Chapter: 123
A whispering voice cut through the heavy downpour, resonating with unusual clarity.
“…Are you really going to keep fighting in that body?”
When Lulu turned around, a girl in a pointed hat blinked at her. Lulu twisted her soaked hair and replied.
“Uh, so… you’re one of the Four Heavenly Kings, right? What was your name again?”
“I am, uh… ‘Unaris, the Existence of Infinite Emptiness’… but you can just call me Unaris. That’s enough.”
“So, you’re going to fight?”
“…Well, yes. But you’re really hurt. You might die. If you die… it’s all over. I know you’re an existence of this world. This death… isn’t really your death, but getting back to dreaming again would be tough. Are you sure you’re okay?”
Unaris spoke softly. Lulu had truly enjoyed this world. Yet, she was diving into battle without a hint of hesitation. That left Unaris curious.
Was it just that she liked fighting? Or was there another reason?
Lulu’s answer was simple.
“I just… do what I want. I don’t think too much.”
“…You don’t think?”
“Yup. My brain is a bit… uh, slow, but I know one thing: my heart doesn’t lie. If I start thinking too much, I just end up lying to myself. It’s pointless.”
Lulu confidently shared her approach to reading the scales of her heart.
“My heart knows that I want to protect Oh Hye-in and Oh Dae-su, and that I want to keep dreaming. But if I keep going like this, I’ll die. Yet somehow, I feel more drawn to fighting for my life.”
“…I see.”
“Well, it means that my feelings for Hye-in and Dae-su outweighed my survival instincts. So, I just go with what my heart says. Simple and easy, right?”
“…So you’re saying this time it’s not just for the thrill of fighting. Got it.”
Despite her blunt language, it was a declaration of her intent to protect her friends. Unaris laughed internally as she maintained a stoic face, realizing Lulu and Dae-su were a match made in heaven.
If Lulu was going to be reckless again, she thought of giving her a lesson for the last time. And of course, she would use it as a bargaining chip against Roderus.
But if Lulu had such fresh motivations…
Just as the mad wizard wanted to give Roderus a chance, Unaris wanted to give the Capital Knights Order Master a chance as well. It could be considered a light fandom, perhaps.
Wanting things to go well for her favorite character.
Wanting to create a protagonist.
“…Is this what it feels like to play TRPG?”
“Why have you been mumbling since earlier? Are you giving me a break?”
“Ah, sorry.”
She sensed Roderus, Lulu’s prince, moving toward this place. He would arrive in about five minutes. Perfect timing.
Maybe she should play the role of the mid-boss properly.
Unaris slowly raised her head and extended four translucent arms from under her pointed hat. Her pupils darkened as purple magical energy began to gather at each fingertip.
The shadows cast by the streetlight made Unaris look like a gigantic spider.
“…!!”
“Let’s begin.”
BANG──!!
The purple beam lashed across the road.
===============================================================
He ran.
Flashes of light and explosions erupted everywhere, accompanied by the cries of terrified people. Two spots resonated with massive energy. Directly beneath the black vortex and a bit away in the shopping district.
He could track individuals from the magical energy waves. The vortex was Oh Hye-in, while the shopping district had Kim Lulu.
Roderus didn’t have two bodies to choose from; he had to pick one, and he chose the shopping district. After all, it felt… more trustworthy. At least, that’s what he thought.
He leaped over an air conditioning unit and vaulted over a troublesome fence, taking the shortest route possible. And then…
“…!!”
A chill ran down his spine, making him drop flat. A purple beam whizzed past the spot where Roderus had just been standing. He recognized the attack. Wasn’t that Unaris?
Zzzzzz.
The wall where the beam had passed sizzled and melted, leaving behind a charred mark. Even with magical power, taking a hit would lead to serious injuries; without any magical defenses, he would be dead on the spot.
So, magical power…
What Roderus possessed was a body trained to extremes.
That alone could handle an average civilian or thug easily, but in a world of those wielding magic, he was about as useful as a teacup in a storm.
If only he had a transformation device.
If only he could transform into a Magical Girl…!!
Roderus estimated the angle the beam had come from and began moving stealthily. He climbed the building’s drainage pipe, opened a window, and started navigating between buildings.
Eventually, he arrived at the battlefield, where the Magical Girl and monster were fighting.
“…Kim Lulu.”
She was battered and bloodied. It was a sight that would make anyone sick. Roderus clenched his fist tightly at the sight of her in such a state, being toyed with by Unaris as she unleashed beam after beam.
Roderus found himself inside a building, leaning against the wall beside a window, peeking outside carefully.
===============================================================
Unaris hovered about 30 centimeters off the ground, waving her hand at Kim Lulu.
“I’m designed for widespread bombardment. My durability isn’t as high as the other Four Heavenly Kings, but… look at my attack power.”
“…It’s burning me alive!!”
“So, even in your broken body, you should be able to take me down. If you can get through the barrage… can you do it, Magical Girl? Are you up for the challenge…?”
“If you could cut down just one of those beams, I’d do my best!!”
SWOOOOOSH──!!
BAAAAAANG!!
“If you don’t want to, just say it…!!”
Kim Lulu was knocked down by the aftershock of an explosion, tumbling to the ground. Another fall added to the countless she had experienced, and the pain was starting to fade.
Someone had mentioned that if you weren’t feeling pain in a situation that looked life-threatening, it was a sign you were on the verge of death.
“Damn…”
Yet, she couldn’t just give up. If she was going down, she would at least go out with a bang. As Lulu steeled her resolve to fight back…
“…?”
Something strange caught her eye.
There was someone with orange hair fluttering behind the window of the building Unaris was facing. At first, she thought it was Oh Dae-su and her heart nearly dropped, but upon closer inspection, it was a man—not a woman.
