Transformation or Death

Chapter 11 – 

I’m Sorry, the Camera is a Little…

The sky is the domain of magical girls. That’s not an incorrect statement.  

Unless they have special abilities, villains cannot fly in the sky.

Even I, I am relying on a tool called a motorcycle for flight.

The sky is a vulnerability for villains.  

However, if there is a reason magical girls fight on the ground, one is that even for them, simultaneously flying and fighting is an unexpectedly difficult motion that drains their magical power like a greedy horse.

And another is that in order to defeat the villains operating on the ground, they have no choice but to descend.  

If a villain disregards fighting a magical girl and attacks civilians just to accomplish their own goal, what else can they do? They have to go down and fight. Attacking from the air at long range isn’t very magically efficient.

However, despite this background, the fact is the sky is a much more advantageous condition for magical girls. 

Unlike magical girls whose limbs are free, I can’t separate from my motorcycle.

My current self is truly no different from a rat trapped in a jar.

“Well then, how should we take care of that villain brat?”

“Don’t get too cocky, big sis Deneb. That villain is extremely strong!”

“Having confidence is important when fighting. Vega, it’s okay to be confident now.”

While watching the three magical girls ponder how to take me down, I opened my mouth. “You girls are under one misunderstanding.”  

“Misunderstanding?” Red Vega responded to the conversation. Fortunately, it seemed I could buy some time.

“I’m not a villain.”

“Then what are you?”

The answer was obviously one thing. “A human.”

“Oh… Didn’t you think that didn’t make sense as you said it?” Red Vega seemed to understand for a moment before immediately refuting it.

That’s right. Even I think it doesn’t make sense.

Riding a flying motorcycle, my outward appearance is the very epitome of an S-grade villain’s dreadful armor, and the power I use is of the constellation-class.  

To people unfamiliar with things like transforming heroes, my fearsome appearance would make anyone think I’m a villain.

Who would believe I’m human?

“Oh, didn’t you say earlier you didn’t want to talk?”

“I said I didn’t want to talk to you, Blue Sirius. It’s unpleasant, so I wish you wouldn’t talk to me.”

If it’s Deneb and Vega, of course Altair should come and form the Summer Triangle, so why is Sirius butting in shamelessly?

“Ahahaha! The senior got burned!”  

“…Deneb. Shut up.”

Deneb seemed to find it quite funny and laughed without any tension. “Ah… That was fun. Okay, you’re human? Then you have to show us proof.”

Then, as if nothing had happened, she changed and snapped her fingers. Her mischievous attitude is like a brat’s, but I know she’s a good person at heart. That’s why she’s able to do things like be a magical girl.

Proof.

Distrustful, she told me to present a harbor to anchor her trust. 

That distrust is understandable in a way. It’s not simply because of my appearance and the way I defeated Red Vega from the very first day.

The history between villains and magical girls that has existed here.

A history of trust and betrayal is supporting it.

In the past, not all magical girls were antagonistic towards villains. 

Some magical girls advocated integration between villains and humans and tried to form friendships with villains.  

The targets were of course S-grade villains capable of using language and thus closer to being human.  

For about a month, they only caused problems like theft and property damage without any loss of life, showing the possibility of rehabilitation.  

However, as soon as they realized they had become friendly with the magical girl looking after them, they went out on the street and killed 300 people.

Their goal was to see how tolerant humans could be towards those they loved.  

This wasn’t the only case of magical girls trying for peace with villains only to be betrayed.

Afterwards, friendship between magical girls and villains became almost taboo.

No matter how much friendly feeling towards humans a villain seemed to have, a villain’s friendly attitude stemmed from the utilitarian idea that a human could be helpful for their own exploration.

They can kill or destroy without feeling much regret. 

Fundamentally, they are different beings.

Although beings originating from humans do exist, villains are severely lacking in something.  

That distrust is understandable.  

It’s only natural they can’t believe mere words.

I exhaled deeply. My heart, weary with fatigue, throbbed heavily.  

There is a very simple way for me to gain their trust.

I just need to put my hand on my belt and release my transformation.

Take off my mask here and show my bare face that is no different from yours.

Of course, even showing an outward appearance identical to a human’s may not completely dispel suspicion.  

