Cut Marks (3)
Cut Marks (3)
“Hmm, a convergence of interests, you say. Rational enough.”
“Ha ha ha ha! That’s a good one! So? What is it you wanted to ask?”
Their tone was comical, but the authority in their bearing was not.
When you have power, bluster ceases to be bluster.
These beings had the power to make their boasts into truth.
“You tried to monsterize me. That means you must know a fair bit about monsterization itself.”
They were unpredictable, liable to commit any madness on a whim. The tension parched my throat.
But I was not particularly afraid.
I, too, was someone who had stepped as far outside the norm as they had.
“I’ve suddenly grown curious. What is required to turn a person into a monster?”
Right now, I am an ambiguous existence, neither monster nor human.
Had this phenomenon occurred because I made a Star Contract partway through monsterization, or was it simply the influence of the Star Contract itself?
And why had I lost my memories?
Until now, I only had to think about myself. That is no longer the case.
Jo Ah-yoon ended up just like me.
She has been forced into countless sacrifices already. I must prevent a situation where she is pushed into the inferno of another sacrifice.
To dissolve a Contract, I first need to understand the Contract. To make her a purely human being again, I need information.
No matter what humiliation I must endure, today I must obtain information about this monsterization and the Belt.
Fortunately, monsters have a naive side to them. Or perhaps I should call it a single-mindedness that excludes all thought except for their own purpose.
They have almost no secrets. There’s no reason for them to create any.
The only reason they would create a secret is to protect their purpose.
Having no need for shame, face, or the effort to maintain social ties, a secret to them is like a snowman made in summer.
You can make one, but you don’t bother investing the time and effort.
“That would be Negativity and Starlight, obviously!”
Yes, just like that.
Pegasus was the first to speak.
“Just as a debt summons a greater debt, a desert creates a greater desert, and crumbling earth creates a deeper pit! Negativity always summons greater Negativity. The moment that bloated Negativity encounters specially crafted Starlight, a monster is born! Ho ho ho!! How about that? Isn’t it fascinating?”
I already knew this.
“...Your expression tells me you already knew this.”
Pegasus bent forward and drew close to me. The horse head attached to its chest was unnerving. Its face was a pure white oval without a single eye or nose.
“Then... aren’t you curious about what this ‘specially crafted Starlight’ is?”
Having that featureless egg-ghost face thrust at me was uncomfortable, but it was nothing I couldn’t bear. I listened carefully, pondering where I should aim my gaze to make proper eye contact.
“The Starlight emitted simultaneously by multiple monsters. That is the special Starlight that triggers monsterization. Not a single Starlight, but many Starlights. The first step toward transforming into a monster occurs when those clustered lights meet Negativity.”
“I see.”
That was new information. I nodded in agreement.
“So monsterization cannot occur through the power of a single monster alone. It is a transformation only possible through the cooperation of multiple monsters. Which means... ha.”
I couldn’t suppress a hollow laugh. I steadied the corners of my mouth as they crept upward and continued.
“Without deliberate intent, monsterization does not occur. You had a purpose when you tried to turn me into a monster.”
I looked at Pegasus, Gemini, and Jason in turn.
“What was it? What was your purpose in trying to make me into a monster?”
Jason answered with a hearty laugh.
“Ha ha! Did I not say so before? To find my comrades! To find those like me, who are monsters yet do not know their own purpose!”
Gemini followed up.
“From whence does the difference between two identical existences arise... Are you not curious? Is the you who was human and the you who is a monster truly a different being? Or the same? Well. Will you allow me to find my answer? Fufufufufu....”
Finally, Pegasus spoke. I could not tell where its mouth was, but a voice emerged.
“Can an inherently ugly existence ever become beautiful... Is that not a compelling proposition? You currently bear the form of a monster, and I have heard that you were reviled by everyone before that as well. Will you ever truly be loved?”
Their reasoning was all over the place, but to summarize:
“You intended to use me to achieve your purposes.”
They had sought to fulfill their own goals through a being who had turned from human into a monster.
Virgo had likely been the same reason. In her case, there seems to be some history, but ultimately, the core purpose must have been identical.
To achieve their own ends, these beings with no real connection gathered and attacked an ordinary person.
A truly magnificent friendship.
“Ha ha... I see. Right.”
In the end, I had simply been caught up in their selfish aims.
Fury surged within me, but I held it back.
It was not yet time to end the gathering. I reinforced the thought, again and again, that my power did not exist to satisfy momentary desires.
“So then... do you bastards feel that idiotic stunt was worth it?”
“Why, of course it was! We gained such a fine comrade—”
“No, let me rephrase the question.”
“Hm?”
“On that day.”
I quietly studied them and asked,
“Did you succeed in turning me into a monster?”
Did the Star Contract occur after the monsterization? Or before it?
Did I become human again after turning into a monster? Or...
