Transformation or Death-Chapter 194

Between Names (6)

At the same time, Jason had successfully escaped from Botis’s Goldilocks zone.

“Brother has returned!”

“We believed in you!”

“Welcome back!”

“Brother is a hero!”

However, as he was about to return to reality, September was holding onto him, so he ended up on September’s ship upon his return.

“…I didn’t do anything, you idiots.”

September stopped their cheers and regained control of the ship, skillfully resuming command.

“You guys with bulging eyes! Keep watch of the front and raise the anchors! And you smelly guys! Start aiming the cannons! What were you doing while I was gone?!”

With his appearance, the ship began moving forward again. Massive cannonballs poured out of the previously stationary cannons like rain, and smoke rose from the chimney, creating a trajectory of sound.

“Brother… No, September. Why did you bring me along suddenly?”

Jason carefully observed the atmosphere inside the ship. Some gazes were not friendly.

‘Why is a traitor here?’

Looks that seemed to be protesting.

Although his appearance had changed, they could quickly recognize that he was still a member of the Argo Family.

“Huh? We’re just helping each other out. Why are you so concerned? Right. This is their first time seeing me like this. Wow, I went through hell.”

As September’s voice was heard, they quickly averted their eyes and returned to their tasks.

“I went through all kinds of hardships to unify these kids from different nations and races. Well, it worked out in the end, and they look like this.”

Synchronization.

A spiritual value most important in the Argo Family, alongside challenge.

The more similar the thoughts and emotions of the group members, the higher the synchronization rate, and they can share each other’s strength. Emotional synchronization leads to physical synchronization.

September is also a member of the Argo Family. Most of their changes originated from his power.

Now, the Argo Family looks like a terrible form with wooden planks growing on human skin. Their grotesque appearance, not much different from villains, was like a symbol of how monstrous their hearts had become.

The amount of starlight had increased incomparably to a few months ago.

September was the same. As the number of organization members increased, his power had grown massive.

Instead of changing his right arm into a cannon, he could now create such a huge battleship.

“Alright! Don’t think about useless things and just move forward.”

A great challenge had begun.

Without a single complaint, the organization members rowed in perfect unison, firing cannons and advancing forward.

“…Brother.”

Although September had cut off their brotherhood, the title still remained on his lips. Due to that familiarity, Jason still called him brother.

“What… Are we doing right now?”

“What do you mean? It’s a great challenge!”

September answered nonchalantly. The ship continued to move forward.

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Nothing in the infinite sky could stop them, except for one massive beast.

The Scorpion, holding a lance like a knight, let out a high-frequency roar in the void.

Splat.

With the roar, a sticky liquid-like substance poured from the lance. They fell like heavy rain, wetting the ground, and from the now-dirty ground, the Scorpion’s form appeared.

An appearance as if a Scorpion, now a knight, had been reduced to human size.

Those who understood the Scorpion’s habits realized it was a clone.

Clones began wandering the ground below, while the Scorpion dominated the sky above. He swung his lance again.

This time, the flame and ice, bushes and lightning, rain and sunlight that had been shown in the abyss earlier fell to the world.

Perhaps stimulated by their near-death experience, his attitude was much more aggressive than before.

“Heh, quite a flashy performance.”

September moved his hand heavily and quickly, like an extreme conductor.

Then, the crew members shooting cannons on both sides began to fall simultaneously.

Those who fell got up without a single wound and rushed towards the clone.

It looked like pirates about to plunder. Even though their numbers had instantly been reduced, not a single organization member panicked.

As the Scorpion and ship drew closer, the crew operating the diagonal cannons began to fall next.

The ship did not stop. In fact, it was getting faster.

The same happened next, and the next time after that.

In the end, only one person operating the central cannon and one rowing remained, with all others having fallen to the ground.

The ship and the Scorpion were now completely close. The Scorpion was preparing to thrust its lance.

“Accelerate!”

With September’s command, the ship began to super-accelerate. It escaped the range of the lance and flew towards the Scorpion’s center.

The acceleration showed no signs of stopping, and starlight was concentrating inside the central cannon’s barrel.

“Brother, this is… This is like…”

Jason couldn’t finish his sentence. More precisely, he was pondering how to emphasize the words he was about to say.

“…A suicide attack?”

But the words that came out were exactly what he had first thought.

“No, it’s different.”

Jason had to think. All villains are crazy.

Here are those who have identified themselves with that villain.

“What meaning would a challenge have if we don’t stake our lives!”

Naturally, he thought their method of action would be crazy.

Boom!! The ship crashed into the Scorpion’s center. The Scorpion didn’t even stumble. They weren’t aiming for that anyway. In fact, if its center were to be destabilized, it would be more problematic for them.

“Full firepower! Concentrate on the center!!”

All starlight gathered at the central cannon.

“No, brother, wai-…”

“Fire!”

***

Ippotranslation

***

Boom-!!!

The Archer clicked his tongue, seemingly annoyed by the cannon fire from the sky.

“Damn, so noisy….”