But people tend to become gentler towards those they feel kinship with, so at least leading to a conversation would be possible.

If there is a problem….

‘Damn it.’

My hands are trembling so I can’t release the transformation.

Due to the coercive nature of the quest, I absolutely must defeat the villain.  

However, to do this legally, I need to obtain a license like the magical girls.

The rule for heroes in this world is they must disclose all personal information.   

No one will entrust their lives and pay taxes to someone whose face and identity they don’t even know. Private enforcement is prohibited because an uncontrolled individual could go rogue.

But that’s not the only problem.

Blue Sirius is here. Would you reveal to her that the person you were just fighting is actually your unpleasantly ex-boyfriend? That’s insane.  

Furthermore, Blue Sirius was previously embroiled in a favoritism controversy. If my bare face is revealed, she’ll defend me unconditionally, and unless you want to make her a public torch again, you have to be cautious.  

‘What do I do…’

The biggest problem is that I can’t bear this body.  

Just imagining it is provoking such a strong aversion reaction, if I actually did it? I might panic and start rampaging like a villain.

[The distance to Blue Sirius is close. Warning. There is a risk of being judged as showing an uncooperative attitude towards the quest.]

Yeah, there’s also the quest.  

My current quest does not really lend itself well to having a friendly chat with someone.  

‘Looks like I have to bolt first.’   

Otherwise it’s just death. I took my hand off the release button on my belt that I had put there in warning, placed it on my motorcycle’s handlebar, and turned the direction. Where my head was pointing was down. I plunged straight down, piercing through the clouds.

“Whoa! That bastard is fleeing!”

“I believed him a little! Was it a lie after all?”

“He may have fallen into confusion reminiscing about his human days. Let’s chase him for now!”

If the front and both sides are blocked, you just have to break through the bottom. This is a fight on a three-dimensional plane, not a flat surface. 

The wind comes right up to my face like a wall, obstructing my breathing. I dared not recklessly use my air-cutting technique, as I might end up crashing straight into the ground, so I just sped forward at my bike’s maximum acceleration.

Of course, it only took a moment for them to catch up to me.  

As Red Vega’s kick came flying from the side, I momentarily stopped my vehicle to rise above them.

Shuck!

A ring of flames encircled the leg that passed through the spot I had been in.

“Dammit!”  

“Have you lost your mind?! If I crash here, I’ll fall straight into the city! The civilians will get caught up in this, what are you doing?!” 

At those words, Pink Deneb snorted derisively. “Huh?! A threat?! But it’s useless! I’ve unleashed my Redbirds right below here. I’m sure the civilians evacuated once they saw them. It means there’s no one where you might fall!”

“It wasn’t a threat… But I’m glad to hear that.” 

Blue Sirius responded to my words. “Yeah, we’re the lucky ones.”

Right behind us.

I sensed an overwhelming mass of magic gathering. The temperature was unusually low only behind us. Extreme heat radiated from the right, while the sound of flapping wings came sharply from the left.

“Less to worry about if we let you fall freely!”

“Wow, a combined technique!!! I’ve wanted to try that!”  

“Haha piece of cake! This is exciting!”

By the time I tried to turn my bike’s head elsewhere, it was already too late.

“Freeze to death.”

“Are you ready to turn to ash?”  

“Like dance and drunkenness?”

Snow Flower Path.  

Path. Flame Sound.

Twilight Raven Dance.

A strike that freezes everything in its path.

A fist of intensity and unpredictable violence like the roar of flames.  

Raven shadows dyed crimson like they were pressed against the glow of sunset, spreading their wings in perfect unison like a dance troupe, flying straight at me.

There was no way to evade, so I just had to take it head on.

KWAAAAAANG—!

A horrific sound that could probably be heard from the ground below rang out. The surrounding clouds scattered and drifted away. Bursts of multicolored starlight beautifully adorned the sky like fireworks.  

And amidst that stellar festival was one body unable to join, falling far below like a meteor.

That was me.

BANG!

I landed, leaving a crater larger than an adult male in the ground. I didn’t land on my back at least. It was the classic movie landing pose, one knee bent and the other raised.

‘Wow, hero landing.’