Did I turn into a monster from a human through the Star Contract?
It was a crucial distinction.
Ah-yoon’s current state hinges on this difference.
“Don’t ask the obvious. Of course we succeeded.”
“What bravado. At first, we thought it had failed.”
“Shut it.”
What did they mean? Before I could voice the question, the answer came.
“Ah, it was truly a curious thing. Just as our comrade was transforming into a monster, a light burst forth! And suddenly he reverted to a human! Naturally, we thought it had failed!”
“...!”
This settled it. I proceeded with the Star Contract after the monsterization had ended.
This also explains the differences between Ah-yoon and me.
Through the Star Contract, it will be possible for Ah-yoon to transform into a monster, but her obligations will be far lighter than mine.
There are no Quests and no transformation duties.
The difference between contracting while on the verge of death versus contracting after having already died as a human.
She will also not have the monster’s characteristic fixed purpose, so she will naturally suffer far fewer side effects than I do.
I felt genuine relief. Ah-yoon is safe.
“Aha, now I understand.”
Boötes smiled faintly, swirling her cup. She took the milk inside without hesitation and began speaking again.
“So that is why you arranged this gathering... You were worried about your colleague. The owner of the Belt I used to carry.”
Right.
I had not particularly intended to hide it, but having the fact exposed despite my silence was quite irritating.
“Do not worry too much. The Belt is merely a tool for observing possibilities. It has no power to threaten its user. If such a function was ever added... well, that must have been one’s own choice. Ah, does that hit a nerve? Do not push yourself too hard. It was a choice you made. It will surely be the right one.”
No power to threaten? What utter nonsense. I did not hesitate to refute her.
“Don’t talk bullshit. How do you explain the memory loss, then? I hope you won’t offer a sophistry that oblivion is not a threat.”
“Aha, that? I told you. It was your own choice. If you made a choice, should you not take responsibility?”
Boötes insisted. All of this was my choice.
“If you resolved to achieve something together with a Star, should you not also prove that purity? The loss of memories is a part of that Contract’s terms. To be able to carry out your will even in a state of ignorance. If you can act without conscious awareness, is that not truly remarkable? The Stars simply bring such a test to those who choose them.”
It sounds fair at a glance, but it is not.
An opportunity extended on the verge of death. Is there anyone who would not seize it?
The circumstances at the moment of choice are never an individual choice. Circumstance is an external pressure. A pressure that forces a choice.
A forced choice can never truly be called a choice.
It is violence. Violence designed to place all unjust outcomes on the shoulders of individual responsibility.
“If that child has lost her memories, then it was the result of her own choice. A choice made to fulfill the possibility she saw.”
“How can a forced choice be a choice?”
“No, you were never forced.”
Boötes denied it firmly.
“As you did, and as I did, the Belt appears before those who desire an opportunity. It is not that a shooting star appears and you make a wish. It is that as you wished for an opportunity, the Star approached you.”
Her voice was sharper than her usual gentle, pastoral tone.
“Do you know every part of yourself? That child is the same. There are things one does not even know about oneself. You simply did not know it, but you must have clearly desired an opportunity. That is why the Belt appeared. As I have said time and time again, the Belt is a machine that observes possibilities. It appears before those who desire a possibility and shows it to them. It is a medium connecting people and Stars.”
Her gaze shifted to my waist.
“People and Stars... A machine made for the sake of people... Built by Ungnyeo to save people....”
She murmured forlornly, then quickly composed her expression and gave a faint smile.
Of course, her hood hid the smile from view. Still, the atmosphere she projected was so adjacent to a smile that it was not difficult to guess she was wearing one.
“Besides, you two still have an opportunity to recover your lost memories. I do not have that opportunity, myself.”
Maintaining that gentle atmosphere, Boötes rose from her seat.
“The only way to dissolve a Star Contract is to complete your duty. That is all I can tell you.”
She slowly stepped into the darkness.
“I am afraid I must take my leave for today. You have a colleague, do you not? Bring her next time. I shall prepare something delicious and wait.”
“You’d better wash your neck and wait.”
“Fufu, yes. I will groom myself, make myself pretty and clean, and wait. You must introduce her to me. Understood?”
Silently, Boötes’ form vanished from before my eyes. She must have deployed a Goldilocks Zone and entered it alone.
I turned my gaze back to observe the faces of those who had turned me into a monster.
Gemini, whose eyes met mine, scowled unpleasantly.
“You asked earlier. Whether I was satisfied. Ha! As if I could be! I expected the gruesome tragedy of familicide and the chaos of self-identity... What is this?! Far from cultivating the darkness in your heart, you still carry the same ethics and heart you had as a human!”
Gemini jabbed a finger at Jason and shouted.
“That idiot there might be pleased, but I am not! Displeased! Thoroughly displeased! I wish to begin a festival of blood right this instant!”
Pegasus also chimed in.
