But he couldn’t reduce his strength when facing a beast of the galaxy. It was truly troublesome.

‘Well, if I can just take down the main body, I can somehow recover the losses.’

It was actually a fortunate situation.

He didn’t expect to immediately recover his lifespan by defeating the offshoots. If it happened, that would be good, but there was no need to be disappointed if it didn’t. Ȑ𝘈Ɲο₿ÊṠ

This was largely due to having already lowered his expectations after seeing the magical girls struggle with the Scorpion in the original work.

“This is impossible…!!!”

“Enough. Stop.”

Han Jae-jung turned his gaze and saw Magenta Helios patting Silver Luna’s shoulder with an expressionless face.

Perhaps the most disappointed person right now. That sense of disappointment would be incomparable to Silver Luna’s.

He slowly made eye contact with Magenta Helios, who was patting her shoulder.

“Mm.”

She created a round fireball in her hand and threw it at the Watcher without hesitation.

“Wait a moment?!”

Red Vega shouted in surprise, but it was already too late.

The fireball grew larger as the distance increased, and by the time it reached the Watcher’s nose, it was almost the size of a massive rock.

He wasn’t off guard. But his body’s condition was too poor. Normally, he would have either dodged or counterattacked to break the flame, but now he couldn’t.

At that moment, the air around the fireball rippled, and its trace instantly disappeared.

“That’s enough.”

Jason, who had removed his hand from the belt, spat out in a displeased tone.

“Weren’t we just fighting together? Where’s the courtesy in this?”

“Talking about courtesy when dealing with a villain? What nonsense.”

It was a valid point. Han Jae-jung unconsciously agreed despite nearly being attacked.

“Have you ever shown us courtesy? Isn’t that right? Didn’t you first match our names when introducing yourself, villain sir?”

As expected, the reason for offending her was clear. She was irritated because he had guessed her name before she could introduce herself.

This was certainly bothersome.

“I’ve never seen someone like you during my time of activity… Where are you from? Seems like you might know something?”

“…? What are you talking about….”

Jason looked puzzled. Seeing a child around ten years old using such an aged tone was indeed awkward.

Magenta Helios’s age was not as young as she appeared.

She is the original Red Helios, from before Han Jae-jung was born.

In the original work, the Scorpius constellation’s episode was for Magenta Helios.

He had somewhat expected that she might appear when hearing the Scorpion’s name, but seeing her in reality was so surprising that his inner voice escaped.

The power of stars was truly mysterious. Someone who would be old enough to have a daughter of that age was actually standing there with such an appearance.

It is known in the world that Red Helios retired from being a magical girl and disappeared after having most of her starlight stolen by the Scorpion, but the reality is somewhat different.

What the Scorpion took from Red Helios was not just starlight, but her age.

After one battle, she became as young as a newborn, so naturally she had no choice but to retire. Moreover, due to the starlight, her body’s growth was also slowed. It took more than ten years for her to become her current self.

However, the starlight was not at a level that would help in battle. She had to break her magical girl contract and re-contract, completely retraining herself.

Right now, her light volume is only half of Red Vega’s. It was at the level of Red Vega right after meeting Han Jae-jung. In terms of magical power, she is not particularly impressive.

The reason why such a Helios not only survived but even became helpful in this place where divine and galactic powers intersect was simple.

Technique.

Among the people here, her skills are overwhelmingly superior. Not only does she maximize the small amount of starlight, but she also uses the starlight drifting in the air during battle.

The pink membrane surrounding her body. That membrane, so thin that it cannot be seen without concentration, was the core of this technique.

Like a flame that grows when there is a place to burn, if there is starlight nearby that can be affected by magic, she makes it a part of her own starlight.

This membrane is both a filter and kindling. Magic passing through the membrane becomes easy to interfere with starlight, and it can absorb starlight flowing in the air to increase its size.

Since the magic she uses is fire, which is easy to convert, it is a versatile technique.

“Amaterasu.”

As Magenta Helios chanted the spell, a massive fireball rose beneath her feet. The fireball writhed and then took on a form. It was like a giant with only an upper body.

Creating a perfectly stable form from unstable fire and controlling it. Even Watcher, who handles multiple powers, knew how difficult this was.

From a small body to a fire giant allowing wide activity. Indeed, her magical application was something no other magical girl could match.

‘She was originally supposed to be in more recovery. Is she responding quickly because the Scorpion is moving quickly?’

Her identity is top secret even in Japan. Probably only a very small number of magical girls know this fact.

The fact that they sent her all the way to Korea suggests they really wanted to kill the Scorpion.

‘As expected, she knows the secret of their loss.’

What is lost can be regained. For her, who has lost time and power, this would be news that would make her eyes spin.

So, as soon as she heard the news that the hard-to-find Scorpion was found, she must have moved her precious feet to this foreign country.

It’s natural to be furious, having her long-sought Scorpion snatched away before her eyes. And to see and immediately recognize her own name, which she would normally not know.

It’s not strange to judge her as dangerous.

“What joint operation? I just cooperated to weaken the Scorpion. I didn’t expect Luna to fail on the last blow….”

“Uuuu….”

As Magenta Helios sighed, Silver Luna flinched.

“What should I do with you? In fact, I’ve already decided. I’ve become quite curious about your identity, having noticed my true nature and seemingly holding a grudge against the Scorpion.”

“You’re quite the chatterbox.”

“It’s because this voice is uncomfortable. I’m getting tired of talking.”