I barely managed to regain my balance right before hitting the ground to pull that off. Otherwise, I might have fallen head-first and snapped my cervical vertebrae. 

Well, I was wearing armor, so at worst I’d have just reverted from my transformed state.

Thankfully, as Deneb said, there didn’t seem to be any civilians around, no blood or body parts scattered about. Just those same pinkish raven familiars from Deneb’s wings circling the area.

As I staggered back to my feet, the first thing I saw was a towering skyscraper. On the electronic billboard hanging there, a news bulletin was scrolling by, shot from a high angle looking down.

And what was clearly displayed there was none other than…  

‘Oh shit.’

My breath caught in my throat. My hands trembled uncontrollably and my head spun, addled by the impact. Pain and dizziness. My vision narrowed and swam. A crushing sense of vertigo weighed me down, like I was aboard a spacecraft.  

That was undoubtedly me up there on that billboard. Obviously being filmed from a news helicopter.   

The veil of pink ravens slowly dispersed, like the curtain lifting on a play I was utterly unprepared to perform in as the actor.  

What greeted my eyes were the densely packed gazes of people, like swarming insects. Office workers and students on their commutes, stopping in their tracks to turn their eyes this way. What!

Do they have nothing better to do than gawk at others’ battles?  

Among those stares, one figure in particular caught my eye.   

“You seem to be having quite the ordeal. A rough morning’s work, I see.”

He was clearly addressing me. His appearance was not that of an ordinary person. His features were nowhere to be seen naturally, as his head was a potted cactus, its symmetric form resting atop his shoulders.   

He was dressed in a crisp suit evenly split down the middle, one pure white half and one jet black half in a peculiar design.   

“You do appear to be in quite the predicament. An individual opposing a group is inevitably at a disadvantage, an imbalance if you will.”   

That distinctive manner of speech. It had to be.  

“You… Don’t tell me you’re Paradox!”

“Haha, correct! This distinctive appearance is not so easily forgotten, is it?”

The people around him didn’t seem to notice his presence at all. The people to either side of him held up their smartphones, aimed at me. I felt nauseous. I shouted at both the student and Paradox simultaneously.

“Get lost!”   

I had to get them to stop pointing cameras at me before I completely lost my composure. 

I rushed over to the student, snatching the smartphone pointed my way out of their hand.

“Kyaa!”

Then I snapped it in half and threw it to the ground.  

“If you don’t want to end up like this, all of you get lost! Every single one of you, get lost! If you don’t want to die, then get out of my way!”  

Trying to reason with a lot of them was pointless. But this emphatic performance should get the message across even to the deafest person.

“Uwaaah!”

“S-Save me!!”

– S-grade villain begins rampaging in the city center…

I ripped a signpost out of the ground and hurled it at the billboard broadcasting that news report, embedding it in the center of the screen like an axe.

“Shut up!”  

Damn, I need to find the source of that helicopter noise and shut it down. But the ringing in my ears mixed with the surrounding screams made it impossible to pinpoint.  

“That’s far enough!”

Then a magical girl descended from the sky.

“Well, I mean. I was kinda hoping that…”

“Wow, hardcore! Nice going smashing that billboard!”

At that moment, the ringing stopped. Not because of her voice. Just the realization of how dangerous this situation was with that other villain here besides me.   

No, if they’re here then I can’t…

“Hmm, a clash of majority and minority, is it? Clearly an imbalance.”  

Even as people scattered in chaos, he remained unmoving from that same spot, refusing to budge.  

Damn pest.

“You get lost!”    

“My apologies, but I cannot abide by your demand. At present, putting my discomfort first is the true way to respect myself. Should one not respect the self before considering others?”

This madman.

“Materialize.”

[Reveal the truth.]

Darker than the voice from my belt, that transformation call rang out as his form began to waver in shades of blue and red.   

A suit of blue lenses and crimson plates split precisely down the middle left and right. The sharp protruding portions bore white accents, the only exposed skin being black leather undersuit.

“Now I shall take your side! For I champion equality!”   He extended his arms to reveal himself to the magical girl.  

“Who should die first, that this battle might be more righteous and enjoyable? Is it not a fascinating conundrum?”

I had to stop this lunatic.

That single minded thought filled my head.

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