Anyway, it’s an attack that won’t properly hit. In fact, using cannonballs at close range might cause more damage to himself. What good would it do against the Scorpion’s sturdy body?

Chewing on jerky, he muttered.

“A brat…? Shameless…?!”

The Archer grumbled, ruminating on Jason’s words.

He wanted to refute something, but no counterargument came to mind. This only fueled the Archer’s anger more.

Having to accept that his logic was wrong – how humiliating and embarrassing. That’s why most people tend to subtly distort their opinions to achieve a mental victory rather than admitting they’re wrong.

“What can I do? This is my dream! Isn’t it stranger to ignore my dream?”

Of course, statements made during such a rationalization process tend to have many logical gaps, which others could easily point out if they heard them.

Unfortunately, when achieving mental victories, there are usually no people around. This is how fools who mistake themselves for being logical are created.

“Yes, I’m not strange!”

The Archer was exactly like that.

Such mental rationalization often occurs during puberty. Usually, it involves blaming society for one’s rebellion.

The Archer was in a similar state. Unable to admit his mistakes, with an inflated ego but many weaknesses, a villain of self-consciousness that others would find utterly trivial – an immature state where lack of life experience makes one believe only their thoughts are correct.

He was experiencing his second spring.

“Damn, what’s wrong with me!”

The Archer shouted, rolling his eyes.

His miracle was his eyes. He could see what others couldn’t, penetrate obstacles, and distinguish sounds, wavelengths, and even smells and temperatures. The ultimate vision that even the most advanced technology couldn’t create.

Abilities are based on a villain’s ideology and identity.

In other words, they are rooted in essence.

Han Jae-jung speculated why, among numerous other abilities, the Archer’s miracle became his eyes.

‘There must have been something he wanted to see.’

The Archer also trusted this hypothesis. However, until now, he hadn’t found what he wanted to see.

Until ‘now’.

Yes, the Archer now was certain of what he wanted to see.

“A world where only the right people have power…!”

When he first saw Sky Polaris, his initial motivation was simple.

At first, it was like that. He seemed to admire it. But that admiration was short-lived. He realized the obvious fact that a man cannot become a magical girl.

After that, admiration transformed into a new emotion. Removing the desire to shine, he filled that void with something new.

If only people like you who shine existed, this world would be happier.

It was a thought far more violent than admiration. A fascistic way of thinking about uniformizing the entire world. Perhaps it didn’t matter when he was young and naive, but even now that he’s older, that ideology doesn’t seem to have changed much.

At the moment when the Archer was burning with such ambition, something caught his eye.

“Are you okay?”

“Ah, Mom… Mom… Uwaang…!”

“…For now, go to a safe place. I’ll definitely come and find your mom.”

“Mom… Mommy….”

It was the appearance of a villain carrying the child to a shelter. The strange being, wearing a pink-winged robe with a unique exterior, was surprisingly human-like, unlike the name ‘villain’.

That’s why it was irritating.

Clearly, this woman had become like this because she was not righteous, just like himself. From what he heard, she was even a magical girl before, wasn’t she? Having turned from a magical girl into such an ugly form, why hasn’t she stopped her hypocrisy?

“…No, this won’t do.”

The Archer slowly drew his bowstring. His target was, of course, Odette there. At such a considerable distance, the target wouldn’t even know about him.

At the very moment the bowstring left his hand and the arrow began to fly through the sky.

Lightning struck.

“You really won’t do.”

The white lightning simply split the arrow and descended to the ground.

“Don’t interfere…!”

Rage surged, and he continuously flicked the bowstring. The speed was so fast it seemed like a single action.

Dozens of arrows rose towards Watcher. There was no way to avoid his trajectory. He had covered all angles.

But as if mocking him, Watcher deflected the arrows and reached him at the fastest possible distance.

Red eyes glowed ominously within the lightning.

“…! You can’t be….”

The hypothesis that first came to mind when he first saw Watcher was regenerated.

“The future….”

Boom! A fist literally came like lightning and struck the Archer’s face. The helmet shattered and collapsed, and he flew through the sky like the arrow he had just shot.

“Yeah, I think it’s time I use it now.”

“Damn…! Why do you have such power… Why do you have such power, you bastard! You have no qualifications!”

Watcher took a deep breath.

“I never imagined I’d witness the trajectory of a Scorpion other than you attacking Odette.”

It was absurd. Even in this situation, interfering like a child without discretion.

“Did you envy us that much?”

“…What?”

The Archer momentarily forgot his words. It was so ridiculous that he didn’t even have time to get angry. Envy? What nonsensical talk is this.

It wasn’t even funny.

“Are you crazy, you bastard? Or did that Scorpion bastard get to you? What brain tumor nonsense are you spouting?”

“It seems you’re making one misunderstanding. Your actions now aren’t those of a judge born from a chosen people’s consciousness. If you had such consciousness, you would have acted more elegantly, logically, and steadily.”

Han Jae-jung contemplated. Why would the Archer do this?

