Let's Be Friends (2)
Let’s Be Friends (2)
Perfectly identical powers clashed to produce perfectly identical destruction. Contradiction wielded the force as if it were his own, handling it with practiced ease. Han Jae-jung clicked his tongue.
The way they compressed starlight looked the same, but that technique was not the Seven-Star Step Kick.
‘He’s modified the technique to suit himself.’
Did his copying go beyond simply replicating power?
‘Combat experience... no, it seems he can copy techniques you’ve already developed, too.’
The original work’s explanations had been so unfriendly that guessing at the monsters’ abilities had practically become a pastime among the fans.
On the wiki, the discussion threads speculating about a single character’s abilities sometimes ran longer than the actual story summaries.
Han Jae-jung frowned, dredging up memories that might not even be his own.
Whenever he thought about it, the ability really was a complete cheat. Han Jae-jung clicked his tongue. To just modify the Seven-Star Step Kick however he pleased—what did that make of all the effort he himself had poured into it? A hollow feeling crept in.
Catching his breath for a moment, Han Jae-jung asked Contradiction one thing.
“Come to think of it, did you ever hear the name I gave myself?”
“No. I haven’t. That does pique my curiosity. What is your name?”
“Watcher. It means the one who observes, the one who watches. Remember it.”
“I see... Watcher. Yes, I think it’s a fine name.”
The respite was brief. A tension like flesh being ground together bloomed between them again.
“As expected, my expectations for you are high.”
“How coincidental. My expectations for you are high as well.”
“Oh? What kind?”
“The expectation that someday, you might just kill yourself.”
“Hahaha! That is indeed a kind of expectation.”
Contradiction swung his spear, and Watcher drove his foot fiercely forward, both closing the distance.
Names not given by their parents, but chosen by themselves to represent their own purpose.
Two beings who seemed alike at a glance poured out two perfectly identical powers.
CRRRUNCH!!!
The final step. The golden lines of the Big Dipper traced themselves around him, and aurora-like light welled up. It gathered in his leg and formed the last, the seventh halo.
The spear trembled with a resonant hum. A wind rose. The shield-spear was the eye of the typhoon, and green starlight spiraled clockwise toward it. The seventh halo was complete.
“It’s a question I asked before. I’ll ask it again.”
“I just said it, but I’ll ask again.”
For the briefest moment, the light gathered around them vanished. It had been compressed to incredible density. A single point. The radiance of destruction was concentrated into that one point.
“What reason can you give for your ability to grow stronger?”
“Have you ever seen the stars?”
They both struck at the same moment—spear and leg. The power of seven stars, accumulated through seven preparatory movements. Each a guiding light boasting immense luminous intensity.
Seven-Star Sweeping Slash.
Seven-Star Step Kick.
The two green seven-star forces met, and the gathered light was released.
KWA-BOOOOOM!!!
A colossal explosion. A ferocious detonation that seemed capable of vaporizing everything within its radius. A deafening roar that tore through air and ruptured eardrums, a heat that reduced even the sturdiest branches to ash in an instant. The earth’s axis shuddered, and the sun was eclipsed for a moment, robbed of its power by that light.
A dust cloud bloomed like fog over the aftermath.
In the center, a man staggered to his feet.
“You’ve found a purpose to your power. Congratulations.”
It was Contradiction. He had realized it through this clash: Watcher was wielding his strength perfectly now, and he did so without the slightest hesitation.
The blow had carried the certainty, the composure, the resolve, and the will unique to someone with a clear purpose.
“Hrk... khoff. You’ve improved considerably since last time.”
Through his coughing, Contradiction saw a figure slowly coalescing before him. Naturally, it was Han Jae-jung.
[Seven-Star Step Kick manifestation successful. Replication Rate: 100%.]
“You bastard...”
In a tone a touch more flippant than before, Han Jae-jung bit out the words at Contradiction.
“I nearly died... This is why I shouldn’t associate with monsters.”
“You’re too harsh. We both lived, so isn’t that fortunate?”
“No. The fact that I lived is fortunate. The fact that you lived is a misfortune.”
“A firm stance. I feel quite wounded.”
“I hope the wound makes you so depressed you kill yourself. Did you expect me to feel any kinship with a monster?”
Han Jae-jung’s figure grew clearer. It was a wreck, covered in scars and gashes. He looked ready to collapse at any moment.
“If it weren’t for you bastards, the magical girls wouldn’t have had to suffer so much...”
“Magical girls? Why bring them up—ah. I see, I understand.”
Contradiction nodded.
