Transformation or Death

Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – 

The First Kick

It’s uncomfortable. 

I exhaled a long breath and inhaled again. It was a helmet without any air vents, but strangely, there was no problem with breathing. The field of vision was good and there was no discomfort in moving around.

I had drifted quite far from my own body by even transforming, but it was comfortable to an odd degree.

What was uncomfortable was not my body, but my mind.

A magical girl. Of course, I wanted to meet one. Since she was a character from a webtoon I used to like, even if it ends stupidly.

But why now of all times?

“It must have been a battle between villains… Thankfully, no civilians seem to have gotten involved.”

If that’s how it is, then that’s how it is.

If you showed up at the scene of a terrorism report wearing a bomb vest, it would indeed be freedom of expression and avant-garde fashion.

With the outfit I’m wearing, what makes her think I’m a civilian to protect?

I opened and closed my fists a few times in tension. No sweat was dripping, but I felt somewhat damp. Ah, it wasn’t sweat, it was blood. I had just killed a villain. 

‘I’m going crazy.’

The light that took the form of a human.

That was my first impression when I saw the magical girl.

My next impression was far simpler and more primal.

Beautiful.

A white dress. Red ribbons adorning the fluttering frills as accents. Hair flowing softly in two parts, no less than the ribbons.

I should have thought it childish, but her appearance and aura were so outstanding that even such an outfit suited her completely.

“If there are no civilians, then that’s good for me.”

Her name is Red Vega.

She hasn’t been a magical girl for very long, but with her unique potential, she has been steadily building accomplishments one after another.

As I had seen in the news article from the PC cafe, she is a rising star full of promise. 

The protagonist of the magical girl golden age.

“Get ready!”

As she braced herself in a combat stance, an invisible fighting spirit and power to match it emanated from her.

A red starlight. An aura the color of ruby that seemed to manifest the flame of the soul rippled around her like waves.

It was exactly as I had seen it in the webtoon. It should have been a situation worth rejoicing over, but I couldn’t feel any joy at all.

Her fighting spirit was different from the villain I had just seen.  

Beyond ferocity, there was a reason.

A distinct fighting spirit, forged neatly.  

It felt like my body was being weighed down. This was a threat that even my transformed body could not easily handle. So this is a magical girl. I can somewhat understand why villains would feel fear.

I wanted to be on the side of the civilians…

[If combat does not begin within 3 minutes, it will be judged as non-compliance with the quest.]

Dismissing my thoughts lightly, a voice flowed out from my belt.

[The price will be enforced.]  

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Alright, got it. I have to fight. I know I have to fight.

But still holding out hope, I addressed the magical girl. “Hey.”

“?!”

She seemed surprised that I had spoken to her.

Surprised? Yeah, I’ve had a lot of surprises today too.

The first step in getting friendly with someone is establishing rapport. After building that internal intimacy, I spoke again.

The belt said ‘incapacitate’, not ‘kill’. If I just incapacitate her, couldn’t the quest be completed without combat and my life spared?

It was a persuasion attempt stemming from that idea.

The content was none other than a recommendation to surrender. “I earnestly ask, could you please surrender? If not, it’ll be a bit troublesome for me…”

“…Confirming language usage.”

I spoke to clear up the misunderstanding but it seems I only deepened the misunderstanding further.

“Subject classified as S-grade villain.”

Damn it.

Bang—!

She charged at me without hesitation. Following Red Vega’s movement, red threads seemed to be drawn. A straight line.

Around the fist she gripped, a ring of red light hovered like a halo.

One path. Sound of fire (Hwaaum).

The fist cloaked in magic power drew a straight line without the slightest wavering. It was such an intense and swift strike that it seemed like that’s what a roaring flame would look like.

“I will do my best to restrain you!”  

Without a moment of hesitation, she thrust her fist with full force.

Kwaaang!!!

Amidst a booming sound as if an explosion occurred, smoke rose from the friction heat.

It was the mark of her fist being horizontally blocked by my hand. It did force me to stagger back three steps, but unfortunately, no noticeable damage was inflicted.

“Im, impossible…”

Of course, it was threatening. Momentarily, I even felt the terror of death.

But compared to the magnitude of the threat…

“Weak.”

“…!”

I was surprisingly unable to feel any pain. If I had been more accustomed to such fighting spirit, I definitely wouldn’t have felt any fear at all.

Red Vega fell back and retrieved her blocked fist from my stomach. That, too, failed to inflict any substantial impact. In my personal judgment, the sensation was similar to playfully shoving a friend.

It’s unreasonable.

That’s what I thought as I blocked her strike.

The lack of damage is unbelievable.  

This was definitely due to the number of stars I possess.

I have seven stars, while she only has one – Vega.

No matter how much of a newcomer she is, she must have accumulated far more experience and effort than me, who had just transformed. For such a gap to exist solely due to the difference in the number of stars.

I even felt a sense of guilt.

However, pity from those in possession is mere hypocrisy.

The misunderstanding had already gone too far to be resolved.

To spare her further humiliation, even if just a little, I decided to incapacitate her as quickly as possible.

There was also the selfish desire to get out of this uncomfortable situation as soon as possible, but it was negligible compared to the guilt. Probably.

