Transformation or Death

Chapter 39

Let’s be friends (7)

“The compass… position?” 

What appeared before his eyes was a bizarre being brimming with a brilliant radiance. The constellation briefly seen when canceling his transformation, it was undoubtedly the compass.

“Fear not, my comrade! I have arrived!”

Comrade, what nonsense is that?

The compass villain foolishly danced toward the beast villain standing before me. 

The black armor, arrows on both shoulders pointing in opposite directions, the diamond-shaped metal piece in the center indicating north and south, and characters decorating his body displaying the cardinal directions – unmistakable compass features.

He wore a cape reminiscent of a ship’s sail on his back.

Around his waist was a peculiar belt design. 

Completely different from the Watcher’s, but judging by the similar body and design, it seemed to be part of the villain’s body.

Appearing between a robot, a transforming hero, and a villain, the typical look of an S-grade villain.

Two bizarre beings and a human soon to become one had gathered on the street at night.  

A terrifying sight if any passersby had witnessed it. Fortunately, there were none in this area.

“Huaaah!”

Letting out an overly dramatic voice, the compass tore off the metal piece attached to his chest and flung it like a badge.

Next, he grabbed the arrows on both shoulders and threw them like badges too.

His skills were pathetic. The haphazardly scattered badges couldn’t even graze the beast villain, merely flailing about in the air.

“What are you doing?”

“Oh no! You evaded them! You are a nimble one indeed!”  

“It looks more like you just missed hitting your target.”

“But does not a hero require a crisis?” 

Are all bizarre beings this crazy? Well, I suppose that’s why they’re called villains, not humans.

“Now I shall overcome this crisis!”

The compass villain grabbed his belt. More precisely, he placed his hands on the circular center and the attached handle.  

Moving it back and forth like rowing a boat, the drifting compass badge-like projectiles straightened up, all pointing in the same direction.

Toward the beast villain.

As he continued moving the belt’s handle, the badges’ alignment became steadier.

Shick!

The projectiles slicing through the empty sky instantly tore into the beast’s fur. The badges quickly returned to the compass villain after drifting off again.  

The two arrows reattached to his shoulders, and he caught the chest piece in his hand.

“This is overcoming adversity! Even if losing my way, I find my path again, the form of a true hero! Trials may stagger me briefly, but never make me falter!”

The beast was still not dead. Bleeding profusely, it let out an enraged roar, seemingly angered by its injuries.

-Kuaaak!!!

“Oh my, was my display that impressive? Please wait a moment, for I am not yet…”

“Done screwing around.”

[ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATION.]

[THE BIG DIPPER.] 

[ORIGIN.]

After swiftly completing the transformation, he spun the dial.

[MERAK.]

The star in the Constellation Bear, Merak.

As Merak’s voice rang out, the central circle turned copper and rotated, illuminating the second star in the Big Dipper-shaped scarf.   

The belt displayed an enlarged star as well, and a long rifle called Bear appeared in his hand.

Following the belt’s aiming assist, he moved his body and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

The bullet fired with pinpoint accuracy.

Bang!

Accompanied by a crisp gunshot, a stream of starlight in the shape of the Big Dipper swept the enemies before him.

“Krak?!”

“Oh, what are you doing now?”

Nimbly stepping back, he maintained the increasing distance without wavering his aim.  

He pulled the trigger once more.

The compass villain.

One of the bizarre beings that attacked alongside Virgo, Pegasus, and Gemini that night. 

Still, calling me his comrade was rather laughable.

Maintaining the current distance, he continued firing. Who knows if this weirdo would later ambush others like he did to him?

Though insignificant in appearance, he was undoubtedly an S-grade villain, not easily handled unless you were Blue Sirius-level.   

It was right to deal with him here and now.  

With little skill and poor character, the only assistance he could provide was this.   

“Hey, wait a minute!”

Bang! Bang!

Amidst the quiet gunshots ringing in his ears, he realized something.

‘Why am I pulling the trigger without hesitation?’  

For an ordinary person with a shred of compassion, they would waver even when striking an animal.

The same would apply even if it were an act of self-defense against an attack.  

There should be some reluctance after reflexively defending oneself.  

This wasn’t even self-defense, but closer to a preemptive strike.  

Yet he felt no hesitation.

‘Not quite accustomed to it…’  

One fears their own power, then acts.

This process is inevitable. 

Ample contemplation precedes designating someone as an enemy.  

However, when using violence against a designated enemy, there is no fear.  

More broadly.

‘I feel unusually little reluctance toward violence with a purpose.’  

Just like a villain.  