“You’re like us, after all. The magical girls were your objective. You are trying to realize your self through them. Now I understand why you’ve so often mentioned the stars or those girls.”
“That’s not...”
He moved to refute it immediately, but thought about it coldly and realized it didn’t actually seem wrong. He shut his mouth.
“Haha, you needn’t be so embarrassed. Using others to realize the self is entirely natural. All things influence one another mutually—how could one ever realize the self without others? Everything requires the aid of others. Even if it means completing that closest of others, the self.”
“There’s something I’ve always felt...”
Han Jae-jung slowly took stock of his own body. Exposed to too great a flash in too short a time, he was in a state of temporary blindness. Breathing was difficult—several of his ribs were probably shattered. And his legs had so little strength left that it was a miracle he was still standing.
He had pushed his body far too hard over the past three days. At this rate, he might end up just like his bike had.
Contradiction was in the same state, but his characteristic regeneration was steadily erasing his wounds. Through his blurred vision, Han Jae-jung watched the armor restore itself and clicked his tongue.
“You talk too damn much. If I wanted to learn philosophy, I would’ve gone to college. Do you have any idea how painful it is to keep listening to bullshit I’m not curious about and that doesn’t pay me?”
“If I did pay you, would you listen attentively?”
“I’d take the money and tune it out.”
Contradiction burst out laughing. Han Jae-jung wanted to let out a hollow laugh too, but the area around his lungs throbbed too badly to manage it. Soon, standing became impossible, and Han Jae-jung slowly bent his knees. It looked like he’d be marching straight back into the hospital he’d left minutes ago.
“Hahaha! A most interesting answer. That reminds me—one more method of killing me has occurred to me.”
After laughing for a long while, Contradiction produced an ornate ceramic wine cup in his hand. He poured its contents over Han Jae-jung’s head, and a miracle occurred. The wounds on him began steadily healing.
He had momentarily recognized Crater as an enemy and borrowed its power.
“You simply need to build such a friendship that I cannot recognize you as an enemy, no matter what you do.”
“Are you telling me to become your friend?”
“Is it not a plausible hypothesis?”
“That’s the biggest load of crap I’ve ever heard. The kinship between a monster and a human is predetermined to end in catastrophe. It’s not just about society’s gaze—the two are fundamentally different.”
“I agree.”
Once all of Han Jae-jung’s wounds had healed, Contradiction tossed the now-empty ceramic cup behind him. A shattering clatter rang out.
“However, I am curious how you will act when a monster who has made that very thing its objective appears. Not just you—the magical girls’ answer, as well.”
“You’re too curious for your own good. I hope it kills you.”
“I find interest in all things. It makes for a truly enjoyable life.”
“Get ambushed and die.”
Contradiction bent at the waist and continued.
“And so, I intend to conceal myself for a while.”
“...What?”
“As with all living things, I possess many weaknesses. But I have a desire I must fulfill. To fulfill that desire, I need time. The longer I remain in the open, the shorter my life will grow.”
He had now confirmed both the strongest of the magical girls and the strongest of the third force.
As a result, he had learned that both were individuals with ample room to grow. He could now place a satisfying comma in his sentence.
“I do not wish to die. Don’t you feel the same?”
Contradiction straightened his bent back and stood once more.
“Even without me, ordeals will continue to descend upon you and the magical girls to push you to grow.”
Time is fair to all. To heroes and to their adversaries alike.
While the heroes established themselves in society, their enemies had solidified their own questions in the darkness.
Those who had waited long enough were now beginning to move, to claim the reward for their patience.
“Originally, the focal point of Dilemma was Libra. Because he held the capital. In modern society, time is money. For a long time, he provided the other monsters with both time for contemplation and the resources to perfectly perfect their constellations. But now he is gone. Defeated by you, he was forced to revise his plans. Naturally, a great deal of capital and starlight was squandered in the process. Libra has stepped down from Dilemma’s center. How could a man so buried in himself ever lead others?”
Contradiction spread both arms wide.
“So, the many members of Dilemma who have stayed hidden until now will begin to move. In that process, the underworld will flourish once more. Monsters will approach the wealthy to secure the capital to live in society, and they will sow chaos in society to realize their own selves. And within that chaos, people will step into the shadows. A terrible cycle will begin.”
Acrid smoke poured from his body. It was Alkaid, the power for emergency escape.
“So grow stronger. Together with the magical girls.”
Contradiction’s body, flickering unceasingly within the smoke, gradually faded away.
“For my sake, and for yours.”
Contradiction vanished, and Han Jae-jung left one parting remark to the now-empty space.
“I really hope you drop dead.”
Damned bastard.