“Don’t take it as humiliation. It’s only natural.”

How could a newcomer make up for a six-star difference? If they could, they wouldn’t be a newcomer, but a god. In the world of combat, physical differences are a cruel reality.

After offering words of consolation to the still flustered Red Vega, I took my stance.

The strongest technique that the belt had imprinted in my mind. To recreate it.

[SET. Bogak (Seven Star Step Kick).]  

I dashed forward, stomping the ground. It would only take one step to reach Red Vega, but I intentionally broke the steps down as I approached.

Bang!

An explosive sound rang out with each step.

That explosive sound rang out seven times.  

With each explosive sound, a ring of sinister green light materialized on my leg.

Seven such rings manifested on my leg.

The leg that absorbed seven steps and seven explosions glowed as if about to burst at any moment.

Lifting that leg scorching hotly like sulfur flames.

Ppeoreng—!

I thrust it straight at Red Vega. A true explosion occurred, not just an explosive sound.

Bogak (Seven Star Step Kick).

Seven steps, seven stars.

Condensing the power of one star into each step, then unleashing it in a final explosion.

An ultimate technique, but I had no intention of killing. I never had the means to kill in the first place.  

[Bogak (Seven Star Step Kick) manifestation successful. Reenactment rate 20%.]

When we talk about kicks in superhero transformations, it’s an iconic technique.  

And to think the first time I used such a technique was against a magical girl.

Come to think of it, there’s been no other such absurdity.

Glittering fragments of light like fireflies scattered from Red Vega as she was sent flying into the air. It was the process of the magic power that had been protecting her from dissipating.

“Ugh.”

Thud.

The powerless Red Vega rolled across the ground and let out a small groan. 

“Ugh… Hack, hack…” With a few coughing sounds, she expelled the air in her lungs, simultaneously releasing the magic power from her body.

Transformation dispelled.

To prevent the user from overdoing it, the transformation automatically deactivated.  

[Successfully incapacitated the magical girl.]

Stripped of her light, the magical girl became just a girl. A fresh face of a girl around twenty years old. That was the truth of the magical girl.  

That such young girls have to risk their lives protecting others… This is just…

“Pitiful.”

It’s pitiful.

While such unethical child labor is the core and original sin of boyish comics.

As Red Vega slowly closed her eyes, I averted my gaze and fled from that place.

Damn it.

‘I survived!’

At least I survived tonight.

***

Ippotranslation

***

Survive you, damn it.

[Villain defeated.]

It wasn’t until after I incapacitated three more villains that the belt finally fell silent. 

“Aaargh…” Letting out a vacant roar like a zombie, I dispelled my transformation.

Only then did the refreshing morning air greet me. A distinct watery scent in the morning air.

That’s right. It’s morning.  

This crazy belt has worked me to exhaustion until morning. I couldn’t sleep a wink.

“You bastard… At least pay me overtime…”

With the transformation dispelled, the belt reverted back to a metal ball. Still, it continued hovering around me instead of flying away.

“Shoo, shoo! Begone! I’m never transforming again, so please just go away!”

If they’re not even paying, why should I do this?

[Unable to comply.]

But this belt (I decided to call it that, even in its metal ball form) wouldn’t leave so easily.

[The contract was enacted by the will of the Guardian. Retraction is impossible.]

“But I’m saying it wasn’t me…”

Han Jae-jung, what on earth did you do before dying? Why did you associate with this brat? You were careful about fraudulent contracts, right? So why am I now being treated like a slave?

“What do I do now…”

If I had only killed villains, there might have been a way to survive, but I went and attacked a magical girl too. Now I’m an unpardonable criminal.  

Fortunately, no one witnessed my transformation, but the moment I’m caught, it’s straight to the slammer. 

And once I’m in the slammer, this damn belt will probably spout nonsense like ‘Transform!’ and urge me into escaping if I don’t want to die.

The realization I gained from tonight’s ordeal is that this damn belt will force me to transform whenever villains are detected nearby, without any consideration for my circumstances.

The future looks bleak. Rather than worry about the future of this world, I need to worry about my own well-being.

I finally had the chance to meet my beloved characters…

“Is this what possession is really like…?”

Strange. The protagonists I saw in web novels were able to make the world revolve around them as they pleased? They attained all sorts of fateful encounters, made a lot of money, built connections, and so on. But why is it not the case for me?

“Well, at least I’m alive…”

Come to think of it, gaining the power to survive against villains could be considered a fateful encounter. I let out a deep sigh and chuckled.

Stopping my grumbling, I stood up from where I had been sitting. 

After circling around the city, I ended up back near the motel I had started from.

Cold, hungry, sleepy. With barely any money left. A true beggar. Able to kill villains but unable to resist this capitalist society – feeling skeptical about my predicament, I moved my feet forward.

For now, I’ll return to the motel room I was staying in. I even have the key. I don’t know if 30,000 won will be enough for accommodation, but I can always try to get credit later.

‘Let me just sleep…’

When hungry, the best solution is to not move. Dragging my weary body, I headed back to the starting point.

And then.

“You must be Mr. Han Jae-jung, right?”

“Oh, this ain’t it.”

As soon as I entered the motel, I ended up meeting the police.

Shit.