He had discovered one of the side-effects of his transformation.  

A desensitization toward violence.  

No qualms about resorting to violence as a means to an end.  

Abandoning the merits of dialogue, violence, the most primal, barbaric, and irrational approach, could easily become the solution.

That’s how he could commit such acts while transformed.  

That’s why he could entertain the foolish notion of guiding someone with his fists.  

He ethically recognizes evil deeds, but his body feels little aversion, even knowing it’s the shortest path to his ideals. He loses any reason to refrain.  

In hindsight, it was strange from the start.  

The first quest received after transforming:

‘Defeat the magical girl ahead.’

Simply because death frightened him, he could strike a total stranger, a young child?  

Impossible.  

Although not terribly long ago, he vividly remembers that memory.  

It was too calm an act of violence to be lashing out in a panicked state.   

‘My ethical restraints weaken if it serves a purpose.’

Particularly when transformed, but even after reverting, that sensation lingers, allowing him to maintain his senses.  

This time, the aversion was unusually strong, overriding that mental firewall.

Thinking back, it wasn’t much different from his previous actions.  

Considering this transformation’s purpose, it could be seen as a form of mental reprogramming, not entirely negative.  

If he felt reluctance every time he used violence, it would greatly hinder achieving his ideals.

Yet, he cannot view it positively either.

If things continued like this, it was clear as day that I would become a villain using the magical girls for my own twisted desires.

‘…Wait, but why do the quests to attack the magical girls only appear for Red Bega?’ 

The other magical girl-related quests were things like run away, etc.

Why specifically for that protagonist?

At that moment, one possibility flashed through my mind.  

Quests are a kind of future prediction.

This must be true. Many times before, they had predicted the locations of the villains, the magical girls’ locations, and their actions in advance.

They also serve as a guide for actions to achieve my desires. 

Quests are like a map showing what needs to be done now to realize those desires.

The reason for using excessive violence against Red Bega was to instill fear in her.

Among the magical girls, she is abnormally proud and self-respecting. At a young age, she has already been idealized into the role of a magical girl, something that should not be completed. Because of this, she does not hesitate to risk her life.

In the original story, she faced near-death experiences many times, with the sacrifices of her seniors following each time.  

Overcoming those many crises and sacrifices, she eventually became the hero she desired.

To put it nicely, it was fated. To put it badly, she was extremely lucky.

If her luck had been even slightly worse, she would have died.

In this world, with the variable of Watcher interfering, the activities of the villains have completely changed from the world I knew.

In other words….

‘Red Bega will soon face a life-threatening crisis.’

A crisis that even Watcher cannot handle.

Perhaps her seniors will also be unable to come.

A huge crisis that she must face alone.

Thinking that way, the intense attack quests focused on her made sense. 

Of course, even considering that, the quests being so brutally difficult were not normal.

Does having a reason justify any evil act?

That’s ridiculous talk.

‘Next time, let’s see if I listen to this bastard.’

If I’m even slightly unsatisfied, I’ll disobey right away. If it wants to kill me, then let it try.

The extermination of villains that was supposed to clear my head only made it more cluttered instead. The guilt kept welling up endlessly.  

Gritting my teeth, I kept pulling the trigger fervently.

I realized how dangerous it is to become desensitized to violence, but my actions did not change.

I have no pity for the villains. They’ve already killed and harmed so many people, so what pity is there to have? Might as well eat shit.

“Ah, wait a second!!”  

The beast villain had already died and turned to flames, leaving only its compass behind. I kept pulling the trigger.

The Bear’s attack power is strong enough to leave dents in the armor of a decent S-grade villain.

At that level, each individual shot may not be extremely powerful, but combined they become quite strong.  

More importantly, it excels at throwing enemies off balance.

It’s useful for rattling them so a fatal blow can be landed.

Of course, if I’m just rapid-firing without gathering starlight, it won’t be fatal.

“Kwaaahh!!!”

It seemed those shots were fatal for that compass, though.

Weak.

That simple thought came to me.

Was it a low-ranking S-grade villain that didn’t even appear in the original work? Compared to the ones I’ve faced so far, it was far too weak.

“Hey comrade! That’s enough! This prank has gone too far… Kwaaahh!”

It seemed I could kill it even without using any special techniques.

The barrage of shots in the shape of the Big Dipper rushed towards it again.

The compass raised its hand to its belt, just like when it moved the marker earlier. As it furiously turned the handle, the barrage heading towards it changed directions randomly.