He understood attacking himself and Joo Ah-yoon who gained power from the same belt if they were unqualified. But if those qualifications existed for a magical girl, he had even attacked the magical girl.

Because she was an obstacle to killing.

It was clearly strange. What exactly was this qualification? What was he saying to even attack a magical girl? Moreover, why was he mysteriously passive towards the villain?

A typical strong-weak attitude. Han Jae-jung realized the essence Paradox. It was very simple. There was never any noble logic to begin with.

“What you have is an inferiority complex.”

An inferiority complex born from self-hatred.

“Nothing more than envying those who acted differently despite having similar powers.”

“S-Shut up! What do you know!”

“Yes, I don’t know. But I know better than you. About that qualification.”

Han Jae-jung extended his finger and pointed to the sky.

“Who grants that qualification?”

Before the Archer could even answer, his words blocked his mouth.

“Heaven’s will? Then how would you know that heaven’s will? Will you directly meet and ask God? That’s impossible. If one could understand the vast sky’s will, would they be human, be mortal? Those who say they know heaven’s will are the most ignorant. They pray that their narrow perspective is fate. Then who grants that qualification?”

This time, the Archer tried to open his mouth but was blocked. This time, because he was lost in thought.

“The people? Does such a thing as ‘people’ even exist in reality? How would you know the people’s will? Would you ask each one? In this vast world? Even if you asked, what guarantee is there that it wouldn’t be a lie? If there are ten thousand people, there are ten thousand thoughts. What’s more formless than ‘the people’? Then who grants that qualification?”

The Archer couldn’t open his mouth. The more he thought, the more he fell into a maze.

“Me or you? Are you such a great being? Are you omniscient enough to understand everyone’s circumstances in the world? Or are you so strong that no one can approach you? Or do you at least have an authority granted by social consensus, like a judge?”

What was qualification, to begin with?

“Idiot. There are no qualifications granted from birth.”

The Archer slowly recalled the past.

“Even without blood connection, one can have the qualification to be a father, even a commoner can have the qualification to become a king, and sometimes a fool can have the qualification to become a sage.”

This piece of metal. He recalled the memory of when it touched the belt at his waist.

“Of course, the same goes for heroes.”

Sky Polaris. He wanted to shine like her. But he realized he couldn’t. Because he wasn’t a being who could shine like her. Because he was an ugly being abandoned from birth, explicitly exposed to others’ desires, becoming a greedy person himself.

“In fact, is there any path as simple as becoming a hero? In fact, don’t we all know? Just take care of others instead of myself. Want to see someone else live tomorrow more than I live today, do things that are necessary but tedious and difficult, give as much as you receive.”

What is qualification?

“But who would want to live like that. People live wanting to do better than others, living to make themselves happy. That’s why heroes are great. That’s why they gained their powers.”

The Archer looked at the magical girls.

There were those confronting their counterparts despite the scars from the Scorpion’s poison, and weak ones helping him.

Those who didn’t stop even when they seemed about to die from exhaustion, and those who raised their lip corners to reassure people despite their difficulties.

Those who tried to rise again after being torn down and falling, and those who were afraid but stood up together beside them.

There were numerous heroes. Without lifting his head or going to the scene, the Archer’s eyes could endlessly capture them.

Always the pure, clear lights he admired.

“Qualification is not granted by anyone. It follows as you act.”

How good would it be if only such people existed in this world. But he knows that’s impossible.

“No one was a hero from the beginning. They could become heroes because they acted like heroes.”

Most people can’t live like that. As that guy said, most live for their own interests.

That’s natural, and that’s how they evolved.

Because those slightly more selfish have a higher chance of survival. Humanity has lived like this. Knowing the importance of cooperation, yet unable to discard the selfishness within.

“But what are you? Becoming a villain and acting like a villain, aren’t you nothing but a villain? It’s hard to believe you were ever human.”

Those who can go against that selfishness are no different from going against human evolution. Walking the path of regression by themselves, how foolish.

“Those criminals, those who are on the villain’s side but are now risking their lives to challenge, are more human than you.”

How courageous an action.

The Archer slowly recalled the past.

The child who followed a small light in the darkness, admiring the light, who didn’t stop walking even when the light touched something dangerous.

The timid child, steeped in self-hatred, who had grown up too early.

“Please, grow up a little.”

Simultaneously, the child frozen as he was.

When the child was about to touch the belt, he despised the machine that gives power to everyone. A ugly tool that dirties the stars that have value because of the night.

While hating it, he might have thought with another part of his mind,

‘Can a bad person become good someday?’

That was the tiny bit of self-affirmation and hope left in the child.

Can those without qualification create their own qualification?

If they could lead possibilities to a good path.

That was the child’s spirit of adventure.

The child saw the light through adventure.

“…Ah.”

Behind the Archer, who bowed his head in despair, Watcher turned his back to the Scorpion again.

“This is the last warning. If you interfere again, I will prioritize cutting your throat.”

For that enemy was too powerful.

“But if help comes that could be useful, I will not refuse.”

He needed many colleagues.

Regardless of their past and circumstances, a lot of colleagues.

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