“I agree. I anticipated a certain beauty born from an ugly existence... Yet how are you any different from a human now? If you simply shed that odious armor, could you not casually mingle among humans? Revolting. Satisfaction? Do you think I would feel such a thing?”
I nodded along repeatedly. I was gratified.
“The fact that you find it so shitty brings me immense joy.”
Then, following Boötes, I too rose from my seat.
Ah-yoon’s Contract is not the same as mine.
Ah-yoon has her own reason, unknown even to herself, for contracting with a Star.
I had also heard the reason for the memory loss, and how to end a Star Contract.
It wasn’t much, but I had gathered a decent amount.
Now that I seem to have heard all I could, it is time to carry out my second purpose.
“As you already know, I, too, have a purpose. It is not as single-minded as yours, but still, it is a rather glorious dream. As I said when I first arrived here, I came to this place because there was something I wished to ask. However, that alone is not the reason I set foot here.”
I slowly gathered Starlight in my hand. A green Starlight, akin to fireflies, flickered and flew into my palm.
“On that point, I am the same as you. To achieve my purpose.”
The small green points gathered to form lines, the lines assembled into planes, and the planes converged into a three-dimensional shape.
Moreover, that solid mass gradually shifted from green to white.
“Just as you gathered here to dispose of me, your failed experiment, I have done the same.”
Jason looked back at the other two with a horrified expression.
“What... What do you mean...? Was that the reason? Was it for that reason you came to meet a comrade...?”
“There is no reason to spare an opponent who will hinder, rather than help, me in achieving my purpose. I think that’s only natural.”
With the hand not gathering Starlight, I reached for the Belt. I placed my hand on the lens and pulled it out.
The lens and the wheel that adjusted its focus were detached from the Belt.
“I will say it again. My reason for seeking out this place is the same as yours.”
Then I took the solid object I had prepared beforehand—a new lens component—and installed it into the empty slot.
Unlike the standard lens that was merely a single black circle, this lens was shaped like a bear’s ferocious maw biting down on it.
The wheel for adjusting the lens’s focus was also sharp, like a beast’s claws.
“I know your habits. Your tendency to abandon all ethics for your purposes. You will attack people again. And you will not hesitate to kill any magical girl who attempts to stop you.”
These beings would continue experimenting on humans to fulfill their purposes.
Even if they did not, the fact remains: they would cause magical girls pain.
Gemini had contributed greatly to the deaths of many magical girls, including White Dabih.
Pegasus had caused a massacre in the city simply because its mood was soured.
Both are irredeemable evil.
I am still too weak to fight these monsters and win.
“So, do not take this too personally.”
I am too weak to fight while upholding reason.
I have not yet gathered enough Starlight to complete the entire constellation.
This is a trick. An expedient.
Unlike monsters who cannot increase their Star Power once their constellation is completed, I can continuously cultivate my Starlight.
Therefore, I distribute the Starlight I have gathered so far among the several Stars I had not yet activated, making them glow faintly.
It is like pouring a precious liquor.
You may not be able to fill every glass to the brim, but you can pour a little into each of the glasses you have.
Though not bright, it can connect the Stars to form a line.
Starlight erupted from my body like an explosion.
Gemini and Pegasus shot to their feet.
“You, of all people, should not take it personally!”
All the Starlight flowing through my body reversed its course, and blood streamed from every orifice.
It was completely different from the Starlight that had flowed comfortably inside me until now. This pain was like having stone fragments inserted and forced through my blood vessels.
It was savage and violent. Yet, sublime.
My breathing changed. It slowly grew ragged. Yet it was steady. Not rough or irregular. My harsh breaths surged and rampaged at a constant tempo, like a metronome.
All the Starlight in my body drained out, and a new cluster of white light began to emanate from within me.
The candlestick on the table trembled, and the candle flames swayed as if being sucked somewhere before vanishing entirely.
All the air in this place quaked and vibrated, rushing as if gathering toward me alone.
“Pay the price for ignoring me!!!”
Pegasus’ repulsive hand closed in.
I turned the wheel on the Belt.
[UR■A M■JO■.]
In that moment, lightning gusted.
It did not strike. It blew.
White lightning ripped across the world like wind.
Within its swept trajectory was the neck of the one who had just thrown a punch.
Upon the lightless table, the evening’s banquet was displayed.
It was the moon. A white and lovely moon. It fell, caught upon the horizon like a moon that ends the night and enters the sea. It was a sea of twilight. Red petals scattered profusely, dyeing the white sea as they fell.
Atop the dorsal lines of those dreamlike petals, the vestige of a monster ferrying into the next world grew cold.
After the passage, sound rose.
KWA-BOOM!
Thunder shook the night.
“...Tch.”
“Whoa... Ha ha ha ha! Magnificent!”
Just as Pegasus’ decapitated corpse collapsed limply to the ground, lightning gusted once more.