“So it’s not just its own projectiles it can control…”

“That’s right. My ability is to make things lose their sense of direction. Now you understand? Put down that terrible gun…”

[DUBHE]

If clear, aimed attacks won’t work, then I’ll just have to unleash widespread attacks.

I summoned Dubhe, one of the strongest stars I have which specializes in wide-ranging lightning attacks. The Bear disappeared and instead a pair of Claws were equipped on both hands.

“No, what on earth is your problem! We’re on the same side, aren’t we? Hieek! Ah, wait… Umm.”

Seeing me raise the Claws, the compass flinched. It quickly regained its composure and pointed at the belt with its finger. Not its own, but Watcher’s belt.

“Th-that belt… it’s really cool. Yeah, that’s it. Is it the latest trend these days?”

The content was too poor to listen to. I gathered lightning into the Claws.  

But this lightning would not fall.

“I saw Bo wearing something similar…”

Because the compass’s next words scattered it.

“What?”

“Oh, ohh… so you’ve finally decided to talk, comrade?”

“Cut the nonsense. You saw something similar to my belt?”  

“Yes. I saw Bo… that is, Boötes, carrying the same thing.”

The villain of the Herdsman constellation is currently carrying something identical to this belt.  

That news was enough to eliminate my will to attack and replace it with curiosity.

“Comrade… Wasn’t that too much? Suddenly attacking like that.”

“Quit the bullshit. Why would I be your comrade?”

“You’re saying such obvious things.”

The compass said confidently.

“Just like me, you’ve completed a constellation, but you’re a villain without a purpose, aren’t you?” 

It seemed to be seriously delusional.

“Listen… As you saw before I transformed, I’m human. And I do have a purpose.”

“…What?”  

“Just as I said. Otherwise,”

“No! That can’t be!!”

The compass shouted in a completely different tone than before.

“I can accept you being human… but a purpose? A purpose! There’s no way my comrade could have one! If not, then I… I…”

It was utter despair. The compass kept spewing that denying energy.

“Then all my efforts to turn my comrade into a villain… what does it amount to…”

In the end, the villain grabbed its own head and shook it like a madman. The mutterings at the end of that madness were incomprehensible.  

“You’re saying you deliberately turned me into a villain? For what purpose? Hey, you!”

“Ahh… ahh…”

It swayed dizzily, unable to find its direction like the compass it was named after.

“Ahh… ahhhh!!!!”  

The arrows attached to it spun madly. Looking like the orbit of a star, or a ship lost in a raging current.

I reached out my hand to stop its madness.

And then my vision changed completely.  

The dirty back alley I had been in disappeared, and I was thrown somewhere in the city center lined with closed shops due to the night.

I had lost my way in an instant.  

So this is what its direction-losing ability entailed.

“…I’ll get lost then.”

An unpleasant day had dawned.

***

Ippotranslation

***

With an uneasy heart, Pink Deneb headed towards the hospital room. 

It wasn’t the room she and Blue Sirius used.

It was for the newcomer who had just been admitted to the hospital yesterday.  

Though they were in the same hospital situation, she was especially worried about this one.

The tragedy she had suffered yesterday.

Coming back from the brink of death was something any magical girl experienced, but being defeated so humiliatingly was not common.

Having experienced such a disgraceful defeat herself, Pink Deneb knew she couldn’t casually offer words of consolation. 

After agonizing over how to console her, she finally made her way there.

“This is probably the first time you’ve been beaten up that badly.”

[In situations like this, shouldn’t you speak a bit more nicely?]

“Shut it, Sparrow.”

[I’m a swan!]

“Yeah, a Sparrow.”

Giving her mascot a curt reply, she opened the junior’s hospital room door.

“Hey, you okay?”

It was a carefully considered expression of delicate concern. The girl’s eyes in the room turned towards her.

But there was more than one pair.

“Oh my gosh!”

“Oh! You want some too? It’s delicious!” 

Red Bega was seen stuffing her mouth full of macarons, while White Davi was peeling and feeding them to her.

It seemed Red Bega was trying to say ‘Senior! You’re here!’.

When the macaron box was emptied, White Davi swiftly took out the next dessert box.

“Now next is~ the deluxe white chocolate vanilla strawberry GIANT scone~~!!! Let’s munch it up, my Virgo buddy! Say ahhh~”

“Ahhh~”

She seemed much more composed than expected. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to gorge on desserts from the morning like this. Seeing the crumbs scattering over the bed, Pink Deneb was aghast.

“You’re getting crumbs everywhere, you brats! Eat over a plate! Are you going to lick that up?!” 

The first skinship she initiated was smacking their backs.

/ippostranslations