Magenta Helios gathered a fireball in her hand, just like before. The giant supporting her also had identical, but much larger fireballs in both hands.

“So, speak up about what you know.”

Swish-! Just like before, the fireballs grew larger over time. The trajectories of the three fireballs complemented each other, eliminating any blind spots.

Counteraction was all that could be done, but unfortunately, that was impossible. Her body was still quite stiff.

Therefore, she trusted the collaborator beside her.

If they were somewhat of a strange being, they would be worth something

“Ugh… This is seriously intense….”@@novelbin@@

Jason complained while shaking the oar attached to his belt. Once again, the space around them rippled, and the fireballs disappeared.

Boom-! Suddenly, a large explosion was heard from somewhere. It seemed to have fallen nearby.

“Oh, oh… Okay, it worked.”

“What did?”

“My ability! When I imagined the scenery around here, it happened as I wanted! Your guess was correct! My ability is not just about making people get lost….”

“Yeah, congratulations.”

Watcher roughly answered and pushed Jason behind her. Then she swung her fist and shattered the incoming ice fragments.

“Weren’t we fine until just now?”

“Didn’t you say it was a temporary joint operation?”

“How typical of you, I like it.”

“Really? I really hate you.”

With Magenta Helios alone being overwhelming, Blue Sirius also joined the battle.

Fortunately, her body was now somewhat loosened. She knew that immediately overexerting a recovered body was not good. Thinking about the aftermath that would follow after releasing her transformation was scary, but now was not the time to worry about that.

The problem was that it didn’t end with Blue Sirius.

“Huh, huhuhuh… I never expected to experience such humiliation….”

Silver Luna staggered to her feet. This was a bit troublesome. No, it was very troublesome.

She was still in her divine state.

“But this is also an opportunity. If I defeat you who took down the Scorpion, it would prove that I’m stronger than the Scorpion! In the end, I’ll become the protagonist of this battle! Oh my? As expected, I might be a genius…!”

It would have been amusing if they had met privately. Now, she couldn’t dismiss such nonsensical words as a joke.

Silver Luna took a step forward.

“Yellow! Cover me!”

Chikchik-!!! The ground where she was standing split wildly. Silver Luna instantly approached right in front of her. Watcher’s face filled Silver Luna’s eyes, and she raised her fist. The fist was so brilliant it was like seeing a small moon.

It was similar to the fear she felt from the Scorpion just before. Truly overwhelming physical prowess.

Around Silver Luna, yellow trajectories were approaching, bending at right angles. These were Yellow Castor’s bullets.

Preparing for his hand to be crushed, Watcher raised his fist to match. He would take the bullets. Dodging would mean Jason behind him would die.

‘Why do I have to care about these guys.’

He was supposed to be a guardian.

Now that the closest to the strongest guardian was trying to kill him, he had no choice.

“Come on, make me stand out! Villain!”

“The villains I’ve killed exceed your age….”

“Hey, idiot! Duck!”

Watcher reflexively ducked his head. An arrow passed over his head. It precisely collided with Silver Luna’s fist.

A butterfly flew beside the arrow. It touched all the approaching bullets and turned their entire trajectories to nothing.

“This…!”

[SET. Reverse Star.]

Watcher raised his fist again and drove it into the arrow. Like a hammer driving a nail, to apply a bit more force. He poured all the strength he could currently use.

Dong-! With a sound like a bell ringing, a shockwave erupted and Silver Luna, Watcher, and Jason were thrown in opposite directions.

The arrow broke.

“Use a sturdier one.”

“This is the sturdiest one I have, you idiot.”

Watcher rolled on the ground and looked up, grumbling.

A battered Archer and Odette welcomed him.

“Looks worse than me. Did you fight a galaxy?”

“Brother… No, Watcher, you try fighting that thing. See if you can even speak.”

As Odette extended her hand, Watcher used it as support to stand up. The Archer lifted Jason like a sack of rice.

“No reason to stay here, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Let’s immediately flee.”

As the Archer signaled, Odette brought out the butterfly again

“W-where are you trying to escape….”

“Luna. Enough. Further divine power usage is problematic.”

As Silver Luna tried to charge, Magenta Helios stopped her. Allowing the enemy’s retreat was painful, but prolonging the confrontation here would yield no benefits.

She ground her teeth, thinking she should have taken care of the two openings just moments ago.

Magical power consumption was extreme. She had spent too much during the previous fight with the robe-wearing villain.

The reason for her anger was not just that.

The face glimpsed beyond the robe during the fight and that great swordsmanship. There was no mistake.

“That senior villain is still interfering….”

The ghost of the past was still alive and interfering with people. Magenta Helios burned with anger towards the past senior who had abandoned people.

The fact that this was someone she once respected made her feel disgusted with herself.

Suppressing her anger, Magenta Helios strongly glared at the enemies. Next time they meet, she would definitely make them confess how they knew her name.

While glaring at them, she discovered a familiar villain.

A peculiar iron ball worn at the waist. Though rusted, that armor was unmistakable. That was….

“…Kimu?”

“What? Me?”

That was all. Before Magenta Helios could organize her thoughts, they had disappeared.

“Wait a moment! Yellow! Chase after them…!”

“I told you to stop for today….”

While restraining Silver Luna, Magenta Helios couldn’t hide her regret.

Familiar faces were not just one or two.

It seemed the ghosts of the past were not just her own.

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