He closely resembled Oh Dae-su. Lulu wondered if this was what he would look like as a man.
Their eyes met, and she felt something stir in the air.
Roderus prepared to jump out the window, clutching a golf club in one hand. It looked like he was planning to drop down and attack Unaris.
“…No, hey. That’s a bit dangerous…”
She muttered softly, knowing that shouting out would only give away his position to Unaris. Before he could leap, he would get shredded by the magic attack.
Then, he needed to divert her attention. Lulu struggled to rise, forcibly pushing herself to her feet. With all her might, she shouted as if she were tearing her vocal cords.
“Hey, weird little girl with the bad makeup—!!”
“…Out of nowhere? Ahh.”
Unaris smiled brightly, gathering all her arms in a single direction and compressing enormous magical power. It was enough to obliterate everything in its path.
“Alright, this is something you won’t be able to avoid. I’m going to shoot with all my strength…! I’ll be a bit vulnerable, but you won’t be able to teleport away in time!”
“Instead of teleporting, I have telekinesis!! Go for it──!!”
Thud.
Roderus jumped from the third floor, swinging the golf club with all his weight behind it, aiming to strike Unaris’ unguarded head while she prepared her magical blast.
CREEEAK!
As the golf club struck her head, Unaris’ form wobbled and transformed into a gooey black substance.
“…So that was a disguise. This is the real form!”
SSSSSWWWWHHHHHH──!!
The slime emitted a strange sound as it shook. The spot where her head had been revealed a small core. Although it looked weak and cracked a little, it seemed the hit had taken its toll.
Roderus swung the club once more at the slime’s surface, but the gooey nature absorbed the impact, leaving him unable to hit the core.
“What the hell…!!”
It seemed the slime was regaining its composure. The wobbling decreased, and its tendrils began to glow with power.
At that moment…
“Catch this──!!”
Something arced through the air toward him. Roderus jumped in place to catch the incoming object. When he opened his hand, he found Kim Lulu’s transformation device.
Should he transform?
No. While he knew the emergency command, the transformation took too long. By the time it was done, the slime would recover, and magical attacks would come flying.
Time was of the essence. So instead…
Roderus infused just a bit of the power of Fable into the transformation device. Bzzzzt-!! The device began to rattle and crack.
He was guiding it. Not to cause a malfunction but to overload it. To make it explode.
“…This is a bomb, catch it-!!”
Roderus threw the overloaded transformation device at the slime and rolled away.
KA-BOOM──!!!
Arcane energy surged forth, indiscriminately melting everything around. The slime screeched with odd sounds, bubbling and boiling as the magical energy ripped through it.
Eventually, an energy beam struck the core, resulting in a KABLOOEY-! as the gelatinous mass burst apart.
“…”
“…”
There was no movement. It was dead.
Throb.
Roderus glanced at his hand, feeling a sharp pain. The surface of his skin was torn, and blood flowed from where he had used the Fable. It was a side effect of the surge in power.
“…”
Roderus confirmed Unaris’ demise and rushed toward Lulu.
===============================================================
Roderus took Kim Lulu’s bloodied hand and examined her wounds. She was in a sorry state, barely holding together. She could drop dead at any moment.
“…Are you okay? Can you hear me? Open your eyes, Kim Lulu!”
“…”
Lulu opened her eyes a sliver and slightly parted her lips.
“What are you saying? I can’t hear a thing…”
“…”
Roderus leaned closer, bringing his ear near her lips. Her breaths were faint, as if they could extinguish any moment. She managed to speak in a soft, raspy voice.
“…Who are you?”
“…”
“Who are you, I said.”
“Uh, well… I’m Oh Dae-su’s cousin.”
Oh Hye-in and Oh Dae-su didn’t resemble each other at all, yet these two looked so alike. Lulu thought to herself as she turned her head.
The swirling vortex still loomed. Oh Hye-in must still be fighting.
“…Hey, are you some kind of special forces or something? You jumped down from the third floor… cough, cough. That was pretty cool.”
“Something like that…”
“Then, uh… Mr. Soldier over there. Hye-in is fighting all alone. I know this might sound rude, but… could you go check on her…?”
“…”
“Or not…”
Lulu chuckled while coughing up blood, suddenly struck by the peculiar way they were holding hands. Typically, you wouldn’t grab the hand of someone you just met like this, would you?
And yet, it felt oddly familiar. The sizes were different, but the balance of strength was similar.
Lulu moved her thumb, placing it atop Roderus’s. In Oh Dae-su’s case, when she did this, it would be like signaling she didn’t want to lose.
But it was as if this strange guy did the same.
“…Ah.”
For the first time, Lulu’s brain managed to connect the dots. She instantly understood the meaning of their childhood exchanges on the playground. Yes, Oh Dae-su was a man.
Indeed, it sounded tough. So many things must be weighing on him. Even with blood flowing like this, her heartbeat raced on.
“Uhm, excuse me.”
“…I’m listening.”
“Tell Oh Dae-su… that I like him. So, it’s okay if he’s a guy. You got that, cough, you got that right?”
“…I heard you. I’ll make sure it gets through, so don’t worry… you commoner.”
What an odd concept that was. To see that face looking like it was about to burst into tears while spouting such nonsense.
Lulu gasped for breath, realizing she would soon awake from the dream. Therefore, she managed to squeeze out her last words, not wanting to fill her mind with baseless worries.
“I-I’m also from another world. So I’m not really dead. You understand?”
“…”
“I’m actually really strong. So…”
Thud.
Lulu’s strength faded away.
Roderus remained there in the rain, quietly for what felt like ages, before closing her eyes and standing up. He needed to go help Oh Hye-in.
And beneath the pitch-black swirling vortex, a massive hand began to emerge from beyond the dimensional gate.
